After reading chapter 6:
*Most of this chapter is what to do if you have taken a Nazarite vow. We are not told specifically what is a Nazarite or his vow, but it seems to be some kind of dedication to God.
-The Nazarite must not eat or drink any products made from grapes, including wine, vinegar, grapes, raisins, etc.
- He must not cut his hair at all. That is the symbol of his dedication.
-He must not touch or go anywhere near a dead body or he will defile his hair. (?!)
-If he does defile his hair by going near a dead body, he must shave it all off and bring a sin offering to the lord, because it was a sin for him to be in the presence of a dead body. Then he must rededicate himself to the lord and start his vow period over.
-When he has fulfilled his vow he is to bring various sacrificial offerings to the tabernacle. After those are performed by the priest, he is to have his head shaved in front of the tabernacle and the hair is to be put in the fire under the fellowship offering.
-Then the priest is to take a portion of the offering, wave it in front of the lord, then keep it for himself. (I'm not making this up.)
-After that the Nazarite is free to drink wine.
*The last part of the chapter is a blessing Yahweh tells Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to say over the Israelites. It is similar to the one sung at the sabbath meal in Fiddler in the Roof. It is echoed in Psalm 67:1. A portion of this blessing was also found on two silver amulets in a cave in Jerusalem, dated to around 600 B.C.E. They are one of the earliest Hebrew references to Yahweh ever found. The story of Moses would have taken place at least 600 years earlier, if it happened.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Halloween special: Ghosts and spirits in the bible
Happy Halloween! Before we begin, you may want to refresh your memory with information about the historical background of Halloween here.
No matter where Halloween originated, in many religious traditions it is a time of year generally reserved for remembering the dead. Some even believe that visitations from those dead may occur, which could be good thing or a bad thing. Ghostly tales abound.
What about ghosts and the spirits of the departed in the bible? I did a little research and found a few interesting facts:
- The King James translation is quite liberal with the word ghost, using the phrase he "gave up the ghost" many times in the Old And New Testaments, in reference to dying. The original Hebrew wording refers only to the physical act of dying, no ghosts involved. Other translations render the passage with people expiring, passing away, and just plain dying. Now, imagine you have never read or heard any other translation but the KJV. What might you believed happened when people died? Where did those ghosts who left those bodies go? Maybe they were still roaming around on earth, waiting for judgement day or bothering their relatives.
-The New Living Translation and the International Standard Version of the bible sometimes translated ruined or desolate areas into "ghost towns." That is not the meaning of the original manuscript words.
-The books of Isaiah and Psalms suggest that the spirits of the dead reside underground in a place called Sheol, which is pretty much a boring place just for dead people to hang out.
-We've already seen in Leviticus that it is forbidden to consult mediums or people who talk to the spirits of the dead, but in 1 Samuel, Saul consults one anyway. The medium conjures up the spirit of Samuel the priest. He comes out of the ground as the ghostly figure of an old man wearing a robe, or at least that is what she tells Saul. He cannot see Samuel but he believes her. He can't hear Samuel either. The medium relays the message, just like mediums today. Imagine that.
-Isaiah calls mediums people who chirp and mutter.
-Various "wicked people" in the Old Testament (enemies of the Jews) are said to have resorted to using mediums to contact spirits, along with other foul deeds.
-In Matthew and Mark, Jesus's disciples thought he was a ghost when he walked on water.
-After the supposed resurrection, Jesus materializes and disappears suddenly, even in locked rooms. But, he says he is not a spirit because he has a body, and spirits don't have bodies.
-As far as I can tell with what little study I've done on this subject, there are no ghostly hauntings in the bible, only figurative hauntings of Jackals, foxes, owls, and dragons, depending on which translation you read.
No matter where Halloween originated, in many religious traditions it is a time of year generally reserved for remembering the dead. Some even believe that visitations from those dead may occur, which could be good thing or a bad thing. Ghostly tales abound.
What about ghosts and the spirits of the departed in the bible? I did a little research and found a few interesting facts:
- The King James translation is quite liberal with the word ghost, using the phrase he "gave up the ghost" many times in the Old And New Testaments, in reference to dying. The original Hebrew wording refers only to the physical act of dying, no ghosts involved. Other translations render the passage with people expiring, passing away, and just plain dying. Now, imagine you have never read or heard any other translation but the KJV. What might you believed happened when people died? Where did those ghosts who left those bodies go? Maybe they were still roaming around on earth, waiting for judgement day or bothering their relatives.
-The New Living Translation and the International Standard Version of the bible sometimes translated ruined or desolate areas into "ghost towns." That is not the meaning of the original manuscript words.
-The books of Isaiah and Psalms suggest that the spirits of the dead reside underground in a place called Sheol, which is pretty much a boring place just for dead people to hang out.
-We've already seen in Leviticus that it is forbidden to consult mediums or people who talk to the spirits of the dead, but in 1 Samuel, Saul consults one anyway. The medium conjures up the spirit of Samuel the priest. He comes out of the ground as the ghostly figure of an old man wearing a robe, or at least that is what she tells Saul. He cannot see Samuel but he believes her. He can't hear Samuel either. The medium relays the message, just like mediums today. Imagine that.
-Isaiah calls mediums people who chirp and mutter.
-Various "wicked people" in the Old Testament (enemies of the Jews) are said to have resorted to using mediums to contact spirits, along with other foul deeds.
-In Matthew and Mark, Jesus's disciples thought he was a ghost when he walked on water.
-After the supposed resurrection, Jesus materializes and disappears suddenly, even in locked rooms. But, he says he is not a spirit because he has a body, and spirits don't have bodies.
-As far as I can tell with what little study I've done on this subject, there are no ghostly hauntings in the bible, only figurative hauntings of Jackals, foxes, owls, and dragons, depending on which translation you read.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Numbers chapter 5
After reading chapter 5:
*Yahweh tells Moses that anyone, male or female, with a skin disease, a discharge, or who has come in contact with a dead body, must be sent outside the camp so they don't "defile" it. Supposedly, the Israelites did that.
*Next, Yahweh tells Moses that any one who has wronged another person, or God, must confess and make equal restitution plus a fifth. If there is no one to give the restitution to, it is to be given to the priest, along with a ram for atonement. Everything given to the priest belongs to the priest, another job benefit.
*Verses 11-29 is one of the most disturbing passages I have come upon so far. It is how to test to see if a wife is unfaithful, not because there reason to believe she is, but because the husband is feeling jealous.
-First the husband is to take the wife to the priest, along with an offering of barley flour for jealousy. Who wants to bet that the woman had no choice in this matter?
-The priest will make the woman stand before the lord. Presumably this means in front of the tabernacle.
-The priest will put holy water in a clay jar. There is no explanation of where he got the holy water and what makes it holy compared to regular water. Then, get this, he will scoop up dirt from the tabernacle floor and put it in the water.
-Then the priest will loosen the woman's hair, and make her hold the barley flour offering. (Humiliation?) While she is doing that, he says a magical oath over the pitcher of dirty water: If the woman has been faithful to her husband, may the bitter water not harm her; BUT if she has been unfaithful, may she be under a curse that causes her abdomen to swell and any child she is carrying to be miscarried. How's that for the sanctity of life in the womb?
-The woman is required to say, "Amen, so be it."
-The priest then writes the above curses on a scroll and washes the curses off the scroll into the water in the pitcher. One wonders what the ink was made from.
-Next, the priest takes the grain offering, waves it in front of the lord, and burns a handful of it. After that, he makes the woman drink the " bitter," cursed, dirty water. Again, do you think she had a choice?
-If the woman was not unfaithful, nothing would happen to her. She would be declared clean and would be able to have children. If she was unfaithful, her abdomen would swell, her womb would miscarry, and she would become a bitter curse. This would be proof of her guilt. Of course it would have nothing to do with the filthy poisoned water she was given. How many times do you think a woman would have been proven faithful using this method? (What happened to the woman after she was proved "guilty" of adultery?)
-No matter what the result, the husband would not be considered guilty of any wrong doing. One wonders what the test for an unfaithful husband was, or if there even was one.
*Yahweh tells Moses that anyone, male or female, with a skin disease, a discharge, or who has come in contact with a dead body, must be sent outside the camp so they don't "defile" it. Supposedly, the Israelites did that.
*Next, Yahweh tells Moses that any one who has wronged another person, or God, must confess and make equal restitution plus a fifth. If there is no one to give the restitution to, it is to be given to the priest, along with a ram for atonement. Everything given to the priest belongs to the priest, another job benefit.
*Verses 11-29 is one of the most disturbing passages I have come upon so far. It is how to test to see if a wife is unfaithful, not because there reason to believe she is, but because the husband is feeling jealous.
-First the husband is to take the wife to the priest, along with an offering of barley flour for jealousy. Who wants to bet that the woman had no choice in this matter?
-The priest will make the woman stand before the lord. Presumably this means in front of the tabernacle.
-The priest will put holy water in a clay jar. There is no explanation of where he got the holy water and what makes it holy compared to regular water. Then, get this, he will scoop up dirt from the tabernacle floor and put it in the water.
-Then the priest will loosen the woman's hair, and make her hold the barley flour offering. (Humiliation?) While she is doing that, he says a magical oath over the pitcher of dirty water: If the woman has been faithful to her husband, may the bitter water not harm her; BUT if she has been unfaithful, may she be under a curse that causes her abdomen to swell and any child she is carrying to be miscarried. How's that for the sanctity of life in the womb?
-The woman is required to say, "Amen, so be it."
-The priest then writes the above curses on a scroll and washes the curses off the scroll into the water in the pitcher. One wonders what the ink was made from.
-Next, the priest takes the grain offering, waves it in front of the lord, and burns a handful of it. After that, he makes the woman drink the " bitter," cursed, dirty water. Again, do you think she had a choice?
-If the woman was not unfaithful, nothing would happen to her. She would be declared clean and would be able to have children. If she was unfaithful, her abdomen would swell, her womb would miscarry, and she would become a bitter curse. This would be proof of her guilt. Of course it would have nothing to do with the filthy poisoned water she was given. How many times do you think a woman would have been proven faithful using this method? (What happened to the woman after she was proved "guilty" of adultery?)
-No matter what the result, the husband would not be considered guilty of any wrong doing. One wonders what the test for an unfaithful husband was, or if there even was one.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Numbers chapter 4
After reading chapter 4:
*This chapter gives various duties of different clans of Levites when dismantling the tabernacle and moving camp.
-First Aaron and his sons go in the tabernacle and privately wrap the ark of the covenant with cloths and put a durable leather cover over it and attach carrying poles. They do the same with the Table of the Presence and the tabernacle accessories, putting them on carrying frames or attaching poles. They prepare the golden altar (for incense) and the bronze altar (for burnt offerings) in the same way. Every thing is well wrapped, waterproofed and made ready to carry. Eleazar was in charge of the oil, incense, and grain offerings.
-After that, members of the Kohathite branch of the Levites had the privilege of carrying everything. But they must not touch any of the holy things or they will die. It occurs to me that if this is true, the chance that any Israelite ever actually saw the ark of the covenant is slim to non-existent. All they would have seen was a bulky shape covered with leather and carried with poles.
-The Gershonite branch of the Levites were to carry the tabernacle curtains and related equipment. They were under the direction of Aaron's son Ithamar.
-The Merarite branch of the Levites were to carry the tent frames, poles, tent pegs, and ropes. They were also under the direction of Ithamar.
-Then we have the counting of all the men 30-50 years old in the Kohathite, Gershonite, and Merarite clans. These men would do the serving and tent carrying for the tabernacle. There was a total of 8,580.
Edited.
*This chapter gives various duties of different clans of Levites when dismantling the tabernacle and moving camp.
-First Aaron and his sons go in the tabernacle and privately wrap the ark of the covenant with cloths and put a durable leather cover over it and attach carrying poles. They do the same with the Table of the Presence and the tabernacle accessories, putting them on carrying frames or attaching poles. They prepare the golden altar (for incense) and the bronze altar (for burnt offerings) in the same way. Every thing is well wrapped, waterproofed and made ready to carry. Eleazar was in charge of the oil, incense, and grain offerings.
-After that, members of the Kohathite branch of the Levites had the privilege of carrying everything. But they must not touch any of the holy things or they will die. It occurs to me that if this is true, the chance that any Israelite ever actually saw the ark of the covenant is slim to non-existent. All they would have seen was a bulky shape covered with leather and carried with poles.
-The Gershonite branch of the Levites were to carry the tabernacle curtains and related equipment. They were under the direction of Aaron's son Ithamar.
-The Merarite branch of the Levites were to carry the tent frames, poles, tent pegs, and ropes. They were also under the direction of Ithamar.
-Then we have the counting of all the men 30-50 years old in the Kohathite, Gershonite, and Merarite clans. These men would do the serving and tent carrying for the tabernacle. There was a total of 8,580.
Edited.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Numbers chapter 3
After reading chapter 3:
*Here we are again told about Aaron and his four sons. Nadab and and Abihu are no longer living because they used unsanctioned incense. They died childless. Eleazar and Ithamar are priests and served during the lifetime of their father.
*Yahweh told Moses to present the tribe of the Levites to Aaron and his sons as workers to assist them in the tabernacle care and duties. But, only Aaron and his sons could approach the sanctuary, anyone else would die.
*Yahweh explained that the whole tribe of Levites belonged to him. They were stand ins for the first born sons of the other Israelites. Why? Because all first born Israelites (and animals) belong to God, why? Because Egypt. After all, he didn't kill them when he killed the Egyptian firstborn, and he could have.
*Now the Levite males are counted, every one a month old and up. There were 22,000 all together, another nice round number. It is significantly less than the number of adult males in any of the the other tribes. Next, in order to insure each individual Levite male is the redemption for one of the firstborn of the other Israelites, the firstborn of the other tribes, from one month on up, are all counted. There were 22, 273, an excess of 273 Israelites who didn't have a Levite match. No problem, says Yahweh. Just collect 5 shekels of silver for each one of the 273, then give the money to Aaron and his sons, of course.
*So, Moses collected all that silver and gave it to Aaron and his sons.
One wonders if this was just a one time deal or if an accounting needed to be done any time another Levite male or first born male Israelite was born.
*Here we are again told about Aaron and his four sons. Nadab and and Abihu are no longer living because they used unsanctioned incense. They died childless. Eleazar and Ithamar are priests and served during the lifetime of their father.
*Yahweh told Moses to present the tribe of the Levites to Aaron and his sons as workers to assist them in the tabernacle care and duties. But, only Aaron and his sons could approach the sanctuary, anyone else would die.
*Yahweh explained that the whole tribe of Levites belonged to him. They were stand ins for the first born sons of the other Israelites. Why? Because all first born Israelites (and animals) belong to God, why? Because Egypt. After all, he didn't kill them when he killed the Egyptian firstborn, and he could have.
*Now the Levite males are counted, every one a month old and up. There were 22,000 all together, another nice round number. It is significantly less than the number of adult males in any of the the other tribes. Next, in order to insure each individual Levite male is the redemption for one of the firstborn of the other Israelites, the firstborn of the other tribes, from one month on up, are all counted. There were 22, 273, an excess of 273 Israelites who didn't have a Levite match. No problem, says Yahweh. Just collect 5 shekels of silver for each one of the 273, then give the money to Aaron and his sons, of course.
*So, Moses collected all that silver and gave it to Aaron and his sons.
One wonders if this was just a one time deal or if an accounting needed to be done any time another Levite male or first born male Israelite was born.
Numbers chapter 2
After reading chapter 2:
*This chapter explains how the twelve divisions of the Israelites were to set up camp. Three divisions each at the sites east, west, north and south of the tabernacle.
-In the eastern section, the leader would be the tribe of Judah. With them would camp the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun. When camp was broken, they would set out first.
-In the southern section, the leader would be the tribe of Reuben. With them would be the tribes of Simeon and Gad. When camp was broken, they would set out second.
-The tabernacle would be in the middle of the camp and the Levites would camp around it. They would set out in the same order in which they set up camp. We are not told what order that is.
-In the western section, the leader would be the tribe of Ephraim. With them would camp the tribes of Benjamin and Manasseh. They would set out third.
-In the northern section, the leader would be the tribe of Dan. With them would camp the tribes of Asher and Naphtali. When camp was broken, they would set out last.
The numbers from chapter one are repeated and tallied again. We are told the Israelites did what God told them.
*This chapter explains how the twelve divisions of the Israelites were to set up camp. Three divisions each at the sites east, west, north and south of the tabernacle.
-In the eastern section, the leader would be the tribe of Judah. With them would camp the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun. When camp was broken, they would set out first.
-In the southern section, the leader would be the tribe of Reuben. With them would be the tribes of Simeon and Gad. When camp was broken, they would set out second.
-The tabernacle would be in the middle of the camp and the Levites would camp around it. They would set out in the same order in which they set up camp. We are not told what order that is.
-In the western section, the leader would be the tribe of Ephraim. With them would camp the tribes of Benjamin and Manasseh. They would set out third.
-In the northern section, the leader would be the tribe of Dan. With them would camp the tribes of Asher and Naphtali. When camp was broken, they would set out last.
The numbers from chapter one are repeated and tallied again. We are told the Israelites did what God told them.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Numbers chapter 1
After reading chapter 1:
*Back in Exodus 40, the tabernacle was finished and set up on the frst day of the first month, of the second year in the desert. Now, in Numbers, it is the first day of the second month of the same year. Moses has a private conversation with Yahweh in the tent of meeting, which we will assume is the tabernacle. So, apparently, Leviticus took place in between these times. God tells Moses that he and Aaron are to take a census of all the male Israelites twenty years and older who are able to serve in the army. The heads of the clans were to help them.
*Each person counted registered his ancestry by clan and family. Every single name was supposedly written down, one by one. Twelve clans of Israel were counted, those of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim and Manasseh (sons of Joseph), Benjamin, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The Levites, the clan of priests, were exempt from service in the Army because they had the special privilege of taking care of all the tabernacle stuff. Nice work, if you can get it.
*The numbers of fighting men in each clan are almost miraculous, they all end with zeroes. All but one end with two zeroes. No odd numbers. Each clan has between 32,000 and 75,000 men. Together they total 603,550. My study bible suggests that the total population, including women and children should have been in excess of 2 million persons, twice the population of Austin, Texas. They all travelled and camped in the desert together for many years and left no trace of their existance. Amazing feat.
*Whenever the Israelites camped, they were to set up their tents in divisions according to their clans. The Levites were to set up their tents around the tabernacle. Only Levites could participate in the setting up and dismantling of the tabernacle. If anyone else came near during this process, they wiould die. They were to literally keep it all in the family.
*Back in Exodus 40, the tabernacle was finished and set up on the frst day of the first month, of the second year in the desert. Now, in Numbers, it is the first day of the second month of the same year. Moses has a private conversation with Yahweh in the tent of meeting, which we will assume is the tabernacle. So, apparently, Leviticus took place in between these times. God tells Moses that he and Aaron are to take a census of all the male Israelites twenty years and older who are able to serve in the army. The heads of the clans were to help them.
*Each person counted registered his ancestry by clan and family. Every single name was supposedly written down, one by one. Twelve clans of Israel were counted, those of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim and Manasseh (sons of Joseph), Benjamin, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The Levites, the clan of priests, were exempt from service in the Army because they had the special privilege of taking care of all the tabernacle stuff. Nice work, if you can get it.
*The numbers of fighting men in each clan are almost miraculous, they all end with zeroes. All but one end with two zeroes. No odd numbers. Each clan has between 32,000 and 75,000 men. Together they total 603,550. My study bible suggests that the total population, including women and children should have been in excess of 2 million persons, twice the population of Austin, Texas. They all travelled and camped in the desert together for many years and left no trace of their existance. Amazing feat.
*Whenever the Israelites camped, they were to set up their tents in divisions according to their clans. The Levites were to set up their tents around the tabernacle. Only Levites could participate in the setting up and dismantling of the tabernacle. If anyone else came near during this process, they wiould die. They were to literally keep it all in the family.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Introduction to Numbers
Before reading the book of numbers, please read the Wikipedia article here.
Numbers was definitely not written by Moses over a thousand years before the common era. It was most likely put together by priests in the 500's B.C.E. It's story begins at Mount Sinai and ends with the Israelites getting ready to enter into the promised land. The English name of the book reflects the counting of the Israelites in the story.
Numbers was definitely not written by Moses over a thousand years before the common era. It was most likely put together by priests in the 500's B.C.E. It's story begins at Mount Sinai and ends with the Israelites getting ready to enter into the promised land. The English name of the book reflects the counting of the Israelites in the story.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Leviticus wrap up
First, what did we not see in Leviticus: Heaven, Hell, eternal punishment or reward, demons, devils, miracles, Satan, any mention or hint of a messaiah or son of God,
What did we learn about Yahweh:
-He favors the Israelites over all other people and the Levites over all other Israelites.
-He approves of slavery, unless it involves Israelites
-He is extraordinarily obsessed with ceremonial cleanness and the number seven.
-He is loves animal sacrifices, gifts of food that he will never eat, and money that he will never use.
-He is ruthless and unbending in his punishments for disobedience, not considering circumstances.
-He seems unaware of simple preventative measures for mold, how to keep land fertile, how to treat wounds, and other things an omniscient God should know.
-He places a lower value on females than males.
-He lives in an inner area of the tabernacle tent, hovering over the arc, between the cherubim's wings..
-He is only to be visited once a year, on the day of atonement, by the high priest.
-All the info about him and his laws was supposedly given to Aaron and the people by Moses.
We also learned that there was unrest in the camp. Some people made their own sacrifices to other gods out in the fields. Some even blasphemed Yahweh. It was made quite clear that doing your own thing could have dire consequences, namely death or excommunication. Execution included stoning and burning. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, used the wrong kind of incense and were blasted out of existance by God.
All that aside, what we see is an extraordinary amount of control over the personal lives and possessions of others given to the priestly class. This is a true theocracy. Certainly no one today wants that.
One thing to remember is that these laws were supposedly created over three thousand years ago for the Israelites as a nation, living in the "promised land." Nowhere do these passages imply that any other people living in any other place are expected to abide by them, least of all in modern America. To expect otherwise is delusional.
Other legal codes predate this Mosaic law by several hundreds of years and use some of the same terminology, such as the code of Hammurabi. They are also better attested to in the archaeological record, being found on very ancient clay tablets and stones. The mosaic law can not be proven to be anywhere near as old as it claims to be.
There is no concrete evidence for any of the specific events in this book. It does not claim to be written by Moses or to be the word of God.
Edited 10/25/15
What did we learn about Yahweh:
-He favors the Israelites over all other people and the Levites over all other Israelites.
-He approves of slavery, unless it involves Israelites
-He is extraordinarily obsessed with ceremonial cleanness and the number seven.
-He is loves animal sacrifices, gifts of food that he will never eat, and money that he will never use.
-He is ruthless and unbending in his punishments for disobedience, not considering circumstances.
-He seems unaware of simple preventative measures for mold, how to keep land fertile, how to treat wounds, and other things an omniscient God should know.
-He places a lower value on females than males.
-He lives in an inner area of the tabernacle tent, hovering over the arc, between the cherubim's wings..
-He is only to be visited once a year, on the day of atonement, by the high priest.
-All the info about him and his laws was supposedly given to Aaron and the people by Moses.
We also learned that there was unrest in the camp. Some people made their own sacrifices to other gods out in the fields. Some even blasphemed Yahweh. It was made quite clear that doing your own thing could have dire consequences, namely death or excommunication. Execution included stoning and burning. Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, used the wrong kind of incense and were blasted out of existance by God.
All that aside, what we see is an extraordinary amount of control over the personal lives and possessions of others given to the priestly class. This is a true theocracy. Certainly no one today wants that.
One thing to remember is that these laws were supposedly created over three thousand years ago for the Israelites as a nation, living in the "promised land." Nowhere do these passages imply that any other people living in any other place are expected to abide by them, least of all in modern America. To expect otherwise is delusional.
Other legal codes predate this Mosaic law by several hundreds of years and use some of the same terminology, such as the code of Hammurabi. They are also better attested to in the archaeological record, being found on very ancient clay tablets and stones. The mosaic law can not be proven to be anywhere near as old as it claims to be.
There is no concrete evidence for any of the specific events in this book. It does not claim to be written by Moses or to be the word of God.
Edited 10/25/15
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Leviticus 27
After reading Leviticus 27:
*I found this chapter a little confusing and had to read it multiple times, along with the study bible notes. Here is what it seems to be saying, at face value:
Things and people can be given (dedicated) to the lord by special vows. But the actual person or item doesn't have to be physically given, an amount of money equivalent to the gift can be given. Who do you think got the money? Did you say the priests? I'm thinking that would be a good guess. What would God do with money?
There are rules for each type of gift:
-A gift of a person (as though you can give people as gifts) is represented by a monetary amount based on their age and gender. The most valuable people were between twenty and sixty years of age. Young children were of the least value. Females were less valuable than males. Frankly, this appears to me to be a substitute for human sacrifice.
-A ceremonially clean animal gift to the lord is accepted outright and becomes holy.
-A ceremonially unclean animal gift to the lord must be presented to the priest who will judge it as good or bad. The priest will set a value for the animal. If the person wishes to give money in place of the animal, he must add a fifth to the value.
-A house dedicated to the lord is to be judged good or bad by the priest, who will set its value. If the person wishes to give money in place of the house, he must add a fifth to the value. It seems that, among other things, the priests would have controlled the market value of real estate.
-Family land dedicated to the lord is to have a monetary exchange value of the amount of seed it would take to plant on it, but only in the year of Jubilee. Its monetary value decreases during the years between Jubilees. The priests set the value, and if the person wishes to substitute money for the gift of land, he must add a fifth of the value. If he does not substitute money for the land, he doesn't get the land back at the Jubilee. It becomes holy land belonging to the priests, of course.
-Previously purchased, non-family land dedicated to the lord is valued by the priests according to how close to the Jubilee it is. In the year of the Jubilee it reverts to its family of origin.
-A first born animal may not be dedicated to the lord because it already belongs to him. If it happens to be unclean, he can buy it back at a fifth more than its value (determined by the priests) or the priests will sell it themselves.
The money used to redeem property is silver shekels. The standard is the sanctuary shekel.
Now, apparently, Devoting something to the lord is different than Dedicating something. People or property devoted to the lord cannot be redeemed monetarily. Everything devoted becomes holy, probably meaning it now belongs to the priests.
People devoted to destruction cannot be redeemed monetarily, they must be put to death. I take this to mean that anyone incurring the death penalty, because of breaking the aforementioned laws in Leviticus, cannot get out of their sentence by monetary redemption.
*Added to everything else, a tithe of everything that a person's land produces,of all food and livestock, must be given to the lord. (Read the priests) It can be monetarily redeemed by adding a fifth to its value, which was probably determined by the priests.
There ends the book probably written by priests, outlining laws, duties, responsibilities, plus priestly privileges and job benefits.
*I found this chapter a little confusing and had to read it multiple times, along with the study bible notes. Here is what it seems to be saying, at face value:
Things and people can be given (dedicated) to the lord by special vows. But the actual person or item doesn't have to be physically given, an amount of money equivalent to the gift can be given. Who do you think got the money? Did you say the priests? I'm thinking that would be a good guess. What would God do with money?
There are rules for each type of gift:
-A gift of a person (as though you can give people as gifts) is represented by a monetary amount based on their age and gender. The most valuable people were between twenty and sixty years of age. Young children were of the least value. Females were less valuable than males. Frankly, this appears to me to be a substitute for human sacrifice.
-A ceremonially clean animal gift to the lord is accepted outright and becomes holy.
-A ceremonially unclean animal gift to the lord must be presented to the priest who will judge it as good or bad. The priest will set a value for the animal. If the person wishes to give money in place of the animal, he must add a fifth to the value.
-A house dedicated to the lord is to be judged good or bad by the priest, who will set its value. If the person wishes to give money in place of the house, he must add a fifth to the value. It seems that, among other things, the priests would have controlled the market value of real estate.
-Family land dedicated to the lord is to have a monetary exchange value of the amount of seed it would take to plant on it, but only in the year of Jubilee. Its monetary value decreases during the years between Jubilees. The priests set the value, and if the person wishes to substitute money for the gift of land, he must add a fifth of the value. If he does not substitute money for the land, he doesn't get the land back at the Jubilee. It becomes holy land belonging to the priests, of course.
-Previously purchased, non-family land dedicated to the lord is valued by the priests according to how close to the Jubilee it is. In the year of the Jubilee it reverts to its family of origin.
-A first born animal may not be dedicated to the lord because it already belongs to him. If it happens to be unclean, he can buy it back at a fifth more than its value (determined by the priests) or the priests will sell it themselves.
The money used to redeem property is silver shekels. The standard is the sanctuary shekel.
Now, apparently, Devoting something to the lord is different than Dedicating something. People or property devoted to the lord cannot be redeemed monetarily. Everything devoted becomes holy, probably meaning it now belongs to the priests.
People devoted to destruction cannot be redeemed monetarily, they must be put to death. I take this to mean that anyone incurring the death penalty, because of breaking the aforementioned laws in Leviticus, cannot get out of their sentence by monetary redemption.
*Added to everything else, a tithe of everything that a person's land produces,of all food and livestock, must be given to the lord. (Read the priests) It can be monetarily redeemed by adding a fifth to its value, which was probably determined by the priests.
There ends the book probably written by priests, outlining laws, duties, responsibilities, plus priestly privileges and job benefits.
Leviticus 26
After reading Leviticus 26:
*It seems that we have reached the end of the law making. This chapter is about rewards and punishments for following or not following all those laws.
First we have the rewards for absolute obedience to Yahweh's commands:
-Rain
-Plentiful crops
-Peace in the land
-An absence of wild animals ( It appears God doesn't know this would hurt the ecosystem, not to mention cause an increase in small rodents.)
-An absence of war
-The ability to slaughter their enemies easily (What defines an enemy?)
-An increase in population (This can also backfire, too many people becomes a strain on the economy and the land. But that idea is contrary to tribal thinking.)
-God will live and walk among them, even though they will never personally see or hear him and they will have to take the priest's word for it.
Next we have consequences for failing to carry out all of god's commands, which will violate his covenant:
-Disease
-Famine
-Subjugation to enemies
-Imaginary fears
-Attacks by wild animals
-War in the land, which will cause plagues and deprivation
-They will eat their own children.
-God will tear down places of idol worship. (Well, not him personally, but his agents, the priests.)
-Cities will be ruined and the land will get an enforced Sabbath rest.
-They will waste away as captives in the lands of their enemies.
All these afflictions will be multiplied seven times over. But, after they are punished, if they confess their sins, the land will be waiting for them to return from their exile. God won't forget about them.
They will not be completely destroyed and he will remember his covenant with them.
Wow! This all eventually came true. Isn't it miraculous? Well, it might have been if these passages were actually written in the time of Moses. There is more reason to believe they were written after the Babylonian and Persian exiles. (See Leviticus.) Even if it was written beforehand, these kind of events happened with alarming frequency throughout the ancient world. Were the other conquered people's gods punishing them in the same way that Yahweh punished the Israelites? Since the Babylonians and Persians prospered against the Israelites, does that mean Yahweh favored them at the time, even though they worshipped other gods?
*It seems that we have reached the end of the law making. This chapter is about rewards and punishments for following or not following all those laws.
First we have the rewards for absolute obedience to Yahweh's commands:
-Rain
-Plentiful crops
-Peace in the land
-An absence of wild animals ( It appears God doesn't know this would hurt the ecosystem, not to mention cause an increase in small rodents.)
-An absence of war
-The ability to slaughter their enemies easily (What defines an enemy?)
-An increase in population (This can also backfire, too many people becomes a strain on the economy and the land. But that idea is contrary to tribal thinking.)
-God will live and walk among them, even though they will never personally see or hear him and they will have to take the priest's word for it.
Next we have consequences for failing to carry out all of god's commands, which will violate his covenant:
-Disease
-Famine
-Subjugation to enemies
-Imaginary fears
-Attacks by wild animals
-War in the land, which will cause plagues and deprivation
-They will eat their own children.
-God will tear down places of idol worship. (Well, not him personally, but his agents, the priests.)
-Cities will be ruined and the land will get an enforced Sabbath rest.
-They will waste away as captives in the lands of their enemies.
All these afflictions will be multiplied seven times over. But, after they are punished, if they confess their sins, the land will be waiting for them to return from their exile. God won't forget about them.
They will not be completely destroyed and he will remember his covenant with them.
Wow! This all eventually came true. Isn't it miraculous? Well, it might have been if these passages were actually written in the time of Moses. There is more reason to believe they were written after the Babylonian and Persian exiles. (See Leviticus.) Even if it was written beforehand, these kind of events happened with alarming frequency throughout the ancient world. Were the other conquered people's gods punishing them in the same way that Yahweh punished the Israelites? Since the Babylonians and Persians prospered against the Israelites, does that mean Yahweh favored them at the time, even though they worshipped other gods?
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Leviticus 25
After reading Leviticus 25:
*Verses 1-5 are instructions for the establishment of a sabbath year, once the Israelites take over the promised land. For six years they are to plant, prune, and harvest. On the seventh year they are to let the land rest, no planting, no pruning, no harvesting. They can't even reap or harvest what grows naturally. (Verse 5) So, what will the Israelites eat that year? Why, whatever the land produces of course! (Verse 6) This makes no sense to me. Maybe some sense can be squeezed out if it means all wild produce that grows on previously non-cultivated land is ok, like wild greens, nuts, and berries. Can we say massive starvation rates every seventh year? The study bible attempts to say that this practice is good for cultivated land, which makes it obviously divine. What it ignores is that there are better people -designed practices for improving the fertility of the land that don't include people not eating what grows naturally.
*Verses 8-54. On the fiftieth year, after seven times seven years, there is to be a jubilee year. What follows is a list of rules for that year. We will just hit the highlights.
-This is also a year of Sabbath rest for the land. Here, the question of what the Israelites will eat on Sabbath years is answered. Supposedly, on the sixth year, Yahweh will give them a huge bumper crop that would last for three years. So, no worries. I wonder how that worked out for them in reality.
-Yahweh owns the land, they will just be tenants. So the sale of land is never permanent. In the year of Jubilee, the possession of the land reverts to its original Israelite possessor if it was sold. All buying and selling of land is to be done with this understanding. Houses in walled cities don't count. There are exceptions to these rules for the Levites. (Read priests) All property originally owned by Levites must be returned at the Jubilee, even a house in a town. In fact, the pastureland surrounding a town owned by Levites must not ever be sold. It is their permanent possession. This is just another reason to consider that maybe the priests came up with these rules themselves.
-If another Israelite becomes poor, his countrymen are to loan the person money without charging interest and sell them food, without making a profit. This is so they can keep living in the land with other Israelites. If an Israelite sells himself to another Israelite because he is poor, he should not be treated as a slave, but as a hired worker. On the year of Jubilee he goes free, back to his own clan and property. Fellow Israelites must not be sold as slaves. Does that mean God is opposed to slavery? Read on.
-Israelites may buy and sell male and female slaves, as long as they are not other Israelites. When they buy such a slave, the slave becomes their property. They can will the slaves to their children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but they must not rule ruthlessly over other Israelites. Verse 46. By inference, it is okay to rule ruthlessly over anyone who is not an Israelite.
-If an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to a rich foreigner living in their land, he is not a slave for life. He is to be treated as a hired worker by law. He and his relatives have the right to pay for his freedom. If he is not free by the time of the Jubilee, he and his children go free at that time. Wives of the Israelite servants are not mentioned in these passages.
-In this chapter we see Yahweh's clear preferential treatment of the Israelites, and especially the Levites, when it comes to human and civil rights.
*Verses 1-5 are instructions for the establishment of a sabbath year, once the Israelites take over the promised land. For six years they are to plant, prune, and harvest. On the seventh year they are to let the land rest, no planting, no pruning, no harvesting. They can't even reap or harvest what grows naturally. (Verse 5) So, what will the Israelites eat that year? Why, whatever the land produces of course! (Verse 6) This makes no sense to me. Maybe some sense can be squeezed out if it means all wild produce that grows on previously non-cultivated land is ok, like wild greens, nuts, and berries. Can we say massive starvation rates every seventh year? The study bible attempts to say that this practice is good for cultivated land, which makes it obviously divine. What it ignores is that there are better people -designed practices for improving the fertility of the land that don't include people not eating what grows naturally.
*Verses 8-54. On the fiftieth year, after seven times seven years, there is to be a jubilee year. What follows is a list of rules for that year. We will just hit the highlights.
-This is also a year of Sabbath rest for the land. Here, the question of what the Israelites will eat on Sabbath years is answered. Supposedly, on the sixth year, Yahweh will give them a huge bumper crop that would last for three years. So, no worries. I wonder how that worked out for them in reality.
-Yahweh owns the land, they will just be tenants. So the sale of land is never permanent. In the year of Jubilee, the possession of the land reverts to its original Israelite possessor if it was sold. All buying and selling of land is to be done with this understanding. Houses in walled cities don't count. There are exceptions to these rules for the Levites. (Read priests) All property originally owned by Levites must be returned at the Jubilee, even a house in a town. In fact, the pastureland surrounding a town owned by Levites must not ever be sold. It is their permanent possession. This is just another reason to consider that maybe the priests came up with these rules themselves.
-If another Israelite becomes poor, his countrymen are to loan the person money without charging interest and sell them food, without making a profit. This is so they can keep living in the land with other Israelites. If an Israelite sells himself to another Israelite because he is poor, he should not be treated as a slave, but as a hired worker. On the year of Jubilee he goes free, back to his own clan and property. Fellow Israelites must not be sold as slaves. Does that mean God is opposed to slavery? Read on.
-Israelites may buy and sell male and female slaves, as long as they are not other Israelites. When they buy such a slave, the slave becomes their property. They can will the slaves to their children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but they must not rule ruthlessly over other Israelites. Verse 46. By inference, it is okay to rule ruthlessly over anyone who is not an Israelite.
-If an Israelite becomes poor and sells himself to a rich foreigner living in their land, he is not a slave for life. He is to be treated as a hired worker by law. He and his relatives have the right to pay for his freedom. If he is not free by the time of the Jubilee, he and his children go free at that time. Wives of the Israelite servants are not mentioned in these passages.
-In this chapter we see Yahweh's clear preferential treatment of the Israelites, and especially the Levites, when it comes to human and civil rights.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Leviticus 24
After reading Leviticus 24:
*More instructions from Yahweh: the Israelites are supposed to provide clear olive oil for the lamps outside the tabernacle. Aaron is to tend the lit lamps continually from evening to morning. When does the poor man get to sleep?
*Each sabbath, twelve loaves of bread of the finest flour, in two stacks of six, are to be placed on the golden table in front of the lord. Beside each stack, some incense is to be place to represent the bread and be a food offering to the lord, because Aaron and his sons are going to eat the real bread. It is most holy.
*In the middle of this we are told a story of young man who utters a curse using god's name. This is considered blasphemy. God tells Moses he is to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death by the Israelites. That is the penalty for blasphemy, no matter who does it. The Israelites obeyed. After that, god gives a rule that anyone who kills another person must be killed, a life for a life. Does no one see the contradiction here? Oh, that's right, if God tells you to kill the person, then you're okay.
*Next, we are told anyone who injures his neighbor is to receive the same injuries in return, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The same laws apply to everyone. Even if a person has been injured by stoning? Does the stonee get to return his injuries to the stoner? We all know it didn't work that way. God's laws to kill superseded his laws to refrain from killing. You try to make sense of that.
-After reading the Wikipedia article on stoning, apparently, since there were multiple stoners involved, no one could tell whose stone was the one responsible for the death, so no one was technically guilty. Loophole.
*More instructions from Yahweh: the Israelites are supposed to provide clear olive oil for the lamps outside the tabernacle. Aaron is to tend the lit lamps continually from evening to morning. When does the poor man get to sleep?
*Each sabbath, twelve loaves of bread of the finest flour, in two stacks of six, are to be placed on the golden table in front of the lord. Beside each stack, some incense is to be place to represent the bread and be a food offering to the lord, because Aaron and his sons are going to eat the real bread. It is most holy.
*In the middle of this we are told a story of young man who utters a curse using god's name. This is considered blasphemy. God tells Moses he is to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death by the Israelites. That is the penalty for blasphemy, no matter who does it. The Israelites obeyed. After that, god gives a rule that anyone who kills another person must be killed, a life for a life. Does no one see the contradiction here? Oh, that's right, if God tells you to kill the person, then you're okay.
*Next, we are told anyone who injures his neighbor is to receive the same injuries in return, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The same laws apply to everyone. Even if a person has been injured by stoning? Does the stonee get to return his injuries to the stoner? We all know it didn't work that way. God's laws to kill superseded his laws to refrain from killing. You try to make sense of that.
-After reading the Wikipedia article on stoning, apparently, since there were multiple stoners involved, no one could tell whose stone was the one responsible for the death, so no one was technically guilty. Loophole.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Leviticus 23
After reading chapter 23:
*This chapter is about special days and events and how to observe them.
- The Sabbath: every seventh day is a day of rest
-The Passover: starts at twilight on the 14 th day of the first month. On the first day is a sacred assembly and no work. For seven days unleavened bread is eaten. This is called the feast of unleavened bread. Every day an offering is to be made to the lord by fire. On the seventh day is another sacred assembly and no work. There is no mention of a Passover lamb.
-The next event is not named here but my study bible says it must be the Feast of First Fruits, also held in the first month of the year, right after the Passover week was over. It is to be held on the day after the Feast Of Unleavened Bread's seventh day Sabbath. The first grain harvested is to be waved before the lord and a one year old lamb is to be sacrificed as a burnt offering, together with flour, oil and wine. The Israelites are not to eat anything made from that year's grain until this offering is made.
-Again, the next event is not named here but the study bible says it was the Feast of Weeks. From the date of the last event, seven weeks are counted, or 50 days to the day after the seventh sabbath. This is what came to be known as Pentecost. It is a big slaughter event with the sacrifice of seven lambs, a bull, and two Rams as a burnt offering. Plus, there is to be the sacrifice of a goat for a sin offering and two lambs as a fellowship offering. The lambs are to be waved in front of the lord. They are a sacred offering to the lord, for the priests. That is also a day with no work.
-On the first day of the seventh month, there is another day off and sacred assembly with an offering by fire. This is a day for blasting trumpets. Why? It doesn't say.
-On the tenth day of the seventh month, is the day of atonement, which we covered in Leviticus 16. This is a day of enforced rest and fasting.
-On the fifteenth day of the seventh month begins the Feast of Tabernacles which lasts for seven days.
The first day is a sacred assembly and no work. Every day offerings are to be made to God by fire. On the eight day is no work, an assembly and an offering. On the first day they are supposed to rejoice with fruit and Palm branches, somehow. They are also to live in booths, or mini tabernacles (tents?) for the seven days of this festival, to remind them of their time in the desert, which they were supposedly still experiencing when these laws were given.
*These specific events and offerings are required and are lasting ordinances for the generations to come. Of course, we all know the Jews no longer make sacrifices by fire. Why don't they? Well, the short answer is these lasting ordinances had some nuances that changed over the generations, which eventually made it impossible for the Jews to follow this tradition in the way they believed they must. We will see how that plays out as we make our way through the bible. A longer answer is Here.
Remember, we are basically looking at a plain reading of the bible. Jewish believers do not practice Sola Scriptura, but have a rich tradition of extra- biblical commentary and interpretation which is beyond the scope of this reader.
*This chapter is about special days and events and how to observe them.
- The Sabbath: every seventh day is a day of rest
-The Passover: starts at twilight on the 14 th day of the first month. On the first day is a sacred assembly and no work. For seven days unleavened bread is eaten. This is called the feast of unleavened bread. Every day an offering is to be made to the lord by fire. On the seventh day is another sacred assembly and no work. There is no mention of a Passover lamb.
-The next event is not named here but my study bible says it must be the Feast of First Fruits, also held in the first month of the year, right after the Passover week was over. It is to be held on the day after the Feast Of Unleavened Bread's seventh day Sabbath. The first grain harvested is to be waved before the lord and a one year old lamb is to be sacrificed as a burnt offering, together with flour, oil and wine. The Israelites are not to eat anything made from that year's grain until this offering is made.
-Again, the next event is not named here but the study bible says it was the Feast of Weeks. From the date of the last event, seven weeks are counted, or 50 days to the day after the seventh sabbath. This is what came to be known as Pentecost. It is a big slaughter event with the sacrifice of seven lambs, a bull, and two Rams as a burnt offering. Plus, there is to be the sacrifice of a goat for a sin offering and two lambs as a fellowship offering. The lambs are to be waved in front of the lord. They are a sacred offering to the lord, for the priests. That is also a day with no work.
-On the first day of the seventh month, there is another day off and sacred assembly with an offering by fire. This is a day for blasting trumpets. Why? It doesn't say.
-On the tenth day of the seventh month, is the day of atonement, which we covered in Leviticus 16. This is a day of enforced rest and fasting.
-On the fifteenth day of the seventh month begins the Feast of Tabernacles which lasts for seven days.
The first day is a sacred assembly and no work. Every day offerings are to be made to God by fire. On the eight day is no work, an assembly and an offering. On the first day they are supposed to rejoice with fruit and Palm branches, somehow. They are also to live in booths, or mini tabernacles (tents?) for the seven days of this festival, to remind them of their time in the desert, which they were supposedly still experiencing when these laws were given.
*These specific events and offerings are required and are lasting ordinances for the generations to come. Of course, we all know the Jews no longer make sacrifices by fire. Why don't they? Well, the short answer is these lasting ordinances had some nuances that changed over the generations, which eventually made it impossible for the Jews to follow this tradition in the way they believed they must. We will see how that plays out as we make our way through the bible. A longer answer is Here.
Remember, we are basically looking at a plain reading of the bible. Jewish believers do not practice Sola Scriptura, but have a rich tradition of extra- biblical commentary and interpretation which is beyond the scope of this reader.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Leviticus 22
After reading chapter 22:
*More rules about the "sacred offering" for the priests:
-They must treat the offerings to God with respect, even though God doesn't need them, he won't use them, and they will get to use the leftovers from the offerings themselves.
-They must not come near the offerings if they are unclean or they will be cut off from Yahweh's presence. Does that mean they will no longer be able to serve as a priest or does it mean excommunication?
-A descendant of Aaron will not be allowed to eat any of the sacred offerings, if he is unclean by an infectious skin disease or bodily discharge, until he is cleansed. What will he eat, and where will he get it from?
-He also can't eat any of the sacred offering if he is unclean from touching something defiled by a corpse or a person with an emission of semen (How will he know? Did the priests have to ask all the men they came in contact with if they had an emission of semen in the last 24 hours? ), touching an unclean crawling animal, touching an unclean person, or eating found meat. These will make him unclean and he will have to wash and wait til evening to be magically clean again.
-They must keep these requirements or they will be guilty (Of what?) and may die because of it. Verse 9
*No one at at all outside of the priest's immediate family may eat any of the sacred offering, with one exception: his personal slaves. Yes, priests can buy and own slaves, Yahweh has no objections. If the priest's daughter marries outside the priesthood, she is no longer permitted to eat from this holy food. But if she is widowed or divorced and has to come back to live with her father, she can eat the food.
*If anyone eats the sacred food by mistake, he must pay the priest back and add a fifth of the value to it. Who is the extra fifth for, God or the priest?
*Verses 17-25 are rules for the physical condition of the animals to be sacrificed. They must have no defect or blemish of any kind when it is a burnt offering or fellowship offering that is used to fulfill a special vow or as a free will offering. An animal with damaged testicles will not be accepted, presumably this includes castrated animals. These are not acceptable as food for their God. (Or the priests.) Verse 25.
*An newborn sacrifice must remain with its mother for seven days. After that, it is free to be ritually killed, burnt, and eaten. A mother animal and her young may not be slaughtered for sacrifice on the same day. Why? Well, that's another mystery. It certainly can't be to recognize the sanctity of motherhood.
*We end with a reminder that Yahweh is holy, and he makes the Israelites holy, so they better do what he says.
Articles of interest:
Herodotus on animal sacrifice in ancient Egypt
Scholarly article on sacrifice in Britannica
*More rules about the "sacred offering" for the priests:
-They must treat the offerings to God with respect, even though God doesn't need them, he won't use them, and they will get to use the leftovers from the offerings themselves.
-They must not come near the offerings if they are unclean or they will be cut off from Yahweh's presence. Does that mean they will no longer be able to serve as a priest or does it mean excommunication?
-A descendant of Aaron will not be allowed to eat any of the sacred offerings, if he is unclean by an infectious skin disease or bodily discharge, until he is cleansed. What will he eat, and where will he get it from?
-He also can't eat any of the sacred offering if he is unclean from touching something defiled by a corpse or a person with an emission of semen (How will he know? Did the priests have to ask all the men they came in contact with if they had an emission of semen in the last 24 hours? ), touching an unclean crawling animal, touching an unclean person, or eating found meat. These will make him unclean and he will have to wash and wait til evening to be magically clean again.
-They must keep these requirements or they will be guilty (Of what?) and may die because of it. Verse 9
*No one at at all outside of the priest's immediate family may eat any of the sacred offering, with one exception: his personal slaves. Yes, priests can buy and own slaves, Yahweh has no objections. If the priest's daughter marries outside the priesthood, she is no longer permitted to eat from this holy food. But if she is widowed or divorced and has to come back to live with her father, she can eat the food.
*If anyone eats the sacred food by mistake, he must pay the priest back and add a fifth of the value to it. Who is the extra fifth for, God or the priest?
*Verses 17-25 are rules for the physical condition of the animals to be sacrificed. They must have no defect or blemish of any kind when it is a burnt offering or fellowship offering that is used to fulfill a special vow or as a free will offering. An animal with damaged testicles will not be accepted, presumably this includes castrated animals. These are not acceptable as food for their God. (Or the priests.) Verse 25.
*An newborn sacrifice must remain with its mother for seven days. After that, it is free to be ritually killed, burnt, and eaten. A mother animal and her young may not be slaughtered for sacrifice on the same day. Why? Well, that's another mystery. It certainly can't be to recognize the sanctity of motherhood.
*We end with a reminder that Yahweh is holy, and he makes the Israelites holy, so they better do what he says.
Articles of interest:
Herodotus on animal sacrifice in ancient Egypt
Scholarly article on sacrifice in Britannica
Leviticus 21
After reading Leviticus 21:
*Here we have rules for all the priests, the sons of Aaron:
-A priest may not make himself ceremoniously unclean for anyone except a close blood relative: father, mother, unmarried sister, son, daughter, or brother. He must not make himself unclean for anyone just related by marriage, which seems to include his wife. That would defile him. (Defilement is another one of those abstract concepts that has an ambiguous meaning. But we know one thing, it is BAD. )
-He must not shave his head, or cut the edges of his beard or his body. The study bible says this is what other religious groups did at the time.
-He must not marry a divorced woman or a prostitute. Why? Because priests are holy. Why? Because they offer food to a God who doesn't eat it. That's all.
-If his daughter becomes a prostitute, she must be burnt to death. When we think about reasons why a daughter might become a prostitute, maybe it's the father who should be burnt to death for not taking better care of his daughter.
*Rules for the high priest:
-He must not have messy hair or tear his clothes.
-He must not enter a place that has a dead body.
-He must not make himself unclean for anybody, even a blood relative.
-He must not leave the tabernacle area. (Will he keep his sanity? )
-He cannot marry anyone but a virgin, or he will defile his offspring. Lovely. "I'm sorry dear, you are defiled because your mother was not a virgin when we married, that's just the way it is. Yahweh said so."
In the future, only physically perfect specimens of manhood, who are descendents of Aaron. may offer food to God. (The God who doesn't eat food.) They must be not be blind, lame, dwarfed, or disfigured in any way. Why? Because God is holy. Why? Because he said so! There is some compensation, they are still allowed to eat any food left over when God is done with it. Hey, free food without working for it, just because they are descendents of Aaron? We should all be so defective. Someone else can be holy.
*Here we have rules for all the priests, the sons of Aaron:
-A priest may not make himself ceremoniously unclean for anyone except a close blood relative: father, mother, unmarried sister, son, daughter, or brother. He must not make himself unclean for anyone just related by marriage, which seems to include his wife. That would defile him. (Defilement is another one of those abstract concepts that has an ambiguous meaning. But we know one thing, it is BAD. )
-He must not shave his head, or cut the edges of his beard or his body. The study bible says this is what other religious groups did at the time.
-He must not marry a divorced woman or a prostitute. Why? Because priests are holy. Why? Because they offer food to a God who doesn't eat it. That's all.
-If his daughter becomes a prostitute, she must be burnt to death. When we think about reasons why a daughter might become a prostitute, maybe it's the father who should be burnt to death for not taking better care of his daughter.
*Rules for the high priest:
-He must not have messy hair or tear his clothes.
-He must not enter a place that has a dead body.
-He must not make himself unclean for anybody, even a blood relative.
-He must not leave the tabernacle area. (Will he keep his sanity? )
-He cannot marry anyone but a virgin, or he will defile his offspring. Lovely. "I'm sorry dear, you are defiled because your mother was not a virgin when we married, that's just the way it is. Yahweh said so."
In the future, only physically perfect specimens of manhood, who are descendents of Aaron. may offer food to God. (The God who doesn't eat food.) They must be not be blind, lame, dwarfed, or disfigured in any way. Why? Because God is holy. Why? Because he said so! There is some compensation, they are still allowed to eat any food left over when God is done with it. Hey, free food without working for it, just because they are descendents of Aaron? We should all be so defective. Someone else can be holy.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Leviticus 20
After reading chapter 20:
*This chapter contains the penalties for breaking previously mentioned laws.
-For giving a child to Molech, the penalty is stoning the perpetrator to death and excommunication of the perpetrator's family. Here it seems clearer that this is some kind of child sacrifice, which would be abhorrent.
-For visiting a medium, the penalty is excommunication.
-For cursing a father or mother, death. This is not modern bad language cursing, but old fashioned magical type cursing that is supposed to harm the person cursed, the opposite of blessing. Of course it has no real effect.
-For sleeping with a close female relative, both are to be put to death, no matter if the woman was forced.
-For having intimate relations with another man, both are to be put to death.
-For marrying a woman and her mother, all are to be burnt to death.
-For a man or woman having intimate relations with an animal, both are to be put to death.
-For a man marrying his sister, they will both be excommunicated. This lighter sentence may reflect that this was a more common cultural occurance. Egyptian kings often married their sisters and Abraham did also.
-For sleeping with a menstruating woman, excommunication.
-For sleeping with an aunt or a sister- in- law, they will die childless. That's an odd punishment that doesn't seem to have much punch. What if they don't care? What if they already have children?
-For being a medium, stoning to death, even though mediums are fakes.
One wonders how much stoning, burning, and excommunication actually went on.
The Israelites are to keep all the laws they've been given, including those regarding clean and unclean animals, so that they can possess the land God will give them. All the bad things are what the people who are living in that land have been doing, that's why they deserve to be driven out, according to Yahweh.
*This chapter contains the penalties for breaking previously mentioned laws.
-For giving a child to Molech, the penalty is stoning the perpetrator to death and excommunication of the perpetrator's family. Here it seems clearer that this is some kind of child sacrifice, which would be abhorrent.
-For visiting a medium, the penalty is excommunication.
-For cursing a father or mother, death. This is not modern bad language cursing, but old fashioned magical type cursing that is supposed to harm the person cursed, the opposite of blessing. Of course it has no real effect.
-For sleeping with a close female relative, both are to be put to death, no matter if the woman was forced.
-For having intimate relations with another man, both are to be put to death.
-For marrying a woman and her mother, all are to be burnt to death.
-For a man or woman having intimate relations with an animal, both are to be put to death.
-For a man marrying his sister, they will both be excommunicated. This lighter sentence may reflect that this was a more common cultural occurance. Egyptian kings often married their sisters and Abraham did also.
-For sleeping with a menstruating woman, excommunication.
-For sleeping with an aunt or a sister- in- law, they will die childless. That's an odd punishment that doesn't seem to have much punch. What if they don't care? What if they already have children?
-For being a medium, stoning to death, even though mediums are fakes.
One wonders how much stoning, burning, and excommunication actually went on.
The Israelites are to keep all the laws they've been given, including those regarding clean and unclean animals, so that they can possess the land God will give them. All the bad things are what the people who are living in that land have been doing, that's why they deserve to be driven out, according to Yahweh.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Leviticus 19
After reading Leviticus 19:
*Here we see Yahweh telling Moses to speak to the Israelites and give them more rules. Some of these have been stated before, so I'll just go over the new ones.
-They are not to reap to the edges of their fields or thoroughly strip the vineyards of grapes, but to leave something for the poor and non-Israelites to gather.
-Do not hold back the wages of a hired man.
-Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. It's a shame that anyone would have to be told this. Unfortunately, things like that probably happen today.
-Do not pervert justice, judge your neighbor fairly, not based on his social standing.
-Do not endanger your neighbor's life.
-Do not hate your brother in your heart. How would anyone know if you don't tell them?
-Tell your neighbor straight up when he's doing something wrong, so you won't share his guilt.(Verse17)
-Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself.
-Do not mate different kinds of animals. Generally speaking, this is not actually possible, unless we are talking about closely related animals.
-Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. This is monoculture which has advantages and disadvantages.
-Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. This is a mystifying rule, one broken without compunction throughout the world. I've seen various extra-biblical explanations, but the text does not provide us with one.
*Verses 20-22 are very disturbing. If a man sleeps with a slave girl who was promised to another man, they will not be put to death, because she is just a slave. (Notice that slavery is not said to be wrong, and the woman is treated as an object to be possessed.) The guy has to sacrifice a ram at the tabernacle for a sin offering, then he will be good to go. What will become of the girl? We are not told.
-The fruit of newly planted fruit trees is forbidden to be eaten for three years. On the fourth year, all its fruit is to be given to the priests, um, the lord. That will insure an increase in future harvests. Yeah, riiight. (There is nothing wrong or special about eating any fruit produced by a tree in the first four years. It doesn't do anything to the tree.)
-Do not practice divination or sorcery. You mean like their illustrious ancestor Joseph, who had a special cup for divination? Why doesn't God tell us it is nonsense?
-Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip the edges of your beard. Another mystifying rule.
-No cutting or tattoos.
-Do not make your daughter a prostitute. Duh.
-Do not use mediums or spiritualists. (No seances. Notice we aren't told they are fakes, which they are, of course.)
-Show respect for the elderly.
-Foreigners living among them must not be mistreated, but must be treated as one of their own people.
-Do not use dishonest standards when measuring and weighing in business transactions.
The agriculture rules cannot be enforced until they actually own land. Many of the other rules are only applied to people within the community, as we shall see later.
Edited.
*Here we see Yahweh telling Moses to speak to the Israelites and give them more rules. Some of these have been stated before, so I'll just go over the new ones.
-They are not to reap to the edges of their fields or thoroughly strip the vineyards of grapes, but to leave something for the poor and non-Israelites to gather.
-Do not hold back the wages of a hired man.
-Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. It's a shame that anyone would have to be told this. Unfortunately, things like that probably happen today.
-Do not pervert justice, judge your neighbor fairly, not based on his social standing.
-Do not endanger your neighbor's life.
-Do not hate your brother in your heart. How would anyone know if you don't tell them?
-Tell your neighbor straight up when he's doing something wrong, so you won't share his guilt.(Verse17)
-Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge, but love your neighbor as yourself.
-Do not mate different kinds of animals. Generally speaking, this is not actually possible, unless we are talking about closely related animals.
-Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. This is monoculture which has advantages and disadvantages.
-Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. This is a mystifying rule, one broken without compunction throughout the world. I've seen various extra-biblical explanations, but the text does not provide us with one.
*Verses 20-22 are very disturbing. If a man sleeps with a slave girl who was promised to another man, they will not be put to death, because she is just a slave. (Notice that slavery is not said to be wrong, and the woman is treated as an object to be possessed.) The guy has to sacrifice a ram at the tabernacle for a sin offering, then he will be good to go. What will become of the girl? We are not told.
-The fruit of newly planted fruit trees is forbidden to be eaten for three years. On the fourth year, all its fruit is to be given to the priests, um, the lord. That will insure an increase in future harvests. Yeah, riiight. (There is nothing wrong or special about eating any fruit produced by a tree in the first four years. It doesn't do anything to the tree.)
-Do not practice divination or sorcery. You mean like their illustrious ancestor Joseph, who had a special cup for divination? Why doesn't God tell us it is nonsense?
-Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip the edges of your beard. Another mystifying rule.
-No cutting or tattoos.
-Do not make your daughter a prostitute. Duh.
-Do not use mediums or spiritualists. (No seances. Notice we aren't told they are fakes, which they are, of course.)
-Show respect for the elderly.
-Foreigners living among them must not be mistreated, but must be treated as one of their own people.
-Do not use dishonest standards when measuring and weighing in business transactions.
The agriculture rules cannot be enforced until they actually own land. Many of the other rules are only applied to people within the community, as we shall see later.
Edited.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, book review
Good Omens is an hilarious satire of the supposed impending apocalypse. I started laughing at the forward and every page held a chuckle or a snicker. It has angels, demons, an anti-christ, witches, witch hunters, and the forces of good and evil lined up waiting for the coming war. I musn't forget the four horsemen (?) of the apocalypse: War, Famine, Death, and Pollution. (Pestilence resigned in discouragement with the advent of better hygiene and vaccines.) Everything that can go wrong does, for both sides. Through it all there are the "nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch," which are amazingly nice and accurate.
This is a fun book for all of us who roll our eyes at every new prophecy of apocalyptic doom. Take a spin through the book of Revelation first, if you haven't yet. It will give you some context.
This is a fun book for all of us who roll our eyes at every new prophecy of apocalyptic doom. Take a spin through the book of Revelation first, if you haven't yet. It will give you some context.
Leviticus chapter 18
After reading chapter 18:
* This chapter appears to be laws regarding sexual conduct. It also appears to be directed exclusively to men, which is not surprising, considering it was a patriarchal society. Anyway, men were not to have intimate relationships with:
*Any close relative-
Their mothers.
Any woman married to their father.
Their sisters- either their fathers' daughters or their mothers' daughters. (Oops, Abraham, the founder of the faith, was guilty!)
Their granddaughters.
Their aunts- mothers' sisters or fathers' sisters, and wives of fathers' brothers. (It doesn't mention wives of mothers' brothers. )
Their daughters- in- law. (Judah and Tamar)
Their sisters- in- law.
The daughters of a woman they are intimate with. Presumably, this includes one's own daughters.
The granddaughters of a woman they are intimate with.
Their wives' sisters, while their wives are still living. (Shades of Rachel and Leah, the founding mothers of the tribe of Israel.)
There is no mention of nieces or cousins. Plus, if Genesis is real history, the first couple of generations after Adam must have broken these rules, granted they weren't established yet. The first few generations after Noah would have had only cousins to choose from.
*Other sexual relationships men are forbidden-
With a menstruating woman
With their neighbor's wife
With another man (boys are not mentioned in these passages.)
With an animal
These lists do not include slave women, and other women who are not forbidden but may not want to have sex.
*Relationships forbidden to women-
With an animal. This probably reflects the reality that in human relations, women had no choice.
Verse 11 mentions sacrificing children to Moloch. It would seem out of place among these other acts, unless there was some implied sexual misconduct. Perhaps it is figurative future offspring (also translated seed) that are being sacrificed in a ritual that involves a forbidden sexual activity. There is no way of knowing for sure. Apparently, some scholars think accounts of child sacrifice are exaggerated by the conquering nations. Also, it is clear that the writers of the bible had strong biases against other people groups. We are looking at a story from one side only. Actual child sacrifice may have been a common practice, but how common and how widespread is debatable.
No one who lives among them may do these things, or they will be cut off from the community. The Israelites are warned that where they are going, the people practice these things. Therefore not only the people are defiled, but the land as well and it was punished. (I didn't know land could be punished. Abused, yes, but punished?)Therefore, since the land vomited those people out, it will vomit the Israelites out if they do these detestable things. (Wait a minute! Verse 24 starts out talking in the future tense, but verse 25 is in past tense, as thought these events had already happened. So which is it?)
* This chapter appears to be laws regarding sexual conduct. It also appears to be directed exclusively to men, which is not surprising, considering it was a patriarchal society. Anyway, men were not to have intimate relationships with:
*Any close relative-
Their mothers.
Any woman married to their father.
Their sisters- either their fathers' daughters or their mothers' daughters. (Oops, Abraham, the founder of the faith, was guilty!)
Their granddaughters.
Their aunts- mothers' sisters or fathers' sisters, and wives of fathers' brothers. (It doesn't mention wives of mothers' brothers. )
Their daughters- in- law. (Judah and Tamar)
Their sisters- in- law.
The daughters of a woman they are intimate with. Presumably, this includes one's own daughters.
The granddaughters of a woman they are intimate with.
Their wives' sisters, while their wives are still living. (Shades of Rachel and Leah, the founding mothers of the tribe of Israel.)
There is no mention of nieces or cousins. Plus, if Genesis is real history, the first couple of generations after Adam must have broken these rules, granted they weren't established yet. The first few generations after Noah would have had only cousins to choose from.
*Other sexual relationships men are forbidden-
With a menstruating woman
With their neighbor's wife
With another man (boys are not mentioned in these passages.)
With an animal
These lists do not include slave women, and other women who are not forbidden but may not want to have sex.
*Relationships forbidden to women-
With an animal. This probably reflects the reality that in human relations, women had no choice.
Verse 11 mentions sacrificing children to Moloch. It would seem out of place among these other acts, unless there was some implied sexual misconduct. Perhaps it is figurative future offspring (also translated seed) that are being sacrificed in a ritual that involves a forbidden sexual activity. There is no way of knowing for sure. Apparently, some scholars think accounts of child sacrifice are exaggerated by the conquering nations. Also, it is clear that the writers of the bible had strong biases against other people groups. We are looking at a story from one side only. Actual child sacrifice may have been a common practice, but how common and how widespread is debatable.
No one who lives among them may do these things, or they will be cut off from the community. The Israelites are warned that where they are going, the people practice these things. Therefore not only the people are defiled, but the land as well and it was punished. (I didn't know land could be punished. Abused, yes, but punished?)Therefore, since the land vomited those people out, it will vomit the Israelites out if they do these detestable things. (Wait a minute! Verse 24 starts out talking in the future tense, but verse 25 is in past tense, as thought these events had already happened. So which is it?)
Monday, October 12, 2015
Leviticus chapter 17
After reading chapter 17:
*In this chapter, the Israelites are told they must never make a sacrifice of any kind anywhere but in front of the tabernacle. If they do, they will be considered guilty of bloodshed and will be excommunicated. According to verse 5, they were doing this in the open fields and must stop. So...the Israelites weren't all in favor of this Yahweh worship and tabernacle stuff after all, were they? In spite of what previous chapters have said, according to this, some of them had been doing their own thing all along, even worshipping some kind of goat idol. (Verse 7) I knew over a million people were too many for Moses and the priests to control, assuming it all happened, which is unlikely. If this was written around the 6th century as some scholars believe, then some unauthorized, independent sacrificing may have been going on then. Either that or insulting language was used to try to prevent The Israelites of the time from even considering it. This could be a way for the priests to say, "See, Yahweh, through Moses, forbade it a long time ago." It would strengthen the priest's position of authority and give them control over the meat that was sacrificed.
*I wonder if non-religious killing of animals, just to cook and eat them, was allowed. Was it also considered bloodshed? Or was all animal slaughter always supposed to be done in the context of a sacrifice?
*Another emphasis of this chapter is the ban on eating blood. It is expressly forbidden for any Israelite or foreigner living among them to eat the blood of any animal. It must be drained from the animal's body, or they will be evicted from the community. The stated reason is that blood is the life force of the animal and Yahweh gave it to them to use at the altar, to make atonement for their lives, bringing us back to the sacrifice. Wasn't Yahweh thoughtful?
*The chapter ends with the admonition that found meat is unclean. Anyone who eats it must wash. They will be unclean til evening.
*In this chapter, the Israelites are told they must never make a sacrifice of any kind anywhere but in front of the tabernacle. If they do, they will be considered guilty of bloodshed and will be excommunicated. According to verse 5, they were doing this in the open fields and must stop. So...the Israelites weren't all in favor of this Yahweh worship and tabernacle stuff after all, were they? In spite of what previous chapters have said, according to this, some of them had been doing their own thing all along, even worshipping some kind of goat idol. (Verse 7) I knew over a million people were too many for Moses and the priests to control, assuming it all happened, which is unlikely. If this was written around the 6th century as some scholars believe, then some unauthorized, independent sacrificing may have been going on then. Either that or insulting language was used to try to prevent The Israelites of the time from even considering it. This could be a way for the priests to say, "See, Yahweh, through Moses, forbade it a long time ago." It would strengthen the priest's position of authority and give them control over the meat that was sacrificed.
*I wonder if non-religious killing of animals, just to cook and eat them, was allowed. Was it also considered bloodshed? Or was all animal slaughter always supposed to be done in the context of a sacrifice?
*Another emphasis of this chapter is the ban on eating blood. It is expressly forbidden for any Israelite or foreigner living among them to eat the blood of any animal. It must be drained from the animal's body, or they will be evicted from the community. The stated reason is that blood is the life force of the animal and Yahweh gave it to them to use at the altar, to make atonement for their lives, bringing us back to the sacrifice. Wasn't Yahweh thoughtful?
*The chapter ends with the admonition that found meat is unclean. Anyone who eats it must wash. They will be unclean til evening.
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Leviticus chapter 16
After reading chapter 16:
*After the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, Yahweh told Moses to tell Aaron that he couldn't come into the most holy place, were the ark was behind a curtain inside the tabernacle, whenever he wanted. He had to follow a special procedure first. He must wash and put on special clothes and underwear. He was to sacrifice a bull to atone for his sins. Then he takes a censer with fire and incense into the part of the tabernacle tent where the ark is. The smoke from the fire will keep him from seeing the lid of the ark, called the atonement cover, or he would die. Even though he can't see it because of the smoke, he is to sprinkle some of the bull's blood on it. No one but Aaron is allowed in the tabernacle during this ritual. (Why couldn't Yahweh give these instructions to Aaron himself? Who is really in charge here? )
*Then Aaron is to take two goats to front of the tabernacle. One goat is to be sacrificed as a sin offering for the sins of Israel. Again, he takes its blood behind the curtain where the ark is and sprinkles the goat's blood on the lid. This is to atone for the sins of the Israelites for the most holy place.Then he repeats the blood sprinkling procedure for the tabernacle itself, and again for the altar, to cleanse it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
*The second goat is the "scapegoat." Aaron puts his hands on its head and confesses all the sins of the Israelites over it. This transfers the sins to the goat. Then it will be sent out into the desert. After that, Aaron goes back into the tabernacle, takes a bath and changes to his regular clothes. Then he sacrifices a ram as a burnt offering and burns the fat of the sin offering. The people who help with the scapegoat and the disposal of the remnants of the sacrifices must wash themselves and their clothes afterward.
*All this is to be done on the 10th day of the seventh month every year. It is the day of atonement, a lasting ordinance. It will also be considered a sabbath day, an enforced day of rest. Whoever is current high priest is the official who performs the duties described. It will clean the Israelites' sin slate for the year, in a manner of speaking.
*I find the whole thing depressing. Why would an eternal, omnipotent, benevolent, purely spiritual, God make a tribe of desert nomads perform such elaborate bloody rituals for him, or else? Sin and uncleanness are abstract concepts not concrete things. People don't walk around with actual piles of sins on their shoulders, that disappear when some animals are killed. Sins can't be transferred from people to goats. Notice that first the Israelites had to be told how unclean they were, then they were given a way to get rid of the uncleanness. God is giving them the medicine for the sickness he invented. He still does this for christians today.
*One way religious people get around the obvious wierdness of all these laws and rituals is to claim that they have metaphorical significance that trumps the literal meaning. If that is so, the text certainly gives no indication of it. Also, the death threats for non compliance appear to be quite literal.
*After the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, Yahweh told Moses to tell Aaron that he couldn't come into the most holy place, were the ark was behind a curtain inside the tabernacle, whenever he wanted. He had to follow a special procedure first. He must wash and put on special clothes and underwear. He was to sacrifice a bull to atone for his sins. Then he takes a censer with fire and incense into the part of the tabernacle tent where the ark is. The smoke from the fire will keep him from seeing the lid of the ark, called the atonement cover, or he would die. Even though he can't see it because of the smoke, he is to sprinkle some of the bull's blood on it. No one but Aaron is allowed in the tabernacle during this ritual. (Why couldn't Yahweh give these instructions to Aaron himself? Who is really in charge here? )
*Then Aaron is to take two goats to front of the tabernacle. One goat is to be sacrificed as a sin offering for the sins of Israel. Again, he takes its blood behind the curtain where the ark is and sprinkles the goat's blood on the lid. This is to atone for the sins of the Israelites for the most holy place.Then he repeats the blood sprinkling procedure for the tabernacle itself, and again for the altar, to cleanse it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
*The second goat is the "scapegoat." Aaron puts his hands on its head and confesses all the sins of the Israelites over it. This transfers the sins to the goat. Then it will be sent out into the desert. After that, Aaron goes back into the tabernacle, takes a bath and changes to his regular clothes. Then he sacrifices a ram as a burnt offering and burns the fat of the sin offering. The people who help with the scapegoat and the disposal of the remnants of the sacrifices must wash themselves and their clothes afterward.
*All this is to be done on the 10th day of the seventh month every year. It is the day of atonement, a lasting ordinance. It will also be considered a sabbath day, an enforced day of rest. Whoever is current high priest is the official who performs the duties described. It will clean the Israelites' sin slate for the year, in a manner of speaking.
*I find the whole thing depressing. Why would an eternal, omnipotent, benevolent, purely spiritual, God make a tribe of desert nomads perform such elaborate bloody rituals for him, or else? Sin and uncleanness are abstract concepts not concrete things. People don't walk around with actual piles of sins on their shoulders, that disappear when some animals are killed. Sins can't be transferred from people to goats. Notice that first the Israelites had to be told how unclean they were, then they were given a way to get rid of the uncleanness. God is giving them the medicine for the sickness he invented. He still does this for christians today.
*One way religious people get around the obvious wierdness of all these laws and rituals is to claim that they have metaphorical significance that trumps the literal meaning. If that is so, the text certainly gives no indication of it. Also, the death threats for non compliance appear to be quite literal.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Leviticus chapter 15 , part 2
*When a woman menstruates, she is automatically unclean for seven days, or as long as any bleeding lasts. It can vary wildly from woman to woman. During this time, anything and anyone who touches her, her bed, or anything she sits on will become unclean. A person who touches her must wash their clothes and themselves, but they will still be unclean til evening. A man who has relations with her during this time will be unclean for seven days, and any bed he lies on will also be unclean. Here's the kicker: After the bleeding stops, a woman is still ceremonially unclean for another seven days! In this passage, a woman is not required to wash before she is considered clean again. On the eighth day, she has to take a couple of birds to the priest to sacrifice as a sin offering and a burnt offering. This is how atonement is made for the uncleanness of her discharge, as if it is her fault.
*Wouldn't the God who made women be responsible for the way their bodies work? Menstrual blood is not a sign of disease or misbehavior, it is completely natural and normal. It does not contaminate another person in any way to come in contact with a menstruating woman. Plus, every healthy woman on earth is subject to a menstrual cycle for almost 40 years of her life. Just these regulations alone would have made a woman unclean half of every month. Then add in the days after her husband exercised his marital rights and the months after childbirth, she could be unclean over more than half her lifetime. At least she had other women to commiserate with. But why should she have to live with such a stigma for something she has no choice in?
*I am also struck by the irony of these regulations. Obviously the ancient Israelite men who made these regulations had no idea what happens inside a woman's body on a monthly basis. (Yes, men, why would a god care?) For example, they must have been completely unaware of ovulation times or they might not have decided a woman was unclean for so long, if they wanted children. Most women with regular cycles ovulate on or about the 14th day of the cycle, just when an Israelite woman would be considered clean again. If a woman tended to ovulate early by a just a couple of days, she might never have children, especially if she or her husband are concientious rule followers. Other women would seem to be much more fertile when it was really just a matter of timing.
*All these clean and uncleanness rules make me wonder about unbroken chains of uncleanness. How could you know for sure that a particular thing or person hadn't been touched by someone who had touched someone, who had touched someone else unclean, ad infinitum? Seriously, you could go crazy thinking about this stuff. Plus, could you imagine trying to enforce these rules on a population the size of Austin, Texas?
*Something else to think about: What kind of people today are concerned with imaginary contamination, rituals, repetitive washing, and counting?
*Verse 31 implies that Israelites who don't separate themselves from things that make them unclean deserve to die for defiling the dwelling place of God. This chapter has basically told them that sex makes people unclean, so they're toast.
Edited.
*Wouldn't the God who made women be responsible for the way their bodies work? Menstrual blood is not a sign of disease or misbehavior, it is completely natural and normal. It does not contaminate another person in any way to come in contact with a menstruating woman. Plus, every healthy woman on earth is subject to a menstrual cycle for almost 40 years of her life. Just these regulations alone would have made a woman unclean half of every month. Then add in the days after her husband exercised his marital rights and the months after childbirth, she could be unclean over more than half her lifetime. At least she had other women to commiserate with. But why should she have to live with such a stigma for something she has no choice in?
*I am also struck by the irony of these regulations. Obviously the ancient Israelite men who made these regulations had no idea what happens inside a woman's body on a monthly basis. (Yes, men, why would a god care?) For example, they must have been completely unaware of ovulation times or they might not have decided a woman was unclean for so long, if they wanted children. Most women with regular cycles ovulate on or about the 14th day of the cycle, just when an Israelite woman would be considered clean again. If a woman tended to ovulate early by a just a couple of days, she might never have children, especially if she or her husband are concientious rule followers. Other women would seem to be much more fertile when it was really just a matter of timing.
*All these clean and uncleanness rules make me wonder about unbroken chains of uncleanness. How could you know for sure that a particular thing or person hadn't been touched by someone who had touched someone, who had touched someone else unclean, ad infinitum? Seriously, you could go crazy thinking about this stuff. Plus, could you imagine trying to enforce these rules on a population the size of Austin, Texas?
*Something else to think about: What kind of people today are concerned with imaginary contamination, rituals, repetitive washing, and counting?
*Verse 31 implies that Israelites who don't separate themselves from things that make them unclean deserve to die for defiling the dwelling place of God. This chapter has basically told them that sex makes people unclean, so they're toast.
Edited.
Leviticus chapter 15, part 1
After reading chapter 15:
*This chapter is kind of disgusting. Here we are told about bodily discharges of various kinds.
*The first kind is experienced by men. It does not clearly state which body part it comes from. My study bible says it was probably diarrhea or urethral discharge that is a symptom of a health problem. Anyway, this guy is unclean. Anything and everything that touches him, or that he touches, will be unclean. Even if he spits on a person, that person will be unclean. Anything and anyone that comes in contact with the person with such a discharge must be washed. (That's probably a good idea. ) They will be unclean til evening, that magical time, except for clay pots, they must be broken. After the discharge goes away, he counts the magic seven days then washes himself and his clothes, and he will be clean. Personally, I think the washing should happen sooner, but that's just me. Remember though, this cleanness and uncleanness is purely ceremonial, and not to be confused with cleanliness. After a man is clean, he has to take two birds to the priest to be sacrificed as a sin offering and a burnt offering, to make things right with God, because bodily discharges are the result of sin......maybe, maybe not.
*Next is an emission of semen. No matter how it happens, it makes a man unclean.(Sorry guys.) He must wash his whole body and he will be unclean til evening. If a woman is involved, they must both wash and will be unclean til evening. Is all this beginning to make you wonder when a person is actually clean enough for God? Is there a point at which they just threw up their hands and said, "I'm perpetually unclean, so what." Or did they practice the don't ask, don't tell method of cleanness? Maybe it just became standard practice to take a bath every morning to avoid any issues about issues.( ha, ha.) Would they have to tell their neighbors, children, or servants when they were unclean? Was a couple's bed "unclean" on the morning after? Were the priests celibate? How could they work for God and handle sacred stuff if they were unclean regularly? Who would make the sacrifices and perform the rituals if all the priests came to work one day and admitted they were all unclean? Notice how, in the case of the man with this kind of issue, it is not said that everything he touches becomes unclean, just himself and/or his wife. Plus, he isn't required to make a sin offering.
*I can imagine scenarios with uncleanness wars between rivals or enemies. "Ha! I just made him unclean and he doesn't even know it." Or "Come any closer and I'll touch you!" Or "You can't do anything to me, I'm unclean. Pbbbbt!"
*This chapter is kind of disgusting. Here we are told about bodily discharges of various kinds.
*The first kind is experienced by men. It does not clearly state which body part it comes from. My study bible says it was probably diarrhea or urethral discharge that is a symptom of a health problem. Anyway, this guy is unclean. Anything and everything that touches him, or that he touches, will be unclean. Even if he spits on a person, that person will be unclean. Anything and anyone that comes in contact with the person with such a discharge must be washed. (That's probably a good idea. ) They will be unclean til evening, that magical time, except for clay pots, they must be broken. After the discharge goes away, he counts the magic seven days then washes himself and his clothes, and he will be clean. Personally, I think the washing should happen sooner, but that's just me. Remember though, this cleanness and uncleanness is purely ceremonial, and not to be confused with cleanliness. After a man is clean, he has to take two birds to the priest to be sacrificed as a sin offering and a burnt offering, to make things right with God, because bodily discharges are the result of sin......maybe, maybe not.
*Next is an emission of semen. No matter how it happens, it makes a man unclean.(Sorry guys.) He must wash his whole body and he will be unclean til evening. If a woman is involved, they must both wash and will be unclean til evening. Is all this beginning to make you wonder when a person is actually clean enough for God? Is there a point at which they just threw up their hands and said, "I'm perpetually unclean, so what." Or did they practice the don't ask, don't tell method of cleanness? Maybe it just became standard practice to take a bath every morning to avoid any issues about issues.( ha, ha.) Would they have to tell their neighbors, children, or servants when they were unclean? Was a couple's bed "unclean" on the morning after? Were the priests celibate? How could they work for God and handle sacred stuff if they were unclean regularly? Who would make the sacrifices and perform the rituals if all the priests came to work one day and admitted they were all unclean? Notice how, in the case of the man with this kind of issue, it is not said that everything he touches becomes unclean, just himself and/or his wife. Plus, he isn't required to make a sin offering.
*I can imagine scenarios with uncleanness wars between rivals or enemies. "Ha! I just made him unclean and he doesn't even know it." Or "Come any closer and I'll touch you!" Or "You can't do anything to me, I'm unclean. Pbbbbt!"
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Leviticus chapter 14
After reading chapter 14:
*Now we learn about cleansing from infectious diseases. This is not a medical procedure but a religious ritual performed AFTER a person has healed. It is to insure the person's ceremonial cleanness, whatever that means.
* This involves: killing a bird over water/ using cedar, scarlett wool and hyssop to sprinkle the bloody water seven times on the person being cleansed/ releasing a bird into the fields/washing clothes/ shaving off all hair and bathing/ staying outside their tent for seven days/ shaving all hair and washing clothes again/ on the eighth day, sacrificing three lambs, flour and oil (unless the person is poor, then one lamb and two birds will do).
*The priest is to sacrifice a lamb as a guilt offering (The person must have been guilty of something or they wouldn't have been sick, right? ) and put some of its blood on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of the person to be cleansed. Then he sprinkles some oil seven times before the lord. Next, he puts some oil on the same places he put the blood, and puts the rest on the person's head. Wait, we are not done yet. We must also have a burnt offering and a grain offering. This is the priest making atonement on behalf of the formerly diseased person. Finally, he is "clean." Was it worth the trouble?
*The second half of the chapter is about cleansing a house from mildew, once they come to the promised land. Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron in verse 34 that HE will put the spreading mildew in people's houses. When that happens, the priest closes up the house for seven days to see if the mildew spreads, which of course it will. The contaminated stones are to be torn out and replaced, and the walls are to be scraped and replastered. This is actually a pretty reasonable course of action. If the mildew reappears, the house is to be torn down. Anyone who goes into the house will be unclean til evening and must wash their clothes.
*If the house stays mildew free after treatment, a priest is to come and purify it. Again we go through the killing of a bird over water and sprinkling of the bloody water on the house seven times. Then it will be magically clean.
While researching hyssop, I found that it is unclear just what plant was meant by the word that is translated hyssop in the bible.
*Now we learn about cleansing from infectious diseases. This is not a medical procedure but a religious ritual performed AFTER a person has healed. It is to insure the person's ceremonial cleanness, whatever that means.
* This involves: killing a bird over water/ using cedar, scarlett wool and hyssop to sprinkle the bloody water seven times on the person being cleansed/ releasing a bird into the fields/washing clothes/ shaving off all hair and bathing/ staying outside their tent for seven days/ shaving all hair and washing clothes again/ on the eighth day, sacrificing three lambs, flour and oil (unless the person is poor, then one lamb and two birds will do).
*The priest is to sacrifice a lamb as a guilt offering (The person must have been guilty of something or they wouldn't have been sick, right? ) and put some of its blood on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of the person to be cleansed. Then he sprinkles some oil seven times before the lord. Next, he puts some oil on the same places he put the blood, and puts the rest on the person's head. Wait, we are not done yet. We must also have a burnt offering and a grain offering. This is the priest making atonement on behalf of the formerly diseased person. Finally, he is "clean." Was it worth the trouble?
*The second half of the chapter is about cleansing a house from mildew, once they come to the promised land. Yahweh tells Moses and Aaron in verse 34 that HE will put the spreading mildew in people's houses. When that happens, the priest closes up the house for seven days to see if the mildew spreads, which of course it will. The contaminated stones are to be torn out and replaced, and the walls are to be scraped and replastered. This is actually a pretty reasonable course of action. If the mildew reappears, the house is to be torn down. Anyone who goes into the house will be unclean til evening and must wash their clothes.
*If the house stays mildew free after treatment, a priest is to come and purify it. Again we go through the killing of a bird over water and sprinkling of the bloody water on the house seven times. Then it will be magically clean.
While researching hyssop, I found that it is unclear just what plant was meant by the word that is translated hyssop in the bible.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Leviticus chapter 13, part 2
* Now that we are done with skin ailments, we move on to mildew found on articles made of wool, linen, or leather. If the mildew is green or reddish, it is spreading mildew. It must be shown to the priest. The article is to be isolated for seven days. If the mildew is still spreading, the article is definitely unclean and must be burned. If the mildew does not spread, the article must be washed and isolated for another seven days. If it looks the same, even though it has not spread, it is unclean and must be burnt. If the mildew has faded, it can be cut out and the article can be used. However, if the mildew reappears in that article and spreads, it must be burnt. If the mildew is gone after washing, an article is clean.
*Today we know that mildew is caused by a fungus that grows in dampness. If materials are kept dry, by regular exposure to circulating air, dry heat, or strong sunlight, they will not mildew. Also, vinegar works well to kill fungus. These are all things ancient people could have used instead of the wait and see method favored by the priests. This tells me they didn't know or care about prevention, just the ambiguous status of clean or unclean.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, book review
I post book reviews when I think they might contribute to the conversation about religion. Every October, I try to read a few classic books based on a "spooky" theme. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, which I finished recently, fits both those criteria. It is in the format of an old fashioned boys' adventure story. This Halloween adventure carries a group of boys into the past for a look at ancient religious practices that are the precursors of a modern Halloween. It covers rituals by ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Druids, Ancient Romans, Christans, and South Americans. It also looks at philosophies of death up close and personal. One of the boys' friends is ill and on the threshold of life and death as part of the story.
Mr. Bradbury weaves all the stories, past and present, into a narrative that gives perspective to the present by exploring the past. He doesn't come right out and say it, but he implies that all the rituals and superstitions are fantasy, sometimes fun, sometimes spooky. Take them away and what remains is the ever present reality that we all must die.
Leviticus chapter 13, part 1
After reading Leviticus 13:
*This chapter is about infectious skin diseases. I should say up front that I am not a medical professional, and neither were the ancient Israelite priests. From this chapter, it seems to me that standard practice was: If it looks bad, it is bad. They had no scientists with microscopes and Petri dishes to tell them exactly what was causing a particular issue. These things must be looked at by a priest to determine if a person was clean or unclean: Rashes, swellings, or bright spots.
So what is bad? (Automatically unclean):
-Sores on skin that have turned white, have white hair, and are more than skin deep
-spreading rashes and raw flesh
-White swellings with white hair and raw flesh, which sounds a lot like the first item on the list.
-A white or pink swelling that appears after a boil has healed and is more than skin deep and has white hair.
-A white or pink swelling, after a boil heals, that is not more than skin deep and doesn't have white hair, but is spreading.
-A burn that has raw flesh, is more than skin deep and has white hair.
-A burn that is not more than skin deep and doesn't have white hair, but is spreading.
-A sore on the head or chin, more than skin deep, with thin yellow hair. Called an itch.
-An itch that is spreading, no matter what it looks like.
-Reddish white sores on bald heads
Not so bad, or iffy: (Requiring isolation to watch for a magical seven days)
-White spots on skin that are only skin deep and do not have white hair.
-A white or pink swelling that appears after a boil has healed, but does not have white hair and is not more than skin deep and does not spread.
-A burn that is not more than skin deep and does not have white hair and does not spread.
-A sore on head or chin not more than skin deep, with no black hair and no yellow hair, not spreading.
Clean:
-Skin and hair turning white from head to toe, without raw flesh.
-Skin that was raw flesh but has healed and turned white.
-The scar after a boil has healed.
-The scar from a burn
-An itch in the head or chin that is healing and is growing black hair
-Dull white spots
-Bald heads and foreheads without sores
What's with the white hair? As far as I know that is not a sign of disease. What happens to a person in isolation? How do they live their daily lives? After the seven days of isolation are up, they are to go back to the priest to be declared clean or unclean. If declared clean, they must wash their clothes (Not their bodies?) and they will be good to go. If declared unclean from an infectious skin disease, they must wear torn clothes, and let their hair be messy, which are signs of grief. They must also cover the lower part of their face and yell,"Unclean, unclean." As long as they have the disease they must live alone outside the camp.
So, basic priestly medical duties consist of wait and see what happens, then diagnosis of clean or unclean. No treatments, no wound care, no basic hygiene instructions like washing or covering wounds to keep them clean. The priest's only concern was ceremonial cleanness or uncleanness.
*This chapter is about infectious skin diseases. I should say up front that I am not a medical professional, and neither were the ancient Israelite priests. From this chapter, it seems to me that standard practice was: If it looks bad, it is bad. They had no scientists with microscopes and Petri dishes to tell them exactly what was causing a particular issue. These things must be looked at by a priest to determine if a person was clean or unclean: Rashes, swellings, or bright spots.
So what is bad? (Automatically unclean):
-Sores on skin that have turned white, have white hair, and are more than skin deep
-spreading rashes and raw flesh
-White swellings with white hair and raw flesh, which sounds a lot like the first item on the list.
-A white or pink swelling that appears after a boil has healed and is more than skin deep and has white hair.
-A white or pink swelling, after a boil heals, that is not more than skin deep and doesn't have white hair, but is spreading.
-A burn that has raw flesh, is more than skin deep and has white hair.
-A burn that is not more than skin deep and doesn't have white hair, but is spreading.
-A sore on the head or chin, more than skin deep, with thin yellow hair. Called an itch.
-An itch that is spreading, no matter what it looks like.
-Reddish white sores on bald heads
Not so bad, or iffy: (Requiring isolation to watch for a magical seven days)
-White spots on skin that are only skin deep and do not have white hair.
-A white or pink swelling that appears after a boil has healed, but does not have white hair and is not more than skin deep and does not spread.
-A burn that is not more than skin deep and does not have white hair and does not spread.
-A sore on head or chin not more than skin deep, with no black hair and no yellow hair, not spreading.
Clean:
-Skin and hair turning white from head to toe, without raw flesh.
-Skin that was raw flesh but has healed and turned white.
-The scar after a boil has healed.
-The scar from a burn
-An itch in the head or chin that is healing and is growing black hair
-Dull white spots
-Bald heads and foreheads without sores
What's with the white hair? As far as I know that is not a sign of disease. What happens to a person in isolation? How do they live their daily lives? After the seven days of isolation are up, they are to go back to the priest to be declared clean or unclean. If declared clean, they must wash their clothes (Not their bodies?) and they will be good to go. If declared unclean from an infectious skin disease, they must wear torn clothes, and let their hair be messy, which are signs of grief. They must also cover the lower part of their face and yell,"Unclean, unclean." As long as they have the disease they must live alone outside the camp.
So, basic priestly medical duties consist of wait and see what happens, then diagnosis of clean or unclean. No treatments, no wound care, no basic hygiene instructions like washing or covering wounds to keep them clean. The priest's only concern was ceremonial cleanness or uncleanness.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Leviticus chapter 12
After reading chapter 12:
*This chapter addresses purification after childbirth, as though childbirth makes someone impure. I can't remember where I heard it, but I agree with the statement that the Israelites seem to have an obsession with blood. Blood is Bad. We have not been told it up to this point, but the blood of a woman makes her guilty of uncleanness. After she waits the proscribed times following childbirth, she must make two sacrifices before she can be considered clean, a burnt offering and a sin offering. Presumably this means there is something sinful associated with childbirth. Between childbirth and purification, she must not touch anything sacred or visit the sanctuary. She's got cooties.
*Before the offerings can be made, there must be a waiting period. If she had a boy, she is ceremonially unclean for seven days after giving birth. Then she must wait 33 more days to be "purified," a total of 40 days. (Two magic numbers in one command! It must be holy.) I don't understand the difference between the first seven days and the following 33 days. She's still considered unclean until the priest pronounces her clean.
*A newborn male is to be circumcised at 8 days old. I have some questions. Who does the circumcising? Wouldn't the baby be considered unclean since he is in constant contact with his mother? If he is unclean, wouldn't anyone who comes in contact with him also become unclean? Did fathers avoid contact with their wives and newborns during this time? That would be sad. Will we get answers to these questions later?
*Oh, unlucky woman who has a daughter! She is unclean for 14 days, then must wait another 66 days to be purified. That is twice as long as it takes after birthing a male. Extra magic must be needed to counteract the girl cooties.
*After childbirth, it is possible for a woman to experience some bleeding for up to 40 days, but highly unlikely for it to go longer than that. Plus, there are no fundamental differences between birthing a daughter or a son. That is just, well, silly.
*This chapter addresses purification after childbirth, as though childbirth makes someone impure. I can't remember where I heard it, but I agree with the statement that the Israelites seem to have an obsession with blood. Blood is Bad. We have not been told it up to this point, but the blood of a woman makes her guilty of uncleanness. After she waits the proscribed times following childbirth, she must make two sacrifices before she can be considered clean, a burnt offering and a sin offering. Presumably this means there is something sinful associated with childbirth. Between childbirth and purification, she must not touch anything sacred or visit the sanctuary. She's got cooties.
*Before the offerings can be made, there must be a waiting period. If she had a boy, she is ceremonially unclean for seven days after giving birth. Then she must wait 33 more days to be "purified," a total of 40 days. (Two magic numbers in one command! It must be holy.) I don't understand the difference between the first seven days and the following 33 days. She's still considered unclean until the priest pronounces her clean.
*A newborn male is to be circumcised at 8 days old. I have some questions. Who does the circumcising? Wouldn't the baby be considered unclean since he is in constant contact with his mother? If he is unclean, wouldn't anyone who comes in contact with him also become unclean? Did fathers avoid contact with their wives and newborns during this time? That would be sad. Will we get answers to these questions later?
*Oh, unlucky woman who has a daughter! She is unclean for 14 days, then must wait another 66 days to be purified. That is twice as long as it takes after birthing a male. Extra magic must be needed to counteract the girl cooties.
*After childbirth, it is possible for a woman to experience some bleeding for up to 40 days, but highly unlikely for it to go longer than that. Plus, there are no fundamental differences between birthing a daughter or a son. That is just, well, silly.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Leviticus chapter 11
After reading chapter 11:
*This chapter is about what meat foods are considered clean and unclean, but the definition of those terms and the fundamental difference between them is not given.
Clean:
- Animals that have BOTH divided hoofs AND chew cud. This would have included cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and antelope.
-Water creatures that have BOTH fins AND scales.
-Birds that are not on the unclean list.
-Flying insects that have jointed legs for hopping. This includes grasshoppers and locusts.
Unclean:
- Camels, rabbits, hyraxes, and animals that walk on paws.
-All water creatures that do not have BOTH fins and scales.
- Owls, osprey, ravens, storks, herons, eagles, vultures, kites, storks, gulls, cormorants, hoopoes, and bats. (Notice that bats are included in a list of birds. Generally speaking, these birds are meat eaters, scavengers, and birds of prey. )
-Every insect that does not have jointed legs for hopping.
-Every creature that moves along the ground, wether on feet or on its belly. This includes weasels, rats, lizards, skinks, and chameleons. (I'm surprised snakes are not mentioned by name.)
*Touching the carcass of an unclean animal makes a person unclean. They must wash their clothes and they will be clean again by the end of the day. (The magic of twilight) The carcass of an unclean animal makes almost anything it touches unclean. Ovens or cooking pots must be broken if they come in contact with an unclean animal. Wet seeds that come in contact with these carcasses will be unclean, but not dry seeds for planting. Also, springs and cisterns will not become unclean. This uncleanness cannot be a primitive form of God ordained germ avoidance. If it was, God would tell them they didn't need to destroy their ovens and cooking pots. Fire sanitizes. Also, I would personally be worried about the water in a cistern into which any dead animal fell. But, I imagine they couldn't afford to lose water in a cistern, considering the area they lived in. Bugs, rats, and other critters must have fallen in regularly. Having water to drink trumps everything.
*Also, I don't hink that the difference between clean and unclean animals represents a divine knowledge. Notice that the clean animals tend to be domesticated or relatively easy to catch. The unclean animals tend to be more dangerous and take more effort to hunt down, which may negate any benefits. Nevertheless, other cultures throughout the world have no such restrictions and enjoy eating many of the animals considered unclean, especially sea creatures and pigs. It also cannot be equated to the difference between carnivores and herbivores. Camels, rabbits, and hyraxes are herbivores. They have long been food meat for many people. Also, chickens and other insectivore birds are considered clean and they eat many insects and small animals.
*A person is also considered unclean if they come in contact with the carcass of a clean animal that died on its own. They can eat it, but they must wash and they will be clean again in the evening.
*These regulations fail to account for a variety of animals from around the world. What about elephants, hippos, and rhinos? What about penguins, ostriches, and emus? What about kangaroos? Why does it only speak about animals common to that part of the world? Could it be these laws were not universal and were only for the Israelites? The end of the chapter seems to suggest that "cleanness" is a form of holiness. Perhaps, in some convoluted way, that is how we got the saying, "cleanliness is next to godliness."
*This chapter is about what meat foods are considered clean and unclean, but the definition of those terms and the fundamental difference between them is not given.
Clean:
- Animals that have BOTH divided hoofs AND chew cud. This would have included cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and antelope.
-Water creatures that have BOTH fins AND scales.
-Birds that are not on the unclean list.
-Flying insects that have jointed legs for hopping. This includes grasshoppers and locusts.
Unclean:
- Camels, rabbits, hyraxes, and animals that walk on paws.
-All water creatures that do not have BOTH fins and scales.
- Owls, osprey, ravens, storks, herons, eagles, vultures, kites, storks, gulls, cormorants, hoopoes, and bats. (Notice that bats are included in a list of birds. Generally speaking, these birds are meat eaters, scavengers, and birds of prey. )
-Every insect that does not have jointed legs for hopping.
-Every creature that moves along the ground, wether on feet or on its belly. This includes weasels, rats, lizards, skinks, and chameleons. (I'm surprised snakes are not mentioned by name.)
*Touching the carcass of an unclean animal makes a person unclean. They must wash their clothes and they will be clean again by the end of the day. (The magic of twilight) The carcass of an unclean animal makes almost anything it touches unclean. Ovens or cooking pots must be broken if they come in contact with an unclean animal. Wet seeds that come in contact with these carcasses will be unclean, but not dry seeds for planting. Also, springs and cisterns will not become unclean. This uncleanness cannot be a primitive form of God ordained germ avoidance. If it was, God would tell them they didn't need to destroy their ovens and cooking pots. Fire sanitizes. Also, I would personally be worried about the water in a cistern into which any dead animal fell. But, I imagine they couldn't afford to lose water in a cistern, considering the area they lived in. Bugs, rats, and other critters must have fallen in regularly. Having water to drink trumps everything.
*Also, I don't hink that the difference between clean and unclean animals represents a divine knowledge. Notice that the clean animals tend to be domesticated or relatively easy to catch. The unclean animals tend to be more dangerous and take more effort to hunt down, which may negate any benefits. Nevertheless, other cultures throughout the world have no such restrictions and enjoy eating many of the animals considered unclean, especially sea creatures and pigs. It also cannot be equated to the difference between carnivores and herbivores. Camels, rabbits, and hyraxes are herbivores. They have long been food meat for many people. Also, chickens and other insectivore birds are considered clean and they eat many insects and small animals.
*A person is also considered unclean if they come in contact with the carcass of a clean animal that died on its own. They can eat it, but they must wash and they will be clean again in the evening.
*These regulations fail to account for a variety of animals from around the world. What about elephants, hippos, and rhinos? What about penguins, ostriches, and emus? What about kangaroos? Why does it only speak about animals common to that part of the world? Could it be these laws were not universal and were only for the Israelites? The end of the chapter seems to suggest that "cleanness" is a form of holiness. Perhaps, in some convoluted way, that is how we got the saying, "cleanliness is next to godliness."
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Leviticus chapter 10
After reading chapter 10:
*Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, slipped up. They seem to have put the wrong kind of incense on the fire. This was forbidden in Exodus 30:9, but God had not said the penalty was death. Even so, fire came out of the presence of the lord and consumed them. Moses had no sympathy for them or Aaron and basically said, "I could have told you this would happen." Aaron was speechless. Two of Aaron's cousins were called to carry the bodies outside the camp. Aaron and his sons were not allowed to mourn their loss. They must stay at the entrance to the tabernacle or they would die too. Lovely. With friends like God, who needs enemies? No grace, no mercy, no empathy. Pure obedience was all that mattered. They did what they were told.
*Interesting tidbit: In verse 3, Moses gives a direct quote from Yahweh as justification for Nadab's and Abihu's deaths. However, that quote is nowhere else in previous scriptures! Not only that, it doesn't say anything about God killing people, unless there is a subtle implied threat.
*Then, like nothing happened, God proceded to tell Aaron that he and his sons were not to drink fermented beverages of any kind. They were also required to teach the Iraelites all the decrees given through Moses. Moses told Aaron and his sons to eat the grain offering that was leftover from the offerings to the lord. They and their family members were also to eat the priest's portions of the meat offerings. Moses got mad when he found out they hadn't eaten the meat from the goat of the sin offering. Aaron seems to have felt that it would have been inappropriate for him to eat it after what had happened that day. That satisfied Moses.
*Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, slipped up. They seem to have put the wrong kind of incense on the fire. This was forbidden in Exodus 30:9, but God had not said the penalty was death. Even so, fire came out of the presence of the lord and consumed them. Moses had no sympathy for them or Aaron and basically said, "I could have told you this would happen." Aaron was speechless. Two of Aaron's cousins were called to carry the bodies outside the camp. Aaron and his sons were not allowed to mourn their loss. They must stay at the entrance to the tabernacle or they would die too. Lovely. With friends like God, who needs enemies? No grace, no mercy, no empathy. Pure obedience was all that mattered. They did what they were told.
*Interesting tidbit: In verse 3, Moses gives a direct quote from Yahweh as justification for Nadab's and Abihu's deaths. However, that quote is nowhere else in previous scriptures! Not only that, it doesn't say anything about God killing people, unless there is a subtle implied threat.
*Then, like nothing happened, God proceded to tell Aaron that he and his sons were not to drink fermented beverages of any kind. They were also required to teach the Iraelites all the decrees given through Moses. Moses told Aaron and his sons to eat the grain offering that was leftover from the offerings to the lord. They and their family members were also to eat the priest's portions of the meat offerings. Moses got mad when he found out they hadn't eaten the meat from the goat of the sin offering. Aaron seems to have felt that it would have been inappropriate for him to eat it after what had happened that day. That satisfied Moses.
Leviticus chapter 9
After reading Leviticus chapter 9:
*On the eighth day after the ordination of Aaron and his sons, Moses summoned them and the elders of Israel. He told them to make a sin offering with a goat, a burnt offering with a calf and a lamb, a fellowship offering with a ram and an ox, and a grain offering. They gathered up the things for the offerings and met at the front of the tabernacle. Verse 5 says the entire assembly came near and stood before the lord. Does that mean all million plus people? That must have been some crowd in front of the tabernacle. Moses told Aaron to make the offerings. They were done according to previous instructions. Then Aaron lifted his hands and blessed the people. How much power do you think that blessing had over those people's lives? After that, Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle, presumably to consult with God. When they came out, they blessed the people again, and the (indescribable) glory of God appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the lord and consumed the burnt offering, which had already been burnt in verses 12-14, and again in verse 16. I'm confused. Anyway, when the people saw it, they cheered and fell facedown. Did the people in the back of the crowd even know what was happening?
*On the eighth day after the ordination of Aaron and his sons, Moses summoned them and the elders of Israel. He told them to make a sin offering with a goat, a burnt offering with a calf and a lamb, a fellowship offering with a ram and an ox, and a grain offering. They gathered up the things for the offerings and met at the front of the tabernacle. Verse 5 says the entire assembly came near and stood before the lord. Does that mean all million plus people? That must have been some crowd in front of the tabernacle. Moses told Aaron to make the offerings. They were done according to previous instructions. Then Aaron lifted his hands and blessed the people. How much power do you think that blessing had over those people's lives? After that, Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle, presumably to consult with God. When they came out, they blessed the people again, and the (indescribable) glory of God appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the lord and consumed the burnt offering, which had already been burnt in verses 12-14, and again in verse 16. I'm confused. Anyway, when the people saw it, they cheered and fell facedown. Did the people in the back of the crowd even know what was happening?
Friday, October 2, 2015
Leviticus chapter 8
After reading Leviticus 8:
*This chapter is about the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests, which I thought had already happened back in Exodus chapter 40. Here it goes into much more detail and is pretty much an acting out of god's instructions delivered in Exodus chapter 29. After the ordination ceremony, Moses told Aaron to cook the meat from the sacrifice and eat it at the entrance to the tabernacle. They were not to leave the entrance for seven days and nights so they would not die. They did everything Yahweh had commanded.
* I am going to ask the same question Ramona Quimby asked her kindergarten teacher about Mike Mulligan. "When did they go to the bathroom?" I will add "Where did they go?" as well. Ramona recognized that was a very important question, even if her teacher didn't. Seven days is a long time for five men to spend in the entrance of a tent without proper facilities and means of waste disposal.
*Also, what did they eat and where did they sleep during that time? Their priestly garments had blood and oil sprinkled on them, wouldn't that have attracted critters while they slept? Those fine clothes would have been mighty smelly, dirty, and wrinkled by the end of seven days.
*This chapter is about the ordination of Aaron and his sons as priests, which I thought had already happened back in Exodus chapter 40. Here it goes into much more detail and is pretty much an acting out of god's instructions delivered in Exodus chapter 29. After the ordination ceremony, Moses told Aaron to cook the meat from the sacrifice and eat it at the entrance to the tabernacle. They were not to leave the entrance for seven days and nights so they would not die. They did everything Yahweh had commanded.
* I am going to ask the same question Ramona Quimby asked her kindergarten teacher about Mike Mulligan. "When did they go to the bathroom?" I will add "Where did they go?" as well. Ramona recognized that was a very important question, even if her teacher didn't. Seven days is a long time for five men to spend in the entrance of a tent without proper facilities and means of waste disposal.
*Also, what did they eat and where did they sleep during that time? Their priestly garments had blood and oil sprinkled on them, wouldn't that have attracted critters while they slept? Those fine clothes would have been mighty smelly, dirty, and wrinkled by the end of seven days.
Leviticus chapter 7
After reading Leviticus 7:
*Verses 1-10 are basically a repetition of instructions for guilt offerings.
*Next we have instructions for fellowship offerings. There are two kinds. First, we have offerings of thanksgiving. The person making this offering must bring a cake of unleavened bread and a cake of leavened bread along with his thank offering, which is meat. The bread is given to the priest, all the meat must be eaten the same day as the offering. The second kind is the result of a vow, or a free will offering. Meat from that offering may be eaten for two days, no more. On the third day, it is to be burned. If any of the meat is eaten on the third day, any credit for the offering is null and void. Plus, it will make anyone who eats it impure.
*Meat that touches anything unclean must be burned. Any unclean person that eats meat from a fellowship offering is to be excommunicated. No ifs, ands, or buts.
*Absolutely no fat from any meat animal is to be eaten. It may be used for other purposes. Anyone who eats animal fat from an offering is to be excommunicated. Absolutely no blood from any meat animal is to be eaten. Anyone who eats blood is to be excommunicated.
*A few questions arise from this. Is it even possible to get every bit of blood out of an animal before it is eaten? Even if a sacrificial animal is well drained of blood, wouldn't the tissues still retain some blood? Why is eating blood and fat so reprehensible that a person would be excommunicated? With so many ways to be excommunicated, I imagine the Israelites might have been reduced to a constant state of fear and guilt, which would be to the benefit of the priests. Also, I wonder if the Israelites were prone to anemia.
*From verse 28 on, we are given the instructions for what parts of a fellowship offering were the priest's shares to keep and eat. I imagine they never went hungry.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky has an interesting perspective on religious ritual and priesthoods that I find fascinating. It woul be well worth your time to watch the video of his lecture on the biological basis of religiosity.
*Verses 1-10 are basically a repetition of instructions for guilt offerings.
*Next we have instructions for fellowship offerings. There are two kinds. First, we have offerings of thanksgiving. The person making this offering must bring a cake of unleavened bread and a cake of leavened bread along with his thank offering, which is meat. The bread is given to the priest, all the meat must be eaten the same day as the offering. The second kind is the result of a vow, or a free will offering. Meat from that offering may be eaten for two days, no more. On the third day, it is to be burned. If any of the meat is eaten on the third day, any credit for the offering is null and void. Plus, it will make anyone who eats it impure.
*Meat that touches anything unclean must be burned. Any unclean person that eats meat from a fellowship offering is to be excommunicated. No ifs, ands, or buts.
*Absolutely no fat from any meat animal is to be eaten. It may be used for other purposes. Anyone who eats animal fat from an offering is to be excommunicated. Absolutely no blood from any meat animal is to be eaten. Anyone who eats blood is to be excommunicated.
*A few questions arise from this. Is it even possible to get every bit of blood out of an animal before it is eaten? Even if a sacrificial animal is well drained of blood, wouldn't the tissues still retain some blood? Why is eating blood and fat so reprehensible that a person would be excommunicated? With so many ways to be excommunicated, I imagine the Israelites might have been reduced to a constant state of fear and guilt, which would be to the benefit of the priests. Also, I wonder if the Israelites were prone to anemia.
*From verse 28 on, we are given the instructions for what parts of a fellowship offering were the priest's shares to keep and eat. I imagine they never went hungry.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky has an interesting perspective on religious ritual and priesthoods that I find fascinating. It woul be well worth your time to watch the video of his lecture on the biological basis of religiosity.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Leviticus chapter 6
After reading chapter 6:
*If anyone sins against their neighbor by stealing, cheating, extortion, swearing falsely, etc., they must make restitution and make a guilt offering.
*Verses 8-13 are about how the priests are to keep the fire on the altar perpetually burning. There are also instructions for how the priests are to dispose of the ashes, which requires wearing different garments and underwear for removing ashes from the altar and for carrying the ashes outside the camp. Why does it matter what clothes and underwear a priest is wearing when the ashes from sacrifices are being moved from one place to another? Are these the kinds of things Yahweh cares about?
*Verses14-18 deal with how the priests will treat their portion of a grain offering. It must not be baked with yeast and it must be eaten in a holy place, preferably the tabernacle courtyard. Any male descendant of Aaron can eat it. Whatever touches it will become holy. The priests don't get to eat all the leftover flour donated to the lord. They also have to make a grain offering very morning and evening. It must be burnt completely and not eaten.
*Verses 24-29 deal with more regulations for sin offerings. I do wish these rules for individual kinds of sacrifices were all contained within their proper categories. It seems we must revisit them over and over. The place the animals are slaughtered is holy. The priest making the offering eats its meat in a holy place, the courtyard of the tabernacle. Whatever touches the meat becomes holy. If sacrificial blood gets on clothes, they must be washed in a holy place. There are more holiness rules about cooking pots and descendants of Aaron. It all seems rather pointless for something as ambiguous as holiness.
*If anyone sins against their neighbor by stealing, cheating, extortion, swearing falsely, etc., they must make restitution and make a guilt offering.
*Verses 8-13 are about how the priests are to keep the fire on the altar perpetually burning. There are also instructions for how the priests are to dispose of the ashes, which requires wearing different garments and underwear for removing ashes from the altar and for carrying the ashes outside the camp. Why does it matter what clothes and underwear a priest is wearing when the ashes from sacrifices are being moved from one place to another? Are these the kinds of things Yahweh cares about?
*Verses14-18 deal with how the priests will treat their portion of a grain offering. It must not be baked with yeast and it must be eaten in a holy place, preferably the tabernacle courtyard. Any male descendant of Aaron can eat it. Whatever touches it will become holy. The priests don't get to eat all the leftover flour donated to the lord. They also have to make a grain offering very morning and evening. It must be burnt completely and not eaten.
*Verses 24-29 deal with more regulations for sin offerings. I do wish these rules for individual kinds of sacrifices were all contained within their proper categories. It seems we must revisit them over and over. The place the animals are slaughtered is holy. The priest making the offering eats its meat in a holy place, the courtyard of the tabernacle. Whatever touches the meat becomes holy. If sacrificial blood gets on clothes, they must be washed in a holy place. There are more holiness rules about cooking pots and descendants of Aaron. It all seems rather pointless for something as ambiguous as holiness.
Leviticus chapter 5
After reading chapter 5:
*Here we learn what are some of the things that require sin offerings for forgiveness: not speaking up as a witness, touching the carcass of a dead animal, touching human uncleanness ( We will learn more about that later.), and carelessly taking an oath. If a person is guilty of these things, they must confess and offer a female lamb or goat as a sin offering. If they can't afford that, two doves or pigeons will do. If they can't afford that, some fine flour will do.
*The next instructions are for guilt offerings. This is to be done when a person unintentionally sins in regard to Yahweh's holy things.(The passage is not clear what this means, maybe we will be enlightened later. ) Restitution must be made, then a ram is to be sacrificed.
*Verses 17-19 have me scratching my head. If a person sins and doesn't know they are guilty, they must make a guilt offering. I guess we must assume that the person was informed of their guilt by an helpful person, probably a priest. Otherwise, how would they know they should make a guilt offering? I wonder what would have been the Israelites' personal feelings about the priests at this time.
Edited.
*Here we learn what are some of the things that require sin offerings for forgiveness: not speaking up as a witness, touching the carcass of a dead animal, touching human uncleanness ( We will learn more about that later.), and carelessly taking an oath. If a person is guilty of these things, they must confess and offer a female lamb or goat as a sin offering. If they can't afford that, two doves or pigeons will do. If they can't afford that, some fine flour will do.
*The next instructions are for guilt offerings. This is to be done when a person unintentionally sins in regard to Yahweh's holy things.(The passage is not clear what this means, maybe we will be enlightened later. ) Restitution must be made, then a ram is to be sacrificed.
*Verses 17-19 have me scratching my head. If a person sins and doesn't know they are guilty, they must make a guilt offering. I guess we must assume that the person was informed of their guilt by an helpful person, probably a priest. Otherwise, how would they know they should make a guilt offering? I wonder what would have been the Israelites' personal feelings about the priests at this time.
Edited.
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