(Deuteronomy 34:1 - 34:12)
From the plains of Moab, Moses climbed Mount Nebo to the summit of Pisgah, across the river from Jericho. Jehovah revealed to him the entire land from Gilead as far as Dan, all the territory of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah extending to the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev, the whole region of the Jordan Valley from Jericho, the city of palms, to Zoar. Jehovah said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I swore, ‘I will give this to your descendants.’ I have let you see the land with your own eyes, but you won’t go over there.”
And so Moses, the servant of Jehovah, died in the land of Moab, according to the will of Jehovah. Jehovah buried him in Moab in a valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows the exact location. Moses was 120 years old when he died, but neither his eyesight nor his vitality had diminished. The Israelites grieved for Moses on the plains of Moab for 30 days, until the customary period of mourning had ended.
Joshua son of Nun was now instilled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid hands on him. So the Israelites now obeyed him as Jehovah had commanded Moses they should do.
There has not arisen in Israel a prophet to compare with Moses, whom Jehovah knew personally. Jehovah sent him to perform miracles and wonders in Egypt against the Pharaoh, his officials, and the entire country. And with his awesome power Moses wrought these horrific acts of terror before the eyes of all Israel.
Notes
1. Moses was apparently in good health when he died. He needed to be, in order to be able to climb Mount Nebo, which is well over 2000 feet above the Jordan Valley. Of what then did Moses die? Did Jehovah, finished with him, simply put him down like an aged family pet?
2. While the text insists that Moses was 120 years old when he died, we have seen that the Books of Moses consistently give preposterously, if not impossibly long life spans for the Hebrew forefathers. The chronology of events and mere common sense suggest that Moses would have been many decades younger, even granted that the Israelites did wander as much as 40 years in the desert. The time between Moses’ exile from Egypt and his return as Jehovah’s emissary and the Israelites’ spokesman could not have been more than a few years, not the many decades suggested in the biblical text. If Moses had been 120 years old, he would have been 80 years older than any of the people he led (excepting Joshua and Caleb).
3. The view from Mount Nebo remains impressive, south to the Dead Sea, west to Jericho and even the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. However, the entire land can by no means be seen, irrespective of atmospheric conditions. If Moses could see the Mediterranean and the territory of Dan, he must have been granted superhuman vision.
4. Moses is unique among biblical figures in that his burial place was purposely kept secret. Apparently Jehovah buried him himself so that none of the Israelites would know the location of the grave. (Did the Israelite god use a shovel?) The only explanation for this would be to prevent the grave site from becoming a site of idolatrous veneration.
5. Joshua becomes the new leader of the Israelites. He is, after Moses’ death, inspired in some way because Moses put his hands on him. Was this merely ceremonial, or was something real, some power, some wisdom, some aptitude for divine communion conveyed to him by Moses’ touch?
6. Moses would be the last prophet that Jehovah would know personally. Is this due to Jehovah’s unwillingness to have direct relations with any of Moses’ successors or to Jehovah’s physical absence from the earth?
Showing posts with label Moses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moses. Show all posts
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Moses' Final Blessing
(Deuteronomy 32:48 - 33:29)
On that very day Jehovah told Moses, “Ascend Mount Nebo of the Abarim range in Moab, across from Jericho. There you can look out upon Canaan, which I am giving to people of Israel to occupy. There, on the mountain you have ascended, you will die and join your ancestors, just as your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. Because you broke faith with me in front of the people of Israel at the oasis of Meribah-Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and failed to show the reverence due to me as a god, you will only be able to view from a distance the land I am giving the Israelite people. You will not enter it!”
This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the Israelite people before his death:
“Jehovah came up from Sinai, he dawned over us in Seir and shone upon us from Mount Paran. He arose in the midst of his myriad devotees and his law was a fire in his right hand. Indeed he loved his people and his worshipers were under his protection. They knelt at his feet and listened to his teachings. The law given to us by Moses will always belong to Jacob’s congregation. Jehovah became the king of dear Israel when the tribal leaders assembled and all the tribes gathered together as a single nation.”
“Let the tribe of Reuben prosper and survive, although they are few in number.”
And of Judah, Moses said this, “Hear, O Jehovah, the plea of Judah, and reunite him with his people. Use your power to defend him and to support him against his enemies.”
Of Levi he said, “His Thummim and Urim belong to his faithful god that he tested at Massah and opposed at the oasis of Meribah. To his father and mother, he shows no bias. He gives no preferential treatment to his relatives nor does he do special favors for his children; he upholds your word and preserves your contract. He teaches your instructions to Jacob, your law to Israel. He offers incense to you and makes the burnt sacrifices upon the altar. Bless, O Jehovah, his ministry and receive with acceptance his handiwork. Whack in the groin those that rise against him, his enemies, so that they may threaten him no more.”
Of Benjamin, he said, “The beloved of Jehovah lives in safety by him, for Jehovah protects him all day long and carries him on his shoulders.”
Of Joseph he said, “May Jehovah bless his lands with the precious dew of heaven above and the waters of the deep below, with the bounty of the sun and the harvests of the moon, with the produce of the ancient mountains and the fertility of the eternal hills, with the finest fruits of the earth and its abundance. Let the favor of the one who manifested himself in the burning bush rest upon the head of Joseph; let it be like a crown upon the brow of he who was separated from his brothers. He has the majesty of a firstborn bull with horns like those of a wild ox. He will gore nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Thus are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.”
Of Zebulun he said, “May you prosper, Zebulun, when you go out to journey and Isacchar, when you remain at home in your tent. They will summon the people to their mountains so that they may make the proper sacrifices. They will nourish themselves with the wealth of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
Of Gad he said, “Blessed is he who enlarges Gad, who is crouched like a lion ready to tear off an arm or a head. He took the best land for himself, reserving a captain’s share. When the tribal chieftains were assembled, he carried out Jehovah’s justice and enforced his regulations among the Israelites.”
Of Dan he said, “Dan is like a lion cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
Of Naphtali he said, “Naphtali is highly favored by Jehovah and enjoys his full blessings. He will settle on the land in the south and the west.”
Of Asher he said, “May he be blessed above the other sons. Let him be held in respect by his brothers. May he dip his feet in olive oil. May the latches of his gates be of iron and bronze so that he may be strong all of his days.
“There is no one like the god of dear Israel who comes to your aid from the sky, flying majestically through the clouds. The everlasting god is your refuge. Under you are his everlasting arms supporting you. He expels the enemies before you and cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will dwell in safety; Jacob’s abode is his alone, a land of grain and new wine nurtured by the dew that drops from the heavens.
“How blessed are you, Israel. Who else is like you, a people saved by Jehovah. He is your protective shield and conquering sword. Your enemies will kowtow before you, but you will stomp on their backs!”
Notes
1. There are two accounts in the Books of Moses of an incident that occurred in Meribah. In Exodus the people complain to Moses about the lack of water. Moses appeals to Jehovah and at his behest strikes with his rod a rock, out of which water gushes. In Numbers there is a similar story, but in it Moses does not follow Jehovah’s instructions precisely. Instead of addressing the rock, he addresses the Israelites and strikes the rock twice. A rush of fresh water results, but Jehovah is angry and insulted that Moses did not obey him. For his lack of respect to his divinity Moses is denied entry into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy it is suggested that Moses is being punished not for his own lack of respect, but for that exhibited by the Israelites, the people he is leading. Meribah was likely located near Kadesh-Barnea on what is now the western border of Israel midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The Desert of Zin lies to the east, southwest of the Dead Sea. Mount Paran and the Desert of Paran lies in western Arabia near Mecca. Seir was a mountain range that extended from the Dead Sea to Aqaba. Mount Hor (not the northern Mount Hor that defined the northern boundary of Israel) was the place of Aaron’s death. Located in this mountain range, it is now called Mount Harun. Bashan was a kingdom on the west bank of the Jordan ruled by Og until the Israelites defeated him. What Bashan had to do with the tribe of Dan is not explained. Bashan was given to Manasseh, not Dan, whose portion was along the Mediterranean coast and couldn’t have been farther away from Bashan.
2. Moses blessings of the various tribes of Israel are muddled and disjointed, making little real sense. There are few actual benedictions; some tribes merit only comments. Simeon is left out, perhaps because their land lay within that of Judah. (Still, it does seem an unaccountable slight.) The blessings reflect the relative importance of the tribes from a much later date, which is not surprising since the entire book is highly anachronistic and represents the point of view of later priests, not of Moses. Some of the text is garbled and many verses are generally thought by scholars to be a later additions to the book.
3. The reference to Jehovah flying through the sky supports the theory that Jehovah was an extraterrestrial whose “pillar of cloud” was an aerial vehicle.
4. The blessings, such as they are, never go much beyond having bountiful harvests and being triumphant over enemies. These are still quite primitive times and the thinking of Moses (and Jehovah) never goes beyond the elemental. There seems to be no aspirations to build magnificent cities (like the Egyptians), to develop creature comforts (like the indoor plumbing the Minoans had), to create an efficient government (as the Persians and Romans would do), or to cultivate the civilized disciplines, such as philosophy, science, literature, art, and music (as the Greeks did).
On that very day Jehovah told Moses, “Ascend Mount Nebo of the Abarim range in Moab, across from Jericho. There you can look out upon Canaan, which I am giving to people of Israel to occupy. There, on the mountain you have ascended, you will die and join your ancestors, just as your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. Because you broke faith with me in front of the people of Israel at the oasis of Meribah-Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and failed to show the reverence due to me as a god, you will only be able to view from a distance the land I am giving the Israelite people. You will not enter it!”
This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the Israelite people before his death:
“Jehovah came up from Sinai, he dawned over us in Seir and shone upon us from Mount Paran. He arose in the midst of his myriad devotees and his law was a fire in his right hand. Indeed he loved his people and his worshipers were under his protection. They knelt at his feet and listened to his teachings. The law given to us by Moses will always belong to Jacob’s congregation. Jehovah became the king of dear Israel when the tribal leaders assembled and all the tribes gathered together as a single nation.”
“Let the tribe of Reuben prosper and survive, although they are few in number.”
And of Judah, Moses said this, “Hear, O Jehovah, the plea of Judah, and reunite him with his people. Use your power to defend him and to support him against his enemies.”
Of Levi he said, “His Thummim and Urim belong to his faithful god that he tested at Massah and opposed at the oasis of Meribah. To his father and mother, he shows no bias. He gives no preferential treatment to his relatives nor does he do special favors for his children; he upholds your word and preserves your contract. He teaches your instructions to Jacob, your law to Israel. He offers incense to you and makes the burnt sacrifices upon the altar. Bless, O Jehovah, his ministry and receive with acceptance his handiwork. Whack in the groin those that rise against him, his enemies, so that they may threaten him no more.”
Of Benjamin, he said, “The beloved of Jehovah lives in safety by him, for Jehovah protects him all day long and carries him on his shoulders.”
Of Joseph he said, “May Jehovah bless his lands with the precious dew of heaven above and the waters of the deep below, with the bounty of the sun and the harvests of the moon, with the produce of the ancient mountains and the fertility of the eternal hills, with the finest fruits of the earth and its abundance. Let the favor of the one who manifested himself in the burning bush rest upon the head of Joseph; let it be like a crown upon the brow of he who was separated from his brothers. He has the majesty of a firstborn bull with horns like those of a wild ox. He will gore nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Thus are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.”
Of Zebulun he said, “May you prosper, Zebulun, when you go out to journey and Isacchar, when you remain at home in your tent. They will summon the people to their mountains so that they may make the proper sacrifices. They will nourish themselves with the wealth of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
Of Gad he said, “Blessed is he who enlarges Gad, who is crouched like a lion ready to tear off an arm or a head. He took the best land for himself, reserving a captain’s share. When the tribal chieftains were assembled, he carried out Jehovah’s justice and enforced his regulations among the Israelites.”
Of Dan he said, “Dan is like a lion cub that leaps out of Bashan.”
Of Naphtali he said, “Naphtali is highly favored by Jehovah and enjoys his full blessings. He will settle on the land in the south and the west.”
Of Asher he said, “May he be blessed above the other sons. Let him be held in respect by his brothers. May he dip his feet in olive oil. May the latches of his gates be of iron and bronze so that he may be strong all of his days.
“There is no one like the god of dear Israel who comes to your aid from the sky, flying majestically through the clouds. The everlasting god is your refuge. Under you are his everlasting arms supporting you. He expels the enemies before you and cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will dwell in safety; Jacob’s abode is his alone, a land of grain and new wine nurtured by the dew that drops from the heavens.
“How blessed are you, Israel. Who else is like you, a people saved by Jehovah. He is your protective shield and conquering sword. Your enemies will kowtow before you, but you will stomp on their backs!”
Notes
1. There are two accounts in the Books of Moses of an incident that occurred in Meribah. In Exodus the people complain to Moses about the lack of water. Moses appeals to Jehovah and at his behest strikes with his rod a rock, out of which water gushes. In Numbers there is a similar story, but in it Moses does not follow Jehovah’s instructions precisely. Instead of addressing the rock, he addresses the Israelites and strikes the rock twice. A rush of fresh water results, but Jehovah is angry and insulted that Moses did not obey him. For his lack of respect to his divinity Moses is denied entry into the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy it is suggested that Moses is being punished not for his own lack of respect, but for that exhibited by the Israelites, the people he is leading. Meribah was likely located near Kadesh-Barnea on what is now the western border of Israel midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The Desert of Zin lies to the east, southwest of the Dead Sea. Mount Paran and the Desert of Paran lies in western Arabia near Mecca. Seir was a mountain range that extended from the Dead Sea to Aqaba. Mount Hor (not the northern Mount Hor that defined the northern boundary of Israel) was the place of Aaron’s death. Located in this mountain range, it is now called Mount Harun. Bashan was a kingdom on the west bank of the Jordan ruled by Og until the Israelites defeated him. What Bashan had to do with the tribe of Dan is not explained. Bashan was given to Manasseh, not Dan, whose portion was along the Mediterranean coast and couldn’t have been farther away from Bashan.
2. Moses blessings of the various tribes of Israel are muddled and disjointed, making little real sense. There are few actual benedictions; some tribes merit only comments. Simeon is left out, perhaps because their land lay within that of Judah. (Still, it does seem an unaccountable slight.) The blessings reflect the relative importance of the tribes from a much later date, which is not surprising since the entire book is highly anachronistic and represents the point of view of later priests, not of Moses. Some of the text is garbled and many verses are generally thought by scholars to be a later additions to the book.
3. The reference to Jehovah flying through the sky supports the theory that Jehovah was an extraterrestrial whose “pillar of cloud” was an aerial vehicle.
4. The blessings, such as they are, never go much beyond having bountiful harvests and being triumphant over enemies. These are still quite primitive times and the thinking of Moses (and Jehovah) never goes beyond the elemental. There seems to be no aspirations to build magnificent cities (like the Egyptians), to develop creature comforts (like the indoor plumbing the Minoans had), to create an efficient government (as the Persians and Romans would do), or to cultivate the civilized disciplines, such as philosophy, science, literature, art, and music (as the Greeks did).
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Song of Moses
(Deuteronomy 31:30 - 32:47)
Moses then recited the words of this song from beginning to end so that the entire people of Israel could hear them:
“Listen, O Heaven, and I will speak.
Hear, O Earth, the words from my mouth.
“Let my teachings fall upon you like the rain,
Let my words settle upon you like the dew,
A gentle sprinkling upon the new grass,
A soft shower upon the budding plants.
“I will proclaim the name of Jehovah,
I will declare the greatness of our god.
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfection;
In all his actions he is just and fair,
A god who does no wrong, faithful and true,
So honorable and equitable.
“But have they not dealt with him honestly.
Corrupted, how can they still be his children,
This deceitful and perverse generation?
“Is this how you repay Jehovah,
You obtuse and doltish people?
Is he not the creator god,
The father who sired and reared you?
“Remember the days of long ago,
Consider the generations past.
Ask your father, he will show you,
Ask the elders, they will tell you:
When the Most High gave each nation
Its inherited portion of land
And divided the human race,
He established the boundaries
For his people according to
The number of Israel’s sons.
For the people of Israel
Is Jehovah’s inheritance
And Jacob, his assigned legacy.
For he found them in the desert,
In a barren, wind-swept wasteland.
He protected and looked out for them
Guarded them as he would guard his own,
Like an eagle that stirs its nest
And flutters over its young chicks,
Bearing them aloft on its wings.
“Alone, Jehovah guided them;
No foreign god accompanied him.
He made them ride over the highlands
And feast on the crops of the field.
With honey from the rock and oil
From flinty stones he nourished them.
With yogurt from the herd he fed them
And milk from the flock and fattened lambs,
The choicest rams from Bashan and goats,
Wheat of the finest quality,
And drank the foaming juice of the grape.
But Israel, stuffed and sated,
Grew fat, flabby, and defiant.
They deserted the god who made them
And scoffed at the Rock that saved them.
With foreign gods they made him jealous
Angering him with hated idols.
They sacrificed to godless demons,
Deities they had never known,
Gods of recent derivation
That your ancestors respected not.
You deserted the Rock your father,
Forgot the god that gave you birth.
Jehovah saw this and spurned them,
Angered by his own sons and daughters.
He said, ‘I will conceal myself from them
And merely watch what may become of them,
For they are a perverse generation
Of children who are faithless and disloyal.
They made me jealous with their worthless gods
And angered me with their foolish idols.
I will make them jealous with worthless people
And anger them with a foolish nation.
For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,
And burn to the depths of the netherworld,
Consuming the earth and all of its crops,
Setting afire the base of the mountains.
I will heap upon them calamities
And pick them off with shots of my arrows.
I will wear them down with famines and fevers,
And devastate them with plagues and pestilence.
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts
And the venom of slithering creatures.
From the outside, war will bring bereavement
While inside, a reign of terror will ensue,
For the young man and young woman alike,
For nursing infant and the gray-haired man.
‘I might have said, “Let’s obliterate them,
Erase their name from human history!”
But I feared the taunts of her enemies
Who might misread what has happened and boast,
‘It wasn’t Jehovah who accomplished this,
But our own power that is triumphant.
‘Israel is a nation without sense;
Its people are ignorant and dull-witted;
If they possessed any understanding
They would realize what their fate will be.
‘How could one man put to flight a thousand,
Or two make ten thousand beat a retreat,
Unless their Rock had delivered them up,
Unless Jehovah had handed them over?
For their rock is not like the Rock of ours,
As even our enemies will concede.
Their vine has sprung from the vine of Sodom,
Nurtured in the vineyards of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poison, their clusters, bitter;
Their wine is like the venom of vipers,
The deadly toxin of cobras and asps.’
“Jehovah says, ‘Am I not keeping these things,
Sealing them securely in my storehouse?
I will seek vengeance and compensation.
For the time will come when they will stumble.
The day of their calamity is nigh.
Their doom and destruction will come swiftly.’
“Jehovah will pass judgment on his people,
But will have pity upon his servants
When he sees their strength has been depleted
And there is no one remaining, slave or free.
He will say to them, ‘Where are your gods now?
The gods who were the rock that was your refuge,
Who ate the flesh of your sacrifices,
And consumed your drink offerings of wine?
Let them come forth to save and shelter you!
‘Behold I am the only one:
There is no other god but me!
I put to death and bring forth life,
I am the one who wounds and heals,
And no one can be delivered
From out of my powerful hands.
I lift my hand to the heavens
And swear, as I live forever,
When I sharpen my flashing sword
And prepare to mete out justice,
I will revenge myself on my foes
And repay those who reject me.
My arrows I will make drunk with blood
And my sword will gorge itself on flesh,
The blood of the slain and captured,
And the heads of the enemy leaders.’
“May the heavens rejoice and worship him,
For he avenges the blood of his people
And takes vengeance upon his enemies.
He pays back those who have rejected him
And makes atonement for his land and people.”
Moses, accompanied by Joshua son of Nun, recited all the words of this song in the hearing of people. When he had finished speaking the words of the song, he said to the people of Israel, “Keep in mind all the warnings I have given you this day, so that you may pass them on as lessons to your children so that they will obey every word of these instructions. These are not meaningless words; they impact your very life, for by obeying them you will live long and prosper in the land you are crossing the River Jordan to occupy.”
Notes
1. The song is quite long and one doubts that it was set to a catchy tune. It is amazing that a man of Moses’ years could have recited it, let alone memorized it. Expecting future generations to remember it is asking a lot. The people would have been illiterate and thus would have had to consign the whole thing to memory. And, quite frankly, is simply ain’t that good. Thematically it’s all over the place and, as is usual with the Books of Moses, it is annoyingly redundant. But the memorization of Jehovah’s laws and instructions is the key element of the Jehovah religion. It furthers the indoctrination of the youth, who must accept the traditional teaching and learn not to question them or give in to the temptation of thinking for themselves.
2. Throughout much of the song Jehovah trashes his own people and reiterates how unworthy they are. This hardly seems like an effective sales strategy. And again Jehovah the psychopath glories in bragging about the horrendous things he’s going to do to his errant worshipers. The only reason he gives for not completely obliterating his unfaithful people is that Israel’s enemies might take credit for its destruction. Mercy, compassion are not major factors, although he does cite them.
3. Jehovah presents himself here as the sole true god. The gods of other countries are false, that is, they don’t even exist and, therefore, cannot help their people when appealed to. Elsewhere, there is the impression given that these other gods do, in fact, exist, but are either inferior or else inappropriate objects of worship for the Israelites.
4. Jehovah is called here and elsewhere, the Rock, that is, the foundation, the bulwark, the mainstay and refuge of his worshipers.
5. Jehovah boasts how magnificently he fed his people. What is he talking about? Weren’t the Israelites of the Exodus fed nothing but manna?
Moses then recited the words of this song from beginning to end so that the entire people of Israel could hear them:
“Listen, O Heaven, and I will speak.
Hear, O Earth, the words from my mouth.
“Let my teachings fall upon you like the rain,
Let my words settle upon you like the dew,
A gentle sprinkling upon the new grass,
A soft shower upon the budding plants.
“I will proclaim the name of Jehovah,
I will declare the greatness of our god.
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfection;
In all his actions he is just and fair,
A god who does no wrong, faithful and true,
So honorable and equitable.
“But have they not dealt with him honestly.
Corrupted, how can they still be his children,
This deceitful and perverse generation?
“Is this how you repay Jehovah,
You obtuse and doltish people?
Is he not the creator god,
The father who sired and reared you?
“Remember the days of long ago,
Consider the generations past.
Ask your father, he will show you,
Ask the elders, they will tell you:
When the Most High gave each nation
Its inherited portion of land
And divided the human race,
He established the boundaries
For his people according to
The number of Israel’s sons.
For the people of Israel
Is Jehovah’s inheritance
And Jacob, his assigned legacy.
For he found them in the desert,
In a barren, wind-swept wasteland.
He protected and looked out for them
Guarded them as he would guard his own,
Like an eagle that stirs its nest
And flutters over its young chicks,
Bearing them aloft on its wings.
“Alone, Jehovah guided them;
No foreign god accompanied him.
He made them ride over the highlands
And feast on the crops of the field.
With honey from the rock and oil
From flinty stones he nourished them.
With yogurt from the herd he fed them
And milk from the flock and fattened lambs,
The choicest rams from Bashan and goats,
Wheat of the finest quality,
And drank the foaming juice of the grape.
But Israel, stuffed and sated,
Grew fat, flabby, and defiant.
They deserted the god who made them
And scoffed at the Rock that saved them.
With foreign gods they made him jealous
Angering him with hated idols.
They sacrificed to godless demons,
Deities they had never known,
Gods of recent derivation
That your ancestors respected not.
You deserted the Rock your father,
Forgot the god that gave you birth.
Jehovah saw this and spurned them,
Angered by his own sons and daughters.
He said, ‘I will conceal myself from them
And merely watch what may become of them,
For they are a perverse generation
Of children who are faithless and disloyal.
They made me jealous with their worthless gods
And angered me with their foolish idols.
I will make them jealous with worthless people
And anger them with a foolish nation.
For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,
And burn to the depths of the netherworld,
Consuming the earth and all of its crops,
Setting afire the base of the mountains.
I will heap upon them calamities
And pick them off with shots of my arrows.
I will wear them down with famines and fevers,
And devastate them with plagues and pestilence.
I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts
And the venom of slithering creatures.
From the outside, war will bring bereavement
While inside, a reign of terror will ensue,
For the young man and young woman alike,
For nursing infant and the gray-haired man.
‘I might have said, “Let’s obliterate them,
Erase their name from human history!”
But I feared the taunts of her enemies
Who might misread what has happened and boast,
‘It wasn’t Jehovah who accomplished this,
But our own power that is triumphant.
‘Israel is a nation without sense;
Its people are ignorant and dull-witted;
If they possessed any understanding
They would realize what their fate will be.
‘How could one man put to flight a thousand,
Or two make ten thousand beat a retreat,
Unless their Rock had delivered them up,
Unless Jehovah had handed them over?
For their rock is not like the Rock of ours,
As even our enemies will concede.
Their vine has sprung from the vine of Sodom,
Nurtured in the vineyards of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poison, their clusters, bitter;
Their wine is like the venom of vipers,
The deadly toxin of cobras and asps.’
“Jehovah says, ‘Am I not keeping these things,
Sealing them securely in my storehouse?
I will seek vengeance and compensation.
For the time will come when they will stumble.
The day of their calamity is nigh.
Their doom and destruction will come swiftly.’
“Jehovah will pass judgment on his people,
But will have pity upon his servants
When he sees their strength has been depleted
And there is no one remaining, slave or free.
He will say to them, ‘Where are your gods now?
The gods who were the rock that was your refuge,
Who ate the flesh of your sacrifices,
And consumed your drink offerings of wine?
Let them come forth to save and shelter you!
‘Behold I am the only one:
There is no other god but me!
I put to death and bring forth life,
I am the one who wounds and heals,
And no one can be delivered
From out of my powerful hands.
I lift my hand to the heavens
And swear, as I live forever,
When I sharpen my flashing sword
And prepare to mete out justice,
I will revenge myself on my foes
And repay those who reject me.
My arrows I will make drunk with blood
And my sword will gorge itself on flesh,
The blood of the slain and captured,
And the heads of the enemy leaders.’
“May the heavens rejoice and worship him,
For he avenges the blood of his people
And takes vengeance upon his enemies.
He pays back those who have rejected him
And makes atonement for his land and people.”
Moses, accompanied by Joshua son of Nun, recited all the words of this song in the hearing of people. When he had finished speaking the words of the song, he said to the people of Israel, “Keep in mind all the warnings I have given you this day, so that you may pass them on as lessons to your children so that they will obey every word of these instructions. These are not meaningless words; they impact your very life, for by obeying them you will live long and prosper in the land you are crossing the River Jordan to occupy.”
Notes
1. The song is quite long and one doubts that it was set to a catchy tune. It is amazing that a man of Moses’ years could have recited it, let alone memorized it. Expecting future generations to remember it is asking a lot. The people would have been illiterate and thus would have had to consign the whole thing to memory. And, quite frankly, is simply ain’t that good. Thematically it’s all over the place and, as is usual with the Books of Moses, it is annoyingly redundant. But the memorization of Jehovah’s laws and instructions is the key element of the Jehovah religion. It furthers the indoctrination of the youth, who must accept the traditional teaching and learn not to question them or give in to the temptation of thinking for themselves.
2. Throughout much of the song Jehovah trashes his own people and reiterates how unworthy they are. This hardly seems like an effective sales strategy. And again Jehovah the psychopath glories in bragging about the horrendous things he’s going to do to his errant worshipers. The only reason he gives for not completely obliterating his unfaithful people is that Israel’s enemies might take credit for its destruction. Mercy, compassion are not major factors, although he does cite them.
3. Jehovah presents himself here as the sole true god. The gods of other countries are false, that is, they don’t even exist and, therefore, cannot help their people when appealed to. Elsewhere, there is the impression given that these other gods do, in fact, exist, but are either inferior or else inappropriate objects of worship for the Israelites.
4. Jehovah is called here and elsewhere, the Rock, that is, the foundation, the bulwark, the mainstay and refuge of his worshipers.
5. Jehovah boasts how magnificently he fed his people. What is he talking about? Weren’t the Israelites of the Exodus fed nothing but manna?
Reading the Law
(Deuteronomy 31:9 - 31:29)
Moses wrote down the law and delivered it to the Levite priests who were in charge of Jehovah’s Chest of Sacred Records and to the Israelite elders. Moses charged them, “Every 7 years, in the year that debts are canceled, during the Festival of Tabernacles when all the people of Israel appear before the altar of Jehovah your god at the designated place of worship, you should publicly read the law in their hearing. Assemble the entire population, men, women and children, as well as foreign residents of your towns, so they can listen and learn to revere Jehovah your god and carefully follow the details of the law. Do this so that your children who are not familiar with the law, may hear it and learn to revere Jehovah your god. Do this as long as you dwell in the land you are crossing the River Jordan to occupy.”
Jehovah then told Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and come to the entrance to the Tabernacle so that I may instruct him.” And so Moses and Joshua presented themselves at the Tabernacle. Jehovah manifested himself within the Tabernacle as an elongated cloud standing before the entrance to the tent.
Jehovah spoke to Moses. “You are about to pass over and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship alien gods, the gods of the land to which they are going. They will betray me and violate the contract I have made with them. My ire will then be aroused against them. I will abandon them. I will conceal myself from them. And they will be devoured. Many misfortunes and disasters will fall upon them and when that happens they will say, ‘These disasters have befallen us because Jehovah is no longer among us.’ At that time I will surely hide myself from them, because of the great evil they have done by worshiping other gods.
“Now write down the words of this song. Teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may serve as my testimony against the people of Israel. For after I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I swore I would give to your forefathers, and when they have have eaten their fill and have grown fat, they will turn to other gods and worship them, disrespecting me and breaking my contract. But when disasters and calamities will overtake them, this song will remain as a testimony against them, for it will not be forgotten by their descendants. Even before I am to bring them into the land I swore to give them, I have been made aware of the inclinations of these people.”
So, on that very day, Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the Israelites.
Jehovah charged Joshua the son of Nun, “Be brave and strong, for you will lead the people of Israel into the land I swore I would give them. I will be at your side.”
When Moses had finished writing down in a book the entire body of law, he gave this order to the Levites who were in charge of carrying the Chest of Sacred records: “Take this book of law and place it inside Jehovah’s Chest of Sacred Records so that it may remain there as a testimony against the people of Israel. I know how stubborn and rebellious you are. If you are rebellious to Jehovah while I am alive and still among you, how more rebellious will you be after I am dead. Now convene all the tribal elders and officials so that I may speak with them directly and call upon the heaven and the earth as a witness. For I am aware that after my death you will corrupt yourself and act contrary to the ways I have commanded you. In the future, evil will befall you, because you will have done what is evil in the sight of Jehovah, arousing his ire by your actions.”
Notes
1. Again it must noted that Moses could not have written down the law, since there was no alphabet and no writing except for cuneiform and hieroglyphics. It is always assumed and it is certainly inferred that Jehovah’s law was written down in Hebrew, but it would be many centuries after Moses before that could become possible. It is also unclear whether a written record of every utterance, every law and statute, is to be housed in the Chest of Sacred Records, which is thought of as a receptacle for the Ten Commandments, traditionally both the Moses tablets and the broken pieces of the tablets Jehovah gave him. It also should be noted that if a record, a book, refers to a stone tablet and not, say, a papyrus scroll, there is a storage problem. (How many stone tablets could the chest contain? Its outside dimensions were 45 x 27 x 27 inches.)
2. The record of the law exist only as a rebuke to the Israelites it seems and not a positive inspiration or a guide for behavior. Jehovah seems to maintain a threatening, adversarial relationship with his Chosen People and expresses no confidence in their loyalty. (He of course knows what is in their hearts and also presumably knows the future.) One repeatedly asks, if the Israelites are so unworthy and so faithless, why did Jehovah pick them as his Chosen People? Was it because other peoples already had gods to represent them and national god of the Israelites was an open post, so to speak?
3. And again we are reminded that the ultimate sin, the greatest evil, is not any sort of moral depravity, but merely deserting Jehovah and worshiping other gods.
4. Moses doesn’t really pass muster as a successful leader. He was barely able to control his people in his lifetime and he despairs that his will and wishes will be followed after his death. He apparently has little faith in Joshua, who is his successor. (One gains the impression here that Joshua will be much more of a military than a spiritual leader.) No Mosaic dynasty has been established. In fact, there is no mention of Moses’ sons, Gershom and Eliezer; they disappear from the chronicle. Did they die? Perhaps they were unworthy in character, although that hardly seems disqualifying, judging from past history of the Hebrews in which all manner of scoundrels, mass murderers, cheats, and adulterers were exalted. Perhaps they were unworthy owing to the fact that their mother, Sephora, was a Midianite, a Hebrew, but not an Israelite.
5. Jehovah appears in the Tabernacle as he is wont, manifesting himself as an elongated cloud. This is a better translation, I think, than “pillar of cloud,” since a cloud does not have a defined and delineated shape and, therefore, can only approximate the shape of a pillar or column. An elongated cloud would veil Jehovah’s form, if he was a humanoid. Why he hides himself is a manner of conjecture -- to create a mystique? to conceal an appearance that humans would find repellent? (In Exodus it is asserted that Jehovah does have a physical and humanoid form. Moses is allowed to view him from the rear.)
Moses wrote down the law and delivered it to the Levite priests who were in charge of Jehovah’s Chest of Sacred Records and to the Israelite elders. Moses charged them, “Every 7 years, in the year that debts are canceled, during the Festival of Tabernacles when all the people of Israel appear before the altar of Jehovah your god at the designated place of worship, you should publicly read the law in their hearing. Assemble the entire population, men, women and children, as well as foreign residents of your towns, so they can listen and learn to revere Jehovah your god and carefully follow the details of the law. Do this so that your children who are not familiar with the law, may hear it and learn to revere Jehovah your god. Do this as long as you dwell in the land you are crossing the River Jordan to occupy.”
Jehovah then told Moses, “The time has come for you to die. Call Joshua and come to the entrance to the Tabernacle so that I may instruct him.” And so Moses and Joshua presented themselves at the Tabernacle. Jehovah manifested himself within the Tabernacle as an elongated cloud standing before the entrance to the tent.
Jehovah spoke to Moses. “You are about to pass over and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship alien gods, the gods of the land to which they are going. They will betray me and violate the contract I have made with them. My ire will then be aroused against them. I will abandon them. I will conceal myself from them. And they will be devoured. Many misfortunes and disasters will fall upon them and when that happens they will say, ‘These disasters have befallen us because Jehovah is no longer among us.’ At that time I will surely hide myself from them, because of the great evil they have done by worshiping other gods.
“Now write down the words of this song. Teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may serve as my testimony against the people of Israel. For after I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I swore I would give to your forefathers, and when they have have eaten their fill and have grown fat, they will turn to other gods and worship them, disrespecting me and breaking my contract. But when disasters and calamities will overtake them, this song will remain as a testimony against them, for it will not be forgotten by their descendants. Even before I am to bring them into the land I swore to give them, I have been made aware of the inclinations of these people.”
So, on that very day, Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the Israelites.
Jehovah charged Joshua the son of Nun, “Be brave and strong, for you will lead the people of Israel into the land I swore I would give them. I will be at your side.”
When Moses had finished writing down in a book the entire body of law, he gave this order to the Levites who were in charge of carrying the Chest of Sacred records: “Take this book of law and place it inside Jehovah’s Chest of Sacred Records so that it may remain there as a testimony against the people of Israel. I know how stubborn and rebellious you are. If you are rebellious to Jehovah while I am alive and still among you, how more rebellious will you be after I am dead. Now convene all the tribal elders and officials so that I may speak with them directly and call upon the heaven and the earth as a witness. For I am aware that after my death you will corrupt yourself and act contrary to the ways I have commanded you. In the future, evil will befall you, because you will have done what is evil in the sight of Jehovah, arousing his ire by your actions.”
Notes
1. Again it must noted that Moses could not have written down the law, since there was no alphabet and no writing except for cuneiform and hieroglyphics. It is always assumed and it is certainly inferred that Jehovah’s law was written down in Hebrew, but it would be many centuries after Moses before that could become possible. It is also unclear whether a written record of every utterance, every law and statute, is to be housed in the Chest of Sacred Records, which is thought of as a receptacle for the Ten Commandments, traditionally both the Moses tablets and the broken pieces of the tablets Jehovah gave him. It also should be noted that if a record, a book, refers to a stone tablet and not, say, a papyrus scroll, there is a storage problem. (How many stone tablets could the chest contain? Its outside dimensions were 45 x 27 x 27 inches.)
2. The record of the law exist only as a rebuke to the Israelites it seems and not a positive inspiration or a guide for behavior. Jehovah seems to maintain a threatening, adversarial relationship with his Chosen People and expresses no confidence in their loyalty. (He of course knows what is in their hearts and also presumably knows the future.) One repeatedly asks, if the Israelites are so unworthy and so faithless, why did Jehovah pick them as his Chosen People? Was it because other peoples already had gods to represent them and national god of the Israelites was an open post, so to speak?
3. And again we are reminded that the ultimate sin, the greatest evil, is not any sort of moral depravity, but merely deserting Jehovah and worshiping other gods.
4. Moses doesn’t really pass muster as a successful leader. He was barely able to control his people in his lifetime and he despairs that his will and wishes will be followed after his death. He apparently has little faith in Joshua, who is his successor. (One gains the impression here that Joshua will be much more of a military than a spiritual leader.) No Mosaic dynasty has been established. In fact, there is no mention of Moses’ sons, Gershom and Eliezer; they disappear from the chronicle. Did they die? Perhaps they were unworthy in character, although that hardly seems disqualifying, judging from past history of the Hebrews in which all manner of scoundrels, mass murderers, cheats, and adulterers were exalted. Perhaps they were unworthy owing to the fact that their mother, Sephora, was a Midianite, a Hebrew, but not an Israelite.
5. Jehovah appears in the Tabernacle as he is wont, manifesting himself as an elongated cloud. This is a better translation, I think, than “pillar of cloud,” since a cloud does not have a defined and delineated shape and, therefore, can only approximate the shape of a pillar or column. An elongated cloud would veil Jehovah’s form, if he was a humanoid. Why he hides himself is a manner of conjecture -- to create a mystique? to conceal an appearance that humans would find repellent? (In Exodus it is asserted that Jehovah does have a physical and humanoid form. Moses is allowed to view him from the rear.)
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Moses Introduces Joshua as His Successor
(Deuteronomy 31:1 - 31:8)
Moses continued to address his people, saying this to the whole nation of Israel, “I am now 120 years old and am no longer capable of leading you. Jehovah has told me, ‘You will not cross the River Jordan!’ Jehovah will make the crossing before you. He will destroy the nations ahead of you so that you can take possession of their lands. You will be led across the river by Joshua, as Jehovah has ordered. Jehovah will treat them as he did the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, when he defeated them and conquered their countries. Jehovah will deliver into your hands the native inhabitants and you must deal with them as I have instructed you. Be strong and brave! Do not fear or hold them in dread, for Jehovah your god accompanies you and he will never forsake or desert you.
“Moses summoned Joshua and before all the people of Israel, he exhorted him, “Be strong and brave, for you must lead this people into the land that Jehovah swore to their ancestors that he would give them. You must see to it that they receive their inheritance. It is Jehovah who will precede and accompany you. He will not forsake or desert you, so do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Notes
1. Moses reiterates the assurances that Jehovah will be there for the Israelites when they enter the Promised Land and will do their fighting for them. The Israelites are never enjoined to rely upon their own courage and prowess, just as they are never allowed to use their own judgment.
2. Moses, now a paltry 120 years old, admits that he is too old and decrepit to lead his people across the Jordan. (He is not too old to make an interminable speech, however, and having himself heard by an audience numbering in the millions.) Earlier, Jehovah asserts that Moses is being punished for his disobedience and that that is the reason why he is not permitted to step foot in the Promised Land, not that he is necessarily too old. Remember that Abraham lived to be 175. (Coincidentally, men in the Bible keep dying younger and younger as we move forward in time.)
3. Joshua, who is presented here rather casually, was one of the three Israelites from the Exodus who is still alive. (The others are Caleb and the dying Moses) Even if he was a youth at the time he accompanied Moses up the mountain in Sinai, he would be a fairly on in years when he succeeds Moses 40 years later. Although Jehovah promises to defeat and destroy all the native peoples before the Israelites enter the Promised Land, Joshua will have to do a lot of fighting to secure it, enough to fill an entire book of the Bible.
Moses continued to address his people, saying this to the whole nation of Israel, “I am now 120 years old and am no longer capable of leading you. Jehovah has told me, ‘You will not cross the River Jordan!’ Jehovah will make the crossing before you. He will destroy the nations ahead of you so that you can take possession of their lands. You will be led across the river by Joshua, as Jehovah has ordered. Jehovah will treat them as he did the Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, when he defeated them and conquered their countries. Jehovah will deliver into your hands the native inhabitants and you must deal with them as I have instructed you. Be strong and brave! Do not fear or hold them in dread, for Jehovah your god accompanies you and he will never forsake or desert you.
“Moses summoned Joshua and before all the people of Israel, he exhorted him, “Be strong and brave, for you must lead this people into the land that Jehovah swore to their ancestors that he would give them. You must see to it that they receive their inheritance. It is Jehovah who will precede and accompany you. He will not forsake or desert you, so do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Notes
1. Moses reiterates the assurances that Jehovah will be there for the Israelites when they enter the Promised Land and will do their fighting for them. The Israelites are never enjoined to rely upon their own courage and prowess, just as they are never allowed to use their own judgment.
2. Moses, now a paltry 120 years old, admits that he is too old and decrepit to lead his people across the Jordan. (He is not too old to make an interminable speech, however, and having himself heard by an audience numbering in the millions.) Earlier, Jehovah asserts that Moses is being punished for his disobedience and that that is the reason why he is not permitted to step foot in the Promised Land, not that he is necessarily too old. Remember that Abraham lived to be 175. (Coincidentally, men in the Bible keep dying younger and younger as we move forward in time.)
3. Joshua, who is presented here rather casually, was one of the three Israelites from the Exodus who is still alive. (The others are Caleb and the dying Moses) Even if he was a youth at the time he accompanied Moses up the mountain in Sinai, he would be a fairly on in years when he succeeds Moses 40 years later. Although Jehovah promises to defeat and destroy all the native peoples before the Israelites enter the Promised Land, Joshua will have to do a lot of fighting to secure it, enough to fill an entire book of the Bible.
A Review of the Contract with Jehovah
(Deuteronomy 29:1 - 29:29)
These are the words of the contract that Jehovah commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in Moab, in addition to the contract he made with them at Horeb. Moses summoned all the Israelite people and addressed them:
“You have witnessed what Jehovah did to the Pharaoh of Egypt, to all his minions, and to his entire country; your very eyes saw the tests of might, the miracles and the fantastic wonders. But up until this time Jehovah has never given you the mind to understand, the eyes to see, or the ears to hear. I have led you 40 years through the desert. Neither the clothes on your back nor the sandals on your feet have worn out with age. You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, so that you would remember that Jehovah is your god.
“When you arrived here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We occupied their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh as their share of the inheritance.
“Therefore, obey all the terms of the contract so that you will succeed in all you do. You are standing today before Jehovah your god, among the tribal leaders, elders, and officers, indeed all the men of Israel, your women and children, as well as the foreigners who live among us, from those who chop wood to those who carry water. You are standing here to enter into a contract with Jehovah your god, a contract that must be sealed with an oath to Jehovah your god. It will confirm that you are his people and that he is your god, as he promised you and as he swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But you are not the only ones with whom this sworn contract is being made. It is being made not only with those who stand before Jehovah your god today but with those who are not here.
“You remember how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the midst of nations on our way here. And you saw their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, silver and gold. Beware lest there may be among you, a man or a woman, a clan or a tribe, that may betray Jehovah your god and go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be a root among you that will bear a fruit so poisonous and bitter. Those who hear the warnings of this sworn contract, but arrogantly say to themselves, ‘I will be safe, even if I follow the will of my headstrong heart and sate my appetites,’ Jehovah will never pardon them; his jealousy and wrath will be inflamed against them. All the curses written here will come down upon them, and Jehovah will blot out their names from under the heavens. Jehovah will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for destruction and afflict upon them all the curses of the contract detailed in this book of law.
“Then, future generations, both your descendants and foreigners who will immigrate from distant lands, will witness the devastation of the land and the pestilences that Jehovah has inflicted upon it. The entire country will be burned out by sulfur and salt, with nothing planted on it and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim that Jehovah in his intense anger destroyed. All the surrounding countries will ask, ‘Why did Jehovah do this to the land? What so aroused his fury?' The people will reply, ‘This occurred because the people of this land violated the contract they had made with Jehovah, the god of their ancestors, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. They strayed and served other gods, gods not known to them, gods Jehovah did not permit them to worship. Consequently, Jehovah’s anger was inflicted upon this land, and he brought down upon it all the curses written in this book. Jehovah, in anger and fury, uprooted them from the land and banished them to the country where they now dwell.
“There are secrets that belong only to Jehovah our god, but the things he has revealed to us belong to us and our descendants forever so that we may follow the words of this law.”
Notes
1. This contract or covenant that Jehovah has made with the people of Israel is the heart of the Books of Moses. It seems however to be a very fluid agreement with Jehovah adding more and more conditions, more and more laws and statutes that his people must follow. The benefits of adhering to the agreement do not increase, but the penalties, eg. the curses listed in Deuteronomy, become more severe.
2. Some explanation for the Israelites not needing to eat regular food has been previously suggested. (Jehovah, being most likely an extraterrestrial, makes daily drops of synthetic food, manna, from an airship the guides the wandering Israelites and continually hovers over their camp.) No explanation can, however, be offered for the Israelites not wearing out their clothes and sandals. (Imagine wearing the same set of clothes every day for 40 years! How was a tailor or a sandal maker able to make a living?) This is, of course, preposterous. Also, it should be mentioned that Moses is ignoring one salient fact. With only a couple exceptions, all the people who had started on the Exodus had died off by the 40th year. This has been repeated many times. Moses, the old man, seems to have forgotten all about it and during this speech, he seems to be addressing the dead Israelites who departed from Egypt. One would have thought such glaring contradictions, and there are many others, would not have escaped an editor’s notice, as they still seem to escape the notice of faithful believers.
3. The contract with Jehovah is binding upon future generations of Israelites. In other words, those not yet born are bound to a contract completely without their consent. And there seems to be no opt-out clause.
4. Jehovah again takes delight in bragging how he will destroy the land if any of his subject people disobey him. Comparison is made to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those cities were incinerated because the inhabitants were immoral, or, more likely, defiant of Jehovah. There is no suggestion, though, that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had any sort of contract with Jehovah; he destroyed them anyway. (Why didn’t Jehovah also destroy other countries whose immorality was egregious?)
5. Jehovah’s acts of destruction are motivated by his anger and not by his sense of justice. Punishment is never corrective, merely vindictive. There is no sense of using punishment to show the sinner the errors of his ways, only to make him suffer the most. Jehovah is less the stern, reproving parent, than the cruel and sadistic prison warden.
These are the words of the contract that Jehovah commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in Moab, in addition to the contract he made with them at Horeb. Moses summoned all the Israelite people and addressed them:
“You have witnessed what Jehovah did to the Pharaoh of Egypt, to all his minions, and to his entire country; your very eyes saw the tests of might, the miracles and the fantastic wonders. But up until this time Jehovah has never given you the mind to understand, the eyes to see, or the ears to hear. I have led you 40 years through the desert. Neither the clothes on your back nor the sandals on your feet have worn out with age. You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, so that you would remember that Jehovah is your god.
“When you arrived here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We occupied their land and gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh as their share of the inheritance.
“Therefore, obey all the terms of the contract so that you will succeed in all you do. You are standing today before Jehovah your god, among the tribal leaders, elders, and officers, indeed all the men of Israel, your women and children, as well as the foreigners who live among us, from those who chop wood to those who carry water. You are standing here to enter into a contract with Jehovah your god, a contract that must be sealed with an oath to Jehovah your god. It will confirm that you are his people and that he is your god, as he promised you and as he swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But you are not the only ones with whom this sworn contract is being made. It is being made not only with those who stand before Jehovah your god today but with those who are not here.
“You remember how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the midst of nations on our way here. And you saw their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, silver and gold. Beware lest there may be among you, a man or a woman, a clan or a tribe, that may betray Jehovah your god and go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be a root among you that will bear a fruit so poisonous and bitter. Those who hear the warnings of this sworn contract, but arrogantly say to themselves, ‘I will be safe, even if I follow the will of my headstrong heart and sate my appetites,’ Jehovah will never pardon them; his jealousy and wrath will be inflamed against them. All the curses written here will come down upon them, and Jehovah will blot out their names from under the heavens. Jehovah will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for destruction and afflict upon them all the curses of the contract detailed in this book of law.
“Then, future generations, both your descendants and foreigners who will immigrate from distant lands, will witness the devastation of the land and the pestilences that Jehovah has inflicted upon it. The entire country will be burned out by sulfur and salt, with nothing planted on it and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It will be like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim that Jehovah in his intense anger destroyed. All the surrounding countries will ask, ‘Why did Jehovah do this to the land? What so aroused his fury?' The people will reply, ‘This occurred because the people of this land violated the contract they had made with Jehovah, the god of their ancestors, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. They strayed and served other gods, gods not known to them, gods Jehovah did not permit them to worship. Consequently, Jehovah’s anger was inflicted upon this land, and he brought down upon it all the curses written in this book. Jehovah, in anger and fury, uprooted them from the land and banished them to the country where they now dwell.
“There are secrets that belong only to Jehovah our god, but the things he has revealed to us belong to us and our descendants forever so that we may follow the words of this law.”
Notes
1. This contract or covenant that Jehovah has made with the people of Israel is the heart of the Books of Moses. It seems however to be a very fluid agreement with Jehovah adding more and more conditions, more and more laws and statutes that his people must follow. The benefits of adhering to the agreement do not increase, but the penalties, eg. the curses listed in Deuteronomy, become more severe.
2. Some explanation for the Israelites not needing to eat regular food has been previously suggested. (Jehovah, being most likely an extraterrestrial, makes daily drops of synthetic food, manna, from an airship the guides the wandering Israelites and continually hovers over their camp.) No explanation can, however, be offered for the Israelites not wearing out their clothes and sandals. (Imagine wearing the same set of clothes every day for 40 years! How was a tailor or a sandal maker able to make a living?) This is, of course, preposterous. Also, it should be mentioned that Moses is ignoring one salient fact. With only a couple exceptions, all the people who had started on the Exodus had died off by the 40th year. This has been repeated many times. Moses, the old man, seems to have forgotten all about it and during this speech, he seems to be addressing the dead Israelites who departed from Egypt. One would have thought such glaring contradictions, and there are many others, would not have escaped an editor’s notice, as they still seem to escape the notice of faithful believers.
3. The contract with Jehovah is binding upon future generations of Israelites. In other words, those not yet born are bound to a contract completely without their consent. And there seems to be no opt-out clause.
4. Jehovah again takes delight in bragging how he will destroy the land if any of his subject people disobey him. Comparison is made to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those cities were incinerated because the inhabitants were immoral, or, more likely, defiant of Jehovah. There is no suggestion, though, that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had any sort of contract with Jehovah; he destroyed them anyway. (Why didn’t Jehovah also destroy other countries whose immorality was egregious?)
5. Jehovah’s acts of destruction are motivated by his anger and not by his sense of justice. Punishment is never corrective, merely vindictive. There is no sense of using punishment to show the sinner the errors of his ways, only to make him suffer the most. Jehovah is less the stern, reproving parent, than the cruel and sadistic prison warden.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Blessings and Curses
(Deuteronomy 27:1 - 28:68 )
Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, “Obey all the commandments I have given you this day. When you cross the River Jordan and enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with lime plaster. Write on them the whole body of the law, this after you have crossed the river to enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as was promised your ancestors by Jehovah your god. When you have crossed the River Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with lime plaster, as I am commanding you today.
“You must then build there a stone altar to Jehovah your god. Do not work the stones with iron tools, but construct the altar only of undressed stones. Use it to make your burnt offerings to Jehovah your god. You should also make your peace offerings and have celebratory feasts before the altar of Jehovah your god. You must clearly write on these stones all the words of this law.
Moses and the Levite priests proclaimed this to all the people of Israel, “Be silent and listen! This day, O Israel, you have become the people of Jehovah your god. You must therefore obey the words of Jehovah your god and follow his commandments and decrees that I have given you this day.”
On the same day, Moses commanded the people, “When you have crossed the River Jordan the following tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim and pronounce blessings to the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. The following are the tribes that will stand on Mount Ebal and pronounce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. The Levites shall announce in a loud voice to the men of Israel:
‘Cursed be those who carve or cast an idol and secretly sets it up. Such works of craftsmanship are an abomination to Jehovah.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who tampers with a neighbor’s boundary marker.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who leads a blindman astray on the road.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who subverts justice for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his sister or a half sister who is the daughter of his father or mother.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who assaults his neighbor from ambush.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who accepts payment to shed innocent blood,’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who does not accept and obey every word of these laws.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’”
“If you faithfully obey the voice of Jehovah your god and carefully keep all the commandments that I have given you today, Jehovah your god will exalt you above all the nations on the earth. All these blessings will be showered upon you and remain with you if you obey Jehovah your god.
“Blessed will you be in the city and in the country.
“Blessed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.
“Blessed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.
“Blessed will you be when you enter this life and when you depart from it.
“Jehovah will conquer your enemies when they rise up against you. Though they may attack you from one direction, they will be made to scatter in seven.
“Jehovah will bless your storehouses and will bless all that you undertake. He will bless you in the land that he, Jehovah your god, has given you. As he promised he would, Jehovah will establish you as a people sacred to him, provided you obey the commandments of Jehovah your god and follow his ways. And when all the peoples of the world will come to see that you are under the protection of Jehovah, they will respect you. Jehovah will grant you abundance and prosperity, in your children and in your livestock and crops, within the land Jehovah your god promised he would give your ancestors. Jehovah will open the celestial dome and from his rich storehouse, will send you rain in season and bless all that you put your hand to. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none. Jehovah will put you at the head and not in the rear. And if you heed the commands of Jehovah your god I have given you this day and follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. You must not deviate in any direction from any of the commands I am giving you today, and you must not follow and worship other gods.
“However, if you fail to obey Jehovah your god and carefully follow his commandments and the decrees I am giving you this day, these curses will fall upon you and overwhelm you:
“Cursed will you be in the city and in the country.
“Cursed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.
“Cursed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.
“Cursed will you be when you come into this life and when you depart from it.
“Jehovah will inflict upon you curses and confusion and thwart all that you put your hand to until, because of the evil you have done in forsaking him, you will be entirely destroyed and quickly perish. Jehovah will make disease cling to you until he has wiped you off the land you are going in to possess. Jehovah will strike you with debilitating illnesses, fever, inflammation, scorching heat and drought, blight and mildew. These calamities will pursue you until you perish. The skies above will be like bronze and the ground beneath you, like iron. Jehovah will turn the rain that falls into powder and the dust will pour down from the heavens until you are exterminated.
“Jehovah will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but flee from them in seven. You will be scattered among all the nations of the earth. You corpse will provide food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to scavenge; there will be no one to shoo them away. Jehovah will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, scabs and itches from which you can never be cured. Jehovah will afflict you with insanity, blindness, and derangement. At noon you will grope about like a blind man in darkness. You will not succeed in any of your endeavors; you will be continually robbed and persecuted and no one will save you. You will become betrothed and your future wife will be raped by another man. You will build a house, but will not have the opportunity to live with in it. You will plant a vineyard, but not begin to enjoy its fruit. Your cattle will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be stolen from under your nose and will never be returned to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to get them back for you. You sons and daughters will be sent as slaves into another land; you will strain your eyes searching for them, but you will be powerless to recover them. A people unknown to you will eat the produce of your land and reap the fruit of your labors. You will be constantly oppressed and continually frustrated. You will be driven mad by what you see. Jehovah will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that will not heal; they will spread from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
“You and the king you have chosen to rule over you Jehovah will exile to a foreign land unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, of wood and stone. You will become an object of disgust and mockery among the peoples where Jehovah will banish you.
“You will plant seed in the field, but little of it will you harvest, for the locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink the wine or harvest the grapes, because worms will eat them. There will be olive trees throughout your land, but you will anoint yourself with its oil, because the olives will drop off prematurely. You will father sons and daughters, but they will not belong to you, for they will become slaves. The insect will take over your trees and the crops of your field. The foreigner who lives among you will rise higher and higher as you sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head and you the tail.
“All these curse will come down upon you; they will pursue and overtake you until they destroy you, because you did not obey Jehovah your god and follow the commands and decrees he gave you. They will forever be a sign and warning to you and your descendants. Because you did not serve Jehovah your god joyfully and wholeheartedly while you enjoyed good times, in hunger and thirst, nakedness and deprivation you will serve the enemies Jehovah has inflicted upon you. He will put an iron yoke round your neck until you are destroyed.
“Jehovah will bring against you a distant nation from the ends of the earth that will swoop down upon you like an eagle, a country whose language you do not understand, a hard-hearted people that will show no respect for the elderly or pity for the young. It will consume the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. It will leave you no grain, no new wine, no grapes, no calves of your herd or lambs of your flock so that you will starve. They will lay siege to all the towns of your country until the high walls upon which you have relied for your security will fall. They will besiege all the cities in the land Jehovah your god is giving you.
“Because of the hardships your enemies will inflict upon you during the siege, you will consume your own offspring, the very flesh of the sons and daughters Jehovah your god has given you. Even the most soft-hearted man among you will show no compassion, not to his own brother or his beloved wife or his surviving children, nor will he share with them the food he is eating, the flesh of his own children, for there will be nothing else to eat because of the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns. The most refined and delicate woman, one so delicate she would not let the sole of her foot touch the ground, will not share with the husband she loves or with her son or daughter. She will secretly devour her afterbirth and her new-born child, for there will nothing else to eat due to the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns.
“If you do not carefully follow the words of the law inscribed in this record and revere the glorious and awesome name of Jehovah your god, then Jehovah will inflict upon you and your descendants, extraordinary plagues that are severe and prolonged, and illnesses acute, chronic and lingering. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded and there will be no relief from them. Jehovah will inflict upon you every illness and plague in existence, even those not mentioned in this book of laws, until you are wiped out. Once as numerous as the stars in the sky, you will become few in number because you have not obeyed Jehovah your god. Just as Jehovah found it pleasing to make you prosper and multiply, he will take delight in bringing you to ruin. You will be uprooted from the land you are to enter and occupy. Jehovah will scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship gods of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors have known. There, among these nations you will find no peace, no place to rest your feet, but Jehovah will give you an anxious mind, failing eyesight, and a dispirited heart. You will live in constant dread both by night and day, never sure of your survival. In the morning you will lament, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” Your heart will be filled with dread and your eyes will be horrified by what they see. Jehovah will send you back in ships to Egypt by a route he promised you you would never have to see again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves -- but none will buy you!”
Notes
1. Moses enjoins the Israelites to write the entirety of the law they have been given on stones. First of all, as has often been observed, the Israelites would have been preliterate, there only Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mesopotamian cuneiform being the only available means of writing. The stones would have be undressed, that is, rough and unfinished. It is specified that no iron tool be used upon them. Moses lived during the Bronze Age; it is unlikely that the Israelites at that time would have had access to any iron tools, so the prohibition seems pointless. Plastering the stones would have provided a smooth surface upon which to write, but not, one would think, an archival surface. Compared to the magnificent monuments erected by the great bronze-age civilization, this all seems very shabby indeed.
2. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are adjacent peaks in the area of biblical Shechem and the later Nablus, 30 miles north of Jerusalem in what is now the West Bank. Ebal is over 3000 feet high, 200 feet higher than Gerizim. It consists mostly of limestone that was quarried considerably in ancient times. The limestone would have furnished the material for the lime plaster that is referenced. Archaeological excavations there have revealed what may have been altars. Interesting that Ebal, the mountain of curses, is higher than Gerizim, the mountain of blessings. Also interesting is the fact that Moses knew so much of the geography of the Promised Land, which he never saw nor would see.
3. The Israelites are hardly offered much of a choice by Jehovah. He has ordained them as his people and there’s nothing they can do to get out of it. The blessing he offers them would seem sufficient to secure to ensure their allegiance, but the curses would seem to make any act of disloyalty unthinkable. Since Deuteronomy was written during the time of the Babylonian Captivity, the author probably included curses that may have resembled events that had come to pass during that period. Among the religious of most creeds misfortunes and disasters are usually attributed to immorality, insufficient piety, or improper worship.
4. The curses are very telling of Jehovah’s character. As a master it is hard to imagine anyone more cruel, sadistic, and tyrannical, for it is with admittedly fiendish delight that Jehovah devises the harshest, most disgusting punishments imaginable for his people, if they disobey him. He kills off the Israelites a half dozen times in a half dozen ways. He even has them starving and resorting to cannibalism, eating their own children. Dwelling so much on the horrific curses and bragging about the pleasure he would have in inflicting them, the Jehovah of Moses reveals himself -- again -- to be nothing less than a depraved, murderous psychopath, surely more the embodiment of evil than good.
Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people, “Obey all the commandments I have given you this day. When you cross the River Jordan and enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with lime plaster. Write on them the whole body of the law, this after you have crossed the river to enter the land Jehovah your god is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as was promised your ancestors by Jehovah your god. When you have crossed the River Jordan, set up these stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with lime plaster, as I am commanding you today.
“You must then build there a stone altar to Jehovah your god. Do not work the stones with iron tools, but construct the altar only of undressed stones. Use it to make your burnt offerings to Jehovah your god. You should also make your peace offerings and have celebratory feasts before the altar of Jehovah your god. You must clearly write on these stones all the words of this law.
Moses and the Levite priests proclaimed this to all the people of Israel, “Be silent and listen! This day, O Israel, you have become the people of Jehovah your god. You must therefore obey the words of Jehovah your god and follow his commandments and decrees that I have given you this day.”
On the same day, Moses commanded the people, “When you have crossed the River Jordan the following tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim and pronounce blessings to the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. The following are the tribes that will stand on Mount Ebal and pronounce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. The Levites shall announce in a loud voice to the men of Israel:
‘Cursed be those who carve or cast an idol and secretly sets it up. Such works of craftsmanship are an abomination to Jehovah.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who tampers with a neighbor’s boundary marker.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who leads a blindman astray on the road.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who subverts justice for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his father’s wife, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual intercourse with any animal.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his sister or a half sister who is the daughter of his father or mother.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who assaults his neighbor from ambush.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who accepts payment to shed innocent blood,’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’
‘Cursed be anyone who does not accept and obey every word of these laws.’ And all the people will reply ‘Amen!’”
“If you faithfully obey the voice of Jehovah your god and carefully keep all the commandments that I have given you today, Jehovah your god will exalt you above all the nations on the earth. All these blessings will be showered upon you and remain with you if you obey Jehovah your god.
“Blessed will you be in the city and in the country.
“Blessed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.
“Blessed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.
“Blessed will you be when you enter this life and when you depart from it.
“Jehovah will conquer your enemies when they rise up against you. Though they may attack you from one direction, they will be made to scatter in seven.
“Jehovah will bless your storehouses and will bless all that you undertake. He will bless you in the land that he, Jehovah your god, has given you. As he promised he would, Jehovah will establish you as a people sacred to him, provided you obey the commandments of Jehovah your god and follow his ways. And when all the peoples of the world will come to see that you are under the protection of Jehovah, they will respect you. Jehovah will grant you abundance and prosperity, in your children and in your livestock and crops, within the land Jehovah your god promised he would give your ancestors. Jehovah will open the celestial dome and from his rich storehouse, will send you rain in season and bless all that you put your hand to. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none. Jehovah will put you at the head and not in the rear. And if you heed the commands of Jehovah your god I have given you this day and follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. You must not deviate in any direction from any of the commands I am giving you today, and you must not follow and worship other gods.
“However, if you fail to obey Jehovah your god and carefully follow his commandments and the decrees I am giving you this day, these curses will fall upon you and overwhelm you:
“Cursed will you be in the city and in the country.
“Cursed will you be in your harvests and in your stores of grain.
“Cursed will you be in your children, in the produce of your land, and in the increase of your flocks and herds.
“Cursed will you be when you come into this life and when you depart from it.
“Jehovah will inflict upon you curses and confusion and thwart all that you put your hand to until, because of the evil you have done in forsaking him, you will be entirely destroyed and quickly perish. Jehovah will make disease cling to you until he has wiped you off the land you are going in to possess. Jehovah will strike you with debilitating illnesses, fever, inflammation, scorching heat and drought, blight and mildew. These calamities will pursue you until you perish. The skies above will be like bronze and the ground beneath you, like iron. Jehovah will turn the rain that falls into powder and the dust will pour down from the heavens until you are exterminated.
“Jehovah will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but flee from them in seven. You will be scattered among all the nations of the earth. You corpse will provide food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to scavenge; there will be no one to shoo them away. Jehovah will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, scabs and itches from which you can never be cured. Jehovah will afflict you with insanity, blindness, and derangement. At noon you will grope about like a blind man in darkness. You will not succeed in any of your endeavors; you will be continually robbed and persecuted and no one will save you. You will become betrothed and your future wife will be raped by another man. You will build a house, but will not have the opportunity to live with in it. You will plant a vineyard, but not begin to enjoy its fruit. Your cattle will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be stolen from under your nose and will never be returned to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to get them back for you. You sons and daughters will be sent as slaves into another land; you will strain your eyes searching for them, but you will be powerless to recover them. A people unknown to you will eat the produce of your land and reap the fruit of your labors. You will be constantly oppressed and continually frustrated. You will be driven mad by what you see. Jehovah will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that will not heal; they will spread from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.
“You and the king you have chosen to rule over you Jehovah will exile to a foreign land unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, of wood and stone. You will become an object of disgust and mockery among the peoples where Jehovah will banish you.
“You will plant seed in the field, but little of it will you harvest, for the locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them, but you will not drink the wine or harvest the grapes, because worms will eat them. There will be olive trees throughout your land, but you will anoint yourself with its oil, because the olives will drop off prematurely. You will father sons and daughters, but they will not belong to you, for they will become slaves. The insect will take over your trees and the crops of your field. The foreigner who lives among you will rise higher and higher as you sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head and you the tail.
“All these curse will come down upon you; they will pursue and overtake you until they destroy you, because you did not obey Jehovah your god and follow the commands and decrees he gave you. They will forever be a sign and warning to you and your descendants. Because you did not serve Jehovah your god joyfully and wholeheartedly while you enjoyed good times, in hunger and thirst, nakedness and deprivation you will serve the enemies Jehovah has inflicted upon you. He will put an iron yoke round your neck until you are destroyed.
“Jehovah will bring against you a distant nation from the ends of the earth that will swoop down upon you like an eagle, a country whose language you do not understand, a hard-hearted people that will show no respect for the elderly or pity for the young. It will consume the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. It will leave you no grain, no new wine, no grapes, no calves of your herd or lambs of your flock so that you will starve. They will lay siege to all the towns of your country until the high walls upon which you have relied for your security will fall. They will besiege all the cities in the land Jehovah your god is giving you.
“Because of the hardships your enemies will inflict upon you during the siege, you will consume your own offspring, the very flesh of the sons and daughters Jehovah your god has given you. Even the most soft-hearted man among you will show no compassion, not to his own brother or his beloved wife or his surviving children, nor will he share with them the food he is eating, the flesh of his own children, for there will be nothing else to eat because of the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns. The most refined and delicate woman, one so delicate she would not let the sole of her foot touch the ground, will not share with the husband she loves or with her son or daughter. She will secretly devour her afterbirth and her new-born child, for there will nothing else to eat due to the horrible deprivation the siege will inflict upon all of your towns.
“If you do not carefully follow the words of the law inscribed in this record and revere the glorious and awesome name of Jehovah your god, then Jehovah will inflict upon you and your descendants, extraordinary plagues that are severe and prolonged, and illnesses acute, chronic and lingering. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded and there will be no relief from them. Jehovah will inflict upon you every illness and plague in existence, even those not mentioned in this book of laws, until you are wiped out. Once as numerous as the stars in the sky, you will become few in number because you have not obeyed Jehovah your god. Just as Jehovah found it pleasing to make you prosper and multiply, he will take delight in bringing you to ruin. You will be uprooted from the land you are to enter and occupy. Jehovah will scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship gods of wood and stone that neither you nor your ancestors have known. There, among these nations you will find no peace, no place to rest your feet, but Jehovah will give you an anxious mind, failing eyesight, and a dispirited heart. You will live in constant dread both by night and day, never sure of your survival. In the morning you will lament, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening, “If only it were morning!” Your heart will be filled with dread and your eyes will be horrified by what they see. Jehovah will send you back in ships to Egypt by a route he promised you you would never have to see again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves -- but none will buy you!”
Notes
1. Moses enjoins the Israelites to write the entirety of the law they have been given on stones. First of all, as has often been observed, the Israelites would have been preliterate, there only Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mesopotamian cuneiform being the only available means of writing. The stones would have be undressed, that is, rough and unfinished. It is specified that no iron tool be used upon them. Moses lived during the Bronze Age; it is unlikely that the Israelites at that time would have had access to any iron tools, so the prohibition seems pointless. Plastering the stones would have provided a smooth surface upon which to write, but not, one would think, an archival surface. Compared to the magnificent monuments erected by the great bronze-age civilization, this all seems very shabby indeed.
2. Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are adjacent peaks in the area of biblical Shechem and the later Nablus, 30 miles north of Jerusalem in what is now the West Bank. Ebal is over 3000 feet high, 200 feet higher than Gerizim. It consists mostly of limestone that was quarried considerably in ancient times. The limestone would have furnished the material for the lime plaster that is referenced. Archaeological excavations there have revealed what may have been altars. Interesting that Ebal, the mountain of curses, is higher than Gerizim, the mountain of blessings. Also interesting is the fact that Moses knew so much of the geography of the Promised Land, which he never saw nor would see.
3. The Israelites are hardly offered much of a choice by Jehovah. He has ordained them as his people and there’s nothing they can do to get out of it. The blessing he offers them would seem sufficient to secure to ensure their allegiance, but the curses would seem to make any act of disloyalty unthinkable. Since Deuteronomy was written during the time of the Babylonian Captivity, the author probably included curses that may have resembled events that had come to pass during that period. Among the religious of most creeds misfortunes and disasters are usually attributed to immorality, insufficient piety, or improper worship.
4. The curses are very telling of Jehovah’s character. As a master it is hard to imagine anyone more cruel, sadistic, and tyrannical, for it is with admittedly fiendish delight that Jehovah devises the harshest, most disgusting punishments imaginable for his people, if they disobey him. He kills off the Israelites a half dozen times in a half dozen ways. He even has them starving and resorting to cannibalism, eating their own children. Dwelling so much on the horrific curses and bragging about the pleasure he would have in inflicting them, the Jehovah of Moses reveals himself -- again -- to be nothing less than a depraved, murderous psychopath, surely more the embodiment of evil than good.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
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.
“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.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Provisions for Cities of Refuge
(Deuteronomy 19:1 - 19:13)
"When Jehovah your god has destroyed the people dwelling in the land he is giving you and when you have occupied their territory and settled in the towns and homes that once were theirs, you must establish, in this land that Jehovah your god is giving you, three separate cities of refuge. Survey the land that is your inheritance from Jehovah your god and divide it into three regions, so that in each region there may be a city to which someone who has committed manslaughter may conveniently flee and take refuge.
"This provision is made for someone who has killed another person unintentionally, without malice aforethought, so that he may flee to one of these cities and live there in security. This would apply to someone who goes into the woods with a neighbor in order to cut wood. He swings an ax to fell a tree, the ax head flies off, hits and kills his neighbor. That man may save his life by fleeing to one of these cities. If, however, the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too great, the blood avenger, in hot pursuit, might, owing to the great distance, overtake and kill him. In such a case the man's death would be undeserved, because he had killed the man accidentally and without malice aforethought. That is why I command that you set aside three cities.
"If Jehovah enlarges your territory (as he vowed to your ancestors he would do) and gives you all the land he promised them -- because you have fastidiously followed all the laws I have given you, to revere Jehovah as your god and live by his precepts -- then you must provide for three additional cities of refuge. This would prevent the death of innocent persons in the land Jehovah is giving you as a divine inheritance and spare you from the guilt of allowing innocent blood to be shed.
"But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, attacks and kills him, and then flees to a city of refuge, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send for him and bring him back so that he may be delivered into the hands of the blood avenger to be executed. Lend him no pity! You must purge Israel of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that all may go well with you."
Notes
1. The necessity to establish cities of refuge highlights the prevailing values of the time, specifically, that someone who causes the death of another person is guilty of murder irrespective of motive or possession of a guilty mind. Accidentally and unintentionally killing someone is tantamount to the most vicious murder and must be avenged by death. Tribal mores demand an eye for an eye. Taking the life of a member of the tribe, however it occurs, is an assault upon the tribe and must be responded to in kind. He who has taken the life of a tribal member must be killed by a blood avenger appointed by the offended tribe, this usually being a male member of the victim's family. Such concepts of justice were not unique to primitive Palestine; they seem to have been, if not universal, at least very widespread, perhaps the Sardinian vendetta being one of the last atavistic hold overs. Tribal standards remained in force until national governments claimed a monopoly on the administration of justice. With the Israelites, Jehovah does not seek to abolish or totally suppress tribalism; instead he works around it with such provisions as the cities of refuge. To the modern, Jehovan justice may seem primitive and harsh, but it is far less so than what it strives to replace. Often its principles are those upon which modern justice are based, for example, the distinction between premeditated murder and manslaughter, accidental death, and killing in self defense.
2. Implied in this section is the principle of collective guilt, that the entire community is responsible for the wrongful actions of any of its members. Moreover, if guilt is not assuaged, if wrong is not compensated for, then bad fortune will befall the community. (This last concept is a cornerstone of Jehovan and Christian religion as well: sin brings ill fortune, righteousness brings good fortune, a reward from a grateful deity.)
"When Jehovah your god has destroyed the people dwelling in the land he is giving you and when you have occupied their territory and settled in the towns and homes that once were theirs, you must establish, in this land that Jehovah your god is giving you, three separate cities of refuge. Survey the land that is your inheritance from Jehovah your god and divide it into three regions, so that in each region there may be a city to which someone who has committed manslaughter may conveniently flee and take refuge.
"This provision is made for someone who has killed another person unintentionally, without malice aforethought, so that he may flee to one of these cities and live there in security. This would apply to someone who goes into the woods with a neighbor in order to cut wood. He swings an ax to fell a tree, the ax head flies off, hits and kills his neighbor. That man may save his life by fleeing to one of these cities. If, however, the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too great, the blood avenger, in hot pursuit, might, owing to the great distance, overtake and kill him. In such a case the man's death would be undeserved, because he had killed the man accidentally and without malice aforethought. That is why I command that you set aside three cities.
"If Jehovah enlarges your territory (as he vowed to your ancestors he would do) and gives you all the land he promised them -- because you have fastidiously followed all the laws I have given you, to revere Jehovah as your god and live by his precepts -- then you must provide for three additional cities of refuge. This would prevent the death of innocent persons in the land Jehovah is giving you as a divine inheritance and spare you from the guilt of allowing innocent blood to be shed.
"But if someone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, attacks and kills him, and then flees to a city of refuge, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send for him and bring him back so that he may be delivered into the hands of the blood avenger to be executed. Lend him no pity! You must purge Israel of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that all may go well with you."
Notes
1. The necessity to establish cities of refuge highlights the prevailing values of the time, specifically, that someone who causes the death of another person is guilty of murder irrespective of motive or possession of a guilty mind. Accidentally and unintentionally killing someone is tantamount to the most vicious murder and must be avenged by death. Tribal mores demand an eye for an eye. Taking the life of a member of the tribe, however it occurs, is an assault upon the tribe and must be responded to in kind. He who has taken the life of a tribal member must be killed by a blood avenger appointed by the offended tribe, this usually being a male member of the victim's family. Such concepts of justice were not unique to primitive Palestine; they seem to have been, if not universal, at least very widespread, perhaps the Sardinian vendetta being one of the last atavistic hold overs. Tribal standards remained in force until national governments claimed a monopoly on the administration of justice. With the Israelites, Jehovah does not seek to abolish or totally suppress tribalism; instead he works around it with such provisions as the cities of refuge. To the modern, Jehovan justice may seem primitive and harsh, but it is far less so than what it strives to replace. Often its principles are those upon which modern justice are based, for example, the distinction between premeditated murder and manslaughter, accidental death, and killing in self defense.
2. Implied in this section is the principle of collective guilt, that the entire community is responsible for the wrongful actions of any of its members. Moreover, if guilt is not assuaged, if wrong is not compensated for, then bad fortune will befall the community. (This last concept is a cornerstone of Jehovan and Christian religion as well: sin brings ill fortune, righteousness brings good fortune, a reward from a grateful deity.)
Occult Practices and Prophets
(Deuteronomy 18:9 - 18:22)
"When you enter the land that Jehovah your god is giving to you, do not follow the abominable customs of the people living there. No one of you should commit to the flames his son or daughter as a human sacrifice. Do not allow any of your people to practice divination or fortune telling, to interpret omens or cast spells, to engage in sorcery, become a psychic medium, or evoke and consult the spirits of the dead. Anyone who engages in such practices makes themselves detestable to Jehovah. It is because the people in these nations engage in such practices that Jehovah your god will drive them out before you. You must be blameless before Jehovah your god! While the people you are about to displace consult with soothsayers and sorcerers, Jehovah your god does not give you leave to do so.
Moses continued, "Jehovah your god will raise up a prophet like me from among your brethren. And it is to him that you must listen. For this is what you yourselves asked of Jehovah your god when you were assembled before the holy mountain in Sinai. There you said, 'Spare us from hearing the voice of Jehovah our god or looking at his blazing fire anymore, lest we perish.' Jehovah told me, 'What they say is correct. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words into his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command of him. I will take issue with anyone who does not heed the words that he will speak in my name. But anyone who claims to speak in my name without my authorization or who speaks in the name of other gods should be put to death.'
"You may asked yourself, 'How can we know when a prophecy is one that comes from Jehovah?' If a prophet claiming to speak in Jehovah's name predicts something that does not come to pass or come true, then you will know that his prophecy did not come from Jehovah. That prophet has spoken on his own and should not be shown any consideration.”
Notes
1. Jehovah condemns all occult practices, but does not discredit them. Instead the Levite priests of Jehovah claim exclusivity in dealing with the spirit world and assert that authentic prophecy is derived only from Jehovah. This prerogative of the priesthood would be claimed by the Christian church as well. Anyone, who, bypassing the church, claimed to commune directly with the divine, would be severely punished -- in the most famous case, that of Joan of Arc, being burned at the stake.
2. The abominable customs of the native populations of Canaan is the justification Jehovah uses to expel them and settle his own people, the Israelites, on their land. The Israelites were exhorted to eschew these practices, human sacrifice, occultism, sorcery, as well as idol worship, but, in reality, Jehovah's demands were not complied with by future generations of Israelites.
3. Moses offers a guide as to who is a genuine prophet and who is a false prophet. It is not terribly helpful, even if it is simple and straight forward: prophecies that come true are from Jehovah; those that do not come true are not from Jehovah. Apparently other gods cannot inspire prophets to make accurate predictions. Therefore, accurate prophets are always genuine prophets, that is, Jehovah-inspired prophets. But Moses offers nary a clue as to how one can discern a true prophet from a false one without waiting to find out whether the prophecies are accurate or not. Couldn’t a clever false prophet confine himself to making predictions about events in the distant future and thus never be exposed as a charlatan? There are, in fact, many Old Testament prophets who made prophesies about future historical events that quite unambiguously did not come to pass. (One example would be Obadiah, a minor prophet who forecast the doom of Israel’s neighbor Edom; sorry, but Edom simply didn’t receive its prophesied comeuppance.) Are they to be reviled as false prophets and their books removed from the Bible?
"When you enter the land that Jehovah your god is giving to you, do not follow the abominable customs of the people living there. No one of you should commit to the flames his son or daughter as a human sacrifice. Do not allow any of your people to practice divination or fortune telling, to interpret omens or cast spells, to engage in sorcery, become a psychic medium, or evoke and consult the spirits of the dead. Anyone who engages in such practices makes themselves detestable to Jehovah. It is because the people in these nations engage in such practices that Jehovah your god will drive them out before you. You must be blameless before Jehovah your god! While the people you are about to displace consult with soothsayers and sorcerers, Jehovah your god does not give you leave to do so.
Moses continued, "Jehovah your god will raise up a prophet like me from among your brethren. And it is to him that you must listen. For this is what you yourselves asked of Jehovah your god when you were assembled before the holy mountain in Sinai. There you said, 'Spare us from hearing the voice of Jehovah our god or looking at his blazing fire anymore, lest we perish.' Jehovah told me, 'What they say is correct. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words into his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command of him. I will take issue with anyone who does not heed the words that he will speak in my name. But anyone who claims to speak in my name without my authorization or who speaks in the name of other gods should be put to death.'
"You may asked yourself, 'How can we know when a prophecy is one that comes from Jehovah?' If a prophet claiming to speak in Jehovah's name predicts something that does not come to pass or come true, then you will know that his prophecy did not come from Jehovah. That prophet has spoken on his own and should not be shown any consideration.”
Notes
1. Jehovah condemns all occult practices, but does not discredit them. Instead the Levite priests of Jehovah claim exclusivity in dealing with the spirit world and assert that authentic prophecy is derived only from Jehovah. This prerogative of the priesthood would be claimed by the Christian church as well. Anyone, who, bypassing the church, claimed to commune directly with the divine, would be severely punished -- in the most famous case, that of Joan of Arc, being burned at the stake.
2. The abominable customs of the native populations of Canaan is the justification Jehovah uses to expel them and settle his own people, the Israelites, on their land. The Israelites were exhorted to eschew these practices, human sacrifice, occultism, sorcery, as well as idol worship, but, in reality, Jehovah's demands were not complied with by future generations of Israelites.
3. Moses offers a guide as to who is a genuine prophet and who is a false prophet. It is not terribly helpful, even if it is simple and straight forward: prophecies that come true are from Jehovah; those that do not come true are not from Jehovah. Apparently other gods cannot inspire prophets to make accurate predictions. Therefore, accurate prophets are always genuine prophets, that is, Jehovah-inspired prophets. But Moses offers nary a clue as to how one can discern a true prophet from a false one without waiting to find out whether the prophecies are accurate or not. Couldn’t a clever false prophet confine himself to making predictions about events in the distant future and thus never be exposed as a charlatan? There are, in fact, many Old Testament prophets who made prophesies about future historical events that quite unambiguously did not come to pass. (One example would be Obadiah, a minor prophet who forecast the doom of Israel’s neighbor Edom; sorry, but Edom simply didn’t receive its prophesied comeuppance.) Are they to be reviled as false prophets and their books removed from the Bible?
Provisions for Priests
(Deuteronomy 18:1 - 18:8)
“Take note that the Levitical priests, that is, the entire tribe of Levi, receive no allotment of land along with the other tribes of Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites consume the food sacrifices dedicated to Jehovah: that is their portion. They do not share in the inheritance given to their fellow Israelites; Jehovah himself is their inheritance, as he promised them.
“From those who sacrifice a bull or a sheep, the priests' share is the meat from the shoulder, the cheeks, and internals organs. You must also give to the priests the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your olive oil, and the first shearing of wool from your sheep, for Jehovah your god has chosen them and their descendants, from out of all the tribes of Israel, to stand before the altar and minister in Jehovah's name for all time.
“If a Levite leaves a town in Israel in which he is living and goes to place chosen by Jehovah for his worship, then he may minister there in the name of Jehovah along with the other Levites who are already serving Jehovah there. He may also partake of their share of food offerings, (regardless of what he may have realized from the sale of family property).”
Note
1. This reiterates the rights and privileges of the Levites, but also mentions another, the right of a Levite priest to leave one of the Israelite towns set aside for his tribe and become a priest in one of the Jehovan places of worship. One wonders how this would work in practice. It would be as if Catholic priests were allowed to go to any parish they wished and be allowed to officiate. Wouldn't this result in chaos? Wouldn’t this result in an over abundance of priests at more desirable places of worship? One assumes that the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, would have authority over all matters affecting the tribe, but here there no provision to create the hierarchy necessary for the exercise of that authority or a protocol put in place for the delegation of his powers.
“Take note that the Levitical priests, that is, the entire tribe of Levi, receive no allotment of land along with the other tribes of Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites consume the food sacrifices dedicated to Jehovah: that is their portion. They do not share in the inheritance given to their fellow Israelites; Jehovah himself is their inheritance, as he promised them.
“From those who sacrifice a bull or a sheep, the priests' share is the meat from the shoulder, the cheeks, and internals organs. You must also give to the priests the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your olive oil, and the first shearing of wool from your sheep, for Jehovah your god has chosen them and their descendants, from out of all the tribes of Israel, to stand before the altar and minister in Jehovah's name for all time.
“If a Levite leaves a town in Israel in which he is living and goes to place chosen by Jehovah for his worship, then he may minister there in the name of Jehovah along with the other Levites who are already serving Jehovah there. He may also partake of their share of food offerings, (regardless of what he may have realized from the sale of family property).”
Note
1. This reiterates the rights and privileges of the Levites, but also mentions another, the right of a Levite priest to leave one of the Israelite towns set aside for his tribe and become a priest in one of the Jehovan places of worship. One wonders how this would work in practice. It would be as if Catholic priests were allowed to go to any parish they wished and be allowed to officiate. Wouldn't this result in chaos? Wouldn’t this result in an over abundance of priests at more desirable places of worship? One assumes that the high priest, the descendant of Aaron, would have authority over all matters affecting the tribe, but here there no provision to create the hierarchy necessary for the exercise of that authority or a protocol put in place for the delegation of his powers.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Punishment for Apostasy
(Deuteronomy 13:1 - 13:18)
"A prophet or a diviner of dreams may appear among you and foretell wonders and miraculous events. These wonders or miraculous events may come to pass. But, if he will then urge you, 'Come, let us seek out other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and worship them,’ you must not heed the words of that prophet or diviner of dreams. This is Jehovah your god testing you, to see if you really love him with all your heart and soul. It is Jehovah your god that you must follow and him you must revere, keeping his commandments and obeying his words, worshiping him and remaining faithful to him. Because he has incited rebellion against Jehovah your god, who brought you out of Egypt and released you bondage, and because he is seducing you away from the paths Jehovah has taught you to walk, that prophet or diviner of dreams should be put to death. You must purge your community of such evil.
"Your brother, the son of your mother, your son or daughter, the wife you love, or your dearest friend may secretly entice you, 'Let us worship other gods,' (gods known neither to you nor to your ancestors, perhaps gods of neighboring peoples or those of far-flung folk who dwell on one end of the earth or the other.) You must not heed them or be persuaded by them. Nor should you show them any sympathy. Do not spare them or shield them. They must be put to death! And you must throw the first stone. Then, all the rest of the people should join in, stoning to death those who are guilty of trying to lure you away from the worship of Jehovah your god, who rescued you from the Egypt, the land where you were slaves. All of Israel will then come to hear of it and be so fearful that no one among you will again perpetrate such wickedness.
"When you have begun to settle in the towns Jehovah your god is giving you to live in, you may hear of certain men among you, followers of evil, that have led the people of a town astray, declaring, "Let's go and worship other gods,' (gods that were unknown to you). In such a case, you should inquire into the matter and conduct a thorough investigation. If it is determined to be true that such an abomination has occurred among you, then you must put the town to the sword. The town itself should be destroyed utterly as a divine sacrifice along with all its inhabitants, even the livestock. You should collect all the goods of the town in the main square, then burn the town and its goods as an offering to Jehovah your god. It should remain forever a ruin and never be rebuilt. Save for your own use none of the town's goods marked for destruction, so that Jehovah will quell the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and compassion. And he will make you multiply, as he promised your forefathers, if you obey Jehovah your god, keep his commandments, which I am giving you here today, and do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah your god."
Notes
1. Condemnation of the false prophet does not depend upon the accuracy of his prophecies, but upon his divine allegiance. A prophet who favors some god other than Jehovah can, it is implied, make accurate, even miraculous prophecies, but he is apparently not a legitimate prophet unless he has the sanction of Jehovah. It is implied that Jehovah allows the false prophet to test his own adherents. The Jehovan must not be swayed to worship other gods simply because their prophets and diviners have a good track record. This is similar to the Christian belief that God allows Satan to tempt believers to sin, just so the strength of their belief can be tested.
2. Jehovah's insistence upon religious orthodoxy and uniformity and the draconian punishments for non-conformance and apostasy put to shame the harshest theocracies, which always find it necessary to impress a uniformity of belief and enforce an adherence to "right" thought. Here, we are told a man must turn in his family member or friend if suspected of urging the worship of gods other than Jehovah. A modern parallel would be Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia where one was obliged to inform on the family member or friend if any action or remark of his suggested a lack of dedication to the regime. Among the Israelites -- to make matters worse -- the accuser must be the lead executioner in stoning to death his family member or friend. (Don’t think even the Nazis thought of that one!) Dedication to Jehovah must, of course, supersede devotion to family or loyalty to friends, but that it should be taken to such hideous extremes is appalling. And one wonders what abuses this provision might have permitted and encouraged. For example, if a man wanted to get rid of an enemy, an unwanted wife, or troublesome brother, all he had to do was to go to the priest and accuse the person of persuading him to worship some god other than Jehovah. He could then head the stoning party and kill the person himself. --- Modern dictatorships cannot tolerate dissidents because they threaten the civil order and the stability of a government whose legitimacy is not derived from the consent of the government, but from power and often a personality cult that borders on religious worship. It has been so throughout history: man, a rebellious and headstrong creature who is continually tempted to think for himself, can only be kept in line, herded into common allegiance and common thought, through the imposition of force and the threat of terror. Those who rule by force know this. And so does Jehovah, who is no different than the modern totalitarian dictator: " believe in me," he says, "obey me, and you will be rewarded; show one sign of disloyalty to me, one act of defiance, and you will punished with death and utter destruction."
3. The complete destruction the town that strays from the worship of Jehovah, like the punishment of individuals who proselytize for other gods, does not constitute an act of justice, but terrorism, to force obedience and conformity through fear. Indeed Moses/Jehovah admits as much.
"A prophet or a diviner of dreams may appear among you and foretell wonders and miraculous events. These wonders or miraculous events may come to pass. But, if he will then urge you, 'Come, let us seek out other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and worship them,’ you must not heed the words of that prophet or diviner of dreams. This is Jehovah your god testing you, to see if you really love him with all your heart and soul. It is Jehovah your god that you must follow and him you must revere, keeping his commandments and obeying his words, worshiping him and remaining faithful to him. Because he has incited rebellion against Jehovah your god, who brought you out of Egypt and released you bondage, and because he is seducing you away from the paths Jehovah has taught you to walk, that prophet or diviner of dreams should be put to death. You must purge your community of such evil.
"Your brother, the son of your mother, your son or daughter, the wife you love, or your dearest friend may secretly entice you, 'Let us worship other gods,' (gods known neither to you nor to your ancestors, perhaps gods of neighboring peoples or those of far-flung folk who dwell on one end of the earth or the other.) You must not heed them or be persuaded by them. Nor should you show them any sympathy. Do not spare them or shield them. They must be put to death! And you must throw the first stone. Then, all the rest of the people should join in, stoning to death those who are guilty of trying to lure you away from the worship of Jehovah your god, who rescued you from the Egypt, the land where you were slaves. All of Israel will then come to hear of it and be so fearful that no one among you will again perpetrate such wickedness.
"When you have begun to settle in the towns Jehovah your god is giving you to live in, you may hear of certain men among you, followers of evil, that have led the people of a town astray, declaring, "Let's go and worship other gods,' (gods that were unknown to you). In such a case, you should inquire into the matter and conduct a thorough investigation. If it is determined to be true that such an abomination has occurred among you, then you must put the town to the sword. The town itself should be destroyed utterly as a divine sacrifice along with all its inhabitants, even the livestock. You should collect all the goods of the town in the main square, then burn the town and its goods as an offering to Jehovah your god. It should remain forever a ruin and never be rebuilt. Save for your own use none of the town's goods marked for destruction, so that Jehovah will quell the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and compassion. And he will make you multiply, as he promised your forefathers, if you obey Jehovah your god, keep his commandments, which I am giving you here today, and do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah your god."
Notes
1. Condemnation of the false prophet does not depend upon the accuracy of his prophecies, but upon his divine allegiance. A prophet who favors some god other than Jehovah can, it is implied, make accurate, even miraculous prophecies, but he is apparently not a legitimate prophet unless he has the sanction of Jehovah. It is implied that Jehovah allows the false prophet to test his own adherents. The Jehovan must not be swayed to worship other gods simply because their prophets and diviners have a good track record. This is similar to the Christian belief that God allows Satan to tempt believers to sin, just so the strength of their belief can be tested.
2. Jehovah's insistence upon religious orthodoxy and uniformity and the draconian punishments for non-conformance and apostasy put to shame the harshest theocracies, which always find it necessary to impress a uniformity of belief and enforce an adherence to "right" thought. Here, we are told a man must turn in his family member or friend if suspected of urging the worship of gods other than Jehovah. A modern parallel would be Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia where one was obliged to inform on the family member or friend if any action or remark of his suggested a lack of dedication to the regime. Among the Israelites -- to make matters worse -- the accuser must be the lead executioner in stoning to death his family member or friend. (Don’t think even the Nazis thought of that one!) Dedication to Jehovah must, of course, supersede devotion to family or loyalty to friends, but that it should be taken to such hideous extremes is appalling. And one wonders what abuses this provision might have permitted and encouraged. For example, if a man wanted to get rid of an enemy, an unwanted wife, or troublesome brother, all he had to do was to go to the priest and accuse the person of persuading him to worship some god other than Jehovah. He could then head the stoning party and kill the person himself. --- Modern dictatorships cannot tolerate dissidents because they threaten the civil order and the stability of a government whose legitimacy is not derived from the consent of the government, but from power and often a personality cult that borders on religious worship. It has been so throughout history: man, a rebellious and headstrong creature who is continually tempted to think for himself, can only be kept in line, herded into common allegiance and common thought, through the imposition of force and the threat of terror. Those who rule by force know this. And so does Jehovah, who is no different than the modern totalitarian dictator: " believe in me," he says, "obey me, and you will be rewarded; show one sign of disloyalty to me, one act of defiance, and you will punished with death and utter destruction."
3. The complete destruction the town that strays from the worship of Jehovah, like the punishment of individuals who proselytize for other gods, does not constitute an act of justice, but terrorism, to force obedience and conformity through fear. Indeed Moses/Jehovah admits as much.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Religious Practices
(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?
"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?
Obedience to Jehovah's Laws
(Deuteronomy 10:12 - 11:32)
"And now, Israel, what does Jehovah your god demand of you, but to revere Jehovah your god, to live according to his ways, to love him, to worship Jehovah your god with all your heart and soul, and to keep the commandments and decrees that he gives you for your own benefit. Look, to Jehovah your god belong the heights of the heavens and the earth with all that is on it. Yet, Jehovah chose your ancestors as the object of his love, and he chose you, their descendants, in preference to all other nations, as we have seen today. Therefore, purify your mind that you may no longer be so headstrong. For Jehovah your god is the god of gods, the master of masters, the great and mighty and magnificent god. He shows no partiality to any person and he accepts no bribes. He delivers justice to the orphan and the widow. He is compassionate to the resident alien and provides him with food and clothing. (So you, too, must show compassion for the resident alien, for you yourself were foreigners in Egypt.) Revere Jehovah your god and worship him. Be faithful to him and, when you take an oath, use his name. He is your glory and he is your god, the one who has performed the marvelous miracles you saw with your own eyes. When your forefathers emigrated to Egypt, they were but 70 individuals; now Jehovah your god has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
"You should therefore love Jehovah your god and always do what he requires of you, following his laws, decrees, and commandments. Keep in mind that today I am not speaking to your children, who did not feel the effect of the discipline dispensed by Jehovah your god or witness his greatness, his might and power. They did not see the miracles and the acts he performed in Egypt against the Pharaoh and his entire country. They did not see what Jehovah did to the armies of Egypt, to their horses and chariots, how he made the waters of the Red Sea engulf them when they were pursuing you, and how he destroyed them forever. Nor did your children see what Jehovah did for you when you were in the desert, before you arrived at this place. And they didn't see what he did to Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab and descendants of Reuben), when the earth opened up in the middle of the Israelite camp and swallowed them, along with their households, tents, and every living thing that was theirs. But you have seen with your own eyes all these mighty deeds that Jehovah did perform.
"Therefore take care to obey all the commands I am giving you this day so that you will have the strength to invade and conquer the land you are crossing the River Jordan to possess and that you may live long and prosper in the land Jehovah promised your ancestors he would give to them and to their descendants -- a land flowing with milk and honey. The land you are entering to take possession of is not like the land from which you came, Egypt, where you planted seeds and irrigated them by hand like in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that soak up the water that falls as rain from the heavens. It is a land nurtured by Jehovah your god, who watches over it from the beginning of the year till its end.
"And if you will faithfully obey the commands I am giving you here today, to revere Jehovah your god and to worship him with all your heart and soul, then he will send rain for the land in season, the first rain of autumn and later rain in the spring so that you may harvest your grain, new wine, and olive oil. And he will provide ample pasturage for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied. But take care that your mind be not deceived; don’t be led astray to worship other gods, for then the anger of Jehovah will be aroused; he will close the firmament so that the rain will not fall. The land then will produce no crops, and you will quickly perish in the good land that Jehovah is giving you.
"Let them be ingrained in your hearts and minds, these words of mine. Wear them like an armband round your wrist or a headband round your forehead. Teach them to your children. Discuss them when you’re sitting at home and when you are walking along the road, before you go to bed and when you get up. Inscribe them on the door frames of your house and on your gates so that you and your children may live in the land that Jehovah vowed to give to your forefathers as long as the heavens will exist above the earth.
"If you are careful to follow the commandments I am giving to you, to love Jehovah your god, to live according to his laws, and to remain faithful to him, Jehovah will drive out all the nations before you, even though they be stronger and mightier than you; you will then be able to take over their land. Wherever you set foot, that land will belong to you. The boundaries of your country will extend from the southern desert north to Lebanon, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you, for wherever you may go throughout the land, Jehovah your god will make the people fear and dread you; so is his promise.
"Take note that I am bringing you a blessing and a curse -- a blessing, if you will obey the commandments of Jehovah your god that I am giving you here today, a curse, if you disobey the commandments of Jehovah your god and reject him by worshiping foreign gods formerly unknown to you. When Jehovah your god brings you into the land and helps you to occupy it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. (These two mountains are west of the River Jordan in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Jordan River Valley, near the town of Gilgal and the oak grove of Moreh.) You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and occupy the land Jehovah your god is giving you. When you have conquered it and are settled there, be sure to obey all the decrees and laws I am giving you today."
Notes
1. Again, Moses is speaking to the generation of the Exodus and not to their children. But Jehovah caused that generation to pass away so that no member of it (save Joshua and Caleb) would set foot on the Promised Land -- at least according to Numbers. There seems to be a gross incompatibility between the narrative of Numbers and that of Deuteronomy, where most of this generation is still alive to hear Moses' sermon.
2. The multiplication of Israel's population during their time in bondage in Israel that is cited here is not even remotely plausible. Even if every man has ten children, the resultant population after five generations is well under a million. Jehovah, while bragging about how he has spurred the Israelites growth rate, concedes that the enemy nations are more populous. He extols the strength of Israel and then portrays them as underdogs, thus having it both ways.
3. Jehovah professes compassion for the resident alien, yet he orders the extermination of every foreign country Israel is to come into contact with. Where are these foreign residents to come from when the population of foreign countries is to be exterminated?
4. Jehovah, who claims to be the Creator, the universal God, makes the Israelites his Chosen People, from among all the peoples in the world, yet he never says why. Indeed, he never refers to any Israelite virtues, only their faults, mostly their obstinacy and disobedience. A list of ancient peoples who believed they were divine favorites would be a long one.
5. The Promised Land is praised as being more fertile than Egypt, which must rely upon irrigation from the Nile. Palestine is in fact quite arid and today only 17% of land in modern Israel is arable (although this would included the Negev desert.) In ancient times it was probably more fertile and was in fact famous for its olive groves and fruit trees. Save for rare occasions when the Nile floods did not come, Egypt, though, could boast of a tremendous agricultural output supporting a large population. Advanced methods of basin irrigation and horticulture, which Jehovah belittles, contributed to that output. During Roman times Egypt was not only the richest province, it was the breadbasket of the empire. Few would have regarded Canaan as preferable from an agrarian standpoint.
6. One presumes the command to write Jehovah's commandments on doorposts and gates is figurative. Who among the population would actually be literate? And, at that time, literate in what language, when Hebrew had not yet been developed and there were no alphabets?
7. The boundaries given for the Promised Land are those given to Abraham. However, they would seem to include land Jehovah had earlier conceded to Moab and Ammon. The extension of the eastern border all the way to the Euphrates River is not consistent with the eastern boundary given in Numbers and includes land that would never be occupied by the Israelites (save perhaps during the days of King Solomon) or considered by later generations to be part of the Promised Land.
8. Jehovah's gifts always come with strings attached, his blessings, conditional. Obedience is always coerced with threats. The Israelites are not only blessed by Jehovah, but also cursed. If the Israelites are disobedient, then he will stop the rain from falling. He will do this by closing the firmament, the dome the encloses the flat earth and separates it and the sky from the ocean above that is the source of rain water. (Jehovah hasn’t figured out evaporation and condensation and is ignorant as to the origin of rainfall.) Therefore, if there is a drought, the ancient Israelite would naturally conclude it to be an act of Jehovah intended to punish sin. Thus everything in the natural world becomes, at least potentially, not only an act of God, but an expression of divine pleasure or displeasure.
"And now, Israel, what does Jehovah your god demand of you, but to revere Jehovah your god, to live according to his ways, to love him, to worship Jehovah your god with all your heart and soul, and to keep the commandments and decrees that he gives you for your own benefit. Look, to Jehovah your god belong the heights of the heavens and the earth with all that is on it. Yet, Jehovah chose your ancestors as the object of his love, and he chose you, their descendants, in preference to all other nations, as we have seen today. Therefore, purify your mind that you may no longer be so headstrong. For Jehovah your god is the god of gods, the master of masters, the great and mighty and magnificent god. He shows no partiality to any person and he accepts no bribes. He delivers justice to the orphan and the widow. He is compassionate to the resident alien and provides him with food and clothing. (So you, too, must show compassion for the resident alien, for you yourself were foreigners in Egypt.) Revere Jehovah your god and worship him. Be faithful to him and, when you take an oath, use his name. He is your glory and he is your god, the one who has performed the marvelous miracles you saw with your own eyes. When your forefathers emigrated to Egypt, they were but 70 individuals; now Jehovah your god has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
"You should therefore love Jehovah your god and always do what he requires of you, following his laws, decrees, and commandments. Keep in mind that today I am not speaking to your children, who did not feel the effect of the discipline dispensed by Jehovah your god or witness his greatness, his might and power. They did not see the miracles and the acts he performed in Egypt against the Pharaoh and his entire country. They did not see what Jehovah did to the armies of Egypt, to their horses and chariots, how he made the waters of the Red Sea engulf them when they were pursuing you, and how he destroyed them forever. Nor did your children see what Jehovah did for you when you were in the desert, before you arrived at this place. And they didn't see what he did to Dathan and Abiram (sons of Eliab and descendants of Reuben), when the earth opened up in the middle of the Israelite camp and swallowed them, along with their households, tents, and every living thing that was theirs. But you have seen with your own eyes all these mighty deeds that Jehovah did perform.
"Therefore take care to obey all the commands I am giving you this day so that you will have the strength to invade and conquer the land you are crossing the River Jordan to possess and that you may live long and prosper in the land Jehovah promised your ancestors he would give to them and to their descendants -- a land flowing with milk and honey. The land you are entering to take possession of is not like the land from which you came, Egypt, where you planted seeds and irrigated them by hand like in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that soak up the water that falls as rain from the heavens. It is a land nurtured by Jehovah your god, who watches over it from the beginning of the year till its end.
"And if you will faithfully obey the commands I am giving you here today, to revere Jehovah your god and to worship him with all your heart and soul, then he will send rain for the land in season, the first rain of autumn and later rain in the spring so that you may harvest your grain, new wine, and olive oil. And he will provide ample pasturage for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied. But take care that your mind be not deceived; don’t be led astray to worship other gods, for then the anger of Jehovah will be aroused; he will close the firmament so that the rain will not fall. The land then will produce no crops, and you will quickly perish in the good land that Jehovah is giving you.
"Let them be ingrained in your hearts and minds, these words of mine. Wear them like an armband round your wrist or a headband round your forehead. Teach them to your children. Discuss them when you’re sitting at home and when you are walking along the road, before you go to bed and when you get up. Inscribe them on the door frames of your house and on your gates so that you and your children may live in the land that Jehovah vowed to give to your forefathers as long as the heavens will exist above the earth.
"If you are careful to follow the commandments I am giving to you, to love Jehovah your god, to live according to his laws, and to remain faithful to him, Jehovah will drive out all the nations before you, even though they be stronger and mightier than you; you will then be able to take over their land. Wherever you set foot, that land will belong to you. The boundaries of your country will extend from the southern desert north to Lebanon, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you, for wherever you may go throughout the land, Jehovah your god will make the people fear and dread you; so is his promise.
"Take note that I am bringing you a blessing and a curse -- a blessing, if you will obey the commandments of Jehovah your god that I am giving you here today, a curse, if you disobey the commandments of Jehovah your god and reject him by worshiping foreign gods formerly unknown to you. When Jehovah your god brings you into the land and helps you to occupy it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal. (These two mountains are west of the River Jordan in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Jordan River Valley, near the town of Gilgal and the oak grove of Moreh.) You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and occupy the land Jehovah your god is giving you. When you have conquered it and are settled there, be sure to obey all the decrees and laws I am giving you today."
Notes
1. Again, Moses is speaking to the generation of the Exodus and not to their children. But Jehovah caused that generation to pass away so that no member of it (save Joshua and Caleb) would set foot on the Promised Land -- at least according to Numbers. There seems to be a gross incompatibility between the narrative of Numbers and that of Deuteronomy, where most of this generation is still alive to hear Moses' sermon.
2. The multiplication of Israel's population during their time in bondage in Israel that is cited here is not even remotely plausible. Even if every man has ten children, the resultant population after five generations is well under a million. Jehovah, while bragging about how he has spurred the Israelites growth rate, concedes that the enemy nations are more populous. He extols the strength of Israel and then portrays them as underdogs, thus having it both ways.
3. Jehovah professes compassion for the resident alien, yet he orders the extermination of every foreign country Israel is to come into contact with. Where are these foreign residents to come from when the population of foreign countries is to be exterminated?
4. Jehovah, who claims to be the Creator, the universal God, makes the Israelites his Chosen People, from among all the peoples in the world, yet he never says why. Indeed, he never refers to any Israelite virtues, only their faults, mostly their obstinacy and disobedience. A list of ancient peoples who believed they were divine favorites would be a long one.
5. The Promised Land is praised as being more fertile than Egypt, which must rely upon irrigation from the Nile. Palestine is in fact quite arid and today only 17% of land in modern Israel is arable (although this would included the Negev desert.) In ancient times it was probably more fertile and was in fact famous for its olive groves and fruit trees. Save for rare occasions when the Nile floods did not come, Egypt, though, could boast of a tremendous agricultural output supporting a large population. Advanced methods of basin irrigation and horticulture, which Jehovah belittles, contributed to that output. During Roman times Egypt was not only the richest province, it was the breadbasket of the empire. Few would have regarded Canaan as preferable from an agrarian standpoint.
6. One presumes the command to write Jehovah's commandments on doorposts and gates is figurative. Who among the population would actually be literate? And, at that time, literate in what language, when Hebrew had not yet been developed and there were no alphabets?
7. The boundaries given for the Promised Land are those given to Abraham. However, they would seem to include land Jehovah had earlier conceded to Moab and Ammon. The extension of the eastern border all the way to the Euphrates River is not consistent with the eastern boundary given in Numbers and includes land that would never be occupied by the Israelites (save perhaps during the days of King Solomon) or considered by later generations to be part of the Promised Land.
8. Jehovah's gifts always come with strings attached, his blessings, conditional. Obedience is always coerced with threats. The Israelites are not only blessed by Jehovah, but also cursed. If the Israelites are disobedient, then he will stop the rain from falling. He will do this by closing the firmament, the dome the encloses the flat earth and separates it and the sky from the ocean above that is the source of rain water. (Jehovah hasn’t figured out evaporation and condensation and is ignorant as to the origin of rainfall.) Therefore, if there is a drought, the ancient Israelite would naturally conclude it to be an act of Jehovah intended to punish sin. Thus everything in the natural world becomes, at least potentially, not only an act of God, but an expression of divine pleasure or displeasure.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Moses Remembers Receiving the Ten Commandments
(Deuteronomy (9:1 -10:11)
"Listen, O Israel: today you will be crossing the River Jordan to conquer nations stronger and more populous than you, great cities with fortifications that reach to the sky, and people who are giants, descendants of Anak, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand up against the Anakites?' Rest assured that Jehovah your god will go before you like a consuming fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will be able to expel and annihilate them quickly, as Jehovah has promised you would.
"After Jehovah your god has expelled these people in advance of your entering the land, don't be thinking, 'Jehovah has brought us in to take over this land because of our righteousness.' No, it is because of the wickedness of other peoples that Jehovah is driving them out before you. It is not because of your righteous actions or upright character that are you are going to take possession of their land, but because of these nations' wickedness that Jehovah will drive them out before you and fulfill the promise he made to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
"Therefore, keep in mind that Jehovah is not giving you this good land to occupy because you are righteous, for you are not: you're a willful people. Remember and never forget how in the desert you aroused the ire of Jehovah your god. From the time you left Egypt until this day, you have been rebellious against Jehovah. Even at Horeb you made Jehovah angry, in fact he was so incensed he would have destroyed you. This occurred when I was on the mountain receiving the stone tablets, inscribed with the terms of the pact Jehovah had made with you. I was there on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights; I ate no food and drank no water. Jehovah presented me with two stone tablets inscribed by the hand of God. On them were written all the words that Jehovah had spoken to you from out of the fire on the day of the assembly.
"At the end of the 40 days and 40 nights Jehovah gave me the two stone tablets that were the record of the pact. But Jehovah then told me, ‘Leave here at once and go back down, for the people you brought out of Egypt are corrupting themselves. They have quickly deserted the path I commanded them to follow. They’ve made for themselves an idol cast of metal!’ And he also confided to me, 'I have seen these people and they’re surely a pigheaded lot. Leave me alone so that I can exterminate them and erase their name from the memory of man. Then I will make from your descendants a nation that will be far stronger and larger than they are.'
"While it was blazing with fire, I left and came down the mountain, holding in my own two hands the two tablets inscribed with the terms of the pact. When I looked down I could see that you had sinned against Jehovah. You had cast an metal idol in the shape of a calf. How quickly had you deserted the path that Jehovah had commanded you to follow! So I took the two tablets and hurled them down, smashing them to bits before your eyes.
"Then, once again, I prostrated myself before Jehovah for another 40 days and 40 nights, neither eating food nor drinking water, because of the sin you had committed, doing what was wrong in Jehovah's eyes and arousing his anger. I was afraid of the ire and the outrage of Jehovah against you, for he seemed irate enough to destroy you. But again Jehovah listened to me. And Jehovah was angry enough to destroy Aaron, but at the same time I prayed for him, too. I took what you had made in sin, the calf, and burned it. I crushed it and pulverized it into powder as fine as dust and dumped it into a stream that flowed down the mountain.
"And you aroused Jehovah's ire at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah. At Kadesh Barnea Jehovah sent you out, telling you, 'Go up and occupy the land I have given you.’ But you defied the authority of Jehovah your god. You wouldn't trust him or heed his commands. Indeed, you've been defiant of Jehovah for as long as I've known you.
"That is why I prostrated myself before Jehovah for 40 days and 40 nights, because Jehovah had said he would destroy you. I prayed to Jehovah and pleaded with him, ‘O my god Jehovah, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you saved and brought out of Egypt with your might and power. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Please excuse the defiance of these people, their wickedness and sin, lest the country from which they were freed will declare, "Because Jehovah was incapable of bringing them into the land he had promised them, and because he hates them, he led them into the desert in order to put them to death.” But remember they are your people and your inheritance that you freed with your might and power.'
"At that time Jehovah told me, 'Cut two tablets of stone just like the first ones and make a chest of wood for them. Then come up to me on the mountain. I will inscribe on the tablets the same writing that were on the first set that you broke. You may then place them in the wooden chest.' And so I made a chest of acacia wood, cut two tablets just like the first set, and went up on the mountain with the tablets in my hands. Jehovah wrote on the tablets in the same words as before, the Ten Commandments that Jehovah spoke to you from out of the fire on that day when you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. And Jehovah gave them to me. Then I left, came down from the mountain, and put the tablets into the chest I had made, as Jehovah had commanded me. And there they remain."
(The Israelites journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried and was succeeded as high priest by his son Eleazar. From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, then to Jotbathah, a land of many streams. At that time Jehovah designated the tribe of Levi to carry the Jehovah's Chest of Sacred Records, to minister and worship before Jehovah's altar, and pronounce blessings in his name, as they do now. This is why the Levites have no share of the property or land given to the other tribes of Israel. Jehovah himself remains their particular inheritance, as Jehovah their god told them.)
"I myself remained on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, as I did the first time. And, as before, Jehovah listened to me and agreed not to destroy you. Then Jehovah said to me, "Get up and resume your journey and lead the people to the land I promised to give to their ancestors so they can enter and take possession of it."
Notes
1. Moses and the biblical authors are frustratingly non-specific about how Jehovah will aid the Israelites militarily. It is made to seem that, with Jehovah's help, the Israelites will able to totally conquer the Promised Land in a week or two, and yet it is also made clear that the expulsion and/or extermination of the native inhabitants will take place over a considerable period of time. The vagueness and the contradictions do not lend credibility to any claim that the invasion and occupation is historical; indeed, few historians believe that it is.
2. Moses goes up on the mountain and is without food and water for 40 days, on two occasions. Why was it necessary and how was it possible? Was he nourished in some other way? Or did, when he visited Jehovah, enter into another dimension during which a short period of time elapsed for Moses, but a long period (40 days) elapsed for the Israelites. (Such temporal discrepancies are common with those today who encounter or are abducted by supposed extraterrestrials and were also noted in the past by those who claimed to have visited fairyland.) Since no man can live for 40 days without water (twice!), the other alternative is that Moses, the Moses presented in the Bible, is an egregious liar.
3. Moses does not make too much of his prolonged fasting, although he blames the Israelites for having to do it twice. He makes no mention of the hardship it must have been for a man reportedly 80 years old to hike up and down a mountain so many times. He does not say how he wiled away his 40 days, although he seems to suggest that he spent it prostrated before Jehovah, who did not seem to tire of Moses' company.
4. Moses makes a pair of Ten Commandment stone tablets that are apparently identical to those made by Jehovah. (Considering their importance, why didn't Jehovah provide the hot-tempered Moses with an unbreakable set?) One would have thought that a god could have made superior tablets, but perhaps Moses was really good with his hands. How large, though, might the tablets have been to contain the full text of the Ten Commandments? Would they have been light enough for this old man to carry? And, the question asked many times before, how were they written, since the earliest Hebrew and the first alphabets were hundreds of years in the future? Did Jehovah write in Egyptian hieroglyphics, in the language of his enemy? The implausibilities and improbabilities, the historical inaccuracies and anachronisms must lead any reasonable person to come to the inevitable conclusion that the Ten Commandment story is not factual, but either a highly embellished yarn or a mere fairy tale.
5. There are several discrepancies between the story told here by Moses and that set down in Exodus, although the accounts are not substantially different. Here Moses fails to mention Joshua, who waited for Moses when he came down from the mountain and called his attention to racket made by the Golden Calf-adoring Israelites, thinking it was the clamor of war. In Exodus Moses inscribes the second set of tablets himself, but here Jehovah does the inscribing himself. A major contradiction involves the chest made for the Ten Commandment tablets. Here Moses makes a simple wooden box for them before he even receives the second set. (A handy man is the Moses of Deuteronomy.) In Exodus they are housed in the Chest of Sacred Records (Ark of the Covenant), elaborately crafted, lined with gold, with a lid adorned with the gold statues of winged figures and rings fitted for carrying staves. (Interesting that Moses was able to carry the tablets himself, while, once they were in the chest, it took at least four men to do so.) Here Moses brags about how he repeatedly spares the Israelites from Jehovah's destructive wrath, but conveniently fails to mention the indiscriminate slaughter he ordered after the Golden Calf incident. --- It should be mentioned that most scholars believe that Deuteronomy, or a draft of it, may have been written as early as the 10th Century BC, well before Exodus, which was probably composed in the 6th Century BC, after the Babylonian Captivity. Deuteronomy, therefore, may be presumed to be the more authentic account, but of what -- historical fact or sacred legend?
6. Jehovah excuses his championing of the people of Israel by saying they are not good at all, but merely less evil than the rest of the nations. And, rubbing it in, Moses reminds them of Jehovah’s intention to wipe them out and create a better nation out of Moses’ descendants. (How long would that have taken?) In the end he convinces Jehovah to spare the Israelites with the irresistible argument, “What would the Egyptians think?” Hearing all this must have been a great morale booster for the Israelites! Jehovah's jaundiced view of the character of his Chosen People may have been justified, but his own character, bordering on demonic and sociopathic, hardly qualified him as a judge of goodness.
7. As has been pointed out before, Moses speaks to his audience as if they had all participated in the Exodus from the beginning and had experienced the events he speaks of. All the men who had left Egypt, save Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, were now dead. None remaining can bear any personal responsibility for the instances of defiance and disobedience that Moses cites. Yet, he rails against them, when he should be addressing the dead. These sermons by Moses have the tinge of senior moment reminiscences.
8. At Taberah the Israelites became restive and Jehovah responded by burning those at the outskirts of the camp. At Massah the Israelites expressed their discontent over not having any water to drink. At Kibroth Hattaavah the Israelites griped about having to eat manna and lusted after some real meat. Jehovah then sent them a gazillion quails that caused a plague that killed many. Kadesh Barnea was the place from which Moses sent out scouts into the Promised Land. Distorted accounts made by most of the scouts caused the Israelites to balk at mounting the invasion of the Promised Land Jehovah demanded.
9. In what seem to be the author’s notes, it is stated that Aaron died and was buried at Moserah. In Numbers it is recorded that Aaron died on Mount Hor. The accounts are incompatible, for there is a great deal of distance between the two locations. One would think the Bible authors would get their stories straight, or that someone in 2500 years might have succumbed to the temptation of altering the text to make the narrative consistent.
"Listen, O Israel: today you will be crossing the River Jordan to conquer nations stronger and more populous than you, great cities with fortifications that reach to the sky, and people who are giants, descendants of Anak, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, 'Who can stand up against the Anakites?' Rest assured that Jehovah your god will go before you like a consuming fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will be able to expel and annihilate them quickly, as Jehovah has promised you would.
"After Jehovah your god has expelled these people in advance of your entering the land, don't be thinking, 'Jehovah has brought us in to take over this land because of our righteousness.' No, it is because of the wickedness of other peoples that Jehovah is driving them out before you. It is not because of your righteous actions or upright character that are you are going to take possession of their land, but because of these nations' wickedness that Jehovah will drive them out before you and fulfill the promise he made to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
"Therefore, keep in mind that Jehovah is not giving you this good land to occupy because you are righteous, for you are not: you're a willful people. Remember and never forget how in the desert you aroused the ire of Jehovah your god. From the time you left Egypt until this day, you have been rebellious against Jehovah. Even at Horeb you made Jehovah angry, in fact he was so incensed he would have destroyed you. This occurred when I was on the mountain receiving the stone tablets, inscribed with the terms of the pact Jehovah had made with you. I was there on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights; I ate no food and drank no water. Jehovah presented me with two stone tablets inscribed by the hand of God. On them were written all the words that Jehovah had spoken to you from out of the fire on the day of the assembly.
"At the end of the 40 days and 40 nights Jehovah gave me the two stone tablets that were the record of the pact. But Jehovah then told me, ‘Leave here at once and go back down, for the people you brought out of Egypt are corrupting themselves. They have quickly deserted the path I commanded them to follow. They’ve made for themselves an idol cast of metal!’ And he also confided to me, 'I have seen these people and they’re surely a pigheaded lot. Leave me alone so that I can exterminate them and erase their name from the memory of man. Then I will make from your descendants a nation that will be far stronger and larger than they are.'
"While it was blazing with fire, I left and came down the mountain, holding in my own two hands the two tablets inscribed with the terms of the pact. When I looked down I could see that you had sinned against Jehovah. You had cast an metal idol in the shape of a calf. How quickly had you deserted the path that Jehovah had commanded you to follow! So I took the two tablets and hurled them down, smashing them to bits before your eyes.
"Then, once again, I prostrated myself before Jehovah for another 40 days and 40 nights, neither eating food nor drinking water, because of the sin you had committed, doing what was wrong in Jehovah's eyes and arousing his anger. I was afraid of the ire and the outrage of Jehovah against you, for he seemed irate enough to destroy you. But again Jehovah listened to me. And Jehovah was angry enough to destroy Aaron, but at the same time I prayed for him, too. I took what you had made in sin, the calf, and burned it. I crushed it and pulverized it into powder as fine as dust and dumped it into a stream that flowed down the mountain.
"And you aroused Jehovah's ire at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah. At Kadesh Barnea Jehovah sent you out, telling you, 'Go up and occupy the land I have given you.’ But you defied the authority of Jehovah your god. You wouldn't trust him or heed his commands. Indeed, you've been defiant of Jehovah for as long as I've known you.
"That is why I prostrated myself before Jehovah for 40 days and 40 nights, because Jehovah had said he would destroy you. I prayed to Jehovah and pleaded with him, ‘O my god Jehovah, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you saved and brought out of Egypt with your might and power. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Please excuse the defiance of these people, their wickedness and sin, lest the country from which they were freed will declare, "Because Jehovah was incapable of bringing them into the land he had promised them, and because he hates them, he led them into the desert in order to put them to death.” But remember they are your people and your inheritance that you freed with your might and power.'
"At that time Jehovah told me, 'Cut two tablets of stone just like the first ones and make a chest of wood for them. Then come up to me on the mountain. I will inscribe on the tablets the same writing that were on the first set that you broke. You may then place them in the wooden chest.' And so I made a chest of acacia wood, cut two tablets just like the first set, and went up on the mountain with the tablets in my hands. Jehovah wrote on the tablets in the same words as before, the Ten Commandments that Jehovah spoke to you from out of the fire on that day when you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. And Jehovah gave them to me. Then I left, came down from the mountain, and put the tablets into the chest I had made, as Jehovah had commanded me. And there they remain."
(The Israelites journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried and was succeeded as high priest by his son Eleazar. From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, then to Jotbathah, a land of many streams. At that time Jehovah designated the tribe of Levi to carry the Jehovah's Chest of Sacred Records, to minister and worship before Jehovah's altar, and pronounce blessings in his name, as they do now. This is why the Levites have no share of the property or land given to the other tribes of Israel. Jehovah himself remains their particular inheritance, as Jehovah their god told them.)
"I myself remained on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, as I did the first time. And, as before, Jehovah listened to me and agreed not to destroy you. Then Jehovah said to me, "Get up and resume your journey and lead the people to the land I promised to give to their ancestors so they can enter and take possession of it."
Notes
1. Moses and the biblical authors are frustratingly non-specific about how Jehovah will aid the Israelites militarily. It is made to seem that, with Jehovah's help, the Israelites will able to totally conquer the Promised Land in a week or two, and yet it is also made clear that the expulsion and/or extermination of the native inhabitants will take place over a considerable period of time. The vagueness and the contradictions do not lend credibility to any claim that the invasion and occupation is historical; indeed, few historians believe that it is.
2. Moses goes up on the mountain and is without food and water for 40 days, on two occasions. Why was it necessary and how was it possible? Was he nourished in some other way? Or did, when he visited Jehovah, enter into another dimension during which a short period of time elapsed for Moses, but a long period (40 days) elapsed for the Israelites. (Such temporal discrepancies are common with those today who encounter or are abducted by supposed extraterrestrials and were also noted in the past by those who claimed to have visited fairyland.) Since no man can live for 40 days without water (twice!), the other alternative is that Moses, the Moses presented in the Bible, is an egregious liar.
3. Moses does not make too much of his prolonged fasting, although he blames the Israelites for having to do it twice. He makes no mention of the hardship it must have been for a man reportedly 80 years old to hike up and down a mountain so many times. He does not say how he wiled away his 40 days, although he seems to suggest that he spent it prostrated before Jehovah, who did not seem to tire of Moses' company.
4. Moses makes a pair of Ten Commandment stone tablets that are apparently identical to those made by Jehovah. (Considering their importance, why didn't Jehovah provide the hot-tempered Moses with an unbreakable set?) One would have thought that a god could have made superior tablets, but perhaps Moses was really good with his hands. How large, though, might the tablets have been to contain the full text of the Ten Commandments? Would they have been light enough for this old man to carry? And, the question asked many times before, how were they written, since the earliest Hebrew and the first alphabets were hundreds of years in the future? Did Jehovah write in Egyptian hieroglyphics, in the language of his enemy? The implausibilities and improbabilities, the historical inaccuracies and anachronisms must lead any reasonable person to come to the inevitable conclusion that the Ten Commandment story is not factual, but either a highly embellished yarn or a mere fairy tale.
5. There are several discrepancies between the story told here by Moses and that set down in Exodus, although the accounts are not substantially different. Here Moses fails to mention Joshua, who waited for Moses when he came down from the mountain and called his attention to racket made by the Golden Calf-adoring Israelites, thinking it was the clamor of war. In Exodus Moses inscribes the second set of tablets himself, but here Jehovah does the inscribing himself. A major contradiction involves the chest made for the Ten Commandment tablets. Here Moses makes a simple wooden box for them before he even receives the second set. (A handy man is the Moses of Deuteronomy.) In Exodus they are housed in the Chest of Sacred Records (Ark of the Covenant), elaborately crafted, lined with gold, with a lid adorned with the gold statues of winged figures and rings fitted for carrying staves. (Interesting that Moses was able to carry the tablets himself, while, once they were in the chest, it took at least four men to do so.) Here Moses brags about how he repeatedly spares the Israelites from Jehovah's destructive wrath, but conveniently fails to mention the indiscriminate slaughter he ordered after the Golden Calf incident. --- It should be mentioned that most scholars believe that Deuteronomy, or a draft of it, may have been written as early as the 10th Century BC, well before Exodus, which was probably composed in the 6th Century BC, after the Babylonian Captivity. Deuteronomy, therefore, may be presumed to be the more authentic account, but of what -- historical fact or sacred legend?
6. Jehovah excuses his championing of the people of Israel by saying they are not good at all, but merely less evil than the rest of the nations. And, rubbing it in, Moses reminds them of Jehovah’s intention to wipe them out and create a better nation out of Moses’ descendants. (How long would that have taken?) In the end he convinces Jehovah to spare the Israelites with the irresistible argument, “What would the Egyptians think?” Hearing all this must have been a great morale booster for the Israelites! Jehovah's jaundiced view of the character of his Chosen People may have been justified, but his own character, bordering on demonic and sociopathic, hardly qualified him as a judge of goodness.
7. As has been pointed out before, Moses speaks to his audience as if they had all participated in the Exodus from the beginning and had experienced the events he speaks of. All the men who had left Egypt, save Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, were now dead. None remaining can bear any personal responsibility for the instances of defiance and disobedience that Moses cites. Yet, he rails against them, when he should be addressing the dead. These sermons by Moses have the tinge of senior moment reminiscences.
8. At Taberah the Israelites became restive and Jehovah responded by burning those at the outskirts of the camp. At Massah the Israelites expressed their discontent over not having any water to drink. At Kibroth Hattaavah the Israelites griped about having to eat manna and lusted after some real meat. Jehovah then sent them a gazillion quails that caused a plague that killed many. Kadesh Barnea was the place from which Moses sent out scouts into the Promised Land. Distorted accounts made by most of the scouts caused the Israelites to balk at mounting the invasion of the Promised Land Jehovah demanded.
9. In what seem to be the author’s notes, it is stated that Aaron died and was buried at Moserah. In Numbers it is recorded that Aaron died on Mount Hor. The accounts are incompatible, for there is a great deal of distance between the two locations. One would think the Bible authors would get their stories straight, or that someone in 2500 years might have succumbed to the temptation of altering the text to make the narrative consistent.
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