DEUTERONOMY: Chapter 33

Chapter 33
Summary:	Moses, "the man of God", gave the people of Israel a blessing before his death: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai, and rose up from Mount Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints - from his right hand went a fiery law for them. "He loved his people; all of his saints are in his hand, following in his footsteps, every one of them receiving his words. Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the congregation of Jacob. He was king in Jeshurun*, when the leaders of the people and of the tribes of Israel were gathered together. "Let the tribe of Reuben live, and not die; and let his men not be few." He then blessed the tribe of Judah, saying: "Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people - let his hands be sufficient for him, and help defend him from his enemies." Of the Levites, Moses said: "Let the Thummim and the Urim be with these holy ones, whom you tested at Massah, and with whom you strove against at the waters of Meribah. They spared not even their father, mother, siblings, nor their children; instead, they kept their word and your covenant. They shall teach Jacob your judgments, and your law to Israel. They shall place incense before you and burnt animal sacrifices upon your altar. Lord, bless them, their skills, and the work of their hands. Smite through the loins those who rise against them, and do not allow those who hate them to rise again." Of Benjamin he said: "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover them all day long, and they shall dwell between his shoulders." Of Joseph he said: "May the Lord bless their land, from the precious dew from the sky, to the deep waters beneath; for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon; for the choice materials of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills; for the precious things of the earth and its fulness; and for the good will of the Lord who dwelt in the burning bush - let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, the crown upon his head that separated him from his brothers. His glory is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns - with them he shall gore his enemies to the end of the earth - they are the tens of thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh." Of Zebulun and Issachar he said: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you Issachar, in your tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness - for they shall feast upon the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hidden in the sand." Of Gad he said: Blessed be he that enlarges Gad's land - he dwells there like a lion, and tears the arm with the crown of his head. He chose the best land for himself, because he was seated as the lawgiver. He lead the people and executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel." Of Dan he said: "Dan is a lion's cub - he shall leap from Bashan." Of Naphtali he said: Naphtali is satisfied with his favor and blessing from the Lord. They will possess the land in the south west." Of Asher he said: Let Asher be blessed with many children and be favored by the other tribes, and let him dip his feet in oil. "The bolts of your gates shall be of iron and brass; and your strength shall equal your days. "There is none like the God of Jeshurun*, who descends from the heaven to help you from his majesty in the sky. The eternal God is your refuge, underneath his everlasting arms. He shall thrust out your enemies before you and shall say 'Destroy them.' "Israel shall dwell safely alone - the fountain of Jacob shall prosper in a land of corn and wine; and the heavens will drop dew. You should be happy, Israel, for who else is like you? People saved by the Lord, by the shield of his help and the sword of his excellency. Your enemies will be found to be wrong, and you shall tread upon their highest places"
Notes:	1.)As noted in the previous chapter, "Jeshurun" is an alternate poetic equivalent for "Israel". It can mean the people of Israel (as it is used here), the land of Israel, or as an alternate name for Jacob/Israel.
Thoughts:	This chapter sort of reads out like a will for the twelve (or thirteen, depending on how you're counting) tribes of Israel, with Moses giving each of them a final blessing before he prepares to die. Some of the tribes, such as Reuben, who gets the first blessing, are short and to the point - he blesses the tribe of Reuben "to live, and not die" and for their numbers to not be few; and the blessing which follows that for the tribe of Judah goes similarly - to bless their handiwork and to help defend them from their enemies. Whereas Moses rambles on much longer with his blessing for other more important tribes like the tribe of Levi. When giving his blessing for the tribe of Levi, Moses again mentions the Thummim and the Urim - two stones that basically serve as a sort of Magic 8-ball to answer "yes" or "no" questions, that we first encountered in Leviticus: Chapter 8. I've discussed my numerous problems with these Magic 8-Ball stones in my commentary for both Leviticus: Chapter 8 and Numbers: Chapter 27, so I don't feel that I need to go into further detail here. Continuing on with his blessing for the Levites, he references God "testing them" at Massah (which the name is said to mean "tempting God to kill us all") when the Israelites were whining for water and almost stoned Moses to death until he drew water from a rock, and the second time that they complained about not having any water where Moses struck the rock like he had done before instead of "speaking to it". He then commends the Levites for not even sparing their own families - parents, siblings, and children - when they were ordered to slaughter them to prove their allegiance to God. He states that they are the ones chosen to teach the people God's laws and judgments, burn incense, and sacrifice animals upon the altar of the sanctuary. He asks God to bless them in their works and deeds, and to "smite through the loins" anyone who opposes the Levites, and to ensure that such people aren't allowed to "rise again". Although Moses states that the tribe of Benjamin is "beloved" to God, they only get a short blessing asking God to keep them safe. Next Moses blesses the "half tribes" of Ephraim and Manasseh under the blanket of the single tribe of Joseph. Because the Levites are included in these blessings, the half tribes must be counted as the single tribe of Joseph to preserve the bible's obsession with the significance of number twelve. When the tribe of Levi is omitted from a count or census, such as when they are prohibited from possessing land in Canaan, the "half tribes" are treated separately as if they were "full tribes". Moses asks God to bless the land of the two "half tribes", as well as everything contained and that grows within it. One odd thing Moses mentions in his list of things are "precious things put forth by the moon", which the only possible thing that I'm aware of that this might be would be mushrooms. This is interesting in light of the role that hallucinogenic mushrooms have played in many early religions - some have even theorized that manna may actually have been describing psilocybe mushrooms. The use of hallucinogenic mushrooms by the Israelites could certainly better explain some of the more bizarre occurrences such as God's appearance as a burning bush (which is also coincidentally mentioned in this blessing) or the intense fear of the Israelites due to God's appearance as a smoking, lightning encrusted, mountain top. Moses asks that the tribes of Joseph are blessed due to the "crown" that separates them from the other eleven tribes, reasoning that the glory of Joseph is like a firstborn bull, and that his "horns are like those of a unicorn(!)" that will gore the enemies of Israel to the ends of the earth, for there are tens of thousands of people belonging to the tribe of Ephraim (32,500 according to the census taken in Numbers: 26), and thousands of people belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (52,700 according to the census taken in Numbers: 26). Even though the tribe of Manasseh outnumbers the tribe of Ephraim in the previous census, Moses seems to imply the opposite here. The tribes of Zebulun and Issachar get a combined blessing, where Moses asks God to bless them in their outdoor activities of camping and hunting. For the tribe of Gad, Moses asks God to enlarge their land, and states that they had picked out the best land for themselves since they were "seated as the lawgiver", meaning that they had been selected to enforce criminal punishments. The tribe of Dan gets the briefest blessing with Moses simply stating that they are "a lion's cub - and [they] shall leap from Bashan". The tribe of Naphtali gets the most boring blessing stating that they're basically happy with what they've got and will inhabit the south west portion of the "promised land". Finally, Moses blesses the tribe of Asher by asking God for them to be blessed with fertility, to be favored by the other tribes, and for them to wash their feet in oil. Moses then states that the defense of the Israelites shall be strong, and that their strength will last through their lifetimes. He adds that God will help them in battle, bringing their enemies before them to destroy. Moses states that they will be safe and unbothered in their dwellings, and will prosper in crops. He finishes off stating that the enemies of Israel will be proven wrong, and that the Israelites will dominate over them.

EXODUS: Chapters 3 & 4

Chapter 3
Summary:	As Moses was tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro*(Reuel), the priest of Midian, suddenly the angel of God appeared to him as a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw that the bush was on fire and wasn't burning up, he drew closer to investigate it. God then called out his name, and Moses asked who it was calling him. God tells him not to come any closer and to remove his shoes, for he is standing on holy ground. He tells Moses that he is the God of his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as Moses covered his face with his hands, fearful to look at God. He continues on telling Moses that he has the seen the hardship of his people in Egypt, and has heard their pleas for freedom. He tells Moses that he has come to deliver them from Egypt into a land "flowing with milk and honey" - where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. He then tells Moses that he has chosen him lead the people out of Egypt. Moses tells God that he is not the right man for the job, to which God ignores and tells Moses that he will be with him along the way, and that he is to lead the people to worship on this mountain. Moses then asks what he should tell the people if they ask which god has sent him. God tells Moses, "I am that I am" and that was what was to be told - furthering that Moses is to tell them that the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has sent him - and that is his eternal name to be used throughout generations. God instructs Moses to call together the elders of Israel and to tell them of God's appearance to him and that he has visited the people of Israel and seen their plight. He again promises to take them away from their slavery and into the "land of milk and honey" occupied by the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He tells Moses that the elders will accept his message, and will accompany him to appear before the Pharaoh, in order to request permission for the Hebrew people to journey into the desert for three days, to offer a sacrifice to God. God adds that he knows the Pharaoh will not allow them to go except under heavy pressure, but that God will give the Pharaoh the pressure he needs. He continues to add that he will destroy Egypt with his miracles until the Pharaoh allows the people to go. Continuing further, God tells him that the Egyptian people will bestow them with gifts as they depart - instructing that the women demand jewels, silver, gold, and the finest clothes from their Egyptian masters - telling Moses that he will clothe the people with the best of Egypt.
Notes:	1.) Reuel inexplicably is also called Jethro starting from this chapter.
Thoughts:	The first thing we learn in this chapter is that apparently Moses' father-in-law Reuel also goes by the name Jethro. It's not explained how or why, and for someone to pick up the bible and read it without clarification, this is confusing as to who is being referred to. What my best guess is, as to why we have this dual naming, that we probably have multiple authors who may have had different translations for the name of Reuel/Jethro. Moses, out tending to his father-in-law's flock sees a burning bush, that God has curiously chosen to take the form of. God calls out Moses' name, tells him not to get any closer, and instructs him to kick off his shoes as he's stepping on holy ground. Moses decides to also cover his face as he for some reason is afraid to look at God's manifestation as a burning bush. God now tells Moses that he's got a mission for him, but Moses doesn't think he's right for the job. He tells Moses that it's going to be his job to lead the Israelis out of Egypt, and plead for their release (under the guise of a three day pilgrimage to the desert) from the Pharaoh of Egypt. He tells Moses to approach the Israeli elders to accompany him to the Pharaoh. Moses asks the burning bush what should he tell the Israeli elders if they ask him which god has sent him on this mission, to which God gives him an enigmatic answer of "I am that I am". He tells Moses that the Pharaoh isn't going to let them go without a lot of heavy persuasion, but that God is more than willing to help twist his arm with his mighty miracles, and even goes on further stating that he's going to destroy Egypt with his power and magic miracles. He caps it off saying that once the Israelis do finally get to go, that as an extra kick to the groin, the Israeli women will take the jewelry, gold, silver, and fancy clothing from the Egyptians as they leave.
Chapter 4
Summary:	Moses tells God that no-one's going to believe his story, do anything that he tells them to do, or believe that God even appeared to him. God then tells Moses to throw his shepherd's rod down onto the ground. When Moses did this, it turned into a snake, which God told him to grab by the tail. When he grabbed the snake by the tail, it became a rod again. God then tells Moses to reach his hand into his robe and pull it out again, when he does so, his hand appeared ravaged with leprosy. God tells him to do the same again and Moses' hand returned to normal. God tells Moses that if they don't believe the first miracle, then they will surely believe the second, but if that too fails, he tells Moses to take some water from the Nile River and pour it upon dry land, and it will turn to blood. Moses then protests to God saying that he isn't a very good speaker, and that he should pick someone else to deliver his message. After arguing back and forth, God angrily concedes that Moses' brother is a good speaker and that he is currently on his way to look for Moses. He tells Moses that his brother can be his spokesman to the people. Moses returns home and told his father-in-law Jethro that he was to return to Egypt to visit his relatives. Before he leaves Midian, God speaks to Moses again, telling him not to fear returning to Egypt, for those who had wanted to execute him are now all dead. So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to Egypt, holding tightly the "Rod of God". God speaks to Moses again, telling him that when he appears to the Pharaoh to plead for the release of his people, he is to tell the Pharaoh that when he refuses, God will slay his oldest son. As Moses and his family were traveling along, they stopped for the night, and God appeared to Moses threatening to kill him. Inexplicably, his wife Zipporah takes a flint knife, cuts off the foreskin of her sons penis and throws it against Moses' feet remarking, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me." God left him alone. God then appears to Aaron, Moses' brother, and tells him to go into the wilderness to meet Moses. Aaron travels to Mount Horeb and met Moses there and they greeted each other warmly. Moses explained God's plan to Aaron, what they were to do and say, and about the miracles they had to do before the Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt and summoned the elders of Israel to a meeting. Aaron told them what God had said and Moses performed the miracles for them. The elders then believed that God had sent them and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Thoughts:	Moses tells God that nobody's going to believe all this talking to a burning bush malarkey, so God teaches Moses a couple of magic tricks including: turning a staff into a snake, the magic hand of leprosy, and if all else fails, take some water out of the Nile, pour it on dry land, and watch it turn to blood. Not quite as impressive as a Chris Angel or David Copperfield show, but apparently it'll do to convince both the ancient Egyptians and the bronze age Israelis. Moses then tries to get out of this gig by telling God that he's not even a good speaker, and that he should just find somebody else for the job. God, now getting pretty angry, decides to let Moses' brother Aaron do all the talking, so that Moses can just concentrate on his magic show. He goes home and tells "Jethro" that he's leaving town and taking his wife and kids and packs them all onto a donkey. God then reassures him that things are a-okay in Egypt as he took care of all those pesky soldiers that wanted to execute him. He also adds in a new little proviso to tell the Pharaoh, that if the Israelis aren't let free, then God will kill the Pharaoh's oldest son. Moses gets going along his trip back to Egypt and later stops to rest for the night. Here things get weird, really weird. For no discernible reason, God threatens to kill Moses dead on the spot. Now Moses' wife grabs a knife and circumcises her son with it and throws the foreskin at Moses and tells him what a bloody mess he is. Apparently this must have freaked God out or something, as he decides it's just best to leave the situation alone. Seriously, this does not make any sense whatsoever. This whole scene seems more at place in a David Lynch movie than what is purportedly to be "the word of God". I honestly had no clue as to what this passage means and had to look up an explanation on a theistic website. According to www.gotquestions.org: " God was going to kill Moses because of sin. The sin of Moses in Exodus 4:24-26 is not stated explicitly, but the surrounding events give substantial clues as to the nature of Moses’ transgression. God had instructed his messenger to warn Pharaoh to free Israel, or risk losing his firstborn son. Moses had been specially groomed by God for eighty years for this mission, and now the time for action had come. Moses was to lead his people out of Egypt and to be an example to Pharaoh’s house, to the nation of Egypt, and to all the nations that heard of those happenings. Accordingly, Moses’ personal life had to be in order before he could direct the spiritual lives of the Hebrew people. It seems that Moses had neglected to administer the sacred rite of circumcision, the act that symbolized the Almighty’s covenant with His chosen people. Perhaps this was the result of pressure from his surrogate Midianite tribe. It is also possible that he was persuaded by Zipporah not to circumcise his son, since she apparently found the practice revolting. This would explain her violent outburst; she felt that she had saved her husband from death by shedding the blood of her son. Whatever the cause, Moses’ outstanding sin made him unfit to serve as a spiritual leader, and the situation had to be rectified before he could carry out his mission effectively. Indeed, as soon as Zipporah performed the act, the Lord “let him go.” In summary, God was going to kill Moses because Moses was supposed to teach the Israelites God's Law, yet Moses was not obeying God's Law himself." Okay, now here's my problem with this answer: a lot of it is being inferred and implied. While this website's answer seems to fit neatly, the bible tells us none of this, this is all just guesswork and taking a stab at what's going on. Why doesn't God just ask Moses to get his son circumcised if that's where the whole problem lays? Now God being omniscient - as purported - wouldn't he have known that Moses had not had his son circumcised, and if this was such a big deal, couldn't he have either asked/told/commanded him to do so, or just picked somebody else? Also, why is outright killing Moses justifiable? If this book is allegedly written by an all perfect deity, wouldn't you think his message would be clear and concise and not require human intervention to "fill in the gaps" and guess that circumcision almost made Moses a ghost here? Anyways, Moses and Aaron eventually meet up at Mount Horeb, and he fills Aaron in on God's plan, the magic tricks, and the whole nine yards. They travel on back to Egypt and make a convincing show to the Israeli elders, who drop to the ground in worship.