By Israel Drazin
The Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) offered unusual thought-provoking, sometimes disturbing, Bible interpretations on Exodus 30-33 in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning). He attempts to show here that the ancient Israelites were very superstitious and that at least certain parts of the Hebrew Bible were composed long after the death of Moses. The following are some of his views:
- The Torah required that each Israelite donate an offering when the population was counted so “that there be no plague among them” (30:12). This reflects the ancient belief of Jews and non-Jews, such as the Romans, that counting people creates an “evil eye” that can kill people. Thus the offerings and not the people were counted. This belief is reflected in II Samuel 24 and I Chronicles 21, and many Jews still believe it today and refuse to count the men attending synagogue services to see if the required ten men are present. They recite instead a verse with ten words, saying each word as they look at a different person, and see if they use all ten words.
- Why does the Torah mandate that a person who mixes ingredients of the “holy anointing oil” be killed (30:33)? The Torah was only allowing Moses to mix the ingredients. When the supply of the solution decreased, plain oil was added to the ancient small supply. This was satisfactory as long as at least some of Moses’ mixture was in the jar. According to a tradition, high priests and kings were placed into office with this anointing and would remain in the position until death. Thus, although God and Samuel no longer wanted Saul to remain as king, and wanted him replaced by David, they were unable to set David on the throne until Saul died. This oil of anointing was not used after the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE because it was lost during the battle or, according to a tradition, it was hidden away but we no longer know where it is hidden. One explanation for the unusual sanctity ascribed to this oil was to highlight the importance of the high priest and kingly positions; they were so important that only Moses’ oil could place them in their office. However, it might have been a superstitious belief in the power of the oil; it was magical because Moses created it.
- The story of the golden calf in chapter 32 seems to have been composed long after the days of Moses. This will explain why none of the prophets who criticized the Israelites’ behavior during the desert wanderings mention it. The only reference to it is Psalm 106, which was composed during a much later period.
- Why did Moses shatter the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments (32:19); the Torah states they were prepared by God? Moses saw that the Israelites worshipped the golden calf and understood that they had difficulty accepting a non-corporeal God and needed a physical representation. He may have felt that giving the Israelites the Ten Commandments that were inscribed in physical stone supported their view that people need physical things, so he shattered them to indicate that the laws should be accepted even if they are nor inscribed on stone. (Later, the Torah allowed a physical structure, the tabernacle, so Moses also provided the people a new set of the Decalogue engraved in stone.)
- Why did Moses grind the golden calf into powder, mix it with water, and give it to the Israelites to drink (32:20)? As indicated in the Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 44a, this was a somewhat magical test to identify which Israelites worshipped the calf; the mixture would harm those who acted improperly. This kind of test was carried out even in the middle ages by Christians when people were tossed into water to see if they survived and were innocent. The Torah has such a practice with the married woman who is suspected of committing adultery, called Sotah (Numbers 5:12ff). She drank a mixture of water and dust from the tabernacle floor. If she became sick, we knew she committed adultery. This biblical practice was discontinued in ancient times.
- What book was Moses referring to when he told God, either forgive the Israelite nation for their act with the golden calf or “blot me out of the book…which you wrote”? The ancients, including the Babylonians, believed that God has a book in which he records the good deeds of the righteous. (See, for example, Psalms 56:9 and 139:16. The concept is mentioned in the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayers and many Jews understand this literally.) Moses was saying if you don’t do what I ask, you can wipe me out of the righteous book because I do not agree with you.