The really long day

Now we come to an account of what sounds like one of the most awesome (in terms of leaving one awestruck) battles ever. This is the battle of Gibeon.

The Gibeonites were actually Hivites/Amorites, or Canaanite people whom Israel was told to conquer and kill. This was because the Canaanites had engaged in many practices that were abhorrent to the God of Israel. In fact, the Canaanites had engaged in practices that many people today would still find abhorrent: incest, child sacrifice, and bestiality (Deuteronomy 20:17-18; Leviticus 18). But, through trickery, the story goes that Gibeon managed to ally with Israel by passing themselves off as a people from a distant land who (due to distance) would be unlikely to lead Israel astray from the Law of God.

In the end, the alliance of Gibeon with the Israelites did not go over well with the other Canaanite people. So the surrounding Canaanites waged war on Gibeon. Israel honored their new alliance and came to the aid of Gibeon--this was the story of the battle of Gibeon, or as titled above, the battle of the really long day.

So how well is the battle of Gibeon contextually supported in Scripture?


Old Testament References to Gibeon and Aijalon:

• References to Gibeon:
• Joshua 9:3-15, "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 . . .' So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them." 
• Gibeon - portrayed as a historical Canaanite city
• How could a fictional Gibeon have "heard" about the conquests of Jericho and Ai?
• How could fictional Gibeonites send envoys to the real Israelites?
• Why would the Jewish writers note how their people were tricked by fictional Gibeonites?
• Why would the Jewish writers note an unwanted alliance with the very Canaanites Israel was told to conquer, unless that really happened?
• Why else record how Israel failed to seek God's counsel about Gibeon when the whole storyline was that Israel was led by God to conquer Canaan?
• Joshua 10:6-14, "Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, 'Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.' So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors. The LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you.' So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal. And the LORD confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword. Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
              'O sun, stand still at Gibeon,
              And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.'
        So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
              Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
              Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel."
• Gibeon - portrayed as a historical Canaanite city
• Why else write of how Israel fought for the Canaanite Gibeonites? How would this improve the whole conquest story?
• Why name a fictional city in a passage with detailed geographical context?
• Why would a real God speak to Joshua about coming to the aid of a fictional Gibeon?
• Why would a fictional city figure in a battle clearly credited to a real God? How would this really give God credit?
• II Samuel 21:1-2,"Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, 'It is for Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.' So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the sons of Israel made a covenant with them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah)."
• Gibeon - portrayed as a historical Canaanite city
• How else could Israel have had a covenant with Gibeon?
• Why else write how a real God said He was holding Israel to their covenant with the Gibeonites?
• Why else would the Jewish writers criticize the zeal of King Saul for his own people?

• References to Aijalon:
• Joshua 21:20-26, "Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, even to the rest of the sons of Kohath. They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands, and Kibzaim with its pasture lands and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities. From the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities."
• Aijalon - portrayed as a historical city in Canaan
• Why else place Aijalon in the territory of the real tribe of Dan?
• Why else name "Aijalon with its pasture lands" as a possession given to real families from the sons of Levi? How could the sons of Levi live a fictional city?
• Why associate a fictional Aijalon with the real, historical city of Shechem?
• I Chronicles 6:1, 66-70, "The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari . . . Now some of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their territory from the tribe of Ephraim. They gave to them the following cities of refuge: Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim with its pasture lands, Gezer also with its pasture lands, Jokmeam with its pasture lands, Beth-horon with its pasture lands, Aijalon with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; and from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner with its pasture lands and Bileam with its pasture lands, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath."
• Aijalon - portrayed as a historical city in Canaan
• Why associate a fictional Aijalon with the real, historical city of Shechem?
• Why else again assert in the chronicles of the Israelite kings that Aijalon had been given to the sons of Levi, again specifically to the families of Kohath?
• Why else again name Aijalon in context with the same cities of Shechem, Gezer, Beth-horon, and Gath-rimmon?
• II Chronicles 11:5-12, "Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah. Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin."
• Aijalon - portrayed as a historical city in Canaan
• Why else place Aijalon in the context of the historical cities of Bethlehem, Gath, and Hebron?
• Why include a fictional Aijalon in a detailed record of defensive fortifications?
• How would a fictional Aijalon help defend the real tribes of Judah and Benjamin?
• II Chronicles 28:16-18, "At that time King Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria for help. For again the Edomites had come and attacked Judah and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the lowland and of the Negev of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, and Soco with its villages, and they settled there. For the LORD humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had brought about a lack of restraint in Judah and was very unfaithful to the LORD. So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him."
• Aijalon - portrayed a historical city in Canaan
• Why record a humiliating plea for help to Assyria unless this really happened because Israel was in dire straits from Philistine conquest of cities like Aijalon?
• Why else name Aijalon in a passage with such ethno-geographical context?
• Why else name Aijalon in the chronicles of the Israelite kings?
• Why would Jewish writers name a fictional Aijalon in context with a specific, historical Assyrian king?

• Context for the unparalleled long day:
• Joshua 10:12, "Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
              'O sun, stand still at Gibeon,
              And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.'
        So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
              Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.
              Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel."
• Talking about sunrise/sunset type terms here, not geocentricism.
• [This is not a case of time standing still, since the writers note that the sun "did not go down for about a whole day". Measurement of time like this would not have been possible if time had stopped. Further, Israel continued pursuing and killing their enemies, showing that neither their persons nor their weapons fell into suspended animation, as one would expect if time had stopped in the physical world.]
• [Since there was "no day like that before it or after it", the day could not have been just another day where a man (here Joshua) waxed poetic in a prayer to God for aid. Scripture repeats itself here in Joshua to affirm that Joshua's prayer was indeed answered. The second affirmation takes a different descriptive angle (common in Scripture), reading: "And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for a about a whole day". If the sun appeared to stop in the middle of the sky, that's exactly what Joshua asked, as that would be overhead of Gibeon in whose vicinity they fought.]
• Why record how Joshua specifically asked for the sun to remain over real Gibeon, unless it really did visibly remain in the sky above Gibeon?
• Why record how Joshua specifically asked for the moon to remain over real Aijalon, unless it really did visibly remain in the sky above Aijalon?
• II Chronicles 1:2-7, "Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households. Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place which was at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness . . . Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the LORD, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. Solomon went up there before the LORD to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. In that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, 'Ask what I shall give you.'"
• What was so special about Gibeon that God's tent of meeting was placed there?
• Gibeon wasn't specified by God as the city for His tabernacle or temple.
• Gibeon wasn't a city of refuge (Joshua 20).
• Gibeon wasn't where Joshua was buried (Judges 2:9)
• Gibeon wasn't a place where Samuel (I Sam. 3:19-21; I Sam. 7:15-17) or any of the other judges judged (see Judges).
• Gibeon wasn't the hometown of either King Saul or David (I Sam. 11:4; I Sam. 16:1)
• Gibeon was a somewhat central city in Israel, but why for that reason alone overlook the embarrassing heritage of Gibeon for Israel (as the people who tricked them)?
• The only special thing about Gibeon appears to be the battle of Gibeon. If so, was not the outstanding event at that battle (which would put Gibeon on the map) the story of the sun remaining over Gibeon?
• Habakkuk 3:1-13, "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
        LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear.
              O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
              In the midst of the years make it known;
              In wrath remember mercy.
        God comes from Teman [Edom (Jer. 49:7), S. of Canaan],
              And the Holy One from Mount Paran [Seir/Edom (Deut. 33:2; Jos. 24:4)]
  
  Selah.
        His splendor covers the heavens,
              And the earth is full of His praise.
        His radiance is like the sunlight;
              He has rays flashing from His hand,
              And there is the hiding of His power [see Deut. 33:2].
        Before Him goes pestilence,
              And plague comes after Him [on Egypt & later Israel?].
        He stood and surveyed the earth;
              He looked and startled the nations [Egypt & Canaan?].
              Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
              The ancient hills collapsed.
              His ways are everlasting.
        I saw the tents of Cushan under distress,
              The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling [Num 22:1-7?] . . .
       The mountains saw You and quaked [Ex. 19:18?];
              The downpour of waters swept by [Ex. 9:33?].
              The deep uttered forth its voice,
              It lifted high its hands [Ex. 14:21-22?].
       Sun and moon stood in their places [only parallel in Jos. 10];
              They went away at the light of Your arrows,
              At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
        In indignation You marched through the earth;
              In anger You trampled the nations.
        You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
              For the salvation of Your anointed.
              You struck the head of the house of the evil
              To lay him open from thigh to neck [Canaan conquest?]."
  

In the camp of Yahweh.

What would happen if over one million people set out together for a new land? Further, imagine that this people had not made any provisions of food for the journey except what they could prepare a few hours before departure.

This was the people of Israel in their Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:29-39). The children who exited Egypt then saw their parents deny, at Mt. Sinai, the very God who redeemed them. They saw their parents continue to rebel against God and suffer just punishment during forty years' wandering in the wilderness. The generation that grew up in the wilderness . . . learned to fear the one true God. Their worship was centralized at the tabernacle (i.e. the tent of testimony), over which the glory of the Lord rested in a piller of cloud and fire (Numbers 9:15-23). Joshua led this Exodus generation into Canaan. This story is woven with the themes of redemption, rebellion, discipline, and spiritual renewal. But are these themes just themes? What does the larger context of Scripture say about the tabernacle of the Lord?

"Be Thou My Vision" by Selah

Old Testament References to the Tabernacle:

• Numbers 1:48-51, "For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying, 'Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel. But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle. So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman who comes near shall be put to death.'"
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship (contrast with building/house of worship).
• How could the real tribe of Levi take charge of, carry, and set up an imaginary tent?
• Why would an imaginary tabernacle be holy?
• How could the congregation of Israel know how to avoid coming near an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why would the tribe of Levi get special exemption from the national census if all they did was pretend to serve in an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why have a frail tent of worship (instead of a building) if the Israelites never migrated as a people?
• Joshua 22:13-19, "Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel . . . They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying . . . 'If you rebel against the LORD today, He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’S tabernacle stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God.'"
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship.
• Why would an imaginary alter in an imaginary tabernacle hold presidence over a real altar built by the sons of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh?
• How could an imaginary tabernacle "stand" in a real land among ten real tribes of Israel?
• Why would ten chiefs of Israel get into a heated argument with their relatives about an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why have a frail tent of worship (instead of a building) if the Israelites never migrated as a people?
• I Chronicles 6:16, 31-49, "The sons of Levi were Gershom, Kohath and Merari . . . Now these are those whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem; and they served in their office according to their order. These are those who served with their sons: From the sons of the Kohathites were . . . Heman’s brother Asaph stood at his right hand, even Asaph . . . the son of Levi. On the left hand were their kinsmen the sons of Merari: Ethan the son of Kishi . . . Their kinsmen the Levites were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God. But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded."
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship.
• Why would the real descendents of Levi still choose to minister before an imaginary tabernacle in the time of King David?
• Why would the sons of Aaron offer real burnt offerings if Moses only commanded them about imaginary worship at an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why structure real, complex, religious activities, including song and burnt offerings, around an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why would the people of Israel keep a frail tent of worship (instead of a building) until the time of Solomon, unless that tabernacle had been ordained by God?
• Why ordain a frail tent of worship if the Israelites never migrated as a people?
• I Chronicles 21:1-7, 26-30, "Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, 'Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me word that I may know their number.' Joab said, 'May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?' Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore, Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. Joab gave the number of the census of all the people to David. And all Israel were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword; and Judah was 470,000 men who drew the sword. But he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.
        God was displeased with this thing, so He struck Israel . . . Then David built an altar to the LORD there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the LORD and He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. The LORD commanded the angel, and he put his sword back in its sheath.
        At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high place at Gibeon at that time. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the sword of the angel of the LORD."
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship.
• How could an imaginary tabernacle be located at the real physical place of Gibeon?
• How could the real man Moses "make" an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why write that a real tabernacle (seen in the time of David) was made during an imaginary time of Israel wandering in the wilderness? How would that lend credibility to the whole system of worship?
• Why would a census of all Israel be cause for guilt if Israel hadn't received any real instruction about how-to/how-not-to take a census?
• If Israel had received real instruction about how-to/how-not-to take a census based in part on the special status of the Levites (seen in Numbers 1:48-51 above), how could the tabernacle so central to the Levites' status be imaginary?
• I Chronicles 23:24-28, "These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ households, even the heads of the fathers’ households of those of them who were counted, in the number of names by their census, doing the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from twenty years old and upward. For David said, 'The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever. Also, the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its utensils for its service.' For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from twenty years old and upward. For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God . . ."
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship.
• Why would the Levites ever have the task of carrying the tabernacle if the tabernacle was never moved?
• Why ever move a central place of worship (the tabernacle) for a settled people? Wouldn't that just cause confusion for worshipers?
• Why would the people of Israel keep a frail tent of worship (instead of a building) until the time of Solomon, unless that tabernacle had been ordained by God?
• Why ordain a frail tent of worship if the Israelites never migrated as a people?
• II Chronicles 1:1-7, "Now Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him greatly.
        Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ households. Then Solomon and all the assembly with him went to the high place which was at Gibeon, for God’s tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. However, David had brought up the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem. Now the bronze altar, which Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the LORD, and Solomon and the assembly sought it out. Solomon went up there before the LORD to the bronze altar which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it."
• Tabernacle - portrayed as a historical tent of worship.
• Why would the people of Israel consider Gibeon a special place of worship if there was really nothing special there?
• How could an imaginary tabernacle be located at the real physical place of Gibeon?
• How could the real man Moses "make" an imaginary tabernacle?
• Why write that a real tabernacle (seen during the time of Solomon) was made during an imaginary time of Israel wandering in the wilderness? How would that lend credibility to the whole system of worship?
• Why remember the chief craftsman, Bezalel (Exodus 31:1-11), of the tabernacle and its bronze altar up to the time of Solomon if Bezalel never really made anything?

Nice to be at Thanksgiving Break--school slows down a little.

Ok . . . how important are Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?

I got a little side-tracked from the broader Biblical story. My excuse is that the facts/customs/beliefs about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph seemed rather closely related (in more ways than one). The textual study of how Abraham is placed in Scripture is back in the March 25th and April 9th posts. But Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are also more than just characters in Genesis. Their names do appear in other Old and New Testament books. So, what was Scripture saying about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph before the onset of modern archaeology?

Map from Bible History Online of the Twelve Tribe Settlements

Old Testament:

• Exodus 3:3-6, "So Moses said, 'I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' He said also, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would you have a God of a historical Abraham who is at the very same time the God of an imaginary Isaac and Jacob?
• God speaking directly to Moses called Himself the God of Isaac and Jacob. Why would a real God identify Himself as the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would Moses be afraid of a God who identified Himself with mythology?
• Joshua 16:4-17:10, "The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim [direct sons--see Genesis 41:50-52--with Manassah being the firstborn], received their inheritance. Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan [River]. From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages . . . Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war . . . The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea. The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east."
• Joseph - portrayed as a historical man.
• How do you have real cities defining the borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see the Twelve Tribes Settlement map above, and the following Google Map)?
• Why would the real river Jordan and the real Mediterranean Sea define borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh?
• How can you say real tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) are descendents of imaginary people (Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph)?
• Why would firstborn status be important for the tribe of Manasseh, if the story of Manasseh being the firstborn son of Joseph was simply imaginative?

• Joshua 24:2-4, "Joshua said to all the people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would Joshua's parting speech to the Israelite people be about imaginary characters?
• How could the descendents of a real Abraham be multiplied through imaginary figures (Isaac and Jacob)?
• How could an imaginary Jacob travel to a real Egypt?
• I Kings 18:36-39, "At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel [Jacob], today let it be known that You are God in Israel [nation] and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.' Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed a historical men.
• Why would Elijah call for aid from the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would God respond Elijah's request for real action after Elijah said He was the God of imaginary men?
• How could the people worship the real God of imaginary characters?
• I Chronicles 2:1-2, "These are the sons of Israel [Jacob]: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher."
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would the twelve tribes (Many verses interchange Joseph with Ephraim and Manasseh. But Levi held no land, so the land-holding tribes still numbered twelve with Ephraim and Manasseh.) of Israel retain identical names to merely imaginary figures, such as Joseph? Wouldn't this grow old?
• Why would record be kept of the sons of an imaginary man Jacob?
• I Chronicles 29:10-19, "So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, 'Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel [Jacob] our father, forever and ever . . . But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would David identify the real Israelite people as sojourners just like imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David acknowledge that "all things" come from God based in part on the sojourner status of imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David call an imaginary  Isaac and Jacob fathers of the real nation of Israel?
• How could the God of imaginary forefathers preserve the hearts of a real people and David's own son?
• Why build a temple for the God of imaginary forefathers?
• How did David and the nation of Israel know God's name was holy, if all they ever heard were tales regarding God's involvement in the lives of imaginary forefathers?
• Jeremiah 33:14-26, "'Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David [Christ the Messiah] to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth' . . . The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven [stars] cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me."' And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, "The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them"? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. Thus says the LORD, "If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• How can the descendents of an imaginary man, Jacob, be as firmly established as nighttime and daytime?
• Why would the descendents of an imaginary Jacob be identified alongside those of a real King David, who is identified as the forefather of Christ (Branch of David)?
• Why would the name of an imaginary man, Isaac, be placed between those of two historical men, Abraham and Jacob?
• Amos 5:4-6, "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,
              'Seek Me that you may live.
        But do not resort to Bethel [Judges 1:22]
              And do not come to Gilgal [I Samuel 11:14-15],
              Nor cross over to Beersheba [II Chronicles 19:4];
              For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
              And Bethel will come to trouble.
        Seek the LORD that you may live,
              Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,
              And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel . . .'"
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as a historical men.
• Why say "house of Israel" if Israel/Jacob was an imaginary man?
• Why say "house of Joseph" if Joseph was an imaginary man?
• How could the descendents of an imaginary man Joseph live in real cities and later be taken into captivity?

New Testament: (this is getting a little long, so I'll postpone the New Testament verses)

Ancestry.Bible

Passing over "The Fall" and Cain and Abel, one comes to Genesis 5:

Genesis 5:1-5, "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died."

Tracing one ancestral line, you find the following names:

Adam - Seth - Enosh - Kenan - Mahalalel - Jared - Enoch - Methuselah - Lamech - Noah - Shem

Transition to Genesis 10:

Noah - Shem - Arpachshad - Shelah - Eber - Peleg - Reu - Serug - Nahor - Terah - Abram (Abraham)

Transition to I Chronicles 1-3:

Abraham - Isaac - Israel (Jacob) - Judah - Perez - Hezron - Ram - Amminadab - Nahshon - Salma - Boaz - Obed - Jesse - David - Nathan

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Compare in reverse to Luke 3:

(Jesus) - Joseph - Eli - Matthat - Levi - Melchi - Jannai - Joseph - Mattathias - Amos - Nahum - Hesli - Naggai - Maath - Mattathias - Semein - Josech - Joda - Joanan - Rhesa - Zerubbabel - Shealtiel - Neri - Melchi - Addi - Cosam - Elmadam - Er - Joshua - Eliezer - Jorim - Matthat - Levi - Simeon - Judah - Joseph - Jonam - Eliakim - Melea - Menna - Mattatha -

Nathan - David - Jesse - Obed - Boaz - Salmon - Nahshon - Amminadab - Admin - Ram - Hezron - Perez - Judah - Jacob - Isaac - Abraham - Terah - Nahor - Serug - Reu - Peleg - Heber - Shelah - Cainan - Arphaxad - Shem - Noah - Lamech - Methuselah - Enoch - Jared - Mahalaleel - Cainan - Enosh - Seth - Adam, "the son of God".

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Some Supporting Archaeology & Historical Records:

• Israelite & Judaic Kings: "House of David", 10th Century B.C. Seals, King Omri of Israel, King Ahab of Israel, King Jehu of Israel

• Context of Jesus' Birth: Governor Quirinius of Syria - See Luke 2:2, Caesar Augustus - See Luke 2:1, Herod the Great

• Context of Jesus' Death: Pontius Pilate, Pontius Pilate & Christ, Herod Antipas