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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

20. Alexander the Great and his forerunners


Semiramis was, acc. to Ktesias ap. Diodor, exposed in the desert after being born by Derceto in Ashkalon. In the desert she was nourished by pigeons who brought her milk and cheese from the herd of the king. The leader of the shepherds gets news about this marvel and adopts her. She grows up as a shepherdess.

As the Queen of Ninive she erects stelai of triumph at the end of the inhabited earth in inner Scytia, where Alexander, much later, saw them and read the inscription. In this her androgynous nature is described: nature had prepared a female´s body for her, but her deeds were like the greatest among men. She provides water in the wildernes: "I have made the unfruitful earth fruit-bearing by watering it with my rivers…I have made an even road with instruments of iron through inaccessible mountains. I have opened a road for my chariots, where even the wild animals have never trodden … And among all this labour I also found time for pleasure and joy". (The sun hero clears a road through inaccessible chaos-land.) 

She even conquers Ethiopia and reaches India with her army, and is the founder of cities like Ecbatana, Babylon and Semiramokarta in Armenia. Finally she is taken up to heaven. In the Ugarit texts this mythical campaign is carried out by Baal: "He marched from town to town, turned from city to city. Sixty-six towns he seized, seventy-seven cities, Ba´lu struck eighty, Ba´lu expelled ninety…"[1]. He makes his voice heard right through to "the people in the east"[2], and his enemies have to take shelter in the forests and mountain caves (areas in the periphery of the cosmos created by Baal).

Acc to Gudea of Lagash, his god, Ningirsu, "has opened the road for him from the Upper to the Nether Sea" and "in Amanus, the cedar mountain" he was able to cut down giant cedar trees. The Assyrian god, Assur, is shown as a bowman in the burning disc of the sun. He is obviously a god of the Resheph type. The king is closely linked to Assur, and often shown as the great hunter hunting lions and wild bulls. Sargon boasts of his pushing forward to the far west, where he "forced the western countries into submission, and conquered the four parts of the world."[3]. He even crossed over the "Western Sea" and erected his stelai in the west[4]. Salmanasser II (860-25) erected a "picture of his rule, bearing his name for the eternity… by the sea", and he also ascended and cut down cedars on the Hamani (Amanus) mountain[5].

The most important Assyrian god was Assur, often pictured as an archer, and one with the mystical fire-bird. The king is often seen standing by the tree of life grasping one of the snake-tails hanging down from the fire-bird hovering over the top of the sacred tree. (N.W.palace in Nimrod). A seal impression[6] shows a man in "Knielauf" (= running very fast), grasping both tails of the double snake hanging down from the bird, here shown as uniting the light of the sun and the moon. The running man is the sun hero followed by his two Dioscuric helpers. A relief from Kuyundjik shows king Sancherib as an archer clad in the star spangled cloak of the sky, and sitting on a kind of cosmic throne picturing the three heavens held up by three rows of Atlas-like figures. The king is macr´anthropos. In the same palace dug out by H.Rassam was pictured the magnificent lion-hunt performed by the king: he is seen driving round in a kind of arena fenced in by tent-canvas, shooting lions which are brought to the arena in cages and let loose. He is obviously hailed as the great hunter, and he openly boasts of his cruelty and the atrocities performed by his troops. The Sumerian king is more human: "As Utu (the sun) in the evening has haste to reach his house, so I completed a journey of 15 doublehours…with Utu…my brother and friend …I was drinking in the palace founded by An ("Heaven", i.e. the highgod)… I was sitting with my bride, the virgin Inanna (the goddess)… with food and drink… on a shining throne…"[7] The sun hero type boasts more of his travels or military campaigns right to the end of the world, and his opening roads in the wilderness: "As I was able to enjoy my power, I moved my foot, and hurried along the roads of the country, and made firm the highways"[8]. The very special hat only worn by the Assyrian king has a big rosette as a third eye on the forehead:



Later it is Alexander who is described as Gilgamesh[9].

To understand the sacred kingship ideology used by Alexander we have to look at the coins that were issued. Below is shown the tetradrachme from Byblos: on the adverse Alexander as Heracles with the hide of the lion as a helmet on his head, and on the reverse Zeus Olympios with an eagle in his hand and the inscription ALEXANDROU, a pattern already well-known from the Persian period in Tarsus: on the adverse the young, active god, Sandan-Heracles (standing naked behind an incense-burner) and on the reverse the older high god Baal Tarz sitting in the same posture as Zeus Olympios, but with an ear of corn in his hand.[10]

Ammianus Marcellinus[11] calls Sandan "ex Aethio profectus". Eyssenhardt makes the correction "ex Aethiopia profectus". Alexander wants to go to the land of the rising of the sun (India, in some Greek traditions Aethiopia: on his journey to Aethiopia Dionysos erected the two gigantic pillars in Mabbug). He wants to visit Siwa because Heracles was said to have visited it, and he calls his son with Barsine Heracles, and seems even on certain occasions to have dressed out as Ammon with a ram´s horns on his head, as Heracles with a lion's hide and a club, as Artemis (as the great hunter Melqart is androgynous), and as Hermes, the Divine Angel or Messenger[12].



The oracle of Siwa also honoured a younger god identified with Dionysos, and Alexander was also identified with this god. A coin from Cyrene shows Alexander as the young Dionysos from Siwa[13]. Both Heracles and Dionysos were honoured as leaders of a mythical campaign towards India, probably taking over this role from a Near Eastern Baal. Alexander´s return from India was made into a Dionysiac procession: the king himself was lying on a big platform on a wagon together with some close friends feasting and drinking, and all along the route jars of wine were put up. When he arrived at his home at big drinking contest was held, and the winner died happily after taking in no less than 13 litres of wine. The king himself seems to have consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, and this could have contributed to his sudden death by fever. His attempt to cross through the Gedrosian desert was against every good reason and mounted to a military catastrophe. But it was part of the ideology: the sun hero passing through the terrible wilderness, the world in its untouched chaotic stage digging wells along the road or providing water.

The foundation myth of the oracle of Siwa tells that Dionysos was leading his army through Libya, and the army was near to dying from thirst when a ram suddenly showed up and guided the army to a place with water, and in honour of this ram-god the temple was built[14]. Diodor has preserved some traditions connected with the name Thymoites, son of Thymoites. This can only be the Near Eastern god, Thammuz/Dumuzi (Berossos mentions two Dumuzis, the shepherd and the fisherman). In Diodor  the miltary campaign is led by both Dionysos and Athene (Baal and Anat, like Anat killing the bitch, "Fire", so Athene has killed a female monster setting the woods on fire from Phrygia over Libanon to North Africa.) Dionysos is leading his army forward in "waterless land infested with wild animals" III, 72,2, that is chaos. 

A Hittite motif shows the king as sun hero assisted by the winged disc, fighting his way marked out by the snake coils, clearing the route of wild animals. In his fight with the lion-monster he is assisted by the Heracles-like young hunter, naked except for the kilt, armed with a primitive axe. He is hitting the lion in its third eye, thereby laming its magical force.



       The tradition preserved by Diodor is structured as the usual struggle for the kingdom of heaven motif: Ammon has to flee to Crete because of his affair with Amaltheia, being unfaithful to his wife, Rhea. She calls in her brother Saturn, who takes over the kingdom, but, when defeated, burns his residence (cf. the same thing done by Sardanapal). The background is the usual feast of Saturnalia or Sacaeans, where the queen is taken over by the king of chaos. The interregnum of Saturn is meant to serve the promotion of fertility: Ammon had to abdicate because of lack of grain[15]

Dionysos is the year and cosmic order reborn: it is stressed that his army went forward with order, fighting all rascals. The child Dionysos is begotten in the Ceraunian mountains at the Horn of Hesperos III 68,2 – presumably the Punic city of Cerne (from the Semitic word for "horn"). He grows up on an island, Nysa, situated in the Tritonos river (in inner Libya). The island had high cliffs all along its coast and could only be visited through a valley leading from the coast inward and forming a gate called the "Nysaean Gate". Here we find the typical inaccessible paradise mountain, which can also be a paradise island, and the gate of the sun. On the island the climate was such that people would live very long, and the whole island was full of fruit trees and wild grapes, and there were wellsprings all along the valley, and at its end a big cave. Surrounding the cave were rocks in all kinds of colours known from art, and in front of the cave fruit trees and evergreen trees full of nests. A wonderful harmony of birds singing would fill the air, a music surpassing all artistic play.

As it can be seen from this description, the paradise island is the perfect model for all art, for all that is felt as beautiful and moving on earth.

The dark-skinned Prince, Memnon, was coming from the land of Cissia in the sunrise to help Priam. The Phrygians still show the straight road, with campsites every fifteen miles or so, by which Memnon, after he had subjugated all the intervening nations, marched to Troy[16].

Krt in the Ugarit texts moves forward with an army of 3 million men and demands a wife by whose help the graces can be born, the grace and fruitfulness of nature reborn.

Heracles´s moving forward the whole way to India is also described as the advancing of the sun hero´s army. "He cleanses the land and sea from evil animals"[17], and installs his many sons as kings. His daughter is given 365 villages, which is a tribute for every day[18]: the fruitfulness of the whole year is secured. She is only 8 years old as she gives birth to her father´s son (cf the young virgin, Anat, and Semiramis too young to be married to Ninos), and is given a mighty army by her father, Arrian Ind.8. Heracles comes from west and moves toward east. It is even more typical that a sun warrior moves towards the west like Nebucadnezar, who, acc to a Babylonian tradition, led his weapons even to the pillars of Hercules (by the Gibraltar[19]), where he conquered great parts of Iberia and Libya[20].

In 2.Kings19,23f. the Assyrian king is described as a sun warrior: with his countless number of war chariots he is mounting the paradisegardens of Lebanon, digging out wells and crossing the streams in the far west.

Diodor of Sicily seems rather well informed about the Siwa oasis. The inhabitants of the oasis were living in villages, but had in their midst an acropolis surrounded by a triple wall. There is a second temple for the god standing somewhat outside the acropolis in the shade of many trees, and not far from it a well called "Well of the Sun". An old drawing taken from Maspero, Histoire Ancienne, III, p.552 shows right in front of us the well (today Ain el Hamman), a little farther back the characteristic high walls of the city, and in the background a mountain, presumably the old acropolis.

Herodot was told in Thebes that the foundation of the oracle was due to two women abducted from Thebes by Phoenicians, one of them sold to Hellas, the other to Libya. A great search was conducted for the two, but in vain, and only several years later they learned about their destiny, II 54.

Exactly the same is told about Europa in Tyre: she was abducted, and the citizens of Tyre each year celebrated the memory of her abduction and called the evening it happened Kaké Opsiné ("Evil dusk"). Also Jo is searched for once a year in Anthioch by Orontes, where people at the time of the year when she disappeared go from door to door knocking[21]. The abduction of the female goddess is, as we have seen, a very important motif in Phoenician religion.

That Phonician slavetraders should have organised abductions of women as deep in the southern part of Egypt as Thebes seems a little unlikely, and the prophetesses of Dodona, who confirmed that the two oracles were founded at the same time, gave another story: two black pigeons were sent out from Thebes. One came to Libya, the other to Dodona, where is rested in an oak tree and ordered in a human voice that an oracle for Zeus should be established on this spot. The same thing happened in Libya, II 55. The pigeon is an important symbol of the Syrian goddess, but most decisive is the way the idol took part in a method of divination: the idol[22] was carried in a golden boat by 80 priests, and they would take the direction the god urged them to take. Exactly the same is told about the divination  guided by the god in Mabbug. He drives his bearers round in every possible direction untill the high priest starts asking him questions. If he wants to answer "Yes", the bearers are driven forward, if "Nay" he makes them move back, Lucian 36. It seems pretty certain that Ammon is the West Semitic Baal Hammon. Regular contact between Siwa and Egypt was first established in the 15th cent. B.C.

On coins struck in Cyrene 430-285 B.C. there are not only pictures of Zeus Ammon with wild hair and beard, but also a younger god with smaller horns and without a beard. L.Müller[23] was the first to see that this had to be combined with the tradition by Diodor of Ammon´s son, Dionysos.

We have here the typical Phoenician highgod splitting up in a young and an old god. And when the two pigions are sent out from Thebes it could be a misunderstanding of the West Semitic word for "ark" (tebah). Just as in Mabbug we have then a tradition about the flood. But most important is the characteristic omphalos shaped "fetish"[24], also typical of the Syrian area. When we look at the picture, we are at once struck by the dimensions of the distant acropolis-mountain. What could be more impressive than this mountain lying in the middle of the vast desert, and with the oasis and the "Well of the Sun" at its feet? For some prehistoric traveller going west in what was felt as the footsteps of the sun it was a revelation of the mythical mountain of paradise.

Ptolomaeos I told that Alexander was led through the desert by two snakes most likely Agathodaemon and Agathe Tyché identified with Serapis and Isis whose cult Pt. sought to promote[25] they are here seen in typical late-Egyptian style like a pair of Indian Nagas.

A strange sign was seen by Alexander's father at his son's birth: he saw an egg break, and out of the egg came a snake that coiled around the shell and finally attempted to reenter to where it had emerged, but, having got its head inside, it died. A god-inspired interpreter explains that the king will have a son who will go round the whole world, bringing everyone under his sway. But when turning back, he will die young[26]. But the snake coiling around the egg is an old symbol of the kundalini-force: its ascent is an inner journey, identical with the journey in the orbit of the sun around the world. Cf. Job 3,8 about the magicians raising Leviathan: mystic vision gives magic force. Hermes, the psychopomp, has the caduceus (the two coiling snakes) as the symbol of his ability to travel fast in the orbit of the sun. (The planet Mercury is a close follower of the sun).

On the island of Pharos Alexander finds the "pillars of Helion" and the tomb of Proteus "over which presides Time... turning the boundless world on his five-peaked ridges"[27] – that is the mythical primordial island in the centre of the universe with the pillars of the sun, here one for each of the 5 elements, not only fire & vegetation.

      Arrian V, 26 conveys a speech by Alexander where he reveals his plan to move forward to the Oceanos-stream, and then sail around Africa and in through the pillars of Heracles (following the path of the sun). He speaks repeatedly about his and the army´s "labours". Alexander found it important that Lysippos gave full expression to "the lion-like" look of the king[28] with the long hair that stood up in his forehead in an anastolê[29].

Acc. to S.Weinstock[30] it was only the Syrian-Seleucidian dynasty that used the Nicator-terminology, the terminology of the victorious sun. (Until it was taken over by the Roman emperors. A single exception is Attalos I of Pergamon, who called himself Galatonicés.) Seleukos I is called Nicator, and the Zeus temple in Daphne, perhaps buildt by him, shows a Zeus with a small Nike-statue on the palm of his hand; his memorial is called Nicatoreion, and several of his successors use the Heracles epithet, Kallinicos ("He who has beautiful victory"). The son, Antiochos I, strikes a coin showing himself as Apollo sitting on the omphalos, and on the reverse an old man with a bull´s horns and features of Seleukos[31]. Demetrios II Nicator (139-25 B.C.) is shown as Sandan on the pyre.


But already after the battle at Gaugamela a mountain was called Nicatorion Oros by Alexander, cf. the Mons Victorialis of the Magi[32]. G.Widengren treats this as a very important tradition linked to the birth of the Divine Child, the earthly birth of Mithra asRex Magnus[33]. "The mountain of Victory" also seems to play a role in the Ugarit texts: after giving birth to a bull calf, the young heifer, Anat ascends to "the Mountain of Victory", Saphon also called Arr, cf. CTA 3, III, 27ff., where Anat is invited to visit Baal on "the heights of victory". After Alexander´s victory over Poros the city Nicaea is founded, and when he, after his return from India, demands to be honoured as a god, it is suggested that a statue with the inscription, "King Alexander Anicetos Theos" is put up[34].


[1] J.de Moor, Anthology…, pp.61f.

[2] CTA 4, VII, 33f.

[3] Keilinschriftliche  Bibl. III, 1, p.103

[4] ibd., 105)

[5] ibd. I, 159, 161

[6] 1000-500 B.C. Photo Mus. Louvre

[7] Sumerische Hymnen v. A. Falkenstein & von Soden, pp.117f.

[8] p. 116

[9] M.Lidzbarski in ZAW 7, pp. 104ff.

[10] Cook, Zeus I, fig.455.On this motif: the young god and the older, H.Böhlig, Die Geisteskultur von Tarsus, 1913

[11] Rerum gestarum XIV, 8,3 (ed. Fr.Eyssenhardt)

[12] J.Tondriau, "Alexandre le Gr. assimilé a différentes divinités", Revue de Philologie, LXXV, 1949, pp.41ff.

[13] Cook, Zeus I, fig.283

[14] Nigidius Figulus, sphaera graecani & Hygin, astronom. II, 20 ad. aries

[15] III 71, 2

[16] Diod. II, 22

[17] Diod. III, 68, 38

[18] Polyaen.Strateg. I, 3, 4

[19] Strabo XV, I, 6

[20] Megasthenes ap. Josephos Ant. Jud. X, 2, 1

[21] John Malala 2, pp.28ff. Dindorf

[22] An omphalos stone adorned with precious stones, acc. to Curtius 4, 7, 23f.

[23] In: Falbe-Lindberg-Müller

[24] Meltzer, "Der Fetisch im Heiligtum des Zeus Ammon", Philologus 63, pp.186f.

[25] W.W.Tarn, "The Hellenistic Ruler-cult", JHS 48, 1928, pp.218f.

[26] Pseudo-Callisthenes I, 11

[27] Ps.Callist. I, 33

[28] Plut. Alex. 2, 2

[29] Plut. Pomp. 2, Ael. Var Hist 12, 14)

[30] "Victor and Invictus", HR 50, 1957, pp.211ff.

[31] E.Babelon, Les Rois de Syrie, pp.LXXIV & XVI

[32] Zoroastr. fr. S 12, Bidez-Cumont, Les Mages hellénisés 2, p.119

[33] Die Religionen Irans, pp.207ff.

[34] Hyperid. or. I, col. 32,5; Cassius Dio 43, 45, 2


    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
Zondervan Pictorial Encylopedia of the Bible, Vols. 1-5 The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (5 Volume Set)

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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