The Heroes of Jabesh

1 Samuel 31:11-13 - When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men journeyed through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

I wonder if it was difficult to find the bodies at night. Or was it really obvious even in the dark?

I wonder if the fasting was a total abstinence from eating for the entire week. I doubt that they didn't drink any water for the entire 7 days.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

David Saves the Day -- and Everything Else

1 Samuel 30:18-19 - David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.

I wonder why the Amalekites didn't kill even one person (or animal?) when they raided Ziklag. They were known for their ruthlessness. They even left one of their own slaves behind, but not the new-found foreigners.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Whose side is David on?

1 Samuel 29:2-3 - As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?"
Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him."

I can understand the Philistine commanders' misgivings, but why didn't someone say something earlier before they all left home?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Samuel the Spirit

1 Samuel 28:12 - When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"

How did seeing the spirit of Samuel tell the woman that her visitor was really Saul?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

David in Gath

1 Samuel 27:1-4 - But David thought to himself, "One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand."

So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

I wonder why Achish didn't have a problem with accepting David and 600 (mostly) Israelite men into his territory. Was it really enough just to be Saul's enemy? That is, anyone who's an enemy of Saul is a friend of mine? Doesn't seem like a particularly smart move on Achish's part.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

David calls out Abner

1 Samuel 26:13-14 - Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"
Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"

I wonder if other soldiers woke when David shouted. They all should have felt as ashamed as Abner. Didn't they have anyone on guard duty?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Nabal and Abigail

1 Samuel 25:3 - His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

I know marriages were often (always?) arranged by parents in those days, but I still wonder why these two were married. It seems Abigail would have had enough sense not to marry Nabal of her own accord - unless it was for his wealth. Or maybe Nabal hadn't been so foolish when they first met.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Cutting Corners

1 Samuel 24:4 - The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

I wonder if Saul was wearing the robe at the time. Maybe he had tossed it aside -- perhaps even farther back into the cave -- where David could get at it more easily. If not, Saul must have been half asleep to not notice David or feel his presence. Or else David was vewy, vewy quiet.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Tattle Tales

1 Samuel 23 (bits of various verses)

1: When David was told
7: Saul was told
9: When David learned
13: When Saul was told
15: [David] learned
25: when David was told
25: When Saul heard

Who is doing all the telling? Are there spies on each side who can move faster than either group and not be captured? Were there other groups of informants like the Ziphites?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Refusing the King's Orders

1 Samuel 22:17 - Then the king ordered the guards at his side: "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me."
But the king's officials were not willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

I wonder what, if anything, happened to those guards who refused to kill the priests. They did the right thing -- obeying God rather than men -- by not killing innocent people, but Saul may have had punishments doled out to them anyway.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Goliath's Sword

1 Samuel 21:8-9 - David asked Ahimelech, "Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's business was urgent."

The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one."
David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

I wonder how Goliath's sword came to have a home with the priests of Nob. Why hadn't David or Saul kept it after David had used it on Goliath?

I wonder how heavy the sword was. David had used it once before but not really in hand to hand combat. Was he strong enough to wield it effectively now?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Ahimelech

1 Samuel 21:1 - David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, "Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?"

Why was Ahimelech trembling? Was it out of fear? Worry? Awe? Excitement?

Why was he so curious about David being alone? What did he suspect as David's reason for being alone? Running away? Chasing someone? Abandonment? A secret mission (as David purported to be on)?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Marksmanship

1 Samuel 20-32-33 - "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" Jonathan asked his father. But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

Was Saul not that good at throwing a spear? More than once he missed his (moving) target at close range. I suppose his anger may have thrown his accuracy off a bit.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Ezel

1 Samuel 20:19 - The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel.

I wonder how big the stone was. Why was it named? I think it was probably so big that no one wanted to try to move it, so they left it where it was and named it for use as a landmark.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

How Not to Watch a House

1 Samuel 19:11-12 - Saul sent men to David's house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, "If you don't run for your life tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed." So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.

Did Saul's men only watch the front door and not the windows? Were there only 2 men, and they couldn't cover all the exits?

And how did Michal know Saul was planning to kill David that night? Hmmm??

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

The Spear in the Wall

1 Samuel 19:9-10 - But an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape.

I wonder what the wall was made of. Apparently it wasn't stone.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Goliath Loses His Head

1 Samuel 17:51 - David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

Where was Goliath's shield bearer? Perhaps he had no weapon of his own and fled from David when Goliath fell.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Goliath's Shield

1 Samuel 17:4-7 - A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.

If Goliath was over 9 feet tall, I wonder how big his shield was. And how big was his shield bearer who had to carry it to help protect Goliath?

Looking ahead, I wonder just how good of a shield bearer he really was.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I wont' publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Music Soothes the Savage Beast

1 Samuel 16:15-16 - Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."

I wonder why the attendants decided that music would be the cure. Did they consider medicine?

Was it hard to find a good harpist? Was harp music common or rare in those days? If the one attendant hadn't known David, it sounds like they would have had to go searching for someone who could play.

Why did they decide on harp music? Was it the most soothing kind they knew of? Was a flautist considered?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Agag

1 Samuel 15:8 - He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.

I wonder why Saul spared Agag. Wouldn't the leader of an enemy nation be one of the first you'd try to get rid of -- especially if you were getting rid of the entire nation anyway? What did Saul intend to do with Agag after bringing him back home?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Using an Ephod

1 Samuel 14:18-19 - Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God." (At that time it was with the Israelites.) While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."

Whether it was the Ark or an ephod that is meant in these verses, I wonder where it was that the priest was supposed to withdraw his hand from. It seems unlikely that he would have touched the Ark. So if it was an ephod that he had his hand in, what did you do with your hand inside an ephod? How was an ephod properly used?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

My Kingdom for a Blacksmith

1 Samuel 13:19-22 - Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!" So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.

So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Did the Philistines take all of the tools of the blacksmiths too? Was there no one who could learn the trade (well enough) and work in secret? Did the Philistines take all but 2 of the weapons in the land? Did no one else try to hide one from the enemy?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Dagon Down

1 Samuel 5:1-5 - After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon's temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

I wonder what explanation the people of Ashdod came up with for what happened to Dagon. Did they think the God of Israel was responsible? Did they blame vandals? Did they call it an accident and/or coincidence?

If they blamed God, did it bother them that God was more powerful than Dagon?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Samuel Given to Eli

1 Samuel 1:20-28, 2:11 - So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the LORD for him."

When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always."

"Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest.

How old was Samuel when Hannah gave him to Eli? He could have been less than a year old, perhaps only a few months old. It sounds like this was the order of events:

1. Annual sacrifice; Hannah prays for a child
2. Hannah conceives
3. Hannah gives birth to Samuel
4. Annual sacrifice; Elkanah and family attend while Hannah and Samuel stay home
5. Samuel is weaned
6. Hannah and Samuel join the family at the sacrifice
7. Elkanah (and family) return home, but Samuel stays with Eli

If Samuel was only a few months old, I wonder what Eli thought when Hannah presented him with a baby.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Ruth 1:19 - So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

I wonder how many people lived in Bethlehem. I think there weren't very many since, after 10 years, virtually everyone still knew Naomi and was stirred by her return.

I wonder how many children had been born in those years that would have been new faces to Naomi. I bet she got to know each and every one of them.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

On the Road Again

Ruth 1:6-10 - When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."
Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

I wonder how much they packed up to carry with them on the trip. It doesn't sound like they had any animals and were probably just going on foot, but they must have at least taken some food with them. Did they sell everything else they had in Moab?

Did Naomi have a sudden change of heart regarding her daughters-in-law? Surely she didn't plan to pack up, start the trip, and only then tell them it was a waste of time. What made her change her mind only while on the road and not sooner before they had decided to make the trip in the first place?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Famine

Ruth 1:1-6 - In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.

Did the famine last 10 years? Was there no lack of food in Moab, Israel's next-door neighbor? Maybe there was a food shortage but not as severe as that in Israel.

I wonder how many other Israelites moved to Moab.

I wonder how the 3 men died. Diseases? Accidents? Natural causes?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

A Levite from Bethlehem

Judges 18:1-4 - In those days Israel had no king.
And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them, "Go, explore the land."
The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. When they were near Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"

He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, "He has hired me and I am his priest."

I wonder how these men recognized the Levite's voice. Where had they heard him before?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Slow Manoah

Judges 13:8-23 - Then Manoah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."

God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!"

Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.

So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?"

The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her."

Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."

The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)

Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"

He replied, "Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding." Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.

"We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

Apparently Manoah wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Perhaps that's why God patiently listened to his prayer and decided it was best that he make a second visit. Isn't it good that he does the same today when we're a little slow on the uptake?

I wonder what more Manoah expected to hear about how to raise the child. God really only repeated the directives that his wife was to follow and didn't even mention the child specifically. In other words, the directions were simple, and nothing more needed to be added. Aren't most of his commands like that? Nothing complicated. Do this. Don't do that. So why do we make them so hard to follow sometimes?

I wonder why Manoah thought they would die before their time, so to speak. How would they have a child if they died too soon?

I wonder how many people they told about this incident. I wonder if they waited till after Samson was born.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

A Nazirite

Judges 13:2-5 - A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

I wonder if Manoah's wife knew what a Nazirite was. Did she wonder if a Nazirite was what God was describing to her or if it was something else in addition to the rules her son would need to live by?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Me Too! Me Too!

Judges 12:1 - The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."

Why would you want to kill someone who had just saved you from a common enemy? Did the Ephraimites just want to share in the glory of the victory? Did they not even consider what it might have cost them?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

The Lord Speaks

Judges 10:10-16 - Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

The LORD replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

But the Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now." Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer.

I wonder if God spoke to a prophet or priest who in turn relayed the message to the people or if he spoke in the hearing of many people at once. Did he take on human form and speak "man to man," so to speak? Did he speak to a prophet in a dream? How many Israelites actually heard the message firsthand? Who spoke the words of complaint and of begging for help?

Even though God was tough on them because of their wicked disobedience in serving other gods, it's comforting to know that even God could only take so much abuse aimed at his chosen people and eventually came to their aid.

So it was then, so it is now.

When we wander off to serve other "gods" (or no gods at all), when God sees how much trouble we've gotten ourselves into, he still is willing to come to the aid of those who change and put their trust in him, and in his Son, Jesus. You'd be hard put to act as wickedly as some of those Israelites did, but even if you've been worse, God doesn't change and is ever so willing and pleased to have you back in his fold.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Zebah and Zalmunna

Judges 8:21 - Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. 'As is the man, so is his strength.' " So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

Was that really a dare? Did they think Gideon would back down? Pretty silly of them.

Why is it mentioned that Gideon took the ornaments off the camels' necks? Was there some special significance to that action?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Jether

Judges 8:18-20 - Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?"
"Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

If Jether was only a boy, I wonder why he was there with his father, Gideon, just after a battle. Had he participated in some way in the battle? It doesn't look like he killed anyone in battle or he probably wouldn't have been afraid to do so at this time.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Succoth and Peniel

Judges 8:4-9 - Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Succoth had. So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

I wonder why these cities wouldn't help Gideon. Why were they so selfish? Were they too poor?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Gideon the Barley Loaf

Judges 7:13-14 - Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

I wonder what else Gideon had done to make his name known to the Midianites. Somehow word got around that he was the new leader and one to be feared.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

The Oak in Ophrah

Judges 6:11 - The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.

Was there only 1 oak tree in Ophrah? Were oaks rare in those days? Are they rare in Israel today? Was it the largest oak in the area?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Deborah and Barak Sing

Judges 5:1 - On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song....

I wonder if someone wrote the song for them. Or did they collaborate on the lyrics and/or music? Did they sing in unison? In parts? Antiphonally? To each other? Was it extemporaneous or planned? Ex corde or written down?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Shamgar

Judges 3:31 - After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Why? How? Where? When? How long? Why bother? Is that all?

Don't sweat the details, I guess.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Keys

Judges 3:24-25 - After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house." They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

I wonder who first invented keys and locks. I wonder if these key-lock combinations resemble any of those we have today.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Adoni-Bezek

Judges 1:7 - Then Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Assuming Adoni-Bezek wasn't exaggerating, I wonder who the 70 kings were. Were they from the 70 closest city-kingdoms to Bezek? Did they include more than one generation of rulers? Were some of them from far away?

Did Adoni-Bezek have 70 kingdoms under his control all at once? How many people did he rule at the height of his power and influence? Was he famous enough to be mentioned in other histories?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Replicating the Altar

Joshua 22:9-34 - So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.

When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: "The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! And are you now turning away from the LORD ?
" 'If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD's land, where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.' "

Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: "The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the LORD himself call us to account.

"No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.

"That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.'

"And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD's altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'

"Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle."

When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, "Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD's hand."

Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.

And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God.

I wonder who told the Israelite leaders about the construction of the altar replica.

It sounds like the altar was built on the west side of the Jordan -- "on the Israelite side." I wonder why the 2.5 tribes didn't built it on their side -- the east side. Wouldn't that have been a better location to point to for the generations to come?

I'm surprised whenever I read this at how the Jordan is considered a major obstacle. It's as if a country or people can't exist on both sides at once and still be considered united. I understand that there were no bridges, but still....

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Half of Manasseh

Joshua 13:6-7 - Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

I wonder how they decided which of the people of Manasseh settled on the east side of the Jordan River with Reuben and Gad and which people crossed the river to settle in their allotted land on the west side.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Stop the Sun

Joshua 10:12-14 - On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

It would seem, based on what science tells us today, that it was the Earth that actually stopped rotating for about a day. That would have given the perceived effect of the sun stopping "in the middle of the sky."

The Moon also would have stopped revolving around the Earth for the same period of time.

I wonder if these were the only 2 heavenly bodies that God put the brakes on. Did he actually stop the whole universe for a day?

I wonder if there are any other accounts of this day in other cultures' histories (besides the Book of Jashar). Halfway around the world it would have been night for the same length of time. As amazing as the extra daylight was in the one hemisphere, I imagine it would have been at least as terrifying in the other.

If only the Earth and Moon were affected, I wonder if God used some "natural" occurrence -- like the passing of another large heavenly body -- to bring about the delay in the motion of the Earth and Moon. It almost seems more likely that he just told everything to "freeze" for a day.

Gibeonite Neighbors

Joshua 9:3-16 - However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"

"We are your servants," they said to Joshua.
But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.

I wonder how the Israelites found out that the men were really Gibeonites. Did the Gibeonites purposely leak the information back to the Israelite camp? Had someone seen the men returning to Gibeon instead of heading off toward some far land?

I'm also surprised that Joshua and the elders were satisfied with the story even though they never did attach a name to the place they came from or the tribe or nation they belonged to. They must have been very convincing actors. Maybe that was their profession!

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

A Man with a Sword

Joshua 5:13 - Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

I wonder if anyone else could see this "man" or if he only appeared to Joshua. He seems to have appeared rather suddenly and was right in front of Joshua, so maybe Joshua was the only one to see him. No one else needed to see him because his message was specifically for Joshua as leader.

I wonder how Joshua could tell that the "man" wasn't an Israelite. We know he couldn't figure out which side he was on, based on the question he asked. Neither did he immediately understand that it was God himself in human form. Was it the way the "man" was dressed? His (facial) features? His skin color?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

No Food?

Joshua 5:10-12 - On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.

Why had the Israelites complained years earlier that they had no food to eat? They had (large?) flocks and herds of animals with them, didn't they?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Stones from the Jordan

Joshua 4:8-9 - So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

I wonder how big the stones were. They probably weren't pebbles, but they had to be small enough that each of the 12 men could carry his stone from the middle of the riverbed to the opposite shore. I'm guessing they weighed 40-80 pounds each -- depending on how strong each of the men were.

I wonder if they found colorful stones. Stones with some variation in hue would have made a more attractive, eye-catching pile.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Commentary

Deuteronomy 34:1-4 - Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."

I wonder if God provided Moses with any commentary about the land other than the few words given here. Or did he just show him all the land like a silent movie?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Birthdays

Deuteronomy 31:2 - I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you.

I wonder how they kept track of when they were born and/or how many years old they were back then. We refer back to a date, a year, like 1970 or 1959 or 1932. I know they used rulers' reigns as benchmarks for many things. Is that how they kept track of age too?

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Writing Down the Law

Deuteronomy 29:16-21 - You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.

When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. The LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

I wonder how much of what we consider Moses' writings (generally, Genesis through Deuteronomy) he had at hand as he spoke to the Israelites here. Was it only the laws themselves or was it the whole body of his writings from Genesis to Numbers, or somewhere in between?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Blessing and Cursing

Deuteronomy 27:12 - When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.

I wonder what blessings the 6 tribes on Mount Gerizim were to pronounce. There are some blessing mentioned shortly after this, but it's nothing to formally spelled out as the list of curses to be proclaimed from Mount Ebal.

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

Be Silent

Deuteronomy 27:9 - Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God.

I wonder if the crowd had become restless and noisy causing the leaders to tell them to quiet down. Or was this just a general admonition to continue to pay attention to what Moses had to tell them?

I'm curious. Could you please tell me what brought you to this page by mentioning it in a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.

The Family of the Unsandaled

Deuteronomy 25:5-10 - If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother's wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to carry on his brother's name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me." Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, "I do not want to marry her," his brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line." That man's line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

I wonder how many family lines have received this nickname.

I'm curious. Could you please tell my what brought you to this page by mentioning in it a comment? I won't publish the comment, if you ask me not to.