Spiritual and Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach; JOSHUA, JUDGES, SAMUEL, KINGS (Nevi’im Rishonim)
by Dr. Meir Tamari

These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical.

The Slow Slide to Destruction and Exile
After 3 generations of kings who walked in the way of Hashem, albeit not as David Hamelech did, there arose a king, Achaz, who began the descent of the Kingdom of Judah on the slippery slope that was to finally end in the destruction of that state and to exile from the Holy Land. In the Northern Kingdom of Israel that process had started long before and therefore their fate, although a similar one of exile, was accordingly to come earlier than in Judah. In the reigns of Ahaz’s grandfather Uzziyahu and of Yeravam the Second of Israel, HaShem sent His prophets to warn His People of their sins and the punishment thereof, although that, because of G-d’s mercy, was to delayed for over two centuries. These were prophets like Isaiah who, unlike their predecessors Natan, Gad, Eliyahu and Elisha, left eternal written words for all generations to come. In Uzziyahu and Yeravam’s time, HaShem told Hoshea to name his daughter “Lo Ruchamaha, for I will have no more compassion upon the House of Israel [and his son] Lo Ami for you are not My People and I will not be yours” (1:6-9).

The text tells us that Ahaz, did evil like the kings of Israel but it seems that he went further than any of them and his reign introduced new dimensions to their evil. For the first time we read of the practice of passing the first born through fire to Molech. Commentators are divided as to whether this consisted merely of passing the child over a huge and powerful fire in the belly of the iron statute or actually burning a human sacrifice. Ahaz tried to sacrifice both his sons [2 Chronicles 28:3); it seems that Hezekiah was saved by his mother, so that Ahaz only succeeded to do so with one of his other sons (Sanhedrin 63b). In time,‘Gei Hinom’, the valley between Abu Tor and Har Zion, was infamous for this abominable practice and thus came to lend a Hebrew name to Hell.

As though that was not enough, Ahaz greatly changed the scope and the nature of idol worship, as practiced till then both in Judah itself and in the Northern Kingdom. Yeravam ben Nevat originated the first step to idolatry after the period of Samuel, David and Shlomo, with the setting up of Golden Calves at Dan and at Bethel.However, the intention was to prevent citizens of the new separate kingdom from going to the Temple in the Davidic dynasty’s capital of Yerushalayim. Even Achav, with his establishment of Baal and Astarte as a sort of state religion, did not seek to reject HaShem but rather wanted Israel to worship them in conjunction with HaShem. True, Amazia of Judah had worshiped the idols of Edom; however, this was only to atone before the Edomites for his callous massacre of 10,000 Edomites. Ahaz, however, seemed determined to supplant the worship of the Lord with the organized and public ritual of idolatry in the Temple.

Even the historical story depicting the introduction of the idolatry by Ahaz, demonstrates its changed nature and purpose.

Pekah, king of Israel, conspired with Rezin, king of Aram, to wage a successful war against Ahaz, yet they were unable to capture Yerushalayim and destroy the Davidic dynasty, owing to his zechut avot (Isaiah 7:2; Rashi on verse 1). This was not the first of inter-fratricide war between the two Jewish states, but here too,Ahaz showed originality. He bribed Tiglath-pileser of Assyria to attack Aram and Shomron. The Assyrian king defeated Aram and removed them from world history by exiling them to a distant province of Assyria, as prophesied by Amos (1:5). Tiglath-pileser, like others in our long history, was not of real assistance, since although he destroyed Aram he failed to return the coastal cities that the Philistines had captured and in the end attacked Judah, whom he had come to save. Later, the ten Tribes of Israel were attacked by the son of that Assyrian king, Shomron was destroyed and the vast majority of its people exiled to a distant province in present day Iran, about 5 days travel from Baghdad. Various non-Jewish peoples [later collectively known as Shomronim; remnants still live in Shechem] were brought in their place. They partially converted to Judaism out of their fear of the wild animals sent by HaShem to plague them. Such transfers of populations, was part of the Assyrian political policy, to ensure the pacification of the conquered territories.

All this was expressed in the new altar and the changes Ahaz made in the Beit HaMikdash.

Perhaps Uriah, in building the altar acted either out of fear of the king or in the misguided assumption that Ahaz intended merely to offer additional thanks offering for the deliverance from Aram and from Israel. More likely, Ahaz had simply deposed Azaria HaKohen who had opposed Uzziyahu when the latter entered the Mikdash to offer the incense, and replaced him with the more pliable Uriah (Metzudat David). The new altar was placed closer to the Temple than the copper altar erected by Shlomo, since that could not be moved without its destruction (Radak). Alternatively, Ahaz simply moved the copper sea [laver] to a site where it would not come between the Mikdash and his new altar (Rashi, Sanhedrin 103b). Be that as it may, Ahaz made his altar larger than Shlomo’s in order to eclipse it, altered the divinely inspired plan of the Temple in various ways, extinguished the lights of the Menora and built altars on every street corner in Yerushalayim. He also destroyed the Shabbat canopy, used by the priests and their families.

The new order of divine worship, reflecting the whims of Ahaz, was not lost on the people of Judah. Like their counterparts in the Northern Kingdom, they then “followed the statutes of the nations… they imputed things that were not true to the Lord, their G-d… they set up pillars [altars] and Asherim on every high hill and under every leafy tree… and passed their sons and daughters through fire… and did evil things to anger the Lord” (Melachim Bet 17:8-17).

Since there is no Divine punishment without warning, Isaiah, Hoshea and Amos now foretold of the impending destruction of both kingdoms; the slippery slope had begun.

This is the 55th installment in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times”

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