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Judges 5 describes Israel’s tribes divided over joining the battle, with Reuben hesitating. Pseudo-Philo echoes this division at the Red Sea, where the tribes disagree over whether to drown, surrender, or fight.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Judges 5:15
Hebrew Bible
14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek; they follow after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers. From Makir leaders came down, from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer’s staff. 15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah; the men of Issachar supported Barak; into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. Among the clans of Reuben there was intense heart searching. 16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks? As for the clans of Reuben—there was intense searching of heart. 17 Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan—why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast; he stayed by his harbors. 18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; Naphtali charged onto the battlefields.
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 10:3
Classical
2 When they had gone out from there and were on their way, the heart of the Egyptians was hardened yet again, and they continued to pursue them and found them by the Red Sea. The children of Israel cried out to their God and said to Moses, “The time of our destruction has come, for the sea is in front of us and the multitude of enemies behind us, and we are in the middle. Was it for this that God brought us out? Are these the covenants he made with our fathers, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give the land where you dwell’? Now let him do with us what seems good in his sight.” 3 Then the children of Israel split their counsels into three, because of the fear of that moment. The tribes of Ruben, Isachar, Zabulon, and Symeon said, “Come, let us throw ourselves into the sea, for it is better for us to die in the water than to be killed by our enemies.” The tribes of Gad, Aser, Dan, and Neptalim said, “No, let us go back with them, and if they will spare our lives, we will serve them.” But the tribes of Levi, Juda, Joseph, and Benjamin said, “Not so; let us take up our weapons and fight them, and God will be with us.”
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Notes and References
“... Pseudo-Philo often draws upon parallel accounts in order to enrich the retelling of the biblical narrative. When the daughter of Jephthah faces death because of her father’s vow, she alludes to Isaac’s willingness to be sacrificed (LAB 40.2). Similarly, Samuel’s avowal of innocence alludes to Moses’ response to the accusations of Korah (LAB 57.2; 1 Sam. 12.3; Num. 16.5). Pseudo-Philo’s story of Abram’s experience in the fiery furnace is in part inspired by the experience of the three friends in Daniel 3. Pseudo-Philo’s retelling of the crossing of the Red Sea is enriched with allusions to Pss. 18.15 and 106.9, while his description of dissension and division among the tribes (LAB 10.3) has been influenced in part by Judg. 5.15-16. The description of the events at Sinai is also influenced by allusions to other parts of Scripture. The account of the life of Kenaz in LAB 25–28, Pseudo-Philo’s lengthiest departure from the biblical narrative, is heavily influenced by Scripture. Bauckham cites some two dozen biblical passages that are instrumental in shaping the story. ...”
Evans, Craig A.
"Luke and the Rewritten Bible: Aspects of Lukan Hagiography" in Charlesworth, James H., and Craig A. Evans (eds.) The Pseudepigrapha and Early Biblical Interpretation
(p. 188) JSOT Press, 1993
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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