Tag Archives: etz

Bible 911 – Judges

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Judges 9:11 But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? (KJV)

Judges 9:11 is part of a parable, proverb, or fable (it depends on who you read) told by a son of Gideon. The story is a prophecy/curse over the people of Shechem for killing his brothers. The drama in Judges 9 is an extension of Gideon’s life. Not everything he did was right or righteous. Yes, he had faith to free and judge Israel, for that he is mentioned in Hebrews 11.

Gideon

Judges 9 is part of Gideon’s legacy. We are taught about his faith for the fleeces and the three-hundred lights and horns; these are what we remember. The gold statue with forty years of its adoration and the seventy sons do not make Sunday School lesson plans. The ugly soap opera drama in Chapter 9 is one huge showcase of fallen humanity and really hits at how far from God Israel was at that time. Yes, the Mercy Seat was just a few miles south in Shiloh.

Gideon is descendent from Manasseh, Jospeh’s oldest son. As a tribe they had the most land because they got portions on both sides of the Jordan. We are not sure where Ophrah, his hometown, was, but he called for help from the tribes of the north that were west of the Jordan.

His initial excuses in Judges 6 had the ringing of Moses when he was first called. He claimed to be the weakest and the least, but was he? No matter how he started by the end of his life he had many wives and seventy sons and a lot of gold. When Chapter 9 ends, he had one living heir, who was in hiding.

This is not the Manasseh in 2 Kings 21. This “most wicked” king was the son of Hezekiah, one of the best kings of Israel. (Interesting name associations. Genesis 41:51)

Abimelech

He was a violent, greedy man. Please, do not blame it on his mother’s status as a concubine. Half of Jacob’s sons came from concubines. https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4585-concubinage There is no indication that Jether or any of his brothers caused a problem.

In 9:2 he claims something that is a little unusual, he identifies with his mother’s family while using his father’s legacy. Similarly, King Saul and Jonathan’s connection to Gilead and Lo Debar are probably from his grandmother’s family roots in that area (Judges 21). The mothers of Israel were and are important.

The word Abimelech is more of a title than a name, not bad for the son of a concubine. Abimelech | The amazing name Abimelech: meaning and etymology

Shechem

The town and its surrounding mountains are a foundation stone in the history of Israel. It starts with the sordid tale of the raping of the virgin daughter of Israel. It continues to the Blessings and Curses in Joshua. In the New Testament we find Jesus talking to the woman at its well and John and Peter praying for the people to receive the Holy Spirit in the same region.  Shechem is a Hebrew word that means “shoulder” or “the seat of a person’s interests”1 2.

Back to Judges 9:11

You know it is fun looking at something that happened several thousand years ago and talking about it with absolute certainty. Imagine the millions of times this account has been read and studied; now we have on-line Bible commentaries to tell us everything. Before you read the fruits of my studies, stop and think about Jotham for a minute. Now, this is the Jotham in Judges; the other Jotham is a grandson of David and in the family-line of Jesus.

Jotham’s name means Yahweh is perfect.

Abimelech had sacrificed his brothers on one stone. Apparently, he did not count well because he missed one. It is not mentioned, but I cannot imagine that just the brothers were killed. Townspeople and family members almost certainly died as well or were taken as slaves. Coups back then aimed at cleaning house with no one left to claim or complain. Jotham went from “riding high” to “hiding in a hole”. So, to brave it up and tell a story, then pronounce a curse against two towns speaks volumes about this young man.

Location, location, location is important here, well at least symbolically. Jotham climbs up Mt. Gerizim where his ancestors stood in the time of Joshua to pronounce the blessings from Deuteronomy 28. He was speaking to people (Manasseh) who were not on his mount; they probably were on the mount of the curses or in the valley surrounding a “great tree” (9:6).

Etz or plants that have a woody stem now takes center stage. I see our perfect God reusing four etz in this story that are mentioned (my opinion) when Adam and Eve betrayed God. There were other trees in Israel and the surrounding nations that could have been used: oaks, cedars, palms, pomegranates are just a few. The olive, fig, and grape all have edible fruit (or products) that were/are important in the daily lives of the people. Thorns, like grapes, have a “woody” stem, but its main product and fame was an unproductive growth that was great for burning and hurting. The olive, fig, and grape knew they would have to give up something to rule, and they felt that it was not worth it. The thorn did not have to give up anything.

In 9:11 the fig did not want to give up its good fruit that was so sweet. Fig may be smug, but it was not wrong; none of the trees were. The natural importance of figs and the other etz make them ripe to be used in spiritual lessons. The fig is associated with religious works because of its debut in the Garden to hide the shame of sin from the eyes of God. Figs are mentioned several times in Numbers and Deuteronomy; the people use them for complaining and God uses them as part of the promise in the new land. Matthew has Jesus referring to them in the Sermon on the Mount and then using them twice in connection to the Sermons on Two Mounts. The last reference to figs is in Revelations when the sixth seal is broken, and they fall off of the tree because of fierce winds. My suggestion – STUDY. I saw and learned things in this study that I had not seen before.

Well, it is time to check my inner Sadducee, step over my Pharisee limitations, and quell my Zealot tendencies and rethink fig. The fig was good (tov) like everything God made in the Garden. It became the second tree (etz) that Adam and Eve tainted. They worked it into a covering to shield them from a righteous God. (Not the work they were made to do.) The Father made a sacrifice and gave them new “skins”. Many references with fig have a negative side, especially if you want to be grumpy, but the fig tree helped Zacchaeus to see Jesus. I will keep the thought of the fig and its tree representing works and remember there are religious works and works of righteousness.

Does Jotham’s parable have more than one layer? I am sure it does. Abimelech and the townspeople probably thought about it and asked questions for several years. Then reality and its truth grew thorns, stuck them, and blossomed into open hostility. Think about what groups or thoughts the four etz may represent.

These are some references that may help you study.

  1. Olives the oil honors gods and men; oil Strong’s Hebrew: 1880. דָּ֫שֶׁן (deshen) — fatness, ashes of fat, honor Strong’s Hebrew: 3513. כָּבַד (kabad or kabed) — to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome   give up oil not fruit
  2. Figs good and sweet; sweetness Strong’s Hebrew: 4987. מֹ֫תֶק (motheq) — sweetness, good Strong’s Hebrew: 2896. טוֹב (towb) — beautiful, fruit Strong’s Hebrew: 8570. תְּנוּבָה (tenubah) — fruit, produce
  3. Grapes cheer gods and men; new wine Strong’s Hebrew: 8492. תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh) — must, fresh or new wine, rejoice Strong’s Hebrew: 8055. שָׂמַח (samach) — rejoice, be glad
  4. Thorn – get low (humble yourself) and come under my shade Strong’s Hebrew: 6738. צֵל (tsel) — a shadow

Do not leave these out of your quiet time reading, they may be appealing.  

Strong’s Hebrew: 5128. נ֫וּעַ (nua) — to quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter

Strong’s Hebrew: 6086. עֵץ (ets) — tree, trees, wood

When I branched out from Judges 9:11 I found these and thought they were interesting.

Rabbi Meir 

Forbidden fruit – Wikipedia This one is wild and has many “different” ideas.

Judges is history. In the accounts are natural and supernatural deeds and lessons, some have been okayed for Sunday School and others would require too much explaining. Four Judges are mentioned by name in Hebrews 11 and not all of those are children’s stories. It is very easy to pick and pull at them, like Chapter 9, and miss the real hero in the Book – Father God. He had a plan and a purpose, but His people had other ideas. Take your focus off of the Judges and find what God did in them and through them to carry Israel. Father wanted a righteous relationship with them just as He wants one with us now.

The Cross

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This study about the Cross started simply enough, I mean it is a central object in my faith, so of course I knew all about it. Types and shadows and many illustrations from sermons should qualify me as knowledgeable. Well, I was not as good as I thought. I will focus on the wooden implement and not the religious and doctrinal aspects of the cross.

This needs to be said. Jesus was betrayed and condemned by the religious leaders of His day (the Sanhedrin). The political rulers punished Jesus with a beating and allowed Him to be mocked. He was then sentenced to death by hanging on the cross (Rome did this to non-Romains). He had to carry His cross out of the city and be nailed to it and hung on it. He did this for me.

Old Testament Examples

  • Genesis 40:19 – Pharoah was going to kill his servant and hang him on a pole.
  • Joshua 8:29 – The king of Ai was put on a tree and left until the end of the day. He was removed because of Deuteronomy 21:23. A person hung on a tree was under a curse and had to be buried so as not to defile the land.
  • Ezra 6:11 – This is King Darius agreeing with King Cyrus about pulling a beam from the house of anyone that changes the decree to build the Temple of God and have them impaled on it.
  • Esther 5:14 – A hanging tree is a good rendering of gallows. I believe the seventy-five-foot height was more about making a statement than torturing or killing the man.

I have read that these hangings and impaling were for public display of the body after they had been killed and not for the actual killing as the Romains did to Jesus.

A Lot of Words

Atzei, etz, nace, bad, xylon, and stauros are Hebrew and Greek words that deal with wooden things in the Bible.

Genesis 22:6 is the wood (atzei) for the sacrifice being carried by Isaac to Mount Moriah. This word is related to etz, #H6086 in the Strong’s. Etz is a tree or wood and is first used for the trees in the Garden and is the main word for a tree or wood in the Scriptures. The picture of Isaac is a type of Jesus carrying the Cross to the place of sacrifice.

Exodus 15:25 is Hashem showing Moses a “piece of etz” to throw into a pool to make it drinkable. Yes, there are many legends about that etz, none of which can be confirmed in Scripture. I will agree it is a picture of Jesus. I have heard good sermons describing it as a type of the Cross, so I will leave this one up to you. Be a Berean and study this one out.

Exodus 25:14 is part of the instructions for building the Ark and the Tabernacle. The two poles that were part of the Ark and used to carry it are called staves (KJV) or poles. The word here is bad #H905 and it refers to a “branch of a tree”. Since they are part of the Ark, I do not think they represent the Cross, but the Holy Spirit.   

Numbers 21:9 definitely is a picture of Jesus on the Cross. This is the story of the brass serpent on a pole. The word nace #H5251 is frequently used for a military standard or banner, or a flag or sail. The idea of a standard really would be a picture of a crosspiece on the Cross.

In the New Testament, the word for cross is stauros. (Please see the websites listed below.) From historical sources, it is described as a pole with no crosspiece of any kind. Wow, that would mess up a lot of great sermons.

Yes, I started looking for early Christian art that depicted the Passion. There really is not that much early art that shows a cross (1st to 3rd century). The Restless Pilgrim post is graffiti that is mocking someone that worshipped Jesus, but it does show a human figure on a cross with a crosspiece and a footrest. The other picture was a royal seal of Emperor Constantine. He had a traditional Christian cross on it (It was in a movie about Rome) and it was made in the late 300’s before his death. I have also heard that when the early Christians “lifted holy hands” they were making themselves into the shape of the Cross.

Paul in Galatians

Galatians 3:13 restates Deuteronomy 21:23 which says if you are hung on a tree/pole (xylon) you are cursed. But in 6:14 he will only boast in the cross (stauros) of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Tree in the Garden, it carried a good and a bad message.

My thoughts-I believe the Romains took torture to a whole new level with their use of the cross. So, it does not really matter if Jesus’ hands were straight up or splayed out on a crosspiece, they made sure it was horrible. (I do think there was a crosspiece.)

Could a Greek word (stauros) have been “recycled” for a Romain device? Americans do it all the time. That would have allowed for the upright to stay in the ground and the condemned just to carry the crosspiece.

That Romain cross, like a tree, was planted in the ground and held Jesus between Heaven and Earth. He was nailed to that wood, and it became my Tree of Life. The Cross held the most important piece of fruit to ever hang from a tree; make sure you are found in Him.

What’s the earliest depiction of the crucifixion? – Restless Pilgrim

Stauros – Wikipedia

σταυρός | billmounce.com

The Garden and Grapes

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This study of The Garden and Grapes could have been The Fruit Eve and Adam Ate. Now before I lose some of you, it needs to be said that God, in His wisdom, did not tell us the type of fruit on the Tree of Knowledge. Declaring that grapes could be a possibility is a big “What If” and that is fine with me. 

Now, the next sticky point is that the Bible says tree and not vine. The actual word in Biblical Hebrew is etz. This word has two means – tree and wood. So, in Ezekiel 15:2,6 and Numbers 6:4 when it is translated into the phrase called a vine tree, it started me on this study. Most vines do not take a freestanding form of a tree. But I have seen some vines that are kept small actually act like a tree. You will not make a chair or tool handle out of that wood, but they can stand up and look like a tree (small tree). (We had a freestanding wisteria vine that was under six-foot-tall with a single main trunk and an umbrella-shaped top.)

 https://www.balashon.com/2007/01/etz-and-ilan.html is a website that does a good job with the word etz. 

I would usually argue that the tree Eve ate from was a fig tree. Fig trees in scripture can be a shadow for dead religious works, practices, and churches. That idea is simple to grab a hold of because Adam and Eve grabbed fig leaves and sewed them together to hide from God. Jesus during Holy Week symbolically put an end to “fig tree religion” when He cursed one because of no fruit. He then became “the true Vine” with Gentiles grafted into Him. THINKING OUT LOUD MOMENT – What if the Tree of Life was/is a “true” fig tree!

Grapes, grapevines, wine, winepresses, and raisins all are mentioned in the Bible. Just like the Tree in the Garden, these items can carry a “Good and Evil” label or function. Wine is good in some context and a troublemaker in others, just like the knowledge the tree gave Eve and Adam. It is this dual nature that makes me lean in the favor of grapes as “the fruit” in the Garden. Numbers 6:3 contains the requirements for a Nazirite while he is seeking God (John the Baptist was one for life Luke 1:15.) Why grapes? The plant is a symbol of the kingdom and grapes/raisins are good for the body. Wine can “gladden man’s heart” but too much wine can lead to debauchery. My simple thought is that God wanted them to focus on HIM for the time they were seeking God. Hearing God and not the many voices around you for a season is good. After that time, they then could enjoy “grapes” again.

A Sample of Grape Verses

There are many verses in the Bible about grapes, wine, and raisins. So, the ones I am about to use are just a sample that shows the good/evil nature.

Deuteronomy 32: 32+33 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter (KJV). These verses are talking about Jeshurun (the upright one), which is another name for Israel.

Hosea 9:10a (KJV) I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at her first time. Part B is the other story – but they went to Baal Peor and separated themselves unto that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved. The section that proceeds this is comparing Israel (northern kingdom) to Gibeah, the town in Benjamin that raped the Levite’s wife. King Saul was from Gibeah. 

Isaiah 5:4 (NIV) What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

Luke 5:38+39 (NIV) is the story of new wine into new wineskins. New wine is the Spirit of God and His fresh anointing. Verse 39 – And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, The old is better. Sticking with the idea of good/evil and new/old, the old knowledge is “just better”.

Mark 12:1 is the parable about the kingdom and Jesus, as told using a vineyard and renters.

John 2:1 is the first of the seven major miracles in John (there are many more). Jesus is at a wedding, creating a “need” from the fruit of the vine in stone/earthen jars, and the very next story is a Passover. How much more symbolism does one story.

May I please try to pull my scattered thoughts in and end this study? Grapes, like knowledge, are not the problem. What you do with the grapes/knowledge defines them as good or evil. 

If the “tree” is a stumbling root, doing something useful with a vine tree’s wood will fall into that good/bad area. If you need a strong solid piece of wood, it is not coming from a vine. They are good for fuel for a fire, wreaths for your door, or tying bundles of sticks together. Swinging out of a tree is a good use, as well. Some days knowledge is like that wood. It will burn you up, make a pretty wall hanging, actually bring things/thoughts together, or have you flying around in the air going nowhere and just leave you hanging.

Final thought – Adam and Eve would have gotten “everything” they needed if they would have eaten from the Tree of Life.