The Four Different Ascension Stories in the Gospels • by Maregaal

This paper might ruffle up some feathers, but this paper is merely supposed to make you think.

In a detailed manner, our topic tonight is the four different, yet all biblical, ascension stories of Jesus and also a potential 5th unmentioned one from the Gospel of Matthew simply because of how the gospel ends or leaves us with.

Likewise, not only will we see that they are different, but also what time of day it is or which day of month it might be.

The most popular account is taken from the Book of Acts where we see Jesus ascending to heaven on the 40 day after his supposed resurrection.


The first story....
Acts 1:1-11

1. The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3. To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4. And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.6. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?7. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.8. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.9. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.10. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;11. Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey."

So we see here Jesus ascends on the 40th day from his resurrection and from the Mount if Olives.

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Second story
From Luke...

This account is odd, because according to myth, popular belief and the church fathers, the unnamed Gospel is believed to be by Luke who supposedly also authored Acts, though unnamed as well. Luke has a totally different account than Acts...

Luke 23:50-24:51

50. And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counseller; and he was a good man, and a just:51. (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.52. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.53. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.54. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.55. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.56. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

1. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.2. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.3. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.4. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6.  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,7. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.8. And they remembered his words,9. And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.10. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.11. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.12. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.13. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.14. And they talked together of all these things which had happened.15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.16. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.17. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?18. And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass therein these days?19. And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.22. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;23. And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.24. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.25. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.28. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.29. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.31. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?33. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,34. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.35. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.36. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.37. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.38. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.40. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.41. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?42. And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.43. And he took it, and did eat before them.44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.45. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,46. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.48. And ye are witnesses of these things.49. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.50. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.51. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

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So here we see that on the first day of the week, Sunday, late in the evening... Jesus and his disciples walk together to Bethany and there ascends into heaven. Not on the 40th day, and not on the Mt. of Olives as Acts says.

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Third story
From John

With this Gospel you have to be a little sharp to see when and where things go on

John 20:1-29

John 20
1. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.2. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.3. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.4. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.5. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.6. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,7. And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.8. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.9. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.10. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.11. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,12. And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.13. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.14. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.15. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.16. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.17. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.20. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.21. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:23. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.24. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.25. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.26. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.27. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.28. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.29. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

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So according to John alone.... On the first day of the week Jesus told the women not to touch him because he didn't ascend to the Father yet.... Yet on Sunday (or Monday by the latest) of the following week we see Thomas touching Jesus by putting his hand into Jesus' side and touching his hands.... So by this account Jesus ascended to Heaven sometime on the day he was resurrected, because he told the woman that he is going to ascend to the father and thus, couldn't met with his disciples right then.

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Fourth Story

The 4th account comes from Mark. Mark is to the point. What is interesting is that typically everything that Mark has, Matthew also has, but Matthew doesn't have a blatant ascension story, nor reference.

Here is Mark's account

Mark 16:1-19

1. And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.2. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.5. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.6. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.7. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.10. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.11. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.12. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.13. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.17. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. "

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So with Mark, Jesus ascends to heaven on the first day of the week as well, but unlike the others it appears he ascends right in the room where the disciples sat.. as we see him appearing to them in verse 14 and after taking with them he ascends. It doesn't say they left to go anywhere so it appears he might have ascended from the room itself.

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Firth Story & Possibility

 
The 5th potential place, though NOT stated blatantly, though alluded to... is the he ascended from a hill in Galilee somewhere.

This is according to Matthew...

Matthew 28:1-20

1. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.2. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:4. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.5. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.10. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.11. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.12. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,13. Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.14. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.15. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

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Because this Gospel leaves off with the story of Jesus and his disciples on some mountain top in Galilee, it would seem (opinion only) that he ascends also from this mountain to.

Problem with them going to Galilee in the first place is not even plausible as a Jew. Why? Because the Feast of Unleavened Bread started on Friday, the very day Jesus was crucified on and it was a requirement for every Jewish male to be in Jerusalem during the 7 day feast. Well, Galilee is like 70 miles away from Jerusalem. That is far to go on foot, camel or donkey Nd be back at Jerusalem on the same day.

Maregaal

Nov 6, 2019
11:15 pm

Deut 17, the Commandments of the King (oops!!) • by Maregaal

A study into the king commandments of the Torah. They shouldn't be there. This is just another proof that the Torah is a post-Babylonian set of scrolls

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Another proof text that the Torah is a post-Babylonian set of documents is the fact that Deut 17 has two problematic issues.

The first issue is the fact that it mentions commandments dealing with kings.

The second issue and tell tale sign that the Torah is a post-Babylonian text is the fact that the commandments regarding the king are extremely anti-Solomon. Because it mentions NOT to have much gold, wives, horses and so forth. Which would be a sin for Solomon because he was #1 in all of that. The problem is that El Himself gave it all to him because Solomon asked for wisdom!

The problem with the commandment of the king to begin with is the fact that when we read 1 Samuel, Israel was never meant to have a king, because El alone was their king. They were only supposed to be a theocratic tribal confederacy.

So the Judian elders when they were making the Torah after the Babylonian exile, they wanted to guide the society a certain way, thus they wrote "scriptures" that had never heard of before commandments within it. But by doing so, their many bloopers pinpoint the Torah to be made in their own time frame, not that it was written 12 centuries before as what they were hoping to convey.

Now here are all of the scriptures....


Deut 17:14-17
14. "When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, `I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' 15. you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16. "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, `You shall never again return that way.' 17. "He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.


2 Chron 1:11-12
And El said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.


1 Samuel 8
4. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5. and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." 6. But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7. The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8. "Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day--in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also. 9. "Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them." 10. So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. 11. He said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. 12. "He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13. "He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14. "He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. 15. "He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. 16. "He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17. "He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18. "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19. Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, 20. that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

1 Samuel 10
17. Thereafter Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah; 18. and he said to the sons of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' 19. "But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, `No, but set a king over us!'


1 Samuel 12
11. "Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. 12. "When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, `No, but a king shall reign over us,' although the LORD your God was your king. 13. "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14. "If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. 15. "If you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16. "Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17. "Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king." 18. So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19. Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king."

So, by the verses we just read, Israel was never meant to have a king and so any laws concerning a king shouldn't exist in the Torah. And it wasn't a sin to have much wealth, nor much horses and wives.


Maregaal
Nov 26, 2019

Re-written from a paper I made years ago.

Complete List of Kosher Animals • by Maregaal

Below is a complete list of all or most of the land animals that are deemed "kosher" by the biblical laws found in Leviticus 11 and Deut 14.

The Torah itself, however, doesn't give us any such list.

An easier way than what the Torah gives us to determine whether or not an animal is kosher is simply by looking at it's head. Whether it has horns or not, for all "kosher" animals have horns.

When you are out hunting or in a field a long ways off, it is hard to see whether or not the animal has a split hoof and also chews the cud as what the Torah requires.

Nope, the easier way is to see whether or not they have horns or if their specie has horns. For all "kosher" land animals have horns.

So here is that list:

1) Addex
2) African buffalo
3) Alcelaphine
4) Antelope
5) Berg Sentrum
6) Bison
7) Blackbuck
8) Bluebuck
9) Bongo
10) Bushbuck
11) Caribou
12) cow
13) Deer
14) Dik Dik
15) Eland
16) Elk
17) Gazelle
18) Genenuk
19) Giraffe
20) Goats
21) Hartebeest
22) Hippotragus
23) Ibex
24) Impala
25) Klipspringer
26) Lechwe
27) Markhor
28) Moose
29) Mouflon
30) Muntjac Deer
31) Musk Ox
32) Nyala
33) Okapi
34) Oryx
35) Oribi
36) Pronghorn
37) Pudu
38) Reedbuck
39) Rhebok
40) Roan Antelope
41) Sable
42) Saiga
43) Sheep
44) Sitatunga/marshbuck
45) Springbok
46) Takin
47) Thomson's Gazelle
48) Tibetan Antelope
49) Tufted Deer
50) Water Buffalo
51) Wildebeest
52) Waterbuck
53) Yak

This is simply a list of the kosher land animals. I don't get into the details of biblical law that might deem a "kosher" animal forbidden to eat, due to certain circumstances. A small example would be...  If a foreigner sacrificed a cow to their particular deity, you must not eat that meat.

I might add those laws later.


Thank you.

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I will have a small list of aquatic animals or fish that are kosher and what is commonly eaten that isn't kosher

Here is a small list of common unkosher aquatic life people eat:

Crab
Lobster
Crawfish
Shrimp
Squid
Clams
Shark
Catfish

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Complete list of kosher animals
Kosher animals
List of kosher animals

A contradiction found in the pages of Genesis • by Maregaal

Back in the day I made this study due to a unique biblical contradiction I found in the book of Genesis... I found my own study again and was reminded of it simply because someone copied my post and put it on their website and even credited me. So here it is without altering a single word, though some of my thoughts and knowledge are different now due to further studies from that time.

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First and foremost a person should be intellectually honest with themselves when looking at the Torah and the Tanach. I say this for several reasons.

The first reason is because the Torah, the one we have today, was not written by Moses. This is because the original Paleo-Hebrew Law “of” Moses was lost or destroyed between 586 BCE and 285 BCE. 586 BCE is when the Temple was burned to the ground by the Babylonians and the remaining people of the Kingdom of Judah were hauled off into exile, into Babylon. In 285 BCE a copy of our current Torah was translated into Greek in the Hellenistic town of Alexandria. Thus, somewhere between these two dates the real law was destroyed. What we have today is a patchwork of stories and narratives that were thought to be authentic to world history and to Jewish history. Furthermore, regarding the individual laws and statutes found in the Torah, many of them that are attributed to Moses were in fact, given by other prophets. Some Laws* in the current Torah indicate that certain manners of conduct are sinful, yet, according to the other writings outside of the Torah such things were not considered “sins” at all. This shows there is a confusion with the authors of the Torah regarding what was considered a sin.

Without touching too much on that, however, the people that lived between this time frame of 586 BCE and 285 BCE are the ones that authored our current Torah.

When reading the “Torah,” it is clear that the “five books of Moses” were written by various authors, because of this, it is understandably discerned “why” there are different traditions and contradictions found in the Torah. Furthermore, while in captivity, the Judeans adopted many myths of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Persians. Those myths were believed upon and then canonized into our current Torah.

It is my opinion, that because so much time lapsed from the patriarchs to then (the time after 586 BCE), things were simply forgotten or mingled up in the minds of these authors. The authors were merely trying to preserve their culture by putting things down in writings. Yet, the authors did not know, or were unaware that several things that they are writing down were not authentic to Jewish or Israelite history.

Moreover, if the “Torah” was truly written by a single author (Moses) in a certain time frame (1505 – 1465 BCE), the Torah would not contradict itself in its laws, nor be so vague in its narratives. Furthermore, the Torah would never have phrases like, “The LORD said unto Moses…” It would have phrases like this… “The word of the LORD came unto me in the Wilderness of Sin….” or something like that. Similarly, when reading the Law, it also does not discuss certain laws at all, whereas the other prophets do (e.g. not to conduct business during the New Moons and holy days, blowing the shofar on the New Moon and Full Moon, priests, prophets and lawyers are not allowed to take money, a righteous king can not help a wicked kingdom, and so forth.) Then on top of this, the Law is totally lacking in a lot of areas, such as modest clothing, arson, gutting the Passover so that you don’t cook it with its manure in it, New Moon Laws, uncleanness laws are lacking specifics, and other things.

Therefore, one must be honest when looking at the Torah and the Tanach for there are many contradictions. This is not necessarily the case with the writings of the prophets, for the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and so forth were all inspired. But one can usually find several contradictions in any writing that did not come directly from a prophet because these writings come from an uninspired simple man/historian writing things down.

Having established that the Torah was obviously not written by Moses, but literally came almost 1000 years after Moses, I am going to share another contradiction that I have found with you.

The contradiction is found between Genesis 21:22-32 and Genesis 26:23-33.

There are several contradictions and problems…
1. Who dug the well?
2. Abimelech and his General Phichol are still alive and together (in both stories), even though it is 40 plus years later.
3. Why was BeerSheba named Beersheba?
4. Both stories tell of an oath.

Here are the passages...

Genesis 21:22-32 22
And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying: ‘God is with thee in all that thou doest. 23 Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son; but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.’ 24 And Abraham said: ‘I will swear.’ 25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. 26 And Abimelech said: ‘I know not who hath done this thing; neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day.’ 27 And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham: ‘What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves?’ 30 And he said: ‘Verily, these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well.’ 31 Wherefore that place was called Beer-sheba (Well of the Oath); because there they swore both of them. 32 So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

Now here is Genesis 26::23-33 23
And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba**. 24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said: ‘I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for My servant Abraham’s sake.’ 25 And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants digged a well. 26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host. 27 And Isaac said unto them: ‘Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?’ 28 And they said: ‘We saw plainly that the LORD was with thee; and we said: Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; 29 that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art now the blessed of the LORD.’ 30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him: ‘We have found water.’ 33 And he called it Shaba’. Therefore the name of the city isBeer-sheba (Well of the Oath) unto this day. 

 
** = This is not meant to mean that it was already named Beer-sheba. Rather, the author of this narrative lived over a thousand years after this event, and is merely pin-pointing the local of “where” this event took place.

So, by this we can see that the these stories or narratives came from different authors and we cannot know for certain “who” dug the well.

When Abimelech and Phicol came to Abraham, Isaac had just been born, thus, Abraham was 100 years old.

When we get to Genesis 26 Isaac is beyond forty years old. Furthermore, the way the narrative reads, it would “appear” that Abraham was dead already, because in Genesis 25:9 Ishmael and Isaac bury their father. To go along with this, Genesis 25:26 tells us that Isaac’s wife Rebekah gives birth to Esau and Jacob, yet, Isaac is only 60 years old at the time.

In addition, there is another contradiction…
According to one passage Abraham was 100 years old when Sarah has Isaac, then in another passage it says Abraham lived to 175 years old. Yet, according to Genesis 25, Abraham was dead before Esau and Jacob were born, when Isaac was only 60 years old.

Because of this age and death discrepancy, this explains why Abraham doesn’t bless Isaac, nor Jacob and Esau.

In conclusion, it is clear that there were many authors of our current “Torah” and that the historical stories were so scrambled up, to say the least, thus giving us many contradictions in the Biblical text.

Maregaal
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#maregaal
contradictions of the bible

The Law or Torah of Moses by Maregaal

It has been a super long time since I been on this site or blog, apparently since July of 2011, not long after I realized that Genesis 1 -11 are not Judaic at all, but myths we adopted while in captivity in Babylonia.

Nonetheless, sometime around 2004, I took the time to copy and paste much of the law or Torah that pertains to a common person and not the laws pertaining to a special person like the priests or rulers. They have more laws to observe than the common person.

So here it is...
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These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD , the God of your fathers, promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 

Impress them (these commands) on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  

Bind them on your hand and as frontlets between your eyes. 

Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
You must not acknowledge the existence of any other gods along side of me.

You must not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You must not use in a vain manner the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name (that is to say a vow or to swear in the name of the LORD and then not fulfill it).

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you must not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³ Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴ and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." ³⁶ So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD . Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. ³ Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

You must not murder, but you may kill. 

You must not commit adultery (which is not the same as fornicatin).

You must not steal.

You must not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You must not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites this: 'You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, ^[your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.

If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.

Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. ¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are not your offspring. ¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. ⁴ If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, 'I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,' then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.

If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.

Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally, but God lets it occur, he is to flee to a place I will designate. But if a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away even from my altar and put him to death.

Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death.

Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death.

Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.

If men quarrel and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist and he does not die but is confined to bed, the one who struck the blow will not be held responsible if the other gets up and walks around outside with his staff; however, he must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and see that he is completely healed.

If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property.

If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

If a man hits a manservant or maidservant in the eye and destroys it, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the eye. And if he knocks out the tooth of a manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free to compensate for the tooth.

If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death. However, if payment is demanded of him, he may redeem his life by paying whatever is demanded. This law also applies if the bull gores a son or daughter. ³² If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned.

If a man uncovers a pit or digs one and fails to cover it and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay for the loss; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.

If a man's bull injures the bull of another and it dies, they are to sell the live one and divide both the money and the dead animal equally. However, if it was known that the bull had the habit of goring, yet the owner did not keep it penned up, the owner must pay, animal for animal, and the dead animal will be his.

If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed; but if it happens after sunrise, he is guilty of bloodshed.

A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft.

If the stolen animal is found alive in his (the thief's) possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double.

If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.

If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution.

If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor's house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man's property.

In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, 'This is mine (thus lying),' both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.

If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person's property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required. But if the animal was stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner. If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, he shall bring in the remains as evidence and he will not be required to pay for the torn animal.

If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must make restitution. But if the owner is with the animal, the borrower will not have to pay. If the animal was hired, the money paid for the hire covers the loss.



If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and has intercoarse with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

Do not allow a sorceress to live.

Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death.

Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Yehowah must be destroyed.

Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.

If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Do not blaspheme God 

Do not curse the ruler of your people.

Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats (That is to say you must sacrifice to Yehowah meal offerings from your grain and ferminted drink offerings from your vats).

You must give Me the firstborn of your sons. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

You must give Me the firstborn of your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.

You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs.

Do not spread false reports.

Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.

When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

Do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. 

If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.

Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.

For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed.

Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

No one is to appear before me empty-handed (Thus saying you must offer Yehowah a gift every time you visit the sancuary).

Celebrate the Feast of Harvest (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. Latter part of Spring or starting end of Summer, depending where the moon sets up the calendar for that year) with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.

Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the latter end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field (in Fall).

Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD .

Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.

The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning (Thus it must be burned up before the first gleam of daybreak).

Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God (For this is why Cain's offering was not exepted).

Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk (For it is bad enough that you took her kid away from her, let alone cooking it in her own milk).

See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

Do not bow down before their (Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites) gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. 

Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.
I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.

  Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods.

  Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.

Then he (Moses) 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." 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 (Thus saying you must do all that is written therein)."

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ² "Say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: ³ You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. 'If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean till evening. ⁴⁰ Anyone who eats some of the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. These are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. ⁵ The coney, ^[1] though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁶ The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. ⁷ And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. ⁸ You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. 'Every animal that has a split hoof not completely divided or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. ²⁷ Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁸ Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening. They are unclean for you.

'Every creature that scurries about on the ground is detestable; it is not to be eaten. ⁴² You are not to eat any creature that scurries about on the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is detestable. ⁴³ Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. ⁴⁴ I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that scurries about on the ground. Now of the animals that scurries about on the ground, these are some of those that are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, ³⁰ the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. ³¹ Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. ³² When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. ³³ If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. ³⁴ Any food that could be eaten but has water on it from such a pot is unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean. ³⁵ Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. ³⁶ A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. ³⁷ If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. ³⁸ But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. ¹⁰ But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales-whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water-you are to detest. ¹¹ And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses. ¹² Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.

'These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, ¹⁴ the red kite, any kind of black kite, ¹⁵ any kind of raven, ¹⁶ the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, ¹⁷ the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, ¹⁸ the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, ¹⁹ the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. ^[2]

²⁰ " 'All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. ²¹ There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. ²² Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. ²³ But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest.
²⁴ " 'You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. ²⁵ Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean till evening.

'These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves in the water and every creature that moves about on the ground. ⁴⁷ You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten. 'You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground-those which I have set apart as unclean for you.

I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. ³ On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. ⁴ Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. ⁵ If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
⁶ " 'When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. ⁷ He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.
" 'These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. ⁸ If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.' "

'When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean. ³ Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness: Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and anything he sits on will be unclean. ⁵ Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. ⁶ Whoever sits on anything that the man with a discharge sat on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
Whoever touches the man who has a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. If the man with the discharge spits on someone who is clean, that person must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Everything the man sits on when riding will be unclean, ¹⁰ and whoever touches any of the things that were under him will be unclean till evening; whoever picks up those things must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Anyone the man with a discharge touches without rinsing his hands with water must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water. When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. ¹⁵ The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the LORD for the man because of his discharge.

¹⁶ " 'When a man has an emission of semen (by masturbation bcause of the next commandment), he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. ¹⁷ Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. ¹⁸

When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission (wet dream), he is to go outside the camp and stay there. But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

¹⁹ " 'When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
²⁰ " 'Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean (rather, whatever her blood gets on), and anything she sits on will be unclean. ²¹ Whoever touches her bed (or that thing where the blood is on) must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. ²² Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. ²³ Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening.
²⁴ " 'If a man lies with her and her monthly flow touches him (that is to say if they are having intercoarse and all of a sudden she has her period during intercouarse or also they are simply sleeping next to each other and during the night while she sleeps, her period comes and runs and get on him), he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.

'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

'If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them must be cut off from their people.

²⁵ " 'When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. ²⁶ Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. ²⁷ Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. ²⁹ On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ³⁰ The priest is to sacrifice one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement for her before the LORD for the uncleanness of her discharge.

³¹ " 'You must keep the Israelites separate (meaning: pointed out) from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, ^[1] which is among them (thus the reason for telling these commands is so that a unclean person will not go and celebrate a feast or offer something to Yehowah in that state).' "

³² These are the regulations for a man with a discharge, for anyone made unclean by an emission of semen, ³³ for a woman in her monthly period, for a man or a woman with a discharge, and for a man who lies with a woman who is ceremonially unclean.

Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, ^[1] a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it ⁴ instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD -that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people. ⁵ This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD , at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings. ^[2] 6 The priest is to sprinkle the blood against the altar of the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and burn the fat as an aroma pleasing to the LORD . ⁷ They must no longer offer any of their sacrifices to the goat idols ^[3] to whom they prostitute themselves. This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.'

Any Israelite or any alien living among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice ⁹ and does not bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to the LORD -that man must be cut off from his people.

Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood-I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. ¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. ¹² Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."

¹³ " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, ¹⁴ because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."

¹⁵ " 'Anyone, whether native-born or alien, who eats anything found dead or torn by wild animals must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be ceremonially unclean till evening; then he will be clean. ¹⁶ But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe himself, he will be held responsible.' "

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. ³ You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.

⁴ You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the LORD your God.

⁵ Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD .

⁶ " 'No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the LORD .

⁷ " 'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her (Married or divorced). If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife (indicating your step-mother); that would dishonor your father. If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

⁹ " 'Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere. If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.

¹⁰ " 'Do not have sexual relations with your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would dishonor you.

¹¹ " 'Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father's wife, born to your father; she is your sister.

¹² " 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's sister; she is your father's close relative. 'Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

¹³ " 'Do not have sexual relations with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. 'Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

¹⁴ " 'Do not dishonor your father's brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt. If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless (thus die immediately).

'Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

¹⁵ " 'Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son's wife; do not have relations with her. If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.  

¹⁶ " 'Do not have sexual relations with your brother's wife; that would dishonor your brother. If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.

¹⁷ " 'Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness. 'If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.

¹⁸ " 'Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife (as Jacob did) and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her. If a man commits adultery with another man's wife - with the wife of his neighbor - both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

²¹ " 'Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed ^[1] to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD . 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives ^[1] any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. ³ I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ⁴ If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, ⁵ I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.

²² " 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

²³ " 'Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.
 

A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

²⁴ " 'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. ²⁵ Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. ²⁶ But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, ²⁷ for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. ²⁸ And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

²⁹ " 'Everyone who does any of these detestable things-such persons must be cut off from their people. ³⁰ Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.' "

'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people. A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.

'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.

'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. ⁸ Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD , who makes you holy. You are to be holy to me ^[3] because I, the LORD , am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

³ " 'Each of you must respect his mother and father,

you must observe my Sabbaths.

I am the LORD your God.

⁴ " 'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

⁵ " 'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD , sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. ⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. ⁸ Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the LORD ; that person must be cut off from his people.

⁹ " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

¹¹ " 'Do not steal.

" 'Do not lie.

" 'Do not deceive one another.

¹² " 'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD .

¹³ " 'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.

" 'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

¹⁴ " 'Do not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD .

¹⁵ " 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶ " 'Do not go about spreading slander among your people.

" 'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD .

¹⁷ " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart.

Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.

¹⁸ " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people

Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD .

Keep my decrees.

" 'Do not mate different kinds of animals.

" 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.

" 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material (not just wool and linen).

²⁰ " 'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. ²¹ The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD . ²² With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

²³ " 'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. ^[2] For three years you are to consider it forbidden ^[3] ; it must not be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD . ²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.

²⁶ " 'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.

Do not practice divination or sorcery.

²⁷ " 'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD .

²⁹ " 'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.

³⁰ " 'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD .

³¹ " 'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.

³² " 'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD .

³³ " 'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. ³⁴ The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

³⁵ " 'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. ³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah ^[4] and an honest hin. ^[5] I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

³⁷ " 'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. ²³ You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. ²⁴ But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations.

The LORD said to Moses, ² "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD , which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.

The Sabbath
³ " 'There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD .


The Passover and Unleavened Bread
⁴ " 'These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: ⁵ The LORD's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. ⁶ On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷ On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. ⁸ For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.' "


Firstfruits
⁹ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁰ "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. ¹¹ He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, ¹³ together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah ^[1] of fine flour mixed with oil-an offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma-and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin ^[2] of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.


Feast of Weeks
¹⁵ " 'From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶ Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD . ¹⁷ From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the LORD . ¹⁸ Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the LORD , together with their grain offerings and drink offerings-an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD . ¹⁹ Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. ^[3] 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the LORD as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the LORD for the priest. ²¹ On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
²² " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "


Feast of Trumpets
²³ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. ²⁵ Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.' "


Day of Atonement
²⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, ^[4] and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. ²⁸ Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹ Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. ³⁰ I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹ You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³² It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."


Feast of Tabernacles
³³ The LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ "Say to the Israelites: 'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵ The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ³⁶ For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.
³⁷ (" 'These are the LORD's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the LORD by fire-the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. ³⁸ These offerings are in addition to those for the LORD's Sabbaths and ^[5] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the LORD .)
³⁹ " 'So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths ⁴³ so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.' "

The Sabbath Year
The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, ² "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD . ³ For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. ⁴ But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the LORD . Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. ⁵ Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. ⁶ Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you-for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, ⁷ as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.


The Year of Jubilee
⁸ " 'Count off seven sabbaths of years-seven times seven years-so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. ⁹ Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. ¹⁰ Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. ¹¹ The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. ¹² For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
¹³ " 'In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property.
¹⁴ " 'If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage of each other. ¹⁵ You are to buy from your countryman on the basis of the number of years since the Jubilee. And he is to sell to you on the basis of the number of years left for harvesting crops. ¹⁶ When the years are many, you are to increase the price, and when the years are few, you are to decrease the price, because what he is really selling you is the number of crops. ¹⁷ Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God. I am the LORD your God.
¹⁸ " 'Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. ¹⁹ Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety. ²⁰ You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" ²¹ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. ²² While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
²³ " 'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. ²⁴ Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.
²⁵ " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold. ²⁶ If, however, a man has no one to redeem it for him but he himself prospers and acquires sufficient means to redeem it, ²⁷ he is to determine the value for the years since he sold it and refund the balance to the man to whom he sold it; he can then go back to his own property. ²⁸ But if he does not acquire the means to repay him, what he sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and he can then go back to his property.
²⁹ " 'If a man sells a house in a walled city, he retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time he may redeem it. ³⁰ If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and his descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee. ³¹ But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee.
³² " 'The Levites always have the right to redeem their houses in the Levitical towns, which they possess. ³³ So the property of the Levites is redeemable-that is, a house sold in any town they hold-and is to be returned in the Jubilee, because the houses in the towns of the Levites are their property among the Israelites. ³⁴ But the pastureland belonging to their towns must not be sold; it is their permanent possession.
³⁵ " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take interest of any kind ^[1] from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
³⁹ " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave. ⁴⁰ He is to be treated as a hired worker or a temporary resident among you; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then he and his children are to be released, and he will go back to his own clan and to the property of his forefathers. ⁴² Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.
⁴⁴ " 'Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. ⁴⁵ You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. ⁴⁶ You can will them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
⁴⁷ " 'If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan, ⁴⁸ he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him: ⁴⁹ An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰ He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years. ⁵¹ If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid for him. ⁵² If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly. ⁵³ He is to be treated as a man hired from year to year; you must see to it that his owner does not rule over him ruthlessly.
⁵⁴ " 'Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee, ⁵⁵ for the Israelites belong to me as servants. They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD .

Command the Israelites to send away from the camp (or walled city, town or fort) anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.

Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way ^[2] and so is unfaithful to the LORD , that person is guilty ⁷ and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. ⁸ But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him. ⁹ All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. ¹⁰ Each man's sacred gifts are his own, but what he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.'

'If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him ¹³ by sleeping with another man, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), ¹⁴ and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure-or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure- ¹⁵ then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah ^[3] of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to guilt.
¹⁶ " 'The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the LORD . ¹⁷ Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has had the woman stand before the LORD , he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, "If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband"- ²¹ here the priest is to put the woman under this curse of the oath-"may the LORD cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell. ^[4] 22 May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away. ^[5] "
" 'Then the woman is to say, "Amen. So be it."
²³ " 'The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering. ²⁵ The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. ²⁷ If she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then when she is made to drink the water that brings a curse, it will go into her and cause bitter suffering; her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away, ^[6] and she will become accursed among her people. ²⁸ If, however, the woman has not defiled herself and is free from impurity, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.
²⁹ " 'This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and defiles herself while married to her husband, ³⁰ or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the LORD and is to apply this entire law to her. ³¹ The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.' "

'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite, ³ he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. ⁴ As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
⁵ " 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. ⁶ Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. ⁷ Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. ⁸ Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD .
⁹ " 'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing-the seventh day. ¹⁰ Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ¹¹ The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head. ¹² He must dedicate himself to the LORD for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.
¹³ " 'Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ¹⁴ There he is to present his offerings to the LORD : a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering, ^[1] 15 together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast-cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil.
¹⁶ " 'The priest is to present them before the LORD and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the LORD , together with its grain offering and drink offering.
¹⁸ " 'Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering.
¹⁹ " 'After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without yeast. ²⁰ The priest shall then wave them before the LORD as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
²¹ " 'This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law of the Nazirite.' "

Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." '
So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. ³⁹ You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD , that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. ⁴⁰ Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. ⁴¹ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.' "

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By Maregaal on

Nov 24, 2019

The Law of Moses

The Torah

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#thetorah