Various Regulations

(Deuteronomy 21:22 - 22:12)
“If a man has committed a capital offense, is executed, and his body exposed on a stake, his body should not remain there over night.  He should be buried that day, for a hanged man is under a divine curse and you should not thus desecrate the land Jehovah your god has given you as an inheritance.

“If you see your neighbor’s cattle or sheep wandering away, do not evade your responsibility.  Return it to its owner.  If the owner does not live nearby or if you don’t know who the owner is, you should bring it to your home and keep it there until the owner comes looking for it.  You will then return it to him.  This applies as well to your neighbor’s donkey, an article of clothing, or anything else your neighbor has lost.  Don’t evade your responsibility!  And if you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, don’t look the other way.  Help your neighbor to get it back on its feet.

“A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man wear women’s clothing.  Anyone who does so is an abomination to Jehovah your god.

“If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground and there are eggs or chicks and the mother is sitting on the nest, do not take the mother along with the chicks.  You may take the chicks, but be sure to let the mother go, so that you may prosper and live long.

“When you build a new house, you should make a barrier around the perimeter of the roof so that you will not incur blood guilt if someone should fall from it to their death.

“You must not plant in your vineyard a second crop.  If you do so, both the grapes from the vineyard and the other crop will be considered impure. You must not yoke to your plow an ox and a donkey together.  Nor should you wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together.

“You should attach tassels to the four corners of the hem of the cloak you wear.”

Notes
1. The provision concerning the exposure of the executed man is ambiguous and has been translated variously.  The Israelites probably did not use hanging as a form of execution.  Those already executed, by stoning or otherwise, may have been displayed by being hung from a tree or gibbet, but, more likely, impaled on a stake. (Impaling itself was a not uncommon form of execution in ancient and medieval times, but it was probably not practiced by the Israelites.)  Until very recent times executed criminals were publicly exposed as a warning to potential lawbreakers and a deterrent to crime.  Hanged men might dangle on the gibbet or hanging tree until their corpses rotted.  Jehovah, though, apparently did not think much of the practice, more concerned about defiling the land with the presence and perhaps stench of those executed.

2. Jehovah encourages a good neighbor policy with his exhortations for his people to take care of lost livestock and property, in contrast to a “finders keepers, losers weepers” policy.  This seems consistent with the Christian concept of the “Good Samaritan.”  Helping a neighbor whose ox or donkey has collapsed on the road suggests a modern parallel, “If a neighbor’s car is stalled on the road, do not drive on, but stop and lend him assistance.”

3. Having a railing, a wall, a fence, a parapet, whatever, atop the flat roofs of their homes seems a sensible idea if it was a practice, and apparently it was, for Israelites to stroll on their roofs.  This suggests that the common house would be a more than one story, since someone is unlikely to kill themselves falling off the roof of a single story dwelling.  This section also affirms that causing death through negligence is tantamount to murder under Jehovan law.

4. The prohibition against wearing clothes of the other sex is not surprising.  The practice has pretty much always been frowned upon, if not condemned.  Although in contemporary society no one would look too askance at a woman wearing clothes that are pretty much what a man would wear, male transvestites are still not viewed with acceptance in most quarters.  In regard to ancient society, one might ask, however, looking at the clothing the ancient Hebrew men and women wore, how could one tell the difference.

5. Taking a bird’s eggs or chicks is acceptable, but one must not take the mother bird as well, presumably for conservation reasons.  This makes sense.  The mother can have more chicks; if the mothers are taken as well it might wipe out the species.

6. This phobia of Jehovah’s for mixing things of different types, plant species, yarns, animals, seems an extension of his xenophobia and his desire for his Chosen People to remain uncontaminated by external influences.  One wouldn’t think that the fiber composition of an article of clothing or the manner in which a plow is yoked would be subject to divine law, but we have seen that there no limit to Jehovah’s pettiness or to his obsessive efforts to micromanage Hebrew society.  It should be mentioned, though, there is more to the proscriptions that it might seem.  The ox-donkey combination is significant because Jehovah has already decreed that cattle are ritually pure and donkeys are ritually impure.  The linen-wool combination (linsey-woolsey, or shatnez) also has import.  Priests wore linen undergarments and wool overgarments: for lay persons to do the same would be to presume their sacred prerogative.  (The tassels, or tzitzit, which are prepared in a special way described in Numbers, were exempt from the shatnez prohibition.)  The linen-wool mixture may also be symbolic.  Linen represents Egypt, an agrarian society, wool, Israel, a society of herders; the customs of the two societies must not be mixed.

Marriage to a Female Captive

(Deuteronomy 21:10 - 21:14)
In the event that you go to war and Jehovah your god delivers your enemies into your hands and you take some of them as captives, you may find among them a beautiful woman that you are attracted to and wish to marry.  In such a case, you may take her to your home, shave her head and pare her nails and have her change out of the clothes she was wearing when she was taken captive.  She can remain in your home for a full month mourning her father and mother.  After that time, you may marry her; you will be her husband and she will be your wife.  However, if she does not satisfy you, you may release her and she may go where she wishes.  You must not sell her nor must you treat her as a slave, even though you have forced her to become your wife.

Notes
1. It seems almost out of character for Jehovah to sanction marriage between an Israelite man and a foreign woman captured in war, considering his extreme xenophobia and his expressed priority of keeping his Chosen People away from exotic influences. It seems a contradiction to earlier pronouncements.

2. The question is unanswered whether a marriage to a foreign captive of war has the same standing as a marriage to a fellow Israelite.  Divorce in the former case seems to be without restrictions or ceremony.

3.  While the former captive is more or less impressed into marriage (there is no consideration as to whether the woman wishes the marriage or not), she does achieve through the marriage with an Israelite a status higher than that a slave who is bought and sold.  But after she has been divorced and can go her own way, what is her destiny, what opportunities are open for her -- employment, another marriage?  How would Israelite society regard somewhat of her background?

Rules of Warfare

(Deuteronomy 20:1 - 20:20)
"When you go out to do battle with your enemies and face superior numbers of horses and chariots and an army larger than yours, have no fear, for Jehovah your god, who brought you out of Egypt, is on your side. 

"When you prepare for battle, the priest should come forward and address the troops, saying to them, 'Hear me, O men of Israel!  Today you are going out to do battle with the enemy.  Fear not.  Be not faint of heart.  Do not panic or tremble before them, for Jehovah your god will be the one who will be fighting for you and he will bring you victory over your enemy.'

"The the officers of the army should address the troops and say, 'Has anyone here built a new house, but has not yet dedicated it?  If so, you may go home, or else you may be killed in battle and someone else will live in it.  Has anyone here just planted a vineyard and not eaten its fruit?  If so, you may go home, or else you may be killed in battle and someone else will eat its fruit.  Has anyone here just become betrothed to a woman, but has not yet married her?  If so, you may go home, or else you may be killed in battle and someone else will marry her.'  And they should also say, 'Is anyone here frightened or worried?  If so, you should go home lest you put fear into the hearts of your fellow soldiers.'  After the officers have finished addressing their troops, they should appoint unit commanders.

"When you advance to attack a town, you must first make the inhabitants an offer of peace.  If they accept it and open the gates of the town to you, then the inhabitants will be subject to forced labor and serve you as slaves.  But if they refuse the peace offer and are determined to resist, then you will besiege the town.  When Jehovah your god has delivered the town into your hands, you will put every male inhabitant to the sword.  The women and children, the livestock and all property within the town you will take as plunder.   Enjoy the spoils of war Jehovah your god gives to you!

"This is how you will treat distant towns, not those of the country you are now entering.  In the towns that are a part of your inheritance, you must exterminate every living thing.  You must completely destroy them as a divine sacrifice -- the Hethites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites -- as Jehovah your god has commanded you to do.  For if you do not, they will teach you to follow their despicable customs of worshiping other gods and cause you to sin grievously against Jehovah your god.

"When you are attacking a town and the siege to take it becomes protracted, do not destroy its trees by felling them with axes.  You may partake of their fruit, but do not cut them down for your own use during the siege, for fruit trees are for the benefit of all.  (Trees that you know are not fruit bearing may, however, be cut down and their wood employed in constructing siege works until the town with which you are at war falls.)"

Notes
1. In his obsession to micromanage every aspect of Israelite society, Jehovah must tell the priests and army commanders exactly what they must tell their soldiers as they go into battle.  The priest must assure them that Jehovah will be fighting on their side and, therefore, victory is a forgone conclusion.  But if Jehovah, a god who can perform any sort of miracle, is on their side, why do they need to fight at all and suffer unnecessary casualties?  Can't Jehovah just destroy the Israelites' enemies as he (or someone else claiming the name Jehovah) destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah?  Or is this too easy and Jehovah wants to make his people earn their victories?

2. The exhortation to battle to be delivered by the military commanders is hardly that which Shakespeare put in the mouth of Henry V or the speech delivered by Patton in the film of the same title.  It is extraordinary that a commander, instead of stressing the importance and nobility of the fighting and encouraging his men to fight hard and be brave, would merely search for justifications to send his fighting men home.  "Oh, you just got engaged, you're waiting for your vineyard to bear fruit, you bought a new house, or you have a nervous disposition, entertain some misgivings about fighting, or are simply an unmanly coward?  That's perfectly all right.  You can go home and leave the fighting to others."  What an inspiring message!  It is impossible to imagine any competent general or even an incompetent general from any country in any period of history uttering such a wimpy speech.  And it is interesting that Jehovah does not inspire his people to courage and deeds of valor, but rather to plunder and pillage, to rape and enslave.

3. It is no surprise that the tolerance Jehovah exhibits towards the Israelite soldiers is not extended to the enemy.   Those that surrender are made slaves, those that don't are made slaves as well, save that all the men, prisoners of war included, are slaughtered.  But this applies only to peoples who live outside of the Promised Land.  For the peoples living within the Promised Land Jehovah proffers no quarter whatsoever, for them genocidal extermination seems to be the order of the day.  No respect for any Geneva Convention type protocols.  It is remarkable then that all the peoples Moses mentions (Hethites, Canaanites, etc.) were not totally wiped out at an early date.  Such was not the case, for biblical sources continue to mention them centuries later.


4. The annihilation of people already residing in the Promised Land seems to be justified as a preventive measure to ensure that the Israelites do not worship their gods.  Jehovah’s primary interest always seems to be the preservation of his status as the sole Israelite god.  No length is too great, nothing too extreme, too heinous that serves that end.

5. Jehovah at least passes muster as an environmentalist in forbidding the Israelites to cut down fruit trees.  In the region, cutting down a fruit tree was almost as bad as poisoning a well.  It simply wasn’t done, old chap!  This is an interesting and rare occasion in which the immediate interests of the Israelites are subordinated by Jehovah to the interests of mankind in general.

Some Elements of Justice

(Deuteronomy 19:14 - 19:21)
"When settled in the land Jehovah your god has given to you as your inheritance do not move your neighbors’ boundary markers set up by your ancestors.

"One witness is insufficient to establish the guilt of a person accused of committing any crime or offense.  Two or more witnesses are required to prove a case.

"If a malicious witness comes forward to accuse someone of a crime, then he, the accuser, and the accused must appear before the altar of Jehovah and present the case to the priests and judges serving in office at that time.  The judges must conduct a thorough investigation, and if they find that the witness has accused his fellow Israelite falsely, then they must impose upon the false accuser the very sentence he sought for the man he accused.  In this way you will purge such evil from your midst.  The rest of the people will come to know of it and thus be so afraid that such an evil thing will never be done among you again.  Show no pity: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot."

Notes
1. The prohibition against the moving and manipulation of boundary markers addresses what would probably be an important area of contention among the Israelites, land claims.  For the first few centuries of American history, the colonization of early New England, the settlement of the frontier, the conquest of the Old West, property disputes were always a major point of conflict.  Surveying the land and setting up boundary markers and fences established claims to personal property.  Apparently the Israelites, even if they held some property communally, knew the concept of personal property, if not individual, at least family ownership of land.  (More primitive societies often do not understand such a concept.  Native Americans, for instance, did not hold the same ideas about property that Europeans did.  Land ownership did not really exist; the claim to land use was permitted only to the tribe, not the individual)  It is unlikely, though, that the early settlers of the Promised Land, the descendants of Egyptian slaves, who had been a part of a nomadic society, would have shifted so quickly into the mindset of the agricultural society with fixed abodes and boundary markers, cities and towns, and settled land already divided among the tribes and clans and families. But it cannot be lost upon the reader that what is presented in the Books of Moses, the customs and traditions, laws and statutes, are unlikely to be relevant to a people just emerging from a nomadic existence.

2. Emphasized again are two concepts that are cornerstones of Jehovan justice.  One is draconian punishments that make examples of wrongdoers in order to discourage and deter further wrong doing.  Complimentary to this, although, one who think, often at odds with it, is the "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" guideline that allows for no clemency, no forgiveness, little consideration of extenuating circumstances, and no Christian mercy.

              

Corruption of the Israelites

(Book of Numbers 25:1 - 25:18)
While the Israelites were camping at Shittim [Acacia Grove], some of the men started having sex with the local Moabite women, who then encouraged them to attend services to their gods.  These Israelites participated in the sacred feasts and bowed down to the Moabite gods.  Israel joined the cult of Baal of Peor!  This incurred the wrath of Jehovah against the Israelites.

Jehovah told Moses, "Round up the ring leaders and execute them before Jehovah’s altar in broad daylight so that the anger of Jehovah may no longer be directed toward the Israelites."

Moses then told the judges of Israel, "Kill any of your people who have dedicated themselves to Baal of Peor!”

At that moment, one of the Israelites was bringing a Midianite woman home to his family in full view of Moses and the whole congregation of Israel -- while they were weeping before the entrance to the Tabernacle!  When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of the priest Aaron, saw this, he immediately rose and left the assembly.  He grabbed a spear and followed the man into his tent.  He thrust the spear through the man's body and into the stomach of the woman.  This put an end to the plague that was afflicting the Israelite people.  Even so, 24,000 people had already perished as a result of it.

Jehovah told Moses, "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of the priest Aaron, has succeeded in turning my anger away from the Israelites.  Since he was as zealous to defend my honor as I am, I did not put an end to the Israelites in my jealous wrath.  Therefore I declare, 'I hereby make with him a personal covenant of peace by which I grant to him and his descendants the exclusive and everlasting right to the priesthood.  Because of his zeal to defend the honor of his god, he has made atonement for the people of Israel."

The name of Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, leader of a Simeonite clan.  The name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Kozbi, the daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of an ancestral Midianite clan.

Jehovah told Moses, "Regard the Midianites as your enemies.  Kill them, because they acted towards you with treachery when they tricked you into worshiping Baal at Peor as well as in the matter of Kozbi, their countrywoman, the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed during the time of the plague (which resulted from what had happened at Peor).

Notes
1. One might have thought that the Israelite camp was isolated and that there would not have been any flow of people in and out of it to the neighboring land of Moab, pretty much enemy territory.  Such, apparently, was not the case.  Some Israelite men, probably like sailors on liberty, were straying in to Peor and, guess what, seeking out some available females.  This cannot be surprising.  For 40 years or so the Israelites had been wandering the desert where there was a girl behind every tree -- only there weren't many trees.  The Moabite gals must have looked a lot better than the weather-beaten women back at the Israelite camp.

2. Betraying Jehovah by worshiping another god, like Baal, is the ultimate sin as far as Jehovah is concerned, and he demands the death penalty for violators.  There is no trial or clemency for any who might express remorse or argue that they were coerced or compelled.  Freedom of worship is the greatest of evils.  Those who do not conform and worship Jehovah are to be purged from Israelite society.  There will be fewer, but better Israelites!
 
3. Aaron's grandson, Phinehas is the ultimate Jehovan hero, a man after Jehovah's heart, an unreasoning zealot and a cold-blooded killer.  He allows his victims, Zimri and Kozbi no quarter.  He simply murders them ruthlessly, as is typical, even today, of honor killings.  Of course, Phinehas is pretty gutsy, murdering someone of considerable stature, with a family that might take it upon themselves to avenge the murder.

4. This incident allows considerable insight into the nature of early Israelite society and the thought processes of the primitive, tribalistic mind.  A basic and universal primitive belief is that catastrophes, disasters, diseases, and so forth are not due to natural causes, but are punishments from the gods, divine retribution for sins, often involving lapses in worship.  Here, Jehovah is mad at the Israelites for two-timing him with Baal of Peor, so he unleashes a plague against his own people.

5. The plague will kill 24,000 Israelites.  (Some of 24,000 may have been executed by the judges.  Traditionally this number is 1000.)   It is not targeted at the offenders, who are being killed by the Israelites themselves, but at the general population.  Jehovah is ready once again to destroy the entire Israelite community for the actions of a few.  Instead of being placated by Moses, it is Phinehas' murderous actions that assuage his ire.

6. It is difficult to determine what is the nature of the plagues that Jehovah has several times inflicted upon the Israelites.   As a result of them, people, randomly it seems, die in great numbers and within a very short period of time.  Here, the impression is given that the plague lasts but a single day.  Diseases, though, must incubate and people perish from them after a period of time.  These plagues always miraculously end immediately after Jehovah is placated.  It is hard to see these plagues are anything but elements of fable, conveying the message, "Defy Jehovah and your people will die!"

7. As a result of Phinehas' "heroic" actions, Jehovah rewards his descendants by giving them the exclusive right to be his priests.  But Jehovah has done this several times before, why again?  Is it now necessary to find a reason for making his hereditary priesthood a perk of the Aaronite clan?

8. Phinehas' victims are important people, the son and the daughter of tribal leaders.  One might have thought that a union such as that of Zimri and Kozbi might have cemented peace and encouraged cooperation between the Israelites and the Midianites.  But this is contrary to the xenophobic Israelite mindset and an anathema to Jehovah, the original racial bigot.

9. It is unstated why Zimri was taking the Midianite Kozbi into his tent.  To have sex with her seems to be the usually accepted reason.  Some even conclude that Zimri and Kozbi were killed in the “act.”  But Phinehas followed them into the tent.  Would he have waited until they were “doing it” before killing them?  Their relationship is presented as immoral, but was it only because they were of different ethnicities?  Maybe Zimri wanted to marry Kozbi and was introducing her to his family.  She was, after all, his equal, the daughter of a chief, and not likely to be a whore, as she is often assumed to be.  If they were to have a sexual tryst, why would he, the son of a tribal chief, do it in the family tent, apparently in the presence of his family and not seek a more suitable place in Peor or outdoors someplace.

10. Jehovah pronounces the Midianites as enemies of Israel.  He does not include the Moabites, although we may conclude that the Midianites are a part of the Moabites or connected with them.  Is it forgotten that Moses, during his exile from Egypt, lived with the Midianites, that his wife Sephora is a Midianite, that his father-in-law Jethro counseled him during the Exodus?  One might theorize that Jehovah was originally a Midianite god, but that they eventually shunned or rejected him.  And so he became the god of the Israelites, still harboring hard feelings toward his former, faithless worshipers who now prefer Baal of Peor,  (Elsewhere he is called Chemosh, Baal being the generic term for a god or idol.)  The rites of Chemosh were notoriously licentious, which would furnish another reason for Jehovah’s disapproval.  If Chemosh, like Jehovah, was an actual entity, an extraterrestrial being, then Jehovah's jealousy and the competitive relationship he had with him (and other "deities”) makes great sense.

Victory Over the Canaanites of Arad

(Book of Numbers 21:1 - 21:3)
When the Canaanite king of Arad, in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on a caravan route, he attacked them and succeeded in carrying off some spoils.  Subsequently the Israelites made this vow to Jehovah, "If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will destroy all their towns in your name."  Jehovah heard their plea and gave Israel victory in battle over the Canaanites.  The Israelites destroyed their towns as an offering to Jehovah, and so the place was named Hormah [meaning destruction].

Notes
1. The Israelites, who have no confidence that they can excel in battle without a little divine help, call upon Jehovah to give them an edge with the Canaanites of Arad who have attacked them.  If victorious, they promise to destroy all their towns as a dedication to Jehovah.  Considering how much Jehovah loves death and destruction, this was no doubt an attractive offer to him.  It is interesting how most offerings to Jehovah involve destruction, slaughtering, killing, burning.  Most ancient peoples and, later, Christians and Muslims would make constructive dedications to their gods -- temples and shrines, mosques and cathedrals.  These seem to be less common among the early Israelites, who, after all, have had little capacity to build anything, except for the Tabernacle, which is merely a fancy, mobile tent.

2. Denied entry into the Promised Land, the wandering Israelites enter a period in which they make war upon any people they happen to encounter.  Their indiscriminate warfare meets with Jehovah's approval and he lends them continuing aid.

3. Arad in the northern Negev was located about 20 miles west of the Dead Sea ( 5 miles west of modern Arad and just south of the border of the modern West Bank).  A very ancient Canaanite settlement, it dates back to 4000 BC, but was abandoned about 2650 BC.  It was still deserted during the period of the Exodus and not reoccupied until the 11th Century BC.  Its inclusion in the narrative is, therefore,  indisputably anachronistic. The location of Hormah (or Zephath) is unknown.

Passage Through Edom Denied

(Book of Numbers 20:14 - 20:21)
Moses sent envoys from Kadesh to the king of Edom with this message: "Greetings from your brothers, the people of Israel.  You must know the hardships we have suffered, how our ancestors settled in Egypt and resided there for a considerable period of time, and how we and our ancestors were mistreated by the Egyptians.  We appealed to our god Jehovah, and he sent an agent who brought us out of Egypt.  Now, we are encamped at Kadesh, just on the frontier of your country.  Please grant us passage through your land.  We will be careful not travel through any tilled field or vineyard or drink water from any well.  We will travel along the king's highway, turning off neither to the right nor to the left until we have passed through your territory."

But the king of Edom responded, "You are not granted passage -- and if you enter our country you will be met with armed resistance!”

The Israelites assured him, "We will stay upon the highway, and if we or our livestock drink your water, we will compensate you for it.  We just want to pass through your country on foot; we ask for nothing more.”

The king of Edom warned the Israelites, "You shall not pass through our land!"  He then called out his army and threatened them with a large and imposing force.  Since Edom refused them access through their country, Israel was compelled to turn away.

Notes
1. The refusal of the Edomites is probably understandable.  Even though it seems inhospitable -- and hospitality was a cardinal virtue in ancient times -- it was no doubt prudent for them to forbid another people from entering their country.  Historically, bad things happen when a country does not police its borders, brings in, or allows a foreign people to trespass upon their territory, even when seems benign, as it does here.  One may ask whether it was realistic that the Israelites would not eat or drink anything during their passage through Edom, which would have taken, one suspects, weeks.  The Israelites were, after all, a notoriously rebellious bunch.  Could Moses really guarantee their behavior?

2. Interesting that in the message to the Edomite king Moses says that Jehovah sent an agent (most translations say “angel”) to free them from the Egyptians.  Didn't Jehovah do the job personally?  And the liberation of the Israelites, wasn’t that kind of a big deal? What about all those plagues that devastated Egypt -- no reference to them.

3.  The Israelites/Hebrews were to have a millennium-long feud with the Edomites who, if not always enemies, were never allies.  The prophet Obadiah would make prophecies against Edom, warning of divine punishment and foretelling its doom, but none of the prophecies ever came to pass.  (Perhaps that is why Obadiah is regarded as a minor prophet.)

Cloud Above the Tabernacle

(Book of Numbers 9:15 - 9:23)
From the day that the Tabernacle was erected, there settled over it a cloud, that, from dusk till dawn, would emit a fiery glow.  The Tabernacle  continued to present this appearance, covered by cloud during the day and luminous at night.  Whenever the cloud arose from the tent, then the Israelites would set out on their migration and wherever it settled, it was there that the Israelites made their camp.  It was thus at the command of Jehovah that they set out and at his command that they made camp.  As long as the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, the Israelites would stay encamped.  Even if the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a considerable period of time, the Israelites would conform with the command of Jehovah and keep their camp.  Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days.  The people would, at Jehovah's behest, tarry but a few days and then, at his behest, break camp and move on.  Sometimes the cloud would stay only a night, so that in the morning, when it had lifted, the people would then set out on their journey.  Or, it might remain a day and a night, but whenever the cloud lifted, the people would set out.  Whether it was for two days, a month, or longer that the cloud would settle over the Tabernacle and cover it, during that time the Israelites would stay put and not travel.  Only when it lifted would they then resume their migration.  At Jehovah's command they made camp and at Jehovah's command they broke camp.  The people followed the dictates of Jehovah as communicated to them through Moses.

Notes
1. The migrations, or is it peregrinations, of the people are Israel are entirely controlled by Jehovah; they are utter slaves to his will.  Instead of communicating with Moses and telling him when he wants the people to break camp and move on or halt their journey, or giving him a map or something, Jehovah chooses to guide his wandering people through the movements of a "cloud."  The course of migratory journey thus seems whimsically fitful; the people move or stop according to however Jehovah may feel at the time.  At least whatever rhyme or reason there is to the itinerary it is not vouchsafed to the Israelites, even to Moses.  They all must unquestioningly obey.  The inconvenience of the people not knowing if they are to remain in a certain camp for a day or a month does not seem to be a factor, but then the wishes or comfort of his people have not thus far been a consideration of Jehovah.

2.  What this cloud is that settles over the Tabernacle and guides the migrations of the Israelites with its movements is a mystery.  Is it merely like a cloud, insubstantial, gaseous, vaporous, or does it have solidity?  Could it have been some sort of airship?  It has the appearance of fire at night, but this likely means that it glowed.  It may have been luminous at all times, but that its light would only be noticeable in darkness.  It seems to be suggested either that Jehovah dwelt in the cloud or that the cloud was his tangible form.  (It is generally accepted that spirits manifest themselves as balls of light and that vaporous, cloud-like spectres are merely incomplete physical materializations.)  He apparently spends all his time above the Tabernacle, which makes sense if he is the god solely of the Israelites, but not if he were really a universal god.

Expulsion of the Impure

(Book of Number 5:1 - 5:4)

Jehovah instructed Moses, "Order the Israelites to expel from camp anyone who is afflicted with tzaraath, has a ritually impure bodily discharge, or who is impure because of contact with a dead body. Expel them whether they are male or female so that they may not defile the camp where I dwell among them."

And so the Israelites did as Jehovah had commanded them and expelled such people from their camp.

Notes:
1.  Tsaraath, which was covered quite extensively in Leviticus, is a catch-all term for any kind of skin disease that renders a person ritually impure.  It is often translated as "leprosy," but certainly includes many other afflictions in addition to the disease called leprosy that was prevalent in ancient times (and which was probably different from modern leprosy or Hansen's disease).  In fact, tsaraath can affect clothes or the walls of buildings in the form of mold or mildew.

2.  Jehovah demands that these impure folks be kicked out of the Israelite camp not, it seems, because they might infect other Israelites but because he doesn't want to be around them.  To what extent Jehovah actually lives among the Israelites is an open question.  If he physically appears at all it would be in the Inner Sanctum of the Tabernacle.  If he did, why should he worry about impure people living in other parts of the camp, for no one but a priest would be caught dead in the Inner Sanctum?  (Correction: anyone else but a priest who entered the Inner Sanctum would very quickly become dead!)  Does the ritual impurity of a human somehow have an effect upon Jehovah the god?  Is this effect physical or otherwise?  It only makes sense if a germaphobic Jehovah is afraid of catching something.  Does Jehovah, if he be a physical being, need to protect himself from too close a contact with earth people so as to avoid exposure to pathogens?

3.  It would be interesting to know how many were expelled from camp for this reason.  (Here, Numbers fails to give us the number.)  Did these people set up a separate camp and follow the Israelites in their travels?  Were they able to rejoin the main camp when they became well or pure again?  

Votive Offerings

(Leviticus 27:1 - 27:34)

Jehovah spoke again to Moses and told him to instruct the people of Israel, "If someone makes a votive offering to Jehovah consisting a human being, here are the values set for each kind of individual: 

“A man between the age of 20 and 60 -- 50 shekels of silver (according to the weights used at the Tabernacle)
A woman between the age of 20 and 60 -- 30 shekels
A boy between the age of 5 and 20 -- 20 shekels
A girl between the age of 5 and 20 -- 10 shekels
A boy child between the ages of 1 month and 5 years -- 5 shekels
A girl child between the ages of 1 month and 5 years -- 3 shekels
A man older than 60 years of age -- 15 shekels
A woman older than 60 years of age -- 10 shekels

"If you wish to make a vow, but are too poor to pay the full amount, take the person to the priest, who will figure out a price based on what you can afford.

"If the votive offering is an animal, such an animal, provided that it is an offering acceptable to Jehovah, will be considered holy.  Another cannot be exchanged or substituted for it, neither a better one for a worse one or vice versa, but if one is substituted then both the substitute and the original animal should be considered holy.  If the votive offering is a ritually impure animal, one not acceptable to Jehovah, then it must be brought to the priest, who will determine its value, high or low.  His assessment will be final, and if you want to buy back the animal you must pay the price set by the priest, plus 20 percent.

"If someone dedicates his house to Jehovah as a votive offering, then the priest must assess its value.  Whether high or low, the price set by the priest will be final.  And if the owner wishes to buy it back, he must pay the price set by the priest, plus 20 percent, for the house to belong to him again.

"If someone dedicates a piece of family property as a votive offering, its value will be determined by the amount of seed the land requires for planting, eg. 50 shekels for a homer of barley seed.  If the land is dedicated during the Jubilee Year, that assessment remains.  If field has been dedicated after the Jubilee Year, then the priest must calculate the number of years till the next jubilee and reduce the price accordingly.  If someone who has dedicated the land wants to buy it back, for the field to become his own again he must pay the established price plus 20 percent.  But if the piece of property has not been bought back by the time of the jubilee, or has been sold to someone else, the original owner will no longer be able to redeem it.  When it is released on the Jubilee Year, it will forthwith become of the property of the priests, holy as land dedicated to Jehovah.

"If someone dedicates a piece of property that was purchased and not part of his family's ancestral lands, the priest will calculate its value up to the next Jubilee Year, and at the time of the dedication make the assessed value a sacred donation to Jehovah.  At the time of the Jubilee Year the property must return to the one from whom it was purchased, the one who inherited it as an ancestral land.

"All payments must be assessed in shekels as measured by the weights used at the Tabernacle.  (One shekel is equal to 20 gerahs.)

"You may not dedicate a first-born animal to Jehovah, since first-born cattle, sheep, and goats already belong to him.  However, you may buy back the first-born of any ritually impure animal at the price determined by the priest, plus 20 percent.  If it is not bought back, the priest will then sell it at its assessed value.

"Nothing owned by a person that has been designated as a permanent sacrifice to Jehovah can be bought back or sold, whether it is a person, an animal, or a piece of family land.  Anything dedicated in this way becomes holy and the property of Jehovah.  No person designated as such a sacrifice and marked for destruction can be redeemed; he must be killed.

"All the produce of the land, whether the grain of the fields or the fruits of the trees, is subjected to 10 percent tax that must be paid to Jehovah and becomes his holy property. Anyone who wishes to buy back what he has donated of his harvest must pay its value and an additional 20 percent.  A similar tax of herds and flocks is imposed: every 10th animal should be counted and set aside as the holy property of Jehovah.  You may not pick or choose between good and bad animals or make substitutions.  If a substitution is made, then both animals become holy and may not be redeemed."

These are the commandments that Jehovah on the mountain in Sinai gave to Moses for the Israelites.

Notes
1.  A shekel is equal to about .4 ounces.  An adult man is worth as much as a good tea service, 20 ounces of silver being roughly $400 given the 2014 market price of silver.  A homer is equal to about 300 pounds.

2.  While it is somewhat disturbing to think that Jehovah would put a specific cash value on a human being, it is dismaying to realize how little value an older man or woman has compared to a younger one, worth a third as much or less.  Apparently the wisdom and experience of age didn't count for much when the shekels were counted by the priests.  Also of note is how little value a woman has compared to a man.  That womanly virtues and talents were undervalued is not surprising -- they always have been, but in a society that placed great emphasis on the propagation of its population, one would have thought that a woman, at least one of child-bearing years, would have at least as much value as a man.  One can conclude that the shekel values here itemized are base solely upon the ability to perform manual labor and menial tasks.

3.  A votive offering, unlike the required peace offerings, guilt offerings, etc., is made to Jehovah in fulfillment of a vow.  It is personal in nature, not a public duty.   A man promises Jehovah a goat, if he has a good harvest.  The goat would be the votive offering.  Such is a common practice among believers of all religions, Christianity no less than others.  In medieval times, for instance, a noble warrior would ask for God's help in a battle and, in the event of winning it, promises to donate to the church some precious object.  Similarly, in modern times, a rich man might promise he will fund a new steeple for the church if his prayers are answered and his wife recovers from an illness.  The votive offering is always a bribe to the deity in payment for his favorable intervention in human affairs.  It assumes that the divine being needs to be instructed by mortals in how he should aid mankind and will not do good unless he is rewarded for it. 

4.  It is unclear here what happens to the human being who is given to Jehovah as a votive offering.  Does he become a slave to the priests or a commodity to be sold by them?  It is clear that persons who are given as permanent sacrifices, those that can't be bought back, are to be killed.  Are these criminals?  Are they unwanted slaves, troublesome foreigners, or despised family members?  Or are they, as they most likely were, captives of war?  Are they executed, stoned to death or whatever, or are they sacrificed on the altar, butchered and burned like a sheep or a steer?

5.  Once any kind of votive offering is bought back, Jehovah's law makes sure that the priests make a tidy 20 percent profit on the deal.  Most of Jehovah's statutes are all about the priesthood being needed and honored -- and being able to enrich itself.  Things were hardly different in the medieval Christian church where there was more emphasis on wealth and power than on piety, (although, to be fair, both the Jehovan and the Christian religious establishment did practice charity and provided what we call social services).

Statutes of Jehovah

(Leviticus 19:1 - 19:37)

Jehovah spoke to Moses and told him to give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel, "Be holy because I, your god Jehovah is holy."

"You all must show respect to your mother and father, and you must observe the Sabbath.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"Do not fall back into worshiping idols or casting brazen images of gods for yourself.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"When you make a peace offering to Jehovah make sure you that you carry it out with proper procedures so that it may be accepted on your behalf.  The sacrifice should be eaten on the day that it is offered -- or the next day, but by the third day, anything left over should be burned up.  If it is eaten on the third day, it is spoiled and, therefore, I will not accept it.  Because they have desecrated what is sacred to Jehovah, those who eat it will be subject to punishment and should be banished from the community.

"When you harvest your crops, do not reap to the edges of your fields or gather up the remains.  And in regard to your vineyards, do not pick them entirely clean or collect all the grapes that have fallen to the ground.  Leave them for the poor and for the foreigners living among you.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"Do not steal.  Do not deceive or lie to one another.  And do not swear falsely in my name, profaning the name of your god.  Thus says Jehovah. 

"Do not defraud your neighbor or steal from him.  Do not make those who work for you wait until the next day to receive their wages.

"Don't mock the deaf or trip up the blind. 

"You must respect your god.  Thus says Jehovah.

"In legal matters do not pervert justice either by favoring the poor or by deferring to the rich and powerful, but judge all your people with equal fairness.

"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your neighbors.

"Do not take advantage of your neighbor's death.  Thus says Jehovah.

"Do not bear resentment in your heart against any of your tribe.  Reprove your neighbor when he is in the wrong so that you will not share his guilt.   Nor should you seek vengeance against your neighbor, or bear a grudge against him, but respect him as yourself.  Thus says Jehovah. 

“Keep my statutes!

"Do not permit your livestock to breed with other species.  Do not plant a field of yours with more than one kind of crop.  And do not wear garments composed of two different kinds of materials.

"If a man has sexual relations with a female slave that has been promised to another man but the transfer of ownership has not taken place and she has not been given her freedom, there should be legal sanction.  However, since she is not a free woman, but still a slave, the death penalty is not appropriate.  Instead, the male offender should make a guilt offering to Jehovah, bringing a ram to the Sacrificial Altar.  There, before the entrance to the Sanctum, the priest will make atonement for him with the sacrificed ram, and the sin he has committed will be forgiven.

"When you cultivate the land and plant fruit trees, refrain from harvesting the fruit for three years.  You are prohibited from eating the fruit for those three years.  On the fourth year, the entire harvest is to be consecrated to Jehovah as an offering of thanksgiving.  But, on the fifth year, the fruit may then be eaten.  Following this practice, and your harvests will increase.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"Do not eat any food with blood in it.

"Do not practice fortune telling or augury.

"You should not shave the hair off the sides of your head or shape the edges of your beard.

"Do not cut or scourge yourself during mourning, or put any mark on your body.  Thus says Jehovah.

"Do not disgrace your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the country will be filled with whores and promiscuity. 

"Keep the Sabbath as a day of rest and regard with reverence my Tabernacle.  Thus says Jehovah.

"Do not consult mediums or necromancers or defile yourself by association with them.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"Stand in the presence of your elders and honor the aged, for, by doing so, you show respect to your god.  Thus says Jehovah.

"When a foreigner lives among you, do not abuse him; he should be treated as if he were a native-born inhabitant.  Respect him as you would yourself.  Remember that you were once foreigners living in Egypt.  Thus says your god Jehovah.

"Do not be dishonest when making measurements of  length, width, and volume.  You should  employ accurate scales with true weights -- an honest ephah and an honest hin.

"I am Jehovah your god, the one who brought you out of Egypt.  You must not only honor my statutes and ordinances, but put them into practice.  Thus says Jehovah."

Notes
1.  Jehovah, who has already laid out the Ten Commandments and other lists of statutes he demands the Israelites observe, has another go at listing do's and don't's, reiterating what he has already discussed, but also broaching new areas.  Some, like not stealing, or refraining from selling your daughter into prostitution (which seems like a moral no-brainer), are of consequence, while others, like restrictions on trimming your beard, seem like mere tribal customs, significant only in that they may serve to distinguish the Israelites from other peoples.  (Maintaining a unique ethnic identity was always a high priority for the Israelite and, later, Jewish people.)

2.  The Ten Commandments prohibits the making and worshiping of idols.  This prohibition is restated, but with the implication that the Israelites used to be idol worshipers and are here warned against falling back into their former bad habits.  It is not made clear if this pertained to the adoration of household spirits, some other god, or Jehovah himself.
 
3.  There are some interesting references to charitable practices, most notably the provision that farmers and fruit growers leave some of their crop for the poor and destitute.  It was a widespread and common practice, though, up until modern times, for the poor to be allowed to glean harvested fields and not be chased off the land as trespassers by angry farmers. 
 
4.  Considering that the Israelites were anything if not xenophobic, it is surprising how accommodating they were expected to be of foreigners and resident aliens.  The laws of hospitality, however, are ancient, if not prehistoric.
 
5.  In addition to many sound precepts, such as equal justice under the law, honest sales practices, and a prohibition against vengeance seeking, there are some more sophisticated moral concepts that involve attitudes rather than actions.  This is the first biblical exhortation to "love your neighbor as yourself."  (Since the word love is used in so many different ways and often ambiguously, I have used what I believe to be the more accurate "respect.")  There is also a prohibition against nurturing grudges and harboring resentments that foreshadows the Christian view that one should forgive one's enemies.  Here, though, it seems the proscription against resentment, grudges, and revenge applies only to fellow Israelites and maybe neighbors, not enemies.   At this early point in history the tribalistic mentality and conditional morality was universal: one treats members of the tribe, the in group, differently than the out group.

6.  One should not allow your livestock to breed with other animals.  Why was this a matter of concern to Jehovah?  One would think that mating cows with rams would be unproductive in any case.  Is this a prohibition against selective breeding, perhaps seen as unnatural?  Was it wrong, for instance, to mate different breeds of cattle?  The prohibition, perhaps of more symbolic than practical significance, reinforces Jehovah’s preference for and insistence upon homogeneity and uniformity.  And a distaste for man tampering with the natural world.

7.  Planting a field with only one crop might make agronomic sense, but wearing clothes made of different materials, where's the harm in that?  (The cotton-nylon blend, the fur collar, the leather arm patches are sadly, but emphatically non-Levitical.)  Clothes at that time were made primarily of wool, linen, leather or animal skins.  What was the reference here?  Was there some connotation of sinful luxury or abnormality in clothes of more than one fabric, such as wool and linen? 
 
8.  The provision on the cutting of the hair and the beard is anything but clear.  It is hard to figure out precisely what is being prohibited.  I believe Jehovah meant to outlaw Egyptian and Canaanite styles, specifically square-cut beards, shaven heads with side locks (which Egyptian youths wore), and “round” haircuts.  That the hair on the sides of the head be not cut, which is probably not what is meant at all, is followed today by ultra-orthodox Jews, resulting in what most people regard as an extremely unbecoming hair style.   That the beard be not shaped makes a little more sense.  Many ancient peoples sported highly dressed beards, sometimes braided or artfully sculpted.  Jehovah probably did not want his people to imitate styles that suggested cultures he regarded as decadent.   It should be mentioned that this provision did not mean that the beard should not be cut at all, only that the edges of it not be so evenly trimmed that it gave the appearance of being artificial and dressed.  Jehovah, ever eschewing the artifices of civilization, wanted his people to be not only simple and obedient, but natural, down-to-earth, folksy, and shaggy-bearded, and not like the sophisticated Egyptians.
 
9.  Jehovah specifically prohibits two types of mystical activity, fortune-telling and communication with the dead.  There is no suggestion that either of these activities are bogus, only that they should not be practiced.  This is mere protection of turf: the proclamations of dead might compete with Jehovah's message and fortune tellers would surely be rivals for his prophets.  Moreover, mediums of any sort would infringe upon the prerogatives of his priests who must maintain their monopoly on communing with the divine.  (Of course, one may safely conclude that these statutes were likely devised not by Jehovah, but by his priests, to safeguard their professional interests, to further their own agenda, and to enhance their influence and control over the people.)

10.  The provision against cutting or marking the body is misunderstood.   Most translations say "cut for the dead," which seems senseless.  The reference is to cutting or scourging oneself while grieving the death of a love one.  This was the custom among some ancient peoples, certainly the Amorites and the Scythians and perhaps even the Egyptians and the Canaanites.  “Tattooing” is often used in most translations, but this not the correct term, since tattooing, as we know it, a Polynesian custom, was unknown in the ancient Middle East.  The reference is to the practice of marking the body, perhaps with paint or a hot iron.  The marks on the skin, symbols or pictures, may have had religious significance.  This was the custom among some ancient tribes, but our knowledge of the matter is sparse.

11.  The prohibition against fathers inducing their daughters to become prostitutes probably references the custom of among many peoples, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Phoenicians, and the Canaanites to operate temple brothels and to attach religious sanction to such promiscuous sex.  

12.  An ephah was a dry measure equal to .6 bushels.  The hin, a liquid measure, was approximate to a gallon.

Sustenance in the Desert

(Exodus 15:22 - 17:7)

Moses then led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea and into the desert lands of Shur, but they traveled for three days there without locating any water.  When they arrived at Marah, they found they could not drink its waters because they were bitter.  (That was why the place was called Marah [meaning bitter].)  The people began speaking out against Moses, complaining, "What are we supposed to drink?"  Moses prayed to Jehovah, who pointed out to him a piece of wood that, when cast into the water, turned it sweet and drinkable. 

It was at Marah that Jehovah set up rules and regulations for the Israelites, in order to put their loyalty to the test.  He told them, "If you will faithfully heed the voice of Jehovah your god, do what is right in his eyes, keep his commandments, and follow his laws, then I will bring upon you none of the afflictions that befell the Egyptians -- for I am Jehovah, a god who will heal you."

They arrived at Elim, where there were 12 wells and 70 palm trees, and they camped there by the waters of the oasis.  Leaving Elim, the people of Israel entered the desert of Sin, which lies between Elim and the Sinai, this on the 15th day of the 2nd month, a month after their departure from Egypt.  While in the desert, the people began again to make complaints against Moses and Aaron.  They said, "Would that we had been killed by Jehovah back in Egypt where we sat among pots stuffed with meat and were able to fill our stomachs with all the food we wanted.  Now, you’ve led us into this wasteland where we’ll all die of starvation!”

And so Jehovah told Moses, "I will scatter food down to you from the sky and the people will go out to gather what they need every day.  By this means I can test them to see if they are following my rules or not.  Let them be prepared to take in twice as much food on Friday as they do on the other days of the week.”

Moses and Aaron addressed the people of Israel, "In the evening you will realize that it was Jehovah who brought you out of the land of Egypt.  By morning you will behold the glory of Jehovah.  He is aware of your complaints -- which are against him, not against us.  Who are we that you blame us for your grievances?”

Moses added, "In the evening Jehovah will give you meat and in the morning all the bread you want, for he has heard the complaints you have made against him.  But what have we done: your grievance is not with us, but with Jehovah."  Moses also said to Aaron, "Say to the whole community of Israel, ‘Present yourself to Jehovah, for he has heard your complaints.’” 

And when Aaron addressed the assembly of Israelites, they all gazed out upon the desert and witnessed the awesome glory of Jehovah when he appeared among the clouds in his aerial vehicle. 

Jehovah spoke to Moses, "I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel.  You will say to them, 'In the evening you will eat meat and in the morning, your fill of bread, and then you will know that Jehovah is your god.’”

And so it happened that evening many flocks of quails flew in and swarmed over the camp.  In the morning the ground was carpeted by a kind of dew.  When it evaporated, the surface of the desert was covered with thin flakes resembling crystals of frost.

When the Israelites saw it, they were puzzled, saying to one another, "Let's call it manna, for we don't know what it is."  Moses informed them, "This is the food that Jehovah has given you to eat.  This is what he was speaking of when he told you, ‘Let each of you collect as much as you need to eat, an omer for each person that lives in your tent.’”

The people of Israel did as they were instructed, some gathering more, some less, but when it was measured it turned out that he who had gathered more, had no surplus, and he who had gathered less, had no deficiency, each man having enough food for his needs.  But Moses warned them, "Let no one keep any of it till morning."  Some, though, did not follow his instructions, but they found that by the next morning the manna they had saved was rotten; it stunk and was covered with maggots.  (Moses was furious with them for disobeying him.)

Thereafter, they gathered the manna in the morning, every man's ration, for in the heat of the sun the ungathered manna would melt.  On Fridays they collected twice as much manna, two omers per person.  All the leaders of the people came to question Moses about this, and he explained to them, "Jehovah has commanded us that tomorrow should be a day of rest, the Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah.  Therefore, bake today what you will need to bake and boil what you need to boil, but you can save the left-overs for tomorrow."  They did what Moses had ordered and, lo, the manna did not spoil, nor did it become wormy.

Moses instructed, "Eat this food today, for this is the Sabbath and on this day there will be no manna on the ground.  Gather manna six days a week, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be there.”  Nevertheless, on Saturday some of the people went out in the fields to gather manna; they found none.

Jehovah rebuked Moses, "How long will your people refuse to follow my orders and commandments?  Jehovah has given you the Sabbath as a gift.  For that reason he has given you a double ration on Friday, so that there will be enough for two days and every person can stay at home and not have to venture forth on Saturday."

Thereafter, the people of Israel observed the Sabbath as a day of rest.

The people of Israel called the food given to them by Jehovah, "manna."  (It resembled a coriander seed, it was white and tasted like biscuits made with honey.)

Moses proclaimed, "Jehovah has commanded this of us, ‘Keep an omer of manna so that future generations may see what kind of food I fed you in the desert after I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

Moses instructed Aaron, "Take a jar and fill it with an omer's worth of manna and store it in a sacred place so that it can be preserved for the sake of future generations."  Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded Moses; (for safe keeping, he would stow it in the holy chest that contained the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.)

And so the people of Israel subsisted on manna for 40 years until they came to the land where they would eventually settle; that is, they continued to eat manna until they reached the borders of Canaan.

(Incidentially, an omer is the tenth part of a ephah.)

According to the instructions of Jehovah, the whole community of Israelite people left the desert of Sin and continued their journey from place to place.  They eventually arrived at Rephidim.  However, here there was no water for them to drink, and the people argued with Moses, demanding of him, "Give us water to drink!"

Moses responded, "Why are you quarreling with me?  Why are you testing Jehovah?"

But they were perishing from lack of water and blamed Moses. "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, so that we, our children, and our livestock will die of thirst?" they grumbled.

Moses appealed to Jehovah, "What shall I say to the people?  They are on the brink of stoning me to death!"

Jehovah told Moses, "Go ahead of the people, take along the elders of Israel and carry in your hand the staff that you had used to strike the River Nile.  On a rock in Horeb, I will stand in front of you, and when you strike the rock with your staff, water will gush forth from it and the people will be able to drink."  Moses did this in the presence of the Israelite elders.  The place where this was done was thenceforth called Massah, because it was here the Israelites had tested Jehovah, asking, "Is Jehovah on our side, or not?"  It would also be called Meribah, because they had quarreled there.

Notes
1.  Jehovah must perform several miracles to spare the Israelites from starving and dying of thirst.  The first is to purify the undrinkable water of Marah, this by submerging a certain piece of wood into the water.  Jehovah could, with advanced technology, easily render the water potable.  Is the piece of wood (or tree, as most translations say) just a bit of hocus pocus or was it a device (or contained a device) that did the work of purifying the water?  If Jehovah could create an actual miracle, why bother with the piece of wood at all, why not just make the polluted water pure?

2.  Jehovah, at this point, speaks of his laws and commandments and the necessity of his people following them.  What are they?  So far we have only learned he demands circumcision, observance of the Sabbath, and a sacrifice to him of all the first-born.  Is there more?  A deal is made that Jehovah will support the Israelites if they do his bidding.

3.  The Israelites, who consistently show a lack of gratitude and faith, not only gripe and grumble to Moses, but wish they were back in Egypt -- dead.  This is a recurring theme.  One wonders why Jehovah would bother being a god to a people so unworthy, so unappreciative.

4.  The whole nation of Israel witnesses the appearance of Jehovah's airship, which is obviously the glory in the clouds.  Jehovah speaks.  Does he come down to earth and speak to Moses man-to-man, or is his voice projected from the sky.  --- It is never made clear how Moses communicated with Jehovah.  Was Jehovah a disembodied voice?  Did he materialize before Moses or visit him in a normal way.  Was their communion telepathic?  There is no reference to Jehovah appearing in the manner of a spirit or apparition.  At this point, he is only described as appearing in what is likely an aerial vehicle and speaking from it.  Later, when he produces the water from the rock of Horeb, it seems that Jehovah is literally there, standing with Moses.  (This is at Horeb, presumably his home base.)  There is no indication that his presence is anything but the physical appearance of a human being.

5.  The Israelites are starving, but why is that?  Obviously, it would have been difficult to find food in the desert (especially for a purported 2 million people!).  However, the Israelites did have livestock, spared from the plagues.  Why would they have not used them for food, if they were really starving?

6.  The Israelites are fed by Jehovah a strange substance they call manna (from the Hebrew words meaning "what is it?")  There have been many suggestions as to what manna might have been, all them preposterous, if not ludicrous.  Several things must be born in mind.  The Israelites were unfamiliar with it.  It fell from the sky daily, except on the Sabbath.  (Dropped from Jehovah's airship?)  And it had enough nourishment to sustain the Israelites, who ate it exclusively for a period of 40 years.  (The 40 years wandering in the desert is surely as unlikely as the Israelite population numbering 2 million!)  The only logical explanation is that the manna was a synthetic food manufactured by Jehovah's race, probably for consumption during interstellar voyages and extraterrestrial sojourns.  It would have contained all the nutritional requirements for a human.  Curiously, though, it would melt in the sun and rot in a day, though it would not spoil during the Sabbath.  Perhaps Jehovah was able to treat the manna in some way to control its preservation. (One would think such a product would have to have a “best used by” date pretty far in the future.)  It is interesting to recall that the Greek gods also had a special diet, consisting of nectar and ambrosia.  It is possible that ambrosia and manna were the same thing, food of the gods -- or synthetic space food. 

7.  Omer is a unit of dry measure equal to about two quarts. 

8.  Elim, where there were exactly 12 wells and 70 palm trees, not 69 mind you, was probably an oasis on a wadi  about 60 miles southeast of Suez.  Horeb in Rephidim may (or may not) be the same location where Moses encountered the burning bush.   Massah means “test,” and Meridah means “quarrel.”   


 

Bondage of the Israelites

(Exodus 1:01 - 1:22)

These are the names of the children of Israel who accompanied him, with their households, when he emigrated to Egypt: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.  All the descendants of Jacob amounted to 70 persons, not including Joseph who was already resident in Egypt.

Joseph passed away, as did his brothers and all of his generation.  The offspring of Israel were prolific, though, and their numbers increased dramatically; they grew in power and influence and the land teemed with their population.

But there came to power in Egypt a dynasty of Pharaohs who had no acquaintance with Joseph's people.  The new Pharaoh warned his countrymen,  “Look, the Israelites are becoming as numerous and as powerful as we are.  In the event that they continue to multiply, it may happen that in time of war, they will side with our enemies and thus defeat us and take over the country.  Therefore, it would be wise on our part to deal severely with them."

Therefore, the Pharaoh charged task masters to compel the Israelites to work as slaves for the Pharaoh, building the fortified cities of Pithom and Rameses.  However, the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more their numbers increased and the more the Egyptians detested and persecuted them.  The Egyptians demanded hard labor from the Israelites and made their lives miserable with hardships.  Toiling as agricultural laborers and construction workers, the Israelites were always driven ruthlessly and rigorously.

The Pharaoh spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah, and the other Puah, "When you are called in to minister to Hebrew women and a baby is about to be delivered, put the baby to death if it be a boy, if a girl, keep it alive."

The midwives, though, had a greater fear of God and so they defied the Pharaoh, allowing the male babies to live.  The Pharaoh summoned them again and demanded, "Why is it that you are sparing the male babies?"

They replied, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women: they're very hardy.  They give birth to their babies before we can arrive to tend them."

God was pleased with what the midwives had done, allowing the Hebrew people to continue to propagate and multiply.  Because they had served him well, God rewarded the midwives by giving them families of their own.

The Pharaoh then ordered all the Hebrew people, "Every son born to you must be cast into the river; the life of every daughter may be spared."

Notes  
1.  It seems likely that the new Pharaoh, who was not acquainted with Joseph's people, was probably that of a new dynasty since a son or other family member of Joseph's Pharaoh would have known him and his people well.  Several scenarios have been proposed to fit the Biblical narrative into Egyptian history, none very satisfactory.  If the Pharaoh of Joseph's time had been a Hyksos, then the new Pharaoh would be of the native New Kingdom dynasty, to wit, Ahmose who reigned from 1550-1525 B.C. according to accepted Egyptian chronology (which is very likely to be wrong!)  The existence of a large population of Semitic settlers inhabiting the Nile Delta after the expulsion of the Semitic Hyksos, however, is simply not credible historically, militating against this hypothesis.  Or, the new Pharaoh was a Hyksos and the old Pharaoh belonged to the Middle Kingdom. A Hyksos Pharaoh might be worried that the Hebrews were more numerous than his own people, however, it seems unlikely that the Semitic Hyksos would be so inhospitable to fellow Semites, allies, one would think, against the native Egyptians.  On the other hand, if the new Pharaoh were of the New Kingdom, there would be little reason to fear that the Hebrews would overwhelm them with their numbers.  (Egypt was a relatively populous country in ancient times.)  --- The inability to fit this story convincingly into well-established Egyptian history is best explained by accepting the likelihood that parts of the story, if not most or all of it, are fictional.  Exalting the figure of Joseph into a national hero served propaganda purposes.  Creating an earlier period of Hebrew bondage was in the interest of those who were writing during the Babylonian Captivity when the Old Testament was compiled.  (The message of hope to their people would have been, "Although we are in bondage, exiled from our native land, do not despair.  This happened once before in our past.  We were in bondage in Egypt hundreds of years ago.  We suffered and were persecuted there as we are here now.  But, we were delivered and returned to our native land, as Jehovah had promised us."  Much of the Old Testament promulgates that agenda.)


2.  The ordered killing of all male Hebrew children, this time by the Pharaoh, is a recurring Old and even New Testament theme.  Although one could imagine an Assyrian or a Chaldean monarch ordering something of that sort, it hardly rings true in regard to the rulers of Pharaonic Egypt, which had relatively enlightened views on human relations.

3.  The emphasis on the Israelites being very prolific and their population increasing to a very great extent is important to the credibility of the story, which requires a considerable number of Jacob's tribe be living in Egypt to make them seem a threat to the Egyptians and to provide a justification for their bondage.  While a single man may in five generations time have a couple hundred thousand descendants, if each and every one produces a dozen children, in reality this never happens.  There is in the text thus far no indication of the amount of time passing from Joseph' death to the beginning of the Israelite's bondage, but the impression given is that it could not possibly be sufficient to yield a large enough population for the story that unfolds.   

4.  It makes little sense for the Egyptians to exterminate the Israelites once they had made them slaves.  One would think they would want more and more of them as workers.  Ancient Athens had far more slaves than citizens and Rome supported a huge slave population that only occasionally became restive (eg. Spartacus).  More recently, the Antebellum South tried to increase its slave population as much as it could, with slave owners often aiding the propagation personally. 

5.  Pithom and Rameses, cities of the eastern Nile Delta, date to the later New Kingdom (13th Century B.C.), which is why popular opinion connects the events of Exodus to the New Kingdom and, particularly, to its most famous Pharaoh, Ramses the Great.  However, it is likely the references are merely anachronistic.  Details, such as the name of a town, enhance the credibility of a legendary story and are often added for that very purpose without any regard for literal accuracy.  If the chronicler really knew when the events of the Exodus took place in the context of Egyptian history, it is likely he would have specifically named the Pharaoh.  (It is interesting the chronicler recounts the names of midwives who lived a thousand years in his past, yet is unable to furnish even a clue as to the identity of the reigning Pharaoh of Egypt.)