WMM Bible Reading: Exodus 26

Exodus 26 – The dwelling tent shall be made of linen sheets of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim embroidered on the sheets.  Each sheet shall be 28 cubits [length of forearm of a man] high by 4 cubits wide.  Five sheets are to be sewed together and then another five sewed together.  Along the edge of the end sheet there should be loops of violet yarn (50 on each end sheet) and 50 clasps of gold to join the sheets.  On top of this there is also to be another covering of woven goat hair (to protect from weather?)—eleven of them (30 X 4) and sewed (5 to each side) The last one is to double-cover the front.  The loops and clasps (of bronze on the outside) are to fasten the covering.  Inside there are to be walls of acacia wood (each piece of it 10 cubits X 1.5)—each one is to have “arms” to link it to the next piece.  They are to be set up 20 boards to the south with two silver pedestals under each board; 20 on the north side; 6 for the rear—to the west and double boards (2 each) for the rear corners. Amazing detail!

The veil, made of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen with cherubim embroidered on it, is to be hung on 4 columns which shall have hooks of gold and shall rest on four silver pedestals.  They shall sit behind this veil (the west? - side of the tent—the back).  The propitiatory shall rest on the ark behind the veil in the holy of holies.  The table (set on the north side of the tent), lamp-stand (opposite it on the south side of the tent), shall be outside the veil.

Exodus 25

Exodus 25 – The next section deals with the construction of the Ark of the Covenant in great detail.  The cult of animal and grain sacrifices, persisted even to the time of the second Temple’s destruction.  For the Israelites, it meant that the Lord was really in their midst (Ex 17:7).  Schocken editors suggest the building in the context of the Sabbath stricture (six days labor and one day’s rest) replicates the creative work of God (p. 394). 

The interesting thing about this “sanctuary” is that it moves with the people.  It is not affixed to a place—not yet. The presence of God celebrated here is a people-centered presence. Schocken also points out that while the chapters here seem “space” obsessed—how the space should be filled—they are also “time-obsessed”—the structure of times in which things may or may not happen is equally important.  Many attempts have been made to construct the structure described here but with little success.  The instructions are more symbolic—getting more precious with parts coming closer to the godhead, the colors reflecting too a like effect.  The order of building is from most holy—the ark—to the least.  “The establishment of the cult, like that of the system of justice, is . . .viewed as the command of God rather than the result of the need or request of human beings [contrast this with the ‘requested’ monarchy in 1 Sam. 8]” (395).

The Lord directs Moses to gather materials together from the people—free will offerings of all kinds of things necessary to make a sanctuary “that [He] may dwell in their midst”(25:8). The specifications are exact: the ark is to be of acacia wood (2.5 cubits—man’s forearm--long, 1.5 cubits wide and high); it should be plated inside and outside with gold with a molding of gold around the top; four gold rings on the support that poles can pass through to carry it.  The commandments are to be placed in the ark.  A “propitiatory” of the same size is to be made mounted by two cherubim of beaten gold—one on each end, their wings spread to cover it.  Their faces should be directed to the propitiatory, which rests on top of the ark.  He will “meet” Moses “in the ark” and His voice, his commands, shall issue forth from between the cherubim.

The table of acacia wood (2 X 1 X 1.5—smaller than the ark) is to be plated with gold and surrounded with a frame a few inches high.  It too shall have rings and poles.  There shall be plates and bowls of gold, and on the table there shall “always” (regularly-says Schocken) be “showbread” (“Bread of the Presence”) (25:30). The lamp-stand with 3 branches on either side with cups shaped like almond blossoms, knobs and petals.  In front of the lamp-stand there are to be 7 lamps to illuminate the space in front of the lamp-stand. 

WMM Bible Reading: Exodus 24

Exodus 24 – Moses goes up the mountain again, this time with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu (Aaron’s sons) and 70 elders, but only Moses is permitted to “come close” (24:2).  Moses writes down all that the Lord tells him and in the morning erects an altar and 12 pillars or stones at the foot of the mountain.  He sprinkles blood on the altar and puts half of it in large bowls. The people confirm their allegiance to the covenant and he sprinkles the blood from the bowls on them, saying “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you . . .” (24:8). 

Then Moses and his companions go up and they behold the God of Israel.  Under his feet there appears to be a “pavement of sapphire as blue as the sky” (24:10). Schocken editors translate the phrase “(something) like the work of sapphire tiles, (something) like the substance of the heavens in purity . . . as clear as the sky itself.”  Then, Moses and Joshua, his companion and later successor as leader, go up further.  A cloud covers the mountain for six days.  He enters into the cloud and stays for forty days and forty nights.  But below the people see only a consuming [notice that this fire consumes whereas the fire Moses saw in the bush did not] fire on the mountaintop. The numbers throughout this chapter are all symbolic: 70, 12, 6, 40.

WMM Bible Reading: Exodus 23

Exodus 23 – The listing of wrongs continues: Do not spread false rumors; do not side with the majority to the perversion of justice; do NOT favor the poor in a lawsuit when the facts do not support their cause [this is an interesting one]; do not mistreat foreigners; do not accept bribes.  What to do if you find lost property; caring for animals—even if they belong to people who hate you and your help will indirectly help your enemy; do not deny the needy their rights; avoiding dishonesty of every kind; not condemning the innocent man to death; not sparing the guilty man.

Then readers are reminded about not tilling the soil each 7^th year so “that the poor among you may eat of it and the beast of the field may eat what the poor leave”; the Sabbath rest; celebration of the pilgrim feasts—Passover, Pentecost  (Shavu’ot or Weeks—wheat harvest and first fruits in early June) and booths (final grape harvest in late September or early October—called Sukkot or Huts); offerings; not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk.

God is sending his angel “to guard you. . . and bring you to the place I have prepared.  Be attentive to him and heed his voice.” The Lord promises his blessings on those who are faithful—fertility, health, fullness of life (23:25). The victory over those in the land will not be quick but little by little (23:30).

WMM Bible Reading: Exodus 22

Exodus 22 – More laws are presented that give us a perspective on how the Mosaic law dealt with morally complex cases: thefts of animals by those who can pay fines and by those who can’t; cattle that “wander” away from grazing lands and into crop-lands where they do damage to others; fires that are started for proper reasons but that get out of control; injuries to animals in the custody of people who are not their owners; seduction of virgin girls who are engaged to someone and those who are not engaged; sorcery practiced by women – especially worrisome, I guess; cases of bestiality; mistreatment of sojourners, widows, orphans; money lending; cursing leaders and speaking evil of God; etc. One of the crimes mentioned caught my interest – “If a thief is caught breaking into a house at night and is killed, the one who killed him is not guilty of murder. But if it happens during the day, he is guilty of murder” (22:4).

It reminded me of the Florida case in the early to mid-2000s where a man who shot an invader of his home was convicted of murder or manslaughter because the law at that time forbade people from using deadly force unless the invader had a weapon. I think the case angered people and had a role in passage of the now controversial “Stand Your Ground” law that is involved in the case of Trayvon Martin. I can’t find the case, but it deals with some of the very complicated legal situations that can arise – similar to the ones described in Exodus.

Exodus 21

So, here is the standard entry I will post each day - five days a week. That should get us to the end of Exodus by the next time we meet. Doing a little daily will give us a chance to notice things that we should discuss in greater depth.

Exodus 21 – Now we get into some of the details of the Mosaic Law, details that my Jerusalem Bible called the “Book of the Covenant” and notes come from the “Elohistic” tradition. This division of Old Testament texts into Jahwist, Elohist, Priestly and Deuteronomist traditions was very well established in the 20^th century, but more recent biblical study seems to have left it a bit undermined. Modern scholars seem to think the process of bringing these traditions together was more gradual and redacted than previously thought.

The chapter goes into much greater detail on a variety of things modern Quakers will likely find disturbing: rules concerning slaves, women who are sold into marriage and the treatment of those who break the commandment on killing. Like most modern “states,” the community here does not feel that the Mosaic commandment against killing applies to them. The death penalty is freely exercised in a multitude of cases: intentional murders, cases against those who strike at their father or mother or even curse their father or mother. The author goes through a whole array of case types that seem very “common law” -- based on specific cases that must have come before the judges of the community. The approach seems very similar to the Code of Hammurabi, which dates back to the 18^th c. BCE. The famous principle “eye for eye” appears in 21:23-25:

“. . .if harm should occur, then you are to give life in place of life—eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, burnt-scar in place of burnt-scar, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.”

If the eye put out belongs to a serf, however, the penalty will be his freedom.  The law also deals with mischief done by animals - mischief done by animals not properly contained. Irresponsibility to the community is punishable, and many misdeeds are to be penalized by money fines.  

WMM Bible Study: Exodus 1-20

Yesterday, we met and discussed the first 20 chapters of Exodus!! A lot, but the book is so important and the story so interesting, I think it went well. I am posting today the notes I have on these chapters and starting tomorrow will begin to post chapter by chapter in hopes that it might help everyone reading the book to feel part of something going on daily. If anyone wants to comment on anything or pose questions we might look into, that would be great. So here's what we went over yesterday.

Introduction: We turn here from the origins of the earth’s peoples—nations, races and clans—to the origins of the Jewish people religiously and politically.  While we have no “outside”—extra-biblical—sources to weigh historical information against, the [historically/culturally] experiential impact of the exodus memory/story is impossible to set aside. 

The memory/story, which is recounted here, is not only reality-orienting for the Jewish people, it is the basis of all they were to become—their corporate sense of commitment, their sense of themselves as a people—their culture, outlook and direction.  Schocken editors point out a number of words and ideas that find their origins here:

·          Service (servitude, serving gods, serving God)

·          God’s glory and power

·          Knowing God by his actions in history and His deep knowledge of us—our sufferings and needs

·          Seeing

·          Being distinct and separate

·          Rebellion against rightful leadership and against God

·          Covenant

·          Modes of God’s presence—in fire, cloud, manna, law

·          Desert experience/travel as purifying

·          Purification generally

·          The journey from slavery to freedom

·          An ordered, law-oriented freedom

Moses’ childhood experiences foreshadow those of the entire people.

Exodus 1 – The family of Jacob is recounted, the number coming into Egypt at the time of the famine in Canaan is said to have been 70 (a number expressing perfection). Over time, however, the numbers increase dramatically. They are located, to the east of the Nile, in an area that must have caused concern to the Egyptians. Egypt was a nation protected from invasion pretty much on all sides: the Mediterranean Sea to their north and deserts and mountains to their west, east and south. It seems to make sense that the Pharaoh would have some concern that an unfriendly “foreign” people to his east might be lured into alliance with some invading force. “The Egyptians came to fear the Israelites and made their lives miserable by forcing them into cruel slavery. They made them work on their building projects and in their fields, and they had no pity on them” (1:13-16).

Pharaoh tries to enlist the aid of midwives who worked among the Hebrews to kill off some of their young – the boys. But the midwives are “God-fearing” (attracted by the religion of the Hebrews), and refuse to obey this order. Finally the Pharaoh sends out an order to “all his people,” saying “Take very newborn Hebrew boy and throw him into the Nile, but let all the girls live” (1:22).

Exodus 2 - Moses’ mother puts him in a “little ark of papyrus” (the ark as symbol of salvation is here introduced), and puts it in the reeds (foreshadowing Moses’ later passage), stationing Moses’ sister near enough to observe it.  One of pharaoh’s daughters finds it and takes pity on him, sending her maid to find a nurse—Miriam steps out and suggests her own mother. He is returned to pharaoh’s daughter when he is weaned and grows up in the court. Brilliant strategy!

He knows he is a Hebrew and when he is grown, he feels for their burdens.  He even kills an Egyptian man he sees mistreating a Hebrew man (2:11).  The next day he again goes out and tries to break up a fight between two Hebrew men and learns that they know what he has done; they also berate him for his interference: “Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us?” (2:14 - a lot of irony there).  So Moses has to flee.  He goes to Midian and like his ancestors before him meets his wife-to-be by a well.  She is the daughter of a priest of Midian, Jethro/Reuel (depends on the account), and this has given rise to theories that maybe Moses learned aspects of the religion practiced by him. Reuel’s daughter’s name is Zipporah.  They have a son, Gershom. God hears the cry of his people in Egypt.

Exodus 3 – Moses notices a bush burning with a flame that does not consume it and turns aside to see it.  God speaks to him “out of the midst of the bush” (3:4), calling his name and telling him he is standing on holy ground.  God tells him he, YHWH has “seen the affliction of my people. . .their cry I have heard. . [and] indeed, I have known their sufferings! So I have come down to rescue it. . .” (Schocken Bible – 3:7-8).  I like the way that this is translated.  He says He is sending Moses to bring them out, but Moses questions God’s plan. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh. . .?” (3:11)  Moses asks God what name he should call YHWH, and he is told “Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” [I will be-there howsoever I will be-there is how Schocken translates it, saying the syntax is difficult] The English simply says, “I am who am.”