After reading chapter 3:
*The last chapter told us that Yahweh left some Canaanite nations unconquered to test the Israelites ability to follow his ways as their forefathers did, even though it is clear their forefathers clearly weren't that great at it. However, in this chapter, a parenthetical statement says that Yahweh's purpose for this test was only to teach the the Israelite descendants who were inexperienced in battle, a kind of on-the-job training. In the very next sentence, we are again told Yahweh was testing their obedience to Yahweh's commands given through Moses. Then we are given the names of some people groups who the Israelites fought and/or comingled with. It is a little confusing. Did they fight with the Canaanites and Hivites, or did they live with them and form family alliances?
*Apparently, in spite of the constant admonitions of obedience to Yahweh given to their ancestors, the Israelites completely forgot about Yahweh and served other gods. Yahweh became angry and "sold" them as subjects to the king of Aram Naharaim for 8 years. They cried out to Yahweh (I thought they had forgot him?) and he raised up Othniel, Caleb's younger brother. The spirit of Yahweh, which had last been manifested in Joshua, inhabited Othniel. So, this isn't even one whole generation later? Wow! They forgot Yahweh very quickly. Othniel went to war, which apparently is Yahweh's forte, and overpowered the king of Aram. Then the Israelites lived in peace for 40 years, that magical number, until Othniel died.
* Once again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. Then the King of Moab attacked Israel and made them his subjects for 18 years. The Israelites cried out to Yahweh and he made Ehud, the left handed man, their deliverer. Ehud had made a special sword and concealed it under his clothes. He went to deliver tribute to the king of Moab and told the king he had a secret message. The king sent everyone from the room and Ehud plunged his sword into the king's hugely fat belly. It went in so deep that even the handle was covered by the fat. After Ehud was gone, the servants found the room locked and thought the king was having a private bathroom moment. They waited a long time, then finally opened the door to find the king dead. Ehud escaped, gathered some Israelites, blocked the crossing of the Jordan, killed ten thousand Moabites, and made Moab subject to them. After that, there was peace for 80 years. (2x40)
*After Ehud came Shamgar, who killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Judges chapter 2
After reading chapter 2:
*The Angel of the lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. One might ask what the Angel of the lord was doing in Gilgal to begin with and why he needed to travel. One explanation is that it was a prophet giving the people a message from Yahweh, not a supernatural being. Bokim does not appear anywhere else in scripture and no one knows where it was supposedly to have been. It was named after this event, in which the "Angel of the lord" rebukes the Israelites for having been disobedient. Now, Yahweh will not help them drive out the natives. They will be thorns in their sides and their gods will be a snare. One also wonders how many Israelites actually heard this message, since they were now spread out over Canaan. The Israelites wept and offered sacrifices at Bokim to Yahweh. Some Commentaries say this must have actually been Shiloh, because that was the only approved place for sacrifices. ...but that's not what this passage says.
*It appears that we weren't given the back story for the above rebuke, so the rest of the chapter enlightens us. After Joshua sent the Israelites off, each to his own inheritance, the Israelites were obedient through Joshua's lifetime and through the lifetimes of the remaining elders who had seen the conquest of Canaan. After that generation died, there came a generation who apparently knew absolutely nothing about Yahweh and what he had done for them. Looks like the previous generations dropped the ball, or didn't care about Yahweh enough to pass the info down to their kids. (Or there was nothing to pass down or remember because none of it ever happened.) Then the Israelies served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Because of this Yahweh handed the Israelites over to their enemies who raided and plundered them. Seems like they never did become the strong ones subjugating the Canaanites to their will.
*Because the Israelites were distressed, Yahweh gave them judges who would save them from the raiders. They wouldn't listen to the judges and continued to worship other gods. Whenever there was a new judge, Yahweh would be with the judge and would save the Israelites from their enemies. But as soon as a judge would die, the Israelites would be back to their wicked ways, even worse than before. Yahweh became very angry and declared that he would no longer help the Israelites drive out the nations Joshua left when he died. Instead, he would use those nations as a test to see if the Israelites would be obedient after all. I thought Yahweh was supposed to be omnipotent, according to christianity? Hadn't he already known that all these events would happen? Doesn't he already know if the Israelites will pass his test?
This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book of Judges.
*The Angel of the lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. One might ask what the Angel of the lord was doing in Gilgal to begin with and why he needed to travel. One explanation is that it was a prophet giving the people a message from Yahweh, not a supernatural being. Bokim does not appear anywhere else in scripture and no one knows where it was supposedly to have been. It was named after this event, in which the "Angel of the lord" rebukes the Israelites for having been disobedient. Now, Yahweh will not help them drive out the natives. They will be thorns in their sides and their gods will be a snare. One also wonders how many Israelites actually heard this message, since they were now spread out over Canaan. The Israelites wept and offered sacrifices at Bokim to Yahweh. Some Commentaries say this must have actually been Shiloh, because that was the only approved place for sacrifices. ...but that's not what this passage says.
*It appears that we weren't given the back story for the above rebuke, so the rest of the chapter enlightens us. After Joshua sent the Israelites off, each to his own inheritance, the Israelites were obedient through Joshua's lifetime and through the lifetimes of the remaining elders who had seen the conquest of Canaan. After that generation died, there came a generation who apparently knew absolutely nothing about Yahweh and what he had done for them. Looks like the previous generations dropped the ball, or didn't care about Yahweh enough to pass the info down to their kids. (Or there was nothing to pass down or remember because none of it ever happened.) Then the Israelies served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Because of this Yahweh handed the Israelites over to their enemies who raided and plundered them. Seems like they never did become the strong ones subjugating the Canaanites to their will.
*Because the Israelites were distressed, Yahweh gave them judges who would save them from the raiders. They wouldn't listen to the judges and continued to worship other gods. Whenever there was a new judge, Yahweh would be with the judge and would save the Israelites from their enemies. But as soon as a judge would die, the Israelites would be back to their wicked ways, even worse than before. Yahweh became very angry and declared that he would no longer help the Israelites drive out the nations Joshua left when he died. Instead, he would use those nations as a test to see if the Israelites would be obedient after all. I thought Yahweh was supposed to be omnipotent, according to christianity? Hadn't he already known that all these events would happen? Doesn't he already know if the Israelites will pass his test?
This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book of Judges.
Friday, April 22, 2016
Judges chapter 1
After reading chapter 1:
*After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked Yahweh which tribe should continue the fighting. Yahweh chose the tribe of Judah. Who was Yahweh speaking through now? We are not told, but presumably it was the current high priest, Phineas. The men of Judah invited the Simeonites to accompany them. Together they killed ten thousand men. They captured the king of Bezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. The king viewed this as a kind of divine Karma, because he had done the same thing to 70 other kings.
*Next, they attacked Jerusalem, slaughtered its inhabitants, and burned the city to the ground. Then we are told they attacked Canaanites living in Hebron and Debir, which had already been totally conquered in Joshua chapter 10! We are also retold the story of Caleb's daughter marrying Othniel, the conqueror of Debir. We are also retold the story of her asking for land with springs of water from Joshua chapter 15. Only this time it all happens after the death of Joshua, not before!
*The Judahites and Simeonites, with the help of Yahweh, went on conquering Canaanites and took Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. (History says these Canaanite cities were actually conquered by the Philistines or the sea people.) They also took possession of the hill country, which appears redundant because Joshua is said to have done the same thing in Joshua chapter 11. Again, we are told they could not conquer the people of the plains because they had iron chariots. Foiled again, Yahweh!
*Caleb was given Hebron and drove three sons of Anak from it.The sons of Anak, or Anakim, are interesting fellows. They are considered to be Giants. Also, Numbers 13 says they are descendants of the Nephilim, introduced in Genesis 6. The big question is how did they survive the flood?
*The Benjaminites could not drive out the Jebusites. Manasseh could not drive out four tribes that were determined to live in that land. Ephraim could not completely drive out Canaanites living in Gezer. Zebulon could not drive out Canaanites living in Kitron nor Nahalol. Asher could not drive out 7 tribes of Canaanites living in "his" land, so he just had to live with them. Naphtali could not drive out two tribes. The Amorites confined the tribe of Dan to the hill country and wouldn't let them come down into the plain. Sounds like Yahweh's powers either waned or experienced limitations. It is quite clear that the Israelites did not completely control the land of Cannan, no matter how you look at it. Nevertheless, this chapter insists that the Israelite tribes grew stronger and eventually subjected these pesky leftover Canaanites to forced labor. Yeah, right.
*After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked Yahweh which tribe should continue the fighting. Yahweh chose the tribe of Judah. Who was Yahweh speaking through now? We are not told, but presumably it was the current high priest, Phineas. The men of Judah invited the Simeonites to accompany them. Together they killed ten thousand men. They captured the king of Bezek and cut off his thumbs and big toes. The king viewed this as a kind of divine Karma, because he had done the same thing to 70 other kings.
*Next, they attacked Jerusalem, slaughtered its inhabitants, and burned the city to the ground. Then we are told they attacked Canaanites living in Hebron and Debir, which had already been totally conquered in Joshua chapter 10! We are also retold the story of Caleb's daughter marrying Othniel, the conqueror of Debir. We are also retold the story of her asking for land with springs of water from Joshua chapter 15. Only this time it all happens after the death of Joshua, not before!
*The Judahites and Simeonites, with the help of Yahweh, went on conquering Canaanites and took Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. (History says these Canaanite cities were actually conquered by the Philistines or the sea people.) They also took possession of the hill country, which appears redundant because Joshua is said to have done the same thing in Joshua chapter 11. Again, we are told they could not conquer the people of the plains because they had iron chariots. Foiled again, Yahweh!
*Caleb was given Hebron and drove three sons of Anak from it.The sons of Anak, or Anakim, are interesting fellows. They are considered to be Giants. Also, Numbers 13 says they are descendants of the Nephilim, introduced in Genesis 6. The big question is how did they survive the flood?
*The Benjaminites could not drive out the Jebusites. Manasseh could not drive out four tribes that were determined to live in that land. Ephraim could not completely drive out Canaanites living in Gezer. Zebulon could not drive out Canaanites living in Kitron nor Nahalol. Asher could not drive out 7 tribes of Canaanites living in "his" land, so he just had to live with them. Naphtali could not drive out two tribes. The Amorites confined the tribe of Dan to the hill country and wouldn't let them come down into the plain. Sounds like Yahweh's powers either waned or experienced limitations. It is quite clear that the Israelites did not completely control the land of Cannan, no matter how you look at it. Nevertheless, this chapter insists that the Israelite tribes grew stronger and eventually subjected these pesky leftover Canaanites to forced labor. Yeah, right.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Introduction to Judges
Before we begin, please thoroughly read the Wikipedia article on the book of Judges. We are told that the material found in this book may be of the earliest origin, compared to other books of the bible. It was written after the start of the Israelite monarchy, but before the exile. The author/s are unknown. The theme is of Israel's cycle of obedience and disobedience to Yahweh, resulting in the blessings and cursings predicted in previous books.
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
Monday, April 18, 2016
Joshua chapter 24 Part 1
After reading chapter 24:
* Then Joshua assembled all the tribes at Shechem. Is this literal or figurative? Did ALL the Israelites really leave their new homes and journey to Shechem? Who minded the land when they were gone? I just keep thinking of the logistics of all these supposed gatherings of over 2 million nomads. Can you imagine the mess (in more ways than one) they left behind when they went back home? It would take years for an area to recover from something like that. Also, is this a separate assembly from the one in chapter 23?
*Now Joshua again talks to all the tribal elders on behalf of Yahweh. He basically gives them an ancestral history starting with Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, through to Moses and Aaron. He tells them that they saw with their own eyes what happened to the armies of Pharoah in the Red Sea. However, every one of the people he is talking to was younger than 20, or not born yet, during the exodus. I would venture a guess that only about half the people present could have been alive at the time of the exodus. All the adults from the exodus perished during the 40 year sojourn in the desert.
*Next, the Israelites are reminded of the battles on the east side of the Jordan, the crossing of the Jordan, and the battles with the nations on the west side of the Jordan. Yahweh claims that they didn't do it on their own with swords and bows, but that he sent his "hornet" ahead of them to drive the people out, whatever that means. He tells them that he is the one that gave them the land and good things that they are now enjoying, even though they did not work for them. Did you ever notice that Yahweh never hands out pats on the back? Except for favored individuals, and not always then, everyone is undeserving, no matter what they have done. It's the same story we are told today: "Whatever you have accomplished is only because God allowed you to accomplish it, without him you would be nothing. So be grateful."
*Now Joshua gives his famous ultimatum. They are to throw away the gods that their ancestors had worshipped in Egypt and worship Yahweh. (Wait a minute. Hadn't they already done that? Maybe not.)If they didn't want to worship Yahweh, they should choose that day who they will serve, the gods of Abraham's ancestors or the gods of the people of the land they were living in. (Did they really have a choice?)As for Joshua and his family, they would serve Yahweh. The people declared Yahweh was their God. Joshua declared them unable to serve Yahweh and doomed to destruction. The people protested that they were sincere. Joshua said okay, but get rid of all those other gods post haste. Apparently this monotheism stuff wasn't necessarily as popular with the Israelites as we might think. There was another covenant with laws drawn up and recorded in the book of the law. How many covenants does that make so far? Then Joshua set up a large stone under the oak near the holy place of Yahweh. (Apparently large trees were still associated with holy places, just as in Abraham's day.) The stone was to be a witness against the people if they went back on their promise to be true to Yahweh.
*Wait. Isn't the holy place of Yahweh now in Shiloh? Isn't that now supposed to be the only holy place of Yahweh? That's why the three eastern tribes were chewed out back in chapter 22. However, the beginning of this story say the Israelites were assembled in Shechem. In fact, that is where Abraham himself once built an altar to Yahweh near a great tree, back in Genesis chapter 12. That is also where Yahweh reiterated his covenant with Abraham. The descendants of Abraham appear to have come full circle. The authors just couldn't resist such a great literary device.
* Then Joshua assembled all the tribes at Shechem. Is this literal or figurative? Did ALL the Israelites really leave their new homes and journey to Shechem? Who minded the land when they were gone? I just keep thinking of the logistics of all these supposed gatherings of over 2 million nomads. Can you imagine the mess (in more ways than one) they left behind when they went back home? It would take years for an area to recover from something like that. Also, is this a separate assembly from the one in chapter 23?
*Now Joshua again talks to all the tribal elders on behalf of Yahweh. He basically gives them an ancestral history starting with Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, through to Moses and Aaron. He tells them that they saw with their own eyes what happened to the armies of Pharoah in the Red Sea. However, every one of the people he is talking to was younger than 20, or not born yet, during the exodus. I would venture a guess that only about half the people present could have been alive at the time of the exodus. All the adults from the exodus perished during the 40 year sojourn in the desert.
*Next, the Israelites are reminded of the battles on the east side of the Jordan, the crossing of the Jordan, and the battles with the nations on the west side of the Jordan. Yahweh claims that they didn't do it on their own with swords and bows, but that he sent his "hornet" ahead of them to drive the people out, whatever that means. He tells them that he is the one that gave them the land and good things that they are now enjoying, even though they did not work for them. Did you ever notice that Yahweh never hands out pats on the back? Except for favored individuals, and not always then, everyone is undeserving, no matter what they have done. It's the same story we are told today: "Whatever you have accomplished is only because God allowed you to accomplish it, without him you would be nothing. So be grateful."
*Now Joshua gives his famous ultimatum. They are to throw away the gods that their ancestors had worshipped in Egypt and worship Yahweh. (Wait a minute. Hadn't they already done that? Maybe not.)If they didn't want to worship Yahweh, they should choose that day who they will serve, the gods of Abraham's ancestors or the gods of the people of the land they were living in. (Did they really have a choice?)As for Joshua and his family, they would serve Yahweh. The people declared Yahweh was their God. Joshua declared them unable to serve Yahweh and doomed to destruction. The people protested that they were sincere. Joshua said okay, but get rid of all those other gods post haste. Apparently this monotheism stuff wasn't necessarily as popular with the Israelites as we might think. There was another covenant with laws drawn up and recorded in the book of the law. How many covenants does that make so far? Then Joshua set up a large stone under the oak near the holy place of Yahweh. (Apparently large trees were still associated with holy places, just as in Abraham's day.) The stone was to be a witness against the people if they went back on their promise to be true to Yahweh.
*Wait. Isn't the holy place of Yahweh now in Shiloh? Isn't that now supposed to be the only holy place of Yahweh? That's why the three eastern tribes were chewed out back in chapter 22. However, the beginning of this story say the Israelites were assembled in Shechem. In fact, that is where Abraham himself once built an altar to Yahweh near a great tree, back in Genesis chapter 12. That is also where Yahweh reiterated his covenant with Abraham. The descendants of Abraham appear to have come full circle. The authors just couldn't resist such a great literary device.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Joshua chapter 23
After reading chapter 23:
*Joshua is now an old man. The Israelites rested from wars. He gathers the leaders of the tribes to give them a pep talk. He tells them to remember how the land was allotted to each tribe. Then he tells them that with Yahweh's help they will conquer the remaining nations that still live in the land that was promised to the Israelites. Again they were told to remain obedient to the law of Moses, to not fraternize with the natives, and to not worship other gods. Dire consequences will ensue if they disobey. He tells them that all of Yahweh's promises have been fulfilled, but again, they better be careful to obey if they want to stay in the land. In spite of talk of fulfilled promises, it appears that the Israelites still do not have complete control over the promised land, only portions of it, if the story is to be believed.
*Joshua is now an old man. The Israelites rested from wars. He gathers the leaders of the tribes to give them a pep talk. He tells them to remember how the land was allotted to each tribe. Then he tells them that with Yahweh's help they will conquer the remaining nations that still live in the land that was promised to the Israelites. Again they were told to remain obedient to the law of Moses, to not fraternize with the natives, and to not worship other gods. Dire consequences will ensue if they disobey. He tells them that all of Yahweh's promises have been fulfilled, but again, they better be careful to obey if they want to stay in the land. In spite of talk of fulfilled promises, it appears that the Israelites still do not have complete control over the promised land, only portions of it, if the story is to be believed.
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