Ancient Hebrews Got Away With So Much

by Tim207 19 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Anony Mous

  When it pertains to property, we likewise get away with a lot. Women in the Bible are chattel, barely worth more than a sheep but definitely less than a cow. Whatever happens to them is just part of the story and not really important.

  The Jews have a really good way of explaining the lessons without focusing on whether it is factual. If you're looking at the moral of the story, I'd recommend looking at Orthodox Jewish scholars for answers, the rest is just ancient story.

  The interesting part is that Jesus came from a lineage of whoremongers and illegitimate children with a distant and somewhat dubious claim to the throne of David. It's why the Jews will never accept Jesus and why the New Testament is basically contradictory descriptions of lineage and apologetics on the character of Jesus.
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  waton

  Potiphar’s wife in all likelihood was not ugly..but was probably good-looking because a man of his stature supposedly could get the best-looking woman in the land..

  LHG: Prominent men often got their positions because they married the ugly, aged daughters of the heavies. Anyway,

  Joseph was the house slave and she ordered him to service her,

  I recommended Joseph's line: " it is against my religion" as a non-offending refusal to my children too.

  "Every one is drawn out by his own desire", and Joseph was not, This week's wt portrayal of a young witness cultivating desire for a young lady, was a total mixup of that. Joseph was not restraining himself.

  No peep from wt either, that he was the exemplary whistle blower, telling what really went on with the ten.

  , as many here do about wt'BtS inc's and their minion's doings.
  
  
  
  
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  waton

  talking about not so beautiful wives and "so much. to get away" from:

  many of the 1k females in King Solomon's entourage were probably the tokens of strategic marriages. and he took it upon himself to go after the perhaps 12 year old Shulamite to escape that quantity that lacked quality.
• 

  LongHairGal

  WATON:

  Oh, you mean the women in Solomon’s harem weren’t all shapely beauties like the dancing girls and the actresses in the epic movie The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston??

  The standards of female beauty probably were a little different back then (not to mention women were covered up). We might not consider them attractive by modern standards.
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  waton

  LHG, all I was saying is, that Joseph was not tempted. The texts call him "very handsome" but are discreetly silent on the lady's appearance. (wt illustrations notwithstanding) . Possibly she had the beauty equivalent of Margaret T. or Angela M. worthy ladies. Yes,

  beauty standards change, from the rotund s of Rubens and Rembrandt, - now trending more to the vertical, higher heels. Kate M. Twiggy.

  I am so glad that the important and cherished ladies in my life, mother, wife never had to have a big budget to enhance their beauty.

  They could have done without me, I not without them.
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  eyeuse2badub

  The bible is filled with bullshit dribble about prominent people that got away with shit! And jehober just let them off the hook. Anyone who doesn't see through these fairy tales needs a brain enema! IMHO that is!

  One of the "bible stories" that makes no sense is how the Israelite's knowingly and willingly allowed "temple prostitutes" to work at the temple when illicit sex was a capital offence. But a guy who picked up some wood on the sabbath got stoned to death! Yea right!

  just saying!
• 

  Vidiot

  LongHairGal - "The standards of female beauty probably were a little different back then."

  Oh, I don't know.

  Our species doesn't evolve that fast.

  
  
• 

  LongHairGal

  WATON:

  I was being humorous not sarcastic. (You can’t see my facial expression.). I also believe handsome Joseph was not tempted and was being polite to this older woman...You are probably also right that maybe all of Solomon’s women were not attractive - and he probably didn’t visit them all that often 😉.

  VIDIOT:

  Standards were somewhat different and change through the ages. Look at the Statue of Liberty. That face looks masculine to me! I’m sure in bible times they weren’t into the anorexic look like today..

  Besides, women back then were all covered up. Maybe you saw their eyes..You also didn’t see people’s bodies like now - or have the tv culture we have. People grew up in a village and that’s all they saw.
• 

  Jeffro

  Half banana:

  You have to remember that the Bible is mainly fiction. Moses, Abraham Isaac and Jacob did not exist, they are fiction.The twelve tribes did not exist, Most of Genesis is complete fiction. The Exodus is fiction. The conquering of Canaan is fiction. The early kings are fiction, historical kings begin with Hezekiah but the Bible's accounts of historical people are not necessarily true even then.

  Mostly correct, except for comments about the kings prior to Hezekiah. There is attestation for various kings of Judah and Israel in extrabiblical sources, including well before Hezekiah. However, there is little to no evidence of David or earlier as historical characters. But as you point out, even for the characters that actually did exist, the versions of events in the Bible are littered with political and religious propaganda.
  
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  Jeffro

  Tim207:

  Why wasn’t Judah punished for sleeping withTamar?

  Apart from the story not being historical, it is set prior to the introduction of the Mosaic law, and apart from Judah's personal affront to her prostitution in the story, there is no indication in the Bible of a former prohibition against temple prostitutes (as which Tamar supposedly disguised herself).

  Aside from that, the only prohibitions in the Mosaic law about prostitution are that fathers could not make their daughters prostitutes, priests could not marry prostitutes and their daughters could not be prostitutes, and temple prostitutes were forbidden. There is no prohibition at all against prostitutes generally, and prostitution was frowned upon but generally tolerated in Judea.