After reading chapter 12:
*Meanwhile, the men of the tribe of Ephraim crossed the Jordan over to where Jephthah was. They were offended at not being asked to go with the people of Gilead to fight the Ammonites, and they threatened to burn down Jephthah's house. Jephthah claimed that he did call for help, even though the bible doesn't mention it, but they didn't come. So he had to take matters into his own hands. Why did they come to fight him? A good question. Why would you pick a fight with your allies?
*Jephthah and his men fought the men of Ephraim because the Ephraimites called them renegades. Jephthah also devised a test to keep any of the Ephraimite survivors from crossing back over the Jordan. They took control of the fording places and questioned crossers. Are you an Ephraimite? If they said no, they were required to say the word "Shibboleth," which was apparently difficult for an Ephraimite to pronounce. If he had trouble pronouncing it, he was killed. 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
*Jephthah led Israel for six years. Wasn't Ephraim part of Israel? Then he died. Next, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had 30 sons and 30 daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage and took thirty young women into the clan as wives for his sons. He led Izrael 7 years then died. Next was Elon the Zebulunite who led for 10 years. After that, Abdon, an Ephraimite, led Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons. Gee, everyone has nice even numbers of children and obviously multiple wives. Abdon led Israel for 8 years. Then he died.
Showing posts with label Ephraim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ephraim. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Judges chapter 8
After reading chapter 8:
*For some reason, the Ephraimites took offense that Gideon had not asked for their help when he originally went to fight the Midianites. Even so, they had come to Gideon's aid and helped capture two of the Midianite leaders. Pursuing the rest of the Midianites, Gideon and his men crossed the Jordan after two more rulers of Midian. They asked a couple of different cities for food, but were rejected. Gideon cursed those cities.
*There were 15,000 men left of the remnants of the eastern armies. 120,000 had been killed in battle. Gideon and his 300 men (amazingly, none dead) routed the remaining Midianites and captured the leaders, Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon went to the towns of Succoth and Peniel, who had rejected his plea for food. He punished the elders of Succoth with desert thorns and briars, tore down the tower of Peniel, and killed the men of the town. Questioning Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon found out they had killed his brothers. He ordered his son to kill them, but being just a boy, he wouldn't. Zebah and Zalmunna dared him to do it himself and he did.
*The Israelites asked Gideon to be their king. He refused, saying Yahweh should rule over them. However, he asked each of them to give him one gold earring from their plunder. The earrings had a total weight of about 43 pounds. Gideon made the gold into an ephod. It was taken to Gideon's town of Ophrah and eventually worshipped. The land had rest for another forty magical years. Gideon went back home and had 70 sons by his many wives and concubines. (Seventy being another special number usually referring to large assemblies.) After Gideon died the Israelites began worshipping Baal-Berith and forgot about Yahweh and the heroic deeds of Gideon.
*For some reason, the Ephraimites took offense that Gideon had not asked for their help when he originally went to fight the Midianites. Even so, they had come to Gideon's aid and helped capture two of the Midianite leaders. Pursuing the rest of the Midianites, Gideon and his men crossed the Jordan after two more rulers of Midian. They asked a couple of different cities for food, but were rejected. Gideon cursed those cities.
*There were 15,000 men left of the remnants of the eastern armies. 120,000 had been killed in battle. Gideon and his 300 men (amazingly, none dead) routed the remaining Midianites and captured the leaders, Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon went to the towns of Succoth and Peniel, who had rejected his plea for food. He punished the elders of Succoth with desert thorns and briars, tore down the tower of Peniel, and killed the men of the town. Questioning Zebah and Zalmunna, Gideon found out they had killed his brothers. He ordered his son to kill them, but being just a boy, he wouldn't. Zebah and Zalmunna dared him to do it himself and he did.
*The Israelites asked Gideon to be their king. He refused, saying Yahweh should rule over them. However, he asked each of them to give him one gold earring from their plunder. The earrings had a total weight of about 43 pounds. Gideon made the gold into an ephod. It was taken to Gideon's town of Ophrah and eventually worshipped. The land had rest for another forty magical years. Gideon went back home and had 70 sons by his many wives and concubines. (Seventy being another special number usually referring to large assemblies.) After Gideon died the Israelites began worshipping Baal-Berith and forgot about Yahweh and the heroic deeds of Gideon.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Joshua chapter 17
After reading chapter 17:
*Here we are told what part of the land was allotted to the rest of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim, the descendents of Joseph. In the Wikipedia articles, you can see a map of the distribution of tribal territory. Remember, half of the Manassehites recieved land east of the Jordan. This was called the land of Gilead What makes it a little confusing is that the land of Gilead is named after a descendant of Manasseh. We are also reminded of the story of the daughters who were promised an inheritance back in Numbers chapters 27 and 36. The land allotted to Ephraim lies partially within the boundaries of Manasseh.
*We are also told that the Manassehites were unable to drive all the Canaanites out of their allotted land, instead they subjected them to forced labor. This is becoming a familiar refrain. What happened to Yahweh's strength and might? What happened to the order to anihilate all the Cannanites? If you can enslave people, why can't you destroy them? Something fishy is going on here. Could it be that the authors of Joshua needed an explanation for why there were Canaanites living in the land when the book was written? Also, remember way back in Genesis chapter 9 when the descendents of Canaan were cursed and told they would become slaves of the descendents of Shem? Justification! All this happened because Ham saw his father Noah naked and drunk, imagine that.
*In the second half of the chapter, the Ephraimites and Manassehites complain that their share of land is too small because they are very numerous. Joshua allows them a bit more. Then they complain because the Canaanites in that land have iron chariots. Aha! Yahweh is no match for iron chariots. Joshua admits those Canaanites are strong, but says,"you can drive them out." Will the Canaanites with the iron chariots be driven out? Stay tuned for continuing episodes...
*Here we are told what part of the land was allotted to the rest of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim, the descendents of Joseph. In the Wikipedia articles, you can see a map of the distribution of tribal territory. Remember, half of the Manassehites recieved land east of the Jordan. This was called the land of Gilead What makes it a little confusing is that the land of Gilead is named after a descendant of Manasseh. We are also reminded of the story of the daughters who were promised an inheritance back in Numbers chapters 27 and 36. The land allotted to Ephraim lies partially within the boundaries of Manasseh.
*We are also told that the Manassehites were unable to drive all the Canaanites out of their allotted land, instead they subjected them to forced labor. This is becoming a familiar refrain. What happened to Yahweh's strength and might? What happened to the order to anihilate all the Cannanites? If you can enslave people, why can't you destroy them? Something fishy is going on here. Could it be that the authors of Joshua needed an explanation for why there were Canaanites living in the land when the book was written? Also, remember way back in Genesis chapter 9 when the descendents of Canaan were cursed and told they would become slaves of the descendents of Shem? Justification! All this happened because Ham saw his father Noah naked and drunk, imagine that.
*In the second half of the chapter, the Ephraimites and Manassehites complain that their share of land is too small because they are very numerous. Joshua allows them a bit more. Then they complain because the Canaanites in that land have iron chariots. Aha! Yahweh is no match for iron chariots. Joshua admits those Canaanites are strong, but says,"you can drive them out." Will the Canaanites with the iron chariots be driven out? Stay tuned for continuing episodes...
Monday, April 4, 2016
Joshua chapter 15 and 16
After reading chapter 15:
*Here we are told which portion of the land was alloted to the tribe of Judah. Caleb got a portion of Judah's land in Hebron. Caleb's daughter was married to Caleb's nephew Othniel as a reward for Othniel's capture of Debir, whose destruction we've already read about in chapter 10 verses 38-39. Caleb's daughter asked for springs of water and was granted them. All together, the tribe of Judah supposedly acquired at least 113 towns and villages. We are also told that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites who continued to live among them up to the time of the writing of this passage. Those Jebusites must have been mighty strong to be able to resists Yahweh's plans of total annhiliation. In spite of that, there seems to be some doubt that they ever existed.
After reading chapter 16:
*Here we are told the boundaries of the land allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. Apparently, the Ephraimites could not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer, but they forced the people of Gezer to do manual labor. This seems like a silly statement. They can't get rid of them but they can enslave them? Even stranger, we were told back in chapter 10 verse 33, that the entire army and the King of Gezer had been wiped out by the Israelites.
*Here we are told which portion of the land was alloted to the tribe of Judah. Caleb got a portion of Judah's land in Hebron. Caleb's daughter was married to Caleb's nephew Othniel as a reward for Othniel's capture of Debir, whose destruction we've already read about in chapter 10 verses 38-39. Caleb's daughter asked for springs of water and was granted them. All together, the tribe of Judah supposedly acquired at least 113 towns and villages. We are also told that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites who continued to live among them up to the time of the writing of this passage. Those Jebusites must have been mighty strong to be able to resists Yahweh's plans of total annhiliation. In spite of that, there seems to be some doubt that they ever existed.
After reading chapter 16:
*Here we are told the boundaries of the land allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. Apparently, the Ephraimites could not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer, but they forced the people of Gezer to do manual labor. This seems like a silly statement. They can't get rid of them but they can enslave them? Even stranger, we were told back in chapter 10 verse 33, that the entire army and the King of Gezer had been wiped out by the Israelites.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Genesis chapter 48
After reading chapter 48:
* Later, Jacob became ill. So, Joseph took his two sons to visit Jacob. Jacob told Joseph how God had appeared to him in the past and told him the land of Canaan would be given to his descendants. He claims Joseph's sons as his own, so that they will inherit part of the territory promised. Then Jacob does something strange and asks who Joseph's sons are, which historians think is because of the meshing of two traditional stories into one, which also accounts for the names Jacob and Israel not being consistently used.
*Israel can hardly see,like Isaac of old. So, Joseph brings his children to his father and he kisses and hugs them. Joseph led Manasseh, the oldest, to Israel's right hand. He put Ephraim at Israel's left. These were the proper birth order blessing places. (These things don't work right unless you do them properly.) However, Israel crossed his arms, putting his hands on the opposite heads, the younger brother receiving the blessing of the first born. Joseph was displeased and tried to correct his father, but Israel said the younger would be greater than the older. In this manner, he continued the younger brother theme that we will see again. Why can't we still give our children prophetic blessings with our hands that will come true?
*Israel says God will be with Joseph and will take him back to Canaan. The ridge of land that Jacob took from the Amorites would belong to Joseph.
* Later, Jacob became ill. So, Joseph took his two sons to visit Jacob. Jacob told Joseph how God had appeared to him in the past and told him the land of Canaan would be given to his descendants. He claims Joseph's sons as his own, so that they will inherit part of the territory promised. Then Jacob does something strange and asks who Joseph's sons are, which historians think is because of the meshing of two traditional stories into one, which also accounts for the names Jacob and Israel not being consistently used.
*Israel can hardly see,like Isaac of old. So, Joseph brings his children to his father and he kisses and hugs them. Joseph led Manasseh, the oldest, to Israel's right hand. He put Ephraim at Israel's left. These were the proper birth order blessing places. (These things don't work right unless you do them properly.) However, Israel crossed his arms, putting his hands on the opposite heads, the younger brother receiving the blessing of the first born. Joseph was displeased and tried to correct his father, but Israel said the younger would be greater than the older. In this manner, he continued the younger brother theme that we will see again. Why can't we still give our children prophetic blessings with our hands that will come true?
*Israel says God will be with Joseph and will take him back to Canaan. The ridge of land that Jacob took from the Amorites would belong to Joseph.
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