Here's a question for all you bible students out there, both critics and apologists: In 1513 BCE the Israelites were said to be in the Wilderness, without food, so Jeh gave them miraculous manna to eat. Exodus 16:35 says they ate it for 40 years. The funny thing is that a year after they began eating manna, the bible book of Leviticus, which WTS says was written in 1512, records a mind-numbing litany of rules and regulations regarding sacrifices that were to be made at the tabernacle, which had just recently been put into use. What, according to Leviticus, were the Israelites to sacrifice? Their manna? Hardly! Among the foodstuffs to be offered up on the alter were bulls, sheep, goats, turtle doves, pigeons, grain, fine flour, oil, and bread. But all those goodies, according to Joshua 5:12, weren't available to them until they reached Canan, almost 40 years later! Was Jeh just wanting to make sure they were REALLY prepared, by giving them all these rules 40 years in advance?
Was Jehovah 40 years early
by Socrateswannabe 7 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Jeannette
There are so many discrepancies in the bible we don't need to waste time and energy reading it.
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Crazyguy
What would be even better is to somehow show that he was givinng these commands while still in the wilderness. This would show another mistake by the writters of the book. There are already geographical mistakes in the gospels and the name darius was used in Isaiah which seems to be wrong showing the writters did not know history as well as geography.
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prologos
and of course this is the currently asigned wt weekly bible reading. who said "mind-numbing" ?
it has yet to be shown that this-all is the eternal word of God.
burning all this stuff on a portable wooden altar, copper - clad with a copper grating. ?
a seal-skin covered tent in the desert?
2 million dead in the desert plus all the animal sacrificed gone without a trace?
of course shoes were never found, they did not wear out for 40 years, the end of the cobbler trade.
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Doug Mason
Your question touches several key issues.
The Bible is not literal history. Its primary intention is religious; each account was a religious story designed to influence the communities that belonged to the writers and to the editors (redactors). Most of the writing took place during the 8th to 5th centuries BCE, and the religious politics of the respective groups influenced their own accounts. For example, the writings of the priests who had an allegiance to Moses wrote accounts that had a different slant to those whose allegiance was towards Aaron. And as the copying process continued, each generation modified the texts according to their own beliefs.
During the Persian Period (5th to 4th centuries), action was taken to amalgamate the varying writings, resulting in the amalgum that has been passed down. As an example, the Creation myths at Genesis 2 (the account that was written earlier) and at Genesis 1 were written and handed on by different groups. Skilful weaving during the Persian period has almost hidden that there are two different Flood myths.
When you get to Joshua, you are in another territory, and I suggest you immerse yourself into the Documentary Hypothesis as well as into the Deuteronomic History. (Joshua is part of that history which owes its existence from the actions taken by the priests during 6th century neo-Babylonian Captivity. That history includes Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and so on.)
The general Late Iron Age populace would not be in a position to compare the varying accounts. Firstly, they could not read; secondly, they would only be told the stories produced by their immediate religious leadership.
Given the diversity of the material being passed on (and reinterpreted in the process), it is amazing that the people of the 5th to 4th centuries BCE (Ezra and his ilk) were able to produce documents that are so skilfully woven.
A couple of books (read widely, of course): "Who Wrote The Bible?", Richard Elliott Friedman; and "How the Bible Became a Book", William Schneidewind. Then read books by people who disagree in certain respects with these authors. Also research the Canonisation process.
Doug
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HowTheBibleWasCreated
The problem is easy to solve. Both these texts were written down after the exile. One was a text about ancestors in Egyot and leaving Egypt (Which many exilic Jews did after the Babyloian captivity (Jeremiah's crew went to Egypt) .... The Food laws are a mix however the oes in Levitcus were written by fairly well educated and well paid priests in the Persian Era... Maybe even more likly the early Hellenistic Era of 300BCE or so. Joshua contains accounts of priestly origin too... circumsicion... the food verse you mentioned... and dividing of land which spans the middle chapters.
In my reasearch I have found there is no complete Torah in history until 263BCE... The Septuigent. That was the likely point the texts were redacted together into the spiderweb they are today.
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Searril
http://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Leviticus.html
Date of Writing: The Book of Leviticus was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C.
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Apognophos
Date of Writing: The Book of Leviticus was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C.
Well, that settle that