Those Excluded from Jehovah's Congregation

(Deuteronomy 23:1 - 23:8)
“No one whose genitals have been crushed or cut off may join the congregation of Jehovah.   No one born illegitimately may ever became a member of Jehovah’s congregation nor may his descendants even for ten generations.  No one who is an Ammonite or a Moabite or their descendants even to the tenth generation may join Jehovah’s congregation, for their nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt.  Instead they hired Balsam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram to curse you.  (Jehovah your god did not heed Balaam, but turned his curse into a blessing, because Jehovah your god loves you.)  Throughout your history, you must never promote their prosperity or make a treaty with them.  But you should not abhor the Edomite, for he is your relation, or the Egyptian, for you were resident aliens in their land.  Children from the third generation of them may become members of Jehovah’s congregation.”

Notes
1. It seems rather cruel and unfair that if a man suffers an accident adversely affecting his private parts then he’s no longer allowed to be a part of Jehovah’s congregation, or, in modern terms, to worship in church.  This provision may have been directed toward religious devotees who willfully emasculated themselves, such as the worshipers of the ancient Phrygian god Attis.  But this would seem to condemn castration for any reason.  (Hebrew society had no place for eunuchs, who, nevertheless, were a part of many Asian cultures.)  The early Christian church, though, expressly accepted as members men who had been emasculated.  Jesus himself, in Matthew, ambivalently suggests castration to avoid submitting to carnal desires that might lead to sinful sexual behavior.  Some Christian zealots have put this into practice.  (An interesting example is the American Civil War soldier Boston Corbett, the killer of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.  Perhaps unbalanced by inhaling poisonous fumes while working as a hatter, he became a religious fanatic.  One night in 1858, while walking home from church, he was propositioned by a couple prostitutes.  Disturbed by the encounter, he sought guidance from the Bible and found a solution by severing his private parts with a pair of scissors.)  --- The castration of boys to maintain a high singing voice was practiced in Europe from the 16th Century.  It was only condemned by the Catholic Church in the 19th Century; Italy did not make this abominable custom illegal until 1870!

2. The exclusion of those of illegitimate birth from Jehovah’s congregation is consistent with the policy of keeping only those who are “impure” from worshiping Jehovah.  Just as animals sacrificed to Jehovah must be without blemish so must the worshipers be without physical imperfections.  That no one has no control over the circumstances of his birth or the morals of his parents is not considered.  Children paying for the sins the fathers is well established in Jehovan law.  Punishment creates a deterrent to bad behavior; however, in this case, it is not the guilty but the innocent upon whom the weight of punishment falls.

3. Moabites and Ammonites are also excluded from worshiping Jehovah because they, or their ancestors did not treat the Israelites with hospitality during the Exodus.  Moreover, they hired the prophet Balaam to curse them.  The Moabites and Ammonites are apparently to be regarded as permanent enemies.  Jehovah eschews the modern notion of “permanent interests, but no permanent enemies.”  The United States of America, for instance, has never held historic grudges; it has a habit of establishing friendship with almost every country it has fought a war against, England, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Japan, even Vietnam.  Jehovah, though, if anything, is a vindictive god who has no desire to make friends of enemies.

4. Egypt, surprisingly, is given something of a pass.  The grandchild of an Egyptian could become a full-fledged Jehovah worshiper.  This, because the Israelites lived in their country.  Indeed, but they were slaves there -- what favors were owed the Egyptians?  The Edomites were also granted some leniency since they were relatives.  (The Edomites were descended from Esau, Jacob’s elder twin brother.)  It should be pointed out that the Moabites and Ammonites were fellow Hebrews as well, being descended from Lot, Abraham’s nephew. 

5. Aram, here Aram Haharaim, “of the two rivers”, is usually placed in an area including northern Mesopotamia and Syria and what is now southeastern Turkey.  This area would have been the kingdom of Mitanni during Moses’ time.   However, it is more likely that the Aram of the Bible, the home of the Aramaeans, was a much smaller area in southern Syria north of the Golan Heights, not in Mesopotamia, where Arameans may have later settled.