{"id":56062,"date":"2018-07-09T17:42:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-229\/"},"modified":"2022-12-21T08:33:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T06:33:19","slug":"wall-229","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-229\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-Judges-18"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"229","date":"20260715","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"56080","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"Judges Chapter 18 - Read by Norma Fire ","post_title":"Judges Chapter 18 - Read by Norma Fire","slug":"judges-chapter-18-read-by-norma-fire","old_id":"56080","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":"229","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":"Judges 18","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"read by Norma Fire","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_Judges_Chapter_18_read_by_Norma_Fire","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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"110265","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Dan\u2019s Idolatry And Exile ","post_title":"Dan\u2019s Idolatry And Exile","slug":"dans-idolatry-and-exile","old_id":"110265","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":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But which exile was that? As usual, commentators argue\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In a throwback to the end of Joshua, the tribe of Dan is restless. They are not satisfied with their allotment and decide to go on a reconnaissance mission.\u00a0 Along the way, they encounter Micha and his priest, idol, and ephod. The Danites take everything and bring it to their new-found land. That land is populated by a tribe that the text emphasizes were not harming or bothering anyone. The Danites massacre the tribe and take over the land and name it after their forefather Dan. The story ends with a cryptic phrase:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Danites set up the sculptured image for themselves; and Jonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh and his descendants, served as priests to the Danite tribe until the land went into exile (verse 30).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Which exile? It would make sense that the text is referring to the exile of the ten northern tribes during the Assyrian assault. This is Rashi\u2019s opinion. The problem is that that will not happen for hundreds of years. According to Baba Bathra 14b, Samuel the prophet wrote the book. Samuel died well before David united the tribes under one kingdom. If Samuel wrote the book, then why would he reference something that happened hundreds of years after his death?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Furthermore, how would David and Solomon have allowed this idol worship center to persist in the north during their reigns? Malbim explains that David did remove the idol worship and the \u201cpriestly\u201d line of Jonathan repented. When Jeroboam became king of the Northern tribes, he installed a new idol in Dan. He reinstalled the family of Jonathan as the priests of this idol.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Radak explains that the expulsion here has to be taken in the context of Samuel. Samuel would be talking about the expulsion of the Ark when it was stolen during his lifetime. That is why the text says \u201cexpulsion of the land\u201d and not expulsion of the tribe of Dan or the expulsion of the Northern Kingdom. Ralbag explains that this expulsion was specific to this land of the Danites. This took place at the hands of Yavin the king of Canaan. And that is what Deborah referred to in her song \u201cDan why do you travel by ships?\u201d (5:17). Neither of the Dan territories was near the water. This must refer to the northern Dan tribe fleeing over the Jordan river after they were expelled.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image(s): \u201cBroken\u201d by Erika F\u00e1bi\u00e1n (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":67579,"alt":"","title":"is44-idols","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols.jpg","width":1024,"height":512,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols-300x150.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":150,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols-768x384.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols-1024x512.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":512,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":512,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":512,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":512,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is44-idols-840x420.jpg","home_baner-width":840,"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":"Dan\u2019s Idolatry And Exile","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But which exile was that? 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Selfless ","post_title":"Selfish v. Selfless","slug":"selfish-v-selfless","old_id":"56309","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37404,"post_title":"Jennifer Raskas","slug":"jennifer-raskas","old_id":"37404","first_name":"Jennifer ","last_name":"Raskas ","description":"Jennifer Raskas is the Washington D.C. Manager for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. She teaches classes widely on Hebrew literary approaches to readings in Tanakh. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and her Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.","short_description":"Jennifer Raskas is the Washington D.C. Manager for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37405,"alt":"","title":"Jennifer Raskas","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","width":1680,"height":1647,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-300x294.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":294,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-768x753.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":753,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-1024x1004.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1004,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1506,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483.jpg","2048x2048-width":1680,"2048x2048-height":1647,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-1200x1176.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1176,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jennifer-Raskas-e1533908320483-428x420.jpg","home_baner-width":428,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Judges as Context and Counterpoint","post_main_content_content":"

There is much we can continue to learn by comparing the last chapters of Judges and the Book of Ruth. \u00a0We begin Chapter 18 by noting the familiar phrase, \u201cIn those days there was no King\u201d (18:1). This will serve as a direct contrast to Ruth, which ends with the birth of King David.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 18 tells the story of the tribe of Dan searching for a place to \u201cla\u2019shevet\u201d to dwell in. \u00a0The book of Ruth will similarly start with Naomi\u2019s family looking for a place to \u201cshev\u201d, settle, as well as Naomi\u2019s resettling in her home in Beth-lehem (Ruth 1:4,22). The way those in Judges and Ruth choose to \u201csettle\u201d, however, show vast differences in moral priorities and piousness.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Tribe of Dan, in searching for a place of their own, first steal Micah\u2019s idols and convince Micah\u2019s priest to abandon him. They do not repent when Micah confronts them. When they arrive at Laish, the city they desire, where the \u201cpeople are quiet and secure,\u201d the people of Dan \u201cput them to the sword and burned down the town\u201d (Judges 18:27). They then rename the city Dan and set up Micah\u2019s idols in the city. The people of Dan find a place to settle, therefore, through stealing, idolatry, killing innocent people and setting a quiet city on fire, all deplorable acts. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In contrast, when Naomi seeks to re-settle in Beth-lehem, she first releases her widowed Moabite daughters-in-law from coming with her, putting their needs first as she explains, she has no more sons to give them. Ruth then chooses the virtuous act of helping others over remaining settled in her home of Moab, as she \u2018sticks\u2019 to Naomi, and proclaims, \u201cwherever you lodge, I will lodge\u201d <\/span>(1:16). Boaz praises Ruth for these actions by implicitly comparing Ruth to Abraham: \u201chow you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you had not known before\u201d (2:11). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In this way the actions of Naomi and Ruth serve as a contrast and \u201cTikkun\u201d for those in Judges. While the tribe of Dan puts their own need to \u201csettle\u201d before the needs and lives of an entire city, Naomi and Ruth demonstrate putting others first, and create a home together through bonds of righteousness and loyalty. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

All of these actions foreshadow additional parts to the ending of each book. At the end of Judges after a gruesome civil war, everyone will separate and disperse, \u201cevery man to his tribe and to his family\u201d (Judges 21:24). The Book of Ruth, in contrast, will end with the public celebration of a union of a new home, that of Ruth and Boaz, which will lead to the birth of King David.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For a fuller exploration about the contrast between the end of the Book of Judges and the Book of Ruth, please see: Raskas, Jennifer R.<\/span> \u201cThe Book of Ruth: A Contrast to the End of the Book of Judges.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Jewish Bible Quarterly. Volume 43:4 (2015): p. 223-232<\/span>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56310,"alt":"","title":"jud18-me-we","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","width":1920,"height":1603,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-300x250.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":250,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-768x641.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":641,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-1024x855.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":855,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1282,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1603,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-1200x1002.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1002,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-503x420.jpg","home_baner-width":503,"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":"Special Series: The Tikkun of Ruth II","tile_main_caption":"Selfish v. Selfless","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Judges as Context and Counterpoint","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56310,"alt":"","title":"jud18-me-we","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","width":1920,"height":1603,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-300x250.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":250,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-768x641.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":641,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-1024x855.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":855,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1282,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1603,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-1200x1002.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1002,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-me-we-503x420.jpg","home_baner-width":503,"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","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"337","name":"Ruth","old_id":"737"},{"term_id":"407","name":"Tikkun","old_id":"807"},{"term_id":"837","name":"Judges","old_id":"1237"}]},{"order":4,"id":"56315","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"The Trauma of Anarchy ","post_title":"The Trauma of Anarchy","slug":"the-trauma-of-anarchy","old_id":"56315","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49926,"post_title":"Binyamin Cohen","slug":"binyamin-cohen","old_id":"49926","first_name":"Binyamin ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. He completed his Master\u2019s in Jewish Education through Pardes Day School Educators Program in conjunction with Hebrew College. He is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently lives in Chicago.","short_description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49927,"alt":"","title":"binyamin cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","width":800,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic","post_main_content_content":"

The theme of the last five chapters of Judges is, \u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel; every person did what was right in their own eyes.\u201d The two stories contained across these chapters are two of the most shocking, traumatic, violent, and twisted stories in all of Tanach. Chapter 18 starts off with the first half of this verse, and proceeds to tell the second and more disturbing half of the story of Micah, the operator of his very own cultic centre.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Each of these five chapters deals with a different kind of pain and suffering. In chapter 17, we have the breakdown of trust in a parent-child relationship, and earnest but flawed service of God. In chapter 19, we see trauma and violence perpetrated by poor hospitality and oppressive misogyny. In chapter 20, we witness the desolation and grief inherent in even a just civil war. In chapter 21, we experience the shock and sorrow of massacre, and the fraught and hopeless attempts to rebuild what was lost.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 18 is ultimately a story of the tribe of Dan\u2019s trauma: chased from their ancestral home, seeking security and peace, they stumbled upon Micah and his little temple. What catches their attention, what brings them to Micah, is in fact the voice of the Levite who is serving in Micah\u2019s temple. They hear something familiar, something safe. They latch on to that safety, but because they are in the midst of trauma, they decide to take that safety by force. They make this same decision again later in the chapter \u2013with much more violent consequences\u2013 when they capture and annihilate the inhabitants of pacifist Laish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These are the traumas of \u201cthere was no king in Israel\u201d. These are the traumas of a divided nation, of tribes sundered from their kin, of living in fear and reaching out for safety, only to cause even more harm. The entire book of Judges is about the dangers of anarchy, and these chapters are the peak of that message.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And what, ultimately, does the Tanach say is the reason for this? \u201cEvery person did what was right in their own eyes\u201d. Each person only did what was best for <\/span>them<\/span><\/i>, what <\/span>they<\/span><\/i> felt was right. There was no temporal king to guide them, and they forgot the guidance of the True King. The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56316,"alt":"","title":"jud18-cracked","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"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 Trauma of Anarchy","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The traumas of Judges teach us that breaking out of the cycle of trauma can itself be traumatic","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56316,"alt":"","title":"jud18-cracked","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-cracked-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"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","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"588","name":"Trauma","old_id":"988"},{"term_id":"606","name":"Pain","old_id":"1006"}]},{"order":5,"id":"56324","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Transgression In Disguise ","post_title":"Transgression In Disguise","slug":"transgression-in-disguise","old_id":"56324","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34245,"post_title":"Rachel Sharansky Danziger","slug":"rachel-sharansky-danziger","old_id":"34245","first_name":"Rachel Sharansky","last_name":"Danziger","description":"Rachel Sharansky Danziger is a Jerusalem-born writer and speaker who blogs about Judaism, parenting, and life in Israel. 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34246,"alt":"","title":"RSDanziger","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","width":1171,"height":1769,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-678x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":678,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-678x1024.jpg","large-width":678,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","1536x1536-width":1017,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger.jpg","2048x2048-width":1171,"2048x2048-height":1769,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-794x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":794,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/RSDanziger-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Unprovoked violence, theft, and idolatry belie the pious veneer","post_main_content_content":"

Stories are, by their nature, deceptive. Without pushing us to form the wrong expectations, they can\u2019t surprise, amaze, or devastate us by upending them. They can\u2019t generate wonder, angst or suspense. They can\u2019t, in short, be stories.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Sometimes stories lie by making us suspect the wrong character or expect the wrong outcome. Sometimes they lie by making us share a character\u2019s narrow perspective. And sometimes, like in Judges 18, they present negative developments in what appears, for a time, to be a positive light.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At first glance, the Danite enterprise in Judges 18 is a tikkun of past wrongs. The troubles of the Israelites in Judges started when they failed to complete the conquest of their lands. \u201cWhich of us shall be the first to go up (ya\u2019aleh) against the Canaanites and attack them,\u201d they asked in Judges 1:1, but then failed to follow through with their plans. The Danites seem to correct this tragic error: when the Danite scouts encourage their brethren to \u201cgo up (na\u2019aleh) at once and attack them,\u201d they use the same Hebrew root (ayin lamed he \u2013 to go up) that preceded the failure of their ancestors. But this time around, their tribe acts on these words.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In fact, the Danite enterprise seems to correct an even older error: the Israelite response to Moshe\u2019s scouts in the desert. Back when those scouts discouraged the people from going to Canaan, Caleb used the root \u2018a.l.h to counter their advice: \u201cLet us by all means go up (\u2018aloh na\u2019aleh), and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.\u201d (Numbers 13:30) In Judges 18 all the scouts seem to take Caleb\u2019s position, and unlike in the desert, their tribe indeed \u2018goes up\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But this promising turn of events is a transgression in disguise. The Danites conquer, but their conquest isn\u2019t sanctioned. Instead of conquering the lands that were allotted to them, they march north and attack a peaceful people without God\u2019s approval or consent. They take what they want, be it an idol or land, and they don\u2019t hesitate to resort to unprovoked violence. They do what is right in their eyes, not in God\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The contrast between the positive veneer and the negative nature of the Danite enterprise draws our attention to an important distinction: the problem in Judges 1 was not the failure to conquer in and of itself. It was rather the failure to conquer when and what God said to conquer; it was the failure to act out God\u2019s plan.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":56325,"alt":"","title":"jud18-camouflage","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","width":1200,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-281x300.png","medium-width":281,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-768x819.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":819,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-960x1024.png","large-width":960,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-1125x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1125,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-394x420.png","home_baner-width":394,"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":"Transgression In Disguise","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Unprovoked violence, theft, and idolatry belie the pious veneer","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":56325,"alt":"","title":"jud18-camouflage","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","width":1200,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-281x300.png","medium-width":281,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-768x819.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":819,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-960x1024.png","large-width":960,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage.png","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-1125x1200.png","post_full_size-width":1125,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jud18-camouflage-394x420.png","home_baner-width":394,"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","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"501","name":"Deception","old_id":"901"}]},{"order":6,"id":"56300","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Tribe Of Dan ","post_title":"The Tribe Of Dan","slug":"the-tribe-of-dan","old_id":"56300","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36669,"post_title":"Yakov Azriel","slug":"yakov-azriel","old_id":"36669","first_name":"Yakov ","last_name":"Azriel","description":"Yakov Azriel, who lives in Israel, has published five books of poetry in the USA and hundreds of poems in journals and magazines. 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\u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance in which to dwell, for they had not been allotted an inheritance amidst the tribes of Israel. Judges (18:1)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Temple's candles have been lit,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And the showbread \u2014 placed on the golden table.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Altar-fire burns.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>In incense-pans, coals sizzle. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But no one is in the Sanctuary:<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>No <\/span>nazir<\/span><\/i> brings an offering,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>No <\/span>kohen <\/span><\/i>pours the wine libation,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>No Levite sings.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the vineyard, little foxes<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Run in herds, like rats<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>In the garden, in the orchard,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>In the field of sacred apples. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

Samson is not here<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To catch the foxes,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>To tie their tails<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>With torches and firebrands.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n

Where are you, Samson?<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Exiled to a cemetery,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Forced to drink bitter wine,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Your locks of wavy hair all shaved by a razor? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the empty Temple courtyard, foxes eat grapes.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Does no one at all hear the echoes<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Of our voices, hoarse and strained,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>As we cry? <\/span><\/p>\r\n

We \u2014 our hair now shorn,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Cut to our skulls;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>We, as blind as you were, Samson,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Eyeless in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","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":"929 Poetry Corner","tile_main_caption":"The Tribe Of Dan","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"We, as blind as you were, Samson \/ Eyeless in Gaza","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","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","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"362","name":"Poetry","old_id":"762"},{"term_id":"878","name":"Samson;","old_id":"1278"}]},{"order":7,"id":"56312","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Lawless Times II ","post_title":"Lawless Times II","slug":"lawless-times-ii","old_id":"56312","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":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Who were the Danites really?","post_main_content_content":"

Following on the previous chapter<\/a>, we noted that rabbinic chronology placed the episode involving Micah and his idol at the beginning of the era of the Judges, before political or religious authority had been established. As a proof text, we cited the oft-repeated verse: \u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes\u201d (17:6). The present chapter opens, similarly, with: \u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel; and in those days the Danite tribe sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for up to that day nothing had been allotted to them among the tribes of Israel for an inheritance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is from the juxtaposition of anarchy (literally, Greek for \u201cno king\u201d) with the Danite quest for inheritance that the sages deduced the chronological sequence. As conveyed by Rashi:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cNothing had been allotted to them:\u201d A suitable inheritance for them in the conquered territory, as it is said in Joshua, \"The boundary of the Danites exceeded their grasp\" (Joshua 19:47). This, too, teaches us that this episode took place at the very beginning of the period of the judges.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The reference to Joshua 19:47 takes us back to the time that the initial conquest of the land was still underway. In our comments to that chapter, we cited the commentaries of Rashi and R. Yosef Kara in explanation of both the sequence of events and their justification. Here, we would like to draw attention to a highly speculative observation on the nature of the conquest itself.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The text states that the five Danite scouts \u201ccame to Layish, and saw that the people there dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure\u201d (7). Sidon, which is today a Lebanese port city, was one of the principal cities of the Phoenicians, the seafaring people of yore who brought their produce to the Greek islands and, along with that, elements of their culture and language. 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\u201cTowards Jerusalem\u201d<\/a> by David Wietchner: Are we always oriented towards the holy city?<\/p>","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":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Judges 18","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Click to get links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","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,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"56322","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - Judges 18 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - Judges 18","slug":"points-to-ponder-judges-18","old_id":"56322","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":"229","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. A familiar voice?<\/span><\/i> Did the Danites know the Levite lad, or did they just recognize an accent that was out of place? Maybe, since they themselves were looking for new digs, they were just networking: \u201c\u201cWho brought you to these parts? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?\u2019\u201d (verse 3).\/<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. Now you\u2019re talking! <\/span><\/i>The enthusiasm to go up and take possession which was so lacking about 98 chapters ago (Numbers 13-14, the sin of the spies), makes its appearance here in verse 9: \u201c\u201cLet us go at once and attack them! For we found that the land was very good, and you are sitting idle! Don\u2019t delay; go and invade the land and take possession of it, for God has delivered it into your hand.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. An offer you can\u2019t refuse<\/span><\/i>. Listen to the dialogue between the Danites and Micha whose temple was robbed (verses 22-26). The \u201cfriendly advice\u201d that they give him sounds straight out of the Sopranos: \u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t do any shouting at us, or some desperate men might attack you, and you and your family would lose your lives\u201d (verse 25). Somebody just might get hoit, and we wouldn\u2019t want that now, would we?<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Distinguished lineage, but disguised<\/span><\/i>. The levitical priest of Dan has \u201cyichus\u201d (famous progenitors) - \u201cJonathan son of Gershom son of Manasseh\u201d (verse 30). The name of his grandfather in Hebrew is spelled \u05de\u05e0\u05e9\u05d4, one letter different from \u05de\u05e9\u05d4, who indeed had a son named Gershom. So is it Moses\u2019 grandson? Indeed, in the Hebrew the name is spelled like this: <\/span>\u05de\u05b0<\/span>\u05e0\u05b7<\/b>\u05e9\u05bc\u05c1\u05b6\u05d4<\/span> with a suspended \u201c\u05e0\u201d as if the name should be Moshe\/Moses, but we are being modest about it...<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  5. That\u2019s no way to build a temple.<\/i> Theft, greed, robbery, violence. The foundations of the shrine in Dan create intensional discomfort for the reader...<\/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":"Judges 18","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","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Judges","chapter":"18","chapter_main_number":"229","date":"20260715","wall_id":"229"},"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\/56062"}],"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=56062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}