Joshua 24: 2
Joshua said to all
the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Long ago your
forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the
River [Euphrates] and worshipped other gods.’”
Acts 7:2b
The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he
lived in Haran [Turkey]. So he left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in
Haran.
Genesis 11: 2, 4a,
5
As men moved
eastward, they found a plain in Shinar [Mesopotamia??] and settled there. They
said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the
heavens. . .” But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower
that the men were building.
Genesis 11: 27a, 28
Terah became the
father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran. While his father was still alive,
Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans.
NOTE: According to Holman’s Bible Dictionary (p. 1640),
during the third dynasty Ur was the most prosperous and highly developed city
in the region at that time. Archaeological evidence has uncovered remains of a
three-staged pyramidal structure [‘ziggurat’] which is probably the famed Tower
of Babel.
Genesis 11: 36
They used brick
instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
NOTE:
Certain tools would
have been required for stone masonry but to make bricks required kindling a
fire in an oven to harden the clay blocks. Also, just as interesting is the
place name for ‘Ur’ means “fire oven/”
Now let’s look at
some Biblical text regarding how God is revealed to the Hebrews/Israelites:
Exodus 3: 1b, 2a
Moses led the flock
to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb the mountain of God. There the
LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from a bush.
Exodus 19: 18
Mount Sinai [Horeb]
was covered with smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire.
Exodus 40: 38a
So the cloud [“Shekinah”]
of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by
night.
Leviticus 9: 24
Fire came out
from the presence of the LORD
and consumed the burnt offerings and the fat portions on the altar.
Deuteronomy 4: 24a
For the LORD is
a consuming fire.
Exodus 20: 4
You shall not make
for yourself any graven image in the form of anything in heaven above,
the earth beneath, or in the waters below.
FINAL
THOUGHT:
Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary
defines graven image as an object of worship carved out of wood or
stone. A statue representing fire cannot be constructed out of materials but a
drawing or painting can be used to symbolize it, I suppose. The evidence is circumstantial
and conjecture at best to prove that the patriarchs, starting with Abraham
being introduced to God [the LORD] in the ‘fire oven’ city of Ur and then the
deity becoming representative of Israel’s national God under Moses, and
ultimately as the Creator of the Universe.Word Play:
Elyon ("Most High God"-Daniel 4: 2b; 4: 17b, 34b; 5: 18) in Babylon.
Bab(el)yon (??)= Babylon
Babel (the god Bel)
El
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