Freemasonry 258 second degree tracing board research file
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The document provides summaries of key terms and people from the biblical story of Jephthah and the Ammonites. It describes: - Jephthah as a judge of Israel who was cast out and became a leader of outlaws. He made a rash vow to sacrifice whoever greeted him upon returning from battle. Unfortunately, this was his daughter. - The Ammonites as descendants of Lot who lived northeast of the Dead Sea and caused problems for the Israelites. King Saul defeated them, uniting the tribes of Israel. - Details around Jephthah's defeat of the Ammonites after making his vow, the fulfillment of the vow by sacrificing his daughter, and the
Freemasonry 258 second degree tracing board research file
- 1. 2nd Degree Tracing Board Research Notes: Cubit: An ancient measurement from the elbow to the tip off the 1 fingers being 18 inches. Shibboleth: Hebrew word meaning part of a plant containing grain. It was used to distinguish ones social or region of origin. Its pronunciation identifies its speaker as being a member or not a member of a particular group or tribe. Specie: An ancient coinage currency usually made of precious metals. Gileadites: The name originates from the word Gilead meaning ‘Hill of Test Moment or Mound of Witness’ A mountainous region east of the River Jordan. Situated in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Ephraimites: The tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. They were eventually part of the house of Joseph. They were part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes, until the formation of the first kingdom of Israel. According to the Hebrew Bible: The Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph. The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the
- 2. 2 founder of only one tribe. Thus there were in reality thirteen tribes; but the number twelve was preserved by excluding that of Levi when Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned separately. From after the conquest of Canaan by Joshua, who himself was a descendant of Ephraim in c. 1200 BCE, until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Ephraim was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges. With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Ephraim joined the new kingdom with Saul as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the death of Ish-bosheth, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Ephraim joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David, who was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom. The first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel was Jeroboam, who came from the Tribe of Ephraim. The accents of the tribes were distinctive enough even at the time of the confederacy so that when the Israelites of Gilead, under the leadership of Jephthah, fought the Tribe of Ephraim, their pronunciation of shibboleth as sibboleth was considered sufficient evidence to single
- 3. 3 out individuals from Ephraim, so that they could be subjected to immediate death by the Israelites of Gilead. Ephraim was a member of the Northern Kingdom until the kingdom was conquered by Assyria in c. 723 BC and the population deported. From that time, the Tribe of Ephraim has been counted as one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Ammonities: From the family of Abraham They lived northeast of the Dead Sea. They caused the Israelites many problems! During the Israelites exodus from their Egyptian Captivity, they did not allow them passage through their land and for that reason they were excluded from the family of God for Ten Generations. King Saul defeated the Ammonties, after several attacks by them. This eventually untied the various tribes of Israel under King Saul. It is understood King Solomon’s chief wife Naamoh was an Ammonite In the Bible, the Ammonites are said to be a group of people stemming from the family of Abraham and during Old Testament times caused the Israelites many problems. *They were a distinct group of people living northeast of the Dead Sea *In Biblical times the government of the Ammonites was known as the Kingdom of the Ammonites. The kingdom basically centred on the city-state of Rabbah located at the
- 4. headwaters of the Jabbok River. Today the site of Rabbah is the city of Amman in Jordan. *The Bible explains the origins of the Ammonite people from the incestuous event between Lot and his daughters following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both daughters had children and the Moabites and Ammonites were decendents of the unions. Their admitted kinship through the centuries and close ties in language development attest to kinship. Genesis states ‘So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father’. The firstborn gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger also gave birth to a son, and she named him Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites of today. *There was definitely bad blood between the Ammonites and the Israelites as far back as the Exodus. The Ammonites did not allow the Israelites passage through their lands and for this reason they were excluded from the family of God for ten generations (Deuteronomy 23:3) *King Saul defeated the Ammonite King, Nahash. In fact, several attacks by the Ammonites were the triggers which eventually united the various Israelite tribes under King Saul. *King David had some good dealings with King Nahash, but did not get along so well with his successor, King Hanun. *King David’s armies defeated King Hanun. When King David was courting Bathsheba he sent her husband, Uriah, on an impossible mission. In fact, Uriah was killed while storming the walls of Rabbah, the main city of the Ammonite Kingdom. 4
- 5. *King Solomon’s chief wife was Naamah, an Ammonitess. She was the mother of Rehoboam. *In New Testament times the Ammonites were still a thorn in the side of Israel. The Pharisees were very concerned with the large number of mixed marriages between Hebrews, Moabites, and Ammonites according to the Justin Martyr. At one point a law in the Mishnah states Ammonite men are excluded, but the women can be admitted to the Jewish community. *In fact, many scholars over the years have expressed concern regarding the Messianic line through King David because he came from Ruth, a Moabite. Jephtha: In Hebrew means Oppressor Was the son of Galaad and a Harlot. He was most valiant man and a warrior. According to the Book of Judges he was cast out by his father’s legitimate sons and joined a band of brigands. When the Gileaties were oppressed by the Ammonite Army, they asked Jephtha to aid them He lead them to victory having first promised God a sacrifice of whatever he first saw when he left his house after prayer. Unfortunately it was his daughter. His significance in the Book of Judges is an Exemplar of Israel’s fidelity to God. Biblical Data: Jephtha was a Judge of Israel during six years (Judges xii. 7); conqueror of the Ammonites. According to Judges xi. 1, he 5
- 6. was a Gileadite, son of Gilead and a harlot. Driven from his father's house by his father's legitimate sons, he settled in the land of Tob (a district on the east of Jordan, about 13 miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee, to which Jephtha fled from his brethren (Judg. 11:3, 5). It was on the northern boundary of Perea, between Syria and the land of Ammon) as chief of a band of freebooters (Judges xi. 3). On the occasion of the war with the Ammonites, Jephtha's aid was sought by the elders of Gilead and obtained on the condition that they would accept him as their chief; and he was accordingly solemnly invested with authority at Mizpah (which means "watchtower", for Laban said, "May the LORD keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant when we are out of each other's sight.). Before taking the field, Jephthah resorted to diplomacy, sending an embassy to the King of Ammon. This failing, Jephthah attacked and completely defeated him, taking from him twenty cities (Judges xi. 12-33). The most prominent act in Jephthah's life was his vow to sacrifice to Yhwh YAHWEH (Translated: I AM WHO I AM) whatsoever came first out of his house to meet him if he should return victorious. His vow fell upon his only daughter, who came out to meet him dancing to the sound of timbrels. Jephthah, having given her a respite of two months, consummated his vow. After this it became the custom for the daughters of Israel to lament four days in every year the death of Jephthah's daughter (Judges xi. 34-40). After the war a quarrel broke out between Jephthah and the Ephraimites, who reproached him for not having called them to take part. Having seized the fords of the Jordan, Jephthah required every fugitive who attempted to cross to pronounce the word "shibboleth." Those who betrayed their Ephraimite origin by saying "sibboleth" were put to death; in this manner 42,000 Ephraimites fell (Judges xii. 1-6). 6
- 7. The return of Jephtha from the Ephraimate War Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. (Judges 11:34 And when he saw her, he rent his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me; for I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow." (Judges 11:35) It is assumed he had expected to see a stranger? She understood his dilemma and promised to cooperate. Jephthah honoured her one final request for two months leave so she may bewail her virginity. And she said to him, "My father, if you have opened your mouth to the LORD, do to me according to what has gone forth from your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites." And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions." And he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. (Judges 11:36-38) She returned after two months and Jepthah kept his vow. And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had made. She had never known a man. And it became a custom in Israel 7
- 8. that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. (Judges 11:34-40) Jephthah can also means ‘he opens’; the name may refer 8 to Jephthah’s fatal habit of speaking without thinking - he opened his mouth to make the vow when it would have been better if he had remained silent. Names in the Bible often say something about the person, but in this case the young woman in the story is nameless. People without a name seem less real, so leaving the girl without a name minimized the horror of Jephthah's act, and made him more acceptable as a hero of Israel.