Author Archives: the late Valerie Martlew
THE TRIBE OF DAN
Dan, the third “brigade” leader of Israel in the camps of the Wilderness, was the son of Jacob and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel. During Rachel’s long period of barrenness, when she was jealous of her sister Leah’s children, she had suggested to Jacob that he should take her maid Bilhah as a concubine, and…
HERALDRY: THE CLUES TO HISTORY – THE RED LION AND THE RED HAND
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, was given the privilege of being the progenitor of the royal line and in Genesis 38 the story is told of Judah’s descendants. Judah had married Shuah, a woman of the Canaanites, and they had three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. Er married Tamar, but he was wicked, and…
SIMEON AND LEVI: Brothers With Very Different Destinies
The third son of Jacob and Leah was named Levi, which means “joiner”. As we are told in Genesis 29:34, Leah hoped that the birth of a third son to herself and Jacob, whilst his favourite Rachel still remained barren, would be the means of turning Jacob’s affection away from her sister, and join him…
HERALDRY: THE CLUES TO HISTORY
INTRODUCTION A few years ago newspapers printed the story of the town which took it upon itself to design its own coat of arms, which rather high-handed action somewhat annoyed the College of Heralds. To those who know, or care little about history or our nation’s past this is probably faintly amusing and dismissed with…
UNTIL SHILOH COME
This Diamond Jubilee year has focused attention on the Royal House of Windsor, and also called forth a great deal of criticism, which has highlighted how misinformed the general public is today about the role and origins of our monarchy. The popular view is that it is an anachronism, and the media attention has made…
