|
|
|
Chapter Six: Characters
in the Old Testament Men
and Women in the Bible On
the last day of creation, God created a human being in the image of the
infinite, a person who mirrored the Creator. This literal man, Adam, was a
prototype for human beings. The relationship of this human being to the Divine
initially was one chosen by God, but eventually, this person was to have the
freedom to choose to continue or discontinue this connection. Adam
was created following the creation of a universe with awesome power and
magnificent beauty. The name Adam is Hebrew for "man" and is repeated
560 times in the Old Testament. There's also a linguistic relationship between
the Hebrew word for dust and the word for man. From the beginning, Adam is
associated with earthly characteristics: he is a man of clay into which is breathed life so that he becomes
a living soul. Soul in Hebrew means to have the life of God within. This story
of origins then, from the beginning, is the story of the Infinite initiating
contact with the finite world, which the Hebrew understood to be the creation
of Yahweh. "In the beginning, God created…" is a statement of faith.
Never at any point is the Bible established as presenting history or science,
although it contains both. Many see the Bible as the story of two men: Adam and
Christ. Interestingly, one is the main character of the Old Testament; the
other, the New. Christ does not replace Adam but rather perfects the imperfect.
Much in the same way, it can be quickly determined that grace and mercy in the New
Testament does not replace Law and justice in the Old. Adam
is the son of God. Students will want to note that Luke 3.38 shows a genealogy
in which Christ is the conclusion of Adam's line. Just as children bear the
image of their parents, so Adam is imprinted with the image of God. This image
is passed on then to Adam's own children. The seventh day is a day
of rest and reflection. The Creator looked upon what had been created and
pronounced it good. Jewish thinking sees in this a prototype for activity and
rest. Rest is deemed important enough to make remembering the Sabbath (keeping
it holy) a commandment). In another sense, the Sabbath is the means whereby the
human connects with self; prayer may be considered the connection with God, and
charity, the means of connecting with other human beings. Combined, the Old and
New Testament are clear about the dangers of working without rest and resting
without working. The Hebrew were to enter into a rest which they did not
obtain; that rest remains open for individuals today, with the way pointed to
by Christ: that God's Kingdom
begins on earth immediately in the heart of the person connecting with the
Infinite. A similarity exists between Adam's first home and the New Jerusalem
of Revelation; it is a "home on earth." A parallel is clear: 1.
River of God (Gen. 2.10-14; Rev. 22.1-2) Adam
was placed in a garden where he had everything necessary for complete
fulfillment. In return, Adam was covenanted to be responsible. He was to
reproduce, subdue or bring the earth to order, to place himself in dominion of
animals, to care for the Garden and eat as a vegetarian, and he was prohibited
from knowing good and evil. This tendency to dominate, though, becomes a mark
of the mortal creature, accounting for a dichotomizing and separating of that
which was intended to unite. In maleness and femaleness can be recognized,
somewhat stereotypically, opposite responses: giving and taking, disciplining
and forgiving, harder and softer interiors. At issue is really the separation
of what should be joined in a union which completes each. One does not have to
stretch this too much to see a strictness which can result in an emphasis upon
obedience; a responsiveness which pleads for grace. One
by one, the principles of this first Edenic covenant were violated. Adam first
becomes irresponsible to God, questioning the limitations clearly established
for him. Eating of the tree of good and evil introduces a new dimension to
human life: they (Adam and Eve) now experience their world morally as well as
factually. Moral
knowledge brings consequences for choice. Adam and Eve are portrayed as clearly
having the freedom to choose to eat or not to eat. That they were not allowed
to know the Tree of Life suggests their nature is to remain mortal; they are
not to be as the gods. We will learn that humans aspire to become gods, but
always, the lesson they must learn is their limitation; they can build
structures to rival the heavens, but their efforts will be confused. The lesson
is that God creates and sustains life--Eve gave birth to a son with the help of
God. Adam and Even do reproduce, but offspring fail to behave responsibly with
each other; Cain murders his own brother and then flees. Fleeing
from the presence of God is established early as a characteristic of human
beings. Adam is expelled from the Garden for willful rebellion. Outside the
garden, human rebellion worsens to the point that God brings swift and sure
justice. Immediately after Noah steps from the ark, representing God's
unwillingness to allow the human creation to perish in entirety, the law of
vegetarianism is lifted. Humans may now eat flesh, but the restriction still applies
to blood. It must be remembered that sacred blood has already been shed.
Nonetheless, a commandment will be issued that correlates with recognition of
"I am God." That commandment is that humans will not murder. Because,
however, individuals choose not to relate responsibly to God or humans, all of
creation is a blood bath. Adam
is tempted and sins (breaks relationship); the second man, Christ, is tempted
without the result being a broken relationship. A parallel exists in the
temptations: the fruit of the tree is good for food just as stones may become
bread; the fruit is pleasant to the eyes as is the prospect of the glory of
kingdoms; and finally, Eve desires to be wise, and Christ is asked to prove
divinity with a miracle (of which the Son of God was certainly capable). Animals
attack and kill, preying upon themselves and upon human beings. Human beings
protect themselves but also feed upon their craving for flesh. Animals without
higher consciousness behave routinely in the laws of the animal kingdom, acting
and reacting instinctively, without introspection. Humans carry sorrow for
their broken relationships and know the death they inflict is also master of
them. Adam himself died at 900. Contrasting
the earthly to the
heavenly, the Adam-Christ prototypes result in the following: Sin/grace
Abraham A.
Abram: the early years (Genn.11:2 Abram's
father, Terah migrated from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran B.
God's Call To Abram (Gen. 12:1-13:18) (2)
A great name, fulfilled in that Hebrews, Christians and Muslims all call him
their religious father C.
Abram obeys God and sets out for Canaan. (Gen. 12:4-12:9) God promises this
land to his children. D.
Abram's deception in Egypt (Gen. 12:10-12:20) E.
Abram and Lot Divide land (Gen. 13:1-13:18) Lot settles in the Jordan River
Valley while Abram settles west in the land of Canaan. F.
Lot Rescued (Gen. 14:1-14:24) After Kedorlaomer (or Chedorlaomer) and his men
defeated the forces of Sodom and Gomorrah, they took Lot. Upon hearing of this,
Abram took men who routed Kedorlaomer and rescued Lot and all the G.
God's Call and Covenant Renewed (Gen. 15:1-15:21) God promised Abram a son and
promised him descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram's response: Faith
which was credited to him as righteousness. God told Abram in a dream that his
descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land but would return in four
generations. A generation was the time it took from birth to fatherhood. In
Abram's case that would be 100 years. Therefore, God was saying to Abram that
his H.
Ishmael Born (Gen. 16:1-16:16) I.
Abrahamic Covenant of Circumcision (Gen. 17:1-18:15) Abram
is 99, 24 years after his first call. The original covenant is now about to be
put into operation. Abram ("exalted father") was given a new name by
God, Abraham ("father of many"). Sarah laughed when she heard God say
she would bear a child. As a result, God told them II.
2. Two Major Areas of Promise a. Promise of the Seed- Four
Possible Fulfillment's: J.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:1-19:38) K.
Abraham and Abimelech (Gen. 20:1-20:18; 21:22-21:34) L.
Isaac Born; Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away (Gen. 21:1-21:21) God promises Ishmael
his descendants will be a great nation. M.
Abraham's Test With Isaac (Gen. 22:1-22:24) Reveals the character and faith
that had developed in Abraham over the years. N.
Sarah Dies and is Buried (Gen. 23:1-23:20) Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah
near Hebron. This became the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and
Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. (TN#7) 0.
Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 24: Abraham insisted that Isaac not marry a Canaanite
woman but one of his own people. P.
Death of Abraham (Gen. 25:1-25:11) Died at the age of 175. Buried with Sarah at
the cave of Machpelah. Abraham In
his own country and synagogue, Jesus astounded those listening when He taught
them in parables some spiritual truths about the kingdom of God. Even after recognizing
that He spoke with wisdom, they still took offense, causing Jesus to utter,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house" (Mt. 13.57). We quote this passage easily and with great
familiarity; we tend to miss, however, the tremendous understatement being made
just as we underestimate what it costs to become a prophet and to speak for God
. Jesus,
without a doubt, understood that becoming responsive to the call of Yahweh and
daring to stand solitary in the masses and speak the unpopular messages of
doom, destruction, and death in the coming judgment
of God would cost the prophet much more than honor. Prophets are called to
stand before impenitent and sometimes complacent peoples, get their attention,
and call them into account; the message is usually forthcoming danger,
catastrophe, disaster on disaster, chaos, captivity, and death. As spokesperson
for Yahweh, the prophet has to swim against the streams of public opinion,
risking life itself as the greatest cost. Other costs include incredible inner
loneliness, lack of or ebbing confidence in the call itself, despair, and tremendous tension between a love for people and the
fateful message that has to be delivered. The calling weighs heavily, and
prophets grow depressed, despondent, bitter, and more than once, almost break
down. Their obligation to Yahweh, though, brings them back on task, defining
their true character; Jeremiah describes this calling as "a burning fire shut up in
my bones" and confesses he is "weary with holding it in" and
that finally, he cannot (20.9). Prophets
are strange, surprising, and eccentric individuals; perhaps they have to be in
order to get attention for their messages. Think of Isaiah running around naked
and barefoot for three days with people asking him why (20.2); Jeremiah burning
his girdle and running around with a yoke on his neck (19.1); Ezekiel lying on
the street in cords for 390 days on his left side and forty days on his right
side (4.5), and later, digging a hole through his own house and escaping
(12.2), or ranting about his peculiar, bizarre, and repellent visions; Hosea
marrying a prostitute, who bears three children in the marriage that are not
his own; or Amos addressing carousing and heathen women as "cows of Bashan"
4. 1-3) Certainly, we would not want to live next door to these prophets, and
today, we would lock them away from sane society, labeling them as basket cases
or people who had gone off the edge. We
read in Matthew that Jerusalem has been in the habit of killing her prophets
and stoning those who are sent to her (23.37); in I Kings, Jezebel massacred
prophets, prompting Obadiah to take one hundred of them and hide them in a cave
(18.4). Despite such risks, though, true prophets are driven by the deep and compelling force of inner conviction and
vision; they are tools of Yahweh, and they must speak: "The lion has
roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?"
(Amos 3.8). They have to risk themselves to fate: Ezekiel’s cords represent the
fate of his people; Jeremiah is thrown into prison for his message; Uriah is
slain by Jehoiakim (26.2); legend has it Isaiah was martyred. This is the fate
prophets risk in speaking for God; it is lonely, compelling, and dangerous. We
tell the story of Daniel’s being thrown into a den of lions without feeling the
heart-pounding, surging fear he must have felt when first he huddled in this menagerie of teeth, claws, and death. Prophets, in spite of risks and all
too human fears, feel themselves seized by Yahweh’s mind and spirit and pour
out their words under the impelling power of the infinite itself. It is one
thing to be an angel sent by God, as was Gabriel, and stand in God’s presence
before being sent out to speak (Lk 1.19); it is quite another to be a mere
mortal possessed by a vision, dream, or revelation--who sees not external
appearances but events as they really are from God’s perspective--who must then
convey this spiritual reality to other human beings. The prophet stands on the
edge of the finite and infinite, the earthly and heavenly, the spoken and
unspoken, combining paradoxically tangible and intangible kingdoms. No wonder Saul’s own people wondered, "What is this
that has come upon the son of Kish?" (I S. 10.11) Moses confessed, "I
have not done them [ these works] of my own will" (Nu. 16.28). Isaiah
utters quite clearly that Yahweh has historically been revealing what was
secret from the beginning: "Draw near to me, hear this! I have not spoken in secret, from the time it
came to be, I have been there" (48.16). Isaiah goes on to say this same
Lord God "and His Spirit have sent me." The prophet--whatever the
costs-- brings God’s perspective to human realities. The
way in which we study the Bible and prophets can minimize not only the risks but the overwhelming awe
with which the prophet is drawn into the sphere of the miraculous and filled
with God’s spirit. It’s no simple thing to discover oneself suddenly come into
the presence of the Eternal. Abraham
is an early prophet of God (Gen. 20.7), as Abimelech, king of Gerar,
acknowledges when he almost takes Sarah as wife, thinking her to be only
Abraham’s sister; Abraham responds to Abimelech’s very natural question,
"What were you thinking of?" (11) by confessing he was afraid for his
life in a land where people did not believe in Yahweh. Abraham has apparently momentarily
forgotten God’s words, Fear not, Abrahm, I am your shield" (15.1). We
recall, though, that Abram was told by God, "Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you"
(12.1-3). We should not be surprised to discover that Abram’s life sets the pattern for that of the
prophets who follow. Moses flees to Midian in fear for his life after he has
killed the Egyptian he has seen beating one of his Hebrew brethren; Elijah, who has mocked four
hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, proving to the people convincingly that his
Lord is God, panics when Jezebel resolves to take his life, and we find him
going a day’s journey into the wilderness, sitting down under a broom tree, and asking
Yahweh to take away his life. He has to be awakened from his sleep of
depression by an angel who tells him to ""Arise and eat" (19.
3-5); he has to be told to arise again before he finally sets out on his journey,
renewed. Even at this point, he still dawdles, and God asks him about his cave lodging, "What are you
doing here, Elijah?" (19.9). He responds that he feels himself alone,
afraid for his life (19.10). Elijah continues to linger through a strong wind,
an earth quake, and a fire; wrapping his face in his mantle, he answers a
second "What are you doing here, Elijah?" with a lame, "They
seek my life" (14). Elijah finally stirs in keeping with the command to go
forth and anoint Hazael king of Syria and Jehu king of Israel; it is his
successor Elisha, though, who finally carries out these injunctions. Our
Biblical narrative moves quickly, telling simply that when he was called,
"Abram went" (12.4). We quickly find him in the flourishing city of
Shechem, a Canaan crossroads, pausing to build an altar for Yahweh where
formerly the Canaanites have sacrificed at their sacred tree Moreh. Underplayed
here are any reservations that Abram might have had about leaving his own land
and people, any concerns about the semi-nomadic life he and his nephew Lot
would lead among the sexually perverse Canaanites, or worries about survival in
a land beset with cycles of fertility and drought. We’re told only, in summary
and foreshadowing, "Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down
to Egypt" (12.10). About to enter Egypt, he tells Sarah to say she is his sister, and we read, "for her sake
he [Pharaoh] dealt well with Abram (12.16). Pharaoh and his house, afflicted by
plagues, asks, much as Abimelech later, "What is this thing you have done
to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife?" (12.17). Pharaoh, at
this point, sets the self-serving Abram on his way "with his wife and all that he had"
(12.20). We see a similar self-service on the part of Abraham’s grandson Jacob,
who steals his brother’s birthright and flees to his mother’s people when
Rebekah reveals to him that Esau plots to take his life. Only after a vision in
which he sees a ladder connecting heaven and earth and a very personal encounter with Yahweh is Jacob
able to see himself as "unworthy" 32.10) of the steadfast love with
which God has blessed him and sent him back to his own country. We’re not
surprised to see that Esau, echoing Abraham’s deference to Lot, greets his
brother with a loving embrace and tells him to keep what he has for himself,
that he has enough (33.9). Jacob insists, though, seeing his brother’s face as
"like seeing the face of God," (33.10) and journeying on with him
until they depart for Seir and Succoth. When
Abram goes up from Egypt,
he has become very rich (13.1). We read that he ends up at Bethel, "where
his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where
he had made an altar at the first" (12.3). We learn now that Abram calls
on the name of the Lord. Whatever goes on in Abram’s head, perhaps sincere
repentance for his lies and self-gain, we’re not told; we only learn that he
and Lot can no longer dwell together, that the land cannot support them, and
that there is strife between their herdsmen (12.7). That Abram’s change of
heart is genuine is reflected in his actions; he becomes the peace maker, telling Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me" (13.8-12)
and allowing Lot his choice of land. Lot, not unlike us, chooses the best for
himself, the fertile Jordan valley; Abram, on the other hand, chooses Canaan
and moves his tent to the sacred oaks of Mamre; after his separation from Lot,
he is reminded again that his descendants are to inherit this land. Abraham’s
repentance and change of heart is a common motif: Isaiah responds to his
vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne with recognition of his own lostness,
crying "Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips" (6.5). He is
commissioned and made ready for his message by a seraphim which touches a
burning coal to his mouth, telling him his "guilt is taken away" (6. 6-8). Like
Abraham, Isaiah responds quickly to God’s question "Whom will I
send?" saying simply, "Here am I! Send me" (8). Jeremiah groans
when he hears God telling him, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew
you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to
the nations" (1.5). Like Moses, Jeremiah excuses himself first that he
cannot speak and second that he is young (6). He is told not to use youth or
not knowing how to speak as an excuse; he is not to be afraid of those to whom
he is sent nor to worry about what he is to say: "the Lord put forth his
hand and touched my mouth" saying, "Behold, I have put my words in
your mouth" (9, 10). Ezekiel is told he is to speak God’s words; he is to
open his mouth and eat what he is given. Imagine Ezekiel’s surprise to see that
a written scroll is spread before him (2.8- 3.2). He probably finds it little
comfort to be reminded that the people to whom he must go do not speak a
foreign speech or a hard language (2.4). Ezekiel knows all too well that Israel
is a people of a "hard forehead and stubborn heart" (7). He actually
has to be lifted up by the Spirit of God, and he goes in bitterness and heat of
spirit as watchman to give warning to Israel (3.12-17). Even with the hand of
God upon him, Ezekiel still falters, falls to his face, and the Spirit has to
enter into him and set him on his feet (23). Only then is Ezekiel willing to
bind himself symbolically in cords; for a time, his tongue cleaves to his
mouth, and he is dumb and unable to reprove the rebellious house of Israel
(24-27). After this, he lies in the streets, first on his left side and then on
his right, to get the attention of Israel, symbolically portraying their coming
captivity. Still, Yahweh is not finished with Ezekiel; he gets his
attention by grabbing him by his hair and
lifting him between heaven and earth so that he can see clearly what is coming
upon Israel (8.1-6). The prophet’s position is clearly not a comfortable one
nor is it safe. Abram
foregoes his own safety when he learns Lot, along with all the goods of Sodom
and Gomorrah, has been taken captive in a war in which four eastern kings have
allied themselves; the peaceful Abram brings together his relatively small
force and sets out to rescue Lot. Returning victoriously, Abram is met by the grateful king of Sodom and his priest Melchizedek, who blesses Abram in the
name of "God Most High"; the pre-Israelite Salem is later to become
Jerusalem, and El Elyon, the high god of the Canaanite pantheon, gives way to the Hebrew Yahweh, recognized
as "maker of heaven and earth" 14.22). Abram
is now reminded in a vision that his descendants are to be many; he reflects
upon his present childlessness but believes Yahweh will yet provide a son. He
acts immediately upon his belief, sealing this covenant between himself and
Yahweh, by ritual sacrifice (15.10). Having acted, Abram falls into a deep
sleep just as the sun is going down; we’re not sure what happens to Abram,
being told only that he is seized by "a dread and great darkness" (15.12). An ominous foreboding haunts
Abram: he projects himself forward, seeing his descendants in a land that is
not their’s, seeing them oppressed and becoming slaves for hundreds of years;
he even sees his own death, his only comfort being that it will come when he is
well along in years. When he awakens, the sun has gone down, it is dark, and he
looks well beyond what physical sight
can see into the presence of Yahweh revealing itself in a smoking fire pot and
a flaming torch that passes between the bloody flesh pieces of the she-goat,
ram, turtledove, and young pigeon (15.10, 17). Dread and foreboding surely give
way to hair raising, spine tingling fear and sacred awe in this moment of
supernatural manifestation. This is not an encounter an ordinary individual
would seek out nor would most of us want the burden of attempting to
communicate this strange and bizarre event to others. In Revelation, John on
the island of Patmos, falls at the feet of "one like a son of man"
(1.12) as though dead (17). He has to be consoled, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I
died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and
Hades" (18). Like other prophets, John carries a warning, this time to the seven churches of Asia,
before he pens his bizarre vision of the throne of God; it must be remembered
John is in the Spirit and that he apparently sees at great distance since there
is between him and this throne "a sea of glass like crystal" (4.6). The Day of
Yahweh he sees much as Joel as a day of destruction (1.15), of "darkness
and gloom" (2.2); still, it is a day of mercy and steadfast love (2.15), a
day of decision (3.14). Much like Ezekiel, he is told to take a scroll and eat
it, knowing it will be bitter (Rev. 10.9). The final vision is that of God’s
kingdom: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth" (21.1). In this new time, Yahweh’s dwelling place is with men 21.3). Abram
is to encounter Yahweh yet again, this time after he is far enough removed from
his former vision that doubt has apparently slipped into his thinking; he is reminded that he is to be the father
of "a multitude of nations" and has his name changed from Abram to
Abraham (17.4,5); this vision strikes the ninety-nine year old Abram as ludicrous, and he falls on his face and laughs, saying to
himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old"
(17). Another version of the same narrative makes Sarah the one who laughs when
she is told she will yet have a son (18. 12). For whatever reasons Abraham and
Sarah are chosen, the purpose is clear: "I have chosen him that he may
charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by
doing righteousness and justice" (18.19). The prophet Malachi echoes this
same grave responsibility: "Has not the one God made and sustained for us
the spirit of life? And what does he desire? Godly offspring" (2.15,16).
The call of the prophet, it must not be minimized, is always an isolating
righteousness and an overwhelming responsibility to posterity. Like Habakkuk,
the prophet looks among the nations,
sees, wonders, and is astounded to see that Yahweh is doing a work in this day
that is hard to believe (1.5); he is to take his stand and watch, to station
himself on a tower, to see and write a vision of God’s work, and in the face of
taunting and derision, he has only his faith (2. 1-6). He hears, his body
trembles, and he waits patiently for the day of trouble to come upon people,
rejoicing in the Lord (3.16-19). The prophet knows he has been made to tread
upon high places (3.19). The
real cost of becoming a prophet
of God is illustrated when Abraham is asked to surrender his only heir. What
Abraham is being asked to do here is almost always understated; the prophet is
commanded to do nothing less than fly in the face of all human conventions, to
render himself--and that self stripped of everything-- accountable to God
whatever the human cost. On the human level, Abraham is not only being asked to
murder his only son and heir, but to pit himself as an autonomous individual
against the rational universe; he is
stripped of convention and stands alone in the face of the eternal, and to the
Eternal alone is he accountable. We need to be clear about what is going on here: Abraham is
commanded to sacrifice only to learn that he can bring nothing to the
moment--nothing that he has acquired or made, nothing of his works. He has, of
course, brought Isaac, his son on whom his posterity and, he believes, his collective immortality
depend. By one accounting, we see here a relaxation upon the claim
to the first-born by provision of an animal substitute. The greater lesson,
though, concerns the finite and mortal self in the presence of the Infinite and
Immortal: here, the Lord must provide (22.14). Abraham
lives to see his wife Sarah die at the ripe old age of a hundred and
twenty-seven years; remembering the strong injunction to teach his children the
way of Yahweh (23.4), Abraham calls Isaac to himself and makes him swear to
take his wife among his own kindred. Much of the story of Abraham’s life is
repeated in that of Isaac. Abraham himself "breathed his last and died in
a good, old age, an old man and full of years" (25.9) and is buried east
of Mamre, the place where he first chose Canaan. Yahweh’s promise to him is yet
to be realized in the direct line of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph and, much farther
down the line of historical revelation, in the "better hope"
introduced through which all humankind "draws near to God" Just
as Abraham’s salvation is itself one of progressive awareness, in time Yahweh
"abolishes the first in order to establish the second" (Hebrews
10.9), that order in which Jesus Christ himself becomes the offering for
humankind "once for all" (Hebrews 10.10). The prophet then is one who invokes the future and foresees "something better for us" (Hebrews 11. 10), a vision so terrifying that the mortal
spirit, being unable to endure the order given, entreats that no more messages
be spoken; Yahweh’s reply, though, is that humankind has not "come to what
may be touched" (12.18) but must endure not only the shaking of earth but
that of heaven, also (12.26). The prophet’s vision cuts through time, all of history,
through all that can be shaken, the removal of all that has been made, into the
eternal itself and sees Yahweh as "a consuming fire" (12.28). Can
anyone wonder that such an individual stands out before the masses, appears
eccentric, or is reduced to metaphorical utterance? Just as surely as God acts,
"He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Am 3.7). Still, though, we are complacent, and
Jeremiah would sorrow for us today just as much as he sorrowed for Judah:
"And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early
and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear"
(25.4). Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a marriage feast, telling us
the king "sent servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come" (Mt 22.3).
Revelation echoes the same call: "The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’
" (22.17). How ironic that the most thirsty among us desire not to take of
the water of life offered to us "without cost," that cost having
already been paid by the prophets we have stoned and killed and by the Son of
God whom we crucified. How minimal indeed is the cost of being without honor in
one’s own country and among one’s own people.
The
above link provides some very remarkable insights into women characters in the
Bible; the files, however, have to be downloaded and unzipped. Moses
would probably have been nursed by his birth mother until he was weaned,
between the ages of 2 and 3. The
discrepancy between the EXODUS and HEBREWS accounts doesn't necessarily mean
the New Testament writer was more inspired by the Holy Spirit than the Old
Testament writer. The automatic
inclusion of the father in the New Testament version when the Old Testament
doesn't even mention him is, in fact, an accurate reflection of the general
downgrading of the value of women in Hebrew and pagan society from the time of
Moses onward, accelerated by the Hellinization of the ancient world. The
most obvious reason Miriam may not have liked Moses' wife is because she was a
Cushite, a foreigner, not a
Hebrew. From the rational, human
point of view, - i.e. to Miriam and
Aaron - Moses' credentials for leading the Hebrew people were already weak. He was the youngest of the three, their baby
brother. He had been raised as an
Egyptian, with a 'silver spoon' in his mouth.
They, on the other hand, had been raised as Hebrews among Hebrews,
sharing in all the joys and hardships
of their people. Certainly from the
experiential point of view, Miriam and Aaron may have felt better qualified to
lead the Hebrews than Moses. They knew
the people and their ways intimately, first hand. Moses did not. They may
also have felt they knew the God of the Hebrew
better than their younger brother.
(Commentators seem to agree that
the real reason for Miriam and Aaron rebelling was that they felt as well
qualified as Moses, if not better. But
evidently they remained silent until they met his wife. She, it seems, even more of a foreigner than
Moses, was the "straw that broke the camel's back", just one more
indication to them that Moses didn't know enough - or care enough - about the
Hebrew people to lead them. What they
failed to take into account was that God wasn't interested in Moses' experience
with the people or his upbringing. HE
was chiefly concerned with his heart.
(See v. 3) Moses, in his
humility and meekness, was pleasing to God, and a usable vessel. God knew him and spoke to him 'mouth to
mouth'. (v. 7-8) 4) NOTE RE: MOSES' WIFE, ZIPPORAH. (See EXOD. 2:15-22; 4:24-26; 18:1-5) From Midian (Cushan - Wycliffe,
p.411), Zipporah was herself evidently a descendant of Abraham through her
father, Jethro, by Abraham's concubine Keturah. (GEN. 25:1-2) It is not
far-fetched, therefore, to think she would have known something about the God
of the Hebrews from her priest-father, who himself had some knowledge of
Yahweh. (EX. 18:10-12 Zipporah played an important part in Moses'
relationship with God. (EX.
4:24-26) At a time when God had
threatened to kill him, Zipporah, by intuition or word of knowledge from the
Lord, intervened and on her own initiative, circumcised their son(s). Moses evidently had neglected this rite,
failing to recognize the importance of it to God. God, through Zipporah, corrected him so that he could get on with
delivering the Hebrews from Egypt. His
Midianite/Cushite wife saved his life. (Just to show how man's view toward women
changed for the worse during the years between Moses and Jesus, read these
comments on the phrase from EXOD. 4:25, which reads "threw it at Moses'
feet" in the NAS version. INTERLINEAR 1 - "put at his feet" (Berry, p. 234) INTERLINEAR 2 -
"made it touch his feet" (Green, p. 50) SEPTUAGINT - "SHE FELL at his feet" (Brenton, p. 74) (The SEPTUAGINT reflects the
hellinized Jewish view of women as it was incorporated into
rabbinic teaching during the Intertestamental period.) 5) Q.4j - It has been said that Miriam was
singled out for punishment for the
rebellion because she was a woman usurping
the authority of a man. This explanation
left me wondering if God really overlooked Aaron's rebellion BECAUSE he was a
man, and because it was somehow alright for one man to rebel against the
other. Need it be said that besides
being utter nonsense, this portrays a god who is partial over and above being
righteous? Another explanation - and this has more of a rational basis - is
that Miriam was the instigator of the rebellion against Moses. As in the instance of the making of the
golden calf, Aaron, according to this the story, was a pawn. The original language is said to support
this view - that is, that Miriam alone actually spoke out against Moses. This is at least plausible. But I think there may have been something
else at work here. Miriam was a
prophetess, one who spoke for God to the people. Aaron was a priest, one who represented the people to God. (Moses acted as both, by the way.) I believe Miriam was the one punished by God
because as a prophetess, in questioning the leadership of Moses, she was
misrepresenting God and His plan to the people. She became, in effect, a false prophet. THE END
The
story is told in Genesis: 1: And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his
brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 27: And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold,
twins were in her womb. This
is a fascinating story for several reasons. Note here that Judah, son of Jacob,
is first reported as imploring a sexual relationship with a Canaanite, clearly
forbidden. We should note that Er, daughter of the union of Judah and this
Canaanite, is killed by God. The idea that Yahweh
ends life is itself an interesting theological point; we know that Er has been
wicked.Onan, the secondborn by this same mother, then refuses to perform
responsibly for his brother; although, apparently, he is willing to go into
this woman, as custom dictated, and have sexual relationship, he is not willing
to father her child, that is, do the duty of his dead brother. This violation
of responsibility is judged wicked, and Onan, also, is slain. Now, we learn
that the originial Canaanite woman was probably a prostitute because, when she
dies, Judah goes back to the same friend. Tamar knows the custom and what the
intent of Judah is when he goes under the guise of sheep shearing. Tamar, who
has remained a widow in her father's house waiting until the last son comes of
age, now throws off her widow's veil, dresses appropriately, and then waits at
the open road for her father-in-law, Judah. Judah, predictably, goes into her
as a harlot. From this union, twins are born, repeating the now familiar theme
of struggling for
birthright. Confronted earlier with her pregnancy, Judah's reaction is to admit
that Tamar is more righteous than he, but his unrighteousness stems, it would
seem, from lying with his daughter-in-law rather than going into a relationship
with a harlot! From the breech birth, Pharez comes out first. How
important is Tamar? She is part of a direct genealogy to Christ, as found in
Matthew one: 1 An account of the genealogy † of Jesus the Messiah, † the son of
David, the son of Abraham. Now,
if we go back to the original story, we find that the midwife has given Pharez
a sentence: 29: And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold,
his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be
upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. In light of the genealogy to
comes, this utterance sounds a little like a warning to those who would assume
the responsibility of birthright; Pharez is directly in line to an annointed
one, but this person is, also, to be despised and rejected.` Tamar's
story is more interesting in light of Leviarite law and the story of Ruth; the
Oxford Companion summarizes the law and the two stories: Levirate Law (from Lat. levir, "brother-in-law"; the
Hebr. term is yŒbam, "to perform the duty of a brother-in-law"). If a
man dies without bearing offspring, his widow is to marry the deceased’s
brother (her levir). A child born of that union is considered to be
perpetuating the "name" (lineage, honor, and inheritance) of the
deceased (Deuteronomy 25.5–10). Such a practice is common in traditional
societies, promoting social and economic stability. Refusal to fulfill this
obligation results in public
shame (Deuteronomy 25.9–10), because it indicates a greater concern for one’s
personal welfare than the welfare of one’s extended family. There are two examples of levirate marriage in the Bible. In
Genesis 38, Judah’s son Er is killed by God. His second son, Onan, dies too,
for refusing to serve as a levir to Tamar, the widow. When Judah refuses to
give her his third son, Tamar dresses as a prostitute and tricks Judah himself
into fathering a child. This initially evokes condemnation on Tamar, but
subsequently she is regarded as "righteous" for her actions (Genesis
38.26), which demonstrates the great significance placed on fulfilling this obligation. In
the book of Ruth, Boaz fulfills the obligation of the levir on behalf of Ruth’s
first husband. A closer kinsman declines to perform this duty, apparently
fearful of the economic stress it would place on him (Ruth 4.6; perhaps, too,
he was unwilling to marry a foreigner). This shows that a levir’s obligations
continue until the child he has fathered is able to assume the responsibility
of defending the deceased’s "name" on his own. In
the lineage of Christ, through Tamar and Ruth, it's possible to see that both
the responsible and the irresponsible play a role. Said another way, the
lineage of Christ comes, as does that of all of us, through scoundrels and
saints; in this case, the scoundrel is Judah, although his own customs would
not identify him thus. Concerning
the role of women in ancient society, the Oxford Companion explains that
they may defy social order to achieve divinely sanctined ends: Social
Reality and Narrative Patterns. Investigators of women’s history view with interest
the intersection between religious symbols and
narrative patterns on the one hand and social reality on the other. The fact
that Ishtar or Hathor s an authoritative female deity does not mean that
real-life women could achieve comparable power in Egyptian or Mesopotamian
society. Nevertheless, in actual society and in literature, women who
function on the upper or lower margins of normative society—queens, wealthy
widows, priestesses, prostitutes—may transcend otherwise static
boundaries determined by gender. As high priestess of the Sumerian mood god,
the princess Enheduanna (twenty-third century BCE) composed hymns which may
have provided a model for later hymnists. The prostitute Rahab negotiates
successfully for the common good of her family and Israel (Joshua 2; Joshua 6).
In the Gilgamesh Epic, the prostitute Shamhat is pivotal in bringing Enkidu
from bestiality to civilization; her role may usefully be compared to that of
Eve in Genesis 3. Anthropologists have observed that this mediating quality is
often a distinctive aspect of femaleness. A recurrent pattern in biblical stories about women is their use
of indirection,
even subterfuge, to achieve divinely sanctioned ends (e.g., Rebekah, Genesis
27; Tamar, Genesis 38; Shiphrah and Puah, Exodus 1.15–21; Esther). By seemingly
devious actions which invert or overthrow established but restrictive social
hierarchies, women often bring about a new order of life and freedom.
Another Tamara's story is told in 2 Samuel: 13 Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister
whose name was Tamar; and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her. 2 Amnon was
so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was
a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon
had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah; and
Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 He said to him, "O son of the king, why
are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?" Amnon
said to him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister." 5 Jonadab
said to him, "Lie down on your bed, and pretend to be ill; and when your
father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me something
to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, so that I may see it and eat it from
her hand.’ " 6 So Amnon lay down, and pretended to be ill; and when the
king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar
come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her
hand."
Absalom Avenges the Violation of His Sister23 After two full years Absalom had
sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the
king’s sons. 24 Absalom came to the king, and said, "Your servant has
sheepshearers; will the king and his servants please go with your
servant?" 25 But the king said to Absalom, "No, my son, let us not
all go, or else we will be burdensome to you." He pressed him, but he
would not go but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, "If not,
please let my brother Amnon go with us." The king said to him, "Why
should he go with you?" 27 But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and
all the king’s sons go with him. Absalom made a feast like a king’s feast. † 28
Then Absalom commanded his servants, "Watch when Amnon’s heart is merry
with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not be
afraid; have I not myself commanded you? Be courageous and valiant." 29 So
the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the
king’s sons rose, and each mounted his mule and fled. 30 While they were on the way, the report came to David that
Absalom had killed all the king’s sons, and not one of them was left. 31 The
king rose, tore his garments, and lay on the ground; and all his servants who
were standing by tore their garments. 32 But Jonadab, the son of David’s
brother Shimeah, said, "Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all
the young men the king’s sons; Amnon alone is dead. This has been determined by
Absalom from the day Amnon † raped his sister Tamar. 33 Now therefore, do not
let my lord the king take it to heart, as if all the king’s sons were dead; for
Amnon alone is dead." In
this story, a couple of sub-stories become important: the story of
half-sister's and the story of Absalom. Reading just the headline or the
Biblical story, one is led to think that Absalom performs a worthy avenging
of his sister's wrong. Not so! Half-sister's could be married, and it's clear
that Tamar believes David would allow Amnon to have Tamar: Amnon is the firstborn son, the one directly in line to David's
throne; Absalom in killing Amnon puts himself next in line. If we're looking at
genealogy, I Chronicles finishes the story: 3 These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn Amnon, by
Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite; 2 the third
Absalom, son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah,
son of Haggith; 3 the fifth Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth Ithream, by his
wife Eglah; 4 six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years
and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 5 These were
born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, four by
Bath-shua, daughter of Ammiel; 6 then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah,
Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9 All these were
David’s sons, besides the sons of the concubines; and Tamar was their sister. What happens to Absalom is not the Sunday School story learned by
most:
Absalom
is caught up by his head, left hanging between heaven and earth, an appropriate
end to an individual giving himself to unbridled ambition; that this is the
case is told by two things: the oak tree which is well known as a place of
non-Yahweh worship and the pillar which is erected there and called
"Absalom's monument." Between heaven and earth echoes here the ambition of those building the tower of
Babel. Tamar's story ends more quietly: So Tamar
remained, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house.
Hagar The
story is easy to recall. We will recall that Hagar is an Egyptian (Gen. 16.3).
Abram goes into her her because his
wife is barren, and she conceives. Forgetting her subservient role as
slave-wife, she laughs at Sarai , the connotation being that Sarah is lowered
in stature because she, unlike Hagar, is barren. According to the Code of
Hammurabi, a maid elevated to slave-wife could be returned to slave but not
turned out of the house. When Abram abdicates responsibility by
giving it to Sarai, she responds irresponsibly by sending Hagar away. In
the New Testament, we find an allegorizing of the Sarai-Hagar story: The Allegory of Hagar and Sarah 21 Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not
listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by
a slave woman and the other by a
free woman. 23 One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh;
the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. 24 Now
this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is
Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 25 Now Hagar is Mount
Sinai in Arabia † and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in
slavery with her children. 26 But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem
above; she is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written, "Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, Let's
get to Hagar's story first, though: 21 The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had
promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time
of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom
Sarah bore him. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days
old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son
Isaac was born to him. 6 Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me;
everyone who hears will laugh with me." 7 And she said, "Who would
ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him
a son in his old age." Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away8 The child grew, and was weaned; and
Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw
the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her
son Isaac. † 10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with
her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son
Isaac." 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his
son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy
and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells
you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for
the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is
your offspring." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread
and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along
with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the
wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under
one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off,
about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Do not let me look on the
death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice
and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to
Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be
afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up
the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of
him." 19 Then God opened her
eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and
gave the boy a drink. In
Genesis 16.7, we discover where it is Hagar is headed; the angel of God
discovers her at Shur, an Egyptian border town. She is clearly on her way home
to Egypt. Identified as Sarai's maid, Hagar must confess she is wrong to run
away. Second, she is forced to reconsider her actions. This
confused and distressed woman is to raise a son who is to father a nation; here
is the rest of the story (Gen.21): 12 These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar
the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave-girl, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of
the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn
of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema,
Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are
their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes
according to their tribes. 17 (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one
hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to
his people.) 18 They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in
the direction of Assyria; he settled down † alongside of † all his people. The
Oxford Bible Companion Hagar.
An Egyptian servant of Sarah, featured in the Genesis narratives about Sarah
and Abraham. According to custom, Sarah, who was sterile, presented Hagar to
Abraham so that Hagar might conceive and provide Abraham with an heir. Two
Hagar stories appear in the Bible. The first (Genesis 16.1–16) describes
the expulsion of the pregnant
Hagar from Sarah’s household, her conversation in the wilderness with a
messenger of God who urges her to return to the household, and the subsequent
birth of her son Ishmael. In the second Hagar story (Genesis 21.8–21), set more
than fourteen years later, when Sarah herself had at last borne a son (Isaac)
and was celebrating the day of his being weaned, Hagar and Ishmael are cast out
from Sarah’s household into the wilderness.
A divine messenger rescues
them when their water supply runs out, and he proclaims that Ishmael will
become a great nation. The
literary and chronological relationship of these two narratives is problematic,
but certain themes common to both can be recognized. One is that Sarah is
the dominant figure in the
household with respect to management of domestic affairs, including determining
the fate of household staff. In both narratives, Sarah makes a decision about
Hagar’s fate and Abraham acquiesces. Another theme is the tension between the main wife and
a concubine or servant wife with respect to inheritance. Parallels with
Babylonian laws suggest that Isaac, though born later, could still be
considered firstborn. Sarah’s desire to
exclude Ishmael from any inheritance at all is partly to satisfy the narrative
of Genesis 17, in which Sarah will be the mother of the covenantal heir; it may
also reflect the difficult personal relations that arise when one son receives
all. A
fourth theme involves the way in which disadvantaged individuals are portrayed
as surviving and being blessed with the promise of great prominence. A final
theme concerns the special role of Ishmael in
biblical history. The Hagar stories establish the close relationship of the
Ishmaelites ("the descendants of Hagar," according to Baruch 3.23) to
the Israelites, relegating them to a separate territory but recognizing that
God has protected and sustained their eponymous ancestor, the son of Hagar and
Abraham. Finally, the narratives, while making Hagar a heroic figure, are also
sensitive to her vulnerability as a woman,
a foreigner, and a servant. Oxford
Companion also
says the following about the fathering of nations: Ishmael.
Son of Abraham and Hagar. A generally positive attitude toward Ishmael and thus
toward his descendants is found in the Genesis traditions. He is the recipient
of a special divine blessing (Genesis 17.20) and is present at the burial of
Abraham (Genesis 25.9). Like Jacob, Ishmael is the father of twelve sons, the
ancestors of twelve tribes (Genesis 25.16). Another indication of the generally
favorable view of this patriarch is the fact that several other later
Israelites have the same name. There are, however, hints of ethnic tension in
the narratives as well. Like
Cain, Ishmael is depicted as an outcast and prone to violence (Genesis 16.12),
and as a wanderer (note the opening words of Melville’s Moby-Dick). The
Ishmaelites are elsewhere described as leading a typically nomadic life
(Genesis 37.25; Psalm 83.6; 1 Chronicles 27.30). The story of Ishmael and
Hagar’s separation from Abraham’s household contains the kind of scurrilous
sexual innuendo found elsewhere in J’s etiological narratives concerning
Israel’s neighbors.
Judith and Holofernes (Apocryphal) The
Oxford Companion tells the Judith
story of the Apocrypha in the
following way: Critical Analysis. The story
is well-told, especially chaps. Judith
10–13, which are a
masterpiece of irony. The character and personality of the principal
antagonists, as well as those of minor figures such as King Nebuchadrezzar
(called Nebuchadnezzar in the book), the Jewish elder Uzziah of Bethulia, and
the Ammonite convert Achior, are all vividly drawn and take on a life of their
own. Their speeches, conversations, and prayers, as well as the story’s plot,
clearly and effectively express the storyteller’s theology and ethics.
Nonetheless, the book fairly bristles with problems, as the struggles over its
canonicity so clearly attest. While western church fathers routinely accepted
the book as canonical, eastern fathers quite often did not. Although the book purports to be a historical account, it abounds
in serious errors concerning both history and geography, the most egregious
being in Judith 1.1, where Nebuchadnezzar (605–562 bce) is described as king of the
Assyrians with his capital at Nineveh! Moreover, in Judith 1.13–16 he kills the great Median king Arphaxad (who is otherwise unknown
to scholars) and destroys Ecbatana, the great city Arphaxad had founded (Judith 1.2–4), although in point of fact Ecbatana was founded by Deioces and
was conquered by Cyrus the Great in 554 bce. In Judith 2, geographical errors replace historical ones:
Holofernes’s army traveled from Nineveh to Northern Cilicia, some 800 km (500
mi), in three days (Judith
2.21), then fought its
way through Put and Lud (Judith
2.23)—which are usually
identified by scholars as being in Africa and Asia Minor, respectively—only to
cross the Euphrates and proceed west through Mesopotamia (Judith 2.24) and arrive in Cilicia (Judith 2.25)!
Paradoxically, the brief survey of Israel’s history from the days of the
ancestors into the early postexilic period by the Ammonite Achior (Judith 5), is a reasonably accurate account. So too, Holofernes’s
itinerary through Palestine (Judith
2–3) seems to be more or
less geographically correct. Yet, despite a wealth of geographical and
topographical clues throughout the story, the location of Bethulia, the
principal scene of the action, is totally unknown to scholars. The moral and ethical views of the storyteller have frequently
been censured, especially the treatment and obvious approval of the character
and conduct of the heroine who, at least in her dealings with Holofernes,
showed herself to be a shameless flatterer (Judith 11.7–8),
a bold-faced liar (Judith
11.12–14; Judith 11.18–19), and a ruthless assassin (Judith 13.7–8)
who seemingly follows two highly popular but debatable axioms: “all’s fair in
love and war” and “the end justifies the means.” Yet both before and after her murderous (and salvific) act, Judith
is regarded by her people as a saint, that is, one who is totally devoted to
the Lord: diligent both in prayer (Judith 9.1–14)
and in fasting (Judith
8.4–6), observant of the
dietary laws (Judith
10.5; Judith 12.2), honoring her husband’s memory by remaining forever celibate
after his death (Judith
16.22) and honored by all
(Judith 8.8; Judith 8.28–31; Judith 16.21), and fearing the Lord (cf. Judith 16.16).
In the eyes of the storyteller, at least, Judith was the saint who murdered for
her people and her God; she is the ideal Jewish woman, as her name, which is
simply the feminine form of the word for “Jewish,” suggests. Carey
A. Moore The literary implications of the story are also captured in
The Oxford Companion: Literary Analysis. No other biblical book, in either its parts or its totality, is as quintessentially ironic as Judith. Given the sexist and patriarchal character of the day, its central theme is most ironic: “The Lord Almighty has foiled them by the hand of a woman” (Judith 16.5); this echoes, probably deliberately, the story of Jael (Judges 4.17–22; Judges 5.24–27). The storyteller probably intended even the opening verse ( |
