Nadab

February 25, 2015

Tobit wants Tobias to leave Nineveh (Tob 14:8-14:11)

“Now, my children,

I command you.

Serve God faithfully!

Do what is pleasing in his sight!

Your children are also commanded to do what is right.

Give alms!

Be mindful of God!

Bless his name at all times!

Love God with all sincerity and with all their strength!

So now, my son, leave Nineveh!  

Do not remain here!

On whatever day you bury your mother beside me,

Do not stay overnight within the confines of the city.

I see that there is much wickedness within it.

The people are without shame.

See, my son, what Nadab did to Ahikar who had reared him.

Was he not, while still alive, brought down into the earth?

God repaid him to his face for this shameful treatment.

Ahikar came out into the light,

But Nadab went into the eternal darkness,

Because he tried to kill Ahikar.

Because he gave alms,

Ahikar escaped the fatal trap that Nadab had set for him.

Nadab fell into it himself.

He was destroyed.

Now, my children see what almsgiving accomplishes.

You can see what injustice does.

It brings death!

But now my breath fails me.

Then they laid him on his bed and he died.

He received an honorable funeral.”

The final words of Tobit to his son Tobias were about obeying God and his commandments. He wanted Tobias and his sons to serve God faithfully, to do what God wants. They were to bless his name with sincerity and strength. Due to the bad situation in Nineveh, he wanted them to leave there as soon as they buried his wife, Anna, Tobias’ mother. In fact, he told them not to stay overnight in Nineveh after the burial. He cited as an example his nephew Ahikar, who was a government official. His nephew Nadab tried to kill him, but instead fell into the trap and killed himself. This was an example of the children of Nineveh who were behaving badly. Once again, on his deathbed, Tobit praised the value of almsgiving, citing that as why Ahikar was saved.

November 16, 2014

The ancestors of Saul at Gibeon (1 Chr 9:35-9:38)

“In Gibeon lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel. The name of his wife was Maacah. Hs first-born son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah and Mikloth. Mikloth became the father of Shimeam. These also lived opposite their kindred in Jerusalem, with their kindred.”

This is exactly the same as in the previous chapter except for Shimeam who was called Shimeah. This is the only time this name appears so it merely was a change from an “h” to an “m.” I will simply repeat what I said last chapter. This is an attempt to show the ancestors of Saul. There are about 10 different people with the name of Jeiel. Jeiel with his wife Maacah had 9 sons. There were 9 different biblical women with the name of Maacah. Gibeon was a city of the Hivites that made a pact with Joshua, Joshua, chapter 9. Gibeon then became a Levitical city in Benjamin territory, about 6 miles northwest from Jerusalem. It is not sure whether there ever was a person called Gibeon. (1) Abdon the first born was the name of one of the judges that preceded Samson in Judges, chapter 12, but there were also a couple of other people with the name of Abdon, including the son of Shashak. There was 1 other (2) Zur who was a king of Midian. There were 5 people with the name of (3) Kish, the most important being the father of Saul. It is not clear whether this is the father of Saul or a great uncle. Although (4) Baal usually refers to the supreme divinity of the Canaanites or any foreign god, there were 2 biblical people with that name, one here and the other a Simeonite. There were 4 biblical people with the name of (5) Nadab, the most famous being the son of Aaron and King Nadab of Israel (910-909 BCE). There are 2 or 3 people named (6) Gedor, but there also was a place called Gedor in the mountains of Judah. (7) Ahio was also the name of one of the sons of Beriah and someone who helped with the ark at the time of David. This is the only time that the name (8) Zecher appears. (9) Mikloth was somehow important because he was the father of Shimeah, which is also the name of one of David’s brothers. They lived in Jerusalem, but it was close to Gibeon.

November 14, 2014

The ancestors of Saul at Gibeon (1 Chr 8:29-8:32)

“Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. The name of his wife was Maacah. His first-born son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, and Mikloth, who became the father of Shimeah. Now these also lived opposite their kindred in Jerusalem, with their kindred.”

For some reason, this exact passage appears in the next chapter. This is an attempt to show the ancestors of Saul. There are about 10 different people with the name of Jeiel. Jeiel with his wife Maacah had 9 sons. There were 9 different biblical women with the name of Maacah. Gibeon was a city of the Hivites that made a pact with Joshua, Joshua, chapter 9. Gibeon then became a Levitical city in the Benjamin territory, about 6 miles northwest from Jerusalem. It is not sure whether there ever was a person called Gibeon. (1) Abdon the first born was the name of one of the judges that preceded Samson in Judges, chapter 12, but there were also a couple of other people with the name of Abdon, including the son of Shashak. There was 1 other (2) Zur who was a king of Midian. There were 5 people with the name of (3) Kish, the most important being the father of Saul. It is not clear whether this is the father of Saul or a great uncle. Although (4) Baal usually refers to the supreme divinity of the Canaanites or any foreign god, there were 2 biblical people with that name, one here and the other a Simeonite. There were 4 biblical people with the name of (5) Nadab, the most famous being the son of Aaron and the King Nadab of Israel (910-909 BCE). There are 2 or 3 people named (6) Gedor, but also a place called Gedor in the mountains of Judah. (7) Ahio was also the name of one of the sons of Beriah and someone who helped with the Ark of the Covenant at the time of David. This is the only time that the name (8) Zecher appears. (9) Mikloth somehow was important because he was the father of Shimeah, which is also the name of one of David’s brothers. They lived in Jerusalem, but it was close to Gibeon.

 

November 3, 2014

The sons of Aaron (1 Chr 6:3-6:3)

“The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.”

Once again, this is based on Exodus, chapter 6. Notice that this biblical author does not follow the genealogy of Moses, but rather his brother Aaron, since there is no mention of Moses, his wife or children in this genealogy. This is where the connection of the family of Levi and the cult gets its beginnings. The family of Aaron not Moses will lead to the Yahweh Levite priests. Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon. They had four sons, (1) Nadab, (2) Abihu, (3) Eleazar, and (4) Ithamar. Elisheba’s brother Nahshon had an important role in the Exodus since he was the bother-in-law of Aaron. Both Nadab and Abihu met a very violent fiery death in the desert journey in Leviticus, chapter 10, for using bad incense and making an unholy fire. Eleazar married the daughter of Putiel and they had a son called Phinehas. He was important because his two older brothers died childless. For some reason the high priest will pass through Ithamar as he was put in charge of the tabernacle.

October 24, 2014

The descendents of Jerahmeel (1 Chr 2:25-2:31)

“The sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of Hezron, were Ram, his first-born, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel also had another wife, whose name was Atarah, the mother of Onam. The sons of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. The name of Abishur’s wife was Abihail. She bore him Ahban and Molid.  The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died childless. The son of Appaim was Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. The son of Sheshan was Ahlai. The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died childless. The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.”

Now this genealogy goes over 11 generations starting with Jacob. It is very precise over time starting with (5) Jerahmeel, who was the son of (4) Hezron, who was the son of (3) Perez, who was the son of (2) Judah, who was the son of (1) Jacob. In fact, we see in 1 Samuel, chapter 27, that there was a group of people called the Jerahmeelites. Jerahmeel had 6 sons, Ram, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, Ahijah, and their step brother Onam. Although Ram had 3 sons, Maaz, Jamin, and Eker, this genealogy followed the sons of (6) Onam, whose mother was Atarah. His sons were (7) Shammai and Jada. Shammai’s sons were (8) Nadab and Abishur. The sons of Abishur were Ahban and Molid, while the sons of Nadab were Seled and (9) Appaim. His son was (10) Ishi, while his son was (11) Sheshan. The other son of Onam, Jada had 2 sons Jether and Jonathan. The 2 sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. Who are some of these people? Rather than follow Ram, whose uncle with the same name led to David, this genealogy follows Onam, the son of the second wife of Jerahmeel, although he does not seem important enough to be mentioned elsewhere. This Ram is less well known that his uncle, since David was not considered among the Jerahmeelites. His 3 sons are not that well know since this is the only mention of Maaz and Eker, while Jamin was also the name of one of Simeon’s sons. The names of Bunah and Oren only appear here. Ozem is the same name as one of David’s brothers, while the name of Ahijah appears to be the name of 6 other biblical characters.

 

August 22, 2014

The kingdom of Jeroboam I (931-910 BCE) (1 Kings 14:19-14:20)

“Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, are written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel. The time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. Then he slept with his ancestors. His son Nadab succeeded him.”

The Jerusalem Bible follows the chronology established by Edwin Thiele (1895-1986) in his work, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (3rd edition in 1983). Thus from now on the dates of the kings will be in parenthesis. However, it must be noted that they might be off by a year or two because of the different new years in the north and south. Also, any exact dating is very difficult. Certainly, they are within 10 years of accuracy, which is really great for 3,000 years ago. The writer of this work also borrowed from the “The Book of the Annals or Chronicles of the Kings,” or “The Annals or Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.” This book will be listed for 17 the kings of Israel. Obviously, we do not have this book since it is lost. Many of his wars are there, but the biblical writer did not think them important enough to mention them. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years and then his son Nadab took over. This seems to differ from what the prophet Ahijah had said that Jeroboam would be rooted out. He seems to have lasted 22 years with his son succeeding him.