Deuteronomy 21:1-4. "1. If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: 2. Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3. And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4. And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley."
What kind of ridiculous ritual is this? A perfectly good cow gets beheaded, for what? How does beheading a cow affect the fact that a man is dead?
2006-12-20 17:17:24 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The bible was written by humans according to their understanding of spirtual matters in the time and place where they lived. People who think that the bible is inerrant, unchanging, and true for all times and all places forget this. All over the world, people do various rituals to help the spirits of the dead, and special rituals to help those who died violently or mysteriously. It's just human nature to do things like this. So the people back then thought that killing an heifer would somehow help the person who they found dead. Nowadays people think that setting up a cross or a wreath at a spot along the road where someone died in an accident would somehow help the dead. Who is to say it doesn't?
This is a good example, though, of how the Bible has all sorts of things in it that make sense in certain times and cultural contexts but make no sense whatsoever if you try to make them into universal truths. The Old Testament is famous for being full of such things, but the New Testamemnt has its share too.
2006-12-20 17:26:08 · answer #1 · answered by Joni DaNerd 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actually you didn't quote all of it. This is the ritual for Atonement for an Unsolved Murder.
Deuteronomy 21:1 If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke 4 and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. 6 Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. 8 Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man." And the bloodshed will be atoned for. 9 So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
Are there any animal sacrifices you would approve of? I think not.
2006-12-21 01:34:55 · answer #2 · answered by J. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Read it again
Atonement for Unsolved Murders
1"If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, 2then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. 4And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. 5Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7and they shall testify, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. 8Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.' 9So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
2006-12-21 11:57:34 · answer #3 · answered by rapturefuture 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The meaning is simple:
God set the Israelites apart as a holy nation under his law and protection.
The commandments of God prohibit murder, and those who commit murder are to be punished according to the law.
If a murder occurs that cannot be charged to any one man, than the entire people of God are required to make ritual amends for it.
God explained how it should be done, and so it was.
If you really think it's ridiculous, take it up with the boss.
2006-12-21 04:57:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christianity and Islam are both real big on head-whacking, both animal and human.
America’s second president, John Adams thought the same thing:
“…how has it happened that millions of fables, tales, legends, have been blended with both Jewish and Christian revelation that have made them the most bloody religion that ever existed?
-- John Adams, letter to FA Van der Kamp, December 27, 1816
2006-12-21 01:26:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well it sounds like punishment. Cows would have been worth quite a bit back then, providing in many different ways. By taking a cow from a nearby city, (since they do not know who committed the murder) they will make the whole city suffer.
2006-12-21 01:22:12 · answer #6 · answered by SO 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It was the sacrificial offering for the death of that man= there is also the scapegoat on which the priest put the sins on of the people for that year= finally there was the sacrificial lamb =Jesus CHrist= all the others were just previews of the final sacrifice to come= He said = It is finished=D
2006-12-21 01:24:00 · answer #7 · answered by Debby B 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's why a lot of the Jewish laws were utterly traditional, and a tradition is not a permanent necessity. You see that's why when Jesus was questioned about the Sabbath, he said it was lawful to do good things on the Sabbath, but priests had said that ANYTHING done on the Sabbath was unlawful.
2006-12-21 01:21:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
At that time, when a crime was committed and they didn't know who did it, they held the whole community responsible. This was to point out the need for the community to feel responsible about what was going on around them and to try to correct anything that wasn't supposed to be happening.
2006-12-21 01:27:46 · answer #9 · answered by smljad 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
TC, if you are a Christian, Jew or Muslim you can work on understanding the Jewish law of the Old Testament or Talmud. Otherwise, if you do not believe in the Bible, I suggest you not try and read or understand it as you lack the ability. The best one to explain this to you would be a rabbi, if you know one you can speak to. MG
2006-12-21 01:23:55 · answer #10 · answered by Morning Gloria 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋