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Oddest Biblical Commands
Still one of the oddest biblical commands: COVER YOUR POO! (Because God
might step in it!)
Dr.
Robert Raymond Cargill
One of my favorite
obscure biblical commands is from Deuteronomy 23:12-14 (v. 13-15 in the
Hebrew).
Right after God
gives rules concerning how to deal with wet dreams (i.e., nocturnal seminal
emissions – the answer, btw, is to leave the camp, wash with water, and not
return until sunset), God issues commands dealing with human waste disposal.
Now, disposal of
human waste is a necessary, albeit unsavory, part of urban life (or in this
case, desert nomadic life in a camp).
We must have rules
that govern how to dispose of human excrement in order to help combat diseases
that may arise from contact with human waste. Everyone acknowledges this.
Thus, the
Israelites are commanded to cover their poo when they, well… poo. This makes
obvious sense.
It helps cover the
smell, which while odious to humans, is also detected by unwanted animals and
insects. Covering your poo also assists in avoiding everyone’s pedestrian
nightmare: stepping in poo.
Interestingly, of
the above reasons given in support of the command to the Israelites to cover
their poo, it is the latter (not wanting to step in it)
and not the former (hygiene) that is given as the theological reason
for burying one’s foul:
Deuteronomy 23:12 – “You shall have a designated area outside
the camp to which you shall go.”
Deuteronomy 23:13 – “As part of your equipment have something
to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your
excrement.”
Deuteronomy 23:14 – “For the LORD your God moves
about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you.
Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything
indecent and turn away from you.”
You read that
correctly. God WALKS IN THE MIDST OF YOUR CAMP (Hebrew: מִתְהַלֵּךְ בְקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶךָ = “paces/walks in the
midst of your camp”), and you don’t want God to step in it!
In fact, God
doesn’t even want to see (Hebrew: ראה) anything indecent (Hebrew: עֶרְוַת דָּבָר = “any naked thing”).
This is the reason
given for why Israelites must go outside of the camp to go,
and then cover their poo: because God walks around the camp and
they don’t want God to step in their poo, and if he even sees it,
he’ll “turn away” from the camp (as it stinks and is no longer “holy”), and
will stop protecting/delivering them and will stop handing their enemies over
to them in battle.
Apparently, if you
want God in the midst of your camp, he can’t be in the midst of
your crap.
So in the end, the
rationale for covering one’s poo is not hygienic, nor is it public health, but
rather the Israelites are to cover their poo so that God doesn’t step
in it or see it,because if he does, he’ll leave them and they’ll start
losing battles.
There’s another
poo-related pun I could make here, but I don’t want to bring bulls into it.
Dr.
Robert Raymond
Cargill is Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at The University of Iowa. He is
a biblical studies scholar, classicist, archaeologist, author, and digital humanist. His research includes study in
the Qumran and
the Dead Sea Scrolls, literary criticism of the Bible and
the Pseudepigrapha, and the Ancient
Near East. He has appeared as an expert on numerous televisiondocumentaries
and specials and is an advocate for social justice and public higher education.
He previously worked and taught at UCLA.
A.A. –
Fresno City College (Liberal Arts)
B.S. – CSU Fresno (Human Physiology)
M.S. – Pepperdine University (Ministry)
M.Div. – Pepperdine University
M.A. – UCLA (Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations)
Ph.D. – UCLA (Near Eastern Languages and Cultures)
B.S. – CSU Fresno (Human Physiology)
M.S. – Pepperdine University (Ministry)
M.Div. – Pepperdine University
M.A. – UCLA (Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations)
Ph.D. – UCLA (Near Eastern Languages and Cultures)
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 English Standard
Version (ESV)
12 “You shall have a place
outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you
shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall
dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of
your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore
your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and
turn away from you.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 The Message
(MSG)
12-14 Mark out an area outside
the camp where you can go to relieve yourselves. Along with your weapons have a
stick with you. After you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the stick and cover
your excrement. God, your
God, strolls through your camp; he’s present to deliver you and give you
victory over your enemies. Keep your camp holy; don’t permit anything indecent
or offensive in God’s eyes.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 21st Century
King James Version (KJ21)
12 “Thou shalt have a place
also outside the camp whither thou shalt go forth abroad.
13 And thou shalt have a
paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad,
thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from
thee.
14 For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst
of thy camp to deliver thee and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore
shall thy camp be holy, that He see no unclean thing in thee and turn away from
thee.
Deuteronomy 23:12-14 Amplified Bible
(AMP)
12 “You shall also have a
place outside the camp to which you may go, 13 and you
shall have a spade among your tools, and when you [prepare to] sit down outside
[to relieve yourself], you shall dig a hole with it and shall turn
and cover up your waste. 14 Since
the Lord your God walks
in the midst of your camp to rescue you and to defeat your enemies before you,
therefore your camp must be holy (undefiled); and He must not see anything
indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+23%3A12-14+&version=AMP
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