02/11/08: Numbers 4-6
Chapter 5:
Is the affliction of the barren women akin to any diseases? The description of having a skinny body and a fat stomach makes me think of starving African children.
Ted: It has to do with the punishment of a woman who has been unfaithful to her husband. There are some phrases where the footnotes indicate something else, and I think that is one. I think the footnotes indicate that she simply will be barren if she is guilty. It could be that God also would cause, as an outward appearance, her belly to look larger. Perhaps that was just an unsightly sign to everyone else that she was "marked" as being unfaithful. I'm not sure.
Chapter 6:
What's Nazirite? What's the "separation" they keep talking about?
Ted: It involves a vow that someone would take to set himself apart from everyone else as a steadfast servant of God. The person would have to make some animal sacrifices and also would have to give up certain things, such as grapes and anything made from grapes (like wine or raisins). He also would have to refrain from cutting his hair and would have to avoid all corpses, including those of family members. Basically, a Nazirite felt that he wanted to go "the extra mile" in serving God. Probably the most famous Nazirite in the Bible is Sampson (Judges 13-16).
Is the affliction of the barren women akin to any diseases? The description of having a skinny body and a fat stomach makes me think of starving African children.
Ted: It has to do with the punishment of a woman who has been unfaithful to her husband. There are some phrases where the footnotes indicate something else, and I think that is one. I think the footnotes indicate that she simply will be barren if she is guilty. It could be that God also would cause, as an outward appearance, her belly to look larger. Perhaps that was just an unsightly sign to everyone else that she was "marked" as being unfaithful. I'm not sure.
Chapter 6:
What's Nazirite? What's the "separation" they keep talking about?
Ted: It involves a vow that someone would take to set himself apart from everyone else as a steadfast servant of God. The person would have to make some animal sacrifices and also would have to give up certain things, such as grapes and anything made from grapes (like wine or raisins). He also would have to refrain from cutting his hair and would have to avoid all corpses, including those of family members. Basically, a Nazirite felt that he wanted to go "the extra mile" in serving God. Probably the most famous Nazirite in the Bible is Sampson (Judges 13-16).
