Bible Stories – Enoch, Metatron, Sandalphon, Phinehas, Elijah, Elisha
By Steven J. Gold, Torah-Veda
Note: There is a narration of this
story under the "Audio" heading, "Elijah the
Prophet".
(Note: This work includes material adapted from the
previously published TORAH PORTION
SUMMARIES, With Insights from the Perspective of a Jewish Yogi; and
material from an unpublished work in progress summarizing the other sections of
the TANAK)
INTRODUCTION
As with
most spiritual traditions, Jewish lore comprises a vast body of literature. At
its core is what has been established as official Jewish canon, the Tanak
(Torah/Five Books of Moses, Nevi’im/Prophets and Ketuvim/Writings), which
comprise the Jewish Bible, designated by Christians as the Old Testament. The
most key traditional supplemental material is the Talmud in its two versions,
Jerusalem and Babylonian. This body of work is supplemented by a wide variety
of other materials garnered over the centuries, including several apocryphal
books and many commentaries and extrapolations. What has become known as Kabala
is developed in a few key texts, the Bahir, the Sefer Yetzirah, and the Zohar,
and many other supplemental writings. One characteristic to many of these
texts, as is true with most spiritual traditions, is that teachings are
incorporated into stories. One thread of a connecting story-line running
through this literature concerns a certain being or beings that is the subject
of this work.
Jewish
canon makes occasional and sketchy references to angels, and no references at
all to archangels as distinct from ordinary, run-of-the-mill angels. The
supplemental material goes into much more detail, usually referencing the canon
as a base, and then engaging in extensive extrapolations and tangents, with the
canon frequently receding so far into the background as to become barely
noticeable. The prevalent view in this secondary source literature is that angels
can only undertake one task at any given time, whereas archangels have broader
functions and abilities, including being able to take on many tasks at once and
overseeing the tasks of angels. The connecting thread that is the subject
matter here concerns the characters of Enoch, Phinehas, Elijah and Elisha. The
first two are found in the Torah itself, and the latter two in the Prophets,
specifically Kings I and II. Their connecting glue concerns the archangels
Metatron and Sandalphon, found only in apocryphal and other supplemental
sources. It is not my intent to delve into all of the complicated lore
concerning Metatron and Sandalphon, or Enoch for that matter, but rather just
to touch on some basic premises as they relate to the stories of the primary
figures that are the main focus here: Phinehas, Elijah and Elisha, whose
stories are relayed in some detail in the canon itself.
From what
I can glean from my limited research, the earliest references to archangels do
not include Metatron and Sandalphon, but rather names like Michael, Gabriel,
Raphael, Uriel, all of whose names end with the “el” appellation, a reference
to their connection with God. But somewhere along the line, Metatron and
Sandalphon, with their Greek-sounding names, make their appearance in Jewish lore.
One distinction about Metatron and Sandalphon, and perhaps an explanation as to
why their names do not end with the “el” appellation, is that they are the only
two archangels who where originally mortal men, who transfigured into
archangels due to their extraordinary spiritual achievements while mortals. All
of the other archangels are of heavenly and not earthly origin. Also, Metatron
and Sandalphon are sometimes intermixed and confused, as if they are possibly
one and the same, and just appear with different names in different texts,
although there is also a notion that they are twin brothers.
But now,
enough with the background, and on to the canonical figures of Enoch, Phinehas,
Elijah and Elisha.
ENOCH/CHANOCH
Enoch
makes a very short, and seemingly inconsequential and insignificant appearance
in the canon, in Bereishis/Genesis 1:5:18-24. Following on the heals of the
recitation of creation, Adam and Eve, and their children, Cain, Abel and Seth,
is a genealogy of mankind through the ten generations from Adam through Seth to
Noah. Abel had no offspring, and Cain’s offspring (with the exception of Noah’s
possible wife, Namaah) died in the Flood. There is one first-born male named
through each of the generations marking the lineal descent to Noah, although it
is also mentioned that these direct male descendants all begat other unnamed
sons and daughters in addition to the named first-born male direct lineal
descendants, one for each generation. What is interesting in the listing of
this genealogy is that it all follows the same pattern of wording for each
generation except for the one concerning Enoch, who was Noah’s
great-grandfather. Concerning all of the others except Enoch, the pattern goes
like this: “A lived X years, and begot B. And A lived Y years after begetting
B, and he begot sons and daughters. All the days of A were Z years (X + Y); and
he died.” Only for Enoch, this wording is different: “Enoch lived sixty-five years,
and begot Methuselah. Enoch walked with God for three hundred years after begetting Methuselah; and he begot
sons and daughters. All the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
And Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God had taken him.”
So
instead of merely “living” so many years after begetting his first-born, as all
of his ancestors, Enoch curiously “walked with God” for the remainder of his
life. And when he expired, he did not merely “die” like his ancestors, he again
“walked with God; and “then he was no more, for God had taken him.” Other than
identifying his father in the recitation of the genealogy, there is nothing
further said about Enoch in the canon. As with the others in the recitation of
this genealogy, there are no stories, no achievements, not even the name of his
wife or his other children. Just his father’s name, his name as the first-born
of his father, and his first-born son’s name, with the accounting of the years
as described above, in a dry, genealogical recitation.
However,
the commentators/speculators have had a field day for hundreds of years up to
the present time addressing the issue as to why Enoch, and Enoch alone, was so
distinguished from all of his ancestors in the terminology used about his
passing as described above. Apocryphal books have been written and cult-like
fascinations among some metaphysical circles have persisted over the ages.
Although there are differing interpretations within Jewish and non-Jewish
circles, one prominent theory is that Enoch was the mortal who transfigured and
became the Archangel Metatron. The meaning of the term “walked with God”
signifies the process of this transfiguration, and when it was completed, “he
was no more” because when “God had taken him” Enoch no longer existed, only
Metatron remained in the service of God, who had taken him from mortal life to
immortal or semi-immortal life. Some kabalistic views elaborate that the
pathway to prophesy and eternal life is by gaining mystical access to the Tree
of Life, and this was what Enoch achieved in order to transfigure into
Metatron.[1]
PINCHAS/PHINEHAS
The
thread continues with Pinchas/Phinehas, a figure found later in the Torah, with
a more detailed story conveyed about him in the primary canonical text than is
the case with his predecessor, Enoch.
The story
of Phinehas requires that we set the stage upon which he appears, in the book
of Bamidbar/Numbers in the Torah. The parsha/portion Balak relates a story of
the King of Moab feeling threatened by the nascent nation of Israel which has
encamped on its border, led by Moses, during its years of sojourn in the desert
after leaving the bondage of Egypt. The Israelites have recently won victories
in battle and conquest against the nations of Amalek, Sihon and Og, and King
Balak of Moab is rightly a little concerned. He may not be aware that this
threat, though reasonably perceived, is not actual, because the Israelites have
been instructed by YHVH to leave this nation alone due to their being descended
from Lot, Abraham’s nephew; just as they were told to leave the Edomites alone,
because they were descended from Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Balak sends for a
great soothsayer/wizard, Balaam, to cast a curse upon the Israelite encampment,
but to Balak’s dismay, Balaam becomes a puppet in the hands of YHVH, and the
only words that issue forth from Balaam’s mouth are words of blessing and
praise dictated by YHVH. Balaam goes home frustrated and humiliated, and Balak
is frustrated and infuriated.
This
portion ends with a choppy and terse recitation introducing the character of
Phinehas and his central role in an incident and its aftermath following the
story of Balak/Balaam. Details spill over into the succeeding two portions, Pinchas
and Mattos, all of which is extensively enhanced by secondary sources.
First,
what is recited in the primary text: After his humiliation, Balaam is down, but
not out. He concocts a devious, subversive scheme to undermine the purity and
moral core of the Israelites. The women of Moab and Midian, an ally that
likewise felt threatened by the Israelites, are set upon the task to entice
Israelite men through harlotry and intermarriage as means to the ultimate end
of idolatry. The scheme is successful, and many Israelite men are seduced by
the women of Moab and Midian to commit harlotry, intermarriage and worst of
all, idolatry. These abominations are dealt with by YHVH ordering all of the
transgressors rounded up and executed, and for those who are not dealt with
swiftly enough, YHVH also imposes a plague. Despite all of this havoc, a young
Israelite prince, in an arrogant and disrespectful display of rebelliousness,
brings his Midianite princess consort into the presence of Moses and all of the
assembly of Israel. Moses and the leadership are all paralyzed and in shock due
to this brazen display, and their only reaction is to weep.
Enter
Pinchas/Phinehas, son of Elazar, the new High Priest (who succeeded his father
and Moses’ brother, Aaron, as High Priest after Aaron’s death). He rises up and
spears to death both the arrogant Israelite and his Midianite girlfriend. As a
result of these acts, the plague is abated, but only after the death of
twenty-four thousand.
YHVH
acknowledges the great deed of Phinehas to Moses. His quick, decisive and
zealous action adequately exacts YHVH’s wrathful vengeance upon the people, and spares the
people from further decimation by the plague. For this good deed, YHVH bestows upon
Phinehas a “covenant of peace” and a “covenant of eternal priesthood”.
YHVH
further orders Moses to “harass and smite” the Midianites due to their role in
attempting to subvert the moral fiber of the Israelites and turn them to
idolatry. After taking care of some other business, Moses proceeds to wage
battle against the Midianites as directed, with Phinehas among the warriors
enlisted. Without one casualty, the Israelites annihilate all of the inhabitants
of Midian, including Balaam, with the exception of female children too young to
have been involved in the seductions.
Thus is
the story of Pinchas/Phinehas as conveyed in the primary canonical text of the
Torah itself. Now for the secondary source elaborations and extrapolations:
As
previously mentioned, Phinehas was the grandson of Aaron, the son of the new
High Priest Elazar, and for the good deed of killing the wayward Israelite and
his consort, he was elevated to a Kohen/priest, and all of the Kohen Gadols/High
Priests after Elazar, his father, were descended from Phinehas. This seems
confusing, as it appears he was in line for this job anyway and should have
already been a Kohen by his birthright. It is explained that the Kohens were
all descended from Aaron, but the scheme established was that Aaron and all of
his sons living at the time the priesthood was established would be priests,
and all of their offspring born thereafter.
Phinehas was not originally included as a priest because he was a grandson of
Aaron’s born before the time of the
original initiation of priests, limited to Aaron and his sons then living, not
grandsons then living, even though grandsons born after the original
investiture would become priests. But because of his valiant deed, he was duly
elevated. The “covenant of eternal priesthood” bestowed upon Phinehas meant that
all of his offspring would become priests, and tradition maintains that all
High Priests thereafter were descended from Phinehas. The “covenant of peace”
bestowed upon him has been interpreted as meaning that circumstances warranting
the exercise of such violent zealousness are rare, and as a reminder that the
path of peace is generally favored.
There are
secondary sources that go into more extensive discussions about the
circumstances surrounding Phinehas’ killing of the Israelite man and his
Midianite girlfriend. Apparently Moses and the rest of the camp were confounded
into a stunned stupor of inaction by this brash and unexpected act. This was
compounded by the fact that at least some believe that Moses’ wife was also a
Midianite. Phinehas came to the rescue, remembering a portion of the oral law
forbidding cohabitation with a gentile, and authorizing “zealots to smite” such
a transgressor. This is a rare form of law known as “a law that is not
instructed”, as it obviously carries many issues and potential ramifications,
discussed at length by the commentators over the centuries. (“Not instructed”
does not mean that one is not informed about its existence, but rather one is
not guided or offered clarification on how to effectuate it on the premise that
if you need to ask, then you’re already disqualified. It needs to be a totally
detached, intuitive, instinctive response to a situation). The conception of “taking
the law into your own hands”, as illustrated by this incident, is not one that
has been encouraged by the authorities directing the community over the past
several hundred years, for many obvious reasons. [2]
The
commentators also suggest that Phinehas’ zealous actions of taking the law into
his own hands were not universally accepted even at the time, and there was a
lot of mumbling that he had overstepped his bounds. However, it is clear that YHVH
approved his actions, and that as a result, the plague that was decimating the
camp ceased.
Questions
have been raised as to why the Israelites waged war only against the
Midianites, and not the Moabites, who also participated in the seductions. The
answer provided by the secondary sources is that the Moabites only addressed
the common folk with their seductions, whereas the Midianites targeted the
leadership, a more serious and damaging offense.
Also, the
primary text states that Phinehas participated in the war against the
Midianites and that Balaam was killed in that war, without stating who killed
him. However, some secondary sources connect the dots and claim that Balaam was
killed by none other than Phinehas himself, as yet another feather in his cap.
There is
a common belief that after these events, Phinehas lived a long time and either
became the prophet Elijah, or was reincarnated as Elijah. (And yes, although
not propounded and even rejected by traditional Judaism, mystical Judaism recognizes
reincarnation, called “gilgul”.)
ELIJAH/ELIYAHU
The final
two characters in this set are the prophets Elijah and Elisha, with Elisha’s
story following on the heals of Elijah’s, as Elijah’s successor. Jewish
tradition abounds with tales and customs related to Elijah the Prophet, Eliyahu
Hanavi, probably the most well-known prophet besides Moses. A cup is set for
him at every Passover Seder, a seat is
set for him at every circumcision, and his song is sung at every Havdalah
(special ceremony marking the end of the Sabbath). All of this attention in
Jewish custom and practice to the current day focuses on Elijah as the
harbinger of the coming of Moshiach, the Messiah of ultimate redemption. I am
not here attempting to review or summarize the vast lore and its origins
concerning Elijah, but rather to stick fairly closely to what is found in the
actual canon, with some embellishment from secondary sources.
The
stories of Elijah and Elisha are contained in the section of the Tanak called
the Prophets/Nevi’im, in the books of Kings I and II, the fourth book in the
first section of Prophets. To begin, it will be helpful to put their stories in
context.
Following
Kings, the latter and largest section of Prophets contains books named after
specific prophets, and the format changes to writings of those prophets,
consisting mostly of exhortations and condemnations, of affliction and
consolation, encouraging the populace to turn away from their evil ways, and
reassuring them that better times will come. These well-known and often-quoted
books focus more on the preaching of these prophets, and less on their
activities. However, the earlier four books are more narrative in nature, and
only two are named after a person, the prophet/leader Joshua, and the prophet
Samuel. Neither Elijah nor Elisha have books named after them, and their
stories, as most of the content of the first four books, have more to do with their
activities rather than their preaching. The setting for their appearance is the
tumultuous years following the death of King Solomon, whose reign marked a
short period of the most glorious years of a united Kingdom of Israel.
Prophets
begins where the Torah leaves off, with the book of Joshua. At YHVH’s
direction, Joshua had been appointed by Moses to be his successor, and he now leads
the people into the homeland that has been promised to them after their exodus
from Egypt and sojourn in the desert. (As a quick refresher, the Torah ends
with Moses’ death, at a time when the people are ready to cross over the Jordan
to the promised land. Moses was not permitted by YHVH to cross over, and as his
task was completed, he died near the west bank of the Jordan, after viewing the
promised land atop a mountain). After various conquests led by Joshua in order
to occupy and settle the land, there next follows a period of rule over the
land by prophets known as Judges (as chronicled in the second book of Prophets,
by the same name), when there was no secular ruler. However, the third book of
Samuel recites, among other things, the clamoring by the people for a secular
king, and thus Saul becomes the first temporal king/ruler over Israel. The
prophets continue alongside the king as moral and spiritual guides. There are
stories concerning the love-hate relationship between King Saul and the young David,
who will ultimately become the next king, leading to David’s son, King Solomon,
building the First Temple during his rule. As narrated in Kings, the fourth
book of the section of Prophets, the glory years of the rule of King Solomon
are soon followed by discord, division and degeneration which leads to the
kingdom of Israel becoming divided into two competing kingdoms. The Southern
Kingdom of Judah consists of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and contains
within its borders the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. The Northern Kingdom
of Israel consists of the other ten tribes. After many years and generations of
kings coming and going in both kingdoms, with degeneration, idolatry and false
prophets prevailing most of the time, along comes the prophet Elijah in the Northern
Kingdom.
The
setting for Elijah’s appearance is during the reign of the wicked King Ahab,
who is influenced and spurred on by his ambitious and idolatrous wife, Jezebel.
Under their rule, the already prevalent heretical practices of the past are magnified,
including worship of the pagan god Baal. They build an altar and temple to
Baal in Samaria, in addition to erecting a sinful Asherah-tree. It is in this
context that Elijah the Tishbite, of Gilead, appears without any preamble.
Being a true prophet, veritably all of Elijah’s actions are guided by YHVH. He
tells Ahab that there will be no dew or rain except when Elijah says so, and
then leaves Ahab to deal with an extended drought. Meanwhile, Elijah goes into
hiding in the Cherith Brook, which faces the Jordan. He gets water from the
brook, and ravens bring him bread and meat twice a day. But after a year, the
brook dries up due to the drought, and Elijah moves on to Zarephath in Sidon,
to be sustained by a widow. In events similar to subsequent events concerning
Elisha and found again in the Christian Testament, the widow first provides him
with water, but when he asks for food, she says she and her son are starving
and are about to eat the last small cake she will make from the last bit of
flour and oil she has. Elijah tells her that if she feeds him a small cake
first, that her jug of flour and flask of oil will never run out until the
drought ends. And so it happens for an entire year until the drought ends. But
then her son becomes seriously ill and dies, and she blames it on Elijah,
because her impurity stood in such stark contrast to his piety. Elijah
beseeches YHVH to restore life to her son, and after stretching himself over
the boy’s dead body three times, he comes back to life. This event convinces
the widow beyond any doubt of Elijah’s holiness.
In the third year of the drought, YHVH instructs Elijah to
confront Ahab and his false prophets, who had been hunting Elijah in order to
kill him, as he was held responsible for the drought. Jezebel, Ahab’s queen,
had already initiated a campaign to kill all true prophets and prop up false
pagan prophets in their stead. Obadiah, a principal servant of the king and
queen, who was loyal to YHVH, saved 100 true prophets by secreting them away in
two caves, with 50 in each cave. Ahab and Obadiah set out in different
directions to find Elijah, and lo and behold, Elijah appears before Obadiah,
and tells him to have Ahab come to him. So Ahab comes, and Elijah issues a
challenge to him and his 450 false prophets of the Baalim and 400 false
prophets of the Asherah-tree: come to Mt. Carmel at Beth-el (where Jacob’s name
was changed to Israel, and where they had set up a Temple to the Baalim), and
they will each prepare a bull for burnt sacrifice on altars without starting a
fire. Whichever god responds with fire is the true God. So the cook-off takes
place, but no fire comes for the false prophets. In a Houdini-like display of
showmanship, a trench of water is dug around Elijah’s altar to assure no access
to the altar via an external source for igniting a fire. Further, the altar
itself is thoroughly drenched three times with water. Nevertheless, with a
final flourish of bravado, Elijah’s offering is consumed by Divine fire. The
audience is impressed, and Elijah has them capture all of the false prophets.
They are marched off to the Kishon Brook, where he slaughters them all. He
warns Ahab to start heading home, as the drought is about to end with a big
storm. After praying seven times with his body bent and his face between his
knees (a position that some have referred to as the “prophetic posture”,
possibly similar to the yoga posture called the “child pose”), a great rain
commences, which storm first appears as a cloud as small as a man’s hand
approaching from the west.
Upon hearing about these exploits of Elijah, the wicked
Jezebel is not happy, and swears an oath to hunt down and kill Elijah. Elijah
thus flees for his life into the wilderness, at which time follows a well-known
and significant event at Mt. Sinai. First Elijah travels for a day without food
or water, then lays down under a “retem” tree to die in despair. But an angel
wakes him and provides him with food and water. Elijah returns again to sleep
after his meal, but is woken a second time by the angel with more food, who instructs
Elijah that he has a long journey ahead of him. With the strength provided to
him by this second meal, Elijah walks 40 days and nights until he arrives upon
Mt. Horeb/Sinai. He spends a night in a cave on the mountain, and is called
upon by YHVH. Elijah expresses his despair at his failed mission to turn the
people back to YHVH and his wish to die. As with Moses before him, Elijah is
instructed by YHVH to go out of the cave and witness YHVH’s greatness as YHVH
passes before him. First is a powerful wind, smashing mountains and breaking
rocks, but Elijah is told that YHVH is not in the wind. Next is an earthquake,
but Elijah is told YHVH is not in the earthquake. Next is a fire, and again
Elijah is told that YHVH is not in the fire. Finally comes a still thin
sound/still small voice. Apparently, Elijah had gone back into the cave to
“hear” this still small voice (lending itself to the popular Eastern
interpretation that he was meditating on/discovered the inner “sound of
silence”), as it narrates that he next goes out and stands by the cave’s
entrance. The first conversation with YHVH is then repeated. This time,
properly grounded in the meditation that should inspire and precede action, YHVH
instructs Elijah to go out and anoint Hazael as king over Aram (a neighboring
kingdom), Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat
from Abel-meholah as Elijah’s successor. YHVH assures Elijah that between the
three of these, the sinners will be obliterated, except for 7,000 people who
did not worship Baal.
The commentators note that although Elijah may have
learned a lesson and been provided with a new perspective through the above
experience and subsequent instructions, it also served as a rebuke and possible
indication of the limitations of Elijah’s understanding. For the conversation
both before and after the revelatory events described above were the same. God
asked Elijah, “Why are you here?”, to which Elijah responded both times, “I
have acted with great zeal for YHVH, etc.”. But the message of the revelatory
experience seemed to be that Elijah was meant to understand that the extreme of
zealousness was of rare and limited use, and that reliance on the inner peace
of silence was preferred. Elijah was instructed to pass on his function to Elisha
because of his limited understanding of this message. This echoes the earlier
event involving Phinehas in Numbers (thought by many to be one and the same as
Elijah, or an earlier incarnation of Elijah) whereby after his rare act of
zealousness in killing the Israelite prince and Midianite woman, he was
provided a “covenant of peace”, indicating that the path of peace is preferable
to the path of violent zealousness.
Elijah first comes upon Elisha plowing a field with the
aid of twelve pairs of oxen and taps him as successor with his mantle. Elisha
follows after making a sacrifice with a pair of oxen, which he feeds to the
people.
Elijah has a couple of final missions before ascending to
heaven. One involves Naboth the
Jezreelite refusing to sell or trade his ancestral vineyard to King Ahab, who
wanted it. Upon hearing of this refusal, Queen Jezebel arranges for the murder
of Naboth based upon false accusations of blasphemy and sedition, whereby Ahab
then obtains the vineyard he coveted. YHVH sends Elijah to dress down Ahab
about this, for which Ahab repents. YHVH tells Elijah that because of his
repentance, Ahab will be spared his life, but God’s vengeance will fall upon
his successor.
Sometime thereafter, Ahab dies in battle with neighboring
enemy Aram, and his son, Ahaziah, succeeds to the throne, but is not much
better than Ahab. Not too long after ascending to the throne, Ahaziah has a bad
fall and suffers injury/illness as a result. He sends messengers to inquire of
Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, concerning whether he will recover. An angel of YHVH
then instructs Elijah to intercept the messengers with the message that since
Ahaziah did not call upon YHVH, he will die in the sick-bed he is currently
occupying. Upon hearing this message from Elijah, Ahaziah sends out a captain
with fifty soldiers to bring the impudent Elijah before him. They find him on
top of a mountain, whereupon a fire from YHVH consumes them all. Ahaziah sends
out another captain with fifty soldiers with the same result. He then sends out
yet a third captain, who has brains enough not to challenge Elijah, but instead
honor him. Elijah is then instructed by the angel of YHVH to go to Ahaziah with
that captain. Elijah then delivers the above message face-to-face to Ahaziah,
who dies as predicted. He is succeeded
to the throne by a brother, Jehoram, as he did not have any sons.
The narrative next relates Elijah ascending to heaven,
passing his mantle on to Elisha. Elijah and Elisha both know that Elijah’s time
has come, and perhaps as a test, perhaps out of modesty, Elijah instructs
Elisha not to follow him to Beth-el, but Elisha insists. Elijah’s disciples
there also know his time has come. The above scenario is then repeated at
Jericho, and a third time at the river Jordan, with Elijah being accompanied by
fifty of his disciples. In a scene reminiscent of the Exodus, but on a smaller
scale, Elijah folds up his mantle, and upon striking the water with it, the
water parts, and he and Elisha cross over on a dry path. As they are crossing
over, Elijah asks Elisha if Elisha has any final requests before Elijah leaves
him for good. Elisha’s bold response, “May twice as much as your spirit (“bruchacah”
- power – derivative of ‘ruach’) be mine.” Elijah responds that is quite a
doozy of a request, but if Elisha is actually able to witness Elijah’s ascent,
it will be granted. As they continue to walk, a chariot and horses of fire
appear and separate the two, and Elijah ascends to heaven in a whirlwind.
Elisha does in fact retain consciousness and beholds this wondrous sight. He
then picks up Elijah’s mantle which has fallen to earth, strikes the water, and
it parts as it had done for Elijah, and Elisha crosses back over. The fifty
disciples of Elijah apparently do not see the ascent, but they do witness Elisha
parting the water with the mantle, and thus recognize that Elijah’s spirit has
passed to Elisha. Although they seem to understand that Elijah is no longer
with them, a part of them remains incredulous, and despite Elisha’s protests,
they insist on looking for Elijah, thinking that he has maybe just been
transported to another place on earth. They search high and low for three days,
but can not find Elijah, to which Elisha, who has moved on to Jericho, says, “I
told you so.”
Elijah has been connected in secondary sources to both
Metatron and Sandalphon. As discussed earlier, archangels Metatron and
Sandalphon are variously described as separate beings, one and the same, and as
twins.
ELISHA (Hebrew pronunciation: Eleesha)
After the first time reading the above spectacular events,
a question came to mind about what appeared to be Elisha’s rather bold,
ambitious, and seemingly selfish request to be granted twice the power of
Elijah. However, along the same lines as Moses, whose spirit seems to be hovering
over all of these events, as we shall see, the subsequent actions of Elisha
vindicate him as having no motive other than to be a true, loyal and selfless
servant to YHVH.
The first in a series of extraordinary miracles related to
Elisha begins in the city of Jericho, which had been famously destroyed under
the leadership of Joshua shortly after the Israelites enter the Promised land,
but had since been rebuilt at YHVH’s direction. The rebuilt city, however, has
a problem with its water supply being impure, and the townsfolk seek Elisha’s
assistance. He throws salt at the water source, and says that YHVH has thusly
cured the water, which in fact happens, being the first recorded instance of
the miracle of water-softening.
Next, while traveling from Jericho to Beth-el, a gang of
evil-hearted youths mocks Elisha as a “Baldhead”. Elisha curses them, resulting
in forty-two of them being torn apart by two bears who come out of the forest. And
thus is Elisha’s reputation as a prophet, miracle-worker and someone not to be
trifled with, established.
Meanwhile, back at the farm in the Northern Kingdom,
Jeroham, brother of Ahaziah and son of Ahab, rules for twelve years. Although
he isn’t great, he isn’t as bad as his mother and father, and removes the
pillar of the Baal erected by Ahab.
While Ahab was alive and king, Mesha, the king of Moab,
paid tribute to Ahab. Now with Ahab off the scene, Mesha decides to rebel
against Israel. So King Jeroham allies with King Jehoshaphat of the southern
kingdom of Judah, and the king of Edom to mobilize against Moab. They travel
for seven days en route to engage Moab and run out of water. Jehoshapat inquires
if there is a prophet available to help them out with their plight, and is led
to Elisha. Elisha expresses his scorn for Jeroham, but agrees to assist because
of the merit of Jehoshaphat, who is a good king and loyal to YHVH. With the aid
of a musician, Elisha enters into prophetic consciousness and declares that the
power of YHVH will fill the valley with many pools of water without the aid of
wind or rain and will provide them victory over Moab. Sure enough, water
appears and they go on to defeat Moab in war.
The next
section includes the Haftorah for the portion of Vayeira in Genesis. It relates
two stories about Elisha. The first concerns a righteous woman who was the
widow of another prophet who fell on hard economic times and was about to lose
her two sons into slavery because of debts she could not pay. Her only posession
of value remaining is one container of oil. Elisha instructs her to borrow as many
empty vessels as possible, and to start filling those vessels from the one
container of oil. Miraculously, as in the earlier story concerning Elijah, and
the later loaves and fishes story of the Christian Testament, the one container
is capable of filling all of the empty containers. Elisha then instructs her to
sell the oil, which is enough to pay off the debts and support her family.
The
second story concerns a wealthy elderly woman who is childless and whose story
parallels that of Sarah. She had always shown great kindness to Elisha,
recognizing his spiritual depth. She even made up a room for him to stay in her
house whenever he passed through her town. He wanted to repay her with some
kind of blessing or favor, to which she declined any such payment. His
assistant points out to him her childless state despite her desire to have a
child. Much as in the Sarah story, Elisha then tells her that she will bear a
son in a year’s time, to which she expresses her disbelief. However, in a year,
she does give birth to a son, as prophesied. However, there is more to this
story, for some time later, her son dies, and she goes to Elisha in her grief,
after placing the corpse on the bed that Elisha would use in her house. There
are a few interesting aspects to the events that follow. Elisha instructs his
assistant to go ahead of them with Elisha’s staff, and “if you meet anyone, do
not greet him and if anyone greets you do not reply; and place my staff on the
child’s face.” Elisha then comes, prays to YHVH, and the following takes place,
(from the Kaplan translation): “…he went up and lay upon the child, placing his
mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the
child’s hands. Then he stretched himself on him; and the child’s body became
warm. Then he returned, and walked back and forth in the house; and went up and
stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.”
And thus, through this interesting process, the dead child is brought back to
life and returned to his ever-grateful mother.
Elisha
the Prophet
(from,
Torah Portion Summaries, by Steven J.
Gold)
I received an inquiry about the meaning of the stories about the prophet
Elisha in the Haftorah of Vayeira narrated in the previous section. Are they
simply an inspiration to have faith that miracles do happen or is there more?
How did Elisha do these things?
Implicit in these questions is a broader question of how to approach
understanding any kind of scripturally-based story, particularly ones conveying
miracles. A good beginning point would be specific and personal to each
individual. The reader should examine what their initial reaction was to the
story, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. What kind of impact, if any,
did it have on them? Did it resonate in some way that might be difficult to
articulate? What is the feeling behind that resonation? Perhaps it is worth
sitting with, meditating on, pondering any such feelings that it evoked to see
if further insight and understanding comes forward. If there appeared to be no
particular impact on the reader, leaving them indifferent, cold or confused,
then, before abandoning any effort at further understanding, it may be
worthwhile to resort to other sources to find meaning. Jewish sources have
identified a process known by the acronym, PaRDeS: P – Peshat – Plain –
literal; R – Remez – Allusion – the entry point into the realm of the
figurative, the allegorical; D – Derash – Exposition, a more in-depth
homiletical approach, extracting deeper spiritual and ethical teachings; S –
Sod – Secret, the deepest mystical, intuitive level beyond the rational,
delving into the realm of the nonrational, as distinct from the irrational.
Talmud and Midrash are the sources of traditional commentaries addressing the
realms of Remez and Derash, while Sod is addressed in Kabbalistic writings.
As the person posing the question posed it to me, I will provide my
answers to their questions as to the impact of these stories on me, and why I
find them fascinating and worth repeating.
Concerning these and any stories involving miracles, I am always
fascinated and inspired by such stories. They convey that the world and the
universe is a much more glorious and fantastic place than what we usually
encounter in the humdrum existence of our daily lives. If we keep our inner
senses attuned, our inner eyes and ears open, we can become more receptive to
experiencing such things more regularly in our daily lives. They are often
subtle, and can be easily overlooked and ignored, or dismissed without a second
thought. Stories of miracles are illustrations of something I firmly believe
in, that anything is possible. If we view our lives as self-limiting, then we
have defined those limitations and subject ourselves to them. If we view our
lives as having limitless possibilities, even if not probabilities, we will
have a different approach and perspective.
How did Elisha do these things? Well, to answer that question is a tall
order indeed! The short answer is that Elisha followed the spiritual intuition
he was provided as a servant of the Lord infused with Divine Guidance. I was
fascinated and thrilled by the specifics of these stories as conveying subtle
messages about the mechanics of how miracles occur. Also, the true prophet
miracle-worker always, ALWAYS, acknowledges that the source for their abilities
lies beyond their separative selves, and originates with and is by the grace of
a power beyond themselves, for which they never fail to express their
gratitude. The Rasputins, the charismatic ego-maniacs of the world, while they
may garner significant occult-type of abilities, forget the Source from beyond,
which inevitably results in tragic consequences.
The significance to the first story for me lies mostly in the realm of
the figurative, not the literal. However, on the level of the literal, I find
it interesting that the commodity involved is oil. Oil was not merely used for
cooking, it was used for anointing and massaging, and it was used as a fuel for
providing functional and votive light. So it is this fuel for light that is
being miraculously regenerated and serves as the basis for the continued
support for the widow and her family. It leads right into the more figurative
realm that this is more than a story and message of physical survival. It
conveys an oft-repeated message of spiritual wealth, that what truly nurtures
us at the deepest level of the spirit, of inner Divine Light, is always
available, free of charge, and in abundance if we open up to it. It is our
self-created obstacles that prevent this access. It is up to us to remove the
obstacles so that the inspiration can flow unimpeded. That was the state of
being of the prophets. They had that kind of access. I do not agree with the
common notion that the type of revelation and gifts available to the prophets
are not currently available, and will only become available again at the time
of the coming of Messiah. I believe everyone has such potential, but few
actualize it, because it requires brutally honest effort and self-purification
on our part for the Grace to be bestowed, and most of us are afraid to engage
in such an undertaking. God will meet us half-way. But most of the time, the
horse won’t even go to the water, and even when the horse does go, as we all
know, you can’t make him drink.
The second story stands in contrast to the first. The first
involved a materially poor widow with children, while the second involves a
materially wealthy married woman who is poor in another fashion, because she is
childless. I am quite certain that there have been volumes of commentary
written about this because of its complex set of circumstances and the
extraordinary miracles of a conception after menopause, and bringing someone
back to life. I have not personally encountered these commentaries, so I am
strictly shooting from the hip as to how it fascinates me without the benefit
of reading any other commentaries. My focus has not been as much on the
miraculous conception as it has been on the second miracle of restoring life to
the dead. She had never asked Elisha for anything, and didn’t ask him for a
child. It was only due to his assistant revealing to Elisha her desire for a
child by which Elisha came up with the perfect gift for her due to her faith
and her honoring him. But the bestowing of this perfect gift, still due to a
deep material desire, leads to the tragedy and grief of her son dying. This is
yet another message not to erect the foundation of your life on anything in the
relative world, because you subject yourself to the pain of loss. This woman
was materially wealthy, but poor without a child. The child was given to her
and then taken away. And then, somewhat reminiscent of the enigmatic and
oft-debated story of Job, this source of wealth is miraculously restored. It is
not clear whether this woman, in going to Elisha in her grief, was requesting
or expecting the miracle that was bestowed, but it appears to be the first time
she ever requested anything from Elisha, even if it was just for solace.
I can only say that I was fascinated with the procedures
involved in bringing the boy back to life, without fully understanding all of
it. The details are just fascinating. The
preliminary instructions to his assistant, not to become distracted by speaking
with anyone along the way, is an illustration of what in kabala is called
“kavanah”, one-pointed focused concentration and intention. Within this framework follows placing
the staff on the child (and the staff, as I have expounded elsewhere in the
context of Moses, is the staff of the serpent power of existential life, of the
Shechinah/kundalini), and then lying face to face, eyeball to eyeball, mouth to
mouth, hand to hand. The Tree of Life correlates with the human body, and the
rudimentary life force/prana/ruach carried through the breath is what brought
life to Adam. Sneezing in this case seems to be the equivalent to the first
cries of a newborn baby, the expression of inhalation and exhalation, not only
of breath, but of life force (think about it, sneezing begins with an inhalation,
the “ah”, which is followed by an exhalation, the “choo”). And the sneezing
seven times is indicative of energizing the seven primary life force centers
identified in yoga as chakras, which have correlates in the kabala’s Tree of
Life.
Next follows two short stories about food. In the first,
it is noted there is a famine in the land and Elisha has hungry disciples to
feed. He orders one to get a large pot going to prepare a stew, and another
goes off to collect herbs and mushrooms to throw into the pot. However, as they
begin eating, they recognize that the mushrooms are poisonous. Elisha orders
some flour to be added to the pot, which neutralizes the poison, and everyone
eats to their hearts’ content.
In the second story, a man comes and presents to Elisha
twenty loaves of barley bread and some fresh kernels in their husks. Elisha
orders him to serve it to the one hundred people who are gathered there, and
make sure there is enough for leftovers. Sure enough, despite the protests of
the man, in another “loaves and fishes” event, everyone eats to satiation, and
there are leftovers.
Next come the stories of Naaman and Gehazi. Naaman is the
commander of the army of the king of Aram, and secondary sources claim that he
was the person who killed King Ahab in battle. Naaman is also a leper, which
the commentaries claim was in the sense of spiritual leprosy as defined in
Leviticus 13. Naaman had captured an Israeli girl in a raid, and had made her a
servant to his wife. She tells his wife that Elisha can cure Naaman of his
leprosy, and with his king’s permission, Naaman seeks out Elisha to be cured.
Elisha addresses Naaman through an intermediary, and instructs him to dip seven
times in the Jordan and thus be cured. Naaman may have been a little insulted
that Elisha would not communicate with him directly, and also felt it
preposterous that such a simple thing as bathing in the Jordan would cure him,
when he had previously bathed in what he regarded as spiritually superior
rivers in Damascus without being cured. He thus leaves in a huff, but his
servants prevail upon him to try the cure, after all, what is there to lose? So
he acquiesces, and sure enough, he is cured, and his flesh becomes like that of
a baby’s bottom. Naaman thus sees the light, goes back to Elisha in all
humility and acknowledges the sovereignty of the God of Israel, swearing he
will from that day forward worship no other. Elisha gives him permission to
take a boatload of earth to build an altar to the God of Israel for his future
use in worship (although he tells Elisha he will still have to assist his
master, the King of Aram, to bow before another god at the temple at Rimmon).
He offers gifts to Elisha, which Elisha refuses to accept (the best things in
life are free), thus leading to the related story of Gehazi.
Gehazi is Elisha’s attendant, and wouldn’t mind having
some of the booty that Naaman had offered which Elisha turned down. So he
chases down Naaman and tells him that Elisha changed his mind and would like
for Naaman to give to two new disciples one talent of silver for them to share
and a change of clothes for each one. Naaman, in his gratitude, gives them each
a talent of silver and a change of clothes. Of course, Gehazi then takes these
gifts from his two co-conspirators, and secrets them away in his house. In a
scene reminiscent of YHVH asking Adam and Eve about what happened with the
serpent, the next time Gehazi appears before Elisha, he denies having done
anything wrong, but Elisha knows all, and sends him away with the curse that he
and his children will bear Naaman’s leprosy forever, which of course
immediately happens.
Next follows the story of the floating axehead. Elisha’s
disciples tell him their living quarters are crowded and propose building new
digs for themselves on the banks of the Jordan. They will all pitch in to build
the new dormitory. Elisha agrees and the building begins. While felling a tree,
one of the disciples loses an axehead in the water and is all upset because he
borrowed it and didn’t have the money to reimburse the owner. Elisha asks him
to point out the spot where it fell into the water, cuts a piece of wood that
he throws at the designated spot, and lo and behold, the axehead rises up and
the disciple is able to retrieve it.
In the meantime, Aram continued at war with Israel,
conducting ambushes and forays. The king of Aram would plan such attacks,
but it began to appear that someone was
reading his playbook, because the troops of Israel were always avoiding his
ambushes. He thought that he had a mole who was tipping off the Israeli forces,
but it was actually Elisha! Someone from the Aram camp (apparently a spy)
informs their king that Elisha knows his every move (even what he discusses in
his bedroom!), and reveals it to the Israeli king. The king of Aram decides to
capture Elisha to eliminate this annoying hindrance, marches to the city of
Dothan where Elisha is residing, and surrounds the city. Elisha’s attendant
reports this to him with great vexation, but Elisha reassures him to fear not
and asks YHVH to open up the eyes of his attendant, so his attendant can see
the forces accompanying Elisha: horses and chariot of fire (reminiscent of
Elijah’s escort to heaven). The Arameans attack, only to be struck with
blindness, as prayed for by Elisha. He then leads them to Samaria, a stronghold
of Israel, and has their blindness removed for them to behold that they are now
captives of the Israeli army! The king asks permission to kill the captives,
but Elisha orders him to feed them and send them on their way, and the king
complies. However, the end result is that the Arameans, having been adequately
spooked, cease their guerilla forays upon Israel.
This, however, does not stop the Arameans from waging
conventional war, and they proceed to lay siege on Samaria, which was already
suffering a severe famine and extreme inflation (a donkey’s head cost eighty
silver pieces and a quarter of a kav of pigeon’s dung cost five silver pieces).
The king of Israel discovers the famine has gotten so bad that the people are
resorting to cannibalism, eating their children. He somehow blames Elisha for
this and calls for his head (either because Elisha didn’t let him kill the
Arameans earlier when he had the chance, or because Elisha has not intervened
to put an end to the suffering of the people). Elisha, of course, knows the
king is coming, and the king’s heart is softened, as he recognizes that Elisha
only does what YHVH directs him to do, and that perhaps this horrible suffering
was a consequence of his and his people’s shortcomings.
He expresses his despair to Elisha, who assures him that
within twenty-four hours, their suffering will be relieved. Four Israeli lepers
hanging around the city gates (they were not allowed into the city), out of
desperation decide to throw themselves on the mercy of the Arameans, figuring
they are going to die one way or another anyway. They approach the Aramean army
camp to find it empty. The
army has left in haste, having been spooked by a Divinely created hallucination
that a horde of armies allied with Israel was about to descend upon them. The
lepers, after plundering the vacated camp, out of fear of being punished for
not coming forth, report their discovery to the Israeli king. Upon verifying
the lepers’ story and reassuring themselves that it is not a trap, the Israeli
people further plunder the camp and obtain much needed food. There was one
captain to the King who had doubted Elisha’s prophesy, so Elisha prophesied that this doubter would not
partake of the bounty. When these events occurred, the captain was trampled at
the gate to which he was assigned, thus fulfilling this other prophesy.
Elisha advises the woman whose son he had earlier brought
back to life to leave the area for seven years, because of an upcoming famine.
She does so, living in the land of the Philistines. However, upon her return,
she finds that someone has taken over her house and land, and appeals to the
king for its return. Just as she is approaching the king, he is speaking with a
servant of Elisha about Elisha’s great deeds, and the servant was relating the
story about this woman, just as she shows up! This impresses the king, and the
woman confirms the veracity of the story. The king orders her land and produce
returned to her.
Elisha then goes to Damascus to see Ben-hadad, king of
Aram, who is ill. The king sends Hazael to take a tribute to Elisha and ask if
he will survive the illness. Hazael loads up forty camels with the best bounty
of Damascus and approaches Elisha with the king’s inquiry. Elisha responds that
the king should recover from the illness, but alas, he will die from another
cause during the pendency of the illness. Elisha then turns his face away and
starts weeping. When Hazael inquires about the reason for Elisha’s sorrow, Elisha
responds that he has seen that Hazael will become king of Aram and wreak
horrible destruction upon Israel. Hazael returns to Ben-hadad and tells him
Elisha said he would have a full recovery from his illness. But the next day,
Hazael assassinates Ben-hadad with a wet towel spread across his face, and
Hazael ascends to the throne.
The narration recites several events that lead to the same
kind of degeneration in Judah that had long since been the way of life in
Israel. There is a King Jehoram in Israel, and a King Ahaziah in Judah, both of whom have ties by blood or marriage
with the corrupt house of Ahab.
YHVH has had enough of the house of Ahab, which now has
influence in both kingdoms. In accordance with the assurances earlier made to
Elijah, YHVH has Elisha send a disciple out to crown Jehu, a son of deceased righteous
King Jehosephat of Judah, and a great uncle of current King Ahaziah of Judah,
as the new king of Israel, to supplant Jehoram. This results in maternal and
paternal bloodlines crossing over the monarchies of both kingdoms, as a son of
a former king of Judah is now going to become a king of Israel, just as a
relation of a king of Israel had become a king of Judah. Elisha’s instructions
are very clear for his disciple to seek out Jehu, who was a commander in
Jehoram’s army, to go anoint Jehu as the new king of Israel, and then open the
door and flee. The disciple does as instructed, providing specific instructions
to kill Jehoram, Jezebel, his mother, and wipe out the entire house of Ahab.
Jezebel is not to be afforded a proper burial, but rather to be eaten by the
dogs. Although Jehu’s men denigrate the disciple and refer to him as a lunatic,
when they are told by Jehu what the disciple said, they immediately recognize
him as the new King of Israel and march off with him to accomplish the tasks
given to him: to kill Jehoram and all of the house of Ahab.
In the Northern Kingdom, Jehu succeeds in wiping out all
of the house of Ahab, including Jezebel, consolidating Jehu’s position as the
new king of Israel. He also kills Ahaziah, king of Judah. Through a series of
events, Jehoash, the only surviving son of Ahaziah, is crowned king of Judah
after his supporters deposed his grandmother, who tried to usurp the throne.
In the Northern Kingdom, due to the return of evil ways
following the death of King Jehu, King Hazael of Aram conquers Israel, which
has to pay tribute, and this dominion of Aram over Israel continues to the
reign of Hazael’s successor son, another Ben-hadad (interesting that Hazael named
his son after the king that Hazael had earlier assassinated in order to ascend
to the throne). There are some gyrations and further successions, leading again
to a situation that the name of the king of both kingdoms is the same: Jehoash.
Then comes a recitation of the death of Elisha the
Prophet, accompanied by his two last miracles, one occurring before he dies,
and one occurring after his death. Jehoash of Israel planned on battle with the
second king Ben-hadad of Aram, to try to free Israel from the yoke of Aram.
Elisha had already come down with his final illness, and Jehoash came to see
him on his deathbed, crying to him the same words that Elisha had blurted out over
the passing of his mentor, Elijah, “Father! Father! Israel’s chariot and horsemen!”
Elisha directs Jehoash to prepare to shoot an arrow out the window facing east,
Elisha places his hand on the hands of the king, and orders him to shoot the
arrow through the open window. He then instructs Jehoash to strike the
remaining arrows to the ground, and Jehoash strikes three arrows to the ground.
However, there were more arrows remaining, and Elisha angrily tells Jehoash
because he held back and did not strike all of the remaining arrows into the
ground, that his victory against Aram will not be complete, and he will only
win three battles.
Elisha’s final, post-mortem miracle: Elisha’s body had
just been laid to rest in his grave, and the grave had not yet been filled in. Nearby,
another grave-digging was about to commence when the mourners saw an enemy army
from Moab approaching. They hastily threw the corpse of their loved one into
Elisha’s grave. When this dead man’s body rolled and touched Elisha’s corpse,
the dead man came back to life!
In accordance with Elisha’s deathbed blessing/prophecy,
Jehoash succeeded with his three
victories to secure back from Ben-hadad the cities that had been previously
conquered, but Aram would live on to fight another day.
CONCLUSION
In pondering the sequence of these connected stories as
they appear in the canon, a few observations come to mind. First, although
there are extensive secondary source elaborations related to all of these
figures, it is interesting that the stories as they appear in the canon itself
grow more detailed with each successive story. Enoch’s story is extremely
terse, Phinehas’ is still fairly sparse, but with more detail, Elijah’s is much
more extensive than Phinehas’, and Elisha’s contains the most detail. Second,
it appears that there is an increase in spiritual power and maturity with each
successive figure, as evident to some extent in the primary sources, and
elaborated upon in the secondary sources. Phinehas’ zeal, which was appropriate
enough in one particular instance, is somewhat inappropriately carried forward
by Elijah. Elijah is gently shown the error of his ways. Elisha, through being
graced, at his request, with twice the spiritual power of Elijah, overcomes the
imperfection of imbalanced zeal, as illustrated by the mercy he displays
towards the captured Arameans (even though some of his other stories would
indicate more of an exercise of stern justice rather than of compassionate
mercy). While Elijah was fearful of his enemies and fled from them in despair,
Elisha, by contrast, appears fearless and confronts his enemies, rather than
fleeing from them. He has total faith and confidence in his Backup. And yet, perhaps
because of his flaws, it is the more imperfect, and thus, more human, Elijah
who has assumed a more prominent place in Jewish custom and tradition up to the
present day.
And thus ends the stories of six biblical/spiritual
brothers connected at birth: Enoch, Metatron, Sandalphon, Phinehas, Elijah and
Elisha.
[1] The commentators are also quick to
seize on the fact that Enoch’s three hundred and sixty-five mortal years was
much shorter than all of the others listed before and after him in the
genealogy, who all lived more than nine hundred years, with the exception of
Noah’s father, Lamech, who lived seven hundred and seventy-seven years.
Although I haven’t come across any discussion about this in the literature, it
is a bit curious that there is another Enoch around this time, who was Cain’s
first-born, and after whom Cain named a city that he had built. There is also
another Lamech who is descended from Cain, Enoch’s great-great grandson, whose
daughter might possibly have been the same Naamah who became Noah’s wife. So we
have one Lamech who is Noah’s father, and another Lamech who is possibly Noah’s
father-in-law. Could this possibly be some literary device creating evil
doubles? It is also a bit curious that there is more detail about the
descendants of Cain, who seem inconsequential as they were supposedly all wiped
out in the Flood; who they were, what they did, the naming of women in addition
to men, than in the sparse recitation relating the descendants of Seth. In any
case, the Bible doesn’t make it easy to keep all of this straight!
[2] There was an activist, anti-Roman,
nationalist political group around the time of the destruction of the Second
Temple that called themselves the Zealots, deriving their inspiration and
authority from this incident involving Phinehas, the first Zealot. They were
key players and leaders in the revolt against Rome that led to the destruction
of the Second Temple. They are most famous for their determination, dedication
and fierceness, as illustrated in their stand at a fortress called Masada on a
desert hilltop. When it became clear that the Romans were about to overrun the
fortress, the men killed all of the women and children, and then killed
themselves, rather than be slaughtered or captured by the Romans.
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