Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | November 21, 2024
Hands in the Deborah Pericope (I’m writing a chapter on Deborah in my book on The Genesis of Gender Roles, and this is just extra thoughts not in the book) The word “hand” is one of the key words in the Deborah narrative, both metaphorically and physically. Hand means “power”. God’s hand is the ultimate […]
PHall | October 13, 2023
Is Jesus Worth More than Our Jobs? The Philistine leaders promised Delilah 1,100 pieces of silver from each of them. How many were there? Don’t know (Judges 16). The Jewish leaders promised Judas 30 pieces of silver. Total. The price of an injured slave. Samson was wrecking their nation, including their economic well-being – Then […]
PHall | July 24, 2022
Learn to Fight The book of Judges teaches many expected, uncomfortable lessons such as we are often the source of our problems. However, an unexpected lesson I recently learned helps us deal with the problem of pain and suffering when it’s not our fault. Specifically, why does God allow us to go through difficult times? […]
PHall | March 4, 2021
PHall | January 17, 2020
I’ll confess. I like studying the book of Judges for the same reason I liked studying the Tudor-Stuart monarchy – horrible characters are never boring! When during the Judges, “Everyone did what was right their own eyes” is the philosophy of life, there is no telling what is creeping out of people’s heart. And yet….During […]
PHall | December 28, 2019
The word “redeem” is not used in Judges, but it might help us better understand redemption than we know. That is because the opposite action is found several times: “And he sold them into the hands” (Judges 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 1:7). Sin, Suffering, Solicitation, Salvation are the four stages Israel continues to find itself in […]
PHall | January 4, 2019
An example of irony: Judges concludes with this observation: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” (Judges 21:25 – HCSB). Literally, “…what was right in their own eyes.” Subjectivism ruled, and was each individual’s king. The same is said in Judges 17:6. The comment of “no king’ is […]
PHall | January 3, 2019
Ehud, the left-handed Judge, has a colorful, gory, and heroic narrative (Judges 3:12-30). He was a Benjaminite. Seven hundred soldiers in Benjamin were left-handed (Judges 20:16). When David fled Absalom, some of Saul’s relatives from Benjamin followed; they were ambidextrous archers, meaning they could shoot either right or left-handed (1 Chronicles 12:2). There are only […]
PHall | September 6, 2017
They say young men marry women that remind them of their mothers. For me I know that was true, except younger! The story of Samson can be told by contrasting his mother to his women. In Judges 13, while unnamed, the wife of Manoah and Samson’s mother is the main character. It is she who […]
PHall | June 8, 2016
Anyone who really thinks Samson’s strength came from his hair and not the Lord, only has to grow long hair and realize they are just as weak. And yet, as soon as his hair was cut Samson lost his strength. And yet again, as soon as his hair grew long Samson was strong again. God […]