An example of lewdness with a married woman. 16:1-34 He made a feast, which became a great party for unchaste love (23:15). For more about feast days see also 23:35; 25:1. "Unchaste love" can refer to illicit sexual relations. The idea is similar to what is in Genesis 19:1-11; Leviticus 18:19-23; 20:11-21; 2 Kings 23:7; Ezekiel 23:49. The man's behavior was not a private event but happened in a public place. The king's army seized all the town's idols and worship places, and burned the town to the ground (22:8-9). "Idols" and "worship places" can refer to idols used in religious ritual, or they can refer to idols as icons of gods who people worshiped (or both). Because a town's religious life played a large role in the economic and social life of a town, this was a severe punishment for this particular offense (22:9). The word "burned" (21:3, 9) may refer to the burning of the temple of Dagon (19:38). This is one of only two times the Bible mentions a king burning anyone in the city. We don't know the reason why the king acted in this way. Perhaps the king wanted to purge the city of its religious life, which he found repulsive. Or maybe the king wanted to purge the city of its economic life, which he found distasteful. He burned with fire all the town and everyone in it (22:10). If the town was associated with pagan idol worship, this suggests a destruction of the town's god(s). The city no longer exists. Or perhaps the king wanted to make an example of them by completely destroying the town and everyone in it. Or the king did it to make a statement about the king's power and authority. He demolished the town and sowed it with salt. It is now in ruins (22:11). "He demolished the town and sowed it with salt" is an allusion to Deuteronomy 29:22, which commands the Israelites not to build pagan altars in their towns. This would explain why the king was so outraged over idol worship. "Tamar's disgrace." Tamar is actually not mentioned in this passage, but her sexual involvement is. The Israelites had a reputation for having multiple wives and mistresses. The implication is that since she was a Canaanite (a pagan) and an unmarried, virgin, she would not be considered to be pure enough to be in the family line of Judah. Reuben's descendants (22:14). Reuben's descendants were Joseph's (as in 20:3). His descendants would not be allowed to rule in Judah. The descendants of the Levites (22:14). These men and women would be considered from the priestly class in Judah. Therefore they would be considered from the lowest classes in society. Therefore there is a connection between the lowly status of Tamar and the fact that her sons and their descendants would be included in this passage (see verse 21). Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon and all the Canaanites living in the towns that are theirs (22:15). This is an ironic statement. Israel and Judah had a history of intermarriage, but now in this verse they are trying to get rid of anyone associated with a pagan religion. Thus there is irony in the fact that a Canaanite would be considered to be a brother of Israel (22:17). Again, this highlights the importance of bloodlines. "The children of Joseph" (22:17). These are Joseph's children. Even though Joseph's family had come to power, these descendants would not be allowed to rule in Judah. Ancestry of Jesus Jesus was a descendant of David according to Luke's genealogy, which is found in Luke 3:31-37. Joseph (as in 20:3; Matthew 1:16) was Jesus' father. This is also true of Matthew's genealogy in chapter 1, which has the same list of ancestors as Luke's, but he lists Joseph first (Matthew 1:1-17). Jesus, Mary and Joseph are all descendants of David (22:16). This is true as well for Matthew's genealogy in chapter 1 (1:1-17). Jesus was descended from Abraham. He was not from David, but Abraham. This shows that Jesus is a prophet and more than just a descendant of David (22:22). The ancestor of the Levites (22:17). Jesus would not be considered a descendant of the Levites. Ancestry of the Levites The Levites and Judah The Levites could not marry into another tribe, even though the Levites were of Israel. This was seen as a religious and spiritual issue. (However, there were cases when a Levite had married a foreigner, though this had to be approved by the high priest (Ezra 8:31).) The Levites and the other tribes The Levites were not allowed to marry descendants of the other tribes (22:17). They could not marry women from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Simeon and the sons of Benjamin. This regulation applied for both priests and non-priests. This can be interpreted as anti-immigrant policy as well. We could understand this as saying that Levites would not marry anyone who was not from the tribe of Levi. However, since the sons of Aaron were also not to marry anyone from the tribe of Ephraim, we must not understand this as a statement against intermarriage, as this regulation would apply to both Levites and priests. We must also recognize that the term "the sons of Aaron" is inclusive. Therefore the regulation may be just a matter of saying that the priesthood should be exclusive to the tribe of Levi. Levites and Canaanites The Levites and the Canaanites were supposed to live separately. This was for practical reasons as well. If Israel did not live separate from the Canaanites, Canaanites would follow them everywhere. The Levites were chosen from among all the Israelites. They did not have an exclusive tribal heritage as the tribes of Judah and Ephraim did, but they also were not allowed to marry any non-Levite. Therefore they could not live with their wives in their towns. Levites and Samaritans Levites were not allowed to marry women from the tribe of Samaritan (22:17). This may be because the Levites could have been considered foreigners to the Israelites and were not allowed to marry with a foreign tribe. Or maybe they were so different from the Israelites that they would not be accepted as family (like Tamar, the daughter of David, would not be considered a family member by the Israelites). There is an additional consideration that has to be made about the Levites and Samaritans. Levites and Aaron's sons who would also serve as priests would be forbidden to marry descendants of Canaan. However, since these descendants were Israelites, they would be forbidden from marrying Israelite women too, since Israelite women were also descendants of Canaan. Therefore the only way for a Levite or Aaron's son to marry was with a foreigner, since it was not expected that a Levite would marry another Levite. However, there were cases when a Levite could marry a foreigner (though this would be approved by the high priest (Ezra 8:31), as we saw in chapter 22:16). Levites and other Israelites The Levites and Israelites were expected to live in different settlements (22:20). It was expected that Israelites would live in their own towns, while the Levites would live in the towns of Judah. There were exceptions to this rule. Joseph, who served as judge (18:2) and became the founder of Judah (22:20), was allowed to live in the town of Hebron. His descendants also lived in Hebron and were allowed to marry women from the tribe of Benjamin, as well as women from the tribe of Judah. This was an exception because Joseph was the founder of a tribe and made it possible for his descendants to inherit the land of Israel. Levites and Levitical priests Levites and priests were forbidden to marry women from the tribe of Levi (22:20). This may have been because there would be no way for an entire tribe to be descended from the Levites. If a Levite married a Levite, there was no need for him to also marry the wife of a Levite (who was a woman of the Levites). As mentioned above, this can be interpreted as anti-immigrant policy (22:17). This regulation also prevented Levites from marrying descendants of the high priests (in other words, Joseph would not have been able to marry the daughter of Manasseh and one of his sons would not have been allowed to marry the daughter of the high priest Eli). Levites and Joseph's sons Levites were not to marry men in Joseph's family (22:20). There is no way to understand this statement without Joseph's story in Genesis 37-50 (see chapter 2). Joseph's family needed to be defined. Since there were