#67: “Bad Neighbors”

#67: “Bad Neighbors” by Brendon Wahlberg When you think of modern day Israel, you think about the bad relationship it has with its neighbors, such as the Palestinians. Sadly, if you go back and look at the Old Testament period, you will find that the situation was pretty much the same. Back then, Israel was also surrounded by enemies. To the east, across the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, there were the small countries of Ammon and Moab. To the south, there was the country of Edom. Israel’s history with these three countries was a centuries-long chronicle of warfare, which is ironic, considering that the peoples of all four countries were closely related to each other. In fact, the Hebrew Bible tells stories which explain the origins of Ammon, Moab, and Edom, and sure enough, their ancestors were blood relatives of such biblical figures as Lot and Jacob. Predictably, these ancestor stories made sure to deeply insult Ammon, Moab, and Edom, proving that no one can put each other down like family can. The stories in Genesis which relate to the origins of Ammon, Moab, and Edom, are called Etiological tales. This means they are the kind of stories that give a reason for the way things are in the present day. For the writers of Genesis, the “present day” neighbors to the east and south were long time enemies. Etiological stories were needed, not only to explain why the enmity began centuries ago, but also to explain exactly why Israel was superior, and why those enemies were inferior. In my study Bible, Genesis 19:30-38 is entitled, “The shameful origin of Moab and Ammon.” The story picks up right after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the escape of Lot (nephew of Abraham) and his two daughters. “Now Lot went up out of Zoar and settled in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; so he lived in a cave with his two daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the world. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.’ So they made their father drink wine that night; and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. On the next day, the firstborn said to the younger, ‘Look, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.’ So they made their father drink wine that night also; and the younger rose, and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab; he is the ancestor of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi; he is the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day.” Here, in one brief story, you have the origins of both the Moabites and the Ammonites. Writings on an ancient artifact called the Moabite Stone (from around 800-900 BCE) describe the victory of a Moabite king over Israel’s king, but they also show just how similar the languages of the two peoples were. The cultural closeness of these semitic countries is reflected in Genesis, which says that Israel and Moab share a common ancestor. But look at the obvious insults to Ammon and Moab. Genesis says that both countries were the result of drunken incest between Lot and his daughters. Even the names in the story reflect this incest. Moab is from the Hebrew, Me’Ab, which means “from father.” Ammon is from Ben-ammi, which means “my father’s son.” Historically, Israel and Ammon were constantly at war, and most of the biblical references to Ammon reflect this. Sometimes Israel conquered and ruled over Ammon, and sometimes not. The following words from Ezekiel illustrate the deep animosity between the two countries. “Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: […] Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when it went into exile; therefore I am handing you over to the people of the east for a possession. They shall set their encampments among you and pitch their tents in your midst; they shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the malice within you against the land of Israel, therefore I have stretched out my hand against you, and will hand you over as plunder to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and will make you perish out of the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 25:3-7) Moab’s conflict with Israel goes back to the Exodus, when the two nations fought each other during Israel’s entry into Canaan. It was the king of Moab who wanted Israel cursed in Numbers 22. The fighting continued through the time of King David and beyond, until Babylon destroyed the Moabite kingdom. The following words from Isaiah illustrate the animosity between Israel and Moab. “We have heard of the pride of Moab—how proud he is!—of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence; his boasts are false. Therefore let Moab wail, let everyone wail for Moab. […] This was the word that the Lord spoke concerning Moab in the past. But now the Lord says, In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all its great multitude; and those who survive will be very few and feeble.” (Isaiah 16:6-14) The biblical origin of Edom is also found in Genesis, in the story of Jacob and his brother Esau (Genesis 25:19-34). “These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it is to be this way, why do I live?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.’ When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterwards his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skilful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!’ (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?’ Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.” Again, Israel and Edom were closely related, having a similar language, so to explain this, Genesis tells us that the ancestors of both countries were brothers. Just as Israel and Edom frequently fought, so did Jacob and Esau fight, even in the womb. The names in the story also explain some things about the country of Edom. Edom is similar to the Hebrew adom, which means “red”. Esau was born red, and he was eating red food in the story above, so he and the nation which descended from him were called red. Edom was a region with lots of reddish sandstone, and many of its people may have had red hair or ruddy skin like Esau. Esau was very hairy, and this may have been a joking reference to the main mountain in Edom, Mount Seir. In Hebrew, Sa’ir means hairy, and the two words sound alike. Jacob’s name comes from the Hebrew word for heel, because he grasps his brother’s heel in an attempt to be born first. In the story above, Jacob claims Esau’s birthright, and later steals their father’s blessing that belonged to Esau. Jacob disguises himself as Esau, tricking his father into giving him the precious blessing of the firstborn. When Esau discovers this, the following events occur. “When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, father!’ But he said, ‘Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.’ Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing.’ Then he said, ‘Have you not reserved a blessing for me?’ Isaac answered Esau, ‘I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?’ Esau said to his father, ‘Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!’ And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. Then his father Isaac answered him: ‘See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose, you shall break his yoke from your neck.’ Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’” (Genesis 27:34-41) Again, the story seems to explain the inferiority of the country of Edom, in an etiological manner. Jacob/Israel got the blessing while Esau/Edom did not. Despite Edom’s military prowess, Israel would still rule over it, even if sometimes Edom threw off that “yoke”. Historically, Edom was sort of an “older brother” who nevertheless came in second. The Israelites encountered the Edomite nation during the Exodus. Later, King David conquered Edom; down through the centuries, Edom was sometimes ruled by Israel, and sometimes not. After the victory of the Maccabees, Israel conquered the Edomites one last time, and forced the population to convert to Judaism. By the time of Jesus, the territory that was once Edom became the Roman province of Idumea. King Herod the Great was an Idumean, which partly explains why he was so disliked as a ruler of Judea. He was, after all, one of those descendants of Esau who were so inferior, outsiders who only worshipped the true God because they were forced to. Israel, Edom, Ammon, and Moab were altogether bad neighbors. Despite being similar and having common ancestors, they worshipped different gods and fought and hated each other for centuries. It is a poor way to live, and sadly it continues in the modern age. As a people, we should instead follow the teaching found in both the Old and New Testaments about how to interact with our neighbors. “You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbour, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:17-18) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 19:19)