| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"walksalone" |
| Date: |
02 Sep 2007 12:10:06 PM |
| Object: |
Son of god, part 1a JAGOTD |
Still looking for revisions, spelling & errors in general.
Son of God
The son of god, sounds impressive doesn't it? However, when one
examines the history of the ancient near East [ANE], one finds it is not
quite so impressive. It was the mode by which Kings & Pharaohs claimed
the right to rule over others, which is to say they were of divine
descent according to them. They tolerated apotheosis upon the
assumption of office, much as the Emperor of Japan did prior to World
War II. The concept is found in the Hebrew bible, associated with the
golden age of Saul, David and Solomon. In their case, it was él who
appointed them. This assumes that Israel did in fact exist as described
in the Hebrew Bible.
In Egypt, the Pharaoh became the good god, and upon his assumption of
office his incarnation was assumed & the first name he normally would
take would be that of Horus, who descended from heaven and was born in
Heliopolis.
The definitive act of begetting or deification in Egypt was the
enthronment of the Pharaoh. The technical term, smen corresponds to
the verb in Psalms 2:6, to wit, I have se [ndsakti] my king on Zion, my
holy hill. We find with the enthronement of Thutmosis III, he stated
that he is gods son, whom he commanded that should be upon his throne,
and begat in uprightness of heart.
Similar activity has been observed in Mesopotamia, such is said about
the atonement of Shugi, "The En priestess bore a good man, who had been
placed in her womb, Enlil, the Mighty Shepherd, made the youth stand
forth, a son, who is well suited for kingship and the throne.
The Semitic rulers of Akkad assumed divinity for themselves, and
frequently their names would be preceded by the divinity sign d or f
which was the sign for heaven. It is presumed that the Syrian kings
claimed divinity for themselves because the Hebrew bible says such of
the King of Tyre. These King's trace their descent directly to Baal.
Which of course creates confusion when various people attempt to point
out that this King was assuming the office of él. The original god of
Israel. Which of course, contained the Judaean high lands.
It is not unusual to find their names using god to be less common than
the title son of god starting about the first dynasty, which of course
from the scholars out there is -3000 Gregorian. [GR].
An inscription for Ramesses II has been found in which the god Amun-Re
is introduced as saying: "I am your Father, who has engendered you as
god in order that you be king of Upper and Lower Egypt on My throne"
(Roeder 1915: 158-159).
This is paralleled in the Hebrew bible when yahweh says the same thing
for David.
In Mesopotamia, the King is seen as the son or child of his particular
god or goddess, the physical child . The ruler is especially stated to
having born of the deity, in this is plainly expressed in physical
terms.
For example,
Beginning with the Sumerian king Mesilim of Kish, the Mesopotamian ruler
was seen as the 'son' or 'child' of his god or goddess (Sjoberg
1972:87-112). The king is said expressly to have been 'born' of the
deity, and we should obviously understand this sonship in physical
terms. For example Abisare of Larsa he said to be the pride of his
physical father, or to put it another way, girix.zal.a.a.ugu.na, the son
of Enlil.
The king is called the 'Son of El' [Epic of Keret,]. As a god, he's
not supposed to die. This of course is simply a projection of cultic
terminology which is being utilized to enhance the royal office and
person.
In the Hebrew Bible, the King is also called elohim, along with his
other five names, one of which is el gibbor, 'Mighty God. Under normal
circumstances, it was more common to refer to the King in residence as
the son of god.
In the prophecy found in 2 Sam 7, the relationship between god & the
Judaean king is described as a father son relationship, (v 14; cf. 1
Chr 17:13; 22:10; 28:6). In Ps 89:27-28, we find god as the father of
the King, indicating that godÿs firstborn. God is the 'Father' of the
king, his 'firstborn as verified by You are My Son; this day I have
begotten thee" (2:7); "In holy ornament out of the womb of Dawn, I have
fathered thee as Dew].
In the Nathan prophecy in 2 Sam 7, the relationship between God and the
Israelite-Judaean king (David's 'seed') is described as a father-son
relationship. The king was 'born' from God when he was installed, as is
made clear by the declarations of Yahweh in two Psalms which were used
as liturgical texts at the enthronement ceremony.
The Nathan prophecy guarantees the perpetuity of the Davidic dynasty (2
Sam 7:16). This promise gave rise to Judaic 'messianic' expectations
(Isa 7:14-17 [a prophecy based on Egyptian and Canaanite oracles about
the birth of the royal child from the queen, a representative of the
goddess]; 9:6-7 [an oracle showing influence from the Egyptian royal
titulary in the five names of the child who is to occupy the Davidic
throne]).
Israel is also called God's 'Son' (Exod 4:22-23; Jer 31:20; Hos 11:1;
see also Jer 31:9). All the individuals of the people are therefore
God's 'sons' and 'daughters', or 'children' (Deut 14:1; 32:5, 19; Isa
30:1; 43:6; 45:11; Ezek 16:20-21; Hos 2:1). This usage of the name
'Son(s)' of God designates Israel as God's chosen and protected people.
'Sons of God' could also be used as a designation of the heavenly hosts.
Not surprisingly, Israel itself is called gods son, which by extension
means that everybody that lived there was gods son, daughter or child.
This particular usage of the son of god indicates Israel is gods chosen
and protected people. As a sidenote, sons of god is also used to
designate the heavenly hosts.
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