1 Revolutions in Judaeo-Christian beliefs about Salvation Part 1 Israelite and Judahite Salvations Laying Foundations for Jews and Christians Doug Mason do you really want to live forever, forever and ever? Our exegesis must govern our theology, not the other way around. If our exegesis is at odds with our theology—and if we are confident in our exegesis—then maybe we should begin making changes to our theology rather than searching for solace in the likes of Paul, John, or Acts. … Surely it is our duty to allow the results of our exegesis to reshape and even change, if necessary, our theology.—Did Jesus Teach Salvation by Works?, pages 317, 13, Alan P. Stanley. Version 2 (25 April 2018) © Doug Mason 2018 [email protected] The cover image is based on https://www.monergism.com/sites/default/files/content_images/yomkippur.jpg (accessed 6 February 2017) 2 Revolutions in Judaeo-Christian beliefs about Salvation In this series Part 1: Israelite and Judahite Salvations: Forming the Foundations (Includes recommended additional source material for Parts 1-2 and 3-5) https://jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Part_1__Israelite_Judahite_Salvations.pdf Part 2: Second Temple Period Salvations. (Coming soon) PART 2.1: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: SIGNIFICANCE. URL PART 2.2: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: PEOPLE: URL: PART 2.3: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: LITERATURE: URL: PART 2.4: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: DEATH AND RESURRECTION: URL: PART 2.5: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: SPIRIT WORLD: URL: PART 2.6: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: MESSIAHS: URL: PART 2.7: THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD: RESOURCES: URL Part 3: Jewish Salvations. From A Fundamentalist Nazarene to Visionaries of the Diaspora. http://www.jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Part_3__Jewish_Salvations.pdf Part 4: Christian Salvations. Transformations into European Christianity. http://www.jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Part_4__Christian_Salvations.pdf Part 5: Satan. Lucifer. Devil http://www.jwstudies.com/Revolutions_Part_5__Satan__Lucifer__Devil__REVISED_ .pdf 3 Contents BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE FOOTNOTE REFERENCES .................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 7 CONTEXTS ........................................................................................................................................... 12 PART 1: “SALVATION” ...................................................................................................................... 13 WHAT DOES “SOTERIOLOGY” REALLY MEAN? ....................................................................... 14 PART 2: THE HEBREWS CREATE THE GROUNDWORK ........................................................... 19 ISRAELITE COMMUNITIES ............................................................................................................. 21 LIVING WITH THE GODS ................................................................................................................. 39 LIVING WITH THE GODS: EL .......................................................................................................... 61 LIVING WITH THE GODS: ASHERAH ............................................................................................ 67 LIVING WITH THE GODS: BA’AL .................................................................................................. 78 LIVING WITH THE GODS: YAHWEH ............................................................................................. 80 LIVING WITH THE GODS: THE ASSIMILATIONS INTO YAHWEH ......................................... 92 LIVING WITH THE GODS: YAHWEH AND ASHERAH ............................................................... 96 LIVING WITH THE GODS: “THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN” ........................................................... 101 HEBREW SACRIFICES .................................................................................................................... 105 THE THEOLOGY BEHIND J’S CREATION MYTH ...................................................................... 130 PHYSICAL ARTIFACTS FROM ISRAELITE LIFE ....................................................................... 134 MUTE TESTIMONY OF THE JUDAHITE PILLAR FIGURINES ................................................ 142 THE WRITTEN RECORDS .............................................................................................................. 154 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR PARTS 1 TO 5 ......................................................................... 183 DETAILED CONTENTS ................................................................................................................... 187 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE FOOTNOTE REFERENCES Ancient Near Eastern Ancient Near Eastern Thought and The Old Testament: Introducing The Thought Conceptual World Of The Hebrew Bible, John H. Walton, Appolos, 2007 Asherah and the cult of Asherah and the cult of Yahweh in Israel, Saul Olyan, Society of Biblical Yahweh Literature, 1988 Beyond the texts Beyond the texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah, William G. Dever, SBL Press, 2017 Cambridge Ancient The Cambridge Ancient History: VI The Fourth Century B.C., 2nd History, VI Revised & enlarged Edition, Lewis, Boardman, Hornblower, and Ostwald, Cambridge University Press; 1994 Conquest and Conquest and Restoration in the Ancient Near East, Lisbeth S. Fried, in Restoration Judah and the Judeans in the Neo-Babylonian Period, edited by Lipschits and Blenkinsopp Dictionary of the Old Dictionary of the Old Testament: A Compendium of Contemporary Testament Biblical Scholarship, Arnold & Williamson, Intervarsity Press, 2005 Did God have a wife? Did God have a wife?: Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel, William G. Dever, Eerdmans, 2005 Did YHWH have a Did YHWH have a female consort? Assess the evidence from Kuntillet female consort? ‘Ajrûd. https://www.academia.edu/6911868/Did_YHWH_have_a_female_consort _Assess_the_evidence_from_Kuntillet_Ajr%C3%BBd (accessed 9 January 2018) Early History of God The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, (second edition), Mark Smith, Eerdmans, 2002 Eerdmans Commentary Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, Dunn and Rogerson, Eerdmans, 2003 Exodus The Exodus, Richard Elliott Friedman, HarperOne, 2017 Ezekiel, Rabbi Fisch Ezekiel: Hebrews Text and Translation with an Introduction and Commentary, Rabbi Dr Solomon Fisch, The Soncino Press Ltd, New York, 1994 Gods, Goddesses, and Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God In Ancient Israel, Othmar Keel and Images Christopher Uehlinger, Fortress Press, 1992, 1998 History of Eternity A Very Brief History of Eternity, Carlos Eire. Princeton University Press, 2011 http://www.thedivineconspiracy.org/Z5244T.pdf (accessed 23 June 2017) History’s Vanquished History’s Vanquished Goddess ASHERAH: Archaeological & Historical Goddess Aspects of Syro-Palestinian Pre-Biblical Religious Traditions, Darlene Kosnik. Emergent Press IIc, 2014 (paperback); 2017 (condensed Kindle ebook version) How to read the Bible How to Read the Jewish Bible, Marc Zvi Brettler, Oxford University Press, 2005, 2007 Interpreting Judean Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines: Gender and Empire in Judean Pillar Figurines Apotropaic Ritual, Erin Danielle Darby, Duke University, 2011. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/5661/Darby _duke_0066D_11023.pdf?sequence=1 http://hdl.handle.net/10161/5661 5 Introduction Israel in Exile Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E., Rainer Albertz, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2003 Leviticus, Ritual and Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics (A Continental Commentary), Ethics Jacob Milgrom, Augsberg Fortress, 2004 Monotheism and the Monotheism and the Prophetic Minority: An Essay in Biblical History and prophetic minority Sociology, Bernhard Lang, The Almond Press, 1983 Only One God? Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah, Bob Becking, Meindert Dijkstra, Marjo C.A. Korpel and Karel J.H. Vriezen, Sheffield Academic Press, 2001 Origins of Biblical The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and Monotheism the Ugaritic Texts, Mark Smith, Oxford University Press, 2001 OT Survey Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, William Sanfod Lasor, David Allan Hubbard, Frederick William Bush, William B. Eerdmans, 1986 Reading the OT Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction, Lawrence Boadt, Paulist Press, 1984 Scribal Culture Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible, Karel van der Toorn, Harvard University Press, 2007 Society and the Promise Society and the Promise to David: The Reception History of 2 Samuel 7:1- to David 17, William M. Schniedewind, Oxford University Press, 1999 Textual Criticism of the Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Third Edition, Revised and Hebrew Bible Expanded, Emanuel Tov, Fortress Prrss, 2012 The Birth of The Birth of Monotheism: The Rise and Disappearance of Yahwism, Monotheism André Lemaire, Biblical Archaeology Society, 2007 Unfolding the Unfolding the Deuteronomistic History: Origins, Upgrades, Present Text, Deuteronomistic Antony Campbell and Mark O’Brien, Fortress Press, 2000 History Who Wrote the Bible? Who Wrote the Bible?, Richard Elliott Friedman, Harper Collins, 1989 Yahweh, Gods, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan, John Day, Sheffield Goddesses of Canaan Academic Press, 2002 You have