Every day, my genitals "produce" several million sperm — about 1,500 per second.  

My sperm are BIG... insurrectionist (part of an disorganized militia)... and they have sharp little teeth.  They need to be evicted thoroughly and often.  

If sperm are not released from the testicles, they die, and their corpses are absorbed.  This creates a swampy puddle with sperm swimming in their decomposing peers... and that's sad.  I don't like having sad cemetery balls filled with marmy death, so I attempt to give every sperm an adventure - the time of our lives.

Of course, not every sperm is sacred - not every sperm is great - nature attempts to allow for diversity, and often fails.

Each of these individuals (who are also somehow "me") has some amount of autonomy.  They each choose to float, swim up, down, left, right, fast, slow, over here, over there, away from the heat, away from that other guy, and at best TOWARD THAT EGG.  

Female humans release a relatively passive "egg" - an ovum - about once per month.  It attracts sperm, carries genetic information, imposes natural selection, is enveloped by an incubation structure if fertilized, and contributes to the physical body it becomes.

To my perception, it seems as though the ovum is the prototypical "body", and the sperm is the prototypical brain, spine, and central nervous system that enters that "body" - or is accepted by it, or a combination of both - to begin gestation.

This is not "belief" (the acceptance of something without evidence), it is a hypothesis that is based on what I consider to be known about human reproduction and anatomy.  I accept that sperm do not have vertebrae... but they do have a "tail" that is remarkably similar to a spine in function and in form - the difference between them is a lack of calcium deposits... "bones".

We are in that respect very similar to the earliest known precursor to all vertebrates - pikaia gracilens.

Fetuses also have early stages that include tail-like forms, and not often, but occasionally, humans are born with vestigial tails that are indications of remnants of early evolution.

I'm just saying... the general shape of the thing... that is... the sperm... seems to reappear during the first two months of gestation, and remains recognizable in the cerebrospinal structure.  

"Created YHWH Elohim the sides which had taken from Adam as a wife and brought to Adam."

https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/2-22.htm

The "side chambers" or "sides" (the Hebrew is צְלָעֹת/tsela) that were taken from Adam and made into Eve by YHWH, refer to the side-by-side nature of the testicles.  

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_6763.htm

It does not infer that the testicles or part of the testicles were removed, but that some of the contents of the testicles were used in the creation of Eve.  This is a reasonable, non-destructive, somewhat natural perception.  To insist that YHWH created Adam whole only to immediately remove part of His creation is extremely problematic.

The essential naturalistic difference between male and female sexual physiology would reasonably be the presence of semen created by males, to early men.

2023 DRHOY asserts - based on indirect observation - that a sperm is a prototypical brain, spine, and central nervous system.

~2010 YouTube atheists (to my experience) give the definitive answer to "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?".

spoiler

Birds - such as the chicken - evolved from lizards, and lizards are also born from eggs.

1978 The first human baby born from in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

1916 The first “sperm count” tests were available. 

1878 Reproductive cells - egg and sperm - were named "gametes".

~1870 Biologists understood that both sperm and egg are required to produce offspring, but remained largely "Spermist": “The male seed of whatever members of the animal kingdom contains … all the limbs and organs which an animal has when it is born.”

1824 Animal trials were convincing that sperm are not parasites but are involved in fertilization.

1685 It was suggested that inside a sperm’s head was a tiny human body (a "homunculus", blending Ovist and Spermist features).  

1651 William Harvey’s On the Generation of Animals states, “Everything from an egg”. "Ovism", the opinions of "Ovists", had a preformist view: there was a ready-made, tiny human being, inside the egg; and inside that human was another egg, enclosing another body, like a hopelessly unnecessary matryoshka doll.  

~1590-1650  Microscope users observed minute wriggling living animals in semen.  Sperm were generally considered either to be parasites or the sole precursor of a baby ("Spermism"/"Spermists").

c. 1200s Islamic physicians suggest seeds for reproduction are made in several organs and congregate in the sex organs. 

c. 65 BCE Roman philosopher and poet Lucretius wrote that men and women produce fluids containing seeds for procreation. 

~3000 BCE  Enoch began the writing tradition that became what is now Bereshit (Genesis), somehow including an understanding that reproductive influence is located in the testicles.

Matthew 2:9 Moreover having heard the King, they went away; and behold, the star which they saw [*while] in the East went before them until having come, it stood over where was the Child.

[*The Magi are not saying that they saw this significant star in an astrological "eastern" position, nor that they saw the star in the "East" relative to where they were when observing it, but that they saw the star accompanying the birth of Jesus while they themselves were located in the "East" relative to Jerusalem.]

I think it is reasonable to assume that in the context of the nativity the general form of the "star" is some form of a floating or flying object that is composed of or radiates light.  This star is not described as making any sound.   It is reasonable to assume that there is not a known modern-day meteorological equivalent to this "star".  It is not "swamp gas", as it were.

In fact, it is not described as having a gaseous field around it - as new stars do - or this quandry would be more easily explained.  It could be readily assumed and accepted that while stationary near Jerusalem it gave off a gas cloud that made it appear larger - and more easily seen from afar - and while moving the gas cloud was dispersed.

If a star without a gas field were to indicate by proximity the location of a birthplace, it must by some reasonable means create association with an area that is approximately "personal".  

The star must by one of at least two means do this.  Either the star itself moved close enough to the proper hut, cave, or barn; or it radiated light at the location indicated.

The star is not described as radiating beams of light in particular directions.  

It is described as moving relative to the Magi and the points of interest.

Bethlehem is a relatively small place - especially compared to a celestial "star". A star similar to the Sun could not indicate by means of proximity any particular continent to the perception of observers, much less a particular place of birth. The "star" is comparatively small, and is itself the expression of direction. 

The parameters of the size of the star are seemingly presumable. It must be small enough to indicate relative proximity of the birthplace, and either large enough or close enough to be observable by the Magi.  For greater distances, a larger span between the Magi and the star is reasonable - and possibly necessary. If the star were not at sufficient elevation, the curvature of the Earth could block it from the Magi's view. 

At an international scale, a star could indicate sufficient directions by being in a general area between the Magi and Judah. For lesser distances, such as a metropolitan scale, that direction would still remain reasonably general, but could account for the best means of travel (accounting for terrain and other physical realities) between cities, villages, and other municipalities. Within the constraints of an actual village, such as Bethlehem in the year 4BCE, a star as a guidance tool would need to be personably small. This star as described indicates the appropriate entrance - whether it be of a house, barn, or cave - to the place of birth, and moves with recognizable relativity to the Magi. The Magi travel from "the East" and are anticipating and observing stars to signal the birth of a king of the Jews. To my sense of appropriate cultural relativity, this must include at least all of Mesopotamia, if not all of what was then considered the "Orient". All of the major Mesopotamian cultures celebrated royalty and deification through the symbolism of "stars" (and also what we would now consider "planets"). 

It seems necessary that the star of the Christ must be visible from at least the birthplace of the cultures it was intimately associated with. Jesus was considered to be a High Priest in the Order Of King Zedek. King Zedek was the first king of Jerusalem (Jeru-/YHWH's- -Salem/-Peace), and a contemporary of Abraham.This must include at least what is now NorthEastern Turkey (which contains the "Garden Of Eden" - the place of creation of and for YHWH's people), if not also what is now Southern Iraq (which contains Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, who purchased the Foundation Stone as a threshing floor, and was personally covenanted with Elohim). 

The question then becomes - assuming that the star does not change its size or brightness as required - how big and bright must a star near Jerusalem be to be observable from those relatively similar distances? The light that is described may be assumed to be "starlight". It is not a laser-beam, and it is not described as having any particular focus of radiation. 

The Bat Signal is a spotlight (being focussed) of a reasonable size (perhaps as much as ~10' diameter) to give relative indication of an entranceway - but could not be seen in Ur from Jerusalem. The light would diffuse in the atmosphere long before reaching the Chaldees, and the spotlight would be indecipherable.

Could an orb the size of the Epcot Center indicate a very particular "room" from the perspective of human observers? Spaceship Earth is 165 feet in diameter, and has a very particular "bottom" from a human perspective.

The Epcot Center (Spaceship Earth) is observable to the eye at a distance of only approximately 18kms.

The distance between Ur and Jerusalem is ~1000km, and the distance between Göbelbakan, Türkiye and Jerusalem is ~1200km.

I don't math real good... but it seems that the star would have to be about 61 times the size of Spaceship Earth.  That is approximately 1000 feet (or ~300 meters).

The Eiffel Tower is slightly more than 300 meters high.

It may be of interest to some, that the parameters wherein a star could fulfill the descriptions given of it in the Gospel Of Matthew are very slim but only just possible.   Those of faith are more likely to assume these conditions to be proof of a miraculous nature, and those without faith more likely to reject the assertion wholecloth.

Here is the approximate scale of a star that is observable across Mesopotamia, but small enough to indicate by its presence the location of a particular dwelling:

https://i.imgur.com/pCJyK5h.jpg

Matthew 2:10 Having seen moreover the star, they rejoiced with joy great exceedingly.

spoiler

Shoop images:

https://media.timeout.com/images/100645265/image.jpg

https://www.hotel-belle-juliette-paris.com/images/monuments/xhc-a-eu-france-paris-eiffel-tower.jpg.pagespeed.ic.yhN88MFsAe.jpg

https://www.leonardodavinci.net/images/drawings/studies-for-a-nativity.jpg

PRIVATE POVERTY

95% of sexual abuses are not reported to law enforcement.

Few victims of sexual violence receive professional supports.

Sexual abuse causes difficulties in intimacy.

Sexually assaulted persons experience profoundly damaged security, self-esteem and self-confidence.

NO TRESPASSING

Deuteronomy 22:25 (Darby) But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die

“O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will.” … An-Nisa” 4:19

The third of the Five Precepts of Buddhism is "To refrain from committing sexual misconduct”.

Dharmasutra Vasistha 28​:2-3 states that, "…a woman is polluted by being raped…” but is ritually cleansed.

The Matsyapurāņa states that a woman who is raped is innocent but her rapist should be executed.

The Criminal Code Of Canada:

Assault

• 265 (1) A person commits an assault when

a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;

b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; or

c) while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or an imitation thereof, he accosts or impedes another person or begs.

• Marginal note:Application

(2) This section applies to all forms of… …sexual assault, sexual assault with a weapon,… …and aggravated sexual assault.

• Marginal note:Consent

(3) For the purposes of this section, no consent is obtained where the complainant submits or does not resist by reason of

a) the application of force to the complainant or to a person other than the complainant;

b) threats or fear of the application of force to the complainant or to a person other than the complainant;

c) fraud; or

d) the exercise of authority.

• Marginal note:Accused’s belief as to consent

(4) Where an accused alleges that he believed that the complainant consented to the conduct that is the subject-matter of the charge, a judge, if satisfied that there is sufficient evidence and that, if believed by the jury, the evidence would constitute a defence, shall instruct the jury, when reviewing all the evidence relating to the determination of the honesty of the accused’s belief, to consider the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for that belief.

Marginal note:Assault

266 Every one who commits an assault is guilty of

• a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or

• b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Marginal note:Assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm

267 Every person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who, in committing an assault,

• a) carries, uses or threatens to use a weapon or an imitation thereof,

• b) causes bodily harm to the complainant, or

• c) chokes, suffocates or strangles the complainant.

THE VIOLATED WILL BE PROSTITUTED

More than half of all attackers are known to the abused.

Harms of sexual abuse often result in social dysfunctions.

Research suggests that approximately 3 in 4 are violated prior to prostituting.

This

is

poetry.

Emperor Rudolph II kept a pet tiger running wild in his castle at all times.   People who came to the castle were assured that if the tiger hurt them that the Emperor would reimburse them or their heirs.

I'm just saying... the guy was wild.

Rudolf II inherited the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta from his grandfather Emperor Ferdinand The First (who had an impressive five-head).

The Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta ("The Model Book of Calligraphy") is a magnificent creation.

It features plants, animals, pretty writing, and many purely fictional fantasties of supernatural things.

The Voynich Manuscript is a... it falls quite short of magnificent... I can say that it is a work of astonishing dedication.

Dedication... to tomfoolery.

It also features plants, animals, and many purely fictional fantasties of supernatural things - including somewhat less pretty (but entirely fraudulent) writing.

https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2002046

It featured the calligraphized signature of E Rudolpnus (that's how he spelled it in the manuscript, not accounting for a few umlauts or whatever) very many dozens of times.

The signatures are generally in the bottom-left of the page, and are occasionally written vertically on its edge.

Rudy had created his own colouring book - very similar to the manuscript his grandfather had given him - and was practicing his signature.

Then, he had a bold idea.

He could convince people that his nonsensical paintings were of archaic - perhaps even alien - origins.

He scraped his signatures and family crest off, weirded the whole thing up with a fake script and a few embellishments, and sent it to a friend.

The friend used a dialect from Malta.

The friend was fooled by the hoax, attempted to equate the symbols within the script to alphabetical characters, and eventually hazarded a guess that the book must be from "West France".

I have now been distracted by the influence of Emperor Rudolpnus' humour for too many hours of my precious life.

From this manuscript, however, I discovered a new form of identification of written characters, and coined them "hydroglyphs".

Hydroglyphs occur when a manuscript gets wet, water stands on the page, ink leaches out of/off of the page, the ink floats on top of the standing water, the water carrying the ink moves, the water carrying the ink dries, and the ink carried by the water re-adheres to the page in a new location (often with a different orientation).

Rudy would have approved of the actual knowledge incidentally gained from his prank. 

"Eskimo" - from "Eskimantsik" - means "eater of raw meat."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo#Etymology

Macronutrients - carbohydrates, fats, alcohol, and proteins - are the sources of all dietary calories. These are the compounds that are converted into energy. 

Micronutrients - generally vitamins and minerals - although needed only in trace amounts, are essential for survival. 

A visitor to the arctic attempted to become infected with tapeworms from eating raw Arctic char. He removed tapeworm larvae from the fish, and swallowed them in gelatin capsules. He developed three tapeworms from 24 larvae. He then recommended that the fish be cooked to kill the larvae - not realizing that cooking would destroy vitamin B12, the only source of vitamin B available.

Since every animal in the arctic food chain is eating the other raw, the nutrients are preserved, and passed on up the food chain to its pinnacle.

The Arctic Foodchain Turducken Song - to be sung to the tune of "The Bog Down In The Valley-O":

Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog,

The bog up in the arctic-O

Oh, Oh, The rattlin' bog,

The bog up in the arctic-O

And in that bog there was a kelp,

A rare kelp, a rattlin' kelp.

With the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that kelp there was a krill,

A rare krill, a rattlin' krill.

With the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that krill there was a fish,

A rare fish, a rattlin' fish.

With the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that fish there was a seal,

A rare seal, a rattlin' seal.

With the fish in the seal,

And the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that seal there was a walrus,

A rare walrus, a rattlin' walrus.

With the seal in the walrus,

And the fish in the seal,

And the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that walrus there was a whale,

A rare whale, a rattlin' whale.

With the walrus in the whale, 

And the seal in the walrus,

And the fish in the seal,

And the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that whale there was a human,

A rare human, a rattlin' human.

With the whale in the human,

And the walrus in the whale,

And the seal in the walrus,

And the fish in the seal,

And the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

Eating that human there was a bear,

A polar bear, a rattlin' bear.

With the human in the bear,

And the whale in the human,

And the walrus in the whale,

And the seal in the walrus,

And the fish in the seal,

And the krill in the fish,

And the kelp in the krill,

And the kelp in the bog,

And the bog up in the arctic-O.

The replenishing of nutrients improves health.

The perception of improved health may be experienced immediately. 

Most cultures have or had mythologies, rituals, and/or religious ceremonies involving the eating of raw flesh. 

It is obvious that a source of the superstitions is a combination of pride and excitement in successful hunting and the relative perception between exhausted nutrition and the sudden onset of an overwhelming sense of health.

Wetaskiwin.

The Chitsonim dubbed the Pharisees: "The Seekers Of Smooth Things" in fragments 3 and 4 of the Pesher Nahum (4Q169) of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

The term was an insult of those who had appealed to Demetrius III Eucaerus in opposition to Alexander Jannaeus.

The Pesher Nahum describes The Seekers as an organized violent group responsible for numerous deaths. They are blamed for misleading kings, princes, priests, and the nation in opposition to the divine plan. 

More on that tragic tradition... on another day.

Punishment suggested in the Temple Scroll for those who oppose god is to be "hanged on a tree" - crucified - until death.

The Chitsonim were allied with King Jannaeus, a particularly prominent opponent to the Pharisees, who after defeating Demetrius, crucified 800 Pharisaic dissidents and had their families killed while enjoying a feast.

Usury was forbidden throughout all of Ancient Israel.

"If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor, neither shall ye lay upon him interest" (Ex. 22:24). 

"...if thy brother be waxen poor and his means fail with thee… Take no interest of him or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals [provisions, living necessities] for increase" (Lev. 25:35–37). 

"Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of victuals [provisions, living necessities], interest of anything that is lent upon interest. Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto…" (Deut. 23:20–21).

"He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase" is among "evil men" (Prov. 28:8). 

"He that putteth not out his money on interest" is upright and righteous (Ps. 15:5). 

In the prophecies of Ezekiel usury was mentioned in the context of larceny, adultery, homicide, and other "abominations" that are worthy of death (18:11–13). 

The "Mark Of The Beast" was - or is said to be - "666".This "sign" is prophetically expected to be placed on the forehead and right hand of all people.  The placement of these signs are directly counter to - and blasphemous of - phylactery use.  The Teffilin - discipline symbolized as tiny scrolls representing the Torah within leather boxes attached to leather straps - are bound upon the forehead and the left hand of Jewish men. 

The significance of the number "666" is the yearly personal credit of 666 gold talents demanded by King Solomon, who failed to observe the "Ten Commandments" (or the "Laws Of Moses", "Book Of Moses", "The Law", etc.) in his profound gluttony of all things.

In Revelations 6:6, John Of Patmos relates as post-humous testimony from Jesus/YHWH that "...I heard like a voice in midst of the four living creatures, saying 'A choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenixes of barley for a denarius, and the oil and the wine not you should injure.'"

https://biblehub.com/text/revelation/6-6.htm

That is - the price and quality of basic goods necessary for worship must be maintained as both inexpensive and precious. 

The Sanhedrin was the bi-cameral (two-chambered) governmental office of the Sadducees and the Pharisees under the authority of the High Priest.  Among the many responsibilities and powers of the Sanhedrin was the imposition of tithes (religious taxes for the Temple of generally 10%), and expenditure of Temple finances. The Sanhedrin was not always equal parts Pharisee to Sadducee, and in the early First Century Sadducean influence had been rendered inconsequential.

The "Fifth Woe" of Jesus referred to laws of tithing in burdensome minuteness, created by the Pharisees as the Sanhedrin. The smallest plants that could be preserved had become associated with a responsibility to tithe 10% of them to the Temple. Not only the seeds, but, even the leaves and stalks of produce became expected to be tithed. These are, in large part, some of the burdens mentioned in Matthew 23:4 "They tie up burdens heavy and hard to bear and lay on the shoulders of men.  Themselves however, with finger of them, not are they willing to move them."

The descriptive title is an insult - and is really quite witty.  

Only people with smooth hands are able to feel smooth things, and only people who do not work have smooth hands.    To the sardonic perspective of the Chitsonim, Sadducees, and other righteous Israelites, the Pharisees must primarily be "Seekers Of Smooth Things", because they appear to preserve smooth hands at all costs.

You could be doing so many other things, but you've decided to be here.

Reading this. 

You could stop now. 

This would segue nicely into this book - that if you haven't read it by now, your parents simply didn't love you.

You could come back to another post later.

It's not too late. 

You probably won't like this. 

Very much like we don't have earlids, what is seen cannot be unseen, you know. 

Fine. 

You've been warned. 

So there was this Jew. 

He was doomed to be executed by the state. 

His last meal, unlike... 

Bundy 

Bin Laden 

or 

Ruben Cantu

...was a Pesach Seder (Passover Supper).

There are conflicting reports and opinions about the dinner - and none as afflicting as mine - but they all seem to agree that He suggests that the food and drink (bread with oil, and wine) are by whatever means His "flesh" and "blood". 

That's weird. 

I mean... that's deeply unsettlingly weird. 

Whether this is Jesus or not...  whether or not the substances are literal or figurative...  what is being discussed and perhaps performed is some form of cannibalism. 

I'm not judging, I'm just saying... 

Since then, bajillions of people have shared the experience in varieties of ways, literally "communing" it in "Communion". Ew. 

You could stop now. 

You could get a bit mad at me for being icky, and a bit mad at yourself for not heeding my warnings. 

You could go to www.thingsmygirlfriendandIhavearguedabout.com, where the content is decidedly more funny and beguiling than this.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

...but you didn't.

So, there's this Jew, and death, and dinner and things. 

In the few days prior to the paschal feast, He is anointed as for burial by Mary. 

The oil that he was bathed with was extremely expensive. 

It contained olive oil and myrrh (μύρου/myrou).

In many ancient cultures, people bathed and were bathed with oil. 

Often the oil was perfumed with expensive tinctures. 

Common oil wouldn't have been wasted, much less uncommon and special oil. 

In Egypt, where the people who would become Israel gained many cultural characteristics, myrrh oil was routinely and almost exclusively used in the preparation of bodies for burial.

There was this contraption... 

...like the love child of a butter knife and a paint roller... 

...called a "strigil". 

The strigil was used to scrape the oil off of skin after bathing. 

With the oil, dead skin cells were removed along with dirt and dried hummus and whatever. 

It's too late, now. 

I told you so. 

So... when Jesus said of the bread and oil: "...this is my body...", it is the most reasonable conclusion that what he actually meant was "...this oil that you are to dip the bread into contains dust-like particles from my body...". 

Jesus - a priest to the age after the Order of Melchi Zedek - was an old-fashioned guy:

"Among the Hebrews and Arabs, and indeed among many other peoples both ancient and modern, the laceration of the flesh in mourning is associated with the practice of shaving the head or cutting off part of the hair and act of communion consoles the survivors; but in the oldest times the consolation has a physical basis; thus the Arabian solwan or draught that makes the mourner forget his grief, consists of water with which is mingled dust from the grave, a form of communion precisely similar in principle to the Australian usage of eating a small piece of the corpse.  There is a tendency at present, in one school of anthropologists, to explain all death customs as due to fear of ghosts. But among the Semites, at any rate, almost all death customs, from the kissing of the corpse onwards, are dictated by an affection that endures beyond the grave."

• The Religion Of The Semites, William Robert Smith

Here we are. 

There was the old you, that hadn't really considered the wafer or bread cube or whatever... and now... you can't unknow that you are at least mimicking an ancient cannibalistic ritual during Communion. 

Pliny's account of the Qumran group (if it were a single group) is so wrong that it cannot be said to have been written by someone who had witnessed them. I suspect that he had read Josephus and more likely Philo, and added whatever commentary he based on anecdotal experience or conjecture. He was a magnificent blow-hard, and records of his extremely expensive ego are of great value and speculation:

Pliny the Elder, Natural History 6. 195 : "Then come regions that are purely imaginary : towards the west are . . . the Cynamolgi, who have dogs' heads."

Josephus' account of the Qumran group is decidedly politicized. The destruction of Israel - and Judaism - was Josephus' chosen life (though he hadn't great options to choose from). Tiny details, such as displaced Temple Priests descended from Zadok, and some guys named John The Baptist and Jesus The Christ making a bit of a fuss, were not afforded much if any detail, interest, or importance within his accounts. 

Philo is the earliest extant record of the Qumran sect being called the "Essenes":

EGMIF - Chapter XII. (75) ... There is a portion of those people called Essenes, in number something more than four thousand in my opinion, who derive their name from their piety, though not according to any accurate form of the Grecian dialect, because they are above all men devoted to the service of God, not sacrificing living animals, but studying rather to preserve their own minds in a state of holiness and purity.... (91) and yet no one... ...was ever able to bring any real accusation against the multitude of those called Essenes or Holy. 

Philo appears to reveal - if not be - the origin of the misnaming of the sect.  The confusion came from misinterpretations of Greek language.

They were considered "The Holy", and would not have argued against that characterization. 

"Holy" is "hosion" or "osion", and the term "Essene" is neither a long stretch phonetically (o-sion vs ess-ene, osioµn vs essaioµn), nor is the general appearance and function different between the the displaced priests and other priests with a similar name.

https://biblehub.com/greek/3741.htm

The Qumran group did not identify themselves as "Essenes", and the word "Essene" cannot be found anywhere within their archaeological record. 

At all.  

Ever.

Not once.

Actual "Essenes" were priests from - and descended from - the Temple Of Artemis, who had very little in common with the people at Qumran, except their wardrobe.

The Qumran group rarely expressed themselves as apart from Israel-proper, except to account for themselves as "haChitsonim" - "The Outsiders".

Within Judaism there are dietary restrictions, allowances, and requirements. They are based on the remembrance and observation of religious principals. Many of the origins of these disciplines have not been fully understood for thousands of years. Amongst these are details about which insects are kosher and how they can and cannot be prepared by Israelites.  

Locusts were/are kosher:

Leviticus 11:22 "Of them you may eat: the locust (arbeh) according to its kind, the bald locust (salam) according to its kind, the cricket (hargol) according to its kind, and the grasshopper (hagav) according to its kind.”

11QT Temple Scroll XLVIII ... You may eat flying: every kind of great locust, every kind of long-headed locust, every kind of green locust, and every kind of desert locust. 

The Chitsonim ("Outsiders") Priests of Qumran were attempting to revive the origins of Judaism, and with mostly remarkable results. I do not yet trust that their locust list is a chronological interpretation of Leviticus, but I presume it to be highly probable. 

If the Sons Of Light were transliterating directly, then: 

locust = great locust 

bald locust = long-headed locust 

cricket = green locust 

grasshopper = desert locust

Within the Damascus Document (found in Qumran and Egypt) there are stipulations as to how locusts may be prepared. They must be either immolated (burned) or drowned. These recipes appear to avoid causing the death of the insect by crushing. 

Damascus Document Chapter 12: And all species of locusts shall be put into fire or water while still alive… ...Let no man pollute his soul with any living and swarming creatures by eating of them... 

This would be a particular nuisance to a Nazarite, who is more likely to subsist on kosher insects, as John The Baptist was and did. It wouldn't be enough to simply catch the insects, but one would have to either kindle a fire or locate a water source before it could be eaten. Insect storage would also be effected, requiring groceries of the field not to be crushed. 

FUN FACTS! 

spoiler

I once attempted to observe the conditions of a Nazarite vow. The prohibition against coming into contact with a dead thing is especially difficult. Gelatins are most often animal by-products and are ubiquitous in modern food products. My vigilance ended while eating delicious forbidden marmalade. It contained a concentration of white grapes, and I hadn't read the package prior to gnoshing. 

ㅤ

I suspect that the observances of slaughter by drowning or burning avoid the means of preparation used in sacrificial rituals in other nations. 

One record of such an offering is found in the Testament Of Solomon - who fell in love with a Shunammite/Shulammite woman.  The Song of Solomon features a bride of Solomon who is almost certainly the same individual, whom Solomon agreed to sacrificial worship of Remphan and Moloch for.   According to the Testament, when the King crushed five locusts in his hand, the spirit of God departed from him immediately, and he became a laughingstock. 

The idolatry was completely forbidden - but his nose was open to expand the Royal Harem. 

The record of Mesopotamian culture is insufferably dense. According to ancient sources, Yahweh was a Storm God. He was often depicted as riding a chariot in the clouds, and occasionally depicted with His Queen Consort Asherah.  He swung His Royal Chariot low in a divine whirlwind in the ascension of Elijah.

He later took human form as Jesus, and his early adulthood is unaccounted for. I am unaware of a source within which Jesus pimps a ride, but he may have built a hot rod.  It could easily be that over the last two millenia that if lampoil were running low, a scribe's hand or concentration failing, an authority deeming it superfluous, or processed animal hide parchment in poor supply, tiny details could be lost. It seemingly would be of little consequence to most whether or not a Son Of Man had a hobby or pet project.

According to Genesis 4:22 Tubal-Cain instructed every craftsman in bronze and iron.

Super.  Metal is fun.  I like metal.

I have no idea who taught ancient Mesopotamians how to fish, cut rocks, weave baskets, read, or cook.

I do, for whatever extremely expensive reason know that Tubal-Cain (who has arguably the weirdest name of the era) was the metal guy.  

Azazel was the "fallen" angel (Watcher/Annunaki/etc.) that was the first to commit blasphemy by teaching forbidden knowledge:

The Book Of Enoch Chapter 8

1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways.

The Second Book Of Adam And Eve Chapter 20 

1 After Cain had gone down to the land of dark soil, and his children had multiplied therein, there was one of them, whose name was Genun, son of Lamech The Blind who slew Cain. 2 But as to this Genun, Satan came into him in his childhood; and he made sundry trumpets and horns, and string instruments, cymbals and psalteries, and lyres and harps. and flutes; and he played on them at all times and at every hour. 3 And when he played on them, Satan came into them, so that from among them were heard beautiful and sweet sounds, that ravished the heart.... 7 Then Satan when he saw that they yielded to Genun and hearkened to him in every thing he told them, rejoiced greatly, increased Genun's understanding, until he took iron and with it made weapons of war.

Tubal-Cain/Azazel/Azrael/Genun/another representation of Satan/another representation of The Great Serpent/etc. was the seventh generation from Eve through Cain. 

Enoch (3292 - 2927 BC) was the sixth generation from Eve through Seth. 

They were contemporary.

The Watchers/Giants/Nephilim/Annunaki of Enoch's records are contemporary to Genesis 4.

Enoch (or "Ḥanokh" from a Hebrew root meaning "consecrate, initiate") is recorded as being the author of at least 30 and perhaps as many as 366 texts, and the first person to receive ascension (becoming Metatron in Heaven in his 365th year). 

If the Book Of Genesis (Bereshit) was not written by Enoch, then the Book Of Genesis was surely written by a later hand. 

Without Enochic literature, Genesis simply cannot be understood, and Genesis was evidently written with regard to the prior existence of the materials within Enochic texts.

Enochic literature must be canonized to every individual that properly appreciates it.

Ted Bundy confessed to murdering 30 women, and is surely to have done much worse. 

His most effective characteristics were attention to detail, and an unfathomable self-confidence. 

This insignificant necrophile was of somewhat above average intelligence, but he wasn't as clever as he was made to appear.

I won't go so far as to say that he was an iteration of a series of criminal conspiracies against the sexuality of women that date back at least to - and probably through - "Jack The Ripper", and may be some explanation how many of Canada's best women have been murdered or gone missing. 

He was assisted often, and knew how to create favouritism (perhaps by recording a television episode's audio on a cassette tape during self-reporting so that at least one Justice System Participant would be paid to listen to it - and expected by whatever means to be ingratiated). 

He chose to be a foolish client that had himself for a lawyer, but, all things considered, very likely extended his days further than professional council could have. 

One of the many means by which he gained leverage was to propose - and assert - marriage to his only witness within the context of his trial: 

"Carole.  Do you want to marry me?"  

"Yes."  

"And I want to marry you."  

"Yes."  

"And I do want to marry you."   smirks in psychopathic legaleze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkjfyERs5Jc

Mr. Bundy was aware that he had not become engaged to be married, but had instantaneously become married due to judicial notice. 

Because there was a presiding Judge present to the marital vow, the basic necessary legal conditions of marriage had been met in the State of Florida. 

Jesus doesn't seem to have killed anyone - at least directly. 

He couldn't be held responsible for modern cultural notions such as "Jesus Take The Wheel", or what I consider to be the fictitious edition of the Gospel Of Mark that advocates snake handling and other unconscionable nonsense. 

He is said to have been an exceptional scholar, and also appears to have been aware of judicial notice. 

In ancient Mesopotamia, it was customary to anoint guests according to their social standing:

"The House of Shammai say, 'one holds the cup of wine in his right hand and the perfumed oil in his left. He recites the benediction over the wine and afterward recites the blessing over the oil.' And the House of Hillel say, 'One holds the perfumed oil in his right hand and the cup of wine in his left. He recites the benediction over the oil and smears it on the head of the servant. If the servant is a disciple of the sages, one smears on the wall, for it is not befitting a disciple of the sages to go about perfumed.'” (t. Ber. 5:29)

When Jesus visited Simon the Pharisee for dinner at his house, the dignitary neglected to provide the simple courtesy of anointment, and perhaps avoided it for the very purpose that I assert it was later accomplished.  That would have been a reasonably offensive social faux-pas.  The dignitary wouldn't have been lacking either oil or practice in social graces. 

After this insult had been committed, a "sinful" woman entered the government official's building. Perhaps she'd been there before, and more than likely she was expected.  She appears to be recognized and known, and otherwise traipses into high security areas like a ninja-prostitute stealthing on rooftops. 

Ancient schmeckles - it's what's for dinars.

She brought myrrh oil - the most essential element of the consecration of something or someone to Israel - and anointed Jesus under the witness of the Pharisee. 

In so anointing, the heir of the lineage of King David became an anointed King:

"Art thou king of Jews?" 

"Thou sayest."

The effect was quite the opposite to Mr. Bundy's results when it was publicly expressed: 

"I.N.R.E." 

Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum  (Jesus of Nazareth King of Jews)

"It appears that you would like to argue against something, but of the two of us, I am not the only one who doesn't know what that is." - Anon

Lemmy - or the "Fediverse" - is not still fledgling, but is not yet developed. It is an alternative to sites like Reddit, -Chan, etc., but it is neither as popular nor as sophisticated. Its functionality is not yet equal to the general image board standards of more than a decade ago.

Lemmy.ca/c/Religion is of exceptional quality. Says me.

Many of these posts contain somewhat controversial material. What they thus far do not contain, are any comments or posts apart from my own.

My actions and choices - past, present, or future - are never to be recognized as participation in, or consent to, or association with, or acceptance of, any Masonic activities, any activities of a Children's Aid Society or similar, any activities of a secret society, any activities of a faith-based group, any rites, or rituals, or superstitions, or any extra-judicial resolutions or inquiries.

Faith-based terrorism is pervasive in some modern cultures. That is, the intent to compel any person, by fear, to do or not do any thing, reasoned by ideological means, exists. It is and has historically been among the greatest harms of humanity, and is not prosecuted often enough.

It appears to have manifested on this sub-forum, and is unacceptable anywhere.

Individuals may separate their agency from association. That is, a person who I might recognize as a member of a faith-based group, presumably has facets of their life which are unrelated and unassociable.

For example, Simone Giertz might preclude a statement from association with her former Regency, such as: "I am not now speaking as the former Queen Of Shitty Robots..." (sad Toy Story vibes, there). She might also just leave the crown and scepter on the mantel.

Participation in Lemmy.ca/c/Religion - and interaction with me in general - couldn't necessitate association with faith. I discriminate against faith, and people that don't. I know. I know. The irony isn't lost on me.

This isn't intended to be DRHOY's sub-forum. Post anything of substance. The Ten Commandments have been lost many times in history, and have only relatively recently been re-recovered (by me, like, 2,500 years since their last appearance). Not everything can be revelations from Mount Sinai.

Ask questions if you would like me to attempt to answer them.

Argue against my posts or comments - or each others - as individuals. Someone tried to tell me I was wrong, once. I have to assume that it's at least possible. Perhaps you will be able to wrest a figurative "Excalibur" out of my thick-necked stubbornness.

Pffft.

The Başbük divine procession panel contains a baby or fetus on or in the belly of Queen Consort Astarte/Atargatis/Ishtar/Ishara/Asherah/ʿAțtart, a flower on the genital region of King Hadad/Haddu/Haddad/Adad/Iškur/Ebla/Hadda/Teshub/Pidar/Rapiu/Baal-Zephon/(later "Yahweh"), and a vessel in which the flowers have come or are being placed.

The King is planting perhaps tulips as symbolic of having impregnated his wife. It may be that the pregnancy may be symbolic of their creation of the entirety of nature. They are followed by the moon god Sîn; and the sun god Šamaš.

It may be that people being conditioned to the King's theology were led up those stairs toward the outside, influenced by the mural and the explanation of it, and then welcomed into the "Kingdom", outside.

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/hsSBKGmQ82wKa9Hn8s9Y9C-970-80.jpg.webp

While Turkey is the modern country which contains what was described as the "Garden Of Eden", the region that Başbük is in is not a contender as having been the fount of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/12/science/12tb-chamber2/12tb-chamber2-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp

Original Image credit: photographs by Y. Koyuncu and M. Önal; interpretative drawings by M. Önal, based on laser scan by Cevher Mimarlık; Antiquity Publications Ltd

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/17/science/12tb-chamber1/12tb-chamber1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp

According to schedule within ancient Judaic prophecies, at the time of the “Rapture” the individuals “taken” are not the “good”.

For the righteous there is a promise of a holy war to commence after 1000 years of blissful life with Jesus on Earth.    The “Rapture” is the First Death (en masse) of the less than acceptable humans, and the arrival of Jesus/YHWH on Earth.

Matthew 24:39-42 (Darby) 39 and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40 Then two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; 41 two [women] grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be dug through [into]. 44 Wherefore ye also, be ye ready, for in that hour that ye think not the Son of man comes. 45 Who then is the faithful and prudent bondman whom his lord has set over his household, to give them food in season? 46 Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus. 47 Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all his substance. 48 But if that evil bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, 49 and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken; 50 the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, 51 and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

A “Lord” is an individual who has possession of land, and some control over the people within it.

Revelation 20 (Darby) 1 And I saw an angel descending from the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent who is [the] devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut [it] and sealed [it] over him, that he should not any more deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be loosed for a little time. 4 And I saw thrones; and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus, and on account of the word of God; and those who had not done homage to the beast nor to his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand; and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years: 5 the rest of the dead did not live till the thousand years had been completed. This [is] the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy he who has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed from his prison, 8 and shall go out to deceive the nations which [are] in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number [is] as the sand of the sea. It may be fair to interpret the “four corners of the Earth” as unknown and unknowable regions.  These are where the dead are kept in Sheol until Judgement Day.

Paul seems to understand most of the order of operations of the Rapture, but fails shamefully:

1 Thessalonians 4 (Darby) 14 For if we believe that Jesus has died and has risen again, so also God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15 (For this we say to you in [the] word of [the] Lord, that we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep; 16 for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 17 then we, the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in [the] clouds, to meet the Lord in [the] air; and thus we shall be always with [the] Lord.

I am certainly not slow to correct the ignorance of the Impostle Saul.  He is the only author I am aware of that feels a need to add flying people to the event, and is in obnoxious ambiguity of what qualifies an individual as righteous or unrighteous with respect to the Rapture:  “…we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep…”.  This is the defining difference between the righteous and the unrighteous tillers, grinders, and bondmen - that they cared for themselves and others.

The state of the Earth following the Rapture would not be the discarded clothing of good “Christians”.

If a "Rapture" occurred, it would be self-evident that you:

1  ...are somehow evidently dead...

...or...

2  ...are alive, nearly everyone else is missing (and dead, but elsewhere), Jesus is on Earth and getting loud, and things are going to be cool for about 1000 years while the less righteous - or perhaps zealous - await Judgement Day in Sheol (the experience of which ranges from sleep, through honoured pleasure, to righteous improvement).

"I offered incense in front of the mountain-ziggurat.

Seven and seven cult vessels I put in place, and underneath I poured reeds, cedar, and myrtle.

The gods smelled the savor, the gods smelled the sweet savor, and collected like flies over a sacrifice."

~ The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11

Mm-mnm-mnnm!

Gilly had probably been taught that Elohim had separated the waters above from the waters below.

There were, of course, waters above.

It was obvious every time the "waters above" became the raindrops that kept falling on his head.

Gilgamesh would have been considerate of which gods to placate, and what those particular gods might like best.

The Deluge had lasted 7 days, and for 7 days following the end of the Great Flood, no-one dared to leave the boat.

The "7 and 7" bowls are representative of the length of the flood, and the fearful respect they demonstrated by not leaving the boat for an equal amount of time.

I think that the survivors wanted to give the gods some of their water back - but only nicely perfumed water.

How To: Recreate Gilgamesh's Post-Flood Incense Offering To The Gods

What you'll need:

• stones

• cedar

• papyrus

• myrtle

• sticks

• water

• 7 bowls

Steps:

1 - build a fire

2 - separate the fire into two fires

3 - reserve separated fire

4 - build stone altar on original fire

5 - add some hot coals from reserved fire to stone altar, allowing coals to settle between stones

6 - pound papyrus, cedar, and myrtle

7 - soak pounded papyrus, cedar, and myrtle

8 - add prepared papyrus, cedar, and myrtle to hot altar stones

9 - use wet sticks to add seven bowls of hot coals from reserved fire to altar

10 - use wet sticks to replace coals in bowls as necessary to continue steaming the papyrus, cedar, and myrtle

11 - moisten the papyrus, cedar, and myrtle as necessary to avoid creating a burnt offering

12 - get warm, dry-ish, smell the rotting drowned corpses less, and convince yourself that you have particularly pleased and/or appeased the gods associated with water and storm

Joseph ben Heli met a girl at church.

They became betrothed.

He realized that his fiancé was pregnant by someone else ~~during an intimate moment on their wedding day~~.

At that moment, they were on the cusp between engagement and marriage.

She was probably between 15 and 17 years old at this time.

If she had been raped, then she had chosen not to report the crime, and could be considerable as guilty of adultery.

If the pregnancy were consensual, then there are very few possibilities remaining that would allow for her to become betrothed to Joe without committing adultery.

Some possibilities are that her previous partner had:

• become unfit for marriage in general (kicked by a mule, e.g.)

• become unfit for marriage to an Israelite in general (banished, e.g.)

• been unfit for marriage to an Israelite (one of those rare Girgashites, e.g.)

• realized that he was innocently in an ineligible couple (accidental incest, e.g.)

• died.

"Joseph now the husband of her righteous being and not willing her to expose publicly resolved secretly to send away her."

Deciding secretly to "send away her" could mean a few things:

• Joseph would hide Mary and her condition from the public, and delay the announcement of the child.

• Joseph would hide Mary and her condition from the public, and the baby would be secretly aborted. The value of a fetus - if any - was to be appraised by the father, but if he were absent, the assessment would reasonably fall to the pregnant woman or her new partner.

• Joseph would report Mary and her condition to the High Priest, perhaps resulting in an ordeal of bitter water. Through this, YHWH would be expected to intervene from the Mercy Seat if Mary were honourable.

• Joseph would defer surrogate husbandry to another man.

It seems that Joltin' Joe chose to take Mary on an extensive pseudo-honeymoon tour to obfuscate the term and messianic nature of her pregnancy.

Mary was from Nazareth, but was constantly found at Temple in Jerusalem around the time that she and Joseph became a thing.

Joseph was from Bethlehem, near Jerusalem.

~~According to only The Gospel Of Matthew, Jesus was born in Nazareth.~~

~~Mary was a 15 year old troubled teen in labour in her own hometown, but was forced to give birth in a barn.~~

~~Her parents were still living.~~

~~There must have been a significant reason not to birth the child at her parent's house. They, of course, would know the term of her pregnancy wasn't apparently kosher, but evidently couldn't be assuaged with a "divine insemination theory".~~

. . .

spoiler

Luke and The Protoevangelium Of James are in perfect agreement; Jesus was born in desperate conditions in Bethlehem.

. . .

Next stops:

Jerusalem (taxes, taxes, and taxes) --->

Bethlehem --->

Egypt --->

Nazareth.

Jesus was not 80 years old when they finally settled in Nazareth, despite having taken a round trip ticket to Egypt.

Some or all of the Temple scrolls (Dead Sea Scrolls, e.g.) would have been "embalmed". 

The sacred scriptures would have received the same treatments given to other "skins" in the traditional history of the Chosen People, as early as their captivity in Egypt. 

Traces of myrrh are the most likely to be in recognizable quantity.

The “Feeding of the 5,000”, is in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:31–44; Luke 9:12–17; and John 6:1–14).

(TLDR: 5,000 people were fed from bottomless baskets with 5 loaves and two fish, resulting in 12 baskets of waste.)

The “Feeding of the 4,000”, with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, is in Matthew 15:32–39 and Mark 8:1–9.

(TLDR: 4,000 people were fed from bottomless baskets with 7 loaves and a few small fish, resulting in 7 baskets of waste.)

Then, Jesus gets a bit grumpy with disappointment:

Mark 8 King James Version  14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.  15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.  17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?  18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?  19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.  20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.  21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?

The answer to this question is - they, and we, are told - simple.

The apostles are very nearly called “stupid” for needing it to be explained.

This is not complicated - though it has never been simplified.

It is not so obtuse as to be symbolic of bread rituals or numerology.

They - Jesus and the Apostles - had fed more people with less bread, and it resulted in more waste.

More of the bread provided by the five loaves went uneaten, or was inedible, though it had fed a group that was larger.

A group diminished in number - 5000 reduced to 4000, Jesus’ tour attendance polls were down 20% - was then fed with more loaves that resulted in less waste.

The analogy appears to be about the quality of the bread, and the quality of those eating it.

This is not a matter of symbolic numeric quantity, but qualitative comparison that may be considered either literally or figuratively.

“Bread” may be indicative of food, unity, theology, and/or discipline, in this context.

The gospel was improving with miracles and teachings, and those receiving it were becoming less in number, but greater in understanding.

Another Guru Jew (Jew-Ru?) that is a contender for being “The Christ” to the perspectives of average Jews is travelling around.

He’s the hip new thing, and some people are saying that he is legit.

People check it out. Some of them are unconvinced.

Jesus wasn’t winning over all of the minds of Judaism - he was creating Jews that were either improving in quality or being wasteful of miraculous food.

This is the “sword”, or “Jesus’ Razor” as it were.  

The gathering of waste was a “harbinger”, “omen”, “sign”, or demonstration of the state of Judaism, and lowered expectations.  

So… it’s kind of a bad trajectory.  

This may be recognized as an exercise in preparatory grieving. The parallel passage to the loaves debacle says “Sadducees” instead of “Herodians”:

Matthew 16 King James Version  6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Matthew (which is the only gospel to contain zombies) is the more evidently perverted of the texts, and that’s saying something, considering that Mark becomes a choose-your-own-adventure at the end:

a) Longer Ending [enter the weirdos]

b) Freer Logion [accept a one-of-a-kind ending from an otherwise incomplete text]

c) Shorter Ending [simple… ends with an “Amen”… nothing to see here]

or

d) Abrupt Ending [None of the above.]

The Hasmoneans, Qumranians, Apostles, and Jesus were essentially Sadduceean, and most certainly not Herodian.

It cannot be argued against that the perverter of scripture was either “pro-Herodian” in particular or a monarchist in general.

An authoritarian that was inconsiderate of Judaism - such as Constantine or his ancestors - is a possibility, but the alteration is so minimal in scope (it did not revise the entirety of Jesus’ negative perspectives of or on the Herodian Dynasty) that it seems to be a much smaller mechanism at work.

To blame the scribe would be a cop-out. If he were able to transcribe so much of a gospel correctly, but somehow replace a single word with an opposing one, I assert that her intention is obvious [see what I did there?].

A previous perverter, or the same pervert presumably previously (probably picking a peck of pickled peppers) had attempted to qualify “Christianity” to his understanding (to mine, of his [still with me?]) by revising Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter to include Joseph.

The genealogy in Luke is truly of Joseph, who, being only the adoptive parent of Jesus, isn’t very interesting.

The genealogy in Matthew 1 is, in fact, the actual lineage of Jesus through Mary and also King Solomon, fulfilling prophetic requirements:

YHWH

Adam

Seth

Enos

Cainan

Mahalalel

Jared

Enoch

Methuselah

Lamech

Noah

Shem

Arpachshad

OMITTED  —   Cainan (Presumably removed from his lineage as per Lev. 18:29.)

Salah (Selah)

Eber

Peleg

Reu

Serug

Nahor

Terah

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

Judas (Judah)

Phares (Perez)

Esrom (Hezron)

Aram (Ram)

Aminadab (Amminadab)

Naasson (Nahshon)

Salmon

Booz (Boaz)

Obed

Jesse

David

Solomon

Rehoboam

Abijah

Asa

Jehosaphat

Jehoram

OMITTED  —   Ahaziah   (Presumably removed from his Kingdom and lineage as per Lev. 18:29.)

OMITTED  —   Joash   (Presumably removed from his Kingdom and lineage as per Lev. 18:29.)

OMITTED  —   Amaziah   (Presumably removed from his Kingdom and lineage as per Lev. 18:29.)

Uzziah/Azariah

Jotham

Ahaz

Hezekiah

Manasseh

Amon

Josiah (Josias)

Jehoiakim (Removed from his Kingdom and lineage as per Lev. 18:29.)

Jeconiah/Conaniah (Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Ephraimi offer ιεχονιας, while Bezae offers Iechonias.  He is the genetic son of Jehoiakim ben Josiah, re-titled as the son of his Grandfather, Josiah.)  [Jeremiah 22:30 The Lord saith these things, Write thou this man barren, a man that shall not have prosperity in his days; for of his seed shall be no man, that shall sit on the seat of David, and have power further in Judah.] [Matthew 1:11 Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, into the transmigration of Babylon.]

Shealtiel (Salathiel/Ezra/Esdras - 2nd Esdras)

Zerubbabel (Zorobabel)

Abiud

Eliakim

Azor

Zadok

Achim

Eliud

Eleazar

Matthan

Jacob, Joachim, Ya`iqob, Yaʿaqob, Ya-ah-qu-ub-el, Ya-qu-ub-el, Ιακωβος, Jacobus, (PB-5 of the Protoevangelium of James offers “IAKWB” as the father of Mary)

Mary (preserved in Matthew 1:16 of the Ethiopic Canon)

Jesus

There was an ancient Mesopotamian tradition that survived into Arab cultures with the expression "miḥāsh" - "the burnt ones".

A sacred fire called a "Mia" would be attended by those in conflict, and their disputes settled there.

While the men swore to agreement beside the fire, religious officials would cast salt into it.

It is possible that there is some relative symbolism in the demise of Lot's wife.

Abraham had bargained repeatedly with Elohim prior to the great un-funning of Sodom and Gomorrah, creating some improper sense of parity between the concerns of humans and the will of the gods.

Lot's wife was standing next to the purifying or sacred fires of what had been Sodom and Gomorrah, where Abraham and Elohim agreed to mutual terms.

To correct these unparalleled indiscretions, when Lot's wife expressed further disrespect for divine judgement by so much as pausing to witness the remains, she was transformed into the sacrifice of salt.

To the minds of ancient men, a most authoritative reference of conclusion would have been understood.

To the minds of men in general, the colours produced by salts in fire have retained a simple joy, if not utter fascination.

Did the salt that had been Lot's wife create wondrous flames?

No one dared to look.

This is Hook-Head, Perky, and Wonder-Boy.

I discovered them on the side of an ancient itty bitty little bit of clay or something.

They appear to be Mesopotamian.

I expect that it would have been the property of Wonder-Boy (having "come of age"), given to him by his parents as a "you are welcome to leave the cave... please... now... bye" kind-of-present.

The artist I presume to have been Perky, who wanted her son to always know that he was loved, that his mother was a banger, and that his father might kill him if he comes back too soon.

Perhaps it is an Oedipus Rex-rock.

It is important to me that you understand that anyone with access to a public library can do the same. Tax dollars are money well-spent, and public services are as beneficial and efficient as they are made to be.

Like Hook-Head, Perky, and Wonder-Boy, this representation has been "made from scratch".

https://manuscripts.csntm.org/manuscript/Group/GA_032

The same sense of having "known" (yada/יָדַע) an individual group, person, or god is not merely a vague awareness of existence, but a relative form of intimacy.

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/strongs_3045.htm

In Exodus 6:3, Elohim says that as YHWH He had not been known to the Patriarchs.

https://biblehub.com/text/exodus/6-3.htm

The Patriarchs were aware, however, of the existence of a "god" named YHWH, at least as early as Genesis 4:26, long before Moses and YHWH "knew" each other.

https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/4-26.htm

This difference is further evinced in the knowledge of Israel by YHWH, Who, claims to not have "known" any other nation as of Amos 3:2.  Obviously, YHWH is quoted often of being aware of other nations.

Not known: Exodus 6:3 HEB:  נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי KJV: JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

Known: Amos 3:2 HEB:  יָדַ֔עְתִּי KJV: You only have I known of all the families

In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve are said to have become "known" that they were naked.  After this, they sew together leaves to cover themselves.  This covering is more likely to have been a weaved blanket than loincloths.  YHWH calls, and they hide from Him.  The fruit of the Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil is considered the cause of the revelation of "knowing" their nakedness.

Until this point, YHWH had not commanded that His creation "be fruitful and multiply", and the very terminology used in being "fruitful" ought not be lost in translation.

YHWH then affords His people with tunics made of hide, and banishes them from the Garden Of Eden.

Adam "knows" Eve's nakedness again, and she is or becomes pregnant.

According to scripture:  "Now the man knew Eve his wife conceived and gave Cain and said 'I have got a man from [or with] YHWH'".

https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/4-1.htm

The characteristics of Cain are similar to the Jealous God.  It is also through the lineage of Cain that the Watchers, Nephilim, Giants, and Azazel are born.

Whether Abel was Adam's son is of little interest, since he has no progeny, and appears to live only to exemplify the contrasting differences of his brother.  The Jealous God is graceless in refusing a gift from His firstborn, who then, in a fit of - you might have guessed it - ***jealous ***rage, kills his brother.

Seth is the first child that is obviously and unambiguously Adam's. 

The divine influence from the breath of YHWH through Adam and Eve, and into Seth was less pronounced than the divine insemination of Cain's lineage. 

YHWH is quoted as saying "not strive my Spirit man forever also he is flesh become his days hundred and twenty years", indicating that the life expectancy of the lineage of Seth would decline to as much as 120 years.   

https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/6-3.htm

According to ancient Judaic texts, democratic will is not superior to correctness.

Amen, I say to you how many if you shall bind on the Earth, shall be bound in Heaven; and how many if you shall loose on the Earth, shall be loosed in Heaven.

https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/18-18.htm

Again, Amen I say to you that if two might agree of you on the Earth about any matter, that if they shall ask, it will become for them from the Father of Me Who is in Heaven.

https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/18-19.htm

Where for are two or three gather unto the My Name there am I in midst of them.

https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/18-20.htm

This statement is neither that YHWH/Jesus is somehow more present to gathered people, or is less present to a single individual.  

This expression is in direct opposition to the superiority of minyans (most generally minimums of either 7 or 10 adult males in agreement), and the authority of "Rabbinic" law.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minyan

Minyans had been required by Rabbinic (Pharisaic) law to perform priestly blessings according to interpretations of 

Leviticus 22:32  And I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel

and 

Numbers 16:21  Separate yourselves from the midst of the congregation.

Within this context, YHWH/Jesus is speaking directly to "The" - and not "some" - disciples.  By this, it may be inferred that His audience is the close inner social circle including some of the 12 apostles, and/or other close associates.  To these intimate companions He is conferring confidence in their judgement of His will - especially when agreeing amongst themselves - and assurance of special consideration due to their exceptional experience of Him.

By this means of accordant accession, many of the inaccuracies of Herod, Saul, Constantine, and others may be excluded from consideration.

SHABBAT SHALOM!