The Free Thinkers guide to the Bible

Part 4 #6 – The Stairway to Heaven

The establishment of the Priesthood

The introduction of “The House of God, Anointing and vows”

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 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. The study series begins with Part 1 #1 – The Flood

Preface

In the fourth study we build upon the knowledge we acquired in the first three studies. We have found that there are at least two distinct authors and a superb redactor(s) that created, edited and merged accounts and stories in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In the second study we highlighted accounts that diminished or promoted Moses and Aaron. In the third study we highlighted accounts that revealed that the “A” account writer(s) focused on Aaron and priestly matters. The “B” account writer(s) focused on telling stories and made no mention of priestly matters, Aaron was revealed to be a leader of the people and he and Hur were in charge when Moses went up to the Mount.

In this portion of the study we examine the “Stairway to Heaven” account. We will use the information we gathered in the first three studies to explore the areas that require close examination.

The House of God/The Stairway to Heaven

Gen 28:10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Using the study tools you learned in the previous studies; you should easily discern that the “A” account writer(s) added to an existing “B” account story. The “B” account tells of the dream of Jacob where he sees a ladder reaching from the earth to the sky. Jacob sees the Creator יהוה at the top of the ladder and he tells Jacob that he is the God of his father Abraham and that he and his seed will be as the dust of the earth and inherit the land where he was sleeping.

The “A” account adds that Jacob believes this to be the location of “The house of God” and the gateway to heaven…

The accounts separated…

The Stairway to Heaven “B”

The “B” account without the insertions reads like a typical story that contains no priestly matters with the exception of the likely "A" writer insertion in verse twelve of the angels of God.

The House of God “A”

Gen 28:17 And he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel (House of El): but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: 22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

The “A” account has the first occurrence of the concept of God having a house or dwelling place on the earth and the first occurrence of the concept of a gate of heaven which the messengers (angels) of God use to travel between the heavens and earth. We also have the first occurrence of anointing in the bible.

We have a recounting of the event in Genesis thirty-one…

Gen 31:11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

The pouring of oil on the rock is affirmed to be an anointing (משׁח - mâshach) which is a priestly ritual. We read in both accounts that Jacob is said to have vowed a vow to God. This is the first occurrence of Vowing a vow (Neder nadar). Vowing to the Creator is another priestly rite that is confirmed by the fact that the vow in this account includes tithing a tenth of his possessions.

I am including two “A” account references to vowing. These accounts directly relate to priestly offerings being made to seal the promise(s).

Lev 7:16 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:

Deu 23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Note: The Deuteronomy "A" account also mentions the “House of God”.

Summary

We have the first examples of the concept of a dwelling place of God on the earth, a gate of heaven which messengers use to travel between heaven and earth, the priestly ritual of anointing and vowing to God.

We also have the second occurrence in the bible of tithing (the other was in the “A” account Melki’tsedek)

Conclusion

The pattern of evidence is obvious at this point in the studies. The “A” account writer(s) have intentionally inserted priestly matters into the earlier writings to give them authority and to introduce the readers to the priestly concepts that would be further developed in the Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy accounts.

The “A” Creation account introduced the seventh day Sabbath and Blessing. (Genesis 1)

The “A” writer(s) then introduced covenant, Clean/unclean animals, the Altar, Olah offerings, a sweet savour, and the prohibition against eating meat with the blood in the Flood account. (Genesis 6-9)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the Priesthood, tithing and priestly authority in the Melchizedek account. (Genesis 14)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the eternal ritual of the eighth day circumcision in the Abrahamic covenant account. (Genesis 17)

The “A” writer(s) reinforced the priestly matters of Olah offerings and the Altar in the Sacrifice of Isaac account (Genesis 22)

The “A” writer(s) introduced the priestly matters of The House of God, Anointing and vowing to God. Tithing was also affirmed in this account (Genesis 28)

We will continue to demonstrate the gradual introduction of priestly matters into the Genesis accounts which pave the way for the Israelite priesthood, its statutes, laws and judgments.

Please continue with us in the next study:

Part #4 #7 – The Defiling of Dinah