SDMB weekly Bible Study (SDMBWBS)-Week 47 Exodus 24

Cafe Society
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Welcome to the SDMB weekly Bible Study (SDMBWBS). This week we will be discussing Exodus 24. Since the discussion can turn into a very broad and hijackable thread, we would like the following rules to be adhered to:

  1. These SDMBWBS threads are to deal with the books and stories in the Bible as literature. What I’m hoping to achieve is an understanding of the stories, the time in which they were written, context, and possibly its cultural relevance.

  2. While it is up to the individual to choose to believe or disbelieve any portion, that is not to be the discussion of the thread. If you must, please choose to witness/anti-witness in Great Debates.

  3. The intention is to go through the Bible from front to back in order. While different books are needed to be referred to in order to understand context, please try and keep the focus on the thread’s selected chapter(s)/verse(s).

  4. Since different religions have chosen which books to include or omit, the threads will use the Catholic version of 46 Old Testament Books and 27 New Testament Books. It’s encouraged to discuss why a book was included/omitted during the applicable threads only. BibleHub, as far as I know, is a good resource that compiles many different versions of the verses into one page.(Also the SDMB Staff Reports on Who Wrote the Bible). Please feel free to use whatever source you want, including-and even more helpfully-the original language.

  5. Hopefully we can get through these threads with little to no moderation. A gentle reminder that if a poster comes in and ignores these rules, please use the “report post” function instead of responding.

Links to previous threads:
Genesis 49 & 50 (this includes links to all previous Genesis threads)
Exodus 1
Exodus 2
Exodus 3
Exodus 4
Exodus 5&6
Exodus 7-10
Exodus 11-12
Exodus 13
Exodus 14 + 15
Exodus 16-18
Exodus 19+20
Exodus 21-23

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[Exodus 24 New International Version (NIV)

The Covenant Confirmed](Exodus 24 NIV - The Covenant Confirmed - Then the LORD - Bible Gateway)

24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.

He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”

8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

13 Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.”

15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

These Scriptures are copyrighted by the Biblica, Inc.® and have been made available on the Internet for your personal use only. Any other use including, but not limited to, copying or reposting on the Internet is prohibited. These Scriptures may not be altered or modified in any form and must remain in their original context. These Scriptures may not be sold or otherwise offered for sale.

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Questions about sacrifices and offerings. What does that look like? Do they kill the young bull and then put it on the altar and leave it? Burn it? Do they never touch it again except to clean the altar? Do they clean the altar? When they sacrifice grains, do they do anything to them? Let the blow in the wind?

I’m curious because it seems as if food is at a premium and while they do want to honor god, I am also thinking that sometimes they can’t afford to waste any. Are there provisions for this?

Thanks!

vislor

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I’m hoping cmkeller will speak out here, he’s presumably more well-versed in this than I. Remember that some sacrifices were grains etc. And the Hebrew word that we translate “sacrifice” actually comes from the root “drawing near.” Anyhow, my understand is that afer the slaughter the animal, the innards and hindparts were burned on the altar, but most of the meat from the slaughtered animal was eaten by the priests and levites (who did not have their own land), so sacrifice was partially a way of feeding the Temple staff.

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CH 24

The story picks up, following 20:18 – the people had pulled back in fear/awe from the encounter, Moses approached the cloud. And we have a very strange (mystical) encounter.

The hierarchy is Moses, the priests, the elders, and the rest. Nadab and Abihu are the two older sons of Aaron (Ex 6:23) who will later die (Lev 10) for perverting their priestly duties. Interesting that these two are mentioned and the younger two sons (who succeed them) are not. The elders were mentioned back in Ex 3:16; the number 70 is symbolic (both 7 and 10 are numbers of completion, so seventy elders represent the entire community of Israel.) Seventy elders will be mentioned again in Numbers 11 and in Ezekiel 8.

Verse 3: “words and laws”: words (commands) are for individuals; laws/rules are for the society/government.

The process/ritual of establishing the covenant:

  1. Moses retells or transmits what God has said,
  2. The people reply,
  3. It’s written down,
  4. Altar and pillars are set up,
  5. Sacrifice is made (praise, thanksgiving)
  6. Blood is sprinkled on the altar;
  7. The terms are read aloud again;
  8. The people reply;
  9. Blood is sprinkled on the people;
  10. Moses declares the covenant ritual complete.

The pillars of verses 4 ff are monuments, markers, steles.

Blood is sprinkled on both parties to the covenant: on God’s table (the altar) and on the people. Blood is, of course, a symbol of life (and death), and recalls the blood sprinkled on the doorposts.

Verses 9 – 11 are strange. First, the boundaries that were set at Sinai (and reiterated in verse 24:2) are now broken. Second, “they saw the God of Israel” makes no sense (how do Christians interpret this? Seeing the Holy Spirit?) The brickwork pavement is a reminder of the bricks of slavery. They saw God but did not die (later verses will indicate that no one can see God and live); eating and drinking are common in many cultures after a death, as part of funeral ceremonies. Or “they ate and drank” could simply mean they were still alive, in the real world.

Verse 9 says “they saw God” but verse 11 uses a stronger term, JPS translates “they beheld God,” implying greater intensity. “Beheld” is often used for prophetic visions, and so this is an extraordinary experience, not just visual.

Verse 16: NIV translation is excellent, the “glory of the Lord.” The word translated as “settled” is in the sense of tenting, abiding. The Hebrew stem SH-K-N to the later mystics implied the term Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of God in the world.

Moses being hidden in the cloud for six days recalls creation. (Mystics claim the cloud was the same as the cloud in Gen 9:13, the rainbow cloud.) Forty days and forty nights: the number 40 always implies a lifespan, a generational change. When Moses comes down, it’s a new world because he has the law.

This ends the second section of the book of Exodus. The first session was coming out of Egypt, the second section was the theophany at Mt Sinai.

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CK Dexter Haven:

I’m very flattered :slight_smile:

There are six categories of sacrifices, as regards the questions you ask above; the details are in the first few chapters of Leviticus, for the most part:

  1. Animal offerings for communal atonement - (brought on Yom Kippur, or when the Jewish High Court or High Priest or King makes an error in judgment which the nation followed) The animal is slaughtered, the blood is caught in a vessel and sprinkled on certain spots in the Temple, certain fats and organs are removed from the animal and burned on the altar, and the remainder of the animal is burned in a designated area away from the Holy Temple.

  2. Animal burnt offerings - The animal is slaughtered, the blood is caught in a vessel and sprinkled on the altar, the animal is skinned, the skin is given to the officiating Priest, the animal is cut up into six portions, which are then burned on the altar.

  3. Animal offerings that will be eaten - (offerings for individual atonement, thanksgiving and general goodwill offerings, tithes, firstborns, and Passover offerings) The animal is slaughtered, the blood caught and sprinkled on the altar, and certain fats and organs are burned on the altar. The meat of the animal is eaten, in some cases by the Priests, and in some cases by the owners, over the next day or two (depending on the specific type of sacrifice).

  4. Bird offerings - The bird is decapitated, the blood squeezed out onto the altar, the crop and gizzard are removed by hand and discarded, and the body of the bird is then burned on the altar.

  5. Meal offerings, communal or by an individual priest - a mix of flour and olive oil is mixed and cooked in one of five different ways, and the entire thing is burnt on the altar

  6. Meal offerings, other - a mix of flour and olive oil is mixed and cooked in one of five different ways, a Priest takes a fistful of it and burns it on the altar, and the rest is eaten by Priests.

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Forgot to answer your other question - the altar was cleared of ashes every morning by a Priest. Leviticus 6:10-11.

As for wasting food, obviously, doing G-d’s will isn’t considered a waste. From the religious perspective, doing G-d’s will ensures the food supply (and prosperity in general), so to cut down on sacrifices in the name of saving food would be like throwing away a dollar to save a penny.

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Ack. Did people get busy? I keep looking for this, hoping the next chapter is up. Sure, I can read it but have loved the analysis from the experts!

I do hope everyone is all right!

vislor

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Thanks for bringing this up! I’ve been wondering the same thing, thinking I just wasn’t looking in the right places.
Guys? Where are you? I MISS YOU! I love what you’ve been doing with this. I’m sorry I haven’t been very active but I do read along with them. If you need more participation, then I’ll give it a shot best I can… I’m just not… ya know… very smart… so I find it best to keep my mouth shut most times. :smiley:

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stpauler hasn’t posted since July 31, I’ve tried to contact him to see if he’s OK, but no response. I’m a trifle worried, but no idea what to do. Anyone know him in person?

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That’s not cool. And, no, I don’t know him in person. :frowning: I hope everything is all right.

vislor

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Yeah, it was that question that led to me not asking someone else to pick it up or even volunteering to do it myself (even if I would probably not be as punctual). I’d expect him to mention it if he was going to stop; even if he’s mad at someone or something, he’s not mad at all of us.

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I hope he’s okay :frowning:

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Exodus 25-27–New International Version (NIV)

Offerings for the Tabernacle

25 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3 These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather[a]; acacia wood; 6 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

The Ark

10 “Have them make an ark** of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 15 The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. 16 Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.

17 “Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18 And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

The Table

23 “Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. 24 Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. 25 Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 26 Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. 27 The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 28 Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. 29 And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. 30 Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

The Lampstand

31 “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. 32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. 33 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 34 And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 35 One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. 36 The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

37 “Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. 38 Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. 39 A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. 40 See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.

The Tabernacle
**
26** “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. 2 All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 3 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. 4 Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. 5 Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 6 Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.

7 “Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 8 All eleven curtains are to be the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. 9 Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 11 Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit. 12 As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. 13 The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. 14 Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.

15 “Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, 17 with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 19 and make forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 20 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames 21 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 22 Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 23 and make two frames for the corners at the far end. 24 At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. 25 So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.

26 “Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 28 The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames. 29 Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

30 “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.

31 “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 34 Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

36 “For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. 37 Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.

The Altar of Burnt Offering

27 “Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

The Courtyard

9 “Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits[n] long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 “The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. 13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. 19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

Oil for the Lampstand

20 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.

Footnotes:

[a] Exodus 25:5 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals
** Exodus 25:10 That is, a chest

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

These Scriptures are copyrighted by the Biblica, Inc.® and have been made available on the Internet for your personal use only. Any other use including, but not limited to, copying or reposting on the Internet is prohibited. These Scriptures may not be altered or modified in any form and must remain in their original context. These Scriptures may not be sold or otherwise offered for sale.