Hello all,
I can not let this go. Something is inkling in my soul to continue, express what I feel in my heart. First some background: Before I graduated from college, I began a spiritual quest. (Some have heard this story before) I left Christianity and embarked on learning and studying other religious traditions. My first appeal was to Al' Islaam, but something within didn't resonate with me. Next, I went to ancient Hebrew beliefs. I thought I had found my path. I started a very basic study of the language, culture and history of the Hebrews. From there, my natural progression was to the ATRs because I firmly believed the source of Hebrew belief was contained within them. This was encouraged by my chosen major: Anthropology.
I'm not saying I have the answers or my intepretation is correct, but this is my view.
At some point in human history, circa 2000 B.C.E., archaic Aryan people migrated south from their Eurasian steppe homeland where they encountered sedentary Africoid people in Mesopotamia. First, they arrived peacefully, but as the historical record accounts many times, they eventually subdued these folks, including those of Sumerian extraction, and set up feudal caste systems. Hence the Bible asserts Abram came from Ur of Chaldees. (Gen. 11:31) Abram and entourage emigrated westward following the flow of the Eurasian invasion. They stopped at places in ancient Anatolia and Syria, like Mari and Haran. (Gen. 12) However, they continued their travel to the borders of Egypt, but were ran out of Egypt. (Gen. 12:20) Eventually, these mixed people, half-Aryan and half-Africoid, settled in Canaan. In Canaan, like most new settlers, they were influenced by the autochthonous culture there. A level of symbosis resulted. (Gen. 14)
Nothing mystical here, but the basic migration of any group of people due to war, over-crowding or famine. History is filled with similar stories and recounts.
I believe it was in Canaan, where the Hebrew state religion was formulated. The story of Noah is basically the Gilgamesh Epics (Sumerian origin). So I believe there was an intermarriage of Sumerian and Canaanite-Kemetic beliefs. The term used to describe "God" in Gen. 14:19-22 was El' Elyon - most high God. This is also a prasie name for the Canaanite deity Ba'al. It is only right for Melchizedek to be the priest-king of a Canaanite city; most city-states, at that time, that had monarchies were ruled by a king, who was a priest. The term Yahweh is thought to have resemblance to the Canaanite deity Yw or Yawu. Other titles for the Hebrew God which were originally names for Canaanite deities: El Shaddai (god of the Mountains), El Olam (originally Canaanite god of Beershaba), El Berith (god of Shechem) and El Roi. I believe these many gods were eventually sycrentize into one overall god of Israel and afterwards, the names of them became appellations for the Hebrew God.
Thus, these entities, being separate at one time, could say in Gen. 22 : "And the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever."
To be continued....
Blackbird