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From: Yair Davidiy [mailto:britam@netvision.net.il]
To heb_roots_chr@hebroots.org
Subject: Ezekiel 1, no.1

NOTE FROM EDDIE:

Yair Davidi is an ORTHODOX JEW who lives in Jerusalem, Israel and has a ministry (Brit-Am) devoted and dedicated to doing research and spreading awareness of the Ten Lost Tribes and their reunification with the house of Judah in the end of days.

END OF NOTE

BRIT-AM: THOUGHTS ON EZEKILE

Ezekiel 1, no.1
The Book of Ezekiel:
Brit-Am Commentary and Study Assistance

The Book of Ezekiel at its primary level is mainly concerned with Judah but here and there it contains messages for the Lost Ten Tribes of the greatest importance. It also uses forms of expression that are amongst the most powerful we have come across in all of Scripture.

The name "Ezekiel" in Hebrew is pronounced "Yechezkiel" and means "God (-el) will strengthen (Yechezak). Ezek=E5el (like Jeremiah) was from a Priestly family (Cohen) and descended from Aaron the brother of Moses. This may be one of the reasons the Book of Ezekiel shows great familiarity with the Temple and also concerns itself with the future Temple that will be rebuilt. The Book of Ezekiel according to tradition was actually written by Members of the Great Council (i.e. Sanhedrin) that was set up by Ezra after the Jews returned from their exile in Babylon. The Members of the Great Council were inspired and included prophets in their ranks. The Book of Ezekiel is based on prophecies that Ezekiel uttered over a twenty-year period.

Ezekiel uttered the prophecies in his book while he was in Babylon together with other exiles from Judah. Part of Judah had been exiled to Babylon shortly before the destruction of the Temple after which most of the rest of Judah was also exiled. Ezekiel was with the earlier exiles. Ezekiel began to prophesy before the final exile and continued after it. The prophecies of Ezekiel speak of the sins of Judah prior to the calamity but after the disaster they take on a note of comfort and future redemption.

Rabbi Moshe Eisemann ("Yechezkiel", Artscrolls, 1977) traces the beginning of the disaster that occurred to Judah to the separation of Judah from the Northern Tribes who became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.

Cf. [Isaiah 7:17] THE LORD WILL BRING UPON YOU AND UPON YOUR PEOPLE AND UPON YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE SUCH DAYS AS HAVE NOT COME SINCE THE DAY THAT EPHRAIM DEPARTED FROM JUDAH-- THE KING OF ASSYRIA."

On this passage Brit-Am commented:

"SINCE THE DAY THAT EPHRAIM DEPARTED FROM JUDAH" : When Ephraim split off from Judah it appears that a terrible calamity had taken place on the physical level that paralleled the spiritual and psychological shock we have never ever really recovered from.

Even now the psychic framework of both Judah and Ephraim is impaired due to the split between the two halves of Israel.

On Isaiah 7:17 Eisemann (p.xxiii) in the foreword to his commentary on Ezekiel says:

The implication is clear. If one seeks the epitome of misfortune unequalled, he need look no further than the day the Ten tribes seceded from the kingdom of King Rechavam, son of Solomon. It was not until Jacob's family, consisting of the twelve tribes, was complete that Jewish [i.e. Israelite] nationhood could begin; the unity of the twelve tribes was essential to the fulfillment of the nation; the High Priest bore the names of all twelve tribes on his breastplate as he performed the Temple service.

But because David's successors did not maintain his lofty standard of conduct the precondition for God's continued grace they lost the privilege of ruling over the entire nation. Israel split and when that happened, the nation began the descent that culminated in the exile of Zidkiyahu [i.e. the final exile of Judah] more than three hundred years later.

Historical Background:

King Hezekiah was a righteous monarch. In the time of Hezekiah the last of the Ten Tribes and part of Judah were exiled by the Assyrians.

These exiles became the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Hezekiah was followed by his son, Menasseh, who was wicked but later repented. After Menasseh came Ammon who was also bad. The son of Ammon was Josiah who was good. King Josiah attempted to reform Judah and also worked for a reconciliation with the Lost Ten Tribes in their places of exile. Josiah attempted to bring part of the Ten Tribes back and was partially successful on a temporary basis. When he died those few of the Ten Tribes who had returned and tried to resettle their former lands abandoned the project and returned to their kinfolk amongst the Scythians in the north. Eisemann says that if Josiah had lived, he may have averted the final calamity.

THE BREATH OF OUR NOSTRILS, THE ANOINTED OF THE LORD, WAS TAKEN IN THEIR PITS, OF WHOM WE SAID, UNDER HIS SHADOW WE SHALL LIVE AMONG THE HEATHEN [Lamentations 4:20].

At the death of Josiah his son Jehoahaz ruled for three months after which Pharoah of Egypt deposed him, then reigned his brother, Jehoiakim son of Josiah. After eleven years Jehoiakim was taken into captivity to Babylon. Jehoiakin (son of Jehoiakim) then reigned for three months when he too was taken to Babylon together with the elite elements of Jerusalem. Only the lowly people of the land remained. They were ruled over by King Zedekiah son of Josiah, brother of Jehoiakim and uncle of Jehoiakin. Zedekiah also ruled for eleven years. He rebelled more than once against Babylon. Consequently Jerusalem was completely destroyed and most of the rest of Judah exiled.

[Ezekiel 1:1] NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE THIRTIETH YEAR, IN THE FOURTH MONTH, IN THE FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH, AS I WAS AMONG THE CAPTIVES BY THE RIVER OF CHEBAR, THAT THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED, AND I SAW VISIONS OF GOD.

Eisemann points out that Prophetic books start out with the time of the prophecy given since events of the time determined the nature of the prophecy. This holds even though the full import of the message was for the distant future.

Ezekiel was with those captives of Judah who had been taken into exile with Jehoiakin. According to tradition Ezekiel had received the gift of prophecy while still in the Land of Israel even though his book begins with his being in the land of Babylon.

"THE RIVER OF CHEBAR": Some say "Chebar" is another name for the River Euphrates. Others say that it was actually a large irrigation channel or a branch of the Euphrates that had been converted into an irrigation channel. At that time the irrigation works of Mesopotamia (Iraq) were very sophisticated and superior to those now in use in modern Iraq.

Ezekiel 4

[Ezekiel 4:1] THOU ALSO, SON OF MAN, TAKE THEE A TILE, AND LAY IT BEFORE THEE, AND PORTRAY UPON IT THE CITY, EVEN JERUSALEM:

[Ezekiel 4:2] AND LAY SIEGE AGAINST IT, AND BUILD A FORT AGAINST IT, AND CAST A MOUNT AGAINST IT; SET THE CAMP ALSO AGAINST IT, AND SET BATTERING RAMS AGAINST IT ROUND ABOUT.

Ezekiel was told to do a physical action that would symbolize a larger event. Reversely we should realize that even small physical things that we do can have great significance on a spiritual level.

[Ezekiel 4:3] MOREOVER TAKE THOU UNTO THEE AN IRON PAN, AND SET IT FOR A WALL OF IRON BETWEEN THEE AND THE CITY: AND SET THY FACE AGAINST IT, AND IT SHALL BE BESIEGED, AND THOU SHALT LAY SIEGE AGAINST IT. THIS SHALL BE A SIGN TO THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.

<<THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL>>: here
"House of Israel" is referring to the northern ten-tribed kingdom.

Ezekiel 8

[Ezekiel 8:1] AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE SIXTH YEAR, IN THE SIXTH MONTH, IN THE FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH, AS I SAT IN MINE HOUSE, AND THE ELDERS OF JUDAH SAT BEFORE ME, THAT THE HAND OF THE LORD GOD FELL THERE UPON ME.

[Ezekiel 8:2] THEN I BEHELD, AND LO A LIKENESS AS THE APPEARANCE OF FIRE: FROM THE APPEARANCE OF HIS LOINS EVEN DOWNWARD, FIRE; AND  FROM HIS LOINS EVEN UPWARD, AS THE APPEARANCE OF BRIGHTNESS, AS THE COLOUR OF AMBER.

[Ezekiel 8:3] AND HE PUT FORTH THE FORM OF AN HAND, AND TOOK ME BY A LOCK OF MINE HEAD; AND THE SPIRIT LIFTED ME UP BETWEEN THE EARTH AND THE HEAVEN, AND BROUGHT ME IN THE VISIONS OF GOD TO JERUSALEM, TO THE DOOR OF THE INNER GATE THAT LOOKETH TOWARD THE NORTH; WHERE WAS THE SEAT OF THE IMAGE OF JEALOUSY, WHICH PROVOKETH TO JEALOUSY.

[Ezekiel 8:4] AND, BEHOLD, THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL WAS THERE, ACCORDING TO THE VISION THAT I SAW IN THE PLAIN.

[Ezekiel 8:5] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, LIFT UP THINE EYES NOW THE WAY TOWARD THE NORTH. SO I LIFTED UP MINE EYES THE WAY TOWARD THE NORTH, AND BEHOLD NORTHWARD AT THE GATE OF THE ALTAR THIS IMAGE OF JEALOUSY IN THE ENTRY.

[Ezekiel 8:6] HE SAID FURTHERMORE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, SEEST THOU WHAT THEY DO? EVEN THE GREAT ABOMINATIONS THAT THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL COMMITTETH HERE, THAT I SHOULD GO FAR OFF FROM MY SANCTUARY? BUT TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS.

[Ezekiel 8:7] AND HE BROUGHT ME TO THE DOOR OF THE COURT; AND WHEN I LOOKED, BEHOLD A HOLE IN THE WALL.

[Ezekiel 8:8] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, DIG NOW IN THE WALL: AND WHEN I HAD DIGGED IN THE WALL, BEHOLD A DOOR.

[Ezekiel 8:9] AND HE SAID UNTO ME, GO IN, AND BEHOLD THE WICKED ABOMINATIONS THAT THEY DO HERE.

[Ezekiel 8:10] SO I WENT IN AND SAW; AND BEHOLD EVERY FORM OF CREEPING THINGS, AND ABOMINABLE BEASTS, AND ALL THE IDOLS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, PORTRAYED UPON THE WALL ROUND ABOUT.

[Ezekiel 8:11] AND THERE STOOD BEFORE THEM SEVENTY MEN OF THE ANCIENTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND IN THE MIDST OF THEM STOOD JAAZANIAH THE SON OF SHAPHAN, WITH EVERY MAN HIS CENSER IN HIS HAND; AND A THICK CLOUD OF INCENSE WENT UP.

[Ezekiel 8:12] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, HAST THOU SEEN WHAT THE ANCIENTS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL DO IN THE DARK, EVERY MAN IN THE CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY? FOR THEY SAY, THE LORD SEETH US NOT; THE LORD HATH FORSAKEN THE EARTH.

[Ezekiel 8:13] HE SAID ALSO UNTO ME, TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAT THEY DO.

[Ezekiel 8:14] THEN HE BROUGHT ME TO THE DOOR OF THE GATE OF THE LORD'S HOUSE WHICH WAS TOWARD THE NORTH; AND, BEHOLD, THERE SAT WOMEN WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ.

[Ezekiel 8:15] THEN SAID HE UNTO ME, HAST THOU SEEN THIS, O SON OF MAN? TURN THEE YET AGAIN, AND THOU SHALT SEE GREATER ABOMINATIONS THAN THESE.

[Ezekiel 8:16] AND HE BROUGHT ME INTO THE INNER COURT OF THE LORD'S HOUSE, AND, BEHOLD, AT THE DOOR OF THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, BETWEEN THE PORCH AND THE ALTAR, WERE ABOUT FIVE AND TWENTY MEN, WITH THEIR BACKS TOWARD THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD, AND THEIR FACES TOWARD THE EAST; AND THEY WORSHIPPED THE SUN TOWARD THE EAST.

[Ezekiel 8:17] THEN HE SAID UNTO ME, HAST THOU SEEN THIS, O SON OF MAN? IS IT A LIGHT THING TO THE HOUSE OF JUDAH THAT THEY COMMIT THE ABOMINATIONS WHICH THEY COMMIT HERE? FOR THEY HAVE FILLED THE LAND WITH VIOLENCE, AND HAVE RETURNED TO PROVOKE ME TO ANGER: AND, LO, THEY PUT THE BRANCH TO THEIR NOSE.

[Ezekiel 8:18] THEREFORE WILL I ALSO DEAL IN FURY: MINE EYE SHALL NOT SPARE, NEITHER WILL I HAVE PITY: AND THOUGH THEY CRY IN MINE EARS WITH A LOUD VOICE, YET WILL I NOT HEAR THEM.

Exekiel saw the Israelites worshipping Tammuz in Jerusalem.

Who was Tammuz?

The pagans of the Middle East (such as those of Assyria) had the practice when things went wrong of killing their king to atone for their sins. Later a substitute would be found, made king for a day and put to death.

I put 'Tammuz' in a search engine on the net and these are some of the answers I came up with:

Tammuz, Babylonian God Of Vegetation

Tammuz was an ancient nature deity worshipped in Babylonia. A god of agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring. He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, according to one legend was so grief-stricken at his death, that she contrived to enter the underworld to get him back. According to another legend, she killed him and later restored him to life. These legends and his festival, which took place in the early Spring, commemorating the yearly death and rebirth of vegetation, corresponded to the festivals of the Phoenician and Greek Adonis and of the Phrygian Attis. The Sumerian name of Tammuz was Dumuzi. The fullest history extant of this saviour is probably that of Ctesias (400BC), author of Persika. The poet has perpetuated his memory in rhyme. Trust, ye saints, your Lord restored, Trust ye in your risen Lord; For the pains which Tammuz endured Our salvation have procured. Tammuz was crucified as an atonement offering: Trust ye in God, for out of his loins salvation has come unto us . Julius Firmicus speaks of this God rising from the dead for the salvation of the world. Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14) is equivalent to Osiris (Hay-Tau) in Egypt and Adonis [Greek Adonis, from Phoenician adon, lord]. Osiris is Dionysus in the Greek tongue, and the Roman Bacchus. Tammuz was killed by a wild boar while shepherding his flocks. His wife rescued him from the underworld. His death was taken to represent the onset of winter. The Adonis Cult parallels Dumuzi, Tammuz, and Attis. When the Israelites were about to conquer the land of Canaan God warned them not to copy the ways of the nations they were about to drive out but the Israelites did so.

[Deuteronomy 12:29] WHEN THE LORD THY GOD SHALL CUT OFF THE NATIONS FROM BEFORE THEE, WHITHER THOU GOEST TO POSSESS THEM, AND THOU SUCCEEDEST THEM, AND DWELLEST IN THEIR LAND;

[Deuteronomy 12:30] TAKE HEED TO THYSELF THAT THOU BE NOT SNARED BY FOLLOWING THEM, AFTER THAT THEY BE DESTROYED FROM BEFORE THEE; AND THAT THOU ENQUIRE NOT AFTER THEIR GODS, SAYING, HOW DID THESE NATIONS SERVE THEIR GODS? EVEN SO WILL I DO LIKEWISE.

[Deuteronomy 12:31] THOU SHALT NOT DO SO UNTO THE LORD THY GOD: FOR EVERY ABOMINATION TO THE LORD, WHICH HE HATETH, HAVE THEY DONE UNTO THEIR GODS; FOR EVEN THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS THEY HAVE BURNT IN THE FIRE TO THEIR GODS.

Why were the Ten Tribes exiled?because they worshipped other gods, practiced paganism and also applied pagan notions to the God of Israel.

[2-Kings 17:1] IN THE TWELFTH YEAR OF AHAZ KING OF JUDAH BEGAN HOSHEA THE SON OF ELAH TO REIGN IN SAMARIA OVER ISRAEL NINE YEARS.

[2-Kings 17:2] AND HE DID THAT WHICH WAS EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, BUT NOT AS THE KINGS OF ISRAEL THAT WERE BEFORE HIM.

[2-Kings 17:3] AGAINST HIM CAME UP SHALMANESER KING OF ASSYRIA; AND HOSHEA BECAME HIS SERVANT, AND GAVE HIM PRESENTS.

[2-Kings 17:4] AND THE KING OF ASSYRIA FOUND CONSPIRACY IN HOSHEA: FOR HE HAD SENT MESSENGERS TO SO KING OF EGYPT, AND BROUGHT NO PRESENT TO THE KING OF ASSYRIA, ASHE HAD DONE YEAR BY YEAR: THEREFORE THE KING OF ASSYRIA SHUT HIM UP, AND BOUND HIM IN PRISON.

[2-Kings 17:5] THEN THE KING OF ASSYRIA CAME UP THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, AND WENT UP TO SAMARIA, AND BESIEGED IT THREE YEARS.

[2-Kings 17:6] IN THE NINTH YEAR OF HOSHEA THE KING OF ASSYRIA TOOK SAMARIA, AND CARRIED ISRAEL AWAY INTO ASSYRIA, AND PLACED THEM IN HALAH AND IN HABOR BY THE RIVER OF GOZAN, AND IN THE CITIES OF THE MEDES.

[2-Kings 17:7] FOR SO IT WAS, THAT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD SINNED AGAINST THE LORD THEIR GOD, WHICH HAD BROUGHT THEM UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, FROM UNDER THE HAND OF PHARAOH KING OF EGYPT, AND HAD FEARED OTHER GODS,

[2-Kings 17:8] AND WALKED IN THE STATUTES OF THE HEATHEN, WHOM THE LORD CAST OUT FROM BEFORE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL, WHICH THEY HAD MADE.

[2-Kings 17:9] AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID SECRETLY THOSE THINGS THAT WERE NOT RIGHT AGAINST THE LORD THEIR GOD, AND THEY BUILT THEM HIGH PLACES IN ALL THEIR CITIES, FROM THE TOWER OF THE WATCHMEN TO THE FENCED CITY.

[2-Kings 17:10] AND THEY SET THEM UP IMAGES AND GROVES IN EVERY HIGH HILL, AND UNDER EVERY GREEN TREE:

[2-Kings 17:11] AND THERE THEY BURNT INCENSE IN ALL THE HIGH PLACES, AS DID THE HEATHEN WHOM THE LORD CARRIED AWAY BEFORE THEM; AND WROUGHT WICKED THINGS TO PROVOKE THE LORD TO ANGER:

[2-Kings 17:12] FOR THEY SERVED IDOLS, WHEREOF THE LORD HAD SAID UNTO THEM, YE SHALL NOT DO THIS THING.

[2-Kings 17:13] YET THE LORD TESTIFIED AGAINST ISRAEL, AND AGAINST JUDAH, BY ALL THE PROPHETS, AND BY ALL THE SEERS, SAYING, TURN YE FROM YOUR EVIL WAYS, AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND MY STATUTES, ACCORDING TO ALL THE LAW WHICH I COMMANDED YOUR FATHERS, AND WHICH I SENT TO YOU BY MY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS.

[2-Kings 17:14] NOTWITHSTANDING THEY WOULD NOT HEAR, BUT HARDENED THEIR NECKS, LIKE TO THE NECK OF THEIR FATHERS, THAT DID NOT BELIEVE IN THE LORD THEIR GOD.

[2-Kings 17:15] AND THEY REJECTED HIS STATUTES, AND HIS COVENANT THAT HE MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS, AND HIS TESTIMONIES WHICH HE TESTIFIED AGAINST THEM; AND THEY FOLLOWED VANITY, AND BECAME VAIN, AND WENT AFTER THE HEATHEN THAT WERE ROUND ABOUT THEM, CONCERNING WHOM THE LORD HAD CHARGED THEM, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT DO LIKE THEM.

[2-Kings 17:16] AND THEY LEFT ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD THEIR GOD, AND MADE THEM MOLTEN IMAGES, EVEN TWO CALVES, AND MADE A GROVE, AND WORSHIPPED ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN, AND SERVED BAAL.

[2-Kings 17:17] AND THEY CAUSED THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS TO PASS THROUGH THE FIRE, AND USED DIVINATION AND ENCHANTMENTS, AND SOLD THEMSELVES TO DO EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, TO PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER.

[2-Kings 17:18] THEREFORE THE LORD WAS VERY ANGRY WITH ISRAEL, AND REMOVED THEM OUT OF HIS SIGHT: THERE WAS NONE LEFT BUT THE TRIBE OF JUDAH ONLY.

[2-Kings 17:19] ALSO JUDAH KEPT NOT THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD THEIR GOD, BUT WALKED IN THE STATUTES OF ISRAEL WHICH THEY MADE.

[2-Kings 17:20] AND THE LORD REJECTED ALL THE SEED OF ISRAEL, AND AFFLICTED THEM, AND DELIVERED THEM INTO THE HAND OF SPOILERS, UNTIL HE HAD CAST THEM OUT OF HIS SIGHT.

[2-Kings 17:21] FOR HE RENT ISRAEL FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID; AND THEY MADE JEROBOAM THE SON OF NEBAT KING: AND JEROBOAM DRAVE ISRAEL FROM FOLLOWING THE LORD, AND MADE THEM SIN A GREAT SIN.

[2-Kings 17:22] FOR THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WALKED IN ALL THE SINS OF JEROBOAM WHICH HE DID; THEY DEPARTED NOT FROM THEM;

[2-Kings 17:23] UNTIL THE LORD REMOVED ISRAEL OUT OF HIS SIGHT, AS HE HAD SAID BY ALL HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS. SO WAS ISRAEL CARRIED AWAY OUT OF THEIR OWN LAND TO ASSYRIA UNTO THIS DAY.

The application of pagan notions applied to the God of Israel by the Israelites has been confirmed by archaeological findings: A stele from Byblos, specifically cites Yaveh-Melek, 'Yahweh the King', [who] worships the Queen of Heaven.

At Kuntillet Ajrud, in southern Israel, in the former territory of Simeon Are depictions of "Yahweh" with a consort goddess alongside an image of the Egyptian god Bes. For Dever, the inscriptions prove that "in Israel Yahweh could be closely identified with the cult of Asherah, and in some circles the goddess was actually personified as his consort" (1984:31).

David Noel Freedman: "worship of a goddess, consort of Yahweh, was deeply rooted in both Israel and Judah in pre-exilic times, in spite of vigorous prophetic protests and strenuous efforts by reforming kings" (1987:249). Similarly, Rainer Albertz remarks: "The popularity of the worship of a goddess alongside Yahweh throughout the whole pre- exilic period can hardly be overestimated" (1994:86; also see Gilula 1978- 1979: 135).

An inscription on the spot refers to:

`Yahweh of Samaria,' (depicted in the form of a calf) 'and his consort Asherah"

From this inscription we can deduce:

1. Simeon though in the south was probably subservient to the northern kingdom ("Samaria") as hinted at by the Bible and included in the Ten tribes who were exiled by Assyria. 2. The worship of the God of Israel was paganized and mixed up with pagan notions. The prophets refer to this and frequently condemn it but do not go into most of the details probably due to respect.

Baal was a son of god, the local god of the small states and had a variety of local names besides his generic name, Baal. Baal is found in Phoenicia, Galilee, Israel and Judaea, as well as further north in the Levant. Yehouah is found in Israel, Judah,and Edom. El was the authority behind Baal and Baal was the authority behind the local king. Elements in personal names, including royal names, from the early Bronze Age city of Ebla and the late Bronze Age city of Ugarit, suggest a god with the name Yeho. ,altars apparently dedicated to Yehouah or an equivalent god have been uncovered at Arad and Beersheba. Yehouah is mentioned at Nebo and in Samaria and Teman. Yehouah is declared the god of Samaria (Israel) and his consort is Asherah.

Ezekiel 9

[Ezekiel 9:1] HE CRIED ALSO IN MINE EARS WITH A LOUD VOICE, SAYING, CAUSE THEM THAT HAVE CHARGE OVER THE CITY TO DRAW NEAR, EVEN EVERY MAN WITH HIS DESTROYING WEAPON IN HIS HAND.

[Ezekiel 9:2] AND, BEHOLD, SIX MEN CAME FROM THE WAY OF THE HIGHER GATE, WHICH LIETH TOWARD THE NORTH, AND EVERY MAN A SLAUGHTER WEAPON IN HIS HAND; AND ONE MAN AMONG THEM WAS CLOTHED WITH LINEN, WITH A WRITER'S INKHORN BY HIS SIDE: AND THEY WENT IN, AND STOOD BESIDE THE BRASEN ALTAR.

[Ezekiel 9:3] AND THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL WAS GONE UP FROM THE CHERUB, WHEREUPON HE WAS, TO THE THRESHOLD OF THE HOUSE. AND HE CALLED TO THE MAN CLOTHED WITH LINEN, WHICH HAD THE WRITER'S INKHORN BY HIS SIDE;

FROM THE CHERUB: There were actually two cherubim (angelic childlike figures) placed over the Ark. One tradition says that these were taken to Babylon with the exiles; another tradition says they were buried somewhere on the Temple Mount or near it. Eisemann quotes traditions that say that at times of favor the two cherubs became joined and could be counted as one. At a higher level the very act of God punishing us carries within it the foundation for reconciliation and unity.

[Ezekiel 9:4] AND THE LORD SAID UNTO HIM, GO THROUGH THE MIDST OF THE CITY, THROUGH THE MIDST OF JERUSALEM, AND SET A MARK UPON THE FOREHEADS OF THE MEN THAT SIGH AND THAT CRY FOR ALL THE ABOMINATIONS THAT BE DONE IN THE MIDST THEREOF.

"A MARK": In Hebrew "tav" signifying the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. In the Old Hebrew script ("Canaanite") a "tav" usually looked like an "X". "Tav" represents the English sound "t" or "th".

Yair Davidiy
Brit-Am Israel
POB 595
Jerusalem 91004
Israel

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