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wâ-Ei•râ 7th Eve (Ërëv Sha•bât)

Post-Khū•mâsh Israeili History

Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil, Yet Again, Worked For The Baal and the A•shᵊr•ōt

Sho•pheit #2: "Lefty" Ei•hud

Mo•âv•i Mëlëkh "Fats" Ëgᵊl•ōn

ca. B.C.E.

After Yᵊho•shua died, Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil assimilated into the surrounding idolatries, falling under the rule of A•ram for 8 years, during which many adopted the Aramaic language. After that, each Israeli city-colony ran their own affairs for 13 years, until they merged to appoint the first Sho•pheit: •tᵊni•eil Bën-Qᵊnaz, who judged Yi•sᵊr•â•eil for the next 40 years.

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Click to enlargeMo•âv (modern Jordan)

Upon the death of Sho•pheit #1, •tᵊni•eil, Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil yet again reverted to assimilate into the surrounding idolatries. So é‑‑ä allowed Ëgᵊl•ōn, mëlëkh Mo•âv, to form a tripartite alliance with •mōn and A•mâ•leiq, and they defeated Yi•sᵊr•â•eil and occupied the city of date-palms (Yᵊri•kho). So Yi•sᵊr•â•eil worked under the rule of Ëgᵊl•ōn, mëlëkh Mo•âv, for 18 years.

When Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil cried-out to é‑‑ä He raised up a military-savior for them: Ei•hud Bën-Geir•â. He was a left-handed man from sheivët Bin•yâ•min.To appease Ëgᵊl•ōn, mëlëkh Mo•âv, Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil appointed Ei•hud to present him a mi•nᵊkh•âh.

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Click to enlargec BCE 7th century, ≈37cm (15in), Pᵊli•shᵊt•in steel(ed iron) sword. Steel swords are attested in the Late Bronze Age as early as 69 years after this inci­dent: the sword of Par•oh Meren-Ptah c. BCE 1384 (see my Chronology Of The Tanakh, From The "Big ðÀèÄéÌÈä" Live-Link)

Meanwhile, Ei•hud forged a 53 cm double-edged sword and secreted it under his kaftan, strapped to his right thigh.

So Ei•hud presented the mi•nᵊkh•âh to Ëgᵊl•ōn, mëlëkh Mo•âv.

Now mëlëkh Ëgᵊl•ōn was morbidly obese. When Ei•hud finished presenting the mi•nᵊkh•âh he sent away his bearers who had carried the mi•nᵊkh•âh. But, on their way home, after a day's trek, when they reached the Gi•lᵊgâl stone calendar-pillars on the eastern outskirts of Yᵊri•kho, Ei•hud turned and went back to speak again with mëlëkh Ëgᵊl•ōn.

After another scorching day's trek back to Mo•âv, Ei•hud met again with mëlëkh Ëgᵊl•ōn, meeting with him as he mitigated the baking heat of the day in his cooler second-floor room. "I have a confidential matter to convey to you, your highness" Ei•hud whispered. "Shhh!"

So the mëlëkh sent everyone out of the room and Ei•hud came near him, saying, "I have a matter from ël•oh•im for you".

The obese mëlëkh rose from his chair to listen to the secret.

Then Lefty Ei•hud cross-drew his sword from his right thigh and thrust it into Ëgᵊl•ōn's fat belly so hard that the blade protruded out of his back and he couldn't pull it out. When Ei•hud let go of the sword Ëgᵊl•ōn's excess of belly fat completely flowed back over the hilt.

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Click to enlargeË•phᵊr•ayim and Mo•âv

Taking the mëlëkh's keys, Ei•hud shut and locked the doors after him. Then he departed toward the colonnade.

Seeing Ei•hud leave, the mëlëkh's guards returned but, seeing the doors of his second-floor room locked, they surmised, "Oh, he must have his pants down, cooling down in the privacy of his second-floor room."

When the mëlëkh's guards finally began to worry and used their key to open the doors of the second-floor room they found he had fallen down dead.

Meanwhile, because the guards tarried most of the day, Ei•hud escaped, passing by the circle of stone calendar-pillars and turning south toward Sei•ir.

When he returned to the hills of Ë•phᵊr•ayim, he blew a sho•phâr and Bᵊn•ei-Yi•sᵊrâ•eil followed him down from the hills to Yᵊri•kho as he beckoned them, saying, "Follow me! é‑‑ä has given your Mo•âv•im enemies into your hand."

So they followed him and took the crossings of Nᵊhar Ya•rᵊd•ein from the Mo•âv•im, preventing any escape across the river.

And in that same season they struck down about 10,000 men of Mo•âv; both fat men and soldiers. Not a man escaped. So Mo•âv was conquered that day under the command of Yi•sᵊr•â•eil. And the land was serene for 80 years.

Optional parental preparation:

  1. What does assimilate mean?

  2. What is idolatry? (anthropomorphism)

  3. What is a tripartite alliance?

  4. How is iron carbonized, quenched and tempered into steel? Why is a steel sword superior to a bronze sword?

Questions you might anticipate that your child might raise and be prepared to discuss:

  1. What does revert mean?

  2. What is a trek?

  3. What does mitigate mean?

  4. What does confidential mean?

  5. What does convey mean?

  6. What does obese mean?

  7. What is the thigh?

  8. What does protrude mean?

  9. What is the hilt of a sword?

  10. What is a colonnade?

  11. What does beckon mean?

  12. What is a river crossing (ford, not a bridge)?

  13. What does conquer mean?

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