While browsing through some of my files on my hd, I found this little post I had been working on.  It seems complete for the most part, but for that matter I’m not sure in what direction I was planning on taking it or how much more if any I was going to add to it…  Anyways felt I needed to update with something so, here it is.

Judith’s Achior:

“Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him, “May my lord please listen to a report from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth about this people that lives in the mountain district near you. No falsehood shall come from your servant’s mouth.” – Judith 5.5 NRSV

Within the Book of Judith we find a slew of fascinating characters, from the Jael like Judith to the pagan known as Achior.  Dumm describes as playing something of the “good pagan,” Achior is the one who tells the general the ancient history of the Israelites[1] .

Concerning Achior’s name firstly one should note Moore’s words “The Original form of this name is much debated.”  Of the suggestions of how Achior’s name ought to be one is Ahihud (a name appearing in Numbers 34.27) on the basis of the LXX and assuming a confusion of רs and דs[2].  Others would render it as אחיאור, something like “Light my (divine) brother,” which could refer to the Sun God = Light and perhaps Sun God = Yahweh (see Psalm 19), still others see the name as a corrupted form of “Ahikar[3].”

The last option is particular intriguing since Ahikar also influence the book of Tobit, as Tobit is connected to the famous sage, noting Tobit 1.22 “Ahikar interceded for me, and I returned to Nineveh. Now Ahikar was chief cupbearer, keeper of the signet, and in charge of administration of the accounts under King Sennacherib of Assyria; so Esar-haddon reappointed him. He was my nephew and so a close relative.”  In Tobit the famous sage (who is not originally Jewish) becomes the nephew of the faithful Tobit.  In way it seems easy then to have Ahikar again transformed from his roots now in Judith as wise man among the the Ammonites (and who later becomes a Jew).

Of course one could point at some problems such as Ahikar’s nationally is not Achior’s, the former was a wise man, an advisor while the latter is a military general[4].  Still the possible connection is indeed intriguing (since it seems that Ahikar seemed to fascinate the Hebrew people in general), and to see another transformation of the character is always a fun little treat.

- Le Belle Inconnu

[2] Commentary on the Apocrypha of the Old Testament, ed. Robert Henry Charles (Bellingham, WA). 1:252.

[3] Carey A. Moore, Judith: A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008). 158.

[4] Moore 162

“Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”  And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”  And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.” – Judges 6.36-40

Gideon within the previous part of the narrative was approached by Yahweh’s messenger and called to be a deliverer and within the same day he was also given a task, that was to destroy the altar to Baal.  Something which Gideon did in secrecy of night.  Within the next movement of the story, we find that Gideon is quickly found out and pushed closer to his task of delivering his people, from their oppressors all the while testing God again and again.  Within this portion while we may see a leader who may seem a little wishy-washy, we see a God who is has extreme power over all things, notably the dew of nature here.

So while Gideon may not still seem the perfect candidate to be a part of God’s chosen leaders, we still see that we can faith in God, though it may not seem like it.

“When the men of the town rose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built.  And they said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” And after they had searched and inquired, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”  Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.”  But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been broken down.”  Therefore on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he broke down his altar.” – Judges 6.28-32

Despite Gideon doing all of his work in secret it doesn’t take long for him to be found out.  For we found out quickly that the men of the town woke up early, and found out the deed that had been done, and then as we see within a few sentences later, already know who has done it[1].

We see twice in this verse, the phrase “this thing”, “thing” comes from the Hebrew word dābār, which has the idea of a word to thing, including an action, thus a “deed,” it is repeated twice here, to be “emphasized”, but also for “effect[2].”  The people of the town are angry and it is because Gideon has just destroyed what to them meant hope for “prosperity and fertility[3].”  After all if one remembers they were indeed already experiencing great hardship due to their oppressors, and sadly since they had put their trust in the wrong things, which were now destroyed, their hope was failing.

As a side note, there are two idols mentioned within this passage, Baal and Asherah, both of whom were rather important gods of the Canaanite pantheon.  There has been debate over what exactly the Asherah was, it seems to be a “wooden pole,” “tree,” or “an idol,” the object, whatever it was signified the goddess.  The goddess seems to be equated the Athirat, who was consort of El, and the Mother Goddess so to speak[4].  Some wonder if at times the Israelites in their syncretism of Yahweh placed Asherah in that position.  Baal is the Storm god, and was the go to god when one needed help with their crops, he would seem to be equated with Hadad, a well known Middle Eastern Strom God, with Baal perhaps being only a title[5]. (Ba’al means lord in Hebrew).

In a way in verse thirty we see why Gideon was afraid, for the townsfolk upon seeing the destruction of their religious item, were angered enough to kill him, in a sad way it reveals how far the people have moved away from Yahweh, for they would kill Gideon, for the destruction of a false idol, instead of praising him for upholding the true God[6].

Joash refuses to allow the townspeople to bring any harm upon his son, something which shows that though the people might be bad, they aren’t as bad as the actions of another judge[7].  Joash begins to ask certain questions, to defend his son’s life, and although he may be seen as “confident [in] that Baal can take care of himself,” he does bring up a good point[8].  Joash makes a theological statement of sorts, namely, if Baal was a God, then he would be able to defend his own name, note though, Joash doesn’t say that Baal isn’t a god, but does begin to question, moreover one could note that Joash has now distanced himself from the altar, whereas in 6.25, Yahweh said it was Gideon’s “father’s” altar, here, it is Baal altar.  As one reads this, one might really ponder, why should a man defend his a god’s honor, need to save his own god, rather it would seem a good god could defend his own honor, and save himself[9].

Gideon is given another name, Jerubaal, but ironically, Gideon might have tore down an altar, but he really didn’t challenge Baal, Joash, the idol’s owner did[10].  Yet on another note it be might be stated, that Gideon has here, also ironically earned himself a name after another god, Baal, for doing the work of Yahweh.  Moreover the ironies abound in his name, for while Gideon contended more so not with Baal, but Yahweh’s angel[11].  Still, one can note, despite all this that it does bring to heart again, that Baal couldn’t defend his own name, even against Gideon, who was if anything a “timid contender,” and thus as Yahweh moves into action in the latter part of the narrative, it begs the question of why the Israelites would want to place their trust in this idol[12]?

When Gideon destroyed the altar, in a way he called Baal to action, but no action came from the idol.  So often we can put out faith into a bunch of different things.  We make our own Baals and Asherahs easily.  But the fact of the matter is that Yahweh is the only one who we out to place out faith in.  Moreover, while Baal couldn’t lift a finger to do anything, we know that Yahweh moves and does act.  He acts to the point that Jesus came to this earth as our savior.  When the things that we place our trust in, prove to be the wrong things, we can realize that we do have a real God whom we can place our trust in and in whom it will not be shattered.

“Now  all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in  the Valley of Jezreel.  But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.  And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him.  And he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.” – Judges 6.33-35

Verse thirty-three begins and we once again reminded of the various oppressors which had been harming the Israelites.  There re-mention, reminds us of the predicament the Israelites were in, but also tells us of the “gravity of the situation,” which they were facing[13].  The Oppressors have taken their place in a rather strategic spot, one which is seen in other battles, one could note 1 Samuel 29, but also Yahweh makes mention in Hosea 1.5[14] that “And on that day  I will break the bow of Israel  in the Valley of Jezreel.””  Moreover the enemy isn’t just coming closer; they are within the very “heart,” of the territory of Manasseh and are a stone’s throw away from Gideon’s own city.  Things, are indeed looking grim at this point[15].

While other judges, namely Othniel, Jephthah, and Samson all have interactions with the Spirit of Yahweh, Gideon is the only one said to be “clothed,” by it.  Othniel for instances it is said in Judges 3.10 “The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.”  This clothing gives him a sort of “divine power,” and to “summon[s] him to battle… as the Commander[16].”

Like Deborah and Barak, Gideon calls up together other tribes to his in the upcoming battle, yet the tribes of different, and unlike the previous deliverers, there is no mention of any refusing Gideon’s banner[17].  Some of the tribes which Gideon call to battle would have been far away from his territory, such as Asher and Naphtali and thus one would have thought that these would be like Deborah’s and Barak’s tribe which didn’t come[18].  It should be noted that each deliverer within the book which calls a tribe to help them, doesn’t call all of the tribes, but specific ones, and its only in Deborah’s and Barak’s tale where the tribes who weren’t called or didn’t come considered to have done wrong[19].

While there has been some side story, explaining God’s chosen leader and his back story we are bought suddenly back to view of the enemy and what Yahweh has exactly called Gideon to do.  We are reminded of course of the dire situation that the people were in and the very true fact of that needed divine intervention to help bring them out of it.  Luckily their god was Yahweh and not Baal and thus were in a lot better position than they could be.

As we come into those dark times in our life, we should hopefully remember that our god is a god able to help us through those times.  Of course it might not be in the way we would want, but it will be in the way we need.  As we face those dark times, it would do us good to rely on Yahweh and not the various Baals which we were so apt to face instead.  Morever like Gideon we have God’s holy spirit within us to help us at all times.  Although unlike Gideon the Holy Spirit is with us to stay, and to be our constant helper for more thing then winning a needed battle or two.

“Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.”  And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water.  Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.”  And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.” – Judges 6.36-40

Right when we would have expected to see the battle, instead we see Gideon questioning God once more and showing either a timid faith or an outright lack of it[20].  And it is at this crux, of when one would have expected the battle to start, that Gideon’s disappearing conviction is all the more highlighted.  Jerubaal, after wants to be sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yahweh will be with him in this upcoming battle.  In a way this returns to the previous portion of the narrative with Yahweh’s angel waiting for Gideon to bring the food, and we see here in a sense Yahweh waiting patiently for Gideon to trust that Yahweh really did call him[21].

Again, Gideon “tests” God, and as he does so this time, he dictates what the test will and where it will be.  Again, it’s on the threshing floor, and we see that with Gideon he does anything but thresh, upon the threshing floor.  As Schneider puts it, “Gideon did nothing in the appropriate places[22].”  Gideon who was the origination of the test, sees that his test has been completed and done as exactly as he had requested, yet he’s not pleased for some reason[23].  While Gideon should have been happy that God passed and thus go on his way, he needed more.   And so he comes to again to God, asking him not to be angry, as he tests God once more.

The reason for a double test, might perhaps be because, the first one to Gideon might not have seem something hard, after all, if the fleece was absorbent enough it could very well be wet even after the ground seem dry, (especially if it was laid on rock, which could have dried up quite quickly) but this second test would prove to be a test which couldn’t be explained away, except divine intervention[24].  Thus it would then stand to reason that the while the first test should have been enough, the second one was “the true miracle[25].”

With the second test successful completion, Gideon is at last happy to go along with God’s plan it would seem.

God proved himself to Gideon and did so in an air of patience it would seem.  Though Gideon should have gone to battle after calling together the troops, instead, he questions God.  At points in our life it seems that though we know what we ought to do, we still find the need to question God.  Of course, we can’t and really shouldn’t do the sort of things which Gideon had done for God, yet when in doubt we do have our own courses of actions which we are able to take.  For instance, we have prayer and the bible which we can look at readily.  When in doubt we have provided to us the words of God, to help guide of our decision and know what it is that God wants to do.

In Conclusion:

We have the tools which we need to go through life, even in the dark and hard parts of life.  And while things may be tough indeed, we can rely on God and know he’s there.  We have can hope in that, hope in our living acting God.  Instead of having hope in false gods, hopes in our own Baal.

[2] B 135

[3] M86

[4] IVPOTH 140, 135

[5] 136-137

[6] S 108-9

[7] S 109

[8] B135

[9] D 141

[10] S 109

[11] M 87

[12] M 87

[13] B 138

[14] M 88

[15] MH 251

[16] M 88-9

[17] M 89

[18] MH 251

[19] S 109

[20] M 89

[21] B 140

[22] S 110

[23] S 110

[24] M 89 D 142

[25] B 141

(Sorry to all three of you who read this ^.^ for having uploaded this one so late… should have been here a week ago… Ack!)

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”  And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”  And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”  And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”  And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”  And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speaks with me.” – Judges 6.12-17

In the previous story we saw the Israelites were doing wrong again Yahweh’s sight.  In so doing Yahweh brought about a harsh punishment to bring them back to him.  But he also showed mercy in sending them a prophet to call the people to repentance and to return back to the god of their forefathers.  Now we come to Yahweh, again showing mercy toward his people as he calls Gideon, to be their deliverer.  In meeting Gideon we will get to meet one of the more complicated men of the book of Judges, a man who at point is worthy of emulation, but at other point is an example of what not to be.  Even still Gideon’s calling is a story which helps to highlight this very thing

With Gideon who will on one hand do what Yahweh has called him to do, but on the other hand will shrink in fear, when he ponders the wrath of his family.

“Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash  the Abiezrite, while his son  Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.”  And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”” Judges 6.11-13

Gideon’s Story opens up to us and we see that, despite God sending a prophet, in the previous verses, it seems that either his message hasn’t been listened too, or that the prophet’s message helped to prepare the people for the coming of Yahweh’s new Deliverer[1].  Gideon’s call is different from the other deliverers of the book, namely in the way that we see Yahweh’s direct actions in his calling.[2] Yahweh’s angel, or messenger, comes to a place called Ophrah, which though it is uncertain where it is, it is thought to be in the Jezreel Valley, which is in the territory of Manasseh[3].  It’s been suggested that the “terebinth,” is something akin to Deborah’s palm tree in the previous narrative, however sadly here, the tree would be for Baal, and not Yahweh[4].

Gideon’s name means something like “hewer” or “hacker,” which he is aptly named, as his actions will later show[5].  At the moment however, we see that Gideon, is a man who is “living in fear,” like his fellow kinsmen, for he is hiding his activities from his oppressors[6].  It is in this time of “fear,” that Yahweh’s Messenger comes to Gideon, to deliver a message.  The Messenger appears to Gideon, at the “threshing floor,” albeit an unusual one, the threshing floor is a place of interest, one which has its importance to other biblical characters, such as Ruth and David[7].  The way that the Messenger addresses Gideon as a “mighty man of valor,” shows that there is place great confidence upon Gideon for the task that is to come, but also a sort of ironic title, as Gideon is seen hiding, playing the sort of trickster role at the moment[8].

When Gideon addresses the Angel, he does so politely, “Please sir[9].”  But even still he does ask a poignant question, if Yahweh is really with his people, why are they under so much turmoil[10]?  Moreover Gideon though he may be asking something politely, still asks a question which is in a very real sense “arrogant,” as he asks about where are the deeds of old he had been told about, and in a way he could be saying “what has God done lately for me[11].”  How ironic though, that he’s asking this question directly, so to speak, to Yahweh himself.  Gideon however has partly missed the point, he brings out the “us,” the whole of the Israelite community in this discussion, but the messenger only spoke to Gideon, when saying “Yahweh was with you.[12]”

Even when times seem the darkest, and when God doesn’t seem to be around, he is acting.  Gideon was only a few generations removed from the time of the Exodus and God’s great miracles and yet he was having doubts, doubts per say if those actions of God’s had ever occurred.  Even when times seem the darkest, and when God doesn’t seem to be around, he is acting.  Gideon may have doubted, but still God came to him.  God’s actions had occurred in the past, and we still occurring, even in the darkness that Gideon was still in.  As God’s actions are still now occurring, even though the world may seem to be in a very dark place, God still moves and still acts.  There are reasons sure, for why bad things may happen, the Israelites were the cause of their problem, but God’s controlling hand was in all of it.  And even as Gideon questioned his God, God did not back down (as seen in the following verses) and even moves to show himself, and to prove that he acts.  Therefore even now as we might question, do not think that God is backing away from us, for he proves himself even still today.

“And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”  And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”  And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”” – Judges 6.14-16

At this point, Yahweh’s messenger fades into background, as Yahweh himself enters the conversation, Gideon is now in a three party conversation, and yet doesn’t even realize it, nor does he realize yet, that he is speaking to someone more than human[13].  Yahweh then begins to challenge Gideon that perhaps it was his time for leadership, in a Mosaic sort of fashion.  Yahweh tells Gideon to go, and do that which the people wanted, namely deliverance from Midian, in Gideon’s “strength,” (something as unclear to us, as it was Gideon) and moreover he even states “Do not I send you?,” that is in a way that Gideon was to become a new messenger for Yahweh[14]?

As Gideon makes up excuses for why he cannot be a leader, (as did Moses), it seems to fall on deaf ears, for when Yahweh responses to him, he merely says “I will be with you.”  Yet these words are almost the same words he used in Exodus 3.12 when dealing with Moses[15].  “He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you:” – Exodus 3.12b  Gideon claimed that he was the least, or youngest in his family and he see this is a reason for why he shouldn’t have any sort of claim to a leadership role, but as his story goes on, we’ll find this issue raised again, but here it should be noted that Yahweh choose who he will, no matter their family ranking[16].  Despite Gideon’s protest, Yahweh merely repeats, his words and says that Gideon will defeat the Midianites[17].

God calls who he will, be they the least in their house, or someone with a lack of faith.  Moreover as God called even Gideon, he has called us too, to certain task.  Did not Jesus commission all those that believed in him to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” – Matthew 28.19-20.  It doesn’t matter who we are God can and will use us for his purposes.  Moreover as God promised Gideon that he was with him, we too have this promise, for again didn’t Jesus promise us at the end of his commission that he was with us “always?”

“And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speaks with me.  Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them.  And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so.  Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes.  And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight.  Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.”  But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.”  Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.” Judges 6.17-24

Gideon wants some sort of sign to “confirm,” what this messenger, and by extension Yahweh has been telling him[18].  He doesn’t know who the messenger is quite yet, and moreover he may not exactly trust in the power of Yahweh, as evidence by his earlier comments[19].  Gideon want to be sure, after all that Yahweh really would be with him, and that the person he was speaking too wasn’t just some nut.  And this moreover continues the similarities with Gideon’s call and that of Moses, as now signs are preformed to prove to the appointed leader, that yes Yahweh is with them[20].  And that yes, His power is sufficient, what the task which has appointed them to.

In a sense this whole bit of the story is a little comical, as Gideon gets up to leave, he in an indirect sort of way, “orders” Yahweh’s Messenger to stay put[21].  Then as Boling notes the response of “I will wait,” by the Messenger is one which is of the Messenger being “wryly” compliant[22], it almost “comical” how the Messenger, waits to show that the words of God are true to Gideon[23].  Moreover that Gideon has just given a direct command in a way to God himself.  Gideon brings to this messenger food, and at this time of force famine, this doubly valuable and thus a very precious thing that he brings to the Messenger[24].

Moreover it would almost seems that Gideon perhaps gives more so then he needed, as needed, as an ephah of flour is makes enough bread for a dinner with a bull, and Gideon only sacrificed for a goat[25].  It been noted though, that Gideon seems to go overboard on many different things.  When Gideon returns, we see that phrase of “Yahweh’s Angel” pops up back into view.  (Although the Messenger has yet to leave, it could also be noted that in the LXX the Messenger doesn’t drop out in verses 14 and 16).  In a quick movement, the Messenger burns up the food and follows that by suddenly disappearing[26].  Yahweh’s messenger sudden disappearance, is literally he “walked away from his sight,”  it is from this point that Gideon will deal directly with Yahweh, no longer his messenger, and also when he suddenly realizes who he had been speaking to[27].

At the Messenger’s disappearance, Gideon, at last fully realizes that he wasn’t talking to any normal persons, but instead to the Angel of Yahweh, and thus fears, rightly for his life[28].  Although Yahweh’s Angel might have left the scene, Yahweh himself, is still here, as he responses to Gideon, assuring him directly of his safety, it should also be noted this is the first time in the book, where a character did not realize he who he was in contact with[29].

It is now clear to Gideon that he had been called to do Yahweh’s work, and that he was not going to get off from doing it, and so Gideon acknowledges this by building an altar where he was.  Sadly, while the altar is built as a devotion tool, it will later become a tool for “idolatry and corruption[30].”  Gideon calls the Altar, Yahweh-Shalom, Yahweh is peace, and this harkens back to verse twenty-three where Yahweh calls to Gideon “peace to you[31].”  However there is a bit irony here in that while after seeing the display of Yahweh’s Messenger, and building this altar, Gideon will show fear in tearing one down in just a few sentences to come[32].

Yahweh in this whole section shows himself to be the patience God that he is, (and this is only the beginning test that Gideon gives to him).  We can from this though see that God is truly a patience person, even when he has called Gideon, he allowed him a little time to seek the truth.  While God doesn’t audible call us, or answer our questions, he had given us his words via the scriptures.  In seeking to follow him, we can turn to the scriptures and seek to know what he has in store for us, moreover we should have an ample supplies of fellow Christians to help us along the way, and older wise one to help in seeking what God’s will might really be for us.

“That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down  the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the  stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.”  So Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him. But because he was too afraid of his family and the men of the town to do it by day, he did it by night.” – Judges 6.25-27

The same night that God calls Gideon, he also give him a task, one which also confirms the actual sin of the people, idolatry (again), that task is simple, to tear down the altar meant for Baal[33].  It is also suddenly brings to light the fact that Gideon’s family might not be as low, as Gideon had said before, for they not only own the altar to Baal, but also have an Asherah beside it!  Gideon does the action, but his response of it “seems mixed,” after all though he does the deed, he does so with the help of ten servants,(again his having ten servants showed his family was not so lowly as he had made it out) and he does so also by night hidden from his village, instead of broad daylight[34].

Gideon has done the deed, as he has been called too, but we see at the end of this section also a sort of comment on his leadership.  While yes he did the deed that was Yahweh asked of him, but because of fear, he did it by night, in the beginning of the book of Judges, the deliverers did their job because of a commitment to Yahweh and right actions, but by Gideon, he does his job only after being called by Yahweh himself, and still only at night[35].

In Conclusion:

At looking at the story of Gideon we can something very true about the character of God and that is namely that even when it seems that he isn’t active within our lives he is, and moreover that he may present himself in ways we may not even realize.  Times were dark for Israelites when Yahweh called Gideon, to the point when Gideon even questioned the validity of the claims concerning Yahweh and God showed up and showed that he was able to do those claims.  Even now when things may seem dark, and God nowhere near is he there.

Moreover, God can and will use who he will, as evidenced by Gideon, who seems anything but the best choice for God’s deliverer.  Yet, even still as will be seen later on Gideon does what needs to be done and proves again that God’s controlling hand is in all.

[2] Matthews 83

[3] S 103

[4] S 103

[5] Boling 130

[6] Davis 139

[7] M 83

[8] M 84

[9] Boling 131

[10] Davis 140

[11] S 104

[12] B 130-1

[13] B131

[14] S 104-5

[15] S 105

[16] S 105

[17] S 105

[18] B 132

[19] S 104

[20] M84

[21] S105

[22] B 132

[23] M 84

[24] D 140

[25] B 133

[26] S106

[27] B 133

[28] D140

[29] S 107

[30] M85

[31] B 134

[32] S 107

[33] S 107

[34] S 107-8

[35] S 108

“Let’s observe how Ehud, whose name means “praise,” discharged his leadership.  History teaches us, in its writings about King Eglon, how this most wise Ehud with particular skill and, if I may say, cunning but praiseworthy deception, would kill the tyrant Eglon, whose name means “round” or “circular.”  It was necessary, then, to have the quality of judges of our people as was this Ehud, whose name means “praise,” so to cut through all his rolling motion and circuit of evil ways and to destroy the king of the Moabites  But Moabite is translated as “flow” or “effusion.”  Who can the ruler or leader of this flowing and dissolute people be seen or understood to be, therefore, other than the word of that philosophy which adjudges pleasure to be the highest good, a philosophy which the word of the gospel, which has been compared to a sword[1], killed and destroyed?  And this prophetic word would become enclosed within their belly and lowest stomach by means of the “ambidextrous” judge’s arguments, to extinguish the Moabites by assertion of the truth, enclosing also every sense of perverse doctrine and dull understanding “which extols itself and rises against the spiritual knowledge of Christ,”[2] so that by acting thus and by doing battle with the word of God, each judge of the church may also become a praising Ehud, about whom the Lord would say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few, so I will set you over many.”[3] – Origen, Homilies on Judges 4.1[4]

The idea of Origen’s that as the ACCS puts it “Ehud’s slaying of Eglon symbolizes how the sword of the gospel destroys hedonistic philosophy,”[5] is a rather intriguing one.

It is of course only one man’s homiletical approach to the story, but one that I found interesting.  Aside from Origen’s odd answer for what the names of these Characters means, (perhaps he’s guessing from Greek or Latin and not Hebrew?).  Eglon means likely something like “young bull” or “fat calf,” while Ehud’s name is less certain, although it is similar to the Hebrew word eḥad, “one” and could possible mean loner[6].

One could note that in the LXX, that Eglon is not described as fat, but handsome[7], but I would suppose that either could fit well into the case that Eglon fit the mantra of “Eat, Drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Since after all Eglon did happen to be very fat.  But if one takes a look at Eglon’s name meaning fat calf, then one might also take a look at Ehud’s dagger as being something of a “sacrificial dagger” for the “sacrificial calf,” and see the story as a bit of irony there[8].

As for Ehud, he is presented for the most part as a decent guy, no Othniel, but what Benjaminite would be?  He’s a trickster here, whereas Othniel isn’t, (to be fair, his deed is shown in a good light, as Origen notes)[9].  Ehud’s hand is described literally in the Hebrew as his being restricted in the right hand[10], while once again (as we’re dealing with Church Fathers) one should point out that the LXX has it as an ambidextrous[11].”  One could even look at the various problems he had just because of his family association, if one were to look at it in that light[12].  One could just point at Ehud and see nothing but underdog about the guy.  Origen notes that Ehud is a praising Judge, of course his only real praise of sorts is his battle cry found in Judges 3.28.  Although Ehud would indeed have much to praise Yahweh for after the sort of victory he has.

In looking at the Ehud and Eglon one story, one sees a story of irony, in which the underdog wins, the weaker hero versus the power villain of sorts.  In it one sees that God’s agent is the one who will gain the victory, while those who oppose God and by extension his people will be brought down in some fashion, not that anyone should be going around assassinating in the name of God today, although one should probably be going around doing right actions in God’s name.

- Le Belle Inconnu

[2] See 2 Corinthians 10.5

[3] See Matthew 25.21ff

[4] Found in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, Volume 4 of Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

[5] ACCS p. 112

[6] See Boling p. 85, also Hamlin pp. 70, 73

[7] As noted by Schneider p.49, “And he presented the gifts to King Eglom of Moab.  And Eglom was a very handsome man.” Judges 3.17 NETS

[8] Brettler as pointed out by Matthews 61

[9] Matthews 60

[10] Schneider 49

[11] “And the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a for them a deliverer, Aod son of Gera son of Iemeni, an ambidextrous man. And the sons of Israel sent gifts to King Eglom of Moab by his hand.” Judges 3.12 NETS

[12] Refer particularly to Schneider pp.47-8

(Sorry the formatting is little odd on this one, going from windows to linux and back again messed up  a few things and why I’m just posting this until now, sorry).

“When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”” – Judges 6.7-10

The book of Judges focuses upon a time in Israelite history where they namely had no king, but Yahweh. Moreover the author of the book, in many way discusses the need of this king, as the end of the book notes, that beside the people doing what was right in their own eyes, the true fact that Israel had no central king. Instead of having kings however, the tribes were ruled by a group of people known as the Judges or the deliverers. Moreover while the book of Judges doesn’t start out on the highest note, it is still nonetheless a higher point then the end of the book.

The first deliverer is Othniel, who is related to Caleb and by extension also to the tribe of Judah. For the most part Othniel is the model Judge, he is called by Yahweh play the role of deliverer and judge and does so well. By him all the other characters of the book may be reflected upon. After him comes Ehud ben Gera, who seems anything but Othniel, remains one of the best deliverers of the book. After him comes Deborah and Barak, and here we begin to see the decline of the people, in the character of Barak, whose glory goes to a woman, but even though Barak may show a little lack of faith, there are lower levels for that the heroes of this time will fall too.

After these major Judges however, comes the deliverer Gideon. Gideon is perhaps one of most well known characters of the Old Testament, including the story of Yahweh whittling down his army. But Gideon also comes at a sort crossing points for the book of Judges. While at first he appears to be one the more nobler Judges in the end he still fails (as evidenced by his golden ephod). Before Gideon came as a deliverer, God however sent an unnamed prophet to his people.

“The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.” – Judges 6.1-2

We come again to phrase that is so often seen within this book, the people of Israel have done evil in the sight of Yahweh, they have forsaken him with other gods. The previous Judges so far, Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah and Barak’s story all begin with this same idea, the people were doing wrong in Yahweh’s sight.

What this evil was, isn’t specified directly here, but based on what has happened within the previous narratives and what is described within this one, we get the idea that the Israelites were once again intermarrying with the foreign people and worshiping the other deities of the landⁱ. One could ponder the question of if the sin was indeed intermarriage, how much of this invasion was purely the fault of Israelites themselvesⁱⁱ.

The oppressors this time send the Israelites into caverns to hide away. The dens are probably something that were caused by river erosions into the mountains, but that as Boling notes would make “excellent hiding placesⁱⁱⁱ.” But while these may indeed be excellent hiding places, they didn’t help in providing the food which they would need as evidenced shortly.

This time Israel’s oppressor is that of the Midian. Midian was the name of a “desert confederation,” one which had a history with Israel beginning really with Moses, in saving the daughters of Jethro (Exodus 12.15-4.31), and the wars which took place in years of wandering (Numbers 25 and 31)^iv. One could note that earlier in the book of Judges the Midianites in a sense help bring deliverance through Jael, and yet here they are now the oppressors that Yahweh has sent^v.

Now this might sound a bit confusing and off so as an explanation: In Judges 4.11 we read that: “Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.” However in other biblical passages point out that Moses’ father-in-law was a Midianite noting Exodus 3.1 “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” And Numbers 10.29a “And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law,” Moses’s father-in-law is a man with many names, however concering Hobab, one could follow the LXX that Hobab in Judges 4.11 is really meant to say Son-in-law following and/or that the Kinites are also a part of a “Midianite league^vi.” Hence also Midian.

While one may note the similarity in the opening of this narrative, one also has to note the differences, namely that Israelites have yet to call out Yahweh (not until verse six) and that Yahweh has yet to make note of a coming deliverer^vii.

The people of Israel found themselves in sin yet again, and like each time prior to this instance Yahweh brings judgment to them because of their sin. Moreover Yahweh shows his sovereignty in that while prior to this episode he used foreigner to help his people, here he has used them to oppress his people. The Israelites however sadly must go through a period of harsh trials before they turned back to the Yahweh.

Failure to keep God’s laws is not something to be taken lightly, and we must remember that while yes Yahweh is a god mercy and long-suffering, he is also a just god. The people of Israel refused to heed him, and he was soon forced to bring an a foreign oppressor, the Midianites to turn them back to him. When we turn away from Yahweh we must realized that at times he may be forced to bring in our own Midianites.

“For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.” – Judges 6.3-6

The territory which this story takes place in, that of Manasseh was one the richest territories of the Israel, it’s farmlands were quite fertile, it was located in the prime spot for trade routes and so their oppressor’s were hitting them quite hard indeed^viii. Moreover the Midianites would come by just when the people had finish planting and would leave them with nothing, and while the Israelites had no livestock that of the Midianites were so numerous it couldn’t be counted^ix!

We see here that the people are the Midianites, the Amalekites and the people of the East. As the narration goes on we begin to find more details and oppressor is “amplified” into these three peoples^x. All of whom were nomadic people and who came general from the same area, (making a generally easy group to alliance together). We’ve already made several notes on the Midianites above.

The Amalekites are a people who have long been an enemy associated with Israel, having a hated even before the time of Moses.

The people of the East, or the Kedemites are like the other two primarily a nomadic people and as assumed they came from the east. Perhaps they were from the Syrian Desert, but being desert people would indeed fit why they would have camels instead of horses in dealing with military needs^xi.

It is after everything has been taken away from them, their livelihoods and their home, that they at last turn back to Yahweh and call out to him^xii. It could be noted as Crossan puts it this verse “is the standard deueronomic phrase for repentance^xiii.” After seven years of pure starvation more or less, the Israelites at last turn to Yahweh for an answer^xiv.

So often, it is when everything has fallen apart that we finally come to back to God. It is after we have found that going against God has done nothing to help, that we find going along with him, gives us what we need. The people of Israel refused to listen to God until, they were at the point of starvation, and yet they could have turned back to him at any point within those seven years. Some times the only thing Yahweh can do to bring his people back is harsh series of trials, a period of time where we must realize that to follow God and his commands means a better life. (Not necessarily an easier life, but one more fulfilling).

“When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.”” – Judges 6.7-10

God sends a prophet and in the period of the Judges this, is a rare happening, (one could note of course Deborah as a prophetess, but also perhaps one could note Samuel who was indeed both prophet and judge)^xv. For the other episodes which concerning the Deliverers of Israel, there isn’t any prophet who proceeds the coming a deliverer, (even in the case of Deborah, her role of prophetess and judge are mention in the same breath, and her role of deliverance with Barak plays the more important role).

One can note even as Yahweh’s judgment is quick and harsh, his love and more importantly his mercy as in this particular case he sent not only a deliverer, but prophet also^xvi.

The words of this Prophet are in many ways generic, reminding the people who Yahweh is and what he has done, and they hark readily toward Exodus 20.2-3^xvii. ““I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.” Moreover as the Prophet reminds them of their past history with Yahweh, of what he has done, and still rebukes their sin “you have not followed me,” but he doesn’t abandon his people as shortly is seen^xviii. The people should of course had known all that God had done for them in the past, thus their abandonment for Amorite gods, who had done nothing, makes little sense^xix.

God tells them to not be afraid of the Amorites, but might be better to translate this as Westerns (which would them contrast the people’s land to the Eastern invaders^xx. Moreover referring to it as “don’t fear the gods of the Westerns,” Yahweh is reminding them of all that the people aren’t supposed to intermingling with the gods from this land, but instead are supposed to be focused solely upon Yahweh^xxi.

In a way the Israelites here most likely referring to those west of the Jordon are following their gods instead of Yahweh, and so Yahweh sends in an enemy not from that land, but from the east to contend with them. The sad thing would appear that though Yahweh did indeed send a prophet, his message of repentance was not heard.

Yahweh sent a prophet to his people to tell them to remember the past, and namely to do as all prophets do, to tell them to repent. This unnamed prophet, told the people what they should have already known and though his message might not seem unique its words were still important. For, after all they reminded the people what Yahweh had done in the past and what he asked of them. This prophet though unnamed gave an important message to those people. Follow Yahweh, not these false gods of the land, and remember the things that he has done in the past and lean on those for strength.

In many ways we too need to remember to follow Yahweh, and we don’t need some prophet, as we have God’s complete word. Moreover we need to remember to follow the true God, not various idols which may creep up in our lives. After at times it seems so easy to suddenly find ourselves spending more time in other things, and making idols of them, instead of taking time, true time out for God.

Conclusion

Looking at the prologue to Gideon we come to find several different things which take place which seem all too familiar to the reader of Judges, namely that Yahweh’s covenant people have sinned and secondly that he has sent an oppressor to turn them back to them, thirdly when they have cried out to him, God has indeed heard their prayer. But interestingly enough we find that God once again shows that he isn’t bound by any sort of box and instead of sending the normal deliverer he has instead sent a prophet to the people. Calling them to return to him, yet while God can be unpredictable, it seems the people of Israel are not and we see them as is the norm, not heeding the words of the prophet who has been sent to them.

As we reflect on this prologue we might want to remember the truth of the passage that no matter how far we try to run from God he’s still there. That his mercy runs deep and for that matter we see here in very real sense how Yahweh and Jesus are same God. Moreover though we remember that Yahweh is just god, who should be feared, wisdom does begin there. So that while we may try to run away and he will forgive us, we may not like the way in which God tries to bring us back to him. Finally we need to remember that God has given us his word through his book now and his words found in the Bible are our prophets which he sends, what we should heed.

Endnotes:

Here’s a Bibliography that I mentioned I would do on the Tobit one, I’m much more interested in expanded this one.  All the works here are free and/or Public Domain and most (if not all at the moment) of them predate the 1930s and thus reflect the scholarship at that time.   These were found via Googlebooks, and Webachieve.  Again if anyone would like to suggest a book which should be added please, comment.

Burney, C. F.

1918 The Book of Judges with Introduction and Notes. London: Rivingtons.

Cassel, Paulus.

1872 The Book of Judges. Lang’s Commentary Series.  New York: C. Scribner & co. 4:189-261

Cooke, G.A.

1892 The History and Song of Deborah. Oxford: Clarendon Press Depot.

Curtis, Edward Lewis

1913 The Book of Judges. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Driver, S. R.

1888–89 “The Origin and Structure of the Book of Judges.” JQR 1: 258-270.

Drum, Walter

1907–14 “Judges.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, 15 vols. New York: Appleton. 8: ?

Hervey, A.C.

1888 The Book of Judges.  The Speaker’s Commentary, ed. F.C. Cook, 2: 115–240. New York: Scribner, Armstrong & co.

Keil,C. F.

1887 Judges.  Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.  Tr. Martin, James. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. 4:237-464.

König, Eduard

1898–1904a “Judges, Book of .” HDB, 5 vols. Edinburgh: Clark. 2: 809–20.

Lias, John James

1896 The Book of Judges: With Map, Notes, and Introduction.  Cambridge: University Press.

Moore, George F.

1901 A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Judges. International Critical Commentary, New York: Scribner’s.

1899-1907 ‘Judges.’ in Encyclopaedia Biblica, 4 vols.   London: A and C Black. 2:775-9

Paterson, J.A.

1910 “Judges, the Book of.” 355-9 in The Temple Dictionary of the Bible.  New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.  355-9

Ryssel, Victor

1903 Judges, Book of. JE, ed. Isidore Singer, 12 vols. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. ?: 377–81.

Thackeray, Henry St. John

1921 The Septuagint and Jewish Worship. London: H. Milford.

Vernon, Ambrose W.

1908 “The Religious Value of the Figure Samson.”  Biblical World 34. 33-8

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.  Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” – James 5.12-20

When Arthur had sentenced his wife, Queen Guinevere to be burnt for her sins, he ordered Sir Gareth to be a part of the group to accompany her to her doom.  But Lancelot came to save her and in the process he killed Sir Gareth.  Now Gareth was Gawain’s favorite brother and upon seeing his brother killed Gawain swore that he would see Lancelot killed for this evil deed.  In so doing he forced a war between Arthur and Lancelot which could had been avoided and in the following battle he challenged Lancelot in a duel, but in each duel he lost and was even wounded.

While Arthur was away battling Lancelot’s forces, his evil son Mordred took over the kingdom.  Upon hearing this Arthur turned back to save his kingdom, but his troops were gone and his best knights killed.  At this Gawain began to lament his oath that he had taken in anger.  In the battles to come to reclaim Arthur’s kingdom, Gawain was wounded mortally by Mordred.  As he laid dying he composed a letter quickly repenting of his sin to Lancelot and as well as asking for Arthur’s forgiveness for his foolishness.  Gawain shortly died after composing his letter, but he had felt a sort of relief because of it all.

As James closes his letter he warns us one last time about misuse of our tongue and the dangers of Oaths, but he also calls us to the power of prayer, of repentance, but most of all of the Lord’s forgiveness.  In a way as James closes this letter he speak of the hope that we have in Yahweh’s forgiveness and of the true joy that we can have in Christ.

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” – James 5.12

James begins this portion with, “But above all,” and we can for the most part take this phrase as the beginning of the end of James’s epistle[1].  At the same time James wishes to once more bring to mind the same issues which he had dealt with since the beginning the misuse of our tongue[2].  As James begins this section he seems as it were to be quoting his brother’s words as found in Matthew 5.34-37.

Original when one swore they said “by Yahweh” (Exodus 22.11) but when it became taboo to say his name the swearing thus became done by heaven or earth[3].  But by swearing by heaven or earth the oath also became one which wasn’t as valid and thus to say by heaven instead of Yahweh made the oath one that was less binding so to speak[4].  James’ words which harks back to Jesus reminds us that heaven and earth, aren’t ours to swear by, but Gods and all that we have is our ye sand our no[5].  Besides the fact that the oaths being made were oaths for mundane things such as proving your truth or making promise to do such and such a thing in the future[6].

James is thus concerned with pushing his readers toward truthfulness[7].  He is also moreover concerned with his readers that they avoid once more wrong actions, as he has spoken about quite often in his epistle, by taking oaths they were doing something, but it was the wrong sort of something[8].  James was combating the abuse of oaths which had sprung up among the Jewish people; remember that who he talked too, was quite likely Jewish-Christians.  Moreover this problem is one which was evidently a problem for Ben Sira who warned that oaths such not be abused as Sirach 23.9-11 relates:

“Do not accustom your mouth to oaths, nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One; for as a servant who is constantly under scrutiny will not lack bruises, so also the person who always swears and utters the Name will never be cleansed from sin. The one who swears many oaths is full of iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house. If he swears in error, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he swears a false oath, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities.”

So what does one do with oath taking?  The problem firstly is that within the Old Testament we do not see a place where Oaths are outright outlawed, and Yahweh himself makes an oath as evidenced by Exodus 13.5[9] “And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.”But the Old Testament did show a concern that an oath be true, as seen in Leviticus 19.12[10] “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

As noted earlier people had started to abuse oaths to the point that Wisdom writers were asking people to take oaths more seriously and using them less often, but the problem all hinges on our truthfulness.  Johnson puts it this way “It is a call to simplicity and truthfulness. If a person’s “yes” reveals the affirmation of the heart and the commitment of the hands, then it can be trusted. In the same fashion, if a person’s “no” defines the boundaries of consensus and commitment, then it is equally to be trusted[11].”  Basically we shouldn’t take oaths for any other reason then what the law demands, we shouldn’t need to take an oath among our Christian brothers for the hope that our word is true.

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.  Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” – James 5.13-18

This section of James, concerning prayer forms a rather fitting end to his epistle, he began in 1.5 by telling us that prayer gave us wisdom and he ends here speaking on why else we ought to pray[12].  Let him sing praise the word here encompasses both sing and playing an instrument[13].  Moreover as praise can at times be seen as a form of prayer we can be reminded of Paul’s’ words in Ephesians 6.18[14] “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

Instead of the many various actions which might take such as the grumbling against on another of verse nine or the oath taking of the previous our answer in times of trouble is pray as too is it during the good times[15].  In way whether we are feeling down in the dumps, suffering or that we are feeling rather well, there are always occasions to be talking to God in some manner.

Beginning with verse fourteen and the following two, James teaches about prayer and praise, but in a way that focuses on the communion aspect of the Christian faith[16].  By speaking of sickness James has returned to suffering, but this time in the form of illnesses, and the challenge which they bring.  As he brings the elder into the fray, James reminds us that even as happiness is to be shared so too is suffering to be shared[17].  After all one has to note that here, the Believer is not told to pray, but instead to call the Elders, to pray over him[18]!

The way in James speak of the Elders, including “of the assembly” gives the suggestion that these people are more than old men, but instead it gives the idea that they are official leaders[19].  Of course one might ask why is it that he Elder, but no one else is called upon?  The point, however of the Elder is that they are called Elders because they should have shown maturity in faith, and moreover they should be able to know better the others, the will of the Lord, and as they pray to understand better the way God works[20].

Why might one be told to anoint the answer is somewhat hard to answer and there has been a variety of different outcomes.  But it seems to be that the act of anointing here was as Moo puts it “therefore, that “anoint” in v. 14 refers to a physical action with symbolic significance[21].”  It is the idea that by doing this physical action, that the elders are signifying that this person as now been “set apart” for God’s care[22].  Finally this verse ends with in the name of the Lord.  The Lord here probably refers to Christ, but considering that shortly James will once again refer to the Old Testament Yahweh might be what is in view[23].

It is the right type or prayer which will help, not prayer with the wrong intentions, in prayer especially community prayer it is the pray of the faithful for the right reasons that has the power[24].

The connection of sickness and sin is a complicated one for in some texts such as 1 Corinthians 11.29-30 sin and illness seem close, while in others such as John 9.1-3 it seems quite distant, but one has the remember James started this with the words “If he has sinned…” the idea is that he sin may be part of the sickness, but not always so[25].

The idea of confession of sin had always been an important part of the Jewish faith, this includes both private and public confession and for various occasions, Oesterley notes that “it was the duty of the Rabbis to urge the sick person to confess his sins.  Confession is regarded as a meritorious act[26].”

One could look at Numbers 5.7 “he shall confess his sin that he has committed.  And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.” or Daniel 9.4-5[27] “I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.”

We told to confess to one another, James isn’t telling his audience to spout out every detail of their sin to the public, but rather to be honest that they had committed the sin[28].  All too often confession within the church bring up great upheavals and more hurt feelings then they ought to.  James commended his readers to confess to another not to bring up pain, but to bring a “release” from their sin and allow true joy room to move[29].

In the second part of verse 16 James reminds the readers that prayer isn’t just for the elders, but for the whole community and the power of that goes with the whole community[30].

To prove his point James has again turned to an Old Testament figure.  Before anyone could argue that Elijah was someone special James tells us that the truth of the matter is that Elijah’s nature was just like any other human’s[31].  Thus when referring to Elijah one has to realize that James isn’t speaking of many with any sort of above average gifts, instead he had realness and force to his prayers, as we too can have[32].  (Concerning the time James is going on tradition (as evidence in Sirach and 4 Ezra)[33]).

“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” – James 5.19-20

As 1 John 5.16 and Jude 22-23 end, so too does James and each concern the helping of a fellow believer concerning their sin[34].  James ending might seem a bit abrupt, but it is no more abrupt then other pieces of Jewish wisdom literature such as Ben Sira or Wisdom of Solomon[35].

In verse nineteen we see James use for the last time, the term “my brothers,” and in a twist he asks them to do something, namely to the help a fellow believer recover from a wrong road[36].  This brother though is simply doing some minor sin, but indeed is majorly sinning[37].  One might be reminded of Yahweh’s words to Ezekiel in 3.21[38] “But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.””

One might wonder wondered what is all involved in this covering of sin.  Many view this passage as an encouragement to believers by reminding them of the forgiveness which they can enjoy, but it seems better to refer to this passage as referring to sinner and the amount of sins which have been prevented so speak because of his return to the fold[39].

In the end what matters is that we should be encouraged to intervene in others life to help bring them back to Jesus and be to be reminded that we help them in what matters most, their relationship with God.

In Conclusion:

James has often spoke about the use of our tongue and in the ending of his letter he doesn’t forget about our little member.  There so many ways which one might mess up by the use of the tongue, but there are some good ways in which we might use it, most notably by prayer and by praise to our God.  As we reflect on the words of James we should remember all that he has told us to avoid, but also all that he has requested that we do[40].

[2] Johnson 327

[3] Leahy 376

[4] Hartin 782

[5] Richardson 229

[6] Moo 232

[7] Leahy 376

[8] Richardson 229

[9] Johnson 327

[10] Moo 232

[11] Johnson 341

[12] Hartin 782

[13] Oesterley 473

[14] Leahy 376

[15] Richardson 229

[16] Richardson 230

[17] Johnson 231

[18] Moo 237

[19] Johnson 330

[20] Moo 237

[21] Moo 242

[22] Moo 242

[23] Oesterley 474

[24] Richardson 233

[25] Johnson 234-235

[26] Oesterley 475

[27] Leahy 377

[28] Johnson 236

[29] Johnson 237

[30] Moo 247

[31] Leahy 377

[32] Hartin 783

[33] Leahy 377

[34] Hartin 783

[35] Johnson 339

[36] Moo 249

[37] Moo250

[38] Johnson 338

[39] Moo 250-1

[40] As a final note I didn’t want to wait to put up this sermon on getting together the full bibliographic data, but if need be, for anyone whose interested (for what few read this blog) I can do so in a comment to this post at some future venture.

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,” – Jonah 1.1

Among the Minor Prophets:

The Book of Jonah is fond among the Minor Prophets portion of the Old Testament.  Which in itself is of interest after all as Magonet puts it “Is the book in the “right” place in the Bible[1]?”  This work is certainly different from the various other works which are in the prophetic section, its chiefly more a story then a prophecy.  In many ways it follows the narratives of the Prophets of Kings more so then it follows the words of the other prophets[2].  Yet its placement has been found as listed among the Minor Prophets even in ancient scrolls, fifth in place in a Scroll found in Wadi Muraba’at[3] and sixth in the LXX[4].

The order of Jonah in both of these ancient collection has been suggested to be for chronological reasons.  Namely that Jonah is prior to Obadiah because Obadiah’s ministry took place prior to his.  Some have suggested that Obadiah is to be equated with an official of Ahab (1 Kings 18.3[5]) or that Jonah (who is assumed to be the same Jonah as 2 Kings 14.25[6], and hence a later date) begins to be the prophets who speak to the nations[7].  Moreover the prophets after Jonah are (usually Micah, always Nahum) are traditionally thought to have had their career after that of Jonah’s and when Assyria had returned back to its sins[8].

Even if one wonders about the placement of Jonah, it was evidently regarded as prophetic, even though it may seem so different compared to the others[9].

Genre:

It is a work which for the most part was considered historical until the modern writers and the increasing popularity of historical criticism.  (These scholar’s being critical of the supernatural elements within the story and moreover that they could not find a time when Nineveh worship Israel’s God).  This in turned began others to begin to prove its historicalness of it all, and in part Jesus’ references (Matthew 12.38-41[10]; Luke 11.29-32[11]) to Jonah have led to support of its true character.  But because of the question of Jonah’s historicalness have lead to scholars now more so then before in trying to figure out the genre of the book[12].

When looking at the work in the whole we do have to note that it is a work which has in it more than one style, it begins as narrative and moves to psalm before prose (different in style then before)[13].  This has lead of course to some thinking that the work was nothing but a composite of different works (similar to the Pentateuch), yet that has yet to proving and so the single author is held still[14].  Yet even if one takes this single narrator, the question then does arise is this narrator Jonah?  This in itself seems unlikely.   For example in the work, Jonah does not make use of personal pronouns, nowhere in the work does it make a claim to have been written by him, or even would Jonah had written a work which was so critical of himself[15]?  This is not to say that Jonah was not historical, nor for that matter that Jonah had no part in relating some of the events which appear in the work.

Concerning then the genre of the work then differing suggestions have come up from all sorts of ranges.  Some have suggested satire or irony, other as a Mashal or Midrash[16], it does reflect the narrative portions of other prophets in the historical works more so then the historical works themselves[17].  McGowan puts it as “Jonah is neither a mere popular legend nor a simple historical account; rather it is the work of a highly instructed Israelite[18].”  The main problem however that arises in a discussion concerning the genre of the book is that seems as if the various writers cannot think (in the case of Jonah) that a work can be historical and relate things in a certain literary form[19].

Concerning Jonah’s Historicalness:

It would seem that most scholars nowadays would consider the book of Jonah to be anything but historical.  For example Trible called it “clearly non-historical” or as Brewer once said “Surely this is not the record of actual historical events nor was it ever intended as such.  It is a sin against the author to treat as literal prose what he intended as poetry[20].”  But one has to wonder then, if this were the case then why was it that before the nineteenth century did everyone assumed the almost every scholars and readers consider the book historical[21]?  One does have to admit that there are certain things which seem too fantastic to be real (but then again why couldn’t God’s intervene in such a way to break the norm?).

Firstly let us note that if one looks at what ancient writers wrote concerning the book, we note that from Josephus (Ant. 9.12.2) to the Church fathers we see that took Jonah not as fiction, but indeed as fact[22].  Also as already noted above the way in which Jesus spoke of noted indicated the factual history of it and many have thus begun there.  Secondly one has to realize that as Jonah’s story begin it is placed within a historical setting, and though there may not be as many facts as we would hope for (i.e. When Jonah was when Yahweh first spoke to him, or where the Fish threw Jonah up at) it doesn’t show the work as more fiction, it just shows that the writer only mentioned that which was needed for his primary purpose was not in those details, but the message of Jonah[23].

Thirdly one cannot deny that the book is filled with the impossible, but in a sense so too is the body filled with the impossible, from the plagues on Egypt, to the miracles of Elisha and Elijah not to mention the miracles in the New Testament of Jesus and his Apostles.  Thus if one allows for those miracles there should be nothing stopping that for Jonah.  (Although for those who do easily deny miracles then this conversation is moot point).  Thus I would say if one sees Jonah as a historical tale, then it is one that depended upon faith.

As for other things, one has to note the term of “King of Nineveh,” the great repentance of the city, among other things.  Some object to the Book of Jonah calling the King that of Ninevah instead of the more accurate King of Assyria.  The easiest explanation is that the writer chose to say King of Nineveh since that is the primary city in story the writer choose that instead of Assyria, and other places in the Old Testament show that they would refer to the King by a Capital or Chief city than his country (for example 1 Kings 21.1[24])[25].  As for the lack of repentance in extrabiblcal documents one has to note that we do not have a great deal of those documents to check this moreover, writers of that time were bias and so it would seem unlikely that would refer to a short lived time of “repentance[26].” (And it evidence within the bible that this repentance was short lived indeed for Assyria was once again its polytheistic self shortly later).

(For a fuller discussion on this see Jonah commentary on WBC).

The Prophet Himself:

The book of Jonah unlike the majority of the other prophetic literature does not give any indication which King was upon the throne during the time of writing, and it has been suggested that the purpose of this was so that the readers would automatically connect this Jonah with the same one found in 2 Kings 14.25[27].  When we meet Jonah in the 2 Kings account we see that he was within the territory of Zebulun and his city probably quite close to that Nazareth[28].  We see that the King at that time was Jeroboam II (about 793-753) and Jonah had actually given him a good message in that he would expand the territory of Israel (interesting itself as Jeroboam was still who did not walk in the ways of Yahweh and would cause his people to sin)[29].

We know nothing of Jonah outside of the facts of his book, except that which is self evident, Jonah was as Stuart puts “an ardent nationalist, pro-Israel and anti-foreign; at least, anti-Assyrian[30].”  Moreover Jonah’s message in 2 Kings was one in which its results were seen, however Jonah’s message in the book after his name was one that failed so to speak.  Thus most see the Book of Jonah as taking place after this event (as 2 Kings doesn’t seem him as a false prophet), while others as Simon note see the book as “a sort of consecration story, in which his mission to Nineveh prepares him for his second mission—bringing good tidings to those who have not and will not repent[31].”

[1] David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1996, c1992). 3:936.

[2] Billy K. Smith and Franklin S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1995). 204.

[3] This scrolls follows our known MT text’s order, and division of Jonah as pointed out by Sasson

[4] Uriel Simon, Jonah, JPS Bible commentary (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1999). xiv.

[5]And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly,

[6]He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

[7] Jack M. Sasson, Jonah: A New Translation With Introduction, Commentary, and Interpretation (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008). 14.

[8]Simon xiv

[9]Sasson 15

[10]Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here

[11] When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^v“This generation is an evil generation.  It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

[12]Freedman 3:940.

[13] Sasson16.

[14] Stuart 431

[15]Page 206.

[16] “a mashal (a term used of proverbial and parabolic materials) or a midrash (a category of Rabbinic exegesis that also includes short parables)”

[17] Freedman 3:940.

[18] Jean C. McGowan JBC 634

[19]Page 210.

[20] Trible, Studies in the Book of Jonah, 176 and Julius A. Bewer, “Jonah,” The International Critical Commentary, page 4

[21] Page 217.

[22] Page 217

[23] Page 217

[24] Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in ^qJezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

[25] Stuart 441.

[26] Page 262.

[27]Freedman 3:940.

[28] Stuart 431

[29] Simon xxxvi.

[30] Stuart 431

[31]Simon xxxvi.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” – James 5.7-11

In the previous section of James we found James warning the Rich that soon their riches will fade to nothing and by essence exhorting his readers to keep following the instructions of God.  Here now then James begins once more to give advice of what to do during trials, this time to have patience, to have patience in part despite what the Rich has done to done (as the last portion describes), or patience in the other various trials which had come (noting the other sections of James)[1].  As James had spoken so poorly of the rich in the previous section, he now returns to speaking directly to the readers and in much more positive terms[2].  Moreover as the Rich were warned of the coming of Christ, now James encourages with the coming of the Lord[3].

James is now working toward the close of his letter (from verses 5.7-20), and as he begins to do so while he doesn’t use the normal manner in which to close, he still uses a manner which is evident in other Hellenistic letters[4].  Not only that, but as James began the letter by speaking on patience and endurance thus it is only natural that he returns his readers back to endurance and patience, thus as he begins to conclude he comes back full circle[5].

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” – James 5.7

James reminds his readers that they must have patience, until the coming of the Lord.  He begins this section by calling them to patience, the word which appears again in this verse and in eight, as well as the words “endure” and “endurance” in ten and eleven, basically he stresses to his readers to have patience[6].

After commending the readers to “be patient,” he adds “therefore,” and this is essence shows that the previous section and this are connected, i.e. James tells his readers of his warning of the rich to therefore have patience[7].  The Coming, or the return of Christ is often referred to within the New Testament[8], such as 2 Peter 1.16 “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Or 1 John 2:28: “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.”

Moreover like other New Testament Epistles, such as 1 Corinthians, 2 Peter or Jude, James too in closing his letter makes reference to the endtimes[9].  Noting for example 1 Corinthians 16.22-24: “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.  My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”  Likely James here as in these passages is referring to Christ (and not God the Father) as he reminds his readers to have patience[10].  As he writes of the return of Christ he uses the phrase, “coming” which has the meaning of “presence” and when used in “secular Greek” it gives reference for when a King would arrive[11].

Thus as James writes of the Coming of the Lord, even before he mentions “Lord,” he tunes our attention that some royal official is coming.  Thus when we get the Lord to come, we get this concept of the return of a Great King, the return of the Christ.   Moreover James saw the return of Christ at any moment, at sooner than latter and the way in which writes of the return of Christ is another indicator of the letter as an earlier work[12].  Thus Christ’s return could be at any moment, his coming was something that would happen quickly and would happen as it would with the best of Kings.  But until this Grand coming, James reminds his readers that they must have patience that they must endure until Christ returns[13].

As James commends his readers to have patience for the coming of the Lord he uses the term “brothers” once again (and will repeat the phrase in 5.9 and 5.10), showing once more the closeness he had to his readers, as opposed to the negative way in which he reacted to the rich[14].  James then turns to another image.

When James speaks of the early and late springs he shows his Jewish roots, as farmers in Israel looked toward the rains in the fall (October to November) and spring (April to May) as well as evoking the Old Testament idea of rain as a gift from Yahweh[15]. As Deuteronomy 11.14 says: “he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.”  The image of the farmer for patience is in a sense rather natural, for after he has planted he can nothing but hope for rain, but hasn’t the clue when (if) it will come[16].  This use of a farmer as an image of patience is also found in other New Testament passages, for example 1 Corinthians 9.7 relates “Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?”

Moreover the early and late rains are all dependent upon the faithfulness of God for example Hosea 6.3, Zechariah 10.1 and thus  they reflect that in a sense a sort of “confidence” that as the rain comes from God so too will Christ Come also to deliver them[17].  Also as it is the wise farmer who waits upon the God in patience for his harvest, so too it is the wise Christian who waits in patience for the return of Christ[18].

“You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” – James 5.8

James writes here to “establish your hearts,” or better yet “strengthen.”  By telling his readers to strengthen their hearts he bring out an idiom that comes the Septuagint and refers to either gaining courage that comes from one’s trust in Yahweh (as seen in Psalms 111.8 LXX which reads: “Firm is his heart; he will never be afraid he looks on his enemies.” or a firmness of intention (as seen in Sirach 6.37: “Reflect on the statues of the Lord and attend to his commandments at all times.  He himself will strengthen your heart, and your desire for wisdom will be granted.” And also 1 Thessalonians 3.13 “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”)[19].

In the above examples notably 1 Thessalonians and Sirach the strengthening of the heart is focused on God himself (who in Psalms 111 has the Firm heart), but here instead James calls us to strengthen our own heart.  Thus James here is calling his readers as always is calling us to focus upon ourselves and to make hearts be filled with courage and have a purpose in these times of trials[20].  Our hearts are to be active, we are be doers and so instead having a lazy faith of do nothing patience, James instead insists that our patience must be one which is active and God centered[21].  Thus though we may be in times in trials, our patience in waiting for the Lord’s return will only help us[22].

As I have already noted the way in which James speaks of the return of Christ as soon, “at hand” indicates the letter as early to many scholars it also shows many scholars that the return was supposed to be sooner than it has been now 2000 years later.  Yet while James indeed spoke of it as coming soon, he like us didn’t know the true time of the Lord’s return.  The truth of the matter is as it was soon for James its even sooner for us and thus as James insist that we have certain actions because of this soon return, we have all the more reason to have right actions[23]!  Our actions and hearts should thus be affected by the Coming of the Lord which is at hand.  In essence we are in a period that Christ’s return is always at hand, it is always soon!

“Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” – James 5.9

James tells his reader to not “grumble” at each other, or perhaps better to not sigh or groan at one another.  The Greek words here, stenazein gives the idea to sigh because of a situation of distress and we get the idea that the readers are sighing at each other and doing so in a confrontational matter[24].  Moreover James is once again harking back to this statements concerning about poor speech and extends to mere grumblings at each others, even if in times of difficulties[25].

Instead of grumbling one should focus of the humility and joy that produced the peace of James chapter four, instead of grumbling and even judging we should focus producing peace[26].  James warns his readers to not judge and is probably again influenced by Jesus words in Matthew 7.1 “”Judge not, that you be not judged.” and moreover he warns his readers about this not judging for the Judge is right at the door[27]!

James has now shifts from the coming of the Lord to the coming of the Judge[28].  And as he relates to his readers that he Judge right at the door he is speaking not only to the faithful, but also the unfaithful[29].  This verse should remind one of what James had already said in 4.12 “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”

But James is also most likely referring once again to the words of his brother[30].  Noting Matthew 24.33 (and Mark 13.29 which says basically the same words): “So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” And Revelation 3.20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

By referring to this time of Judgment we see that James is trying to have his readers reflect upon their actions and behaviors and be prepared for when they open the door to the Judge[31]!  Although it seems likely that the Judge here refers to Jesus, one must be caution since as noted this verse refers also to James earlier words in 4.12 which referred to the Father[32].

“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” – James 5.10

As he has already done James returns to looking toward Old Testament characters as examples, here he views the prophets as martyrs[33].  James much like the writer of Hebrews as 11.35-37 says “Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.  Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—” looked toward martyrs as men and women who were symbols to be followed because of their ultimate faith, even to death[34].

Certain prophets such as Jeremiah or Ezekiel we see as figures whose messages went on people with deaf ears and who faced many hardships in delivering their messages.  As well as Daniel whose was even thrown into a den of lions for his faithfulness.  Isaiah is said to have been sawed in two (which may be reflected in Hebrews)[35].  Basically the prophets lives under trials and yet they choose to serve God instead of the world.

Moreover James refers also to his brother’s words as Jesus once related in Matthew 5.10-12: “”Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  James relates to us as the Prophets endured trials so do we and therefore we ought to look toward them and try to emulate them[36].

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” – James 5.11

Like his use of the prophets he uses this image of Job as a man of patience, to hearken his reader that during their own trials to also have the patience that Job had[37].  Here James begins to refer his readers to the traditions which had sprung up concerning Job, namely that of him as steadfast man, one who was extremely patience, something that the biblical story doesn’t present as much[38].  Like his use of the prophets he uses this image of Job, to hearken his reader that during their own trials to also have the patience that Job had[39].  In Ezekiel 14.14 we read “even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.” shows that Job already by Ezekiel time was thought of as a man of virtue, one which was to be emulated[40].

James seems to refer to a work known as the Testament of Job[41] which speaks specifically of Job’s patience.  For we see as Moo puts it “In this book, which presents Job as pronouncing a blessing on his children, Job proclaims that he is “fully engaged in endurance” (1:5) and encourages his children to be “patient”; for “patience is better than anything[42]”

As mentioned when one looks as the Book of Job we don’t really get the idea of him as a man of patience, instead we see a man who insistent that he is being punished unfairly and he calls Yahweh to answer for his unjust sufferings.  However Job did always have his “continued hope” in Yahweh and that in truth Job patience is shown by his faith, in his constant questions and demands Job faith is shown by his being active in questioning rather in his simple silence[43].

As we know of Job’s suffering we also probably know of the end of Job’s story, namely that though Job went through a terrible trial he also received a greater reward[44].  In sense James tells us that our present problems are just a part of the story, for in the end Christ is Coming and in full glory and then our situation shall be truly good[45].

In Conclusion:

We are called to patience in whatever trials are to come, we are called to active obedience to God.  All the more so, since the Return of Christ is soon, it can happen at any point!  But we have models which we can follow, those of the prophets and that Job.  While trials will come we must realize that we cannot respond poorly, instead we must respond with how God calls us to respond, namely in patience and active faith.  Let us remember then that we have to follow God in the good time and the bad, but when we follow God in the bad times we must do so in patience and full reliance upon him.

[2] Johnson 311

[3] Leahy 376

[4] Hartin 780

[5] Moo 220

[6] Moo 220

[7] Johnson 312

[8] Leahy 376

[9] Hartin 780

[10] Leahy 376

[11] Moo 221

[12] Hartin 780

[13] Moo 221

[14] Johnson 312

[15] Leahy 376

[16] Richardson 219

[17] Moo 223

[18] Richardson 219

[19] Johnson 315

[20] Johnson 315

[21] Richardson 220

[22] Moo 223

[23] Moo 224

[24] Johnson 316

[25] Moo 224

[26] Ricardson 222

[27] Moo 223

[28] Leahy 376

[29] Oesterley  427

[30] Moo 225

[31] Moo 225

[32] Johnson 317

[33] Leahy 376

[34]Moo 226

[35] Johnson 318

[36] Richardson 223

[37] Hartin 782

[38] Hartin 782

[39] Hartin 782

[40] Leahy 376

[41] Moo 228

[42] Moo 228

[43] Moo 229

[44] Ricardson 226

[45] Moo 230

Introduction:

The Shepherd of Hermas is an intriguing document which had found a wide popularity among the early church fathers in particular those of the West[1].  In particular one could note that Rufinus speaks of the book as something which was read in the churches, though something which shouldn’t be used in discussing theology[2].  Or that for others such as Irenaeus, or Clement of Alexandria, Origen (for a time), each considered the work as scripture[3].  The Shepherd can be placed alongside other New Testament Apocryphal books such as the Epistles Barnabas, or Acts of Paul in its popularity[4].

Text:

The Greek text of the Shepherd has not fared well, no single Greek manuscript has the full text and even if placed together, the Greek is still lacking a significant portion (107.3-114.5)[5].  However the Shepherd does appeared in full in several translation notable the Latin Version and the Ethiopic Versions[6].  Osiek points out that the Latin translations are “invaluable” especially concerning where we are still lacking it in the Greek, the L¹ being quite old, and that the  L² translation from the either fourth or fifth century[7]. However concerning the Ethiopic, its value is less so, since translator seems to have modified the text so to speak to fit his theological tendencies[8].

Finally the last important witness to the Greek text are the various quotations of the Church Fathers, who quoted it in Greek such as Origen or Clement of Alexandria[9].

Author:

Of who the author of the Shepherd is opinions are mixed a range from a wide area.  Origen had suggested that it was the Hermas mentioned in Romans 16.14[10][11].  While the Muratorian canon mentions the work as being done by Hermas, the brother of Pius (the Bishop of Rome around 140-154 AD)[12].   Other have suggested that the work was done not by one writher, but by two or more H.W. Thiersch suggested the work was begun by the Hermas of Romans while and completed by another in the second century[13].  In any event the work would seem to have originated in Rome (and it does involve the church there)[14].

On another note, while Hermas has been as being written by multiple authors, a single author has always been the majority position and most scholars today prefer the single author idea, although they would admit to there being multiple sources or redactions in its formation[15].

Theology:

Lake in his introduction of the works notes that the book deals primarily with repentance and that says that “we have here the beginning of the Catholic doctrine of penance[16].”  In dealing with the Shepherd one could note that writer is trying to figure out with how one is supposed to deal with sin after they their baptism, in the end we that yes God is merciful although there is still a “strict moralism,” to it all[17].  Interesting enough one place where the Shepherd deals with repentance he argues for marriage reconciliation (even after divorce) for adultery if the partner repents[18][19].  The Shepherd’s views concerning repentance had mixed audience some such as Tertullian thought that it was too liberal while other viewed it as too conservative[20].

The document in itself shows view points from a variety of sides, some see no repentance (31.1[21]) while others see God’s mercy as continually (43.4[22]), and Hermas himself seems to seek both (31.2-7[23])[24].  His focus on the issues of such things as dealing with sins and repentance and the way in which this shown all help to show why The Shepherd became so popular[25].

[2] Carolyn Osiek and Helmut Koester, Shepherd of Hermas : A Commentary, Hermeneia–a critical and historical commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999). 6.

[3] Holmes 329

[4] As evidenced concerning that it appears with Barnabas in Codex Sinaiticus and in Codex Claromontanus with Barnabas again plus the Acts of Paul and Apocalypse of Peter (see Osiek pp. 6-7)

[5] David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1996, c1992). 3:148

[6] Joseph Barber Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, The Apostolic Fathers (London: Macmillan and Co., 1891). 295.

[7] Osiek 2

[8] Osiek 2

[9] Lightfoot 295

[10] “Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.” – ESV

[11] Holmes 330

[12] Freedman 3:148

[13] Osiek 9

[14] Freedman 3:148

[15] Osiek 9-10

[16] Kirsopp Lake, The Loeb classical library (London; New York: Heinemann; Macmillan, 1912-13). 2:1-3.

[17] Holmes 328

[18] The passage in view is 29.6-8 (Man. 4.1.6–8): “So what, sir,” I said, “should the husband do, if the wife persists in this passion?” “Let him divorce her,” he said, “and let the husband live by himself. But if after divorcing his wife he should marry another, then he too commits adultery.” “So then, sir,” I said, “if, after the wife is divorced, she repents and wants to return to her own husband, she will be taken back, won’t she?”  “Certainly,” he said. “If the husband does not take her back, he sins, and brings a major sin upon himself. In fact, the one who has sinned and repented must be taken back. But not repeatedly: for there is only one repentance for God’s servants. So, because of the possibility of her repentance, the husband ought not to marry. This procedure applies to wife and husband.”

[19] Osiek 4

[20] Osiek 5

[21] “Sir,” I said, “I would like to ask a further question.” “Speak,” he said. “Sir,” I said, “I have heard from certain teachers that there is no other repentance beyond that which occurred when we descended into the water and received forgiveness of our previous sins.”

[22] So, those who are strong in the faith of the Lord, having clothed themselves with the truth, do not associate with such spirits, but have nothing to do with them. But those who are double-minded and frequently change their minds practice fortune telling like the pagans and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatries. For the one who consults a false prophet on any matter is an idolator and lacks the truth and is senseless.

[23] He said to me, “You have heard correctly, for so it is. For the one who has received forgiveness of sins ought never to sin again, but to live in purity.  But since you inquire so precisely about everything, I will show you this also, so as to give no excuse for those who will believe at some time in the future, or those who have just now believed in the Lord. For those who have just now believed, or those who are going to believe do not have repentance for sins, but they do have forgiveness of their previous sins.  So, for those who were called before these days the Lord has established repentance. For since the Lord knows every heart and knows everything in advance, he knew the weakness of human beings and the cunning of the devil, and that he would do something evil to God’s servants and treat them wickedly.  But the Lord, however, who is exceedingly merciful, had mercy on his creation and established this opportunity for repentance, and authority over this repentance was given to me.  But I am warning you,” he said, “if, after this great and holy call, anyone is tempted by the devil and sins, he has one opportunity for repentance. But if he sins repeatedly and repents, it is of no use for such a person, for he will scarcely live.”  I said to him, “I was restored to life again when I heard these things from you so precisely. For I now know that if I no longer add to my sins, I will be saved.” “You will be saved,” he said, “and so will everyone else who does these things.”

[24] Freedman 3:148.

[25] Holmes 328