I know this particular study has been slow going, but I do intend to finish it.
We are at Esther chapter one, verse 13. Vashti/Amestris has refused to appear before the drunken king and his drunken entourage. The king is angry. He decides to speak to his advisers, the seven (there is that number again) highest nobles and wise men in the kingdom. The king asks them to tell him what must be done to the Queen for not obeying his command, according to the law.
Notably, the wise men do not directly answer the king's actual question. Instead, pandering to the king, one of them says, "Queen Vashti has done wrong not only against the King but also all the nobles and the people of all the provinces." In other words, for refusing to show up and be shown off in front of a bunch of drunken men, the queen has sinned against the entire Persian empire. However, the noble does not state an actual law to that effect, probably because there isn't one. Yet.
The noble goes on to explain why Vashti has wronged the empire. It is because all the other women will hear about Vashti's conduct, follow her example, and begin to despise their husbands. The wives of the nobles (remember the ladies' banquet?) would hear about this outrageousness that very day and would also emulate the queen's conduct. "There would be no end of the disrespect and discord." Ye olde slippery slope fallacy. The authoritarian men were quaking in their boots. If the queen could defy the king, they were doomed.
If there was a law against the queen's behavior, the king's advisers would have found it. We know there wasn't, because they suggested that the king immediately draft such a law. He was to "issue a royal decree....which cannot be repealed." Vashti was never again to enter the king's presence. Her royal position was to be given to someone else better than she. That would show all the women in the land that they had better respect their husbands. Right.
The good ol' boys present at the banquet thought the advice the king had been given was terrific. So, the king made a royal proclamation and had it sent to every province in the empire, in the appropriate language. It stated that every man should be ruler over his own household. All the men of the empire became petty kings of their own domestic castles.
Notes:
There is no reason to believe any of this ever happened, especially if this story is referring to Amestris, Xerxes' one and only official queen. There is no record of another. Even if Amestris fell out of royal favor, she was still the queen and of noble ancestry. She may have been in disfavor, but, she definitely was not killed. She was also still the mother of the royal heirs, hence a person of import. Also, according to secular history, Amestris had at least six children. She can't have been that despised by the king. Maybe the worst that would have happened was that she no longer got invited to the king's bed. Too bad.
Now comes an interesting piece of speculation. Amestris was the daughter of one Otanes, a commander in Xerxes army, according to Herodotus Histories VII:61. There is also an Otanes mentioned in Histories III: 83 who does not contend for the throne on condition neither he nor his descendants was under any obligation to obey the Persian monarch. Since this was possibly the same Otanes who was the father of Amestris, it could be a reason for Vashti/ Amestris to not fear refusing to obey the king's order to appear before the nobles.
Showing posts with label seven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seven. Show all posts
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Friday, September 13, 2019
Esther and Herodotus part three
We are at Esther chapter one, verse 9. Xerxes is giving a sumptuous banquet for a bunch of important men. The wine is flowing freely. They are possibly discussing an attack on Greece. Queen Vashti (Amestris?) now enters our story. She is giving a banquet for the women in the royal palace. Unlike the description of the men, we are not told who these women are. They could be wives and concubines of the important men, or they could just be Xerxes wives and concubines, his harem, we are not told. Herodotus's Histories I:135 tells us that the Persians "marry each one several wives, and they get also a much larger number of concubines." Some well documented information about the concept of harem in ancient Iran (Persia) can be found here (link). Secular history tells us that even though Xerxes may have had many wives and concubines, he only had one head wife and queen, Amestris. She live almost as long as her husband Xerxes. Remember that.
It is interesting that the word banquet occurs twenty times in the book of Esther, equal to all the other times it occurs in the rest of the entire bible. This banquet of Xerxes' lasted seven days. On the seventh day, a drunk Xerxes commanded his seven eunuchs to bring in Queen Vashti, "wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger."
Why did Vashti/Amestris refuse to do what the king asked? We are not actually told. It's easy to guess. Perhaps she was embarrassed to be shown off in public. Perhaps she did not want to appear in front of a bunch of drunk men and be subjected to their remarks or rude handling. Perhaps she did not want to leave her guests. Perhaps she was just stubbornly independent, as much as a woman of that time could be, and not afraid of the king. Perhaps she was also drunk. Perhaps she objected to the plans to go to war with Greece. Just because she was a woman in ancient times doesn't mean she was ignorant or without influence. I've heard much speculation that she was probably asked to appear nude, that's why she refused. The text doesn't give any reason at all. I think it would be a mistake to assume any modern western interpretation of Vashti's refusal to appear before the king.
That said, there is a story in Herodotus' Histories V:18 that takes place at the home of a Macedonian man who is providing hospitality to seven (!) high ranking men in the Persian army, who were envoys of King Darius, Xerxes father. The Persians notice there are no women present at the meal, as is the custom in that place. They pressure the host to bring in the women of the household and insist that the women must sit beside them. As would be expected, the drunk Persian men feel free to molest the women. You should read the story, it also contains cross dressing, deception, and revenge.
Did you notice the multiple occurrances of the number seven? Seven is one of the ancient magic numbers. It will appear more times in the story of Esther. Seven and its multiples, 70, 700, 7000, appears many times in Herodotus's Histories. Events cover seven days and seven nights. There are even multiple instances of numbers that non multiples of seven, but they end in seven, like 17 and 127. Amazing, isn't it, how superstition crosses time and cultures.
It is interesting that the word banquet occurs twenty times in the book of Esther, equal to all the other times it occurs in the rest of the entire bible. This banquet of Xerxes' lasted seven days. On the seventh day, a drunk Xerxes commanded his seven eunuchs to bring in Queen Vashti, "wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. But when the attendants delivered the king's command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger."
Why did Vashti/Amestris refuse to do what the king asked? We are not actually told. It's easy to guess. Perhaps she was embarrassed to be shown off in public. Perhaps she did not want to appear in front of a bunch of drunk men and be subjected to their remarks or rude handling. Perhaps she did not want to leave her guests. Perhaps she was just stubbornly independent, as much as a woman of that time could be, and not afraid of the king. Perhaps she was also drunk. Perhaps she objected to the plans to go to war with Greece. Just because she was a woman in ancient times doesn't mean she was ignorant or without influence. I've heard much speculation that she was probably asked to appear nude, that's why she refused. The text doesn't give any reason at all. I think it would be a mistake to assume any modern western interpretation of Vashti's refusal to appear before the king.
That said, there is a story in Herodotus' Histories V:18 that takes place at the home of a Macedonian man who is providing hospitality to seven (!) high ranking men in the Persian army, who were envoys of King Darius, Xerxes father. The Persians notice there are no women present at the meal, as is the custom in that place. They pressure the host to bring in the women of the household and insist that the women must sit beside them. As would be expected, the drunk Persian men feel free to molest the women. You should read the story, it also contains cross dressing, deception, and revenge.
Did you notice the multiple occurrances of the number seven? Seven is one of the ancient magic numbers. It will appear more times in the story of Esther. Seven and its multiples, 70, 700, 7000, appears many times in Herodotus's Histories. Events cover seven days and seven nights. There are even multiple instances of numbers that non multiples of seven, but they end in seven, like 17 and 127. Amazing, isn't it, how superstition crosses time and cultures.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Mark part thirty
Today we finish Mark with verses 16:9-19. These verses are not in the oldest available manuscripts, which leads many scholars to conclude they were added later by someone who is not the author. The last passage had concluded with the two Marys being told by a young man dressed in white that Jesus had risen and he would meet the disciples in Galilee. The women did not tell anyone because they were afraid. Now, in verse nine, we are told that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after he rose. According to the text, Jesus had driven seven (magic number) demons out of her. The demon story does not occur in Mark, but it is found in Luke 8:2, leading me to the conclusion that this passage was added after the circulation of Luke's gospel.
We've just been told the women said nothing to anyone, but now we are being told Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Jesus earlier, presumably his entourage of disciples and women followers. Would you believe the word of someone who was thought to have had seven demons? The text says they didn't believe her either. However, Jesus appears in a different form (so how did they know it was Jesus?) to two more people (who were they?) as they were walking along a country road. No other witnesses. They weren't believed either, naturally.
Later, Jesus appears to the eleven (minus Judas) while they were eating. The text does not say where they were. He rebukes them for not believing the tales the others told. Shouldn't he have praised them for not having blind faith in something so unlikely? Shouldn't he have known ahead of time those people would not be believed? At this time he gives them what has been called "the Great Commission." He tells the disciples (not anyone else, not you and I) "Go out into all the world and preach the good news (What good news? He doesn't say.) to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Just like that, Jesus ruins the lives of countless unbelievers throughout the centuries, even those who led exemplary lives. Is this the exact point in history at which all unbelievers are eternally condemned? It doesn't seem quite fair to all the people who died after this moment yet never heard this "good news." Or is this condemnation only for those who hear the message and don't believe it. Wouldn't they have been better off never hearing it at all? The churches of Christ use this passage as one of there references for the doctrine of the necessity of believers baptism for salvation.
Jesus is not done talking. He also tells the disciples that signs will accompany those who believe. They will drive out demons, speak in tongues, handle snakes, drink poison with no ill effects, and heal the sick by laying on of hands. Was the person who wrote this trying to kill off crazy Christians?
When he was done talking, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right hand of god. How do they know that? Then the disciples went out and preached. Stuff happened just the way Jesus said it would. Amen.
We are done! Next time we will do a wrap up of what we learned in the book of Mark.
We've just been told the women said nothing to anyone, but now we are being told Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Jesus earlier, presumably his entourage of disciples and women followers. Would you believe the word of someone who was thought to have had seven demons? The text says they didn't believe her either. However, Jesus appears in a different form (so how did they know it was Jesus?) to two more people (who were they?) as they were walking along a country road. No other witnesses. They weren't believed either, naturally.
Later, Jesus appears to the eleven (minus Judas) while they were eating. The text does not say where they were. He rebukes them for not believing the tales the others told. Shouldn't he have praised them for not having blind faith in something so unlikely? Shouldn't he have known ahead of time those people would not be believed? At this time he gives them what has been called "the Great Commission." He tells the disciples (not anyone else, not you and I) "Go out into all the world and preach the good news (What good news? He doesn't say.) to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Just like that, Jesus ruins the lives of countless unbelievers throughout the centuries, even those who led exemplary lives. Is this the exact point in history at which all unbelievers are eternally condemned? It doesn't seem quite fair to all the people who died after this moment yet never heard this "good news." Or is this condemnation only for those who hear the message and don't believe it. Wouldn't they have been better off never hearing it at all? The churches of Christ use this passage as one of there references for the doctrine of the necessity of believers baptism for salvation.
Jesus is not done talking. He also tells the disciples that signs will accompany those who believe. They will drive out demons, speak in tongues, handle snakes, drink poison with no ill effects, and heal the sick by laying on of hands. Was the person who wrote this trying to kill off crazy Christians?
When he was done talking, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right hand of god. How do they know that? Then the disciples went out and preached. Stuff happened just the way Jesus said it would. Amen.
We are done! Next time we will do a wrap up of what we learned in the book of Mark.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Mark part thirteen
We are now at Mark 7:24. Have you noticed that in Mark, each event seems to happen immediately after the last, in quick succession. There is no real sense of how much time has actually passed since Jesus started preaching. There is also quite a bit of vagueness as to specifically where Jesus was. We get regions and vicinities, as in this next passage. Jesus is said to have left "that place" (what place?) and to have gone to the vicinity of Tyre. Keep in mind that Tyre is not Jewish territory. Jesus was the outsider there. We are told he tried to keep his presence there a secret, but we are not told why. Also wouldn't he have known that wasn't going to work?
While Jesus was in the vicinity of Tyre, a Greek Syro-Phoenician woman (a native of that area) came to Jesus to beg him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Here is another Gentile with a demon. Now comes an extraordinary dialog. Jesus tells the woman, "First let the children eat all they want, For it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." This is quite shocking because the clear implication is that the "children of Israel" are more precious to god and deserving of healing than this woman's daughter and her people. He is calling them dogs, a clear insult. This is a definite example of prejudice, and by Jesus. Unbelievably, the woman replies, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Jesus is impressed with the woman's sassy answer and heals her daughter long distance. So, the only thing Jesus did in Tyre was heal a little girl that he never saw, of a demon that she probably didn't have, while trying to remain incognito? And how did the author of Mark come to know this story? How could anyone have known if it was true?
Then Jesus left that area and into the region of the Decapolis, Gentile territory again. There he heals a deaf and mute man. First he takes the man away from the crowd. Why? Wouldn't these miracles be more believable the more people saw them? Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then spit, then touched the man's tongue. Ewww. Jesus then looked up to heaven, heaved a big sigh, and said, "Be opened!" Very dramatic. Of course the man began to hear and speak again or we wouldn't have the story. Jesus commanded the people present not to tell anyone, which of course was futile, as he should have known. They spread the news about how wonderful Jesus was. Again, from where did the author of Mark get this story? And how could anyone know if it was true?
We get to chapter eight and another vague time reference, "During those days, another large crowd gathered." We are not told anything about the location, except that it is remote, again. Again, the people needed to be fed. Again, the disciples ask about how to feed them. Again, Jesus asks how many loaves the disciples have. Last time they had five loaves and two fish. 5+2=7. Seven is a magic number. This time there are seven loaves and a few small fish. This time there were seven baskets of leftovers. Four thousand males were present.(100x40, 40 being another magic number) Again, females don't count. Again, what was done with the leftovers, which were presumably edible?
Afterward Jesus and his disciples got in the boat (Wait! What boat?) and headed to "the region" of Dalmanutha. Funny, There is no reason to believe Dalmanutha ever existed. Here is one man's take on the subject. (Link) The pharisees just happened to appear there to question Jesus. Those Pharisees got around. However, they don't seem to have been around in the places Jesus is supposed to have performed miracles. They asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus blew them off with a non-insult insult. "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given it." (Get out of here, I'm not going to show you my gun.) The Pharisees were skeptics, good for them.
After that brief encounter the disciples amd Jesus all pile back in the boat and cross the lake again.
While Jesus was in the vicinity of Tyre, a Greek Syro-Phoenician woman (a native of that area) came to Jesus to beg him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Here is another Gentile with a demon. Now comes an extraordinary dialog. Jesus tells the woman, "First let the children eat all they want, For it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." This is quite shocking because the clear implication is that the "children of Israel" are more precious to god and deserving of healing than this woman's daughter and her people. He is calling them dogs, a clear insult. This is a definite example of prejudice, and by Jesus. Unbelievably, the woman replies, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Jesus is impressed with the woman's sassy answer and heals her daughter long distance. So, the only thing Jesus did in Tyre was heal a little girl that he never saw, of a demon that she probably didn't have, while trying to remain incognito? And how did the author of Mark come to know this story? How could anyone have known if it was true?
Then Jesus left that area and into the region of the Decapolis, Gentile territory again. There he heals a deaf and mute man. First he takes the man away from the crowd. Why? Wouldn't these miracles be more believable the more people saw them? Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then spit, then touched the man's tongue. Ewww. Jesus then looked up to heaven, heaved a big sigh, and said, "Be opened!" Very dramatic. Of course the man began to hear and speak again or we wouldn't have the story. Jesus commanded the people present not to tell anyone, which of course was futile, as he should have known. They spread the news about how wonderful Jesus was. Again, from where did the author of Mark get this story? And how could anyone know if it was true?
We get to chapter eight and another vague time reference, "During those days, another large crowd gathered." We are not told anything about the location, except that it is remote, again. Again, the people needed to be fed. Again, the disciples ask about how to feed them. Again, Jesus asks how many loaves the disciples have. Last time they had five loaves and two fish. 5+2=7. Seven is a magic number. This time there are seven loaves and a few small fish. This time there were seven baskets of leftovers. Four thousand males were present.(100x40, 40 being another magic number) Again, females don't count. Again, what was done with the leftovers, which were presumably edible?
Afterward Jesus and his disciples got in the boat (Wait! What boat?) and headed to "the region" of Dalmanutha. Funny, There is no reason to believe Dalmanutha ever existed. Here is one man's take on the subject. (Link) The pharisees just happened to appear there to question Jesus. Those Pharisees got around. However, they don't seem to have been around in the places Jesus is supposed to have performed miracles. They asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus blew them off with a non-insult insult. "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given it." (Get out of here, I'm not going to show you my gun.) The Pharisees were skeptics, good for them.
After that brief encounter the disciples amd Jesus all pile back in the boat and cross the lake again.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Heaven part twelve
Here we are again, back in heaven. As we go to Revelation chapter 15, we see there is a temple in heaven called the "tabernacle of testimony." Seven shining angels come out of the temple with seven plagues. Those four strange creatures with all the eyes and wings, that were said to be near the throne of god, give the angels seven bowls filled with god's wrath. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of god and no one can enter. The angels release the plagues in the next few chapters.
In chapter 19, there is a white horse in heaven whose rider is "the word of god," obviously a reference to the christ. The armies of heaven are following him. An angel stands in the sun and yells to all the birds to come feast on the flesh of all people. There is a great battle which the christ wins, of course. The birds feast, Satan is thrown into the abyss, and the christ reigns for 1,000 years. After the thousand years, Satan is released, there is another battle, and Satan's army is defeated by fire from heaven. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the judgement of the dead happens, then chapter 21 introduces us to the author's vision of the new heaven and new earth.
The old heaven and old earth are gone and there is no longer any sea. The holy city, a new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from god, like a bride dressed for her husband. . The personage sitting on the throne (Yahweh?) says, "I am making everything new....It is done. I am the alpha and the omega...." (I thought the alpha and omega was supposed to refer to Jesus?)Everyone who overcomes will inherit the spring of the water of life, and he will be their god, and they will be his son. (No women?)
The new Jerusalem coming down from heaven is said to be shining with the glory of god. That's funny, in chapter 15, the glory of god was smoke. The holy city gleamed like a precious jewel or crystal.. "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel....The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." Do you see why some Christians today are obsessed with Israel and Jerusalem?
The holy city was 12,000 stadia (1,400 miles) long, wide, and HIGH! The wall was 144 (12x12) cubits thick. "The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold...The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every precious stone" in twelve layers. The twelve gates were made of twelve single pearls. The streets were of pure gold. There is no temple, god and the lamb are its temple. There is no sun or moon, god and the lamb are the light. The gates will never shut because it will never be night. Nothing impure will ever enter it, only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life.
The river of the water of life will flow from the the throne of god and the lamb (they sit on the same throne? ) down the middle of the great street. "On each side of the river stood the tree of life." What? Does the tree straddle the river? Or are there two trees of life? The tree is bearing twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. There will be no more curse. The throne of god and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will see him and his name will be on their foreheads, and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation ends with a warning that anyone who takes words away from this book of prophecy will have his share in the tree of life and the holy city taken away from him.
Well, well, well. That was interesting. Did you see all the times the magic numbers seven and twelve were used? Do you think this description of the new Jerusalem was meant to be taken literally? If it is metaphorical or symbolic, what exactly does it represent?Did you notice that the saved don't go up to heaven? They go to live in the holy city, which comes down to the new earth. God and Jesus come down to earth with the holy city. Everything glows with an eternal light. No sun, no moon. Who is left in heaven? All the multitudes of angels?
In chapter 19, there is a white horse in heaven whose rider is "the word of god," obviously a reference to the christ. The armies of heaven are following him. An angel stands in the sun and yells to all the birds to come feast on the flesh of all people. There is a great battle which the christ wins, of course. The birds feast, Satan is thrown into the abyss, and the christ reigns for 1,000 years. After the thousand years, Satan is released, there is another battle, and Satan's army is defeated by fire from heaven. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, the judgement of the dead happens, then chapter 21 introduces us to the author's vision of the new heaven and new earth.
The old heaven and old earth are gone and there is no longer any sea. The holy city, a new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from god, like a bride dressed for her husband. . The personage sitting on the throne (Yahweh?) says, "I am making everything new....It is done. I am the alpha and the omega...." (I thought the alpha and omega was supposed to refer to Jesus?)Everyone who overcomes will inherit the spring of the water of life, and he will be their god, and they will be his son. (No women?)
The new Jerusalem coming down from heaven is said to be shining with the glory of god. That's funny, in chapter 15, the glory of god was smoke. The holy city gleamed like a precious jewel or crystal.. "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel....The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the lamb." Do you see why some Christians today are obsessed with Israel and Jerusalem?
The holy city was 12,000 stadia (1,400 miles) long, wide, and HIGH! The wall was 144 (12x12) cubits thick. "The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold...The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every precious stone" in twelve layers. The twelve gates were made of twelve single pearls. The streets were of pure gold. There is no temple, god and the lamb are its temple. There is no sun or moon, god and the lamb are the light. The gates will never shut because it will never be night. Nothing impure will ever enter it, only those whose names are written in the lamb's book of life.
The river of the water of life will flow from the the throne of god and the lamb (they sit on the same throne? ) down the middle of the great street. "On each side of the river stood the tree of life." What? Does the tree straddle the river? Or are there two trees of life? The tree is bearing twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. There will be no more curse. The throne of god and the lamb will be in the city and his servants will see him and his name will be on their foreheads, and they will reign forever and ever. Revelation ends with a warning that anyone who takes words away from this book of prophecy will have his share in the tree of life and the holy city taken away from him.
Well, well, well. That was interesting. Did you see all the times the magic numbers seven and twelve were used? Do you think this description of the new Jerusalem was meant to be taken literally? If it is metaphorical or symbolic, what exactly does it represent?Did you notice that the saved don't go up to heaven? They go to live in the holy city, which comes down to the new earth. God and Jesus come down to earth with the holy city. Everything glows with an eternal light. No sun, no moon. Who is left in heaven? All the multitudes of angels?
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Hell part 6
Now we come to the word Hell/hades as found in The book of Revelation. Revelation is the youngest book of the bible and written in almost purely metaphorical/symbolical apocalyptic imagery. The author is simply "John." Noone is quite sure which John he is. The book's place in the biblical canon, as well as its purpose and meaning, has been disputed throughout the centuries. We will not go into much of that here today.
The passages with hades translated to hell in the KJV:
*Rev. 1:18-Here the author sees a vision of a fantastical person who calls himself "The Alpha and the Omega"(the first and the last), "The Living One" (because he was dead but now he is alive forever and ever! Two evers make it longer.) He goes on to say he holds the keys of death and hades. This being is presumed to be Jesus. His words are in red in my NIV study bible. In Matthew 16:18 we saw Jesus say the gates of hades would not prevail, now we see his resurrected self saying he has the keys to hades. Does hell/hades actually have a gate with keys to unlock it? Job 38:17 also talks about gates of death.
*Rev. 6:8- In this passage, the author is telling about his revealed vision. There is scroll with seven seals (magical number!) being opened by a Lamb that looked like it had been slain. (Jesus, duh.) As each seal is opened something incredible happens. Seals one through four produce four horsemen. The first is a conquering king on a white horse. The second represents the violence of war on a red horse. The third represents inflation and scarcity on a black horse. The forth seal is opened and the author says he saw a pale horse and its rider was Death; Hades/hell was trailing behind him. These four horsemen were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. Interesting note: the pale horse that Death rode on was actually a sickly green color. The greek word here is chloros.
*Rev. 20:13,14- This is in a famous passage about the supposed day of judgement. We read about all the dead standing before a great white throne. There were open books which held records of what the dead had done. The sea, death, and Hades/hell gave up all their dead and each person was judged according to what he had done. (Not according to what he believed?!!) Then, Death and Hades/hell were thrown into the lake of fire! What? Hades/Hell is not actually the lake of fire itself? It looks like hell/hades was just the holding place for the dead, just like Sheol. Ah, but we are not done. The lake of fire is "the second death." There was also a special book among the record books, the book of life. If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire!
What is this book of life, and who will not be in it? Ex. 32:32 Yahweh tells Moses "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book." Daniel 12:1 talks about a book which has names written in it, but it is unclear if it the same book. Malachi 3:16 speaks of a "scroll of remembrance" in which was written the names of those who feared Yahweh and honored his name. Is that the same thing?
Who will be thrown into the lake of fire? Rev. 21:8 says it is "the cowardly, the unbelieving (uh oh), the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars." Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur- the second death. "He who overcomes" will not be hurt by the second death." (Rev. 2:11) But what does it mean, to overcome? We find clues in the first paragraphs of Rev. 20. Let's look at them next time. There are no more passages with the word hell/hades, but there is plenty of descriptive stuff about afterlife punishments. It seems that this "second death" is what we should really fear, not hell.
The passages with hades translated to hell in the KJV:
*Rev. 1:18-Here the author sees a vision of a fantastical person who calls himself "The Alpha and the Omega"(the first and the last), "The Living One" (because he was dead but now he is alive forever and ever! Two evers make it longer.) He goes on to say he holds the keys of death and hades. This being is presumed to be Jesus. His words are in red in my NIV study bible. In Matthew 16:18 we saw Jesus say the gates of hades would not prevail, now we see his resurrected self saying he has the keys to hades. Does hell/hades actually have a gate with keys to unlock it? Job 38:17 also talks about gates of death.
*Rev. 6:8- In this passage, the author is telling about his revealed vision. There is scroll with seven seals (magical number!) being opened by a Lamb that looked like it had been slain. (Jesus, duh.) As each seal is opened something incredible happens. Seals one through four produce four horsemen. The first is a conquering king on a white horse. The second represents the violence of war on a red horse. The third represents inflation and scarcity on a black horse. The forth seal is opened and the author says he saw a pale horse and its rider was Death; Hades/hell was trailing behind him. These four horsemen were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. Interesting note: the pale horse that Death rode on was actually a sickly green color. The greek word here is chloros.
*Rev. 20:13,14- This is in a famous passage about the supposed day of judgement. We read about all the dead standing before a great white throne. There were open books which held records of what the dead had done. The sea, death, and Hades/hell gave up all their dead and each person was judged according to what he had done. (Not according to what he believed?!!) Then, Death and Hades/hell were thrown into the lake of fire! What? Hades/Hell is not actually the lake of fire itself? It looks like hell/hades was just the holding place for the dead, just like Sheol. Ah, but we are not done. The lake of fire is "the second death." There was also a special book among the record books, the book of life. If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire!
What is this book of life, and who will not be in it? Ex. 32:32 Yahweh tells Moses "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book." Daniel 12:1 talks about a book which has names written in it, but it is unclear if it the same book. Malachi 3:16 speaks of a "scroll of remembrance" in which was written the names of those who feared Yahweh and honored his name. Is that the same thing?
Who will be thrown into the lake of fire? Rev. 21:8 says it is "the cowardly, the unbelieving (uh oh), the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars." Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur- the second death. "He who overcomes" will not be hurt by the second death." (Rev. 2:11) But what does it mean, to overcome? We find clues in the first paragraphs of Rev. 20. Let's look at them next time. There are no more passages with the word hell/hades, but there is plenty of descriptive stuff about afterlife punishments. It seems that this "second death" is what we should really fear, not hell.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
Job 41 and 42
After reading chapter 41:
*Yahweh is still poetically boasting to Job. This whole chapter is about his magnificent creature creation, the leviathan. This leviathan sounds exactly like a big ol' crocodile. If Job can't hope to subdue a leviathan, how does he have any claim against Yahweh? Everything under heaven belongs to him.
After reading chapter 42:
*Verses 1-6 are the last of the poetry. Job replies to Yahweh. He seems humbled, saying he knows Yahweh can do all things. He spoke of things he did not understand. Before, he had heard of Yahweh, now his eyes have seen him. Wait. What?! I thought nobody had seen him. Job is joining a long list of nobodies who have seen the God of the bible. As a result, Job now despises himself and repents in dust and ashes. Yep that's pretty much what it feels like to be a true believer.
*Verses 7 through the rest of the chapter revert to prose, just like the first section of the book, leading me to think it may be another possible addition to the original saga, maybe by the same person that wrote the first bit of prose. If the book had ended at verse 6, Job's friends would have been justified and Job thoroughly humiliated. But the story continues. Yahweh tells Job's friends he is angry with them. They didn't speak what was right about Yahweh, Job did. Huh? Now they have to go get seven bulls and sacrifice them as a burnt offering (Barbeque!) for themselves and Job will pray for them, so they will not be punished.
*Job prayed for his friends. Then Yahweh gave him twice as much stuff as he had before. His relatives associated with him again and gave him gifts. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble Yahweh had brought upon him. Where had they been when he was in trouble? Job ended his life as a very rich man. He now had exactly twice as many sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys as he had started. Plus, he again had seven sons (the perfect number)and three daughters, to replace the previous seven sons and three daughters that Yahweh had caused to be killed. That must have made everything okay. (Sarcasm, in case you didn't guess.) I wonder if he had the same wife?
*For some unknown reason we are told the names of Job's three daughters. Plus, we are informed that they were extraordinarily beautiful and that they recieved an inheritance from Job, along with his sons. Also, Satan, the accuser, is not mentioned again.
*I wonder how old Job was. The first set of 10 children would have taken at least 20 years to produce. At the beginning of the story, the children were all grown. That would have taken another 15 years at least. We are not told how long his trials took. Then another 20 years would be needed to produce another 10 children, making Job at least 75 when the last child would have been born. How old was his wife? In verse 16 we are told Job lived to 140 years and saw his children and their descendants to the fourth generation! That might just barely work if there was a new generation every twenty years. A true patriarch.
The End (Yay!)
*Yahweh is still poetically boasting to Job. This whole chapter is about his magnificent creature creation, the leviathan. This leviathan sounds exactly like a big ol' crocodile. If Job can't hope to subdue a leviathan, how does he have any claim against Yahweh? Everything under heaven belongs to him.
After reading chapter 42:
*Verses 1-6 are the last of the poetry. Job replies to Yahweh. He seems humbled, saying he knows Yahweh can do all things. He spoke of things he did not understand. Before, he had heard of Yahweh, now his eyes have seen him. Wait. What?! I thought nobody had seen him. Job is joining a long list of nobodies who have seen the God of the bible. As a result, Job now despises himself and repents in dust and ashes. Yep that's pretty much what it feels like to be a true believer.
*Verses 7 through the rest of the chapter revert to prose, just like the first section of the book, leading me to think it may be another possible addition to the original saga, maybe by the same person that wrote the first bit of prose. If the book had ended at verse 6, Job's friends would have been justified and Job thoroughly humiliated. But the story continues. Yahweh tells Job's friends he is angry with them. They didn't speak what was right about Yahweh, Job did. Huh? Now they have to go get seven bulls and sacrifice them as a burnt offering (Barbeque!) for themselves and Job will pray for them, so they will not be punished.
*Job prayed for his friends. Then Yahweh gave him twice as much stuff as he had before. His relatives associated with him again and gave him gifts. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble Yahweh had brought upon him. Where had they been when he was in trouble? Job ended his life as a very rich man. He now had exactly twice as many sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys as he had started. Plus, he again had seven sons (the perfect number)and three daughters, to replace the previous seven sons and three daughters that Yahweh had caused to be killed. That must have made everything okay. (Sarcasm, in case you didn't guess.) I wonder if he had the same wife?
*For some unknown reason we are told the names of Job's three daughters. Plus, we are informed that they were extraordinarily beautiful and that they recieved an inheritance from Job, along with his sons. Also, Satan, the accuser, is not mentioned again.
*I wonder how old Job was. The first set of 10 children would have taken at least 20 years to produce. At the beginning of the story, the children were all grown. That would have taken another 15 years at least. We are not told how long his trials took. Then another 20 years would be needed to produce another 10 children, making Job at least 75 when the last child would have been born. How old was his wife? In verse 16 we are told Job lived to 140 years and saw his children and their descendants to the fourth generation! That might just barely work if there was a new generation every twenty years. A true patriarch.
The End (Yay!)
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Job chapter 2
After reading chater 2:
*On another day the Angels came again, to present themselves to Yahweh. Let's stop here for a minute. This week I discovered that the hebrew words we see translated as "angels" in this book literally mean sons or children of God (Elohim). The Hebrew word "bene," from this passage, is translated in other places as sons or children. Not spiritual children...physical offspring. These so called Angels, literally translated, are the children of the gods. Not only that, Satan the adversary, is one of them.
*Yahweh again asks the adversary where he has been. He again says he was roaming back and forth through the earth. (The bible excels at repetition.) Yahweh again brings the perfection of Job to the adversary's attention, asking him to notice how Job maintained his integrity in spite of the adversary inciting Yahweh to ruin him without reason. Then the adversary ups the ante. He implies that men are so self centered they will endure any loss as long as they are not bodily afflicted. He dares Yahweh to really hurt Job physically, and see if Job refrains from cursing him then.
*Strangely enough, Yahweh takes the dare. He gives the adversary permission to do anything but kill Job. Doesn't christianity say God is omnicient? Wouldn't Yahweh already know what torture Job will be going through and how he will handle it? Is this an ethical bet? Also, how could a loving God sit by and allow so much pain and suffering? Is it fair to Job? Well, so far, the bible hasn't actually said that Yahweh is completely omnicient, full of loving kindness, ethical or fair. I think I would be very angry if I believed that some God was piling hurts on me to see if I would cave in.
*So, the adversary leaves Yahweh and gives Job sores, possibly boils, all over his body. Job meekly sits among the ashes and scrapes the sores with a piece of broken pottery. Meanwhile, his wife says, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God (Elohim) and die!" The study bible and the online interlinear text both say that the word "curse"here in English is actually the word "bless" in Hebrew (barek). From what I can tell, the book of Job is the only place this word was translated as "curse" in English. It was apparently an euphemism to say "bless God." In the same way, a southern american may facetiously say "bless your heart" and mean the opposite. I imagine the wife of Job, and the authors of Job, were superstitious enough to think that if they personally said or wrote the literal words "curse God," they might be found guilty of blasphemy themselves. It is interesting that the modern English writers have no such Qualms.
*Notice that the worst thing that could happen to Job in this story is physical death. There is no mention of an afterlife, or eternal punishment. So, really, if he felt like he was practically dead already, what more harm could a little cursing do? But apparently Job had enough life left in him to rebuke his wife and call her a fool, which is an insult. Then he says, "Shall we except good from God (Elohim) and not trouble?" Here again, the translators have been somewhat dishonest. The Hebrew word translated "trouble" is hara, which literally means "evil." Yes, Job said we need to accept evil from the gods. It is made clear from examining this story that that is where evil comes from... If you believe in gods.
*Last, we are introduced to Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go comfort Job. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him and began to weep. They tore their clothes and sprinkled dust on their heads, a sign of grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word. Those were some hardy people.
*On another day the Angels came again, to present themselves to Yahweh. Let's stop here for a minute. This week I discovered that the hebrew words we see translated as "angels" in this book literally mean sons or children of God (Elohim). The Hebrew word "bene," from this passage, is translated in other places as sons or children. Not spiritual children...physical offspring. These so called Angels, literally translated, are the children of the gods. Not only that, Satan the adversary, is one of them.
*Yahweh again asks the adversary where he has been. He again says he was roaming back and forth through the earth. (The bible excels at repetition.) Yahweh again brings the perfection of Job to the adversary's attention, asking him to notice how Job maintained his integrity in spite of the adversary inciting Yahweh to ruin him without reason. Then the adversary ups the ante. He implies that men are so self centered they will endure any loss as long as they are not bodily afflicted. He dares Yahweh to really hurt Job physically, and see if Job refrains from cursing him then.
*Strangely enough, Yahweh takes the dare. He gives the adversary permission to do anything but kill Job. Doesn't christianity say God is omnicient? Wouldn't Yahweh already know what torture Job will be going through and how he will handle it? Is this an ethical bet? Also, how could a loving God sit by and allow so much pain and suffering? Is it fair to Job? Well, so far, the bible hasn't actually said that Yahweh is completely omnicient, full of loving kindness, ethical or fair. I think I would be very angry if I believed that some God was piling hurts on me to see if I would cave in.
*So, the adversary leaves Yahweh and gives Job sores, possibly boils, all over his body. Job meekly sits among the ashes and scrapes the sores with a piece of broken pottery. Meanwhile, his wife says, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God (Elohim) and die!" The study bible and the online interlinear text both say that the word "curse"here in English is actually the word "bless" in Hebrew (barek). From what I can tell, the book of Job is the only place this word was translated as "curse" in English. It was apparently an euphemism to say "bless God." In the same way, a southern american may facetiously say "bless your heart" and mean the opposite. I imagine the wife of Job, and the authors of Job, were superstitious enough to think that if they personally said or wrote the literal words "curse God," they might be found guilty of blasphemy themselves. It is interesting that the modern English writers have no such Qualms.
*Notice that the worst thing that could happen to Job in this story is physical death. There is no mention of an afterlife, or eternal punishment. So, really, if he felt like he was practically dead already, what more harm could a little cursing do? But apparently Job had enough life left in him to rebuke his wife and call her a fool, which is an insult. Then he says, "Shall we except good from God (Elohim) and not trouble?" Here again, the translators have been somewhat dishonest. The Hebrew word translated "trouble" is hara, which literally means "evil." Yes, Job said we need to accept evil from the gods. It is made clear from examining this story that that is where evil comes from... If you believe in gods.
*Last, we are introduced to Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go comfort Job. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him and began to weep. They tore their clothes and sprinkled dust on their heads, a sign of grief. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights without saying a word. Those were some hardy people.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Job chapter 1, part 1
After reading chapter 1:
*The setting of this story is the land of Uz. If we go back to scriptures that mention people named Uz and assume that the land of Uz was named after one of them, we have:
1. Genesis 10:23. Uz is the grandson of Shem and the son of Aram, father of the Arameans.
2. Genesis 22:21. Uz is a nephew of Abraham and the brother of Kemuel, who is called the father of Aram. My study bible says the children of Nahor, Abraham's brother, Uz's and Kemuel's father, became the ancestors of twelve Aramean tribes. Will the real Arameans please stand up.
3. Genesis 36:28 Uz is a descendant of Esau and clearly an Edomite.
My study bible tries to solve the problem of which Uz and where by smooshing them all together into "a large territory from Edom in the south to Aram in the north." There is currently no way to know for sure where Uz was, or if it ever existed. For all we know, it may be as fictional as the land of Oz.
*The main character of this story is Job, an "upright and blameless" man in the NIV version. Interestingly enough, the first word of this book in the interlinear Hebrew text means "perfect," describing Job. Christianity, on the other hand, is predicated on the position that noone can be perfect except God.
*Job is said to have had seven sons (the perfect number) and three daughters. He also had 7,000 sheep, 5,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 donkeys, and a lot of servants. Do you realize how much land would be needed to support that many animals and all the people needed to care for them? In other words, Job was an extremely wealthy man. In fact, he is said to have been the greatest of all the men in the east at that time. (When was that time?) This would practically make him the ruler of a kingdom, presumably east of the Jordan River.
*Job's children threw big parties on their birthdays, inviting their brothers and sisters. Job was afraid these parties would be the downfall of his children by causing them to sin or curse God. What kind of "sins" was Job worried about? Why would they curse God? Too much to drink? The day after a party, Job would sacrifice a burnt offering on behalf of each child. The passage doesn't say what Job thought could happen if he didn't make the sacrifices. Apparently Job has not heard any rules about sacrifices to Yahweh only being made by priests, and only at the location of the ark of the covenant. Poor man, he seems to have been a victim of religious scrupulosity.
*The setting of this story is the land of Uz. If we go back to scriptures that mention people named Uz and assume that the land of Uz was named after one of them, we have:
1. Genesis 10:23. Uz is the grandson of Shem and the son of Aram, father of the Arameans.
2. Genesis 22:21. Uz is a nephew of Abraham and the brother of Kemuel, who is called the father of Aram. My study bible says the children of Nahor, Abraham's brother, Uz's and Kemuel's father, became the ancestors of twelve Aramean tribes. Will the real Arameans please stand up.
3. Genesis 36:28 Uz is a descendant of Esau and clearly an Edomite.
My study bible tries to solve the problem of which Uz and where by smooshing them all together into "a large territory from Edom in the south to Aram in the north." There is currently no way to know for sure where Uz was, or if it ever existed. For all we know, it may be as fictional as the land of Oz.
*The main character of this story is Job, an "upright and blameless" man in the NIV version. Interestingly enough, the first word of this book in the interlinear Hebrew text means "perfect," describing Job. Christianity, on the other hand, is predicated on the position that noone can be perfect except God.
*Job is said to have had seven sons (the perfect number) and three daughters. He also had 7,000 sheep, 5,000 camels, 500 yoke (pairs) of oxen, 500 donkeys, and a lot of servants. Do you realize how much land would be needed to support that many animals and all the people needed to care for them? In other words, Job was an extremely wealthy man. In fact, he is said to have been the greatest of all the men in the east at that time. (When was that time?) This would practically make him the ruler of a kingdom, presumably east of the Jordan River.
*Job's children threw big parties on their birthdays, inviting their brothers and sisters. Job was afraid these parties would be the downfall of his children by causing them to sin or curse God. What kind of "sins" was Job worried about? Why would they curse God? Too much to drink? The day after a party, Job would sacrifice a burnt offering on behalf of each child. The passage doesn't say what Job thought could happen if he didn't make the sacrifices. Apparently Job has not heard any rules about sacrifices to Yahweh only being made by priests, and only at the location of the ark of the covenant. Poor man, he seems to have been a victim of religious scrupulosity.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Ruth wrap up
The book of Ruth has no known author and no definitely known date. It must have been written after the establishment of the Davidic monarchy because one of its purposes seems to be to establish David's lineage from Judah. Another purpose could be to show that Yahweh can approve of marriages with women from other nations, and even bless them and the Israelites through them, in spite of his previous adamant commands against them. Plus, descendants of Moabites are not supposed to be allowed to enter the assembly of Yahweh for 10 generations. (Deuteronomy 23:3) Jewish commentaries get around that by saying the nationality of the father is what mattered, not the mother.
The book does not claim to be the word of Yahweh or to be inspired by Yahweh or his Holy Spirit. There is no mention of angels, demons, or other supernatural beings besides Yahweh. There is no heaven, hell, or messaiah mentioned. There are no descriptions of religious rituals or commands, in spite of the fact that the story must have taken place from the time of passover to Pentecost, because those dates are tied to the harvesting of grain. The only hint of religion is the kinsman-redeemer tradition depicted, and that is more cultural. There is no mention of the ark of the covenant, Shiloh, priests, or sacrifices.
The book does not claim to be the word of Yahweh or to be inspired by Yahweh or his Holy Spirit. There is no mention of angels, demons, or other supernatural beings besides Yahweh. There is no heaven, hell, or messaiah mentioned. There are no descriptions of religious rituals or commands, in spite of the fact that the story must have taken place from the time of passover to Pentecost, because those dates are tied to the harvesting of grain. The only hint of religion is the kinsman-redeemer tradition depicted, and that is more cultural. There is no mention of the ark of the covenant, Shiloh, priests, or sacrifices.
There is a conspicuous lack of violence and prejudice against other people groups. Ruth, a Moabite, is given the highest praise. She is said to be better than seven sons to Naomi, high praise indeed. Everyone else behaves admirably as well. I have an atheist friend who says this is her favorite story in the bible.
A hint that the story may have been fabricated is found in the names of people in the story. Naomi means "pleasant" but she asks to be called Mara which means "bitter." Ruth means "friendship." Ruth's dead husband Mahlon's name means "weakling" and Boaz's name means "strength." Coincidence?
Job will be our next book, because its events also seem to take place before there was a monarchy. Then we will continue on to 1 Samuel.
A hint that the story may have been fabricated is found in the names of people in the story. Naomi means "pleasant" but she asks to be called Mara which means "bitter." Ruth means "friendship." Ruth's dead husband Mahlon's name means "weakling" and Boaz's name means "strength." Coincidence?
Job will be our next book, because its events also seem to take place before there was a monarchy. Then we will continue on to 1 Samuel.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Joshua chapter 16
After reading chapter 16:
*Verses 1-3 are a short story of Samson visiting a prostitute in Gaza, which apparently is no problem to Yahweh. While he was there, the people of Gaza surrounded the place and waited to ambush him at the city gate and kill him. Samson left at midnight and foiled their plans by tearing off the city gate, posts and bars included. He carried them up to the top of a hill. The only purpose of this story seems to be to illustrate how strong he was.
*Next we are told the story of Delilah, a Woman from the valley of Sorek. Samson fell in love with her. However, the rulers of the Philistines offered her 1,100 shekels of silver to find out the secret of his strength and reveal it to them so they can control him. It seems that Delilah did not feel the same way Samson felt about her. She asked Samson what made him so strong. We already know it is his long hair, but that hasn't actually been revealed by the story yet. Samson tells her he must be bound by seven fresh thongs that have not been dried. Those would probably have been straps made out of animal skin. The Philistines gave Delilah the thongs and she tied Samson up, but he snapped them easily.
*If you were Samson, would you continue to be in love with Delilah? Well he doesn't seem phased. She complains that he lied to her! So he tells her that being tied with new ropes will make him weak. Of course Delilah ties him up with new ropes but he also breaks them easily. Delilah tells him to stop lying and making a fool out of her. So he tells her to weave the seven braids on his head into some fabric on a loom and pin it tightly. Delilah does that, but of course it doesn't work either. Now she plays the "you don't really love me" card and nags him " day after day until he was tired to death."
*Finally, Samson tells Delilah if his head were shaved he would lose all his strength. She tells the Philistines. They pay her the silver. She has a man come in and shave Samson's head while he is asleep on her lap, and he became weak. Then she yells,"Samson, the Philistines are upon you," He jumps up thinking he will just shake himself free as usual. But Yahweh had left him. He must have been living in Samson's hair. The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and made him do manual labor in prison. Meanwhile his hair began to grow back, as hair does.
*The Philistines had a big party celebrating their victory over Samson. They gave credit for this victory to their God Dagon and decided to bring out Samson to entertain themselves. Now this party was taking place in Dagon's temple. Samson, being blind, asked a servant to place his hands on the pillars of the temple. Then Samson prayed to Yahweh for strength. Because Samson's hair had grown back enough, Yahweh decided to grant his request. Samson braced himself against the central pillars and pushed with all his might. The temple fell down on the approximately 3,000 people gathered there, himself included. So, he killed more people in his death than he had killed in his whole life. That's quite an accomplishment. Plus, he couldn't have done it without Yahweh. And his hair.
*One interesting fact about Dagon: evidence for him as a God has been found dating back to around 2,300 B.C.E. Evidence for Yahweh as a god only goes as far back as approximately 1,400 B.C.E.
Read more about Samson here.
Edited
*Verses 1-3 are a short story of Samson visiting a prostitute in Gaza, which apparently is no problem to Yahweh. While he was there, the people of Gaza surrounded the place and waited to ambush him at the city gate and kill him. Samson left at midnight and foiled their plans by tearing off the city gate, posts and bars included. He carried them up to the top of a hill. The only purpose of this story seems to be to illustrate how strong he was.
*Next we are told the story of Delilah, a Woman from the valley of Sorek. Samson fell in love with her. However, the rulers of the Philistines offered her 1,100 shekels of silver to find out the secret of his strength and reveal it to them so they can control him. It seems that Delilah did not feel the same way Samson felt about her. She asked Samson what made him so strong. We already know it is his long hair, but that hasn't actually been revealed by the story yet. Samson tells her he must be bound by seven fresh thongs that have not been dried. Those would probably have been straps made out of animal skin. The Philistines gave Delilah the thongs and she tied Samson up, but he snapped them easily.
*If you were Samson, would you continue to be in love with Delilah? Well he doesn't seem phased. She complains that he lied to her! So he tells her that being tied with new ropes will make him weak. Of course Delilah ties him up with new ropes but he also breaks them easily. Delilah tells him to stop lying and making a fool out of her. So he tells her to weave the seven braids on his head into some fabric on a loom and pin it tightly. Delilah does that, but of course it doesn't work either. Now she plays the "you don't really love me" card and nags him " day after day until he was tired to death."
*Finally, Samson tells Delilah if his head were shaved he would lose all his strength. She tells the Philistines. They pay her the silver. She has a man come in and shave Samson's head while he is asleep on her lap, and he became weak. Then she yells,"Samson, the Philistines are upon you," He jumps up thinking he will just shake himself free as usual. But Yahweh had left him. He must have been living in Samson's hair. The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and made him do manual labor in prison. Meanwhile his hair began to grow back, as hair does.
*The Philistines had a big party celebrating their victory over Samson. They gave credit for this victory to their God Dagon and decided to bring out Samson to entertain themselves. Now this party was taking place in Dagon's temple. Samson, being blind, asked a servant to place his hands on the pillars of the temple. Then Samson prayed to Yahweh for strength. Because Samson's hair had grown back enough, Yahweh decided to grant his request. Samson braced himself against the central pillars and pushed with all his might. The temple fell down on the approximately 3,000 people gathered there, himself included. So, he killed more people in his death than he had killed in his whole life. That's quite an accomplishment. Plus, he couldn't have done it without Yahweh. And his hair.
*One interesting fact about Dagon: evidence for him as a God has been found dating back to around 2,300 B.C.E. Evidence for Yahweh as a god only goes as far back as approximately 1,400 B.C.E.
Read more about Samson here.
Edited
Friday, June 3, 2016
Joshua chapter 14
After reading chapter 14:
*Samson is now grownup up. He went to Timnah and saw a Philistine woman that he wanted to marry. His parents would have preferred he marry an Israelite woman, not a woman from those "uncircumcised Philistines." But Samson insisted that she was the one he wanted. Plus, Yahweh was secretly causing this infatuation just so there would be a confrontation with the Philistines.
*The family travelled to Timnah, presumably to acquire the bride for Samson. When they came to the outskirts of the town, Samson was attacked by a lion. Samson got a rush of the Spirit of the Lord (sounds more like adrenaline to me) and tore the lion apart with his bare hands, but he didn't tell his parents about it. I don't know how they could have missed seeing it. Then he went on to the town, talked with the woman, and decided he liked her.
*Later, Samson and his parents went back to Timnah so he could marry the Philistine woman. On the way, he decided to take a look at the dead lion's carcass and found that some bees had made a honeycomb in it. He scooped out honey with his hands and ate it as he went along. He also gave some to his parents but didn't tell them where he had gotten it from.
*There was a wedding feast which typically lasts seven days. Samson was given 30 companions, presumably similar to groomsmen. He told these companions that he was going to tell them a riddle. If they could guess the answer by the end of the feast, they would be awarded thirty complete sets of clothes. If they could not guess they would have to give him thirty complete sets of clothes. Sounds fair. Not. They foolishly agreed. The riddle was "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." This obviously refers to the lion and the honey. Of course no one but Samson would know that. The game was rigged.
*After three days of trying to guess the answer to the riddle, the men went to Samson's wife and threatened to burn her and her father's house if she didn't get the answer to the riddle for them. In order to get the answer, his wife played the "you don't love me if you won't tell me" card. Samson refused to tell her so she cried for the rest of the feast. On the seventh day, he got tired of her persistence and told her. She told the riddle to the men of her town. They told Samson the answer just as the feast was coming to an end. Of course he knew where they got the answer from.
*Again, Samson recieved a rush of power from the Spirit of the Lord. He went to Ashkelon, another Philistine town, killed thirty men, stole their clothes, and gave them to the men who had given the answer to the riddle. He left the wedding and went back home. His wife was given to the equivalent of the best man.
*In previous stories the Spirit of the Lord helped people to prophesy, make laws, and win wars. This time it seems to have just been used to make Samson a killing machine. It sounds to me more like Samson had anger and entitlement issues. The cheater hates to be cheated.
*Samson is now grownup up. He went to Timnah and saw a Philistine woman that he wanted to marry. His parents would have preferred he marry an Israelite woman, not a woman from those "uncircumcised Philistines." But Samson insisted that she was the one he wanted. Plus, Yahweh was secretly causing this infatuation just so there would be a confrontation with the Philistines.
*The family travelled to Timnah, presumably to acquire the bride for Samson. When they came to the outskirts of the town, Samson was attacked by a lion. Samson got a rush of the Spirit of the Lord (sounds more like adrenaline to me) and tore the lion apart with his bare hands, but he didn't tell his parents about it. I don't know how they could have missed seeing it. Then he went on to the town, talked with the woman, and decided he liked her.
*Later, Samson and his parents went back to Timnah so he could marry the Philistine woman. On the way, he decided to take a look at the dead lion's carcass and found that some bees had made a honeycomb in it. He scooped out honey with his hands and ate it as he went along. He also gave some to his parents but didn't tell them where he had gotten it from.
*There was a wedding feast which typically lasts seven days. Samson was given 30 companions, presumably similar to groomsmen. He told these companions that he was going to tell them a riddle. If they could guess the answer by the end of the feast, they would be awarded thirty complete sets of clothes. If they could not guess they would have to give him thirty complete sets of clothes. Sounds fair. Not. They foolishly agreed. The riddle was "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." This obviously refers to the lion and the honey. Of course no one but Samson would know that. The game was rigged.
*After three days of trying to guess the answer to the riddle, the men went to Samson's wife and threatened to burn her and her father's house if she didn't get the answer to the riddle for them. In order to get the answer, his wife played the "you don't love me if you won't tell me" card. Samson refused to tell her so she cried for the rest of the feast. On the seventh day, he got tired of her persistence and told her. She told the riddle to the men of her town. They told Samson the answer just as the feast was coming to an end. Of course he knew where they got the answer from.
*Again, Samson recieved a rush of power from the Spirit of the Lord. He went to Ashkelon, another Philistine town, killed thirty men, stole their clothes, and gave them to the men who had given the answer to the riddle. He left the wedding and went back home. His wife was given to the equivalent of the best man.
*In previous stories the Spirit of the Lord helped people to prophesy, make laws, and win wars. This time it seems to have just been used to make Samson a killing machine. It sounds to me more like Samson had anger and entitlement issues. The cheater hates to be cheated.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Judges chapter 6
After reading chapter 6:
* The last sentence of chapter five was " then the land had rest for forty years," forty being one of the bible's magical numbers. Now we again see Israel backsliding. So, Yahweh gave them to the Midianites for seven years (another magical number). They were reduced to hiding in caves and other secluded places. Whenever they planted crops, their crops were destroyed by invading Midianites and Amalekites from the east. The odd thing about this is that back in Numbers chapter 31, all the Midianite males were killed, their towns and camps burned, and their virgin women taken as plunder. The apparently resurrected Midianites harassed and plundered the Israelites, causing poverty and distress. Again they cried to Yahweh for help.
*Yahweh sent the Israelites a prophet who gave them a review lesson in history then said their troubles were their own fault for not listening to Yahweh and for following other gods. Then, one day an angel of Yahweh, appearing as a man, visited Gideon and said Yahweh was with Gideon. He was naturally sceptical. The angel said he was sending Gideon to save Israel. Gideon was naturally sceptical, again. He asked for a sign but first made some food as an offering and gave it to the Angel under the oak in Ophrah. Remember that great trees, often oaks, were ancient places of cultic worship and where people communed with gods. We have seen this motif in the bible before.
*The angel had Gideon put the food on a rock, then he incinerated it with his staff. This surprised Gideon who apparently hadn't realized he was a REAL angel. The angel said "Peace, do not be afraid." Then Gideon built an altar to Yahweh on the spot and called it Yahweh is Peace (shalom). This passage is one of the reasons Peace is considered one of the names of God. That night, according to Yahweh's instruction, Gideon destroyed his father's altar to Baal, cut down the Asherah pole, and used the wood in the fire for the sacrifice of one of his father's bulls on the altar to Yahweh. This was done at night, in secret, because of course none of that was his property.
*In the morning all was discovered. Gideon was denounced as the culprit by a hostile crowd and his execution was demanded. Gideon's father, Joash, seems to have been a rational man. He argued that if Baal needed defending, couldn't he defend himself? This seemed to placate the mob and they settled for calling Gideon names.
*Now all those marauding easterners joined forces and came across the Jordan. Gideon was the beneficiary of the spirit of the lord and blew a trumpet summoning help. Then Gideon tested Yahweh's promise of help by placing a wool fleece on the threshing floor and seeing if it would be wet in the morning, but the ground dry. It was. The next day he requested another test. This time asking for the fleece to be dry and the ground wet. It was. In spite of having the spirit of Yahweh, and personally meeting the angel of the lord, Gideon wasn't taking any chances.
Edited: The Midianites were exterminated in Numbers 31, not 13.
* The last sentence of chapter five was " then the land had rest for forty years," forty being one of the bible's magical numbers. Now we again see Israel backsliding. So, Yahweh gave them to the Midianites for seven years (another magical number). They were reduced to hiding in caves and other secluded places. Whenever they planted crops, their crops were destroyed by invading Midianites and Amalekites from the east. The odd thing about this is that back in Numbers chapter 31, all the Midianite males were killed, their towns and camps burned, and their virgin women taken as plunder. The apparently resurrected Midianites harassed and plundered the Israelites, causing poverty and distress. Again they cried to Yahweh for help.
*Yahweh sent the Israelites a prophet who gave them a review lesson in history then said their troubles were their own fault for not listening to Yahweh and for following other gods. Then, one day an angel of Yahweh, appearing as a man, visited Gideon and said Yahweh was with Gideon. He was naturally sceptical. The angel said he was sending Gideon to save Israel. Gideon was naturally sceptical, again. He asked for a sign but first made some food as an offering and gave it to the Angel under the oak in Ophrah. Remember that great trees, often oaks, were ancient places of cultic worship and where people communed with gods. We have seen this motif in the bible before.
*The angel had Gideon put the food on a rock, then he incinerated it with his staff. This surprised Gideon who apparently hadn't realized he was a REAL angel. The angel said "Peace, do not be afraid." Then Gideon built an altar to Yahweh on the spot and called it Yahweh is Peace (shalom). This passage is one of the reasons Peace is considered one of the names of God. That night, according to Yahweh's instruction, Gideon destroyed his father's altar to Baal, cut down the Asherah pole, and used the wood in the fire for the sacrifice of one of his father's bulls on the altar to Yahweh. This was done at night, in secret, because of course none of that was his property.
*In the morning all was discovered. Gideon was denounced as the culprit by a hostile crowd and his execution was demanded. Gideon's father, Joash, seems to have been a rational man. He argued that if Baal needed defending, couldn't he defend himself? This seemed to placate the mob and they settled for calling Gideon names.
*Now all those marauding easterners joined forces and came across the Jordan. Gideon was the beneficiary of the spirit of the lord and blew a trumpet summoning help. Then Gideon tested Yahweh's promise of help by placing a wool fleece on the threshing floor and seeing if it would be wet in the morning, but the ground dry. It was. The next day he requested another test. This time asking for the fleece to be dry and the ground wet. It was. In spite of having the spirit of Yahweh, and personally meeting the angel of the lord, Gideon wasn't taking any chances.
Edited: The Midianites were exterminated in Numbers 31, not 13.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Joshua chapter 18
After reading chapter 18:
*The whole assembly of the Israelites, all 2 million of them (?), gathered at Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up. There Joshua assigned three men from each tribe that didn't have land yet to survey the land that hadn't been distributed yet and divide it into seven parts. After that, Joshua would cast lots in the presence of Yahweh to determine which tribe got which piece of land. Why couldn't Yahweh just tell him? Joshua appears to have given the tribes these instructions twice. The men did the survey and wrote the information down in a scroll. One wonders where they got the scroll from. It had to have been made of papyrus at the time. Apparently some of those nomadic tribesmen were educated in the art of writing while wandering in the desert. What language did they write in?
*Then Joshua cast lots to decide the distribution of the land. The rest of the chapter tells us about the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. It lay between the land of the tribes of Joseph and Judah. They got a total of 26 towns with their villages.
*The whole assembly of the Israelites, all 2 million of them (?), gathered at Shiloh where the tabernacle was set up. There Joshua assigned three men from each tribe that didn't have land yet to survey the land that hadn't been distributed yet and divide it into seven parts. After that, Joshua would cast lots in the presence of Yahweh to determine which tribe got which piece of land. Why couldn't Yahweh just tell him? Joshua appears to have given the tribes these instructions twice. The men did the survey and wrote the information down in a scroll. One wonders where they got the scroll from. It had to have been made of papyrus at the time. Apparently some of those nomadic tribesmen were educated in the art of writing while wandering in the desert. What language did they write in?
*Then Joshua cast lots to decide the distribution of the land. The rest of the chapter tells us about the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. It lay between the land of the tribes of Joseph and Judah. They got a total of 26 towns with their villages.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Joshua chapter 6
After reading chapter 6:
*Jericho was tightly shut up, "No one went in, no one came out." Great story line. Yahweh told Joshua that the conquest of Jericho was a sure thing, with his help. Since we haven't done that yet, let's read about Jericho here. In spite of multiple periods of civilization, Jericho does not appear to have been inhabited at our supposed time of the Biblical story, about 1297 B.C.E. This presents a problem doesn't it? Keep in mind, there is also a history of earthquakes in the area.
*Now we have the famous tale: Yahweh told Joshua to tell the armed men of Israel (approx. 600,000) to march around the city once a day for six days, with seven priests blowing ram's horn trumpets in front of the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, while the priests blew the trumpets. Then the priests would blow one long blast and all the people were to shout as loud as they could. Consequently, the walls of Jericho would fall down and the armed forces could enter the city.
*The instructions of Joshua, uh, Yahweh, were followed, each day for six days. On the seventh day, they got up bright and early and marched around the city seven times. After the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua commanded the people to shout, reminding them that Rahab and her family were to be spared. Plus, the Israelites were not to touch any objects used in the worship of the city's gods, or they would bring about their own destruction. Besides, all the valuable objects made of metals belonged to the priests, I mean Yahweh. They must go into Yahweh's treasury. Though what he wants with them is anybody's guess.
*When the people shouted, the walls collapsed. The men charged in and destroyed every living thing: all the people, including women and children, and the animals. Joshua told the two spies from chapter 2 to get Rahab and her family to safety. They were put in a place outside the camp of the Israelites. The city was burned to the ground. The precious metal objects were saved for Yahweh. Rahab and her family live with the Israelites " to this day." Last of all, Joshua put a curse on the city of Jericho and any one who might try to rebuild it. (The study bible says the curse was fulfilled in the days of King AhabAhab, which probably means that this book was written after that.) Any way, the city of Jericho has continued to exist in many forms down through the ages, and still exists today.
For more interesting information, read: The Battle of Jericho. There we see that the historicity of the Jericho story is non- existant.
*Jericho was tightly shut up, "No one went in, no one came out." Great story line. Yahweh told Joshua that the conquest of Jericho was a sure thing, with his help. Since we haven't done that yet, let's read about Jericho here. In spite of multiple periods of civilization, Jericho does not appear to have been inhabited at our supposed time of the Biblical story, about 1297 B.C.E. This presents a problem doesn't it? Keep in mind, there is also a history of earthquakes in the area.
*Now we have the famous tale: Yahweh told Joshua to tell the armed men of Israel (approx. 600,000) to march around the city once a day for six days, with seven priests blowing ram's horn trumpets in front of the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day, they were to march around the city seven times, while the priests blew the trumpets. Then the priests would blow one long blast and all the people were to shout as loud as they could. Consequently, the walls of Jericho would fall down and the armed forces could enter the city.
*The instructions of Joshua, uh, Yahweh, were followed, each day for six days. On the seventh day, they got up bright and early and marched around the city seven times. After the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets and Joshua commanded the people to shout, reminding them that Rahab and her family were to be spared. Plus, the Israelites were not to touch any objects used in the worship of the city's gods, or they would bring about their own destruction. Besides, all the valuable objects made of metals belonged to the priests, I mean Yahweh. They must go into Yahweh's treasury. Though what he wants with them is anybody's guess.
*When the people shouted, the walls collapsed. The men charged in and destroyed every living thing: all the people, including women and children, and the animals. Joshua told the two spies from chapter 2 to get Rahab and her family to safety. They were put in a place outside the camp of the Israelites. The city was burned to the ground. The precious metal objects were saved for Yahweh. Rahab and her family live with the Israelites " to this day." Last of all, Joshua put a curse on the city of Jericho and any one who might try to rebuild it. (The study bible says the curse was fulfilled in the days of King AhabAhab, which probably means that this book was written after that.) Any way, the city of Jericho has continued to exist in many forms down through the ages, and still exists today.
For more interesting information, read: The Battle of Jericho. There we see that the historicity of the Jericho story is non- existant.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Deuteronomy 31
After reading chapter 31:
*Moses says that he is now 120 years old and Yahweh told him he would not cross the Jordan. Yahweh will cross over the Jordon along with Joshua. Wait a minute, why does Yahweh need to cross the Jordan? Isn't Yahweh an omnipresent god, ruling over the entire earth? Apparently Moses and the authors of Deuteronomy didn't know that. So, the Israelite's God would deliver the people and the land into the hands of the Israelites and it would be their inheritance. They are not to be afraid, yet.
*Moses wrote down the laws and gave them to the Levite priests,to be read at the end of every seven years, during the feast of tabernacles. Everyone, men, women, and children, must hear and learn the law and learn to fear Yahweh as long as they live in the promised land.
*Then Yahweh told Moses his death was imminent. So, Joshua was commissioned at the tabernacle to be the replacement leader. Yahweh appeared over the tent as the pillar of cloud and told Moses it wouldn't be long before the people broke the covenant. Then Yahweh would be angry and the consequences would be bad. (Why was he angry if he already knew this would happen? Of what benefit are emotions in an eternal deity? How does he feel anger without a brain, body, cortisol, and adrenaline?) Moses wrote a song about the coming events of their destruction and taught it to the Israelites. The song appears in the next chapter.
*Again, we are told Moses wrote down the law and gave it to the Levites. They were to put the book of the law beside the Ark of the covenant where it would be a witness against the Israelites because they are so rebellious and provoking. The elders and officials were to be assembled so Moses could tell them how they would deserve what they had coming to them when they broke the covenant. Heaven and earth would also be witnesses. After all two or more witnesses are required in a legal proceeding. Before the Israelites even got to the promised land they were heaped with the guilt of their descendants.
*Moses says that he is now 120 years old and Yahweh told him he would not cross the Jordan. Yahweh will cross over the Jordon along with Joshua. Wait a minute, why does Yahweh need to cross the Jordan? Isn't Yahweh an omnipresent god, ruling over the entire earth? Apparently Moses and the authors of Deuteronomy didn't know that. So, the Israelite's God would deliver the people and the land into the hands of the Israelites and it would be their inheritance. They are not to be afraid, yet.
*Moses wrote down the laws and gave them to the Levite priests,to be read at the end of every seven years, during the feast of tabernacles. Everyone, men, women, and children, must hear and learn the law and learn to fear Yahweh as long as they live in the promised land.
*Then Yahweh told Moses his death was imminent. So, Joshua was commissioned at the tabernacle to be the replacement leader. Yahweh appeared over the tent as the pillar of cloud and told Moses it wouldn't be long before the people broke the covenant. Then Yahweh would be angry and the consequences would be bad. (Why was he angry if he already knew this would happen? Of what benefit are emotions in an eternal deity? How does he feel anger without a brain, body, cortisol, and adrenaline?) Moses wrote a song about the coming events of their destruction and taught it to the Israelites. The song appears in the next chapter.
*Again, we are told Moses wrote down the law and gave it to the Levites. They were to put the book of the law beside the Ark of the covenant where it would be a witness against the Israelites because they are so rebellious and provoking. The elders and officials were to be assembled so Moses could tell them how they would deserve what they had coming to them when they broke the covenant. Heaven and earth would also be witnesses. After all two or more witnesses are required in a legal proceeding. Before the Israelites even got to the promised land they were heaped with the guilt of their descendants.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Deuteronomy 15
After reading chapter 15:
*Every seven years the debts of all Israelites to other Israelites are to be cancelled, but not the debts of foreigners. Besides, the promised land will be so good that there shouldn't be any poor Israelites. Then they will loan money to other nations, but never borrow from others. Consequently, they will rule over many nations and no one will rule over them. Well, history tells us things didn't work out quite this way.
*So, IF there happens to be a poor man (not woman) among them, they must be generous. Plus, they must not refuse to lend to someone because the year of cancellation is too near. Now, after saying there should be no poor among them in verse four, because of the rich blessings of the promised land, they are told there will always be poor people in the land in verse 11. Which is true?
*Next we find that a man or woman can sell themselves as servants for six years, but in the seventh year, they must be set free. When they are let go they are to be given grain and wine. But if a servant wishes to remain a servant, his or her ear is pierced. Then they are a servant for life. This is somewhat different from Exodus 21, where only male servants go free and female servants do not go free at the end of seven years. Unless no one wants them and no one will provide for them, then they get set free with nothing in payment. It seems that Deuteronomy does not assume the master's right to the sexual services of the maid servants like Exodus does. Also, unlike Deuteronomy, the male servants in Exodus get no payment when released.
*The last part of the chapter commands the setting aside of all the unblemished firstborn livestock for the lord. But they get to eat them with their families in the place Yahweh decides. The blemished animals can be eaten in their towns, just not the blood. We musn't forget about the blood.
*Every seven years the debts of all Israelites to other Israelites are to be cancelled, but not the debts of foreigners. Besides, the promised land will be so good that there shouldn't be any poor Israelites. Then they will loan money to other nations, but never borrow from others. Consequently, they will rule over many nations and no one will rule over them. Well, history tells us things didn't work out quite this way.
*So, IF there happens to be a poor man (not woman) among them, they must be generous. Plus, they must not refuse to lend to someone because the year of cancellation is too near. Now, after saying there should be no poor among them in verse four, because of the rich blessings of the promised land, they are told there will always be poor people in the land in verse 11. Which is true?
*Next we find that a man or woman can sell themselves as servants for six years, but in the seventh year, they must be set free. When they are let go they are to be given grain and wine. But if a servant wishes to remain a servant, his or her ear is pierced. Then they are a servant for life. This is somewhat different from Exodus 21, where only male servants go free and female servants do not go free at the end of seven years. Unless no one wants them and no one will provide for them, then they get set free with nothing in payment. It seems that Deuteronomy does not assume the master's right to the sexual services of the maid servants like Exodus does. Also, unlike Deuteronomy, the male servants in Exodus get no payment when released.
*The last part of the chapter commands the setting aside of all the unblemished firstborn livestock for the lord. But they get to eat them with their families in the place Yahweh decides. The blemished animals can be eaten in their towns, just not the blood. We musn't forget about the blood.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Numbers chapter 31
After reading chapter 31:
*After a brief intermission, laying down some religious and social rules, Yahweh tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, who used to be Moabites, presumably for the crime of inviting them to other god's BBQs and showing the men a good time. So, 12,000 men, 1,000 from each tribe, were sent into battle, along with Phineas, the son of the high priest, the same guy who had run a spear through the Midianite woman and Israeli man. They fought against Midian and killed every man, including Balaam, the guy with the talking donkey.
*The Israelite army burned the Midianite towns and camps, after they plundered them. They took their spoils, including the women and children , back to the Israelite camp. Moses was upset, because it was the Midianite/Moabite women who had enticed the Israelite men. He ordered all the sexually active women killed. The reason given for this was that they were following Balaam's advice on how to turn the Israelites away from Yahweh. This is very strange because chapters 22-24 clearly show Balaam speaking on behalf of Yahweh and the Israelites, and blessing them. There is no mention of him giving any advice for turning the Israelites away from Yahweh.
*Moses also ordered the killing of all the boys, but gives no reason. Then, he says the Israelite army can save all the virgin girls for themselves, we can guess the reason. The fighting men who had killed, and the captive virgins, were to remain outside the camp for seven days, to be "purified." The thought of this makes my blood run cold. All metals, were to be passed through a fire and washed with holy water, for cleansing. Everything that couldn't be passed through a fire was just to be washed with the water of cleansing.
*Next, Yahweh told Moses to count all the people ( the girls) and the animals that were captured and divide up the spoils. Half for the fighting men, half for the rest of the community. From the soldier's share, one out of every 500, of the girls, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys was to be given to the priests, um, the lord. From the community share, one out of every 50. We are given the numbers for each of the kinds of animals and the virgins, because this is the book of numbers after all. There were 32,000 females divvied up that day.
*After the distribution of the spoils, the commanders of the army told Moses that not a single fighting man had been lost. Incredible. They also had gold to give to the priests, um, the lord. Of course Moses and the priests accepted the gold on Yahweh's behalf, and the soldiers had some left over for themselves, naturally.
*After a brief intermission, laying down some religious and social rules, Yahweh tells Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites, who used to be Moabites, presumably for the crime of inviting them to other god's BBQs and showing the men a good time. So, 12,000 men, 1,000 from each tribe, were sent into battle, along with Phineas, the son of the high priest, the same guy who had run a spear through the Midianite woman and Israeli man. They fought against Midian and killed every man, including Balaam, the guy with the talking donkey.
*The Israelite army burned the Midianite towns and camps, after they plundered them. They took their spoils, including the women and children , back to the Israelite camp. Moses was upset, because it was the Midianite/Moabite women who had enticed the Israelite men. He ordered all the sexually active women killed. The reason given for this was that they were following Balaam's advice on how to turn the Israelites away from Yahweh. This is very strange because chapters 22-24 clearly show Balaam speaking on behalf of Yahweh and the Israelites, and blessing them. There is no mention of him giving any advice for turning the Israelites away from Yahweh.
*Moses also ordered the killing of all the boys, but gives no reason. Then, he says the Israelite army can save all the virgin girls for themselves, we can guess the reason. The fighting men who had killed, and the captive virgins, were to remain outside the camp for seven days, to be "purified." The thought of this makes my blood run cold. All metals, were to be passed through a fire and washed with holy water, for cleansing. Everything that couldn't be passed through a fire was just to be washed with the water of cleansing.
*Next, Yahweh told Moses to count all the people ( the girls) and the animals that were captured and divide up the spoils. Half for the fighting men, half for the rest of the community. From the soldier's share, one out of every 500, of the girls, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys was to be given to the priests, um, the lord. From the community share, one out of every 50. We are given the numbers for each of the kinds of animals and the virgins, because this is the book of numbers after all. There were 32,000 females divvied up that day.
*After the distribution of the spoils, the commanders of the army told Moses that not a single fighting man had been lost. Incredible. They also had gold to give to the priests, um, the lord. Of course Moses and the priests accepted the gold on Yahweh's behalf, and the soldiers had some left over for themselves, naturally.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Numbers chapters 23 and 24
After reading chapters 23 and 24:
*Next, Balaam has Balak build seven altars and they sacrifice seven Bulls and seven Rams. Then Balaam excuses himself to go talk to Yahweh. When he comes back, he gave a poetic speech called an oracle, which basically says he can't curse the Israelites because God hasn't cursed them.
*Then, Balak takes Balaam to some higher ground where they can see some of the Israelite horde. He again asks Balaam to curse them. They build seven more altars and sacrifice seven more Bulls and Rams. Balaam excuses himself again to talk with Yahweh. When he comes back, he gives another poetic speech saying he was commanded to bless the Israelites, and no divination or sorcery would work against them. Balak says Balaam may not be able to curse the Israelites, but he doesn't have to bless them, gee.
*Now Balak takes Balaam to a different vantage point hoping there will be a different answer this time. The altars are built again, the Bulls and Rams sacrificed, and Balaam goes off to talk to Yahweh. Balaam then gives another pretty speech about the Israelites and ends with " whoever curses them will be cursed and whoever blesses them will be blessed." Balak was very angry and sent Balaam home without pay for his services. Then Balaam prophesies about Israel crushing the Moabites and other surrounding people, plus the rise of a great ruler. After that he goes home.
Edited because my grammar skills are always better the next day.
*Next, Balaam has Balak build seven altars and they sacrifice seven Bulls and seven Rams. Then Balaam excuses himself to go talk to Yahweh. When he comes back, he gave a poetic speech called an oracle, which basically says he can't curse the Israelites because God hasn't cursed them.
*Then, Balak takes Balaam to some higher ground where they can see some of the Israelite horde. He again asks Balaam to curse them. They build seven more altars and sacrifice seven more Bulls and Rams. Balaam excuses himself again to talk with Yahweh. When he comes back, he gives another poetic speech saying he was commanded to bless the Israelites, and no divination or sorcery would work against them. Balak says Balaam may not be able to curse the Israelites, but he doesn't have to bless them, gee.
*Now Balak takes Balaam to a different vantage point hoping there will be a different answer this time. The altars are built again, the Bulls and Rams sacrificed, and Balaam goes off to talk to Yahweh. Balaam then gives another pretty speech about the Israelites and ends with " whoever curses them will be cursed and whoever blesses them will be blessed." Balak was very angry and sent Balaam home without pay for his services. Then Balaam prophesies about Israel crushing the Moabites and other surrounding people, plus the rise of a great ruler. After that he goes home.
Edited because my grammar skills are always better the next day.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Numbers chapter 19
After reading chapter 19:
*In this chapter Moses and Aaron get a new everlasting ordinance from Yahweh. This time they are told how to slaughter and burn an unblemished red heifer in great detail. Its ashes were to be gathered and kept in a ceremonially clean place outside of the camp. They were to be used in water when a ritual cleansing was to be done, for purification of sin. The water with heifer ashes in it is the "water of cleansing." The water was to be used to purify a person who has touched a dead human body, even old bones.
*The person who touched the dead body was unclean. He had to put some of the heifer ashes in a jar with water and a clean person had to sprinkle the water on him and on everyone and everything else associated with the body, on the third and seventh days of their uncleanness. Then they had to wash themselves and thier clothes. If they don't do this they will remain unclean and will be excommunicated. The weird part, if this isn't wierd enough, is that the clean sprinkler becomes temporarily unclean and anyone else who touches the water of cleansing becomes unclean til evening!
*Here you have it: Magic heifer ashes make unclean people clean and clean people unclean.
*In this chapter Moses and Aaron get a new everlasting ordinance from Yahweh. This time they are told how to slaughter and burn an unblemished red heifer in great detail. Its ashes were to be gathered and kept in a ceremonially clean place outside of the camp. They were to be used in water when a ritual cleansing was to be done, for purification of sin. The water with heifer ashes in it is the "water of cleansing." The water was to be used to purify a person who has touched a dead human body, even old bones.
*The person who touched the dead body was unclean. He had to put some of the heifer ashes in a jar with water and a clean person had to sprinkle the water on him and on everyone and everything else associated with the body, on the third and seventh days of their uncleanness. Then they had to wash themselves and thier clothes. If they don't do this they will remain unclean and will be excommunicated. The weird part, if this isn't wierd enough, is that the clean sprinkler becomes temporarily unclean and anyone else who touches the water of cleansing becomes unclean til evening!
*Here you have it: Magic heifer ashes make unclean people clean and clean people unclean.
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