Michael S. Heiser's Blog, page 7

Of Denderah and Dim Bulbs: Is There Visual Evidence for Lightbulbs in Ancient Egypt?

I’ll let viewers decide. Try not to laugh at Ancient Aliens when you see this. I know. It’s hard.

 

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New Bible Project Video on the Divine Council

Hat’s off to all the folks working hard at the Bible Project! I appreciate the Bible Project’s attention to the content of my books, The Unseen Realm and it’s “lite” (no footnotes!) version, Supernatural. Nice to see biblical theology viewed through the supernaturalist eyes of the Bible’s authors and original readers getting the attention it deserves! Here’s the latest video (there will be more to come):

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Online Course on Purim and the Book of Esther

With the Feast of Purim approaching (March), Yesod Bible Center would like to invite all of you to an online course about the book of Esther. Here is the description and information:

The public is invited to a course on the character of Queen Esther and the timeless significance of the events recorded in the Book of Esther. We will explore the cultural context and focus on the practical application of the Book of Esther to our modern times.

The course is comprised of 3 interactive lectures.

Tentative dates: March 21, 28, April 4

Time: 8 PM New York

Course fee: $75

If you have any questions, please contact us: info@yesodbible.org

+1(773) 451-5562

+1(312)-678-7418

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The Location of Mount Sinai and the “Yahweh’s March from the South” Passages: An Addendum to the Naked Bible Podcast Episode

Those of you who follow the Naked Bible Podcast know that recently we covered Exodus 3:1 in three episodes. That verse says: “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” I don’t accept the traditional location for Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa) because of this verse and the verses below that have Yahweh coming to his land (Canaan) or temple from Teman, Paran, Edom, Seir. Some of the passages that describe this coming link those place names specifically with Sinai. These place names are all south of Canaan, have some adjacent relationship to Midian, and are linked to Sinai. Jebel Musa simply cannot accommodate these passages. I also do not believe Mount Sinai was Jebel al-Lawz in modern Saudi Arabia. I used to hold that view but have abandoned it, mainly because it cannot accommodate the “march from the South” passages either. I believe a Sinai location must account for these passages and still be consistent with Exod 3:1 (and other verses).

I realize that many listeners (and readers) will never have heard of the “march from the South” motif in the Hebrew Bible> But it’s there, plain as day. Here are the passages we noted in the podcast episode (note the boldfaced underlining):

Deut 33:1-2

1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said,

“The LORD came from Sinai

and dawned from Seir upon us;

he shone forth from Mount Paran;

he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,

with flaming fire at his right hand.

Hab 3:3-7

3  God came from Teman,

and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah

His splendor covered the heavens,

and the earth was full of his praise.

4  His brightness was like the light;

rays flashed from his hand;

and there he veiled his power.

5  Before him went pestilence,

and plague followed at his heels.

6  He stood and measured the earth;

he looked and shook the nations;

then the eternal mountains were scattered;

the everlasting hills sank low.

His were the everlasting ways.

7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.

Judg 5:4-5

4  “LORD, when you went out from Seir,

when you marched from the region of Edom,

the earth trembled

and the heavens dropped,

yes, the clouds dropped water.

5  The mountains quaked before the LORD,

even Sinai before the LORD, the God of Israel.

Having defended the Jebel el-Lawz some years back, I know that it is common to take these place names and have Moses and the Israelites going TO and FROM the various locations. That is not possible given that, in each case in the verses above, the same preposition (min) is before all the place names. The preposition min consistently means “FROM” or “OUT OF” and never “TO”. That is, it describes movement from a point of origin, not to a destination. One could also use min more abstractly to denote something emanating FROM a source, but not moving TOWARD a source. In other words, these verses cannot be read as the Israelites were in some instances traveling TO these places. They are all FROM (min). This realization led me to abandon the Jebel el-Lawz idea. The idea of a “to and from” wandering being described by these places names is directly falsifiable from the text and the semantics of min.

For those curious, I have created a syntactical search to prove this point using the Andersen-Forbes Phrase Marker Analysis (“Syntactical Database”) in Logos Bible Software. Here is what the search looks like:

 

The search asks for the database to locate all places in the Hebrew Bible where preposition min precedes a proper noun — specifically, a place name that includes cities, lands (countries), mountains, and rivers.

The next image is for any who have Logos Bible Software and would like to reproduce the search. The image shows the search dialogue with respect to the noun morphology and semantics I’ve asked for:

 

 

 

 

The results of the search yield 512 hits. I have put the results (showing Hebrew and English) into one PDF file. Here it is for anyone to peruse the results.

Obviously, we’re dealing with English translations in these hit results. If you go through all the results, you’ll find a handful of places where the translator uses the word “to” for min. But at such points you will find other translations that don’t. What you have to ask yourself to be thinking about the semantics is this: Is the noun min precedes a destination point? Is someone or something going toward the “min point” or proceeding FROM the “min point”? That will take care of any odd English choices.

Again, I post this for those further interested in why I abandoned the Jebel el-Lawz location. The “march from the South” passages are crucial and must be accounted for (in any view).

 

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Bible Project Video on “Elohim”

Here’s the second installment of the Bible Project’s video series tracking on content items in my book, The Unseen Realm. Another job well done. Check it out!

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I’ve Edited (and Now Published) a New Book on the Anunnaki

Many readers will have heard of the Anunnaki — hopefully listening to me debunk nonsense about them and not from Ancient Aliens. One of the problems with getting quality information about the Anunnaki is that the best material was published decades ago in German and in scholarly journals that are not freely available online.

Problems solved.

I’ve just edited a new book available in print and Kindle that consists of English translations of the four major studies on the Anunnaki from the cuneiform sources. Here are the links:

(Print): The Anunnaki Gods According to Ancient Mesopotamian Sources: English Translations of Important Scholarly Works with Brief Commentary[image error]

(Kindle): The Anunnaki Gods According to Ancient Mesopotamian Sources: English Translations of Important Scholarly Works with Brief Commentary[image error]

I had attempted this some years back and posted the file online. But since that time I came across a new article and procured the services of a native German speaker whose English is excellent (hat tip to Doro!). The result is a complete set of English translations from a skilled translator. If you’re interested in what the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians actually believed (and said) about the Anunnaki, this will be your go-to resource. The translations are accompanied by a summary commentary on the Anunnaki that I wrote for the volume.

 

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Like Jesus and Paul Before Me, I Love Israel and Its People

I know … not the sort of “academic” title you’re used to seeing here. It’s prompted by some recent feedback I’ve gotten for my post “Can We Please Stop Appealing to Rabbis for Biblical and Ancient Text Interpretation?” You guessed it. There’s fear that my words (in the minds of some) could suggest anti-Semitism.

Sigh.

I know what you’re thinking, “Mike, that accusation is just stupid.” Yes, truth be told, it is. And it’s also insulting. For me, “anti-Semite” is a synonym for words like “moron” or “evil.” I have no patience or tolerance for it. But, alas, this is the state of our culture. We seem unable to think clearly about the most transparently clear things. Just because I point out the obvious – that speaking / reading Hebrew doesn’t make you a biblical scholar any more than speaking / reading English makes you a biblical scholar – that translates to being anti-Semitic. I suppose, since my original post said the same thing about Christian pastors (namely, just because they can read their Bible with fluency doesn’t mean they interpret it well or correctly) I’m also anti-Christian! Sure. Good thinking there.

Despite the silliness of it all, it seems that I ought to say something about this (again, declare the obvious). As much of a head-scratcher as this is, I’ve been told there may be persons out there in Christian Middle Earth who might use something I’ve blogged or said in an interview to defend anti-Semitism. I’m not sure precisely how that would be done (especially given my profile below), but I suppose it’s possible. After all, my material has been used to promote the idea of a flat earth. Some readers will recall that (in a now infamous post), I asked whether there was anything dumber than modern belief in a flat earth. I presumed the answer was no, but I may have been wrong. Anti-Semitism has to be right up there. Maybe I should poll the audience. But I digress. . . .

Those of you who know me are already having a good laugh. But for those out there in the wacky world of the internet and fake news, I wanted to show you how really absurd (and hard) it would be to make me a defender of the idiocy known as anti-Semitism. Here’s my “profile”…

First, I’m on YouTube videos in probably a thousand places saying that, when it comes to the Bible, “I want the Old Testament Israelite and the first century Jew living in your head” so that you understand Scripture the way it was meant to be understood. I’m serious about that. It’s obviously not something an anti-Semite would say. The statement really isn’t intended to be anti-anything. What it really says is that I’m pro-ancient context – the context that produced Scripture, the one that was around long before the rabbinic (and early Christian) periods. If you understand what chronology is or what a calendar is used for that ought to be perfectly comprehensible.

Second, I’ve blogged about the absurdity of anti-Semitism – specifically how anti-Semitism is ungodly and (sadly) can creep into biblical studies:

Anti-Semitic Bible Study (I got ambushed by an anti-Semite on a podcast – it didn’t go well for him)
The Bias of 19th Century German Biblical and Assyriological Scholarship (this one is about the anti-Semitic beliefs that, in part, steered Panbabylonianism of the 19th and early 20th century)
The Serpent and Eve Nonsense: Where The Idea Comes From and Does Not Come From (This one is about the ugly “Jews are the seed of the serpent” crap)

Third, back in September of 2016 I publicly announced to this audience that I would not appear again on a particular podcast because the host had said anti-Semitic things. I’ve not linked to that post because the host came around and apologized. He did the right thing, which was a blessing.

Fourth, there’s my Twitter feed (@msheiser). You’ll find me re-tweeting all sorts of rebuttals and criticisms to anti-Semites and leftist defenders of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. Honestly, it’s fun to remind people that evil is, well, evil.

Fifth, there’s the the podcast episode I did with Gerald McDermott. In the second half of that episode we talk about a book he edited on the national Israel question in the New Testament. While I believe (Galatians 3 is crystal clear) that the Church is the new Israel, as I say on the Naked Bible Podcast (episode 165), the conclusions of supercessionism go too far. I don’t think Israel is a separate people of God, so I’m not a traditional dispensationalist, either (As I’ve said many times, I don’t like any of the systems). But I certainly believe national Israel has a prophetic future. Israel as a people has not had her identity erased.  Paul’s goal was for them to be saved through Jesus, the messiah, and prophecies about reclaiming the nations and eschatological warfare centered on Israel are still in operation. To be even more explicit: Israel has a right to exist and terrorist anti-Semitic groups (and those who are complicit with them) are evil. They should be defunded and opposed in every legal way. It’s an easy call as to with whom I stand: Israel.

That of course doesn’t mean Israel is sacrosanct, as though it can do no wrong, or ought never to be criticized. (The same goes for the Church). Israel wasn’t sacrosanct in the Bible. Just like Christian believers are not sacrosanct now (by “sacrosanct” I mean that neither Israel, Jews, or Christians have some sort of special status that makes them immune from judgment when they do wrong). Being the people of God doesn’t give us (Jew or Gentile follower of Christ) the right to say “don’t judge me for anything I do.” The opposite is true. Being the people of God means we should live in a way that is above reproach. This is simple, clear biblical theology, and I won’t amend that theology for someone’s hermeneutical sensitivities.

Think about how the Bible approaches the people of God. Just because Israel was elect did not mean they (or her people) could sin whenever they wanted. When they did wrong, God himself judged their behavior. The Bible is filled with that principle. Goodness, that’s what the biblical prophets were for – it was their job to hold the people to true worship. When Israel does what’s wrong today, they should be called out. Being a Jews doesn’t mean never having to be accountable. When Christians do wrong today, they should be likewise called out. The standard is the same. To deny this is to say God’s own behavior toward sin in the life of his people was wrong (i.e., you’re saying God was wrong to judge, which is blasphemous, so good luck with that).

But I’ll grant (against all hope) there may be a theologically-illiterate person out there on the web somewhere that thinks not agreeing with either Darby, Scofield, Walvoord, or Ryrie means you hate Israel and Jews, or that thinking Israel and Jews are capable of moral transgression might indicate anti-Semitism. If you know one such person (or are one) don’t tell me. There’s still a little of my soul that hasn’t been crushed by Middle Earth, and I’d like to keep that intact. Thanks.

But wait … there’s still more to my profile …

I speak at messianic congregations that are (hold your breath) attended by Jews and people who love Israel and Jews. That’s not a secret, as it’s been online for years. (Hint: If you want to hide your anti-Semitism, don’t speak at messianic congregations and put it on YouTube).

And let’s not forget that I worked full-time while going to school full-time for fifteen years just so I could get degrees in HEBREW BIBLE.

So let me be candid. When it comes to this anti-Semitic thing. I’m totally incompetent. I really suck at it. So if you want to defend that evil, you’ll have to go elsewhere. Maybe you could summon Cthulhu or something else from the pit of hell for that.

I don’t want to believe that someone would think my insistence that people utilize the tools of biblical scholarship for Bible interpretation instead of just going with what a rabbi says is anti-Semitic. But it seems you can find at least one person for almost any flawed idea. If that’s you, get help. Please.

 

 

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The Book of Jasher: Is It Genuine? Fringepop321 Episode

I often get asked about the Book of Jasher. Here’s the recent Fringepop321 episode on the topic as well as the episode web page.

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My Recent Interview with Frank Viola for the Patheos Blog

Readers will recall Frank is a best-selling author (Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom[image error]) who favorably reviewed my book The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. He’s back at it again (in interview form) with respect to my latest book, Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host[image error].

Check out the interview here.

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Can We Please Stop Appealing to Rabbis for Biblical and Ancient Text Interpretation?

I have this topic stuck in my head today in the wake of some conversations with folks about the Dead Sea Scrolls. But it could just as well be about interpreting any passage in the Hebrew Bible. I’ve grown weary of people (especially in Christian Middle Earth) appealing to rabbis to “prove” some idea they have about Scripture.

You have to realize appealing to rabbis means nothing. Rabbinic thought and biblical thought (and academic work) are miles apart. Hey Christians enamored with rabbis: The rabbis can’t even get the messiah right (or, to be more charitable, the two powers in heaven doctrine right — that belief they used to have in Judaism until it became uncomfortable due to Christianity). If you’ve ever listened to Ben Shapiro (I’m a fan of the show) you know what I mean. He often does “Bible time” on his podcast. But what you get isn’t exegesis of the text in its ancient context. What you get is rabbinic opinion (with all the contrarian rabbinic opinions shelved to the side). Rabbinic interpretation (think Talmud and Mishnah) contradicts itself over and over again. That’s what those works do — they fling opinions at each other. That Hebrew food fight got codified into the Talmud and Mishnah. And Judaism is fine with that. We shouldn’t be. Most of what you’d find in rabbinic writings bears little to no resemblance of exegetical work in the text understood in light of its original ancient Near Eastern worldview. Not even close. They’re frequently making stuff up (they apply biblical material to situations in which the community found itself in; the work of the rabbis was responsive to community circumstances — it’s very applicational or situational).

In short, “the rabbis” are not authorities on biblical exegesis in context or on deciphering scrolls and inscriptions. A modern analogy might help. If you put 100 pastors in a room and asked them what a given passage meant and why, and then recorded their debates and codified them in writing you’ve have “evangelical Christian rabbinics.” In academic terms, they are mostly amateurs, unaware of the historical contexts (ANE, and even Second Temple — most of which period preceded the classic rabbinic era). It’s a pool of contradicting opinions. It’s really not very useful. Rabbinic commentary about the biblical text will tell you only about the opinions rabbis have had on a passage. It won’t tell you at all how the ancient biblical writer was producing content from the context of his own *pre-rabbinic* worldview. “Rabbinic period” and “biblical period” do not overlap chronologically. The classic rabbinic period (“Rabbinism”) dates from the 6th century AD forward. Some of what worked its way into the Mishnah and Talmus is earlier than that, but NONE of it (recall it’s commenting on the Hebrew Bible) is from the Old Testament period. The Dead Sea Scrolls also pre-date the rabbinic period (by centuries). NOTE: This is also why the church fathers aren’t authorities in biblical exegesis, either. They are centuries (even millennia) removed from the biblical period and had no access to things like ancient Near Eastern texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls for help in interpretation. They were brilliant, but far removed from the right contexts and under-sourced.

In fairness, though, I don’t want to overstate the situation. Just as we might find a pastor who is a trained scholar in our hypothetical analogy — and whose opinions would be more informed (i.e., he’d be aware of the scholarly give and take, the published literature on a passage, and the wider worldview contexts), we might find a rabbi who is a trained scholar as well. But it’s light years from a 1:1 equation there. “Rabbi” isn’t a synonym for “Hebrew Bible scholar” any more than “pastor” is a synonym for “Bible scholar.” You might find that overlap, but it’s far from a given. Occasionally, then, you might find something of interest in rabbinic material. It works this way: “Hey. rabbi so-and-so has an interesting take on that passage. Now I need to  see if his thinking is coherent / might work given the original context of that passage, and the wider parameters of biblical authorship.” In other words, rabbinic thought needs to be probed for strengths and weaknesses according to exegesis of a passage in its original context. This might shock some of you, but biblical Hebrew is not rabbinic Hebrew, either. The language went through many changes of orthography (spelling), morphology (word formation), grammar, and syntax. All of those can effect understanding (think modern English vs. Shakespearean English). And when it comes to ancient texts (including the Bible, especially in places where even older features are preserved), rabbis may not know what they’re looking at or for in a text unless they’ve been trained with respect to the language of these older periods. Rabbis depend on the Masoretic Text, but there are times when other textual material (the Septuagint, for example) must be factored in to get something right, or when meaning is only comprehensible in light of understanding what the more ancient for of the text looked like. But that’s getting into the weeds here.

The problem is (my perception) that people who don’t read Hebrew literally get mesmerized by “the rabbis” and their opinions. They feel like they can’t object because they don’t know Hebrew, or that they can’t know better, because they don’t know Hebrew, and so on. WRONG. Someone who doesn’t know Hebrew certainly can know better — if they know how to tap into serious academic resources produced by real scholars in relevant fields. This is what I try to expose people to in my books and the Naked Bible Podcast.

Perhaps another illustrative analogy helps make this particular point. A person who can’t read Hebrew appealing to rabbis to explain the biblical text is like a person who doesn’t read English appealing to an English reader to interpret Shakespeare. Might turn out well if that English reader has spent a couple decades studying Shakespeare’s writing. It won’t work at all if that English reader is a journalist or high school biology teacher or a teenager who likes comic books (“but they know English!” yeah, they do — I’ll bet they’ll really help you understand that Bible passage).

So let’s PLEASE stop appealing to rabbis for biblical understanding. Let’s instead learn how to tap into serious scholarship that reads Scripture in light of its own, original contexts.

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