Blue Cord

I tried to have a traditional 4th of July today, but I didn’t quite make it.

I had to work from 9:00-3:00, so that left the evening free. Since I don’t know anyone in the area, I didn’t have any cookouts to attend. So I decided to take in a baseball game. I enjoy visiting as many minor and independent league games as I can. I have been to one minor and two independent league games so far in this area: North Shore Spirit, Nashua Pride, and Lowell Spinners. Tonight I headed about an hour away from my apartment to see the Worcester Tornadoes.

The Worcester Tornadoes belong to the independent CanAm league. They play on the College of the Holy Cross field in Worcester, MA, the second largest city in New England (passing Providence, RI, as of the last census). They are named after the F4 tornado that killed 94 people in Worcester in 1953. Since it is hard to make a tornado costume, their mascot is a dog named Twister.

Tonight turned out not to be the best night to attend a game. The field seating does not have any covering. That is a minor inconvenience on a sunny day. When it is pouring rain, however, that becomes a real problem. And tonight it was raining. They played the game anyway, but it wasn’t very pleasant sitting in the stands. I had neither umbrella nor rain jacket, and neither were on sale in the team store. So I spent a very soggy evening at the game. Nothing says “4th of July” like a cup of hot chocolate at a cold baseball game.

The rain slacked off a bit in the 5th and 6th innings, but cut loose again at the beginning of the 7th. I decided to head home at that point, even though leaving a baseball game early is against my religion. When I got in the car, I heard on the radio that the game went into rain delay a few minutes after I left and they had called the game due to rain by the time I got home. The Tornadoes lost 7-3.

One reason I enjoy minor league games is the fact that you are watching the game in a more intimate setting and many of the fan know each other. I chatted with a real nice couple for most of the game. They had worked as ushers at the Worcester games for the past two years but got season tickets this year. And when I had gotten up to stand on the concourse for an inning, I found myself talking to the father of the opposing team’s pitcher.

On the way back, I listened to the Boston 4th of July celebration, which features the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  This is one of the largest Independence Day celebrations in the US.  I tuned in just as the announcer was introducing The 1812 Overture, a tradition at the Boston celebration. He was taking about how wonderfully patriotic the song was. He seemed to overlook the fact that the piece had nothing to do with the American War of 1812, but instead commemorates the unsuccessful invasion of Russia by Napoleon’s army. The concert also featured John Mellencamp singing This is Our Country, which made me want to buy a Chevy pickup truck for some reason.

All in all, a good attempt at the 4th of July, but it didn’t quite live up to its promise. Still, a night at a baseball game beats a night most other places, so I don’t consider the day to be a loss.

The OT reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for today included 1 Kings 19:19-21, which reads:

So [Elijah] set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah?? said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant. (NRSV)

As I was listening to the reading, a question occurred to me: Why did Elisha kill the oxen? Was it a sacrifice or not?

When I got home, I checked the different translations. The ESV and NASB say that Elisha sacrificed the oxen, while the NRSV and NIV both say that Elisha slaughtered them.  The Hebrew does not provide much help here.  The verb used is zabakh.  This generally indicates a sacrifice, but also could be used for common slaughter of animals.

If this passage were from the priestly layers of the OT, it would be a moot point.  All slaughter of animals was considered a sacrifice in the priestly schema.  But Deuteronomy allows for the non-sacrificial slaughter of animals (Deut. 12:13-27).  Since the 1 Kings passage is part of the DtrH, this could be either.

But Deuteronomy also states that all sacrifice must be done in Jerusalem.  Elisha is from Abel-Meholah.  Although 1 Kings 19 does not state it explicitly, it is likely that the call of Elisha took place in or near his home town, not in Jerusalem.  If Elisha is being pictured following the Deuteronomic law, then what he is doing should not be considered a sacrifice.  I would say the NRSV and NIV have the better translation in this case.

But that leaves us with out original question: Why did Elisha kill the oxen?  If it was not a sacrifice, why did he do it?  Although the passage is not explicit, I think the clue to interpretation needs to come from Elisha’s request to kiss his father and mother before following Elijah.  The slaughter of the oxen and ensuing feast seem to be the fulfillment of that wish.

Now, if I really wanted to go out on a limb, I might argue that his request to kiss his father and mother and the feast that followed were part of paying homage to his departed ancestors, since his new life would be one that took place outside of his family.  I am not feeling that brave today, so I will offer that suggestion only as a possibility.

Steve Cook has done an excellent job setting up the 19th biblical studies blog carnival at Biblische Ausbildung.  Of particular interest to OT studies are several posts prompted by the recent death of Brevard Childs.  For those who are not familiar with Childs’s scholarship, now would be an excellent time to get to know his work.  Since Childs placed such a large emphasis on the role of the canon, it is appropriate that Steve’s carnival includes several links to the discussion of the canon by several bloggers last month.

Many thanks to Steve for his work on this month’s carnival.