Devarim (Deuteronomy 1-3:22)
LA JOLLA, California — By way of introduction, the Book of Deuteronomy is labeled as Moses’ Last Discourse, and thus touted as a review of Exodus through Numbers. However, it is quickly seen that the text of this book departs in numerous details from what is contained in the three preceding Torah books.
I have chosen three passages from this parasha for a comparison with texts about the Israelites’ pagan neighbors. I chose such subjects as leaders’ complaints; judicial systems, and giants.
I. Deuteronomy 1:9-12 “…I said to you, I cannot bear the burden of you by myself…H ow can I bear unaided the trouble of you,… and the bickering!”
This passage expresses Moses’ frustration in managing his people.
I found no direct internet reference to an ancient leader complaining of such inability. However, tangentially I found the following items:
In a funerary letter to his dead wife, in ancient Egypt, a man expressed criticism of her, indicating how he served her well in life, plus during her terminal illness, despite her inability to discern good from bad. [1]
Pliny of Rome (61-113 CE) wrote in his early 40’s “It is our duty to give up our youth and manhood to our country, but our last years are our own,” i.e. a graceful retirement, “not to be termed laziness…” Also, Seneca (c. 1 BCE–65 CE ), a Roman philosopher and politician, expressed fear of being seen as ‘a trifler and sluggard,’ wrote “We have dissipated enough of our time already; let us in old age begin to pack our baggage.” [2]
II. Deuteronomy 1:15-17 Moses: “So I took your tribal leaders…and appointed them heads over you: chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds. chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens…I charged…hear out…and decide justly between any man and a fellow Israelite or a stranger. You shall not be partial in judgment…And any matter that is too difficult …you shall bring to me…”
The actual origin of this policy was not from Moses. It was the advice of his visiting father-in-law Jethro, who observed Moses’ exhaustion at doing all the judging himself (Ex: 18:21-22). This Deuteronomy passage comes across as Moses unseemly usurping credit from another person!
Ancient Egypt’s judicial hierarchy started out with the king, the representative of the gods, at the top, and just beneath him the vizier. The vizier heard cases himself, but also appointed lower magistrates. There was an evolution toward professionalism over time. The levels of administration were: 1) elders in a rural community, 2) a regional court, and 3) a national (imperial) level. It was rare that a case reached the national level. [3]
As for Greece, the most discernible system was that of Athens of the 4th Century BCE. The hierarchy was: magistrates; ‘popular courts;’ and the higher court (an aristocratic council). There was a further subdivision: specialists who dealt with family issues; the ‘King’ over religious matters; a group over “determiners of customs;” and others over the rest. A special jurisdiction dealt with resident aliens.
The ‘popular courts’ were unwieldy by any modern standard. Juries were selected of citizens over 30 years of age, chosen by lot, and could consist of anywhere between 501 men (criminal cases), 201 men (civil cases,)–but a jury could be composed of as much as 6001 men! [4]
The most infamous decision in Athens was that of Socrates (339 BCE), by a criminal court. He was found guilty of “impiety” and “corrupting the young.” He was sentenced to death, then required to carry out his own execution by consuming a deadly potion of the poisonous plant hemlock.
Athens at the time had been hit by successive disasters: plague; internal political strife; and a major military defeat by Sparta. The claim that Socrates’ teachings created political deviants made him a convenient scapegoat for some of these problems. Sounds familiar!
Ancient Greeks were ‘religious’ people, who believed that their cities were protected by gods needing to be appeased.
It seemed to Athenians that their gods were far from happy after the years of disaster leading up to 399 BCE. Athenians probably felt that undesirables in their midst had offended Zeus and his fellow deities.
Socrates, as an unconventional thinker who questioned the legitimacy and authority of the gods, fitted that bill. Also, he claimed to be guided by his “intuition,” which could also be interpreted as a dark, supernatural influence.
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Socrates essentially invited his own death. Under the Athenian system, a defendant could suggest his own penalty. Instead of taking this seriously, however, Socrates first joked that he should be rewarded, and finally suggested a minuscule fine.
His 501 jurors did not see him as funny and passed the death sentence by a greater majority from that by which he had been convicted. [5]
III. Deuteronomy 3:8-11 Here follows a typical biblical exaggeration: “Thus we seized…Amorite kings…Sidonians…the whole of Gilead and Bashan…King Og of Bashan…His bedstead, an iron bedstead,..is now in Rabbah (Jordan today)…is nine cubits long (c. 13-1/2 feet) and four cubits wide (c. 6 feet)….!”
The bed description metaphorically indicates that Og was a giant.
Giants were mentioned in antiquity, described with great height and other physical characteristics, plus negative moral qualities. Such features indicated a connection to primeval chaos-fear. Giants are in Greek epics as well as other Near Eastern traditions. [6]
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[1] https://ancientegypt.fandom.com/wiki/Letters_to_the_Dead
[2] “Experiencing Old Age in Ancient Rome,” Karen Cokayne, Roytlige Classical Monographs, 2003, p. 105
[3] Ancient Egyptian Law, Ancient History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark, 02 October 2017
[4] Greek Law, Ancient History Encyclopedia, written by Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica
[5] Socrates was guilty as charged, University of Cambridge, Professor Paul Cartledge, 08 Jun 2009
[6] The Last of the Rephaim, Ph D thesis, Brian R. Doak, Harvard U., Cambridge, Mass, 2011
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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.