From: Yair Davidiy [mailto:britam@netvision.net.il]
To heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Ezekiel 1, no.1

NOTE FROM EDDIE:

Yair Davidi is an ORTHODOX JEW who lives in Jerusalem, Israel and
has a ministry (Brit-Am) devoted and dedicated to doing research and
spreading awareness of the Ten Lost Tribes and their reunification
with the house of Judah in the end of days.

END OF NOTE

BRIT-AM: THOUGHTS ON EZEKILE

Ezekiel 1, no.1
The Book of Ezekiel:
Brit-Am Commentary and Study Assistance

The Book of Ezekiel at its primary level is mainly concerned with=
Judah but here and
there it contains messages for the Lost Ten Tribes of the greatest import=
ance. It also uses forms
of expression that are amongst the most powerful we have come across
in all of Scripture.

The name "Ezekiel" in Hebrew is pronounced "Yechezkiel" and means=
"God (-el) will
strengthen (Yechezak). Ezek=E5el (like Jeremiah) was from a Priestly
family (Cohen) and descended from Aaron the brother of Moses. This may be =
one of the
reasons the Book of Ezekiel shows great familiarity with the Temple and al=
so concerns itself with
the future Temple that will be rebuilt. The Book of Ezekiel
according to tradition was actually written by Members of the
Great Council (i.e. Sanhedrin) that was set up by Ezra after
the Jews returned from their exile in Babylon. The Members of the Great
Council were inspired and included prophets in their ranks. The Book of
Ezekiel is based on prophecies that Ezekiel uttered over a twenty-year
period.

Ezekiel uttered the prophecies in his book while he was in Babylo=
n together with other
exiles from Judah. Part of Judah had been exiled to
Babylon shortly before the destruction of the Temple after which most of
the rest of Judah was also exiled. Ezekiel was with the earlier exiles.
Ezekiel began to prophesy before the final exile and continued after
it. The prophecies of Ezekiel speak of the sins of Judah prior to the
calamity but after the disaster they take on a note of comfort and future =
redemption.

Rabbi Moshe Eisemann ("Yechezkiel", Artscrolls, 1977) traces the =
beginning of the
disaster that occurred to Judah to the separation of Judah
from the Northern Tribes who became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

Cf. [Isaiah 7:17] THE LORD WILL BRING UPON YOU AND UPON YOUR PEOPLE AND
UPON YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE SUCH DAYS AS HAVE NOT COME SINCE THE DAY THAT
EPHRAIM DEPARTED FROM JUDAH-- THE KING OF ASSYRIA."

On this passage Brit-Am commented:

<<"SINCE THE DAY THAT EPHRAIM DEPARTED FROM JUDAH" : When Ephraim split of=
f
from Judah it appears that a terrible calamity had taken place on the
physical level that paralleled the spiritual and psychological shock we
have never ever really recovered from.

<<Even now the psychic framework of both Judah and Ephraim is impaired due=
to the split between
the two halves of Israel.>>

On Isaiah 7:17 Eisemann (p.xxiii) in the foreword to his commentary o=
n Ezekiel says:

<<The implication is clear. If one seeks the epitome of misfortune
unequalled, he need look no further than the day the Ten tribes seceded
from the kingdom of King Rechavam, son of Solomon. It was not until Jacob'=
s family, consisting
of the twelve tribes, was complete that Jewish [i.e.
Israelite] nationhood could begin; the unity of the twelve tribes was
essential to the fulfillment of the nation; the High Priest bore the names=
of all twelve tribes on
his breastplate as he performed the Temple service.

But because David's successors did not maintain his lofty standard of
conduct the precondition for God's continued grace they lost the
privilege of ruling over the entire nation. Israel split and when that
happened, the nation began the descent that culminated in the exile of
Zidkiyahu [i.e. the final exile of Judah] more than three hundred years
later.>>

Historical Background:

King Hezekiah was a righteous monarch. In the time of Hezekiah th=
e last of the Ten Tribes
and part of Judah were exiled by the Assyrians.

These exiles became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Hezekiah was followed b=
y his son, Menasseh,
who was wicked but later repented. After Menasseh came Ammon who was also =
bad. The son of
Ammon was Josiah who was good. King Josiah attempted to reform Judah
and also worked for a reconciliation with the Lost Ten Tribes in
their places of exile. Josiah attempted to bring part of the Ten
Tribes back and was partially successful on a temporary basis. When
he died those few of the Ten Tribes who had returned and tried to resettle=
their
former lands abandoned the project and returned to their kinfolk amongst t=
he Scythians in the north.
Eisemann says that if Josiah had lived, he may have averted the final
calamity.

<<THE BREATH OF OUR NOSTRILS, THE ANOINTED OF THE LORD, WAS
TAKEN IN THEIR PITS, OF WHOM WE SAID, UNDER HIS SHADOW WE SHALL LIVE
AMONG THE HEATHEN>> [Lamentations 4:20].

At the death of Josiah his son Jehoahaz ruled for three months
after which Pharoah of Egypt deposed him, then reigned his brother,
Jehoiakim son of Josiah. After eleven years Jehoiakim was taken into
captivity to Babylon. Jehoiakin (son of Jehoiakim) then reigned for three =
months when he too
was taken to Babylon together with the elite elements of
Jerusalem. Only the lowly people of the land remained. They were ruled ove=
r by King Zedekiah
son of Josiah, brother of Jehoiakim and uncle of
Jehoiakin. Zedekiah also ruled for eleven years. He rebelled more than onc=
e against Babylon.
Consequently Jerusalem was completely destroyed and most of the rest of Ju=
dah exiled.

[Ezekiel 1:1] NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE THIRTIETH YEAR, IN THE FOURTH
MONTH, IN THE FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH, AS I WAS AMONG THE CAPTIVES BY THE
RIVER OF CHEBAR, THAT THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED, AND I SAW VISIONS OF GOD.

Eisemann points out that Prophetic books start out with the time =
of the prophecy given since
events of the time determined the nature of the prophecy. This holds
even though the full import of the message was for the distant future.

Ezekiel was with those captives of Judah who had been
taken into exile with Jehoiakin. According to tradition Ezekiel had
received the gift of prophecy while still in the Land of Israel even thoug=
h his book begins with his
being in the land of Babylon.

"THE RIVER OF CHEBAR": Some say "Chebar" is another name for the =
River Euphrates.
Others say that it was actually a large irrigation channel
or a branch of the Euphrates that had been converted into an irrigation
channel. At that time the irrigation works of Mesopotamia (Iraq) were ver=
y sophisticated and
superior to those now in use in modern Iraq.

Ezekiel 4

[Ezekiel 4:1] THOU ALSO, SON OF MAN, TAKE THEE A TILE, AND LAY IT
BEFORE THEE, AND PORTRAY UPON IT THE CITY, EVEN JERUSALEM:

[Ezekiel 4:2] AND LAY SIEGE AGAINST IT, AND BUILD A FORT AGAINST IT,
AND CAST A MOUNT AGAINST IT; SET THE CAMP ALSO AGAINST IT, AND SET
BATTERING RAMS AGAINST IT ROUND ABOUT.

Ezekiel was told to do a physical action that would
symbolize a larger event. Reversely we should realize that even small phys=
ical
things that we do can have great significance on a spiritual level.

[Ezekiel 4:3] MOREOVER TAKE THOU UNTO THEE AN IRON PAN, AND SET IT FOR
A WALL OF IRON BETWEEN THEE AND THE CITY: AND SET THY FACE AGAINST IT,
AND IT SHALL BE BESIEGED, AND THOU SHALT LAY SIEGE AGAINST IT. THIS
SHALL BE A SIGN TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

<<THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL>>: here
"House of Israel" is referring to the northern ten-tribed kingdom.

Ezekiel 8

[Ezekiel 8:1] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE SIXTH YEAR, IN THE SIXTH
MONTH, IN THE FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH, AS I SAT IN MINE HOUSE, AND THE
ELDERS OF JUDAH SAT BEFORE ME, THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD GOD FELL
THERE UPON ME.

[Ezekiel 8:2] THEN I BEHELD, AND LO A LIKENESS AS THE APPEARANCE OF
FIRE: FROM THE APPEARANCE OF HIS LOINS EVEN DOWNWARD, FIRE; AND FROM
HIS LOINS EVEN UPWARD, AS THE APPEARANCE OF BRIGHTNESS, AS THE COLOUR
OF AMBER.

[Ezekiel 8:3] AND HE PUT FORTH THE FORM OF AN HAND, AND TOOK ME BY A
LOCK OF MINE HEAD; AND THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP BETWEEN THE EARTH AND
THE HEAVEN, AND BROUGHT ME IN THE VISIONS OF GOD TO JERUSALEM, TO THE
DOOR OF THE INNER GATE THAT LOOKETH TOWARD THE NORTH; WHERE WAS THE
SEAT OF THE IMAGE OF JEALOUSY, WHICH PROVOKETH TO JEALOUSY.

[Ezekiel 8:4] AND, BEHOLD, THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL WAS THERE,
ACCORDING TO THE VISION THAT I SAW IN THE PLAIN.

[Ezekiel 8:5] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, LIFT UP THINE EYES NOW
THE WAY TOWARD THE NORTH. SO I LIFTED UP MINE EYES THE WAY TOWARD THE
NORTH, AND BEHOLD NORTHWARD AT THE GATE OF THE ALTAR THIS IMAGE OF
JEALOUSY IN THE ENTRY.

[Ezekiel 8:6] HE SAID FURTHERMORE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, SEEST THOU WHAT
THEY DO? EVEN THE GREAT ABOMINATIONS THAT THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
COMMITTETH HERE, THAT I SHOULD GO FAR OFF FROM MY SANCTUARY? BUT TURN
THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS.

[Ezekiel 8:7] AND HE BROUGHT ME TO THE DOOR OF THE COURT; AND WHEN I
LOOKED, BEHOLD A HOLE IN THE WALL.

[Ezekiel 8:8] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, DIG NOW IN THE WALL:
AND WHEN I HAD DIGGED IN THE WALL, BEHOLD A DOOR.

[Ezekiel 8:9] AND HE SAID UNTO ME, GO IN, AND BEHOLD THE WICKED
ABOMINATIONS THAT THEY DO HERE.

[Ezekiel 8:10] SO I WENT IN AND SAW; AND BEHOLD EVERY FORM OF CREEPING
THINGS, AND ABOMINABLE BEASTS, AND ALL THE IDOLS OF THE HOUSE OF
ISRAEL, PORTRAYED UPON THE WALL ROUND ABOUT.

[Ezekiel 8:11] AND THERE STOOD BEFORE THEM SEVENTY MEN OF THE ANCIENTS
OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND IN THE MIDST OF THEM STOOD JAAZANIAH THE
SON OF SHAPHAN, WITH EVERY MAN HIS CENSER IN HIS HAND; AND A THICK
CLOUD OF INCENSE WENT UP.

[Ezekiel 8:12] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, HAST THOU SEEN WHAT
THE ANCIENTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL DO IN THE DARK, EVERY MAN IN THE
CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY? FOR THEY SAY, THE LORD SEETH US NOT; THE LORD
HATH FORSAKEN THE EARTH.

[Ezekiel 8:13] HE SAID ALSO UNTO ME, TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU
SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAT THEY DO.

[Ezekiel 8:14] THEN HE BROUGHT ME TO THE DOOR OF THE GATE OF THE
LORD'S HOUSE WHICH WAS TOWARD THE NORTH; AND, BEHOLD, THERE SAT WOMEN
WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ.

[Ezekiel 8:15] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, HAST THOU SEEN THIS, O SON OF
MAN? TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAN
THESE.

[Ezekiel 8:16] AND HE BROUGHT ME INTO THE INNER COURT OF THE LORD'S
HOUSE, AND, BEHOLD, AT THE DOOR OF THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, BETWEEN THE
PORCH AND THE ALTAR, WERE ABOUT FIVE AND TWENTY MEN, WITH THEIR BACKS
TOWARD THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, AND THEIR FACES TOWARD THE EAST; AND
THEY WORSHIPPED THE SUN TOWARD THE EAST.

[Ezekiel 8:17] THEN HE SAID UNTO ME, HAST THOU SEEN THIS, O SON OF
MAN? IS IT A LIGHT THING TO THE HOUSE OF JUDAH THAT THEY COMMIT THE
ABOMINATIONS WHICH THEY COMMIT HERE? FOR THEY HAVE FILLED THE LAND
WITH VIOLENCE, AND HAVE RETURNED TO PROVOKE ME TO ANGER: AND, LO, THEY
PUT THE BRANCH TO THEIR NOSE.

[Ezekiel 8:18] THEREFORE WILL I ALSO DEAL IN FURY: MINE EYE SHALL NOT
SPARE, NEITHER WILL I HAVE PITY: AND THOUGH THEY CRY IN MINE EARS WITH
A LOUD VOICE, YET WILL I NOT HEAR THEM.

Exekiel saw the Israelites worshipping Tammuz in Jerusalem.

Who was Tammuz?

The pagans of the Middle East (such as those of Assyria) had the
practice when things went wrong of killing their king to atone for
their sins. Later a substitute would be found, made king for a day and
put to death.

I put 'Tammuz' in a search engine on the net and these are some of
the answers I came up with:

Tammuz, Babylonian God Of Vegetation

Tammuz was an ancient nature deity worshipped in Babylonia. A god of
agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring.
He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, according to one
legend was so grief-stricken at his death, that she contrived to enter
the underworld to get him back. According to another legend, she
killed him and later restored him to life. These legends and his
festival, which took place in the early Spring, commemorating the
yearly death and rebirth of vegetation, corresponded to the festivals
of the Phoenician and Greek Adonis and of the Phrygian Attis. The
Sumerian name of Tammuz was Dumuzi. The fullest history extant of this
saviour is probably that of Ctesias (400BC), author of Persika. The
poet has perpetuated his memory in rhyme. Trust, ye saints, your Lord
restored, Trust ye in your risen Lord; For the pains which Tammuz
endured Our salvation have procured. Tammuz was crucified as an
atonement offering: Trust ye in God, for out of his loins salvation
has come unto us . Julius Firmicus speaks of this God rising from the
dead for the salvation of the world. Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14) is equivalent
to Osiris (Hay-Tau) in Egypt and Adonis [Greek Adonis, from Phoenician
adon, lord]. Osiris is Dionysus in the Greek tongue, and the Roman
Bacchus. Tammuz was killed by a wild boar while shepherding his
flocks. His wife rescued him from the underworld. His death was taken
to represent the onset of winter. The Adonis Cult parallels Dumuzi,
Tammuz, and Attis. When the Israelites were about to conquer the land
of Canaan God warned them not to copy the ways of the nations they
were about to drive out but the Israelites did so.

[Deuteronomy 12:29] WHEN THE LORD THY GOD SHALL CUT OFF THE NATIONS
FROM BEFORE THEE, WHITHER THOU GOEST TO POSSESS THEM, AND THOU
SUCCEEDEST THEM, AND DWELLEST IN THEIR LAND;

[Deuteronomy 12:30] TAKE HEED TO THYSELF THAT THOU BE NOT SNARED BY
FOLLOWING THEM, AFTER THAT THEY BE DESTROYED FROM
BEFORE THEE; AND THAT THOU ENQUIRE NOT AFTER THEIR GODS, SAYING, HOW
DID THESE NATIONS SERVE THEIR GODS? EVEN SO WILL I DO LIKEWISE.

[Deuteronomy 12:31] THOU SHALT NOT DO SO UNTO THE LORD THY GOD: FOR
EVERY ABOMINATION TO THE LORD, WHICH HE HATETH, HAVE THEY DONE UNTO
THEIR GODS; FOR EVEN THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS THEY HAVE BURNT IN
THE FIRE TO THEIR GODS.

Why were the Ten Tribes exiled?because they worshipped other gods,
practiced paganism and also applied pagan notions to the God of
Israel.

[2-Kings 17:1] IN THE TWELFTH YEAR OF AHAZ KING OF JUDAH BEGAN
HOSHEA THE SON OF ELAH TO REIGN IN SAMARIA OVER ISRAEL NINE YEARS.

[2-Kings 17:2] AND HE DID THAT WHICH WAS EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE
LORD, BUT NOT AS THE KINGS OF ISRAEL THAT WERE BEFORE HIM.

[2-Kings 17:3] AGAINST HIM CAME UP SHALMANESER KING OF ASSYRIA; AND
HOSHEA BECAME HIS SERVANT, AND GAVE HIM PRESENTS.

[2-Kings 17:4] AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA FOUND CONSPIRACY IN HOSHEA: FOR
HE HAD SENT MESSENGERS TO SO KING OF EGYPT, AND BROUGHT NO PRESENT TO
THE KING OF ASSYRIA, ASHE HAD DONE YEAR BY YEAR: THEREFORE THE KING OF
ASSYRIA SHUT HIM UP, AND BOUND HIM IN PRISON.

[2-Kings 17:5] THEN THE KING OF ASSYRIA CAME UP THROUGHOUT ALL THE
LAND, AND WENT UP TO SAMARIA, AND BESIEGED IT THREE YEARS.

[2-Kings 17:6] IN THE NINTH YEAR OF HOSHEA THE KING OF ASSYRIA TOOK
SAMARIA, AND CARRIED ISRAEL AWAY INTO ASSYRIA, AND PLACED THEM IN
HALAH AND IN HABOR BY THE RIVER OF GOZAN, AND IN THE CITIES OF THE
MEDES.

[2-Kings 17:7] FOR SO IT WAS, THAT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD SINNED
AGAINST THE LORD THEIR GOD, WHICH HAD BROUGHT THEM UP OUT OF THE LAND
OF EGYPT, FROM UNDER THE HAND OF PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, AND HAD
FEARED OTHER GODS,

[2-Kings 17:8] AND WALKED IN THE STATUTES OF THE HEATHEN, WHOM THE
LORD CAST OUT FROM BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND OF THE KINGS OF
ISRAEL, WHICH THEY HAD MADE.

[2-Kings 17:9] AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID SECRETLY THOSE THINGS
THAT WERE NOT RIGHT AGAINST THE LORD THEIR GOD, AND THEY BUILT THEM
HIGH PLACES IN ALL THEIR CITIES, FROM THE TOWER OF THE WATCHMEN TO THE
FENCED CITY.

[2-Kings 17:10] AND THEY SET THEM UP IMAGES AND GROVES IN EVERY HIGH
HILL, AND UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE:

[2-Kings 17:11] AND THERE THEY BURNT INCENSE IN ALL THE HIGH PLACES,
AS DID THE HEATHEN WHOM THE LORD CARRIED AWAY BEFORE THEM; AND WROUGHT
WICKED THINGS TO PROVOKE THE LORD TO ANGER:

[2-Kings 17:12] FOR THEY SERVED IDOLS, WHEREOF THE LORD HAD SAID UNTO
THEM, YE SHALL NOT DO THIS THING.

[2-Kings 17:13] YET THE LORD TESTIFIED AGAINST ISRAEL, AND AGAINST
JUDAH, BY ALL THE PROPHETS, AND BY ALL THE SEERS, SAYING, TURN YE FROM
YOUR EVIL WAYS, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND MY STATUTES, ACCORDING TO
ALL THE LAW WHICH I COMMANDED YOUR FATHERS, AND WHICH I SENT TO YOU BY
MY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS.

[2-Kings 17:14] NOTWITHSTANDING THEY WOULD NOT HEAR, BUT HARDENED
THEIR NECKS, LIKE TO THE NECK OF THEIR FATHERS, THAT DID NOT BELIEVE
IN THE LORD THEIR GOD.

[2-Kings 17:15] AND THEY REJECTED HIS STATUTES, AND HIS COVENANT THAT
HE MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS, AND HIS TESTIMONIES WHICH HE TESTIFIED
AGAINST THEM; AND THEY FOLLOWED VANITY, AND BECAME VAIN, AND WENT
AFTER THE HEATHEN THAT WERE ROUND ABOUT THEM, CONCERNING WHOM THE LORD
HAD CHARGED THEM, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DO LIKE THEM.

[2-Kings 17:16] AND THEY LEFT ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD THEIR
GOD, AND MADE THEM MOLTEN IMAGES, EVEN TWO CALVES, AND MADE A GROVE,
AND WORSHIPPED ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN, AND SERVED BAAL.

[2-Kings 17:17] AND THEY CAUSED THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS TO PASS
THROUGH THE FIRE, AND USED DIVINATION AND ENCHANTMENTS, AND SOLD
THEMSELVES TO DO EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, TO PROVOKE HIM TO
ANGER.

[2-Kings 17:18] THEREFORE THE LORD WAS VERY ANGRY WITH ISRAEL, AND
REMOVED THEM OUT OF HIS SIGHT: THERE WAS NONE LEFT BUT THE TRIBE OF
JUDAH ONLY.

[2-Kings 17:19] ALSO JUDAH KEPT NOT THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD THEIR
GOD, BUT WALKED IN THE STATUTES OF ISRAEL WHICH THEY MADE.

[2-Kings 17:20] AND THE LORD REJECTED ALL THE SEED OF ISRAEL, AND
AFFLICTED THEM, AND DELIVERED THEM INTO THE HAND OF SPOILERS, UNTIL HE
HAD CAST THEM OUT OF HIS SIGHT.

[2-Kings 17:21] FOR HE RENT ISRAEL FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID; AND THEY
MADE JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT KING: AND JEROBOAM DRAVE ISRAEL FROM
FOLLOWING THE LORD, AND MADE THEM SIN A GREAT SIN.

[2-Kings 17:22] FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WALKED IN ALL THE SINS OF
JEROBOAM WHICH HE DID; THEY DEPARTED NOT FROM THEM;

[2-Kings 17:23] UNTIL THE LORD REMOVED ISRAEL OUT OF HIS SIGHT, AS HE
HAD SAID BY ALL HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. SO WAS ISRAEL CARRIED AWAY
OUT OF THEIR OWN LAND TO ASSYRIA UNTO THIS DAY.

The application of pagan notions applied to the God of Israel by the
Israelites has been confirmed by archaeological findings: A stele from
Byblos, specifically cites Yaveh-Melek, 'Yahweh the King', [who]
worships the Queen of Heaven.

At Kuntillet Ajrud, in southern Israel, in the former territory of
Simeon Are depictions of "Yahweh" with a consort goddess alongside an
image of the Egyptian god Bes. For Dever, the inscriptions prove
that "in Israel Yahweh could be closely identified with the cult of
Asherah, and in some circles the goddess was actually personified
as his consort" (1984:31).

David Noel Freedman: "worship of a goddess, consort of Yahweh, was
deeply rooted in both Israel and Judah in pre-exilic times, in spite of
vigorous prophetic protests and strenuous efforts by reforming kings"
(1987:249). Similarly, Rainer Albertz remarks: "The popularity of
the worship of a goddess alongside Yahweh throughout the whole
pre- exilic period can hardly be overestimated" (1994:86; also see Gilul=
a
1978- 1979: 135).

An inscription on the spot refers to:

`Yahweh of Samaria,' (depicted in the form of a calf) 'and his
consort Asherah"

From this inscription we can deduce:

1. Simeon though in the south was probably subservient to the northern
kingdom ("Samaria") as hinted at by the Bible and included in the Ten
tribes who were exiled by Assyria. 2. The worship of the God of Israel
was paganized and mixed up with pagan notions. The prophets refer to
this and frequently condemn it but do not go into most of the details
probably due to respect.

<<Baal was a son of god, the local god of the small states and had a
variety of local names besides his generic name, Baal. Baal is found
in Phoenicia, Galilee, Israel and Judaea, as well as further north in
the Levant. Yehouah is found in Israel, Judah,and Edom. <<El was the
authority behind Baal and Baal was the authority behind the local
king. <<Elements in personal names, including royal names, from the
early Bronze Age city of Ebla and the late Bronze Age city of Ugarit,
suggest a god with the name Yeho. <<,altars apparently dedicated to
Yehouah or an equivalent god have been uncovered at Arad and
Beersheba. Yehouah is mentioned at Nebo and in Samaria and Teman.
<<Yehouah is declared the god of Samaria (Israel) and his consort is
Asherah.

Ezekiel 9

[Ezekiel 9:1] HE CRIED ALSO IN MINE EARS WITH A LOUD VOICE, SAYING,
CAUSE THEM THAT HAVE CHARGE OVER THE CITY TO DRAW NEAR, EVEN EVERY MAN
WITH HIS DESTROYING WEAPON IN HIS HAND.

[Ezekiel 9:2] AND, BEHOLD, SIX MEN CAME FROM THE WAY OF THE HIGHER
GATE, WHICH LIETH TOWARD THE NORTH, AND EVERY MAN A SLAUGHTER WEAPON
IN HIS HAND; AND ONE MAN AMONG THEM WAS CLOTHED WITH LINEN, WITH A
WRITER'S INKHORN BY HIS SIDE: AND THEY WENT IN, AND STOOD BESIDE THE
BRASEN ALTAR.

[Ezekiel 9:3] AND THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL WAS GONE UP FROM THE
CHERUB, WHEREUPON HE WAS, TO THE THRESHOLD OF THE HOUSE. AND HE CALLED
TO THE MAN CLOTHED WITH LINEN, WHICH HAD THE WRITER'S INKHORN BY HIS
SIDE;

<<FROM THE CHERUB>>: There were actually two cherubim (angelic
childlike figures) placed over the Ark. One tradition says that these
were taken to Babylon with the exiles; another tradition says they
were buried somewhere on the Temple Mount or near it. Eisemann quotes
traditions that say that at times of favor the two cherubs became
joined and could be counted as one. At a higher level the very act of
God punishing us carries within it the foundation for reconciliation
and unity.

[Ezekiel 9:4] AND THE LORD SAID UNTO HIM, GO THROUGH THE MIDST OF THE
CITY, THROUGH THE MIDST OF JERUSALEM, AND SET A MARK UPON THE
FOREHEADS OF THE MEN THAT SIGH AND THAT CRY FOR ALL THE ABOMINATIONS
THAT BE DONE IN THE MIDST THEREOF.

"A MARK": In Hebrew "tav" signifying the last letter of the Hebrew
Alphabet. In the Old Hebrew script ("Canaanite") a "tav" usually
looked like an "X". "Tav" represents the English sound "t" or "th".

Yair Davidiy
Brit-Am Israel
POB 595
Jerusalem 91004
Israel

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