Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il>]

RHutchin AT aol.com wrote:
[snip]

> 22   For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I
> brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or
> sacrifices:
> 23   But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be
> your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have
> commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
> [snip]
> The translations differ on v 22, with some emphasizing this idea while 
> others
> do not.  A literal translation of the verse seems awkward.  Can someone
> explain how v 22 should be translated and why?

The translation you gave us, aside from its archaic English, seems perfectly 
okay to
me. Jeremiah is saying that the sacrificial cult was never a part of the 
Mosaic
Law(s), but something trifling.
Amos voices similar sentiments in 5:25 when he asks rhetorically, "Did you 
offer me
sacrifices and meal-offerings in the desert for 40 years, O House of Israel?" 
(my
trans.); meaning, no, they didn't.
For both of these prophets, the sacrificial cult was minor as compared to 
obeying God
and upholding social morality, something God never commanded, something pagan.
Sincerely,
--
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office 44905
Israel