October 31, 2009

• The Book of Isaiah Chapter 1 V.13

  The last entry on this series can be found here.

  Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

  Vain – vanity, falsehood, emptiness, nothingness, vanity, emptiness of speech, lying, worthlessness (of conduct)

  Oblations – gift, tribute, offering (to God), present, oblation, sacrifice, meat offering, grain offering.

  Incense – incense, smoke, odor (sweet smoke) of (burning) sacrifice, perfume

  Is an abomination – a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable, in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages), in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)

  New moon – the new moon, month, monthly, the first day of the month, the lunar month

  Sabbaths – Sabbath
  a) sabbath
  b) day of atonement
  c) sabbath year
  d) week
  e) produce (in sabbath year)

  The calling – 1) to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim
  a) (Qal)
  1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound
  2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)
  3) to proclaim
  4) to read aloud, read (to oneself), read
  5) to summon, invite, call for, call and commission, appoint, call and endow
  6) to call, name, give name to, call by
  b) (Niphal)
  1) to call oneself
  2) to be called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named
  c) (Pual) to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen

  Of Assemblies – convocation, convoking, reading, a calling together
  a) convocation, sacred assembly
  b) convoking
  c) reading

  I cannot away with – to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able
  a) (Qal)
  1) to be able, be able to gain or accomplish, be able to endure, be able to reach
  2) to prevail, prevail over or against, overcome, be victor
  3) to have ability, have strength

  Even the solemn meeting – assembly, solemn assembly
  a) assembly (sacred or festive meeting)
  b) assemblage, company, group

  In other words, stop bringing me worthlessness offerings/gifts; your sacrifice is a disgusting thing to me; the monthly days of atonement, the proclamations and reading, I cannot endure; I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

  Here, we already know a little about these New Moon festivals. It’s some monthly thing that the Jews were doing, allegedly as a form of worship to God. Maybe they were doing it out of obligation, or maybe it just became like a party thing to them, and they were leaving God out of the equation. Their intent and purpose may have been more about the celebration, than about the One being celebrated. However, I wanted a bit more info.

  Month:
  Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the month among the Jews was lunar. The cycle of religious feasts depended on the moon. The commencement of a month was determined by the observation of the new moon. The number of months in the year was usually twelve (1Ki 4:7; 1Ch 27:1-15); but every third year an additional month (ve-Adar) was inserted, so as to make the months coincide with the seasons.
  “The Hebrews and Phoenicians had no word for month save ‘moon,’ and only saved their calendar from becoming vague like that of the Moslems by the interpolation of an additional month. There is no evidence at all that they ever used a true solar year such as the Egyptians possessed. The latter had twelve months of thirty days and five epagomenac or odd days.”, Palestine Quarterly, January 1889.
  

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