The Nazarene Way of Essenic Studies

~ Vegetarianism in the Bible

~
An original essay by

Martha Helene Jones

        The Levite animal sacrifice cult that originated with Ezra and his great-
grandfather Hilkiah
imposed the law of animal sacrifice under penalty of death (Ezra 7:26).
This transition occurred during the time of the takeover of the Priesthood
that was originally denied to the Levites by Moses in Num. 16:8-10.

I have looked deeply into the questions of

vegetarianism and animal sacrifice in the Bible, and
my research has shown that not only was there was
a transition from living as vegetarians in Eden, but
there was an actual imposition of the law of animal
sacrifice under penalty of death (Ezra 7:26) by the
Levite animal sacrifice cult originating with Ezra and
his great-grandfather Hilkiah.  This transition occurs
during the time of the takeover of the Priesthood
(originally denied to the Levites by Moses in Num.
16:8-10) by Hilkiah and the Levites under King
Josiah (II Kings 23:5-9). I will go into this again after
noting the original instructions upon which the
Levites based their demand for animals to be
sacrificed in their temple (of which the Levites
freely partook - leading to the diseases and
infirmities in their "priesthood" noted by Isiah and in
the New Testament).

"Hear O heavens, and Earth, for YHVH has spoken...,

(‫ יהוה‬- yod, heh, vav, heh - It is common today to
represent ‫ יהוה‬as YHWH rather than YHVH but there
is to this day still a raging controversy over whether
vav should be pronounced as waw, as in Arabic.
There is much evidence on both sides, but there can
be no definitive proof as Hebrew became a dead
language more than once, thus the ancient
pronunciation cannot be conclusively known) ...My
people transgress me...they do not consider ...they
forsake YHVH, they spurned the Holy One of Israel,
they are estranged, going backward. From the sole
of the foot even unto the head there is no
soundness, but wounds, and putrefying sores...Why?
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices
unto Me? says YHVH...I delight not in the blood of
bullocks, lambs or goats...And when you spread
forth your hands, I will hide my eyes...I will not
hear: because your hands are full of blood. Wash
yourself, purge yourselves; leave off the evil of
these doings." Isa. 1:2-16.

"For if perfection had been according to the

Levitical priesthood...what further need was there
that another priest ...According to the likeness of
Melchisedek, there is one standing up who is
different. Who is not (teaching) according to the law
of the precepts of the carnal (flesh) ones (the
Levites) but according to the ability of life
indissoluble (health)...For the (carnal) law makes
high priests (of the Levites) who have infirmities."
Heb. 7:15-16 & 28.

Now the Levites were always jealous of the original

(vegetarian) priesthood (Num. 16:8-10) and killed
their successors (the priests of the high places) who
were observing passover with only unleavened bread
(making them followers of Mosiac law - NOT
idolaters) precisely because they would not attend
the Levite animal sacrifice (II Kings 23:5-9) and for
this reason Jesus and his disciples referred to the
Levites as the "sons of those who murdered the
prophets" (Stephen was murdered for referring to
this murder) Matt. 23: 29-31 & Acts 7:52.

The following verse was used by the Levites in their

takeover of the priesthood as a rationalization of
the murders they committed (under the authority
and using the military might of a non-Israelite King -
Josiah).

"Tell the whole community of Israel that on the

tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb
for his family, one for each household...(marking)
blood...on the houses which they shall eat him.
(7)...And they (are to) eat the flesh on this
night...not reserving any for morning...And this day
shall be a memorial for generations for eons...and
you shall observe the feast of unleavened breads,
that in this very day I brought your hosts of you out
of the land of Egypt." Ex. 12:3-8, 17

Notice that in verse 7 it refers to "the houses which"

were to eat the lambs, not everyone (the vegetarian
children of Israel did not need to be protected from
the coming plague!). Verse 7 is interpreted in KJV as
"wherein they shall eat it" instead of the
word for word interpretation that actually reads "on
the houses which they shall eat him in " in Hebrew.
<http://scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/OTpdf/
exo12>. AND it actually says that the memorial
observance thereafter is for Moses and all the
generations which were to follow, to eat unleavened
bread for seven days, not meat! (Ex. 12:18). 

According to the OT during the Exodus, Moses speaks

of those among the tribes who do eat flesh
commanding them on how they must prepare it.
"And he sent young men, of the children of Israel
which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace
offerings of oxen to YHVH." (Ex. 24:5) Notice that
the directions concerning sacrifice was only for
those “of the children of Israel which offered burnt
offerings,” not all of the Israelites. Those who did
not eat meat were not bound to perform any of the
necessarily hygienic rituals for sacrificing animals,
because it only applied to those who did so.
"And you shall sequester the sons of Israel from
uncleanness to them, so they shall not die from
uncleanness to them, defiling them in the
tabernacle of Me (the tabernacle of the
congregation where Levites sacrificed animals)
which is in midst of them." Lev. 15:31.

So Moses recognized the uncleanness of sacrificing

and eating animals and wrote the Levitican laws to
try to allay the spread of disease, not as
commandments for animal sacrifice! The Israelites
were not originally meat eaters and instinctively
resisted the Levite interpretation of the law of
animal sacrifice.

"For all the people wept, when they heard the words
of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way,
eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions
unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for [this]
day [is] holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry: for
the joy of the LORD is your strength.  So the Levites
stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for
the day [is] holy; neither be ye grieved....for since
the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had
not the children of Israel done so." Neh. 8:2-11&17

That the Israelites had to be commanded to eat

animal sacrifice (II Kings 23:20-22) and that they
were weeping upon being so commanded to eat
flesh shows that they were originally vegetarians!

I have written extensively about this in chapters 8&9

of my book "The Lost Data on the Chariots of the
Elohim" (http://butsuri.allowed.org/MHJ/) and how
this takeover by the Levite animal sacrifice cult
caused the original records kept by the vegetarian
priesthood to be changed by the Levites to
eliminate references to the visitations of the Elohim
over whom YHVH is king.

"That you YHVH (‫)יהוה‬, Supreme over all of the

earth, exceedingly you are ascendant over all of
elohim."
Ps. 97:9: "In melodies we shall shout to Him, that el
Great YHVH (‫)יהוה‬, king over all of the elohim." Ps.
95:2-3 

This was ostensibly because the priests of the high

places burned incense to the "host of heaven" tzba
eshmim (II Kings 23:5-9).  The tzba eshmim were
YHVH's Elohim, His heavenly hosts who were in
oneness with Him.

"Praise YHVH, all His heavenly hosts, you his

servants who do his will." Ps. 103:21 "Therefore hear
the word of YHVH, I saw YHVH sitting on His throne
and all the host of the heavens (tzba eshmim)
standing on His right and His left." I Kings 22:19.
Ps. 148:2: "Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him all
His heavenly hosts."

The New Testament supports this observance

showing that it was NOT heresy to burn incense to
the host of heaven, so the Levites not only broke
the commandment against murder, the priests of the
high places were put to death for a completely
unjust reason!

"They made a calf in those days and led sacrifice to

the idol…Turns yet the God (Theos in Greek) and
besides (instead) gives them to be offering divine
service to the host of heaven (Greek-stratia ho
ouranos, Hebrew-tzba eshmim); as it is written in
the scroll of the prophets, no slayed ones and
sacrifices you offered to Me (God) for forty years in
the wilderness, house of Israel." Acts 7:42.

~ Thou Shalt Not Kill ~

Exodus 20:13 - Deuteronomy 5:17

The exact Hebrew wording of this biblical phrase is lo tirtzack which accurately translates
as "any kind of killing whatsoever."

The exact Hebrew wording of this biblical phrase is lo tirtzack. One of the greatest scholars
of Hebrew/English linguistics (in the Twentieth Century) -Dr. Reuben Alcalay - has written
in his mammoth book the Complete Hebrew /English Dictionary that "tirtzach" refers to
"any kind of killing whatsoever." The word "lo," as you might suspect, means "thou shalt
not."

Many Bible scholars persist with the theory that Christ ate animal flesh, obviously swayed
in their opinions by personal habits. The desire to accede to prejudice and uphold existing
tradition has been a human characteristic for many centuries, but truth appears now even
more important as man exerts his independence in so many aspects of life.

Respected Bible scholar Rev. V.A. Holmes-Gore has researched the frequent use of the
word "meat" in the New Testament Gospels. He traced its meaning to the original Greek.

His findings were first published in World Forum of Autumn, 1947. He reveals that the
nineteen Gospel references to "meat" should have been more accurately translated thus:

Greek word, number of references and actual meaning.

Broma 4 "Food"

Brosis 4 "The act of eating"

Phago 3 "to eat"

Brosimos 1 "That which is eaten"

Trophe 6 "Nourishment"

Prosphagon 1 "Anything to eat"

Thus, the Authorized Version of John 21:5, .'Have ye any meat?" is incorrect. It should
have been translated: "Have ye anything to eat?"

"Fish" is another frequently mistranslated word in the Bible. Its reference is often not to the
form of swimming life, but to the symbol by which early Christians could identify each
other. It was a secret sign, needed in times of persecution, prior to official acceptance of
Christianity as a state religion.

The sign of the fish was a mystical symbol and conversational password. Its name deriving
from the Greek word for fish, "ichthus" Much later it was represented an acrostic,
composed of leading letters of the Greek phrase, "Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter"-"Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Saviour."

Frequent references to fish are intended as symbolic of The Christ and have nothing to do
with the act of eating a dead fish. But the symbol of the fish did not meet with Roman
approval. They preferred the sign of the cross, choosing to concentrate more on the death
of Christ than on His brilliant life. Perhaps this is one reason only ten percent of His life
record appears in the canonical scriptures. Most of His first thirty years has been omitted.

Various "Translations" of the 6th Commandment

'Thou shalt not kill any living thing,' for life is given to all by God, and that which God has
given, let not man taketh it away. ~Jesus, Gospel of the Holy Twelve, (earliest known
recorded words of Jesus)

"Thou shalt not kill." ~Exodus 20:13 Authorized version of King James

"You shall not murder." ~New International Version