DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 26

Chapter 26
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "When you arrive in the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance, after you possess the land you shall take the first of all the fruit you grow in the land, put it in a basket, and bring it to the sanctuary which the Lord your God will choose. You shall give this basket to the priest on duty and say to him that you profess this day that you have come into the country which the Lord promised to our forefathers. The priest shall then take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. "You shall then say before the Lord your God, 'My father* was a Syrian about to perish, and although he traveled to Egypt with a few, he became a nation there - great, mighty, and populous. The Egyptians mistreated and enslaved us, and when we cried to the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard us, and gazed upon our affliction and oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness - with signs and wonders. He has now brought us into this place, and has given us this land - a land that flows with milk and honey. Now I bring the first crops of the land, which youm O Lord, have given me.' You shall then set it before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. You shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord has given you and feast with your household, the Levites, and the strangers that are amongst you. "When you have set aside a tithe of your crops in the third year - which is the 'Year of Tithing' - and have given it to the Levites, the stranger, the orphaned, and the widowed, that they may eat in your community, and be fed until they are full; then you shall say before the Lord your God, 'I have brought the sacred offering out of my house, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, the widow, according to all your commandments that you've commanded me. I have not broken your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I haven't eaten any of the sacred offering while I was in mourning, nor have I taken any portion of it for any unclean use, nor have I have I given any of it to the dead, but I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that he has commanded me. Look down upon us from your holy habitation from heaven, and bless the people of Israel, and the land that you have given us, that you had promised to our forefathers, a land that flows with milk and honey.' "This day the Lord your God has commanded you to obey these statutes and judgments - therefore you shall keep and obey them with all your heart, and with all your soul. You have proclaimed the Lord this day to be your god, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, his commandments, and his judgment, and to hearken to his voice. The Lord has also proclaimed this day that you are to be his special people, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all of his commandments; to make you high above all the other nations which he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor; and that you may be a holy people unto the Lord your God, as he has spoken."
Notes:	1.) Meaning in the use of forefather.
Thoughts:	Moses begins the chapter by commanding the Israelites to bring the first of their crops down to the sanctuary in a basket. He tells the Israelites that the basket is to be given to the priest on duty, who is to place the basket before the altar, and then gives them a long rambling speech to recite before God in the sanctuary. The speech basically states how the Israelites grew into a great nation in Egypt, and that the Egyptians mistreated and enslaved them, which I find rather disturbing in light of how the Israelites treat people of other cultures. Afterward, the food in the basket is to be dined upon by the person's entire household, as well as the Levites and foreigners in town. Next Moses declares the tithes (which are basically a religious tax upon a person's crops) of every third year to be the "Year of Tithing", and the tithes of this year are to be given to feed the Levites, foreigners, the orphaned, and the widowed. Again, Moses gives the Israelites another long winded speech to recite to God which basically states that the person hasn't eaten any portion of the crops for the tithe, used them for anything 'unclean', or given any to the dead(!) Moses once again tells the Israelites that they are to obey all of God's laws and commandments, and that they are to "walk in his ways". Moses claims that God in return has deemed the Israelites his "special people" (the KJV uses the phrase "peculiar people") that God views as better than any other nation of people on the earth. Anytime you place a higher value upon a single race or culture above all others you create elitism which encourages and breeds racism, intolerance, bigotry, and it devalues of all human life. When you place a higher value upon someone's race or birthplace than their moral character you can no longer judge fairly. Yet the bible is littered with instances of these types of elitism: God deems Noah to be the only person on the planet worthy of living and decides to kill off the entire population of the earth - women, children, infants, and animals included, with the exception of Noah's family - by means of a massive global flood. God deems the entire population of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be irredeemably evil and destroys both cities, killing all of their inhabitants. The term "sodomite" subsequently becomes a used as a label for homosexual males. Priests are forbidden to marry outside of their own race. Moses states and encourages the Israelies to enslave the people living in the "heathen nations" surrounding the "promised land" and to keep their descendants as property to pass on down to your children and future generations. Moses' nephew drives a spear through a man and the woman he was having sex with simply because she of her race. Moses furious at the Israeli soldiers for allowing the Moabite women and children to live as captives, demands that every single one of these captives are to be killed - except for any virgin girls, which the soldiers can "keep for themselves". Any neighboring tribes that the Israelites would like to conquer and take their land from them, if they do not accept a "peace treaty" of becoming enslaved to the Israelites, by doing so has "declared war" against the Israelites. Every male is to be killed by the edge of the sword, and the women and young girls are to be kept against their will as slaves or "wives". Demanding a death sentence upon the Amalekites. Again, the bible deals with absolutes and presumes that judgment upon groups of people should be based upon their ancestry and/or birthplace.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "If there is a dispute between two men, the judges are to justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. If the wicked man is worthy of a beating, then the judge shall order him to lie down and to be beaten in his presence. The amount of lashes he receives is to be in proportion to the severity of his crime, and is not to exceed forty lashes - for if he is beaten more than forty times, the people would view that as excessive. "You are not to muzzle your ox when he treads in your cornfields. "If a man's brother dies without having children and leaves behind a widow, his widow is not to remarry outside of the family. Her husband's brother is instead to sleep with her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother. The first child she bears shall be counted as the son of his brother who has died, so that his name shall not be forgotten in the land of Israel. "If a man refuses to marry his brother's widow, the widow is to complain to the elders of the city. The elders of the city are then to speak to the man, but if he still refuses, then the widow is to take off one of the man's shoes and spit in his face, telling him that this is what happens to a man who refuses to build his brother's house. From that point on, the man's house shall be referred to as 'The house of him that had his shoe removed'. "If two men get into a physical altercation and the wife of one of the men tries to help her husband by grabbing the other man's testicles, then you must cut off her hand and shall not pity her. "You shall not have in your possessions mismatched weights and measures, but instead are to use perfect and just weights and measures, so that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God has given you. All that do such things are an abomination to the Lord your God. "Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you came forth from out of Egypt? How they met you by the way and smote those of you who were lagging behind, as well as the feeble, the faint, and the weary while not fearing God? Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from fighting your enemies around the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance, you are to blot out all memory of the Amalekites under heaven. You shall not forget this."
Thoughts:	Moses begins the chapter by outlining how to administer corporal punishment. If a person is judged "worthy" of a beating, he is to lie down and is to be beaten in front of the judge who orders his beating. Moses adds that the amount of lashes the man receives is to be in proportion to the severity of his crime, and is not to exceed forty lashes - for that he reasons would "seem vile" to the people of Israel. Today most of the developed world has abolished judicial corporal punishment with only 32 countries still following this practice - the largest majority of which, by no surprise, are located in the Middle East. There are numerous reasons why this has fallen out of practice throughout the civilized world, but apparently God and Moses believe this punishment to be just. Moses follows this by telling the Israelites that when an ox is working in the cornfields, it is not to be muzzled. Next Moses gives a ridiculous law that seems more fitting in a Monty Python sketch than in a book alleged to be the "word of God". Moses states that when a man's brother leaves behind a widow and did not have any children, then the man is to marry his brother's widow, and the firstborn child is to be counted as if he were the son of the dead brother. Essentially this was the law that Onan broke when he refused to ejaculate inside of his dead brother's wife. It becomes sillier when Moses states what is to happen if the living brother refuses to play along. Unlike Onan who was killed by God, if the man refuses to marry his brother's widow, the widow has to complain against her dead husband's brother to the elders of the city, and they have to go down and try to talk him into marrying her. If he still won't play along then the widow gets to remove one of the man's shoes and spit in his face, and from that point on the man's house will be known as 'The house of him that had his shoe removed'. Moses then states that if two men get into a fight, and one of the men's wife tries to help her husband by grabbing the testicles of the man he's fighting, then the woman's hand must be cut off and she is to be shown no pity. Essentially, a man could be attacked, and his wife is not allowed to protect him by the one sure fire way to stop the attacker, by going for his testicles. Moses next states that all weights and measures must be accurate, and that one is not to cheat other people by using flawed weights and measures. Doing so is an "abomination" to God. Moses closes out the chapter by commanding that the Israelites are to commit genocide against the Amalekites as soon as they're done fighting the enemies tribes surrounding the "promised land". Moses justifies the genocide by reminding the people that the Amalekites attacked all of the slow, sick, weak, and injured and that they don't "fear God" either. However, Moses doesn't make it clear whether they'll be able to keep the virgin girls like they did with the slaughter of the Midianites.

DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 20

Chapter 20
Summary:	Moses' speech continues: "When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and people that outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. When you go to battle, the priest shall approach and speak to the people, telling them not to be faint of heart, nor be afraid because of the strength of the enemy. For the Lord your God will go with you, to fight against your enemies and to save you from defeat. "The officers shall address the people, asking if any man has just built a new house and has not yet dedicated it; if there is, he is to go home lest he die in battle and someone else dedicate it. The officer shall also ask if anyone has just planted a vineyard and has not yet tasted it's fruit; if there is, he is to go home, lest he die in battle and someone else eats it. The officer shall then ask if anyone has just become engaged to a woman, but has not yet married her; if there is, he is to go home, lest he die in battle and someone else marries her. The officer shall finally ask if there is anyone who is fearful or afraid; if there is, he is to go home, lest he spreads his fears to others. When the officers have finished speaking with the soldiers, they shall appoint captains of the armies to lead them. "When you approach a city to fight against, first offer it a peace treaty and if they accept it, then you are to enslave the inhabitants. If they do not accept the treaty, and instead make war against you, you must conquer the city. When the Lord your God delivers the city into your hands, you shall kill every male with the edge of your sword. The women, the young girls, the cattle, and the spoils of the city, you are to keep for yourselves, you shall devour the spoils of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. These instructions apply only to the cities outside of the promised land, not those within it. "Of the cities that are contained in the land which the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance, you are not to allow anything to live that breathes, but are to utterly destroy them - namely, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord your God has commanded you. That these people not teach you their abominations which they have done in the name of their gods, causing you to sin against the Lord your God. "While you are waging war against a city, you are not to destroy any of the fruit trees, nor may you cut them down with an axe. Only the trees that you know do not bear fruit may you destroy and cut down to use its wood for building fortresses against the city that made war with you, until the fighting has subdued."
Thoughts:	Moses begins this chapter by stating that even if the Israelites seem outnumbered by the amount of horses, chariots, or enemy soldiers on the battlefield, that they are not to be afraid because God will protect the Israelites. Before going out to battle, a priest will tell them this same thing. The officers of the armies will then address the troops and ask them if anyone has just built a house that hasn't been "dedicated", planted a vineyard that they haven't eaten from, or become engaged to a woman they have yet to marry, and then allow those applicable to return home to dedicate their homes, tend to their vineyard, or marry their bride to prevent someone else from doing so if they were to die in battle. Moses then says that the officers should then ask if there are any men that are afraid to fight, and if so, that they are to be sent home in order to prevent them from spreading their fears to other soldiers. Upon weeding these people out, the officers are then to appoint captains to lead the remaining troops. Next Moses explains the proper protocol for conquering cities outside of the "promised land". First, offer them a "peace treaty", and if they accept then enslave them all. If they don't accept becoming enslaved, then they've "declared war" then the Israelites are to kill every male with the edge of their swords. But the women and young girls the soldiers may keep for themselves along with the spoils of the city. When conquering the cities within the "promised land" however, the women and children must be slaughtered - along with the cattle and anything else that breathes - because those pesky women and children will apparently teach the Israelites all of their abominable customs. I guess the persuasive power of infants and children is too much of a risk to keep them alive as slaves, so the only option is to slaughter them all. At least the Midianites weren't all destroyed, Moses allowed the soldiers to keep all of the girls who were virgins for themselves. No matter how you attempt to spin this, no matter what "context" you believe this should be viewed in, there is simply no way you can justify killing "everything that breathes" - especially when included amongst this are infants and young children - as moral. Moses ends the chapter by stating that when the Israelites are invading a city, that they are not to destroy any trees that bear fruit. They can build fortresses using trees that do not bear fruit until the fighting is done, but are not to harm any fruit bearing trees.

NUMBERS: Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Summary:	While the people of Israel were camped in the land of Shittim, they began to "commit whoredom" with the daughters of Moab. The Moabites invited the Israelites to their sacrifices to their gods, and the Israelites feasted with them and bowed down to their gods. The Israelites had "joined themselves unto Baalpeor", and the anger of God was kindled against the people of Israel. God tells Moses to execute the leaders of the Israelite tribes and to hang their corpses up "before the Lord against the sun", so that God's anger will be diverted away from the people of Israel. Moses ordered the judges to slay "every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor". One of the Israelite men however snuck in a Midianite woman, "in sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel", who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle. When Phinehas (Eleazar's son, and Aaron's grandson) saw this, he grabbed a javelin and rushed into the man's tent. He barged into the man's tent and thrust the javelin through him, and through the belly of the Midianite woman. God's plague was then stopped, after the deaths of 24,000 Israelites. God tells Moses that Phinehas had turned God's anger away from the people of Israel, explaining that Phinehas' zealous slaying of the Israelite and his Midianite wife showed that he was as angry as God was, and that this deed was the reason why God stopped killing the Israelites. God continues, stating that he shall give unto Phinehas his "covenant of peace", rewarding Phinehas for his zealous slaying which made atonement for the Israelites. Phinehas and his descendants are rewarded with an everlasting priesthood. The name of the Israelite that Phinehas killed was Zimri - son of Salu, a prince of a chief house amongst the tribe of Simeon; the woman who was slain with him was named Cozbi, who was the daughter of a Midianite prince named Zur. God tells Moses to "vex the Midianites" and to destroy them, because they are destroying Israel with their wiles, where they had "beguiled" them in the "matter of Peor" and in the "matter of Cozbi".
Notes:	1.) "Baalpeor" is a portemanteau of the title "baal" (a Semitic title meaning "master" or "lord") and "Peor" (after the location of Mount Peor), loosely meaning "the god of Mount Peor".
Thoughts:	This brief and extremely violent chapter of the book of Numbers is interesting in the context of the chapter it proceeds. In the previous chapter the prophetic Balaam stood atop Mount Peor looking over the Israeli camp, marveling at their organization, and blesses them in the name of God due to their righteousness, and prophesying the destruction of Moab. This chapter however shows the Israelites at the base of Mount Peor feasting with the Moabites, sleeping with Moabite women, and sacrificing and worshiping their gods. Of course, God is violently angered over this behavior, so he tells Moses to go round up the tribe leaders and execute them, and to set an example he commands Moses to hang their corpses up in the daylight for all to see - this, God explains, will divert his anger away from the people of Israel. Moses orders the judges of Israel to kill any and everyone who was sacrificing and worshiping the god of Mount Peor (Baalpeor). One of the Israelites however snuck in a Midianite woman into the Israeli camp site, in plain view of Moses and the entire congregation of Israel. Aaron's grandson (Eleazar's son) Phinehas saw this, grabbed a spear, rushed into the man's tent and impaled both the Israelite and the Midianite woman with his spear. (It is thought that the two were in the act of copulation when Phinehas killed them.) Before we continue, we have to address two problems: first, the beginning of this chapter deals with the Israelites "committing whoredom" with the Moabites, the rest of the chapter then abruptly shifts its attention to the Midianites. Secondly, Phinehas slays an Israelite man (who is later identified as Zimri) and his Midianite wife Cozbi, for the apparent reason that she is simply a Midianite woman. The problem with this reasoning, is that Moses' wife Zipporah is also a Midianite - as is Moses' father-in-law Reuel/Jethro (and his possible brother-in-law Hobab). Simply slaying Zimri and Cozbi for Cozbi's Midianite heritage doesn't make sense and is obviously hypocritical in light of Moses' own Midianite wife and in-laws. Biblical scholars theorize that this chapter originated from two different source materials woven together (which also explains the baffling mention of a plague being stopped after Cozbi and Zimri's slaying, which isn't mentioned prior) in a rather complex theory called the "Documentary hypothesis", in which the Torah (or the first five books of the Old Testament) was assembled from several independent yet parallel sources. Phinehas' slaying of Zimri and Cozbi pleases God and he puts a halt to a plague he had brought upon the Israelites - but not before 24,000 Israelites succumbed and died from it. God tells Moses that he's happy with Phinehas' handiwork because it apparently proved that Phinehas was just as ticked off and angry as God was. He states that Phinehas' murdering rampage of Zimri and Cozbi made atonement for the "sins" of Israel and rewards Phinehas with a promotion in the priesthood. Let's review this again: Zimri sneaks a Midianite girl into the Israeli camp, this angers Phinehas (despite the fact that his uncle Moses is also married to a Midianite woman), Phinehas violently murders them both - impaling them with a spear while they're supposedly having sex, God is pleased enough to stop killing people - after killing a whopping 24,000 Israelites himself, and he then gives Phinehas his seal of approval and a promotion at his job. Zimri's crime apparently being taking a wife from outside his race of people (something Moses has done himself with the same foreign tribe - the Midianites) and murdering them both violently with a spear is the right course of action and punishment to take? After Phinehas kills them both, the bible finally gives us the names of Zimri (the son of Salu, a Simeon prince) and Cozbi (the daughter of a Midianite prince named Zur). God then tells Moses to "vex" the Midianites and utterly destroy them all, since their women are corrupting the Israelite men - totally ignoring the fact that Moses also has a Midianite wife and Midianite offspring. God claims that the Midianite women led to the "matter at Peor" (which was the Moabite women) and the "matter of Cozbi". Once again, the God plays the misogyny card and blames the Midianite women for what ultimately should be "sins" of the Israelite men. The Israelites are bound by God's commandments not to worship other gods or idols, yet God implies that it's actually the fault of the Midianite women - as if the Israelite men simply have no mind of their own and are somehow not able to resist the temptations of Midianite women.

LEVITICUS: Chapter 26

Chapter 26
Summary:	God commands (again) that no one is to make any idols, carved images, or erect statues to worship. He commands that all of his sabbaths are to be observed and followed, and that all of his laws, rules, and commandments are to be followed and obeyed. If the people of Israel can follow these instructions, then God will provide them rain in due season, which will yield an abundance of crops, trees ripe with a surplus of fruit, and grapes growing past their usual harvesting time. The people of Israel will have plenty to eat and will live in safety. God will give peace in the land so that the Israelis can sleep without fear. God will rid the land of "evil" animals, and will protect the land from the sword of the enemy. God says that the people of Israel shall chase their enemies and that they shall fall before them by the sword. Five Israeli soldiers will be able to drive off one hundred enemies, and a hundred Israeli soldiers will be able to drive off ten thousand enemies, who will all die by the sword of Israel. God will respect the people of Israel and cause them to grow and multiply while establishing a covenant with them. The people will eat from the abundance of food, and have to get rid of some of the old food to make room for the surplus of new food that has harvested. God even says that he'll be able to live amongst the people of Israel in his tabernacle, and not have to hate them all(!) He says that he'll be able to walk amongst them, and will be their god and that the Israelis will be his people. He tells the people (yet again) that he is the one that got the people of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt, breaking the bonds of their slavery and made them dignified again. But... If the people of Israel do not follow and obey all of God's laws and commandments, thereby breaking God's covenant with them, God will fill the people of Israel with terror, consumption, disease that will burn and consume your eyes, cause sorrow to your heart, and farmers will sow their crops in vain, while their enemies will eat whatever manages to grow*. God will set his face against the people of Israel, and they shall be slain before their enemies. The enemies of Israel will reign over them, and the people of Israel will be so filled with terror that they will panic and flee even when they're not in danger. If the people of Israel still won't comply with God's demands then God will punish them seven times more for their "sins". God will break the people of Israel's pride with burden, making the skies feel as "heavy as iron" and the "earth as brass". Farmers will toil in vain as their land will not yield their crops, nor will the trees yield their fruit. If the people still won't obey God's rules and laws, and won't listen to him, then God will bring seven* times more plagues upon the people according to their "sins". God will send wild animals among the people of Israel to kill their children, destroy their cattle, and dwindle the population. The city roads will become desolate. If the people of Israel still will not reform their ways and still walk contrary to God, then God will walk contrary to them and punish them another seven* times for their "sins". God will "bring a sword upon" (wage war upon) the people, that will avenge the argument over God's covenant. God will send pestilence among the people of Israel and will deliver the people to the hands of their enemies. God will destroy their food supply so that as it will take "ten women" to bake enough bread in "one oven", that even once eaten will never be enough to satisfy one's hunger. And if after all this, the people of Israel will still not listen, God will walk contrary to them in fury and will chastise the people seven* times for their sins. The people of Israel will be forced to resort to cannibalism to survive. God will tear down any temples, altars, or idols they have created for other gods, and cast the corpses of the people of Israel onto the corpses of their gods, and God will abhor the people of Israel. God will waste their cities, and bring their temples into desolation, while refusing to acknowledge any "animal sacrifices" people might make to God - God will refuse to "smell the savor" of their "sweet odor". God will turn the land into a wasteland and the enemies of the Israelis that will inhabit the land will be astonished at what has been done to the land. God will scatter the people of Israel among the "heathen" nations and wage war against the people as they flee. God says that the land laying desolate will finally get to enjoy it's sabbaths, while the people of Israel have fled to the lands of their enemies. God adds that the land lying desolate will finally have its rest, as it (apparently) didn't rest when the people of Israel denied the land its sabbaths. Anyone that has survived God's wrath God will curse with fear as they live amongst their enemies. The sound of a shaken leaf will cause them to run as if they were fleeing from a sword, and that they shall fall when no one is pursuing them. They will stumble upon each other as they flee and will have no courage to stand up to their enemies. The surviving people of Israel will perish among their "heathen" enemies, and those that manage to survive will pine away in their "sins" and the "sins" of their fathers. If at last the survivors might confess their "sin", and the "sins" of their fathers, and that they have trespassed and walked contrary to God; if then their "uncircumcised hearts" are truly humble and accept the punishment for their "sins", then God will remember his covenant with Jacob*, Isaac, and Abraham, and the "promised land". God says that the land will still be left to them, because even though these surviving descendants of Israel have "despised" God's judgments and laws, and were driven into the lands of their enemies due to their "sins", God will not cast them away. No will God abhor them, or destroy them completely, as this would break his covenant with them. God will remember his covenant with their ancestors, whom once again God "reminds" that he was the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt - in sight of the "heathens" - so that he could rule over the people as their god. These are the laws (and threats) which God made between himself and the people of Israel that were given to Moses.
Notes:	1.) The exact line as written in the King James version is "and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it." This could possibly be alluding to cannibalism if we compare the usage and phrasing of "your seed" to other verses, such as Leviticus 20:2 - "...that giveth any of his seed unto Molech..." In this verse "his seed" is referring to an infantile offspring. 2.) Yet more repetition of the significance of the mystical number seven. 3.) Again, although renamed by God himself, God refers to Israel as "Jacob", yet he refers to Abram by the name Abraham which was also a given name by God.
Thoughts:	This chapter can basically be summed up as such: do exactly as God commands and your cities and people will prosper with enormous wealth, but break any of God's laws and he'll kill you all - but if any of you happen to survive and say your sorry (and really mean it) then God will forgive you. God starts out restating his first commandment - that no one is to make any idols, carved images, or statues to worship - and reminds everyone to observe his sabbaths as well as to obey all of his laws and commandments. If the people can follow these rules to the letter, then God will "bless" them with lots of rain, which in turn will "bless" them with an abundance of crops. In addition, the people of Israel will protect them from "evil" animals and enemy armies. The first issue I take here is that animals do not follow any sense of "good" or "evil" - even animals that are dangerous to humans are not "evil" in any sense of the word. Animals attack usually only when either themselves, their young, or their territory is threatened. They don't hunt or prey upon humans by entering their habitats with the intention of killing people. When they do enter a human's territory it is generally in a quest to find food or nesting materials, and not simply to attack from a sense of "evil" intent. Anyways, God claims that the soldier amongst the people of Israel will be able to repel enemy army in rather ridiculous ratios - that five soldiers will be able to repel an army of one hundred, and that 100 soldiers will be able to repel 10,000 enemies. Apparently, in a battle against 100 soldiers you'll need to match five percent of their army, but going against an army of 10,000, you'll only need to match one percent of the enemy army(!) It's not made clear here if Aaron's "Rod of God" will be necessary to win these battles. God continues on saying that he'll "bless" the people of Israel by allowing them to multiply and grow in population and that everyone will have plenty to eat. He even goes on to say that he'll actually feel comfortable living amongst the people in the tabernacle and won't hate the people(!) God will be happy to walk amongst the people (providing they do everything he tells them to do) and to rule over them as their god. He remind them (yet again) that he was the guy who got them out of their slavery in Egypt and made them dignified again. However, now God changes gears and spends the rest of the chapter threatening the people with what he will do if the people don't follow his laws and commandments. The first thing God has planned for disobedience is to instill terror and disease among the people - a disease that will "burn and consume" their eyes, and cause sorrow in their hearts. He'll also make it so that farmers will be sowing their crops in vain, while allowing enemy civilizations to come in and eat whatever they do manage to grow. God will set his face against the people and this will see them slaughtered by the hands of their enemies. The people of Israel will be so consumed by terror that they'll become paranoid and flee even when they're not in danger. If the people of Israel don't get the message the first time, then God will punish them seven times more for their "sinning". (Every time God ups the ante in this chapter it will be by seven times.) Next up, God will break the people's pride with heavy burden and curse the farmers even more while their crops and fruit trees fail to provide food. This doesn't exactly "seven times worse" but God still has more in store. If the people of Israel still don't mend their ways, then God will bring them seven times more plagues for their "sinning". (Making this fourteen times the punishment?) He'll send wild (evil?) animals amongst the people to kill their children, cattle, and to dwindle their population. Their city roads will become desolate due to the population loss. If the people of Israel still don't mend their ways, then God will punish them seven more times for their "sinning". (Making this twenty one times the punishment?) God will wage war against the people of Israel and send pestilence throughout the land, and will deliver the people into the hands of their enemies. God will also destroy all of their food supply and makes a strange, silly, and slightly chauvinistic analogy about "ten women" baking bread "in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied." If after all this the people still don't respond to God's punishments, then God will "walk contrary to them in fury" and will chastise the people seven more times. (Making this twenty eight times the punishment?) This time the people will be so undernourished and starved that God says they'll resort to cannibalism - and will eat their sons and daughters. God somehow is confident that the people will be "sinning" by putting up altars and erecting statues to other gods, and says that he will tear them down and let the people of Israel's corpses rot amongst the ruins. If the people try to give God any animal sacrifices, he's not even going to acknowledge them despite their "sweet odor". The "promised land" will be so devastated and desolate that the "heathens" will be astonished at the condition of the land when they inhabit it. God will scatter the people of Israel among the "heathen" nations that surround them, and wage war against them as they flee. With the land laying desolate, God says that it will finally get its rest and "sabbaths" as apparently God has already assumed that the people weren't observing this law either. God will continue to curse any survivors amongst the people of Israel with fear, stating that the sound of a shaking leaf will cause them to flee in paranoia as if they were being chased by a sword wielding enemy. The people will apparently be so paranoid as to trip over each other as they flee and they will have lost all their courage to even stand up to their enemies at all. They will perish at the hands of their enemies and those that survive will pine away in their "sins", as well as the "sins" of their fathers. The problem with God's threats is that he assumes that if the people are breaking his laws that they're breaking all of his laws, and he also makes the assumption that all of the people are guilty, much like we saw with his judgment upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. With God, everything is in terms of absolutes, all or nothing, and this is not an example of being "just". However, the world is never comprised of absolutes, and thereby we must judge things on specific terms - not by lumping people together. Just because a majority of people might be guilty of breaking a law - such as "speeding" in our modern world - does not make the whole of the people criminals. You couldn't punish the entire state of Vermont with life in prison if 98% of the population had traffic tickets on their licenses, just because a few of those people had felony offenses. The "speeders" shouldn't be lumped in with the handful of criminals with felony records simply because on paper all of them broke the law in some respect. Treating people with broad strokes like this is not "justice" at all. Quite clearly the first dozen or so verses are a form of "bribery" in rewarding the people for following God's laws, while the next two dozen or so verses are a form of "extortion" - to strike fear into the people to obey, or else. If anything this chapter shares a lot in common with criminal racketeering, that provide "protection" to their rackets for "paying up", and resorting to violence and property damage when their rackets don't "pay up". I just cannot see any other way to view these passages as anything but forms of practicing bribery and extortion in order to get submission and compliance. However, even after all these nasty things God says he will do to the people of Israel, he wraps things up by saying that if there's anybody left that survived all of his famines, diseases, wild animal attacks, and invading armies, and if they're really sorry and sincere about it, they can accept God's punishment and he'll let them have the "promised land" again - because after all, he did promise this land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and a promise is a promise - as long as it's on God's terms. Before closing out the chapter God once again states that it was him that brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.

LEVITICUS: Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Summary:	Up on Mount Sinai God speaks to Moses telling him more things to pass on to the people of Israel. God first states that when the people arrive in the "promised land" that they are to observe a sabbath for the land every seventh* year. For six years the people shall sow the fields, prune their vineyards, and harvest the fruit, but that the seventh year will be a year of rest for the land. No one is to sow the fields or prune their vineyards for their own personal gain in this seventh year. Anything that grows on it's own accord is not to be harvested for personal gain as it is a year of rest for the land. Whatever does manage to grow in the land shall be free to everyone - the people of Israel, as well as their servants, their slaves, and any stranger that travels amongst them. Cattle and wild animals shall be allowed to graze freely among the land during this year of sabbath. The people shall count sabbaths until they reach their seventh. On the seventh sabbath, forty nine years shall have passed, and on the "Day of Atonement" of that year the "trumpets of jubilee" shall fill the land. For the fiftieth year is a year to proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all of the inhabitants thereof*. Every man (except those enslaved for life) shall be cleared of their debts and returned to their families. The fiftieth year shall be the "Year of Jubilee" to the people of Israel, and no crops are to be sown nor reaped, nor shall any grapes be gathered. Only the excess food that grows wild in the fields shall be eaten. Every man shall return to his original family possessions - if he had sold his family home, it now will belong to him once again. Due to this, if any land is sold during the preceding forty nine years, a fair price must be arrived upon depending on how many years remain until the next "Year of Jubilee". According to the number of years before the "Year of Jubilee", the higher the number of years, the higher the price is set, with the prices diminishing until the next celebration. The people are not to oppress their neighbors with a higher than fair price, with a fair price being determined upon by the amount of crops that can be grown from the land. God claims that he is to be feared, and that those who wish to live "safely" (probably more aptly put as "those who simply wish to remain alive, and not be brutally killed") need to follow and obey all of God's laws. God also addresses the possible question the people might have about what they're supposed to eat in the seventh year, the year of sabbath, if they're not allowed to sow any crops. God answers this hypothetical question by promising to "bless the land" with surplus crops in the sixth year that will bring forth enough food for three years. Then as the crops of the eighth year are being sown, the people will still be eating the old food (from the surplus in the sixth year) in the ninth year and continue doing so until the new crops have been stored. God now tells the people of Israel that they are not allowed to permanently sell the land, as it doesn't belong to them - it belongs to God, and the people of Israel are simply just tenants. God continues on by stating that there will always be a "buy back clause" on all sales of land among the people of Israel. If a man becomes poor and sells his land to someone else, either he himself (when he's able to afford it) or his family can buy it back at any time at a price proportionate until the next "Year of Jubilee". If the man, or his family, however cannot afford to reclaim the property, he will have to wait until the next "Year of Jubilee" to reclaim the land. However, if a man sells a house within the city walls, he has only up to a year to buy it back. After a year has lapsed, it will now permanently belong to the new owner and will not have to be returned in the "Year of Jubilee". This does not apply to village houses outside of the city walls, as they will be counted the same as the fields, and can be redeemed at any time, and must be returned at the next "Year of Jubilee". God however makes an exception for the city houses belonging to the Levites, which even if residing within the city walls may be redeemed at any time and also must be returned at the next "Year of Jubilee". God says that he makes this exception for the Levites as they are not permitted to sell any of their fields - they are to remain permanent possessions of the tribe of Levi and to never belong to anyone else. God states that if a man's brother becomes poor, he is to help his brother and invite him to live with them. A man's brother is not to be turned away, nor is a man allowed to charge interest on any money lent to his brother. Anything a man sells to his brother must be sold at cost and not profited upon. God punctuates this by once again stating that he's the guy who freed the people from their slavery in Egypt, and that he has given them the "promised land" of Canaan, and has agreed to be their god. If your brother that now lives with you due to his poverty, or any other Israeli, sells himself into slavery, he must not be treated as a regular slave (this means no beating your brother, as you're allowed to do with your regular slaves) but must instead be treated like a "hired servant" or a guest in your home. He is only to serve until the "Year of Jubilee", both he and his children with him, may then return to his family and unto the land that is his family's possession. God states the people of Israel are his personal servants and therefore must not be treated like ordinary slaves (which may be beaten into submission.) The "ordinary" slaves which the people of Israeli shall have, shall be of the "heathens" that live in the surrounding areas. Of them you shall buy slaves from. Also the children and family of foreigners living amongst the land of Israel shall be bought and become possessions of the people of Israel. These slaves shall be given as inheritance to the children of the slave's master - to inherit them as a possession, and they shall be slaves forever. However, as for the people of Israel, they are not to be rule over one another with such rigor. If an Israeli sells himself into slavery to a foreigner that is richer than himself, after he is sold into slavery he can be redeemed at any time by either his uncle, his cousin (his uncle's son), or by anyone that is a close family relative - or he may buy his own freedom if he can later afford to do so. The price of his freedom (like the price of land sold in the "promised land") must be in proportion to the number of years until the next "Year of Jubilee". If there are many years until the next "Year of Jubilee", then the price of his freedom should be close to the price he was bought for, likewise if the "Year of Jubilee" is only a few years away, then again the price of his freedom shall be set accordingly. An Israeli sold into slavery to a foreigner is to be treated as a "hired servant" and not as rigorously as an "ordinary slave" would. All Israeli slaves that have not been bought out of their slavery will become free in the "Year of Jubilee", both the slave and his children amongst him. God claims that the people of Israel belong to him and are in fact his servants - who (he once again reminds us) that he "brought forth from out of the land of Egypt".
Notes:	1.) Yet more repetition of the significance of the mystical number seven. 2.) Liberty in this sense does not apply to those slaves who are bound in lifetime enslavement. Those slaves are considered property and not really people.
Thoughts:	God begins this chapter explaining his seven year sabbaths, before moving onto his further stipulations of property laws, including his laws on slavery which appear to contradict on one of the laws set down in Exodus: Chapter 21. Continuing on with the bible's obsession with the mystical significance of the number seven, not only are the Israeli people to observe a sabbath from working every seven days, once they reach and settle into the "promised land", they are to observe another form of a sabbath by not doing any farming or harvesting of crops every seventh year. After seven of these seven year sabbaths, they are to mark this passing on the "Day of Atonement" - which in the Hebrew calendar falls on the tenth day of the seventh month (September) - with the sounds of trumpets throughout the land marking the arrival of the fiftieth year, as seven seventh year sabbaths equal forty nine years having passed. On this grand fiftieth year anniversary of settling in to the "promised land", and for every subsequent fifty year anniversary afterward, the people are to celebrate a "Year of Jubilee". The main premise behind this "Year of Jubilee" celebration surprisingly has nothing to do with sacrificing animals, but is actually a year in which all debts incurred by the people of Israel are to be wiped clean - except for those poor unfortunate folks that have been enslaved for life simply to keep their families together. While nobody can farm their land during the "Year of Jubilee" - just like they can't during their seven year sabbaths - any Israeli that has sold any of their family property gets to reclaim it during the "Year of Jubilee". Basically God's system of "selling" property is more akin to leasing it instead. If you find yourself in debt or would just like some extra spending cash, you lease out your land to someone else for a price that is relative to the number of years left until the next "Year of Jubilee". If you need cash or need to pay someone back, and it is some forty years or so until the next "Year of Jubilee", you can get a lot more money than you would if it were only a few years until the next "Year of Jubilee". Your asking price is basically determined on the worth of the amount of crops the land can produce per year, multiplied by the number of years until the next "Year of Jubilee". God threatens anyone's "safety" if they try and overcharge anyone for this - and I'm sure we can all imagine what this threat probably entails when we see how he deals with people who speak his name in a way in which he doesn't approve. God, figuring that people must be scratching their heads trying to figure out how they're going to be able to have enough food to eat if they have to stop farming every seven years (and in both the forty-ninth and fiftieth years during the "Year of Jubilee" celebrations), answers this hypothetical question with his promise to "bless" the land in the year prior to the year-long sabbaths. This "blessing", God guarantees, will provide enough food to last for three years, so that everyone will be covered, even in sabbath years that lead straight into a "Year of Jubilee". God clarifies his stances on land "ownership", stating that no one can ever sell their land permanently, because it in fact doesn't truly belong to them - it's God's land, and once he's given it to someone, they and their offspring and descendants are stuck with it forever - unless God excommunicates you and gives your land to someone else. (You can lease it anytime you like, but you can never leave...) That being said, because of that, God states that every piece of land has a "buy back clause", where the original owners can buy the land back at anytime they like or can afford to do so, with the price again being proportionate with the amount of years left until the next "Year of Jubilee". The "buy back clause" can also be redeemed by close relatives of the seller, so hypothetically, if your uncle happens to be a terrible gambler and loses his family's farm, grandpa can come to the rescue and buy the farm back from his bookie. However, God's rules for houses within the walls of the city are quite different. If you sell your city house, you've only got a year to change your mind and buy it back, otherwise it permanently belongs to the new owner. Houses outside the city in villages however are treated like the land out in the fields, and can be bought back whenever and will return back to it's original owner when the "Year of Jubilee" arrives. God makes an exception for the Levites, who can buy back their city house whenever they choose, since God will not allow them to "sell" (or more aptly, lease) their farmland, as the land given to the Levites is never to be owned by any "commoner". God now moves on to the subject of personal debt and states that if your brother somehow manages to go broke, you have to take him in to live with you. If you loan him any money, you're not to tack on any interest, and anything you might sell to him you are not allowed to profit from - you must sell it to him at cost only. God rubs in the whole "remember that I'm the guy who got you out that whole slavery business in Egypt, and I was nice enough to simply give you this land - so don't try and profit off of my 'generosity'" bit. Now if your brother, or any other Israeli for that matter, sells himself into slavery, you're not actually allowed to treat him like a "common slave" - i.e. referring to the beatings you're allowed to deal out in accordance with Exodus: Chapter 21, and according to verse 43 - "thou shalt not rule over him with rigour". Israeli "slaves" are only to serve until either theirper debt is paid (by the slave himself or by family of the slave) or until the "Year of Jubilee". This appears to contradict Exodus 21:2 which states: "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing." However, the law in Exodus 21 might perhaps only apply to slavery before the Israelis settle in the "promised land" of Canaan, where the law here in Leviticus might only apply to the Israelis after they reach and settle in Canaan. Whichever it may be, it is certainly not clear by what we have read. A common apologist defense of God condoning slavery in the bible is that they claim that slavery was viewed and applied differently back in biblical times, and that therefore "slavery" was more more akin to "indentured servitude" - unless we're referring to the Egyptian enslavement of the Hebrews, in which they will readily admit was just as bad (if not worse?) than the more modern enslavement of Africans in the Americas. However, this is only true when applied to Hebrew slaves either owned by other Hebrews or owned within the land of Canaan by foreigners. God won't condone the Israelites to be treated like ordinary slaves, giving the explanation that the people of Israel are God's personal servants and therefore exempt from being treated like "ordinary" slaves. However, God's view of non-Israeli slaves is vastly different and not only more in line with the common modern definition of slavery, but God makes it clear that not only does he condone slavery, he's also encouraging it! He tells the people of Israel that they may enslave any of the "heathens" from the surrounding areas of Canaan - or the children of any foreigner living in Canaan - and that these "heathen slaves" are to be considered slaves for life (meaning any children the "heathen slaves" might have will also become born into slavery) and are deemed as permanent property that is to be inherited by the slave master's descendants. The exact verses in the King James bible for Leviticus 25:44-46 are: 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour. By God specifically stating that Israeli slaves are not to be "ruled over with rigor" unlike the "heathen slaves" - who God specifically says are "property", and shall be "slaves forever" - this firmly refutes the explanation of comparing biblical slavery to indentured servitude. Famous skeptic and creator of the website and Discovery Channel program "How Things Work", Marshall Brain, wrote a very thorough article concerning God's stances on slavery in the bible which sums up the argument eloquently. Quite simply, it's impossible to conceive of a "benevolent" deity who not only accepts but condones the oppression and cruelty of human slavery. The two stances are in complete opposition to one another. One only needs to compare the repugnant and oppressive nature of this chapter in combination with the story from Genesis: Chapter 16 of Abraham, Sarah, and God condoning Sarah's beating of her pregnant slave Hagar - who was carrying Abraham's baby, and the following verses from Exodus Chapter 21: 21:20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21:21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money. Human slavery is simply not excusable no matter what the circumstance, and it is only worsened when one group of people are of the mindset to oppress other people due to their differences in culture, race, or for worshiping the wrong "god". Continuing on, God claims that none of the people of Israel are to ever be treated as "ordinary slaves", even if they sell themselves into slavery to a foreigner, and that close family relatives can buy an Israeli out of slavery at any time (unlike the "heathen slaves" who are themselves and their offspring who are doomed to a life of slavery) or that they will be simply freed at the next "Year of Jubilee". Again, Hebrew slaves are to be treated as "hired servants", as God proclaims that every Israeli is first and foremost a servant to God - but apparently other people are okay to oppress at the right price.

LEVITICUS: Chapter 24

Chapter 24
Summary:	God speaks to Moses, telling him to command the people of Israel to bring pure olive oil to make an "eternal flame" for the golden lamps outside the veil in the tabernacle. Aaron is to supply these lamps with fresh oil each morning and evening to keep the fire burning continuously, which is to be maintained by all future generations. Also, twelve loaves of bread are to be baked from two tenth deals* of fine flour. The bread shall be placed in two rows, six in each row, upon the golden table in the tabernacle. Pure frankincense shall be sprinkled along each row, and the bread will be a memorial offering by fire made to God each sabbath as an everlasting covenant between God and the people of Israel. Aaron and his sons shall eat this bread in a "holy place", for it is most "holy" being made by fire, and this shall be a permanent statute. Moving back into a narrative, a son of an Israeli woman (whose father was an Egyptian* and got into a dispute with an Israeli man within the camp. The Israeli woman's son "blasphemed" God's name and cursed. He was then brought before Moses by the people of Israel (it is mentioned that his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan) and he was jailed until God's judgment of him could be decided. God tells Moses to bring the blasphemer outside of the camp and have everyone that heard him blaspheme to place their hands upon his head - before having all of the congregation stone him. God tells Moses to relay to the people of Israel that whomever curses God shall bear his "sin", and that anyone who blasphemes God shall surely be put to death - all of the congregation shall certainly stone him. This applies to any Israeli or foreigner in the land - he who blasphemes God's name shall be put to death. God adds that "he who killeth any man shall surely be put to death" and "he that killeth an animal" shall replace it. God also states that any man that injures another shall be injured the same himself - "breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth". God repeats that he that kills an animal shall replace it, and he that kills a man shall be put to death. The people of Israel shall keep the same law for those who are born in the land and for foreigners to the land as well. Moses spoke to the people of Israel that they should bring the one who blasphemed out of the camp and to stone him to death. The people of Israel did as God had commanded Moses.
Notes:	1.) Approximately a fifth of a bushel. 2.) Most likely the mention of an Egyptian father is to remove any possible sympathy for the Israeli woman's son - as the Egyptians are typically portrayed as villainous heathens throughout the bible.
Thoughts:	God tells Moses to have the people of Israel gather some pure olive oil to light an "eternal flame" in the golden lamps hanging outside the veil in the tabernacle. He tells Moses that Aaron is (as well as his future descendants are) to supply the lamps with fresh oil twice a day - once in the morning, once in the evening - to keep the fire continuously burning. Twelve loaves of bread are to be be made every week on the sabbath and placed on the golden table in the tabernacle as well. Arranged in two rows of six, frankincense is to be sprinkled on the loaves of bread and this somehow is to symbolize the covenant between God and the Israeli people. Aaron and his sons, of course, get to eat the loaves of bread - but only in a "holy place". This tradition is also to be a permanent statute. Strangely, this chapter of Leviticus now shifts away from God decreeing laws to Moses and turns into a narrative story about the son of an Israeli woman, who we can tell is going to end badly when it is mentioned that he is also the son of an "evil" heathenistic Egyptian. It is not stated how old this son of the Israeli woman (who is given the name Shelomith, and is noted to be the daughter of Dibri, whom apparently descended from the tribe of Dan) might be, but God seems rather indifferent towards whether children should be tried on the same terms as an adult anyways. The half-breed child (note that half-breed children are also usually frowned upon in the bible) gets into a dispute with a full blooded Israeli and during the conflict apparently curses God. The blasphemer is now brought before Moses and jailed while Moses consults God on how to deal with him - which should already be apparent to Moses considering he's the one who supposedly brought the "ten commandments" down from Mount Sinai. God's punishment for improperly or irreverantly using his name is of course a vicious brutal death by stoning. Simply because someone was using his name improperly and "insulting" him. Now, of course God admits many times (including within the ten commandments itself) that he is a vengeful and jealous God, but to place so much self-importance on someone incorrectly using or "insulting" your name that you have to impose a brutal death sentence of being stoned to death upon them, and then not even doing the killing yourself, but making the people of Israel do it for him? In the United States of America one of the greatest freedoms we have is the First Ammendment of the Constitution which guarrantees the right to free speech. While it protects the rights of people to criticize their government and its leaders, it also allows people with messages of hate to also voice their opinion, such as the charming Westboro Baptist Church who picket funerals of gays, the U.S. Military, and others with picket signs proclaiming that "God hates Fags" and "God hates America". As ugly and ignorant as these people are, I support their rights to be idiots as long as they can remain peaceful. The late George Carlin said it best, proclaiming that "there are no bad words" only bad intents in their meanings and expression. Language should never be punished and certainly never by death, and especially when it's some "benevolent" leader who's somehow offended that someone used his name in a manner in which he doesn't approve of. It often confuses me when people describe the God of the bible as a "loving", "just", and "benevolent" supernatural being when we're confronted with such stories such as this one. I often wonder how we could possibly be reading the same bible and seeing completely different viewpoints on the nature of God. Perhaps my idea of "benevolence" just doesn't include having a bunch of people stone somebody else to death for using God's name in a way that he disapproves of. God hammers the point home by stating that anyone - not just half-breed people of partial Egyptian heathen bloodlines - who "blasphemes" God's name is to be put to death - presumably, just as brutally by a good ol' stoning. He tacks on that "he who kills any man shall surely be put to death" - presumably there is an exception for people that kill on God's command. He follows up his vengeful logic with that any man that injures another should be injured the same way - "an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth", which is quite different from the message Jesus will later preach, concerning "turning the other cheek" (however, Jesus also has some pretty vengeful things to say later on, as we'll come across much later). So, Moses delivers God's message to the people of Israel and the people drag the blasphemer out to the outside of the camp and stone him to death - simply for uttering God's name in a manner that God found offensive.

LEVITICUS: Chapter 21

Chapter 21
Summary:	God gives more laws to Moses, this time to be directed at Aaron and his sons, concerning the conduct and expectations of priests: Priests are not to "defile" themselves by touching the body of a dead person, unless it is the body of his close relatives - meaning his mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and his sister (if she is a virgin and does not have a husband to care for her corpse). A priest is supposed to be a "chief man" amongst his people and is not to "defile" himself by touching a dead body (aside from his close family), lest he "profane" himself. A priest is also not to make baldness upon their head, nor shall they shave off the corner of their beard, or make any cuttings in their flesh. Priests must be "holy" unto their god, and not profane his name, or they will not be fit to make the grain or animal sacrifices by fire. A priest may not marry a woman who is a whore, profane, or is divorced from her husband. If the daughter of a priest "profanes" herself and her father by "playing the whore", she shall be burnt with fire. The high priest whose head has been anointed with oil and has been consecrated to wear the "holy garments" shall not uncover his head, rip or damage his clothes, nor go near any dead body - not even the bodies of his mother or father. He also may not leave the tabernacle or profane it in any way, as the anointing oil of his god is upon him. He is only allowed to marry a virgin and may not marry any woman who is a widow, divorced, profane, or a harlot. She must be a virgin amongst his own people (not a foreigner) for he must not "profane" his people by becoming the father of mixed race children. God continues, stating that if any of Aaron's descendants have any handicaps, disabilities, or "blemishes" that they are not to be allowed to sacrifice to God. This includes any man that is: blind lame has a "flat nose" anything superfluous a man with a broken foot or hand a crooked back is a dwarf has a blemish in his eye has scurvy has any scabs "hath his stones broken" (meaning testicular damage) No descendant of Aaron with any blemish is allowed to offer any sacrifices by fire to God due to his handicap, disability, or condition. He may still eat the food from the sacrifices allowed to the priests, but he may not go behind the veil, or come near the altar, as his blemish would defile the tabernacle. Moses then gave these laws to Aaron, his sons, and the people of Israel.
Thoughts:	Chapter 21 of Leviticus is basically a list of laws and rules for the priests - Aaron and his sons, and their future descendants. First off, priests are never to touch any dead bodies with the exception of close relatives - their mother, father, sons, daughters, brothers, and (if they're still a virgin and unmarried, thereby without a husband who could care for her corpse) sisters. A priest is considered a higher standard of a person and therefore shouldn't be "defiling" himself by touching dead bodies like the common folk do. A priest isn't allowed to shave their head, in full or in part, nor are they allowed to trim the corners of their beards or make any cuts into their flesh. Doing so would "profane" the name of God, and they would not be fit to offer any grain or animal sacrifices by fire. Priests cannot marry prostitutes, nor a divorced woman. If a priest has a daughter that turns to prostitution, she must be executed by being burned set on fire. How God can insist upon such excessive brutality and claim to be "compassionate" when these stances contradict each other is baffling to say the least. The "high priest" (meaning Aaron, and whomever succeeds him) cannot uncover his head, damage his priest costume in any way, go near any dead body - not even those of his mother or father, nor is he allowed to leave the tabernacle while on duty, or profane it in any way. The high priests are also only to marry virgins - widows, divorced women, profane women, and prostitutes will not do. His virgin bride must also be a pure member of the people of Israel, as women of other clans will shame his people with "half breed" children. Priests apparently must be a pure member of the Master Race or they'll "profane" the priesthood. If keeping the bloodline pure isn't bad enough, God also doesn't want the handicapped amongst Aaron's lineage anywhere near the veil and the altar in the tabernacle, and they're not allowed to give any sacrifices to God by fire either. Among the disabilities that God lists as unacceptable for priests are blindness, lameness, having a flat nose, anything "superfluous", broken hands or feet, hunchbacks, dwarfism, any eye blemishes, scurvy, having scabs, and most humorously - "damaged testicles". God will allow these "freaks of nature" to chow down on the grain and animal sacrifices, but when it comes to sacrificing anything by fire or going near either the veil or the altar, the handicapped and the deformed need not apply - as they would "defile" the tabernacle.

LEVITICUS: Chapter 20

Chapter 20
Summary:	God gives further laws to Moses: Whomever, whether he be an Israeli or a visitor to the land that give any of his offspring (as a human sacrifice) to Molech*, shall be put to death. The people of the land are to stone that person to death. God himself will "set his face against" such man and will cut him off from amongst his people - because giving his offspring to Molech apparently defiles the sanctuary of the tabernacle and profanes God's name. Anyone who will not acknowledge a person sacrificing his offspring to Molech, and refuses to kill him, then God will set his face against them, against their family, and will excommunicate them and all who "go a whoring after him", to commit whoredom with Molech. Anyone who turns to those with "familiar spirits" or wizards, "to go a whoring after them", God will "set his face against" them, and will excommunicate them. The people should instead sanctify themselves and be "holy", because God is their ruler. The people must follow and obey God's laws, and God will "sanctify" them. Anyone who curses their mother or father shall be put to death. Whomever curses their mother or father, deserves their fate - their blood shall be upon them. If a man commits adultery with another man's wife - even he that commits adultery with his neighbor's wife - both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. A man who sleeps with his father's wife has "uncovered his father's nakedness" and both shall be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. If a man sleeps with his daughter in law, both of them shall be put to death - they have wrought confusion and their blood shall be upon them. If a man sleeps with another man as he would with a woman, both of them have committed an "abomination" and they shall both be put to death - their blood shall be upon them. If a man takes a wife and her mother, it is wickedness and they shall all be burnt with fire - there shall be no wickedness amongst you. If a man has sex with an animal, he shall be put to death and the animal shall be killed. If a woman allows herself to be penetrated by an animal, both the woman and the animal shall be put to death - their blood shall be upon them. If a man takes his sister - whether it's his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter - and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. They shall be "cut off in sight of their people" - he has uncovered his sister's nakedness, he shall bear his guilt. If a man sleeps with a woman "having her sickness" (her menstrual period) and uncovers her nakedness, he has "discovered her fountain"(!), and she has uncovered the "fountain of her blood", both of them shall be excommunicated. A man shall not uncover the nakedness of his mother's sister (his maternal aunt) nor his father's sister (his paternal aunt) - they shall bear their own guilt. If a man sleeps with his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness and they shall bear their sin - they shall die childless. If a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an "unclean" thing - he has uncovered his brother's nakedness and they shall die childless. Therefore the people need to keep God's laws and judgments and obey them so that God will not have to throw them out of the "promised land". The people of Israel are not to share the customs and lifestyles of the people that God is casting out of the "promised land" - for they have committed all of these things and therefore God abhors them. God reminds the people of Israel that they will inherit their land, and that he will give it to them to possess - a land he claims "floweth with milk and honey". God claims that because he rules over them, it has separated the people of Israel from other people. Therefore, because of this the people of Israel shall make a difference between "clean" birds and animals and "unclean" birds and animals. The people of Israel shall not make themselves "abominable" by eating the wrong kind of birds or animals. God says that the people of Israel must be "holy" to God, as God himself is "holy", and has made a distinction between them and other people. He continues, that the people of Israel belong to him, God closes out the chapter by stating that either a man or woman that has "a familiar spirit", or that is a wizard must be put to death by stoning - their blood shall be upon them.
Notes:	1.) Although completely unexplained in the book of Leviticus, Molech, as mentioned and introduced in Chapter 18 is the name of a Middle Eastern god common to both the Canaanites and Egyptians, as well as the Hebrews, that followers supposedly presented human sacrifice to by fire.
Thoughts:	After a mostly pleasant chapter with Leviticus: Chapter 19, God switches gears with a vengeance. He starts by revisiting his possible rival, Molech. Molech, who I first went into more detail about in my commentary on Leviticus: Chapter 18 is considered either to be a god who accepts human sacrifice by fire, or is simply the act of "human sacrifice by fire" itself. In the King James translation of the bible, and I believe all (or at least most) English language translations of the bible "Molech" is capitalized and used as a proper noun as if it were a name of a being. There is no archaeological evidence to support the worship of any god named Molech by the Caananites, the Egyptians, or the Hebrews and is more recently thought to be a name for the actual practice of "human sacrifice by fire". Whichever the case may be Molech is (so far) not explained in the bible and is assumed that the reader should be familiar with the name. God commands that anyone sacrificing to Molech is to be stoned to death, and that God will "set his face off" against him, and he shall be excommunicated(?). I'm not exactly sure what the meaning here is, considering it'd be impossible to excommunicate someone after they've already been stoned to death. Perhaps it means that he may not be buried or have a funeral within the Israeli people's land, or perhaps it means that the person's "soul" would be "excommunicated" from Heaven? The thought that it might mean being excommunicated from Heaven seems unlikely to me, as if I recall, I don't think Jews believe in the concept of Heaven and Hell, but I may be wrong about that. I'm honestly stumped here and I may have to ask around to see if I can get an answer from someone - if you have an answer please leave me a comment. If I find an answer in the future, I'll update this section. God continues on saying that human sacrifice to Molech defiles the tabernacle and profanes God's name. Anyone who refuses to take part in the stoning of a person who sacrificed to Molech, God will set his face against him also, along with that person's family, and will excommunicate them and whomever else who goes "a whoring" after Molech. Anyone who turns to those with "familiar spirits" (thought to mean spiritual mediums) or wizards will also result in God turning his face against them and excommunicating them. God states that the people should instead sanctify themselves and be "holy", basically because he is God and he said so. God says that the people must obey his laws and in turn God will "sanctify" them. Anyone who curses their mother or father also gets a death by stoning. God insists that they deserve it, noting that "their blood is on their hands". This is another case of God's excessive brutality, as it is perfectly normal for young children to react to their parent's discipline by cursing their parents. I'm sure every parent has encountered a time where their unruly child resists their punishment from bad behavior and tells their parents that they hate them, or worse. Many of us probably have said the same thing to our parents growing up also. Folks, that is not a "crime" that warrants a child being taken out and stoned to death - it is normal juvenile behavior. For God to insist upon such a brutal punishment for such a petty thing is sadistic, and not in all in line with the description most believers will give of a "benevolent", "compassionate", and "loving" god. God's law on adultery is that both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. A man who sleeps with his father's wife is also to be put to death, as is a man who sleeps with his daughter in law. Again, God flexes his brutality muscles by insisting upon capital punishment for the wrong people having sex together. The bible defines adultery as solely "a married woman having sexual relations with someone who isn't her husband" - which means that a married man having sex with an unmarried woman is not considered adultery, nor is an unmarried woman having sex with any man - regardless of whether he is married or not. A common apologetic view point is that God sets out such a strong punishment to simply serve as a deterrent from people committing these "crimes" to begin with, much like the arguments people use in favor of the death penalty today. However, this doesn't hold up when the punishment simply doesn't fit the crime - it's like demanding the death penalty for jaywalking. Adultery certainly can be a very traumatic thing to the parties involved, but it is never a suitable reason for capital punishment. What if the sex was not consensual and in fact rape, does that still require the death of the victim simply because she had sex with someone who wasn't her husband? What if the person didn't have the knowledge that their partner was married? There's just so many loopholes and problems with defining guilt and intent in regards to adultery that a punishment with so much finality - like death by stoning - just isn't rational. The argument that capital punishment is a deterrent doesn't hold up very well either when the vast amount of people who commit crimes do so because they believe they are smarter than the system and won't get caught, making the severity of the punishment irrelevant to them. Add to that, that "adultery" (much like "murder") is often a crime of passion which also makes the consequences of punishment not at the forefront of the person's mind when they find themselves in a position to commit the crime. Regardless of whether you agree with capital punishment or not, it's troubling why God insists that human beings have to be the ones to administer the punishment in the first place. Killing another human being, whether the reason is justified or not can still be traumatizing. Ask any police officer who's fired his gun in the line of duty, or soldiers in the military who've been in combat how they've felt about taking the life of another human being. No-one should ever have to kill another person unless the lives of themselves or others are in danger, anyone who's been forced to kill will tell you that it takes a very strong person to deal with the mental consequences, and that not everyone can deal with the stress - even if what they did was completely justifiable. However, God insists that everyone has to participate in stoning other people to death, threatening those who refuse to participate with being excommunicated from their people. God is basically blackmailing everyone - including those who may not be mentally fit for the task - into killing their fellow Israelis, regardless of whether they might be a close member of their family or perhaps a friend or a neighbor that they've grown to love over the years. God continues on handing out death sentences, insisting that next on the list is anyone engaging in homosexual sex. He calls the act an "abomination" and that both men must be stoned to death - not making a clarification on if this applies to victims of homosexual rape also. If a man sleeps with a woman and the woman's mother, God has a special death sentence for all three of these "criminals" - this crime apparently warrants being set on fire apparently. Of all the gruesome ways to die, immolation just may be the worst, and God saves this excruciating punishment for these sexual deviants. If a person has sex with an animal, both the person and the animal in question must be put to death. God says they both deserve it - including the animal. Why an animal "deserves" to be stoned to death because some pervert raped it, I don't quite understand. It makes about as much sense as euthanizing your dog because your next door neighbor kicked it. Curiously, God makes an exception to his usual punishments of stonings and setting people on fire to substitute excommunication for the crime of sibling incest. Most likely this exception was made as to not make Abraham and Sarah's incestuous marriage to seem as hypocritical in light of God's new law. However, as we'll get to shortly, God actually doesn't have as stringent punishments for incestuous relationships as he does for homosexuals, practitioners of bestiality, adulterers, and mother/daughter threesomes. Before getting to other forms of incest, God also forbids having sex with a woman during her menstrual period - which he calls here, "her sickness". Both the woman having her period, and the man having sex with her during her period, must be excommunicated. Between this chapter and Leviticus 15:19-30 God makes it clear that menstruating women are filthy and "unclean", and are to be avoided at all costs. Don't have sex with them, don't let them sit on any of your furniture, don't touch any of their chairs or bedding, and don't even touch the women themselves during their period or you'll defile yourself too. Back to the topic of incest, God adds that a man is not to have sex with his aunt (like Aaron and Moses' father Amram did) - regardless of whether it is his maternal or paternal aunt - as they shall "bear their iniquity" if they do so. A thought just occurred to me that according to God's logic in Exodus 20:5 (and repeated in Exodus 34:7) in which God states that a persons' descendants are just as guilty for the sin he committed as he is himself, wouldn't this make Moses and Aaron guilty of their father's sin of marrying his aunt? Shouldn't Moses and Aaron (along with Aaron's sons who inherit the sin through their grandfather) be excommunicated according to this verse? The direct quotes of Exodus 20:5 and Exodus 34:7 are: Exodus 20:5 "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" Exodus 34:7 "Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation." This would seem to indicate that this is exactly what God should do with Moses and Aaron, however later verses from the books of Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel seem to contradict this. Noah also cursed his grandson Canaan into a life of slavery due to his son Ham's viewing Noah drunk and naked in his tent, which God also seemed to have condoned. The problem here is that even if we argue semantics with a biblical apologist to explain how this could possibly fit alongside later chapters stating that "sin" of a father is not to be passed down to his children to be punished for as well, the message is not being made clear here at all, and anyone reading up to this point, without knowing what is later to be said, has to be lead to think there is a contradiction in God's logic. One would think that a book written by, or is the inspired word of a perfect being such as God would be clear and concise - especially when dealing with laws that could result in excommunication, or worse, death by stoning. God furthers his laws about men sleeping with their aunts, by claiming that a man who sleeps with his and/or marries his uncle's wife (his aunt by his uncle's marriage) will curse them both by God assuring that they will die childless. God gives this same punishment to a man who sleeps with or marries his brother's wife also. God interjects that the people will need to follow and obey these laws so that he won't be forced to throw them out of the "promised land" - or worse. He once again stereotypes the people currently living in the land as all practicing these customs of incest, bestiality, homosexuality, and adultery - judging them all as a group rather than individuals - by calling them all "abominable". Because God has took the time to teach the people of Israel which birds and animals are right to eat and which are not, this is a distinction that somehow makes the people of Israel (which he constantly berates for being "unclean" in previous chapters) a better people then all others. Before closing off the chapter, God also tacks on his law about what to do with wizards and people who "have a familiar spirit" (thought to mean "spiritual mediums") - that's a stoning too.

LEVITICUS: Chapters 17 & 18

Chapter 17
Summary:	God speaks to Moses, telling him to relay further instructions to Aaron, his sons, and all the people of Israel. Any Israelite who kills an ox, lamb, or goat anywhere except at the tabernacle as a sacrifice to God, will have blood on their hands and will be excommunicated from amongst the nation of Israel. God states that he wants the people not to sacrifice animals in open fields, but rather to be brought to a priest at the door of the tabernacle as "peace offerings" for himself (God). The priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar at the door of the tabernacle, and burn the animal fat as a "sweet savor" that God will enjoy. The people shall no longer sacrifice animals to "devils", or evil spirits, that they have whored after. This shall be a permanent law from generation to generation. Anyone whether Israeli, or a foreigner living amongst them, who offers either a "burnt offering" or an animal sacrifice any place other than at the front door of the tabernacle, will be excommunicated. Anyone, whether an Israeli, or a foreigner living amongst them. that eats any manner of blood, will be excommunicated and God will turn his face against them. God explains that the life of the flesh is in the blood and claims that he has provided blood upon the altar of the tabernacle to make atonement for your "soul", because blood apparently is what makes atonement for people's "souls". Therefore, this is God's reasoning behind disallowing the people of Israel, or any foreigner living among them, from eating blood. Anyone, whether Israeli or foreigner living amongst them, that hunts and catches and bird or animal permitted to be eaten, must first drain the animal's blood and then cover it with dust. God states that that the people of Israel must never eat blood of any sort, for the blood is the life of all living things, and whomever does so will be excommunicated. Anyone who eats the dead bodies of animals that have either died naturally, or have been torn apart from wild animals, must wash their clothes and will be considered "unclean" until evening; after the evening comes, they shall be considered "clean". If the person does not wash their clothes, however, then they shall suffer the consequence.
Notes:	1.) The actual Hebrew translation here is "hairy ones".
Thoughts:	God begins chapter 17 by first addressing the utter importance that animal sacrifices are only to be made to him, and to him only, and only at the door of the tabernacle by a priest. God wants to enjoy the "sweet savor" of burnt animal flesh at his tabernacle and threatens anyone sacrificing animals elsewhere with excommunication. Interestingly, this chapter is also technically our first mention of "devils" (in the King James Version), or "evil spirits", although the proper Hebrew translation in Leviticus:17:7 is actually "hairy ones". God forbids his people from sacrificing animals in open fields to the devils/evil spirits/hairy ones that the people have apparently "whored" after. This ban on animal sacrifices anywhere but at the tabernacle is a permanent law and applies to the people of Israel and any foreign visitors that may be living amongst them. Disobeying this law gets you excommunicated. Next up God goes into greater detail about an issue he only vaguely touched upon almost 800 years earlier to Noah in the book of Genesis (Genesis:9:4). God commands that neither the Israelis, or any foreigner living amongst them shall ever consume any manner of blood, and if they do so they will be excommunicated. This section of the chapter has famously been cited by Jehovah's Witnesses to explain their stance on refusing blood transfusions believing that having a transfusion is in fact considered "eating blood". It begs the question of why certain parts of the Old Testament still apply to the beliefs of modern religions (such as many of the traditions in modern Judaism, Christianity's anti-homosexual stances, and of course the Jehovah's Witnesses anti-transfusion stances) while other laws, which seem to be as equally or even far more important to God, such as animal sacrifices, stoning adulterers, endorsing slavery (including how to properly beat your slaves), and the use of scapegoats seemed to have fallen by the wayside to modern day believers of these ancient religions. A major problem I have with this line of thinking is not that I care whether an adult wants to refuse medical treatment based on the grounds of their religious beliefs, but when that adult puts the lives of their children in serious, or even mortal danger on the grounds of their vague interpretations of some several thousand year old collection of stories. To make a similar comparison, my sister has been a vegetarian since she was a teenager (something I also partially share in common with her) and it's a decision she made due to her own ethics in regards to her feelings about animals. Like myself, it is something she feels very passionate about for personal reasons, yet she doesn't impose her own values upon her children, both for the fact that it's better for their nutrition as they are still young and growing, and for the fact that it takes a lot of careful thought and preparation to make the decision for a drastic change to your lifestyle and dietary habits. I also feel that religion is a rather personal decision that children are incapable of grasping or understanding, and when religion stands in the way of lifesaving medical procedures it's not fair to the child to be forced to suffer and perhaps die for the selfishness of their parent or legal guardian's personal superstitious beliefs. Back to our story, God emphasizes that "the blood is the life" and that its only other purpose besides being the life of an animal or human being is to atone for people's "souls". So God's law here is simply that eating blood, whether you're an Israeli or simply just living amongst them, is forbidden and will find you excommunicated. God adds that any animal (one that he is allowing you to eat in the first place) that is hunted and killed for food must first be drained of its blood (with the blood being covered by "dust", or dirt) before it can be eaten. Failure to do this will also find you excommunicated. Anyone deciding to dine on the carcasses of dead animals (again, of those that are permitted to eat in the first place) that have died of natural causes, or have been attacked and killed by wild animals, has to wash their clothes and they will be considered "unclean" until sundown. God finishes up the chapter by issuing a threat to those that don't wash their clothes after dining on animal carcasses, stating that they will suffer the consequences.
Chapter 18
Summary:	God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel that he, Yahweh, is their god, and that they aren't to follow any of the laws or customs of Egypt where they once lived, or any of the laws or customs of Canaan where they would eventually be brought to. The people of Israel are only to follow God's laws and to live by them as well. None of the people of Israel are to "uncover the nakedness" of anyone that is near kin to them. The nakedness of either your father or mother you shall not uncover, she is your mother and therefore don't undress her. You are also not to uncover the nakedness of your father's wife, as that nakedness belongs to your father. Your sister's nakedness, whether she is the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, born at home or abroad, even her nakedness you are not allowed to uncover. The nakedness of your grandchildren, whether it's your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter is also forbidden for you to uncover - as their nakedness is the equivalent of your own nakedness. The nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife (step sister) is your sister's, and you shall not uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister (your paternal aunt) as she is too close of kin to your father. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister (your maternal aunt) as she is too close of kin to your mother. You shall not uncover the nakedness of the wife of your father's brother (your paternal uncle) as she is your aunt. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter in law, she is your son's wife. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife, as that is your brother's nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter, nor the woman's son's daughter (her granddaughter from her son) or her daughter's daughter (her granddaughter from her daughter), for they are the near relatives to the woman and this is wickedness. Neither shall you marry two sisters, for they will be rivals. However if your wife dies, you may then marry her sister. Never approach a menstruating woman to uncover her nakedness during her "uncleanliness". Moreover, you can not have sex with your neighbor's wife, or you will defile yourself with her. You shall never sacrifice by fire any of your offspring to the god Molech*, nor shall you profane the name of your god by doing so. A man shall not lie with another man as he would with a woman (meaning homosexuality) - it is an "abomination". Neither shall a man defile himself by having sex with any animal, nor shall a woman allow herself to be pentetrated by an animal herself - it is confusion. Don't defile yourself by doing any of these things, as these are the things done in the nations which I'm leading you to whom I will cast out of their lands before you. God claims that they have defiled the land itself and therefore they will be punished and "vomitted out" of the land. God demands that these laws are to be kept and obeyed, and that none are to commit any of these "abominations". These rules are to be followed by the people of Israel, as well as foreigners living amongst them. God again claims that these "abominations" have been done continually in the land where they are headed and that the people of Israel are not to let themselves follow any of these "abominable customs", lest they defile themselves and find themselves exiled from their people.
Notes:	1.) Although completely unexplained in the book of Leviticus, Molech, as mentioned in Chapter 18 is the name of a Middle Eastern god common to both the Canaanites and Egyptians, as well as the Hebrews, that followers supposedly presented human sacrifice to by fire.
Thoughts:	God's spends this chapter giving us his revised views on sexuality while implicating that the "heathens" of Egypt, and moreover Canaan are ritualistic practitioners of incest, homosexuality, bestiality, and human sacrifice. I state that God has revised his stances on sexuality, mainly in his new regard towards incest as God has at the very least, tolerated incestuous relationships in the book of Genesis - In chapter 20, God does not condemn either Abraham or Sarah (half siblings) for their incestuous marriage nor Aaron and Moses' father Amram, who married his aunt Jochebed. Sarah was even blessed by God, contradicting his stance on the law he states here in Leviticus. The problem with this angle, is that God obviously accepted incestuous marriage not only in the past with Abraham and Sarah (Israel's parents), but also in the near past (Aaron and Moses' father Amram married his aunt Jochebed). Now, with God enacting this new law now, he condemns the Egyptians (who would have no way of predicting this law, regardless of whether they followed God's laws or not) and the Canaanites (whom he's had it out for anyways since after the Noah's Ark story after Noah cursed the Canaanites) whom would also have no way of knowing this new law either. Calling their behaviors an "abomination" for incestuous marriages when it was obvious practiced by the people of Israel as well is hypocritical due to the timing. God's new laws on incest are spelled out in the beginnings of chapter 18. Although the meaning is thought to imply "marriage" or at the least "sexual relations", the King James Version uses the phrase "to uncover the nakedness of" - which I've left intact, as this can also apply to "peeping" in on the naked body of, similar as to what Ham had done to anger his drunken father Noah. God's new laws concerning incest is that a man may not marry or have sex with: his mother or father, his step mother, his sister, his half sister, his grandchildren, his step sister, his maternal or paternal aunt, his maternal or paternal uncle's wife (which is also his aunt), his daughter in law, your brother's wife (contradicts why God had killed Onan), both a woman and daughter, both a woman and granddaughter, nor may he marry two sisters at the same time (contradicting Jacob's marriage to both Leah and Rachel in which all three were blessed by God), any menstruating woman, or your neighbor's wife. Despite claims by some that God's laws are consistent and unchanging, they do in fact adapt and change over the course of Genesis to Leviticus (and beyond). Next up in God's laws is a curious mention of another god named Molech, who is not explained within the context of his appearance here. Molech allegedly was a god worshiped in the middle east by the Canaanites, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews, but is in fact simply a Hebrew name for the god. No evidence of a god fitting his description or bearing his name has ever been found outside of the Torah (the original Jewish version of the Old Testament) and is considered more of a Hebrew legend. The name was letter retconned into describing simply the concept of an infanticide human sacrifice by fire. Whether the translation here is to mean a sacrifice to the god Molech (which was probably believed to be a true god by the Israelis - meaning they thought other cultures worshiped a god named Molech) or whether it's to describe the human sacrifice itself, God forbids it and claims that it profanes his name to sacrifice in this way. God next dishes out a rather famous verse on homosexuality calling the act an "abomination". This verse is still often pointed out today by believers who condemn homosexuality, despite many other Mosaic laws (such as the condoning of slavery itself as well as the condoning of beating the said slaves) being disregarded. It's puzzling as to what parts of the Old Testament are supposed to hold true today and which are to be disregarded - each faction of Abrahamic religions, and each faction of Christianity, pick apart their own version of what to keep and what to ignore. God's next law forbids bestiality - specifically a man having sex with a female animal, or a woman being penetrated by a male animal. God finishes up by claiming and implying that the Canaanites (as well as the Egyptians) practice all these deviant forms of sex (and human sacrifices to Molech) when there is little archaeological evidence to support a claim that either the inhabitants of Canaan (or Egypt) practiced these deviant sexual acts and incestuous marriages any more or less than the ancient Hebrews themselves. Remember that even Aaron and Moses's parents were incestuous according to the rules laid out here in Leviticus 18. The truth behind this chapter is more likely to be an extension of the xenophobia the Hebrew tribes had of their neighbors and an attempt to vilify and justify the wars between the tribes, the conquest of their lands, and the passing tales of myths and legends about their enemies. The archaeological evidence just doesn't seem to fit the assertions made and no literature outside of biblical sources corroborates the claims within the same time frame.