DOCSLIB.ORG

SHORT NOTES BEDAN, ABDON OR BARAK in 1 SAMUEL XII 11? in A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SHORT NOTES BEDAN, ABDON OR BARAK in 1 SAMUEL XII 11? in A SHORT NOTES BEDAN, ABDON OR BARAK IN 1 SAMUEL XII 11? In a recent note in this journal, Howard Jacobson' has raised again the problem of the occurrence of an otherwise unknown judge or deliverer named Bedan in the MT of 1 Sam. xii 11, where Samuel declares, "And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety". Jacobson's solu- tion, taking up a suggestion earlier made by H. Ewald and others,' is that the reference is to the minor judge Abdon (Judg. xii 13-15), though unlike Ewald, who emended bedan to cabddn, Jacobson thinks it possible that Bedan is simply a variant of the name Abdon. The major objections to this that come to mind, of course, are that Abdon was such an insignificant judge in comparison with the others named in this verse (Jerubbaal [ = Gideon], Jephthah, Samue13) and that the book of Judges says not a word about his having delivered Israel from enemies, such as 1 Sam. xii 11 requires. Jacobson's attempts to deal with these problems are unsatisfactory. First of all, he declares that Samuel is likewise not spoken of as having delivered Israel in the Old Testament and that extra-biblical traditions of his having done so may have been taken up here. Jacobson thereby overlooks 1 Sam. vii 3-14, which describes the leadership which Samuel gave to Israel in the war against the Philistines and explicitly states that it was his prayer to Yahweh which gained the deliverance. Secondly, he appeals to Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum xli 1,4 where Abdon (Addo in the Latin) is said to have defeated the Moabites. It is sur- prising that appeal is made to this late, haggadic work, which hardly preserves ancient tradition at this point. It is to be noted, for example, that Pseudo-Philo has various inaccuracies in this very context, placing Abdon and Elon in the wrong order and giving the latter twenty rather than ten years of rule (xli 2). The context in 1 Sam. xii 9-11 clearly requires a deliverer of Israel from the period of the major judges. The old rabbinic view (cf. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh ha-Shanah 25a; Kimchi) that Bedan means "son of Dan" (ben ddn) and refers to the Danite judge Sam- 262 son (so Targum) is clearly fanciful, as is F. Boettcher's claim, on the basis of Arabic, that Bedan means corpulentus, which he likewise understands as a reference to Samson.5 Such views no longer have any following. Sometimes it has been supposed that Bedan is the name of an otherwise completely unattested judge,6 but against this it may be argued that, since the books of Judges and Samuel belong to the same Deuteronomistic historical work, we should hardly expect Samuel to cite the example of a judge who was totally overlooked in Judges. Y. Zakovitch,7 on the other hand, equates Bedan with the Bedan of 1 Chron. vii 17, who was a Gileadite, and who, he supposes, was identical with the Gileadite judge Jephthah. Just as Gideon was also known as Jerubbaal (e.g. Judg. vii 1), so Zakovitch believes Jephthah was also called Bedan. He claims that in 1 Sam. xii 11 Jephthah was originally an explanatory gloss on the name Bedan that eventually got into the text. However, against this, Jacobson (p. 123) has rightly pointed out that Jephthah's s father was called Gilead (Judg. xi 1) but the father of Bedan in 1 Chron. vii 17 was named Ulam, thus suggesting that Jephthah and Bedan are different persons. Furthermore, I would observe that, whereas the name Jerubbaal occurs several times for Gideon in the book of Judges, the name Bedan is never used for Jephthah there. Therefore, since the Deuteronomists edited both Judges and Samuel, we should not expect them to employ a name for Jephthah in the latter book which was completely unknown in the former. The same objection also applies to the view, occasionally expressed,8 that Bedan was an otherwise unattested alternative name for Barak. Occasionally, it has been suggested that Bedan is a corruption of the name Gideon9 or Deborah,l° but these are not particularly close graphically, and neither can claim support in the ancient versions. They are therefore to be rejected. Graphically closer is the name of Barak, and this has the further advantage that it is actually attested in 1 Sam. xii 11in two of the ancient versions, the LXX and the Peshitta. In support of under- standing Bedan as a scribal corruption of the name Barakll the following points may be noted. (i) Barak, unlike Abdon or Bedan, is attested as a deliverer' 2 of Israel in the book of Judges (Judg. iv- v), such as the context in 1 Sam. xii 11requires. Indeed, his opponents, the Canaanite Jabin and his army commander Sisera, .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jephthah and the Grace of God (The Rp Esident's Desk) Stephen Bauer Southern Adventist University
    Perspective Digest Volume 16 Article 6 Issue 2 Spring 2011 Jephthah and the Grace of God (The rP esident's Desk) Stephen Bauer Southern Adventist University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Bauer, Stephen (2011) "Jephthah and the Grace of God (The rP esident's Desk)," Perspective Digest: Vol. 16 : Iss. 2 , Article 6. Available at: http://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pd/vol16/iss2/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Adventist Theological Society at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Perspective Digest by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Bauer: Jephthah and the Grace of God (The President's Desk) Jephthah and the Grace of God By Stephen Bauer The appearance of Jephthah in Hebrews 11 presents an interesting conundrum for the Bible student. Why did the author of Hebrews (whom I accept as Paul) highlight a man as a heroic example of faith to be emulated when he seems to have offered his daughter as a human sacrifice? In short, what did the author see in Jephthah’s story that merited his inclusion in the all-star list of faith heroes found in Hebrews 11? For those less familiar with Jephthah, his story is found in Judges 10–11. In short, Israel had been unfaithful yet again and, thus, had fallen under the abusive dominion of the Philistines and Ammonites for 18 arduous years (10:6-9).
    [Show full text]
  • SS Volume 2.Book
    Selected Scriptures from the Holy Bible Readings for the Young Volume II: Books of Old Testament History Compiled by Genelle H. Porter Searcy, Arkansas Copyright © 2006 by Genelle H. Porter All rights reserved. ISBN: 0-9755777-5-1 All scriptures are from the ACV: A Conservative Version Published by Still Voices Publishing Searcy, Arkansas www.stillvoicespublishing.com 3 Table of Contents Joshua . 13 Jehovah Encourages Joshua. 13 The Spies at Jericho . 14 Israel Crosses the River Jordan. 15 Israel Arrives in the Promised Land . 18 The Men Are Circumcised . 18 The Battle of Jericho . 19 Achan’s Sin and Israel’s Defeat . 21 Ai Is Finally Destroyed . 23 The Inhabitants of Gibeon Deceive Israel . 25 The Moon and Sun Stand Still . 27 Many Kings and Their Cities Defeated. 28 Instructions for Dividing the Land. 30 Special Requests for Land . 30 The Land Is Shared . 32 Cities of Refuge . 33 Cities for the Levites. 33 The Men of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh Go Home. 34 Misunderstanding About an Altar . 34 Joshua Warns Israel To Be Faithful. 36 Jehovah Warns Israel To Be Faithful . 38 The People Make a Covenant to Serve Jehovah. 38 The Death of Joshua . 39 Judges . 41 Judah Fights Against the Canaanites . 41 Israel Fails to Drive Out All the Nations . 42 Jehovah Rebukes the People . 42 Israel Serves Other Gods. 43 Jehovah Raises Up Judges . 43 Judges Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar . 44 Deborah Is Judge. 45 The Death of Sisera . 46 The Song of Deborah and Barak . 47 The Midianites Oppress Israel . 49 Jehovah Calls Gideon . 49 Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal .
    [Show full text]
  • Deborah Obeys
    Lesson50:LKT 4/14/10 9:49 AM Page 430 Listen to Learn Lesson 50 Judges 4:1-16; 5:4,20-21 Collect Bible, Bible Story 20 pictures from God’s Story for Me Poster Pack #2, Preschool Music #2 DVD or CD God’s Word and player. Deborah “Hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28 Greet Each Other Listen carefully to my clapping. Begin by God’s Word and Me clapping a rhythmObeys of four beats. Children echo I can obey God’s Word. the rhythm. Continue for a few moments, chang- ing the rhythm and/or increasing the number of beats each round. YouGod are good listeners! Tell the Story Open your Bible Judgesto Judges 4. Tell 4:1-16 the story using the pictured motions (keywords in bold) or show Bible Story 20 pictures. What happens in a very big rainstorm? Listen to hear what happened to God’s people during a very big rainstorm. Deborah was a woman who loved God and listened to Him. God told Deborah mes- sages to give to His people. God loved His people, but they were not listening to Him. They were not obeying Him. They were not praying. Because they disobeyed God, the people had big trouble! An army with many strong soldiers and 900 chariots wanted to fight them! (A chariot is a cart pulled by a horse.) The leader of the army was named Sisera. Finally, the people of Israel remembered to pray to God. God gave Deborah a mes- sage for a man named Barak.
    [Show full text]
  • PROMISED LAND 1: Lesson Five, Jephthah, Samson, Consequences of Decline Judges 10 - 21
    1 PROMISED LAND 1: Lesson Five, Jephthah, Samson, Consequences of Decline Judges 10 - 21 Subject: Jephthah and Samson’s stories and two accounts of internal threats illustrate Israel’s moral and spiritual decay. Main Idea: Living by our own foolish “wisdom” results in personal and social disaster. Principles: 1. Bargaining with God is unnecessary and can end in disappointment . 2. Living according to our passions is perilous. 3. As the home goes, so goes the nation. Introduction Have you ever acting on your own foolish “wisdom.” i Hopelessly lost, you continue driving down one road after another, refusing to ask for directions. You try something new in the kitchen, confident you don’t need to consult a recipe. You muscle a repair when you should have used your brain. We do all kinds of crazy things we later laugh over, don’t we? But when a person or a family or a people group makes a habit of living this way, the consequences are no longer laughable. The book of Judges gives us a picture of the personal and social disaster that resulted when the Israelites chose to live by their own foolish “wisdom.” The end of Joshua and the book of Judges tell us that the Israelites failed to drive the Canaanites from the land. As a result, the Israelites became increasingly “Canaanized.”ii The text suggests that the Israelites still acknowledged Yahweh, but they had demoted Him to a position of one god among many and also worshipped the Baals, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines (Judges 10:6, 1 Samuel 4:8).
    [Show full text]
  • The Wife of Manoah, the Mother of Samson
    546 THE WIFE OF MANOAH, THE MOTHER OF SAMSON Magdel le Roux University of South Africa P O Box 392, UNISA 0003 E-mail: [email protected] (Received 21/04/2016; accepted 06/07/2016) ABSTRACT The last account of the judges is that of Samson (Judges 13–16). This account has all the elements of a blockbuster. All the indications are that Samson would be an extraordinary person. And yet, even though Samson may be regarded as some sort of hero, the story suggests that Samson was also the weakest or most ineffective of the judges. Tension is created through the juxtaposition of “ideal” and “non-ideal” bodies. An alternative ideology, as a hidden polemic, is concealed in the account. As in the case of Achsah (Judges 1:11–15) and Deborah (Judges 4–5), the nameless wife of Manoah (the mother of Samson) serves as an illustration of “countercultural rhetoric” as a hidden polemic. INTRODUCTION In the dominant cultural ideology of the Israelite tribes, ideal, whole bodies were those of male Israelite soldiers without any defects. This is the image that comes to mind when one first reads about the strong man, Samson, although in time one becomes more aware of his weaknesses than his strengths. These accounts (Judges 14–16) are full of violence and of Samson’s personal revenge, but they also describe his weakness for women. In the case of Samson, an ideal male body develops into an “unwhole body” in that an aesthetic element is added to the story: God favours Samson despite his disobedience (Chs 14–16).
    [Show full text]
  • The Judges TP45
    LEADER’S GUIDE BIBLE STORYLINE 4th- 5th Q5 Why Did God Use Judges? PursueGODkids.org Lesson Overview Big Idea In today’s lesson, we’re talking about a sad time in Israel’s history. In previous God sent judges to save the lessons, we’ve learned how God rescued the Israelites from slavery and Israelites. performed many miracles to get them safely to the Promised Land. Well, they finally got to the Promised Land, and all was great, until the people forgot Key Question about God. Even though God had given them land, other people were living Why did the people forget there, too. These people didn’t know God and they did terrible things. Over about God? time, this way of life started to rub off on the Israelites! God’s people started doing terrible things, too, and they stopped listening to God. So, to get their Memory Verse attention, God would send nations to conquer the Israelites. The Israelites Judges 2:16 “Then the Lord would cry out to God for help and then God would send a judge to save raised up judges to rescue the them. Now, a judge at this time wasn’t a judge like we know today. A judge Israelites from their attackers.” was like a political or military leader who God would raise up to defeat the enemy. With every victory, the people would remember God. But, then they would go back to their bad choices, get attacked, cry out to God and God would send a judge to save them. Here’s the point.
    [Show full text]
  • Samson Gods Strong Man English
    Bible for Children presents SAMSON, GOD’S STRONG MAN Written by: Edward Hughes Illustrated by: Janie Forest; Alastair Paterson Adapted by: Lyn Doerksen Produced by: Bible for Children www.M1914.org ©2021 Bible for Children, Inc. License: You have the right to copy or print this story, as long as you do not sell it. Long ago, in the land of Israel, lived a man named Manoah. He and his wife had no children. One day the Angel of the LORD appeared to Mrs. Manoah. "You will have a very special baby," He said. She told her husband the wonderful news. Manoah prayed, "Oh my Lord . come to us again. Teach us what we shall do for the child." The Angel told Manoah the child must never have his hair cut, must never drink alcohol, and must never eat certain foods. God had chosen this child to be a judge. He would lead Israel. God's people certainly needed help. They left God out of their lives, and then were bullied by their enemies, the Philistines. But when they prayed, God heard. He sent this baby who would become the world's strongest man. "So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the spirit of the LORD began to move upon him." Samson became very strong. One day he fought a young lion with his bare hands - and killed it! Later, Samson tasted honey from a swarm of bees which had nested in the lion's dead body.
    [Show full text]
  • When God Says Go and What More Shall I Say? I Do Not Have Time to Tell About Gideon, Barak…
    When God Says Go And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak… Hebrews 11:32 The next two heroes that we come to in Hebrews 11 may be less familiar to you and me. They aren’t really stories that you’ll find in the children’s picture Bibles on your kids’ shelves, but the writer of Hebrews commends them for their faith. Gideon’s and Barak’s stories both start the same way – with the Israelites again doing evil in the eyes of the Lord (Judges 4:1, 6:1). It’s a fairly common occurrence in the Old Testament, actually. The Lord gives the Israelites chance after chance after chance to follow His law, but they keep messing it up – by worshipping other gods and disobeying direct commandments from God. During Barak’s time in the spotlight, Deborah, a prophetess, is leading Israel. The Lord had handed the Israelites over to the Canaanites because of their wickedness, and after twenty years of oppression, they cried out to the Lord for help. Read Judges 4:6-4:10 If the Israelites had learned anything over the years, it should have been this: when God says that He will do something, He will do it. God said He would bring the people out of slavery in Egypt, and He did, by parting the Red Sea. He said He would give the Israelites the Promised Land, and He bulldozed the way for them, even tearing down the walls of Jericho and giving them victory over all of those in their way.
    [Show full text]
  • A Theological Reading of the Gideon-Abimelech Narrative
    YAHWEH vERsus BAALISM A THEOLOGICAL READING OF THE GIDEON-ABIMELECH NARRATIVE WOLFGANG BLUEDORN A thesis submitted to Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities April 1999 ABSTRACT This study attemptsto describethe contribution of the Abimelech narrative for the theologyof Judges.It is claimedthat the Gideonnarrative and the Abimelechnarrative need to be viewed as one narrative that focuseson the demonstrationof YHWH'S superiority over Baalism, and that the deliverance from the Midianites in the Gideon narrative, Abimelech's kingship, and the theme of retribution in the Abimelech narrative serve as the tangible matter by which the abstracttheological theme becomesnarratable. The introduction to the Gideon narrative, which focuses on Israel's idolatry in a previously unparalleled way in Judges,anticipates a theological narrative to demonstrate that YHWH is god. YHwH's prophet defines the general theological background and theme for the narrative by accusing Israel of having abandonedYHwH despite his deeds in their history and having worshipped foreign gods instead. YHWH calls Gideon to demolish the idolatrous objects of Baalism in response, so that Baalism becomes an example of any idolatrous cult. Joash as the representativeof Baalism specifies the defined theme by proposing that whichever god demonstrateshis divine power shall be recognised as god. The following episodesof the battle against the Midianites contrast Gideon's inadequateresources with his selfish attempt to be honoured for the victory, assignthe victory to YHWH,who remains in control and who thus demonstrateshis divine power, and show that Baal is not presentin the narrative.
    [Show full text]
  • I. Genealogies from Adam to David (1 : 1-9 :44)
    LESSON TWO 4-6 I. GENEALOGIES FROM ADAM TO DAVID (1 : 1-9:44) 3. THE DESCENDANTS OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH (2:l-55,4:23) INTRODUCTION The sons of Judah were mothered by Canaanite women, however, Perez was destined to be very important in God’s plans. Several familiar names appear in chapters 4-6. The families of the Levites were to have their inheritance in the land of PaIestine . TEXT Chapter 2-1. These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, 2. Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 3. The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; which three were born unto him of Shua’s daughter the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah; and he slew him. 4, And Tamar his daughter-in-law bare him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. 5. The sons of Perez: Hezron, and Hamul. 6. And the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ehan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara; five of them in all. 7. And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who committed a trespass in the devoted thing. 8. And the sons of Ethan: Azariah. 9. The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him: Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. 10. And Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah: 11. and Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz. 12. and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse; 13.
    [Show full text]
  • 164 460 Malahkee Jeanba, Rastafari
    460 Malahkee Jeanba, Rastafari Nazarite Worrior Samson: A Rasta Story (Xlibris: Bloomington, 2012), 4. 461 Ibid., 6. 462 Ibid., 8. 463 Eric Hobsbawm, Bandits (New York: Pantheon Books, 1981). 464 Anand Prahlad interrogates a similar concept in Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001), 73. 465 Niditch, “My Brother Esau Is a Hairy Man,” 70. 466 I recognize the historic shifts in the Nazirite vow as it is described in the Hebrew Bible. Yet, this dissertation does not contend with these changes because Rasta readers do not distinguish between the vows of Samson, Samuel, Absolom, and the vow of Numbers 6. 467 Scholar Marc Zvi Brettler discounts that the Nazirite vow serves as a unifying theme for the Samson cycle. This chapter proves the centrality of the vow in Rastafari readings of Samson. Marc Zvi Brettler, The Book of Judges (London: Routledge, 2002), 40-60. 468 Richard Runyararo Mahomva, March 25, 2013, “Rastalk: Seperation of the Dread Man from the Rasta Man,” Voice of the Ras, http://voiceoftheras.blogspot.com/2013/03/separation-of-dread-man-from-rasta- man.html. 469 White Dread, January 25, 2006 (6:36 p.m.), Jah-rastafari.com, http://www.jah- rastafari.com/forum/message- view.asp?message_group=1268&word_search=samson&SearchType=Phrase&SearchWh at=Messages&search_user=white%20dread. 470 Jeanba, Rastafari Nazarite Worrior Samson, 52. 471 Scholars debate whether or not Samson imbibes wine or fermented liquor. Because Judges does not specify, this chapter will not make a claim either way. For more on this debate, see Gregory Mobley’s The Empty Men: The Heroic Tradition of Ancient Israel (New York: Doubleday, 2005), 180.
    [Show full text]
  • Four Lessons from Four Men – Mentioned in One Verse Hebrews 11:32 - Barak, Gideon, Samson and Jephthah
    Four Lessons from Four Men – mentioned in one verse Hebrews 11:32 - Barak, Gideon, Samson and Jephthah God can use flawed people to do great things Judg 6:14-15 - Gideon thought he was unqualified to lead God’s people since his family was the _______________________ in Manasseh, and he was the _______________________ in his family. Judg 11:1-3 - Jephthah was the son of two _______________________. He was driven out of town by his own half-brothers. Judg 14:1-3 - Samson fell in love with _______________________ women. (see Deut 7:1-5) God is patient while our faith grows Judg 4:8 - After Debra told Barak that God would deliver the Canaanites into his hand, he set a _____________________ on going into battle. Make no mistake about it… this was bad! God determined that Barak wouldn’t receive glory for the victory, but he still used him to defeat the Canaanites and _____________________ His people from severe oppression. Judg 6:17-18; Judg 6:36-40; Judg 7:9-16 - Gideon _____________________ for three proofs that he was really the one God was going to use to deliver His people. God was patient enough to _____________________ Gideon a fourth sign, and he needed it. God Requires Life Giving Faith Judg 4:14-16 - Even though Barak would only go to battle if Deborah went with him, he still had enough faith to go to battle and _____________________ destroy Sisera’s army. Judg 7:15-18 - Gideon had enough faith to refer to a _____________________ victory in _____________________ tense.
    [Show full text]