Saturday, February 25, 2012

Jephthah And His Daughter (Judges 11)

The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"Jephthah Burns His Daughter - "At that time the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and led an army against the Ammonites.  And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, "If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the LORD the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph.  I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.

"So Jephthah led his army against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave him victory.  He thoroughly defeated the Ammonites from Aroer to an area near Minnith – twenty towns – and as far away as Abel-keramim. Thus Israel subdued the Ammonites.  When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter – his only child – ran out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy.  When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish.  "My daughter!" he cried out.  "My heart is breaking!  What a tragedy that you came out to greet me. For I have made a vow to the LORD and cannot take it back."  And she said, "Father, you have made a promise to the LORD.  You must do to me what you have promised, for the LORD has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.  But first let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."  "You may go," Jephthah said. And he let her go away for two months.  She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.  When she returned home, her father kept his vow, and she died a virgin.  So it has become a custom in Israel for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter."   (Judges 11:29-40 NLT)

            Let us examine the story of Jephthah and his daughter.  Jephthah was a judge of Israel, during the time period of the Judges (circa 1380-1050 BCE), which took place in between when Israel settled in the land God had promised them (Canaan) and the time when kings began to rule them.  Jephthah was somewhat of an outcast; his father was named Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute (Judges 11:1).  When he grew up, his half-brothers by his father's wife drove him into exile, so that he would not be able to share the inheritance with them (Judges 11:2-3).  Jephthah went into exile and apparently traveled with a band of men, most likely outcasts like himself.  At some point he had a daughter, although the text does not mention if he ever got married, or if the child's mother was around.
            Eventually, the Gileadites turned to him for help in fighting against the Ammonites, who had been oppressing the Israelites for several years (Judges 10:7-9).  They made him their leader and commander, and he went to battle for them against the Ammonites.  As the text shows above, he then made a foolish vow; stating that if given victory, he would sacrifice the first thing that came out of the door of his house as a burnt offering (it is entirely possible that he had livestock where he lived, and so he most likely assumed that the first thing that would come out would be an animal fit for sacrifice).
            There are two major flaws in Jephthah's hasty vow.  First of all, God had already taken pity on the Israelites, and had determined to have mercy on them and deliver them from the Ammonites (Judges 10:16).  God did not give Jephthah victory in response to his vow, but in spite of it.  Secondly, Jephthah, for whatever reason, never considered the possibility that his daughter would be the one to come out of the door to meet him.  Human sacrifice was forbidden in the Law: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire" (Deuteronomy 18:10).  Jephthah should have kept this in mind before making his vow.
            It is interesting to note that Jephthah's daughter mourned with her friends over the fact that she would never marry or have children; the text does not specifically say that she was mourning that she was about to die.  Likewise, the original Hebrew text is ambiguous about what actually happened; stating only that "her father kept his vow" and "she died a virgin".  It does not specifically say that he killed her and made a burnt offering of her.  This has led some scholars to speculate that he did not actually kill her, but instead he gave her to the Tabernacle as a lifelong servant, which meant that she would never marry.
            Whether or not Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering, the moral of the story is not to make foolish vows, especially vows that break God's law.  This story does not promote human sacrifice; likewise, the text never states that God approved of what took place.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

"Charam" - Devoted To Destruction (Leviticus 27:28-29)


The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"However, in Leviticus 27:28-29, the Lord allows for no redemptions.  "Note also that any one of his possessions which a man vows as doomed to the Lord, whether it is a human being or an animal, or a hereditary field, shall be neither sold nor ransomed; everything that is thus doomed becomes most sacred to the Lord.  All human beings that are doomed lose the right to be redeemed; they must be put to death."  I must admit that I am a bit confused by this contradiction, but it might only apply to slaves in your possession.  Not that it makes any difference.  A human sacrifice is a human sacrifice, and it is just sick."

            Let's examine this passage in further detail.  In Leviticus chapter 27, it is detailing rules and regulations regarding the dedication of people or things to the Lord.  Verses 28-29 are as follows:

28 “‘But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the LORD—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.  
29 “‘No person devoted to destruction may be ransomed; they are to be put to death."
                 
            There are actually two categories being discussed in these verses.  The first part of verse 28 refers to gifts that have freely been made to God; such gifts could never be bought back; they were permanently dedicated to the Lord.   
            The last part of verse 28 through the end of verse 29 refers to a special case.  The Hebrew word used here is charam, meaning "the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering" [2].  Only God could decide when this type of devotion occurred, and it was always in response to a grievous sin that the person or people had committed against the Lord.
            For example, when the Israelites were travelling out of Egypt, the Amalekites attacked the weakest and most vulnerable people among them:Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the LORD your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" (Deuteronomy 25:17-19). 
            In response to the Amalekites murdering the weakest of the Israelites who had fallen behind the others (the text seems to indicate that these included the elderly, the sick, and those with young children, although this is not specified), God determined that the Amalekites would be destroyed (1 Samuel 15).  He was, in essence, sentencing them to death for their crime.
            The term charam is only used when God sentenced a nation to death for such crimes; it was not something that could be determined by anyone other than God.  It was not, for instance, for a person to inflict upon a slave of theirs that had been dedicated to the Lord.  Such a person would spend the rest of their life in the Lord's service, and could not be bought back.  A person who was sentenced to death by God for their crimes could not be redeemed or bought back; they were to be executed. 

References
[1] Gesenius's Lexicon, Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (translated by Samuel P. Tregelles), 1847
[2] Footnote in the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).  This term (charam) occurs in the following verses: Exodus 22:20; Leviticus 27:21, 28-29; Numbers 18:14; 21:2-3; Deuteronomy 2:34; 3:6; 7:2, 26; 13:15-17; 20:17; Joshua 2:10; 6:17-21; 7:1, 11-15; 8:26; 10:1, 28, 35, 37, 39-40; 11:11-12, 20-21; 22:20; 1 Samuel 15:3, 8-9, 15, 18-21.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Biblical Archaeology #2 - The Black Obelisk






A depiction of King Jehu of Israel prostrating himself before King Shalmaneser III of Assyria
The Black Obelisk of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria (reigned 859-824 BCE) is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian bas-relief sculpture, the most complete Assyrian obelisk yet discovered.  It has been dated to 825 BCE.  It lists Shalmaneser's military campaigns of 31 years, and glorifies his achievements.

The obelisk depicts five subdued kings, bringing tributes to Shalmaneser III and prostrating themselves before him.  One of the kings is Jehu of Israel (reigned circa 842-815 BCE).  The depiction of Jehu prostrating himself before Shalmeneser III is the earliest depiction of an Israelite yet discovered, and confirms the existence of Kings Omri and Jehu of Israel.

The caption above the picture, written in Assyrian cuneiform, can be translated:

"The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, [and] spears."

In the Bible, King Jehu's reign is described in 2 Kings 9-10. 

The Black Obelisk was discovered by archaeologist Henry Layard in 1846, during his excavations of the site of Kalhu, the ancient Assyrian capital.  It is now housed at the British Museum in London.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Dedication of the Firstborn (Exodus 13:1-16)


The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"Even more peculiar is God's obsession with first-born sons.  In Exodus 13:2 the Lord said "Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among Israelites, both man and beast, for it belongs to me."  Later it says that you can redeem (replace) an ass with a sheep and that you must redeem a child for an unspecified price.  It is clear from the context that "consecrate" means a burning sacrifice.  These priests are guilty of theft and kidnapping.  Since any sins in the Old Testament were punishable by death, these priests used the threat of death to extort food and money from their followers.  What do we call a scum-bag that threatens to kill your kids unless you pay a ransom?  A kidnapper!  If these priests were alive today they would be in prison with Abraham."

            Let us examine this passage, and others in the Torah that discuss the dedication of firstborn males, both human and animal.
            Evilbible.com claims that "it is clear from the context that 'consecrate' means a burning sacrifice".  The Hebrew word used in Exodus 13:2 is qadash, which means "to set apart, consecrate, sanctify, be pure, separate, be holy" [1].  This differs from the word that is normally used to describe a burnt offering: 'olah.  It was not God's intention that every firstborn human male was supposed to be sacrificed as a burnt offering; rather, it was to set each firstborn male apart, dedicating them to God.  The sacrifice of a human child was forbidden; the Law clearly stated that every firstborn son (and every unclean firstborn animal) had to be redeemed with a price, not sacrificed (Exodus 13:15, 34:20; Numbers 18:15; Deuteronomy 12:31, 18:10).  The redemption price was not unspecified; it was 5 shekels of silver, about 2 ounces (Numbers 18:16). 
            The reasoning behind this is given later in Exodus chapter 13: "In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand” (Exodus 13:14-16). 
            The redemption of the firstborn sons was a permanent reminder to the Israelites that God had spared their firstborn sons during the first Passover, when God struck down all of the Egyptian firstborn males (Exodus 11-12).  This was partially in response to Pharaoh refusing to release the Israelites from slavery, and partially because, years earlier, Pharaoh had commanded the murder of thousands of Israelite baby boys (Exodus 1:8-22).
            The purpose for redeeming a donkey with a sheep was because the donkey was unclean, and unfit for sacrifice (Exodus 13:12-13; Numbers 18:15-17).  All clean firstborn animals were sacrificed as an offering to God.  

References
[1] Gesenius's Lexicon, Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (translated by Samuel P. Tregelles), 1847

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Offerings (Leviticus 1-7)


The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"The first seven chapters of Leviticus have extensive rules regarding animal and food sacrifices.  These offerings are supposed to be burnt so that God can smell them.  If you read through these it seems clear to me that the priests were getting their followers to make a big feast for them every week.  The priests were very particular about what kind of food to bring and how to prepare it."

            Let's examine the first seven chapters of Leviticus.  You can read the full text here:


            (A side note: I find it interesting that this section is included under "Ritual Human Sacrifice" on the website, since there were no human sacrifices commanded in Leviticus 1-7.)
            Leviticus is one of the books of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  At this point in the story, God had freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and had led them into the wilderness.  There, he gave them the Law.  The first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus describe the various offerings that the people had to make to God: the burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering.
            The primary purpose of these sacrifices were not so that the priests or those making the offering could eat them, although the priests received a portion of some of the grain and sin offerings (Leviticus 2:3, 10; 5:13; 6:26-30; 7:7-10, 28-36) and some offerings were eaten as a communal meal by the one who was presenting the offering (Leviticus 7:16-21) .  The primary purpose of these sacrifices were to make atonement for sin, to make oneself right with God.  The animal being sacrificed died in the place of the person offering up the animal.  The animal had to be without defect or blemish, in order for the offering to be accepted by God.
            A burnt offering (chapter 1) was a voluntary act of worship.  It was an expression of devotion.  The animal, once slaughtered, was completely burned on the altar.  None of it was set aside, and none of it could be eaten.  This represented a whole commitment and complete surrender to God.
            A grain offering (chapter 2) was also voluntary, it was a recognition of God's provision, and symbolized devotion to God.  A portion of the grain offerings were set aside for the priests.  Since the priests lived near the Tabernacle and had no land of their own (Numbers 18:20-24; Deuteronomy 10:9, 14:27), God made provision for them by providing grain and meat to be eaten.  However, God commanded that the blood and fat of the animal were never to be eaten (Leviticus 3:17; 7:22-27).  Those were always reserved as an offering to God, and there were serious consequences for any priest who attempted to take the best part of the animal for themselves (1 Samuel 2:12-17).   
            A peace offering (chapter 3) was voluntary, it expressed thanksgiving and fellowship (a portion of this offering could be eaten both by priests and by the one making the offering).
            Sin and guilt offerings (chapters 4-7) were mandatory.  Priests also had to make this kind of an offering themselves (Leviticus 4:3-12).  The offering made atonement for sin, and allowed the one presenting it to be forgiven by God (Leviticus 6:7).
            We come now to the comments on evilbible.com: "God wanted to smell some burnt flesh" and "these offerings are supposed to be burnt so that God can smell them".  While the phrase "a pleasing aroma to the Lord" is used 37 times in the Torah, the meaning is not literal.  God did not want them to sacrifice animals just so that he could smell the aroma.  (The smell of an animal burnt whole is not appealing in the slightest.)  It was what the offering represented that pleased God - a complete dedication and surrender to him, a willingness to make a sacrifice to him and acknowledge him as sovereign.  Burnt offerings on their own, without the person's commitment and dedication to God, meant nothing to him.  Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).  (See also Jeremiah 6:18-20; Amos 5:21-24).