Day 65-11

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

D. From Kadesh-Barnea to crossing of Jordan ~ cont.

5. Settling down in plains of Moab, east of Jordan ~ cont.

i. 2 1/2 tribes settle east of Jordon - Numbers 32:1-32
j. Recap of victories - Joshua 12:1-6

{pages 286-290}

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;  (Numbers 32:1)

I made a note, 'they saw' is that similar to Lot?

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.  (Genesis 13:10)

And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.  (Numbers 32:20-22)

My thoughts:  Did Moses ask?  Was that portion part of the original land lease God gave to physical Israel?

God promised the land to Abraham's descendants...but what did that encompass?  The Jordan River area?  Researching and came across What is the Land God Promised to Israel?

So from the Nile River to the Euphrates River and into the desert.  Now, I need a graphic...even dug out the World Atlas to make sure I was grasping the magnitude of what Israel is 'supposed' to have.  Found this:

I went back and read the 'land lease' several times to make sure I actually comprehended what Israel was to have.  That is a huge chunk of land...and they only have a tiny tiny portion right now:

If you would like to read the accompanying article: How Much Land Did God Give Israel in the Abraham Land Covenant?

Back to my question...hop, hop right on over...LOL....the tribes being on the other side of Jordan was not in violation of the original land lease.  Moses would have been aware of this as he is the one held out to be the writer of the first five books of the Bible.

I was amused to find in Numbers 32:41-42 and Deuteronomy 3:12 cities, villages and towns mentioned.  Which made me think of my previous question about what determines whether a locale is considered a city, village or town?

town  - H2333 - Properly the same as H2332 (lifegiving, that is, living place); by implication an encampment or village.  {Has 7 different Hebrew words translated as town - quite interesting.}

• H2332 - Causative from H2331; lifegiver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman.
• H2331 - A primitive root; (compare H2324, H2421); properly to live; by implication (intensively) to declare or show.

village - H1323 - From H1129 (as feminine of H1121); a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively).  {Has 8 different Hebrew words translated as village}

• H1129 - A primitive root; to build (literally and figuratively).

cities - H5892 - From H5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post).  {Has 8 different Hebrew words translated as city, though 3 might be questionable as they are city of gold, etc.}

• H5782 - A primitive root (rather identical with H5783 through the idea of opening the eyes); to wake (literally or figuratively.

Skimming around the internet....some sites would equate habitations as either, (laugh) urban heirarchy:

Hamlets -usually not a legal entity, no local government, sometimes contained within a city as a neighborhood (wonder if subdivisions count?)  Some are as large as 400 in population, if not larger.

Villages - "In England a hamlet gained the right to be called a village when it built a church."  Wikipedia Can be incorporated, size and population do not necessarily determine whether a locale is a village.

Towns - Can be incorporated or not, usually less than 10,000 people (by USA standards).

Cities - Usually incorporated, having elected officials and local governing bodies.  Click here for more.

I don't know who else would be interested in all of that...but there it is...blessings.

Day 62-11

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

D. From Kadesh-Barnea to crossing of Jordan ~ cont.

5. Settling down in plains of Moab, east of Jordan ~ cont.

d. Compromise with Moab in marriage and idolatry - Numbers 25:1-9

e. Midianites to be slain - Numbers 25:10-18

f. Second numbering of the people (601,730), a new generation - Numbers 26:1-65

g. Diverse laws given or reviewed 

(1) Inheritance law - Numbers 27:1-11

{pages 275-279}

Balaam's revenge - the Israelites are taking to them Moab women (note women, not men were the snare for the Israelites).

And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.  (Numbers 25:4)

Hang up the heads.  That would seem to indicate that they were no longer part of the body.  Sounds gruesome, but obviously necessary to turn away God's wrath.  You would think with heads hanging around no one would be bold or haughty enough to keep a non-Israelite woman.  Pride knoweth no bounds.

And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  (Numbers 25:6)

They were sitting before the tabernacle, weeping.  And he brings in his Midianitish woman...that is a lot of gall.          Only someone who is depraved and deceived would (or could) be so in your face attitude.

24,000 people died.  That is a small city population.  Wow...a simple search, hmmm, what is considered a city size?  City --> Town --> Village --> Hamlet.  So 24,000 would be about the size of a small village.  Moving onward...lol.

The number of times a woman's name is mentioned in the Bible (in comparison to men) is small.  I thought it interesting that the name of the offending Israelite man and the Midianitish woman were both mentioned.

Zimri (of the tribe of Simeon) - H2174 - From H2167; musical; Zimri, the name of five Israelites, and of an Arabian tribe.

• H2174 - A primitive root (perhaps identical with H2168 through the idea of striking with the fingers); properly to touch the strings or parts of a musical instrument, that is, play upon it; to make music, accompanied by the voice; hence to celebrate in song and music.

Cozbi - H3579 - From H3576; false; Cozbi, a Midianitess.

• H3576 - A primitive root; to lie (that is, deceive), literally or figuratively.

I was going to go through and search 'name' and 'woman' to see if I could detail a list.  However, my initial search was not producing...so google to the rescue.  Lo and behold, Wikipedia gave the most concise list that I have found thus far.  I have not browsed this site, except to view Mary Magdalene, a supposed prostitute...though there is no scriptural warrant for such a designation.  This one was a little out there for me...some provoking thoughts as it regards how Adam and Eve were created/designed.  Really not sure about this one, nor the authors twist on giving credit to women for usurping authority.

This site offers an alphabetical listing, which includes more than just names, but (in my opinion) titles or designations of types of women.  I did appreciate their brief explanation for the name Cozbi, lying, deceiver, deceitful.

She most definitely was a product of her culture and environment.  I wonder would there be much, if any, difference between the seductiveness of the Moabite women of then and how our women act in 2011?  Even within the church?  The Moabite woman's goal was to control the man using her physical allures...so too our culture pounds it into the heads of women (and men) that the outside is what matters.  Sadly, there are many 'churches' which do not look much different.  I was encouraged by some recent video viewings, one by Paul Washer, A Virtuous Woman and then Voddie Baucham, Biblical Womanhood and Manhood.  May those who view be edified and encouraged.