Roll 'em

Esther ends the History segment of the Old Testament, and it is a flashback to the Jewish diaspora under the Persians after their exile into Babylon.

And begins one of the two extra-Levitical/Deuteronomical festivals of the Jewish faith (meaning festivals not referenced in Leviticus or Deuteronomy).

And it isn't Hanukkah.

It's Purim.

And that means lots.

As in the things that are cast to determine something based on chance.

Kind of like rolling dice.

Although I've never celebrated Purim, I've heard that it is lots of fun.

(from your humble servant: Please pardon the pun).

It is an event currently celebrated with feasting and food, drinking until you can't tell the difference between "cursed is Haman" and "blessed is Mordechai" (sounds like fun), gladness and gifts, and presents to the poor.

The book of Esther (the entire book, called "the whole Megillah" (so that's where that word comes from)) is recited during the process. 

During the whole Megillah, whenever the name Mordecai is mentioned, cheers and hoorays emanate from the celebrants.

Whenever the name Haman is mentioned, boos, hisses, and noisemakers attempt to "blot out" its hearing by the crowd.

That's Purim.

And it commemorates a day of slaughter and destruction.

Huh?

Supposedly condemned by Martin Luther as properly excluded from the canon, the book of Esther recounts the tale of Jews (the "yehudi") of the diaspora under the Persians.

Specifically, the story of the Persian King Ahasuerus, the Jewish cousins Mordecai (a Benjaminite) and Esther (who Mordecai adopts as his daughter, and who catches the king's eye and becomes queen), and Haman, the king's "right hand man" (who was an Amalekite, specifically an Agagite, which you might recall were the people defeated by Saul (also a Benjaminite) when he got in trouble with with God and ultimately lost his kingdom for not doing "herem" (utter destruction) according to Hoyle by letting King Agag initially survive the sword.  See King me.).

Haman hated Jews.

Understandable, in light of what Saul did (eventually) to his kinsmen.

Herem (utter destruction) being what it is.

Anyway, Haman cons the king into issuing a decree to destroy, kill, and annihilate all Jews.

To occur on the day before Passover.

A date that was selected by casting lots.

Which, as we now know, is what Purim means.

Lots.

Haman also hates Mordecai.

Not just because he is a Jew and a Benjaminite, but because he won't bow before Haman when Haman passes the gate.

Haman hates Mordecai so much that he builds a special gallows to hang Mordecai when the date selected for the destruction of the Jews arrives.

Mordecai, however, had previously uncovered an assassination attempt against the king, who remembers the foiled plot, wants to honor and distinguish Mordecai, and is requested by Esther to order Haman to robe and parade Mordecai around the town.

The triumph of Mordecai

After the parade, Haman's plot to kill the Jews is revealed to the king.

Esther denouncing Haman and his plot

Who orders Haman to be hanged on Mordecai's gallows.

Mordecai is thereafter appointed to Haman's prior position with the king, and receives all of Haman's property.

The edict to kill the Jews is revoked.

And a new one is issued.

Authorizing a one day opportunity for the Jews to exact revenge on their enemies.

And on that day, it is written:

So the Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword,
slaughtering and destroying them,
did as they pleased to those who hated them.

75,000 Persians are "put to the sword".

That doesn't sound like fun.

But that is the event that is celebrated during Purim.

Wheeee! Have a Happy Purim!

Hate to admit it, but I'm kind of glad that the History is over.

The cognitive dissonance between the last three books and the principles of my faith have been troublesome to my poor little pea-sized brain.

The boys are back in town

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were at one point a unified book, and they address the same issue (the return of the Chosen People to the Promised Land after release from their exile in Babylon).

So they will both be addressed in a single post.

After the roughly seventy year exile from Jerusalem in Babylon, the Persian king Cyrus the Great issues a decree allowing the Jews (as they are now referring to themselves, although technically they are the Judeans, Benjaminites, and portions of the Levites who comprised the Southern Kingdom at the fall of King Jechonia and the deportation to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar) to return to their old town.

On the road again

And they do, but the place is a mess.

So the first order of business is to fix the altar, then the temple, and then the walls around the city.

Which is delayed a couple of times, with the locals griping to the Persian kings back east that the Jews are pulling a fast one and are instead rebelling and seeking their independence.

So after a brief hiatus stopping reconstruction, Ezra asks King Darius to review the old real property records and royal orders, and Cyrus' decree is found confirming the freedom of the Jews and their authorization to proceed with rebuilding the temple and the city.

And, although it appears somewhat inconsistent with the line of David and the roots of Jesse, one of the "old-time religion" aspects is the prohibition of marriages to foreigners, in order that the "holy seed not mingle with the people".

Ezra preaching the law as he understands it: NO FOREIGNERS!

Huh?

What part of Canaanite and Moabite blood is a problem?

I mean, seriously.

What about Tamar?  See In the beginning.

What about Rahab?  See Bloodbath in the Promised Land.

What about Ruth?  See Doing the right thing.

Like it or not, foreign blood is in the gene pool.

And didn't all that occur through divine intention, if not intervention?

The stump of Jesse (with its Canaanite and Moabite roots)

Sometimes I wonder when I read some of this whether it's really divine inspiration or instead the author (or subsequent revisionists) taking liberties with the circumstances.

Difficult for my little pea-sized brain to embrace a faith expressly advocating exclusion and intolerance of certain humans based on their ethnicity and origins.

Perhaps the apparent inconsistencies are there for a reason.

Maybe that's what the divine wants.

Forcing those who seek God to think about the entire story (not simply parts of it in isolation, but as a whole with an appreciation of its context and history) and take the issues which arise on a recurring basis seriously.

As opposed to simply accepting portions of what is written as dogma and stopping without understanding.

I fear there's a great deal of the latter out-and-about these days.

In any event, and although I'm pretty sure it isn't a "pick-and-choose" proposition, I personally like the book of Ruth much better.

But you already know that.

Limping between two opinions

1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles cover much of the same ground, and address the history of the monarchy of the Chosen People until their subjugation by foreign powers (the obliteration of ten Northern Tribes by Assyria and deportation of the Southern Tribes of Judah and Benjamin by the Babylonian Empire).

So this post is going to attempt to cover four books in one, and hopefully not be too dreadfully long.

But there are some subtle differences between the books. 

In addition to containing nearly sixteen chapters of the some of the most mind-numbing genealogies and other lists of names I have ever read (not fun; hit the wall on those), 1 Chronicles goes all the way back to include the events surrounding Saul and David reflected in 1 and 2 Samuel we saw in King me and Keeping up with the House of David (without, curiously, the sex and nudity parts, which is probably due to the pro-Southern perspective of the Chronicles, discussed below), and 1 and 2 Kings address more detail of the happenings in the Northern Kingdom of the Israelites, while 1 and 2 Chronicles look to the North as sinful losers and aim their focus on the Southern Kingdom consisting of Judah and Benjamin.

Kind of like the way Americans view the Civil War as either The War Against Secession (if you were a Yankee) or The War of Northern Aggression (iffn’ yer a Reb).

It all depends on which side of the Mason/Dixon line you come from.

Things all started out hunky-dory in a unified state when David passed the crown to his son Solomon.

Although, near the end, David was having trouble performing, so to speak, even when the beautiful virgin Abishag was offered to him to be used to “cover his feet” (code in Hebrew for doing the nasty).

King David and Abishag

No Viagra or Cialis back then.

And Bathsheba probably took a lot out of Old David.  See Keeping up with the House of David.

Make up and consolment sex can do that.

In any event, after David’s passing Solomon fulfills David’s promise to build a Temple for God in Jerusalem.

Which Solomon does.

Although his palace is bigger.

King Solomon, aka Jedidiah

And he, like father like son (after all, fruit don’t fall too far from the tree), takes on many foreign wives.

Who worship foreign gods.

And so did Solomon.

Which is a problem for a jealous God.

Big problem.

So God takes away a unified kingdom, splitting the ten Northern Tribes (the Israelites) to be ruled by Jeroboam, and the remaining Southern Tribes (the Kingdom of Judah) to be ruled by King Rehoboam, Solomon's son.

And thereafter most of the kings of Israel and Judah did not do right.

In the vernacular of the South, they “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel”.

Which is bad.

Damned Northerners!

Because not only were they worshipping the native gods of the indigenous people (called “setting up high places” (and we know that’s a hard habit not to pick up, and an even harder one to break once you do, see The Ten Words)), but the Northern Kingdom set up altars and performed sacrifices on their own in their own lands without having to take the roadtrip south to Solomon’s new Temple and sacrifice only at Jerusalem.

Which is what is referred to as “following the sins of Jeroboam” (because he was the first king of the Israelites in the North to start doing it, see?)

The problem of Jeroboam’s setting up new altars to perform sacrifices was raised by an anonymous “man of God” from the south, who was visited by the word of the LORD and told to call King Jeroboam out on his apostasy, and was instructed by God to immediately thereafter leave by another route without stopping to eat or drink.

Which he did, telling King Jeroboam off and hightailing it out of the north.

Until the man of God runs into another anonymous character, the old prophet from Bethel.

And the old prophet from Bethel convinces the man of God that the old prophet was also visited by a subsequent divine intervention and was told that the man of God stopping a while for some local hospitality would be just fine by the LORD.

So the man of God believes the old prophet from Bethel, and accepts the invitation to eat and drink.

And is thereafter struck down by the LORD who sends a lion to kill the man of God for his failure to follow God’s instructions as issued directly to him.

The man of God

“Alas, my brother” is the eulogy from the old prophet from Bethel who had tricked the gullible man of God.

An empty head and a clear heart are no defenses to not doing what God tells you to do, even if someone else says that God told them you don’t have to do it.

Follow the word of God as it is presented to you by the LORD.

Or else.

Which should be nothing new.  Remember Balaam’s ass?  See Are we there yet? Part 2.

The Northern kings were also visited by prophets who had issues with the worship of other gods.

The establishment of “high places”.

Those prophets would be Elijah the Tishbite and his successor Elisha.

Based on the goading of his Baal-worshipping wife Jezebel, King Ahab sets up “sacred poles” (used in the “high places”), and gets rid of the prophets of the LORD.

Except one.

The troublemaker Elijah.

Elijah

Who did not hear the voice of the LORD in the stormy wind.

Or in the earthquake.

Or in the fire (all three of which are where other religions and cultures believed the LORD dwelt).

He instead heard the voice of God in the sound of sheer silence.

Elijah gets fed up with the  Northern Kingdom’s hypocrisy of being a nation “under God” while at the same time worshipping Baal from “high places”.

And asks the people a deep question from which the title of this post is taken:

How long will you go limping between two different opinions?

If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.

Which the Chosen People have had a difficult time with since the get-go.  See The Ten Words and Losing their religion.

And that shuts the people up.

Elijah decides to have a sacrificial throw-down with the 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah (also known as Astarte, who we’ve seen before; check out Losing their religion); whichever god answers at the competing altars with fire is God.

No one answers the pleas and self-mutilations from the prophets of Baal.

Elijah dumps his wood and sacrifice with not one, not two, but three doses of water.

Sort of like grandstanding.

Tying his hands behind his back and standing on one foot.

And the fire of the LORD consumes Elijah’s sacrifice.

And the prophets of Baal are thereafter killed and dumped into the Wadi Kishon at the base of Mount Carmel.

The end of the prophets of Baal

Elijah continued to stir up trouble with Ahab and Jezebel after the incident concerning Naboth’s vineyard, where the sneaky Jezebel rigged a false accusation against the vineyard owner Naboth and gets him wrongfully stoned to death in order to acquire his property for the covetous Ahab.

Elijah doesn’t care too much for such shenanigans, and condemns both Jezebel and Ahab to early deaths which will involve dogs in one form or the other.

Such as having them lick up their blood or eating them and leaving nothing left of them but dung.

Which happens to Ahab in his war against the Arameans, as, even though he is incognito, he is killed in battle.

The death of Ahab

And the dogs lick up his blood.

And which also happens to Jezebel, who is thrown out a window and consumed by dogs.

The death of Jezebel

And her corpse ends up as dung on the field, so that no one could honor her grave and say: “This is Jezebel”.

The remains of Jezebel

(Your Humble Servant's observation: Somewhat similar to an Islamic burial at sea.)

So don’t mess with prophets.

Even if you’re just a little kid, do not call them names.

Or you might end up eaten by she-bears, as happened to some snotty punks who thought it’d be funny to call Elisha a “baldhead” and taunting him to “go up” as Elijah had been taken to heaven in a celestial chariot upon his death.

Elijah going up

Don't be dissin' no prophets

Elisha continues to be trouble for the remaining bloodline of Ahab and Jezebel, striking down their offspring Athaliah for backsliding to the worship of Baal and setting up more “high places”.

The death of Athaliah

He also anoints Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, who meets with and kills both of the sinful kings of Israel and Judah (Joram and Ahaziah) at Naboth’s vineyard (thus ending the line of Ahab at a fittingly ironic location).

After Jehu, however, the Northern Tribes of the Israelites nevertheless continue again in another downward spiral of apostasy, and are ultimately subjugated by the Assyrians.

This time forever.

No more Northern Kingdom.

The Southern Kingdom beats back the invasion of Jerusalem by Assyria, where its army led by King Sennacherib is destroyed by the angel of the LORD due to the piety of the Judean King Hezekiah and the intervention of the prophet Isaiah.  

The angel of the LORD turns back Sennacherib and the Assyrians at Jerusalem

Jerusalem is saved (for the moment), and the Assyrians who survive crawl back to Nineva.

We'll be reading about them in the near future when we get to Jonah.

But the downward spiral continues in the south.

After falling back into idolatry under Kings Manasseh and Amon, the Southern Kingdom is defeated by the Egyptians under Pharaoh Neco, who shows that God can work through the enemy, and that the failure to heed prophetic voices coming out of an unbelieving adversary can lead to one’s downfall.

So weakened, Judah’s sinful ways are ended by forced deportation and relocation into Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar.

Jerusalem is sacked and looted.

The Temple is destroyed.

It’s fitting to end this post concluding the history of the Kings of the Chosen People with an astute observation from the prophet Azariah:

The eyes of the LORD range throughout the entire earth,

to strengthen those whose heart is true to him.  

The LORD is with you, while you are with him.

If you seek him, he will be found by you,
but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

Keeping up with the House of David

Second Samuel starts pretty much where First Samuel left off.

Which makes much sense, since at one time both were considered as a single book.

King Saul has taken his own life, leaving David as his successor.

Exactly what Saul had been so worried about during his own reign.  See King me.

Things start off well for David, who not only unifies the kingdom of Israel, but is also quite successful in conquering not only the interior natives left by God to test the Israelites’ faith, but also unfriendly neighboring powers.

His success leads to his advisor Nathan to relate the will of God that a formal house for the LORD to dwell be constructed.

However, with the celebration of Israel’s victories and the plans for the building of a Temple to house the ark (which has some unstable qualities, as shown by the immediate striking down of Uzzah simply for accidentally touching it), family problems which will beset David and his house quickly spring up.

David’s first wife, Michal (dead King Saul’s daughter), is not at all pleased that David is raving in the streets in the nude with the servant’s maids, and lets David know about her displeasure.

And David and Michal use separate beds from there on out.

Do not dis the king.

Even if he's out dancing naked in public.

Nudity in public appears to have been quite commonplace.

As shown when one of the local women, Bathsheba, catches King David’s eye.  

David peeking in on Bathsheba

She is said to have been very beautiful.

Open air bathing was not prohibited in early Israel

In addition to being a fan of en plein air bathing. 

But as she is already married to Uriah the Hittite, things get a little complicated in David’s attempt to walk in the way of the LORD.

But that doesn’t stop David from impregnating Bathsheba while her husband is off fighting David’s wars.

Not sure that I hold Mr. David in that high of regard with that kind of behavior.

But, then again, I’m also not a big fan of today’s reality television.

And that’s what most of Second Samuel reads like.

So I reckon that it should be one of the more popular books of the Bible.

A modern depiction of Bathsheba

Nowadays, at least.

Anyway, instead of being content to break just two of the Ten Words (coveting a neighbor’s wife and adultery), David arguably manages to break one more (unlawful killing) when he instructs his trusty commander Joab to send the poor loyal Uriah to his certain death on the front lines at the siege of Rabbah.

David sending Uriah the Hittite down the river to Rabbah

The LORD then through a hypothetical question posed by Nathan tricks David into issuing an oath that leads to the death of his firstborn son with Bathseba.

You’d think that folks would be sensitive to the problems with making oaths by now. Remember the Chosen People in the wilderness, Jephthah and his daughter, and the Israelites' vow not to give their daughters in marriage to the Benjaminites?  See Are we there yet? and Losing their religion.

Think again.

David nevertheless consoles the grieving Bathsheba with some more sex, and a second son is born.

Who David names as Solomon (meaning “his replacement” --- a sure-fire way to create some insecurity and identity issues in a child from the get-go), but who Nathan names Jedidiah (meaning “Beloved of the LORD” --- which, as we will see, is ultimately going to be tough for the kid to live up to).

The House of David has more offspring through David’s multiple wives, including a son Absalom, his sister Tamar, and their brother Amnon.

Absalom and Tamar

But Amnon has “feelings” for his sister Tamar, who he seduces, rapes, and then leaves when the whole ickiness of the situation washes over him.

Amnon and Tamar 

And this leads to Absalom to kill Amnon, and then flee on the lam from his father’s wrath.

Absalom letting Amnon know you can't do that

Absalom picks up a following, and begins a revolt leading to a rift amongst the Chosen People, with those behind Absalom being called the Israelites and leaving only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin behind David.

David puts the revolting Israelites back in their place by opening up a big can of whup-ass, and the long-haired Absalom gets his wig hung up in a low-hanging tree, where Joab and his armor bearers make short work of the king’s son.

One reason there are crew-cuts in the military

Even with Absalom's "issues", he was kin, after all, and David still loved him.

And wept upon news of his death.

David weeping for the lost Absalom

After a further revolt by the Benjaminites is also suppressed, David has again unified the Chosen People and feels that it’s a good time to take a census.

But counting the number of the Chosen People offends God (who had already told David that his people will be as many as the sands of the sea, so he shouldn’t have been so presumptuous as to even try to count them), and David is given the option of three punishments for such a sin.

David picks the option that he is not to be delivered into human hands.

This may seem selfish, but the moral is if there's any atoning to be done, try to put as much as you can in God’s hands, because he might just change his mind.

As it turns out happens here.

The plague, Day One

So although a three day pestilence (plague) is the punishment David has selected to be visited upon the Chosen People, the LORD relents after one day and lifts the plague, thus saving Jerusalem.

And David sets up an altar and performs a sacrifice for the LORD’s thanksgiving in ending the plague.

And that is where the Temple will at that spot be built by David’s son Solomon.

Phew!

The Kardashian’s ain’t got nothing on Second Samuel.

King me

We last saw the Israelites sinking pretty low from deciding to go their own way.

It gets worse.

It gets so bad that even the ark of the covenant (see The Ten Words) is captured by their enemies as booty.

However, the ark acts pretty much like a bad penny to the foreigners who acquired it, and becomes much more trouble than its worth to them (with all the plagues and bad luck that seems to surround it), so it is shipped back to the Israelites who welcome it with open arms.

The ark of the covenant returns

And a rock is erected at the location where the ark returned.

Called the stone of help.

And that is what it means when you "raise your Ebenezer."

Anyway, the first book of Samuel concerns a prophet born to a woman who was having a difficult time getting pregnant.

Barren women and widows giving birth is a dead give-away that the offspring are bound to be involved in something important.

As it happens with Hannah, who although viewed initially as drunk and disorderly, is nevertheless blessed by the judge Eli (whose sons are breaking the rules and eating on the job) and bears Samuel.

Hannah, Eli, and the wee-lil' Samuel

Think about what happened with Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Samson's mother.

And remember that when we get to Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mom) in the New Testament.

After getting sick of going their own way (even the Levites, the sons of Eli, were on the make, taking the fat and meat from the sacrificial offerings to God for themselves), the Israelites decide it was a good idea to have a king appointed over them.

Samuel thinks that's not such a good idea, and tells them that having a human king to reign over them will be a mistake.

Because a human king will basically be an ungrateful leech on society, and will do nothing other than tax and work the people into a pitiable and sorry state.

(Your humble reader's note: Some things never change, do they?)

Anyway, the people don't listen to Samuel, because they're determined to have a king over them.

And God, just somewhat tiffed for being rejected once again by the Israelites, tells Samuel to give the people what they want.

And Saul, the tall and handsome young Benjaminite (the least of the people of Israel, due to all of that hullabaloo with the wayfaring Levite's concubine) is thus annointed as king.

Samuel annoints Saul

Which is where the term to "stand head and sholders over the rest" comes from.

Saul starts out pretty well as a king, and ironically saves the people of the city of Jabesh-gilead.

Ironic, as this is the city that was subjected to herem in order to provide wives for the surviving Benjaminites.  See Losing their religion.

But Saul starts to waiver a bit from the direct path called out by God, and doesn't really fulfill the herem ("utter destruction") called for by God against the Amalekites, and not only spares King Agag, but also keeps the best livestock and all that was valuable.

We've seen that mistake to take devoted things before.  Remember Achan?  See Bloodbath in the Promised Land.

This causes God to look for another to serve as king.

Who turns out to be the youngest son of Jesse.

The sheperd called David.

At the beginning of the relationship, David gets along famously with Saul.  By playing the lyre, David soothes the tormented Saul who is visited by evil spirits sent by God.

Saul also enjoys the success of David in combat.

After all, David is pretty good at chucking rocks.

David and what's left of Goliath

But the relationship sours when the people start favoring David and his abilities, and devolves into a spear dodging contest when Saul grows concerned that David will replace him as the annointed.

Lancing the lyrist

So David goes on the lam hoping things will work themselves out, and actually switches sides to help out the Philistines.

David bailing out of Dodge

Which is also ironic, since David had whupped up on the Philistine Goliath with his sling-shot to prevail in an earlier conflict in the valley of Elah.

Things go from bad to worse for poor old Saul and, since the power of God has left him, he eventually reverts to sorcery and witchcraft for guidance in his final battle.

Saul, the witch of Endor, and the ghost of Samuel

A bad thing, since such behavior is subject to the penalty of death.

Which is what befalls Saul, who takes his own life while being overrun by the Philistines.

The death of Saul

His body is subsequently retrieved and buried by the people of Jabesh-gilead.

The retieval of the dead king Saul's body by the Jabesh-gileadites

Which, again, are the people that Saul saved, even though that city had been subjected to "utter destruction" in order to find wives for the Benjaminites during the time of judges.

Funny how the circle keeps coming back on itself.

Doing the right thing

It’s about time.

Not that the read so far has been unpleasant.

But a breath of fresh air is refreshing.

And that is what the book of Ruth is.

Occurring during the transition between the time of judges and the time of kings.

The story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.

A bittersweet tale about ordinary people.



Naomi and Ruth

Under pressure.

Acting the way humans should.

And it works out.

Ruth is a story of hope, understanding, loyalty, and perseverance.

Honoring traditional family values that count.

Traditional family values like being generous.

Treating others as equals.

Even if they are widows.

Or foreigners.

Or both.

Which Ruth was.

Providing for the support of those in need.

And how harmless rituals, like “passing the sandal” (I told you it would be something important to remember; see Once more with feeling), can provide a valuable connection to who one is.

Stability.

Consistency.

Roots.

And how love can prevail.

Even in the time of turmoil.

Basic truths of doing the right thing.

Think about it.

The circumstances depicted in Ruth are set nearing the end of the time of judges.

The time of civil war amongst the Israelites.

An ugly, brutal, senseless war.  See Losing their religion.

When the people did what was right in their own eyes.

Yet yearned for someone or something to lead them to a better way.

A better way of living.

And even though the society around them seems to be falling apart, humans can still engage in acts of kindness.

Acts of service.

Acts of goodwill toward others.

Acts of love.

Boaz and Ruth

I like the book of Ruth.

Not because it’s short.

But because it’s to the point.

And it’s what can happen on earth.

When and if people choose to do the right thing.

Which is to love one another.

Anyway, if you’ve been following along, discussing Ruth at this point reveals that I’m reading what is commonly referred to as the “Christian” bible, as it is included within the “Historical” books, instead of the Rabbinic tradition to include it later in the Poetical and Wisdom books.

And, as a Christian, the conclusion of Ruth provides insight that will tie in some important things to consider occurring later in the work.

Such as tracing the lineage.

The roots of the stump of Jesse. 

From Tamar, the widow who posed as a temple prostitute to obtain her promised family in Genesis.  See In the beginning.

To Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute from Jericho who assisted the Israelites spies in the conquest of the Promised Land in Joshua.  See Bloodbath in the Promised Land.

Who was the mother of Boaz.

The husband of Ruth, the Moabite widow.

The mother of Obed.

Which means servant.

The father of Jesse, and the grandfather of David.

One of the first kings of Israel.

Ancestor to another.

The King of kings.

But that’s getting way, way ahead of the story.

Now back to the end of the time of judges.

And on to the histories of the earthly kings of Israel.