Before I get into the information that isn’t as clear as it could be, a short quiz.
- Who can remember the story of Zipporah in Exodus?
- Who knows the story of what happened when Moses’ other wife showed up in the Israelite camp?
- Who knows the story of Aaron and the golden calf?
- Who can identify the two major prophets of the exodus (and who remembers my post about the lesser known one)?
But now, about that history in the Bible, that probably will shock you twice.
First, a lot of people don’t realize that in the early Bible it records entire peoples who are scoured from the earth by the incoming children of Israel.
Second, many do not realize that those same peoples show up later in the Bible, obviously not dead. And that when the Old Testament as we now have it was collated and put together by the post Exile community, the editors knew that the people were still around and obviously not dead.
So, what is going on here?
First, a repudiation of the ritual sacrifice of children and similar things that were part of the indigenous religious practice.
Second, a standard “triumphal narrative” where the party writing the story claims complete and utter victory regardless of the facts.
Third, a narrative that insists that the children of Israel have a right to the land of Israel.
In other words, it is all symbolic or representational and it was known to be symbolic or representational and not historic when the Bible came together.
As for that early Bible quiz, when you comment, let me know how many of the four you got without having to look up the answers.
I should have my internet access and computer straightened out by next week, and will be going back and looking at the suggestions and making use of them.
But now you know one more thing about the Bible.
Wheat & Tares 
This sounds too much like literary criticism. These accounts are there because God wants them there.
In truth, it is way easier to frame scriptural records as accounts filtered by whoever wrote them than it is to find some other supposed underlying cohesion or truth that doesn’t click because it is beyond your comprehension.
I can’t answer any of the four questions without looking for the answers.
Thank you. This was very informative. I learned something new.
I have wondered why there are discrepancies in the Bible (the ones I was aware of), but have never given it much thought.
I ran across the story of the golden calf being burned, ground and consumed by the camp, and the killing of the 3,000 when preparing a talk. I included it and said I wasn’t sure it was to be taken literally.
Really enjoyed Peter Enns’ books, btw. There are quite a few inconsistencies in the accounts of the Israelites entering the land of Canaan. I’m sure some are allegorical, but I couldn’t tell you which ones. There is still some debate about Moses having two wives, with the Cushite reference possibly being a reference to Cushan (a portion of Midian), rather than Cush/Nubia. Either way (Nubian or Zipporah, a Midianite), neither were Israelite and would’ve ruffled the feathers of Aaron and Miriam.
God’s commanded some pretty crazy stuff in well-documented history. I’ve given up trying to determine things that God would do versus stuff I’d think he’d never do.
Still surprised that I come across adult life-long members who are unaware of Balaam. The talking donkey was always a favorite among high school students when I was in seminary.
Wouldn’t know the answer to any of these questions without research.
But, for what it’s worth, I do NOT believe that God would ever command anyone or any people to kill. Sounds too much like ISIS to me. Unfortunately, a lot of things have been attributed to God, then and now, that are just untrue.
Starting with the four questions.
• Who can remember the story of Zipporah in Exodus?
• Who knows the story of what happened when Moses’ other wife
showed up in the Israelite camp?
• Who knows the story of Aaron and the golden calf?
• Who can identify the two major prophets of the exodus (and who
remembers my post about the lesser known one)?
1. Missed that badly. The first thing I thought was the gal that stabbed the army leader in the head with a hair pin inside her tent.
2. Moses sent her home with his father in law. Right?
3. He made a golden calf for the Israelites while Moses was in the
mountain – got in a lot of trouble.
4. It seems to me that Moses would have been one of them and maybe
Joshua.
I didn’t think it was fair to look it up even though I searched the word Zipporah and then I knew that there was a troublesome circumcision event.
“First, a lot of people don’t realize that in the early Bible it records entire peoples who are scoured from the earth by the incoming children of Israel.”
Yes, I do. The people who were scoured deserved it for the way they had
been living.
“Second, many do not realize that those same peoples show up later in the Bible, obviously not dead. And that when the Old Testament as we now have it was collated and put together by the post Exile community, the editors knew that the people were still around and obviously not dead.
So, what is going on here?
First, a repudiation of the ritual sacrifice of children and similar things that were part of the indigenous religious practice.
Second, a standard “triumphal narrative” where the party writing the story claims complete and utter victory regardless of the facts.
Third, a narrative that insists that the children of Israel have a right to the land of Israel.
In other words, it is all symbolic or representational and it was known to be symbolic or representational and not historic when the Bible came together.”
It kind of looks like some escaped or the Israelites got sick of killing or whatever and God a lot of times said that such a people would end up being a weakness to the Israelites and that is what happened, even when Joshua got fooled by some of the kings he should have destroyed.
By the way. Who cares whether the historians have found out about this yet?