After reading chapter 21:
* We have finally reached the last chapter of Judges! The story of the last two chapters continues: Back at the beginning of chapter 20, when the Israelites gathered at Mizpah, apparently they made a solemn oath to Yahweh that not one of them would ever give a daughter to a Benjamite in marriage. Now, after the battle, they are again at Bethel, where they are bewailing the loss of one of the tribes of Israel. Really? They purposefully conducted a battle in which over 65,000 armed men, and whole towns full of people,plus their animals, were killed, and now they are grieving for the lost tribe of Benjamin? They ask why this should have happened! Good question. A little too late, though.
*The next day they built an altar (Isn't that a no-no? Or does this story take place before that restriction?) and presented burnt offerings to Yahweh. Then they asked who wasn't present in the roll call of the tribes of Israel at Mizpah. (As if they didn't know.) Those people "deserved" to be put to death. Show up or die. Well, in chapter 20 we saw that the Benjamite tribe wasn't there, so I guess the implication is that they deserved to die. In spite of that, the Israelites are now worried about how the remaining Benjamites will get wives, since they vowed not to give them their daughters as wives. Not to mention, all the Benjamite women have been killed...by the Israelites. The mind boggles.
*Somehow, the Israelites realized that no one from Jabesh Gilead had been represented at the assembly in Mizpah either. (Maybe they didn't get the memo.) So, the Israelites sent 12,000 armed men to Jabesh Gilead. Guess what they did. They slaughtered every living human, men, women, and children......except the virgin young women. They took them to the camp at Shiloh. (Wait a minute, I thought they were assembled at Mizpah. Or was it Bethel?) Why? To give them to the remaining Benjamites as wives! Problem solved. Well, almost.
*Next, the assembly sent a message of peace to the remaining Benjamites who were in hiding. The Benjamites returned and were given the young women of Jabesh Gilead as a consolation prize. How nice. (???) There was a problem, though. There were not enough young women to go around. Awkward. Everyone was sad for the Benjamites. The Benjamites needed heirs so that a tribe of Israel would not be wiped out. (And whose fault was that?) That pesky oath was preventing the Israelites from giving the Benjamites wives. They didn't want to be cursed for breaking the oath. That would not be good.
*Not to worry, they had a solution. They instructed the Benjamites who were still single to go to the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh. While there, they were to hide in the vinyards, waiting and watching for the girls of Shiloh to come out and join the dancing. Then, they were to rush out and seize a wife and take her back to the land of Benjamin. (Where have I heard a story like this before? ) When the fathers and brothers complained, they were asked to be kind and help out the Benjamites, because they didn't have wives after the war. Plus, technically, the oath was not broken, because they didn't give away the girls, they were taken. Then the Benjamites rebuilt their towns, and everyone else went home. The end.
Showing posts with label Shiloh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shiloh. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Judges chapter 20, part 1
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.
*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.
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, April 9, 2016
Joshua chapter 18
After reading chapter 18:
*The whole assembly of the Israelites, all 2 million of them (?), gathered at Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up. There Joshua assigned three men from each tribe that didn't have land yet to survey the land that hadn't been distributed yet and divide it into seven parts. After that, Joshua would cast lots in the presence of Yahweh to determine which tribe got which piece of land. Why couldn't Yahweh just tell him? Joshua appears to have given the tribes these instructions twice. The men did the survey and wrote the information down in a scroll. One wonders where they got the scroll from. It had to have been made of papyrus at the time. Apparently some of those nomadic tribesmen were educated in the art of writing while wandering in the desert. What language did they write in?
*Then Joshua cast lots to decide the distribution of the land. The rest of the chapter tells us about the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. It lay between the land of the tribes of Joseph and Judah. They got a total of 26 towns with their villages.
*The whole assembly of the Israelites, all 2 million of them (?), gathered at Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up. There Joshua assigned three men from each tribe that didn't have land yet to survey the land that hadn't been distributed yet and divide it into seven parts. After that, Joshua would cast lots in the presence of Yahweh to determine which tribe got which piece of land. Why couldn't Yahweh just tell him? Joshua appears to have given the tribes these instructions twice. The men did the survey and wrote the information down in a scroll. One wonders where they got the scroll from. It had to have been made of papyrus at the time. Apparently some of those nomadic tribesmen were educated in the art of writing while wandering in the desert. What language did they write in?
*Then Joshua cast lots to decide the distribution of the land. The rest of the chapter tells us about the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. It lay between the land of the tribes of Joseph and Judah. They got a total of 26 towns with their villages.
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