A Deep Dive into Scripture
They [Canaanites] must not live in your land. For if you serve their gods, this will become a snare to you. Exodus 23:33 Having introduced in the last post the idea of YHWH as “Divine Warrior” and holy war, it seems that here we need to discuss this topic that has drawn so much attention … Read more
See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared… You shall serve the LORD, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; … Read more
Three times a year you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast to me. Exodus 23: 14 The Israelites, just like the Canaanites before them, were closely tied to the agricultural cycle of the year, and celebrated them in thanksgiving to YHWH, as the pagans to their fertility deities. Three of these feasts are mentioned here, and … Read more
These are the ordinances you shall lay before them. (Exodus 21:1) The law in its narrative context places the “Ten Commandments” as the core base of Israelite legislation. By nature, they are what scholars call “apodictic” law, that is, commands to be obeyed. We shy away from calling them “universal” for the very fact that God … Read more
… life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Exodus 21:23ff. Israel was birthed in the context of cultures that had, from deep antiquity, a rich tradition of law. As for the laws themselves, such as we have … Read more
Moses listened to his father-in-law [Jethro] and did all that he had said. He picked out able men from all Israel and put them in charge of the people as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. They rendered decisions for the people in all routine cases. The more difficult cases they … Read more
Then Amalek came and waged war against Israel in Rephidim. Exodus 17:8 The Hebrews find themselves in the middle of terrifying landscapes, vast terrains bereft of anything hospitable, but filled with deadly circumstances such as poisonous water, no food, or no water at all. Now they faced an even more unforgiving foe, the Amalekites. Nature … Read more
From the wilderness of Sin the whole Israelite community journeyed by stages, as the LORD directed, and encamped at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink, and so they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you … Read more
Now these are the Ordinances which you shall set before them. When you buy a Hebrew slave … When a man sells his daughter … Ex. 21: 1, 2, 7 The first set of laws of the Book of the Covenant, after the introductory altar laws, have to do with slavery. Why this prominence? We … Read more
An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings … Ex. 20:24 We leave the people standing far off and follow Moses up the mountain through the thick darkness, into the presence of God, to hear His will for His people. What follows is a … Read more