Preaching through a Judges series

We've finished going through Judges; I broke it up into 9 weeks a little something like this: 

Judges 1:1-3:6 - beginning badly

Judges 3:7-31 - God's grace

Judges 4-5 - singing salvation

Judges 6-9 - Gideon's gaffes

Judges 10-12 - outrageous oath

Judges 13-15 - Samson's start

Judges 16 - winning through weakness

Judges 17-18 - grifters gonna get grifted

Judges 19-21 - the evil ending

I should add, I didn't think of the alliteration before today - that only just came to me now - always too late!

I try to preach through whole books where I can (see my complete list here), so that people go away from a series knowing that part of the Bible well, hopefully having read the whole thing, and with a growing picture of how the Bible fits together as a whole.

What I have been most struck by as I've worked through Judges (I had two weeks off preaching - Gideon and Samson #1 were preached by others) is the way the book uses recursion or juxtaposition. That is, every story is to be interpreted with reference to the stories either side of it. That is already obvious as the concentric structure of the book is examined, such that the opposing panels handle similar themes: 

Beginning at the end, we meet a Levite from the hill country of Ephraim. Could it be that this was the young Levite from the previous story, who was also a Levite in Ephraim? Probably not, because he moved up to Dan, but the connection is interesting.

So too with the Dan/Micah saga. The story begins without a beginning - it is as if it has slipped in between chapters 16-17. But when it begins we meet a woman who had 1100 silver shekels. Which other woman do we know with 1100 silver shekels? Delilah, from the previous episode, was promised 1100 shekels from each Philistine if she handed over Samson. Could it be that Micah's mother is Delilah? Probably not, but the connection is interesting. 

Similar connections continue throughout Judges (see my notes on Jephthah for some other examples). What this demonstrates is that Judges as a whole is thoughtfully composed, arranged, and edited with reference to every other story. However many original authors or redactors there may have been, the end result is a masterful illustration of adding meaning from structure; juxtaposing two stories next to each other forces them to be understood with reference to each other, so that two stories (or half a dozen or so) are more than the sum of their parts.  

As you work through or read through or preach through Judges, keep asking questions about juxtaposition. Rachelle Gilmour's book on Juxtaposition in Elisha is a superb guide and introduction to the question in general. 

Good and Bad things happen in threes - at least for Samson

Some things I've noticed in the Samson Saga (Judges 13-16), many of which happen in threes.

Three part structure

The saga comes in three parts:

1. Samson's parents and commissioning (13:1-25)
2. Samson judged Israel 20 years (14:1-15:20)
3. Samson judged Israel 20 years (16:1-31)

Parts 2&3 both begin with Samson meeting a woman.

Parts 2&3 are also bracketed with the location, Between Zorah and Eshtaol:

1. 13:25, where Samson received the spirit of Yhwh
2. 16:31, where Samson was buried

Three women

Samson shacks up with three different women. 

1. The first (ch's 14-15) is an unnamed Philistine woman who is then given away, allegedly because her father thought Samson hated her. The ripple-effect of this liaison is the slaughter of 30 Philistines to settle a bet, the arson of the Philistine grain, the woman and her father being burned to death, Judah turning on and handing over Samson, and the death of 1000 Philistines with a jawbone.
2. The second (16:1-3) is an unnamed Philistine prostitute, which gives the Philistines an occasion to ambush Samson. He does not stay the entire night with her, leaving early and helpfully relocating the city gates to a hill opposite Hebron.
3. The third (16:1-21) is named - Delilah - and is likely also a Philistine (although it is not explicit, and her name is Semitic). The results of this union is his capture, blinding, and servitude.

Three breakouts

While Samson is with Delilah, three times he tells her a lie about the source of his strength - although they each hint in some way to the truth.

1. tie me up with fresh strings (16:6-9)
2. tie me up with new ropes (16:10-12)
3. tie my hair in a loom (16:13-14)

This is obviously what Samson looked like.

Three gifts of the spirit

Three times Samson has the spirit of Yhwh. 

1. 13:25 it begins
2. 14:6 he rips a lion apart
3. 14:19 he slays and deprives 30 Philistines of their clothing

When Samson receives the spirit it is certainly not a "dwelling within" gift of the Spirit, but a "equipping for a task" gift of the Spirit. The first isn't assigned to any particular task, so it has the feeling of the dwelling-within kind-of spirit, but the life of Samson doesn't testify to that being a likely understanding.

This triple gift of the Spirit in part 2 of Samson, where he is empowered by strength from Yhwh, is contrasted with the three times he breaks out with his own strength in part 3; note that the fourth time, where he tries and fails to break out, is also where his strength (that is, the spirit) leaves him. In this we see a parallel with Saul and his downfall.

 

Three numbered slaughters

Samson kills a few times. Three times there are numbers of dead people given, and there is also an escalation evident.

1. 14:6 kills a lion
2. 14:19 kills 30 men
3. 15:8 "viciously attacked and slaughtered many" (NIV) "tore them limb from limb" (CSB)
4. 15:15 kills 1000 men
5. 16:27,30 kills 3000+ men and women

It's also interesting, with this focus on threes, that two of the three numbers have threes - 30 men and 3000 men and women on the rooftop. 

It's probably nothing, but it's also interesting how similar the words Samson and thirty are: שׁמשׁון & שׁלושׁים. Sure, they're not that similar, but Shimshon and Shloshim do sound very similar. Also, it's three hundred foxes that Samson catches and sets on fire. 

Conclusion

Good things, as well as bad things, do come in threes. There may be others that I've missed, and there may be some tenuous ones I've suggested. 

By far the biggest thing which stands out for me is the comparison between part 2&3 of the saga, and I think the threes add to that and help us be on the lookout.

Judge Jephthah in Context

Jephthah in Context

I've been thinking about Jephthah this week, and there are two things to note from the outset. The first is the context. After the long saga of Gideon + Abimelek, and before the long saga of Samson, there is a classic bookended structure:

Minor judges (10:1-5)

Jephthah (10:6-12:7)

Minor judges (12:8-15)

We can obviously say a lot more about the structure, but as a starting point the structure of the minor judges either side is used to mark out Jephthah in the centre as a major judge. But if we wanted to fill out the structure a little more, we can see another layer and more parallels: 

Two judges; many sons on many donkeys (10:1-5)

Sin, subjugation, suffering, supplication (10:6-16)

Jephthah the new judge, one of multiple sons, saves Israel (11:1-33)

A stupid vow and the slaughter of a virgin, succeeded by civil war and a shibboleth (11:34-12:7)

Three judges; many sons on many donkeys (12:8-15)

The parallels between the minor judges (two before, three after) are self-evident. Jair (10:3-5) had 30 sons on 30 donkeys ruling 30 towns. Ibzan (12:8-10) had 30 sons (to whom he married 30 women from outside his clan) and 30 daughters (who he married off outside his clan), and Abdon (12:13-15) had 40 sons and 30 grandsons on 70 donkeys. 

We will meet more donkeys in the chapters to come, but we have seen the wiley Aksah upon a donkey securing extra water rights  (1:14-15) and donkey goers are exhorted to pay attention to the call to unity by Deborah (5:10-11). But we have also seen an army slain with a donkey's jawbone (15:15-16) - perhaps having a dig at these wannabe warlords on their donkeys. 

The numbers 30 and 70 come up as well; 30 pops up several times in the Samson saga and in the epilogue (20:31,39), but 70 is both the number of kings mutilated by Adoni-Bezek (1:7) and the number of his own brothers murdered by Abimelek to become leader - a deal involving 70 shekels (8:30; 9:25). Are these new 70 a redemption of the number or simply a continuation? 

But apart from the minor judges, the structure highlights the situation before Jephthah (sin, subjugation, suffering, supplication; 10:6-11) but also that, after Yhwh grants him the victory, things aren't much different (11:34-12:7). The judges to whom Yhwh grants his Spirit (in Jephthah's case, 11:29) are going to become worse and worse leaders, worse and worse examples, and will highlight more and more what a failure it is to trust in human leaders, who cannot (really) save.

The Shortest Judge

The second is that Jephthah leads for the shortest time of all the judges:

That being said, we aren't always told the full details. We sometimes know how long they were judge for (from Tola onwards) and we sometimes know how long there was peace for because of their reign (up to Gideon). It could be that these timespans are coterminous, for example with Gideon it says "During Gideosn't lifetime, the land had peace for forty years." (8:28b) But we don't have the same information for other judges, and there seems to be a judgement in the latter judges (from Tola onwards) in that Israel weren't granted peace after their judge died. 

But Jephthah stands out because he is at the very bottom of the barrel in terms of lengths (not including Shamgar because we know so very little about him), and, even though we are in a sense comparing apples (years of peace) with oranges (years led for), the only information we are given is what we have to work with. That is, 40-80 years is associated with the first four judges, while 6-23 are the years associated with the latter seven. And Jephthah is at the bottom of everything:

• Jephthah: 6
• Ibzan: 7
• Abdon: 8
• Elon: 10
• Samson: 20
• Jair: 22
• Tola: 23
• Gideon: 40

I think why this matters is because Jephthah is not given a clear rebuke from Yhwh despite his evil vow and his evil fulfilment thereof. Rather, Yhwh is silent throughout. His name is invoked, but he is not. The response is threefold:

1. Jephthah's line is finished. His daughter's virginity is emphasised, as is her being his only child. There will be no Jephthaian dynasty.
2. The immediate aftermath to his victory over the enemy is civil war. There will be no united Israel under Jephthah.
3. His leadership (including his two wars) is the shortest of any judge: only six years. His only legacy is to be known as "the one who couldn't shut up"; Jephthah coming from פתח - to open (one's mouth).

Sisera's mother

In chapter 5 of the book of Judges, there is a three-verse aside about Sisera's mother, absent from the chapter 4 account of the same battle, which I've always found intriguing. Here are a few thoughts I've gathered together

Sisera's mother among the women of Judges (5:28-30)

Through the window peered Sisera’s mother, Behind the lattice she whined: 

“Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why so late the clatter of his wheels?”

 The wisest of her ladies give answer; She, too, replies to herself:

 “They must be dividing the spoil they have found: A damsel or two for each man, spoil of dyed cloths for Sisera, spoil of embroidered cloths, A couple of embroidered cloths round every neck as spoil.”

(Judges 5:28–30 JPS)

In the story of Deborah and Barak, there are three female characters, two of them named.

1. Deborah, the key figure 
2. Jael, the unlikely victor
3. Sisera's mum, waiting for her son's return

But there's a couple more groups of women. 

1. First, the handmaids of Sisera's mum, who are standing by to help her out
2. But second, the female captives they expect will be the spoils of the battle

Nimrud ivory carving with “Lady at the Window” motif; Daniel I. Block, “Judges,” in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, vol. 2 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament. ed. John H. Walton; Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 149.

The true picture of the mother

It seems quite innocent, but it's actually quite disturbing. 
This lovely old lady, looking out her window, waiting for her son to slaughter the naughty Israelites, to plunder their villages in retaliation, and to steal their widows and daughters as sex slaves. 
Because this is what she's waiting for - some nice fabric for her and some pretty women for him.
For comparison, here's a tribute list from Ashurnasirpal of Assyria (883–859 B.C.):

I received tribute from Sangara, king of the land of Ḫatti, 20 talents of silver, a gold ring, a gold bracelet, gold daggers, 100 talents of bronze, 250 talents of iron, bronze (tubs), bronze pails, bronze bath-tubs, a bronze oven, many ornaments from his palace the weight of which could not be determined, beds of boxwood, thrones of boxwood, dishes of boxwood decorated with ivory, 200 adolescent girls, linen garments with  multi-coloured trim, purple wool, red-purple wool, gišnugallu-alabaster, elephants’ tusks, a chariot of  polished (gold), a gold couch with trimming—objects befitting his royalty.

The other thing to mention is that the word isn't woman or female - it's "womb" - or perhaps something even cruder, which is to say there is no value to these women except as their utility to their male captors. 

Thankfully, when Israel do something just as evil in Judges 21 - the final chapter of Israel's descent into evil - the women there will at least be wives - therefore worthy of protection and support.

Sisera's Mother as anti-Deborah

Deborah is called a mother in Israel (5:7); Sisera's mother is unnamed - known only as Sisera's mother (5:28). This is important, because, from Israel's perspective 

the story ends with Israel being forged as a nation through this victory, but Sisera's mother becomes barren, her son lying dead. 

Deborah became a mother through victory, while Sisera's mother became an un-mother through defeat.

Sisera's Mother as anti-Jael

Jael is just minding her own business, doing her own thing. She's non-aligned - an independent. Sisera thinks she's allied with Jabin, but is unaware that Israel are her distant relatives through Moses's father-in-law (cf 1:16). But I think that the Kenites (her people) are able to choose their own path - do what is right without obligation. We might contrast this with Sisera's mother, who has raised her son; her hopes are his hopes, her morals his morals, and they are not good morals.

At the end of the episode, Barak turns up, a little puffed, because he's followed the Canaanite army and cut them down - but no Sisera. So he's doubled back and in 4:22 asks Jael if Sisera came by. Jael opens the curtain of the tent - might this be the commander you're looking for?

The contrast to this pulling back of a curtain with the curtain pulled back by Sisera's mum, standing by the window and waiting - I wonder where my boy is?

The aftermath

The story of these three women is the story of three different world-views.

• Deborah is the willing servant of Israel
• Jael is servant of none, master of her own destiny
• Sisera's mum is anxious, awaiting the return of her brutal son and his depraved idea of spoil from war.

I should note - Israel are going to go down a not dissimilar path - as we see how far they too have fallen. But for now there's a choice - clearly Israel have a mother (Deborah) and a cousin (Jael) who choose the right path. After their victory Israel have 40 years - an entire generation - of peace and prosperity, but Canaan is done; we won't hear from them again, as they are on the out and the Philistines will rise up to take their place as the chief enemy of Israel.

For a time, at least, the people will mimic their mothers - Israel will mimic the wise and measured Deborah - and they will prosper while Canaan, following the instruction of people like Sisera's mother, are headed for extinction as a people - there are no more Canaanites today.

We should rejoice at the destruction of this evil warlord and his army, and the eventual freeing of Israel from their oppressors. However, the evil expectation we see even in the mother of Sisera will sadly be matched by the Israelites at the end of the book, after which we hear the final words, "everyone did as they saw fit in their own eyes". S

o even though evil from the Canaanites is averted right now, we also know that Israel will show themselves to be no better, 

and as we continue on through the book we await with dread the inevitable.

Where is Cushan-Rishataim from?

In my previous post, I quoted Barry Webb's comical survey of origin suggestions for the foreign king who subjected Israel to slavery for eight years:

Cushan-rishathaim has been variously identified as a Babylonian Cassite (cf. Gen. 10:8), a Nubian, an Edomite, an Asiatic usurper in Egypt (Malamat), a Midianite (cf. Num. 12:1; Hab. 3:7), a chieftain of a tribe related to the Midianites who had migrated north and settled in Syria (Kaufmann), a surviving chieftain of the southern Judean hills (Boling), and, more recently, an Aramean adventurer from the great west bend of the upper Euphrates (Kitchen).

Barry G. Webb, The Book of Judges, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 159.

As I've been working on it a bit more, I doesn't seem quite so intractable a problem. Let me tell you why.

We are told two things about this king's origin. First, at the beginning of the episode:

3:8b And he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishataim, king of Aram-Naharaim

And then at the end of the episode:

3:10d And Yhwh gave Cushan-Rishataim the king of Aram into his hand

It seems the main difficulties with describing him as an Aramean seems to be the spatial dislocation. Aram is north of Israel (roughly modern south-west Syria), while from chapter 1 we know that Othniel is in the south of Israel, linked to the tribe of Judah, and these are pretty-much as far away as can be.

However there are a couple of things worth noting. The first is the exceptional circumstances. In chapter 1 Othniel was called to step up in order to defeat a city and thereby to gain a wife. In chapter 3 however the Spirit is at work. We know from elsewhere that the Spirit may dislocate people (see the farcical episode in 1 Kings 18), so why not?!

The second thing worth noting is that, even if we don't know what Aram-Naharaim refers to (v8), we do know where Aram (v10) is. We also know what Naharaim means - it means "pair or rivers", with -aim the dual-form ending, and nahar meaning river. And we also know that in Aram there are two rivers, described by Naaman in 2 Kings 5:12:

Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

Now, I had a look on google maps and they're not readily apparent. You have to know what you're looking for and zoom in. A lot. They're two rivers which don't seem to come from or go anywhere - they just peter out as far as I can tell. Today they're called (respectively) the Barada and Awaj rivers, with the Barada flowing (when it does flow) through the heart of Damascus; the Awaj at its closest point is 13km or so south of the Barada. 

Image made using Accordance Bible Software.
Rivers are the thin blue lines with the red words describing them.
Abana is the more northern river, Pharpar the more southern.

The point is, in a desert landscape, despite their diminutive size, these two rivers would be pretty important, and one could understand why a king would be titled after his kingdom's not one but two water sources. That being said, one could also understand why this king might want to extend his kingdom to the more well-watered land south toward Lake Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee).

So I don't know if I've solved a riddle, or simply added yet another to the long list of suggestions, but it seems like it makes sense. 

Update:

Here's a clearer image from research gate. It seems they come from springs and end up in lakes, which I assume fill and dry up, depending on the season. 

The names of Israel's enemies in Judges 3

Cushan-Rishataim

I've been reading through Barry Webb's NICOT commentary on Judges, he noted the way Cushan-Rishataim's name is used multiple times, and it gives shape to the whole episode.

There is an introduction (3:7-8a), then we hear Cushan-Rishataim's name twice (3:8b-c). The action follows in 3:9-10c, and in the denouement we hear Cushan-Rishataim's name twice more (3:10d-e), before the ending (3:11).

3:7-8a Israel's evil, Yhwh's anger

3:8b-c Cushan-Rishataim set loose

3:9-10c Israel cry out, Yhwh raises up Othniel

3:10d-e Cushan-Rishataim cut down

3:11 Quiet in the land

We can see how the two double uses of Cushan-Rishataim's name frames the raising up of the judge his actions of saving Israel by judging and making war. 

We actually know nothing about Cushan-Rishataim; Webb surveys the various suggestions as to his origin in a list that become ever more farcical: 

Cushan-rishathaim has been variously identified as a Babylonian Cassite (cf. Gen. 10:8), a Nubian, an Edomite, an Asiatic usurper in Egypt (Malamat), a Midianite (cf. Num. 12:1; Hab. 3:7), a chieftain of a tribe related to the Midianites who had migrated north and settled in Syria (Kaufmann), a surviving chieftain of the southern Judean hills (Boling), and, more recently, an Aramean adventurer from the great west bend of the upper Euphrates (Kitchen).

Barry G. Webb, The Book of Judges, New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 159.

There could also be some funny business going on with his name. 3:8b describes him as "Cushan-Rishataim, king of Aram-Naharaim." Naharaim means "two rivers", so if you deconstruct Rishataim, the "aim" ending is a dual form (i.e. two) and the "Risha" beginning uses the consonants of "wicked" - hence "Double-wickedness". We don't know anything about what wickedness he got up to, but he dominated Israel for eight years, causing them to repent (at least for a time) of their apostacy and to cry out for a saviour.

Eglon the king of Moab 

Anyway, that is all a precursor to what I was most interested in - the use of the name of Israel's enemy in the second section. Essentially what we see is a degradation in the name of Eglon the king of Moab throughout the episode. It begins with a short chiasm:

3:12a Israel again did evil in the eyes of Yhwh

3:12b Yhwh raised up Eglon the king of Moab

3:12c Because they did evil in the eyes of Yhwh

As the episode goes on, Eglon the king of Moab is mentioned numerous times:

3:12b And Yhwh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel

3:14 And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab 18 years

3:15c And the children of Israel sent in [Ehud's] hand a gift to Eglon king of Moab

3:17a And [Ehud] presented the gift to Eglon king of Moab

However, this is the last time Eglon gets the full title. The next mention, in the same verse, is just his name, and no title:

3:17b Now Eglon was an exceedingly fat man

After this devastating description, his name is never mentioned again. He is "he", "him", and is described as in the WC (literally, something like "the upper cool room"), on his "throne" (I think this is a punny way of saying the toilet), and so overwhelmingly obese that Ehud's sword is swallowed by his fat as faeces comes out.

Indeed, the only other time he gets a mention is as "their lord" (3.25d), who had fallen on the ground, dead. 

Once Eglon the king of Moab is dead, Moab are prey for the hunter, and Ehud has Israel essentially guard the Jordan so that any Moabites trying to escape back over the border get killed , with 10,000 rich and powerful men dying. 

Reflection

I'm still trying to work out whether this is about making fun of Israel's enemies, or about making fun of Israel. On the one hand, the death of Eglon is told comically (with certain similarities to the poo jokes in Daniel 5), so that Israel's victory through an unlikely saviour (a lefty!) is even greater. But on the other hand, it is these morbidly obese people who are able to subdue Israel for 18 whole years. Those they killed trying to escape at the Jordan were not warriors but fat bureaucrats, and if Israel were devoted to their LORD rather than to evil, then they may have been able to withstand their Moabite "Lord".

Epilogue

Interestingly, Shamgar, the final Judge of this chapter (3:31), has no named adversary, but just the Philistines more broadly. If you're interested to read more about him, there's a fascinating blog over at isthatinthebible you might be interested in.