Pemikiran Yahudi Mazmur 78:18: HaEmunot veHaDeot

Translation:

For example: • Regarding “the mother of all living,” this refers only to humanity. • Regarding “the Lord your God is a consuming fire,” this is a metaphor comparing God’s punishment to fire, which quickly consumes, as stated (Deuteronomy 32:22), “For a fire is kindled in My anger.” • Regarding the verses about testing God, there is a distinction. One type of testing is to doubt God’s ability, as in (Psalms 78:18-19), “And they tested God in their hearts… Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” This is prohibited. However, another type of testing is to determine whether one has found favor in God’s eyes, as in the case of Gideon (Judges 6:36-37), “Gideon said to God, ‘If You will deliver Israel by my hand as You have said, I will place a fleece of wool…’” This type of test, like “Test Me, please, in this,” is permitted. • Regarding “Forty lashes he may give him,” our Sages explained that it refers to thirty-nine lashes, as the verse counts the thirty-ninth lash as part of the total of forty, similar to the forty years of wandering in the desert, which included the first year before the punishment began (Numbers 14:34).