Those Excluded from Jehovah's Congregation

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

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

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

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

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

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

King Balak of Moab Sends Emissaries to Balaam

(Book of Numbers 22:1 - 22:20)
The Israelites journeyed on and came to camp on the plains of Moab on the eastern bank of the River Jordan across from the city of Jericho.  Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, was aware of how the Israelites had dealt with the Amorites.  Indeed the people of Moab were alarmed when they realized how vast were the numbers of the Israelites.  The Moabites warned the elders of Midian about them, "This horde will devour everything it in its path, as cattle devours the grass of the field." 

And so Balak, the Moabite king at that time, sent emissaries to summon one Balaam son of Beor, who was living in Pethor, his native land, near the Euphrates River.  The message stated, "Be advised that a vast horde has come here from Egypt.  They have spread across the face of the land and are a threat to me.  Please come here and put a curse upon these people, for they are more powerful than I am.  If you do so, I might then be able to defeat them in battle and drive them out of the country.  For I know well that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

The emissaries, elders of Moab and Midian, departed and carried with them payment for the casting of the malediction.  They saw Balaam and gave him Balak's message.  He invited them, "Please stay the night here, and I will reply to you in the morning after Jehovah has instructed me."  And so the Moabite delegation enjoyed Balaam’s hospitality.

Jehovah came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men visiting you?"

Balaam answered Jehovah, "King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message: ‘A vast horde has come out of Egypt and spread across the land.  Please come and put a curse upon them for me so that I might be more able to defeat them in battle and drive them out of my land.'"

But Jehovah warned him, "Do not go with these people.  You must not curse these people, for they have already been blessed."

And so when Balaam rose the following morning, he told the emissaries, “You should go back to your own country, for Jehovah has refused to let me go with you."

The delegation returned home and reported to Balak, "Balaam refused to come with us."

Balak, though, sent another, larger delegation composed of emissaries even more distinguished than those of the first.  They appeared before Balaam and delivered this message to him: "I, Balak son of Zippor, implore you not to let anything stop you from coming to my aid.  I will compensate you handsomely and will abide by any conditions you may put upon me.  But, please, come and put a curse upon these people!"

But Balaam responded to the emissaries, "If Balak bestowed upon me all the gold and silver in his palace, I would not do more or less than what Jehovah, my god, commands me to do.  But spend the night here so that I can learn what more Jehovah may tell me."

That night Jehovah came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come for you, you may as well leave with them, but take care to do only what I tell you to."

Notes
1. The Israelites are described as a vast horde coming out of Egypt.  If the numbers claimed by the biblical text were accurate, they would indeed by a vast horde, but it has already been shown that such a population level for the Exodus is preposterous, at best, the numbers grossly inflated.  It's odd that the Israelites should be described as coming out of Egypt, for at this point it has been nearly 40 years since they had left there.  They had already been knocking about the Sinai and the Negev for decades, at which time they were never seen as much of a military force.  Now, the Israelites are regarded with terror, as would the barbarians threatening the later Roman Empire. 

2. Pethor, the home of Balaam in Mesopotamia is thought by some to be the Assyrian Pitru, but it is unlikely that Pitru had been established by the time of Moses.  Others place Balaam's country as Ammon, to the north of Moab, although it's not all that close to the Euphrates River.

3. Balaam, a non-Israelite, although technically not, if an Ammonite, a non-Hebrew, is a prophet of Jehovah, one who communes with the god, performs divination, and foretells the future.  He seems to be primarily esteemed for his success at blessing and cursing; under certain circumstances he will hire himself out to do the latter.

4. We might have assumed that Jehovah spent all his time with his Chosen People, flying above them in his airship, dropping daily supplies of manna, appearing in the Inner Sanctum to pass down laws and commandments and to chat with Moses (chewing him out when necessary), enjoying the aroma of the animal sacrifices dedicated to him, and taking every opportunity to kill both his own people and their enemies.  Now we learn he has been moonlighting, visiting this chap Balaam evenings.  It is unspecified how Jehovah visits and speaks to Balaam, but their communions seem to be nocturnal.  A dream is a strong possibility, for that is how Jehovah communicates with those less close to him than a Moses, but a two-way conversation seems to be involved.

5.  In his initial conversation with Balaam, Jehovah asks Balaam who these men are visiting with him.  Doesn't the god already know?  Is he not only not omniscient, but entirely out of the loop as well?

6. With the Israelites now a powerful force, the aggressors and no longer the underdog, the narrators risk the reader transferring his sympathies to Israel's enemies, whose only fault is their desire to hold on to their own land.

7. The king of Moab seems to be acting in the interests of the Midian people as well as his own.  This is probably due to the fact that the weaker Midian was at that time a client state of Moab.  Also, it seems to be forgotten that Moses was married to a Midianite woman.

Conquest of the Amorites

(Book of Numbers 21:10 - 21:35)
The Israelites moved on to make their camp at Oboth.  Next, they left Oboth and traveled to Abarim, the desert that faces the eastern border of Moab.  From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley.  They left there and next camped on the far side of the Arnon river, in the desert that extends to the border of Amorite territory.  (The Arnon is the boundary between Moab and the land of the Amorites.)  So it is that the Book of the Wars of Jehovah refers to "the town of Waheb in the region of Suphah, and the ravines of Arnon River that extend as far as the settlement of Ar on the border of Moab."

From there the Israelites traveled to Beer, the well that Jehovah referred to when he told Moses, "Gather your people together and I will bring them water."  The Israelites then sang this song:

"Spring up, O well.  Sing its praises!
The well that was sunk by princes,
That the nobles of the people dug
Scraped out with the scepter and the staff."

They went from the desert to Matannah, from Matannah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley of Moab where the Pisgah Mountains overlook desert wasteland.

Israel then dispatched envoys to King Sihon of the Amorites with the request, "We ask your permission to be given safe passage through your land.  We will take care not to travel through your tilled fields or vineyards.  We won't drink from your wells.  We will stay on the king's highway until we have passed through your territory."

But King Sihon refused them passage through his land.  Instead, he mustered his entire army and marched it into the desert to challenge Israel.  When he reached Jahaz, his forces attacked Israel.  Israel, however, defeated him in battle and occupied his territory from the Arnon river to the Jabbok River, but only as far as the Ammonite border, which was heavily fortified.  Israel captured and settled in all the Amorite cities, including Heshbon and its surrounding settlements.

Heshbon was the capital city of King Sihon, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had wrested from him all the Moabite territory as far as the Arnon.

The poets wrote of this:

"Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;
Let the city of Sihon be restored.
For a fire issued forth from Heshbon,
And a flame engulfed the city of Sihon.
Conflagration consumed Ar of Moab
And destroyed the lords of the Arnon heights.

Woe be to you, O people of Moab
You are thwarted, O worshipers of Chemosh.
Your sons have been put to flight and your daughters,
Captives of Sihon, the Amorite king.
The rule of Heshbon has been overthrown;
Its domain, plundered all the way to Dibon
And set aflame from Nophah to Medeba."

And thus the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amorites.  Moses sent out men to scout the Jazer region; they captured all the towns in the area and drove out the Amorites who lived there.  Next, the Israelites marched north on the route to Bashan.  Og, the king of Bashan, mobilized his army and was prepared to engage the Israelites in battle at Edrei.

Jehovah told Moses, "Don't be afraid of him, for I am delivering him into your hands along with his army and his lands.  Deal with him as you did Sihon, the king of the Amorites who reigned at Heshbon."  And so they so they killed King Og and his sons, wiping out his people and then occupying his land.

Notes
1. The Israelites, after moving around from place to place now seem to get serious about finding a place to settle even though they have been denied access to the Promised Land by Jehovah.  And/or they want to get back at those peoples who had denied them safe passage through their countries when they asked politely for it.  The people who have spent all their time griping about the food, yearning to return to Egypt, challenging Moses, (and being afraid of snakes) suddenly, inexplicably, transform themselves into a formidable fighting force, conquerors, in fact.  They are, of course, getting a hand from Jehovah, but his part in the successful battles against against Sihon and Og is not specified.  The Israelites seem incapable of building anything themselves, except what is demanded by Jehovah, so they do not claim territory and begin building houses like pioneer immigrants have always done.  Instead, they settle in the towns they have taken, presumably living in the homes of the enemies they have killed.  This would certainly be a major lifestyle change.  One would think this would mean no more living in tents.  However, it is not clear whether it is the entire community of Israel that occupies the conquered towns, or only a small contingent.

2. The narrative references, even quotes, another book, The Book of the Wars of Jehovah.  Is this some ancient text used by the biblical authors?  A book that didn't make it into the Old Testament or was lost?  Since Numbers, along with the other 4 Books of Moses, claims to have been written by Moses himself, how could he, and why would he, refer to another book.  How and by whom could it have been written that it predates the Books of Moses?  It has been suggested that it was, in fact, another book written by Moses and perhaps Joshua.  Later, poets are quoted.  Of what nationality were these poets and in what language did they write, considering that in the time of Moses Hebrew did not exist and no alphabet had yet been invented.  Of course it is well established that the Books of Moses were written, or rather compiled, several hundred years after Moses, but one would have thought that the authors would have avoided the inclusion of any reference that obviously contradicted the fiction they sought to maintain, that Moses was their author. 

3. No moral justification is given for the wars the Israelites engage in.  Jehovah has never been concerned with such moral issues, but promotes a tribalistic sense of ethics -- any act that benefits your tribe is right and just regardless of the harm it may inflict upon those outside your tribe.

4. Pisgah can refer to the mountain range northeast of the Dead Sea or its primary peak, Mount Nebo.  The Arnon River (now Wadi Mujib in Jordan), the boundary between the lands of the Moabites to the south and the Amorites to the north, flows westward through mountainous terrain into the Dead Sea.  To the south, the Zered River (Wadi Hasa) also flows west into the Dead Sea and formed the boundary between Edom and Moab.  The Ammonites lived east of the Jordan, north of Moab and the Amorites.  The Jabbok River (the Zarqua) flows into the Jordan.  The biblical Amorites, probably distinct from the Mesopotamian people of an earlier period, were a tribe of mountain-dwelling Canaanites often thought to be of great physical stature.  The city of Heshbon was northeast of Moab, east of the north bank of the Dead Sea.  Jabaz was a few miles to the south.  Jazar, well to the north, was on the border of Ammon.  Bashan, a kingdom, was in the Golan Heights, far to the north, east of the Sea of Galilee.  Its capital, Edrei (Daraa) lies across the border of modern Syria.  The Israelites are indeed covering a great deal of distance in their conquests!

5. Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites and possibly the Ammonites as well.  He may have been the same deity as Moloch, or Chemosh and Moloch may have been two aspects of the same god.  It may be remembered that the Moabites and Ammonites were supposedly descended from Lot and his daughters.