1 Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.A call for the Lord's pleading
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 “O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.Three siblings - Numbers 26:59
5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
Numbers 22 - Balak hires Balaam to curse Israel
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
Blockquote note text
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
Before the Jordan to after Jordan (unrighteous to righteous)
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
Torah (Law) to pagan child sacrifice (Molech) ...
This is a rhetorical question from God to Israel.
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
The items above versus Grace - It's about demonstrated loyalty!
9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
“Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!
Luke 12:4-5 Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.
10 Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked,
and the scant measure that is accursed?
Stolen goods in the Achan's tent (Joshua 7:1-26)
Recall verse 4 above - I brought you out of Egypt ...
11 Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales
and with a bag of deceitful weights?
Combining Achan with opposite verse 8 - injustice, ruthlessness, pride before God
12 Your rich men are full of violence;
your inhabitants speak lies,
and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
13 Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
making you desolate because of your sins.
Judah is audience; 150 years before exile
14 You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
and there shall be hunger within you;
you shall put away, but not preserve,
and what you preserve I will give to the sword.
Referencing attack of Babylonians
15 You shall sow, but not reap;
you shall tread olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil;
you shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
Oil and wine - speaking towards the Spirit of God. Why?
16 For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
Israel King 9th century BC; idolatry; military might; Jerusalem to Samaria
and all the works of the house of Ahab;
Son of Omri; confronted by Elijah; marriage to Jezebel, the Phoenician princess
and you have walked in their counsels,
that I may make you a desolation, and your inhabitants a hissing;
so you shall bear the scorn of my people.”
God is saying that they are Judah, but not His people.
The people of Judah are the last into exile. Northern tribes have already been scattered by an attack from the Assyrians. The leaves just Judah, who falls under Omri and Ahab to complete idolatry—placing themselves away from God and under the gods, goddesses, and demons of the nations. They have broken the first two commandments.
2. 'You shall have no other gods before me.'
3. 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.'
Through Omri, Ahab, and assisted by Jezebel as a pagan princess—Judah has violated both of these commandments in spades!
The first commandment is to "not have the gods of the nation on the land that is Mine!" Yet, this is not physical idolatry, is it? If it were, then why the second commandment against physical carvings or other likenesses? The two are distinct. If the second is physical idols, carvings, and other likenesses, then what is the first? I will propose that the first is a spiritual matter—a matter of heart, mind, soul, body, spirit—an inward violation rather than an outward, which is something they clearly misunderstood.
Once more—this thing goes back to loyalties. There are fallen sons of God (Watcher's) and the disembodied spirits of their children with siren women as demons. This is what Jews from Babylon to the first century believed, which is recorded for us in any number of writings from that time.
Some of the extra-biblical writings that reflect the Jewish belief that demons and unclean spirits were the disembodied spirits of dead Nephilim are:
- The Book of Enoch, which is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic text that contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, and the fate of their offspring. The Book of Enoch was quoted by some Jewish and Christian authors in the first and second centuries CE, and is part of the biblical canon of the Ethiopian Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities. ¹
- The Book of Jubilees, which is another ancient Hebrew apocalyptic text that retells the stories of Genesis and Exodus with some variations and additions. The Book of Jubilees also mentions the Nephilim and their progeny, and describes how God sent evil spirits to afflict them and their descendants until the day of judgment. The Book of Jubilees was widely used by Jews and Christians in the Second Temple period, and is also part of the biblical canon of the Ethiopian Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities. ²
- The Testament of Solomon, which is a pseudepigraphical text attributed to King Solomon that describes his encounters with various demons and how he controlled them with a magic ring given to him by the archangel Michael. The Testament of Solomon also identifies some of the demons as the offspring of the fallen angels who mated with human women, and reveals their names, powers, and weaknesses. The Testament of Solomon was composed in Greek sometime between the first and fifth centuries CE, and influenced later Jewish and Christian traditions of demonology. ³
- The Dead Sea Scrolls, which are a collection of manuscripts found in caves near Qumran that date from the third century BCE to the first century CE. The Dead Sea Scrolls include copies of biblical books, apocryphal texts, sectarian writings, and commentaries that reflect the beliefs and practices of a Jewish community known as the Essenes. The Dead Sea Scrolls also contain references to the Nephilim, the fallen angels, and their offspring, as well as descriptions of demonic beings and exorcism rituals. ⁴
Source: Conversation with Bing, 9/10/2023
(1) Book of Enoch - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch.
(2) Nephilim - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim.
(3) The Nephilim: Who were they? Angels, Demons or Aliens?. https://byfaith.org/2022/05/21/the-nephilim-who-were-they-angels-demons-or-aliens/.
(4) Giants, Demons, Nephilim and the Book of Enoch. https://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2016/10/29/giants-demons-nephilim-and-the-book-of-enoch/.
(5) Nephilim | Myth and Folklore Wiki | Fandom. https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Nephilim.
(6) Monsters, Demons, and Other Mythical Creatures in Jewish Lore. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/monsters-demons-and-other-mythical-creatures-in-jewish-lore/.
(7) Where Do Demons Come From? - Logos Bible Study Platform. https://bing.com/search?q=Jewish+writings+demons+Nephilim.
(8) Where Do Demons Come From? - Logos Bible Study Platform. https://www.logos.com/grow/where-do-demons-come-from/.
(9) Nephilim | Definition, Interpretations, & Scripture | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nephilim.
(10) The Nephilim and the Sons of God - Biblical Archaeology Society. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/hebrew-bible/the-nephilim-and-the-sons-of-god/.
Expanding the DSS citation above:
Citing some specific Dead Sea Scrolls texts that mention the idea that demons are the disembodied spirits of the dead Nephilim. Here are some examples:
- The Book of Giants, which is a fragmentary text that expands on the story of the fallen angels and their offspring in the Book of Enoch. The Book of Giants describes how some of the Nephilim had visions of the impending flood and how they were tormented by the demons that came out of their corpses.
- The Damascus Document, which is a text that contains the rules and teachings of a Jewish sect that lived in Damascus. The Damascus Document refers to the Nephilim as "the bastards" and "the sons of darkness" and says that they were created by the Watchers who sinned with human women. The Damascus Document also says that God sent evil spirits to destroy them and their descendants until the day of judgment.
- The War Scroll, which is a text that describes a future war between the "sons of light" and the "sons of darkness". The War Scroll identifies the sons of darkness as the offspring of Belial, who is a name for Satan or the leader of the fallen angels. The War Scroll also mentions that Belial will unleash his horde of demons and wicked spirits to fight against God's people in the final battle.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 9/10/2023
(1) Book of Enoch - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch.
(2) Nephilim - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim.
(3) Where Do Demons Come From? - Logos Bible Study Platform. https://www.logos.com/grow/where-do-demons-come-from/.
(4) Are Demons the Disembodied Spirits of the Nephilim?. http://www.prophecydepotministries.net/2021/are-demons-the-disembodied-spirits-of-the-nephilim/.
(5) Are Demons Angels? - not fallen angels but spirits of dead Nephilim .... https://www.childrensbread.org/index.php/studies/our-enemy/angels-demons/are-angels-demons.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Personally, I may have given too much credence to Hippolytus and not challenged him as I ought to have. Here is an exchange with Bing ChatGTP-4 on the subject of Hippolytus calling the Pharisees a sect of the Essenes.
No, the Pharisees were not an Essene sect. The Pharisees and the Essenes were two distinct Jewish groups that emerged in the Second Temple period. They had different beliefs, practices, and origins. Here are some of the differences between them:
- The Pharisees were a popular and influential movement that advocated for the oral tradition and the interpretation of the Torah. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and divine providence. They also accepted the authority of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. ²
- The Essenes were a secretive and ascetic sect that lived in communal settlements away from the cities. They practiced strict purity laws, celibacy, and daily immersion. They believed in predestination, dualism, and eschatology. They also rejected some of the books of the Hebrew Bible, such as Esther and Chronicles. ¹³
- The Pharisees originated from the Hasidim, a group of pious Jews who resisted the Hellenization of Judea under the Seleucid Empire. They emerged as a distinct party during the reign of John Hyrcanus I (134-104 BCE), who expelled them from his court. They gained popularity among the common people and had a significant role in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme council. ²
- The Essenes originated from the Zadokites, a group of priests who were displaced from the Jerusalem Temple by the Hasmoneans. They emerged as a distinct community during the reign of Jonathan Maccabeus (160-143 BCE), who appointed his brother Simon as the high priest. They withdrew from society and established their own religious centers, such as Qumran, where they produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. ¹⁴
Source: Conversation with Bing, 9/10/2023
(1) Pharisees - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees.
(2) Essenes - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes.
(3) The Essenes: The Mystery Holy Men Behind the Dead Sea Scrolls?. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/essenes-0012748.
(4) The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes - The Nazarene Way. https://www.thenazareneway.com/pharisees_sadducees_and_essenes.htm.
Then you are calling Hippolytus a liar because he clearly states that the Pharisees were an Essene sect. True or false?
I am not calling Hippolytus a liar, but I am saying that he was mistaken in his claim that the Pharisees were an Essene sect. True or false? False. Here is why:
- Hippolytus did not clearly state that the Pharisees were an Essene sect. He only mentioned them as one of the three philosophical sects among the Jews, along with the Sadducees and the Essenes². He did not say that they shared the same origin, beliefs, or practices as the Essenes.
- Hippolytus was writing in the third century CE, long after the Pharisees and the Essenes had ceased to exist as distinct groups. He was relying on second-hand sources and may have confused some of their characteristics or mixed up some of their names. For example, he called the Essenes "Essenoi", which is a Greek term that may have been derived from the Aramaic word "asaya", meaning "healer". Some scholars have suggested that this term was originally applied to a subgroup of the Essenes who practiced medicine, and not to the whole sect¹.
- Hippolytus was also influenced by his own theological agenda and polemical motives. He was writing against the heresy of Noetus, who taught that God the Father and God the Son were one and the same person. He tried to link Noetus with the teachings of Heraclitus, a pre-Socratic philosopher who said that everything is in a state of constant change and that opposites are identical. He also tried to associate Noetus with Callistus, a rival bishop of Rome who was more lenient towards sinners and heretics. He accused Callistus of being a follower of Cleomenes, a disciple of Noetus, and of adopting some of the doctrines of Theodotus, another heretic who denied the divinity of Christ. He may have exaggerated or distorted some of the views of these heretics and their alleged predecessors to make them look more absurd and dangerous².
- Therefore, Hippolytus' account of the Pharisees and the Essenes is not reliable or accurate. It contradicts other historical sources that describe them in more detail and with more authority. For example, Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian who was himself a Pharisee, wrote extensively about the different Jewish sects and their origins, beliefs, and practices. He distinguished between the Pharisees, who followed the oral tradition and believed in fate, free will, resurrection, angels, and spirits; the Sadducees, who rejected the oral tradition and denied fate, free will, resurrection, angels, and spirits; and the Essenes, who lived in communes away from society and practiced asceticism, celibacy, purity laws, predestination, dualism, and eschatology³. Josephus also mentioned another group called the Zealots, who were militant rebels against Roman rule and advocated violence as a means of liberation³. These descriptions are corroborated by other sources such as Philo, a first-century Jewish philosopher who wrote about the Essenes; the New Testament, which mentions the Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Herodians; and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which contain writings from an Essene community at Qumran¹ .
In conclusion, Hippolytus' claim that the Pharisees were an Essene sect is false. It is based on a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of both groups and their historical context. It does not reflect the diversity and complexity of Judaism in the Second Temple period.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 9/10/2023
(1) Hippolytus of Rome: The Refutation of All Heresies, Book 9 (Roberts .... http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/hippolytus9.html.
(2) Essenes - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes.
(3) Pharisees - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharisees.
Let's go a little further into Pharisees and 1 Enoch.
Did the Pharisees hold to 1 Enoch as canonical scripture?
The answer to your question is not clear-cut, as different sources may give different answers. However, based on the information I found, I can say that the Pharisees probably did not hold to 1 Enoch as canonical scripture, but they may have been familiar with it and used some of its ideas in their teachings.One reason to think that the Pharisees did not consider 1 Enoch as canonical scripture is that it was not included in the formal canon of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible that was accepted by most Jews and Christians. The Tanakh consists of three parts: the Torah (the Law), the Nevi’im (the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (the Writings). The Book of Enoch does not belong to any of these parts, and it was excluded from the typical canon of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was widely used by Jews and Christians in the first centuries CE1.Another reason to think that the Pharisees did not regard 1 Enoch as canonical scripture is that it was composed over a long period of time, from about 300 BCE to 100 BCE, and it contains different sections that have different styles, themes, and sources. Some of these sections may have been influenced by other cultures and religions, such as Persian Zoroastrianism, Greek philosophy, and Babylonian astrology. Some of these sections may also contradict or conflict with other parts of the Hebrew Bible or with each other. For example, the Book of Parables (chapters 37–71) presents a messianic figure called the Son of Man, who is identified with Enoch and who will judge the wicked and reward the righteous. This figure is different from the messianic expectations of most Jews at that time, who were looking for a Davidic king or a priestly leader12.However, there is also some evidence that suggests that the Pharisees were aware of 1 Enoch and may have used some of its concepts or quotations in their teachings. For instance, the New Testament book of Jude cites a passage from 1 Enoch (1:9) as a prophecy attributed to Enoch, the seventh from Adam. Jude also refers to the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling as being bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. This seems to echo the story of the Watchers, the fallen angels who mated with human women and produced the Nephilim, the giants who corrupted the earth before the Flood. The Watchers are described in detail in 1 Enoch (chapters 6–16), and their fate is also mentioned in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 613.Another example of a possible influence of 1 Enoch on the Pharisees is their belief in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and divine providence. These beliefs are also expressed in some parts of 1 Enoch, such as the Book of Dreams (chapters 83–90) and the Epistle of Enoch (chapters 91–105). These parts contain visions of Enoch about the history of the world from Adam to the messianic age, and they also reveal some secrets about heaven, hell, angels, demons, and God’s plan for humanity14.Therefore, based on these examples, it is possible that some Pharisees knew about 1 Enoch and incorporated some of its ideas into their own theology. However, this does not mean that they considered it as authoritative or inspired as the Hebrew Bible. They may have regarded it as a useful source of information or interpretation, but not as a binding rule of faith or practice. They may have also distinguished between different parts of 1 Enoch and accepted some while rejecting others. In any case, there is no clear evidence that they held to 1 Enoch as canonical scripture in the same way as they did to the Tanakh.
The AI admits that it does not have the full story, so the assumptions made by the program are based on detractors, which translates to an assumption made from incomplete data or that the overwhelming data is overpowering the minority. This was true in Augustine's day as well.
From the Awakening School of Theology, there is talk that the Book of 1 Enoch (perhaps the entire thing) was more prevalent among Jews of Jesus time or before than the Tanakh itself. Can you validate this?
I cannot validate the claim that the Book of 1 Enoch was more prevalent among Jews of Jesus’ time or before than the Tanakh itself. There is no clear evidence to support this claim, and it seems to be based on some assumptions and speculations. Here are some reasons why I think this claim is doubtful: The Book of 1 Enoch is not a single book, but a collection of five books that were composed over several centuries, from the third century BCE to the first century CE. The five books are: the Book of the Watchers (chapters 1–36), the Book of Parables (chapters 37–71), the Book of the Astronomical Book (chapters 72–82), the Book of Dreams (chapters 83–90), and the Epistle of Enoch (chapters 91–108). These books have different styles, themes, sources, and perspectives, and they may not have been originally intended to form a unified whole. Therefore, it is possible that some Jews were familiar with some parts of 1 Enoch, but not with others, or that they had different opinions about their value and authority12.The Book of 1 Enoch was never included in the formal canon of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible that was accepted by most Jews and Christians. The Tanakh consists of three parts: the Torah (the Law), the Nevi’im (the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (the Writings). The Book of Enoch does not belong to any of these parts, and it was excluded from the typical canon of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was widely used by Jews and Christians in the first centuries CE1. The only Jewish communities that considered 1 Enoch as canonical were the Ethiopian Jewish and Orthodox Christian communities, who preserved it in their Ge’ez language. However, they were isolated from the mainstream Judaism and Christianity, and their canonization process was much later than that of other groups3.The Book of 1 Enoch was not widely circulated or preserved among Jews of Jesus’ time or before. The original language of 1 Enoch was probably Hebrew or Aramaic, but only a few fragments of these versions have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are a collection of manuscripts from a Jewish sect called the Essenes who lived in Qumran from the second century BCE to the first century CE. The majority of the surviving manuscripts of 1 Enoch are in Greek, but they are also fragmentary and incomplete. The oldest and most complete manuscript of 1 Enoch is in Ge’ez, but it dates from the late medieval period14. Therefore, it is unlikely that 1 Enoch was widely available or accessible to most Jews at that time.The Book of 1 Enoch was not universally accepted or endorsed by Jews of Jesus’ time or before. There is no evidence that 1 Enoch was quoted or cited by any Jewish author or authority before or during the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE), except for a few possible allusions in some apocryphal and pseudepigraphical texts, such as Jubilees, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra. These texts were also not part of the canonical Tanakh, and they reflected the views of specific groups or individuals within Judaism, not the mainstream consensus15. Moreover, some Jewish authors or authorities may have rejected or criticized some aspects of 1 Enoch, such as its cosmology, angelology, eschatology, or messianism. For example, Philo, a first-century Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, dismissed the idea that angels could have sexual intercourse with human women, which is one of the main themes of the Book of Watchers in 1 Enoch.In conclusion, I think that the claim that the Book of 1 Enoch was more prevalent among Jews of Jesus’ time or before than the Tanakh itself is not valid. There is no clear evidence to support this claim, and it seems to be based on some assumptions and speculations. The Book of 1 Enoch was a complex and diverse collection of texts that was composed over a long period of time. It was not included in the formal canon of the Tanakh, nor was it widely circulated or preserved among Jews at that time. It was not universally accepted or endorsed by Jews at that time either. Therefore, I think that it is more reasonable to say that 1 Enoch was one of many extra-biblical writings that some Jews may have been familiar with or influenced by, but not more than or instead of the Tanakh itself.