Introduction To King David
And The Foundation Of Yerusalem
In about 1200 B.C. the tribes of Yisrael -Mosheh' nomad shepherds who for 'forty years' (a symbolic number) had been wandering on the Sinai Peninsula -crossed over the Yarden opposite Jericho. Then these still primitive tribes attacked the Canaanite civilization with eager confidence.
Precarious Establishment Of The Yisraelites In The Promised Land
The Land of Canaan was the Promised Land, promised by YAHWEH to Abraham for his remote descendants and as a reward for his faith. It was a family property, in some sort, over which Yisrael possessed, and there was no doubt about it among the Yisraelites, undeniable rights.
To Yahshua Ben Nun and his men at arms who had recently won resounding victories over the pastoral peoples of TransYardenia, the campaign which they were beginning to the west of the Yarden and the Dead Sea would be swift and decisive. But they soon had to tell another tale.
Yisrael Loses On All Sides
The situation was very unfavorable for the Yisraelite invader. During the past centuries Egypt had exercised overlordship over Canaan. To ensure the proper administration of the country the Egyptian government made use of native Semite chieftains who were employed as high officials. Now at the time of Mosheh and Yahshua Ben Nun the Egyptians had begun to experience difficult times and with all the manpower at their disposal had to repulse the attacks on the Delta by the People of the Sea. At once the former Canaanite governors took advantage of the weakening of Egyptian power to transform themselves into petty independent feudal lords. They were established in strong fortresses surrounded by enormous walls (some of them were twenty-five, twenty-six or even thirty feet thick), flanked with towers placed at strategic points; then in addition there were the glacis, the outworks, and deep trenches -medieval military architects in the West could hardly have done better. How were the Yisraelites with the inadequate arms and equipment of shepherds to overcome these formidable strongholds? The Scriptures certainly mentions a few victorious actions by the Yisraelites against these fortresses, but these were quite exceptional, and their success could be explained as the result of surprise or treachery.
The Canaanite cities, too, were strongly fortified. On the approach of the enemy the country-folk from the neighborhood would hurriedly seek refuge in the city, taking with them stocks of corn and their flocks.
In the plains also Yisrael would find themselves fighting at a disadvantage; like Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Canaanite chiefs possessed powerful formations of chariots. These two-wheeled vehicles were drawn by spirited horses; in addition to the driver they carried one or two skilled archers. The chariots were almost like light tanks; they mowed down the lines of infantry. Tactically the Yisraelites were on the losing side. On account of their undeniable military inferiority the theoretical owners of the Promised Land had to be content with those parts of the country which were of absolutely no interest to the masters of the country: the mountain regions occupied by the remnants of the pre-Canaanite populations, certain wooded districts which had not yet been cleared, or else the semi wildernesses which were wanted by no one.
In short, the Canaanites remained undisputed masters of the country. The Yisraelite tribes, obliged to settle where they could, were separated from each other; sometimes they were even isolated from their Yahwistic co-spiritual. On the other hand, social contacts with the Canaanites continually increased. From these latter in fact the Yisraelites were to learn the rudiments of agriculture (planting of fruit trees, care of the vine), of architecture (building of houses and subsequently of fortifications), and of craftsmanship (textiles, pottery). Between the newcomers and the inhabitants of the country friendly relations were soon established -both were Semites and fairly closely related -and also commercial relations; very soon, too, there were cases of inter-marriage. The assimilation of the former Yisraelite nomads was, it appeared, only a question of a few generations. On the social level Yisrael was certainly losing.
At the spiritual level the situation was still more disquieting. For among the Semites the farmer worshipped the deity who protected his field, the city-dweller the deity protecting his city. If a man changed from farmer to citizen or vice versa he had to invoke the god established in the region of his new residence. The Yisraelites did not forget their ABBA YAHWEH, but the Semitic customs influenced them when they entered the Promised Land and made acquaintance with the polytheistic pantheon to be found there. What gods did they find in fact in Canaan?
In the first place 'EI, also called Baal-Shamin, the god of heaven. This powerful personage had three sons: Sharar (Morning Star), Shalem (Evening Star), Sedek (Justice of god). Among the local gods was Dagon, the god of corn; although of Mesopotamian origin, he was adopted by the Philistines. There was also the famous Moloch; he was a tireless destroyer who thought only of peopling his kingdom which was that of the dead; for this purpose he started wars, and provoked famines and plague. But he could be appeased to some extent by the offering of human sacrifices. And then there was the famous Astarte, the goddess of fertility.
In fact each locality possessed its Baal, the master, the owner of the soil, a sort of feudal lord to whom a portion of the produce of the land had to be paid. Hence the sacrifices offered to him by the farmer with the first ears of corn harvested and the first-born of the flock; hence, too, the offering to him by the head of the family of his first-born son. Baal was supposed to be particularly exacting about what were known as 'foundation' sacrifices; when a house was built. to obtain the good graces of the deity a small child had to be placed alive in a jar of ashes and buried in a cavity in the foundations of the building. Archaeologists have discovered these small skeletons in the underground walls of dwellings.
All these rites struck the imagination of the Yisraelites very forcibly. Although the articles of the Torah, clearly explained at length by the Mosaic Law, forbade all practices of this kind, only too often it was not long before Yisraelites adopted them. They felt that they had to placate the gods to whom the territory belonged.
Sometimes they allowed themselves to be led astray by their Canaanite friends and attended ceremonies organized on the high places or near springs beneath the shade of the set apart trees. There, on a stele (the raised stone always provoked a spiritual feeling among the Semites) oil was ritually poured. Elsewhere, on an altar before a statue, sacrifices were offered. The celebration usually concluded in the company of the set apart prostitutes.
The Yisraelites did not, it is true, forget YAHWEH; he always remained the Sovereign of Yisrael. But HIS worship, carefully codified by Mosheh, was very austere. HE was the invisible YAHWEH and the exacting moral requirements of the Torah were truly difficult to observe. Thus, while at the bottom of their hearts the Yisraelites preserved the revelation of the patriarchs, they allowed themselves gradually to be seduced by the orgiastic and idolatrous practices of the Canaanites.
Logically, Yahwism should have disappeared fairly rapidly beneath the materialistic wave of the attractive and powerful old Semitic religion. Militarily, socially and spiritually Yisrael was losing. The future seemed dark.
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