Ezra’s Contribution to Sacred Writ
Much of what the western world has accepted as explanation of what constitutes “holy” favoritism was framed by disruptive planetary events in the ancient past and a few power seekers who promoted themselves as being privileged to higher instruction. Thus one’s holiness was determined by who could arouse and inspire the most people.
And this observation brings us to the biblical character of Ezra (5th century BCE) who was most likely modeled upon a man that had sojourned in Babylon during “captivity” and had studied astronomy there. Special understanding of the heavens is conveyed with the character, and that understanding had to be presented to the people in a manner that could impress even the lowest denominator of their clannish culture. The character of Ezra is thus portrayed as being horrified upon return to Jerusalem at finding his people’s easygoing acceptance of spiritual conduct–such as intermarriage with Hitties, Ammonites, Egyptians and other Pagan peoples. He felt duty-bound to set about refashioning the religious literature to inspire the wayward Jews to return to the folds of their ancestral god. An assemblage of priest-scribes thus set about dusting off the old Moses tale to rework and expand it into Moses-as-savior figure that would serve as the nucleus of Jewish faith. In elevating Moses into savior status, new rites had to be dreamed up: thus Passover was elevated to prime rite, and such things as the menorah from Babylonian religious rites appropriated, and the health practice of circumcision more strongly imposed as an alleged “covenant with god.” Even the Jewish obserance of Sabbath came from the Babylonian word Sabattu, meaning day of rest.
Prior to and during this time of Ezra, planet Earth had experienced frightening episodes of disruptions due to interplanetary jostlings. That the inspiration for the Moses tale is structured upon and refers to those past worldwide traumas come through in numerous passages. For example, the fourth book of Ezra (14:4) refers to the simultaneous changes in the motions of the Earth, moon and planets, with these being accounted for by saying that Moses had been taken to Mount Sinai. And while Moses allegedly hobnobbed with god on Mount Sinai, god is said to have “…told him many wondrous things, showed him the secrets of the times, declared to him the end of the seasons.” Another version of the fourth book of Ezra says, “Thou didst bow down the heavens, didst make the Earth to quake, and convulsed the world. Thou didst cause the deep to tremble and didst alarm the spheres.” Strangely, religion and science disregard the clues of world disturbances in BCE times and of planetary turmoil that are hidden in such accounts.
The character of Ezra is thus presented by priest-authors as the veritable second founder of the Jewish nation, having shaped extensive codification of the laws, especially the laws governing temple worship and scriptural canon. The books of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were fully redrafted, and it is in this general time that the book of Leviticus was probably composed and jimmied into the scriptural lineup.
Leviticus is a glaring travesty of sacred instruction: its twenty-seven chapters were thrust between the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, and is devoted entirely to priestly authority and the alleged godly prejudices that have no genuine connection to what was said to have transpired “in the wilderness.”
In the main, all the “laws” presented in this book are crude, shamelessly prejudicial and insensitive, being designed solely for the purpose of establishing uncontested priestly control over the people under the guise of divine installation. The book labors endlessly on such details as priestly dress, rites, ceremonies, dietary choice, etc., and on the alleged prejudices to which god is prone. An example of god’s prejudices: chapter 21 lists the physical “blemishes” that god supposedly found so nauseating as to disqualify such persons for priesthood. Verse 18 says god detests the blind, the lame, “or he that hath a flat nose or any thing superfluous, or has a broken foot or a broken hand.” Likewise, god is displeased with “…the crookback, or a dwarf or (those) that hath his stones (testicles) broken” (verse 20).
If we are to use the monstrosities in this book as our moral guide, we should also stone to death all adulterers and our unruly children. The book of Leviticus is without question the most shameful excuse to ever be presented as divine word.
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