It must be tough to relax on vacation if you know that you'll be killed if you don't relax. My first, modern-minded guess as to why Yahweh/Moses would want to impose such a heavy penalty on those who work on the Sabbath is that they wanted to remove any competitive advantage for those working on the holiday. Or maybe it's simply that the Sabbath is the day when everyone is supposed to bring their sacrifices to the priests to supply them and to solidify the group identity of the Israelites. Either reason would make sense.
Some of the Sabbath rules don't make much sense to a modern person living in temperate climes. You can't light a fire in any of your dwellings? That's fine so long as you can have gas or electricity, but orthodox Jews say that you cannot. So how are Jews supposed to survive in cold climes? The caveat to save life must pre-empt this rule.
Much of Ex. 35 and 36 is repeated verbatim from earlier chapters of Exodus.
After the priests' Yahweh-sanctioned massacre of the idolatrous partiers, Moses rallies the remaining Israelites to get to work creating the tabernacle. Having escaped Egypt and wandered around in the desert, and then endured a massacre by fanatical priests, the remaining people were no doubt ready for some stability and work. Moses's explicit instructions seem aimed at giving the people focus and purpose while they wandered after being sedentary in Egypt for 3 generations. His request for donations of luxury items and skilled labor are likewise heeded until they had more than enough. I imagine that, after the massacre, the people wanted to ingratiate themselves with the new ruling class of priests and artisans.
Bezazel (great name!) of the tribe of Judah was apparently a gold and metalsmith, and Oholiab (awkward name!) was a skilled weaver. Moses assigns them the task of teaching metalsmithing and textile work to the other Israelites, thus re-training people as skilled artisans.
In Ex. 38:8 we learn that Bezazel made the bronze washbasin from bronze mirrors donated by women whose job it was to serve at the entrance of the tabernacle. I wonder what kind of service they did. It was all very organized and an inventory undertaken by the Levite priests accounted for all the metals taken from the people including silver taken in taxes during the census. (Ex. 38:21-31)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Anger Management
While Moses (and Joshua) are up on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights, the natives at the foot of the mountain grow restless and long for an idol to lead them in their travels. Aaron, Mr. High Priest, urges them to bring him their gold jewelery to melt into a idol of a golden calf, which will represent their god. Once this was done, he set up an altar in front of the calf to take sacrificial offerings and said that everyone would sacrifice and feast the next day.
Yahweh tells Moses to hightail it back down the mountain because the people have disobeyed Him and are out of control. Yahweh says he plans to destroy them all and then make a great nation out of Moses, but Moses talks him out of it. Yahweh sounds like an angry, retarded giant who needs to be guided into not harming people with his temper. (Ex.32:9-13)
Joshua hears noises down the mountain and thinks the people are preparing for war. Moses listens and says, no - they're partying. When Moses see the golden calf, he goes apeshit, melts it down, grinds it into powder and makes the people drink it in water. (?!) When he chides his brother, Aaron, for letting it happen, Aaron tries to blame the people. Ex. 32:13
The "tent of meeting" is set up in Ex. 33, where Moses allegedly meets with Yahweh in private to discuss things. It turns out that his young friend, Joshua, lives in the tent too. Weird. Ex. 33:11
Yahweh tells Moses to hightail it back down the mountain because the people have disobeyed Him and are out of control. Yahweh says he plans to destroy them all and then make a great nation out of Moses, but Moses talks him out of it. Yahweh sounds like an angry, retarded giant who needs to be guided into not harming people with his temper. (Ex.32:9-13)
Joshua hears noises down the mountain and thinks the people are preparing for war. Moses listens and says, no - they're partying. When Moses see the golden calf, he goes apeshit, melts it down, grinds it into powder and makes the people drink it in water. (?!) When he chides his brother, Aaron, for letting it happen, Aaron tries to blame the people. Ex. 32:13
"Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil."To make matters much, much worse, when Moses sees that the people are out of control, he collects the priestly caste and tells them to go through the camp massacring people for Yahweh and that this will distinguish them as blessed for killing their own. Just horrible. Ex. 32:27-29
27 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”Moses goes back up to Yahweh, and learns that Yahweh plans to punish the Israelites more later for their sin, and that he struck them with a plague for the golden calf. Yahweh is so pissed that he tells Moses to take the people away to the land of milk and honey he promised to his ancestors, but that Yahweh himself will not accompany them because they are a "stiff-necked people" and he might get so pissed off at them that he will kill them. Yikes.
The "tent of meeting" is set up in Ex. 33, where Moses allegedly meets with Yahweh in private to discuss things. It turns out that his young friend, Joshua, lives in the tent too. Weird. Ex. 33:11
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.Yahweh is pretty schizoid. He wants to be loved for being forgiving and all, but he has a tendency to be harshly punitive and to have real anger management issues. Ex. 34:
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,7maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Bloody, Bloody, Bloody
Exodus 29 is dripping with blood. The consecration of the priestly caste, an hereditary caste to be descended from Aaron, is a bloody affair indeed. The priests anoint the ark cover with blood, splash blood on the sides of it, get blood sprinkled on their garments, their earlobes, their thumbs and big toes. Doing this for seven days and then regularly in generations thereafter will make the sacrificial altar holy and then Yahweh will come around there to tell the Israelites what to do. The whole thing is pretty atavistic and bizarre.
The breast and thigh from every sacrificed animal goes to the priests. The organs and organ fat are burned on the altar and the rest is presumably given back to the presenter to eat. The consecration of priests is a week-long feast with loads of animals being sacrificed and lots of bread, oil and wine being offered up for the process.
In Exodus 30 the ritual items inventory and user manual continues. Fragrant incense must be burned every morning on the special incense altar. Aaron is reminded that the incense altar is only for incense, not for drink or grain or burnt offerings. Even here, blood must be spilled once a year. Ex.30:10
Not only does the priestly caste get a share of the meat and bread offered at the altar, they also get to levy taxes on the people. (Ex.30:11-16) It's a flat tax for adults age 20 and over, with the rich and the poor paying the same amount for the "upkeep of the temple". The people are reassured that paying this money will stop Yahweh from inflicting plagues on them and will atone for their lives, although what the great atonement is for, is not clear. Maybe it's for the fact that Jacob (Israel) was a jerk who stole his brother's birthright, lied to and tricked his father multiple times and stole his father's blessing. Maybe it's for the fact that so many of Israel's twelve sons conspired to harm Joseph because he was a favored son, and that, while some of them wanted to kill him, they ultimately decided just to throw him in a ditch and then sell him into slavery and lie about it to their parents. Or maybe it goes back to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel - I'm really not sure but it is depressing.
Ritual hand and foot washing for the priests is prescribed in Ex.30:17-21. They have to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent of meeting or before approaching the altar "so that they will not die". Interestingly, Muslims all have to wash their hands and feet before entering a mosque, and I believe it also a part of morning ritual ablutions. I don't believe this is required of modern Jews or Christians, although observant Jews are supposed to wash hands before eating while reciting a prayer.
Now for something a little nicer: a recipes for fragrant, holy oil and incense! Apparently the shekel was both a unit of money and measurement. The oil and incense are proprietary blends and must not be used on anyone but priests nor anywhere but the temple! Anyone who does will be cut off from the people! (Ex.30:33&38)
Recipe for Holy Oil:
Grind into powder equal amounts of:
The breast and thigh from every sacrificed animal goes to the priests. The organs and organ fat are burned on the altar and the rest is presumably given back to the presenter to eat. The consecration of priests is a week-long feast with loads of animals being sacrificed and lots of bread, oil and wine being offered up for the process.
In Exodus 30 the ritual items inventory and user manual continues. Fragrant incense must be burned every morning on the special incense altar. Aaron is reminded that the incense altar is only for incense, not for drink or grain or burnt offerings. Even here, blood must be spilled once a year. Ex.30:10
Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin (or purification) offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”All these offerings look an awful lot like Hindu and other pantheistic, pagan offerings - the only difference being that they are being made exclusively to one god who detests all other deities.
Not only does the priestly caste get a share of the meat and bread offered at the altar, they also get to levy taxes on the people. (Ex.30:11-16) It's a flat tax for adults age 20 and over, with the rich and the poor paying the same amount for the "upkeep of the temple". The people are reassured that paying this money will stop Yahweh from inflicting plagues on them and will atone for their lives, although what the great atonement is for, is not clear. Maybe it's for the fact that Jacob (Israel) was a jerk who stole his brother's birthright, lied to and tricked his father multiple times and stole his father's blessing. Maybe it's for the fact that so many of Israel's twelve sons conspired to harm Joseph because he was a favored son, and that, while some of them wanted to kill him, they ultimately decided just to throw him in a ditch and then sell him into slavery and lie about it to their parents. Or maybe it goes back to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel - I'm really not sure but it is depressing.
Ritual hand and foot washing for the priests is prescribed in Ex.30:17-21. They have to wash their hands and feet before entering the tent of meeting or before approaching the altar "so that they will not die". Interestingly, Muslims all have to wash their hands and feet before entering a mosque, and I believe it also a part of morning ritual ablutions. I don't believe this is required of modern Jews or Christians, although observant Jews are supposed to wash hands before eating while reciting a prayer.
Now for something a little nicer: a recipes for fragrant, holy oil and incense! Apparently the shekel was both a unit of money and measurement. The oil and incense are proprietary blends and must not be used on anyone but priests nor anywhere but the temple! Anyone who does will be cut off from the people! (Ex.30:33&38)
Recipe for Holy Oil:
Recipe for Holy Incense:
- Liquid myrrh (500 shekels/6 grams)
- Fragrant cinnamon (250 shekels/3 grams)
- Fragrant calamus (250 shekels/3 grams)
- Cassia (500 shekels/6 grams)
- Olive oil (1 hin/gallon/3.8 liters)
Grind into powder equal amounts of:
- Gum resin
- Onycha
- Galbanum
- Pure frankincense
- Salt
Delightful!
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Yahweh Likes it Fancy
In Exodus 25 we learn that Yahweh has some opulent tastes. He'll come (down from the mountain) to live among the Israelites, but they have to build him a super-fancy, portable, gold-plated house to store the legal tablets. They will also have to make gem-encrusted breast-plates for his priests. Yahweh keeps saying that all these elaborate, detailed plans were previously revealed on the mountain.
There are some confusing issues here with the chronology of when the law was given (again), and with graven images. Yahweh gives the specs for the ark of the covenant in anticipation of giving the law. I guess this means future books. He also specifies that "cherubim" with wings are to be molded in gold on the ark's cover. How is that not a graven image?
Furthermore, in Ex.28:31-36 Yahweh is explicit about the almond flower style which should be used for the golden menorah and ceremonial cups. Buds, leaves and flowers are all detailed. In Ex. 26:1&31Yahweh says that the curtains of the tabernacle should have (the images of) cherubim woven into them.
The design for the altar requires bronze rather than gold, presumably because the altar is going to deal with burning animals and gold would melt. It's clear from the description of the utensils that the animals were meant to be roasted whole (hence the need to deal with ashes) and eaten (hence the meat forks). The sprinkling bowls must be for the sprinkling of animal blood on the atoners as per the earlier description of the blood fest. Ex.27
An eternal flame is to be kept burning all night in the form of oil being burned in the giant menorah outside the ark of the covenant. I wonder whether this had any influence on Zoroastrianism, or vice-versa.
And yes, there are sacred underwear: Ex. 28: 42 “Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.
Here is video which seeks to explain this week's parsha on the priestly vestments. What I'm getting from it, is that Jews are supposed to get over it and just keep trying to make the world a better place so that they can dress any way the like. Huh?
http://www.g-dcast.com/tetzaveh
There are some confusing issues here with the chronology of when the law was given (again), and with graven images. Yahweh gives the specs for the ark of the covenant in anticipation of giving the law. I guess this means future books. He also specifies that "cherubim" with wings are to be molded in gold on the ark's cover. How is that not a graven image?
Ex. 20:
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
Ex. 25:Ex. 28 has some especially florid depictions of pomegranates and bells that must adorn the high priest, lest he perish.
18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.
Furthermore, in Ex.28:31-36 Yahweh is explicit about the almond flower style which should be used for the golden menorah and ceremonial cups. Buds, leaves and flowers are all detailed. In Ex. 26:1&31Yahweh says that the curtains of the tabernacle should have (the images of) cherubim woven into them.
The design for the altar requires bronze rather than gold, presumably because the altar is going to deal with burning animals and gold would melt. It's clear from the description of the utensils that the animals were meant to be roasted whole (hence the need to deal with ashes) and eaten (hence the meat forks). The sprinkling bowls must be for the sprinkling of animal blood on the atoners as per the earlier description of the blood fest. Ex.27
3 Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.No mention has yet been made (that I can recall) of draining the blood from the animal before cooking it. One has to wonder whether the blood for the sprinkling was still taken from slaughtered animals and whether the blood sprinkling persisted up to or beyond the destruction of the second temple.
An eternal flame is to be kept burning all night in the form of oil being burned in the giant menorah outside the ark of the covenant. I wonder whether this had any influence on Zoroastrianism, or vice-versa.
And yes, there are sacred underwear: Ex. 28: 42 “Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.
Here is video which seeks to explain this week's parsha on the priestly vestments. What I'm getting from it, is that Jews are supposed to get over it and just keep trying to make the world a better place so that they can dress any way the like. Huh?
http://www.g-dcast.com/tetzaveh
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
It's ok to kill certain people
Yahweh says you can kill a "sorceress" (Ex.22:18), a poor slob who screws animals (Ex.22:19), people with different religions (22:20), and people who attack or curse their parents (Ex. 21:17). If you have sex with an unmarried virgin you just have to pay her dowry, if you don't marry her. Israelites who desecrate the Sabbath or who do any work on the Sabbath day are to be put to death. (Ex. 31:14-16)
Giving the first-born of sons, cattle and sheep is again mentioned in Ex. 22:29-30. They should stay with their mothers seven days and on the eighth be given to Yahweh, which I'm guessing means hand them over to the priests for circumcision in the case of humans, and for sacrifice and the skimming of meat in the case of the animals. And because the Israelites are holy, they shouldn't eat carrion torn apart by wild animals.
Many passages in Genesis and Exodus entreat people to be kind to strangers, foreigners, widows and the fatherless. These must have been vulnerable populations then, as they are now, only moreso. The caveat is that these strangers have to abide by the rules of the Yahwehist society, including male circumcision, strict idol-free monotheism, and obeisance to the priestly caste. Ex. 22:28 exhorts the people not to curse the ruler of their people, another attempt to keep the peace among a population clearly prone to complaining.
Laudably, there are also passages which tell people not to be unfair to their enemies. I assume that this means other Yahwehists whom they happen not to like. There are a lot of common sense "be nice, be fair" edicts. "Don't take bribes now, I will retaliate against your wickedness!"
Then Yahweh tells them that an angel will guide them to their promised land and that Yahweh will smite all their enemies. Moses goes back up the mountain with Aaron and 70 elders and Moses gets the law from Yahweh, comes down and tells it to the people who accept it on the spot. Moses then writes it all down. (Really? With what? These are nomadic people.)
The covenant is confirmed with a creepy blood ritual involving young bull's blood being smeared on 12 pillars and sprinkled all over the people after Moses read them the book of the covenant. Half of the blood was put in bowls for some reason. Yuck. The book of the covenant at that time probably wasn't as long as the present-day Pentatech (5 books of Moses), but I'm thinking it was the material from the Ten Commandments through the last laws in Exodus 23.
After the blood-fest, Moses, Aaron and 70 elders got to go up the mountain and for the first time actually see Yahweh himself, who was on a pavement of lapis lazuli, and party with him. Then Yahweh asked Moses to go back up to the mountain yet again, so that Yahweh can give him tablets with the law (I thought Moses had already written them out) and this time Moses went alone with his "aide" Joshua. They spent six days and nights up there and then there was a fire on top of the mountain, or the volcano erupted. Moses then spent 40 days and 40 nights up there.
Where was Moses's wife all this time? Did she go back to Midian with her Dad or stay with Moses and the Israelites? I forget.
Giving the first-born of sons, cattle and sheep is again mentioned in Ex. 22:29-30. They should stay with their mothers seven days and on the eighth be given to Yahweh, which I'm guessing means hand them over to the priests for circumcision in the case of humans, and for sacrifice and the skimming of meat in the case of the animals. And because the Israelites are holy, they shouldn't eat carrion torn apart by wild animals.
Many passages in Genesis and Exodus entreat people to be kind to strangers, foreigners, widows and the fatherless. These must have been vulnerable populations then, as they are now, only moreso. The caveat is that these strangers have to abide by the rules of the Yahwehist society, including male circumcision, strict idol-free monotheism, and obeisance to the priestly caste. Ex. 22:28 exhorts the people not to curse the ruler of their people, another attempt to keep the peace among a population clearly prone to complaining.
Laudably, there are also passages which tell people not to be unfair to their enemies. I assume that this means other Yahwehists whom they happen not to like. There are a lot of common sense "be nice, be fair" edicts. "Don't take bribes now, I will retaliate against your wickedness!"
Then Yahweh tells them that an angel will guide them to their promised land and that Yahweh will smite all their enemies. Moses goes back up the mountain with Aaron and 70 elders and Moses gets the law from Yahweh, comes down and tells it to the people who accept it on the spot. Moses then writes it all down. (Really? With what? These are nomadic people.)
The covenant is confirmed with a creepy blood ritual involving young bull's blood being smeared on 12 pillars and sprinkled all over the people after Moses read them the book of the covenant. Half of the blood was put in bowls for some reason. Yuck. The book of the covenant at that time probably wasn't as long as the present-day Pentatech (5 books of Moses), but I'm thinking it was the material from the Ten Commandments through the last laws in Exodus 23.
After the blood-fest, Moses, Aaron and 70 elders got to go up the mountain and for the first time actually see Yahweh himself, who was on a pavement of lapis lazuli, and party with him. Then Yahweh asked Moses to go back up to the mountain yet again, so that Yahweh can give him tablets with the law (I thought Moses had already written them out) and this time Moses went alone with his "aide" Joshua. They spent six days and nights up there and then there was a fire on top of the mountain, or the volcano erupted. Moses then spent 40 days and 40 nights up there.
Where was Moses's wife all this time? Did she go back to Midian with her Dad or stay with Moses and the Israelites? I forget.
Monday, February 07, 2011
The Ten Commandments
There is nothing especially demarcating in Exodus 20, which suggests that the first ten commandments are the most important ones. Nowhere does Yahweh say that this commandment is more important than the next. Yahweh did not speak directly to the Israelites but rather to Moses and Aaron, and he even stipulated beforehand in Ex. 19:24 that the people and priests should not come up the mountain directly or else Yahweh would be pissed off and would punish them. Huh.
Yahweh insists several times that he is to be the one and only god and that the people are to create no idols or graven images to worship of him or any other god. This is an explicit demand for strict monotheism. Fear and threats are what Yahweh uses to try and enforce his message.
Preliminary details are given for how to worship Yahweh at a simple, earthen altar. It sounds like an altar for itinerant, pastoral people. It should have no fancy stone, which could be defiled with cutting, and no steps. Why no steps? Yahweh cares about your modesty! Ex. 20:26
Some rather draconian social control edicts follow.
Ex. 21:12 - Anyone who deliberately kills another will be put to death. (An eye for an eye.) If it's manslaughter (not deliberate), Yahweh says they shoudl run away and Yahweh will take care of them.
Basic rules for dealing with assault and battery in different circumstances are given, some of which afford some protection to slaves. The eye for an eye standard is confirmed in 21:24-25
Yahweh insists several times that he is to be the one and only god and that the people are to create no idols or graven images to worship of him or any other god. This is an explicit demand for strict monotheism. Fear and threats are what Yahweh uses to try and enforce his message.
Preliminary details are given for how to worship Yahweh at a simple, earthen altar. It sounds like an altar for itinerant, pastoral people. It should have no fancy stone, which could be defiled with cutting, and no steps. Why no steps? Yahweh cares about your modesty! Ex. 20:26
And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.Exodus 21 continues with the next order of business after the 10 commandments - how to treat Hebrew slaves, and daughters you sell into slavery. They have some rights! I am a bit worried about the use of that creepily ambiguous term, "redeemed" when talking about a daughter sold into slavery who is not wanted by her owner. Hopefully in this case it just means "returned".
Some rather draconian social control edicts follow.
Ex. 21:12 - Anyone who deliberately kills another will be put to death. (An eye for an eye.) If it's manslaughter (not deliberate), Yahweh says they shoudl run away and Yahweh will take care of them.
15 “Anyone who kills their father or mother is to be put to death.One really has to wonder about 21:16 inasmuch as Israel's sons kidnapped Joseph and sold him into slavery. This must be some retroactive attempt to stop that sort of thing from happening again.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone is to be put to death, whether the victim has been sold or is still in the kidnapper’s possession.
17 “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.
Basic rules for dealing with assault and battery in different circumstances are given, some of which afford some protection to slaves. The eye for an eye standard is confirmed in 21:24-25
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.The property and theft laws do look like an attempt to make sound laws for the Israelites to settle grievances, now that they have left Egypt, where they were ostensibly under Egyptian law.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Passover and Philistines
Exodus 13 prescribes the rules for the Passover feast. The first-born of all humans and animals belongs to Yahweh (and I'm assuming this means to the priestly caste who represents him on Earth). For seven days in the month of Aviv (Spring) no yeast, no leaven, is to be eaten and this is to be a yearly feast.
The use of the term "redeem" or "sacrifice" regarding the first-borns sons is a little confusing. Surely they are not meant to be sacrificed as an animal is sacrificed. Was it meant that they were to be sacrificed as servants of the priestly caste? Later on this was taken to mean that they were to be redeemed by being dedicated to the study of the Torah, I believe, although I think that among the ultra-Orthodox in Israel all the sons are sent to do nothing but study the Torah (and, conveniently, avoid military conscription). The redeeming of the first-born is meant to be the pay-back for Yahweh killing the first-born of the Egyptians, and leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
The first mention of the Philistines as warriors is in Ex. 13:17:
The use of the term "redeem" or "sacrifice" regarding the first-borns sons is a little confusing. Surely they are not meant to be sacrificed as an animal is sacrificed. Was it meant that they were to be sacrificed as servants of the priestly caste? Later on this was taken to mean that they were to be redeemed by being dedicated to the study of the Torah, I believe, although I think that among the ultra-Orthodox in Israel all the sons are sent to do nothing but study the Torah (and, conveniently, avoid military conscription). The redeeming of the first-born is meant to be the pay-back for Yahweh killing the first-born of the Egyptians, and leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
The first mention of the Philistines as warriors is in Ex. 13:17:
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”Then in Ex.15:14
14 The nations will hear and tremble;In Ex. 15:20-21, Moses's sister Miriam is called a prophet, and she leads the women in battle-song, "with timbrels and dancing". It's a pretty nasty song about smiting one's enemies. The Israelites also complain a lot. :-)
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Blood, Clay, Man, Dust and the Plagues of Egypt
Exodus's plague of "blood" (Ex.7:14-22). In Biblical Hebrew the words for 'man' and 'red' and 'blood' and 'ground' or 'soil' or 'clay' come from the same root: a-d-m
Man: אָדָם
Soil/Clay/Ground: אֳדָמָה
Blood: דם
Red: אדום
It sounds likely to me that the Nile ran red with clay or iron, if the plague of blood or red even happened at all. In Exodus it is Yahweh telling *Aaron* (not Moses) to wave his magic wand over the water. I'm guessing that once the waters were contaminated, the frogs didn't want to be in there either, hence the plague of frogs. All the dead frogs must have attracted a lot of gnats and flies.
In Exodus 8:26, Moses says that the sacrifices of the Hebrews would be detestable to the Egyptians, and that they would stone the Hebrews if they knew of them. I wonder what was so detestable? Did the Egyptians not make animal sacrifices or were the Hebrews doing something else? This is unclear.
Man: אָדָם
Soil/Clay/Ground: אֳדָמָה
Blood: דם
Red: אדום
It sounds likely to me that the Nile ran red with clay or iron, if the plague of blood or red even happened at all. In Exodus it is Yahweh telling *Aaron* (not Moses) to wave his magic wand over the water. I'm guessing that once the waters were contaminated, the frogs didn't want to be in there either, hence the plague of frogs. All the dead frogs must have attracted a lot of gnats and flies.
In Exodus 8:26, Moses says that the sacrifices of the Hebrews would be detestable to the Egyptians, and that they would stone the Hebrews if they knew of them. I wonder what was so detestable? Did the Egyptians not make animal sacrifices or were the Hebrews doing something else? This is unclear.
26 But Moses said, “That would not be right. The sacrifices we offer the LORD our God would be detestable to the Egyptians. And if we offer sacrifices that are detestable in their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, as he commands us.”In Exodus 9, the Egyptian livestock die, presumably from drinking contaminated water. The Hebrews' livestock allegedly did not die, suggesting a different water source, or perhaps different types of livestock. The plague of boils sounds like plain old bubonic plague. Moses finally gets his chance to wave the magic wand when it comes to the plague of hail.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Exodus
It's silly, but I can't help reading Exodus without imagining Cecil B. DeMille's film, The Ten Commandments. The film takes an awful lot of liberties with what's in the actual text and makes an awful lot of embellishments. Since there exists an enormous parallel work of commentary and lore on the Five Books of Moses, in the Talmud and other commentaries, I wonder whether any of that was incorporated into the story. Moses's adoptive mother's name is never given, nor is it ever suggested that he was a respected member of the Egyptian court, let alone a prince.
Moses's encounter with Yahweh as the burning bush is also considerably less glorious in the text than in the film. Moses hems and haws about Yahweh's edict that he go and liberate the Hebrews from Egypt, which Yahweh suggests be done by trickery, not as a claim for permanent liberation. Ex. 3:18
So Moses leaves his father-in-law Jethro in Midian to return to Egypt. On the way there is a bizarre little episode in which God tries to kill Moses, but Moses is saved when his wife wipes their son's bloody foreskin on his feet. Ex.4:24-26
Just to step back a moment, the names for God in Exodus are pretty interesting. In Ex. 3:6, Yahweh introduces himself as the God, "Elohei" (cf. Allah) of each of Moses's patriarchal ancestors. Then it is noted that Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at "El-HaElohim". Does this mean "the gods"? I need to know more Biblical Hebrew grammar to understand this.
Aaron goes out and meets Moses in the dessert and they plan their exodus. The stick tricks work and the people believe them. When it's time to ask Pharaoh for a religious vacation, it is Moses and Aaron who go, presumably with Aaron doing the talking. They lie that Yahweh spoke to both of them.
In Ex. 6:2 God says he was known to the patriarchs as El Shaddai, The Great One, but I thought the Hebrew read Yahweh? Ok, I just checked, and yes, the Hebrew reads Yahweh/Jehovah, not El Shaddai. Weird. I guess the words read Yahweh but He didn't formally introduce himself? heh.
Ex. 6:13 reveals that Yahweh then commanded both Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Ex. 6:16-20 reveals that Levi's grandson Amram (Moses's and Aaron's Dad), married his father's sister, which I'm hoping means something different than his father's full-blood sister, which sounds like pretty appalling incest. Elisheba, or Elizabeth, was Aaron's wife. Ex. 6 ends with a genealogy of the early Levite leaders and the assertion that it was indeed Moses and Aaron of the Levite clan who led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Oh, and Moses complains to Yahweh once again that he shouldn't be the one to talk to Pharoah, since he stutters.
Moses's encounter with Yahweh as the burning bush is also considerably less glorious in the text than in the film. Moses hems and haws about Yahweh's edict that he go and liberate the Hebrews from Egypt, which Yahweh suggests be done by trickery, not as a claim for permanent liberation. Ex. 3:18
18 “The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.’But in Ex. 4 we learn Moses doesn't want to do it, says the tribal elders won't believe him, claims that he sucks at public speaking (some have suggested that he was a stutterer), and finally asks that someone else do it. Just like Abraham and others before him, he argues with Yahweh. Like Christ after him, he essentially says, Take this cup from me. Yahweh insists He will help Moses, that He'll rig the deal, that He'll give Moses a magic stick that turns into a snake and enable him to do a magic leprosy trick so as to wow the Israelites into believing that He spoke to him. Yahweh reminds Moses how almighty He is, then tells Moses to get out of here and go back to Egypt. Moses keeps demurring so Yahweh gets pissed off at him and tells him that his brother Aaron can be his spokesman then, but to take the magic stick with him to do the tricks. It's actually pretty funny.
So Moses leaves his father-in-law Jethro in Midian to return to Egypt. On the way there is a bizarre little episode in which God tries to kill Moses, but Moses is saved when his wife wipes their son's bloody foreskin on his feet. Ex.4:24-26
24 At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses[a] and was about to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it.[b] “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. 26 So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)Pretty dang weird. Here is the Hebrew. Not much more helpful. Why would Yahweh suddenly want to kill Moses after all this? Moses wasn't exactly being helpful, and since his son was born outside of Israel, I guess Yahweh was angry that he wasn't circumcized.
Just to step back a moment, the names for God in Exodus are pretty interesting. In Ex. 3:6, Yahweh introduces himself as the God, "Elohei" (cf. Allah) of each of Moses's patriarchal ancestors. Then it is noted that Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at "El-HaElohim". Does this mean "the gods"? I need to know more Biblical Hebrew grammar to understand this.
Aaron goes out and meets Moses in the dessert and they plan their exodus. The stick tricks work and the people believe them. When it's time to ask Pharaoh for a religious vacation, it is Moses and Aaron who go, presumably with Aaron doing the talking. They lie that Yahweh spoke to both of them.
In Ex. 6:2 God says he was known to the patriarchs as El Shaddai, The Great One, but I thought the Hebrew read Yahweh? Ok, I just checked, and yes, the Hebrew reads Yahweh/Jehovah, not El Shaddai. Weird. I guess the words read Yahweh but He didn't formally introduce himself? heh.
Ex. 6:13 reveals that Yahweh then commanded both Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Ex. 6:16-20 reveals that Levi's grandson Amram (Moses's and Aaron's Dad), married his father's sister, which I'm hoping means something different than his father's full-blood sister, which sounds like pretty appalling incest. Elisheba, or Elizabeth, was Aaron's wife. Ex. 6 ends with a genealogy of the early Levite leaders and the assertion that it was indeed Moses and Aaron of the Levite clan who led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Oh, and Moses complains to Yahweh once again that he shouldn't be the one to talk to Pharoah, since he stutters.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Yahweh as the Ultimate Abuser of Power?
In Job 40, Yahweh continues to berate Job for daring to claim that he doesn't deserve all the bad things that have happened to him. After his sarcastic "Who's your Daddy?' speech in Job 38-39, Yahweh continues to bully Job. His argument is that he must be fair because he is powerful. This is an extremely problematic argument from a modern standpoint inasmuch as it is a might-makes-right argument. It dovetails with the philosophical thread woven tightly throughout Genesis, that God loves the lucky and hates the unlucky. Luck and even amoral opportunism are rewarded (cf Jacob), the unlucky are deemed deservedly damned by Yahweh.
Job 41 is actually pretty funny, the way Yahweh rants on and on about how Job can't hook the leviathan, can't put it on a leash for his young women - lol. Then he gets mean again. Power as the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong.
To top it all off, at the end of Job, in chapter 42 (42!), poor Job apologizes in abject misery and then Yahweh proceeds to tell him and his friends that Job was right all along about him, (that Yahweh is fickle and unfair)!
I wonder what Job thought after all this. Yahweh said that he was right about Him after all, that He is unfair. The friends were wrong that misfortune is necessarily a sign of being damned by Yahweh for sin. That's progress I guess. So, gather thee rosebuds while ye may?
8 "Would you dare to claim that I am not being fair?Yahweh really gets into his description of the hippo in Job 40:15-24. Lord love a hippo! Apparently Yahweh didn't foresee man's development of firearms and other ways to bring the great hippo down.
Would you judge me in order to make yourself seem right?
9 Is your arm as powerful as mine is?
Can your voice thunder as mine does?
...
12 Look at proud people and bring them down.
Crush those who are evil right where they are.
13 Bury their bodies in the dust together.
Cover their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.
24 Can anyone capture it by its eyes?Likewise the "leviathan", which sounds like an enormous whale or shark or Loch Ness Monster type of creature. It is described as having legs, so perhaps it is a now-extinct plesiosaur, although the legs mentioned may just as well be the flippers of a great whale or shark.
Can anyone trap it and poke a hole through its nose?
Job 41 is actually pretty funny, the way Yahweh rants on and on about how Job can't hook the leviathan, can't put it on a leash for his young women - lol. Then he gets mean again. Power as the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong.
9 No one can possibly control the leviathan.I could stomach this if it were some abstraction of Death and Misfortune or Blind Fate, which aren't fair, generally, and which can be hideous bullies. But from what people are trying to pass of as a beneficent deity? A fair deity? Nope, not buying that.
Just looking at it will terrify you.
10 No one dares to wake it up.
So who can possibly stand up to me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything on earth belongs to me.
To top it all off, at the end of Job, in chapter 42 (42!), poor Job apologizes in abject misery and then Yahweh proceeds to tell him and his friends that Job was right all along about him, (that Yahweh is fickle and unfair)!
Job: 6 So I hate myself.Yahweh chews out the friends, tells them they were wrong, and that they should bring a whole load of livestock to get slaughtered (presumably to atone for their arrogance) but that he will forgive that they were wrong about Him, and Job was right. After Job prays for his friends, Yahweh makes him *twice* as successful as he was before with more livestock, more children, and his family and community rally around him now that he is no longer seemingly cursed and sick.
I'm really sorry for what I said about you.
That's why I'm sitting in dust and ashes."
I wonder what Job thought after all this. Yahweh said that he was right about Him after all, that He is unfair. The friends were wrong that misfortune is necessarily a sign of being damned by Yahweh for sin. That's progress I guess. So, gather thee rosebuds while ye may?
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Job Just Can't Win
It isn't bad enough that Job gets chewed out by his former friends from the neighborhood, he then gets a young whippersnapper, Elihu, berating him the same way, while claiming to be approaching the problem differently. In Job 38, Yahweh finally chimes in. He basically gets all up in Job's grill with a big, "Who's your Daddy?" speech.
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
We've seen plenty of Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs express sarcasm, but Yahweh gets some sarcasm in here too.
9 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
Nice job, Yahweh!
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
We've seen plenty of Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs express sarcasm, but Yahweh gets some sarcasm in here too.
9 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!
Nice job, Yahweh!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Complaints and Monogamy in Job
Job really knows how to complain and yet insists he is sinless. I'm guessing that complaining is not a sin in his religion. Given what he's been through, he certainly has a right to complain, especially since he thinks that Yahweh is supposed to reward the righteous and punish the wicked only. As noted previously, this amounts to judging people to a great extent based on their luck. Modern secular people know that virtuous people can be unlucky and wicked ones lucky. No matter how much wishful thinking anyone may have about the afterlife, this remains true during life.
In Job 31:7-12, Job makes the case for his being a faithful, sinless husband. He claims a pretty strict loyalty in 31:9-10.
Calling out for more misfortune to befall him should he be guilty of any of the many sins he enumerates, he sounds like a desperate lunatic who protests too much. He has already lost it all, his friends have accused him of being greedy and unhelpful, and he is very ill. It's not clear whether he is looking to clear his name with those who already consider him guilty, or whether he is just so far gone that he is ranting and raving, trying to understand what has happened and perhaps, in a last ditch effort to Yahweh, to vindicate himself.
In Job 31:7-12, Job makes the case for his being a faithful, sinless husband. He claims a pretty strict loyalty in 31:9-10.
"Suppose my heart has been tempted by a woman. Or suppose I've prowled around my neighbor's door. 10 Then may my wife grind another man's grain. May other men have sex with her."In Job's estimation, even wanting a woman other than his wife is worthy of punishment.
11 Wanting another woman would have been a shameful thing.A litany of punishment-worthy sins is pronounced, followed by Job's assertion that he is guilty of none of them. He helps his disgruntled servants, widows, the poor, and fatherless children. He doesn't worship gold or wealth, nor does he worship the sun or the moon, beautiful and powerful though they are. Job 31:26-27
It would have been a sin that should be judged.
12 It's like a fire that burns down to the grave.
It would have caused my crops to be pulled up by the roots.
26 Suppose I've worshiped the sun in all of its glory.He claims his didn't gloat when bad things happened to his enemies, and yet much of Job is concerned with detailing the awful things that allegedly happen to those who are "wicked", or conversely, how those who are unfortunate must be wicked since Yahweh only rewards the good.
I've bowed down to the moon in all of its beauty.
27 My heart has been secretly tempted.
My hand has thrown kisses to the sun and moon.
Calling out for more misfortune to befall him should he be guilty of any of the many sins he enumerates, he sounds like a desperate lunatic who protests too much. He has already lost it all, his friends have accused him of being greedy and unhelpful, and he is very ill. It's not clear whether he is looking to clear his name with those who already consider him guilty, or whether he is just so far gone that he is ranting and raving, trying to understand what has happened and perhaps, in a last ditch effort to Yahweh, to vindicate himself.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Yahweh as Protector of the Lucky
The so-called "friends" of Job tell him to quit complaining and accept that, if he is suffering, he must have done something evil. The proof? Unlucky, wretched people are clearly unloved by Yahweh, and therefore they must be wicked. This is a big problem in old Judaism, in Hinduism, in Chinese Confucianism and even Buddhism. If someone is unfortunate, sick, or mentally ill, these religions can interpret this as meaning that God is punishing them for some essential wrong. Poor Job. At least he tells them where to get off.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Job
Job certainly has a right to complain. He shows that you can be a righteous complainer - a quintessential Jewish quality. Eliphaz, his erstwhile friend, tries to shut him up. It doesn't make their God look very good that a supposedly righteous person has been so shit upon by Fate. Eliphaz tries to suggest that Job must have sinned, must have done something wrong to deserve his ill-fortune. Job is just beside himself with grief and pain and just wants to die. He does state that those who die do not come back. They disappear and are never seen again. This is apparently not at odds with Jewish belief of the time. Job even states that because life is ephemeral and the dead do not return, this is precisely why he has a right to complain (Job7:9-11).
There is a lot of indignation and a great sense of the futility of life, which is understandable given Job's appalling losses and pain. The shocking thing is that this story starts with Yahweh allowing Job to be set upon by Satan ("the Adversary") so as to prove that Job is loyal to Yahweh. Job doesn't deny Yahweh's power (how could he?) but he has to be doubting his beneficence, especially when his friends suggest that he must have deserved it. Otherwise how could a beneficent God have allowed it to happen to a righteous man?
There is a lot of indignation and a great sense of the futility of life, which is understandable given Job's appalling losses and pain. The shocking thing is that this story starts with Yahweh allowing Job to be set upon by Satan ("the Adversary") so as to prove that Job is loyal to Yahweh. Job doesn't deny Yahweh's power (how could he?) but he has to be doubting his beneficence, especially when his friends suggest that he must have deserved it. Otherwise how could a beneficent God have allowed it to happen to a righteous man?
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Genesis 37 - 41
The Bible takes care to give the genealogy of both Ishmael and Esau (father of the Edomites). Interestingly, one of Esau's wives, Bashemath, is Ishmael's daughter. The Ishmaelites are noted as being people who drive camel caravans into and out of Egypt to trade spices and fragrance, much as the latter-day Arabs.
Motherhood in Genesis. Rebecca's conniving and trickery for her favorite, Jacob's benefit is not seem as being wrong. Leah sees her bearing of sons as a way to win her husband's heart, but it doesn't work. Rachel experiences infertility early on and, desperate for children, tells Jacob to give them to her "lest I die". She finally does have two sons, but dies giving birth to the second, Joseph.
Joseph's brothers, other than Reuben and Benjamin, appear to be jealous, vindictive, murderous scumbags. (Genesis 37)
Genesis 38 - Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has Onan, who doesn't want to ejaculate in his dead brother's wife as suggested by his Dad. Yahweh didn't like this so he killed Onan. Supposedly the brother, Er, was wicked and so Yahweh killed him. Er's wife, Tamar, was promised a third son as husband, but it didn't happen, so she dressed up as a prostitute and got her father-in-law, Judah, to screw her for a young goat so that she could get pregnant! Judah didn't recognize her and gave her his signet and rod as surety for the goat but when he went to deliver the goat, she had disappeared. Later, when it was revealed that Tamar the widow, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant, he called for her to be burned! I assume this is the earliest mention of a proposed honor killing in the Bible. When she brought out his signet, cord and staff, he realized that he was wrong not to marry her off to the third son as promised. Honor killing averted! She gave birth to his progeny. Tamar's tribal affiliation is not mentioned, but maybe this is a way around having Judah's progeny descended from Canaanites.
Joseph seems to be the only really decent person so far in the Bible. He works hard, refuses to screw Potiphar's wife out of loyalty to his boss, helps his fellow prisoners, has a creative, practical mind, and makes wise decisions on saving grain for a rainy day.
Motherhood in Genesis. Rebecca's conniving and trickery for her favorite, Jacob's benefit is not seem as being wrong. Leah sees her bearing of sons as a way to win her husband's heart, but it doesn't work. Rachel experiences infertility early on and, desperate for children, tells Jacob to give them to her "lest I die". She finally does have two sons, but dies giving birth to the second, Joseph.
Joseph's brothers, other than Reuben and Benjamin, appear to be jealous, vindictive, murderous scumbags. (Genesis 37)
Genesis 38 - Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has Onan, who doesn't want to ejaculate in his dead brother's wife as suggested by his Dad. Yahweh didn't like this so he killed Onan. Supposedly the brother, Er, was wicked and so Yahweh killed him. Er's wife, Tamar, was promised a third son as husband, but it didn't happen, so she dressed up as a prostitute and got her father-in-law, Judah, to screw her for a young goat so that she could get pregnant! Judah didn't recognize her and gave her his signet and rod as surety for the goat but when he went to deliver the goat, she had disappeared. Later, when it was revealed that Tamar the widow, his daughter-in-law, was pregnant, he called for her to be burned! I assume this is the earliest mention of a proposed honor killing in the Bible. When she brought out his signet, cord and staff, he realized that he was wrong not to marry her off to the third son as promised. Honor killing averted! She gave birth to his progeny. Tamar's tribal affiliation is not mentioned, but maybe this is a way around having Judah's progeny descended from Canaanites.
Joseph seems to be the only really decent person so far in the Bible. He works hard, refuses to screw Potiphar's wife out of loyalty to his boss, helps his fellow prisoners, has a creative, practical mind, and makes wise decisions on saving grain for a rainy day.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Angels, Honor and One God
Jacob is quite the strategist. In Genesis 32 he devises an elaborate show to appease Esau upon his return with presents, but still arranges a worst-case-scenario in case it fails. He wrestles all night with some man (a dream?) who renames his Israel in the morning, for 'he has struggled with God and men and prevailed'. It is never stated that the man was Yahweh, but Jacob believed that he was. The man touched his hip socket, and this is given as the reason why Jews don't eat the muscle from the hip socket in an animal. After meeting Esau (who is a genuinely nice guy) with much self-deprecation and servility, Jacob goes to Succoth and makes booths for his animals. This must be the origin of the holiday?
Dinah and Family Honor
Leah's daughter, Dinah was seduced by Shechem. There's no indication it was actually a rape, and the man and his father did propose marriage and invite Jacob and his people to settle in the land and intermarry with them. Dinah's brothers Simeon and Levi told them that they would do so if all the men would get circumcised. They did, and on the third day when then were healing, Simeon and Levi went into the town, killed all the males, took the women and children captive, and looted the place. Jacob rebuked them saying that now all the locals would be angry with him and mistrust him. It's interesting that the response to the perceived violation was revenge on the perpetrator, as one would find in European chivalric culture, and not on the woman herself as you find in the Arab culture of honor killing. Also, only her full brothers felt the need to respond this violently and deceitfully to the(ir) perception that their sister had been made into a whore.
Purification and Monotheism
In Genesis 35, Jacob is scared of the locals and needs to start anew. He gets a call from Yahweh to go back to BethEl and he admonishes his people to
“Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.At BethEl, Yahweh talks to him directly, re-naming him Israel and renewing the promises he had made to Abraham and Isaac before him.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Craftiness Rewarded
Laban, Rebecca's brother, gets Jacob to serve him for seven years to marry his first cousin Rachel, and then tricks him into marrying her sister Leah instead. Then he tells Jacob to serve another seven years for Rachel, and after that continues to try and string him along since Jacob seems to know what he is doing with livestock production.
In Genesis 30:25-43 Jacob returns his uncle Laban's craftiness using his knowledge of livestock breeding. He devises a plan whereby it seems that he is choosing the undesirable livestock when in reality the outcome is that he gets the bulk of the livestock, while the weak ones get sent back to Laban to breed. Later he tells Leah and Rachel than an angel of Yahweh told him that this was Yahweh's way of getting back at Laban for deceiving Jacob. When Jacob realizes that Laban (and his sons) must be angry at him, he decides to run away with his wives and all their animals. Rachel decides to secretly steal her Dad's family idols before they leave, and she doesn't tell anyone about it.
When Jacob and Laban finally make amends and agree on a covenant over a heap of stones, Jacob swears "by the Fear of his father Isaac." I guess he should fear his father's revenge since he bamboozled his Dad as he lay dying, huh?
Human trickery and divine retribution all over the place.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Evolution of the Human Spirit
In trying to come to terms with the primitivism of Genesis, it occurs to me that its primitivism may be the point. The Bible chronicles a history of humanity, hopefully the evolution of our kind. Incest and shameless opportunism are atavistic traits, as are human sacrifice and miscegenation laws. Jacob's dream of the angels going up and down ladders (Gen.28:12) suggest humanity's ascent and descent through the ages.
Why Yahweh keeps telling these guys that all the families of the earth shall be blessed through their seed I don't know. Is he simply saying that his seed will co-mingle with all of the families of the earth? This doesn't seem to be so insomuch as there is a strong tendency against miscegenation throughout the biblical narrative. Is he saying that they will be happy or prosperous? Clearly not when you look at what happens to these people. Maybe he is saying that the people of the earth will benefit as their lives will be improved through the efforts of his descendants. Not that the descendants themselves will be happy or prosper, but that they will have this land and influence others in a positive way. That seems a much more likely interpretation. The descendants of Jacob/Israel will bless the families of the earth through tikkun olam - תיקון עולם
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Weird Family Relations and Ruthless Opportunism Rewarded in Genesis
Never mind Lot being made drunk and seduced by his daughters - what's with all this pretending that your wife is your sister? We know that Abraham and Sarah are first cousins, as are Isaac and Rebecca. Jacob, Leah and Rachel are first cousins, as are Esau and his wife Mahalath (Ishmael's daughter). That's a little unsavory to the Western mind, but completely normal in Semitic, and modern Arab culture. In Slavic culture first cousins are also called sisters and brothers. This story of pretending that the sister is the wife has occurred three times so far - twice with Abraham and Sarah, and now once with Isaac and Rebecca. Are these guys cowards? Or are the locals so barbaric that they would indeed kill the husband to get the wife? In each case the locals turn out to be not so barbaric, but so traditional and superstitious that they express moral outrage upon finding out that the couple is really husband and wife. Strange.
The episode of Jacob and Rebecca conniving against Isaac and Esau is pretty unsettling too. This is the behavior of patriarchs and matriarchs to be admired? Deliberately lying and cheating because you feel entitled to a "blessing" which says that others should serve you? I fail to see anything positive or redeeming in Jacob/Israel. He's the prototype of the ruthless opportunist who is willing to stab in the back those close to him so that he can get ahead. He behaves like a walrus or gorilla, not an evolved human. (Genesis 27)
Rebecca's kvetching about her Hittite daughters-in-law is pretty amusing. Gen.27:46: "And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
The episode of Jacob and Rebecca conniving against Isaac and Esau is pretty unsettling too. This is the behavior of patriarchs and matriarchs to be admired? Deliberately lying and cheating because you feel entitled to a "blessing" which says that others should serve you? I fail to see anything positive or redeeming in Jacob/Israel. He's the prototype of the ruthless opportunist who is willing to stab in the back those close to him so that he can get ahead. He behaves like a walrus or gorilla, not an evolved human. (Genesis 27)
Rebecca's kvetching about her Hittite daughters-in-law is pretty amusing. Gen.27:46: "And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Haggling with Yahweh - Comedy routine
This Yahweh is one weird character. In Genesis 18:17 he wonders aloud whether he should tell Abraham what he is up to regarding the destruction of Sodom. He finally decides to, noting that there have been complaints about Sodom that have come to him. Then in Gen18:23-33 Abraham proceeds to argue and haggle with Yahweh to bring down the number of righteous people found to Sodom necessary to spare it from 50 to 10. While doing it, Abraham engages in some obligatory kowtowing, but the idea that one can negotiate with God, an ostensibly omnipotent being, is firmly established in this anecdote. Even in the New King James version, it's a pretty funny story.
Ba dum bump.
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 20 And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
26 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”
So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”
So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”
30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”
So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”
So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”
32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.
Ba dum bump.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Yahweh the Jerk, Noah the Drunk, Peoples of the Earth
Genesis 8 - 10
Yahweh told Noah to take seven pairs of every "clean" animal, two pairs of "unclean" animals and seven pairs of ever type of bird. So there were kosher laws before Moses? Guess so.
The dates and chronologies are so convoluted that I suspect that these priests were out of baffle 'em with bullshit - either that, or some storyteller just went apeshit rattling off random numbers in a trance. Granted, special attention is given to 7 and 40, and we know how numerology is tied up with the Hebrew alphabet.
Yahweh the Jerk
I really do have a problem with this punitive god, Yahweh/Elohim. Kill everyone and all the animals because of man's vague crimes? That's one elemental volcano god, there. Only after the flood does Yahweh tell Noah that he and his family can now eat animals, and that all creatures will fear him. Noah is told that he can now eat meat, but only with the blood drained out, presaging the kosher laws. Then Yahweh launches into some blood feud code, reminding Noah, essentially, an eye for an eye when it comes to human murder. I guess he didn't realize that this wouldn't work as a deterrent. The silver lining? He won't kill everything and everyone again *by flood*. (No mention of asteroids or thermonuclear war though.) And to seal his pact, a pretty rainbow. How sweet.
Noah the Drunk
Noah drinks a bit. He drinks so much that his sons find him spread out trashed and naked in his tent. Because his son Ham had the misfortune to find him and to tell his two other brothers what was going on, Ham get crapped on big time when Noah wakes up. The message is that kids are supposed to keep quiet about their parents' foibles, not effect an intervention.
Peoples of the Earth
Genesis 10 provides a list of the descendants of Noah's sons. Japheth's sons became the coastland gentiles who moved inland (some equate this with the Indo-Europeans); Ham's sons became the people of east Africa, Babylon and the Philistines, Israel's perennial enemy; and Shem's sons include Elam (of the Elamites?) and I'm guessing the bloodline of Israel.
Yahweh told Noah to take seven pairs of every "clean" animal, two pairs of "unclean" animals and seven pairs of ever type of bird. So there were kosher laws before Moses? Guess so.
The dates and chronologies are so convoluted that I suspect that these priests were out of baffle 'em with bullshit - either that, or some storyteller just went apeshit rattling off random numbers in a trance. Granted, special attention is given to 7 and 40, and we know how numerology is tied up with the Hebrew alphabet.
Yahweh the Jerk
I really do have a problem with this punitive god, Yahweh/Elohim. Kill everyone and all the animals because of man's vague crimes? That's one elemental volcano god, there. Only after the flood does Yahweh tell Noah that he and his family can now eat animals, and that all creatures will fear him. Noah is told that he can now eat meat, but only with the blood drained out, presaging the kosher laws. Then Yahweh launches into some blood feud code, reminding Noah, essentially, an eye for an eye when it comes to human murder. I guess he didn't realize that this wouldn't work as a deterrent. The silver lining? He won't kill everything and everyone again *by flood*. (No mention of asteroids or thermonuclear war though.) And to seal his pact, a pretty rainbow. How sweet.
Noah the Drunk
Noah drinks a bit. He drinks so much that his sons find him spread out trashed and naked in his tent. Because his son Ham had the misfortune to find him and to tell his two other brothers what was going on, Ham get crapped on big time when Noah wakes up. The message is that kids are supposed to keep quiet about their parents' foibles, not effect an intervention.
Peoples of the Earth
Genesis 10 provides a list of the descendants of Noah's sons. Japheth's sons became the coastland gentiles who moved inland (some equate this with the Indo-Europeans); Ham's sons became the people of east Africa, Babylon and the Philistines, Israel's perennial enemy; and Shem's sons include Elam (of the Elamites?) and I'm guessing the bloodline of Israel.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Notes on Genesis 2 - 6
I tried to find some consistency in the usage of Elohim (Elah/Alah-him - plural? gods?) and the use of YHVH/Yahweh/Jehovah in these passages. Elohim is clearly the elemental creator in Gen.1 and then Elohim Yahweh (together) speaks to in and ejects Man/Adam from the garden in 2-4.
By the time we get to Gen 4 and the Cain and Abel story, inconsistencies start occurring. Yahweh alone (translated as Adonai - Lord in the Hebrew version) either doesn't respect or doesn't heed or doesn't make a fuss about Cain's vegetable offering. Depending on the translation, Yahweh appears to be chiding or consoling with Cain. Is Yahweh being some weirdo who doesn't appreciate grain offerings or did he just overlook the grain since Abel's fat little lambs were just so awesome? My guess is that the priestly class wanted the people to know that they prefer meat offerings to grain and so this story. Otherwise, what's the message? Yahweh says, "Work hard and good things will happen to you - meaning what? Cain didn't work hard?
Cain's fratricidal response is in reaction to feeling unappreciated by Yahweh, who could be seen as a punishing, judgmental father figure who threw his parents out of paradise for disobeying authority, for daring to think and act for themselves. It isn't hard to see where Freud drew some of his ideas (speaking of Freud, I also suspect he lifted some from Dostoevsky - but that would be the subject of a thesis).
One could certainly be more abstract about the whole thing and say that the scene in the garden of Eden reflects humanity's essential urge towards duality and distinctions, or be moralistic and say that man will cleave to his impulses. How one interprets those impulses can make for very different story lines. You can say that humanity is weak and will obey its animal impulses and succumb to its appetites and curiosities despite being told (knowing?) what they should do. Is our essential humanity one of instinct that should obey (and often does obey) external authority and power? How is this different from animals that bow to power? Actually the more we learn about the animal world, the more we find that animals, like humans, don't all follow one pattern of behavior either, even within a species. There are animal geniuses, rebels, empaths and lunatics too.
Are our instincts a type of base authority that should be rejected so as to see ourselves as separate from the rest of the world, so as to struggle with duality and diversity and discover for ourselves the meaning of Life? The meaning of these stories is very unclear, which is what makes them so ripe for interpretation - and abuse.
One translation issue I found in these passages was diametrically opposing translations of Gen. 4:23. This is where Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson, reveals that he has killed a man and a child, but it is not clear whether the passage is telling you how he did it, or why he did it.
The New King James translates is as
The regular King James has "to my wounding" and "to my hurting" since the Hebrew preposition used is L', meaning "to" (as in L'Chaim). This is the most neutral (and precise) translation since there doesn't seem to be consensus on the actual meaning.
The Hebrew version here translates this passage as
I'm reading this stuff because I think a culturally literate person should be familiar with this material, but it shocks me to no end that people really try to live their lives by such an arbitrary, and often ethically reprehensible document.
By the time we get to Gen 4 and the Cain and Abel story, inconsistencies start occurring. Yahweh alone (translated as Adonai - Lord in the Hebrew version) either doesn't respect or doesn't heed or doesn't make a fuss about Cain's vegetable offering. Depending on the translation, Yahweh appears to be chiding or consoling with Cain. Is Yahweh being some weirdo who doesn't appreciate grain offerings or did he just overlook the grain since Abel's fat little lambs were just so awesome? My guess is that the priestly class wanted the people to know that they prefer meat offerings to grain and so this story. Otherwise, what's the message? Yahweh says, "Work hard and good things will happen to you - meaning what? Cain didn't work hard?
Cain's fratricidal response is in reaction to feeling unappreciated by Yahweh, who could be seen as a punishing, judgmental father figure who threw his parents out of paradise for disobeying authority, for daring to think and act for themselves. It isn't hard to see where Freud drew some of his ideas (speaking of Freud, I also suspect he lifted some from Dostoevsky - but that would be the subject of a thesis).
One could certainly be more abstract about the whole thing and say that the scene in the garden of Eden reflects humanity's essential urge towards duality and distinctions, or be moralistic and say that man will cleave to his impulses. How one interprets those impulses can make for very different story lines. You can say that humanity is weak and will obey its animal impulses and succumb to its appetites and curiosities despite being told (knowing?) what they should do. Is our essential humanity one of instinct that should obey (and often does obey) external authority and power? How is this different from animals that bow to power? Actually the more we learn about the animal world, the more we find that animals, like humans, don't all follow one pattern of behavior either, even within a species. There are animal geniuses, rebels, empaths and lunatics too.
Are our instincts a type of base authority that should be rejected so as to see ourselves as separate from the rest of the world, so as to struggle with duality and diversity and discover for ourselves the meaning of Life? The meaning of these stories is very unclear, which is what makes them so ripe for interpretation - and abuse.
One translation issue I found in these passages was diametrically opposing translations of Gen. 4:23. This is where Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson, reveals that he has killed a man and a child, but it is not clear whether the passage is telling you how he did it, or why he did it.
The New King James translates is as
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;The New International version (2010), which one would assume has the latest in scholarship, has the same as the New King James, above. Both suggest that Lamech's murders were acts of retribution.
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me."
The regular King James has "to my wounding" and "to my hurting" since the Hebrew preposition used is L', meaning "to" (as in L'Chaim). This is the most neutral (and precise) translation since there doesn't seem to be consensus on the actual meaning.
The Hebrew version here translates this passage as
"Lemekh said to his wives, 'Adah and Tzillah, hear my voice; wives of Lemekh, listen to my speech. I have killed a man by wounding [him], and a child by bruising [him]."The Stone Chumash, which is used by Orthodox Jews, has "Have I slain a man by my wound and a child by my bruise?" and includes a footnote with a bizarre story from the medieval Biblical scholar Rashi, which purports to fill in the blanks on this story. It relates that Lamech was blind and while he was out hunting with his son, his son thought he saw an animal in the bushes and told his blind father to shoot it. It turns out the animal was Lamech's great-great-great grandfather Cain and that he was wounded to death by mistake. When Lamech found out that he had mistakenly murdered Cain, he beat his son to death. Then Lamech claims that since Cain's punishment was delayed until the 7th generation (although I think it was the 6th), he will be safe since whoever murders him will receive 77-fold vengeance. Just crazy shit.
I'm reading this stuff because I think a culturally literate person should be familiar with this material, but it shocks me to no end that people really try to live their lives by such an arbitrary, and often ethically reprehensible document.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Genesis 1
I.
In the beginning: Creation. The black cave of the night enclosed us, and vague shadows, a dream of clouds, loomed. Goodness loomed and caressed the wet abyss.
Good willed the Light! Our eyes were open to the pearl of dawn which shone and mirrored Good. Black and White, Day and Night, the dawn of discernment, the very First Day.
The rift was wide and would be wider so Goodness reached away to make the Sky. A sky to split the liquid source. The Seas below and those above, the Seas of Space, the outer reaches, Heaven. A Second Day for us to fathom Heaven.
Then Goodness split the watery mass and out came land, land called Earth as separate from the Seas. And it was Good. Seeds sprouted grass and trees bore fruit. A legacy of plant life flourished. And yes, and yes, and yes, it was Good. Day Three.
"Let us plant the sky with lights, with signs that sparkle and mark the passing of time." So the light of day, the Sun, was placed, as was that of night, the Moon and many stars, into the far-flung Sky. The Sun will guide the day and Moon the night and they will mark the divide of dark and light. Goodness in the Fourth Day.
Creatures of the seas - watery beasts and winged fowl that fly into the sky - these were allowed to breathe and be upon the waters and vapors of the earth, created and counseled to breed, bring forth their kinds to populate the Earth. Again, it was Good. The Fifth Day.
On the next day all the creatures of the land were formed. Cattle and creeping creatures that would live upon the soil, sucking up the grass and seed. Oh, it was Good.
Then Goodness sought to mold an image of itself, its kind - one to guide the fish, the birds, the cattle of the Earth. And so they were created - lad and lass, in Good's image blessed to foster fruit and spread their seed throughout the land, told to guide the beasts on land and sea and in the air, told to lead and fill the Earth with Life.
The lad and lass were shown what they would eat - leaves and seeds and grains and roots and fruit. This food was both for them and for the fish and lark and cow. The food was good, creation good, it all was Good. The Sixth Day.
In the beginning: Creation. The black cave of the night enclosed us, and vague shadows, a dream of clouds, loomed. Goodness loomed and caressed the wet abyss.
Good willed the Light! Our eyes were open to the pearl of dawn which shone and mirrored Good. Black and White, Day and Night, the dawn of discernment, the very First Day.
The rift was wide and would be wider so Goodness reached away to make the Sky. A sky to split the liquid source. The Seas below and those above, the Seas of Space, the outer reaches, Heaven. A Second Day for us to fathom Heaven.
Then Goodness split the watery mass and out came land, land called Earth as separate from the Seas. And it was Good. Seeds sprouted grass and trees bore fruit. A legacy of plant life flourished. And yes, and yes, and yes, it was Good. Day Three.
"Let us plant the sky with lights, with signs that sparkle and mark the passing of time." So the light of day, the Sun, was placed, as was that of night, the Moon and many stars, into the far-flung Sky. The Sun will guide the day and Moon the night and they will mark the divide of dark and light. Goodness in the Fourth Day.
Creatures of the seas - watery beasts and winged fowl that fly into the sky - these were allowed to breathe and be upon the waters and vapors of the earth, created and counseled to breed, bring forth their kinds to populate the Earth. Again, it was Good. The Fifth Day.
On the next day all the creatures of the land were formed. Cattle and creeping creatures that would live upon the soil, sucking up the grass and seed. Oh, it was Good.
Then Goodness sought to mold an image of itself, its kind - one to guide the fish, the birds, the cattle of the Earth. And so they were created - lad and lass, in Good's image blessed to foster fruit and spread their seed throughout the land, told to guide the beasts on land and sea and in the air, told to lead and fill the Earth with Life.
The lad and lass were shown what they would eat - leaves and seeds and grains and roots and fruit. This food was both for them and for the fish and lark and cow. The food was good, creation good, it all was Good. The Sixth Day.
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