JOSHUA: Chapter 11

Chapter 11
Summary:	When King Jabin of Hazor had heard of these events, he sent word out to King Jobab of Madon; as well as the kings of Shimron, Achshaph, and the kings north of the mountains; the kings of the plains south of Chinneroth; the kings in the valley; the kingdoms that border the west of Dor; the Canaanites to the east and to the west; the Amorites, the Hitites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the mountains; and the Hivites under King Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. They gathered forces, together with as many people as there are grains of sand upon the seashore, along with multitudes of horses and chariots, and encamped along the waters of Merom to fight against the people of Israel. God tells Joshua not to fear, stating to him that by this time tomorrow he will deliver them all, slain, over to the people of Israel, and that they are to subsequently cripple their horses by hamstringing them and burn their chariots. Joshua arrived with his armies by the waters of Merom and attacked his enemies. God delivered them into the hands of the Israelites, who smote them and pursued them toward greater Zidon, to Misrephothmaim, and east toward the valley of Mizpeh. The Israelites continues to smite them until none survived. Joshua then did as God had commanded him - he hamstringed their horses and burnt their chariots. Joshua then turned back, took the kingdom of Hazor and slew King Jabin*, for the kingdom of Hazor was the leader of the kingdoms that had joined forces against the Israelites. The Israelites slaughtered all of the people in the city at swordpoint, utterly destroying them, sparing none that breathed, and Joshua burnt the city of Hazor with fire. Joshua took all of the cities belonging to those kings, executed the kings at sword point, and destroyed their cities, just as Moses, God's servant, had commanded. But the Israelites burned none of these cities - except Hazor, which Joshua had burnt. The Israelites looted the spoils of these cities and took the livestock for themselves, but every person was slaughtered by the edge of their swords, until they destroyed them all, leaving none left to breathe. As God had commanded Moses, so did Moses command Joshua, and so Joshua did, leaving nothing undone that God had commanded Moses. Joshua took all the land: the hills, all the south country, all the land of Goshen, the valley, the plains, the mountain of Israel and the valley below. From Mount Halak, going up to Seir, to Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon. All of their kingdoms he took, and their kings he smote and slew them. Joshua waged war for a long time against those kings, and there was not a city that made peace with the Israelites, except for the Hivites that inhabited the city of Gibeon, all others were defeated in battle. It was God who had hardened their hearts so that they would come against the Israelites in battle, so that he might destroy them utterly without favor, as God had commanded Moses. At that time Joshua had cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from the mountains of Judah, and the mountains of Israel. Joshua had destroyed them completely along with their cities. There we none of the Anakims left in the land seized by the Israelites, and they remained only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. Joshua took the entirety of the land, according to what God had laid out to Moses, and Joshua distributed it as an inheritance unto the Israelites according to their divisions by their tribes. The land then rested from war.
Notes:	1.) The slaying of King Jabin by Joshua seemingly appears to contradict Judges 4:24 which depicts the slaying of King Jabin occurring 120 years after Joshua's death. While it's possible that perhaps these could be two distinctly different kings that happened to have coincidentally shared the same name and ruled over the same kingdom, the possibility that the latter king could have been descended from the former seems unlikely due to the following verse of this chapter that reads: 11:11 - "And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire."
Thoughts:	The chapter begins with King Jabin, the king of the city of Hazor, forming a military alliance with the kings of well over a dozen other cities in order to attempt to thwart the impending invasion by the Israelites. While the kingdoms amass a massive army, horses, and chariots camped along the waters of Merom, God reassures Joshua that he has nothing to fear, stating that by the same time the following morning, they will all be slain. He adds after which the Israelites are to "hamstring" the horses and burn the chariots of their enemies .Joshua arrived with his army in a surprise attack by the waters of Mermom and he chased the enemy forces, smiting them until none were left surviving, burning their chariots, and hamstringing their horses. After conquering the kingdom of Hazor and executing King Jabin, Joshua slaughtered all of the inhabitants sparing no one, and burnt the city to the ground. Similarly he conquered the rest of the cities, slaughtered the inhabitants, but did not burn them to the ground. Instead, the Israelites looted the city and took the livestock for themselves, while leaving no survivors. The chapter makes sure to make note that these conquests were commanded by God to Moses, and in turn Moses had commanded Joshua, and that Joshua had followed these commandments decreed by God to the letter - leaving nothing undone. It's made important to understand that these violent, ghastly, and merciless conquests were not Joshua acting on his own volition, but that he was actually acting precisely upon God's commands. In fact, the bible states that once again God hardened the hearts of the enemy kings to ensure that they would engage the Israelites in battle, and that they wouldn't attempt to flee or make peace with the Israelites like the Gibeonites did, opting for enslavement as an act of self preservation. This is yet another example that is inconsistent with the claims that the god of the bible is somehow "merciful". There is simply no way you can describe a being with the quality of "merciful" that robs his enemies of free will and provokes them into attacking in order to justify an excessive retribution. Instead it actually becomes more difficult to view the Israelites' enemies as wholly "evil" if God has removed, hampered, or otherwise interfered with their ability to flee, surrender, or subject themselves to enslavement as the Gibeonites had done. In fact, God would share culpability and blame for any "evil" committed by his enemies by preventing them from acting any other way. The chapter wraps up by stating that Joshua had now taken all of the land he was commanded to, slew their inhabitants as commanded to, and had annihilated the Anakims from the land he took, leaving them only to dwell in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. After dividing up the conquests of lands amongst the Israelites by their tribes, war had ceased in the land.

JOSHUA: Chapter 10

Chapter 10
Summary:	King Adonizedec of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had conquered and destroyed the city of Ai, the same fate that had befell the city of Jericho and its king. He had also heard that the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel and had become their slaves. This alarmed both him and his people because the city of Gibeon was one of the royal cities, and was much larger than the city of Ai had been and had a mighty army. King Adonizedec sought to form an alliance with King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon to attack the city of Gibeon for "making peace" with the Israelites. The five kings of the Amorites - Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon - formed an alliance, moved their troops into position, and attacked the city of Gibeon. The Gibeonites met with Joshua at the Israelites camp at Gilgal begging him not to abandon "his new servants" by failing to protect them against the kings of the Amorites. As Joshua marched his army toward the city, God spoke to Joshua telling him, "Do not fear them for I have brought them into your hands. None of them will be able to stand before you." Joshua met the Amorites by surprise after an all night march from Gilgal, and the Israelites slew a great many of them at the city of Gibeon, chasing them toward Bethhoron, and smiting them at Azekah and at Makkedah. As they fled through Bethhoron toward Azekh, God cast down large hailstones from the sky, killing more of the Amorites than the Israelites had managed to kill in battle. Joshua, in the presence of the Israelites, then said to God, "Sun, you stand still upon the city of Gibeon; and you, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." The sun and the moon stood still in the sky until the Israelites slew their enemies, as recorded in the book of Jasher. The sun stood in the midst of the sky, not going down for the entirety of the day. There was no day like this either before or after it, which God had listened to the voice of a man, for God fought for the Israelites. Joshua then returned with the Israelites to the camp at Gilgal. The five kings of the Amorites managed to survive the Israelite's slaughter and fled to a cave at Makkedah. When Joshua was told about their hiding spot, he instructed his men to roll large stones in front of the cave and have some of the men keep watch. He then added that they are not to stop pursuing the survivors of the Amorite kingdoms, and that they are to kill them off before they return to their cities, reminding them that God had "delivered them into their hands". After Joshua and the Israelites greatly slaughtered the Amorites, a few survivors managed to escape and return to their fortified cities. The Israelites then returned to their camp at Makkedah, and none spoke a word against the Israelites. Joshua then commanded, "Open up the cave, retrieve the five kings, and bring them forth to me." The Israelites retrieved the five kings - the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon - and brought them before Joshua. Joshua summoned all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of his army, "Come here and place your feet upon the necks of these kings." After they stepped on the necks of the kings, Joshua continued, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be brave and strong, for this is what the Lord shall do to all your enemies that you battle." After which Joshua slew the kings and hung each of them on five trees, leaving them hanging until night fall. After the sun set, Joshua commanded his men to take down the corpses and cast them into the cave where they had attempted to hide, closing of the entrance to the cave with large stones, which remain there to this day. That day Joshua conquered the city of Makkedah, destroying its king and every living being therein, leaving no survivors. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Joshua then left Makkedah and headed to Libnah. Joshua conquered and destroyed Libnah, its king, and every living being therein, leaving no survivors. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Joshua then left Libnah and headed to Lachish. Joshua conquered and destroyed Lachish and every living being therein, leaving no survivors, just as he had done in Libnah. King Horam, king of Gezer came to help Lachish in battle, but Joshua smote him and his men, until there were none of them left remaining. Joshua then left Lachish and headed to Eglon. Joshua conquered and destroyed Eglon and every living being therein, leaving no survivors, just as he had done in Lachish. Joshua then left Eglon and headed to Hebron. Joshua conquered and destroyed Hebron and every living being therein, leaving no survivors, just as he had done in Eglon. Joshua then left Hebron and headed to Debir. Joshua conquered and destroyed Debir and every living being therein, leaving no survivors, just as he had done in Hebron. Joshua smote Debir's king just as he had done to the king of Libnah. In the end Joshua massacred the entire region, from the hill country to south of the valley, along with all of their kings. He left no survivors, killing all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea to Gaza, and all of the region of Goshen to Gibeon. Joshua slaughtered all of these kings and took their land all in one strike because God fought for Israel. Joshua and the rest of the Israelites returned to their camp site in Gilgal.
Notes:	1.) The Book of Jasher (properly translated as the "Book of the Upright" or "Book of the Just") refers to a supposed "Lost book of the Old Testament". It is believed that it was a book of poetry from the context of it's mention later on in the book of Samuel.
Thoughts:	After reading this chapter it's difficult for me to decide which is more problematic about it: whether it's the utter lack of even a basic rudimentary understanding of how our solar system actually works, or the sheer amount of brutal and merciless genocide and glorified violence clearly being attributed as being commanded by God. The chapter begins with the king of Jerusalem, Adonizedec, forming a military alliance with four other kingdoms (Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) to attack the city of Gibeon for having allowed themselves to become enslaved to the Israelites as a measure of sparing themselves from falling victim to the Israelites' genocidal conquest. Despite the chapter's implications that the city of Gibeon was a large city with a mighty army, the Gibeonites run to their new slave masters begging them to save their new "servants" from the attacking Amorite coalition. It seems more likely to be a literary ploy to brag about how "mighty" the Gibeonite army was in oder to bolster how much more mighty and fearsome the Israelites were supposed to be needing to have to beg the Israelites to hurry up and come out to "save" them. As Joshua marched his army towards the city of Gibeon, the land of his newly enslaved people he was bound to protect, God reassures Joshua that he has nothing to fear as his enemies won't stand a chance against him in battle. Joshua manages to catch the Amorite army by surprise (although it's unclear as to how exactly, considering that a retaliatory response must have been expected) and slaughteres a great many of them driving them off toward Bethhoron. Not one to be outdone apparently, God assaults the Amorites with large hailstones and the chapter states that he was able to kill more Amorites with his "killer hailstones" than the Israelites killed with their swords. Interesting to note however is that although it seems rather clear that God had no intent or desire for there to be survivors, his "killer hailstones" didn't manage to completely vanquish the Amorites, making his alleged perfection and omnipotence certainly questionable. What happens next in our story is one of those moments where it becomes painfully obvious that what we're reading is a work of fiction that is conjured from the mind of a person wholly ignorant of how our solar system works. If you've managed to make it this far into the bible and have rationalized away such claims as God creating light prior to creating the sun; talking snakes (and donkeys); people living well over 800 years in age; a single man thousands of years ago being able to procure a pair of every known "kind" of animal all over the globe, and managing to keep them healthy and alive on a boat for nine months; and over a million people leaving a country at once without a single shred of the sort of economic evidence one would expect to find in the wake of such a sudden shift of losing over a million slaves simultaneously, by insisting that God is omnipotent and can defy not just physics, but logic, it becomes far more improbable to defend the ridiculous aspects of story we're about to be presented with than to dismiss it as fictitious and ignorant. Joshua speaks to God in the presence of the people of Israel - meaning that we are lead to presume that due to the presence of witnesses, that there should be less of a likelihood that this story could be misrepresented or misremembered - and he commands the sun to stand still in the sky over the city of Gibeon, and commands the moon to stand still in the sky over the valley of Ajalon. The chapter claims that the sun and the moon hung there in the sky for and entire day until the Israelites completed killing their enemies. This story reflects a primitive geocentric view of the universe (the theory that the Earth is the center of the solar system - or the universe - and that all other objects revolve around the Earth) rather than the current heliocentic understanding of our solar system (that the Earth revolves around a stationary sun) popularized by Copernicus much later in the 16th century. If we're to believe that God "stopped" the sun and the moon, this obviously presents numerous problems: In order for both the sun and the moon to appear to "stay put" over the city of Gibeon and the valley of Ajalon respectively, this would require both the Earth and the moon to cease their orbits around the sun and the Earth respectively. Additionally the Earth would also have to halt on it's axis. Such interruptions of orbit and axial rotation would also have disasterous effects on gravity not just on Earth, but throughout the entire solar system. Even for "just a day" the lack of sunshine and heat on the side of the earth facing away from the sun would have disasterous and lethal ecological effects, while the side of the Earth facing the sun would likely also suffer from over exposure to UV rays and accumulation of heat. Due to the adverse effects that would be witnessed and experienced throughout the globe by such an event, the least of which being prolonged daylight or night time depending on location, the lack of any corrobrative mention within the contemporary histories of other civilizations further contributes to the unlikelihood of the claim. Even if one explained away all of these problems by stating that God is omnipotent and therefore he could simultaneously stop the Earth on its axis and orbit, stop the moon in its oribt, provide a gravitational substitute on the earth, provide some sort of UV and heat management for the portion of the Earth stuck in daylight mode, provide some sort of heat and UV substitute for the portion of the Earth stuck in darkness, and somehow make this appear unremarkable to other civilizations and managing all of these tasks with ease, when we examine exactly why Joshua commanded the sun and the moon to stay put in the sky, the justifications become akin to a Rube Goldberg contraption. Simply put, Joshua wanted more time and daylight to battle the Amorites, and due to his primitive understanding of astronomy, commanded the sun (which we now understand doesn't revolve around the Earth) and the moon to stay put until he was finished in battle, which the bible claims lasted for "the entirety of the day". It's absurd to think than an omnipotent being would devise such an elaborate Rube Goldberg-esque ruse just to appease Joshua's exact command to the letter, rather than simply grant him what he really desired - more light and time to battle - in a far less ridiculous manner. Perhaps the return of "God's Flashlight" could have accomplished this simpler, or better yet, perhaps God could have simply come to Joshua's aid in battle again with his "killer hailstones". Additionally another problem arises in the claim that the sun stood in the sky for the entirety of the day. While the claim is vague in describing how much time elapsed, considering that the primitive means of measuring time in the time period would most likely have been limited to sun dials (which would be rendered redundant if the position of the sun in the sky were to remain unchanged) there would be no accurate means of determining how much time elapsed. Factoring in that the Israelites also were engaged in strenuous activity by fighting in battle, it's fair to say that they would also be in an extremely bad position to accurately estimate how much time had elapsed without the aid of the sun. A common apologetic response to the more ridiculous stories contained within the bible is to claim that the passages weren't intended to be meant as literal fact. However the story of Joshua having God cause the sun and the moon to stand still appears to be presented as if it were a literal event by the additional mention that the event was also recorded in the Book of Jasher - an alleged "Lost book of the Old Testament". Simply put, the justifications needed - even allowing for the supernatural elements - to meet a basic need for light to continue to battle in could be much more simply met and it's ridiculous to assume that it's more plausible that God was willing to humor Joshua and fulfill his request to the letter, than it is that this story is merely the invention of primitive people with an ignorant geocentrist perspective trying to brag about the powers of their god being oblivious to how unlikely their story would appear to heliocentric reality, in additon to problems related to the laws of gravity. Likewise, outside of claiming that God himself confirmed the length of time elapsed to the Israelites, it would also be impossible for the Israelites to accurately determine how long the sun and moon had stayed put in their positions in the sky, especially with the added distraction of being engaged in battle. Following this ridiculous story, the five kings of the Amorites somehow manage to survive Joshua's onslaught and escape into hiding in a cave located in Makkedah. When Joshua was told about their hiding spot (it isn't clear by whom, whether it was told to him by God, or that the Amorite kings migh have perhaps been careless enough to have been observed retreating to their cave) he had his men roll large stones blocking the entrance of the cave and left a few of them behind to keep watch. After Joshua and his men drove the survivors of the Amorite kingdoms back to their fortified cities, Joshua then returned to the cave and has his men drag out the five kings. He then commanded the captains of his army to stand upon the necks of the kings while Joshua exclaimed that what he was about to do would be what God would do to all of the enemies that Israelites battle. He then proceeded to slay the kings and hung them on trees until night fall, after which he tossed their corpses into the same cave they had dragged them out of, and closed off the entrance with large stones. Joshua then proceeded to go on a genocidal rampage against the kingdoms of: Makkedah; Libnah; Lachish (in addition to annihilating the soldiers that King Horam of Gezer sent to help defend Lachish); Eglon; Hebron; and Debir. The chapter claims that Joshua massacred the entire region from the hill country to the south of the valley, along with the kings who ruled the region, leaving no survivors and killing all that breathed - which would include women (presumably without a provision made for virgin girls this time), infants, children, and animals - and reinforces that this act was precisely and exactly as the God of Israel had commanded. Again, it's difficult to decide which presents more of a problem - what sort of mental gymnastics one would need to go through to try and explain away the "miracle" claim of the sun and moon standing still in the sky for an entire day, or the moral and ethical dilemma presented by the mass genocide committed by Joshua claimed to be the precise command from God.

JOSHUA: Chapter 8

Chapter 8
Summary:	God said to Joshua, "Fear not, don't be dismayed. Take all of your soldiers and head up to Ai. You will see that I have given into your hand the king of Ai, along with his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king just as you had done to the city of Jericho and its king; take only the spoils and the livestock for yourselves, and prepare an ambush behind the city." Joshua and his army prepared to attack the city of Ai, and he chose thirty thousand of his best men, and sent them out into the night. Joshua commanded them, "Wait behind the city, but don't go too far from the city, and be ready. I, and those with me, will approach the city and when the inhabitants come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. Then you shall rise up from your positions and seize the city - for the Lord your God will deliver it to your hand. When you have taken the city, you are to set the city on fire. You are to do as the Lord commands you, as per my orders." Joshua sent them on their way, and they settled into their ambush, abiding between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai, while Joshua was camped with the rest of the people of Israel. Joshua rose early the next morning, gathered his men, and along with the elders of the tribes of Israel, approached the city of Ai. They set up camp to the north side of Ai on the other side of a valley separating them from the city. Joshua had sent about five thousand to the west of the city between Bethel and Ai laying in ambush. With his main forces in position to the north, and his ambush party to the west, Joshua entered the valley that night. When the king of Ai saw Joshua's army approaching, he hastily assembled his own army to meet them in battle that morning out in the plains, completely unaware of the ambush lying just behind the city. Joshua and his army feigned defeat and fled toward the wilderness while the people of Ai pursued after them. With not a man remaining in either Ai or Bethel, as they all went after the Israelites, the city was left wide open. God then tells Joshua to point his spear toward the city of Ai, and the ambush party arose from their place on cue, entered the city, seized it, and set the city on fire. The people of Ai looked behind them and saw the smoke from their burning city ascending into the sky, suddenly realizing that they were trapped once the Israelites they were pursuing into the wilderness changed course back upon them. They were trapped between the Israelites they had been pursuing on one side, and those that burned their city on the other. The Israelites slew their enemies, allowing none to remain or escape, except for the king of Ai, whom they kept alive and brought before Joshua. After the Israelites slew all of the inhabitants of Ai out in the plains and in the wilderness to where they were chased, they returned to the city and slew everyone that remained. In all, twelve thousand men and women were massacred, all the people of Ai. Joshua did not lower his spear pointed at the city until all the inhabitants of Ai had been utterly destroyed. Only the livestock and the spoils that God had ordered the Israelites to loot had been spared. The city was burnt to a heap that remained permanently desolated. The king of Ai was hanged on a tree until the evening, and as soon as the sun set, Joshua ordered that his carcass was to be taken down and thrown down at the entrance of the city gates. Upon it they heaved a large pile of stones that remains to this day. Joshua then built an altar in Mount Ebal (using uncut stones untouched by iron tools, as commanded by Moses) and sacrificed some "burnt offerings" and "peace offerings" upon it. Joshua then wrote upon the stones in the presence of the Israelites a copy of the law of Moses. All of the Israelites, along with the tribe elders, officers, and judges flanked the ark of the covenant on both sides facing the Levite priests who carried it. Both the native Israelites and the foreigners amongst them stood before the ark, half of the people standing in front of Mount Gerizim, and the other half standing before Mount Ebal, as Moses had commanded. Joshua read every word of the law, the blessings and the curses, not missing a word of what Moses had written, before the entire congregation of Israel, including the women, children, and foreigners among them.
Thoughts:	After lethally punishing not only Achan, but his entire family along with his livestock, and setting the corpses along with all of Achan's belongings on fire, God is again willing to aid the Israelites in battle. Curiously, unlike the strict prohibitions of taking any items from the city of Jericho, God permits the looting of spoils and livestock from the city of Ai. God devises a strategy for Joshua to ambush the city of Ai, by setting up a legion of soldiers camped behind the city. Joshua explains to his men that the plan will be to have his main troops attack the city and feign defeat, coaxing the soldiers of Ai to give chase and thereby leaving the city wide open for the ambush party to seize the city and set it on fire. The first major difference in strategy to note from the Israelites' first failed attempt at conquering Ai in the previous chapter, is the vast differences in the number of troops being sent forth. In the last chapter Joshua is urged not to send many troops, because of the small population - which as we're told in this chapter, 12,000 people from the city of Ai were killed - and 3,000 troops were sent in the first attempt. In this chapter Joshua selects thirty thousand of his best men to attack the city - ten times the amount he originally sent - with 5,000 of them alone selected to ambush the city from behind. I think it's fair to speculate that increasing the number of soldiers ten-fold, to almost three times the entire population of the city they're attacking, probably had more to do with the Israelites success in this battle than whether or not one them stole a Babylonian coat. After sending off 5,000 of his soldiers in the night to set up an ambush on the west side of the city, Joshua camps his troops off to the north of the city. In the morning he leads his troops on a fake attack, feigns defeat, and has them flee toward the wilderness. God then tells Joshua to point his spear toward the city, and as if on command, the ambush party invades the city of Ai and sets it on fire. The "fleeing" Israelites in the north changed course into and attack position, and the people of Ai looking back saw their city billowing with smoke now realized that they were trapped. The Israelites slew the inhabitants of Ai, sparing only the life of their king, whom they kept alive and brought before Joshua. The Israelites after slaughtering everyone out in the field, then returned to the city of Ai and slew everyone left alive there. Joshua did not lower his spear, pointed at the city, until all of the inhabitants had been massacred. With only the livestock and the spoils remaining, the city was burnt to a desolate heap. Reserving a special death for the king of Ai, instead of slaying him at sword point, the Israelites hanged him from a tree, threw his carcass at the city gates, and heaved a pile of stones upon it. While it is rather appalling to read about the annihilation of the cities of Jericho and Ai, fortunately archaelogical evidence suggests these aren't historically accurate events and that the most likely explanation is that the story serves as a myth invented to explain the ruins of ancient cities that the Israelites encountered that were destroyed over a thousand years prior to the biblical timeline. Another interesting thing to note is that the Hebrew translation of "Ai" is "the ruin", which while makes sense in the context of the story presented in the book of Joshua, presents a problem with the claim that Moses authored the Pentateuch - the first five books of the bible. The city of Ai is referenced in both Genesis: Chapter 12, and in Genesis: Chapter 13. In what context would it make sense for Moses to have referred to the city of Ai by a name meaning "the ruin", considering that Joshua's invasion occurred after Moses's death? It would seem that either the name had to have been, at the very least, inserted after Moses's death (putting into question what other parts of the Pentateuch might have been altered after Moses's death); that the Pentateuch, whether in full or part was authored by someone else other than Moses; or that the city of Ai had been "ruins" prior to Moses's death, and that the story as presented in Joshua is inaccurate. The chapter closes out with Joshua constructing an altar using uncut stones, followed by a bit of animal sacrificing upon the altar. He then writes Moses's laws upon the stones in the presence of the entire population of Israelites, with the people sectioned off in halves standing before either Mount Gerizim or Mount Ebal, as Moses commanded in Deuteronomy: Chapter 27. Joshua then reads every word of the law, and it his accuracy is noted in that not a single word was omitted.

JOSHUA: Chapter 6

Chapter 6
Summary:	Because of the Israelites, the gates to the city of Jericho were secured so that no one could get in or go out. God said to Joshua, "I have delivered the city of Jericho, along with its king and his soldiers, into your hands." He then commands Joshua to lead a march of the his soldiers around the city for six days. On the seventh* day, God adds that seven* priests blowing ram's horn trumpets are to join the soldiers as they march around the city seven* times. God instructs that when Joshua hears a long blast from the trumpets, he is to command his entire army to give a loud shout, and subsequently the walls of the city will fall to allow Joshua's army to invade. Joshua commanded the priests to pick up and carry the ark of the covenant with the seven priests carrying trumpets in front of the ark. He then ordered the army to begin marching around the city, and placed an armed guard to march ahead of the ark. The trumpets began to blare as an armed guard marched in front of the ark, and another guard followed behind the ark. Joshua however commanded the army to not shout or make any noise with their voices until the day comes when he will command them to issue a war cry. The army marched once around the city and camped for the night. Joshua awoke early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the covenant, while the seven priests blew their seven trumpets, accompanied by the armed men leading and flanking their procession. For six straight days they repeated this procession, circling the city once, and returning to camp On the seventh day, the Israelites again rose early, but this time they encircled the camp seven times instead of just once. During the seventh pass, when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua told the people, "Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. "The city shall be cursed," Joshua continued, "it and everything it contains shall be sacrificed to the Lord - only Rahab the harlot, and all those residing in her house, shall live, for she hid the messengers that we sent. You should be wise to avoid any of the accursed things in the city, lest you make yourselves accursed by taking any accursed thing and thereby bring upon a curse to the camp of Israel. But all the silver and gold, as well as items made of brass and iron, are to be consecrated to the Lord and shall be given to his treasury." So the people shouted as the priests blew their trumpets and the city wall fell down flat allowing the Israelites to take the city. They utterly destroyed all that was in the city - man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, all by the edge of their swords. Joshua had the two men who had spied out the city go to the Rahab's house and bring out the harlot and her family that they had promised to spare. The spies did as they were commanded and brought Rahab, her parents, her siblings, and all of her relatives to a spot outside the camp of Israel. They then burnt the city to the ground along with everything in it, taking only the gold, silver, and objects made of brass and iron for God's treasury. Rahab and her family were spared and lived amongst the Israelites through their generations, their lives spared because Rahab hid the men sent to spy out the city of Jericho. Joshua proclaimed to the people, "Cursed be the man before God who attempts to rebuild the city of Jericho. He shall pay the price of building its foundation with his firstborn, and pay the price of building its gates with his youngest son." God was with Joshua and his fame spread throughout the country.
Notes:	1.) Yet more occurrences of the mystical number seven.
Thoughts:	The sixth chapter of the book of Joshua centers itself around the complete annihilation of the city of Jericho and its inhabitants. Recognizing the impending assault from the Israelites, the city secured its gates so that none could enter or exit the city. God then gives Joshua his attack plan, revolving heavily around yet another several mystical occurrences of the number seven: Joshua's army is to march around the city for seven days; in the procession, seven priests carrying seven ram's horn trumpets are to join the soldiers, and on the seventh day are to blow their horns seven times. After which, and not a moment before, the entire army is to let out a loud battle cry, and the walls of Jericho will collapse. Obviously, while there isn't any practical reason for having such a heavy reliance upon the number seven (seven priests with seven trumpets, marching and blowing their horns for seven days, blowing them seven times on the seventh day) it's yet another example of the bible's borrowing from, and perhaps in some cases inspiring, numerological mysticism. Joshua then sets his battle plan in motion, starting with the priests tasked with carrying the ark of the covenant with the seven trumpeted priests marching in front of them, and flanking both the head and rear of the procession with armed soldiers. Joshua then commanded his army not to make a war cry or any noise with their voices until the day comes that Joshua will command it. After marching around the city, the Israelites camped for the night. The following morning they marched around the city again a single time, trumpets blaring, and repeated this ritual for six consecutive days. On the seventh day, they encircled the camp seven times, the trumpeters blew their horns seven times, before Joshua gave the order to his army to shout, stating that God had "given" them the city. Before they let out their war cry and invade the city however, Joshua tells them to destroy every living being within the city walls - except for Rahab the prostitute from chapter 2 along with her family - and warns the soldiers not to take any items or property in the city because doing so would bring a curse upon Israel. However, Joshua adds that they are to take all of the gold, silver, and objects made of brass and iron, to be given to "God's treasury". Once again we're presented with another example of the bible attempting to justify the genocide of non-combatants (women, infants, children, and the elderly), however this time the bible introduces a new spin to its tactic. Beginning with Abraham's questioning of God's ethics and morality concerning the possibility of innocent casualties in the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah, the bible justifies massacre, destruction, and genocide by presenting their targets in terms of absolutes. With God promising Abraham that he wouldn't destroy the city of Sodom if there were as few as 10 "righteous" people living there, we're to assume that the city was entirely "wicked" in strict absolute terms, and that the children and infants of the city who were incapable of distinguishing right from wrong were deserving of their violent and horrific deaths right along with the "wicked". The bible further reinforces this stance with the horrific extermination of the Midianites in Numbers: Chaper 31, in which after the Israelites slaughter the adult male Midianites, Moses chastises them for sparing the lives of the women and children that they took prisoner, and orders that they too be slaughtered - except for the young virgin girls, whom the soldiers can "keep for themselves". In this new variant presented here in the book of Joshua it's important to analyze several key aspects about Rahab: She is a Canaanite, of whom God expressly commands are not to make any covenant nor show any mercy towards She is a prostitute She is a woman She lied to, deceived, and betrayed her own people and did so for the goal - at least in part - of seeking self preservation Virtually every aspect of Rahab's character is viewed negatively by the Israelites, and quite often biblical apologists spin this off as if this demonstrates that even a "sinner" can earn God's grace. What they fail to address however, is that it may in fact simply be a justification to side-step their own rules in order to protect the non-Hebrew members of their society while maintaining their racial oppression against others in the camp. For example, if we were to build a society upon a lineage of Caucasian descent and wanted a piece of land occupied by a society comprised of black people, the most simple and thorough means of conquering a society and preventing them from possible revenge in the future would be to order genocide against their entire race. If we establish a law binds us by duty to commit genocide against all black people, it would be viewed as a hypocritical law if there happened to already be some black people living amongst us that we made exception to. Perhaps we were reliant upon the skills or services that these black families provided to our society, and that slaughtering them would put us at some sort of disadvantage. This puts us in a dilemma where we either risk a possible retaliation by any survivors should we avoid commanding genocide against a particular race, or requires us to invent a justification to explain why there are black families living amongst us that are exempt from the law. The story and depiction of Rahab presents her in a mostly unfavorable light (she's a Canaanite, a prostitute, a liar, a traitor, and being a woman, she's viewed as less than a man in the context of the times) which makes it easier to villainize the inhabitants of the city of Jericho by not making Rahab out to be a noble righteous hero (such as how Lot is intended to be viewed - despite offering his daughters up for ransom to a pack of rapists, and later on getting drunk and having sex with them). It provides a justification for why there may be a Canaanite living amongst the Israelites claiming that he's descended from Rahab and her family that were spared, without painting Canaanites in too sympathetic of a light. The chapter continues with the priests blowing their trumpets and the soldiers shouting a war cry, causing the city wall to come down - which seems odd in light that Rahab's house is apparently built into the city wall (Joshua 2:15). The soldiers proceeded to massacre every living being - man, woman, infants, young and old, oxen, sheep, donkeys - all by sword point. Joshua sends the two spies that Rahab had helped in Joshua: Chapter 2 to go to Rahab's house (built into the city wall that just fell over) and to bring out Rahab and her family. Rahab and her parents, siblings, and relatives were brought to spot outside of the Israelite's camp while the soldiers burned the city of Jericho, along with everything in it - except for the gold, silver, and brass and iron object that they looted - to the ground. The bible states that Rahab and her family lived among the Israelites for generations. Joshua proclaims a curse that anyone who attempts to rebuild Jericho will pay the price of their firstborn for building it's foundation, and will pay the price of his youngest son for building its gates. It's not clear if this curse applies only to the youngest son at the time of building or applies to all subsequent sons as well. The chapter closes out by stating that Joshua's fame (or perhaps infamy) spread throughout the country.

DEUTERONOMY: A Recap

Like the book of Numbers, it took me quite a few months to get through the book of Deuteronomy, some of which can be attributed to the busyness of the holiday season back when I started this book, as well as events in my personal life, but also partially because commenting on the book of Deuteronomy required a lot of comparing and contrasting to chapters in past books of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the bible), considering that Moses references and repeats a lot of things and events we've already encountered, and often embellishes upon his retelling of them.

The book of Deuteronomy mainly is about Moses laying down the laws (and the extreme punishments) for the Israelites, but can also be looked at as Moses' parting words to them as well. There's not a lot of narrative story in the book of Deuteronomy, and most of it is simply direct quotations of Moses addressing the Israelites, so it can also get rather tedious to read at times as well.

Moses begins his speech to the Israelites in Mid-February forty years after the exodus from Egypt. He primarily repeats to them events covered in Exodus: Chapter 17, Numbers: Chapter 13, and Numbers: Chapter 14. Moses retells various stories from these chapters and changes or embellishes many of the details - from minor details such as who ordered the spies to be sent to search out the land of Canaan, to major discrepancies such as blaming the people of Israel for his own fatal mistake of striking a rock instead of talking to it.

Moses then recounts another story where he insists that the Edomites did in fact allow them to pass through their land on their journey - which directly contradicts the story originally told in Numbers: Chapter 20 where the Edomites mobilized their army preventing them from passing through their land. Moses also insists that they passed through the land of Moab peacefully, which will be contradicted by a passage in the book of Judges. He then starts telling the people about the races of giants that used to live in the land of Moab and Mount Seir until the Edomites and Moabites destroyed them, Moses comparing this to what the Israelites will do to the giants living in Canaan.

Moses then states that it took 38 years to wait for the previous generation of Israelites - who were not allowed to enter the "promised land" - to die off before they could continue on their journey to the land of the Ammonites - who are the incestuous offspring of Lot and his youngest daughter. God tells them not to disturb the Ammonites, because he will not allow the Israelites to take their land since the Ammonites are descendants of Lot, and the land was "given" to them by God. This land too was also originally inhabited by giants before the Ammonites destroyed them and took their land.

He then recounts the story of slaughtering King Sihon and his kingdom with a major difference from the account in Numbers: Chapter 21. Instead of Sihon's destruction being retaliation as it was described in the book of Numbers, Moses now insists it was God's plan to attack and destroy them to instill fear into the surrounding nations.

Moses next describes the massacre against King Og, who was apparently the last of a race of giants in Bashan, and that his bed was apparently 13 feet long by 6 feet wide. He also recounts the story of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, as well as Manasseh, getting their land outside the "promised land" in Gilead; and the appointment of Joshua as his successor, both with different key details from their original treatments in Numbers: Chapter 32 and Numbers: Chapter 27 respectively.

Next Moses tells the Israelites that God's laws are unchangeable - they are not to be added to or subtracted from. He also posits that other nations will be impressed by God's laws, but warns them against creating idols like those "heathen nations" do. He then picks out three "cities of refuge" in the lands that he's given to Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh outside of the "promised land".

Moses retells the "ten commandments" to the people of Israel, and again reminds them that they're not to be added to or subtracted from.

Moses then stresses the importance of obedience and tells the Israelites that they are to love God and his laws, and are to teach them to their children and repeated adnauseum - including by writing them down and tying them to your hand, and writing them on the posts of their houses. He also tells them to fear God and not to tempt him again, like they did when they whined about not having any water in Exodus:Chapter 17.

Moses then turns his attention to how the Israelites are to deal with the seven nations (the Hitites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) currently living in the "promised land", telling the Israelites to utterly destroy them and to show them no mercy. He adds that they are not to intermarry with the women of these nations, because those women would corrupt the Israelites and cause them to worship other gods. He furthers that they should destroy their religious idols, break their altars, and set fire to their graven images. He again reminds them not to leave any survivors, and that God himself would deliver any last "heathen" to the Israelites should they attempt to flee or hide. Moses explains that God will destroy the "heathen nations" little by little so that the land doesn't become "infested with wild animals".

Moses now tells the Israelites that God making them wander around the desert for forty years wasn't so much a punishment as it was a "test", adding that God deliberately let them go hungry so that he could feed them "manna" - the magical food that God created in Exodus: Chapter 16 (which some theorize might actually be referring to hallucinogenic mushrooms). Moses then boasts about how wonderful the "promised land" will be once they commit genocide against its inhabitants, but warns them not to get too cocky and take credit for anything that they acquire because not giving God credit for their acquisitions will cause them to worship other gods, which in turn will "force" God to destroy them.

While Moses prepares the Israelites to cross the Jordan River and defeat the race of giants living in Canaan, he stresses that God is not helping them win their battles because they are a "righteous" people, but only because the Anakites (the "giants") are instead a "wicked" people. Moses continues to recount every "stubborn" and "unruly" act they've committed against God - worshiping Aaron's golden calf, complaining about the food, complaining about being thirsty, gluttonously dining on quails that God had sent them, and being afraid of the giants living in the "promised land". Basically, Moses is telling them that they're not "righteous" because they whine and complain a lot, and also reminds them that he had to talk God out of committing genocide against them, because he reasons, that it "would have looked bad to the Egyptians".

Moses next retells the story of receiving the stone tablets containing the "ten commandments", and then takes credit for having built the ark of the covenant (as opposed to Bezaleel) while stating that he had to talk God out of killing them all while he stayed atop a mountain for 40 days. He tells the Israelites to fear God and to stop being such a stubborn group of people. He adds that God cannot be reasoned with or bribed, and that he favors the "underdogs" such as orphans, widows, and foreigners - reminding them that they are to be loving towards foreigners, since they themselves were foreigners in Egypt - of course, barring perhaps these foreigners, of whom are better impaled with a spear.

Next Moses tells the Israelites that they should obey God because of all the "great acts" that they've witnessed - despite also acknowledging that so few of them were actually alive and old enough to have witnessed the events forty years prior. He then brags to them about how they won't even need to irrigate their crops once they inhabit the "promised land", and that God himself will tend to the land - but only if they remain obedient, otherwise he'll halt all the rain and let the Israelites starve to death. Moses repeats that the Israelites should write the commandments down on a card and tie the card to their wrists, adding that God will drive out all of the "heathen nations' before them - regardless of their might or size - as long as they remain obedient.

After telling the Israelites that they are to ransack and destroy every last religious remnant belonging to the previous inhabitants of the lands they are invading, Moses then states that once they must build a "sanctuary" for God (in an area of land that God himself will pick out) to pay tithes and perform animal sacrifices at. He adds that if the "promised land" expands to a point where a trip to the "sanctuary" is too far away to travel to, then the Israelites may slaughter animals on their farms, but they are to drain the animal's blood first, as they are not permitted to consume the "life" of an animal. However, Moses adds that any tithes or sacrifices made to God must still be made at the "sanctuary", because sacrificing animals to God elsewhere would be a behavior akin to the "abominable heathen nations" who Moses claims "sacrifice their children by fire".

Moses then turns the discussion to more violent matters when he states that any prophet or "dreamer of dreams" that tries to coax the Israelites into worshiping other gods must be put to death by stoning, adding that if perchance that whatever they're predicting comes true, that it is just God allowing this to "test" the Israelites. Furthermore, anyone regardless of whether they're your brother, or even your children, who tries to tempt you into worshiping other gods must be stoned to death, and you must not show them any pity or mercy while you are mandated to strike the first blow against them. Finally Moses states that if an entire city has been coaxed into worshiping other gods, then every living thing in that city - people and livestock alike - are to be killed by the sword and the city is to be burned to the ground and is never to be rebuilt again.

Moses then tells the Israelites that they are forbidden from "cutting themselves" or shaving their eyebrows in regards to funeral customs, because these apparently are things that the "heathen" nations do, and that the Israelites being a "holy people" should not lower themselves to emulate people that are apparently below them. After recounting again which animals are deemed "clean" and "unclean", Moses tells them that they will have to bring their tithes and firstborn animal sacrifices to the "sanctuary" and to eat them there. If they happen to live too far away to carry the full amount of their tithes to the sanctuary, Moses says that they will be allowed to sell their tithes and to use the money crops and/or animals to sacrifice nearby the "sanctuary" when they arrive there. He also reminds them that they will have to share their feasts with the Levites, of whom own no property, and also that every third year they are to divide up their tithes to give to the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, and the strangers in town.

Next Moses tells the Israelites that every seven years that they are to cancel all debts owed by fellow Hebrews (debts owed by foreigners are still valid). He also warns them that they are never to refuse to lend to an Israelite in need, for it would be a "sin" to refuse. He then recounts the laws of Hebrew slavery from Exodus: Chapter 21 and states that when a Hebrew slave is released from his enslavement, that his master must supply him with a generous helping of crops, wine, and livestock upon his release. Although if the Hebrew slave decides he prefers to remain enslaved, Moses reminds them that the slave can have his ear bored with an awl, branding him a permanent slave for life. He then adds that firstborn animals are to be sacrificed, slaughtered, and eaten at the "sanctuary", unless the animal is defective - then it is be eaten at home, but the animals blood is not to be consumed.

Moses then goes over the rules for celebrating "passover", the "Festival of Weeks", and the "Festival of Tabernacles". He then instructs the people that the tribes must appoint a judge to rule over each city, and also that they are not to plant any trees near "God's altar", nor construct an image that God "hates".

After once again stating that all animal sacrifices need to be free of defects (for they are "abominations",) Moses reminds the Israelites yet again the punishment for anyone worshiping other gods is death by stoning. However, Moses adds that there must be two witnesses to the persons guilt, and that these two shall be the ones to cast the first stones. Moses next states that any case too difficult for a judge must be brought to the priests to decide, and that anyone who won't abide by their verdict is to be put to death, which Moses posits will cause people to keep in line out of fear. Moses then states that kings must be "selected by God", must be an Israelite and not a foreigner, and must not amass excessive amount of wealth or wives.

Moses then notes that because the Levites do not inherit property, that choice parts of the animal sacrifices and the first harvest sacrifices will be given to the Levites to eat. Yet again, Moses warns the Israelites not to worship other gods, nor to sacrifice their children by fire, use divination, become a fortune teller, an enchanter, a witch, a charmer, a spiritual medium, a wizard, or a necromancer. Anyone who does such a thing is an "abomination" to God, and must be put to death. He adds that God will speak to them through prophets, but that anyone falsely claiming to be a prophet must be put to death. Moses states that in order to verify if a prophet is genuine or not is dependent on whether his prophecy comes true.

Moses tells the people that when they arrive in the "promised land" they are to pick out three "cities of refuge" - in addition to the three he already picked out outside of the "promised land" in chapter 4. Moses makes a rather dumb analogy about how to assess a person's guilt on whether they committed murder based upon their past animosities toward another. He adds that if someone ambushes their neighbor and attempts to flee to a "city of refuge", then the city's elders are to deliver the person to the victim's "avenger of blood" for a revenge killing. After briefly commanding that the Israelites are not to cheat their neighbors out of land by moving their boundary markers, he states that there must be a minimum of 2 or 3 witnesses to bring a case against a person's "sin". In addition, Moses also states that anyone who falsely brings a case against another, will receive the punishment of the "sin" they accused the innocent person of - adding that they should not be pitied, and the punishment shall be an "eye for an eye".

After Moses states that any soldier that is engaged but not married, built a house but hasn't lived in it, planted a vineyard but haven't eaten from it, or is simply afraid, is excused from having to enter battle, he lays out his plans for conquering cities outside of the "promised land". First the Israelites are to offer a "peace treaty" - which consists of enslaving the inhabitants of the city - which failing that, they are to kill every male within the city, but the women and young girls may be "kept for themselves"; however when conquering cities within the "promised land", every single breathing thing is to be killed. They are also not allowed to harm any fruit trees.

Moses then states that if the body of a murdered man is found in the fields and his killer is unknown, then taking a heifer that's never been worked in a field, and breaking its neck will somehow absolve the land of Israel from the guilt of the victim's murder. Next, Moses states that if there's a pretty woman amongst the prisoners of war, that after she's grieved for a month, you can have sex with her, making her your wife. However, if you come to find out that later that you don't actually like your new wife, then you can kick her out of your home, but you mustn't sell her into slavery. Next, Moses says that if a man has two wives and favors one over the other, he can't give his birthright to one of his oldest son from his favored wife if his firstborn belongs to the wife he doesn't like. Next, if you have an unruly son, you are to drag him out to the elders of the city, stating that he is a "drunk and a glutton", and then all the males of the city are to stone him to death. If you hang a person, you are not to let the body stay up overnight, as this will "defile" the "promised land".

Moses next states that if a person loses an item - whether it be livestock, donkeys, or clothing - that it is to be returned to its owner. If the owner is not known, the item is to be kept until the owner comes looking for it. Moses then calls transvestites "abominations"; states that if you find a bird's nest that you can keep the eggs and the young, but must leave the mother bird; when building a house you must put up a guardrail on the roof so that no one falls off; forbids sowing a vineyards with other seeds, lest both the fruit and the grapes become "defiled" from doing so; forbids plowing a field with both a donkey and an ox at the same time; forbids wearing a garment with mixed fibers; and commands that the Israelites must make fringes upon their clothes.

Moses then dishes up a bunch of misogynistic laws:

• If a man suspects that his bride was not a virgin on their wedding night, it's up to the bride's father to provide "tokens of [her] virginity" (blood stained bedsheets) to prove her innocence.
  • If the husband has falsely accused his wife, he is flogged with a whip, must pay his wife's father 100 shekels of silver, and may not divorce his wife.
  • If the father cannot prove his daughter's innocence, she gets dragged out to her father's house, and is stoned to death for "being a whore" and shaming her father's family.
• If a man (regardless of his own marital status) sleeps with a married woman, they are both to be stoned to death.
• When a woman is a virgin and engaged, and is raped by a man in the city, they are both to be stoned to death. The man for depriving the husband-to-be of consummating his marriage, and the woman for not screaming loud enough to prevent her own rape.
• When a woman is a virgin and engaged, and is raped by a man out in the country, then only the rapist is to be stoned to death. Moses reasons that being out in the countryside it would be difficult to determine whether the woman screamed out or not during the rape, so that it must be assumed that she did scream, but that no one had heard her.
• If a woman is a virgin, yet isn't engaged to be married, and is raped, then the rapist must pay the woman's father 50 shekels of silver, the rapist must marry his victim(!), and he is not allowed to divorce her for he has "devalued" her.

Moses also states that a man is not to marry his father's wife, nor "dishonor his father's bed".

Moses states that the following undesirables are not to enter the "sanctuary": anyone with testicular damage; anyone whose penis has been cut off; a bastard, including his descendants ten generations later; or the Ammonites or Moabites, because they were the races that hired Balaam and his talking donkey to curse the Israelites. He adds that they are not to discriminate against the Edomites or the Egyptians, however. A soldier that has a "wet dream", is to leave camp, wash himself, and not return until sundown. Also a "toilet area" must be set aside outside of camp, and all waste must be buried, for God will not tolerate anything "unclean" in his camp. Moses then states that a runaway slave is not to be returned, nor oppressed. Next Moses states that there are to be no prostitutes among the Israeli women, nor "sodomites" among the men, nor are the proceeds from prostitution - male or female - to be brought into the "sanctuary", for such proceeds are an "abomination" to God. Then Moses states that interest is not to be tacked onto any loans made to am Israelite, but is okay for loans made to foreigners. Moses then warns that if one makes a vow to God, then they are compelled to fulfill it, or they have committed a "sin". Next he tells the Israelites that if they pass by a neighbors vineyard or crops, that they may eat all they want until they are full, but they are not to collect any to bring home with them.

Moses next states that if I man doesn't care for his wife, he can kick her out of his home, but if she remarries and later becomes single again - either by divorce or being widowed - that her former husband is not to remarry her because she has been "defiled", and God considers this an "abomination". He adds that a newly-wed husband is not to be sent out to battle, nor given any major responsibilities in his first year of marriage, since it is his duty to "cheer up" his new bride. Moses then states that a person is not to take as collateral the tools which a man uses to earn his living, and condemns kidnapping. Moses next tells the Israelites to heed the laws concerning leprosy and wrongly brings up his sister Miriam as an example - Miriam was stricken with leprosy not because she failed to heed the laws concerning leprosy, but instead as a punishment from God for pointing out Moses' marriage to an Egyptian woman violates God's law. Next, Moses states that when giving out a loan that the recipient and not the person giving the loan is to pick out an item for collateral. Moses next states that it is a "sin" for an employer not to pay his workers promptly, especially if he is poor and in need of the money. Next Moses states that a man is not to be put to death for the "sin" of his ancestors. Moses then states that judgment is not to be skewed against foreigners, orphans, or widows - nor may a person take a widow's garment for collateral - and that people are to leave some surplus crops for them.

Moses next states that if a person has been judged "worthy" of a beating, he is to lie down and be beaten in front of the judge who orders his beating - the amount of lashes he receives is to be in accordance to the severity of his crime and is not to exceed forty lashes. He then states that an ox working in a cornfield is not to be muzzled. Moses then states that when a man's brother leaves behind a widow without any children, the man is to marry his brother's widow and appoint the firstborn child as his dead brother's heir. When a man refuses to marry his brother's widow, the widow is to complain about the man to the elders of the city, who in turn have to try and talk him into marrying her; if he still refuses, the widow gets to remove one of the man's shoes and spit in his face - which from that point on the man's house will be known as 'The house of him that had his shoe removed'. Next he adds that if two men get into a fight, the wife of either man may not grab the testicles of the other man - if she does then she should be shown no pity while her hand is chopped off. After telling the Israelites that they are to be fair in their use of weights and measures, he states that as soon as they are finished fighting the enemies surrounding the promised land, that they are then to commit genocide against the Amalekites as revenge for them attacking the slow, sick, weak, and injured amongst the Israelites - and for not "fearing God".

After telling the Israelites to bring the first of their crops down to the sanctuary in a basket and give them to the priest on duty, Moses gives a long rambling speech about how the Israelites grew into a great nation while being enslaved and mistreated by the Egyptians. He then declares another ceremony, the "Year of Tithing" - where the Israelites are to give their tithes of crops every third year to the Levites, foreigners, widows, and orphans. Yet again, he also reminds the Israelites to be obedient because God has deemed them his chosen people, better than any other nation upon the face of the earth.

Moses then commands the Israelites to construct a monument out of uncut stones, which they are to write God's laws upon once the arrive in the "promised land", adding that no iron tools are to be used in shaping the stones. The monument is to be set upon Mount Ebal along with an altar for the people to sacrifice animals upon. Next Moses then commands that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali are to stand upon Mount Ebal proclaiming curses. Among those he wants to be "cursed": anyone who makes a graven or molten image and tries to hide it; anyone who dishonors his mother or father; anyone who moves his neighbor's property marker, anyone who leads the blind in the wrong direction; anyone who twists judgment against a stranger, orphan, or widow; any man who sleeps with his father's wife; any man who commits bestiality; any man who sleeps with his sister; any man who sleeps with his mother-in-law; anyone who secretly kills his neighbor; anyone who becomes hitman; and anyone who does not obey these laws.

After briefly telling them the nice things that God will bestow upon them if they obey, Moses then states a long list of all the horrific things that God will do to the Israelites if they do not obey him.

Moses then addresses the entire congregation of Israel and tells them that although they witnessed all of the "miracles" and plagues that God unleashed upon the Egyptian people, God apparently has not given them the ability to understand the significance until this day. However only a small fraction of Moses' audience could have possibly been old enough to recall any of the "miracles" in Egypt after God killed off most of the older generation by making them wander around the desert for forty years - which laughably Moses notes that none of their clothes or shoes had worn out during. He adds that the reason the Israelites were not given any wine or hard liquor during their forty year excursion was so that they would know that Yahweh was their god, and that every single one of them - men, wives, children, slaves, servants, and even the stranger in town - must enter a covenant with God, which will establish them as "God's people". Next, Moses once again forbids them from worshiping other gods, stating that in addition to all the curses laid out in the previous chapter, that their names will be "blotted out from under heaven", and that their children and descendants will rise up against them while foreigners will marvel at the punishments God dishes out against the Israelites - that the whole land will be covered in brimstone, similar to the fates of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He then states that "prophecy" belongs only to God, and that those that have been revealed belong to the Israelites - which justifies the condemning and execution of "fortune tellers", "diviners", and "mediums".

Moses states that should God curse the Israelites for worshiping other gods, should the Israelites "return to God" and obey him, then he will again show them compassion and turn the curses around upon their enemies. Moses then tries to state that this coerced obedience is somehow a "choice".

Moses next tells the Israelites that he is 120 years old(!) and that he is forbidden from entering the "promised land", so that soon Joshua will succeed him as their leader. He tells the people that they will soon cross the Jordan River and begin committing genocide against the "heathen nations" living there. Next, he tells the Israelites to be strong and courageous because God will accompany them in battle as he addresses Joshua in front of the congregation. Moses then writes down God's laws and instructs that they should be read every seven years during the "feast of tabernacles" to the entire population of Israel - including strangers that are in town - for as long as they live within the "promised land". God then tells Moses that he shall die soon, and predicts that the Israelites will go "a whoring" after other gods and provoke his anger, so he has Moses write down some song lyrics. After giving the Levites the "book of laws" that he wrote down, he tells them to place them beside the "ark of the covenant", then proceeds to chastise them for being rebellious, stating that they will become even worse after he has died.

Moses teaches the song lyrics to the Israelites and tells them to teach them to their children. God then tells Moses to climb Mount Nebo and gaze upon the land of Canaan, and states that it will be atop the mountain that Moses will die because Moses didn't follow God's directions and therefore "didn't sanctify God" to the Israelites.

Finally, Moses gives his blessings to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and then ascends Mount Nebo and dies at the age of 120(!). The Israelites wept for thirty days, and it is noted that there "has never been a prophet in Israel since then like Moses, whom God knew face to face".

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "If there is a dispute between two men, the judges are to justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. If the wicked man is worthy of a beating, then the judge shall order him to lie down and to be beaten in his presence. The amount of lashes he receives is to be in proportion to the severity of his crime, and is not to exceed forty lashes - for if he is beaten more than forty times, the people would view that as excessive. "You are not to muzzle your ox when he treads in your cornfields. "If a man's brother dies without having children and leaves behind a widow, his widow is not to remarry outside of the family. Her husband's brother is instead to sleep with her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother. The first child she bears shall be counted as the son of his brother who has died, so that his name shall not be forgotten in the land of Israel. "If a man refuses to marry his brother's widow, the widow is to complain to the elders of the city. The elders of the city are then to speak to the man, but if he still refuses, then the widow is to take off one of the man's shoes and spit in his face, telling him that this is what happens to a man who refuses to build his brother's house. From that point on, the man's house shall be referred to as 'The house of him that had his shoe removed'. "If two men get into a physical altercation and the wife of one of the men tries to help her husband by grabbing the other man's testicles, then you must cut off her hand and shall not pity her. "You shall not have in your possessions mismatched weights and measures, but instead are to use perfect and just weights and measures, so that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God has given you. All that do such things are an abomination to the Lord your God. "Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you came forth from out of Egypt? How they met you by the way and smote those of you who were lagging behind, as well as the feeble, the faint, and the weary while not fearing God? Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from fighting your enemies around the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance, you are to blot out all memory of the Amalekites under heaven. You shall not forget this."
Thoughts:	Moses begins the chapter by outlining how to administer corporal punishment. If a person is judged "worthy" of a beating, he is to lie down and is to be beaten in front of the judge who orders his beating. Moses adds that the amount of lashes the man receives is to be in proportion to the severity of his crime, and is not to exceed forty lashes - for that he reasons would "seem vile" to the people of Israel. Today most of the developed world has abolished judicial corporal punishment with only 32 countries still following this practice - the largest majority of which, by no surprise, are located in the Middle East. There are numerous reasons why this has fallen out of practice throughout the civilized world, but apparently God and Moses believe this punishment to be just. Moses follows this by telling the Israelites that when an ox is working in the cornfields, it is not to be muzzled. Next Moses gives a ridiculous law that seems more fitting in a Monty Python sketch than in a book alleged to be the "word of God". Moses states that when a man's brother leaves behind a widow and did not have any children, then the man is to marry his brother's widow, and the firstborn child is to be counted as if he were the son of the dead brother. Essentially this was the law that Onan broke when he refused to ejaculate inside of his dead brother's wife. It becomes sillier when Moses states what is to happen if the living brother refuses to play along. Unlike Onan who was killed by God, if the man refuses to marry his brother's widow, the widow has to complain against her dead husband's brother to the elders of the city, and they have to go down and try to talk him into marrying her. If he still won't play along then the widow gets to remove one of the man's shoes and spit in his face, and from that point on the man's house will be known as 'The house of him that had his shoe removed'. Moses then states that if two men get into a fight, and one of the men's wife tries to help her husband by grabbing the testicles of the man he's fighting, then the woman's hand must be cut off and she is to be shown no pity. Essentially, a man could be attacked, and his wife is not allowed to protect him by the one sure fire way to stop the attacker, by going for his testicles. Moses next states that all weights and measures must be accurate, and that one is not to cheat other people by using flawed weights and measures. Doing so is an "abomination" to God. Moses closes out the chapter by commanding that the Israelites are to commit genocide against the Amalekites as soon as they're done fighting the enemies tribes surrounding the "promised land". Moses justifies the genocide by reminding the people that the Amalekites attacked all of the slow, sick, weak, and injured and that they don't "fear God" either. However, Moses doesn't make it clear whether they'll be able to keep the virgin girls like they did with the slaughter of the Midianites.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 3

Chapter 3
Summary:	Moses continues his speech to the Israelites, saying, "We then turned and went up towards Bashan, where the king, King Og of Bashan came out against us to battle us at Edrei. "The Lord said to me, 'Do not fear [King Og], for I will deliver him, his people, and his land into your hand. You shall do unto him the same as you had done to the king of the Amorites, King Sihon.' "So the Lord our God delivered into our hands King Og and all of his people, and we battled him until no one was left alive. We took all of his cities - there was not a single city that we did not take of his - all sixty cities, all of the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All of these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars, and we took the many unwalled towns that surrounded them. We utterly destroyed them, just as we had done to King Sihon, executing every last man, woman, and child in every city. Only the cattle did we allow to live, which we took along with the spoils of the cities, for ourselves. "At that time we took out of the hands of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side of the Jordan River, from the Amon River unto Mount Hermon (which the Sidonians call Sirion, and the Amorites call Shenir), all the cities of the plain, all of Gilead, all of Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei - the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. "[King] Og was the last of the "giants" in Bashan. Behold his bedstead was made of iron (which can you not see on display in the city of Rabbath?) and was nine cubits* in length, and four cubits wide. "This land which we possessed at that time, from Aroer - which is by the Arnon River, half of Mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. The rest of Gilead, all of Bashan - being the kingdom of Og - I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh. All the region of Argob, with all of Bashan which [I gave them] was called 'the land of giants'. "Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi, and named the land after himself, Bashanhavothjair*, which it is still called today. I gave the land of Gilead to Machir. "To the Reubenites and to the Gadites, I gave them the area extending from Gilead to the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, which borders the people of Ammon. They also received the plain on the coast of the Jordan River, from Chinnereth out to the Salt Sea, east to Ashdothpisgah. "I commanded you [the Reubenites and Gadites] at that time, saying, 'The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it - but you shall first pass over armed before your Israelite brethren, all that are fit for war. However, your wives and children, along with your cattle - as I realize you have a lot of cattle - may reside in the cities which I have given you. Until the Lord has given rest to the Israelite army, as well as to yourselves, and until they possess the "promised land" across the Jordan River, then you will be allowed to return to your lands which have been given to you.' "I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, 'You have seen with your own eyes what the Lord your God has done to these two kings [Sihon and Og], and so the Lord shall do the same unto all the kingdoms you shall pass. You shall not fear them, for the Lord your God shall fight for you.' "I then sought the Lord, saying, 'O Lord God, you have begun to show your servants your greatness and your mighty hand; for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that could do all of these works according to your might? I pray to you, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan River, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.' "But the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, 'Let it suffice to you, do not speak any more to me about this matter. Get up to the top of [Mount] Pisgah and lift your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward. Behold this [view] with your eyes, but you shall not cross the Jordan [River]. However, put Joshua in charge, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall rule over the people, and will lead them to inherit the land which you shall see.' "So we camped in the valley over toward Bethpeor."
Notes:	1.) Moses is claiming that King Og's bed was 9 cubits long by 6 cubits wide, meaning it was approximately 13 1/2 feet long and six feet wide. 2.) Meaning "Jair's Villages" in Hebrew.
Thoughts:	Moses continues his speech to the Israelites that he began in Chapter 1, recounting and expanding upon the stories in Numbers: Chapter 21, Numbers: Chapter 32, and Numbers: Chapter 27 which are noticeably out of sequence. Moses' speech begins recounting God's command to destroy King Og and his people, and take his land in the same manner in which they had done to King Sihon, as first told in Numbers: Chapter 21 and detailed in the previous chapter. Once again the Israelites slaughtered everyone - every last man, woman, and child and left not a single survivor behind, only the cattle was left alive - which they took for themselves. The Israelites took all of King Og's sixty cities, not leaving a single city or town behind. Moses notes that the Israelites had now conquered and destroyed the kingdoms of two kings of the Amorites on their side of the Jordan River. Moses now explains that King Og was the last of the "giants" in Bashan. As a testament to how big Og allegedly was, Moses mentions that King Og's bed still resides on display in the city of Rabbath, and that it is nine cubits in length, and four cubits wide - roughly thirteen and a half feet long, and six feet wide. If Moses' measurements are accurate, and if King Og's bed was made to fit, then we can assume that King Og would have to at least been twelve feet tall (almost 4 meters tall). The necessity of presenting King Og's bed as evidence for his stature seems very suspect however, considering how recently this event occured in relation to it's telling here in the speech - according to the timeline given in the bible, the slaying of King Og must have occurred less than a year prior to this speech, which in that case it would be well known by the Israeli army how tall King Og was. This curious mention seems a bit more suspect that it was meant for more modern readers than to those of whom Moses would have been addressing in his speech. Moses then skips ahead in his timeline to cover an event from Numbers: Chapter 32, where the tribes of Gad and Reuben ask for land outside of the "promised land", in the land of Gilead, due to its suitability for cattle. Moses talks about how he divides the land amongst the tribes of Gad and Reuben as well as the half tribe of Manasseh. He then recounts that the military vow that the tribes were bound to before they could claim their land, although the wording here in Moses' speech makes it appear as though Moses had drafted the conditions, when in Numbers: Chapter 32 they were volunteered by the tribes themselves - although the tribes would later appear to infer that it was really God's idea. Also curious is that it that when Moses explains the clan of Jair naming "Bashanhavothjair", he caps it off saying that it has been called this "unto this day". Considering that the conquest of Gilead and Moses' speech couldn't possibly be more than a year apart, this wouldn't seem to be relevant or even make sense unless this was written long after the fact. Next up Moses re-tells the story of God's appointment of Moses' successor Joshua which conflicts with the story from Numbers: Chapter 27. A comparison of the two different accounts: Numbers 27:12-20 Deuteronomy 3:21-28 The first event is that God tells Moses to climb Mount Abarim to see the "promised land" (Num 27:12), and that after Moses has seen it he shall be killed as Aaron was (27:13) for "rebelling" against God's commandment in the desert of Zin. The first event in Moses' speech is of him promising Joshua that God will destroy every kingdom that he (Joshua) passes through (3:21), telling him not to fear them as God will fight the battle for him. The second event has Moses asking God (27:15) to appoint a new leader to replace himself after he is to be killed (27:16), because the people need leadership (27:17). The second event in Moses' speech has Moses speaking to God (3:23), praising him for helping the Israelite conquer and slaughter the kingdoms of Sihon and Og (3:21), and begging God to allow him to be able to enter and see the "promised land" (3:25). The last event is God telling Moses to lay his hand upon Joshua (27:18) and to bring him before the people and appoint him as leader in front of them (27:19) so that the Israelites will obey him (27:20). The last event in Moses speech has Moses claiming that God was angry with him because of the faults of the Israelites, and would not listen to Moses' plea, telling him not to bring it up ever again (3:26). He tells Moses to climb Mount Pisgah, look in all directions at the "promised land" from up atop the mountain, because he won't be allowed to enter the land (3:27). Finally he tells Moses to put Joshua in charge of the Israelites, as he will be the one to cause them to inherit the "promised land" (3:28) As you can see there are a few things at odds between the separate accounts of Numbers versus Deuteronomy, notably with the events almost being completely reversed. In the account in Numbers, God first instructs Moses to climb the mountain and view the "promised land" from atop a mountain, whereas this is the final event in Moses' account in Deuteronomy. Also of note, although the names of the mountains seem to contradict (Abarim versus Pisgah) they technically do not. The Pisgah mountains refer to the northern end of the Abarim mountain range. The first event in Moses' speech in Deuteronomy has him promising Joshua that God will destroy every kingdom that Joshua will pass through. Why Moses would say this to Joshua prior to Joshua being elected to be Moses' successor doesn't appear to make a lot of sense. The first event in the account of Numbers also has God announcing Moses' death sentence after he instructs Moses to climb the mountain, and God makes it clear that his reasoning is that because both Moses and Aaron "rebelled" against him out in the desert of Zin. In Moses' speech however he claims that he begged God to allow him to see the "promised land", and explains that God refused Moses' request was angry at him and that it was due in fault because of the Israelites. Following this, then God tells Moses to climb the mountain to view the "promised land" from the top. Moses concludes his speech by stating that the Israelites camped out near Bethpeor after this event.