(Book of Numbers 19:1 - 19:22)
Jehovah instructed Moses and Aaron, "Tell the Israelites that this is a ritual required by Jehovah: they must bring to you a red heifer [female calf] that is without flaw or defect, and has never been yoked. You should deliver it to Eleazar so that it can be taken outside of the camp and slaughtered in his presence. He will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it 7 times in front of the Tabernacle. In his sight, the heifer should be burned, its hide, meat, blood, and internal organs. Onto the fire burning the heifer the priest should throw a length of cedar wood, a hyssop branch, and some wool yarn dyed scarlet.
"The priest must wash his clothes and bathe. He may then return to camp, but will be ritually impure until after sunset. The man who burns the heifer must also wash his clothes and bathe, and he, too, will remain ritually impure until after sunset. Someone who is ritually pure will collect the ashes of the burned heifer and deposit them in a ritually pure area outside of camp. These will be kept for the Israelite community to use with the cleansing water that is a part of the purification ritual. The person who collects the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and bathe and will remain ritually impure until after sunset.
"This will be a permanent law for the Israelites and for foreigners residing among them: those who have contact with a dead body will remain ritually impure for 7 days. They must purify themselves with water on the 3rd and the 7th days. If they do not do so, they cannot reclaim ritual purity, and if they do not properly purify themselves after having contact with a dead body, then they defile the Tabernacle of Jehovah and must be banished from the community of Israel. If the cleansing water has not been sprinkled upon them, they are impure and the impurity will remain with them.
"This is the law applicable when someone dies in a tent: anyone who has come into the tent where the dead person lies or who was in the tent when the person died will be ritually impure for 7 days. Every open container there without a lid or cover is also ritually impure. Anyone who touches a dead body in an open field, whether the person has been killed or died from natural causes, and anyone who touches a human bone or a grave will be ritually impure for 7 days.
"To cleanse the impure, ashes from the purification ritual should be placed in a jar and fresh water poured over them. A man who is ritually pure should dip a hyssop branch into the water and sprinkle it on the tent, its furnishings, and on all the people who were there, upon the person who touched the human bone, the person who touched the dead body of someone who was killed or died naturally, or someone who touched a grave. This person who is ritually pure should sprinkle the water on those who are impure on the 3rd and 7th days. Then, on the 7th day, those who are being cleansed should wash their clothes and bathe, and after sunset they will cleansed of their defilement.
"But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves, are to banished from the community because they have defiled the Tabernacle of Jehovah. Since the cleansing water has not been sprinkled upon them, they remain impure. This is a permanent law for the people. Those who sprinkled the purifying water must afterwards wash their clothes, and anyone who may touch the water used for purification will remain ritually impure until after sunset. And anyone and anything the defiled person may touch will remain ritually impure until after sunset."
Notes
1. While there may be symbolism in cleansing by the sprinkling of water mixed with the ashes of a slaughtered heifer, it is hard for the rational modern mind to find any cause-and-effect relationship here, as it is hard to see anything in the concept of ritual purity and purification save primitive superstition and rank nonsense. But it is easy to understand the bottom line: if you don't observe the common customs of the community, you will, at the very least, be kicked out of the community.
2. One wonders how much time and energy and resources were expended by the ancient Israelites upon the preservation and recovery of ritual purity. It did serve several important purposes, though -- making worshipers ever conscious of the laws placed upon them by Jehovah, as well as making the priesthood indispensable and endowing it with the power to interfere in practically every aspect of life.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Instructions to the Levites
(Book of Numbers 18:1 - 18:32)
Jehovah then told Aaron, "You and your sons and members of the Levite tribe are to be responsible for offenses concerning the Sanctum, but you and your sons alone are responsible for offenses involving the priesthood. So you may bring in your fellow Levites, members of your ancestral tribe, to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the Inner Sanctum. They may perform duties for you in the Tabernacle, but must have no contact with the sacred furnishings of the Sanctum or the altar. If they do, both they and you will die. They are to assist you in the maintenance of the Tabernacle and any work that needs to be done there, but no unauthorized person may come near you. You yourself are to officiate in the Sanctum and before the altar, so that my wrath may never again be vented upon the Israelites. It is I who have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your assistants; I present them to you as a gift that they may dedicate themselves to Jehovah and serve in the Tabernacle. But it is you and your sons, as priests, who will perform the rituals at the altar and the priestly duties behind the veil of the Sanctum. The priesthood is proffered to you as a privilege. Any other, unauthorized person that violates the Sanctum will be put to death.
Jehovah also told Aaron, "I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the sacred gifts from the Israelites, and make them over to you and your sons as a perpetual share. You are to be allotted a portion of the sacred offerings that are not burned. That portion of the sacred offerings, whether they be grain offerings, sin offerings, or guilt offerings, will be considered holy and belong to you and your sons. Consume it as a holy offering. Every male in your household must eat it. You must regard it as holy. Also belonging to you are all the sacred offerings of the Israelites that are raised and waved above the altar. I give these as a perpetual share to your sons and daughters. Everyone in your household who is ritually pure may partake of them. And I give to you all the finest olive oil and new wine and grain that are the offered to Jehovah as first fruits of the harvest. All the first fruits of the land offered to Jehovah will thus belong to you. Everyone in your household who is ritually pure may partake of them.
"Everything in Israel given over to Jehovah belongs to you as well. Whether human or animal, the firstborn issue of every womb offered to Jehovah is yours, but the firstborn of every human and the firstborn of every ritually impure animal you will redeem. They should be redeemed when they are a month old, the redemption price being 5 silver shekels (a shekel weighing 20 gerahs, according to the weights of the Sanctum).
"But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep, or a goat, for they are holy. Dash their blood upon the altar, burn their fat into smoke -- a burnt offering creating an aroma pleasing to Jehovah. Their meat, though, belongs to you, just like the breast and right thigh that are raised and waved above the altar as offerings. All the offerings the Israelites make to Jehovah I make over to you, with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual share. This a permanent and unbreakable contract between Jehovah and you and your descendants."
Jehovah said this as well to Aaron, "You will have no legacy of land, nor will you any share in real property. I am your share, your legacy among the Israelites. To the Levites I have given all of Israel's tithes in recompense for serving and ministering in the Tabernacle. From now on the Israelites must not approach the Tabernacle; for this offense they will suffer death. It is the Levites who are to serve in the Tabernacle and they must answer for any offenses made against it. This will be a permanent law, in force throughout the generations: the Levites will have no allotment of land among the Israelites, because I have given them as their share the tithes the Israelites present to Jehovah as sacred offerings. That is their share and that is why I have said, ‘They have no allotment of land among the Israelites’.”
To Moses Jehovah then said. "Tell the Levites that when they receive from the Israelites the tithes I have given to you as your share, they should set aside a portion of it as an offering to Jehovah -- a tithe of the tithe. Jehovah will consider this as a harvest offering like the first grain from your threshing floor or the first juice from your wine press. You must therefore present a tenth of the tithes you receive from the Israelites as sacred offerings to Jehovah. From the tithes received you must turn over Jehovah's portion to Aaron the priest. You must reserve for Jehovah the best and the holiest of the offerings you receive. Tell the Levites that when they present this best part it should be treated like an offering from the threshing floor or the wine press. You Levites, you and your households may eat the remainder anywhere you wish, for it is your recompense for serving in the Tabernacle. You will not considered guilty of any offense by accepting the tithes of Jehovah, if you turn over the best portion to the priests. But take care not to profane the holy gifts from the the people of Israel -- on pain of death.
Notes
1. Much of Jehovah's instructions to the Levites have already been recorded in Leviticus, but we have seen that redundancy is pretty common in the biblical texts, likely owing to the fact of their being compiled from multiple sources over a period of time.
2. The god-priest arrangement presented here is a standard one. The god authorizes the priesthood to represent him to his worshipers. The priests are rewarded with the sacrifices that are offered to the god. They invariably defend their prerogatives and the uniqueness of their role. And they are able to justify everything they say and do as being the will of the god, since only they are able to communicate directly with the divine and, therefore, may define that will. The arrangement has always been a racket, and throughout history few have been the priests that have not exploited it. Here, as part of the deal, the Levites do not get a piece of the Promised Land along with the other tribes, because their share is the priesthood itself -- more than ample compensation. This is attested to over and over again as if members of the priestly class, who are writing the texts, have a continual need to confirm and justify their position.
3. It is never quite clear how the punishment of death is enacted against those who violate the Sanctum, that is, go anywhere near it. Does Jehovah personally strike them down as he did the supporters of Korah or, earlier, the sons of Aaron? Is there something deadly about the Chest of Sacred Records itself? Or is the violator merely apprehended by the priests and executed in some conventional manner?
4. One wonders how onerous and unpopular might have been the provision that the priests claim all the firstborn. Your wife has her first baby, you have to pay the priests 5 shekels. Your dog has a puppy, you pay the priests 5 shekels. You cow has a calf, you have to take it to the priest so he can slaughter and eat it. Isn't that a bit much? And, since the firstborn is considered the most desirable, what effect might it have had on the breeding stock when every firstborn animal was always being killed?
5. The Sanctum shekel would be about .8 ounces, that makes the price of redemption of 5 shekels (2 ounces of silver) about $32 (as of this writing).
Jehovah then told Aaron, "You and your sons and members of the Levite tribe are to be responsible for offenses concerning the Sanctum, but you and your sons alone are responsible for offenses involving the priesthood. So you may bring in your fellow Levites, members of your ancestral tribe, to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the Inner Sanctum. They may perform duties for you in the Tabernacle, but must have no contact with the sacred furnishings of the Sanctum or the altar. If they do, both they and you will die. They are to assist you in the maintenance of the Tabernacle and any work that needs to be done there, but no unauthorized person may come near you. You yourself are to officiate in the Sanctum and before the altar, so that my wrath may never again be vented upon the Israelites. It is I who have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your assistants; I present them to you as a gift that they may dedicate themselves to Jehovah and serve in the Tabernacle. But it is you and your sons, as priests, who will perform the rituals at the altar and the priestly duties behind the veil of the Sanctum. The priesthood is proffered to you as a privilege. Any other, unauthorized person that violates the Sanctum will be put to death.
Jehovah also told Aaron, "I have given you charge of the offerings made to me, all the sacred gifts from the Israelites, and make them over to you and your sons as a perpetual share. You are to be allotted a portion of the sacred offerings that are not burned. That portion of the sacred offerings, whether they be grain offerings, sin offerings, or guilt offerings, will be considered holy and belong to you and your sons. Consume it as a holy offering. Every male in your household must eat it. You must regard it as holy. Also belonging to you are all the sacred offerings of the Israelites that are raised and waved above the altar. I give these as a perpetual share to your sons and daughters. Everyone in your household who is ritually pure may partake of them. And I give to you all the finest olive oil and new wine and grain that are the offered to Jehovah as first fruits of the harvest. All the first fruits of the land offered to Jehovah will thus belong to you. Everyone in your household who is ritually pure may partake of them.
"Everything in Israel given over to Jehovah belongs to you as well. Whether human or animal, the firstborn issue of every womb offered to Jehovah is yours, but the firstborn of every human and the firstborn of every ritually impure animal you will redeem. They should be redeemed when they are a month old, the redemption price being 5 silver shekels (a shekel weighing 20 gerahs, according to the weights of the Sanctum).
"But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep, or a goat, for they are holy. Dash their blood upon the altar, burn their fat into smoke -- a burnt offering creating an aroma pleasing to Jehovah. Their meat, though, belongs to you, just like the breast and right thigh that are raised and waved above the altar as offerings. All the offerings the Israelites make to Jehovah I make over to you, with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual share. This a permanent and unbreakable contract between Jehovah and you and your descendants."
Jehovah said this as well to Aaron, "You will have no legacy of land, nor will you any share in real property. I am your share, your legacy among the Israelites. To the Levites I have given all of Israel's tithes in recompense for serving and ministering in the Tabernacle. From now on the Israelites must not approach the Tabernacle; for this offense they will suffer death. It is the Levites who are to serve in the Tabernacle and they must answer for any offenses made against it. This will be a permanent law, in force throughout the generations: the Levites will have no allotment of land among the Israelites, because I have given them as their share the tithes the Israelites present to Jehovah as sacred offerings. That is their share and that is why I have said, ‘They have no allotment of land among the Israelites’.”
To Moses Jehovah then said. "Tell the Levites that when they receive from the Israelites the tithes I have given to you as your share, they should set aside a portion of it as an offering to Jehovah -- a tithe of the tithe. Jehovah will consider this as a harvest offering like the first grain from your threshing floor or the first juice from your wine press. You must therefore present a tenth of the tithes you receive from the Israelites as sacred offerings to Jehovah. From the tithes received you must turn over Jehovah's portion to Aaron the priest. You must reserve for Jehovah the best and the holiest of the offerings you receive. Tell the Levites that when they present this best part it should be treated like an offering from the threshing floor or the wine press. You Levites, you and your households may eat the remainder anywhere you wish, for it is your recompense for serving in the Tabernacle. You will not considered guilty of any offense by accepting the tithes of Jehovah, if you turn over the best portion to the priests. But take care not to profane the holy gifts from the the people of Israel -- on pain of death.
Notes
1. Much of Jehovah's instructions to the Levites have already been recorded in Leviticus, but we have seen that redundancy is pretty common in the biblical texts, likely owing to the fact of their being compiled from multiple sources over a period of time.
2. The god-priest arrangement presented here is a standard one. The god authorizes the priesthood to represent him to his worshipers. The priests are rewarded with the sacrifices that are offered to the god. They invariably defend their prerogatives and the uniqueness of their role. And they are able to justify everything they say and do as being the will of the god, since only they are able to communicate directly with the divine and, therefore, may define that will. The arrangement has always been a racket, and throughout history few have been the priests that have not exploited it. Here, as part of the deal, the Levites do not get a piece of the Promised Land along with the other tribes, because their share is the priesthood itself -- more than ample compensation. This is attested to over and over again as if members of the priestly class, who are writing the texts, have a continual need to confirm and justify their position.
3. It is never quite clear how the punishment of death is enacted against those who violate the Sanctum, that is, go anywhere near it. Does Jehovah personally strike them down as he did the supporters of Korah or, earlier, the sons of Aaron? Is there something deadly about the Chest of Sacred Records itself? Or is the violator merely apprehended by the priests and executed in some conventional manner?
4. One wonders how onerous and unpopular might have been the provision that the priests claim all the firstborn. Your wife has her first baby, you have to pay the priests 5 shekels. Your dog has a puppy, you pay the priests 5 shekels. You cow has a calf, you have to take it to the priest so he can slaughter and eat it. Isn't that a bit much? And, since the firstborn is considered the most desirable, what effect might it have had on the breeding stock when every firstborn animal was always being killed?
5. The Sanctum shekel would be about .8 ounces, that makes the price of redemption of 5 shekels (2 ounces of silver) about $32 (as of this writing).
The Budding of Aaron's Staff
(Book of Numbers 17:1 - 17:13)
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Tell the Israelites to have them furnish you with 12 staffs, one belonging to the leader of each the ancestral tribes. Write the name of the owner on each staff, with Aaron's name on the staff from the Tribe of Levi. There must be only one staff for each tribal leader. Place the staffs in the Tabernacle, in front of the Chest of Sacred Records, where I commune with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout with a bud -- this will put an end to all the complaints and protests the Israelites have been making against you."
Moses conveyed these instructions to the people of Israel and each of the tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. Moses placed the staffs in the Inner Sanctum in front of the Chest of Sacred Records. When Moses returned there the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, the one representing the Tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and bore ripe almonds! Moses brought all the staffs from the Inner Sanctum and showed them to Israelite people so they could examined them. Each leader claimed his own staff.
Jehovah ordered Moses, "Return Aaron's staff to the Inner Sanctum and let it remain in front of the Chest of Sacred Records as a warning to the rebellious. They will stop their complaints against me -- or they will die!" Moses did as he was told by Jehovah.
The Israelites cried to Moses, "We are doomed to die! We're lost! We're all lost! Anyone who comes near the Inner Sanctum will die. Are we all not going to die?"
Notes
1. To resolve the dispute over who and what tribe should serve in Jehovah's Tabernacle and be the high priest, Jehovah arranges a demonstration. Apparently, in spite of his glorious presence and manifestations of power, he is unable to convince the Israelites of his wishes. And so to express himself with a demonstration, he performs a miracle and makes the staff of Aaron bud and bring forth ripe almonds. (Do almonds have some significance here?) As usual, Jehovah does not emphasis the positive, the honor he has done Aaron by singling him out, but makes the staff a warning, a warning of death to any who may challenge his selection or usurp Aaron's position.
2. Despite the resolution of this issue, the Israelites are apparently not happy campers, but seem frantic with fear. Jehovah, their less than comforting god, has already killed many thousands of them and there seems a perhaps not irrational fear that he will kill more, although it's clear death threatens only those who violate the Sanctum.
3. The tribal leaders write their names on their staffs. It’s wonderful that they are all literate, but in what language do they write? It could only be Egyptian hieroglyphics, since Hebrew would not emerge as a language for centuries, nor would any sort of alphabet.
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Tell the Israelites to have them furnish you with 12 staffs, one belonging to the leader of each the ancestral tribes. Write the name of the owner on each staff, with Aaron's name on the staff from the Tribe of Levi. There must be only one staff for each tribal leader. Place the staffs in the Tabernacle, in front of the Chest of Sacred Records, where I commune with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout with a bud -- this will put an end to all the complaints and protests the Israelites have been making against you."
Moses conveyed these instructions to the people of Israel and each of the tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. Moses placed the staffs in the Inner Sanctum in front of the Chest of Sacred Records. When Moses returned there the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, the one representing the Tribe of Levi, had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and bore ripe almonds! Moses brought all the staffs from the Inner Sanctum and showed them to Israelite people so they could examined them. Each leader claimed his own staff.
Jehovah ordered Moses, "Return Aaron's staff to the Inner Sanctum and let it remain in front of the Chest of Sacred Records as a warning to the rebellious. They will stop their complaints against me -- or they will die!" Moses did as he was told by Jehovah.
The Israelites cried to Moses, "We are doomed to die! We're lost! We're all lost! Anyone who comes near the Inner Sanctum will die. Are we all not going to die?"
Notes
1. To resolve the dispute over who and what tribe should serve in Jehovah's Tabernacle and be the high priest, Jehovah arranges a demonstration. Apparently, in spite of his glorious presence and manifestations of power, he is unable to convince the Israelites of his wishes. And so to express himself with a demonstration, he performs a miracle and makes the staff of Aaron bud and bring forth ripe almonds. (Do almonds have some significance here?) As usual, Jehovah does not emphasis the positive, the honor he has done Aaron by singling him out, but makes the staff a warning, a warning of death to any who may challenge his selection or usurp Aaron's position.
2. Despite the resolution of this issue, the Israelites are apparently not happy campers, but seem frantic with fear. Jehovah, their less than comforting god, has already killed many thousands of them and there seems a perhaps not irrational fear that he will kill more, although it's clear death threatens only those who violate the Sanctum.
3. The tribal leaders write their names on their staffs. It’s wonderful that they are all literate, but in what language do they write? It could only be Egyptian hieroglyphics, since Hebrew would not emerge as a language for centuries, nor would any sort of alphabet.
Korah's Rebellion Against Moses
(Book of Numbers 16:1 - 16:50)
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with descendants of Reuben, Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, hatched a plot against Moses along with 250 prominent community leaders, all members of the assembly. As a group, they confronted Moses and Aaron and rebuked them, "You assume too much! The entire community of Israel has been chosen to be holy by Jehovah and he is with all of us. Why do you set yourselves up as being greater than the rest of Jehovah's community?"
Moses responded to their words by prostrating himself. He then addressed Korah and his followers: "Tomorrow morning Jehovah will make known who is with him and who is holy and whom he allows to approach him. The one he chooses, he will allow to approach him. You, Korah, and your followers prepare your censers. Tomorrow light fires in them and burn incense before the altar. Then we will see who it is that Jehovah chooses as holy. It's you Levites who assume too much!”
Moses said this as well to Korah: "Now listen, you Levites! Isn't it enough for you that the god of Israel has single you out from the community of Israel to allow you to approach his altar and serve in his Tabernacle, to stand before your people and minister to them? He has allowed you and your fellow Levites to approach his altar -- but now you demand the priesthood as well? It is in opposition to Jehovah that you and this company have gathered. What's wrong with Aaron that you object to him?"
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they responded, "We won’t come! Isn't it enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to die in the desert, but must you lord it over us? What’s more you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us a new homeland of fields and vineyards. Are you trying to pull the wool over these men's eyes? No, we will not come!"
Moses was enraged and complained to Jehovah, "Refuse their offerings! I haven't taken so much as one donkey from them or harmed a hair on their heads."
Moses told Korah, "You and your followers are to appear before the altar tomorrow, you and your people along with Aaron. Each of the 250 men is to take his censer and put incense into it and present it before the altar. You and Aaron are to do likewise and present your own censers as well."
And so each of them took their censers and placed burning charcoal and incense in them and then stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tabernacle. There Korah gathered all his followers, who opposed Moses and Aaron.
Jehovah then gloriously appeared before all of them. He told Moses and Aaron, "Move away from this gang so I can wipe them out in a moment.”
Moses and Aaron prostrated themselves and pleaded, "O God, the god that breathes life into all living creatures, must you vent your wrath upon an entire community when it is only one man who sins?"
But Jehovah told Moses, "Tell all the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
Moses got up and went to see Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him, but Moses warned them, "Move away from the tents of these evil men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them or else you will be destroyed because of their sins." Thus, in every direction, they moved back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, while Dathan and Abiram emerged and stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and small children.
Moses told them, "This is how you will know that Jehovah has ordered me to do these things and that it was not my idea. If these men die a natural death, as is the fate suffered by all mankind, then Jehovah did not send me. But if Jehovah does something unprecedented, if the ground opens up and swallows them and all their worldly goods and they descend alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know it is because they have treated Jehovah with contempt."
No sooner had Moses spoken than the earth beneath their feet split; the ground opened up and swallowed the men along with their worldly goods, as well as the followers who were standing with them and all their possessions. So they descended alive into the realm of the dead along with their worldly goods. The earth closed, they perished and disappeared from the community. The Israelites around them, hearing their screams, cried, "The earth is going to swallow us, too!" From Jehovah's airship was sent a fiery discharge that incinerated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
Jehovah told Moses, "Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to retrieve the censers from the burnt remains, for they are holy. Tell him also to scatter the charcoal embers and ashes some distance away. Take the censers belonging to the men who sinned at the cost of their lives and hammer the metal into thin sheets that can be used to overlay the altar, for the censers have been presented at the altar of Jehovah and have, therefore, become holy. Let them be a warning to the people of Israel!"
Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers belonging to those who had been burned to death, and they were hammered into plates to overlay the altar. This would be a warning to the Israelites that no unauthorized person, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, may draw near the altar and burn incense upon it, lest what happened to Korah and his conspirators happen to him. So Jehovah told Eleazar through Moses.
On the very next day, however, the entire Israelite community protested to Moses, "You have caused the death of Jehovah's people!" But when the rebellious congregation that had gathered turned to the Tabernacle, they saw a cloud covering it and witnessed the glorious appearance of Jehovah. Moses and Aaron went to the Tabernacle, and Jehovah told Moses, "Keep your distance from this gathering so that I can liquidate them in an instant." Moses and Aaron, though, fell prostrate.
Moses told Aaron, "Quickly, take a censer and place burning charcoal from the altar in it, fill it with incense, and take it out to the people so that you can make atonement for them. Jehovah' wrath has already been kindled and a plague is spreading abroad!” And so Aaron did as Moses told him, he seized the censer and ran out into the middle of the people who were already dropping dead from the plague. He burned the incense upon the charcoal and made atonement for the people. Being all that stood between life and death, Aaron succeeded in stopping the plague. But, in addition to those who had been killed on account of Korah’s rebellion, 14,700 perished from this plague. The plague being halted, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
Notes
1. Korah and the Levites who follow him are motivated to rebel against the leadership of Moses for two reasons. Firstly, they believe Moses has assumed dictatorial powers and has claimed an honored position in relationship to Jehovah that they believe belongs to the people as a whole. Secondly, they object to Aaron and the position of high priest being hereditary, falling only to the descendants of Aaron. While the Levites have been given special privileges and service in the Tabernacle, no Levite who is not a descendant of Aaron may become high priest. This seems unfair to Korah and his conspirators. Korah, though probably spurred by personal motives and petty disgruntlement, can be viewed as an early populist democrat, but he is bucking the concept of hereditary power, which would remain in force through much of the world for the next 3000 years and more. While the conspirators may have wished for a less centralized power structure -- Moses is pretty much a totalitarian tyrant, even as he is a mere tool and flunky of Jehovah -- they are kidding themselves if they believe that any of them can take his place with Jehovah. Moses is Jehovah's man, the only human he seems comfortable communicating with directly. (Why Jehovah is so insecure and unsociable is an open question.) They seem to be forgetting that while Jehovah has freed them from slavery in Egypt and fed them in the desert (though with the despised manna), he has shown only contempt for his Chosen People. There is probably more merit in the complaints against Aaron. There can be no reason why Aaron would be the high priest save that he be Moses' brother. (Nepotism tends to rub people the wrong way, especially when things are going badly, although it must be pointed out that Korah was Moses' first cousin.) Aaron couldn't even instruct his own sons in the proper way to serve Jehovah or keep them from officiating while they were drunk. And Aaron had been quick to give up faith and desert Moses when he was on the mountain, yet he escaped punishment for crafting the Golden Calf. Aaron's competence and fidelity could certainly be questioned, and if Aaron possessed any admirable traits they are not revealed in the biblical narrative. It is likely that Moses was blind to the shortcomings and unpopularity of his brother, but his defense of him was in obedience to Jehovah. The other conspirators, non-Levites, probably had other axes to grind, objecting to the monopoly that Levites had on eligibility for the priesthood -- certainly a legitimate grievance. Disparaging Moses' leadership, Dathan and Abiram specifically site his unfulfilled promise to bring them to another land flowing with milk and honey. --- Rabbinical literature has furnished more details and background about this event and its participants, but in such cases one must always ask that, barring some greater access to historical records, why should those writing later know more about an event than those closer to it in time? How likely to be true are later embellishments and explanations?
2. It may be disappointing to many readers that Dathan, one of the Reubenite conspirators, is such a minor character in the biblical narrative. In Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film version of The Ten Commandments, Dathan, memorably portrayed by on-screen gangster, off-screen mensch Edward G. Robinson, is a major villain and the driving force behind the Golden Calf heresy (which, though, is somewhat misconstrued in the movie).
3. Moses calls the bluff of the conspirators and challenges them to a contest that will make known Jehovah's preference, which, Moses knows, is already evident. Let them all burn incense before the altar to see whom Jehovah will favor. (Gentlemen, prepare your censers!) The contest seems absurd since it is not just between Aaron and his cousin Korah, but among 250 other candidates. How could that many people fit into the Sanctum at one time? How long would it take for 250 priests to individually make their incense offerings? Or, if they all burned their incense at one time, wouldn't the resultant smoke and odor from 250 censers be overwhelming? (It should be remembered that while the altar for sacrifices was located in the Tabernacle compound before the entrance to the Sanctum, the altar upon which the incense was burned stood inside the Sanctum before the Inner Sanctum where the Chest of Sacred Records [Ark of the Covenant] was housed.) Moses' challenge is predicated on the idea that the deity recognizes the difference between incense being burned by one priest and the same incense being burned by another. The contest, though, seems merely a devious ruse on Jehovah's part to get all the conspirators together so that he can appear and kill them en masse.
4. Here Jehovah gets to do again what he ostensibly loves best, to murder those who have offended him. He chooses three separate methods to do so. Firstly he causes the ground to open up and swallow Dathan and Abiram and their families. (Are the wives and children guilty, too?) Then he strikes Korah and his 250 supporters with fire, and, the next day, their 14,700 supporters with some sort of a plague. Needless to say, there is no natural explanation for the ground to selectively swallow a group of people. However, what is conventionally translated as "fire from the Lord" is likely an incendiary bomb or missile fired from Jehovah's airship. The so-called plague presumably involves men dropping dead almost immediately. This could scarcely be an illness. What could it be? Nerve gas?
5. The narrative borders on comic absurdity when we find Aaron running out into the middle of a crowd of people presently dropping dead from Jehovah's "plague" to burn incense and appease Jehovah. He is successful, but only after 14,700 people have died. The impression is given that Jehovah, once angered, becomes a violent madman who must be placated, a raging mass murderer whose bloodlust can only be mollified by some silly ritual. Moses and Aaron must continually try to intervene and plead for the lives of their people whom Jehovah will, in a fit of pique, wantonly and gleefully exterminate without a qualm.
6. The censers of Korah's 250 would-be priests are collected and the bronze from them used to overlay the Incense Altar. But, wasn't the altar already finished, earlier in the story? How could the altar have been a functioning altar, requisitely holy, unless it had been bronzed according to Jehovah's earlier instructions? It also might be pointed out that surely the bronze from 250 censers would have been far more than what would have been needed for the job.
Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, along with descendants of Reuben, Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, hatched a plot against Moses along with 250 prominent community leaders, all members of the assembly. As a group, they confronted Moses and Aaron and rebuked them, "You assume too much! The entire community of Israel has been chosen to be holy by Jehovah and he is with all of us. Why do you set yourselves up as being greater than the rest of Jehovah's community?"
Moses responded to their words by prostrating himself. He then addressed Korah and his followers: "Tomorrow morning Jehovah will make known who is with him and who is holy and whom he allows to approach him. The one he chooses, he will allow to approach him. You, Korah, and your followers prepare your censers. Tomorrow light fires in them and burn incense before the altar. Then we will see who it is that Jehovah chooses as holy. It's you Levites who assume too much!”
Moses said this as well to Korah: "Now listen, you Levites! Isn't it enough for you that the god of Israel has single you out from the community of Israel to allow you to approach his altar and serve in his Tabernacle, to stand before your people and minister to them? He has allowed you and your fellow Levites to approach his altar -- but now you demand the priesthood as well? It is in opposition to Jehovah that you and this company have gathered. What's wrong with Aaron that you object to him?"
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they responded, "We won’t come! Isn't it enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to die in the desert, but must you lord it over us? What’s more you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us a new homeland of fields and vineyards. Are you trying to pull the wool over these men's eyes? No, we will not come!"
Moses was enraged and complained to Jehovah, "Refuse their offerings! I haven't taken so much as one donkey from them or harmed a hair on their heads."
Moses told Korah, "You and your followers are to appear before the altar tomorrow, you and your people along with Aaron. Each of the 250 men is to take his censer and put incense into it and present it before the altar. You and Aaron are to do likewise and present your own censers as well."
And so each of them took their censers and placed burning charcoal and incense in them and then stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Tabernacle. There Korah gathered all his followers, who opposed Moses and Aaron.
Jehovah then gloriously appeared before all of them. He told Moses and Aaron, "Move away from this gang so I can wipe them out in a moment.”
Moses and Aaron prostrated themselves and pleaded, "O God, the god that breathes life into all living creatures, must you vent your wrath upon an entire community when it is only one man who sins?"
But Jehovah told Moses, "Tell all the people to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram."
Moses got up and went to see Dathan and Abiram. The elders of Israel followed him, but Moses warned them, "Move away from the tents of these evil men. Don't touch anything that belongs to them or else you will be destroyed because of their sins." Thus, in every direction, they moved back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, while Dathan and Abiram emerged and stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and small children.
Moses told them, "This is how you will know that Jehovah has ordered me to do these things and that it was not my idea. If these men die a natural death, as is the fate suffered by all mankind, then Jehovah did not send me. But if Jehovah does something unprecedented, if the ground opens up and swallows them and all their worldly goods and they descend alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know it is because they have treated Jehovah with contempt."
No sooner had Moses spoken than the earth beneath their feet split; the ground opened up and swallowed the men along with their worldly goods, as well as the followers who were standing with them and all their possessions. So they descended alive into the realm of the dead along with their worldly goods. The earth closed, they perished and disappeared from the community. The Israelites around them, hearing their screams, cried, "The earth is going to swallow us, too!" From Jehovah's airship was sent a fiery discharge that incinerated the 250 men who were offering the incense.
Jehovah told Moses, "Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to retrieve the censers from the burnt remains, for they are holy. Tell him also to scatter the charcoal embers and ashes some distance away. Take the censers belonging to the men who sinned at the cost of their lives and hammer the metal into thin sheets that can be used to overlay the altar, for the censers have been presented at the altar of Jehovah and have, therefore, become holy. Let them be a warning to the people of Israel!"
Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers belonging to those who had been burned to death, and they were hammered into plates to overlay the altar. This would be a warning to the Israelites that no unauthorized person, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, may draw near the altar and burn incense upon it, lest what happened to Korah and his conspirators happen to him. So Jehovah told Eleazar through Moses.
On the very next day, however, the entire Israelite community protested to Moses, "You have caused the death of Jehovah's people!" But when the rebellious congregation that had gathered turned to the Tabernacle, they saw a cloud covering it and witnessed the glorious appearance of Jehovah. Moses and Aaron went to the Tabernacle, and Jehovah told Moses, "Keep your distance from this gathering so that I can liquidate them in an instant." Moses and Aaron, though, fell prostrate.
Moses told Aaron, "Quickly, take a censer and place burning charcoal from the altar in it, fill it with incense, and take it out to the people so that you can make atonement for them. Jehovah' wrath has already been kindled and a plague is spreading abroad!” And so Aaron did as Moses told him, he seized the censer and ran out into the middle of the people who were already dropping dead from the plague. He burned the incense upon the charcoal and made atonement for the people. Being all that stood between life and death, Aaron succeeded in stopping the plague. But, in addition to those who had been killed on account of Korah’s rebellion, 14,700 perished from this plague. The plague being halted, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
Notes
1. Korah and the Levites who follow him are motivated to rebel against the leadership of Moses for two reasons. Firstly, they believe Moses has assumed dictatorial powers and has claimed an honored position in relationship to Jehovah that they believe belongs to the people as a whole. Secondly, they object to Aaron and the position of high priest being hereditary, falling only to the descendants of Aaron. While the Levites have been given special privileges and service in the Tabernacle, no Levite who is not a descendant of Aaron may become high priest. This seems unfair to Korah and his conspirators. Korah, though probably spurred by personal motives and petty disgruntlement, can be viewed as an early populist democrat, but he is bucking the concept of hereditary power, which would remain in force through much of the world for the next 3000 years and more. While the conspirators may have wished for a less centralized power structure -- Moses is pretty much a totalitarian tyrant, even as he is a mere tool and flunky of Jehovah -- they are kidding themselves if they believe that any of them can take his place with Jehovah. Moses is Jehovah's man, the only human he seems comfortable communicating with directly. (Why Jehovah is so insecure and unsociable is an open question.) They seem to be forgetting that while Jehovah has freed them from slavery in Egypt and fed them in the desert (though with the despised manna), he has shown only contempt for his Chosen People. There is probably more merit in the complaints against Aaron. There can be no reason why Aaron would be the high priest save that he be Moses' brother. (Nepotism tends to rub people the wrong way, especially when things are going badly, although it must be pointed out that Korah was Moses' first cousin.) Aaron couldn't even instruct his own sons in the proper way to serve Jehovah or keep them from officiating while they were drunk. And Aaron had been quick to give up faith and desert Moses when he was on the mountain, yet he escaped punishment for crafting the Golden Calf. Aaron's competence and fidelity could certainly be questioned, and if Aaron possessed any admirable traits they are not revealed in the biblical narrative. It is likely that Moses was blind to the shortcomings and unpopularity of his brother, but his defense of him was in obedience to Jehovah. The other conspirators, non-Levites, probably had other axes to grind, objecting to the monopoly that Levites had on eligibility for the priesthood -- certainly a legitimate grievance. Disparaging Moses' leadership, Dathan and Abiram specifically site his unfulfilled promise to bring them to another land flowing with milk and honey. --- Rabbinical literature has furnished more details and background about this event and its participants, but in such cases one must always ask that, barring some greater access to historical records, why should those writing later know more about an event than those closer to it in time? How likely to be true are later embellishments and explanations?
2. It may be disappointing to many readers that Dathan, one of the Reubenite conspirators, is such a minor character in the biblical narrative. In Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film version of The Ten Commandments, Dathan, memorably portrayed by on-screen gangster, off-screen mensch Edward G. Robinson, is a major villain and the driving force behind the Golden Calf heresy (which, though, is somewhat misconstrued in the movie).
3. Moses calls the bluff of the conspirators and challenges them to a contest that will make known Jehovah's preference, which, Moses knows, is already evident. Let them all burn incense before the altar to see whom Jehovah will favor. (Gentlemen, prepare your censers!) The contest seems absurd since it is not just between Aaron and his cousin Korah, but among 250 other candidates. How could that many people fit into the Sanctum at one time? How long would it take for 250 priests to individually make their incense offerings? Or, if they all burned their incense at one time, wouldn't the resultant smoke and odor from 250 censers be overwhelming? (It should be remembered that while the altar for sacrifices was located in the Tabernacle compound before the entrance to the Sanctum, the altar upon which the incense was burned stood inside the Sanctum before the Inner Sanctum where the Chest of Sacred Records [Ark of the Covenant] was housed.) Moses' challenge is predicated on the idea that the deity recognizes the difference between incense being burned by one priest and the same incense being burned by another. The contest, though, seems merely a devious ruse on Jehovah's part to get all the conspirators together so that he can appear and kill them en masse.
4. Here Jehovah gets to do again what he ostensibly loves best, to murder those who have offended him. He chooses three separate methods to do so. Firstly he causes the ground to open up and swallow Dathan and Abiram and their families. (Are the wives and children guilty, too?) Then he strikes Korah and his 250 supporters with fire, and, the next day, their 14,700 supporters with some sort of a plague. Needless to say, there is no natural explanation for the ground to selectively swallow a group of people. However, what is conventionally translated as "fire from the Lord" is likely an incendiary bomb or missile fired from Jehovah's airship. The so-called plague presumably involves men dropping dead almost immediately. This could scarcely be an illness. What could it be? Nerve gas?
5. The narrative borders on comic absurdity when we find Aaron running out into the middle of a crowd of people presently dropping dead from Jehovah's "plague" to burn incense and appease Jehovah. He is successful, but only after 14,700 people have died. The impression is given that Jehovah, once angered, becomes a violent madman who must be placated, a raging mass murderer whose bloodlust can only be mollified by some silly ritual. Moses and Aaron must continually try to intervene and plead for the lives of their people whom Jehovah will, in a fit of pique, wantonly and gleefully exterminate without a qualm.
6. The censers of Korah's 250 would-be priests are collected and the bronze from them used to overlay the Incense Altar. But, wasn't the altar already finished, earlier in the story? How could the altar have been a functioning altar, requisitely holy, unless it had been bronzed according to Jehovah's earlier instructions? It also might be pointed out that surely the bronze from 250 censers would have been far more than what would have been needed for the job.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Penalties for Disobedience
(Book of Numbers 15:22 - 15:41)
"If you as a people unintentionally fail to observe any of the commandments Jehovah imparted to Moses, including any of Jehovah's commands conveyed to you by Moses (that remain in force from the time that Jehovah gave them to Moses through future generations) -- if it was done unintentionally and without the knowledge of the congregation, the whole congregation must offer a young bull as a burnt offering (to create an aroma pleasing to Jehovah), along with the requisite grain and drink offering, and then a male goat as a sin offering. The priest will make atonement for the entire congregation of Israelites -- and they will be forgiven since it was unintentional, and to compensate for their error they have presented to Jehovah their offerings, the food offerings and the sin offering. The entire community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among them, for they all were guilty of the error.
A single individual who has likewise sinned unintentionally must present as a sin offering a yearling nanny goat. The priest will make atonement for this person who has sinned unintentionally and after the atonement, the person will be forgiven. (This applies to native-born Israelites and foreign residents.)
However, those who intentionally act in defiance of Jehovah's will, whether a native or a foreign resident, have committed blasphemy against Jehovah and must be banished from the community. Since they have treated the word of Jehovah with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his commands, they must absolutely be banished and forever bear the guilt of their transgressions.
There was an occasion while the Israelites were living in the desert, that a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath. The people who caught him brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the entire congregation and held him under close arrest until it became clear what should be done with him. Jehovah ordered Moses, "The man must be executed! The whole congregation should stone him to death outside of camp." And so the whole congregation took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, exactly as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Tell the Israelites that throughout the ages they must attach tassels to the four corners of their cloaks. Each corner tassel should include a thread of turquoise blue. The sight of the tassels will be a constant reminder to obey my commandments and keep yourself holy and not defile yourselves by submitting, as you are wont, to the lusts of your hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey my commandments and to dedicate yourself to your god. Remember I am Jehovah, your god, who brought you out of Egypt so that I might be your god. Thus says Jehovah, your god!"
Notes
1. The "sins" referred to here are not of a moral nature, but merely failures to follow proper ritual. Jehovah has dictated certain mandatory religious practices, protocols of worship. Not to observe them is an act of defiance, a repudiation of Jehovah as the Israelite god, and, therefore, of the gravest consequence. (A great deal more emphasis has been thus far placed upon observance of ritual than upon moral behavior.) The rules that Jehovah sets down are more about ensuring his position as a national god than about improving the character of his worshipers. The prerogatives of the deity are of the utmost importance, and Jehovah takes any slights personally. Attributing this attitude to the divinity is not unique among the Hebrews. What all the ancient gods wanted and demanded above all was worship -- and proper worship. The ancient Greeks and Romans distinguished between that which was morally wrong and that which was wrong in the eyes of the gods (nefas in Latin). To commit a wrong against the gods was obviously more serious and would be more severely punished. That included errors in worship.
2. Jehovah at least cuts some slack to those who unintentionally or forgetfully fail to observe the proper rituals. (Most anything can be compensated for by slaughtering a few animals.) The intentional transgressor, though, is out on his ear: anyone who fails to obey Jehovah cannot be a member of the Israelite community.
3. An example of how strictly Jehovah punishes violations of orders and practices is the Sabbath-breaker who is stoned to death. Collecting firewood would not seem to be a capital offense, nor would it even seem to qualify as work. The offender was not given a warning, fined or flogged. No, his life was forfeit because he probably needed some firewood to stay warm and forgot to collect enough for himself on Friday. Is washing dishes on a Sabbath also worthy of the death penalty to the merciful, loving Jehovah?
4. The tassels or tzitzits were prepared in a certain way (four threads of eight strands knotted so that eight threads hang down). These would be attached to the corners of undergarments, shawls, and cloaks (which, like Scots plaids, were large square pieces of material worn as outer garments). The turquoise (tekhelet) thread would be colored from a dye extracted from an exotic and, as yet unidentified sea creature (snail?) called a hillazon. The hue is technically not blue, as is rendered in nearly all translations. Other strands would usually be white. In later practice, the turquoise strand was omitted due to an inability to secure the hillazon dye.
5. The mandate that Israelites must adorn the corner of their garments with these tassels to remind them of Jehovah and to make them be moral is curious. Why should a tassel and not something else be the reminder? The Hebrews must be assured that all their customs arise from divine dictate, that Jehovah is the originator of every law, every tradition, every sartorial element; it is their obsession. It, however, is often the case that customs, especially those peculiar to a certain ethnic group, have a provenance that is uncertain: no one can remember where they came from or when they came to be observed. Their reason for being and purpose, if there ever was one, has been forgotten. Thus to explain them, a myth comes into being, to justify them, a god usually plays a part in it. Ordained by Jehovah, the tzitzits thus become an important element of Judaic tradition.
"If you as a people unintentionally fail to observe any of the commandments Jehovah imparted to Moses, including any of Jehovah's commands conveyed to you by Moses (that remain in force from the time that Jehovah gave them to Moses through future generations) -- if it was done unintentionally and without the knowledge of the congregation, the whole congregation must offer a young bull as a burnt offering (to create an aroma pleasing to Jehovah), along with the requisite grain and drink offering, and then a male goat as a sin offering. The priest will make atonement for the entire congregation of Israelites -- and they will be forgiven since it was unintentional, and to compensate for their error they have presented to Jehovah their offerings, the food offerings and the sin offering. The entire community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among them, for they all were guilty of the error.
A single individual who has likewise sinned unintentionally must present as a sin offering a yearling nanny goat. The priest will make atonement for this person who has sinned unintentionally and after the atonement, the person will be forgiven. (This applies to native-born Israelites and foreign residents.)
However, those who intentionally act in defiance of Jehovah's will, whether a native or a foreign resident, have committed blasphemy against Jehovah and must be banished from the community. Since they have treated the word of Jehovah with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his commands, they must absolutely be banished and forever bear the guilt of their transgressions.
There was an occasion while the Israelites were living in the desert, that a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath. The people who caught him brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the entire congregation and held him under close arrest until it became clear what should be done with him. Jehovah ordered Moses, "The man must be executed! The whole congregation should stone him to death outside of camp." And so the whole congregation took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, exactly as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Tell the Israelites that throughout the ages they must attach tassels to the four corners of their cloaks. Each corner tassel should include a thread of turquoise blue. The sight of the tassels will be a constant reminder to obey my commandments and keep yourself holy and not defile yourselves by submitting, as you are wont, to the lusts of your hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey my commandments and to dedicate yourself to your god. Remember I am Jehovah, your god, who brought you out of Egypt so that I might be your god. Thus says Jehovah, your god!"
Notes
1. The "sins" referred to here are not of a moral nature, but merely failures to follow proper ritual. Jehovah has dictated certain mandatory religious practices, protocols of worship. Not to observe them is an act of defiance, a repudiation of Jehovah as the Israelite god, and, therefore, of the gravest consequence. (A great deal more emphasis has been thus far placed upon observance of ritual than upon moral behavior.) The rules that Jehovah sets down are more about ensuring his position as a national god than about improving the character of his worshipers. The prerogatives of the deity are of the utmost importance, and Jehovah takes any slights personally. Attributing this attitude to the divinity is not unique among the Hebrews. What all the ancient gods wanted and demanded above all was worship -- and proper worship. The ancient Greeks and Romans distinguished between that which was morally wrong and that which was wrong in the eyes of the gods (nefas in Latin). To commit a wrong against the gods was obviously more serious and would be more severely punished. That included errors in worship.
2. Jehovah at least cuts some slack to those who unintentionally or forgetfully fail to observe the proper rituals. (Most anything can be compensated for by slaughtering a few animals.) The intentional transgressor, though, is out on his ear: anyone who fails to obey Jehovah cannot be a member of the Israelite community.
3. An example of how strictly Jehovah punishes violations of orders and practices is the Sabbath-breaker who is stoned to death. Collecting firewood would not seem to be a capital offense, nor would it even seem to qualify as work. The offender was not given a warning, fined or flogged. No, his life was forfeit because he probably needed some firewood to stay warm and forgot to collect enough for himself on Friday. Is washing dishes on a Sabbath also worthy of the death penalty to the merciful, loving Jehovah?
4. The tassels or tzitzits were prepared in a certain way (four threads of eight strands knotted so that eight threads hang down). These would be attached to the corners of undergarments, shawls, and cloaks (which, like Scots plaids, were large square pieces of material worn as outer garments). The turquoise (tekhelet) thread would be colored from a dye extracted from an exotic and, as yet unidentified sea creature (snail?) called a hillazon. The hue is technically not blue, as is rendered in nearly all translations. Other strands would usually be white. In later practice, the turquoise strand was omitted due to an inability to secure the hillazon dye.
5. The mandate that Israelites must adorn the corner of their garments with these tassels to remind them of Jehovah and to make them be moral is curious. Why should a tassel and not something else be the reminder? The Hebrews must be assured that all their customs arise from divine dictate, that Jehovah is the originator of every law, every tradition, every sartorial element; it is their obsession. It, however, is often the case that customs, especially those peculiar to a certain ethnic group, have a provenance that is uncertain: no one can remember where they came from or when they came to be observed. Their reason for being and purpose, if there ever was one, has been forgotten. Thus to explain them, a myth comes into being, to justify them, a god usually plays a part in it. Ordained by Jehovah, the tzitzits thus become an important element of Judaic tradition.
Rules Concerning Sacred Offerings
(Book of Numbers 15:1 - 15:21)
Jehovah then told Moses to give the following instructions to the people of Israel:
"After you have finally entered and settled in the land I am giving to you, you will be making burnt offerings to create an aroma pleasing to Jehovah and sacrifices from the herd and flock. Whether it be a votive, voluntary, or festival offering, the person making the sacrifice must also present to Jehovah a grain offering, one-tenth of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of olive oil. For each lamb presented as a burnt offering or special sacrifice, he must also bring a quart of a hin of wine as a drink offering. If the sacrifice be a ram, then a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil, and a drink offering of a third of a hin of wine should be presented to offer an aroma pleasing to Jehovah. When a bull is presented as a burnt offering or sacrificed to Jehovah as a votive or peace offering, then accompanying it should be a grain offering, three-tenths of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a half a hin of olive oil, and a drink offering of a half a hin of wine. This burnt offering will create an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah. Each bull or ram, lamb or goat kid should be sacrificed in this manner. Irrespective of how many sacrificial animals are offered, this procedure should be followed with each and every one.
"Every native-born Israelite should follow these protocols in presenting burnt offerings, (which create an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah). And any foreigner residing with you, or who is a permanent resident, that wishes to make a burnt offering (creating an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah) should do likewise. The community should have the same rules for the alien resident as it does for you; this is a permanent rule applying to future generations. You and the foreigner stand equal before Jehovah. The same laws and ordinances apply to both you and to the foreigner who lives among you."
Jehovah also told Moses to tell the Israelites, "After you enter the land to which I am taking you, you must set aside as a sacred offering to Jehovah a portion the food of the land that you may eat. Present as a raised offering a loaf of bread from the first flour that you grind, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor. Future generations should set aside each year a portion from the first flour that is ground as a raised offering to Jehovah.
Notes
1. An ephah, a dry measure, is slightly more than a bushel, or 32 US dry quarts. Therefore one-tenth of an ephah is 3 1/4 quarts, two-tenths is 6 1/2 quarts , three-tenths, 9 2/3 quarts.
2. A hin, a liquid measure, is roughly a gallon and a half, or 6 liquid quarts; therefore, a quarter of a hin is 48 ounces, or three pints, a third of a hin is 2 quarts, and a half a hin, 3 quarts. (Various sources give different values for the hin and the ephah.)
3. The native born citizen and the alien resident being equal before the law is a refreshingly modern concept. It is somewhat surprising that it would be embraced by the Israelites considering the contempt with which Jehovah regards anything foreign.
Jehovah then told Moses to give the following instructions to the people of Israel:
"After you have finally entered and settled in the land I am giving to you, you will be making burnt offerings to create an aroma pleasing to Jehovah and sacrifices from the herd and flock. Whether it be a votive, voluntary, or festival offering, the person making the sacrifice must also present to Jehovah a grain offering, one-tenth of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of olive oil. For each lamb presented as a burnt offering or special sacrifice, he must also bring a quart of a hin of wine as a drink offering. If the sacrifice be a ram, then a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil, and a drink offering of a third of a hin of wine should be presented to offer an aroma pleasing to Jehovah. When a bull is presented as a burnt offering or sacrificed to Jehovah as a votive or peace offering, then accompanying it should be a grain offering, three-tenths of an ephah of finest flour mixed with a half a hin of olive oil, and a drink offering of a half a hin of wine. This burnt offering will create an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah. Each bull or ram, lamb or goat kid should be sacrificed in this manner. Irrespective of how many sacrificial animals are offered, this procedure should be followed with each and every one.
"Every native-born Israelite should follow these protocols in presenting burnt offerings, (which create an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah). And any foreigner residing with you, or who is a permanent resident, that wishes to make a burnt offering (creating an aroma very pleasing to Jehovah) should do likewise. The community should have the same rules for the alien resident as it does for you; this is a permanent rule applying to future generations. You and the foreigner stand equal before Jehovah. The same laws and ordinances apply to both you and to the foreigner who lives among you."
Jehovah also told Moses to tell the Israelites, "After you enter the land to which I am taking you, you must set aside as a sacred offering to Jehovah a portion the food of the land that you may eat. Present as a raised offering a loaf of bread from the first flour that you grind, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor. Future generations should set aside each year a portion from the first flour that is ground as a raised offering to Jehovah.
Notes
1. An ephah, a dry measure, is slightly more than a bushel, or 32 US dry quarts. Therefore one-tenth of an ephah is 3 1/4 quarts, two-tenths is 6 1/2 quarts , three-tenths, 9 2/3 quarts.
2. A hin, a liquid measure, is roughly a gallon and a half, or 6 liquid quarts; therefore, a quarter of a hin is 48 ounces, or three pints, a third of a hin is 2 quarts, and a half a hin, 3 quarts. (Various sources give different values for the hin and the ephah.)
3. The native born citizen and the alien resident being equal before the law is a refreshingly modern concept. It is somewhat surprising that it would be embraced by the Israelites considering the contempt with which Jehovah regards anything foreign.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Rebellion Against Moses
(Book of Numbers 14:1 - 14:45)
Throughout the entire community there was an outcry; the people were weeping and wailing all through the night. The Israelites brought their complaints to Moses and Aaron, telling them, "If only we had died in Egypt, or perished in the desert! Why is Jehovah leading us into this land only to be slaughtered in battle? Our wives and children will be carried off as captives of war. Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and journey back to Egypt."
Moses and Aaron then fell on their faces before the gathered assembly of the people of Israel. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two who were among the party that had scouted out the land, rent their garments and addressed the entire congregation. "The land we traveled through and explored was an exceeding fine land. If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. But do not rebel against Jehovah. And have no fear of the inhabitants of that land, for we will devour them. Their defenses will crumble, with Jehovah on our side. We need not fear them."
But the congregation were all bent on stoning them. At that point the magnificence of Jehovah appeared before all the Israelites at the entrance to the Sanctum. Jehovah complained to Moses, "How long are these people going to treat me with such contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the miracles I have performed in their presence? I will disown them. I will strike them with plague and pestilence. I will then create from your descendants a nation far greater and stronger than they."
Moses voiced his objection to Jehovah. "But the Egyptians will hear about it! You used your power to liberate the people and bring them out of Egypt. The Egyptians will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They are well aware that you, Jehovah, are among your people, personally appearing before them, hovering above them in your airship, leading them by day in a cylindrical object that is lit up at night. If you obliterate your people in one fell swoop, then the nations that hear this report about you will say, 'Jehovah was incapable of settling his people in the land he promised to give them, so he killed them all in the desert.' Please, Jehovah, manifest your power as when you proclaimed, 'Jehovah is slow to anger, filled with unfailing loyalty, forgiving of sin and rebellion -- yet by no means excusing the guilty, laying punishment for the sins of the fathers not only upon their children, but upon their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.' In keeping with the depth of your loving mercy, please pardon the sins of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time we set out from Egypt till now."
Jehovah responded, "I will pardon them as you have requested. Even so, as I live, as the magnificence of Jehovah will spread across the face of entire earth, the people who witnessed my power and the miracles I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but who have doubted me time and time again and refused to do what I have told them, not one of them will be permitted to see the land I promised their ancestors I would give them: none who have shown their contempt for me will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb is of a different mind and follows me with unswerving fidelity, I will settle him in the land that he scouted, and his descendants will occupy it.
"Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites control the valleys, you should turn back tomorrow and follow the route to the desert along the Red Sea."
Jehovah also told Moses and Aaron, "How long is this wicked community going to rail against me? I have heard the complaints these Israelites make against me. Well then, you can tell them this, 'As surely as I live, proclaims Jehovah, I will do to you exactly what I heard you say would happen to you. You will drop dead in this very desert -- every one of you 20 years old or more and registered in the census who has spoken out against me. I can assure you that none of you will enter the land I swore to give to you -- except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. The children that you said will become captives of war I will bring in to the land that you objected to and introduce them to it. As for you, you will all drop dead in the desert. Your children will remain wanderers in the desert for 40 years and will suffer the penalty for your faithlessness until the last of your carcasses is entirely swallowed up by the desert. Because the scouts explored the land for 40 days, you must wander for 40 years, a day for each year, as punishment for your sins. You will then find out what it's like to have me as an enemy. I, Jehovah, have spoken. I will do these things without fail to every member of the community who conspired against me. They will come to their end here in the desert and here they will die.'"
Thus the men whom Moses had dispatched as scouts and who had returned to incite the community against Moses with a false report about the land -- the men who were responsible for spreading that false report -- were struck down and died in front of the Inner Sanctum. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were the only members of the party sent out to scout the land that were still alive.
When Moses conveyed Jehovah's words to the Israelites, they were moved to grief. And so early the next morning they journeyed to the ridge overlooking the hill country and announced, " To be sure we have sinned, but now we are ready to go into the land promised to us by Jehovah."
Moses challenged them, "Why are you disobeying the orders of Jehovah? This will not be successful. Don’t go! Jehovah will not be on your side. You will be routed by your enemies, for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will confront you there. Because you have turned away from Jehovah, he will not fight for you and you will fall in battle."
But the people defiantly went the ridge overlooking the hill country, (although neither Moses nor the Chest of Sacred Records left the camp). The Amalekites and Cannaanites who inhabited the hill country came down and attacked them, driving them all the way back to Hormah.
Notes
1. Moses, who, despite the aid of Jehovah, has consistently had trouble cementing his position as national as well as religious leader, is faced again with a rebellion. The yearnings of the people to return to Egypt might be understandable were it not for the presence of Jehovah. Have they not witnessed the demonstrations of his power and his willingness to afflict death and destruction on an epic scale? Yet, they still seem to have no fear of him, even as they have lost confidence in Moses. The Israelties may be described not only as rebellious and disloyal, but stupid as well.
2. Jehovah is beside himself with exasperation. His Chosen People just won't respect or obey him, no matter how many miracles he performs or how much he puts the fear of God in them. And so he's pretty much decided to wipe them off the face of the earth and start again, creating a new nation from the descendants of Moses (and apparently not minding to wait 400 years for that to happen). Of course, we have seen before Jehovah's recourse to mass murder and so his threats are to be taken seriously. Moses, recognizing that his god has lapsed again into his psycho mode, mollifies him and shames him into relenting. He appeals to his honor: he must keep his word, fulfill his promises. But he first appeals to his vanity: his reputation would suffer if the Egyptians and other peoples found out about his failure. (It is odd that the guideline for divine behavior is, "What would the Egyptians think?"!)
3. Moses refers to Jehovah's forgiving nature. We've seen little of that, and this seems no more than flattery on Moses’ part. But he also mentions how he punishes the guilty person -- and the guilty person's children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The concepts of ancestral and familial guilt, which civilized people today deplore and regard as grossly unfair, is a mainstay of Jehovan justice. Vindictiveness is thus deemed a great virtue: apparently the longer you can harbor grievances and punish wrongs, the nobler your character.
4. Moses declares that it is well known that Jehovah is with the Israelites on their journeys. (Moses keeps abreast of all the international news.) One may conclude that when Jehovah appears in the Inner Sanctum, he comes down not from Heaven, but from the heavens, that the ever-present cloud/pillar of fire is a cylindrical airship in which Jehovah rides. Otherwise, Jehovah could not personally accompany the Israelites.
5. Although Jehovah decides not to kill off his people, he is determined that none of them (save the loyal Joshua and Caleb) be allowed to enter the Promised Land, but must die in the desert, with their children wandering for 40 years. Jehovah seems to take delight in inflicting punishment and is very pleased with himself when he kills, by some means, the 10 scouts who circulated the false report that turned the people against Jehovah.
6. The Israelites, against Jehovah's order, enter the Promised Land, but, being taught another lesson and punished for defying Jehovah, they are defeated by the native inhabitants and driven back. The bottom line is: the Israelites must not take action on their own. Jehovah must make all the decisions, do all the thinking for them. They can't win in battle, travel, or even eat without Jehovah's help. They can't choose their own leader. They can't decide where they want to emigrate. And they certainly can't choose their own religion or manner of worship. Instead of being slaves to the Egyptians, the Israelites find they have even less freedom as slaves of Jehovah.
7. The Amalekites, the archenemies of the Israelites, were nomadic inhabitants of Edom, supposedly descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau, the elder son of Isaac. The Canaanites, supposed descended from a son of Ham, lived in the area west of the River Jordan, north of Edom. Their number included the Phoenicians, who lived to the north in what is now Lebanon. From 1550 to 1200 BC, which probably embraces the period of the Exodus, Canaan was controlled to various degrees by the Egyptians, although this fact does not seem to be part of the biblical narrative. Hormah’s location is not known. It was likely a city situated in northwestern Negev.
Throughout the entire community there was an outcry; the people were weeping and wailing all through the night. The Israelites brought their complaints to Moses and Aaron, telling them, "If only we had died in Egypt, or perished in the desert! Why is Jehovah leading us into this land only to be slaughtered in battle? Our wives and children will be carried off as captives of war. Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and journey back to Egypt."
Moses and Aaron then fell on their faces before the gathered assembly of the people of Israel. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, two who were among the party that had scouted out the land, rent their garments and addressed the entire congregation. "The land we traveled through and explored was an exceeding fine land. If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. But do not rebel against Jehovah. And have no fear of the inhabitants of that land, for we will devour them. Their defenses will crumble, with Jehovah on our side. We need not fear them."
But the congregation were all bent on stoning them. At that point the magnificence of Jehovah appeared before all the Israelites at the entrance to the Sanctum. Jehovah complained to Moses, "How long are these people going to treat me with such contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the miracles I have performed in their presence? I will disown them. I will strike them with plague and pestilence. I will then create from your descendants a nation far greater and stronger than they."
Moses voiced his objection to Jehovah. "But the Egyptians will hear about it! You used your power to liberate the people and bring them out of Egypt. The Egyptians will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They are well aware that you, Jehovah, are among your people, personally appearing before them, hovering above them in your airship, leading them by day in a cylindrical object that is lit up at night. If you obliterate your people in one fell swoop, then the nations that hear this report about you will say, 'Jehovah was incapable of settling his people in the land he promised to give them, so he killed them all in the desert.' Please, Jehovah, manifest your power as when you proclaimed, 'Jehovah is slow to anger, filled with unfailing loyalty, forgiving of sin and rebellion -- yet by no means excusing the guilty, laying punishment for the sins of the fathers not only upon their children, but upon their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.' In keeping with the depth of your loving mercy, please pardon the sins of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time we set out from Egypt till now."
Jehovah responded, "I will pardon them as you have requested. Even so, as I live, as the magnificence of Jehovah will spread across the face of entire earth, the people who witnessed my power and the miracles I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but who have doubted me time and time again and refused to do what I have told them, not one of them will be permitted to see the land I promised their ancestors I would give them: none who have shown their contempt for me will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb is of a different mind and follows me with unswerving fidelity, I will settle him in the land that he scouted, and his descendants will occupy it.
"Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites control the valleys, you should turn back tomorrow and follow the route to the desert along the Red Sea."
Jehovah also told Moses and Aaron, "How long is this wicked community going to rail against me? I have heard the complaints these Israelites make against me. Well then, you can tell them this, 'As surely as I live, proclaims Jehovah, I will do to you exactly what I heard you say would happen to you. You will drop dead in this very desert -- every one of you 20 years old or more and registered in the census who has spoken out against me. I can assure you that none of you will enter the land I swore to give to you -- except for Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. The children that you said will become captives of war I will bring in to the land that you objected to and introduce them to it. As for you, you will all drop dead in the desert. Your children will remain wanderers in the desert for 40 years and will suffer the penalty for your faithlessness until the last of your carcasses is entirely swallowed up by the desert. Because the scouts explored the land for 40 days, you must wander for 40 years, a day for each year, as punishment for your sins. You will then find out what it's like to have me as an enemy. I, Jehovah, have spoken. I will do these things without fail to every member of the community who conspired against me. They will come to their end here in the desert and here they will die.'"
Thus the men whom Moses had dispatched as scouts and who had returned to incite the community against Moses with a false report about the land -- the men who were responsible for spreading that false report -- were struck down and died in front of the Inner Sanctum. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were the only members of the party sent out to scout the land that were still alive.
When Moses conveyed Jehovah's words to the Israelites, they were moved to grief. And so early the next morning they journeyed to the ridge overlooking the hill country and announced, " To be sure we have sinned, but now we are ready to go into the land promised to us by Jehovah."
Moses challenged them, "Why are you disobeying the orders of Jehovah? This will not be successful. Don’t go! Jehovah will not be on your side. You will be routed by your enemies, for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will confront you there. Because you have turned away from Jehovah, he will not fight for you and you will fall in battle."
But the people defiantly went the ridge overlooking the hill country, (although neither Moses nor the Chest of Sacred Records left the camp). The Amalekites and Cannaanites who inhabited the hill country came down and attacked them, driving them all the way back to Hormah.
Notes
1. Moses, who, despite the aid of Jehovah, has consistently had trouble cementing his position as national as well as religious leader, is faced again with a rebellion. The yearnings of the people to return to Egypt might be understandable were it not for the presence of Jehovah. Have they not witnessed the demonstrations of his power and his willingness to afflict death and destruction on an epic scale? Yet, they still seem to have no fear of him, even as they have lost confidence in Moses. The Israelties may be described not only as rebellious and disloyal, but stupid as well.
2. Jehovah is beside himself with exasperation. His Chosen People just won't respect or obey him, no matter how many miracles he performs or how much he puts the fear of God in them. And so he's pretty much decided to wipe them off the face of the earth and start again, creating a new nation from the descendants of Moses (and apparently not minding to wait 400 years for that to happen). Of course, we have seen before Jehovah's recourse to mass murder and so his threats are to be taken seriously. Moses, recognizing that his god has lapsed again into his psycho mode, mollifies him and shames him into relenting. He appeals to his honor: he must keep his word, fulfill his promises. But he first appeals to his vanity: his reputation would suffer if the Egyptians and other peoples found out about his failure. (It is odd that the guideline for divine behavior is, "What would the Egyptians think?"!)
3. Moses refers to Jehovah's forgiving nature. We've seen little of that, and this seems no more than flattery on Moses’ part. But he also mentions how he punishes the guilty person -- and the guilty person's children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The concepts of ancestral and familial guilt, which civilized people today deplore and regard as grossly unfair, is a mainstay of Jehovan justice. Vindictiveness is thus deemed a great virtue: apparently the longer you can harbor grievances and punish wrongs, the nobler your character.
4. Moses declares that it is well known that Jehovah is with the Israelites on their journeys. (Moses keeps abreast of all the international news.) One may conclude that when Jehovah appears in the Inner Sanctum, he comes down not from Heaven, but from the heavens, that the ever-present cloud/pillar of fire is a cylindrical airship in which Jehovah rides. Otherwise, Jehovah could not personally accompany the Israelites.
5. Although Jehovah decides not to kill off his people, he is determined that none of them (save the loyal Joshua and Caleb) be allowed to enter the Promised Land, but must die in the desert, with their children wandering for 40 years. Jehovah seems to take delight in inflicting punishment and is very pleased with himself when he kills, by some means, the 10 scouts who circulated the false report that turned the people against Jehovah.
6. The Israelites, against Jehovah's order, enter the Promised Land, but, being taught another lesson and punished for defying Jehovah, they are defeated by the native inhabitants and driven back. The bottom line is: the Israelites must not take action on their own. Jehovah must make all the decisions, do all the thinking for them. They can't win in battle, travel, or even eat without Jehovah's help. They can't choose their own leader. They can't decide where they want to emigrate. And they certainly can't choose their own religion or manner of worship. Instead of being slaves to the Egyptians, the Israelites find they have even less freedom as slaves of Jehovah.
7. The Amalekites, the archenemies of the Israelites, were nomadic inhabitants of Edom, supposedly descended from Amalek, a grandson of Esau, the elder son of Isaac. The Canaanites, supposed descended from a son of Ham, lived in the area west of the River Jordan, north of Edom. Their number included the Phoenicians, who lived to the north in what is now Lebanon. From 1550 to 1200 BC, which probably embraces the period of the Exodus, Canaan was controlled to various degrees by the Egyptians, although this fact does not seem to be part of the biblical narrative. Hormah’s location is not known. It was likely a city situated in northwestern Negev.
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