Gerizim and Shechem

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Charles Wilson
Posts: 2100
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:13 am

Gerizim and Shechem

Post by Charles Wilson »

Thank you, Giuseppe.
I owe this one to you.

A few years ago, I noticed that Josephus was not entirely TRUTHFUL, as he had claimed, in writing his histories. "Who performs sacrifices in the Temple?", f'rinstance. Josephus doesn't tell you in Wars..., 2, 1, 3 and Ant..., 17, 9, 3. Josephus is of Royal Blood and certainly knows the Mishmarot System. "He jus' ain't tellin'." Why?

He also doesn't do Justice to Alexander Jannaeus:

Ant..., 13, 14, 1:

"SO Demetrius came with an army, and took those that invited him, and pitched his camp near the city Shechem...they [Demetrius Eucerus and Alexander Jannaeus] came to a battle, and Demetrius was the conqueror...

I've tried different ways of wording what happens next, not always successfully:

"Now as Alexander fled to the mountains, six thousand of the Jews hereupon came together [from Demetrius] to him out of pity at the change of his fortune; upon which Demetrius was afraid, and retired out of the country; after which the Jews fought against Alexander, and being beaten, were slain in great numbers in the several battles which they had..."

This is, on the face of it, a complete absurdity. There is something missing here. An Army does not decimate its opponent and then take pity on the loser and then have thousands defect completely to the losing side with the winning General leaving the country out of fear. Doesn't happen.

What happened that was not told?

Note that Demetrius Eucerus camped at Shechem. What is near Shechem? The Temple at Gerizim:

Judges 9: 7 - 15 (RSV):

[7] When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Ger'izim, and cried aloud and said to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
[8] The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive tree, `Reign over us.'
[9] But the olive tree said to them, `Shall I leave my fatness, by which gods and men are honored, and go to sway over the trees?'
[10] And the trees said to the fig tree, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[11] But the fig tree said to them, `Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to sway over the trees?'
[12] And the trees said to the vine, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[13] But the vine said to them, `Shall I leave my wine which cheers gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?'
[14] Then all the trees said to the bramble, `Come you, and reign over us.'
[15] And the bramble said to the trees, `If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'


"Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Ger'izim, and cried aloud and said to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you..."

What was done at Gerizim?

Mark 13: 14 - 17 (Moffatt):

[14] "But whenever you see the appalling Horror standing where he has not right to stand (let the reader note this), let those who are in Judaea fly to the hills;
[15] a man who is on the housetop must not go down into the house, or go inside to fetch anything out of his house;
[16] and a man in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
[17] Woe to women with child who give suck in those days!

Verse 17 IS AN ANCHOR VERSE. It identifies this Section as a description paralleled with Josephus in time and sequence with the crucifixion of the enemies of Jannaeus while slitting the throats of their wives and children as they watched. See also the "Half hour of silence in Heaven" in Revelation. I identify this with the Ascension of Queen Salome and it is aligned as well.

"So...What's your point, Charlie?"

Reread the Judges passage again. The Story of Jannaeus is a perfect retelling (MIdrash) of a Story that would have been known, I believe, if told sometime Post-Herod or thereabouts. It has been, however, rewritten and the original meaning has been hidden.

Nicholas of Damascus was used by Josephus to the end of Archelaus (Book 17 of Ant... and Book 2 of War...) Jannaeus is described in Book 13 of Ant... so I'm not sure of Josephus' source here. Nonetheless, it appears that an intentional hiding and rewriting has occurred. If so, Josephus knew or someone altered Josephus to accommodate the New Religion.
There is something missing.


CW
Charles Wilson
Posts: 2100
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:13 am

Re: Gerizim and Shechem

Post by Charles Wilson »

Luke 2: 36 - 38 (RSV):

[36] And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phan'u-el, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity,
[37] and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.
[38] And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Whenever I embark on one of these Mining Expeditions, I can usually see my way to about 30 pages of text. The task, however, must be reduced to some more manageable size to at least make it readable to those lurkers on this Site. So it is here. I mentioned Queen Salome ("Not Alexandra", as I always say. Here's a least 10 pages of Analysis...) and for the Jannaeus-Salome part of the Story some background is required.

"Hannah the Prophetess" is Queen Salome. Though the date of the writing of this can always be argued, the dating of the subject matter of the Story is very specific: 8/9 CE, at the turn of the New Year + 2 weeks to Passover. It takes time to travel from Galilee to Jerusalem for each week of Priestly Mishmarot Service. The Time Line of the Stories may be fixed to these weeks. The return of the Priest asked by Jairus in a one-last Call to Glory to eliminate the Herodians and Romans is the Story of the travel to Jerusalem for Passover and the Feast of 9 CE. There are verifiable reasons for this to be so and here is another 20 pages of text - at least.

Hannah is a widow and lives in the Temple. BTW, if True, here is proof that Jannaeus did not marry his brother's wife in a Levirite ceremony, unless the brother never consummated his marriage to "Salome Alexandra". Five more pages.

So, some simple math: Try 8 CE subtract 84 years. What happened in 76 BCE? I'll leave that one for homework. (Hint: Hannah is Salome.)

The Jannaeus/Salome Story is central to understanding the NT and what the Romans did to rewrite the Story into the story of a savior/god loyal to Rome and the Glory of the Flavians.

Revelation 8: 1 (RSV):

[1] When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

***Note: Assignment of Symbolism, ESPECIALLY with Revelation is an acquired taste. When making assigments, I have tried to limit Assignments to Cross-Referenced Historical Features.***

I have identified this half-hour of silence with the Rule of Salome (5 - 19 pages...). What happened before the Ascension of Salome?

Here is our quote again. Compare with the Story in Judges 9 as a refresher:

"Now as Alexander fled to the mountains, six thousand of the Jews hereupon came together [from Demetrius] to him out of pity at the change of his fortune; upon which Demetrius was afraid, and retired out of the country; after which the Jews fought against Alexander, and being beaten, were slain in great numbers in the several battles which they had..."

Revelation 7: 13 - 17 (RSV):

[13] Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?"
[14] I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
[15] Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night within his temple;
and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his
presence.
[16] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
[17] For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water;
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Those who came through with Jannaeus survived - barely. There is much Priestly/Judaic thought here. "Living Water", for instance (See Berakoth 29A). This is the "Great Tribulation". This is Historical as well:

Josephus, Ant..., 13, 16, 2:

"...So she [Salome] had indeed the name of the regent, but the Pharisees had the authority; for it was they who restored such as had been banished, and set such as were prisoners at liberty, and, to say all at once, they differed in nothing from lords.
...
and the country was entirely at peace, excepting the Pharisees; for they disturbed the queen, and desired that she would kill those who persuaded Alexander to slay the eight hundred men; after which they cut the throat of one of them, Diogenes; and after him they did the same to several, one after another, till the men that were the most potent came into the palace, and Aristobulus with them, for he seemed to be displeased at what was done...
...
So Alexandra, not knowing what to do with any decency, committed the fortresses to them, all but Hyrcania, and Alexandrium, and Macherus, where her principal treasures were..."
...
The passages that follow from "Demetrius pitched his camp near Shechem" appear to have come from Judges 9. You can play "Match-'em-up to your heart's content. There is something missing from all of this, however. The bare fact of Demetrius committing the "Abomination of Desolation" ("Let the reader note this.") has to be inferred from a very poor rewrite. Armies do not destroy opponents and then defect to the losing side while the General leaves the country out of fear.

If this is True then the author of the rewrite was not aware of the reference to Judges 9. Perhaps he thought that hiding the geography of what was near Shechem was enough. In fact, it opens up the evidence of what was really accomplished by the Transvaluation.

CW
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