Judges 13-14: Samson (Part I)

Judges 13: Samson's Birth
Judges 14: Samson's Marriage

Today we begin the first part of a two-part story about Samson, that guy with the hair. Samson is a pretty well-known biblical character, but the popular image of a character might be more informed by contemporary culture than by the bible. Samson is strong, yes, but he also has a temper and problems with women (meaning he isn't interested in Israelite females. And did you know he could speak in poetry and make riddles? If not, come find out.

Samson's Birth: Judges 13
Again the Israelites fall into their old ways (the first step the unfaithfulness cycle) and the Lord gives them into the hand of the Philistins for forty years - which actually may be a lot longer because 40 is a symbolic number meaning a long amount of time.

Samson's birth, like a number of other births in the bible, comes as a collaboration between the God and humans (see, for example, Isaac and Jacob, and later on Jesus). In these stories the Lord comes down to the mother or father and promises a son.

Samson's father's name is Manoah, but his wife (though she gives birth to Samson) remains unnamed. The angel of the Lord visits this apparently barren woman to inform her that she will bear a son, a boy to be a nazirite from birth. A nazirite (meaning "one consecrated") is a person who devotes him or herself to God through certain practices (cf. Numbers 6.1-21). This state of dedication is generally temporary and broken when one of the practices is not observed. This boy is to be a nazirite from birth, and so his mother is not to drink wine or eat unclean foods while she is pregnant. After birth, the boy is to abstain from these things as well and his head will never be shaved. The purpose of all this, says the angel of the Lord, is that the woman's son will begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.

The woman tells her husband Manoah of the visitation, and he prays to the Lord to send the angel again so that he may see him and learn more about what to do concerning the boy. God listens and sends an angel to the woman as she sits in a field. She runs to get her husband, who - thinking the angel is only a man - questions the angel about the boy's purpose. The angel gives an indirect answer, stating that the woman should observe the words already spoken to her.

Manoah offers to prepare a kid for who he thinks is a man, but the angel refuses, saying the man should give a burnt offering instead. Still thinking the angel is a man, Manoah asks his name so that he may honor him when the son is born. This is a big faux pas on Manoah's part. Knowing a name allows one to honor a person, but it also gives power over that person. This is why Jacob asks the name of the being he wrestles with - to have the name of the person gives power. For this reason God always remains aloof about his name, speaking in riddles like "I am what I am." Indeed, Jews do not pronounce the tetragrammaton YHWH to this day. So of course the angel of the Lord responds, "Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful."

Manoah still does not seem to understand as he prepares the sacrifice. But when the angel of the Lord ascends with the flame, Manoah and his wife fall to their faces. Manoah panics in the traditional way people panic when they encounter God in person: "We shall surely die." His wife, however, reassures him that God would not have accepted the sacrifice or announced the coming of the child if he had meant to kill them.

The woman bears a son, whom she names Samson. As he grows, the spirit of the Lord begins to stir in him.

Samson's Birth: Judges 14
The cardinal rule of God's renewed covenant with the Israelites is that they are not to worship other gods. And the easiest way to fall into this pattern is to intermarry. To put is succinclty: Exogamy leads to apostasy.

Nevertheless, Samson, the man to begin the deliverance of Israel, has a soft spot for Philistine women. His parents try to dissuade him (and actually in this culture it is they that will arrange the marriage) but are unsuccessful. The biblical author creates some dramatic irony here, informing the reader that Samson's taste in women is the doing of the Lord, who is seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines, who have dominion over Israel.

Samnson goes down with his mother and father to Timnah, where the Philistine woman lives. Along the way a young lion roars at him and the spirit of the Lord comes upon him and he tears the creature apart. He does not inform his parents of this.

A while later Samson returns to marry the woman. On the way, he sees a swarm of bees in the lion carcass, and they have produced honey. He scoops out some honey and eats it as he walks, giving some to his mother and father as well. He does not tell them where he got the honey from.

Why doesn't Samson tell his parents about killing the lion or about where he got the honey? Well, we're being set up for a story...

At the marriage feast Samson is given 30 Philistine companions, who - rather than acting as an entourage - might be there to keep the Philistines safe from him. Samson challenges them to a riddle contest. If they can decipher his riddle within seven days, he will give them 30 linen garments and 30 festal garments. If he stumps them, he will receive 30 linen garments and 30 festal garments. The riddle:

Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.

What could it be? For three days the men cannot figure it out.

On the fourth day the men threaten to burn the houses of Samson's wife and her father if she does not coax the answer from her husband. Samson's wife accuses her husband of not loving her, but that does not work; he has not told even his father or mother. She weeps and nags him seven days, and on the final day he tells her.

The 30 men return to Samson with the answer - in the form of a new riddle:

What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?

The answer to this one is not given (though HarperCollins think it might be "love"). Samson responds in bawdy poetry, which actually resembles riddle form with its use of metaphor:

If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.

Store that one away to whip out next time you're in a similar situation. Your opposition will be dumbfounded and your significant other greatly insulted.

The spirit of the Lord again rushes on Samson, but he does not kill the 30 companions. Rather, he goes down to Ashkelon and kills 30 men there, taking their spoil to pay back his companions. The joke's on the Philistines. They might have gotten what they wanted, but now the Lord has pretext to act against them, and the 30 Philistine residents of Ashkelon have been killed.

The wife? She is given to Samson's best man.

Judges 10-11: Jephthah (Part I)

Judges 10: Tola and Jair / Oppression by the Ammonites / Jephthah
Judges 11(a): Jephthah

Abimelech's tenure was something of a mess for Israel. Now a new leader comes to straighten things out.

Tola and Jair: Judges 10.1-5
A brief interlude between Abimelech and Jephthah describes the two intervening judges: Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, of Isaachar judges Israel 23 years. He is succeeded by Jair the Gileadite, who judges Israel 22 years.

Oppression by the Ammonites: Judges 10.6-18
After this interlude, the unfaithfulness cycle picks back up again. Again the Israelites fall into apostasy, worshipping a veritable pantheon of different gods. This kindles the anger of the Lord, who actually "sells" them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites. The Israelites suffer 18 years under them.

As per the unfaithfulness cycle, the Israelites cry out to the Lord and acknowledge their sin. The Lord responds that that he will not deliver them from their oppressors; he has delivered them many times, yet each time they seem to forget him. The Israelites put away their foreign gods and worship the Lord, and finally the Lord's sympathy for Israel wins out.

Jephthah: Judges 11.1-28
Enter Jephthah, a mighty warrior whose mother is a prostitute and whose father is Gilead himself. His half brothers - the sons of Gilead's wife - are not his biggest fans. They drive him out of Gilead to Tob and he becomes an outlaw, raiding with a band of others.

Clearly Jephthah has some military prowess from his raiding experience, because when the Ammonites attack Israel, the elders of Gilead approach him to offer him a job as commander. Jephthah sees this as something of a conspiracy. He responds, "Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father's house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?" (Judg. 11.7). In fact, it was not they who drove him out, but his brothers. Jephthah smells a conspiracy, and perhaps is not far off, because the elders do not deny their connection. Indeed, they offer him a better position of leader over all of them. Jephthah agrees that if he conquers the Ammonites, he will serve as leader.

Jephthah begins his campaign rather diplomatically by sending a message to the king of the Ammonites asking why he is at war with Israel. The king responds that Israel took his land (Moabite territory) upon their exodus from Egypt. Jephthah succinctly recounts the wandering in the desert, and asserts that in fact Israel did not take the land of the Moabites. Rather, they conquered the Amorites, a divine act of the Lord. And, in fact, they lived in the territory 300 years, during which time the Ammonites did not attempt to conquer the land. Jephthah asks rhetorically if the king possesses land that his god Chemosh has given. But the king does not listen, and continues his conquest against Israel.

Judges 8: Gideon (Part III)

Judges 8: Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance / Gideon's Idolatry / Death of Gideon

Today we continue our analysis of Gideon's story. See Part I and Part II for more information.

Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance: Judges 8.1-21
The Ephraimites are angry that Gideon did not call on them first when attacking the Midianites. Gideon responds that the gleaning (worst) of the grapes of Ephraim is better than the vintage (best) of his own tribe Abiezer, which he indicated earlier. Besides, the Ephraimites received the - er - choice parts of the army to put in in sacrificial terms: Oreb and Zeeb. This explanation quiets the Ephraimites.

Well, perhaps Gideon did not explain the entire situation to the Ephraimites (or more likely this next story coms from a different source) because he then pursues Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. At Succoth Gideon asks for bread for his 300 men, so that he can catch them. But the officials of Succoth give him nothing and taunt him for not having already captured them. Gideon is angered by this, and vows that when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into his hands, he will trample the officials of Succoth with thorns and briers. When the people of Penuel similarly deny him, he vows to break down the tower there.

Gideon and his 300 men conquer the 15,000 remaining men - 120,000 had already fallen - and capture Zebah and Zalmunna. Gideon then finds a young man of Succoth and asks for the names of the 77 officials of Succoth. He is then able to make good on his promise in Succoth, as well as Penuel. When Gideon questions Zebah and Zalmunna about the men they killed at Tabor, they respond, "As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king." This speech is ironic in its elevation of the Abiezerite clan, the weakest of all Manasseh. Gideon replies that those were his brothers, and that he will avenge their deaths. He commands Jether his firstborn to kill Zeber and Zalmunna, but the boy seems to be hesitant like his father. Gideon therefore kills the two men himself, at their own suggestion.

Gideon's Idolatry: Judges 8.22-28
The Israelites ask Gideon to rule over them in a dynasty, but Gideon refuses, asserting that the Lord should rule over them. This is an act of humility, which makes his next action seem strange. Gideon asks that each man bring him a gold earring taken as booty. With this Gideon makes an Ephod, which he puts in Orphah, and which Gideon's family worships as a false god. But during his life, at least, the land had rest forty years.

Death of Gideon: Judges 8.29-35
Gideon had 70 sons, from many wives, as well as a concubine, who bears a son named Abimelech. [This will be important later on.]

As soon as Gideon dies, the people relapse into idol worship, forgetting God and Jerubball (Gideon) alike.

So goes the unfaithfulness cycle.

Judges 7: Gideon (Part II)

Judges 7: Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites

Today we continue our analysis of Gideon's story. See Part I for more information.

Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites: Judges 7
Jerubball (Gideon) camps with his troops beside the spring of Harod, with the Midianites to the north. The Lord informs Gideon that he has too many people - Israel would take credit for the victory if this many people conquered the Midianites. Gibeon is therefore to command the fearful to return home. 22,000 men leave; 10,000 remain.

This is still too many, so the Lord has Gideon separate the men by how they drink at a stream. The 300 that lap like a dog are chosen, whereas the rest that drink with by kneeling and bringing their hands to their mouths are told to return home. The group of underdogs seems a bit, er, scrappy or uncouth, but this is the ragtag group that God will use to deliver Israel from the Midianites.

God promises to deliver the Midianites into Gideon's hands that night, but gives offers help: if he is afraid, Gideon may go down to the camp with his servant Purah, close enough to hear the Midianites, and there he will be strengthened.

The Midianites lay thick as locusts, their camels as countless as sand on the seashore. Gideon creeps up to a tent and hears a man telling of a dream he had in which a cake of barley bread came into his tent an upended it. The man's comrade responds that this must be Gideon, who has been given by God Midian and all its army.

Gideon (of course) rejoices at this. He returns to the camp and tells his soldiers to take empty jars and trumpets (collected from the soldiers that would not participate) and do as he commands: they will surround the Midianite camp and when he blows his trumpet, everyone else should too, and cry, "a sword for the Lord and for Gideon!" When the time comes they all do this, and the camp is thrown into chaos, with men killing men from their own nation and then fleeing, only to be cut down by Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh. Gideon then sends messengers to tell the Ephraimites to attack the Midianites as they flee. The Ephraimites capture and kill the two captains of Midian: Oreb and Zeeb.

Judges 6: Gideon (Part I)

Judges 6: The Midianite Oppression / The Call of Gideon / Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal / The Sign of the Fleece

These three chapters examine the work of one of the great judges Gideon.

The Midianite Oppression: Judges 6.1-10
By now the biblical author has employed the unfaithfulness cycle enough times that the reader intuitively understands it and the author does not have to give a long explanation. The cycle has become a type scene that the reader understands through past iterations of the same type scene. This time it is Midian that conquers Israel, a naiton that prevails seven years, forcing the Israelites into caves and strongholds in the mountains. The Midianites seem to camp next to Israel whenever the Israelites plant their seeds to sustain themselves. The Midianites and their camels destroy everything and are innumerable - like locusts.

The people cry out to the Lord, who delivers a prophet warning Israel that they have not given heed to the Lord's voice. The identity of this prophet is a mystery.

The Call of Gideon: Judges 6.11-27
The Call of Gideon reads almost like a comedy of errors. The angel of the Lord comes to a man named Gideon and sits under an oak tree at Ophrah as Gideon beats out wheat in a wine press (normally this would be done on a windy hill, but Israel at this time is under Midianite oppression. The angel of the Lord tells Gideon, who is no warrior, "The Lord is with you (singular), you mighty warrior." Gideon misinterprets the statement, and responds that there seems to be little proof that the Lord is with the people ("us"). The Lord ("the angel of" part has dropped) responds, "Go in this might of yours and deliver from the hand of Midian, I hereby commission you." Gideon answers that he is the least member of the weakest tribe of Manasseh - again, he does not seem to be a mighty warrior at all. The Lord asserts that he will be with Gideon as he strikes down the Israelites. This is apparently enough to convince Gideon, who tells God to stay put as he runs to his house to fetch a present.

Gideon prepares a kid and unleavened cakes for the Lord, and brings them out along with the broth. The angel of God (now again an angel, and now "God" rather than "the Lord") commands him to put the food on the rock and pour out the broth. The angel of the Lord (now "the Lord") touches the food and fire springs up to consume the food - in much the same way food is sacrificed by priests to God. The angel disappears.

Gideon freaks out, having just seen the face of God, but the Lord reassures him that he will not die. Gideon builds an altar at the place of his theophany and calls it "The Lord is Peace."

That night the Lord commands Gideon pull down the altar of Baal (the Canaanite storm god) and cut down the sacred pole beside it. He is to build an altar atop the stronghold there and make a burnt offering with the wood from the pole and a bull of his father's. Afraid of getting caught, Gideon does this that night, along with ten of his servants.

Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal: Judges 6.28-35
When word gets out that Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal, the townspeople want to kill him. But his father Joash comes to his rescue, saying if Baal is a God he can contend for himself. From that day forward Gideon is called Jerubbaal: "Let Baal contend against him."

When the Midianites and the Amalekites and people from the east come to camp against Israel, the spirit of the Lord takes possession of Gideon as was promised. Gideon sounds the trumpet, summoning first his clan the Abiezrites, then all of Manasseh, then Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.

The Sign of the Fleece: Judges 6.36-40
Gideon devises a test to see whether God will deliver Israel by his hand. Gideon puts a fleece out at night and says to God that if there is dew on it in the morning, but none on the ground, God will deliver Israel by God's hand. In the morning there is no dew on the ground but the fleece pours out enough water to fill a bowl. Gideon then begs the Lord to do the trick in reverse, so that the fleece stays dry as the ground gathers dew. This too the Lord does.

Judges 3: Gruesome Judges

Judges 3: Nations Remaining in the Land / Othniel / Ehud / Shamgar

We begin the tale of the judges of Israel with three judges in particular

Nations Remaining in the Land: Judges 3.1-6
The nations that are left in Canaan are listed, but the reason for their their existence (and therefore Israel's failure to drive them out in the Joshua generation) is the matter of some debate. The biblical author asserts that the Canaanites are there to test the Israelites. But the first reason given in verse 2 is that the new generation should learn war. Verse 4, however, asserts that these people are there "for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their ancestors by Moses" (Judg. 3.4). So are the foreign people there to tempt the Israelites or to teach them war? Or both?

Or perhaps both are true, because living among the people inevitably leads to warfare, as described in the unfaithfulness cycle:

1. The Israelites abandon the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for other gods (also known as apostasy
2. The Lord is angered
3. The Lord gives the Israelites over to their enemies (the Israelites are plundered, enslaved, etc.) as he promised.
4. The Lord raises up a judge to save the Israelites
5. The Israelites
1. Listen to the judge and be delivered from their enemies by the hand of the Lord
2. Do not listen and suffer the consequences
6. The judge dies
7. The people relapse and behave worse than their ancestors.

The Israelites are prone to lapses in judgement, according to the biblical author. Through intermarriage, or exogamy they find themselves lapsing into the worst sin, apostasy (the worship of foreign gods).

Othniel Judges 3.7-11
Check out the unfaithfulness cycle in action: The Israelites forget the Lord and worship other gods (Baal and the Asherahs*). The Lord becomes angry and sells them to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim, whom they serve eight years. When the Israelites cry out to the Lord, the Lord gives them a deliverer: Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. With the spirit of the Lord upon him, Othniel leads the people in war against Cushan-rishathaim, and the land has rest for forty years.

*Baal is a Canaanite storm god. Asherah is a Canaanite fertility goddess.

Ehud: Judges 3.12-30
The Judges of Israel have remarkably rich and gruesome stories attached to them. Case in point: Ehud.

After the Israelites again fall out of God's favor, King Eglon defeats the nation so that the Israelites must serve him 18 years. When they finally cry out to the Lord, the left-handed Benjaminite (this detail is important) comes to deliver Israel. Ehud constructs a double-edged sword, one cubit in length, and conceals it by fastening it to his right thigh. [Note: Normally people would wear a sword on the left side, so that it could be easily grabbed with the right hand.]

Ehud presents tribute to King Eglon - a very fat man - in Moab. When the tribute is finished, Ehud sends his people away, goes with them a short way, and then returns to tell the king he has a secret. King Eglon sends his people away so that the two of them are alone.

Ehud approaches King Eglon, who is sitting alone in his cool roof chamber, and tells him, "I have a message from God for you." When King Eglon stands, Ehud grabs the concealed sword and drives it to the hilt into King Eglon's belly, at which point King Eglon loses control of his bowels [literally: "and the dirt came out"]. Ehud exits and locks the door behind him.

King Eglon's servants approach, are tipped off by the smell, and sheepishly wait for him to come out from relieving himself in the room. When they become embarrassed, they open the door to find their Lord lying dead on the floor. [This story really makes an effort to embarrass those pesky Moabites!]

By this point Ehud has escaped and sends the Israelites down to the Land of the Moabites. They siege the fords of the Jordan so no one may cross, and kill ten thousand Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men.

Ehud seems to have been a better judge than Othniel, for after him the land has rest for eight years, twice that of his predecessor.

Shamgar: Judges 3.31
Sometimes at the end of a post or after a particularly difficult day I just don't feel like writing anymore. It's a good thing that Shamgar only gets a two-sentence treatment by the biblical author:

"After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who killed six hundred of the Philistines with an oxgoad. He too delivered Israel."

Why is his description so short? We don't know for sure, but it might have something to do with the fact that his name isn't Semitic. Perhaps he was a mercenary? In any case, his name rounds out the number of judges to a "perfect" twelve.

Oh, and killing six-hundred Philistines with an oxgoad? That's pretty awesome. That's some Chuck Norris stuff right there.

Judges 2: Disobedient, Unfaithful

Judges 2: Israel's Disobedience / Death of Joshua / Israel's Unfaithfulness

Israel's Disobedience: Judges 2.1-5
The angel of the Lord comes down to Israel to tell them of what is in store for them. The Israelites were commanded to remain completely separate from the nations residing in the promised land - to avoid making covenants with them and to tear down their altars. This was their agreement with God. However, the Israelites did not keep up their end of the bargain, so the inhabitants of the land will become adversaries, and their gods will ensnare the people.

This explains pretty well the reason for everything that lies ahead, the difficulties of conquering the promised land. In the bible, God is the foremost actor. If something happens, it is probably the doing of the Lord.

Death of Joshua Judges 2.6-10
This takes us back to Joshua's death, with the added information that:

1. Joshua died at age 110
2. After Joshua's generation dies out, a new generation grows up that does not know the Lord or the way he has aided Israel.

This last point is especially important to keep in mind in considering the larger biblical narrative informed by dialectical tensions. These tensions between Israel and God give shape to the bible, and generally do a good job at keeping things interesting.

Israel's UnfaithfulnessJudges 2.11-23
The biblical author here reveals the general framework for the cyclical pattern of judges:

1. The Israelites abandon the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for other gods (also known as apostasy
2. The Lord is angered
3. The Lord gives the Israelites over to their enemies (the Israelites are plundered, enslaved, etc.) as he promised.
4. The Lord raises up a judge to save the Israelites
5. The Israelites
1. Listen to the judge and be delivered from their enemies by the hand of the Lord
2. Do not listen and suffer the consequences
6. The judge dies
7. The people relapse and behave worse than their ancestors.

The Lord therefore stops driving the "foreign" nations from the promised land. In this way the Lord is said to "test" Israel, "whether or not they would take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their ancestors did" (Judg. 2.22).

This wraps up very succinctly the cycle we will see for the rest of the book.