BEMA Episode Link: 232: Introducing the Team — Jephthah’s Daughter w/ Elle Grover Fricks
Episode Length: 41:12
Published Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2021 01:00:00 -0700
Session 6
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings are joined by their next new host, Elle Grover Fricks. Elle has undergraduate degrees in psychology and music from Washington State University, spent four years in mental health as a state-certified behavioral therapist, has a Master of Arts in the Bible & the Ancient Near East from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is the pastor of Refuge Church in Pullman, Washington. They discuss her new role on the BEMA team, the different words for laws and rules in the Old Testament, Jephthah’s daughter and the subject of violence against women, and other random topics.

Learning Hebrew with Elle — Laws, Decrees, Commands, etc. (PDF)

Discussion Video for BEMA 232

Elle Singing at St. Anne’s in Jerusalem — YouTube

Refuge Church Pullman on YouTube

Elle’s Website

Transcript for BEMA 232

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 232: Introducing the Team - Jephthah’s Daughter w/ Elle Grover Fricks

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 232 - Introducing the Team: Jephthah’s Daughter w/ Elle Grover Fricks Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings, with guest host Elle Grover Fricks Focus: Introduction of new BEMA teaching team member Elle Grover Fricks, Hebrew word study on terms for law/commandments, and analysis of Judges 11 (Jephthah’s daughter)

This episode introduces Elle Grover Fricks as a new member of the BEMA teaching team. Elle brings expertise in Biblical Hebrew and the Ancient Near East from her master’s degree at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as experience in mental health and research on religious texts and violence against women. The episode features a Hebrew word study exploring different terms for commandments and laws, demonstrating how each word reveals a different aspect of God’s character. The discussion concludes with Elle’s analysis of the story of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11, highlighting the parallel structures between Jephthah’s experience and his daughter’s, and challenging common interpretations that miss the text’s critique of how communities fail vulnerable members.

Key Takeaways

  • BEMA is designed as a comprehensive Bible study meant to be consumed from Episode 0 through 206 sequentially, with Session 6 (episodes 206+) serving as bonus material that assumes foundational knowledge from earlier sessions
  • The BEMA teaching team is expanding to include diverse voices and perspectives beyond Marty and Brent, recognizing the value of multiple contributors to the conversation
  • Women in ministry and academia often feel pressure to acquire additional credentials and education to be taken seriously in spaces where men are considered the default authority
  • Hebrew is a highly image-based and poetic language where almost every word contains a picture or concept that enriches understanding of the biblical text
  • Different Hebrew words for law and commandments (mitzvah, choq, mishpat, mishmarti, Torah) each reveal different aspects of God’s character: King, Creator/Carver, Judge, Something Precious, and Teacher
  • The story of Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11 contains a crucial parallelism that is often missed: both father and daughter experience rejection and go into the wilderness, but only the father is welcomed back while the daughter is abandoned and ultimately killed
  • Biblical interpretation must attend to stories of violence and marginalization, recognizing that God’s values have always been ahead of human communities in caring for the vulnerable

Main Concepts & Theories

The Architecture of BEMA as a Teaching Resource

The hosts clarify that BEMA is structured as a comprehensive, sequential study of the entire Bible across its first five sessions (episodes 0-206). This foundational material establishes terms, context, historical features, and interpretive frameworks. Session 6 (episode 206 onward) serves as bonus material that assumes listeners have absorbed the foundational content. The study is “locked at a particular time in history” (started in 2016) but remains valuable as a body of work. Marty and Brent strongly discourage skipping sections, even parts that may feel like “a slog” such as the Prophets, because these sections intentionally build foundations and provide tools needed for later material. Brent recommends consuming the first 206 episodes as quickly as possible to gain the big picture, then returning for detailed note-taking on specific episodes of interest.

Expanding the Teaching Team and the Challenge of Default Male Authority

Marty introduces the initiative to expand the BEMA teaching team beyond himself and Brent, explicitly stating they want “no cult of Marty and Brent.” The goal is to diversify perspectives and voices, making the podcast healthier and more engaging. Elle addresses the reality that men are “considered the default” in church spaces and wider society - when a man takes the stage, it’s unremarkable, but when a woman does, there’s an implicit question of “Who does she think she is?” This creates pressure for women to acquire more credentials and education to be taken seriously. Elle notes this pattern even among the teaching team, where she is the most educated member, observing that “in church spaces often, that kind of accreditation isn’t always expected or required of men.” She suggests perhaps all leaders should get more education, or perhaps “the ceiling can be lowered” for women - acknowledging both could be beneficial.

Hebrew as an Image-Based Language

Elle introduces the concept that Hebrew is fundamentally different from English in its structure and purpose. Semitic languages like Hebrew are “very, very, very image-based” with extensive use of onomatopoeia and audio qualities. Elle states she’s “never run into a word” in Hebrew that “doesn’t have a picture behind it.” This makes Hebrew “very poetic language” where understanding the root image or concept enriches the meaning far beyond simple translation. Elle recommends using Blue Letter Bible as a tool, specifically looking at the Gesenius lexicon rather than Strong’s concordance, to discover the pictures behind Hebrew words. This image-based quality means that translation always involves interpretation and selection among possible meanings, leading Elle to provocatively state that “all translation is mistranslation.”

Five Hebrew Words for Law/Commandments

Elle provides an in-depth exploration of five different Hebrew terms typically translated as law, commandment, statute, or ordinance, demonstrating how each reveals a different facet of God’s character:

  1. Mitzvah (מצוה) - Commandment/Decree: From the root meaning “decree” or “charge,” this word presents God as King. While there is a later Aramaic interpretation of mitzvah as “connection” (suggesting each commandment connects us to God), the Hebrew root emphasizes God’s royal authority. First appears in Genesis 2 when God commands Adam about the trees of the garden.

  2. Choq (חק) - Statute/Engraved Thing: This word is onomatopoetic for something cut or engraved, literally “set in stone.” Elle notes the irony that translators often choose “statute” for this word when “commandment” might be more appropriate since commandments were literally engraved. The root connects to the word bara (ברא) meaning “to carve,” used in Genesis 1:1 for God’s act of creation. This presents God as Creator/Craftsman, reminding us of Genesis 1’s imagery of God as worker who carves or shapes creation.

  3. Mishpat (משפט) - Ordinance/Judgment: Contains the prefix mem (מ) meaning “the place of,” combined with shofet (שפט) meaning “judge.” Elle illustrates the mem prefix with the example of midbar (מדבר - desert), which is “the place of” dabar (דבר - word/speaking), making the desert “the place of speaking” or “the place you go when you need to hear the voice of God.” Mishpat thus means “the thing that the judge has set” or “the place of judgment,” presenting God as Judge - specifically the biblical concept of judge like Deborah, not the modern legal figure.

  4. Mishmarti (משמרתי) - Things to Guard/Keep: From the root shamar (שמר) meaning “to guard” or “to keep watch,” presenting the image of a watchman. Found in Genesis 26:5 where God says Abraham “kept my things that should be guarded” (veshamar mishmarti). This presents God’s commands as something precious and valuable that requires vigilant watching over, similar to how God speaks of keeping Shabbat sacred.

  5. Torah (תורה) - Teaching/Instruction: From the root yarah (ירה), Torah means “teaching” with the picture of “flowing water.” Elle explains that “if you’re teaching well, you should be imparting this knowledge to people like a river” - one concept flows by, then another, then another, all coming together like a river. This presents God as Teacher whose instruction flows continuously and dynamically.

Elle’s synthesis emphasizes that these aren’t just technical distinctions but theological revelations: “In each of these words, God has seen fit to give us all these different ways to think about his rules. He is a King. He is a creator. He is a judge. He is something precious. He is our teacher.”

The Story of Jephthah’s Daughter: Parallelism and Community Failure

Elle provides a detailed reading of Judges 11, identifying a crucial parallelism that reveals the passage’s deeper meaning. Jephthah (Yiftach in Hebrew) is born to a prostitute and receives “ostracization from his family and community because of something that he did not do wrong. That was the sin of his father.” He is kicked out, goes into the wilderness, and finds friends with whom he fights. His community’s leadership later returns to him saying, “We’re so sorry. You’re actually an integral member of our community with invaluable skills that we cannot do without. Please, come back and be amongst us and help lead us. Your voice is valued by us.”

The parallel structure: Jephthah’s daughter goes out to celebrate her father when he returns from battle. He has made a vow to “slaughter” (zavach - Elle notes this word is often softened to “sacrifice” but means “slaughter”) whatever comes through his gates first. When his daughter appears, he says “How could you do this to me?” - centering himself as the victim. She responds by asking to go into the wilderness with her friends to mourn.

Elle highlights the critical parallel: “She does something, and it’s not her fault. She receives ostracization for it, she just receives this negative response. She goes out in the wilderness just like dad did, she goes out with her friends, and runs around in circles just like her dad… but nobody from her community goes out for her and says, ‘Actually, you’re a valued member of this community. Please come back. Actually, your voice matters… we need you, not just in the community, but in leadership.’”

The daughter doesn’t even receive the courtesy of a name in the text. She is simply murdered, and the story ends. The conventional takeaway - “don’t make stupid vows” - is inadequate because most people think “Well, I’ve never made a stupid vow… so I’m good.” Elle argues the real message is about communal responsibility: “How many of us have seen somebody get kicked out of our community, get sent away for whatever reason, whether it’s their fault or not and we haven’t gone out after them. We’ve just said, ‘Well, I guess that’s the community I’m part of.’ Then we drop our responsibility. That has real consequences for women, for all these communities.”

Research on Religious Texts and Violence Against Women

Elle explains her academic focus on “religious texts and communities in violence against women.” She provides the sobering statistic that “85,000 women every year across the globe will be murdered, usually by their partner or family member” and notes that “those numbers aren’t different in the church.” Her research asks crucial questions: “How did we get here in our religious texts, and how are we perpetuating harm via our biblical interpretation? Where have we failed women in the past that has enabled these communities to continue perpetuating harm?” This isn’t about importing contemporary political agendas into the text but recognizing that “God has always been ahead of us in these things” and “God’s values have always been there, always been ahead and it’s in the Text. If we just pay attention, we can see it.”

Examples & Applications

Practical Tool: Blue Letter Bible and the Gesenius Lexicon

Elle provides specific guidance for listeners wanting to explore Hebrew word meanings on their own. She recommends downloading Blue Letter Bible and using the Gesenius lexicon (rather than Strong’s concordance) to discover the pictures and root concepts behind Hebrew words. This democratizes Hebrew study, allowing English readers to access deeper layers of meaning without formal training.

The Desert as “Place of Speaking”

The example of midbar (desert) deriving from “the place of” + dabar (word/speaking) provides a concrete illustration of how Hebrew prefixes and roots combine to create meaning. This explains why the desert is consistently portrayed in Scripture as the location where God’s people hear His voice most clearly - it’s built into the very word for “desert” itself.

Jephthah’s Story Applied to Community Dynamics

Elle’s interpretation of Judges 11 directly applies to contemporary church and community life. When someone is sent away, rejected, or falls through the cracks - whether through their own fault or not - communities bear responsibility to pursue restoration. The parallel structure shows that Jephthah received what his daughter desperately needed but never got: a community that acknowledged their value and need for their voice, especially in leadership. This challenges readers to identify who in their own communities might be in the “daughter position” - excluded, unnamed, unvalued, and not pursued for restoration.

Learning Hebrew as a Pastor/Teacher

Elle advocates that clergy, teachers, and Bible study leaders should learn Hebrew as it belongs in their “toolbox.” She positions this not as academic elitism but as falling more deeply in love with the text. Marty shares that Elle has “lovingly” told him his material would be “much better” if he would learn to read Hebrew, and he’s now taking Hebrew lessons from her as a “trial run” that may become something offered through BEMA channels.

Social Media Boundaries

The hosts model healthy boundaries with technology and social media. Elle is “not active on social media” despite church pressure to be, quoting Brent’s principle that “social media should serve us not the other way around.” Brent shares his own strategies for limiting unwanted contact on Facebook. This models how public teachers can engage selectively with technology tools based on their actual utility rather than cultural pressure.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

  1. Comprehensive Study of Hebrew Words for Sin: Marty mentions that emails frequently ask about the different words for sin, iniquity, trespass, and transgression - suggesting this could be another Hebrew word study topic for future episodes

  2. The Unnamed Women of Scripture: Elle mentions that “feminist scholars like to name these women who have gone unnamed” - exploring this practice and other unnamed women in Scripture could reveal additional patterns of marginalization and recovery

  3. The Complete Text of Judges 11: Elle notes there are verses “that probably nobody has ever preached on” in the middle of the Jephthah narrative about the battle and how it unfolds - examining this fuller context could provide additional insights

  4. God as Craftsman in Genesis 1: The connection between choq (engraved) and bara (carve/create) opens up exploration of Genesis 1’s imagery of God as worker and craftsman rather than abstract creator

  5. Biblical Concept of Judge vs. Modern Legal System: Elle distinguishes between the “biblical idea of a judge, not the fluffy wig and the big robes, but more like Deborah” - exploring the shofet role in ancient Israel could illuminate many passages

  6. Archaeological and Historical Context: Elle mentions her passion for “archaeology, history, culture” and notes her classes at Hebrew University were at a “secular university” with extensive focus on these areas - future episodes could integrate this material

  7. Mental Health and Wholeness in Biblical Theology: With Elle’s background as a State-Certified Behavioral Therapist and four years in mental health, exploration of biblical concepts of wellness, wellbeing, and wholeness from both psychological and theological perspectives could be valuable

  8. Violence Against Women in Religious Communities: Elle’s research focus on how “we perpetuate harm via our biblical interpretation” and where “we have failed women in the past” could be explored in depth with other difficult biblical passages

  9. Modern Judaism and Contemporary Jewish Interpretation: Marty notes Elle’s “experience around even modern Judaism from lots of perspectives” - bringing contemporary Jewish readings into conversation with Christian interpretation could enrich understanding

  10. The Aramaic Development of Mitzvah: Elle mentions the “wonderful thought” about mitzvah as “connection” comes from Aramaic, not Hebrew - exploring how concepts developed and evolved through Aramaic could trace theological development between biblical and rabbinic periods

Comprehension Questions

  1. Why do Marty and Brent emphasize that BEMA episodes 0-206 should be consumed sequentially rather than skipped or reordered? What specific purposes do even the “slog” sections like the Prophets serve?

  2. How does Elle’s explanation of the five Hebrew words for law/commandments (mitzvah, choq, mishpat, mishmarti, Torah) demonstrate that these aren’t just synonyms but reveal different aspects of God’s character? Give specific examples.

  3. What is the crucial parallelism between Jephthah’s experience and his daughter’s experience in Judges 11? How does recognizing this parallel change the interpretation and application of the passage?

  4. Elle states that “all translation is mistranslation” and recommends learning Hebrew. What does she mean by this, and how does the image-based nature of Hebrew language support this claim?

  5. How does Elle’s discussion of the challenges women face in ministry and teaching spaces (needing additional credentials, fighting implicit bias) relate to the broader goals of expanding the BEMA teaching team? What values does this expansion represent?

Summary

This episode serves as an introduction to Elle Grover Fricks, who joins the BEMA teaching team bringing expertise in Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Near Eastern studies, and research on religious texts and violence against women. After clarifying that BEMA is designed as a sequential, comprehensive Bible study from Genesis to Revelation (episodes 0-206), the hosts explain their intention to expand beyond a “cult of Marty and Brent” by adding diverse voices and perspectives to the teaching team.

Elle demonstrates her teaching approach through a detailed Hebrew word study exploring five different terms for laws and commandments. Rather than being mere synonyms, each word - mitzvah, choq, mishpat, mishmarti, and Torah - reveals a different aspect of God’s character: King, Creator/Carver, Judge, Something Precious, and Teacher. This exemplifies Hebrew’s image-based, poetic nature where almost every word contains a picture or concept that enriches biblical understanding beyond simple translation.

The episode concludes with Elle’s analysis of Judges 11 and the story of Jephthah’s daughter, revealing a crucial parallelism often missed in interpretation. Both Jephthah and his daughter experience rejection and go into the wilderness, but the community pursues Jephthah for restoration and leadership while abandoning his daughter to death. The conventional takeaway about not making foolish vows misses the text’s deeper critique: communities bear responsibility to pursue and restore those who have been excluded or sent away. With 85,000 women murdered annually worldwide (including in church communities), Elle’s research asks how religious interpretation perpetuates harm and where communities have failed vulnerable members. The passage challenges readers to identify and pursue those in the “daughter position” in their own communities - excluded, unnamed, and not welcomed into valued participation and leadership.

The episode models a commitment to faithful biblical interpretation that recognizes God’s values have always been ahead of human communities, particularly in caring for the marginalized. It invites listeners into deeper engagement with Scripture through Hebrew language study and careful attention to literary structures like parallelism that reveal meanings easily missed in translation.

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