(Leviticus 5:1 - 5:13)
"If you are aware of a public inquiry into a crime that you’re a witness to or possess knowledge of and you fail to come forward to give testimony, you are guilty of a crime and are liable to punishment.
"If you are unaware that you’ve exposed yourself to anything ritually impure (whether it be the carcass of an impure wild animal or beast of the field, or even an insect), you have nevertheless become impure and have acquired guilt. Similarly persons are impure and tainted by guilt if they have exposed themselves unwittingly to human impurity. And if a person utters a oath thoughtlessly or rashly, whether the purpose be good or bad -- regardless of what the person swears the oath about -- that person is also guilty of a sin. In all of these cases, the offending person must, when he becomes aware of his guilt, make atonement for the sin he has committed. This can be done by bringing to the altar of Jehovah a female of the flock, either a goat or a lamb, as a sin offering through which the priest can make atonement for you.
"If you cannot afford a lamb, you may bring to the altar instead two doves or young pigeons to atone for the sin that has been committed -- one for a sin offering, the other for a burnt offering. You should bring them to the priest, who will present the first as a sin offering. He will wring the bird's neck, but without severing the head from its body. He will sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the Sacrificial Altar and then pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. This will be the sin offering. The second, sacrificed according to proper procedure, will comprise the burnt offering. In this way the priest will atone for you, and you will be forgiven for the sin you have committed.
"If you cannot afford the two doves or young pigeons, you may bring instead a tenth of a ephah of the finest flour to serve as a sacrifice. Since this is to be a sin offering, do not put oil or frankincense on it. You should bring it to the priest, who will scoop out a token amount of flour and place it upon the altar to be burnt with the food offerings made to Jehovah. This will be a sin offering. In this way the priest will atone for you, and you will be forgiven for the sin you have committed. (The remainder of the flour will belong to the priest, as is customary with cereal offerings.)"
Notes
1. In the first sin/crime mentioned here, the obligation to testify, a compelling moral question is touched upon. Unfortunately, the text is somewhat ambiguous: it can be read two ways. (Most translations, being of little help, leave the precise meaning vague.) In the first rendering, a person that has been called to testify is obligated to tell what he knows about the crime being investigated or judged. Or, secondly, a person is obligated to come forward, that is, without being summoned, to tell what he knows. The difference is not insignificant. I have concluded the latter, more strict interpretation is valid, that someone witnessing or having knowledge of a crime should not remain silent, but should report all he knows to the authorities. It is refreshing, amid so much ritualistic nonsense, that the text presents a sound and universally applicable moral principle, even if it seems to place little emphasis on it.
2. The sinfulness of rash oaths is curious. One who makes an oath and does not fulfill it is not here condemned, but only one who makes an oath imprudently or inadvertently, perhaps a promise that cannot be fulfilled, a frivolous vow -- it's not clear what is meant.
3. However inexplicable it may be to moderns, the concept of ritualistic purity seemed to have been quite important to the ancients generally and to practitioners of most primitive religions. Slaughtering an animal upon an altar in order to make one clean after you've touched a dead animal doesn't derive from sense or logic. Why not wash your hands instead?
4. It seems to have been in the interest of the Jehovan religion to create as many sins as possible, so that the priests can be ever busy making sacrifices, keeping the congregation dependent upon their services, and collecting their share of the food offerings. The abundance and complexity of Jehovan law is calculated less to make worshipers righteous in their behavior than in creating a large number of sinners who will need to seek atonement from a priestly class that is thereby able to maintain a considerable control over the population and maintain an enhanced stature in society.
5. An ephah is a dry measurement equal to 9 gallons. One tenth of an ephah, therefore, would be a little less than a gallon -- one heck of a lot of flour. How much would be burned upon the altar is an open question, but one imagines the priests would want to save for themselves as much of the flour as they could get away with.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Sin Offerings
(Leviticus 4:1 - 4:35)
Jehovah said this to Moses, "Tell the Israelites that whenever someone unintentionally commits an act that Jehovah has forbidden, it should be dealt with in this manner:
"If it is the high priest who has transgressed (therefore bringing guilt upon the whole community), he must make a sin offering to atone for his sinful act. This offering to Jehovah should be a bull from the herd, an animal that is without defect. He should bring the bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle, lay hold of its head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum. The high priest should take some of the bull's blood and bring it into the Sanctum. He should dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the curtains of the Inner Sanctum. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Incense Altar that stands before the Inner Sanctum and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar, which is positioned before the entrance to the Sanctum. Next, the priest should remove the fat from the carcass of the sin offering, that is, all the fat surrounding the internal organs, as well as the two kidneys and the fat around them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. (This should be done in the same manner as with the bull of the peace offering.) The priest should then burn these upon the Sacrificial Altar. However, the rest of the bull, its hide, meat, legs, head, intestines, as well as the remainder of the internal organs, must be taken to a clean area outside the Tabernacle, to the place where ashes are dumped, there to be burned upon a wood fire.
"If the entire community has transgressed by unintentionally committing an act that Jehovah has forbidden and is unaware of the act, it should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present before the Tabernacle a sin offering in the form of a young bull. The tribal elders should lay their hands upon the bull's head, and it should be slaughtered in front of the Sanctum. The high priest will take some of the blood of the slaughtered bull into the Sanctum. He should dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the curtains of the Inner Sanctum. The priest should then dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Incense Altar that stands before the Inner Sanctum and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar, which is positioned before the entrance to the Sanctum. He should remove all the fat from the carcass and burn it on the Sacrificial Altar. All should be done with this bull as with the former sin offering. The priest will make atonement for the people, and they will be forgiven. The remains of the bull should be carried away from camp and disposed of by burning as was done with the aforementioned bull. This will be the communal sin offering.
"When it is a leader who is guilty of transgression, of unintentionally committing an act forbidden by his god Jehovah, he should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present a male goat without defect as a sin offering. He should hold the goat by the head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. This will be a sin offering. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar. He should burn the fat on this altar, as was done with the peace offering. In this manner the priest will make atonement for the leader, and the leader will thus be forgiven.
"When it is an ordinary member of the community who is guilty of transgression, of unintentionally committing an act forbidden by Jehovah, he should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present a female goat without defect as a sin offering. He should hold the goat by the head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. He should burn the fat on the Sacrificial Altar, as was done with the peace offering. This will produce an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah, and in this manner, the priest will achieve atonement for this person, who will thus be forgiven.
If the sin offering presented is a lamb, it should be a female without defect. The lamb should be held by the head and slaughtered in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. The priest should dab some of the lamb’s blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. He should remove all the fat, as it was removed for the peace offering, and burn it on the Sacrificial Altar on top of the regular burnt offerings to Jehovah. In this way, the priest will achieve for this person atonement for his transgression so he will be forgiven.
Notes
1. The sin offerings discussed here are all for transgressions, violations of Jehovah's commandments and ordinances that are unintentional, or inadvertent. The Hebrews maintained a moral view that a sinful act was sufficient in itself to produce guilt in the actor. On the other hand, we believe that intent and state of mind is vital in accessing guilt; a person is generally not considered morally responsible for acts committed involuntarily, unknowingly or even accidentally, if no negligence is involved. In the Torah, intent, knowledge and aforethought seem to be beside the point in many, but not all instances. In Exodus, for example, the owner of an animal that damages a neighbor's property is not liable if he took precautions to pen his animal or was ignorant of the animal's untoward propensities. Here, however, a man seems to be totally responsible for his own actions, purposeful or not, with little ethical wiggle room.
2. Atonement for unintentional acts of moral transgression is not achieved by a resolution to be more aware, or careful, or fastidious or by a commitment to perform good deeds, or what we would call community service, but rather by merely killing an animal for Jehovah's benefit. This can only be inexplicable to the modern mindset, but not, apparently, to the ancient way of thinking. Imagine a contemporary scenario: in good faith an auto company manufacturers cars with faulty equipment that causes injuries and maybe deaths -- unintentional moral wrong. In lieu of lawsuits, the CEO of the offending company redeems himself by going into a church and slitting the throat of the family dog and sprinkling its blood upon the altar. He is then absolved of guilt. --- Obviously, we do not think along these lines.
3. Again we are reminded how God-awful bloody the holy places of Jehovan worship must have been with all these animals being slaughtered and blood being sprinkled and smeared about.
Jehovah said this to Moses, "Tell the Israelites that whenever someone unintentionally commits an act that Jehovah has forbidden, it should be dealt with in this manner:
"If it is the high priest who has transgressed (therefore bringing guilt upon the whole community), he must make a sin offering to atone for his sinful act. This offering to Jehovah should be a bull from the herd, an animal that is without defect. He should bring the bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle, lay hold of its head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum. The high priest should take some of the bull's blood and bring it into the Sanctum. He should dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the curtains of the Inner Sanctum. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Incense Altar that stands before the Inner Sanctum and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar, which is positioned before the entrance to the Sanctum. Next, the priest should remove the fat from the carcass of the sin offering, that is, all the fat surrounding the internal organs, as well as the two kidneys and the fat around them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. (This should be done in the same manner as with the bull of the peace offering.) The priest should then burn these upon the Sacrificial Altar. However, the rest of the bull, its hide, meat, legs, head, intestines, as well as the remainder of the internal organs, must be taken to a clean area outside the Tabernacle, to the place where ashes are dumped, there to be burned upon a wood fire.
"If the entire community has transgressed by unintentionally committing an act that Jehovah has forbidden and is unaware of the act, it should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present before the Tabernacle a sin offering in the form of a young bull. The tribal elders should lay their hands upon the bull's head, and it should be slaughtered in front of the Sanctum. The high priest will take some of the blood of the slaughtered bull into the Sanctum. He should dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the curtains of the Inner Sanctum. The priest should then dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Incense Altar that stands before the Inner Sanctum and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar, which is positioned before the entrance to the Sanctum. He should remove all the fat from the carcass and burn it on the Sacrificial Altar. All should be done with this bull as with the former sin offering. The priest will make atonement for the people, and they will be forgiven. The remains of the bull should be carried away from camp and disposed of by burning as was done with the aforementioned bull. This will be the communal sin offering.
"When it is a leader who is guilty of transgression, of unintentionally committing an act forbidden by his god Jehovah, he should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present a male goat without defect as a sin offering. He should hold the goat by the head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. This will be a sin offering. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the Sacrificial Altar. He should burn the fat on this altar, as was done with the peace offering. In this manner the priest will make atonement for the leader, and the leader will thus be forgiven.
"When it is an ordinary member of the community who is guilty of transgression, of unintentionally committing an act forbidden by Jehovah, he should, when the transgression becomes known and the guilt realized, present a female goat without defect as a sin offering. He should hold the goat by the head and slaughter it in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. The priest should dab some of the bull's blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. He should burn the fat on the Sacrificial Altar, as was done with the peace offering. This will produce an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah, and in this manner, the priest will achieve atonement for this person, who will thus be forgiven.
If the sin offering presented is a lamb, it should be a female without defect. The lamb should be held by the head and slaughtered in front of the Sanctum where burnt offerings are customarily made. The priest should dab some of the lamb’s blood upon the horns of the Sacrificial Altar and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. He should remove all the fat, as it was removed for the peace offering, and burn it on the Sacrificial Altar on top of the regular burnt offerings to Jehovah. In this way, the priest will achieve for this person atonement for his transgression so he will be forgiven.
Notes
1. The sin offerings discussed here are all for transgressions, violations of Jehovah's commandments and ordinances that are unintentional, or inadvertent. The Hebrews maintained a moral view that a sinful act was sufficient in itself to produce guilt in the actor. On the other hand, we believe that intent and state of mind is vital in accessing guilt; a person is generally not considered morally responsible for acts committed involuntarily, unknowingly or even accidentally, if no negligence is involved. In the Torah, intent, knowledge and aforethought seem to be beside the point in many, but not all instances. In Exodus, for example, the owner of an animal that damages a neighbor's property is not liable if he took precautions to pen his animal or was ignorant of the animal's untoward propensities. Here, however, a man seems to be totally responsible for his own actions, purposeful or not, with little ethical wiggle room.
2. Atonement for unintentional acts of moral transgression is not achieved by a resolution to be more aware, or careful, or fastidious or by a commitment to perform good deeds, or what we would call community service, but rather by merely killing an animal for Jehovah's benefit. This can only be inexplicable to the modern mindset, but not, apparently, to the ancient way of thinking. Imagine a contemporary scenario: in good faith an auto company manufacturers cars with faulty equipment that causes injuries and maybe deaths -- unintentional moral wrong. In lieu of lawsuits, the CEO of the offending company redeems himself by going into a church and slitting the throat of the family dog and sprinkling its blood upon the altar. He is then absolved of guilt. --- Obviously, we do not think along these lines.
3. Again we are reminded how God-awful bloody the holy places of Jehovan worship must have been with all these animals being slaughtered and blood being sprinkled and smeared about.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Peace Offerings
(Leviticus 3:1 - 3:17)
"If you are to make a peace offering and are sacrificing to Jehovah cattle from the herd, the animal should be without defect, whether it be male or female. You should grab the animal by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering food should be presented to Jehovah -- the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. The priest will place these upon the sacrificed animal burning in the wood fire on top of the altar. The food offering will produce an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah.
"If your peace offering to Jehovah is an animal of the flock, it should be a male or female without defect. If you offer a lamb to Jehovah, then you should grab it by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering, food should be presented to Jehovah -- the fat of the entire broad tail, cut off at the backbone, the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. These the priest will burn upon the altar as a food sacrifice, a burnt offering to Jehovah.
"If the offering to Jehovah be a goat, then you should grab it by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering, food should be presented to Jehovah -- the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. These the priest will burn upon the altar as a food offering, producing an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah.
"All the fat is reserved for Jehovah. This is established as a permanent law to be observed by all future generations wherever they may live: you are forbidden to eat fat or blood."
Notes
1. The term "peace offering" is used today in a general, non-religious context. It is a gift to foster goodwill among rivals or enemies or to make amends after conflict. In this context it seems to be less a means for atonement and more as customary tribute to ensure Jehovah's continued favor and to foster the worshiper’s relationship with his god. Sacrifices were always a part of the relationship that ancient man had with his god. You do something for me, I do something for you. This is not, of course, an inequitable arrangement. The worshiper held up his end by making sacrifices, mostly by slaughtering livestock for the benefit of the god. To the literal minded, this cannot make much sense, even if others may find some satisfying symbolism in it. Does the god come down to earth and chow down at the altar. No. Does he absorb some spiritual energy from the slaughtered animals? How and why does he need to do so? Can he actually smell the aroma of the roasted flesh of the sacrificial victims, as Jehovah purportedly does? Does Jehovah do this through a physical presence? (Although ghostly smells have been often recorded, there is little evidence that spirit beings or entities on an astral plane can smell, even if they are able to see and hear.) And if Jehovah were God, or even a lesser spirit being, why would he be obsessed with such earthly and earthy sensations as the aroma of cooked meals? Shouldn't he be attracted to more exalted pleasures and find gratification in more productive and morally uplifting acts?
2. The fat of sacrificed animals is expressly reserved for the deity and forbidden to man. Jehovah is never shy about asserting his prerogatives, but why he should prefer fat to lean is a question. But there always be in the proclamations of Jehovah some prohibition of a trivial nature that will be promoted as an eternal law, the violation of which constitutes a deadly sin. This corresponds to the regimen of taboos that permeate primitive cultures. Such taboos are an intrinsic part of all societies at an early stage of development. Civilized man discards these taboos when he eventually realizes how childish and useless they are.
3. Blood and fat are forbidden for man to eat. Is this a general prohibition or does it pertain only to the meat of sacrificial victims? How strictly should the law be applied? Is there such a thing as a piece of meat that does not contain cooked fat and blood? A 100% lean, fatless, juiceless steak does not sound very appealing. Is that all that the followers of Jehovah are allowed to eat?
"If you are to make a peace offering and are sacrificing to Jehovah cattle from the herd, the animal should be without defect, whether it be male or female. You should grab the animal by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering food should be presented to Jehovah -- the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. The priest will place these upon the sacrificed animal burning in the wood fire on top of the altar. The food offering will produce an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah.
"If your peace offering to Jehovah is an animal of the flock, it should be a male or female without defect. If you offer a lamb to Jehovah, then you should grab it by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering, food should be presented to Jehovah -- the fat of the entire broad tail, cut off at the backbone, the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. These the priest will burn upon the altar as a food sacrifice, a burnt offering to Jehovah.
"If the offering to Jehovah be a goat, then you should grab it by the head and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Aaron's sons, the priests, will then sprinkle its blood against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar. As part of the peace offering, food should be presented to Jehovah -- the internal organs and the fat connected to them, both kidneys with the fat surrounding them on the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. These the priest will burn upon the altar as a food offering, producing an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah.
"All the fat is reserved for Jehovah. This is established as a permanent law to be observed by all future generations wherever they may live: you are forbidden to eat fat or blood."
Notes
1. The term "peace offering" is used today in a general, non-religious context. It is a gift to foster goodwill among rivals or enemies or to make amends after conflict. In this context it seems to be less a means for atonement and more as customary tribute to ensure Jehovah's continued favor and to foster the worshiper’s relationship with his god. Sacrifices were always a part of the relationship that ancient man had with his god. You do something for me, I do something for you. This is not, of course, an inequitable arrangement. The worshiper held up his end by making sacrifices, mostly by slaughtering livestock for the benefit of the god. To the literal minded, this cannot make much sense, even if others may find some satisfying symbolism in it. Does the god come down to earth and chow down at the altar. No. Does he absorb some spiritual energy from the slaughtered animals? How and why does he need to do so? Can he actually smell the aroma of the roasted flesh of the sacrificial victims, as Jehovah purportedly does? Does Jehovah do this through a physical presence? (Although ghostly smells have been often recorded, there is little evidence that spirit beings or entities on an astral plane can smell, even if they are able to see and hear.) And if Jehovah were God, or even a lesser spirit being, why would he be obsessed with such earthly and earthy sensations as the aroma of cooked meals? Shouldn't he be attracted to more exalted pleasures and find gratification in more productive and morally uplifting acts?
2. The fat of sacrificed animals is expressly reserved for the deity and forbidden to man. Jehovah is never shy about asserting his prerogatives, but why he should prefer fat to lean is a question. But there always be in the proclamations of Jehovah some prohibition of a trivial nature that will be promoted as an eternal law, the violation of which constitutes a deadly sin. This corresponds to the regimen of taboos that permeate primitive cultures. Such taboos are an intrinsic part of all societies at an early stage of development. Civilized man discards these taboos when he eventually realizes how childish and useless they are.
3. Blood and fat are forbidden for man to eat. Is this a general prohibition or does it pertain only to the meat of sacrificial victims? How strictly should the law be applied? Is there such a thing as a piece of meat that does not contain cooked fat and blood? A 100% lean, fatless, juiceless steak does not sound very appealing. Is that all that the followers of Jehovah are allowed to eat?
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Cereal Offerings
(Leviticus 2:1 - 2:16)
“Whenever a cereal offering is to be made to Jehovah, it should consist of the finest flour, moistened with oil and sprinkled with frankincense. The worshiper should deliver it into the hands of the priests, Aaron's sons. The priest will take a handful of the flour, seasoned with oil and frankincense, and put this token portion upon the altar fire. It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah. The remainder of the flour will belong to Aaron and his sons, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.
“If grain is to be offered that has been baked in an oven, it should consisted of the finest flour, either thick loaves made without yeast, with olive oil mixed with the flour, or in the form of wafers, also made without yeast, but with the oil olive spread on it. If the cereal offering is fried on a griddle, it should be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil, but made without yeast. Crumble it into pieces, pour olive oil over it and it will be a cereal offering. And if the offering is cooked in a pan, it should also be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil. However the offering for Jehovah has been prepared, bring it to the priest who will present it at the altar. A portion of it will be burned upon the altar as a sacrifice. It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah. The rest of the bread will be left to Aaron and his sons for food, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.
“Do not use yeast in preparing any of the cereal offerings, for neither yeast nor honey can be apart of any burnt offering to Jehovah. (They may be a part of the offerings of first fruits, but not offerings that will be burnt upon the altar.) Instead, season all your offerings with salt. By no means omit salt from the sacrificial offerings; do not forget it, for salt is a memorial to your everlasting pact with Jehovah, your god.
“If the cereal offerings you bring to Jehovah are from the first fruits of the harvest, then bring newly sprouted heads of grain that have been crushed and roasted. Pour oil and sprinkle frankincense upon them. The priest will take a token portion of this crushed grain, with the oil and frankincense, and burn it upon the altar as a sacrifice to Jehovah.”
Notes
1. It must be noted that the priests end up receiving the greater part of all the cereal offerings, flour, bread, wafers, etc., sacrificed to the god. The rights of the priests are made quite clear here. Indeed, no ancient priest, whether he be of Jehovah or any other god, could complain about the food that went along with the job. He would literally eat like a god. It was a major perquisite of the profession. The priestly class (and this extends to the Christian church for much of its history) had a material interest in communal piety. The more devoted and observant were members of the congregation, the more goodies, the more wealth accrued to the priesthood. However well intentioned the practice of making sacrifices, it was inevitably abused in nearly all religions. Sacrifices become a money-making enterprise, a racket, for the priests and an easy way for worshipers to get in their god's good graces. --- But it entailed the waste of a lot of good food.
2. Salt, required as a seasoning for the cereal offerings, was historically used for commemoration in many ancient cultures. And, as any laborer in the salt mines would tell you, it was a precious substance, so much so that Roman soldiers were paid off in salt -- thus the word "salary."
“Whenever a cereal offering is to be made to Jehovah, it should consist of the finest flour, moistened with oil and sprinkled with frankincense. The worshiper should deliver it into the hands of the priests, Aaron's sons. The priest will take a handful of the flour, seasoned with oil and frankincense, and put this token portion upon the altar fire. It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah. The remainder of the flour will belong to Aaron and his sons, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.
“If grain is to be offered that has been baked in an oven, it should consisted of the finest flour, either thick loaves made without yeast, with olive oil mixed with the flour, or in the form of wafers, also made without yeast, but with the oil olive spread on it. If the cereal offering is fried on a griddle, it should be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil, but made without yeast. Crumble it into pieces, pour olive oil over it and it will be a cereal offering. And if the offering is cooked in a pan, it should also be of the finest flour mixed with olive oil. However the offering for Jehovah has been prepared, bring it to the priest who will present it at the altar. A portion of it will be burned upon the altar as a sacrifice. It will be a burnt offering that will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah. The rest of the bread will be left to Aaron and his sons for food, a very holy part of Jehovah's burnt offering.
“Do not use yeast in preparing any of the cereal offerings, for neither yeast nor honey can be apart of any burnt offering to Jehovah. (They may be a part of the offerings of first fruits, but not offerings that will be burnt upon the altar.) Instead, season all your offerings with salt. By no means omit salt from the sacrificial offerings; do not forget it, for salt is a memorial to your everlasting pact with Jehovah, your god.
“If the cereal offerings you bring to Jehovah are from the first fruits of the harvest, then bring newly sprouted heads of grain that have been crushed and roasted. Pour oil and sprinkle frankincense upon them. The priest will take a token portion of this crushed grain, with the oil and frankincense, and burn it upon the altar as a sacrifice to Jehovah.”
Notes
1. It must be noted that the priests end up receiving the greater part of all the cereal offerings, flour, bread, wafers, etc., sacrificed to the god. The rights of the priests are made quite clear here. Indeed, no ancient priest, whether he be of Jehovah or any other god, could complain about the food that went along with the job. He would literally eat like a god. It was a major perquisite of the profession. The priestly class (and this extends to the Christian church for much of its history) had a material interest in communal piety. The more devoted and observant were members of the congregation, the more goodies, the more wealth accrued to the priesthood. However well intentioned the practice of making sacrifices, it was inevitably abused in nearly all religions. Sacrifices become a money-making enterprise, a racket, for the priests and an easy way for worshipers to get in their god's good graces. --- But it entailed the waste of a lot of good food.
2. Salt, required as a seasoning for the cereal offerings, was historically used for commemoration in many ancient cultures. And, as any laborer in the salt mines would tell you, it was a precious substance, so much so that Roman soldiers were paid off in salt -- thus the word "salary."
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Burnt Offerings
(Leviticus 1:1 - 1: 17)
Jehovah summoned Moses to the Tabernacle and communicated this to him, "To the people of Israel give the following instructions: When you offer an animal sacrifice to Jehovah, it can either be from the cattle of the herd or from the sheep and goats of the flock.
"If you choose a burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male without any defects. It should be brought to the entrance to the Tabernacle, where it can be received by Jehovah. Place your hands upon the head of the animal, and it will be accepted in your place as a sacrifice of atonement. The young bull should be slaughtered in front of the Sanctum. Aaron (and his successors in the priesthood) should collect the blood and present it as an offering by splattering it against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar (which stands before the entrance to the Sanctum). The sacrificed animal will then be skinned and cut into pieces. The priests will start a fire upon the altar and put wood on it. The animal's head and strips of fat will be placed into the altar fire. The innards and legs should be washed first, but the priest will burn the entire animal upon the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.
"If you chose a burnt offering from the flock, be it goat or sheep, it must be a male without defects. Slaughter the animal in front of the Sanctum, on the north side of the altar. The priests (Aaron’s successors) will splatter its blood on the sides of altar. It will be cut up, and the pieces, including the head and strips of fat, will be put into the wood fire burning on the altar. The innards and legs should be washed first, but the priests will burn the entire animal on the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.
"If the offering to Jehovah is to be a bird, choose a dove or young pigeon. The priest will bring the bird to the altar, wring its neck and snap off its head and then burn it on the altar. However, he must first drain off the blood along the side of the altar. The crop should be removed and the bird plucked, with the crop and feathers discarded among the ashes at the east side of the altar. Grasping it by the wings, the priest should tear the bird open, but without pulling it apart. He will then put it into the wood fire burning on the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah."
Notes
1. To modern sensibilities, this slaughter and gory proceedings of ritual sacrifice seem anything but holy, but one must keep in mind that blood sacrifices were an integral part of just about every ancient religion. The Jehovan priest was obviously required to have skill as a butcher -- and a strong stomach, but slaughtering animals would have been a part of everyday life, as it was for country folk everywhere until fairly recent times.
2. Although more will be spoken of it later, the burnt sacrifices were means of atonement. The sacrificed animal would always be taking the place of the human who presented it. This is an enduring concept, the death of one creature atoning for the sins of another; it is exemplified by Christ dying on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind, or at least the sins of those who accepted and worshiped him.
3. It is ambiguous in the text whether Jehovah spoke to Moses and expected these sacrifices to be made at the earlier Meeting Tent or at the new Tabernacle, whose construction was completed at the end of Exodus. Only the latter makes sense, although many translations, even many modern ones, say "meeting tent," or "tent of meeting." What, one might ask, was the point of going to all the trouble of building the Tabernacle with its first-rate sacrificial facilities, when the old primitive Meeting Tent was still going to be used? Obviously, the Tabernacle was meant -- unless we have here a contradiction between two original texts the furnished the basis for the Book of Leviticus. As has been suggested before, it was not really possible for the exiled, nomadic Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai to have built the Tabernacle, which must have come into being at a later time, perhaps a much later time. Perhaps one text tells of the building of the Tabernacle at this point and another does not, but rather has Moses still communing with Jehovah in the Meeting Tent where the sacrifices are to take place. Perhaps these instructions in Leviticus do not assume the construction of the Tabernacle. An altar, though, is referred to and one imagines it is the fancy bronze one with the horns as described in Exodus. This is one of many contradictions in the text, not surely the most egregious.
4. The instructions on the preparation of the avian sacrifice in the Hebrew text are unclear, but it seems likely that it involved not only removal of the crop (which would contain undigested food) but plucking. Feathers were probably not consigned to the flames; the birds were probably divested of them beforehand, since the animals were skinned before they were sacrificed and burnt.
5. The priests (cohenim or kohanim) are referred to as Aaron’s sons. It means not only his sons, but all his successors. By Jewish law (Halakha) the priests were to be patrilineal descendants of Aaron. However, it should be noted that the Hebrew word “banim,” which is used here, can also mean “successors” and not merely sons or physical descendants.
6. All translations have the sacrificial animals slaughtered “before the Lord” or something similar (the Orthodox Hebrew Bible says “before Hashem”). It is unlikely, though, that it is meant that Jehovah would be physically present at every sacrifice and that the ceremony would be conducted in front of him, especially considering that Jehovah would not allow even Moses to glimpse his face. And would he really want to be splattered with blood? And if he were there merely in spirit, could the slaughtering really be "before him"? Surely what is meant is more figurative and yet more specific. No other translator seems to have caught on, but it seems very likely that “before the Lord” means before or in front of the place belonging to and sacred to Jehovah, here meaning the Sanctum, before whose entrance the Sacrificial Altar stood.
Jehovah summoned Moses to the Tabernacle and communicated this to him, "To the people of Israel give the following instructions: When you offer an animal sacrifice to Jehovah, it can either be from the cattle of the herd or from the sheep and goats of the flock.
"If you choose a burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male without any defects. It should be brought to the entrance to the Tabernacle, where it can be received by Jehovah. Place your hands upon the head of the animal, and it will be accepted in your place as a sacrifice of atonement. The young bull should be slaughtered in front of the Sanctum. Aaron (and his successors in the priesthood) should collect the blood and present it as an offering by splattering it against the sides of the Sacrificial Altar (which stands before the entrance to the Sanctum). The sacrificed animal will then be skinned and cut into pieces. The priests will start a fire upon the altar and put wood on it. The animal's head and strips of fat will be placed into the altar fire. The innards and legs should be washed first, but the priest will burn the entire animal upon the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.
"If you chose a burnt offering from the flock, be it goat or sheep, it must be a male without defects. Slaughter the animal in front of the Sanctum, on the north side of the altar. The priests (Aaron’s successors) will splatter its blood on the sides of altar. It will be cut up, and the pieces, including the head and strips of fat, will be put into the wood fire burning on the altar. The innards and legs should be washed first, but the priests will burn the entire animal on the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah.
"If the offering to Jehovah is to be a bird, choose a dove or young pigeon. The priest will bring the bird to the altar, wring its neck and snap off its head and then burn it on the altar. However, he must first drain off the blood along the side of the altar. The crop should be removed and the bird plucked, with the crop and feathers discarded among the ashes at the east side of the altar. Grasping it by the wings, the priest should tear the bird open, but without pulling it apart. He will then put it into the wood fire burning on the altar. This will be a whole burnt offering; its smoke will produce an aroma most pleasing to Jehovah."
Notes
1. To modern sensibilities, this slaughter and gory proceedings of ritual sacrifice seem anything but holy, but one must keep in mind that blood sacrifices were an integral part of just about every ancient religion. The Jehovan priest was obviously required to have skill as a butcher -- and a strong stomach, but slaughtering animals would have been a part of everyday life, as it was for country folk everywhere until fairly recent times.
2. Although more will be spoken of it later, the burnt sacrifices were means of atonement. The sacrificed animal would always be taking the place of the human who presented it. This is an enduring concept, the death of one creature atoning for the sins of another; it is exemplified by Christ dying on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind, or at least the sins of those who accepted and worshiped him.
3. It is ambiguous in the text whether Jehovah spoke to Moses and expected these sacrifices to be made at the earlier Meeting Tent or at the new Tabernacle, whose construction was completed at the end of Exodus. Only the latter makes sense, although many translations, even many modern ones, say "meeting tent," or "tent of meeting." What, one might ask, was the point of going to all the trouble of building the Tabernacle with its first-rate sacrificial facilities, when the old primitive Meeting Tent was still going to be used? Obviously, the Tabernacle was meant -- unless we have here a contradiction between two original texts the furnished the basis for the Book of Leviticus. As has been suggested before, it was not really possible for the exiled, nomadic Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai to have built the Tabernacle, which must have come into being at a later time, perhaps a much later time. Perhaps one text tells of the building of the Tabernacle at this point and another does not, but rather has Moses still communing with Jehovah in the Meeting Tent where the sacrifices are to take place. Perhaps these instructions in Leviticus do not assume the construction of the Tabernacle. An altar, though, is referred to and one imagines it is the fancy bronze one with the horns as described in Exodus. This is one of many contradictions in the text, not surely the most egregious.
4. The instructions on the preparation of the avian sacrifice in the Hebrew text are unclear, but it seems likely that it involved not only removal of the crop (which would contain undigested food) but plucking. Feathers were probably not consigned to the flames; the birds were probably divested of them beforehand, since the animals were skinned before they were sacrificed and burnt.
5. The priests (cohenim or kohanim) are referred to as Aaron’s sons. It means not only his sons, but all his successors. By Jewish law (Halakha) the priests were to be patrilineal descendants of Aaron. However, it should be noted that the Hebrew word “banim,” which is used here, can also mean “successors” and not merely sons or physical descendants.
6. All translations have the sacrificial animals slaughtered “before the Lord” or something similar (the Orthodox Hebrew Bible says “before Hashem”). It is unlikely, though, that it is meant that Jehovah would be physically present at every sacrifice and that the ceremony would be conducted in front of him, especially considering that Jehovah would not allow even Moses to glimpse his face. And would he really want to be splattered with blood? And if he were there merely in spirit, could the slaughtering really be "before him"? Surely what is meant is more figurative and yet more specific. No other translator seems to have caught on, but it seems very likely that “before the Lord” means before or in front of the place belonging to and sacred to Jehovah, here meaning the Sanctum, before whose entrance the Sacrificial Altar stood.
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