Map of life expectancy at birth from Global Education Project.

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Wednesday Bible Study: The holy swag

I said at the beginning that nobody reads Leviticus. It's mostly boring and extremely weird, offering little that is meaningful to modern sensibilities. Some fragments of ritual or practice survive in orthodox Judaism, but they are largely removed from their original context. The most important survival is probably the liturgical calendar, which we will get to shortly. In Leviticus 22, however, we return to rules of the sacrifice, which have no moral resonance and theologically make God seem like an anal compulsive nut. (That's the least of his psychological disorders. Just  wait till we get to the book of Numbers.) The one element of this chapter we can make sense of is that the priests are protecting their income.

22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Direct Aaron and his sons to deal carefully with the sacred donations of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they may not profane my holy name; I am the Lord.
Yeah okay, they dedicate the offerings to Yahweh but the priests actually get to keep them. Just sayin'.
Say to them: If anyone among all your offspring throughout your generations comes near the sacred donations, which the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he is in a state of uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. No one of Aaron’s offspring who has a leprous[a] disease or suffers a discharge may eat of the sacred donations until he is clean. Whoever touches anything made unclean by a corpse or a man who has had an emission of semen, and whoever touches any swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or any human being by whom he may be made unclean—whatever his uncleanness may be— the person who touches any such shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat of the sacred donations unless he has washed his body in water. When the sun sets he shall be clean; and afterward he may eat of the sacred donations, for they are his food.
This again makes the Levite priesthood seem super-duper holy, but they still get to eat the swag after sundown, so it's not much of a concession.
That which died or was torn by wild animals he shall not eat, becoming unclean by it: I am the Lord. They shall keep my charge, so that they may not incur guilt and die in the sanctuary[b] for having profaned it: I am the Lord; I sanctify them.
10 No lay person shall eat of the sacred donations. No bound or hired servant of the priest shall eat of the sacred donations; 11 but if a priest acquires anyone by purchase, the person may eat of them; and those that are born in his house may eat of his food. 12 
In other words, if you hire help don't feed them, but you do have to feed your slaves -- since you aren't paying them  they can't go out and buy a meal. 
If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the offering of the sacred donations; 13 but if a priest’s daughter is widowed or divorced, without offspring, and returns to her father’s house, as in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food.
Similar idea. If you marry off your daughter she's no longer your responsibility, but if the marriage doesn't work out you can take her in again. 
No lay person shall eat of it. 14 If a man eats of the sacred donation unintentionally, he shall add one-fifth of its value to it, and give the sacred donation to the priest. 15 No one shall profane the sacred donations of the people of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, 16 causing them to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, by eating their sacred donations: for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.
In other words, the swag is yours and nobody can get away with stealing any of it.

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them: When anyone of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing in Israel presents an offering, whether in payment of a vow or as a freewill offering that is offered to the Lord as a burnt offering, 19 to be acceptable in your behalf it shall be a male without blemish, of the cattle or the sheep or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable in your behalf.
21 When anyone offers a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, in fulfillment of a vow or as a freewill offering, from the herd or from the flock, to be acceptable it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. 22 Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or having a discharge or an itch or scabs—these you shall not offer to the Lord or put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the Lord. 23 An ox or a lamb that has a limb too long or too short you may present for a freewill offering; but it will not be accepted for a vow. 24 Any animal that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord; such you shall not do within your land, 25 nor shall you accept any such animals from a foreigner to offer as food to your God; since they are mutilated, with a blemish in them, they shall not be accepted in your behalf.
Only the best for Yahweh, yeah, but actually for the priests.
26 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as the Lord’s offering by fire. 28 But you shall not slaughter, from the herd or the flock, an animal with its young on the same day. 29 When you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that it may be acceptable in your behalf. 30 It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall not leave any of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31 Thus you shall keep my commandments and observe them: I am the Lord. 32 You shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel: I am the Lord; I sanctify you, 33 I who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.

Footnotes:

  1. Leviticus 22:4 A term for several skin diseases; precise meaning uncertain
  2. Leviticus 22:9 Vg: Heb incur guilt for it and die in it

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