Geoff Hudson
Mon, 19 Aug 2002 08:53:25 -0700
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of George Brooks Sent: 19 August 2002 03:27 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: orion-list Enochian Sects: Samaritan vs. Judah-ite George wrote in response to my previous qestions: The deity that is archaeologically attested to the Rechabite lifestyle is the Aramaean Shai al' Qaum, who is traditionally translated as "Companion/Protector of the Caravan". But it could also be a pun on the term "Qaum", and mean BOTH "Caravan" and "stone". In anycase, there seems to be close congruence between the Rechabites and the peoples that were devoted to Shai al Qaum.While the Hellenized version of this anti-wine God would eventually become Lycurgus, there seems to be strong evidence (per Diodorus's famous texts about Nabataeans), that devotees of Shai settled in the land of Edom and were known as Nabataeans. And LONG before there was a people we would call Essenes, the Nabataeans themselves had undergone a transition from "tent dwelling mavericks" to agriculturally supported people living in urbanized centers. *********** George, it puzzles me why one has to have an anti-wine god that is not the God of Israel in order to explain the Rechabite abstention from alcohol. What I say next is simplistic (as usual). Just suppose a group (a 'tribe' say) of Israelites had a bad experience that caused a large number of them to be wiped-out. Could such an experience affect their view of God and what his commands are for them? Do people's experiences form their views of their god, at least to some extent. I can well imagine that if the tribe was having a party one day and alot of them were the worse for wear when they were attacked and defeated, that such an experience would be seen as punishment from god for their excess, and that god was telling them to abstain for ever. There were surely possibilities of diversities arising among the 'tribes' of Israel according to their different experiences. More interestingly for me, if Rechabites believed in an anti-wine god, did they also believe in a pro-tent god -- one who didn't dwell in a building made by men such as a temple? I wonder if an experience formed that view? Sincerely, Geoff For private reply, e-mail to "Geoff Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from Orion, e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: "unsubscribe Orion." Archives are on the Orion Web site, http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il. (PLEASE REMOVE THIS TRAILOR BEFORE REPLYING TO THE MESSAGE)