Lessons from the life of Samson on battling with harassing iniquities

The story of Samson one of the Israelite judges emanating from the tribe of Dan, was a Nazirite and it is indeed an intriguing one in the book of Judges. Klein (1988) alerts us that an even superficial reading of the book demonstrates that the epic is far more biographical in nature than any of the earlier chapters tends to be. Samson’s sensual attachment to women are they stuff that legends are made of. The last glimpse we have of Samson is of a man who seemed to have put his act together. We earlier saw Samson calling on the Lord in humility. He prayed to God and God ultimately delivered him from death through a great miracle. That story ends with Samson having judged Israel for 20 years. Crenshaw (1978) contends that Samson was indeed one through whom God would “begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:5). However, after a period of peace and steadfast service, Samson sadly falls once again into his old ways. His old passions rise to the surface and Samson once again finds himself entangled in a web of sin. Samson may have been a powerful man physically, but he was to intents and purposes a moral weakling. He may have demonstrated his power time and again over the enemies of the Lord, but he was helpless against the power of his mortal flesh. It also is evident from books preceding Judges, that the wickedness of the Israelites validates Israel’s subjugation to the Philistines. Thus, we see that sin is punished and that unrighteous dealings lead a nation or an individual to destruction. As a judge, Samson was invariably unsuccessful in delivering what the Lord required of him and he thus brought destruction on himself (Bar, 2020). This article based on an exegetical methodology considered mainly historical context and it unpacks how failing to serve God ultimately leads to one battling with harassing iniquities which ultimately lead to destruction. It serves as a model of how we ought to seek to serve God in a spirit of obedience.

Vista Siklus Apostasi dan Kuasa Doa dalam Kitab Hakim-hakim untuk Intensi Relevansional

Abstrak: Gambaran kebejadan dan apostasi manusia itu terlihat dengan jelas di dalam Kitab Hakim-hakim. Kitab ini menjadi catatan sejarah dan metafora tentang tendensi di setiap zaman dan setiap generasi terhadap fenomena apostasi. Apostasi terjadi bukan karena tidak mengakui adanya Tuhan tetapi memercayai sesuatu selain Tuhan. Ternyata satu-satunya yang dipelajari dari sejarah adalah tidak mempelajari sejarah. Mengunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan studi literatur didapatkan kesimpulan bahwa dosa kemurtadan membuat semua prestasi manusia sia-sia. Semua hasil kerja keras tidak dapat dinikmati. Dosa merampas apa pun yang diperoleh. Bahkan akan mendatangkan bencana kemanusiaan, sampai mereka bertobat. Tetapi, jika mereka sungguh-sungguh bertobat, mencari Tuhan, dan berdoa memohon belas kasihan-Nya, maka sesuai dengan wahyu di Kitab Hakim-hakim, Tuhan akan mendatangkan kelegaan, kesembuhan. Hakim yang definitf, Yesus Krustus, akan turun tangan mengatasi apa pun yang tidak bisa dilakukan manusia. Prinsip penting yang muncul dalam Kitab Hakim-hakim sebagai sebuah kebenaran alkitabiah, “dosa apostasi mengasilkan sengsara, doa dan pertobatan melahirkan kesejahteraan. Allah di tambah ketaatan akan mengasilkan kuasa, kasih karunia Tuhan lebih besar dari segala dosa. Abstract: The description of human depravity and apostasy can be seen clearly in the Book of Judges. This book is a historical record and a metaphor for the tendency in every age and every generation to the phenomenon of apostasy. Apostasy occurs not because of not acknowledging the existence of God but believing in something other than God. It turns out that the only thing to learn from history is not to study history. Using a descriptive qualitative method with a literature study approach, it is concluded that the sin of apostasy makes all human achievements in vain. All the results of hard work cannot be enjoyed. Sin takes whatever is gained. It will even bring disaster to humanity, until they repent. However, if they truly repent, seek God, and pray for His mercy, then according to the revelation in the Book of Judges, God will bring relief, healing. The definitive Judge, Jesus Christ, will intervene in anything that humans cannot do. An important principle that appears in the Book of Judges as a biblical truth, “the sin of apostasy produces suffering, prayer and repentance beget prosperity. God plus obedience will produce power, God's grace is greater than all sin.

Jephthah: Faithful Fighter; Faithless Father Ancient and Contemporary Views

Jephthah (Judges 11–12) is the eighth of the twelve charismatic/military leaders in the book of Judges. Prior to a crucial battle he vows that if he is successful and returns safely “then the one who comes out of the doors of my house to meet me … shall be offered up by me as a burnt offering to yhwh” (Judg 11:31). It is difficult to know what Jephthah means by these words. The Hebrew verb used ( ha-yotzey) in this context could mean equally “the one that comes out,” “whatever comes out,” or “whoever comes out.” In the event it is his only child, a daughter who greets him. Jephthah feels unable to revoke his vow and so appears actually to sacrifice her. This article considers how three sources address this narrative: ancient Rewritten Bibles; early as well as medieval and 18th/19th century Rabbinic commentary; and Contemporary scholarship.

A Reappraisal of Judges 3:12-30

This paper analyzes the text of Judges 3:12-30. The reason is that the presence of irony in Judges 3:12-30 has been disputed in recent articles. Using narrative criticism and intertextuality as methodology, this paper shows that the cumulative effect of literary features, and Moab-Israel relationship background, results in irony. Key-words: Book of Judges; Moab-Israel; Narrative Criticism; Irony; Food.

A Reappraisal of Judges 3:12-30

This paper analyzes the text of Judges 3:12-30. The reason is that the presence of irony in Judges 3:12-30 has been disputed in recent articles. Using narrative criticism and intertextuality as methodology, this paper shows that the cumulative effect of literary features, and Moab-Israel relationship background, results in irony. Key-words: Book of Judges; Moab-Israel; Narrative Criticism; Irony; Food.

Suara Sang Subaltern: Sebuah Narasi Autobiografi Perempuan Tanpa Nama dalam Hakim-hakim 19

This paper offers a postcolonial feminist reading of Levi’s concubine narration recorded in the Book of Judges 19 that focuses on the subaltern voice from Gayatri Spivak's thinking. It defines the subaltern as oppressed people who cannot speak on their own to represent themselves. This study was conducted by autobiographical criticism. Through auto-biographical narratives, the story is re-told through the nameless woman's point of view as the subaltern and it will reveal the narrative of her unspeakable suffering. The nameless woman's voice was claimed to be the voice that was cast but refused silence, and now it produces an autobiographical narrative that echoes the voices of subalterns silenced in the present context.Abstrak. Tulisan ini menawarkan sebuah pembacaan feminis pascakolonial terhadap narasi gundik seorang Lewi yang tercatat dalam Hakim-hakim 19 yang berfokus pada suara subaltern dari pemikiran Gayatri Spivak. Subaltern dalam tulisan ini diartikan sebagai orang-orang tertindas yang tidak dapat bersuara untuk merepresentasikan dirinya. Metode yang digunakan adalah kritik autobiografi. Melalui narasi autobiografi, kisah ini dituturkan kembali melalui sudut pandang sang perempuan tanpa nama sebagai subaltern dan menyingkapkan narasi penderitaannya yang tak terkatakan di dalam teks. Suara perempuan tanpa nama diklaim sebagai suara yang dibekap tetapi menolak diam dan kini menghasilkan sebuah narasi autobiografis yang menggemakan suara-suara subaltern yang disenyapkan dalam konteks masa kini.

The Formation of Judges and Samuel and the Deuteronomistic Composition

The formation of the books Judges and Samuel is re-examined in this article. The author maintains that two main editions of the book of Samuel were created. The first was composed in Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon. The author of this edition was also the author of the second edition of the Book of Judges (“B”). The first edition of Judges, the “book of saviors,” which was composed in the north at the beginning of the age of monarchy (“A”), was also one of the four main sources which were incorporated into the first edition of Samuel. The other sources were: the “acts of Saul”; the “acts of David,” and the “book of Jashar.” The second edition of Samuel and the third of Judges were edited by a single person, the Deuteronomist, in Babylonia, ca. 560 BCE. He prepared an extensive composition describing the history of Israel from Moses to Jeremiah. In Deuteronomy the path was delineated and norms were determined. The main body (Joshua–Kings) records the ups and downs in Israel’s relationship with God; and the epilogue (the book of Jeremiah) focuses on the destruction and Exile, explaining the events and informing the exiles of the message of redemption.

Didikan Allah Kepada Bangsa Israel Menurut Kitab Hakim-Hakim

The Book of Judges is a book that is paradoxical. Because in it there are several historical stories of the Israelites starting from the most famous and also the ones that are not well known. The book of Judges contains many interesting things, but also maybe a lot more disgusting things that the Israelites had done at that time, such as idolatry, adultery, civil war, mixed marriage, and so on. The teaching is simple, but difficult to understand, because in the book of Judges it shows the darkest sins of mankind, but in it the light of God's grace can be seen clearly. Based on the description above, teaching that comes from God is very necessary. It was useful to lead the Israelites on the right path or to bring the Israelites back to their God, who had freed them from slavery in Egypt and also gave them the land of Canaan as an inheritance. This article is an analysis and literature study, which describes some of the ways that God used to educate the Israelites who were corrupted by sin to become Israelites who obeyed God's Law. Abstrak: Kitab Hakim-hakim adalah kitab yang bersifat paradoks. Oleh karena di dalamnya terdapat beberapa cerita sejarah bangsa Israel mulai dari yang paling terkenal serta yang juga yang tidak terkenal. Kitab Hakim-hakim mengandung banyak hal menarik, akan tetapi juga mungkin lebih banyak hal yang menjijikkan yang pernah dilakukan oleh bangsa Israel pada zaman itu, seperti penyembahan berhala, perzinahan, perang saudara, kawin campur, dan sebagainya. Pengajarannya sederhana, akan tetapi sulit untuk dimengerti, karena dalam kitab Hakim-hakim ini memperlihatkan dosa manusia yang paling hitam pekat, tetapi di dalamnya cahaya rahkmat Allah dapat dilihat dengan jelas. Berdasarkan uraian di atas, maka pengajaran yang bersumber dari pada Allah sangat diperlukan. Berguna untuk membawa bangsa Israel kepada jalan yang benar atau membawa kembali bangsa Israel kepada Allah mereka, yang telah membebaskan mereka dari perbudakan di Mesir serta juga memberikan tanah Kanaan kepada mereka sebagai milik pusaka. Artikel ini adalah sebuah analisis dan studi pustaka, yang memaparkan beberapa cara yang Allah gunakan untuk mendidik bangsa Israel yang telah rusak karena dosa menjadi bangsa Israel yang taat terhadap Taurat Tuhan.

Linguistic Profiling and Language-Based Discrimination

Linguistic profiling and other forms of linguistic discrimination were first attested in the Old Testament. The coinage of the word shibboleth traces its origin to the Book of Judges 12:6, where the inability to pronounce that word correctly would result in death; “They told him, ‘Please say shibboleth.’ If he said, ‘sibboleth,’ because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan.” Since then, other manifestations of human conflict and discrimination frequently exhibit linguistic demarcation in one form or another, and these shibboleths evolve over time. Warring factions may eventually make peace, as old rivalries come to be displaced or resolved. Advances in technology exacerbated these trends, as more-rapid modes of transportation increased contact and conflict among speakers of mutually unintelligible languages, accompanied by the development of increasingly efficient deadly weaponry that coincided with global expansionism along with sporadic conquests and the ensuing oppression of human enclaves throughout the world. The advent of global markets and multinational immigration has further accelerated circumstances where diverse human factions may use linguistic (dis)similarities as one of several means through which individuals formulate perceptual boundaries between groups that are familiar or unfamiliar. When compared to the historical longevity of discrimination based on language, linguistic evaluations of this phenomenon are relatively recent.