10:1 VA YAKAM ACHAREY AVI-MELECH LEHOSHI'A ET YISRA-EL TOL'A BEN PU'AH BEN DODO ISH YISASCHAR VE HU YOSHEV BE SHAMIR BE HAR EPHRAYIM
וַיָּקָם אַחֲרֵי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ לְהֹושִׁיעַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל תֹּולָע בֶּן פּוּאָה בֶּן דֹּודֹו אִישׁ יִשָּׂשכָר וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בְּשָׁמִיר בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם
BN (BibleNet translation): And after Avi-Melech Tol'a ben Pu'ah ben Dodo, a man of Yisaschar, stood up to defend Yisra-El, and he lived in Shamir, on Mount Ephrayim.
LEHOSHI'A: It is hard to work out what is meant by "defending Yisra-El". Avi-Melech clearly did no such thing, any more than Gid'on or Devorah. They ruined a few cultic shrines of which they disapproved, and acquired for themselves a local sacred kingship. As if becoming dictator of Venezuela could be described as "defending humanity" - which no doubt Hugo Chávez thought he was. But the word used here is LEHOSHI'A, which is the root of the word MESSIAH in English, though not the root of the word MASHIYACH; exactly the same word that has been used for every one of the Judges thus far in this book, and the word that Jesus will use later on.
Once again we appear to be in the realm of history, but are really in the realm of mythology, explanations of the workings of the cosmos through anthropomorphisation. And we begin where we finished the last tale, deep in the shadows and the darkness of the land of the dead.
TOL'A (תולע) adds to our menagerie; the name means "worm", and specifically refers to those worms that rootle among the putrefied corpses and compost heaps - the ZEVUL indeed, of 9:28, and the flies of Ba'al Zevuv (Beelzebub) as well - but for an extremely good reason, not the bad one of later religions: without the worms there would be no biodegradation, and without biodegradation there would be nothing to compost the Earth's resurrection in the spring. Nevertheless it is the land of the dead, and dead is not where humans want to be, so it has negative associations, even before the worms get expanded into dragons, and the dragons grow fiery tales.
LEHOSHI'A: It is hard to work out what is meant by "defending Yisra-El". Avi-Melech clearly did no such thing, any more than Gid'on or Devorah. They ruined a few cultic shrines of which they disapproved, and acquired for themselves a local sacred kingship. As if becoming dictator of Venezuela could be described as "defending humanity" - which no doubt Hugo Chávez thought he was. But the word used here is LEHOSHI'A, which is the root of the word MESSIAH in English, though not the root of the word MASHIYACH; exactly the same word that has been used for every one of the Judges thus far in this book, and the word that Jesus will use later on.
Once again we appear to be in the realm of history, but are really in the realm of mythology, explanations of the workings of the cosmos through anthropomorphisation. And we begin where we finished the last tale, deep in the shadows and the darkness of the land of the dead.
TOL'A (תולע) adds to our menagerie; the name means "worm", and specifically refers to those worms that rootle among the putrefied corpses and compost heaps - the ZEVUL indeed, of 9:28, and the flies of Ba'al Zevuv (Beelzebub) as well - but for an extremely good reason, not the bad one of later religions: without the worms there would be no biodegradation, and without biodegradation there would be nothing to compost the Earth's resurrection in the spring. Nevertheless it is the land of the dead, and dead is not where humans want to be, so it has negative associations, even before the worms get expanded into dragons, and the dragons grow fiery tales.
Exodus 16:20, Deuteronomy 28:39, Isaiah 14:11 and 66:24, Jonah 4:7 all use the word. Psalm 22:7 is unashamed in using it to mean "a weak and despised man" - so once again we have a man known by his derogation, and thereby serving allegorically. Job 25:6 uses the name likewise.
Having descended into the burning fires of Hell with Avi-Melech, I guess we shouldn't be surprised to find ourselves now nestling among the worm-riddled corpses in its nine circles.
TOL'A is also used for the colour scarlet (Lamentations 4:5 and Isaiah 1:18), though the first of those links uses the word in the context of death and putrefaction, and the second as a contrast with wickedness - so think of Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" or Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett O'Hara. As with this Tol'a, the original was the son of Yisaschar (Genesis 46:13, 1 Chronicles 7:1) - which may tell us a little more about Yisaschar and his cosmological status. And may also add weight to the conviction, among some commentators though not this one, that Yisaschar is a false reading of Yah Shachur, the Black Madonna.
PU'AH (פואה) The link, which is to my own page, tells me that this should probably be pronounced Puvah; but I honestly don't know why it would be so. Likewise a son of Yisaschar (1 Chronicles 7:1 and Genesis 46:13). The only obvious root is PEH = "mouth", and thence the suggestion that he was, like Devorah, an oracle.
DODO (דודו) is of course David, the beloved, the Earth-God. No need to rehearse the cultic arguments here. But there is a need to point out that BEN PU'AH BEN DODO could make David the grandfather - historically impossible, but cosmologically very straightforward - or it could simply make Tol'a an apprentice or guildsman or priest in the cult of the "Beloved Son".
Having descended into the burning fires of Hell with Avi-Melech, I guess we shouldn't be surprised to find ourselves now nestling among the worm-riddled corpses in its nine circles.
TOL'A is also used for the colour scarlet (Lamentations 4:5 and Isaiah 1:18), though the first of those links uses the word in the context of death and putrefaction, and the second as a contrast with wickedness - so think of Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" or Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett O'Hara. As with this Tol'a, the original was the son of Yisaschar (Genesis 46:13, 1 Chronicles 7:1) - which may tell us a little more about Yisaschar and his cosmological status. And may also add weight to the conviction, among some commentators though not this one, that Yisaschar is a false reading of Yah Shachur, the Black Madonna.
PU'AH (פואה) The link, which is to my own page, tells me that this should probably be pronounced Puvah; but I honestly don't know why it would be so. Likewise a son of Yisaschar (1 Chronicles 7:1 and Genesis 46:13). The only obvious root is PEH = "mouth", and thence the suggestion that he was, like Devorah, an oracle.
DODO (דודו) is of course David, the beloved, the Earth-God. No need to rehearse the cultic arguments here. But there is a need to point out that BEN PU'AH BEN DODO could make David the grandfather - historically impossible, but cosmologically very straightforward - or it could simply make Tol'a an apprentice or guildsman or priest in the cult of the "Beloved Son".
SHAMIR: A "sharp point", so it is used for a "thorn", which would go well the brambles of the Avi-Melech tale and the trees of Yotam's oracle. It is also used for the "diamond", which may have been one of the jewels used by Gid'on when he made his ephod, though the shamir as a jewel tends to be the cut diamond, precisely because of its sharp points, so it probably isn't conencted with Gid'on's ephod, which would have required uncut stones. Thirdly we have seen it used for sharp peaks in the hills and mountains; and most likely it is that on this ocasion.
HAR EPHRAYIM: Better known as the twin peaks of Mounts Eyval and Gerizim, so we are still in the same territory as the Gid'on and Avi-Melech stories. On the map below, Mount Ephrayim is located between the two MANASSEHs (Menasheh).
HAR EPHRAYIM: Better known as the twin peaks of Mounts Eyval and Gerizim, so we are still in the same territory as the Gid'on and Avi-Melech stories. On the map below, Mount Ephrayim is located between the two MANASSEHs (Menasheh).
10:2 VA YISHPOT ET YISRA-EL ESRIM VE SHALOSH SHANAH VA YAMAT VA YIKAVER BE SHAMIR
וַיִּשְׁפֹּט אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל עֶשְׂרִים וְשָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנָה וַיָּמָת וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּשָׁמִיר
BN: And he served as a Judge in Yisra-El for twenty-three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.
And so, alas, whatever further insights we might have hoped to glean from this story... this is all that has been retained.
And so, alas, whatever further insights we might have hoped to glean from this story... this is all that has been retained.
SHAMIR (שמיר) Biographers claim that this is where modern Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir took his name. He probably liked the root that gives "diamond", and which describes his own "hard-headedness" (Ezekiel 3:9 especially, but also Jeremiah 17:1 and Zecheriah 7:12), but in truth a SHAMIR is little different from a KOTS, which is to say "a sharp thorn", or any other sharp point - yet another allegorical name. Towns bearing the name are known in Yehudah (Joshua 15:48) and Ephrayim, as here.
YISHPOT: In verse 1 we had LEHOSHI'A, but here YISHPOT: what is the difference between a "judge" and a "saviour"? The book is the Book of Shoptim, which means "Judges", but each of the main characters thus far has been described as a MOSHI'A. He is described as both. Does "Judge" infer a political role, a kind of Biblical Presidency? Or was he simply some hermit who sat in a cave in the high mountains, and people came to him for oracles? The same applies to Ya'ir, below.
pey break
10:3 VA YAKAM ACHARAV YA'IR HA GIL'ADI VA YISHPOT ET YISRA-EL ESRIM U SHETAYIM SHANAH
וַיָּקָם אַחֲרָיו יָאִיר הַגִּלְעָדִי וַיִּשְׁפֹּט אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנָה
KJ: And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years
BN: And after him arose the Gil'adite Ya'ir, and he judged Yisra-El for twenty-two years.
BN: And after him arose the Gil'adite Ya'ir, and he judged Yisra-El for twenty-two years.
YA'IR (יאיר), at last, after all these names of hell and shadow and darkness, a crack that lets the light in. Ya'ir means "light", or better still "enlightened". Am I wrong to believe there is a scheme, a pattern, an order to these tales? And if so, are twenty-three years for Tol'a and now twenty-two for Ya'ir significant numbers?HA GIL'ADI: From which tribe? A son of Menasheh in Numbers 32:41 also bore the name, but Gil'ad was as much Gad and Re'-u-Ven as it was Menasheh, and not fully conquered; so failing to mention his tribe could perfectly mean he was from among the Goyim.
But now see my notes at Joshua 13:30, where the tale of Ya'ir turns out to have been already told.
10:4 VA YEHI LO SHELOSHIM BANIM ROCHVIM AL SHELOSHIM AYARIM U SHELOSHIM AYARIM LAHEM LAHEM YIKRE'U CHAVOT YAI'R AD HA YOM HA ZEH ASHER BE ERETS HA GIL'AD
וַיְהִי לֹו שְׁלֹשִׁים בָּנִים רֹכְבִים עַל שְׁלֹשִׁים עֲיָרִים וּשְׁלֹשִׁים עֲיָרִים לָהֶם לָהֶם יִקְרְאוּ חַוֹּת יָאִיר עַד הַיֹּום הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָ
BN: And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Chavot-Ya'ir unto this day, which are in the land of Gil'ad.
BANIM: I commented on the multiple uses of BEN in relation to DODO, at verse 1. We saw a similarly unlikely number of sons with Gid'on at Judges 8:30; these are rather more likely his apprentices, or junior priests. But see my next note.
AYARIM: Two appearances in the same sentence, and written identically, yet the first is translated as "asses" and the second as "cities" - how can that be? Are these the "white asses" of Devorah's song, in Judges 5:10? From what we learn in his book of the life of the Prophet Shemu-El (Samuel), I am going to suggest that the thirty were circuit judges, who moved from town to town in Gil'ad, hearing petitions and dealing with law-suits, and that they travelled on "white asses" - there are no white asses in Nature, unless albino asses, so presumably the judges wore white robes, and/or the asses were saddled and parasolled in white - in the way that a dignitary today might travel in a white Mercedes: a status symbol, but also a means of recognition, and therefore of protection against bandits.
CHAVOT-YA'IR (חות-יאיר) are shrines to "Chavah (Eve) the enlightener", and from this we can deduce that Ya'ir was not his name, but like Gid'on's his priest-name or sacred-king title. The thirty sons are his school of priests or prophets or circuit judges, and the thirty cities (towns more likely) reflects the wide spread of the cult. The ass was sacred to Shet, Egyptian Set, who Genesis 4:25 calls Seth and regards as the third son of Adam and Chavah (Eve). The cult of the ass is best known in the tales of King Sha'ul (Sha'ul is She'ol, the Underworld), Chamor of Shechem, and Jesus in his Palm Sunday aspect, which is the Festival of the Dead - so no surprise, if we are right to recongise a pattern in these tales, that Ya'ir should turn up precisely now, and riding a donkey. Having said which, there are cultic distinctions between asses and donkeys (cultic, not zoological: asses and donkeys are the same creature), which we do not need to go into here.
By the time the Redactor completed this, Chavah (Eve) was no longer acceptable as a goddess, because YHVH was now the one and only, so she had to be reduced in this story by taking her name out of it, just as she was reduced in the Creation story, not just to a mere woman, but to the commissioner of original sin itself. The serpent in Eden was her oracular creature (as the other shrines in Judges have wolves, foxes, etc), which allows us to recognise the worm Tol'a for who he really was: not just a worm of putrefaction, but the serpent of the Underworld himself, the one who sloughs his skin in order to be reborn, the one whom Marduk bifurcated in order to engender creation: Tiamat/Tahamat/Tehom/Tohu of Genesis 1. And Creation, in the form of daybreak, which is the Earth-god's daily resurrection, is precisely where the whiye colt is leading us now.
LAHEM LAHEM: You may want to check other Yehudit texts, but the five that I am using all have LAHEM LAHEM; yet there is no logical reason for this doubling (there may be a litugical one, if this was originally part of a recited script for ceremonial or theatrical use).
GIL'AD: Generally known as Gilead in English versions.
All of which also raises the Drummond question: are these "judges" not in fact human beings at all, but anthropomorphs, metaphorical human beings, allegories of the next level of cosmology - we have done the sun and moon and Earth and major planets, and we have done the twelve constellations, and we have done the broad structure of the cosmos as decans and tridecans; are we now breaking down the constellations themselves into their component parts of planets, stars, moons et cetera? I strongly suspect that we are (but that it is superimposed upon tribal historical legend, because every tale needs a context...)
10:5 VA YAMAT YA'IR VA YIKAVER BE KAMON
KJ: And Jair died, and was buried in Camon
BANIM: I commented on the multiple uses of BEN in relation to DODO, at verse 1. We saw a similarly unlikely number of sons with Gid'on at Judges 8:30; these are rather more likely his apprentices, or junior priests. But see my next note.
AYARIM: Two appearances in the same sentence, and written identically, yet the first is translated as "asses" and the second as "cities" - how can that be? Are these the "white asses" of Devorah's song, in Judges 5:10? From what we learn in his book of the life of the Prophet Shemu-El (Samuel), I am going to suggest that the thirty were circuit judges, who moved from town to town in Gil'ad, hearing petitions and dealing with law-suits, and that they travelled on "white asses" - there are no white asses in Nature, unless albino asses, so presumably the judges wore white robes, and/or the asses were saddled and parasolled in white - in the way that a dignitary today might travel in a white Mercedes: a status symbol, but also a means of recognition, and therefore of protection against bandits.
CHAVOT-YA'IR (חות-יאיר) are shrines to "Chavah (Eve) the enlightener", and from this we can deduce that Ya'ir was not his name, but like Gid'on's his priest-name or sacred-king title. The thirty sons are his school of priests or prophets or circuit judges, and the thirty cities (towns more likely) reflects the wide spread of the cult. The ass was sacred to Shet, Egyptian Set, who Genesis 4:25 calls Seth and regards as the third son of Adam and Chavah (Eve). The cult of the ass is best known in the tales of King Sha'ul (Sha'ul is She'ol, the Underworld), Chamor of Shechem, and Jesus in his Palm Sunday aspect, which is the Festival of the Dead - so no surprise, if we are right to recongise a pattern in these tales, that Ya'ir should turn up precisely now, and riding a donkey. Having said which, there are cultic distinctions between asses and donkeys (cultic, not zoological: asses and donkeys are the same creature), which we do not need to go into here.
By the time the Redactor completed this, Chavah (Eve) was no longer acceptable as a goddess, because YHVH was now the one and only, so she had to be reduced in this story by taking her name out of it, just as she was reduced in the Creation story, not just to a mere woman, but to the commissioner of original sin itself. The serpent in Eden was her oracular creature (as the other shrines in Judges have wolves, foxes, etc), which allows us to recognise the worm Tol'a for who he really was: not just a worm of putrefaction, but the serpent of the Underworld himself, the one who sloughs his skin in order to be reborn, the one whom Marduk bifurcated in order to engender creation: Tiamat/Tahamat/Tehom/Tohu of Genesis 1. And Creation, in the form of daybreak, which is the Earth-god's daily resurrection, is precisely where the whiye colt is leading us now.
LAHEM LAHEM: You may want to check other Yehudit texts, but the five that I am using all have LAHEM LAHEM; yet there is no logical reason for this doubling (there may be a litugical one, if this was originally part of a recited script for ceremonial or theatrical use).
GIL'AD: Generally known as Gilead in English versions.
All of which also raises the Drummond question: are these "judges" not in fact human beings at all, but anthropomorphs, metaphorical human beings, allegories of the next level of cosmology - we have done the sun and moon and Earth and major planets, and we have done the twelve constellations, and we have done the broad structure of the cosmos as decans and tridecans; are we now breaking down the constellations themselves into their component parts of planets, stars, moons et cetera? I strongly suspect that we are (but that it is superimposed upon tribal historical legend, because every tale needs a context...)
10:5 VA YAMAT YA'IR VA YIKAVER BE KAMON
וַיָּמָת יָאִיר וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּקָמֹון
BN: And Ya'ir died, and was buried in Kamon.
KAMON (קמון): from the root KAMAH meaning "rich in grain", which the earth should have been, if the fertility goddess Chavah was looking after it properly; and which confirms that, thanks to the composting capabilities of the worm, we have now left the Underworld, are back on earthly soil in the light of day, and hopefully are going to be presented now with some serious enlightenment through Judges of wisdom and moral substance.
Or else, as with Pu'ah and Tol'a above, if we know nothing of any significance about him, or what he achieved, what is the purpose of listing him?
To which the answer appears to be: these were the mythical heroes of the land, probably from before the arrival of whoever the Beney Yisra-El were, and they had to be absorbed in order to be assimilated in order to strip them of their previous value - all of which is best achieved by Judaising them. Christianity did exactly the same throughout Europe, so successfully that few Christians today can even imagine that Santa Claus and Christmas, like Easter, were pre-Christian, as were most of the saints. But the probability is that Judges truly reflects the cults and practices of Kena'an (Canaan), including whoever the "Jews" were before the exile of 586 BCE, and that the entire Heptateuch, all the way from Genesis to Kings, was an attempt by the Ezraic Redactor to establish a "Jewish" history and thereby retroactively validate the new religion he was creating.
pey break
KJ: And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.
KAMON (קמון): from the root KAMAH meaning "rich in grain", which the earth should have been, if the fertility goddess Chavah was looking after it properly; and which confirms that, thanks to the composting capabilities of the worm, we have now left the Underworld, are back on earthly soil in the light of day, and hopefully are going to be presented now with some serious enlightenment through Judges of wisdom and moral substance.
Or else, as with Pu'ah and Tol'a above, if we know nothing of any significance about him, or what he achieved, what is the purpose of listing him?
To which the answer appears to be: these were the mythical heroes of the land, probably from before the arrival of whoever the Beney Yisra-El were, and they had to be absorbed in order to be assimilated in order to strip them of their previous value - all of which is best achieved by Judaising them. Christianity did exactly the same throughout Europe, so successfully that few Christians today can even imagine that Santa Claus and Christmas, like Easter, were pre-Christian, as were most of the saints. But the probability is that Judges truly reflects the cults and practices of Kena'an (Canaan), including whoever the "Jews" were before the exile of 586 BCE, and that the entire Heptateuch, all the way from Genesis to Kings, was an attempt by the Ezraic Redactor to establish a "Jewish" history and thereby retroactively validate the new religion he was creating.
pey break
10:6 VA YOSIPHU BENEY YISRA-EL LA'ASOT HA RA BE EYNEY YHVH VA YA'AVDU ET HA BE'ALIM VE ET HA ASHTAROT VE ET ELOHEY ARAM VE ET ELOHEY TSIYDON VE ET ELOHEY MO'AV VE ET ELOHEY VENEY AMMON VE ET ELOHEY PHELISHTIM VA YA'AZNU ET YHVH VE LO AVADUHU
וַיֹּסִפוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲשֹׂות הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֶת הַבְּעָלִים וְאֶת הָעַשְׁתָּרֹות וְאֶת אֱלֹהֵי אֲרָם וְאֶת אֱלֹהֵי צִידֹון וְאֵת אֱלֹהֵי מֹואָב וְאֵת אֱלֹהֵי בְנֵי עַמֹּון וְאֵת אֱלֹהֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּעַזְבוּ אֶת יְהוָה וְלֹא עֲבָדוּהוּ
BN: And the Beney Yisra-El once again did what was evil in the eyes of YHVH, and worshipped the Ba'alim, and the Ashterot, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Tsidon, and the gods of Mo-Av, and the gods of the Beney Amon, and the gods of the Pelishtim, and forsook YHVH, and did not worship him.
I am extremely grateful for this particular verse. I have been making the case throughout that each of the tribes and peoples of the regions had their own variations on the gods and goddesses, and here is text confirming it. Now it is necessary to do some work and explain what those differences were (cf my notes on Genesis 1... Judges 10:5).
I am extremely grateful for this particular verse. I have been making the case throughout that each of the tribes and peoples of the regions had their own variations on the gods and goddesses, and here is text confirming it. Now it is necessary to do some work and explain what those differences were (cf my notes on Genesis 1... Judges 10:5).
This is simply the Redactor's way of acknowledging that, in those days, before YHVH had been developed into the Omnideity, these were the gods who everybody worshipped.
Note again the switches between YHVH and Elohim; and the differences in the tales too; whenever Yisra-El as a nation does evil, it is YHVH. Mass-murderers and tyrants tend to be Elohim. Two very different views of human nature, and of why the world gets in such a mess - actually the two are precise but complementary opposites: the passivity and subservience of the mob versus the megalomania of the individual: with YHVH it is always the victim's fault, with Elohim the victor's, but he gets his come-uppance.
PHELISHTIM: Or we would say Philistines. But see my note in the next verse.
10:7 VA YICHAR APH YHVH BE YISRA-EL VA YIMKEREM BE YAD PELISHTIM U VE YAD BENEY AMMON
וַיִּחַר אַף יְהוָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּמְכְּרֵם בְּיַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּבְיַד בְּנֵי עַמֹּון
BN: And YHVH's nostrils flared up against Yisra-El, and he sold them into the hands of the Pelishtim, and into the hands of the Beney Amon.
VA YICHAR APH YHVH: YHVH as bull-god, his nostrils inflamed. We have witnessed it many times, most especially when he was being the full-grown bull amongst the golden calves in the Mosheh story.
VA YIMKEREM: YHVH gave them; or YHVH sold them? The root is MAKAR, which does indeed mean "to sell".
PELISHTIM: the previous verse gave it as PHELISHTIM, but there is a simple grammatical reason for the difference: ELOHEY means "gods of" and a definite article is inferred, after which the grmmar rules require a softening of the consonant: you can tell by the absence of the dagesh in the Masoretic version. The norm throughout the Tanach is Pelishtim.
10:8 VA YIR'ATSU VA YEROTSETSU ET BENEY YISRA-EL BA SHANAH HA HI SHEMONEH ESREH SHANAH ET KOL BENEY YISRA-EL ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN BE ERETS HA EMORI ASHER BA GIL'AD
VA YICHAR APH YHVH: YHVH as bull-god, his nostrils inflamed. We have witnessed it many times, most especially when he was being the full-grown bull amongst the golden calves in the Mosheh story.
VA YIMKEREM: YHVH gave them; or YHVH sold them? The root is MAKAR, which does indeed mean "to sell".
PELISHTIM: the previous verse gave it as PHELISHTIM, but there is a simple grammatical reason for the difference: ELOHEY means "gods of" and a definite article is inferred, after which the grmmar rules require a softening of the consonant: you can tell by the absence of the dagesh in the Masoretic version. The norm throughout the Tanach is Pelishtim.
10:8 VA YIR'ATSU VA YEROTSETSU ET BENEY YISRA-EL BA SHANAH HA HI SHEMONEH ESREH SHANAH ET KOL BENEY YISRA-EL ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN BE ERETS HA EMORI ASHER BA GIL'AD
וַיִּרְעֲצוּ וַיְרֹצְצוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה אֶת כָּל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בְּאֶרֶץ הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר בַּגִּלְעָד
BN: And that year they suppressed and oppressed the Beney Yisra-El, for eighteen years indeed, all the Beney Yisra-El who were on the other side of the river Yarden in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gil'ad.
YIR'ATSU... YEROTSETSU: word-play, which I have tried to emulate in my translation (I would have added "repressed", because they probably did that too, but the Yehudit only has two homophones).
YIR'ATSU... YEROTSETSU: word-play, which I have tried to emulate in my translation (I would have added "repressed", because they probably did that too, but the Yehudit only has two homophones).
The root of the first is RA'ATS (רעץ), which occurs on only one other occasion, in Exodus 15:6 (Gesenius has 25:6, which is a misprint), where Mosheh in his song describes the cdeity as "smashing the enemy in pieces". The root of the second is RATSATS (רצץ), which really has the same meaning, as you will find if you look at Deuteronomy 28:33, 2 Kings 18:21 et al: perhaps the distinction is that the former breaks things down, the latter breaks things open. RATSATS is also the verb used in Genesis 25:22, when the twins "struggled together" in the womb, before Esav came out first; presumably they were struggling to "break open" the womb, endorsing the dstinction made above.
This is not the same verb as RATSAH in 1 Samuel 12:3/4, which is probably an error anyway: the root for RATSAH, with a Hey (ה), actually means "delight", which is the opposite of the intention there. The final letter should have been a CHET (ח) for RETSACH (רצח), for which see Numbers 35:6, Deuteronomy 22:26, Psalm 42:11 et al, but especially Exodus 20:12, whose precise intention is probably clarified by these other references.
Clearly several verbs have developed with similar meanings, or at least similar intentions, with similar sounds and letters.
GIL'AD: Which is to say: the half-territory of Menasheh, but even more the territories of Gad and Re'u-Ven, both of which tribes disappeared from history very soon afterwards. See the map adjacent to verse 3.
KJ: Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
10:9 VA YA'AVRU VENEY AMON ET HA YARDEN LEHILACHEM GAM BIYHUDAH U VE VIN-YAMIN U VE VEIT EPHRAYIM VA TETSER LE YISRA-EL ME'OD
וַיַּעַבְרוּ בְנֵי עַמֹּון אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן לְהִלָּחֵם גַּם בִּיהוּדָה וּבְבִנְיָמִין וּבְבֵית אֶפְרָיִם וַתֵּצֶר לְיִשְׂרָאֵל מְאֹד
BN: And the Beney Amon also crossed the river Yarden to fight against Yehudah, and against Bin-Yamin, and against the house of Ephrayim; so that Yisra-El was sorely distressed.
AMON: See the link.
BEIT EPHRAYIM: Does this mean the tribe, and therefore Yehudah likewise, or is this a piece of later writing that knows history as the centuries in which Yehudah and Ephrayim were two kingdoms, and the land divided? It feels like the latter, but that situation only came into being after the civil war that followed the death of King Shelomoh (Solomon), several hundred years after the events in this verse.
10:10 VA YIZ'AKU BENEY YISRA-EL EL YHVH LE'MOR CHATA'NU LACH VE CHI AZAVNU ET ELOHEYNU VA NA'AVOD ET HA BE'ALIM
KJ: And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.
AMON: See the link.
BEIT EPHRAYIM: Does this mean the tribe, and therefore Yehudah likewise, or is this a piece of later writing that knows history as the centuries in which Yehudah and Ephrayim were two kingdoms, and the land divided? It feels like the latter, but that situation only came into being after the civil war that followed the death of King Shelomoh (Solomon), several hundred years after the events in this verse.
10:10 VA YIZ'AKU BENEY YISRA-EL EL YHVH LE'MOR CHATA'NU LACH VE CHI AZAVNU ET ELOHEYNU VA NA'AVOD ET HA BE'ALIM
וַיִּזְעֲקוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְהוָה לֵאמֹר חָטָאנוּ לָךְ וְכִי עָזַבְנוּ אֶת אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַנַּעֲבֹד אֶת הַבְּעָלִים
BN: And the Beney Yisra-El cried out to YHVH, saying: "We have sinned against you, both because we have forsaken our gods, and also by worshipping Ba'alim".
EL YHVH...ELOHEYNU: Interesting that they speak simultaneously of the mono and the poly theos. "Our gods", not "YHVH our god".
EL YHVH...ELOHEYNU: Interesting that they speak simultaneously of the mono and the poly theos. "Our gods", not "YHVH our god".
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KJ: And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?
10:11 VA YOMER YHVH EL BENEY YISRA-EL HA LO MI MITSRAYIM U MIN HA EMORI U MIN BENEY AMON U MIN PLISHTIM
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֲלֹא מִמִּצְרַיִם וּמִן הָאֱמֹרִי וּמִן בְּנֵי עַמֹּון וּמִן פְּלִשְׁתִּים
BN: And YHVH said to the Beney Yisra-El: "Did I not [deliver you] from Mitsrayim, and from the Emori, and from the Beney Amon, and from Pelishtim?..
What a splendid piece of writing, despite its missing a verb, which I have put back in square brackets in my translation! The sense of YHVH being completely fed up. He doesn't even bother to deliver the whole script, just the opening, knowing they will know it, and then jumps to the later section, and doesn't even bother with a verb (English translations add "deliver you" but it is not there in the Yehudit. A correct and literal translation of this verse should read:
What a splendid piece of writing, despite its missing a verb, which I have put back in square brackets in my translation! The sense of YHVH being completely fed up. He doesn't even bother to deliver the whole script, just the opening, knowing they will know it, and then jumps to the later section, and doesn't even bother with a verb (English translations add "deliver you" but it is not there in the Yehudit. A correct and literal translation of this verse should read:
"Did I not... from Egypt... and from the Emori... and from the Beney Amon... and from Pelishtim?.."
with those breathless dots definitely a part of the statement, and all four of the very different ways of describing a people. And not even a definite article before Pelishtim!
But through whom, and/or to whom is he speaking? YHVH never just shouts from the heavens; there is always a chosen person, some form of Mal'ach (angel, messenger...).
And lastly, by way of an answer which the Tanach does not give, yes to Mitsrayim (Egypt), for the time being, but no, that's the whole point, right now, at this moment of history, eighteen years of conquest at the start of this chapter, no, you did not deliver "your people" from the Emori, or the Beney Amon, who are the ones who just launched an attack, and especially not the Pelishtim.
10:12 VE TSIYDONIM VA AMALEK U MA'ON LACHATSU ET'CHEM VA TITSAKU ELAY VA OSHI'AH ET'CHEM MI YADAM
KJ: The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.
But through whom, and/or to whom is he speaking? YHVH never just shouts from the heavens; there is always a chosen person, some form of Mal'ach (angel, messenger...).
And lastly, by way of an answer which the Tanach does not give, yes to Mitsrayim (Egypt), for the time being, but no, that's the whole point, right now, at this moment of history, eighteen years of conquest at the start of this chapter, no, you did not deliver "your people" from the Emori, or the Beney Amon, who are the ones who just launched an attack, and especially not the Pelishtim.
10:12 VE TSIYDONIM VA AMALEK U MA'ON LACHATSU ET'CHEM VA TITSAKU ELAY VA OSHI'AH ET'CHEM MI YADAM
וְצִידֹונִים וַעֲמָלֵק וּמָעֹון לָחֲצוּ אֶתְכֶם וַתִּצְעֲקוּ אֵלַי וָאֹושִׁיעָה אֶתְכֶם מִיָּדָם
BN: "The Tsiydonim too, and Amalek, and Ma'on oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand...
TSIYDONIM: See the link.
AMALEK: See the link.
MA'ON: See my notes to Judges 9:37.
10:13 VE ATEM AZAVTEM OTI VA TA'AVDU ELOHIM ACHERIM LACHEN LO OSIPH LEHOSHI'A ET'CHEM
KJ: Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.
TSIYDONIM: See the link.
AMALEK: See the link.
MA'ON: See my notes to Judges 9:37.
10:13 VE ATEM AZAVTEM OTI VA TA'AVDU ELOHIM ACHERIM LACHEN LO OSIPH LEHOSHI'A ET'CHEM
וְאַתֶּם עֲזַבְתֶּם אֹותִי וַתַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים לָכֵן לֹא אֹוסִיף לְהֹושִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם
BN: "Yet you have forsaken me, and worshipped other gods. For which reason I shall not deliver you any more...
And not just fed up; having another one of his sulks too. But at least, at last, he is going to stand by his principles, and not come to their rescue, ever again. (Believe that if you will!)
KJ: Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.
And not just fed up; having another one of his sulks too. But at least, at last, he is going to stand by his principles, and not come to their rescue, ever again. (Believe that if you will!)
10:14 LECHU VE ZA'AKU EL HA ELOHIM ASHER BECHARTEM BAM HEMAH YOSHIY'U LACHEM BE ET TSARAT'CHEM
לְכוּ וְזַעֲקוּ אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר בְּחַרְתֶּם בָּם הֵמָּה יֹושִׁיעוּ לָכֶם בְּעֵת צָרַתְכֶם
BN: "Go and cry to the gods that you have chosen; let them deliver you in your hour of tribulation."
The trouble is, as we learn from this response, YHVH needs his people even more than they need him. What if they accept his sulky challenge, and that's it, YHVH-worship is over, for ever, done? He just can't.
And note again, that YHVH fully accepts the existence of other gods in the world; he does not (yet) regard himself as the One and Only, the Monotheistic Omnideity: simply, all the others are worthless and inferior, so what kind of a pathetic mediocrity must you be to follow them? Abandon them, and follow me.
KJ: And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
The trouble is, as we learn from this response, YHVH needs his people even more than they need him. What if they accept his sulky challenge, and that's it, YHVH-worship is over, for ever, done? He just can't.
And note again, that YHVH fully accepts the existence of other gods in the world; he does not (yet) regard himself as the One and Only, the Monotheistic Omnideity: simply, all the others are worthless and inferior, so what kind of a pathetic mediocrity must you be to follow them? Abandon them, and follow me.
10:15 VA YOMRU VENEY YISRA-EL EL YHVH CHATA'NU ASEH ATAH LANU KE CHOL HA TOV BE EYNEYCHA ACH HATSIYLENU NA HA YOM HA ZEH
וַיֹּאמְרוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְהוָה חָטָאנוּ עֲשֵׂה אַתָּה לָנוּ כְּכָל הַטֹּוב בְּעֵינֶיךָ אַךְ הַצִּילֵנוּ נָא הַיֹּום הַזֶּה
BN: Then the Beney Yisra-El said to YHVH: "We have sinned. Do to us whatsoever seems right to you. But please, just deliver us, today."
CHATANU: for a modern reader, this takes us straight to the Vidu'i and especially the Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur liturgy.
KJ: And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.
CHATANU: for a modern reader, this takes us straight to the Vidu'i and especially the Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur liturgy.
10:16 VA YASIYRU ET ELOHEY HA NECHAR MI KIRBAM VA YA'AVDU ET YHVH VA TIKTSAR NAPHSHO BA AMAL YISRA-EL
וַיָּסִירוּ אֶת אֱלֹהֵי הַנֵּכָר מִקִּרְבָּם וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֶת יְהוָה וַתִּקְצַר נַפְשֹׁו בַּעֲמַל יִשְׂרָאֵל
BN: And they put away the foreign gods from among them, and worshipped YHVH: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Yisra-El.
Once again the Redactor has to make his point; not enough to write a history of the pre-YHVH gods; the tale is didactic and ideological: these verses are needed to make the point. But isn't it interesting, that the people are able to take responsibility, without needing a Judge, a Prophet, a King! They just prefer to have one (see verse 18).
Once again the Redactor has to make his point; not enough to write a history of the pre-YHVH gods; the tale is didactic and ideological: these verses are needed to make the point. But isn't it interesting, that the people are able to take responsibility, without needing a Judge, a Prophet, a King! They just prefer to have one (see verse 18).
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KJ: Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.
10:17 VA YITSA'AKU BENEY AMON VA YACHANU BA GIL'AD VA YE'ASPHU BENEY YISRA-EL VA YACHANU BA MITSPAH
וַיִּצָּעֲקוּ בְּנֵי עַמֹּון וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּגִּלְעָד וַיֵּאָסְפוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּמִּצְפָּה
BN: Then the Beney Amon gathered, and made camp in Gil'ad. And the Beney Yisra-El assembled themselves together, and made camp in Mitspah.
MITSPAH: Sometimes MITSPEH. Interesting to note how often this is the venue for national gatherings of self-flagellation; Shemu-El especially favoured it, and we saw Yehoshu'a there as well. Particularly interesting (the link explains this) that it should be here, in what was also called Gal-Ed, Gil'ad, or in English Gilead.
KJ: And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
MITSPAH: Sometimes MITSPEH. Interesting to note how often this is the venue for national gatherings of self-flagellation; Shemu-El especially favoured it, and we saw Yehoshu'a there as well. Particularly interesting (the link explains this) that it should be here, in what was also called Gal-Ed, Gil'ad, or in English Gilead.
10:18 VA YOMRU HA AM SAREY GIL'AD ISH EL RE'EHU MI HA ISH ASHER YACHEL LEHILACHEM BIVNEY AMON YIHEYEH LE ROSH LE CHOL YOSHVEY GIL'AD
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָעָם שָׂרֵי גִלְעָד אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ מִי הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יָחֵל לְהִלָּחֵם בִּבְנֵי עַמֹּון יִהְיֶה לְרֹאשׁ לְכֹל יֹשְׁבֵי גִלְעָד
BN: And the people, and the princes of Gil'ad, said to one another: "What man is he who will begin to fight against the Beney Amon? He shall be the chief over all the inhabitants of Gil'ad.
Then this is a Gil'adi tale, not a Yisra-Eli one. The Beney Amon have attacked Gil'ad, not Yisra-El (though see verse 8). Have the two and a half tribes already been absorbed?
Each tale is in fact simultaneous; we are wandering the shrines of Kena'an, even as we also wander the byways of chronology, until eventually those two become what of course they always were: the same thing.
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Then this is a Gil'adi tale, not a Yisra-Eli one. The Beney Amon have attacked Gil'ad, not Yisra-El (though see verse 8). Have the two and a half tribes already been absorbed?
Each tale is in fact simultaneous; we are wandering the shrines of Kena'an, even as we also wander the byways of chronology, until eventually those two become what of course they always were: the same thing.
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