"She Played the Whore... Remix!"

"A Certain Levite"

For those of you new to this blog, I created this blog out of the need and desire to communicate with members of my "Sexuality and the Bible" bible study class. In the class, I asked them to compare and contrast Judges 19 with Genesis 19. What I learned was shocking. As a woman, this has got to be THE most difficult scripture I have ever had to read. What is even more difficult is hearing from people - who boast about being readers of the "Word" - how few are familiar with this story.

I'm not going to go into detail about the similarities and the differences, but I urge you to read them both, as we preachers like to say, "for your own edification" - side by side.  Instead, what I am going to do is touch on the most troubling elements in the text. First off, we learn "there was no king in Israel." This is mention of and introduction to "King" and "Kingdom" language.  Next we are introduced to a "certain Levite" (the priestly tribe of Israel), and entering stage right - his concubine - who "played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house" (KJV v.2).  Let me take a moment and break that down for you from the Black Woman's Cotton Patch Version.  Here we have an independent woman, you see.  A woman who apparently knows her worth and one day, she decided she wasn't going to take it (whatever "it" was) anymore.  She got up early one day before he woke up, or came into her tent, got her $h!t and left his @$$.  Because she behaved wholly contrary to how women were expected to conduct themselves, the author of the narrative characterized her in the most negative light.  "She played the whore," but he had a concubine (a woman kept by a man and provided for, whose status was lower than that of his wife).

As the narrative continues, after "four whole months," the Levite "went out after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again (v.3)." Ooby kaby... Here we go. Now listen, I don't know about you, but right away, I smell something foul. I know right off the bat something in the soup ain't chicken! We are told from the start, in the first two verses, that 1) the woman was a concubine and 2) she played the whore! That ain't the kind of woman I'm gonna write home and tell Mama about! You can certainly believe when she parts from me I'm not going to go after her - unless of course I was "a certain Levite," and she was considered my property.  Therefore, the reclamation of my property was what I "went after," and not some harlot who had brought shame to me and embarrassed me in front of my people! Instead, the offensive colloquial phrase, according to the Black Woman's Cotton Patch Version, "B!t@h betta have my money," is probably more accurate to describe his frame of mind. Okay, okay, for you hopeless romantics out there, maybe he was going to whisper sweet nothings into her ear to get her to come back.  Not so, says the black woman sitting on the end of the third pew with her her lips pursed and her left eyebrow in the center of her forehead.

Maybe, but what does happen is that after this "certain Levite" reaches her father's house, to  retrieve his property, I mean whore, I mean concubine, and staying longer than he intended, because the young woman's father delayed him for several days, the Levite, along with his collected property, asses and servants head back. On the way, they opted not to "turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel." Instead, they went on to Gibeah (which belonged to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin)(v.12-14). Initially, no one took them in! Whaaaat? There's no room in the inn?  Can you hear the echos of another story in here?  And not the one I've asked you to compare to huh?  Well alright then.  Umph... Where was I?  Oh, ok, his own people would not take him in? Wow... A people, who know the and live by the hospitality custom did not adhere to it - not even for a member of the priestly tribe.  Hmmm...

Finally an older man, an Ephraimite (not one from among his people) who living among them, takes the Levite and his crew in - to wash their feet, and gave them food and drink. Then suddenly, like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the people of the town beat at the door saying, "Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him" (v.22). And like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, there is a virgin daughter and a whore, I mean a concubine available that is offered up to the crowd by the older man saying, "humble ye them, and do with them what seems good unto you" (v.24). This time however, the whore - I'm sorry, I keep messing that up - the concubine - the woman this "certain Levite" went after her, "speak friendly" to, is thrown out to the angry crowd. She is beaten and raped throughout the entire night until morning. Dusk turns to night and night turns to dawn.  At daybreak, she's released and makes it back to the old man's house where she "fell down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold" (v.27). Talk about a "humbling" experience.  Believe it or not, it gets worse.

 Again, you know this story is about something altogether different, right?  Once again, it is about Israel "whoring" after other gods, faith practices etc.  It is also a message for all you independent women out there.  If you start smelling yourself and go out there "looking for love in all the wrong places," this is what will happen to you.  In the end, through all the abuse, bumps and bruise, through all the pain, displacement and humiliation, you should try to make your way back to God (Uh oh, I feel my help coming), prostrate (humbly submitting and begging for forgiveness).  The message for Israel is, no matter the social location, no matter how battered, beaten and penetrated strangers, you may be, God will remember and forgive you.  S/HE will come for you, and speak tenderly into your ear.  Hallelujah! Glory to God! ;)

Here is where I'll end this post. I'm exhausted, irritated and it's late. But, riddle me this; could this story be out of place? Can you imagine the wailing cry of a woman being beaten and gang raped throughout the entire night? Could you stand by and let it happen? Do you think God did? Could this be the "great outcry" of Sodom and Gomorrah that warranted a divine visitation and investigation - ultimately ending in the complete destruction of several cities? Could the mistreatment, devaluing, and rape of a woman really be the truth about the sin that did Sodom in? Dare me to say it! Double dog dare me! 
© Dorinda G. Henry, 2012

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!

"You Big Dummy!"

Samson - Judges 13-16

Well hello there...  Yeah, yeah, yeah...  It has been a minute since the last post, but, surely you must have known I was not going to move from the tragic encounter that brought George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin together at a crossroads that would lead to Trayvon's death and (eventually) George's arrest for killing him.  The event was and is not only an unfortunate encounter for Trayvon and George, but it is also a sad and ugly reminder of the historical fear that most, if not all black men in America have to live with on a daily basis.  So, again, I beg your pardon for the delay of this post, but guess what???  I ain't sorry. ;)

Now...  Before I even get started, let me be clear!  I DO NOT LIKE SAMSON!  This is a warning and an apology in advance because I don't like him and so I didn't want to write about him, but, he's such a "big deal" in the bible and many of our formative years.  So, here we go...  I believe we left off somewhere in the middle of Judges, and right before we run into one of my favorite childhood characters, Samson.  As I struggle with this, let's pick it up right there, because most of the other judges in the book of Judges, unlike Samson, are boring and of course did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  Oh, wait!  There is one other noteworthy judge, Jephthah - who offered his daughter as a burnt offering to the Lord for his victory over the Ammonites.  Crazy and disgusting I know, but you'll have to read about that on your own (Judges 11:29-40).  Just to be clear, Samson is no different.  His debauchery, however, is legendary.  But before I get into that, come walk with me down memory lane.  Yes, I had a childhood crush on Samson.  You see, as a skinny, little, ugly, nappy-headed black girl in Lubbock, Texas, Samson was always described as this big ole long (luxurious) haired, good looking man!  He had a back as big and as wide as the front door, a chest you could flick a quarter off of, legs and arms of steel and enough charm to trick any little girl out of her candy money, or any woman out of her -- well -- you know what I mean.  As a full grown woman now, with my big girl panties on, and newly improved lenses and understanding (minus the rose color tint), Samson is a bit of a "hot mess."  From the beginning until the end, he leaves much to be desired.

He, like many of the "heroes" of the bible (when we read it literally that is), has an exceptional birth.  The narrative of his birth, like the narrative of the Virgin Mary, is visited by "the angel of the Lord," and is told, "Although you are barren, having borne no children you shall conceive and bear a son."  The "barren old woman," is a theme that began with Abraham and Sarah.  That them will pick up here and again and continue on throughout Israel's history.  Likewise, the "special" male children with these miraculous births, each come with their very own "special" instructions.  In Samson's case, the angel gives his mother instructions as to what she can and cannot do.  You know, "no wine or strong drink, nor shall she eat anything unclean," and, "No razor is to come upon his [Samson's] head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite (one consecrated) to God from birth."  All of this because the text states, "He will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines" (13:1-5a).  

Now, as you read on, you, like me, will bear witness to something that is often overlooked in the scriptures.  That is the Wisdom of the women juxtaposed against the men.  I'm not going to go into it, but you must read it for yourself and pay close attention to the communication between the mother and father when the father fears they are going to die for looking upon the angel of the Lord.  There is also a very subtle reference to Deborah - you remember that queen "honey bee?"  Umm hmph...  Watch how they just drop that in.  You'll also see a spoiled little boy growing up to become a rebellious and rambunctious youth, and an even greater menace to himself and others as he enters adulthood.  He speaks to his mother and father as if they are his servants, he eats honey (there she is) from the carcass (unclean) of a lion that he is recorded to have killed on the way to get a wife from among the "Uncircumcised Philistines."  He shares it with his mother and father without telling them where he got it from, then he goes about terrorizing the Philistines - ultimately resulting in the death of his first wife who was killed as a consequence of his abandonment, recklessness and murderous rampage (Chapters 13, 14)!

Finally, what you've all been waiting for, the narrative of Samson and Delilah.  Now I know you all have heard this story, but have you read this story?  I mean really... Have you really READ this story?  I doubt it, because if you have, then again, you, like me, would be looking at Samson and saying to him, in the same way Redd Foxx's character, Fred Sanford of Sanford and Son would have looked at and said to his son, Lamont frequently - "You big dummy!"  C'mon now...  Delilah, like his previous wife (although we don't know if she is an Israelite or Philistine), is approached by the the "lords of the Philistines," to find out where Samson gets his strength from.  It is recorded on two separate occasions, Delilah inquires of Samson where his strength comes from.  In both instances, he teases her and tells her a "tall tale."  Each time she does to him, precisely what he has told her would make him weak, "and be like anyone else."  Each time she calls for the lords of the Philistines to subdue him.  And in what I find to be quite humorous, he breaks loose, making a mockery of her and those "Uncircumcised Philistines" that are trying to subdue and capture him.  But, because she "pestered" him - I'm not even going to touch that - but let your mind run free - he tells her the truth and, we know the rest of the story (16:1-31). 

Ok, I did it and I'm done.  Can you tell I had a hard time with the post?  Uuurrgghhh...  I did!  Briefly, here's an editors note: This narrative is a metaphor about the history of Israel "whoring" after the gods of the neighboring peoples, and those groups under whose control they may have fallen under.  It is also the place where "Promise" and "Fulfillment" is complete.  That is to say, that even when they (Israel) did what was evil in the sight of the the Lord, the Lord remembered the Promise made to their ancestors and consequently fulfills it.  I say that to say this; My childhood image of Samson has been replaced by the image of him as an adult, seeing clearly, making real the words; "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; When I became a [woman], I put an end to childish ways" (1 Corinthians 13:11).  I pray you do the same.  Peace!

©Dorinda G. Henry, 2012

THEOLOGIA HABITUS EST!