After reading chapter 20:
*Unfortunately, we are not done with the story of the Levite and the concubine. After the
Levite sent the pieces of the concubine to all the tribes of Israel, "all" the Israelites assembled before Yahweh in Mizpah. There were 400,000 soldiers armed with swords, another nice round number. Except it wasn't ALL the Israelites; the Benjaminites were not there. And surely the surrounding lands were not completely emptied of Israelites for the time it took the gathering to take place. Remember, these people mostly travelled on foot. Not only that, wasn't assembling before Yahweh supposed to be done in Shiloh?
*At the assembly, the Israelites asked the Levite to tell his story. (The bible calls him a husband but calls the woman a concubine, which is not the same thing as a wife.) The Levite tells the story slightly differently than we read in the last chapter. Now, he says the men of Gibeah were wanting to kill him, instead of have sex with him, but maybe to him that was equivalent to death. He skips over the part where he hands his concubine over to the men and goes straight to the rape. He also neglects to tell how he found her and how he had expected her to just get up off the ground and go home. Instead he says he cut her up and sent the pieces to the tribes of Israel, because of the "lewd and disgraceful" act that had been committed. No mention of how he had allowed it to happen.
*Apparently the assembly cast lots to determine what the will of Yahweh was in this situation. (Verse 9) The men, um Yahweh, decided that ten percent of the soldiers would be responsible for getting provisions for the army. (Which usually meant taking what they needed from the people of the surrounding countryside.) Then the whole army would march on the Benjaminites in Gibeah and give them what they deserved. First, however, they sent men through the tribe of Benjamin, asking them to hand over the perpetrators. They refused. Then the Benjaminites gathered 26,000 swordsman of their own, 700 of them from Gibeah. There were also 700 left handed, stone slinging experts. They could "sling a stone at a hair and not miss."
*Next, before the battle, the Israelites (All 400,000?)went to Bethel to ask God a question. Why couldn't they have asked him the question in Mizpah? It makes more sense when you know that Beth-el means "house of God." This is the place Jacob supposedly had his vision of God on top of a ladder to heaven. Apparently, the ark of the covenant was now in Bethel (verse 27), along with an altar for burnt offerings, which I find confusing. Then what is at Shiloh? And why was such a big deal made of Shiloh earlier in the book of Joshua? Shiloh is where lots were cast "in the presence of Yahweh" to determine the distribution of the promised land. The presence of Yahweh appears to be mobile.
*We are also, told in verse 28, that Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the grandson of Aaron, was the high priest ministering in front of the ark. Either this story takes place out of historical sequence in the book of Judges, or Phineas is a couple of hundred years old. Phineas was alive when Moses was still around back in Numbers 25.
*For what question did the Israelites go to Bethel to ask Yahweh? Why, which tribe gets to fight first, of course. Yahweh picked Judah. Lots again? Or priestly declaration? We will never know. The next morning, positions were taken and the battle began. 22,000 Israelites were mowed down. Next, they simultaneously took up their positions of the day before and went to weep before Yahweh in Bethel. They asked Yahweh if they should keep fighting. He said yes. The next day, the Benjaminites cut down 18,000 Israelites with the sword. The Israelites went crying back to Yahweh. They fasted, made burnt offerings and groveled. They again asked Yahweh if they should keep fighting. He said yes.
Showing posts with label Phineas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phineas. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Joshua chapter 24 part 2, plus wrap up.
*We have come to the end of the book of Joshua. Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance. Then he dies. He was 110 years old. That would make this somewhere around the year 1267 B.C.E. (I've been counting back from Bishop Ussher's date of 4,004 B.C.E. as the supposed date of the beginning.) Joshua was buried at his inherited land. The Israelites served Yahweh during the lifetime of Joshua. Joseph's bones, which had been brought from Egypt and presumably carried around this whole time, were buried at Shechem on a piece of land that Jacob had supposedly once bought. Though how they could know that after over 400 years in captivity is a mystery. Think of all the ways of record keeping we have today, and it is still very difficult to know much about our ancestors of 100 years ago, let alone over 400. The high priest Eleazor, son of Aaron, died and was replaced by his son Phinehas.
Wrap Up
*In this book, we are not told it is the word of God, or that it was written by Joshua. We find no mention of heaven, hell, satan, Angels, demons, etc., except for the hornet and we are not told what that is. The only obviously supernatural event is the crossing of the Jordan in chapter 3. It clearly mirrors the crossing of the Red Sea. There is no mention of a messiah. There are only earthly blessings and cursings that pertain to the lives and conduct of the Israelites, not their thoughts.
*Joshua has become the new conduit for Yahweh's commands and instructions after Moses's death. . He alone hears the words of Yahweh. The people are expected to believe and obey. Obedience is stressed over and over. Consequences of disobedience are usually death.
* Yahweh is a jealous God, vengeance is his, he will repay. He pelts hailstones at his enemies while they run away. He changed his mind about the no plunder rule. He orders the deaths of multitudes of men, women and children, so that the Israelites can have the land that he supposedly promised one of their ancestors over 400 years ago. He orders the torture of horses. His power to help eliminate the remaing tribes living in the promised land seems limited after the initial slaughter. He is currently living in Shiloh.
*The Israelites have conquered the land and taken posession, just like Yahweh promised. Sort of. The land was allotted to each of the Israelite tribe by casting lots. However, there is still plenty of clean up to do. Some pesky tribes refuse to be conquered so they are made to do menial tasks for the Israelites. Make sense of that.
*Finally, there is little to no historical evidence of any of the events in this book. It is probably historical fiction, used by the Israelites to explain and justify their presence in the land. It also was probably used to retroactively "foresee" the eventual conquering and exile of their people. This is attributed to disobedience, of course.
*This wraps up the story of the origins of "the people" of the land of Israel. It establishes their group identity. It is interesting to note that most ancient tribes had origin stories and a large percentage of them called them selves "the people" of some sort. Just take a look at some names of Native American tribes and their meanings. Look at the Preamble of the constitution of the United States, "we the people." It is natural for people to group themselves with those who are like them in culture and background and think of everyone else as "other." It makes us feel more comfortable, but it artificially separates and divides people from each other. This is one of the causes of war and genocide throughout history.
Edited
Wrap Up
*In this book, we are not told it is the word of God, or that it was written by Joshua. We find no mention of heaven, hell, satan, Angels, demons, etc., except for the hornet and we are not told what that is. The only obviously supernatural event is the crossing of the Jordan in chapter 3. It clearly mirrors the crossing of the Red Sea. There is no mention of a messiah. There are only earthly blessings and cursings that pertain to the lives and conduct of the Israelites, not their thoughts.
*Joshua has become the new conduit for Yahweh's commands and instructions after Moses's death. . He alone hears the words of Yahweh. The people are expected to believe and obey. Obedience is stressed over and over. Consequences of disobedience are usually death.
* Yahweh is a jealous God, vengeance is his, he will repay. He pelts hailstones at his enemies while they run away. He changed his mind about the no plunder rule. He orders the deaths of multitudes of men, women and children, so that the Israelites can have the land that he supposedly promised one of their ancestors over 400 years ago. He orders the torture of horses. His power to help eliminate the remaing tribes living in the promised land seems limited after the initial slaughter. He is currently living in Shiloh.
*The Israelites have conquered the land and taken posession, just like Yahweh promised. Sort of. The land was allotted to each of the Israelite tribe by casting lots. However, there is still plenty of clean up to do. Some pesky tribes refuse to be conquered so they are made to do menial tasks for the Israelites. Make sense of that.
*Finally, there is little to no historical evidence of any of the events in this book. It is probably historical fiction, used by the Israelites to explain and justify their presence in the land. It also was probably used to retroactively "foresee" the eventual conquering and exile of their people. This is attributed to disobedience, of course.
*This wraps up the story of the origins of "the people" of the land of Israel. It establishes their group identity. It is interesting to note that most ancient tribes had origin stories and a large percentage of them called them selves "the people" of some sort. Just take a look at some names of Native American tribes and their meanings. Look at the Preamble of the constitution of the United States, "we the people." It is natural for people to group themselves with those who are like them in culture and background and think of everyone else as "other." It makes us feel more comfortable, but it artificially separates and divides people from each other. This is one of the causes of war and genocide throughout history.
Edited
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Joshua chapter 22
After reading chapter 22:
*So, now that the conquest of Canaan is over, kind of, Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassehites, who had land on the east side of the Jordan, that they could go home. These were all the men of fighting age. One wonders who had been maintaining the land for the approximately 5 years of their absence, women and children? They were sent back with Joshua's blessing and a load of plunder: livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing (from the bodies of the slain?). Funny thing about the plunder....after Achan's plunder blunder and his execution, the prohibition against plunder was mysteriously ignored or rescinded without any ill effects.
*The three tribes travelled back east with all their stuff. When they got to the Jordan River, they built a large altar. When the rest of the Israelites heard about this altar they were infuriated and gathered at Shiloh to go to war with the three tribes. The priest Phineas and ten tribal leaders went to the three tribes and accused them of breaking faith with Yahweh and attempting some other kind of worship. They informed the three tribes that if this was the case, they would incur the wrath of the entire community of Israelites. There was to be only one altar to Yahweh and that location had already been determined. It was at Shiloh. Then they were reminded of what had happened to Achan. How ironic.
*The three tribes did some awesome back peddling. Oh, no, we weren't planing on actually using this altar. It's just a witness, a reminder to the west side of the river that we on the east side have a share in Yahweh. This is so that in the future the west side cannot try to tell the east that they don't also belong to Yahweh. We wouldn't rebel. No siree, not us. So, Phineas announced Yahweh must be with them and they had escaped his wrath. The priest and the elders returned to Canaan to report to the Israelites, who rejoiced at the news. The altar was named "A Witness that Yahweh is God."
*Some thoughts that always come to mind when I read these stories:
1. The action happens in a few paragraphs that take minutes to read. In actuality events like these would have taken weeks if not months. That is taking into account the distances individuals had to have travelled on foot or slow footed animals. There is no indication the Israelites were horsemen. In fact they hamstrung the enemies' horses.
2. Plus, supposedly the Israelites had taken over the land. How can they be spread over the land and yet gathered in one place at Shiloh? Do you realize how long it would take to muster all the Israelite troops if they were spread out the length and breadth of Canaan?
3. When they conquered one area, how did they keep it free and clear of "enemies" when they had to go fight elsewhere?
4. How quickly this became an "us and them" situation once the three tribes separated from the rest of the Israelites.
*So, now that the conquest of Canaan is over, kind of, Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassehites, who had land on the east side of the Jordan, that they could go home. These were all the men of fighting age. One wonders who had been maintaining the land for the approximately 5 years of their absence, women and children? They were sent back with Joshua's blessing and a load of plunder: livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing (from the bodies of the slain?). Funny thing about the plunder....after Achan's plunder blunder and his execution, the prohibition against plunder was mysteriously ignored or rescinded without any ill effects.
*The three tribes travelled back east with all their stuff. When they got to the Jordan River, they built a large altar. When the rest of the Israelites heard about this altar they were infuriated and gathered at Shiloh to go to war with the three tribes. The priest Phineas and ten tribal leaders went to the three tribes and accused them of breaking faith with Yahweh and attempting some other kind of worship. They informed the three tribes that if this was the case, they would incur the wrath of the entire community of Israelites. There was to be only one altar to Yahweh and that location had already been determined. It was at Shiloh. Then they were reminded of what had happened to Achan. How ironic.
*The three tribes did some awesome back peddling. Oh, no, we weren't planing on actually using this altar. It's just a witness, a reminder to the west side of the river that we on the east side have a share in Yahweh. This is so that in the future the west side cannot try to tell the east that they don't also belong to Yahweh. We wouldn't rebel. No siree, not us. So, Phineas announced Yahweh must be with them and they had escaped his wrath. The priest and the elders returned to Canaan to report to the Israelites, who rejoiced at the news. The altar was named "A Witness that Yahweh is God."
*Some thoughts that always come to mind when I read these stories:
1. The action happens in a few paragraphs that take minutes to read. In actuality events like these would have taken weeks if not months. That is taking into account the distances individuals had to have travelled on foot or slow footed animals. There is no indication the Israelites were horsemen. In fact they hamstrung the enemies' horses.
2. Plus, supposedly the Israelites had taken over the land. How can they be spread over the land and yet gathered in one place at Shiloh? Do you realize how long it would take to muster all the Israelite troops if they were spread out the length and breadth of Canaan?
3. When they conquered one area, how did they keep it free and clear of "enemies" when they had to go fight elsewhere?
4. How quickly this became an "us and them" situation once the three tribes separated from the rest of the Israelites.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Numbers chapter 31
After reading chapter 31:
*After a brief intermission, laying down some religious and social rules, Yahweh tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, who used to be Moabites, presumably for the crime of inviting them to other god's BBQs and showing the men a good time. So, 12,000 men, 1,000 from each tribe, were sent into battle, along with Phineas, the son of the high priest, the same guy who had run a spear through the Midianite woman and Israeli man. They fought against Midian and killed every man, including Balaam, the guy with the talking donkey.
*The Israelite army burned the Midianite towns and camps, after they plundered them. They took their spoils, including the women and children , back to the Israelite camp. Moses was upset, because it was the Midianite/Moabite women who had enticed the Israelite men. He ordered all the sexually active women killed. The reason given for this was that they were following Balaam's advice on how to turn the Israelites away from Yahweh. This is very strange because chapters 22-24 clearly show Balaam speaking on behalf of Yahweh and the Israelites, and blessing them. There is no mention of him giving any advice for turning the Israelites away from Yahweh.
*Moses also ordered the killing of all the boys, but gives no reason. Then, he says the Israelite army can save all the virgin girls for themselves, we can guess the reason. The fighting men who had killed, and the captive virgins, were to remain outside the camp for seven days, to be "purified." The thought of this makes my blood run cold. All metals, were to be passed through a fire and washed with holy water, for cleansing. Everything that couldn't be passed through a fire was just to be washed with the water of cleansing.
*Next, Yahweh told Moses to count all the people ( the girls) and the animals that were captured and divide up the spoils. Half for the fighting men, half for the rest of the community. From the soldier's share, one out of every 500, of the girls, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys was to be given to the priests, um, the lord. From the community share, one out of every 50. We are given the numbers for each of the kinds of animals and the virgins, because this is the book of numbers after all. There were 32,000 females divvied up that day.
*After the distribution of the spoils, the commanders of the army told Moses that not a single fighting man had been lost. Incredible. They also had gold to give to the priests, um, the lord. Of course Moses and the priests accepted the gold on Yahweh's behalf, and the soldiers had some left over for themselves, naturally.
*After a brief intermission, laying down some religious and social rules, Yahweh tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, who used to be Moabites, presumably for the crime of inviting them to other god's BBQs and showing the men a good time. So, 12,000 men, 1,000 from each tribe, were sent into battle, along with Phineas, the son of the high priest, the same guy who had run a spear through the Midianite woman and Israeli man. They fought against Midian and killed every man, including Balaam, the guy with the talking donkey.
*The Israelite army burned the Midianite towns and camps, after they plundered them. They took their spoils, including the women and children , back to the Israelite camp. Moses was upset, because it was the Midianite/Moabite women who had enticed the Israelite men. He ordered all the sexually active women killed. The reason given for this was that they were following Balaam's advice on how to turn the Israelites away from Yahweh. This is very strange because chapters 22-24 clearly show Balaam speaking on behalf of Yahweh and the Israelites, and blessing them. There is no mention of him giving any advice for turning the Israelites away from Yahweh.
*Moses also ordered the killing of all the boys, but gives no reason. Then, he says the Israelite army can save all the virgin girls for themselves, we can guess the reason. The fighting men who had killed, and the captive virgins, were to remain outside the camp for seven days, to be "purified." The thought of this makes my blood run cold. All metals, were to be passed through a fire and washed with holy water, for cleansing. Everything that couldn't be passed through a fire was just to be washed with the water of cleansing.
*Next, Yahweh told Moses to count all the people ( the girls) and the animals that were captured and divide up the spoils. Half for the fighting men, half for the rest of the community. From the soldier's share, one out of every 500, of the girls, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys was to be given to the priests, um, the lord. From the community share, one out of every 50. We are given the numbers for each of the kinds of animals and the virgins, because this is the book of numbers after all. There were 32,000 females divvied up that day.
*After the distribution of the spoils, the commanders of the army told Moses that not a single fighting man had been lost. Incredible. They also had gold to give to the priests, um, the lord. Of course Moses and the priests accepted the gold on Yahweh's behalf, and the soldiers had some left over for themselves, naturally.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Numbers chapter 25
After reading chapter 25:
*So, Israel was staying in Shittim (Please, let's not get all junior high here.) Some of the men got invited to BBQs (sacrifices to other gods) by the Moabite women, and they went. Not only that, they also had a very good time with those Moabite women. They ate the BBQ and bowed down to Baal of Peor, who may have been the egyptian sun god Horus. Boy was Yahweh mad! He told Moses to kill all the people who had done this.
*Then an Israelite man had the effrontery to bring home a Midianite woman in front of everyone!
Phineas, the son of Eleazar the high priest, took a spear and drove it through both of them while they were together in the tent. This stopped a plague which had apparently been happening at the time, but not before 24,0000 people died. (A nice round number. )God told Moses that Phineas had appeased his anger, so he made an everlasting covenant with him that his descendants would be an everlasting priesthood, even though he had already been covered under the same promise made to Aaron.
*Is anyone else wondering how we got from Moabites to Midianites one setting? As far as I know they are not the same thing. Now Yahweh tells Moses to treat the Midianites as enemies because their deceit caused the Israelites to worship Peor, which brought the plague.
*So, Israel was staying in Shittim (Please, let's not get all junior high here.) Some of the men got invited to BBQs (sacrifices to other gods) by the Moabite women, and they went. Not only that, they also had a very good time with those Moabite women. They ate the BBQ and bowed down to Baal of Peor, who may have been the egyptian sun god Horus. Boy was Yahweh mad! He told Moses to kill all the people who had done this.
*Then an Israelite man had the effrontery to bring home a Midianite woman in front of everyone!
Phineas, the son of Eleazar the high priest, took a spear and drove it through both of them while they were together in the tent. This stopped a plague which had apparently been happening at the time, but not before 24,0000 people died. (A nice round number. )God told Moses that Phineas had appeased his anger, so he made an everlasting covenant with him that his descendants would be an everlasting priesthood, even though he had already been covered under the same promise made to Aaron.
*Is anyone else wondering how we got from Moabites to Midianites one setting? As far as I know they are not the same thing. Now Yahweh tells Moses to treat the Midianites as enemies because their deceit caused the Israelites to worship Peor, which brought the plague.
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