Bible in One Year Day 95 (Judges 19- 21, Psalm 148)

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Day 95:  The Sin of Benjamin 

Agape Bible Study 

Judges 19-21 

The accounts of the deplorable behavior of the Israelites and their Levitical religious leaders continues with the narrative of a Levite from one of the Levitical cities within the lands of the tribe of Ephraim and his concubine that will lead to civil war within the Promised Land. The conditions in Israel at the end of the era of the Judges puts the entire destiny of the chosen people in jeopardy, but God will not allow Satan and his influence to undo His divine plan for mankind's salvation, in which the nation of Israel has such a vital role.

Chapters 17-21 cover the third section of the Book of Judges: Israel's sins of immorality and civil war. This last section of the Book of Judges can be divided into three parts. We covered part one in last week's lesson. In this lesson, chapters 19-21 address:

The Sin of Immoral Conduct

• An Example of Personal Immorality (Judg 19:1-10)
• An Example of Tribal Immorality (Judg 19:11-30)

The Failure of Israel Through Disunity and Civil War

• War Between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin (Judg 20:1-48)
• Failure of Israel after the War (Judg 21:1-25)

The events in chapters 17-20 take place early in the era of the Judges when Aaron's grandson Phinehas was Israel's high priest (Judg 20:27-28). Phinehas succeeded to the high priesthood upon the death of his father, Eleazar son of Aaron, not long after the death of Joshua at the end of the first phase of the conquest of Canaan (Josh 24:33).

The events in chapters 19-21 probably take place during the end of the period. This last section begins with the statement that in those days there was no king in Israel to unify the people (19:1) and ends with the same statement coupled with the repeated statement that "everyone did as he saw fit" or literally "everyone did what was right in his eyes" (17:6 and 21:25.). 

Chapter 19: The Crime at Gibeah

Judges 19:1-10 ~ The Levite of Ephraim and his Concubine

The phrase: In those days, when there was no king in Israel, is repeated from 17:6 and will be repeated again in 21:25 at the very end of the Book of Judges narrative.

A concubine was purchased as property. There was no marriage covenant, there was no wedding feast, and there was no dowry to support her in the event her husband died. Concubinage was a common practice in the ancient Near East, and there were laws concerning concubines in many ancient law codes. However, in the Law of the Sinai Covenant, there is not a single mention of concubines and there are no laws for regulating the relationship between a man and a concubine. There are laws, however, that regulate protection for virgin daughters, for the inheritance of daughters, for the sexual violation of daughters, and the protection of wives. As Jesus made clear in His statement concerning marriage and divorce in Matthew 19:3-9, God intended marriage to be between one man and one woman (Gen 2:24). No story in the Bible concerning a concubine or plural marriage is presented in a favorable light.

It is significant that this Levite is from territory in Ephraim; it identifies him as a member of the clan of Kohath. The Levites from the clan of Kohath occupied ten towns in the territories of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Josh 21:5-6). One of these towns would have been the ancestral home of Jonathan, the Levite in the earlier narrative since, as a descendant of Moses, he was of the clan of Kohath (Ex 6:18, 20; Judg 17:7-13). The Levites who were the servants of the chief priests and the teachers of the Law are not presented in a favorable light in these last five chapters of the Book of Judges.

The narrator does not tell us why the concubine decided to leave her master other than she was angry/distressed (19:2). Some other versions of this text add that "she was unfaithful to him," but this is probably a scribal addition to reflect badly on the concubine and favorably on the Levite. Her possible reasons for leaving him and returning to her home in Bethlehem will become evident as we learn more about the character of the Levite. He does not attempt to reclaim his concubine for four months and then journeys with a servant and two donkeys to the home of her father.   Like the story of Samson, this narrative has the combination of threes and fours in the narrative.

Question: How long does the Levite stay with the girl's father?
Answer: He stays five days and four nights.

The girl's father seems to be enamored with the Levite, or perhaps he is just desperate for company. His favor does not seem to be extended to his daughter. The delay in leaving on the fifth day makes them late in starting out.   They are traveling north from Bethlehem, and when they have traveled the five miles toward Jerusalem (Jebus), it is growing dark.

Judges 19:11-21 ~ The Levite Spends the Night in the town of Gibeah

The Jebusites occupied the ancient city of Jerusalem and were the original Canaanite inhabitants. The city was allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, but they had been unable to drive out the original inhabitants (Judg 1:21). As the narrative progresses, it becomes ironic that the Levite refused to rest in the town belonging to Canaanites because he believed he would be safer in an Israelite town.

There were several towns named Gibeah in Israel. The Hebrew word gibeah means "hill" as opposed to mountain. There was a Gibeah in Judah (Josh 15:57) that was the hometown of Aaron's son and successor, the High Priest Eleazar. It was also the home town of his son and successor Phinehas, the high priest during this episode in Judges (Josh 24:33; Judg 20:27-28). The town named Gibeah in our story is in the territory of Benjamin.  The towns of Gibeah and Ramah mentioned in verse 13 were among the fourteen towns allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh 18:21-28). The town was located about five miles north of Jerusalem.  Ramah was about three miles beyond Gibeah and will be the home town of Israel's last Judge, the prophet-judge Samuel (1 Sam 7:17). You may recall that Deborah judged between Ramah and Bethel (Judg 4:5).

The town square was the common place for travelers to wait for a kind person to take them in for the night, but the Levite finds that no one will welcome him. It is a situation in contrast to his reception at Bethlehem and suggests there may be problems with the Benjaminite population of Gibeah.
Question: Who finally takes in the travelers?
Answer: A man from the tribe of Ephraim who is living as a resident alien in Gibeah.

The old man who finally takes them in probably feels a bond with the Levite since he is also from the highlands of Ephraim. He provides for the Levite's donkeys, even though the Levite has provisions for both the animals and his companions, and the old man gives them water to wash their feet. It was the common practice for travelers to wash their feet upon entering a dwelling (Gen 19:2; 1 Sam 25:41; 2 Sam 11:8; Jn 13:5).

Judges 19:22-25 ~ The Crime of the Rabble of Gibeah

Question: How is the crowd of men characterized in verse 22 and what is their demand?
Answer: They are described as native Gibeonites who are "scoundrels," or literally "worthless sons of men."  They demand to have sex with the Levite who is a stranger.

Question: What was God's law concerning homosexual acts? See Lev 18:22; 20:13.
Answer: Such acts of immorality were expressly condemned and the penalty for such acts committed by an Israelite was death.

The immoral practices of homosexuality and male and female prostitution were common among the Canaanites and were condemned and despised by God as an abomination (Gen 18:20-21; 19:5, 13; Lev 20:22-23).   Homosexual acts were also condemned under New Testament moral law (Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Pt 2:6-7; Jude 7). The Catechism of Pius X calls homosexuality a sin that "cries out to Heaven for vengeance, " and the universal Catholic Catechism states: "Basing itself on Sacred Scripture which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered" (CCC 2357, also see 2358-59).

Question: These events recall what similar event in the era of the Patriarchs when "worthless men" (same Hebrew word as in Judg 19:22) threatened strangers with homosexual rape? What are the similarities between the two events and what happened to the offending town and its men?   See Gen 19:1-11.
Answer: The event that reveals the moral depravity of the some of the men of the Benjaminite town of Gibeah recalls an event in the city of Sodom told in Genesis 19 where the moral depravity of the men of Sodom led to God's judgment in the total destruction of the city. The two events are strikingly similar:

Genesis Chapter 19:1-8	Judges Chapter 19:11-24
The travelers reach Sodom in the evening (Gen 19:1a).	The travelers reach Gibeah in the evening (Judg 19:11).
Lot invites the strangers to stay in his home for the night (Gen 19:1b-3).	A man invites the travelers to stay in his home for the night (Judg 19:20-21).
They wash their feet upon entering Lot's house and have a meal (Gen 19:2).	They wash their feet upon entering the man's house and have a meal (Judg 19:21b).
A crowd of "worthless men" demand to have sex with the guests in Lot's house: Send out the men who went into your house that we may know them (Gen 19:4-5).*	A crowd of "worthless men" demand to have sex with the guest in the man's house: Send out the man who went into your house that we may know him (Judg 19:22).*
Lot tries to dissuade them (Gen 19:6-7).	The man tries to dissuade them (Judg 19:23).
Lot offers his virgin daughters instead, placing the obligation of hospitality over the protection of his virgin daughters (Gen 19:8).	The man offers his virgin daughter instead, placing the obligation of hospitality over the protection of his virgin daughter (Judg 19:24).

*The words Send out the man who went into your house that we may know him in the literal Hebrew text of Judges 19:22b is exactly the same wording as in Genesis 19:5b except "man" is in the plural.

The inspired writer intends for us to compare the event at Gibeah with the event that occurred at Sodom centuries earlier and to understand the moral implications for the Levite, his host, and the city of Gibeah.

Question: What does the comparison to the events at Sodom demonstrate for this episode?
Answer: This episode demonstrates the gross misunderstanding among the unfaithful Israelites of what is considered moral conduct. They are behaving like the Canaanites just as God warned they would.   The Israelite who is the host is so morally bankrupt that he cannot discern the difference between the obligations of hospitality and the obligation of a father to protect the lives of innocent women under his roof! He behaves like Lot when faced with the same crisis in Genesis 19:4-8. However, in that episode, the angels, who were guests in Lot's house, protected his daughters and intervened to prevent Lot's sin in sacrificing them for the sake of a misdirected sense of the obligation of hospitality (Gen 19:10-11).

Question: In what earlier episode in the Book of Judges did a man sacrifice his daughter because of a perverted sense of morality? 
Answer: This is the second time in Judges that a virgin daughter has been sacrificed to a father's perverted sense of moral obligation. The Judge Jephthah sacrificed his daughter in order to keep an unholy vow that was in essence a bribe for God to give him victory.

The Levite is no better. He is supposed to be a teacher of God's laws and a protector of the innocent.
Question: What does the Levite do and why?
Answer: He pushes the concubine out the door into the hands of the mob. He is a coward trying to preserve his own life, and he is therefore willing to forfeit the life of his concubine to whom he has the obligation of protection. He purchased her as "property" and he treats her like property that can be used to his advantage and discarded when no longer useful.

Both men have broken the commandment against becoming an accomplice in the death or possible death of an innocent person (Ex 23:6; Dt 16:20). The woman in effect became a bribe to save the Levite's life in violation of the law (Ex 23:8; Dt 27:25). Instead of fearing the mob, both men should have feared God and His judgment in cursing them for their moral failure (Dt 27:26).

Question: The inspired writer spares us the graphic details but uses what three verbs in quick succession to describe the horror?
Answer: They "knew" her, they "abused" her, and they "discarded" her.

Judges 19:26-30 ~ The Levite Seeks Revenge

The Levite was prepared to leave in the morning as though nothing has happened. It does not appear that he intended to leave with the concubine until he saw her on the threshold. Notice that twice in this passage the Levite is referred to as her "lord" (adoneyha). In the beginning of the narrative the Levite was "her man" but now he is "her lord" and "the man."   There is nothing personal about the relationship. He was no true "man/husband" to the woman.

Question: How does the inspired writer define the Levite's relationship with the girl now?
Answer: His relationship with her is defined in terms or rule and power, using the word "lord" twice. She is his property and nothing more.

Question: What is his attitude when he sees her and what additional information does his behavior tell us about his character?
Answer: His is completely callous concerning her condition. He is not only a coward but a heartless man. We now understand why she left him.

Question: What does he do with the concubine when he reaches his destination?
Answer: He cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends one piece to each of the tribes of Israel.

The question that remains unanswered is: did the violence of the gang rape kill her, or did the Levite kill her? The narrator does not say that she died on the threshold of the house or on the journey. In addition, the Levite would have considered her so "unclean" as to never have intimate relations with her again; therefore she had no value in his eyes. We must accept the possibility that it was the Levite who killed the concubine, and he has desecrated her body (compare with Adoni-Bezek's death in 1:8; Othniel in 3:11; King Eglon in 3:25; Sisera in 4:22; Gideon in 8:32; Abimelech in 9:55; etc). The story of Judges has come full circle: the violence in Judges began with the mutilation of King Adoni-Bezek (Judg 1:5-6) and now the events surrounding the mutilation of the body of an Israelite girl will conclude the violence in the Book of Judges. In sending the girl's body in parts to the twelve tribes of Israel with his message, the Levite is calling the tribes to a National Assembly with the intention of receiving a judicial verdict to punish the Benjaminites of Gibeah.

Chapter 20: Civil War

Judges 20:1-11 ~ The Israelites Vow to Avenge the Crime at Gibeah

Question: Did all twelve tribes answer the summons to a national assembly?
Answer: Apparently all the tribes with the exception of Benjamin sent representatives to the National Assembly at Mizpah.

All the tribes respond except Benjamin who only "hears" about the call to assemble. Their failure to attend is the beginning of their separation from Israel. 

The tribes assemble at Mizpah ("watchtower"). There were several sites that bore this name: Mizpah of Judah, Mizpah of Gilead, Mizpah of Gad, the land of Mizpah, and Mizpah of Moab for example. They are probably meeting at Mizpah in Judah (Josh 15:38). It will also be the site of future National Assemblies in 1 Samuel 7:5-15 and 10:17.

Question: When questioned by the tribal representative, how does the Levite "spin" his story?
Answer: He tells the basic story but omits that the men sought to have sex with them, that he gave his concubine over to the crowd to save his own life, and he says that it was all the men of Gibeah who threatened him and not just "worthless sons of men" of the town. He says she "died" (which the narrator did not include), but then says that "he took/seized his concubine and cut her up" instead of saying he cut up her corpse or lifeless body.

Question: What plans do the Israelites make for the coming battle?
Answer: The Israelites decide that ten percent of the assembled troops are to provide logistical support for the warriors while the rest will go into battle to punish the sin of the Benjaminites of Gibeah.

Judges 20:12-13 ~ The Refusal of the Benjaminites to Punish Gibeah

Question: Why did the Benjaminites refuse to listen to their brother Israelites?
Answer: Benjaminites had a misdirected greater allegiance to their kinsmen at Gibeah despite their crimes than to either the Law of Yahweh or to their Israelite kinsmen as a whole.

According to the Law, the death penalty required the testimony of two or more witnesses (see Num 35:30; Dt 17:6-7; 19:1), but perhaps the ruling council of the Assembly questioned the Levite's servant. There is no mention of an attempt to save the old man who was the Levite's host; his life was obviously not important to the Levite. Like Abimelech, the Levite is an anti-judge whose actions almost destroy Israel instead of saving Israel. The call to action is not only a National Assembly and a judicial hearing but a military muster and a call to war that will divide the tribes of Israel.

The War Against the Tribe of Benjamin

Judges 20:14-25 ~ The First Two Engagements Against Benjamin at Gibeah

Verse 16 is another mention of the left-handedness of the Benjaminites (see Judg 3:15) and a comment on their military expertise. For the third time, the Israelites again assemble at the Sanctuary at Bethel, and for the second time they consult Yahweh (Judg 1:1; 2:1). 

Question: Which tribe is selected by Yahweh to be the vanguard of the attack?
Answer: The tribe of Judah is selected out of the tribes to be the vanguard of the attack.

Since the rendezvous with Yahweh at Mt. Sinai, the tribe of Judah, the largest of the twelve tribes, has been regularly singled out to have a prominent role. The tribe of Judah led the march in the forty years spent in the wilderness, and they were chosen by Yahweh to renew the conquest in chapter one (see Judg 1:2; also see Num 2:5-4; 7:11; 10:13-14).  King David, his descendants who are the Davidic kings of Judah, his descendants Joseph and Mary of Nazareth, and Mary's son Jesus are all from the tribe of Judah.

Twice the Israelite forces attack the Benjaminites and are soundly defeated. Twice they inquired of Yahweh through His High Priest Phinehas and are told to engage in battle.⁽³⁾
Question: Why is it that God gives no other directions for the attack or the promise of victory as He provided for Moses and Joshua in their battles?
Answer: Perhaps it is because in the previous attempts to consult Yahweh they offered no sin sacrifices to prepare themselves as holy warriors.

Judges 20:26-28 ~ Yahweh Promises Israel Victory Over the Benjaminites

Judges 20:29-48 ~ The Defeat of the Tribe of Benjamin

The story is told in such amazing detail that the inspired writer may have heard the account from an eyewitness to the events or had access to an account written down by one of the Israelite warriors that was passed down in his family.

Here is another of the "threes" that are so prominent in the Book of Judges (i.e., the three sons of Anak, , the three hundred men in the Gibeon narrative, the three Danite cities named in the Samson narrative, the series of threes as in the three unsuccessful attempts of Samson's wife to learn his riddle, Samson's three hundred foxes/jackals, Delilah's three unsuccessful attempts to learn the secret of Samson's strength, the three thousand Philistines killed in Samson's last defiant act, and the first three days the Levite stayed in Bethlehem just to name some of the threes and not including the threes in fighting men (thousands or units).

Baal-Tamar ("lord of the palm/lord of palms") in verse 33 was the staging area for the assault on Gibeah. The inspired writer does not say that the ambush strategy was Yahweh's, but since the success was promised by Yahweh and the Israelites acknowledge God achieved their victory, it is likely that the plan was told to them as it was as in the way Yahweh gave the strategy for the battle to Joshua at Jericho and Ai. In fact, the ambush strategy is very like the strategy Yahweh gave them at Ai (Josh 8:1-8, 18-25).

In the war against Benjamin, the other tribes put the towns of the Benjaminites under the ban of herem, the "curse/judgment of destruction" (total destruction in the death of every living thing). It was a curse of destruction that was only supposed to be applied against the Canaanites living in the Promised Land, but herem has been wrongly applied to Israelites own kinsmen and kinswomen (see herem applied to Jericho in Josh 6:17-21).

Condemning Gibeah was one thing. The "worthless sons of men" of the town were guilty of murder and the people shared in that guilt for protecting the guilty. However putting all the citizen of Gibeah under the ban of herem as well as the other towns in the territory of Benjamin was an act of barbarism.

Only six hundred men survived from the tribe of Benjamin.   The Rock of Rimmon was evidently an easily defensible height in the wilderness to the southeast. Gideon is an unknown site.

At this point in the era of the Judges they have suffered about a 30 percent decline in the population of fighting men.  This is a direct result of Israel's covenant failures. Yahweh promised Israel blessings for covenant obedience including numerous children and the health of the population (Lev 26:9; Dt 28:1-8). 

Chapter 21: The Israelites' Grief for Benjamin

 

Chapter 21:1-7 ~ The Tribes Vow to Refused to Give their Daughters as Wives to Benjamin

After their victory the warriors returned to the Sanctuary at Bethel. Bethel had special significance for the Israelites. It was at Bethel that Jacob (the grandson of Abraham) had his dream-vision of angels ascending and descending and received a revelation of Yahweh. God revealed Himself to Jacob and promised to continue the covenant He made with Abraham through him, repeating two of those covenant promises: to greatly increase the numbers of his descendants and to give them the land of Canaan (Gen 28:10-18).

Chapter 21:8-14 ~ The Abduction of the Daughters of Jabesh in Gilead

Question: Without breaking their vow, how did they decide they could find wives for the surviving Benjaminites? What does this decision imply?
Answer: They decide to put the town of Jabesh in Gilead under the ban of herem and to only spare the virgins who they will give to the Benjaminite bachelors. This is another indication that an immoral people are incapable of making moral decisions. The people of Jabesh-Gilead were not summoned to present their defense.

Jabesh-Gilead was about 22 miles south of the Sea of Galilee, and one mile east of the Jordan River. The Israelites reason if they were justified in putting to death the Benjaminites who sided with the town of Gibeah, then all who aligned themselves with the Bemjaminites must also be subject to the same punishment. This reasoning works to their advantage in their present dilemma because they will be able to secure virgins as brides for the Benjaminites. The inspired writer makes his readers fully aware of the contrast between the Israelite's compassion for the Benjaminite men and their hard-heartedness concerning the Israelites of Jabesh-Gilead on the east side of the Jordan River. They go forward in shedding even more Israelite blood and we, the readers, are fully aware of the casuistry and moral blindness of the Israelites as they go from bad to worse.

Chapter 21:15-24 ~ The Abduction and Rape of the Daughters of Shiloh
1

Notice that again the inspired writer indicates that the Israelites held Yahweh responsible for the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin. The festival at Shiloh was probably originally a Canaanite harvest festival (see 9:27) that was adopted by the Israelites living in the region.   Once again, the Israelites seek to ease their consciences in the decimation of the tribe of Benjamin by breaking the law in illegally securing brides for the unmarried men of Benjamin.

Question: In the rape of the daughters of Shiloh, what law of the covenant was all of Israel implicated in breaking? 
Answer: Virgins were protected under the law. If the Benjaminites took a virgin who was betrothed, the penalty should have been death. If they took a virgin who was not betrothed, the law stated that the man could never divorce her and he must pay her father double the bride price, but they father also had the right of refusal to a marriage.

Having successfully arranged the rape of the virgins of Shiloh, the other tribes and their elders are satisfied that they have done all they can to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, and they return to their ancestral lands.

The statement that "everyone did what was right in his eyes" (literal translation) closes the history of the Judges of Israel. It is the summary statement of the failure of Israel in this period of salvation history:

• In the beginning of the Book of Judges, Israel does "what is evil in the eyes of Yahweh" (Judg 2:11).
• The statement is repeated seven times in Chapters 3-16.
• Samson does what is "right in his eyes" (Judg 14:4).
• In the days of the Judges every man was doing "what was right in his own eyes" (Judg 17:6).
• The "worthless men" of Gibeah do "what is good" in their "own eyes" (Judg 19:24).
• The book concludes with everyone doing what is "right in his own eyes" (Judg 21:25).

In doing what each man saw was "right in his eyes", the Israelites are in direct violation of their covenant obligation to act as God commanded: Faithfully keep and obey all these orders which I am giving you, so that you and your children after you may prosper for ever, doing what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God (Dt 12:28; also see Dt 12:25; 13:19/18, underlining added). 

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A Daily Defense

DAY 95 The Judgment of Jeconiah 

CHALLENGE: “Jesus is disqualified from being the Messiah since he descends from the last king of Judah, Jeconiah (Matt. 1:12). God judged Jeconiah so that ‘none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David, and ruling again in Judah’ (Jer. 22:30).” 

DEFENSE: There are multiple flaws with this argument. Here are several. 

First, Jesus was not descended from David only by the line of Jeconiah. He was also descended through the line of Nathan (Luke 3:31; see Day 85). It may have been questions among some Jews about whether a descendant of only Jeconiah could be the Messiah that prompted Jesus’ family to preserve the memory of the Nathan line. The presence of both genealogies in Scripture shows that, regardless where a Jew fell on the Jeconiah question, Jesus had a qualified lineage either way. 

Second, the prophecy need mean no more than Jeconiah’s immediate sons wouldn’t be kings because the Babylonian Exile would go on for too long (cf. Jer. 22:25–28). 

Third, one of Jeconiah’s grandsons—Zerubbabel—received ruling authority in Judah, being made its governor (Hag. 1:1). (On Zerubbabel’s lineage, see 1 Chron. 3:17–19; there may be a levirate marriage involved since Zerubbabel’s father is usually said to be Shealtiel, though here he is said to be son of Pediah; both were sons of Jeconiah, and thus Zerubbabel was his grandson). 

Fourth, the language used concerning Zerubbabel suggests a reversal of God’s judgment. God told Jeconiah, though you “were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off” (Jer. 22:24), but he told Zerubbabel he will “make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:23). 

The image of making one of Jeconiah’s descendants again like a signet ring suggests a restoration of the family to divine favor. 

Fifth, multiple Jewish sources indicate Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin) repented and the curse was lifted.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist

Bible in One Year Day 94 (Judges 16 -18, Psalm 147)

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Day 94: Samson and Delilah 

Agape Bible Study 

Judges 16 - 18 

Chapter 16: The Conclusion of the Samson Narrative

Chapter 16 is divided into 3 parts:

1. Samson's adventure at Gaza (16:1-3)
2. The story of Samson and Delilah (16:4-22)
3. Samson's revenge and victory in death (16:23-31)

Notice that the word "woman" (issa) continues to be a key theme word in the narrative of Samson.

Judges 16:1-3 ~ Samson's Adventure at Gaza

Samson is God's consecrated Nazirite and chosen deliverer-judge, but he is also a deeply flawed man who falls easily into temptations of the flesh. The Philistine city of Gaza is a walled city with a fortified defensive gate in which travelers and townspeople enter and exit the city. Samson goes to Gaza to keep a rendezvous with a harlot; he saw a prostitute woman (issa) in the literal text, perhaps sneaking into the town at night or he is so confident of his great strength that he doesn't care. 

The Philistines attempt to trap Samson by waiting for him at the town gate, the only way in and out of the town, but he breaks out of their trap by tearing down the town gate and supporting posts.

Tearing down the town gate and taking it with him is probably a message to the Philistines of Gaza that they have no power over him and he will come and go as he pleases. He has made the city of Gaza defenseless.

Question: What does Samson do with the gate to Gaza?
Answer: He takes it as a trophy of his victory and carries it to a hill across from the city of Hebron.

Carrying the town gate the forty miles to a hill across from Hebron is truly a Herculean feat.

This is Samson's third betrayal:

1. His wife in 14:17-18
2. The men of Judah in 15:9-13
3. The unknown informer 16:2

And this is his third victory over his Philistine enemies (14:19-20; 15:14-16 and 16:2-3).

Samson and Delilah (Jose Etxenagusia)

Samson and Delilah

Up to this point Philistine women have been the cause of Samson's misadventures, and yet he has escaped thanks to God's gift of super-human strength which is due to Samson keeping the secret of his Nazirite vow to not cut his hair. But the day is coming when a Philistine woman named Delilah will break his heart and cause him to break his vow, leaving him without his strength and in the hands of his enemies. 

The Philistines will not threaten Delilah like they threatened Samson's Philistine bride. This is a different sort of woman. Her betrayal will be strictly a business opportunity and she will try unsuccessfully to collect her promised reward three times before she is successful on the fourth attempt. Notice the repetition of threes and sevens in the narrative. They are two of the "perfect" numbers. Three symbolizes perfection and is often used to show the perfection of God's divine plan while seven is the number of the perfection of fulfillment or completion. See the document "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture."

Judges 16:4-9 ~ Delilah's First Attempt at Betrayal

Question: What is different about Samson's interest in the woman Delilah?
Answer: Samson's interest in Delilah is more than the lust he felt for his Philistine bride or the harlot of Gaza. He loves Delilah.

Delilah lived in the Vale of Sorek, a valley that formed a natural access corridor between the coastal plain controlled by the Philistines and Israelite territory to the east. The villages of Zorah and Eshtaol and the "camp of Dan" are just north of the valley of Sorek. The city of Timnah (where Samson married his Philistine bride) and Ekron, the northernmost of the five Philistine cities, are just south of the valley. Samson is literally and metaphorically standing between two worlds and as in this first affair with a Philistine woman (14:1) he has traveled "down" from the camp of Dan to visit Delilah in the Valley of Sorek. Some commentators accuse Delilah of being a prostitute, but that word is not used to describe her in the Hebrew text. Delilah is his mistress whereas the other two women were a wife and a harlot. If there is to be a profession associated with her it may be that of a professional weaver since there was a large loom in her home (16:13-14).

The Philistines probably remained hidden because there is no mention of a fight. This is why Delilah successfully convinces him to reveal his secret three times before she is successful. There is no sign of treachery. The Philistines will not come out of their hiding place until Samson is completely neutralized in verse 21.

Judges 16:10-12 ~ Delilah's Second Attempt at Betrayal

She tries again to bind Samson but again he breaks his bonds.
Question: What is repeated from the first incident?
Answer: His reply that he "should lose my strength and become like any other man" (16:8 and 11) and Delilah's warning words "the Philistines are on you, Samson" (16:9 and 12).

Judges 16:13-14 ~ Delilah's Third Attempt at Betrayal

Delilah lulled Samson to sleep, perhaps with a song or by stroking his head on her lap (see verse 19), and then she wove his seven locks of hair into the textile on her loom that she was already weaving. It must have been a large loom that was bolted to the floor. She wove his hair into the "wrap" of parallel strands of the textile and pushed the hair with the shuttle tightly against the previous rows of fibers, but once again he broke free.

Judges 16:15-22 ~ Delilah Betrays Samson

Perhaps the Philistines are growing restless and so Delilah becomes more persistent in nagging Samson until "his heart grew sick" of it. The expression "his heart grew sick" is the same as in Judges 10:16 when Yahweh's "heart grew sick" because he could not bear to hear Israel's cry of suffering any longer. Samson cannot bear to have his beloved accuse him of not loving her by his refusal to reveal his innermost secret.

Question: Where has Samson heard the same charge that in withholding a secret he is withholding his love? What should he have remembered and what does this tell us about him?
Answer: It is the same accusation his bride made against him in 14:16. He should have remembered how revealing a secret turned out the last time. Clearly he is a man who does not learn from his mistakes.

This is the fourth time Samson has repeated the phrase "like any other man." Is this perhaps his real longing to just live with Delilah "like any other man"? Is he worn out by his life as Israel's deliverer and is this a contributing factor to Samson revealing his secret? It could also be that he really doesn't believe he will lose his strength. After all, he has never tested it before. All Nazirites kept their long hair as a sign of their Nazirite vow, but none of them had his super-human strength. This time her intuition tells her that he has revealed the truth of his strength and she is so confident of this that she demands her payment from the Philistines.

This woman is so cold hearted that she lulls Samson to sleep with his head on her lap like a child. When he is asleep she motions for a Philistine to bring her a razor and she shaves the seven locks of hair from Samson's head herself. 

Question: Why did Samson lose his strength? Did his hair provide some kind of magical power?

Answer: No. His strength came entirely from Yahweh, but his uncut hair was the sign of his Nazirite vow and his commitment to Yahweh as God's special Nazirite-deliverer-judge of Israel. It was when Yahweh's Spirit left him that his strength left him.

Question: What is ironic concerning the torture in gouging out Samson's eyes? There are three points of irony concerning his sight and his blindness.
Answer:

1. When he was supposed to begin his career as a deliverer he was misdirected from his mission when he "saw" a Philistine woman and exclaimed that she was "right in his eyes." Later he "saw" the prostitute of Gaza. Now he has lost the sight that continually led him into sin and away from God.
2. Samson in his blindness has become like what he did to gateless Gaza: he has become violated and defenseless.
3. Samson's love for Delilah figuratively "blinded" him to his danger, and now he has been literally blinded by her betrayal.

Question: What are at least two other points of irony concerning Samson's fate?
Answer:

1. Samson being taken "down" to Gaza by the Philistines (16:21) is the climax of his continual "going down" to the women of Philistia that began the Samson adult narrative in 14:1 (also see 14:5).
2. It is exactly as he predicted four times in that he is "like every other man" and no longer has superhuman strength.

This is Samson's fourth betrayal:

1. Betrayed by his Philistine bride (Judg 14:17)
2. Betrayed by the men of Judah (Judg 15:12)
3. Betrayed by the unknown person of Gaza (Judg 16:2)
4. Betrayed by Delilah, the woman he loved (Judges 16:2-3)

Samson in the Treadmill (Carl Bloch)

The mutilation of prisoners of war was common in the ancient Near East (i.e., Judg 1:6-7; 1 Sam 11:2), and blinding was a common form of punishment for a rebellious vassal (i.e., 2 Kng 25:7). The Philistines considered themselves to be the overlords of the Israelites and Samson has been a rebellious vassal for twenty years. To further humiliate him, the Philistines made him a slave in the grinding mill at Gaza. Grinding houses were places where slaves would grind grain for their masters. In such public mills, large mill stones were turned by an animal or by slave labor to grind grain into meal.

Question: But this episode ends in what note of hope?
Answer: Samson's hair began to grow back.

Judges 16:23-31 ~ Samson's Victory in Death

The Philistines attribute their victory over Samson to their god Dagon. They are wrong, of course.
Question: Why are they wrong?
Answer: They were not victorious over Samson because their god gave Samson into their hands but because Yahweh's Spirit had left Samson.

Dagon was an ancient Semitic fertility deity worshipped in northern Mesopotamia, in Syria and along the Mediterranean coast. The Philistines adopted Dagon as their principal deity when they settled in their cities along the Mediterranean coast. T

While celebrating what was probably a harvest festival to Dagon, the people want to gloat over their victory in conquering their greatest enemy, Samson. He is brought from the grain house to amuse the crowd. Even though he has been deprived of his superhuman strength, he is still strong enough to perform feats of strength to entertain the crowd. In his blindness, they do not perceive him to be a threat.

Question: During a lull in the celebration, what two requests will Samson make?
Answer: He asks the lad who is assigned to guide him to take him to the two central pillars of the temple, and he petitions God to give him great strength one last time.

Only limited excavations have been undertaken at Gaza which is now under the control of the Palestinian authority. However, at Tel Qasile a Philistine temple has been discovered where the roof of the building was supported by two central columns only seven feet apart, very similar to the description of the temple in this passage. The temple complex where Samson was taken was probably surrounded by an open court and had a flat roof or terrace on which a large number of people could gather for festivals. When God granted Samson's petition and returned his great strength, Samson pushed what were probably wooden pillars off their stone bases and the entire temple was demolished.

Question: What is the irony of Samson's victory?
Answer: In Samson's final victory, he killed more of his Philistine enemies in death than in life.

Samson's kinsmen from the tribe of Dan and his father's household (slaves and retainers) brought Samson's body back to bury him in the tomb of his father which was located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. It was where Samson's story began and where God's Spirit first stirred Samson to take up his destiny as Israel's judge-deliverer (13:2, 25). The narrative ends with the type of formula statement used for the minor judges, indicating that there was no real "peace" in his twenty years of judgeship.

Question: What is the final irony concerning the first and last woman in Samson's life?
Answer: The first woman was his mother who truly loved him. She kept the secret of his strength even from his father, and tried to help him observe the restrictions of his Nazirite vow. It was a love he did not appreciate and did not honor. He only saw her love and the love of his father as interference in his life and he rebelled. The last woman in his life was Delilah. She was a woman he loved but he was too blind to recognize the difference between genuine love and false love. Delilah, the woman he loved, betrayed his secret for money.

Delilah is the last "named" woman in the Book of Judges along with Achsah, Deborah, and Jael.
Question: What do these women have in common? How are they different?
Answer: All these women think and act for themselves; they shape their own destinies through their courageous actions. The first three women take action that will benefit their family or the people of Israel as a whole, while Delilah acts only out of her own self-interest.

"everyone did as he saw fit" or literally "everyone did what was right in his eyes" (17:6 and 21:25.). 

Part III: Israel's Cycle of Depravity in Sinning like the Canaanites

Chapter 16 is the end of the history of the leadership provided by Israel's twelve Judge-Deliverers. Chapters 17-21 provide a summary of the conditions in Israel during this period by providing examples of the failure of the Israelites in sinning like the Canaanites both as individuals and as members of the unified covenant people. In terms of chronology, the events in chapters 17-18 are set at the beginning of the Age of the Judges (see 17:6 and 18:30), but is placed at the end of the book to emphasize that the people did not heed God's warning in the covenant lawsuit delivered by the messenger of Yahweh at the beginning of the Age of the Judges in 2:1-5 and the summary of the peoples failures in 2:6-19. 

The events in chapters 19-21 probably take place during the end of the period. This last section begins with the statement that in those days there was no king in Israel to unify the people (19:1) and ends with the same statement coupled with the repeated statement that "everyone did as he saw fit" or literally "everyone did what was right in his eyes" (17:6 and 21:25.). 

Chapters 17-21 can be divided into three parts:
Results of Israel's Spiritual and Moral Decay in Sinning like the Canaanites

Part I: The Sin of Idolatry

• An Example of Personal Idolatry (Judg 17:1-13)
• An Example of Tribal Idolatry (Judg 18:1-31)

Part II: The Sin of Immoral Conduct

• An Example of Personal Immorality (Judg 19:1-10)
• An Example of Tribal Immorality (Judg 19:11-30)

Part III: The Failure of Israel Through Disunity and Civil War

• War Between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin (Judg 20:1-48)
• Failure of Israel After the War (Judg 21:1-25)

Micah and the Danites (Johann Christoph Weigel) 

Chapter 17: Micayehu's Forbidden Shrine

The subject of chapter 17 is one man's sin of apostasy in erecting a personal shrine and installing idols to rival God's one Sanctuary as well as establishing his own priest to rival the chief priests of the hereditary priesthood of Aaron. 

Chapter 18 covers the migration of the tribe of Dan to the northern region of Israel where they founded the illicit sanctuary of Dan and their own idols representing Yahweh served by an illegal priesthood. The events recorded probably took place prior to Samson's judgeship and perhaps during the judgeship of Deborah and the war with the northern Canaanite king when the tribe of Dan is mentioned with the northern tribe of Asher in not coming to aid in Barak's battle against the Canaanite king Jabin (Judg 5:17). After Deborah and Barak conquered the major Canaanite presence in the north, it would have been safe for the majority of the tribe of Dan to finish their migration. It would also account for why the Philistines went to the men of Judah to arrest Samson as well as why Samson was not able to muster a force of Danites to go to war against the Philistines and was forced to wage a one-man war. The episodes in chapters 17 and 18 are linked by the sin of idolatry.

Judges 17:1-6 ~ Micayehu's Double Sin

The highlands of Ephraim are the central hill country immediately north of Jerusalem. This episode concerns the wealthy Ephraimite family of a man named Micayehu and his mother. The son is also called Micah in the story; it is the short form of the name Micayehu, which means "who is like Yahweh." The name itself is ironic since this man is certainly not "like Yahweh."

At first this appears to be the story of a domestic dispute that is peacefully resolved:

1. Eleven hundred pieces of sliver are stolen from Micah's mother.
2. She utters a curse on the person who took it, not knowing it was her son.
3. Micah hears his mother utter the curse and is fearful.
4. He confesses his sin to his mother and promises to return the silver.
5. On hearing his confession, his mother blesses Micah in the name of Yahweh.
6. Micah returns the money to his mother.
7. His mother tells him she had consecrated the money to Yahweh to be made into an idol for her son before it was stolen.
8. She takes two hundred pieces of silver of the eleven hundred pieces to a silversmith to make an idol for her son.
9. Micah established the idol and other cult objects in a shrine in his house and appointed his son to be the priest of his personal shrine.

Question: On the surface all seems to end well, but what are the problems with this episode?
Answer:

1. There is no required atonement for the theft and instead a blessing is given to the thief rather than requiring him to go to Yahweh's Sanctuary with a sin offering and to confess his sin to Yahweh's priest (only an ordained priest can forgive sins).
2. Micah and his mother are breaking the first commandment in making and accepting an idol for purposes of worship.
3. The mother has promised to dedicate all eleven hundred pieces of silver to Yahweh but only spends two hundred to make the idol. What happened to the rest of the money?
4. Micah has established a shrine in opposition to the one Sanctuary of Yahweh and has appointed his son, who is not a descendant of Aaron, as his priest.

Question: Where was the sum of eleven hundred pieces of silver mentioned previously and under what conditions? What is the connection to the last time the sum was mentioned in chapter 16?
Answer: It was the sum the Philistine lords each paid Delilah to betray Samson. Now it is the sum that motivates a mother and her son to betray God.

Question: Finally, to complete his shrine as a place to offer worship, what does Micah do?
Answer: He consecrates one of his sons to become his priest in violation of the Law.

Question: Instead of offering obedience to what God ordained as "right worship" according to the Sinai Covenant, what has Micah done?
Answer: He has created his own idea of what God should be and how He should be worshipped, including his own idea of a priest to lead his family in worship.

Judges 17:7-13 ~ Micah's Levite

This young Levite (repeated three times in 17:7; 18:34 and 15) was living in Bethlehem in Judah as a "resident alien." 

Question: What was the difference between chief priests and Levites? 
Answer: Only descendants of Aaron were to be actual priests who served at God's altar in offering sacrifices and in ministering in the Tabernacle. The rest of the members of the tribe of Levi were to be their assistants. They could not approach the altar, enter the Tabernacle, or even touch the sacred vessels.

Both chief priests and Levites were provided a living by the tithes paid by the twelve tribes and by the firstborn of every male animal from the flocks of the tribes. They lived communally in their cities and took turns serving at God's Sanctuary. The first thing that is odd about this young Levite is that he has separated from his family and his clan and is looking for a home and a way to earn a living.

Question: What offer does Micah make the young man and why should his answer have been to refuse the invitation?
Answer: Micah offers to give him a home and to make him the priest of his private shrine, and to pay him an annual wage of ten pieces of silver in addition to food and clothing. The Levite should have refused the offer since it was in violation of the Sinai Covenant to have any other shrine other than the Sanctuary of Yahweh and for a Levite to serve as a priest.

The question is what motivated the young Levite to accept Micah's offer to become a priestly "father" to his family. Perhaps he harbored resentment that only the descendants of Aaron from the tribe of Levi were ordained as priests. He wouldn't be the first Levite think that all the Levites should be of equal status with the sons of Aaron. During the wilderness journey from Mt. Sinai a Levite name Korah led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, demanding that the Levites be given equal status with the priests including the right to offer incense in the Sanctuary's sacred Tabernacle.

Question: What happened to the Levites who rebelled against the chief priests and demanded that they be allowed to perform the same ministerial services in the Sanctuary like the offering of the sacred incense in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle? What was God response? 

Answer: God destroyed them with holy fire. The message was that it is God who determines what is defined as "right worship" and not what is perceived as "right worship" by men with their own agenda.

Chapter 18: The Danites' Migration North and their Descent into Idol Worship

Judges 18:1-6 ~ The Danites Send Men to look for new Territory

This is the second time we have the statement that in the days of the Judges there was no king in Israel. This episode recalls a time before the Danites completed their migration north and therefore a time prior to the judgeships of both Deborah and Samson. In Deborah's song of victory the Danites are linked to the northern tribe of Asher (Judg 5:17). The tribe of Dan was given fifteen cities in the allotment situated to the west of the territory of Benjamin, between Ephraim and Judah. However, they were unable to take the territory and were only able to conquer the city of Leshem (Josh 19:40-47). The clans of Dan were squeezed out of the land by Amorites and later by the Philistines. Since they were not strong enough to resist the pagan advances into their territory, they decide to send out spies to find better territory for a homeland. This episode has some similarities to the spies sent out to reconnoiter the land of Canaan in Numbers chapter 13. The inspired writer will vacillate between the designations "tribe" (18:1, 19, 30) and "clan" (18:2, 11, 19) when referring to the Danites. Several clans comprise a tribe. It may be that the tribe of Dan is so reduced in number that only one "clan" remains.

Judges 18:7-10 ~ The Danite Spies Convince the Tribe to Migrate to the North

Laish (see Josh 19:47) was a town located at the sources of the Jordan River about 29 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It was located just outside what was designated as Israelite territory and therefore was not included in the land allotted the twelve tribes. 

Judges 18:11-20 ~ The Theft of Micah's Idols and False Priest

The five spies have convinced many of the people of Dan to migrate north to take possession of the territory they scouted. The Danites leave the territory of Judah and head north to Mount Ephraim, eventually coming to Micah's house. This is the point where all three episodes in chapters 17-18 now come together. 

Question: When they arrive at Micah's compound, what is the mission of the five Danite spies?
Answer: They raid Micah's shrine and steal all his idols.

Question: After a mild protest what does the Levite do?
Answer: He betrays Micah and decides to become the hired priest of the Danites.

The Danites have shrewdly exploited the ambition of the Levite who cannot resist the Danites offer to become a "father and priest" (verse 19) to an entire tribe and clan instead of to just one man and his family. The Levite's next two actions are symbolic; he takes the ephod, teraphim and idol from the five men who have stolen them and then "went off among the people." He becomes complicit in the crime and completely abandons Micah.

Judges 18:21-27 ~ Micah Demands the Return of His Idols

The Danites expect Micah to come after his property and so they place the women, children, livestock and baggage in the front while the fighting men take up their positions in the rear of the column. Micah does attempt to reclaim his property but his idols do not protect him. When he caught up with the Danites and they threatened his life, he realized that he had no choice except to retreat. The Danites have acquired gods and a priest by theft and intimidation. Micah's story began with his confession that he had stolen his mother's silver and it ends here with his having to accept that the Danites have stolen his gods, which he admits I have had made. This is poetic justice: the robber is robbed and gets what he deserves; he now has nothing.

Judges 18:27-31 ~ The Danites Capture Laish and set up a Pagan Shrine

The town of Laish was outside of the territory promised to the Israelites. It was in a valley belonging to Beth-Rehob which was about five miles to the east and which later became a city-state that was hostile to Israel (2 Sam 10:6). The Danites had no authority to make war on people outside of the Promised Land unless those people were the aggressors. The Danites have violated "a peaceful and trusting people" who have become their victims and have moved from a true inheritance in the Promised Land to idolatry and the illegal confiscation of land that is not theirs. They have fulfilled Jacob-Israel's deathbed prophecy and have become the serpent who strikes the unprotected from ambush (Gen 49:16-17).

The inspired writer saves this shocking revelation for the end of the narrative.
Question: What is the name of the young Levite who wanted to be a chief priest and from what hero of the Exodus was he descended?
Answer: The Levite who was not a descendant of the chief priests was Jonathan the son/descendant of Moses' eldest son Gershom. Moses' two sons served as Levites and not as chief priests.

Gershom was Moses' eldest son, born to Zipporah in Midian (Ex 2:22), and he is a member of the Levite clan of Kohath. Since he was born before Moses returned to Egypt, and since Moses died at age 120 after the forty years of wilderness wandering, it is unlikely that Jonathan the "young Levite" (17:7; 18:3, 15) was the "son" of Gershon but more likely the grandson or great-grandson even if this episode takes place in the earlier years of the era of the Judges.

Question: What were the duties of the Levitical clan of Kohath? Num 3:27-31.
Answer: The Kohathites had the duty of moving the Ark of the Covenant, the table of the Bread of the Covenant, the lampstand, the altars, the sacred vessels used in the liturgy, and the curtain with all its fittings but only after the chief priests had wrapped them. Like all the Levites, they could not touch the sacred objects on pain of death.

This descendant of Moses is a heretic who has abandoned the truth faith. Perhaps he harbored resentment that only the descendants of his great ancestor's brother Aaron were eligible for the ministerial priesthood and this resentment caused him to separate from his clan. His descendants will remain heretic priests in the service of Dan and the Northern Kingdom until the Assyrian conquest in the last quarter of the 8^th century BC.

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A Daily Defense

DAY 94 Miracles and Science 

CHALLENGE: “Miracles are part of a prescientific worldview. Today we understand that the universe operates by the laws of nature, not miracles.” 

DEFENSE: The ancients knew as well as we do that nature obeys particular laws. The idea that there is no room for miracles today reflects a bias against miracles, not real science. 

People in the ancient world were more in touch with nature than we are. They knew it behaved according to regular cycles and that things happened in predictable ways. They knew that the sun rises every day, that they could use the motions of the stars at night to predict the seasons and the correct times for planting crops, and they were aware that stones fall down rather than up, and so on. 

They also were aware that virgins do not give birth, that water does not turn into wine, that loaves do not spontaneously multiply, and that people who have been dead for several days do not come back to life—much less ascend into heaven. 

It was precisely because they knew the regularities of nature that they were able to identify the latter events as miracles. 

The difference between then and now is that we have a more detailed knowledge of the regularities of nature. We have precise measurements of many of them, and these allow us to describe them with mathematical formulas. Some are so well established we refer to them as scientific laws. 

But these “laws” are merely descriptions based on observations of how nature usually works. Nothing says the world always acts that way. 

Science is based on observation, and the only way we could know that the world always behaves a certain way would be to observe the entire history of the universe and see what nature does at each moment, but we can’t do that. 

Consequently, the idea that nature must always behave in the ways that it normally behaves goes beyond what science can establish. It’s a philosophical assumption, not a scientific fact. The open-minded way to approach this issue would not be to make that assumption but to look at the evidence, acknowledging that nature normally works in certain ways but leaving open the possibility that unusual, miraculous events might occur. 

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist