The only woman who judges, Deborah “used to sit under the palm tree…and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment” (Judges 4:5). She is shown here in a stained glass window by the Russian-Jewish artist Marc Chagall. Photo: © 1997 Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/ADAGP, Paris.

The two chapters show her exemplary moral character and indicate the people gave her great love and respect. Like Moses before³ and David afterward, she fused in herself the roles of prophet, national leader, and military commander.

Thought to be an Ephramite because she resided in Ephraim (4:5), Deborah judged and led Israel for 60 years in the 12th century B.C.⁴ Her oversight covered approximately 20 years of national hardship before the Canaanite war and then a peaceful aftermath of 40 years. Arguably, Deborah first was recognized as a prophet, then as judge/leader, next in a military role (5:15), and finally as a songstress. She judged under a palm tree—a setting, rabbinic tradition maintains, that validated her fairness, openness, and refusal to show partiality.⁵

Deborah is introduced, as are the other 11 judges in the Book of Judges, without fanfare. The Bible records no dissent or rebellion against her. Leadership resides not in gender but in character and gifting.⁶ The Israelites recognized her abilities and prospered under her tenure. Her name means bee or even honeybee.

Judges 4–5 is unusual in that it chronicles a slice of biblical history first in narration and subsequently in poetry. The chapters complement each other, fitting together details, insights, and judgments.

The two chapters begin with Israel’s disobedience, vividly describe a Holy War and its participants, and end with the victorious result: the land had rest for 40 years (5:31). Put another way, the people sinned, learned from hardship, repented, and cried out to the Lord. The Lord responded with a plan of deliverance.

Although the Canaanites didn’t know it, this was a Holy War.⁷

FREE ebook: Israel: An Archaeological Journey. Sift through the storied history of ancient Israel.

First Name:*

Last Name:*

Email Address: * * Indicates a required field.

SUBMIT

If you don’t want to receive the Bible History Daily newsletter, uncheck this box.

The chapters present the possibility of three war zones: the initial battleground of Mount Tabor and the Jezreel Valley (4:12); Tanaach (5:19); and the gates of Hazor and other Canaanite cities. (4:23; 5:11d).

Chapters 4 and 5 provide character sketches of those involved in the war. The men include:

• Barak, who, at Deborah’s command, suddenly becomes Israel’s general; he bargains with Deborah to come with him to the war; she agrees but prophesies that “the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman” (4:8–9)
• Jabin, a king in Canaan who resides in Hazor (4:2)
• Sisera, Jabin’s general, who exudes confidence because of his weapons of mass destruction—some 900 iron chariots (4:2–3)
• The tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon followed by Ephraim, Benjamin, and Issachar and the men of Machir; all march with Barak and are praised by Deborah (5:14–15)
• The tribes of Reuben, Dan, and Asher and the men of Gilead (5:15–17); they are ridiculed for failing to heed the summons to the Holy War

In addition to Deborah, the women include:

• Jael the Kenite, who invites the fleeing Sisera into her tent and murders him (4:17–22; 5:24–27)
• Sisera’s mother, who, Deborah imagines, waits anxiously at a latticed window for her son’s return (5:28)
• Nearby ladies-in-waiting who speculate that the victorious Canaanites are delayed because they’re busy dividing the spoils of war and enjoying the women they’ve conquered (5:29–30)

Those mentioned only incidentally include:

• Lappidoth, the husband of Deborah (4:4)⁸
• Heber the Kenite, husband of Jael (4:11); according to tradition, the Kenites descended from Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law⁹

Deborah’s tenure starts with the Lord’s judgment against Israel. Because the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, the Lord sells them into the hand of Jabin, a king in Canaan (4:1–2). Confined to the unproductive hilltops and denied commercial access on the highways, the Israelites suffer economic hardship under the Canaanites (5:6).

Deborah summons Barak from Kadesh in Naphtali; she tells him the Lord commands him to position himself at Mount Tabor and bring in 10,000 from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon (4:5–6). The Lord shares his strategy and promises deliverance and victory: “I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand” (4:6–7).

Chapter 4 highlights the conflict between the Israelites and Canaanites. Tribes assemble under Barak’s order. Sisera hears and takes his chariots to the Wadi Kishon (4:12–13). Making good his word, the Lord throws Sisera and his forces into panic (4:15). Seeing that the battle goes against the Canaanites, Sisera flees on foot. Exhausted, he arrives at Jael’s tent. She brings him milk, covers him with a rug, and while he sleeps, hammers a tent peg through his head (4:17–21)! The assassination incorporates multiple erotic images.¹⁰ Barak, coming shortly thereafter, views the corpse (4:22).

As Sisera sleeps, Jael calmly and quietly hammers a tent peg into his temple, in this 1620 painting by Italian Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Photo: Szepmuveszeti Museum, Budapest, Hungary.

The poetry in Chapter 5, the Song of Deborah, smacks of realism and emphasizes the role of women.¹¹ The ballad tells a gripping story, ringing with eyewitness details. Like the Book of Lamentations and the Gospel of Mark, it leaves a reader feeling breathless. One easily imagines Deborah strumming and beckoning Barak to walk and sing with her among their victorious countrymen. Her leadership style favors a team approach; she willingly recognizes those who joined and served.¹² She not only praises others but also thereby encourages them to ongoing service and development as leaders.¹³

Considered one of the oldest pieces of Hebrew poetry,¹⁴ Deborah’s Song continues the Israelite tradition of immortalizing a victory in song. Both Moses and Miriam led the Israelites in songs of victory after the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 15:1–21). Deborah’s song has many Hebrew words that are unknown now; that’s why its translations vary so much.

Deborah sings about the Lord but to the Israelites. For example, the earth trembled, the clouds poured water, the Lord marched, and the mountains quaked “before the Lord” (5:4–5). Indeed, the stars in heaven fought against the doomed Sisera and the Canaanites (5:20). Credit for the Holy War and inevitable victory goes to Yahweh (5:5).

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Deborah calls herself a mother in Israel (5:7). Probably one of the highest designations in scripture, it indicates authority.¹⁵ Centuries afterward, the wise woman of Abel Beth Maacah will describe her city with the same phrase in a conversation with military leader Joab during a break in a civil war (2 Samuel 20:19). Much earlier, Joseph called himself a father to Pharaoh (Genesis 45:8).

Deborah’s concluding words validate Jael’s action, pronouncing her “most blessed of women” Judges 5:24). Similar designations go to Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 2:26–28, 42), and to Judith, heroine of the Apocryphal Book of Judith who beheaded Holofernes, an Assyrian, general and saved her people (Judith 13:23–25). With great force, Deborah prays that all the Lord’s enemies will share Sisera’s fate and likewise perish (Judges 5:31).

Deborah’s War changed history. Any dreams Sisera had to use those 900 chariots to defeat Egypt and become a world power literally got stuck in the mud when the Lord sent rain (5:4, 21). Deborah’s War effectively took the Canaanites off the world stage. Yes, the Israelites moved to the fertile valleys and vended their wares on recognized thoroughfares (5:7). But perhaps a misstep was that the Israelites did not become masters of the forge; they did not capture, copy, or customize the enemy’s technology. Consequently, nearby nations excelled in iron smelting. The judge Gideon built on Deborah’s military foundation and led Zebulon, Naphtali, and other tribes against the Midianites and Amalekites (6:33-35). According to rabbinic tradition, Deborah wrote Psalm 68¹⁶; it clearly resembles both chapters, especially Judges 5.¹⁷

According to another rabbinic tradition, descendants of Sisera, the Canaanite commander whose doom was prophesied by Deborah and fulfilled under Jael’s hand, taught children in Jerusalem.¹⁸ If that tradition is true, then it shows one of the great themes of scripture. The judgeship of Deborah started with the Israelites’ sin but its legacy, in time, included God’s good work of redemption in the lives of the descendants of Israel’s enemy.

This Bible History Daily feature was first published in April, 2019

Robin Gallaher Branch teaches Old Testament and New Testament as an adjunct professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year and served in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa; she retains her North-West research affiliation. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. Her most recent books are Six Biblical Plays for Contemporary Audiences (Cascade 2016) and Jeroboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009; Wipf and Stock, 2018).

Notes

1. Branch 2002, p. 134.

2. Rabbinic tradition lists seven prophetesses: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther (Meg. 14a) (“Deborah,” p. 489).

3. Herzberg 2013, pp. 15–16. Herzberg notes the prophetic gifting of both Moses and Deborah and the similarities of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and Deborah’s War; consequently he argues Deborah was seen as “the Moses of her time” (2015, p. 33).

4. Zucker and Reiss 2015, p. 32.

5. “Deborah,” p. 490.

6.Nielson 2018, pp. 78–79. Both men and women are made in the image of God.

7. Boda (2012, p. 1137) notes that Israel’s success and the Canaanites’ failure are directly related to their relationship to Yahweh.

8. “Wife of Lappidoth” also could be translated “woman of torches” or “woman of flame”; rabbinic tradition notes that Deborah was “a great light in Israel” (“Deborah,” p. 489).

9. “Sisera,” p. 397.

10. Ackerman 1998, pp. 59–61.

11. Haddox 2013, p. 79.

12. Kroll 2006, pp. 34–35.

13. Nielson 2018, p. 85.

14. Branch 2002, p. 134.

15. Meyers 2000, p. 332.

16. Branch 2002, p. 135.

17. Wright 2011, pp. 529–531.

18. “Sisera,” p. 398. Git 57b.

Bibliography

Susan Ackerman, Warrior, Dancer, Seductress, Queen: Women in Judges and Biblical Israel. The Anchor Bible Reference Library (New York: Doubleday, 1998).

Mark J. Boda, “Judges,” in Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, eds., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Revised Edition. Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), pp. 1043–1288.

Robin Gallaher Branch, “Deborah,” in Catherine Clark Kroeger and Mary J. Evans, eds., The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), pp. 134–135.

“Deborah,” The Jewish Encyclopedia. Volume IV (New York: KTAV Publishing House) pp. 489–490.

Susan Haddox, “Gendering Violence and Violating Gender in Judges 4–5,” Conversations with the Biblical World 33, pp. 67–81 (2013).

Bruce Herzberg, “Deborah and Moses,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 38, pp. 15–33 (2013).

Woodrow Kroll, Judges: Ordinary People, Extraordinary God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006).

Carol Meyers, “Deborah,” in D. N. Freedman, ed., Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), pp. 331–332.

Kathleen Nielson, Women & God: Hard Questions. Beautiful Truth (Good Book Company, 2018).

“Sisera,” The Jewish Encyclopedia. Volume XI (New York: KTAV Publishing House), pp. 397–398.

Jacob L. Wright, “Deborah’s War Memorial: The Composition of Judges 4–5 and the Politics of War Commemoration,” Zeitschrift fur die alttestantliche Wissenschaft 123, pp. 516–534 (2011).

David Zucker, and Moshe Reiss, “Subverting Sexuality: Manly Women; Womanly Men in Judges 4–5,” Biblical Theology Bulletin 45, pp. 32–37 (2015).

More by Robin Gallaher Branch in Biblical History Daily

Who Was Phoebe?

Tabitha in the Bible

Ebedmelech—A Remarkable Figure in Jerusalem’s Final Days

Martha: A Remarkable Disciple

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

David and Joab

Why Deborah’s Different

The Song of Deborah—Why Some Tribes Answered the Call and Others Did Not

Hazor and the Battle of Deborah—Is Judges 4 Wrong?

The post Deborah in the Bible appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

In the 15th-century painting Healing of the Cripple and Raising of Tabith, Masolino da Panicale depicts the most famous scene of Tabitha in the Bible: the miraculous prayer of Peter that brings Tabitha back from the dead.

Luke, the writer of Luke-Acts, tells the story of Tabitha, a disciple brought back to life after prayer from the apostle Peter. After she is washed and laid out in an upper room, Peter takes her hand and commands her to get up (Acts 9:36-42).

In seven verses, Luke presents Tabitha as much loved, and the miracle of her return to life leads many to believe (v. 42). Luke’s terse account contains praise, humor, honor, sadness, joy and insights on the faith of the early church. Tabitha is so beloved and so essential to the life of her believing community in Joppa, a port city near the heart of modern Tel Aviv, that others cannot imagine life without her. Tabitha simply cannot stay dead. Her faithful community will not permit it!

Throughout Luke’s story, Tabitha remains silent. Luke speaks for her. In what could be considered a humorous touch, her only living actions are opening her eyes, seeing Peter, sitting up, being helped up by him, and being presented alive to the believers and widows (vv. 40-41).

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Luke Honors Tabitha in the Bible

By silencing her, Luke honors her. Others give her accolades and loudly mourn her death (v. 39). Perhaps the best and truest praise one receives comes extemporaneously from others. This certainly applies to the treatment of Tabitha in the Bible.

Luke introduces her with a double name: Tabitha and Dorcas (v. 36). The Aramaic and Greek mean gazelle. Perhaps the doubling shows her ministry to Jewish and Hellenistic believers, something noted earlier in Acts 6:1 and emphasized from chapter 10 on; if so, the placement of Tabitha’s story serves as a transition in the fulfillment of Jesus’ command to his disciples to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Perhaps her name indicates a woman of energy, grace, beauty and quick movements.

Robin Gallaher Branch has written several other Bible History Daily-exclusive character studies. Read Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader and Anna in the Bible.

Luke praises her as a disciple (mathetria) who was always doing good and helping the poor (Acts 9:36); her specific designation as disciple proves that Jesus had female disciples. In fact, there are three places where the words disciple or disciples include women: Acts 9:1-2, 36; 18:24-26b.

Luke indicates that Tabitha took God’s commands about society’s most vulnerable seriously. (“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor.” Zechariah 7:10. See also Deuteronomy 24:17, 20-21; Ezekiel 22:7; James 1:27.) Looking after the marginalized is one of God’s characteristics, too, for God is shown in Psalm 146:8-9 as lifting up those bowed down, watching over the alien and sustaining the fatherless and widow.

Luke is generally quite selective with his praise, heightening the value of the accolades given to Tabitha in the Bible. In addition to Tabitha, Luke-Acts commends a few other notable characters. Consider these examples: Luke describes Zechariah and Elizabeth as upright in the sight of God (Luke 1:6), Joseph as a good and upright man from Arimathea (Luke 23:50-51) and Barnabas as a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24).

Acts 9 highlights Luke’s characteristic writing style with its balance of opposites. Luke pairs Tabitha’s story of dying and being brought back to life with that of Aeneas, who is healed by Peter after being bedridden for eight years (vv. 32-35). Neither Tabitha nor Aeneas seeks a miracle. While visiting Lydda, Peter sees Aeneas and says, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you” (v. 34); concerning Tabitha’s death, the disciples of Joppa urge Peter to “please come at once!” (v. 38). Acts 9:1-31 tells of Saul’s conversion and verses 32-43 close and balance the chapter with stories about Peter; like Peter, Saul becomes a great apostle of the faith. Seen another way, Acts 9 contains a man’s miraculous conversion and a woman’s miraculous restoration to life.

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. But just how depraved was Jezebel, really? Read Janet Howe Gaines’s article How Bad Was Jezebel? for free in Bible History Daily.

Ministry Focus

Luke’s account of Tabitha focuses on her ministry (to use a modern term) to two groups: the poor and widows. In Biblical times, the designation widow meant a woman whose husband was dead and who had no means of financial support; therefore, she needed both protection and physical, legal and financial assistance.* In other words, a widow is a woman with constant needs, and being a widow was virtually synonymous with being poor. If enfeebled, who will glean for the widows and how will they eat? If they lose their houses in order to pay their debts, where will they live? (In Mark 12:40, Jesus condemns teachers of the law specifically for devouring widows’ houses.) If they lack shelter and regular sustenance, they likely will fall ill. Who then will care for them? As they age, who will listen to them?

In a parable about helping the needy, Jesus contrasts the life-saving actions of a Samaritan with the bypassing indifference of a priest and Levite (Luke 10:25-37). Unlike these members of the established priesthood who ignored the man beaten by bandits, Tabitha purposefully sought out the poor and widows and actively looked to see how she could help meet their needs. In the first century, when female activities generally centered on daily survival for themselves and their families, Tabitha engaged the needs of her community. Her lifestyle showed that love is an active verb intent on doing good for others.

Luke concentrates on one specific part of Tabitha’s ministry: making robes and clothing for the widows. Evidently she dressed these widows fashionably, for as she lies washed and prepared for burial, they tearfully display her work to Peter with obvious pride (v. 39). These women were her friends.

FREE ebook, Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life. Examine fundamental questions about Jesus of Nazareth.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Tabitha’s lifestyle contrasts admirably with the characterization of the good wife from Proverbs 31:10-31. Both display phenomenal energy. Both extend help willingly to the poor (Acts 9:36; Prov. 31:20). Both are proficient in needlework (Acts 9:39; Prov. 31:13, 19, 21,-22, 24, 25). Both seek to do good and undertake their activities within the context of faith (Acts 9:36; Prov. 31:12, 30). The lives of both women show they were “doers,” each putting feet to her faith.

Luke’s succinct description and the outpouring of grief at her death showed how greatly the believing community and widows loved Tabitha (v. 39)—a strong indication that Tabitha herself thoroughly enjoyed her work and loved these people in return.

Silences

As always when reading the Biblical text, consider its silences. What does Luke leave out? Tabitha may have been a widow herself, for Luke omits any mention of her husband or family. Additionally, Tabitha may have been independently wealthy, for the home where she is laid out awaiting burial is presumably her home and has an upper room (Acts 9:39). Evidently she offered her hospitality with flair, for the disciples and widows congregate around her. Perhaps Tabitha chose to use her wealth to aid the poor and the widows (v. 36).

Luke’s description of Tabitha makes it easy to imagine her home as welcoming, open and full of people. Luke indicates that Tabitha’s home functioned as a community center for believers. Tabitha may well have presided over a house church in her home. Quite likely her home became a drop off point for donations as she served as a reliable conduit for goods and services for believers and the wider Joppa citizenry. Tabitha is one of many New Testament women who, once converted to the new faith, set about building a community.

FREE ebook: Paul: Jewish Law and Early Christianity. Paul’s dual roles as a Christian missionary and a Pharisee.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Joppa’s Believing Community

In contrast to the long illness of Aeneas (v. 33), Luke presents Tabitha’s sickness and death as sudden (v. 37). Luke then shifts the narrative from Tabitha to Joppa’s believing community, which mirrors Tabitha’s lifestyle of action. It too puts feet to its faith.

Upon hearing of Tabitha’s death and Peter’s sojourn in Lydda (v. 32), members of the Joppa community immediately send two men to fetch him, hoping for a miracle.

Since Lydda was 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem and a day’s journey by foot from Joppa, it is possible that Tabitha was dead a total three days before her resuscitation. The messengers say, “Please come at once,” (me okneses); the use of the subjunctive indicates a formal request and carries a sense of respect. Peter drops everything and accompanies the messengers back to Joppa (vv. 38-39). He finds the widows grieving loudly in the upper room with the body (v. 39). Not only do the widows mourn Tabitha’s loss; they have valid concerns for their own lives, now that their protector is dead.

The widows’ mourning reciprocates the love Tabitha extended to them. Arguably she met more than their clothing needs. Her hospitality and generosity probably gave them food, sanctuary, a home, a warm heart and a listening ear. Modern research shows that talking not only is crucial to health but adds to longevity. Tabitha’s outreaching kindness undoubtedly saved lives.

Our website, blog and email newsletter are a crucial part of Biblical Archaeology Society's nonprofit educational mission

This costs substantial money and resources, but we don't charge a cent to you to cover any of those expenses.

If you'd like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology.org, and our email newsletter please donate. Even $5 helps:

The Miracle of Tabitha in the Bible

Luke records the miracle simply. It seems to happen quickly. Peter clears the upper room, perhaps because he’s distracted by the widows’ noisy grief (v. 40)! Alone with the dead body, he gets down on his knees, prays, and turns to the dead woman. Speaking to her he says, “Tabitha, get up” (v. 40). And she does!

Peter calls in the believers and widows and gives her back to them, alive. One can imagine the plethora of emotions—joy, wonder, amazement, awe, thanksgiving and even doubt—as everybody crowds in the upper room to confirm for themselves that Tabitha really is healed and alive!

Luke concludes Tabitha’s story with more silences, muzzling both Tabitha and Peter. Peter says nothing about the miracle and Tabitha says nothing about what it’s like being dead. Instead, Luke sums up the reactions of all concerned by stating a fact—her return to life became known all over Joppa—and its result—that many people believed in the Lord because of it (v. 42).

Luke then carries on with Peter’s visit to the centurion Cornelius’ home in Caesarea (Acts 10) but remains silent about Tabitha’s life. However, Luke’s silence again compliments her, for it acknowledges the obvious. We already know her character. We know what happens. This remarkable woman simply carries on doing good for the poor and serving her friends, the widows, by making them stylish robes.

Robin Gallaher Branch is professor of Biblical studies at Victory University (formerly Crichton College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009).

Notes

* In the Bible, widowhood often serves as a textual marker to alert savvy readers of moments of significance. For more, read Robin Gallaher Branch, “Biblical Views: Groveling Grannies or Teaching Tools” as it appeared in the January/February 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Bibliography

Darrell L Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).

John Calvin, John 12-21. Acts 1-13. (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993).

Stephen B. Clark, Stephen, Man and Woman in Christ: An Examination of the Roles of Men and Women in Light of Scripture and the Social Sciences. . (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1980).

Chalmer E. Faw, Acts. (Scottdale: Herald Press, 1993).

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Acts. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003).

M. A. Getty-Sullivan, Women in the New Testament. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 2001).

Susanne Heine, Women in Early Christianity: Are the Feminist Scholars Right? John Bowden, trans. (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1987).

Josephus. The Works of Josephus Complete and Unabridged. Wiliam Whiston, trans. (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987).

Craig S. Keener, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. Volume 1. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011).

I. Howard Marshall, New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004).

C. Myers, T. Crave, & R. S. Kraemer, eds. Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the HebrewBible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000).

Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, & Al Sitzler, Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).

Jaroslav Pelican, Acts. (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005).

Elisabeth Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. (New York: Crossroads, 1983).

“Widow.” Encyclopaedia Judaica Volume 16 UR-Z Supplementary Entries. (Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1972). 16:487-496.

This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in May 2013.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Widows in the Bible

Women in the Bible

The Hidden History of Jerusalem’s Upper Room

5 Ways Women Participated in the Early Church

Lydia and Tabitha in the Bible

Anna in the Bible

Is the Gospel of Luke a Greco-Roman Biography?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Biblical Views: Biblical Widows—Groveling Grannies or Teaching Tools?

A Widow’s Plea

Understanding the Woman in the Window

Biblical Views: Tabitha and Lydia—Models of Early Christian Women Leaders

The post Tabitha in the Bible appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

A modern depiction of St. Phoebe, a leader in the early Christian movement who was one of Paul’s most trusted patrons and emissaries. In his letter to the Romans, Paul refers to Phoebe by the Greek term diakonos, which most Bible’s translate as “deacon.” However, this term, at least during the first century C.E, most probably referred to a “minister” or leader of a congregation.
Credit: Larry Kamphausen; used under CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Who was Phoebe? That’s a good question!

This first-century C.E. leader of the early Christian community makes a cameo appearance in Romans 16:1–2. Paul graciously introduces her to fellow believers in Rome. Paul’s words establish Phoebe’s high standing in Cenchrea, her home city located near Corinth, and with him. They assure a ready welcome among like-minded followers of Jesus. Warm, personalized greetings to more than two dozen men and women follow, ending his epistle.

A study of Romans 16:1–2 reveals an amazing woman, one Paul treats as a fellow minister, one he forthrightly, and with humor, acknowledges as having money.

Paul describes Phoebe via three accolades, nouns translated in the King James Version (KJV) as “sister,” “servant,” and “succorer.” The New International Version (NIV) changes the last two to “deacon” and “benefactor.”

However, Phoebe seems under-recognized today as a full minister. Paul’s introduction equates her with other leaders in the early movement, men who traveled, evangelized and planted, and led churches. But translations indicate a gender bias and diminish this woman’s influence.

First, the KJV: “I commend to you Phebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succorer of many, and of myself also.”

Now, the more contemporary NIV: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”

Paul’s appositives show Phoebe probably led the Cenchrean congregation that probably met in her home (Finger 1988:5). She served as a minister like Paul (Ephesians 3:7), Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21), Epaphras (Colossians 1:7), and Timothy (1 Timothy 4:6). She freely gave of her wealth to finance and spread the new faith.

FREE eBook: Life in the Ancient World.
Craft centers in Jerusalem, family structure across Israel and ancient practices—from dining to makeup—through the Mediterranean world.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Some Background

Cenchrea, a port five miles east of Corinth, faces the eastern Mediterranean; perhaps Phoebe’s business involved trade with Asia. Corinth, site of another early church, faces west to the Ionian Sea and Rome. Perhaps Phoebe’s Roman trip involved plans for westward expansion.

In typical fashion, the Bible shares nothing of Phoebe’s age, ethnicity, or marital status; it omits how she became a believer and how she made her money. Instead, another (in this case Paul) describes her. Like Tabitha in Acts 9:36–43, Phoebe remains silent. Others praise them.

Her Saint’s Day is September 3. Art throughout the ages depicts Phoebe, robed in red or purple, as a woman of peaceful face, direct gaze, and graceful hands.

The First Accolade: Adelphe—sister

Endearingly calling her “our sister,” Paul claims Phoebe as family. Church Father John Chrysostom (347–407 C.E.), Bishop of Constantinople, observed that honoring Phoebe thusly was “no slight thing” (Branch 2019:4).

In some New Testament translations, Paul similarly names only Apphia (Philemon 2) as “sister.” Paul calls Timothy (1 Thessalonians 3:2), Epaphroditus (Philipppians 2:25), and Philemon (Philemon 7, 20) “brother.”

The Second Accolade: Diakonos—servant, deacon, minister

Diakonos  is translated “deacon” by the NIV and carries the textual note, “servant.” The NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) similarly uses “deacon” but gives an alternative, “minister.”

However, deacon, as it evolved and is now recognized, became part of ecclesiastical governance only in the fourth century (Jankiewicz 2013:11).

Jewish insights aid in understanding diakonos in Phoebe’s day. The Complete Jewish Bible calls Phoebe “the shammash of the congregation at Cenchreae.” A shammash directs and leads public worship.

Since diakonos also designates Jesus and Paul but calls them “ministers” (Romans 15:8, 16 KJV), it seems odd that when associated with Phoebe, it becomes “servant” and “deacon.”

FREE ebook: Paul: Jewish Law and Early Christianity. Paul’s dual roles as a Christian missionary and a Pharisee.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

A proper reading indicates Phoebe was a minister to the whole church at Cenchrea and not one who served in an office limited only to women (Schussler Fiorenza 1986:425).

The term also refers to a letter-carrier (Wilder 2013:44, 46). If Phoebe carried the letter in her luggage or on her person to Rome, she probably delivered it to the house churches in Rome.

To insure against transit loss, she probably memorized it. During her delivery, Phoebe could step aside, explain its thorny parts, answer questions, and then resume recitation (Chapple 2011:212–213).

If she understood Paul’s thinking, she likely participated in the letter’s formation. Perhaps Tertius, the one penning the epistle (Romans 16:22), was her paid scribe. No doubt Phoebe updated the Roman believers on news from the Corinth and Cenchrea congregations.

The Third Accolade: Prostatis—patron, benefactor, helper, succorer of many

Developing the idea of shammash, leader/minister, Paul adds prostatis, a word targeting Phoebe’s wealth and the Roman custom of patronage. As a leader/patron, she probably used her wealth to further the Gospel (Miller 2011:17–18). In its verbal form, prostatis can mean to care for, give aid to, and preside over (Moo 1996:915).

Since prostatis appears only in Romans 16:2, it is called a hapax legomenon.

The Septuagint (the third-century B.C.E. Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), however, uses prostatis several times and always in the context of leadership, responsibility, and finances. Consider these examples:

• Jaziz, a man over flocks (1 Chronicles 27:31)
• Assorted rulers who gave freewill offerings (1 Chronicles 29:6)
• Solomon’s various officers (2 Chronicles 8:10)
• The high priest’s officer (2 Chronicles 24:11).

No doubt Paul’s Roman audience knew the word’s force.

As applied to Phoebe, prostatis carries the ideas of protecting the weak, shielding people from suffering, and “fighting the battles of the oppressed” (Deen 1955:231).

The nuance, “helper,” may have started around the ninth century. By then, ecclesiastical authority was male-centered and recognizing a woman as a leader may have been difficult.

Paul presents Phoebe as a patron, wealthy and respected, who uses her influence to help him and other Christians (Gaventa 1992:320). Quite possibly, Phoebe had agreed to finance Paul’s dream of going to Spain and evangelizing the outer realms of the Roman Empire (Romans 15:24, 28).

Paul’s Silence on Phoebe’s Church

Paul’s silence about the affairs of the church at Cenchrea also reinforces his esteem for Phoebe. For instance, there is no Pauline letter to the church at Cenchrea, although the nearby Corinthian congregation received two. There is no evidence that lawsuits, immoral sexual practices, or disorderly worship happened in Cenchrea; see 1 Corinthians 6:1–11; 6:12–20; 14:1–25. Phoebe received no pastoral letter of advice, although Paul mentored Timothy and Titus in new pastorates and wrote them. Romans 16:1–2 indicates Paul considered Phoebe a colleague.

Conclusion

Phoebe and Paul served as mutual ambassadors and reciprocal patrons. Paul introduced her as a woman of high standing, setting the stage for her to have a successful visit. He asked Roman believers to aid her in her visit, perhaps in a business way.

Phoebe, likewise, acted as Paul’s emissary, his representative to churches he did not found but eagerly sought to visit (Romans 1:10). Phoebe introduced Paul to the Romans via his letter. She conveyed current news and individual greetings, thereby setting the stage for what Paul hoped to be his successful visit to Rome.

As a first-century woman, Phoebe breaks the mold. She leads the Cenchrean congregation, has money, and generously shares it. Paul knew the church at Cenchrea was in good hands. As spiritual brother and sister, they co-labored in the Gospel.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Paul’s open praise freed Phoebe from the necessity of many self-introductions. He commended her character, leadership, and accomplishments. He acknowledged her wealth, hospitality, and generosity. He seemed to chuckle publicly as he included himself as one benefitting from her patronage.

So who was Phoebe?

The apostle Paul recognized Phoebe endearingly as his sister in the Lord. He commended her as a minister of sound doctrine; an acknowledged minister/leader who oversaw a church with few apparent problems; a skilled businesswoman; and a generous, caring friend and patron. No doubt she had a delightful visit.

Bibliography

Robin Gallaher Branch, “Female Leadership as Demonstrated by Phoebe,” In die Skriflig 53.2 (2019), a 2443.

Allan Chapple, “Getting Romans to the Right Romans: Phoebe and the Delivery of Paul’s letter,” Tyndale Bulletin 62.2 (2011), pp. 195–214.

Edith Deen, All the Women of the Bible (New York: Harper & Row, 1955).

Reta Halteman Finger, “Phoebe: Role Model for Leaders,” Daughters of Zion 14.2 (1988), pp. 5–7.

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, “Romans,” in C.A. Newsome & S.H. Ringe (eds), The Women’s Bible Commentary (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992), pp. 313–320.

Darius Jankiewicz, “Phoebe: Was She an Early Church Leader?” Ministry: International Journal of Pastors 85.4 (2013), pp. 10–13.

David Miller, “What Can We Say about Phoebe?” Priscilla Papers 25.2 (2011), pp. 16–21.

Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1966).

Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, “Missionaries, Apostles, Co-workers: Romans 16 and the Reconstruction of Women’s Early Christian History.” Word & World 6.4 (1986), pp. 420–433.

Terry L. Wilder, “Phoebe, the Letter-Carrier of Romans, and the Impact of her Role on Biblical Theology.” Southwestern Journal of Theology 56.1 (2013), pp. 43–51.

Dr. Robin Gallaher Branch serves as an adjunct professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, and in a research capacity at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where she did her Fulbright Fellowship in 2002–2003. She is the author of numerous academic articles and two books, Six Biblical Plays for Contemporary Audiences (Cascade, 2016) and Jeroboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Wipf & Stock, 2018).

A version of this post first appeared in Bible History Daily in 2021.

More by Dr. Robin Gallaher Branch about Women in the Bible

Deborah in the Bible

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2

Anna in the Bible

Tabitha in the Bible

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

The post Who Was Phoebe? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Lighten up! Laughter is an important, and often overlooked, literary element in the Bible. Perhaps Vincent Van Gogh’s Still Life with Bible could have used more pigments from his floral paintings? Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam/Vincent van Gogh Foundation.

“The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.”
—Proverbs 14:10

“A cheerful heart is a good medicine.”
—Proverbs 17:22

I remember one day resolving to do arduous work in 2 Chronicles. Studiously plowing through the reigns of Solomon through Jehoshaphat, I came to 2 Chronicles 21:20 and laughed outright. The text reads, “Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (italics added). Being a wordsmith myself, I smiled at this bygone scribe relieved at this monarch’s death. Evidently Jehoram was not well liked. The editorial statement provides a light touch—comic relief, if you will—to the Chronicler’s usually routine kingship formula.

As I study and teach, I find I read the Bible ever more slowly, and as I do, I smile more and more frequently. I listen for its humor. My emotions span sorrow, understanding or joy as I empathize with the characters who cross its pages. I chuckle at many passages, even while acknowledging the sadness they may contain. Consequently, I believe it’s possible to read many verses, stories and even books through the lens of humor, indeed to see portions of the Bible as intended to be very funny. An appropriate response is laughter. I’ve come to this conclusion: Humor is a fundamental sub-theme in both testaments.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Laughter in the Hebrew Bible

Let’s start with an umbrella verse, Ecclesiastes 3:4: “A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The Biblical text, always practical, acknowledges human emotions and makes boundaries for their proper use.

God’s Laughter in the Hebrew Bible

Let’s look at God’s laughter. After all, he’s the creator.

Consider Psalm 37:12-13: “The wicked plot against the righteous, and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that their day is coming.” Laughter here shows the impotence of the wicked and the futility of their plots and gnashings against the righteous. Why? Because, as the psalm answers, those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land and the Lord knows the wicked face a reckoning.

God directs the same kind of laughter toward earthly hotshots who think their power exceeds his. Psalm 2:2, 4 declares that when “the kings of the earth take their stand,” marshalling themselves “against the Lord … and against his Anointed One,” then “the One enthroned in heaven laughs.”

But Zephaniah 3:17 illustrates joy, a different aspect of God’s laughter and character, one more consistently expressed throughout the Biblical text: “He will take great delight in you … he will rejoice over you with singing.” My students often are amazed that the idea of rejoicing carries with it the idea of physical activity. The verse presents this possibility: God’s delight can entail joyful songs and public dancing.

Who Is Responsible?

One story that makes me laugh is the conversation taking place somewhere on Mt. Sinai between God and Moses. The recently-released Hebrew slaves are sinning by worshipping a calf made of gold and declaring that it, not the Lord, led them out of Egypt (Exodus 32:4-6). Neither God nor Moses wants these rowdies at this moment. Like a hot potato, responsibility for the former slaves passes back and forth between them.

Robin Gallaher Branch has written several Bible History Daily-exclusive character studies. Read her commentary on Judith, Barnabas, Anna and Tabitha.

The Lord swaps first, telling Moses the reveling Israelites are “your people” (v. 7) (italics added). But Moses quickly catches on. He declines association with them. As far as Moses is concerned, these people are not his! Morphing into intercession mode and speaking in what no doubt is a respectful tone, Moses rejoins, “O, Lord, why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?” (v. 11) (italics added). He reminds the Lord of his promise to his servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel to make their descendants “as numerous as the stars in the sky” (v. 13). This scene’s humor softens the chapter, which ends sorrowfully. The Israelites’ sin leads quickly to the deaths of many by plague, and thus the chapter ends (Exodus 32:35). The chapter’s structure incorporates dialogue, rebellion, crisis, and punishment.

Biblical Humor Through Innuendo

Consider Genesis 18:10-15, wherein God informs Abraham and Sarah they will have a son by “this time next year” (v. 10). Sarah openly laughs, thinking she is worn out and now will have sexual pleasure again (v. 11). After all, she is about 89! We learn later that Abraham, probably about 99, also thought along sexual lines. He believed God could give him and Sarah descendants and make them parents even though he—as a man—was “as good as dead” (Hebrews 11:11-12). The idea of fathering a child at his age struck him as funny.

Humorous Books in the Hebrew Bible

Whole books in the Hebrew Bible have strong elements of humor. An ongoing humorous element in the Book of Esther is the number of banquets it mentions. They number at least 10, thereby forming the book’s structure and carrying much of its action. One wonders: Do these rulers do anything except dine and wine and plot and whine?

FREE ebook: From Babylon to Baghdad. Ancient Iraq. Learn about Iraq and its cultural heritage. Download now.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

We are meant to laugh and learn throughout the Book of Jonah. Yes, we can laugh at Jonah’s open disobedience of going west to Tarshish when God commands him to go northeast to Nineveh (Jonah 1:1-3); at Jonah’s “time out” to think about things in the belly of the great fish (1:17a); at his pouting, obstinate silence for three days while being digested (1:17b); at his being vomited by the great fish on dry land—somewhere probably in the Mediterranean world (2:10); at his terse, seven-word sermon to Nineveh (3:4); at his anger over the success of this sermon, the repentance of the entire city (4:1). But the laughter is sometimes tinged with sadness, for Jonah’s anger prevails and he never understands God’s compassion for those who do not know him and for their cattle (4:11). Indeed everything in the Book of Jonah—the sailors, sea, big fish, gourd vine, hot wind and the Ninevites—obeys God. Everything and everybody except one: Jonah. God shows his colors of compassion and mercy—and Jonah disdains them.

Humor in the New Testament

The New Testament, similarly, abounds with laughter. Jesus must have been a compelling personality to keep the attention of crowds for days and the steadfast loyalty of at least twelve disciples for three years. In addition to being a riveting teacher whose words brought life, he was likely the kind of personality that was just fun to be around.

For example, a crowd numbering about 5,000 men followed him to a solitary place (Mark 6:30-44). Jesus’ teaching evidently made people forget to eat, bring food or worry about work.

In his classic work The Humor of Christ, Elton Trueblood lists thirty humorous passages in the Synopic Gospels. In one way or another, they’re all one liners, parables or stories Jesus told. Trueblood thinks Jesus’ audience would have laughed at the image of those who loudly proclaim their righteous actions to others (Matt. 6:2) because it was all too prevalent. An audience would have found the idea of rulers calling themselves benefactors ludicrous (Luke 22:25)—because the working folks knew all too well it wasn’t so. No doubt the audience chuckled when Jesus commended the vociferous, obstreperous widow for her persistent pestering of the unjust judge and cited her as a successful model of prayer (Luke 18:1-8).

Paul employs humor in his letter to the new church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). He addresses several problems reported to him. The problems—pride, exclusivity and attitudes of “I don’t need or want you”—could destroy the new church, for they counter the love Jesus taught. Instead of singling out by name troublemakers in Corinth, he allegorizes the situation in a humorous, non-threatening, open way: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, I don’t need you’” (v. 12:21). Paul affirms the need of all parts, and their need to function in unity, in the Body of Christ.

FREE ebook, Recipes from the BAR Test Kitchen Make your own food from recipes handed down from biblical times. Download now.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

In the home of Jairus, a synagogue ruler, Jesus uses practical knowledge to break a tense situation. Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter just died. Jesus, three of his disciples and the child’s parents fill the room (Mark 5:40). Jesus goes to the body, picks up the girl’s hand, says to her, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” (v. 41). The girl immediately gets up and walks around the room (v. 42a). Mark records the reaction of those in the room as “completely astonished” (v. 42b); in other words, they’re probably stunned and silent. Jesus responds with something practical: He tells them to give her something to eat (v. 43). A natural human reaction—when grief is turned to unexpected joy as when a dead girl is brought back to life—is something loud like laughter or shouting. Here, Jesus cracks a joke by reminding everybody that a girl who has been sick, experienced death, and is now alive is hungry! Of course she needs to eat! All twelve year-olds have ravenous appetites! This practical, timely and kind statement from Jesus breaks all the tension, pent-up grief and amazement present in the room among the girl’s parents and Jesus’ three disciples. I read this scene as Jesus’ cracking a joke. And the proper appreciation of a joke is laughter.

This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on August 21, 2013.

Robin Gallaher Branch received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009).

More from Robin Gallaher Branch in Bible History Daily

What’s Funny About the Gospel of Mark?

Deborah in the Bible

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Part II—Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

The post Laughter in the Bible? Absolutely! appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

The Book of Judith—considered canonical by Roman Catholics, Apocrypha Literature by Protestants, and non-canon by Jews—tells the story of the ignominious defeat of the Assyrians, an army bent on world domination, by the hand of a Hebrew woman (Judith 13:14).

Artemisia Gentileschi’s 17th century depiction of Judith slaying the Assyrian general Holofernes. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

Indeed her slaying of Holofernes, the invading Assyrian general—in his own tent, with his own sword, and surrounded by his own heretofore victorious army, no less!—marks her as a political savior in Israel on a par with David.

Consider these characteristics:

1. Judith commands, plans, leads.

She enters the book bearing her name when the Assyrians have cut off the water supply of Bethulia, the town at the entrance of the narrow corridor leading to Jerusalem (Judith 7:7, 4:7). The siege, which has lasted 34 days, has made the people fractious, thirsty, and bitter (Judith 7:20, 29). Uzziah and the town’s other magistrates succumb to the townspeople’s demands and say they will surrender to the Assyrians in five days—unless the Lord takes pity (Judith 7:29-30).

Upon hearing this, Judith, instead of going to Bethulia’s leaders, summons them to her home (Judith 8:10). Chiding them for testing God (Judith 8:11–12), she declares she has a plan to save Bethulia, Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people. Declining to reveal it, she nonetheless proclaims her deed will “go down through all generations of our descendants” (Judith 8:32). Not only do the leaders listen without interruption, they also acclaim her for her wisdom and—like all men in this tale!—do her bidding (Judith 8:28–29). She demands that the gates be opened and that she and her maid be let out of the city (Judith 8:33, 10:9).

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

2. Judith is verbose.

Other women wordsmiths in the Biblical text are Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 8-9), Abigail (1 Samuel 25:23–31), Deborah (Judges 5), and the Beloved in Song of Songs. Judith tops them all with two long statements—first to Uzziah and the other Bethulian magistrates (Judith 8:11-27), and the second to Holofernes and the Assyrian forces crowding around to gaze at her beautiful face (Judith 11:5–19). She prays thrice—once before her adventure starts (Judith 9), then for strength to behead Holofernes (Judith 13:4-7) and finally in a public song at the national celebrations honoring her deed and the slaughter of the Assyrians (Judith 16:1–17).

3. Judith strategizes.

Dressing in a way “to entice the eyes of all the men who might see her” (Judith 10:4), Judith and her maid set forth at night down the valley intending to be captured. Stopped by an Assyrian border patrol and escorted by 100 men directly to Holofernes (Judith 10:17), she readily spins a tall tale that contains just enough fact to be believed.

Claiming to have direct access to God, she promises to guide Holofernes and his whole army through the hill country to Jerusalem without the loss of life or so much as a dog growling at them (Judith 10:13, 11:19). Her words delight the general and his attendants (Judith 11:20). Calling her beautiful and eloquent (Judith 11:23), he welcomes her to the camp and grants her request to travel through the camp at night to bathe at a spring and pray (Judith 12:5–7). Thus this unprotected and unexpected guest in the Assyrian camp dangles herself alluringly as bait and waits for three days for a chance to strike and save Israel.

FREE ebook: Exploring Genesis: The Bible’s Ancient Traditions in Context Mesopotamian creation myths, Joseph’s relationship with Egyptian temple practices and 3 tales of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

4. Judith knows her power over men.

Throughout the book, it seems Judith merely smiles and men collapse (Judith 10:7, 14, 19, 23). Wisely appealing to their senses of sight and smell, she mesmerizes them. Her weapons of warfare are sensual and material. She dresses carefully, knowing the success of her ruse and assassination plan depend upon her ability to entice.

For her adventure, she removes her sackcloth and widow’s dress, bathes and richly perfumes herself, fixes her hair, selects a festival dress, and dons a tiara as her battle garb’s finishing touch (Judith 10:3). She accessorizes her outfit with rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings, other jewelry, and attractive sandals (Judith 10:4).

In the intimate seduction banquet scene set in Holofernes’ tent, Judith simply reclines on lambskins, nibbles her food brought from Bethulia, and flatters the general by telling him “today is the greatest day of my whole life” (Judith 12:15–20). She presents such a pretty picture that gullible Holofernes, beset with lust, drinks himself into senseless, fatal oblivion (Judith 12:16, 20).

5. Judith acts for the common good.

Judith murders Holofernes, the enemy of Israel, a world-class bully who slaughtered his way through Put, Lud, the lands of the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites, the walled towns along Wadi Abron, and Cilicia; he set fire to the tents of the Midiantites and the fields of Damascus (Judith 2:23–27).

Alone with him late at night in his tent, Judith beheads him with two strokes to the neck from his own famous sword—praying beforehand, of course (Judith 13:4–7)! She rolls his corpse to the floor, yanks down a jeweled canopy from above his bed, walks out of the tent, and hands his head to her waiting maid who puts it in the food sack (Judith 13:9–10). Together the women walk through the Assyrian lines as they have on other nights, allegedly to pray and bathe. 

This time skipping the prayer-and-bath routine, they head straight up the mountain to Bethulia’s gates. There, Judith starts shouting (Judith 13:14)! The gates open and she shares her story. She carefully proclaims in front of all that she has not been defiled by Holofernes because the Lord protected her; her face tricked Holofernes and brought his downfall (Judith 13:16). 

Displaying his head, and no doubt unraveling the jeweled canopy, her story is believable. Uzziah proclaims Judith is blessed “by the Most High God above all other women on earth” (Judith 13:18). This verse, an echo of Deborah’s vindication of Jael’s similar, hands-on murder of Sisera (Judges 4:21, 5:24–26), is pivotal in Roman Catholic theology, for it also is spoken of Mary (Luke 1:42, 48).

This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on July 30, 2012.

Read the second half of Robin Gallaher Branch’s study of Judith, in which she analyzes Judith’s extraordinary courage, Judith and her maid, her heritage and theology and her roles as prophetess and countrywoman.

Robin Gallaher Branch is professor of Biblical studies at Victory University (formerly Crichton College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009).

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Tabitha in the Bible

Anna in the Bible

Lydia and Tabitha in the Bible

Who Was Thecla?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Judith

Esther Not Judith

Giving Eve’s Daughters Their Due

The Bible in the News: Judith and Holofernes

Woman, a Power Equal to Man

Discovering Women in Scripture

The post Judith: A Remarkable Heroine appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

St. Anna the Prophetess by Rembrandt Van Rijn. Luke’s depiction of Anna in the Bible paints her as a pious prophetess whose advanced age and honorable behavior usher in the new covenant.

Anna is one of the Bible’s most unusual women. Introduced at the end of the Birth Narrative (Luke 1:1-2:40), Anna concludes the sextet of named, pious Israelites surrounding the miraculous births of John and Jesus. The others are Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph and Simeon. Anna arrives at the purification of Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the Temple, 40 days after Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:22-38). It is a scene repeated over and over in Israelite culture, for the law required a sacrifice of a lamb or two pigeons or two doves after a son’s birth (Leviticus 12:2-8).

However, this purification is unlike any other, for Simeon and Anna arrive at the ritual independently, though both seem led by divine direction (Luke 2:22-38).

Luke’s pairing of Simeon and Anna provides an interesting comparison. Simeon arrives first, and Luke records more of his encounter. Simeon is an old man. He exclaims, “Now, Sovereign Lord, you can let your servant depart in peace” (v. 29). He prophesies that the child in his arms is God’s salvation, “prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:28, 30b-32). Notice Luke’s deft writing: Simeon praises the Lord while Anna offers thanks; he prophesies, but she is called a prophetess (Luke 2:29-32, 34-36).

Regarding Anna, Luke provides three terse verses that manage to vividly depict her as a woman deserving the honor bestowed on the elderly in the ancient Mediterranean world (v. 36-38). The appositive prophetess heads her description (Luke 2:36). In this she outranks Simeon, a man praised as righteous and devout (Luke 2:25) who may be a priest because he holds the baby Jesus. Anna is the New Testament’s only named female prophetess. Luke gives her father’s name, Phanuel, but not her husband’s. He mentions her tribe, Asher. As such, she numbers among the few New Testament characters with tribal listings. Others include Jesus, of the house and lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (Luke 2:4; Matthew 1:1-16), Saul of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5) and Barnabas, a Levite (Acts 4:36).

FREE ebook, Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life. Examine fundamental questions about Jesus of Nazareth.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Luke summarizes Anna’s encounter with the little family. Unlike Simeon, her direct speech is narrated—yet it is powerful. While Simeon speaks of the larger and later context of the child to the Gentiles and Israel (vv. 30-32), Anna evangelizes immediately and selectively—to those “looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38). She and Simeon join others in Luke’s gospel in recognizing this child’s great significance and wide import: the angel Gabriel (1:31-33), Elizabeth and John (in uterus) (1:42-45), Zechariah (1:76-79) and the Bethlehem shepherds who also evangelize (2:11-12, 20).

As a prophetess, Anna receives insight into things that normally remain hidden to ordinary people; she recognizes who this child is and tells of his significance to selected people in Jerusalem. Her actions affirm Amos 3:7: “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets.”

Luke dwells on Anna’s advanced age with ambiguity. Let’s simply agree with the text: she is ancient! Luke tells us she was married for seven years, then widowed. Her widowhood has either lasted 84 years or she is 84 years old when she crosses the Biblical stage (vv. 36-37). If the former, she could well be 105 years old, the same age as the apocryphal figure Judith when she died (Judith 16:28). Some scholars figure it this way: Anna married at age 14, evidently a common age, was widowed at age 21, and then meets the young family 84 years later at age 105.

I tend to see her as 105 because it is in line with the numerous miracles and unusual occurrences already surrounding the Birth Narrative, including the advanced age of Zechariah and Elizabeth when John was conceived (Luke 1:7, 13, 18, 57), and the Holy Spirit’s action of overshadowing Mary, who was able to conceive without intercourse (Luke 1:31-35). My point is this: age 105 is not out of line with Luke’s narrative replete so far with angelic visitations and miracles—especially when Luke fills in with more details about Anna. In Deuteronomy, Moses prophesies that for the tribe of Asher, Anna’s tribe, “your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25). Surely Anna’s life shows evidence of that.

Luke’s description of her lifestyle may be seen as eccentric today, and quite likely was considered so at the time. She never leaves the Temple (v. 37). She worships night and day, fasting and praying. She is a workaholic, available 24/7. Yet her lifestyle evidently invigorates her, for she is mobile, articulate, alert, spiritually savvy and unselfish.

Who was the first person to truly recognize Jesus as the Messiah and understand the implications? In the article “Mary, Simeon or Anna: Who First Recognized Jesus as Messiah?” Ben Witherington III takes a close look at the account given in Luke, and sheds some light on what the Biblical narrative has to say about who was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

Luke indicates that her habits of worship, prayer and fasting represent a routine, probably one of decades. Evidently she resides within the Temple or on its premises. A precedent in earlier centuries could have been the presence of Levite musicians and heads of families “who stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night” (1 Chronicles 9:33). So perhaps this behavior was not so unusual during the first century because of the full time work of worship the Levites undertook.

Anna, this worship workaholic, sets her own hours, schedule, route and routine. Arguably she listens to God and prays as directed. Others recognize her as a prophetess. The work of prayer indeed characterizes a prophet, for God told Abimelech that Abraham was “a prophet and he will pray for you” (Gen. 20:7). Anna knows fasting brings results. Biblical precedents include Esther’s three-day fast before courageously approaching Xerxes (Est. 4:15-16), and the abstinence of Daniel and his three friends regarding the delicacies of King Nebuchadnezzar’s table (Dan. 1:12).

Let’s consider Luke’s textual silences. Luke omits mention of her family; perhaps she had outlived her children. But if she has living family members, what do they think of her lifestyle? Do they share her devotion to constant worship? What about her finances? Is she independently wealthy, or do others provide her food? What did she look like? These questions remain unanswered, for they do not contribute toward Luke’s themes.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

With this in mind, Anna shows one model of aging in the Biblical text. Luke presents her positively, as a woman without the bitterness that may come with age and as one full of hope. As she moves throughout the Temple, no doubt she seeks to do good to those whom she encounters. Luke’s description shows her as well adjusted, engaged in Israel’s life and useful to the Lord. She may well have become the model for the righteous church widows Paul describes in 1 Timothy 5:5. Arguably the best representatives of the Old Covenant—Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and worship workaholic Anna—although all elderly, all ably serve as transitions to the New Covenant.

Robin Gallaher Branch is Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002–2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009).

Bible History Daily articles by Robin Gallaher Branch

The Bible and Sexuality in South Africa

Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Part II—Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2

Bibliography

Arias, Mortimer. 1984. “Simeon and Anna Sodalities: A Challenge to Churches in Transition.” Missiology: An International Review 12(1):97-101.

Barclay, William. 1956. Luke. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.

Branch, Robin Gallaher. 2004. “Genesis 20: A Template for Prophecy.” In die Skriflig 2004 38 (2):1-18.

Campbell, Joan Cecelia. 2009. Phoebe: Patron and Emissary. Collegeville: Liturgical Press.

Fee, Gordon D., & Douglas Stuart. 2003. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Geldenhuys, Norval. 1979. Commentary on The Gospel of Luke: The English Text with Introduction, Exposition, and Notes. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Hastings, James, ed. 1926. The Speaker’s Bible: St. Luke, Volume 1. Aberdeen: The Speaker’s Bible Offices.

Hendrickson, William. 2002. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Marshall, I. Howard 1978. The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Exeter: The Paternoster Press.

Marshall, I. Howard. 2004. New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Wright, Tom. 2004. Luke for Everyone. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.

This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on April 19, 2013.

The post Anna in the Bible appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Great Isaiah Scroll is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah from the Hebrew Bible.Credit: Israel Museum, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Biblical writers in both testaments are known for their excellent writing, vibrant verbs, limited descriptions, and—above all!—brevity. Instead of lengthy explanations, they control the narrative by seeming to weigh every word: Does it contribute to the theme of both chapter and book?

As a biblical scholar dealing daily with the Bible’s terseness, I sometimes wryly wonder if the writers kept one eye on the price of papyrus and parchment! Yet the more I study, the more I applaud the authors for the creative, succinct ways they hook our hearts and engage our imaginations.

In particular, as I discuss here, they deftly use a variety of literary tools—including similes (introduced by “as” and “like”), metaphors, and the pronoun “who”—to add color, character, and meaning to the biblical story. Here are some examples:

These and other tools figure prominently in both biblical narration and poetry. They guide interpretation and paint nuances. I marvel at the palette they present.ⁱ

Metaphors for the Lord

David, a singularly gifted character, was songster, giant killer, leader of men, and wooer of women. As a military hero, David acknowledged the Lord’s presence during multiple life-and-death skirmishes with the Philistines and Saul’s forces.

In Psalm 18, David praises the Lord by renaming him. Note the repetition of “rock” and “shield.” David seems to write of a specific battle in which rocks offered cover; one easily hears the clash of shields and smells the fighters’ sweat in his song. Although his metaphors are highly personalized—my stronghold and my refuge—verse 30 enlarges the psalm to include all readers and hearers.

Not surprisingly, the Bible accords other gods no such praise! For example, the writer of 2 Kings 23:13 succinctly conveys contempt for the respective gods of the Ammonites (Milcom), Moabites (Chemosh), and Sidonians (Ashtoreth). Two words, shiqquwts and towebah, quickly dismiss the three as “abominations,” something unclean and detestable. In this case, a metaphor serves as a nickname and reveals something of the deity’s character.

FREE ebook: The Holy Bible: A Buyer's Guide 42 different Bible versions, addressing content, text, style and religious orientation.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Naming the Holy City

Sometimes, the biblical text seems to encourage a guessing game via diction. Deuteronomy 12 talks about “the place the Lord your God will choose to put his name.” That’s a long-winded definition, yet the chapter mentions it six—yes, six!—times (vv. 5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26).

In this case, the guessing game also involved a long wait. Suspense mounted until centuries later when the place was revealed as Jerusalem. Actually, Jerusalem’s forerunner, Jebus, already existed. David conquered it and made it his capital; it became known as “the city of David” (2 Samuel 5:7); similarly in the New Testament, Bethlehem became known as “the city of David (Luke 2:11).

Many poetic endearments hallmark Jerusalem. Metaphors of love, honor, and location in Psalm 48, for example, convey the city’s uniqueness:

Poetic Prophets

Metaphors, nicknames, and renamings adorn Isaiah 62:2–4; its magnificent poetry highlights changes and speaks of coming glory. The prophecy to Zion broadly reflects a nation, city, people, and/or person. Brilliant metaphors bridge current predicament and upcoming glory. But first comes a new name.

The nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory; You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow; You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.

This text shows something to watch in both testaments: A new name indicates a new era, a new assignment, and one season’s end.

Loaded Names

I laughed repeatedly as I noticed the importance of names as literary tools. One was learning that the name of a family, bene parosh, literally means “sons of the flea” (Ezra 2:3). Although this may sound strange to modern ears, individual Israelites were often named for insects and animals. After all, people are “sheep” and a congregation is a “flock” (Psalms 100:3; 74:1). The name of the great judge Deborah means “bee,” and that of the prophetess Huldah means “weasel.” Some scholars see a connection between bene parosh and Caleb, the name of the faithful spy, which means “dog”; both names denote faithful fighters.ⁱⁱ

A new name may serve as an advance warning. It can expose destructive behaviors that may harm others. Take, for example, Cushan-Rishathaim (Judges 3:8), the name of an overlord who was already in the land when the Israelites arrived. The second part of his name, Rishathaim, likely means “doubly wicked.”

Since it can be reasonably assumed that no mother would call her newborn son “doubly wicked,” he must have earned it! Arguably, that indicates his actions and words made him quintessentially evil. His name leads one to imagine the horror he brought his subjects and the gratitude the Israelites felt at his death. Judges 3:10 gives the context: “The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram, into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him.”

FREE ebook, Recipes from the BAR Test Kitchen Make your own food from recipes handed down from biblical times. Download now.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Self-Description

The Lord set the tone for self-disclosure by describing himself to Moses as “compassionate” and “gracious” (Exodus 34:6), two adjectives broadly lending themselves to nicknames.

David, evidently writing in a time of deep humiliation, described himself thusly: “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people” (Psalm 22:6).

However, the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, uses the same description but in a hope-filled way and then further defines himself: “Do not be afraid, you worm, Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you, declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:14).

Nicknames, a common but under-recognized literary tool, show familiarity in a relationship. Job called the Lord, “Watcher of Men” (Job 7:20). The Lord later countered by calling Job “a faultfinder” and asking if he would “contend with the Almighty” (Job 40:2).

Love in the Song of Songs

The language of love involves ongoing creativity. Song of Songs, perhaps the best-known love story in the Bible, excels in verbal praises and descriptions; it expresses the intensity of passion. The young man and young woman, the book’s principle speakers, chronicle love’s erotic, emotional, fun, explorative, appreciative (and many more!) phases. The two seem to try to outdo the other in superlatives. They know they play a game that each enjoys and each wins.

Nod and smile at these examples. The Lover is the young man, and the Beloved is the young woman.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

The “Best” Names

The English language has tools for forming superlatives; one is good, better, best.

In Hebrew, one way to express the superlative is simply to use words or phrases that convey, by definition, something that is of the highest standard or quality. Metaphors often follow that form. Some examples are “special treasure,” “apple of his eye,” and “turtledove.”

The first two indicate endearments for Israel. The third gives the psalmist a chance to identify himself personally as the beloved of the Lord.

Robin Gallaher Branch serves as an adjunct professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. She holds a research appointment at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where she served as a Fulbright scholar in 2002–2003.

Our website, blog and email newsletter are a crucial part of Biblical Archaeology Society's nonprofit educational mission

This costs substantial money and resources, but we don't charge a cent to you to cover any of those expenses.

If you'd like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology.org, and our email newsletter please donate. Even $5 helps:

Notes

i Several English translations of the Bible were used for this article.

ii S.D. Goitein, “Nicknames as Family Names,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 90.4 (1970), p. 517.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Deborah in the Bible

The post “Hey, Turtledove!” appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Moses and Eleazar reveal the bronze serpent to the people afflicted with snakebites (Numbers 21:5–9). Lithograph by A. Blanco after P.P. Rubens. Wellcome Collection gallery, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Eleazar, Aaron’s son and successor as high priest, witnessed some of the most dramatic events in Israel’s early history. Mentioned more than 60 times in the books of Exodus through Joshua, Eleazar carried out the second census with Moses and administered the division of the land of Canaan with Joshua, the military hero and Moses’s successor.

Eleazar, whose name means “God has helped,” comes from a remarkable Levite family. His uncle and aunt—Moses and Miriam—are commended with Aaron as the three sent by the Lord in connection with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Micah 6:4). His mother Elisheba and the couple’s other sons—Nadab, Abihu, and Ithamar—likewise are named (Exodus 6:23). Specific naming is a singular honor in the Bible.

No doubt these events shaped Eleazar’s youth:

• The ten plagues in Egypt (blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn) (Exodus 7:14–12:32)
• The parting of the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 14)
• The giving of the law and Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai—accompanied by lightning, thunder, trumpets, and the shaking and smoking of the mountain (Exodus 19–20)
• The Lord’s protective cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Numbers 9:16–17)
• The sending of 12 spies into the land of Canaan; ten reported a people of “great size” who “are stronger than we are” (Numbers 13:1–29, 31–33)

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Eleazar in the Bible: Aspects of His Priesthood

Eleazar came to prominence because of the deaths of his brothers, Nadab and Abihu. They presented an unsolicited offering to the Lord, what the Bible calls “unholy fire” (Leviticus 10:1). Judgment on their action was immediate and final: “And fire came out of the presence of the Lord and consumed them” (v. 2). Afterward, Eleazar and his brother Ithamar assumed priestly duties; these included offering sacrifices for the people and interceding to God on their behalf. Later, Eleazar was named chief over the leaders of the Levites (Numbers 3:32).

The Bible most frequently mentions Eleazar indirectly with variations of this formula: The Lord speaks to Moses and tells Moses to tell Aaron and Aaron’s sons such and such (see Numbers 6:22–23). Notably, Eleazar received mentoring for decades from Aaron and Moses, two of Israel’s greatest leaders. Eleazar also figured in the purification of the censers after the revolt of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16). The Lord commanded Moses to tell Aaron to tell Eleazar to get the holy censers from the blaze (v. 37). He was to hammer them into plates that would cover the altar. They were holy and would remind the Israelites not to become like Korah (vv. 38–40).

FREE ebook, Who Was Jesus? Exploring the History of Jesus’ Life. Examine fundamental questions about Jesus of Nazareth.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Eleazar: Aaron’s Successor

Death marked much of Eleazar’s recorded life. With his priestly father and brother, he oversaw the deaths of thousands of Israelites during their 40-year wilderness wanderings. Because they had complained against the Lord, they perished and did not enter the promised land (Numbers 14:27–30).

Mountaintops appear frequently in the Bible as sites of death, burial, and divine encounters. The Lord told Moses that Aaron was about to die and that he, Aaron, and Eleazar were to go up to Hor, a mountain on Edom’s border (Numbers 20:23). Aaron was to be dressed in his priestly vestments. At the top, Moses was to remove them and dress Eleazar. Once Eleazar was clothed, Aaron would be “gathered to his people,” a phrase meaning death. Three ascended the mountain, but only two came down. The Bible records no emotions, but there must have been many, for “Israel mourned Aaron for thirty days” (vv. 23–29).

After Aaron’s death, the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar, telling them to speak to the Israelites about the upcoming second census (Numbers 26:3–4). This census, conducted for military purposes, paralleled an earlier one in the first chapter of the book. A new generation readied itself to leave the wilderness and take possession of Canaan, the promised land.

Eleazar also addressed troops returning from a battle against Midian with much loot (Numbers 31:21–24). The metals taken had to be purified by fire and cleansed by water. The booty was inventoried and allotted to the warriors and then the people; portions also went to the Lord and the Levites (vv. 23–31).

The Lord directed Moses regarding leadership succession (Numbers 27:12–23). Moses was to take Joshua, have him stand before Eleazar and the whole assembly, lay hands upon him, and commission him. Joshua would receive a portion of Moses’s authority. Eleazar would obtain decisions from the Lord for Joshua “by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord” (v. 21).

Shortly thereafter, Moses died near Mt. Nebo in the “land of Moab” in Transjordan (Deuteronomy 34:1–5). The Lord re-confirmed Joshua as Moses’s successor (Joshua 1:1–5) and commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous and meditate daily on the book of the law (vv. 6–9).

Our website, blog and email newsletter are a crucial part of Biblical Archaeology Society's nonprofit educational mission

This costs substantial money and resources, but we don't charge a cent to you to cover any of those expenses.

If you'd like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology.org, and our email newsletter please donate. Even $5 helps:

Eleazar: A Leader Alongside Joshua

Ancient Israel’s Levite priests carry the Ark of the Covenant across the “dry” ground of the parted Jordan River (Joshua 3), as depicted in this cartoon by Dan McClellan. Image courtesy of the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Joshua and Eleazar governed the Israelites together in this new era. One of their first actions was to cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan (Joshua 3). Following the Lord’s instructions to Joshua, priests led the way while carrying the Ark of the Covenant. Presumably, Eleazar was among them. When the priests’ feet touched the Jordan, the river receded and the ground became dry. The miracle resembled the one 40 years earlier when the Sea of Reeds had parted, allowing the Israelites to escape the Egyptians on dry ground. The Lord stated his purpose to Joshua: “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses” (v. 7).

Chapters 4–12 tell some of the adventures, deceptions, strategies, and battles surrounding the conquest of the land; in these Joshua dominates. However, chapters 13–21 chronicle the distribution of the land to the tribes, an action shared by Eleazar and Joshua. Eleazar’s name precedes Joshua’s in many passages, a textual hint that at that time, he may have been the more prominent (Joshua 17:4; 19:51; 21:1).

The Book of Joshua ends with the deaths and burials of these leaders. Joshua dies at age 110; the biblical text notes he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim (Joshua 24:29–30). Eleazar’s death and burial at the Ephraimite town of Gibeah concludes the book (v. 33). Rabbinic discourse states that Joshua wrote much of the book bearing his name but that Eleazar and his son Phinehas finished it (Bava Batra 15a:7a).

Eleazar’s shadow stretches across the ages because his legacy of strong character extended to Phinehas. It seems Phinehas acted quickly to stem the Lord’s anger because of an outbreak of religious apostasy and sexual sin among the Israelites (Numbers 25:1–3). Speaking to Moses, the Lord made a “covenant of peace” with Phinehas (vv. 4–12). The Lord commended “the son of Eleazar” for his zeal and gave him and his descendants “a covenant of perpetual priesthood” (v. 13).

Eleazar’s life is remarkable for the instances the Bible mentions but also for a silence. Unlike the leaders Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and later David, scripture records no rebuke of him. It seems that Eleazar learned a life-long lesson from the deaths of his brothers Nadab and Abihu—he learned obedience.

Robin Gallaher Branch serves as an adjunct professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, and in a research capacity at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where she did her Fulbright Fellowship in 2002–2003. She holds a Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of numerous academic articles and two books, Six Biblical Plays for Contemporary Audiences (Cascade 2016) and Jeroboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Wipf & Stock 2018).

This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on June 15, 2022.

More from Robin Gallaher Branch in Bible History Daily

Who Is Jethro, Priest of Midian?

The Bible and Sexuality in South Africa

Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Part II—Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2

All-Access subscribers, read more in the BAS Library

Joshua

Where Did the Early Israelites Come From?

Red Sea or Reed Sea?

Aaron

Moses

Israel Enters Canaan—Following the Pottery Trail

Moses and the Monks of Nebo

The post Eleazar in the Bible appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

This mid-17th-century painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer depicts Jesus’s visit to the home of Martha and Mary, as described in Luke 10:38–42. Image in the public domain, by Google Art Project.

Based on Luke 8:1–3, Martha is arguably one of the women of means who supported Jesus and the Twelve, his co-traveling, male disciples. She, her brother, and sister illustrate the concept of hospitality demonstrated by the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). Later, while experiencing her brother’s sudden illness and death and her keen disappointment regarding Jesus’s prolonged absence, Martha declares that Jesus is the Son of God (John 11:27).

Her interactions with Jesus provide added insights on his character. They show a woman of independent thought and bold assertions, one meriting study and shaping theology.

Hospitality (Luke 10:38–42)

The scene is Bethany, a two-mile walk east from Jerusalem. In the last year of his ministry, Jesus left Galilee and relocated to Judea. An entourage accompanied this itinerant preacher.

“Martha opened her home to him” (Luke 10:38) (italics added). Perhaps Martha was a widow with a large compound able to accommodate many guests.

It was unusual that siblings lived together; none seemed eager to marry. The family, especially the sisters who entertained a single man, broke the rules (Camille 2007:44–45).

Jesus chooses to “hang out” with this trio (Honeycutt 2019:10). He loves Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (John 11:5). Among them, he sheds the stress of his ministry’s long hours and its harassment from religious authorities.

Displaying an eclectic schedule, Jesus shows up, perhaps unexpectedly. Traditional norms of hospitality (established already in Genesis 18) demanded that guests—in this case, Jesus and the dozen or more who accompanied him—be fed, protected, honored, and housed.

Martha starts cooking. But Mary sits at Jesus’s feet, enthralled (Luke10:39). Listening to him teach, Mary ignores any responsibility for food preparation as well as traditional norms of gender separation. Jesus does not send her away.

Meanwhile, Martha’s irritation rises. Interrupting Jesus, she demands, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (v. 40).

Martha ruins her own dinner party! She forces her honored guest to arbitrate a seemingly ongoing squabble: sibling household duties.

However, Jesus makes it a brilliant teaching moment. He acknowledges Martha’s service to him and others but names a detracting habit: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things” (v. 41).

Jesus then recognizes Mary’s different service: listening. He surprisingly states Mary has chosen “what is better.” Adjudicating Martha’s demand, he decides Mary’s choice “will not be taken away from her” (v. 42).

Jesus thus re-organizes traditional biblical hospitality around himself. Hospitality now includes service to him by doing and listening.

He thereby continued his pattern of changing established traditions. Earlier, he had re-ordered the family around himself, declaring that whoever does God’s will is “my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mark 3:31–35); and, likewise, the Sabbath, declaring “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8).

However, Jesus’s teaching contains this sincere compliment: Jesus wants Martha’s company more than he wants her splendid meal.

It is also important to note that the doubling of Martha’s name (v. 41)—“Martha, Martha…”—presents interesting canonical parallels. Name repetition, a biblical rarity, denotes emphasis and a divine encounter. Consider, for example, God’s call to Abraham not to lay a hand on Isaac (Genesis 22:11), the call to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4), and Jesus’s appearance to Saul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4).

Faith (John 11:1–44)

Martha’s second appearance verifies her importance. Often called the “Raising of Lazarus” the John passage is better seen as conversations between Jesus and his disciples and, individually, with Martha and Mary (Blessing 2002:399).

Through the sisters’ message, Jesus learns that Lazarus, “the one you love” (John 11:3), is ill. Obviously, Jesus will come quickly! But Jesus delays. The sisters must have watched the road ceaselessly, listening acutely.

Lazarus worsens, dies, and is buried. Jesus remains silent, absent, and mysterious.

Jesus arrives during the mourning period. He stops outside Bethany. Martha hurries to him. Foregoing a greeting, she says—bluntly and perhaps accusingly—“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21).

Jesus answers Martha, likewise, directly: “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). Thinking eschatologically, Martha parrots a prevailing principle, that “he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24). However, Jesus speaks prophetically about what will happen shortly at Lazarus’s tomb.

He honors Martha with one of his seven “I am” statements, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and challenges her, “Do you believe this?” (vv. 25–26).

His directness, piercing through her bewilderment and hurt, necessitates a response.

Without hesitation, Martha answers: “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world” (v. 27).

Martha’s four-fold confession of faith ranks alongside Peter’s confession (Matthew 16:16; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20).

Returning home, Martha tells Mary that “the Teacher” (evidently the sisters’ pet name for Jesus) asks for her. Going quickly to him, Mary repeats Martha’s words but her mannerisms differ. She greets Jesus by kneeling and weeping (John 11:28–29, 32).

With Martha, Jesus was no-nonsense, channeling her grief by focusing her attention on himself. With Mary, deeply moved, he weeps (vv. 33–35).

Onlookers accompany them to the tomb. Riveting every eye, Jesus commands that the stone be taken away. The ever-practical Martha states the obvious: “By this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days” (vv. 38–39).

All stare at the darkened cave. Jesus shouts: “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43).

And he does!

In one of scripture’s most remarkable events, a shrouded form hobbles forth. No doubt all are astonished, speechless. Jesus breaks the silence by recognizing the obvious: bound Lazarus cannot loose himself. Jesus commands, “…let him go” (v. 44).

Resolution (John 12:2)

Shortly thereafter, in scripture’s final mention of the trio, a smell different from death but associated with burial occurs. Six days before Passover, Martha serves at a dinner in Jesus’s honor. Lazarus reclines at the table with Jesus. Mary takes nard and opens it; a sweet smell fills the house. Mary pours it on Jesus’s feet and wipes them with her hair (John 12:2–3).

The scene shows growth by its silence. Martha busies herself with serving; she offers no comment when Mary serves Jesus differently. Hospitality issues seem resolved.

However, Mary again receives criticism, this time from Judas Iscariot. Jesus again defends her, praising her extravagant gift as “perfume for the day of my burial.” The next day, Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph and to acclaim (John 12:4–8, 12).

Conclusion

Scripture heavily documents Jesus’s last week. Jesus celebrates Passover on Thursday with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem. Afterward they go to the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:7–46).

Perhaps Jesus was scheduled to return to Bethany. One can picture Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, their compound aglow with oil lamps, waiting at the gate, watching the Jerusalem road.

Jesus never comes. He is seized, taken to the high priest’s house, tried before the council of elders, sent to Pilate then Herod, and sentenced by Pilate. On Friday morning he is crucified and dies that afternoon (Luke 22:47–23:49).

The sibling trio are not mentioned at the cross, the tomb, or later after the resurrection as among the 120 who were praying (Acts 1:12–14). What happened?

Perhaps when learning of Jesus’s sentence, they fled, hearing that the chief priests desired to kill Lazarus (John 12:9–11).

Early church lore says they were captured and put in a leaking boat without oars. The boat made it either to Cyprus or Gaul. One account says Lazarus became Bishop of Cyprus and died, peacefully, 30 years later (“St Lazarus,” 1956:IV:576). His feast day is December 17.

According to another account, Martha evangelized Tarasçon (in modern day southern France), where relics associated with her were enclosed in a shrine (“St Martha,” 1956:III:205). Her feast day is July 29. Early church thinking merges Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalen into one person. Mary Magdalen’s feast day is July 22 (“St Mary Magdalen,” 1956:III:161).

Bibliography

Kamila Blessing, “John,” in The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary, C.K. Kroeger & M.J. Evans, eds. (Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2002), pp. 584–605.

A. Camille, “Catfights of Biblical Proportions,” US Catholic 72.7 (2007), pp. 43–45.

F.G. Honeycutt, “Jesus Wept—but Why? The Savior in a House of Affliction,” Christian Century 136.13 (2019), pp. 10–12.

“St Lazarus,” Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Volume IV (New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1956), pp. 576–577.

“St Martha,” Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Volume III (New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1956), pp. 205–206.

“St Mary Magdalen,” Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Volume III (New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1956), pp. 161–163.

Dr. Robin Gallaher Branch serves as an adjunct professor at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, and in a research capacity at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where she did her Fulbright Fellowship in 2002–2003. She is the author of numerous academic articles and two books, Six Biblical Plays for Contemporary Audiences (Cascade 2016) and Jeroboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Wipf & Stock 2018).

This article was first published on Bible History Daily on June 21, 2021.

Read more by Dr. Robin Gallaher Branch

Who Is Jethro, Priest of Midian?

Deborah in the Bible

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2

Anna in the Bible

Tabitha in the Bible

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Biblical Views: Biblical Widows—Groveling Grannies or Teaching Tools?

David and Joab

5 Myths About Women in the New Testament Period

Woman, a Power Equal to Man

The post Martha: A Remarkable Disciple appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Jethro and Moses (c. 1900), by James Tissot. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Bible introduces Jethro, who is also called Reuel, as a non-Israelite, a priest of Midian, and the father of seven daughters who are shepherdesses (Exodus 2:16–18). ⁱ  Moses marries one of them, Zipporah. Some 40 years later, Jethro figures prominently in Exodus 18 and is called therein the father-in-law of Moses. Exodus 18 details a momentous conversation between the two leaders that quickly establishes the civil, judicial framework for the new Israelite community.

Although Moses and the Lord lead a host of characters in Exodus, Jethro dominates Exodus 18. Set in the wilderness, the chapter serves as a pivot between the book’s two major themes: God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt (Exodus 1–17), and God’s giving of the law to Israel (Exodus 20–40). Sandwiched between the Israelites’ victory over the Amalekites and their journey to Mt. Sinai to receive the law (Exodus 17, 19), Exodus 18 highlights Jethro’s visit to the camp and his wise counsel.

Setting the Scene in Midian

According to the Book of Exodus, once Moses realized that Pharaoh knew he had killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:15), he fled for his life. The Hebrew Bible remains silent on his escape but pauses on where he rested, Midian; scholars speculate that Midian was a rectangular strip of land along the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat in what is now the northwestern boundary of Saudi Arabia.

Courtesy Biblical Archaeology Society

The two men evidently liked what they saw in each other. They seemed to be cut from the same cloth of courtesy, honor, and strength. Although the Bible does not record their conversation, perhaps they discovered that they shared a common ancestor. Moses came from the line of Abraham and Sarah, and Jethro from the line of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1–4).

FREE ebook: Frank Moore Cross: Conversations with a Bible Scholar. Download now.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Perhaps Jethro asked Moses—obviously a cultured, educated Egyptian—why he traveled alone; perhaps Moses shared his past and his fugitive status. The text remains silent but states that Jethro gave Moses a job, sanctuary, and his daughter in marriage. After all, who would look for a prince of Egypt among shepherds roving in a desert (vv. 16–21)? In any event, Jethro’s unexpected kindness and notable courage changed history.

Although the Bible remains silent on Moses’s 40 years in Jethro’s household, it indicates he never lost his Hebrew heritage. He named his first son Gershom, because “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land,” and his second son Eliezer, because “the God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh” (Exodus 18:3–4).

By his 80th year, Moses seemed a man without ambition or dreams, one content to live in hiding and work for another in a dead-end job. Then something unusual happened! A bush burned but was unconsumed! Moses investigated, heard the Lord’s plans to deliver his people from Egypt, learned he was the Lord’s designated deliverer, and realized he had to obey (Exodus 3). The Book of Exodus goes on to describe how Moses continued to learn to obey the Lord and his repeated adventures and deliverances in the Lord’s service. As the Lord’s spokesman before Pharaoh, Moses demanded that Pharaoh let the Hebrews go into the wilderness to worship. In the prolonged contest of wills between the Lord and Moses on one side and Pharaoh on the other, Pharaoh lost. Ten plagues sent by the Lord essentially devastated his kingdom and finally led to the Hebrews’ expulsion from Egypt and their freedom from slavery. 

Jethro’s Amazing Contribution

Upon hearing of the Lord’s deliverance of the “people of Israel” from Egypt (Exodus 18:1), Jethro decided to visit. The setting was an encampment near “the mountain of God,” probably Mt. Horeb (Exodus 3:1; 18:5; 24:13). Jethro, described 13 times in chapter 18 as the father-in-law of Moses (King James Version), takes center stage through his words and actions.

Firstly, both were courteous. Jethro sent advance notification of his upcoming arrival, bringing with him members of Moses’s immediate family. Moses likewise courteously responded by leaving camp to meet Jethro. Secondly, the two embraced. Moses bowed before his elder, a public sign of respect, and they exchanged pleasantries (vv. 6–7). Good will abounded.

The men entered “the tent” (v. 7); scholarly speculation includes three tent possibilities: Jethro’s, Moses’, or the Lord’s. Inside whichever tent it was, Moses retold “everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved them” (v. 8). The chapter’s summary account indicates that: 1) Moses talked only about the Lord and not about himself; and 2) Jethro listened without interruption.

However, the text gives a detailed account of Jethro’s reaction. He rejoiced! Delighted to hear of all the things the Lord had done, Jethro praised the Lord for rescuing Israel from Pharaoh and the hand of the Egyptians (vv. 9–10). Prompted by Moses’s account, Jethro made a firm confession of faith in Israel’s God: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods!” (v. 11). Jethro, therefore, is possibly the Bible’s first convert.

Jethro then led a worship service that included a burnt offering and sacrifices. A burnt offering is fully consumed by fire and offered in tribute to the Lord; in a sacrifice, the blood and fat are offered to the Lord and the meat is eaten in a fellowship of thanksgiving. Aaron and the 70 elders of Israel joined; although not mentioned, Moses apparently concurred. The participants ate together “in the presence of God” (v. 12). It must have been a magnificent meal and experience.

Jethro the Wise

The next day, Jethro observed the camp’s routine. While watching Moses hear the Israelites’ disputes, Jethro became increasingly concerned; he observed the toll on both Moses and the people. Foreseeing a major leadership crisis, he presented an alternative model.

In the evening when the proceedings closed, Jethro asked Moses two questions: “What is this you are doing for the people?” and “Why do you alone sit and judge?” (v. 14).

Moses replied that the people “come to me to seek God’s will”; he then “decides between the parties” and informs them of “God’s decrees and laws” (vv. 15-16).

Jethro then summarized the problem directly—and probably privately—to Moses: “What you are doing is not good” (v. 17). Jethro described what he had seen: The work is too heavy for you; it is wearing out both you and the people (v. 18). Jethro outlined a job description that emphasized his son-in-law’s strengths. Moses was to continue teaching the people, showing them how to live and behave, representing them before God, and bringing their disputes to God. However, he was to bring only the hardest of the disputes to God; the others were to be decided in the lesser jurisdictions (vv. 19–20).

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Jethro advised Moses on what to do: “Select capable men from all the people…and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens”; he enumerated their qualifications: They must fear God, be trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain (v. 21). Clearly skilled in public relations, Jethro affirmed the probable result of implementing his advice: The “people will go home satisfied” (v. 23). Jethro wisely left unsaid Moses’s obvious need to delegate and the Israelites’ recent threat to stone him (Exodus 17:4).

Moses listened without comment, question, or argument. He acted immediately. He chose capable men from throughout Israel to judge units of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. These judges—all fellow neighbors—would decide the so-called “easy” disputes and send the hard ones to him.

Although judicial levels are now commonplace, Jethro’s advice must have been revolutionary. Moses quite likely had been following the single governance model he knew, that of Pharaoh’s absolute rule. This new civil system of justice preceded the giving of the law (Exodus 20) and prepared the Israelites for it. Arguably, the world stands indebted to Jethro.

God’s silence—no comment, rebuke or correction—affirmed Jethro’s wisdom and plan. It showed that God’s direction can come from both a prophetic word and human reasoning. Moses, later known as Israel’s greatest prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10-12), took advice and wise counsel from Jethro, one whom he respected and knew well.

Notes

 i  Throughout the Bible, names shed light on character. Reuel means “friend of God,” and Jethro, the priest’s most frequent reference, means “his excellency”; it may signify a title and his increased standing over decades. Moses’s name carries the memory of his rescue from the Nile by his foster mother, a daughter of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Jethro in the Bible

Barnabas: An Encouraging Early Church Leader

Widows in the Bible

Deborah in the Bible

Tabitha in the Bible

Judith: A Remarkable Heroine

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Jethro

Biblical Views: Biblical Widows—Groveling Grannies or Teaching Tools?

David and Joab

The post Who Is Jethro, Priest of Midian? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.