After reading chapter 11:
*Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. (Gilead is a region east of the Jordan) His father's name was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's sons by his wife drove Jephthah away because they didn't want him to have a share of their father's inheritance. Jephthah settled in Tob where a band of adventurers gathered around him. Sounds a little bit like Robin Hood and his merry men.
* When the Ammonites were making war on the Israelites, the elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to be their commander against them. (See chapter 10) Jephthah was understandably peeved that they needed him, now that they were in trouble, when they had rejected him before. The elders asked him to forget all that. Jephthah wanted confirmation that he would be the leader of Gilead if he could defeat the Ammonites. The elders swore that he would. So, he went to Mizpah with the elders and took an oath of office in front of Yahweh. Mizpah apparently means watchtower and there are a few possibly different Mizpah's mentioned in the bible, which makes sense because a watchtower would be a good thing for an area to have, considering all the wars and raids in the region. What doesn't make sense is how a person could "go before Yahweh" at Mizpah. What did that entail? I thought all the Yahweh ritual stuff had been assigned to Shiloh. However, there has been no mention of Shiloh yet in this book.
*Then Jephthah sent a message to the Ammonite King asking why he was attacking Gilead. The reply was that when the Israelites had travelled through the land during the exodus, they had taken land which originally belonged to the Ammonites. They wanted it back. Jephthah sent a message back saying that the king had his facts wrong. That land used to belong to the Amorites, not the Ammonites. Not only that, Yahweh had personally given them the victory over the people who used to live in that land. The Israelites had to forcibly take it because the original inhabitants were rude and suspicious, unwilling to let over 2 million strangers parade through their land on their way to take over someone else's land. This proves that the Ammonites have no claim to the land. Besides, don't they also take whatever land their god Chemosh gives them? This is a brilliant example of the tu quoque argument. Notice also, that Jephthah is acknowledging that the god Chemosh speaks to the Ammonites, just like Yahweh speaks to the Israelites. So, is he intimating both gods are real, or both gods are fictional?
*Then Jephthah goes on to argue that the king of Moab isn't suddenly trying to take back land that the Israelites were given by Yahweh. What makes the king of the Ammonites so high and mighty that he thinks he should take back land where the Israelites have lived for about three hundred years? Why now, at such a late date? The king of the Ammonites has no personal reason to do so. Plus, Yahweh will see that justice is done. The king ignored Jephthah's message.
*This passage helps us hang a date on these supposed events. Assuming the creationist stance that history began about 4,000 B.C.E., and taking all the dates from Genesis on literally, this would have taken place at approx. 1,000 B.C.E. This is a problem because it is supposed to be the traditional date of the start of the Israelite monarchy. One of the reasons they don't match up is because even the biblical literalists do not take every single year count mentioned in the Old Testament literally. They also try to make things match up with extra information from the New Testament which skews the dates. I noticed this some time back, but can't remember where. I will try to find out where I first discovered the disparity.
Showing posts with label Amorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amorites. Show all posts
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Judges chapter 10
After reading chapter 10:
*After Abimelech, the Israelites were led by a man named Tola of the tribe of Issachar. Twenty three years later he was followed by Jair of Gilead. He had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and controlled 30 towns. Fascinating. Twenty two years later, the Israelites were backsliding again. They served other gods besides Yahweh, so he became angry. For 18 years Yahweh let the Philistines, Amorites, and Ammonites oppress the Israelites in many parts of the promised land. Then the Israelites called out to Yahweh again. Yahweh said he was fed up with their disloyalty and told the Israelites to let the other gods save them. The Israelites got rid of the other gods and served Yahweh again, till he just couldn't stand their misery any more. That's what the book says. The Ammonites were camped in Gilead and the leaders of Gilead held a meeting to discuss eradicating the Ammonites, offering the leader of such an attack a chance to be the head guy of Gilead.
* Still, there has been no mention of Levites, priests, religious rituals other than sacrifice, or who it is that is speaking for Yahweh. How do all the tribes get the message?
Note: For some reason the labels will not allow me to capitalize the word Judges. I'm not being lazy with my Capitals. :-p
*After Abimelech, the Israelites were led by a man named Tola of the tribe of Issachar. Twenty three years later he was followed by Jair of Gilead. He had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and controlled 30 towns. Fascinating. Twenty two years later, the Israelites were backsliding again. They served other gods besides Yahweh, so he became angry. For 18 years Yahweh let the Philistines, Amorites, and Ammonites oppress the Israelites in many parts of the promised land. Then the Israelites called out to Yahweh again. Yahweh said he was fed up with their disloyalty and told the Israelites to let the other gods save them. The Israelites got rid of the other gods and served Yahweh again, till he just couldn't stand their misery any more. That's what the book says. The Ammonites were camped in Gilead and the leaders of Gilead held a meeting to discuss eradicating the Ammonites, offering the leader of such an attack a chance to be the head guy of Gilead.
* Still, there has been no mention of Levites, priests, religious rituals other than sacrifice, or who it is that is speaking for Yahweh. How do all the tribes get the message?
Note: For some reason the labels will not allow me to capitalize the word Judges. I'm not being lazy with my Capitals. :-p
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Deuteronomy chapter 1 And 2
After reading chapter 1 and 2:
*There is a short introduction telling us it is the fortieth year and the first day of the eleventh month since the Israelites left Egypt. They are east of the Jordan, in the territory of Moab and Moses is going to speak. 1:6-4:40 is Moses's speech.
* In chapter 1, Moses tells the Israelites about God's promise of land, the choosing of the leaders of the twelve tribes, the sending out of the twelve spies, the people's unwillingness and fear to take over the promised land because of the size of the people, God's 40 year punishment of wandering in the wilderness, the attempt and failure to fight without God, and the beating by the Amorites.These stories are all repeats, mostly from the book of Numbers. However, in Numbers, they were beaten by Amalekites and Canaanites, not Amorites.
*In chapter 2, we have wording that does not occur in Numbers. Here we are told that the Israelites circumnavigated the hill country of Seir because that is where the descendants of Esau lived. They were told to respect them as brothers and pay them for any food and water they consumed. In Numbers, these people are called Edomites (chapter 20) and they deny the Israelites passage through their land after being asked. Plus, in Deuteronomy, God tells the Israelites not to provoke the descendants of Esau because he was not going to give the Israelites any of that land.
*Next, we are again skipped over the succeeding 38 years to the time when all the original fighting men of Israel had died. The Israelites were told not to harass the Moabites or Ammonites because their land was for Lot's descendants. We are given stories about what tribes were displaced so that the Moabites, Ammonites, and descendants of Esau could have the land they occupied.
*Next we are told of the battle with King Sihon of Heshbon. The Israelites ask to pass through his land and say that the Moabites and descendants of Esau were okay with that (verse29) but Numbers tells a different story. King Sihon refuses to let them pass. The Israelites completely destroy Sihon's land and people, with god's help. However, they didn't touch the land of the Ammonites, by god's command. In Numbers, it was because the Ammonite border was fortified. (21:24)
*There is a short introduction telling us it is the fortieth year and the first day of the eleventh month since the Israelites left Egypt. They are east of the Jordan, in the territory of Moab and Moses is going to speak. 1:6-4:40 is Moses's speech.
* In chapter 1, Moses tells the Israelites about God's promise of land, the choosing of the leaders of the twelve tribes, the sending out of the twelve spies, the people's unwillingness and fear to take over the promised land because of the size of the people, God's 40 year punishment of wandering in the wilderness, the attempt and failure to fight without God, and the beating by the Amorites.These stories are all repeats, mostly from the book of Numbers. However, in Numbers, they were beaten by Amalekites and Canaanites, not Amorites.
*In chapter 2, we have wording that does not occur in Numbers. Here we are told that the Israelites circumnavigated the hill country of Seir because that is where the descendants of Esau lived. They were told to respect them as brothers and pay them for any food and water they consumed. In Numbers, these people are called Edomites (chapter 20) and they deny the Israelites passage through their land after being asked. Plus, in Deuteronomy, God tells the Israelites not to provoke the descendants of Esau because he was not going to give the Israelites any of that land.
*Next, we are again skipped over the succeeding 38 years to the time when all the original fighting men of Israel had died. The Israelites were told not to harass the Moabites or Ammonites because their land was for Lot's descendants. We are given stories about what tribes were displaced so that the Moabites, Ammonites, and descendants of Esau could have the land they occupied.
*Next we are told of the battle with King Sihon of Heshbon. The Israelites ask to pass through his land and say that the Moabites and descendants of Esau were okay with that (verse29) but Numbers tells a different story. King Sihon refuses to let them pass. The Israelites completely destroy Sihon's land and people, with god's help. However, they didn't touch the land of the Ammonites, by god's command. In Numbers, it was because the Ammonite border was fortified. (21:24)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Numbers chapter 21
After reading chapter 21:
*Now the Canaanite King of Arad, in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming, so he attacked and captured some of them. The Israelites asked God to let them destroy the cities in that area, and of course he obliged since they had asked nicely. So, they completely destroyed the people and their towns and called the place Hormah, which was also the name of two other places in the Bible,(Numbers 14, Judges 1) in spite of the fact that there is no extra biblical reference to any place of that name. This is in contrast to the Arad site which shows that it was an early Israelite site with a possible temple to Yahweh on its high point.
*After slaughtering the inhabitants of that area the Israelites move on, complaining of the lack of food and water. So, Yahweh, who had let them destroy whole towns, decided to send poisonous snakes to pester them. They were seriously alarmed and asked Moses to pray for them, because prayer is the most effective way to deal with snakes. He did, and Yahweh told him to set up a pole with a bronze snake for the people to look at when they got bit, that would keep them from dying. Because it would have been too much trouble to just get rid of the snakes. I wonder if it looked anything like the rod of Asclepius or Ningishzida, among the many uses of serpent symbology.
*The Israelites moved on camping in Oboth, lye Abarim, the Zered valley, and beside the Arnon River which is now called the wadi Mujib. Apparently, there was a Book of the Wars of Yahweh that told about this. It has vanished from existence. And they kept moving from place to place til they came to the valley of Moab overlooked by Pisgah.
*Then they sent messengers to the king of the Amorites to ask if they could pass through his territory. He said no. Verse 23. The irony of the text saying that this land belongs to the Amorites and not the Israelites is almost amusing. So, the king got an army together and met the Israelites, but this time they killed the king, took over the land of the Amorites, and occupied all its cities. You can guess what happened to the inhabitants. However they could only go so far because the Ammonite border was fortified. So the Israelites settled in the land of the Amorites, presumably east of the Jordan at this time.
*Then they had more battles, captured more settlements, took posession of more land, and killed more people, all with the help of Yahweh, of course.
Edited.
*Now the Canaanite King of Arad, in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming, so he attacked and captured some of them. The Israelites asked God to let them destroy the cities in that area, and of course he obliged since they had asked nicely. So, they completely destroyed the people and their towns and called the place Hormah, which was also the name of two other places in the Bible,(Numbers 14, Judges 1) in spite of the fact that there is no extra biblical reference to any place of that name. This is in contrast to the Arad site which shows that it was an early Israelite site with a possible temple to Yahweh on its high point.
*After slaughtering the inhabitants of that area the Israelites move on, complaining of the lack of food and water. So, Yahweh, who had let them destroy whole towns, decided to send poisonous snakes to pester them. They were seriously alarmed and asked Moses to pray for them, because prayer is the most effective way to deal with snakes. He did, and Yahweh told him to set up a pole with a bronze snake for the people to look at when they got bit, that would keep them from dying. Because it would have been too much trouble to just get rid of the snakes. I wonder if it looked anything like the rod of Asclepius or Ningishzida, among the many uses of serpent symbology.
*The Israelites moved on camping in Oboth, lye Abarim, the Zered valley, and beside the Arnon River which is now called the wadi Mujib. Apparently, there was a Book of the Wars of Yahweh that told about this. It has vanished from existence. And they kept moving from place to place til they came to the valley of Moab overlooked by Pisgah.
*Then they sent messengers to the king of the Amorites to ask if they could pass through his territory. He said no. Verse 23. The irony of the text saying that this land belongs to the Amorites and not the Israelites is almost amusing. So, the king got an army together and met the Israelites, but this time they killed the king, took over the land of the Amorites, and occupied all its cities. You can guess what happened to the inhabitants. However they could only go so far because the Ammonite border was fortified. So the Israelites settled in the land of the Amorites, presumably east of the Jordan at this time.
*Then they had more battles, captured more settlements, took posession of more land, and killed more people, all with the help of Yahweh, of course.
Edited.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Genesis chapter 15
After reading chapter 15:
*We see that Abram has another personal revelation from God. He will have a son and his descendants will be numerous. Plus, God made a binding covenant giving Abram's descendants all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates! This was in spite of the land being well occupied already. I don't think it ever happened, but I guess there is still time.
*Abram believes this and cuts open a bunch of animals, because God told him to. Then he falls asleep and continues his conversation with God, who tells him his descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years. Not to worry, they will come back greater than ever.
* When it got dark a magical torch appeared and passed between the pieces of the cut up animals. Because that's what magical torches do?
*About the Amorites- they did exist at that time. In fact, history records them covering about the same territory that God promises to Abram. They also experienced a downfall about 400 years from Abram's time. This is one of the few historical items in Genesis that actually can be confirmed by reliable extra-biblical evidence. It was probably well known by ancient historians. However, the historical details of the Amorites downfall are somewhat different than the biblical account, as we will see later. What was "the sin of the Amorites?" We may never know.
*We see that Abram has another personal revelation from God. He will have a son and his descendants will be numerous. Plus, God made a binding covenant giving Abram's descendants all the land from the Nile to the Euphrates! This was in spite of the land being well occupied already. I don't think it ever happened, but I guess there is still time.
*Abram believes this and cuts open a bunch of animals, because God told him to. Then he falls asleep and continues his conversation with God, who tells him his descendants will be enslaved for four hundred years. Not to worry, they will come back greater than ever.
* When it got dark a magical torch appeared and passed between the pieces of the cut up animals. Because that's what magical torches do?
*About the Amorites- they did exist at that time. In fact, history records them covering about the same territory that God promises to Abram. They also experienced a downfall about 400 years from Abram's time. This is one of the few historical items in Genesis that actually can be confirmed by reliable extra-biblical evidence. It was probably well known by ancient historians. However, the historical details of the Amorites downfall are somewhat different than the biblical account, as we will see later. What was "the sin of the Amorites?" We may never know.
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