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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: andronicusmy AT gmail.com
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Milcah vs. the "Daughters of Canaan"
  • Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:54:58 -0400 (EDT)


Firouz Khandjani wrote: “I think that the concern of fathers is more
religious than tribal. The Law will forbid the marriage because they could
have
negative religious impact. Ezra and Nehemiah will extend the principle to
Moabites and Ammonites even if the House of David had very close bood
connections with them. The situation seemed to have evolved in Jacob's time
as it
seems his sons had after Sheshem event some leading position in the country
and a lot of Hebrews followed them there. Joseph would refer to Canaan as the
"Land of Hebrews". Tamar seemed to be submitted to some Hebraic law about
adultery. The report to Judah " Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the
harlot" suggests more conservative moral standards.”

Are there non-tribal religious reasons why (i) Abraham prohibits Isaac from
marrying BNWT KN(N, (ii) Isaac similarly prohibits Jacob from marrying any “
daughter of Canaan”, yet (iii) both Judah and Simeon in the next generation
marry Canaanite women?

As to the religious [non-tribal] issue, the BNWT KN(N who were ethnic
Canaanites, and the BNWT KN(N who were ethnic Hurrians born in Canaan, and
Milcah, and Milcah’s sister Iscah and, while out in eastern Syria at Harran,
Milcah
’s descendant Rebekah as well, were all probably pagans. We know for
certain that Rebekah’s brother Laban has teraphim. Those idols were so
important
to Laban that they were one of the reasons why Laban chases a fleeing Jacob
all the way from eastern Syria to Gilead.

Thus from a non-tribal, religious perspective, all these women seem to be
about the same: they’re all pagans, and they likely all worship idols. Why
then must Isaac and Jacob marry a descendant of Milcah, whereas they are
prohibited from marrying BNWT KN(N? And why does that prohibition disappear
in
the generation of Jacob’s sons? In my opinion, the answer has almost
nothing to do with either religion or geography. Rather, tribal
considerations
are the governing factor here.

One good way to determine the essential difference between Milcah [whose
descendants Isaac and Jacob must marry] and the BNWT KN(N/daughters of Canaan
[whom Isaac and Jacob dare not marry, but whom Judah and Simeon marry] is to
consider Milcah’s sister Iscah. Genesis 11: 29 says that Milcah and Iscah
were the daughters of Abraham’s oldest brother, Haran, and that Milcah
married Abraham’s middle brother, Nahor.

Like Milcah, and unlike BNWT KN(N, Iscah and her female descendants live in
eastern Syria, at Harran. But is that geographical consideration the key
to understanding the surprising prominence of Milcah [as opposed to Iscah] in
the text?

Here is the scholarly analysis of Iscah:

“‘Iscah’ is mentioned only here. The etymology and meaning of her name
are unknown. Suggestions that Iscah is an alternative name for Sarah or that
she was Lot’s wife are purely speculative.” Gordon Wenham, “Genesis 1-15”
(1987), p. 273.

“[W]hat reason could there be for the inclusion of Iscah, other than the
fact that such a tradition had been handed down to J, who had no choice but
to
record it?” E.A. Speiser, “Genesis” (1962), p. 79.

But if we think of what it takes to create the ideal tribe, then we can
understand the role that Iscah plays in the tribal history of the Hebrews
that
is set forth in the Patriarchal narratives. The key is to contrast Iscah
with Milcah.

A female descendant of Iscah would not be the ideal bride for Isaac.
Iscah, like Milcah, lives in eastern Syria, but that geographical
consideration
is of marginal importance. No, what’s of key importance, and distinguishes
these two daughters of Haran from each other, is that only Milcah’s
descendants are descendants of both of Abraham’s two older brothers. Milcah
is Haran’
s daughter, and Milcah is also the main wife of Nahor. Thus a female
descendant of Milcah is the ideal bride for Isaac, because it includes both
of
the other two branches of the family as sharing in Abraham’s divine
inheritance of Canaan. By marrying a female descendant of Milcah, rather
than a
female descendant of Iscah, Isaac thereby includes a line of descendants from
both of Abraham’s two brothers in the inheritance of Canaan.

Such marriage creates three horizontal common male heirs for the new tribe
of Hebrews that is being formed. Every Hebrew (that is, as to males, the
male descendants of Jacob) will have Abraham, Nahor and Haran as three
horizontal common male ancestors. In conjunction with the Hebrew tribe later
having three high-profile vertical common male ancestors -- Abraham, Isaac
and
Jacob -- an ideal tribe is being formed, based on ideal ancestral bloodlines.

Iscah’s role in the Patriarchal narratives is to clarify Milcah’s role as
to ancestral bloodlines for the new Hebrew tribe that is being formed. The
fact that Milcah’s female descendant Rebekah lives in Harran in eastern
Syria is of little importance. What is of critical importance is not the
geography, but rather the ideal ancestral bloodlines of the newly forming
Hebrew
tribe.

Only by marrying a female descendant of Milcah [as opposed to a female
descendant of Iscah] does Isaac’s marriage bring in both of Abraham’s two
brothers as sharing in Abraham’s divine inheritance of Canaan. That’s one
key
step in forming the ideal tribe.

The problem with the BNWT KN(N is not they’re from Canaan or that most of
them are ethnic Canaanites, much less that they are pagans who worship idols.
No, the problem with the “daughters of Canaan” is that they cannot help
Abraham or Isaac create a new tribe, the Hebrews, with ideal ancestral
bloodlines. Neither can Iscah. It’s got to be Milcah’s line of descendants,
because only Milcah’s descendants represent both of Abraham’s brothers,
thereby allowing certain descendants of all three sons of Terakh to share
Abraham’
s divine inheritance of Canaan. Nothing but a descendant of Milcah will do
as the ideal bride for Isaac and Jacob, despite the prominence of teraphim
out in eastern Syria, given that the Patriarchs are bound and determined to
create the ideal tribe [based on ideal ancestral bloodlines], which they
deftly proceed to do.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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