The Staff Rebellion

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ جَعَلَ فِي الْحَمْدِ نُورًا
(subḥāna man jaʿala fī al-ḥamdi nūran)
“Glory to the one who placed light within praise.”

David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s flock [הָעֵדֶר (hā-ʿēder)], and when a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock…” (1 Samuel 17:34)Know well the condition of your flocks [עֲדָרִים (ʿădārīm)], and pay attention to your herds; (Proverbs 27:23)Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture your flock [עֵדֶר (ʿeder)], where do you have it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions? (Song of Songs 1:7)Your hair is like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of goats, coming down from Mount Gilead. (Song of Songs 4:1)Your teeth are like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of newly shorn sheep, which have come up from their watering place… (Song of Songs 4:2)Your hair is like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of goats that have descended from Gilead. (Song of Songs 6:4)Your teeth are like a flock [כְּעֵדֶר (kə-ʿēder)] of ewes which have come up from their watering place… (Song of Songs 6:5)

“And if you fear betrayal [ غَدْرًۭا (ghadran) ] from a people who stand out [as a group], then cast it back to them on equal terms. Truly, God does not love those who betray.” (Qur’an 8:58)

• In Ezekiel, the mountains represent Israel’s high places (altars, shrines, and places of worship), which are condemned for idolatry. God commands Ezekiel to prophesy against them.
  • “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel [הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (hare yisraʾel)] and prophesy against them.” (Ezekiel 6:2)

• Tyre’s ruler claims godlike status, and God throws him out on his rear end for his arrogance.
  • “I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire, And I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God [הַר־אֱלֹהִים (har Elohim)].” (Ezekiel 28:16)

• The people are scattered through the mountains.
  • “My flock wandered through all the mountains [עַל־כָּל־הֶהָרִים (ʿal kol heharim)] and on every high hill…” (Ezekiel 34:6)

• The mountain, a symbol of Edom, is the target of God’s vengeance, his judgment against the nations.
  • “Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir [הַר־שֵׂעִיר (har-Seʿir)], and I will stretch out my hand against you…” (Ezekiel 35:3)

• After judgment in chapter 6, the mountains now receive words of instruction.
  • “Therefore, you mountains of Israel [הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (hare yisraʾel)], hear the word of the Lord God…” (Ezekiel 36:4)

• On the Day of the Lord, Mountains fall, and nature itself collapses in the face of his divine wrath against Gog.
  • “…and the mountains shall be thrown down [וְנָפְלוּ הֶהָרִים (wenaflu heharim)], the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.” (Ezekiel 38:20)

• NO KING: It is not the Zion of the Davidic monarchy.
• NO PRIEST: It is not the Second Temple of Herodian opulence.
• NO CITY: It is not the center of a populated, “civilized” Jerusalemite settler colony.
  • “This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain [עַל־רֹאשׁ הָהָר (ʿal rosh hahar)] shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.” (Ezekiel 43:12)

“The Hebrew toponym haGālîl הגליל, in modern Arabic al-Jalīl الجليل, comes from a Semitic term that bears the meaning of ‘circuit’, as in a long circular track or walking-path of the sort used by nomadic shepherding people for their seasonal migrations. It also refers to a long cylindrical object, such as a rod—or a shepherd’s staff! Both terms are derived from the Semitic triliteral g (or j)-l-l ג-ל-ל, meaning ‘to roll’. This makes the following implications: to make a circular movement around the track, or else to roll in a vehicle on such a track (as with a chariot or a cart), or else to roll as a cylindrical rod would roll down when placed on a hillside.
That’s not all! When the term refers to a place, as it does in Joshua 20 and 21, it is always given with the definite article ha. So it is in fact ‘the Galilee’, ‘the Circuit’, in the same way that one would refer to ‘the Netherlands’ or ‘los Galápagos’. And it refers specifically to a pastureland (Jos 21:32, 1 Par 6:76), used by nomadic peoples for grazing: which is why it gains the epithet in Isaiah, ‘Galilee of the nations’: Gālîl haGôyim גליל הגוים (Is 9:1)!

This function of Gālîl lends an additional connotation to the multitude (ὄχλος) which is gathered by the Sea of Galilee. It is a multitude, a general ‘am עם, or motley hāmôn המון—both terms which are glossed by ὄχλος in the LXX. It’s a mass, a confused jumble of people, drawn from the sundry and different gôyim who live in haGālîl.”

—Matthew Franklin Cooper, The Lamb before Its Shearers, pp. 156-157

• Labor and time constraints in pastoral work
• “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and pasture them [רְעוּ (reʿū)].” (Genesis 29:7)
• Duty toward the father’s flock
• “While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess [רֹעָה (rōʿāh)].” (Genesis 29:9)
• “Then his brothers went to pasture [לִרְעוֹת (lirʿōt)] their father’s flock in Shechem.” (Genesis 37:12)
• “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing [רֹעִים (rōʿīm)] the flock.”  (Genesis 37:16)
• Pastoral imagery in dreams and messages
• “And behold, from the Nile came up seven cows, fine-looking and fat; and they grazed [רֹעֹת (rōʿōt)] in the marsh grass.”(Genesis 41:2)
• “A messenger came to Job and said, ‘The oxen were plowing and the donkeys grazing [רוֹעוֹת (rōʿōt)] beside them.’” (Job 1:14)

• Predators graze peacefully with herbivores
• “The cow and the bear will graze [תִּרְעֶינָה (tirʿenāh)], their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.”(Isaiah 11:7)
• The wolf and the lamb graze together
• “The wolf and the lamb will graze [יִרְעוּ (yirʿū)] together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food.” (Isaiah 65:25)

• Lambs grazing in abandoned ruins
• “Then the lambs will graze [רָעוּ (rāʿū)] in their pasture, and strangers will eat in the ruins of the wealthy.”(Isaiah 5:17)
• The poor feed securely in the midst of judgment
• “Those who are most helpless of the poor will graze [יִרְעוּ (yirʿū)], and the needy will lie down in security.”(Isaiah 14:30)
• Rain from God brings abundant pasture
• “Then he will give you rain for your seed…and on that day your livestock will graze [יִרְעֶה (yirʿeh)] in a wide pasture.”(Isaiah 30:23)
• Liberated exiles feed along highways
• “They will feed [יִרְעוּ (yirʿū)] along the roads, and their pasture will be on all bare heights.” (Isaiah 49:9)
• God shepherds the remnant personally
• “He who scattered Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd [יִרְעֶה (yirʿeh)] does his flock.” (Jeremiah 31:10)

• Feeding themselves instead of the flock
• “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding [הָרֹעִים (hārōʿīm)] themselves! Should the shepherds not feed [יִרְעוּ (yirʿū)] the flock?” (Ezekiel 34:2)
•  “You slaughter the fat sheep without feeding [תִּרְעוּ (tirʿū)] the flock.” (Ezekiel 34:3)
• Allowing the flock to be scattered and devoured
•  “The shepherds fed [רָעוּ (rāʿū)] themselves and did not feed [רָעוּ (rāʿū)] my flock.” (Ezekiel 34:8)
• Removed from power by divine decree
•  “I will remove them from feeding [מֵרְעֹת (mēreʿōt)] sheep. So the shepherds will not feed [יִרְעוּ (yirʿū)] themselves anymore.” (Ezekiel 34:10)

• God gathers the scattered flock
•  “I will bring them…and I will feed them [אֲרַעֲם (ʾaraʿem)] on the mountains of Israel.” (Ezekiel 34:13)
• Feeds them on the high mountains of Israel
•  “I will feed them [אֲרָעֵם (ʾarāʿem)] in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights.” (Ezekiel 34:14)
• Personally feeds and tends the sheep
• “I myself will feed [אֶרְעֶה (ʾerʿeh)] my flock and I myself will lead them to rest.” (Ezekiel 34:15)
• “But the fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will feed them [אֲרַעֲם (ʾaraʿem)] with judgment.” (Ezekiel 34:16)