Lech Lecha (Part 2) - Genesis 12:1-17:27

(Note: I am posting this a week early because I will be on vacation)

Abraham and the War of the Gods

Preface

There is a short chapter in the Book of Genesis that speaks of a war between two groups of nine different kingdoms, a war that Abraham gets eventually involved in to save his nephew from captivity. The story of this war is usually glossed over, and is oddly placed.

One of the biggest problems with the story, which is typically ignored (and may be the cause for it being glossed over), is its reference to unnatural beings and Gods. This might explain why many interpretations of the text avoid naming them and fall back to transliterations rather than translation or interpretations of the names.

Before we proceed, it is important that you understand that the Pentateuch was not written by one person, and that even the individual books have more than one contributor and editor. Because of that, it is a mistake to take something in a narrative in Genesis, and then modify what it was saying by applying a different explanation in Deuteronomy. But it need not just be between different books, but even different portions of the same book, portions contributed by different narrators, can cause such a problem. We see this when trying to homogenize the two Creation narratives of Genesis 1 and 2, where there are incompatibilities that require adding other stories in order to make them work better.

I will explain further below when we get to the Rephaim: servants of the Gods in the Book of Genesis, long before the Deuteronomists changed the Rephaim into giants who have no connection to the Gods. 

Before the War

Once upon a time, in the land of Ur Kasim, lived Abram (who would later be known as Abraham[1]), with his father, brother, and wife Sarai[2] (who would later be known as Sarah[3]), who was also his half-sister (they shared the same father, but different mothers)[4]. Abram and Sarai were childless,[5] which is a statement that will be repeated over and over within the Genesis text.

One day, Abram’s father, Terach, took his three sons and their families with him, to leave their land and go to the land of the Canaan, where they would settle in a place called Haran. At a later time, Abram’s father died there[6] at the ripe old age of 205, making Abram 75 years old at the time.

At some point after this, YHVH tells Abram to leave the place where he was living, just as he left the place of his father (inferring Ur Kasim), to arrive at a place to be revealed later on. In short, Abram was to go deeper into the land of Canaan where YHVH would show him all of the land that was to be his[7]. He takes his half-sister wife and, for reasons unexplained, his nephew with him. He also takes “souls that they made” (Gen 12:5) with them, which is an expression, causing many translations to express this in other ways that are ideologically sound. 

Abraham would encounter a Pharaoh, deceive him, and get sent away later with his entourage and a lot of material gains: slaves, servants, and animals[8].

(Note: It is odd that this story of Abram tricking the king because he was afraid is nearly the same in chapter 20, with some changes. It makes one wonder if this story was simply being retold in two places by two different narrators. There are other examples or such repetition in the text).

Eventually, Abram would find a place to settle. His workers and those of Lot would not get along, and so Lot moved towards Sodom, and Abram is told by God that all of the real estate that he sees will be given to his offspring[9].

And Abraham dwelled peacefully.

Here is a map of Abraham’s travels:

The war itself would be farther south, close to the Dead Sea. But let’s pause for a moment before we go there.

The Gods of Canaan

About a century ago, the writings of the ancient city of Ugarit were uncovered. A vast number of tablets have given us insight as to how they lived, as well as to what they believed. It is fascinating that a number of the Gods mentioned in their text are also mentioned in the Old Testament. YHVH is not mentioned, and appears to either have been unknown to them, or is a new name applied to an existing God.

EL, Asherah, Ashteroth, Anat, Baal, Elohim, Mot, Shamayim, and others appear, not only in the Ugarit text, but in the Old Testament as well. At no point does the Torah call these Gods “false Gods”, but simply “other Gods”. Later texts, such as Jeremiah will include propaganda that all of their Gods are worthless and the same as the idols, of wood and metal. And the book of Isaiah would have YHVH banish the other Gods to other lands, and there would be no more Elohim, not even the Elohim of the Hebrews. But it would not be until after the exile that the Jews would embrace monotheism (there has only ever been one God) in place of henotheism (they have been loyal to only one God out of many Gods).

This war story appears to be quite old, is taking place in the land of Canaan, in a place where the Gods walked the earth or, when needed, their unnatural servants acted on their behalf.

Now, before we look at the battle, let’s look at the unnatural and supernatural players who are often missed.

The Not-so-Human Participants

Ashteroth

The first of these mentioned, after the names of the human kings[11] is the Goddess Ashteroth who is referred to as “Ashteroth of the horns”, for She is often depicted as a horned Goddess in the objects created in Her name:

The verse reads “…and they struck the Rephaim who were with Ashteroth of the horns”. Yet most translations will read “and they struck the Rephaim who were in Ashteroth-karnaim”, to hide the Goddess. Some translations are more honest about it.

We are now going to look at the various categories of giants, of servants of the Gods (Rephaim), who were also participating in the battle.

It should be noted that many apologists have a problem with the Goddess Ashteroth actually being in the text, and will fight tooth and nail to hold that "Ashteroth-karnaim" was a place, and not a Goddess. And yet, they don't have a problem with there being supernatural Rephaim dwelling there, picturing them as giant monsters and fighting the puny humans.

It's an odd position to hold.

Rephaim

The Rephaim, mentioned with Ashteroth[12], were those who once lived among the people of the land, but were taken by one or more Gods, to serve them. According to the text, these Rephaim were not invincible and could be killed. And like the Ugarit version, some were kings, and would continue to rule their subjects. The later  Deuteronomy text expands on the story, changing the Rephaim, saying that they were “tall like giants.” and that one of them had a large iron bed. The Genesis texts, however, don't indicate anything unnatural about them. External texts, such as the Book of Job, tell us that they dwell in Sheol, beneath the ground, and will rise up as needed. If one tries to apply every reference to the Rephaim and try to make them all into a single explanation, you will have a stew composed of incompatible ingredients.

Different books and different authors had different ideas about the Rephaim. But their us in Genesis is certainly one of serving the Gods, and as such, their being mentioned in the Torah is a problem for those who want to hold a monotheistic view of that book.

IMPORTANT

The term "Rephaim" only appears 7 times in the Torah, with 2 of them being in Genesis 14:5 and 15:20. In Deuteronomy we see it in 2:11, twice in 2:20, 3:11, and 3:13.

In the Genesis version, all we know is that the Rephaim are those who were with the Goddess. This is consistent with what we know from the older Ugarit text from Canaan, that the Rephaim, which is a transliteration of the Canaanite word, served the Gods. And where you saw a rapau (singular for Rephaim), you knew that his God was being served.

The Deuteronomist(s) took the Gods away, and made the Rephaim into giants. Not only were they giants, but their food was giant, so big that it took two humans to carry a single cluster of grapes. And these giants were so big, that the humans looked like grasshoppers when compared to them. And there were no Gods by them or mentioned in relationship to them.

I am not calling the Rephaim "giants" because the Rephaim in Genesis does not work with the Deuteronomy narrative. It should also be noted that the Deuteronomy narrative tells us that "Og was the last of the Rephaim[13]", but in their war against him in the earlier book of Numbers, he is never called that. As is common in Scripture, stories change with the telling, and as the ages pass by.

The Genesis text tells us of two other unnatural players in the war. One of these, the Emim, was “called Rephaim by the Moabites[14]” by the Deurteronomist.

Emim

There is a tradition that the Emim[15] were called that because they were “dreaded ones”, which is based on the root letters of the name. Of course, that same book also tells us that this particular group of rephaim were tall like the "giants" (anakim), and were known among the Moabites[16].

Zuzim/Zamzuzim

The Zuzim[17] may have been called this because they caused those who saw them to flee (from “zuz”, meaning “move”). But the Deuteronomist [18] gives them a slightly different name, calling them Zamzuzim. Because the Deuteronomist also includes the Emim, like the Genesis text, it is generally assumed that the Zamzuzim and the Zuzim are the same, without considering that the narrative has made a change. An additional idea provided is that it was the Ammonites who called the Zamzuzim ,"Rephaim". Like the Emim, the Zamzuzim were said to have been many and were tall like the "giants"[19].

It would make sense for each nation to have their own rephaim, and give them alternate names that were unique to their region. And even if we discard all of the Deuteronomy descriptions of the Rephaim, and say that the Emim and the Zuzim in chapter 14 of Genesis were not Rephaim, it does not detract that there were Rephaim in the story fighting with a Goddess. Because of that, I am willing to tentatively hold that there were three kingdoms with rephaim living among them.

Because of that, let's say that we have the Moabite Rephaim, the Ammonite Rephaim, and the local Rephaim battling on one side. Keep in mind that, according to the Genesis use and that of the Canaanite texts, the Rephaim serve the Gods, and one can certainly imply that if the Rephaim are fighting, then the Gods, as in The Iliad, are also directly involved.

Human Non-Participants

Even though they are listed with the Rephaim, there were other kingdoms mentioned, not to make them giants as well, but to simply indicate the extent and locations of the battles.

These include the Horim (who would end up intermarrying with Esau’s descendants), the Amalekites (who would attack the Hebrews during the Exodus story) and the Amorites. The Amalekites is a bit problematic, given that Amalek wasn’t even born until after the Esau story.   

Human Participants

According to the story, you once had a unified group of 9 kingdoms. For some reason that is never made clear, 4 of the kingdoms broke away, and the 5 kingdoms were fighting them for years. These groups were:

1. Four kingdoms represented by: King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goyyim[20].
2. Five kingdoms represented by: King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboyim, and King Zoar of Bela.

Two of the kingdoms of group 2 should be familiar to everyone who has heard of the book of Genesis: Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot (Abraham’s nephew), who moved to Sodom because is family issues with Abraham and his workers, was captured. Abraham, upon hearing this, decides to join in the battle which was taking place in Siddim.

When Abraham does join the battle, he brings YHVH, and even though the other side had vast armies of Rephaim, YHVH wiped most of them out.[21]

The Battle

There is no narrative that tells us about the weapons, strategy, or even the casualties. Because the Torah later says that only Og remained of all of the Rephaim, we can imagine a vast plain of the bodies of these Rephaim were everywhere.

But that was after YHVH showed up.

Prior to that, in the 14^th year, the group of the 5 kings could no longer cope. Some fled to the mountains, and others hid within their protective battlements, waiting for help[22].

Abraham himself stays clear of this battle until a messenger comes to tell him that his nephew was taken captive as a slave by the marauding army. Abraham sides with the 5 kings, which include the king of Sodom whose kingdom had fallen to the enemy, and his own “army” (only the ones “born in his house”), which totaled 318[23]. There is a Jewish tradition that 318 represents the numeric value of the name “Eliezer”, which was Abraham’s servant, implying that it was just the two of them, since YHVH really did the fighting for them[24].

After Abraham, his small army, and YHVH single-handedly defeated the army of the 4 kings, Abraham returned with Lot and all of the stolen booty. The army of the 5 kings came out of hiding and praised Abraham, and the High priest of the God El comes to bless them. Abraham then redistributes the booty to the group.

The Blessing

As noted, Abraham was dwelling in the land of Canaan. After the war, the High Priest comes to bless him:

Many apologists have a problem with the High Priest of El blessing Abraham, who has absolutely no problem with it. To get around this, a number of apologetics have been born. One claims that Malchizedek was really Shem, the son of Noah who had a personal relationship with YHVH[25].

But to believe that a High Priest of Canaan would be invoking the name of any chief God (“Elyon”) than El, is a force, at best. It also appears that El did not take a personal interest in the war, and so praising Him for Abraham’s success is akin to those who praised their God for the end of World War II.

Some Final Points

The story of the war of the 5 kings who fought against the 4 kings is certainly not a natural war. You have rephaim, and at least one God and Goddess involved in it. You, perhaps, have not just one, but three different armies of Rephaim on the side of the 4 kings, forcing the 5 kings to flee with their lives. And it is only when Abraham shows up with his God that the tide changes, the Rephaim, (according to Deuteronomy, not the Genesis text) were nearly wiped out, and the war was over.

The story of the war seems to be an odd interlude between Abraham pitching his tent and bemoaning the fact that Sarah is childless, and the story where YHVH promises to fix that problem[26].

But be that as it may, the short story about an epic battle between humans and non-humans is an amazing one. It is rarely cited by those who are embarrassed by the inclusion of giants in the text, and is often skimmed over because of its placement right in the middle of Abraham wanting to have a child with Sarah.

Oh, one more thing.

Giants.

Sites, such as “Answers in Genesis” claim that because we have giant snakes and bugs today, it means that there could have been giant human societies in the past, which is a logical leap. Not only are there biological reasons why that cannot work, but it does not explain the lack of giant populations or of a single skeleton ever being found. Their final response is quite telling:

"However, the biblical data about these people can be trusted because it is in the Word of God. Furthermore, other ancient sources describe giants, and the Anakim are even mentioned as dwelling in the land of Canaan."[27]

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[1] Genesis 17:5

[2] Genesis 11:27-29

[3] Genesis 17:15

[4] Genesis 20:12

[5] Genesis 11:20

[6] Genesis 11:31-32

[7] Genesis 15:18

[8] Genesis 12:16

[9] Genesis 13:17-18
[10] Removed
[11] Removed

[12] Genesis 14:5

[13] Deuteronomy 3:11

[14] Deuteronomy 2:12

[15] Genesis 14:5

[16] Deuteronomy 2:10-11

[17] Genesis 14:5

[18] Deuteronomy 2:20

[19] Ibid. 2:21

[20] I won’t be interpreting anything based on the names, but will stick to the plain narrative.

[21] Deuteronomy 3:11 says that Og was the last living one.

[22] Genesis 14:10

[23] Genesis 14:14. 

[24] Talmud, Nedarim, 32a

[25] Talmud, Nederim 32b and Targum Yonaton

[27] https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/giants-in-the-old-testament/