Yehoshua 7: Overconfidence

Shoftim 4: First of Her Name

For the first time in Israelite history, the nation has a female leader. Females had played important roles in the past. The foremothers were integral in the development of the nation. Miriam played a leading role in the Exodus and sang a special song with the women after the splitting of the sea. The daughters of Tzelofchad helped change the rules of inheritance. But Devora the prophetess was the first to be the leading figure. Her role also seems to be accepted by the people without any controversy, and although Barak is a prominent figure, he is not on the same level as her. The introductory verse “Devora, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess; she led Israel at that time” (verse 4) is quite telling. וּדְבוֹרָה אִשָּׁה נְבִיאָה אֵשֶׁת לַפִּידוֹת הִיא שֹׁפְטָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּעֵת הַהִיא (Judges 4:4) So far there have been three other judges; none of those judges are also referred to as a prophet. Devorah has this extra level to her leadership. Before Devorah, there were three previous judges. The first two—Otniel and Ehud—the text explains that God raised them up to assist the people: “The Israelites cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them: Othniel the Kenizzite, a younger kinsman of Caleb” (3:9) and “Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up a champion for them: the Benjaminite Ehud son of Gera, a left handed man” (3:15). וַיִּזְעֲקוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־ה׳ וַיָּקֶם ה׳ מוֹשִׁיעַ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּשִׁיעֵם אֶת־עָתְנִיאֵל בֶּן־קְנַז (Judges 3:9) וַיִּזְעֲקוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־ה׳ וַיָּקֶם לָהֶם מוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת־אֵהוּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא בֶּן־הַיְמִינִי אִישׁ אִטֵּר יַד־יְמִינוֹ (Judges 3:15) Devora, it seems, becomes a judge of the people on her own. The verse passively describes that she led the people at the time. The first three judges were all warriors in some way, but Devora is the first one who is described as also having an administrative role: “She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions” (verse 5). וְהִיא יוֹשֶׁבֶת תַּחַת תֹּמֶר דְּבוֹרָה בֵּין הָרָמָה וּבֵין בֵּית־אֵל בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וַיַּעֲלוּ אֵלֶיהָ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לַמִּשְׁפָּט (Judges 4:5) Devora also has the authority to summon Barak into battle: “She summoned Barak son of Abinoam, of Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded: Go, march up to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun’” (verse 6). וַתִּשְׁלַח וַתִּקְרָא לְבָרָק בֶּן־אֲבִינֹעַם מִקֶּדֶשׁ נַפְתָּלִי וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הֲלֹא צִוָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵךְ וּמ Barak requests that she go with him into battle as support even if, as Devora says, it could harm his reputation. Barak is not worried about it at all. The interaction between the two resembles that of Moshe and Joshua. Devora, like Moshe, was the prophet and true leader. Joshua was the disciple warrior that followed the guidance of the leader. The battle with Cisra is similar to the battle with Amalek wherein Moshe and Devora direct the battle from afar, yet Barak and Joshua fight in the trenches. Deborah thus emerges not as a co leader, but as the clearest heir to Moshe’s model of leadership—prophetic, directive, and covenant anchored—while Barak, like Joshua before him, succeeds precisely because he knows when to follow.

Shoftim 3: Get in my Belly!

The era of judges begins with a bang with the story of Ehud and Eglon. After a brief generic interlude describing Otniel as the first of the judges, the text tells the gory and crafty story of the second Judge, Ehud ending in a climatic murder scene with some guard deception reminiscent of The Godfather when Michael Corleone kills Sollozzo & McCluskey, Besides being an exciting chapter, chapter 3 also is a good example of the text utilizing certain words in different ways. Ehud was from the tribe of Binyamin. The text uses creative word play to explain that he was left handed—matching the shorthand for Binyamin—“Yimini”—with the roundabout way of saying left handed—“eter yad yamin.” וְאֵהוּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא הַבִּנְיָמִינִי אִישׁ אִטֵּר יַד־יְמִינוֹ (Judges 3:15) Eglon’s guards would know to check the left side to protect against a cross body sword or dagger pull. They did not think to check the right side. The “hand” theme continues in the same verse: “It happened that the Israelites sent tribute to Eglon by his hand.” וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִנְחָה בְּיַד־אֵהוּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא אֶל־עֶגְלוֹן מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב (Judges 3:15) The right side/left hand set up is repeated when Ehud stabs Eglon in the stomach: “Reaching with his left hand, Ehud drew the dagger from his right side and drove it into his belly” (verse 21). וַיִּשְׁלַח אֵהוּד אֶת־יַד־שְׂמֹאלוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת־הַחֶרֶב מֵעַל יֶרֶךְ יְמִינוֹ וַיִּתְקָעֶהָ בְּבִטְנוֹ (Judges 3:21) Later in the chapter, Ehud blows on a shofar to rally the people and declares: “‘Follow me closely,’ he said, ‘for the LORD has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.’” וַיִּתְקַע בַּשּׁוֹפָר בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וַיֵּרְדוּ עִמּוֹ בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן־הָהָר וְהוּא לִפְנֵיהֶם׃ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם רִדְפוּ אַחֲרַי כִּי נָתַן ה׳ אֶת־אֹיְבֵיכֶם אֶת־מוֹאָב בְּיֶדְכֶם (Judges 3:27–28) After the Israelites defeat Moab, the text declares: “On that day, Moab was under the hand of Israel; and the land was tranquil for eighty years” (verse 30). וַתִּכָּנַע מוֹאָב בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא תַּחַת יַד יִשְׂרָאֵל וַתִּשְׁקֹט הָאָרֶץ שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה (Judges 3:30) Besides the nice, almost poetic, way that the use of hands appears in the chapter, there could be a deeper message. Back in the Torah, the “hand of God” was used to depict the power of Hashem. For example: “Hashem said to Moshe: ‘Can the hand of Hashem become short? Now you will see if My words will occur unto you or not’” (Numbers 11:23). וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה הֲיַד ה׳ תִּקְצָר עַתָּה תִּרְאֶה הֲיִקְרֶה דְבָרִי לְךָ אִם־לֹא (Numbers 11:23) Perhaps the text is sending a subtle message that the hand of God was controlling this entire story; keeping His people safe.

Shoftim 2: In the Arms of an Angel

“An angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, ‘I brought you up from Egypt and I took you into the land which I had promised on oath to your fathers. And I said, “I will never break My covenant with you”’” (verse 1). וַיַּעַל מַלְאַךְ ה׳ מִן־הַגִּלְגָּל אֶל־הַבֹּכִים וַיֹּאמֶר אַעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם וָאָבִיא אֶתְכֶם אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם וָאֹמַר לֹא־אָפֵר בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם לְעוֹלָם (Judges 2:1)Who is the angel of the Lord? According to the Targum, this was a generic navi. The Midrash says that this was Pinchas son of Elazar the Kohen. Pinchas had a role at the end of the book of Joshua leading a delegation against the tribes in the trans Jordan. Perhaps he had some leadership role that would give him the authority to make this pronouncement. If it was Pinchas, though, why not just say it was Pinchas? As shown above, he has appeared recently, so it would not be out of place. In both the Targum and the Midrash, this angel of the Lord is a person. Most likely, the motivation behind these interpretations is that this is the first of the cycle of saviors coming to the people to try to get them to change their ways. The problem is that this phrase was almost universally used to mean an actual angel in the Torah. For example, in Shmot, an angel of the Lord speaks to Moshe from the burning bush and an angel of the Lord blocks Balaam and his donkey. Why would God need to send an actual angel to deliver the message in Judges? Perhaps this angel is not just any angel, but the one that helped protect the Israelites throughout their journey in the wilderness. It is the angel that protected them at the beginning at the Sea of Reeds: “And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Yisra᾽el, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them” (Exodus 14:19). וַיִּסַּע מַלְאַךְ הָאֱלֹהִים הַהֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵי מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּלֶךְ מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיִּסַּע עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן מִפְּנֵיהֶם וַיַּעֲמֹד מֵאַחֲרֵיהֶם (Exodus 14:19) It is the same angel that God later promised would help them wipe out the inhabitants of the land: “I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Kena῾ani, the Emori, and the Ḥitti, and the Perizzi, the Ḥivvi, and the Yevusi” (Exodus 33:2). וְשָׁלַחְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ מַלְאָךְ וְגֵרַשְׁתִּי אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי הָאֱמֹרִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהַפְּרִזִּי הַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי (Exodus 33:2) Now it makes sense that God would send this angel to address the people concerning their inability to get rid of these same nations.

Shoftim 1: It was Fun While it Lasted

“Rav Adda, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: Had Israel not sinned in earlier times they would have been given the five books of the Torah and the book of Joshua alone. They needed the book of Joshua because it includes the arrangement of Eretz Yisrael.” (Nedarim 22b). אָמַר רַב אַדָּא בַּר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא אִלְמָלֵא חָטְאוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא נִתְּנוּ לָהֶם אֶלָּא חֲמִשָּׁה חֻמְשֵׁי תּוֹרָה וְסֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּלְבַד מִפְּנֵי שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ סֵדֶר אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל From the moment that Moshe stepped up to confront Pharaoh in Egypt, the Israelites have had two leaders—Moshe and Joshua. Moshe brought the nascent nation out of Egypt. He shepherded a nation of slaves into the people of Israel. Seamlessly, he transferred his leadership to Joshua. The people knew Joshua from early on. He was the hero of the early battle with Amalek. He was on Mount Sinai with Moshe. He confronted the spies. He protected Moshe’s reputation against Eldad and Medad. He may have been Moshe’s successor, but he was with Moshe and the people the whole way. When Joshua died, though, there was no one to take over for him. Now things begin to splinter. A cycle begins wherein the people misbehave, God gets angry and punishes them by bringing in a local nation to harass them. The people repent and cry out to God. God sends a Judge to save the people. The people are peaceful for a little while, but then the cycle begins again. Wash, rinse, repeat. The Gemara in Nedarim implies that the story was meant to end with the death of Joshua. Once the great leaders of the Exodus ushered the people into the Promised Land and divided it accordingly, God’s promise to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaacov would be complete. The people would live in the land peacefully. But that’s not what happened. The people sinned with the Golden Calf and the spies and continued to sin. Because the story was meant to end, there was no third leader waiting in the wings. But what about Calev? Calev’s story is repeated here from Joshua. Calev was the last surviving person from the wilderness. Like Moshe and Joshua, he was known to the people. But the Calev story is repeated here because it shows that Calev was not a leader of the whole people. Calev was a leader of the tribe of Yehudah. He acted in the self interest of that tribe, as he was supposed to do. After Joshua, there did not need to be a leader of everyone. Each tribe should have acted as they needed to in their land. Unfortunately, that plan did not work out. Instead of the story ending with chapter 24 of Joshua, the book of Judges begins.

Yehoshua Chapter 24: Joseph's Final Resting Place

The last chapter of Joshua contains Joshua’s review of the Israelites from Abraham until that point. At the end of the chapter, Joshua and Elazar pass away. In between, the Navi mentions that they buried Joseph’s sarcophagus in Shchem. “And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem…” וְאֶת־עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרַיִם קָבְרוּ בִשְׁכֶם (Joshua 24:32). This presents an obvious question- why is Joseph’s burial mentioned now at the end of Joshua’s life? Back at the end of Genesis, Joseph makes his brothers swear to bury him in Israel: “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob’” (Genesis 50:24). וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל־אֶחָיו אָנֹכִי מֵת וֵאלֹהִים פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֶתְכֶם וְהֶעֱלָה אֶתְכֶם מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב (Genesis 50:24) We later see that Moshe brings Joseph’s bones when they leave Egypt. “And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel…” (Exodus 13:19). וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת־עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף עִמּוֹ כִּי־הַשְׁבֵּעַ הִשְׁבִּיעַ אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל It seems like Joseph’s bones are an important part of the story, however, the next mention of Joseph’s bones is in this chapter. Why did the people wait until after Joshua’s death to bury Joseph? To answer this question will take a little more detective work back in Genesis. The verse right before Joseph instructs his brother’s to make sure that he is buried in Egypt, we learn how long Joseph lived in Egypt after Yaacov’s death in an oddly worded pasuk: “Joseph saw the third generation of Ephrayim and also the sons of Machir the son of Menashe were born on his knees.” (Genesis 50:23) Why does the pasuk use two different ways to describe Yosef living to see great great great grandchildren? The Pasuk could have read “Yosef saw the third generation of Ephrayim and Menashe” or “Yosef saw the sons of Machir ben Menashe and the sons of Ephrayim”. This question is compounded by the fact that we learn in Exodus “that a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). Right after this, Moshe is born. We know from chapter 6 of Exodus that Moshe is part of the third generation of Levi (Exodus 6:16–20). וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי־לֵוִי… וּבְנֵי קְהָת עַמְרָם… וַיִּקַּח עַמְרָם אֶת־יוֹכֶבֶד דֹּדָתוֹ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת־אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת־מֹשֶׁה. How could Joseph have lived to see the third generation after Ephrayim if the third generation is the period that coincides with Moshe’s birth and the verse that states that Pharaoh did not know Yosef. If Yosef truly live that long then Pharaoh would have had to know him! The answer lies in the double language of Genesis. The use of “the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees” in the second part of the pasuk indicates that Joseph saw the sons of Machir being born. The use of “and he saw” in the first part conveys something different. Perhaps Joseph did not literally see the third generation of Ephrayim. Instead, Joseph saw a vision of the third generation. The most prominent member of this third generation after Ephrayim is Joshua. I Chronicles 7:26–27 “Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun his son, Joshua his son.” לַעְדָּן בְּנוֹ עַמִּיהוּד בְּנוֹ אֱלִישָׁמָע בְּנוֹ נוּן בְּנוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּנוֹ. This compounded by the fact that it is only after Joseph sees in his vision that Joshua, a descendant of Ephrayim, will bring the people into Eretz Yisrael (in verse 23 of Genesis 50) that he tells his brothers that Hashem will take them out of Egypt and bring them to Eretz Yisrael in verse 24. By mentioning Joseph’s burial here, the Navi links the end of Genesis with the end of Joshua. These two stories are the bookends of the Exodus story.