Shoftim 2: In the Arms of an Angel

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.

Yehoshua Chapter 23: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Chapters 23 and 24 of Yehoshua contain two farewell addresses by Yehoshua. In chapter 31 of Deuteronomy, Moshe gives his final address to the people. In it, he includes a fatalistic message from God. When the people enter the land they will disobey me, they will worship other gods, and they will be punished. In Yehoshua’s chapter 23 address, he tries to break this fate set up by Moshe. He warns the people not to worship idols. They must resist the temptations of the people around them. God will help them remove the people, but the ones that remain will be a snare and a test. Resist the trap. Chapter 24 has a different goodbye message. In chapter 24, Joshua reviews the history of the Israelites starting from Terach. Why does Yehoshua start with Terach? Moshe never started his reviews of the history of the Israelites that far back. The answer to that may also answer the question if the farewell addresses in chapters 23 an 24 are linked or not. “Then Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers—Terach, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods/But I took Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt” (וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ וָאֶקַּח אֶת־אֲבִיכֶם אֶת־אַבְרָהָם מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וָאוֹלֵךְ אֹתוֹ בְּכָל־אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וָאַרְבֶּה אֶת־זַרְעוֹ וָאֶתֵּן לוֹ אֶת־יִצְחָק׃ וָאֶתֵּן לְיִצְחָק אֶת־יַעֲקֹב וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו וָאֶתֵּן לְעֵשָׂו אֶת־הַר שֵׂעִיר לָרֶשֶׁת אוֹתוֹ וְיַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו יָרְדוּ מִצְרָיִם) (24:1-3). Avraham grew up surrounded by idols. His father worshipped them, and yet he was not tempted. God was able to take Avraham away from the life of idol worship. All three of the forefathers lived in the land of Canaan surrounded by idol worshipers. Jacob also had to deal with Esav. All the forefathers and foremothers were able to continue to follow God despite these temptations of living in Canaan. Between these two chapters, Joshua tries two different ways to warn the people. Chapter 23 is direct and experiential. Do not be tempted. It is the real life answer to Moshe’s hypothetical in Devarim. Yeshoshua is on the ground and reporting on what he sees. In contrast, Chapter 24 is historical. Your forefathers were in the same position as you are right now. They were able to follow God despite the idol worship around them. You should be able to do the same.