| “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this. These subtilised interpretations are highly manifold according to their nature and have almost nothing to do with the original text. For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them.” - Letter from Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind from Princeton in January 1954, translated from German by Joan Stambaugh Chapter 12: The Greatest Psychedelic Fairy Tale Ever Told Graves writes that the Hebrews derived their Aegean culture from the Danaans of Tyre and the Sabians of Harran, but mostly from the Philistines, or Puresati, being immigrants from Asia Minor. (1) The stories themselves being older than the Greek Hellenic age, shared with the Hebrews, originated from the Babylonians ultimately. Paul Carus, in History of the Devil, citing The Chaldean Account of Genesis by Sayce, writes: “…that Chaldea was the original home of these stories and that the Jews received them originally from the Babylonians. … The legends were well known and formed part of the literature of the country before the second millennium BC.” (2) Much of the original Hebrew community in Alexandria spoke Greek and it was these Greek speaking Hebrews who translated the Old Testament into Greek in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC, which became the Septuagint, which is Latin for “seventy.” There were supposedly seventy-two translators, with six representatives from each of the twelve tribes, all operating under unanimous consent. (3) Each one of these numbers is an important occult number, in relation to astrology, as we have seen. (6x12=72x5=360) The writings in the Old Testament date to 1200-1000 BC, at their oldest and the newer selections date to the beginning of the Hellenistic period after Alexander the Great conquered Israel. (4) In 587 BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar invaded Palestine, capturing Jews and destroying their literature. A century later, Cyrus, the King of Persia overthrew the Babylonian Empire and allowed some Jews to return to Jerusalem. It was after this return that Ezra and Nehemiah edited and compiled the Old Testament in 450 BC, or at least the Pentateuch. This was after having lived alongside the Babylonians and the Persian Empire, which at the time, was mainly Zoroastrian. (5) In II Kings 22:8 we read, “Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.” |
A couple of interesting facts Campbell brings to the forefront of Hebrew historical knowledge are as follows: The “book of the law” described in II Kings 22:8, found supposedly in the year 621 BC, (6) during the repair of Solomon’s Temple, comprised the works of the Book of Deuteronomy; also, that it wasn’t until the 18th year of the reign of Josiah in 621 BC, that anyone had heard of this book of the Law of Moses. (7) It would seem to be a little late in the history of the Jewish religion, when we first hear of the Law of Moses, around 621 BC, if the rest of the Old Testament dates to approximately 1000-1200 BC. The word Deuteronomy, means a “copy,” or a “repetition,” of the law. The Deuteronomic Reform, was a religious reformation by King Josiah of Judah (c. 640–609 BC). According to Britannica.com: “The reform consisted of removing pagan altars and idols from the Temple, destroying rural sanctuaries and fertility cults, and centralizing worship at the Temple of Jerusalem.” The Hebrew festival of Passover which is supposed to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt was first celebrated in 621 BC. This is coincidentally the same year that the “book of the law” was found in the repair of Solomon’s Temple and the same year (a thousand years later) that “Mohammed made a miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem in AD 621. (8) There he led worship at “the farthest mosque,” was lifted to heaven, and returned to earth to carry on his teachings.” (9) Here is the exact quotation. It is very much akin to Hebrew teachings: “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Quron, 17:1) “And We gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel that you not take other than Me as Disposer of affairs.” (Quron, 17:2) Bull worship is mentioned in the Bible in many cities such as Shechem, Shiloh, Gilgal, Bethel, etc. (10) Given that the books of the Old Testament were the creation of a new mythology at the time, we cannot assume a particular time that the events mentioned were supposed to have taken place, or whether they took place at all. (11) (1) White Goddess, p. 294 (2) History of the Devil, p. 34; Smith Sayce, The Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 312; 331 (3) Occidental Mythology, p. 273 (4) In the Wake of the Goddess: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth, Tivka Frymer-Kensky, The Free Press, 1992, p. 243, note 1 (5) Fountainhead of Religion. P. 49 (6) Discovery of the Deuteronomic Law, Edouard Montet, The Biblical World Vol. 36, No. 5 (Nov., 1910), pp. 316-322) (7 pages) (7) Occidental Mythology, p. 96-97; Wilhelm M. L. de Wette, Contributions Introductory to the Old Testament (1806) (8) Occidental Mythology, p. 138 (9) https://www.gotquestions.org/temple-mount.html (10) Jud. ix. 27; xxi. 19ff.; I Sam. i. 3, 21; ii. 19 (11) Cult of the Mother Goddess, p. 80-81 |