(viii) "A priest of Melqart, in gorgeous robes, talked with an austere foreigner who served Osiris...A long-bearded warrior from Jerusalem and a bodyguard for a visiting Philistine dignitary exchanged glares, but the peace of Hiram stayed their swords." (p. 327)
(ix) "'...something made me stop by the temple of Tanith...and put oil in a lamp...for all poor mariners...'" (p. 302) (Hear us when we pray to thee, For those in peril on the sea...)
(x) "...Phoenician paganism spurred [the prophets] to fury..." (p. 249), whereas Solomon had sacrificed to Phoenician gods and Ahab, married to Tyrian Jezebel, made foreign alliances and tolerated religious differences.
I am with Hiram and Ahab.
2 comments:
Hi, Paul!
Except that Ahab, as King of Israel, should worship YHVH, the true God. Moreover, since I believe the Jews were esp. selected and set apart by God to be the means by which He revealed Himself to mankind, any policy of toleration by Ahab ran the risk of the Jews losing their uniqueness, that something special which distinguished them from their pagan neighbors. So, I side with Elijah in his struggle with Ahab.
Sean
Hail the many-named Eternal!
Sean,
Toleration a bad thing? We would not say that now.
Paul.
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