Thread by @JamesBejon

A SCARLET THREAD:

@DrPJWilliams has some insightful comments on the line of Judah at the end of his recent thread on Ruth (linked below), which I’d like to briefly expand upon.

https://twitter.com/DrPJWilliams/status/1223606367610646528

With the birth of Zerah and Perez, the line of Judah splits in two:

Both of these lines enter Jericho, where both of them come into contact with coloured fabrics—in Achan’s case a cloak, and in Salmon’s case a cord (on which see below).

Only one of them, however, makes it *through* Jericho.

First let’s consider Zerah’s line.

In Josh. 7, we’re introduced to Zerah’s son Achan, whose name means ‘snake’ (cp. Jastrow 1079 and below).

Given the nature of Achan’s name, we’re tempted to expect bad things from him. And we’re not disappointed.

In Jericho, Achan is said to ‘look’ around (ראה), to notice a cloak which seems ‘good’ to him (טוב), and to ‘take it’ (לקח).

To make matters worse, Achan then lies about what he has done (7.11, 21).

Hence, in Achan’s story, we have a snake who deceives, and a man who takes what he shouldn’t (and later seeks to ‘cover it up’: 7.19).

And the end result is death and a curse.

Ring any bells?

It is all rather reminiscent of Eden, and in all the wrong ways.

When Jericho falls in Josh. 6–7, Achan falls along with it.

Note: In Bereshit Rabbah 85.14, Achan’s cloak is said to be ‘purple’ (פורפריא cp. b. Sanhedrin 44a’s description of it as סרבלא דצריפא = ‘a cloak dyed with alum’).

Meanwhile, a different kind of fabric is involved in the line of Perez: a scarlet thread.

The thread in question begins with Judah, who has an unusual connection with red dyes and fruits:

🔹 Prophetically, Judah is associated with ‘garments washed in wine’ and ‘the blood of grapes’ (Gen. 49).

🔹 In Canaan, Judah fathers a child named ‘Perez’ through Tamar,

where the name ‘Tamar’ (תמר) = ‘date palm’,

and ‘Perez’ (פרץ) is curiously reminiscent of the Arabic ⟨firḍ⟩ = ‘the red fruit of the date palm’.

🔹 And Tamar’s midwife binds Zerah’s hand with ‘a scarlet cord’ (שני) when he emerges from the womb, only for Perez to take Zerah’s place (Gen. 38).

Note: Tamar may even have worn a scarlet cosmetic when she disguised herself as a prostitute if Gen. 38.14’s verb וַתִּתְעַלָּף is related to Ugaritic ⟨ġlp⟩ = ‘murex from sea snails, employed as a cosmetic’. And the name ‘Zerah’ (זרח) may mean ‘scarlet’ (so Noegel 2016:7).

Note also: If Noegel is right about ‘Zerah’ = ‘scarlet’, it wouldn’t be the only instance of a Semitic word connected with the dawn which can also denote a reddish colour (e.g., Arabic ⟨šarq⟩, Assyrian ⟨sāmtu⟩).

———

On reaching Jericho, the line of Perez comes into contact with a second scarlet thread/cord (שני).

The cord in question is found in the house of Rahab, who Salmon the Perezite later marries (Matt. 1.4). (Boaz wasn’t the first in his line to take a Gentile wife.)

And, happily, Rahab’s cord is connected to a more positive set of symbols than Achan’s cloak.

It is blood-like insofar as it’s red,

and it is reminiscent of the blood of the Passover lamb insofar as it’s hung at the entrance/exit of a house.

And the Passover is an appropriate backdrop for the fall of Jericho, since it is part of an Exodus narrative which is ‘reflected’ in the Wilderness:

Rahab’s cord is also significant for other reasons.

In the Pentateuch, sin’s solution is often connected with its cause; that is to say, God fights with fire.

🔹 When death first enters the world, an animal skin is required to cover mankind’s nakedness.

🔹 When the world is ‘corrupted’ (שחת) by the sons of God, God ‘destroys’ (שחת) the world and starts over.

🔹 And when serpents plague Israel in the wilderness, a bronze serpent is provided as an antidote (Num. 21).

And the situation with Rahab seems similar.

The scarlet cord in Rahab’s house was most likely a symbol of her occupation as a prostitute (Noegel 2016), yet, by God’s grace, it is transformed into a symbol of her salvation.

Rahab‘s ‘cord’ (תקוה) becomes her ‘hope’ (תקוה).

And, courtesy of ‘two (שני) visitors’, her scarlet (שני) thread is woven into the rich tapestry of the Biblical narrative...

...as the line of Judah absorbs another Gentile bride,

and not for the last time.

Indeed, the time will come when the Gentiles at large will be grafted into Judah’s line,

which will require Judah’s Messiah to be clothed in a scarlet robe (Matt. 27.27–28).

THE END.

Note: The word עכן is sometimes said to derive from the Greek ἐχῖνος, but it strikes me as more likely to be Semitic given its connection with the (MH) verb עכן = ‘to twist, curl’.

Just as we have עכס = ‘viper’ from ⟨ʕKS⟩ = ‘to twist’, and ‘Leviathan’ from ⟨LWY⟩ = ‘to coil, encircle’ (etc.), so we have עכן = ‘viper’ from עכן = ‘to twist, curl’. Or so I claim...

Note: For @DrPJWilliams’ whole #Twitcom on Ruth, start here:

https://twitter.com/DrPJWilliams/status/1216835859334488064