Under the watch of a HOLY God.

"Achan . . . Achan . . . why?"

Upon the fall of Jericho, the Sons of Israel faced the Canaanite city of Ai. They were confident after seeing the wall of Jericho collapse. God had fought for them. So they set out for Ai with only a partial contingent of their fighting force as the men of Ai were "few" in number. But . . . Israel was repelled and fled from the men of Ai.

Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had taken spoil from the ruins of Jericho. God had placed all Jericho under "ban", which meant it belonged to Him. No one in Israel was to seize spoil for themselves. All gold, silver, bronze, and iron were to be brought into the Lord's treasury for use in service of the Lord. But when Achan saw gold, silver, and a fine mantle in the ruins of Jericho, he coveted them and took these things for himself.

Seeing Achan's deed, God retracted His [protecting] presence from Israel. Therefore, Israel fled and fell before Ai. Joshua cried out to God in dismay--and learned of Achan's disobediance. Achan had taken what belonged to the Lord. God's [protection] would not rest on Israel while Achan remained within the camp. Only when death and fire took Achan, his complicit household, and all his belongings did God restore His [protecting] presence to Israel. With God's help, Israel defeated Ai.

Thus runs the story of Achan and Ai. To understand, one must investigate the story's context within the whole of Scripture. Was the story history, fiction, or a combination of the two?

"Holy, Holy, Holy" as sung by Audrey Assad

Old Testament references to Achan and Ai (no New Testament references found):

• Joshua 7:1-11, "But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the LORD burned against the sons of Israel.
        Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, 'Go up and spy out the land.' So the men went up and spied out Ai. They returned to Joshua and said to him, 'Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.' So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai . . .
        Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Joshua said, 'Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?' . . .
        So the LORD said to Joshua, 'Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived.'"
• Achan - a historical man
• Why name the father, grandfather, great grandfather, and Israelite tribe of an imaginary man?
• What benefit is there in writing a story about an imaginary man that makes your people look frail in battle? What people would do this?
• What benefit is there in writing a story about an imaginary man that makes your national leader look weak?
• Ai - a historical city
• Why specify the location of Ai if Ai was an imaginary city?
• Why detail the words of the Israelite spies if they were spying out an imaginary Ai?
• Why number the Israelite soldiers who fought Ai if Ai was imaginary?
• Joshua 22:16-25, "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day?' . . . do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God. Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.'
        Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel. 'The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, and may Israel itself know . . . truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, "In time to come your sons may say to our sons, 'What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the LORD.' So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the LORD."'"
• Achan - a historical man
• How can real tribes be rebellious like an imaginary Achan?
• Why name the obscure ancestor of an imaginary Achan?
• Why would Israel heed the death toll of an imaginary Achan's rebellion?
• Why fear God as a God who "knows" in the context of an imaginary Achan?
• I Chronicles 2:1-8, "These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
        The sons of Judah were Er, Onan and Shelah; these three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put him to death. Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
        The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Dara; five of them in all. The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who violated the ban. The son of Ethan was Azariah."
• Achan - a historical man
• Why name the father of an imaginary Achan?
• Why list an imaginary Achan in the real genealogies of Israel?
• Why name an imaginary Achan to be a descendant of the real tribe of Judah?
• Why name an imaginary "troubler of Israel" in the royal tribe of David and Christ? How would this bring honor to that tribe?
• Joshua 9:1-6, "Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it, that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, 'We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.'"
• Ai - a historical city
• How could the fate of an imaginary Ai spread throughout a real geographical land?
• Why name all the peoples that heard of the fate of an imaginary Ai?
• Why associate an imaginary Ai with a real Jericho?
• How could an imaginary Gibeon hear the fate of a real Jericho?
• What did the real Gibeonites have to fear from the fate of an imaginary Ai?
• Wouldn't it be deceitful to write of the real leader Joshua overthrowing an imaginary Ai? How would such deceit prove helpful to a nation claiming to serve the one true God?
• Joshua 10:1-5, "Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land, that he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 'Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.' So 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 together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it."
• Ai - a historical city
• How could a real Gibeon be greater than an imaginary Ai? How does one compare reality and fiction?
• Why name five Canaanite kings and the cities they ruled unless those kings really lived?
• Why name a Caananite king and the real city of Jerusalem he ruled unless that king really lived?
• How could a real Caananite king hear of the destruction of an imaginary Ai?
• Why would five real Canaanite kings have cause to fear at the fall of an imaginary Ai?
• Joshua 12:7-24, "Now these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated beyond the Jordan toward the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even as far as Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir; and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the Negev; the Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite: the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; the king of Jarmuth, one . . . the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one; the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings."
• Ai - a historical city
• Why name an imaginary Ai alongside the real ancient cities of Jericho, Jerusalem, and Hebron?
• Why specify "thirty-one" city-state kings defeated by Joshua unless those kings and their cities (including Ai) really existed?
• Why write with geographical detail and drop in the name of an imaginary city Ai?
• Ezra 2:1-29, "Now these are the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city. These came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah.
        The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, 2,172; the sons of Shephatiah, 372 . . . the men of Bethlehem, 123; the men of Netophah, 56; the men of Anathoth, 128; the sons of Azmaveth, 42; the sons of Kiriath-arim, Chephirah and Beeroth, 743; the sons of Ramah and Geba, 621; the men of Michmas, 122; the men of Bethel and Ai, 223; the sons of Nebo, 52 . . ."
• Ai - a historical city
• Why name Israelite settlers of an imaginary city Ai as captives of the real Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzer? Why give an enemy king that needless extra credit?
• How could real captives return home to an imaginary city of Ai?
• Why number captives returning to an imaginary city of Ai?
• What detail-oriented historian would reference an imaginary city of Ai?
• If Bethlehem was a real city, why not Ai?

Noah--Looking back . . . (Part II)

Resuming exploration of the Biblical Flood in terms of present-day facts and beliefs:

• Subterranean water
• Trapped water - Potentially three times more water in the mineral ringwoodite, 400 miles below Earth's surface, than in surface oceans.
• Aquifers - Supplying ~70% (or more) of fresh water for irrigation and drinking.
• Genesis 7:11, 7:19, 8:3, 8:14, "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened . . . The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered . . . and the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water decreased . . . In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry."

• Geysers, showing the reality of forceful expulsion of water from subterranean regions
• Hardly requires a specific source. Here is a Wikipedia list, where most are located in the United States or New Zealand.
• Genesis 7:11, "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened."

• Worldwide, water-deposited sedimentary rocks
• Limestone: Formed by precipitation of calcite from water or by deposition of marine organisms.
• Limestone: Composes ~15% of sedimentary rock in the Earth's crust.
• Oil & Gas Shale (a.k.a. "mudstone"): Found in 46 countries, including vast landlocked regions, as shown in the linked EIA map.
• Genesis 7:17-19, "Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth. The water prevailed and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the water. The water prevailed more and more upon the earth, so that all the high mountains everywhere under the heavens were covered."

• Un-ending summer, winter, planting, and harvest
• The regularity of seasons is confirmed by the global success of agriculture (talking in general here, not denying localized floods and hurricanes).
• Abnormal seasons are still newsworthy/noteworthy, not commonplace. One example was "The Year Without a Summer", which was still marked by rain rather than snow.
• Genesis 8:20-22, "Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, 'I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains,
              Seedtime and harvest,
              And cold and heat,
              And summer and winter,
              And day and night
              Shall not cease.'"

• Mankind filling the earth
• This requires no specific source.
• Genesis 9:1, "And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'"

• Animals' fear of man
• Seen by anyone who tries to walk up to a deer or a bird in the wild. An animal has to be domesticated to subdue this fear.
• Genesis 9:2, "'The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.'"

• Distastefulness of eating live meat (of animals with blood circulation systems)--(Edited 3/14/2016)
• Generally accepted, with exceptions mainly just dishes prepared for sensational effect.
• Genesis 9:3-4, "'Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.'"

• Retribution of death to murderers
• This may require a specific source today, although not in the past. About 55 countries, according to Death Penalty Worldwide, still consider murder to be punishable by death.
• Genesis 9:6-7, "'Whoever sheds man’s blood,
              By man his blood shall be shed,
              For in the image of God
              He made man.
        As for you, be fruitful and multiply;
              Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.'"
  

"Names, names . . . come now, you can find legends in any culture."

How do you know what is legend and what is truth? Is truth not known by first-hand witness, trustworthy reports, or present-day fact? So how does one search out the truth in a list of names? Surely finding out the truth of a matter requires being willing to do a little research--going back to those primary sources, as students and researchers are encouraged to do in writing good papers.

So, the first primary source, in this case, would be the document making the claim/putting forward genealogical list (i.e. Scripture).

How does Adam figure in the rest of Scripture (outside of Genesis, I Chronicles, and Luke)?

• Hosea 6:4-7, "'What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
              What shall I do with you, O Judah?
              For your loyalty is like a morning cloud
              And like the dew which goes away early.
        Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets;
              I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
              And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.
        For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,
              And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
        But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant;
              There they have dealt treacherously against Me.'"
  

• Ephraim - One of Joseph's sons, a tribe of Israel, and one of the tribes identified with the Northern Kingdom of Israel (conquered by the Assyrians).

• Judah - One of Israel/Jacob's sons, a tribe of Israel, and first tribe associated with the Southern Kingdom (conquered by the Babylonians), later joined by the tribe of Benjamin.

• Adam - In context, a historical figure against whom the historical tribe of Ephraim/the Northern Kingdom and the historical tribe of Judah/the Southern Kingdom could be compared.

• I Timothy 2:12-15, "But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint."

• I realize this is a controversial passage, both within and without Christian circles. But surely I cannot be accused of bigotry against women, as a woman myself, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering. Why would I be my own antagonist?

• Adam - Apparently a historical figure, alongside Eve, since historical New Testament Christian men and women are compared to them. Would men and women truly be compared to and be held accountable for the imaginative deeds of imaginative ancestors?

• Creation of mankind is given in the same sequence as in Genesis--first Adam, and then Eve.

• Again, as in Genesis, Eve was the one deceived (by the serpent).

• Jude 1:14, "It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, 'Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.'"

• Adam - Apparently a historical figure, as he was named the forefather of one who foretold of coming events. It would be self-defeating to say that imaginary characters were given Word from God which was "later" fulfilled in the time of real New Testament Christians.

• As in Genesis, Adam is identified with the starting point generation, while Enoch is identified with the 7th generation.

• I Corinthians 15:42-47, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, 'The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven."

• Adam - Understanding the larger context of I Corinthians, the first Adam is referring to Adam in the Garden of Eden, while the last Adam refers to Christ. Apparently, the first Adam was an earthly, historical, living person, just as much as Christ, the 2nd Adam, was the Son of God from heaven. 

• The first Adam set the example of what it means to have an earthly body.

• Romans 5:12-15, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many."

• Adam - Apparently a historical figure, as Christ's counterpart--noted for bringing death and sin into the world, unlike Christ who brought life and righteousness.

• Just as Christ acted as representative for mankind in the form of a historical man, so Adam in the Garden of Eden could only have acted as representative for mankind as a historical man.

 

Where, O where is the "I didn't know!" clause . . .

Gen. 2:15-17, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.'”

• "Eden": Hebrew ‘ê-ḏen (Strong's 5731) - after the Fall in Gen. 3, the exact word reappears in: Gen. 4:16, where Cain "settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden."; Ezekiel 31:9-18, where Assyria is described as a tree excelling in beauty beyond all the trees in the garden of Eden; and Joel 2:3, where a great multitude is advancing on Zion, with the land before them appearing as Eden, while they leave behind them desolate wilderness.

• "cultivate": Hebrew lə-‘ā-ḇə-ḏāh (Strong's 5647) - only occurrence of exact word in Scripture. Compare to la-‘ă-ḇōḏ  in the post "Contradictory Creation account? (Gen. 2:5-7)".

• 1st "eat": Hebrew tō-ḵêl (Strong's 398) - Exact word occurs a total of 17 times in Scripture. Outside of Genesis the word is translated 9 out of 16 times as eating food for one's physical body. The 7 exceptions are: devouring/consuming fire in II Sam. 22:9, Job 31:12, Psalm 18:8 (which quotes II Sam. 22:9), and Psalm 50:3; "you shall eat of the fruit of your hands" in Psalm 128:2; "does not eat the bread of idleness" in Proverbs 31:27; "For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns" in Isaiah 9:18.

[1/10/2016 update:

• 2nd "eat": Hebrew ṯō-ḵal (Strong's 398) - Out the 35 occurrences in Scripture, the word 29 times refers to eating food for physical nourishment. The 6 exceptions are: ". . . And dust you will eat all the days of your life;" (Gen. 3:14), ". . . the ashes [to] which the fire reduces the burnt offering . . ." (Lev. 6:10), and a devouring sword (Deut. 32:42, 2 Samuel 2:26, 2 Samuel 11:25, and Nahum 2:13).

• 3rd "eat": Hebrew ’ă-ḵā-lə-ḵā (Strong's 398) - Only occurrence of exact word in Scripture.

]

• "knowledge": Hebrew had-da-‘aṯ (Strong's 1847) - Seven total occurrences of exact word in Scripture. Outside of the 2 occurrences in Genesis 2, where it refers to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the word is translated as: skill in craftmanship (I Kings 7:14), "what it means to know [God]" (Jer. 22:16), "'many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.'" (Daniel 12:4), and knowledge of God and/or His laws (Hosea 4:6--had-da-‘aṯ appears twice).

• "good": Hebrew ṭō-wḇ (Strong's 2896) - Exact word occurs 271 times in Scripture. The only other time the word is associated with the same word for evil is in reference to little children with no knowledge of good or evil (Deut. 1:39).

•  "evil": Hebrew wā-rā‘ (Strong's 7451) - Exact word occurs 7 times in Scripture. Outside of the Genesis Fall of Man passage, the word is translated: Judah's fear that evil (or death) will befall his father Jacob if his youngest brother Benjamin does not return from Egypt (Gen. 44:34), the above Deut. 1:39 passage, and "Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer . . ." (Psalm 10:15).

• "day": Hebrew bə-yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - Not necessarily a specific, 24-hour day. The word is also used to refer to a longer period of time, a recurring sabbath day, the 1st or another day of a month, "when", etc. See post "Just 31 verses until Creation climax--and then?".

• "die": Hebrew tā-mūṯ (Strong's 4191) - Exact word occurs 33 times in Scripture. The word predominantly refers to physical death meted out as punishment, except in: Job 12:2, "with you wisdom will die"; Isaiah 66:24, "For their worm will not die . . ."; Jer. 34:5, "You [King Zedekiah of Judah] will die in peace . . ."; and perhaps Zechariah 11:9, "What is to die, let it die . . ."

We see physical death all around us. How could mankind inherit death, and not inherit an understanding of what is good and what is evil? The two seem inseparable to me.