The Free Thinkers guide to the Bible

Part 2 #5 - The heresy of Peor

Revealing the veiled battle for Authority

Welcome back to the Free Thinkers guide to the bible. I created this series so that ‘anyone’ can explore and understand the bible. You don’t need to be a biblical scholar; all you need is a desire to see what is written. I will present to you several biblical examples and demonstrate the process of sifting the accounts to reveal the hidden. This process is very similar to archeology, where the layers are excavated and analyzed. Just not the dirty part, though you will be digging up some dirt along the way.

Warning:

The series unfolds like a story in a book. Please study the content in the order it is presented in order to have the best experience.

When reading the bible or listening to a Priest, Rabbi or Pastor, have you heard or read contradictions, peculiarities or repetitions that caused your subconscious mind to pause and attempt to reconcile them? Like myself, You may have told yourself “I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for this”, or “I will look into that later”… more than likely you never got around to it, or decided like the majority of people, that you would trust those with more experience than yourself.

If you are tired of relying on religious authorities to answer the difficult questions with unsatisfying responses that raise more questions than they answer. If you truly seek answers; continue reading the presentations in this series and I will show you how to easily explore the Bible and answer the hard questions yourself.

The series provides you with numerous examples of two distinct groups of scribal authors/redactors.

The first group is the "A" authors/redactors who focus on priestly matters; laws, rules and observances, as well as the tabernacle/temple services and offerings. The "A" authors and writing styles range from literary artisans to unskilled writers whose works are easily identified.

The second group consists of the “B” and “D” author(s)/redactor(s).

The “D” author/redactor chronicles the first person Moses account of the wilderness travels.

The “B” author(s)/redactor(s) wrote the stories in Genesis; Israel’s time in Egypt and the wilderness travels in Exodus and Numbers.

The “B” wilderness accounts harmonize with the “D” author’s first person Moses accounts; and is the reason they are grouped together.

In the study we compare the accounts and explore the differences between them to determine why the "A" priestly authors/redactors intentionally created similar yet separate accounts of many of the “B” author(s)/redactors stories.

In the second part of the series we explore unusual and complex passages that portray Moses and Aaron in diminished or elevated situations. We submit to you that some of these contrasts were deliberately placed in strategic areas to influence the reader.

The heresy of Peor

Moses diminished

We return to the “heresy at Peor” to study a portion of the event that we did not highlight during the first part of the series. In this short observation study we will unveil a diminishment of Moses that is often overlooked or not seen as consequential.

The heresy of Peor

Numbers 25:6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague (מגּפה) (maggêphâh) was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died in the plague (מגּפה) (maggêphâh) were twenty and four thousand.

10 And the LORD (יהוה) spake unto Moses, saying, 11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13 and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God (אלהים) (Elohim), and made an atonement for the children of Israel.

We read in the second story that it begins with the statement that Moses and the entire congregation witnessed the transgression that was transpiring at the tabernacle. The writer then proceeds to tell the story of how Phinehas the hero priest of the lineage of Aaron stops the defilement of the tabernacle.

It is easy to overlook the implications of these verses. It is inferred that Moses as the spokesman of the Creator and leader of the congregation did nothing other than stand by and watch the defiling of the tabernacle. Many readers will consciously or subconsciously lay some or all blame on him for his inaction during this event.

Also easy to overlook is the fact that this scenario elevates Aaron (his lineage) by the actions of Aaron’s grandson Phinehas.

Was the story indirectly casting Moses as complicit in the event purposeful or coincidence? Was the story indirectly casting Phinehas as the hero in the event purposeful or coincidence?

We will work to answer these questions in our future studies.

Please continue the study in Part 2 #6 - The Waters of Meribah