Origins
of Yom HaKippurim / Yom Kippur
Origins
of Day of Atonements
This study
shows the origins of the Jewish holy day of Yom HaKippurim / Yom Kippur.
From the kuppuru ritual of the Akitu festival from ancient Assyria and Babylonia,
to the Rabbinic applications of fasting for mourning the destruction of the
temple,
to the goat for Azazel and the Midianite / Kenite / Arabian connection with
the
pre-Islamic mother goddess of Al Uzza / Al Lat.
As with any of the Semitic languages, transliterating is
not standardized, therefore, this Hebrew holy day has many names. Yom HaKiffuriym
nixtk nei is translated as Day of the Atonements, from
kafar ( kapar ) – which means to atone, cover, wash away, wipe off, forgive.
The original Semitic letter Fe came to also represent a “P” sound for the
languages that used a P. So when you take the original Fe t and place a daghesh (a diacritical mark (in this case
a dot, used by the Masorite scribes, in the center of the letter), it becomes
a Pe R. Kiffuriym / Kiffurim or using the harder
dialectual sound of “p”, kippuriym / kippurim is the plural of kafar – atonements.
Most Jews refer to the day as Yom Kippur, which is a shortened version of
the Biblical Hebrew Yom HaKippurim. The “Ha” before kippurim translates as
the article “the” – day of the atonements. In the English, many use the shortened
version and translate it as Day of Atonement. I will be using the biblical
full version of Yom HaKiffuriym / Kippurim.
The Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period by Neusner
and Green defines Yom Kippur as the holy day falling on the tenth of Tishrei
and observed by fasting, prayer, repentance, and confession. The Temple rites are described
in Leviticus 16. After the destruction of the Temple, day-long synagogue prayer became the
principal observance of the penitential day.
Judaism has modified the practices associated with this day
of the atonements, as their circumstances have changed over time. For example,
when the temple in Jerusalem
was destroyed, the practices associated with it became dispersed, along with
the people. What was applied to the temple by the priests, became symbolic
in the synagogues by the rabbi’s. The
Jewish scribes have also edited the original aspects of this day, to change
as Judaism changed. Below, we will research the biblical passages of Yom HaKiffurim / Kippurim, the Mesopotamian contribution
with the Akitu festival and the ritual of kuppuru, Azazel (scapegoat) and
the Midianite / Kenite connection.
Tanak / Biblical Passages
So lets begin with the biblical passages directly mentioning
the annual Yom HaKiffurim / Kippurim.
Shemoth [Exodus] 30:10, " 'aharon will make atonement on its horns once
a year; he will make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of
atonement once a year throughout your generations. it is qodesh qadashiym
to YHWH.' "
This atonement is being made on the golden altar of incense
mentioned in verse 1 of chapter 30. Below is an image of a stone altar found
at Megiddo,
dating around 1900 BCE. While listed as Canaanite, it is the same as what
is early Israel,
but that is another study (partly covered in the Worthless Deities in the
Hebrew Bible study). Beside it is a recreation image. You can see the horns
of the altar at its corners. This passage
in Shemoth is a very basic rendering, which is detailed in the book of Wayiqqra
below.
An important note is that Milgrom believes the Semitic
linguistics of the word for sin offering, chattat, should rather be translated
as purification offering, rather than sin offering, especially in light of
the fact that it is used at times for inanimate objects that cannot sin. This
is important in light of the kuppuru ritual covered below. Milgrom states
that Israel was part of a "cultic continuum" which abounded in purifications
both of persons and buildings, especially sanctuaries.
Wayiqqra [Leviticus] 23:27-32, " 'on the tenth
of this seventh month, this is a yom hakippuriym; there will be a set apart
gathering, and you will humble your being and will bring a fire offering to
YHWH. 28 and you will do
no work in this same day, for it is a yom kippuriym, to atone for you before
YHWH your elohey. 29 for
any being who is not humbled in this same day will be cut off from his people. 30 and any being who does any work
in this same day, i will even destroy that being from the midst of his people.
31 you will do no work; it is a eternal rule throughout
your generations, in all your houses. 32 it is a shabbath of rest to you,
and you will humble your beings in the ninth of the month at evening; from
evening until evening you will keep your shabbath.' "
Wayiqqra 25:9, " 'and you will let a shofar sound,
a signal in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month; on the yom hakippuriym,
let a shofar pass throughout all your land;' "
The seventh ( occurs mid-September to mid-October in the
Gregorian calendar) month of the Hebrew calendar is based on the older calendar
which begins in spring (around mid March). The original calendar in the biblical
texts had no month names, they were just numbered. Official calendars not
associated with nature were codified by the Assyrian and Babylonians, naming
the months primarily after their deities. While the Hebrews were in captivity
in Assyria and Babylon,
the scribes adopted the practices of their captors, in this case, a temple
purging ritual. The seventh month was named Tishri ( Tishrei). Tishri is an
Akkadian loanword, tashritu (Ugaritic ThShRT) (from shurru - to begin, open,
initiate), which means beginning. A standard Mesopotamian calendar developed
into two halves of a year. One half began in the spring, the first month called
Nisannu. The second half began in Tishri, six months later, hence the “beginning”
of the year. The Jews now count two new years. The religious calendar begins
in spring and the civil calendar begins in Tishri, six months later.
The word “humble” mentioned in this passage of Wayiqqra /
Leviticus is anah (ayin, nun, he). Anah is defined – to be bowed down, be
afflicted, tormented, oppressed, humbled, in submission. At no point in this
passage does the humbling say that a fast (denying food and / or water) is
required, yet this is how Judaism has observed this day out of tradition.
This is the first passage which states that this day is to
be observed as a shabbath, no work to be done on it. It also states that it
is now a day of assembly for the people. Clearly a requirement of the Jewish
priesthood, which assembled at the temple in Jerusalem, to centralize the worship there.
BeMidbar [Numbers] 29:7-11, " 'and on the tenth of this seventh month a set apart assembly you
will have, and you will humble your beings; do no work. 8 and you will bring near a burnt
offering to YHWH, a sweet fragrance, one bull, a son of the herd, one ram,
seven lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones they are for you. 9 and their present, flour mixed
with oil, three-tenth deals for the bull, two-tenth deals for the one ram. 10 a several tenth deal for the one
lamb, for the seven lambs. 11
one kid of the goats, a sin offering; apart from the sin offering of the atonements,
and the continual burnt offering, and its present, and their drink offerings.'
"
This passage in BeMidbar / Numbers shows the sacrifices to
be made on Yom HaKiffuriym. And again states that it is a shabbath for the
assembly.
Now lets look at a chapter that applies to this annual ritual,
but does not specifically mention Yom HaKiffuriym / Kippurim exactly, but
does say that it is the seventh month, tenth day, observed annually, for atonement.
Wayiqqra [Leviticus] 16
and YHWH spoke to
mosheh after the death of the two sons of aharon, as they drew near before
YHWH, and they died. 2 and
YHWH said to mosheh, speak to your brother aharon, and he will not come in
at all times to the qodesh [set apart – sanctuary] within the veil, to the
front of the kapporet [mercy seat]. 3
with this aharon will come into the qodesh, with a bull, a son of the herd,
for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
4 he will put on a set apart linen coat, and linen underpants
will be on his flesh, and he will gird himself with a linen girdle, and he
will wrap himself in a linen miter; they are set apart garments. and he will
bathe his flesh with water and will put them on.
5 and he will take from the assembly of the sons of yisrael
two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 and aharon will bring near the bull of the sin offering
which is his own, and will make atonement for himself, and for his house.
7 and he will take the two he goats and will cause them
to stand before YHWH, at the door of the tent of meeting. 8 and aharon will give lots over
the two he goats, one lot for YHWH, and one lot for removal [ azazel ]. 9 and aharon will bring the goat
on which the lot of YHWH fell and will make it a sin offering. 10 and the goat on which the lot
fell for removal [ azazel ] will be
made to stand living before YHWH to atone by it, to send it away for removal
[ azazel ] into the wilderness. 11
and aharon will bring the bull of the sin offering which is his own, and will
atone for himself, and for his house, and will kill the bull of the sin offering
which is his own. 12 and
he will take a censer full of coals of the fire from off the altar before
YHWH, and his hands full of fragrant perfumes beaten small, and bring it within
the veil. 13 and he will
put the incense on the fire before YHWH, and the cloud of the incense will
cover the kapporet [mercy seat] on the testimony; and he will not die. 14 and he will take some of the blood
of the bull, and will sprinkle with his finger on the front of the kapporet
[mercy seat] eastward. and he will sprinkle at the front of the kapporet [mercy
seat] seven times from the blood with his finger.
15 and he will kill the goat of the sin offering which is
of the people, and will bring in its blood to the inside of the veil, and
will do with its blood as he has done with the blood of the bull, and will
sprinkle it on the kapporet [mercy seat], and at the front of the kapporet
[mercy seat]. 16 and he
will atone for the qodesh [set apart – sanctuary] because of the pollutions of the sons of yisrael,
and because of their transgressions for all their sins. and so he will do
for the tent of meeting dwelling in the midst of their pollutions. 17 and not any man will be in the
tent of meeting as he goes in to atone in the qodesh, until he comes out.
and he will atone for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly
of yisrael. 18 and he will
go out to the altar before YHWH, and will atone for it. and he will take some
of the blood of the bull, and some of the blood of the goat, and will put
it on the horns of the altar all around. 19
and he will sprinkle on it from the blood with his finger seven times, and
will cleanse it, and will purify it from the uncleannesses of the sons of
yisrael. 20 and when he
has finished atoning for the qodesh [set apart – sanctuary] , and the tent
of meeting, and the altar, and has brought near the living goat; 21 then aharon will lay his two hands
on the head of the living goat, and will confess over it all the iniquities
of the sons of yisrael, and all their transgressions, and all their sins,
and will put them on the head of the goat, and will send it by the hand of
a chosen man into the wilderness. 22
and the goat will bear on him all their iniquities to a land cut off. and
he will send the goat away into the wilderness.
23 and aharon will come into the tent of meeting, and will
strip off the linen garments which
he had put on as he went into the qodesh, and will leave them there. 24 and he will bathe his flesh with
water in the qodesh and will put on his garments, and will come out, and will
offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and will atone
for himself and for his people. 25
and he will burn as incense the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 and he who let the goat go for
removal [ azazel ] will wash his garments
and will bathe his flesh with water; and later he will come into the camp. 27 and the bull of the sin offering,
and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood has been brought in to atone
in the qodesh, one will carry them out to the outside of the camp; and they
will burn their skins with fire and their flesh, and their dung. 28 and he burning them will wash
his garments, and will bathe his flesh with water, and afterwards he will
come into the camp. 29 and
it will be for a eternal rule, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month,
you will humble yourself and do no work, the native, and the ger who is staying
in your midst. 30 for on
this day he will atone for you, to cleanse you from all your sins you will
be clean before YHWH. 31
it is a shabbath of rest to you, and you will humble yourself. it is a eternal
rule. 32 and the kohen [priest]
whom he will anoint, and whose hand
he will consecrate to act as kohen instead of his father, will make atonement,
and will put on the linen garments, the holy garments. 33 and he will atone for the qodesh
sanctuary, and for the tent of meeting, and for the altar he will atone; yes,
for the kohaniym, and for all the people of the assembly he will atone.
34 and this will be to you a eternal rule to atone for the
sons of yisrael, because of all their sins, once a year. and he did as YHWH
had commanded mosheh.
Azazel will be covered
below.
So what is exactly being atoned, covered, wiped off? Wayriqqa / Leviticus 23:28 states that it is
for “you”, but the passage in Shemoth / Exodus 30:10 is that the atonement
is on the altar which is set apart of the set apart – qodesh qadashiym. The
verses above (16-20, 33) state that the atoning is for the Qodesh sanctuary,
the tent of meeting, the altar, the kapporet [mercy seat], the kohaniym [priests]
and all the people of the assembly. By the way, the kapporet, what some translators
refer to as the mecy seat, means covering, wiping with the same root as kapar,
with a female suffix. Why does a sanctuary, altar and tent of meeting, which
later became the temple need to be atoned for? They are inanimate objects
that have no souls and do no sin. Unless this is not about sin atonement at
all, but about the pollutions.
Chapter 16 gives a number of specific directions for this
annual ritual.
- The
timing is the 10th day of the 7th month.
- The
High Priest is to slaughter a bull and a ram.
- He
is to bathe and put on set apart linen garments.
- The
High Priest is to cast lots over two goats.
- The
High Priest burns incense in the tent of meeting.
- One
goat is slaughtered, the blood used to cover everything being atoned.
- After
covering the blood, the other goat has hands laid on him, transferring guilt
and sent into the wilderness.
- High
priest returns to Qodesh, removes linen garments, bathes and dresses in
his clothing, leaving the linen garments in the Qodesh and is now clean.
- The
man who escorted the scapegoat out, returns, washes his garments, bathes
and can return to camp clean.
Now lets look at the Mesopotamian calendar, Assyrian / Babylonian
main characters, Akitu festival with
its kuppuru ritual and see the comparisons between them and Yom HaKiffuriym
/ Kippurim.
Mesopotamian Calendar
The Mesopotamian lunar calendar was a work in progress, involving
numerous elements (which is a whole study in itself). When the Akkadians conquered
the Sumerians, to keep some of the peace, they adopted elements of the Sumerians
for their calendar. Then the Assyrians conquered and subjugated the territory,
again assimilating certain elements. The invading Amorites also had a hand
in the calendar. By the time the Babylonians were on the scene, the calendar
was pretty much standardized.
The calendar is divided into two seasons or half years –
summer and winter. One “new year” occurs in spring at the equinox, generally
occurring around mid to late March on our Gregorian calendars. Another “new
year” occurs at the autumn equinox, around mid to late September. This autumn
new year is the more important of the two, with the longer festival. Each new year, an Akitu festival was celebrated
in honor of Marduk, the supreme god. There were two main temples named Esagila
(House of the Raised Head - day temple and Marduks house) and Ezida (House
of Knowledge - night temple and Nabu’s house). In the summer when the nights
become shorter (beginning of summer solstice), the daughters of Esagila go
to Ezida to lengthen the nights. In the winter when the days are short (beginning
of winter solstice), the daughters of Ezida go to Esagil to make the days
longer. Esagila was in Babylon proper, while
Ezida was in the city of Borsippa, southwest
of Babylon on the Euphrates River.
While Ezida was a separate temple for Nabu, there was also a chapel by the
same name in the Esagila temple of
Marduk which Nabu inhabited when he was in Babylon.
Assyrian / Babylonian Deities Involved
Marduk [ also called Bel Marduk or Bel] became the King of
Gods, supreme, in the late Babylonian pantheon. He is represented as the god
of storm and lighting, as well as the sun, therefore the fertility god and
patron god of Babel.
His name in Akkadian is Amar Utu, which means calf of the storm. Many scholars
believe that Amar Utu / Marduk originated elsewhere and was adopted by the
Mesopotamian groups. This is also believed by Albert Clay, who states that
Amar Utu is the Amorite god Amurru / Uru. When the Amorites ruled in that
territory, many of their deities were adopted and assimilated. The characteristics of Marduk were assimilated
from the Assyrian Ashshur and the preceding Akkadian and Sumerian Enlil.
There is a
stone relief that deals with a legend of Marduk slaying the dragon, which
has 7 heads, just as the Ugaritic account of Baal and Mot, who was also portrayed
as a dragon with 7 heads. This slaying of the dragon is the patriarchal portrayal
of the Sumerian primordial mother goddess Tiamat, who gave birth to all the
gods and goddesses and was later vilified as a dragon. Tiamat was the creator
and possessor of the Mes – Tablets of Destiny (Civilizations), which she wore
around her neck. After killing the Mother goddess, Marduk steals the Mes from
Tiamat’s body and uses them to build his empire.
After killing
the mother, Marduk then orders “creation”, an account that is very similar
to and many scholars believe is the basis to the Genesis account. He also
deals with organizing calendars. Marduk has a son, a deity and priest named
Nabu / Nebo.
Originally
Nabu was introduced by the Amorites when they made inroads into what became
the Babylonian territory. In the Akkadian he is called Nabium. Nabu is the
god of wisdom, intelligence and justice and therefore presides over writers
and scribes, who viewed Nabu as their patron deity. Prior to the patriarchal
subjugation and re-mything, these characteristics were attributed to the Sumerian
goddess Nidaba, also called Nanibgal and Nisaba. She is credited with inventing
the alphabet, clay tablets, the art of writing and learning. She appears on
the scene earlier than any of the male deities that replaced her.
Nabu was the
messenger of Bel –Marduk, his father. In the Akkadian, nabu means to call,
announce, proclaim, the same as it does in the Hebrew naba, Arabic nabaa.
This is the same root for the Hebrew word for prophet – nabiy/nebiy. “As scribe,
Nabu had access to secrets that others could not read, and so could control
religious rites and was regarded as especially wise,...He wrote down the decisions
of the gods and was the one who kept accounts, reckoning credit and debit,
titled Nabu ‘of accounts’ as a manifestation of Marduk.” Dictionary of Deities
and Demons in the Bible, pg. 608. Nabu
had a tablet of destinies, recording the names of those that god favored or
was pleased with, which is similar to the concepts in Shemoth [Exodus] 32:32,
“but now, if you will, forgive their sin and if not, please blot me out from
your book which you have written.”; Thehillah [Psalm] 69:28, “blot them out from the book of life; and let them not
be written with the tsaddiyqiym [upright ones].”; and 139:15,16, “my bones were not
hidden from you when i was made in secret; when i was woven in the depths
of the earth. 16 your eyes
saw my embryo; and in your book all my members were written the days they
were formed, and not one was yet among them.” This theme is carried into the New Testament
book of Revelations, the Book of Life.
Akitu
Festival
The original akitu festival began with the city of Ur, a Sumerian city that
was overtaken by the Akkadians. The Akkadians were a warrior, patriarchal
culture that subjugated the Sumerians, especially the women. History is written
by the winners and they rewrote history in their image, usurping even the
history to make it theirs. Akitu is a word to designate the temporary house
that the god resides in before he officially, gloriously enters the city.
The original festival was in honor of Nanna, the moon god, arriving at Ur by a
crescent shaped barge, just as the waxing moon gets larger before full moon.
The original festival was the “festival of the boat of light” or the “festival
of the boat of the moon”. As the empire expanded, the festival was adapted
to each culture and held on different days, other cities that were not the
city of Nanna
the moon god, it was simply held in honor of their chief deity entering their
city.
When the new year is declared, there is a reenactment that
occurs, which takes a number of days to enact. The Akitu festival was later
dedicated to Marduk (Amorite) to celebrate his victory over killing the mother
Tiamat (the victory of the patriarchal cultures) and her supporters which
were declared to be demons. It is during the Akitu festival that the kuppuru
ritual is held. The king, who serves as a high priest in many ancient cultures,
travels from Babylon
to Borsippa, where he takes the statue of the god Nabu. They travel back to
Babylon, defeating the enemies of Marduk along the way and
arrive at Babylon.
Nabu enters Esagila to help defeat the demons, assisting Marduk in his victory.
The temples are purged of the pollution, which is the kuppuru ritual.
Part of the Akitu festival states that the priest arises
before dawn, he washes and puts on a linen robe in front of the god Bel (a
title of Marduk meaning lord) and the goddess Beltiya (lady). When the purification
of the temple is completed, he will enter the temple (in this case the chapel
within the temple) Ezida of the god Nabu, with a censor, torch and egubbu-vessel
to purify the temple. He then sprinkles water from the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers. He burns incense on the censor. The priest calls a slaughterer to
decapitate a ram. The blood of the ram is used to wipe clean the chapel. He
recites incantations for exorcising the temple of the demons and pollution
and purifies the chapel. The priest then removes the rams body and proceeds
to the river, facing west, he throws the body into the river. He then remains
out into open country. The slaughterer does the same with the rams head. They
stay in the open country until Nabu leaves the city on the 12th
day.
Comparisons of the Two Rituals
Let us see
the comparison between the two rituals, the Hebrew in blue, the Assyrian /
Babylonian in red:
1. The timing
is the 7th month, 10th day, but penitence and reflection
begin from the first of the month.
The timing is the 7th month,
with the specific kuppuru ritual on the 5th day, the remainder
of the festival continuing until the 11th day.
2. The High
Priest is to slaughter a bull and a ram.
The ritual slaughterer
slaughters a ram.
3. High
Priest is to bathe and put on set apart linen garments.
High Priest bathes and puts on linen garments.
4. The High Priest is to cast lots over
two goats.
5. The High Priest burns incense in the
tent of meeting.
The priest burns aromatic
incense and cypress in the temple and chapel.
6. One goat is slaughtered, the blood
used to cover everything being atoned.
Ram is slaughtered and
the blood smeared to cover everything to remove pollution.
7.
After covering the blood, the other goat has hands laid on him, transferring
guilt and sent into the wilderness / open country.
After the kuppuru ritual the priest takes
the carcass of the ram to the river and remains in the open country until
the 12th. The slaughter takes the head to the river and remains in the open
country until Nabu leaves the city on the 12th.
8. High priest returns to Qodesh, removes
linen garments, bathes and dresses in his clothing, leaving the linen garments
in the Qodesh and is now clean.
Priest returns to temple
on the 12th when Nabu leaves the city.
9. The man who escorted the scapegoat
out, returns, washes his garments, bathes and can return to camp clean.
Slaughterer returns to
the temple on the 12th when Nabu leaves the city.
Another similarity is that of the latter Marduk tradition
that involves a king. When the transition from one country’s tradition becomes
usurped by another conquering or battling country, you see alterations occur
because of the history taking place. When Marduk (Amorite) conquers territories
of Ashshur (Asshur), you see the northern Assyrian traditions holding Marduk
in the akitu house for punishment for trying to usurp the throne of Asshur.
Marduk takes credit for killing Tiamat the mother and becoming chief of the
gods, wearing the garment of water from Tiamat. In southern traditions and
elsewhere, Marduk is not being punished by Asshur, but is battling the supporters
of Tiamat and is her destroyer, then triumphantly enters the city. So in some
traditions of the akitu, the king, representing the god Marduk, is struck
on the cheek, dragged before the god, and made to confess and repent. This
action of repentance is part of the traditional Yom Kippur ritual, carrying
that element of the usurper Marduks history.
The important aspect of
this account of the akitu festival involving Marduk, is that it involves the
Amorite chief god Marduk, who usurped the Assyrian god Ashshur / Asshur, assimilating
his characteristics and deeds. The Amorites are part of the ancestry of the
Hebrew Israelites, as explained in the Worthless Deities of the Hebrew Text
study. Therefore you have an older Amorite version and the newer version by
the descendants after they were in captivity in the older Amorite territory
and you get the pre-second temple destruction form of Yom Kippur.
Additional
Jewish Modifications
Some of you
may be wondering why this is referred to as a festival, when the day of Yom
HaKippurim is now a somber day of fasting, sack cloth and ashes, a mourning
situation. Ah, it was not always so. Looking at the Mesopotamian festival,
it began on the first day of the month and continued until the 12th.
If you look at what surrounds Yom Kippur, you will see the festival in the
Jewish traditions and the culmination on the 10th day. The first
day of the seventh month begins with Rosh HaShanah, which translates as Head
of the Year, in Hebrew. This is not a biblical holy day, never occurring in
the text of the Tanak / Bible. It is mentioned in the Talmud, the written
account of the Oral Traditions. According to the Tanak, the first day of the
seventh month is called Yom Teruah – the day of trumpet blasts.
Wayiqqra [Leviticus]
23:24, " 'speak to the sons of yisrael, saying,
"in the seventh month, on the first of the month, a shabbathon will be
to you, trumpet blasts to a memorial, a set apart gathering. 25 you will do no work of service
and you will bring a fire offering to YHWH." ' "
BeMidbar [Numbers]
29:1-6,
" 'and in the seventh month, in the first of the month, a set apart assembly
you will have, you will do no servile work; a day of trumpet blasts it is
to you. 2 and you will prepare
a burnt offering, for sweet fragrance to YHWH, one bull, a son the herd, one
ram, seven lambs, sons of a year, perfect ones. 3 and their present, flour mixed
with oil, three-tenth deals for the bull, two-tenth deals for the ram, 4 and one-tenth deal for the one
lamb, for the seven lambs. 5
and one kid of the goats, a sin offering,
to make atonement for you. 6
apart from the burnt offering of the month, and its present, and the continual
burnt offering, and its present, and their drink offerings, according to their
judgment, for sweet fragrance, a fire offering to YHWH.' "
So
where did Rosh HaShanah come from? The adoption of a Mesopotamian calendar,
which celebrated the two New Years, with the autumn new year being the dominant
and most important. The Talmud, Seder Moed, Mas. Rosh HaShanah 2a states that
there are 4 new years – on the first of Tishri is the new year for years,
for release and jubilee years, for plantation and tithes of vegetables. Further
down, we see in Mas. Rosh HaShanah 16b: Three books are opened [in heaven]
on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous,
and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed
definitively in the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed
definitively in the book of death; the doom of the intermediate is suspended
from New Year till the Day of Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed
in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the
book of death.
Remember
that the concept of an accounting of a book of life is Assyrian and Babylonian.
Nabu was the messenger (son) of Bel –Marduk, his father. “As scribe, Nabu
had access to secrets that others could not read, and so could control religious
rites and was regarded as especially wise,...He wrote down the decisions of
the gods and was the one who kept accounts, reckoning credit and debit, titled
Nabu ‘of accounts’ as a manifestation of Marduk.” Dictionary of Deities and
Demons in the Bible, pg. 608. Nabu
had a tablet of destinies, recording the names of those that god favored or
was pleased with. In the Akitu festival, Nabu, the son and priest/scribe of
Marduk travels to the temple of Marduk
and cleanses the temple of the pollutions, is placed (the statue by the king)
next to his father Marduk. It is Nabu that records in the Tablet of Destinies
/ Book of Life. Clearly these “Days of Awe” (Yamim Noraim) from the1st
to the 10th are part of a many day process and are not separate
holy days.
As to the
fasting on Yom Kippur, the Talmud states in Mas. Rosh HaShanah 18b that there are 4 fasts:
”What is the meaning of the verse, Thus had said the Lord of Hosts: The fast
of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh
and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness? The prophet
calls these days both days of fasting and days of joy, signifying that when
there is peace they shall be for joy and gladness, but if there is not peace
they shall be fast days’!” Further in the passage the question is asked about
the days of peace or no peace. “‘When there is peace, these days shall be
for joy and gladness, but when there is no peace, they shall be fasts’, and
placing the days mentioned in the Megillath Ta'anith, on the same footing.
R. Johanan and Resh Lakish hold that the Megillath Ta'anith has not been annulled,
maintaining that it was those others [mentioned by the prophet] that the All-Merciful
made dependent on the existence of the Temple, but these [mentioned in Megillath Ta'anith]
remain unaffected. ” So the fasting is contingent on the existence of the
temple and when the second temple was destroyed in 70 CE (AD), the rabbis
initiated a permanent fast on Yom Kippur, which was part of a feast before.
So
what began as a ritual by a priest to cleanse a temple of pollution, became
a rabbinic teaching that the Jewish people were the temple, needing to be
cleansed of pollution and what was once a festival day became a fast when
the second temple in Jerusalem
was destroyed. The fasting is not for “repentance”, but in mourning of a temple
of man’s destruction, no matter how it is dressed. Clearly this shows the
temple is the focus of this holy day, from the cleansing of pollution to the
fasting when it was destroyed.
Azazel and the Midianite / Kenite
Connection
From the 16th chapter of Wayyiqra [Leviticus]
above, the word Azazel has been a thorn in the side of translators since the
exile and the scribes began purging and editing text with an agenda. Azazel
does not occur in any other Semitic language, not as a word, or name of a
person or place. Wild speculations have been made to try and define just what
exactly is going on in chapter 16 of Wayiqqra / Leviticus with Azazel. The
Hebrew text of the Tanak spells Azazel as ayin, zayin, alef, zayin, lamed
– AZEZL. To aid in this search, I think we need to look at other factors of
this text to point us in the direction of some potential answers.
One of these factors is where the goat is being sent – verse
10 states that it is being sent to the wilderness (midbar). Midbar is defined
as wilderness, the desert. In the ancient Ugaritic it has this same meaning.
The root is DBR, dabar, meaning to drive, such as driving your livestock.
This makes sense in light of desert regions being where you need to pass through
and drive your stock to get to pasture. So I think we need to look at a desert
culture for the context.
Another factor is in Wayiqqra [Leviticus] 16, verse 8 where
it states, “and aharon will give lots over
the two he goats, one lot for YHWH, and one lot for azazel.” The way
this is written, it is as if there are two receivers – one for YHWH and one
for AZEZL and the lots do the choosing so that favoritism can not be claimed.
One of the key components to this theory is the juxtaposition of the two names
and the possession article “for” (the prefix lamed). The next verse states
that the lot chosen for YHWH will become a sin offering. Then verse 10 states,
“and the goat on which the lot fell for azazel will
be made to stand living before YHWH to atone by it, to send it away for azazel
into the wilderness.”
The next verses that deal with Azazel are 20-22, “and when he has finished atoning for the qodesh [set
apart – sanctuary] , and the tent of meeting, and the altar, and has brought
near the living goat; 21
then aharon will lay his two hands on the head of the living goat, and will
confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of yisrael, and all their transgressions,
and all their sins, and will put them on the head of the goat, and will send
it by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness. 22 and the goat will bear on him
all their iniquities to a land cut off. and he will send the goat away into
the wilderness.”
Verse 25 concludes
with the purification of the man that led the goat into the wilderness, “
and he who let the goat go for azazel will wash his
garments and will bathe his flesh with water; and later he will come into
the camp.”
If you remove the
translators attempts at defining Azazel as a word for removal or such, and
simply deal with it as the grammar structure has it, as a name, it makes perfect
sense.
Now let us look
into the possibility of a name and what name might be represented here, better
explaining this ritual. First, the
setting for this passage is in the desert, when the Hebrews left Egypt
and are being nomadic (actually they were always nomadic well prior to this).
Moses escapes Egypt
and flees to Midian (Midyan). He meets Reuel / Yethro, a nomadic priest of
Midian, with 7 daughters. Moses marries Tsipporah, one of the daughters of
the priest and has two sons. While living in Midian, he meets YHWH on Choreb,
the mountain of the Elohiym (plural) and has his burning bush experience.
Moses returns to Egypt,
brings about the exodus and they leave. Mind you, this is not just a group
of Hebrews, but a “mixed multitude” went with them (Shemoth / Exodus 12:38).
This word is arab. There were a number of Arabs that were leaving Egypt with them,
that is, if this exact exodus occurred, exactly as written, which is not likely,
but that is another study. The point is, there are elements to this account
that ring true, regardless of the time period, numbers and political / religious
agenda of the scribes.
The Arabs (ayin,
resh, beth), were dwellers of the Arabah territory, a desert, arid, wilderness,
steppe region. Some scholars believe that the name is actually ABR (ayin,
beth, resh) which means to travel, nomadic, which makes more sense. The Arabs
are the descendents of Yishmael, the firstborn son of Abraham to Hagar, the
concubine that was sent out into the desert with a child; descendents of the
third wife Keturah; and the descendents of Esau/Edom, the grandson of Abraham.
There was also intermarrying between these tribes,
such as Esau taking a daughter of Yismael for a wife. The particular tribes
of Midian and the following Kenites that we will be dealing with shortly are
from Keturah.
So they leave Egypt and go into
the desert. They camp near mountain Choreb. Yethro visits Moses, along with
Tsipporah, the wife he sent away (if that actually took place, later texts
indicate otherwise). While visiting, Yethro instructs Moses in governing before
Elohim (plural), which Moses listens too and institutes. They then camp at
Sinai (chapter 19) where the mishkan, the nomadic tabernacle, is built and
equipped, then the law is given. This is Arab territory, an Arab priest as
father-in-law, the Arab worship of certain mountains and deities and certain
aspects of the ancient nomadic Arab (which also stemmed from the Amorite)
system are instituted. These mountains of the Elohiym (plural) are not a singular,
monotheistic god but the ancient system of gods dwelling on mountain high
places. Shemoth / Exodus ends and we pick up the account in the book of BeMidbar
(in the wilderness) / Numbers, with a census and accounting of materials and
provisions – a scribes dream. The end of chapter 10 states they are about
to set out.
BeMidbar [Numbers]
10:29-33, “and
mosheh said to chobab ben reuel the midyaniy, father-in-law of mosheh, we
are journeying to the place of which YHWH has said, i give it to you; go with
us, and we will do good to you; for YHWH has spoken good concerning yisrael. 30
and he said to him, i will not go; but to my land and to my kindred
will i go. 31 and he said, i pray you, forsake us not, because
you will know our camping in the wilderness, and you will be to us for eyes. 32 and it will come to pass when
you go with us, it will come to pass,
that good which YHWH does kindly with us, it we will do kindly to you. 33 and they journeyed from the mountain of YHWH, a journey of three days; and the
ark of the beriyth [covenant] of YHWH was journeying before them the journey
of three days, to spy out for them a resting place. ” Here Moses is relying on his Midianite / Kenite family for guides, to
be his eyes, not YHWH. Conveniently, just as they are about to enter into
Yisrael, supposedly YHWH directs Moses to take vengeance on the Midianites,
killing the men, capturing the women and children, burning all their camps,
and confiscating all their herbs, flocks and goods as plunder. They were at
war ever since. So much for “doing good” to them for guiding them through
the desert.
When YHWH spoke
to Moses on a sacred mountain of the nomadic Arabs, the Tanak states in Shemoth
[Exodus] 3:15, “and elohiym said
further to mosheh, now you say to the sons of yisrael, YHWH, elohey of your
fathers, elohey of abraham, elohey of yitschaq, and elohey of yaaqob, has
sent me to you. this is my name forever, and this is my memorial for generation
to generation.” Later in 6:
2,3, “elohiym spoke to
mosheh and said to him, i am dedi [YHWH, Yahweh];
3 and i appeared to abraham, to yitschaq, and to yaaqob,
as el shadday, but my name, YHWH, i was not well known to them.”
This connection with YHWH and the Arab tribes may be key.
When you look at the oldest archaeology for the name YHWH, the oldest cases
are in the south and desert regions. In two inscriptions from the Kuntillet
`Ajrud site, dating from the mid-8th century BCE, we see YHWH being
listed as YHWH Teman (of Teman) and YHWH Shomron (of Samaria). This is a common phrasing of deities
and people, to designate their city, or in the case of deities, a city they
are a patron deity of. In both of these cases YHWH is paired with a goddess
named AShRTh, very similar to the Ashthar in the Mesha Stele, which many associate
with a goddess known by a number of different spellings, depending on location
as Athirat / Athirath / Ashratu / Asherah with ties to Athene, Anath and Ishtar.
Teman is about half way between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, what was originally Kenite territory and
later became Edomite / Nabatean.
For further information on the archaeology,
please see: Kuntillet
Ajrud Inscriptions
Even older associations of the name Yahu (IAW, YHW) occur
from the Egyptian inscriptions concerning the desert nomad tribes. From the
Temple of Amun
in Soleb, Sudan,
an account of Amenhotep III (1400 BCE) claims that he plundered the Shasu
land and captured the mountain
of Seir. Later on, a
monument to Ramses II (1304-1237 BCE), the same text is thought to be copied
from the Amenhotep III inscription. Ramses III (1198-1166 BCE) says that he
destroyed the Seirites among the tribes of the Shasu.
A 19th Dynasty (1298-1187 BCE) Model letter mentions
the Shasu tribes of Edom
(location of Mountain Seir). Seir was actually a mountainous region running
southwest of Teman toward Aqaba in the modern Jordan territory. The tribes and their
lands are listed as the Shasu of S’rr (Seir), Shasu of Lbn, Shasu of Sm’t,
Shasu of Wrbr, the Shasu of Yhw (Yahu) and the Shasu of Pyspys. The Shasu
of Yhw does not have a t3 land designation. Scholars believe that this refers
to the deity Yahu.
Seir is spelled Shiyn, ayin, yod, resh SEYR and means a he-goat,
buck, literally the hairy one. It was also used as a demon having a he-goat
form, the satyr. This is the same word that is in the passage about the two
male goats being chosen by lot, one seyr for YHWH and one for Azazel. This
is important because of a verse in the song of Deborah, a very old fragment
of text edited into the Tanak. Shoftiym [Judges] 5:1-5, “and deborah and barak ben abinoam, sang on that day, saying: 2 for the loosing of locks of hair
in yisrael; for the willing offering of the people, bless YHWH. 3 listen, o kings; give ear, o princes.
i, even i, will sing to YHWH; i will sing praise to YHWH elohey of yisrael.
4 o YHWH, when you went forth out of seir, when you marched
out of the fields of edom, the earth trembled, and the
heavens dropped. yea, the clouds dropped water.
5 the mountains quaked before the face of YHWH, this sinai
quaked from before YHWH elohey of yisrael. ” YHWH is being described as going
forth out of Seir, the territory of the Shasu of Yhw, the same territory of
YHWH of Teman, the nearby territory as the mountain of the Elohiym with the
burning bush / I am YHWH incident on the mountain among the Midianites/Kenites.
Another passage stating this is from HaDebariym [Deuteronomy] 33:2, with the
blessing of Mosheh [Moses], “and he said: YHWH came from
sinai, and rose up from sheir / seir for them; he shone forth from mountain
paran, and he came from the myriads [many] of qedesh [qadesh / qudshu]. at
his right hand fire flew to them.”
Qedesh / Qadesh,
Qudshu is a title of the Semitic Mother figure. She was in the Sumerian and
Canaanite pantheons, then adopted into the Egyptian. She is always depicted
as a full frontal nude, standing on the back of a lion, holding plants and
or serpents. Caprids / goats are frequently at her sides.
This ties into the 17th chapter of Wayiqqra, just
after this passage about the goat for Azazel in chapter 16. The beginning
of chapter 17 opens with YHWH instructing Moses to instruct Aharon and the
other priests that no man is to slaughter any animal outside the camp anymore,
but it is to be brought in to the door of the tabernacle from now on. This
is dealing with sacrifices, not slaughter for eating. Verse 7 states, “And
no longer will they sacrifice their sacrifices to Sheyriym (the plural of
sheir/seir – the shaggy he goats) which they have gone whoring after them.
This is a never ending statute for them throughout their generations.” This
clearly shows that the people were sacrificing to a deity associated with
goats or goat forms like satyrs, at least from the perspective of the later
editor that was trying to centralize worship. 17:7 seems to connect to the
passage just before it, and is only separated by a modern division of chapters
and numbers.
The possibility is that the two deities are one and the same,
just known by two names. While Azazel is not a term used of YHWH, Azzel could
be. The Jewish scribes are notorious for taking a name, that they do not agree
with theologically and changing it to express their disdain or disgust. Please
see the Worthless
Deities study for numerous examples of this. The name as
the Tanak has it now is spelled ayin, zayin, alef, zayin, lamed. This word
has no typical three letter base root. Many scholars have tried to explain
it, even Talmudic writers have tried to reason a root for it. So lets take
a look at a root base that is used in a similar name from the Tanak.
AZZ / UZZ (ayin, zayin, zayin) is an ancient three letter
Semitic root, used in the Phoenician, meaning strength, to be strong. It is
used in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic, Syrian and Arabic, as well as Hebrew.
The AZZ / UZZ can be written with one Z or two, sometimes the scribes wrote
one, but placed a diacritical mark on the Z to indicate doubling. The meaning
remains the same regardless. This is the same root for the Uzzi machine gun
of the Israelis (weaponry strength). The
ayin letter can take on multiple vowel pronunciations, making it an a, e,
i, o or u, depending on the later scribes marks or dialects.
Frequent theophoric names in the Tanak, pertaining to YHWH,
have either a Yahu prefix or suffix on a name or they have El. In I Dibrey
Hayamiym [Chronicles] 5:8, we see an example of the name AZZ / UZZ (Azaz)
without any theophoric element. In I Dibrey HaYamiym 15:21 we see an example
of AzzYahu (Azazyahu, Azaziah) with the Yahu suffix, meaning strength of YHWH.
Another example with the single zayin with the mark is a king of Yahudah,
UzzYahu (Uzziah). Yet there is no example of an Azzel, the strength of El.
Unless the scribes intentionally replaced it or simply altered it. Another
similar name is Uzziel, inserting a yod (the i) at the end of the ayin, zayin,
zayin, before the El. The yod at the end of UZZ would make it plural – strengths.
So lets consider that the Jewish scribes switched the second
zayin and the aleph, making the name Azazel instead of AzzEl / UzzEl. What
reason would they have to hide a such a name? Every reason in the world to
a patriarchal priesthood religion. The negation of the woman from the Tanak,
as well as YHWH as something other than an exclusively male god made in their
image.
Al Uzza / Al Lat
In the ancient pre-Islamic culture of the Midianite / Kenite,
Edomite / Seirite (even stretching up into Syria), there was not one male, monothesitic
deity Allah (Arabic - same as the Tanak El) as Islam has created. There was
a triune female creatress mother culture, very similar to the surrounding
cultures and a polytheistic culture. As a whole, she is called Al Lat / Allat
(the lady, Elath in Hebrew, Elat in Ugaritic, Allahta in Syria),
which simply means the goddess. The young maiden was Q’re (similar to Kore
of the Greeks prior to her being raped and carted off to the underworld, then
named Persephone). Q’re was represented by the waxing (increasing) crescent
moon. The strong mother, similar to Anath in the Canaanite culture just north
of them, was Al Uzzah / Al Uzza (the mighty one) represented by the full moon
– the Mother of the Gods. She is also represented as the morning and evening
star (Islamic flags have the crescent moon and star). The sage woman past
child bearing was Manat / Manawat / Manutu (fate, destiny) was represented
by a waning (decreasing) moon. Rather than 3 actual deities they simply represented
the three stages of the mother cultures, but later came to be referred to
as 3 goddesses.
The Temple of the Winged Lions
at Petra (Edomite / Nabatean centers in Seir
territory) was the temple of Al Uzza / Allat, as well as the cultic center of Mecca, prior to Islam. A
meteorite fell from the sky and was associated with Al Uzza, the star from
the heavens. The stone, originally white, began to oxidize and became the
black stone of today. It is mounted in silver and looks like a vulva, furthering
the association with the mother. A cube shaped building surrounds it called
the Kaaba. The priestesses would circle the baetyl (Semitic sacred stone)
7 times. This practices continues today with the pilgrims to Mecca. The Quraysh (Koreish) were the powerful
merchant tribe that controlled Mecca
and held Al Uzza as sacred and were the guardians of the Black Stone of Mecca.
They take their name from Q’re. When Muhammed
came on the scene saying that he was a prophet of the one male god Allah,
his tribe kicked him out and they fought many wars, but were eventually defeated
by Muhammed, who took control over the money generating site of Mecca which he then dedicated to Allah.
At Petra,
Al Uzza / Al Lat is depicted with a lion and grain, very common depiction
for the mother cultures. Palmyra (Tadmor),
an ancient Aramean / Arabic city in Syria, was part of the Arabic trade
routes and was known as the Bride of the Desert. In Palmyra, there was a temple to Allat, which
had a statue of a lion with an oryx, very similar to all the symbolism of
the creator mothers with the lions and goats/caprids/oryx. On it is an inscription
which states, “Allat to bless the one who does not spill blood against the
temple.” This may have some bearing on the goat for AzzEl not being killed,
but released to the wilderness.
Another aspect of the pre-Islamic mother goddess is that
of the bird association, also very common with these mother figures. The Quran
states (53:19,20), “Have you thought on Al-Lat and Al-Uzza
and Manat, the third, the other?” According to the Satanic Verses, which were
excised by Islamic editors to remove evidence of the pre-Islamic beliefs of
the Arabs, the verse continued with, “These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries)
whose intercession is to be hoped for.” This is the same symbolism of Ishtar,
Lillith, Athene, Anat, etc. And interceding, blessing, praying cranes are
very similar to the kerubiym motif covered later (keep this in mind).
According to The Book of Idols by Hisham Ibn-Al-Kalbi, the
prophet Muhammed, in his eradication of the pre-Islamic worship, especially
of the mothers, sent a man to chop down the three sacred acacia trees that
were at a place of worship for Al Uzza and report back that she was destroyed.
After cutting down the first and second tree, reporting that there was nothing
there, he was sent back to chop down the third, when he saw an Abyssinian
woman with loose hair in the place. The man cut her down, her tree and the
guardian of her worship and reported back. Many of the mother figures were
depicted as trees, especially that of Asherah, listed in the Tanak.
Isaac of Antioch (Syrian scholar of 5th century)
stated that pagan Arabs worshipped the Venus star under the name Al Uzza and
they went on to their roof tops to pray to the star to make them beautiful.
The centers of worship for these women, or woman by 3 attributes,
had primacy across the Arabic territories. In fact, in Nabatean inscriptions,
Allah does not occur, but these three female names do. Islam could not wipe
these women out no matter how hard they tried, so they were incorporated into
Islam, referring to them as the daughters of Allah (what, a patriarchal god
with no sons?), much like the Hellenistic culture having the late Zeus birthing
the previous mother Athene, as his daughter. It was simply a patriarchal method
of rewriting history. Later the passages of the Quran that held these verses
were edited out and considered the Satanic Verses, the verses that Mohammed
spoke while under the influence of Satan, when they could not deny that Muhammed
had spoken them to begin with and were already written.
Since the same star, plant, lion, bird and caprid / goat
motif is consistent with these mothers, it would stand to reason that the
same fertility, life giving, protection of animals (Mistress of Animals) aspect
is also applicable and could be a factor in the releasing the goat to the
wilderness, rather than slaughtering it to smear around a man made temple.
Though there are accounts in the Quran and Book of Idols which mention the
sacrifice of animals to Al Uzza, even Muhammed sacrificing to Al Uzza. It
may be the same case of the Hebrews sacrificing to YHWH, when verses in the
Tanak state that YHWH never taught, asked or thought of being sacrificed to,
yet they did it anyway.
Azzel in Jewish and Arabic Culture
The Talmud, Yoma 67b, states the school of Rabbi Yismael
taught the rite of Azazel on Yom HaKippurim (The Day of Atonements), in Wayyiqra
(Leviticus) 16, is named because it obtains atonement for the affair of Uzza
and Azzael. Who were Uzza and Azzael in Jewish writings?
In the 3rd book of Enoch, written around 132 CE
(AD), 4:6 lists three ministering angels by the names of `Uzzah, Azzah and
`Azza’el. Again they are mentioned in 5:8,9, “They brought down the sun, the
moon the stars and the constellations and stationed them before the idols,
to their right and to their left, to serve them in the way they served the
Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, ‘All the array of heaven stood
in his presence, to his right and to his left.’ How was it that they had the
strength to bring them down? It was only because `Uzza, `Azza and `Azza’el taught them sorceries that they brought them
down and employed them, for otherwise they would not have been able to bring
them down.” Here you see that the previous ministering angels have now been
associated with the fallen angles, fallen stars, that taught men to sin. In
later passages, there are not three names, but primarily two, `Azza or `Uzza
and `Azza’el. BTW, this is the same spelling that I have listed in above paragraphs
for the name of the names of the deity to which the goat is released into
the wilderness and the pre-Islamic mother goddess Uzza.
I Enoch 8:1, 2, “Moreover Azazel taught men to make swords,
knives, shields, breastplates, the fabrication of mirrors, and the workmanship
of bracelets and ornaments, the use of paint, the beautifying of the eyebrows,
the use of stones of every valuable and select kind, and all sorts of dyes,
so that the world became altered. Impiety increased; fornication multiplied;
and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways.” Oddly enough this is
a similar list to that which other creator mothers are attributed with, even
the metal works such as with Athene. The mirrors, ornaments, cosmetics, dyes,
etc., are all aspects of the womens culture and had a woman as matron over
these skills. Clearly patriarchal Judaism
assimilated these facets into a male orientation.
The leader of the fallen angels, in Talmudic and Merkabah
writings was called Shemyazza / Semyaza, which is a contraction for Shem (name) and Azza
/ Uzza (strength). These writing also use the names of Azzel and Uzza interchangeably
for the same character. In these writings Azazel was bound and cast into the
desert by Raphel. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is portrayed as an
unclean bird of prey. According to Arabic tradition the thorny acacia tree
is sacred to him. He is also viewed as the leader of the Seiriym, the satyrs
of the desert, he being viewed as one himself, which later gave rise to Satan
being viewed as a satyr.
In the Arabic tradition Azazel is written as Azazil. This
is the name of the angel before he sinned for not bowing down to Adam when
he was created by Allah and came to be known as Iblis, the name of the devil
in the Quran. Some traditions then count Iblis as a Jinn and the head of the
Jinni (plural jinni / genies – meaning to hide, conceal). In pre-Islamic traditions,
the jinni were good and rewarding gods. They are associated with the desert
and waste lands. The Jinniy are depicted as satyr, goat like creatures of
the desert.
This satyr / goat aspect is important because of the pre-Islamic
aspects of the jinni, in connection with passages of the Tanak / Bible. As
mentioned earlier in the study, the passage in Wayyiqra 17:7, “And no longer
will they sacrifice their sacrifices to Sheyriym (the plural of sheir/seir
– the shaggy he goats) which they have gone whoring after them. This is a
never ending statute for them throughout their generations.”
Another biblical passage that shows the worship of sheiriym
is II Dibrey HaYamiym [Chronicles] 11:15, “and he (jeroboam) made priests for himself for the high places, and for
sheiriym / seiriym (goats), and for the calves that he made.” While II Chronicles is a later writing, this
verse shows that those of Yisrael had a worship connected with goats in some
fashion and that priests were appointed in this worship. This is corroborated
by the archaeological account of goat statues found.
These following
verses are seriously mucked up in the Hebrew. The editors were trying to hide
desert gods in the text, shortening and changing words, including vowel points,
to conceal what the passage is about. The location of the so called prophecy
is Edom, the territory of Seir.
YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 34:13,14 (also referred to as deutero- Isaiah, a section
written after the exile) , “and thorns will grow in her palaces, nettles and thistles
in its fortresses; and it will be a home for jackals, a court for the daughters
of iaanah. the
tsiyiym will also meet with the iyiym;
and the sheiriym / seiriym[satyr, shaggy goat] will cry to his fellow. liylith
will also settle there, and find a place of rest for herself.”
Iaanah is more than
likely Inanna. Many translations have owl or ostrich, which is not necessarily
contrary to Inanna, often depicted with the wings and legs of a bird. The
Greek Septuagint has sirens, which is consistent with the representation of
Inanna extending into the west with the Aegean, Anatolian and Canaanite / Israelite territories,
and the north with the Ukrainian and Southern Russian territories where the
sirens are called the berehyni and rusalki. Inanna is a mother goddess,
and is the granddaughter (later generational representation) of the Sumerian
creatress goddess Nammu, who created the gods and mankind. Nammu was known
as ‘She who gives birth to heaven and earth,’ as well as ‘the mother of all
deities. One of the other Sumerian names for Inanna
is Iahu, which means, “Exalted Dove”. The reason I believe this is
the name Inanna is partly to do with the court for her daughters and partly
due to the reference of Lillith in the next verse. Which will be explained
shortly.
The English translators
have a variety for words for the tsiyiym and iyiym including ships and islands.
Tsiyiym is the plural of tsiy (late Masoretic vowel points make this an i),
which is defined as wild desert animals. Some scholars believe the root is
a shortened back formation tsay, which is related to the Arabic dayuwan –
wild cats. The Greek Septuagint has daimonia - demons. The Latin Vulgate has daemonia – demons. The Aramaic Targum also has wild cats. Wild cats makes perfect sense, since the associations
of large cats (lions, etc.) with Inanna and Lillith are constant.
Iyiym is the Hebrew
plural of iy (late Masoretic vowel points make this an i), also shortened
from away, related to Arabic wawi for jackal.
The sheiriym / seirim have already been covered as the shaggy / hairy
he goats or satyrs. These are also mentioned in YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 13:19-22
(listed below), in an older passage of similar nature, but written about Babel, not Edom.
The sheiriym are mentioned as dancing here. Babel is the last of 3 kingdoms that conquered
Sumeria and adopted portions of their culture, one of which was Inanna / Lillith.
Now to Lillith.
In verse 14, after the mention of the sheiriym, it says that liylith (lamed,
yod, lamed, thau) dwells in this desert and finds a resting place. Lilitu is the Sumerian Inanna, also called the hand of Inanna.
The Hebrew name Lilith is a loan word from the Akkadian Lilitu. In the Semitic
languages, laylah, means night. Lilith is the Hebrew variation of Lilitu.
Lilitu is depicted as a woman with features of an owl, but this is an older
and more western theme that migrated to Sumeria and then Babylonia. “Of greater importance, however, is the sexual
aspect of the – mainly- female demons lilitu and (w)ardat lili. Thus the texts
refer to them as the ones who have no husband, or as the ones who stroll about
searching for men in order to ensnare them or to enter the house of the man
through the window.” Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, pg. 520.
Clearly, as with so many cultures, any woman that did not submit to the invading
patriarchal system, who refused to take a husband, became a threat, and was
demonized, like the Greek Amazons and Anath of the Canaanites. For further
information, please see the Babylonian / Assyrian section of the Worthless
Deities in the Hebrew Text study.
YeshaYahu [Isaiah]
13:19-22 ,“and
babel, the honor of the kingdoms, the beauty of the pride of the kashdiym
[chaldeans], will be as when elohiym overthrew sedom and amorah. 20 it will not be lived in forever,
nor will it be lived in from generation to generation. and the arabiy [arabians]
will not pitch a tent there, nor will the shepherds make flocks lie down there.
21 but the tsiyiym will lie there; and their houses will
be full of achiym (this is supposed to be away / iyiym as in the passage above);
and daughters of ianah will dwell there; and sheiriym will skip there. 22
and iyiym will cry along with his widows; and thanniym in palaces of delight.
yes, her time to come is near, and her days will not be prolonged.”
Thaniym is the only different reference in this passage.
A thanniym is a secondary plural form of thannin. Thannin is a sea monster
or sea serpent, sometimes referred to a sea dragon. In the Sumerian she is
called Tiamat, the creatress mother that the patriarchal warriors called a
dragon and slew for the throne. This may correlate to the serpent mentioned
in verse 14 of YeshaYahu 34, just after Lillith. Ironically, these women /
mother figures are also portrayed with serpents.
The next passage from the Tanak that has the association
of the goats in a religious form is Shiyr HaShiyriym [Song of Solomon] 2:7,
“i take an oath (swear), daughters of yerushalem, by the tsabayoth [female
gazelles (pl)], and by the ayloth [does (pl)] of the field that you do not
stir up and do not awaken the love until it pleases.” The woman speaking in this passage is a Sabean
wife of Solomon. Sabeans are an Arabian tribe. Why would a woman take an oath
by gazelles and does, both female goat family animals? Lets look at tsabayoth in the Hebrew without
the late Masoretic vowel points. The Hebrew letters that make up this word
are tsaddiy, beth, alef, waw and thau. Some translators transliterate this
word as sabaoth, sebaoth, tsabaoth, tsebaoth, sabaowth, sebaowth...
Below you will see
an image of the Hebrew. On the left side is the Hebrew for the female gazelles
used in the Song of Solomon passage above, in which the Sabean wife is taking
an oath by. Tsebaoth / tsabaoth is the plural form of the feminine word for
a female gazelle tsebiyah, which is also used in modern Hebrew to refer to
a beautiful woman, a desired woman. In Hebrew, when a word is feminine, to
make it plural, you add the suffix “waw, thau (oth)” at the end. So we are
clearly dealing with female gazelles in the plural here.
In fact the whole
book of Song of Solomon deals with gazelle/sheep imagery, especially of the
woman, whose lover she says is like a stag leaping across the mountains. Her
hair is like a flock of goats descending Mount Gilead,
her teeth like a flock of sheep just shorn, and her breasts are like twin
fawn gazelles.
Now lets look at
the title of YHWH and El – Tsebaoth / Sebaoth on the right. It has the exact
letters as the plural female form of gazelles on the left. Biblical scholars
say that the word comes from the Egyptian loan word tsaba, which I have written
below it. I used to believe that until working on this study dealing with
the pre-Islamic Arabian beliefs. The word tsaba is masculine and it denotes
an already plural noun – army is plural, as is host. But if you were to make
it plural and say armies, hosts, the plural would not be the feminine oth
suffix, but the masculine iym / im. Yet, this title has a feminine ending.
The majority of the time that the word army or host is used in the Tanak,
it is tsaba, not tsebaoth.
So lets look at
the biblical context of passages dealing with YHWH or El Tsebaoth.
The phrase YHWH
Tsebaoth does not occur in the books of Mosheh / Pentateuch. The first usage
of tsebaoth occurs in the book of Shemuel [Samuel], the first chapter. This
is also the first usage of YHWH Tsebaoth in verse 3. In verse 11, we see Channah,
who is barren, praying to YHWH Tsebaoth, asking for fertility, to bear a child.
This occurs at the mishkan (tent, same as that built in the desert) in Shiloh, before a temple is built. The next occurrence is
in chapter 4:4. Yisrael is about to battle the Felishthiym [Philistines] and
they desire to take the ark of the covenant into battle. “and the people sent to shiloh, and they took from
there the ark of the covenant of YHWH tsebaoth, who dwells (between) the kerubiym
[cherubiym]. and the two sons of eli were there with the ark of the covenant
of the elohiym, chofni and fiynechas.”
The location of these cherubiym was on the cover of the ark of covenant.
This cover was called the kapporet, which means covering, atoning, with a
female suffix. This is the same root word kapar / kafar, as atonements for
this holy day.
It is also stated that in YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 8:18, states, “look,
i and the children whom YHWH has given to me are for signs and wonders in
yisrael from YHWH tsebaoth, who dwells on mountain tsiyon.” Another
reference to the fertility aspect, common with the mother cultures as well
as the association of YHWH Tsebaoth residing on a mountain, common to the
Arabian cultures.
There are many other aspects of the name Tsebaoth which easily tie
in with the ancient pre-Islamic culture, that show an older Arabian aspect
to the verses associated with the name YHWH Tsebaoth, including pilgrimage,
the sabitu (Akkadian gazelles) inn keepers for pilgrims/travelers, an ancient
city of the Seir territory named “gazelles”, etc. This requires a study of
its own, so for the sake of time, I am limiting this line of research.
So many rabbit trails,
but necessary to understand what the scribes tried to hide. The Kerubiym /
Cherubim are the plural form of the Akkadian term kuribu, to bless, one who
blesses. The kerubiym were depicted as hybrid creatures, basically an amalgamation
of all the elements of the women motifs we have been discussing, involving
the great cats, birds, and often goats. Below are some images from ancient
archaeology that show what a kerub is. Clearly, this motif is a later representation
of the oppressed mother culture by the patriarchal system. And this is the
throne of the Tsebaoth. Remember the archaeological reference to the Temple
of the Winged Lions belonging to Al Uzza / Al Lat in Petra.
1.
Akkadian kuribu goat, bird lion motif
2. Winged kerub from Megiddo, ivory, 12th century
BCE
3. Winged kerub from Samaria, ivory, 9th century
BCE
4. Ashtart on winged kerub throne scarab, Sidon,
Lebanon
5. Ashtart winged lion throne from temple in
Lebanon
Conclusion
Without getting
into another epic study / book, like the Worthless Deities study, it is clear
from multiple contexts that the living goat for Azzael is in fact, the desert
mother goddess of a pre-Islamic culture Al Uzza / Al Lat, much like the Aegean
Athene / Artemis, Canaanite Anath, Phoenician Astarte, Mesopotamian Ishtar
and Inanna of the neighboring territories. The Assyrian / Babylonian kuppuru
ritual, belongs to a very patriarchal tradition of the priesthood and temples
for blood cleansing of pollutions caused in the temple, not for atonements
of personal sins requiring fasting and praying. The origins of Yom HaKippurim
are not what most Christians and Jews believe them to be, but are in fact
the very practices that they deem pagan or idolatrous by their own terms and
standards.
We should not be
slaughtering a ram, smearing its blood to wipe away pollutions in a temple
of a war god who kills his mother and his priest/son. We should not be mourning
the destruction of a man made temple/idol. What we need to be doing is not
blindly observing holy days that we know nothing about the origins of, but
researching and knowing what it is exactly that we choose to believe, unless
of course you want to worship a matricidal war god with blood. I choose to fellowship and feast with a creator
of life, surrounded by all that the creator has made, in thanks for that life,
not just once a year, but always.
Kathryn QannaYahu
Reference Sources
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Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 50, No. 4. (Dec., 1987), pp. 241-249
Kathryn QannaYahu
