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第212号：サムエル記第二8:1-15：アブラハムに約束された「エレッツ イスラエル」、ダビデの時代に成就、究極的にはキリスト支配の神の国に おいて成就 ―ダビデ、南はエジプト側から北はユーフラテス川まで征服―
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その後、ダビデはペリシテ人を打って、これを屈服させた。ダビデは、メテグ・ハアマをペリシテ人の手から奪った。彼はモアブを打ったとき、彼らを地面に伏させて……モアブはダビデのしもべとなり、みつぎものを納める者となった。ダビデは、ツォバの王レホブの子ハダデエゼルが、ユーフラテス川流域にその勢力を回復しようと出て来たとき、彼を打った……ダビデは、その戦車全部の馬の足の筋を切った。ただし、戦車の馬百頭を残した。ダマスコのアラムがツォバの王ハダデエゼルを助けに来たが、ダビデはアラムの二万二千人を打った。ダビデはダマスコのアラムに守備隊を置いた。アラムはダビデのしもべとなり、みつぎものを納める者となった。こうして主は、ダビデの行く先々で、彼に勝利を与えられた。ダビデはハダデエゼルの家来たちの持っていた金の丸い小楯を奪い取り、エルサレムに持ち帰った。ダビデ王は、ハダデエゼルの町ベタフとベロタイから、非常に多くの青銅を奪い取った。
ハマテの王トイは、ダビデがハダデエゼルの全軍勢を打ち破ったことを聞いた。そこでトイは、その子ヨラムを ダビデ王のもとにやって、安否を尋ねさせ、ダビデがハダデエゼルと戦ってこれを打ち破ったことについて、祝福のことばを述べさせた。ハダデエゼルがトイに戦いをいどんでいたからである。ヨラムは銀の器、金の器、青銅の器を手にしてきた。ダビデ王は、それをもまた、彼の征服したすべての国々から取って聖別する銀や金とともに主に聖別してささげた。それらは、アラム、モアブ、アモン人、ペリシテ人、アマレクから取った物、およびツォバの王ハダデエゼルからの分捕り物であった。ダビデが塩の谷でアラム(邦訳:エドム)人一万八千を打ち殺して帰って来たとき、彼は名をあげた。彼はエドムに守備隊を、すなわち、エドム全土に守備隊を置いた。こうしてエドム全部がダビデのしもべとなった。このように主は、ダビデの行く先々で、彼に勝利を与えられた。ダビデはイスラエルの全部を治め、その民のすべての者に正しいさばきを行った。
サムエル記第二8:1-15
サムエル記第二5章から8章には、1000BCE 頃ユダ部族と北方部族を統一したダビデがエルサレムをエブス人の手から奪い、統一イスラエル王国の首都とし、近隣諸国を平定した話しが記されています。今日中東関連の記事をにぎわせている国々や地名がたくさん登場するので、関心を持たれる方も多いのではないかと思います。今月は、神ヤーウェがイスラエルの族長アブラハムに永久に与えると約束された「エレッツイスラエル(イスラエルの地)」が、ユダ族のダビデによる、エジプト川からユーフラテス川に至るまでのカナンの地征服で、近未来的視点から預言通り成就したことを、『サムエル記』から考察してみたいと思います。
イスラエルの王サウルが「ギルボアの戦い」でペリシテに敗北した後、ペリシテ人はイスラエルの北方部族が所有していた地の多くを占領していましたが、南ユダ部族の間ですでに王としてヘブロンで君臨していたダビデをイスラエルの全部族が王として認め、イスラエルの王となったことを知ったペリシテは、ダビデの力が北方にまで及ぶのを阻止するため、攻撃をし掛けてきました。『サムエル記』では年代順ではなくテーマ別に出来事が記されているため、5 章から 8 章にかけて、出来事の起こった順は必ずしも明確ではありませんが、ペリシテがエルサレムに向かう「レファイムの谷間」で展開した戦いは、ダビデがエルサレムを平定する直前の出来事だったようです。「主は、水が破れ出るように、私の前で私の敵を破られた」の意「バアル・ペラツィム」(5:20)と名づけられたことからも明らかなように、二回に亘る神の奇蹟的なご介入と指示でダビデ率いる軍は積年の敵ペリシテの陣営を打ち、ユダの地に侵略していたペリシテを完全に追い払ったのでした。この後、ダビデは難攻不落の「シオンの要害」としてエブス人が「あなたはここに来ることはできない。目の見えない者、足のなえた者でさえ、あなたを追い出せる」と自負していた町エルサレムを征服します。
東にキデロン、南にヒンノム、西にテュロペオンの三つの谷に囲まれたエルサレムは 3000BCE 頃にはすでに占有され、アブラハムの時代にはシャレムの王メルキゼデクの都で、エモリ、ヘテ人(ヒッタイト)系の先住民は天然の要害に依存して身の安全を保っていました。1400BCE頃のヨシュアのカナン入植の時代以降、エルサレムを境に北はベニヤミン族、南はユダ族の地に割り当てられましたが、「シオンの要害」はずっとエブス人の支配下に置かれていました。ダビデはイスラエルの南北二部族の領土の境界線上にある、ちょうど部族間の公平無私を主張できるこの「シオンの要害」を統一イスラエルの首都にすべく、エルサレムの町に近づく手段を見つけた者を軍司令官に昇級させるという奨励をし、攻略を練ったのでした。エルサレムの給水源「ギホンの泉」を町の中のため池に接続させた地下水路「水汲みの地下道」に目をつけた勇士ヨアブは、この秘密のトンネルの換気坑を抜けて町を攻めとる快挙を遂げ、この要害はついに「ダビデの町」と呼ばれるようになりました。ダビデがこのとき征服したほんの11エーカー弱の最南端部の要害はソロモンの時代以降、北西に向けてはるかに大きく拡張され、後世、都全体に「シオン」という呼称が定着したようです。
8章の冒頭に登場する地名「メテグ・ハアマ」はペリシテの主要都市の一つ「ガテ」一帯のことで、今日の「ガザ地区」は古代ペリシテ人の領土の南部沿岸沿いに該当します。ダビデはペリシテを平定した後、モアブを討伐し、三人に一人の割で生かしたモアブ人捕虜にはイスラエルに貢物を治めさせ、臣下にしました。ダビデの次の標的はアラム(古代シリヤ)でしたが、まさに今日のシリヤのことです。レバノン山脈とアンティ・レバノン山脈との間に横たわる「ベカの谷」はイスラエルの北の国境でしたが、ダマスコの近くにあったアラム人の小さな王国「ツォバ」の領土と境界をなしていました。ダビデはツォバの王、―アラム人の神「ハダデ」の名をとって「ハダデは私の助け」という意の「ハダデエゼル」― がユーフラテス川方面へ出陣したすきをついて、ツォバを襲撃し、ユーフラテス川の外べりまでを征服しましたが、まさに神のアブラハムへの約束「カナン全土を……あなたとあなたの後のあなたの子孫に永遠の所有として与える」(創世記17:8)の成就でした。ダビデはモーセの掟で定められている王としての戒め「王は、自分のために決して馬を多くふやしてはならない」(申命記17:16)にならい、またヨシュアのカナン征服時に神が命じられたことにならって馬の足の筋を切り、百頭だけを戦利品としました。ダビデが引き揚げるとき、ダマスコを首都とするアラムが親類のツォバの王を助けるために襲撃してきましたが、ダビデ軍はこれをも打ち破り、「ダマスコ」もイスラエルに貢を納める従属国になったのです。
サムエル記には原本の破損があり、「歩兵二万」や「アラムの二万二千人」などの数は邦訳と異なる訳も多く、逐語的に解釈する必要はないようです。しかし、イスラエルが北方に領土を広げるのを恐れていたアラムが完敗し、ダマスコにダビデの守備隊が置かれるなど圧倒的な勝利を収めたことは間違いなく、ダビデの軍事力はアラムの属州都市でツォバよりはるか北のオロンテス川上の町「ハマテ」にも脅威となり、王トイは無条件降伏し、ダビデは金、銀、青銅など多くの戦利品をエルサレムに持ち帰ったのでした。ダビデはこれらの戦利品を聖別して、主に奉献し、ソロモンの時代にこれらがエルサレム神殿建設のために用いられたのです。さらに南方へのダビデ軍の遠征では、エドムの領土であった死海の南端の湿地帯「塩の谷」で、エドムを援助するために北方からやってきたアラム軍と一戦を交えます。「エドム」と「アラム」は母音記号なしのヘブル語ではほとんど区別がつけられないために、筆写者の間違いが起こりやすかったようですが、冒頭に引用した8章13節では、七十人訳ギリシャ語聖書(LXX)と一部を除き、ほとんどのヘブル語写本では「アラム」になっており、エドム人がアラムの援助を要請してダビデ軍は実際にはアラム軍とエドムの地で戦ったという解釈が原文に近いようです。
このようにダビデは、かつて今日のヨルダン王国の領土を支配していたエドム、モアブ、アモンなどヨルダン川東岸地域、西のペリシテ、北方のアラムはじめ近隣諸国をすべて平定し、事実上、今日のガザ地区、西岸地区を含む「エレッツイスラエル」、ゴラン高原からユーフラテス川に至るまでを支配下に置いたのです。また、イスラエルと「アマレク」との敵対関係は出エジプト後、モーセ率いるイスラエルの民が紅海(アカバ湾)を渡って、ミデヤンの地の「ホレブの山」(シナイ山)に向かう途中、「レフィディム」に宿営して井戸を見つけたとき、アマレクが井戸を奪おうと非人道的戦法で奇襲攻撃したのが発端でした。そのとき神は「あなたの神、主が相続地としてあなたに与えて所有させようとしておられる地で、あなたの神、主が、周囲のすべての敵からあなたを解放して、休息を与えられるようになったときには、あなたはアマレクの記憶を天の下から消し去らなければならない」(申命記25:19、下線付加)と約束されましたが、エジプトに象徴される「この世」の隷属から贖われた直後神の民を攻撃したアマレクは、聖書では神と神の民に敵対する悪を象徴しています。ダビデはヘブロンに移る直前アマレクを打倒したのですが、その後も「エレッツイスラエル」の山地に住んだアマレクは、イスラエルがバビロン捕囚から解放された直後のエステルの時代に、ハマンによる法令でイスラエル撲滅を計る大攻撃をかけたのでした。この神の言葉が究極的に成就するのは、ダビデの血筋のメシヤ、キリストが再臨され、神の民が千年支配の神の国で真の安息に入るときでしょう。昨今の中東情勢はこの日の急速な接近を指し示しています。
先月号では『エレミヤ書47章』を扱いましたが、「エジプト寄りの政策をとっていたツロ、シドンと同盟を結んでいた『ペリシテ』が『エジプト』に攻撃されて敗北した場合、ツロ、シドンもペリシテと同じ運命に陥ることは目に見えている」という解説は、ツロ、シドンはエジプトに付いていたのだから矛盾しているのではないかとのご意見がありました。紙面が限られていたため十分説明できませんでしたが、この問題は、当時の列強と列強に挟まれた諸小国との力関係をご理解いただければ解決できます。当時の中東は、南に「エジプト」、東(北)にアッシリヤに代わって台頭し始めた「バビロン」の二大強国に挟まれて、ツロ、シドン、ペリシテ、ユダ王国ほかの小国がいずれかの大国の影響下で右往左往の状態に置かれていました。ここでエレミヤが預言したように、実際、当時勢力を伸ばし始めていたバビロンはエジプト遠征を試み、北方からエジプト寄りの国々を襲い、ネブカデネザルによるペリシテのアシュケロン攻撃は 604BCE に成就したのでした。「パロがまだガザを打たないうち」という記述から、このエレミヤの預言はエレミヤ書 46:1-12 と同じ時期に語られたようで、エジプトが中東支配の夢を断念せざるを得なくなった、ネブカデネザルとの「カルケミシュの戦い」での敗北直前の605BCEに与えられた神命のようです。この戦いでエジプトはバビロンに中東支配の座を明け渡し、それまでエジプト寄りであった諸小国はバビロンの支配下に置かれることになったのでした。
#212 : TRUE FAITH FOUNDED ON HISTORICAL FACTS ALONE― How can we conclude on the issue of Peter as the first Pope in the Catholic Church? Most of the evidence points to the contrary. ―
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’ 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ he said. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. MATTHEW 17:1-8.
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 2 PETER 1:12-18.
Peter’s Second Epistle is understood to have been written between 64-68 CE, probably after Apostle Paul’s death. In his two epistles, he reflects on the two great experiences of his life: the declaration of the building of the church written in Mt.16 (examined in our last letter) and the transfiguration in Mt.17, where Peter emphasises that true faith is founded on historical facts.
As examined in our last letter Peter became the first disciple to preach the gospel to both the Jews on the day of Pentecost and to the first Gentile, Cornelius, whose household became believers in Christ. Thus the special privilege given to Peter by the Lord in Mt. 16:19, ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven’ was first fulfilled on those specific situations, later followed by all His disciples.
Peter’s original name was ‘Simeon’ in Hebrew and ‘Simon’ in Greek, and it was after he was given a new title as a disciple by Christ that he came to be called ‘Cephas’ meaning “rock” or “stone”, whose Greek form was “Petros”, i.e., ‘Peter’. His brother Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and it is likely that both had been very much interested in his movement. It was in such a time when Christ called both to His intimate band of the twelve disciples, saying: ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men’ (Mk.1:17). At once they followed.
In Mark’s Gospel Peter is called ‘Simon’ up to chapter 3, verse16, and thereafter always ‘Peter’. Therefore, it was apparently not at the declaration of the building of the church by Christ in Mt. 16:17-18, that the name “Petros”, i.e., ‘Peter’ was first bestowed to him. Actually in Mt.16:18 Christ meant: ‘You are “Petros” (a little stone, “Peter”), but upon the big rock I will build My church’. It is important to note the fact that no article is used before “Petros”, while a definite article is used before “petra”, i.e., ‘rock’ in Greek text. Furthermore, the tense of building the church is in future tense implying that it is Christ that will actually build it. In this context ‘the rock’ upon which the church should be built is Christ and not Peter and everywhere else in the Scripture ‘the rock’ refers to Christ or God. For example, Paul taught: ‘They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ’ (1Co.10:3-4, Lines added), and ‘For we are fellow workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ’ (1Co.3:9-11).
Peter was one of the first disciples called into Christ’s ministry and also one of the three members of His inner circle. He was the representative of the whole band of the twelve disciples. After his apostolic confession of Christ: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Mt.16:16), the event of the transfiguration took place as quoted above. This experience made a lasting impression upon Peter’s life and ministry, which is reflected both his epistles. After Christ’s resurrection, Peter’s name was especially singled out by the angel who gave the message of the risen Lord to the disciples: ‘But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”’ (Line added), and then, the risen Lord personally visited Peter as recorded in their books by both Paul and Luke: ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon’ (Lk.24:34).
After the restoration of Peter from his previous three-fold denial of Christ, he was newly commissioned by the Lord at the sea of Tiberias, i.e., Galilee. This was where Jesus performed several miracles, including that of a catch of 153 fish, in which Peter was given enormous strength to draw up the net by himself, which seven other men were not able to draw up, and also the net remained miraculously intact despite its huge load.
After Pentecost, Peter exercised leadership and supernatural powers through the church so as to make a strong influence on the community. He went to Samaria for the church’s first mission as a representative with Apostle John. After the death of Stephen there are only few references to Peter and he seems to have moved around in Palestine such as Joppa and Caesarea, to accomplish the Lord’s Great Commission, while James took a role of leadership in Jerusalem. Just as Patriarch Jacob’s life switched between two natures; as ‘Jacob’, his old nature trusting in his own abilities and as ‘Israel’, his new nature putting his trust in God and living in obedience, so Peter’s life also seemed to switch from being ‘Simon’, his old nature and ‘Peter’ as new man in Christ. The Bible reports an incident where Peter was openly denounced by Paul because he had yielded to pressure from the circumcision group, i.e., the Judaisers, who believed the necessity of circumcision for salvation and Peter ‘began to draw back and separated himself from the Gentiles’ (Ga.2:12), although he had previously eaten and associated with them. This incident in the life of Peter exemplifies the inconsistencies within him.
There are some who claim that there was persistent rivalry between Paul and Peter. However, there is neither a hint of theological difference between the two, nor definite evidence of any contention. On the contrary, Paul clearly mentioned their different commissions from the Lord: ‘As for those who were held in high esteem – whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favouritism – they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognised that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognised the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised’ (Ga.2:7-9, Lines added).
Peter was once imprisoned in Jerusalem and after the Lord’s miraculous deliverance, the Scripture reads: ‘Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place’ (Acts 12:17, Line added). After this supernatural escape out of Herod’s hands, who had had James, the brother of John put to death and who intended to bring out Peter for public trial after the Passover, it is not clear where Peter went. It may have been Corinth and North Asia Minor. The fact that Paul was prohibited to enter ‘Bithynia’ by the Holy Spirit in his second missionary journey, might imply that Peter was at work in that area.
Whether or not Peter actually visited Rome or lived there has been disputed. The majority denies his residence in Rome. Actually there is no suggestion of his residence in Rome found in the Scripture except for a passage in his First Epistle, in which he used ‘Babylon’ as a code name for Rome: ‘She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ’ (1Pe.5:13-14). This epistle was probably written just before or during Nero’s persecution and there is a possibility that Peter was martyred there.
Having briefly traced Peter’s ministry from the Scripture, how can we conclude on the issue of Peter as the first Pope in the Catholic Church? Most of the evidence points to the contrary.
- According to the Lord’s commission to Peter he was apparently designated as chief minister to the circumcised but not to the uncircumcised. Thus, he could not have been sent to Rome to evangelise to the Gentiles.
- It was Paul that was directly commissioned from the Lord to minister the gospel to the Gentiles and also it was Paul that officially founded, or helped to establish the true church of Christ in Rome.
- Paul planted the church wherever he went but strictly according to his policy, which he puts it: ‘I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles… It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”’ (Ro.15:18-21, Lines added). This statement excludes the possibility of Peter having founded the Roman Church before Paul as long as it was Christ’s true church.
- There is no reference to Peter in the names to whom Paul sent greetings at the end of his letter
in Ro.16. This is evidence that Peter was not in Rome at that time when Paul wrote the epistle to
the Romans from Corinth, at the close of his third missionary journey in late winter or early
spring of 57, or 58CE. Paul did not address his letter to a particular church but to ‘the saints’ in
Rome, probably because there were several churches in Rome. Decades previously, on the day of
Pentecost ‘visitors from Rome’ (Acts 2:10) were in the crowd, who witnessed the miracle that
happened on the day and who heard Peter’s sermon. Some of them returned home as believers in
Christ and probably founded churches in Rome. Subsequently other believers migrated to Rome
from other regions, including Aquila and Priscilla whose church met in their house (so-called
house-church).
In the Epistle, Paul sent numerous greetings to 28 individuals and also several groups, which shows the great impact of his ministry on the establishment and development of the church in Rome. Among the believers there must have been Paul’s converts or associates in other regions. Even if he had not founded a church there, Paul would have considered it as his own. - When Paul was sent to Rome as a prisoner to stand trial before Caesar, the Christian brethren in Rome who heard of it went to meet him but significantly, among them Peter is not referred to. Luke usually mentions important apostles by name in his narration in Acts and yet, there is no mention of Peter meeting with Paul.
- Paul, having arrived in Rome and been allowed to live by himself with a soldier to guard him, he called the leaders of the Jews to share his sufferings for the kingdom of God with them. Amazingly, they were very little informed about Paul and even the basic teachings of Christ. Then Paul had to start with basic teachings until only some of them were converted while others remained in disagreement with him as written in Acts 28:16- 28. Paul quoted the passage from Isaiah 6:9-10 to their spiritually very poor condition, exactly as Christ had used it in connection with His parables of the kingdom in Mt. 13:13-15 and in other places. This clearly indicates the fact that Peter had not been in Rome at least to spiritually lead and shepherd them.
- During his stay in Rome for these two years Paul wrote the epistles to the Philippians, the Ephesians, the Colossians, and the letter to Philemon, the so-called “prison epistles”. While he mentions others as being in Rome during these years he does not mention Peter.
- According to tradition, Paul appeared before the Roman emperor and this time, the case was dismissed and released. He went to Crete where Titus was left in charge and probably to Ephesus as well where Timothy was left in charge, and travelled to other places. But some years later, he was arrested again and spent some more time in prison until he was beheaded outside the walls of Rome, during which he probably had time to write his last one, the Second Epistle to Timothy. In that epistle, Paul said: ‘At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them’ (2Timothy 4:16). Here he mentions that all men in Rome forsook him at his first defence. If Peter had really been in Rome, he would have been one of the deserters but such a betrayal would be unthinkable, which simply means Peter was not in Rome.
- Even Paul himself, having written several epistles in Rome and also an epistle to Rome from ‘Cenchrea’, clearly said in the end, only Luke was with him (2Timonothy 4:11).
- Lastly, Peter gives us some specific warnings in his epistles concerning the coming apostasy; false teachers and false doctrine through deceptive means and twisting of the Word to suit their promotions and fancies that will sweep over Christendom.
Among them, his warning to the Lord’s appointed shepherds is significant in that he emphasises that any shepherd should not be exalted: ‘Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock’ (1Pe.5:2-3).