Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
18:1 LO YIHEYEH LA KOHANIM HE LEVI'IM KOL SHEVET LEVI CHELEK VE NACHALAH IM YISRA-EL ISHEY YHVH VE NACHALATO YOCHEYLUN
לֹא יִהְיֶה לַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם כָּל שֵׁבֶט לֵוִי חֵלֶק וְנַחֲלָה עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל אִשֵּׁי יְהוָה וְנַחֲלָתוֹ יֹאכֵלוּן
KJ (King James translation): The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
BN (BibleNet translation): The Kohanim, the Leviyim, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have neither a portion of land, nor any material inheritance within Yisra-El; they shall eat the burnt-offerings to YHVH and his inheritance.
This is somewhat disingenuous. The next few verses will give some of the exceptions to this apparent rule, but we need to look elsewhere for the remainder. Numbers 35:1-8 is a good starting-point, where no less than 48 cities are denoted as Levitical cities, six of them specifically as "asylum cities", the rest as religious centres. In each one of those cities, the prime land in the immediate vicinity of the city walls was reserved for the Kohanim, and for their cattle and their crops. My note at Numbers 35:2 then takes you to Nechemiah 11, where the walls of Yeru-Shala'im are being rebuilt, and guess who gets the best houses, the ones built into the city walls!
18:2 VE NACHALAH LO YIHEYEH LO BE KEREV ECHAV YHVH HU NACHALATO KA ASHER DIBER LO
וְנַחֲלָה לֹא יִהְיֶה לּוֹ בְּקֶרֶב אֶחָיו יְהוָה הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לוֹ
BN: But they shall have no inheritance among their kinsmen; YHVH is their inheritance, as he has informed them.
And why would you need an inheritance, in the material sense, if your family home is guaranteed to you and your descendants by law, you pay no taxes, you are fed by the community (see below) with the very best of the produce, and you even have the best patch of ground, in the "suburbs" of the city, for your private garden and allotment, and to provide activity for those members of the priesthood who have "blemishes" and therefore cannot serve?
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18:3 VE ZEH YIHEYEH MISHPAT HA KOHANIM MEY ET HA AM MEY ET ZOVCHEY HA ZEVACH IM SHOR IM SEH VE NATAN LA KOHEN HA ZERO'A VE HA LECHAYAYIM VE HA KEVAH
וְזֶה יִהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַכֹּהֲנִים מֵאֵת הָעָם מֵאֵת זֹבְחֵי הַזֶּבַח אִם שׁוֹר אִם שֶׂה וְנָתַן לַכֹּהֵן הַזְּרֹעַ וְהַלְּחָיַיִם וְהַקֵּבָה
KJ: And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
BN: And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be an ox or a sheep: that they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the two buttocks, and the stomach.
ZERO'A: Psalm 21:13 speaks of the SHECHEM (שֶׁכֶם), sometimes translated as the whole "back", sometimes just the "shoulder". The full "back" basically means the rib-cage, a delicacy in sweet-and-sour or barbecue sauce, though there tends to be less meat than on the shoulder. By whichever word, Zero'a or Shechem, the shoulder is the priestly portion, ideally with roast potatoes, two veg, rosemary for seasoning, and of course mint sauce, whether in vinegar or as jelly.
LECHAYAYIM: the buttocks, but the King James translators were rather prudish about these things, and so preferred "cheeks"; I point this out only because you might otherwise think the priests ate the face of the animal.
Also note that the root is LECHI (as in Hagar's Be'er Lechi Ro'i), so the plural should be either LECHIYIM or perhaps LECHAYIM, but here there is a second Yud, which transforms the word into a multiple plural, akin to MAYIM for "water" and SHAMAYIM for "the skies" or "heavens"; it is not obvious to me, unless out of a wish to avoid an aural pun (LE CHA'IM is the Jewish equivalent of "sláinte"), why this should be rendered as LECHAYAYIM, given that the only known occasion of a multiple plural among the buttocks is the old woman in Voltaire's Candide, and even there it is several women who each have one removed.
KEVAH: Tricky this, but interesting: the KAVAH is really the stomach (cf Numbers 25:8), but no one eats the stomach, and its inner organs are specifically prohibited. King James renders it as "maw", which is really the throat or gullet, but that too is not normally eaten. Gesenius traces the etymology back to the Chaldean, where he finds KUBAH for a "tent" on one occasion (the Ka'aba at Mecca comes from the same root), and a "bedchamber" on another, suggesting the Ohel Sarah, which is sometimes the "brothel" of the hierodule in the rites of Asherah, and sometimes the bridal tent (cf Genesis 24:64-67), which today is the mere canopy of the chupah; I only mention this because the word became significant later on in the Arab world, when that place of worshipping the gods and goddesses evolved into the mosque, the very first of which to be built by Mohammed himself, arriving in Yatrib (Medina) in flight from Mecca, would bear that very name - usually written phonetically as Quba in English. An entirely different pespective on the "sacred, priestly portion".
18:4 RE'SHIT DEGANCHA TIRSHECHA VE YITS'HARECHA VE RE'SHIT GEZ TSONCHA TITEN LO
רֵאשִׁית דְּגָנְךָ תִּירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ וְרֵאשִׁית גֵּז צֹאנְךָ תִּתֶּן לוֹ
BN: The first-fruits of your corn, of your wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
There is a traditional English song that takes this instruction into the Christian world: Baa Baa Black Sheep - click here for more on this (it's about half-way down the link).
18:5 KI VO BACHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA MI KOL SHEVATEYCHA LA'AMOD LESHARET BE SHEM YHVH HU U VANAV KOL HA YAMIM
כִּי בוֹ בָּחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִכָּל שְׁבָטֶיךָ לַעֲמֹד לְשָׁרֵת בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה הוּא וּבָנָיו כָּל הַיָּמִים
BN: For YHVH your god has chosen him out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of YHVH him and his sons for ever.
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18:6 VE CHI YAVO HA LEVI ME ACHAD SHE'AREYCHA MI KOL YISRA-EL ASHER HU GAR SHAM U VA BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHO EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH
KJ: And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose;
BN: And if a Levite should come from any of your gates, wherever in Yisra-El he may live, and he comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which YHVH shall choose...
18:7 VE SHERET BE SHEM YHVH ELOHAV KE CHOL ECHAV HA LEVIYIM HA OMDIM SHAM LIPHNEY YHVH
KJ: Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD.
BN: Then he shall minister in the name of YHVH his god, as all his brethren the Leviyim do, who stand there before YHVH.
18:8 CHELEK KE CHELEK YOCHELU LEVAD MI MEKARAV AL HA AVOT
KJ: They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
BN: They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which is his due from the clans.
18:6 VE CHI YAVO HA LEVI ME ACHAD SHE'AREYCHA MI KOL YISRA-EL ASHER HU GAR SHAM U VA BE CHOL AVAT NAPHSHO EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH
וְכִי יָבֹא הַלֵּוִי מֵאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ מִכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הוּא גָּר שָׁם וּבָא בְּכָל אַוַּת נַפְשׁוֹ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה
BN: And if a Levite should come from any of your gates, wherever in Yisra-El he may live, and he comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which YHVH shall choose...
18:7 VE SHERET BE SHEM YHVH ELOHAV KE CHOL ECHAV HA LEVIYIM HA OMDIM SHAM LIPHNEY YHVH
וְשֵׁרֵת בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו כְּכָל אֶחָיו הַלְוִיִּם הָעֹמְדִים שָׁם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה
BN: Then he shall minister in the name of YHVH his god, as all his brethren the Leviyim do, who stand there before YHVH.
18:8 CHELEK KE CHELEK YOCHELU LEVAD MI MEKARAV AL HA AVOT
חֵלֶק כְּחֵלֶק יֹאכֵלוּ לְבַד מִמְכָּרָיו עַל הָאָבוֹת
BN: They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which is his due from the clans.
Odd mixing of singular and plural.
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18:9 KI ATAH BA EL HA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH LO TILMAD LA'ASOT KE TO'AVOT HA GOYIM HA HEM
כִּי אַתָּה בָּא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ לֹא תִלְמַד לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּתוֹעֲבֹת הַגּוֹיִם הָהֵם
BN: When you come into the land which YHVH your god is giving you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
The phrasing here is subtly nuanced. "You shall not learn to do" is not the same as "you shall learn not to do", which we might have expected. The former is about maintaining ignorance, the latter would require you to know the subject well, in order to be able to reject it - and of course that process of finding out carries an enormous risk that you might just agree with it, and adopt it.
18:10 LO YIMATS'E VECHA MA'AVIR BENO U VITO BA ESH KOSEM KESAMIM ME'ONEN U MENACHESH U MECHASHEPH
לֹא יִמָּצֵא בְךָ מַעֲבִיר בְּנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ בָּאֵשׁ קֹסֵם קְסָמִים מְעוֹנֵן וּמְנַחֵשׁ וּמְכַשֵּׁף
KJ: There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
BN: There shall not be found among you any one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer.
BN: There shall not be found among you any one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer.
MA'AVIR... BA ESH: The practice of Moloch-worship, most especially in the hill-town of Yevus, where his great obelisk, the Tsi'un, stood on the summit like a Colossus, and firstborn sons and daughters were cast into the fire between his feet (see the link for an illustration), and their remains thrown down into the Valley of Hinnom - Gey Hinnom, whence that apocalyptic name Gehenna (and probably the source, or one of anyway, of the transformation of the healthy Underworld of matter being biodegraded into compost for next year's fertility, into the home of the fire-breathing Devil and his fellow demons).
ME'ONEN: is this root-linked to ONAN from the Yehudah and Tamar story in Genesis 38? No, ONAN there is spelled with an Aleph (א), but here with an Ayin (ע). This is from the root AVON, which is used for general sin and wickedness. How it came to mean "witchcraft" is not obvious, though possibly because of its similarity with MA'ON, which means "a place", but is also connected with times and seasons and festivities (maybe the town of Ma'on became known for witchcraft, like Salem in Massachussetts, and the name stuck?).
18:11 VE CHOVER CHAVER VE SHO'EL OV VE YIDONI VE DORESH EL HA METIM
18:11 VE CHOVER CHAVER VE SHO'EL OV VE YIDONI VE DORESH EL HA METIM
וְחֹבֵר חָבֶר וְשֹׁאֵל אוֹב וְיִדְּעֹנִי וְדֹרֵשׁ אֶל הַמֵּתִים
KJ: Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
BN: Or a fakir, or one who consults a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer.
CHOVER: "Charmer" in King James' time may well have been understood as "snake-charmer"; today it has very different connotations.
SHO'EL: Nothing demonic in that word either. The root simply means "to ask" or "to enquire". But yet it does have demonic overtones, and this business of enquiring after other gods, or consulting psychic therapists or Tarot card readers has a great deal to do with it, just as with my Gehenna note above. From the same root comes SHE'OL, the Biblical equivalent of Hel or Hades. And as to its king, no other than Sha'ul, one of whose worst sins, according to 1 Samuel 28, was precisely that he went off to find a Ba'alat Ov - the Witch of En-Dor (probably Shakespeare's source for a famous scene in Macbeth).
OV: does not mean ghost; it does not even mean "familiar spirit", or anything else connected with seances and mediums; today it means "bottle", which in the ancient world would have been "flagon", if it was made of leather, or "jar" if it was made of clay. There is also the root OV, meaning "to return", and used particularly for the rising and setting of the sun. I leave it to your imagination to deduce how these two roots intertwined, and a woman's shadow as she walked home from the well in the twilight, with a water-jug balanced on her head, evolved into concepts of communication with the dead.
18:12 KI TO'AVAT YHVH KOL OSEH ELEH, U VIGLAL HA TO'EVOT HA ELEH YHVH ELOHEYCHA MORIYSH OTAM MI PANEYCHA
KJ: For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
BN: For whoever does these things is an abomination to YHVH; and because of these abominations YHVH your god is driving them out from before you.
SHO'EL: Nothing demonic in that word either. The root simply means "to ask" or "to enquire". But yet it does have demonic overtones, and this business of enquiring after other gods, or consulting psychic therapists or Tarot card readers has a great deal to do with it, just as with my Gehenna note above. From the same root comes SHE'OL, the Biblical equivalent of Hel or Hades. And as to its king, no other than Sha'ul, one of whose worst sins, according to 1 Samuel 28, was precisely that he went off to find a Ba'alat Ov - the Witch of En-Dor (probably Shakespeare's source for a famous scene in Macbeth).
OV: does not mean ghost; it does not even mean "familiar spirit", or anything else connected with seances and mediums; today it means "bottle", which in the ancient world would have been "flagon", if it was made of leather, or "jar" if it was made of clay. There is also the root OV, meaning "to return", and used particularly for the rising and setting of the sun. I leave it to your imagination to deduce how these two roots intertwined, and a woman's shadow as she walked home from the well in the twilight, with a water-jug balanced on her head, evolved into concepts of communication with the dead.
18:12 KI TO'AVAT YHVH KOL OSEH ELEH, U VIGLAL HA TO'EVOT HA ELEH YHVH ELOHEYCHA MORIYSH OTAM MI PANEYCHA
כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה כָּל עֹשֵׂה אֵלֶּה וּבִגְלַל הַתּוֹעֵבֹת הָאֵלֶּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מוֹרִישׁ אוֹתָם מִפָּנֶיךָ
BN: For whoever does these things is an abomination to YHVH; and because of these abominations YHVH your god is driving them out from before you.
A problem for theologians, verses such as this one; or, to phrase that more precisely, the Chief Rabbi of Israel's horoscope, drawn this morning by my Psychic Tarot reader using a strictly Euclidean Gematria on the numercial values of the acrostic of his full name, tells me that his mazal is not tov at the moment, that he needs to check if the script inside his mezuzah is the right way up, that there are no indications that the Messiah is on the way (if anything Lyra, which is the Star of David, is in decline), but that Uranus being very close with Mars suggests an augury that the Iranians may in some clandestine manner be supporting Palestinian protests against Israel. And that the threats and promises of YHVH are not always terribly substantive.
18:13 TAMIM TIHEYEH IM YHVH ELOHEYCHA
KJ: Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
BN: You shall be whole-hearted with YHVH your god.
Meaning what exactly? Wasn't this the description of Job? Yes, in 36:4 and 37:16; but see also Genesis 6:9, where it was said of No'ach; Psalm 19:8; and Exodus 12:5, where it described sacrificial animals that are unblemished. "Whole-hearted" is not a bad translation, but seems to me too positive; the intention here is less a pure positive than a non-negative, something in the manner of the munafiqun of the Moslem world, an idealism of sincerity in which the good deeds are promised, meant, and expedited without personal agendas of gain. Giving a million pounds to charity is not "whole-hearted" if you are simply laundering stolen cash, evading taxes, or buying an ego-plaque.
18:14 KI HA GOYIM HA ELEH ASHER ATAH YORESH OTAM EL ME'ONENIM VE EL KOSMIM YISHMA'U VE ATAH LO CHEN NATAN LECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA
כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יוֹרֵשׁ אוֹתָם אֶל מְעֹנְנִים וְאֶל קֹסְמִים יִשְׁמָעוּ וְאַתָּה לֹא כֵן נָתַן לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ: For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
BN: For these nations, which you are to dispossess, they listen to soothsayers, and to diviners; but as for you, YHVH your god does not permit you to do so.
See again my note at verse 12. I do not see how it is any different to have the High Priest go to the twelve stones embedded in his breastplate, and determine from their lights what YHVH intends, or roll the dice known as the Urim and Tumim. And then look at Genesis 40 and 41, or Exodus 7 - are these not divination and soothsaying? Apparently it's a holy act when our religion does it, but pagan devil-worshipping in anyone else.
18:13 TAMIM TIHEYEH IM YHVH ELOHEYCHA
תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
KJ: Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
BN: You shall be whole-hearted with YHVH your god.
Meaning what exactly? Wasn't this the description of Job? Yes, in 36:4 and 37:16; but see also Genesis 6:9, where it was said of No'ach; Psalm 19:8; and Exodus 12:5, where it described sacrificial animals that are unblemished. "Whole-hearted" is not a bad translation, but seems to me too positive; the intention here is less a pure positive than a non-negative, something in the manner of the munafiqun of the Moslem world, an idealism of sincerity in which the good deeds are promised, meant, and expedited without personal agendas of gain. Giving a million pounds to charity is not "whole-hearted" if you are simply laundering stolen cash, evading taxes, or buying an ego-plaque.
18:14 KI HA GOYIM HA ELEH ASHER ATAH YORESH OTAM EL ME'ONENIM VE EL KOSMIM YISHMA'U VE ATAH LO CHEN NATAN LECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA
כִּי הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יוֹרֵשׁ אוֹתָם אֶל מְעֹנְנִים וְאֶל קֹסְמִים יִשְׁמָעוּ וְאַתָּה לֹא כֵן נָתַן לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
BN: For these nations, which you are to dispossess, they listen to soothsayers, and to diviners; but as for you, YHVH your god does not permit you to do so.
See again my note at verse 12. I do not see how it is any different to have the High Priest go to the twelve stones embedded in his breastplate, and determine from their lights what YHVH intends, or roll the dice known as the Urim and Tumim. And then look at Genesis 40 and 41, or Exodus 7 - are these not divination and soothsaying? Apparently it's a holy act when our religion does it, but pagan devil-worshipping in anyone else.
18:15 NAVI MI KIRBECHA MEY ACHEYCHA KAMONI YAKIM LECHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA ELAV TISHMA'UN
נָבִיא מִקִּרְבְּךָ מֵאַחֶיךָ כָּמֹנִי יָקִים לְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵלָיו תִּשְׁמָעוּן
KJ: The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
BN: YHVH your god will raise up a prophet to you, from among you, of your kinsmen; as with me, so to him you shall listen.
ELAV TISHMA'UN: But how will they know he's genuine? See Deuteronomy 13:2, and hope they haven't stoned him to death before he turns out to be.
18:16 KE CHOL ASHER SHA'ALTA MEY IM YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE CHOREV BE YOM HA KAHAL LEMOR LO OSEPH LISHMO'A ET KOL YHVH ELOHAI VE ET HA ESH HA GEDOLAH HA ZOT LO EREH OD VE LO AMUT
כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר שָׁאַלְתָּ מֵעִם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּחֹרֵב בְּיוֹם הַקָּהָל לֵאמֹר לֹא אֹסֵף לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶת קוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהָי וְאֶת הָאֵשׁ הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת לֹא אֶרְאֶה עוֹד וְלֹא אָמוּת
KJ: According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
BN: According to all that you desired of YHVH your god in Chorev on the day of the assembly, saying: Let me not hear again the voice of YHVH my god, neither let me see this great fire any more, so that I do not die.
Deuteronomy 5:18-22 (24-28 in the KJ) is the source for this.
18:17 VA YOMER YHVH ELAI HEYTIVU ASHER DIBEYRU
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָי הֵיטִיבוּ אֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּרוּ
KJ: And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
BN: And YHVH said to me: What they have spoken was well said.
18:18 NAVI AKIM LAHEM MI KEREV ACHEYHEM KAMOCHA VE NATATI DEVARAI BE PHIV VE DIBER ALEYHEM ET KOL ASHER ATSAVEYNU
נָבִיא אָקִים לָהֶם מִקֶּרֶב אֲחֵיהֶם כָּמוֹךָ וְנָתַתִּי דְבָרַי בְּפִיו וְדִבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר אֲצַוֶּנּוּ
KJ: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
BN: I will raise up a prophet for them from among their kinsmen, someone like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall instruct him.
Actually, in the original scene, he sent them back to their tents (5:26), and the person he set up as a Prophet was Mosheh himself (5:27), just as the people had requested (5:23). Is Mosheh being falsely modest? Or is this the scribe of the Ezraic period, wanting to avoid specific mention of Mosheh, because he needs to use the original tale to give validity and approval to the Prophets of his time, Zechar-Yah perhaps, or Chagai, or Mal'achi?
18:19 VE HAYAH HA ISH ASHER LO YISHMA EL DEVARAI ASHER YEDABER BI SHEMI ANOCHI EDROSH ME IMO
וְהָיָה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִשְׁמַע אֶל דְּבָרַי אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמִי אָנֹכִי אֶדְרֹשׁ מֵעִמּוֹ
BN: And it shall be that, anyone who refuses to listen to my words, which he will speak in my name, I will require it of him.
18:20 ACH HA NAVI ASHER YAZID LEDABER DAVAR BI SHEMI ET ASHER LO TSIVITIV LEDABER VA ASHER YEDABER BE SHEM ELOHIM ACHERIM U MET HA NAVI HA HU
אַךְ הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר יָזִיד לְדַבֵּר דָּבָר בִּשְׁמִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוִּיתִיו לְדַבֵּר וַאֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר בְּשֵׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וּמֵת הַנָּבִיא הַהוּא
BN: But the prophet who speaks presumptuously in my name, words that I have not instructed him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
And again, how will they know?
18:21 VE CHI TOMAR BI LEVAVECHA EYCHAH NEDA ET HA DAVAR ASHER LO DIBRO YHVH
KJ: When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
BN: When a prophet speaks in the name of YHVH, if the thing does not follow or come to pass, then it is something which YHVH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not pay attention to him.
Which means that Mosheh is a false prophet who should be stoned, or at least rejected by future generations, because he too passed on promises from YHVH which did not come to pass. But this is theology. Not my domain!
Or maybe this isn't really theology at all, but the apotheosis of superstition, this rendering of "chance" and "haphazard" as "fate" and "destiny". It is also extremely dangerous - many prophets from the middle ages onwards predicted, warned even, that the scale of anti-Semitism in Europe, the regularity of pogroms, the repeated pronouncing of the Blood Libel, would eventually end in total Holocaust. And based on this verse, those prophecies having come to tragic fruition, the words must have been sanctioned by YHVH, and the deed itself given his approval.
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וְכִי תֹאמַר בִּלְבָבֶךָ אֵיכָה נֵדַע אֶת הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא דִבְּרוֹ יְהוָה
KJ: And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
BN: And if you say in your heart: How shall we know the words which YHVH has not spoken?
18:22 ASHER YEDABER HA NAVI BE SHEM YHVH VE LO YIHEYEH HA DAVAR VE LO YAVO HU HA DAVAR ASHER LO DIBRO YHVH BE ZADON DIBRO HA NAVI LO TAGUR MIMENU
BN: And if you say in your heart: How shall we know the words which YHVH has not spoken?
18:22 ASHER YEDABER HA NAVI BE SHEM YHVH VE LO YIHEYEH HA DAVAR VE LO YAVO HU HA DAVAR ASHER LO DIBRO YHVH BE ZADON DIBRO HA NAVI LO TAGUR MIMENU
אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר הַנָּבִיא בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה וְלֹא יִהְיֶה הַדָּבָר וְלֹא יָבֹא הוּא הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא דִבְּרוֹ יְהוָה בְּזָדוֹן דִּבְּרוֹ הַנָּבִיא לֹא תָגוּר מִמֶּנּוּ
KJ: When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
BN: When a prophet speaks in the name of YHVH, if the thing does not follow or come to pass, then it is something which YHVH has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not pay attention to him.
Which means that Mosheh is a false prophet who should be stoned, or at least rejected by future generations, because he too passed on promises from YHVH which did not come to pass. But this is theology. Not my domain!
Or maybe this isn't really theology at all, but the apotheosis of superstition, this rendering of "chance" and "haphazard" as "fate" and "destiny". It is also extremely dangerous - many prophets from the middle ages onwards predicted, warned even, that the scale of anti-Semitism in Europe, the regularity of pogroms, the repeated pronouncing of the Blood Libel, would eventually end in total Holocaust. And based on this verse, those prophecies having come to tragic fruition, the words must have been sanctioned by YHVH, and the deed itself given his approval.
samech break
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