Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 23/09/2004 11:13, Michael Banyai wrote:

> Hallo Peter,
>
> I don´t know what ephods exactly were either, but what should they have been 
> for example in the case of Dan. Saying ephod is a way of shamefully conceding 
> the antiquity of the calf tradition. That is probably also the role of 
> Jerobeam as perpetrating the tradition. Should this statues have represented 
> Jahweh this would have been a violation of the deuteronomic law forbidding 
> representation of Jahweh. I don´t beleave there ever existed such violations 
> since we never hear of any protesting prophets against such a phaenomenon. ...

The HB is full of prophetic condemnations of idolatry. Here are some of 
the most specifically relevant to calves: 1 Kings 14:9, Isaiah 30:22, 
42:17, Hosea 8:4-6, 10:5. If they are not said to be representations of 
Yahweh, perhaps that is because it is modern speculation rather than the 
ancient worldview that this is how they were understood.

> ... However were Dan and Beth-El Jahweh cultplaces. So it was some associate 
> lesser god. Calf fits good.
>  

I accept that the "ephod"s may actually have been calf images. But that 
is still speculation.

>  
>
> > The biblical story is Rachel riding a camel. Any link with Europa riding 
> > a bull is entirely speculative. The only similarity between the two 
> > stories is a woman riding an animal.
> >    
>
> Not exactly. Jacob plays in the story of Penuel the role of the bull, and 
> this is a central image - since explaining the name of Israel. And Jacob is 
> the raptor of the consenting Rachel. The ephod(s?) is represented as a figure 
> one can ride upon, since Rachel puts a saddle on them. I don´t beleave the 
> story is based on a factual happening that some Rachel hid indeed some 
> teraphim realy under a (camel´s) saddle. Than why this fixation on a saddle, 
> what of an image did the writer have in mind? Any other object from carpet 
> till pillow would have otherwise done it probably better.
>
>  
The very good reason why the teraphim (not ephods, no suggestion that 
they were calves, no one knows) were hidden under a saddle is that there 
was already a saddle on the camel and that is what Rachel would be 
expected to sit on.

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