Did God Have a Wife?: William G. Dever
Dever, one of the world's most renowned archaeologists has finally asked the BIG question, and his research, archaeology, and scholarship have come up with the most stunning answer. Yes, God was married!
His analysis of the folk religion, and how the common folk worshipped was one of the powerful aspects of this book, the stuff that never made it into the Bible, yet is reflected in the archaeology of the people in the countryside. This is archaeology at its level-headed best.
A very shocking book, as well as revealing for his amazingly coherent, and provocative challenges, and answers to the nay-sayers of Asherah being God's wife.
I highly recommend it. (*****)
Giorgio Santillana, Hertha von Dechend: Hamlet's Mill
This is not the easiest book to read or understand, but it is by far one of the most influential ones I own for the sheer power of generating ideas and themes to research and write on. It is archeoastronomy detective work like no other text. Scholarly, erudite, difficult, astounding, breath-taking. I also rate this one as one of those books in my all time favorite top 10.
I know others have not found their overall thesis convincing, but archeoastronomy is indepted to this book for having a serious start, and it has also come a long way since, especially with John Major Jenkins work on "Maya Cosmogenesis 2012" and "The Galactic Alignment."
Archeoastronomy became a hobby of mine directly because of this book. I highly recommend it. It was reprinted for the 3rd time in 1992, and well worth shelling out the dough for it. (*****)
Jason Lotterhand: The Thursday Night Tarot
In his down to earth style and humor, Lotterhand opens up the world of the Tarot symbolisms and what they can mean for us in our every day to day lives. Without stuffy erudition, nor with New Age silliness, Lotterhand goes through the Major Arcana of the Tarot Cards and analyzes their interpretations as he understands things. You can't help but come away from this book feeling good. This is the collection of his classes he has taught for years and years, including questions from many of his students and his responses.
I have read it many times, and will continue reading it as a perfect introduction as to what the Tarot symbolisms and use really means, not what phony prognosticators of the New Age Movement have hijacked the Tarot to mean. Their use of it is an "adulterated use" to quote Paul Foster Case, another of the true Tarot interpreter geniuses.
The overall view of the Tarot following Lotterhand's interpretation is one of love.... love for God, our fellowman, as well as for ourselves. That Tarot has nothing at all in any form to do with Satan worship, devil loving wickdness, and magic is more than proven by Lotterhand's scholarship in this fascinating area. I highly and strongly recommend this cure for the disease of understanding Tarot as an evil Devil inspired system. (*****)
Leonora Leet: The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah
This book just simply stunned me. It is one of the most fascinating analysis of Sacred Geometry and modern Quantum Physics along with a detailed discovery after discover after discovery of the Jewish religious system called Kabbalah.
Leet's geometric charts make the book even easier to understand, but the depth of her cogent reasoning concerning the cosmos, geometry, and music is a sight to behold.
Her follow up book "The Universal Kabbalah" is quite interesting in the first few chapters and then bogs my mind down with so much detail and analysis that it is far over my head, though I am working on deciphering it.
Leet spent over 20 years analyzing and writing about her discoveries. The most significant one concerns the Kabbalah Tree of Life diagram which is remarkably elucidated by Leet, both in the historical aspects of its changes, as well as the reasons why it is the shape and form that it is, and the meaning of sacred geometrical extensions of the already existing lines of the Tree of Life.
A most significant contribution, not only to my own understanding of Kabbalah and Geometry, but for my own enthusiasm of learning more about the Kabbalah (****)
Margaret Barker: The Great High Priest
With her astonishing range of scholarship and working with ancient archaeological and linguistic data, Barker has changed our understanding of the ancient Hebraic Priesthood as well as religion. This book is a milestone. (*****)
Menas Kafatos, Robert Nadeau: The Conscious Universe
The Quantum Physics notion of Complementarity (two particles being connected, no matter how far apart they are in the universe), as well as understanding how the part relates to the whole is what is explored in this gem of a little book.
This is no spiritual guru linking of science and religion together by mis-representing one or the other or both of the disciplines, but a sober, real look into the ideas of consciousness, and how Quantum Physics has come around to recognizing the universal aspect of consciousness in *all things*. An amazing book, quite technically written, but with amazing conclusions. The main conclusion being that consciousness can no longer be separated from the problem of the way science operates. (****)
Robert Eisenman: The New Testament Code
Again, with his impeccible schoalrship and thirst for detail Eisenman extends his analysis and evidence for a First Century Early Christian provenance for the Dead Sea Scrolls using the internal materials of the scrolls themselves, their literary usages, their dramatis personae, and their descriptions of what sins abound with the wicked foreign leaders, which can only possibly apply to the Herodians.
I wish Eisenman's writing style was easier however. For this reason I can't give it a 5 star rating. His information is astonishingly useful however, and rather controversial, my kind of book! (****)
Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism: Howard Schwartz
Magnaminous! This compilation from all periods of Jewish mythology, using hundreds, if not thousands of the texts, shows without doubt or question that there was a Jewish mythology, and its power of presentation for relevance is unsurpassed in all of mythology.
From the Creation, the the Shekhinah as the wife of God, to Israel's woes, and successes, this detailed, and humorous, insightful, powerful book has so much in it from the lives of the Patriarchs, the prophets, and the rabbis, that it will take many months to read all the way through it. I have referenced it several times, and spent not a few very delightful evenings (even rainy days) browsing through its pages, and the excellent scholarly discussions by Schwarts itself placing things in context. This is a book I turn to again and again and again with new "Aha!" insights from every single page. (*****)
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/?jp=mhcwqlojauoj
Super X-rays could unravel Dead Sea Scrolls
12/09/2007 - 14:23:20
Hidden secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls could be unlocked by British scientists using super-powerful X-rays.
Here is some of my comments on the idea of James as the successor to Jesus in Jewish Christianity based in Jerusalem from the crucifixion to the destruction of the temple 70 C.E.
I just finished attending the second evening of delightful lectures with Bruce Zuckerman on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient Near Eastern and Biblical inscriptions, texts, translation, etc. Dr. Zuckerman is delightful about teaching the technology available for the enhancing of our understanding of the ancient texts from the silver scroll found in Jerusalem dating from 600 B.C., to the Elephantine papyri, to the Ugaritic texts, biblical texts, etc. The next ten years promises some amazing new information. Dr. Zuckerman told us tonight, and showed us tonight an inscription of the alphabet that predates everything we have ever seen or heard of by CENTURIES! It will be in the news this fall, since they are continuing work on it through the summer, utterly fascinating!
He also electrified the Christian audience of Baptists, Lutherans, Evangelicals, etc., (we LDS in the vast minority) with the inscription of YHWH and His Asherah, i.e., to quote Dr. Zuckerman, "God's wife." The manner in which Dr. Zuckerman expounded this made the audience gasp. He said why not? El, the God in the Canaanite pantheon is the very same El meaning "God" in our Bible, but the Bible doesn't have anything about God's sexuality. Well why not? What's wrong with God playing around a bit and enjoying himself? This is Dr. Zuckerman's take! There is nothing wrong with God's desires and sexuality. This is Dr. Zuckerman's take on it! Very interesting as it coincides astonishingly well with my podcast information on the Archaeology of God.
All in all, again, yet another very fine lecture series by a very fine Dead Sea Scrolls/ Bible scholar. I have been most fortunate to be involved in these and with these, and enjoy learning first hand the amazing and intriguing discoveries and translations coming out for the next decade or so.
I had the delightful opportunity this week of meeting Dr. Peter Flint, one of the finest Dead Sea Scrolls scholars in the field. I also attended both his lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls and their important implications for Messianic Judaism and Early Christianity. Here is an important link of information on his qualities and qualifications.
http://www.members.shaw.ca/pflint/
I purchased his book The Bible at Qumran: Text, Shape, and Interpretation, (Eerdman's, 2001). It is a very fine text, and I read it the next day. It has some interesting new analysis of some Dead Sea Scrolls phrases compared to some of Paul's New Testament ideas I had never considered before. I shall get into the details in another post. There are also some stimulating studies on Moses, Korah and Abraham. Craig Evans article on Abraham was quite interesting, in that he is utilizing many of the sources and ideas about Abraham's own sacrifice (!) that Hugh Nibley had utilized back in the 1960's. The literature is beginning to be taken seriously as important textual backgrounds to understanding the broader and deeper aspects of the Bible that simply are not there in the Bible.
All in all, a very remarkable overview of the formation and context as well as content of the Bible during Jesus' day. I rather enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it!
This is the Marzeah fragment, the oldest known Hebrew fragment to contain the word Elohim meaning God. It is a non-biblical document with some Biblical Hebrew characteristics. In the interest of fairness, I will note that not all scholars are convinced that this fragment is authentic. See here:
https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/ane/2005-March/018161.html
This is one of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments in Genesis on display also.
This is the Isaiah fragment on display. I shall get all the details when I guide again soon.
This is one of the proto-cuneiform fragments.
And this is one of the Greek fragments on display.
It's small, I know, and the wrong angle to read, but this is the Hebrew text of Genesis chapters 1-6 on display. I hopefully can get a digital image of this from the top o so I can read it and see it. It is remarkably well preserved for being from 1200 A.D.
Here is another different shot of the Hebrew scroll of Genesis chapters 1-6, although again, unreadable. 
Here is the Gutenberg Press replica. Its fascinating to watch it work. We owe the quality of our lives and wonderful blessings of books, instruction and education to this invention of the millenium (literally). Everytime you read a book, this was the instrument responsible for us elevating out lives with education.
And finally, a little bit better picture, but still not what I want to have of it.
I just got finished volunteering again today, and had many marvelous experiences. There is from Egypt, dating from the 1200's - 1300's A. D. a scroll containing the text of Genesis chapters 1 - 6, the most gorgeous, beautifully written, and astonishing thing I have ever had the privilege of laying my eyes on. I can read it as it stands in the case it is so well written! It paragraphs each of the days of creation, and stretches the alephs, lameds, and he's so as to keep the margins justified and straight up and down. It is an exquisite piece of writing and art. It's written on vellum (Animal skin) and in astonishingly good condition. It is such a delight to point out all the interesting things about it to the public and have them ask questions and discuss these things.
We also have a 300 year old Torah scroll rolled around the wooden handles on either side. It is rolled open to the Ten Commandments, and reading it is also wonderful! They also stretched and squished the letters respectively to keep the margins straight. It is seriously interesting to see and read. No two letters ever touch, there are no ink blotches, and it is the most beautiful writing I have ever seen. They didn't write with ball point pens! This was liquid ink coming off the tip of a reed, or feather. To see their writings is simply breath taking how incredibly skilled they were. It is as clear, and easy to read as my printed Hebrew texts I am studying.
All in all, I had a very spiritual and delightful Sabbath roaming around the exquisite writings of our brothers from Judah. The public also seems to appreciate the fact that a mere Idahoan can read the Hebrew and give them explanations of these treasures. It is seriously delightful and well worth my time to learn so I can share. The museum director is very happy to have such enthusiasm with his exhibit also. I told him you couldn't keep me down with a freight truck if you tried.
I finished an entire day of voluteering with the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit today. I believe I shall be able to dress some posts up with some pictures as time goes along. We have the very oldest Paleo-Hebrew fragment called the Marzeah Fragment which calls God "Elohim."
We have seen the replica of the Gutenberg Press function now, many times, and it is fascinating how it works. I believe I am going to be able to video record the process and will put it in one of my Backyard Professor DVD's. I will learn to run the press in the next few weeks, I am sure.
I am still very much excited to have a parchment in the exhibit which is the Genesis chapters 1-6! I have seen pictures of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, but never Genesis, which I have always wanted to see. Now I can actually read it for myself from a parchment dating to 1100 A.D. Incredibly beautiful!
I was in the scroll room this afternoon and it was very interesting to see people's reactions to the fragments, and understand just what is in front of their eyes. The photos of the Qumran environs by Dr. Noah are truly some of the very finest I have ever seen. The cideo he puts together on the scrolls is perfect for giving an awareness to the public of this spectacular situation we have with the scrolls, and how they help us understand the Bible better.
We also have the oldest Greek copy of the Gospel of John with us in this display. It is also the world's largest collection of first edition Bibles, and illuminated manuscripts. It is truly miraculous how detailed, gorgeous, colorful, and carefully the illuminated the Bible. We ought to revive this practice, and perhaps, I just might do so myself! It is a stunning way to enjoy the scriptures.....truly! They were artists par excellence!
We also have cuneiform artifacts, bullae, seals, cylinder seals, coins, etc. It is just fun to have this right in our midst, all this stuff that I have been studying for years and years! We live in a fantastic age!
I shall say more later as I gather more information and experience more guiding tours. The folks here seem very appreciative, and it is a great thrill to be a guide for the scrolls, and the history of the Bible. One thing I have come away with is a far greater appreciation of the men involved, their sacrifices, and especially Tyndale's bringing home our modern English, without who, we wouldn't have had Shakespeare, among other tragedies without TYndale.
We listerned last night to Dr. William H. Noah, the founder and organizer of this exhibit speak about the history of the Bible, and the relationship of the scrolls to the Bible. It was very informative. The Bible is a miracle, there is simply no other way to put it. The Dead Sea Scrolls affirm that miracle in astonishing ways as well.
The nature of the Priesthood in the Dead Sea Scrolls is fascinating to explore. The scrolls’ exegesis of Ezekiel, among other Old Testament Prophets is quite instructive to understand. Specifically Ezekiel 44:15:
Ezekiel 44:15
One of the main themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls is that the “Sons of Zadok” be ‘Osei Ha-Torah, “Doers of the Torah,” that is, those who follow the law, the ones who keep the covenant. The Habakkuk Pesher in the scrolls, among others such as the Damascus Document, relates the Zadokite Priesthood to the Bnei-Zadok Levites where we can read in Ezekiel are those who “kept the charge of my sanctuary,” (mishmeret miqdashi)
Continue reading "Dead Sea Scrolls Zadokite/Melchizedek Priesthoods" »
I think James D. Tabor's analysis of the Dead Sea Scroll fragment, dubbed the "Messianic Apocalypse" is a good contribution to why the Dead Sea Scrolls are so fascinating, and there are yet very many important ideas to continue discussing. Here is the link.
http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/JDTABOR/4q521.html
Of course, the significance of this for the Book of Mormon is worth noting, based on past criticisms of the Book of Mormon. In the FARMS Review of Books, Vol. 4 (1992) we read:
Continue reading "Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q521 - Messianic Apocalypse" »
James Tabor has a pretty thorough and interesting blog of information on Jesus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament issues of the historical Jesus that is worth looking into. Tell him the Backyard Professor sent ya, he won't know me from Adam - GRIN!
http://jesusdynasty.com/blog/jesus-dynasty-article-index/
He is also heavily involved with the Original Bible Project which you can read more about here:
He also has an enormous amount of information on Jesus and his day and tme here:
http://www.religiousstudies.uncc.edu/JDTABOR/indexb.html
I have always liked reading Tabor. I don't agree with everything he writes, but his scholarship appears to be serious and he is well read.
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