HowTheBibleWasCreated

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Posts by HowTheBibleWasCreated

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  8

  Were Jonathan and Phinehas in the time of Samuel?

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have read in a past post of leolaia the following words:.

  "the grandsons of moses and aaron (jonathan and phinehas) were depicted as still alive in the time of samuel".

  where in the bible i can find the above statement??.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  The text you are looking for is in Judges 18.
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  4

  How The Bible Was Invented - 1. The Canaanite Background 1500-1200 BCE

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  to truly understand the earliest biblical texts we must travel back in time.

  to an ancient land in and ancient time.. the land of canaan.. canaan sat in the hub of three major civilizations.

  egypt to the south.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  Crazyguy: Thanks for the correction on the first part about El and Baal Hadad. As for Dagon if you check the Ugaratic texts there is a fair bit of overlap. (Check Dagon out on Wikepedia) Thanks

  Phizzy: Yes the exile and documents during and after that time are the bulk of the Hebrew Bible. Before this are only law codes, priestly blessing, some Psalms and the core of Deuteronomy. (Although a few proverbs are likely to be pre-exilic too)
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  1

  How the Bible Was Invented- 2. The Introduction of a new god (YHWH) 1200-1100 BCE

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  at somepoint in the 12th century a new diety was introduced to the canaanite highlands.. before he is named a few facts about the hebrew bible and names of god:.

  every time you see the word lord (in caps) in a modern bible it refers to a name of the deity.

  (some translations like the message bible use god.).

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• 

  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  At somepoint in the 12th century a new diety was introduced to the Canaanite highlands.
  Before he is named a few facts about the Hebrew Bible and names of God:

  Every time you see the word LORD (In caps) in a modern bible it refers to a name of the deity. (Some translations like The Message Bible use GOD.)
  The name of this god in Hebrew takes the form of four letters. YHWH. Most schollors feel the original form was something like Yahweh. (The JB, WEB and MISB use this name liberaly.)

  In some English bibles this is redered Jehovah. (ASV, NWT, YL, AT 2001 etc.)
  Yaheweh was not original to Canaan. Some of the oldest texts of the bible confirm this. An Example Judges 5: 3-5>>

  5:3“Hear, you kings!
  Give ear, you princes!
  I, even I, will sing to Yahweh.
  I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God (El) of
  Israel.
  5:4“Yahweh, when you went forth out of Seir,
  when you marched out of the field of
  Edom,
  the earth trembled, the sky also dropped.
  Yes, the clouds dropped water.
  5:5The mountains quaked at the presence of
  Yahweh,
  even Sinai, at the presence of Yahweh, the
  God (El) of Israel.

  This text states that Yahweh marched in from Seir (Edom). More interesting is the name Sinai. In the context of this verse it is NOT a MOUNTIAN! It is a Sumerian deity of the moon that was known in Canaan and Edom at the time. This section of trhe song decribes Yahweh as a warrior and associates his arrival with a storm and defeat of another god.

  The main clue is that Yahweh was from Edom or came through Edom to get to Canaan. Fortunatly we have some archological evidence to give us a strong clue.

  14th century Egyptian texts mention the "Shosu (nomads) of the land of YHW".
  YHW is found in the Hebrew bible numerous times in the form Yah or Jah a shortened form of Yahweh. Or is it? Is Yahweh an expanded form of Yah(u)? It is more likely.

  One thing that is certain is that Yahweh was a warrior god and also at some points a storm god. A mixing of Yahweh and Baal Hadad was inevitable as was a mixing of Yahweh with El.

  This is exatly what happened. At somepoint in the 1100s BCE Yahweh moved in from the south likely brought by a group of people known as the Kenites. The Kenites settled in the highlands of Canaan and likely made Yahweh their tribal god.
  Withing centuries El worship in Shechem had be exchanged for Yahweh worship. Yahweh would even take El's wife! (Asherah) Also hymns devoted to Baal were now devoted at times to Yahweh. And more importantly seers (prophets) spoke in his name.

  Through all this change two songs were to develop that are still preserved in the biblical texts.

  The Song of Deborah and the Song of the Sea will be the next topics.
• 
  4

  How The Bible Was Invented - 1. The Canaanite Background 1500-1200 BCE

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  to truly understand the earliest biblical texts we must travel back in time.

  to an ancient land in and ancient time.. the land of canaan.. canaan sat in the hub of three major civilizations.

  egypt to the south.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  To truly understand the earliest biblical texts we must travel back in time. To an ancient land in and ancient time.
  The land of Canaan.

  Canaan sat in the hub of three major civilizations. Egypt to the South. The Hittites to the North and to the East over the Fetile Crescent the Mesopotamian cultures.

  To start understanding the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) we must travel back to 1500 BCE in Canaan. Egypt ruled most of the land right up to the Hittie cities in Modern Turkey/Syria. Travel was limited by walking on roads. Most of the Canaanites of the time lived in Egyptian ruled city states along the coast of the Great Sea.

  Canaan was quite properous at this time and shared their religion with the Syrians to the north. Here is Canaanite religion at a glance:

  Canaanite religion was polytheistic. However this meant in the run that many families would worship their own diety.

  The highest god was El.
  (El is the root word of Elohim the Hebrew word for GOD. Thus most of the time you see the word God in the Old Testament it is the name of a desert Canaanite god! Shocking!)

  El was a curious figure. He seems to have originated far from Canaan. Likely in a migration of desert shepards from the East. Nevertheless he became the head and was a fatherly figure. He was married the the goddess Asherah (at this point) and had many sons and daughters. It should be noted that in some cultures that came later El was refered to as Dagon. Often potrayed as a Bull or Fish. Asherah was portrayed as a very beautiful figure.

  For our understanding only a few more deities need be mentioned.

  Baal Hadad. This was a son of El however he was prominet in the agrcultural society since he was a storm god. Often potrayed as a Bull.
  (It is at this point I will break to explain the earliest text of the bible. Psalm 29. The Psalm is clearly and ancient hymn to Baal that was later made into a hymn for Yahweh. (The Syrian archive of Ugarit shows a text that is almost identical to Psalm 29 only instead of Yahweh it says Baal. Thus Pslam 29 is likely very very early. Possibly composed in the 1300s BCE. However since the text was have recieved it in is a later editation I will deal with this text later.)

  Molech or Moloch, was a god of fire and it appears that he demanded sacrifice. He was often portrayed as a bull however with some rather gross add ons.

  Yam was a god of the sea and the river as was throught of as a giant snake.

  The last god that need be mentioned here was Mot. He was the god of Sheol- The place of the dead.

  Offerings were made to many gods but Baal seemed to receive the most for two main reasons.

  1. He was a storm god thus brought rain that people needed for food.

  2. His stories were epic. Often he was constanly fighting Yam and crushing his head. Or maybe he was killed and brought back to life.

  Before we move into the decline of this culture be must tell a very old story. The story of a Hittite rular named Idrimi.
  Idrimi was the king of Alalakh in the 15th century BC.
  Idrimi was son of Ilim-Ilimma I the king of Aleppo who had been deposed by the new regional master, Barattarna, king of the Mitanni. Nevertheless he succeeded in regaining his seat and was recognized as a vassal by Barattarna. Idrimi founded the kingdom of Mukish, and ruled from Alalakh as a vassal to the Mitanni. He also invaded the Hittite territories to the north, resulting in a treaty with the country Kizzuwatna.
  However things took a change.

  An inscription on the Statue of Idrimi's base found at Alalakh records Idrimi's story. After his family had been forced to flee to Emar, with his mother's people, he left them and joined the "Hapiru people" in "Ammija in the land of Canaan", where other refugees from Aleppo recognized him as the "son of their overlord" and "gathered around him;" after living among them for seven years, he led his new friends and Habiru allies in a successful attack by sea on Alalakh, where he became king.

  This story paralleles Jacob's story in the Hebrew Bible.
  1. Emar is near Haran
  2. He fleed his home to go to his mother's people.
  3. He lived there seven years and gained wealth. (With Jacob this is broken by a double-marriage story)
  4. His mother's people were Habiru. (This word is very similar to Hebrew and alot of schoolars recognize a connection) The Habiru were not a single people but the 'have-nots' of society.
  5. He returned home and regained his Kingdom with interest.

  These events took place in the 1400 BCE. However it must be noted that later northern tribes of what would become Israel would preserve parts of "their lord's" story.

  Around 1300 BCE Canaan collapsed. Mainly because Egypt was undergoing collapse.
  The city states were left alone often and the Haburi and other groups like the poor class started taking over. Note a letter in the Amarna letters from Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem:

  Say to the king, my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at the feet of my lord 7 times and 7 times. Consider the entire affair. Milkilu and Tagi brought troops into Qiltu against me... ...May the king know (that) all the lands are at peace (with one another), but I am at war. May the king provide for his land. Consider the lands of Gazru, Ašqaluna, and Lakisi. They have given them [my enemies] food, oil and any other requirement. So may the king provide for archers and send the archers against men that commit crimes against the king, my lord. If this year there are archers, then the lands and the hazzanu (client kings) will belong to the king, my lord. But if there are no archers, then the king will have neither lands nor hazzanu. Consider Jerusalem! This neither my father nor my mother gave to me. The strong hand (arm) of the king gave it to me. Consider the deed! This is the deed of Milkilu and the deed of the sons of Lab'ayu, who have given the land of the king to the 'Apiru. Consider, O king, my lord! I am in the right!...

  Ultimatly many of the middle-lower class Canaanites fled to the highlands. Various other smaller groups fled there too.
  By 1250- 1200 BCE or so the people had a new name:
  Israel.

  Israel means: Contends with or perseveres El.

  Meneptah, an Egyptian Pharoah around 1207 BCE. bragged of his conquests in the land of Canaan in an attempt to regain power. He mentioned:
  "Israel has fallen... it's seed is not..."

  This line has two interpetations.
  1. He destroyed a local 'royal line' in the Canaanite highlands.
  2. He destroyed literal seeds of crops.

  I persoanlly think the second is unlikely given the context of Meneptah's Stele.

  The rulars who he put to death were likely rulars of Shecham and the story likely made it into a very very old Israelite hymn found in Judges 9: 10-15

  9:10“The trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and
  reign over us.’
  9:11“But the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I
  leave my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go
  to wave back and forth over the trees?’
  9:12“The trees said to the vine, ‘Come and
  reign over us.’
  9:13“The vine said to them, ‘Should I leave
  my new wine, which cheers God and man, and
  go to wave back and forth over the trees?’
  9:14“Then all the trees said to the bramble,
  ‘Come and reign over us.’
  9:15“The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth
  you anoint me king over you, then come and
  take refuge inmy shade; and if not, let fire come
  out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of
  Lebanon.’

  This is likely changed alot from the original sing since it was transmitted oraly for cenuries. Thus I will deal with this piece of text in part later.
  The birth of the Israelite tribes meant a lower class of people were forming trial leadership in the highlands of Canaan. The upper middle class and those still able to sustain money on the coast were also fleeing but mostly to Egypt or other areas.
  It must be noted that surrounding this areas were numerous other peoples.
  To the south of Canaan in the desert were a group of people known as the Edomites. To the south of them in desert were another group called the Shashu tribe. This will be the focus of the next chapter.
• 

  How The Bible Was Invented - Introduction

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  we live in a world controlled by lies.

  most are commercial.

  many are political.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  We live in a world controlled by lies. Most are commercial. Many are political. However I believe the most damaging are the religious lies.
  The worst of all the religious lies is: The Bible is the Word of God.
  The Bible rules the western world whether we like it or not. There are over 4 billion bibles in the world. It's the world's most printed book and greatest literary masterpiece. As such sadly.... It is the most misused book.
  I never knew this before I was 30.
  Indeed I was raised in a Jehovah Witness home. Thus my world-view was that Jehovah was the true God and Jesus, his son, was reigning and would kill every non-Jehovah Witness at any momemt! Thus I lived in fear of not being good enough to meet Jesus standards.
  Actually my world-view was full of huge holes but the ironic thing was I thought I was a scientific person.
  Come 2009. In October a workmate, who knew I was a Jehovah Witness, asked this question: "Does Cain and Abel come before or after Jesus?" A laughable question, however I quickly showed him the story was in chapter 4 of the bible and Jesus was WAY down the line. It was then I realized I had never actually read this book (The Bible) cover to cover. Oh sure I probably knew all the verses from the Kingdom Hall for 30+ years but I had never read it. *
  So I decided to. However by Exodus I had problems. >>>
  The Sabbath forever?
  Exodus 12:14>>
  “‘This day will serve as a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to Jehovah throughout your generations. As a lasting statute, you should celebrate it." (NWT 2013)
  But Christians are NOT under the Sabbath!
  It didn't make sense. Neither did Exodus 20:11>>
  "For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and he began to rest on the seventh day. That is why Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred." (NWT 2013)
  But God made the world in stages not in six literal days! Or so I thought.
  Since Jews were entrusted with the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) I decided to check a Jewish source BUT not a conservative one. Romans 2: 17-20>>
  "If, now, you are a Jew in name and rely on law and take pride in God, and you know his will and approve of things that are excellent because you are instructed out of the Law, and you are convinced that you are a guide of the blind, a light for those in darkness, a corrector of the unreasonable ones, a teacher of young children, and having the framework of

  I picked up the book "How to Read the Bible" by James Kugel.
  I read the first few chapters. My faith died in minutes. He showed the Epic of Gilgemesh had WORD PER WORD the same as Genesis for the flood account.
  The worst were verses like Genesis 12:6, 14:14, 34:7 and 36:31 that show Genesis was written after the kings of Judah. If this was so.... creation was wrong! This was not something to take lightly. Jesus quoated Genesis alot including this account. So either Jesus was wrong (meaning he was not the son of God) or this was written after Jesus (if he existed) and they were wrong!
  Ths was shocking! That night I made a choice. I WANTED to believe the Jehovah's Witness world-view. BUT the facts lined up horribly to the other side. The target had to be evolution. If there was proof OUTSIDE FOSSSILS that evolution was true I would accept it. Not before!
  After Chromosome #2 was found and ERV's lining up like a roadmap that was it! Thus started in March 2010 a terrible stage in my life.
  I knew Jehovah (Yahweh)was a god like others in the past. I knew I would die and never see life again. I was terrified!
  After many months I stared to study. Archeology. I found out the word- Goshen wasn't even around until 672BCE! Filthy Liars! But what to do?
  After I married in March 2012 as I waited for my wife's paperwork for immigration to go through I started the YouTube Channel: HowTheBibleWasMade and over a year I worked examining the texts of the bible. Amazingly I gained so much respect for the book as a literary work it digusted me how people use it as religion.
  In April 2013 my wife arrived in Canada and I had little time to work or to reveal how I felt however I kept up my research into history and science. As such the book you are reading. It was started June 2014. I am NOT claiming my findings or views are COMPLETE! This needs to be said! I am not able to uncover future archeology or read Greek like Bart Ehrman etc. But I can compile ancient puzzles. That is the texts of the bible. An ancient puzzle. It stands alone as a world literary work However it needs to be taught as history, literture and poetry and NOT as religion!
  Thank you.

  * The material studied at Kingdom Halls of Jehovah's Witnesses is 90% commentary.
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  21

  If you are an open minded christian...

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would appreciate your opinion on this historian and his explination for the birth of christianity.. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mwuzozn-9dc.

  please watch all of it before you comment.

  i found it very interesting,.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  Apognophos: I'm making one! LOL

  However I would encourage a watching of the YouTube channel by Xoroaster Zoroaster. We have some disagreements but most of his work comes from a solid overview of history and astronomy.

  The parts about Jesus being High Priest (Whose brother was named James) and the other Jesus a preacher who died are found in the books War of the Jews by Josephus*

  *Who I have argued before that although he is very biased... I have no reason to argue these two points.
• 
  21

  If you are an open minded christian...

  by snare&racket in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i would appreciate your opinion on this historian and his explination for the birth of christianity.. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mwuzozn-9dc.

  please watch all of it before you comment.

  i found it very interesting,.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  I watched this a long time ago and carrier has a point. However he doesn't reveal how a Messianic God-Son figure became 'Jesus'. He fails to point out that tat the time of Jerusalems fall three things happened.

  1. There was a High Priest named Jesus

  2. A crazy preacher named Jesus was killed by a Roman attack.

  3. In 71CE a major solar eclipse gave rise to a 'Logos cult'. (Read John 1)

  Once these facts are inserted then you can start putting the early form of Christianity together....

  Jews fleeing the destroyed Jerusalem.... Solar Eclipses which former priests interpet.... Essenies fleeing and mising doctrine.... Apocylptic world views which gave birth to the first half of Revelation.

  From there we can start to see Christianity form.
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  79

  Your final WTF? Moment!

  by restrangled in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it was a long time coming for me.....when i read about the extened generations, after being raised on1914 being the be all end all, and millions would never die....that was the end.

  i was part of the 1975 fiasco, the 6 month only truth book studies, suffered through a disifellowshipping and their version of a rewind.

  i finally am free and hope others can eventually look in instead of inside looking out!

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  Seeing ERVS prove evolution..once youve seen that the bible dies...
• 
  4

  My Book- How the Bible Was Invented

  by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am using an online publisher but this fails to underatnd why i started... i was lied to for 31 year i wanted to make it right... .

  as of now my chapters will be posted her for the reason that these will be peviews.. i want everyone to review thm... some may object to my new stance on ezekiel, haggai , jesus and paul....i'm sorry if my newerr more updated views will be shocking... but it neeeds to be said.... .

  my book will go from 1500 bce to 500ce 2000 years of bible writing.

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  I am using an online publisher but this fails to underatnd why i started..

  I was lied to for 31 year I wanted to make it right..

  As of now my chapters will be posted her for the reason that these will be peviews.. I want everyone to review thm..

  Some may object to my new stance on Ezekiel, Haggai , Jesus and Paul....I'm sorry if my newerr more updated views will be shocking... but it neeeds to be said...

  My book will go from 1500 BCE to 500CE 2000 years of bible writing. All chapter will be posted here first I want feedback... Especially since I am a closet ex-jw

  tanks
• 
  52

  Who knows when Native Americans was granted citizenship?? Very strange.

  by jam in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how can one not be a citizen of their own land??.

  yes the act of 1924 granted u.s citizenship to those native .

  americans who were not already u.s. citizens.. prior to the passage of the indian citizens act of 1924, nearly .

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  HowTheBibleWasCreated

  Marmot : Granted the fodod part was heard third hand so I will admit to error...

  As for naive land.. I agree however I pojnt to Nunavut and also that I live in the cowichan valley onf vancouver island (Where that big Native olympics was a few years ago

  Half the land here is native. I am well aware (having been through all western canda and much of the western US as well as the southern USA that Native lands are a majority.. but in same places like here and others they are not....

  I will not argue. I do not wish hard feelings on a message board. I will ask the things you said o some native friends tomorrow .. best way