Tuesday 16 June 2020

Biblical Instruction

A Midsummer Tempest, xvi.

(We will have an image of the title of every book in the Bible, eventually.)

The Reverend Barker, instructing Jennifer, has reached Leviticus 18:23 which, he says, ends:

"'...it is confusion.'"

The full text is:

"Neither shall thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before any beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion." (KJV)

"Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion." (NIV)

Why does Jennifer need such instruction? According to Barker, she expresses confusion by hailing a French goose girl, calling her free and requesting her (Papist) prayer. OK. I have had enough of Barker. I wanted to note yet another Biblical quotation and also to check which the full verse said.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Nobah Barker is certainly a most thoroughly unpleasant person! And I've never seen anything in or about Jennifer Alayne to make me think she would be tempted by bestiality.

And this is how the Challoner-Reims renders Leviticus 18.23: "Thou shalt not copulate with any beast, neither shalt thou be defiled by it. A woman shall not lie down to a beast, nor copulate with it; because it is a heinous crime."

Not only is Barker being offensively gross, the translation of the Bible he used (probably the AV) apparently misunderstood the underlying Hebrew word or concept. A concept more clearly expressed by the Challoner-Reims "heinous crime," not "confusion."

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

Barker is supposed to be a hypocrite and Pharisee.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

I agree! And I was also interested in seeing how the Challoner-Reims rendered that text from Leviticus.

Ad astra! Sean