The power of temptation-Seductive women in the Bible- Part 1

Posted by Eli Dahan on May 14, 2009 under Bible, Biblical Hebrew, Gender | Be the First to Comment

Eve

Eve was the first woman created by God and the first seductive woman in the Bible. According to Genesis 3,she allured Adam to taste the forbidden fruit of the Tree Of Knowledge and as a result ,both of them were expelled from Garden Of Eden.

Tamar

Tamar was the wife of Er, the son of Judah. Er died and Tamar was left childless. Tamar wanted children and demanded to have sexual intercourse with Er’s brother Onan. In ancient times this was a reasonable request as we can learn from Deuteronomy 25;5:

 

“כִּי-יֵשְׁבוּ אַחִים יַחְדָּו, וּמֵת אַחַד מֵהֶם וּבֵן אֵין-לוֹ–לֹא-תִהְיֶה אֵשֶׁת-הַמֵּת הַחוּצָה, לְאִישׁ זָר: 

 יְבָמָהּ יָבֹא עָלֶיהָ, וּלְקָחָהּ לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וְיִבְּמָה“

“If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her”

This was a Levirate Law called “Yibbum”( levirate marriage).When Onan also died Tamar didn’t give up and wanted to marry the youngest brother Shelah. However, Juda, that both of his sons have died, refused.Tamar, who was very assertive and smart woman, came out with a plan to seduce Juda. By dressing as a harlot she lured Judah ,conceived and gave birth to two sons.

Potiphar’s wife

Also in Gensis (chapter 39), we can find the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt .He became the slave of Potiphar, who was One of Pharaoh’s officers and the chief steward.Pothifer had a beautiful wife , that according to Muslim tradition, named Zelicha.She fell in love with Joseph – to the point of obsession.Joseph was known for his good look as , mentioned in Gensis 39;6:

וַיְהִי יוֹסֵף, יְפֵה-תֹאַר וִיפֵה מַרְאֶה ““

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome “

Zelicha tried to seduce Joseph to sleep with her. Joseph , who was loyal to Potiphar, refused. One day ,when they were alone in the house, she went into his room.Joseph was naked, and ran out of the room, leaving his clothing behind.Zelicha didn’t appraised the fact that Joseph rejected her again . She Grabbed his cloths ,called the guards and claimed that Joseph tried to rape her.

to be continued………..

main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Hebrew	Transcription	Translation
יוֹסֵף	yōsēp	Joseph
יִבּוּם	yibbûm	levirate marriage
בְּרֵאשִׁית	bərēšît	Genesis
אִשָּׁה	iššāh’	wife
תָּמָר	tāmār	Tamar
גַּן עֵדֶן	Gan ēden	Garden Of Eden

 

Eli@eteachergroup.com

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The City of Bethel

Posted by Naama Baumgarten on March 9, 2008 under Historical Geography | Be the First to Comment

The city of Bethel is located north of Jerusalem and is identified as what is now the Arab village Bitan. It is first mentioned as a place near which Abraham first settled when arriving in Canaan, and is mentioned throughout Israelite history in the Bible. The archaeological findings date as far back as the 21^st century BCE.

According to the Book of Genesis, Bethel, literally “The House of God,” which was originally named Luz, was thus named by the Patriarch Jacob. It was there that Jacob, when sleeping on the road after escaping from his brother, Esau, saw a vision of a ladder reaching up into the heavens and angels ascending and descending on it. It was during this vision that he was promised the land of Israel for his descendants, and he proceeded to make a vow to God: “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going . . . so that I return to my father’s house in peace, then YHWH shall be my God” (Genesis 28:20-21).

Later in the History of Israel, the city was conquered by Joshua and became part of the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. Bethel was a major city in the times of the Judges and of the prophet Samuel, and an important place of worship. Bethel gained a special status upon the division of the United Kingdom in the days of Jeroboam, and was one of the two major places of worship where the golden calves were placed (along with the northern city of Dan).

Bethel was not destructed during the Assyrian attack against the Israelite kingdom, but it was conquered by the Judean king Josiah, who destroyed the cultic center as part of his religious reformation (circa 622 BCE).

Bethel was resettled after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile and thrived throughout the Second Temple Period, and was probably still sparsely populated until the Byzantine period.
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