Snoopy Examines Exodus

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Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 22 - New English Translation

Laws about Property - (21:37) “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. “If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no blood guilt for him. If the sun has risen...
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God outlines detailed laws of restitution for stolen property. For example, If a man steals an ox and sells or kills it, he must pay back five head of cattle.

Thieves unable to make restitution because they have nothing will be sold.

God calls for the death penalty for some offences:
- Sorcery (females only)
- Bestiality
- Making sacrifices to gods other than the Lord
- Afflicting widows and orphans

Other moral imperatives are provided:
- A man who seduces a virgin must marry her
- A resident foreigner must not be wronged or oppressed
- God and the ruler of the people must not be cursed
- Interest must not be charged when lending money
- Meat torn by animals in the field must not be eaten. It is to be thrown to the dogs.

God instructs the people to make offerings from their granaries and vats. They must also give to God their firstborn sons. Ditto for firstborn oxen and sheep (on the eighth day.)
 
People who like to talk about the "terrible texts" of the bible often focus on its harsh justice and approval of slavery & polygamy.

You can certainly find all three of these things in Exodus. Viewing the bible as a gradually evolving narrative can help to address this problem.
 
paradox3 said:
Interest must not be charged when lending money
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So how do modern Jewish-run/owned banks handle this, I wonder? I thought they became bankers in the Middle Ages or Renaissance because the church declared usury a sin so Christians couldn't/wouldn't do it. Or is that another of those myths of history things? This is also a law in Islam and has resulted in a whole Islamic loan industry that finds ways to avoid charging interest.
 
Mendalla said:
So how do modern Jewish-run/owned banks handle this, I wonder?
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I have wondered the same thing about many of the laws and present day Judaism.
The laws related to the temple no longer apply.
What about the offences that call for death or stoning? The rabbis must have reinterpreted Torah over the centuries.
 
Jae said:
Ah. Those of about 330 years ago. Just over 25% of those killed were men
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There were always a few men, but by and large, women suffered the most and that must be acknowledged, not swept aside with statements like this.
 
Mendalla said:
There were always a few men, but by and large, women suffered the most and that must be acknowledged, not swept aside with statements like this.
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Am pretty sure we can all do the math that 100% - 25% = 75%.

Imho your just saying "there were always a few men" fails to empathise with their suffering
 
Jae said:
Am pretty sure we can all do the math that 100% - 25% = 75%.

Imho your just saying "there were always a few men" fails to empathise with their suffering
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Somehow, it's always the men that matter. Yes, their suffering is important, but the fact that 75% were women is added to a raft of other historical issues that illustrate just how anti-female our culture has been and to some degree still is. It represents, in short, active, brutal persecution of a female-dominant religion by a male-dominant one.
 
Back to Exodus 22. It only calls for sorceresses to be put to death. No mention of male sorcerers.

Virgin daughters are an important commodity. No mention of virgin sons, of course.

And firstborn sons must be given to God. No mention of firstborn daughters.

Seems like a bit of a theme we have here.

Yesterday's lesson had instructions re: second wives. Nothing about second husbands as @BetteTheRed observed.
 
paradox3 said:
Seems like a bit of a theme we have here.
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Yeah, and it's a theme that has not gone away based on some of the rhetoric in the US election. Men matter, not so much women, seems to be a refrain in some quarters to this day.
 
In present day Judaism there is a ceremony to redeem (buy back) a firstborn son. It only applies when the son is the "first to open the womb". In other words, no previous miscarriage or birth of a daughter.

The son is redeemed by paying special coins to a cohen. Cohens are descendants of the priestly class through the male line. They don't necessarily have the surname Cohen (or a variation) and not all Cohens are cohens.

Israel mints special silver coins for this purpose. Generally the coins are returned to the parents but this cannot be an expectation.

Just some Exodus 22 related trivia which I find interesting. Maybe this ritual will be mentioned later in the Torah.
 
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Bible Gateway passage: Exodus 23:1-9 - New English Translation

Justice - “You must not give a false report. Do not make common cause with the wicked to be a malicious witness. “You must not follow a crowd in doing evil things; in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, and you must not show partiality to a...
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The first few verses of Exodus 23 give us more from God on justice.

- Do not, says God, make a false report.
- Do not follow a crowd doing wicked things.
- Return your enemy's ox or donkey if you find it wandering off.
- Help the donkey if it is struggling under its load.
- Extend justice to the poor.
- Do not kill the innocent or righteous.
- Do not accept a bribe.
- Do not oppress a resident foreigner.
 
Snoopy's Snappy Review: Exodus 23: 1-9

Some reasonable rules from God! :)

No slavery or polygamy in this text. No stoning of oxen either.
 
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