that the sons of the Israelites wore earrings as they wandered through the desert?
Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’
Exodus 32:2
I did not take note of that before today.
What a bunch of hepcat beatniks!
ReplyDeleteYes, but they were the sort of Israelites who forsook God to worship golden calves.
ReplyDeleteGolden calves??? No way. Mimi, did you know about this? ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Shalah, welcome to my humble abode.
ReplyDeletePJ, 'fraid so. I read to the end of the story.
No tatoos though, Grandmere. No tatoos.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, do we know for sure?
ReplyDeleteHmm, I hadn't noticed that before either.
ReplyDeleteIt does conflict, superficially, with later Jewish teachings which forbid pierced earrings. (And tattoos.)
Of course, I'm sure the Rabbis found an interpretation that worked out the conflict. These are, after all, the folks who proved that David didn't actually commit any sins in l'affaire Bathseba. (In case you are wondering-- thry claim Uriah gave her a conditional divorce before he went off to war, the condition being his death or disappearance. Since he did die, she was legally divorced from him at the time she had sex with David. And since Uriah did disobey a command from David, David's order to arrange Uriah's death was a valid use of royal power against a rebellious subject.)
Should have been a little clearer in that last comment. Fulfillment of the condition made the divorce retroactively valid from the time he gave Bathsheba the bill of divorce, and not merely valid from the time of his death.
ReplyDeleteWhy does this surprise you?
ReplyDeleteHow else would they have carried their savings if not in cattle and jewellery?
Kishnevi, I can't say that I was able to follow that labyrinthine justification, but, thanks anyway.
ReplyDeleteErika, it wasn't a nearly-knocked-me-out-of-the-pew moment. It was simply that I had not noticed the earrings on the men in the passage before.
Forget the earrings, Mimi. What I want to know is where did they find a crucible and forge in the middle of the desert to melt the gold? Not to mention the mold needed to cast the statue. And finally, why on earth a CALF? If you're looking for a scary and powerful god to protect you, why a baby cow?
ReplyDeleteI suspect it it a huge godly satire.
Paul, it was a bull calf.
ReplyDeleteI was smiling to myself throughout the reading from Exodus yesterday especially at the discussion between Moses and God about smiting the people. I believe that one must read the Bible with one's sense of humor and irony alert turned on.
Usually laws are made against things that people are already doing that someone finds offensive. I think of that when I read old laws that say women can't be deacons or priests...
ReplyDeletewell remember when Job was all down in the dumps? His friends got together and they all give him a little money and, that's right, a gold ear ring! So maybe Job wore earrings too. If he didn't, it seems like a very impractical gift.
ReplyDeleteThe Israelites had just come from Egypt where they would have been exposed to the famous God of Memphis, Apis. Golden calves would make sense to them. But, melting down earrings... that's just crazy!
Have a good week Grandmère Mimi!
When I was a boy only old seamen wore earings, tatoos and used snuff.
ReplyDeleteIt all came back around 1971.
But if you look at old portraits you can see that upto the 30 year's war earrings were worn by all welldressed men. And probably tatoos too. That the upper classes used snuff upto the 20th century is well documented, not to mention that many gold and silver snuffboxes are preserved. My grandmother had one with a miniature of Louise of Stolberg, Bonnie Prince Charlies eloped wife.
But I am of the elder generation; no snuff, no tatoos, no earings.
I even remeber a TV program about the last tobacco harvest in Skåne (in the south of the country) put to use for making snuff, around 1967...
ReplyDeleteEnough lecturing ;=)
Shannon, you make a good point. In the early church, women were deacons, and are we sure they were not presbyters (or whatever the equivalent of priests were called), too?
ReplyDeleteLindy, Job coulda sold his earrings. Just sayin'. However, I think it's likely that he wore them.
But, melting down earrings...that's just crazy!
Exactly!
You have a good week, too, Lindy. Eat some food fresh from the coastal waters. I just did - fresh speckled trout, caught by Grandpère.
But I am of the elder generation;
ReplyDeleteGöran, to which generation do you think I belong?
Earrings? Yes. Tattoo? Yes. But I promise you that I have never used snuff.
Grandmère, Tattoo? Yes. That was rather startling to read. My mind is running wild. You never cease to amaze!
ReplyDeleteBoocat, my tattoo is new, just a few months old. Here is a picture. Crazy, huh? It's the symbol of my beloved home town, New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteI said "old seamen" (often torpedoed, btw) dearest Grandmère...
ReplyDeleteWe lived in a port (Gothenburg).
Göran, I know. And I know that your grandmother did not use snuff.
ReplyDeleteMimi: "are we sure they were not presbyters (or whatever the equivalent of priests were called), too?"
ReplyDeleteSome years ago I heard a seminar talk by a Greek Orthodox priest who admitted that "presbytera" (rising accent on the last syllable) just grated on his ears.