Autor: eabrazil

Moses now summons all the Israelites to gather in Moab to renew and reinforce their covenant with the Lord. He reminds them of all God had done for them giving them victory over Pharoah and guiding them through the desert when neither their clothes of shoes wore out during 40 years. He also recalled the victories over King Sihon and King Og. He then exhorts the people to follow the terms of the covenant and renew it before the Lord, confirming that the Lord alone is their God. He entreats them to never go after the gods of other nations. If they disobey then the curses from the Torah will fall upon them and the land will become desolate as happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. In this case other nations will realize that things have got so bad for Israel owing to their abandonment of the covenant.

Moses now shows how much God will bless the people if they fully obey the Lord, and on the other hand how much he will curse them if they are unfaithful. He says obedience will mean blessing everywhere, with human and animal fertility plus productive crops. He says that obedience means victory over enemies, blessings on the barns, abundant prosperity, and plentiful rain in the season. With obedience God will make Israel the head and not the tail – the top and not the bottom!

On the other hand disobedience would mean comprehensive cursing in the city or country, upon the womb, crops and livestock. It would mean being cursed at all times and in everything. Moses says that if the people forsake the Lord he will plague everyone with diseases plus scorching heat and drought! In this case Israel’s enemies will defeat them and their carcasses will be food for the vultures! Disobedience and unfaithfulness will result in ill health such as tumours, festering sores, and the incurable itch! The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confused minds. Without God everything will go wrong. You will be engaged to be married but another man will ravish the girl, you will build a house but not live in it, and you will plant a vineyard without enjoying its fruit. With unfaithfulness will come a decimation of the livestock and the sons and daughters will go abroad, and will be afflicted with boils from head to feet. Disobedience will lead to exilic and pagan experiences, and you will plant a lot but harvest little! The foreigner will rise up but unfaithful Israel will sink low. God will put an iron yoke on Israel and they will end up serving their enemies. Unfaithfulness will bring disaster for Israel’s livelihoods and livestock as a foreign nation will dominate Israel. This nation will besiege Israel leading even to cannibalism as a means of survival! Mothers will even eat their afterbirths! Just as the Lord had pleasure in prospering faithful Israel so he will be pleased to ruin and destroy them in their unfaithfulness. And God will scatter Israel amongst the nations and they will end up as worthless slaves.

Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the Israelites to make an altar on Mount Ebal after they have crossed the Jordan. They should write the law on the altar stones and sacrifice fellowship offerings eating and rejoicing in the Lord.

Then the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin shall stand on Mount Gerizim, and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali will stand on Mount Ebal. Then the Levites will recite loudly a series of curses and after each curse all the people shall say amen. Cursed is the man who carves images or idols, cursed is the man who dishonours his father or mother, cursed is the man who moves someone’s boundary stone, cursed is the man who leads the blind astray, cursed is the man who withholds justice from the foreigner, orphan or widow, cursed is the man who has sex with his father’s wife, cursed is the man who has sex with an animal, cursed is the man who has sex with his sister, cursed is the man who has sex with his mother-in-law, cursed is the man who kills his neighbour secretly, cursed is the man who takes a bribe to kill someone and cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of the law and carry them out.

Moses now says that after possessing the land of Canaan the Israelites should offer to the Lord baskets of the firstfruits in gratitude to God whilst rehearsing all he had done for them delivering them from Egypt and bringing them to the promised land. Then in the third year in Canaan they should tithe their produce giving this to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. After doing this they were to declare before God that they had obeyed his commands and ask him to bless the ground where their crops grow. Finally Moses says that God says that if his people remain faithful to him he will bless their land, give them prosperity and honour them above all other nations.

Moses now says that judges will decide disputes and order up to 40 lashes of a whip if necessary. He then says that you should not muzzle an ox that is treading the corn. He goes on to say that if a married man dies his brother should have children with the widow so as to continue the brother’s name. If the brother refuses to do this the bride shall take him before the elders and take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and denounce him. Thus the man’s line shall be known as the family of the unsandalled.

If 2 men fight and a wife intervenes grabbing her husband’s private parts then you must show her no pity and cut off her hand! Do not have differing measures and weights in your house because you must be accurate and honest. Finally Moses tells the Israelites to annihilate the Amalekites when in Canaan as retribution for them having attacked Israel shortly after they came out of Egypt.

Moses says that if a married couple get divorced and the woman re-marries, then the original husband could not re-marry her if she ended up divorcing her second husband or if her second husband died. (strange law!) He also says that a newly wedded man must not do military or civic service for a year as he must focus on making his wife happy in a sort of prolonged honeymoon! He then says that millstones cannot be taken for security for a loan and kidnappers must be executed.

In the case of skin diseases, which were of great concern at the time, Moses says people must be careful to follow the priests’ instructions on the matter. He also said that if someone made a loan he should not enter the person’s house to go after the pledge, but should wait for it to be brought out to him and should never exploit the poor over loans. Wages to the poor must be paid daily.

Moses then says that fathers should not be put to death for their children or vice-versa. Neither should the foreigner or the orphan be deprived of justice, and never take a widow’s cloak as a pledge. And at harvest time do not pick everything, but leave something for the foreigner, orphan and widow.

Nobody with crushed or cut off genitals may enter the assembly of the Lord. This was a protest against heathen cultic practices. Nor could anyone enter the assembly who was the fruit of an adulterous or incestuous relationship or marriage. No Ammonite or Moabite or their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord either. However the Edomites and Egyptians should be treat as friends and their third generation could enter the assembly.

When the Israelites went to war they should keep things pure and clean. If a man had a nocturnal emission he was to purify himself outside the camp during that day. People should have little shovels to cover their excrement when necessary.

Runaway slaves should be helped and not oppressed. No Israelite man or woman should work as a cultic pagan temple prostitute. Do not charge interest on loans to your fellow Israelites, although you can charge foreigners. Take vows seriously and keep them before God. Upon entering someone’s vineyard you can eat the grapes, but don’t put them in your basket. So too when entering a cornfield pick corn but don’t use a sickle.

Moses now gives a list of minor laws like keep your eye out for your neighbours stray animals and help them recapture them, or get the fallen ones back on their feet. Women must not wear men’s clothing or vice versa. If you find a bird’s nest with mother and young you can take the young but not the mother! When you build a new house make a parapet around the roof to avoid falls. Don’t plant 2 kinds of seed in your vineyard, don’t plough with an ox and a donkey, don’t wear clothes made of wool and linen and put tassels on the 4 corners of your cloak.

Moses goes on to say that if a couple get married but the man finds that he dislikes the woman and so slanders her saying she hadn’t been a virgin when they married, the matter will go before the elders. There the girl’s parents will produce evidence that she had been a virgin showing a cloth stained by blood from the wedding night! In this case the man will be fined 1 kilo of silver which will be paid to the father, and the man will not be allowed to divorce the woman. However if the girl’s virginity can’t be proved then she will be stoned to death.

If a man is caught having sex with another man’s wife they both must be put to death. If a man has sex with an engaged virgin both must die. She will die because she didn’t scream for help and he will die for having violated somebody else’s wife. But if a man rapes an engaged virgin only the man shall die as the girl had screamed for help out in the country where nobody heard her. If a man rapes a virgin who is not engaged he will pay a half kilo of silver fine, marry the girl, and never be allowed to divorce her. Finally Moses says that a man is not to marry his father’s wife.

Moses says that if a dead body is found and nobody knows who the murderer is then the elders of the nearest town should take a heifer and break its neck in a valley after which priests will give a blessing. Then the elders will wash their hands over the heifer and declare that they had not killed or see killed the deceased. In this way the blood shed in the killing will be atoned for.

Moses says that if in battle someone fancies a beautiful woman it would be fine to take her as a wife. She would need to shave her head, trim her nails, change clothes and mourn her parents for a month. If the relationship didn’t work out it could end, but she could not be sold as a slave.

Moses then goes on to emphasize the rights of the firstborn son. He says that in the case of polygamy and a man having 2 wives he couldn’t swap the firstborn’s birthright just because he preferred a particular mother. He says that independent of wifely preferences the firstborn son had to receive a double share of his father’s wealth.

Moses follows this with drastic treatment of a stubborn and rebellious son saying that he must be stoned to death! Moses also says that in the case of a man being executed and hung on a tree, the dead body should not be left there overnight because he “who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse”.

Moses says that when Israel goes to war it should not be afraid even if the opposing army was greater. For God would be with his people to fight for them and give them victory.

Then preparing for battle Moses gives some exemptions (new house, new vineyard, new wife and no courage) of a compassionate nature so that nothing should distract the warriors from the objective of victory which is the Lord’s.

Moses says that when preparing to attack a city Israel should give its inhabitants a chance to surrender in which case they would be Israel’s slaves. However if they fight then the Israelites should lay siege to the city and kill all the men. However the woman, children, livestock and everything else will be taken as plunder.

Nevertheless in the case of the peoples in Canaan’s land (Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) and their livestock everyone and everything was to be annihilated.

Moses says that in the case of long term sieges they can chop down trees to help them, but should not use fruit trees.

Now Moses returns to the subject of cities of refuge in Canaan to receive accidental murderers or those guilty of manslaughter. It is strange how much text is dedicated to this subject in the Pentateuch and it would seem to have been a major problem. There were to be initially 3 cities of refuge with roads built to give good access to them, and there was a possibility of a further 3 such cities being established later. The moving of land markers was also prohibited.

Moses then goes on to the subject of witnesses which must be at least 2 for any crime. If a witness proves to be a liar then he must be punished with exactly what he was advocating for the accused. Moses stipulates that the judges and priests must show no pity in such cases and retribution must be “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand and foot for foot”!

Moses goes on to remind everyone that in Canaan the priests and levites will not have their own land like the rest of Israel but they will live off the offerings made by the people (shoulder of the bulls or sheep + cheeks and inner parts), plus the firstfruits of corn, new wine and oil plus the first wool from sheep shearing.

Then Moses bans the imitation of the detestable customs of other nations such as infant sacrifice, divination, sorcery, witchcraft, casting spells or using mediums and spiritists to consult the dead.

Moses then says that God will raise up a new prophet like himself to communicate the word of the Lord whilst any false prophet who points to false gods must be put to death.

Moses now reminds Israelites to never offer sacrifices to God using animals with defects. He then went on to again prohibit pagan worship of the sun, moon, the stars or other gods. People caught practicing this by at least 2 witnesses would be stoned to death.

Moses then says that when cases come before the courts which are very difficult the supreme court will be the priests. Their final word must be obeyed and implemented and any contempt of court would be punishable by death.

Then Moses envisaged the day when Israel would be ruled by a king. The king would have to be an Israelite, he should not have too many horses or too many wives (Solomon?!) and he should write out his own copy of the law and read it all his life. He should never over estimate himself.

In this chapter Moses reminds the Israelites about their pilgrimage festivals with the Passover/Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths. The instructions for all these festivals had been given in detail previously.

Then Moses told them to appoint judges for each tribe and town that God would give them in Canaan. He says that they should judge the people fairly avoiding partiality or bribery. They should “follow justice and justice alone”.

At the end Moses makes yet another warning against idolatry which is one of the things most prohibited in the Pentateuch.

This chapter shows great anti-poverty values focusing on social justice. For every 7th year was to be a year of cancelling debts for fellow Israelites. Obedience to God in this would lead to great national prosperity. Those better off are taught to not be “tight fisted” towards the poor. Rather they are to be generous to the poor and do so “without a grudging heart”.

Then too all Israelite slaves should be released on the 7th year of release and they should not be set free empty handed but should be given sheep, grain and wine. However if a slave has become attached to his master and family and doesn’t want to leave, then his ear should be pierced as a sign of commitment and he or she will become servants for life.

Finally in this chapter Moses reminds Israelites of their responsibility to give the firstborn of their herds and flocks to God. Any animal with a defect should be eaten and not sacrificed to God. However care should be taken not to eat blood.

Moses starts this chapter condemning pagan self-mutilation practices for the dead because they must live as God’s chosen people. From this Moses goes on to remind the Israelites of their eating laws with animals that chew the cud and divided hoofs (bull, goat, sheep etc.) being classified as clean and fine for eating, whereas animals that don’t have both these features (camel, rabbit, pig and coney etc.) were taboo.

As regards water creatures the defining factors of cleanliness was that they should have scales and fins. Those without were not to be eaten.

Flying creatures were deemed edible other than kites, falcons, vultures, owls, hawks and bats. Flying insects that swarm should not be eaten, and nothing found dead could be eaten.

Finally in this section for the third time (Exodus 23:19 & 34:26) in the law cooking a young goat in it mother’s milk is banned. It is strange to see this emphasis and many think this is because it was something carried out in pagan rituals.

The chapter’s final section focuses on the tithing of the Israelites annual produce. Such tithes were used for the upkeep of feasts, the upkeep of the Levites and to help orphans, widows and foreigners.

Moses continues now to warn against idolatry. First he says that if any prophet or dreamer arises enticing the Israelites to worship other gods then they must realize that this is in fact God testing them and they must execute the offender.

Then Moses says that even if someone really close to you tries to secretly entice you to paganism they must be executed without pity. It doesn’t matter if it is your brother, son, daughter, wife or best friend. Whoever it is must be stoned to death.

In the case of a conquered town turning to idolatry Moses says they must totally destroy the town killing all its inhabitants and livestock. Then they must set fire to the town and its plunder in the town square as a burnt offering to God.

Moses now says that upon entering Canaan Israel must completely destroy the incumbent places of pagan worship, destroying their altars and burning their poles to the goddess Asherah. Israel must refrain from any involvement with pagan cults and must not even copy any aspects of their rituals.

When the Israelites live in Canaan God will choose a city to be the central and exclusive place of worship and sacrifice. In the meantime Moses says that they will be able to slaughter animals, other that through the priests, and eat meat but never blood.

However Moses re-emphasized that the Israelites had to steer completely clear of any trace of pagan religious practices and philosophies as these involved “detestable things the Lord hates” with people even involved in human sacrifices of their children!

This is another chapter in which Moses reminds the Israelites of the past to prepare them for the future in the promised land. He tells them to teach everything to their children as they had not experienced God’s multiple miracles like at the Red Sea or when the earth swallowed up Dathan, Abiram and their families. Moses stressed that the people must love God and keep his commands. He says that they will live long and blessed in Canaan if they are loyal to God.  For God will send them abundant rain for their crops and cattle if they are faithful, but if they are not then God will withhold the rain. Moses says that they should fix his advice in their hearts, tie it on their hands and bind it on the foreheads because they must love God, walk in his ways and hold fast to him. If they do this they will conquer the land in the strength of the Lord.

Moses says that he is setting a blessing and a curse before them. The blessing will be assured if they obey God and the curse will come if they disobey. He says they should pronounce the blessings from Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal.