Achan
Achan ( Hebrew עָכָן 'ākhān ( Jos 7 EU and Jos 22.20 EU ) and Hebrew עָכָר 'ākhār 1 Chr 2,7 EU , ancient Greek Αχαρ ), the son of Karmi, the son of Sabdi, the son of Zerah , from the tribe of Judah, was a condemned sinner in the Old Testament .
According to the legend of the failed conquest of Ai during the conquest of the Israelites , Achan was the cause of this (temporary) defeat.
During the previous conquest of Jericho , the leader Josua, the son of Nun, had put the entire city under the ban ( Jos 6:17 EU ), i.e. made it subject to the priestly disposition, and thus withdrew it from the direct access of the conquerors. Achan, however, kept parts of the banned goods for himself ( Jos 7,1 EU ): a Babylonian cloak, two hundred silver shekels and a gold bar weighing fifty shekels (Jos 7:21).
Then the wrath of God flared up not only against the thief, but the entire people, whereupon he inflicted a military defeat on Ai. In prayer Joshua learned that the violation of the ban was the cause ( Jos 7.10–13 EU ) as well as the advice to determine the name of the delinquent via a lot oracle ( selection oracle ). The divine lot sifted out of the tribes of Judah, out of Judah the Serach clan, from this in turn the extended family Sabdi and finally Achan out of them. Convicted in this way, he acknowledged God's justice at Joshua's request, pleaded guilty, listed the ban that he had taken and revealed the hiding place, a pit in the tent.
According to the law, the offender and his family were stoned to death in the "Valley of Achor" (probably the Buqē'a plain ) and property (including the silver, the coat, the golden tongue, his sons, his daughters, his cattle, his donkey, his cattle, his tent), sons and daughters burned. The story therefore contains elements of an aetiological legend that explains the cairn of stones there. However, it can hardly be assumed that the etiological derivation is the main reason for the narrative, but that it is secondary. Primarily it is about the declaration of the banished or the ordination of annihilation. There are three levels to be identified:
- the act of consecration of annihilation (Jos 7,1a)
- the goods destined for the consecration of destruction (Jos 7,1b.15b)
- those infected by the curse (Jos 7:12, 13)
The structure of the passage of the selection oracle follows the description of Saul's choice of king ( 1 Sam 11 EU ).
The harshness in the persecution of abused trust is echoed in the New Testament in the parable of the talents entrusted to us and the story of Ananias and Saphira ( Acts 5 : 1-10 EU ).
Web links
- Walter Dietrich: Achan. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.