"SUNDOWNER" AND ISRAEL
Sir,-I am aware, as Mr. Malton Murray. points out, that»Genesis does not specifically quote any instruction to Cain .to make a blood sacrifice. It must be implied, however, to make sense of the stoty. The ‘Book of Genesis, it must be remembered, is an edited account, _ condensed from a. number . of earlier sources, Limited by the writing materials available, Moses was obliged to make his account very bare indeed. It is, therefore, essential for the reader to read between the lines. The Old Testament, .in my opinion, reveals not a growth in the idea of God, but a growth in the revélation of God, a revelation necessary because of the continual falling away. of the Israelites to the worship of Baal, the god of the plain-dwellers. Baal worship was, by the way, an older religion than the worship of Jehovah, Once again the conflict is not between shepherding and agriculture, but between the religion of the Israelites and that of their implacable enemies. Mr. Murray is guilty of a gross misunderstanding of Hosea 12: 9, The reference to "tents"-‘tabernacles" in the A.V.-is a_ reference to the booths in which the Israelites lived during the autumn: festival, which was a time o great rejoicing. Thus the meaning is that peace and happiness would return, not, that a nomadic way of life was favoured. ; I trust this will clear up any doubts in Mr. Murravy’s mind.
D. F. B.
EYRES
(Nelson) .
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 652, 4 January 1952, Page 5
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242"SUNDOWNER" AND ISRAEL New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 652, 4 January 1952, Page 5
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