Don't Know Much About the Bible - Kenneth C. Davis [64]
There are also several specific warnings about “boiling a kid in its mother’s milk,” a somewhat mysterious rule that lives on in the kosher rule against mixing meat and dairy.
Moving from food to matters of birth, there are elaborate laws for purification after menstruation and childbirth. These are followed by long series of rules for coping with leprosy and other skin diseases and with mold in houses, before arriving at the question of the uncleanness of a man who has a “discharge from his member.” Leviticus doesn’t say there’s anything wrong with this, only that you have to clean up afterward. “If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water, and be unclean until the evening.” (Lev. 15:16)
BIBLICAL VOICES
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall each revere your mother and father, and you shall keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images for yourselves: I am the Lord your God….
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.
“You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
“You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:1-18)
These verses, which lay out a plan for a “life of holiness,” recap the commandments and expand them. While they remain valuable and valid rules of conduct, this “holiness code” is immediately followed, somewhat incongruously, by rules of a very different sort:
“You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.”
We don’t know how God felt about mixing plaids and stripes.
Numbers
The English title refers to the census of the twelve tribes that opens the book. The Hebrew title, Ba-Midbar (“In the Wilderness”), is more accurately descriptive because the book begins with the decision to leave Sinai and cross the desert toward the Promised Land. The Israelites finally reach the oasis of Kadesh-barnea, where they spend most of the forty years in the wilderness. While much of the book is still concerned with laws, it also contains several highly charged dramatic episodes, including two separate rebellions against Moses and God, and the death of Aaron.
BIBLICAL VOICES
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine
upon you, and be gracious
to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance
upon you, and give you
peace. (Num. 6:24-26)
This is the “Aaronic benediction,” given by God to Aaron. It is considered an extremely ancient blessing and is still widely used in temples and churches alike.
PLOT SUMMARY: DEPARTURE FROM SINAI
Finally, God gives Moses marching orders. After nearly a year spent at Sinai, the tribes move out. Once again, there is whining as the “rabble” voice their craving for meat. They are tired of manna. God is annoyed and sends so many birds over the camp the Israelites are nearly knee-deep in poultry, which they eat. But just to remind them who is in charge, God sends a plague on the complainers.
Aaron and Miriam get in the complaint line too. Miriam, Moses