Re: appendix

"...Genesis is pushing us toward shepherding rather than agriculture."
 
Israelites took up agriculture probably while in Egypt but most certainly after the exodus. References in books of Moses and prophets to vineyards and olives are common, as are references to harvests, gleanings, etc. Cf. OT book of Ruth. I hesitate to ask, but where are you coming from? Not from the Bible, for sure.
 
Don

Don,
My remarks are resticted to genesis. I can't be certain if the Hebrew Bible was written as a whole as in Moses wrote them or the minimalist view that there were significant additions / redactions exilic and even post exilic, with much Persian influence so I don't make the assumption that what genesis teaches us necessarily conforms to any other texts in the Bible or that the books are consistent which they are not, so my remarks are restricted to genesis AND to behavior of Jewish communities who continue to eschew agriculture I suggest in deference to the aversion to agriculture found in genesis. I admit refernces to vineyards and olives are common but are Biblical Jews working the vineyards in the passages you mention and what is the nature of the passage itself? Let me provide an example. I had a fruitful discussion on the burning bush on ancientbiblehistory@yahoogroups. The symbol of the burning bush is very likely that of a bloodline that "passes through the fire." It !
is not representative of a bush at all. It is representative of the people of Moses who are to cleave to God, "pass through the fire" and gain immortality. Infants sacrificed to Molech were thought to be immortal if they survived the fire which is the origin of the symbol. At surface level you might not argue that, a bush symbolizing an evolutionary bloodline, which is why I would like to look at the references you mention that suggest the Israelites preferred agriculture over shepherding. And doesn't the pharoah give a portion of land in Egypt to Joseph's relatives for their flocks even though the Egyptians find shepherding an abomination? Here we see the patrarchs clinging to nomadism despite the abomination it appears to the egyptians. genesis 46:32 to 47:6
So, I'm squarely in genesis.
rich
Received on Wed Jan 5 13:59:41 2005