The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.7

We are still on the subject of Edom and trying to get the complete picture on them and their role with Ahaz…why they had attacked yet again in 2 Chronicles.

2Ch 28:17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.

So now we are going back into a bit more of the history between these kingdoms.

2Ch 21:7  Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.

2Ch 21:8  In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king.

2Ch 21:9  Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots.

2Ch 21:10  So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time [also] did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.

From under the hand of Judah…that’s interesting, because it’s funny how people’s resentment makes them believe they are oppressed. In reality, they are just so full of bitterness and resentment that even if the one they resent were to bring them flowers, and buy them lunch daily, they’d still find fault in that act of kindness, and reason to despise the person even more. However, there were some reasons for their hatred, despite the fact that it was steeped in an age old bitter feud.

2Ki 14:7  He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day.

2Ki 14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.

Now at this point, this story continues at least through verse 10, but I’m going to take you another book where it’s explained a bit more.

2Ch 25:14  Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up [to be] his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.

2Ch 25:15  Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

2Ch 25:16  And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that [the king] said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.

2Ch 25:17 Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face.

2Ch 25:18  And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that [was] in Lebanon sent to the cedar that [was] in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that [was] in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

2Ch 25:19  Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to [thine] hurt, that thou shouldest fall, [even] thou, and Judah with thee?

2Ch 25:20  But Amaziah would not hear; for it [came] of God, that he might deliver them into the hand [of their enemies], because they sought after the gods of Edom.

Note that just one victory caused this dumb level of pride Amaziah had, and once pride stepped into the scene, his ears became plugged so to speak, so that he would not hear wise counsel. Any time you find someone who refuses wise counsel, or just refuses to listen it is because they are walking in the spirit of pride.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.6

Now, I can’t see where any of this self-sufficient effort profited him anything. Let’s see what was spawned from the bonds of self-sufficiency.

Gen 36:4  And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

Gen 36:5  And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these [are] the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

Gen 36:12  And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau’s son; and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek: these [were] the sons of Adah Esau’s wife.

Gen 36:15 These [were] dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz (my God is (fine) gold ) the firstborn [son] of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz,

Gen 36:16  Duke Korah, (bald) duke Gatam, [and] duke Amalek: these [are] the dukes [that came] of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these [were] the sons of Adah.

Gen 36:17  And these [are] the sons of Reuel Esau’s son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these [are] the dukes [that came] of Reuel in the land of Edom; these [are] the sons of Bashemath Esau’s wife.

Gen 36:18  And these [are] the sons of Aholibamah Esau’s wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these [were] the dukes [that came] of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

Gen 36:19  These [are] the sons of Esau, who [is] Edom, and these [are] their dukes.

Esau = “hairy”

    Adah = “ornament”

        Eliphaz = “my God is (fine) gold”

Teman = “south”

Omar = “speaker” or “eloquent”

Zepho or Zephi = “watch-tower”

Gatam = “a burnt valley”

Kenaz = “hunter”

Timna or Timnah = “restrained”

Amalek = “dweller in a valley”

Ishmael = “God will hear”

Nebaioth or Nebajoth = “heights

Bashemath or Basmath = “spice”

Reuel or Raguel = “friend of God”

Nahath = “rest”

Zerah or Zarah = “rising”

Shammah = “astonishment”

Mizzah = “fear”

Zibeon = “coloured” Hivite = “villagers”

Anah = “answer”

Aholibamah = “tent of the high place”

Jeush = “assembler”

Jaalam = “concealed”

Korah = “bald”

From what I see here, this is indicative that there is no one that is not redeemable to some extent, because I see “my God is (fine) gold” and a “friend of God” among his descendants. There is evidence of “rest” amid “rising” “astonishment” and “fear.” One could also surmise that a “speaker” was “south” in a “watch tower” of “a burnt valley” where a “hunter” resides. Then again, one might say a “bald” “assembler” was “concealed,” but who really knows?

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.5

Now notice that it was in Gen 31:3 in which God told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, and to his relatives, and that God would be with him. Between Genesis 32 and 33, Jacob sent 5 gifts ahead of him to Esau; a herd of goats, ewes, camels, cows and donkeys, each with both males and females.

It seems to me that this was a wise move on Jacob’s behalf, particularly because it seems apparent that Esau has a tendency towards a materialistic mindset versus a spiritual one, so these gifts, and the wealth they represented, quenched the fire of Esau’s anger against Jacob. The problem I see, which continued, is one of reliving or repeating the situation or story of the loss of both his birthright and his blessings to his generations, who inherited the “outcast” status of their progenitor. It’s a problem of ongoing, generational resentment.

How do you figure, you ask? Well, let’s look at his generations. First, let’s look at who he married.

Gen 36:1 Now these [are] the generations of Esau, who [is] Edom.

Esau = “hairy”

Edom = “red”

Gen 36:2  Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

Canaan = “lowland”

1) the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine

2) the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua

3) merchant, trader

Adah = “ornament”

2) a Hittitess, 1 of the 3 wives of Esau and mother of Eliphaz

a) also called ‘Bashemath’

Elon = “terebinth, mighty”

Terebinth: ( 3.) ‘Elon, Jdg 4:11; 9:6 ( R.V., “oak; ” A.V., following the Targum, “plain”) properly the deciduous species of oak shedding its foliage in autumn.

1) Hittite, father-in-law of Esau

2) second son of Zebulun

3) Zebulonite judge of Israel

4) town in Dan

Hittite = “descendant of Heth”

1) the nation descended from Heth, the 2nd son of Canaan; once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), later in north Lebanon

This caught my attention, as a few nights ago on TBN, there was a travel/historical program on about the Hittites and whether or not they actually existed. On the program they showed these interesting sphere-shaped rocks that these people lived in. They actually carved these rocks into homes. The program mentioned that they were decendants of Heth, and that one of them was a major warrior that King David had murdered on the front lines of a battle so that he could take his wife, Bathsheba.

What I’ve also noted, is that these people were descendants also from Zebulun, which was the 10^th of Jacob’s sons…one of the twelve tribes of Israel. So in essence, what I see here is that the bible is the history of one family, and the ongoing war between the siblings and their generations based upon the acceptance or rejection they received from God.

Gen 36:2  Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

Aholibamah = “tent of the high place”

1) wife of Esau

2) an Edomite chieftain

Adah = “answer”

1) son of Zibeon and father of Aholibamah, a wife of Esau

2) a Horite chief

3) daughter of Zibeon

Zibeon = “coloured”

1) father of Anah, whose daughter Aholibamah married Esau

2) son of Seir the Horite

Hivite = “villagers”

1) 6th generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest

Gen 36:3  And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

Bashemath or Basmath = “spice”

1) Hittite wife of Esau, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth

Ishmael = “God will hear”

1) son of Abraham and Sarah’s handmaid Hagar and the progenitor of the Arabian peoples

Nebaioth or Nebajoth = “heights”

1) a son of Ishmael

2) people descended from 1 called the Nabateans with their capital at Petra

What I see here is that one rejected son took to himself wives from other “rejects.” First, he took from the descendants of Canaan, who was the grandson of Ham, upon which the curse was placed. Then, he takes an “ornament” from a “mighty oak” which descended from another rejected son of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he takes an African tribal chieftain’s princess as apparently part of an “answer” from among “villagers.” Again, these were descendants of Ham the one who fell due to sexual sin. Finally, he takes a “spice” from the “heights” in the hopes that “God will hear.”

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.4

Now…bear with me while I make this point. Sometimes when we are busy walking in our own strength, with our eyes focused on everything but God, we don’t realize who we are aligning ourselves with until it’s too late. Additionally, we also have no idea why, most of the time, we are being attacked…what’s behind the attack, and who it is that is really attacking us. We are like racetrack horses with blinders on. To illustrate this point, let me give you a bit of background on the Edomites that had come again and smitten Judah.

First of all, we all know the story of Esau, the oldest of Isaac’s twins, and grandsons to Abraham. We know about how he sold his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of stew in Gen. 25:27-34. The last part of verse 34 says that he despised his birthright.

This word “despised” means to regard with contempt or scorn; to consider as worthless, inferior. In other words, his attitude was similar to that of some of the (dogs) men that used to catcall to me in the street. You know the type… “Hey baby…” etc; and then when you ignore them and don’t respond to it, suddenly you are called a female dog and numerous other names, and told, “You ain’t all that!” Well…my response (at least mentally) was… “Apparently I was (all that), until I let you know that you weren’t worth my attention.”

But I think Hebrews summed up that attitude very well.

Hbr 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled;

Hbr 12:16  Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Hbr 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

The reference was really just verses 16-17, but I thought that verse 15 was relevant, having come just before it, and demonstrating that when one fails the grace of God, bitterness springs up in them and they are defiled; in this case, forever.

We also know that according to verse 17, he found no place of repentance, and was rejected when he would have inherited his blessing in Genesis 27. Again, in verse 34, we see a reference to bitterness. I also found a cross reference to Gen. 37:4-5, in which reference is made to the hatred of Joseph’s brothers towards him because they knew his father loved him more.

I also see a parallel with Lucifer and Christ. Although Lucifer was an arch angel, he was the most elevated and glorified of the angels, and his position was similar to that of a son, but the birthright of Son of God was Christ’s, and so again, we see the first example of that same hatred and bitterness in Satan, whereby the first is displaced by the second, just like the prodigal son, and just like the favor of Abel over Cain. It’s a repetitive theme throughout the bible.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.3

Let’s look at the heads of the children of Ephraim: “double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful,” that stood up against those returning from the war.

Azariah: “Jehovah has helped;” son of Jehohanan: “Jehovah has graced.”

Berachiah or Berechiah: “Jehovah blesses;” son of Meshillemoth: “recompense.”

Hezekiah or Jehizkiah: “Jehovah has made strong;” son of Shallum: “retribution.”

Amasa: “burden;” son of Hadlai: “rest of God”

 2Ch 28:13  And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD [already], ye intend to add [more] to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and [there is] fierce wrath against Israel.

 2Ch 28:14  So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation.

 2Ch 28:15  And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

The men which were expressed by name: Azariah: “Jehovah has helped,” Berachiah or Berechiah: “Jehovah blesses,” Hezekiah or Jehizkiah: “Jehovah has made strong,” Amasa: “burden,” took those captives and performed on them exactly what their father’s blessed them to do:

(son of Jehohanan) “Jehovah has graced.”

(son of Meshillemoth) “recompense.”

(son of Shallum) “retribution.”

(son of Hadlai) “rest of God.”

They gave them grace, recompense, retribution, and rest. They even anointed them before returning them to Jericho, and when they finished this work, they returned to Samaria, the “watch mountain.”

So after all of this occurs, Ahaz in all of his self-centered wisdom, goes and solicits the king of Assyria for help.

2Ch 28:16 At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him.

And here’s the reason he did this:

2Ch 28:17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.

Hi all,

Sorry I don’t have the next post of The Book of Isaiah ready, nor have I finished my Big Adventure story, but I’ve been pretty busy. My first book is ready for publication, so I’ve been busy with finalizing it, so I can upload to my publisher. In addition, I’ve actually caught up with myself on The Book of Isaiah study…so I need to get back in it to be able to post again, as I try to stay a few posts ahead of what is actually up on the site. The Big Adventure story pt 3 is forthcoming, which is the section that the real God story occurred, but the delay has been prepping the pictures…reducing the size so that I can actually get them on the site without major loading problems. So I will be back soon. Btw…just wanted to give shout outs to all the people visiting my site from outside the U.S. I recently had a visitor from Romania who apparently found my “Studies and Posts” tags and was busy checking out alot on the site. So hello to all my visitors…thanks for stopping by. And of course, to my regular readers/subscribers… thanks for stickin’ with me, and encouraging me with your comments. Peace and blessings.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.2

Ok…I have to explain what I see happening here. First of all, this guy Ahaz was an idiot. He goes and serves Baal and burns incense to him in the “valley of Himnon,” which is the valley of lamentation or sorrow.

This valley separates Mount Zion to the north, which is the mount or symbol of promotion; from the hill of evil counsel’ and the sloping rocky plateau of the ‘plain of Rephaim’ to the south, which means giants.

(Psa 75:6 For promotion ^{07311 02022} [cometh] neither from the east ⁰⁴¹⁶¹, nor from the west ⁰⁴⁶²⁸, nor from the south ⁰⁴⁰⁵⁷. It is Strong’s 02022 reference that shows Mount Zion correlating with promotion.)

So he goes and serves Baal and ends up in a place of “sorrow,” looking up to the north at missed “promotion,” and facing “giants” on the south.

This caused God to send the “exalted” people against them because a door had been “opened,” and one of the “protected by Jehovah” was sent to slay those who had forsaken God.  This event was “memorable,” because of the “double ash-heap” Ahaz’ betrayal created; which took away “the work of Jehovah,” his “help against the enemy,” and everything that “God has possessed or God has created” for the people, and sent them into captivity.

 2Ch 28:8  And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

2Ch 28:9  But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name [was] Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage [that] reacheth up unto heaven.

Oded = “restorer”

1) father of Azariah the prophet in the reign of king Asa of Judah

2) a prophet of Jehovah in Samaria at the time of Pekah’s invasion of Judah

Now God sends in a restorer, because the children of Israel got a little too happy in attacking Judah; and got carried away in their assault, when they weren’t all that clean and above board themselves. It’s just amazing how nasty we can sometimes be to our own siblings.

 2Ch 28:10  And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: [but are there] not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?

 2Ch 28:11  Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD [is] upon you.

 2Ch 28:12  Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war,

Ephraim = “double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful”

Azariah = “Jehovah has helped”

18) son of Johanan, one of the captains of Ephraim in the reign of king Ahaz of Judah

Jehohanan = “Jehovah has graced”

7) an Ephraimite

Berachiah or Berechiah = “Jehovah blesses”

6) an Ephraimite chief in the time of Ahaz

Meshillemoth = “recompense”

1) an Ephraimite, one of the chiefs of the tribe in the reign of king Pekah of Israel

Hezekiah or Jehizkiah = “Jehovah has made strong”

3) an Ephraimite in the time of Ahaz

Shallum = “retribution”

7) an Ephraimite, father of Jehizkiah

Amasa = “burden”

2) son of Hadlai and a prince of Ephraim in the reign of king Ahaz

Hadlai = “rest of God”

1) an Ephraimite

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 4.1

Now let’s check out the third king listed here:

Isa 1:1 

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Ahaz:

possessor. (1.) A grandson of Jonathan (1Ch 8:35; 9:42).

(2.) The son and successor of Jotham, king of Judah (16; Isa. 7-9; 2 Chr. 28).

2Ch 28:1  Ahaz [was] twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:

2Ch 28:2  For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.

Baal = “lord”

1) supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites

 2Ch 28:3  Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

Hinnom = “lamentation”

1) a valley (deep and narrow ravine) with steep, rocky sides located southwest of Jerusalem, separating Mount Zion to the north from the hill of evil counsel’ and the sloping rocky plateau of the ‘plain of Rephaim’ to the south

 2Ch 28:4  He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

 2Ch 28:5  Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought [them] to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.

Aram or Arameans = “exalted”

1) Aram or Syria the nation

2) the Syrian or Aramean people

Damascus = “silent is the sackcloth weaver”

1) an ancient trading city, capital of Syria, located in the plain east of Hermon, 130 (205 km) miles northeast of Jerusalem

 2Ch 28:6  For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, [which were] all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.

Pekah = “opened”

1)    son of Remaliah, originally a captain of king Pekahiah of Israel, murdered Pekahiah, usurped the throne and became the 18th king of the northern kingdom of Israel

Remaliah = “protected by Jehovah”

1) father of king Pekah of the northern kingdom of Israel

 2Ch 28:7  And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah [that was] next to the king.

Zichri = “memorable”

1) the father of Eliezer, the chief of the Reubenites in the reign of David

2) the father of Amasiah, a descendant of Judah

3) a son of Izhar and grandson of Kohath

4) a descendant of Eliezer the son of Moses

5) a son of Asaph, elsewhere called ‘Zabdi’ and ‘Zaccur’

6) a priest of the family of Abijah, in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua

7) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Shimhi

8) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Shashak

9) a descendant of Benjamin of the sons of Jeroham

10) father of Joel and descendant of Benjamin

11) a father of Elishaphat, one of the conspirators with Jehoiada

12) a Ephraimite hero in the invading army of Pekah the son of Remaliah

(This name seems to live up to its meaning. Look how many times this person or persons of this name are mentioned.)

Ephraim = “double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful”

1) second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh

2) the tribe, Ephraim

3) the mountain country of Ephraim

4) sometimes used name for the northern kingdom (Hosea or Isaiah)

5) a city near Baal-hazor

6) a chief gate of Jerusalem

Maaseiah = “work of Jehovah”

1) a descendant of Jeshua who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

2) a priest of the sons of Harim who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

3) a priest of the sons of Pashur who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

4) a descendant of Pahath-moab who had taken a foreign wife in the time of Ezra

5) father of Azariah

6) one who stood on the right hand of Ezra when he read the law to the people

7) a Levite who assisted when Ezra read the law to the people

8) one of the heads of the people whose descendants signed the covenant with Nehemiah

9) a Benjamite ancestor of Sallu

10) a priest who took part in the musical service at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem under Ezra

Azrikam = “help against the enemy”

1) son of Neariah and descendant of Zerubbabel of the royal line of Judah

2) a Benjamite, eldest son of Azel and descendant of Saul

3) a Levite, ancestor of Shemaiah in the time of Nehemiah

4) governor of the palace of king Ahaz of Judah and victim of murder by Zichri

Elkanah = “God has possessed” or “God has created”

1) Samuel’s father

2) a ruler in Jerusalem in the time of king Ahaz

3) one of David’s mighty warriors

4) son of Korah

5) several Levites

On an unrelated note: Check out Myki’s post. Peace.

The Book of Isaiah

Chapter 1 V.1 Part 3.4

Paul & the Female Controversy 9

Please be sure you have read the preface to this section in the previous post, so that you have understanding about the source of this information.

In the mid-second century the Acts of Paul the apostle, gives a sermon composed of thirteen beatitudes that emphasize cumatively that the only blessed ones are “the pure in heart, who have kept the flesh pure, who have renounced the world, who have wives as if they had them not, who have kept their baptism secure, who have departed from the form of this world.” The climactic beatitude says, “Blessed are the bodies of the Virgins.”

The immediate pagan accusation against Paul is, quite correctly, that “he deprives young men of wives and maidens of husbands, saying: ‘Otherwise there is no resurrection for you, except you remain chaste and do not defile the flesh but keep it pure.’” That is certainly clear; bodily resurrection is for celibates only (and preferably, for virgins). But once again, within patriarchy, that ideal creates different problems for the male Paul and the female Thecla.

Thecla’s would be husband, Thamyris, persuades the governor to scourge and expel Paul, but to condemn Thecla to being burned alive. She is saved in the arena by a rainstorm and catches up to Paul on the road.

“And Thecla said to Paul, ‘I will cut my hair short and follow you wherever you go.’ But he said, ‘The season is unfavorable, and you are comely. May no other temptation come upon you, worse than the first, and you endure not and play the coward.’” (25)

No comment is necessary on that interchange, but it gets worse. To Alexander, another would-be husband, Paul denies Thecla in words remnant of Peter’s betrayal of Jesus. Paul says, ‘I do not know the woman of whom you speak, nor is she mine. (26)

Thecla rejects Alexander and shames him for his forceful public advances by ripping his cloak and knocking the crown from his head. She is condemned to the beasts in the arena. But here, miracles far greater than a rainstorm intervene.

First of all, the ensuing division is not between Christians and pagans, but between women and men, or better, between females and males. Here are the steps.

“The women were panic-stricken, and cried out before the judgment seat; ‘An evil judgment! A godless judgment!’” (27)

Next, Thecla, who had been abandoned by her birth mother, Theoclaia, receives an adoptive mother, Tryphaena, who is powerful enough to protect her purity in prison. (27, 31)

Then, when they bind Thecla to a fierce lioness, “the lioness licked her feet.” And once again, “the women and their children cried out from above, saying, ‘O God, an impious judgment is come to pass in this city!’”(28)

That continues with “a shouting of the people and the women who sat together, some saying, ‘Bring in the sacrilegious one!’ but others, ‘May the city perish for this lawlessness! Slay us all, proconsul. A bitter sight, an evil judgment.’” (32)

The climax of this theme is this extraordinary description in which the conflict is female against male not only among humans, but even among animals:

Lions and bears were set upon her, and a fierce lioness ran to her and lay down at her feet. And the crowd of women raised a great shout. And a bear ran upon her, but the lioness ran and met it, and tore the bear asunder. And again a lion trained against men, which belonged to Alexander, ran upon her; and the lioness grappled with the lion, and perished with it. And the women mourned the more, since the lioness which helped her was dead. (33)

Second, Thecla sees in the arena a pit of water and, having been earlier refused baptism by the apostle Paul, she proceeds to baptize herself. Lightning protects her from the animals in the water. When other animals are sent in against Thecla, “the women cried aloud” and threw so much of their perfume into the arena that the animals “were overpowered as if by sleep.” (34)

Third, after Tryphaena faints, the governor releases Thecla, “the women cried out with a loud voice, and as with one mouth gave praise to God,” and Tryphaena’s “maidservants also believed.” (38-39)

Finally, Thecla dresses herself in a male cloak and goes to meet Paul, who, this time and rather belatedly, tells her, “Go and teach the word of God.” (41)

Scholars have suggested that stories like those about Thecla were created by women for women and circulated orally among them before being written down and collected in the Acts of Paul.

That is certainly possible, but early Christian feminism was because of that division not just between women and men, but between females and males. Other scholars have proposed that letters such as those to Timothy and Titus were written specifically against those Thecla-type stories. That is also quite possible, but again, can hardly be proved or disproved.

We have yet to see much more about historical Paul throughout the rest of this book. But we have already seen that two absolutely divergent traditions claimed the name of that apostle after his death.

One moved him into an ultraconservative position of male-over-female superiority, the other into an ultra radical one of necessary male and female celibacy.

The ultraconservative option is not just patriarchal misogyny. It demands male leadership to be sure, but one that is noncelibate and nonascetic. Its leaders must be male, married, and fertile-in short, socially conventional. Just like any decent Roman paterfamilias.

The ultra radical option has both female and male leadership, but Thecla outdoes Paul in every way possible. The leadership there is female, unmarried, celibate, and virginal. And each claims to be Pauline and the only true Christianity.

If, however, Roman authority thought that the ultra radical option was Christianity itself, it would probably have declared it an illicit religion. The ultraconservative option was one major step on the road from Christ to Constantine.

It is sad, however, that the Christian tradition did not adopt a firm both/and rather, than a strict either/or; that is, Christian life and leadership could be equally female or male, married or celibate, conventional or ascetic. That, certainly and regardless of his personal preferences for himself, was the authentic Pauline position for Christian converts and assemblies.

I’ve no doubt that some of you will be “sad” to note that we are finally at the end of the “Female Controversy” of this section of the study! Ha! I know…I know…I thought it was endless too, but I’m only showing you what God showed me. It’s not like I’m harping on this. So the next section will be finishing up the background information on the rest of the kings, and then maybe, we can actually get to verse 2! Peace and blessings.