This dissertation has been written with the aim of offering nomadic peoples a means by which they may re-appropriate the Holy Bible as a book which recounts their particular story.

Whereas sedentary populations need to discover the Holy Text’s relevance to their own circumstances by the re-interpretation of the Scriptures, nomadic tribes need simply to read it. The Holy Scriptures do not need transposing into a foreign culture. On the contrary, the Bible is the history of the nomadic culture. 

Summary

In Praise of the Nomadic Way of Life - Genesis 

The writer of the very first chapter of the Bible is a person who has already experienced a settled way of life based on agriculture and city dwelling, a way of life which he recognises to be one of God's gifts to man.  In particular, he has reflected at length on the Promised Land and has come to the conclusion that this Land is of enormous benefit to mankind. 

However, as becomes obvious to the reader of Genesis, the author has also understood that "man , for all his splendour, if he have not prudence, resembles an animal" (Psalms 48)

In these very first pages of the Bible is expressed a deep nostalgia for the bygone era of the Patriarchs who, through their pursuit of a nomadic way of life seem to the author to be nearer to God and on a straighter path. 

Praise for the nomadic way of life, then, has its origins here.  This dissertation is based on the following premise: "God gives or promises to give to man a land for him to settle down in (a desirable objective).  However, when man obtains this desirable objective and begins to lead the sedentary life, wallowing in ease and luxury, he becomes corrupt of spirit and God is obliged to send him once more out to lead the life of a nomad."

For the man who has settled down in one place  but has consequently given into temptation, God must punish him. When this man has re-embarked on the nomadic way of life, God is then able to reveal himself and give the hope of another land to settle in.

The first gift God donates to man and woman, after the gift of life, is the gift of a land divinely blessed, "a garden of Eden" (Gen. 2.8) where "he makes grow out of the ground all kinds of trees pleasant to the sight and good for food" (Gen. 2.9)  However after his chastisement, man will have to toil unendingly to obtain such fruit (Gen.3.17) Initially man is installed as the custodian of this Paradise (Gen.3.15) a very noble appointment which on man's fall from grace is subsequently transferred to the Cherubim (Gen.3.24).

The detailed description of its many attributes shows us just what a magnificent gift to mankind this earthly paradise was. Over time then, the memory of this earthly paradise is transformed into the hope of a Promised Land, a land which at least may resemble that original paradise.

In this way, by placing man on the road or in the forest or in the desert, God consequently always promises him the possibility of a land to settle down in.

Thus the story begins 

Man is enjoying the easy life and while he does so, he behaves in a way which displeases God (Gen.3). Man becomes corrupt and has sinned.  Therefore the earth, blessed on the first day of creation becomes cursed (Gen.3.17) by God Himself and man and woman are sent away.

God takes the blessed earth away from His original mortal creations but immediately promises them another land they can till.  In this instance the learning period is short; just the time necessary for understanding how to dress themselves and how to work the land. 

Their two sons become the personification prototypes of Good and Evil.  Cain carries on cultivating the land like his father (Gen.4.1) This type of occupation gives more of a sense of security and generally speaking easier living and represents for the author of the Bible a symbol of sin.

Abel, on the other hand, continues his journey and leads a nomadic existence (Gen 4.2).  He does not want to risk the same fate as his parents, becoming corrupt by remaining in a place similar to the one they were sent away from.

Abel, by continuing his journey as a shepherd in land more barren than that of his brother, Cain, is obliged to lead a more difficult life and becomes the personification prototype of Good.

Cain and Abel make a sacrifice to God (Gen.4.3-4). The Holy Text, without further explanation, simply states that Abel's sacrifice was pleasing to God but that Cain's sacrifice was not (Gen4.4-5).

Because the context of these early chapters of the Bible is one of praise to the nomadic way of life, it is obvious that God approves of the harder nomadic way of life but favours less the sedentary way of life which is easier and may lead to sin.

Abel, then, the symbol of Good, is sacrificed (Gen.4.8), whereas Cain, having killed his brother has to reckon with God.  Subsequent events follow the same pattern as the eviction from Paradise.  Cain is removed from the sedentary way of life and obliged to lead the life of a nomad (Gen.4.11).

Cain laments his fate and highlights the dangers of his nomadic existence: "Whoever finds me will kill me" (Gen.4.14).  God did not punish Adam with death and neither does he punish Cain with death.  He offers him his mercy. The kingdom of mercy (Gen.4.15) reigns over Cain and from this moment the pardoned sinner becomes the founding Father of the nomads.

What transforms Cain into a positive symbol is that, before worrying about his personal safety, he is concerned that his punishment will mean estrangement from God (Gen 4.14).

Cain not only embarks on the nomadic life as a result of God's mercy but he himself becomes an emblem of God's mercy and in fact soon finds another land to the east of Eden where he can settle down (Gen.4.14). 

Cain's eldest son, Enoch, immediately builds the city of Enoch and begins again the sedentary life enjoying  God's blessing and the easy life conferred by possessing one's own land. We will quickly see, however, that this sedentary life will once more become tainted with corruption which will not go un-noticed by God (Gen. 6.5).

According to the author of the Bible, the seventh generation after Cain takes up again the nomadic way of life.  At this point in the story, the nomads in question are the sons of Lamech and their two mothers, Ada and Sella.  "Ada bore Jabel, the father of the people dwelling in tents and living as shepherds. The name of  his brother was Jubal, the forerunner of all who play the harp and flute.   Sella also bore Thubalcain, who worked using his hammer to create all sorts of artefacts from bronze and iron (Gen.4.20-22).

In fact the Bedouin way of life had developed over 1,200 years and archaeological remains provide many examples of  the nomadic metalworkers.

Once Cain, who like Abel chooses the nomadic way of life,  has been used as an example of God's mercy by having his line live on through descendents, he disappears from the story.

Among the sedentary peoples who live in the city of Enoch, the son of Cain, and Adam's other children, the easy life (Gen.6.1-2) and the example of the giants (Gen.6.4) show us that the city is going down the path of corruption and sin once more.  So much so that God regrets ever having created mankind (Gen.6.5).  Now God is obliged again to expel the city dwellers allowing them to experience the nomadic way of life before he can give them another land to live in.

The author of the Bible does not wish to name another servant of God and a Patriarch of future generations from among the sons of Cain; the sin of fratricide has been too terrible and he prefers not to mention again the name of Cain, even if he was pardoned by God.

The author chooses a new patriarch from the descendents of Adam in the person of Noah who was blessed in the eyes of God and  righteous and fair (Gen.6.8-9).  Noah is the tenth generation after Adam.

Noah's great-grandfather, Enoch, walked in the path of God. This action of walking in the path of God is highlighted twice and must be interpreted as a metaphor in that God allows Enoch to avoid the moment of death by causing him to be taken up directly to Heaven (Gen.5.22-23). Noah also uses the same metaphorical language when he says he walks in the path of God (Gen.6.11).

It is important to notice that the name given to the father of Noah is Lamech, the same name recorded as one of Cain's descendents who is described as the founding father of the Nomads (Gen.18b cont).

In the midst of turbulent times, Noah is chosen to save his own family as well as the family of all the animals (Gen.6.13cont.). In fact God will unleash the Great Flood onto the earth and all living creatures will be exterminated.  Noah and his family experience forty days of the epitome of a wandering nomadic existence.  They have no idea of their destination and as they ride through the waves, are completely at the mercy of God. 

 In the end, however, God gives Noah a new land to settle in (Gen.8.21-22) where his family may multiply and where his children will build cities like Babylon (Gen.10.10), Nineveh (Gen.10.11) and many others (Gen.10).

Once these settled peoples have constructed their new cities, they want to build a symbol to city life: the city of Babel whose towers will reach up into Heaven (Gen.11.4).  Not only do these sedentary peoples become corrupt, treating each other without respect through evil actions, they also have the audacity to challenge God by wanting to reach up to Heaven.Once again God is obliged to evict man from the blessed land, scattering him far and wide and constraining him to a nomadic life. This is because once again man has been corrupted by the sedentary city-dwelling life.  God decides to make their languages incomprehensible to one another (Gen11.7). Thus man ceases to build cities (Gen.11.8b) and now possesses not one land but is spread over all lands (Gen.11.9)

The author lists new genealogies and makes us understand once more how city life risks corruption and how God is ever far-seeing and saves at least one person, Abraham and his family (Gen.12.1).  God invites Abraham to abandon city life definitively and again take up the life of a nomad without his knowing his ultimate destination.  God promises him another land and says to Abraham: "Leave your country, your kinsfolk, your father's house for the land which I will show you" (Gen.12.1).

Canaan is the first land God promises to Abraham but only his descendents will inhabit it (Gen.12.7). Then Abraham travels to Egypt (Gen12.10con), returns to Canaan (Gen13) and his children and animals and the children and animals of his grandson, Lot multiply to the point where they are obliged to move on and separate.

Lot chooses to settle in land around the river Jordan (Gen.13.11). This land was of inestimable value in the eyes of Lot and the author of the Bible underlines the fact that it was as fertile as the Garden of Eden (Gen.13.10).  History repeats itself.  God is given land to settle in by God, but our nomadic shepherd is soon attracted to the life of ease and goes off to live in the city of Sodom (not far from the city of Gomorrah).

Life in the city is certainly easier than the life of a shepherd but it is difficult to maintain one's integrity whilst living a sedentary life and so when God meets Abraham he tells him he wants to go and see how honest life is in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In the meantime Abraham goes to live in the vale of Mamre (Gen13.18).  From this moment the pattern of sedentary life (city)-corruption-eviction-a new Promised Land begins to have more far-reaching repercussions.

Genesis as far as chapter 50 narrates the story of the great Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their blessed lives as tent-dwelling nomads.  Their flocks multiply and their success as nomads and shepherds are an obvious sign of God's approval.

We now need to turn our attention to Lot in the city of Sodom where corruption is rife and from where he is evicted. In fact Lot had once before been taken out of the city of Sodom after a defeat in battle (Gen.14.12), but after Abraham had rescued him from his enemies (Gen.14.16) he went back to live in the city.

After other events, God confides in Abraham, who continues to live the nomadic life (Gen.18.1), what he intends to do to Sodom and Gomorrah. He says: "News about Sodom and Gomorrah and their sinful ways has reached a culmination point" (Gen.18.20). God through two angels descends into Sodom and visits the house of Lot (Gen.19.3).  The angels had gone to see if the level of corruption so talked about was really so extreme (Gen.18.21)

After the evening meal, men from the city break into the house of Lot with the intention of attacking his two guests (Gen.19.4-5). In order not to break the rules of hospitality, Lot is even willing to give the men his two virgin daughters (Gen.18.6-11).  (All  guests are sacred in most nomad cultures).  Then the moment to escape arrives: "Come leave this place for the LORD shall destroy the city" (Gen.19.14).

As they were taking their time over leaving, the angels took Lot, his wife and daughters by the hand and led them away out of the city (Gen19.17). The angels order them not to stop or look back, nor should they stop nearby but they should flee to the mountains (and take up once more the nomadic way of life) Gen.19.17b).

Lot, however begs permission to stop in a small town (Gen19.20) and God concedes in the hope that Lot will finally understand the lesson being taught him.

God rains down fire and sulphur from the heavens and destroys the city and the surrounding area including all the inhabitants and the crops (Gen.19.24-25).  Once more the sedentary life of ease is destroyed.

Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt (Gen.19.26b) because as she was fleeing she turned round (Gen.19.26) with a feeling of regret for what she was leaving.  When Lot witnesses the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and especially the destruction of sin and wealth which they represent, he decides not to stop in the small town of Segor but runs away even from there and takes refuge in a cave in the mountains far away from the city (Gen.19.30).

The alternating rhythm of nomadic and sedentary way of life continues in the following chapters.  In chapters 25-27, we encounter Esau and Jacob.  Esau cultivates the land and is certainly less fortunate than his brother Jacob who is a nomad and a tent-dweller and is of a peaceful nature.  The two brothers remind us of Cain and Abel, typical examples of the sedentary man and the nomad. Esau does not kill his brother like Cain had done, but he would like to (Gen.27.41).

Jacob cleverly manages to buy Esau's birthright (Gen.25.27-34) and even receives his father's blessing (Gen.27.1-40).  God accompanies Jacob in his travels (Gen.35.3) as he lives on the outskirts of the city and in a tent (Gen.33.17-20)

Jacob right until the end of his life lives a nomadic existence just as his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham had done before him (Gen.35.27b). It is worth noting that when Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons, he compares himself to a sheep led to pasture from adolescence by God himself, the Great Shepherd (Gen 48).

The beginning of Exodus leads up to the central event of the apology to the nomadic way of life as presented in the Bible.  On the one hand there is Egypt with its cities and its wealth.  The Jewish people were well-known and held positions of power in the land from the time when Joseph, one of Jacob's sons, had become deputy Pharaoh. However the Jewish people had increased in numbers and presented a threat to the power of the Pharaoh and so he reduced them to slavery and oppression.

God wants to free his chosen people from the urban way of life and wealth which leads to sin.  Therefore he rules them with a firm hand,  allowing them to be subjected to slavery, which is anyway preferable to life in the desert (Exodus 16.3) where they will then the nomadic way of life for 40 years.

In this way the Jewish people prepare for the day of transition from the sedentary way of life to the nomadic way of life.  "This day will be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate for ever after as a solemn day of the LORD" (Exodus 12.14).

Chapter 14 of Exodus describes in lofty tones the great crossing of the Red Sea after Moses divides the waters with his stick enabling his people to escape from Egypt, a place which symbolizes wealth, temptation, sin and in their recent memory slavery.  But slavery was the first step towards hard-earned freedom and infinitely preferable to the harsh life in the desert which followed. In the desert the people tell Moses: "Would we had been slain by God in Egypt where even though we were slaves, we sat round cauldrons of meat and could eat to our heart's desire!" (Exodus 16.3) (Numbers 16.13-14)

Now God through Moses needs to re-educate the chosen people by making them live the harsh life of the nomad in the desert. The people were to rebel many times with God and Moses punishing them and then showing mercy.

It was during this period that laws and commandments which were to last through the centuries were born.  We should note that the Temple, the House of God was not a place built of stone like the palaces of kings but a tent, a Great Tent (Exodus 26) a symbol of God's presence.  We should also remember that during the epoch of the Kings, when the more permanent Temple of Jerusalem was built, there continued to be at the heart of the Temple a large tent or Tabernacle to remind God's people that God continues to live in a tent.

A festival was then established, one of six important festivals, that is called the Festival of the Tabernacle or rather of the tents (Leviticus23.33-44).  Tabernacle Festivals last seven days.  On the fifteenth day of the seventh month begins the festival in honour of the Lord God (Leviticus23.24) which lasts seven days.  God orders Moses to live for seven days in a tent.  "Every man of the tribe of Israel will live in a tent in order that he may know that I made the children of Israel live in tents when I led them out of Egypt" (Leviticus 23.42-43)

It is also worth noting that in the laws given in Leviticus, there is one particular law which deals with land ownership. Land ownership makes man sedentary so here the land belongs to God: "The land will not be sold in eternity because the land is mine (says God) and you are but aliens who have become my tenants" (Leviticus 25.23).  The land will not be sold but rather you will have the use of the land for a certain number of years. Those who buy the right to use the land may gather the fruits of that land" (Leviticus 25.16).

In the book of Numbers, in chapter two, there is a description of one of the most interesting camps in history.

God tells Moses and Aaron: "The Israelites  shall camp, each in his own division, under the ensigns of their ancestral houses. They shall camp round the Meeting Tent.

Encamped on the east side, towards the sunrise, shall be the divisional camp of Juda, arranged in companies. ( Nahasson, son of Amminadab, was the prince of the Judaites, and his soldiers amounted in the census to who account for 74,600) With Juda shall camp the tribe of Issachar (their prince was Nathanael, son of Suar, and his soldiers amounted in the census to 54,400)and the tribe   of Zabulon (their prince was Eliab, son of Helon, and his soldiers amounted in the census to 57.400)  The total number of those registered by companies in the camp of Juda was 186,400. They will be the first on the march.

On the south side shall be the divisional camp of Ruben, arranged in companies (their prince was Elisur, son of Sedeor, and his soldiers amounted in the census to 46,500.) Beside them shall camp  the tribe of Simeon (their prince was Selumiel, son of Surisaddai and his soldiers amounted in the census to 59,300)  and next the tribe of Gad.(Their prince was  Eliasaph, son of Raguel and his soldiers amounted in the census to 45,650)  The total number of those registered by companies in Ruben's camp was 151,450. These shall be second on the march.

Then the tent of the Meeting Tent and the camp of the Levites shall set out in the middle of the line. As in camp, so also on the march, every man shall be in his proper place, with his own division.

On the west side shall be the divisional camp of Ephraim, arranged in companies. (Their prince was Elisama, son of Ammiud and his soldiers amounted in the census to 40,500.) Beside them shall camp the tribe of Manasse(Their prince was  Gamaliel, son of Phadasur and his soldiers amounted in the census to 32,200)  and  the tribe of Benjamin.(Their prince was  Abidan, son of Gedeoni and his soldiers amounted in the census to 35,400.)  The total number of those registered by companies in the Ephraim's camp was 108,100 and these shall be the third on the march .

On the north side shall be the divisional camp of Dan arranged in companies. (Their prince was Ahiezer, son of Ammisaddai and his soldiers amounted in the census to 62,700.)  Beside them shall  camp the tribe of Aser. (Their prince was  Phagiel, son of Ochran and his soldiers amounted in the census to 41,500) and next the tribe of Nephthali. (Their prince was  Ahira, son of Enan and his soldiers amounted in the census to 53,400)The Total number of those registered by companies  in the camp of Dan was 157,600. These shall be the last of the divisions on the march." 

Thus we have  the Israelites divided along tribal lines. All those men who took part in the census numbered in total 603,550. The Levites, however, in accordance with the orders God gave to Moses were not registered along with the Israelites in the census. The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses; both in camp and on the march they were in their own divisions, every man according to his clan and his ancestral house. 

They are walking the road to the Promised Land (Numbers chapter 13) through rebellions, sin and pardon.  And all the while God is training and educating his people as they walk through the desert.

And at the end of forty years of wandering God reminds his people that they have been obliged to lead this nomadic life after living a settled existence where even as slaves they had an abundance of cheap fish, watermelon, leeks, onions, garlic, (Numbers 11.5) meat and bread to eat (Exodus 16.3).

But why did God behave in this way towards his people? Here is the reason: "Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments" (Deut 8.2). "Understand therefore that as a father disciplines his son so does God discipline you" (Deut 8.5).

God is about to give the Promised Land to his people, a highly fertile land which produces grain, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives, honey and an abundance of all things (Deut 8. 7-9).

But at that very moment God admonishes his people in order for them to understand who he is and he tells them: "Beware of forgetting the Lord your God, .... And let it not happen that, after satiating your hunger, after building and living in fine houses, ... after acquiring gold and silver, your hearts do not become proud and you forget the LORD your God" (Deut 8. 11-14).

In addition we should remember that also at the end of the book of Joshua, once all the battles have been won and the Promised Land reached because as the Book tells us God fought for them, we find a solemn warning from God: "If you fail to keep your promises, ... you will be removed from this marvellous land you have been given and scattered far and wide" (Joshua 23.15; 24.20)

Joshua says these things in the last words before he dies because he knows his people and he is insistent in his message because he realises how easy it is for corruption to take hold when life is settled and easy. He is aware that his people will necessarily be punished again by being dispersed far and wide and by having to endure an even harder nomadic life than before.

In Kings chapter one,  a shepherd named David, is crowned king.. God is consistent in the message he wishes to give to his people. Although they have now formed a kingdom and live a settled existence, God shows them the lifestyle he feels is purer via the prophet's choice of a young shepherd as king.

Life as a sedentary population continues but when David decides to build a temple dedicated to the God of Israel, the prophet communicates to him God's words: "Are you building me a house to live in? In truth, from the day I led the children of Israel from the Land of Egypt until now I have never lived in a house.  I have moved from one place to another beneath a tabernacle under ..." (Kings II 7. 5-6)

But now the moment has come to once more offer a sense of stability to the people after their long exile in the desert: "I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, and they shall dwell therein and shall be disturbed no more ..." (Kings II 7.10)

The high point of the children of Israel comes during the reign of Solomon:  "Judah and Israel were innumerable, as the sand in the sea in multitude: eating, drinking and rejoicing " (Kings III 4.20). "And the provisions of Solomon for was thirty measures of fine flour and three-score measures of meal, ten fat oxen and twenty out of the pastures and a hundred rams, besides venison of harts roes and buffalo and fatted fowls" (Kings III 4. 22-23).

God also bestowed on Solomon wisdom and caution (Kings III 4.29). And Solomon also builds the Temple (Kings ch.6).

But once the Temple has been consecrated through Solomon's prayers, God does not tire of repeating to Solomon "....if you walk before me as your father walked in simplicity of  heart and in uprightness, I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel  for all eternity; ..... but if you do not observe my commandments and you pay homage to foreign deities.... I will banish Israel off the face of the earth that I have given to her and I will destroy the Temple consecrated in my name and Israel will go down in history as an example to everybody" (Kings III 9.4-7).  

And once again it happens that Solomon, through living the life of luxury, becomes corrupt and under his wife's influence is tempted by foreign deities and is punished (Kings III ch.2).

In chapter seventeen of Book III of Kings the reason for the ruin of the Kingdom of Israel is explained: "....because the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God.... Because they had worshipped foreign deities ........ alternative places of worship were built all over their cities from defence towers to fortified citadels" (Kings IV 17. 7-9).

God's punishment can be witnessed at its most terrible in  the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple. The King's palace, all the houses and other buildings, all the city's wealth, especially its gold, silver and copper are removed from Jerusalem (Kings IV ch.25). This was in the year 609BC when Nabuchodonosor  of Babylon destroyed the city of Jerusalem. 

An important page in the history of this tale, which alternates between reward and punishment, between the nomadic way of life and the sedentary way of life, is the return to Jerusalem after a long period of slavery.  Cirus proclaims the edict which allows re-entry into Jerusalem: "Thus spoke Cyrus, King of Persia: The Lord God of Heaven has conceded to me all the kingdoms on this earth; he has appointed me to build a temple in his honour in Jerusalem in Judea. Who among you belongs to his people? Let his God be with him; may he return to Jerusalem in Judea and rebuild the temple of the Lord God of Israel: he is the God who resides in Jerusalem. Every surviving immigrant in whichever place they may be, will receive from the people of that place silver, gold, goods and animals along with generous contributions for the re-building of the temple of God which is in Jerusalem" (Esdras 1. 2-4).

King Cyrus returned all the goods which Nabuchodonosor had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and transported to the temple of his deity (Esdras 1. 7-11). Later there followed the decree of Darius for the re-construction of the Temple whose re-building had been interrupted (Esdras 6. 3-12) and this time the work was properly finished (Esdras 6.13).

Faithful allegiance and then punishment follow one another.  It is important to highlight when talking of the nomadic way of life and the sedentary way of life, that we cannot put a date to a precise moment when the sedentary way of life was taken up.  This is a long process where the chosen people live both the life of herdsmen and the life of the city dweller.

The important thing is that when we get to the era of the Kings, that is of David and Solomon, reference is still made, even in times of a sedentary existence, to the era of the Exodus, an era of an absolutely nomadic way of life. In addition, let us remember that the theory that a life of ease in the city, a sedentary way of life which leads to man's corruption and banishment from that place, away from the Promised Land which is a God-given gift is ever present.

Interval

Prayer on the journey 

Happy is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked.  Nor walks in the way of   sinners.

For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

The man who lives a life of ease and comfort trusts too much in his wealth and 

 understanding nothing, becomes as an animal.

O Lord. Let me not stray from the path of righteousness.

Open the way before me.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.  He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life.

One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.

Sure that in times of trouble he will conceal me in the shelter of his tent.

Show me, O Lord, your way, and lead me on a level path.

You are my rock and my fortress; my guide and my shepherd.

Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on and bring me to your holy mountain and the shelter of your tent.

Sing to God, chant praise to his name, prepare the way for He who rides on high.

O God, when you went forth at the head of your people, when you marched through the wilderness, the earth quaked  and it rained from heaven.

Your way was through the sea.

O God your way is holy!

You divided the rock and caused water to gush forth in rivers. But once they had sated their thirst, the people once more sinned against their Lord.

Yes, they spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the desert? For when he struck the rock, waters gushed forth but can he also give bread and provide meat for his people?"

Then the Lord rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.

And he rained meat upon them like dust, winged birds which fell in the midst of their camp round about their tents. So they ate and were satisfied. The Lord had brought them what they craved and their food was still in their mouths when the anger of God rose against them.

When he slew them, they sought him once more, remembering that the Lord was their redeemer. 

(Then once they were safe and well, they  believed not in his wonders and again incurred God's wrath).

They wandered in the desert wilderness; the way to an inhabited city they did not find.  Hungry and thirsty, their life was wasting away within them. They cried to the Lord in their distress; from their straits he rescued them. And he led them by a direct way to reach an inhabited city.

He changed the desert into pools of water, waterless land into water springs. And there he settled the hungry and they built a city to dwell in. They sowed fields and planted vineyards, and they obtained a fruitful yield.

But he who pours out contempt  upon the leaders of the people, and sends them to wander through the wilderness, lifted up the needy out of misery and made their families numerous like flocks.

What man is wise enough to observe these things and to understand the bounty of the Lord?

Teach me, O Lord, your way that I may walk in your truth.

Because you have the Lord as your refuge, no evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent. For he has given command about you to his angels, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.  You shall tread upon the asp and the viper; you shall trample down the lion and the dragon.

O Lord.  Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain; by your way give me life.

For in all your precepts I go forward; every false way I hate.

I wandered like a lost sheep: seek your servant O Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

And he brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm , for his mercy endures forever.

He divided the Red Sea in two, for his mercy endures forever.

He led his people through the wilderness, for his mercy endures forever. (But after having received as God's gift the promised land, we lost it through our infidelity.)

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. And we hung our lyres on the willow trees even though our captors asked us to sing for them the songs of Zion. But how could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land.?

If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be paralysed and may my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not place you, Jerusalem, above all my joys.

The way of God is the way to freedom which leads to the promised land but it also instructs us and leads us to the truth.

Let us dedicate words from the Book of Proverbs as a hymn to the true path of God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Do not rely on your own intelligence. In all your ways be mindful of him.

The paths of wisdom are pleasant ways and peaceful.

Happy the man who obeys me and happy those who keep my ways.

A path to life is his who heeds admonition, but he who disregards reproof goes astray.

In the path of justice, there is life, but the way of abomination leads to death.

Virtue guards one who walks honestly.

The way of the slothful is hemmed in as with thorns, but the path of the diligent is a highway.

The man of understanding goes the straight way.

Sometimes a way seems right to a man but the end of it leads to death!

Evildoers have subjugated those on the true path.

Let us never forget that the house of the wicked will be destroyed but the tent of the upright will flourish.

The Prophets 

Elijah is recognised as the greatest of the Prophets or at any rate the person who represents them, according to the evangelical interpretation of the Transfiguration, next to Jesus with Moses representing the Law.

Elijah's life in many ways parallels the life of Moses in the history of the Exodus.  Just as Moses goes to Pharaoh who wishes to kill him, Elijah goes to Achab who wishes to kill him.

Moses and God's chosen people go into the desert, Elijah goes towards  Jordan.  Both Moses and Elijah are sent food from the skies.  "And then the word of the Lord God came to Elijah thus: 'Leave this place and go towards the East and hide yourself along the stream of the Carit which lies opposite Jordan: here you will drink from the stream; I have ordered the crows to feed you in that place.' 

He therefore left and following the Lord God's command, went to live along the banks of the Carith opposite Jordan: the crows brought bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening and he drank water from the stream" (Kings III 17. 2-6).

As Moses climbs the mountain to meet God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24.18), Elijah goes into the desert and also walks for forty days and forty nights until he reaches Mount Oreb (Kings III 19.4-8).

Elijah is similar to Moses the walker.  Both men walk through the desert and go towards the mountain to meet God and to take the people entrusted to them to God.

It is interesting to note that not only are those who guide the chosen people walkers but also God  himself is often represented as on the move from the very first page of the Bible.  Then there is God who passes over when he makes his covenant with Abraham (Gen 15.17); and again we have God who walks at the head of his chosen people in a cloud and in a column of fire (Exodus 13.21) and it is God who passes next to Moses (Exodus 34.6) and again God who passes next to Elijah (Kings III 19-11).

We next meet the great prophet Isaiah who at the very beginning of his vocation says he has heard the voice of God who asks: "Who shall I send? Who can go as my representative? (who can go and preach the conversion to a population made corrupt by the sedentary way of life, a population who venerates false deities and deserves punishment?)

And I (Isaiah) said: "Here am I: send me" (Isaiah 6.8).  How great will God's punishment of the sinners be? The sedentary way of life of those living in the cities abandoned by God needs to be once more destroyed and the people living there scattered so they may understand.

Here is the extent of the mission entrusted to Isaiah: "Until all the cities are laid to waste and empty of people and until all the houses are uninhabited and the land is made barren. The Lord God will send far and wide all men. The earth will continue to be decimated but she will be converted and like a turpentine tree and an oak which spreads its branches, what remains in the earth will be sacred seed" (Isaiah 6.11-13).

And invasion and destruction beset the region  from Syria to Judea  (Isaiah 8), Samaria and the Kingdom of Israel (Isaiah 9.8)and the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 4. 13-14). And the destruction of Moab.  "Like wandering birds, nests of lost little birds shall be the daughters of Moab" (Isaiah 15-16) and "Damascus will cease to be a city" (Isaiah 17.1) and the cities of Aroer will be abandoned to its flocks who will rest undisturbed by anyone" (Isaiah17.2).

Then there follow prophecies against Ethiopia (Isaiah 18), Egypt (Isaiah 19), Edom and Arabia (Isaiah 21), Jerusalem (Isaiah 22) and Tyre (Isaiah 23). About Tyre it is said that: "Isn't this the very same city, your city which once boasted its ancient origins?  Now its feet will take it on a faraway pilgrimage" (Isaiah 23.7).

These remonstrations repeat themselves in various forms: "God will knock down the proud city and humiliate it razing it to the ground" (Isaiah 26.5). And about Edom which is a symbol for the world of nations it is said that "And thorns and nettles shall grow up in its houses, and the thistle in its fortresses.  Dragons will inhabit the place and ostriches will live in its parks (Isaiah 34.13). The hedgehog has its hole where it raises its young ... and there will meet the vultures, one next to another" (Isaiah 34.15).

And immediately Isaiah gives voice to an anthem of liberation.  The Chosen People return from slavery to make the Promised Land  fertile once more.  "The land that was desolate and impassable will resound with joy" (Isaiah 35.1). "Streams will gush forth in the desert and torrents of water in silent places: the dry earth will be transformed into a lake.  Drought-stricken land will have an abundance of springs."

"Where once there were the hiding places of dragons, the reed and the bulrush  will rise up.  A path, an indicated route will appear and this route will be called holy.  The impure shall not pass along this road. It will be our road, the right road. Whoever follows this way even if they are ignorant will not make a mistake. No lions or evil creatures will place their feet upon this road.  Only those who shall be delivered  will walk along it" (Isaiah 35. 6-9).

Isaiah then proclaims the definitive liberation of Israel and the kingdom of the Messiah.  A voice in the desert had already announced the arrival of  the liberator:  "then a voice shouted in the desert: prepare the way of the Lord, straighten the paths of our God in the wilderness.  Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and every hill shall be made low, crooked roads shall become straight and rough terrain shall become flat. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed" (Isaiah 40. 3-5a)

Having been corrupted and then having repented, the people will again walk in the company of the Lord: "I will lead the blind along unknown roads, I will make them walk along unknown paths. I will change darkness into light before them and crooked roads into straight ones" (Isaiah 42.16).

"I will make rivers appear on the slopes of hills and fountains in the middle of the plains.  I will transform deserts into lakes and arid land shall be irrigated by streams.  I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn , and the myrtle, and the olive tree. I will set in the desert the fir tree, the elm, and the box tree together" (Isaiah 41.18-19).

The alleviation of all hardship reaches its zenith: thus speaks the Lord: "Now that the time is right, I have fulfilled your every wish (Isaiah 49.8) ..... I have told those in chains to go free and those in the vale of darkness to come into the light.  They will lead their flocks along the roads and will graze them on all the pains.  They will suffer neither hunger nor thirst.  Neither will heat or the sun's rays bother them because he who is merciful will lead them and will assuage their thirst with fountains of water.

And I will make all my mountains a way and my paths shall be exalted. Here are men from far away, here are others from the north and from the sea and yet others from the south.  Sing, O Heavens, exalt the Earth and You mountains, break out in cries of joy because the Lord has brought consolation to his people and will have mercy on his poor ones" (Isaiah 49. 9-13).

Isaiah, as he gazes upon Jerusalem which has been rewarded after paying a long penance, still sees the city linked to the image of a tent.  It is almost as if he wishes to once more remind himself of the importance of the nomadic way of life.  This is because at the time of the Patriarchs, God revealed himself to those leading a nomadic existence.

And now when the people living in Jerusalem are rewarded with an easier life, they must not forget the era of the Patriarchs.  Isaiah therefore expresses the following words: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and stretch out the skins of your tabernacles, spare not: lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you shall pass on the right side and the left and your descendants shall hold a prime position among nations and inhabit the desolate cities" (Isaiah 54. 2-3)

This prophecy is also a warning not to repeat the bad habits associated with life in the city, habits which have already been punished, but to live in the manner of tent dwellers.

And now even the lamentations of Jeremiah recall the era of the nomadic way of life lived by the people of Israel.  An era when God himself accompanied and guided them: "Where is the Lord that made us come out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the desert, through a land uninhabited and unpassable, through a land of drought and the image of death?  And I brought you to the land of Carmel to eat its fruits and you who entered here defiled my land and made my inheritance an abomination." (Jeremiah 2.6-7)

In just two verses Jeremiah describes the times of the nomadic way of life when God accompanied his people toe the Promised Land where they lived in abundant ease.  But they quickly became corrupted and were once again evicted.

Only after seven verses do we find: "They have made his land a wilderness;  his cities are burnt down and without inhabitants" (Jeremiah 2.15).  "Yet I planted you the perfect vineyard.  How is that you have turned into something so bad?" (Jeremiah 2.21)

Once again the destruction of the city and the diaspora are highlighted: "At the voice of the horsemen and the archers, everyone in the city fled taking refuge in inhospitable places in thickets and amongst the rocks.  All the cities are abandoned and not one person lives in them" (Jeremiah 4.29).  And again: "Cut down its trees and build a trench around Jerusalem because this city is destined to be punished as within its walls reigns every sort of oppression" (Jeremiah 6.6).

In chapter 23 there is a moment of great hope with a very vivid image of the nomadic way of life:

 " And I will gather together the remnant of my flock from wherever I have banished them and return them to their pastures and they will increase and multiply.  And I will set up shepherds over them and they shall feed them  and they need no longer live in fear and their number shall be protected, said the Lord." (Jeremiah 23.3-4)

The tears shed by Jeremiah over the destruction of the city culminate with the razing to the ground of the Temple.(Jeremiah 52)

But Jeremiah's lament continues as he describes the abandonment of the City of cities and the ruthless punishment it undergoes.

This text is known as the Lamentations of Jeremiah and consists of five chapters which I had initially hoped to print in their entirety or at least the first two chapters.  However as the text is such a compact unit, it would be best if it were read as a whole in the Bible.

I will just take a brief example from the first chapter:  "Jerusalem has grievously sinned and for this she has become unstable."

Baruch also repeats the theory that God's mercy is great but because of sinning in a place blessed with an abundant way of living, God is obliged again to scatter his people and send them away. (Baruch 2.13; 29).

After having sent his people away, God then gives back the Promised Land in the form of Jerusalem  to his people.  In chapter 5, the city prepares to receive its exiles.

Up until chapter 34. Ezechiel continues to recount the punishment meted out by God to his people who have become corrupt, especially city-dwellers. Punishment and eviction are a necessary prelude to the people's eventual return to the Promised Land.

Ezechiel, chapter 34 is worth taking a closer look at in the context of our essay on the nomadic way of life. Here is the messianic image of the Good Shepherd:  "Thus spoke the LORD God:  I myself will seek my sheep and take care of them. Just as the shepherd visits his flock in the day when he is in the middle of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep, and will gather them from all the places where they have been scattered in cloudy and dark days. And I will bring them out from the people and I will gather them out of the countries and bring them to their own land and I will graze them in the mountains of Israel, by the rivers in the valleys and in all areas of the region. I will lead them to the most luscious pastures.  They shall rest on the green grass and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains of Israel. I myself will guide my sheep and cause them to lie down says the LORD God.  I will seek that which was lost and that which was driven away I will bring back to the fold.  I will bind up that which was broken and strengthen that which was weak.  I will preserve that which was fat and strong.  I will feed them in the right way":

In the Book of Daniel, we find the same message that I am trying to convey throughout these pages.

The city and the settled way of life is a gift from God but man becomes liable to corruption when he enjoys a life of ease and has to be cast out and punished. Through being sent to live a nomadic way of life, he re-acquires his human dimension, recognises God and as a result, God himself provides him once more with a house, a city and a place where he can rest at ease.

In the Book of Daniel Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon dreams about an enormous tree reaching up to the sky.  The text presents us with the dream by saying: "I, Nabuchodonosor was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace" (Daniel 4.1)

Whilst living this life of luxury, He sees an enormous tree reaching up to the sky (Daniel 4.7-9) and is told to cut it down and to leave a part of its roots intact that after times will be salvaged.

Daniel explains the meaning of the dream to the king telling him that the splendid tree represents the king himself and that because he is corrupt he will be sent away to do penance by living as an animal.  When he has understood who his Lord God is, he will be allowed to return to his palace.  The dream is fulfilled and the text finishes: Nabuchodonosor was driven away from among men and did eat grass like an ox and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till his hairs grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like birds' claws." (Daniel 4.30)

Once he had returned to his senses, he was once again blessed by God (Daniel 4,31) and returned to his kingdom (Daniel 4.33).

In Osee the same theory is propounded: man becomes corrupt when he lives a life of ease in the luxury of the city.  He must therefore be exiled and then, after a suitable period, re-instated:   "And Israel has forgotten its maker and has built temples and Judea has built many fenced cities. But I will send a fire upon its cities and all its buildings will be devoured in the flames" (Osee 8.14).

In the cities, in fact, corruption had set in and the people had begun to disobey God: "My God will cast them away because they did not listen to him and they shall be wanderers among the nations" (Osee 9.17).

The concept is re-iterated by Osee when he says that the more they enjoyed the life of ease given them by God, the more they rebelled against Him: "Israel is a vine full of branches and laden with fruit. According to the amount of fruit Israel enjoys, it has multiplied its altars (to other gods) and according to the plenty of its land, it has multiplied its idols." (Osee 10.1). Punishment is never, however, eternal: "And I, that am the LORD your God from the time of your sojourn in Egypt, will once more allow you to dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the feast," (Osee 12.9)

It is important to point out that the nomadic way of life in the Bible almost always has a dual function:it works as a penance but then, precisely because the nomadic lifestyle brings the people nearer to God, it is also a means to liberation and rejoicing.

Joel tells of God's punishment: "That which the palmerworm has left, the locust has eaten.  That which the locust has left, the bruchus has eaten.  That which the bruchus has left, the mildew has destroyed." (Joel 1.4)

"The country is destroyed, the ground is in mourning, there is no corn or oil or wine. Fig trees, pomegranate trees, palm trees and apple trees have all withered" (Joel 1. 10-12).  

"Beast groan and herds of cattle low because there is no pasture for them and the flocks of sheep have perished. Even the beautiful plants of the desert have been devoured by fire," (Joel 1.18.19)

The prophet invites the people to repent and thus God pardons them and gives back life. And God himself comes to live in the city of Zion (with his children) (Joel 3.21).

The Prophet Abdias speaks against Edom which has become powerful but because of its pride and sins has been humiliated.  "Even if you fly as high as an eagle and make your nest among the stars, I will bring you down" (Abdias 1.4). And in the end the Lord will govern once more. (Abdias 1.21)

The theory of the purity of the nomadic way of life reaches epic heights in the tale of Jonah and the city of Nineveh.

Jonah is invited, as Abraham and other prophets had been before him, to set out on a journey and go on a mission but he is afraid and refuses.  He chooses to go and live in a quiet place: Tarsus. God, however, surprises him in his sleep and the ship he is sailing on is buffeted around beyond all expectations.  God has Jonah devoured by a fish and for various days and night submerged in the depths of the sea. Finally Jonah understands and appeals to God to liberate him. He has gone through a harrowing experience as a penance and then he is freed (Jonah 1.2).

The second protagonist of this Book is the city of Nineveh. Nineveh is a powerful city and so corrupt that God orders its destruction (Nahum1.2:3) He sends Jonah to Nineveh to tell the people that their city will be destroyed within forty days.

History (not the Bible) recounts that Nineveh was such a violent and proud city that it had decided to kill large numbers of men in order to cover all the walls of the city with human skin.  Nineveh is the perfect symbol of a city grown so corrupt as a result of  an excessively abundant lifestyle that God was obliged to punish it and send its inhabitants back to a nomadic way of life to convert them back to righteous living.

In this instance, on hearing Jonah's sermon, all the inhabitants of Nineveh, man and beast, begin fasting, neither eating nor drinking and they cover themselves with ashes and beg God for mercy.  In this way the city transforms itself into a kind of wilderness and just as Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, so Nineveh lives a life of complete deprivation for forty days.  In the end God pardons the inhabitants and gives them back their city. (Jonah chapter3).

Micheas also meditates on the ruin of Samaria, Israel and Judea but especially on Jerusalem, a great and powerful city that is shackled into slavery to be subsequently liberated. (Micheas ch.1.2:3;4).

Habacuc harks back to the crossing of the Red Sea, the momentous event preceding the period of exile in the desert leading to the liberation of the people of Israel. (Habacuc 3.15 )

Even Sophonias adds his voice to those who are critical of a life in the city which corrupts people and causes them to abandon the way of truth and dedicate themselves to the worship of false gods:

" That day is a day of wrath, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and obscurity, a day of clouds and whirlwinds; a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and the high bulwarks.  And I will distress men and they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord" (Sophonias 1.17)

The Machabees were deservedly punished because of their continuous warring and alternating victories and defeat and.all of which were brought about as a result of the corrupt lifestyle of the population. In the end, having done penance, they were pardoned by the Lord and their city is returned to them.

Let us also not forget the words spoken by the seventh and youngest Machabee brother. Before he is tortured and dies a martyr, he says: "It is because of our sins that we are suffering and if the Lord is angry with us and punishes us, we shall once again, as his servants, be  reconciled to him" (Machabees  7. 32-33).

In accordance with this young man's prophecy, God in the end shows mercy to his people.  Their punishment stops and God returns their city to them. The final proclamation to be found in the epilogue which closes the Old Testament confirms as much: "..and from that time, the city being possessed by the Hebrews, I also will here make an end of my narration." (Machabees II 15.38) 

(The reference is to the war between Judas Machabee and Nicanor)

In the New Testament, the idea of following a path reaches a new depth in that it is Jesus himself who retraces the steps of the Old Testament and  Early Church theology highlights the importance of the nomadic way of life that was followed by the Patriarchs.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem, outside the big city. To be exact, the city rejects him.  We are not interested in the archaeological details (in which particular stable Jesus was born) but the theological context. The observation of the Church places Jesus amongst shepherds, making him retrace the way taken by the ancient tribes. He is born amongst nomads as were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Even John says: "And He came and laid his tent among us" (John 1.14).  He is not taken into a house (John 1.11) and it is the shepherds who are given the privileged position of knowing the news of the Saviour's birth first (Luke 2.9-12). And once again it is the shepherds (after the Angels) who are the first to spread the news of this great event. They are the first evangelists (Luke 1.18).

It is important not to forget the visit by the Three Wise Men, heads of tribes who are nomads from the East almost like the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They come not just to remember the past but to remind everyone to continue walking along the path of God and his people.

While still in his mother's womb, Jesus is on the move when his mother goes to work in Elizabeth's house. 

Matthew's Gospel tells us of Jesus' pilgrimage, as a young child,  following in the footsteps of Abraham who went into Egypt (Genesis 12.10) and like Abraham, Joseph, who with his brothers and his father, Jacob become a numerous tribe over the following four hundred years. This tribe had become used to a life of abundance in Egypt (as recorded in the lamentations in the wilderness). And their life in Egypt was not only an abundance of food but also dedicated to a lifestyle and the worship of gods that corrupted them away from the God of Abraham.  In consequence of this, they are enslaved to be subsequently freed only after a long sojourn in the desert, the perfect symbol of a nomadic lifestyle and the most righteous way of all time.

Jesus does not undertake a journey of penance for his own sins, but to wash away the sins of others he performs the same journey of those who had been evicted from their land towards redemption and the reward of life in the City, the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Another significant factor is that Jesus earns his living until the age of thirty as a carpenter and this is another typical job of a nomad.

Religious Art has frequently chosen to depict Jesus in the carpenter's workshop along with Joseph and Mary, working more or less in the way carpenters work today.

At the time of Jesus, carpenters would gather for months or years at the construction site of an important building.  Here they would prepare the necessary pieces, chisel sculptures, make sure joints fitted perfectly. (We need only to think about the building of the temple: (Kings III 5.13-18)).

Jesus with Joseph and other work colleagues used to move from one worksite to another using Nazareth as their reference point, where Maria, the mother, waited for them at home.

When Jesus starts his life as a preacher, it is true he also goes to the synagogue, but he prefers the side of the lake or the slopes of a hill where thousands of his faithful followers can gather.  The Gospels describe Jesus as always on the move: "And now Jesus went from town to village preaching and announcing the Kingdom of God. And with him were the twelve men and some women" (Luke 1-2).

His preaching was always connected to an outside setting  providing very vivid images: shepherds, fishermen, fish, vineyards, figs, storms, fields of grain, corn, flowers, birds, flocks in the sky, wind and sunsets etc.  His preaching is almost always done in the open air.

When he describes himself, it is almost always as a nomad, a shepherd, someone who does not have a stone to lay down his head on.  The only time the Apostles think about making a dwelling for their Lord, they have a tent in mind: "Let us make three tents, one for Yourself, one for Moses and one for Elijah" (Mark 9.4).

Jesus cries when he contemplates the city, the Jerusalem of the land. In the end, he is crucified at Jerusalem, but beyond the city walls and buried outside the city walls. And in the end, he leaves his tomb there and ascends into Heaven.