In Parshas Chukas, God behaves almost like a blogger. Rather than authoring his own material, our Lord and Creator twice references the published work of other people.
The first occurrence is a cite from the the Book of the Wars of the Lord a book that was lost, and excluded from the canon.
The second occurrence … a snippet of poetry. Yes, poetry. The lines are attributed, vaguely, to “moshlim”…
via DovBear: God as a blogger?.
My comment:
These two bits of poetry are my favorite reasons to cite that God didn’t write the whole Torah. These sections are explicit that they come from elsewhere.
The only Torah True responses that I can imagine are to either ignore it, or that these foreign sections were a divinely inspired text taken from an otherwise not inspired text.
I, personally, find the Torah and tradition much more accessible when I view it as my people’s ancient documentation and mythology. This makes the narrative easier to explain, e.g. how were the two sections on the daughters of Tzelofehad given at Sinai if the sections say that Moses didn’t know the answer and had to ask God. It makes the text too circular. And this view doesn’t stop me from setting aside time each week to learn.
And then a followup
Claiming that the entire Torah was given in scroll form to Moses at Sinai seems to be the prevalent Torah True view today, regardless of other views in the tradition.
On another note, much of the tanakh is about a prophet or god-chosen person telling the majority of the people that they’re not doing things quite right. That is, either most Hebrew/Israelites/Jews were ‘secular’ up until Ezra or they didn’t have the Torah or its teachings as we have it now.
I mean, what does this mean? That they weren’t keeping Passover?
II Chronicles 35:18-19יח וְלֹא-נַעֲשָׂה פֶסַח כָּמֹהוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, מִימֵי שְׁמוּאֵל הַנָּבִיא; וְכָל-מַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא-עָשׂוּ כַּפֶּסַח אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְכָל-יְהוּדָה, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּמְצָא, וְיוֹשְׁבֵי, יְרוּשָׁלִָם. {ס} 18 And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did any of the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. {S}
יט בִּשְׁמוֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה, לְמַלְכוּת יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ–נַעֲשָׂה, הַפֶּסַח הַזֶּה. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.Or I Kings 11 where Solomon marries many foreign women, has many horses, goes back to Egypt, and offers avodah zara.
א וְהַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה, אָהַב נָשִׁים נָכְרִיּוֹת רַבּוֹת–וְאֶת-בַּת-פַּרְעֹה: מוֹאֲבִיּוֹת עַמֳּנִיּוֹת אֲדֹמִיֹּת, צֵדְנִיֹּת חִתִּיֹּת. 1 Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
Or I Kings 12 where Jeroboam of the Northern Kingdom puts Sukkot in the eigth month
לב וַיַּעַשׂ יָרָבְעָם חָג בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁמִינִי בַחֲמִשָּׁה-עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ כֶּחָג אֲשֶׁר בִּיהוּדָה, וַיַּעַל עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ–כֵּן עָשָׂה בְּבֵית-אֵל, לְזַבֵּחַ לָעֲגָלִים אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה; וְהֶעֱמִיד בְּבֵית אֵל, אֶת-כֹּהֲנֵי הַבָּמוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. 32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, to sacrifice unto the calves that he had made; and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made.
לג וַיַּעַל עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר-עָשָׂה בְּבֵית-אֵל, בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁמִינִי–בַּחֹדֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר-בָּדָא מלבד (מִלִּבּוֹ); וַיַּעַשׂ חָג לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וַיַּעַל עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לְהַקְטִיר. {פ} 33 And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to offer. {P}Or Nehemiah 8:14-15 where they didn’t know about Sukkot at all and celebrated it differently than we do today? And that this may be the first time the Torah is first publicly read.
יד וַיִּמְצְאוּ, כָּתוּב בַּתּוֹרָה: אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה, אֲשֶׁר יֵשְׁבוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּסֻּכּוֹת בֶּחָג בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי. 14 And they found written in the Law, how that the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month;
טו וַאֲשֶׁר יַשְׁמִיעוּ, וְיַעֲבִירוּ קוֹל בְּכָל-עָרֵיהֶם וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם לֵאמֹר–צְאוּ הָהָר וְהָבִיאוּ עֲלֵי-זַיִת וַעֲלֵי-עֵץ שֶׁמֶן, וַעֲלֵי הֲדַס וַעֲלֵי תְמָרִים וַעֲלֵי עֵץ עָבֹת: לַעֲשֹׂת סֻכֹּת, כַּכָּתוּב. {פ} 15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: ‘Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.’ {P}Or my favorite, I Kings 18
כא וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלִיָּהוּ אֶל-כָּל-הָעָם, וַיֹּאמֶר עַד-מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים עַל-שְׁתֵּי הַסְּעִפִּים–אִם-יְהוָה הָאֱלֹהִים לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו, וְאִם-הַבַּעַל לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו; וְלֹא-עָנוּ הָעָם אֹתוֹ, דָּבָר. 21 And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said: ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ And the people answered him not a word.
כב וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלִיָּהוּ, אֶל-הָעָם, אֲנִי נוֹתַרְתִּי נָבִיא לַיהוָה, לְבַדִּי; וּנְבִיאֵי הַבַּעַל, אַרְבַּע-מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ. 22 Then said Elijah unto the people: ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.And many more.
and
Or how about the opening of Devarim 1
http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0…pt/ pt0501.htm#1א אֵלֶּה הַדְּבָרִים, אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּעֵבֶר, הַיַּרְדֵּן: בַּמִּדְבָּר בָּעֲרָבָה מוֹל סוּף בֵּין-פָּארָן וּבֵין-תֹּפֶל, וְלָבָן וַחֲצֵרֹת–וְדִי זָהָב. 1 These are the words which Moses spoke unto all Israel beyond the Jordan; in the wilderness, in the Arabah, over against Suph, between Paran and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di-zahab.
I mean, it says the Moses spoke ‘beEver haYarden’/On the OTHER side of the Jordan. That is, the author of that verse is living in Israel, not standing in the Aravah, so that Moses is on the other side from the author.
(This verse doesn’t seem to get as much play as the famous Avraham Ibn Ezra on ‘vehaKenani AZ baAretz’.)
Anyhow, the point is, that it’s perfectly consistent with the Torah itself to read the Torah as a human document rather one that was used to create the world.
and
Yoni, Biblical Scholars seek to understand the Tanakh on its own terms using philology, comparative literature, archeology, etc. It is an academic discipline, for the most part, like an other. In academia, God doesn’t exist, since that is the realm of religion. Their goals are no different than Avraham ibn Ezra, David Kimhi, Moshe ben Maimon, or other rationalist interpreters in our tradtion, but they are approaching it from an academic rather than religious point of view.
and
BTW, I’ve noticed that a lot of midrashim are based on textual conflicts, lacunae, etc. that are later analyzed by academics. To some extent, it’s a matter of approach.
What’s interesting about treating the Torah as a contextual document (rather than one used to create the world in which every letter is sacrosanct) is that the text becomes more understandable, and for me, more holy.
I am disgusted that a ben sorer and more could be killed. However, in comparison with Ancient Near Eastern law, it becomes clear that the Torah is more progressive in that it requires the parents to take the kid to the court first.
Similarly, in Ancient Near Eastern law, if someone kills your daughter, you get to kill his daughter, eye for an eye. Or the murderer could ransom the price of the daughter to avoid punishment. Torah law says all human life is sacred. He who spills blood, his blood shall be shed. Torah law forbids the ransom. Did you ever notice that in parashat mishpatim the laws of the slave precede the laws of murder and goring oxen? Is the Torah implying that slavery is bad? It seems to be.
and
Yoni, you have faith in your views, and that’s great, but there’s lots of evidence from external sources. What there’s not a lot of is evidence from the Israelites themselves, especially for the early stuff.
For example, the http://www.utexas.edu/courses/cl…/ sennprism.html
Sennacherib prism details his campaign against Hezekia. And they differ in certain ways. How would you approach that?Persian records mention no Ahasveros. How would you aproach that?
There is no external evidence that David was king. How would you approach that?
Texts from Ugarit, Mari, Sumer, Egypt, etc have creation stories that seem to be referenced and polemicized against by Genesis 1. Does that interest you?
Regarding the documentary hypothesis, there is a lot of evidence for it if you’re willing to see it. See the flood for example. Here’s an article on the Bible Codes.
and
Yoni (couldn’t stay away) Let me ask you a very simple question
Judges 12
http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0…pt/ pt0712.htm#6ו וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ אֱמָר-נָא שִׁבֹּלֶת וַיֹּאמֶר סִבֹּלֶת, וְלֹא יָכִין לְדַבֵּר כֵּן, וַיֹּאחֲזוּ אוֹתוֹ, וַיִּשְׁחָטוּהוּ אֶל-מַעְבְּרוֹת הַיַּרְדֵּן; וַיִּפֹּל בָּעֵת הַהִיא, מֵאֶפְרַיִם, אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁנַיִם, אָלֶף. 6 then said they unto him: ‘Say now Shibboleth’; and he said ‘Sibboleth’; for he could not frame to pronounce it right; then they laid hold on him, and slew him at the fords of the Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim forty and two thousand.
Do you accept that there were different dialects of Hebrew? There is ample other evidence, but this one is so straightforward that I don’t see how you can deny it. If you accept that there were different dialects of Hebrew, then why can’t you accept that different “sources” are identifiable by different language patterns (not to mention topical and content differences among the language patterns).
The rabbis were aware of these differences in language and said that YHWH is the attribute of mercy and elokim is the attribute of strict justice. Feel free to accept that different parts of the Torah use different language, and still believe that they are from the same source, but you cannot deny the different “voices”.
However, it is not just vocabulary. It is also facts on some occasions. Another simple example.
http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0…t/ pt0137.htm#25
Genesis 3727 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh.’ And his brethren hearkened unto him. 28 ..and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. 39:1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither.
but also
28 And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, 36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard. {P}
So was he sold to Ishmaelites or drawn out of the pit by Midianites? Yes, the rabbis were aware of the problem and dealt with it. But they acknowledged the problem.
and
- An article by Dr. Tigay: Tigay-Empircal Basis for Documentary Hypothesis (110)
- Emanuel Tov’s Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible
- Feel free to read Cassuto. You should like him.
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