7:1 VA YASHKEM YERUV-VA'AL HU GID'ON VE CHOL HA AM ASHER ITO VA YACHANU AL EYN CHAROD U MACHANEH MIDYAN HAYAH LO MI TSAPHON MI GIV'AT HA MOREH BA EMEK
וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יְרֻבַּעַל הוּא גִדְעֹון וְכָל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתֹּו וַיַּחֲנוּ עַל עֵין חֲרֹד וּמַחֲנֵה מִדְיָן הָיָה לֹו מִצָּפֹון מִגִּבְעַת הַמֹּורֶה בָּעֵמֶק
BN: Then Yeruv-Va'al, who is Gid'on, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Charod: so that the camp of the Midyanites was on their north side, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
YERUV-VA'AL: Rather than Yeru-Ba'al. For an explanation of his two names, click here for my notes to verse 32 in the previous chapter.
EYN CHAROD (חרד): "the well of terror". Not an obvious name to give a well, unless it has religious connotations.
MOREH: See the link.
KJ: And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
YERUV-VA'AL: Rather than Yeru-Ba'al. For an explanation of his two names, click here for my notes to verse 32 in the previous chapter.
EYN CHAROD (חרד): "the well of terror". Not an obvious name to give a well, unless it has religious connotations.
MOREH: See the link.
7:2 VA YOMER YHVH EL GID'ON RAV HA AM ASHER ITACH MI TITI ET MIDYAN BE YADAM PEN YITPA'ER ALAY YISRA-EL LEMOR YADI HOSHI'AH LI
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל גִּדְעֹון רַב הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתָּךְ מִתִּתִּי אֶת מִדְיָן בְּיָדָם פֶּן יִתְפָּאֵר עָלַי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר יָדִי הֹושִׁיעָה לִּי
BN: Then YHVH said to Gid'on: "There are far too many people on your side for me to give the Midyanites into their hands; it runs a serious risk that Yisra-El will give itself the credit instead of me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me'.
How to explain a historical event in terms that corroborate the deity rather than the human! Spin-doctoring par excellence. There was a battle; thousands of cowards fled... but that counts as a great triumph anyway: Dunkirk as a successful tactical advance that just happened to go backwards!
And yes, YHVH requires miracles too!
But note the divine statement, and I am certain that you have whispered criticisms of me under your breath when I made the same point a dozen times previously; but here the deity is making it himself: humans have to be kept at vassail and serf level, lest they get above themselves, and think they can handle their own lives, without needing me (those last three the key words, hence my italics). Anything good that happens in the world is always me, never them; anything bad that happens in the world is always them, never me. Eso va! Most of us have worked for human bosses who take the same approach.
7:3 VE ATAH KERA NA BE AZNEY HA AM LE'MOR MI YAR'E VE CHARED YASHOV VE YITSPOR ME HAR HA GIL'AD VA YASHAV MIN HA AM ESRIM U SHENAYIM ELEPH VA ASERET ALAPHIM NISH'ARU
וְעַתָּה קְרָא נָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם לֵאמֹר מִי יָרֵא וְחָרֵד יָשֹׁב וְיִצְפֹּר מֵהַר הַגִּלְעָד וַיָּשָׁב מִן הָעָם עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁנַיִם אֶלֶף וַעֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים נִשְׁאָרוּ
BN: "Now, therefore, go and proclaim in the ears of the people, saying: 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn now, and leave Mount Gil'ad'." And twenty-two thousand people went back; and only ten thousand remained.
Yep, Dunkirk. There was a Chinese general who once described his retreat in a dispatch as "advancing twenty miles backwards". 22,000 deserters is quite an achievement! (but add another nought for Dunkirk!)
But we also have to read it in conjunction with the story and song of Devorah and Barak in chapter 5, because this one comes immediately after that one. Here the deserters are being let off scot-free: it's ok, we can do this without you. In Judges 5... look at verse 1, "You men of Yisra-El, who volunteered to risk your lives in a time of great peril, give praise to YHVH, who likewise blesses you." And read on from there. Praise and more praise for those who fought; excoriation of those who didn't even turn up to be offered the option of deserting.
Mount Gil'ad - what does this tell us about the mythology?
samech break
KJ: And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
Yep, Dunkirk. There was a Chinese general who once described his retreat in a dispatch as "advancing twenty miles backwards". 22,000 deserters is quite an achievement! (but add another nought for Dunkirk!)
But we also have to read it in conjunction with the story and song of Devorah and Barak in chapter 5, because this one comes immediately after that one. Here the deserters are being let off scot-free: it's ok, we can do this without you. In Judges 5... look at verse 1, "You men of Yisra-El, who volunteered to risk your lives in a time of great peril, give praise to YHVH, who likewise blesses you." And read on from there. Praise and more praise for those who fought; excoriation of those who didn't even turn up to be offered the option of deserting.
Mount Gil'ad - what does this tell us about the mythology?
samech break
7:4 VA YOMER YHVH EL GID'ON OD HA AM RAV HORED OTAM EL HA MAYIM VE ETSREPHENU LECHA SHAM VE HAYAH ASHER OMAR ELEYCHA ZEH YELECH ITACH HU YELECH ITACH VE CHOL ASHER OMAR ELEYCHA ZEH LO YELECH IMACH HU LO YELECH
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל גִּדְעֹון עֹוד הָעָם רָב הֹורֵד אֹותָם אֶל הַמַּיִם וְאֶצְרְפֶנּוּ לְךָ שָׁם וְהָיָה אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ זֶה יֵלֵךְ אִתָּךְ הוּא יֵלֵךְ אִתָּךְ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ זֶה לֹא יֵלֵךְ עִמָּךְ הוּא לֹא יֵלֵךְ
BN: Then YHVH said to Gid'on: "There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it shall be, that those of whom I say to you: 'This one shall go with you', then this one shall go with you; and of those of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you', so he shall not go.
Why is it sometimes ITACH and sometimes IMACH? And what criterion is YHVH using to make his decisions? Dare I suggest that, this being YHVH, the god of life-as-we-know-it, it will be a mixture of intelligent design which turns out not to be all that intelligent, and pure randomness, chance, arbitrariness and haphazard? After which he will sulk, blame the humans, and then have a tantrum. And send someone barbaric to destroy them.
And having gone for ITACH rather than IMACH, why is it either of those anyway, given that both are feminine? It should be IT'CHA or IMCHA, written exactly the same, without the pointing. And the Pointer knows this, because he has pointed it as LECHA, not LACH, earlier in the same verse.
Why is it sometimes ITACH and sometimes IMACH? And what criterion is YHVH using to make his decisions? Dare I suggest that, this being YHVH, the god of life-as-we-know-it, it will be a mixture of intelligent design which turns out not to be all that intelligent, and pure randomness, chance, arbitrariness and haphazard? After which he will sulk, blame the humans, and then have a tantrum. And send someone barbaric to destroy them.
And having gone for ITACH rather than IMACH, why is it either of those anyway, given that both are feminine? It should be IT'CHA or IMCHA, written exactly the same, without the pointing. And the Pointer knows this, because he has pointed it as LECHA, not LACH, earlier in the same verse.
7:5 VA YORED ET HA AM EL HA MAYIM VA YOMER YHVH EL GID'ON KOL ASHER YALOK BILSHONO MIN HA MAYIM KA ASHER YALOK HA KELEV TATSIG OTO LEVAD VE CHOL ASHER YICHRA AL BIRKAV LISHTOT
וַיֹּורֶד אֶת הָעָם אֶל הַמָּיִם (ס) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל גִּדְעֹון כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יָלֹק בִּלְשֹׁונֹו מִן הַמַּיִם כַּאֲשֶׁר יָלֹק הַכֶּלֶב תַּצִּיג אֹותֹו לְבָד וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִכְרַע עַל בִּרְכָּיו לִשְׁתֹּות
BN: So he brought the people down to the water: and YHVH said to Gid'on: "Every one who laps the water with his tongue, the way a dog laps, set him apart; likewise every one who stoops down on his knees to drink."
This one defeateth me, but I shall not retreat, neither shall I bow; yea, verily, I shall lap until I findeth me an answer. So, why? Is it the act of lapping, and the canine simile, which hints at their likely lack of valour in a battle? Or are the lappers being set apart to be the fighters because they can sustain themselves without needing endless great long swigs? And vice versa, is there a hint of the submissive in men who stoop or bow, or does getting down on your knees infer, like the lawmakers in the sheepfolds in Devorah's song, that down-and-dirty is what it takes to win a war? What kind of water is it anyway: a well, a spring, a fountain, a stream? Try to imagine how you can drink water by any means without bowing down. That's right, you can't. Unless the water is flowing downwards from a stream in the rocks, you have to stoop to get to it. You can squat, of course, rather than kneel, but you still have to bow. The next verse makes it clearer. (Or take a sneak peak at my notes to verse 24!)
Why is there a samech break in mid-verse again? (see Judges 6:22).
KJ: And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.
This one defeateth me, but I shall not retreat, neither shall I bow; yea, verily, I shall lap until I findeth me an answer. So, why? Is it the act of lapping, and the canine simile, which hints at their likely lack of valour in a battle? Or are the lappers being set apart to be the fighters because they can sustain themselves without needing endless great long swigs? And vice versa, is there a hint of the submissive in men who stoop or bow, or does getting down on your knees infer, like the lawmakers in the sheepfolds in Devorah's song, that down-and-dirty is what it takes to win a war? What kind of water is it anyway: a well, a spring, a fountain, a stream? Try to imagine how you can drink water by any means without bowing down. That's right, you can't. Unless the water is flowing downwards from a stream in the rocks, you have to stoop to get to it. You can squat, of course, rather than kneel, but you still have to bow. The next verse makes it clearer. (Or take a sneak peak at my notes to verse 24!)
Why is there a samech break in mid-verse again? (see Judges 6:22).
7:6 VA YEHI MISPAR HA MALAKEKIM BE YADAM EL PIYHEM SHELOSH ME'OT ISH VE CHOL YETER HA AM KAR'U AL BIRCHEYHEM LISHTOT MAYIM
וַיְהִי מִסְפַּר הַמֲלַקְקִים בְּיָדָם אֶל פִּיהֶם שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות אִישׁ וְכֹל יֶתֶר הָעָם כָּרְעוּ עַל בִּרְכֵיהֶם לִשְׁתֹּות מָיִם
BN: And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred; but all the rest of the people went down on their knees to drink water.
It appears (see the next verse) to be the act of putting the hand to the mouth, which is not what most of us would have called lapping but there you have it, which is the decisive factor here. Lapping is surely sticking your mouth in the water and slurping it up with your tongue, but apparently that constitutes bowing down. Cupping the water in your hands and pouring it in your mouth is equivalent to a libation. The original story probably had another verse or two that were removed, in which Yeruv-Va'al added to the previous bullock sacrifice another to the water-goddess (we are in Gil'ad after all! not far from the waterfalls of Banyas, or Caesarea Philippi if you prefer), and could tell who was with his goddess by the way they made the ceremony - the way you can tell a Reform from a traditional Jew today by whether they stand or sit for the Shem'a, or, given that this is about using hands with water, whether they speak or stay silent between the washing of the hands and the pronouncing of the blessings on a Friday evening.
And is it just a coincidence that the army is chosen from a water-test, just as Gid'on had obtained proof that the deity was with him by a water-test? Or does all this water tell us more about the nature of the original cult?
samech break
KJ: And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.
It appears (see the next verse) to be the act of putting the hand to the mouth, which is not what most of us would have called lapping but there you have it, which is the decisive factor here. Lapping is surely sticking your mouth in the water and slurping it up with your tongue, but apparently that constitutes bowing down. Cupping the water in your hands and pouring it in your mouth is equivalent to a libation. The original story probably had another verse or two that were removed, in which Yeruv-Va'al added to the previous bullock sacrifice another to the water-goddess (we are in Gil'ad after all! not far from the waterfalls of Banyas, or Caesarea Philippi if you prefer), and could tell who was with his goddess by the way they made the ceremony - the way you can tell a Reform from a traditional Jew today by whether they stand or sit for the Shem'a, or, given that this is about using hands with water, whether they speak or stay silent between the washing of the hands and the pronouncing of the blessings on a Friday evening.
And is it just a coincidence that the army is chosen from a water-test, just as Gid'on had obtained proof that the deity was with him by a water-test? Or does all this water tell us more about the nature of the original cult?
samech break
7:7 VA YOMER YHVH EL GID'ON BISHLOSH ME'OT HA ISH HA MALAKEKIM OSHIY'A ET'CHEM VE NATATI ET MIDYAN BE YADECHA VE CHOL HA AM YELCHU ISH LIMKOMO
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל גִּדְעֹון בִּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות הָאִישׁ הַמֲלַקְקִים אֹושִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת מִדְיָן בְּיָדֶךָ וְכָל הָעָם יֵלְכוּ אִישׁ לִמְקֹמֹו
BN: Then YHVH said to Gid'on: "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand: and let every last one of the rest of them go home."
An army of just three hundred, where 32,000 started out - the charge of the very, very light brigade! Is Gid'on going to remind YHVH of the mess that Yehoshu'a made of taking Ha Ai (Joshua 7) when his spies suggested a small number was sufficient and leave the rest to rest? But there are circumstances when a small troop... a troop? But, whoa, wait a moment, is the name Gid'on not connected to the name, to the tribe, of Gad? Is the tribe of Gad not, in fact, living precisely in Gil'ad? And when Ya'akov gave his death-bed blessings in the form of oracles, did he not say, in Genesis 49:19 to be precise, that "a troop shall come upon him, but Gad shall troop upon their heel" (heels in any tale of Ya'akov are always symbolic and significant: an Ekev, the root of his name, means "a heel"). It made no sense then (it barely makes any sense now), but here is the oracle, about to be fulfilled. My note to Genesis 49:19 is worth reviewing here.
OSHIY'A ET'CHEM: The real significance though lies in the use of this word: the role of Moshi'a is ultimately the deity's, not the human's, not even a Judge.
KJ: So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
OSHIY'A ET'CHEM: The real significance though lies in the use of this word: the role of Moshi'a is ultimately the deity's, not the human's, not even a Judge.
7:8 VA YIK'CHU ET TSEDAH HA AM BE YADAM VE ET SHOPHROTEYHEM VE ET KOL ISH YISRA-EL SHILACH ISH LO OHALAV U VISHLOSH ME'OT HA ISH HECHEZIK U MACHANEH MIDYAN HAYAH LO MI TACHAT BA EMEK
וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת צֵדָה הָעָם בְּיָדָם וְאֵת שֹׁופְרֹתֵיהֶם וְאֵת כָּל אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׁלַּח אִישׁ לְאֹהָלָיו וּבִשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות הָאִישׁ הֶחֱזִיק וּמַחֲנֵה מִדְיָן הָיָה לֹו מִתַּחַת בָּעֵמֶק
BN: So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Yisra-El, every last man of them, to his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the Midyanite camp was below him in the valley.
Note that he does not send the rest home, despite YHVH's instruction in verse 7 (or is LE MEKOMO to be read as "his bivouac"?); he may yet need them. The point is, this is to be a night-time raid on the camp, by a small number, and not a sun-emblazoned charge across a field. Tactics, not miracles.
pey break
KJ: And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
Note that he does not send the rest home, despite YHVH's instruction in verse 7 (or is LE MEKOMO to be read as "his bivouac"?); he may yet need them. The point is, this is to be a night-time raid on the camp, by a small number, and not a sun-emblazoned charge across a field. Tactics, not miracles.
pey break
7:9 VA YEHI BA LAILAH HA HU VA YOMER ELAV YHVH KUM RED BA MACHANEH KI NETATIV BE YADECHA
וַיְהִי בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו יְהוָה קוּם רֵד בַּמַּחֲנֶה כִּי נְתַתִּיו בְּיָדֶךָ
BN: And so it fell out that same night, that YHVH said to him: "Get up! Go down to their camp; for I have delivered them into your hand...
7:10 VE IM YAR'E ATAH LAREDET RED ATAH U PHURAH NA'ARCHA EL HA MACHANEH
KJ: But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host
7:10 VE IM YAR'E ATAH LAREDET RED ATAH U PHURAH NA'ARCHA EL HA MACHANEH
וְאִם יָרֵא אַתָּה לָרֶדֶת רֵד אַתָּה וּפֻרָה נַעַרְךָ אֶל הַמַּחֲנֶה
BN: But if you are scared to go down, go down to the camp with Phurah your servant...
IM YAR'E: Thousands of cowards having already been sent away, the same option is now being offered to Gid'on. Or is this simply a theological way of expressing the great danger of what is being planned, and suggesting he does some reconnoitering of his own first (he wouldn't need to, if he really had faith and trust in YHVH!)?
PHURAH (פרה): This is complex, and we have seen it almost identically in Judges 5:2. As written, unpointed, the name is PARAH, not PHURAH, which, strangely enough, is another word for "a calf", like EPHRON in the previous chapter (see my notes to Judges 6:11). Add a VAV (ו) to get closer, and PURAH, which is how it should be pronounced because an initial PEY (פ) is never softened to PHEY unless there is an additional letter, usually a preposition or a definite article, pre-fixed, and you have, extraordinary coincidence, "a wine-press" (cf Isaiah 63:3, Chagi 2:16). Gesenius tells us that PHURAH means "a branch", but offers no etymological evidence (presumably he is deducing it, incorrectly, from PARAR = "to break"; cf Psalm 33:10 and Ezekiel 17:19; but this is grammatically obtuse).
NA'ARCHA: "Your servant" as a translation simply does not work, socially, as he told us in 6:15 that "my family is poor in Menasheh, and I am the least in my father's house"; not a situation likely to involve servants. But the Yehudit word here isn't EVED = "servant" anyway. NA'AR means "young man", in the sense of an "apprentice" or a "student". So this is the Rabbi taking the Gabbai with him, the Pastor asking the Clerk of the Parish, or even more likely the priest taking the trainee-priest.
7:11 VE SHAMA'TA MAH YEDABERU VE ACHAR TECHEZAKNAH YADEYCHA VE YARADETA BA MACHANEH VA YERED HU U PHURAH NA'ARO EL KETSEH HA CHAMUSHIM ASHER BA MACHANEH
IM YAR'E: Thousands of cowards having already been sent away, the same option is now being offered to Gid'on. Or is this simply a theological way of expressing the great danger of what is being planned, and suggesting he does some reconnoitering of his own first (he wouldn't need to, if he really had faith and trust in YHVH!)?
PHURAH (פרה): This is complex, and we have seen it almost identically in Judges 5:2. As written, unpointed, the name is PARAH, not PHURAH, which, strangely enough, is another word for "a calf", like EPHRON in the previous chapter (see my notes to Judges 6:11). Add a VAV (ו) to get closer, and PURAH, which is how it should be pronounced because an initial PEY (פ) is never softened to PHEY unless there is an additional letter, usually a preposition or a definite article, pre-fixed, and you have, extraordinary coincidence, "a wine-press" (cf Isaiah 63:3, Chagi 2:16). Gesenius tells us that PHURAH means "a branch", but offers no etymological evidence (presumably he is deducing it, incorrectly, from PARAR = "to break"; cf Psalm 33:10 and Ezekiel 17:19; but this is grammatically obtuse).
NA'ARCHA: "Your servant" as a translation simply does not work, socially, as he told us in 6:15 that "my family is poor in Menasheh, and I am the least in my father's house"; not a situation likely to involve servants. But the Yehudit word here isn't EVED = "servant" anyway. NA'AR means "young man", in the sense of an "apprentice" or a "student". So this is the Rabbi taking the Gabbai with him, the Pastor asking the Clerk of the Parish, or even more likely the priest taking the trainee-priest.
7:11 VE SHAMA'TA MAH YEDABERU VE ACHAR TECHEZAKNAH YADEYCHA VE YARADETA BA MACHANEH VA YERED HU U PHURAH NA'ARO EL KETSEH HA CHAMUSHIM ASHER BA MACHANEH
וְשָׁמַעְתָּ מַה יְדַבֵּרוּ וְאַחַר תֶּחֱזַקְנָה יָדֶיךָ וְיָרַדְתָּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה וַיֵּרֶד הוּא וּפֻרָה נַעֲרֹו אֶל קְצֵה הַחֲמֻשִׁים אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּחֲנֶה
BN: "And you shall hear what they say; and afterwards your hand shall be strengthened to go down to the camp." Then he went down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the camp, where there were armed men.
Simply reconnaissance, made to sound far more complex than that by the way the text is written.
7:12 U MIDYAN VA AMALEK VE CHOL BENEY KEDEM NOPHLIM BA EMEK KA ARBEH LA ROV VE LIG'MALEYHEM EYN MISPAR KA CHOL SHE AL SEPHAT HA YAM LA ROV
Simply reconnaissance, made to sound far more complex than that by the way the text is written.
7:12 U MIDYAN VA AMALEK VE CHOL BENEY KEDEM NOPHLIM BA EMEK KA ARBEH LA ROV VE LIG'MALEYHEM EYN MISPAR KA CHOL SHE AL SEPHAT HA YAM LA ROV
וּמִדְיָן וַעֲמָלֵק וְכָל בְּנֵי קֶדֶם נֹפְלִים בָּעֵמֶק כָּאַרְבֶּה לָרֹב וְלִגְמַלֵּיהֶם אֵין מִסְפָּר כַּחֹול שֶׁעַל שְׂפַת הַיָּם לָרֹב
BN: And Midyan and Amalek and all the Beney Kedem had spread out across the valley, like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, like the sand on the sea-shore for multitude.
ARBEH: The same simile was used for the same people in Judges 6:5; see my notes there.
KJ: And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
ARBEH: The same simile was used for the same people in Judges 6:5; see my notes there.
7:13 VA YAVO GID'ON VE HINEH ISH MESAPER LE RE'EHU CHALOM VA YOMER HINEH CHALOM CHALAMTI VE HINEH TSELIL LECHEM SE'ORIM MIT'HAPECH BE MACHANEH MIDYAN VA YAVO AD HA OHEL VA YAKEHU VA YIPOL VA YAHAPH'CHEHU LEMA'LAH VE NAPHAL HA OHEL
וַיָּבֹא גִדְעֹון וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ מְסַפֵּר לְרֵעֵהוּ חֲלֹום וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה חֲלֹום חָלַמְתִּי וְהִנֵּה [צְלֹול כ] (צְלִיל ק) לֶחֶם שְׂעֹרִים מִתְהַפֵּךְ בְּמַחֲנֵה מִדְיָן וַיָּבֹא עַד הָאֹהֶל וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיִּפֹּל וַיַּהַפְכֵהוּ לְמַעְלָה וְנָפַל הָאֹהֶל
BN: When Gid'on got there, behold, there was a man recounting a dream to his fellow. And he said: "Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midyan, and came to a tent, and smote it so that it fell down, and overturned it, so that the tent lay on its side".
When I made comments earlier in this chapter about séances and Tarot cards, you thought (I know, I know, I see the emails wanting to post comments at the foot of the page, and I reject each one of them; and this is why) "he's mocking", "he's being offensive to those of us who hold the faith"; but I only ever make commentary that is befitting to the text - and here is the mitigation. This tale of Gid'on is all about the superstitions that the Jewish faith, from Mosheh's time, rejected, even condemned. Proofs of the existence of YHVH through water-tests - like drowning witches in the Middle Ages; selecting men of valour from the way they drink - something of the same order will happen with the Sibolets and Shibolets of chapter 12.
Like Yoseph's dreams, and those of the butler and baker and of Pharaoh later (Genesis 40), we are in the realm of cosmological poetry - and perhaps the use of the word ARBEH, which every member of the tribe of Yehudah would have known, as every Jew today who knows very little still knows the Ten Plagues, perhaps it was a hint to look back at these very stories, Mosheh likewise called by YHVH through a burning bush, Mosheh likewise tearing down a pagan symbol when he destroyed the Golden Calf (Exodus 32). The barley bread recalls the baker of Yoseph's tale, and like the minchah prepared earlier in this chapter, it is a meal offering, communion wafer in the Christian world, matzah or challah depending on the moment in the Jewish calendar of nowadays. Remember that we just washed our hands a moment ago - and was that a part of the reason why the hand-drinkers were chosen over the tongue-lappers; not just the standing rather than the genuflection, but the transformation of the profane into the sacred through the blessing that accompanies the libation; I am assuming that they did make the blessing? So now that the hands are clean, we can break bread.
SE'ORIM: from the same root as SE'IR. The word actually means "hairy", and is used for barley because of the hairy nature of the sheaves.
KJ: And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.
When I made comments earlier in this chapter about séances and Tarot cards, you thought (I know, I know, I see the emails wanting to post comments at the foot of the page, and I reject each one of them; and this is why) "he's mocking", "he's being offensive to those of us who hold the faith"; but I only ever make commentary that is befitting to the text - and here is the mitigation. This tale of Gid'on is all about the superstitions that the Jewish faith, from Mosheh's time, rejected, even condemned. Proofs of the existence of YHVH through water-tests - like drowning witches in the Middle Ages; selecting men of valour from the way they drink - something of the same order will happen with the Sibolets and Shibolets of chapter 12.
Like Yoseph's dreams, and those of the butler and baker and of Pharaoh later (Genesis 40), we are in the realm of cosmological poetry - and perhaps the use of the word ARBEH, which every member of the tribe of Yehudah would have known, as every Jew today who knows very little still knows the Ten Plagues, perhaps it was a hint to look back at these very stories, Mosheh likewise called by YHVH through a burning bush, Mosheh likewise tearing down a pagan symbol when he destroyed the Golden Calf (Exodus 32). The barley bread recalls the baker of Yoseph's tale, and like the minchah prepared earlier in this chapter, it is a meal offering, communion wafer in the Christian world, matzah or challah depending on the moment in the Jewish calendar of nowadays. Remember that we just washed our hands a moment ago - and was that a part of the reason why the hand-drinkers were chosen over the tongue-lappers; not just the standing rather than the genuflection, but the transformation of the profane into the sacred through the blessing that accompanies the libation; I am assuming that they did make the blessing? So now that the hands are clean, we can break bread.
SE'ORIM: from the same root as SE'IR. The word actually means "hairy", and is used for barley because of the hairy nature of the sheaves.
7:14 VA YA'AN RE'EHU VA YOMER EYN ZOT BILTI IM CHEREV GID'ON BEN YO'ASH ISH YISRA-EL NATAN HA ELOHIM BE YADO ET MIDYAN VE ET KOL HA MACHANEH
וַיַּעַן רֵעֵהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר אֵין זֹאת בִּלְתִּי אִם חֶרֶב גִּדְעֹון בֶּן יֹואָשׁ אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל נָתַן הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדֹו אֶת מִדְיָן וְאֶת כָּל הַמַּחֲנֶה
BN: And his fellow answered and said: "This is nothing but the sword of Gid'on ben Yo'ash, a man of Yisra-El: for into his hand have the gods delivered Midyan, and all the camp."
It is unclear how the dream gets interpreted this way, or how they have even heard of the obscure Gid'on. Everything is symbolic - so we have to work out the symbols. The barley bread is presumably the meal-offering of Judges 6 - though the first time we met him, at 6:11, he was threshing wheat not barley; the meal-offering is at 6:19 ff. And if the interpretation is correct, where is the panic and/or hysteria that should now be in his voice?
HA ELOHIM again, the polytheon not the monodeity.
pey break
KJ: And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
It is unclear how the dream gets interpreted this way, or how they have even heard of the obscure Gid'on. Everything is symbolic - so we have to work out the symbols. The barley bread is presumably the meal-offering of Judges 6 - though the first time we met him, at 6:11, he was threshing wheat not barley; the meal-offering is at 6:19 ff. And if the interpretation is correct, where is the panic and/or hysteria that should now be in his voice?
HA ELOHIM again, the polytheon not the monodeity.
pey break
7:15 VA YEHI CHI SHEMO'A GID'ON ET MISPAR HA CHALOM VE ET SHIVRO VA YISHTACHU VA YASHAV EL MACHANEH YISRA'EL VA YOMER KUMU KI NATAN YHVH BE YEDCHEM ET MACHANEH MIDYAN
וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ גִּדְעֹון אֶת מִסְפַּר הַחֲלֹום וְאֶת שִׁבְרֹו וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ וַיָּשָׁב אֶל מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר קוּמוּ כִּי נָתַן יְהוָה בְּיֶדְכֶם אֶת מַחֲנֵה מִדְיָן
BN: And so it was, when Gid'on heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he prostrated himself, and went back to the Yisra-Eli camp, and said: "Up boys, for YHVH has delivered the Midianite camp into your hand."
Read humanistically, Gid'on went down to the camp, and at first he could not believe that he could just wander around the periphery and no one stopped him; then he saw what was happening - men sitting around, sharing stories. And it struck him, if we attack now, they are totally unprepared, and they will assume we are thousands, and panic. This only needs 300. But the story-teller needs to affirm the majesty of the deity, and downplay the ingenuity of the autonomous human, as per verse 2. And, as we shall see, he also needs to prepare the tale for endless re-telling, as a part of liturgy.
YHVH replaces HA ELOHIM again.
KJ: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
Read humanistically, Gid'on went down to the camp, and at first he could not believe that he could just wander around the periphery and no one stopped him; then he saw what was happening - men sitting around, sharing stories. And it struck him, if we attack now, they are totally unprepared, and they will assume we are thousands, and panic. This only needs 300. But the story-teller needs to affirm the majesty of the deity, and downplay the ingenuity of the autonomous human, as per verse 2. And, as we shall see, he also needs to prepare the tale for endless re-telling, as a part of liturgy.
YHVH replaces HA ELOHIM again.
7:16 VA YACHATS ET SHELOSH ME'OT HA ISH SHELOSHAH RA'SHIM VA YITEN SHOPHROT BE YAD KULAM VE CHADIM REKIM VE LAPIDIM BETOCH HA KADIM
וַיַּחַץ אֶת שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות הָאִישׁ שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁים וַיִּתֵּן שֹׁופָרֹות בְּיַד כֻּלָּם וְכַדִּים רֵקִים וְלַפִּדִים בְּתֹוךְ הַכַּדִּים
BN: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
We are in the realm of lamps again, except that this time they are LAPIDIM, which is masculine, where the last time, in Judges 4:4 and 4:6, they were LAPIDOT, which is feminine - Lapidot was the name of Devorah's husband; see my notes to both of those verses for a fuller explanation of this.
We are in the realm of lamps again, except that this time they are LAPIDIM, which is masculine, where the last time, in Judges 4:4 and 4:6, they were LAPIDOT, which is feminine - Lapidot was the name of Devorah's husband; see my notes to both of those verses for a fuller explanation of this.
Given that Gid'on has proven to be the cultic shrine hero, and this his Herculean legend, can we read the whole tale as one of his labours, this one into the underworld?
RA'SHIM: From the root ROSH, which is "the head" on a human body, or the head as in the highest of anything, but also "the source", of anything, including life itself - the very first phrase in the Tanach, Be Re'shit, "in the beginning", Genesis 1:1. How does that get to be a "company" in the military sense? And three Ra'shim, as though, maybe, one for each phase of the moon - we are playing with LAPIDOT here, after all. I am speculating; I really don't know. Only that the choice of word is unusual and surprising, and so I assume it has to be there for a symbolic reason.
And also note the SHOPHROT, the trumpets, just like Yerecho (Jericho).
7:17 VA YOMER ALEYHEM MIMENI TIR'U VE CHEN TA'ASU VE HINEH ANOCHI VA BIKTSEH HA MACHANEH VE HAYAH CHA ASHER E'ESEH KEN TA'ASUN
KJ: And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם מִמֶּנִּי תִרְאוּ וְכֵן תַּעֲשׂוּ וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָא בִּקְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה וְהָיָה כַאֲשֶׁר אֶעֱשֶׂה כֵּן תַּעֲשׂוּן
BN: And he said to them: "Watch me, and do the same. When I get to the outside of the camp, whatever you see me do, you do the same...
7:18 VE TAKA'TI BA SHOPHAR ANOCHI VE CHOL ASHER ITI U TEKA'TEM BA SHOPHAROT GAM ATEM SEVIYVOT KOL HA MACHANEH VE AMARTEM LA YHVH U LE GID'ON
KJ: When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
7:18 VE TAKA'TI BA SHOPHAR ANOCHI VE CHOL ASHER ITI U TEKA'TEM BA SHOPHAROT GAM ATEM SEVIYVOT KOL HA MACHANEH VE AMARTEM LA YHVH U LE GID'ON
וְתָקַעְתִּי בַּשֹּׁופָר אָנֹכִי וְכָל אֲשֶׁר אִתִּי וּתְקַעְתֶּם בַּשֹּׁופָרֹות גַּם אַתֶּם סְבִיבֹות כָּל הַמַּחֲנֶה וַאֲמַרְתֶּם לַיהוָה וּלְגִדְעֹון
BN: "When I sound the trumpet, everyone who is with me should sound their trumpets too, all around the camp, and shout: 'For YHVH, and for Gid'on'."
Note that, yet again, the instrument is a Shofar, not a Chatsotsra, which is to say religious, not military. No mention of the famous sword (though it was in the dream-interpretation of verse 14, and will appear when they actually shout it, in verse 20); here the phrase is simply "For YHVH and for Gid'on".
pey break
KJ: So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
Note that, yet again, the instrument is a Shofar, not a Chatsotsra, which is to say religious, not military. No mention of the famous sword (though it was in the dream-interpretation of verse 14, and will appear when they actually shout it, in verse 20); here the phrase is simply "For YHVH and for Gid'on".
pey break
7:19 VA YAVO GID'ON U ME'AH ISH ASHER ITO BIKTSEH HA MACHANEH ROSH HA ASHMORET HA TIYCHONAH ACH HAKEM HEKIYMU ET HA SHOMRIM VA YITKE'U BA SHOPHAROT VE NAPHOTS HA KADIM ASHER BE YADAM
וַיָּבֹא גִדְעֹון וּמֵאָה אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אִתֹּו בִּקְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה רֹאשׁ הָאַשְׁמֹרֶת הַתִּיכֹונָה אַךְ הָקֵם הֵקִימוּ אֶת הַשֹּׁמְרִים וַיִּתְקְעוּ בַּשֹּׁופָרֹות וְנָפֹוץ הַכַּדִּים אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדָם
BN: So Gid'on, and the hundred men who were with him, came to the outside of the camp at the start of the middle watch; and they had only just set the watch; and they blew their trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
ROSH HA ASHMORET: a good piece of timing; the changing of the guard is always the lowest point of security and the weakest point of command-giving (I hope that YHVH told him that, and the story-teller just forgot to include his doing so; otherwise this sounds dreadfully like Gid'on using his own brain, planning his own strategy, taking the initiative).
What does breaking the pitchers achieve, militarily? Besides noise. Or is it that the torches are inside the clay-canisters, which keeps them dark; by breaking the pitchers, they can now use the light - and the surprise factor adds exponentially.
7:20 VA YITKE'U SHELOSHET HA RA'SHIM BA SHOPHAROT VA YISHBERU HA KADIM VA YACHAZIYKU VE YAD SMO'LAM BA LAPIDIM U VE YAD YEMIYNAM HA SHOPHAROT LITKO'A VA YIKRE'U CHEREV LA YHVH U LE GIDON
KJ: And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
ROSH HA ASHMORET: a good piece of timing; the changing of the guard is always the lowest point of security and the weakest point of command-giving (I hope that YHVH told him that, and the story-teller just forgot to include his doing so; otherwise this sounds dreadfully like Gid'on using his own brain, planning his own strategy, taking the initiative).
What does breaking the pitchers achieve, militarily? Besides noise. Or is it that the torches are inside the clay-canisters, which keeps them dark; by breaking the pitchers, they can now use the light - and the surprise factor adds exponentially.
7:20 VA YITKE'U SHELOSHET HA RA'SHIM BA SHOPHAROT VA YISHBERU HA KADIM VA YACHAZIYKU VE YAD SMO'LAM BA LAPIDIM U VE YAD YEMIYNAM HA SHOPHAROT LITKO'A VA YIKRE'U CHEREV LA YHVH U LE GIDON
וַיִּתְקְעוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת הָרָאשִׁים בַּשֹּׁופָרֹות וַיִּשְׁבְּרוּ הַכַּדִּים וַיַּחֲזִיקוּ בְיַד שְׂמאֹולָם בַּלַּפִּדִים וּבְיַד יְמִינָם הַשֹּׁופָרֹות לִתְקֹועַ וַיִּקְרְאוּ חֶרֶב לַיהוָה וּלְגִדְעֹון
BN: And the three companies sounded their trumpets, and broke their pitchers, and held their lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to sound them: and they cried: "The sword of YHVH, and of Gid'on".
This time the sword does get included.
KJ: And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
This time the sword does get included.
7:21 VA YA'AMDU ISH TACHTAV SAVIV LA MACHANEH VA YARATS KOL HA MACHANEH VA YARIY'U VA YANUSU
וַיַּעַמְדוּ אִישׁ תַּחְתָּיו סָבִיב לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּרָץ כָּל הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּרִיעוּ [וַיָּנִיסוּ כ] (וַיָּנוּסוּ
BN: And they simply stood, each man where he was, all around the camp; and the entire camp ran, and shrieked, and fled.
7:22 VA YITKE'U SHELOSH ME'OT HA SHOPHAROT VA YASEM YHVH ET CHEREV ISH BE RE'EHU U VE CHOL HA MACHANEH VA YANAS HA MACHANEH AD BEIT HA SHITAH TSERERATAH AD SEPHAT AVEL MECHOLAH AL TABAT
KJ: And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.
7:22 VA YITKE'U SHELOSH ME'OT HA SHOPHAROT VA YASEM YHVH ET CHEREV ISH BE RE'EHU U VE CHOL HA MACHANEH VA YANAS HA MACHANEH AD BEIT HA SHITAH TSERERATAH AD SEPHAT AVEL MECHOLAH AL TABAT
וַיִּתְקְעוּ שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאֹות הַשֹּׁופָרֹות וַיָּשֶׂם יְהוָה אֵת חֶרֶב אִישׁ בְּרֵעֵהוּ וּבְכָל הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיָּנָס הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד בֵּית הַשִּׁטָּה צְרֵרָתָה עַד שְׂפַת אָבֵל מְחֹולָה עַל טַבָּת
BN: And the three hundred sounded their trumpets, and YHVH set every man's sword against his fellow, throughout the camp: and the camp fled to Beit ha Shitah, in the direction of Tsererah, and to the border of Avel Mecholah, all the way to Tabat.
BEIT HA SHITAH (בית השטה): "the house of the acacia", house in this instance meaning shrine. When YHVH gave Mosheh the instructions for building the Tabernacle, he told him to "make an ark of acacia wood" and "a table of acacia wood" (Exodus 25:9 & 23); this allows us to recognise the acacia as Mitsri (Egyptian); the first Egyptian gods were born under the sacred acacia tree of the goddess Saosis (aka Iusaaset, aka Eshet, aka Isis), later identified with Hat-Hor, and Horus was also said to have emerged from it. The acacia of On (Heliopolis) was a tree in which life and death was decided upon, similar to the Ished tree. Acacia and palm carried the sun god Re or Ra: " ... the Boat of Ra arrived at the town of Het-Aha; its forepart was made of palm wood, and the hind part was made of acacia wood; thus the palm tree and the acacia tree have been sacred trees from that day to this." (from "The Legend of Horus of Behutet and the Winged Disk".) The goddess Hat-Hor, like her Kena'ani counterpart Le'ah, was depicted as... a cow (see Phurah in verse 10).
TSERERATAH (צררת); named here as Tsereratah, the suffix denoting "in the direction of", but the Yehudit is itself in error; the town in question was Tseredah, near Scythopolis, according to Gesenius; Scythopolis, however, is the Greek name for Beit She'an, so this can only be correct if Tseredah was an earlier name for Beit She'an; and this indeed is what the archeologists do indeed believe: that Beit She'an was built on the ruins of Scythopolis. REYSH and DALET are easily and often confused; cf Rodanim/Dodanim et al. 1 Kings 11:26 and 2 Chronicles 4:17 both mention it. Joshua 3:16, 1 Kings 4:12 and 7:46 call it Tsartan. The root word means "cooling".
AVEL MECHOLAH (אבל מחולה): an AVEL is a meadow set aside for ritual purposes, usually but not always a burial ground (cf Avel Mitsrayim, where Ya'akov was buried in Genesis 50). MECHOLAH means "dancing", but likewise ritually, not for the fun of it. In Exodus 15:20 for example, Mir-Yam and her fellow priestesses dance as they chant the victory song at the Reed Sea. Exodus 32:19 has Mosheh discovering the Beney Yisra-El dancing round the Golden Calf. In Judges 21:21 the daughters of Shiloh dance for the men of Bin-Yamin in what is evidently an orgiastic rite. Song of Songs 7:2 dances similarly, (7:1 in those versions which choose to leave out the invocation to the pagan Shulamite!), though on this occasion it is a wedding ceremony, without the orgy.
TABAT (טבת): other than this reference to it as a town, there is no other; but the same letters give us the month of Tevet, the fourth month of the old year and the tenth month in the later Yisra-Eli calendar, with Kislev before and Shvat after (click here for more detail); it usually falls in December–January. If what we have is part of an annual cycle of Herculean heroisms, what do we know of Tevet that might help us decipher the cosmology of this? The crowning of Ester (Esther) on the first of the month came centuries later, though it was originally the crowning of Ishtar as part of the Persian New Year - so this might be a new year rite, given that Ezra brought the Yehudim back from Media (Persia), and it was the Ezraic Redactor who created this tale, this book. For other possible historical connections, Ezra himself died on the 9th of the month, the siege of Yeru-Shala'im by Nebuchadnezzar took place on the 10th (and very much later, totally irrelevant but I can see no reason for not noting it, Maimonides died on the 20th of Tevet - December 13th 1204 in the common calendar), but nothing else that seems to help us here.
7:23 VA YITSA'EK ISH YISRA-EL MI NAPHTALI U MIN ASHER U MIN KOL MENASHEH VA YIRDEPHU ACHAREY MIDYAN
KJ: And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
BEIT HA SHITAH (בית השטה): "the house of the acacia", house in this instance meaning shrine. When YHVH gave Mosheh the instructions for building the Tabernacle, he told him to "make an ark of acacia wood" and "a table of acacia wood" (Exodus 25:9 & 23); this allows us to recognise the acacia as Mitsri (Egyptian); the first Egyptian gods were born under the sacred acacia tree of the goddess Saosis (aka Iusaaset, aka Eshet, aka Isis), later identified with Hat-Hor, and Horus was also said to have emerged from it. The acacia of On (Heliopolis) was a tree in which life and death was decided upon, similar to the Ished tree. Acacia and palm carried the sun god Re or Ra: " ... the Boat of Ra arrived at the town of Het-Aha; its forepart was made of palm wood, and the hind part was made of acacia wood; thus the palm tree and the acacia tree have been sacred trees from that day to this." (from "The Legend of Horus of Behutet and the Winged Disk".) The goddess Hat-Hor, like her Kena'ani counterpart Le'ah, was depicted as... a cow (see Phurah in verse 10).
TSERERATAH (צררת); named here as Tsereratah, the suffix denoting "in the direction of", but the Yehudit is itself in error; the town in question was Tseredah, near Scythopolis, according to Gesenius; Scythopolis, however, is the Greek name for Beit She'an, so this can only be correct if Tseredah was an earlier name for Beit She'an; and this indeed is what the archeologists do indeed believe: that Beit She'an was built on the ruins of Scythopolis. REYSH and DALET are easily and often confused; cf Rodanim/Dodanim et al. 1 Kings 11:26 and 2 Chronicles 4:17 both mention it. Joshua 3:16, 1 Kings 4:12 and 7:46 call it Tsartan. The root word means "cooling".
AVEL MECHOLAH (אבל מחולה): an AVEL is a meadow set aside for ritual purposes, usually but not always a burial ground (cf Avel Mitsrayim, where Ya'akov was buried in Genesis 50). MECHOLAH means "dancing", but likewise ritually, not for the fun of it. In Exodus 15:20 for example, Mir-Yam and her fellow priestesses dance as they chant the victory song at the Reed Sea. Exodus 32:19 has Mosheh discovering the Beney Yisra-El dancing round the Golden Calf. In Judges 21:21 the daughters of Shiloh dance for the men of Bin-Yamin in what is evidently an orgiastic rite. Song of Songs 7:2 dances similarly, (7:1 in those versions which choose to leave out the invocation to the pagan Shulamite!), though on this occasion it is a wedding ceremony, without the orgy.
TABAT (טבת): other than this reference to it as a town, there is no other; but the same letters give us the month of Tevet, the fourth month of the old year and the tenth month in the later Yisra-Eli calendar, with Kislev before and Shvat after (click here for more detail); it usually falls in December–January. If what we have is part of an annual cycle of Herculean heroisms, what do we know of Tevet that might help us decipher the cosmology of this? The crowning of Ester (Esther) on the first of the month came centuries later, though it was originally the crowning of Ishtar as part of the Persian New Year - so this might be a new year rite, given that Ezra brought the Yehudim back from Media (Persia), and it was the Ezraic Redactor who created this tale, this book. For other possible historical connections, Ezra himself died on the 9th of the month, the siege of Yeru-Shala'im by Nebuchadnezzar took place on the 10th (and very much later, totally irrelevant but I can see no reason for not noting it, Maimonides died on the 20th of Tevet - December 13th 1204 in the common calendar), but nothing else that seems to help us here.
7:23 VA YITSA'EK ISH YISRA-EL MI NAPHTALI U MIN ASHER U MIN KOL MENASHEH VA YIRDEPHU ACHAREY MIDYAN
וַיִּצָּעֵק אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִנַּפְתָּלִי וּמִן אָשֵׁר וּמִן כָּל מְנַשֶּׁה וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אַחֲרֵי מִדְיָן
BN: And men of Yisra-El gathered, from Naphtali, and from Asher, and from both parts of Menasheh, and pursued the Midianites.
As noted earlier, he did not send the men home, because they might be needed later. It is, however, somewhat odd that these tribes should have been involved, but not Yisaschar or Zevulun, especially the latter, who was one of the first to be called, alongside Naphtali and Asher (in Judges 6:35), and who definitely answered the summons, according to that same verse.
KJ: And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
7:24 U MAL'ACHIM SHALACH GID'ON BE CHOL HAR EPHRAYIM LEMOR REDU LIKRA'T MIDYAN VE LICHDU LAHEM ET HA MAYIM AD BEIT BARAH VE ET HA YARDEN VA YITSA'EK KOL ISH EPHRAYIM VA YILKEDU ET HA MAYIM AD BEIT BARAH VE ET HA YARDEN
וּמַלְאָכִים שָׁלַח גִּדְעֹון בְּכָל הַר אֶפְרַיִם לֵאמֹר רְדוּ לִקְרַאת מִדְיָן וְלִכְדוּ לָהֶם אֶת הַמַּיִם עַד בֵּית בָּרָה וְאֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיִּצָּעֵק כָּל אִישׁ אֶפְרַיִם וַיִּלְכְּדוּ אֶת הַמַּיִם עַד בֵּית בָּרָה וְאֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן
BN: And Gid'on sent messengers to every part of Mount Ephrayim, saying: "Come down against the Midyanites, and take from them the waters as far as Beit Barah and Yarden". Then all the men of Ephrayim gathered themselves together, and took the waters as far as Beit Barah and the Yarden.
MAL'ACHIM: When it is connected with the deity, KJ always translates MAL'ACHIM as "angels"; but here as "messengers", infering humans. Why does it assume that the two are rendered different by context?
BEIT BARAH (ברה) was as near as the ancient world could get to a restaurant; a shrine where sacrifices were made, so that animals could be rendered holy for eating; the point of sacrifice being that it is morally wrong to kill anything, even an animal for food, so you sacrifice it (literally "render it sacred") and then the god gives you license to eat. Of course, as the next verse shows, not only animals got sacrificed, and not all meat got eaten.
"Taking the waters" is not to be misunderstood as a holiday in the spa. It is about seizing control of the sources of water. At the same time, given that this war has now turned out to be about water, rather than bread or women, perhaps the ceremonies of water that we witnessed earlier (Judges 6:37-39), and the choice of soldiers by their ways of "taking the waters" (verse 5, above), just gained still more significance.
MAL'ACHIM: When it is connected with the deity, KJ always translates MAL'ACHIM as "angels"; but here as "messengers", infering humans. Why does it assume that the two are rendered different by context?
BEIT BARAH (ברה) was as near as the ancient world could get to a restaurant; a shrine where sacrifices were made, so that animals could be rendered holy for eating; the point of sacrifice being that it is morally wrong to kill anything, even an animal for food, so you sacrifice it (literally "render it sacred") and then the god gives you license to eat. Of course, as the next verse shows, not only animals got sacrificed, and not all meat got eaten.
"Taking the waters" is not to be misunderstood as a holiday in the spa. It is about seizing control of the sources of water. At the same time, given that this war has now turned out to be about water, rather than bread or women, perhaps the ceremonies of water that we witnessed earlier (Judges 6:37-39), and the choice of soldiers by their ways of "taking the waters" (verse 5, above), just gained still more significance.
7:25 VA YILKEDU SHENEY SAREY MIDYAN ET OREV VE ET ZE'EV VA YAHARGU ET OREV BE TSUR OREV VE ET ZE'EV HARGU VE YEKEV ZE'EV VA TIRDEPHU EL MIDYAN VE ROSH OREV U ZE'EV HEVIYU EL GID'ON ME EVER LA YARDEN
וַיִּלְכְּדוּ שְׁנֵי שָׂרֵי מִדְיָן אֶת עֹרֵב וְאֶת זְאֵב וַיַּהַרְגוּ אֶת עֹורֵב בְּצוּר עֹורֵב וְאֶת זְאֵב הָרְגוּ בְיֶקֶב זְאֵב וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אֶל מִדְיָן וְרֹאשׁ עֹרֵב וּזְאֵב הֵבִיאוּ אֶל גִּדְעֹון מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן
BN: And they captured two princes of the Midyanites, Orev and Ze'ev; and they slew Orev on the rock Orev, and Ze'ev they slew at the winepress of Ze'ev, and they pursued Midyan, and they brought the heads of Orev and Ze'ev to Gid'on on the other side of the Yarden.
Much more on both OREV and ZE'EV in my page on BIN-YAMIN; I shall give only the basic essentials here.
Much more on both OREV and ZE'EV in my page on BIN-YAMIN; I shall give only the basic essentials here.
OREV (עורב) is the raven, the sacred bird of Astarte, and most famous from the second version of No'ach (the first version has a dove but no raven). Clearly the man and the rock cannot have the same name, unless we are in totem-clan territory, and the crow-priest is being sacrificed at his own sacrificial rock. Which of course is highly likely, as this has now been shown to have been a religious war and shrine-conquest.
But the OREV is also the weeping-willow, which is another sacred-oracle tree - see my Bin-Yamin page for this.
ZE'EV (זאב) is the wolf, the same one we encountered in Judges 1:31 at Achziv, and yet another animal to add to our collection. This commentary needs to offer more explanation of the working of the totem-clans in order to demonstrate that this was no historical battle of humans at all, but an account of the movements of the stars and planets, with accompanying rituals of sacrifice, libation, and further sacrifice - for which the best source is Drummond's "Oedipus Judaicus", though you can also follow this link to a good general article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. As Frazer explains in "The Golden Bough", the take-over of shrines requires one champion to defeat another; after which comes his ritual coronation as "king" - the word "king" is insufficient; "sacred king" is better; Mashiyach (not Moshi'a) better still. As we shall see shortly, Gid'on, or rather Yeruv-Va'al, has now won his spurs, gained the approval of the deity, sacrificed his predecessor-kings (there were two, because the Ba'alite cults practised Tanism, usually in the form of a king and co-regent, the heir apparent having the latter role), and will obtain his crown as his reward. For Ba'al and Astarte though, not for YHVH, who did not yet appoint let alone anoint sacred kings.
ZE'EV (זאב) is the wolf, the same one we encountered in Judges 1:31 at Achziv, and yet another animal to add to our collection. This commentary needs to offer more explanation of the working of the totem-clans in order to demonstrate that this was no historical battle of humans at all, but an account of the movements of the stars and planets, with accompanying rituals of sacrifice, libation, and further sacrifice - for which the best source is Drummond's "Oedipus Judaicus", though you can also follow this link to a good general article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. As Frazer explains in "The Golden Bough", the take-over of shrines requires one champion to defeat another; after which comes his ritual coronation as "king" - the word "king" is insufficient; "sacred king" is better; Mashiyach (not Moshi'a) better still. As we shall see shortly, Gid'on, or rather Yeruv-Va'al, has now won his spurs, gained the approval of the deity, sacrificed his predecessor-kings (there were two, because the Ba'alite cults practised Tanism, usually in the form of a king and co-regent, the heir apparent having the latter role), and will obtain his crown as his reward. For Ba'al and Astarte though, not for YHVH, who did not yet appoint let alone anoint sacred kings.
Once again we are witnessing the aetiological naming of a place, only to recognise that it must already have had that name.
But go back to verse 13, where I talked about the links with Yoseph and his dreams. We saw the equivalent of the baker in that verse, and now, and no surprise, we have the equivalent of the butler here - ritual slaughter on the rock completes the minchah of the beginning of the chapter, but doing it at the winepress of Orev allows the minchah to become fully Eucharistic. And what was it happened to the butler and the baker? Oh yes, Genesis 40, verses 21 and 22:
And he restored the Head Butler to his butlership; and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the Head Baker, just as Yoseph had interpreted the dream to them.Without needing a séance, let alone a pack of Tarot cards.
And now go back one last time to the minchah, to Judges 6:11. What was Gid'on doing the very first time we met him, when the Mal'ach arrived?
"And there came a messenger of YHVH, and he sat under an oak tree that was in Aphrah, which belonged to Yo'ash the Avi-Ezrite: and his son Gid'on was threshing wheat beside the winepress, to hide it from the Midyanites."Bread and wine, in combination. A different winepress, a different meal-offering, but the circle is now shalem, complete.
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