Thursday, February 28, 2013
CARAMELIZED ONIONS WITH EGGS
CARAMELIZED ONIONS WITH EGGS
4 large red onions
2 yellow peppers
4 Tbsp. cooking oil
water
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground mace
¼ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground black pepper
½ tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. honey
8 eggs
fresh chopped coriander (cilantro)
Peel the onions and slice them very thin. Chop the peppers into tiny bits. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet or electric frying pan and add the onions and peppers. Cook over the lowest heat possible, stirring every so often so that they do not burn. After about 15 minutes, add a bit of water and continue cooking, then once again add water after 10 more minutes. When the onions are light brown and somewhat crispy and the peppers are quite soft, sprinkle with vinegar, spices, and honey and mix thoroughly. Make 8 depressions in the mixture and break an egg into each. With a fork lightly scramble each egg, and top with a pinch of fresh coriander. Serve while hot.
THE TEXT
The Text
1 Now the people set up a lament which was offensive to Yahweh's ears, and Yahweh heard it.
4 The rabble who had joined the people were overcome by greed, and the sons of Israel themselves began to wail again, “Who will give us meat to eat?” they said.
5 “Think of the fish we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic!
6 “Here we are wasting away, stripped of everything; there is nothing but manna for us to look at.”
7 The manna was like coriander seed, and had the ap pearance of bdellium.
8 The people went around gathering it, and ground it in a mill or crushed it with a pestle; it was then cooked in a pot and made into pancakes.
9 It tasted like cake made with oil. When the dew fell on the camp at nighttime, the manna fell with it.
31 A wind came from Yahweh and it drove quails in from the sea and brought them down on the camp. They lay for a distance of a day's march either side of the camp, two cubits thick on the ground.
“A wind came from Yahweh and it drove quails in from the sea… .The people were up all that day and night and all the next day collecting quails.”
32 The people were up all that day and night and all the next day collecting quails.
Numbers 11:1, 4–9; 31–32a, The Jerusalem Bible
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
AMRAPHEL
Amraphel
am´ra-fel, am-rā´fel (אמרפל, 'amrāphel, or, perhaps better, 'amerāphel).1. The Expedition Against Sodom and Gomorrah
This name, which is identified with that of the renowned Babylonian king H̬ammurabi (which see), is only found in Gen_14:1, Gen_14:9, where he is mentioned as the king of Shinar (Babylonia), who fought against the cities of the plain, in alliance with Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Nations (the Revised Version (British and American) GOIIM). The narrative which follows is very circumstantial. From it we learn, that Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela or Zoar, had served Chedorlaomer for 12 years, rebelled in the 13th, and in the 14th year Chedorlaomer, with the kings enumerated, fought with and defeated them in the vale of Siddim, which is described as being the Salt Sea. Previous to this engagement, however, the Elamites and their allies had attacked the Rephaim (Onkelos: “giants”) in Ashtaroth-karnaim, the Zuzim (O: “mighty ones,” “heroes”) in Ham (O: Ḥamtā'), the Emim (O: “terrible ones”) in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Seir, by the Desert. These having been rendered powerless to aid the revolted vassals, they returned and came to Enmishpat, or Kadesh, attacked the country of the Amalekites, and the Amorites dwelling in Hazazontamar (Gen_14:2-7).
2. The Preparation and the Attack
At this juncture the kings of the cities of the plain came out against them, and opposed them with their battle-array in the vale of Siddim. The result of the fight was, that the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, with their allies, fled, and fell among the bitumen-pits of which the place was full, whilst those who got away took refuge in the mountain. All the goods and food (the camp-equipment and supplies) of the kings of the plain were captured by Chedorlaomer and his allies, who then continued their march (to their own lands) (Gen_14:8-11).
3. Abraham's Rescue of Lot
Among the captives, however, was Lot, Abram's nephew, who dwelt in Sodom. A fugitive, having escaped, went and announced the result of the engagement to Abram, who was at that time living by Mamre's oak plantation. The patriarch immediately marched forth with his trained men, and pursued them to Dan, where he divided his forces, attacked the Elamite-Babylonian army by night, and having put them to flight, pursued them again to Hobah, on the left (or North) of Damascus. The result of this sudden onslaught was that he rescued Lot, with the women and people, and recaptured Lot's goods, which the allies of Amraphel had carried off (Gen_14:12-16).
4. Difficulties of the Identification of Amraphel
There is no doubt that the identification of Amraphel with the H̬ammurabi of the Babylonian inscriptions is the best that has yet been proposed, and though there are certain difficulties therein, these may turn out to be apparent rather than real, when we know more of Babylonian history. The “l” at the end of Amraphel (which has also “ph” instead of “p” or “b”) as well as the fact that the expedition itself has not yet been recognized among the campaigns of H̬ammurabi, must be acknowledged as two points hard to explain, though they may ultimately be solved by further research.
5. Historical Agreements
It is noteworthy, however, that in the first verse of Gen 14 Amraphel is mentioned first, which, if he be really the Babylonian H̬ammurabi, is easily comprehensible, for his renown to all appearance exceeded that of Chedorlaomer, his suzerain. In Gen_14:4 and Gen_14:5, however, it is Chedorlaomer alone who is referred to, and he heads the list of eastern kings in Gen_14:9, where Tidal comes next (a quite natural order, if Goiim be the Babylonian Gutê, i.e. the Medes). Next in order comes Amraphel, king of Babylonia and suzerain of Arioch of Ellasar (Êri-Aku of Larsa), whose name closes the list. It may also be suggested, that Amraphel led a Babylonian force against Sodom, as the ally of Chedorlaomer, before he became king, and was simply crown prince. In that case, like Belshazzar, he was called “king” by anticipation. For further details see ARIOCH and CHEDORLAOMER, and compare ERI-AKU and H̬AMMURABI; for the history of Babylonia during H̬ammurabi's period, see that article.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
GENESIS 14:1,2
Genesis 14:1-2 (NASB)
GE 14:1 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
GE 14:2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).
Conditions in Palestine: General conditions in Palestine during the time of the patriarchs support the descriptions described in Genesis.
- Abraham’s warlike behavior in Genesis 14 fits with the picture of nomadic military engagements that are seen in the Mari tablets. This period in Canaan (c. 2100 B.C.) was one of sparse population consisting of weak minor kingdoms that would often times form alliances for mutual protection. Genesis 14 is right in line with the description of the account of the invasion of the four kings.
Like many that lived in that day the patriarchs are described as ordinary people. Landless, mobile, tent-dwelling, and living by means of herding and agriculture. The search for water, grazing land for flocks, and maintenance of peace with neighbors was a part of everyday life. Their comings and goings would not be recorded in any state archives. Where it is recorded, however, is in the Bible.
- Clarification of the nomadic lifestyles of the patriarchs is supported by descriptions found in the Mari Tablets. Jacob’s taking up residence near Shechem (Gen. 34) and later near Hebron (Gen. 37:12-18) is similar to the practices of the leaders of nomadic tribes near Mari.
Keep in mind that the body of information available to modern scholarship is very small, almost non-existent. Since Genesis is our only ancient source for the lives of the patriarchs, it deserves the pride of place. Let the critics offer proof that Abraham did not exist. In the absence of such unattainable proof, it is only logical to admit the evidence of the biblical text, without the arguments from silence that always characterize attacks on Scripture. Archaeology still provides illumination for the patriarchal time period without being forced to bear the impossible burden of proving their existence.
1. אמרפל 'amrāpel, Amraphel; related: unknown. אלריוך 'aryôk, Ariok, “leonine?” related: ארי 'arı̂y, “a lion:” a name re-appearing in the time of Daniel Dan_2:14. אלסר 'elāsār Ellasar (related: unknown) is identified with Larsa or Larancha, the Λάρισσα Larissa or Λαράχων Larachōn of the Greeks, now Senkereh, a town of lower Babylonia, between Mugheir (Ur) and Warka (Erek) on the left bank of the Frat. כדרלעמר kedārlā‛omer, Kedorla’omer, was compared by Col. Rawlinson with Kudur-mapula or mabuk, whose name is found on the bricks of Chaldaea, and whose title is Apda martu, ravager of the west. He translates it “servant of Lagamer,” one of the national divinities of Susiana. It is also compared with Kedar el-Ahmar, “Kedar the Red,” a hero in Arabian story. תדעל tı̂d‛āl, Tid’al, “terror.” גוים gôyı̂m, Goim, “nations.”
2. ברע bera‛, Bera‘, “gift?” ברשׁע bı̂rsha, Birsha‘, “long and thick?” Arabic שׁנאב shı̂n'āb, Shinab, “coolness?” אדמה 'admâh, Admah, “red soil” שׁמאבר shem'ēber, Shemeber, “high-soaring?” צביים; tsebôyı̂ym, Tseboim, “gazelles.” בלע be
Sunday, February 17, 2013
TEMECH
TEMECH
Another “lessor known” Biblical character (or family in this case) has also been confirmed archaeologically. In January of 2008, archaeologists discovered a stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple (and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia). The seal was uncovered in an archaeological excavation in Jerusalem’s City of David. It was 2,500 years old at the time of its discovery, and it contained the name “Temech” engraved on its surface. It was discovered amid stratified debris in an excavation just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate. According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were exiled to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Nehemiah lists them among many other families in Nehemiah 7:6, 46, 55: “These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city…The Nethinim … The children of Temech.” The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the Temple, or “Nethinim,” lived in the time of Nehemiah.
| Australia's premier archaeological magazine |
| http://www.diggingsonline.com |
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By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants
in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to
Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's
City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.
The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved
on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation
under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said
archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig.
According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the
First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction
by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The family was among those who later
returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.
The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to 538-445 BCE, portrays a
common and popular cultic scene, Mazar said. The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical
seal is engraved with two bearded priests standing on either side of an
incense altar with their hands raised forward in a position of worship. A
crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian god Sin, appears on the
top of the altar.
Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling Temech, Mazar said.
The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the children of the
province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been
carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and
came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city." [Nehemiah
7:6]... "The Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55].
The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian chief god seemed
not to have disturbed the Jews who used it on their own seal, she added.
The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just
dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the
Temple, or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said.
"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between
archeology and the biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a
family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being
astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the
archaeological find."
================ ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGGINGS ===============
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Sunday, February 10, 2013
BELSHAZZAR
BELSHAZZAR
Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was another historic king who was doubted by critics. Belshazzar is named in Daniel 5, but according to the non-Biblical historic record, the last king of Babylon was Nabonidus. Tablets have been found, however, that reveal that Belshazzar was Nabonidus’ son and Belshazzar served as coregent in Babylon. If this is the case, Belshazzar could offer to make Daniel ‘third highest ruler in the kingdom’ (as recorded in Daniel 5:16) for reading the handwriting on the wall, and this would have been the highest available position. Here, once again we see the ‘eye-witness’ nature of the Biblical record has been confirmed by archaeology
Belshazzar
bel-shaz´ar (בּלשׁאצּר, bēlsha'ccar; Βαλτασάρ, Baltasár, Babylonian Bel-shar-uṣur): According to Dan_5:30, he was the Chaldean king under whom Babylon was taken by Darius the Mede. The Babylonian monuments speak a number of times of a Bel-shar-uṣur who was the “firstborn son, the offspring of the heart of” Nabunaid, the last king of the Babylonian empire, that had been founded by Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, at the time of the death of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, in 626 bc. There is no doubt that this Belshazzar is the same as the Belshazzar of Dnl. It is not necessary to suppose that Belshazzar was at any time king of the Babylonian empire in the sense that Nebuchadnezzar and Nabunaid were. It is probable, as M. Pognon argues, that a son of Nabunaid, called Nabunaid after his father, was king of Babylon, or Babylonian king, in Harran (Haran), while his father was overlord in Babylon. This second Nabunaid is called “the son of the offspring of the heart” of Nabunaid his father. It is possible that this second Nabundid was the king who was killed by Cyrus, when he crossed the Tigris above Arbela in the 9th year of Nabunaid his father, and put to death the king of the country (see the Nabunaid-Cyrus Chronicle col. ii, 17); since according to the Eshki-Harran inscription, Nabunaid the Second died in the 9th year of Nabunaid the First. Belshazzar may have been the son of the king who is said in the same chronicle to have commanded the Babylonian army in Accad from the 6th to the 11th year of Nabunaid I; or, possibly longer, for the annals before the 6th and after the 11th year are broken and for the most part illegible. This same son of the king is most probably mentioned again in the same chronicle as having died in the night in which Babylon was captured by Gobryas of Gutium. As Nabunaid II, though reigning at Hatran under the overlordship of his father, is called king of Babylon on the same inscription on which his father is called by the same title; so Belshazzar may have been called king of Babylon, although he was only crown prince. It is probable also, that as Nabunaid I had made one of his sons king of Harran, so he had made another king of Chaldea. This would account for Belshazzar's being called in Dan_5:30 the Chaldean king, although, to be sure, this word Chaldean may describe his race rather than his kingdom. The 3rd year of Belshazzar spoken of in Dan_8:1, would then refer to his 3rd year as subking of the Chaldeans under his father Nabunaid, king of Babylon, just as Cambyses was later subking of Babylon, while his father Cyrus was king of the lands. From the Book of Daniel we might infer that this subkingdom embraced Chaldea and Susiana, and possibly the province of Babylon; and from the Nabunaid-Cyrus Chronicle that it extended over Accad as well. That the city of Babylon alone was sometimes at least governed by an official called king is highly probable, since the father of Nergal-shar-uṣur is certainly, and the father of Nabunaid I is probably, called king of Babylon, in both of which cases, the city, or at most the province, of Babylon must have been meant, since we know to a certainty all of the kings who had been ruling over the empire of Babylon since 626 bc, when Nabopolassar became king, and the names of neither of these fathers of kings is found among them.
In addition to Nabunaid II, Belshazzar seems to have had another brother named Nebuchadnezzar, since the two Babylonian rebels against Darius Hystaspis both assumed the name of Nebuchadnezzar the son of Nabunaid (see the Behistun Inscription, I, 85, 89, 95). He had a sister also named Ina-esagilaremat, and a second named probably Ukabu'shai'-na.
Belshazzar had his own house in Babylon, where he seems to have been engaged in the woolen or clothing trade. He owned also estates from which he made large gifts to the gods. His father joins his name with his own in some of his prayers to the gods, and apparently appointed him commander of the army of Accad, whose especial duty it was to defend the city of Babylon against the attacks of the armies of Media and Persia.
It would appear from the Nabunaid-Cyrus Chronicle, that Belshazzar was de facto king of the Babylonian empire, all that was left of it, from the 4th to the 8th month of the 17th year of the reign of his father Nabunaid, and that he died on the night in which Babylon was taken by Gobryas of Gutium (that is, probably, DARIUS THE MEDE (which see)).
The objection to the historical character of the narrative of Daniel, based upon the fact that Belshazzar in Dan_5:11, Dan_5:18 is said to have been the son of Nebuchadnezzar whereas the monuments state that he was the son of Nabunaid, is fully met by supposing that one of them was his real and the other his adoptive father; or by supposing that the queen-mother and Daniel referred to the greatest of his predecessors as his father, just as Omri is called by the Assyrians the father of Jehu, and as the claimants to the Medo-Pers throne are called on the Behistun Inscription the sons of Cyaxares, and as at present the reigning sheikhs of northern Arabia are all called the sons of Rashid, although in reality they are not his sons.
Literature
The best sources of information as to the life and times of Belshazzar for English readers are: The Records of the Past; Pinches, The Old Testament in the Light of the Historical Records of Assyria and Babylonia; Sayce, The Higher Criticism and the Monuments; and W. W. Wright's two great works, Daniel and His Prophecies and Daniel and His Critics.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
WHEATBERRY SOUP
Wheatberry Soup
1 cup wheatberries
cold water for soaking (or 4 cups boiling water as an alternative)
5 cups plain tomato sauce
1½ cups navy beans
6 new potatoes, diced
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. turmeric
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 green peppers, chopped
A soup made with wheatberries is a hearty, healthy beginning to a tasty biblical meal.
Soak the wheatberries overnight in cold water. If this is not possible, put 1 cup of wheatberries in a small pot with boiling water and simmer till all water evaporates. Berries will then be open and full.
Add berries to remaining ingredients in a large pot and cook for 1 hour on a low flame. Serve piping hot.
Yield: 8 servings
Cooking with the Bible
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MEAL
Entertaining Angels Unawares
RECIPES:
Sarah's Flat Barley Bread
Wheatberry Soup
Middle Eastern Vegetable Casserole
Camel's Milk
Dates with Honey and Ricotta Curds Spread
Grilled Kebab
Sumac Garnish
Angel Food Cake
BIBLE TEXT
The Text
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Abraham cooked the meat by cutting it into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over an open fire.
Genesis 18:1–8, New Revised Standard Version
Biblical Passage Notes
“The Oaks of Mamre”: In Hebrew, Elonei Mamre or Alonei Mamre, the place where Abram settled and built an altar to God after dividing his household between himself and Lot. Some scholars have connected the place with ancient tree-worshipping cults, and such a connection would seem to emphasize the difficulty of Abram/Abraham's break from polytheistic traditions. Others indicate that Mamre was the name of an Amorite inhabitant of the area (that is, someone from the hill country or the vicinity of Jerusalem). Over the ensuing millennia, pilgrims have venerated the site because of Abram/Abraham's commitment to monotheism, though there is some question about the precise location of the oaks. Con-stantine, the 4th-century c.e. Roman emperor, consecrated one spot with the Basilica of the Terebinth of Mamre, but during the time of Saint Jerome, pilgrims held fairs under a growing oak tree. The Crusades brought renewed interest, and pilgrims celebrated the Feast of the Trinity at a supposedly original site, remembering the three strangers (God and two angels) who visited Abram/Abraham there.
The name Abu-ramu is sometimes taken to mean “lofty father,” but this is a doubtful translation of the Assyrian. The name Abraham is also thought to mean “ancestor of a multitude,” though that meaning is probably folklore, and there seems to be no linguistic evidence to support it. It is probable that Abraham is merely a dialectical variation of Abram.
The Preparation
This was a simple meal that Abraham prepared for his visitors, and probably the first instance of fast food in the Bible. It takes place near Hebron, about twenty-three miles south of present-day Jerusalem. The city itself is situated on a plain about 3,000 feet above sea level. To this place the three visitors arrived, we are told, and Abraham “hastened” to prepare a meal, as he was not expecting strangers, especially at hot midday, when one usually rests. Sarah was given the task of making the bread, the daily custom of grinding and baking reserved for the women of the household, most often the wife. Generally, flour was mixed with water, made into dough, and rolled out into cakes. The cakes were then placed on ground previously heated by fire, then covered with hot embers till baked. It was a quick process.1
Luckily the visitors were not in too much of a hurry, as preparing a calf from pasture to palate would take a bit longer. In the interest of time and hospitality, the calf would probably have been cooked either by roasting it whole (no fancy preparation or cuts) or by cutting it up into small, hacked pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. Many scholars point out that the meat would have been served with some sort of grain and vegetable dish (the KJV speaks of “corn,” but as it was originally a North American plant, probably barley or some other large grain was used). A bowl of camel's milk and some cheese or curds served as dessert; the 21st-century cook with a sense of humor might add or substitute Angel Food Cake.
Abraham served this meal, or something like it, at the terebinth of Mamre, a tall spreading tree or grove of trees, an ideal setting for today's cookout or picnic meal. The recipes that follow comprise an entire meal for six to eight people, yet they require some planning and advance preparation.
Many of the ingredients for these recipes are found in the Bible: yeast (Leviticus 10:12), flour (Numbers 15:4), salt (Ezra 6:9), saffron (Song of Songs 4:14), honey (I Kings 14:3), walnuts (Song of Songs 6:11), cinnamon (Exodus 30:23), mint (Luke 11:42), endive (one of the “bitter herbs' of Exodus 12:8), leeks and garlic (Numbers 11:5), olive oil (Luke 16:6), egg whites (Job 6:6), veal (I Samuel 28), cumin (Isaiah 28:25, 27), cucumbers (Isaiah 1:8), and goat cheese (II Samuel 17:29), but feel free to substitute or adapt as needed. It will still be a heavenly meal!
Notes1. See Gerhard von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary(Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972), 206.
The History
The story begins approximately 3,900 years ago (about 1900 b.c.e.), in the city of Ur in Babylonia. There, according to Jewish tradition, a boy named Abram Abu-ramu in Assyrian, or Avram in transliterated Hebrew) was born to Terah (or Terach), a seller of religious idols, and his wife.
At that time, the city of Ur, otherwise known as Ur Kasdim or Ur of the Chaldees (an indication that the city was located in southern Babylonia), was a busy cosmopolitan area, situated at the crossroads of ancient migration pathways. Centered on the nearby Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Mesopotamia, as this part of what is now Iraq was known, was and still is a giant floodplain. With no natural defenses, it was often invaded by peoples from the east and the north, who desired to farm its vast expanse of fertile land. The Tigris and Euphrates themselves carried a heavy traffic of both trading goods and migrants, downstream to what is now known as the Persian Gulf and upstream as far north as modern-day Syria and Turkey. Until about 1900 b.c.e., Mesopotamia was ruled by the Sumerians, who were the first to develop writing in order to keep track of their administrative records. But then a tribe known as the Amorites moved south from the Syrian desert and conquered Sumer, laying the foundation for the Babylonian Empire.
Ur was dedicated to Nannar, the moon god. According to recent archaeological studies, nearly one-quarter of Ur was set aside as temple grounds for Nannar. The other Babylonian deities had temples scattered throughout the rest of the city. The polytheism of Ur—indeed, of all of Mesopotamian civilization in this age—reveals just how radical Abram/Abraham's monotheism was; so revolutionary, in fact, that it can be said to have changed the course of history.
The exact date of Abram's birth is uncertain. In fact, as there are no extra-biblical sources for his biography, scholars disagree about whether he was a historical personage or a religious allegory—that is, a personification of one particular nomadic tribe. As the book of Genesis relates the story, Abram's life in Ur was unremarkable. He married a woman named Sarai, but they were unable to have children. At some point, Terah took Abram, Sarai, and their nephew Lot to Haran, a flourishing city some 600 miles northwest of Ur, on the trade routes to Damascus. Like Ur, Haran was the seat of worship of the moon god. There they settled, until the death of Terah.
Soon thereafter, as the story goes, when Abram was seventy-five years old, he received a call from God to leave Haran and travel to Canaan, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea/Jordan River (roughly the area occupied by present-day Israel). To follow this call, Abram had to leave his own people, travel across the desert, and settle among strangers. What's more, Abram had to pledge his allegiance to one god. In Sumeria/Babylonia and in Canaan, the people worshipped a whole pantheon of gods, offering sacrifices to this one for good harvests, to that one for good commerce, and so forth. By agreeing to follow God's call, Abram was turning his back on the gods of his youth and committing himself to the idea that Yahweh was the one and only God, and that all other so-called gods were imposters or shams. Thus, Abram is considered the father of monotheism. In return, God promised to create a great nation through Abram. When Abram arrived in Canaan with his wife and nephew, God amplified the promise by pledging that Abram's offspring would possess that land—even though Abram was already advanced in years and he and his wife were unable to conceive.
In this age (the Middle Bronze Age, c. 2200–1550 b.c.e.), the area now known as Israel/Palestine was thinly populated, with few sedentary populations, as there was little arable land. Cisterns, or wells, had not come into general use, and springs were rare. Virtually all the towns were located in the Coastal Plain, the Plain of Esdraelon, and the Valley of the Jordan and of the Dead Sea. Most of the inhabitants were seminomadic, wandering freely over the heavily forested hills of the central region and the dry areas to the south. So it is not unusual that in the following years, Abram and his household moved south into the Negev desert, sojourned in Egypt, then returned to the Negev, accumulating large herds of sheep, oxen, donkeys, and camels and becoming rich in silver and gold. After a falling out with Lot, Abram sent his nephew east toward the plain of the Jordan and took the rest of his household north to Canaan, settling “by the oaks of Mamre,” near present-day Hebron. Though Abram and Sarai continued childless, God still promised to make Abram's descendants as numerous as the stars.
Because a man's wealth was measured not only in gold and livestock but also in wives and children, Abram was a laughingstock among his neighbors, for he had wealth but no direct heirs and only one wife. Feeling this disgrace herself, Sarai, also advanced in years, urged her husband to have children with her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar, who was (according to some legends) a daughter of Pharaoh. Hagar bore a son and called him Ishmael. But Sarai felt even more disgraced by her childlessness, and she jealously drove Hagar and her son out of the household and into the desert. By this time, Abram was eighty-six years old and despaired of having any so-called legitimate heirs.
But as Genesis relates, God intervened. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to Abram and established a covenant (contract) with him: God gave Abram the name Abraham (or Avraham, in transliterated Hebrew), gave Sarai the name Sarah, and promised that they would bear a son in a year. In return, Abraham and all the male members of his household would be circumcised, as a reminder that they and all their offspring were God's people. Genesis offers two accounts of this promise to Sarah, and one of them is the story of how Abraham provides a special meal to “three men,” or perhaps God and two angels, who appeared to him while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent—as related in the scripture text above. A year after this meal, Abraham's son Isaac was born of Sarah.
Thus, according to Jewish tradition, through Isaac and his children, Abraham became the father of the Jewish people. According to Arab traditions, through Ishmael, Abraham was the father of all the Arab peoples. Jews and Muslims as well as Christians revere Abraham for his faith in God's covenant and his belief in the face of seeming impossibilities, and all three monotheistic religions cite his hospitality to strangers as an ideal to be followed.
Cooking with the Bible
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MEAL
Entertaining Angels Unawares
RECIPES:
Sarah's Flat Barley Bread
Wheatberry Soup
Middle Eastern Vegetable Casserole
Camel's Milk
Dates with Honey and Ricotta Curds Spread
Grilled Kebab
Sumac Garnish
Angel Food Cake
BIBLE TEXT
The Text
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
Abraham cooked the meat by cutting it into small pieces and broiling them on skewers over an open fire.
Genesis 18:1–8, New Revised Standard Version
Biblical Passage Notes
“The Oaks of Mamre”: In Hebrew, Elonei Mamre or Alonei Mamre, the place where Abram settled and built an altar to God after dividing his household between himself and Lot. Some scholars have connected the place with ancient tree-worshipping cults, and such a connection would seem to emphasize the difficulty of Abram/Abraham's break from polytheistic traditions. Others indicate that Mamre was the name of an Amorite inhabitant of the area (that is, someone from the hill country or the vicinity of Jerusalem). Over the ensuing millennia, pilgrims have venerated the site because of Abram/Abraham's commitment to monotheism, though there is some question about the precise location of the oaks. Con-stantine, the 4th-century c.e. Roman emperor, consecrated one spot with the Basilica of the Terebinth of Mamre, but during the time of Saint Jerome, pilgrims held fairs under a growing oak tree. The Crusades brought renewed interest, and pilgrims celebrated the Feast of the Trinity at a supposedly original site, remembering the three strangers (God and two angels) who visited Abram/Abraham there.
The name Abu-ramu is sometimes taken to mean “lofty father,” but this is a doubtful translation of the Assyrian. The name Abraham is also thought to mean “ancestor of a multitude,” though that meaning is probably folklore, and there seems to be no linguistic evidence to support it. It is probable that Abraham is merely a dialectical variation of Abram.
The Preparation
This was a simple meal that Abraham prepared for his visitors, and probably the first instance of fast food in the Bible. It takes place near Hebron, about twenty-three miles south of present-day Jerusalem. The city itself is situated on a plain about 3,000 feet above sea level. To this place the three visitors arrived, we are told, and Abraham “hastened” to prepare a meal, as he was not expecting strangers, especially at hot midday, when one usually rests. Sarah was given the task of making the bread, the daily custom of grinding and baking reserved for the women of the household, most often the wife. Generally, flour was mixed with water, made into dough, and rolled out into cakes. The cakes were then placed on ground previously heated by fire, then covered with hot embers till baked. It was a quick process.1
Luckily the visitors were not in too much of a hurry, as preparing a calf from pasture to palate would take a bit longer. In the interest of time and hospitality, the calf would probably have been cooked either by roasting it whole (no fancy preparation or cuts) or by cutting it up into small, hacked pieces and broiling them on skewers over the fire. Many scholars point out that the meat would have been served with some sort of grain and vegetable dish (the KJV speaks of “corn,” but as it was originally a North American plant, probably barley or some other large grain was used). A bowl of camel's milk and some cheese or curds served as dessert; the 21st-century cook with a sense of humor might add or substitute Angel Food Cake.
Abraham served this meal, or something like it, at the terebinth of Mamre, a tall spreading tree or grove of trees, an ideal setting for today's cookout or picnic meal. The recipes that follow comprise an entire meal for six to eight people, yet they require some planning and advance preparation.
Many of the ingredients for these recipes are found in the Bible: yeast (Leviticus 10:12), flour (Numbers 15:4), salt (Ezra 6:9), saffron (Song of Songs 4:14), honey (I Kings 14:3), walnuts (Song of Songs 6:11), cinnamon (Exodus 30:23), mint (Luke 11:42), endive (one of the “bitter herbs' of Exodus 12:8), leeks and garlic (Numbers 11:5), olive oil (Luke 16:6), egg whites (Job 6:6), veal (I Samuel 28), cumin (Isaiah 28:25, 27), cucumbers (Isaiah 1:8), and goat cheese (II Samuel 17:29), but feel free to substitute or adapt as needed. It will still be a heavenly meal!
Notes1. See Gerhard von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary(Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972), 206.
The History
The story begins approximately 3,900 years ago (about 1900 b.c.e.), in the city of Ur in Babylonia. There, according to Jewish tradition, a boy named Abram Abu-ramu in Assyrian, or Avram in transliterated Hebrew) was born to Terah (or Terach), a seller of religious idols, and his wife.
At that time, the city of Ur, otherwise known as Ur Kasdim or Ur of the Chaldees (an indication that the city was located in southern Babylonia), was a busy cosmopolitan area, situated at the crossroads of ancient migration pathways. Centered on the nearby Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Mesopotamia, as this part of what is now Iraq was known, was and still is a giant floodplain. With no natural defenses, it was often invaded by peoples from the east and the north, who desired to farm its vast expanse of fertile land. The Tigris and Euphrates themselves carried a heavy traffic of both trading goods and migrants, downstream to what is now known as the Persian Gulf and upstream as far north as modern-day Syria and Turkey. Until about 1900 b.c.e., Mesopotamia was ruled by the Sumerians, who were the first to develop writing in order to keep track of their administrative records. But then a tribe known as the Amorites moved south from the Syrian desert and conquered Sumer, laying the foundation for the Babylonian Empire.
Ur was dedicated to Nannar, the moon god. According to recent archaeological studies, nearly one-quarter of Ur was set aside as temple grounds for Nannar. The other Babylonian deities had temples scattered throughout the rest of the city. The polytheism of Ur—indeed, of all of Mesopotamian civilization in this age—reveals just how radical Abram/Abraham's monotheism was; so revolutionary, in fact, that it can be said to have changed the course of history.
The exact date of Abram's birth is uncertain. In fact, as there are no extra-biblical sources for his biography, scholars disagree about whether he was a historical personage or a religious allegory—that is, a personification of one particular nomadic tribe. As the book of Genesis relates the story, Abram's life in Ur was unremarkable. He married a woman named Sarai, but they were unable to have children. At some point, Terah took Abram, Sarai, and their nephew Lot to Haran, a flourishing city some 600 miles northwest of Ur, on the trade routes to Damascus. Like Ur, Haran was the seat of worship of the moon god. There they settled, until the death of Terah.
Soon thereafter, as the story goes, when Abram was seventy-five years old, he received a call from God to leave Haran and travel to Canaan, the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea/Jordan River (roughly the area occupied by present-day Israel). To follow this call, Abram had to leave his own people, travel across the desert, and settle among strangers. What's more, Abram had to pledge his allegiance to one god. In Sumeria/Babylonia and in Canaan, the people worshipped a whole pantheon of gods, offering sacrifices to this one for good harvests, to that one for good commerce, and so forth. By agreeing to follow God's call, Abram was turning his back on the gods of his youth and committing himself to the idea that Yahweh was the one and only God, and that all other so-called gods were imposters or shams. Thus, Abram is considered the father of monotheism. In return, God promised to create a great nation through Abram. When Abram arrived in Canaan with his wife and nephew, God amplified the promise by pledging that Abram's offspring would possess that land—even though Abram was already advanced in years and he and his wife were unable to conceive.
In this age (the Middle Bronze Age, c. 2200–1550 b.c.e.), the area now known as Israel/Palestine was thinly populated, with few sedentary populations, as there was little arable land. Cisterns, or wells, had not come into general use, and springs were rare. Virtually all the towns were located in the Coastal Plain, the Plain of Esdraelon, and the Valley of the Jordan and of the Dead Sea. Most of the inhabitants were seminomadic, wandering freely over the heavily forested hills of the central region and the dry areas to the south. So it is not unusual that in the following years, Abram and his household moved south into the Negev desert, sojourned in Egypt, then returned to the Negev, accumulating large herds of sheep, oxen, donkeys, and camels and becoming rich in silver and gold. After a falling out with Lot, Abram sent his nephew east toward the plain of the Jordan and took the rest of his household north to Canaan, settling “by the oaks of Mamre,” near present-day Hebron. Though Abram and Sarai continued childless, God still promised to make Abram's descendants as numerous as the stars.
Because a man's wealth was measured not only in gold and livestock but also in wives and children, Abram was a laughingstock among his neighbors, for he had wealth but no direct heirs and only one wife. Feeling this disgrace herself, Sarai, also advanced in years, urged her husband to have children with her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar, who was (according to some legends) a daughter of Pharaoh. Hagar bore a son and called him Ishmael. But Sarai felt even more disgraced by her childlessness, and she jealously drove Hagar and her son out of the household and into the desert. By this time, Abram was eighty-six years old and despaired of having any so-called legitimate heirs.
But as Genesis relates, God intervened. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to Abram and established a covenant (contract) with him: God gave Abram the name Abraham (or Avraham, in transliterated Hebrew), gave Sarai the name Sarah, and promised that they would bear a son in a year. In return, Abraham and all the male members of his household would be circumcised, as a reminder that they and all their offspring were God's people. Genesis offers two accounts of this promise to Sarah, and one of them is the story of how Abraham provides a special meal to “three men,” or perhaps God and two angels, who appeared to him while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent—as related in the scripture text above. A year after this meal, Abraham's son Isaac was born of Sarah.
Thus, according to Jewish tradition, through Isaac and his children, Abraham became the father of the Jewish people. According to Arab traditions, through Ishmael, Abraham was the father of all the Arab peoples. Jews and Muslims as well as Christians revere Abraham for his faith in God's covenant and his belief in the face of seeming impossibilities, and all three monotheistic religions cite his hospitality to strangers as an ideal to be followed.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
CARMEL
Carmel
(1) A beautifully wooded mountain range running for about 13 miles in a south-easterly direction from the promontory which drops on the shore of the Mediterranean near Haifa, at the southern extremity of the plain of Acre, to the height of el-Maḥraḳah which overlooks the plain of Esdraelon. On the top of the promontory, at a height of 500 ft. the monastery of Elias stands. From this point there is a gradual ascent until the greatest height is reached at Esfı̄yeh (1,742 ft.), the peak at el-Maḥraḳah being only some 55 ft. lower. The mountain - usually named with the article, “the Carmel” - still justifies its name, “the garden with fruit trees.” The steep slopes on the North and East, indeed, afford little scope for cultivation, although trees and brushwood grow abundantly. But to the South and West the mountain falls away to the sea and the plain in a series of long, fertile valleys, where the “excellency” of Carmel finds full illustration today. There are a few springs of good water; but the main supply is furnished by the winter rains, which are caught and stored in great cisterns. The villages on the slopes have a look of prosperity not too often seen in Syria, the rich soil amply rewarding the toil of the husbandmen. Oak and pine, myrtle and honeysuckle, box and laurel flourish; the sheen of fruitful olives fills many a hollow; and in the time of flowers Carmel is beautiful in a garment of many colors. Evidences of the ancient husbandry which made it famous are found in the cisterns, and the oil and wine presses cut in the surface of the rock. There is probably a reference to the vine culture here in 2Ch_26:10. In the figurative language of Scripture it appears as the symbol of beauty (Son_7:5), of fruitfulness (Isa_35:2), of majesty (Jer_46:18), of prosperous and happy life (Jer_50:19). The languishing of Carmel betokens the vengeance of God upon the land (Nah_1:4); and her decay, utter desolation (Amo_1:2; Isa_33:9).
Asylum and Sanctuary
Roughly triangular in form, with plains stretching from its base on each of the three sides, the mountain, with its majestic form and massive bulk, is visible from afar. Its position deprived it of any great value for military purposes. It commanded none of the great highways followed by armies: the passes between Esdraelon and Sharon, to the East of Carmel, furnishing the most convenient paths. But the mountain beckoned the fugitive from afar, and in all ages has offered asylum to the hunted in its caves and wooded glens. Also its remote heights with their spacious outlook over land and sea; its sheltered nooks and embowering groves have been scenes of worship from old time. Here stood an ancient altar of Yahweh (1Ki_18:30). We may assume that there was also a sanctuary of Baal, since the worshippers of these deities chose the place as common ground for the great trim (1 Ki 18). The scene is traditionally located at el-Maḥraḳah, “the place of burnt sacrifice,” which is still held sacred by the Druzes. A Latin chapel stands near, with a great cistern. A good spring is found lower down the slope. Just below, on the North bank of the Kishon stands the mound called Tell el-ḳissı̄s, “mound of the priest.” From the crest of Carmel Elijah descried the coming storm, and, descending the mountain, ran before the chariot of Ahab to the gate of Jezreel (1Ki_18:42). Under the monastery on the western promontory is a cave, said to be that of Elijah. An older tradition locates the cave of the prophet at ed-Deir, near ‛Ain es-Sı̄h. It may have been the scene of the events narrated in 2Ki_1:9. Elisha also was a familiar visitor to Mt. Carmel. It was within the territory allotted to Asher; in later times it passed into the hands of Tyre (BJ, III, iii, 1).
(2) A city of Judah, in the uplands near Hebron, named with Maon and Ziph (Jos_15:55). Here Saul for some reason not stated set up a monument or trophy (1Sa_15:12; literally “hand”). It was the home of Nabal the churlish and drunken flockmaster, whose widow Abigail David married (1 Sam 25); and also of Hezro, one of David's mighty men (2Sa_23:35; 1Ch_11:37). It is represented by the modern el-Karmil, about 10 miles to the Southeast of Hebron. Karmil is the pronunciation given me by several natives this spring. There are considerable ruins, the most outstanding feature being square tower dating from the 12th century, now going swiftly to ruin. There are also caves, tombs and a large reservoir.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
SARGON
SARGON
“Scholars” have also claimed that there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, (because this name was not known in any other record). But archeology once again proved the Biblical account to be true. Sargon’s palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, his capture of Ashdod, was recorded on the palace walls! What is more, fragments of a stela memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself.
This section, commencing in the form of historic prose, introduces itself thus: “In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, Sargon the king of Asshur having sent him (and he made war against Ashdod, and captured it): at that time Jehovah spake through Yeshayahu the son of Amoz as follows,” i.e., He communicated the following revelation through the medium of Isaiah (b'yad, as in Isa_37:24; Jer_37:2, and many other passages). The revelation itself was attached to a symbolical act. B'yad (lit. “by the hand of”) refers to what was about to be made known through the prophet by means of the command that was given him; in other words, to Isa_20:3, and indirectly to Isa_20:2. Tartan (probably the same man) is met with in 2Ki_18:17 as the chief captain of Sennacherib. No Assyrian king of the name of Sargon is mentioned anywhere else in the Old Testament; but it may now be accepted as an established result of the researches which have been made, that Sargon was the successor of Shalmanassar, and that Shalmaneser (Shalman, Hos_10:14), Sargon, Sennacherib, and Esarhaddon, are the names of the four Assyrian kings who were mixed up with the closing history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It was Longperrier who was the first to establish the identity of the monarch who built the palaces at Khorsabad, which form the north-eastern corner of ancient Nineveh, with the Sargon of the Bible. We are now acquainted with a considerable number of brick, harem, votive-table, and other inscriptions which bear the name of this king, and contain all kinds of testimony concerning himself.
(Note: See Oppert, Expédition, i. 328-350, and the picture of Sargon in his war-chariot in Rawlinson's Five Great Monarchies, i. 368; compare also p. 304 (prisoners taken by Sargon), p. 352 (the plan of his palace), p. 483 (a glass vessel with his name), and many other engravings in vol. ii.)
It was he, not Shalmanassar, who took Samaria after a three years' siege; and in the annalistic inscription he boasts of having conquered the city, and removed the house of Omri to Assyria. Oppert is right in calling attention to the fact, that in 2Ki_18:10 the conquest is not attributed to Shalmanassar himself, but to the army. Shalmanassar died in front of Samaria; and Sargon not only put himself at the head of the army, but seized upon the throne, in which he succeeded in establishing himself, after a contest of several years' duration with the legitimate heirs and their party. He was therefore a usurper.
(Note: See Oppert, Les Inscriptions Assyriennes des Sargonides et les Fastes de Ninive (Versailles, 1862), and Rawlinson (vol. ii. 406ff.), who here agrees with Oppert in all essential points. Consequently there can no longer be any thought of identifying Sargon with Shalmanassar (see Brandis, Ueber den historischen Gewinn aus der Entzifferung der assyr. Inschriften, 1856, p. 48ff.). Rawlinson himself at first thought they were the same person (vid., Journal of the Asiatic Society, xii. 2, 419), until gradually the evidence increased that Sargon and Shalmanassar were the names of two different kings, although no independent inscription of the latter, the actual besieger of Samaria, has yet been found.)
Whether his name as it appears on the inscriptions is Sar-kin or not, and whether it signifies the king de facto as distinguished from the king de jure, we will not attempt to determine now.
(Note: Hitzig ventures a derivation of the name from the Zend; and Grotefend compares it with the Chaldee Sârēk, Dan_6:3 (in his Abhandlung über Anlage und Zerstörung der Gebäude von Nimrud, 1851).)
This Sargon, the founder of a new Assyrian dynasty, who reigned from 721-702 (according to Oppert), and for whom there is at all events plenty of room between 721-20 and the commencement of Sennacherib's reign, first of all blockaded Tyre for five years after the fall of Samaria, or rather brought to an end the siege of Tyre which had been begun by Shalmanassar (Jos. Ant. ix. 14, 2), though whether it was to a successful end or not is quite uncertain. He then pursued with all the greater energy his plan for following up the conquest of Samaria with the subjugation of Egypt, which was constantly threatening the possessions of Assyria in western Asia, either by instigation or support. The attack upon Ashdod was simply a means to this end. As the Philistines were led to join Egypt, not only by their situation, but probably by kinship of tribe as well, the conquest of Ashdod - a fortress so strong, that, according to Herodotus (ii. 157), Psammetichus besieged it for twenty-nine years - was an indispensable preliminary to the expedition against Egypt. When Alexander the Great marched against Egypt, he had to do the same with Gaza. How long Tartan required is not to be gathered from Isa_20:1. But if he conquered it as quickly as Alexander conquered Gaza - viz. in five months - it is impossible to understand why the following prophecy should defer for three years the subjugation of Ethiopia and Egypt. The words, “and fought against Ashdod, and took it,” must therefore be taken as anticipatory and parenthetical.
It was not after the conquest of Ashdod, but in the year in which the siege commenced, that Isaiah received the following admonition: “Go and loosen the smock-frock from off thy loins, and take off thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, went stripped and barefooted.” We see from this that Isaiah was clothed in the same manner as Elijah, who wore a fur coat (2Ki_1:8, cf., Zec_13:4; Heb_11:37), and John the Baptist, who had a garment of camel hair and a leather girdle round it (Mat_3:4); for sak is a coarse linen or hairy overcoat of a dark colour (Rev_6:12, cf., Isa_50:3), such as was worn by mourners, either next to the skin (‛al-habbâsâr, 1Ki_21:27; 2Ki_6:30; Job_16:15) or over the tunic, in either case being fastened by a girdle on account of its want of shape, for which reason the verb châgar is the word commonly used to signify the putting on of such a garment, instead of lâbash. The use of the word ârōm does not prove that the former was the case in this instance (see, on the contrary, 2Sa_6:20, compared with 2Sa_6:14 and Joh_21:7). With the great importance attached to the clothing in the East, where the feelings upon this point are peculiarly sensitive and modest, a person was looked upon as stripped and naked if he had only taken off his upper garment. What Isaiah was directed to do, therefore, was simply opposed to common custom, and not to moral decency. He was to lay aside the dress of a mourner and preacher of repentance, and to have nothing on but his tunic (cetoneth); and in this, as well as barefooted, he was to show himself in public. This was the costume of a man who had been robbed and disgraced, or else of a beggar or prisoner of war. The word cēn (so) is followed by the inf. abs., which develops the meaning, as in Isa_5:5; Isa_58:6-7.
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