by DannyBloem 17 Replies latest watchtower bible
Can somebody bring some light to this question?
Judges chapter 11.
If you read vers 31 it looks clear that Jephtha is speaking about human sacrefice. "he speaks about a burn offering for Jehovah of the first thing or person that walks out of his house." This must mean a person I guess...
But then after his daughter comes out, it does not look like she finally made it as a fine selling burn offering of God, or does it?
He did!
There is a school of thought that human sacrifice was quite common with the Israelites only later to be replaced by animal sacrifice. The evidence is in the scriptures that the Israelites both knew about and practiced human sacrifice themselves..Abraham did not consider it odd to have to sacrifice his son to Yahweh and Jeptha apparently had no problem offering up his child. Ezekiel 20:25,26 shows Yahweh gave them bad regulations. Leviticus shows humans were among things that were devoted to Jehovah, devoted to destruction. In the Hebrew language something holy or devoted became synonymous with something accursed.
(Leviticus 27:28-29) 28 "‘Only no sort of devoted thing that a man might devote to Jehovah for destruction out of all that is his, whether from mankind or beasts or from the field of his possession, may be sold, and no sort of devoted thing may be bought back. It is something most holy to Jehovah. 29 No devoted person who might be devoted to destruction from among mankind may be redeemed. He should be put to death without fail.
I alway thought 2 Samuel Chapter 21 was pretty disturbing. It goes like this:
1. There is a famine in the land.
2. David finds out from Jehovah it is because of Saul's bloodguilt with the Gibeonites.
3. David asks the Gibeonites what he can do to resolve this.
4. The Gibs say sacrifice 7 of Saul's sons.
5. David does so.
6. Jehovah is happy and ends the famine.
Jehovah is not the kind of God I always imagined but is the kind of God I have come to discover as of late.The reason it took so long is many Christians and Jews try to hide the facts thru creative translating and tortured logic. But when one looks with an open mind the evidence is there ,I believe, as to what really went on back then.
Even Christianity is bizarre. Christians all cheer at the human sacrifice of God on their behalf and look forward to a most horrific day of sacrifice of human murder, gore, carnage and blood to introduce the Messianic Kingdom.
I don't know why so many try to hide the facts of human sacrifice in the Old Testament as they seem right up their alley.
One has to wonder if the inclusion that the 7 were killed at the opening of the barley harvest is significant as well.
Interesting remark PP. It is the time of Passover which is elsewhere connected with human sacrifice (the firstborn). Hmm...
Narkissos, on the thread Gumby linked to you introduced this:
There is an interesting intermediate stage # 2 between (1) the accepted practice of human sacrifice in Israel and (3) the total prohibition of human sacrifice in the Torah. It is attested in Ezekiel 20:25f:
Moreover I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live. I defiled them through their very gifts, in their offering up all their firstborn, in order that I might horrify them, so that they might know that I am the LORD.
At this intermediate stage, the sacrifice of the firstborn is interpreted, neither as good, nor as non-acceptable and substituted with a ransom (as in the later Torah). It is described as a bad commandment from Yahweh, coming as a punition for Israel's infidelity to the "good commandments".
Do you mean to suggest Ezekiel was saying that the Firstborn rite was 'not good' or something more like Mccoby understands it: BAD COMMANDMENTS. I wonder the suggestion that there may have been two versions of Exodus in circulation in Ezekiel's time.
A question: does not Judges 11:40 suggest that Jepthah's daugther was not literally put to death as a sacrifice?
That's a sick story no better than the sacrifices the Incas made over which the Catholics believed they had moral superiority.
I remember this story being analysed at a meeting the details I forgot but I think the gist of it was a deal is a deal.
Japhthah must have been a complete asshole to make such a deal. THe chances that it would have been his daughter would have been high. What if it had been his neighbour. How would he have explained that one away... "Listen neighbour, I don't know how to explain this to you, but tell you what, you've got two months to get your rocks off then I have to slit your throat and burn your body. No hard feelings. It's not personal it's business."
It's obvious that the Jews made this Jehovah to match their violent culture.
It really sickens me now when I hear JWs say they love Jehovah. They don't know what they are saying and what they are worshipping.
room 215 check out the thread gumby suppied for a detailed discussion
