Nonsense
In Jonathan Marks' Feb. 22 letter, he wrote "First, just because a statement is attributed to God doesn't mean a human didn't write it." Duh! Of course, a human wrote it.
God did not write one word in the Bible. No God ever known to humankind has ever written one word in the "Holy Scriptures" of any religion.
The passages Marks is critiquing are all traditionally believed written by Moses.
Marks wrote, "We see this in our own politics; the news may say the President gave a speech but that speech may have been written by a speechwriter. The same idea applies here -- the Bible can say that God said something but we know it says that because a human wrote it down.
Is Marks claiming Moses was God's speechwriter or His news reporter?
"The Bible can say that God said something but we know it says that because a human wrote it down." DUH! DUH!
Marks also ignores 2 Timothy 3:16 -- "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
Marks claims my reference to the 32,000 captive "little girls" given to the soldiers for sex in Numbers 31:17-18 and verse 35 is wrong. He cites verse 17 and claims the word for women is "woman." He is correct but these were the women who were slaughtered.
The girls given to the soldiers is in verse 18. The transliterated word is taphaph and means "children (11), girls* (1), infants (1), little children (2), little ones (27)." NASB Concordance.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible - Ezekiel 16:7-8 -- Verse 7 ...thy breasts are fashioned; swelled and stood out; were come to a proper size and shape, as in persons grown and marriageable; see Song of Solomon 8:10; and thine hair is grown; an euphemism, expressive of puberty, which in females was at twelve years of age...
Ezekiel: A Commentary – Dr. Paul M. Joyce, 'you were at the age for love': puberty; the emphasis here is more on sex than affection.
Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament Ezekiel 16:7-8 -- Ornament of cheeks is youthful freshness and beauty of face. The clauses which follow describe the arrival of puberty.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "Jewish maidens were considered marriageable at the age of twelve years and six months."
That minimum age did not apply to captive girls eligible for sex.
Oren Piper
Siloam Springs