I found this interesting little tidbit from on an online e-book on Christian occultism. Whoo boy, imagine if the dubs could see this.
Jehovah, regent of the Moon
by Enishi 9 Replies latest watchtower bible
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peacefulpete
Enishi...psuedoscholarship like this brings real religious studies into disrepute. The authors take what are real evidences of occult and astrological influences and weave them into an artificial construct. Yes the numerology and wording of some passages in the OT and NT betray an astrological familiarity. And yes the various Bible authors likely meant it to be esoteric knowledge, however, the broad scope and continuity claimed by some of theses modern mystics displays a gross ignorance of the extensive redaction and alteration of the texts and stories that the Bible has undergone. There simply is no way to create a singular message or propose a unified theme to the astrological elements in the Bible. It went thru too many hands over too long a period to suppose a continuity as suggested at the link. I was once impressed with a book not unlike the site you posted called, Bible Myths and Deceptions. I have since come to appreciate it's contribution, yet recognise the errors made by these writers are the very same as those of Fundementalists. They assume it's all supposed to make sense.
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Enishi
I agree that some of the stuff in this book is rather silly, but keep in mind it was written back around the turn of the century or so. What I found interesting was the fact that Jehovah is actually a lesser god.
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peacefulpete
He once was a member of the assembly of gods under the command of El. He and his wife Astarte made good in the hill tribe called Israel. Moving on up...then he got too big for his wife and he dumped her too.
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Pistoff
He once was a member of the assembly of gods under the command of El. He and his wife Astarte made good in the hill tribe called Israel. Moving on up...then he got too big for his wife and he dumped her too.
Where ya getting this stuff??
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peacefulpete
Some Questions About
Canaanite Deities
Question 1
You describe the goddesses as being the consorts or wives of the gods. Was this always the case -- or just in certain time periods? In other words, was there a time when Asherah, for example, was considered the primary deity? Was she always "married" to El? Or was there a time when she was worshipped alone, or in her own right, and not as wife of the god?
Answer 1
Basically, most Canaanite deities are related in male-female pairs, not necessarily always, but usually. After all, no matter what one's sexual preference, before modern technology, the only way for humans to procreate was for a woman and a man to have sex. I would not go so far as to suggest that they are primarily fertility deities, that would be to misunderstand the complexity of the culture, but they are concerned with the well-being and continuity of humanity.
However, the deities can be, and were, worshipped individually. If a city had a male-female pair as tutelary deities (and not all necessarily did), they would have separate temples and separate festivals. Some locales were especially reknowned for the temple of a particular goddess or god, and people would come on pilgrimages from all over the Mediterranean just to visit that one deity. Each deity has a specialty, so for different issues one would approach different deities. If one wants to, one can devote oneself entirely to one chosen deity - this is called henotheism, and it was not uncommon in the ancient past - or a select group of deities, although on major feast days, it's good to remember as many of the others as you can ;-)
In the Myths from Ugarit, the deities have particular relationships with each other, but they are also free to act individually/ independently. A Canaanite-Phoenician goddess was not of lesser status or power than the god with whom she was associated, although her area of expertise would be different. There was a definite hierarchy among the deities - remember, in the ancient past the society was organized hierarchically, even if it isn't p.c. today. (I still have difficulty calling a deity "my king" or "my queen", even though that may be their status in the pantheon). El ("God") is definitely "on top" as Creator of All Creation - He is the King. Elat ("Goddess"), another of Athirat/ Asherah's names, is the chief goddess, mother of the Parliament of deities, and Queen. Ba'al is Prince (Zebul) or Master (Ba'al), the Rider on the Clouds, and his domain is Earth and its people. Anat, whose exact relationship to Ba'al is not absolutely clear (sister? lover? 5-star general?), acts quite independently, even threatening El with violence. Athtart/ Astarte has the power to restrain Ba'al when he goes too far, etc.
I don't think that Asherah was ever the primary deity, in general, although She could have been the primary deity of some city. But that doesn't demean Her. She is, after all, far more approachable than El - on His mountain at the source of the twin world oceans, in His pavillion behind 7 doorways, from a distance of 8 rooms. It also appears that the people of the Levant, including the Hebrews-Israelis, continued to worship Her for a very long time. She was the consort of Yahwuh (who blends together aspects of both El and Baal), and She is probably the one referred to as "The Queen of Heaven" by the Jews of Elephantine on the Nile. Even if the Deuteonomists disapproved, She was worshipped by the masses, and Her image or symbol was kept in the Temple of Jerusalem for about 3/4 of the duration of its existence, although fanatic monotheists removed it from time to time. And She has not been forgotten, for She remains the Jewish Shekhinah, the Bride of God.
Of thousands and thousands of small deity figurines which have been found in the Levant (teraphim? personal votary statues? souvenirs of pilgrimages? offerings for boons requested of the deities?), the VAST majority (really, nearly all) are female. I think this says something about the relationship of humans to the deities and to which ones we feel closest...
The female figurines are usually naked. There seems to be something definitely sexual in their nature. They look like more than nurturing mommies. The exact relationship of sex to the temples is not clear. In later times, some men were associated with the temples as transvestites or "eunuchs" who castrated themselves (the Gallae/Galloi). A man did this to himself in a state of religious ecstasy. Various sources (the Bible, the Greeks, the Romans) claim various things, but we have as yet no first-hand sources from the lips of the Canaanite-Phoenicians themselves. Some refer to temple-prostitutes, male (kalbu) as well as female (qodesha) - but their actual nature is not known. We are forced to make all sorts of guesses.
It is also known that in Mesopotamia, there were many males and females in the priesthood with very specific roles (libator, ablutor, laver, incenser, incantor, psalmist, exorcist, diviner, ecstatic prophet, etc.). Males could serve the goddesses and females could serve the gods. Among the males were: transvestite castrati priests; and so-called feminine male priests. Among the females were: priestesses who bore children; very specifically infertile priestesses; and priestesses who dressed and behaved as men. It is obvious that there wasn't just one sex/ gender/ behavior model - and undoubtedly there were others about which we are yet ignorant.
In addition, whatever the conceptions of the deities and their priesthood were in the past, for any religion to meet the needs of its followers - adherants, celebrants, worshipers, whatever - it needs to change. I think one must not forget the affinities of the deities (they do seem to have a bit more power when acting together), but our society is quite different from the past, and while i don't advocate entirely rewriting everything to suit one's personal opinions or ideas, certainly one can interpret or adapt what is known of the past and apply it to the present.
Go to the End
Question 2
Isn't Yahweh/YHWH just another Name for Baal? Although as Yahweh developed, He certainly absorbed the attributes of many surrounding Gods (not unusual at all, really), that doesn't in and of itself explain Yahweh's origins. My studies have shown me that Yahweh was most intimately connected to Baal Hadad - which hardly proves that the two are one and the same, or at least directly connected - but it is suggestive to me. I wonder if "Yahweh" might not have simply been an epithet (or descended therefrom) of Hadad Himself...
Answer 2
I do not believe that Yahwuh is "just" another name for Ba'al. Yahwuh appears to be a combination of 'El and Ba'al (and possibly some other gods). His description reflects aspects of both El and Ba'al, not to mention the Ugaritic Yaw, a chaotic sea god, who may be the Phoenician god Ieuo.
Although there is a passage in the Hebrew corpus which says, "Yahwuh is my Ba'al," it does not indicate a one-to-one correspondence between the two deities, since "ba'al" in both Canaanite and Hebrew, besides being a deity name, basically means "master."
I do not deny a connection with Ba'al, Hadad or Ba'al Hadad. But let us first look into the myths from Ugarit and compare the epithets of El with those Yahwuh:
"El at the sources of the two rivers, El in the midst of the springs of the two oceans/double deeps" is an expression typical of Mesopotamian imagery of the primary god
Ugaritic epithets of El: The Creator of Creatures/All Created Things; The Ageless One who Created Us; Father of Humanity; Kindly/Beneficent El the Compassionate/ Sympathetic; The King, the Father of Years/Time
Biblical Hebrew titles of Yahwuh/YHWH: Creator of the Universe; God/El the Eternal One; Eternal Father; God the Compassionate and Merciful; Ancient of Days. These clearly mirror the epithets of the Ugaritic El. Yahwuh is the creator of the universe and time, and of man, woman, and humanity.
The name or title "'El," which means simply "God," is familiar as a "name" of the single god of the Torah/ Bible. Although we have no Canaanite creation myth, his epithets indicate that 'El, like Yahwuh, is the prime creator god of the pantheon. 'El is also the king, as is Yahwuh, and he is head of the divine assembly, the council of the gods, who may well be the Hebrew 'Elohim. He is described as an old bearded man and, in most stories we have, he is seated in his hall up on his mountain - between the two rivers which are the source of the world oceans. The generally accepted idea of Yahwuh is an old bearded man, although, of course, at the mystic level, the Ultimate Divine does not have human form.
Ba'al, on the other hand, is not the King, although he is identified as a ruler, while 'El and Yahwuh are kings. Among Ba'al's epithets:
Most High/ Mightiest/ Most Powerful Master - al'iyanu ba'alu (variously transliterated as 'Aleyin/ 'Aliyan/ 'Elioun/ 'Eleyin)
Mightiest of or Conqueror of Warriors - 'al'iyu qarradima
Warrior - dmrn (damaron), Demarous (Greek)
Prince, Master of the Earth - zubulu/zebul ba'alu 'aretsi (compare with the Qabalistic phrase Melek ha 'Aretz)
Pidar, uncertain meaning, possibly Bright or Flash, relating to his control of lightning
Rider on the (Storm)Clouds - rakibu 'arpati/ rakab arpat (gee, maybe Jim Morrison was onto something . . .)
Thunderer - re'amim, rimmon (is this a pun on the word for pomegranate?)
Ba'al is the Canaanite and Phoenician god most actively worshipped, source of the rains and mists which nourish the crops. Therefore he is considered responsible for fertility, particularly of the Earth, for the growth of vegetation, and for the maintenance of life. He cares for the multitudes, the masses of humanity. While the word "ba'al" means simply "master" or "owner," he is considered a prince. Ba'al is a dynamic, executive force. He is often depicted striding forward (not seated like El), wearing a horned helmet and short wrap kilt of a warrior (whereas El wears a long robe), and carrying a mace and spear or lightning-bolt staff. Remnants of his worship remain in the Jewish prayerbook, when in late spring there is a prayer for dew, and in late fall, a prayer for rain.
Ba'al is the son of Dagan/Dagnu, god of agriculture and storms (a deity important at Emar, a basically Canaanite city much older than Ugarit and closer to Mesopotamia), and not actually a son of 'El. Documentation exists called "The Installation of the High Priestess of Ba'al at Emar" (unfortunately not a ritual text, but an outline of the procedure, probably something of a mnemonic device), and it is important to remember that male priests did not exclusively serve the gods, nor female priestesses the goddesses; males and females could serve either; there was no sexual or gender equivalance in religious service.
Through a series of conflicts and competitions with other gods, Ba'al achieves a position subordinate only to 'El among gods. However, he defers to 'Asherah and often enlists her favors when he must approach 'El. He also relies upon his sister 'Anat, who may be his mate, although not his wife. Although at times He transforms into a bull, he is never called "The Bull," which title is limited to 'El. Ba'al's assistants are Gapen and Ugar, whose names mean "Vineyard" and "Grain Field," again stressing Ba'al's relationship with the fertile, life-giving earth, agriculture, and feeding humanity.
Ba'al is also identified at Ugarit as Adad/Hadad/Haddu/Addu, the name of a Mesopotamian god of the sky, clouds, and rain, both of the creative, gentle showers and the destructive, devastating storms and floods. Like the Canaanite Ba'al, Hadad holds and hurls thunder-bolts. Hadad rides a bull.
Ba'al's home is in the Heights of Tsaphon, the Mount of the North, the Mountain Divine. It is known in Hittite as Mount Hazzi d'khursan khazi, in Akkadian as Ba'alitsapana, in Greek as Kasios, in Latin as Mons Casius, in modern Arabic as Jebel 'el-Aqra', and in Modern Turkish as Keldag. It stands at a height of 5660 feet (1780 meters), the peak lying about 25 miles north of Ugarit and 2.5 miles from the coast. Tsapan is appropriate as the mountain of the great storm-god, as this mountain receives the heaviest annual rainfall on the Levantine coast at over 57 inches. This mountain is later associated with Yahwuh. El's mountain is not specifically identified with an earthly mountain, although it is sometimes said to be in the North.
While embodying royal power and authority, Ba'al is not aloof nor beyond the menace of evil. He is continually threatened yet triumphant, as in the story of his continual conflict to sustain Order against Chaos (the Ocean god Yam) and to sustain Life against Death (Mot, the god of drought, blight, sterility, and decay). Even the goddess 'Anat threatens 'El with violence, saying she'll make his grey beard run with gore. Yahwuh appears beyond menace.
'El remains throughout the ultimate authority whom Ba'al must petition for permission to build his palace. 'El has dominion over all Creation, while Ba'al controls the fertility of the Earthly realm and oversees the well-being of humanity. This is similar to the political situation found frequently in the Ancient Near East, as well as in other places and other times. There is one supreme authority, the King (capital K), who has numerous vassals who are regional rulers, kings (small k) if you will, of a limited scope
Because, as with 'El, the name Ba'al is a title more than a name, there are numerous Ba'al's whose relation to each other, if any, is unclear. Among them are:
Ba'al Lebanon, Master of the Cedars
Ba'al Tsaphon, Master of the North or northern districts
Ba'al 'Adir, Master-of-Help
Ba'al Kaneph, Winged Ba'al
Ba`al Qarnaim or Ba`al Karnayin, Master of the Horns or Two-Horned Ba`al
Ba'al Moganim, Master of the Shields
Ba'al Marpah'a, Master of Healing
Ba'al Shamim, Master of the Heavens
Quote from the Myth of Ba'al:
Yea, also Ba'al will make fertile with his rain,
with water he will indeed make fertile harrowed land;
and he will put his voice in the clouds,
he will flash his lightning to the earth.
In this we see the origin of the syncretization of Ba'al and Yahwuh, for the Psalms, especially, are replete with storm imagery associated with Yahwuh. Anyone well versed in the Torah or Old Testament can probably cite other examples.
Yawi is attested as a personal name in some older Canaanite cities east of Ugarit. Additionally, there is a reference in the Myths from Ugarit to Yah/ Yaw/ Yawu being the original name of Yam the Ocean who, among other things, represents uncontrollable destructive winter storms, especially on the sea. The reference is a singular one at Ugarit, but later Phoenician sources refer to a god named Iahu, Iaio, Ieuo (in Philo of Byblos' "Phoenician History"), also mentioned in some other writings, and some scholars think this indicates a relationship with Yahwuh. Perhaps YHWH is really a deity of the Internet, since a likely pronunciation is "Yahoo".
Any other questions? Send me E-Mail!
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peacefulpete
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Shekhina
by Ilil Arbel, Ph.D.
Judaism is a monotheistic religion, strongly connected to a patriarchal God - Yahweh. It may surprise many people to discover that a goddess was associated with Judaism from its conception, and continued to play an important part, in various forms, to the present. The goddess is best known as Shekhina, a Talmudic term describing the manifestation of God's presence on earth.
While the Bible does not mention the name Shekhina, she is nevertheless bound to extremely old traditions, and closely relates to the ancient goddesses..........
Particularly significant is the Canaanite goddess Ashera who, at the beginning of the Israelites' settlement in the land of Canaan, was often referred to as Yahweh's Consort.
......... The literature also calls her the "Holy Spirit" which, in Hebrew, is also a feminine form. The feminine nature of the Shekhina is so easy to establish in Hebrew, because the gender of the subject plays an important role in the sentence structure. In English, you can say "The Glorious Shekhina returned to bless us" without mentioning gender. In Hebrew, both verbs and adjectives have a male or female forms, and many names suggest gender to anyone who understands the language. The simple sentence above indicates three times that the Shekhina is female, and the fact sinks easily into the consciousness of the reader.
From the first covenant, Yahweh presented an image of a harsh, daunting God. His character almost demanded the birth of an entity like Shekhina. Also, He could not be seen by human eyes, and only a few prophets heard His voice. Yet almost every religion shows that human nature seeks intimacy with a deity. The manifestation of a loving maternal entity, ready to defend her people even from God Himself, brings a feeling of comfort that a paternal, invisible entity like Yahweh cannot bestow upon His worshipers. Shekhina represented compassion in its purest form, and despite being, officially, the female side of God, she was visible and audible as a feminine entity in her own right. A beautiful being of light, whose most important function was to intercede with God on behalf of her children. Such an entity had to come into being to soften the harshness of the original Judaism.
But how did such a complex entity develop? It started with the changing of God's dwelling. During Biblical times, people assumed God dwelled in the clouds. When the Israelites built the desert Tabernacle, and later, Solomon's Temple, Yahweh descended in a cloud and dwelt there. The word Shekhina, in Hebrew, is derived from the Biblical verb shakhan, meaning "the act of dwelling" but taking the feminine form. Therefore, at the beginning of the Talmudic era, the word Shekhina meant the aspect of God that dwelt among people and could be apprehended by the senses. For example, one Talmudic verse said: "Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell (ve'shakhanti) among them." However, in a later version, the translation said "Let them make Me a Sanctuary so that My Shekhina will dwell among them." In other words, a separate entity.
Slowly, the manifested entity became stronger. A complete distinction appears in a Talmudic quotation from the end of the 1st century BCE: "...while the Children of Israel were still in Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, stipulated that He would liberate them from Egypt only in order that they built him a Sanctuary so that He can let His Shekhina dwell among them... As soon as the Tabernacle was erected, the Shekhina descended and dwelt among them." Another quotation from early 3rd century says: "On that day a thing came about which had never existed since the creation of the world. From the creation of the world and up to that hour the Shekhina had never dwelt among the lower beings. But from the time that the Tabernacle was erected, she did dwell among them."
Another tradition claimed that she had always dwelt among her people, but their sins drove her, on and off, into Heaven. However, she was drawn back to her children and tried to save them, over and over. By that time, her image was so ingrained into real historical events, that when the Jews were exiled to Babylonia, she transferred her seat there, and appeared alternately in two major synagogues. She often made herself visible to the congregations there, particularly in one synagogue, which was built of stones and dust taken from a holy place in Jerusalem.
As the Jews dispersed further, sightings occurred in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Russia - in every town where Jews lived. Shekhina comforted the sick, the poor, the suffering, and had a particular concern for repentant sinners "These are accepted by the Shekhina as if they were righteous and pious persons who never sinned. They are carried aloft and seated next to the Shekhina...he whose heart is broken and whose spirit is low, and whose mouth rarely utters a word, the Shekhina walks with him every day...".
The paradox of dwelling in one place, and being in various places and with many people at the same time, had to be resolved. The Talmud reconciled the two ideas beautifully in a well-known anecdote. "The Emperor said to Raban Gamaliel: 'You say that wherever ten men are assembled, the Shekhina dwells among them. How many Shekhinas are there?' Thereupon Raban Gamaliel beckoned a servant and began to beat him, saying: 'Why did you let the sun enter the Emperor's house?' 'Have you gone mad?' said the Emperor, surprised at the violence of the usually gentle Raban Gamaliel, 'the sun shines all over the world!' 'If the sun,' answered Gamaliel 'which is only one of a thousand myriad servants of God, shines all over the world, how much more so the Shekhina of God!"
As time went by, her position strengthened. An interesting Medieval anecdote shows the Shekhina as a total separate entity, in her most important role - interceding on behalf of her children. "The Shekhina comes to the defense of sinful Israel by saying first to Israel: 'Be not a witness against thy neighbor without a cause' and then thereafter saying to God: 'Say not: I will do to him as he hath done to me..' " This is obviously a conversation taking place among three distinct entities - Israel, God, and the Shekhina. Another significant passage from the 11th century, describes Rabbi Akiva (a second century sage) saying: "When the Holy One, blessed be He, considered the deeds of the generation of Enoch and that they were spoiled and evil, He removed Himself and His Shekhina from their midst and ascended into the heights with blasts of trumpets..."
Like any good mother, she could punish too. When she behaved violently, her character came closer to her powerful aspect of the great Asherah, Yahweh's Canaanite Consort. She descended to Earth to punish Adam, Eve, and the Serpent when they sinned at the Garden of Eden. She confused the builders of the Tower of Babel. She drowned the Egyptians at the Red Sea crossing during Exodus. When needed, she even killed righteous people. Since the beginning of time, six people -- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam -- could not be taken by the Angel of Death because of their perfect purity. Someone had to bring their souls to Heaven, and only Shekhina could do that. By kissing them, she released their souls from bondage to this world. In a particularly touching story, after kissing and releasing Moses' soul, she carried his body for a long distance on her wings, to his secret grave. This myth connects Shekhina to another ancient goddess, Anath. According to the legends, Moses had to live apart from his wife so that he would always be pure enough to communicate with the Shekhina. This gave rise to the curious myth, later elaborated on in the Kabbalah, that Moses and Shekhina lived as husband and wife. The image of Shekhina, carrying the dead body of her husband to his final resting place, resembles the myth of Anath, carrying the body of her husband Baal to his burial place.
Nor is this the end of her development. The Kabbalah greatly elaborated on the theme of the feminine aspect of God. She would appear as the powerful Matronit, the controversial Lilith, and finally, as the glorious figure of Shabbat Hamalka - Queen, Bride of God, celebrated every Saturday by Jews all over the world as they light the Sabbath candles. And by tradition, the candles must always be lit by a woman. Naturally -- Ashera, too, was served chiefly by priestesses. The cycle is very neatly completed.
Source(s):
Gikatilla, Rabbi Joseph. Gates of Lights (Sha'are Orah). Harper Collins Publishers, San Francisco, 1994
Patai, Raphael. The Hebrew Goddess. Avon, NY 1978
Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press, NJ 1992
Scholem, Gershom. Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. Schocken Books, NY 1972 -
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gumby
Wanna know what gets me about beliefs?
When we learn about various religions, what they believed, and so forth.........do you ever wonder who starts this shit? It must happen this way............On a cool summer day, way back about 5000 years ago on a hill somewhere in what is now turkey.......a man sitting all by himself is wondering how in the hell he got here. So......he puts a twig in his mouth leans back against a tree, and starts thinking of some answers.
(Fast forward about 45 minutes until his green bud has completely taken effect)
Something happens! He's got an IDEA!
He takes a leak, then wonders off the mountain and goes back to his little community. He starts talking about his ......IDEAS.....to others. In time......this man has influenced a number of people to the point that this IDEA......has become an accepted truth to the point that an entire civilisation adopts these ....IDEAS....into it's culture. This culture influences other cultures, then those cultures twist the .....IDEAS.....a little, but you have a somwhat of a related belief system.
We need to find these men who sit on mountains, and smoke weed, and tell lies to others. Sick little bastards!
Gumby
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gumby
bttt
