The Tanakh Podcast

Brother against brother. In this chapter, after hearing about the horrific rape in Givah, 400,000 soldiers wage war, a war of decimation and destruction, against The tribe of Benjamin. But they consult with God twice and each time they lose the battle. Why does God allow them to lose if this is a holy war, a legitimate cause? Or possibly, it is illegitimate?

In one of the most horrific episodes of the Tanakh, a rape, reminiscent of the Sedom story, transpires in Giv'ah. Israel has become like Sedom!
Originally published - December 21, 2022

The Tribe of Dan are in transit. They are looking for land. What happened to their tribal lands?
The chapter described how they fund an quiet unsuspecting region in the North of Israel and, clothing their actions in religious language, sieze the land (and lives) of innocents. But this is not the only violent action that they perform.  
First published: December 20, 2022

Stolen money, a curse that becomes a blessing, an idol that becomes a center for asking questions of God, an unemployed Levite who functions as a priest in an unauthorized Temple.
All of this represents the chaotic world of a society in which religion is influenced by pagan standards of other nations and in which Jewish leadership has broken down.

Originally published: December 19, 2022

Samason meets Delilah and gives her the keys to his remarkable strength - his hair which is expressive of his Nazirirte status. The Chapter ends with Samson's suicide in which he "kills more in his death than during his life."
We spend this podcast trying to offer some frameworks to understand this challenging personality.

Originally recorded December 18, 2022