Offerings, Obedience, Kingship, Witchcraft, and Prophets & The Treaty of Suppiluliumas

ThinkingNow I understand where Easter came from, the devil convinced the pagans to replace Passover with Easter.

There never would have been an Easter if there hadn’t of been a Passover. 

The same with Christmas, if Jesus hadn’t of been born there would be no Christmas and if there weren’t any pagans there would be no Santa Clause. 

1. Ancient skeleton of a witch shaman
Ancient skeleton of a witch/shaman discovered in Galilee Israel
Arrow indicates the position of the skull.
A 12 thousand years old witch skeleton was discovered during excavations of archaeologists from the Hebrew University in Hilazon Cave.

With her skeleton another skeletal remains were discovered – 50 turtles, leopard and a human foot.

Hebrew University archaeologists found in Hilazon cave, which is the northern slopes of the Hilazon River in the Western Galilee, 12 thousand years-old skeleton of a of a woman who probably practice some kind of shamanism (religion spiritual activity).

Together with the skeleton there were also grave unusual offerings: 50 tortoise shells, bones of the pelvis of a tiger and a foot of a person.

Shamanic tomb is the oldest and the only one of its kind in every region of the Middle East. Excavations, conducted – by Dr. Lior Grossman from the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University, discovered the Natufian Cemetery 12 thousand years ago.

He discovered the tomb of a woman of 45 value itself indicate that suffered inflammation and pain.

An examination of the skeleton revealed that the woman was disfigured and that is probably limping and no higher than five feet.

The woman was buried when she lies on her side, the tomb built of stones and mud.

“Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evil favoredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God” (Deut 17:1).  

If anyone goes against this law they are to be stoned to death.

“At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death” (Deut 17:6).

“When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt posess it, and shall dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me,

like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose” (Deut 17:14-15).

“Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them” (Deut 17:17-19).

The Levites did not get any of the Israelites inheritance.

2. Magic Consultation with a Witch
Magic Consultation with a Witch
Witches and Sorcery in Ancient Rome
The impression one gets from ancient Roman literary texts is that were professional witches working in Rome.

In his novel Metamorphoses the A.D. 2nd century author Apuleius wrote:

“First she arranged the deadly laboratory with its customary apparatus, setting out spices of all sorts, unintelligibly lettered metal plaques, the surviving remains of ill-omened birds, and numerous pieces of mourned and even buried corpses: here noses and fingers, there flesh-covered spikes from crucified bodies , elsewhere they preserved gore or murder victims and mutilated skulls wrenched from the teeth of wild beasts.

The she recited a charm ever some pulsating entrails and made offerings with various liquids…next she bound and knotted those hairs together in interlocking braids and put them to burn on live coals along with several kinds of incense.”

Romans believed in the evil eye, sex-changes, the power of iron and menstrual blood and the evil nature of odd numbers.

Sorcerers used quiji board-like bronze table with symbols that were pointed to a ring hanging from a thread.

Apuleius, author of the Golden Ass , a book about magic, was tried in court for bewitching his wife, a wealthy widow.

[“World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder, Facts on File Publications, New York]

Archaeologists have found Roman voodoo dolls in lead canisters.

Most magic it seems was be oriented towards cursing people or compelling them to fall in love.

When the people make an offering to God they have to pay the priest with the shoulder, two cheeks, and the maw of the animal, if it’s an ox or sheep. 

They also have to give them the first of their corn, wine, oil, and sheep.

God has a big problem with witchcraft:

“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 

For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee” (Deut 18:10-12).

God said He would raise up a prophet, to replace Moses, and the people were to listen to him and only him, and all his words because they would be God’s words.

God said to Moses:

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut 18:18-22).

1 & 2 This king and prophet God is talking about is Himself, Jesus Christ.

The Treaty of Suppiluliumas

For much of the sec­ond half of the second millennium B.C., the dominant power in central Anatolia (modern Turkey) was the Hittite Empire.

3. The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I
The Hittite Empire at its greatest extent under Suppiluliuma I (ca. 1350–1322 B.C.).

Suppiluliuma I was king of the Hittites (ca. 1344–1322 BC (short chronology)).

He achieved fame as a great warrior and statesman, successfully challenging the then-dominant Egyptian empire for control of the lands between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates.

Among the greatest Hittite kings was Suppiluliumas I, who reigned from approximately 1380—1346 B.C. 

Suppiluliumas extended Hittite power to the southeast into Syria, where he struggled for supremacy against Egypt, Assyria and Mitanni.

Aziru, king of the Syrian state of Amurru, recognizing that Hittite power was on the rise, broke his treaty with Egypt and submitted to Suppiluliumas.

One Hittite and six Akkadian copies of treaty between Suppiluliumas and Aziru exist; all are fragmentary, but by comparing them scholars have been able to reconstruct a fairly complete version.

The treaty required that Aziru submit to and support Suppiluliumas, who in turn was to protect Aziru. 

This covenant is broadly similar in outline to Deuteronomy, which is also a treaty between a suzerain (Yahweh) and a vassal (Israel).

4. Suppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I was king of Hittites (sek. 1344-1322 BC ( short chronology )). He is a famous warrior and statesman, successfully against the Egyptian Empire when it controls the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Euphrates.

This treaty, therefore, provides a specific point of comparison to the covenant text that we call Deuteronomy. 

The Suppiluliumas treaty begins with a preamble and a statement about the main objective of the treaty – that Aziru offer uncompromised devotion to Suppiluliumas.

The historical back­ground follows (cf. Deut 1:6-4:49).  The treaty then delineates specific stipulations relating to military and extradition obligations (cf. chs.7-26).

At that point the Suppiluliumas treaty calls on all gods and goddesses as witnesses and pronounces both curses for disobedience and blessings for obedience.

Deuter­onomy 27-30 also pronounces curses and blessings, but 30:19 calls upon heaven and Earth, not on lesser gods, as witnesses.

The importance of these parallels can hardly be overstated. As pointed out in the more general article The Date of Deuteronomy“.

They indicate once again that Deuteronomy is remarkably sim­ilar in form and content to second millen­nium B.C. Hittite treaties and should for that reason most likely be dated early rather than late.

They also help us to understand the lit­erary context for Deuteronomy.

 

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