The devastating stories of the Judges 19 woman, and the host's virgin daughter, the kidnapped virgins of Gilead Jabesh, and pounced on Virgins of Shiloh!

The devastating stories of the Judges 19 woman, and the host's virgin daughter, the kidnapped virgins of Gilead Jabesh, and, the pounced-on Virgins of Shiloh in chapter 21! 

I completed listening to the book of Judges last month. Years back we used to read aloud the entire Bible as a family for over ten years, and this unsettling tale was tough to get through! Even after reading the Bible every year for almost 25 years, I still find the scenes in Judges chapters 19 to 21 unsettling and disturbing —where the Levite's "concubine" was brutally raped while the host's virgin daughter escaped the abuse by thin threads yet must have felt horrified all night—. I also find the women of Gilead Jabesh in Chapter 21 and the girls of Shiloh who were abducted in Chapter 22 unsettling. These stories depict a slaughter of crimes that will chill your spine. The Levite's concubine's narrative appears different in different translations of the Bible in the Judges chapter 19:2 According to the message version, "But she quarreled with him and left, returning to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. She was there four months." 

NLT: She became angry with him...." NASB says she found him to be repugnant (LOL)! NRSV, "She became angry with him..."

KJV says, "And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him" NKJV is pretty much the same. ESV, NIV, and Bearean versions say "She was unfaithful to him."

Narration matters! Let us dig deeper. Why would he pursue her to get her back if she had betrayed him? Why was she upset with him? We don't know a lot of information about this Levite. The fact that he intends to "win her back" suggests that the narrative is only partial. 

Regretfully, the girl's father and the Levite have the conversations and insist on extended hospitality. The girl's voice has not been captured, if she could express her desire to return with the Levite or not!

He leads her through a boisterous area. Although the storming men from the village desire the Levite, the host greets them warmly, and then tragically, the host offers the Levite's concubine and his own virgin daughter and requests to leave the Levite alone. Have you studied that? V24 says, "Look, my virgin daughter and his concubine are here. I’ll bring them out for you. Abuse them if you must, but don’t do anything so senselessly vile to this man.” Omg!!!! who in their right mind can fathom this? Interesting they do not offer the man who accompanied the Levite and the concubine! 

"So the man took his concubine and brought her forth unto them, and they knew her and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light."

I am not sure if this was revenge that the Levite threw her to be gang-raped and then afterward cut her body into 12 pieces and sent them to all the tribes of Israel, describing himself as a victim. Whoa! Talk about his anger, his entitlement, and his brutality! That clarifies the reason for her initial leaving.

Second, as much as we feel for the concubine being gang r@ped all night, can you imagine the poor virgin daughter in the house, her mental state and thought process.

We need to lament these women's pain, trauma, and death. 

Chapter 20 is about massacre after massacre.

Chapter 21^st is about abducting virgin girls! After the massacre now they needed virgin girls for marriage to the abusive men that they went to war with! They would not give their daughters because of the oath they took against them but now see how they will find girls for these! So, they send a command!!!!! “Kill everyone of Jabesh Gilead, including women and children. These are your instructions: Every man and woman who has had sexual intercourse you must kill. But keep the virgins alive.” And that’s what they did. "And they found four hundred virgins among those who lived in Jabesh Gilead; they had never had sexual intercourse with a man. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan" (v.10-12). V 14 "But even then, there weren’t enough for all the men." 

Now the pouncing and preying on more virgin girls, who had gone for a festival!

"Then they said, “There is that festival of God held every year in Shiloh. It’s north of Bethel, just east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem and a little south of Lebonah.” So they told the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards. Stay alert—when you see the Shiloh girls come out to dance the dances, run out of the vineyards, grab one of the Shiloh girls for your wife, and then hightail it back to the country of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers come to lay charges against us, we’ll tell them, ‘We did them a favor. After all, we didn’t go to war and kill to get wives for men. And it wasn’t as if you were in on it by giving consent. But if you keep this up, you will incur blame.’” And that’s what the Benjaminites did: They carried off girls from the dance, wives enough for their number, got away, and went home to their inheritance. They rebuilt their towns and settled down. From there the People of Israel dispersed, each man heading back to his own tribe and clan, each to his own plot of land. At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing"(Judges 21:19-25). 

These are narratives of the horrible acts of violation, animosity, anger, revenge, entitlement, and abuse. These are not to be emulated but countered and denounced! Yet I have witnessed different reactions to this story. Some shiver like I do while reading it each time. Others remind me of the verse that says, in those days there was no king in Israel and everyone did what seemed right to them. Yet, few others especially from the patriarchal school of thought continue to blame the woman saying, "But she was unfaithful to him." Whoah, wait a minute, how about her running away from him due to his anger! She was upset with him because of his mistreatment, and anger. And she did leave! yet her fate is so horrific. You can be certain that women in such patriarchal households continue to be belittled and abused in different ways. 

The good news of the gospel is to continue to contend for respect, mutuality, and non-violent peaceful existence, including other species to live in harmony. No dominating, no violating, no overpowering but to reach out and heal. Jesus' inaugural speech in Luke, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me. to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”(Luke4:18-19) spells it clearly! 

May we be instruments of healing. 

Kalpana

Vegan Cashew-Coco Yogo (Yogurt alternative)

 

Here is another trial at Vegan Yogurt. This time I used roasted/salted cashew nuts and a lighter coconut milk to make it a more liquidish type yogurt as you can see in the pic. 

Ingredients: 1.67 cups of coconut milk (Thai Kitchen brand) (Use whichever you find.  90g/3.20 oz, Roasted & Salted Cashews, 2 tablespoons of yogurt starter (I had from a previous batch. You can either use store-bought vegan yogurt or keep a few tablespoons aside as your yogurt starter. (1/4 teaspoon Citric Acid and a pinch of salt, This is optional. I like my yogurt tangy so I added this soaked in a tablespoon of water.)

Method: 

Soak cashews in water. I microwaved it for a minute or so just so to have warmish water then let it sit on the counter for 20-30 min. After that drain the water and rinse the cashew with cold water through a strainer. 

Add the cashew to the blender without any water and grind to break it up into smaller parts. 

Add coconut milk slowly and keep blending. Add the yogurt starter with the last batch of coconut milk and blend so it mixes well. 

Remove in a glass jar big enough to hold 3-4 cups. (Optional: Add the water with citric acid and salt and mix well. 

Please keep the lid of the jar open as it ferments because it will rise. I put my jar in a container just in case and covered it loosely with a hand towel around it. 

I let it ferment overnight at 73F room temperature. If it has risen you can mix it and refrigerate for 4-5 hours. 

If you like to add sweetener you can try that or use it as a yogurt alternative for other dishes. Remember to keep a few spoons aside as your next yogurt starter. 

It makes about two cups so if you take half a cup of serving the fitnesspal works out the calories as below. 

Enjoy! 

Yours truly, Kalpana aka KC!

Nutrition Facts
Servings 6.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 194
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 17 g	25 %
Saturated Fat 10 g	48 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 52 mg	2 %
Potassium 2 mg	0 %
Total Carbohydrate 6 g	2 %
Dietary Fiber 0 g	1 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 4 g	7 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	0 %
Iron	5 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Mixed Berries w/Banana Veganice Cream

Here's simple easy Veganice cream. 

Ingredients: 1.65 cups, Organic Coconut Cream, 2 cups, Berry Medley, 2 medium, Banana, 0.50 cup, Almond Protein Powder, Gluten Free (or any other vegan protein powder), 0.50 cup(s), Pure  Cane Sugar (miss this if your protein powder has sugar) 

1. Slice the bananas and mix with the berries medley and blend it in the blender. (You can chill for a few hours if you like). I separated the coconut cream and water and then first added the cream and then slowly added the water as necessary! 

2. Add sugar and protein power slowly to mix well and blend again. When it is well mixed, add the coconut cream and blend just to mix it well. Do not overgrind it. 

3. Remove in a freezable container and freeze at least for 4-5 hours depending on the climate. 

4. Enjoy. It might be a good consistency solid but if you like real solid you can freeze overnight. 

Note: if you use protein powder with sugar in it, you do not need to add the sugar. Just taste and adjust accordingly. I like to add protein for thicker consistency and protein intake. 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 9.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 206
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10 g	16 %
Saturated Fat 8 g	42 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 16 mg	1 %
Potassium 305 mg	9 %
Total Carbohydrate 24 g	8 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	12 %
Sugars 17 g
Protein 4 g	8 %
Vitamin A	1 %
Vitamin C	4 %
Calcium	5 %
Iron	6 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Vegan Yogurt alternative with raw almonds by KC

Here's a homemade Almond yogurt alternative. I tried two different ones. One is more liquidish and the other (this one) is Greek yogurt with a thicker texture which I like.

1 cup raw almonds

Water to soak

2/3 to 3/4 cup water to grind for thicker consistency (Add slowly). If you like liquidish you may add a little more.

Vegan yogurt starter (or leftover yogurt)

1/2 teaspoon citric acid b/c I like the tangy taste.

1 tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup.

2 small pinches of sea salt.

Method:

Soak 1 cup raw Almonds overnight or at least for 6-8 hours in warm water. Or you can boil almonds for a few min and leave them for a few hours to cool and soften.

When cool, peel off and discard the skin, and rinse the blanched almonds under cold water. Put it in the blender and crush pulsing (meaning quick stop and start for few times). Please be careful to add water slowly like 1/4 cup at a time. The texture will be slightly coarse. Keep grinding until smooth. It is up to you if you like thicket consistency or thinner adjust the water accordingly.

Add yogurt starter, citric acid, sea salt, and maple syrup and mix well. Adjust tastes accordingly. Remove from the blender to a glass or clay jar/pot. Keep it loosely covered in a warm place for 6-8 hours. Transfer it to the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Enjoy eating.

(Ps. In the liquidish type I added a can of coconut milk after crushing the almonds.)

(In this thinner liquid-ish consistency I had added one 13.5 oz can of coconut milk and used a hemp seed yogurt starter from a previous batch)

By yours truly KC!