I am considering Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer[1] as a description of love rather than as rules to obey. In a previous essay I wrote, “Dear God, I hope she was dead,” of the Levite’s concubine as she was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house.[2] That hope is probably not the hope Paul wrote of if Rejoice in hope described love rather than instituted a rule to obey because Love is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.[3] I assume that chapter 19 of Judges related what happened in Gibeah and chapter 20 related what the Levite “explained” about what happened. (But I don’t think I would make that assumption with any literature other than the Bible.)
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up…
Judges 20:3b-4a (NET) |
|
| So they traveled on, and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. They stopped there and decided to spend the night in Gibeah…They were having a good time…
Judges 19:14, 15a,:22a (NET) |
“I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night.
Judges 20:4b (NET) |
So far so good, there is substantial agreement between the two accounts.
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| …when suddenly some men (ʼı̂ysh, אנשי) of the city (ʽı̂yr, העיר), some good-for-nothings[4] (belı̂yaʽal, בליעל); literally, “sons of worthlessness”), surrounded the house and kept beating on the door.
Judges 19:22b (NET) |
“The leaders (baʽal, בעלי) of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying.
Judges 20:5a (NET) |
Here, some men of the city, some good-for-nothings became the leaders of Gibeah in the Levite’s retelling of the tale. If this were two Gospel accounts I would tend to add them together to understand that some men of the city, some good-for-nothings were also the leaders of Gibeah. I’m not so trusting at the end of Judges. But there may be no discrepancy at all.
The King James translators chose men in place of leaders. So did the translators of the Septuagint (ανδρες, a form of ἀνήρ). Still, I applaud the NET translators for attempting to highlight the difference here. The account in Judges 19 called them men (ʼı̂ysh, אנשי) twice (note 50) while the Levite called them baʽal. I will suggest that the term may be more derogatory or facetious than leaders.
For fire went out from Heshbon, Moses quoted a proverb, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has consumed Ar of Moab and the lords (baʽal, בעלי) of the high places of Arnon.[5] The Lord God of Israel[6] spoke through Joshua: The leaders (baʽal, בעלי) of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you.[7]
When Gideon with his three hundred men, exhausted, but still chasing the Midianites,[8] asked the people of Succoth for bread, The officials (śar, שׁרי) of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your army?”[9] Gideon’s hungry men defeated Midian without their bread (Judges 8:13-17 NET):
Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres. He captured a young man from Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials (śar, שׁרי) and city leaders (zâqên, זקניה)– seventy-seven men (ʼı̂ysh, איש) in all. He approached the men (ʼı̂ysh, אנשי) of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” He seized the leaders (zâqên, זקני) of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men (ʼı̂ysh, אנשי) of Succoth with them. He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men (ʼı̂ysh).
The officials, leaders and men of Succoth insulted Gideon and were punished for it, but not once were they called baʽal. That epithet was reserved for the leaders (baʽal, בעלי) of Shechem,[10] who conspired with Abimelech to murder Gideon’s legitimate heirs (Judges 8:33-35 NET).
After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted (Septuagint: ἐξεπόρνευσαν, a form of ἐκπορνεύω) themselves to the Baals (baʽal, הבעלים). They made Baal-Berith (baʽal berı̂yth,בעל ברית) their god (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, לאלהים). The Israelites did not remain true to the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) their God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהיהם), who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. They did not treat the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.
In other words, these baʽal worshippers were disloyal to God and his leadership. The temple of Baal-Berith[11] even financed Abimelech’s rise to power.[12] It makes me suspect that the Levite called the men of Gibeah baʽal (בעלי) to highlight their disloyalty and to indicate its source.
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| They said to the old man who owned (baʽal, בעל) the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with (yâdaʽ, ונדענו) him.”
Judges 19:22c (NET) |
They wanted to kill (hârag, להרג) me…
Judges 20:5a (NET) |
There is no usage of hârag (kill) to this point in the Bible that would lead me to believe that it could entail the euphemistic yâdaʽ (have sex with; literally, to know). I would like to believe that the Levite felt some remorse, regret or at least some embarrassment that would cause him to avoid retelling his part in this story, but I can’t be fully convinced that I understand his motives.
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| The man who owned (baʽal, בעל) the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing! Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”
Judges 19:23, 24 (NET) |
In the introduction of the tale the Levite didn’t tell—The man who owned (baʽal, בעל) the house—I find the denotation of baʽal. The owner of an ox is baʽal (Exodus 21:28-32, 36). If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it he is the owner of the pit; he is baʽal (Exodus 21:33, 34). As the owner of an ox, so the owner of a donkey or of anything else is also baʽal (Exodus 21:34; 22:11-15). So, of course, the owner of a house is baʽal (Exodus 22:8; Judges 19:22, 23).
|
Owned, Owner |
||
| Reference |
NET |
LXX |
| Exodus 21:28 | …the owner (baʽal, ובעל) of the ox will be acquitted. | κύριος |
| Exodus 21:29a | …and its owner (baʽal, בבעליו) was warned… | κυρίῳ |
| Exodus 21:29b | …and the man (baʽal, בעליו) must be put to death (mûth, יומת). | κύριος |
| Exodus 21:34a | …the owner (baʽal, בעל) of the pit must repay the loss. | κύριος |
| Exodus 21:34b | He must give money to its owner (baʽal, לבעליו)… | κυρίῳ |
| Exodus 21:36 | …and its owner (baʽal, בעליו) did not take the necessary precautions… | κυρίῳ |
| Exodus 22:8 | …then the owner (baʽal, בעל) of the house will be brought before the judges (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, האלהים; Septuagint: ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ, “in the sight of God”)… | κύριος |
| Exodus 22:11 | …and its owner (baʽal, בעליו) will accept this… | κύριος |
| Exodus 22:12 | …he will pay its owner (baʽal, לבעליו). | κυρίῳ |
| Exodus 22:14 | …and it is hurt or dies when its owner (baʽal, בעליו) was not with it… | κύριος |
| Exodus 22:15 | If its owner (baʽal, בעליו) was with it… | κύριος |
| Judges 19:22 | They said to the old man who owned (baʽal, בעל) the house… | κύριον |
| Judges 19:23 | The man who owned (baʽal, בעל) the house went outside and said to them… | κύριος |
The owner of a woman was also baʽal.
|
Husband |
||
| Reference |
NET |
Septuagint |
| Genesis 20:3 | …for she is someone else’s (baʽal, בעל) wife (bâʽal, בעלת). | συνῳκηκυῖα ἀνδρί |
| Exodus 21:22 | …in accordance with what the woman’s husband (baʽal, בעל) demands of him… | ἀνὴρ τῆς γυναικός |
| Leviticus 21:4[13] | He must not defile himself as a husband (baʽal, בעל) among his people… |
n/a |
| Deuteronomy 21:13 | …you may have sexual relations (bôʼ, תבוא) with her and become her husband (baʽal, ובעלתה)… | συνοικισθήσῃ αὐτῇ |
| Deuteronomy 22:22 | If a man is caught having sexual relations (shâkab, שכב) with a married (bâʽal, בעלת) (baʽal, בעל) woman… | συνῳκισμένης ἀνδρί |
| Deuteronomy 24:4 | …her first husband (baʽal, בעלה) who divorced her is not permitted to remarry her… | ἀνὴρ |
By this reckoning the Levite was baʽal. But surely yehôvâh, the creator and owner of everything, was also baʽal. Suddenly it becomes easier to understand why ancient Israelites succumbed over and over again to baʽal worship, especially if the baʽal worshippers down the street practiced “sacred sex,” celebrating in worship things yehôvâh forbade.
Plead earnestly with your mother, yehôvâh spoke of Israel through the prophet Hosea years later, (for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband [ʼı̂ysh, אישה]), so that she might put an end to her adulterous (Septuagint: πορνείαν, a form of πορνεία) lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral (Septuagint: μοιχείαν, a form of μοιχεία) behavior.[14] However, in the future I will allure her, He promised. I will lead her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.[15]
“At that time,” declares the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה), “you will call, ‘My husband (ʼı̂ysh, אישי)’; you will never again call me, ‘My master (baʽălı̂y, בעלי).’ For I will remove the names of the Baal (baʽal, הבעלים) idols from your lips, so that you will never again utter their names!”[16]
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed (châzaq, ויחזק) his concubine and made her go outside. They raped (yâdaʽ, וידעו) her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master (ʼâdôn, אדוניה) was staying until it became light.
Judges 19:25, 26 (NET) |
…instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died (mûth, ותמת).
Judges 20:5b (NET) |
Again the Levite’s version of the story is dramatically different from the account in Judges 19. He didn’t mention his own involvement in his concubine’s rape or that she survived her ordeal. Perhaps he didn’t know the latter, if she died during the night. Though mûth, the Hebrew word translated died, can mean to kill or execute, the form here seems to be used of women who died of what we—with no access to the tree of life— consider “natural causes,”[17] or dead[18] animals. As I wrote in a previous essay, I hope she died during the night but I’m not convinced that hope is in line with the truth. Frankly, this particular Levite has given me no reason to trust his account.
The Hebrew word translated grabbed was translated persuaded in: His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded (châzaq, ויחזק) [the Levite] to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.[19] Instead of grabbing her with his hands and thrusting her out of the door, the Levite may have persuaded his concubine to sacrifice herself. I don’t know if he grabbed her or persuaded her. If he persuaded her I don’t know how he persuaded her, but I want to consider the faith of Jephthah’s daughter and σκάνδαλα (a form of σκάνδαλον; stumbling blocks).
As I wrote before I never want to disparage her faith in any way, but how I use the description of her faith as Scripture could become a stumbling block to others. If I use her faith as a searchlight to examine my own work,[20] expose my faithlessness and repent, Then [I] can take pride in [myself; that is, my own progress] and not compare [myself] with someone else.[21] But if I used her faith as an example for young women to follow, to guilt them into acting against their own self-interests, I would have become[22] one of the judges with evil motives.[23] And I would have turned the compelling childlike faith of Jephthah’s daughter into a stumbling block for other young women.
|
Judges 19 (NET) |
Judges 20 (NET) |
| When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed (châzaq, ויחזק) his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel.
Judges 19:29 (NET) |
I grabbed hold (ʼâchaz, ואחז) of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel. All you Israelites, make a decision here!”
Judges 20:6, 7 (NET) |
I sincerely doubt that the Levite persuaded his concubine to be carved up into twelve pieces—dead or alive.
The first occurrence of châzaq, the Hebrew word translated grabbed, in this form (ויחזק) in the Old Testament described the grip a famine had on Egypt: The famine was severe (châzaq, ויחזק) throughout the land of Egypt.[24] The most common usage by far described the grip yehôvâh had on Pharaoh’s heart: But the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) hardened (châzaq, ויחזק) Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) had predicted to Moses.[25] It was used to describe the grip He had on the hearts of all the peoples dwelling in the land of Canaan during Joshua’s conquest: For it was of the LORD (yehôvâh, יהוה) to harden (châzaq, ויחזק) their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle…[26] It was translated control in: The Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) gave King Eglon of Moab control (châzaq, ויחזק) over Israel because they had done evil in the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) sight.[27]
The Levite also described his grip but with the functionally equivalent word ʼâchaz (ואחז): But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and grab (ʼâchaz, ואחז) [the snake] by the tail” – so he put out his hand and caught it (châzaq, ויחזק), and it became a staff in his hand…[28] In a different form ʼâchaz described yehôvâh’s grip on judgment: I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold (ʼâchaz, ותאחז) of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me![29] But ʼâchaz also described the capture of someone fleeing: When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured (ʼâchaz, ויאחזו) him.[30]
So perhaps both accounts agree in mentioning the firmness of the Levite’s grip as he carved up his concubine. Or perhaps both accounts agree describing the effort he expended before he could carve up his resistant and unwilling concubine. Frankly, I can’t tell. But the brotherhood of four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers[31] responded as one man[32] to the Levite’s explanation (Judges 20:8-10 NET):
Not one of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house! Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.
[4] KJV: Belial. See: “Belial, the Northern Crown Prince of Satanism”
[10] Judges 9:2, 3, 6, 7, 18, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 39, 46, 47
[11] http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Baal-berith.html#.VjwAqIKFNAg; https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_01776.html, http://www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/Baal-Berith.html
[12] Judges 9:4 (NET)
[13] This is a special case. The KJV translated baʽal (בעל) being a chief man, forcing God to call his own priests baʽal. Though that is some powerful prophetic irony, I think the NIV translators grasped the sense of it better: He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself. The priest may make himself unclean or defile himself for a dead close relative who is near to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, and his virgin sister… (Leviticus 21:2, 3 NET)
[16] Hosea 2:16, 17 (NET) Table1 Table2
[17] Genesis 23:2; 35:8, 19, 38:12; Numbers 20:1 (NET)
[18] Exodus 21:34, 36 (NET)
[22] If the Levite persuaded his concubine this way, for instance, he made a distinction (διεκρίθητε, a form of διακρίνω) between himself—a holy Levite and a man—and his concubine—a sex slave and a woman.
[25] Exodus 9:12 (NET) Also: Exodus 7:13, 22; 8:19; 9:35; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:8 (NET)
[31] Judges 20:2 (NET)
[32] Judges 20:8 (NET) note 16
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