Lecture #7: Judges through Elijah/Elisha & Introduction to Prophecy

Course: Old Testament

Lecture #7: Judges through Elijah/Elisha & Introduction to Prophecy

• As mentioned last time, the conquest took place over several generations and the Israelites basically settled in the hill country where others did not live.
• The reason they could do this was the technology of the cistern had just been developed so they did not have to rely on rainfall exclusively for their water supply.
• Four room houses, no pig bones, stone water jars that retained the ritual purity of Jewish law. These are found throughout the hill country of both Judea and Galilee – areas not occupied before ~ 1200 BCE – late Bronze age.
  
  
• There are at least 15 tribes listed as settling the land, but because of this magic number 12 that is all that is mentioned in the count.
• For about 200 years, the tribes were ruled by judges, that is, those who came to the aid of the people when war was imminent.
• The book of Judges (edited by D) would have us believe that the judges were over all Israel, however, this was not the case.
• A hero (or as in the case of Deborah, a heroine) would arise and lead one or two tribes against the enemy as needed.
• The Song of Deborah [Read], found in chap 5 of Judges, is the oldest remaining fragment of Hebrew literature.
• It celebrates her victory over Canaanites in the north. written about her, not by her.
• She not only led in battle, but judged disputes as well.
• Around 1100 BCE the Philistines arrived on the coast of Palestine.
• These were Greek, seafaring peoples with Iron technology.
• Their invasion caused the tribe of Dan to migrate to the north.
• It is fighting the Philistines that gave Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan, a cycle of stories.
• His stories don't fit the pattern of the others, and in fact there is reason to believe that the Hercules stories were modified and Samson plugged in as the hero.
• The difference between him and the other judges is that he fought more for personal reasons and glory, rather than national or tribal.
  
  
• Gideon (Jud 6:1-8;35), the last I shall mention, is known as the Judge from the tribe of Manassas (one of the Joseph tribes) who defeated the Midianites. - (the sign of the fleece – Judges 6:36-40)
• This is the first mention of camels being domesticated, and it was by the Midianites (Jud 6:5). They were not all that tame, so smoke and fire spooked them and Gideon won the battle. (Jud 7:19-23)
• It was Gideon's half Canaanite son who tried to set himself up as the first king over Israel. (Jud 9:1-57) (Note: only Fable in Bible is Jud 9:7-15)
• When Gideon refused to accept being king saying it was the Lord who would rule over them, his son Abimelech slayed all 70 of his brothers and ruled over them for 3 years when a rebellion broke out.
• He was killed when a woman dropped a millstone on his head, but he asked his armor bearer to finish him since he didn't want the humiliation of having people say a woman killed him. (Jud 9:52-54)
• Although the Shechem experiment in monarchy failed, it was a portent of things to come.

Saul

• Was a prophet and a judge before he was anointed king by Samuel.
• Samuel was considered the last great judge, and also a prophet.
• Saul was anointed as king in 1020 BCE, but it was not over all Israel by any means.
• He was from the tribe of Benjamin and basically a leader in battle.
  
  
• This is where the northern E source has Samuel make a speech about how terrible it will be with a king, looking back to Solomon undoubtedly (I Sam 8:1-22)
• In the very next chapter (I Sam 9:1-10:16) the earlier, pro-king J source is used by the Deuteronomic editor.
  
  
• keep in mind that all the material from Judges thru II Kings was edited by D with his neat pattern of obedience to YHWH leads to welfare and peace; disobedience leads to hardship and defeat
• The Deuteronomic historian attempted to emphasize the central truth that Israel's vitality and solidarity lay in a united, exclusive loyalty to YHWH.
  
  
• Back to Saul. he never won any substantial victories over the Philistines as had been hoped, but he did win some important victories over the tribes attempting to come in from the east.

David

• David replaced Saul and was anointed king in 1000 BCE. The stories of Saul's jealousy I won't cover except to say that while David was fleeing from Saul and lived with the Philistines as a mercenary for some time, he learned the technology of working Iron which he brought back to Israel with him.
• David was a brilliant war leader.
• He captured Jerusalem (previously known as Salem), which up till then was Jebusite, another Canaanite sub-group.
• He made his capital there because it was on neutral ground between the northern tribes and the southern tribe of Judah (to which David belonged.)
• He brought the ark to Jerusalem and tried to centralize worship there. (II Sam 6:1-19 – read).
• His tactics fighting the philistines were so good that in 1948 CE when the Israelis were fighting the Arabs and Palestinians, they used the same tactics with the same results.
• David unified the country and extended the borders to about 5 times what they are even now with the occupied territories. He didn't destroy the Philistines but put them in a subservient position.

Succession problems

• Before David there was no hereditary position in the tribe but rather leaders would come forth as needed.
• David's children vied for the position as king and, unfortunately, Absolum, the most qualified, rebelled too soon and was killed
  
  
• Solomon was put on the throne, thanks to his mother (Bathsheba) and some military help in a palace coup.
• The writer of the Jawist document was probably an eyewitness but was on the wrong side of the coup, however, very pro royalty.
• the tradition of Solomon's wisdom was not because he was wise, but it was expected of royalty at this time and he had the wealth to collect proverbs and wise men around him
• He was not wise at all

He broke the tribes up into administrative districts (I Kings 4:7-19) which was like breaking up the states in this country.

He introduced taxes and public work programs including forced labor, which were not popular (I Kings 9:15-22)

Because he controlled all the land routes over the fertile crescent, he shipped as far as Southern Arabia and India. (I Kings 10:22-29)

Egypt was regaining strength and after Solomon's death in 922 the Northern 10 tribes had Egypt's support. s support. (I Kings 14:25-28)

The Divided Kingdom

• With Solomon's death the battle of succession ended up with one son, Rehoboam ruling Judah (and Benjamin, the smallest tribe, which Judah had to hang onto in order to hold Jerusalem.).
• Jeroboam I, in a revolutionary movement, took the other ten tribes and was proclaimed king over them.
• Jeroboam, an Ephraimite--a northerner-- had originally been Solomon's taskmaster over forced labor in the north (I Kings 11:26-28)
• From here on, the northern 10 tribes are known as Israel as distinguished from Judah, that acknowledged allegiance to the Davidic dynasty.
• There was border warfare for years and the North dominated the South as it was larger, more urban and prosperous and held all the important trade routes, while the south could easily be cut off.
• Judah was essentially confined to the hills with no significant trade routes or, luckily for them, invasion routes.
  
  
• Omri was such a strong king in the North that Assyria called Israel "the land of Omri". He was the strongest king since David for either nation.
• Ahab was also a strong king, but E's concern with prophecy means it misses most of the glory of Omri and Ahab, though the prophets support them.
• The north had a high percentage of Canaanite population, which led to problems of apostasy.

Intro to Prophecy in Ancient Near East

• Nearly all the religions of the world have had and do have their inspired speakers who claim to pronounce in the name of the God
• This was true of Israel's neighbors, for example – a case of prophetic ecstasy was reported at Byblos in the 9th century BCE.
• Seers and prophets are attested at Hama on the Orontes in the 8th century BCE and several times at Mari on the Euphrates in the 18th century BCE.
• There were many bands of these prophets, as for ex., those of Baal who confronted Elijah. and were in touch with Elisha
• There is an allusion in Amos 7:14 to their using music and it is also recorded that Elisha himself on one occasion resorted to music before prophesying (2 Kings 3:15)
• There were times that the prophets resorted to symbolic actions and that their behavior at times was abnormal (as was their psychological state,) but these times were incidental to the proper mission of the prophets and are sharply distinguished from the confraternities of other ancient prophetic groups.
• Nevertheless, they are called by the same name, Nabi the word means "to be beside oneself" but this is the secondary use of the word and is more likely connected to the root which means "to call" or “to Proclaim" so the Nabi is "he (or she) who is called or who proclaims.”
• the prophet is always aware that their message is from God introducing their message with words such as "YHWH declares" or this is the word or the Lord"
• Call at some point each prophet receives a call. some more spectacular than others. The price of eluding the vocation is seen in the story of Jonah.
  
  
• These men and women were to be signs of the divine in their own person. For it isn't the words they speak and the actions they perform that tell of God but their whole lives.
• Hosea's unhappy marriage is a symbol of YHWH;s relationship with Israel.
• Isaiah walks naked for a portent and he with his children are signs and portents (Is 8:18) etc.
  
  
• The divine message comes in various ways.
• By vision (Is 6, Ezk 1, 2, 8; Zc 1-6) but rarely by night. Comes by hearing, but most often by internal inspiration thus the formula "the word of YHWH came to me" sometimes it comes quite unexpectedly, sometimes occasioned by some quite ordinary circumstance like the sight of an almond branch (Jr 1:11) or a visit to the potter’s workshop (Jer 18:1-4).
  
  
• To convey the message there were various methods used as well
• Lyrical fragments, prose narratives, in parable or direct speech, curt oracular style or the various literary forms of exhortation, diatribe, sermon, proverb, formal psalms, love songs, satire, funeral lament, etc.
• The way the message was delivered was often based on individual temperament.
• Yet beneath the variety of both reception and transmission of the divine message there is something they all have in common.
• The genuine prophet is aware that he is a mouthpiece, no more; the words, though his or her own, are not his own. The prophet has no doubt that the word of God has come to him/her and that they must pass it on to others.
• It is important to notice that the prophet, like the mystic, is raised to a 'supernormal psychological state by this divine intervention. to deny this would be to reduce the prophet to the rank of poet or to credit him with the illusions of misguided visionaries.
  
  
• The prophet rarely addresses his message to a single person, or if he does it is with others in view, like the king, who represents the nation
• Thus, Nathan addressed David, Elijah addressed Ahab, etc.
• In spite of these exceptions, what distinguishes the great prophets whose works have been preserved to us from their predecessors in Israel and analogous figures in the middle east, is that their message is addressed to the whole nation. or in Jeremiah's case to all nations.
• Message relates to both the present and the future. The mission of the prophet is to the people of his/her own time, but in so far as he/she declares the mind of God they stand beyond time and the preaching is supported and continued by the fulfillment of the predictions they make.
• Since the prophet is, however, an instrument of God and no more, the message may exceed the bounds of its historical context and even of his own appreciation; the message may remain veiled in mystery until the future explains its significance by fulfilling it.
  
  
• There are two aspects to the message: Threat & Consolation
• Jerimiah was sent "to uproot and to knock down, to build and to plant.” Severity comes to be a sign that a prophet is genuine.
• This is because the true prophet is haunted by the idea of sin, the obstacle to the will of God.
• In God's dealing with his people, pardon and punishment are complementary.
  
  
• To sum up, the nature of the prophetic function has to be deduced from a variety of facts and of texts, but from these emerges this fundamental idea: the prophet is one who has an immediate experience of God; he is one to whom the holiness and will of God have been revealed; he contemplates present and future thru the eyes of God; they are sent to remind humans of their duty to God and to bring them back to obedience and love.
• Prophecy thus understood, and despite the similarities which may be traced with phenomena characteristic of other religions and among neighboring peoples, is a thing peculiar to Israel, a providential instrument of God for the guidance of God’s chosen people.

The 9th Century Prophets

• These stories run from I King 17 – II King 10 and are mainly from the E (Ephramite) source.
• These are the non-writing prophets with much legend attached to them including miracle stories, resurrection stories, fertility stories (Baal vs YHWH who sends the rain), confrontation stories, etc.
  
  
• Elijah – his most famous confrontation was with the priests of Baal on Mt. Carmel in which Elijah's offering is consumed with fire from heaven after the priests of Baal have tried all day to get Baal to take their offering. (Read: I King 18: 20-40)
  
  
• What's the meaning?
• Elijah is saying you can't sit on the fence and have a different god for each activity.
• Religion is a means of binding together fragments of human activity. Elijah says religion gives a wholeness to our lives, a depth structure, while Israel was allowing religion to externalize their activities.
• Religion determines national identity. a nation is more than a collection of individuals. If Israel takes the covenant seriously, then it has a part in God's overall plan which will give an independence from events or pragmatic attitudes to guide response.

Nature Becomes Creature Rather Than Deity

• Elijah is showing that nature has no divine quality in and of itself.
• Theology of Ecology the ancients worshiped nature for itself, Elijah says no.
• If God is the creator of nature, then humans don't have freedom to use or misuse it as they choose. etc.
• We must be responsible to God for everything we do or eat, etc.
• Nature and humans are partners as creatures – must have respect for nature because it is a co-worker with us. we're in the same boat so must have a reciprocal relationship
• Also, humans are not to be slaves of nature. The human world is in competition for land, resources, etc. and have an equal, but not superseding claim.
• Elijah fomented a religious revolt which ended in Ahab's and Jezebel's death, as well as the death of the priests and worshipers of Baal.
• This brought about a great weakness in the northern kingdom and instability as well.
• The north did have greater differences of wealth and a much stronger Canaanite influence.
• Elisha took the mantle of Elijah (II Kings 1:9 - Begins Elisha cycle). When Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot and many of the stories about him are similar. (II Kg 2:1-25)
• The bulk of E appears to have been written before the beginning of the first writing prophets under Jeroboam II (786-746).
• During the last half of his reign we begin getting the writing prophets, beginning with Amos.