Altar of Burnt Offering, illustration for Cassell's Illustrated Family Bible Superior Edition published by Cassell, Petter and Galpin, circa 1880. As Chapter 28 begins, God has decided to have Moses remind the Israelites regarding the guidelines for the different types of offerings they should make to Him. It makes sense, because these are the Israelites…
Moses Draws Water From the Rock by Francois Perrier, 1642, currently at the Capitoline Museums, Rome, Italy Ok. You know how for quite a few blog posts lately I've been complaining about how repetitive this part of the Old Testament is? That God is dictating His rules for cleanliness again and again and again? Well,…
The Blossoming of Aaron's Rod by Augustin Hirschvogel, circa 1550, currently at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Frankly, I'm getting tired of the Israelites and their whiny ways. I've said it before and I'm saying it again: you'd think that people who witnessed amazing natural and unnatural miracles nearly every week would be…
An Episode from the Exodus - A Storm of Quails Gathers Over the Israelite Camp by Pawel Franck (Paolo Fiammingo), painted circa mid-1500s We finally return to narrative with these chapters and I'm giddy with anticipation. No more long lists of laws, rules, animals, Tabernacle furnishings - only the Israelites' story from here on out,…
Image from an etching by Philip James de Loutherbourg from the opening page of Numbers from the Bible published by Thomas Macklin, 1791, currently at The British Museum A new book! Numbers! The name for this chapter in the Christian Bible comes from the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Torah, and is based…
Moses and Aaron Rejecting a Hunchback, from the Bible Moralisée Part 1, 13th Century, Currently with the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University, United Kingdom The NIV version of Leviticus 19 starts with the heading: "Various Laws" because it's a mish-mosh of laws for all ancient Jews, not just for the Jewish priests as related in previous…
The Horned Altar, from A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle by Philip Y. Pendleton, published 1901, currently at Newfoundland and Labrador's University The Bible is chock full of repetition, and nowhere is this more in evidence than in the legal books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. In today's blog post, focused on Leviticus' Chapters 4…
Aaron and His Sons Laying Hands on the Head of a Bullock, from The Art Bible: Comprising the Old and New Testaments With Numerous Illustrations, published in 1896, currently at the Princeton Theological Seminary Library Leviticus gets its name from the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures still in existence. It means…
The Tabernacle, from Scripture Illustrations: Explanatory of Numerous Texts and of Various Customs Mentioned in the Bible With Twenty-Eight Cuts by Reuben S. Gilbert, 1827, currently at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NOTE: Ordinarily these blog posts cover three chapters within the books of the Bible. This post will cover seven chapters,…
Adoration of the Golden Calf, oil on canvas by Nicolas Poussin, c. 1634. From Fine Art Images/Heritage Image/age fotostock In Chapter 31, God is still talking to Moses on top of Mount Sinai and He says that He has chosen two men - Bezalel and Oholiab - for special artistic work. They are to oversee the metalcraft,…
Penny Reads the Bible 