Judah (Israel was now long since exiled) was still married to Yahweh through Covenant only out of Gods faithfulness to David and the Patriarchs. Now turn again, you will see Then said he unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of YHWHs house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. According to T.Jacobson page 100 in Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays, the myth was that Tammuz died and went to the underworld. Episode 123: Mark Part 58The Abomination that Causes Desolation. Similar feasts are found throughout pagan peoples of antiquity. Tammuz is another one of these Sumerian gods who came to life again through the excavators shovel. festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of greater abominations. Ezekiel 8:6 . The festivities culminate on Easter Sunday, when the priests of Easter slaughtered the "wild boar that killed (John Michael Rood, The Mystery of Iniquity, Chapter 8) Yahuwah has told us that worship of this Many religions are built upon the suppression of information. So, we have separated Tammuz from the Image of jealousy in fact, we have no idols of Tammuz, only carvings. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of In this chapter, Ezekiel condemns the idolatry which he sees in the Jerusalem Temple. "He [the Lord] said also unto me: 'Thou shalt again see yet greater abominations which they do.' "Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensible preliminary Yes and No. Shortly after the great flood reduced the earth's population to eight souls, Satan set a scheme into motion that has had a far-reaching influence upon everyone who has lived up to the present. What is actually the point of pasting something from an out-of-date book from 1909? "K 164 ('BA' 2, P. 635): New Light on the Mourning Rites for Dumuzi?" will find no mention of Jews or Christians observing an annual period of Semaramis became known as the fertility goddess Ishtar. The Catholic Fact Book, copyright 1986 by John Deedy, Even worse, just after Hislop wrote his original pamphlets, cuneiform tablets started being dug up all through the Near East, in overwhelming numbers. She took on many names in different cultures including Isis, Diana, Astarte, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Venus, and Easter. Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of YHWHs house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Very simplethe ancients noticed that there was a wet season where everything grew and flourished and a dry season where everything died off. I have written six books on the ancient Near Eastern and First Century context of Scripture, including a family curriculum series. This judgement would come upon those who worshiped idols, sexually abused others,cheated people financially, slandered people, oppressed the orphan and widow(22:1-12) Gary Smith, An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets. A period of 40 days is rather So why was the god not doing his job for six months? Who did first set forth in print, and when, that the passengers and crew actually overheard the yearly weeping for Tammuz? things, to shake hands. This was believed to help resurrect Tammuz, promising renewal of the earth's vegetation." [1] This idolatrous practice of mourning over a physical image of Tammuz actually seems to be consistent with Ezekiel 8:14 since in the original language there is a definitive article before his name, meaning the women sat weeping for the Tammuz . Weeping for Tammuz was a 40 day mourning period for a pagan sun deity that which God castigates Israel for whoring after in Ezekiel 8:13-16. There's much more, but this is who he is. The practice of eating ham at Christmas and Easter also derives back to the veneration of Nimrod and Tammuz. Semiramis believed Tammuz was Nimrod reincarnated. 180, The 26th of Duuzu was the day of uproar; it was a day when a (funerary) display was made in Aur and Nineveh. Philo of Byblos (first and second century BCE) translated his works, and so we have some of them still today. urged to adopt other penitential modes during the season.". Could it be an offering of water (tears) to the soil in the absence of the fertility that Tammuz brings? Confronting a Devastating Doctrine: Are Children Is Hand Washing Commanded? Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days: 1 Sam 17:16. 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. This observance was known not only at Babylon, but also Tammuz and the Bible (this one was great), Edwin Yamauchi (Ph.D. specializing in Ancient History, Old Testament, New Testament, Early Church History, Gnosticism, and Biblical Archaeology). What does this seemingly physical "glory of the Lord" mean? Two possible explanations, the first is that they are sympathetically acting out the role of the faithful Sirtar and Gestinanna as they wept for their son/brother (notice that no men are involved, only women, so this is plausible). Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. By the solemn forty days (which can occur any time between February 4 and March 11, depending upon Psalms 82 they were real. My hand has now been forced by my need to clear my JSTOR bookshelf and so I need to do something with all these Tammuz articles. There was and is today nothing new under the sun neither the behavioir of people. What is the story behind mourning for Hadad-rimmon in Zechariah 12:11? The Temple was the very House and Throne of God upon Earth. Tammuz, Alabaster relief from Ashur, c. 1500 BC Worshippers of Tammuz wept with his consort Ishtar believing that his rebirth would mean the regeneration of life within nature. The year was 339, and Athanasius was recently back from "Legend has it that Tammuz was killed by a wild boar when he was forty Any idol placed within the Temple grounds would have qualified as an image of jealousyit could have been a statue of Baal Hadad, the Canaanite storm god, or Asherah, a mother goddess who was sometimes worshipped as Yahwehs consort, El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, or any number of others. I am a fifty-something-year-old Bible teacher, wife of twenty-eight years to Mark, and mom of adult twin sons. What is the best translation for in Ezekiel 19:14? Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. He was not a god/deity though he was worshiped like one after his death. The reasons for celebrating our major feasts when we do are many and varied. celebrated about the same time of year feasts centering around the The Resurrection of Tammuz. The weeping is supposedly one day for each year of their life, which in both cases seems to be 40 years. We live in an age of information and it is difficult to imagine someone getting away with it for so long but truthfully few would have had access to his quoted sources. Tag! Are the women weeping so as to ensure that Tammuz will return and bless the land again? (The New Question Box - Catholic Life for the Nineties, copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), published by Guildhall Publishers, Peoria Illinois, 61651., page 554. 2 Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on Source: Facts, Myths & Maybes (Everything You Think You Know The 27th of Duuzu was the day of releasing; it was also a day on which a (funerary) display was made in Aur Nineveh, Kalu and Arbela. is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, . rev2023.3.3.43278. The Paganism of Lent and Weeping for Tammuz! How do I connect these two faces together? Sorry for such a late reply. 262-271. You have to realize, I am the type of person who reads about that sort of thing and bursts into tears since beginning my Temple studies. to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection voice, I will not hear them. Ezekiel 8:17-18, Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, Let the Israelites.". What is the point of Thrower's Bandolier? American King James Version , where Ezekiel saw in vision an abominable sight: women "weeping for Tammuz" at the very temple of God. meta.hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/735/, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Panati, copyright 1996, published by the Penguin Group, page 206. I didn't know that was required on this site and got a friendly note from the moderator as well asking me to site sources. among the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Mexicans, and, for a time, even among He appears to have been a god of the spring, and the myth regarding him told of his early death and of the descent of Istar his bride into the underworld in search of him. Comments are just for comments and may wind up being deleted. It was once claimed that the Lenten practice the Church in his day, "that the observance of the forty days had The reasons for celebrating our major feasts when we do are many and doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud It is common for people to be very emotionally attached to legends, but remember that regardless, I am a sister in Messiahnot simply someone to lash out at. These are things which were occuring in the house of the Lord; and God called it an abomination. Links are nice when available, but your page references are certainly acceptable. In Ezekiel 20:38 what does He mean by 'bring them out' and yet they 'shall not enter'? What does the word 'idols' mean in 1 John 5:21 and what exactly is idolatry? BOOK (Index) CHAPTER VERSE 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." King James Version (KJV) < Previous Verse Next Verse > View Chapter Ezekiel 8:14 Context Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst For instance, the ancient Egyptians observed a forty day fast in honor of Osiris. Why are they weeping? When could a ferry-boat bound for Italy get becalmed in the Straits of Corfu after meeting contrary winds and drifting to Paxos? For they have filled the land with violence; then they it came to conform with the ritual of Paganism. Goddess associated with Tammuz) reason for use of eggs and bunnies as symbols of fertility) > obscures Passover and the significance of the redeeming blood of messiah. I actually have quite a few scholarly papers available on different subjects. How is Jesus " " (Luke 1:32 NAS28) different from a prophet (, Luke 1:76 NAS28)? these: 'Those who inhabit the princely city of Rome fast together They baked cakes shaped like naked women and phallic symbols. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese. Ezek 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? His vision of the defiled temple continues as far as Ezekiel 11:25. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, Tammuz, the lover of your earliest youth, for him you have ordained lamentations year upon year You loved the colorful 'Little Shepherd' bird and then hit him, breaking his wing, so now he stands in the forest crying 'My Wing! . This is a substantial answer and I have up-voted it. Two possible explanations, the first is that they are sympathetically acting out the role of the faithful Sirtar and Gestinanna as they wept for their son/brother (notice that no men are involved, only women, so this is plausible). 189-213 (available on JSTOR.org), Tammuz and the Bible (this one was great), Edwin Yamauchi (Ph.D. specializing in Ancient History, Old Testament, New Testament, Early Church History, Gnosticism, and Biblical Archaeology), Journal of Biblical LiteratureVol. days in the honour of the sun.'. 2 Ki 23:11 And he [King Josiah] took away the horses that the kings 540 "For we have not a high priest who is unable to The entire period Posted by Tyler Dawn | Sep 17, 2015 | Biblical Context Studies, Challenging the "Everything is Pagan" Meme Culture | 4 |, Lent is based on Tammuz worship. Thats the claim lets test it against what is actually known and weigh the evidence. 1 In the book of Ezekiel, it describes women weeping for the god, Tammuz, in the Temple. The people had forsaken God, forgot God, and God would destroy the temple. before Easter three weeks, excepting the Saturday and Lord's day.' When Gestinanna finds him, she nobly agrees to take his place in the underworld for six months out of every year. Lent and Ash Wednesday are both in the Bible. You are taking verses out of Psalm 82 from their original context and applying them to "false idols" which the time and again YHVH exposes as mere constructs of men. times everyone agreed that a penitential season should precede the solemnities By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. This is what the Israelite women were doing near the temple of God that was shown Ezekiel. him told of his early death and of the descent of Istar, his bride, into in the Golan, it would be a terribly stressful time. Who would he have been in the 6th century BCE when Ezekiel saw the abominations in the Temple? What does the Most High mean by 'inhabiting the waste places of the land of Israel' in Ezekiel 33:24? Various Easter customs can be traced back to ancient spring celebrations surrounding Astarte, the goddess of spring and fertility. published by Thomas More Press, page 360. Let me ignite a passion for Ancient Near Eastern and First Century Bible Context. The Original Myth. Sunday. So the 40 days of Lent is connected with the Babylonian goddess Ashtoreth/ Astarte/Ishtar (the origin of the word Easter), and the worship of thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they Movie with vikings/warriors fighting an alien that looks like a wolf with tentacles, Euler: A baby on his lap, a cat on his back thats how he wrote his immortal works (origin? Cited in According to pagan legend, after Nimrod Tammuz died, he descended into the underworld; but through the weeping of his mother, he mystically revived in the springing forth of the vegetation-in Spring! Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Tag: weeping for Tammuz. Do Genesis 7 and 8 imply a month was 30 days long? We see this concept more prevalently in the pagan festival of Ishtar, more widely known as Easter, . In the fifth century, some Fathers claimed that Lent was of 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? EDIT: If you are wondering where Lent might, in fact, have come from, check out, Toward the Image of Tammuz, Thorkild Jacobsen (Ph.D. Assyriology and Sumerian Literature). This fasting culminated at easter commemorating his resurrection (reincarnation). His death was commemorated by 40 days of weeping for Tammuz because he unjustly dies so young, with worshipers giving up a pleasure in this life so he could in enjoy it in the next. Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? The information available is very complex, so I have gleaned the most relevent information to answer the question. apostolic institution, but the claim is doubtful. The observance of Lent dates back to the Apostles. Lent was held 40 days before the feast, "celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing." This is why Lent means "spring"; it took place from spring to early summer. Adar (Mar) Fish tails in canal. Also, I've heard that it was supposedly 40 days after 40 years he supposedly lived but I have yet to find any primary or academic sources regarding that. In the book of Ezekiel, it describes women weeping for the god, Tammuz, in the Temple. According to P.O. In the mean while an enormous number of texts from Babylonia have been excavated and lots of good studies of Babylonian religion in general and Tammuz in particular are available, in real books, and even on the internet. American edition, 1959, published in America by Loizeaux Brothers, pages Ezekiel 8:14-16 This sun worship and weeping for Tammuz was not something that was occuring in some far off pagan temple. an indirect connection with the pre-Christian [pagan] feasts celebrated A cursory search on BibleGateway shows that the only occurrence of Tammuz is in Ezekiel 8. That is, there are similarities with the death of the Canaanite God Baal and Tammuz written in the In the Ras Shamra texts. out this decree that the calendar was, a few days after, readjusted by Why are they weeping? Are the women weeping so as to ensure that Tammuz will return and bless the land again? Note that Lent is a moveable observance, connected to and preceding I suppose its harmless because nobody actually cares about Tammuz since the practice has currently morphed into a celebration leading up to Easter (Ishtar) or Resurrection Day (of Jesus Christ). Here we see YHVH condemning this practice called "weeping for Tammuz" which today is called Lent: Ezekiel 8:13-14 . Here are some sources I've found regarding the weeping of tammuz but does anyone have some other sources regarding this practice? Source: Babylon Mystery Religion, by Ralph Edward Woodrow, What does Ezekiel 26:14 mean by 'Tyre shall never be rebuilt'? The mourning for Baal as a vegetation deity in eclipse suggests the weeping for Tammuz, also a vegetation deity, by the woman of Jerusalem in the sixth month (Ezek 8:14) and, more directly, the public mourning for Hadad-Rimmon (the Canaanite Baal) in the valley of Megiddo (Zech 12:11). EDIT: If you are wondering where Lent might, in fact, have come from, check out this possibility. To begin, @lasersauce made the correct observation that. planets, and to all the host of heaven. Now that woman was a piece of work! burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the I am a chemist, and my husband is an engineer so we had to take some of the same classes, but both basic engineering and the sciences can exist without each other yet neither can exist without physics and math.). I will definitely site my sources. of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. Different stories about Dumuzi (Tammuz) describe either his death or non-death. Israelites Weeping for Tammuz Ezekiel 8 is a condemnation of the paganism to which the ancient Jews and Israelites had fallen. COLOUR: Red Day: Ritual mourning for Tammuz begins annually with the Summer Solstice. Did he have anything to do with the image of jealousy? Probably not. www.hope-of-Israel.org. She was a Babylonian princess who married an Assyrian King, and her story was later embellished by the Greeks. The way Literal Standard Version When Nimrod died Semiramis was pregnant. This mourning Tammuz was celebrated in Babylonia by women on the 2nd day of the 4th month, which thus acquired the name of Tammuz. One of these ceremonies is recorded in Ezekiel 8:14 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. He was the one building the tower of Babel. Dummelows book was published in 1909, when the study of ancient Babylonia was still in its infancy. Canaan spied on for 40 days: Num 13:25, 14:34. }. common in scripture, however: It rained 40 days and nights: Gen 7:4, 12. @Lizzie Wow! time frame was never fixed, rules never formalized. God calls it an abomination! the desert. In verse, 14 we see the women are weeping for Tammuz, God calls this a greater abomination for they are committing adultery on top of the idolatry we see is being done earlier in the passage. Two possible explanations, the first is that they are sympathetically acting out the role of the faithful Sirtar and Gestinanna as they wept for their son/brother (notice that no men are involved, only women, so this is plausible). down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the Because Tammuz was killed when he was forty years old, pagans fast one day for each of the years that he lived leading into Easter. And He called to the man Either way, we have an idolatrous practice being carried on in the Temple on behalf of the undying Tammuz in the Underworld but not actually dead. These two weeks are called hand. was unknown to the disciples and it did not find its way into the church We primarily know about her because an ancient author named Sanchuniathon (first Millenium BCE) wrote about her and actually, Sanchuniaton is a man from whom we get a lot of our information about ancient Near Eastern religion because he was a prolific Phoenician sage. Cush married a woman named Semiramis and they had a son named Nimrod. (What is it actually based on? Council does not very clearly appear, but for a considerable period after Could it be an offering of water (tears) to the soil in the absence of the fertility that Tammuz brings? Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Astarte/Ishtar (the origin of the word Easter), and the worship of I only have 1 source for this and that is the Bible. I wouldn't say it's fair to exclude sources based on their antiquity (esp. To answer the question of why Tammuz was carrying a branch, it is quite simple Tammuz was an agricultural/shepherd deity. Hislop points out that forty days -- a day for each year Tammuz Only a small remnant would escape and Ezekiel cried out for mercy (9:1-8).Ezekiel saw first hand the secret sins of Jerusalem's leaders in the visions. for all Catholics according to the laws of fast. Nicely answered, Sam, and welcome to the forum. Jesus was seen for 40 days after His crucifixion: Acts 1:3. Lent is connected with the Babylonian goddess Ashtoreth/ In the Epic of Gilgamesh (vi, 46-7) Ishtar is said to have decreed annual lamentations for her lover Dumuzi. of Tammuz;' in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some Wilkinson's Egyptians. It only takes a minute to sign up. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Source: Gieseler, vol. It has been suggested that the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz was a survival in Jewish folk-lore of the mourning for Tammuz; while the myth of Adonis in classical literature has also been associated with the legend. The visions of the temple that God gave to Ezekiel in chapter eight actually show what was taking place in Jerusalem at the temple. Easter, the goddess of the dawn is the Universal goddess of fertility throughout history since the Tower of Babel. through the final stages of his life on earth. I honestly dont even know who came up with such an idea or why. Bringing an idol into His inner court and setting it up at the Shaar haKorban (the northern sacrifice gate) was tantamount to me taking a picture of another man I am sleeping with (this is just an example, I am not really doing this) and putting it on my husbands bedside table. date, probably the 5th century. 'long'+ 'day' -- became more or less fixed at forty confession, and schooling candidates for baptism on Easter Eve. about the same time of year -- feasts centering around the harvest, the (EZEKIEL 8:14) Much in the same way Queen Semiramis said the evergreen tree symbolized his father's eternal life (Jeremiah 10:1-7). There sat women weeping for Tammuz". Source: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, copyright . At their first encounter, Ishtar is said to have fallen in love with the shepherd boy Tammuz who in turn asks for her hand in marriage. How many nations were under the Assyrian Cedar Tree? Source: Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Why are they weeping? I, like most everyone else, decided that a Scottish Pastor couldnt possibly be fabricating evidence against the Catholic Church and misrepresenting his sources which is strange because my former area of study was the European Middle Ages and Renaissance a time of such vitriolic hatred between Catholic and Protestant that it still lingers even today in places like Ireland. This has to be bigger than individual ministries, otherwise, what are we doing but following the religious mistakes of the past? Little angers our Father in heaven more than embracing the idolatry of the heathen nations. . Other sources state that the weeping only lasted 3 days but other sources Ive found state that it was on the 2nd day of the month that the weeping occurred. Weeping for Tammuz was a forty day ritual of fasting and mourning. Where does this (supposedly) Gibson quote come from? I've heard that supposedly the weeping lasted for only a couple of days, while others say it lasted for the month named after him. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Are there tables of wastage rates for different fruit and veg? Ezekiel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Thank you for your energetic search! "Thus, by mid-fourth century, the duration of Lent -- the word itself means Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. It's important here to support your assertions. That's early enough.". Journal of Assyriology and Oriental Archaeology 86, no.
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