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| Kiri 95. Melkisedeki õpetused Vahemere idarannikul |
Indeks
Üksikversioon |
Kiri 97. Heebrealaste jumalakäsituse areng |
YAHWEH—GOD OF THE HEBREWS
JAHVE — HEEBREALASTE JUMAL
1955 96:0.1 IN CONCEIVING of Deity, man first includes all gods, then subordinates all foreign gods to his tribal deity, and finally excludes all but the one God of final and supreme value. The Jews synthesized all gods into their more sublime concept of the Lord God of Israel. The Hindus likewise combined their multifarious deities into the “one spirituality of the gods” portrayed in the Rig-Veda, while the Mesopotamians reduced their gods to the more centralized concept of Bel-Marduk. These ideas of monotheism matured all over the world not long after the appearance of Machiventa Melchizedek at Salem in Palestine. But the Melchizedek concept of Deity was unlike that of the evolutionary philosophy of inclusion, subordination, and exclusion; it was based exclusively on creative power and very soon influenced the highest deity concepts of Mesopotamia, India, and Egypt.
2010 96:0.1 KUI INIMENE loob endale ettekujutuse Jumalusest, hõlmab see algul kõiki jumalaid, seejärel allutab ta võõrad jumalad oma hõimu jumalusele ja lõpuks jätab välja kõik peale lõpliku ja ülima väärtusega ainsa Jumala. Juudid ühendasid oma erinevad jumalad ülevamaks Iisraeli Issand Jumala kontseptsiooniks. Hindud liitsid oma mitmekesised jumalused „jumalate ühtseks vaimsuseks”, mis kajastus Rigvedas, mesopotaamlased taandasid oma jumalad aga kesksemaks Beel-Marduki ideeks. Need monoteismiideed küpsesid kõikjal maailmas üsna varsti pärast Machiventa Melkisedeki ilmumist Palestiinas Saalemis. Ent Melkisedeki Jumaluse kontseptsioon ei sarnanenud arengulise filosoofiaga sisse- või väljaarvamisest ja allutamisest; see põhines eranditult looval jõul ja mõjutas üsna pea Mesopotaamia, India ja Egiptuse kõrgeimaid jumalusekontseptsioone.
1955 96:0.2 The Salem religion was revered as a tradition by the Kenites and several other Canaanite tribes. And this was one of the purposes of Melchizedek’s incarnation: That a religion of one God should be so fostered as to prepare the way for the earth bestowal of a Son of that one God. Michael could hardly come to Urantia until there existed a people believing in the Universal Father among whom he could appear.
2010 96:0.2 Saalemi usundit kui pärimust austasid hardalt keenlased ja mitmed teised kaanani hõimud. Ja see oligi Melkisedeki kehastumise üks eesmärke: edendada ainsa Jumala religiooni, et sillutada teed selle ainsa Jumala Poja annetumisele Maa peal. Vaevalt oleks Miikael saanud Urantiale tulla ajal, mil polnud tekkinud Kõiksesse Isasse uskuvat rahvast, kelle hulka ilmuda.
1955 96:0.3 The Salem religion persisted among the Kenites in Palestine as their creed, and this religion as it was later adopted by the Hebrews was influenced, first, by Egyptian moral teachings; later, by Babylonian theologic thought; and lastly, by Iranian conceptions of good and evil. Factually the Hebrew religion is predicated upon the covenant between Abraham and Machiventa Melchizedek, evolutionally it is the outgrowth of many unique situational circumstances, but culturally it has borrowed freely from the religion, morality, and philosophy of the entire Levant. It is through the Hebrew religion that much of the morality and religious thought of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Iran was transmitted to the Occidental peoples.
2010 96:0.3 Saalemi religioon elas Palestiinas keenlaste seas nende usutunnistusena edasi ja seda usundit, mille heebrealased hiljem omaks võtsid, mõjutasid kõigepealt Egiptuse moraaliõpetused, hiljem Babüloonia teoloogiline mõte ning viimasena Iraani hea ja kurja kontseptsioonid[1]. Heebrea usund põhineb tegelikult Aabrahami ja Machiventa Melkisedeki vahelisel lepingul, see on kasvanud lõppkokkuvõttes välja paljudest ainulaadsetest olukordadest ja asjaoludest, kuid on kultuuriliselt vabalt laenatud kogu Vahemere idaranniku religioonist, moraalist ja filosoofiast. Suur osa Egiptuse, Mesopotaamia ja Iraani kõlblusest ning religioossest mõttest kandus õhtumaa rahvastele just heebrea usundi kaudu.
1. DEITY CONCEPTS AMONG THE SEMITES
1. SEMIITIDE ARUSAAMAD JUMALUSEST
1955 96:1.1 The early Semites regarded everything as being indwelt by a spirit. There were spirits of the animal and vegetable worlds; annual spirits, the lord of progeny; spirits of fire, water, and air; a veritable pantheon of spirits to be feared and worshiped. And the teaching of Melchizedek regarding a Universal Creator never fully destroyed the belief in these subordinate spirits or nature gods.
2010 96:1.1 Varased semiidid arvasid, et vaim elab kõiges. Olid looma- ja taimeriigi vaimud, aastavaimud, järelkasvu käskija, tule-, vee- ja õhuvaimud — tõeline vaimude panteon, keda tuli karta ja kummardada. Ja Melkisedeki õpetus Kõiksest Loojast ei hävitanud kunagi päriselt uskumust neisse alamatesse vaimudesse või loodusjumalatesse.
1955 96:1.2 The progress of the Hebrews from polytheism through henotheism to monotheism was not an unbroken and continuous conceptual development. They experienced many retrogressions in the evolution of their Deity concepts, while during any one epoch there existed varying ideas of God among different groups of Semite believers. From time to time numerous terms were applied to their concepts of God, and in order to prevent confusion these various Deity titles will be defined as they pertain to the evolution of Jewish theology:
2010 96:1.2 Heebrealaste liikumine polüteismist henoteismi kaudu monoteismini ei olnud katkematu ja pidev vaadete areng. Nad kogesid oma jumalusekäsituste arengus palju tagasiminekuid, sest igal epohhil leidus semiitide erinevate usklikerühmade seas mitmeid erinevaid arusaamu Jumalast. Aegade jooksul kasutasid nad Jumala mõiste tähistamiseks erinevaid termineid ning segaduste vältimiseks käsitlemegi järgnevalt neid erinevaid Jumaluse nimetusi seoses juudi teoloogia arenguga.
1955 96:1.3 1. Yahweh was the god of the southern Palestinian tribes, who associated this concept of deity with Mount Horeb, the Sinai volcano. Yahweh was merely one of the hundreds and thousands of nature gods which held the attention and claimed the worship of the Semitic tribes and peoples.
1955 96:1.4 2. El Elyon. For centuries after Melchizedek’s sojourn at Salem his doctrine of Deity persisted in various versions but was generally connoted by the term El Elyon, the Most High God of heaven. Many Semites, including the immediate descendants of Abraham, at various times worshiped both Yahweh and El Elyon.
2010 96:1.4 2. El Elyon[3]. Pärast Melkisedeki Saalemis viibimist püsis õpetus sellest Jumalusest erinevates variantides veel sajandeid ja seda tähistati üldise terminiga El Elyon, Kõigekõrgem Jumal taevas. Paljud semiidid, kaasa arvatud Aabrahami otsesed järeltulijad, kummardasid erinevatel aegadel nii Jahvet kui ka El Elyoni.
1955 96:1.5 3. El Shaddai. It is difficult to explain what El Shaddai stood for. This idea of God was a composite derived from the teachings of Amenemope’s Book of Wisdom modified by Ikhnaton’s doctrine of Aton and further influenced by Melchizedek’s teachings embodied in the concept of El Elyon. But as the concept of El Shaddai permeated the Hebrew mind, it became thoroughly colored with the Yahweh beliefs of the desert.
2010 96:1.5 3. El Šaddai[4]. Raske on selgitada, mida El Šaddai esindas. See oli liitidee Jumalast, tuletatud Amenhotepi Tarkuseraamatu õpetustest ja mõjutatud Ehnatoni Atoni-doktriinist ning hiljem Melkisedeki õpetustest, mis sisaldusid El Elyoni idees. Ent kui Šaddai kuju heebrea meelde tungis, andsid sellele värvi kõrbes säilinud uskumused Jahvest.
1955 96:1.6 One of the dominant ideas of the religion of this era was the Egyptian concept of divine Providence, the teaching that material prosperity was a reward for serving El Shaddai.
2010 96:1.6 Üks selle ajajärgu valitsevaid ideid oli Egiptuses levinud seisukoht jumalikust ettehooldusest — õpetusest, et El Šaddai teenimise eest tasutakse ainelise jõukusega.
1955 96:1.7 4. El. Amid all this confusion of terminology and haziness of concept, many devout believers sincerely endeavored to worship all of these evolving ideas of divinity, and there grew up the practice of referring to this composite Deity as El. And this term included still other of the Bedouin nature gods.
1955 96:1.8 5. Elohim. In Kish and Ur there long persisted Sumerian-Chaldean groups who taught a three-in-one God concept founded on the traditions of the days of Adam and Melchizedek. This doctrine was carried to Egypt, where this Trinity was worshiped under the name of Elohim, or in the singular as Eloah. The philosophic circles of Egypt and later Alexandrian teachers of Hebraic extraction taught this unity of pluralistic Gods, and many of Moses’ advisers at the time of the exodus believed in this Trinity. But the concept of the trinitarian Elohim never became a real part of Hebrew theology until after they had come under the political influence of the Babylonians.
2010 96:1.8 5. Elohim[6]. Kišis ja Uuris püsisid pikka aega sumeri-kaldea rühmad, kes õpetasid arusaama kolmainu Jumalast, mis põhines Aadama ja Melkisedeki aegsetel pärimustel. See õpetus kandus Egiptusesse, kus Kolmsust palveldati Elohimi ehk ainsuses Eloahi nime all. Egiptuse filosoofiaringkonnad ja hiljem heebrea päritolu Aleksandria õpetlased õpetasid seda paljude Jumalate ühtsust ja ohtrad Moosese väljarännu aegsed nõuandjad uskusid Kolmsusesse. Tegelikult sai kolmsusliku Elohimi käsitus heebrea teoloogia osaks alles siis, kui heebrealased olid babüloonlaste poliitilise mõju alla langenud.
1955 96:1.9 6. Sundry names. The Semites disliked to speak the name of their Deity, and they therefore resorted to numerous appellations from time to time, such as: The Spirit of God, The Lord, The Angel of the Lord, The Almighty, The Holy One, The Most High, Adonai, The Ancient of Days, The Lord God of Israel, The Creator of Heaven and Earth, Kyrios, Jah, The Lord of Hosts, and The Father in Heaven.
2010 96:1.9 6. Erinevad nimed. Semiitidele ei meeldinud oma Jumaluse nime suhu võtta ja seetõttu kasutasid nad temast rääkides aegade jooksul arvukaid muid nimetusi, näiteks Jumala Vaim, Issand, Issanda Ingel, Kõigevägevam, Püha, Kõigekõrgem, Adonai, Päevilt Vana, Iisraeli Issand Jumal, Taeva ja Maa Looja, Kürios, Jah, Vägede Issand ja Taevaisa[7].
1955 96:1.11 Up to about 2000 B.C., Mount Sinai was intermittently active as a volcano, occasional eruptions occurring as late as the time of the sojourn of the Israelites in this region. The fire and smoke, together with the thunderous detonations associated with the eruptions of this volcanic mountain, all impressed and awed the Bedouins of the surrounding regions and caused them greatly to fear Yahweh. This spirit of Mount Horeb later became the god of the Hebrew Semites, and they eventually believed him to be supreme over all other gods.
2010 96:1.11 Umbes aastani 2000 enne Kristust oli Siinai mägi aeg-ajalt tegutsev vulkaan, mille purskeid esines vahetevahel isegi siis, kui iisraellased juba seda piirkonda asustasid. Vulkaanilise mäe pursetega kaasnev tuli ja suits koos äikesetaoliste plahvatustega jättis ümbruskonna beduiinidele sügava mulje ning tekitas Jahve ees suurt hirmu ja aukartust. See Hoorebi mäe vaim sai hiljem heebrea semiitide jumalaks ja nad hakkasid teda lõpuks kõigist teistest jumalatest kõrgemaks pidama.
1955 96:1.12 The Canaanites had long revered Yahweh, and although many of the Kenites believed more or less in El Elyon, the supergod of the Salem religion, a majority of the Canaanites held loosely to the worship of the old tribal deities. They were hardly willing to abandon their national deities in favor of an international, not to say an interplanetary, God. They were not universal-deity minded, and therefore these tribes continued to worship their tribal deities, including Yahweh and the silver and golden calves which symbolized the Bedouin herders’ concept of the spirit of the Sinai volcano.
2010 96:1.12 Kaananlased olid kaua aega Jahvet hardalt austanud ja kuigi paljud keenlased uskusid suuremal või vähemal määral El Elyoni, Saalemi religiooni ülijumalat, jätkas enamik kaananlasi mõnevõrra ka vanade hõimujumaluste palveldamist. Nad ei olnud sugugi nõus oma hõimujumalusi rahvusvahelise, et mitte öelda planeetidevahelise Jumala nimel maha jätma. Need hõimud ei kippunud uskuma kõikset jumalust ja seetõttu palveldasid jätkuvalt oma hõimujumalusi, kelle hulka kuulusid ka Jahve ning hõbe- ja kuldvasikas, mis sümboliseerisid beduiini karjakasvatajate ettekujutust Siinai vulkaani vaimust.
1955 96:1.14 As man advances in culture, the lesser gods are subordinated to a supreme deity; the great Jove persists only as an exclamation. The monotheists keep their subordinate gods as spirits, demons, fates, Nereids, fairies, brownies, dwarfs, banshees, and the evil eye. The Hebrews passed through henotheism and long believed in the existence of gods other than Yahweh, but they increasingly held that these foreign deities were subordinate to Yahweh. They conceded the actuality of Chemosh, god of the Amorites, but maintained that he was subordinate to Yahweh.
2010 96:1.14 Kui inimene kultuuriliselt areneb, allutatakse madalamad jumalad ülimale jumalusele, suur Jupiter püsib veel vaid hüüatustes. Monoteistidel on madalamad jumalad säilinud vaimudena, deemonitena ja saatusejumalannadena, merenümfidena, haldjatena, härjapõlvlastena, kääbustena, mardustena ja kurja silmana. Heebrealased läbisid henoteismi-perioodi ja uskusid kaua teiste jumalate eksisteerimisse peale Jahve, kuid pidasid neid võõraid jumalusi üha enam Jahvele alluvateks. Nad tunnistasid amoriitide jumala Kemoši olemasolu, kuid väitsid, et ta allub Jahvele.
1955 96:1.15 The idea of Yahweh has undergone the most extensive development of all the mortal theories of God. Its progressive evolution can only be compared with the metamorphosis of the Buddha concept in Asia, which in the end led to the concept of the Universal Absolute even as the Yahweh concept finally led to the idea of the Universal Father. But as a matter of historic fact, it should be understood that, while the Jews thus changed their views of Deity from the tribal god of Mount Horeb to the loving and merciful Creator Father of later times, they did not change his name; they continued all the way along to call this evolving concept of Deity, Yahweh.
2010 96:1.15 Idee Jahvest on kõigist surelike Jumala-teooriatest kõige kaugemale arenenud. Selle pidev areng on võrreldav vaid Buddha metamorfoosiga Aasias, mis viis lõpuks Kõikse Absoluudi mõisteni, nii nagu Jahve viis lõpuks ideeni Kõiksest Isast. Ent ajaloolise tõe huvides tuleks mõista, et kuigi juutide seisukohad Jumalusest kujunesid Hoorebi mäe hõimujumalast hilisema aja armastavaks ja halastavaks Looja-Isaks, ei muutnud nad tema nime, vaid nimetasid seda arenevat Jumalust endiselt Jahveks.
2. THE SEMITIC PEOPLES
2. SEMIIDI RAHVAD
1955 96:2.1 The Semites of the East were well-organized and well-led horsemen who invaded the eastern regions of the fertile crescent and there united with the Babylonians. The Chaldeans near Ur were among the most advanced of the eastern Semites. The Phoenicians were a superior and well-organized group of mixed Semites who held the western section of Palestine, along the Mediterranean coast. Racially the Semites were among the most blended of Urantia peoples, containing hereditary factors from almost all of the nine world races.
2010 96:2.1 Idapoolsed semiidid olid hästiorganiseeritud ja -juhitud ratsamehed, kes tungisid viljaka poolkuu idapiirkondadesse ja ühinesid seal babüloonlastega. Uuri lähedal elanud kaldealased olid arenenuimaid idapoolseid semiite. Foiniiklased olid kõrgeltarenenud ja hästiorganiseeritud segunenud semiitide rühm, kelle valduses oli Palestiina idaosa koos Vahemere rannikuga. Semiidid olid rassiliselt segunenuimaid Urantia rahvaid, kelles leidus peaaegu kõigi üheksa maailma rassi pärilikkusetegureid.
1955 96:2.2 Again and again the Arabian Semites fought their way into the northern Promised Land, the land that “flowed with milk and honey,” but just as often were they ejected by the better-organized and more highly civilized northern Semites and Hittites. Later, during an unusually severe famine, these roving Bedouins entered Egypt in large numbers as contract laborers on the Egyptian public works, only to find themselves undergoing the bitter experience of enslavement at the hard daily toil of the common and downtrodden laborers of the Nile valley.
2010 96:2.2 Araabia semiidid jõudsid võitluste tulemusena ikka ja jälle põhjapoolsele Tõotatud Maale — maale, mis „voolab piima ja mett”, kuid iga kord lõid paremini organiseeritud ja tsiviliseeritumad põhjapoolsed semiidid ja hetiidid nad tagasi[10]. Hiljem saabusid need ringiuitavad beduiinid ühe eriti ränga näljahäda ajal suurte hulkadena Egiptusesse, et lepingu alusel avalikke töid teha, kuid peagi tuli neil leppida kibeda tõega, et nad on orjastatud ja peavad Niiluse orus allasurutud lihttöölise igapäevast vaevarikast tööd rügama.
1955 96:2.3 It was only after the days of Machiventa Melchizedek and Abraham that certain tribes of Semites, because of their peculiar religious beliefs, were called the children of Israel and later on Hebrews, Jews, and the “chosen people.” Abraham was not the racial father of all the Hebrews; he was not even the progenitor of all the Bedouin Semites who were held captive in Egypt. True, his offspring, coming up out of Egypt, did form the nucleus of the later Jewish people, but the vast majority of the men and women who became incorporated into the clans of Israel had never sojourned in Egypt. They were merely fellow nomads who chose to follow the leadership of Moses as the children of Abraham and their Semite associates from Egypt journeyed through northern Arabia.
2010 96:2.3 Alles pärast Machiventa Melkisedeki ja Aabrahami aega hakati mõningaid semiidi hõime nimetama nende iseäralike religioossete uskumuste tõttu Iisraeli lasteks, hiljem aga heebrealasteks, juutideks ja „valitud rahvaks”[11][12]. Aabraham ei olnud kogu heebrea rassi isa, ta polnud isegi kõigi Egiptuse vangipõlves olnud beduiini semiitide esiisa[13]. Tema järeltulijad moodustasid, tõsi küll, hilisema juudi rahva tuumiku, kuid suurem osa Iisraeli sugukondadesse kuulunud meestest ja naistest ei olnud Egiptuses kunagi viibinud[14]. Nad olid vaid samasugused rändkarjakasvatajad, kes otsustasid alluda Moosese juhtimisele, kui Aabrahami lapsed ja semiitidest kaaslased Egiptusest läbi Põhja-Araabia rändasid.
1955 96:2.4 The Melchizedek teaching concerning El Elyon, the Most High, and the covenant of divine favor through faith, had been largely forgotten by the time of the Egyptian enslavement of the Semite peoples who were shortly to form the Hebrew nation. But throughout this period of captivity these Arabian nomads maintained a lingering traditional belief in Yahweh as their racial deity.
2010 96:2.4 Selleks ajaks, kui semiidi rahvad, kellest peagi sai heebrea rahvas, Egiptuses vangistati, olid Melkisedeki õpetus Kõigekõrgemast El Elyonist ja leping usu kaudu jumaliku soosingu saavutamisest suures osas unustatud. Kuid Araabia rändkarjakasvatajatel säilis kogu vangipõlve ajal ammune pärimuslik uskumus Jahvesse kui oma rahva jumalusse.
1955 96:2.5 Yahweh was worshiped by more than one hundred separate Arabian tribes, and except for the tinge of the El Elyon concept of Melchizedek which persisted among the more educated classes of Egypt, including the mixed Hebrew and Egyptian stocks, the religion of the rank and file of the Hebrew captive slaves was a modified version of the old Yahweh ritual of magic and sacrifice.
2010 96:2.5 Jahvet palveldas üle saja erineva Araabia hõimu ja kui jätta arvestamata Melkisedeki El Elyoni käsituse vilksatus, mis Egiptuse haritumate klasside, sealhulgas heebrea ja egiptuse segatüvikondade seas püsis, oli vangivõetud heebrealastest orjade usundiks vana maagiast ja ohverdustest koosneva Jahve rituaali mugandatud versioon.
3. THE MATCHLESS MOSES
3. VÕRRATU MOOSES
1955 96:3.1 The beginning of the evolution of the Hebraic concepts and ideals of a Supreme Creator dates from the departure of the Semites from Egypt under that great leader, teacher, and organizer, Moses. His mother was of the royal family of Egypt; his father was a Semitic liaison officer between the government and the Bedouin captives. Moses thus possessed qualities derived from superior racial sources; his ancestry was so highly blended that it is impossible to classify him in any one racial group. Had he not been of this mixed type, he would never have displayed that unusual versatility and adaptability which enabled him to manage the diversified horde which eventually became associated with those Bedouin Semites who fled from Egypt to the Arabian Desert under his leadership.
2010 96:3.1 Heebrea käsitused ja ideaalid Ülimast Loojast hakkasid arenema ajal, mil semiidid suure juhi, õpetaja ja organiseerija Moosese eestvedamisel Egiptusest lahkusid. Moosese ema kuulus Egiptuse kuninglikku perekonda, isa oli valitsuse ja beduiini vangide vaheline semiidist sideohvitser[15]. Mooses oli seega pärinud erakordsed rassilised omadused, teda oli võimatu liigitada ühte kindlasse rassirühma. Kui ta poleks olnud segatõugu, ei oleks ta kunagi ilmutanud säärast ebatavalist mitmekülgsust ja kohanemisvõimet, mis lubas tal valitseda seda isesugust hordi, mis lõpuks liitus tema juhtimisel Egiptusest Araabia kõrbesse põgenevate beduiini semiitidega.
1955 96:3.2 Despite the enticements of the culture of the Nile kingdom, Moses elected to cast his lot with the people of his father. At the time this great organizer was formulating his plans for the eventual freeing of his father’s people, the Bedouin captives hardly had a religion worthy of the name; they were virtually without a true concept of God and without hope in the world.
2010 96:3.2 Vaatamata Niiluse kuningriigi kultuuri ahvatlustele, eelistas Mooses siduda saatuse oma isa rahvaga. Ajal mil see suur organisaator tegi plaane oma isa rahva vabastamiseks, oli beduiinidest vangidel vaevalt midagi, mida oleks võinud usundiks nimetada; neil polnud tegelikult mingit õiget jumalakäsitust ega lootust maailmas.
1955 96:3.3 No leader ever undertook to reform and uplift a more forlorn, downcast, dejected, and ignorant group of human beings. But these slaves carried latent possibilities of development in their hereditary strains, and there were a sufficient number of educated leaders who had been coached by Moses in preparation for the day of revolt and the strike for liberty to constitute a corps of efficient organizers. These superior men had been employed as native overseers of their people; they had received some education because of Moses’ influence with the Egyptian rulers.
2010 96:3.3 Ükski juht pole kunagi asunud reformima ja jalule aitama abitumat, allasurutumat, rõhutumat ja harimatumat inimrühma. Ent nende orjade pärilikes tüvikondades peitus varjatud arenguvõimalusi ja selleks mässu ning vabanemise päevaks oli Mooses välja õpetanud piisava arvu haritud juhte, kellest moodustus tõhus organisaatorite korpus. Neid arenenumaid inimesi oli rakendatud oma rahva seast valitud järelevaatajatena, tänu Moosese mõjuvõimule Egiptuse valitsusringkondades olid nad saanud veidi haridust.
1955 96:3.4 Moses endeavored to negotiate diplomatically for the freedom of his fellow Semites. He and his brother entered into a compact with the king of Egypt whereby they were granted permission peaceably to leave the valley of the Nile for the Arabian Desert. They were to receive a modest payment of money and goods in token of their long service in Egypt. The Hebrews for their part entered into an agreement to maintain friendly relations with the Pharaohs and not to join in any alliance against Egypt. But the king later saw fit to repudiate this treaty, giving as his reason the excuse that his spies had discovered disloyalty among the Bedouin slaves. He claimed they sought freedom for the purpose of going into the desert to organize the nomads against Egypt.
2010 96:3.4 Mooses püüdis saavutada oma semiitidest kaaslaste vabastamist diplomaatiliselt, läbirääkimiste teel. Ta sõlmis koos oma vennaga Egiptuse kuningaga lepingu, millega neile anti luba Niiluse orust rahumeelselt Araabia kõrbesse suunduda. Neile lubati tasuda nende pikaajalise teenistuse eest Egiptuses tagasihoidliku rahasumma ja kaupadega. Heebrealased omalt poolt kohustusid säilitama vaaraodega sõbralikke suhteid ja mitte astuma kellegagi Egiptuse vastu liitu. Aga hiljem pidas kuningas vajalikuks lepingust taganeda, põhjendades seda väitega, et tema spioonid olevat täheldanud beduiini orjade seas ebaustavust. Ta väitis, et nad soovivat vabadust selleks, et kõrbesse minnes rändkarjakasvatajaid Egiptuse vastu koondada.
1955 96:3.5 But Moses was not discouraged; he bided his time, and in less than a year, when the Egyptian military forces were fully occupied in resisting the simultaneous onslaughts of a strong Libyan thrust from the south and a Greek naval invasion from the north, this intrepid organizer led his compatriots out of Egypt in a spectacular night flight. This dash for liberty was carefully planned and skillfully executed. And they were successful, notwithstanding that they were hotly pursued by Pharaoh and a small body of Egyptians, who all fell before the fugitives’ defense, yielding much booty, all of which was augmented by the loot of the advancing host of escaping slaves as they marched on toward their ancestral desert home.
2010 96:3.5 Moosest see aga ei heidutanud, ta ootas parajat juhust ja vähem kui aasta pärast, mil Egiptuse sõjalised jõud olid viimse meheni tagasi löömas kaht samaaegset rünnakut — Liibüa jõulist rünnakut lõunast ja Kreeka laevastiku pealetungi põhjast —, viis see kartmatu organisaator oma kaasmaalased dramaatilise öise põgenemise teel Egiptusest välja[16]. Sööst vabadusse oli hoolikalt kavandatud ja osavalt teostatud. See läks korda, kuigi neid jälitas raevukalt väike egiptlaste korpus, kes põgenike käe läbi täies koosseisus langes, jättes järele palju sõjasaaki, millega täiendati põgenevate orjade edasiliikuvate hulkade varusid teel esivanemate kõrbekoju.
4. THE PROCLAMATION OF YAHWEH
4. JAHVE KUULUTAMINE
1955 96:4.1 The evolution and elevation of the Mosaic teaching has influenced almost one half of all the world, and still does even in the twentieth century. While Moses comprehended the more advanced Egyptian religious philosophy, the Bedouin slaves knew little about such teachings, but they had never entirely forgotten the god of Mount Horeb, whom their ancestors had called Yahweh.
2010 96:4.1 Moosese õpetuse areng ja ülevus on mõjutanud peaaegu poolt maailma ja seda isegi kahekümnendal sajandil. Kuigi Mooses mõistis Egiptuse eesrindlikumat usufilosoofiat, teadsid beduiini orjad neist õpetustest vähe. Kuid nad polnud kunagi täielikult unustanud Hoorebi mäe jumalat, keda nende esivanemad olid Jahveks nimetanud.
1955 96:4.2 Moses had heard of the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek from both his father and his mother, their commonness of religious belief being the explanation for the unusual union between a woman of royal blood and a man from a captive race. Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite worshiper of El Elyon, but the emancipator’s parents were believers in El Shaddai. Moses thus was educated an El Shaddaist; through the influence of his father-in-law he became an El Elyonist; and by the time of the Hebrew encampment about Mount Sinai after the flight from Egypt, he had formulated a new and enlarged concept of Deity (derived from all his former beliefs), which he wisely decided to proclaim to his people as an expanded concept of their olden tribal god, Yahweh.
2010 96:4.2 Mooses oli kuulnud Machiventa Melkisedeki õpetustest nii oma isalt kui ka emalt. Nende ühiste usuliste veendumustega oligi seletatav see kuninglikku verd naise ja orjastatud rassist mehe ebatavaline liit. Moosese keenlasest äi oli El Elyoni kummardaja, kuid vabastaja vanemad uskusid El Šaddaisse. Seega sai Mooses oma hariduse El Šaddai pooldajana ja selleks ajaks, kui heebrealased pärast Egiptusest põgenemist ümber Siinai mäe laagrisse asusid, oli ta sõnastanud uue ja avarama arusaama Jumalusest (tuletatud kõigist tema varasematest uskumustest), mida ta targasti otsustas kuulutada oma rahvale avardatud arusaamana nende vanast hõimujumalast Jahvest.
1955 96:4.3 Moses had endeavored to teach these Bedouins the idea of El Elyon, but before leaving Egypt, he had become convinced they would never fully comprehend this doctrine. Therefore he deliberately determined upon the compromise adoption of their tribal god of the desert as the one and only god of his followers. Moses did not specifically teach that other peoples and nations might not have other gods, but he did resolutely maintain that Yahweh was over and above all, especially to the Hebrews. But always was he plagued by the awkward predicament of trying to present his new and higher idea of Deity to these ignorant slaves under the guise of the ancient term Yahweh, which had always been symbolized by the golden calf of the Bedouin tribes.
2010 96:4.3 Mooses oli püüdnud õpetada neile beduiinidele El Elyoni ideed, kuid oli juba enne Egiptusest lahkumist veendunud, et nad ei hakka seda õpetust kunagi täielikult mõistma. Seetõttu läks ta meelega kompromissile ja võttis nende kõrbehõimujumala oma poolehoidjate ainsaks jumalaks. Mooses ei õpetanud otseselt, et teistel rahvastel ja riikidel ei tohi olla teisi jumalaid, kuid ta väitis otsustavalt, et Jahve on kõigist kõrgem ja ülem, eriti heebrealaste jaoks. Kuid ta sattus alati kimbatusse, püüdes esitada neile harimatutele orjadele oma uut ja kõrgemat Jumaluse ideed iidse Jahvena, keda beduiini hõimudele oli alati sümboliseerinud kuldvasikas.
1955 96:4.4 The fact that Yahweh was the god of the fleeing Hebrews explains why they tarried so long before the holy mountain of Sinai, and why they there received the ten commandments which Moses promulgated in the name of Yahweh, the god of Horeb. During this lengthy sojourn before Sinai the religious ceremonials of the newly evolving Hebrew worship were further perfected.
2010 96:4.4 Asjaoluga, et Jahve oli põgenevate heebrealaste jumal, on seletatav ka nende nii pikk peatus püha Siinai mäe jalamil ja see, miks nad said seal Mooseselt kümme käsku Hoorebi jumala Jahve nimel. Selle pika peatuse ajal täiustati alles arenema hakanud heebrea religiooni usutseremooniaid.
1955 96:4.5 It does not appear that Moses would ever have succeeded in the establishment of his somewhat advanced ceremonial worship and in keeping his followers intact for a quarter of a century had it not been for the violent eruption of Horeb during the third week of their worshipful sojourn at its base. “The mountain of Yahweh was consumed in fire, and the smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.” In view of this cataclysm it is not surprising that Moses could impress upon his brethren the teaching that their God was “mighty, terrible, a devouring fire, fearful, and all-powerful.”
2010 96:4.5 Vaevalt oleks Moosesel kunagi õnnestunud seda üsna eesrindlikku tseremoniaalset kultust sisse seada ja oma pooldajaid veerandsajandi jooksul koos hoida, kui kolmandal palveldades mäe jalamil veedetud nädalal poleks Hooreb ägedalt purskama hakanud. „Jahve mägi hävis tules ja suits tõusis üles nagu sulatusahju suits ja kogu mägi vabises kõvasti[17].” Seda kataklüsmi arvestades pole üllatav, et Mooses suutis oma vendadele sisendada õpetust, et nende Jumal on „vägev, kohutav, hävitav tuli, kardetav ja kõikvõimas”[18].
1955 96:4.6 Moses proclaimed that Yahweh was the Lord God of Israel, who had singled out the Hebrews as his chosen people; he was building a new nation, and he wisely nationalized his religious teachings, telling his followers that Yahweh was a hard taskmaster, a “jealous God.” But nonetheless he sought to enlarge their concept of divinity when he taught them that Yahweh was the “God of the spirits of all flesh,” and when he said, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Moses taught that Yahweh was a covenant-keeping God; that he “will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers because the Lord loves you and will not forget the oath by which he swore to your fathers.”
2010 96:4.6 Mooses kuulutas, et Jahve on Iisraeli Issand Jumal, kes on heebrea rahva välja valinud[19]. Ta moodustas uue riigi ja tegi targasti oma usuõpetused kogu rahva omaks, öeldes poolehoidjatele, et Jahve on karm töönõudja, „kiivas Jumal”[20][21]. Kuid ta püüdis siiski avardada ka nende arusaama jumalikkusest, sest õpetas neile, et Jahve on „kõige liha vaimude Jumal”, ja ütles: „Varjupaigaks on iidne Jumal, kes toetab sind oma igaveste käsivartega[22].” Mooses õpetas, et Jahve on Jumal, kes peab lepingust kinni; ta „ei jäta sind maha ega hävita sind, ja ta ei unusta lepingut su vanematega, mille ta neile vandega andis”.
1955 96:4.7 Moses made a heroic effort to uplift Yahweh to the dignity of a supreme Deity when he presented him as the “God of truth and without iniquity, just and right in all his ways.” And yet, despite this exalted teaching, the limited understanding of his followers made it necessary to speak of God as being in man’s image, as being subject to fits of anger, wrath, and severity, even that he was vengeful and easily influenced by man’s conduct.
2010 96:4.7 Mooses tegi kangelasliku pingutuse anda Jahvele ülima Jumaluse väärikus, kui ta esitas teda kui „tõe Jumalat, kes ei tee ülekohut ja kelle kõik teed on õiged ja õiglased”[23]. Aga vaatamata sellele ülevale õpetusele pidi ta oma pooldajate piiratud arusaamisvõime tõttu rääkima inimnäolisest Jumalast, kellele on iseloomulikud raevuhood, vaen ja karmus ning kes on isegi kättemaksuhimuline ja inimese käitumisest kergesti mõjutatav.
1955 96:4.8 Under the teachings of Moses this tribal nature god, Yahweh, became the Lord God of Israel, who followed them through the wilderness and even into exile, where he presently was conceived of as the God of all peoples. The later captivity that enslaved the Jews in Babylon finally liberated the evolving concept of Yahweh to assume the monotheistic role of the God of all nations.
2010 96:4.8 Moosese õpetuste kohaselt sai hõimu loodusjumalast Jahvest Iisraeli Issand Jumal, kes järgnes neile läbi kõrbe ja isegi maapaos, mil teda hakati peagi tajuma kõigi rahvaste Jumalana. Juutide hilisem vangipõlv Babülonis vabastas areneva Jahve käsituse sedavõrd, et see sai omaks võtta kõigi rahvaste Jumala monoteistliku rolli.
1955 96:4.9 The most unique and amazing feature of the religious history of the Hebrews concerns this continuous evolution of the concept of Deity from the primitive god of Mount Horeb up through the teachings of their successive spiritual leaders to the high level of development depicted in the Deity doctrines of the Isaiahs, who proclaimed that magnificent concept of the loving and merciful Creator Father.
2010 96:4.9 Heebrealaste religiooniajaloo kõige ainulaadsem ja hämmastavam joon ongi seotud jumalusekäsituse pideva arenguga Hoorebi mäe algelisest jumalast järjestikuste usujuhtide õpetuste kaudu sellele kõrgele arengutasemele, mida kirjeldatakse armastava ja halastava Looja-Isa ülevat ideed kuulutavas Jesaja Jumaluse doktriinis.
5. THE TEACHINGS OF MOSES
5. MOOSESE ÕPETUSED
1955 96:5.1 Moses was an extraordinary combination of military leader, social organizer, and religious teacher. He was the most important individual world teacher and leader between the times of Machiventa and Jesus. Moses attempted to introduce many reforms in Israel of which there is no record. In the space of one man’s life he led the polyglot horde of so-called Hebrews out of slavery and uncivilized roaming while he laid the foundation for the subsequent birth of a nation and the perpetuation of a race.
2010 96:5.1 Mooseses olid erakordsel viisil segunenud sõjaline juht, ühiskondlik organisaator ja usuõpetaja. Ta oli Machiventa ja Jeesuse vahelisel ajal maailma tähtsaim õpetaja ja eestvedaja. Mooses püüdis Iisraelis läbi viia palju reforme, mida ürikud ei kajasta. Ühe inimpõlve vältel suutis ta niinimetatud heebrealaste paljukeelse hordi orjapõlvest ja tsiviliseerimatust eksirännakutest välja juhtida, pannes ühtlasi aluse hilisemale riigi sünnile ja rahva püsimajäämisele.
1955 96:5.2 There is so little on record of the great work of Moses because the Hebrews had no written language at the time of the exodus. The record of the times and doings of Moses was derived from the traditions extant more than one thousand years after the death of the great leader.
2010 96:5.2 Moosese suurest tööst on vähe kirja pandud, sest heebrealastel ei olnud Egiptusest väljarändamise ajal kirjakeelt. Moosese aega ja tegemisi kajastavad ürikud on kirja pandud hiljem pärimuste põhjal, mis olid säilinud enam kui tuhat aastat pärast suure juhi surma.
1955 96:5.3 Many of the advances which Moses made over and above the religion of the Egyptians and the surrounding Levantine tribes were due to the Kenite traditions of the time of Melchizedek. Without the teaching of Machiventa to Abraham and his contemporaries, the Hebrews would have come out of Egypt in hopeless darkness. Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro, gathered up the residue of the traditions of the days of Melchizedek, and these teachings, joined to the learning of the Egyptians, guided Moses in the creation of the improved religion and ritual of the Israelites. Moses was an organizer; he selected the best in the religion and mores of Egypt and Palestine and, associating these practices with the traditions of the Melchizedek teachings, organized the Hebrew ceremonial system of worship.
2010 96:5.3 Paljud Moosese edusammud, võrreldes egiptlaste ja ümbruskonna, Vahemere idaranniku hõimude usunditega, saavutati tänu keenlaste pärimustele Melkisedeki ajast. Ilma Machiventalt Aabrahamile ja tema kaasaegsetele antud õpetuseta oleksid heebrealased lahkunud Egiptusest lootusetus pimeduses. Mooses ja tema äi Jitro kogusid Melkisedeki aegadest säilinud pärimused kokku ja need õpetused, ühendatuna egiptlaste tarkusega, aitasid Moosesel luua iisraellaste eesrindlikuma religiooni ja rituaalid. Mooses oli organisaator, kes võttis Egiptuse ja Palestiina usundi ja kommete parima osa ning ühendas need pärimustega Melkisedeki õpetustest, kujundades välja heebrea palveldamissüsteemi tseremooniad.
1955 96:5.4 Moses was a believer in Providence; he had become thoroughly tainted with the doctrines of Egypt concerning the supernatural control of the Nile and the other elements of nature. He had a great vision of God, but he was thoroughly sincere when he taught the Hebrews that, if they would obey God, “He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will multiply the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land—the corn, wine, oil, and your flocks. You shall be prospered above all people, and the Lord your God will take away from you all sickness and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt upon you.” He even said: “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the power to get wealth.” “You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. You shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.”
2010 96:5.4 Mooses uskus jumalikku ettehooldusesse, sest ta oli omaks võtnud Egiptuse õpetused, mille kohaselt Niilus ja teised loodusjõud alluvad üleloomulikule juhtimisele. Tal oli suurepärane nägemus Jumalast, kuid ta õpetas heebrealastele täiesti siiralt, et kui nad kuuletuvad Jumalale, siis „Tema armastab sind ja õnnistab sind ning teeb sind paljuks. Ta õnnistab su ihusugu ja su maa vilja — su teravilja, su viinavirret ja su õli ja su pudulojuseid. Õnnistatud oled sa rohkem kui kõik rahvad ja su Issand Jumal võtab sinult ära kõik haigused ega pane su peale ainustki Egiptuse kurjadest taudidest[24].” Ta ütles isegi: „Tuleta meelde oma Issandat Jumalat, sest see on tema, kes annab sulle jõu varandust soetada[25].” „Sa võid laenata paljudele rahvastele, sa ise aga ei tarvitse laenu võtta, ja sa valitsed paljude rahvaste üle, aga nemad ei valitse sinu üle.”[26]
1955 96:5.5 But it was truly pitiful to watch this great mind of Moses trying to adapt his sublime concept of El Elyon, the Most High, to the comprehension of the ignorant and illiterate Hebrews. To his assembled leaders he thundered, “The Lord your God is one God; there is none beside him”; while to the mixed multitude he declared, “Who is like your God among all the gods?” Moses made a brave and partly successful stand against fetishes and idolatry, declaring, “You saw no similitude on the day that your God spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire.” He also forbade the making of images of any sort.
2010 96:5.5 Kuid oli tõesti kahju vaadata, kuidas Moosese suur mõistus püüdis kohandada oma ülevat arusaama Kõigekõrgemast, El Elyonist, harimatute ja kirjaoskamatute heebrealaste mõistmisvõimega. Ta kõmistas kokkukutsutud juhtidele: „Teie Issand Jumal on ainus Jumal, ei ole ühtki teist Jumalat peale tema,” kuid segunenud hulkadele kuulutas ta: „Kes on teie Jumala sarnane jumalate keskel?” Mooses astus julgelt ja mõõduka eduga fetišite ja ebajumalakummardamise vastu, kuulutades: „Te ei näinud mingit kuju, siis kui teie Jumal rääkis teiega Hoorebi mäel tule keskelt[27][28][29].” Ta keelas ka igasuguste kujude valmistamise[30].
1955 96:5.6 Moses feared to proclaim the mercy of Yahweh, preferring to awe his people with the fear of the justice of God, saying: “The Lord your God is God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, a great God, a mighty and terrible God, who regards not man.” Again he sought to control the turbulent clans when he declared that “your God kills when you disobey him; he heals and gives life when you obey him.” But Moses taught these tribes that they would become the chosen people of God only on condition that they “kept all his commandments and obeyed all his statutes.”
2010 96:5.6 Mooses kartis kuulutada, et Jahve on halastav, eelistades äratada oma rahvas aukartust Jumala õiglase meele ees hirmu abil[31]. Ta ütles: „Teie Issand Jumal on Jumalate Jumal ja Issandate Issand, vägev ja kardetav Jumal, kes ei pea inimest millekski[32].” Ta püüdis taas rahutuks muutunud sugukondi allutada, kui kuulutas, et „sinu Jumal tapab su, kui sa talle ei kuuletu; ta ravib terveks ja annab elu, kui sa talle kuuletud”[33][34]. Kuid Mooses õpetas neile hõimudele, et nad saavad Jumala valitud rahvaks vaid tingimusel, kui „täidavad kõiki Jumala käske ja kuulavad kõiki tema seadusi”.
1955 96:5.7 Little of the mercy of God was taught the Hebrews during these early times. They learned of God as “the Almighty; the Lord is a man of war, God of battles, glorious in power, who dashes in pieces his enemies.” “The Lord your God walks in the midst of the camp to deliver you.” The Israelites thought of their God as one who loved them, but who also “hardened Pharaoh’s heart” and “cursed their enemies.”
2010 96:5.7 Jumala halastust õpetati heebrealastele neil varajastel aegadel vähe. Nad õppisid, et Jumal on „Kõigeväeline; Issand on sõjamees, lahingute Jumal, hiilgusrikas oma võimus, kes lööb oma vaenlased põrmu[35].” „Teie Issand Jumal kõnnib keset sõjalaagrit, et teid päästa[36].” Iisraellased uskusid, et nende Jumal armastab neid, kuid „teeb ka vaarao südame kõvaks” ja „neab nende vaenlasi”[37][38].
1955 96:5.8 While Moses presented fleeting glimpses of a universal and beneficent Deity to the children of Israel, on the whole, their day-by-day concept of Yahweh was that of a God but little better than the tribal gods of the surrounding peoples. Their concept of God was primitive, crude, and anthropomorphic; when Moses passed on, these Bedouin tribes quickly reverted to the semibarbaric ideas of their olden gods of Horeb and the desert. The enlarged and more sublime vision of God which Moses every now and then presented to his leaders was soon lost to view, while most of the people turned to the worship of their fetish golden calves, the Palestinian herdsman’s symbol of Yahweh.
2010 96:5.8 Mooses lasi küll Iisraeli lastel heita põgusaid pilke kõiksele ja heategevale Jumalale, kuid nende igapäevane ettekujutus Jahvest vastas üldiselt nende ettekujutusele Jumalast, kes on ümbruskonna rahvaste hõimujumalatest vaid veidi parem. Nende jumalakäsitus oli algeline, tahumatu ja inimesenäoline; pärast Moosese surma pöördusid nood beduiini hõimud kiiresti tagasi poolbarbaarsete ideede juurde oma iidsetest Hoorebi- ja kõrbejumalatest. Avaram ja ülevam nägemus Jumalast, mida Mooses oma juhtidele aeg-ajalt esitas, kadus peagi silmist ja enamik inimestest asus taas kummardama fetišeid-kuldvasikaid, mis olid Palestiina karjakasvatajatele Jahve sümboliks.
1955 96:5.9 When Moses turned over the command of the Hebrews to Joshua, he had already gathered up thousands of the collateral descendants of Abraham, Nahor, Lot, and other of the related tribes and had whipped them into a self-sustaining and partially self-regulating nation of pastoral warriors.
2010 96:5.9 Selleks ajaks, kui Mooses heebrealaste juhtimise Joosuale üle andis, oli ta juba koondanud kokku tuhandeid Aabrahami, Naahori, Loti ja teiste sugulashõimude järeltulijaid ning moodustanud neist isemajandava ja osaliselt ise end valitseva karjakasvatajatest sõjameeste riigi.
6. THE GOD CONCEPT AFTER MOSES’ DEATH
6. JUMALAKÄSITUS PÄRAST MOOSESE SURMA
1955 96:6.1 Upon the death of Moses his lofty concept of Yahweh rapidly deteriorated. Joshua and the leaders of Israel continued to harbor the Mosaic traditions of the all-wise, beneficent, and almighty God, but the common people rapidly reverted to the older desert idea of Yahweh. And this backward drift of the concept of Deity continued increasingly under the successive rule of the various tribal sheiks, the so-called Judges.
2010 96:6.1 Pärast Moosese surma hakkas tema kõrge arusaam Jahvest kiiresti alla käima. Joosua ja Iisraeli juhid hoidsid Moosese pärimusi kõiketeadvast, heasoovlikust ja kõigevägevamast Jumalast alal, kuid lihtrahvas pöördus väga ruttu tagasi vanema, kõrbe-aegse Jahve idee juurde. See tagasilangus jumalusekäsituses süvenes üha enam erinevate hõimušeikide, niinimetatud kohtumõistjate järjestikustel valitsemisaegadel.
1955 96:6.2 The spell of the extraordinary personality of Moses had kept alive in the hearts of his followers the inspiration of an increasingly enlarged concept of God; but when they once reached the fertile lands of Palestine, they quickly evolved from nomadic herders into settled and somewhat sedate farmers. And this evolution of life practices and change of religious viewpoint demanded a more or less complete change in the character of their conception of the nature of their God, Yahweh. During the times of the beginning of the transmutation of the austere, crude, exacting, and thunderous desert god of Sinai into the later appearing concept of a God of love, justice, and mercy, the Hebrews almost lost sight of Moses’ lofty teachings. They came near losing all concept of monotheism; they nearly lost their opportunity of becoming the people who would serve as a vital link in the spiritual evolution of Urantia, the group who would conserve the Melchizedek teaching of one God until the times of the incarnation of a bestowal Son of that Father of all.
2010 96:6.2 Moosese erakordse isiksuse lummus oli hoidnud tema poolehoidjate südametes elavana vaimustust, mis oli Jumala mõiste pideva avardumise eelduseks, ent Palestiina viljakatele maadele jõudnud, muutusid need rändkarjakasvatajad kiiresti paikseteks ja üsna tõsimeelseteks põllumeesteks. Elukommete arengu ja religioosse vaatepunkti muutuse tõttu pidi nende ettekujutus oma jumala Jahve loomusest küllaltki põhjalikult muutuma. Ajal, mil Siinai karm, tahumatu, nõudlik ja kõuehäälne kõrbejumal oli muundumas hilisemaks armastuse-, õigluse- ja halastusejumalaks, kaotasid heebrealased Moosese kõrged õpetused suuremas osas silmist. Monoteism kadus nende arusaamast peaaegu täielikult; nad oleksid äärepealt lasknud käest võimaluse saada rahvaks, kellest kujunes oluline ühenduslüli Urantia vaimses evolutsioonis; rühm, kes säilitas Melkisedeki õpetuse ühest Jumalast kuni kõigi Isa annetuva Poja kehastumiseni.
1955 96:6.3 Desperately Joshua sought to hold the concept of a supreme Yahweh in the minds of the tribesmen, causing it to be proclaimed: “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you nor forsake you.” Joshua found it necessary to preach a stern gospel to his disbelieving people, people all too willing to believe their old and native religion but unwilling to go forward in the religion of faith and righteousness. The burden of Joshua’s teaching became: “Yahweh is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.” The highest concept of this age pictured Yahweh as a “God of power, judgment, and justice.”
2010 96:6.3 Joosua püüdis meeleheitlikult arusaama ülimast Jahvest hõimuliikmete meeles alal hoida, lastes kuulutada: „Nõnda nagu ma olin Moosesega, nõnda olen ma sinuga, ma ei lahku sinust ega jäta sind maha[39].” Joosua pidas vajalikuks jutlustada karmi evangeeliumi oma umbusklikule rahvale, kes oli liigagi valmis tunnistama vana ja põlist religiooni, kuid ei soovinud edasi areneda usule ja õiglusele tugineva usundi vaimus. Joosua õpetuse tuumaks sai: „Jahve on püha Jumal; ta on valvas Jumal; tema ei anna andeks teie üleastumisi ja patte[40].” Tolleaegse kõrgeima arusaama kohaselt oli Jahve „võimu, kohtumõistmise ja õigluse Jumal”[41].
1955 96:6.4 But even in this dark age, every now and then a solitary teacher would arise proclaiming the Mosaic concept of divinity: “You children of wickedness cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God.” “Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his Maker?” “Can you by searching find out God? Can you find out the Almighty to perfection? Behold, God is great and we know him not. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out.”
2010 96:6.4 Kuid ka sel pimedal ajajärgul kerkis aeg-ajalt esile mõni õpetaja, kes kuulutas Moosese arusaama jumalikkusest: „Teie patu lapsed ei saa Issandat teenida, sest ta on püha Jumal[42].” „Ons inimene vagam kui Jumal või mees puhtam kui tema Looja?” „Kas sa suudad otsides kunagi leida Jumala sügavust? Kas sa suudad jõuda Kõigevägevama täiuseni? Vaata, Jumal on suur ja meie ei mõista teda[43]. Kõigevägevam — temani me ei jõua.”[44]
7. PSALMS AND THE BOOK OF JOB
7. PSALMID JA IIOBI RAAMAT
1955 96:7.1 Under the leadership of their sheiks and priests the Hebrews became loosely established in Palestine. But they soon drifted back into the benighted beliefs of the desert and became contaminated with the less advanced Canaanite religious practices. They became idolatrous and licentious, and their idea of Deity fell far below the Egyptian and Mesopotamian concepts of God that were maintained by certain surviving Salem groups, and which are recorded in some of the Psalms and in the so-called Book of Job.
2010 96:7.1 Heebrealased seadsid end šeikide ja preestrite juhtimisel Palestiinas lahedalt sisse. Kuid peagi pöördusid nad vähehaaval tagasi oma sõgedate kõrbeuskumuste juurde ja nakatusid kaananlaste vähemarenenud usutavadest. Nad hakkasid ebajumalaid kummardama ja liiderlikku elu elama ning nende arusaam Jumalusest jäi tunduvalt madalamaks Egiptuse ja Mesopotaamia jumalakäsitusest, mida hoidsid alal mõned püsimajäänud saalemlaste rühmad ja mis on kirjas mõnedes psalmides ja niinimetatud Iiobi raamatus.
1955 96:7.2 The Psalms are the work of a score or more of authors; many were written by Egyptian and Mesopotamian teachers. During these times when the Levant worshiped nature gods, there were still a goodly number who believed in the supremacy of El Elyon, the Most High.
2010 96:7.2 Psalmid on kirjutatud vähemalt kahekümne autori poolt, paljud neist on loonud Egiptuse ja Mesopotaamia õpetajad. Neil aegadel, mil Vahemere idarannik kummardas loodusjumalaid, uskusid üsna paljud ikka veel Kõigekõrgema, El Elyoni ülemvõimu.
1955 96:7.3 No collection of religious writings gives expression to such a wealth of devotion and inspirational ideas of God as the Book of Psalms. And it would be very helpful if, in the perusal of this wonderful collection of worshipful literature, consideration could be given to the source and chronology of each separate hymn of praise and adoration, bearing in mind that no other single collection covers such a great range of time. This Book of Psalms is the record of the varying concepts of God entertained by the believers of the Salem religion throughout the Levant and embraces the entire period from Amenemope to Isaiah. In the Psalms God is depicted in all phases of conception, from the crude idea of a tribal deity to the vastly expanded ideal of the later Hebrews, wherein Yahweh is pictured as a loving ruler and merciful Father.
2010 96:7.3 Üheski teises religioossete kirjutiste kogumikus pole väljendatud nii jäägitut pühendumust ja nii inspireerivaid ideid Jumalast kui Psalmides. Oleks väga kasulik, kui seda imelist vaimuliku kirjanduse kogumikku sirvides arvestataks iga kiidu-ja ülistuslaulu allikat ja tekkeaega, sest ükski teine kogumik ei hõlma nii suurt ajavahemikku. Sellesse psalmide kogumikku on koondatud kõikjal Vahemere idarannikul elanud Saalemi religiooni pooldajate erinevad arusaamad Jumalast ning see hõlmab pikka perioodi Amenhotepist Jesajani. Psalmides kirjeldatakse kõiki jumalakäsitusi alates tahumatust hõimujumaluse-ideest kuni hilisemate heebrealaste tunduvalt avaramate arusaamadeni, mis kujutavad Jahvet armastava valitseja ja halastava Isana.
1955 96:7.4 And when thus regarded, this group of Psalms constitutes the most valuable and helpful assortment of devotional sentiments ever assembled by man up to the times of the twentieth century. The worshipful spirit of this collection of hymns transcends that of all other sacred books of the world.
2010 96:7.4 Nii vaadelduna pakub see psalmide kogumik kõige väärtuslikumat ja kasulikumat valikut hardaid tundmusi, mida inimene on kuni kahekümnenda sajandini kogenud. Selle ülistuslaulude kogumiku palveldav vaim ületab kõiki teisi maailma pühasid raamatuid.
1955 96:7.5 The variegated picture of Deity presented in the Book of Job was the product of more than a score of Mesopotamian religious teachers extending over a period of almost three hundred years. And when you read the lofty concept of divinity found in this compilation of Mesopotamian beliefs, you will recognize that it was in the neighborhood of Ur of Chaldea that the idea of a real God was best preserved during the dark days in Palestine.
2010 96:7.5 Iiobi raamatus esitatud mitmekülgne pilt Jumalusest on loodud enam kui paarikümne Mesopotaamia usuõpetaja poolt peaaegu kolmesaja aasta jooksul. Kui te loete selles Mesopotaamia uskumuste kogumikus peituvat ülevat jumalikkusekäsitust, mõistate, et Palestiina pimedatel aegadel säilis tõelise Jumala idee kõige paremini Kaldeas Uuri lähedal.
1955 96:7.6 In Palestine the wisdom and all-pervasiveness of God was often grasped but seldom his love and mercy. The Yahweh of these times “sends evil spirits to dominate the souls of his enemies”; he prospers his own and obedient children, while he curses and visits dire judgments upon all others. “He disappoints the devices of the crafty; he takes the wise in their own deceit.”
2010 96:7.6 Palestiinas saadi sageli aru Jumala tarkusest ja kõikjaletungivusest, aga harva tema armastusest ja halastusest. Tolle aja Jahve „saadab kurje vaime oma vaenlaste hingi valitsema”, ta annab jõukust oma lastele, kui need on kuulekad, aga neab kõiki teisi ja langetab nende kohta kohutavaid otsuseid[45]. „Ta teeb tühjaks kavalate kavatsused, tabab tarku nende tarkuses[46].”
1955 96:7.7 Only at Ur did a voice arise to cry out the mercy of God, saying: “He shall pray to God and shall find favor with him and shall see his face with joy, for God will give to man divine righteousness.” Thus from Ur there is preached salvation, divine favor, by faith: “He is gracious to the repentant and says, ‘Deliver him from going down in the pit, for I have found a ransom.’ If any say, ‘I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not,’ God will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and he shall see the light.” Not since the times of Melchizedek had the Levantine world heard such a ringing and cheering message of human salvation as this extraordinary teaching of Elihu, the prophet of Ur and priest of the Salem believers, that is, the remnant of the onetime Melchizedek colony in Mesopotamia.
2010 96:7.7 Vaid Uuris tõusis hääl hüüdma Jumala halastusest, öeldes: „Ta palub Jumalat ja sellel on temast hea meel; ta saab hõisates näha tema palet, sest Jumal annab inimesele tagasi jumaliku õiguse[47].” Seega jutlustatakse Uuris pääsemist, jumalikku soosingut usu kaudu: „Ta annab kahetsejale armu ning ütleb: „Vabasta teda haudaminekust, ma olen lunaraha saanud.” Kui keegi ütleb: „Ma olen teinud pattu ja pööranud ära õigest ja pole sellest kasu saanud,” siis Jumal päästab ta hinge haudaminekust ja ta näeb valgust[48].” Veel kunagi pärast Melkisedeki aega polnud Vahemere idaranniku maailm kuulnud nii helisevat ja rõõmustavat sõnumit inimese pääsemisest kui see Uuri prohveti ja Saalemi — Melkisedeki kunagise Mesopotaamia koloonia — usklike preestri Eliihu erakordne õpetus[49].
1955 96:7.8 And thus did the remnants of the Salem missionaries in Mesopotamia maintain the light of truth during the period of the disorganization of the Hebrew peoples until the appearance of the first of that long line of the teachers of Israel who never stopped as they built, concept upon concept, until they had achieved the realization of the ideal of the Universal and Creator Father of all, the acme of the evolution of the Yahweh concept.
2010 96:7.8 Nii hoidsid Mesopotaamiasse alles jäänud Saalemi misjonärid tõe valgust alal heebrea rahvaste kaose ajal, kuni ilmus esimene Iisraeli õpetaja nende pikast reast, kes hetkegi puhkamata arusaamalt arusaamale liikudes jõudis kõigi Kõikse Looja-Isa ideaalini, mis oli Jahve-käsituse arengu haripunktiks.
1955 96:7.9 [Presented by a Melchizedek of Nebadon.]
2010 96:7.9 [Esitanud Nebadoni Melkisedek.]
| Kiri 95. Melkisedeki õpetused Vahemere idarannikul |
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Kiri 97. Heebrealaste jumalakäsituse areng |