Seder 115: Numbers 16 and Genesis 4---Korah Raises Cain

 In his commentary on Numbers, Michael Morales points out some important parallels between Numbers 16 and Genesis 4.  In both chapters, a firstborn son is jealous of a relative, feeling slighted over a matter of worship.  

In Genesis 4, Cain is jealous of his brother Abel after Abel presents an acceptable sacrifice (Hebrew minchah) to God and Cain presents an unacceptable one.  

In Numbers 16, Korah is jealous because he has been passed over for the priesthood, the leadership of the clan of Kohath, and leadership of Israel.  Genealogical information in Exodus 6:16-22 supports this conclusion.  We see in Exodus 6 that Aaron was the first son of Kohath's firstborn son Amram, while Korah was the first son of Kohath's second son Izhar.  But Elzaphan, second son of Kohath's fourth son Uzziel, was placed over the clan of Kohath in the Israelite camp instead of Korah (Nu 3:30). 

One striking verbal parallel between the Genesis 4 and Numbers 16 involves the ground "opening up."  In Genesis 4:11, the ground opens up to receive the blood of Abel, who has been murdered by Cain.  In Numbers 16:32, the ground opens up to swallow a group of rebels that may include Korah (see also Num 26:9-10).

The parallels between Numbers 16 and Genesis 4 may help explain Numbers 16:15, where Moses prays, "Do not respect their offering," referring to Korah and the group of 250 leaders he represents.  In this verse, the Hebrew word for "offering" is again minchah, as in Genesis 4:3-4.   Moses recognizes in Korah and his followers the jealous, murderous spirit of Cain, and so he believes that Korah's offering, like Cain's, should not be accepted.

Seder 4: Genesis 5 and Hebrews 11---A Question about Enoch

 There are 10 generations listed in the genealogy of Genesis 5, going from Adam to Noah inclusive.  The list features long lifespans, indicating blessing from God. The effects of sin are also evident, since the description of each step ends with the words "and he died."

Except in the case of Enoch, who "walked with God".  Here the text mentions that all his days were 365 years, and that after time "he was not, for God took him'' (v 24).

Enoch is counted as one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.  Verse 5 says, "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him" (ESV).

One usual interpretation is the one given in the NLT, which in verse 5 says, "It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying." 

However, there is some apparent tension here with verse 13, which says, "All these people died still believing what God had promised them" (NLT).

In discussing this issue, adventist Christians also bring in John 3:13: "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man."

One way to resolve this tension is to remember that "all" in the Bible is often not a "mathematical all",  meaning "every single one." In general the heroes of faith died, and in general people do not ascend to heaven, but perhaps Enoch was a rare exception.  It's also possible that verse 13 only refers to the patriarchs and matriarchs in verses 8-12 and not to Abel, Enoch, and Noah in verses 5-7.  

Some Adventist Christians have a different way of explaining the question. Perhaps Enoch was "taken" or "translated" (KJV) in the figurative sense described in  Colossians 1:13, where Paul says that God "hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."  In this reading, Hebrews 11:5a is saying that Enoch was translated into God's kingdom so that he wouldn't see the second death.  

In that case, though, why did Enoch experience the "first death" at the comparatively early age of 365?  One possibility is that he was a martyr.  Perhaps he was the "young man" that Lamech boasted about killing in Genesis 4:23.  

We still have to explain Heb 11:5b, which says that Enoch "was not found, because God had taken him."  The Greek word for "taken," metatithemi, is used 6 times in the New Testament.  One of those is in Acts 7:16, which speaks of Jacob's body being moved to a grave near Shechem.  So Hebrews 11:5b may be referring to God moving Enoch's body to an undisclosed location, as he later did with the body of Moses (Dt 34:6).    

Whatever happened to Enoch after 365 years, he was a man of faith, a bright spot in the early history of humanity.          

Seder 150: Deuteronomy 21:1-9---The Case of an Unsolved Murder

 In Deuteronomy 21:1-9 Moses describes the case of an unsolved murder.  The victim's blood pollutes the land, crying out like the blood of Abel (Gen 4:10), but there is no one to prosecute.  An investigation has not revealed the identity of the murderer.  

Moses lays out a ritual that will honor the life of the victim and bring closure.  A heifer's neck is broken in a valley where there is running water.  Elders of the town nearest the scene of the crime wash their hands over the heifer, affirm their innocence, and ask for forgiveness.

As with other rituals in the Pentateuch, we are left to infer the possible symbolism.  This one has been classed as an "elimination ritual," like the scapegoat ritual in Leviticus 16, where a sin is being removed from the community.  In this case, the pollution of the shedding of blood is removed as the heifer's blood is carried away by the running water.  

One proposal for the symbolism of the heifer is that this is a kind of reenactment of the murder..  As the victim's blood was shed, the animal's blood is shed.  Another possibility is that the heifer represents the unknown murderer and is being killed in place of the murderer.

Whatever the precise symbolism, the ritual communicates 

• the responsibility of the community for what has happened;
• the importance of maintaining the holiness of the community;
• the sanctity of life.  Life is precious, and a murder can't just be ignored.  

It's comforting to know that God in each case knows what occurred and will make things right in the end. 

This case is discussed right after the instructions on warfare in Deuteronomy 20.  During times of war, there is a tendency to not value life as it should be valued.  Deuteronomy 21:1-9 gives a reminder of the value of life.  

Seder 107: Numbers 6:22-27 and Matthew 5---the Aaronic Blessing and the Beatitudes

 God is the source of all blessings (James 1:17).  In the Bible, human representatives of God like kings (2 Sam 6:18; 1 Kings 8:14,55)  and priests (Ps 118:26; Lev 9:22) often prayed for blessings for God's people.

It was a duty of Israelite priests, in fact, to pray for blessing, and God gave them the words for such a prayer (Num 6:24-26).  The words include:

• "The Lord bless you"---as in Lev 26:3-13; Dt 28:3-14, which picture wellbeing in all areas of life.
• "And keep you"---protect you from things that work against this blessing, against peace and prosperity.  Such protection is described, for example, in Psalm 121.
• "The Lord make his face to shine upon you".  This expression pictures a superior showing favor to a subject, as in Pro 16:15:  "In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain."  See Ps 31:16 for another example of this expression. 
• "And be gracious to you"---a prayer for God's mercy.
• "The Lord lift up his countenance upon you"---the opposite of hiding one's face in anger and turning away, as in Gen 4:6.  Deut 28:50 refers to a nation sent to punish Israel as "hard-faced".
• "And give you peace"---"peace" is shalom, which connotes prosperity, health, and wholeness.

This blessing "placed God's name" upon the Israelites.  As bearers of God's name, they were charged with representing him before the nations, a responsibility they were to carry out faithfully, as emphasized in one of the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:7).

Moses embodied what it meant to receive this blessing.  When he communed with God on Mount Sinai, he experienced God's shining face.  His own face then shone, illustrating a close relationship with God (Ex 34:29-35).  Biblical theologian David H. Wenkel studies the Bible's "shining face" and "face-to-face" motifs in his book Shining Like the Sun:  A Biblical Theology of Meeting God Face to Face.  

Some of the oldest known copies of verses from the Bible are copies of the Aaronic blessing preserved on two tiny silver strips dating from around 600 BC.  These strips were found at Ketef Hinnom in 1979.

When we think about biblical blessings, we also think about the Beatitudes pronounced by Jesus in Matt 5:2-12.  The Beatitudes are not prayers like the Aaronic blessing.  Rather, they identify groups of people who have already received blessing, even if they might not seem in the world's eyes to be very fortunate.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on July 2, 2022, Kyle Kettering brought out the difference and expounded on the Beatitudes.