(Exodus 37:1 - 38:31)
Bezaleel then constructed out of red acacia wood the Chest of Sacred Records, 45 inches in length and 27 inches in width, with a height of 27 inches, overlaid inside and out with gold and trimmed with a gold moulding around its circumference. Four rings cast of gold were attached to the four corners, two on one side and two on the opposite side. And he also made staves of red acacia wood, overlaid with gold, and inserted them into the rings on the sides of the chest in order they it could be carried.
Bezaleel made the cover for the chest, the Judgment Seat, 45 by 27 inches. He fashioned out of single piece of beaten gold the images of two Cherubim, fastening them on opposite ends of the chest lid. One Cherub on one side and the second on the other side, they occupied the two ends of the chest's cover and were made to seem all of one piece with the cover. Spreading their wings protectively over the lid, the Cherubim faced each other and bowed to the Judgment Seat.
And he made a table of red acacia wood, 36 inches in length, 18 inches in width and 27 inches high. It was overlaid in gold with the edge trimmed all around with a gold moulding. A trim 3 inches wide was attached to the top of the table and all around it, a rim of gold. Four rings were cast for it and attached to the four corners just above the four legs of the table and positioned just below the rim. Staves were inserted into them so that the table could be carried. These staves were made of red acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Also fashioned from pure gold were the plates and incense dishes for use at the table and the cups and bowls from which libations were poured.
Next he made a menorah of the finest beaten gold, as were its shaft, its branches and the decorative buds and petals, all of one piece. It consisted of 6 branches, 3 coming out of one side of the menorah's base and 3 coming out of the other side. On each branch there were 3 cups resembling almond blossoms, with an outer ring of buds and petals. All of the 6 branches were similarly adorned. Likewise, on the central shaft of the menorah there were 4 cups resembling almond blossoms, with an outer ring of buds and petals. Where each pair of branches joined the central shaft there was an outer ring of leaves made of one piece with the branch. This was the same for each of the 6 branches. And the outer ring of leaves and the branches were of one piece with the shaft. And there were made 7 lamps for the menorah, as well as wick trimmers, snuffers, and trays. These, the menorah, and its utensils were made of a talent of gold.
Bezaleel built an incense altar of red acacia wood. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high with the corners formed into horns. It, its grate, the sides, and the horns were overlaid with the finest gold. He trimmed it with a moulding, also of gold, all around it and below it, two golden rings on each side, so that staves could be inserted in them and the altar carried. The staves were made of red acacia wood and overlaid with gold.
He expertly mixed the ingredients for the Anointing Oil for sanctification and the Sacred Incense from the purest spices.
He built a sacrificial altar of red acacia wood, 4 1/2 feet high and 7 1/2 feet square, with horns protruding from each of the four corners, all overlaid with bronze. All the vessels and utensils of the altar, the basins, shovels, fire pans, and forks were fabricated entirely of bronze. He constructed as well a screen-like grate and installed it half-way down the side of the altar covering its hearth. Four rings were cast and attached to the corners of the bronze grate as a place for staves, which were made of red acacia wood and overlaid with bronze. He inserted the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar so that it could be carried. (The altar itself was not solid, but, being constructed of planks, was hollow and empty inside.) There was also made a bronze wash basin and its stand, both made from the bronze mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tabernacle.
He also made a courtyard for the Tabernacle. On the south side there was a partition of curtains of finely loomed linen 150 feet long with 20 posts of bronze inserted into 20 plinths of bronze and with curtain rods and hooks of silver. On the north side the curtains, the posts, the plinths, the rods and hooks were of identical measurement and of the same metals. On the west side the curtains were 75 feet long with 10 bronze posts and 10 bronze plinths, with curtains rods and hooks of silver. On the east side as well there were curtains 75 feet in length. The drapery on one side of the entrance extended for 22 1/2 feet with 3 posts and 3 plinths, and on the other side of entrance was an identical length of curtains and number of posts and plinths. All the curtains of the courtyard were made finely loomed linen. The plinths were made of bronze, while the curtain rods and hooks were of silver with posts overlaid with silver. The curtains for the entrance to the courtyard were made of finely loomed linen of blue, purple, and scarlet, decorated with needlework, 30 feet long and 7 1/2 feet high, conforming to the measurements of all the curtains of the courtyard. There were 4 posts at the entryway, each with plinths of bronze and curtain rods and hooks of silver. All the tent pegs of the Tabernacle and the courtyard were made of bronze.
These were the quantities of the materials used in the construction of the Tabernacle as recorded at Moses’ behest by the Levites directed by Ithamar, the son of Aaron the high priest. (Bezaleel, the son of Uri, son of Hur of the tribe of Judah made all that was ordered by Jehovah and was assisted in his work by Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, who was a skillful engraver, designer, and weaver of the blue, purple, and scarlet linen.)
All the gold that was used in the construction of the Tabernacle, including that was contributed, amounted to 29 talents, 730 shekels (by standard temple weights). The silver used was counted to be 100 talents, 1775 shekels (by standard temple weights). A tax of half a shekel was contributed by males who had been counted in the census, those were above 20 years old and of an age to bear arms: these numbered 603, 550. From the 100 talents of silver were cast the plinths of the Tabernacle and the entrance to the Inner Sanctum, 100 plinths -- one talent for each plinth. And from the 1175 shekels of silver were made the curtain rods and hooks and post tops. The bronze that was contributed amounted to 70 talents and 2400 shekels, from which were cast the plinths for the entrance of the Tabernacle, the bronze sacrificial altar, its grate, and equipment, as well as the plinths of the courtyard perimeter, the courtyard entrance, and the tent pegs used in the Tabernacle and courtyard perimeter.
Notes
1. Bezaleel, who supervises the entire Tabernacle building project, must have been the Hebrew version of Imhotep, the creative engineering genius of Egypt's pyramid age, or perhaps a poor man's Phidias (the great Athenian sculptor who supervised the building of the Parthenon). If he actually accomplished what is here claimed, perhaps his name deserves to be remembered, even if his work has vanished.
2. While it is not remarkable that the dimensions of the original Tabernacle were remembered since they probably became traditional, it is extraordinary that the precise quantities of metal used in its construction should have been known and recorded. The biblical authors certainly knew that detail lends a yarn credibility. Exactitude furthers an impression of absolute truth. Preciseness suggest authority. This is illustrated as well by a record of the exact number of men in the census, 603,550 -- this apparently minus the men Moses had murdered after the Golden Calf incident. As has been pointed out before, this number, or even a fraction of it, would have been, for many reasons, impossible.
3. A talent is equal to 75 pounds. (The menorah was made of a whole talent of gold and would have been a pretty hefty item.)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Work on the Tabernacle Begins
(Exodus 35:30 - 36:38)
Moses told the Israelite people: "Jehovah has personally selected Bezaleel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, for he is not only divinely inspired, but endowed with great judgment and skill and expertise in a variety of crafts. Jehovah has appointed him to be in charge of all the work to be done in gold, silver, and bronze, as well as the cutting, setting, and engraving of gemstones and the carving of wood -- a master of many crafts is he. And Jehovah has given him and his assistant Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, the faculty to teach others their skills, to design and execute works of engraving and carpentry, to oversee the weaving of the blue, purple, and scarlet linen, and to supervise the tasks carried out by the skilled craftsmen.
“The work upon the Tabernacle will be undertaken by Bezaleel and Aholiab and the craftsman whom Jehovah has endowed with the requisite skills and know-how. They will construct it exactly in accordance with Jehovah’s instructions.”
When Moses sent out the call for Bezaleel and Aholiab and craftsmen of God-given ability, they eagerly stepped forward and offered their services. The materials for the job, contributed by the Israelite people, were delivered to them by Moses. Yet, every morning, the people continued to readily bring in more materials to donate, so much so that the craftsmen working on the Tabernacle had to leave their work to report to Moses, "The people are bringing in more than is needed for Jehovah's project." Moses, therefore, put out an order, promulgated all over the camp -- "Let no man or woman contribute any more material for the building of the Tabernacle!" And so the people refrained from making any further contributions, (for the materials already given were more than sufficient for the work at hand).
The craftsmen working on the Tabernacle made ten curtains of linen with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, and decorated with images of Cherubim. The length of each curtain was 42 feet and its height, 6 feet. All the curtains were the same size. Five of the curtains were attached to each other, as were the other five. Loops of blue yarn were sewn on the edges of each curtain so that they might meet and be joined. Fifty golden rings were made to be used to join the curtains so that the drapery might enclose the Tabernacle. Eleven curtains of goat hair were also made, to cover the roof of the Tabernacle. Such curtains were 45 feet in length and 6 feet wide, all the same size. Five of the curtains were joined to each other, while the other six were joined together. Fifty loops were made on the edges of each curtain. Fifty bronze clasps were made to attach the curtains so that could be all of one piece to enclose the Tabernacle. A covering for the Tabernacle was made of tanned sheep skins, covered with fine leather.
Upright panels were constructed of red acacia wood, the length of each board being 15 feet and their width, 27 inches. Each board had 2 dowels, equally spaced. (Every panel was prepared in this manner.) For the panels of the Tabernacle, there were 20 panels on the south side with 40 silver plinths under the panels, with 2 dowels inserted into 2 plinths for each panel. On the north side there were also 20 panels with 40 silver plinths, with 2 dowels inserted into 2 plinths for each panel. On the west side, the rear of the Tabernacle, there were 6 panels and 2 additional panels for the 2 rear corners of the Tabernacle. These were doubled, separated at the bottom, but joined at the top at with a single ring. Both corners were prepared this way. There were 8 panels with plinths of silver, 16 in number -- 2 plinths under the first panel, 2 plinths under the next panel, and so on.
They made crossbars of red acacia wood, 5 to support the panels on the north side of the Tabernacle frame, 5 for the south side, and 5 for the west side, at the rear of the Tabernacle. The middle crossbar, positioned half way up the height of the panels, stretched from one end of the frame to the other. The panels were overlaid with gold and fitted with rings of gold that connected the supporting crossbars, which were also overlaid with gold.
The craftsmen made the veil for the Inner Sanctum of finely loomed linen, woven with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet and skillfully decorated with the images of Cherubim. It was hung by rings of gold from 4 posts of red acacia wood, which were overlaid with gold and set into 4 plinths of silver. For the entrance to the Sanctum of the Tabernacle, they made a curtain, also of finely loomed linen, woven with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet and skillfully decorated. It was hung from gold rings on 5 posts that were overlaid with gold and set into plinths of bronze.
Notes
1. Trying the reader's patience and rejecting any regard for sound editing practices, the authors go on somewhat boringly to repeat the technical specifications of the Tabernacle, apparently to demonstrate that the builders and craftsman are following precisely the instructions of Jehovah. Why the details of construction must be adhered to so exactly is not clear, unless it be for the sake of blind obedience -- the linchpin of any religious (and military) community, the Israelites of the Exodus being a little of both. Of course, it is possible that Jehovah did not trust the Israelites to make his Tabernacle the way he wanted it without very specific instructions, or he felt that they lacked the expertise to design it competently -- although this is contradicted by the lavish praise Jehovah has for the abilities of Bezaleel and Aholiab.
2. There is an overabundance of materials needed for the building of the Tabernacle and the people have to be told to refrain from bringing in any more donations. "Enough already!" Moses must tell them. The wealth and generosity of the Israelite people is meant to be highlighted here, as well as the devotion reflected in their material sacrifices. So far the Israelites must be given a failing grade in following through on their promise to abide by Jehovah's commandments, but on this occasion they have at last come through when asked and given their support. It should be noted, though, that it has always been easier for men to foster religion than to follow it. Giving money, even time and labor, is always easier than altering one's moral behavior. (The rich man who exploits his employees, steals from the taxman, cheats on his wife, and is an all around heel can usually be counted upon to make a hefty donation to the church fund.)
Moses told the Israelite people: "Jehovah has personally selected Bezaleel, the son of Uri and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, for he is not only divinely inspired, but endowed with great judgment and skill and expertise in a variety of crafts. Jehovah has appointed him to be in charge of all the work to be done in gold, silver, and bronze, as well as the cutting, setting, and engraving of gemstones and the carving of wood -- a master of many crafts is he. And Jehovah has given him and his assistant Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, the faculty to teach others their skills, to design and execute works of engraving and carpentry, to oversee the weaving of the blue, purple, and scarlet linen, and to supervise the tasks carried out by the skilled craftsmen.
“The work upon the Tabernacle will be undertaken by Bezaleel and Aholiab and the craftsman whom Jehovah has endowed with the requisite skills and know-how. They will construct it exactly in accordance with Jehovah’s instructions.”
When Moses sent out the call for Bezaleel and Aholiab and craftsmen of God-given ability, they eagerly stepped forward and offered their services. The materials for the job, contributed by the Israelite people, were delivered to them by Moses. Yet, every morning, the people continued to readily bring in more materials to donate, so much so that the craftsmen working on the Tabernacle had to leave their work to report to Moses, "The people are bringing in more than is needed for Jehovah's project." Moses, therefore, put out an order, promulgated all over the camp -- "Let no man or woman contribute any more material for the building of the Tabernacle!" And so the people refrained from making any further contributions, (for the materials already given were more than sufficient for the work at hand).
The craftsmen working on the Tabernacle made ten curtains of linen with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, and decorated with images of Cherubim. The length of each curtain was 42 feet and its height, 6 feet. All the curtains were the same size. Five of the curtains were attached to each other, as were the other five. Loops of blue yarn were sewn on the edges of each curtain so that they might meet and be joined. Fifty golden rings were made to be used to join the curtains so that the drapery might enclose the Tabernacle. Eleven curtains of goat hair were also made, to cover the roof of the Tabernacle. Such curtains were 45 feet in length and 6 feet wide, all the same size. Five of the curtains were joined to each other, while the other six were joined together. Fifty loops were made on the edges of each curtain. Fifty bronze clasps were made to attach the curtains so that could be all of one piece to enclose the Tabernacle. A covering for the Tabernacle was made of tanned sheep skins, covered with fine leather.
Upright panels were constructed of red acacia wood, the length of each board being 15 feet and their width, 27 inches. Each board had 2 dowels, equally spaced. (Every panel was prepared in this manner.) For the panels of the Tabernacle, there were 20 panels on the south side with 40 silver plinths under the panels, with 2 dowels inserted into 2 plinths for each panel. On the north side there were also 20 panels with 40 silver plinths, with 2 dowels inserted into 2 plinths for each panel. On the west side, the rear of the Tabernacle, there were 6 panels and 2 additional panels for the 2 rear corners of the Tabernacle. These were doubled, separated at the bottom, but joined at the top at with a single ring. Both corners were prepared this way. There were 8 panels with plinths of silver, 16 in number -- 2 plinths under the first panel, 2 plinths under the next panel, and so on.
They made crossbars of red acacia wood, 5 to support the panels on the north side of the Tabernacle frame, 5 for the south side, and 5 for the west side, at the rear of the Tabernacle. The middle crossbar, positioned half way up the height of the panels, stretched from one end of the frame to the other. The panels were overlaid with gold and fitted with rings of gold that connected the supporting crossbars, which were also overlaid with gold.
The craftsmen made the veil for the Inner Sanctum of finely loomed linen, woven with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet and skillfully decorated with the images of Cherubim. It was hung by rings of gold from 4 posts of red acacia wood, which were overlaid with gold and set into 4 plinths of silver. For the entrance to the Sanctum of the Tabernacle, they made a curtain, also of finely loomed linen, woven with yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet and skillfully decorated. It was hung from gold rings on 5 posts that were overlaid with gold and set into plinths of bronze.
Notes
1. Trying the reader's patience and rejecting any regard for sound editing practices, the authors go on somewhat boringly to repeat the technical specifications of the Tabernacle, apparently to demonstrate that the builders and craftsman are following precisely the instructions of Jehovah. Why the details of construction must be adhered to so exactly is not clear, unless it be for the sake of blind obedience -- the linchpin of any religious (and military) community, the Israelites of the Exodus being a little of both. Of course, it is possible that Jehovah did not trust the Israelites to make his Tabernacle the way he wanted it without very specific instructions, or he felt that they lacked the expertise to design it competently -- although this is contradicted by the lavish praise Jehovah has for the abilities of Bezaleel and Aholiab.
2. There is an overabundance of materials needed for the building of the Tabernacle and the people have to be told to refrain from bringing in any more donations. "Enough already!" Moses must tell them. The wealth and generosity of the Israelite people is meant to be highlighted here, as well as the devotion reflected in their material sacrifices. So far the Israelites must be given a failing grade in following through on their promise to abide by Jehovah's commandments, but on this occasion they have at last come through when asked and given their support. It should be noted, though, that it has always been easier for men to foster religion than to follow it. Giving money, even time and labor, is always easier than altering one's moral behavior. (The rich man who exploits his employees, steals from the taxman, cheats on his wife, and is an all around heel can usually be counted upon to make a hefty donation to the church fund.)
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Moses Makes an Appeal to His People
(Exodus 35:1 - 35:29)
Moses gathered together the whole congregation of the people of Israel and told them, "These are the commandments of Jehovah that you must keep. Complete your work in six days, for the seventh day, Saturday, will be the holy Sabbath, a day of rest exclusively dedicated to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on that day should be put to death. (Do not even kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath!)”
Moses, in addressing the entire congregation of his people, said this to them, “Jehovah has made this demand of you: the first fruits of the field must be set aside for him. And all who are of a willing heart, let them contribute to Jehovah these things: gold, silver, and bronze; yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet; garments of fine linen and goat hair; red acacia wood; tanned sheepskins and fine leather; olive oil for lamps; spices for fragrant incense and anointing oil; onyx stones and other precious gems that can be set in the priest's vest and chest piece.
"Those possessing the skills of a craftsman should come forward and make what Jehovah has asked for: his sanctuary, the Tabernacle; its covering; its clasps, the panels and crossbars; the posts and plinths; the Chest of Sacred Records and its staves; the Judgment Seat that is its lid; the veil that is drawn around it; the tables and its staves; its vessels and the sacrificial loaves of bread; the menorah supporting its lamps, the lamps themselves and their utensils; the incense altar and its staves; the anointing oil and fragrant incense; the curtain that hangs before the door of the Tabernacle; the sacrificial altar; its bronze grate, its staves and implements; the wash basin and its stand; the curtains for the courtyard, its posts and plinths, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard and their ropes; as well as the fine vestments used in ministering to Jehovah in the Sanctum, that is, the priestly vestments to be worn by Aaron, the high priest, and his sons when officiating."
All in the assembled congregation departed from Moses’ presence, but everyone whose heart was moved by his appeal and whose was spirit was inspired returned to give sacrifices to Jehovah and to offer freely their assistance in the building of the Tabernacle, the establishment of religious services, and the making of sacred vestments. Both men and women donated bracelets, ear and nose rings, seal rings, and necklaces; all the articles of gold jewelry were offerings for the use of Jehovah. Any man who owned fine linen garments of blue, purple, or scarlet, goods of goat hair, tanned sheepskins, or articles of fine leather brought them in. Metals of silver and bronze were also given for the use of Jehovah, and anyone who had in his possession red acacia wood contributed it for its various uses. Women who were skilled spinsters donated yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet they had spun and fine linen they had loomed, as well as fabric of goat hair, given with a generous heart. The tribal chiefs presented onyx stones and precious gems for the priest’s vest and chest piece, spices and oil for the lamps, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense. Every man and every woman of Israel who was eager to help gave freely what was needed for the things Jehovah had commanded Moses to create.
Notes
1. In one of the more successful acts of Moses' leadership, he appeals to his people to furnish the materials to construct the Tabernacle, the altars, the priestly vestments, and so forth. It is fortunate this band of escaped slaves wandering starving and destitute in the desert had on hand all the luxurious cloths, jewels, precious metals, and prized woods that were required. It must be remembered that these things were stolen from the Egyptians when they left their land of bondage. While the exodus was very hastily prepared, while there was no time to leaven the bread, there was apparently time to do a great deal of looting. The circumstances of the looting is unclear. On the one hand it is stated that the Israelites lived in Goshen, to the northeast of Egypt proper, and on the other hand it is suggested that they lived amongst the Egyptians, that the Israelites had Egyptian neighbors from whom they could appropriate these luxuries. At any rate, the Israelites went into the desert with a lot of luxury items, even as they failed to bring with them ample supplies of food and water (since Jehovah had to aid them in finding drinking water and feed them with falls of manna). On the surface it appears as if the people were making great sacrifices with their donations, but is it really an act of great altruism to give up purloined goods of such limited utility? The nomadic lifestyle of the Israelites was hardly conducive to the wearing of luxurious raiment. And while gold and silver were used as money, what was there to buy camped in the desert?
2. In the building of the Tabernacle, etc., with most of the people participating in furnishing materials or labor, the Israelites came together as a community. The first recorded instance of this was the building of the Tower of Babel when the descendants of Noah embarked upon a cooperative construction project. But, for some reason, this incurred Jehovah's displeasure and he put the kibosh on Babel by confusing the languages. The ancient Egyptians created the greatest public works projects -- the building of the pyramids. Citizens (not slaves) were employed during the off season to labor in their construction and no doubt derived from their efforts and their experience a solidarity with their countrymen and a sense of national pride. It is likely that the pyramids were partly responsible for the successful forging of a unified and enduring nation among the people of the Nile. The building of the Tabernacle may have served a similar function for the people of Israel.
3. One of Moses' commands concerning the Sabbath was that no one was to kindle a fire on that day. It is unclear whether it was OK to tend a fire that had been started the day before. Even so, woe be to anyone who let the fire go out on a cold Saturday, for he was forbidden to start one anew. (And it can get chilly in the Holy Land in winter.) One wonders, if the Laplanders had been his chosen people, would Jehovah have made a similar prohibition?
4. We see throughout history that people are willing to deprive themselves financially in order to support religious institutions, to enrich the church and the priesthood, even to the extent of impoverishing themselves. Whether motivated by a desire to minister to their own spiritual needs or by more worldly and practical considerations, fear of divine retribution or hope for heavenly favor, men have always diverted wealth to religious uses, away from economic activity that might seem to be more in their material interest. The Israelites are zealously building a Tabernacle for their god, rather than expending their efforts and materials to, say, build decent homes for themselves. Depending upon one's point of view, this was either noble or stupid.
Moses gathered together the whole congregation of the people of Israel and told them, "These are the commandments of Jehovah that you must keep. Complete your work in six days, for the seventh day, Saturday, will be the holy Sabbath, a day of rest exclusively dedicated to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on that day should be put to death. (Do not even kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath!)”
Moses, in addressing the entire congregation of his people, said this to them, “Jehovah has made this demand of you: the first fruits of the field must be set aside for him. And all who are of a willing heart, let them contribute to Jehovah these things: gold, silver, and bronze; yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet; garments of fine linen and goat hair; red acacia wood; tanned sheepskins and fine leather; olive oil for lamps; spices for fragrant incense and anointing oil; onyx stones and other precious gems that can be set in the priest's vest and chest piece.
"Those possessing the skills of a craftsman should come forward and make what Jehovah has asked for: his sanctuary, the Tabernacle; its covering; its clasps, the panels and crossbars; the posts and plinths; the Chest of Sacred Records and its staves; the Judgment Seat that is its lid; the veil that is drawn around it; the tables and its staves; its vessels and the sacrificial loaves of bread; the menorah supporting its lamps, the lamps themselves and their utensils; the incense altar and its staves; the anointing oil and fragrant incense; the curtain that hangs before the door of the Tabernacle; the sacrificial altar; its bronze grate, its staves and implements; the wash basin and its stand; the curtains for the courtyard, its posts and plinths, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard and their ropes; as well as the fine vestments used in ministering to Jehovah in the Sanctum, that is, the priestly vestments to be worn by Aaron, the high priest, and his sons when officiating."
All in the assembled congregation departed from Moses’ presence, but everyone whose heart was moved by his appeal and whose was spirit was inspired returned to give sacrifices to Jehovah and to offer freely their assistance in the building of the Tabernacle, the establishment of religious services, and the making of sacred vestments. Both men and women donated bracelets, ear and nose rings, seal rings, and necklaces; all the articles of gold jewelry were offerings for the use of Jehovah. Any man who owned fine linen garments of blue, purple, or scarlet, goods of goat hair, tanned sheepskins, or articles of fine leather brought them in. Metals of silver and bronze were also given for the use of Jehovah, and anyone who had in his possession red acacia wood contributed it for its various uses. Women who were skilled spinsters donated yarn dyed blue, purple, and scarlet they had spun and fine linen they had loomed, as well as fabric of goat hair, given with a generous heart. The tribal chiefs presented onyx stones and precious gems for the priest’s vest and chest piece, spices and oil for the lamps, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense. Every man and every woman of Israel who was eager to help gave freely what was needed for the things Jehovah had commanded Moses to create.
Notes
1. In one of the more successful acts of Moses' leadership, he appeals to his people to furnish the materials to construct the Tabernacle, the altars, the priestly vestments, and so forth. It is fortunate this band of escaped slaves wandering starving and destitute in the desert had on hand all the luxurious cloths, jewels, precious metals, and prized woods that were required. It must be remembered that these things were stolen from the Egyptians when they left their land of bondage. While the exodus was very hastily prepared, while there was no time to leaven the bread, there was apparently time to do a great deal of looting. The circumstances of the looting is unclear. On the one hand it is stated that the Israelites lived in Goshen, to the northeast of Egypt proper, and on the other hand it is suggested that they lived amongst the Egyptians, that the Israelites had Egyptian neighbors from whom they could appropriate these luxuries. At any rate, the Israelites went into the desert with a lot of luxury items, even as they failed to bring with them ample supplies of food and water (since Jehovah had to aid them in finding drinking water and feed them with falls of manna). On the surface it appears as if the people were making great sacrifices with their donations, but is it really an act of great altruism to give up purloined goods of such limited utility? The nomadic lifestyle of the Israelites was hardly conducive to the wearing of luxurious raiment. And while gold and silver were used as money, what was there to buy camped in the desert?
2. In the building of the Tabernacle, etc., with most of the people participating in furnishing materials or labor, the Israelites came together as a community. The first recorded instance of this was the building of the Tower of Babel when the descendants of Noah embarked upon a cooperative construction project. But, for some reason, this incurred Jehovah's displeasure and he put the kibosh on Babel by confusing the languages. The ancient Egyptians created the greatest public works projects -- the building of the pyramids. Citizens (not slaves) were employed during the off season to labor in their construction and no doubt derived from their efforts and their experience a solidarity with their countrymen and a sense of national pride. It is likely that the pyramids were partly responsible for the successful forging of a unified and enduring nation among the people of the Nile. The building of the Tabernacle may have served a similar function for the people of Israel.
3. One of Moses' commands concerning the Sabbath was that no one was to kindle a fire on that day. It is unclear whether it was OK to tend a fire that had been started the day before. Even so, woe be to anyone who let the fire go out on a cold Saturday, for he was forbidden to start one anew. (And it can get chilly in the Holy Land in winter.) One wonders, if the Laplanders had been his chosen people, would Jehovah have made a similar prohibition?
4. We see throughout history that people are willing to deprive themselves financially in order to support religious institutions, to enrich the church and the priesthood, even to the extent of impoverishing themselves. Whether motivated by a desire to minister to their own spiritual needs or by more worldly and practical considerations, fear of divine retribution or hope for heavenly favor, men have always diverted wealth to religious uses, away from economic activity that might seem to be more in their material interest. The Israelites are zealously building a Tabernacle for their god, rather than expending their efforts and materials to, say, build decent homes for themselves. Depending upon one's point of view, this was either noble or stupid.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Moses Communes Again with Jehovah on the Mountain
(Exodus 34:4 -34:35)
Moses cut two stone tablets just like the first pair. He rose early and went up Mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and carried with him the tablets of stone. Jehovah descended to him in a cloud and stood near to him, uttering his own name “Jehovah.” When he passed before Moses, he proclaimed, “I am Jehovah, the god Jehovah, merciful and gracious, patient, ever compassionate and true, bestowing his never-changing love upon a thousand generations, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin, yet by no means acquitting the guilty, but punishing the crimes of the parents through their children, their grandchildren, and their descendants to the third, even the fourth generation."
Moses quickly bowed his head and prostrated himself in worship. He prayed, "If I have found favor with you, then may Jehovah, my god, be with us. I know we are an unruly people, but please forgive our sinfulness and our transgressions and accept us as your legacy.”
Jehovah replied, "I make you a promise. I will perform for your people miracles such have not been accomplished in this world in any nation. All the peoples that you will come in contact with will witness Jehovah’s awesome power, for it will be a wondrous thing I will do with you.
“Obey the orders that I now give you and ahead of you I will expel the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hethites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I warn you, make no treaties with the inhabitants of those lands through which you will pass, for such will only be ploys to entrap you. Smash their altars! Topple their pillars! Chop down the fertility poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah! Do not worship any other god, for Jehovah's name is jealousy and he's a jealous god. Make no treaties with the inhabitants of these countries, for when they debase themselves with their gods and make sacrifices to them, they may bid you to participate in them and partake of the sacrificial food. Moreover, do not allow your sons to marry their women, for when the wives debase themselves with their gods, they may induce their husbands to do likewise. Cast for yourselves no idols of molten metal!
"Keep the yearly Feast of Unleavened Bread as I have commanded you. Eat only unleavened bread at the appointed time, seven days during the month of Abib, for that was when I brought you out of Egypt. The first-born all belong to me, every first-born male, whether it be a calf or a lamb. The first-born of a donkey may have its place taken by a lamb, but, if not, you must kill it by snapping its neck. Your first-born male sons may be similarly exchanged. But in either case, you must not appear before me empty handed.
“Do your work in six days, but on the seventh cease from your labor, even during the season of the plowing and the season of the reaping. Keep the week-long Feast of First Fruits when you begin to pick the ripened fruit and the Harvest Feast when all is gathered in at the end of the year. Three times a year all the males should present themselves before Jehovah, the all-powerful god of Israel. And when I have expelled the peoples in your path and expanded your borders, you need not fear that anyone will occupy your land when you are absent celebrating the three yearly feasts.
“Do not mix leaven with the blood of sacrificial victims, nor should any food from the Passover feast be left uneaten by morning. The first fruits of the harvests should be brought to temple of your god Jehovah. Don't boil a kid in his mother's milk."
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Record these words for they comprise the terms of the agreement I have made with you and the people of Israel." Moses stayed with Jehovah for 40 days and 40 nights, during which time he took no food or drink. But he inscribed upon the tablets the words of the contract, the Ten Commandments.
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of divine law inscribed in his own hand, he was unaware that, as a result of his communion with Jehovah, rays of light were emitting from his countenance. When Aaron and the rest of the Israelites saw how his face shone, they were afraid to come near Moses. Moses summoned them, Aaron and the leaders of Israel, and they returned to him so that he could converse with them. Afterwards, all the people of Israel drew near and were told that everything that Jehovah had communicated to Moses on the mountain. When Moses had finished speaking, he put a veil over his face.
(Whenever he entered the tent to speak to Jehovah Moses removed the veil and kept it off until he came out. When he did emerge and spoke to the people of Israel what he had been commanded, the Israelites would notice that Moses' face still shone, so Moses would don the veil again until such time as he would go in to speak to Jehovah.)
Notes
1. Jehovah, before Moses, praises his own mercy and forgiveness and, in the same breath, praises his punishment of not only the guilty, but the descendants of the guilty -- what modern sensibilities would regard not as merciful, but as grossly unjust and vindictive. But it must be remembered that the concept of collective and ancestral guilt was held by most ancient societies.
2. In his talk with Moses, Jehovah brags about all the wonders he will perform, including sweeping away all the native inhabitants so that the Israelites can occupy the land he has bequeathed them. In dealing with these foreign peoples does he encourage his people to be tolerant and respectful of their religious customs? Does he advise them to try to get along with their neighbors and make peace treaties with them? Does he encourage them to adapt and assimilate and intermarry? No, just the opposite. He advocates racial purity and superiority and perpetual warfare with their neighbors. And he reveals again his obsession with exclusive worship. Peoples who worship other gods can only be evil, and the Israelites must have nothing to do with them. The altars and temples of those other gods must be destroyed. This almost pathological animosity toward rival gods seems born of a vendetta. Was Jehovah personally acquainted with the foreign gods he so detests? Was he perhaps an outcast from their society? (He never claims they don't exist; he only claims primacy over them.)
3. Jehovah reiterates his insistence on the proper observance of the feasts dedicated to him. These seem to be of far more importance to him than any moral guidelines. He does not at this point exhort his people to love one another, to be honest, just, kind, or even hard-working, but only to be obedient to his commands concerning the proper observance of his festivals. Moreover, he insists upon claiming ownership rights to all the first-born males, payment for his assistance and patronage. Substitute sacrifices, though, are permitted and encouraged. The Israelites didn't have to slit the throat of their new-born baby sons: they could slaughter some poor lamb instead.
4. The first pair of tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments were written by Jehovah himself. The second set he makes Moses chisel out himself. Did Jehovah, who initially said he would make the second set himself, get writer's cramp or did he merely feel (with much justification) that if Moses was going to break the tablets he, Jehovah, had taken so much trouble inscribing, Moses could jolly well make the replacement set his own self, even if it took 40 days and 40 nights without sleep, food, or drink, to do it.
5. Moses has these additional 40 days and nights. Of what necessity was this great length of time during which it explicitly says Moses had nothing to eat or drink. Really. How did Jehovah accomplish this miracle? And why didn't he allow Moses to bring with him even a snack or a box lunch? When Moses is reported returning to his people, there is no comment on whether he was hungry or thirsty or if he had lost any weight.
6. When Moses comes down from the mountain he and his people are surprised to find that his face glows so much that beams of light are radiating from it. (Some translations mistake the description and have Moses growing horns!) Moses is so embarrassed and his people so disturbed by this phenomenon, that he veils his face in front of his people. No explanation is really given for this occurrence and no natural cause for it comes to mind. Was it due to his proximity to Jehovah or a result of the environment on the mountain or wherever else he may have been all that time. It is curious that this did not happen the first time Moses was 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain. What was so different about the second visit?
Moses cut two stone tablets just like the first pair. He rose early and went up Mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and carried with him the tablets of stone. Jehovah descended to him in a cloud and stood near to him, uttering his own name “Jehovah.” When he passed before Moses, he proclaimed, “I am Jehovah, the god Jehovah, merciful and gracious, patient, ever compassionate and true, bestowing his never-changing love upon a thousand generations, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin, yet by no means acquitting the guilty, but punishing the crimes of the parents through their children, their grandchildren, and their descendants to the third, even the fourth generation."
Moses quickly bowed his head and prostrated himself in worship. He prayed, "If I have found favor with you, then may Jehovah, my god, be with us. I know we are an unruly people, but please forgive our sinfulness and our transgressions and accept us as your legacy.”
Jehovah replied, "I make you a promise. I will perform for your people miracles such have not been accomplished in this world in any nation. All the peoples that you will come in contact with will witness Jehovah’s awesome power, for it will be a wondrous thing I will do with you.
“Obey the orders that I now give you and ahead of you I will expel the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hethites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I warn you, make no treaties with the inhabitants of those lands through which you will pass, for such will only be ploys to entrap you. Smash their altars! Topple their pillars! Chop down the fertility poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah! Do not worship any other god, for Jehovah's name is jealousy and he's a jealous god. Make no treaties with the inhabitants of these countries, for when they debase themselves with their gods and make sacrifices to them, they may bid you to participate in them and partake of the sacrificial food. Moreover, do not allow your sons to marry their women, for when the wives debase themselves with their gods, they may induce their husbands to do likewise. Cast for yourselves no idols of molten metal!
"Keep the yearly Feast of Unleavened Bread as I have commanded you. Eat only unleavened bread at the appointed time, seven days during the month of Abib, for that was when I brought you out of Egypt. The first-born all belong to me, every first-born male, whether it be a calf or a lamb. The first-born of a donkey may have its place taken by a lamb, but, if not, you must kill it by snapping its neck. Your first-born male sons may be similarly exchanged. But in either case, you must not appear before me empty handed.
“Do your work in six days, but on the seventh cease from your labor, even during the season of the plowing and the season of the reaping. Keep the week-long Feast of First Fruits when you begin to pick the ripened fruit and the Harvest Feast when all is gathered in at the end of the year. Three times a year all the males should present themselves before Jehovah, the all-powerful god of Israel. And when I have expelled the peoples in your path and expanded your borders, you need not fear that anyone will occupy your land when you are absent celebrating the three yearly feasts.
“Do not mix leaven with the blood of sacrificial victims, nor should any food from the Passover feast be left uneaten by morning. The first fruits of the harvests should be brought to temple of your god Jehovah. Don't boil a kid in his mother's milk."
Jehovah instructed Moses, "Record these words for they comprise the terms of the agreement I have made with you and the people of Israel." Moses stayed with Jehovah for 40 days and 40 nights, during which time he took no food or drink. But he inscribed upon the tablets the words of the contract, the Ten Commandments.
When Moses descended from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets of divine law inscribed in his own hand, he was unaware that, as a result of his communion with Jehovah, rays of light were emitting from his countenance. When Aaron and the rest of the Israelites saw how his face shone, they were afraid to come near Moses. Moses summoned them, Aaron and the leaders of Israel, and they returned to him so that he could converse with them. Afterwards, all the people of Israel drew near and were told that everything that Jehovah had communicated to Moses on the mountain. When Moses had finished speaking, he put a veil over his face.
(Whenever he entered the tent to speak to Jehovah Moses removed the veil and kept it off until he came out. When he did emerge and spoke to the people of Israel what he had been commanded, the Israelites would notice that Moses' face still shone, so Moses would don the veil again until such time as he would go in to speak to Jehovah.)
Notes
1. Jehovah, before Moses, praises his own mercy and forgiveness and, in the same breath, praises his punishment of not only the guilty, but the descendants of the guilty -- what modern sensibilities would regard not as merciful, but as grossly unjust and vindictive. But it must be remembered that the concept of collective and ancestral guilt was held by most ancient societies.
2. In his talk with Moses, Jehovah brags about all the wonders he will perform, including sweeping away all the native inhabitants so that the Israelites can occupy the land he has bequeathed them. In dealing with these foreign peoples does he encourage his people to be tolerant and respectful of their religious customs? Does he advise them to try to get along with their neighbors and make peace treaties with them? Does he encourage them to adapt and assimilate and intermarry? No, just the opposite. He advocates racial purity and superiority and perpetual warfare with their neighbors. And he reveals again his obsession with exclusive worship. Peoples who worship other gods can only be evil, and the Israelites must have nothing to do with them. The altars and temples of those other gods must be destroyed. This almost pathological animosity toward rival gods seems born of a vendetta. Was Jehovah personally acquainted with the foreign gods he so detests? Was he perhaps an outcast from their society? (He never claims they don't exist; he only claims primacy over them.)
3. Jehovah reiterates his insistence on the proper observance of the feasts dedicated to him. These seem to be of far more importance to him than any moral guidelines. He does not at this point exhort his people to love one another, to be honest, just, kind, or even hard-working, but only to be obedient to his commands concerning the proper observance of his festivals. Moreover, he insists upon claiming ownership rights to all the first-born males, payment for his assistance and patronage. Substitute sacrifices, though, are permitted and encouraged. The Israelites didn't have to slit the throat of their new-born baby sons: they could slaughter some poor lamb instead.
4. The first pair of tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments were written by Jehovah himself. The second set he makes Moses chisel out himself. Did Jehovah, who initially said he would make the second set himself, get writer's cramp or did he merely feel (with much justification) that if Moses was going to break the tablets he, Jehovah, had taken so much trouble inscribing, Moses could jolly well make the replacement set his own self, even if it took 40 days and 40 nights without sleep, food, or drink, to do it.
5. Moses has these additional 40 days and nights. Of what necessity was this great length of time during which it explicitly says Moses had nothing to eat or drink. Really. How did Jehovah accomplish this miracle? And why didn't he allow Moses to bring with him even a snack or a box lunch? When Moses is reported returning to his people, there is no comment on whether he was hungry or thirsty or if he had lost any weight.
6. When Moses comes down from the mountain he and his people are surprised to find that his face glows so much that beams of light are radiating from it. (Some translations mistake the description and have Moses growing horns!) Moses is so embarrassed and his people so disturbed by this phenomenon, that he veils his face in front of his people. No explanation is really given for this occurrence and no natural cause for it comes to mind. Was it due to his proximity to Jehovah or a result of the environment on the mountain or wherever else he may have been all that time. It is curious that this did not happen the first time Moses was 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain. What was so different about the second visit?
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Moses in the Meeting Tent
(Exodus 33:1 - 34:3)
Jehovah spoke to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you have led out of Egypt, and go to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with my oath -- 'I bestow this upon your descendants.' Ahead of you I will dispatch an agent who will clear the land of the Canaanites, Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites so the you may occupy the land flowing with milk and honey -- but I will not go with you, for you're such a rebellious people I might be tempted to destroy you on the way.”
The people received these ill tidings with dismay; no one would even put on his fine clothes or jewelry. Jehovah bade Moses tell the Israelites, "You're a rebellious people. If I ever came among you even for a moment, I would annihilate you. --- Take off all your finery so I may decide what to do with you." And so the Israelites encamped at the foot of Mount Horeb set aside all their gold jewelry and fine raiment.
Moses regularly pitched a tent far from the Israelite camp and called it the Meeting Tent. Anyone who wished to appeal to Jehovah could do so there, outside the camp. It happened that when Moses would visit the Meeting Tent, all the people came out and stood at the entrances of their own tents watching him until he entered. When Moses went in, a cylindrical cloud would descend over the tent and hover before the entrance while Jehovah spoke to Moses. Whenever those who watched saw this cloud, they would bow and pray, right there at the entrance of their tents.
Jehovah communicated directly with Moses in spoken words as one friend to another. When Moses left the Meeting Tent, his aide, the youth Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed behind.
Moses said to Jehovah, "You’ve told me to lead this people, but you haven’t yet said whom you are sending to accompany me. You’ve told me, 'I have singled you out and you have found favor with me.' But if I really enjoy your favor, confide in me your plans so that I may truly know you and may more easily find favor in your eyes. And please, keep thinking of this nation as your people! "
Jehovah replied, “Set your mind at ease, my presence will be with you till the end.”
Moses responded, “If you aren't going with us, please don’t make us leave this place. Unless you accompany us how can it be known that my people and I have found favor with you, for your favor is what makes us special from among all the peoples of the earth.”
Jehovah said to Moses, "What you have asked of me I will do, for you enjoy my favor and are my friend.”
"Pray then, show yourself to me!"
Jehovah declared, “I will permit the entirety of my true form to pass right before you, and I will speak my name “Jehovah” so you may hear it. (I show favor to those whom I will and am accommodating to those who please me. But you may not see my face, for no man is allowed to do so and live.) You may stand on a rock near where I will pass. I will show you a crevice in the rock where you may conceal yourself. When my glorious presence passes that place, I will raise my hand, blocking your view, but when I have walked by, I will lower my hand and you will be able to glimpse my back. But my face you will not be able to see."
Jehovah continued to speak to Moses: “Prepare two stone tablets like the ones we had before and I will inscribe upon them the same writing that were upon the other two tablets that you broke. Be ready in the morning and come to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me at the top of the mountain. No one must come with you. Let no man be found upon the mountain, nor should you even let livestock graze at the foot of the mountain."
Notes
1. Jehovah makes it clear he will accompany the Israelites no further. He is prone to lose patience with them and lose his temper, so much that he fears he might not be able to resist the temptation to destroy them -- not a very flattering appraisal of the people he had done so much for, but who had shown themselves to be unworthy of his efforts on their behalf. But he relents after talking to Moses.
2. The people cast off their jewelry, an act that makes no sense except symbolically, the casting off of earthly desires and a renunciation of attachment to physical possessions and displays of wealth. It seems strange, though, that this should regarded as a particularly relevant lesson for newly freed slaves wandering in the desert.
3. Jehovah visits the Meeting Tent in a cylindrical cloud. (This is not the Tabernacle described earlier: that obviously hadn’t been built yet.) It is hard to know what to make of this description. If the Jehovah of Moses is a spirit being, his manner of appearance does not conform with what is usual with such encounters. A long history of sightings confirm that spirit beings usually manifest themselves as luminous orbs or as indistinct areas suffused in light -- light, not cloud. And there are various degrees of physical manifestations that are commonly reported: the vague, wispy shape, the gray human-like wraith, the human-like apparition which may be transparent, translucent, or incompletely formed and which may be surrounded by lights, halos, or auras, or be luminous and resplendent, and the materialization that is virtually and visually indistinguishable from a physical person. There is little in the biblical account of Moses' communion with Jehovah to suggest that he is a spirit being. Is the cylindrical cloud an object, a vehicle in which Jehovah physically conveys himself? Is it the same as the aerial ship that guided the Israelites into the desert earlier in the story? Or is it some drone-like device through which he can see, hear, and speak? The last is very possible and makes sense. Jehovah wants Moses to come up to the mountain and meet with him personally, since he could not do so at the Meeting Tent.
4. It is specifically stated that Moses and Jehovah communicated in a normal way, speaking to each other. That is, there was no communication through dreams and visions or telepathic rapport. This also seems to militate against Jehovah being a spirit being, for spirits, save in phony seances, rarely communicate in audible speech.
5. Moses has spoken to Jehovah many times, but during all their meetings Moses has never been allowed to glimpse his face. This, first of all, is a confirmation that Jehovah appeared to him as a man, either because Jehovah is a man or because he chose to assume human form. The reason that Jehovah did not wish his face to be seen may be the same reason why he did not wish idols to be made of his image. Perhaps he was self-conscious about his looks or was deformed in some way. Or perhaps Jehovah, though humanoid, was not totally human and felt the appearance of an alien visage might be disturbing to Moses and his people. Was there some magical power in his face, some radiation of energy emanating from it that would be deadly to a man? Would Jehovah, like the Greek Medusa, turn men to stone with his gaze? Another reason for hiding his face might have been Jehovah's desire cultivate a godly mystique. Not allowing his face to be seen would create a respectful distance between him and his worshipers -- a Wizard of Oz strategy that would be employed by many absolute rulers. Jehovah, making a concession to the curious Moses, allows him to view him in stealth as he passes by. Jehovah hides his face with his hand (as if on a perp walk), but lets Moses glimpse his back.
6. Moses is instructed to prepare a second set of tablets to replace the ones written by Jehovah that he smashed in anger. The contention that the tablets were made of some special kind of stone is probably disproved by this statement, since Moses could only have worked with the raw materials available. One wonders how many man hours might be necessary to chisel out a pair of stone tablets suitable to be inscribed with writing.
7. Jehovah not only wants Moses to come back up the mountain alone, but prohibits livestock from grazing at the base of the mountain. Was he afraid some goat might see too much? Or was there something dangerous, radioactivity, toxic air, extreme heat?, connected with Jehovah's sojourn on the mountain? It might be that Moses, due for another 40 days and 40 nights, was to be taken up again in Jehovah's aerial craft, and Jehovah wanted the area to be clear for the take off.
Jehovah spoke to Moses, "Leave this place, you and the people you have led out of Egypt, and go to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with my oath -- 'I bestow this upon your descendants.' Ahead of you I will dispatch an agent who will clear the land of the Canaanites, Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites so the you may occupy the land flowing with milk and honey -- but I will not go with you, for you're such a rebellious people I might be tempted to destroy you on the way.”
The people received these ill tidings with dismay; no one would even put on his fine clothes or jewelry. Jehovah bade Moses tell the Israelites, "You're a rebellious people. If I ever came among you even for a moment, I would annihilate you. --- Take off all your finery so I may decide what to do with you." And so the Israelites encamped at the foot of Mount Horeb set aside all their gold jewelry and fine raiment.
Moses regularly pitched a tent far from the Israelite camp and called it the Meeting Tent. Anyone who wished to appeal to Jehovah could do so there, outside the camp. It happened that when Moses would visit the Meeting Tent, all the people came out and stood at the entrances of their own tents watching him until he entered. When Moses went in, a cylindrical cloud would descend over the tent and hover before the entrance while Jehovah spoke to Moses. Whenever those who watched saw this cloud, they would bow and pray, right there at the entrance of their tents.
Jehovah communicated directly with Moses in spoken words as one friend to another. When Moses left the Meeting Tent, his aide, the youth Joshua, the son of Nun, stayed behind.
Moses said to Jehovah, "You’ve told me to lead this people, but you haven’t yet said whom you are sending to accompany me. You’ve told me, 'I have singled you out and you have found favor with me.' But if I really enjoy your favor, confide in me your plans so that I may truly know you and may more easily find favor in your eyes. And please, keep thinking of this nation as your people! "
Jehovah replied, “Set your mind at ease, my presence will be with you till the end.”
Moses responded, “If you aren't going with us, please don’t make us leave this place. Unless you accompany us how can it be known that my people and I have found favor with you, for your favor is what makes us special from among all the peoples of the earth.”
Jehovah said to Moses, "What you have asked of me I will do, for you enjoy my favor and are my friend.”
"Pray then, show yourself to me!"
Jehovah declared, “I will permit the entirety of my true form to pass right before you, and I will speak my name “Jehovah” so you may hear it. (I show favor to those whom I will and am accommodating to those who please me. But you may not see my face, for no man is allowed to do so and live.) You may stand on a rock near where I will pass. I will show you a crevice in the rock where you may conceal yourself. When my glorious presence passes that place, I will raise my hand, blocking your view, but when I have walked by, I will lower my hand and you will be able to glimpse my back. But my face you will not be able to see."
Jehovah continued to speak to Moses: “Prepare two stone tablets like the ones we had before and I will inscribe upon them the same writing that were upon the other two tablets that you broke. Be ready in the morning and come to Mount Sinai and present yourself to me at the top of the mountain. No one must come with you. Let no man be found upon the mountain, nor should you even let livestock graze at the foot of the mountain."
Notes
1. Jehovah makes it clear he will accompany the Israelites no further. He is prone to lose patience with them and lose his temper, so much that he fears he might not be able to resist the temptation to destroy them -- not a very flattering appraisal of the people he had done so much for, but who had shown themselves to be unworthy of his efforts on their behalf. But he relents after talking to Moses.
2. The people cast off their jewelry, an act that makes no sense except symbolically, the casting off of earthly desires and a renunciation of attachment to physical possessions and displays of wealth. It seems strange, though, that this should regarded as a particularly relevant lesson for newly freed slaves wandering in the desert.
3. Jehovah visits the Meeting Tent in a cylindrical cloud. (This is not the Tabernacle described earlier: that obviously hadn’t been built yet.) It is hard to know what to make of this description. If the Jehovah of Moses is a spirit being, his manner of appearance does not conform with what is usual with such encounters. A long history of sightings confirm that spirit beings usually manifest themselves as luminous orbs or as indistinct areas suffused in light -- light, not cloud. And there are various degrees of physical manifestations that are commonly reported: the vague, wispy shape, the gray human-like wraith, the human-like apparition which may be transparent, translucent, or incompletely formed and which may be surrounded by lights, halos, or auras, or be luminous and resplendent, and the materialization that is virtually and visually indistinguishable from a physical person. There is little in the biblical account of Moses' communion with Jehovah to suggest that he is a spirit being. Is the cylindrical cloud an object, a vehicle in which Jehovah physically conveys himself? Is it the same as the aerial ship that guided the Israelites into the desert earlier in the story? Or is it some drone-like device through which he can see, hear, and speak? The last is very possible and makes sense. Jehovah wants Moses to come up to the mountain and meet with him personally, since he could not do so at the Meeting Tent.
4. It is specifically stated that Moses and Jehovah communicated in a normal way, speaking to each other. That is, there was no communication through dreams and visions or telepathic rapport. This also seems to militate against Jehovah being a spirit being, for spirits, save in phony seances, rarely communicate in audible speech.
5. Moses has spoken to Jehovah many times, but during all their meetings Moses has never been allowed to glimpse his face. This, first of all, is a confirmation that Jehovah appeared to him as a man, either because Jehovah is a man or because he chose to assume human form. The reason that Jehovah did not wish his face to be seen may be the same reason why he did not wish idols to be made of his image. Perhaps he was self-conscious about his looks or was deformed in some way. Or perhaps Jehovah, though humanoid, was not totally human and felt the appearance of an alien visage might be disturbing to Moses and his people. Was there some magical power in his face, some radiation of energy emanating from it that would be deadly to a man? Would Jehovah, like the Greek Medusa, turn men to stone with his gaze? Another reason for hiding his face might have been Jehovah's desire cultivate a godly mystique. Not allowing his face to be seen would create a respectful distance between him and his worshipers -- a Wizard of Oz strategy that would be employed by many absolute rulers. Jehovah, making a concession to the curious Moses, allows him to view him in stealth as he passes by. Jehovah hides his face with his hand (as if on a perp walk), but lets Moses glimpse his back.
6. Moses is instructed to prepare a second set of tablets to replace the ones written by Jehovah that he smashed in anger. The contention that the tablets were made of some special kind of stone is probably disproved by this statement, since Moses could only have worked with the raw materials available. One wonders how many man hours might be necessary to chisel out a pair of stone tablets suitable to be inscribed with writing.
7. Jehovah not only wants Moses to come back up the mountain alone, but prohibits livestock from grazing at the base of the mountain. Was he afraid some goat might see too much? Or was there something dangerous, radioactivity, toxic air, extreme heat?, connected with Jehovah's sojourn on the mountain? It might be that Moses, due for another 40 days and 40 nights, was to be taken up again in Jehovah's aerial craft, and Jehovah wanted the area to be clear for the take off.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
The Golden Calf
(Exodus 32:1- 32:35)
When the people of Israel noticed that Moses was such a long time coming down from the mountain, they came as a group to Aaron. They told him, "Get busy and craft an idol that can be a guide for us. As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, who knows what's become of him."
Aaron replied, "Well then, pluck the golden rings from the ears of your wives, your sons and daughters and bring them to me."
And so the people removed their earrings of gold and brought them to Aaron, He collected them and molded the molten gold into the image of a calf. The people proclaimed, "Let this represent your god, people of Israel, the one that has brought you out of Egypt!"
When Aaron saw the people's favorable reaction, he proceeded to build an altar before it and made the announcement: "Tomorrow will be a festival to our god!"
The people rose early the next day and made burnt offerings and peace offerings to the god. They sat down to have a feast and to partake of drink, then rose to make merry with revelry.
Jehovah advised Moses, "You'd better get down there to your people, for those you have led out of Egypt are debasing themselves. How quickly have they strayed from the course I have laid out for them! They have made for themselves a calf of beaten gold, have worshiped it and made sacrifices to it and have even proclaimed, 'This represents the god that led us out of Egypt."
He continued to address Moses, "These people have shown themselves to be a stubborn lot. ... Leave me alone, for I’m so angry at them that I am going to put an end to them. I will instead create a mighty nation from your descendants.”
Moses implored with Jehovah, his god, "Why be so angry at your people, those you brought out of Egypt with your power and glory? Are you going to let the Egyptians say, 'He freed them only to trick them into going into the mountains where he could kill them and wipe their race off the face of the earth.' Please, hold your temper. You must change your mind about committing this grievous wrong against your own people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and what you swore to them, that you would make their descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky and that you promised them a land that would forever be a legacy for their posterity."
And so Jehovah relented and did not follow through with the threatened calamity against his people.
Moses, leaving Jehovah, returned from the mountain carrying in his hands the two tablets that were inscribed with Jehovah's law on both sides, front and back. These tablets were created by Jehovah himself and the writing engraved on the tablets was in his hand.
When Joshua heard the commotion and the sound of people shouting in the Israelite camp, he told Moses, "It sounds like a war going on down there in the camp."
Moses disagreed. "No, it doesn't sound like the cry of those victorious in battle or those fleeing from an enemy. Rather what I hear sounds like --- singing!"
When he came near to the camp he was able to catch sight of the calf and the people dancing around it. Moses became so furious at this, he flung down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He then overthrew the calf his people had made and consigned it to the flames. He crushed the gold into powder, sprinkled the powder into water, making the people drink it.
He demanded of Aaron, "What did the people do to you that you committed such a heinous act?"
Aaron replied, “Now, let not my master be angry. You know the people, they're always bent upon making mischief. They said to me, 'Make us an idol that we may be a guide for us. As for this Moses who brought us out of Egypt, who knows what has become of him.' And I asked of them, 'Who of you has any gold?' They brought me gold, I melted it down, and the result was that calf."
Moses observed that the people had become unruly and undisciplined, for Aaron had made them so, an object of mockery to their enemies. Standing before the entrance to the camp he proclaimed, "Who is on Jehovah's side? Let him come to me!" All the Levites gathered to his side. Moses told them, "This is the will of Jehovah. Let every man strap a sword to his side and make his way from one end of the camp to the other. Every man must kill his family, his friends, and his neighbors.”
The Levites did what they were ordered by Moses and on that day 3000 men were slain. Moses assured them, “You have proved your dedication to Jehovah today, even at the price of your brothers’ and sons’ lives. May the blessings of Jehovah be upon you!”
On the following day Moses announced to his people, "You have sinned greatly. I am going to go up to Jehovah and find if there is any way I can atone to him for your crime.
When Moses returned to Jehovah, he said to him, "My people have committed a great sin against you, they have made themselves an idol of gold to worship --- but I beg that you forgive them. And if you refuse to do so, you may remove my name from the book you have written."
"It is those who have sinned against me that I will remove from the book," Jehovah answered. "But go now and lead the people to the land I told you about. My airship will guide the way for you. The people will be punished for their sin when the time comes.” (And Jehovah did hold the people accountable for the calf that Aaron had made.)
Notes
1. The Israelites, who have given up on Moses and figure he will never come down from the mountain, seemed to have been totally lacking in patience (not to mention other virtues). The decision to reject Moses and craft an idol to worship seemed to have been made precipitously and without recorded dissent. Aaron, expressing an atrocious lack of faith in his brother, was quick to abandon him and cast his lot with the rebellious people. This is a confirmation that Moses was never really regarded as a true Israelite, a leader they really knew and had confidence in. Aaron readily sided with his people against his brother, the brother who had been raised as an Egyptian and whom he had not seen for 80 some years, (if we take the account literally). The people followed Moses only when Jehovah was making miracles at his request. This is a good example of "what have you done for me lately." A few weeks without miracles and the Israelites are ready to throw Moses overboard or rather, off the mountain. This is a tale of ingratitude and faithlessness on an epic scale.
2. It is remarkable (if not impossible) that Aaron was able to so quickly craft the statue of the calf. The gold from the earrings would have to have been melted. To do so, he would have needed a kiln that produced a temperature of 1947 degrees Fahrenheit. (Had such an item been packed on the back of a donkey when the Israelites made their hasty exit from Egypt?) Aaron could have poured the molten gold into a calf-shaped mold, or he could have cast gold sheets that could have been nailed onto a wooden frame or statue of a calf. Although the text suggests the former, the latter seems the most likely. A solid gold calf of almost any size would have been of prohibitive weight. Gold, being highly malleable, can be beaten very thin and is easily worked. Still, to make the calf, to design and carve the wooden statue, to melt the gold, beat it into sheets, and affix it to the wooden statue would have required a great deal of time. Not an afternoon's work.
3. There is some opinion that the calf of gold was meant to represent some pagan deity, perhaps the Apis bull adored by the Egyptians. In the 1956 film The Ten Commandments (only a small portion of which is faithful to the biblical account) the Golden Calf is meant to be the image of an Egyptian god. The Israelites, disillusioned with Jehovah and desirous of returning to Egypt, think that by parading it before them they will be accepted by the Egyptians when they return. This was clearly not the case. The calf was meant to represent only Jehovah, their god, the one who had led them out of Egypt. The Israelites, having lived for generations in Egypt, were accustomed to animal depictions of gods, and idols were almost universal in the ancient world. The making and revering of idols was prohibited by Jehovah's commandments. While these commandments have already been cited in the text of Exodus, they have not yet been presented to the people. How would the Israelites know they had done wrong? Even though they had promised to follow Jehovah's laws, were they culpable in violating laws they were not yet given? They had seen Jehovah only as fire and smoke and an object in the sky. They probably wanted some more tangible image to worship. Why not portray him in the form of a bovine? -- preferable to a donkey, a goat, or a sheep and much better than a pig or a jackal. They may have seen the statue as a substitute for the lost Moses, who was the intercessor between them and their god. It is also possible that the calf was not meant as an idol per se, but as a seat for Jehovah, functioning like the Judgment Seat on the Chest of Sacred Records, which, while described in the text, could not have been constructed yet. Gods were often depicted as riding animals, and the people may have thought the statue of the calf a suitable mount for Jehovah when he came down to earth to speak to them. There is always evil intent ascribed to the Israelites in the making of the Golden Calf, but surely it is exaggerated; it may be that the people were only misguided in doing so. They did not know and perhaps could not know that idol making was a sin. Surely their fault was in the faithless rejection of their leader Moses. The Golden Calf was little more than a childish faux pas, an act of bad judgment, even if Jehovah would see it, like Sabbath breaking, as a heinous affront to him.
4. There is the impression, furthered by popular culture, that the Israelites' worship of the Golden Calf resulted in licentious carryings on. Maybe. The text is ambiguous. Revelry or making merry may be just that, or it may be a euphemistic reference to an orgy. Jehovah, in complaining how the people are debasing themselves, mentions only the making of the idol and not their sexual conduct. It is only clear that the people had a good time dancing and were making a bit of a racket, so much that it was heard up on the mountain. Their behavior only seems sinister in the context. The sacrifices (animal slaughter) and the feasts accompanying Jehovah's worship are regarded as holy, but the same ceremonies conducted for the sake of a pagan god have always been perceived as wicked -- drunken, unbridled revels of gluttony and promiscuous sex.
5. Jehovah wants to destroy the Israelite people for their running counter to his wishes, even after going to the enormous trouble of freeing them from the Egyptians and leading them into the desert, guiding and feeding them. Moses, dissuading him, thinks his anger is unjustified, although he would later be enraged on his own account. He reminds Jehovah of the promises he had made to his forefathers, promises he seems so forgetful of that one gains the impression he is not the same Jehovah, the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who made them.
6. Moses, after spending all that time on the mountain, comes back, probably tired and hungry, and finds a premature celebration and that the people have made an idol, the very thing Jehovah had told him was offensive to him and, therefore, forbidden. His people had lost faith in him. They wouldn't even wait for him. He is so furious that he smashes the tablets of law given to him by Jehovah, an act that seems disrespectful to his god. It's no wonder he was angry, but that his rage did not finally give way to understanding, but to acts of murder is a serious indictment of his leadership abilities. Yet, the next day he goes back up the mountain to see if he can square things with Jehovah and defends the conduct of his people before him, even asking to share their punishment.
7. Moses can't believe that Aaron hadn't made the Golden Calf under duress, but that he merely acquiesced to the demands of the mob. Aaron gives a very lame explanation. He takes no blame upon himself, but accuses the people of being prone to mischief -- "you know what they're like." Neither Moses, not Aaron, nor Jehovah seem to have a very high opinion of the people they are doing so much for. It's a wonder they did not think their efforts were wasted.
8. The loyal Levites Moses uses as a death squad to kill 3000 (some sources say 23,000) of his people in punishment, indiscriminate mass murder. This is the way the brutal dictator reasserts his authority. (And the Levites proved they would anything, no matter how detestable, for their leader.) There is no indication that only the guilty were killed. There probably was accepted at that time a sense of collective guilt and individual punishment for a group crime: this act is similar to the Roman custom of decimation, in which one tenth of a military force are executed for the failure or disobedience of the whole. Three thousand would be a small number if the Israelite party consisted of millions (which is logistically impossible and for which there is no archaeological evidence), but a large number if the exodus consisted merely of thousands, which is more likely, (if the exodus did indeed occur -- which is moot). It is hard to morally justify this action. No individual guilt was ascertained, no chance for anyone to demonstrate their innocence, no opportunity for offenders to confess or to ask for forgiveness or mercy -- just a wanton slaughter, a cleansing of the hives, a purge to thwart disobedience and dissent.
9. There is expressed a very ambivalent attitude toward gold. Jehovah wants everything in his Tabernacle to be of gold: it embodies purity and holiness. Yet gold is also seen as a symbol of greed and an attachment to earthly desires inconsistent with righteous behavior.
10. Moses has the Golden Calf totally destroyed, not only melted down, but pulverized. It's hard to imagine the trouble Moses must have gone to grinding that gold into a powder so that it could be drunk by the people. Gold, incidentally, can be consumed harmlessly, although it is not digestible and has no nutritional value.
11. To celebrate the making of the Golden Calf, the people had a feast. Where did this food and drink come from? A short time before the all-but starving Israelites were being fed exclusively with manna dropped from the sky. They are now camped at the foot of a desolate mountain in the middle of a desert. Did some hunting and foraging parties hit it big? This, of course, is the least of the discrepancies in the narrative.
12. A final question may be asked, "Why did Jehovah need to have Moses spend 40 days with him?" Could not what he wanted to tell him, show him, and give him, been accomplished in a few hours? Did Moses eat and drink and sleep during that time? If not, of course, he would surely have died, barring a miracle. But why did Jehovah obviously make him wait, make him suffer, when Moses was obviously his pal, his numero uno, his earthly BFF? --- It is very likely that, as the imagery of the fire and smoke suggests, Moses left the mountain in a aerial ship, perhaps a spaceship. It is a common element in modern extraterrestrial interaction that the human involved experiences missing time or temporal distortion. (This is also true of the traditional tales of fairy abduction, which, though they seem fanciful myth, should be given serious consideration.) A long period of time may pass on earth while a short period of time passes for the human in contact with the extraterrestrial -- or the fairy. Perhaps Moses journeyed with Jehovah into a different plane or dimension where the passage of time was different. The 40 days and nights of Moses on the mountain may only have been a few hours of actual time for Moses.
When the people of Israel noticed that Moses was such a long time coming down from the mountain, they came as a group to Aaron. They told him, "Get busy and craft an idol that can be a guide for us. As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, who knows what's become of him."
Aaron replied, "Well then, pluck the golden rings from the ears of your wives, your sons and daughters and bring them to me."
And so the people removed their earrings of gold and brought them to Aaron, He collected them and molded the molten gold into the image of a calf. The people proclaimed, "Let this represent your god, people of Israel, the one that has brought you out of Egypt!"
When Aaron saw the people's favorable reaction, he proceeded to build an altar before it and made the announcement: "Tomorrow will be a festival to our god!"
The people rose early the next day and made burnt offerings and peace offerings to the god. They sat down to have a feast and to partake of drink, then rose to make merry with revelry.
Jehovah advised Moses, "You'd better get down there to your people, for those you have led out of Egypt are debasing themselves. How quickly have they strayed from the course I have laid out for them! They have made for themselves a calf of beaten gold, have worshiped it and made sacrifices to it and have even proclaimed, 'This represents the god that led us out of Egypt."
He continued to address Moses, "These people have shown themselves to be a stubborn lot. ... Leave me alone, for I’m so angry at them that I am going to put an end to them. I will instead create a mighty nation from your descendants.”
Moses implored with Jehovah, his god, "Why be so angry at your people, those you brought out of Egypt with your power and glory? Are you going to let the Egyptians say, 'He freed them only to trick them into going into the mountains where he could kill them and wipe their race off the face of the earth.' Please, hold your temper. You must change your mind about committing this grievous wrong against your own people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and what you swore to them, that you would make their descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky and that you promised them a land that would forever be a legacy for their posterity."
And so Jehovah relented and did not follow through with the threatened calamity against his people.
Moses, leaving Jehovah, returned from the mountain carrying in his hands the two tablets that were inscribed with Jehovah's law on both sides, front and back. These tablets were created by Jehovah himself and the writing engraved on the tablets was in his hand.
When Joshua heard the commotion and the sound of people shouting in the Israelite camp, he told Moses, "It sounds like a war going on down there in the camp."
Moses disagreed. "No, it doesn't sound like the cry of those victorious in battle or those fleeing from an enemy. Rather what I hear sounds like --- singing!"
When he came near to the camp he was able to catch sight of the calf and the people dancing around it. Moses became so furious at this, he flung down the tablets and smashed them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He then overthrew the calf his people had made and consigned it to the flames. He crushed the gold into powder, sprinkled the powder into water, making the people drink it.
He demanded of Aaron, "What did the people do to you that you committed such a heinous act?"
Aaron replied, “Now, let not my master be angry. You know the people, they're always bent upon making mischief. They said to me, 'Make us an idol that we may be a guide for us. As for this Moses who brought us out of Egypt, who knows what has become of him.' And I asked of them, 'Who of you has any gold?' They brought me gold, I melted it down, and the result was that calf."
Moses observed that the people had become unruly and undisciplined, for Aaron had made them so, an object of mockery to their enemies. Standing before the entrance to the camp he proclaimed, "Who is on Jehovah's side? Let him come to me!" All the Levites gathered to his side. Moses told them, "This is the will of Jehovah. Let every man strap a sword to his side and make his way from one end of the camp to the other. Every man must kill his family, his friends, and his neighbors.”
The Levites did what they were ordered by Moses and on that day 3000 men were slain. Moses assured them, “You have proved your dedication to Jehovah today, even at the price of your brothers’ and sons’ lives. May the blessings of Jehovah be upon you!”
On the following day Moses announced to his people, "You have sinned greatly. I am going to go up to Jehovah and find if there is any way I can atone to him for your crime.
When Moses returned to Jehovah, he said to him, "My people have committed a great sin against you, they have made themselves an idol of gold to worship --- but I beg that you forgive them. And if you refuse to do so, you may remove my name from the book you have written."
"It is those who have sinned against me that I will remove from the book," Jehovah answered. "But go now and lead the people to the land I told you about. My airship will guide the way for you. The people will be punished for their sin when the time comes.” (And Jehovah did hold the people accountable for the calf that Aaron had made.)
Notes
1. The Israelites, who have given up on Moses and figure he will never come down from the mountain, seemed to have been totally lacking in patience (not to mention other virtues). The decision to reject Moses and craft an idol to worship seemed to have been made precipitously and without recorded dissent. Aaron, expressing an atrocious lack of faith in his brother, was quick to abandon him and cast his lot with the rebellious people. This is a confirmation that Moses was never really regarded as a true Israelite, a leader they really knew and had confidence in. Aaron readily sided with his people against his brother, the brother who had been raised as an Egyptian and whom he had not seen for 80 some years, (if we take the account literally). The people followed Moses only when Jehovah was making miracles at his request. This is a good example of "what have you done for me lately." A few weeks without miracles and the Israelites are ready to throw Moses overboard or rather, off the mountain. This is a tale of ingratitude and faithlessness on an epic scale.
2. It is remarkable (if not impossible) that Aaron was able to so quickly craft the statue of the calf. The gold from the earrings would have to have been melted. To do so, he would have needed a kiln that produced a temperature of 1947 degrees Fahrenheit. (Had such an item been packed on the back of a donkey when the Israelites made their hasty exit from Egypt?) Aaron could have poured the molten gold into a calf-shaped mold, or he could have cast gold sheets that could have been nailed onto a wooden frame or statue of a calf. Although the text suggests the former, the latter seems the most likely. A solid gold calf of almost any size would have been of prohibitive weight. Gold, being highly malleable, can be beaten very thin and is easily worked. Still, to make the calf, to design and carve the wooden statue, to melt the gold, beat it into sheets, and affix it to the wooden statue would have required a great deal of time. Not an afternoon's work.
3. There is some opinion that the calf of gold was meant to represent some pagan deity, perhaps the Apis bull adored by the Egyptians. In the 1956 film The Ten Commandments (only a small portion of which is faithful to the biblical account) the Golden Calf is meant to be the image of an Egyptian god. The Israelites, disillusioned with Jehovah and desirous of returning to Egypt, think that by parading it before them they will be accepted by the Egyptians when they return. This was clearly not the case. The calf was meant to represent only Jehovah, their god, the one who had led them out of Egypt. The Israelites, having lived for generations in Egypt, were accustomed to animal depictions of gods, and idols were almost universal in the ancient world. The making and revering of idols was prohibited by Jehovah's commandments. While these commandments have already been cited in the text of Exodus, they have not yet been presented to the people. How would the Israelites know they had done wrong? Even though they had promised to follow Jehovah's laws, were they culpable in violating laws they were not yet given? They had seen Jehovah only as fire and smoke and an object in the sky. They probably wanted some more tangible image to worship. Why not portray him in the form of a bovine? -- preferable to a donkey, a goat, or a sheep and much better than a pig or a jackal. They may have seen the statue as a substitute for the lost Moses, who was the intercessor between them and their god. It is also possible that the calf was not meant as an idol per se, but as a seat for Jehovah, functioning like the Judgment Seat on the Chest of Sacred Records, which, while described in the text, could not have been constructed yet. Gods were often depicted as riding animals, and the people may have thought the statue of the calf a suitable mount for Jehovah when he came down to earth to speak to them. There is always evil intent ascribed to the Israelites in the making of the Golden Calf, but surely it is exaggerated; it may be that the people were only misguided in doing so. They did not know and perhaps could not know that idol making was a sin. Surely their fault was in the faithless rejection of their leader Moses. The Golden Calf was little more than a childish faux pas, an act of bad judgment, even if Jehovah would see it, like Sabbath breaking, as a heinous affront to him.
4. There is the impression, furthered by popular culture, that the Israelites' worship of the Golden Calf resulted in licentious carryings on. Maybe. The text is ambiguous. Revelry or making merry may be just that, or it may be a euphemistic reference to an orgy. Jehovah, in complaining how the people are debasing themselves, mentions only the making of the idol and not their sexual conduct. It is only clear that the people had a good time dancing and were making a bit of a racket, so much that it was heard up on the mountain. Their behavior only seems sinister in the context. The sacrifices (animal slaughter) and the feasts accompanying Jehovah's worship are regarded as holy, but the same ceremonies conducted for the sake of a pagan god have always been perceived as wicked -- drunken, unbridled revels of gluttony and promiscuous sex.
5. Jehovah wants to destroy the Israelite people for their running counter to his wishes, even after going to the enormous trouble of freeing them from the Egyptians and leading them into the desert, guiding and feeding them. Moses, dissuading him, thinks his anger is unjustified, although he would later be enraged on his own account. He reminds Jehovah of the promises he had made to his forefathers, promises he seems so forgetful of that one gains the impression he is not the same Jehovah, the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who made them.
6. Moses, after spending all that time on the mountain, comes back, probably tired and hungry, and finds a premature celebration and that the people have made an idol, the very thing Jehovah had told him was offensive to him and, therefore, forbidden. His people had lost faith in him. They wouldn't even wait for him. He is so furious that he smashes the tablets of law given to him by Jehovah, an act that seems disrespectful to his god. It's no wonder he was angry, but that his rage did not finally give way to understanding, but to acts of murder is a serious indictment of his leadership abilities. Yet, the next day he goes back up the mountain to see if he can square things with Jehovah and defends the conduct of his people before him, even asking to share their punishment.
7. Moses can't believe that Aaron hadn't made the Golden Calf under duress, but that he merely acquiesced to the demands of the mob. Aaron gives a very lame explanation. He takes no blame upon himself, but accuses the people of being prone to mischief -- "you know what they're like." Neither Moses, not Aaron, nor Jehovah seem to have a very high opinion of the people they are doing so much for. It's a wonder they did not think their efforts were wasted.
8. The loyal Levites Moses uses as a death squad to kill 3000 (some sources say 23,000) of his people in punishment, indiscriminate mass murder. This is the way the brutal dictator reasserts his authority. (And the Levites proved they would anything, no matter how detestable, for their leader.) There is no indication that only the guilty were killed. There probably was accepted at that time a sense of collective guilt and individual punishment for a group crime: this act is similar to the Roman custom of decimation, in which one tenth of a military force are executed for the failure or disobedience of the whole. Three thousand would be a small number if the Israelite party consisted of millions (which is logistically impossible and for which there is no archaeological evidence), but a large number if the exodus consisted merely of thousands, which is more likely, (if the exodus did indeed occur -- which is moot). It is hard to morally justify this action. No individual guilt was ascertained, no chance for anyone to demonstrate their innocence, no opportunity for offenders to confess or to ask for forgiveness or mercy -- just a wanton slaughter, a cleansing of the hives, a purge to thwart disobedience and dissent.
9. There is expressed a very ambivalent attitude toward gold. Jehovah wants everything in his Tabernacle to be of gold: it embodies purity and holiness. Yet gold is also seen as a symbol of greed and an attachment to earthly desires inconsistent with righteous behavior.
10. Moses has the Golden Calf totally destroyed, not only melted down, but pulverized. It's hard to imagine the trouble Moses must have gone to grinding that gold into a powder so that it could be drunk by the people. Gold, incidentally, can be consumed harmlessly, although it is not digestible and has no nutritional value.
11. To celebrate the making of the Golden Calf, the people had a feast. Where did this food and drink come from? A short time before the all-but starving Israelites were being fed exclusively with manna dropped from the sky. They are now camped at the foot of a desolate mountain in the middle of a desert. Did some hunting and foraging parties hit it big? This, of course, is the least of the discrepancies in the narrative.
12. A final question may be asked, "Why did Jehovah need to have Moses spend 40 days with him?" Could not what he wanted to tell him, show him, and give him, been accomplished in a few hours? Did Moses eat and drink and sleep during that time? If not, of course, he would surely have died, barring a miracle. But why did Jehovah obviously make him wait, make him suffer, when Moses was obviously his pal, his numero uno, his earthly BFF? --- It is very likely that, as the imagery of the fire and smoke suggests, Moses left the mountain in a aerial ship, perhaps a spaceship. It is a common element in modern extraterrestrial interaction that the human involved experiences missing time or temporal distortion. (This is also true of the traditional tales of fairy abduction, which, though they seem fanciful myth, should be given serious consideration.) A long period of time may pass on earth while a short period of time passes for the human in contact with the extraterrestrial -- or the fairy. Perhaps Moses journeyed with Jehovah into a different plane or dimension where the passage of time was different. The 40 days and nights of Moses on the mountain may only have been a few hours of actual time for Moses.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Final Instructions of Jehovah
(Exodus 31:1 - 31:18)
Jehovah instructed Moses further:
I personally single out Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, for I have endowed him not only with a righteous character, wisdom, and understanding, but with expertise in a variety of crafts; I appoint him to be in charge of all the work to be done in gold, silver and bronze, as well as the cutting, setting, and engraving of gemstones and the carving of wood. Indeed, he is a master of many arts! For his assistant I have chosen Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. I have lent skill to every worker so that they can construct all the things exactly as I have ordered them, the Tabernacle, the Chest of Sacred Records, the Judgment Seat that is its cover, all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, the table and vessels upon it, the menorah and its utensils, the incense altar and the sacrificial altar, the wash basin and its stand, the finely made garments, the sacred vestments for the priesthood of both Aaron and his sons, the Sacred Oil of Anointment and the fragrant Sacred Incense for the Sanctum, all in accordance with my instructions.
Jehovah advised Moses:
Speak to the people of Israel and tell them, "See that you keep the Sabbath faithfully, for it is an everlasting sign between me and you and your descendants that you recognize me as your god and that I sanctify you. Therefore, you must observe the Sabbath and regard it as sacred. Anyone who profanes it should be put to death; anyone who does work on that day must be eradicated from the community. You must accomplish all your work in six days, for the seventh day is the Sabbath, a day of rest holy to Jehovah. Whoever does work on the Sabbath should certainly be put to death. It will then be a perpetual contract with the people of Israel and all those in coming generations to observe the Sabbath, For all times to come it must be a sign between me and the people of Israel: for six days Jehovah labored to create the earth and sky and on the seventh day he ceased from work to rest and refresh himself.
When Jehovah had concluded his audience with Moses on Mount Sinai, he put into his hands two tablets of stone personally inscribed by Jehovah and containing lists of the laws to be observed by the Israelites as a part of their contract with him.
Notes
1. That Jehovah seems familiar with the skills of his people and who is best able to accomplish the works of craftsmanship he has ordered is impressive, but, after all, he is supposed to be omniscient, (although there has been little evidence of that). The men chosen have skill and good sense, not due to any virtue or effort on their part, but only because Jehovah has specifically saw fit to endow them with such abilities and faculties. Everything seems to be a gift from Jehovah,everyone must be grateful to Jehovah for everything. No one can even develop skill as a craftsman without it being a divine endowment, rather than a personal achievement.
2. As we have seen, Jehovah reveals himself to be a surprisingly nut-and-bolts fellow, not above micro-managing the dull, technical stuff. Apparently he doesn't think Moses is competent enough to know who among his people is a good carpenter or goldsmith. But that might really be the case. It must be considered that Moses did not live with his enslaved people, but with the Egyptians and the Midians. He might not have many acquaintances or contacts or be very savvy about the ways and doings of his people, as, say, Aaron would certainly be. (A fact Jehovah was probably aware of when he made Aaron Moses' spokesman and intercessor.) Moses, though a Hebrew by birth and now, by adoption, would have been perceived as an outsider by the Israelites he led.
3. Again Jehovah harps on the observance of the Sabbath. Now, the death penalty for anyone who works on his day! There is nothing in the rationale for the observance of the Sabbath that concerns the well being of man, for instance, the physical and mental health benefits of taking a day off once a week. It is, as always, all about Jehovah, his prerogatives and his worshipers’ duties to him.
4. As a departing gift, Jehovah places into Moses’ hands two tablets on which are written the laws that were to observed by the Israelites as part of their contract with Jehovah. (The Hebrew is somewhat vague here, resulting in translations like “tables of testimony,” or “tablets of the covenant.” I have, consequently, added quite a few words to make the meaning clear.) The stone tablets, which are later said to be have written on both sides, were presumably inscribed or engraved by Jehovah himself. (Was this done as an honor to the Israelites, or did Jehovah not have a scribe handy?) It is not clear, but suggested that the first tablet contained a list of the laws and that the second tablet was a duplicate of the first. As we have commented before, they could not have been written in Hebrew, a language that would not exist for hundreds of years, but must have been written in some form of Egyptian hieroglyphics, unless Jehovah wrote them in his own language, whatever that might be.
Jehovah instructed Moses further:
I personally single out Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, for I have endowed him not only with a righteous character, wisdom, and understanding, but with expertise in a variety of crafts; I appoint him to be in charge of all the work to be done in gold, silver and bronze, as well as the cutting, setting, and engraving of gemstones and the carving of wood. Indeed, he is a master of many arts! For his assistant I have chosen Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. I have lent skill to every worker so that they can construct all the things exactly as I have ordered them, the Tabernacle, the Chest of Sacred Records, the Judgment Seat that is its cover, all the furnishings of the Tabernacle, the table and vessels upon it, the menorah and its utensils, the incense altar and the sacrificial altar, the wash basin and its stand, the finely made garments, the sacred vestments for the priesthood of both Aaron and his sons, the Sacred Oil of Anointment and the fragrant Sacred Incense for the Sanctum, all in accordance with my instructions.
Jehovah advised Moses:
Speak to the people of Israel and tell them, "See that you keep the Sabbath faithfully, for it is an everlasting sign between me and you and your descendants that you recognize me as your god and that I sanctify you. Therefore, you must observe the Sabbath and regard it as sacred. Anyone who profanes it should be put to death; anyone who does work on that day must be eradicated from the community. You must accomplish all your work in six days, for the seventh day is the Sabbath, a day of rest holy to Jehovah. Whoever does work on the Sabbath should certainly be put to death. It will then be a perpetual contract with the people of Israel and all those in coming generations to observe the Sabbath, For all times to come it must be a sign between me and the people of Israel: for six days Jehovah labored to create the earth and sky and on the seventh day he ceased from work to rest and refresh himself.
When Jehovah had concluded his audience with Moses on Mount Sinai, he put into his hands two tablets of stone personally inscribed by Jehovah and containing lists of the laws to be observed by the Israelites as a part of their contract with him.
Notes
1. That Jehovah seems familiar with the skills of his people and who is best able to accomplish the works of craftsmanship he has ordered is impressive, but, after all, he is supposed to be omniscient, (although there has been little evidence of that). The men chosen have skill and good sense, not due to any virtue or effort on their part, but only because Jehovah has specifically saw fit to endow them with such abilities and faculties. Everything seems to be a gift from Jehovah,everyone must be grateful to Jehovah for everything. No one can even develop skill as a craftsman without it being a divine endowment, rather than a personal achievement.
2. As we have seen, Jehovah reveals himself to be a surprisingly nut-and-bolts fellow, not above micro-managing the dull, technical stuff. Apparently he doesn't think Moses is competent enough to know who among his people is a good carpenter or goldsmith. But that might really be the case. It must be considered that Moses did not live with his enslaved people, but with the Egyptians and the Midians. He might not have many acquaintances or contacts or be very savvy about the ways and doings of his people, as, say, Aaron would certainly be. (A fact Jehovah was probably aware of when he made Aaron Moses' spokesman and intercessor.) Moses, though a Hebrew by birth and now, by adoption, would have been perceived as an outsider by the Israelites he led.
3. Again Jehovah harps on the observance of the Sabbath. Now, the death penalty for anyone who works on his day! There is nothing in the rationale for the observance of the Sabbath that concerns the well being of man, for instance, the physical and mental health benefits of taking a day off once a week. It is, as always, all about Jehovah, his prerogatives and his worshipers’ duties to him.
4. As a departing gift, Jehovah places into Moses’ hands two tablets on which are written the laws that were to observed by the Israelites as part of their contract with Jehovah. (The Hebrew is somewhat vague here, resulting in translations like “tables of testimony,” or “tablets of the covenant.” I have, consequently, added quite a few words to make the meaning clear.) The stone tablets, which are later said to be have written on both sides, were presumably inscribed or engraved by Jehovah himself. (Was this done as an honor to the Israelites, or did Jehovah not have a scribe handy?) It is not clear, but suggested that the first tablet contained a list of the laws and that the second tablet was a duplicate of the first. As we have commented before, they could not have been written in Hebrew, a language that would not exist for hundreds of years, but must have been written in some form of Egyptian hieroglyphics, unless Jehovah wrote them in his own language, whatever that might be.
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