If you are a self-confessed Christian or a staunch atheist, you may not realize how graphic and frankly “gory” the Bible is. When thinking of it as one of the most influential books in history , most people only think of some of its most famous passages such as Paradise, Adam and Eve , or the Ten Commandments , but they completely ignore the bloody ones. Biblical scenes that can be quite surprising. We now review the cruelest episodes in the Bible.
The cruelest episodes in the Bible
It is true that in the Bible there are many passages that speak of God’s goodness and his mercy, but there are also episodes in which God punishes humanity , or passages in which mutilations, rapes, murders can be read. en masse or plagues that kill thousands of people. Let us then know some of those cruel episodes that are narrated in the bible.
The rape of Dinah
In Genesis 34 , it is narrated how the patriarch Jacob had twelve sons (the so-called Twelve Tribes of Israel), but only one daughter, Dina. One day Prince Shechem noticed Dinah and immediately lusted after her, so he “seized her and slept with her by force.” Her father was initially outraged by this rape, but as it happened in a patriarchal society, the men of both families planned a marriage between Shechem and Dinah , thereby ending Dinah’s shame by losing her honor. The only condition was that the people of Shechem had to agree to be circumcised. The men of the city reluctantly obeyed but two of Dina’s brothers were not satisfied with the arrangement, and “on the third day [after the circumcision], when they were still in pain” and could not defend their property, the brothers attacked the town of Shechem.
The Genocide in the Promised Land
The book of Joshua 1-12 narrates how the Israelite tribes were liberated from Egypt, understanding that for them it would be the land of Canaan, not to mention that other tribes already lived there. This is how a systematic slaughter of those who occupied the Promised Land before the arrival of the Israelites is related.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
In Genesis 19:26 we read how the end of Sodom and Gomorrah came about, in which God made no distinctions by ending the lives of both sinners and innocents. Among them was Lot’s wife , a woman who had offered her two virgin daughters to a mob to be raped in place of the angels who stayed in her home.
The raped and dismembered concubine
In the book of Judges 19 the journey of the Levite and his concubine is narrated and the night they spent in Gibeah, in which the townspeople gathered around the house where he was staying, in search of the Levite. The head of the family with whom he was staying tried to protect him and offered his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine in his place. The Levite agreed to offer up his concubine and, as the story goes, the people “raped and abused her all night, and at dawn they let her go.” When the Levite found her, he put her on his donkey and went home. At home, he cut his body into 12 pieces and sent one to each tribe of Israel.
The murder of John the Baptist
In the book of Mark 6 the death of John the Baptist is explained after being arrested by Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great) since apparently John had criticized the marriage between Herod and the wife of his brother Philip. However, Herod did not want to kill him, but it was his wife Herodias, probably due to the damage he had done to his reputation, he wanted to finish him off. Herodias incited his daughter (also called Herodias) to request “the head of John the Baptist” when Herod Antipas wanted to reward her for dancing at his banquet and pleasing his guests. Distraught but bound by honor, he ordered Juan to be beheaded, serving his head on a tray.
The massacre in the desert
In Exodus 32, after escaping from Egypt, the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years . Frustrated with the situation, they built a golden idol in the absence of any other sign that Yahweh was still on their side. To punish them, Moses ordered the Levites to take up their swords and lay an ambush on the people , “each one of you kills your brother, your friend, and your neighbor.”
