Understanding the Bible: Old and New Testaments (eBook)

Chapter 3:
Leviticus and Judges

Before the book of Judges, there is the book of Leviticus. Nearly half of the six hundred commandments in the Torah have their basis in the book of Leviticus. The first two chapters of Leviticus describe the sacrificial system in the Jerusalem Temple.

Book of Leviticus

Most scholars agree that the book was probably put in its final form after the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. Leviticus’ list of sacrifices is a catalog of codes written after centuries of practice, not just directives about how the temples were to be run.

The sacrifices fall into five categories. The first is the burnt offerings. In Hebrew, it’s the olah. It is an offering to symbolize one’s devotion to God. The second offering is of grain. In Hebrew, it’s called Minhad. Today, the Minhad is still the name in Judaism for afternoon prayers.

The next offering is called the Shalom. This can be translated as a peace offering, but some Bibles translate it as a communion sacrifice. There is also a purification offering and reparation offering. Both are for unintentional sins. Only the Day of Atonement deals with intentional sins that a person later comes to regret.

Much of the ancient world had a concept of purity and impurity.

This is not the same as good and evil. Uncleanliness is not a malevolent quality as much as it is an aesthetic one. This is why many religions have ritual washings. There is a great deal of ceremonial washing in Judaism and before prayers in Islam. There are also laws about kosher foods. Some foods are acceptable and some are not. For instance, pigs and camels were considered to be unclean.

The Day of Atonement

Right in the middle of the book of Leviticus is the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur. There’s some debate about how the Day of Atonement became part of the Israelite calendar, but there are some elements that seem very old. It is complicated to follow what is actually happening in the text. In the beginning of the festival, the high priest (Aaron) sacrifices a bull for the sins of his people. Then, he enters into the holy synagogue containing the tablets of the Law. Verse 7 says: “Aaron shall present a gift as an offering of purification.”

A first goat is slaughtered in order to atone for those who have committed intentional sins. But there are two sacrificial goats, one of which is left alive so that God may make atonement by sending it off into the desert. Verse 16 reveals: “God shall purge the inner sanctuary of all the Israelites’ impurities and trespasses, including all their sins.” So the second goat is offered to remove the people’s sins and impurities.

In verse 20, it is noted: “Aaron will have the goat led into the wilderness by an attendant and it will carry off all their iniquities to an isolated region.” Purportedly, the goat was sent off to Azazel in the desert, which is translated from Hebrew as escape-goat, or scapegoat. That is where the term came from.

The Book of Leviticus sets out ways the Israelites were to live as God’s people, including the methods and modes of worship, as well as the ways to preserve holiness by avoiding uncleanliness. And it provides a yearly means for the nation to renew its ritual connection to God.

Books of Joshua and Judges

The books of Joshua and Judges allow us the opportunity to see how the Old Testament relates to the history of ancient Israel, as archaeologist have reconstructed it. The Book of Joshua gives an account of how Israel came to be in the land of Canaan about 1250 BCE. This model endorsed a view that there was a military con-quest by the Jewish people. Today, few biblical scholars accept this hypothesis. The reason: the cities Joshua was said to have conquered didn’t exist at the time, like Jericho.

Drawing on the Book of Judges, late 20th century archaeologists began to believe that a peaceful migration of nomadic Israelites crossed the Jordon River into the land of Canaan and settled down. But most Israelites were originally Canaanites or people who had lived alongside the Canaanites for some time. These people brought with them the worship of Yahweh (God).

Ethnicity

Long ago, scholars gave up any notions of ethnicity meaning genealogical affiliation. It’s not necessary to share DNA to be part of an ethnic group. Early non-biological discussions of ethnicity focused on trait lists. In other words, an ethnic group is all the people who share certain traits, such as styles of dress or pottery. The problem with this is that some clearly ethnic groups do not meet these qualifications, while other sociological groups (such as workers societies) could be called ethnic groups. But archaeologists now agree that ethnicity is self-defined, so it’s a subjective category.

Canaanite Communities

Before 1200 BCE, during the Late Bronze Age, all of Canaan was ruled by Egypt. Then, different groups expanded throughout the region, generally getting along with each other. In the Canaanite communities, town mayors became independent kings. They had control of the coastal highway route up to Jerusalem, which remained a Canaanite city. They did not call the city Jerusalem during this period. They called it Jebus.

The entire area from Jerusalem almost to Jenin, which is the northern half of the modern West Bank, was dotted with small villages belonging to the Israelites in the Early Iron Age. That’s what the archaeology tell us, and it’s the background for all the Books of Judges.

Book of Judges

The book of Judges starts in 2:11 with Israelites prostrating themselves before other gods, which the text calls: “Doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight.” This was followed by God’s anger, which is seen in verse 13: “Because they abandoned the Lord, the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel. They were no longer able to withstand their enemies. “Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord turned against them.”

Then, when the people of Israel cried out, God decided to raise up a charismatic leader (or judge) who would free them. But the people reverted back to idolatry when the judge (Othniel) died. Subsequent judges become increasingly engaged in questionable behaviors themselves. So God sent a prophet, whose role was to remind the Israelites that crying out was not itself repentance. However, God eventually sends Gideon as the next judge, and this set in motion the Israeli military reform.

Gideon

Gideon uses one means after another to verify beyond question that God will provide him with the necessary power to overcome oppressors. Gideon forms an army and leads it off to face the enemy. He conquers the Midians and is asked to rule in Israel. But Gideon goes on to ask for a large amount of gold, and he builds idolatrous objects of worship. The second half of chapter 7 says that Gideon turned his people to a new sort of idolatry, leading them to worship the exact opposite of what a judge is supposed to do.

In chapter 9, the story leads to Gideon’s son, Abimelech. His name means “my father is king.” Abimelech makes himself king upon his father’s death. He has none of Gideon’s good qualities and all of his bad qualities, especially repeating his military overreactions. The basic story of Abimelech is that the town of Shechem makes Abimelech king, but quickly turns against him. Abimelech and his gang destroy most of the city, along with its ruling class. However, Abimelech himself is then killed on a campaign further north.

The overall Gideon-Abimelech narrative is a magnifying glass on infidelity to God, as Abimelech has all of his brothers killed. When the people finally turn against Abimelech, it leads to an increase in civil strife. Chapter 10 describes God handing Israel over to its enemies, the Ammonites.

Jephthah

In chapter 11, God raises Jephthah as a judge. In Judges 11:12, Jephthah tries diplomacy with the Ammonites to obtain a piece of land that was claimed by Israel. In chapter 12, Jephthah makes a vow to the Lord to offer his daughter as a sacrifice if He gets what he wants. The obedient daughter replies: “Father, you have made a vow to the Lord. Do with me as you have vowed because the Lord has taken vengeance for you against your enemies the Ammonites.” This episodes concludes with: “He did with her as he vowed.”

Most Christian and Jewish scholars interpret this incident as an actual killing. The 4th century Christian writer St. Augustine said that Jephthah should never have made a vow like that in the first place. However, St. Augustine went on to praise Jephthah for keeping the vow. Other theologians, Christian and Jewish, consider the vow and its fulfillment to be reprehensible.

Samson

Chapter 13 of Judges opens with Israel again under foreign oppression by the Philistines, who are ruling along the Mediterranean coast of Canaan. Samson is called by God to be a judge, but the rabbis can’t decide if he’s good or bad because he is a womanizer. So, to prove himself, Samson goes south and kills one thousand Philistines.

In chapter 16, Samson meets Delilah. She cajoles him into revealing the source of his strength. With every answer he gives, she attempts to remove his strength and have him captured. In the usual reading of the story, he finally admits...