Zone1 For those of the Jewish faith - Exodus Question

[Lisa558]

It is the timeline that caught my attention. I understand the dedication of the Tabernacle took place a year after the Israelites escaped into the desert and needed manna and quail to survive. Yet they were able to present gifts of so many animals at the Tabernacle dedication. I was wondering when/how they came into possession of these.

I have Torah class tomorrow and will ask the Rebbetzin.

 

[Meriweather]

I have Torah class tomorrow and will ask the Rebbetzin.

Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate that.

 

[MarcATL]

Interesting question OP, however, do you not believe that with God all things are possible?

 

[surada]

Remember…..there were 600,000 Jews who escaped, and that’s a LOT of gold jewelry to melt down.

Able-bodied men plus their wives, children and parents... So it was closer to 3 million people.

 

[Meriweather]

Interesting question OP, however, do you not believe that with God all things are possible?

Note that credit to God was given for the manna and the quail. The oxen, bulls, goats, and sheep do not make an appearance in the story until the dedication of the Tabernacle. The people needed food and water, but we don't hear about animals needing food and water or people tending the herds/flocks.

They had enough gold for a golden calf; they had enough gold to overlay the items in the Tabernacle. And they still had gold to contribute at the dedication. Could it be they had the means to go somewhere and buy the animals shortly before the dedication? Or, had they been tending flocks from day one?

I've been thinking about any number of things that might be possible, but also think it would be interesting to know.

 

[fncceo]

I am trying to understand the timeline and what happened when.

Learn to read Hebrew and consult a properly annotated Chumash.

 

[MarcATL]

Note that credit to God was given for the manna and the quail. The oxen, bulls, goats, and sheep do not make an appearance in the story until the dedication of the Tabernacle. The people needed food and water, but we don't hear about animals needing food and water or people tending the herds/flocks.

They had enough gold for a golden calf; they had enough gold to overlay the items in the Tabernacle. And they still had gold to contribute at the dedication. Could it be they had the means to go somewhere and buy the animals shortly before the dedication? Or, had they been tending flocks from day one?

I've been thinking about any number of things that might be possible, but also think it would be interesting to know.

I never thought of it so deeply before but the Exodus text posted previously seems to answer this.

 

[alang1216]

(Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)

I am trying to understand the timeline and what happened when.

When the Hebrews fled Egypt they left in haste. During that first year they were complaining about having nothing to eat and God sent manna and quail. Isn't this also the year that Moses left them for Sinai and the Ten Commandments? He came back down and found them worshiping a golden calf.

How did slaves in Egypt have that much gold to make the golden calf, and then later that year have enough gold to overlay all that was in the Tabernacle? Finally at the beginning of the next year, when the Tabernacle was dedicated, the tribes, in total, gave twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins each filled with fine flour mixed with oil, twelve gold cups filled with incense, twelve young bulls, twelve rams, twelve yearling lambs, twelve goats, twenty-four oxen, and then twenty-four oxen, sixty more rams, sixty more goats, sixty more yearling lambs.

I am trying to keep the story straight in my own mind, and I haven't been able to find an explanation for all this bounty. Please help me find what I am missing. I'd truly appreciate it.

I think you're confusing the Bible with a history book. The theology of the Bible is what is important. You have to remember that story was probably an oral tradition for 1,000 years before it was written down. The writer was a Babylon exile looking to return to Israel and wanted it known that God was sending them to rule the Jews that were living there.

 

[Meriweather]

Learn to read Hebrew and consult a properly annotated Chumash.

I still need a lot of help with that; my daughter does better, but she is far from expert either. Are you not able to enlighten us on this topic?

 

[surada]

Note that credit to God was given for the manna and the quail. The oxen, bulls, goats, and sheep do not make an appearance in the story until the dedication of the Tabernacle. The people needed food and water, but we don't hear about animals needing food and water or people tending the herds/flocks.

They had enough gold for a golden calf; they had enough gold to overlay the items in the Tabernacle. And they still had gold to contribute at the dedication. Could it be they had the means to go somewhere and buy the animals shortly before the dedication? Or, had they been tending flocks from day one?

I've been thinking about any number of things that might be possible, but also think it would be interesting to know.

It's an epic myth of redemption and a wonderful story, but it never happened. Egypt controlled Sinai and Canaan at the time. Sinai couldn't support 3 million people and their herds because there wasn't enough water or pasture. Besides there were Canaanite towns and Egyptian garrisons already there.

It's not a history book .

 

[Meriweather]

I think you're confusing the Bible with a history book. The theology of the Bible is what is important. You have to remember that story was probably an oral tradition for 1,000 years before it was written down. The writer was a Babylon exile looking to return to Israel and wanted it known that God was sending them to rule the Jews that were living there.

I do not confuse the Bible with either history or science. The Bible contains stories, but they do come together to teach a lesson. For example, did the ten plagues occur one right after the other, or is that the story that compares and contrasts the Lord God with the Egyptian Gods? I don't know, but I tend to favor the latter explanation, remembering again that I don't know.

There is another supposition that the actual Exodus was one tribe--the Levites--who met up with the other tribes later. I do read up on what other sources say as well, but right now and for the next several months my plan is to concentrate on the Bible and what it says. There is not a thing wrong with being inquisitive during study without getting cynical. I keep a rein on that because as a journalism major and former reporter, cynicism can be an easy snare. I sometimes feel it creeping up on me when it comes to Aaron, so I do keep that at bay.

 

[Meriweather]

It's an epic myth of redemption and a wonderful story, but it never happened. Egypt controlled Sinai and Canaan at the time. Sinai couldn't support 3 million people and their herds because there wasn't enough water or pasture. Besides there were Canaanite towns and Egyptian garrisons already there.

It's not a history book .

I agree. I never thought it a history book in the modern sense of the word. However, it is a history of the Jewish faith and their relationship with God. Some of the most beautiful parts is that the people answered the call to build the Tabernacle with such enthusiasm, and "Enough!" had to be called. There was an over abundance of contributions. Another part I find touching is that people who were not priests also wanted to be a part of of what the Tabernacle meant and donated what they were worth to help out.

I am never adverse to hearing more about the true history but I am convinced that the true history which will probably always remain a mystery to us, is still the roots of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, etc whose light focuses on God, not only in their history, but in their midst.

 

[fncceo]

I still need a lot of help with that; my daughter does better, but she is far from expert either. Are you not able to enlighten us on this topic?

Not really.

It's pointless for a Jew and a xitian to discuss religious doctrine as there is no common point of reference.

Any such discussion will inevitably lead to disagreement.

 

[Meriweather]

It's pointless for a Jew and a xitian to discuss religious doctrine as there is no common point of reference.

Any such discussion will inevitably lead to disagreement.

I have never found it pointless to discuss religious doctrine with a Jew. They have been some of my best teachers.

Growing up in a family of ten, one expects disagreement, respects it, and does not fear it. Atheists, Buddhists, Catholics, non-Catholic Christians, and now I am helping one family member with the Jewish faith...Does everyone else here come from families of a single faith? I am not sure I can even imagine that.