Seder 42: Leaders from Ephraim and Manasseh

 In Genesis 34-50 Judah and Joseph emerge as leaders among the sons of Jacob.  In future generations, many leaders of Israel would come from those tribes.  

This was especially true of Judah, from whose tribe the Davidic dynasty would arise.  To a lesser extent this was also true of Joseph's descendants, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.  

Leaders from the tribes of Joseph included Joshua; judges Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, and Jephthah; and kings Jeroboam and Ahab.  In one chapter in her book Tribal Blueprints, Nechama Price discusses these leaders, exploring what character traits of Joseph might be evident in their lives.   

Joseph was often most comfortable in a second-in-command role, managing the affairs of Potiphar, the warden of Pharaoh''s prison, and later Pharaoh.  Similarly, Joshua served for forty years as Moses' assistant before taking over leadership of Israel.  

Joseph had a healthy amount of ambition that led to his attainment of positions of responsibility.  Some of his descendants were also ambitious, sometimes to such an extent that they would go to great lengths to cling to power.  Jeroboam comes to mind in this regard.  He set up idolatrous worship centers at Dan and Bethel and a new date for Sukkot in order to compete with the Temple at Jerusalem (1 Ki 12).  

Jeroboam was also following in the footsteps of Micah, an earlier Ephraimite who wanted to set up his own worship center (Judges 17).  

Sadly, there was rivalry between the two tribes of Joseph.  Gideon and Jephthah, leaders from the tribe of Manasseh, both had to contend with Ephraimites who wanted a greater military role (Judges 8:1-3; 12:1-7).  

Seder 18: Judges 8-9---Abimelech and the Short Duration of Gideon's Dynasty

 After God delivered Israel from the Midianites through Gideon's army, Gideon was asked to become a king (Judges 8:22).  Gideon declined, but his subsequent actions belied his words.  He had his men give him gold earrings from their booty as a pledge of loyalty, then used the gold to make an ephod that he draped over an idol.  Like a king, he was sponsoring worship.  (Gideon's behavior here also reminds us of the golden calf incident in Exodus 32.)    

Gideon also had a harem and fathered 70 sons (v 30), again acting like a king.  Perhaps he intended to found a dynasty, despite his denial in Judges 8:23.  The name of one of his sons, Abimelech ("the king was/is my father") suggests that Gideon was thought of as a king.

Abimelech had a Shechemite mother, and he took advantage of that fact to gain support for his leadership in Shechem.  After having all but one of his half-brothers killed, he was declared king in Shechem (9:1-6).  The place where this slaughter took place could have been something like this ancient altar for Baal Berith, the local god at Shechem.  

Gideon's other surviving son, Jotham, condemned Abimelech from the top of Mount Gerizim.  He told a clever fable that pictured the trees looking for a king from among their ranks.  The olive tree, fig tree, and grapevine declined.  They were too busy making productive contributions.  The trees then asked the worthless bramble (v 14), who wasn't sure that their request was sincere and hoped they would be destroyed if it wasn't.  After telling this fable, Jotham expressed the hope that Abimelech and the Shechemites would destroy each other as a punishment for their treachery (vv 16-20). 

Within a few years, Jotham's curse came to pass.  A man name Gaal arose as a rival for Abimelech, apparently claiming to be a descendant of the ancient rulers of Shechem.  (This seems to be another example where the Israelites did not complete the expulsion of the Canaanites and suffered the consequences.)  Abimelech defeated Gaal and went on to kill many in Shechem.  But he was himself killed in battle.  After executing his brothers on one stone, he was killed by a stone thrown from a tower.  

The book of Judges shows God's faithfulness to Israel despite their frequent apostasy.  Commentator Daniel Block says that the book describes the "Canaanization of Israel."  In Gideon and Abimelech, they had leaders who were much like Canaanite rulers.  

Seder 14: Genesis 16---Setting the Record Straight on Ishmael

 In their book Urban Legends of the Old Testament, David Croteau and Gary Yates discuss 40 common misconceptions about biblical passages.  One of the misconceptions they address is the idea that today's Middle East conflicts have their roots in strife within Abraham's family, and that today's jihadists are motivated by a "spirit of Ishmael."  

To our ears, the angel of the Lord's prophecy about Ishmael in Genesis 16:12---"He shall be a wild donkey of a man:---does not sound like a blessing.  However, Croteau and Yates point out that it is similar to Jacob's blessings for the tribes of Israel recorded in Geneis 49.  There, for example, Judah is compared to a lion's cub, Issachar to a strong donkey, Dan to a serpent, and Benjamin to  a "ravenous wolf."  The imagery of the wild donkey probably connotes independence and strength.  The descendants of Ishmael would not be city dwellers, but desert nomads, not following other people's rules.  Hagar was a slave, but her children would not be anybody's slaves.  

Certainly there was friction between Sarah and Hagar, leading to a parting of the ways (Gen 21), but there are also indications that Abraham and Isaac maintained a close relationship with Hagar and Ishmael.  For example, Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury their father (Ge 25:9-10).  

A certain amount of conflict between Israel and Ishmaelites is mentioned in the Bible.  It was to Ishmaelite traders that Joseph was sold (Ge 37:28), although of course it was Joseph's brothers who were responsible for the sale.  Gideon's forces did battle with some Ishmaelites (Jdg 8:24).  And Ishmaelites are among the antagonists enumerated in Psalm 83 (see verse 6).  But in the end there will be a coming together of Israel and Ishmael in the messianic kingdom (Isa 60:6-8).  

Seder 129: Numbers 32 and Joshua 22---the Transjordan Tribes

 The tribes of Israel had worked in unity in carrying out God's judgment upon Midian in Numbers 31.  But that unity was soon put in jeopardy by a request from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who requested that their tribes be allowed to claim territory east of the Jordan in the land Israel had already conquered (Num 32:1-5).  "Do not take us over the Jordan," they asked Moses.  

Moses responded with a stern reprimand, recalling what had happened 38 years before, when 10 of the spies sent to report on the conditions in Canaan discouraged the Israelites from wanting to claim the Promised Land (vv 6-15).  Moses felt the request from these two tribes had the potential to create similar conditions.  

Some commentators have seen Moses' reaction as further evidence that he was not the one who would be able to lead the second generation of the Exodus across the Jordan.  When he looked at this younger generation, all he saw was their parents.  

On the other hand, it can also be said that Moses was reminding the Israelites of important lessons from their history.  The tribes would have to work in unity to succeed in conquering Canaan.

The Reubenites and Gadites responded by offering to lead the way in the effort to claim the land west of the Jordan (vv 16-19).

Moses was receptive to their offer, but he had some additional correction to give, perhaps sensing an attitude of greed or materialism in their proposals.  The tribes of Reuben and Gad said that they were "ready to go before the people of Israel" (v 16).  Moses reminded them that this was a divine mission that they would be carrying out "before the Lord" (vv 20-22).  They would need to be sure to follow through on their proposal and do their part fo further that divine mission.

Some also see significance in the way in which the two tribes stated their proposal.  They said, "We will build sheepfolds for our livestock, and cities for our little ones" (v 16).  When Moses answered them, he said, "Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep" (v 24), reversing the order in which these two tasks were stated.  Was he charging that the Reubenites and Gadites had their priorities wrong, valuing their flocks over the welfare of their families?  

An agreement was reached, and these two tribes, along with half of the tribe of Manasseh, would receive land east of the Jordan. 

A few months later Joshua reminded the tribes of Reuben and Gad of their promise (Joshua 1:12-18), and these tribes did honor their commitment.  Still, the Israelites would face challenges  in trying to attain and maintain unity with the Jordan running through the middle of their territory.  

Some mutual distrust is already evident in Joshua 22, when the tribes of Reuben and Gad depart to go back across the Jordan.  These tribes were afraid that future generations of Israel would treat their tribes as outsiders.  To remind the other tribes of their shared commitment to the God of Israel, they built a large memorial in the form of an altar near the river (Joshua 22:10).  

The other tribes questioned the motives of Reuben and Gad.  Why did they want to live on the other side of the Jordan?  Were they planning to set up a competing worship site, contrary to God's instruction?  Were they planning to worship other gods?  Fortunately, representatives of the tribes met to talk things over, and misunderstandings were cleared up.  

Later on, there were times when the commitment of the trans-Jordan tribes to the rest of the nation seemed to be lacking (Judges 5:15-17, 8:6; 21).  There is a tradition that these tribes were the first to face exile because of such a lack of commitment.