Who wrote the Book of Judges? The Mystery of its Authorship and Date

 The Book of Judges does not provide any explicit information about its author, and the internal evidence suggests that the author lived after the period of the judges. 

Traditionally, some Jewish scholars have attributed the book to the prophet Samuel.

However, there are some challenges to this theory. The book seems to reference events that happened after Samuel's lifetime. So, most scholars believe the book was compiled and edited long after Samuel's time.

 

"Authorship and Date of Composition

 

THE BOOK OF JUDGES is anonymous. It is apparent that the book is a collection of various blocks of material concerning the different judges. Some of the stories may have existed very early in oral or written form, but none of these blocks are attributed to any particular source in the text. Modern scholars have expended great amounts of time and energy in an attempt to identify these sources, but with limited success.10

 

The reference in 18:30 to “the time of the captivity of the land” seems to refer to the Exile (either 722 or 586 B.C.) and suggests that the final edition of the book came from the Exile or afterwards.11 Thus the precise author and date are uncertain. But this should hardly deter the reader from understanding the book’s message."

 

[NIV Application Commentary Series. Judges, Ruth]

 

European Union Grants 2 Million Euros for Linguistic Investigation of Earliest Qur'an Manuscripts

 

Marijn Van Putten was paid from a grant of 2 Million Euros by the European Research Council, part of the European Union, to linguistically investigate the earliest Qur’an manuscripts. 

 

Marijn van Putten, Ph.D. (2013), Leiden University, is a historical linguist specializing in the linguistic history of Arabic, Berber and Semitic. In addition to this, his research focuses on the textual history of the Quran and the early history of the Quranic reading traditions.

 

 https://youtu.be/BwZ7S2C4Mtw

 

 

 

Jesus: The Abd/Slave/Servant/Abda/Ebed of God

Jesus is the Abd/slave/servant of God:

 

As we know, it's mutually exclusive to be "The Supreme Creator" [The Master] and to be His "Slave/servant" at the same time..

 

The Hebrew word "עֶבֶד" is related to the Arabic word "عبد" and to the Aramaic word  ܥܒܕܐ (ʿaḇdā). These words mean "servant" or "slave". 

 

 The Greek word pais derives from the Hebrew עֶבֶד ebed, which bears the primary meaning of servant, or slave. Hence, the primary translation of pais theou is “servant of God,” with “child” or “son of God” being an extravagant embellishment. According to the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, “The Hebrew original of pais in the phrase pais theou, i.e., ebed, carries a stress on personal relationship and has first the sense of ‘slave.’

 

 

 

This is all the more interesting because it dovetails perfectly with the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1, upheld in Matthew 12:18: “Behold, My servant [i.e., from the Greek pais] whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased …” Whether a person reads the King James , New KJ Version, NRSV, or NIV, the word is “servant” in all cases.

 

For more details, see this article by Laurence B. Brown MD .

 

Bonus:

 

Here's how to write "slave of God" in Aramaic (the language of Prophet Jesus) with transliteration: 

 ܥܒܕܐ ܕܐܠܗ

(abda d'Alah)  

Note that the Aramaic script is written from right to left (as Arabic & Hebrew), and the transliteration represents the Aramaic characters using the English alphabet. 

For the Aramaic word of God, see the Aramaic Lexicon here.

Age of marriage in Hinduism

Today in India, the minimum age of marriage by law is at 18 years for women and at 21 for men. However, according to the official data, more than 12 millions [of which 84% are Hindus] are married below 10 years of age.  

More than 125 million males were married before the legal age (42% of male population) and more than 102 million females (30% of female population) were married before the legal age in 2011. (source)

Historically, there was no minimum age for marriage in India throughout ages. Books considered sacred by Hindus point out that it was common for girls about 6 or 8 years old to be married.  

The book Manu-smriti “Laws of Manu” that prescribes to Hindus their dharma (obligations) which is, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the most authoritative of the books of the Hindu code (Dharma-shastra) mentions in chapter IX (that concerned with issues related to marriages) a usual custom of marriage of girls 8 years old:

94. A man, aged thirty years, shall marry a maiden of twelve who pleases him, or a man of twenty-four a girl eight years of age; if (the performance of) his duties would (otherwise) be impeded, (he must marry) sooner. (source)

The laws of Manu also don't forbid that the girl is married before she attains the age of puberty:

88. To a distinguished, handsome suitor (of) equal (caste) should (a father) give his daughter in accordance with the prescribed rule, though she have not attained (the proper age).

The Gautama's Dharmasūtra, which is believed to be the oldest of the four Hindu Dharmasastras, doesn't consider puberty a prerequisite for marriage:

21. A girl should be given in marriage before (she attains the age of) puberty.

22. He who neglects it, commits sin. (source)

Indian gods have many stories of early marriages; the Skanda Purana, the largest of the eighteen Mukyapurana [major puranas], tell us about the marriage of Rāma to a 6 years old girl:

8-9. The bow of Īśvara that was kept in the abode of Janaka, was broken. In his fifteenth year, O king, Rāma married the six-year old beautiful daughter of the king of Mithilā, Sītā who was not born of a womb. On getting Sītā, Rāghava became contented and happy. (source)

 Another passage tells us about a 8 year old girl:

As time passed on she became a girl of eight years. The king recollected the words of the unembodied being and became worried. ‘To whom shall I give this daughter? Who will be the four-armed one?’......“Go ahead, O Kṛṣṇa, O mighty one. Let the jewel of a girl be seized quickly. I shall follow you closely behind causing much havoc unto all these demons.”.On getting the consent of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Keśava, the slayer of Keśin, seized the girl, immediately put her on the chariot and went off.(source)

Lately, Indian Prime Minister Modi government has proposed to raise the legal age of marriage of women to 21 from 18 years. According to PM Modi, increasing the legal age of marriage will empower girls and will help in building their careers.

The need for revelation

 

Quran unique coherence

 

Did God of the true Messiah protect him from being crucified by his enemies?