Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Banyai AT t-online.de (Michael Banyai)]

Dear Peter Kirk,

I can hardly understand how you bring under a hat the otherwise not so 
shameful attitude of the age of Moses and later versus something like a 
golden calf and the treatment given it in the Sinai story. 

Furthermore there exists no such divine interdiction to the Israelites to 
wear gold jewels to feature as a deuteronomic law. The fact that the 
Israelites were a primitive "communist" community is the false assesment of 
the situation. The regulation of the whoms and  hows the booty for example 
has to be partitioned, display a very living society with best knowledge of 
the value of gold. Private property, etc. etc. is the same as in all others 
in the ANE. There is practically nothing to suggest such a society as you 
envision. People are paying, and sometimes even gold prices are mentioned.

Since this appears not to be a law, what is it? It is apparently used in 
Genesis too in same context, where one should suppose a reference to a cultic 
offering conected with Beth-El (a glimpse is given to the oaks of Schechem 
too - the placement of the later temple of Schechem)- in fact does this part 
of Genesis answer principally 3 main questions - Who are we, which are our 
borders, when have our main temples been founded. In no other instance do the 
Israelites dig gold rings, or jewelry. This is no typical Israelite behaviour.

Besides, once one has rejected the current reading of this text, there is no 
need to explain how the bible redactor envisioned the posibility to drink 
gold. He certainly took Numbers 5,11-31 as a model for a divine ordeal, but 
to make this function with gold and on such a scale, one ought have lots of 
fantasy. Beg your pardon, I don´t have the fantasy to imagine such a 
grotesque scene. I see you all try to make function the practically 
impossible. 

Do you have an idea how long it would take by artisanal bronze age methods to 
transform a gold statue into fine powder instead only molting it (should 
somebody just want to destroy it)? Perhaps up to a week or so. The reverse 
process would take much lesser.

If you can imagine this - ok.

Till than I can claim my interpretation of the text to be a quite rational.

Best regards,

Bányai Michael