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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] The Golden Calf & the Hathor Cult of Sinai ?

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  • From: Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>
  • To: Michael Banyai <Banyai AT t-online.de>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] The Golden Calf & the Hathor Cult of Sinai ?
  • Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 23:35:43 +0100

On 22/09/2004 20:02, Michael Banyai wrote:

Peter,
an interesting online-paper by Baruch Halpern,"The Baal (and the Asherah) in seventh century
Judah", shares my views concerning the ancienty of Baal cult in Israel and the existence of
an ideologic warfare between "Baal"-adepts and Baal-rejecters.
So to say both sides argued seeking support in the tradition.

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/zimriel/Baal/baal1.html


Thank you, Michael. Well, Halpern does accept that "Modern scholars, for the most part, have taken the Biblical testimony at its word." But you seem to think that this approach is my invention! And Halpern makes a reasonable case based on certain presuppositions which I don't share. For example, he implicitly rejects the historicity of the biblical descriptions of the religion of David and Solomon's time; although for some reason he takes the account of Jeroboam setting up calves as historical. But he may be right that much of the worship at "high places" abolished in Josiah's time was folk religion which had been practiced for many centuries, probably traceable back to the Judges period at least cf. Judges 17.

Although Halpern is being somewhat speculative, he does not share your flights of fancy about calf worship being normal during the Judges and United Monarchy periods.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/






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