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
Sedra 3, Ekev: Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
Deuteronomy 7 (cont)
7:12 VE HAYAH EKEV TISHME'UN ET HA MISHPATIM HA ELEH U SHEMARTEM VA ASITEM OTAM VE SHAMRU YHVH ELOHEYCHA LECHA ET HA BRIT VE ET HA CHESED ASHER NISHBA LA AVOTEYCHA
וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם וְשָׁמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ אֶת הַבְּרִית וְאֶת הַחֶסֶד אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ
KJ (King James translation): Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
BN (BibleNet translation): And it shall come to pass, because you hearken to these ordinances, and keep them, and carry them out, that YHVH your god will keep with his covenant with you, and the mercy which he swore to your ancestors.
The point at which religion, like politics, becomes Ponzi scheme! Buy in now - rewards later.
7:13 VA AHEVCHA U VERACHECHA VE HIRBECHA U VERACH PERI VITNECHA U PERI ADMATECHA DEGANCHA VE TIRSHECHA VE YITS'HARECHA SHEGAR-ALAPHEYCHA VE ASHTEROT TSONECHA AL HA ADAMAH ASHER NISHBA LA AVOTEYCHA LATET LACH
וַאֲהֵבְךָ וּבֵרַכְךָ וְהִרְבֶּךָ וּבֵרַךְ פְּרִי בִטְנְךָ וּפְרִי אַדְמָתֶךָ דְּגָנְךָ וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ שְׁגַר אֲלָפֶיךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹת צֹאנֶךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לָתֶת לָךְ
KJ: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
BN: And he will love you, and bless you, and make you great; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your land, your corn and your wine and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your ancestors to give you.
ASHTEROT TSONECHA: A fertility god then; or quite probably, in this version, a fertility god and a fertility goddess as well, because it takes both parts to make a whole, and ASHTEROT in particular is feminine: Ishtar, Ester, Easter: the mother goddess in three of her forms.
7:14 BARUCH TIHEYEH MI KOL HA AMIM LO YIHEYEH VECHA AKAR VA AKARAH U VI VEHEMTECHA
בָּרוּךְ תִּהְיֶה מִכָּל הָעַמִּים לֹא יִהְיֶה בְךָ עָקָר וַעֲקָרָה וּבִבְהֶמְתֶּךָ
BN: You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a barren male or female among you, or among your cattle.
Yes, indeed, a fertility god - but the trouble with a statement of this kind is: what happens when someone's daughter is unable to get pregnant, or some man discovers he is impotent? To which the answer is: she or he must be made to admit their sins, and accept the consequences, including, quite possibly, death.
A similar set of Ponzi promises was made in Leviticus 26; see my rather sardonic notes there; including the one at verse 7, which notes that the text there, as here, is simply Exodus 23:25-29 repeated, with minor variations.
7:15 VE HESIR YHVH MIMCHA KOL CHOLI VE CHOL MADVEY MITSRAYIM HA RA'IM ASHER YADATA LO YESIMAM BACH U NETANAM BE CHOL SONEYCHA
וְהֵסִיר יְהוָה מִמְּךָ כָּל חֹלִי וְכָל מַדְוֵי מִצְרַיִם הָרָעִים אֲשֶׁר יָדַעְתָּ לֹא יְשִׂימָם בָּךְ וּנְתָנָם בְּכָל שֹׂנְאֶיךָ
KJ: And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
BN: And YHVH will take away from you all sickness; and he will put none of the evil diseases of Mitsrayim, which you know, upon you, but will lay them upon all those who hate you.
As a way, I take it, of proving that he is the universal god of mercy, compassion, justice and do not do unto others what would be abominable if they did it to you (which is one of Rabbi Hillel's two interpretations of Leviticus 19:18 - click here).
7:16 VA ACHALTA ET KOL HA AMIM ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH, LO TACHOS EYNECHA ALEYHEM VE LO TA'AVOD ET ELOHEYHEM KI MOKESH HU LACH
וְאָכַלְתָּ אֶת כָּל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ לֹא תָחוֹס עֵינְךָ עֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא תַעֲבֹד אֶת אֱלֹהֵיהֶם כִּי מוֹקֵשׁ הוּא לָךְ
KJ: And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
BN: And you shall consume all the peoples that YHVH your god shall deliver up to you; your eye shall not pity them; nor shall you serve their gods; for that will be a snare to you.
LO TACHOS EYNECHA ALEYHEM: No different in Christianity or Islam, which likewise believe that theirs is the only correct path, and all non-believers must be forced, if necessary, to renounce their falsehoods and accept the truth, or be killed if they still refuse. The history of the Crusades, from both sides.
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7:17 KI TOMAR BI LEVAVECHA RABIM HA GOYIM HA ELEH MIMEYNI EYCHAH UCHAL
BN: And you shall consume all the peoples that YHVH your god shall deliver up to you; your eye shall not pity them; nor shall you serve their gods; for that will be a snare to you.
LO TACHOS EYNECHA ALEYHEM: No different in Christianity or Islam, which likewise believe that theirs is the only correct path, and all non-believers must be forced, if necessary, to renounce their falsehoods and accept the truth, or be killed if they still refuse. The history of the Crusades, from both sides.
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7:17 KI TOMAR BI LEVAVECHA RABIM HA GOYIM HA ELEH MIMEYNI EYCHAH UCHAL
כִּי תֹאמַר בִּלְבָבְךָ רַבִּים הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה מִמֶּנִּי אֵיכָה אוּכַל לְהוֹרִישָׁם
KJ: If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
BN: If you shall say in your heart: These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
7:18 LO TIRA MEY HEM ZACHOR TIZKOR ET ASHER ASAH YHVH ELOHEYCHA LE PHAR'OH U LE CHOL MITSRAYIM
לֹא תִירָא מֵהֶם זָכֹר תִּזְכֹּר אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְפַרְעֹה וּלְכָל מִצְרָיִם
KJ: Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
BN: You shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what YHVH your god did to Pharaoh, and to all Mitsrayim.
7:19 HA MASOT HA GEDOLOT ASHER RA'U EYNEYCHA VE HA OTOT VE HA MOPHTIM VE HA YAD HA CHAZAKAH VE HA ZERO'A HA NETUYAH ASHER HOTSI'ACHA YHVH ELOHEYCHA KEN YA'ASEH YHVH ELOHEYCHA LE CHOL HA AMIM ASHER ATAH YAR'E MI PENEYHEM
הַמַּסֹּת הַגְּדֹלֹת אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ וְהָאֹתֹת וְהַמֹּפְתִים וְהַיָּד הַחֲזָקָה וְהַזְּרֹעַ הַנְּטוּיָה אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְכָל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה יָרֵא מִפְּנֵיהֶם
KJ: The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.
BN: The great trials which your eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, whereby YHVH your god brought you out; so shall YHVH your god do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
Look up MASAH in the previous chapter (Deuteronomy 6:16); is it spelled with a Seen (ש) or a Samech (ס)? If the latter, then there is a significant piece of word-playing here, with huge theological implications; and if not, not!
7:20 VE GAM ET HA TSIR'AH YESHALACH YHVH ELOHEYCHA BAM AD AVOD HA NISHARIM VE HA NISTARIM MI PANEYCHA
וְגַם אֶת הַצִּרְעָה יְשַׁלַּח יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּם עַד אֲבֹד הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וְהַנִּסְתָּרִים מִפָּנֶיךָ
BN: Moreover YHVH your god will send diseases among them, until those who are left, and those who hide themselves, perish from before you.
The hornets of the King James translation get mentioned several times (they were also KJ's translation of the original of this, Exodus 23:28 - see my notes on the word there), including in Joshua 24:12? The link I have chosen for this latter is to traditional commentary rather than my own (which is here if you want to compare them); it picks up several other references to hornets, and concludes that they are meant literally. However the root, TSAR'AH, means "scourges" and "sicknesses" and "epidemics", and is one of the principal words for "plague" throughout the Tanach (eg Leviticus 13:44 and 22:4, 2 Kings 5:1 and 27).
And if they are to be taken literally, why hasn't the modern Israeli air force named its fighter jets after them. Tsir'ah-17! The scourge of the Middle East!
AVOD with an Aleph - see my note at Deuteronomy 7:10.
7:21 LO TA'AROTS MI PENEYHEM KI YHVH ELOHEYCHA BE KIRBECHA EL GADOL VE NORA
לֹא תַעֲרֹץ מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּקִרְבֶּךָ אֵל גָּדוֹל וְנוֹרָא
BN: You shall not be afraid of them; for YHVH your god is in your midst, a deity mighty and powerful.
7:22 NASHAL YHVH ELOHEYCHA ET HA GOYIM HA EL MI PANEYCHA ME'AT ME'AT LO TUCHAL KALOTAM MAHER PEN TIRBEH ALEYCHA CHAYAT HA SADEH
נָשַׁל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵל מִפָּנֶיךָ מְעַט מְעָט לֹא תוּכַל כַּלֹּתָם מַהֵר פֶּן תִּרְבֶּה עָלֶיךָ חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה
BN: And YHVH your god will cast out those nations before you bit by bit; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase upon you.
This reads more and more like a satire on the promises of politicians; the Mercedes guaranteed in verse 15, but now it may have to be a second-hand Dodge in the meanwhile. And yes, I chose the Dodge deliberately. Dodge-dodgy. Like all YHVH's promises.
7:23 U NETANAM YHVH ELOHEYCHA LEPHANEYCHA VE HAMAM MEHUMAM GEDOLAH AD HISHAMDAM
וּנְתָנָם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְפָנֶיךָ וְהָמָם מְהוּמָה גְדֹלָה עַד הִשָּׁמְדָם
BN: But YHVH your god shall deliver them up before you, and shall discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they are destroyed.
7:24 VE NATAN MALCHEYHEM BE YADECHA, VE HA'AVADETA ET SHEMAM MI TACHAT HA SHAMAYIM, LO YITYATSEV ISH BEPHANEYCHA AD HISHMIDCHA OTAM
וְנָתַן מַלְכֵיהֶם בְּיָדֶךָ וְהַאֲבַדְתָּ אֶת שְׁמָם מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם לֹא יִתְיַצֵּב אִישׁ בְּפָנֶיךָ עַד הִשְׁמִדְךָ אֹתָם
BN: And he shall deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven; no man shall be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them.
But writing their names in an eternal book does rather undermine that objective! And anyway, why would you want to destroy them in this manner? Would it not be better proof of the compassion, mercy and justice of the deity if he instructed us to find ways to live in peace with these people - which, actually, he does, in the instructions in the Book of Exodus: employment law, Jubilee laws, ha ger asher be shareycha, et cetera.
At what point did Mosheh change from being the ethical leader to this monstrous man of conquest? The last years of Mohammed's life, after the conquest of Mecca, provide a perfect parallel: the man of peace turned into the man of war.
7:25 PESILEY ELOHEYHEM TISREPHUN BA EYSH LO TACHMOD KESEPH VE ZAHAV ALEYHEM VE LAKACHTA LACH PEN TIVAKESH BO KI TO'AVAT YHVH ELOHEYCHA HU
KJ: The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
BN: The graven images of their gods you shall burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to YHVH your god.
TIVAKESH: with a Vav (ו) not a Vet (ב).
7:26 VE LO TAVI TO'EVAH EL BEITECHA VE HAYITAH CHEREM KAMOHU SHAKATS TESHAKTSEYNU VE TA'EV TETA'AVEYNU KI CHEREM HU
KJ: Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
BN: And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, and be accursed because of it; you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is prohibited.
CHEREM: See the link.
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פְּסִילֵי אֱלֹהֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ לֹא תַחְמֹד כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב עֲלֵיהֶם וְלָקַחְתָּ לָךְ פֶּן תִּוָּקֵשׁ בּוֹ כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא
BN: The graven images of their gods you shall burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to YHVH your god.
TIVAKESH: with a Vav (ו) not a Vet (ב).
7:26 VE LO TAVI TO'EVAH EL BEITECHA VE HAYITAH CHEREM KAMOHU SHAKATS TESHAKTSEYNU VE TA'EV TETA'AVEYNU KI CHEREM HU
וְלֹא תָבִיא תוֹעֵבָה אֶל בֵּיתֶךָ וְהָיִיתָ חֵרֶם כָּמֹהוּ שַׁקֵּץ תְּשַׁקְּצֶנּוּ וְתַעֵב תְּתַעֲבֶנּוּ כִּי חֵרֶם הוּא
BN: And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, and be accursed because of it; you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is prohibited.
CHEREM: See the link.
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