Shoftim 18: Which Expulsion

Shoftim 18: Which Expulsion

In a throwback to the end of Joshua, the tribe of Dan is restless. They are not satisfied with their allotment and decide to go on a reconnaissance mission.  Along the way, they encounter Micha and his priest, idol, and ephod. The Danites take everything and bring it to their newfound land. That land is populated by a tribe of Phoenicians that the text emphasizes were not harming or bothering anyone. The Danites massacre the tribe and take over the land and name it after their forefather Dan. The story end with a cryptic phrase: “The Danites set up the sculptured image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh and his descendants, served as priests to the Danite tribe until the land went into exile” (וַיָּקִימוּ לָהֶם בְּנֵי־דָן אֶת־הַפָּסֶל וִיהוֹנָתָן בֶּן־גֵּרְשֹׁםבֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁה הוּא וּבָנָיו הָיוּ כֹהֲנִים לְשֵׁבֶט הַדָּנִי עַד־יוֹם גְּלוֹתהָאָרֶץ) (verse 30). Which exile? It would make sense that the text is referring to the exile of the ten northern tribes during the Assyrian assault. This is Rashi’s opinion. The problem is that that will not happen for hundreds of years. According to Baba Basra 14b, Samuel the prophet wrote the book of Judges. Samuel died well before David united the tried under one kingdom, which was hundreds of years before the expulsion of the northern tribes. If Samuel wrote the book, then why (or how) would he reference something that happened hundreds of years after his death? Furthermore, how would David and Shlomo have allowed this idol worship center to persist in the north during their reigns? As to the second question, the Malbim explains that David did remove the idol worship and the “priestly” line of Jonathan repented. When Jerobaam became king of the Northern tribes, he installed a new idol in Dan. He reinstalled the family of Jonathan as the priests of this idol. Radak explains that the expulsion here has to be taken in context of Samuel. Samuel would be talking about the expulsion of the Ark when it was stolen during his lifetime. That is why the text says “expulsion of the land” (גְּלוֹת הָאָרֶץ) and not expulsion of the tribe of Dan or the expulsion of the Northern Kingdom.  Ralbag explains that this expulsion wasspecific to this land of the Danites. This took place at the hands of Yavin theking of Canaan. And that is why Devorah referred in her song “Dan why do youtravel by ships?” (וְדָן לָמָּה יָגוּר אֳנִיּוֹת) (5:17). Neither of the Dan territories was near the water. This must refer to the northern Dan tribe fleeing over the Jordan river after they were expelled and would also mean that this story took place before the story of Devorah earlier in the book.

Shoftim 17: Carry on My Wayward Son

The last few chapters of Judges have no judges.Instead, they are stories of the utter chaos the existed in Israel. The Navi willrepeat the phrase “at that time there was no king in Israel, every one did whatthey wanted to do” over and over again. The first story involves Micha. Michaadmits to his mother that he stole silver coins from her. She is so over-joyedthat she instructs him to purchase a robe and idol with the money. Micha thensets up a little temple in his house. One day a stranger appears: “There was a young man fromBethlehem of Judah, from the clan seat of Judah; he was a Levite and he was“ger-sham” וַיְהִי נַעַר מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה מִמִּשְׁפַּחַתיְהוּדָה וְהוּא לֵוִי וְהוּא גָר־שָׁם (Judges 17:7) . This verse is very strange. The man comes fromBethlehem in Judah. That is fine. But then the verse says he is from the tribeof Judah and a Levite. How could he be both? Some commentators say that he wasa Levite who lived in the territory of Judah. The Levite cities were scatteredthroughout the land. Other commentators explain that this individual was reallya member of the tribe of Judah and not a Levite. In this reading, the best casescenario he acted as a teacher, and so he was called a Levite. Worst casescenario, which seems more likely given the context of the story, is that hewas an imposter Levite. The symbolism here is of the ruling class of Judahtaking on the priestly duties of the tribe of Levi. A thousand years later,during the Hashmonaic period, the opposite will happen. The tribe of Levi willtake over the kingship from Judah. This act will anger many members of thetribe of Judah, including Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi who compiled the Mishna and leftout the Hanukah story as a result. The last part of the verse 7 is also odd.What does “gar-sham” mean? The literal translation is that he sojourned there.This means that the man was somewhat of a nomad who happened to be living inYehudah at the time. Some commentators think that the Navi is using a play onwords to protect his real name. Gar-sham really should be Gershom from thetribe of Levi who was Moshe’s son. This is bolstered by the next chapterreferring to the priest as the grandson of “Menashe” but with the “nun”suspended revealing the name of Moshe. But if the Navi wanted to protect Moshe,why tell the story of his wayward descendant at all? Once again, the Navi istrying to send a message against the troubles of a monarchy. Yes, the officialline of these last few chapters is that monarchy can bring stability anduniformity and peace. But, Monarchy can also have a downside. Even the grandsonof the greatest leader of the Israelites can go astray.

Shoftim 16: No Strings Attached

Stop me if you heard this story before- boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, girl’s countrymen want to kill boy, girl’s countrymen try to get girl to get boy in a vulnerable situation. Boy narrowly escapes. The story Shimshon repeats over and over again. But this time, third times the charm for the Philistines. The first wife revealed his riddle, but she ended up being burned, literally, by her countrymen. The prostitute at the beginning of this chapter could not hold Shimshon inside the walls of the city, but Delilah finally gets him to reveal his secret. In the end, Shimshon reveals that he is nazir, and his strength is derived from his long hair. וַיַּגֶּד־לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מוֹרָה לֹא־עָלָה עַל־רֹאשִׁי כִּי־נְזִיר אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אִם־גֻּלַּחְתִּי וְסָר מִמֶּנִּי כֹחִי וְחָלִיתִי וְהָיִיתִי כְּכָל־הָאָדָם׃ וַתֵּרֶא דְּלִילָה כִּי־הִגִּיד לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְסַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים לֵאמֹר עֲלוּ הַפַּעַם כִּי־הִגִּיד לָהּ אֶת־כָּל־לִבּוֹ וְעָלוּ אֵלֶיהָ סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּעֲלוּ הַכֶּסֶף בְּיָדָם׃ “and he revealed his heart to her. He said to her, ‘No razor has ever touched my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God since I was in my mother’s womb. If my hair were cut, my strength would leave me and I should become as weak as an ordinary man/ Sensing that he had revealed his heart to her, Delilah sent for the lords of the Philistines…’” (verse 17-18). The key phrase here is “he revealed his heart”. This is a very revealing moment for Shimshon. This is the first time in the text that Shimshon discusses his Nazirite life. His parents, who set him up for this lifestyle also disappear from the story after his first encounter with the lion and honey. The tough strong powerful Shimshon has a moment of emotional vulnerability and Delilah picks up on this immediately. She realizes that he has finally revealed the truth to her. What makes Shimshon do this? Delilah clearly was trying to trap him! Perhaps Shimshon was tired. Tired of his solitary life as a nazir. Tired of his solitary life as a judge of a wayward nation. Tired of his endless quest for companionship that kept ending in disaster. Tired of the burden placed upon him by his mother. But if he was emotionally vulnerable in the moment, then why does God leave him? The message seems backwards. Is Shimshon really punished for a moment of vulnerability? Perhaps this is yet more commentary on monarchy. Shimshon did not choose to be a judge. He was given this task from birth- like a king. Like a king he must carry this burden his whole life. Monarchy means that rulers are pushed into a lifestyle they may not want. But once crowned king, that choice goes away. As Queen Mary tells Elizabeth in the Netflix series The Crown, “Elizabeth Mountbatten… has now been replaced by another person, Elizabeth Regina… The fact is, the Crown must win. Must always win.” Shimshon’s tragedy is a darker biblical version of that same burden: he was chosen before birth, marked by the Nazirite vow before he could consent, and expected to carry a public mission that left little room for an ordinary private life. God’s people are too important for a king to allow their personal life to distract from their duty. In the end, however God does hear Shimshon’s cry. He helps him not only by restoring his strength to exact revenge, but also by allowing Shimshon’s family to bury him in his father’s tomb. Back with his family.

Shoftim 15: Dr. Dolittle

Last chapter, Shimshon had the assistance of a lion and some bees. This chapter its foxes and a donkey. Foxes: In Rabbi Natan Slifkin’s book- The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom, he discusses the debate as to whether the “shual” in this chapter is a fox or a jackal. Foxes tend to be loner animals who run quickly. Jackals are pack animals that are not as fast. As such, some commentators believe that Shimshon captured jackals because it would have been easier to catch 300 of them. Jackels would also be more comfortable moving in packs. On the other hand, Shimshon has already done quite a few extraordinary things, so the idea of capturing 300 foxes is not out of the realm of possibility. Foxes are more likely to twist and run in circles trying to escape the fire. Other animals would run away from each other pulling the torches to the ground. The circuitous route of the foxes would help create maximum damage. Donkey: Why a jawbone of a donkey? Ralbag explains that this is meant to enhance the miracle of Shimshon’s victory. Against heavily armed fighters he is able to defeat the enemy with a simple jawbone. Animal bones were some of the most primitive weapons. The Abarbanel focuses on the other side of the coin, that this is utter humiliation for the Philistines to be defeated by someone who only uses a jawbone. Malbim credits it to the spontaneity of the moment. Shimshon does not kill a donkey and rip out the jawbone. He simply finds a jawbone on the ground and attacks the Philistines unlike the complex war planning seen earlier in the book. None of these explain why it specifically is a donkey jawbone. If Shimshon spontaneously found the jawbone, this means the donkey must have been dead for quite some time. The last time donkeys appeared in the text was back during Gideon’s time. The hordes of Midyanites and Amalekites would swarm the land during harvest season. וַיַּחֲנוּ עֲלֵיהֶם וַיַּשְׁחִיתוּ אֶת־יְבוּל הָאָרֶץ עַד־בּוֹאֲךָ עַזָּה וְלֹא־יַשְׁאִירוּ מִחְיָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְשֶׂה וָשׁוֹר וַחֲמוֹר "They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor donkey." (Judges 6:4) Notice that these swarms would stretch all the way to Gaza- Philistine territory. It is possible, then, that this jawbone is left over from these swarms. Shimshon’s attack could be further retribution against the Philistines living in the south east of the land. Recall also that Shimshon’s backstory was similar to Gideon’s backstory opening with a visit from an angel. This could be another easter egg dropped by the Navi to connect the two judges.

Shoftim 14: Oh Honey Honey, You Are My Candy Girl

Chapter 14 foreshadows the story of Delilah in chapter 16. Shimshon has a secret—here it is his riddle, there it is the source of his strength. His love interest is pushed to reveal the secret by the Philistines—here his bride-to-be is threatened by the Philistines at the party, there Delilah is bribed to obtain the information. Both times his love interest pesters him to reveal the secret. Both times he gives in. Why does the Navi repeat such similar stories? If we look at the story of Shimshon as a parallel to the Israelites at the time, then the answer becomes clearer. The book of Judges is all about falling back into bad patterns repeatedly. The Israelites, just like Shimshon, keep making the same mistake over and over again. As to the riddle itself, it should be impossible to answer because it is based on an incident that only he witnessed. וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם מֵהָאֹכֵל יָצָא מַאֲכָל וּמֵעַז יָצָא מָתוֹק (Judges 14:14) What is the symbolism behind the lion and honey? A lion is usually connected to the tribe of Yehudah. However, Dan, Shimshon’s tribe, is described as a lion by Moshe— “Dan is a lion’s cub, springing out of Bashan.” (Deuteronomy 33:22). וּלְדָן אָמַר דָּן גּוּר אַרְיֵה יְזַנֵּק מִן־הַבָּשָׁן (Deuteronomy 33:22) Shimshon is the strong lion waiting to attack. The honey could be symbolic of Shimshon’s first wife and later Delilah. Shimshon eating the honey is symbolic of him getting stuck by these two women. It could also reference next chapter, when Shimshon hides out in the tribe of Yehudah as a result of the trouble he causes with the Philistines. Shimshon is the honey in this reading providing a sweet surprise for the Philistines who surround Yehudah. In I Samuel 17, David will tell Saul about defeating a bear and lion to show he has the strength to defeat Goliath. וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־שָׁאוּל רֹעֶה הָיָה עַבְדְּךָ לְאָבִיו בַּצֹּאן וּבָא הָאֲרִי וְאֶת־הַדּוֹב וְנָשָׂא שֶׂה מֵהָעֵדֶר (I Samuel 17:34) Using this analogy, the lion could be symbolic of the Philistines. Instead of running away, Shimshon faces down the lion and defeats it. וַתִּצְלַח עָלָיו רוּחַ ה׳ וַיְשַׁסְּעֵהוּ כְּשַׁסַּע הַגְּדִי וּמְאוּמָה אֵין בְּיָדוֹ (Judges 14:6) After defeating the lion, sweet honey appears in its place. וַיָּסַר לִרְאוֹת אֵת מַפֶּלֶת הָאַרְיֵה וְהִנֵּה עֲדַת דְּבוֹרִים בִּגְוִיַּת הָאַרְיֵה וּדְבָשׁ (Judges 14:8) If Shimshon can defeat the Philistines, then the Israelites will be able to have a sweet existence in the land once again.