{"id":47868,"date":"2019-01-21T00:25:49","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T22:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=47868"},"modified":"2022-08-15T14:21:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T11:21:24","slug":"hormah-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hormah-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Hormah \u2013 Then And Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[361,363,434],"acf":{"old_id":"47868","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"138","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A legendary battle to the finish","content":"

Our chapter begins with a brief report on an Israelite defeat followed by a victorious retaliation: <\/span><\/p>\n

When the Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the Negeb, learned that Israel was coming by the way of Atarim, he engaged Israel in battle and took some of them captive. Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, \u2018If You deliver this people into our hand, we will proscribe [va-haharamti<\/em>] their towns\u2019. The Lord heeded Israel\u2019s plea and delivered up the Canaanites and they and their cities were proscribed [va-yaharem<\/em>]. So that place was named Hormah \u00a0(\u201cdestruction\u201d) (Numbers 21:1-3). <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the second report of an Israelite battle at Hormah. The first went like this (14:40-44): <\/span><\/p>\n

Early next morning they [the Israelites] set out toward the crest of the hill country, saying, \u2018We are prepared to go up to the place that the Lord has spoken of, for we were wrong.\u2019 But Moses said, \u2018Why do you transgress the Lord\u2019s command? This will not succeed… Yet defiantly they marched toward the crest of the hill country, though neither the Lord\u2019s Ark of the Covenant nor Moses stirred from the camp. And the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and dealt them a shattering blow at Hormah\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to many speakers of Modern Hebrew, these Biblical narratives about Hormah ( \u201cdestruction\u201d) are the basis for an idiomatic expression commonly used in Israel today:\u00a0 ‘ad hormah<\/em> (literally \u201cuntil Hormah\u201d) means \u201ca fight to the finish\u201d, i.e. to battle until one side is completely \u201cdestroyed\u201d, not only in actual warfare but in any social, political or personal struggle. <\/span><\/p>\n

Reflecting back on the biblical origins of the current use of this expression suggests a cautionary message relevant from ancient times to our day. In some circumstances it may be better not to \u201cfight to the finish,\u201d but rather to find the path to a reachable \u201cValley of Agreement\u201d (emeq shaveh<\/em>), as did our patriarch Abraham at the beginning of our peoplehood: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Agreement (emeq shaveh<\/em>), which is the Valley of the King\u2026And King Melchizedek of Salem\u2026blessed him… Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, \u2018Give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself\u2019. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, \u2018I swear to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, I will not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap of what is yours. You shall not say, It is I who made Abram rich\u201d (Genesis 14:17-24).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","image":{"ID":47870,"id":47870,"title":"Num21-hormah","filename":"Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hormah-then-and-now\/num21-hormah\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"num21-hormah","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":47868,"date":"2019-01-20 22:26:04","modified":"2019-01-20 22:26:56","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/gif","type":"image","subtype":"gif","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":281,"height":177,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","medium-width":281,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","medium_large-width":281,"medium_large-height":177,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","large-width":281,"large-height":177,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","1536x1536-width":281,"1536x1536-height":177,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","2048x2048-width":281,"2048x2048-height":177,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","post_full_size-width":281,"post_full_size-height":177,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","home_baner-width":281,"home_baner-height":177}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Hormah \u2013 Then And Now","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"A legendary battle to the finish","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":47870,"id":47870,"title":"Num21-hormah","filename":"Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/hormah-then-and-now\/num21-hormah\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"num21-hormah","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":47868,"date":"2019-01-20 22:26:04","modified":"2019-01-20 22:26:56","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/gif","type":"image","subtype":"gif","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":281,"height":177,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546-150x150.gif","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","medium-width":281,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","medium_large-width":281,"medium_large-height":177,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","large-width":281,"large-height":177,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","1536x1536-width":281,"1536x1536-height":177,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","2048x2048-width":281,"2048x2048-height":177,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","post_full_size-width":281,"post_full_size-height":177,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num21-hormah-e1548023198546.gif","home_baner-width":281,"home_baner-height":177}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47868"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107213,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47868\/revisions\/107213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}