CHAPTER 24
OK, so I broke down and got from my library The Bible: WithSources Revealed by Richard Elliot Friedman, in which he uses different fonts
and colors to go over the various authors widely believed to have written the
Torah. Great – just in time for the
really boring parts to get ready.
This chapter isn’t so bad.
It’s mostly E source (believed to be priests from Israel during the
divided kingdom days), with some P at the end.
Here, the covenant is ratified when Moses approaches the Lord with some
tribal elders. Moses is told to come
alone to the Lord (though later on, it says of the whole gathering “They saw
God” but I assume they don’t mean the literal divinity.
Moses gives a ceremonial offering and then takes the blood
and splashes it on the people. Boy,
Judaism sure has changed over the millenniums.
Moses splashes them with blood saying “This is the blood of the covenant
which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.” Bit of Christian foreshadowing in there,
with the Last Supper.
The real big news is at the end. God says he’ll give Moses stone tablets. Oh yeah, I think I’ve heard of these. Moses goes up on the mountain for 40
days. The Bible sure loves the number
40.
CHAPTER 25
OK, here’s where things really get boring. This is where we begin to get detail – into
the extreme minutia – of the Lord’s tabernacle. Then again, it makes sense they’ll got into extreme detail – this
is meant as the Lord’s dwelling place on earth after all, better make it
nice. There’s another reason for such
detail – the guys that wrote this (and this chapter is, unsurprisingly,
entirely the P source who generally took care of the most mundane parts of all
– the dang tabernacle was with them in the temple when they wrote this up. Want to tell people what the Ark looks like?
Well, look at it and describe it – and do a good job of it.
The most interesting part for me is when they’re describing
the materials they’re going to use for this all. You got your bronze and your
gold and your silver – all the obvious stuff.
You get fine linen, scarlet yarn – really good stuff. Dyed red ram skins. Sure, animal skins are always good. Oh, and goat hair.
Wait – goat hair?
Really? Goat hair? Uh, OK – goat
hair. Why not. I’ve always imagined goats as scraggly
creatures – they eat anything after all.
But I guess that they have fine hair.
Actually, this might explain one of the most bizarre lines in the
Bible. Later on, in the Song of
Solomon, the male lover describes his woman’s hair as “like a bunch of
goats.” Something like that – I don’t
have the exact quote. But yeah, if goat
hair is a fine enough object to help make the Lord’s pad, it must be fine stuff
indeed.
CHAPTER 26
More of the same.
It’s just more and more detail here.
You get tent cloth and the framework and the veils here. Hmmm – if I recall rightly, the veils rip
during or after Christ’s crucifixion (I think the gospels differ on that
one). But that’s getting way ahead of
things. The ark builders sure like
cherubim – it’s all over the place here.
On the veils, on the ark, wherever they can put it. Oh, and we get the goat hair put into use –
it makes the sheets for a cloth that will cover the tabernacle itself. The goat hair is to cover the tabernacle
itself? Man, that must be some fine
stuff. I should’ve paid more attention
to the petting zoo as a kid.
CHAPTER 27
More detail. Boy,
they really want to give you an exact idea here, don’t they? (By the way, this really boring part is all
P source; which isn’t at all surprising).
They really want to give you a good idea what it looks like. It’s a shame this particular author isn’t
good at painting a picture with words.
It reads more like a technical specs manual. I guess that’s the point – be exact, not poetical. But who wants to read a specs manual? These are the details that get no one
interested in religion.
This part tells us about the altar for burnt offerings, the
court for the tabernacle, and oil for the lamps. No detail is too small to cover – this is the Lord’s pad we’re
talking about. Actually, between the
alter for burnt offerings and Moses splashing blood on people a few chapters
earlier, you get a real sense for how, well, how earthy the whole religious
experience could be. God is above, but
the processions done for him have a very real flavor for him.
CHAPTER 28
When I first started this Bible re-reading, my goal was to
only read so many chapters a day, that way I wouldn’t read over parts and
retain more of it. But reading these
chapters, I can see why I read over parts of it. Oh, I’m standing to my original position, and will read slower
and retain more – heck, I already have retained more. But if I don’t retain too much of this part, well there are
certainly worse losses than that.
These chapters are to the Bible what Timon of Athens are to
the Shakespeare canon – the only reason to read it is to say you read all of
it.
This is all about what priests are supposed to wear. And as an added bonus, it’s one of the
longer chapters in Exodus – 43 verses.
(checks) Chapter 12 is longer, Chapter 29 will be longer (Dammit!) and
Chapter 39 is as long. Of the 40
chapters in Exodus, this is tied for the third longest – and all it tells you
is what the priests are supposed to wear.
I’ll make it brief for you: the priests are supposed to wear
clothing. There. Now you know. The Bible gives a bit more precision than that.
Well, in slightly more detail, we learn that Aaron and his
sons are supposed to be the priests.
Part of the priestly clothing is something called an “ephod” – which is
an ancient Hebrew word they don’t translate because they’re not really sure
what it is. Heh. That’s kind of a waste of a Bible section
then. It involves shoulder straps and a
belt. Maybe it’s like one of those
“Kiss the Chef” aprons.
I’d say more but I’ve already pretty much forgotten the
chapter. If you’re going to forget
Biblical passages, this is a good place to start, though.
We’re almost through the really boring parts here. But, boy,
those Israeli can’t defy their Lord and make that damn golden calf quick enough
for this reader!
Click here for more the next part of Exodus.
Click here for more the next part of Exodus.
The most interesting part for me is when they’re describing the materials they’re going to use for this all.
ReplyDeleteWorth noting is that all the gold, silver, bronze, etc. to be used in this production were the items that the Egyptians had given the Israelites when to Israelites skipped town. So, since all the materials used to make the holy objects had been gifts (plunder?) one could say that there was no direct cost to the Israelites for the holy objects (foreshadowing!).
More foreshadowing: the holy objects (the ark, the table, etc.) are made with two rings on each side, so that, when the time comes, they are to be lifted up with a couple of pieces of wood. Also note the crossbars of wood all over the tabernacle.
Hmmm – if I recall rightly, the veils rip during or after Christ’s crucifixion (I think the gospels differ on that one).
SPOILERS! But, yeah, the veil separated the people from the Holy of Holies (note that there is no opening in the veil). When Jesus died, the veil was torn in two from top to bottom (that's significant, by the way; top to bottom, not bottom to top) symbolizing that there was no longer anything to deny people access to the holy throne of God.
Part of the priestly clothing is something called an “ephod” – which is an ancient Hebrew word they don’t translate because they’re not really sure what it is. Heh. That’s kind of a waste of a Bible section then. It involves shoulder straps and a belt. Maybe it’s like one of those “Kiss the Chef” aprons.
That's a good way to think of it, like a cook's or a butcher's apron; 'cos theres going to be a lot of bloodshed and a lot of (over) cooked meat over the coming centuries.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
Huh. I thought I was just making a joke, but they are doing a lot of beef sacrificing, so it would shield them from splatter.
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