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Gender Issues Attendant upon the Transition from the Feminine Sophia to the Masculine Logos: Part I Белешките 8-1-2013
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| 2013-09-12, 3:21 AM |
| Gender Issues Attendant upon the Transition from the Feminine Sophia to the Masculine Logos: Part I
[1] Proverbs 8.22-31, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Edited by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977, p. 776.� It should be noted that all scriptural quotes throughout this paper will be taken from The New Oxford Annotated Bible.[2] Introduction to The Proverbs, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, p. 769.
[3] See footnotes to The Proverbs 1.20-33, p. 770; 3.19-20, p. 772; 7.4, p. 776 in which further references are made to Proverbs 1.20-33, 4.8-9, 8.1-36, 9.1-6 where "Wisdom is personified as a woman"; 8.1-36, p. 777; 9.1-6, p. 778; and 9.13-18, p. 779.
[4] Raphael Patai, The Hebrew Goddess, Third Enlarged Edition, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 1990, Introduction by Merlin Stone, p. 16.
[5] Eleanor Rae, "Divine Wisdom:� Her Significance for Today" in Teilhard in the 21st Century:� The Emerging Spirit of Earth, Arthur Fabel and Donald St. John, editors, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 2003, pp. 195-208.� Material and quotes on Job are from pp. 202 and 204.
[6] According to the introduction to The Book of Job in The New Oxford Annotated Bible, p. 613, this book of the Bible "circulated orally" among sages "in the second millennium B.C. and was probably written down in Hebrew" about 1000 to 800 B.C.E.��
[7] "Abaddon" is referred to by Rae, Theilhard in the 21st Century p. 202, as "perdition."� However, LXX translates "Abaddon" as "destruction."� The Septuagint with Apocrypha:� Greek and English, Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton, Hendrickson Publishers, U.S.A., ninth printing, June 2001.
[8] Quotes to the end of this paragraph are from Rae, pp.. 204-205.
[9] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 23.
[10] Rosemary Radford Ruether, Goddesses and the Divine Feminine:� A Western Religious History, University of California Press, Berkeley, California, 2005.� Quotes and material that follow in the next two paragraphs are from Ruether's discussion pp. 28-35.
[11] Ruether, p. 13.
[12] Ruether, p. 41.
[13] Ruether, p. 6-7.
[14] Patai, p. 17.
[15] The concept of the divine immanent in people, even within all life, is found in other teachings:� The immanence of the divine in Jewish thought will be discussed later in this paper when the concept of "Shekhina"� is discussed.� The immanence of the divine is also found in the "doctrine of deification," theosis, in Orthodox thought.� Theosis is noted to be a "personal and organic union between God and humans."� Such deification is "understood in the light of the distinction between God's essence and His energies.� Union with God means union with the divine energies, not the divine essence."� Timothy Ware, (Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia), The Orthodox Church, Penguin books, New edition, London, England, paperback edition, 1997, pp. 231-232.�
[16] Quotes in this paragraph are from Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her:� A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, Tenth Anniversary Edition, The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, 2002, pp. xviii to xxi.� Emphasis in original.
[17] Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, p. xviii.
[18] Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, p. xix.
[19] Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, p. xx.
[20] References that follow in this paragraph are from Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her, p.xxi.
[21] Quotes and material that follow in this paragraph are from Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Jesus:� Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet:� Critical Issues in Feminist Christology, The Continuum Publishing Company, New York, 1994, footnote 1 to Chapter 1, p. 191.� Emphasis in original.
[22] Previous quotes in this paragraph are from Ruether, p. 35.
[23] Ruether, p. 14.
[24] Ruether, p. 3.
[25] Ruether, p. 28-35.
[26] Ruether, p. 28.
[27] Namely, Gimbutas, Eisler, and others, Ruether, p. 30.
[28] It should be noted that this paper will follow Ruether's use of capitalization/non-capitalization of the words "god" and "goddess," to wit:� In footnote 1, p. 309,� to the introduction of her book, Ruether notes that she uses the lower case for the first letter of these two words when they are used in a "more generic way, including the Hebrew or Christian god"; she capitalizes the respective words when they refer to a "particular god or goddess," or to the "biblical and Christian God as a statement of belief."� This paper will follow the same practice.
[29] Quotes that follow are from Ruether, p. 30 unless otherwise indicated.
[30] Ruether, p. 32.
[31] Ruether, p. 34.
[32] Ruether, p. 30.
[33] This section will follow Ruether's chapter two rather closely with references given as they occur.
[34] Information on Sumer and Akkad from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia, Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, Springfield, Massachusetts, p. 1560 and p. 30 respectively.
[35] Quotes in the remainder of this paragraph are from Ruether, p. 41.
[36] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Ruether, p. 41.� Ruether also points out that the connection to writing and the storage of grain (and thus the goddess patron) most likely can be traced back to the association of women with fertility and a time when women were responsible for both the storage and preparation of grain as food and thus also the record keeping of storage accounts.�
[37] Quotes in the next two paragraphs are from Patai, p. 136-137 unless otherwise indicated.
[38] Quotes to the end of this paragraph are from Patai, p. 61.
[39] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 136-137.
[40] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 61-62,
[41] Quotes and material in this paragraph and the next are from an extended discussion in Ruether that covers pp. 41‑47.
[42] Quotes and material that follow are from Ruether, p. 45.
[43] Material and quotes in this paragraph and its "points" are from Ruether, pp. 45-47.
[44] In another extended discussion, from which material and quotes in the following two paragraphs are taken, Ruether develops this topic at some length, pp. 49-50 and pp. 54-56.
[45] Quotes and material in this paragraph are from Ruether, pp. 49-50.
[46] Quotes and material that follow are from Ruether, p. 50 unless otherwise noted.
[47] Quotes and material that follow are from Ruether, p. 54 unless otherwise noted.
[48] Ruether, p. 55.
[49] Ruether, p. 56.
[50] Material and quotes in the following three paragraphs are taken from an extended discussion on Isis in Ruether, pp. 61-69.
[51] Material and quotes that follow are from Ruether, p. 61 unless otherwise indicated.
[52] Material and quotes that follow are from Ruether, p. 62 unless otherwise indicated.
[53] This quote and the first quote of the next paragraph are from Ruether, p. 65.
[54] Material and quotes that follow in this paragraph and the next are from Ruether, p. 68-69 unless otherwise indicated.
[55] Material in this section is from an extended discussion on Demeter, Ruether, pp. 69-72.
[56] Quotes in the rest of this paragraph are from Ruether, p. 69-70.
[57] Material and quotes that follow in the next two paragraphs are from Ruether, p. 72.
[58] Patai, p. 28.
[59] Ruether, p. 73.
[60] Quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 28-29.
[61] Patai, pp. 29-30.
[62] Midrash literature flourished in the late C.E. 100s and is extensively quoted in the Talmud--Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia, p. 1066.
[63] Patai, p. 96.
[64] The period of the judges is estimated to be the 1100s to 1000s B.C.E. and the period of the monarchy is estimated to be approximately the 900s B.C.E.--Paul Nadim Tarazi, The Old Testament:� An Introduction.� Volume 1, Historical Traditions, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, Crestwood, New York, 1991, "Summary of Old Testament Chronology," p. ix.� All following references to dates of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the periods of reigns of kings and/or any references to Old Testament dates are from this same Tarazi reference.
[65] Ruether, p. 74.
[66] Quotes in this paragraph are from Patai p. 34.
[67] Mid-1200s B.C.E.--Tarazi, Volume 1, p. ix.
[68] Ruether, p. 74-75.� See also Ruether p. 77 for an extended discussion of El as the high God of the Canaanite religion and the process by which Yahweh gradually, over time, took over all the functions and the place of El for the Israelites.� She notes that "The name Isra-el was itself an El name, not a Yahwist name" and that Yahweh was even seen as "one of the sons of El, who has been given Israel as his particular people among the nations."� She cites Mark S. Smith and in connection with the citing of Mark S. Smith notes various Biblical references, namely, Deuteronomy 32.8-9, Genesis 4.26 and 15.2. and Exodus .2-3.
[69] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Ruether, pp. 74-75.
[70] Patai, pp. 36-38.
[71] Patai, p. 34.
[72] The following material and quotes is from Ruether pp. 75-76.� Emphasis in original.
[73] Patai, p. 37.
[74] Ruether, pp. 81-83.� In this extended discussion Ruether cites Howard Eilberg-Schwartz in places. �All quotes are from Ruether, p. 81.
[75] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Ruether, pp. 81-82.
[76] Although the discussion at issue here is the prophets' attempt to forestall "male elite political alliances," this writer notes that implied in the denunciation of these political alliances against which the prophets were inveighing is what evidently seems a true concern and compassion for the welfare of the poor peasantry of Israel.� Ruether notes that the Israelite peasantry were impoverished and "bowed under" by taxes the elite Israelites were extracting from all those Israelites who were not considered "elite."� Ruether, pp. 81-83.� This writer notes that present day Christians working for peace and social justice often quote the prophets and take the prophets as their "patrons" or "mentors"; such reasoning is not hard to understand given Ruether's explanation.
[77] See Judges 6.25-32.
[78] Patai, p. 39.
[79] Material and quotes (except those from the Bible) are from Patai, p. 40.
[80] Solomon was king of Israel in the last half of the 900s B.C.E.
[81] Full reference in 1Kings 11.
[82] Material and quotes in the above paragraph are from Patai, p. 41.
[83] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 42 and footnote 29, p. 298.
[84] Quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, pp. 42-43.
[85] Patai, p. 45.
[86] Quotes and material in the next two paragraphs are from Patai, pp. 46-49.
[87] Patai, p. 48.
[88] Not only are these incidents recorded in the cited references in 2Kings they are also noted in 2Chronicles 33.3-7.� It should also be noted that Manasseh in these biblical passages is not only accused of establishing Asherahs in the temple; he is also noted to have "burned his sons as an offering in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and practiced soothsaying and augury and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with wizards" (2Kings 21.6 and 2Chronicles 33.6).� Thus, while Manasseh obviously indulged in practices that in modern times are considered shocking, these practices as such are not at issue in this discussion, only the worship of the Goddess is at issue here.�
[89] Patai, p. 49.
[90] Quotes regarding Josiah are from Patai, p. 49.
[91] Patai, p. 50.
[92] Patai, p. 50.
[93] Patai, p. 69 notes the derivation and meaning of the term "Cherub" is from the Hebrew K'rubh, which is likely related to the "Akkadian karibu," which in turn "designates an intermediary between men and the gods, a being who presents the prayers of men to the gods."
[94] Quotes and material in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 67-68.
[95] Quotes and material in the following two paragraphs are from Patai, p. 68-69.
[96] Patai notes on p. 69 that a "very similar pair of winged protective female genii is shown on an Egyptian relief from Karnak...(ca. 1500 B.C.E.)."� It seems to this writer that it is clear that a "minimal" Egyptian influence is found "here and there" throughout the Hebrew religion, thus attesting to what in the opinion of this writer must be evidence of syncretistic influence of Egyptian religions on the Hebrew religion.
[97] Material and quotes in the paragraphs that follow is from Patai, pp. 69-70 unless otherwise indicated.
[98] Ruether, p. 73 noting the research of Norman Gottwald.
[99] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 70.
[100] Patai, pp. 70-82.
[101] One might say there were several "incarnations" of the Temple:� First there was the Desert Tabernacle which was a kind of "portable" temple (if, indeed, the Jews journeyed 40 years in the desert after their "escape" from Egypt.)� Then Solomon built his temple in the 900s B.C.E. that was destroyed by the Babylonians when the Jews were taken into captivity in 587/6 B.C.E.� When the Hebrews returned from exile 70 years later, after a long period of turmoil the Temple was eventually rebuilt.� Then in 165 B.C.E. the Maccabees restored the Temple.� Once again the Temple was "completely rebuilt by Herod in 20-12 B.C.E. by Herod the Great who undertook a major expansion of the Temple.� It should be noted that Herod's work was simply an expansion of the Jerusalem Temple and not another temple.� This expanded Temple was subsequently destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. and never rebuilt.� This information is from Patai, foonote 55 p. 307 andwww.en.wikipedia.org and www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
[102] Interesting to this writer is Patai's discussion of Ezekiel's strange and awesome visions, citing particularly Ezekiel 9.3, 10.1-22.� Patai notes in footnote 31 on p. 305 that although the "details of Ezekiel's vision defy interpretation," there is archeological evidence to substantiate some of his stranger and more "weird" descriptions of his vision of the Temple.� For instance, Ezekiel in 10.12 and 28.13-14; notes that the bodies of the Cherubim were full of "eyes" and "stones of fire."� Patai wonders if these descriptions described "bejeweled Cherubim figures" in the Temple.� This writer notes that Patai may have found a valid explanation for at least one detail of the very awesome, intriguing, and fascinating (at least to this writer) visions of Ezekiel.
[103] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 72.
[104] It should be noted that Psalm 104 is considered by scholars to be so similar to Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun that there had to have been some relation to that Egyptian song, or it may have been a song written in imitation of the praise to the Egyptian sun god; there are many comparisons that can be made between Akhenaten's Hymn to the Sun and Psalm 104.� (See paper on "Wisdom Literature" submitted by this writer to St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology, October 19, 2004.)
[105] See Isaiah 19.1 and Habakkuk 3.8, 12, and 14.
[106] Quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, pp. 73-74.
[107] Quotes and material in this paragraph are from Patai, pp. 74-75.
[108] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Elizabeth A. Johnson, She Who Is:� The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, Tenth Anniversary Edition, A Herder and Herder Book, The Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, paperback edition, 2002, p. 83.
[109] Patai, p. 99.
[110] Material and quotes in the remainder of this paragraph are from Patai, p. 107.
[111] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Johnson, p. 85.
[112] Note the various spellings of this word.� Johnson:� shekinah; Patai� Shekhina.
[113] Quotes and material in this paragraph are from Patai, pp. 98-99.
[114] This extended discussion in Patai covers pp. 96-111
[115] Patai, p. 98.
[116] Patai, p. 105.
[117] Quotes and material are from Patai, p. 111 except as noted.
[118] It should be noted that Patai, pp. 77-78, refers to the following two references from Philo: 1)�� "Questions and Answers on Genesis I" (Quaestiones et Solutiones in Genesin, I), 57:� "The name cherubim designates the two original virtues which belong to the Deity, namely, his creative and royal virtues.� The one of which has the title of God, the other, or the royal virtue, that of Lord.� Now the form of the creative power is a peaceable, and gentle, and beneficent virtue; but the royal power is legislative, and chastising, and correcting virtue."� 2)� "On the Cherubim" (De Cherubim), Part 2, XIV.49 Philo speaking of having himself "been initiated in the great mysteries of Moses" and then having "beheld Jeremiah, the prophet" and having become "his pupil" first quotes Jeremiah 3.4 and then comments on the biblical quotation:� " 'Hast thou not called me as thy house, and thy father, and the husband of thy virginity?' showing by this expression most manifestly that God is both a house, the incorporeal abode of incorporeal ideas, and the Father of all things, inasmuch as it is he who has created them; and the husband of wisdom, sowing for the race of mankind the seed of happiness in good and virgin soil."� [It should be noted that The New Oxford Annotated Bible translates Jeremiah 3.4 thus:� "Have you not just now called to me, 'My father, thou art the friend of my youth.' "]� Patai, p. 78, then goes on to note:� "It is clear that in all these explanations Philo had in mind one and the same dichotomy that can be subsumed as follows:� God (Elohim) [masculine]:� Father, Husband, Begetter, Creator, Reason, Goodness, Peaceable, Gentle, Beneficent, Symbolized by Cherub A; and Lord (Yahweh) [feminine]:� Mother, Wife, Bearer, Nurturer, Wisdom (Knowledge, Learning, Education), Sovereignty (Kingly Power), Legislative, Chastising, Correcting, Symbolized by Cherub B."� Yet, note the masculine/feminine inconsistencies in the above:� Yahweh in this dichotomy is considered feminine.� Elsewhere Yahweh is considered masculine.� (See discussion above.)� What is proved here is that although the masculine/feminine dichotomy of gods as such was acknowledged in the Bible, the development of thought regarding masculine/feminine vis-�-vis a monotheist approach to one god was still in its embryonic stage.� References from Philo are from The Works of Philo:� Complete and Unabridged.� New updated edition.� Translated by C.D. Yonge.� Hendrickson Publishers, U.S.A.� Sixth Printing, May 2002.
[119] Interestingly, Patai is speaking of "old Biblical" sources being unsure of the number of persons in the deity.� Thus it is clear from this statement that the concept of the number of persons in God is a very old one and not peculiar to Christianity.� It may be, though, that it was Christianity that decided with a certainty that there are three persons in God.
[120] Interestingly, in this statement Patai refers to "the Word" as a feminine aspect of Yahweh; yet in The Gospel according to John there is no doubt that "the Word" is masculine.� Edward Moore (personal communication, September 2005) notes that "The translation of the Greek term logos as 'word' is one of the greatest linguistic gaffs in Western literature.� Logos meant the contents of one's mind, the ability to give an account of something, to understand, perceive, etc....The Greek term for 'word' was the feminine rhema, which occurs numerous times in the prophetic books as translated in the LXX but it only means the words that come from the mouths of the prophets."� This writer notes that likely such a situation that might be subsumed under the term "lost in translation" may not be the only such "gaff" that has contributed over time to the development of thought in many different areas of learning.
[121] Material and quotes that follow on Jeremiah are from Patai, pp.62-66.
[122] Quotes and material in the next two paragraphs are from Patai, p. 63.
[123] See unpublished paper submitted by this writer to St. Elias School of Orthodox Theology, June 2004.
[124] See Jeremiah 44.
[125] The New Oxford Annotated Bible, footnote to Jeremiah 44.15-28, p. 972, notes that the "queen of heaven" noted was the goddess first introduced by Manasseh, suppressed by Josiah, and restored later.� (See above.)� This footnote refers to this Goddess as Ishtar, goddess of the star Venus; this same footnote also refers to the "queen of heaven" as the Canaanite Astarte, the Greek Aphrodite, and the Roman Venus.� This footnote says that, "the cult was especially popular among women, who had an inferior role in the cult of the LORD."� This same footnote acknowledges that the cult persisted into the Christian centuries, and features of it were incorporated by the Early Syrian church in the veneration of the Virgin.
[126] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, pp. 63-64.
[127] Patai, p. 65 notes that there is archeological evidence from the 1600s B.C.E. of molds that were used for "casting small figures of the goddess Astarte."� He notes that there is no doubt that these small molds that were obviously of Astarte.� In these molds Astarte is naked, has a tall, conical headdress, looks down at her protruding navel, and has an enigmatic smile on her lips.� He points the reader to "Plate 9" which shows an 8-inch high mold found in Israel.� Part of "Plate 9" is a "modern cast" from the archeological find.
[128] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 65.
[129] See Patai, pp. 65-66.
[130] The Ancient Near East, Volume I:� An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, edited by James B. Pritchard, Princeton University Press, U.S.A., paperback edition, original printing in 1950, sixth hardcover printing in 1973, ANET, 491-492 on pp. 278-282 of text cited.
[131] Note various spellings of this word in Patai (Aramaean) and in Pritchard below (Arameans).
[132] Pritchard, p. 279, footnote to "Contributions to the Cult of Yaho" ANET, 491-492.
[133] Pritchard, p. 279, ANET, 491-492.� There is also less specific reference in at least two other similar letters, "Petition for Authorization to Rebuild the Temple of Yaho" and "Advice of the Governors of Judah and Samaria to the Jews of Elephantine" that the above-mentioned goddess worship was taking place in Yaho's Temple:�� In the petition to rebuild Yaho's Temple, "Yedoniah and his colleagues" invoke blessings on "our lord Bagoas" thus:� "the meal-offering, incense, and burnt offering will be offered in your name, and we shall pray for you at all times, we, and our wives, and our children."� In the letter of advice to the governors of Judah, mention is made that the "wretch Vidaranag" had destroyed the Temple, request is made for its rebuilding, and promise of� "the meal-offering and incense to be made on that altar as it used to be."� While these citations are not as specific as some of those mentioned above, specific notice must be made of how closely they indicate the same rituals noted in regard to the "Queen of Heaven" ritual described above in Jeremiah.
[134] Quotes and material in this section are from Patai pp. 84-86.
[135] Patai, p. 84.
[136] Patai, p. 84, citing Midrash Tadshe, ed. Jellinek, BethaMidrash III, p. 164.
[137] Patai notes in an extended discussion that among Talmudic scholars there are conflicting opinions as to whether the Cherubim described were in Solomon's Temple only or continued down into the Temple that existed until 70 C.E.� He notes that as time progressed--that is, into the third to fifth centuries C.E., the "heirs and successors" of the earlier sages "no longer understood" their ancestors' writings.� He himself, then, has opted to follow the writings of "a sage...who happened to be a high functionary in the Temple...i.e., an adjutant high priest" rather than the opinions in the writings of teachers who wrote several centuries after this "adjutant high priest."� See Patai, footnote 55, pp. 306-307 and footnote 59, pp. 308-310.� It is the opinion of this writer that Patai has a most cogent argument for giving more weight to and following the writings of someone who was an actual participant in the services and rituals of the Temple rather than the writings of those who lived a few hundred years later; therefore, this paper will follow Patai's line of thought regarding the material on the Cherubim.
[138] Patai, pp. 84-85, citing Rabbi Shimeon ben Laqish, whom he describes as "an outstanding Palestinian teacher" who lived from 200-275 C.E.� See Patai footnote 59, p. 308-310 for reference.
[139] Quotes and material that follow in the rest of this paragraph are from Patai, p. 85.
[140] Patai, p. 85-87.
[141] Patai, p. 85, quoting B. Yoma 54b, footnote 58, p. 308.
[142] Patai, p. 84 and footnote 57, pp. 307-308.� Again, here, Patai is quoting from "a Babylonian Talmudic" master of the late 200s and early 300s.� Patai again gives a thorough discussion of the pros and cons regarding this Talmudic statement and opts for its validity; therefore, this paper will follow Patai.
[143] Quotes that follow are from Patai, p. 85 unless otherwise noted.
[144] Patai, p. 85-86 further notes that there were Hebrew antecedents for such traditional response to the exhibition of statuary symbolizing or representing the deity and could have been called "standard practice of the cultic veneration of the divine powers of life and fertility."� He notes, for instance, that when Aaron made the golden calf and showed it to the people, burnt offerings and peace offerings were made to it, and then the people sat down to eat and drink and engage in sexual intercourse.� Patai notes in footnote 63, p. 310 that the Hebrew verb l'tzaheq is a "technical term" that means "precisely this":� engaged in sexual intercourse.�
[145] Quotes to the end of this paragraph are from Patai, p. 86.
[146] Patai, p. 75 and 79.� Quotes and material that follows are from Patai, pp. 75-83 unless otherwise specified.
[147] Philo, "On the Cherubim (De Cherubim)," Part I," VII, 21-23; IX, 27-30; "On the Life of Moses, II (De Vita Mosis, II)," XVI to XXII, 76-108; and "The Special Laws, I (De Specialibus Legibus, I)" XIII, 72-72.� Not the various/diverse writings of Philo that mention the Cherubim.
[148] Quotes and material in this section are from Patai, pp. 75-79.
[149] Patai notes in footnote 33 on pp. 305-306 that up until "recently" the dates given for Philo's life were considered to be 30 B.C.E to 50 C.E.� He cites Moses Hadas and Morton Smith in Heroes and Gods, New York, 1965, p. 129 who revise the dates of Philo's life to 15 B.C.E. to 45 C.E.
[150] Patai, p. 76.
[151] Philo, "On the Cherubim, Part I," IX, 27-29.
[152] Philo, "On the Life of Moses, II," XX, 95-99.
[153] Philo, "On the Life of Moses, II," XX, 95.
[154] Philo, "The Special Laws, I," XIII, 72.
[155] Moore, personal communication, September 2005.
[156] Moore, personal communication, September 2005.
[157] Philo, "On the Cherubim--Part I," IX.27-28.
[158] Philo, "On Drunkenness," VIII.30.
[159] Patai, p. 77.
[160] All references to the end of this paragraph are from Patai, p. 78.
[161] Of noted importance in the above discussion is the fact that Philo himself seems unclear, inconsistent, and even contradictory in places.� It is not clear whether Philo at different times (note the diverse references) had different thoughts on this subject or whether Philo was in a sense "thinking out loud" in his various comments at different times and in discussion of different topics.
[162] Quotes and material in this section are from Patai, pp. 79-86.
[163] The Works of Josephus:� Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition, Translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, U.S.A., paperback edition, Tenth printing, January 1995, "Introduction," p. ix;� and Patai, p. 79.�
[164] Patai, p. 81.
[165] The "Introduction" to Josephus gives additional information about Josephus, stating he was "born the son of a priest...Being of a priestly family...he was well educated and rose to a respected position in the Jewish community.� Further note is made that Josephus spent a short time with the Essenes and a somewhat longer period as a "disciple of an ascetic hermit named Banus," when "he decided at the age of nineteen to join the Pharisees."� When he was twenty-six, in C.E. 63, Josephus traveled to Rome and "successfully pleaded for the release of some fellow priests who had been sent there to be tried by Nero."�
[166] Patai, p. 80.
[167] Josephus, "The Antiquities of the Jews," Book 3, Chapter 6, 5.134 and 137.� Emphasis in original.
[168] Material and quotes in this paragraph are from Patai, p. 80.� Emphasis in original.
[169] Patai, p. 80.
[170] Patai, p. 80.
[171] Josephus, "The Antiquities of the Jews," Book 8, chapter 3, 3.72.
[172] Patai, p. 81.
[173] Josephus, "The Antiquities of the Jews," Book 8, chapter 3, 2.68.
[174] Josephus, "The Antiquities of the Jews," Book 8, chapter 3, 3.72-73.
[175] Patai, p. 81.
[176] Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews," Book 5, Chapter 5. 2.198-199.
[177] Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews," Book 5, Chapter 5, 4.208, 210-214.
[178] Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews," Book 5, Chapter 5, 4.214.
[179] Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews," Book 5, Chapter 5.5.219.� Interestingly, a little farther on in, "The Wars of the Jews," Book 5, Chapter 5, 7.229-231 Josephus describes the "sacred garments" worn by the priests when they "officiated."� Among the various garments worn by the priest when he officiated at sacred ceremonies, Josephus notes that the priest wore a "blue garment...with fringe work."� It had "golden bells that hung upon the fringes, and pomegranates intermixed upon them.� The bells signified thunder, and the pomegranates lightning."� However, once again Josephus may have been "avoiding the issue" in his description.� It seems the pomegranate was a symbol of fertility:� "The many seeds embedded in the pulp of the fruit came to symbolize fertility; the entire fruit [came to symbolize] goddesses like...Astarte (or Ashtoreth), Demeter," etc., in Hans Biedermann, Dictionary of Symbolism, translated by James Hulbert, Facts on File, New York, 1992, p. 271.� Another author (Barbara G. Walker, The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, Harper & Row, Publishers, San Francisco, paperback edition, 1988, p. 493.) notes, "The [pomegranate] was almost universally known as a womb symbol, with its red juice and numerous 'offspring.'� Pomegranates were carved on the pillars of Solomon's temple to represent fertility."� Walker also notes that the Song of Solomon refers to pomegranates.� In the Song of Solomon the lover addresses his love:� "let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom.� There I will give you my love" (7.12).� In another place in the Song of Solomon the lover says to his love, "I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.� I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranates" (8.2).� The New Oxford Annotated Bible, introduction to The Song of Solomon notes that this book dates from about the 200s B.C.E., "but its material is much more ancient."� So, it seems that even the sacred garments worn by the priests in the performance of the sacred rituals also carried symbols of the goddess even in the time of Josephus.
[180] Quotes in this paragraph are from Josephus, "Flavius Josephus Against Apion," Book 2, 7.79-82, 102, and 107 respectively.� Although it is not clear exactly when these various materials were written, the "Introduction" of Josephus notes that " 'The Wars of the Jews'� was written to give a general history of the wars from the time of the Maccabees to the Great War with Rome which resulted in the final demise of the nation of Israel"; "The Antiquities of the Jews" was written "primarily for the benefit of the non-Jewish world"; "The Life of Flavius Josephus" was written "primarily to defend himself and his war record against the unflattering portrayal given in the work of another Jewish historial, Justus of Tiberias"; and "Against Apion" was written as a "short and eloquent apologetic for the Jewish faith in contrast with various aspects of Greek thought"--from the "Introduction" to Josephus, p. ix.
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