University of Cambridge Oriental Publications
2 total works
The Old Testament contains a number of interesting poetic references to God's conflict with a dragon, called by names such as Leviathan, Rahab or the twisting serpent, and with the sea. In this original contribution to the background and understanding of the Old Testament Dr Day undertakes a detailed and thorough examination of these allusions. Building on the discovery of the Ugaritic texts, he demonstrates a source for these references within Canaanite mythology. His study further explores the associations of the imagery. Sometimes in the Old Testament the dragon is associated with the creation of the world, or it becomes a symbol of a foreign nation, and in some references it is associated with divine conflict at the end of time.
Over the years there has been no consensus amongst scholars on the subject of Molech in the Old Testament. Was Molech the name of a god or was it simply a sacrificial term like the molk of the Carthaginians? Were children actually offered up in gruesome and fiery sacrifices to Molech or was it rather a question of harmless rites of cultic dedication in the fire? If Molech was a god, what was his origin and was it the case, as some have argued, that his worshippers equated him with Yahweh, the God of Israel? These are some of the questions which Dr Day's fresh and thorough study discusses and to which decisive answers are given.