THE PORTION OF JUDAH If the west of the Jordan represents the Church of the New Testament; Judah occupies in it the place of prominence, as being the tribe from which the Word of God came incarnated. The lot came to it first; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh had his portion in the midst of the children of Judah. 1- The portion of Judah 1 -- 12 2- Caleb and Kirjath Arba 13 -- 14 3- Caleb and the village of Debir 15 -- 19 4- Names of the cities 20 -- 62 5- The dwelling of the Jebusites amid the children of Judah 63 1- The portion of Judah: In the division of the land of Gilead, east of the Jordan, they possessed through the law (that is to say in the days of Moses), the lot began by ‘Reuben;’ the firstborn according to the flesh. But here, as the division refers to the inheritance of the New Testament, there is no commitment to the first birthright according to the flesh, but to that according to the spirit. That is why the lot came first on the royal tribe (the tribe of Judah), from which our Lord Jesus Christ comes according to the flesh, “The lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5: 5). It was necessary for the first birth according to the flesh to disappear, and that according to the spirit to appear; as a proclamation that our Lord Christ would occupy the place of prominence as the Firstborn of humanity, in place of the first Adam; something for which the Holy Book has prepared through several symbols, as when Jacob took over the first birthright instead of Esau, Isaac, the son of the promise, instead of Ishmael ...etc. And now, having crossed the Jordan, and having got the new land as inheritance, our spiritual Firstborn proceeds as the Leader of the whole Church, Who grants her His feature; as through Him, She became “the Church of the firstborns”. The first birthright in the New Testament does not deprive the others of that grace; as is the case according to the flesh, where only the one firstborn gets it. I wish we do not seek to have our inheritance among the tribe of Reuben, he who “tore his clothes” (Genesis 37: 29), and lost his first birthright; but among that of the spiritual tribe of Judah, through abiding in the Lion coming from it; so as to be worthy of getting the first portion 202 of the inheritance of the New Testament. Let us approach Joshua, together with Judah, to acquire our portion in Him, and to take our lot, after the war stopped and we enjoyed peace; having been said concerning our flesh, “The land rested from war”! The divine inspiration clarified the boundaries of Judah from every direction, something that bears deep spiritual concepts. Here we have in mind what the scholar Origen says: [Despite our inability to understand and to interpret every secret; we shall try our best, with the help of the grace of God] 1. From one aspect, the boundary of the portion of Judah is: “The border of Edom at the wilderness of Zin southward” (Joshua 15: 1). In our interpretation of the Book of Ezekiel, we saw that the word ‘Edom’ is taken from ‘Adam’, meaning (earthly) or (bloody), and that ‘Adam’ is intended to be ‘Esau’ or ‘Seir’2; referring to the evil one, who brings our heart down to dust, to let it live with earthly thoughts, with his bloody nature that loves fighting us. St. Augustine says: [Do not expect any peace, as the enemy will be always chasing you; if not with a clear anger, it would be with concealed shrewdness; that is why he is called a lion or a serpent. He was called a lion, because of its angry roar; and a serpent, because of his concealed shrewdness.] 3. So, if, in Jesus Christ, we are going to enjoy inheritance, yet the enemy is standing on the border, like Edom on the border of Judah, as though at the door, longing to deprive us of our heavenly nature, to bring us down to the love of the earthliness. He stands as an adversary seeking our perdition, and would never rest except with shedding our blood spiritually. Before designating the boundaries of the portion of Judah, they started by revealing the presence of the border of Edom and the wilderness of Zin4; the later referring to temptation. No access to the land of Judah, to enjoy the inheritance, except after first, crossing the wilderness of temptation; the road is narrow and difficult, surrounded by consistent temptations; Yet all that, increase the strength of our strife; and amid the affliction, the Lord proclaims Himself, as the secret of our true comfort. That is why St., Augustine says: [Temptations and afflictions, even when numerous, is your way to perfection, and are not a cause for perishment]; and he says: [The bunch of grapes dangles from 1 In Jos. Hom 19: 1. (St Jerome: on Pshom 34). 2 للمؤلف: حزقيال. . 3 خواطر فيلسوف ص 234 . 4 سفر العدد 1981 203 the vine, and the olive fruit is attached to its branch; and as long as they are so connected, they would enjoy the open air; so that the grapes would never become wine, nor the olive fruit become oil; unless pressed by the press. Such was the state of mankind, whom God called before ages to make them in the likeness of His Son; who appeared more conspicuously in his Passion, as though a precious vine] 1. The Book completes its talk of the border of Judah as follows: “And their southern border began at the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. Then it went out to the southern side of the Ascent of the Akrabbim, passed along to Zin, ascended on the south side of Kadesh Barnea, passed along to Hezron, went up to Adar, and went around to Karkaa.” (Joshua 15: 2, 3) As though it says, that whoever wishes to enjoy the royal tribe will have to cross through those bitter places, to cross peacefully over to the inheritance. He will have to cross over Edom, Zin, the Salt Sea, and the Ascent of Akrabbim! What is meant by crossing the Salt Sea, but overcoming the disturbances of this life and its roundabouts; In the Salt Sea would be found, “Leviathan”, the marine serpent (Psalm 104: 26), that the Lord Christ destroyed through His entrance into the water, to crucify it in its dwelling place! Therefore, let us destroy the serpent through our crucifixion together with our Lord Jesus Christ, in order to cross over peacefully to our land of inheritance. As to the Ascent of Akrabbim, it refers to the battles of the enemy against us; as ‘Akrabbim’ means in Hebrew, (scorpions). God has given us the authority to tread over the serpents and the scorpions, and all the forces of darkness and nothing hurts us(Luke10:16) . The scholar Origen says: [If we want to enter into the land of inheritance of the tribe of Judah, we have to practice that sort of ascent, in order to tread over and crush the scorpions on our way. That no doubt was the way crossed by Ezekiel, to whom the Lord said: “You dwell among scorpions” (Ezekiel 2: 6)] 2. These are the regions around the portion of the land of inheritance of Judah: consistent temptations (Zin); disturbance (the Salt Sea); wars of the devil as scorpions (Ascent of Akrabbim); and violence from (Edom). Yet, the inside is utterly joyful; where we encounter the waters of the fountain of (Beth Shemesh) (Joshua 15: 10), and (Jerusalem) the city of the Great King, and the symbol of the heavenly life. .239 ، 1 خواطر فيلسوف: ص 238 2 In Jos. Hom 19: 3. 204 The scholar Origen says: [What does this sun (Shemesh) refer to? It is that of which is written: “To you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness shall arise” (Malachi 4: 2). As you start surpassing the Salt Sea, you will find yourself in the land of Judah, where the fountain of the sun is. What is this fountain? Surely it is that of which the Lord Christ said: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4: 14). And as we encounter the fountain of the sun, we shall find the city; as it is written in the Book. It is said that in Egypt there is likewise a ‘Beth Shemesh’; yet that city in Egypt took this name from that sun which the heavenly father “rises on the evil and the good” (Matthew 5: 45); while that of Judah concerns only the saints, being the city of God, in which there is the fountain “whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High” (Psalm 46: 4)] 1. We can therefore differentiate between Beth Shemesh of Egypt, and that within the border of Judah: The first is found in the soul that worship the stone idol of the sun, which have only the image of the sun, without its light or splendor; while Beth Shemesh of Judah represents the soul that becomes a home for the sun of righteousness, namely a temple for the Lord who enlightens her life; He who lets the water of the fountain of the Holy Spirit, flows in it; The prophet Ezekiel says: “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar” (Ezekiel 47: 1). That is what the Book of Joshua called “the water of Beth Shemesh”; namely, the water that springs through the house of Christ, the sun of righteousness]. If Jerusalem came to be within the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18: 27); yet it is on the boundary between the two tribes; that formed together, later on, an independent kingdom (The Kingdom of Judah); and Judah enjoyed dwelling in Jerusalem (Joshua 15: 63); about which St. Augustine says: [That earthly Jerusalem is but a shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem] 2. God has chosen Jerusalem to be the place where His name dwells (1 Kings 11: 13; 2 Kings 21: 4); the holy city where the throne of God is (Jeremiah 3: 16; etc.); and a sign of His dwelling in the midst of His people; that is why whenever He 1 Ibid 19: 4. 2 On Ps. 12. 205 intended to chastise His people, He threatened to destroy and devastate it (Jeremiah 9: 11, 13; 9: 27; Ezekiel 4: 5; Micah 3: 12). The prophets talked about it, as a center for messianic work, to which all nations shall return (Isaiah 2: 2, etc.; 66: 18 - 20; Micah 4: 1 - 3; Haggai 2: 7, etc.). And in the New Testament, the Lord Christ proclaimed His longing for its salvation; and became for the early Church, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, a center of Christianity, where the apostles and disciples meet ... Yet, the eyes of believers were more concentrated toward the Higher Jerusalem (Galatians 4: 26; Hebrew 12: 22; Revelation 14: 1; Revelation 21) as a goal for their worship] 1. It is amazing that the Book adds to the boundary of Judah as such: “This is the boundary of the children of Judah all around according to their families.” (Joshua 15: 12) The Book grants Judas, not only the spiritual firstborn status, and the waters of the fountain of Beth Shemesh, but also, that its boundary is to be “all around”. We know that a circle refers to eternity, having no beginning and no end ... Thus what Judah inherited, is the eternal life; namely the enjoyment of the heavenly feature, that is above all the boundaries of the world; as though, whoever enters spiritually into that tribe, through his union with the Lion who comes from it, sets forth to what is beyond world inheritance, and soars above all earthliness, to have his heart and all his boundaries all around! Indeed, the tribe of Judah, as the royal tribe, bears the power inside it, through having the heavenly nature; even though surrounded by enemies on all sides: Moab on the east; Edom on the south; Amalek on the south-west (although a little far); and the Philistines on the west! 2- Caleb and Kirjath Arba: In the last chapter, we saw how Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kinizzite, claimed his right promised to him by the Lord on the tongue of Moses; namely, the possession of the mountain, where the fortified cities are, and Hebron, meaning (matrimony). And now, having received Hebron -- also called ‘Kirjath Arba’ -- meaning (city of the four). “Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.” (Joshua 15: 14) If Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kinizzite, who refers -- as we said -- to the heart that converted from despise and entered into glory; has obtained Hebron as a reward, to enter into a holy (matrimony), in 1 Mckenzie: Dict. Of Bible, p. 431. 206 which the soul unites with her Groom forever; Hebron is also called ‘Kirjath Arba’. The figure 4 refers to the world with its four corners: East, West, North, and South; and refers as well to the body taken from the earth of this world. He who has the holy heart, that converted to his eternal Groom, drive out of it the three sons of Anak, to let the Lord reign over it. It is not enough to have our hearts or our inner life holy; but we should behold our bodies with a holy way; as we present to the Groom our inner hearts, we should also present Him our bodies; so that man would work in his wholeness with harmony. St. Gregory of Nyssa likens man to a guitar that carries several strings, yet produces through the Holy Spirit, a harmonious piece of music that gives pleasure to God’s heart. The scholar Origen believes that “Anak” means (arrogant); “Sheshai” means (away from); namely, away from the Saints, and away from God, the Truth itself; “Ahiman” means (my brother is far from wisdom); and “Talmai” means (suspended over an abyss) 1. Through these meanings, we can say that our Hebron, namely, our earthly body, if controlled by “Anak”, namely, by the spirit of pride and arrogance; he would be controlled by three of his offspring, reigning together as kings over it: (getting away from God, the Truth; and hence from wisdom; something that makes man as though suspended over an abyss, or sloping into it). I wish we come to be like Caleb, driving out from ourselves the pride, the origin of the disease; so as not to be anymore away of God, the secret of our life; not to become deprived of His divine wisdom; and not subsequently be sloping into the abyss. On the contrary we return to God, to enjoy His wisdom, and to be lifted up by Him from the abyss, to the everlasting life. 3- Caleb and Debir: “Then he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir (formerly the name of Debir was ‘Kirjath Sepher’). And Caleb said, ‘He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife’. So Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. Now it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She answered, ‘Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the south, give me also springs of water’; so 1 In Jos. Hom 15: 20. 207 he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.” (Joshua 15: 15 -- 19) Caleb, as a representative of the holy heart, said that whoever strikes and takes ‘Kirjath Sepher’; namely, (city of the Book); to him he will give ‘Achsah’ his daughter a wife; His brother Othniel the son of Kenaz did that; He took Kirjath Sepher, that became ‘Debir’, namely, (utterance) or (ordinance), so he married Achsah. The word ‘Othniel’ means (God’s responds or listens); nobody can approach the ‘Kirjath’ of the Holy Book, nor to understand its deep secrets, unless God responds or listens to him; our understanding of the Book, is a gift or a grace from God, granted to those who seek it; and as Othniel got the Book, or Kirjath Sepher, it became Debir to him; namely, transformed from a literal Book, to utterance, inner understanding, and living ordinance in him... Namely, he converted from the killing literality of the law, to the Spirit, the grantor of life. His marriage to Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, means his attachment to the daughter of the holy life, which asks humanity to enter into (the city of the Book), to have God reveal its secrets to them. Achsah herself, as a daughter of the holy life in the Lord, also refers to the knowledge of spiritual secrets; It is as though Othniel, attached himself to the secrets of the Book, not only as a city to live in, but also as a wife, a partaker of his life! What did Achsah, namely, the secrets of the divine Word, do to her husband Othniel, to whom the Lord responded? She asked her father for a field, as a blessing, to present to her husband. And again she dismounted from the donkey, to ask for springs to her husband; and her father gave her the upper and the lower springs. What a splendid portrait of the soul, attached to spiritual knowledge, a daughter of the holy life; through this daughter, the soul enjoys the field, namely, the entrance into the Holy Book, being the field in which she works on account of the Lord, and rejoice in the fruits of the Spirit. We see that the inner knowledge dismounts from the donkey, namely from caring for the body, in order to seek the springs of water, or the fruits of the Spirit; to be granted fruits of a higher heavenly level (the upper springs); and enjoy the fruits by which it lives during its sojourn here on earth (the lower springs). 4- Names of the cities: The Book mentioned the names of the cities in the boundary of Judah; as though the divine inspiration intends to confirm that the inheritance is wide enough to him who seeks; and that, “In the Father’s 208 house, there are many mansions” (John 14: 2) ... I wish we believe and strive with great hope, to find in one of these cities, a mansion for ourselves. 5- The dwelling of the Jebusites amid the children of Israel: “As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.” (Joshua 15: 63) “To this day,” in the Holy Book means (to the end of days). So, will the Jebusites dwell in Jerusalem with the children of Judah to the end of days? If we interpret this spiritually, although bitter, yet it is an actual fact that the tares (the Jebusites), are to remain together with the wheat (the children of Judah) in the Church, namely in Jerusalem, up to the end of the world, when the time of harvest comes; then this will be separated from that. The Lord Christ advised: “Let both grow together until the harvest, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them” (Matthew 13: 29, 30). The scholar Origen says: [As you hear in the Bible, how the wheat grow together with the tares; likewise, in Jerusalem, namely the Church, there are the Jebusites who lead a bad life; those corrupted in their faith, as well as in their works, and all their ways of life. It is impossible to purify the church completely of every single sinner or unfaithful, as long as it is on earth. That does not imply that we should let those with obvious sins stay in the Church; but as far as those with concealed and hidden sins, there is no easy way to reveal them.] 1. If the word ‘Jebusite’ means (to trample with feet) 2; everyone of us should be aware, lest, in his heart, there would be something to be trampled by feet; any sin that could humiliate the heart, and defile its hidden sanctuary. I wish we have no Jebusites within us; those who walk in the heart as swines that trample our pearls under their feet, then turn and tear us in pieces (Matthew 7: 6). 1 Ibid 21: 1. 2 Ibid.
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