Crime Stories From the Bible
by
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When the crowd refused the old man's offer and appeared intent on breaking in, the Levite took his concubine (the Hebrew word, YACHAZEK, meaning to seize by force is used here) and threw her out the door. Her screaming and struggling must have excited the men and, like sharks in a feeding frenzy, the assault began. They wanted the man, but grudgingly accepted the substitute offering – a priest's concubine. They gang-raped her, beat her, and in unspeakable ways violated her. The brutalization continued through the night. They let her go only when dawn began to break and they no longer had the cover of darkness to conceal their identities. Evil flourishes in anonymity. She struggled to get back to the old man's house. She died, most probably from severe internal injuries, with her hand grasping the threshold of the door. A young and tender hand At dawn, the Levite came out from his place of safety, refreshed from a night's sleep, determined to continue his journey and apparently ready to leave his concubine behind. "In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 'Get up,' he said to her, 'we are going.' But there was no answer. He put her on the donkey; and the man set out for his home." (Judges 19:25-28)
grasping the very threshold
through which,
by caregiver's hands,
she was ejected.
This door;
closed and forbidding,
her only refuge
from Gibeah's violent streets.
Her groping plea for help,
unheeded!
Merchandised by her father,
bartered by a stranger,
betrayed by her husband,
ravished by a bestial mob.
Men,
her consistent victimizers;
yet,
her sole remaining hope!
Her only option:
return to trauma's source;
transition,
from single assault
by multiple hands
to multiple assaults
by a single hand.
At the threshold
her tenuous hope
failed;
her pain and anguish
found relief
in Death's merciful embrace.
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About the Book
Violent crime is not new on the human scene. Not only does news of it bombard us on every side, but also it can be found in the world's most popular book, the Bible. Though the Scriptures contain many accounts of criminality, only the most horrific and outrageous stories have been selected for presentation. Crime Stories From the Bible is unique in that the author – a veteran police officer and an ordained minister – gives an analysis of each crime, profiles both victims and offenders, and explores the crime's theological implications. The concept of God's caring nature with regard to victims (and offenders) is demonstrated in these stories – and serves as the central theme of this book. Jesus Christ, in his sacrificial death, is featured as the ultimate victim. Over the past thirty years concern for victims has captured the imagination of the American public – and, for that part, the entire world. Recent terrorist activity has heightened that awareness. Victims dominate the news, and the majority of recently enacted penal and social reform legislation is victim- oriented. They have become a powerful political force. Speak of victims, and you get immediate attention. The subject matter provides biblical insight into a critical social and political concern – crime. It appeals to everyone who has felt the sting of victimization (criminal or otherwise) and has asked the question, "Why me, Lord?.
About the Author
In the twenty years he served as a San Diego police officer, D. Redman Biddy witnessed first-hand the devastating results of criminal behavior. While attending San Diego State University, he developed an academic interest in crime victims. He published a textbook, Criminal Victimology, and taught a pioneering undergraduate course on the subject. After retiring from police work, he pursued a second career in Christian ministry where he broadened his research to include the theological aspects of victimology. An expert on the subject, he has conducted numerous workshops on Victim Ministry for churches and public service agencies. As a police officer and as a Presbyterian pastor with extensive training and experience in trauma intervention, he is qualified to offer credible commentary on the social and theological aspects of these significant crime stories from the Bible. He and his wife, Carole, presently reside in Sun City, California where he serves part-time as Pastor of Visitation for the Sun City United Methodist Church and as a volunteer chaplain for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.