Sisera

March 26, 2015

Judith beheads General Holofernes (Jdt 13:6-13:10)

“Judith went up to the bedpost near General Holofernes’ head. She took down his sword that hung there. She came close to his bed. She took hold of the hair of his head. She said.

‘Give me strength today,

O Lord God of Israel!’

Then she struck his neck twice with all her might. She cut off his head. Next she rolled his body off the bed. She pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out. She gave General Holofernes’ head to her maid, who placed it in her food bag.”

Well, there it is, the high point of this book. The beautiful Hebrew widow chops off the head of the great general of the great army. She even used his own sword and prayed to God before she did it. This dynamic action made her part of medieval European literature in homilies, biblical paraphrases, histories, and poetry. She was the brave warrior and yet an exemplar of pious chastity. Judith found her way into the works of Dante, and Chaucer. In popular stories, the enemy was always General Holofernes. Painters and sculptors like Donatello, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Goya, and Michelangelo, as well as stained glass windows used this account of Judith’s beheading of Holofernes as an artistic subject. Within the biblical context there are overtones of this in Judges, chapter 4, when Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite drove a tent peg into the temple of Sisera, after giving him something to drink.   Another similar but unsuccessful event was when King Saul tired to kill David with a spear while he was playing the lyre, in 1 Samuel, chapter 18.

February 11, 2015

The Temple servants returning (Neh 7:46-7:56)

“The temple servants were the descendents of Ziha, the descendents of Hasupha, the descendents of Tabbaoth, the descendents of Keros, the descendents of Sia, the descendents of Padon, the descendents of Lebana, the descendents of Hagaba, the descendents of Shalmai, the descendents of Hanan, the descendents of Giddel, the descendents of Gahar, the descendents of Reaiah, the descendents of Rezin, the descendents of Nekoda, the descendents of Gazzam, the descendents of Uzza, the descendents of Paseah, the descendents of Besai, the descendents of Meunim, the descendents of Nephushesim, the descendents of Bakbuk, the descendents of Hakupha, the descendents of Harhur, the descendents of Bazlith, the descendents of Mehida, the descendents of Harsha, the descendents of Barkos, the descendents of Sisera, the descendents of Temah, the descendents of Neziah, and the descendents of Hatipha.”

This is the list of the hereditary Temple servants, the Nethinim, people dedicated to the Temple. Often they were not Israelites, but captured slave laborers given to the Temple. They became hereditary slaves dedicated to the Temple. However, there was no Temple, so it is not clear why they were returning.   Thus these names were not common biblical names since most of these names only appear here and in Ezra, but nowhere else in the biblical literature. Of the 35 temple servants, 27 names are exactly the same as in Ezra, chapter 2. The minor exceptions are Sia for Siaha, Lebana for Lebanah, Hagaba for Hagabah, Nephushesim for Nephisim, and Bazlith for Bazluth. Akkub, Hagab, and Asnah were in Ezra, but are not here.

January 26, 2015

The list of the Temple servants returning (Ezra 2:43-2:54)

“The temple servants were the descendents of Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, Keros, Siaha, Padon, Lebanah, Hagabah, Akkub, Hagab, Shamlai, Hanan, Giddel, Gahar, Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda, Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah, Besai, Asnah, Meunim, Nephisim, Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur, Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha, Barkos, Sisera, Temah, Neziah, and Hatipha.”

This is the list of the hereditary Temple servants, the Nethinim, people dedicated to the Temple. Often they were not Israelites, but captured slave laborers given to the Temple. Thus they became hereditary slaves dedicated to the Temple. However, there is no Temple, so it is not clear why they were returning. Most of these names only appear here and in Nehemiah but nowhere else in the biblical literature. Akkub and Uzza appear as a name for 3 other biblical persons. There was a King Rezin of Damascus who invaded Judah, but this is not him. There also was a Sisera who was the warrior killed in his sleep in Josiah. Otherwise, these were not common biblical names.