Thursday, August 21, 2014

Every Major Nation has a Flood Legend



[The AMAIC does not believe that the Flood was actually global, but vast]


 

Flood Legends from Around the World

 
Native global flood stories are documented as history or legend in almost every region on earth. Old world missionaries reported their amazement at finding remote tribes already possessing legends with tremendous similarities to the Bible's accounts of the worldwide flood. H.S. Bellamy in Moons, Myths and Men estimates that altogether there are over 500 Flood legends worldwide. Ancient civilizations such as (China, Babylonia, Wales, Russia, India, America, Hawaii, Scandinavia, Sumatra, Peru, and Polynesia) all have their own versions of a giant flood.
These flood tales are frequently linked by common elements that parallel the Biblical account including the warning of the coming flood, the construction of a boat in advance, the storage of animals, the inclusion of family, and the release of birds to determine if the water level had subsided. The overwhelming consistency among flood legends found in distant parts of the globe indicates they were derived from the same origin (the Bible's record), but oral transcription has changed the details through time.
Perhaps the second most important historical account of a global flood can be found in a Babylonian flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. When the Biblical and Babylonian accounts are compared, a number of outstanding similarities are found that leave no doubt these stories are rooted in the same event or oral tradition.
 

BABYLONIAN

BIBLE

Take the seed of all creatures aboard the shipGen. 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring.
I boarded the ship and closed the door.Gen. 7:1 Come into the Ark
Gen. 7:16 The Lord shut him in.
I sent out a dove . . . The dove went, then came back, no resting-place appeared for it, so it returned.Gen. 8:8 He sent out a dove...But the dove found no resting-place . . . and she returned.
Then I sent out a raven . .it was the waters receding, it ate, it flew about to and fro, it did not return.Gen. 8:7 He sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the Earth.
I made a libation on the peak of the mountain.Gen. 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord (on the mountain) and offered burnt offerings.

D = Destruction by Water
.G = (God) Divine Cause
.W = Warning Given
.H = Humans Spared
.A = Animals Spared
.V = Preserved in a Vessel
D..HAV01 Australia- Kurnai
D.WHAV02 Babylon- Berossus' account
DGWHAV03 Babylon- Gilgamesh epic
DGWH.V04 Bolivia- Chiriguano
D..HAV05 Borneo- Sea Dayak
D..HAV06 Burma- Singpho
DG.HAV07 Canada- Cree
DGWHAV08 Canada- Montagnais
DG.HAV09 China- Lolo
D.WHAV10 Cuba- original natives
DGWHAV11 East Africa- Masai
DGWH.V12 Egypt- Book of the Dead
DG.H.V13 Fiji- Walavu-levu tradition
DGWHA.14 French Polynesia- Raiatea
D..HAV15 Greece- Lucian's account
DG.HAV16 Guyana- Macushi
DG.H.V17 Iceland- Eddas
DG.H.V18 India- Andaman Islands
D.WHAV19 India- Bhil
DGWH.V20 India-Kamar
D.WHA.21 Iran- Zend-Avesta
DG.H.V22 Italy- Ovid's poetry
DG.H.V23 Malay Peninsula- Jekun
D.WH.V24 Mexico- Codex Chimalpopoca
D.WHAV25 Mexico- Huichol
DG.H.V26 New Zealand- Maori
D.WHA.27 Peru- Indians of Huarochiri
D.WH.V28 X . Russia- Vogul
D.WHAV29 U.S.A. (Alaska)- Kolusches
DG.HAV30 U.S.A. (Alaska)- Tlingit
D.WHAV31 U.S.A. (Arizona)- Papago
DG.HAV32 U.S.A. (Hawaii)- legend of Nu-u
D..HAV33 Vanualu- Melanesians
D..HAV34 Vietnam- Bahnar
D..HAV35 Wales- Dwyfan/Dwyfan legend
351817352432Total Occurrences out of 35

Africa

Southwest Tanzania
Once upon a time the rivers began to flood. The god told two people to get into a ship. He told them to take lots of seed and to take lots of animals. The water of the flood eventually covered the mountains. Finally the flood stopped. Then one of the men, wanting to know if the water had dried up let a dove loose. The dove returned. Later he let loose a hawk which did not return. Then the men left the boat and took the animals and the seeds with them.

Asia

China
The Chinese classic called the Hihking tells about "the family of Fuhi," that was saved from a great flood. This ancient story tells that the entire land was flooded; the mountains and everything, however one family survived in a boat. The Chinese consider this man the father of their civilization. This record indicates that Fuhi, his wife, three sons, and three daughters were the only people that escaped the great flood. It is claimed, that he and his family were the only people alive on earth, and repopulated the world.
Babylon
Gilgamesh met an old man named Utnapishtim, who told him the following story. The gods came to Utnapishtim to warn him about a terrible flood that was coming. They instructed Utnapishtim to destroy his house and build a large ship. The ship was to be 10 dozen cubits high, wide and long. Utnapishtim was to cover the ship with pitch. He was supposed to take male and female animals of all kinds, his wife and family, provisions, etc. into the ship. Once ship was completed the rain began falling intensely. The rain fell for six days and nights. Finally things calmed and the ship settled on the top of Mount Nisir. After the ship had rested for seven days Utnapishtim let loose a dove. Since the land had not dried the dove returned. Next he sent a swallow which also returned. Later he let loose a raven which never returned since the ground had dried. Utnapishtim then left the ship.
Chaldean
There was a man by the name of Xisuthrus. The god Chronos warned Xisuthrus of a coming flood and told him to build a boat. The boat was to be 5 stadia by 2 stadia. In this boat Xisuthrus was to put his family, friends and two of each animal (male and female). The flood came. When the waters started to recede he let some birds loose. They came back and he noticed they had mud on their feet. He tried again with the same results. When he tried the third time the birds did not return. Assuming the water had dried up the people got out of the boat and offered sacrifices to the gods.
India
A long time ago lived a man named Manu. Manu, while washing himself, saved a small fish from the jaws of a large fish. The fish told Manu, "If you care for me until I am full grown I will save you from terrible things to come". Manu asked what kind of terrible things. The fish told Manu that a great flood would soon come and destroy everything on the earth. The fish told Manu to put him in a clay jar for protection. The fish grew and each time he outgrew the clay jar Manu gave him a larger one. Finally the fish became a ghasha, one of the largest fish in the world. The fish instructed Manu to build a large ship since the flood was going to happen very soon. As the rains started Manu tied a rope from the ship to the ghasha. The fish guided the ship as the waters rose. The whole earth was covered by water. When the waters began subsiding the ghasha led Manu's ship to a mountaintop.

Australia

There is a legend of a flood called the Dreamtime flood. Riding on this flood was the woramba, or the Ark Gumana. In this ark was Noah, Aborigines, and various animals. This ark eventually came to rest in the plain of Djilinbadu where it can still be found. They claim that the white mans story about the ark landing in the middle east is a lie that was started to keep the aborigines in subservience. This legend is undoubtedly the product of aboriginal legends merging with those of visiting missionaries, and there does not appear to be any native flood stories from Australia.

Europe

Greece
A long time ago, perhaps before the golden age was over, humans became proud. This bothered Zeus as they kept getting worse. Finally Zeus decided that he would destroy all humans. Before he did this Prometheus, the creator of humans, warned his human son Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. Prometheus then placed this couple in a large wooden chest. The rains started and lasted nine days and nights until the whole world was flooded. The only thing that was not flooded was the peaks of Mount Parnassus and Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus is the home of the gods. The wooden chest came to rest on Mount Parnassus. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha got out and saw that everything was flooded. The lived on provisions from the chest until the waters subsided. At Zeus' instruction they re-populated the earth.

North America

Mexico
The Toltec natives have a legend telling that the original creation lasted for 1716 years, and was destroyed by a flood and only one family survived.
Aztec- A man named Tapi lived a long time ago. Tapi was a very pious man. The creator told Tapi to build a boat that he would live in. He was told that he should take his wife, a pair of every animal that was alive into this boat. Naturally everyone thought he was crazy. Then the rain started and the flood came. The men and animals tried to climb the mountains but the mountains became flooded as well. Finally the rain ended. Tapi decided that the water had dried up when he let a dove loose that did not return.
United States
The Ojibwe natives who have lived in Minnesota USA since approximately 1400AD also have a creation and flood story that closely paralleles the Biblical account. "There came a time when the harmonious way of life did not continue. Men and women disrespected each other, families quarreled and soon villages began arguing back and forth. This saddened Gitchie Manido [the Creator] greatly, but he waited. Finally, when it seemed there was no hope left, Creator decided to purify Mother Earth through the use of water. The water came, flooding the Earth, catching all of creation off guard. All but a few of each living thing survived." Then it tells how Waynaboozhoo survived by floating on a log in the water with various animals.
Ojibwe - Ancient native American creation story tells of world wide flood.
Delaware Indians - In the pristine age, the world lived at peace; but an evil spirit came and caused a great flood. The earth was submerged. A few persons had taken refuge on the back of a turtle, so old that his shell had collected moss. A loon flew over their heads and was entreated to dive beneath the water and bring up land. It found only a bottomless sea. Then the bird flew far away, came back with a small portion of earth in its bill, and guided the tortoise to a place where there was a spot of dry land.

South America

Inca
During the period of time called the Pachachama people became very evil. They got so busy coming up with and performing evil deeds they neglected the gods. Only those in the high Andes remained uncorrupted. Two brothers who lived in the highlands noticed their llamas acting strangely. They asked the llamas why and were told that the stars had told the llamas that a great flood was coming. This flood would destroy all the life on earth. The brothers took their families and flocks into a cave on the high mountains. It started to rain and continued for four months. As the water rose the mountain grew keeping its top above the water. Eventually the rain stopped and the waters receded. The mountain returned to its original height. The shepherds repopulated the earth. The llamas remembered the flood and that is why they prefer to live in the highland areas.








Offsite Flood Legend References from Creationists

Secular Flood Legend References








Quote and References on Flood Legends

  • a . “It has long been known that legends of a great flood, in which almost all men perished, are widely diffused over the world ...” James George Frazer, Folk-Lore in the Old Testament, Vol. 1, (London: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1919), p. 105.
  • Byron C. Nelson, The Deluge Story in Stone (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., 1968), pp. 169–190.
  • “... there are many descriptions of the remarkable event [the Genesis Flood]. Some of these have come from Greek historians, some from the Babylonian records; others from the cuneiform tablets, and still others from the mythology and traditions of different nations, so that we may say that no event has occurred either in ancient or modern times about which there is better evidence or more numerous records, than this very one which is so beautifully but briefly described in the sacred Scriptures. It is one of the events which seems to be familiar to the most distant nations—in Australia, in India, in China, in Scandinavia, and in the various parts of America. It is true that many look upon the story as it is repeated in these distant regions, as either referring to local floods, or as the result of contact with civilized people, who have brought it from historic countries, and yet the similarity of the story is such as to make even this explanation unsatisfactory.” Stephen D. Peet, “The Story of the Deluge,” American Antiquarian, Vol. 27, No. 4, July–August 1905, p. 203.
  • C. H. Kang and Ethel R. Nelson, The Discovery of Genesis (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1979). [This excellent book shows that the classical Chinese pictographs contain many stories and details found in the early chapters of Genesis. The earliest people of China, 4,000–5,000 years ago, brought with them stories of past events that became imbedded in their language. (See Figure 37 on page 45.)]
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Taken from: http://www.nwcreation.net/noahlegends.html
Posted by AMAIC at 3:40 PM 0 comments
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Friday, August 15, 2014

Sargon of Akkad finally aligned with the Bible: as Nimrod



Terrific article, a must read:
....


JETS 56/2 (2013) 273–305

IDENTIFYING NIMROD OF GENESIS 10 WITH SARGON OF AKKAD BY EXEGETICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL  MEANS


DOUGLAS PETROVICH
*

I. INTRODUCTION Perhaps one of the more intriguing and enigmatic characters in the OT is Nimrod, though his name appears only four times throughout the entire Bible (Gen 10:8, 9; 1 Chr 1:10; and Mic 5:6). His biography is narrated in Genesis 10, and opinions about his identity and character have abounded since ancient times. In Philo’s Questiones in Genes in 2.82, which dates to the first half of the first century AD, he refers to Nimrod as a giant who opposes God, and the original and chief of sinners. In Ant . 1.113–114, Josephus considered not only that Nimrod was alive during the tower of Babel incident, but that he was the one who changed the government into a tyrannical one and incited those at Babel into building the infamous tower, in outright defiance of God. At present, opinions on the identity and character of Nimrod have continued to abound, and a discussion of some of the more noted options ventured will proceed shortly. For now, suffice it to say that Nimrod is thought by some to be heroic, while by others to be devious; he is considered by some to be a mere mortal, though by others to be divine. Thus the goal of this essay is to sift through the diversity of options for the identity of this enigmatic figure named Nimrod, and to determine—if at all possible—whether his biography can be matched precisely with any known figure from antiquity. In order to accomplish this endeavor, the task  will require a careful look at relevant exegetical data, and at the archaeological record that serves to inform the field of ancient Near Eastern (hereafter ANE) historical studies, a vital cognate to biblical studies. The task will be accomplished by proceeding through the following steps:(1) presenting a working translation that will act as a reference point for the reader;(2) investigating the various words, phrases, and constructions that act as exegetical clues to illuminate what can be known for certain about Nimrod biographically;(3) reviewing and critiquing some of the more popularly held opinions on the identification of Nimrod; and (4) presenting an alternative candidate for Nimrod with the help of archaeology and the support of the exegetical work that will have been done up to that point. Finally, a conclusion will be presented, and the reader will be able to judge whether the present writer has made a successful case.

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Posted by AMAIC at 6:14 PM 0 comments
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Saturday, August 2, 2014

A Relationship Between Western Mythology and Hebrew Old Testament




​

The Dog Days of Summer​


"Dog Days," the phrase invokes the hottest, most stifling days of summer. The 40 days, beginning July 3 and ending August 11, marks the traditional timing of the Dog Days. These coincide with the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. For the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the Nile's flooding season, so they used the star as an indicator of the flood. Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time:



"Dog Days bright and clear
indicate a happy year.
But when accompanied by rain,
for better times our hopes are vain."


Now, you may well ask, what has this common feature of a modern farmer's almanac, got to do with a study of the relationship between Western mythology, and the Hebrew Old Testament? Well, our modern concept of "dog days" can be traced back through the Romans, to the Greeks, and then in my opinion, even beyond that (as I hope to convince the reader) to the story of Samson, that has come down to us in the Old Testament Book of Judges. Etymologists have no problem tracing the origins of the Idiom "dog days" back to the Romans, the Greeks, and even as far back as the Egyptians. But one important question, that they all seem to have successfully avoided explaining, is this; How did the stars (that are naturally associated with the hot, dry, wildfire season, by virtue of their mere location in the summer sky,) get originally affiliated with dogs (or, even more anciently, with foxes)? First of all let us establish that those days that we moderns have linked to "dogs" may once have been just as strongly (or even more so) connected to "foxes." Among the Greeks the two stars that we commonly associated with dogs (namely Sirius and Canicula) were anciently represented as one dog, and one fox, who were known as "Laelaps the dog" and the "Teumessian fox" as follows (Taken from the Wikipedia article "Laelaps");
Laelaps was a female Greek mythological dog who never failed to catch what she was hunting. … Cephalus, decided to use the hound to hunt the Teumessian fox, a fox that could never be caught. This was a paradox: a dog who always caught his prey and a fox that could never be caught. The chase went on until Zeus, perplexed by their contradictory fates, turned both to stone and cast them into the stars as the constellations Canis Major (Laelaps) and Canis Minor (the Teumessian fox). (See: Apollodorus, "Bibliotheca" 3,192. and; "Nature Guide Stars and Planets." p. 275. DK Publishing 2012. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-4654-0353-7).
In the story of Samson there were pairs of foxes tied together at their tails, with a blazing fire between them. They were presumably running back and forth trying to get away from the flame, in a perverse, back to back, tug of war (running after, following but not really chasing each other.). It is perhaps understandable how the Greeks could've come up with the idea of the unresolved chase of Laelaps (forever pursuing) and the Teumessian fox (never overtaken) as a corruption of the original tale, told about Samson and his pairs of foxes, in the Book of Judges (in their frantic end to end chase). It is however, noteworthy to point out that the foxes are portrayed as being in pairs, because the dog stars are indeed portrayed as a pair of stars (During the wildfire season, the blazing sun appears between them.). The next logical step in identifying the "dog stars" with Samson's well known firefoxes (with a knowing wink and a nod to users of the very popular web browser), comes with showing that there was an ancient Greek association, of the "Teumessian fox," with crop burning wildfires. The Greeks did connect the "dog stars" (at least one of which, which we have pointed out, was a fox and not a dog) with wildfires, I shall here produce a few ancient Greek sources to prove it. First of all, this association was made evident by the Greek myth of "Aristaeus."
The chapter of the Aristaeus myth that deals with the field scorching "dog-star" takes place on one of the Minoan Islands, specifically Keos (sometimes spelled "Ceos"). This story is like that of Samson and the foxes, in that the "scorched ... land of the Ceans" that had "robbed their fields of produce" had been caused by "Procyon" a star that the Greeks identified with the Teumessian Fox, related by Higinus as follows; "Jupiter, pitying their misfortune, represented their forms among the stars ... The dog, however, from its own name and likeness, they have called Canicula. It is called Procyon by the Greeks, because it rises before the greater Dog. ... Canicula rising with its heat, scorched the land of the Ceans, and robbed their fields of produce ... Their king, Aristaeus, son of Apollo and Cyrene, and father of Actaeon, asked his father by what means he could free the state from affliction. The god bade them expiate the death of Icarus with many victims, and asked from Jove that when Canicula rises he should send wind for forty days to temper the heat of Canicula." (Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 4). It is noteworthy that Hyginus, while using the Latin term "Canicula" (the "lesser dog") points out that "It is called Procyon by the Greeks, because it rises before the greater Dog" ("Procyon" meaning "before the dog" does not necessarily indicate that the Greeks themselves thought of it as a dog but, that it merely preceded the dog, or that it ran ahead of the dog, as it was known in their mythology as the "Teumessian Fox."). We nowadays call it Canis Minor, however in Akkadian and Sumerian it is "Shelebu" and "KA.A" (both meaning "the Fox"). It was well known in ancient times that the appearance of these "dog-stars" in conjunction with the sun meant severe drought and wildfires.
Although burning fields were clearly associated with the fox, the Pelasgian hero Aristaeus is characteristically credited with doing just the opposite of what the Danite hero Samson did (The Pelasgian/Philistines had apparently mitigated their version of the Scriptural Samson, their antagonistic enemy, into "Aristaeus" their own protagonist hero. An article that explores the probability that Aristaeus was an ancient Pelasgian/Philistine version of the Hebrew Samson can be read; Here.). Aristaeus alleviated the scorching, while Samson was said to have caused it. As Apollonius relates; "Sirius was scorching the Minoan Islands from the sky, and the people could find no permanent cure for the trouble till Hekatos (Apollo) put it in their heads to send for Aristaeus. So, as his father’s command, Aristaeus ... made ritual offerings in the hills to the Dog-star and to Zeus Kronides himself. In response, Zeus gave his orders--and the Etesiai refresh the earth for forty days." (Apollonius Rhodius, "Argonautica" 2. 518 ff.). The number "40," used as a time period, is a well known Hebrew convention, widely attested to in Scriptural usage. It has translated into Christian applications in such traditions as "Lent" and "St. Swithins day" (July 15 is St. Swithin’s Day. There is a very old Scottish weather proverb; St. Swithin’s Day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain.). This, it seems to me, is highly suggestive as to the Hebrew origins of even some "pagan" customs like the "six weeks" of groundhog day, and the subject of the present article the dog days of summer where, as we can see here from Apollonius, it's roots go back into the dim antiquity of Greek mythology.
See how Nonnus tells the tale, weaving Aristaeus' beekeeping (another Samson connection from Judges 14:8) attribute into the narrative; "He (Aristaeus) lulled asleep the scorching dogstar of Maira. He kindled the fragrant altar of Zeus Ikmaios (of the Moisture); he poured the bull's blood over the sweet libation, and the curious gifts of the gadabout bee which he lay on the altar, filling his dainty cups with a posset mixt with honey. Father Zeus heard him; and honouring his son's son, he sent a counterblast of pest-averting winds to restrain Sirius with his fiery fevers." (Nonnus, "Dionysiaca" 5. 212 ff.).
It is my feeling that originally, the Samson foxes incident was unconnected to the astral phenomenon. But eventually, as Samson became associated with the sun god and the crop burning wildfire story became more widely known, the heathen nations naturally connected the Hebrew story with the wildfire season and the heliacal rising of the two conspicuous stars. It seems evident to me that these stars became identified with the fox originally because of the anciently well known story of the Danite hero. It is also apparent that Samson was anciently promoted as a "Messiah" figure and, was widely popular, giving rise to such "mythological" characters as, not only Arisaeus but also Herakles, and perhaps even lended his attributes to fill out the stories "pagan" sun-kings such as Oedipus as well. Connecting the "King of kings" with the sun god (just as the "crown" has a clear association with the "corona") should come as a shock to nobody. (The heathen equation of the King as the Sun, or as the son of the Sun, as in ancient Egypt, surely had it's origins with the idea that the longed for Messiah, was the son of God and/or God Himself. And if you worshipped God as the Sun, then the link between the Messiah, as the great King, and the Sun, follows naturally.). Equating God and/or the Messiah with the Sun was a widely attested to ancient misconception that the Scriptural narrative spends no little effort in attempting to correct. Thus the blazing fire between Samson's foxes became analogous to the Sun rising between the "dog" stars during the height of the wildfire season.
The burning fields in the story of Samson ("Shemesh-on" the name Samson is the word shemesh meaning "sun" suffixed with the "-on" extension. This extension personifies or localizes the root: the name "Sams-on" means "Sun Man.") and the foxes (the dog stars) almost certainly has something to do with this phenomenon (The stars attending the wildfire season may have reminded astronomers of the, presumably renowned, field burning foxes in the Hebrew story.). See how Aratus associates the "star" with tree burning "flame" as he says; "A star that keenest of all blazes with a searing flame and him men call Sirius. When he rises with Helios, no longer do the trees deceive him by the feeble freshness of their leaves." (Aratus, Phaenomena 328 ff.). And here from Quintus Smyrnaeus; "From the ocean-verge up springs Helios in glory, flashing fire far over earth - fire, when beside his radiant chariot-team races the red star Sirius" (Quintus Smyrnaeus, "Fall of Troy" 8. 30 ff.). And also Statius; "Sirius the Dog-star smitten by Hyperion’s full might pitilessly burns the panting fields." (Statius, "Silvae" 3.1.5). In the story of Oedipus as told by Seneca, Thebes was plagued by a drought; "No soft breeze with its cool breath relieves our breasts that pant with heat, no gentle Zephyrus blows; but Titan (the sun) augments the scorching dog-stars' fires, close-pressing upon the Nemean Lion’s back. Water has fled the streams, and from the herbage verdure. Dirce is dry, scant flows Ismenus’ stream" (Seneca, Oedipus 37 ff.). Take note how Seneca incorporates the "Nemean Lion" (the constellation Leo) into the portent of the "scorching fires," for consideration along with the other lion slaying, fox subduing myths.
Another suspicious conflation between the Samson, Herakles, and Oedipus, stories is the way that the mythographers keep trying to work foxes into their tales. Corinna ties Oedipus to the crop burning fox; "Oedipus killed not only the Sphinx but also the Teumessian fox." (Corinna, Fragment 672. Greek Lyric IV). Thus the fox is linked to the death of the maiden/lion Sphinx of Oedipus; Also Apollodorus gives to Amphitryon, the foster-father of Herakles, the same role; ''Amphitryon would free the Cadmean Land of its Fox. For a wild Fox was creating havoc in the land." (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2. 57) This is the same "Teumessian fox" or "Cadmean vixen" that is associated with both Oedipus and the father of Herakles. In the Herakles saga, the fox theme helps to explain the connection between the family of Herakles and the city of Thebes, where the strong-man would kill his first lion and meet (and kill) his first bride. Samson of course, killed a lion and was responsible for the death of his maiden, also in conjunction with his fox episode; "And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire." (Judges 15:4-6); "he caught three hundred foxes, and joining lighted torches to their tails, he sent them into the fields of the Philistines, by which means the fruits of the fields perished." (Josephus "Antiquities of the Jews" Book 5 Chapter 8, 7). Heracles set fire to the city of Orchomenus the capital city of the Minyans; "Then appearing unawares before the city of the Orchomenians and slipping in at their gates he both burned the palace of the Minyans and razed the city to the ground." (Diodorus Siculus, “Library of History” Book 4, Chap. 10, 5).
Aristaeus was, however indirectly, associated with this particular "Teumessian fox" as well. Actually, the fox motifs that are attributed to Aristaeus, are much more like that of Samson's, than are those of either Herakles', or Oedipus'. For the fox myth that is connected with Aristaeus involves the burning up of the crop fields and orchard trees.
The Romans also associated foxes with the burning of crops through wildfires (although not necessarily during the mid summer season). As is evidenced by one of Ovid's accounts. I shall close with something that was written way back in the early 1800's by the famous Biblical commentator Adam Clarke, who had a very perceptive opinion on Ovid's concerning this ancient "Roman" tradition thusly (I added the parenthetical remarks):
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the OT, Volume 2. "The Book of Judges" Notes on Chap. XV, Verse 20
The burning of the Philistines' corn by the means of foxes and firebrands is a very remarkable circumstance; and there is a story told by Ovid, in the 4th book of his Fasti, that bears a striking similitude to this; and is supposed by some learned men (Namely, Samuel Bochart and Petrus Serrarius -JRS) to allude to Samson and his foxes. The poet is at a loss to account for this custom, but brings in an old man of Carseoli, with what must have appeared to himself a very unsatisfactory solution. The passage begins as follows:
The substance of the whole account, which is too long to be transcribed, is this: It was a custom in Rome, celebrated in the month of April to let loose a number of foxes in the circus, with lighted flambeaux on their backs; and the Roman people took pleasure in seeing these animals run about till roasted to death by the flames with which they were enveloped. The poet wishes to know what the origin of this custom was, and is thus informed by an old man of the city of Carseoli: "A frolicsome young lad, about ten years of age, found, near a thicket, a fox that had stolen away many fowls from the neighboring roosts. Having enveloped his body with hay and straw, he set it on fire, and let the fox loose. The animal, in order to avoid the flames, took to the standing corn which was then ready for the sickle; and the wind, driving the flames with double violence, the crops were everywhere consumed. Though this transaction is long since gone by, the commemoration of it still remains; for, by a law of this city, every fox that is taken is burnt to death. Thus the nation awards to the foxes the punishment of being burnt alive, for the destruction of the ripe corn formerly occasioned by one of these animals."
Both Serrarius (Petrus Serrarius, who was a Dutch millenarian theologian. 1600–1669 -JRS) and Bochart (Samuel Bochart, who was a French Protestant biblical scholar. 1599 –1667 -JRS) reject this origin of the custom given by Ovid; and insist that the custom took its rise from the burning of the Philistines' corn by Samson's foxes. The origin ascribed to the custom by the Carseolian they consider as too frivolous and unimportant to be commemorated by a national festival. The time of the observation does not accord with the time of harvest about Rome and in Italy, but it perfectly accords with the time of harvest in Palestine, which was at least as early as April. Nor does the circumstance of the fox wrapped in hay and let loose, the hay being set on fire, bear any proper resemblance to the foxes let loose in the circus with burning brands on their backs. These learned men therefore conclude that it is much more natural to suppose that the Romans derived the custom from Judea, where probably the burning of the Philistines' corn might, for some time, have been annually commemorated. The whole account is certainly very singular, and has not a very satisfactory solution in the old man's tale, as related by the Roman poet. All public institutions have had their origin in facts; and if, through the lapse of time or loss of records, the original facts be lost, we may legitimately look for them in cases where there is so near a resemblance as in that above.
-John R. Salverda
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Friday, August 1, 2014

King Solomon Lost in a Maze of Pseudo-History




King Solomon the Magnificent:

Five Imposing Faces

      


by

Damien F. Mackey





This article is dedicated to that “poor wise man [whom] no one remembered”,
of whom King Solomon told in Ecclesiastes 9:14-15.





Introduction

Whereas I Kings 10 speaks of King Solomon as a king of the highest international reputation, wealth and power, “greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth” (v. 23), current historians and archaeologists have concluded, in their wisdom, that Solomon could have been, at the most, only a tin pot king ruling over a miserable phase of Israelite history. Such an unenlightened view I had cause to be critical of in:

Why Hatshepsut can be the ‘Queen of Sheba’

http://www.academia.edu/3689991/Why_Hatshepsut_can_be_the_Queen_of_Sheba
when I wrote:

… the conventional chronology with its underlying stratigraphy has led to archaeologists systematically deleting ancient Israel (Moses; Exodus; Conquest; David, Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, etc.) from the history books. Late last year, the leading Israeli archaeologist, Israel Finkelstein, was quoted [in “Kings of Controversy”, National Geographic(David and Solomon, December 2010), p. 85] as saying: “Now Solomon. I think I destroyed Solomon, so to speak. Sorry for that!” Not only Solomon, but all the others as well. That is because the likes of professor Finkelstein and his colleagues are always constrained by the erroneous Sothic chronology to look at the wrong strata for the Conquest, David and Solomon (Iron Age instead of Late Bronze Age [including some Middle Bronze] in the latter case). Thanks to the conventional scheme, it is biblical history that is currently losing just about every battle. ….

[End of quote]

That the moribund conventional scheme of history must of necessity pass into oblivion, however, as it must inevitably be superseded by a wise (‘Solomonic’) revisionism, was well summed up by this correspondent (whose prediction of “soon”, though, may be a bit over optimistic), who wrote to me:
….Those holding to the old orthodoxy of Egyptian History will soon vanish and out of the mists will arise a new historical chronology that will again dramatically shorten the length of Egyptian chronology. I think the works of Velikovsky, Courville and Mackey and others will eventually unseat the modern Pharisees and Sadduccees who hold sway over the old orthodoxy which is dying as the revisionists get their ideas out in the internet. I hope that you are actively engaged in further research and I suspect you realize that the Hebrew Chronology which influenced three of the major religions in history is more critical than the Egyptian documents that are carved in stone as almost nothing in the Egyptian Chronology matches that of the Hebrews. Keep up the great research.

[End of quote]

The case of the glorious King Solomon is a testament to the lack of fruitfulness of the withered tree that is conventionalism. By total contrast a judicious revisionism, that properly re-aligns biblical with secular history, overflows with abundance. King Solomon, withered by the biblical minimalists to something resembling a dried prune, or, worse, reduced to non-existence by the likes of Finkelstein, is all of a sudden found to have been in reality a multi-dimensional historical character of epic proportions, influencing and ruling over, not only the kingdom of Israel, but a world empire. In his day King Solomon was, indeed, a King of Kings. In this article we are going to be considering:

Five Faces of the Great King

Most of these five I have already written about, but one, the last (No. 5.), is completely new. Three of these will turn out to be mythological, I believe, rather than historical. Solomon was:
  1. Pharaoh Thutmose II (and also Senenmut) of Egypt.
  2. Lawgiver Solon of GreekLegend.
  3. King Hammurabi of Babylon.
  4. Charlemagne, king of the Franks.
  5. Suleiman the Magnificent, king of the Ottoman Turks.
….


For complete article, go to:
http://amaic1.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/king-solomon-magnificent-five-imposing.html
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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Suleiman the Magnificent Suspiciously Like King Solomon

 
 
 
He is therefore called the second Solomon by many Islamic scholars ....
 
 
"I know no State which is happier than this one. It is furnished with all God's gifts. It controls war and peace; it is rich in gold, in people, in ships, and in obedience; no State can be compared with it. May God long preserve the most just of all Emperors."
The Venetian ambassador reports from Istanbul in 1525
 
Compare 1 Kings 10:6-9:
 


Then [Sheba] said to the king [Solomon]: "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness."

A new Solomon is risen
Süleyman I was everything a magnificent ruler should be. He was just, making the right decisions in cases set before him. He was brave, leading his armies in battle until he had greatly expanded his sultanate. He was wealthy, living in luxury and turning his capital Istanbul into a splendid city. And he was cultured, his court teeming with philosophers and artists, and the Sultan himself mastering several arts, especially that of poetry.
 
He was born on November 6, 1494 to Hafsa Sultan at Trabzon on the Black Sea coast as the only son of Selim I. Süleyman ascended to the throne in 1520 and stayed there for all of 46 years. During his reign he furthered the work of his forefathers until he had made the empire of the Ottomans into one of the world's greatest.
 
The Sultan was named after Solomon, who was described as the perfect ruler in the Quran. Like the legendary king of the Jews, Süleyman was seen as just and wise, and a worthy follower of his namesake. He is therefore called the second Solomon by many Islamic scholars, although he was the first of that name among the Ottomans. Like the Solomon of old, this ruler was surrounded by splendour and mystery, and his time is remembered as the zenith of his people.
 
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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Simeonite Judith, Descendant of Gideon, and Semienite Queen Judith, Daughter of Gideon

Interesting that Judith the Simeonite has a Gideon (or Gedeon) in her ancestry (Judith 8:1): "[Judith] was the daughter of Merari, the granddaughter of Ox and the great-granddaughter of Joseph. Joseph's ancestors were Oziel, Elkiah, Ananias, Gideon, Raphaim, Ahitub, Elijah, Hilkiah, Eliab, Nathanael, Salamiel, Sarasadai, and Israel",

and the Queen of Semien, Judith, was the daughter of a King Gideon.

That the latter is a fable, however, is suspected by (http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=314380):

Bernard Lewis (1): The Jews of the Dark continent, 1980The early history of the Jews of the Habashan highlands remains obscure, with their origins remaining more mythical than historical. In this they areas in other respects, they are the mirror image of their supposed Kin across the Red sea. For while copious external records of Byzantine, Persian, old Axumite and Arab sources exist of the large-scale conversion of Yemen to Judaism, and the survival of a large Jewish community at least until the 11th century, no such external records exist for the Jews of Habash, presently by far the numerically and politically dominant branch of this ancient people.
Their own legends insist that Judaism had reached the shores of Ethiopia at the time of the First temple. They further insist that Ethiopia had always been Jewish. In spite of the claims of Habashan nationalists, Byzantine, Persian and Arab sources all clearly indicate that the politically dominant religion of Axum was, for a period of at least six centuries Christianity and that the Tigray cryptochristian minority, far from turning apostate following contact with Portugese Jesuits in the 15th century is in fact the remmanent of a period of Christian domination which lasted at least until the 10th century.
For the historian, when records fail, speculation must perforce fill the gap. Given our knowledge of the existence of both Jewish and Christian sects in the deserts of Western Arabia and Yemen it is not difficult to speculate that both may have reached the shores of Axum concurrently prior to the council of Nicaea and the de-judaization of hetrodox sects. Possibly, they coexisted side by side for centuries without the baleful conflict which was the lot of both faiths in the Meditaranian. Indeed, it is possible that they were not even distinct faiths. We must recall that early Christians saw themselves as Jews and practiced all aspects of Jewish law and ritual for the first century of their existence. Neither did Judaism utterly disavow the Christians, rather viewing them much as later communities would view the Sabateans and other messianic movement. The advent While Paul of Tarsus changed the course of Christian evolution but failed to formally de-Judaize all streams of Christianity, with many surviving even after the council of Nicaea.
Might not Habash have offered a different model of coexistence, even after it's purpoted conversion to Christianity in the 4th century? If it had, then what occurred? Did Christianity, cut off from contact with Constantinopole following the rise of Islam, wither on the vine enabling a more grassroots based religion to assume dominance? While such a view is tempting, archaeological evidence pointing to the continued centrality of a Christian Axum as an administrative and economic center for several centuries following the purpoted relocation of the capital of the kingdom to Gonder indicates a darker possibility.
The most likely scenario, in my opinion, turns on our knowledge of the Yemenite- Axum-Byzantine conflict of the 6th century. This conflict was clearly seen as a religious, and indeed divinely sanctioned one by Emperor Kaleb, with certain of his inscriptures clearly indicating the a version of "replacement theology" had taken root in his court, forcing individuals and sects straddling both sides of the Christian-Jewish continuom to pick sides. Is it overly speculative to assume that those cleaving to Judaism within Axum would be subject to suspicion and persecution? It seems to me likely that the formation of an alternative capital by the shores of lake Tana, far from being an organized relocation of the imperial seat, was, in fact, an act of secession and flight by a numerically inferior and marginalized minority (2).
Read in this light, the fabled Saga of King Gideon and Queen Judith recapturing Axum from Muslim invaders and restoring the Zadokan dynasty in the 10th century must be viewed skeptically as an attempt to superimpose on the distant past a more contemporary enemy as part of the process of national myth making. What truly occurred during this time of isolation can only be the guessed at but I would hazard an opinion that the Axum these legendary rulers "liberated" was held by Christians rather than Muslims.
....
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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Book of Judith Drama definitely does not belong to Maccabean Era


 
 
Vulgate Book of Tobit Anchors Judith of Bethulia
to Era of Sennacherib
 
 
No need any longer for biblical commentators to seek for the era of the Book of Judith drama – whether considered fully or only partially historical – late, during the Maccabean era. For one of the main characters in the Book of Judith, Achior, re-appears in the Vulgate version of the Book of Tobit as Tobit’s own nephew, otherwise known as Ahikar (Tobit 1:21-22 GNT). Achior and his own nephew, Nabath, will attend the joyous wedding of Tobit’s son, Tobias (= holy Job, see our site: http://bookofjob-amaic.blogspot.com.au/), at Nineveh (Tobit 11:20): “…. veneruntque Achior et Nabath consobrini Tobiae gaudentes …”. (“And Achior and Nabath the kinsmen of Tobias came, rejoicing”).
 
Now the era of the Book of Tobit spans the neo-Assyrian period of “Shalmaneser” (V), “Sennacherib” and “Esarhaddon”, with the latter two kings only being relevant for Achior/ Ahikar (1:21-22):
 
[The Assyrian king] Esarhaddon … put Ahikar, my brother Anael’s son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor ….
 
The defeat of the massive Assyrian army, the central drama of the Book of Judith, occurred during the reign of Sennacherib, not Esarhaddon.
 
For more on all of this, see our:
 
Ahikar Part One: As a Young Officer for Assyria
 
 
Ahikar Part Two: As a Convert to Yahwism
 
Posted by AMAIC at 10:09 PM 0 comments
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