Yehoshua Chapter 22: Rebels

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Joshua gives permission to the two and a half trans-Jordan tribes to return to their land. They kept their promise to assist in the conquest of the land. Now they can go back to their lands. But immediately something goes wrong. They build a large altar on the Jordan river. The tribes in Canaan are quite upset. It seems like these tribes are creating their own tabernacle. A few centuries later, in the book of Kings, Yerovam will break with the tribe of Yehudah creating the northern kingdom. Yerovam will be concerned that the northern tribes will return to the south because of the Temple. To avoid this problem, he builds new religious centers on the border with the southern kingdom and in the north, including new altars. The Western tribes’ concern is not far off. They gather their forces for a possible attack- the first inter-tribal war. But, they do give the eastern tribes the benefit of the doubt and send a special delegation. The delegation is headed by Pinchas, the son of Elazar and ten leaders one from each tribe. There are two questions with this delegation. First, why do they send Pinchas? Shouldn’t Yehoshua have gone? Next, if two and a half tribes are across the river- who are the ten tribes represented in the delegation? Pinchas was known for his zealous attack in defense of God during the sin of Baal Peor. He was also the kohen assigned to accompany the army into battle. Appointing Pinchas to lead the delegation sends a message that the in Canaan tribes are ready to fight and protect God. The delegation also references the sin of Baal Peor, so having Pinchas there was especially symbolic both as the hero of that story, and, again, as a message that Pinchas is willing to fight to save God’s reputation. The ten tribal chieftains could have broken down in two ways. The first is that the ten included delegates from Levi with three tribes represented in the trans-Jordan (Reuven, Gad and half of Manashe). That would mean Menashe was not included likely sitting out an inter-tribal fight. Having Levi involved would have further increased the importance of the issue. The other possibility is that Manashe actually was included in the ten. This could mean that half the tribe was for and half the tribe was against the altar or that Manashe was not part of the decision to build the altar. Half of Manashe is referenced throughout the chapter except for the very last verse where they are conspicuously absent: “The Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar [“Witness”], meaning, “It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is [our] God” (וַיִּקְרְאוּ בְנֵי־רְאוּבֵן וּבְנֵי־גָד לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי עֵד הוּא בֵּינֹתֵינוּ כִּי ה׳ הָאֱלֹהִים) (verse 34). Perhaps this verse shows that the motivation for building the altar only came from these two tribes, and not from Manashe. Manashe was included in earlier in the chapter simply because they lived in the trans-Jordan. Ultimately, crisis is averted as the trans-Jordan tribes clarify the intention of building the altar.

Shoftim 11: Daughter of Mine, Tell me Where Have You Been?

Eager to gain G-d’s support against Ammon, Yiftach makes a calculated mistake. He vows that the first thing that walks into his barn will be given as a burnt offering to G-d. וַיִּדַּר יִפְתָּח נֶדֶר לַה׳ וַיֹּאמַר אִם־נָתוֹן תִּתֵּן אֶת־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן בְּיָדִי׃ וְהָיָה הַיּוֹצֵא אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא מִדַּלְתֵי בֵיתִי לִקְרָאתִי בְּשׁוּבִי בְשָׁלוֹם מִבְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וְהָיָה לַה׳ וְהַעֲלִיתִיהוּ עוֹלָה (Judges 11:30–31) Like Yaacov’s proclamation to Lavan cursing the individual who stole Lavan’s idols that doomed Rachel, this vow turns tragic. Yiftach’s daughter is the one who walks into Yiftach’s barn. Based on Yiftach’s promise, his daughter should have been sacrificed. What actually happened? When his daughter walks in, the Navi adds that “she was his only child, he had no other son or daughter” (verse 35). וְרַק הִיא יְחִידָה אֵין־לוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ בֵּן אוֹ־בַת (Judges 11:34) This recalls the command of G-d to Avraham to take his son, his only son, that he loves, before the Akeidat Yitzchak. קַח־נָא אֶת־בִּנְךָ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ אֲשֶׁר־אָהַבְתָּ אֶת־יִצְחָק (Genesis 22:2) On the one hand this could mean that he would have to sacrifice her, on the other hand, Avraham ultimately did not have to sacrifice Yitzchak. Perhaps the reference to Akadat Yitzchak hints that she was not actually sacrificed. Next, Yiftach tears his clothes and tells his daughter that he is upset because he made a vow and cannot retract it. Ripping clothes is connected to mourning. The implication is that he was “pre mourning” his daughter’s death. By stating that he could not go back on the vow it adds impact to the gravity of the situation. The Midrash in Bereishit Rabbah 60:3 chastises both Yiftach and Pinchas, the Kohen gadol at the time, for not getting together to have the vow annulled. Annulment is possible for most vows under halacha. Neither approached the other, accounding to the midrash, as each wanted the other to come to him. As a result, both Pinchas and Yiftach were punished. Pinchas lost his prophetic vision and Yiftach had to sacrifice his daughter. How Pinchas could still be alive at the time of Yiftach is a whole other issue. Yiftach’s daughter responds that Yiftach made a vow, so Yiftach should follow through because G-d kept His side of the bargain. She then asks for two months to go with her friends and “lament and bewail my maidenhood”. וַתֹּאמֶר אֶל־אָבִיהָ יֵעָשֶׂה לִּי הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה הַרְפֵּה מִמֶּנִּי שְׁנַיִם חֳדָשִׁים וְאֵלְכָה וְיָרַדְתִּי עַל־הֶהָרִים וְאֶבְכֶּה עַל־בְּתוּלַי אָנֹכִי וְרֵעוֹתָי (Judges 11:37) The midrash interprets this request as Yiftach’s daughter taking matters into her own hands to find a legal loophole. Some commentators latch onto “bewail my maidenhood” as a hint from the text that she was condemned to a life of solitude and not that she was killed. She should have been lamenting her life, not her maidenhood. Next, “after two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She had never known a man. So it became a custom in Israel / for the maidens of Israel go every year for four days and sing for the daughter of Yiftach” (verses 39–40). וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ שְׁנַיִם חֳדָשִׁים וַתָּשָׁב אֶל־אָבִיהָ וַיַּעַשׂ לָהּ אֶת־נִדְרוֹ אֲשֶׁר נָדָר וְהִיא לֹא־יָדְעָה אִישׁ וַתְּהִי־חֹק בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה תֵּלַכְנָה בְּנוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְתַנּוֹת לְבַת־יִפְתָּח הַגִּלְעָדִי אַרְבַּעַת יָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה It seems like Yiftach followed through with his oath, and as a result the date lived in infamy. But, the Navi never directly mentions that he killed her. Some commentators focus on the second part. They explain that she was sent to a solitary life and was only allowed visits four days a year from other maidens, which is why this ceremony was mentioned. If Yiftach indeed killed his daughter, it is yet another tragic example of the lawlessness during the time of Judges, where even those who tried to be loyal to God, still had a dark side.

6 de jul de 20264 min

Yehoshua Chapter 22: Rebels

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