Week 141

• Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:9
• Prophets (P): Joshua 24:1-15
• Apostolic (A): 1 John 2:1-29
• Additional (ADD): 1 Maccabees 1:29-40

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Numbers 31:1-24; Numbers 31:25-54 (T)
• Joshua 8:1-3 (T)
• Genesis 9:18-27 (T)
• Numbers 33:51-53 (T)
• Deuteronomy 7:1-6 (T)
• Joshua 10:1-43 (T)
• Joshua 11:1-23 (T)
• Luke 14:25-33 (T)
• Joshua 24:1-33 (P)

RELATED ADDITIONAL REA.D.INGS

• Jubilees 10:28-36 (T)
• A Commentary on the Law of Moses 4Q251, Fragment 13 (T)
• Numbers 35:9-29 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Deuteronomy 20:1 – 21:9 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 4.8.16, 4.8.42-43 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:10 – 21:9

20:1 When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, [and]^(DSS) a people more numerous than you, you will not be afraid of them; for YHWH your Elohim, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 It will be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest will approach and speak to the people, 3 and will tell them, “Hear, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don’t let your heart faint! Don’t be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them; 4 for YHWH your Elohim is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” 5 The [judges]^(DSS) will speak to the people, saying, “What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit. 7 What man is there who has betrothed to a woman, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.” 8 The [judges]^(DSS) will speak further to the people, and they will say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.” 9 It will be, when the [judges]^(DSS) have finished speaking to the people, that they will appoint captains of armies at the head of the people. 10 When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it. 11 It will be, if it gives you answer of peace and opens to you, then it will be that all the people who are found therein will become forced laborers to you, and will serve you. 12 If it will make no peace with you, but will make war against you, then you will besiege it. 13 When YHWH your Elohim delivers it into your hand, you will strike every male of it with the edge of the sword; 14 but the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its plunder, you will take for plunder for yourself. You may use the plunder of your enemies, which YHWH your Elohim has given you. 15 Thus you will do to all the cities which are very far off from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 But of the cities of these peoples that YHWH your Elohim gives you for an inheritance, you will save alive nothing that breathes; 17 but you will utterly destroy them: the Hittite, the Amorite, [and]^(mss)(LXX) the Canaanite, [and the Girgashite]^(SP)(LXX) the Perizzite, [and]^(mss)(LXX) the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as YHWH your Elohim has commanded you; 18 that they not teach you to follow all their abominations, which they have done to their elohim; so would you sin against YHWH your Elohim. 19 When you will besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you will not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You will not cut them down, for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees that you know are not trees for food, you will destroy and cut them down. You will build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

21:1 If someone is found slain in the land which YHWH your Elohim gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges will come out, and they will measure to the cities which are around him who is slain. 3 It will be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man will take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke. 4 The elders of that city will bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and will break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi will come near, for YHWH your Elohim has chosen them to minister to him, and to bless in YHWH’s name; and according to their mouth is every dispute and every plague. 6 All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man will wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 They will answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Atone, YHWH, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood will atone for them. 9 So you will put away the innocent blood from among you, when you will do that which is right in the eyes of YHWH.

Prophets Portion (P)

Joshua 24:1-15

24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before Elohim. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other elohim. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt [and became there a great and numerous and mighty nation, and the Egyptians afflicted them].^(LXX)5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Sea of Reeds. 7 When they cried out to YHWH, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days. 8 brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’ 14 “Now therefore fear YHWH, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the elohim which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve YHWH. 15 If it seems evil to you to serve YHWH, choose today whom you will serve; whether the elohim which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the elohim of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.”

Apostolic Portion (A)

1 John 2:1-29

2:1 My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Yeshua the Messiah, the righteous. 2 And he is the atoning slaughter for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4 One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. 5 But Elohim’s love has most certainly been perfected in whoever keeps his word. This is how we know that we are in him: 6 he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked. 7 Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard. 8 Again, I write a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you; because the darkness is passing away and the true light already shines. 9 He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. 10 He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, little children, because you know the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of Elohim remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 15 Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the coveting of the flesh, the coveting of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. 17 The world is passing away with its coveting, but he who does Elohim’s will remains forever. 18 Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Anti-messiah is coming, even now many anti-messiahs have arisen. By this we know that it is the final hour. 19 They went out from us, but they didn’t belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have continued with us. But they left, that they might be revealed that none of them belong to us. 20 You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? This is the Anti-messiah, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.^(mss) 24 As for you, let that remain in you which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 25 This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you remain in him. 28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone [also]^(mss) who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Additional Portion (ADD)

1 and 2 Maccabees are set during the reign of the Seleucid Greek empire (the part of the Greek empire that found its roots in Syria). It tells the story of how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attested to suppress Temple worship and to destroy the practice of Jewish law. This caused the Maccabean revolt, led by Mattathias and his sons. As a part of the revolt, the Temple was freed from the control of the Greek empire and rededicated (an act that is still commemorated yearly in the festival of Hanukkah). The Maccabees then ruled over Israel, first as High Priests and then as High Priests and Princes of Israel.

1 Maccabees follows this story until the death of Simon (the third son of Mattathias to rule over Israel) at the hands of the Egyptian Greeks (from about 175-134 B.C.).

1 Maccabees 1:29-40

29 After two full years, the king sent a chief collector of tribute to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a heavy multitude. 30 He spoke words of peace to them in subtlety, and they believed him. Then he fell upon the city suddenly, struck it very severely, and destroyed many people of Israel. 31 He took the spoils of the city, set it on fire, and pulled down its houses and its walls on every side. 32 They led captive the women and the children, and seized the livestock. 33 Then they fortified the city of David with a large, strong wall and with strong towers, and it became their citadel. 34 They put a sinful nation, transgressors of the law, there, and they strengthened themselves in it. 35 They stored up weapons and food, and gathering together the spoils of Jerusalem, they stored them there, and they became a great menace. 36 It became a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel continually. 37 They shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled the sanctuary. 38 The inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them. She became a habitation of foreigners. She became foreign to those who were born in her, and her children forsook her. 39 Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach, and her honor into contempt. 40 According to her glory, so was her dishonor multiplied, and her exaltation was turned into mourning.

Related Scriptures

Numbers 31:1-24; Numbers 31:25-54 (T)

Numbers 31:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the sons of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for army, that they may go against Midian, to execute YHWH’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You will send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the army.” 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for army. 6 Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the army with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the army, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 They fought against Midian, as YHWH commanded Moses. They killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 The sons of Israel took the women of Midian captive with their little ones; and all their livestock, all their flocks, and all their goods, they took as plunder. 10 All their cities in the places in which they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire. 11 They took all the captives, and all the plunder, both of man and of animal. 12 They brought the captives with the prey and the plunder, to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho. 13 Moses and Eleazar the priest, with all the princes of the congregation, went out to meet them outside of the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the army. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? 16 Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the word of Balaam, to commit trespass against YHWH upon the word of Peor, and so the striking was among the congregation of YHWH. 17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. 19 “Encamp outside of the camp for seven days. Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day, you and your captives. 20 You will purify every garment, and all that is made of skin, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.” 21 Eleazar the priest said to the men of army who went to the battle, “This is the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded Moses. 22 However the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that may withstand the fire, you will make to go through the fire, and it will be clean; nevertheless it will be purified with the water for impurity. All that doesn’t withstand the fire you will make to go through the water. 24 You will wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be clean. Afterward you will come into the camp.”

Numbers 31:25 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation; 27 and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in army, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28 Levy a tribute to YHWH of the men of army who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, [of the flocks, and of the donkeys].(DSS) 29 Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for YHWH’s wave offering. 30 Of the sons of Israel’s half, you will take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the tabernacle of YHWH.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did as YHWH commanded Moses. 32 Now the plunder, over and above the surplus which the men of army took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand head of cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him. 36 The half, which was the portion of those who went out to army, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and YHWH’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which YHWH’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The asses were thirty thousand five hundred, of which YHWH’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom YHWH’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 Moses gave the tribute, which was YHWH’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as YHWH commanded Moses. 42 Of the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought, 43 now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand head of cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons, 47 even of the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the tabernacle of YHWH, as YHWH commanded Moses. 48 Then [all](DSS) the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, [who came from the service of the army],(DSS) came near to Moses. 49 They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of army who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us. 50 We have brought YHWH’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, [and](DSS) earrings, and necklaces, [and he made](DSS) atonement for our souls before YHWH.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels. 52 All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to YHWH, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand [and] seven hundred fifty shekels. 53 The men of army had taken surplus, every man for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Appointed Tent for a memorial for the sons of Israel before YHWH.

Joshua 8:1-3 (T)

8:1 YHWH said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed. Take all the warriors with you, and arise, go up to Ai. Behold, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, with his people, his city, and his land. 2 You will do to Ai and her king as you did to Jericho and her king, except you will take its goods and its livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.” 3 So Joshua arose, with all the warriors, to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.

Genesis 9:18-27 (T)

9:18 The sons of Noaḥ who went out from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham is the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noaḥ, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 Noaḥ began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness. 24 Noaḥ awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” 26 He said, “Blessed be YHWH, the Elohim of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant. 27 May Elohim enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.”

Numbers 33:51-53 (T)

33:51 Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them, “When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you will drive out [the inhabitants](DSS) of the land from before you, destroy all their stone idols, destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places. 53 You will take possession of the land, and dwell therein; for I have given the land to you to possess it.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6 (T)

7:1 When YHWH your Elohim brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—seven nations greater and mightier than you; 2 and when YHWH your Elohim delivers them up before you, and you strike them, then you will utterly destroy them. You will make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them. 3 Do not make marriages with them. Do not give your daughter to his son, nor will you take his daughter for your son. 4 For that would turn away your sons from following me, that [he]^(DSS) may serve other elohim. So the anger of YHWH would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But you will deal with them like this: you will break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved images with fire. 6 For you are a holy people to YHWH your Elohim. YHWH your Elohim has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the land.

Joshua 10:1-43 (T)

10:1 Now when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, 2 they were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me. Let’s strike Gibeon; for they have made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” 5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together and went up, they and all their armies, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. 6 The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Don’t abandon your servants! Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country have gathered together against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and the whole army with him, including all the mighty men of valor. 8 YHWH said to Joshua, “Don’t fear them, for I have delivered them into your hands. Not a man of them will stand before you.” 9 Joshua therefore came to them suddenly. He marched from Gilgal all night. 10 YHWH confused them before Israel. He killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth Horon, and struck them to Azekah and to Makkedah. 11 As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth Horon, YHWH hurled down great stones from the heavens on them to Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword. 12 Then Joshua spoke to YHWH in the day when YHWH delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel. He said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of Aijalon!” 13 The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. Isn’t this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the heavens, and didn’t hurry to go down about a whole day. 14 There was no day like that before it or after it, that YHWH listened to the voice of a man; for YHWH fought for Israel. 15 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal. 16 These five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 Joshua was told, saying, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones to cover the cave’s entrance, and set men by it to guard them; 19 but don’t stay there. Pursue your enemies, and attack them from the rear. Don’t allow them to enter into their cities; for YHWH your Elohim has delivered them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished killing them with a very great slaughter until they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. None moved his tongue against any of the sons of Israel. 22 Then Joshua said, “Open the cave entrance, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me.” 23 They did so, and brought those five kings out of the cave to him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, “Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came near, and put their feet on their necks. 25 Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for YHWH will do this to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 Afterward Joshua struck them, put them to death, and hanged them on five trees. They were hanging on the trees until the evening. 27 At the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and threw them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. 28 Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with its king. He utterly destroyed it and all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining. He did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho. 29 Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. 30 YHWH delivered it also, with its king, into the hand of Israel. He struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining in it. He did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. 31 Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it. 32 YHWH delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel. He took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with all the souls who were in it, according to all that he had done to Libnah. 33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua struck him and his people, until he had left him no one remaining. 34 Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon; and they encamped against it and fought against it. 35 They took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed all the souls who were in it that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. 36 Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it. 37 They took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with its king and all its cities, and all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls who were in it. 38 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it. 39 He took it, with its king and all its cities. They struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining. As he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to its king; as he had done also to Libnah, and to its king. 40 So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the South, the lowland, the slopes, and all their kings. He left no one remaining, but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, commanded. 41 Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon. 42 Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time because YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal.

Joshua 11:1-23 (T)

11:1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were on the north, in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 They went out, they and all their armies with them, many people, even as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. 5 All these kings met together; and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel. 6 YHWH said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid because of them; for tomorrow at this time, I will deliver them up all slain before Israel. You will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua came suddenly, with all the warriors, against them by the waters of Merom, and attacked them. 8 YHWH delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them, and chased them to great Sidon, and to Misrephoth Maim, and to the valley of Mizpah eastward. They struck them until they left them no one remaining. 9 Joshua did to them as YHWH told him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. 10 Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor used to be the head of all those reigns. 11 They struck all the souls who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was no one left who breathed. He burned Hazor with fire. 12 Joshua captured all the cities of those kings, with their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of YHWH commanded. 13 But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only. Joshua burned that. 14 The sons of Israel took all the plunder of these cities, with the livestock, as plunder for themselves; but every man they struck with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They didn’t leave any who breathed. 15 As YHWH commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua. Joshua did so. He left nothing undone of all that YHWH commanded Moses. 16 So Joshua captured all that land, the hill country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel, and the lowland of the same, 17 from Mount Halak, that goes up to Seir, even to Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them, and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the sons of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle. 20 For it was of YHWH to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as YHWH commanded Moses. 21 Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 There were none of the Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that YHWH spoke to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

Luke 14:25-33 (T)

14:25 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, woman, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross and come after me, can’t be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks for conditions of peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.

Joshua 24:1-33 (P)

24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before Elohim. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other elohim. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 When they cried out to YHWH, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness many days. 8 brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you didn’t build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn’t plant.’ 14 “Now therefore fear YHWH, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the elohim which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve YHWH. 15 If it seems evil to you to serve YHWH, choose today whom you will serve; whether the elohim which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the elohim of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve YHWH.” 16 The people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake YHWH, to serve other elohim; 17 for it is YHWH our Elohim who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the middle of whom we passed. 18 YHWH drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve YHWH; for he is our Elohim.” 19 Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve YHWH, for he is a holy Elohim. He is a zealous Elohim. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins. 20 If you forsake YHWH, and serve foreign elohim, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve YHWH.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen YHWH yourselves, to serve him.” They said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore put away the foreign elohim which are among you, and incline your heart to YHWH, the Elohim of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve YHWH our Elohim, and we will listen to his voice.” 25 So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the Torah of Elohim; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of YHWH. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the word of YHWHs which he spoke to us. It will be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your Elohim.” 28 So Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance. 29 After these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of YHWH, died, being one hundred ten years old. 30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 31 Israel served YHWH all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of YHWH, that he had worked for Israel. 32 They buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamorthe father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

Related Additional Readings​

10:28 And Ham and his sons went into the land which he was to occupy, which he acquired as his portion in the land of the south. 29. And Canaan saw the land of Lebanon to the river of Egypt that it was very good, and he went not into the land of his inheritance to the west (that is to) the sea, and he dwelt in the land of Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of Jordan and from the border of the sea. 30. And Ham, his father, and Cush and Mizraim, his brothers, said unto him: “Thou hast settled in a land which is not thine, and which did not fall to us by lot: do not do so; for if thou dost do so, thou and thy sons will fall in the land and (be) accursed through sedition; for by sedition ye have settled, and by sedition will thy children fall, and thou shalt be rooted out for ever. 31. Dwell not in the dwelling of Shem; for to Shem and to his sons did it come by their lot. 32. Cursed art thou, and cursed shalt thou be beyond all the sons of Noaḥ, by the curse by which we bound ourselves by an oath in the face of the holy judge, and in the face of Noaḥ our father.” 33. But he did not hearken unto them, and dwelt in the land of Lebanon from Hamath to the entering of Egypt, he and his sons until this day. 34. And for this reason that land is named Canaan. 35. And Japheth and his sons went towards the sea and dwelt in the land of their portion, and Madai saw the land of the sea and it did not please him, and he begged a (portion) from Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad, his wife’s brother, and he dwelt in the land of Media, near to his wife’s brother until this day. 36. And he called his dwelling-place, and the dwelling-place of his sons, Media, after the name of their father Madai.

A Commentary on the Law of Moses 4Q251, Fragment 13 (T)

Fragment 13 [… a ma]n with his neighbor […] [… under the tree as uncleanness [… if one should find] a corpse that is lying in [a field…] [… and they will break the heifer’s neck there in the wad]i in return for the life [of the slain..] [… ] it is a substitution which is put to death for [the slain…] […] everyone who has no soul within him is dead, [he must be buried) in a g[rave…]

The above excerpt is from Wise, Michael Owen, et al. The Dead Sea Scrolls: a New Translation. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.

Numbers 35:9-29 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 35:9 And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them, When you have passed over Jordan unto the land of Kenaan, you will provide you cities with streets and houses of living (boarding houses), cities of refuge will they be to you, that thither the manslayer may flee who hath killed a man inadvertently. And they will be to you for cities of refuge for the manslayer from the avenger of blood, that the man may not be put to death till he will have stood before the congregation for judgment. And these cities which you give will be six cities of refuge for the manslayer; three you will appoint beyond Jordan, and three in the land of Kenaan; cities of refuge will they be. For the sons of Israel and the sojourners among you will be these six cities of refuge, that thither whoever hath killed a man through ignorance may flee. But if he smote him with an instrument of iron and killed him, he is a murderer; and the murderer will be surely put to death. Or if, filling his hand with a stone large enough to kill any one, he struck him, and killed him, he is a murderer, and the murderer dying will die. Or if, filling his hand with an instrument of wood sufficient to kill any one, he struck him, and killed him, he is a murderer; the murderer will be put to death. The avenger of blood may himself kill the manslayer, if he meet him outside of these cities; he may kill him in judgment. But if (the manslayer) had assaulted in enmity and intentionally with a club or staff, or thrown stones upon him with purpose of heart, and killed him; or cherishing enmity had struck him with his hand and killed him; he is a murderer; dying he will die. The avenger of blood may slay the homicide when he hath been condemned. But if in ignorance, without keeping of malice, he let any thing fall upon him, having no intention to kill; or if without intention he let a stone sufficient to kill any one, or any other thing, fall upon him, and kill him, without having hated, or purposed to do him harm, then the congregation will judge between him who had smitten him, and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments; and the congregation will release the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and make him return to his city of refuge whither he had fled; and he will dwell there until the time that the high priest die, whom the multitude (sagia) had anointed with the oil of anointing; because he did not pray on the Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies concerning the three great transgressions, that the people of the house of Israel might not be smitten for strange worship, or impure connections, or the shedding of innocent blood, when it was in his power to obviate them by his prayer, and he prayed not, therefore hath he been condemned to die in that year.

Deuteronomy 20:1 – 21:9 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 20 When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, and peoples proud, overbearing, and stronger than you, fear them not; for all of them are accounted as a single horse and a single chariot before the Lord your God, whose Word will be your Helper; for He brought you free out of the land of Mizraim. And at the time that you draw nigh to do battle, the priest shall approach and speak with the people, and say to them, Hear, Israel, you draw near this day to fight against your adversaries; let not your heart be moved, be not afraid, tremble not, nor be broken down before them: for the Shekinah of the Lord your Elohim goeth before you to fight for you against your enemies, and to save you.

And the officers shall speak with the people, saying: Who is the man who hath builded a new house, and hath not set fast its door-posts to complete it? let him go and return to his house, lest through sin he be slain in the battle, and another man complete it. Or, what man hath planted a vineyard, and hath not redeemed it from the priest [JERUSALEM. And hath not redeemed it] to make it common? let him go and return to his house, lest sin be the occasion of his not redeeming it, but he be slain in the battle, and another make it common. And what man hath betrothed a [p. 618] woman, but not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest sin prevent him from rejoicing with his wife and he be slain in the battle, and another take her. Yet more shall the officers speak to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid on account of his sin and whose heart is broken? let him go and return to his house, that his brethren be not implicated in his sins, and their heart be broken like his. And when the officers shall have finished to speak with the people, they shall appoint the captains of the host at the head of the people.

When you come nigh to a city to make war against it, then you shall send to it certain to invite it to peace; and if they answer you with words of peace, and open their gates to you, all the people whom you find therein shall be tributaries, and serve you. [JERUSALEM. And if it answer thee with words of peace, and open the gates to you, all the people whom you find.] But if they will not make peace, but war, with you, then you shall beleaguer it. And when the Lord your Elohim will have delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword. But the women, children, and cattle, and whatever is in the city, even all the spoil, you shall seize, and eat the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your Elohim giveth you. Thus shall you do to all cities that are remote from you, which are not of the cities of these seven nations; but of the cities of these peoples, which the Lord your Elohim giveth you to inherit, ye shall not spare alive any breathing thing: for destroying ye shall destroy them, Hittites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Pherizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord your Elohim hath commanded you; that they may not teach you to do after their abominations with which they have served their idols, and you sin before the Lord your God.

When you beleaguer a city all the seven days to war against it, to subdue it on the Sabbath, you shall not destroy the trees thereof by bringing against them (an instrument of) iron; that you may eat its fruit, cut it not down; for a tree on the face of the field is not as a man to be hidden (put out of sight) before you in the siege. But the tree that you know to be a tree not making fruit to eat, that you may destroy and cut down. And you shall raise bulwarks against the city which maketh war with you, until you have subdued it.

Chapter 21 If a mail be found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the Lord your Elohim giveth you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him: then two of the sages shall proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of thy judges, and shall measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found); and the city which is nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the sages, the elders of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year, which hath not been wrought with nor hath drawn in the yoke: and the sages of that city shall bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the ground hath not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife, dolch) in the midst of the field. And the priests the sons of Levi shall draw near; for the Lord your Elohim hath chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut up, and pronounce concerning it; and all the elders of the city lying nearest to the dead man shall wash their

hands over the heifer which hath been cut off in the field, and shall answer and say: It is manifest before the Lord that this hath not come by our hands, nor have we absolved him who shed this blood, nor have our eyes beheld. [JERUSALEM. Nor have our eyes seen who it is who hath shed it.] And the priests shall say: Let there be expiation for thy people Israel, whom Thou, O Lord, hast redeemed, and lay not the guilt of innocent blood upon Thy people Israel; but let him who hath done the murder be revealed. And they shall be expiated concerning the blood; but straightway there will come forth a swarm of worms from the excrement of the heifer, and spread abroad, and move to. the place where the murderer is, and crawl over him: and the magistrates shall take him, and judge him. So shall you, O house of Israel, put away from among you whosoever sheddeth innocent blood, that you may do what is right before the Lord.

Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 4.8.16, 4.8.42-43 (T)

Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

4.8.16. If a murder be committed in any place, and he that did it be not found, nor is there any suspicion upon one as if he had hated the man, and so had killed him, let there be a very diligent inquiry made after the man, and rewards proposed to any one who will discover him; but if still no information can be procured, let the magistrates and senate of those cities that lie near the place in which the murder was committed, assemble together, and measure the distance from the place where the dead body lies; then let the magistrates of the nearest city thereto purchase a heifer, and bring it to a valley, and to a place therein where there is no land ploughed or trees planted, and let them cut the sinews of the heifer; then the priests and Levites, and the senate of that city, will take water and wash their hands over the head of the heifer; and they will openly declare that their hands are innocent of this murder, and that they have neither done it themselves, nor been assisting to any that did it. They will also beseech Elohim to be merciful to them, that no such horrid act may any more be done in that land.

4.8.42. When you have pitched your camp, take care that you do nothing that is cruel. And when you are engaged in a siege; and want timber for the making of warlike engines, do not you render the land naked by cutting down trees that bear fruit, but spare them, as considering that they were made for the benefit of men; and that if they could speak, they would have a just plea against you, because, though they are not occasions of the war, they are unjustly treated, and suffer in it, and would, if they were able, remove themselves into another land. When you have beaten your enemies in battle, slay those that have fought against you; but preserve the others alive, that they may pay you tribute, excepting the nation of the Canaanites; for as to that people, you must entirely destroy them.

4.8.43. Take care, especially in your battles, that no woman use the habit of a man, nor man the garment of a woman.