“Claiming Canaan: Milcah’s Journey”
Book blurb:
When the tribal elders make marriage a requirement for claiming her land, Milcah bat Zelophehad must find a betrothed straightaway. The only problem in finding a husband is that all her suitors were slain while conquering the land of Canaan. Men avoid her in order to stay alive.
After praying to God to send her a bold suitor, a man from her father's clan plummets from a tree right on top of her. Is this God answering prayer, or a foolish antic by Eli, the war-scarred brother from one of her clan's rival families?
Will settling in Canaan sort out Milcah's troubles, or have her woes just begun?
After praying to God to send her a bold suitor, a man from her father's clan plummets from a tree right on top of her. Is this God answering prayer, or a foolish antic by Eli, the war-scarred brother from one of her clan's rival families?
Will settling in Canaan sort out Milcah's troubles, or have her woes just begun?
Extract:
Milcah’s sandal crunched on something solid. She glanced at the dirt. Praise be. A massive oak had scattered twigs and small branches on the ground for her to pluck. Was this bounty a sign that God had heard her prayer? She laughed as she bent to gather the wood. How could twigs be a sign?
Something plunked to the soil by the trunk of the tree.
She flinched and jumped backward.
End over end, a log of a branch traveled closer, resting near her sandal. Trees didn’t shed. She glanced into the leafy bush of the oak.
A man squatted on a tree limb.
She screamed. And stumbled. And dropped her basket.
Grabbing the thick log at her feet, she pointed it at the tree lounger.
Was it an enemy? A Canaanite?
“If you move, I will scream and bring all of Israel’s warriors down upon you.” Her voice grew bolder with each word. Surely, a shepherd would hear her distress.
“Do not call our kin,” the man said. His tone cast dispersions on her presence.
Wait.
Only one eye glistened in the shadows. The other eye was patched.
Her chest slumped. She knew this gawker. Eli ben Abishua. In what folly did he partake? And why was he crouched in a tree?
“Eli, I thought you were a Canaanite. What are you doing sitting in that oak?” She huffed her words as her heart and lungs quieted their rampage. Lowering her split-branch weapon, she said, “Are you drunk?”
“If I was, would I be able to climb a tree?” He carefully rose and grasped the branch above his head.
“But you have imbibed?” Her clansman was not known for being sober.
“Earlier perhaps. Now leave me be.” He motioned for her to be on her way.
She took a step forward and gathered her basket. A coiled rope swung from Eli’s belt. What did her clansman need with a rope? Especially in a tree? Her skin pimpled. Was Eli forlorn? He hadn’t been as jovial since his disfigurement. Perhaps if she stalled, someone else would arrive to chastise Eli.
“Why do you have so much rope?” She kept her inquisition calm.
“It’s nothing” He repositioned his hold on the high branch.
“Truly, it is. It could come loose and hit me on the head.” She didn’t need to increase the throbbing in her temples.
“If it does strike you, I won’t have to answer so many questions.”
Links:
Barbara M. Britton lives in Southeast Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She is published in Biblical fiction and enjoys bringing little-known Bible characters to light in her stories. Look for Barb to venture into Christian Historical fiction in June with “Until June.” Barb is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Romance Writers of America and Wisconsin Romance Writers of America. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate.
Where are the daughters of Zelophehad in Scripture? Numbers 26:33, 27:1-11, 36:1-12 and Joshua 17:3-6
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