Question 109: What is the real meaning of the visions described by Zechariah?

Answer:

The chapters containing the visions are chiefly concerned with the hope founded on the approaching end of the seventy years which, as Jeremiah predicted, would be the period of the captivity in Babylon. These are the meaning of the visions, according to some interpreters: The flying roll, a huge book with wings, contained the record of sin and curse. The prophet sees it flying from the Holy Land, destroying on its way the houses of the thieves and perjurers. The woman in the ephah (5:5-11) represents the principle of evil and of temptation. She too, like sin and the curse, must be removed from the land and she is carried away to the land of Shinar, which the Jews regarded as the fit abode of wicked things. The chariots of the winds (6:1-8) are YHVH's messengers commissioned to avenge Israel. The black horses go north, that is to punish Persia; the dappled, south, that is against Egypt; and the white, west, that is against Greece, then becoming formidable. The horses of the fourth chariot have a general commission for any part of the world in which enmity to Israel might develop.

Question 108: Did the witch at Endor really raise the spirit of Samuel?

Answer:

Much has been written on the question whether in the scene at Endor, an imposture or a real apparition appeared. Eustathius and a majority of the early believer fathers held the former opinion and represent it as a deception of the evil one; Origen held the latter view. It should be remembered that Saul, at the time was forsaken of YHVH and that, rendered desperate by his sins, he had recourse to this woman, who in the Hebrew writings is described as "a mistress of Ob" or a necromancist (not a "witch") who obtained a living by pretending to have intercourse with spirits, while the Greek writers describe her as a ventriloquist. Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes her as one of a class of fortune-tellers who had been banished by the king. Saul's highly wrought nervous condition at the time, combined with the fact that he himself saw no vision or spirit, but simply listened to and accepted the necromancer's description of an aged man of godlike appearance, should be taken into consideration and these facts doubtless influenced the early fathers in reaching the conclusion that the wretched king had been the victim of an imposition.

Question 107: What was the real sin of Uzzah?

Answer:

The sin of Uzzah (1 Chronicles 13:9, 10) and its sudden punishment have been a subject of much discussion. None but priests of Aaron's family (that is, of the priest's household) were permitted to touch the Ark. Uzzah was of a Levitical family. In the house of his father Abinadab, the Ark had rested for twenty years. When Uzzah put forth his hand to prevent the Ark from falling he was smitten, Josephus explains, because he touched it, "not being a priest." Others however, have taken the view that Uzzah's sin was not that of laying un-ordained and un-consecrated hands upon the Ark in a moment of excitement, but rather - if the real reason lay in this direction at all - because he recklessly and sacrilegiously appropriated to himself powers and privileges which he well knew belonged to higher persons. One commentator writes: "The whole proceeding was disorderly and contrary to the distinct and significant regulations of the law which prescribed that the Ark should be carried on the shoulders of the Levites (Exodus 25:14), whereas it was here conveyed in a cart drawn by oxen. Besides, it should have been covered. There seems to have been no priest in charge, and it would appear that the sacred vessel was brought forth naked to the common gaze." Uzzah as a Levite should have observed and remedied these things, but his growing familiarity with the mysteries of the Jewish religion had made him careless, and the punishment came upon him at a time when it would most effectually check the evils among the people. That it had this effect is evident from 1 Chronicles 15:2-13.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 106: Where was the twelve tribe at the time of the Jewish kings?

Answer:

Rehoboam reigned over one and Jeroboam over ten. (1 Kings 11:31-35, 12:21.) The tribe of Levi was not counted because it had no land possessions (Numbers 18:20-24), except cities for dwellings, with their outlying fields for pasturage (Numbers 35:1-8). The tribe of Joseph was divided into two parts, Ephraim and Manasseh, which are usually spoken of as two distinct tribes. But in this division Joseph seems to have been counted as but one tribe, making Jeroboam's ten. Although Rehoboam at first retained only Judah, most of the tribe of Benjamin soon joined his kingdom. Simeon and Dan also became part of the kingdom of Judah.

Question 105: Can any spiritual lesson be drawn from Solomon’s Song?

Answer:

Undoubtedly, as from every other part of the Bible. The difficulties in regard to it arise from the various views as to its plan and purpose. No less than sixteen of these have been advanced by expositors. Three only however, have commended themselves to any large number of Bible students. One of them regards it as the yearning of YHVH's people, when separated from the Temple and the ordinances of the Jewish service. A second view is that it represents, under (he image of an intense love, the relation of Moshiach and his people. Paul uses the same symbol in Ephesians 5:22-23. This was evidently the view taken by the men who put the headings to the chapters in the King James Version of the Bible, which headings have been discarded in the Revised Version. The third view is the literal, which is taken by modern scholars and is growing in favour. It is that the poem celebrates the trials and triumph of a country maiden, who when carried away from her humble home and her rustic lover to become an inmate of the king's harem, rejects with scorn the magnificence and luxury offered her and remains faithful to her lover, with whom she returns. The lesson is obvious. It is the lesson of a fidelity to tram and righteousness which no offer of wealth and luxury can disturb.

Question 104: What is known of Sodom outside the Bible?

Answer:

Comparatively little. Sodom was a small but populous country and according to Josephus (Antiquities, chapter 9, book I) was rich and flourishing, with five kings controlling its affairs and with a certain degree of ancient civilization. Doubtless they were idolaters, but they had an opportunity, through the presence of Lot and his household, of knowing the true YHVH. In chapter 11, book I of the Antiquities the historian tells of their great wealth and pride, their injustice toward men, their impiety and peculiar vices. So persistent were they in wickedness that the overthrow of their chief city and the destruction of the people came upon them as a punishment.

Question 103: Who were the Sidonians?

Answer:

These people were descendants of Sidoa, a son of Canaan and were formerly a part of the Phoenician nation (Matthew 15:21, 22; Mark 7:24, 26). They dwelt on the sea-coast in the cities of Zidon and Zarephath (Joshua 11:8; I Kings 17:9; Luke 4:26), and were governed by kings. In character they were careless, idolatrous, superstitious, wicked and un-penitent (Judges 18:7; I Kings 11:5; Jeremiah 27:3-9; Matthew 11:21, 22). Their business was commerce and of course they were skilful sailors (Isaiah 23:2; Ezekiel 27:8). They supplied the Jews with timber, who in turn supplied them with provisions (I Chronicles 22:4; Acts 12:20; Ezekiel 27:17). Although they were hostile and oppressive to YHVH's people, Solomon and Abijah intermarried with them and Israel followed the Sidonian idolatry (Judges 10:12; Ezekiel 28:22-24; I Kings 11:1, 16:31).

Question 102: Why were “shepherds” an abomination to the Egyptians?

Answer:

The reason of the Egyptian hatred of the shepherds is a historic one. The Hyksos or Shepherd Kings, hundreds of years before Joseph's time, had invaded and conquered Lower Egypt and ruled the Delta, although they never occupied the whole country. They came from the East and were probably Arabians and are represented as having been a cruel and arrogant race, who subjected the Egyptians to great hardships. "(See Genesis 46:34.) They were finally driven out of the country by a coalition of forces under several kings. They were probably called Shepherds because of the simplicity of their life, which was largely pastoral and semi-barbaric. Manetho, the Egyptian historian, says that they were the builders of Jerusalem, but his reference is probably to the Canaanites rather than the Jews. Some writers suggest that they were the progenitors of the Bedouins, and that the Amalekites, Midianites and other hostile nations who opposed the Israelites after the Exodus were also descended from the stock of the expelled Shepherds. It is not improbable that the Philistines may also have been a branch of the same Shepherd family.

Frequently asked questions and answers:

Question 101: What was the sin of Saul – 1 Samuel 13:13, 14?

Answer:

His chief sin was disobedience. Samuel, the recognized representative of YHVH in the nation, had commanded him to wait till he arrived in Gilgal, saying he would come in seven days. Saul did not wait till the end of the seventh day, thereby showing an impatient and disobedient spirit. YHVH demands that men obey Him implicitly. "To obey is better than sacrifice," Samuel said to Saul on another occasion of his disobedience. Probably also, Saul had no right to conduct the ritual of sacrifice. As to Samuel's doing so, he may simply have ordered it done, directing Eleazar the priest to conduct the ceremony; or his office of prophet may have given him the authority to act also as priest. Furthermore, though not a descendant of Aaron, he belonged to the priestly tribe of Levi.

"And it shall be, if worthy of beating is the wicked one, also he shall be made to fall by the judge, and be beaten before his face according to his wickedness, in number."
וְהָיָה אִם־ בִּן הַכּוֹת הָרָשָׁע וְהִפִּילוֹ הַשֹּׁפֵט וְהִכָּהוּ לְפָנָיו כְּדֵי רִשְׁעָתוֹ בְּמִסְפָּר

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