Ancient Israel : Memorable Battles in Jewish History

SHILOH (not Jerusalem) was at one time the focal point of Israel's worship, where both the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant resided. 

Shiloh (biblical city) By Abraham Sobkowski OFM - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The Jews took the Ark from Shiloh to Kiriath-Jearim to the battlefield because they thought it would being them victory. They were wrong! They lost the Battle to the Philistines. It was a slaughter!! The enemy took the Ark as a spoil of war. But it was not the kind of trophy they would be allowed to show off with. There were plagues in every Philistine city where the Ark was taken. In the end, they gave it back to the Jews.  


Where is the Ark NOW?? The Jews don't even know!!!  


What's that? It's in Ethiopia?


Yeah right. And the Chinese invented the fortune cookie.


As if ... any God-fearing Jew on the planet would let the Ark - if it really were there - remain in Ethiopia.
   

References: Ancient Jewish History: The Ark of the Convenant and the Book of Samuel

- INTERESTING HISTORY NOTE:  During the American Civil War, the Union Army under the leadership of Ulysses Grant, achieved a victory at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862). But that's another battle. :)

Statue-Ark Of The Covenant w/Priests-Gold/Silv-SML

Women of the Bible: Tamar - The Noble Harlot

In the History of the Jews, Tamar was a dutiful widow who played the harlot.  The genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew mentions five women. One of them is Tamar.

* * *

(Image credit: Gelder, Aert de - Tamar and Judah; Public Domain)

Tamar (alternately spelled Thamar) was the wife of Er, the firstborn of Judah, who was the fourth son of Jacob. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Jacob fathered twelve sons who became the twelve tribes which comprise the nation of Israel. Er died and according to the Law of Moses regarding marriage, a man was required to marry the widow of his brother, if the brother dies with no male heir. (Note 1) This was to be done to preserve the name and estate of the deceased. Therefore, Onan, Ers brother married Tamar. But Onan also died. 

Judah, the father-in-law had a third son, Shelah. At the time of Onans death, Shelah was too young to marry. Being fully aware of the law and its requirements, Judah promised Tamar that when Shelah was old enough, he would give her to him in marriage. But when the time came, Judah did not honor his word and obey the law. In desperation to conceive a son who would preserve her late husbands name and estate, Tamar disguised herself as a harlot (a prostitute) and offered her services to Judah. She became pregnant with twin sons. Months later, when Judah was informed of Tamars pregnancy, he demanded that she brought out publicly and put to death; the penalty for whoredom. IT WAS THE LAW!!! 

When Tamar proved that Judah, her father-in-law, was the father of her unborn, Judah publicly acknowledged his own guilt. Because he had not allowed Shelah to marry Tamar, he was the outlaw. Tamar was fully vindicated. She had obeyed the law and was judged as not having committed any act deserving of punishment; particularly punishment by death. Tamar was acknowledged as being righteous, because she was determined to preserve her late husbands family line. The names of the twin sons were Perez (or Phares) and Zerah (or Zara) recorded in the Gospel of Matthew as follows: And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar (Matt 1: 3) 

Tamar understood her duty, and she also knew her rights and the rights of the dead. The scriptures do not indicate that she conspired or consulted with anyone for advice. She determined what needed to be done in order to right a wrong and had the courage to follow through. 

Note 1: Among the Hebrews marriage with a brother's widow was forbidden as a general rule (Lev. xviii. 16, xx. 21), but was regarded as obligatory (Deut. xxv. 56) when there was no male issue, and when the two brothers had been dwelling on the same family. 


References:

• The scriptural references provided can be used to piece together Tamar's real life story. GEN 38: 6, 24; RUTH 4: 12; 1 CHRON 2: 4; MATT 1: 3

• "Seekers of the Promised Land." Great People of the Bible and How They Lived. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 1974.

• Youngblood, Ronald F., F. F. Bruce, and R. K. Harrison. Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1995. 

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Genealogy has been and always will be a topic of interest to human beings. We are all curious about our beginnings or origins. These days some even pay for expensive DNA tests to see if they can determine their ancestry. Others comb through paper documents, computerized records, etc. and/or combine the findings of the research of historical records with the scientific test results to confirm their lineage. Some people search the scriptures.

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We know the Hebrew patriarch Abraham had many sons and that God promised him that his descendants would be innumerable.  One of his sons was Ishmael born to him by Hagar, the Egyptian slave, who served as a surrogate mother for Sarah, his wife.  

The Ishmaelites were, are, or should be the descendants of Ishmael. For genealogy purposes, this matter seems pretty cut and dry. But who are the true Ishmaelites? 

Find the answer to this question at:

• Modern Day Arabs and Their Father Abraham

How Many Sons Did Abraham, the Patriarch Have?
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● #Genealogy: Modern Day #Arabs and Their #FatherAbraham https://t.co/7IjrJn8jm8 #historyofIsrael #Jewishhistory #seedofAbraham #Biblestudy

— Treathyl Fox (aka cmoneyspinner) ~ Freelancer (@cmoneyspinner) April 13, 2020