The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
12:3 - "In the womb he tried to supplant his brother, and in his manhood he strove with God."
12:12 - "Jacob fled to the land of Aram, there Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he guarded sheep."
13:8 - "I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and will tear open the covering of their heart; there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild animal would mangle them."
13:16 - "Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword, their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open."
Hosea 14 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
So I guess in this post I shall introduce a new category for the blog topics: Body Parts. I was gonna just go with "Wombs," but I don't know if wombs will be the only body parts often completely disembodied from the women they should be attached to. So I'm just gonna go with the general "Body Parts" for now.
Of course this isn't the first time the woman has been completely removed from the birthing process or disregarded as playing a large part in the process. Just a bunch of men busy using a womb, here. What woman?
Also more complete lack of caring on Gods part of small infants and fetuses. Everyone must be punished, doesn't matter how young and innocent. I mean, killing and torturing babies (actual alive babies, I'm not referring to fetuses here) is generally considered as evil as maiming puppies and kittens. It's pretty much a sure sign of villainy if someone is found spattering infants against stones ESPECIALLY if they seem to be enjoying themselves immensely while they do it.
Well, Hosea is over. Maybe this next book we can finally leave the Israel is an evil, treacherous whore motif?
Wednesday: Joel
Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Hosea 8-11
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Hosea 8 - No mention of any women.
9:1 - " Do not rejoice, O Israel! Do not exult as other nations do; for you have played the whore, departing from your God. You have loved a prostitute's pay on all threshing floors."
10:11 - "Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will make Ephraim break the ground; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself."
Hosea 11 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
This verse just seems so... scattered. I wasn't sure if I should put it in the facts section. First it seems Ephraim is a woman being denied the only glory a woman can gain - a child. But then in the next verse Ephraim is leading "his" children to slaughter. Then Ephraim shall no longer bear fruit, which I guess could go either way, but then God will kill the cherished offspring of their womb and it's no very clear if that's referring to the people of Ephraim individually or Ephraim as an entity made up of people. Ugh, I dunno. But here's the verses so you can see them for yourself.
9:11-16 - "Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird-- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them until no one is left. Woe to them indeed when I depart from them! Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow, but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter. Give them, O LORD-- what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal; there I came to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb."
These chapters have suddenly flipped the sex of these cities and tribes. Suddenly Israel is "he" and "him" and Ephraim is "his" and it's just weird why. The language has definitely changed, and I doubt this is any sort of "bias" that some people who don't see the inherent woman-hating in the Bible might assume I have. Seriously, read Hosea 10 and 11 for yourself. Then compare those chapters to Hosea 2 or Ezekiel 23 or Ezekiel 16. You would have to be seriously kidding yourself if you believe these chapters are even remotely similarly to each other in the way they treat Israel and other cities/tribes. Hosea 10 comes nowhere close. None of the verses or sections referring to these places are male are anywhere near close to the treatment the female versions at dealt.
And I can say with pretty fair certainty that verses like Hosea 11:8-9 ("How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. "), filled with such seeming remorse are not often found in the chapters concerning female Israel, et. al. When God states how his punishment of female Israel hurts him more than it does her and he will raise her back up and won't hurt her again as long as she remains faithful it's stated in almost a begrudging tone. It doesn't at all seem completely sincere or like God really thinks Israel didn't completely deserve what she got.
But in that one verse (surrounded by the light weight "punishment" verses) makes it really seem like God is honestly upset that he's had to do this to his people and he truly wishes to never have to do it again. Male Israel is surely a victim of God's wrath, while female Israel is simply a whore that God had to beat back into submission.
But, seriously, do not take my word for it. Hosea 10 and 11 aren't very long, go have a read and see if I am just blowing everything out of proportion. If anyone honestly thinks I am, I would love to hear about it.
I will give a SMALL benefit of the doubt and say that it looks like Hosea will continue to refer to Israel, et. al. as male and thus maybe some horrendous chapters are just around the corner. It's a VERY SMALL benefit of the doubt, but I will state no clear absolutes until the book is over.
I'm taking a MUCH needed mental health day from the world on Friday so no new posts until Monday. Hope everyone stays safe and the world treats you well enough until then. :)
Hosea 8 - No mention of any women.
9:1 - " Do not rejoice, O Israel! Do not exult as other nations do; for you have played the whore, departing from your God. You have loved a prostitute's pay on all threshing floors."
10:11 - "Ephraim was a trained heifer that loved to thresh, and I spared her fair neck; but I will make Ephraim break the ground; Judah must plow; Jacob must harrow for himself."
Hosea 11 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
This verse just seems so... scattered. I wasn't sure if I should put it in the facts section. First it seems Ephraim is a woman being denied the only glory a woman can gain - a child. But then in the next verse Ephraim is leading "his" children to slaughter. Then Ephraim shall no longer bear fruit, which I guess could go either way, but then God will kill the cherished offspring of their womb and it's no very clear if that's referring to the people of Ephraim individually or Ephraim as an entity made up of people. Ugh, I dunno. But here's the verses so you can see them for yourself.
9:11-16 - "Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird-- no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them until no one is left. Woe to them indeed when I depart from them! Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow, but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter. Give them, O LORD-- what will you give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal; there I came to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their officials are rebels. Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb."
These chapters have suddenly flipped the sex of these cities and tribes. Suddenly Israel is "he" and "him" and Ephraim is "his" and it's just weird why. The language has definitely changed, and I doubt this is any sort of "bias" that some people who don't see the inherent woman-hating in the Bible might assume I have. Seriously, read Hosea 10 and 11 for yourself. Then compare those chapters to Hosea 2 or Ezekiel 23 or Ezekiel 16. You would have to be seriously kidding yourself if you believe these chapters are even remotely similarly to each other in the way they treat Israel and other cities/tribes. Hosea 10 comes nowhere close. None of the verses or sections referring to these places are male are anywhere near close to the treatment the female versions at dealt.
And I can say with pretty fair certainty that verses like Hosea 11:8-9 ("How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. "), filled with such seeming remorse are not often found in the chapters concerning female Israel, et. al. When God states how his punishment of female Israel hurts him more than it does her and he will raise her back up and won't hurt her again as long as she remains faithful it's stated in almost a begrudging tone. It doesn't at all seem completely sincere or like God really thinks Israel didn't completely deserve what she got.
But in that one verse (surrounded by the light weight "punishment" verses) makes it really seem like God is honestly upset that he's had to do this to his people and he truly wishes to never have to do it again. Male Israel is surely a victim of God's wrath, while female Israel is simply a whore that God had to beat back into submission.
But, seriously, do not take my word for it. Hosea 10 and 11 aren't very long, go have a read and see if I am just blowing everything out of proportion. If anyone honestly thinks I am, I would love to hear about it.
I will give a SMALL benefit of the doubt and say that it looks like Hosea will continue to refer to Israel, et. al. as male and thus maybe some horrendous chapters are just around the corner. It's a VERY SMALL benefit of the doubt, but I will state no clear absolutes until the book is over.
I'm taking a MUCH needed mental health day from the world on Friday so no new posts until Monday. Hope everyone stays safe and the world treats you well enough until then. :)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Hosea 5-7
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
5:3-4 - "I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD."
5:7 - "They have dealt faithlessly with the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon shall devour them along with their fields."
6:10 - "In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's whoredom is there, Israel is defiled."
Hosea 7 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Now, I present the above verses with a bit of uncertainty. They do not specifically state any female pronouns in these verses. But I put them with the facts because of the words "whore" and "whoredom" which have never once been used to describe a man and so I feel it would be odd for the Bible to start doing that now. Plus, it has been shown that a lands perceived sex can change without any warning or fanfare. Therefore, despite a lack of female pronouns I do believe these verses are still referencing these places/tribes as female.
Now, for some fun, let's contrast the male punishment of these tribes with the female punishment Israel as been forced to suffer for the past few books.
5:11 - "Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after vanity."
7:8-9 - "Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Foreigners devour his strength, but he does not know it; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, but he does not know it."
7:11 - "Ephraim has become like a dove, silly and without sense; they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria."
Holy shit, what atrocities!? Grey hairs, strength taken away, calling Ephraim SILLY?! Oh, the injustice! My God, why am I focusing on the women when it's so clear just how horrible the Bible treats men?! D:
Yeah... no. Ephraim may be crushed, oppressed, grey haired, weak and pronounced "silly," but I think that really doesn't even come close to Israel's oppression, destruction, repeated rapes, repeated unclothing and public shaming, constant condemnation of her "whoredom" and her "lusts" and "whoring," her constant reminder of her less than status. I mean, if they are equal then those must be some REALLY horrible grey hairs.
I'm gonna be honest, the line about Ephraim becoming like a dove and being "silly and without sense" left me with some very mixed emotions. I was at once hit with how RIDICULOUS that sounds after so many books of the suffering and unfair treatment of Israel and her other female tribes mixed with an extreme feeling of anger that that is how Ephraim is described after dealing with single chapters that used the word "whore" and "whoredom" 23 TIMES and that was not even counting synonyms of "whore" and "whoring" and "whoredom" which brings the number to truly ridiculous amounts.
If anyone wanted to see just how differently women or female designated cities/tribes
are treated from men or male designated cities/tribes then there ya go. If you want to read the entire chapters just to see if I'm just pulling out the weaker male quotes then be my guest. These chapters aren't very long. But the punishments do not get any worse than this and anything male Ephraim is meant to suffer Israel suffered and then some. But if you doubt this then, really, go look up the chapters are tell me I'm bullshitting.
And just one more verse that stood out to me:
6:6-7 - "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But as Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me."
Adam transgressed the covenant and was faithless to God because Adam took the word of woman over the word of God. Woman is, indeed, the greatest enemy when it comes to man's relationship with God. Hell, this trust of a woman over God is the main reason God has to spend all this time making his people suffer and sending people to hell. Honestly, as far as I am concerned, the Original Sin wasn't eating the apple but trusting a woman. This was man's first act of "adultery" and, really, God hasn't forgiven woman since. Now God spends book after book, chapter after chapter warning men of just how evil woman is. Just how little woman is to be trusted. Heaven forbid men give woman even an ounce of freedom or control lest men "cheat" on God again and force God to punish them to an even greater extent.
"For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD."
Again I think to myself, how can anyone say the Bible isn't woman hating?
Wednesday: More Hosea
5:3-4 - "I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD."
5:7 - "They have dealt faithlessly with the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon shall devour them along with their fields."
6:10 - "In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's whoredom is there, Israel is defiled."
Hosea 7 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Now, I present the above verses with a bit of uncertainty. They do not specifically state any female pronouns in these verses. But I put them with the facts because of the words "whore" and "whoredom" which have never once been used to describe a man and so I feel it would be odd for the Bible to start doing that now. Plus, it has been shown that a lands perceived sex can change without any warning or fanfare. Therefore, despite a lack of female pronouns I do believe these verses are still referencing these places/tribes as female.
Now, for some fun, let's contrast the male punishment of these tribes with the female punishment Israel as been forced to suffer for the past few books.
5:11 - "Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after vanity."
7:8-9 - "Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Foreigners devour his strength, but he does not know it; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, but he does not know it."
7:11 - "Ephraim has become like a dove, silly and without sense; they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria."
Holy shit, what atrocities!? Grey hairs, strength taken away, calling Ephraim SILLY?! Oh, the injustice! My God, why am I focusing on the women when it's so clear just how horrible the Bible treats men?! D:
Yeah... no. Ephraim may be crushed, oppressed, grey haired, weak and pronounced "silly," but I think that really doesn't even come close to Israel's oppression, destruction, repeated rapes, repeated unclothing and public shaming, constant condemnation of her "whoredom" and her "lusts" and "whoring," her constant reminder of her less than status. I mean, if they are equal then those must be some REALLY horrible grey hairs.
I'm gonna be honest, the line about Ephraim becoming like a dove and being "silly and without sense" left me with some very mixed emotions. I was at once hit with how RIDICULOUS that sounds after so many books of the suffering and unfair treatment of Israel and her other female tribes mixed with an extreme feeling of anger that that is how Ephraim is described after dealing with single chapters that used the word "whore" and "whoredom" 23 TIMES and that was not even counting synonyms of "whore" and "whoring" and "whoredom" which brings the number to truly ridiculous amounts.
If anyone wanted to see just how differently women or female designated cities/tribes
are treated from men or male designated cities/tribes then there ya go. If you want to read the entire chapters just to see if I'm just pulling out the weaker male quotes then be my guest. These chapters aren't very long. But the punishments do not get any worse than this and anything male Ephraim is meant to suffer Israel suffered and then some. But if you doubt this then, really, go look up the chapters are tell me I'm bullshitting.
And just one more verse that stood out to me:
6:6-7 - "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But as Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me."
Adam transgressed the covenant and was faithless to God because Adam took the word of woman over the word of God. Woman is, indeed, the greatest enemy when it comes to man's relationship with God. Hell, this trust of a woman over God is the main reason God has to spend all this time making his people suffer and sending people to hell. Honestly, as far as I am concerned, the Original Sin wasn't eating the apple but trusting a woman. This was man's first act of "adultery" and, really, God hasn't forgiven woman since. Now God spends book after book, chapter after chapter warning men of just how evil woman is. Just how little woman is to be trusted. Heaven forbid men give woman even an ounce of freedom or control lest men "cheat" on God again and force God to punish them to an even greater extent.
"For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD."
Again I think to myself, how can anyone say the Bible isn't woman hating?
Wednesday: More Hosea
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Hosea 3-4
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Hosea 3 - "The LORD said to me again, 'Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.' So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine. And I said to her, 'You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not play the whore, you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.' For the Israelites shall remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the Israelites shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; they shall come in awe to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days."
4:5 "You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother."
4:10-15 - "They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply; because they have forsaken the LORD to devote themselves to whoredom. Wine and new wine take away the understanding. My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with whores, and sacrifice with temple prostitutes; thus a people without understanding comes to ruin. Though you play the whore, O Israel, do not let Judah become guilty. Do not enter into Gilgal, or go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, 'As the LORD lives.'"
My Comments
Hey, let's all be like God and get ourselves our own whoring/adulteress wives and abuse them as well! Come on! It'll be fun! She'll be super cheap too since no one's gonna want her after she's been all used! XD
...
Yeah...
I will also continue to highlight the many times the word "whore" is used. Seems to be the Bible's new favorite word now. I like to imagine every time I read the word "whore" that there's a large group of people who jump up and dance with streamers and confetti shouting, "Yay! You said the daily word! Whoo!" Because, you know, the image is funny, and then after about the 10th repeat of it I start to imagine the people getting more and more tired until they're finally like, "Really? Again? Can't you use a damned thesaurus? Or perhaps desist in your misogynist slurs?" And then they all fuck off because, really, it's used so much it just gets too tiring to bother caring.
Those people are my friends during these tough and trying chapters.
Friday: More Hosea
Hosea 3 - "The LORD said to me again, 'Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.' So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine. And I said to her, 'You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not play the whore, you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.' For the Israelites shall remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the Israelites shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; they shall come in awe to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days."
4:5 "You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night, and I will destroy your mother."
4:10-15 - "They shall eat, but not be satisfied; they shall play the whore, but not multiply; because they have forsaken the LORD to devote themselves to whoredom. Wine and new wine take away the understanding. My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for the men themselves go aside with whores, and sacrifice with temple prostitutes; thus a people without understanding comes to ruin. Though you play the whore, O Israel, do not let Judah become guilty. Do not enter into Gilgal, or go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, 'As the LORD lives.'"
My Comments
Hey, let's all be like God and get ourselves our own whoring/adulteress wives and abuse them as well! Come on! It'll be fun! She'll be super cheap too since no one's gonna want her after she's been all used! XD
...
Yeah...
I will also continue to highlight the many times the word "whore" is used. Seems to be the Bible's new favorite word now. I like to imagine every time I read the word "whore" that there's a large group of people who jump up and dance with streamers and confetti shouting, "Yay! You said the daily word! Whoo!" Because, you know, the image is funny, and then after about the 10th repeat of it I start to imagine the people getting more and more tired until they're finally like, "Really? Again? Can't you use a damned thesaurus? Or perhaps desist in your misogynist slurs?" And then they all fuck off because, really, it's used so much it just gets too tiring to bother caring.
Those people are my friends during these tough and trying chapters.
Friday: More Hosea
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Hosea 1-2
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
1:2-3 - "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, 'Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.' So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son."
1:6-9 - "She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, 'Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.' When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said, 'Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.'"
Hosea 2 - "Say to your brother, Ammi [meaning My People], and to your sister, Ruhamah [meaning Pitied]."
Israel's Infidelity, Punishment, and Redemption
"Plead with your mother, plead-- for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband-- that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts, or I will strip her naked and expose her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and turn her into a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no pity, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.' Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now.' She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for Baal. Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness. Now I will uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. I will put an end to all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals. I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my pay, which my lovers have given me.' I will make them a forest, and the wild animals shall devour them. I will punish her for the festival days of the Baals, when she offered incense to them and decked herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, says the LORD."
"Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, 'My husband,' and no longer will you call me, 'My Baal.' For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD. On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel; and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'"
My Comments
So, I had a lot more written here but then Blogger messed up and I lost all of it. Short version, I was going to write up this blog last night but my friends showed up earlier than planned to play D&D so I never really got a chance to write up anything. After copying all the quoted text I realized there's quite a bit here to look over so I'm going to go through it a bit tonight and write up something tomorrow.
But if you just can't wait for my own critical reading, feel free to do some analysis in the comments. :)
[update] Yeah, I lied a bit. My weekend is gonna be spent slowly recovering from the epic amounts of bullshit that decided to pop up Thursday and Friday. Seriously hate my job.
[Actual blog post follows]
Yeah, I wish my job didn't affect me so much, but when I have those really bad days I tend to just curl up and have no motivation to do anything. Here's hoping this week is better, yeah?
So to start off, right off the bat we got 3 occasions of the word "whoredom" in a single sentence. That's quite a large amount of "whoredom" for such a relatively small amount of words. "Go out and get a whore wife so you can have whore children in this whore city," God spoke to Hosea. Ah, how poetic, right? Just rolls right off the tongue. Now, do we even for a second believe that once Hosea is told to get a whore wife so he can bear his whore children that Hosea took a whore wife consenting manner? I'm gonna go ahead and go with no one that one.
And thus Hosea has his children "of whoredom" and the daughter is named Lo-ruhamah, which means No Pity, and the son is named Lo-ammi, which means My People. Those seem TOTALLY equal in meaning, right? Seems like they really had positive feelings for the daughter, right? Doesn't seem like she stood a chance, even if, in the end, God decides to go ahead and take pity on her. Not sure why there's a sudden change of heart. God seems to enjoy punish people (especially when they are female in nature) for no real good reason, telling them they TOTALLY deserve this most heinous of punishments, and then deciding (after a fair amount of torture) that he shall take pity and mercy on them and making sure that the small, pitiful subject of this torture understands that while God may be showing mercy and pity that the subject by no means DESERVES such pity and mercy. Therefore bow down and worship him before you do something REALLY bad and God has to punish you again for your own good even though it hurts him more than it does you.
The bulk of Hosea 2 is fairly unremarkable. Which is funny since all of it is pretty fucking deplorable, but really it is nothing that we haven't seen before. The declaration that the people God has chosen are suddenly "whoring" themselves out to others which is just the most egregious of sins. God declaring that his people will find no refuge, not even in their "lovers." God laying his people's shame and nakedness out for all to see and take advantage of. On and on and on and on. Even God eventually taking back his "whore" of a people isn't unusual, since God does eventually forgive Israel and others their "whoring," but not until they have been good and properly punished.
God's answer to this infidelity and "whoring" is, basically, to take Israel and leave her exposed to those whom were once her "lovers" and let them violate her again and again until God has decided it has been enough. Israel's sin was "sex" and thus God sees no problem with using "sex" as a punishment. I mean, if Israel had no problem sleeping with every other god and tribe in town then why would she have a problem with those same gods and tribes taking what they want now? Sound familiar? Kind of like the common idea that prostitutes and whores and unable to be raped or that women are unable to be raped by husbands and boyfriends? Because once a woman has sex with a man she is then seen as consenting to all future sex with said man (or, in the case of prostitutes, once a woman has sex with any man she is seen as consenting to all future sex with any man) Sounds a bit like that to me. Not sure if I've brought that point up before, but this has become such a trend that it's become incredibly hard not to notice.
I'm really hoping this book isn't going to turn into another Israel punishment/torture/rape fest. I'm sooooooo tired of that nonsense. I'd honestly thought the Bible would have a bit more to offer but it seems to be stuck in a rut. A really, horrible, terrible, torturous rut.
Wednesday: More Hosea
1:2-3 - "When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, 'Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.' So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son."
1:6-9 - "She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, 'Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.' When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said, 'Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.'"
Hosea 2 - "Say to your brother, Ammi [meaning My People], and to your sister, Ruhamah [meaning Pitied]."
Israel's Infidelity, Punishment, and Redemption
"Plead with your mother, plead-- for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband-- that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts, or I will strip her naked and expose her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and turn her into a parched land, and kill her with thirst. Upon her children also I will have no pity, because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.' Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better with me then than now.' She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for Baal. Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season; and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness. Now I will uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. I will put an end to all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals. I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, 'These are my pay, which my lovers have given me.' I will make them a forest, and the wild animals shall devour them. I will punish her for the festival days of the Baals, when she offered incense to them and decked herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, says the LORD."
"Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, 'My husband,' and no longer will you call me, 'My Baal.' For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD. On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel; and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'"
My Comments
So, I had a lot more written here but then Blogger messed up and I lost all of it. Short version, I was going to write up this blog last night but my friends showed up earlier than planned to play D&D so I never really got a chance to write up anything. After copying all the quoted text I realized there's quite a bit here to look over so I'm going to go through it a bit tonight and write up something tomorrow.
But if you just can't wait for my own critical reading, feel free to do some analysis in the comments. :)
[update] Yeah, I lied a bit. My weekend is gonna be spent slowly recovering from the epic amounts of bullshit that decided to pop up Thursday and Friday. Seriously hate my job.
[Actual blog post follows]
Yeah, I wish my job didn't affect me so much, but when I have those really bad days I tend to just curl up and have no motivation to do anything. Here's hoping this week is better, yeah?
So to start off, right off the bat we got 3 occasions of the word "whoredom" in a single sentence. That's quite a large amount of "whoredom" for such a relatively small amount of words. "Go out and get a whore wife so you can have whore children in this whore city," God spoke to Hosea. Ah, how poetic, right? Just rolls right off the tongue. Now, do we even for a second believe that once Hosea is told to get a whore wife so he can bear his whore children that Hosea took a whore wife consenting manner? I'm gonna go ahead and go with no one that one.
And thus Hosea has his children "of whoredom" and the daughter is named Lo-ruhamah, which means No Pity, and the son is named Lo-ammi, which means My People. Those seem TOTALLY equal in meaning, right? Seems like they really had positive feelings for the daughter, right? Doesn't seem like she stood a chance, even if, in the end, God decides to go ahead and take pity on her. Not sure why there's a sudden change of heart. God seems to enjoy punish people (especially when they are female in nature) for no real good reason, telling them they TOTALLY deserve this most heinous of punishments, and then deciding (after a fair amount of torture) that he shall take pity and mercy on them and making sure that the small, pitiful subject of this torture understands that while God may be showing mercy and pity that the subject by no means DESERVES such pity and mercy. Therefore bow down and worship him before you do something REALLY bad and God has to punish you again for your own good even though it hurts him more than it does you.
The bulk of Hosea 2 is fairly unremarkable. Which is funny since all of it is pretty fucking deplorable, but really it is nothing that we haven't seen before. The declaration that the people God has chosen are suddenly "whoring" themselves out to others which is just the most egregious of sins. God declaring that his people will find no refuge, not even in their "lovers." God laying his people's shame and nakedness out for all to see and take advantage of. On and on and on and on. Even God eventually taking back his "whore" of a people isn't unusual, since God does eventually forgive Israel and others their "whoring," but not until they have been good and properly punished.
God's answer to this infidelity and "whoring" is, basically, to take Israel and leave her exposed to those whom were once her "lovers" and let them violate her again and again until God has decided it has been enough. Israel's sin was "sex" and thus God sees no problem with using "sex" as a punishment. I mean, if Israel had no problem sleeping with every other god and tribe in town then why would she have a problem with those same gods and tribes taking what they want now? Sound familiar? Kind of like the common idea that prostitutes and whores and unable to be raped or that women are unable to be raped by husbands and boyfriends? Because once a woman has sex with a man she is then seen as consenting to all future sex with said man (or, in the case of prostitutes, once a woman has sex with any man she is seen as consenting to all future sex with any man) Sounds a bit like that to me. Not sure if I've brought that point up before, but this has become such a trend that it's become incredibly hard not to notice.
I'm really hoping this book isn't going to turn into another Israel punishment/torture/rape fest. I'm sooooooo tired of that nonsense. I'd honestly thought the Bible would have a bit more to offer but it seems to be stuck in a rut. A really, horrible, terrible, torturous rut.
Wednesday: More Hosea
Monday, August 8, 2011
Daniel 9-12
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Daniel 9 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 10 - No mention of any women.
11:6-7 - "After some years [the kings of the north and south] shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her. In those times, a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail."
11:17 - "In order to destroy the kingdom, [the king of the south] shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage."
Daniel 12 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Oh, women. How they just can't do anything. Gotta leave it to a man to save them and fix their mess. Though WHY the daughter of the king was sent to ratify an agreement with an enemy king is just weird. So when she's alone, without a man, her power is taken. It's not until a male "branch from her roots" comes up that the south was able to prevail against the north.
And then we get a trickster woman to top it all off who is part of the plan to take down the kingdom of the north! So wait, a woman can't take care of negotiations by herself but a woman can most definitely take down a kingdom through use of sex and marriage? Once again, our power lies solely with our sexuality which is capable of taking down ANY man. Female sexuality is something to be feared and cautious about, lest a woman be the reason our lives and good future crumble before our eyes. A smart and capable woman, no worried there, but the power we hold between our legs is definitely something that, if left to its own devices and left unchecked, could destroy any man.
Anyone see how that basic idea is still around today?
Wednesday: Hosea
Daniel 9 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 10 - No mention of any women.
11:6-7 - "After some years [the kings of the north and south] shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her. In those times, a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail."
11:17 - "In order to destroy the kingdom, [the king of the south] shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage."
Daniel 12 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
Oh, women. How they just can't do anything. Gotta leave it to a man to save them and fix their mess. Though WHY the daughter of the king was sent to ratify an agreement with an enemy king is just weird. So when she's alone, without a man, her power is taken. It's not until a male "branch from her roots" comes up that the south was able to prevail against the north.
And then we get a trickster woman to top it all off who is part of the plan to take down the kingdom of the north! So wait, a woman can't take care of negotiations by herself but a woman can most definitely take down a kingdom through use of sex and marriage? Once again, our power lies solely with our sexuality which is capable of taking down ANY man. Female sexuality is something to be feared and cautious about, lest a woman be the reason our lives and good future crumble before our eyes. A smart and capable woman, no worried there, but the power we hold between our legs is definitely something that, if left to its own devices and left unchecked, could destroy any man.
Anyone see how that basic idea is still around today?
Wednesday: Hosea
Friday, August 5, 2011
Daniel 5-8
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
5:2-4 - "Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone."
5:10-12 - "The queen, when she heard the discussion [about the writing on the wall] of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, 'O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.'"
5:23 - "You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them."
6:24 - "The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions - they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces."
Daniel 7 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 8 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
More women being punished for something their husbands did. Yay. X<
Sorry, my analysis isn't gonna go much further than that. There isn't really a whole lot here and I've had a wicked headache for the better part of the day. Word to the wise: wigs are just not good to wear during the summer with highs in the triple digits. Think I'm gonna stick with head wraps and bandannas until it cools off...
Friday: More Daniel
5:2-4 - "Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone."
5:10-12 - "The queen, when she heard the discussion [about the writing on the wall] of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, 'O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.'"
5:23 - "You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them."
6:24 - "The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions - they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces."
Daniel 7 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 8 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
More women being punished for something their husbands did. Yay. X<
Sorry, my analysis isn't gonna go much further than that. There isn't really a whole lot here and I've had a wicked headache for the better part of the day. Word to the wise: wigs are just not good to wear during the summer with highs in the triple digits. Think I'm gonna stick with head wraps and bandannas until it cools off...
Friday: More Daniel
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Daniel 1-4
The Facts (Chapter number: Verse)
Daniel 1 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 2 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 3 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 4 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
... well... at least we're out of the wrathful doom and gloom God books. Now we're just reading a story about how super awesome and wonderful Daniel is. Which, you know, is a BIT better than God killing everyone for no good reason but seems to leave a lot to desire in the women department.
Friday: More Daniel
Daniel 1 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 2 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 3 - No mention of any women.
Daniel 4 - No mention of any women.
My Comments
... well... at least we're out of the wrathful doom and gloom God books. Now we're just reading a story about how super awesome and wonderful Daniel is. Which, you know, is a BIT better than God killing everyone for no good reason but seems to leave a lot to desire in the women department.
Friday: More Daniel
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