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Judges 17

Micah and the Levite.

1There was a man from the mountain region of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

2^* He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you pronounced a curse and even said it in my hearing—I have that silver. I took it. So now I will restore it to you.” Then his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the LORD!”

3When he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she said, “I consecrate the silver to the LORD from my own hand on behalf of my son to make an idol overlaid with silver.”^{* a}

4So when he restored the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them an idol overlaid with silver. So it remained in the house of Micah.

5The man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim,^{* b} and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.^c

6^* In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.^d

7There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite residing there.^e

8The man set out from the city, Bethlehem of Judah, to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his journey he came into the mountain region of Ephraim as far as the house of Micah.

9“Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He answered him, “I am a Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to take up residence wherever I can find a place.”

10“Stay with me,” Micah said to him. “Be father and priest to me,^f and I will give you ten silver pieces a year, a set of garments, and your living.” He pressed the Levite,

11and he agreed to stay with the man. The young man became like one of his own sons.

12^* Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, remaining in the house of Micah.

13Then Micah said, “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, since I have the Levite as my priest.”

Judges 18

Migration of the Danites.

1In those days there was no king in Israel.^a In those days the tribe of the Danites were in search of a heritage to dwell in, for up to that time no heritage had been allotted^* to them among the tribes of Israel.^b

2So the Danites sent from their clans five powerful men of Zorah and Eshtaol, to reconnoiter the land and scout it. “Go, scout the land,” they were told. They went into the mountain region of Ephraim, and they spent the night there.

3While they were near the house of Micah,^c they recognized the voice^* of the young Levite,^d so they turned aside. They asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is your interest here?”

4“This is what Micah has done for me,” he replied to them. “He has hired me and I have become his priest.”^e

5They said to him, “Consult God, that we may know whether the journey we are making will lead to success.”^f

6The priest said to them, “Go in peace! The journey you are making is under the eye of the LORD.”

7So the five men went on and came to Laish. They saw the people there living securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting, with no lack of any natural resource. They were distant from the Sidonians and had no dealings with the Arameans.^*

8When the five returned to their kin in Zorah and Eshtaol, they were asked, “What do you have to report?”

9They replied, “Come, let us attack them, for we have seen the land and it is very good. Are you going to hesitate? Do not be slow to go in and take possession of the land!

10When you go you will come to a trusting people. The land stretches out in both directions, and God has indeed given it into your power—a place where no natural resource is lacking.”^g

11So six hundred of the clan of the Danites, men armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol.

12They marched up into Judah and encamped near Kiriath-jearim; for this reason the place is called Mahaneh-dan^* to this day (it lies west of Kiriath-jearim).^h

13From there they passed on into the mountain region of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.

14Then the five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land spoke up and said to their kindred, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, teraphim, and an idol overlaid with silver?ⁱ Now decide what you must do!”

15So turning in that direction, they went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him.

16The six hundred Danites stationed themselves at the entrance of the gate armed with weapons of war.

17The five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land went up

18and entered the house of Micah with the priest standing there. They took the idol, the ephod, the teraphim and the metal image. When the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

19they said to him, “Be still! Put your hand over your mouth! Come with us and be our father and priest.^j Is it better for you to be priest for the family of one man or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?”

20The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, the teraphim, and the idol, and went along with the troops.

21As they turned to depart, they placed their little ones, their livestock, and their goods at the head of the column.

22^k When the Danites had gone some distance from the house of Micah, Micah and the men in the houses nearby mustered and overtook them.

23They called to the Danites, who turned and said to Micah, “What do you want that you have called this muster?”

24“You have taken my god, which I made for myself, and you have gone off with my priest as well,” he answered. “What is left for me? How, then, can you ask me, ‘What do you want?’”

25The Danites said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard near us, or aggravated men will attack you, and you will have forfeited your life and the lives of your family!”

26Then the Danites went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him, turned back and went home.

27^l Having taken what Micah had made and his priest, they marched against Laish, a quiet and trusting people; they put them to the sword and destroyed the city by fire.

28No one came to their aid, since the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with the Arameans; the city was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. The Danites then rebuilt the city and occupied it.

29They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel.^m But Laish was the name of the city formerly.

30^* The Danites set up the idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses,ⁿ and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity.

31They maintained the idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.^*

Judges 19

The Levite from Ephraim.

1In those days, when there was no king in Israel,^{* a} there was a Levite residing in remote parts of the mountain region of Ephraim^b who had taken for himself a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah.

2But his concubine spurned him and left him for her father’s house in Bethlehem of Judah, where she stayed for some four months.

3Her husband then set out with his servant and a pair of donkeys, and went after her to soothe her and bring her back. He arrived at her father’s house, and when the young woman’s father saw him, he came out joyfully to meet him.

4His father-in-law, the young woman’s father, urged him to stay, and so he spent three days eating and drinking and passing the night there.

5On the fourth day they rose early in the morning and he prepared to go. But the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Fortify yourself with a little food; you can go later on.”

6So they stayed and the two men ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the husband, “Why not decide to spend the night here and enjoy yourself?”

7The man made a move to go, but when his father-in-law pressed him he went back and spent the night there.

8On the fifth morning he rose early to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Fortify yourself!” He coaxed him, and he tarried until the afternoon, and the two of them ate.

9Then when the husband was ready to go with his concubine and servant, the young woman’s father said to him, “See, the day is wearing on toward evening. Stay for the night. See, the day is coming to an end. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow you can start your journey home.”

10The man, however, refused to stay another night; he and his concubine set out with a pair of saddled donkeys, and traveled until they came opposite Jebus, which is Jerusalem.

11Since they were near Jebus with the day far gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let us turn off to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.”

12But his master said to him, “We will not turn off to a foreigner’s city,^c where there are no Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.

13Come,” he said to his servant, “let us make for some other place and spend the night in either Gibeah or Ramah.”^d

14So they continued on their way until the sun set on them when they were opposite Gibeah of Benjamin.

15^* There they turned off to enter Gibeah for the night.^e The man went in and sat down in the town square, but no one took them inside to spend the night.

16In the evening, however, an old man came from his work in the field; he was from the mountain region of Ephraim, though he was living in Gibeah where the local people were Benjaminites.

17^f When he noticed the traveler in the town square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?”

18He said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem of Judah far up into the mountain region of Ephraim, where I am from. I have been to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am going home; but no one has taken me into his house.

19We have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself and for your maidservant and the young man who is with your servant; there is nothing else we need.”

20“Rest assured,” the old man said to him, “I will provide for all your needs, but do not spend the night in the public square.”

21So he led them to his house and mixed fodder for the donkeys. Then they washed their feet, and ate and drank.^g

The Outrage at Gibeah.

22^{* h} While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, a bunch of scoundrels, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man who was the owner of the house, “Bring out the man who has come into your house, so that we may get intimate with him.”

23The man who was the owner of the house went out to them and said, “No, my brothers; do not be so wicked. This man has come into my house; do not commit this terrible crime.

24Instead, let me bring out my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. Humiliate them, or do whatever you want; but against him do not commit such a terrible crime.”

25But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and thrust her outside to them. They raped her and abused her all night until morning, and let her go as the sun was coming up.

26At the approach of morning the woman came and collapsed at the entrance of the house in which her husband was, and lay there until morning.

27When her husband rose in the morning and opened the door of the house to start out again on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, collapsed at the entrance of the house with her hands on the threshold.

28“Come, let us go,” he said to her, but there was no answer. So the man placed her on a donkey and started out again for home.

29^* On reaching home, he got a knife and took hold of the body of his concubine. He cut her up limb by limb into twelve pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel.ⁱ

30He instructed the men whom he sent, “Thus you shall say to all the men of Israel: ‘Has such a thing ever happened from the day the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt to this day?^{* j} Take note of it; form a plan and give orders.’”

1 Corinthians 7:1-24

Advice to the Married.^*

1Now in regard to the matters about which you wrote: “It is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman,”^*

2but because of cases of immorality every man should have his own wife, and every woman her own husband.

3The husband should fulfill his duty toward his wife, and likewise the wife toward her husband.

4A wife does not have authority over her own body, but rather her husband, and similarly a husband does not have authority over his own body, but rather his wife.

5Do not deprive each other, except perhaps by mutual consent for a time, to be free for prayer, but then return to one another, so that Satan may not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

6This I say by way of concession,^* however, not as a command.

7Indeed, I wish everyone to be as I am, but each has a particular gift from God,^* one of one kind and one of another.^a

8^{* b} Now to the unmarried and to widows, I say: it is a good thing for them to remain as they are, as I do,

9but if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry, for it is better to marry than to be on fire.

10^c To the married, however, I give this instruction (not I, but the Lord):^* A wife should not separate from her husband

11—and if she does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband—and a husband should not divorce his wife.

12To the rest^* I say (not the Lord): if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to go on living with him, he should not divorce her;

13and if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to go on living with her, she should not divorce her husband.

14For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through the brother. Otherwise your children would be unclean, whereas in fact they are holy.^d

15If the unbeliever separates,^* however, let him separate. The brother or sister is not bound in such cases; God has called you to peace.

16For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband; or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

The Life That the Lord Has Assigned.^*

17Only, everyone should live as the Lord has assigned, just as God called each one. I give this order in all the churches.

18Was someone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was an uncircumcised person called? He should not be circumcised.^e

19Circumcision means nothing, and uncircumcision means nothing; what matters is keeping God’s commandments.^f

20Everyone should remain in the state in which he was called.

21Were you a slave when you were called? Do not be concerned but, even if you can gain your freedom, make the most of it.

22For the slave called in the Lord is a freed person in the Lord, just as the free person who has been called is a slave of Christ.^g

23You have been purchased at a price. Do not become slaves to human beings.^h

24Brothers, everyone should continue before God in the state in which he was called.

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The complete Book of Judges

THE BOOK OF JUDGES

The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from the death of Joshua (Jos 24:29–31; cf. Jgs 1:1) until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge (see 1 Sm 7:15–17).

The Book of Judges begins with two introductory passages. The first (chap. 1) gives a description of the situation in Canaan after the Israelite conquest. It emphasizes the continued existence of the indigenous inhabitants of Canaan in many parts of the land because of Israel’s inability to drive them out completely. The second passage (2:1–3:6) is a thematic introduction to the period of the Judges, describing a cyclical pattern of infidelity, oppression, “crying out,” and deliverance (see note on 2:10–19).

The main part of the book (3:7–16:31) consists of a series of stories about thirteen leaders whose careers are described in greater or lesser detail. The exploits of six of these—Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson—are related at length, and all are shown to have delivered Israel from oppression or danger. They are customarily called “major judges,” whereas the other six—Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon—who appear only in brief notices, are designated “minor judges.” The thirteenth, Abimelech, is included in neither group, since his story is essentially a continuation of that of Gideon and his career is presented as deplorable, a cautionary tale of royal ambition.

The final section of the book consists of two episodes, one about the migration of the tribe of Dan (chaps. 17–18) and the other about an intertribal war directed against the tribe of Benjamin (chaps. 19–21). These stories illustrate the religious and political disorder that prevailed at the time when, as yet, “there was no king in Israel” (see note on 17:6).

The principal contribution of the Deuteronomistic historian to the Book of Judges is the thematic introduction to—and theological evaluation of—the period of the Judges in 2:1–3:6, as well as editorial comments structuring the narrative throughout, e.g., 3:7; 4:1; etc. The historian drew the stories of the judges themselves from older sources, which could have existed in written form but derive ultimately from oral tradition.

Thus the principal divisions of the book in outline are as follows:

1. The Situation in Canaan Following the Israelite Conquest (1:1–3:6)
2. Stories of the Judges (3:7–16:31)
3. Further Stories of the Tribes of Dan and Benjamin (17:1–21:25)

The book of 1 Corinthians

THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

Paul’s first letter to the church of Corinth provides us with a fuller insight into the life of an early Christian community of the first generation than any other book of the New Testament. Through it we can glimpse both the strengths and the weaknesses of this small group in a great city of the ancient world, men and women who had accepted the good news of Christ and were now trying to realize in their lives the implications of their baptism. Paul, who had founded the community and continued to look after it as a father, responds both to questions addressed to him and to situations of which he had been informed. In doing so, he reveals much about himself, his teaching, and the way in which he conducted his work of apostleship. Some things are puzzling because we have the correspondence only in one direction. For the person studying this letter, it seems to raise as many questions as it answers, but without it our knowledge of church life in the middle of the first century would be much poorer.

Paul established a Christian community in Corinth about the year 51, on his second missionary journey. The city, a commercial crossroads, was a melting pot full of devotees of various pagan cults and marked by a measure of moral depravity not unusual in a great seaport. The Acts of the Apostles suggests that moderate success attended Paul’s efforts among the Jews in Corinth at first, but that they soon turned against him (Acts 18:1–8). More fruitful was his year and a half spent among the Gentiles (Acts 18:11), which won to the faith many of the city’s poor and underprivileged (1 Cor 1:26). After his departure the eloquent Apollos, an Alexandrian Jewish Christian, rendered great service to the community, expounding “from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus” (Acts 18:24–28).

While Paul was in Ephesus on his third journey (1 Cor 16:8; Acts 19:1–20), he received disquieting news about Corinth. The community there was displaying open factionalism, as certain members were identifying themselves exclusively with individual Christian leaders and interpreting Christian teaching as a superior wisdom for the initiated few (1 Cor 1:10–4:21). The community lacked the decisiveness to take appropriate action against one of its members who was living publicly in an incestuous union (1 Cor 5:1–13). Other members engaged in legal conflicts in pagan courts of law (1 Cor 6:1–11); still others may have participated in religious prostitution (1 Cor 6:12–20) or temple sacrifices (1 Cor 10:14–22).

The community’s ills were reflected in its liturgy. In the celebration of the Eucharist certain members discriminated against others, drank too freely at the agape, or fellowship meal, and denied Christian social courtesies to the poor among the membership (1 Cor 11:17–22). Charisms such as ecstatic prayer, attributed freely to the impulse of the holy Spirit, were more highly prized than works of charity (1 Cor 13:1–2, 8), and were used at times in a disorderly way (1 Cor 14:1–40). Women appeared at the assembly without the customary head-covering (1 Cor 11:3–16), and perhaps were quarreling over their right to address the assembly (1 Cor 14:34–35).

Still other problems with which Paul had to deal concerned matters of conscience discussed among the faithful members of the community: the eating of meat that had been sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:1–13), the use of sex in marriage (1 Cor 7:1–7), and the attitude to be taken by the unmarried toward marriage in view of the possible proximity of Christ’s second coming (1 Cor 7:25–40). There was also a doctrinal matter that called for Paul’s attention, for some members of the community, despite their belief in the resurrection of Christ, were denying the possibility of general bodily resurrection.

To treat this wide spectrum of questions, Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus about the year 56. The majority of the Corinthian Christians may well have been quite faithful. Paul writes on their behalf to guard against the threats posed to the community by the views and conduct of various minorities. He writes with confidence in the authority of his apostolic mission, and he presumes that the Corinthians, despite their deficiencies, will recognize and accept it. On the other hand, he does not hesitate to exercise his authority as his judgment dictates in each situation, even going so far as to promise a direct confrontation with recalcitrants, should the abuses he scores remain uncorrected (1 Cor 4:18–21).

The letter illustrates well the mind and character of Paul. Although he is impelled to insist on his office as founder of the community, he recognizes that he is only one servant of God among many and generously acknowledges the labors of Apollos (1 Cor 3:5–8). He provides us in this letter with many valuable examples of his method of theological reflection and exposition. He always treats the questions at issue on the level of the purity of Christian teaching and conduct. Certain passages of the letter are of the greatest importance for the understanding of early Christian teaching on the Eucharist (1 Cor 10:14–22; 11:17–34) and on the resurrection of the body (1 Cor 15:1–58).

Paul’s authorship of 1 Corinthians, apart from a few verses that some regard as later interpolations, has never been seriously questioned. Some scholars have proposed, however, that the letter as we have it contains portions of more than one original Pauline letter. We know that Paul wrote at least two other letters to Corinth (see 1 Cor 5:9; 2 Cor 2:3–4) in addition to the two that we now have; this theory holds that the additional letters are actually contained within the two canonical ones. Most commentators, however, find 1 Corinthians quite understandable as a single coherent work.

The principal divisions of the First Letter to the Corinthians are the following:

1. Address (1:1–9)
2. Disorders in the Corinthian Community (1:10–6:20)
   1. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)
   2. Moral Disorders (5:1–6:20)
3. Answers to the Corinthians’ Questions (7:1–11:1)
   1. Marriage and Virginity (7:1–40)
   2. Offerings to Idols (8:1–11:1)
4. Problems in Liturgical Assemblies (11:2–14:40)
   1. Women’s Headdresses (11:3–16)
   2. The Lord’s Supper (11:17–34)
   3. Spiritual Gifts (12:1–14:40)
5. The Resurrection (15:1–58)
   1. The Resurrection of Christ (15:1–11)
   2. The Resurrection of the Dead (15:12–34)
   3. The Manner of the Resurrection (15:35–58)
6. Conclusion (16:1–24)