{"id":100171,"date":"2018-07-09T18:03:17","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-908\/"},"modified":"2022-01-03T23:20:45","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T21:20:45","slug":"wall-908","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-908\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Writings-II Chronicles-15"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"908","date":"20290220","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","books_group":"Writings","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"100211","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible II Chronicles 15   ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible II Chronicles 15","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ii-chronicles-15","old_id":"100211","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"II Chronicles 15","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-753876298\/jps_audio_bible_II_Chronicles_15","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"100397","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"The Gevira: Queen Mother And Cultic Leader?  ","post_title":"The Gevira: Queen Mother And Cultic Leader?","slug":"the-gevira-queen-mother-and-cultic-leader","old_id":"100397","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":92960,"post_title":"Calev Ben-Dor","slug":"calev-ben-dor","old_id":"92960","first_name":"Calev ","last_name":"Ben-Dor ","description":"Having grown up in London, Calev Ben-Dor now lives in Jerusalem with his family. He writes and teaches about Israel and Judaism and is involved in a Whatsapp facilitated 929 learning group with members from across the world.","short_description":"Calev Ben-Dor lives in Jerusalem and writes and teaches about Israel and Judaism.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92962,"alt":"","title":"calev ben dor","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","width":428,"height":414,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1-300x290.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":290,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":414,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":414,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":414,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":414,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":414,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/calev-ben-dor-1.jpg","home_baner-width":428,"home_baner-height":414}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The earthly counterpart of Asherah, the king's heavenly mother\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1967, during an excavation in Khirbet el-Qom, some 10 ten kilometers southeast of Lachish, American archeologist William Dever uncovered an inscription alluding to the biblical God of Israel and the idol Asherah, an ancient West Semitic goddess (and also a wooden cult object associated with her worship) considered consort of the supreme god.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several years later, in Kuntillet Ajrud in the eastern Sinai, a Tel Aviv University archeologist, Ze\u2019ev Meshel, found texts written around 800 BCE expressing something even more extraordinary:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\"I bless you by God [Y,H,V,H] of Samaria and by his Asherah.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seemingly, both God as king, and Ashera as consort formed part of worship in ancient Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, the Tanach says as much. King Asa may have tried to destroy Ashera, but over a hundred years later, King Hezekiah is trying to rid the kingdom of these idols. Three generations after that, Josiah reportedly cut down Ashera statues in the Temple.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can help us better understand what happens in Chapter 15:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He [Asa] also deposed Maacah mother of King Asa from the rank of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>gevira<\/em> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(queen mother), because she had made an abominable thing for Asherah. Asa cut down her abominable thing, reduced it to dust, and burned it in the Wadi Kidron.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Academics argue over the extent to which the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gevira<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was an informal position or possessed institutionalized status. Some even suggest it involved a cultic component. In \"The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel\", Susan Ackerman suggests something remarkable \u2013 that the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gevira\u2019s<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> role in the eyes of the people was to lead worship of Ashera.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs the human mother of the king\u201d Ackerman writes, \u201cthe queen mother could be perceived as the earthly counterpart of Asherah, the king's heavenly mother. The queen mother might even be considered the human representative, even surrogate, of Asherah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An identification of the queen mother with Asherah \u201ccould give to the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gevira<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> power and authority which, like the king's, originate in the world of the divine. Such a divine legitimization would then allow the queen mother to function as the second most powerful figure in the royal court, superseded only by her son, the king.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maacha was obviously charismatic, savvy, sophisticated and politically astute. Great granddaughter of a king (Talmai of Gehsur), granddaughter to a king (David), daughter to a prince who sought the crown (Absalom), and wife of a king (Rehoboam\u2019s favorite out of 18!). Possessing as much (if not more) royal blood than Queen Victoria, Maacha maintained her position as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>gevira<\/em> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">during the reigns of her son and grandson.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It thus shouldn\u2019t be surprising that as <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gevira<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Maacha was a leading worshiper of Ashera. Not only was it commonplace amongst most of Israel, but she may have been considered the kingdom\u2019s earthly embodiment of the divine\u2019s apparent consort.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>image: Figurine of Ashtoret-Tanit, from the Hecht Museum, CC BY-SA\u00a03.0 \/ wikipedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":100400,"alt":"","title":"2chron15-ashera","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","width":800,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Gevira: Queen Mother And Cultic Leader?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The earthly counterpart of Asherah, the king's heavenly mother","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":100400,"alt":"","title":"2chron15-ashera","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","width":800,"height":1200,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1200,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1200,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/2chron15-ashera-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"100393","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The King And His Subjects  ","post_title":"The King And His Subjects","slug":"the-king-and-his-subjects","old_id":"100393","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"He was wholehearted. Them? Not so much\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chapter 15 notes that the beginning of Asa\u2019s righteous rule as king over Judah and Benjamin, was marked by his taking seriously the prophecy of Azariah, who encouraged him to restore the Torah \u00a0 within his kingdom: <\/span><b>\u201c<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the LORD is with you as long as you are with Him. If you turn to Him, He will respond to you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you\u201d (verse 2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asa proceeded to enact an activist agenda that included removing \u201cthe abominations from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He restored the altar of the LORD in front of the porch of the LORD\u201d (verse 8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the text also notes something that Asa did not do, \u201cthe shrines (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bamot<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), indeed, were not abolished in Israel\u201d (verse 17), and yet, nevertheless, \u201cAsa was wholehearted (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with the LORD<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) all his life\u201d (ibid.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isn\u2019t verse 17 self-contradictory? That is if Asa did not eradicate something that was considered an abomination, how can the text say about him that he was wholehearted?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malbim draws a distinction between the King and his constituents with respect to faith and observance:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hearts of the people were not appropriately wholehearted, but the heart of Asa was wholehearted\u2014he (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asa<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) did not sacrifice at the shrines. On the contrary, he brought the sacrifices of his father to the Temple to support his rule. And this was the opposite of those who sacrificed at shrines who would leave their sacrifices in the temples of the shrines.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apparently, even when the leader of a community personally models proper behavior and belief, there is no guarantee that his followers will do the same. What individuals practice in secret cannot be attributed to the leader. And rather than blame the king for his people\u2019s shortcomings, assuming that he has made the requisite effort to at least outwardly guide them correctly, his reputation as a righteous individual is assured.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, the continuation of underground witchcraft, despite the monarch\u2019s best efforts at eradicating it, is evidenced by the woman of Endor\u2019s suspicious comments to that monarch, King Saul, who has been reduced to consulting her in a desperate attempt to summon up the spirit of Samuel: \u201cYou know what Saul has done, how he has banned [the use of] ghosts and familiar spirits in the land\u2026\u201d (I Samuel 28:9).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this regard, Asa becomes an exemplar of Deuteronomy 29:28: \u201cConcealed acts concern the LORD our God; but with overt acts, it is for us and our children ever to apply all the provisions of this Teaching.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":53737,"alt":"","title":"jo11-hard-heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","width":330,"height":190,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart-300x173.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","medium_large-width":330,"medium_large-height":190,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","large-width":330,"large-height":190,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","1536x1536-width":330,"1536x1536-height":190,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","2048x2048-width":330,"2048x2048-height":190,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","post_full_size-width":330,"post_full_size-height":190,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","home_baner-width":330,"home_baner-height":190}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The King And His Subjects","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"He was wholehearted. Them? Not so much","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":53737,"alt":"","title":"jo11-hard-heart","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","width":330,"height":190,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart-300x173.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","medium_large-width":330,"medium_large-height":190,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","large-width":330,"large-height":190,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","1536x1536-width":330,"1536x1536-height":190,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","2048x2048-width":330,"2048x2048-height":190,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","post_full_size-width":330,"post_full_size-height":190,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo11-hard-heart.png","home_baner-width":330,"home_baner-height":190}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"100404","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Meet A Prophet  ","post_title":"Meet A Prophet","slug":"meet-a-prophet","old_id":"100404","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The strange case of Azariah the son of Oded. He was one in a million\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Talmud, somewhat hyperbolically, stipulates that Israel enjoyed the services of twice as many prophets as there were Jews who left Egypt\u2014of which there were about 600,000 adult males alone (Megillah 14a). (The same expression, \u201ctwice as many as those who left Egypt\u201d\u2014<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">kiflayim k\u2019yotzei mitzrayim<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014seems to have been a common one, as it is utilized, just as hyperbolically, in three other talmudic sources.) Our chapter introduces us to one of them, a prophet about whom there is no other biblical information: Azariah son of Oded (1), who inspired King Asa to rid Judah of its abominations (8).<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Josephus, in his <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Antiquities of the Jews<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>,<\/em> reported on Asa\u2019s victory over Zerah the Cushite as follows: \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So that they carried off much gold, and much silver, and a great deal of [other] prey, and camels, and great cattle, and flocks of sheep\u201d (Book VIII 12:2). Immediately thereafter, he noted:<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accordingly, when Asa and his army had obtained such a victory, and suc<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">h <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wealth from God, they returned to Jerusalem. Now as they were coming, a Prophet, whose name was <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Azariah<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, met them on the road, and bade them pause their journey: and began to say to them thus: \u201cThe reason why they had obtained this victory from God was that they had showed themselves righteous and religious men, and had done everything according to the will of God. That therefore he said, if they persevered therein, God would grant that they should always overcome their enemies, and live happily; but that if they abandoned his worship, all things shall fall out on the contrary and a time should come wherein no true Prophet shall be left in the whole multitude, nor a Priest who shall deliver you a true answer from the Oracle. But your cities shall be overthrown, and your nation scattered over the whole earth, and live the life of strangers and wanderers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to a Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 19:4), however, Azariah\u2019s words, which are translated as \u201cIsrael <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has gone<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> many days without the true God, without a priest to give instruction and without Teaching\u201d (3), constituted a prophecy for the future and should be read as: \u201cIsrael <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shall go<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for many days without the true God,\u201d etc., implying that \u201cjustice will not be done, the priesthood will be abolished, and so will the Sanhedrin.\u201d Whereupon, a heavenly voice decreed: \u201cStrengthen the hands that are slack; make firm the tottering knees! Say to the anxious of heart, be strong, fear not; behold your God! Requital is coming, the recompense of God\u2014 He Himself is coming to give you triumph\u201d (Isaiah 35:3-4).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":62369,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-prophet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","width":1200,"height":627,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-300x157.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":157,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-768x401.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":401,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1024x535.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":535,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":627,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":627,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1200x627.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":627,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-804x420.jpg","home_baner-width":804,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Meet A Prophet","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The strange case of Azariah the son of Oded. He was one in a million","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":62369,"alt":"","title":"1kings13-prophet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","width":1200,"height":627,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-300x157.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":157,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-768x401.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":401,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1024x535.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":535,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":627,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":627,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-1200x627.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":627,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings13-prophet-804x420.jpg","home_baner-width":804,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"100402","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Threats And Promises, Life And Death  ","post_title":"Threats And Promises, Life And Death","slug":"threats-and-promises-life-and-death","old_id":"100402","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah.  Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The meaning of the covenant\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey entered into a covenant to worship the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. Whoever would not worship the LORD God of Israel would be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. So they took an oath to the LORD in a loud voice and with shouts, with trumpeting and blasts of the horn\u201d(verses 12-14).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the first nationwide oath to follow God since the giving of the Ten Commandments. A similar oath will be repeated centuries later in Nehemiah 10:32.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the text here is a little bizarre. It seems like this oath is both coercive and independent. Verse 12 indicated that the people swore the oath \u201cwith all their heart.\u201d This sounds like a very good thing. The people dig deep to swear allegiance to God. The very next verse, though, swings the opposite way explaining that whoever does not follow God would be put to death. This sounds like the forced conversions of the Jews in Christian Spain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In verse 14, though, we are back to the people sounding rousing calls and supporting the Oath. Shouts of excitement does not match terror. Malbim explains that verse 13 is not the impetus to take the oath, but the content of the oath. This explains why the text in verses 12 and 14 sound so enthusiastic. The people were happy to swear an oath to God. It was only when someone would later go against the oath that they would be put to death.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":69821,"alt":"","title":"jer11-covenant","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Threats And Promises, Life And Death","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The meaning of the covenant","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":69821,"alt":"","title":"jer11-covenant","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/jer11-covenant-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"100379","color":"#eceffa","size":"1","name":"Traitors!   ","post_title":"Traitors!","slug":"traitors","old_id":"100379","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 -  from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Crossing over from north to south\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">15:9 \u201cAnd he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those sojourning with them from Ephraim and from Manasseh and from Simeon, for many of Israel had crossed over to him when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That is, they switched their allegiance from the northern kingdom to Asa.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From: Robert Alter, <em>The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 3: Writings, W. W. Norton &amp; Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Traitors!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Crossing over from north to south","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"100380","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - II Chronicles 15   ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - II Chronicles 15","slug":"points-to-ponder-ii-chronicles-15","old_id":"100380","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"908","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"<ol>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Prophetic accompaniment<\/em>. Asa, like his forebears and like the kings that will follow, is granted a prophetic associate, whose job is primarily to warn and to remind - what is good and what is evil.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Joining with the successful<\/em>. Who? Details in verse 9.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>In the third month<\/em>. The rededication of the covenant takes place \u201cin Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa\u201d (verse 10). The third month is the month of Sivan, when the feast of Shavuot is celebrated in the Temple. Other assemblies that we are familiar with took place in the seventh month (Sukkot - the dedication of the Temple and the convocations in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah) and in the first month (Pesach - in the days of Josiah and in 15 more chapters - a slightly different Pesach in the days of Hezekiah).<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Chronology and theology<\/em>. This is what it seems like in the days of Asa. In the previous chapter: eradicating foreign worship, and then ten peaceful years (until the successful war against Zerah the Cushite), and in this chapter: eradicating foreign worship and a rededication of the covenant, and then a double reward of twenty peaceful years. There is a predictable turn of events in the next chapter - stay tuned. <\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"II Chronicles 15","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder ","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"II Chronicles","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"908","date":"20290220","wall_id":"908"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/100171"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}