#then read the later parts of the Hebrew Bible

[durn3h]

Looking through the notes in that /lit/ reading list is so funny. So many people are like “I have to read Homer?” “I have to read the Bible?” “I have to read Shakespeare?” apparently completely unaware that the list is literally just a pared down western literary canon and literally every word written in English takes massive amounts of influence from them, directly and indirectly, and often unintentionally

[whencyclopedia]

The World's Oldest Love Poem

The world's oldest love poem is The Love Song for Shu-Sin (c. 2000 BCE) composed in ancient Mesopotamia for use in part of the sacred rites of fertility. Prior to its discovery in the 19th century, and its translation in the 20th, the biblical Song of Songs was thought to be the oldest love poem extant.

In the 19th century, archaeologists descended on the region of Mesopotamia seeking physical evidence which would corroborate the biblical narratives of the Old Testament. While this may not have been initially their driving purpose, their need for funding (based on public interest to justify such funding) soon made it so.

Instead of finding the evidence they hoped for, they discovered cuneiform tablets which established that many of the biblical narratives were derived from Mesopotamian sources. This discovery had a profound impact not only on biblical scholarship at the time but the history of the world as it was then understood.

Excavation & Discovery

When the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam, he was under so much pressure to find biblical sites that he jumped to the conclusion the city he had uncovered was Nineveh. His published account of the excavations, in 1849, was titled Nineveh and its Remains and, owing to Nineveh's fame from the Bible, the book became a best seller. The success of the book sparked further interest in Mesopotamian history as a means of corroborating biblical narratives and so further expeditions were sent to the region in search of other cities mentioned in the Bible.

Prior to this time, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world and The Song of Songs from the Bible (also known as The Song of Solomon) the oldest love poem. Interestingly, the expeditions sent to historically corroborate the stories from the Bible did precisely the opposite. When Layard excavated the actual site of Nineveh in 1846-1847, he discovered the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (r. 668-627 BCE) and the cuneiform texts, which were then translated by the legendary George Smith, made it clear that the story of the Fall of Man and The Great Flood and Noah's Ark were not original compositions of the authors of the Book of Genesis but were pre-existing Mesopotamian tales which were re-worked by later Hebrew scribes. The Song of Songs, dated to the 6th-3rd centuries BCE, could no longer be considered the oldest love poem once The Love Song for Shu-Sin (written c.2000 BCE) was discovered.

Continue reading...

[hyperpotamianarch]

Next, I'm going to try and pour out information about Jewish religious literature. To be fair, there are probably way more extensive posts, websites and YouTube videos on this topic, but I chose to talk about it because I've seen some slight misinformation going around. Hope I won't come off as patronizing. Note, I'm writing it to be comprehensible for none-Jews as well as Jews, so I might say a lot of things you already know if you're Jewish.

So, Jewish religious literature can be divided to three main branches: Mikra, Mishnah and Talmud. This is not a completely precise division, nor can it be applied to every Jewish religious book, but it's helpful for the basic books, those considered obligating by Rabbinic Judaism.

Mikra (which, roughly translated from Hebrew, means "something that is read") is the one of those three that is pretty much closed: you can't really write a new Jewish book that'll be considered a part of it. It's also called the Written Torah, and includes the entirety of the Hebrew Bible, AKA Tanakh. In case you're wondering, that includes all books in what Christians call "the Old Testament", only sorted differently and into three categories: Torah - the Pentateuch, Nevi'im (Prophets) - which includes every book named after a person outside of Job, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Neḥemiah, and in addition to those books includes the books of Judges and Kings, and the Ketuvim (Written texts) - which includes all the rest of the books. The order of the books in the Tanakh is as follows (using their English names for convenience, I don't necessarily stand behind those translations): Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Nevi'im: Joshua, Judges, Samuel (1&2), Kings (1&2), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Twelve Prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Naḥum, Ḥabakuk, Zephaniah, Ḥaggai, Zechariah, Malachi). Ketuvim: Psalms, Proverbs, Job (transliteration did a number on this one), the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra&Neḥemiah, Chronicles (1&2). Overall, there are 24 books in the Hebrew Bible. It is only later divisions, some of which are outright nonsensical, that made the number into 39.

Those books are ones that are considered to be written using some degree of Divine Inspiration or outright prophecy (which doesn't have to do with knowing the future). Common tradition considers the division of the Tanakh to be between three levels of prophecy, of which the Ketuvim were written in the lowest. As the Written Torah, the entirety of these scriptures is meant to be read (and not repeated by heart). There are occasions where there's a difference between the reading tradition and the writing one - but that's another story. The last books in the Tanakh were written around the 5th Century BCE according to tradition, and it was closed to new additions a couple of decades, perhaps a century or two, later.

The other two branches are both considered parts of the Oral Torah, to varying degrees. You see, according to Jewish tradition, Moshe (Moses) got the Torah in Mt. Sinai in two parts: the Written one (which at the time only included the Pentateuch) and the Oral one, which included explanations on how to actually act upon the commandments in the Written Torah, in addition to deduction laws to be used on the Written Torah (at least according to Rambam, AKA Maimonides). Both the Mishnah and the Talmud, at their core, are based on that. But much of the things said there are things clearly said by Sages and Rabbis from the 1st Century CE onward. How does that work, then?

The answer kind of depends who you ask. But the Orthodox way to look at that is usually that people either have old traditions that were passed down to them, or are using the deduction laws given to Moshe at Mt. Sinai. But I guess all that was a digression, so let's get back on topic.

The Mishnah is called that way after the Hebrew word for repetition. It's supposed to be sturdied this way to be memorized, though it mostly exists as written text nowadays. Back in the time it was codified - the Tana'ic era (10-220 CE, approx.), called that way after the Aramaic word for people who memorize through repetition - there were many versions of traditional laws memorized this way. This stemmed from many different people teaching the same laws, and it ended up being a game of Telephone. Also, it probably needs to be said that while I call those "laws" they weren't usually the bottomline Halachic rules, since it included disagreements and multiple opinions.

The end of the Tana'ic era came when one person, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, composed an authoritative collection of those after studying all the different traditions he knew of. This is what we nowadays call the Mishnah. It's made of 60 tractates- (whisper, whisper Wait, really? Whisper, whisper Huh. All right, then.) I have been informed that the number is actually 63. Who knew? Anyway, those 63 tractates are sorted by topic into 6 orders. Those orders are: Zera'im (seeds, concerns itself with matters related to plants with the odd tractate about liturgy at the start), Mo'ed (occeasion/time, concerns itself with Jewish holidays), Nashim (women, concerns itself with marriage laws in addition to two tractates about oaths and vows), Nezikin (damages, concerns itself with court procedures. Has two miscellaneous tractates that don't make sense there but belong nowhere else), Kodashim (holy things, concerns itself with matters relating to the Temple procedures as well as one tractate about Kashrut and one about heavenly punishments), and Taharot (ritually clean things, I guess? Though this translation is less than accurate. Has to do with - you guessed it - ritual cleanliness). The tractates aren't divided evenly between the orders, and inside of them are sorted by length. The longest tractate is 30 chapters, the shortest is 3. And yes, all of that was supposed to be remembered by heart - possibly only by a number of specific people.

Now, I didn't mention it previously, but there were certain books written that didn't get into the Tanakh - Apocryphal books. Those are not only considered outside the religious canon, but are not to be studied as well - though this might be a little flexible, the bottom line is they can't really be used for anything religious. I'm saying this right now because the same isn't true for Oral traditions that weren't codified in the Mishnah. Some of those were codified in other ways, and can be used to help understand the Mishnah better - which leads us to the Talmud.

Talmud, translated literally from Hebrew, means "study", as in the study of the traditions from the Mishnah. It is a separate book from the Mishanh, but is structured around it. Due to that, there are occasions people will tell you a given quote is from the Talmud when it's actually from the Mishanh - since the Talmud quotes the Mishnah when talking about it. The Talmud usually tries to reason the origin of the opinions in the Mishnah and to delve into the intricacies of those laws: what happens in fringe cases? What about other situations that the Mishnah didn't mention? How does what this specific Tana (rabbi from the Mishnah) says here fits with what he himself said in another place? And such things. The Talmud is, in essence, a recording of centuries of debates and discussions about the Mishnah. Oh, and there are two Talmudim (the plural form of Talmud).

One could say that the Jerusalem Talmud (Yerushalmi) is the equivalent of the oral traditions that didn't get into the Mishnah: it's less studied and considered less obligating than the Babilonian Talmud (Gemara, or Bavli). It still is occasionally quoted and used to study things the Gemara doesn't talk about or doesn't elaborate on. The main difference between the two is where thy were codified - the Yerushalmi is a codification of the study as it was conducted in the land of Israel (mostly in the galillee; the name Yerushalmi is a little misleading), while the Bavli codifies and records the study of Babylon. There's also a different in the language - both are written in Aramaic interladed with Hebrew, but in different dialects. The Yerushalmi was also codified a couple of centuries earlier than the Bavli - the Yerushalmi was codified around 350CE, due to persecutions under the Bizantine empire, while the Bavli was compiled by the 5th century CE.

While those two Talmudim are separate from each other, there is some intersection. Travel between the land of Israel and Babylon wasn't too rare at the time (called Tekufat Ha'Amora'im in Hebrew, the era of the Amora'im. Amora means interpretor or translator in Aramaic), and so you can see rabbis from Babylon mentioned in the Yerushalmi and Rabbis from the land of Israel mentioned in the Bavli. The easiest way to tell the difference is by their title - in Babylon, a rabbi is called "Rav [name]", while in the land of Israel they are called Rabbi. There is a reason to that, but I'm not getting into it yet. In addition, the Bavli regularly talks about how things are done "in the west" - which is the land of Israel, since it's to Babylon's west. As mentioned, the Bavli is the more authoritative of the two, and is the one usually referred to when people say "the Talmud". The Bavli directly discusses 37 of the Mishnah tractates - it nearly doesn't talk at all about the first and last orders of Mishnah. The Yerushalmi, meanwhile, talks extensively about the first one - but has nothing about the next to last one. There are also other tractates missing in the middle for both.

Now, technically the Babylonian Talmud was codified at the end of the Amora'ic era. However, somewhat unlike the Mishnah (well, I'm not being accurate, the Mishnah also has a thing or two that was shoved later), there were still later additions from a time known as the Savora'ic era. Savora is a word that means "a reasoner" in Aramaic, and I probably could've explained how appropriate this name is for them if I'd have studied enough. From what I know, the characteristics of a Talmudic piece from the Savora'ic era is having no names mentioned/having names of known Savora'im mentioned (the latter is a little rare, to my understanding), and reasoning about the language and meaning of words from the Mishnah. the Savora'ic era probably ended at around the 6th-7th century CE.

From that point on, we'll need to more or less abandon the comfortable division I offered earlier, because it's kind of hard to say which book belongs where, besides many books that might technically fall under the same category but be different enough to require their own categories. In addition, from here on out, no book is considered as all-obligating: you can't go against the Talmud in a halachic ruling, but you can go against anything later.

But, since this thing is long enough as it is right now, I think I'll just write a couple of additions about important books I chose not to mention, and then finish it here for now - with the next couple of periods of history of Jewish religious literature left for a future date.

So, the most significant genre of books I've been ignoring are the Midrashim. I mean, sure, I could talk about Apocrypha, or about the Tosefta/Baraitot (oral traditions that didn't get into the Mishnah), but I mentioned those already. The Midrashim, however, are a genre of writing I completely ignored so far.

I think the best way to explain Midrash is that it's a loose interpretation of the Mikra, based on traditions. There are generally two sub-genres for Midrash - Midrash Halachah and Midrash Agadah. The former concerns itself with the law, the latter with the stories and ideas. The books of Midrashei Halachah we have that I can remember are Mechilta (lit. "Including", more or less. On Exodus), Sifra (lit. "Book", from Aramaic. On Leviticus) and Sifrei (lit. "Books", from Aramaic. On Numbers and Deuteronomy). Those are mostly from the Tana'ic era, I think. There are two major books of Midrashei Agadah, both encompassing all of the pentateuch, named Midrash Rabbah and Midrash Tanḥuma. Those are named after specific people, likely the ones who compiled them, and those names indicate they are from the Amora'ic era.

So, to sum it up: 24 books written during the vague time of the Biblical era, codified into the Tanakh at around 300 BCE, with lots of disagreement on the exact date. Oral traditions passed down between generations, including ones clashing with each other and rulings added through the generations, passed around throughout the Tana'ic era (10-220 CE), and codified into 60 tractates of Mishnah by the end of it. In addition, at the same time, some loose interpretations of the Tanakh that have led to the rulings of those oral traditions are written down in the Midrashim. Discussions and elaborations on those oral traditions of the Mishnah as recorded from places of learning in Babylon and the Land of Israel through the Amora'ic era - around 220-500 CE - are recorded in the Talmud, with some additions from around the 6th century CE.

Any inconsistency in spelling and terminology is to be blamed on my unwillingness to go back and edit this. Sorry.

Thank you for reading, have a good day, and I hope to see you for part 2! Once I get an idea about what I'm going to say in it...

[talonabraxas]

Kabbalah - Tree of Life

Kabbalah (Hebrew קַבָּלָה “reception”, Standard Hebrew Qabbala, Tiberian Hebrew Qabbālāh; also written variously as Cabala, Cabalah, Cabbala, Cabbalah, Kabala, Kabalah, Kabbala, Qabala, Qabalah, Kaballah) is an interpretation (exegesis, hermeneutic) key, “soul” of the Torah (Hebrew Bible), or the religious mystical system of Judaism claiming an insight into divine nature.

Kabbalah became a reference to doctrines of esoteric knowledge concerning God, God’s creation of the universe and the laws of nature, and the path by which adult religious Jews can learn these secrets. Originally, however, the term Kabbalah was used in Talmudic texts, among the Geonim, and by early Rishonim as a reference to the full body of publicly available Jewish teaching. In this sense Kabbalah was used in referring to all of known Oral Law.

Kabbalah, according to the more recent use of the word, stresses the reasons and understanding of the commandments in the Torah, and the cause of events described in the Torah. Kabbalah includes the understanding of the spiritual spheres of creation, and the ways by which God administers the existence of the universe.

According to Jewish tradition dating from the 13th century, this knowledge has come down as a revelation to elect saints from a remote past, and preserved only by a privileged few. It is considered part of the Jewish Oral Law by the majority of religious Jews in modern times, although this was not agreed upon by many medieval Talmudic scholars, as well as a minority of current Orthodox rabbis.

Origin of Jewish Mysticism

According to adherents of Kabbalah, the origin of Kabbalah begins with the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). According to Midrash, God created the universe with “Ten utterances” or “Ten qualities.” When read by later generations of Kabbalists, the Torah’s description of the creation in the Book of Genesis reveals mysteries about the godhead itself, the true nature of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, as well as the interaction of these supernal entities with the Serpent which leads to disaster when they eat the forbidden fruit, as recorded in Genesis 2.

The Bible provides ample additional material for mythic and mystical speculation. The prophet Ezekiel’s visions in particular attracted much speculation, as did Isaiah’s Temple vision (Chapter 6). Jacob’s vision of the ladder to heaven is another text providing an example of a mystical experience. Moses’ experience with the Burning bush and his encounters with God on Mount Sinai, are all evidence of mystical events in the Tanakh, and form the origin of Jewish mystical beliefs.

Jewish mystical traditions always appeal to an argument of authority based on antiquity. As a result, virtually all works claim or are ascribed ancient authorship. For example, Sefer Raziel HaMalach, an astro-magical text partly based on a magical manual of late antiquity, Sefer ha-Razim, was, according to the kabbalists, transmitted to Adam (after being evicted) by the angel Raziel. Another famous work, the Sefer Yetzirah, supposedly dates back to the patriarch Abraham. According to Apocalyptic literature, esoteric knowledge, such as magic, divination, and astrology, was transmitted to humans in the mythic past by the two angels, Aza and Azaz’el (in other places, Azaz’el and Uzaz’el) who ‘fell’ from heaven (see Genesis 6:4).

This appeal to antiquity has also shaped modern theories of influence in reconstructing the history of Jewish mysticism. The oldest versions of the Jewish mysticism have been theorized to extend from Assyrian theology and mysticism. Dr. Simo Parpola, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, has made some suggestive findings on the matter, particularly concerning an analysis of the Sefirot. Noting the general similarity between the Sefirot of the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life of Assyria, he reconstructed what an Assyrian antecendent to the Sepiroth would look like.[2] He matched the characteristics of En Sof on the nodes of the Sepiroth to the gods of Assyria, and was able to even find textual parallels between these Assyrian gods and the characteristics of god. The Assyrians assigned specific numbers to their gods, similar to how the Sepiroth assigns numbers to its nodes. However, the Assyrians use a sexagesimal number system, whereas the Sepiroth is decimal. With the Assyrian numbers, additional layers of meaning and mystical relevance appear in the Sepiroth. Normally, floating above the Assyrian Tree of Life was the god Assur, this corresponds to En Sof, which is also, via a series of transformations, derived from the Assyrian word Assur.

Furthermore, Dr. Paropla re-interpreted various Assyrian tablets in the terms of this primitive Sefirot, such as the Epic Of Gilgamesh, and in doing so was able to reveal that the scribes themselves had been writing philosophical-mystical tracts, rather than mere adventure stories. Traces of this Assyrian mode of thought and philosophy eventually makes reappearances in Greek Philosophy and the Kabbalah.

Skeptics would point out that the doctrine of the Sefirot only saw serious development starting in the 12th Century CE with the publication of the Bahir. To argue that the concept of the sefirot existed in an occult and undocumented form within Judaism from the time of the Assyrian empire (which fell from cultural hegemony in the 7th Cent. BCE) until it “surfaced” 17-18 centuries later strikes some scholars as far-fetched. A plausible alternative, based in the research of Gershom Scholem, the pre-eminent scholar of Kabbalah in the 20th Century, is to see the sefirot as a theosophical doctrine that emerges out of Jewish late antiquity word-mythology (as exemplified in Sefer Yetzirah) and the angelic-palace mysticism found in Hekalot literature being fused to the Neo-Platonic notion of creation through progressive divine emanations.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Matti Friedman

The little book may have been kept by a Jewish family in Bamiyan, the curator suggested, with different people adding new texts as the years passed. The hands of at least five scribes are evident in the pages. They were influenced by ideas and writing coming from both major Jewish centers of the time—Babylon, which is modern-day Iraq, and the Land of Israel, where Jewish sovereignty had been lost seven centuries before and whose people were now under Islamic rule.

The previously unknown poem shows the influence of a familiar biblical text, the erotic Song of Songs, according to Professor Shulamit Elizur of the Hebrew University, the member of the research team in charge of the poem’s analysis.  But it also shows the impact of an esoteric Jewish book that wasn’t part of the Bible, known as the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel. This book is thought to have originated in the early 600s, when a brutal war between Byzantium and the Sasanian empire of Persia generated desperate messianic hopes among many Jews. Whoever wrote the poem in the Afghan prayer book had clearly read the Apocalypse, Elizur said—giving us a glimpse of a Jewish spiritual world both familiar and foreign to the coreligionists of the Bamiyan Jews in our own times, 1,300 years later. The previously unknown poem shows the influence of a familiar biblical text, the erotic Song of Songs, according to Professor Shulamit Elizur of the Hebrew University. (Museum of the Bible)

Chapters of the book’s journey from Afghanistan to Washington are unclear—some because they’re simply unknown even to the experts, and others because that’s the way the people in the murky manuscript market often prefer it.  

When the book was discovered by the Hazara militiaman, according to Hepler, the tribesmen didn’t know exactly what it was but understood it was Jewish and assumed it was sacred. The local leader had it wrapped in cloth and preserved in a special box. At one point in the late 1990s, it seems to have been offered unsuccessfully for sale in Dallas, Texas, though it’s unclear if the book itself actually left Afghanistan at the time. 

After the al-Qaeda attacks of 9/11 triggered the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the book disappeared for about a decade. In 2012 it resurfaced in London, where it was photographed by the collector and dealer Lenny Wolfe. 

Any story about Afghan manuscripts ends up leading to Wolfe, an Israeli born in Glasgow, Scotland. I went to see him at his office in Jerusalem, an Ottoman-era basement where the tables and couches are cluttered with ancient Greek flasks and Hebrew coins minted in the Jewish revolt against Rome in the 130s CE. It was Wolfe who helped facilitate the sale of the larger Afghan collection to Israel’s National Library. “The Afghan documents are fascinating,” he told me, “because they give us a window into Jewish life on the very edge of the Jewish world, on the border with China.” 

When Wolfe encountered the little prayer book, he told me it had already been on the London market for several years without finding a buyer. In 2012, the year he photographed the book, he said it was offered to him at a price of $120,000 by two sellers, one Arab and the other Persian. But the Israeli institution he hoped would buy the book turned it down, he told me, so the sale never happened. Not long afterwards, according to his account, he heard that buyers representing the Green family had paid $2.5 million. When I asked what explained the difference in price, he answered, “greed,” and wouldn’t say more. (Hepler of the Museum of the Bible wouldn’t divulge the purchase price or the estimated value of the manuscript, but said Wolfe’s figure was “wrong.”)

The collection amassed by the Green family eventually became the Museum of the Bible, which opened in Washington in 2017. The museum has been sensitive to criticism related to the provenance of its artifacts since a scandal erupted involving thousands of antiquities that turned out to have been looted or improperly acquired in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. The museum’s founder, Steve Green, has said he first began collecting as an enthusiast, not an expert, and was taken in by some of the dubious characters who populate the antiquities market. “I trusted the wrong people to guide me, and unwittingly dealt with unscrupulous dealers in those early years,” he said after a federal investigation. In March 2020 the museum agreed to repatriate 11,000 artifacts to Iraq and Egypt. 

[wolfythewitch]

Wolfy, you have not only dragged me into the EPICS, but also now into the prince of Egypt (I'm on my first watch) I did not expect it to be this good, although I'm a little confused on what's going on This is infact an invitation so you can ramble if you please yes yes

HI YES PRINCE OF EGYPT INCREDIBLE MOVIE

It details the story of Moses, specifically found in the book of Exodus (aka, a departure or emigration), and also the story of Passover, a Jewish tradition. If any of my Jewish followers want to talk about that, feel free! My knowledge is very surface level and mostly from what I've read from the bible.

But so yeah at that time, the Hebrew people were slaves under the Egyptian rule, but they were multiplying too much and the pharaoh got nervous. So he ordered that any infant child be taken and thrown into the river. Moses was a baby at that time, and so he would've met the criteria of baby throwing. His mother did not vibe with that order and took Moses, placed him in a waterproof basket, and sent him down the river to hopefully find a better future than drowning. He ends up floating by the royal palace and gets found by the princess, daughter of the pharaoh(tho in the movie they changed her to be the wife instead) who takes a liking to him and decides to adopt him. In the bible, Miriam (his sister who the mother sends to follow him) asks the princess if she'd like a nursemaid, claiming to know someone (that someone being Moses' mother), and the princess agrees, so Moses gets to be with his family for a few years before going back to the palace. In the movie they don't have that and he's taken in directly with Miriam just praying he be safe and come back to them one day. So it's not very explicit in the bible but love the relationship between him and Rameses (I don't think he was actually named in the bible, but historians figured it was him based on contextual evidence) godbless and then he accidentally kills a guy and runs away. He meets tzipporah and his family and gets welcomed in and married and stuff. So the burning bush. Moses' destiny, if you will, is to save his people, and God tells him as much. Go back to Egypt and free his people. Moses doesn't think himself up to it but God says he'll be with him. So he goes back and does. Rameses refuses because that's his entire workforce, and in retaliation God sends down the 10 plagues. With each plague, Rameses hardens his heart and he refused to let Moses' people go. Until the tenth and final plague, the death of the firstborn. Any household with lamb's blood painted on their doorpost, the angel of death will pass over (AYEEE Passover). The Hebrews knew this but the Egyptians did not. Finally, at the death of his own son, Rameses tells Moses that his people are free.

They take their stuff and go. Thing is, to be actually free, they'd have to cross the wilderness. But there's a pesky sea blocking their way, which isn't very great for the whole crossing the wilderness thing. Also, the Egyptians had a change of heart and are going to get them back. So they're trapped between the sea and the enemy. God sends down a pillar of fire to stall them (though iirc in the bible it's like a cloud of darkness and a pillar of light depending on who you were) and while that's happening, Moses goes over and strikes his staff into the water. And the red sea parts before him, giving them a straight path across. You know the rest, with the people crossing and the waters coming down to drown the army and stuff. So now they're officially free from the Egyptians! But they're not done yet, because the main goal is to reach the Promised Land, and Moses is designated to lead them. They do skip ahead a few chapters and have Moses already grab the two stone tablets with the ten commandments, that doesn't happen until later and involves a golden calf haha

[aro-ace-christian]

Ok, so, I'm curious: what are your views on Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community's relationship, per se, and like what is it like being part of both (for you)? I'm aroace as well, and I'm struggling with my faith a lot currently but was raised Christian. I'm just really curious as to what your views are on everything I guess, as I've never met another aroace, or LGBTQ+ member in general, who also considers themselves a Christian. 💜

Honestly, I've noticed that the God I serve, the One I have a relationship with cannot be the same that others serve. Because my God is all about love. And that is abundant in scripture.

I spent a lot of time in prayer and research when I was figuring myself out. A great site that helped me reconcile how I've felt about myself lining up with Christianity is Hope Remains. It goes through scripture that people quote against the LGBTQIA+ community and shows translations that are much closer to the original Hebrew and Greek.

Because, the thing is, there are two major problems with how people view the Bible in today's world:

1) They don't look at context.

People tend to look at one verse only. They don't look at the verses or even story around that verse.

A lot of time things are said to a specific people (Levitcus was for the Hebrews), in a specific time (Old Testiment laws were overwritten by Christ's death), or due to a specific circumstance.

2) People don't realize that the different translations in English aren't always exactly accurate.

There are words, phrases, and concepts that get lost when translated from language to language, from time period to time period, and from place to place.

If you've ever taken a foreign language you know this to be true. Even a simple children's book can have these issues. Compare that to thousands of years of translating scripture. That's why it's so important to go back to the original Hebrew and Greek.

For being AroAce specifically, I love to quote 1 Corinthians 7 to people. Paul never married. He says he wish others could be like him and stay single.

"I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.  But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."

But as I stated above, even Paul's thoughts in scripture are all about context. He's speaking to the church in Corinth. He didn't know we'd be reading it 2000 years later. But even with that context, I find comfort there.

So TLDR: There are some great resources out there. But nothing beats prayer and research. I suggest digging into scripture and translations yourself and then through prayer deciding what it is you believe for yourself.

I hope that helps!

[mintmillipede]

things i noticed in the good omens 2 opening title sequence part 1

i watched this frame by frame and have had many thoughts. i'll put things which are interpretation or my perspective in purple. feel free to watch along whilst you read if you haven't seen it yet.

also couple of disclaimers which u may feel free to skip: i grew up with chrisitan iconography but am not christian but because of that i know more about that perspective of abrahamic texts so keep that in mind! i'm using guy as a vibe more than a gender but am happy to take criticism on that bc i'm not sure myself yet. also i haven't looked at any other analyses because i want this to be like a fun little puzzle so apologies for overlap/missing things/being wrong. ok enjoy!

ok, scene 1. mountain range, not sure which one but it could be a biblical reference? so possibly judaean mountains but that is a big stretch. aziraphale is coming down from the heavens whilst crowley emerges from a glowing orange crater, which looks a lot like hell especially with the context later in the intro.

they emerge behind a rock into scene 2 into a tunnel and crowley lights a match with his hell powers? this actually interests me because why use a match if you have fire powers? perhaps he's conserving miracles.

scene 3: we don't actually see them emerge from the tunnel, they're seen up ahead later. we start with an animal's skull in the foreground, and i think it's a ram. there's other ram skeletal remains later and there are various rams eating on the hills. from stage right enters: a delivery guy. they've got a delicate package. it's giving me like holy land vibes? idk i grew up christian and it's like christian movie landscape to me.

anyway the delivery guy is trailing behind a figure all in black who is almost camouflaged in the murky landscape. there's also a tree by them which i think is a mustard seed tree!!! there's a parable about it and it's the vibe of starting from small beginnings like the small little mustard seed grows into a tree which birds chill on.

the figure in black is following a couple of steps behind aziraphale and crowley, and they pass a little ram on a rock which has a fleece which reddens. rams were often used as sacrifices in the old testament and probably in other abrahamic texts. not a good omen.

a raven is on a cart with bags which look like they are full of coin. they are having a little snack. this may be about matthew 6:26 where jesus basically says don't worry so much about money look god's feeding the ravens (sometimes translated as birds in general) and they suck (bc they are seen as unclean maybe because they eat carcasses) and you're better than them. it's like god cares for fucking ravens so he's gonna care for you sinners. also they're omens of death. this will be important very shortly.

there's also some real funky looking birds with four legs on the mountain and those were not in the bible (/j idk if they are or not but i couldn't remember them and i feel like i would have). and the paths on the mountains are scrolls, suggesting maybe that the world around them is literally made of scripture.

crowley sets fire to a little bb ram and now they're all on fire it's very mean of him. no i am not colouring that in purple. i think in this context it might be to cleanse the sins of humanity?

scene 4! finally ok immediately wtf aziraphale why are you secretly a lamp??? my bf thinks this is a supernatural show so i looked it up to spite him and there's a bunch of references to lamps in the torah and talmud but bc english-speaking christians can't be bothered to learn hebrew or greek the bible has the most direct reference i could find: 'the spirit of man is the lamp of the lord'

also crowley is a vibe! not sure what gender she's presenting as here but i'm hazarding a guess as femme. blue has a bunch of meanings but none i was sure about, but i saw a bunch of references to the sky. the funky guy behind him does have a human face with a helmet of black hair i think and is carrying something big that i cannot make out. the person in front of them is giving zombie and they are in a graveyard and there's more context later imo for that being accurate.

going stage left, we have another aziraphale and crowley, not in disguise. if i had to guess, these would be muriel and another new ally who are disguised as them to take the heat off of them. i think.

everyday on a gravestone? could be a reference to the song everyday by buddy holly which has been used in promo so far. it's a song about working up the courage to ask someone out... which could signify a development in aziraphale and crowley's relationship but also could signify something coming in the plot relating to heaven/hell. on a gravestone, the song could reference the fast approach of death. could be a combo of these things too. or could be none! i am no oracle. or am i...

at the back, a bucket of pickled herring is being transported by a skrungly little guy. pickled herring does have links to jewish culture but we know there's a pickled herring scene in edinburgh which maybe more suggests scottish fishing culture (not that the two are mutually exclusive of course). the guy travelling alongside the cart with a goth vibe has a shovel suggesting he's a gravedigger.

jane austen! suggests some of her themes popping up in the show but also suggests they're around winchester cathedral, and it does look like they're going into a building but it looks more like a crypt/mausoleum to me. i tried to find more information about a building like this in winchester but i was looking on ecosia and thus found nothing.

here lies the former shell of beelzebub is a canon reason for the change of actors, but here lies adam?!?!??! i know time could have just passed, but it's still mean!!!!! maybe it's a different adam?

scene 5! i think they've entered down a secret passageway in the crypt - you can see some coffins there and i think the masonry fits well enough. we've got some more people following behind the ones who are dressed like azi and crowley. it's a bit too blurry but i've spotted a few who could be aziraphale in disguise as the odd lantern is gone - i think though he is dressed as the gravedigger now as the original gravedigger seems to have changed their garb. a few more could be crowley although crowley's original form with the blue headscarf is still there. the figure in white near the front gives me undead vibes. helmet hair guy is more visible now. we've got someone holding a lantern near the back who is a vibe (could be religious or in some way guiding the souls of the dead). they're followed by a real funky looking guy who i think is wearing a mask??? hard to tell

ok so so so there is so much around them. skeletons and gravestones suggest we're still in a cemetery. if you look on the left, it's the box the delivery guy from the beginning had!!! so many thoughts about this. mentions of a delivery are everywhere. this box is in the recent prime insta post with angel and demon feathers emerging from it. basically this is very very important, so how did it end up here? was the delivery guy buried with this on his body?

we see a web. we'll come back to that!

little feature i like the skull we see has a backbone and a ribcage which is a vibe

scene 6! a lot of ppl too many to talk about in full but def some skeletons. i think religious figures. there's a cool looking punk? too many things so many stimuli. anyway i think this is a crowd of undead people being led into hell to assist on a mission. why just the undead?

they're exiting something that looks like the crypt they came in from, suggesting it's a secret entrance to hell. might this be where hastur met crowley in season 1?

we've got a big wheel which looks like it's used for some kind of pulley contraption imo, but i don't think it would be for the guillotine unless they wanted to adapt the guillotine somehow, perhaps automate it? big stretch

we've got the pyres of files and computers and office chairs. this is a metaphor for capitalism sucking balls.

web! like before. ok so theories perhaps it's a metaphor showing the web of all of the connecting entrances. perhaps it's a big magic hell thing drawing power from everywhere to its centre. perhaps hell listens to people from webs. maybe demons can travel through webs? idk maybe one of these is 25% right. also later we see a spooder so maybe she has laid eggs?

oooh mysterious fire cave. mayb that's where satan is chilling. the inverted pentacle's outside of it. could also be the government of sorts. my boyf thinks it looks like a skeletal face in a witch hat and i think he is festering with lies.

leetle dragon gargoyle!!!! i love her she can do no wrong

i like to think we see the different stages of their headquarters. the castle was the first, the grey building is the current/s1 one, and the blueish lighting is coming from what they're upgrading to. this may also be why there's the pyres of stuff: they're doing a little clear out!

also the crushed metally thing in the foreground... i don't want to say it's the bentley.............. so i will not i refuse to be devastated before the show has even begun

scene 7: we come out of the stairs leading up to the public loos by liberty's london which is right next to soho, the implication being that that's another entrance to hell which is in fact true irl. the old-timey underground logo (probs oxford circus) suggests we're not in present day (so maybe adam is fine! or maybe they're time travelling?) which suggests we're in the blitz (ww2) because of the barrage balloon and the aircrafts. this is also suggested by the old routemaster bus.

ok we're up to 0:33! coffee break meet back in like a day i did not expect this trailer ok i have things to pretend to do

[tanadrin]

john dehlin's interviews with david bokovoy on literary/textual criticism of the bible are super interesting in general, but i like how he talks about how you don't even need to know the first thing about the joseph smith papyri or the circumstances of its composition to know the book of abraham is a forgery--it's obvious from purely internal textual evidence alone that you cannot square it with any of the other books of the bible, even if you know comparatively little about the historical circumstances of the composition of the book of genesis, so focusing anti-apologetic attempts on the egyptological/archeological evidence is really a sideshow: historically interesting but not at all necessary.

in a later interview he also points out that purely from literary evidence alone we should conclude that there was probably a historical jesus of nazareth on whom the new testament figure is based--he points out that (just as now, really) the 1st century CE jewish expectation of a messiah-figure is so fundamentally contrary to the basic narrative elements of jesus's life that the nascent christian community is trying to rework into the biography of the messiah that it would make absolutely no sense for a purely invented figure. like, if you were going to invent someone (or if traditions were going to accrete around a purely fictitious character) to fulfill the basic characteristics of the messiah, you would think they would get basic assumptions about what the messiah is supposed to do right, and you wouldn't have to invent a completely new theology to make it work--that they did is indicative not of an invented figure, but of a real person for whom inconvenient biographical facts well-known to the community had to be renegotiated and reworked (and even then could only be renegotiated and reworked to a certain point). no one is going to invent a myth about someone who completely fails to meet every expectation of the messiah, as he puts it.

also--it strikes me that mormonism is really fuckin' verbose for a religion adding new scripture. like. okay, islam adds a whole new book (the qur'an), and it's not short, but at the same time it abrogates the hebrew bible and the new testament, so as a muslim you don't need to read those. mormonism adds not only a book longer than the new testament (~269k words to the NT's ~185k in English), the book of abraham, the book of moses, and doctrines and covenants, and the other stuff in the Pearl of Great Price, and it keeps the bible as part of the canon! that's too much damn scripture!

personally i think your religious scripture is more likely to come off as timeless if you keep it short. like, the ideal length of a holy book is the tao te ching (around 20,000 words in English). prophets and shit need to resist the urge to put every single petty grievance into sacred scrolls. save that shit for the commentary.

[metacosmogenic]

What is the name of God?

-@literally-every-single-terminal

I WANT TO PREFACE THIS BY SAYING I'M TRYING TO BE RESPECTFUL AS I'M LISTING ALL OF THESE NAMES, BUT I'M (WYVERN) ONLY HUMAN AND WILL MAKE MISTAKES. IF I'M BEING DISRESPECTFUL BY LISTING ANY OF THESE NAMES OR LISTING THEIR ORIGINS, I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE ALSO THIS IS A LONG FUCKING ANSWER DESPITE THE FACT I COULD'VE MADE IT SUPER SHORT LOL oh boy.... WELL, I could say something very generic such as "my name cannot be comprehended by your tongues!" but.. // He waves His hand dismissively. \\ There's quite a handful of names I've gotten over the ages, either directly or indirectly. and while all of these are in some sense my names, they should be used in the proper contexts respectfully. // He clears His throat and puts on a pair of reading glasses, with a whiteboard and marker suddenly appearing next to Him. \\ Of course everyone knows, well, God, which is the title i most often go by for everyone's sakes, // He then writes on the whiteboard. \\ then there's Yahweh or Jehovah and Elohim from both Judaism and Christian religions. Yahweh and Jehovah are used interchangeably in the Hebrew Bible as my true name, -and while Elohim is used more as a name, it is also used as a pronoun occasionally alongside "El". Firstly, Allah (Islamic), Deus (Latin), Hananim (Korean) and Olodumare (Yoruba) are all used in these distinct cultures as one would refer to me as "God". // imagine He's writing all of this down on the whiteboard like those conspiracy videos. \\ Allah is used by various religious groups, and Adonai was used as a substitute for Yahweh (or Jehovah) as people later considered it too sacred to speak aloud. ..I'm a bit rusty on my cultures... I typically leave it up to the humans for all of this, lol Abba is used in an affectionate manner, essentially meaning "Father". Nirguna Brahman is in reference to a God who is conceptless, formless, and essentially unworshippable, while Saguna Brahman is the opposite, something that has a form and can be worshipped (both Hindu origin). AAAAAAAANDDD lastly, titles! // He takes a deep breath in. \\ The Almighty, Creator, Divine or Divine Being, Eternal or Everlasting, Father, Holy One, Lord, Most High // small snicker. \\ Supreme Being, Yahweh Sabaoth, G-Dog, Big Man or Guy Upstairs, Top G, Big Kahuna, Big Cheese, Boss, Heavenly Honcho, Divine Dude aaaannnd probably many many more I've forgotten. // He sighs and scratches His head while looking over the whiteboard. \\ Yeahh, safe to say, the humans loved giving me names. I never even wrote that into their code, I think it was part of the creativity function actually...... anyways, I think i'm gonna go and... get some coffee. // smile and thumbs up. \\

[apilgrimpassingby]

My Number One Reason For Being Orthodox

I have a lot of reasons for being Orthodox, for not being Protestant and for not being Roman Catholic. However, if I had to pick one, it would be this:

The Orthodox have the most realistic epistemology.

Protestant epistemology is built around the supremacy of Scripture - Scripture tells you which traditions and councils to accept. Likewise, Roman Catholic epistemology is, in practice if not in theory, built around the supremacy of the magisterium - the magisterium tells you which traditions and scriptures you accept. Orthodox epistemology, by contrast, is built around tradition - whatever is received into and remains within Orthodox belief and practice is authoritative, whether it is a scripture, a council, a practice, a hymn and so on.

The reason this convinces me is because there are plenty of things that, to me, seem to come from neither Scripture nor magisterial pronouncement, but are nonetheless universal beliefs among Christians. My top examples are:

Demons are fallen angels: I'm not aware of any Christian group that denies this, despite the fact that, as far as I can tell, it's not stated in the Bible or by a church council. While there are implicit (Job 15:15) and explicit (Jude 6) references to angels falling, I'm not aware of any about angels falling and becoming demons; indeed, the locus classicus of such passages, Isaiah 14, would imply if read at face value that the fallen angel is imprisoned in the underworld. It's also not the only understanding of demons that could be deduced from the Bible - the Rabbinic Jewish view of shedim, as they call demons, is that they're a spirit race clearly distinct from angels who can be good or evil, much like djinni in Islam and faeries in European folklore. If there are any church councils or encyclicals enshrining this belief, they were late to the party - the Dialogue with Trypho in the mid-2nd century referenced this understanding of demons as a point of tension between Jews and Christians, so it was presumably a widespread belief at the time, reinforced by the fact that this idea is also found in St. Irenaeus Against Heresies later that century.

The New Testament canon: The New Testament canon, which is universally agreed on by Christians, pretty clearly comes from tradition. I've heard a variety of Protestant explanations for it - the most common one, that they're written by apostles, falls down due to the presence of anonymous works in it (such as Hebrews), and most explanations just appeal to tradition. The Roman Catholic explanation doesn't fare much better. The council most often appealed to as the one that set the canon, the Council of Carthage in 397, was for the most part rubber-stamping things everyone already agreed on; the corpus of Pauline epistles was basically always agreed on and the corpus of Gospels was set by 200 AD. For further reading about the formation of the canon, click here.

For any Protestants or Roman Catholics reading this, I'd like to hear your thoughts on what I've said.

[misc-obeyme]

🐆 I will write the name as we know it- how its written in Hebrew- how it pronounced (only if it is any different)- the meaning. Hope you like it and it makes it more fun to understand for you! Lucifer- לוציפר- technically came from the Christian interpretation of a quote from the bible that said something about the falling morning star. It was probably said as a proverb at the time, but got translated to an actual person lol and here we are. The falling morning star was written הילל בן שחר- Hilel Ben Shahar, I can go for hours on the different meanings it can be.

Mammon- ממון- pretty old word, not being as used, means some kind of wealth. If it's an actual used word, usually only in very official documents to describe monetary value or extreme wealth.

Leviathan- לוויתן- it is written the same in terms of pronunciation, but sounds different. You can copy how I wrote it in Hebrew and listen in google translate. Everyday word, literally means whale.

Satan- שטן- written the same, pronounced slightly differently. Means the devil. Demons by the way are called שדים- shedim, but if you say only demon- שד in a slightly different emphasis on a letter and its a boob. Just a fun fact

Asmodeus- אשמדאי- Ashmedai He doesn't really come from the Jewish bible but as far as I remember was described in different writings and then later added to the inscription. Supposed to be at some point the kind of demons, and was controlled for a period by king Solomon. There's no specific meaning in the name in Hebrew.

Beelzebub- בעל זבוב- Baal Zvuv Literally means owner of flies, or controller of flies in some cases, he was described in some parts in the bible, usually to mock the god of Pegan religion nearby, or to describe priests who came to shoo away the flies from an upcoming sacrifice? Baal is also often refers to a husband, btw.

Belphegor- בעל פעור- Baal Paur Now this is an interesting one, since if pronounced as it is written in English, Phegor can mean carcass which is a bit more related to Beel's name. But in the bible Baal Paur was described to be one of the Pagan gods who had a disgusting job I refuse to describe. Simeon- שמעון- Shimon a commonly used name, less nowadays though. In my opinion, in Hebrew it's one of the least sexiest name since it's very throaty. But that's my taste. The meaning is from the word "Shama שמע" which means heard, heard by god in the way they referred it to. Shimon was one of the kids of a famous figure in the bible.

Solomon- שלמה- Shlomo Everyone probably know the name of king Solom the wise. Very common name for what now is the middle-aged generation, the rural you go in Israel the more common the name is lol. My opinion of it is the same as Shimon.

Raphael and Michael are both known too, and pronounced pretty much the same, though Michael is more like Mikhael, מיכאל, his name means high praise to the god. Raphael sounds the same, written רפאל, Rafael, Rafa usually means healing. For all the angels that have "EL" in the end- El means god. So it's healing from god, protection from god and so on. Luke is from the Christian version, so I leave it be. Barbatos, Mephisto, Diavolo, don't really have relation from what I can remember to the Jewish bible or Hebrew nor do they have a translation into any specific words. The more I think about the more it makes me appreciate how well they have written the story, only the angels and the fallen ones have names that has a meaning in Hebrew while the demons retain their original form... Or maybe I am reading too much to it... Anyway I had fun thinking about all of this and writing this, and hope you enjoy it too. I presume the water has already been consumed. yes? :)

Woahhhh so much I didn't know about this stuff!

Lucifer our fallen morning star... there's something so poetic about that, even if it is a mistranslation and it was never meant to be an actual being.

Also Belphegor I mean Belphie can be like a carcass when he's dead asleep, right?? LOL.

I wonder why they chose the name Simeon? Heard by god, but is he? I'm always hesitant to think they've got any deeper meanings to these things just because this game is not exactly known for that kind of thing. But I can't help but wonder about it.

Huh that's super interesting that the demons that have always been demons don't have the same origin as the angels or fallen angels. I mean, maybe they didn't do that on purpose, but it's cool either way! I've always loved that Diavolo is just devil in Italian! I can't remember about Mephisto aside from Faust, like I don't know if he's in something else Bible adjacent or not. Barbatos is in the Ars Goetia but that's all I know about that lol. I know very little about these things in general.

Thank you so much for writing this and sharing it with me! I'm always interested in this kind of stuff!

And um yes water, right. I am gonna go do that... right... nooooow lol.

[usagi-zakura]

Fandom sometimes needs to sit their ass down and chill... part 2

Decided to put this one in a separate post because its directed at a different fandom.

Hazbin Hotel.

No its not about expecting demons to be decent people this time...and its mainly criticism directed at the subreddit where some fans have decided to find a bunch of plot holes where there are none because they didn't actually watch the show...

Or something I've been seeing more of recently... people expecting this to be a direct adaptation of the Bible.

A question that keeps popping up is "How is Adam the first human soul in Heaven when he had a son who died before him??"

Referring of course to Abel, of Cain and Abel fame. God's favorite boi because he scarified meat instead of vegetables...so his brother got jealous and murdered him. Presumably Adam was still alive a this point as he went on to have another child.

Hazbin Hotel makes no mention of this... so there's no reason to belive it even happened. Hazbin Hotel borrows some characters from Abrahamic myths, but it has never advertised itself as a 1 to 1 adaptation of the Bible.

It would feel kinda awkward if Sera referred to Adam as "the second human soul in heaven after his kid who got brutally murdered by his own brother but we're not gonna talk about him ever because he's not important to the plot", that'd just be confusing to any fan who isn't familiar with that particular story. Making the bible required reading for an adult cartoon is a little weird.

Its easier to just ignore that story entirely if its not gonna be important to the plot.

Lilith isn't in the bible either.

Shocker I know... She was invented way later, maybe as a reason to explain why in Genesis 1 God creates man and woman at the same time but afterwards he creates Eve separately... Any mention of the name "Lilith" in the old testament doesn't seem to refer to a human, but is mentioned more like the name of a species... some scholars belive it was a bird, or possibly even some kind of demon that may or may not have been important to early Hebrews...or they borrowed the word from some other religion. Happened a lot back on the day.

I look at it more like Disney's Hercules. It borrows the names and general concept of the Greek Pantheon (but changes Hercules' name to the Roman one for some reason...) but does the story in a widly different way...I've never seen someone call out the lack of Hercules/Heracles's brother Iphicles as a huge plot hole in that film... yes he had a brother... or the fact that it features Zeus not as a massive perv with no respect for marriage, whether its his own or his great-granddaughter... Yea that's right... Harecles' mother was also Zeus' great-granddaughter... and that's not even the worst case of incest committed by the King of the Greek Gods...

Same with Hazbin. It borrows some of the characters, that doesn't mean they'll borrow the whole mythology... even if it sometimes would be interesting if they did.... they had 8 episodes... probably wouldn't have time to touch on Adam's messed up sons. Its too busy focusing on how bad both his marriages went.

My point is if you keep expecting creators do do something specific that they never promised they would...don't get mad at them when they don't do that thing... Its not their fault your expectations were wildly different from their plans.

[sentimental-sheep]

I was thinking more about the coffee theory, particularly the symbolism of the coffee. Three big things that stand out.

The coffee order: oat milk latte with dash of almond.

2. The phrase: “Give me Coffee or Give me Death”

3. Metaton saying: “Does anyone ever choose Death?” “So Predictable” and Crowley saying: “He’s unpredictable”

With the coffee order two theological references stand out to me, the lesson of the almond tree and Psalms 25:7-17. First of the hebrew of the word “almond” can also be read as “to watch” and throughout the story god is assuring Jeremiah that he is always watching and intends to keep his word. “I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:9-10) This is very ominous in the context of the story as he seeks to uproot and bring calamity upon Israel for a better tomorrow. Just like how God wanted to bring about armageddon in season one. Then later on it says, “the Lord watched (shaked) upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all His works which He does: for we obeyed not His voice.” (Daniel 9:14). Metaton is God’s voice, rejection of hin his “almond branch” is a rejection of gods will.

Then the Psalms passage distinctly reminds me of Aziraphale. In the beginning its begs forgiveness for “sowed wild oats” then says “plan only the best for me, god. God is fair and just; he corrects the misdirected, sends them in the misdirected”. At this point in good omens Aziraphale is largely seen traitor and Metaton is quite literally leading him to heaven in accordance to his plans. (I’m willing to admit this part may be a bit of a stretch though)

It’s the last three lines that stand out to me in particular. “If I keep my eyes on god, I won’t trip over my own feet. Look at me and help me! I’m all alone and in big trouble. My heart and kidneys are fighting each other; Call a truce to this civil war”

For reference heart and kidneys are often used in conjunction to one another in the bible. The heart often representing one’s spirit and psyche whereas the kidney representing one’s turmoil, temperament, and sometimes moral discernment. So take that information as you wish.

Then theres the phrase “Give me Coffee or Give me Death” a play on the phrase “Give me Liberty or give me Death.” Aziraphale is presented two positions in the situation, accept the coffee (god’s will) or go against it and receive death. As Metaton predicted he chooses coffee, almost hinting at Aziraphale following a path that’s already been planned out in front of him.

then of course theres the “so predictable” “he’s unpredictable” quotes which I think are pretty straight forward. There’s more to Metaton than meets the eye and distrust is being placed upon him.

I don’t know if this all completely makes sense but it’s been on my mind and I had to tell someone. 🤧

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

With a deep dive into the fascinating timeline of the Israelites in Egypt, we journey through history, Scripture, and archaeological evidence. Here are the key takeaways from this article:

▶️ The length of the Israelites' stay in Egypt - the Sojourn - is a debated topic, with opinions divided between 430 years or approximately 215 years.

▶️ Our stance at CMI leans towards the 'short' Sojourn of around 215 years, although this was not our initial position.

▶️ While many scholars advocate a later Exodus, our analysis supports an early Exodus around 1446 BC, as indicated by a straightforward reading of Scripture.

▶️ A shorter Sojourn could help reconcile archaeological evidence and the remarkable population growth of the Israelites in Egypt.

▶️ The Bible notes a period of affliction lasting 400 years, but it is unclear when this affliction started. This timeframe could potentially overlap with the Sojourn.

▶️ The Greek Septuagint, the earliest translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, includes Canaan within the 430-year period, bolstering the short Sojourn perspective. ▶️ Various New Testament writings, genealogical records, and ancient chronicles lend further credence to the short Sojourn hypothesis.

▶️ Though traditional interpretations of the city Pi-Rameses present challenges, the biblical text might have been updated to reflect its later name.

▶️ The rapid population growth of the Israelites can be explained by factors like intermarriage, household servants, and a mixed multitude joining them.

▶️ Certain elements in the Genesis account align well with the era of Egypt's Middle Kingdom, further supporting the short Sojourn view.

▶️ As we seek to uphold the Bible's authority and authenticity, our exploration found many correlations between Egyptian history and the short Sojourn hypothesis.

Our commitment at CMI is to stand firm on Biblical truth, aligning our understanding with God's Word. This examination has revealed exciting new insights into how Egyptian history aligns with a short Sojourn, offering a fresh perspective on this essential phase of Biblical history.

See the full article here: https://creation.com/short-sojourn-part-1

[thepastisalreadywritten]

The earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible ever discovered – a “vital touchstone of human history” that dates back more than 1,100 years – is to be sold at auction.

The ninth-century volume, referred to as the Codex Sassoon, is a critical link between the Dead Sea scrolls and the Bible of today.

It is being offered by Sotheby’s with an estimate of $30m-$50m (£25m-£42m), making it the most valuable historical document or manuscript to appear at auction.

Composed of 24 books divided into three parts – the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Writings – the Hebrew Bible is the foundation of Judaism and other Abrahamic faiths.

In Christianity, the texts are referred to as the Old Testament and are incorporated into the biblical canon.

Islam also holds the stories of the Hebrew Bible in special regard, with many of them included in the Qur’an and other significant works of Islamic literature.

“The Hebrew Bible is the sacred, foundational text for peoples across the globe,” said Sharon Mintz, Sotheby’s senior Judaica specialist.

“For thousands of years, the faithful have closely studied, analysed, mediated on, and delved into the holy scriptures – it is the first book of the people of the Book – to acquire wisdom and attain spiritual enlightenment."

“In Codex Sassoon, a monumental transformation in the history of the Hebrew Bible is revealed, bringing to light the full story of the Hebrew Bible that had previously never been presented in book form.

[It] marks a critical turning point in how we perceive the history of the divine word across thousands of years and is a transformative witness to how the Hebrew Bible has influenced the pillars of civilisation – art, culture, law, politics – for centuries.”

Before the first codices (manuscripts in book form) of the Hebrew Bible, there existed only portions or sections of biblical texts in scroll form.

Known as the Dead Sea scrolls, they date to the third century BC – but they were copied without punctuation or vocalisation and contained no verses or chapters.

This meant the correct reading of the scrolls was not easily apparent; instead Jews in antiquity relied on inherited oral traditions to understand, preserve and transmit the words of the Hebrew Bible.

The Codex Sassoon is named after its prominent modern owner, David Solomon Sassoon (1880-1942), who assembled the most significant private collection of Jewish artefacts and Hebrew manuscripts in the world.

It comes to auction from the collection of Jacqui Safra and will be sold in New York this May.

The record for the most valuable historical text and manuscript sold at auction is held by the first printing of the US constitution, which sold for $43m in November 2021.

While Codex Sassoon has been recognised for its importance by scholars for generations, it has remained virtually out of public view for centuries and will be exhibited for the first time in 40 years next week at Sotheby’s London before a worldwide tour.

The manuscript also includes annotations from several owners throughout the centuries, including an entry dating to the early 11th century referencing a sale by Khalaf ben Abraham, assumed to be a near eastern businessman active in Palestine and Syria, to Isaac ben Ezekiel al-Attar.

In the 13th century or later, the codex was dedicated to the synagogue of Makisin (present-day Markada in north-east Syria).

When the town of Makisin was destroyed, perhaps by the Mongols in the 13th century or by Tamerlane’s troops in 1400, the codex was entrusted to the care of a community member, Salama bin Abi al-Fakhr.

Sassoon ultimately acquired the codex in 1929.

Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts, said Codex Sassoon was “undeniably one of the most important and singular texts in human history.”

This article was amended on 16 February 2023.

The operating area of a presumed 11th century businessman was earlier given as Israel and Syria. Israel (created in 1948) has been changed to Palestine.