(Deuteronomy 19:1 - 19:13)
"When Jehovah your god has destroyed the people dwelling in the land he is giving you and when you have occupied their territory and settled in the towns and homes that once were theirs, you must establish, in this land that Jehovah your god is giving you, three separate cities of refuge. Survey the land that is your inheritance from Jehovah your god and divide it into three regions, so that in each region there may be a city to which someone who has committed manslaughter may conveniently flee and take refuge.
"This provision is made for someone who has killed another person unintentionally, without malice aforethought, so that he may flee to one of these cities and live there in security. This would apply to someone who goes into the woods with a neighbor in order to cut wood. He swings an ax to fell a tree, the ax head flies off, hits and kills his neighbor. That man may save his life by fleeing to one of these cities. If, however, the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too great, the blood avenger, in hot pursuit, might, owing to the great distance, overtake and kill him. In such a case the man's death would be undeserved, because he had killed the man accidentally and without malice aforethought. That is why I command that you set aside three cities.
"If Jehovah enlarges your territory (as he vowed to your ancestors he would do) and gives you all the land he promised them -- because you have fastidiously followed all the laws I have given you, to revere Jehovah as your god and live by his precepts -- then you must provide for three additional cities of refuge. This would prevent the death of innocent persons in the land Jehovah is giving you as a divine inheritance and spare you from the guilt of allowing innocent blood to be shed.
"But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, attacks and kills him, and then flees to a city of refuge, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send for him and bring him back so that he may be delivered into the hands of the blood avenger to be executed. Lend him no pity! You must purge Israel of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that all may go well with you."
Notes
1. The necessity to establish cities of refuge highlights the prevailing values of the time, specifically, that someone who causes the death of another person is guilty of murder irrespective of motive or possession of a guilty mind. Accidentally and unintentionally killing someone is tantamount to the most vicious murder and must be avenged by death. Tribal mores demand an eye for an eye. Taking the life of a member of the tribe, however it occurs, is an assault upon the tribe and must be responded to in kind. He who has taken the life of a tribal member must be killed by a blood avenger appointed by the offended tribe, this usually being a male member of the victim's family. Such concepts of justice were not unique to primitive Palestine; they seem to have been, if not universal, at least very widespread, perhaps the Sardinian vendetta being one of the last atavistic hold overs. Tribal standards remained in force until national governments claimed a monopoly on the administration of justice. With the Israelites, Jehovah does not seek to abolish or totally suppress tribalism; instead he works around it with such provisions as the cities of refuge. To the modern, Jehovan justice may seem primitive and harsh, but it is far less so than what it strives to replace. Often its principles are those upon which modern justice are based, for example, the distinction between premeditated murder and manslaughter, accidental death, and killing in self defense.
2. Implied in this section is the principle of collective guilt, that the entire community is responsible for the wrongful actions of any of its members. Moreover, if guilt is not assuaged, if wrong is not compensated for, then bad fortune will befall the community. (This last concept is a cornerstone of Jehovan and Christian religion as well: sin brings ill fortune, righteousness brings good fortune, a reward from a grateful deity.)
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Occult Practices and Prophets
(Deuteronomy 18:9 - 18:22)
"When you enter the land that Jehovah your god is giving to you, do not follow the abominable customs of the people living there. No one of you should commit to the flames his son or daughter as a human sacrifice. Do not allow any of your people to practice divination or fortune telling, to interpret omens or cast spells, to engage in sorcery, become a psychic medium, or evoke and consult the spirits of the dead. Anyone who engages in such practices makes themselves detestable to Jehovah. It is because the people in these nations engage in such practices that Jehovah your god will drive them out before you. You must be blameless before Jehovah your god! While the people you are about to displace consult with soothsayers and sorcerers, Jehovah your god does not give you leave to do so.
Moses continued, "Jehovah your god will raise up a prophet like me from among your brethren. And it is to him that you must listen. For this is what you yourselves asked of Jehovah your god when you were assembled before the holy mountain in Sinai. There you said, 'Spare us from hearing the voice of Jehovah our god or looking at his blazing fire anymore, lest we perish.' Jehovah told me, 'What they say is correct. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words into his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command of him. I will take issue with anyone who does not heed the words that he will speak in my name. But anyone who claims to speak in my name without my authorization or who speaks in the name of other gods should be put to death.'
"You may asked yourself, 'How can we know when a prophecy is one that comes from Jehovah?' If a prophet claiming to speak in Jehovah's name predicts something that does not come to pass or come true, then you will know that his prophecy did not come from Jehovah. That prophet has spoken on his own and should not be shown any consideration.”
Notes
1. Jehovah condemns all occult practices, but does not discredit them. Instead the Levite priests of Jehovah claim exclusivity in dealing with the spirit world and assert that authentic prophecy is derived only from Jehovah. This prerogative of the priesthood would be claimed by the Christian church as well. Anyone, who, bypassing the church, claimed to commune directly with the divine, would be severely punished -- in the most famous case, that of Joan of Arc, being burned at the stake.
2. The abominable customs of the native populations of Canaan is the justification Jehovah uses to expel them and settle his own people, the Israelites, on their land. The Israelites were exhorted to eschew these practices, human sacrifice, occultism, sorcery, as well as idol worship, but, in reality, Jehovah's demands were not complied with by future generations of Israelites.
3. Moses offers a guide as to who is a genuine prophet and who is a false prophet. It is not terribly helpful, even if it is simple and straight forward: prophecies that come true are from Jehovah; those that do not come true are not from Jehovah. Apparently other gods cannot inspire prophets to make accurate predictions. Therefore, accurate prophets are always genuine prophets, that is, Jehovah-inspired prophets. But Moses offers nary a clue as to how one can discern a true prophet from a false one without waiting to find out whether the prophecies are accurate or not. Couldn’t a clever false prophet confine himself to making predictions about events in the distant future and thus never be exposed as a charlatan? There are, in fact, many Old Testament prophets who made prophesies about future historical events that quite unambiguously did not come to pass. (One example would be Obadiah, a minor prophet who forecast the doom of Israel’s neighbor Edom; sorry, but Edom simply didn’t receive its prophesied comeuppance.) Are they to be reviled as false prophets and their books removed from the Bible?
"When you enter the land that Jehovah your god is giving to you, do not follow the abominable customs of the people living there. No one of you should commit to the flames his son or daughter as a human sacrifice. Do not allow any of your people to practice divination or fortune telling, to interpret omens or cast spells, to engage in sorcery, become a psychic medium, or evoke and consult the spirits of the dead. Anyone who engages in such practices makes themselves detestable to Jehovah. It is because the people in these nations engage in such practices that Jehovah your god will drive them out before you. You must be blameless before Jehovah your god! While the people you are about to displace consult with soothsayers and sorcerers, Jehovah your god does not give you leave to do so.
Moses continued, "Jehovah your god will raise up a prophet like me from among your brethren. And it is to him that you must listen. For this is what you yourselves asked of Jehovah your god when you were assembled before the holy mountain in Sinai. There you said, 'Spare us from hearing the voice of Jehovah our god or looking at his blazing fire anymore, lest we perish.' Jehovah told me, 'What they say is correct. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words into his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command of him. I will take issue with anyone who does not heed the words that he will speak in my name. But anyone who claims to speak in my name without my authorization or who speaks in the name of other gods should be put to death.'
"You may asked yourself, 'How can we know when a prophecy is one that comes from Jehovah?' If a prophet claiming to speak in Jehovah's name predicts something that does not come to pass or come true, then you will know that his prophecy did not come from Jehovah. That prophet has spoken on his own and should not be shown any consideration.”
Notes
1. Jehovah condemns all occult practices, but does not discredit them. Instead the Levite priests of Jehovah claim exclusivity in dealing with the spirit world and assert that authentic prophecy is derived only from Jehovah. This prerogative of the priesthood would be claimed by the Christian church as well. Anyone, who, bypassing the church, claimed to commune directly with the divine, would be severely punished -- in the most famous case, that of Joan of Arc, being burned at the stake.
2. The abominable customs of the native populations of Canaan is the justification Jehovah uses to expel them and settle his own people, the Israelites, on their land. The Israelites were exhorted to eschew these practices, human sacrifice, occultism, sorcery, as well as idol worship, but, in reality, Jehovah's demands were not complied with by future generations of Israelites.
3. Moses offers a guide as to who is a genuine prophet and who is a false prophet. It is not terribly helpful, even if it is simple and straight forward: prophecies that come true are from Jehovah; those that do not come true are not from Jehovah. Apparently other gods cannot inspire prophets to make accurate predictions. Therefore, accurate prophets are always genuine prophets, that is, Jehovah-inspired prophets. But Moses offers nary a clue as to how one can discern a true prophet from a false one without waiting to find out whether the prophecies are accurate or not. Couldn’t a clever false prophet confine himself to making predictions about events in the distant future and thus never be exposed as a charlatan? There are, in fact, many Old Testament prophets who made prophesies about future historical events that quite unambiguously did not come to pass. (One example would be Obadiah, a minor prophet who forecast the doom of Israel’s neighbor Edom; sorry, but Edom simply didn’t receive its prophesied comeuppance.) Are they to be reviled as false prophets and their books removed from the Bible?
Provisions for Priests
(Deuteronomy 18:1 - 18:8)
“Take note that the Levitical priests, that is, the entire tribe of Levi, receive no allotment of land along with the other tribes of Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites consume the food sacrifices dedicated to Jehovah: that is their portion. They do not share in the inheritance given to their fellow Israelites; Jehovah himself is their inheritance, as he promised them.
“From those who sacrifice a bull or a sheep, the priests' share is the meat from the shoulder, the cheeks, and internals organs. You must also give to the priests the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your olive oil, and the first shearing of wool from your sheep, for Jehovah your god has chosen them and their descendants, from out of all the tribes of Israel, to stand before the altar and minister in Jehovah's name for all time.
“If a Levite leaves a town in Israel in which he is living and goes to place chosen by Jehovah for his worship, then he may minister there in the name of Jehovah along with the other Levites who are already serving Jehovah there. He may also partake of their share of food offerings, (regardless of what he may have realized from the sale of family property).”
Note
1. This reiterates the rights and privileges of the Levites, but also mentions another, the right of a Levite priest to leave one of the Israelite towns set aside for his tribe and become a priest in one of the Jehovan places of worship. One wonders how this would work in practice. It would be as if Catholic priests were allowed to go to any parish they wished and be allowed to officiate. Wouldn't this result in chaos? Wouldn’t this result in an over abundance of priests at more desirable places of worship? One assumes that the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, would have authority over all matters affecting the tribe, but here there no provision to create the hierarchy necessary for the exercise of that authority or a protocol put in place for the delegation of his powers.
“Take note that the Levitical priests, that is, the entire tribe of Levi, receive no allotment of land along with the other tribes of Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites consume the food sacrifices dedicated to Jehovah: that is their portion. They do not share in the inheritance given to their fellow Israelites; Jehovah himself is their inheritance, as he promised them.
“From those who sacrifice a bull or a sheep, the priests' share is the meat from the shoulder, the cheeks, and internals organs. You must also give to the priests the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your olive oil, and the first shearing of wool from your sheep, for Jehovah your god has chosen them and their descendants, from out of all the tribes of Israel, to stand before the altar and minister in Jehovah's name for all time.
“If a Levite leaves a town in Israel in which he is living and goes to place chosen by Jehovah for his worship, then he may minister there in the name of Jehovah along with the other Levites who are already serving Jehovah there. He may also partake of their share of food offerings, (regardless of what he may have realized from the sale of family property).”
Note
1. This reiterates the rights and privileges of the Levites, but also mentions another, the right of a Levite priest to leave one of the Israelite towns set aside for his tribe and become a priest in one of the Jehovan places of worship. One wonders how this would work in practice. It would be as if Catholic priests were allowed to go to any parish they wished and be allowed to officiate. Wouldn't this result in chaos? Wouldn’t this result in an over abundance of priests at more desirable places of worship? One assumes that the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, would have authority over all matters affecting the tribe, but here there no provision to create the hierarchy necessary for the exercise of that authority or a protocol put in place for the delegation of his powers.
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