Judges. Lesson #16. Israel Arracks Benjamin (20: 1 21: 25) Israel A*acks Benjamin

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1 Judges Lesson #16 Israel Arracks Benjamin (20: 1 21: 25) 1

2 As we entered Lesson #15 we read: Review In those days, when there was no king in Israel there was a Levite residing in remote parts of the mountain region of Ephraim, who had taken for himself a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah, where she stayed for four months. (19: 1-2). This Levite was ques>onable at best, isolated and living in a shack in the mountains. His concubine ran away, returning to her home in Bethlehem. The Levite followed her. Arriving in Bethlehem, the Levite wanted her back and he spoke to her from the heart. The concubine s father welcomed the Levite and hosted him warmly, ea>ng and drinking with him for four days. When the Levite finally lep Bethlehem with his concubine, they stayed overnight in the central mountain range in Gibeah, within the tribe of Benjamin... 2

3 Review, cont. There the men of the city asacked the house where the Levite and his concubine were staying, demanding that the Levite be sent out, so that we may [have sex] with him (19: 22). Terrified, the Levite pushed his concubine out the door and locked it, while the men of Gibeah gang-raped the young girl all night long. In the morning, the Levite found her: her cold, dead fingers clinging to the entrance of the house. Enraged at the insult against him, the Levite hacked the girl into 12 pieces, and he sent a piece to each of the tribes, demanding revenge. 3

4 The Levite cuts his concubine s body into 12 pieces, Crusader Bible (illuminated manuscript, MS M.638, top right register, fol. 16v.) c J.P. Morgan Library, New York. 4

5 That was a terrible story! 5

6 Preview In Lesson #16 we witness revenge against the tribe of Benjamin. All the other tribes of Israel march against Benjamin, and they slaughter 25,000 Benjaminites, vowing that no Israelite will ever take a Benjaminite as a wife: only 600 Benjaminites escape. When the dust sesles, the Israelites bemoan the slaughter: because of the vow, the tribe of Benjamin (Jacob s beloved son, Joseph s brother, born of Rachael) will come to an end. What will the Israelites do? 6

7 As we enter Lesson #16, we conclude the story of the Levite and his concubine, which spans 19: 1 21: 25. Recall that the story is framed by an inclusio: In those days, when there was no king in Israel... (19: 1; 21: 25). As we ve seen in Lesson #15, these were terrible >mes, indeed. 7

8 So all the Israelites came out as one, from Dan to Beer-sheba including the land of Gilead, and the assembly gathered to the Lord at Mizpah. The leaders of all the people, all the staffbearers of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God four hundred thousand foot soldiers who carried swords. Meanwhile, the Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked, How did this evil thing happen? and the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, testified: It was at Gibeah of Benjamin, which my concubine and I had entered for the night. The lords of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded me in the house at night. I was the one they intended to kill, but they abused my concubine and she died. So I took my concubine and cut her up and sent her through every part of the territory of Israel, because of the terrible thing they had done in Israel. (20: 1-6) 8

9 Dan è Mountains of Gilead Bethel è Mizpah è Ramah è Gibeah è Jerusalem è Bethlehem è Jericho è DEAD SEA çbeer-sheba miles km

10 The Levite s terrible message has the desired effect: all the men of Israel 400,000 armed men assemble as one at Mizpah to learn what happened, and the Levite tells them but what he offers is only a par>al, skewed version of the crime: It was at Gibeah of Benjamin, which my concubine and I had entered for the night. The lords of Gibeah rose up against me in the house at night. I was the one they intended to kill. So I took my concubine and cut her up... (20: 4-6a) In the Levite s mind asacking him was the outrage; gang-raping his concubine to death was an outrage against him. He says nothing about he and the Ephraimite offering the girls to the mob, nor does he say anything of his own role in shoving his concubine out the door and locking it behind her, an act of craven cowardice. 10

11 The Levite s explana>on galvanizes the Israelite men, uni>ng them in a single purpose for the first >me since they came out of Egypt! Although the Levite had hacked his concubine into 12 pieces, sending one piece to each of the 12 tribes, the Benjaminites do not asend the assembly. Although the crime had occurred in Gibeah, the rest of the Benjaminites protect their tribal brothers. So, all Israel unites against Benjamin. 11

12 It looks like the start of a civil war! 12

13 So now, all you Israelites, give your judgment and counsel in this matter. All the people rose as one to say, None of us will leave for our tents or return to our homes. Now as for Gibeah, this is what we will do: We will go up against it by lot, taking from all the tribes of Israel ten men for every hundred, a hundred for every thousand, a thousand for every ten thousand, and procuring supplies for the soldiers who will go to exact from Gibeah of Benjamin the full measure of the terrible thing it committed in Israel. So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one. The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin to say, What is this evil that has occurred among you? Now give up the men, the scoundrels who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and thus purge the evil from Israel. But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their kindred, the Israelites. Instead, the Benjaminites assembled from their cities at Gibeah, to march out to battle with the Israelites. (20: 7-14) 13

14 The assembled Israelites demand that the Benjaminites: Give up the men, the scoundrels who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and thus purge the evil from Israel (20: 13). The Hebrew translated the scoundrels is beliya al [ bel-ee -yah-al ]. We had an example of such scoundrels and what to do with them earlier in Deuteronomy: If you hear it said concerning one of the ciqes which the Lord, your God, gives you to dwell in, that certain scoundrels [beliya al] have sprung up in our midst and have led astray the inhabitants of their city... you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, placing the city and all that is in it, even its livestock, under the ban. (13: 13-16) 14

15 But rather than comply with the assembled Israelites demand, the Benjaminites circle the wagons around the men of Gibeah and defend them! Why do they do that? 15

16 Perhaps the Benjaminites are honor-bound to protect the Gibeonites, as the old Ephramite was honor-bound to protect the Levite. Ah, ha! The sacred obliga>on of xeniva, the guest/host rela>onship! Or maybe it s the obliga>on to protect the accused, as with Israel s six ci>es of refuge? 16

Consider, too, that in these days there was no king in Israel (19: 1); the Israelites were lisle more than a loose confedera>on, with no central authority.

17 Consider, too, that in these days there was no king in Israel (19: 1); the Israelites were lisle more than a loose confedera>on, with no central authority. As the Levite was a suspicious outsider in Gibeah, a target of asack, so is Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes, a suspicious outsider to the rest of Israel. So, we have a presy complex story here, opera>ng on 3 levels: 1) Outsiders vs. insiders; 2) Obliga>on to protect the accused; and 3) Guest/host obliga>ons. And add to that the total breakdown of Israelite society! What a mess! 17

18 On that day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand swordsmen, in addition to the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered seven hundred picked men who were left-handed, every one of them able to sling a stone at a hair without missing. The men of Israel, without Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them warriors. They went up to Bethel and consulted God. When the Israelites asked, Who shall go up first for us to do battle with the Benjaminites? the Lord said: Judah first. The Israelites rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. (20: 15-19) 18

19 The Benjaminites muster 26,000 swordsmen and the men of Gibeah contribute 700 expert marksmen who could sling a stone at a hair without missing (20: 16). The rest of Israel musters 400,000 swordsmen. Ironically, the Benjaminites find themselves in the exact same posi>on as the Levite. As the Levite was surrounded by the Benjaminites in Gibeon, looking to do them violence, so are the Benjaminites now surrounded in Gibeon by the rest of Israelite tribes, looking to do them violence! When the Israelites consult God at Bethel about who should lead the asack against Benjamin, God replies with chilling irony: Judah. 19

20 That is irony, indeed: in Genesis, when Joseph s brothers go to Egypt to get food during a famine and Joseph (now Prime Minister of Egypt, unbeknownst to the brothers) demands that his blood brother Benjamin stay in Egypt as his prisoner, it is Judah who steps forward and offers himself in place of Benjamin, thus saving Benjamin s life. And now it is Judah who will lead the asack against Benjamin, nearly extermina>ng the en>re tribe! 20

21 And no>ce the lopsided basle: 400,000 Israelites vs. 26,000 Benjaminites, with 700 Gibeonite stone slingers. And did you no>ce that all the stone slingers are lep-handed? It s a fact: everyone men>oned in the Scripture as being lephanded or ambidextrous is from the tribe of Benjamin! Now, that is strange! Benjamin means son of my right hand. 21

There are 723 men in Scripture men>oned as being lep-handed (or ambidextrous)! Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjaninite who was ler-handed (Judges 3: 15). The inhabitants of Gibeah.

22 There are 723 men in Scripture men>oned as being lep-handed (or ambidextrous)! Ehud, the son of Gera, a Benjaninite who was ler-handed (Judges 3: 15). The inhabitants of Gibeah... mustered seven hundred picked men who were ler-handed (Judges 20: 16). The following men came to David in Ziklag,... archers who could use either the right or the ler hand [ambidextrous], both in slinging stones and in shooqng arrows with the bow. They were some of Saul s kinsmen, from Benjamin [22 men are named] (1 Chronicles 12: 1-9). 22

23 You re a monument to trivia, Dr. C.! 23

24 The men of Israel marched out to do battle with Benjamin and drew up in battle array against them at Gibeah. The Benjaminites marched out of Gibeah that day and felled twenty-two thousand men of Israel. But the army of the men of Israel took courage and again drew up for battle in the place where they had drawn up on the previous day. Then the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. Shall I again engage my brother Benjamin in battle? they asked the Lord; and the Lord answered: Attack! When the Israelites drew near to the Benjaminites on the second day, Benjamin marched out of Gibeah against them again and felled eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them swordsmen... 24

25 So the entire Israelite army went up and entered Bethel, where they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and communion offerings before the Lord. The Israelites consulted the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there in those days, and Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing in his presence in those days), and asked, Shall I again go out to battle with my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop? The Lord said: Attack! For tomorrow I will deliver him into your power. So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. (20: 20-29) 25

26 So the tribe of Judah leads the asack on Benjamin, and the Benjaminites kill 22,000 of their brother Israelites on the 1 st day. That evening, the Israelites weep before Lord, saying: Shall I again engage my brother Benjamin in bavle? And the Lord answers: AVack! (20: 23). On the 2 nd day the Israelites asack again, and the Benjaminites kill 18,000 more. That night the Israelites offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord at Bethel (what hutzpah!), and they weep again before the Lord, asking: Shall I again go out to bavle with my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop? And the Lord says again: AVack! For tomorrow I will deliver them into your power (20: 28). 26

27 Do you see the absurdity in all this? A crime in Benjaminite territory that could have been easily solved judicially in a properly-func>oning society, has led to all-out, genocidal war. The Israelites weep and implore the Lord, who repeatedly says, AVack! It s as if God is fed up with these people: You want to kill each other, go right ahead! 27

28 When the Israelites went up against the Benjaminites on the third day, they drew up against Gibeah as on other occasions. When the Benjaminites marched out to meet the army, they began, as on other occasions, to strike down some of the troops along the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and one to Gibeah in the open country; about thirty Israelites were slain. The Benjaminites thought, They are routed before us as previously. The Israelites, however, were thinking, We will flee and draw them out from the city onto the highways. And then all the men of Israel rose from their places, forming up at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush rushed from their place west of Gibeah and advanced against Gibeah with ten thousand picked men from all Israel. The fighting was severe, but no one knew that a disaster was closing in. The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel; and on that day the Israelites killed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them swordsmen. (20: 30-35) 28

29 That s bad news! The Benjaminites numbered 26,000 swordsmen, plus 700 Gibeonite stone slingers (20: 15). The Israelites have just killed 25,100 of the 26,000 swordsmen! The Benjaminites really got their buss kicked! How did the basle turn so drama>cally? 29

30 Then the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, trusting in the ambush they had set at Gibeah. Then the men in ambush, having made a sudden dash against Gibeah, marched in and put the whole city to the sword. The arrangement the men of Israel had with the men in ambush was that they would send up a smoke signal from the city, and the men of Israel would then wheel about in the battle. Benjamin, having begun by killing off some thirty of the men of Israel, thought, Surely they are completely routed before us, as in the earlier fighting. But when the signal, the column of smoke, began to rise up from the city, Benjamin looked back and there was the whole city going up in smoke toward heaven. Then when the men of Israel wheeled about, the men of Benjamin were thrown into confusion, for they realized that disaster was closing in on them... 30

31 They retreated before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness, but the fighting kept pace with them, and those who had been in the city were spreading destruction in between. They surrounded the men of Benjamin, pursued them from Nohah and drove them along to a point east of Gibeah. Eighteen thousand from Benjamin fell, all of them warriors. They turned and fled into the wilderness to the crag of Rimmon. The Israelites picked off five thousand men on the highways and kept pace with them as far as Gidom, where they struck down another two thousand of them. The total of those from Benjamin who fell that day was twenty-five thousand swordsmen, all of them warriors. Six hundred men turned and fled into the wilderness to the crag of Rimmon, where they remained for four months. (20: 36-47) 31

32 BoSom register: Civil war and the slaughter of the Benjaminites. Civil War, Crusader Bible (illuminated manuscript, MS M.638, fol. 16v.) c J.P. Morgan Library, New York. 32

33 Only 600 Benjaminites survive the slaughter, and then we read: Then the men of Israel turned back against the Benjaminites, pu[ng them to the sword the inhabitants of the ciqes, the livestock, and all they came upon. Moreover they destroyed by fire all the ciqes they came upon. (20: 48) The Israelites put under the ban the en>re tribe of Benjamin, save for the 600 men who fled into the wilderness. And what happened to the women and children? What happens to all women and children in ancient warfare: they are raped, killed, or sold into slavery. 33

34 Then to make masers worse, the men of Israel take an oath: The men of Israel took an oath at Mizpah: None of us will give his daughter in marriage to anyone from Benjamin. So the people went to Bethel and remained there before God unql evening, raising their voices in biver weeping. They said, Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel that today one tribe of Israel should be lacking? (21: 1-3) 34

35 Again, we witness chilling irony: the threatened death of the Levite, which led to the brutal rape and murder of his concubine, has now escalated to the threatened death of the Gibeonites and the near ex>nc>on of the en>re tribe of Benjamin! And here s the tragedy: it was en>rely selfinflicted. 35

So, what s the lesson here? The key lies in the phrase: In those days, when there was no king in Israel, which frames this last episode of Judges (10: 1; 21: 25).

36 So, what s the lesson here? The key lies in the phrase: In those days, when there was no king in Israel, which frames this last episode of Judges (10: 1; 21: 25). On the one hand, the Israelites no longer recognize God as their king. The covenant God made with Israel lies shasered, like jagged shards of glass strewn upon a muddy, bloodsoaked ground. God warned what would happen in Deuteronomy 28 if the Israelites disobeyed the covenant. And it has. On the other hand, the moral, ethical, poli>cal, social and religious chaos that has enveloped every aspect of Israelite society cries out for a savior an anointed one someone who will lead Israel back to God, unify the people, reestablish the terms of the covenant and forge Israel into a healthy, func>oning society. When such chaos reigns, people demand order, for the alterna>ve is total self-destruc>on. 36

37 But we s>ll have a problem. Israel consists of 12 tribes, but the Benjaminites have been slaughtered by their brother Israelites: only 600 remain alive, and they are in hiding. The women and the children are gone. And the Israelites have vowed never to give their daughters in marriage to a Benjaminite! So how can the Benjaminites survive as a tribe? 37

38 The Israelites were disconsolate over their brother Benjamin and said, Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel. What can we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage? And when they asked, Is there one among the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the Lord in Mizpah? they found that none of the men of Jabesh-gilead had come to the encampment for the assembly. A roll call of the people was taken, and none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was present. So the assembly sent twelve thousand warriors there with orders, Go put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword... 38

39 This is what you are to do: Every male and every woman who has had relations with a male you shall put under the ban. Finding among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgin women, who had not had relations with a man, they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan. Then the whole assembly sent word to the Benjaminites at the crag of Rimmon, offering them peace. So Benjamin returned at that time, and they were given as wives the women of Jabesh-gilead who had been spared; but these proved to be not enough for them. (20: 36-47) 39

40 Sea of Galilee Beit-Shean è ç Jabesh-Gilead Bethel è Mizpah è Jebus è (Jerusalem) miles km

41 When the Levite cut his concubine into 12 pieces and sent them to the twelve tribes, demanding vengeance, the same thing would be done to anyone who did not respond to the call they would be killed and cut into pieces! Later, we learn this explicitly when king Saul, Taking a yoke of oxen, he cut them into pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by messengers saying, If anyone does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same thing will be done to his oxen (1 Samuel 11: 7). With Saul, it s oxen; in the story of the Levite and his concubine, it s people. Ironically, in the Levite and his concubine story the people of Jabesh-Gilead are slaughtered; in the story of Saul, the people of Jabesh-gilead are saved: a nice reversal! 41

42 So, let me get this straight: the men of Jabesh-gilead didn t respond to the Levite s call, so as his concubine was cut to pieces, so will the people of Jabeshgilead be cut to pieces except for the young virgins, who will be given as wives to the 600 Benjaminites hiding at the crag of Rimmon. That s right. But there are only 400 virgins, and there are 600 men. We need 200 more virgins. So, where are we going to get them? 42

43 The elders of the assembly said, What shall we do for wives for the survivors? For the women of Benjamin have been annihilated. They said, There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel. Yet we cannot give them any of our daughters in marriage. For the Israelites had taken an oath, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin! Then they thought of the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah. And they instructed the Benjaminites, Go and set an ambush in the vineyards. When you see the women of Shiloh come out to join in the dances, come out of the vineyards and catch a wife for each of you from the women of Shiloh; then go on to the land of Benjamin... 43

44 When their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them, Release them to us as a kindness, since we did not take a woman for every man in battle. Nor did you yourselves give your daughters to them, thus incurring guilt. The Benjaminites did this; they carried off wives for each of them from the dancers they had seized, and they went back each to his own heritage, where they rebuilt the cities and settled them. At that time the Israelites dispersed from there for their own tribes and clans; they set out from there each to his own heritage. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own sight. (20: 36-47) 44

45 Sea of Galilee Beit-Shean è ç Jabesh-Gilead Shiloh è Bethel è Mizpah è Jebus è (Jerusalem) miles km

46 Where will we find 200 spare virgins? Ah, ha! The annual feast at Shiloh, about 10 miles north of Bethel, in the tribe of Ephraim. When the young virgins come out to dance, the Benjaminites will jump out of hiding, snatch a virgin, and scamper off back to Benjaminite territory! Oh, boy! And the Ephraimite men will say nothing, because they didn t break their vow by giving their daughters to a Benjaminite; the Benjaminite s stole them! 46

47 Benjaminites Taking the Women of Shiloh, Crusader Bible (illuminated manuscript, MS M.638, fol. 16v., top register) c J.P. Morgan Library, New York. 47

48 So, everyone walks away with a clean conscience! 48

49 That s not right! That s the point, my friend! 49

50 Ques>ons for discussion and thought 1. When the tribes answer the Levite s call and assemble at Mizpah, what is it they plan to do? 2. Why do the Benjaminites not join the assembly? 3. How does the war escalate from execu>ng the men of Gibeon who raped and murdered the Levite s concubine to extermina>ng the en>re tribe of Benjamin? 4. What are some of the many ironies in this story? 5. How do the Israelites get wives for the Benjaminites, since they have taken a vow to not give their daughters to a Benjaminite man? 50

51 Copyright 2016 by Logos Educa>onal Corpora>on All rights reserved. No part of this course audio, video, photography, maps, >melines or other media may be reproduced or transmised in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informa>on storage or retrieval devices without permission in wri>ng or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder. 51

EPILOGUE JUDGES 17:1-21:25

EPILOGUE JUDGES 17:1-21:25 335 Micah and his priest In these final chapters we see the country spiralling out of control, pointing to the need for a monarchy. Idolatry in Dan and degeneracy in Benjamin