{"id":64775,"date":"2019-10-26T08:52:17","date_gmt":"2019-10-26T05:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64775"},"modified":"2023-05-21T15:38:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T12:38:23","slug":"flying-foxes-and-bats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/flying-foxes-and-bats\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Foxes And Bats"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[660,429,500],"acf":{"old_id":"64775","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"336","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Weird animals as gods - but why these weird animals?\u00a0","content":"

Our chapter, replete with its own mini-introduction (1-2), addresses the eschatological future (<\/span>acharit hayamim<\/span><\/em>) in which people will abandon their arrogant and idolatrous ways and adopt a posture of humble obedience to God. A representative verse is v. 20:<\/span><\/p>\n

“On that day, men shall fling away, to the flying foxes (<\/span>lachpor-perot<\/span><\/em>) and the bats, the idols of silver and the idols of gold which they made for worshiping.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The general sense of the verse\u2014according to the principal medieval exegetes\u2014is that people will abandon even their most precious idols because they will realize that they are of no avail. Their interpretation, however, does not account for the specific examples cited in the verse.<\/span><\/p>\n

To better appreciate Mabim\u2019s commentary*, we first need to observe that the translation of <\/span>lachpor-perot<\/span><\/em> (read as a compound word) as \u201cflying foxes\u201d follows the Jewish Publication Society\u2019s 1978 edition, while its own 1917 edition (reading <\/span>lachpor<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>perot<\/span><\/em> separately) utilizes \u201cmoles.\u201d The former is roughly equivalent to Ibn Ezra\u2019s understanding, while the latter is Rashi\u2019s. Malbim, here, follows Rashi. Here is what he said:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Ancient idolaters imputed divinity to living creatures of the land, desert, sea, and air, even to the disgusting vermin that live underground, such as moles and bats\u2026 which they believed to have dominion over ditches and caves in which they dwelt. It was their custom to devote their worship to these creatures whenever they wanted to derive some benefit from the places they dominated. For instance, when sailing, they would worship Dagon [a fish god], when plowing\u2014an ox, and when thy sought refuge in ditches and caves, they would worship images of moles and bats.”<\/span><\/p>\n

On the basis of this assertion, [the prophet] says that after idols will be completely eliminated\u2026 even when entering ditches and caves on account of the fear of God [v. 21], not only will they will not replace the idols of these vermin anew, but even the precious silver and gold idols they had made previously will be cast away and no longer worshiped. And what will be the cause of this rejection? \u201cBefore the terror of the LORD and His dread majesty, when He comes forth to overawe the earth\u201d (21).<\/span><\/p>\n

By explaining the significance of the moles and bats as symbols of authority, Malbim\u2019s commentary enables us to expand the ancient concept of imputing divinity or dominion to lowly vermin into the inclination to \u201cworship\u201d machinery or technology. Modern man is too sophisticated to engage in coarse, primitive idolatry, but has easily segued into tacit submission to the operation of machines and computers, giving them priority over his service to God.<\/span><\/p>\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64776,"id":64776,"title":"is2-bats","filename":"is2-bats.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/flying-foxes-and-bats\/is2-bats\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is2-bats","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64775,"date":"2019-10-26 05:51:59","modified":"2019-10-26 05:52:13","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1280,"height":754,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-300x177.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-768x452.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":452,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-1024x603.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":603,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats.png","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":754,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats.png","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":754,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-1200x707.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":707,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is2-bats-713x420.png","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Flying Foxes And Bats","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Weird animals as gods - 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