Joshua through Esther, The Historical Books
- Thread starter Ghid
- Start date
Judges 1
The first book of Judges is a sort of list of bullet points or slides in a presentation. It appears to me to be a justification that the tribe of Judah should be the preeminent Hebrew tribe. God endorses them, and they have more success in battle. Along with the tribe of Simeon they captured Bezek. Then the tribe of Judah burned Jerusalem, which seems a bit counterproductive, but it is a victory.
The other tribes Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan had less success. Two groups, Manasah and Ephraim, which must be part of the tribe of Joseph, also had less success.
Judges 1 fails to mention four tribes, Reuben, Levi, Gad, and Issachar.
The story of how the Hebrews took control of Canaan reminds me of how the Aztecs took control of Mexico or how the Lakota took control of the Mississippi River in what is now Iowa or South Dakota. During the process, the invaders took the land without considering the original inhabitants.
During this chaos, Caleb allowed his daughter to marry his younger brother. Or maybe he sold his daughter to his younger brother. I do wonder why there is not more to the story of Caleb and his daughter. It sounds like it would be a great yarn,, like maybe by Edna Ferber
Judges 2
Ashtoreths -- Phoenician goddesses; possibly the multiple personality of Ashtoreth
Baal - cult image, false god
Timnath Heres -- by tradition Kifi Haris in the Palestinian Authority
Most of Judges 2 provides an explanation for why non-Hebrew people continued to live in Canaan. Basically, God became angry with the Hebrews behavior, and he stops supporting the Hebrews military operations. It is similar to the Iliad in which Agamemnon angers Apollo with similar results.
The first book of Judges is a sort of list of bullet points or slides in a presentation. It appears to me to be a justification that the tribe of Judah should be the preeminent Hebrew tribe. God endorses them, and they have more success in battle. Along with the tribe of Simeon they captured Bezek. Then the tribe of Judah burned Jerusalem, which seems a bit counterproductive, but it is a victory.
The other tribes Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan had less success. Two groups, Manasah and Ephraim, which must be part of the tribe of Joseph, also had less success.
Judges 1 fails to mention four tribes, Reuben, Levi, Gad, and Issachar.
The story of how the Hebrews took control of Canaan reminds me of how the Aztecs took control of Mexico or how the Lakota took control of the Mississippi River in what is now Iowa or South Dakota. During the process, the invaders took the land without considering the original inhabitants.
During this chaos, Caleb allowed his daughter to marry his younger brother. Or maybe he sold his daughter to his younger brother. I do wonder why there is not more to the story of Caleb and his daughter. It sounds like it would be a great yarn,, like maybe by Edna Ferber
Judges 2
Ashtoreths -- Phoenician goddesses; possibly the multiple personality of Ashtoreth
Baal - cult image, false god
Timnath Heres -- by tradition Kifi Haris in the Palestinian Authority
Most of Judges 2 provides an explanation for why non-Hebrew people continued to live in Canaan. Basically, God became angry with the Hebrews behavior, and he stops supporting the Hebrews military operations. It is similar to the Iliad in which Agamemnon angers Apollo with similar results.
I would have thought Adoni-Bezek would deserve a mention, what with losing his thumbs and big toes. Does this mean he can't oppose them anymore?????
That's worth a chuckle. As near as I could tell, Bezek has not been found. Or it has been found; and Adoni-Bezek and his minions were illiterate, so that they could not record his name. Or maybe none in the inhabitant had thumbs.
The nice lady who thought that I am an atheist should take note. If Adoni-Bezek were fiction, he would not be in the text. No author would write such a small disconnected detail and call it a story. In fiction, Adoni-Bezek would kidnap Caleb's daughter, and he and his younger brother would watch the the amputations.
And my mother would likely notice that it is the sort of R-rated detail that could prevent me seeing a movie.
A good chunk of the Bible is R-rated, especially Judges, so be careful little eyes what you readThat's worth a chuckle. As near as I could tell, Bezek has not been found. Or it has been found; and Adoni-Bezek and his minions were illiterate, so that they could not record his name. Or maybe none in the inhabitant had thumbs.
The nice lady who thought that I am an atheist should take note. If Adoni-Bezek were fiction, he would not be in the text. No author would write such a small disconnected detail and call it a story. In fiction, Adoni-Bezek would kidnap Caleb's daughter, and he and his younger brother would watch the the amputations.
And my mother would likely notice that it is the sort of R-rated detail that could prevent me seeing a movie.
Just don't let your inner child get corrupted!
Well, Noah’s daughters, Dinah, and Tamar were not exactly G-rated.
I found an interesting argument for the idea that the elements of the Eucharist become blood and body?
That question must sound irrelevant in a thread about Judges, but like Liza Doolittle said to ‘Enry ‘iggins, “Just you wait.”
On Saturday mornings I drive my aunt, who does not drive, to work. Mom rides with us because in California, ditzy, teenage girls can’t legally drive with passengers without an older adult driver in the car. After delivering my aunt, we meet my study advisor at a McDonald{s restaurant. Until this year he taught at my school, and we talked before or after school. I believe that he is a Fundamentalist Christian, but I don’t really know because he does not talk about his religion.
Anyway when I arrive at McDonald’s, some of the study group has arrived, and Mom goes her way to Kohl’s, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or whatever. We talk about athletics, boys, college, but mostly schoolwork. After all, it is a study group. Our study advisor stays for at least two hours, and then he splits.
After some preliminary discussion of schoolwork, we throw the floor open for confessions, which means that we each confess one thing that we did during the week. Today, I confessed that I am reading Judges.
Our study advisor mentioned that Judges offers an example of sets: Hebrews, Canaanites, and the since the Hebrews had not yet driven the Canaanites from Canaan, the intersection of Hebrews and Canaanites.
Our study advisor is no mathematician, but he is an amateur philosopher. I know he has read books by Alain Badiou, who is sometimes known as the most influential living philosopher, certainly the most influential atheist philosopher. I have tried to read Being and Events and another of Badiou’s books that was a set-theory textbook for philosophers. I did not have much success. Beyond that, I’m going to hell because I read a book written by an enemy of the church; or not, because I did not actually manage to read it.
Today, as we babbled, he said that Badiou said something about when set A and set B combine, they form three sets, set A, set B, and set AorB, just like the Hebrews in their invasion of Canaan. Badiou is supposed to have also said that in addition, another set, called the inexplicable set is formed.
Now I suspect that is not correct. My study advisor is a walking encyclopedia of humanities, but he is not much a mathematician. I don’t understand Badiou, so I don’t know for sure.
What I think I understand is that every set has an element known as the empty set. The empty set may be what Badiou or possibly my study advisor wants to call the inexplicable set.
So when an Atheist or I suppose a Protestant asks, “Where is the blood and body?” the answer would be, “In the inexplicable set formed by the intersection of bread and wine?”
It’s kinda hokey, but maybe it would appeal to an atheist.
I found an interesting argument for the idea that the elements of the Eucharist become blood and body?
That question must sound irrelevant in a thread about Judges, but like Liza Doolittle said to ‘Enry ‘iggins, “Just you wait.”
On Saturday mornings I drive my aunt, who does not drive, to work. Mom rides with us because in California, ditzy, teenage girls can’t legally drive with passengers without an older adult driver in the car. After delivering my aunt, we meet my study advisor at a McDonald{s restaurant. Until this year he taught at my school, and we talked before or after school. I believe that he is a Fundamentalist Christian, but I don’t really know because he does not talk about his religion.
Anyway when I arrive at McDonald’s, some of the study group has arrived, and Mom goes her way to Kohl’s, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or whatever. We talk about athletics, boys, college, but mostly schoolwork. After all, it is a study group. Our study advisor stays for at least two hours, and then he splits.
After some preliminary discussion of schoolwork, we throw the floor open for confessions, which means that we each confess one thing that we did during the week. Today, I confessed that I am reading Judges.
Our study advisor mentioned that Judges offers an example of sets: Hebrews, Canaanites, and the since the Hebrews had not yet driven the Canaanites from Canaan, the intersection of Hebrews and Canaanites.
Our study advisor is no mathematician, but he is an amateur philosopher. I know he has read books by Alain Badiou, who is sometimes known as the most influential living philosopher, certainly the most influential atheist philosopher. I have tried to read Being and Events and another of Badiou’s books that was a set-theory textbook for philosophers. I did not have much success. Beyond that, I’m going to hell because I read a book written by an enemy of the church; or not, because I did not actually manage to read it.
Today, as we babbled, he said that Badiou said something about when set A and set B combine, they form three sets, set A, set B, and set AorB, just like the Hebrews in their invasion of Canaan. Badiou is supposed to have also said that in addition, another set, called the inexplicable set is formed.
Now I suspect that is not correct. My study advisor is a walking encyclopedia of humanities, but he is not much a mathematician. I don’t understand Badiou, so I don’t know for sure.
What I think I understand is that every set has an element known as the empty set. The empty set may be what Badiou or possibly my study advisor wants to call the inexplicable set.
So when an Atheist or I suppose a Protestant asks, “Where is the blood and body?” the answer would be, “In the inexplicable set formed by the intersection of bread and wine?”
It’s kinda hokey, but maybe it would appeal to an atheist.
Judges 3
Aram Naharaim -- Could be Nahrima mentioned in three Amarna tablets
Baal Hermon -- Could be modern Mount Hemon
Lebo Hamath -- unidentified location but stereotypically a resort for gay members of the terrorist group Hamas
ox goad - pointed stick used to poke the ox and goad it into moving when you wanted it to move.
Judges 3 says that because the descendants of the Israelites had not had previous battle experience, God gave them five rulers of the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites (one tribe must have had more than one ruler), so that they might learn warfare. And even worse, the Kings “were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses."
At first glance, this is cowabunga, total OMG. It reminds me of how my boyfriend’s mother (a niche Jewish lady) reacts when she thinks God has offered her a challenge. “Oye, ya gotta do it now? Ya couldna waited till the weekend.”
But on the other hand, I can see how life is a challenge. I can hear Jonathan Edwards, “Brothers and Sisters, Satan will tempt you with the five kings of Canaan. The gates of hell … etc”
So the Hebrews lived among the above four groups and also, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, and Jebusites. I know that the Hittites and Amorites were the superpowers of the times. For example, the Hittites fought the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh.
A hurly-burly neither lost nor won,
Settled by treaty when it was done.
Hammurabi was an Amorite king, who published his code, necessary or appropriate in aid of his jurisdiction, known today as, The Code of Hammurabi.
So Canaan became a sort of melting pot as the Hebrews mixed with the locals, and the Hebrews “served the Baals and the Asherahs.” I think that means that they worshiped any local god. Sort of if you can’t beat’um, join’um. I can hear it, “Oye, I sent my son to town. He came home a Canaanite.”
A most likely illiterate king, Cushan-Rishathaim, of Aram Naharaim, which is an undisclosed location, conquered Canaan for less than a decade. A judge, Othniel son of Kenaz removed Cushan Rishathaim. “So the land had peace for forty years, “ … until Othniel son of Kenaz died.”
Next the king of Moab, Eglon, subjugated the Hebrews for almost two decades. Archaeological sites in Egypt and Moab have identified Moab.
A judge, Ehud “son of Gera the Benjamite,” “a left handed man” “made a double edged sword,” and he used it to kill Eglon. Moab became subject to Israel, and they had peace for eight decades.
Double edged swords must have been somehow unique.
Next Shamgar smote 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. Shamgar, fortunes fool, the Philistines might have had AK-47’s instead of oxgoads.
Judges 4
Hazor - several Hazors are archaeological sites.
Harosheth Haggoyim - any of three achaeological sites
Jabin - an historically unidentified king of Hazor
Sisera - commander of Jabin’s army
Ehud died.
Jabin, King of Canaan, reigned in Hazor. Sisera, commander of the Jabin’s army, had headquarters at Harosheth Haggoyim.
Jabin oppressed the Israelites for two decades. A female judge lead Israel in legal matters, and that suggests that the Israelis ruled themselves. Oppressed in this case must mean “demanded tribute.”
Deborah organized the resistance. She appointed Barak son of Abinoam as a general, and he wanted her to serve on his staff.
Somehow they lured Sisera’s army to Mount Tabor. That must have given the Barak a tactical advantage. Only Sisera survived the battle, and he, not privy to his face, found the bad fortune to stop at Jael’s tent. She gave him drink and a bed. When he went to sleep, she, being an ancestor of Lady MacBeth, drove a tent peg through his head.
The battle at Mount Tabor must have been the first, but decisive battle because “the Israelites pressed ... Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.”
Aram Naharaim -- Could be Nahrima mentioned in three Amarna tablets
Baal Hermon -- Could be modern Mount Hemon
Lebo Hamath -- unidentified location but stereotypically a resort for gay members of the terrorist group Hamas
ox goad - pointed stick used to poke the ox and goad it into moving when you wanted it to move.
Judges 3 says that because the descendants of the Israelites had not had previous battle experience, God gave them five rulers of the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites (one tribe must have had more than one ruler), so that they might learn warfare. And even worse, the Kings “were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses."
At first glance, this is cowabunga, total OMG. It reminds me of how my boyfriend’s mother (a niche Jewish lady) reacts when she thinks God has offered her a challenge. “Oye, ya gotta do it now? Ya couldna waited till the weekend.”
But on the other hand, I can see how life is a challenge. I can hear Jonathan Edwards, “Brothers and Sisters, Satan will tempt you with the five kings of Canaan. The gates of hell … etc”
So the Hebrews lived among the above four groups and also, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, and Jebusites. I know that the Hittites and Amorites were the superpowers of the times. For example, the Hittites fought the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh.
A hurly-burly neither lost nor won,
Settled by treaty when it was done.
Hammurabi was an Amorite king, who published his code, necessary or appropriate in aid of his jurisdiction, known today as, The Code of Hammurabi.
So Canaan became a sort of melting pot as the Hebrews mixed with the locals, and the Hebrews “served the Baals and the Asherahs.” I think that means that they worshiped any local god. Sort of if you can’t beat’um, join’um. I can hear it, “Oye, I sent my son to town. He came home a Canaanite.”
A most likely illiterate king, Cushan-Rishathaim, of Aram Naharaim, which is an undisclosed location, conquered Canaan for less than a decade. A judge, Othniel son of Kenaz removed Cushan Rishathaim. “So the land had peace for forty years, “ … until Othniel son of Kenaz died.”
Next the king of Moab, Eglon, subjugated the Hebrews for almost two decades. Archaeological sites in Egypt and Moab have identified Moab.
A judge, Ehud “son of Gera the Benjamite,” “a left handed man” “made a double edged sword,” and he used it to kill Eglon. Moab became subject to Israel, and they had peace for eight decades.
Double edged swords must have been somehow unique.
Next Shamgar smote 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. Shamgar, fortunes fool, the Philistines might have had AK-47’s instead of oxgoads.
Judges 4
Hazor - several Hazors are archaeological sites.
Harosheth Haggoyim - any of three achaeological sites
Jabin - an historically unidentified king of Hazor
Sisera - commander of Jabin’s army
Ehud died.
Jabin, King of Canaan, reigned in Hazor. Sisera, commander of the Jabin’s army, had headquarters at Harosheth Haggoyim.
Jabin oppressed the Israelites for two decades. A female judge lead Israel in legal matters, and that suggests that the Israelis ruled themselves. Oppressed in this case must mean “demanded tribute.”
Deborah organized the resistance. She appointed Barak son of Abinoam as a general, and he wanted her to serve on his staff.
Somehow they lured Sisera’s army to Mount Tabor. That must have given the Barak a tactical advantage. Only Sisera survived the battle, and he, not privy to his face, found the bad fortune to stop at Jael’s tent. She gave him drink and a bed. When he went to sleep, she, being an ancestor of Lady MacBeth, drove a tent peg through his head.
The battle at Mount Tabor must have been the first, but decisive battle because “the Israelites pressed ... Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.”
Judges 5
The Gloss in the New International Version calls Judges 5, The Song of Deborah. It likely sounded beautiful something like an Italian opera sounds beautiful, even if the audience can’t understand it. I know that the Quran sounds beautiful in Arabic, and I expect that the Bible sounds beautiful in Hebrew
Seir - I would have assumed that Seir was a City in Edom, but in modern times it is mountains, so it must have been a region like Edom.
Edom is and acheaologically and historically identified place
highways - did israel have highways in the second millennium BCE
Megiddo could be the archaeological site Tel Megiddo, and it could be associated with the term Armageddon because it had a very large altar for burnt offerings. I don’t have a footnote for that. I learned it in dinner-table conversation.
Then thundered the horses’ hooves—galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds. All in the valley of Death rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade!
The Gloss in the New International Version calls Judges 5, The Song of Deborah. It likely sounded beautiful something like an Italian opera sounds beautiful, even if the audience can’t understand it. I know that the Quran sounds beautiful in Arabic, and I expect that the Bible sounds beautiful in Hebrew
Seir - I would have assumed that Seir was a City in Edom, but in modern times it is mountains, so it must have been a region like Edom.
Edom is and acheaologically and historically identified place
highways - did israel have highways in the second millennium BCE
Megiddo could be the archaeological site Tel Megiddo, and it could be associated with the term Armageddon because it had a very large altar for burnt offerings. I don’t have a footnote for that. I learned it in dinner-table conversation.
Then thundered the horses’ hooves—galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds. All in the valley of Death rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade!
I would think that "highways" would reference paths, or a loose definition of roads, which were trailblazed on higher levels so as to not be in the mud or thickets, where robbers could hide easily. Kings would make them for better transportation of armies and trade. One site I read said that all you have to do is walk around Israel to discover the benefits of a "highway" or raised road.
I bet that is right. I remember reading about an archeaological site. The article said that it appeared to be a station on a trade route. Their evidence for was the stables, which appeared to be larger than necessary for such a small town, so they thought that the sables were for caravans to come in and be safe at night. I guess where there are caravans, there must be highways.
Judges 9 Judges 10, Judges 11 Judges 12
Gideon’s son, Abimelech, killed his brothers. He became king of some part of Israel, possibly Manasseh. In a more or less random insident, a woman droped something on his head, and that was the end of him.
It is an early version of Absalom and David. I know about that because I read Faulkner’s Light in August. It’s a kinda cool book, history of the Civil War from Shiloh through Atlanta and to Richmond, a description of Southern Plantation Society, and how some people are in and others out.
Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo (OMG you can’t make this up) led Israel.
Jair of Gilead led Israel
Jephthah was not part of his father’s family because his mother was not the wife of his father.
Cowabunga, I see a trashy novel in the air.
Somehow he had the reputation for being a mighty warrior, so the Israelites asked for his help. Sounds something like General Santa Ana and Mexico.
The beef with the Ammonites involved the land that the Israelites had taken when Joshua had led them into Canaan. Jephthah denied the Ammonite claim, and he attacked. Before the battle he pledged to give to God the first thing his saw on his return home. Then he destroyed all the towns, which of course seems contraproductive.
When he returned, the first thing he was was his daughter, so he burnt her to a crip on the altar.
Chapter 12 mentions briefly three more Judges.
Gideon’s son, Abimelech, killed his brothers. He became king of some part of Israel, possibly Manasseh. In a more or less random insident, a woman droped something on his head, and that was the end of him.
It is an early version of Absalom and David. I know about that because I read Faulkner’s Light in August. It’s a kinda cool book, history of the Civil War from Shiloh through Atlanta and to Richmond, a description of Southern Plantation Society, and how some people are in and others out.
Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo (OMG you can’t make this up) led Israel.
Jair of Gilead led Israel
Jephthah was not part of his father’s family because his mother was not the wife of his father.
Cowabunga, I see a trashy novel in the air.
Somehow he had the reputation for being a mighty warrior, so the Israelites asked for his help. Sounds something like General Santa Ana and Mexico.
The beef with the Ammonites involved the land that the Israelites had taken when Joshua had led them into Canaan. Jephthah denied the Ammonite claim, and he attacked. Before the battle he pledged to give to God the first thing his saw on his return home. Then he destroyed all the towns, which of course seems contraproductive.
When he returned, the first thing he was was his daughter, so he burnt her to a crip on the altar.
Chapter 12 mentions briefly three more Judges.
Judges 13-16
I learned Samson’s story in Great Granny’s Sunday School. Of course, I learned the sanitary version.
I think the story emphasizes pride. God and I supposed the Philistines punish Samson because he swaggers around impressing people with his stength.
In a later part of the story, Israelites confront Samson about the Philistine{s belligerent behavior, and he makes a statement that sounds like a Bronze Age equivalent of the Golden rule. “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
The story begins with a wife, ....
Bulletin, bulletin, bulletin … This just in from Sexist Central. Scholars have discovered subtle biblical sexism. Women don’t have names. We now continue with our regular program.
who had a son. An angel told her not to drink fermented drink and not to cut his hair because as long as Samson, her son, had long hair he would be strong, sort of a Conan the Barbarian.
The man and his wife had a series of what’s-cubit moments as they tried to deal with the idea of raising Conan the Barbarian.
If I were called upon to deliver a “this-same-JAH-EE-sus” sermon in Great Granny’s church, the lesson of this initial part of the story would be that God is inexplicable. People get hung up on seemingly inexplicable parts of The Bible, such as Genesis 1. They should realize that God is inexplicable. (On a slightly different note, and I know this is bizarre, but I have this vision of Daffy Duck saying, “Inex PLIC ... able.”)
Samson met the woman, Delilah, who became his wife. She was a Philistine. He was an Israelite.They were Pyramus and Thisby.
Sometimes people call me Delilah.
During the courtship he killed a lion with “bare hands,” very much like Conan the Barbarian.
At a party, which must have been a wedding feast with Philistine guests, Sampson offered a riddle and a wager about the riddle. I’m sure that if my father’s father were there, he would have offered odds on the outcome. I think that it was not really a riddle or it lost its meaning in translation, but his guests accepted the challenge.
When the Philistines could not answer the riddle, they made Delilah an offer that she could not refuse. They insisted that she find the answer to the riddle.
So Delilah went into the “if-you-won’t-tell-me-you-don’t-love-me mode,” and Samson told her the answer to the riddle.
I use a similar line. “Oh, please, please, I’ll be your best friend.” Even worse, I developed the body language: the blinking, expanding eyes; the rolling shoulders, and the flipping hair.
Last year Dad showed me a video of what it looks like. It had a double impact because I had just learned about how rapists like victims with ponytails and skimpy clothes.
Anyway, Samson lost the bet, and he killed 30 (probably) Philistines, so he could pay the wager with their possessions. He went home, and I suppose because the party was her wedding, Delilah screwed someone else. I didn’t learn that part in the Sunday School. Bizarre or what? But there is more.
When Samson got over his hissy fit, he went back to his father-in-law’s house, and he found Dalilah with another man. For revenge he destroyed the Philistine wheat crop. They retaliated by by killing Delilah and her family.
The of rest the story repeats previous information, including Samson married the then deceased Delilah for a second time.
The Philistines want to kill Samson. No surprise there.
The Israelites confront Samson about the Philistines belligerent behavior, and he quotes the equivalent of the Bronze Age Golden rule. “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
In this later version of the story the Philistines bribed instead of threatened Delilah. Samson told her that his hair made him strong, so the Philistines had the means to subdue him. They blinded him and put him on display in a temple.
In likely the most Conan moment of all, Samson prayed for the return of his strength. God granted his wish. Samson broke free his bonds, and he destroyed the temple, killing everyone inside.
Definitely not G-rated
I learned Samson’s story in Great Granny’s Sunday School. Of course, I learned the sanitary version.
I think the story emphasizes pride. God and I supposed the Philistines punish Samson because he swaggers around impressing people with his stength.
In a later part of the story, Israelites confront Samson about the Philistine{s belligerent behavior, and he makes a statement that sounds like a Bronze Age equivalent of the Golden rule. “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
The story begins with a wife, ....
Bulletin, bulletin, bulletin … This just in from Sexist Central. Scholars have discovered subtle biblical sexism. Women don’t have names. We now continue with our regular program.
who had a son. An angel told her not to drink fermented drink and not to cut his hair because as long as Samson, her son, had long hair he would be strong, sort of a Conan the Barbarian.
The man and his wife had a series of what’s-cubit moments as they tried to deal with the idea of raising Conan the Barbarian.
If I were called upon to deliver a “this-same-JAH-EE-sus” sermon in Great Granny’s church, the lesson of this initial part of the story would be that God is inexplicable. People get hung up on seemingly inexplicable parts of The Bible, such as Genesis 1. They should realize that God is inexplicable. (On a slightly different note, and I know this is bizarre, but I have this vision of Daffy Duck saying, “Inex PLIC ... able.”)
Samson met the woman, Delilah, who became his wife. She was a Philistine. He was an Israelite.They were Pyramus and Thisby.
Sometimes people call me Delilah.
During the courtship he killed a lion with “bare hands,” very much like Conan the Barbarian.
At a party, which must have been a wedding feast with Philistine guests, Sampson offered a riddle and a wager about the riddle. I’m sure that if my father’s father were there, he would have offered odds on the outcome. I think that it was not really a riddle or it lost its meaning in translation, but his guests accepted the challenge.
When the Philistines could not answer the riddle, they made Delilah an offer that she could not refuse. They insisted that she find the answer to the riddle.
So Delilah went into the “if-you-won’t-tell-me-you-don’t-love-me mode,” and Samson told her the answer to the riddle.
I use a similar line. “Oh, please, please, I’ll be your best friend.” Even worse, I developed the body language: the blinking, expanding eyes; the rolling shoulders, and the flipping hair.
Last year Dad showed me a video of what it looks like. It had a double impact because I had just learned about how rapists like victims with ponytails and skimpy clothes.
Anyway, Samson lost the bet, and he killed 30 (probably) Philistines, so he could pay the wager with their possessions. He went home, and I suppose because the party was her wedding, Delilah screwed someone else. I didn’t learn that part in the Sunday School. Bizarre or what? But there is more.
When Samson got over his hissy fit, he went back to his father-in-law’s house, and he found Dalilah with another man. For revenge he destroyed the Philistine wheat crop. They retaliated by by killing Delilah and her family.
The of rest the story repeats previous information, including Samson married the then deceased Delilah for a second time.
The Philistines want to kill Samson. No surprise there.
The Israelites confront Samson about the Philistines belligerent behavior, and he quotes the equivalent of the Bronze Age Golden rule. “I merely did to them what they did to me.”
In this later version of the story the Philistines bribed instead of threatened Delilah. Samson told her that his hair made him strong, so the Philistines had the means to subdue him. They blinded him and put him on display in a temple.
In likely the most Conan moment of all, Samson prayed for the return of his strength. God granted his wish. Samson broke free his bonds, and he destroyed the temple, killing everyone inside.
Definitely not G-rated
Judges 17
Micha built a shrine with an idol, which seems like it should be counter to the first or second commandment. He made one of his sons a priest. Micha adopted a stranger who became a priest,
Judges 18
An Israeli tribe took Micha’s idols, they burned a city, Laish, they rebuilt it, and they called it Dan.
Judges 19, which must have been written by Quentin Tarantino, exudes and oozes with too much holy moly red rider gross to write about.
Judges 20 Juges 21
The tribes of Israel took revenge, for example they killed every male and every woman who was not a virgin because of the exuding and oozing in chapter 19.
“… the Benjamites .... While the young [Sabine] women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife....” as Hobbes took notes.
I have no idea how such OMG TMI gets into the Bible except maybe we can’t know good without knowing evil.
Micha built a shrine with an idol, which seems like it should be counter to the first or second commandment. He made one of his sons a priest. Micha adopted a stranger who became a priest,
Judges 18
An Israeli tribe took Micha’s idols, they burned a city, Laish, they rebuilt it, and they called it Dan.
Judges 19, which must have been written by Quentin Tarantino, exudes and oozes with too much holy moly red rider gross to write about.
Judges 20 Juges 21
The tribes of Israel took revenge, for example they killed every male and every woman who was not a virgin because of the exuding and oozing in chapter 19.
“… the Benjamites .... While the young [Sabine] women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife....” as Hobbes took notes.
I have no idea how such OMG TMI gets into the Bible except maybe we can’t know good without knowing evil.
If The Book of Ruth were fiction, it would read like this.
Ruth Chapter 1
Ruth, a woman of Moab, lived with her mother-in-law, Naomi, a woman of Judah. Due to the Civil War in Israel, crops in Moab had been destroyed, and Moab suffered in famine. Naomi heard that the Lord had come to the aid of his people in Judah. He had provided them food.
Even though a civil war raged, Naomi prepared to return to Judah with a caravan of Ishmaelites. She said to Ruth, “Stay in your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husband and to me. May the Lord grant that you will find rest in the home of another husband.”
Naomi kissed Ruth goodbye, and they wept aloud as Ruth said, “I will go back with you to your people.”
Naomi said, “Stay here in Moab, my daughter. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have another son, who could become your husband? Stay among your people home, my d
aughter; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight, and then gave birth to a son, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for him? No, my daughter. It is more bitter for me than for you because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
They wept aloud again. Ruth kissed her mother-in-law, but she clung to her.
“Look,” said Naomi, “Stay with your people and your gods.”
Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
So Ruth and her mother-in-law she left the place where they had been living, and they set out on the road that would take them to the land of Judah, which was supposed to have been untouched by the the war with the Benjamites.
Through broken chariots, spears, helmets, the detritus of the the war’s carnage that littered the road, the Ishmaelite caravan went on until they came to Bethlehem. The caravan’s arrival stirred the whole town, and especially Rizpah, Naomi’s childhood friend exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told told Rizpah. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
So Ruth, the Moabite, went to live with Naomi. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest had begun.
Ruth Chapter 1
Ruth, a woman of Moab, lived with her mother-in-law, Naomi, a woman of Judah. Due to the Civil War in Israel, crops in Moab had been destroyed, and Moab suffered in famine. Naomi heard that the Lord had come to the aid of his people in Judah. He had provided them food.
Even though a civil war raged, Naomi prepared to return to Judah with a caravan of Ishmaelites. She said to Ruth, “Stay in your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husband and to me. May the Lord grant that you will find rest in the home of another husband.”
Naomi kissed Ruth goodbye, and they wept aloud as Ruth said, “I will go back with you to your people.”
Naomi said, “Stay here in Moab, my daughter. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have another son, who could become your husband? Stay among your people home, my d
aughter; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight, and then gave birth to a son, would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for him? No, my daughter. It is more bitter for me than for you because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
They wept aloud again. Ruth kissed her mother-in-law, but she clung to her.
“Look,” said Naomi, “Stay with your people and your gods.”
Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
So Ruth and her mother-in-law she left the place where they had been living, and they set out on the road that would take them to the land of Judah, which was supposed to have been untouched by the the war with the Benjamites.
Through broken chariots, spears, helmets, the detritus of the the war’s carnage that littered the road, the Ishmaelite caravan went on until they came to Bethlehem. The caravan’s arrival stirred the whole town, and especially Rizpah, Naomi’s childhood friend exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told told Rizpah. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
So Ruth, the Moabite, went to live with Naomi. They arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest had begun.
If The Book of Ruth were fiction, it would read like this.
Ruth Chapter 2
Naomi told Ruth that she had a relative on her husband’s side, Boaz, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek.
Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I may find favor.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
So she went out, entered a field, and began to glean behind the harvesters in a field belonging to Boaz.
She saw a man arriving from Bethlehem. As he greeted the harvesters, she stared at the sword blade cut, healing on his chest.
She nearly fell into his eyes when he looked directly at her, and he said to the harvesters “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
As she gleaned, tush high, she heard Boaz ask the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She asked asked permission to glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
Ruth wondered if his hand could be rude if followed by a kiss, and she tried not to stare at the still healing scar on his chest as he said, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
Ruth felt a high of highs as she wiped sweat from her forehead and she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Ruth trimbled up to her knees, and she tumbled into his eyes, “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, …” She took a breath. ” ... my lord. You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant.” Oops, she thought. “Though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
After she got up to glean, she heard Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave Naomi what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz. He has dreamy eyes, curly hair, and a nasty scar on his chest.”
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He must have earned the scare in the war with the Benjamites. Blessed be he for he has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” They ate for a while and she added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”
Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth Chapter 2
Naomi told Ruth that she had a relative on her husband’s side, Boaz, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek.
Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I may find favor.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
So she went out, entered a field, and began to glean behind the harvesters in a field belonging to Boaz.
She saw a man arriving from Bethlehem. As he greeted the harvesters, she stared at the sword blade cut, healing on his chest.
She nearly fell into his eyes when he looked directly at her, and he said to the harvesters “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
As she gleaned, tush high, she heard Boaz ask the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She asked asked permission to glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
Ruth wondered if his hand could be rude if followed by a kiss, and she tried not to stare at the still healing scar on his chest as he said, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
Ruth felt a high of highs as she wiped sweat from her forehead and she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Ruth trimbled up to her knees, and she tumbled into his eyes, “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, …” She took a breath. ” ... my lord. You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant.” Oops, she thought. “Though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
After she got up to glean, she heard Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave Naomi what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz. He has dreamy eyes, curly hair, and a nasty scar on his chest.”
“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He must have earned the scare in the war with the Benjamites. Blessed be he for he has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” They ate for a while and she added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”
Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
If The Book of Ruth were fiction, it would read like this.
Ruth Chapter 3
One day during the harvest, Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is our relative. Tonight he will winnow barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume, and dress in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”
“The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
So she lay at his feet until morning, but he got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
She was about to leave.
He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. She left, and he went to the city gate.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her and she added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, that I should not go back to my mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until he settles the matter. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the city gate and listen to the elders.”
Ruth Chapter 3
One day during the harvest, Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is our relative. Tonight he will winnow barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume, and dress in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”
“The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
So she lay at his feet until morning, but he got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
She was about to leave.
He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. She left, and he went to the city gate.
When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her and she added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, that I should not go back to my mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until he settles the matter. Tomorrow morning, we will go to the city gate and listen to the elders.”
If The Book of Ruth were fiction, it would read like this.
Ruth 4
The next morning, Ruth and Naomi met Rizpah. They went to the city gate to see what the elders would do. They watched as Boaz went up to the gate, and he sat down there with ten elders of the city just as the Naomi’s guardian-redeemer came arrived.
Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.”
So they all sat down together, and Boaz said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of our people. If you will redeem it, do so. If you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it. Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal. As sign to legalize the redemption and transfer of the property.
So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz,
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Then an elder in the presence of all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord bless the woman who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife, and she gave birth to a son.
And Rizpah said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, will give him birth.”
Ruth 4
The next morning, Ruth and Naomi met Rizpah. They went to the city gate to see what the elders would do. They watched as Boaz went up to the gate, and he sat down there with ten elders of the city just as the Naomi’s guardian-redeemer came arrived.
Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.”
So they all sat down together, and Boaz said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of our people. If you will redeem it, do so. If you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it. Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal. As sign to legalize the redemption and transfer of the property.
So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz,
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Then an elder in the presence of all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord bless the woman who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife, and she gave birth to a son.
And Rizpah said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, will give him birth.”
1 Chronicle 1
Hannah promises that Samuel will become a hairy old mullah. Anyone might wonder if this began the tradition of hairy old men directing terrorist operations in the Middle East.
1 Chronicles 2 and 3 are bunches of begats.
1 chronicals 4 is more begats
It says that some Israelites, “attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites who were there and completely destroyed … invaded the hill country of Seir. They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped … ”
More negative karma like at the end of Judges?
Hannah promises that Samuel will become a hairy old mullah. Anyone might wonder if this began the tradition of hairy old men directing terrorist operations in the Middle East.
1 Chronicles 2 and 3 are bunches of begats.
1 chronicals 4 is more begats
It says that some Israelites, “attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites who were there and completely destroyed … invaded the hill country of Seir. They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped … ”
More negative karma like at the end of Judges?
1 Chronicles 5 -- More begats and some information about why Judah becomes the tribe which will begat the Messiah. Or not? Actually I have not idea.
1 Chronicles 6 -- More begats and some information about where the tribes settled in Canaan.
1 Chronicles 7 -- More begats
1 Chronicles 8 -- More begats about Saul the Benjamite
1 Chronicles 6 -- More begats and some information about where the tribes settled in Canaan.
1 Chronicles 7 -- More begats
1 Chronicles 8 -- More begats about Saul the Benjamite