chapter 19

ATLSTAAM: "This is the ritual."

"What now, oh Lord."

"Bring me a red virgin cow never worked no marks no defects. And burn it."

So Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, had the cow slaughtered, dipped his hand in its hot blood, sprinkled it at the tent and they made a big fire and burnt the cow.

Then they washed on the 3rd and 7th day and had yet another law for ever. Even strangers had to slaughter and burn cows.

One must remember, these are simple primates and haven't started thinking yet.

Our fuckin' forefathers.

Anyone touches a dead person is unclean 7 days. This is a time for cow ashes. And hyssop. Clean on 3rd and 7th day and death to anyone who don't.

This is a law for ever.

chapter 20

The Israelites moved to Zin, seems we are in year 14 now. Of the 40. They stayed at Kadesh and buried Miriam. She was dead.

The several million people were without water and started crying about their home in Egypt. Why hadn't the Lord killed 'em all already. This place is wretched.

So the Lord tells Moses and Aaron to talk to the rock before the whole community.

"Listen you rebels. Do you want water with your manna. Shall we get it from this rock."

So Moses hit the rock with his stick and out came enough water for all the people and beasts. Which means something like a river.

I still find it hard to believe that anyone would make a religion from bad science fiction. But it happens over and over.

The Lord was pissed because he said talk to the rock and Moses hit it. And that people get thirsty in the hot desert.

Then they asked the king of Edom if they could walk on through with a few million people and several million animals.

"No. You come near us, we hack you down."

"It is but a small matter."

"You are a mad unhealthy lot of bloody cattle worshipping ignorant killers. Fuck off."

So they went to Mount Hor, near the land of Edom.

"Moses, since you hit the rock instead of talking to it, Aaron must die."

"Fare enough."

So they hike up the hill, take Aaron's clothes off and put them on Eleazar.

And killed Aaron on the mountain.

The community knew Aaron was dead on the mountain. Murdered by his brother.

So they cryed for 30 days.

chapter 21

When the Canaanite King saw the millions of Israelites, he went to war with them and took prisoners.

So Israel says to the Lord, if you deliver these people unto us, we will kill every last motherfuckin' one of them, their children and their animals and burn down the cities and take only the metal reserves to furnish our tent. Maybe make a few weapons.

So the Lord heard their plea and the army of 600,000 hungry and desert crazy mad men butchered every man, women and child. Every cat, dog, rabbit, cow, duck and pig. Gathered the metal and burnt everything to the ground.

Then they marched from Mount Hor past the Sea of Reeds to check out Edom.

There the soldiers started bitching again. Against God and Moses. Why did we leave Egypt, we got no bread or water. Just fuckin' manna.

So the Lord sent dragons breathing fire. Their bite venomous. And many died.

And the people cryed.

"Okay, we don't need bread or water, tell the Lord to call off the Goddamn venomous dragons."

"Okay, make a dragon on a stick. Look at it when you are bit."

Moses made the holy dragon out of copper and put it on a stick.

Then they marched to Oboth, to lye-alarim, to the wadi Zered, to Arnon, territory of the Amorites.

And something I've seen nowhere else in the bible, a quote from a different book.

It ain't significant but there it is v. 14, 15.

From there to, wait, the book was called, what a surprise: Book of the Wars of the Lord.

Wars of the Lords. Moses wasn't the only tyrant. Even if he didn't exist and the story is fiction, it was written by people who knew how the world was. Fuckin' brutal. We aren't much better now but some. And a few thousand years ain't so very long for a species. With 2 billion years of ancestors and as much future as they chose to take. Up to 100 billion years.

'Cause then the universe, ours, will be dying.

And everything that was, will be not and another universe will be born.

Again.

Then the Lord gave the Israelites water.

And they sang a song about digging a well.

The foreign minister sent a message to King Sihon. "Let us march our 3 million people and animals through your land. We won't touch nothin'.

The King of the Amorites said.

"No."

He took an army out to the Israelite army.

And Israel slaughtered them. Hacked them to pieces. With their swords.

And took their land. From Aaron to Jabbok, as far as Ar (Jazer), I think it's a river. (no, it is a city.) They took all the towns. And the towns in Heshbon and all its dependencies.

A dependency pays to not get slaughtered by a local power. And the local power protects them from other powers who want to plunder. Or murder.

And because a king had stole from another king before the Israelite invasion.

They sang a song.

Something like: We came to a place where a king overpowered another king then we over powered him and everyone else. We are the fuckin' best.

Standard. Dead people seldom made a song to say:

We were working in the field, feeding our family with our yields. Along comes the fuckin' Israelites. Kills us all with sword and dynamite.

But if someone thought to, they might.

Then they marched to Bashan, where King Oz ruled. Always tyrant rule. That is our history.

And the Israelites killed every last mother-fuckin' one of them.


chapters 22 - 25