Astarte/Ishtar (the origin of the word Easter), and the worship of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in 189-213 (available on JSTOR.org), Tammuz and the Bible (this one was great), Edwin Yamauchi (Ph.D. specializing in Ancient History, Old Testament, New Testament, Early Church History, Gnosticism, and Biblical Archaeology), Journal of Biblical LiteratureVol. Is it correct to use "the" before "materials used in making buildings are"? I have talked about Semiramis before, she was a real Queen who lived about a hundred years before the deportation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria. That's where I saw women seated, weeping for Tammuz. After Tammuz's death, his mother Semiramis, began a custom in Babylon called "forty days of weeping for Tammuz" (one day for each year of Tammuz's life). causing everyone to be jealous, but no phallic symbol that is big enough to be seen from afar could seriously be expected to make anyone jealous, especially God. this was the mode now practiced throughout Christendom." Did he have anything to do with the image of jealousy? Probably not. Indeed they put the branch to Then he brought me to the door of the gate of YHWHs house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. which precedes the festival of Easter Sunday. I wouldn't say it's fair to exclude sources based on their antiquity (esp. A cursory search on BibleGateway shows that the only occurrence of Tammuz is in Ezekiel 8. The Holy Marriage of Ishtar and Tammuz takes place and Tammuz is elevated to the god of fertility. an inconvenience as abstaining from chocolate or ice cream for the duration. display: none !important; Any idol placed within the Temple grounds would have qualified as an image of jealousyit could have been a statue of Baal Hadad, the Canaanite storm god, or Asherah, a mother goddess who was sometimes worshipped as Yahwehs consort, El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, or any number of others. Lent and Ash Wednesday are both in the Bible. 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. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. The date of Athanasius' letter the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, but Dec. 25 in How is Jesus " " (Luke 1:32 NAS28) different from a prophet (, Luke 1:76 NAS28)? Who was the Queen of Heaven and did she really dip eggs in the blood of infants? Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days: Matt 4:2, Mark 1:13, Luke This was believed to help resurrect Tammuz, promising renewal of the earth's vegetation." [1] This idolatrous practice of mourning over a physical image of Tammuz actually seems to be consistent with Ezekiel 8:14 since in the original language there is a definitive article before his name, meaning the women sat weeping for the Tammuz . Then said he unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of YHWHs house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. This is a good question. Women weeping over the god Tammuz. Ezekiel bore the iniquity of Judah for 40 days: Eze 4:6. among the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Mexicans, and, for a time, even among times everyone agreed that a penitential season should precede the solemnities From the earliest Christian Notify me of follow-up comments by email. of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the Pg. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . voice, I will not hear them. Ezekiel 8:17-18, Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, Let In the 1920s (and even before) serious scholars who did have access to the books that Hislop cited realized that he was not honest about his source material, and literally made up a lot of things. Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign . Journal of Assyriology and Oriental Archaeology 86, no. "Legend has it that Tammuz was killed by a wild boar when he was forty In context of Psalm 82:1,6 the term is "elohim", or those who ruled unjustly and judged over Israel. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Athanasius wrote. In fact, it is only when the image is obscured that it looks like a cross. In Arbela, yet another (funerary) display was reserved for the 29th, which seems to have been the last day of the rite.- Scurlock, J. Bringing an idol into His inner court and setting it up at the Shaar haKorban (the northern sacrifice gate) was tantamount to me taking a picture of another man I am sleeping with (this is just an example, So, whats the living in the underworld for six months motif all about? Tammuz was a pagan god or idol that the women were weeping for on the north side of the temple. for all Catholics according to the laws of fast. Two possible explanations, the first is that they are sympathetically acting out the role of the faithful Sirtar and Gestinanna as they wept for their son/brother (notice that no men are involved, only women, so this is plausible). Adar (Mar) Fish tails in canal. Thanks. What is the best translation for in Ezekiel 19:14? Pasch was held to be necessary, it was by slow steps that, in this respect, 540 "For we have not a high priest who is unable to His vision of the defiled temple continues as far as Ezekiel 11:25. You have to realize, I am the type of person who reads about that sort of thing and bursts into tears since beginning my Temple studies. Source: Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles ( For more on how the worship of Tammuz affects idol worship in the inner temple of God, please see An Idol Mind is an Idle Mind.) which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Weeping for Tammuz was a 40 day mourning period for a pagan sun deity that which God castigates Israel for whoring after in Ezekiel 8:13-16. **Nimrod was a powerful king. Two possible explanations, the first is that they are sympathetically acting out the role of the faithful Sirtar and Gestinanna as they wept for their son/brother (notice that no men are involved, only women, so this is plausible). Bishop of Rome [514-523], about the year 519, which decreed that Lent should It is common for people to be very emotionally attached to legends, but remember that regardless, I am a sister in Messiahnot simply someone to lash out at. Source: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, copyright Roman Catholic Church, and not the Bible, and is fixed based on the sun There's much more, but this is who he is. Ezek 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. What does this seemingly physical "glory of the Lord" mean? pp. Jesus was seen for 40 days after His crucifixion: Acts 1:3. in the Search for Truth! Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? To begin, @lasersauce made the correct observation that. Literal Standard Version The resurrection of Tammuz, through Ishtar's weeping, was dramatically represented in order to insure the success of the crops and the fertility of the people. In Inanna and Bilulu, Tammuz the shepherd husbandman (who seems to become some sort of demi-god in the epics) went out with his sheep and was killed by an evil woman Bilulu and her son Girgire during a livestock raid his head beaten in with a mace. Moses pleads for Israel 40 days on Sinai: Deu 9:18-25, 10:10. What video game is Charlie playing in Poker Face S01E07? At their first encounter, Ishtar is said to have fallen in love with the shepherd boy Tammuz who in turn asks for her hand in marriage. Many religions are built upon the suppression of information. As we see in this picture take by Matthew Vander Els in the Golan, it would be a terribly stressful time. So according to Catholics, Lent is derived from the 40 days him told of his early death and of the descent of Istar, his bride, into Weeping for Tammuz was easily associated with infidelity, with pregnancy, and with springtime. Yeshua spent period of fasting in the Roman Church before the sitting of the Nicene "Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, In the more famous Inannas Descent, we see Inanna (Ishtar) consigned to dwell in the underworld by her sister unless she can find a replacement returning back to the earth to find someone suitable (so she can be with her beloved husband, Dumuzi), she finds that he um. sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested Posted on March 20, 2018. Canaan spied on for 40 days: Num 13:25, 14:34. time frame was never fixed, rules never formalized. 5 A celebration called Easter (fertility rites to Ishtar. the desert. the festival of Easter. Joseph, Rachel and what they teach us about how to deal with life. (What is it actually based on? 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? I actually have quite a few scholarly papers available on different subjects. She was even identified with Mary as Mary was falsely deified and took on the titles "Mother of God" and . until several centuries after the time of the Messiah. through the final stages of his life on earth. to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? What is the story behind mourning for Hadad-rimmon in Zechariah 12:11? 180, The 26th of Duuzu was the day of uproar; it was a day when a (funerary) display was made in Aur and Nineveh. Tammuz was a master at love poems and he wrote love poems to Ivanna aka Isthar, asthoreth. The story I used to believe and teach said that he was either a sun god or that he was a mortal man descended from Nimrod and Semiramis who was a pre-Yeshua (Jesus) false Messiah. The hemerologies state that the lamentations and "binding" of Tammuz were celebrated in the month Tammuz (Du'uzu); the weeping took place on the second day and on the 9th, 16th and 17th there were processions of torches. EDIT: If you are wondering where Lent might, in fact, have come from, check out this possibility. United States: Zondervan, 2009. Fish eating on "Good" Friday: The fish symbol also represents the goddess of fertility and is considered as a woman's vulva: the creator of life. . Why are they weeping? Because Tammuz was killed when he was forty years old, Pagans fast one day for each of the years that he lived leading into Easter. In general, however, it is true that many of them have at By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Are the women weeping so as to ensure that Tammuz will return and bless the land again? but Dec. 25 in the old Julian calendar), the renewal of nature in The Resurrection of Tammuz. 57-58. BOOK (Index) CHAPTER VERSE 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." King James Version (KJV) < Previous Verse Next Verse > View Chapter Ezekiel 8:14 Context the church observes as a penitential season. This custom of weeping for Tammuz is referred to in the Bible in the only passage where the name occurs (Ezekiel 8:14). We are glad you stopped by and hope you stick around. The Hebrew word for weeping is . The Expositor's Bible Commentary says regarding this verse: "Tammuz, later linked to Adonis and Aphrodite by name, was a god of fertility and rain . I only have 1 source for this and that is the Bible. Easter is celebrated on a day specified only by the document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please consider supporting this ministry, which is offered free of charge in order to help newcomers understand Biblical context and develop good spiritual fruit. Lent is connected with the Babylonian goddess Ashtoreth/ I want you to imagine what image of jealousy meant during those times, and specifically what it meant to the One giving Ezekiel the vision, namely God. would seem to negate that theory. We are glad you stopped by and hope you stick around. ", Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia, revised and updated, When could a ferry-boat bound for Italy get becalmed in the Straits of Corfu after meeting contrary winds and drifting to Paxos? . during this time, no meat was to be eaten. (EZEKIEL 8:14) Much in the same way Queen Semiramis said the evergreen tree symbolized his father's eternal life (Jeremiah 10:1-7). In Dumuzis Dream, an alternate version, His mother and sister, Sirtar and Gestinanna, go down to the underworld searching for him and weeping for him the entire time. the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. All of a sudden (well not really all of a sudden, they took a long time to compile and translate the process is still ongoing) we had real-time information on gods and goddesses that we previously had only been able to make assumptions about based on medieval Jewish myths like Dagon. In this context, it means that we need to believe how He defines sin. No Commemoration for the Resurrection For instance, the ancient Egyptians observed a forty day fast in honor of Osiris. Carnival, was entirely unknown; and even when fasting before the Christian The practice of eating ham at Christmas and Easter also derives back to the veneration of Nimrod and Tammuz. rev2023.3.3.43278. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. "Whence, then, came this observance? was of apostolic origin, but historians fix its establishment at a later The Resurrection Day of Tammuz (Easter) by Rav Sha'ul. reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast." Pg. When Ezekiel was sitting in his house in Babylon together with the elders of Judah, YHWH showed him a series of horrible scenes in which the people of Israel were violating their covenant with the Lord of Life. The year was 339, and Athanasius was recently back from Baal, Tammuz, Ashtoreth, Astarte and Ishtar are all connected with pagan sun Source: The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, second So, why was Tammuz carrying a branch? This is vital! "In the Western Church today, Lent begins six and a half weeks before of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and Source: The New Question Box to the diversity of opinion, saying: "some think they ought to fast Even worse, just after Hislop wrote his original pamphlets, cuneiform tablets started being dug up all through the Near East, in overwhelming numbers. 4 As is with Lent, a time of mourning, a weeping for Tammuz. worship. several weeks. The Paganism of Lent and Weeping for Tammuz! deity. Bringing an idol into His inner court and setting it up at the Shaar haKorban (the northern sacrifice gate) was tantamount to me taking a picture of another man I am sleeping with (this is just an example, I am not really doing this) and putting it on my husbands bedside table. The Bible refers to her as "Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians" ( 2 Kings 23:13. So You Think Easter is Pagan Part 3: Modern Easter Tradition. We primarily know about her because an ancient author named Sanchuniathon (first Millenium BCE) wrote about her and actually, Sanchuniaton is a man from whom we get a lot of our information about ancient Near Eastern religion because he was a prolific Phoenician sage. I meant to write this a few months ago when something strange about the Temple description caught my eye. the 40 days of our Lord's unbroken fast (Mt. Semiramis became known as the fertility goddess Ishtar. My bible footnotes tells me it is a "fertility god". Month: Only a small remnant would escape and Ezekiel cried out for mercy (9:1-8).Ezekiel saw first hand the secret sins of Jerusalem's leaders in the visions. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. 49798.). The second option is that they, as in other cultures, are sympathetically casting their tears upon the ground that has been cursed with no rain because Tammuz is in the underworld. than fasting, and as a time of prayer. Now from non-Catholic sources, a little more information: "It ought to be known," said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, The 28th of Duuzu was the day of Dumuzi when a further (funerary) display was made in all four cities. doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, I am a fifty-something-year-old Bible teacher, wife of twenty-eight years to Mark, and mom of adult twin sons. What can a lawyer do if the client wants him to be acquitted of everything despite serious evidence? Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Lent is based on Tammuz worship. Thats the claim lets test it against what is actually known and weigh the evidence. We live in an age of information and it is difficult to imagine someone getting away with it for so long but truthfully few would have had access to his quoted sources. Why was everything. . Sorry for such a late reply. Easter is in my Bible, the day of Christ's resurrection. Who would he have been in the 6th century BCE when Ezekiel saw the abominations in the Temple? Honestly I had never noticed! Tammuz became like his supposed father baal, a mighty hunter, but was killed by a wild pig. Styling contours by colour and by line thickness in QGIS. 4:2. Judah (Israel was now long since exiled) was still married to Yahweh through Covenant only out of Gods faithfulness to David and the Patriarchs. Catholics, Lent is derived from the 40 days Yeshua spent fasting in Church, however, Lent begins eight weeks before Easter, since fasting is Topological invariance of rational Pontrjagin classes for non-compact spaces. Why are they weeping? in any way to his crucifixion or the Passover. He who has ears to hear, what does this mean exactly? The reference in Ezekiel to the women weeping for Tammuz certainly shows a trace of a cult in early Israel; but how far it . until the time of Saint Ambrose (c339-397). Who would he have been in the 6th century BCE when Ezekiel saw the abominations in the Temple? So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD's house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz." Ezekiel 8:13-14 Ezekiel 8:13-14 Every year, they observed Ishtar's Day after the first full moon, which occurred after the Spring Equinox, our 3/21. "Some sources allege that the forty-day Lent was not known in the West Nothe jealous One in the case of the Temple being defiled is God Himself, who couldnt care less what type of idol it was, only that there was an idol. the underworld in search of him. I didn't know that was required on this site and got a friendly note from the moderator as well asking me to site sources. "In the fourth century Saint Athanasius enjoined the people of Alexandria A token fast.". The Feast of Tammuz was usually celebrated in June (also called the "month of Tammuz"). Even worse, just after Hislop wrote his original pamphlets, cuneiform tablets started being dug up all through the Near East, in overwhelming numbers. It was once claimed that the Lenten practice HALLOWEEN 3 (Sep. 1965), pp. 8:12-14] He called it an abomination. She was a Babylonian princess who married an Assyrian King, and her story was later embellished by the Greeks. This weeping occurs in the Spring. the Lord's day, Sunday), a feast called Quadragesima, which would indispensible preliminary to the great annual festival in In verse, 14 we see the women are weeping for Tammuz, God calls this a greater abomination for they are committing adultery on top of the idolatry we see is being done earlier in the passage. When Cush died, Nimrod married his mother Semiramis. 1, No. Because Tammuz was killed when he was forty years old, pagans fast one day for each of the years that he lived leading into Easter. Yeah I know the only sources that I can find regarding the weeping of Tammuz was 40 days and was the origin of Lent is from fundamentalists, . in the Golan, it would be a terribly stressful time. One of these ceremonies is recorded in Ezekiel 8:14 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. If you have any specific questions, let me know. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. least an indirect connection with the pre-Christian [pagan] feasts Now that woman was a piece of work! This is a substantial answer and I have up-voted it. The Two Babylons Thank you! Homeschooling a High School Student? The sun-worship services of the backslidden Israelites, with their women participating in the rites of Astarte worship (Easter) and weeping for Tammuz was detestable to Almighty Yahweh. Weeping for Tammuz The council of 70 if you will which Jesus spoke to in John 10:34, He quoted from this Psalm in pointing out the Sanhedrins' hypocrisy. This ritual commanded the people to fast and pray for Tammuz in the underworld . I've heard that supposedly the weeping lasted for only a couple of days, while others say it lasted for the month named after him. Dummelows book was published in 1909, when the study of ancient Babylonia was still in its infancy. We traced the origins of the fallacious narrative that "Easter" was an ancient pagan observance, either in honor of . When you have a chance, check out the site tour at. Catholics are required to fast and are Confronting a Devastating Doctrine: Are Children Is Hand Washing Commanded? being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the 'month Yes and No. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and commit here? period during which the church's liturgy follows Christ's activity closely no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained The queen proclaimed 40 days of sorrow after the day of his death each year & that is why they wept for him. all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing Tammuz. The name Tammuz occurs once in the Bible. According to I understand this passage is in context with Israel's idolatry, but what are they specifically engaged in, in "Weeping for Tummuz"? It was the fallen of Mesopotamia idolatry for these gods that fell. Easter, the goddess of the dawn is the Universal goddess of fertility throughout history since the Tower of Babel. "He [the Lord] said also unto me: 'Thou shalt again see yet greater abominations which they do.' Tammuz was an actual person. until several centuries after the time of the Messiah. thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they His death was commemorated by 40 days of weeping for Tammuz because he unjustly dies so young, with worshipers giving up a pleasure in this life so he could in enjoy it in the next. Little angers our Father in heaven more than embracing the idolatry of the heathen nations. Ezekiel 8 in Context Part 2, Episode 164: Purim 2023Honor, Shame and Two Brave Queens, Episode 163: Sociology IIReligion, Weird Science, and Practical Linguistics, Episode 162 Sociology I: Groupthink, Holy/Profane and Clean/Unclean, Episode 161: The Advent of John the Baptist in Luke, Episode 160: Special Teaching #1The Advent of the Messiah in Matthew, Infertility, Barreness, Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Child Loss. This is reminiscent of Where does this (supposedly) Gibson quote come from? For instance, we must never come to think that "weeping for Tammuz" ( Ezekiel 8:13-14) is really not all that bad. This observance was known not only at Babylon, but also Goddess associated with Tammuz) reason for use of eggs and bunnies as symbols of fertility) > obscures Passover and the significance of the redeeming blood of messiah. spring, and so on. If men were truly made jealous by such idols, then they would never have become popular in the first place. 828-834 (this is an incredibly pricey book, but Van der Toorn, Ph.D. is THE man when it comes to this stuff), Nimrod Before and After the Bible, Van der Toorn, HTR 83:1(1990) pp 1-29, A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, Gwendolyn Leick, Ph.D. Assyriology pp 31-36, 86-93, The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, James B Pritchard, Ed (all of Pritchards books have impressive pedigrees, and this one is no different being the work of seventeen serious ANE scholars) pp 77-82, 404-8 (among others, there is a wealth of information about Inanna/Ishtar), The IVP Bible Background Commentary, John Walton (Ph.D. an expert in Ancient Near Eastern world) et al. the 40 day period called Lent, then what is its origin? 1 In the book of Ezekiel, it describes women weeping for the god, Tammuz, in the Temple. When Gestinanna finds him, she nobly agrees to take his place in the underworld for six months out of every year. (Note: Please do not contact me telling me that I am slandering other ministries by writing thisif I cannot politely present research without being accused of trying to undermine others, then we have reached the point of death within the movement. Asaph was a musician in the Levitical priesthood of Israel. Note that Lent is a moveable observance, connected to and preceding It would appear that the crying lasted some time after the initial event of Ezekiel 8:14 as noted below: And He said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Thanks for this article. According to T.Jacobson page 100 in Toward the Image of Tammuz and Other Essays, the myth was that Tammuz died and went to the underworld. about the same time of year -- feasts centering around the harvest, the urged to adopt other penitential modes during the season.". copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), But the edited by Robert Broderick, copyright 1987, published by Thomas Nelson Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A. The passage doesn't explain what it means, although they are engaged in some form of idolatry. Hi Irv, welcome to BH.SE, and thanks for your answer! Can state your sources, and perhaps quote them in your response? How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? Nicely answered, Sam, and welcome to the forum. Irv, please put your meaty comments into your answer. What does the Most High mean by 'inhabiting the waste places of the land of Israel' in Ezekiel 33:24? Easter, which is named after the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, (otherwise known as Astarte (Semiramis), who was the wife of Nimrod), was first celebrated to honor Tammuz. By the solemn forty days I am a chemist, and my husband is an engineer so we had to take some of the same classes, but both basic engineering and the sciences can exist without each other yet neither can exist without physics and math.). (The New Question Box - Catholic Life for the Nineties, copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), published by Guildhall Publishers, Peoria Illinois, 61651., page 554. Does Ezekiel 16:25 mean being barefoot is immodest? Did he have anything to do with the image of jealousy? Probably not. The Liturgy of the Church reflects By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. The only place where a god could not function was in the underworld, so he must have been there. }. inkhorn at his side. The people had forsaken God, forgot God, and God would destroy the temple. The reasons for celebrating our major feasts when we do are many and varied. Aug 28, 2022. But apparently harvest, the rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, It was with the view, no doubt, of carrying of Tammuz;' in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some 2 Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on What is the point of Thrower's Bandolier? Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange!