Note: This was not presented in a PSA meeting, this is outside research done by a PSA member and written for the blog.
Topic: “Pagan Origins of Jewish Stuff”
Author: Nathan
Date: 10/17/11
“Pagan Origins of Jewish Stuff”
Hexagrams:
Hexagrams are usually associated with Judaism, or Jewish (Israeli) nationalism, and are usually referred to as “Stars of David.” It is not likely, however, that David ever used it for any reason during his lifetime.
Kabbalists, or Jewish mystics, originally called it the “Seal of Solomon” in late ancient and early medieval times.
Later, the pentagram became known as the Seal of Solomon, while the hexagram began to be referred to as the Star (or Shield) of David.
Hexagrams have been traced back to the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Greeks (who referred to the Canaanites as Phoenicians), and Romans—and ultimately to the Jews (or Judaeans), the Christians, and Muslims.
Hexagrams have also been found in Central Asia, east Iran, and India. According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website, “The symbol of the hexagram, the star-like figure formed by two triangles, has many connotations, especially when it is enclosed by a circle; super-natural powers have been attributed to it in many parts of the world since ancient times.”
A hexagram also symbolizes sexual union, fertility, and reproduction—which would be a good reason for the Canaanites to have used it, in the Fertile Crescent!
In the Israeli article, “King Solomon’s Seal,” it is also said that “the clearest meaning of the hexagram is associated with magical techniques to ward off evil forces,” which is why it is associated with Solomon, who used it as such, according to legend. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, he had married many Pagan women.
For the Pythagoreans in Greece, both the hexagram and pentagram symbolized “heaven and its reflection on earth, the divine and its reflection in creation and of the connection between heaven and hell, between the macrocosm and the microcosm, and between spirit and matter.”
With pentagrams, you can have them point-side up to represent one concept, and point-side down to represent the other—with hexagrams, they are kind of like yin-yang symbols, representing both concepts.
There is more in the “King Solomon’s Seal” article too, about its meanings for medieval Muslims (who may have gotten it from the Greeks), and how an expert on the Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem, believes it entered “Judaism from Islamic traditions.”
Apparently, there is no actual religious significance for the symbol in Judaism—some orthodox Jews (even in Israel) reject its use on account of its “magical,” “Kabbalistic,” and hence, “Pagan” connotations!
Back to Pagan Roots:
I have found it really fascinating, how far you can take finding the Pagan roots of things considered uniquely “Jewish,” “Christian,” or “Muslim.”
With the city of Jerusalem, for example, the “Salem” part refers to the Canaanite god of dusk (and some say of the evening star, or Venus!). In English, it is also spelled “Shalem,” “Shalim,” “Shalom,” and so on, because ancient Semitic languages had no written vowels. “Solomon” is also derived from it!
Mount Zion, which is near Jerusalem, was known as such to the Canaanites, too—it meant “seat of a god.” The Jewish or Israeli websites I have perused say it means “seat of God’s ark.”
The all-god, or creator-god, of the Canaanites was El. It is a word that references “God” in Hebrew, as “Il” or “Al” do in Arabic. Hebraic angels all have “-el” in their names, too—Michael, Gabriel, Ariel, Raphael, Samael, et cetera. So, with lesser deities in the services of a creator-god, it is kind of like polytheism in disguise!
In the Hebrew Scriptures, also, “God” reveals Himself to Abraham as El Shaddai!
Fall Holidays:
For a three-week period in Autumn, there are three holidays considered uniquely “Jewish”—Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (or Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (or Feast of Booths). As with many Christian holidays, however, these and other Jewish celebrations have their roots in Pagan festivals.
Rosh Hashanah has its Pagan roots in the Akitu harvest festival of the Babylonians, which is also a New Year’s one (New Year’s holidays were celebrated twice a year, too, in Babylon).
Yom Kippur also has its Pagan roots in the Kuppuru ritual or ceremony, of the Babylonians and the Assyrians. It too had to do with a form of purging and atonement.
Sukkot has its roots in the Canaanites’ autumn harvest festival. It is also referred to as the Feast of Ingathering. It may have been celebrated, along with Akitu and Kuppuru, in Babylon, as part of a three-week long harvest festival, according to Theodore Reik, author of Pagan Rites in Judaism.
The Sabbath Day:
The Sabbath was originally a Pagan “custom [which] seems to derive from a day set apart by the Babylonians and Canaanites, in connexion with their cult of the moon,” according to Michael Grant, author of The History of Ancient Israel [p.59]. (Grant used the original spelling of the word “connection,” here.)
So, Sabbath, Sabbat, or Shabbat—however one spells it—is originally a term from Semitic Paganism, as well! Thus, it was not actually “borrowed” from the later Abrahamic faiths, as is mistakenly contended.
The Messiah:
The term “messiah” was originally Pagan too, as was its concept. It had been used by the Canaanites (possibly also by the Hittites, who lived in what is present-day Turkey) as a term meaning, well, “the anointed one.”
The Pagan Greeks also had their term for “the anointed one,” which was “christos.” Whether the Greeks had it as their own custom, or had adopted the Canaanites’ custom as their own—I cannot say for sure, as I have not researched that yet!
So, terms like “Pagan messiah,” or even “Canaanite messiah,” are actually not as “contradictory,” “sacrilegious,” “blasphemous,” “oxymoronic” or “heretical” as they may seem— as they are from the one or two forms of Semitic Paganism that the “Messiah” term and concept originated!
The same goes for “Christ(os).”
References Used:
- Black, Jeremy and Anthony Green (2003) Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia:An Illustrated Dictionary. Fifth Printing. University of Texas Press. Austin, Texas.
- Budge, E.A. Wallis (1930) Amulets and Superstitions. 2003 Edition. Kessinger Publishing. Kila, Montana.
- Gaster, Theodor “A Canaanite Ritual Drama: The Spring Festival At Ugarit.” Jan-Mar 1946. 4 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/595498.pdf
- Grant, Michael (1984) The History of Ancient Israel. Charles Scribner’s Sons. New York City, New York.
- Hastings, James, John Alexander Selbie and Louis Herbert Gray (1961) Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume Five. Scribner (aka Charles Scribner’s Sons). New York City, New York.
- Hurowitz, Victor Avigdor “Review: Ancient Israelite Cult in History, Tradition, and Interpretation.” 1994. 13 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1486623.pdf
- “King Solomon’s Seal” Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 16 Feb 1999. 27 Sept 2011 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1990_1999/1999/2/King%20Solomon-s%20Seal
- Kimball, Bruce A. “The Origin of the Sabbath and Its Legacy to the Modern Sabbatical.” July-Aug 1978. 4 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1979188.pdf
- Mettinger, Tryggve N.D.(1976) King and Messiah: The Civil and Sacral Legitimation of the Israelite Kings. Liber-Laromedel/Gleerup. Lund, Sweden.
- Morgenstern, Julian “The King God Among the Western Semites and the Meaning of Epiphanes.” Apr 1960. 13 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1516133.pdf
- Reeves, John C. “The Feast of the First Fruits of Wine and the Ancient Canaanite Calendar.” July 1992. 13 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1518725.pdf
- Reik, Theodor (1964) Pagan Rites in Judaism. Gramercy Publishing Company. New York City, New York.
- Robinson, A. “Zion and Saphon in Psalm XLVIII 3.” Jan 1974. 17 Oct 2011 http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1516988.pdf
- Scholem, Gershom (1971) The Messianic Idea in Judaism and other essays on Jewish Spirituality. Schocken Books. New York City, New York.
No comments:
Post a Comment