Author Archives: Neil

Judges 13 The Birth and Calling of Samson

The Sacrifice of Manoah (1640–50) by Eustache Le Sueur

Judges 13

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.

² There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. ³ And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. ⁴ Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, ⁵ for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁶ Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name; ⁷ but he said to me, ‘You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.'”

⁸ Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, “O, LORD, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.” ⁹ God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. ¹⁰ So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” ¹¹ Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he said, “I am.” ¹² Then Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?” ¹³ The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her. ¹⁴ She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.”

¹⁵ Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you.” ¹⁶ The angel of the LORD said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) ¹⁷ Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?” ¹⁸ But the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.”

¹⁹ So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to him who work wonders. ²⁰ When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. ²¹ The angel of the LORD did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD. ²² And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” ²³ But his wife said to him, “If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”

²⁴ The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the LORD blessed him. ²⁵ The spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

At this point in the book of Judges the situation for Israel is perilous. The pernicious cycle of disobedience has continued and escalated, the quality of the judges has declined, and intertribal conflict has already proved to be as dangerous as the surrounding nations. Yet, the LORD continues to provide a way for the people to be delivered from their oppression. This unusual announcement of Samson’s birth and calling provides an opportunity for hope in the midst of the despair but in the midst of an ascendent Philistine threat and a disunified and disobedient Israel there is also significant cause for concern.

The Philistines were first mentioned in Judges 3:31 when the minor judge Shamgar kills six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad, and we see evidence of their presence being a threat to Israel in Judges 10:7. Now the Philistines are the primary military threat the Israelites face and they will continue to be a military threat until King David vanquishes them one hundred and fifty years later. The Philistines were a sea faring people that likely originated in the Greek islands and came to Canaan. They had settled in the coastal plain with a confederation of five cities (Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath) and were a militaristic people who had the ability extract iron from its ore for use in weaponry. Their seafaring culture also made them heavily engaged in trading from Anatolia (modern day Turkey) to Egypt. This militaristic people with advanced metallurgical knowledge and extensive trade and mercantile connections formed a sharp contrast with these divided tribes of “agrarian homesteaders with inferior bronze implements and no martial tradition of which to speak.” (Hattin, 2020, p. 145)

The forty years which the Israelites suffer under the hand of the Philistines is twice as long as any previous time period which an enemy had oppressed the people.[1] As Barry Webb can state,

By the time Samson is born the Philistine dominance over Israel is so complete, and the morale of Israel so low, that even the hope that Yahweh might save them has been extinguished.” (Webb, 2012, p. 350)

It is possible that the idolatry of the people has become so pervasive that there is not even the cultural memory of calling upon the LORD remains because they have forgotten their God. The plight of this exhausted people is dire as they exist oppressed by the Philistines and alienated from the LORD their God.

It is into this dire situation that the angel of God approaches this unnamed wife on Manoah with an incredible calling and commission for her future son. Manoah’s wife stands in a tradition of barren women who receive a message from God about her future child/children[2] and with this announcement we are encouraged to wonder about this child to be born. The Danites were one of the weakest tribes and were unable to claim their portion of Canaan at the beginning of Judges (1: 34-35) and it is telling that the Hebrew uses the word for family or clan (mishpahat) instead of the usual word for tribe (sebet). This messenger from God has appeared in two previous places in the narrative of Judges: at Bochim to rebuke the people (2:1) and at the commissioning of Gideon (6: 11-12).

The setting aside of an individual as a nazirite is described in Number 6: 1-21 and is usually for a designated period, but Samson is designated before his birth to take on this identity for his life. Samson’s life as a nazirite is divinely ordained rather than chosen by himself, and in some respects this reflects the language of the call of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1: 5). Yet this calling also requires the mother to observe the characteristics of a nazirite while she is pregnant with Samson. Even in the womb Samson is to live under the rules that make him set aside as special and holy.

Another reason for hope in this passage is that the angel of the LORD approaches the wife of Manoah. I have mentioned throughout these reflections that the role and safety of women in the book of Judges is a measure of the security and faithfulness of the people. Even though the woman is not named she has an important role in enabling the future judge to live faithfully into his calling. She may not have as much authority as Achsah or Deborah or end the oppression of a foreign king like Jael, but her role has more hope than Jephthah’s unnamed daughter. Manoah’s role in the story can be read as faithful or as trying to reassert power within the relationship. Manoah, unlike the rest of Israel at this point, does ask the LORD for guidance and this may be an attempt at faithfulness to ensure that the wife and child are brought up the way the LORD desires. Yet, it may also be an attempt to have the emissary of the LORD deal with him and to assert his power in the household. Ultimately both may together form Manoah’s motivation since most ancient families assumed a patriarchal authority in determining how both the spouse and children would live. Yet, the angel of the LORD again approaches the wife of Manoah and she summons her husband to meet this messenger.

When asked by Manoah if this is the same messenger who previously spoke to his wife, his simple response of “I am”[3] and then reiterates the instruction he previously gave to Manoah’s wife. Manoah receives no additional instruction how to guide the boy’s life and it remains the mother and not the father who remains in the foreground of this initial stage of the narrative. As Barry Webb can state “The implication seems to be that Manoah will never “own” the boy as a normal father might; he will be a Nazirite of God (v.7), and it is God, not Manoah, who will shape his life.” (Webb, 2012, p. 355)

Manoah belatedly remembers to offer hospitality to this strange messenger who has come to his wife. His wife has previously had some insight into the character of the messenger when she describes him, ‘like and angel of God, most awe-inspiring’ but Manoah seems oblivious. He is convinced that the child will be born but he treats this messenger like a prophet instead of an angel. Yet, Manoah obediently prepares the offering and then asks for the name of the messenger. The angel of the LORD stating his name is ‘too wonderful’ and the offering to the God who “works wonders”[4] do draw a closer connection between the messenger and God. When the angelic messenger ascends in the flames Manoah finally ascertains a portion of the truth yet his wife continues to remain one step ahead of him realizing that the visit of the angel of the LORD is not going to cause their death since their offering was accepted and their death would make the announced birth impossible.

Yet, in the midst of all the hope engendered by the announcement of the future child set apart from birth there is an ominous word. In verse five the angel announces that, “he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” Unlike the Moabites, the Ammonites and the other threats in the book of Judges the Philistines are different and it will be a longer struggle to be free of this opponent. Samson can only begin what will be a long struggle between Israel and the Philistines. As mentioned above it will be one hundred fifty years when the Israelites are united under King David when the Philistines are no longer a feared oppressor. Yet, this provision by God to a people who no longer ask for God’s assistance gives some hope in the midst of the oppression by this external opponent. It remains to be seen if this hoped for child can turn Israel from its practice of ‘doing evil in the sight of the LORD.’

[1] Eight years under Kushan-rishathaim (3:8), eighteen years under Moab (3: 14), twenty years under King Jabin of Canaan (4:3), seven years under Midian (6: 1), and eighteen years under the Ammonites (10: 8)

[2] Sarah (Genesis 21: 1-3), Rebecca (Genesis 25: 19-21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31, 30: 22), Hannah (1 Samuel 1:2), and the Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4: 8-17)

[3] The Hebrew ‘ani does not have any formal correspondence to the name of God ‘YHWH’ from Exodus 3:14 and so it is unlikely this is an allusion to the identity of the angel of the LORD and the LORD the God of Israel being the same. (Webb, 2012, p. 354) Yet, see below on the use of ‘wonder’ and ‘wonderful’.

[4] Wonderful pieli’y and wonder pele’ are the adjective and noun form of the same word and pele’ in its thirteen uses in the scriptures is always used for God. (Webb, 2012, p. 356)

Online Video Study on the Book of Philippians: Chapter 2

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St. Paul Writing His Epistles probably by Valentin de Boulogne (1618-1620)

I created this for my congregation as a summer study on the book of Philippians. It is more of a devotional with a short reflection on a couple verses each day. This is the second chapter of Philippians, below is a link to the other chapters

Chapter 1

Day 9: Philippians 2: 1-4

Day 10: Philippians 2: 5-8

Day 11: Philippians 2: 9-11

Day 12: Philippians 2: 12-13

Day 13: Philippians 2: 14-18

Day 14: Philippians 2: 19-24

Day 15: Philippians 2: 25- 3:1a

Online Video Study on the Book of Philippians: Chapter 1

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I created this for my congregation as a summer study on the book of Philippians. It is more of a devotional with a short reflection on a couple verses each day.

Day 1: Philippians 1: 1-2

Day 2: Philippians 1: 3-6

Day 3: Philippians 1: 7-11

Day 4: Philippians 1: 12-14

Day 5: Philippians 1: 15-18

Day 6: Philippians 1: 18b-20

Day 7: Philippians 1: 20-26

Judges 12 Jephthah’s Ignoble End and Three Minor Judges

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The Return of Jephtha, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini

Judges 12: 1-7 Intertribal Conflict Under Jephthah

1 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!” ² Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand. ³ When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?” ⁴ Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites — in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.”¹ ⁵ Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” ⁶ they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.

⁷ Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead.

The group of tribes and clans collectively known as Israel is unravelling. The tribe of Ephraim occupied the central hill country of northern Israel and by location and population they were one of the more powerful tribes. It is telling that northern Israel will often be referred to as Ephraim in later writings just as southern Israel is associated with Judah. Throughout the book of Judges, the role of Ephraim has been another barometer of the health of the confederation of tribes: initially under Ehud and Barak[1] Ephraim willingly goes forth to fight alongside other tribes, under Gideon they complain that they are not summoned until after the Midianites are scattered and fleeing yet Gideon is able to appease them, here they come with an armed force to confront Jephthah. The LORD may have delivered the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hands but here the God of Israel remains silent in this internal conflict.

We have seen conflict erupt inside Israel under Gideon and Abimelech, and now it expands dramatically in this conflict between the people of Gilead and the people of Ephraim. The Ephraimites leaders and their armed followers who boast that the people of Gilead are ‘fugitives’ or ‘renegades’ of Manasseh and Ephraim quickly find the tables turned as they are cut-off from their homes when Jephthah’s followers capture the fords of the Jordan River and strand the Ephraimite combatants on the eastern side. The difference in regional dialects becomes a tool of terror as Ephraimites attempting to flee home are captured and butchered at the river crossings. The loss of forty-two thousand Ephraimites at the hands of fellow Israelites is a slaughter of heartbreaking proportions. The tribes of Israel prove that the greatest threat to their continued existence is internal, and that the tribes are dangerously close to entering into a civil war where the tribes threaten the continued existence of one another.

Jephthah as a judge does not compare favorably when placed next to the preceding judges. His time judging Israel is shorter than anyone except Abimelech. He was an unexpected judge because of his heritage as a child of a prostitute which was forced to flee his homeland and his previous life as a bandit and raider. He is successful in leading the people of Gilead to victory over the Ammonites, but he is unable to manage conflicts between tribes and is responsible for the death of forty-two thousand Israelites of his neighboring tribe. One curious final note is that he is buried literally ‘in the towns of Gilead.”[2] There is a rabbinic tradition that Jephthah died of a debilitating illness that caused his limbs to drop off and be buried in different cities of the territory of Gilead (Hattin, 2020, p. 139)and perhaps they perceived a sort of poetic justice for one whose twisted act of devotion caused the dismemberment of his own family and division among the tribes of Israel. Regardless of how Jephthah dies and is buried, his short divisive reign as a judge of Israel demonstrates how perilous the future is for the tribes of Israel.

Judges 12: 8-15 The Final Three Minor Judges

⁸ After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. ⁹ He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty young women from outside for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. ¹⁰ Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem.

¹¹ After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. ¹² Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³ After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. ¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel eight years. ¹⁵ Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

The final set of minor judges provide a transition between the story of Jephthah and the story of Samson. In contrast to Shamgar and Tola they do not deliver Israel from any threat (internal or external). Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judge for much shorter durations as well, time periods similar to Jephthah’s. Ibzan is noted for his large extended family which he arranges marriages for beyond his clan (presumably for economic prosperity and power). The final three judges come from different regions in Israel and may have had overlapping times where they exercised power- Bethlehem is in the south near Jerusalem, Zebulun is in the north of Israel, while Ephraim is in the middle. Elon who judges the longest has no mention of family, only that he judged ten years and was buried in Aijalon. Abdon is again highlighted for the size of his family and like Jair the Gileadite his sons and grandsons ride donkeys. The acquisition of large families with wealth and power may serve as effective leaders in times of relative peace, but like the sons of Jair they will prove ineffective when the next military threat arises because of the inability of the people to live faithfully to their covenant with the LORD the God of Israel.[3]

[1] Although not mentioned in the narrative of Judges 4, Ephraim has an active role according to the song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5:14.

[2] The noun for towns is plural in Hebrew.

[3] The theological perspective of the book of Judges is that Israel’s oppression by external enemies is directly correlated to their pernicious propensity to adopt the practices of the surrounding peoples and to worship their gods.

Rapture

Judges 11 Jepthah and a Corrupted View of God

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The Return of Jephtha, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini

Judges 11:1-11 A Strange Choice to Lead the People

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. ² Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, “You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.” ³ Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws collected around Jephthah and went raiding with him.

⁴ After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. ⁵ And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, so that we may fight with the Ammonites.” ⁷ But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?” ⁸ The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Nevertheless, we have now turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” ⁹ Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head.” ¹⁰ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be witness between us; we will surely do as you say.” ¹¹ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.

The story of Jephthah the Gileadite illustrates how corrupted Israel’s life and faith has become. Jephthah is one step further removed from his father’s line than Abimelech: while Abimelech was the son of a concubine we are immediately told that Jephthah is the son of a prostitute. He is a child of the region. When the narrative names his father as Gilead it is possible that it is a later descendant of Gilead son of Machir that the region is named for, but it is also possible that Gilead replaces the name of his father because it is unknown or to protect his name. Jephthah starts life as a disinherited bastard forced out by his half-brothers and forced to flee his homeland. Jephthah new life begins in the land of Tob (good) but his life is that of a bandit and raider who leads other outlaws and outcasts. He who fled for fear of his half-brothers has emerged as a force to fear and a ‘mighty warrior.’[1]

At the end of the previous chapter the leaders of Gilead have declared that whoever leads them against the Ammonite threat will be their head. The thirty sons of Jair the Gileadite have not risen to the challenge, nor has any of the other leaders. The lack of a compelling leader who can oppose the Ammonite threat causes the elders to seek out a bandit and strongman who they had previously expelled. Jephthah and his social misfits[2] are now brought to Gilead to be the answer to the Ammonite threat. Jephthah refuses to accept anything less that being head over the people of Gilead if he is to rescue those who previously rejected him. This elevation of a strongman who was the son of a prostitute does emphasize the deterioration of the quality of people available to rescue Israel, a quality which is reflective of the alienation from the LORD the God of Israel. Yet it also follows a common theme in the bible of God’s salvation coming from unexpected places. (Hattin 2020, 110-111)

It is worth noting that although Jephthah invokes the name of the LORD to witness the agreement between Jephthah and the leaders of Gilead and, presumably in some type of ceremony, speaks his words before the LORD as he assumes his position, there is no calling of Jephthah by the LORD. Jephthah is the leader the elders of Gilead have chosen. Like Abimelech, it is the leaders of the area who select a strongman with a checkered past. The story of Jephthah is one of triumph and tragedy. Gilead will be the strongman that the crisis with the Ammonites demands but the story we have of his life also demonstrates that central parts of the relationship between the LORD and the people have been compromised and that the continued life of the tribes of Israel is in a tenuous state.

Judges 11: 12-28 Dueling Histories

¹² Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” ¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” ¹⁴ Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵ and said to him: “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, ¹⁶ but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷ Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Let us pass through your land’; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. ¹⁸ Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the east side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹ Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, ‘Let us pass through your land to our country.’ ²⁰ But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. ²¹ Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. ²² They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. ²³ So now the LORD, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place? ²⁴ Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the LORD our God has conquered for our benefit? ²⁵ Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? ²⁶ While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? ²⁷ It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.” ²⁸ But the king of the Ammonites did not heed the message that Jephthah sent him.

The correspondence between Jephthah and the king of the Ammonites is illustrative of the deep-seated disagreements that people may have over history. The king of the Ammonite’s justification for invasion is a three-hundred-year-old battle when Israel took possession of this land on the eastern side of the Jordan. The Ammonites likely do not expect Jephthah to yield the territory of Gilead to them, but when asked for a reason for their invasion they make their claim. In modern times Russia can claim a history for why they should invade Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine have competing claims on a common land, but in both ancient and modern conflicts the reason for claiming a land often rests upon the ability to enforce one’s claims militarily. Jephthah’s response demonstrates that some of Israel’s history has been retained as he is able to summarize Numbers 20-21 and Deuteronomy 2, but it is also intriguing that Jephthah refers to the god of the Ammonites as Chemosh. Chemosh is in every other biblical and archeological texts the god of Moab while Molech is the god of the Ammonites. I have my suspicions why the name of the god is mistaken or changed which I will address in the following section, but it is strange to have such a significant mistake, if it was historical, be carried forward in the scriptural remembrance of it.

Ultimately the dueling histories in Jephthah’s mind are to be resolved by dueling deities. The conflict between the armies of Gilead and the Ammonites is a contest between their gods. If the God of Israel can be a mighty warrior who defeats the god of the Ammonites it will be demonstrated on the battlefield and justify whichever party prevails in their occupation of the land of Gilead. Jephthah commits the question to the LORD’s judgment and prepares to meet the Ammonites in battle.

Judges 11:29-40 A Corrupted View of God

²⁹ Then the spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. ³⁰ And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹ then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the LORD’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.” ³² So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand. ³³ He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

³⁴ Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. ³⁵ When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.” ³⁶ She said to him, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.” ³⁷ And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.” ³⁸ “Go,” he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. ³⁹ At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that ⁴⁰ for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

The Daughter of Jephthah, by Alexandre Cabanel (1879).

On the surface this story is an uncomfortable story of a rash vow that costs a daughter her life. Leaning into the story it is an even more ominous look into a corrupted view of the LORD the God of Israel with an intentional human sacrifice as the promised reward for a military triumph. As we saw with Gideon, the spirit of the LORD descending upon an individual does not seem to change the character of the individual. In Gideon’s case it allows him to rally the people, but it does not quell his doubts and fears. With Jephthah it does not cause him to make this declaration to the LORD.

Jephthah until this point has sounded like he is a worshipper of the LORD who is demonstrating faithful adherence to the God of Israel in contrast to the portrayal of the people of Israel. Yet, there is no indication that God has previously selected Jephthah as a judge for the people, it is the leaders of Gilead who come seeking a strongman to lead them in the midst of their crisis. Yet the vow that Jephthah takes should catch our attention, especially in the context of the conflict with the Ammonites. The Hebrew idiom used in the vow (latzet likrat) is used everywhere else in the scriptures for the meeting of two or more people and the term likrat by itself is used over a hundred times and only means an animal once. (Hattin 2020, 125) Jephthah likely intends for the burnt sacrifice to be a human sacrifice. This points to either Jephthah participating in the worship of gods like Molech or blending these practices into the worship of the God of Israel.

The other narrative where the possibility of human sacrifice occurs in Genesis 22. This text, often called the Akedah, is where God asks Abraham to take his son Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice, but Abraham’s God stops this action and provides a ram instead. The practice of offering children as a burnt offering is one of the practices of the people that the God of Israel indicates is abhorrent and the Israelites are not to copy (Deuteronomy 12: 31). As mentioned above it is Molech who is attested in scripture and in other sources as the god of the Ammonites, and the practices that is singled out among Molech worshippers in the bible is the sacrifice of children (Leviticus 18:21, 20: 2-5, 2 Kings 23: 10, Jeremiah 32:35). Perhaps the substitution of Chemosh for Molech calls attention away from the practice of child sacrifice and attempts to make Jephthah’s vow more palatable as an action of faith towards the God of Israel. Yet, something has corrupted the practice and faith of Jephthah and others throughout Israel where the practice of worship the God of Israel is indistinguishable from the practices of the worship of the god of the Ammonites.

The victory is noted very briefly: the LORD gives the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hand, and the Ammonites suffer a massive defeat. The divine contest between the god of the Ammonites and the God of Israel is reflected in the military victory of Jephthah’s forces. The emphasis in the story is on the vow and its tragic fulfillment. Jephthah likely intended a human sacrifice but did not intend for the sacrifice to be his only child. Even the unnamed daughter doesn’t question the propriety of the vow or the need to fulfill it. The impact of this story becomes transformed into practice in the region as young women go out for four days to lament this daughter lost to a father’s foolish and faithless promise, but it also cements this story as a part of the legacy of the people of Israel.

Some later Jewish and Christian interpreters of this story will attempt to change the narrative where this daughter is dedicated to God to live in chastity and service. Yet, the text indicates that Jephthah completed the vow of offering the first person as a burnt sacrifice. One of the indicators of the community’s religious health and faithfulness in Judges is the treatment of women and children (NIB II: 835). Initially women have status and names, but as the book of Judges progresses the status of women and children becomes increasingly perilous. The willingness to causally sacrifice the life of a human being is indicative of the gods which one worships. I write this reflection in the immediate aftermath of shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, and it makes me question if it was only the ancient Israelites who had a problem with blending the worship of their God with the practices of other gods. One of the benefits of an account like Judges is that it can cause us to ask uncomfortable questions about the society that our God intends for us and our faithfulness to that vision.

[1] Hebrew ‘gibbor hayil’, this is the same title that the messenger of God gives to Gideon

[2] Hebrew ‘nasim reqim’ literally empty men (Webb 2012, 310)

Empty Words

Movement at the Wishing Well

Judges 10 A Brief Respite and the Pernicious Cycle

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Statue of an Ammonite King on display at the Jordan Museum, estimated 8th Century BCE, Photo by Makeandtoss,,CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86369152

Judges 10:1-5 Tola and Jair in the Aftermath of Abimelech

1 After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, rose to deliver Israel. ² He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died, and was buried at Shamir.

³ After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this day. ⁵ Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.

In the aftermath of Abimelech’s bloody reign, we have the introduction of two minor judges. In contrast to the first minor judge, Shamgar, neither Tola nor Jair are depicted as warriors. They may preside over a relatively peaceful and prosperous time for the Israelite tribes. The information that the text provides about Tola is related to his family, tribe, and place of residence in addition to the time of his judging provides ‘deliverance for Israel. His time as a judge never indicates what he delivers Israel from. It may be from the disarray in the aftermath of the fall of Abimelech. Perhaps he provides a time of calm administration and judgment in the aftermath of Abimelech’s fiery and brief reign. Jair probably comes from the portion of the tribe of Manasseh that remained on the eastern side of the Jordan river. Jair shares a name with a warrior leader who conquered this region during the time of Moses (Numbers 32: 41-42, Deuteronomy 3:14). But once again we have no indication that this later Jair or his sons are warrior leaders, instead he seems to be the head of a wealthy family that controls a large region. I appreciate the Jewish Publication Society’s attempt to capture the play on words between donkeys and town in the Hebrew here when it renders this passage, “He had thirty sons who rode on thirty burrows and owned thirty boroughs in the region of Gilead.”[1] Jair’s time as judge may have been a time of acquiring wealth and property for his family, but it may also point to the vulnerability of Israel to future invasion. In contrast to the warrior namesake, these sons of Jair who preside over cities and ride on donkeys are unprepared when faced with the Ammonites invade their region.

Judges 10: 6-18 The Unfaithful People and the Exasperated God

⁶ The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, worshiping the Baals and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Thus they abandoned the LORD, and did not worship him. ⁷ So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, ⁸ and they crushed and oppressed the Israelites that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ⁹ The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was greatly distressed.

¹⁰ So the Israelites cried to the LORD, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have worshiped the Baals.” ¹¹ And the LORD said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? ¹² The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. ¹³ Yet you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more. ¹⁴ Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” ¹⁵ And the Israelites said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you; but deliver us this day!” ¹⁶ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and worshiped the LORD; and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer.

¹⁷ Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead; and the Israelites came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. ¹⁸ The commanders of the people of Gilead said to one another, “Who will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

The pernicious pattern returns when, “the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” The tribes continue to adopt the worship and the practices of the people who they share their land or borders with. Now they are surrendered to a double threat, the Philistine who come from the west and the Ammonites who come from the east. The Ammonites probably first encountered the people who had been led by Jair, while the Philistines emerge from the southern region near Judah. The Israelites in their ununified state are overwhelmed by both attackers and suffer eighteen years. The Philistine threat drops from the narrative and the primary concern seems to be the advance of the Ammonite threat which now threatens not only Gilead in the east but also the tribes on the western side of the Jordan.

The cry to the LORD is met initially with rejection. The people have called on God in the past and then quickly returned to the practice of worshipping other gods once the crisis is over. Now the LORD tells the people that after delivering them from seven different opponents (from the Egyptians to the Maonites (presumably the Midianites and people of the east driven away in the time of Gideon) that the people can go and appeal for help to the gods they seem continually drawn to. Words will not be enough this time for Israel to gain the LORD’s assistance. Even once the people remove the foreign gods from among them the text indicates that the LORD may still view their repentance as suspect, but one of the characteristics of the LORD is that the LORD responds to the suffering of the people of Israel. The verb which is translated ‘to bear’ (quasar) often indicates impatience, anger, or exasperation and it is likely that even in the midst of the LORD exasperation with Israel it is the suffering that causes the LORD to act. The crisis of an imminent conflict at Gilead sets the stage for the elevation of the next judge of Israel who will deliver the people from their plight.

[1] The Hebrew uses the same word for towns and donkeys (ayarim) (Hattin 2020, 102)

Judges 9 The Brief Bloody Reign of Abimelech

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The Death of Abimelech By Gustave Doré – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5305603

Judges 9: 1-6 Abimelech’s Violent Rise to Power

Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s kinsfolk and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, ² “Say in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” ³ So his mother’s kinsfolk spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the temple of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. ⁵ He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; but Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, for he hid himself. ⁶ Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.

It is important when we come to these ancient stories of the tribes that will become Israel to remember that we are entering a violent world of strongmen who rule by might. Jerubbaal (or Gideon) is given a prominent position due to his military prowess and his ability to ward off threats both external and internal to Israel, including in his conflicts within Israel in Shechem and Penuel. It is likely that the son of a concubine that is acquired in Shechem did not receive much attention or support from his father. Family dynamics in the ancient world were different, especially in polygamous relationships like we see in the case of Jerubbaal but a modern frame that may be helpful is to think about families where there are children from multiple marriages and the children of a previous marriage are neglected to give attention to the children of the latest marriage. Abimelech likely grew up distant from his father, envious of his half brothers and desiring affirmation as the son of a concubine.

Abimelech’s narrative begins with his gathering his mother’s kin to lobby the lords of Shechem (literally ba’als of Shechem but it clearly refers to those who have authority and influence) to place Abimelech in power. These lords may view Abimelech as pliable, it may be the closer kinship bonds, or they may desire revenge against the family of Jerubbaal who previously humiliated the leaders of the community. They pull seventy pieces of silver from the temple of Baal-berith[1] which allow Abimelech to attract a group of ruffians to follow him. Then the violence of this chapter begins when he proceeds from Shechem (in Ephraim) to Ophrah (in Manasseh) and kills seventy children of his father on a stone like a sacrifice, and in the aftermath of the bloody parricide emerges as the anointed king of Shechem and Beth-millo. The oak of the pillar at Shechem is likely a worship site for Canaanite deities (NIB II:816) and is one more indication of the embrace of idolatry and the turn away from who these Israelites were set aside to be. They have chosen a murderer who leads a violent gang to lead the people in this dark period of Israel’s story. His father took revenge on Israelite communities that had refused him hostility, now his son who emerges from one of these communities eliminates his brothers as potential competition in his quest for power. Abimelech is a regional leader who likely was viewed as a raider beyond the region in Ephraim he controlled, but his brief time with the title of king is bathed in blood.

Judges 9: 7-21 The Parable of the Trees and Jotham’s Curse

⁷ When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you.

⁸ The trees once went out to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’ ⁹ The olive tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil by which gods and mortals are honored, and go to sway over the trees?’ ¹⁰ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹¹ But the fig tree answered them, ‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness and my delicious fruit, and go to sway over the trees?’ ¹² Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹³ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I stop producing my wine that cheers gods and mortals, and go to sway over the trees?’ ¹⁴ So all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’ ¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

¹⁶ “Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and honor when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as his actions deserved — ¹⁷ for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and rescued you from the hand of Midian; ¹⁸ but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your kinsman — ¹⁹ if, I say, you have acted in good faith and honor with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you; ²⁰ but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.” ²¹ Then Jotham ran away and fled, going to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech.

In the book of Joshua, the people are gathered in the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim and this becomes a site where the people of Israel are blessed, the book of the law is read before the people and they are recommitted to their identity as the people of God. [2] Now Mount Gerazim becomes, ironically, the mountain where the people of Shechem (which lies between the two mountains) is cursed for their actions against the sons of Jerubbaal (Gideon). Curses in the ancient world are considered powerful and this parable and accompanying curse foreshadow the destruction in Shechem and the fall of Abimelech. The generic use of god (Elohim) by Jotham may indicate that Jotham is also cursing not in the name of the God of Israel, but he may have also adopted the practices of the Canaanite gods which his father initially opposed.

The parable of the trees involves three well known tree species and one which is a challenge to identify. The olive tree, the fig tree, and the grape vine are all critical parts of the agricultural produce of ancient Israel. The olive tree being the first tree which the parable points to for kingship makes sense due to the association of olive oil with the act of anointing a king. (1 Samuel 16: 1, 13) The fig tree is often associated with Israel in both the prophets and the gospels. (Jeremiah 24, Matthew 21:18-22 and parallels) The grapevine also has a long association with Israel. (Isaiah 5: 1-7, Matthew 21: 33-46 and parallels) Yet the form of the parable also indicates a polytheistic slant where both the oil of the olive and the wine of the grape is used for ‘gods and mortals.’ The monotheistic worship of the God of Israel seems to be alien to the world of the parable and the reality of this portion of Israel in this troubled time. The identity of the ‘bramble’ is harder to determine. It may be a buckthorn which is a wild plant that would produce little shade and (importantly to the parable) would be vulnerable to wildfires. Yet, the point of the parable is to label Abimelech as a worthless and unreliable sort who is a danger to those who he reigns over.

Even though the follow up to the parable is framed as conditional blessing or curse, it is quickly clear from the conditions that this is a curse upon both Abimelech and the people of Shechem. Although Jotham neglects his father’s previous revenge upon the leaders of Shechem. He views his father’s actions towards Shechem and Ephraim in a positive light: he liberated them from their oppression under the Midianites. In Jotham’s view their support of Abimelech and his ruffians which enabled the killing of his siblings is not justifiable and the blood rests on their heads. His curse that Shechem and Abimelech both go down in the flames of their internal conflict will play out during Abimelech’s brief reign as a tyrant and strong man in northern Israel as Jotham hides out in Beer (a place David will later seek refuge in from King Saul).[3]

Judges 9: 22-33 The Unrest at Shechem

²² Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ²³ But God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem; and the lords of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. ²⁴ This happened so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might be avenged and their blood be laid on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. ²⁵ So, out of hostility to him, the lords of Shechem set ambushes on the mountain tops. They robbed all who passed by them along that way; and it was reported to Abimelech.

²⁶ When Gaal son of Ebed moved into Shechem with his kinsfolk, the lords of Shechem put confidence in him. ²⁷ They went out into the field and gathered the grapes from their vineyards, trod them, and celebrated. Then they went into the temple of their god, ate and drank, and ridiculed Abimelech. ²⁸ Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who are we of Shechem, that we should serve him? Did not the son of Jerubbaal and Zebul his officer serve the men of Hamor father of Shechem? Why then should we serve him? ²⁹ If only this people were under my command! Then I would remove Abimelech; I would say to him, ‘Increase your army, and come out.'”

³⁰ When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. ³¹ He sent messengers to Abimelech at Arumah, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed and his kinsfolk have come to Shechem, and they are stirring up the city against you. ³² Now therefore, go by night, you and the troops that are with you, and lie in wait in the fields. ³³ Then early in the morning, as soon as the sun rises, get up and rush on the city; and when he and the troops that are with him come out against you, you may deal with them as best you can.”

Abimelech’s rule is probably one of continual conflict and raiding and although they may be a time free of external threats they are not peaceful. Even the lords of Shechem who enabled his bloody rise to power are now in conflict with him. It is possible that the lords of Shechem set the ambushes on the mountains surrounding Shechem on behalf of Abimelech (furthering his policies of raiding) or they did it to attempt to remove him, but regardless the result is a condition where trade in Shechem is difficult and this likely contributed to the destabilization of Abimelech’s power in the region.

The emergence of a competitor for power with the arrival of Gaal son of Ebed is ominous for the continued reign of Abimelech. Even though his name is unimpressive in Hebrew (vomit son of a slave) (Hattin 2020, 99) Gaal’s ability to claim lineage back to the founder of Shechem undercuts Abimelech’s previous claim as a brother to the Shechemites. Gaal’s appeal to the lords of Shechem does attract the attention of Zebul who is ruling the city for Abimelech. The drunken words spoken in a temple to a god other than the LORD are reported to Zebul and forwarded on to Abimelech along with advice on how to regain control of Shechem.

Abimelech’s father, Jerubbaal, was the first judge to punish other Israelites. In Abimelech we see the beginning of open conflict within Israel. The greatest threat to Israel’s ultimate survival will be internal rather than external in the book of Judges. Here the heat of the curse spoken by Jotham is beginning to catch in the undergrowth and will soon threaten life in the valley of Shechem. Abimelech’s short reign over Shechem and the surrounding region is about to catch fire.

Judges 9: 34-49 The Fire Consumes Shechem

³⁴ So Abimelech and all the troops with him got up by night and lay in wait against Shechem in four companies. ³⁵ When Gaal son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, Abimelech and the troops with him rose from the ambush. ³⁶ And when Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountain tops!” And Zebul said to him, “The shadows on the mountains look like people to you.” ³⁷ Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from Tabbur-erez, and one company is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.” ³⁸ Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your boast now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the troops you made light of? Go out now and fight with them.” ³⁹ So Gaal went out at the head of the lords of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. ⁴⁰ Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. Many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹ So Abimelech resided at Arumah; and Zebul drove out Gaal and his kinsfolk, so that they could not live on at Shechem.

⁴² On the following day the people went out into the fields. When Abimelech was told, ⁴³ he took his troops and divided them into three companies and lay in wait in the fields. When he looked and saw the people coming out of the city, he rose against them and killed them. ⁴⁴ Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed on all who were in the fields and killed them. ⁴⁵ Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people that were in it; and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

⁴⁶ When all the lords of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the temple of El-berith. ⁴⁷ Abimelech was told that all the lords of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸ So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the troops that were with him. Abimelech took an ax in his hand, cut down a bundle of brushwood, and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the troops with him, “What you have seen me do, do quickly, as I have done.” ⁴⁹ So every one of the troops cut down a bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

Abimelech’s violent response to the threat posed by Gaal son of Ebed begins exactly as Zebul advises. Abimelech moves his ‘troops’[4] into position around the city overnight. When Gaal and Zebul stand before the entrance to the city in the morning the movement of troops is underway. Zebul reveals his knowledge of Gaal’s rash boast and indicates that these are the soldiers he bragged he could overcome. Gaal rallies the lords of Shechem and goes out to fight only to flee in disgrace and is expelled from the city by Zebul along with his kin. Two interesting textual notes: there is no indication of casualties in this brief narrative, only many wounded and this may indicate that the forces Gaal is able to command rapidly surrender but it is also intriguing that Abimelech does not enter the city and retake control and instead retires to Arumah. Perhaps the presence of Zebul and forces loyal to Abimelech make his occupation of the city unnecessary or perhaps the closing of the gates made a quick occupation more challenging but the violence against Shechem will shortly move from the fields into the city.

The following day when people go out into the fields the violence resumes. The timing indicated by the harvest of grapes indicates that the people would likely be beginning to harvest the produce of the fig and olive trees (along with other fruits) in another parallel with the parable of the trees. This time Abimelech’s strategy isolates these people outside the city and slaughters them. Abimelech’s forces fight against the city and consigns the area to desolation. The action of sowing a city with salt in the Hebrew Scriptures indicates perpetual ruin.[5] It also continues a theme that begins with Adam of the consequences of rebellion upon the soil making it unable to be fruitful. Abimelech’s revenge is not only intended to cause the blood to flow upon the earth but also to deny the city a future after Abimelech’s revenge is completed.

The lords of Shechem have avoided the slaughter initially and are gathered in the temple of El-berith.[6] The Mount Zalmon (mount of darkness) that Abimelech ascends is likely either Mount Gerazim (the mountain where the curse was uttered) or Mount Ebal which are the two mountains around Shechem. The action of Abimelech and his forces cutting down branches and bundling them against the temple stronghold where the remaining leaders of Shechem are gathered enacts the fiery condemnation of curse of Jotham as all those who enabled the reign of this violent son of Jerubbaal are now consumed by his fiery nature.

Judges 9: 50-57 Abimelech’s Fire is Extinguished

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled to it and shut themselves in; and they went to the roof of the tower. ⁵² Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armor and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, ‘A woman killed him.'” So the young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home. ⁵⁶ Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers; ⁵⁷ and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.

The destruction of Shechem also denies Abimelech a place where his power can be enacted. The exact location of Thebez is uncertain but most suspect it is one of the surrounding communities and may have been connected to Shechem for its livelihood. Abimelech quickly captures the city, but the people flee to a stronghold (tower) inside the city. Instead of only the lords of Shechem remaining in the stronghold at the temple of El-berith, now men and women and leaders are all gathered together in this fortified structure. Abimelech has grown bold in his previous successes at conquering the city of Shechem and the stronghold of El-berith, but now his approach to the door of the stronghold results in his ignominious death when a ‘certain woman’ drops an upper millstone on him. The upper millstone is the smaller millstone, but it still may have taken multiple people to ‘throw,’ yet the casting of this stone by a single woman fits the narrative well and the strongman is humiliated by an unnamed woman. In warrior cultures it is only honorable to die at the hands of a formidable opponent, but now Abimelech’s death is tied to an anonymous woman. In an attempt to regain his honor, he asks for his armor-bearer to end his life, but the narrative continues to mock the end of Abimelech’s brief violent reign. The ‘one man’ who put himself forward by killing his seventy brothers on ‘one stone’ now is killed by ‘one woman’ with ‘one stone.’ (Webb 2012, 293)

Israel has continued to lose its identity as the covenant people of the LORD the God of Israel. In the absence of a judge who can deliver the people and lead them in a faithful direction the people turn to a strongman who embodies the opposite of what a judge should be. In times of uncertainty people are often drawn to the strong and violent ones who seem to offer protection, but that protection often comes at a steep price. The book of Judges would indicate that no judge is better than a strongman like Abimelech. This dark time of internal conflict among the cities and groups in Israel is a prelude to open conflict as the people continue to fall further away from their identity.

[1] As mentioned previously Baal-berith or El-berith means Lord (baal) or god (el) of the covenant. This is likely a synchronistic attempt to blend elements of Canaanite Baal worship with elements of Israelite worship of the LORD the God of Israel.

[2] Joshua 8:30-35

[3] 1 Samuel 22:2-4

[4] The people who Abimelech commands are experienced fighters and raiders but troops in modern contexts assumes uniformed and trained soldiers. These are ruffians loyal to their strongman leader.

[5] Although it would be logistically impractical to sew fields with enough salt to remain infertile there is a strong association with salt and judgment. Salted lands indicate a wasteland (Deuteronomy 29: 23, Job 39:6, Jeremiah 17:6, Zephaniah 2:9)

[6] El-berith and Baal-berith are almost certainly the same, El is the general title for a god and Baal is the general title for ‘lord’ associated with the Canaanite gods. See previous notes on Baal-berith.

Sign of the Rose

Searchings: Sacred and Secular