(Deuteronomy 12:1 - 12:32)
"These are the laws and decrees you must carefully follow when you settle in the land that Jehovah, the god of your forefathers, is giving you to possess for as long as you live. When you expel the peoples that currently inhabit the land, you must obliterate all the places where they have worshiped their gods, whether they be on a high mountain, in the hills, or under a shade tree. You must overturn their altars, smash their pillars, burn their Asherim poles, and chop to bits their carved idols so that the names of their gods is erased from these sites.
"You must not worship Jehovah you god in this manner. Rather, you must go to a site that Jehovah himself has chosen to establish as his habitation, the place where his name is to be honored among the tribes of Israel. It is there that you should go, bringing your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and sacred contributions, your votive and voluntary offerings, as well as the firstborn of your flocks and herds. It is there before the altar of Jehovah your god that you and your families will feast and celebrate all the undertakings that Jehovah your god has blessed.
"You will abandon the current practice, with each man worshiping in the way that seems fitting in his own eyes. You have not yet ended your wanderings and arrived at the destination where you will receive the inheritance Jehovah your god is giving you. But after you have crossed the Jordan to settle in the land Jehovah your god is giving you as an inheritance, he will give you a respite from fighting all your enemies so that you can live in security. Then you must bring everything I command you, your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and sacred contributions, and choice votive offerings dedicated to Jehovah to the site that Jehovah your god has established as the habitation where his name will be honored. You must celebrate there before the altar of Jehovah your god -- you, your families and slaves, and Levites who have inherited no portion of your land, but live in your towns. Be careful not to present your burnt offerings at any place you happen to see, but offer them in the way I will instruct you and only at the places Jehovah has chosen within the territory of each tribe.
"Even so you may butcher your livestock in any of your town and eat your fill of the meat that Jehovah your god has blessed you with. All of you, whether ritually pure or impure, may partake freely of the meat, as you would a gazelle or a deer. But drink not the blood; instead pour it out on the ground like water. Within your towns you must not eat the grain, drink the new wine, or use the olive oil set aside as a tithe. And you must not eat the firstborn of your flocks and herds, any of the votive offering you are making, or any voluntary offering or sacred contribution. You must eat them only before the altar of Jehovah at the place that Jehovah your god has designated -- you, your families, your slaves, and the Levites who dwell in your towns. And it is before the altar of Jehovah your god that you should celebrate all you have accomplished. (Take care, as long as you live in the land, not to neglect the Levites!)
"When Jehovah your god has enlarged your territory as he has promised, you may exclaim, "I want meat!" because you crave it. Well, you may eat meat whenever you wish. If a place designated by Jehovah your god to honor his name is too far away, you may butcher any of the flocks or herds Jehovah has given you and eat the meat in your own town, as I have instructed you. Anyone, regardless of whether they are ritually pure or not, may consume the meat, as one would that of a gazelle or deer. But do not drink the blood, for the life force is contained in the blood and the life force must not be consumed with the meat. Instead pour the blood onto the ground like water. Do not consume the blood, for all will go well with you and with your children after you when you do what is pleasing in the eyes of Jehovah.
“Take your sacred contributions and votive offerings to the place chosen by Jehovah. You must offer the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of Jehovah your god. The blood must be poured out on the altar, but the meat you may eat. Be careful to obey the regulations I am giving you; all will thus go well with you and with your children after you when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah.
"When Jehovah your god goes ahead of you and expels the nations you will displace, when you have driven them out and settled in their land, do not be tempted to inquire about their gods and ask, 'How did these nations worship their god, for I want to do the same?’ You must not worship Jehovah your god in their way, because they have done for their gods abominable things that Jehovah detests. Why they even burn their children as sacrifices to their gods!
"All the commands I give you, you must do, neither adding anything to them nor subtracting anything from them.”
Notes
1. Moses not only orders the destruction of all holy places of foreign gods, but advocates something quite significant, the institutionalization of Jehovan worship and the regulation of religious practice. This is an advancement of social order and national development. But it is also a major assertion of the collective over the individual, of the ceremonial over the mystical, of the religious establishment over the individual adherent. Laymen, private persons, will no longer have the freedom to worship Jehovah in their own way. (They were long since denied the freedom to worship any other deity.) Indeed, every dictate of Moses (Jehovah) results in the abrogation of personal rights. However, it must be remembered that personal rights were scarcely thought of at this early time. And, on the face of it, it does seem fitting that Jehovah himself should dictate the terms of his own worship! Ancient civil governments were nearly all theocratic to some extent, but that being set up by the Israelites promises to be extremely so -- and with a degree of religious intolerance that is total.
2. Throughout history it has been very common for a new religion to appropriate and make its own the sacred sites of the religion it has displaced. Christian churches were built on the sites of pagan shrines. Christian churches were made over into Islamic mosques. A holy site is a holy site. This practice, though, is condemned by Moses, for he wants nothing pertaining to foreign religions corrupting the exclusive worship of Jehovah.
3. The Israelites who, the texts suggest, have been subsisting solely on manna for the past 40 years are about to come off their diet and eat meat again. Whether or not their digestive systems will readily adapt to this, Jehovah sanctions it. Now that the Israelites are no longer in the desert, meat and other types of regular food will be readily available to them. And it would be no longer practical for Jehovah to feed his people with daily drops of manna. He was able to do so when their population was concentrated in a single camp, but not now they are to be spread across an entire country. That the Israelites were on a manna-only diet, though, is inconsistent with other parts of the narrative, which refer to the Israelites having vast flocks and herds. Were they not eating their livestock? The reference here to gazelles and deer certainly suggests that they were being hunted and eaten, but that the livestock would only now serve as food. The inconsistencies here are considerable.
4. The annoyingly frequent references to the Levites certainly suggests what class was behind putting together the biblical narrative. The Israelites are continually exhorted to honor the rights of the Levites, who, as a priestly caste, is more a privileged than a deprived tribe.
5. The prohibition against consuming blood is unclear. Does it mean only the drinking of blood or does it preclude having a rare beefsteak? It was reasonable for the ancients to conclude that blood contains the life force, since they could see that when a person loses too much blood he dies. They could have had no true understanding of the importance and nature of blood and circulation -- and Jehovah, who has a vested interest in keeping his worshipers ignorant, did not see fit to enlighten them on the matter -- or on any other scientific or practical matter.
6. Jehovah disparages the religious practices of his fellow gods, citing the sacrifice of children. Granted he eventually changed his mind about it, but didn't Jehovah, or some entity claiming to be Jehovah, demand that Abraham burn his son Isaac on an altar as a sacrifice to him?
Showing posts with label Manna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manna. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Complaints of the People
(Book of Numbers 11:1 - 11:35)
The people complained of their hardships. Jehovah heard all their grumblings and was so angered that he sent down a fire that consumed the outskirts of their camp. The people cried for help to Moses. He prayed to Jehovah, and the fire then died down. (This place was thus named Taberah, since it was there that the fire of Jehovah raged against them.)
The motley riffraff who were traveling with the Israelites had cravings for regular food. The Israelites, too, began moaning and griping again, "If only we had some meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to get for free in Egypt. And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, we used to have all we wanted. Now we have lost our appetites. All we have to look at is this manna!" (Manna was like small coriander seeds, only an amber color like gum resin. People went around and collected it off the ground. It was ground in mills or beaten with mortars, then boiled in a pot or baked into flat cakes. It tasted like wheat cooked in olive oil. When, during the night, the dew would fall upon the camp, the manna would fall as well.)
From the openings in their tents, Moses could hear every family weeping and wailing. Jehovah was outraged and angry, and Moses was perturbed as well. Moses asked Jehovah, "Why have you so ill used your servant? What have I done to so displease you that you burden me with the responsibility for all these people? Did I conceive all these people or give them birth that you tell me that I must carry them in my arms, like a nurse carries a baby, to the land that you vowed to give to their ancestors? Where can I find meat for these people? They keep whining and demanding, 'Give us meat to eat!' I just can't carry all these people by myself. The burden is too heavy for me. If this is how I'm to be treated, just kill me now. If I’m still in your favor, then do so and spare me this misery."
In response Jehovah told Moses, "Summon to me 70 elders of Israel, those known by you to be leaders and officers of the people. Bring them into the Tabernacle where they may stand beside you. I will come down and speak to you there. I will remove some of my spiritual essence from you and give it to them so that they may share some of the burden of taking care of the people. You won't have to bear it all yourself. And you may tell the people to consecrate themselves for tomorrow and tell them that they will eat meat. Jehovah has heard your complaints, 'If we only had meat to eat. We were surely better off in Egypt!' Well, Jehovah will give you meat and meat you will eat. You’ll not eat it for just a day, or two days or five, or even ten or twenty days, but for an entire month until you’re stuffed and are sick of it. For you have defied Jehovah to his face, crying and asking, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?'"
But Moses pointed out, "Here I have 600,000 men on foot and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a full month.' If all the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would it be enough? If all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would it suffice?"
"Is my power limited?" Jehovah asked Moses. "Now you will see whether or not I can make good on my word to your people."
Moses went out to see the people and told them what Jehovah had said. He gathered together the 70 elders and had them line up round the Tabernacle Sanctum. Jehovah descended in a cloud and addressed himself to them. He imparted to the 70 elders some of the spiritual essence that he had bestowed upon Moses. When this occurred, they began to prophesy. (This, though, would never happen again.)
Two men, Eldad and Medad, by name, had stayed behind in camp, though they were listed among the elders. Even so, the spirit possessed them. Not having gone to the Tabernacle, they began prophesying in camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in camp!" Joshua son of Nun, who, since his youth, had been an aide of Moses, spoke up, "My master, Moses, you must stop them!"
Moses, though, told him, "Are you jealous of them for my sake? Would that all the people of Jehovah were prophets and that Jehovah would entrust them with his spirit."
Moses and the elders then return to camp.
Jehovah sent a great wind that drove quail in from the sea. They flew only two cubits above the ground and settled all around the camp in the radius of what would be a day's walk. All that day and night, and the next day as well, the people were out catching quail. No one caught less than ten homer’s worth. The dead quails were spread to dry all around the camp. But while the people were chewing the quail meat, even before they could swallow it, they had incurred the wrath of Jehovah. He inflicted upon them a deadly illness. (This place was therefore called Kibroth-hattaavah, because it was there that they buried people who had the "craving".) From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.
Notes
1. The people, who certainly had plenty to gripe about, do not find Jehovah sympathetic to their plight. He led them out of bondage, out of Egypt and resents their ingratitude. When he hears them grousing, he sets fire to the outskirts of their camp. It's not clear how he does this, spontaneous combustion, does he hurl thunderbolts or drop incendiary material or what? The text is not explicit whether the fires merely destroyed property or incinerated some people as well. At any rate, it reveals what he already know of Jehovah's character. He is thin-skinned and quick to anger and to assuage his anger he becomes destructive and murderous. Moses must, as he often does, intervene to quell the violent rages of someone who consistently evinces the temperament of a psychopath.
2. The first description of manna is offered in Exodus. This seems an alternative narrative varying only somewhat from the first. Both have the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert of Sinai consuming manna exclusively. There has been much speculation as to what manna might have been, some sort of resin, a seed, an insect of some sort, but no natural explanation is credible: there is no food source that can, by itself, sustain a man over a long period of time or fill all his nutritional needs. Some hypothetical synthetic food developed by an advanced civilization might do so and, if Jehovah were, in fact, a member of such an advanced civilization, perhaps extraterrestrial, he might have supplied such a food to his people, dropping it from the sky via airship, or, alternatively, causing it to materialize it on the ground.
3. Moses complains to Jehovah about the burden of leadership and unasked-for responsibility. Jehovah actually addresses his complaint by investing some of his spiritual essence (?) in 70 of the Israelite elders. In practical terms, what this means is not made clear, but the immediate result is that the elders begin to prophecy, even two of the elders (Eldad and Medad -- wonderful how these names are always remembered!) who are AWOL from the Tabernacle meeting with Jehovah. Were they making meaningful predictions of the future? If so, why didn't someone record the prophecies? It seems more likely that what they were doing was speaking in tongues, that is, speaking a language they did not know. They could have been speaking in the language of Jehovah since they now may have been in telepathic rapport with him.
4. The story of the quails is an interesting one. It first seems a fairy tale, but when correctly translated and understood, it is a plausible incident. Quails, which are very good to eat, would have been much desired by the meat-deprived Israelites. They are plentiful in the area. They migrate in very large numbers. They fly with the wind and often only a few feet above the ground. They, therefore, are easy to catch. Once killed, it was customary to set them out in the sun to dry. Many translations mistakenly refer to quails lying on the ground 2 cubits high all over the camp. This is patently absurd. What is meant is that the quails were flying two cubits above the ground. Migrating quails sometimes feed on seeds which, though harmless to them, are poisonous to humans who may eat the quail. This was well documented in ancient times. We know the affliction to be coturnism, a toxic illness. Therefore, people eating migratory quail and then falling suddenly ill is authentic. Of course, since Jehovah must be the cause of everything, it is he, not the poisonous seeds, that is responsible for the illness, inflicted as a punishment for ingratitude. (Jehovah is like a cruel parent who when his children yearn for ice cream denied them, make them eat a whole gallon and get sick on the stuff. Here, though, Jehovah is quite content to kill his children as punishment.) Also, it might be pointed out that the Israelites, long accustomed to eating manna, might have had difficulty readjusting to a normal diet and would have been sickened after eating any kind of food. (There is some opinion that manna was so entirely consumed by the human body that defecation was unnecessary.)
5. Jehovah promises to furnish the Israelites with a month's supply of food. The large migratory flocks of quails suffice for a supply. But how can the people eat meat for a month when many of them drop dead at the first bite. And seeing others become ill after eating the quail, why would others tempt fate and continue eating it?
6. Moses claims he has 600,000 men to feed. He seems to forget that the women and children and older men also need to be fed. It has already been pointed out that such numbers are impossible and preposterous.
7. Two cubits would be about three feet. Ten homers would be 50 or 60 bushels.
8. Hazeroth, like Kibroth-hattaavah, is in the Sinai north of the holy mountain.
The people complained of their hardships. Jehovah heard all their grumblings and was so angered that he sent down a fire that consumed the outskirts of their camp. The people cried for help to Moses. He prayed to Jehovah, and the fire then died down. (This place was thus named Taberah, since it was there that the fire of Jehovah raged against them.)
The motley riffraff who were traveling with the Israelites had cravings for regular food. The Israelites, too, began moaning and griping again, "If only we had some meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to get for free in Egypt. And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, we used to have all we wanted. Now we have lost our appetites. All we have to look at is this manna!" (Manna was like small coriander seeds, only an amber color like gum resin. People went around and collected it off the ground. It was ground in mills or beaten with mortars, then boiled in a pot or baked into flat cakes. It tasted like wheat cooked in olive oil. When, during the night, the dew would fall upon the camp, the manna would fall as well.)
From the openings in their tents, Moses could hear every family weeping and wailing. Jehovah was outraged and angry, and Moses was perturbed as well. Moses asked Jehovah, "Why have you so ill used your servant? What have I done to so displease you that you burden me with the responsibility for all these people? Did I conceive all these people or give them birth that you tell me that I must carry them in my arms, like a nurse carries a baby, to the land that you vowed to give to their ancestors? Where can I find meat for these people? They keep whining and demanding, 'Give us meat to eat!' I just can't carry all these people by myself. The burden is too heavy for me. If this is how I'm to be treated, just kill me now. If I’m still in your favor, then do so and spare me this misery."
In response Jehovah told Moses, "Summon to me 70 elders of Israel, those known by you to be leaders and officers of the people. Bring them into the Tabernacle where they may stand beside you. I will come down and speak to you there. I will remove some of my spiritual essence from you and give it to them so that they may share some of the burden of taking care of the people. You won't have to bear it all yourself. And you may tell the people to consecrate themselves for tomorrow and tell them that they will eat meat. Jehovah has heard your complaints, 'If we only had meat to eat. We were surely better off in Egypt!' Well, Jehovah will give you meat and meat you will eat. You’ll not eat it for just a day, or two days or five, or even ten or twenty days, but for an entire month until you’re stuffed and are sick of it. For you have defied Jehovah to his face, crying and asking, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?'"
But Moses pointed out, "Here I have 600,000 men on foot and you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a full month.' If all the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would it be enough? If all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would it suffice?"
"Is my power limited?" Jehovah asked Moses. "Now you will see whether or not I can make good on my word to your people."
Moses went out to see the people and told them what Jehovah had said. He gathered together the 70 elders and had them line up round the Tabernacle Sanctum. Jehovah descended in a cloud and addressed himself to them. He imparted to the 70 elders some of the spiritual essence that he had bestowed upon Moses. When this occurred, they began to prophesy. (This, though, would never happen again.)
Two men, Eldad and Medad, by name, had stayed behind in camp, though they were listed among the elders. Even so, the spirit possessed them. Not having gone to the Tabernacle, they began prophesying in camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in camp!" Joshua son of Nun, who, since his youth, had been an aide of Moses, spoke up, "My master, Moses, you must stop them!"
Moses, though, told him, "Are you jealous of them for my sake? Would that all the people of Jehovah were prophets and that Jehovah would entrust them with his spirit."
Moses and the elders then return to camp.
Jehovah sent a great wind that drove quail in from the sea. They flew only two cubits above the ground and settled all around the camp in the radius of what would be a day's walk. All that day and night, and the next day as well, the people were out catching quail. No one caught less than ten homer’s worth. The dead quails were spread to dry all around the camp. But while the people were chewing the quail meat, even before they could swallow it, they had incurred the wrath of Jehovah. He inflicted upon them a deadly illness. (This place was therefore called Kibroth-hattaavah, because it was there that they buried people who had the "craving".) From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.
Notes
1. The people, who certainly had plenty to gripe about, do not find Jehovah sympathetic to their plight. He led them out of bondage, out of Egypt and resents their ingratitude. When he hears them grousing, he sets fire to the outskirts of their camp. It's not clear how he does this, spontaneous combustion, does he hurl thunderbolts or drop incendiary material or what? The text is not explicit whether the fires merely destroyed property or incinerated some people as well. At any rate, it reveals what he already know of Jehovah's character. He is thin-skinned and quick to anger and to assuage his anger he becomes destructive and murderous. Moses must, as he often does, intervene to quell the violent rages of someone who consistently evinces the temperament of a psychopath.
2. The first description of manna is offered in Exodus. This seems an alternative narrative varying only somewhat from the first. Both have the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert of Sinai consuming manna exclusively. There has been much speculation as to what manna might have been, some sort of resin, a seed, an insect of some sort, but no natural explanation is credible: there is no food source that can, by itself, sustain a man over a long period of time or fill all his nutritional needs. Some hypothetical synthetic food developed by an advanced civilization might do so and, if Jehovah were, in fact, a member of such an advanced civilization, perhaps extraterrestrial, he might have supplied such a food to his people, dropping it from the sky via airship, or, alternatively, causing it to materialize it on the ground.
3. Moses complains to Jehovah about the burden of leadership and unasked-for responsibility. Jehovah actually addresses his complaint by investing some of his spiritual essence (?) in 70 of the Israelite elders. In practical terms, what this means is not made clear, but the immediate result is that the elders begin to prophecy, even two of the elders (Eldad and Medad -- wonderful how these names are always remembered!) who are AWOL from the Tabernacle meeting with Jehovah. Were they making meaningful predictions of the future? If so, why didn't someone record the prophecies? It seems more likely that what they were doing was speaking in tongues, that is, speaking a language they did not know. They could have been speaking in the language of Jehovah since they now may have been in telepathic rapport with him.
4. The story of the quails is an interesting one. It first seems a fairy tale, but when correctly translated and understood, it is a plausible incident. Quails, which are very good to eat, would have been much desired by the meat-deprived Israelites. They are plentiful in the area. They migrate in very large numbers. They fly with the wind and often only a few feet above the ground. They, therefore, are easy to catch. Once killed, it was customary to set them out in the sun to dry. Many translations mistakenly refer to quails lying on the ground 2 cubits high all over the camp. This is patently absurd. What is meant is that the quails were flying two cubits above the ground. Migrating quails sometimes feed on seeds which, though harmless to them, are poisonous to humans who may eat the quail. This was well documented in ancient times. We know the affliction to be coturnism, a toxic illness. Therefore, people eating migratory quail and then falling suddenly ill is authentic. Of course, since Jehovah must be the cause of everything, it is he, not the poisonous seeds, that is responsible for the illness, inflicted as a punishment for ingratitude. (Jehovah is like a cruel parent who when his children yearn for ice cream denied them, make them eat a whole gallon and get sick on the stuff. Here, though, Jehovah is quite content to kill his children as punishment.) Also, it might be pointed out that the Israelites, long accustomed to eating manna, might have had difficulty readjusting to a normal diet and would have been sickened after eating any kind of food. (There is some opinion that manna was so entirely consumed by the human body that defecation was unnecessary.)
5. Jehovah promises to furnish the Israelites with a month's supply of food. The large migratory flocks of quails suffice for a supply. But how can the people eat meat for a month when many of them drop dead at the first bite. And seeing others become ill after eating the quail, why would others tempt fate and continue eating it?
6. Moses claims he has 600,000 men to feed. He seems to forget that the women and children and older men also need to be fed. It has already been pointed out that such numbers are impossible and preposterous.
7. Two cubits would be about three feet. Ten homers would be 50 or 60 bushels.
8. Hazeroth, like Kibroth-hattaavah, is in the Sinai north of the holy mountain.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
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.”
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.”
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