Doug Mason

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Posts by Doug Mason

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  8

  Installation of Yahweh alone

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have released my latest study for your criticism, corrections, and advice.. “installation of yahweh alone”.

  yahweh’s journey from local warrior god assigned to weather and storms to his installation as the universal deity -- and the people who put him there.. available at: https://www.academia.edu/s/e1d2a5b016?source=link .

  doug .

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  Doug Mason

  EdenOne,

  I do not know what that passage tells us about Yahweh. He was not a member of the Elohim and arrived separately. The Bible writers intimate that he can from the south. I present that in my Study.

  I want to investigate the Shasu, to see if they provide the necessary clues to Yahweh's arrival.

  In several aspects, Yahweh and Baal were similar: they were gods of the weather, "Lord", and so forth.

  I have not seen any evidence but I have an unfounded suspicion that when the southern (Judaean) writers were complaining about Baal worship of their northern neighbours Israel, they were actually complaining about the form of Yahwist worship in Israel, as it was different to theirs.

  If I keep repeating myself here, put that down to age-related poor short-term memory.

  Doug
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  8

  Installation of Yahweh alone

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have released my latest study for your criticism, corrections, and advice.. “installation of yahweh alone”.

  yahweh’s journey from local warrior god assigned to weather and storms to his installation as the universal deity -- and the people who put him there.. available at: https://www.academia.edu/s/e1d2a5b016?source=link .

  doug .

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  Doug Mason

  EdenOne,

  The first thought that came to mind is that the Israelites were hill-dwelling Canaanites (poor cousins of the Canaanites who lived on the richer soils of the plains).

  This is an area that I am toying with in my mind -- the original Israelites (clearly they had taken onboard the Canaanites' supreme God El, as is shown by the name they gave themselves: "Isra-EL"..

  At the moment, I have not investigated that passage and thanks for pointing me to it.

  I take a degree of caution with "historical" statements in the Bible, and I will need to take into consideration who wrote it, when, and for what local purpose.

  A fundamental concept was that each city, each society, and so forth had its own god. Therefore when a city was defeated, it meant that their god was weaker.

  Yes all those societies had plural gods and goddesses. Judah was dominantly polytheistic up to the Exile. The minority "Yahweh-alone" sect was largely drawn from a group in the Temple. When it was destroyed by Babylon, these Yahwists lost the symbol of their power.

  They convinced most that the parlous state of Judah resulted from Yahweh's displeasure that they had not followed the "Yahweh-alone" party. They returned with promotional writings (later OT Scripture), Yahweh alone, and a determination that their temple be built.

  No wonder the people who had been left on the land were not happy to see them come back from Babylon.

  Doug
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  8

  Installation of Yahweh alone

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have released my latest study for your criticism, corrections, and advice.. “installation of yahweh alone”.

  yahweh’s journey from local warrior god assigned to weather and storms to his installation as the universal deity -- and the people who put him there.. available at: https://www.academia.edu/s/e1d2a5b016?source=link .

  doug .

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  Doug Mason

  Sea Breeze,

  You can try downloading it from my own site:

  https://jwstudies.com/Installation_of_Yahweh_alone.pdf
  

  If that fails, PM me with your email address so I can give it to you that way.

  Doug
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  8

  Installation of Yahweh alone

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have released my latest study for your criticism, corrections, and advice.. “installation of yahweh alone”.

  yahweh’s journey from local warrior god assigned to weather and storms to his installation as the universal deity -- and the people who put him there.. available at: https://www.academia.edu/s/e1d2a5b016?source=link .

  doug .

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  Doug Mason

  I have released my latest Study for your criticism, corrections, and advice.

  “Installation of Yahweh Alone”.

  Yahweh’s journey from local warrior god assigned to weather and storms to his installation as the universal deity -- and the people who put him there.

  Available at: https://www.academia.edu/s/e1d2a5b016?source=link
  

  Doug
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  6

  Further thoughts on the thread dealing with wandering Jews pooping outside the camp

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i think the excellent thread on the wandering jews having to defecate outside the camp could have explored further implications, such as animal faeces, and also the fact that when women are in a group they cycle (menstruate) together.

  imagine what the place was like with their attitude towards a menstruating woman, or with the disposal of the "rags".how did they dispose of all the placentas, etc.

  ?where are the skeletons of the millions of people and animals?

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  Doug Mason

  I think the excellent thread on the wandering Jews having to defecate outside the camp could have explored further implications, such as animal faeces, and also the fact that when women are in a group they cycle (menstruate) together. Imagine what the place was like with their attitude towards a menstruating woman, or with the disposal of the "rags".
  How did they dispose of all the placentas, etc.?
  Where are the skeletons of the millions of people and animals? They might have had "vegetarian manna" delivered by Uber Eats, but they likely would have sacrificed animals. Minds boggle.
  Doug
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  3

  Dead. Resurrected. Saved in the Second Temple period

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  another subject in my attempt to understand the second temple period.. https://www.academia.edu/s/980704b536?source=link .

  doug.

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  Doug Mason

  TruthMatters

  What did I write?

  Doug
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  3

  Dead. Resurrected. Saved in the Second Temple period

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  another subject in my attempt to understand the second temple period.. https://www.academia.edu/s/980704b536?source=link .

  doug.

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  Doug Mason

  Another subject in my attempt to understand the Second Temple period.

  https://www.academia.edu/s/980704b536?source=link

  Doug
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  Second Temple Literature study updated

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i have provided additional material to my study on the literature of the second temple period:.

  https://www.academia.edu/s/f9266830b9?source=link .

  doug .

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  Doug Mason

  Hi,

  I have provided additional material to my Study on the literature of the Second Temple period:

  https://www.academia.edu/s/f9266830b9?source=link

  Doug
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  20

  Why did Paul call Jesus, “the firstborn from the dead”?

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  "jesus christ was resurrected on nisan 16, 33 c.e., the day when the jewish high priest offered up the firstfruits of the barley harvest.

  this fits in accurately with jesus' being the "firstfruits" in the resurrection of the human dead.

  (1 cor.

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  Doug Mason

  The term “firstborn” is a single word and it refers to rank, it does not relate to being born, as the following shows:

  “Jesus Christ was resurrected on Nisan 16, 33 C.E., the day when the Jewish high priest offered up the firstfruits of the barley harvest. This fits in accurately with Jesus' being the ‘firstfruits’ in the resur­rection of the human dead. (1 Cor. 15:20) This put Jesus Christ in the first ‘rank.’ Just as in the Jewish barley harvest there were afterfruits to be reaped, so too there must be afterfruits in the resurrection: of the dead. But since Jesus Christ ranks first, Paul called him ‘the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things.’”—Col. 1:18. (The Watchtower, June 15, 1979)
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  4

  The importance of being Satan or the Devil

  by Etude in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  while the word "satan" appears in many translations of the old and new testament, it is much more common in the n.t., with only a few mentions in the o.t.

  the word "devil" seems almost exclusively used in the n.t., at least in the few versions i checked.

  this may have something to do with the word origin, satan v devil.

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  Doug Mason

  In the OT, "the" Satan was an opposer. In Job it was a son of God who carried out YHWH's instructions and was limited to that action. He would be something like a Public Prosecutor.

  The word :"devil" comes to us from the Septuagint -- the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, where they used the word "Diabolos" which became Devil.

  When the 3rd century BCE Jews (and more particularly the common class) used their creative imagination (and ideas from their neighbours) they invented a spirit world along with an evil class of spirits, a war within heaven, and a Leader of the angles they invented as having "fallen". This Leader was given a range of names, the most popular being Mastema (see Jubilees), Azazel, Beliar, Belial, Beelzeboul, Satan, and so forth, depending on the region where he resided. Later on, closer to the time of the NT, they invented daemons (demons), which influence carried over to Christianity (another Jewish sect) and to Islam.

  https://jwstudies.com/2TP_A_Spirit_World.pdf

  https://jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Satan__Lucifer__Devil.pdf

  Doug