Thursday, March 29, 2012

Tomb? What tomb?

“Looking at the end of Moses’ life, a person encounters a formidable hero, a prophet, the only one God 'knew face to face,' enabling him to show 'terror . . . in the sight of all Israel.' However, the higher the praises are, the higher is the awe, and the more religiously significant is the danger of possible idolatry. Against the background of popular worship of a golden calf, it is only natural to expect even more egregious worship of a 'golden tomb' marking Moses’ grave. The golden calf was eliminated after it had been created. The 'golden tomb' should be eliminated before it is created. Hence, naturally, from the related religious point of view, 'no man knoweth of [Moses’] sepulchre unto this day.'”—Jewish Bible Theology, page 60

<idle musing>
It's also interesting that Aaron died up on a mountain somewhere and there is no record of his tomb, either. Knowing humanity's natural penchant for worship, God was merciful to us by not allowing us to know where they are buried.
</idle musing>

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