Jewish religion: customs and precepts

The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: establish the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses, so that he who has killed unintentionally may find refuge there, and so escape the wrath of the next of kin, the avenger of blood. "Cf. Joshua 20:1-9 and Exodus 21:12-13. See Bible excerpts below.

It goes on to say: "And the elders of the city shall not deliver the innocent into the hands of him who seeks to kill him, but shall receive him and allow him to dwell there, and he shall remain there until the judgment and until the death of the high priest then in office; after which he may return to his city and to his house. "Cf. Joshua 20:1-9 and Num 35:25-28. See below.

In this law, merciful love for one's neighbor is observed and organized. This is the law of the cities of refuge, as well as the law of the Levitical cities.

Cities of refuge: This law, to which the preceding quotation refers (Joshua 20:1-6), concerns the cities of refuge, which served as asylums for manslaughterers. They were thus exempt from the law of vengeance (which Jude will mention in the last lines in EMV 566.8, perhaps referring to Genesis 9:6 and certain passages we recall below). These cities of refuge were six in number, including Hebron (as here) and Kedesh (as in EMV 342.1.2.7.9).

Levitical cities: These were among the 48 Levitical cities, where the Levites lived. See the biblical excerpt below, in the Book of Joshua, chapter 21.

Prescriptions relating to both can be found in Exodus 21:12-13 | Numbers 35 | Deuteronomy 4:41-43 | Deuteronomy 19:1-13 | Joshua 20-21. See Bible excerpts below.

In Jeremiah's letter to the exiles, we read, among other things, the following. Letter from Jeremiah 1:1-72 (sometimes inserted in Baruch 6). The biblical excerpt has been provided below.

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Book of Joshua 20, 1-9 (cities of refuge)

Joshua 20, 1-9: Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: 'As I commanded you through Moses, appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, where the murderer who has killed someone by mistake, without knowing it, may flee, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. The murderer will flee to one of these cities; he will stop at the entrance of the city gate, and expose his case to the elders of that city; they will take him in with them in the city, and give him a home to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they will not deliver the murderer into his hands, for he has unknowingly killed his neighbor, whom he did not hate before. The murderer will remain in this city until he appears before the assembly to be judged, until the death of the high priest who will be in office in those days. Then the murderer will turn and return to his city and his house, to the city from which he fled."

They consecrated Cedes in Gallilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Cariath-arbe, which is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. On the other side of Jordan, opposite Jericho to the east, they designated Bosor, in the desert, in the plain, a city of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Bashan, of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities assigned to all the children of Israel and to the stranger who sojourned among them, so that whoever had killed anyone by mistake might take refuge there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, before appearing before the assembly.

Book of Numbers 35, 25-28

Num 35:25-28 : And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the avenger of blood, and cause him to return to the city of refuge where he fled; and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. If the murderer leaves before that time the territory of the city of refuge where he fled, and the avenger of blood meets him outside the territory of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the murderer, he will not be guilty of murder; for the murderer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; and, after the death of the high priest, the murderer may return to the land where his possession is.

Book of Exodus 21, 12-13

Ex 21, 12-13 : Whoever strikes a man dead must be put to death. But if he has not laid a snare for him, and God has presented him to his hand, I will appoint a place for him to take refuge in.

Deuteronomy 4, 41-43

Dt 4, 41-43 : Then Moses set apart three cities on the other side of the Jordan, to the east, so that they might serve as a refuge for a murderer who had inadvertently killed his neighbor, without having previously been his enemy, and that by taking refuge in one of these cities he might save his life. These were: Bosor, in the desert, in the plain, for the Reubenites; Ramoth, in Gilead, for the Gadites, and Golan, in Bashan for the Manassites.

Deuteronomy 19, 1-13

Deut 19, 1-13: When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whose land Yahweh your God is giving you, and you have driven them out and are living in their towns and houses, then you shall separate three towns in the middle of the land Yahweh your God is giving you to possess. You shall repair the roads leading to them, and divide the territory of the land that Yahweh, your God, is giving you as an inheritance into three parts, so that every murderer may flee to these cities. This is the case in which the murderer who takes refuge there will have his life saved: if he has inadvertently killed his neighbor, without having previously been his enemy. For example, a man goes to cut wood in the forest with another man; his hand raises the axe to fell a tree; the iron escapes from the handle, hits his companion and kills him: this man will flee to one of these cities and his life will be saved. Otherwise, the avenger of blood, pursuing the murderer in the ardor of his anger, would reach him, if the path were too long, and deal him a mortal blow; and yet this man would not have deserved death, since he had no previous hatred against the victim. Therefore I command you: Set apart three cities. And if Yahweh, your God, enlarges your borders, as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised your fathers to give you, - provided you observe and do all these commandments I command you today, loving Yahweh, your God, and always walking in His ways, - you shall add three more cities to these three, so that innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of the land Yahweh, your God, is giving you for an inheritance, and that there will be no blood on you. But if a man hates his neighbor, and ambushes him and strikes him dead, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his city shall send and seize him, and deliver him into the hands of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall have no pity on him, and thou shalt take away innocent blood from Israel, and thou shalt prosper.

Book of Joshua 21, 1-43 (Levitical cities)

Joshua 21:1-43: The heads of the families of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the children of Israel, and spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Chanaan, saying, "Yahweh has commanded by Moses that cities be given to us for our habitation, and their suburbs for our livestock." The children of Israel gave the Levites, out of their inheritance, according to Yahweh's command, the following cities and their suburbs.

The lot was cast first for the families of the Caathites; and the sons of Aaron the priest, from among the Levites, obtained by lot thirteen cities from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon and the tribe of Benjamin; the other sons of Caath obtained by lot ten cities from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The sons of Gerson obtained by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. The sons of Merari, according to their families, obtained twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Zebulun. The children of Israel gave these cities and their suburbs to the Levites by lot, as Yahweh had commanded by Moses.

From the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon, they gave the following cities by name; these were for the sons of Aaron, from among the families of the Caathites, from among the sons of Levi, for the lot was cast for them first. They gave them, in the hill country of Judah, the city of Arbé, father of Enac, which is Hebron, and its suburbs all around. But the countryside around this city and its villages they gave for possession to Caleb son of Jephone. To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave the city of refuge for the murderer, Hebron with its suburbs, and Lebna with its suburbs, Jether with its suburbs, Estemo with its suburbs, Holon with its suburbs, Dabir with its suburbs, Ain with its suburbs, Jeta with its suburbs, Bethsames with its suburbs: nine cities of these two tribes. From the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its suburbs, Gibeba with its suburbs, Anathoth with its suburbs, Almon with its suburbs: four towns. Total cities of the priests, sons of Aaron: thirteen cities and their suburbs.

As for the families of the sons of Caath, Levites, and the other sons of Caath, the cities that fell to them by lot were from the tribe of Ephraim. The children of Israel gave them the city of refuge for the murderer, Shechem and its suburbs, in the hill country of Ephraim, as well as Gazer and its suburbs, Cibsaim and its suburbs, Beth-Horon and its suburbs: four cities. From the tribe of Dan: Eltheco with its suburbs, Gabathon with its suburbs, Aijalon with its suburbs, Geth-Remmon with its suburbs: four towns. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Thanah with its suburbs, and Geth-Remmon with its suburbs: two towns. Total: ten towns with their suburbs, for the families of the other sons of Caath.

To the sons of Gerson, from among the families of the Levites, they gave, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge for the murderer, Gaulon in Bashan and its suburbs, and Bosra and its suburbs: two cities. From the tribe of Issachar: Cohesion and its suburbs, Dabereth and its suburbs, Jaramoth and its suburbs, En-Gannim and its suburbs: four towns. From the tribe of Asher: Masal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, Helcath with its suburbs, Rohob with its suburbs: four towns. From the tribe of Naphtali: the city of refuge for the murderer, Cedes in Galilee and its suburbs, as well as Hamoth-Dor and its suburbs, Carthan and its suburbs: three cities. Total cities of the Gersonites, according to their families: thirteen cities and their suburbs. To the families of the sons of Merari, to the rest of the Levites, they gave, of the tribe of Zebulun: Jecnam and its suburbs, Cartha and its suburbs, Damna and its suburbs, Naalol and its suburbs: four cities And of the tribe of Reuben, Bosor and its suburbs, Jassa and its suburbs, Cedemoth and its suburbs, Mephaath and its suburbs: four cities. And from the tribe of Gad: the city of refuge for the murderer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, as well as Manaim and its suburbs, Heshbon and its suburbs, Jaser and its suburbs: in all four cities. Total of the cities assigned by lot to the sons of Merari, according to their families, forming the rest of the families of the Levites: twelve cities.

Total cities of the Levites in the midst of the possessions of the children of Israel: forty-eight cities and their suburbs. Each of these cities had its suburbs all around; so it was with all these cities. So Yahweh gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their fathers; they took possession of it and settled there. Yahweh gave them rest all around them, as he had sworn to their fathers; none of their enemies could resist them, and Yahweh delivered them all into their hands. Of all the good words that Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel, not one remained without effect; all were fulfilled.

Jeremiah 1:1-72 (sometimes transposed in Baruch 6:1-72) - On idols

Jer 1, 1-72 | Ba 6, 1-72 : Copy of the letter Jeremiah sent to those who were about to be taken captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to tell them what God had commanded them to say. Because of the sins you have committed before God, you are to be taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians. So when you get to Babylon, you will stay there for many years and a long time, up to seven generations; and after that I will bring you out in peace. Now you will see in Babylon gods of silver, gold and wood, which are carried on the shoulders and inspire fear in the nations. Take heed, then, that you too do not imitate these foreigners and allow yourselves to be seized by the fear of these gods. When you see crowds of people thronging before and behind them, and paying them homage, say in your heart, "It is you, Master, who must be worshipped." For my angel is with you, and cares for your life.

For the tongue of these gods has been polished by a workman; it is overlaid with gold and silver, but they are only lies, and cannot speak. As for a girl who loves finery, gold has been taken, and crowns have been prepared to place on the heads of these gods. The priests go so far as to steal gold and silver from their gods, and use it for their own purposes; they even give it to the prostitutes in their houses. They adorn them with rich garments, like men, these gods of silver, gold and wood; but these can defend themselves neither from rust nor from worms. When they have been clothed in purple garments, they still have to wipe their faces, because the dust of the house covers them with a thick layer. Here's one holding a scepter, like a provincial governor: he won't kill anyone who offends him. This other carries a sword or an axe in his hand, but he cannot defend himself against the enemy or thieves. It is clear that these are not gods, so do not fear them.

As a man's vessel, when broken, becomes useless: so are their gods. If you place them in a house, their eyes fill with the dust of the feet of those who enter. Just as prison doors are carefully closed on a man who has offended the king, or on a man about to be led to his death, so the priests defend the dwelling of their gods with strong doors, with locks and bolts, lest they be robbed by thieves. They light lamps, and even more of them than for themselves, and these gods can see none. They are like one of the beams of the house, and it is said that their hearts are eaten away by the vermin that comes out of the ground, and devours them and their clothes, without their feeling it. Their faces turn black with the smoke that rises from the house. On their bodies and heads flutter the owls, swallows and other birds; and similarly frolic the cats themselves. By this you will know that they are not gods, so do not fear them.

The gold with which they are covered to embellish them, if someone does not remove the rust, they will not make it shine; for they did not even feel anything when they were melted down. These idols were bought at the highest price, and there is no breath of life in them. Having no feet, they are carried on shoulders, showing men their shameful impotence. May those who serve them be confused with them! If they fall to the ground, they won't get up of their own accord; and if someone puts them upright, they won't set themselves in motion; and if they lean, they won't straighten. It is as if offerings were placed before the dead. The priests sell the victims offered to them and make a profit from them; their wives salt them and give nothing to the poor or infirm. Women in childbirth or in an impure state touch their sacrifices. Knowing therefore from these things that they are not gods, do not fear them.

And why call them gods? For it is women who come to bring their offerings to these gods of silver, gold and wood. And in their temples the priests sit, their tunics torn, their heads and faces shaven, and their heads uncovered. They roar and shout before their gods, as if at a funeral feast. Their priests strip them of their garments, and they clothe their wives and children in them. Whether harm or good is done to them, they can give neither back; they are unable to establish a king or overthrow him. Nor can they give wealth, or even a coin. If someone, having made a vow to them, does not fulfill it, they do not claim. They will not save a man from death, nor snatch the weak from the hand of the powerful. They will not restore sight to the blind, nor deliver the distressed. They will not have pity on the widow, nor do good to the orphan. These idols of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, are like rocks cut out of the mountain, and those who serve them will be put to shame. How can we believe or say that they are gods?

The Chaldeans themselves dishonor them, when, seeing a man who cannot speak, they present him to Bel asking that the mute speak, as if the god could hear anything. And though they realize it, they cannot abandon these idols; for they have no feeling. The women, surrounded by a rope, go and sit on the paths, burning coarse flour; and, when one of them, drawn by some passer-by, has slept with him, she reproaches her neighbor for not having been deemed worthy of the same honor, and for not having seen her rush braid broken. Everything that is said about idols is a lie. How then can we believe or say that they are gods?

They have been fashioned by craftsmen and goldsmiths; they cannot be otherwise than the workers want them to be. And the workers who fashioned them don't have long to live: how then could their works be of long duration? They have left nothing but lies and disgrace to posterity. Whether war comes, or some other calamity, the priests deliberate among themselves as to where they will hide with their gods: how then is it not understood that these are not gods, who cannot save themselves from war or some other calamity?

These idols of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, will later be recognized as lies; for all nations and kings it will be obvious that they are not gods, but works of men's hands, and that there is no divine work in them. To whom, then, would it not be obvious that they are not gods?

They will never establish a king over a land, nor give rain to men. They will not know how to judge their own affairs, nor will they protect against injustice, since they can do nothing, like crows that stand between heaven and your earth. And when the fire falls on the house of these wooden gods, overlaid with gold and silver, their priests will flee and be saved; but they will be consumed like beams in the midst of the flames. They will resist neither a king nor an enemy army. How can we admit or think that they are gods?

They will not escape thieves and robbers, these gods of wood, covered in silver and gold. Men more powerful than them will take away the silver and gold, and walk away with the rich clothes with which they've been covered, and these gods won't be able to help themselves. So it is better to be a king displaying his strength, or a useful vessel in the house, which the master uses, than to be these false gods; or a door to a house, guarding what is there, than to be these false gods; or a wooden pillar in a king's house, than to be these false gods. The sun, the light and the stars, which are bright and sent for the benefit of men, obey God. Likewise the lightning, when it appears, is beautiful to behold; the wind also blows over all the land; and the clouds, when God commands them to cover the whole earth, carry out what they are ordered to do. Fire too, when sent from on high to consume the mountains and forests, does as it is commanded. But idols are not comparable, either in beauty or in power, to all these things. We must therefore neither think nor say that they are gods, since they can neither discern what is right, nor do good to men. Knowing therefore that they are not gods, do not fear them.

They cannot curse or bless kings. They don't show the nations signs in the sky; they don't shine like the sun, they don't shine like the moon. Beasts are better than them, since they can flee to find shelter and be useful to themselves. So in no way is it obvious to us that they are gods; so don't fear them.

Just as a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers protects from nothing, so it is with their wooden gods, covered in gold and silver. Just like a thorn bush in a garden, on which all the birds land, or a dead man thrown into a dark place, so are their wooden gods, overlaid with gold and silver. The very purple and scarlet that spoil on them make it clear that they are no gods. They themselves will eventually be devoured and become a disgrace in the land. Better is the righteous man who has no idols; he will not have to fear confusion.

Second book of the Maccabees, 4

2 M 4 : Simon, this informer of the treasury and of his country, spoke ill of Onias: it was he, he said, who had stirred up Heliodorus and who was the author of all the evil. The city's benefactor, the defender of his fellow citizens and the faithful observer of the laws, he dared to pass him off as an adversary of the state. This hatred went so far that murders were committed by one of Simon's affianced. Then Onias, considering the danger of these divisions and the outbursts of Apollonius, the military governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, who was encouraging Simon's wickedness, went to see the king, not to accuse his fellow citizens, but having in mind the general and particular interest of all his people. For he could see that, without the king's intervention, it would be impossible to pacify the situation, and that Simon would not give up his criminal ventures.

But after the death of Seleucus, Antiochus nicknamed Epiphanes succeeded him, and Jason, brother of Onias, set out to usurp the pontificate. In a meeting with the king, he promised three hundred and sixty talents of silver and eighty talents from other revenues. In addition, he promised to commit himself in writing to a further 150 talents, if he were allowed to establish, on his own authority and according to his own views, a gymnasium with an epebeum, and to register the inhabitants of Jerusalem as citizens of Antioch. The king agreed to everything. As soon as Jason had obtained power, he set about introducing Greek customs among his fellow citizens. He abolished the franchises which the kings, out of humanity, had granted to the Jews thanks to the enterprise of John, father of Eupolemus, who had been sent on an embassy to conclude a treaty of alliance and friendship with the Romans, and, destroying legitimate institutions, he established customs contrary to the law. He took pleasure in founding a gymnasium at the very foot of the Acropolis, and raised the noblest children by putting them under the hat. Hellenism then grew to such an extent, and the excessive perversity of Jason, a godless man and by no means a high priest, led to such an inclination towards foreign customs, that the priests no longer showed any zeal for the service of the altar and, despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices, rushed to take part, in the palaestra, in the exercises proscribed by the law, as soon as the call to throw the discus was heard. Paying no heed to the honorific functions of their country, they held in high esteem the distinctions of the Greeks. That's why serious calamities befell them, and in the very people whose way of life they imitated and to whom they wanted to resemble in everything, they found enemies and oppressors. For one does not violate divine laws with impunity; but this is what subsequent events will demonstrate.

While the five-yearly games were being celebrated in Tyre, which the king was attending, the criminal Jason sent spectators from Jerusalem, who were citizens of Antioch, bearing three hundred drachmas of silver for the sacrifice of Hercules; but the same people who were carrying them asked that this money be used, not for sacrifices, which was not appropriate, but to cover other expenses. Thus the three hundred drachmas were indeed intended by the one who sent them for the sacrifice in honor of Hercules; but they were used, according to the desire of those who brought them, for the construction of triremes.

Apollonius, son of Menestheus, having been sent to Egypt, on the occasion of the enthronement of King Ptolemy Philometor, Antiochus learned that this king was ill-disposed towards him and, wishing to be safe from him, he went to Joppa, then to Jerusalem. Received magnificently by Jason and the whole city, he made his entry by torchlight and amidst acclamations; then he led his army to Phoenicia in the same way.

Three years later, Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the aforementioned Simon, to bring the money to the king and pay the registration fees for important business. But Menelaus recommended himself to the king, honored him with the outward appearance of a man in high place, and had the sovereign pontificate awarded to himself, offering three hundred talents of silver more than Jason had done. Having received his letters of investiture from the king, he returned to Jerusalem, having nothing worthy of the priesthood and bringing only the instincts of a cruel tyrant and the fury of a wild beast. Thus Jason, who had deceived his own brother, deceived in turn by another, had to flee to the land of the Ammonites. As for Menelaus, he obtained power; but, as he did not comply with the sum promised to the king, despite the complaints of Sostratus, commander of the Acropolis, who was responsible for collecting taxes, both were summoned to the king.

Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus to replace him as high priest, and Sostratus left Cratès, governor of Cyprus, to replace him. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Tarsus and Mallas revolted, because these two cities had been given as presents to Antiochides, the king's concubine. The king therefore left in haste to quell the sedition, having left as his lieutenant Andronicus, one of the great dignitaries. Menelaus, judging the circumstances favorable, took some gold vessels from the temple and gave them to Andronicus, and managed to sell others to Tyre and the neighboring cities.

When Onias became aware of Menelaus' new crime, he reproached him for it, after retiring to a safe haven at Daphne, near Antioch. Menelaus therefore took Andronicus aside and urged him to put Onias to death. Andronic therefore came to Onias and, using cunning, swore an oath on his right hand; then, although suspicious, he persuaded him to leave his asylum and immediately put him to death, without regard for justice. And so, not only the Jews, but many of the other nations were outraged and grieved at this man's unjust murder.

And when the king had returned from Cilicia, the Jews of Antioch, together with Greeks who were also enemies of violence, came to him about the unjust murder of Onias. Antiochus was deeply saddened and, moved by compassion for Onias, shed tears at the memory of the deceased's moderation and wise conduct. Red with anger, he immediately had Andronicus stripped of his purple, tore off his clothes and, having had him led through the whole city, he degraded this scoundrel in the very place where he had carried out his impious attack on Onias, the Lord thus striking him with just punishment.

Now, a great number of sacrilegious thefts having been committed in the city by Lysimachus, in agreement with Menelaus, and word of them having spread, the people rose up against Lysimachus, when already many golden vessels had been scattered. Seeing the multitude stirred up and their spirits inflamed with anger, Lysimachus armed some three thousand men and began to commit acts of violence, under the command of a certain Tyrant, a man advanced in age and no less in perversity. But when they heard of Lysimachus' attack, some seized stones, others large sticks, and some gathered ashes from the ground, and hurled them tumultuously at Lysimachus' followers. In this way, they wounded many of his men, killed several of them, put all the others to flight and massacred the sacrilegious man himself near the temple treasury.

An investigation against Menelaus then began. When the king came to Tyre, the three men sent by the elders explained the justice of their case. Seeing himself convinced, Menelaus promised Ptolemy, son of Dorymene, a large sum of money to make the king favorable to him. Ptolemy then took the king under the peristyle, as if to cool off, and made him change his mind. The king declared Menelaus innocent of the charges brought against him, though guilty of all crimes, and condemned to death unfortunate men who, had they pleaded their case even before Scythians, would have been returned innocent; and men who had defended the city, the people and sacred objects, suffered this unjust punishment without delay. The Tyrians themselves were outraged, and gave the victims a magnificent funeral. As for Menelaus, thanks to the greed of the powerful, he maintained his dignity, growing in malice and cruel scourge of his fellow citizens.

Book of Genesis 4, 10-11

Gen 4, 10-11 : Yahweh said: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out from the earth to me. Now you are cursed by the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand."

Have you never read how David, at Nob, took the consecrated bread to feed himself and his companions? The consecrated bread belonged to God, in His house, set aside by an eternal decree for the priests. It is written: “They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place, for it is a most holy thing.” See 1 Samuel 21:1–4 and Leviticus 24:9.

God punished David severely for his lust and for his census: regarding his lust, see 2 Samuel 12:9–14 (see also 94.7). For the census, see 2 Samuel 24:1–17 and 1 Chronicles 21:1–17.

To the good as well as to the wicked, for I am Mercy. But you do not know what mercy is. If you knew what it means, you would also understand that I desire nothing but it. Cf . Hosea 6:6, also quoted in Matthew 9:13.

They finally come upon a hedge of prickly pears, at the tops of which, bristling with thorns, figs are beginning to ripen. This mention is intriguing: the prickly pear, or Barbary fig, is said to have been imported from Mexico by Christopher Columbus. Is this a glaring anachronism or a rare piece of knowledge on Maria Valtorta’s part? See the commentary.

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Leviticus 24:9

Lev 24:9: They shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in a holy place; for it is a most holy thing to them among the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is a perpetual statute.

First Book of Samuel 21:1–7

1 Sam 1–7: David got up and left, and Jonathan returned to the city. David went to Nob, to the high priest Ahimelech; and Ahimelech came running out to meet David in fear and said to him, “ ‘Why are you alone, and is there no one with you?’” David replied to the priest Ahimelech, “The king gave me an order and said, ‘Let no one know anything about the matter for which I am sending you, and I have given you an order.’ I have appointed a meeting place for my men. Now, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you have.” ” The priest replied to David, saying, “I have no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread—provided your men have abstained from women.” ” David replied to the priest and said, “We have abstained from women for the three days since I set out, and the vessels of my men are holy; and even if the journey is profane, is not the vessel itself sanctified?” ” Then the priest gave him consecrated bread, for there was no other bread there except the showbread, which had been removed from before the Lord and replaced with fresh bread at the time it was taken away.

2 Samuel 12:9–14

2 Sam. 12:9–14: “Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his sight? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife to be your own, and you killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. And now the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife. Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring disaster upon you from within your own house; I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you acted in secret, but I will do this in the sight of all Israel and in broad daylight.”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord has forgiven your sin; you will not die. But because by this deed you have made the Lord a laughingstock to his enemies, the son born to you will die.”

2 Samuel 24:1–17

2 Sam. 24:1–17: The anger of the Lord was kindled again against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, take a census of Israel and Judah.” ” The king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba; take a census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.” ” Joab said to the king, “May Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as there are now, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it! But why does my lord the king take pleasure in doing this? ” But the king’s command prevailed over Joab and the commanders of the army; so Joab and the commanders of the army set out from the king’s presence to take a census of the people of Israel.

After crossing the Jordan, they camped at Aroer, on the right side of the city, which is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and then at Jazer. They came to Gilead and to the land of Tachthim-Hodsi; then they came to Dan-Jaan and to the vicinity of Sidon. They went to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites, and they reached the Negev of Judah, at Beersheba. When they had thus surveyed the entire land, they returned to Jerusalem after nine months and twenty days. Joab presented the king with the census report: there were eight hundred thousand men of war in Israel who could wield a sword, and five hundred thousand in Judah. David’s heart was troubled after he had counted the people, and David said to Yahweh: “I have committed a great sin in what I have done! Now, O Yahweh, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

The next day, when David arose, the word of the LORD came to Gad, the prophet, David’s seer, saying: “Go and tell David: Thus says the LORD: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” ” Gad came to David and told him the word of the Lord, saying: “Shall there be a famine of seven years in your land, or shall you flee for three months before your enemies who will pursue you, or shall there be a plague for three days in your land? Now consider and see what I should answer the one who sent me.” ” David replied to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hands of men! ” And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning of that day until the appointed time; and seventy thousand men of the people died, from Dan to Beersheba. The angel was stretching out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it. But the Lord relented from this disaster and said to the angel who was striking down the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to Yahweh: “Behold, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who is guilty. But these sheep—what have they done? Let your hand fall on me and on my father’s house!”

That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went up, as Gad had said, just as the Lord had commanded. When Araunah looked up, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him; Araunah went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground, saying, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David replied: “To buy this threshing floor from you, so that I may build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be lifted from the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take the threshing floor and offer whatever sacrifice he deems fit! Here are the oxen for the burnt offering, along with the sleds and the ox yokes for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said further to the king, “May the Lord your God be gracious to you!” ” But the king said to Areuna, “No! I want to buy it from you for a price in silver, and I will not offer to Yahweh, my God, burnt offerings that cost me nothing. ” And David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25And David built an altar to Yahweh there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Thus the Lord was appeased toward the land, and the plague was lifted from Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:1–17

1 Chr 21:1–17: Satan stood against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. And David said to Joab and the leaders of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and report the number to me, so that I may know how many there are.” ” Joab replied, “May Yahweh add to his people a hundred times as many as there are! O king, my lord, are they not all servants of my lord? Why then does my lord ask this? Why bring sin upon Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. Joab set out and traveled throughout all Israel, and he returned to Jerusalem. And Joab presented to David the results of the census of the people: there were in all Israel eleven hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, and in Judah four hundred seventy thousand men who could handle a sword. He did not count the Levites and the Benjamites among them, for Joab was reluctant to carry out the king’s command.

God was displeased with this matter, and He struck Israel. Then David said to God, “I have committed a great sin in doing this. Now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” ” Yahweh spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying: “Go and speak to David, saying: Thus says Yahweh: I set before you three things; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” Gad came to David and said to him: “Thus says Yahweh: Choose either three years of famine, or three months during which you will be swept away before your adversaries and struck down by the sword of your enemies, or three days during which the sword of the LORD and the plague will be in the land, and the angel of the LORD will bring destruction throughout the territory of Israel. Now see what I should answer the one who sent me.” David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Oh, that I might fall into the hands of the Lord—for his mercy is very great—rather than into the hands of men!”

And the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men in Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as the angel was destroying it, the Lord saw what was happening and relented from this disaster, and He said to the angel who was destroying it, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now.” ” The angel of Yahweh was standing near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand, pointed toward Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded that the people be counted? It is I who have sinned and done wrong; but these—these sheep—what have they done? Yahweh, my God, let your hand be against me and against my father’s house, but not against your people to bring about their ruin.”

Book of Hosea 6:6

Hos 6:6: She became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhama (that is, ‘Not Loved’), for I no longer love the house of Israel and will no longer forgive them.”

Gospel of Matthew 9:13

Mt 9:13: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Gospel of Matthew 12:1–8

Mt 12:1–8: At that time, on a Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the wheat fields; his disciples were hungry, so they began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him: “Look, your disciples are doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath!” But he said to them: “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence; yet neither he nor those with him had the right to eat it, but only the priests. Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath rest without being guilty of a sin? But I tell you: there is one here who is greater than the temple. If you had understood what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned those who have committed no offense. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Mark 2:23–28

Mk 2:23–28: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the grain fields; and as they went along, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look what they are doing on the Sabbath! That is not permitted.” And Jesus said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, both he and those with him? During the time of the high priest Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which no one is allowed to eat except the priests, and he also gave some to those who were with him. ” He also said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Gospel of Luke 6:1–5

Luke 6:1–5: One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through the fields; his disciples were plucking heads of grain and eating them after rubbing them in their hands. Some of the Pharisees then said, “Why are you doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those with him were hungry? He went into the house of God, took the bread of the Presence, ate it, and gave some to those who were with him—even though only the priests are allowed to eat it.” He also said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”