From: Subject: THE SECRET OF BAALBEK Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 18:14:48 +0300 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="windows-1255" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://localhost:8780/pubs/journals/kronos/vol0602/025secrt.htm X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3198 THE SECRET OF BAALBEK

The Secret Of Baalbek

IMMANUEL VELIKOVSKY

THE TEMPLE AT DAN

The story of Jeroboam, son of a widow of Zereda, an Ephraimite and = Solomon's=20 servant, begins with this passage:

Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of = David, his=20 father.

And the man, Jeroboam, was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, = seeing the=20 young man that he was industrious, made him ruler over all the charge = of the=20 house of Joseph.(1)

The ambitious servant was not satisfied with this honor of = administering the=20 land of Menashe (Manasse) and Ephraim, or even the entire northern half = of the=20 kingdom; he wished to be a king himself. When Jeroboam's plans became = known to=20 Solomon, the king intended to kill him, but Jeroboam ran away to the = Pharaoh of=20 Egypt. When Solomon died, he returned; he tore the ten tribes' land from = Rehoboam, son of Solomon. Solomon's realm was split in two: Jeroboam = became king=20 of Israel in the north, and Rehoboam retained the kingdom of Judah in = the south.=20 To make the rift permanent Jeroboam had to keep the people from going to = Jerusalem and its new temple.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the = house=20 of David.

If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at = Jerusalem,=20 then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even = unto=20 Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to = Rehoboam,=20 king of Judah.(2)

From the viewpoint of serving his own ends, it was a sound idea to = build on=20 some ancient sites places for folk gathering which would compete with=20 Jerusalem.

Whereupon the king [Jeroboam] took counsel, and made two calves of = gold,=20 and said unto [his people], It is too much for you to go up to=20 Jerusalem....

And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in=20 Dan.(3)

Beth-el was in the south of his kingdom, close to Jerusalem, Dan in = the north=20 of his kingdom. In order to attract pilgrims from the land of Judah, = Jeroboam=20 also made Beth-el the site of a new feast, "like unto the feast that is = in=20 Judah".(4) Setting up the image of the cult in Dan, Jeroboam proclaimed: = "Behold=20 thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."(5) = Thus, Dan=20 in the north competed with Jerusalem in the days of Passover and = Tabernacles.=20 The temple of Dan was a much larger edifice than the temple in Bethel, = and it=20 became a great place for pilgrimage, attracting people even from the = southern=20 kingdom.

And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before = the one=20 [of the two calves], even unto Dan.(6)

The temple of Dan was called a "House of High Places": "And he made = an house=20 of high places . . ."(7) The Temple of Jerusalem was also called a = "House" in=20 Hebrew.

For centuries the temple of Dan in the north successfully contested = with the=20 Temple of Jerusalem and attracted throngs of pilgrims.

Jeroboam, the man who supervised under Solomon the building of Millo, = the=20 fortress of Zion with its strong wall, and who, in recognition of his = ability=20 demonstrated in this work, was appointed governor of the northern = provinces,=20 now, when king, must have desired to erect in Dan a temple surpassing = the=20 magnificent Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. Only in offering a more = imposing=20 building could he hope not only to turn the people from going to = Jerusalem, but=20 make the people of Judah elect a pilgrimage to Dan over one to = Jerusalem.=20 Meanwhile, Jeroboam had seen the temples and palaces of Egypt, and his = ambition=20 was, of course, to imitate all the splendor he had seen in Jerusalem, in = Karnak,=20 and in Deir el-Bahari. Or would this "mighty man of valor", industrious=20 constructor of Zion's citadel, and a shrewd politician, try to contest = the=20 Temple of Jerusalem by means of an ignoble chapel? That he succeeded in = his=20 challenge is a testimony to the size and importance of the temple at = Dan.

It was not enough that Dan and Beth-el were ancient places of = reverence:=20 magnificence was displayed in the capital of Solomon, and magnificence = had to=20 prevail in the temple cities of the Northern Kingdom.

[*!* Image] Source: Ages in Chaos.

The temple of Beth-el, the smaller of the two Israelite temples, was=20 demolished three centuries later by King Josiah, a few decades before = the Temple=20 of Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. It was trampled into = smithereens=20 by the king, jealous for his God.(8) There is no mention of a = destruction of the=20 temple in Dan.

Where was Dan and its "House of High Places"?

_______________________
1. I Kings 11:27 28.
2. I Kings 12:26 = 27.
3.=20 I Kings 12:28, 29.
4. I Kings 12:32, 33.
5. I Kings 12:28.
6. I = Kings=20 12:30.
7. X Kings 12:31.
8 II Kings 23:15.=20

THE SEARCH FOR DAN

Dan was the northernmost point of the Israelite settlement where one = of the=20 twelve tribes chose its domicile. A familiar expression was: "From Dan = even to=20 Beer-Sheba.''(1)

Students of biblical geography have agreed to place Dan in the Arab = village=20 of el-Kadi, on the upper flow of the Jordan, which is there but a = rivulet. In=20 recent years very insignificant ancient ruins have been found on this = place.(2)=20 This is in accord with what the biblical archaeologists expect, for they = think=20 the temple of Dan to have been a very modest structure of which, most = probably,=20 hardly any ruins would have remained.

The biblical Dan is placed on the upper flow of the Jordan because of = a=20 passage in Josephus Flavius. In his Jewish Antiquities, = Josephus says=20 that Dan was on "a spot not far from Mount Libanus and the sources of = the lesser=20 Jordan".(3) Commentators of Josephus deduced that by the "lesser Jordan" = the=20 upper flow of the Jordan, above the Lake of Huleh, or above the Lake of=20 Tiberias, is meant; however, this interpretation is not supported by the = words=20 "not far from Mount Libanus" since, from the surroundings of el-Kadi and = the=20 sources of the Jordan, the snow-capped Hermon or Anti-Lebanon can be = seen in the=20 distance, but not Lebanon, far behind the Anti-Lebanon.

After having chosen the source of the Jordan as the area where to = look for=20 Dan, this ancient city was located at el-Kadi for the following reason: = the name=20 Dan is built of the Hebrew root that signifies "to counsel" or "to = judge".=20 El-Kadi means in Arabic "the judge". There was no other reason, beside = this=20 philological equation of Hebrew and Arabic terms, to locate the site of = the=20 ancient temple city in the small village of el-Kadi, since until quite = recently=20 no ruins, large or small, were found on the site.

The aforementioned reference in Josephus makes one wonder whether by = "the=20 lesser Jordan" the river Litani was meant. This river begins in the = valley=20 between Mount Lebanon and Mount Anti Lebanon, flows to the south in the = same=20 rift in which farther to the south the Jordan flows, and towards the = source of=20 that river, but changes its course and flows then westwards and empties = itself=20 into the Mediterranean. Its source being near Mount Lebanon, it appears = that the=20 Litani was meant by "the lesser Jordan".

However, Josephus, who wrote in the first century of the Christian = era, was=20 not necessarily well-informed concerning the location of Dan the temple = city of=20 the Northern Kingdom a state whose history ended with the capture of = Samaria by=20 Sargon II in -722.(4)

Therefore, it is only proper to go back to the Scriptures in trying = to locate=20 Dan.

_________________________
1. Judges 20: I; Samuel 3:20.
2. See = lsrael=20 Exploration Journal, Vol. 16(1966),pp 144-145;ibid Vol.19(1969),pp. = 121-123. [In=20 1980, an arched city gate was reportedly uncovered at this site. = -LER]
3.=20 Antiquities v.3.i.
4. Similarly, the passage in the Book of Enoch=20 (13:7),which refers to Dan to the "south of the western side of Hermon" = must not=20 be treated as an historical location.

THE PORTION OF THE CHILDREN OF DAN

When the Israelites, after the Exodus from Egypt, roamed in the = wilderness,=20 they sent scouts to Canaan to investigate the land and to report. The = scouts=20 passed the land through its length"from the wilderness of Zin unto = Rehob, as men=20 come to Hamath".(1) These were also destined to be the southern and = northern=20 borders of the land: "Your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of = Zin"=20 and in the north "your border [shall be] unto the entrance of = Hamath".(2)

The expressions "as men come to Hamath", or "unto the entrance of = Hamath"=20 signify that Rehob, the northern point of the land visited by the = scouts, was at=20 a place where the road began that led to the city of Hamath in = Syria.

In the days of conquest under Joshua son of Nun, when the land was=20 partitioned by lot, the tribe of Dan received its portion in the hilly = country=20 on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa. The tribe was opposed by the = Philistines,=20 also invading the same country. When the population of Philistia = increased=20 through the arrival of new immigrants from the Mediterranean islands, = the tribe=20 of Dan, being the advance guard of the Israelites, had to suffer not = mere=20 resistance, but strong counter-pressure. The Samson saga reflects this = struggle.=20 Tired of continuously opposing the increasing influx of the Philistines, = the=20 Danites migrated to the north.

They . . . came unto Laish, unto a people who were quiet and = secure; and=20 they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with = fire.

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they = had no=20 business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by = Beth-Rehob. And=20 they built a city, and dwelt therein.

And they called the name of the city Dan . . . howbeit, the name of = the=20 city was Laish at the first.(3)

Here we meet again the northern point Rehob or Beth-Rehob. We are = also told=20 that it was situated in a valley. Next to it was the city of Laish, and = the=20 Danites burned the city and then erected there a new city, Dan.

Beth-Rehob, or House of Rehob, is the place we met in the story of = the scouts=20 sent by Moses - as the most remote point they visited going to the = north.

The place was "far from Zidon"; if it were where it is looked for = today -- at=20 the source of the Jordan - it would not have been proper to say "far = from=20 Zidon", but rather "from Tyre". But if Zidon (Sidon) is named as the = nearest=20 large city, Tyre must have been still farther from Laish-Dan, and the = latter=20 city must have been more to the north, in the valley between Lebanon and = Anti-Lebanon.

The Danites were in contact with the Zidonians already at the time = when they=20 fought with the Philistines for the possession of territory. Because of = want of=20 land, they sent many of their sons as sailors on Phoenician ships.(4) In = their=20 new place of abode the Danites became kindred with the Phoenicians.

In Dan-Laish, "the children of Dan set up the graven image" of = Micah.(5) The=20 story of this holy image is connected with the migration of the Danites = to the=20 north. Before migrating they sent a few men to find for them "an = inheritance to=20 dwell in".(6) These men traversed, on their errand, the mountainous land = of=20 Ephraim. Micah was an Ephraimite who built a private chapel in Mount = Ephraim,=20 where he placed "a graven image and a molten image", and hired a Levite = to serve=20 there as a priest.(7) The men of Dan, dispatched on the errand to find a = new=20 domicile for the tribe, heard an oracle from the priest. After having = spied the=20 place of Laish, they returned to their tribe that dwelt in the hilly = borderland=20 of Zarah, and with six hundred warriors went to the north. Passing again = Mount=20 Ephraim, they took with them the image and the priest, despite the = bitter=20 protests of Micah. When they conquered Laish "the children of Dan set up = the=20 graven image".(8) Since then, there was an oracle in Dan.

The name Danjaan, found in the Scriptures,(9) is apparently a synonym = for=20 Dan: it means "Dan of answer", or "of oracle".

Dan became the site of the temple built by Jeroboam. It was a holy = place long=20 before he built his temple there, since the story of the oracle of Micah = is=20 conspicuously narrated in the Book of Judges; it is rather probable that = Rehob=20 was a sacred place even before the Danites built their city on the ruins = of=20 Laish close by.

It cannot be said of the present village of el-Kadi that it lies on = the road=20 "as men come to Hamath"; to satisfy this description, Rehob must be = looked for=20 farther to the north.

______________________
1. Numbers = 13:21.
2.=20 Numbers 34:3, 7-8.
3. Judges 18:27-29.
4. Judges 5 17.
5. = Judges=20 18:30.
6. Judges 18:1.
7. Judges 17 4, 7-13.
8. Judges = 18:30.
9.=20 Samuel 24:6.

THE SUCCESSORS OF JEROBOAM

Being located in an outstretched part of the Israelite kingdom, Dan = was often=20 the subject of wars between the kings of Damascus and of Israel. Shortly = after=20 the death of Jeroboam, the temple city was conquered by the king of = Damascus.(1)=20 It appears that, at the time of the revolution of Jehu, three = generations later,=20 in the ninth century, Dan was still in the hands of the kings of = Damascus; but=20 it is said that Jehu, who destroyed the temple of Baal in Samaria, did = not=20 destroy the temple of Dan, nor did he abolish its cult, "the sin of = Jeroboam".=20 This implies that Dan came back into the hands of the Israelites in the = days of=20 Jehu. In any case, the population of the northern kingdom that of Israel = but=20 also of the southern kingdom that of Judah continued to go to Dan on the = feasts=20 of Passover and Tabernacles, preferring it to Jerusalem.

Jehu, jealous of the God Yahweh, did nothing to keep the people from = going to=20 Dan, and obviously even encouraged them to do so; the cult of Dan was = one of=20 Yahweh, though in the guise of a calf, or Apis.

In the eighth century the prophet Amos, one of the earliest prophets = whose=20 speeches are preserved in writing, spoke of the worship at Dan:

They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan = liveth; and,=20 The manner of Beer-Sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise = up=20 again.(2)

For a time Amos prophesied at Beth-el, the other sacred site of the = Northern=20 Kingdom. In his time the place had a royal chapel; and in view of the = statement=20 that, of the two places where Jeroboam placed the calves, the people = went to=20 worship in Dan,(3) apparently the chapel of Beth-el remained a minor = sacrarium=20 and did not attract many worshippers.

Hosea, another prophet who lived in the eighth century, admonished: = "Let not=20 Judah offend . . . neither go ye up to Beth-Aven."(4) He prophesied also = that=20 the "inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of = Beth-Aven", and=20 that the glory of that place will depart from it.(5)

It is generally agreed that Hosea, speaking of Beth-Aven ("the House = of=20 Sin"), referred to Beth-el. This is supported by the verse in the Book = of Joshua=20 which tells: "And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside = Beth-Aven,=20 on the east side of Bethel."(6)

It appears that the name Beth-Aven, or "The House of Sin" was applied = to both=20 places where Jeroboam built temples for the worship of the calf. It is = possible=20 that, in another verse of his, Hosea had in mind the temple of Dan; he = said:=20 "The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed . = ."(7)

"The sin of Israel" is the usual term for the cult of Dan; and the = "high=20 places", according to the quoted story of Jeroboam placing calves in Dan = and=20 Beth-el,(8) were built in Dan.

At the beginning of the Book of Amos, the following sentence appears: = "I will=20 break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the = plain of=20 Aven (me'bik'at Aven) . . . and the people of Syria shall go = into=20 captivity unto Kir. . ."(9)

I shall return later to this passage and to the accepted = interpretation of=20 "the plain of Aven".

During the wars of the eighth century, the temple city of Dan may = have taken=20 part in the struggle of the Northern Kingdom for its existence, being = oppressed=20 first by Syria, and then by Assyria. Dan may have been besieged, and may = have=20 changed hands during these wars, but nothing is known of its = destruction.

In the latter part of the eighth century the population of the = Northern=20 Kingdom was deported by Sargon II to remote countries, from where it did = not=20 return. More than a century later Jeremiah referred to the oracle of = Dan: "For a=20 voice declareth from Dan",(10) which shows that the oracle of Dan was = still in=20 existence after the end of the Northern Kingdom.

An oracle venerated since ancient times, a magnificent temple where = the image=20 of a calf was worshipped, a place where the tribes of Israel gathered in = the=20 days of the feasts, and the people of Judea used to come, too this was = the=20 cult.

On the way to Hamath, on the northern frontier of the Northern = Kingdom,=20 closer to Zidon (Sidon) than to Tyre, and strategically exposed to = Damascus this=20 was the place.

Would no ruins help to identify the site?

. . . to be continued.

__________________
1. Kings 15:20.
2. Amos 8:14.
3. I Kings = 12:30.
4. Hosea 4 15.
5. Hosea 10:5.
6. Joshua 7:2; cf. Joshua = 18:1=20 1-12:"and the lot . . . of Benjamin . . . and their border . . .at the=20 wilderness of Beth-Aven." Cf. also I Samuel 13:5 and 14:23.
7. Hosea=20 10:18.
8. I Kings 12:28-30.
9. Amos 1:5
10. Jeremiah 4:15. = 32

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