Hi
The Holy of Holies!
Today the outside world looks upon Jerusalem as a Sacred City for three of the world’s major religions even though they are related through Abraham! With Judaism and Islam claiming the Temple Mount as their own. The so-called Holy of Holies! However, that was not the case in antiquity as there was even an older holy site before King Solomon (d. 932 BCE) built his Temple at Jerusalem in 957 BCE.
Before going on I should mention that the first record of people called Israel was found on the Merneptah Stele as having a date of 1208 BCE. However, in 2012 Egyptologists Manfred Görg and Peter van der Veen with Biblical scholar Christoffer Theis believe they have found an earlier reference to Israel on a broken statue pedestal containing hieroglyphic name-rings found in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. This earlier finding put the Israel reference back 200 years to 1400 BCE.
Presumably to the time of the legendary Moses and the promised land of Canaan. Well, the author of Deuteronomy tells us that if the Israelites are diligent and observe the commandments and love their God, he will drive out those people of all nations so the Israelites can inherit their lands. (Deut. 11:22-23)
According to Bible History, gone is the Red Sea crossing of Moses, with the waves parting to allow the Israelites to flee https://www.bible-history.com/maps/route_exodus.html as per the Exodus 14:21. Which is a good thing too! Who would believe a stretch of water 120 miles at its narrowest point and 230 miles at its widest point would part and allow the Israelites to cross safely. (Based on walking 3 miles an hour and the average distance (120 + 230 /2 =175 miles across) 175/3 = 58.333 hours or 2.431 days which even a fit athlete would need sleep before continuing could not do it. Not forgetting that the Egyptian army, which was mobile and was right behind them. Then you have the seabed sediment possibly being tens of feet deep. Let alone caring for the old and ailing Israelites who must have held the exodus up.)
The route taken by Moses is also full of anomalies, for instance, the distance from Tanis (ancient Egyptian City of the Pharaohs) to Jerusalem taking the shortest caravan route is approx. 220 miles (353 km). Which could be done by a camel train/caravan in 22 days. If everything goes to plan and no adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain, flash floods and sandstorms which are not uncommon in the Sinai. The 22-day journey is based on caravan maintaining 10 miles a day and feeding and resting the animals. Yet, we are told it took 40 years for Moses’ journey from Egypt to where he died on Mount Nebo (Jordan), however, the exodus travelled north along the course of the River Jordan some 20 miles or so from Nebo and crossed to the west bank into Canaan. Of the twelve tribes, six tribes were to rest some 20 or so miles after crossing on Mount Gerizim. The other six tribes rested on Mount Ebal, some 2.4 miles across the Nablus valley to the north. In readiness to perform their instructions from Moses, before his death. We know this because we are told by the authors of Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges.
Evidence from the Old Testament
29 When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses. [Deuteronomy 11:29 New International Version]
12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. [Deuteronomy 27:12-13 New International Version]
33 All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel. [Joshua 8:33 New International Version]
7 When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. [Judges 9:7 New International Version]
The Temple on Mount Gerizim was built to honour the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Aaron, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel and Eliezer to name but a few. It was destroyed in 112/111 BCE! Not by an empire-building enemy, but by the Judean Priestly Class, under the leadership of the Hasmonean Priest king, John Hyrcanus (164-104 BCE) aka Yohanan Cohen Gadol (John the High Priest). It was not destroyed in a war of attrition but out of sheer hatred by the Judean for the Torah loving Samaritans, who even today still revere Mount Gerizim as their sacred mount. Byzantine Christians further desecrated the Samaritan Holy mount in the 5th and 6th-century CE by building a large church on the ruins and introducing the Christian Cross in its stone architecture.
History repeated itself in 70 CE, but this time it was the Judean’s who were on the receiving end when the Romans destroyed the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. Then in 691/2 CE, the Muslims completed the building of The Dome on the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque in 705 CE, both built on the Temple Mound.
So which one of the ancient Israelite Tempels is the Holy of Holies?
Be nice and comment on any part of the post or all of its contents?
Cofion
Jero Jones
Article URL : https://breakingnewsandreligion.online/discuss/