Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Lee R. Martin" <lmartin AT vol.com>]

Dear Steve,
In addition to the examples that you cited, you may want to take note of
Psalm 106:34-44; which is apparently referring to the period of the Judges.
"34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded
them:  35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.  36
And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.  37 Yea, they
sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,  38 And shed innocent
blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they
sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with
their own inventions.  40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled
against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.  41 And
he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled
over them.  42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into
subjection under their hand.  43 Many times did he deliver them; but they
provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:  45
And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the
multitude of his mercies."
Blessings,
Lee R. Martin




-----Original Message-----
From: soren AT enteract.com [mailto:soren AT enteract.com]
Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 5:13 PM
To: Biblical Hebrew
Cc: Biblical Hebrew
Subject: RE: The daughter of Jeftah died?


I don't know if Liz has confused Daniel Werlin but she has certainly
confused
me.  The story of Yiftah is not a random story, it is one of several stores
brought together by a D narrator weho wished to show (the editor does
explain
his/her motives in the text) that when the Israelites abandoned Yahweah,
this
had ill consequences (foreign rule) but that Yahweh did not fully abandon
His
people but raised up great leaders to redeem them spiritually and
physically.
I don't know, and I doubt if it will ever be known, which, if any, of these
stories were in written form before our editor or what thosew written forms
were.

I suspect what is bothering Liz is the assumption that sacrificing a child
is
against Biblical Israaelite religion.  The trouble is that while that
assumption may be comforting to us (how many of us woule sacrifice our only
child even at his/her worst?), there is no particular support for it.  THere
is
one child sacrifice story in Genesis, there is another in Kings (which gets
mentioned in Joshua) and there is Ezekial's comment (I think chapter 22 but
I
don't have any texts before me) quoting Yahwah as saying that he gave bad
laws
to Israel by commanding them to sacrifice their first-born.  THe editor
includes this story because it shows Yiftah's relgious virtue (and thus his
fitness to lead Israel) as he keep his vow even when it led in a direction
he
had not suspected.

                                                    Steve Oren

Quoting "Lisbeth S. Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu>:

> If you argue that this describes an histoical event, then
> you must have some theory in mind describing how the
> event happened to be written down and received into
> the biblical corpus.
> What is that theory that you have?
> Liz Fried
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Daniel Walin [mailto:danserve4x AT yahoo.com]
> > Sent: Mon, June 03, 2002 4:31 PM
> > To: Biblical Hebrew
> > Subject: RE: The daughter of Jeftah died?
> >
> >
> > --- "Lisbeth S. Fried" <lizfried AT umich.edu> wrote:
> > > If this is historical, what transmission
> > > theory do you propose to account for it's inclusion
> > > in the biblical corpus?
> > > Liz Fried
> >
> > What do you mean by the term "transmission theory?"
> >
> > Daniel Walin
> >
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