REPRINTS FROM THE  JERUSALEM POST; BY GOL KALEV, April 8, 2021

   

Right before arriving in the Promised Land, a mysterious plague killed 24,000 Hebrews who were in close contact with local Moabite women.

Just a few months later, we are told that nearby Jericho is under strict lockdown: “None went out, and none came in.” A siege is usually imposed by the enemy to cut the lifeline of supplies, not by the defenders. Was there another fear that guided the action by Jericho?

We also know that the two Hebrew spies that were sent to Jericho to “see it” did not go inside, but opted to question a collaborator at the city walls. We also know those spies quarantined for three days in the mountains before returning to the Hebrew camp, as they were dodging the Jericho pursuers.

Moreover, the unconventional method used by the Hebrews to conquer Jericho – destroying the walls in entirety as opposed to going in through the gates – allowed for open-space combat and radically reduced the need for close-proximity contact with the local fighters.

We know the city was then burned, and that Joshua charged the Hebrews with the oath never to rebuild it. When centuries later, that oath was violated, it had deadly consequences (new research on the time viruses can stay in ruined surfaces? Physically or spiritually…).

This circumstantial evidence may not amount to startling conclusions, but it does underscore the eternal vibrancy of the Bible. Our evolving circumstances allow us to read it through new light and draw from it new relevant perspectives – like a ladder of ascending and descending.

Feeder Article: Passovers of Growing Emancipation

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE APRIL 9, 2022 JERUSALEM POST MAGAZINE – CLICK FOR THE PDF OF THE MAGAZINE:

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