Chapter 4
After crossing the river, Joshua takes some stones and builds a memorial cairn. Then they start preparing to invade Jericho. The army, which had numbered some 600 000 in Numbers, is now down to 40 000. Remember that the count was the same at the end of the book. So did some 560 000 people opt out of the army for the draft exemptions given before (newlyweds, first-year farmers, new houses or plain old fear)?
Chapter 5
Among the many things you can do to prepare an army for war, circumcision must rank near the bottom. Nevertheless, that's what Joshua stops now and does. The place was named 'Hill of Foreskins.' It has a lovely ring to it, doesn't it? I should definitely seek it out for a picnic if I ever travel to Israel. Then they stay awhile to heal, and are not attacked by the Amorites, and celebrate Passover. The manna ceases, as they can now eat the corn of Canaan.
Joshua looks up one day and sees a man standing over him with a sword. Of course Jerry Falwell thinks this is Jesus. Joshua asks him if he's a friend or foe, and he says he's a messenger from god. His message: take off your shoe.
Chapter 6
Jericho shuts the gates and prepares for a siege that never comes. Instead, once a day for six days, the Israelite army circles the walls. On the seventh day the priests go around it with the ark seven times. Then they blow the horn and the walls fall down. Rahab is spared, and all the gold, silver, brass and iron is kept for god. Everything else, down to the asses, is destroyed. Joshua orders them not to rebuild, even though Jericho still exists.
Showing posts with label Rahab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rahab. Show all posts
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Joshua, Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1
God starts talking to Joshua, now that Moses is dead. The Israelites are to invade Canaan in 3 days' time. Meanwhile, Joshua is to spend those days reading the Torah and absorbing its laws.
Chapter 2
Joshua sends two spies into Canaan, and in the grand tradition of dudes on vacation, they go to a whorehouse. This isn't just any old whore, though, this is Rahab, an ancestor of King David and Jesus. So that makes two Canaanite prostitutes in the Messianic line. So much for all those laws in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy about mixing with the heathens and not visiting hookers.
Clearly, Rahab's place is well known, because pretty soon the king of Jericho comes along and demands she turn them over. She lies, which again, is condemned, and says they left, but really they're on the roof. After they leave, she comes up to them and explains that she has heard about all the great deeds the Israelite god has done for them (when, exactly? They've been wandering around in the desert telling stories for 40 years, not making conquests) and asks them to ask god to spare her and her family when they take over. They agree. She lets them out onto the city wall, which she lives on, and advises them to go and hide on the mountain for three days. They tell her that if she keeps their secret, they won't harm her or her family. They give her a piece of red thread and tell her to gather her family inside the house and hang the thread out the window. They won't harm anyone inside.
Huh. The prostitutes' union in the Netherlands is called 'De Rode Draad', or in English 'The Red Thread.' Now I know where that comes from.
Chapter 3
Time to cross the Jordan! First, 12 men have to stand in the river, which will cause it to stop flowing. Then the priests have to go through with the Ark of the Covenant, then the rest of the Israelites. Yup, it's that exciting!
God starts talking to Joshua, now that Moses is dead. The Israelites are to invade Canaan in 3 days' time. Meanwhile, Joshua is to spend those days reading the Torah and absorbing its laws.
Chapter 2
Joshua sends two spies into Canaan, and in the grand tradition of dudes on vacation, they go to a whorehouse. This isn't just any old whore, though, this is Rahab, an ancestor of King David and Jesus. So that makes two Canaanite prostitutes in the Messianic line. So much for all those laws in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy about mixing with the heathens and not visiting hookers.
Clearly, Rahab's place is well known, because pretty soon the king of Jericho comes along and demands she turn them over. She lies, which again, is condemned, and says they left, but really they're on the roof. After they leave, she comes up to them and explains that she has heard about all the great deeds the Israelite god has done for them (when, exactly? They've been wandering around in the desert telling stories for 40 years, not making conquests) and asks them to ask god to spare her and her family when they take over. They agree. She lets them out onto the city wall, which she lives on, and advises them to go and hide on the mountain for three days. They tell her that if she keeps their secret, they won't harm her or her family. They give her a piece of red thread and tell her to gather her family inside the house and hang the thread out the window. They won't harm anyone inside.
Huh. The prostitutes' union in the Netherlands is called 'De Rode Draad', or in English 'The Red Thread.' Now I know where that comes from.
Chapter 3
Time to cross the Jordan! First, 12 men have to stand in the river, which will cause it to stop flowing. Then the priests have to go through with the Ark of the Covenant, then the rest of the Israelites. Yup, it's that exciting!
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