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Post by Tamrin on Aug 4, 2009 21:21:49 GMT 10
Blood Sacrifices and Burnt Offerings in the Bible I sometimes hear or read of misunderstandings concerning the nature of blood sacrifices and burnt offerings described in the Bible. These were not wholly in vain, involving the slaughter of animals burnt and wasted. There are many references to them being more like a barbeque for those among the priesthood who were ritually pure. For instance, Leviticus 7:6/21:- Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.  |
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Post by maximus on Aug 5, 2009 6:57:40 GMT 10
The priests had quite the racket going, didn't they?  |
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Post by Tamrin on Aug 5, 2009 21:56:20 GMT 10
A racket over which they ruthlessly fought their rival 'gang,' the Kadoshim priesthood, who were not even of the Levite caste but rather were said to have been presumptuously chosen from among the people (e.g., I Kings 12:31 & II Kings 17:32). Indeed, the context of such prerogatives casts a wholly different light on I Kings 18:17-40, with the contest between Elijah and the 450 priests of Ba'al (400 of Asherah's priests were also said to be present — possibly an interpolation, as no mention is made of their fate). |
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Post by maximus on Aug 6, 2009 1:48:40 GMT 10
Interesting that Yahweh was a "Ba'al" too, as the title is an honorific that means "Lord." I seem to remember the 450 were killed. A lot of killing of rivals in the name of God. Still going on to this day.  |
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Post by Tamrin on Aug 6, 2009 6:45:10 GMT 10
Interesting that Yahweh was a "Ba'al" too, as the title is an honorific that means "Lord." Indeed:- ... we find there was originally no distinction between Ba’al and Yahweh. The following entry from the Temple Dictionary of the Bible (Ewing & Thomson, pp.42/3, some words originally abbreviated have been completed), reads:BAAL, plural BALIM, the supreme male deity of the Shemites; probably originally bisexual – the progress of anthropomorphism naturally involving the ascription of sex. Baal means ‘Lord,’ ‘possessor’; therefore Baal is an attributive, not a proper name. At first Baal and Jehovah were identical, hence Saul and David had sons whose names had Baal as a constitutive element (I Chr. 8.33, 9.39, 14.7). Gradually it was recognised that the connotation was so different that it was simpler to regard them as different beings. One point of difference was that Baal was worshiped by images, while Jehovah was not. On the other hand, "Yahweh" was a designation used elsewhere in among Phoenicians, as with Yehaw-milk or King Yahweh of Byblos, who has been depicted making offerings to Hathor...
Remembering that Jerusalem was part of the Egyptian province of Retjenu, the most obvious "Lord" would have been Pharaoh, a "living god." Indeed, in life he was a theophany of Horus; in death, Osiris; and, as he begat his heir, Amun (another "unseen god," like YHWH) Indeed, we find the usual representations of Ba'al resemble classic depictions of Pharaoh, complete with pharaonic crown, in a conventional pose "smiting his enemies" (top row images of Ba'al, bottom row images of Pharaohs and, significantly, a Candace). |
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Post by Tamrin on Aug 6, 2009 6:56:32 GMT 10
I seem to remember the 450 were killed. Of the slaughtered followers of the religion promulgated by their king of the day, Ahab, we are told, "Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. (I Kings 21:24). Seems I've heard something like that elsewhere!? Elijah slaughters the prophets of Baal |
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Post by Tamrin on Aug 6, 2009 7:05:39 GMT 10
A lot of killing of rivals in the name of God.
Still going on to this day. Quite so. On a lighter note, we still find Brethren putting aside their lodge aprons and the square and compasses, heading south and jostling for the macho status of donning a barbeque apron and taking up the fork and tongs, to preside over our latter-day "burnt offerings" (many a true word..., as they say). |
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