The punishment

For their disobedience, Yahweh God would hand out a punishment in Genesis, chapter 3:14-23. Human perfection came to an end.  The snake was first, but everybody got punished.  Yahweh cursed the snake.  Thus, the snake would have to crawl on his belly and eat dirt, considered an abomination for the Hebrews.    Snakes never had any legs anyhow.  Further, the offspring of this woman and the snake would be enemies.  Someone, either a Jewish messiah or Jesus Christ for Christians, would crush his head.  This woman would get revenge on the snake in the future.  Then, Yahweh turned to this woman.  She would have to bear children in pain.  Women would also be subject to their husbands.  This punishment set the roles of women for thousands of years, the dutiful child bearing woman became the ideal existence and position for women.  The patriarchal system was in place and considered to be the normal way of things, because God wanted it so.  The consequences of this woman’s actions explained why women had to endure painful childbirth and obey their husbands.  Finally, this man had to work hard.  His ground would be cursed, not him.  He would have to diligently toil the soil until he was tired.  In the end, he would return to dust at death, where he came from.  The idyllic Garden of Eden happiness concept did not last a lifetime without some bumps along the road in this valley of tears.  We all share a flawed human nature on our life long journey.  We have both a limited freedom and a limited responsibility.  Thus, we need to work and be productive in this created world.  We share in the creative enterprise by working in God’s creation.  At the end of this punishment, the man and the woman got names.  The man was simply called Adam, הָֽאָדָ֛ם (haadam), Ἀδὰμ (Adam), the Hebrew word for man.  However, Adam then gave, וַיִּקְרָ֧א (wayyiqra), ἐκάλεσεν (ekalesen), a name, שֵׁ֥ם (sem), τὸ ὄνομα (to onoma), to his wife, אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ (istow), τῆς γυναικὸς (tas gunaikos), Life or first woman, חַוָּ֑ה (ḥawwah), Ζωή (Zoa).  Yahweh gave them clothes, where ever they came from.  This man, Adam, named his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living people.  Notice that the man has become like God, but not the woman.  The two, the man, called in English “Adam”, and the woman, called in English “Eve”, were driven from the garden and lived east of Eden, where cherubim guarded the garden gate with a burning flame.  Nearly everyone has heard this story of Adam and Eve.  While the Hebrew name for man or Adam appears over 552 times and the word for woman or wife appears over 781 times in the Hebrew Bible, the word for Eve or Zoa only appears twice, both here in Genesis. A capricious Yahweh was the overlord of the garden and punished these first two humans because they wanted to be like him.  Two minor characters were the talking wicked animal serpent and the good spiritual cherubim with a flaming sword.  The cherubim were somewhat like the winged animals that guarded other ancient Mid-eastern buildings.  This was an attempt to show how human good and evil came to be.  What do you know about Adam and Eve?

The punishment (Lk 12:46-12:46)

“The master

Of that slave

Will come

On a day

When he does not

Expect him,

At an hour

He does not know.

He will severely

Beat him.

He will put him

With the unfaithful.”

 

ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει, καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν, καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων θήσει.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that the master or lord of this slave would come (ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου) on a day (ἐν ἡμέρᾳ) when this slave did not expect him (ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ), and at an unknown hour (καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει).  The lord would severely beat him (καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν) and put him with the unfaithful slaves (καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων θήσει).  This parable about the wicked slave is similar to Matthew, chapter 24:50-51, perhaps indicating a Q source.  Matthew had Jesus say that the master of this slave came on a day when he was not expecting him, at an unknown hour (ἥξει ὁ κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ οὐ προσδοκᾷ καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει).  This master would beat him severely (καὶ διχοτομήσει αὐτὸν) and put him with the hypocrites (καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν θήσει), where there would be weeping (ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς) and gnashing of teeth (καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων).  The non-vigilant slave would suffer disaster, not like the good slave.  Matthew added the elements about gnashing of teeth and mourning with weeping.  Would you be the good slave or the bad slave?

Anger and insults (Mt 5:22-5:22)

“But I say to you!

That everyone angry

With his brother

Shall be liable

To judgment.

Whoever insults

His brother

By calling him

Empty-headed

Without brains

Shall be liable

To the Sanhedrin council.

Whoever says.

‘You impious fool!’

Shall be liable

To the hell of fire.”

 

ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει· ὃς δ’ ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ῥακά, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ· ὃς δ’ ἂν εἴπῃ Μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός.

 

Matthew once again showed the importance of this saying of Jesus with “But I say or tell you (ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν)!” This time it is about anger and insults. Anyone who was angry with his brother would be liable to the local Jewish council judgment (ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει). If he insulted his brother, by calling him, an empty head without brains (ὃς δ’ ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ῥακά), he was liable to the Jerusalem Sanhedrin Council (ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ). Calling someone a “Ῥακά” was a worse crime than a mere insult. If he called his brother an insensitive non-religious or impious fool (ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ ὃς δ’ ἂν εἴπῃ Μωρέ), the punishment for this outrageous insult would be to be thrown into to the fiery hell (ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός). The Greek term “Μωρέ” developed into the English term moron. The Greek word for hell “γέενναν” or the English Gehenna was based on the Hebrew word Gehinnom that was the name of the valley south of Jerusalem where burning child sacrifices would take place. There seemed to be 3 stages of punishment, depending on what they had said to their brother. Insulting them was bad. Calling them empty-headed was worse. But worst of all was calling them an insensitive non-religious fool. Be careful what you say to your brother or sister.

Drought for the failure to worship (Zech 14:17-14:17)

“If any of the families

Of the earth

Do not go up to Jerusalem

To worship the king,

Yahweh of hosts,

There will be no rain

Upon them.”

If any of these families or countries do not go to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh of the hosts, the king, at the festival of booths, they will suffer the punishment of no rain or a drought.

The punishment (Zech 7:12-7:14)

“Therefore,

Great wrath

Came from Yahweh of hosts.

‘Just as when I called,

They would not hear,

So,

When they called,

I would not hear.’

Says Yahweh of hosts.

‘I scattered them

With a whirlwind

Among all the nations

That they had not known.

Thus,

The land they left

Was desolate.

Thus,

No one went to and fro.

A pleasant land

Was made desolate.’”

Thus, Yahweh sent punishments to these stubborn Israelites.  Great wrath and anger came from Yahweh of hosts.  Since they would not listen to Yahweh, he was not going to listen to them.  He decided to scatter them to the winds among the various other countries.  Many of these countries, they knew nothing about them.  Thus, the great land of Israel was left desolate.  No one was moving about in this pleasant land that became a desolation.

Ezekiel lies on his right side for Judah (Ezek 4:6-4:8)

“When you have

Completed these things,

You shall lie down

A second time,

But on your right side.

You shall bear

The punishment

Of the house of Judah.

I assign you

Forty days,

One day for each year.

You shall set your face

Toward the siege of Jerusalem.

With your arm bared,

You shall prophesy

Against the city.

See!

I am putting cords

On you.

Thus you cannot turn

From one side

To the other,

Until you have completed

The days of your siege.”

When Ezekiel had finished the 390 days laying on his left side for the punishment of Israel, he was ordered to lie down a second time, but this time on his right side. He was going to bear a punishment for the house of Judah. However, this was only for 40 days, representing the famous 40 years in the wilderness from Egypt to the Promise Land. However, during this time, he was to face toward the siege of Jerusalem. In fact, he was to bear his arm and prophesy against the city of Jerusalem. To make sure that Ezekiel would do this and not move, Ezekiel had cords put on him, so that he could not switch sides. I am not sure how this worked. He was to do this until he had completed the two assignments for a total of 430 days.

The punishment (Lam 4:6-4:6)

Vav

“The chastisement

Of my people

Has been greater

Than the punishment

Of Sodom.

It was overthrown

In a moment,

Even though

No hand

Was laid on it.”

This author compares the punishment of Jerusalem to that of the city of Sodom in Genesis, chapter 19, which seemed to resonate in the Israelite imagination. In fact, the punishment to the people of Jerusalem during this siege was worse than that of Sodom, because this punishment was lingering and not quick. This verse starts with the Hebrew consonant letter Vav in this acrostic poem.

Drink the cup (Jer 49:12-49:12)

“Thus says Yahweh.

‘If those who did not deserve

To drink the cup

Still have to drink it,

Shall you be the one

To go unpunished?

You shall not

Go unpunished.

You must drink it.’”

Yahweh, via Jeremiah, said that the Edomites still had to drink from the cup of Yahweh’s wrath. Even if they did not deserve it, they would not go unpunished. Here Yahweh seems to indicate that the Edomites did not deserve the punishment that they were getting. However, they could not go unpunished. Thus they had to drink from this cup of wrath.

Yahweh remembers the failures in Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 44:21-44:23)

“As for the offerings

That you made

In the towns of Judah,

In the streets of Jerusalem,

Did not Yahweh remember them?

That is you with

Your ancestors,

Your kings,

Your officials,

The people of the land,

Did it not come into his mind?

Yahweh could no longer

Bear the sight

Of your evil doings,

The abominations

That you committed.

Therefore your land

Became a desolation,

A waste,

A curse,

Without inhabitants,

As it is to this day.

It is

Because you burned offerings,

Because you sinned

Against Yahweh.

You did not obey

The voice of Yahweh.

You did not

Walk in his law,

Walk in his statutes,

Walk in his decrees.

Thus this disaster

Has befallen you,

As is still evident today.”

Jeremiah justifies the punishment that they have today, based on their idolatrous sacrifices that they, their ancestors, their kings, their officials, and all the people had made earlier in Judah and Jerusalem. Did they think that Yahweh, their God, would forget this? Yahweh could no longer bear the sight of these evil abominations, so that he made their land desolate, a waste, and cursed, without inhabitants until the present time. They had sinned by offering these burnt sacrifices. They did not obey Yahweh. They would not follow his laws, statutes, or decrees. Thus this disaster has come upon them until the present day. Jeremiah thought that these refugees were too defiant against Yahweh.

The punishment (Jer 9:10-9:11)

“Take up weeping!

Wail for the mountains!

Take up a lamentation

For the pastures of the wilderness!

Because they are laid waste,

Thus no one passes through.

The lowing of cattle is not heard.

The birds of the air

Have fled.

The animals are gone.

I will make Jerusalem

A heap of ruins.

I will make it

A lair of jackals.

I will make the towns of Judah

A desolation without inhabitants.”

Now Yahweh reveals his punishment but he laments doing it. He wants them to cry and weep for the mountains and the pastures because they were going to become a wasteland. They will not hear the cattle, the birds, or other animals because they will have gone and fled away. Jerusalem will be a ruined heap and a home for jackals, while the towns of Judah will become desolate towns without anyone living there.