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The New Oxford Annotated Bible With Apocrypha

The New Oxford Annotated Bible With Apocrypha The New Oxford Annotated Bible With Apocrypha

Students, professors and general readers alike have relied upon The Oxford Annotated Bible for essential scholarship and guidance to the world of the Bible for nearly four decades. Now a new editorial board and team of contributors have completely updated this classic work. The result is a volume which maintains and extends the excellence the Annotated's users have come to expect, bringing new insights, information, and approaches to bear upon the understanding of the text of the Bible.

The new edition includes a full index to all of the study material (not just to the annotations), and one that is keyed to page numbers, not to citations. And, to make certain points in the text clearer for the reader, there are approximately 40 in-text, line drawing maps and diagrams.

With the best of the Annotated's traditional strengths, and the augmentation of new information and new approaches represented in current scholarship, the Third Edition will serve as the reader's and student's constant resource for a new century.

About the Author

Michael Coogan is Professor of Religious Studies at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and director of publications for the Harvard Semitic Museum. Carol Newsom is at Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia.

Paperback: 2180 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; College edition (January 25, 2001)

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament Volume One
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament Volume One The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament: Apocrypha

The most esteemed body of books left out of the Bible, the Old Testament Apocrypha is of interest to historians, religious scholars, and ordinary laypeople alike. For more than 70 years this version, edited by R.H. Charles, has been the definitive critical edition. Out of print for years, Apocryphile Press is proud to make it available once more to scholars and the curious.

Paperback: 700 pages
Publisher: Apocryphile Press (November 1, 2004)

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Volume Two
The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Volume Two The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Volume Two

Of all the books left out of the Bible, only the Apocrypha rivals the Pseudepigrapha in popularity and importance. This edition of the Pseudepigrapha was edited by R. H. Charles and was the definitive critical edition for over 70 years.

Paperback: 800 pages
Publisher: Apocryphile Press (November 1, 2004)

The Urantia Book
The Urantia Book The Urantia Book

Love

Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)

Prayer

Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)

Suffering

There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)

Angels

The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)

Our Divine Destiny

If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)

Family

Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)

Faith

…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)

History/Science

The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)

From the Inside Flap

What’s Inside?

Parts I and II

God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.

Part III

The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.

Part IV

The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…

Excerpts

God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)

The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)

The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)

Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)

Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)

Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)

About the Author

The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.

Leather Bound: 2097 pages
Publisher: Urantia Foundation; Box Lea edition (August 25, 2015)

The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation

The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation The Apocryphal New Testament: A Collection of Apocryphal Christian Literature in an English Translation

From the Back Cover This collection of apocryphal texts supersedes the best-selling edition by M. R. James, which was originally published in 1924, and regularly reprinted. Several new texts have come to light since 1924 and the textual base for some of the apocrypha previously translated by James is now more secure, as in several cases there are recently published critical editions available. Although a modest appendix to James's edition was added in 1953, no thorough revision has previously been undertaken. In this volume, J. K. Elliott presents new translations of the texts and has provided each of them with a short introduction and bibliography directed to those who wish to pursue further the issues raised in the texts, or to consult the critical editions, other versions, or general studies. The translations are in modern English, in contrast to James's deliberate imitation of the language of the Authorized Version. The collection is designed to give readers the most important and famous of the Christian apocrypha, together with a select sample of gnostic texts. Full translations of the earliest texts are printed.

About the Author

J. K. Elliott (Editor)

Paperback: 774 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; First Paperback Edition edition (December 22, 2005)

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English

From Library Journal

This one-volume translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls joins those of Florentino Garcia Martinez (The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated, Eerdman's, 1996) and Michael Wise and others (The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation, LJ 12/96) and is the latest edition of The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, first published in 1962. In a 90-page introduction, Vermes (emeritus, Jewish studies, Wolfson Coll., Oxford) briefly summarizes the 50-year history of scrolls research. He presents an overview of the sectarian community associated with the scrolls (whom he identifies as the Essenes), its history, and its beliefs. Though dubbed "complete" (the preface explains that "meaningless scraps or badly damaged manuscript sections are not inflicted on the reader"), Vermes's translation is generally the most selective of the three. This sometimes saves the reader from the possible frustration of line upon line of brackets and ellipses, but it gives a limited idea of the extent of the textual material available. However, the translation is good and has stood as the standard for many years. As with Bibles, libraries should have more than one version of the Dead Sea Scrolls.?Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hardcover: 648 pages
Publisher: Allen Lane / The Penguin Press; 1st edition (July 1, 1997)

The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)

The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library) The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)

"Bentley Layton's "The Gnostic Scriptures is the one indispensable book for the understanding of Gnosis and Gnosticism. No other translations are within light-years of Layton's in eloquence, pathos, and accuracy, while no other commentaries match his as an introduction to this perpetually relevant religious stance. Layton is particularly brilliant in his appreciation of Valentinus, the central Gnostic visionary, whose "Gospel of Truth is marvelously served in this translation." --Harold Bloom, author of "The Book of J and "The Western Canon

"Bentley Layton's "The Gnostic Scriptures" is the one indispensable book for the understanding of Gnosis and Gnosticism. No other translations are within light-years of Layton's in eloquence, pathos, and accuracy, while no other commentaries match his as an introduction to this perpetually relevant religious stance. Layton is particularly brilliant in his appreciation of Valentinus, the central Gnostic visionary, whose "Gospel of Truth" is marvelously served in this translation." --Harold Bloom, author of "The Book of J" and "The Western Canon"

About the Author:

Bentley Layton was educated at Harvard University and taught for five years in Jerusalem at the Ecole biblique et archeologique francaise. He worked in Cairo with UNESCO Technical Subcommittee to reconstruct the Coptic Gnostic manuscripts of Nag Hammadi and then taught at Yale University, where he was appointed to the Goff Professorship of Religious Studies. He is the recipient of fellowships from American Council of Learned Societies, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Guggenheim Foundation and past President of the International Association of Coptic Studies.

Paperback: 337 pages
Publisher: Independently published (January 9, 2018)


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The Origin
Of
Our Belief In God

by Erik Langkjer

#

    TABLE OF CONTENTS    


Part II: The Sun Hero

2. Moses and Mt.Sinai


That the journey to God's mountain is a spiritual journey is seen from the splendid story about Elijah travelling to the sacred Mt Horeb in the southern deserts: after receiving a supernatural meal he is able to travel without resting for 4o days and nights, and thereby finally reaches the mountain.

The 40 days are somehow connected to the 40 days of Jesus fasting in the desert and the 40 years of Israel wandering in the desert. The number 4 is the sacred number of totality, and 10 are the numbers up to 4 added together (1+2+3+4).

A similar play on the number 3 is seen in the temples of Catal Hüyük in the arrangement of horns on a western wall, but also on a pillar added to the pyramids showing ecstatic ascent by uniting duality: 3 times are shown the 3 steps, and each time the steps are ended by the mystical flower representing the number 4 (and shown 4 times). As the symbol of totality it is shown both at the top and the bottom of the arrangement.

Two signs of the Punic goddess Tanit.  (From Hours-Miedan, Cahiers de Byrsa 1, 1951, t.5.6.7) The 3rd sign shows the world pillar rising above the twin-peaks of the Heracles-pillars, and at its top the mystical flower:


 


The sign of Tanit is a pyramid, and at the top the union of sun and moon: the mystical union of the duality of night- and day-light. Both the pyramid and the union of sun and moon are symbols of two becoming one, symbols of mystical union. The same meaning can be seen behind the heart turned upside down. Another version of the Tanit-sign is the pyramid, and on top of it the sun coming into the universe through the gate of the two Heracles-pillars.

An idol for the goddess Allat from Ramm in North Arabia shows the same union of sun and moon, but at the center of the symbol the holy cube. ( R.Savignac, RB 43 1934,p.584, fig. 7 cf. thequadrangle idol ibd. 587, fig. 10 also from Ramm.)



There is a constant play on the number four and the four corners being united to one. 4 is the holy number of the world mountain in the center of the universe, the Saphon = the "out-look"-mountain, the culmination of the temptations of Jesus, Matt 4. But not only the quadrangle also the cube and the pyramid. The pyramid and the pentangle is four with the dimension upward added to the four.

The station before Mt Sinaj is called Rephidim (raphad = "stretch out", rephida = the back of a couch, Latin = reclinatorium, perhaps it stands for the physical rest/trance required for setting the spirit free). Here Israel is attacked by the Amaleqites. They seem to be attacking during the night, for Joshua is given the command to choose some men and meet the attack, and when morning breaks Moses will stand on the hilltop raising his arms to heaven. His arms are supported by Aron and Hur, and so he is able to keep them in a raised position until sunsetThe raised arms are not only a sign of prayer, they are raised at dawn and lowered at sunset: the sun warrior has to keep heaven and earth separated for the light to shine, therefore his is accompanied by the two Dioscuric helpers who are personifications of the Heracles-pillars, and often they are pictured as Atlas-figures with their raised arms supporting the heavenly vault.


A very interesting grave-stele from South Arabia (after D.H. Müller, ZDGM 30,1876,t.by p.114) shows the deceased on his last journey followed by a servant or helping spirit. On the third scene the head of the deceased placed between the horns of the bull form the sign of mystical light: the sun in the crescent moon and, like the typical sun-hero, he is followed by two helpers, all three forming a kind of trinity.The two helpers are forming the gate of the sun by holding up the heavenly vault with their two sticks. They are personifications of  the Heracles-columns. The bull is full of dots probably the stars of heaven: The high god, the bull, the symbol of heaven, is accompanied by the dioscuric pair of divine brothers, shown as opposites, one riding a camel, one a horse.



An altar from South Arabia shows the cube, the great symbol of primordial unity marked with another symbol of unity, the sun resting in the crescent moon placed on the top of the frustum of a pyramid. The pyramid is marked with the symbol of the tree of life [1]. The cube is certainly an important symbol.

Another altar carries the symbol of primordial mystical light at the top of the pyramid. The pyramid is the ladder to heaven, to mystical light. In South Arabia "the crescent moon & the disc of the sun" is a very old and very often used symbol on altars and steles. The crescent moon is often seenresting on a pyramid as its foundation [2]. D.Nielsen draws attention to the monthly conjugation of sun and moon in primitive myth seen as a wedding [3]. I am not able to see this as the right explanation.

 


The picture above shows the upper part of an altar from Sirwah (South Arabia). A very old remnant of pre-Moslem cult are some stone-steles found in South Arabia. They date from the 8th cent.B.C. In the Arabian tongue they are called qyf ="circling around". They are world mountains seen as the world axis, the cosmic center, where there is mystical ascent to heaven. Therefore the top of the qyf carries the symbol of the mystical light: the duality of sun-light and the light of the moon coming into one. Certainly the circling of the qyf, symbol of the world-centre, is the forerunner of the circling of the Kaaba in Mecca. (A.Jamme: "Inscriptions des alentours de Mareb", Cahiers de Byrsa 5,1955, pp.265f. Augustus brought an obelisk from Heliopolis in Egypt to Rome and erected it on the spina, i.e. in the centre of the circling horserace at Circus Maximus.) Two others were erected at his mausoleum. The small stele in the centre of the big one is a doubling of the navel symbol: we look at the centre in the centre.

The pyramid-shaped altar is often with a dice-shaped top. The compact dice is the symbol of primordial totality before duality coming into existence.

South Arabian altar, now

in the possession of the Louvre

Mus.Paris, Grohmann fig.87


The square and the cubic dimensions are symbols of primordial totality: in Babylon the great temple, Etemenanki, had cubic dimensions. Its name means "House - Basis of Heaven & Earth". It had the dimensions 15 GAP for side, front and height.

For different attempts at reconstructing its dimensions, see O.E. Ravn, Herodots Beskrivelse af Babylon, 1939pp.50-5, pl.14f.



In the Song of Deborah (assumed to belong to the earliest parts of the Old Test.) Yhvh "went forth from Seir ... from the fields of Edom"(Judg 5,4f), "rose up from Seir ... shone forth from Mount Paran", Deut. 33,2; cf. Hab. 3,3: "God comes from Teman ... from Mount Paran". (Teman is one of the sons of Esau, Gen. 36,11 & 16.) All these epiphanies are parallels to the phrase of Gods coming from Sinai. So it seems that Mount Sinai must be situated somewhere in or south of Edom.

In two temples in ancient Nubia we find lists of a number of territories belonging to the Shasu-bedouins. One of these regions is called Seir. Another name which figures on the list is "land of the Shasu Jhw"[4]. In this phrase Jhw is clearly a toponym[5]. Midian, the land of Moses and Jetro must be this area from the mountains of Seir down to old Madyan, east of the Akabah Bay.

In the old story about Hanno´s expedition, the Punic fleet comes to the "Horn in the West", after that to a coast smelling of incense, finally to the "Horn in the South". Between these two locations it passes the mighty pillar of fire reaching the sky and called "Chariot of the Gods". Acc. to the novel "Marvellous Things beyond Thule", the main character of the novel finally comes to the island of the moon. At the end of the journey the traveller moves into some sort of mythological landscape, for his journey to the end of the world is also a spiritual journey towards apotheosis/the paradise mountain. Acc. to Phoenician belief the drink of immortality was contained in the bowl at the top of the world tree, the bowl of the crescent moon: the Israelites finally come to the desert of Sin (the moon) where they receives a sort of ambrosia, a food falling from heaven. Acc. to another Middle Eastern belief, ambrosia, the food of the gods, was produced on the moon. Israel has truly come to the land of the gods, Elim, Exod 15,27 clearly pictured as a paradise with wells of life and trees of life, 12 wells and 70 palm trees. The Sinai mountain itself is the place where man transcends to the sphere of God and God descends to the sphere of man. The journey through the desert to the hidden/forbidden mountain of God is a spiritual journey, the journey of man towards an ultimate goal, a meeting face to face with god. Before our inner eye we have to recall the shape of the typical Phoenician semeion, the world pillar = the ladder to climb the heavens, and at its top the crescent moon. The journey towards the holy mountain is also an ascension towards the peak of earthly existence, and the fire connecting the top of the mountain with the highest sky is the mystical fire, the splendour and glory connected to mystical vision, but also the normal bonfire always stretching its flames and smoke upwards as if it wanted to reach the sky.


The burning bush: Normally fire will consume the vegetation, but in divine unity, in the mystical centre of the universe these two opposites are held together in balance. It is exactly the same motif as the burning tree in Tyre.

Mt Sinai is a symbol of a place where all the strife and pain, discord and fights of earthly existence is dissolved into a higher union, a supernatural harmony. As when a climber finally reaches the top and feels his heart and mind raised high above all earthly matters and sorrows. The supernatural elements in the story about Elijah tracking through the desert show, that it is impossible to distinguish between what is fact and what is fiction, what is vision and what is reality in this "event". It is a sacred motif: to travel towards the holy Mountain of God, a motif becoming the very symbol of religious life. The mountain itself is hidden somewhere in an unknown dimension, untouchable, with the column of fire from its top reaching the stars. It is the location where eternity touches time. An old symbol of the mystical centre of everything, as old as mankind. The centre from where life eternally goes out, is created and to where it finally returns. It is eternity reflected in the eternity of the massive rock, in the bedrock lying unmoved for millions of years.

In Gen 1 creation is seen as the tracing of borderlines and limits in a primordial universe without boundaries. By this setting of barriers duality comes into existence: 


1.day: between light and darkness.

2.day: between the waters over the vault and the waters below.

3.day: between sea and dry land.

4.day: sun and moon.


In the Middle East the great duality is between summer heat and the water of life giving life to the vegetation, but also threatening with wild, chaotic flooding. In the philosophy of Anaximander these extremes of heat and flooding were held together in the divine "apeiros" (=without border). The world mountain in the centre of the universe is the location of primordial unity.

The two pillars which are the first splitting up of the unity are often seen as primordial twins or brothers of opposite nature and character fighting each other: Kain and Abel.

But duality comes already with the fruit from the tree giving "knowledge of both good and evil". Adam and Eve tasting the fruit become aware of the most profound duality in life: between Good and Evil. And between male and female - they discover their nakedness.



2a. The Shepherd and the Seven Sisters


Acc. to Philo of Byblos, El Cronos had 7 daughters with Astarte, together with the two sons, Eros and Pothos ("Love and Lust"), seen as important cosmic forces. In the Ugarit texts Krt loses his family, 7-8 brothers and 7 wives. He is ripped of his royal power (Gibson's transl. CTA 14,i,23). Job loses 7 sons and 3 daughters. He is ripped of his royal power 29,9ff. The key to both the Ugarit-poem about Krt and the book of Job is the important fertility symbol: the graces, the charites. The Krt-story starts with Krt losing all his women; but with a giant army he proceeds to 'Udm and demands princess Huraj as his wife. She gives him 7 sons and 8 daughters. All the names of the girls are given, but only few of the sons are mentioned. Like Job he is accused of injustice, and is on the point of dying. In both stories there is an Elhu/Elihu. Also Job is given new sons (7) and daughters (3), but only the names of the daughters are mentioned: Jemima (a name containing the word for "water"), Kezia (used for the production of aromatics), Keren-Happuk ("horn for make-up") and they are highly praised for their beauty. The names of the Greek charites, Aglaia, Eufrosyne,Thalia, show that they represent fertility and beauty. Acc. to the big Baal Epos, Baal in Ugarit has 7-8 servants called "boars" and 3 daughters, only the daughters mentioned by name.

As Baal gets his weapons from the divine smith and El Cronos in Byblos from the divine inventor, Tautos, so the divine smith, Hephaistos, has to produce new weapons for Achilleus before the crucial battle with Hector (= Aktor, Aktaeon). Hector has black hair, Achilleus has fair hair. He is the young god of spring-time, and his double, Patrocles, is the Adonis-type whose death is hailed with a weeping of almost cosmic dimensions, even the goddess Thetis and 33 nereides are participating in the great weeping for the dead youth: "He sprouted like a proud plant" (Iliad, beginning of the 18th song).

But the most important motif is Achilleus losing his woman in the first song, and therefore withdrawing from the battle, but in the 19th song he gets 7 women, and as the 8th Brisëis. After this he goes back into action and chases poor Hector round and round (like the movements of the sun). Both Job, Krt and Achilleus represent the sun-warrior who is bereaved of his graces, descends to the realm of death, but returns with fertility and grace reborn.

 In the 21st song there is the usual fight against the chaotic sea. Achilleus, the sun-warrior, is attacked by the river Scamandros, who tries to drown him, but at the last moment he is saved by Hephaistos creating a giant fire to stop the flooding. The cosmic balance between water and heat is a very important prehistoric motif, and the main motif of the Ugarit-epos about Baal fighting cosmic flooding and summer-heat. The sun-warrior creates order in a chaotic universe, cf. the shield of Achilleus, which is clearly a cosmic IMAGO (Iliad 18th song).

As Patrocles fighting and dying as Achilleus's double, clad in his armour, is mourned for in a mourning of cosmic dimensions, so Krt is lamented both by the Phoenix-bird, Hol, and Mt.Saphon (acc. to M.Dahood [6]). The Hol-bird is also mentioned in Job 29,18. It is part of the symbolism surrounding the sun-warrior.



2b. The Shepherd and the three girls


Jane Harrison[7] brings the following picture of the three dancing "daughters of dew" in Athens. (Also the daughter of Baal are called "daughters of dew and fog", CTA 3,C,5ff.) The next pict. shows the three charites led by Hermes in dance while the bull man, Pan, is piping. Harrison directs our attention to the story about the three goddesses led by Hermes to the shepherd Paris. This motif was so common in the art of the Antique world that Harrison asks: "Did not the myth itself in some sense rise out of the already existing art form, an art form in which Paris had no place, in which the golden apple was not? That form was the ancient type of Hermes leading the three Korai or Charites" (ibd., p.297 with the picture below of Hermes leading the three goddesses. They are pictured as perfectly identical and Hermes is carrying a huge and rather irrelevant sheep. He is the shepherd leading the three girls in dance.).



The three Horai were originally goddesses watering the earth with the life giving rain and thereby bringing forth flowers and fruits. In Athens they were two; Thallo bringing forth flowers and Carpo bringing fruits. Acc. to Hesiod they were three presiding over the order of cosmos: Eunomia, Dike and Irene. In the early Christian text "The Shepherd of Hermas" the shepherd is followed by 7 girls, personifications of different virtues. On Mt Helicon Apollo, the god of spring, is leading the dance of three times three Musai.


Hiding among the shepherds, the divine child, Krisna, escapes the persecution of the chaos-king. He is very fond of the gopas and dances with them. In the same way Moses hides with Jetro in the desert, helping his seven shepherd-daughters, marrying one of them. Also Apollo has to be born in secret, hiding from the chaos-dragon (cf. Rev 12).  He is born under a great light among many flowers and cared for and washed by goddesses. In the Homerian Hymn to Apollo he is followed by the "goddesses of the year", the charites, Hebe, Harmonia & Afrodite who form a chorus, dancing with the god leading the chorus. As we shall see, there are mostly 3 women following the shepherd of spring and sunshine (3 graces, the horai). Baal is followed by his 3 daughters and often called Hadu, the shepherd. The girls following the young god are often personifications of the forces bringing fertility and beauty to nature. Baal's daughters are symbols of the rain and dew and fog.  

a) Male children being killed by the evil king ruling (to prevent one of them from taking over the kingdom) is a feature common the Exodus-story, Matt 2 and the myth of the birth of Krisna.

b) Moses finally saved by his being adopted by the daughter of the evil king Pharaoh is paralleled in Phoenician myth by the pregnant wife of the highgod being given to Dagon, the brother of El Cronos, and her child finally being the successor of the evil king El Cronos on the heavenly throne.


Myth and history mix in a way that makes it quite impossible to separate the two. The symbol and the mythical language is the way of the folk religion to try to find suitable expression for the ineffable. The same pattern is repeated again and again and all lines in this great pattern run together in the story of Jesus, persecuted by the evil tyrant Herod growing up to become the Good Shepherd sacrificed but sought and bevailed by the women. 



2c. The child exposed to the river or the wilderness


In a large article, Donald B.Redford[8] has collected 32 variants of "The literary motif of the exposed child (cf. Exod 2,1-10)". This motif occurs in ancient Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, Greece, as well as in Rome. Strangely enough, he does not mention the important Cretan-Minoan variant of the theme: the Zeus-child is hidden from Cronos, the demonic divine King, and is nursed by the goat Amalthea. In our opinion the motif is so old and wide-spread that it must go back to the oldest period of agriculture. It is connected with the struggle for kingship-of-heaven motif: after the killing of the high-god, the goddess must fly and hide her child from the demonic god in a sphere which does not belong to him, but to the high-god (the bucolic environment with shepherds & goats, the environment dominated by the life-fluid). Mother and child fly and hide in the sea. (Leucothea flies from Lykurgos and hides herself and the Dionysos-child at the bottom of the sea. During her flight from Typhon, the Syrian goddess comes to the Euphrates and hides there with her child, Eros.) Or they hide in the rush-grown marshes (Isis and Horus hide from Seth). The child may also be committed to the river in a small basket or box (a late version of the Horus-legend, dealt with by Redford p.223).

 The child may also be exposed to the wilderness and grow up among shepherds and be nursed by a cow or a goat. For Perseus and Romolus and Remus the two motifs are combined: the child saved by the sea/ the river and in the bucolic environment, both experiencing the sailing in the box/the trough and the hidden upbringing among shepherds. Sargon's birth-legend is meant to legitimate the king as the son of the god of life.

It is characteristic of the stories about Moses that they contain the exposure of the child to the life-fluid of the Nile as well as the hidden life among shepherds in the wilderness (with Jetro).

Redford has not been able to see this origin of the motif in the fight between the god of life and the god of chaos and death. He argues that the motif of the child exposed to the river arose in the Euphrates-Tigris area, the child who is exposed to the mountains is, acc to R., a motif from Armenia or from the northern part of Zagros.


[1] Photo in A.Fakhry, An archaeological Journey in Yemen I,1952,p.126,fig.77,III,t.XLVII

[2] A.Grohmann, "Göttersymbole und Symboltiere auf südarabische Denkmälern" Denkschriften d.Akademie d.Wiss.Wien phil-hist.K1asse,58,Bd.1,Abh.1914.)

[3] Handbuch der altarabischen Altertumskunde, I, 1927.pp.2o7ff.

[4] R.Giveon, Les bèdouins Shosou des documents Egyptienne, 1971, pp.27ff.,74ff.

[5] L.E.Axelsson, The Lord Rose up from Seir, 1987 pp.59f.

[6] The Catholic Bibl. Quaterly, 36, pp.85-88.

[7] Prolegomena, pp.290f.

[8] Numen 14, 1967, pp.209ff.


    TABLE OF CONTENTS    



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Disclaimer

Disclaimer:
Some material presented will contain links, quotes, ideologies, etc., the contents of which should be understood to first, in their whole, reflect the views or opinions of their editors, and second, are used in my personal research as "fair use" sources only, and not espousement one way or the other. Researching for 'truth' leads one all over the place...a piece here, a piece there. As a researcher, I hunt, gather and disassemble resources, trying to put all the pieces into a coherent and logical whole. I encourage you to do the same. And please remember, these pages are only my effort to collect all the pieces I can find and see if they properly fit into the 'reality aggregate'.

Personal Position

Personal Position:
I've come to realize that 'truth' boils down to what we 'believe' the facts we've gathered point to. We only 'know' what we've 'experienced' firsthand. Everything else - what we read, what we watch, what we hear - is what someone else's gathered facts point to and 'they' 'believe' is 'truth', so that 'truth' seems to change in direct proportion to newly gathered facts divided by applied plausibility. Though I believe there is 'truth', until someone representing the celestial realm visibly appears and presents the heavenly records of Facts And Lies In The Order They Happened, I can't know for sure exactly what "the whole truth' on any given subject is, and what applies to me applies to everyone. Until then I'll continue to ask, "what does The Urantia Book say on the subject?"
~Gail Bird Allen

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The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha
The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with Apocrypha

This volume combines a cultural guide to the biblical world and an annotated Bible. Its notes feature the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish scholars.

  • Twenty-three insightful articles on aspects of the history, literary background, and culture of the biblical era.
  • A special index of people, places, and themes of the Bible.
  • 36 pages of full-color New Oxford Bible Maps, with index.

Paperback: 1860 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (March 12, 1992)

Nave's Topical Bible: A comprehensive Digest of over 20,000 Topics and Subtopics With More Than 10,000 Associated Scripture References

Nave's Topical Bible: A comprehensive Digest of over 20,000 Topics and Subtopics With More Than 10,000 Associated Scripture References Nave's Topical Bible: A comprehensive Digest of over 20,000 Topics and Subtopics With More Than 10,000 Associated Scripture References

"Nave's Topical Bible, " the best known of all topical bibles, has been a valuable Bible-study reference and a best-seller for more than 75 years. It is a comprehensive digest of over 20,000 topics and subtopics with more than 100,000 associated Scripture references. The most significant references for each topic actually include the full text of the verse cited saving the need to separately look up each verse.

Because "Nave's "groups verses by "idea" (or "topic"), it offers a better overview of relevant Scriptures than a concordance, which only lists or indexes verses according to specific words. This edition also includes the helpful Scripture index (left out of some other editions), which makes it possible for the reader studying a particular biblical text to locate every topic and grouping of Scripture in "Nave's "whenever a particular verse is included. That way, it is possible for the reader to study either all the verses related to a particular topic "or" all the topics related to a particular verse it works both ways.

For the pastor or teacher interested in saving hours of time but not willing to give their second best, and for anyone wanting to be challenged by what God has to say about a given subject, "Nave's Topical Bible" is the passport that will allow immediate and successful entry to the many points of interest."

About the Author

Orville J. Nave, A.M., D.D., LL.D., compiled this magnificient reference work while serving as a Chaplain in the United States Army. He referred to his work as "the result of fourteen years of delightful and untiring study of the Word of God."

Hardcover: 1616 pages
Publisher: Hendrickson Pub (July 1, 2002)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Super Value Series)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Super Value Series) Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Super Value Series)

Read the best of Matthew Henry's classic commentary on the Bible in one convenient book. Henry's profound spiritual insights have touched lives for over 300 years. Indexed maps and charts make this a book any pastor, student, Bible teacher, or devotional reader will treasure!

About the Author

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) was a Presbyterian minister in England who began his commentary on the Bible in 1704. He completed his work up to the end of Acts before his death. Afterward, his ministerial friends completed the work from Henry's notes and writings.

Series: Super Value Series
Hardcover: 1200 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 30, 2003)

Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Like a redwood that towers above all other trees, The Strongest Strong’s takes James Strong’s classic concordance to unprecedented heights. Reflecting thousands of research hours, custom computer technology, and an exclusive database perfected over twenty years, The Strongest Strong’s is packed with features that make it the last word in accuracy and usefulness. No other Strong’s concordance can touch it. This is no mere study tool. Destined to become a foundational resource for Bible study the world over, The Strongest Strong’s is a landmark in biblical reference works.

What Makes This Strong’s the Strongest? Rebuilding Strong’s time-honored concordance from the ground up, biblical research experts John Kohlenberger and James Swanson have achieved unprecedented accuracy and clarity. Longstanding errors have been corrected. Omissions filled in. Word studies simplified. Thoroughness and ease of use have been united and maximized.

Kohlenberger and Swanson have also added the Nave’s Topical Bible Reference System―the world’s most complete topical Bible, updated, expanded, and streamlined to meet the needs of today’s Bible user. No other edition of Strong’s or Nave’s gives you all the information combined in The Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.

A Stunning Array of World-Class Features

In order to experience all the advantages of The Strongest Strong’s, you’ll have to look inside. But here is a thumbnail sketch of what awaits you:

  • Computer-verified accuracy. For the first time ever, cutting-edge computer analysis provides unparalleled, pinpoint accuracy
  • Strong’s numbering system speeds you through word studies, giving you clear insights into Greek and Hebrew words
  • Goodrick-Kohlenberger numbers in the dictionary indexes give you access to the growing library of reference tools that use these numbers―another unique feature
  • The most up-to-date Hebrew and Greek dictionaries ensure precise meaning in your word studies
  • Nave’s Topical Bible Reference System supplies the complete descriptive content and references (without the Bible text) of Nave’s Topical Bible, expanded to provide a total of more than 100,000 verses indexed by subject, word, phrase, synonym, and example
  • Cross-references to places and names used in Bible translations besides the KJV
  • Word counts furnish a complete accounting of every word in the Bible
  • Fast-Tab locators help you find your place quickly and easily
  • Smythe-sewn binding opens fully, lays flat, and lasts longer
  • Words of Christ highlighted in red
  • Maps
  • Clear, easy-to-read type PLUS: Comprehensive guidance for using The Strongest Strong’s
  • Major Social Concerns of the Mosaic Covenant
  • Old Testament Sacrifices
  • Hebrew Calendar
  • Hebrew Feasts and Holy Days
  • Weights, Lengths, and Measures of the Bible
  • Kings of the Bible
  • Harmony of the Gospels
  • Prophecies of the Messiah Fulfilled in Jesus
  • Parables of Jesus
  • Miracles of Jesus
  • Chronology of the Bible

About the Author

Dr. James Strong (1822-1894) was formerly president of Troy University and professor of exegetical theology at Drew Theological Seminary.

Hardcover: 1742 pages
Publisher: Zondervan; Supesaver ed. edition (September 1, 2001)

Zondervan Pictorial Encylopedia of the Bible, Vols. 1-5
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From the Back Cover

The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, the result of more than ten years of research and preparation, provides Bible students with a comprehensive and reliable library of information. Varying viewpoints of scholarship permit a well-rounded perspective on significant issues relating to doctrines, themes, and biblical interpretation. Well-organized and generously illustrated, this encyclopedia will become a frequently used resource and reference work because of its many helpful features: - More than 5,000 pages of vital information of Bible lands and people - More than 7,500 articles alphabetically arranged for easy reference - Hundreds of full-color and black-and-white illustrations, charts, and graphs - Thirty-two pages of full-color maps and hundreds of black-and-white outline maps for quick perspective and ready reference - Scholarly articles ranging across the entire spectrum of theological and biblical topics, backed by recent archaeological discoveries - Two hundred and thirty-eight contributors from around the world. The editors have brought to this encyclopedia the fruit of many years of study and research.

About the Author

Merrill C. Tenney was professor of theological studies and dean of the Graduate school of Theology at Wheaton College.

Hardcover: 5 volume set More than 5,000 pages
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing House; Second Printing edition (March 15, 1975)

HarperColins Bible Dictionary
HarperColins Bible Dictionary HarperCollins Bible Dictionary

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary puts the latest and most comprehensive biblical scholarship at your fingertips. Here is everything you need to know to fully understand the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament. An unparalleled resource, The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary explains every aspect of the Bible, including biblical archaeology, culture, related writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Bible‘s influence on Western civilization, biblical history, theological concepts, modern biblical interpretations, flora nad fauna, climate and environment, crafts and industry, the content of individual books of the bible, and more.

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary features:

  • Contributions by 193 noted experts on the Bible and the ancient Near East
  • More than 3700 entries covering the Bible from A to Z
  • Outlines for each book of the Bible
  • 590 black–and–white photographs
  • 53 color photographs
  • An updated pronunciation guide
  • 72 black–and–white maps
  • 18 color maps
  • Dozens of drawings, diagrams, and tables

About the Author

Paul J. Achtemeier is Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. A widely respected authority on the Bible, he is the author or co-author of 14 books, former editor of the quarterly Interpretation, and New Testament editor of the Interpretation Biblical Commentary Series. Professor Achtemeier has also been chief executive officer and president of the Society of Biblical Literature, and president of the Catholic Biblical Association.

The Editorial Board of the revised edition of The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary includes associate editors; Roger S. Boraas, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Religion, Uppsala College; Michael Fishbane, Ph.D., Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Chicago Divinity School; Pheme Perkins, Ph.D., Professor of Theology (New Testament), Boston College; and William O. Walker, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Religion, Trinity University.

The Society of Biblical Literature is a seven-thousand-member international group of experts on the Bible and related fields. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Amazon.com Review

For the maps alone, this book is worth it. Following 1,250 pages that describe and explain the people, places, terms, and events of the Bible from Aaron to Zurishaddai, the 16 spectacular maps detail the political entities and boundaries of biblical times, bringing the historic times to vivid life. A fascinating book, an impressive collection of scholarship, and a possession to cherish, the 188 contributors and five editors show what can be produced if you don't cut corners on excellence. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Hardcover: 1178 pages
Publisher: HarperOne; Rev Upd Su edition

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Old and New Testament

Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Old and New Testament Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary Old and New Testament

A Nelson exclusive. Study the meaning of biblical words in the original languages-without spending years learning Greek or Hebrew. This classic reference tool has helped thousands dig deeper into the meaning of the biblical text. Explains over 6,000 key biblical words. Includes a brand new comprehensive topical index that enables you to study biblical topics more thoroughly than ever before.

Hardcover: 1184 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; 2nd Edition edition (August 26, 1996)


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