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The era of the kings is over. From where I sit, it almost looks like it was intended to show, let’s call it the dark side of the force, as the Jewish population turned to secular rulers rather than following their spiritual ones, particularly, the visions of the prophets. The original Isaiah was a 9th century BCE prophet whose role was to initiate God’s plan to wipe the slate clean in the kingdom of Jerusalem – i.e., Israel and Judah, and start fresh, rebuilding the core of the world according to Torah principles. The book itself is, based on historical studies, a compilation of his writings, followed on by two later Isaiahs, both in the 6th century BCE, providing historical commentary on how that three century process went. Isaiah is considered the first of the “latter day prophets” within Judaism, and the first of the major prophets in the Christian Old Testament (which isn’t identical to the Hebrew Bible in its composition).

1. The book opens with what amounts to ode by Isaiah on behalf of God, lamenting that his chosen people have turned away from his precepts. He’s not interested in pro forma sacrifices and prayers, in lip service to the rules. He admonishes them to wipe the slate clean, start over, devote themselves to justice, good deeds, and healing the world. If so, they will be returned to prominent, chosen status, if not, he will ignore them, and the rest of the world will treat them as scapegoats. Hmm… given where things are today, what might that indicate?
2. Continuing his ode to God, Isaiah prophesizes the day in the future when men will stop worshipping other men and other gods and live in the light of the one and only real God. This passage is where we get the famous swords into plowshares poetry. We will throw our idols of silver and gold to the flying foxes and bats! I find myself questioning that specificity of idolatrous recycling. The whole thing is a bit unicorns and rainbows.
3. Damn this guy goes on. He’s still ode-ing about people being wicked, following false leaders, and all the woes that will befall them if they keep down this path, and how everything would be so much better if they just got it together, followed God, and were good people.
4. It’s beginning to feel like this whole book is going to be one long poetic screed. There will be, he cries, a long period of debauchery, hell will swallow up the wicked, those who remain, presumably chosen by God, will be redeemed. Drinking heavily is frowned upon.
5. The ode continues. Having dispensed of heavy wine drinking, he now disparages heavy liquor drinking, particularly, wine based liquor, i.e., grappa. He threatens non-believers, and, it appears, grappa drinkers, with the apocalypse.
6. Finally, the ode is over. Isaiah recounts his anointing as a prophet. He had a vision of God on his throne with two six-winged Seraphim hovering above. One of those picks up a coal from the altar, using tongs, and burns Isaiah’s lips. God asks for a prophetic volunteer. Isaiah, burned mouth or not, volunteers. God tells him to spread the message to the people, but assures him they won’t listen, and he has to remain steadfast. One assumes God sees further into the future when it will all work out, versus not wanting an interruption of his plans. The big question here is why the flaming, nearly all-powerful Seraphim need tongs to pick up a coal. I mean, they’re practically made out of fire. Maybe it’s the coal that needs protection from the touch of the Seraphim.
7. The king of Israel joins up with the king of Aram to challenge Assyria. They want Ahaz, the king of Judah, to ally with them as well, but he, a youngster, dithers about and won’t commit. They challenge him to what amounts to a battlefield duel. Isaiah shows up and tells Ahaz that the alliance is in his best interests, but Ahaz doesn’t trust him. Isaiah tells him to ask God for a sign, but Ahaz says that that would be like challenging his faith, God would provide a sign if he wanted to. Isaiah basically tells him that both he and God consider Ahaz to be an exasperating twit, and it’s about time he started acting like a king instead of petulant teen.
8. This is a little hard to follow, but if I’m reading it right, Isaiah first prophecies that Israel and Aram will lose to Assyria, but that will be temporary, because they’re in the right, while Judah, whose king is still dithering about, will descend into darkness. Or something like that. Meanwhile, God tells Isaiah that he will have a son with a virgin prophetess, who will one day be important. As long as he stays steadfast, and doesn’t follow the example of the people of Judah and not commit to anything. Then there’s a bit about necromancy. Which, we are reminded, is a bad thing.
9. We’re back to poetry instead of prose. But we’re also at a turning point, as Isaiah’s litany moves from judgment to promise, with the vision that those who have walked in darkness will see the light, and that a king worthy of representing God has already been born. Now, apparently, this passage has been adopted and/or adapted by folk of that “other religion”, you know, the big one with the guy on the plus sign, to indicate that Jesus had been born and was to become king overall. The Aramaic and Hebrew, however, apparently, are really clear that this is not a divine being, but a man who will lead the people as king, not as messiah. English versions of the “Old Testament” read differently from the “Hebrew bible”, in order to justify a differing viewpoint.
10. A long litany about how powerful God is, and how he’s using the unwitting Assyrians as a tool to punish his people, but he’s doing it so surreptitiously that no one notices, and isn’t he cool for doing it that way? Seriously, I’m back to God being a teenage nerd dungeon master in an AD&D game.
11. Our prophet envisions a future where the young child spoken of on page 9 learns, grows, and becomes the leader who will reunite the various factions of Judaism into one, and restore Israel and the Jews as the chosen people, living in peace and harmony. It’s interesting that much of Christian theology and the coming of Jesus, is rooted in this book of the bible, as it seems to miss the key points of a) this leader is neither divine nor the messiah, and b) that Judaism, as enumerated in the Torah, is the righteous path.
12. Thanks God! Yay God!
13. Isaiah launches into the “Babylon Proclamation”, which is basically a horrifically graphic description of the coming destruction. It will, apparently, be a two-pronged assault, with foreign armies marching from one direction, and celestial warriors from another. Most Babylonians, being almost universally wicked, will be wiped out. Children, infants, women will not be spared, the first two being dashed to death on rocks, the last being raped to death. If that wasn’t all gruesome enough, he adds the threat of owls and ostriches taking up residence in the now ownerless homes, satyrs will dance in them, jackals will take over the castles, and dragons, yes, dragons, will take over the “pleasure palaces”. Although we haven’t gotten to them yet, this somewhat odd grouping of animals is a recurrent theme, showing up in Isaiah again, and in Job, and Micah. This is, perhaps, deserving of some research.
14. God really has it in for the Babylonians, and in particular the king and nobles. Isaiah prophecies them being cast down to Sheol, the bottomless pit, there to be confronted by various wicked ancestors and the like. There’s a promise of the resurrection of the Jewish community, and that the wicked folk from Babylon will end up their slaves. And also, back on yesterday’s animal theme, that the palaces and mansions will be turned into ponds and populated by bitterns, or herons, or hedgehogs.
15. While Babylonia may be the primary target of God’s wrath, he’s not leaving out Moab. In today’s passage, Isaiah predicts its fall as well, with the local rivers running with the blood of Moab’s warriors, and people wailing in the streets. We don’t, however, have owls, ostriches, satyrs, jackals, dragons, or hedgehogs this time. Just a solitary lion, lording over the remnants of Moab’s civilization.
16. As the nation of Moab crumbles into ruin, Isaiah predicts that the fallen will wail and moan over the loss of access to the “raisin cakes of Kir-Haresheth”. Presumably this is intended as a metaphor over the luxuries that will no longer be available. At the same time, it has me wondering just exactly what was so special about Kir-Haresheth’s raisin cakes??? And, does anyone have the recipe? Were they like fig cakes, just a big wheel of dried fruit stuck together, or were these like the good ones, with chocolate and rum?
17. He turns to Damascus, where, while prophecies the region’s demise, he doesn’t make it sound so bad. Crop yields will fall, you know, like each olive tree will only produce a few olives, and trees will only have a few boughs with leaves. People will leave the cities. Surely there must be more death and destruction than this?
18. Messengers are to be sent to the lands beyond Nubia, north of the Nile. It is unnamed, and their speech is unintelligible, but they are threatened with scorching hot rains that will destroy their agriculture. Apparently, Elton John and Tim Rice were wrong. At the least, this particular God does not love Nubia. Then again, perhaps he skipped over Nubia, the messengers are bound for further reaches.
19. It’s Egypt’s turn in the spotlight, and Isaiah starts out much the same. He prophecies, in particular, a vast drought, with crops failing and fish disappearing from the dwindling rivers. But then, he suddenly takes a different tack. When all Egyptians are cowering in the face of God’s wrath, “like women”, God will appear to them and they will embrace worshipping him. Not only that, but the Assyrians will come join them in worship, and then, yes, the Israelis too! Everybody in a big Jewish lovefest for God!
20. Finishing off Egypt and Nubia, where we find that Isaiah has spent the last three years prophesizing, buck-naked. Apparently a lot of the serving class in Egypt were wandering about naked too. Perhaps this is why the rich and ruling class paid little attention to him?
21. God’s not done just destroying the wicked folk of Israel and its neighbors, but now the prophecies continue, covering well into the southern reaches of the Arabian peninsula. In two poems with evocative, somewhat sexual imagery, Isaiah announces their downfall too.
22. In Isaiah’s spotlight today, the “Valley of Vision”, assumed, by historians to be near to Jerusalem because of references in the text. It’s more of the same – tumult and destruction. A particular high palace official, Shebna, is singled out too. There is a prediction that he will be replaced by God’s anointed, Eliakim, though this comes into doubt at the end, where, it is thought, by historians again, an editor of this book knew that Eliakim had been killed before taking over, but didn’t get the continuity handled.
23. Tyre (in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world) is on the chopping block next. Apparently a sort of Monte Carlo or Atlantic City of gaiety, gambling, harlotry, and carousing, it’s going to spend the next 70 years devoid of those things. But, it will return to its former glory after 70 years and all such revelry and wanton-ness will resume. The difference will be that the profits will not go to private, wealthy individuals, but to the Temple. Not becoming a less “wicked” place, just redirecting the profits.
24. God has had enough of singling out different regional kingdoms. Today, it’s the whole earth in his sights. Earthquakes, wobbling, shifting, crumbling, destruction of all life, leaving “just a few people”. Basically, sounding like close to a do-over. Yet, when all that mucking about is done, all the faithful will gather back at Mt. Zion where God will reveal himself to them. So far, anyway, it’s not made clear how many “a few” is, nor how they will all get to Jerusalem.
25. God promises that on the day when the remaining faithful arrive at Mt. Zion, he will make the world whole again, he will eliminate death forever, and he, personally, will prepare a lavish banquet of rich meats, marrow, and wine for them. That this hasn’t happened yet is a big part of the whole “end of days” mythos in both Judaism and Christianity.
26. I am a bit confused here. First, Isaiah praises God for wiping out the wicked from earth, turning them into shades who shall never live again, and whose memory will be blotted out of humanity’s consciousness. Then he sings God’s praises for restoring the world’s shades to life, letting them live again, not letting the earth conceal its dead. I’m guessing that these latter shades are those of good folk, but he doesn’t specify. Plus righteous folk aren’t supposed to become shades.
27. Leviathan, the “twisting serpent” , the “elusive”. Apparently, on that predicted judgement day, God’s going to kill the biggest, baddest dragon on the planet by striking him down with his flaming sword. We’re back to my Dungeons & Dragons analogies….
28. If you thought we were on the mend, post-apocalypse, you were wrong. Isaiah now turns to Ephraim, a kingdom to the north, apparently known for its incomprehensible language, and its feasts of drunken debauchery. Yada, yada, more of the same castigation. No animals in the houses this time, but apparently, God’s going to shorten their couches (I assume the sort of divan on which one has the aforementioned debauchery) and/or short-sheet their beds.
29. We’re back to Jerusalem, where Isaiah prophecies that on the day of redemption it will be like people awaking from sleep, from a nightmare. Like they have been blind but can now see. It feels a bit like he’s letting them off the hook. But then again, we’ve already been told that God plans to wipe out everyone who isn’t, deep in their heart or soul, faithful, so, hard to say….
30. While he starts out ranting against idolatry, Isaiah quickly turns to political invective, warning the leaders of the Jewish people against allying with Egypt (after all, remember our history with them) against Assyria. He goes on to detail the horrors that will befall them if they pursue this course of action. Wild animals once again come into play. He does like invoking them – this time it’s the wild beasts of prey along the desert path to Egypt.
31. The prophet finishes off (maybe?) his tirade against the alliance with Egypt, pointing out that the Israelites are allying themselves with other men, rather than with God, and that the Assyrians will be defeated by the latter, not the former. Why is it an either/or?
32. When the day comes, Isaiah says, kings, ministers, nobles, leaders of all sorts will lead their people with the best of intentions in mind for the betterment of all. I’m going out on a limb and saying that this hasn’t happened yet.
33. This has got to be the most tedious and repetitive book in the Bible (we shall see over the coming years). It’s poetic, yes, but basically, all Isaiah does is repeat the same doom and gloom and then the coming of God and all will be right with the world. Over and over.
34. Hills drenched with blood. Sword sated with blood. Land drunk with blood. Streams of burning pitch. Soil of burning sulfur. Owls, ravens, ostriches, jackals, wildcats, hyenas, goat-demons, regular demons. I think Isaiah’s going for a theme here.
35. After the day of redemption, deserts will bloom, the blind, deaf, and mute shall be cured, and wild animals will no longer inhabit civilized spaces. Isaiah gives much shorter shrift to the after party than to the devastation leading up to it. Stick more than carrot!
36. Lights, camera, action! The king of Assyrian marches on Judah. On arrival, he challenges men guarding the fortified walls, asserting that their king will not be sufficient to protect them. They ignore him and go about their business, and report his words to their king.
37. So the king of Judah prays on the news of Assyria’s approach. Isaiah counsels him to continue to pray, and promises God’s intervention. He then breaks out into more poetic verse, some intended for each of the two kings. Then God sends the Angel of Death to the Assyrian camp, wipes out 185,000 troops, and then during the Assyrian king’s retreat, motivates his two sons to assassinate him.
38. The king of Judah has a rash, and apparently it’s terminal. He prays, God listens, sends Isaiah to tell him he’s heard the prayers and is giving the king fifteen more years of life, that he can be cured by applying dried fig cake to the rash. He also says that as a sign, he’ll make the sun shift back in the sky, a “ten step reset” so to speak, though it’s not clear how long that is. The king writes a poem of thanks, and then asks what the sign will be when his fifteen years are up and it’s time to die.
39. The Babylonian king sends advisors to visit the now recovered king of Judah, wishing him well. Isaiah, however, is suspicious, and announces that they were just there to spy on the palace, and soon, they will return, cart off its riches and enslave the king’s sons.
40. Voice change, scene change, apparently, without warning, we are in “second Isaiah”, a supposed later prophet of the same name, with a long poem that sums up to God is good, God is great, God is powerful, God created all, etc. Plus he knows the names of all the stars.
41. The poem continues with its ode to God, switching almost more to first person. God notes that he has been around since the beginning of time, and the petty squabbles of humanity and nations that have come and gone are a mere blink of an eye, and irrelevant, to him.
42. Isaiah gives a self-shout-out, asserting that God picked him, personally, to be the deliverer of all prophecy and news from on high. And he’s going to scream, pant, and gasp like a woman in labor to get people to pay attention!
43. If you remember back to earlier in the Tanakh, God promised the Jews a huge, prosperous land, and ascendency over all. Conspiracy theories aside about us controlling the world, if one takes the bible as God’s word, perhaps this control is us fulfilling our destiny. In today’s passage, God re-promises the return of Israel and all surrounding lands to the Jews after the redemption. While no space lasers were mentioned, they would fit the theme.
44. I mentioned at the beginning of this book that Isaiah is one of the core prophetic sources of Christian theology, though noted that the version of the book used, the Christian “old testament” has been rewritten, not just translated, from the Hebrew original. One could see why reading today’s page, as Isaiah, on behalf of God, denounces those who make images of God to wear and place in their houses of worship, using them as symbols to worship God through, and that they bake bread which they use as a symbol of God’s body. He denounces the idea that such manmade objects can be considered worthy of being representations of God, and used as symbols of worship, given the inherent… ungodliness of human beings.
45. I feel like Isaiah has overstepped his mandate here, as he goes off on the Jews for arguing with or questioning God. That’s like the core of our religion. It’s one of the key things that’s different about Judaism from other religions. We question, we argue, with God!
46. Continuing his prophecy about, well, himself, God’s chosen prophet, Isaiah predicts the idols of the Babylonian gods will be carted away and melted down. And, the instrument of God’s choice is the emperor Cyrus, of Persia, who will defeat Babylonia and free the Jews. I will just note, it is disturbing, on searching Google for bits and bobs about Cyrus, how many sites and articles there are that equate Cyrus and Donald Trump.
47. Oooh, snap! Isaiah’s getting testy and throwing shade at other prophets. No one is named, but he makes it clear that he’s the only one who speaks for God, the rest are just straw in the window, and due to be consumed by fire.
48. Jews are stubborn and ask too many questions rather than just doing what God tells them to. So says Isaiah, grumbling away. He’s clearly not happy that God doesn’t want to punish the Jews for this, but is just patiently waiting for them to come around.
49. I can’t tell if Isaiah is job-hunting or just boasting. But he’s definitely polishing his resume. Not only is he the only real prophet of God, but, he asserts, he was designated that while still in the womb, and groomed for the job since before birth! God as Tiger Mom!
50. He’s still going on about himself. After all, he announces to one and all, when God called him and gave him instructions, he followed them. So he’s better than all of you who didn’t.
51. “Hey you! Yeah, you! Stop looking around for the right path in life, I’ve been standing here shouting the right instructions to follow God for, jeez, fifty pages now. Enough already, get right with God! I am so tired…”.
52. Our long-winded prophet reminds the Jews that God promised them, long ago, that if they kept the faith, he’d be right by their side, or leading them, or backing them up, as they came to rule over all nations, as one by one those nations realized the true power of God. It’s that “keeping the faith” part that seems to have escaped a large percentage of the population, be they Jews or not.
53. Continuing to talk about himself in the third person as the chosen one, Isaiah laments all the trials, tribulations, and deprivations that he has endured over the years as the mouthpiece for God. He makes it clear that somewhere down the line he expects recognition. Interestingly, I gather that this section of the last few pages, talking about himself in the third person, were a big part of the formation of the Christ Passion and crucifixion narratives, though historians and linguists since assert it’s clearly about Isaiah himself.
54. He’s getting a bit racy with his poetry here. Isaiah compares the redemption of the Jewish people to a sexual experience, making it clear that “getting with God” is pretty damned intimate. He’s pushing cohabitation hard.
55. Repent, re-embrace the faith, all will be forgiven, no questions asked. Once enough Jews have done that and the nation of Israel is reestablished on its ancestral homelands, and has been made secure by eliminating its enemies, it will never be threatened again. The hardliners will win as those who strayed return to the fold. It’s almost like Isaiah was predicting the early 21st century….
56. May as well make it an open invitation. Isaiah asserts that even those not born of the Chosen People, i.e., the Jews, all will be welcome to come and worship God, convert, and live happily ever after. Those who don’t get with the program, well, use your imagination.
57. Starting with yesterday’s text and through the end of Isaiah, the prose takes on a more sermon-like approach. Most biblical scholars assert that this latter section of the book was written about fifty years later (based on historical references in the book) than the last section, and reflect either a third prophet, or more likely, collected thoughts of those influenced by his prophecies. Most of today’s chapter is taken up by exhortations against pagan sex-magic rituals.
58. You call that a fast? Sitting at home alone not eating? Nah, you’re gonna fast the right way. Invite some hungry, poor people into your home, give them food, shelter, and clothing, and don’t eat or drink while you make sure their needs are taken care of. That’s a fast.
59. Take some responsibility for your own and your society’s actions. That’s the message of this new Isaiah’s preaching. If things aren’t going well, pick yourself up and make them right, stop moaning about it and expecting God to step in and fix your problems. Though, at some point, perhaps, if he gets pissed off enough at you, he will. But it won’t be pretty.
60. We wax a bit poetic today as Isaiah prophecies the glories of Zion and the Temple reborn in splendor and riches. Israel’s radiance will light the world, God will come and hang out with one and all. Heaven on Earth and all that.
61. Continuing in the vein of yesterday, this Isaiah offers words of comfort instead of castigation, reminds us of the Jubilee year, fine clothing and jewelry, and, more or less, promises rainbows and unicorns.
62. The idea that knowing something’s name gives you power over it, or that a name itself is power, is not a new one that just popped up in fantasy literature. It stretches, at the least, to biblical writings, and today, Isaiah gives Israel a series of new names of power.
63. Recounting of God as warrior-god, Isaiah waxes poetic in vivid and grisly imagery, with God leading the Jews into battle against enemy after enemy, and, of course, emerging triumphant. We end with the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea. No doubt, more to come.
64. Because we simply can’t have Israel be triumphant without reminding the Jews that they have faltered in the past, straying from the path, Isaiah inserts a bit of “just remember the wrath of God from when you screwed up”. You know, just to make sure they don’t forget.
65. The prophet(s) point out that no matter how often the Jews turned away from God, strayed from the path, even when they prayed to other gods, he was there at their side, offering whatever was needed. Reminds me of the humorous story of all the rescue vehicles God sends to someone stranded in a flood, and the person keeps refusing the rescues, saying, “God will save me”.
66. In a jumbled torrent of fragments of past evils and future goods, Isaiah wraps up in a scene reminiscent of Lt. Colombo ending a witness interrogation… “Just one more thing…”.

Previous Book, II Kings

Next Book, Jeremiah

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With the Israelites at the frontier of The Promised Land, Israel, Moses takes the final book of the Torah as an opportunity to make sure that everyone’s on the same page. They may have had forty years together, wandering about in the desert, but they’ve had their rebellions and conflicts, they’ve had their missteps, and he’s also addressing two generations of Jews who weren’t even born when the exodus started. Deuteronomy is divided into three parts, three sermons. The first recounts the story of how they all got to where they are. The second to remind them that it was with God’s guidance, both positive and negative, that they have arrived, and that he has certain expectations of their future behavior. And the third, to let them know that if they stray, there is a path back, that mistakes, unintentional or intentional, can be forgiven.

1. Moses addresses the Israelites. He talks about how the exodus started, how they set out planning to march straight for Canaan. But many of their number complained, sulked, and/or rebelled. They weren’t happy leaving their lives behind, nor worshipping a new god. God not only punished the complainers but sentenced the community to forty years of wandering the desert. This didn’t endear him to the Israelites, and as generations passed, there were ups and downs. Non-believers were punished. They finally arrived. Still not convinced of their loyalty and faith, God had them lose their first few battles to enter Israel, and only when he finally had them all convinced of his power, did he lead them in conquering the local population.
2. We continue the reprise of the march across the desert, with a recounting of the times they passed through friendly territories and were admonished not to provoke their allies, nor take their lands, and to pay for anything they consumed.
3. Moses continues the litany on God’s behalf. As mentioned, the first section of this book is a reprise of the exodus. This chapter details the lands under King Og of Bashan that were not just conquered, but exterminated by the Israelites while on the road to Canaan.
4. The litany appears to be winding up, as Moses enjoins the Israelites to, “keep the faith”, because, as he reminds them several times, God is displeased and vexed when we don’t, and will respond by, well, wiping us out, like he did earlier unbelievers. Moses can’t resist pointing out that the last time they strayed, not only did those who strayed get punished by death, but he, himself, has been denied entry to the Promised Land, and it’s all their fault. But, you know, go out there and be faithful, fruitful, and multiply.
5. This being Moses’ last big address to the entire Jewish people (one presumes, since they’re going on and he’s not), he’s milking it. He reminds them that God appeared to them on Mt. Sinai and actually spoke to them, giving them the rules to live by. And just in case they’ve forgotten those rules, you know, the ones carved into the tablets they’ve been lugging about for forty years in the desert, he recites and explains each of the ten commandments again. And again reminds everyone what the penalty is for not keeping them. An interesting side note, in Exodus the reason given for the every seventh day Sabbath is the whole “on the seventh day God rested” story. Here, it’s posited as a once a week reminder of both escaping from slavery and the abolishment of slavery within their own community.
6. Moses exhorts the Jewish community to not just keep the faith, but to do so demonstratively. The daily putting on of tefillin, a mezuzah at the entrance to their homes, and teaching their children not just the rules, but the reasons for the rules. Then he continues on with a ban on interfaith marriage, as that might lead to their children turning away from the faith, and further, a command to destroy the idols, altars, and places of worship of anyone who tries to turn your children away from the faith. Now that’s an interesting tangent, as the general approach of Judaism is to accept all faiths. But God puts limits on that. It’s live and let live as long as the other folk do the same, and don’t try to impose their faith and values on us. Then, it’s seek and destroy.
7. I actually went past the end of chapter 6 without realizing it yesterday – the whole thing about destroying the idols, altars and places of worship is actually the beginning of this chapter. There’s a natural break with a new title, and this tangent goes further. I guess that makes it more of the new direction, which is, per God via Moses, that in time God will deliver one after another the other peoples of the earth, who worship other gods, and they are to be destroyed, the same as the Pharaoh and Egyptians were. Now that’s new(s) to me. It’s interesting, because this section, within Reform Judaism, which I was raised in, is usually talked about as God saying, “if you keep my commandments, you will not come to harm from other nations”. That stops way short of what the chapter actually says.
8. Moses continues, reminding the Jews that they were tested over forty years in the desert, increasing their resilience, and molding them into the people they are now. God made sure they were fed, healthy, and, hey, their feet didn’t swell up. He also enjoins them to never forget that their wealth and position came from God’s guidance – no one earns it themselves, it’s all due to following his path. Ooh, the origins of prosperity gospel?
9. Further, God is going to lead y’all into the Promised Land, smiting the inhabitants to clear the way for you. But I want you to be clear he’s not doing it because you’re good people, but because they’re bad people. After all, for forty years, you’ve resisted him. Time and again, I, Moses, have sacrificed my time, my health, my sanity, fasting for weeks on end, in order to bring you the laws of God, and time and again, you’ve stubbornly reverted to the worship of other deities. You’re only here and alive because of my intercession!
10. Moses is still laying on the guilt trip. After all, not only did he endure 40 days and nights without food or water in order to get the 10 commandments, he did it twice! And his brother Aaron died! And still all y’all were stubborn and resistant to change! I mean, 70 Jews went to Egypt and now, look, with God’s guidance and Moses’ sacrifices, you’re as numerous as the stars! Sure, it was 470 years that there were just 70 of you, but that’s all God and Moses! Me! Moses!
11. It is getting a bit repetitive. Moses reminds everyone, apparently addressing the older generations, that they lived through slavery in Egypt, saw the miracles that God performed to get them out, trekked across the desert, and heard direct from God at Mt. Sinai. And once again, keep the faith, don’t be tempted by other gods, teach your children the same. And why? Interestingly along this whole litany, not because it’s the right thing to do, or will lift your spirit or soul, but because if you don’t, God will be angry and smite you.
12. Reiterating, once again, Moses reminds the Israelites that they are commanded to sweep into the Promised Land and destroy all the places of worship of other gods. And to setup their altars in designated spots (by God) from which to offer him sacrifices. And, another reminder, that in eating meat, it is to be first drained of blood, and that the Israelites themselves are never to eat or drink blood, in any circumstances, but it is to be poured on and around the altar as a sacrificial offering. This is particularly interesting at it’s the antithesis of the blood libel claims that have arisen over the last couple of millennia in regard to Jews drinking blood. It’s actually a practice specifically prohibited in our religion.
13. If a prophet appears and exhorts you to follow another god, kill him. If your wife, sibling, child, or close friend tries to get you to follow another god, kill them with your own hands. “I’m trying to find the right path for me” will not fly with Moses and God.
14. Moses reiterates the key points of kosher dietary laws and reminds the people of their tithing responsibilities. I really hope he’s going to wind up this speech soon. I thought it would be like the Cliff Notes version of the previous books, but it’s a full review!
15. A reminder of the shmita, the sabbatical year. Once every seven years all debts owed to you from fellow Jews are forgiven. And in the same sabbatical year, all Jewish slaves or indentured servants are freed. A reminder of being freed from slavery in Egypt. Unless they choose not to be freed, at which point, they become yours for life, with no further opportunity to opt out. Note, both of these only apply to fellow Jews, not to debts, slaves, or servants who are not Jewish.
16. Moses reminds the Jews that there are three key festivals they must observe each year – Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkoth. And that the first born male of each family must make the pilgrimage to the Temple and also not show up empty handed. Sacrifices are obligatory! Mid-page starts a new section, discussing the appointing of judges and officials for each tribe. They must be impartial. Oh, and also, not placing sacred  pillars or posts near to your altar. Remember, God isn’t keen on other gods.
17. Obligatory sacrifices! Again. But make sure they’re pretty. Wouldn’t want to send God a crispy animal that wasn’t pretty. If a Jew leaves the faith and starts to worship another god, and there are two witnesses, stone them to death, publicly. If you’re not sure, let a magistrate or priest decide. If you establish a ruler over your region they must be Jewish, faithful, and not polygamous.
18. The Levites, the priestly class, are not to be given their own lands, but instead are free to wander the lands and be welcomed and supported by the other tribes. Jews are not allowed to be oracles, diviners, sorcerers, mediums, witches, etc. Prophets are designated by God. The way to know if a prophet is really one of God’s is whether or not their prophecies come true. That seems like the answer might come a bit late.
19. Once the lands are divided up, God commands that they create three sanctuary cities. These are cities where someone suspected or accused of a capital crime can go and be safe until their case is heard. No one can take retribution against them while they are there.
20. It’s time to take over the Promised Land. Gather the troops. Have the priests give inspiring speeches. Have the officers make sure none of their men have unfinished business at home that must be done before they might die. If so, have them get it done first! If approaching a town, offer them the option to surrender. If they don’t, lay siege to the town, kill all the men, take all the women, children, livestock, and property as spoils of war. If, however, the town is under the control of certain religious sects that God finds abhorrent, just kill everybody, and keep the loot. Oh. Don’t kill the trees.
21. Disconnected notes…. If a murdered person is found, without evidence of who committed the crime, the closest community sacrifices a cow and absolves the community in total of responsibility. If you take a woman captive, let her mourn her family for a month. Then, if you still desire her, make her your wife. If you don’t, toss her out. If your son is a drunkard, a glutton, and/or disloyal to you, bring him to the elders. If they agree, they are to stone him to death. If you execute someone, display their body in public for the day, impaled on a spike, then bury him. God doesn’t want to see impaled bodies.
22. It’s all about not mixing things, if you think about it. If you find a fellow Jew’s property, you must return it to him, or hold it for him until he comes to find it. This doesn’t hold for the property of non-Jews. No “finders keepers” for a fellow Jew’s property. No wearing of the clothing of the other gender. I’m guessing questions of non-binary or trans status didn’t come up much, at least not publicly. No mixing of crops, nor mixing of plow animals in planting them. No mixing of plant and animal fabrics in clothing. False claims by a husband that his bride was not a virgin (if that was promised) result in him being flogged. False claims of virginity on the part of the woman result in her being stoned to death. Adultery requires the death penalty for both parties, unless the man raped the woman, then just for him. If a man rapes an engaged woman, he is put to death. If a man rapes an unengaged woman, he must marry her, and only she can refuse or later initiate divorce.
23. We’re in the sexual realm today. Don’t marry your father’s ex-wife. If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis removed, he can’t be Jewish anymore. Nothing is said about a woman who has a penis added on. I imagine trans-rights were not a big thing back then. Jewish men and women are not allowed to be prostitutes. It’s just a flat-out statement, no consequences are mentioned for violating this. A man who wakes up having had a wet dream has to leave the camp/town and spend the day alone and then ritually bathe at the end of the day. While not clear, there’s some intimation that the wet dream is a result of needing to, well, handle things and get it out of your system.
24. Today’s chapter runs through scenarios in various arenas – collecting on loans or pledges, on the treatment of a divorced woman, on the responsibilities of parents for their children’s crimes and vice versa, on the payment of wages. Though there are details of how each situation is to be handled, they all come down to… Don’t be a dick about it.
25. If the court is going to flog a guilty person, it should be no more than 40 lashes, because more than that would be degrading. I’m not sure there’s either medical or psychological evidence for that. Don’t cheat people. Period. We then rehash the whole levirate marriage obligation and process. Added in, that if the surviving brother refuses to marry his brother’s widow, his family becomes known as “the family of the unsandaled one”. Recall that removing his sandal is part of the refusal process.
26. God gets the first fruits from your newly planted fields in the Promised Land. Tithing, ten percent of what remains, goes to the priests, the poor, the orphans, and the widows. That is all.
27. We seem to be winding things up here. God declares that once the people enter the Promised Land (remember, we’re still outside, with Moses speechifying), they should set up huge stones, coat them with plaster, and inscribe all of the rules recited in this speech. Then, they setup an altar for sacrifices to God. And then, the priests announce to all the assembled people the things for which they’ll be cursed. These include: making idols, insulting parents, adultery, incest, bestiality, assassination of a fellow Jew, cheating a fellow Jew. Interestingly, from a personal perspective, this is the first time this litany of behaviors that are considered abominable, worthy of being cursed, doesn’t include homosexuality along with adultery, incest, and bestiality in its sexual prohibitions.
28. Wow. Talk about graphic. God says, if you follow all the rules, you’ll be blessed, both individually and communally. And he details some lovely things about crops and livestock and financial wealth and health and happiness. And all with God’s delight! But when it comes to not keeping his rules, he goes for the jugular. Barren soil. Men stealing and raping your wife. Madness. Blindness. Coppery roiling skies. Inflammation. Boils. Insect infestations. Hunger. Thirst. Cannibalism. All, again, visited upon you with God’s delight!
29. Moses calls the people together, in groups led by their tribal elders. He reminds them of all the past travails, and shares with them the pluses and minuses of following God’s rules as detailed on the previous page. He tells them it’s time to make a choice. But he adds that if they choose to not follow God’s path and rules, not only will God visit ruin on them, but also on their family and their tribe. Everything negative that happens to that tribe in the future will be laid at the feet of that individual. Talk about peer pressure!
30. Repentance is allowed. If you’ve strayed from all the rules, and particularly if you’ve worshiped other gods, you can return to the fold, repent, be forgiven, and have all your health and wealth restored to you. “Easy peasy”, says Moses, “follow the rules good, don’t follow the rules bad. Is there some part of this principle you’re too stupid to understand?”
31. Moses reminds everyone that he’s 120 years old, that he’s spent the last third of his life marching around the desert with a bunch of stubborn, ungrateful people, and that he’s not going to lead them into the Promised Land. He’s turning the reins over to Joshua.
32. Moses proceeds to recite the entire Ha’Azinu, a poem that summarizes, in verse, the previous 31 chapters, with admonitions, praise, dos and donts, punishments and rewards. After all the lists and repetition, you might think, great, a summary! But, he already did a summary. And this poem is so fancifully worded that while it’s clear it’s both and invitation and warning, it’s not so clear what it’s inviting and/or warning people about.
33. Moses blesses the various tribal leaders and their tribes, one by one. That is all. Well, it’s not all, because I don’t think he’s done talking yet. Someone get the hook already.
34. Okay, we got the hook. Moses, 120 years old, ascends a mountain with God, who shows him the vista of the Promised Land, reminds him that it is promised to all the Jews, but that he, Moses, cannot enter (punishment for way back when and all that). Then, apparently, he commands Moses to die. Moses dies. God buries him in a hidden location, never to be found. End scene. End book.

Previous Book, Numbers

Next Book, Joshua

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We are into the third section of the Tanakh, having dispensed with the Torah and the Prophets. Ketuvim is literally the Writings, and consists of eleven books that have been collected together, more or less, it seems, because they’re what’s left over. That doesn’t make them less important to scriptural study, and many who do so simply treat them individually without thinking about them as a collection. Since we’re going through our usual chapter by chapter, it’s simply a convenience for organization. Ketuvim launches with Tehillīm, or Psalms, a series of 150, let’s be clear, song lyrics. Because though commonly simply read as poetic prose, the derivation of Tehillim, as well as historical records, are clear that these were praises set to music, sung by the Levitical priests in the Temple. There are some scholars out there who have attempted the re-creation of the original music based on notations found on various copies of the Psalms, but I gather, mostly unsuccessfully.

1. Don’t follow wicked ways, study the Torah and it will nourish you like water for a tree. The wicked will blow away like chaff. Shades of Kansas, Dust in the Wind….
2. Questions and answers that are as relevant today as they were back then. Why are kings and other leaders so self-important? Why do they take their nations down paths that lead to conflict with other nations? Do they not understand that God is the only king and ruler, and they are no different from the rest of us? Lead your peoples like their spirit matters, not your personal ambitions.
3. A random sort of song of thanks from David, yes, that one, as he was running and hiding from his own son, Absalom (see II Samuel 13 – 18), giving thanks to God for watching over him while he sleeps, so that he’s not constantly exhausted.
4. David again, presumed to be addressing his son Absalom, pointing out that while the wages of sin may seem attractive, even lucrative, in the long run they won’t be, and the only true path is repentance and prayer. This doesn’t necessarily seem a good move on David’s part when he’s the target of a patricide attempt in the offing. Maybe he’s just stalling for time?
5. This must be a whole section of David’s conversations with God, as he pleads not just for his freedom and deliverance from suffering, but pleads it in the name of being able to have a quiet, contemplative life, in the service of God. We’ve seen how much God likes being worshipped over these pages, so it’s a plea that David might well imagine would spur him to intervene and save David’s life.
6. Yup, David’s just on a long lament. He feels that all his woes are a punishment from God, and appeals to God’s mercy and love, because he’s weeping himself to sleep every night. This psalm includes instructions that it is to be sung along with the strumming of a sheminith, a type of harp.
7. Noted as an impassioned plea on David’s part, he offers up that if he’s the one who has sinned, then God should let his enemies overtake him and kill him. But, if they’re the ones who have sinned, then God should step in and make sure that the consequences befall them. Like many of these things that pop up throughout the Tanakh, I keep thinking, people just don’t take responsibility for their actions or what befalls them, and keep chalking it up to God, and demanding he fix their lives for them.
8. We have musical notes again, this time, the lament is sung to God, accompanied by a gittith, an instrument which, apparently, no one’s quite been able to figure out what it is, though there seems to be some consensus that it was sort of lute-ish. In this Psalm, David laments that it is the good people, those who follow the ways of the Torah, who are victims of evil doers out there, and often just because they are good people who follow the ways of the Torah. Anti-semitism has a long, long history.
9. To be sung as a dirge, to the tune of a prayer “on the death of one’s son”. In it, however, the theme seems somewhat in opposition to that, as David praises God for answering his prayers, leading him to victory, and vanquishing his enemies. Perhaps it is in theme with the ending, where David predicts the annihilation of all the wicked who do not worship God, and, of course, particularly those from the countries surrounding and opposing Israel.
10. Since wicked people aren’t likely to call on God, being self-confident in their own sins, one might think it worth calling them out. At the same time, God sees all, so he already knows about their sins, and has plans for them, in this life or the next. Calling them out to God is little other than boasting of your own faith, and sets you on the path to sin yourself. God doesn’t need your help figuring out others’ or your morality.
11. An affirmation of David’s belief, faith, and trust in God to protect and shelter him, and, in the end, to mete out punishment to the wicked. He opines that because he is so cared for, he has no need to run and hide from those pursuing him. Which is what he’s been doing for the last many months. Maybe he’s just tired of running and hiding and has decided to reaffirm his faith and ask for protection.
12. We’re back singing to the strummed sounds of the shemenith, a type of harp. David laments that the wicked are adepts at lying, flattering, and just generally have silver tongues when it comes to conning people. And, he praises God for figuring it out, and, some day, punishing them for it by forcing them to recant their words. Some day. Still waiting.
13. Although still professing his faith and love for God, David muses, no, laments, that as best he can tell, God isn’t really paying any attention to him. He’s not answering, he’s not appearing, he’s not fixing the situation. But, faith and love all the same. Maybe it’s time for David to stand and fix the situation himself instead of hoping and praying for someone else to do so?
14. David laments that all men are sinful by nature, and those who don’t believe in God are particularly susceptible to hateful behavior. And, God knows it, you can’t hide it, and there’s nothing you can do about it but keep trying to overcome your innate nature. Well that’s pretty bleak. It’s also a cornerstone of much of Christian theology.
15. David wonders, who would be a good guest in God’s house. After all, you wouldn’t want someone wicked, a sinner. But, as all men, according to him, have some sin and wicked in them, maybe no one will drop by for a visit, and God will be lonely. Or happy. Is he an introvert or extrovert? Inquiring minds want to know.
16. A poem recited by David as he reaches the conclusion that his only hope is faith and living in harmony with God, believing that that will protect him.
17. Deliverance, protection, vindication. David’s not asking much from God, who he asserts is paying close attention to what’s happening to him and is sure to jump in at any moment and help out.
18. David muses on and invokes the calamities that he suffered, equating them to earthquakes, hellish torments, lighting, fire, storms, and how God swooped in and rescued him. Wait, I thought he was just being chased by his nephew who wants to usurp his position? This seems a bit melodramatic, no?
19. David sings about the glory of God, and how he has revealed the natural and spiritual world through his words.
20. A brief soliloquy to let us know that God > Military > Money.
21. David thanks God for his past victories and looks forward to his future ones. Yay God.
22. A bit of a reprise – a long litany of David’s woes followed by thanks to God for rescuing him from them. Kind of could have skipped Psalms 3 to 21…. Could we have an editor over here?
23. This psalm is one many of us know – “The Lord is my Shepherd…”. It is David’s acknowledgement that God has been a constant, guiding force throughout his life. David, presumably, never intended it to be used to force a young carpenter and teacher to the status of sheeple tender.
24. David’s ode to the glory of God, meant to be sung at the dedication of the Temple. It’s a paean to God’s prowess in battle and his glory in victory that led to the possibility of the Temple being built.
25. We’re still doing a lot of reprising. I guess this is why many scholars treat these as individual writings rather than a book, which happened later as a way to keep track of them, or something. David reaffirms his trust in God, but wants to make sure God notices that he’s just a humble servant, devoted and faithful. Wait, I thought that declaring one’s piety was considered bragging and forbidden? Maybe that’s just to other people, not to God, who, I guess, David thinks needs reminding.
26. David opines to God that he’s been faithful, righteous, and humble, and shouldn’t be judged with the sinners and evil-doers, because he’s better than them. Methinks he doth protest too much. Let alone being a bit of an arrogant braggart.
27. David opines again… Hope and trust in God, but act in your daily life as if there is no God and it’s all up to you, and then hope and trust in God some more. Okay then.
28. This is a virtual repeat of Psalm 26, with David crying out to God to make sure he doesn’t get lumped in with the folk who aren’t faithful and good people, because he’s kept the faith and been good (except when he hasn’t, which we saw a fair amount of back in I and II Samuel as we wound our way through David’s story of mass assassinations, defections, betrayals, and more. Seems someone has conveniently forgotten his own past.
29. David wants you to know that God’s voice is so powerful, so majestic, that it can upheave wildlands and raze forests. Would be nice if we were praising its ability to create rather than destroy, but we have the psalm we have.
30. We’re just going to have to put up with David’s laments and praises for awhile. 73 (some say 75) of the psalms are his out of 150. Today he gives thanks for the completion of the Temple, a process he had to stay out of because of his past sins, but in a show of “the son doesn’t inherit the sins of his father”, his son Solomon was tasked with the building of the Temple.
31. David laments that nobody loved him, everybody hated him, and if it weren’t for God, he’d have just been a lost, lonely soul. Sounds like someone just being melodramatic about a life where, like, almost everyone loved him, and only his enemies hated him, but some of them even thought he was pretty cool.
32. David has an insight. Not covering up his sins, and confessing to God, and being forgiven, will make him happy. There is no suggestion on his part that he confess his sins to another person. Privately, in conversation with God, and reporting that he’s been forgiven for whatever he might have done, will do just fine, thank you very much.
33. David announces that musicians across the land should be singing God’s praises. And more specifically, accompanied by instruments that have either ten strings or ten holes.
34. David opines that you should keep your mouth shut if all you to say is hypocritical or slanderous. God pays attention and will eradicate those who speak evil, while answering and often rewarding those who speak truth and praise. If you have nothing good to say….
35. Repeated three different times, in different phrasing, David sings for vindication of his righteous path, the destruction of his enemies, and, of course, slips in a few phrases of admiration for God, especially if he helps out with those first two items.
36. Many seem to interpret this psalm as David praising God for providing refuge to the persecuted. I have to say, I don’t see that anywhere in the psalm, which seems more focused on calling out those who surround themselves with the aura of being pious believers, but are in reality transgressors who make a pretense of faith in order to hide their nefarious affairs.
37. Advice for? from? David. It’s not clear which. Don’t sweat the wicked. Don’t envy their ostentatious wealth or perceived success. Because judgment time is coming and pretty soon they’ll lose it all and be swept away. Still waiting on that, you know?
38. David is suffering, you know? I mean, aches and pains and illness while he’s been on the run. And hey, God, in case you haven’t been paying attention to the last 37 psalms of David trying to get in touch, he just wants to remind you that he’s suffering, and is really hoping that you’ll step in and make him feel all better. And maybe tuck him in and sing him a lullaby when it’s bedtime.
39. David opines to God that he feels like he’s been punished enough, thank you very much. And he’s mended his own wicked ways, and vowed not to repeat them, and to be faithful, and all the rest, so, like, could he just get on with his life and maybe God could make his persecutors go away?
40. David’s still going. After all, he points out to God, there have been moments when you’ve rescued me, given me hope, lifted me up. But then you let me down again and I’m on my own. It’s almost like you expect me to do something to help myself instead of just praying to you. What gives?
41. We often read news and social media posts where someone conflates two wholly unrelated topics and tries to make them seem like the same situation. Today, David laments sickness and treacherous friends, apparently deciding that both affect him, and others, the same way, and that faith in God will make him healthy, rid him of wicked acquaintances, and guarantee him spiritual immortality. Alrighty then.
42. A soulful poem of longing to be right with God, sung on behalf of the “sons of Korah”, which referred to a trio of biblical figures charged with protecting the tabernacle, not the Australian Christian folk band who have made a career out of modern musical interpretations of the Psalms.
43. Perhaps all this lamenting has done some good. All we know is that David suddenly switches from carrying on about his miserable state to thanking God for getting back to him.
44. A lament on behalf of the people, during the Babylonian exile, complaining that, well, they’re in exile, and God seems to have forgotten them, and left them to be scorned, left them to work as slaves, etc., etc. Apparently they’ve forgotten the whole thing where God caused the exile as a punishment for them straying from the path, and told them he’d get back to them in seventy years. Clearly no one brought a copy of the Book of Jeremiah with them.
45. Finally, something that isn’t a lament, complaint, or demand. An ode, a love song, to the messiah who is to come, and emphasizing his relationship with both God and the community. Not surprisingly, the Catholic church, I gather, treats this one as a reaffirmation of the bond between “Father and Son”. Since Judaism doesn’t consider Jesus to be God’s son, and we’re still waiting on the messiah, this psalm has very different meanings to the two faiths.
46. A song of praise to God for being the source of both power and salvation in times of trouble. They do attribute a bit of bluster to him, singing that all he has to do is announce he’s God, cease and desist from evil doings, and people will. I suppose, if God actually appeared to us, roiling clouds and all that, and boomed that out, people might actually stop what they’re doing and pay attention.
47. The song of praise continues, with allusions to the High Holy Days and Judgement Day. Ultimately, it’s just a continuation on yesterday’s psalm.
48. An ode to Jerusalem, Zion, as the shining city that represents God on earth.
49. Why make the choice to be “good” in life, if everyone just ends up dead in the end? This psalm posits that for those who choose, let’s call it The Dark Side, their souls will remain in darkness, in Sheol, for all eternity, while the souls of those who choose to be righteous will live on… somewhere. While the concept of “Hell” is a Christian one, the Tanakh does posit some sort of good and bad afterlives.
50. Yay, we’re a third of the way through the Psalms. While most of the Psalms are petitions or odes, there are about a dozen, specifically written to or about a compatriot of David’s, named Asaph, that are distinct for appearing to be prophecies or visions. In this first one, God chastises an unnamed wicked person for daring to reinterpret his laws, and attempting to redefine faith in him. There are some bible historians who believe this was a vision of God rebuking those who a millennium later created Christianity, though most tend to relate it to other attempts to change Judaism that happened more contemporaneously.
51. An act of confession of sins by David to the prophet Nathan, along with a plea to be pardoned for his past sins based on his acknowledgement of them. This psalm is ofttimes seen as a major impetus behind the Catholic practice of confession. And, it also fits with the Jewish version – once a year on Yom Kippur.
52. David opines that people who gossip, say bad things about others, and/or hurt other people will be punished by God. He has an awful lot of reliance, we’ve seen, on that God will take care of all the punishing. The problem to my mind is that it leaves the “bad people” free to do as they please until their afterlife, and the prospect of a bad afterlife clearly doesn’t deter them. God has said more than once that communities need to deal with miscreants during their life, not leave them for divine judgment.
53. David muses on those folk who choose not to believe in nor follow God, and declares them to be fools. The Hebrew word doesn’t imply someone stupid or lacking capability, but rather someone lacking in wisdom and judgement.
54. David goes dark, carrying on about the folk who are out to get him, and asking God to not only help revealing who they are, but protecting him from them, ending with expressing his confidence that God will do the right thing and save him.
55. A long and involved lament by David after having been betrayed by a close friend. He wails away about how such treachery is the worst that a man can be expected to endure. And, of course, ends up entreating God to utterly destroy this “traitor” and send him off to whatever hell or purgatory may exist.
56. David is afraid. According to some sources, this Psalm, echoing a passage in the books of Samuel, is the only time he ever admitted he was afraid. He is advised to trust in God and that will allay his fears. You know, with a good therapist, maybe David could have handled some of all these whiny issues and paranoia, and maybe Jonathan wouldn’t have left him. Just musing.
57. While his enemies may attack him like wild animals, David is quite sure that his faith in God will be answered by God protecting him from them, and in the end, they will only hurt themselves. You do realize that if some guy on X, or Facebook, or TikTok was spouting all these various rantings, we’d have relegated him to the tin foil hat crowd, and someone would be trying to get him into a treatment program?
58. David’s going a little psycho here, as he muses that wicked people are wicked through and through, they have no real redeeming qualities, and soon, very soon, God, or people on God’s behalf, will crush them brutally, and he, David, and others, who are beleaguered by the wicked folk will rejoice in their destruction and bathe in their blood. Someone’s not been taking their medication.
59. David cries out to God when he finds himself under siege from his enemies, calling them dogs and demanding that God destroy them. But make sure to do it openly, so people can see how bad it is to be against him, David. Wouldn’t want those wicked folk to just disappear and everyone not understand that David has God’s protection now would we.
60. David laments (again) of the time when he interceded with God on behalf of the Jewish people, whom God was busy punishing for their sins (i.e., not following his rules and worshiping him). And, hey God, you paid attention then, why not now, on my own behalf? I’m beginning to see the reason no one reads the Psalms straight through, we pick one out now and again and sing it or share it, but all together, most of them are just David whining about God not paying attention to him anymore.
61. David acknowledges that despite all his lamenting, wailing, and praying, he understands that while God may hear everything he says, he may choose not to pay any attention. He’s not obligated, after all. This feels like a setup for another litany of everything David has done on behalf of God and a demand for a bit more attention.
62. Another David lament (I thought he was only supposed to be in 50 of the 150 psalms…), where he basically announces that one shouldn’t trust in one’s fellow men, but only in God… well, Gods. Because, here, out of the blue, the deity is pluralized, and the psalm actually entreats one to trust in “the gods”. Someone forgot to proofread that text.
63. David. Yes, David again, goes on a mental wander, comparing his time hiding out in the desert, hungry and thirsty, to his spiritual world at the same time, which lacked a commitment and faith in God. And, in following, that finding God and committing to him, was akin to finally being able to eat and drink.
64. Oh, the evil things that David’s enemies have planned for them. He details out some of the nefarious plots, but winds down after a short bit and affirms that God will save him. You know, it’s interesting, at no point in all this moping, whining, and complaining, does David ever acknowledge the reason that Saul has sent men to kill him. It’s like he hasn’t read his own story. (To refresh your memories, check my thoughts on I Samuel, starting from chapter 17.)
65. David praises the various wonders of the world that God has created. Given the tenor of the 64 psalms prior to this one, we just know he’s gearing up to demand something. It’s like a kid buttering up a parent before asking for something he knows the answer to which is likely to be “no”.
66. Finally. No David in a psalm. Are we done with his part? I can only hope. Today’s psalm praises God for his great works on earth and in turn swears an oath to continue ritual animal sacrifices in perpetuity. It particularly notes the heavenly aroma of grilled meats. Fire up those barbecues!
67. A continuation, more or less, of the previous psalm, with the leaders calling on the entire community to praise God and ask for him to continue to bless the world with his presence and good works.
68. Well, David’s back, what can I say. He sings a long song of praise to The Divine Warrior, to the forces God uses to destroy his enemies. There’s lots of earth trembling, chariot smashing, and people scattering involved. You know, the fun stuff of the Bible.
69. It’s not David lamenting, but the community leaders lamenting on behalf of David, moaning, ad nauseum, over his time in exile and his trials and tribulations during that period. It is supposed to be sung accompanied by the “shoshanim”, a “lily-belled trumpet”, interesting given that the word means roses in Hebrew. But either way, I’m trying to imagine singing a lament accompanied by… a trumpet.
70. This is the Cliff Notes version of Psalm 40, repeating each theme in turn, but more concisely. Of course that may be because it’s the community leader summarizing David’s verbose lament for the congregation. I’m sensing had this logic been applied, we could cut to maybe 40-50 psalms instead of 150. Still set to music, of course. Where is Anna Russell when we need her?
71. An anonymous song of praise to God as an aging person finds himself subject to abuse by those around him, as they take advantage of his waning strength and faculties. He reminds God (why does everyone feel like they have to remind an omniscient, omnipresent deity of things) that he has been faithful not just for his entire life, but even before he was born, while still in the womb. That one’s got to be a boon to the “pro-life” set.
72. David prays that God will endow his son Solomon with wisdom and judgment and compassion so that he will become Israel’s most just ruler. And, dare I offer a small huzzah, as there is an end note on this psalm that this is the end of psalms related to David. One can live in hope.
73. The first of eleven psalms attributed to the Levite priest Asaph, where he muses on the superficial attraction of a wicked life – the money, the material objects, the food, the drink, etc. But as he looks closer, he sees the cost to their psyche and soul, and while having been initially tempted, realizes how dark that path is to go down. And then he muses some more on how good, spiritually if not materially, life is on the path that follows God.
74. Asaph continues on his lament, noting that it seems like forever since God has paid much attention to his people, even allowing for things like the destruction of the Temple (apparently Asaph never read the portions of the Tanakh where God actually arranged the destruction of the Temple). He entreats God to respond to his faithful and come back to them.
75. I’m liking Asaph more than David – he doesn’t whine. Today, he praises God for not having forgotten that there are many Jews living in the diaspora, in exile, after the Roman colonization. He also addresses wicked folk directly, and reminiscent of recently departed comedian Bob Newhart, tells them to just “Stop it!”
76. Asaph sings of God’s justice throughout history, demonstrated by his power in intervening in the affairs of man to set things on the right course. Also, and I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, did you know that the name “Salem” is an archaic, shortened version of “Jerusalem”?
77. Okay, now Asaph is starting to whine. At least he’s moaning and lamenting over God’s recent inattention to Israel as a whole, and the Jews as a people, rather than his own personal woes. He recalls, nostalgically, when things were better and God used to appear regularly. This makes him more despondent, and he cries out, asking God to come back and hang again, do some more good stuff, you know, all that thunder and lightning and crushing of enemies….
78. Asaph praises God for having maintained being kind and wise over the generations, despite many people no longer following his rules. He calls out to the people to “do better”, to relearn what they’ve forgotten and teach it to their children. Wait, just a psalm ago, Asaph was lamenting that God has been pretty much missing for generations. Which is it, missing or hanging out being kind and wise?
79. Asaph’s back to lamenting about God’s behavior. Now it’s, “Yeah, look, we screwed up awhile back, but how long are you going to hold this against us and let our enemies just run roughshod over us? Either we’re your chosen people or we’re not, but, hey, a little help over here?!” At least Asaph is championing for the community as a whole, not just himself, as David did.
80. More of the same. Asaph gets all metaphorical, comparing Israel and the Jews to a vine that God planted and tended, and it was fruitful and multiplied, and then he started pruning it and letting wild beasts trample it, and on, and on, and on, and maybe God, it’s time to get back to taking care of the vine instead of challenging it. Then again, winemakers claim that vines that are stressed and overcome challenges produce better grapes for better wines.
81. Asaph’s song of praise for the festival of the new moon, as he recalls the time the Jews spent in slavery in Egypt and their escape.
82. Asaph speaks on God’s behalf, lambasting the leaders and judges who side with the wicked over the just, taking bribes, soliciting favors, and more. And, of course, in proper ancient God fashion, threatening their eventual downfall, without putting a timeframe on it.
83. Asaph lived around the time of King David, about 1000 BCE. In today’s psalm he catalogs the surrounding nations, the moabites, the hagrites, the ishmaelites, the assyrians, the philistines… all of whom want to wipe the nation of Israel from the face of the earth. He’s asking for divine national protection, and also, as best I can tell, making sure God doesn’t forget any of the opposing clans or armies. This conflict goes back. Just sayin’.
84. The first of a series of psalms sung by the Korahites, a familial lineage of professional singers – the precursors, one supposes, to modern day cantors. The singer marvels at the contentedness of small animals who just live their lives basking in God’s glow without a care in the world. One might assume that the singer knows very little about the struggles of daily survival for many a small animal.
85. This psalm has given conniption fits to Hebrew linguists, as it is phrased in past tense but refers to the future actions of God turning away from being pissed off at his people and instead blessing them with tangible benefits in exchange for them returning to his path from those to which they have strayed. The phrasing makes it seem as if the singer is imagining the future as an accomplished fact.
86. Dammit. I thought we were done with David. But… He’s Back… Still rambling on about all his moments of dark despair and how turning to God saved him from hell, and maybe he should have done that sooner and not been the arrogant twit he used to be. But, do people really change?
87. Thank goodness, yesterday was a mere echo back to David. We’re still in Korahite territory, and today they sing that anyone who comes to Zion, Israel, and embraces faith in the one true God, is reborn and considered as if he or she had been born there in the first place. Renounce your heresy all you 4.3 billion people who muck about in offshoot religions of Judaism and come back to the fold!
88. The lament of the psalmist amounts to a woe is me, I’ve been faithful, I’ve done everything I was supposed to, and still, it seems I’m headed to Hell, and God has forsaken me. You might think there would be an uplifting finale to this dirge, but no, the gist is that sometimes you do everything right and life still doesn’t work out. Scholars and rabbis for centuries have twisted themselves into knots over this to justify why one should still make the effort to do everything right.
89. An extremely long psalm by Ethan the Ezrahite, whom we’ve not encountered before, as he extols the various virtues of God, both carrot and stick. Ethan was a bit of a savant – a young boy in King David’s court who was already lauded for his wisdom, which many claimed, and theologians still sometimes claim, was second only to Solomon.
90. While there are seven psalms that mention Moses, this is the only one in which the text is attributed to him. Basically, it’s a laundry list of complaints to and about God, for responding to the occasional errors on the part of Moses himself, and others, by treating mankind with anger and sending ridiculous trials and tribulations against humanity over and over again. One might think Moses is peeved over those forty years in the desert, and trips up Mt. Sinai, and being told he can’t enter Israel.
91. A seemingly non-sequitur psalm that many scholars have termed an “amulet psalm”, i.e., a short inscription invoking God’s protection that could be inscribed on a small scroll in an amulet. Something, it might be noted, that isn’t exactly kosher in Jewish tradition, other than the mezuzah on our doors. It imagines God as a female bird and is often considered a precursor of the depictions of a dove by Jews of the shekinah, feminine side of God, and Christians of the Holy Spirit.
92. A call to prayer on Shabbat, a song of joy, and an imagining of a future where every day is Shabbat. This psalm is often sung at the start of afternoon prayers. While I suppose for one who believes that the ultimate bliss in the universe is to spend all day everyday in contemplation, study, and prayer, I can’t say that such an envisioned future for humanity would be high on my list.
93. The psalmist extols the decibel level of the ocean and opines that the only thing louder than the pounding, thunderous noise of the sea, is God. While I’m sure it was intended as a compliment of sorts, it seems very backhanded to me.
94. The psalmist cries out to God for justice, calling out all the opportunities for the enemies of our people to assume God either doesn’t care or doesn’t exist because he doesn’t step in and stop them from doing bad things. After all, the singer sings, if you don’t respond to our prayers, are you even listening to them?
95. This psalm starts out as an exaltation of God and the pivots to imagined musings by God about not wanting to be tested by the stubbornness of the Jewish people the way they’d tested him during the Exodus. Passive-aggressive guilt tripping by the psalmist.
96. How many ways can one psalmist proclaim that there is joy to be found in worshipping God? Well, this psalm has thirteen short paragraphs, each one rephrasing that concept and yet saying nothing different or new. So, at least thirteen.
97. This psalm is quite the description of the power of God, with melting mountains and dense clouds, and fire and lightning! All quite awe inspiring.
98. After yesterday’s psalm, the psalmists continues on with a bit more of a description of God’s might, but pivots to focusing on how we, and nature, must exalt God. It involves a lot of lyres, trumpets and horns on our part, clapping on the part of rivers, and singing on the part of mountains.
99. The last of the six “royal psalms”, exalting God as king, or ruler, of the world, in this one God is pictured flitting about on his throne, pulled by the cherubim (and, in contrast to the Christian interpretation of cherubs as chubby little angel children, we get reminded that in Jewish tradition, cherubs are huge, fierce winged lions with human faces), and we admonished to bow down to… hmmm… not him, but… his footstool.
100. Yeah, yeah, we are God’s sheep, he’s the shepherd, we have to do what he says, when he says, and not argue about it, and praise him for it. Wait, that’s not right. Judaism is all about arguing, and especially with God. Who wrote this psalm?
101. Dammit. David’s back. Just reporting in to God about how he’s trying to create a just, righteous world by rooting out and destroying the folk who are wicked, worthless, and perverse. You know, if God is supposed to be omniscient, why do people feel like they have to keep reporting in on what’s going on down on Earth, and all the things they’re doing to help out? It’s almost like they don’t really believe he’s all-knowing and all-powerful.
102. A middle aged psalmist lays withering away, and sings out about his various physical woes, then compares those to God’s strength and majesty, and coyly suggests that given that God is so all powerful and eternal, perhaps he might spare a bit of that for the psalmist, who’d just like to live to a normal old age rather than being struck down in his prime. I mean, come on God, what will it cost you to toss a few more years and some health my way?
103. Yup, David’s back again. Jeez Louise, as they say. At least this time he’s not lamenting his woes or touting his accomplishments. He’s buttering up God by enumerating all the good stuff that the deity does for humanity, even when us lowly human beings don’t deserve it. I can just feel it, there’s another David psalm coming and he’s going to ask for something big.
104. A song of praise to God, and all the things he provides for us, the human beings, for the animals, for the plants, for the planet. And a final line suggesting that all sinners be simply disappeared from the face of the earth, wink, wink.
105. The psalmist sings of the years of Jewish slavery in Egypt, followed by the Exodus, all orchestrated by God, in a couple dozen artfully written phrases, ending with a reminder to the Jewish people that it was all done to lead them to a point where they would be faithful to him. It really seems to me that an alll-knowing deity might have come up with a more effective way of making his point than slavery and desert wandering. Especially since it didn’t really work in the long run. Or maybe we’re due for another “lesson”?
106. The song from yesterday is more or less repeated in other words. Almost like someone said to a group of psalmists, hey, each of you write me a song about slavery in Egypt and the Exodus, and, I don’t know, maybe there will be a prize for the best song. Extra manna for dinner or something. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s entry. Oh, and nice shoutout to Pinehas, Aaron’s grandson, who was so righteous he killed his fellow Jews for sleeping around with non-Jews. Yay team.
107. I’m going to have to call out this psalmist as he continues on his songs of praise. Still on the Exodus, he extols God for that period of time, while the Jews were lost and wandering in the desert, for showing up and showing them “the direct route to their new, settled home”. Unless we’re giving God a pass for the whole “what’s years to humanity is a blink of the eye to God” schtick, forty years meandering in the wilderness does not seem to me like the direct route.
108. David is like a Whac-a-Mole, he just keeps popping up every few psalms. In this one, he enumerates the various promises of wealth and power that God had promised him back in the day, and then points out that he didn’t get those things. As usual, he seems to forget that he didn’t get those things because he didn’t uphold his end of the deal, and repeatedly violated ethical and moral standards to get what he wanted, to the point that his own family usurped him, sent him into exile, and wants to kill him.
109. David still. He really hasn’t become a better human being, despite all his protestations and claims of having reformed from his wayward youth. He prays to God for retribution against his own, personal enemies, demanding God ruin their lives for his own personal revenge. You know, if all this stuff had been taught back in “Hebrew School” when I was a kid, we’d all have come out with a very different view of the history of our forefathers/mothers.
110. Well, according to the psalmists, David is indeed the chosen one here. This song has God praising David as such, telling him to come sit at his side and watch as God gleefully destroys all of David’s enemies. We really didn’t learn these stories this way back in the day.
111. Summed up by the final line: The beginning of wisdom is fear of God. Yay God.
112. Continuing on the fear the Lord theme – the man who is properly afraid of God and is therefore driven to follow the Torah commandments scrupulously will be healthy, wealthy, and wise and never afraid of anything else. It’s worth parsing that idea for a moment – the idea that following the rules must be driven by fear of punishment from the entity that made the rules will lead to rewards. This sounds a lot like the model of various authoritarian governments out there today.
113. One of the six hallel psalms, or hallelujah verses, that are recited in synagogue during festivals. God is praised for his compassion, in that he holds the poor in just as high regard as the rich, and the childless woman in just as high regard as those with children. Though cat ownership is not mentioned, there’s a certain vice presidential candidate who might take note of that.
114. Just a reminder from the psalmists to Mother Nature that ever since the Exodus, she’s had to tremble and bow in the presence of God and Israel.
115. The songster enjoins God to make sure he’s visible and present in the world, so that folk of other religions won’t be able to avoid the obvious. After all, their experience and articulation of God is totally based on worshipping manmade idols.
116. This is an interesting one, since the psalmist sings of having been dead and found himself in Sheol, the empty place of limbo before redemption or condemnation for eternity. And, he praises God for redeeming him, not to heaven, but rather returned to the world of the living. The mystical Jewish belief is that the righteous will be returned to life only when the Messiah arrives, so here we have an example outside the usual framework. One wonders what this psalmist did that was worthy of such a deviation.
117. I imagine this is the shortest of psalms, coming in at one sentence. Basically, praise God because he loves us. We need a numbered psalm for that sentence? Set to music?
118. Yesterday was just an intro to today’s long praise of God. After all, despite all the negative things he’s done to us, better to trust and praise him than other people. In fact, why are you trusting other people at all? Don’t you know what they’re like?