The Book of Esther and the Computer Virus

A computer virus called Stuxnet has attacked computers in many countries. However, most of the infestation of the virus has been in China, India, Indonesia, and Iran. Security experts who have studies Stuxnet believe that the virus was designed to attack Iran’s nuclear program.

One of the files inside the virus is called “Myrtus.” Security experts believe that the use of the word “Myrtus” may be a veiled allusion to the book of Esther. The word “Myrtus” may be a reference to myrtle, a plant that was known to many cultures in the Ancient Near East. It is for this reason that security experts believe that the reference to Myrtus is a signature allusion to the book of Esther.

The Book of Esther is an Old Testament story which tells how the Persians were planning to destroy the Jews by imperial decree and how the Jews acted to pre-empt the plot to destroy them.

An article published in The New York Times quotes an Old Testament scholar who links the word “Myrtus” to the Book of Esther:

Carol Newsom, an Old Testament scholar at Emory University, confirmed the linguistic connection between the plant family and the Old Testament figure, noting that Queen Esther’s original name in Hebrew was Hadassah, which is similar to the Hebrew word for myrtle.

Although Israeli experts have denied Israel’s involvement in the development of Stuxnet, the possible connection of the virus to the book of Esther is intriguing. Since Iran has said publicly that they would like to see Israel disappear as a nation, it is ironic that “deliverance and protection for the Jews will come from another source,” this time a computer virus, and that imageries from the book of Esther are being used “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Esther, Stuxnet, Computer Virus, Myrtus, Myrtle

The Secret of the Pyramids

ScienceDaily has an interesting article about the building of Khufu’s pyramid. Khufu’s Great Pyramid in Giza, better known as the Pyramid of Cheops, was built using 2.3 million limestone blocks weighing roughly 7 million tons. Khufu’s Great Pyramid is 146.6 meters high. It was the tallest structure ever built for nearly 4000 years.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

Scientists from around the world have tried to understand how the Egyptians erected their giant pyramids. Now, an architect and researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) says he has the answer to this ancient, unsolved puzzle.

Researchers have been so preoccupied by the weight of the stones that they tend to overlook two major problems: How did the Egyptians know exactly where to put the enormously heavy building blocks? And how was the master architect able to communicate detailed, highly precise plans to a workforce of 10,000 illiterate men?

Find out the answer by visiting ScienceDaily online.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Pyramid of Cheops, Khufu’s Pyramid, Egypt

The Case of Raphael Golb

For those who are following the trial of Raphael Golb and the controversy about the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Huffington Post has the latest information:

A lawyer charged with impersonating a Judaic studies professor online took the witness stand in his defense Monday, offering jurors a history lesson on the Dead Sea Scrolls and arguing his attempts to defend his father's lifelong research on the ancient texts weren't criminal.

Raphael Golb doesn't dispute that he sent e-mails and messages under pseudonyms attacking his father's critics, but he testified his actions weren't illegal.

"These blogs were about a pattern of unethical conduct in this field of study," he said.

Golb spent the bulk of his life around the scroll research and debate because of his father, University of Chicago professor Norman Golb. The scholarly debate is over the ancient Jews who wrote the scrolls, which are more than 2,000 years old and have provided important insight into the history of Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity.

Many academics say the scrolls were assembled by a sect known as the Essenes. Others, including professor Golb, say the writings were the work of a range of Jewish groups and communities.

Golb said he believed that his father's work, which includes a book called "Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?" has been stolen in part by a rival professor, Lawrence Schiffman, and that his research was being wrongly discredited, so he took to the Internet to avenge him.

"I was aware of my father's feelings of being violated," he said. "They were constantly making nasty remarks about my father."

Schiffman, chairman of New York University's Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, told the jury earlier that he and Norman Golb have long disagreed, albeit cordially, about the issue. But the disagreement so angered Raphael Golb, prosecutors said, that he mounted an elaborate, cloaked effort to promote his father's side by creating aliases and then crafting blog posts and e-mails to tarnish Schiffman's reputation

Read the article in its entirety by visiting the Huffington Post here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Dead Sea Scrolls, Lawrence Schiffman, Norman Golb, Raphael Golb

Religious Illiteracy in America

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released the results of a survey which was designed to test Americans’ religious knowledge. In this survey, which consisted of 32 questions, participants were asked to demonstrate their understanding of the Bible, core teachings of different faiths, and major figures in religious.

The excerpt below describes some of the results:

A new survey of Americans' knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.

Forty-five percent of Roman Catholics who participated in the study didn't know that, according to church teaching, the bread and wine used in Holy Communion is not just a symbol, but becomes the body and blood of Christ.

More than half of Protestants could not identify Martin Luther as the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. And about four in 10 Jews did not know that Maimonides, one of the greatest rabbis and intellectuals in history, was Jewish.

Read the article from which the excerpt above was taken here.

Although the United States is one of the most religious countries in the world, people who go to church regularly know relatively little about their own faith, much less about the religious traditions of other faith communities.

These results show that churches and synagogues are failing to teach their members the basic knowledge of their own history and beliefs. What a sad commentary on the work of today’s churches and synagogues.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Biblical Illiteracy

Hurrians in King David’s Court

In my post today on “Solomon and Social Oppression,” I wrote that when David established his kingdom, he adopted a modified Egyptian model of government. I wrote: “Since before the monarchy Israel was an agricultural society, it is evident that David’s modernization process was based on models that were found outside of Israel.”

In a comment on my post, my friend Darrell Pursiful called my attention to a post he wrote on the Hurrian presence in King David’s court. Darrell wrote: “The court of King David seems to have a rather strong connection to the Hurrians who lived in Canaan around the turn of the first millennium.”

Darrell’s article is very informative. Readers who are unfamiliar with the Hurrians are encouraged to visit Darrell’s blog and read his post. The post is found here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Hurrians, David

Solomon and Social Oppression - Part 2

The need for an Israelite monarchy came out of two important historical events in Canaan. The first major event that contributed to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel was the weakness of the Egyptians in maintaining their control over their empire which extended into Canaan and Syria.

The second event was the arrival of the Sea Peoples in the area. The Sea Peoples were a sea-fearing people who migrated to the southern coast of Canaan from the Aegean Sea in the 13th and the 12th centuries B.C. Among these newcomers were the Philistines, who established a league of five cities on the southern coast. These five cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron (Joshua 13:3).

The Philistines proved to be a constant threat to Israel’s security and economy. The seriousness of the situation became evident at the battle of Aphek in which the Ark of the Lord was captured by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1-22), an event which forced the tribes of Israel to unite in a common effort to overcome the oppressive situation.

At that time, it became evident that the loosely organized twelve tribe federation, which had been so effective in the days of Joshua, could not deal with the external threat to the nation. In order to deal with the Philistine threat, a central political organization with a strong military leader equal to the challenge of the Philistines was thought to be required.

After deliberating whether or not to elect a king, a divided people elected Saul as the nāgîd of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1). The word nāgîd appears in the Hebrew Bible about fifty times and it is applied to people who are religious, military, or governmental leaders. Some scholars believe that in this context the word means “king elect.” Upon his selection as the first king of Israel, Saul was given political and military authority to be used in uniting the various tribes in a common effort against the enemies of Israel.

Thus, out of pressing political, military, and economic need, the monarchy was born in Israel, with the ambivalent support of Samuel and the religious leaders of the nation. After he became king, Saul established no elaborate machinery of state and, although he was the king of the twelve tribes, his reign could be considered a transitional period between the time of the charismatic judges and the kingly figure of David.

With the death of Saul in a battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:1-13), David came to power and became king of Israel. He first reigned as king of Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months (2 Samuel 5:5), and then, through various events and ingenious political maneuvers, he became king of all Israel. After the elders of Israel made a covenant with David at Hebron, David reigned over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years (2 Samuel 5:5).

With the conquest of Jerusalem, David established a neutral capital in which he could begin a program for establishing the foundations for a stable government. In order to modernize the nation and to consolidate his reign, David adopted a modified Egyptian model of government.

David had two commanders of the army. Joab was the commander of the regular army and Benaiah was the commander of the Cherethites and the Pelethites. These two groups were the remnants of the Sea Peoples; they served as a palace guard (they were David’s mercenary army).

David also had two priests. Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech was a priest of the line of Eli, following the Shilonite tradition (1 Samuel 23:6, 22:9, 14:1) and Zadok was a priest representing the priestly line of Jerusalem.

Seraiah was the secretary of state, Jehoshaphat was the public relations secretary of state or Mazkir. A Mazkir was an officer of Pharaoh’s court who acted as a spokesman for the king. Nathan was a court prophet, and Adoram was in charge of the forced labor (2 Samuel 20:24).

David’s sons also served as priests (2 Samuel 8:18) However, in 1 Chronicles 18:17 David’s sons are called “chief officials in the service of the king,” because the Chronicler believed that only the sons of Aaron could serve as priests.

Sociologists have concluded that when a leader politically induces changes in order to solve the problems of modernization of his society, the first change consists of the transformation of unspecialized roles found in all pre-modern societies into more discreet and numerous specialized roles.

Since before the monarchy Israel was an agricultural society, it is evident that David’s modernization process was based on models that were found outside of Israel. David’s kingdom was patterned after the Egyptian form of government. David also took over the Canaanite form of government that he found in Jerusalem and combined these two forms of government to organize his own government.

With the organization of his state with its various government officials, David was able to unite the Israelite population, which formed the nucleus of the nation. David was also able to incorporate the urban Canaanite population. This group of urban specialists provided the specialized skills that the monarchy needed to exist, creating at the same time, what scholars have called “the paganization of the state.”

The monarchy under David and Solomon could exist as a political regime of expanding power only because of the incorporation of urban skills, specialists, and ideology, all of which were derived from the Canaanites and other nations.

Besides the centralization of the government and the religious life of the nation in Jerusalem, David also organized Judah into administrative districts, and imposed corvée labor (forced labor) on the remnant of the Canaanite population which he had conquered.

The imposition of forced labor in the service of the state was known throughout the Ancient Near East. Forced labor was continued by Solomon and it was the reason for the revolt of the northern tribes against Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, an event that caused the division of the united kingdom (1 Kings 12:11).

David also laid the groundwork for a system of taxation in Israel. It was left for Solomon, however, to consolidate David’s gains and to expand the boundaries of the nation by the formation of an empire which had an international character.

To be continued.

Studies in this Series:

Solomon and Social Oppression - Part 1


Other Related Studies:

God’s Covenant with David

Was Zadok a Jebusite?

Rereading 2 Samuel 8:18: “David’s Sons Were Priests”

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: David, Solomon, Oppression, Social Oppression

Dogs in the Ancient World

The September/October issue Archaeology Magazine has an interesting article on the domestication of dogs in antiquity. The following is a brief excerpt from the article:

But this year a team led by biologist Robert Wayne of the University of California, Los Angeles, showed that domesticated dog DNA overlaps most closely with that of Near Eastern wolves. Wayne and his colleagues suggest that dogs were first domesticated somewhere in the Middle East, then bred with other gray wolves as they spread across the globe, casting doubt on the idea that dogs were domesticated during a single event in a discrete location. Savolainen maintains that Wayne overemphasizes the role of the Near Eastern gray wolf, and that a more thorough sampling of wolves from China would support his team's theory of a single domestication event.

Read the article in its entirety by visiting Archaeology Magazine online.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archaeology, Dogs

A New Sumerian Temple

French archaeologists have recently discovered a new Sumerian temple in the southern Province of Dhiqar in Iraq.

The Sumerians lived in southern Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. They built large city-states that controlled areas of several hundred square miles. Among these cities were Ur, Lagash, and Eridu.

Here the article here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archaeology, Sumerians, Temple

Torah Hamelekh

A book published last year in Israel is causing much discussion among religious Jews. The book in question is titled Torah Hamelekh, “The King’s Torah” or “The Law of the King.” The book was written by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira and Rabbi Yosef Elizur.

An article published in The Jerusalem Post titled “The Murder Midrash” describes the content of the book:

The book deals with questions, such as the fate of a non-Jew who, in time of war, does not violate what are known as the seven principles of the sons of Noah, considered the basic commandments of all humanity, and the fate of a non-Jew who does violate these principles, and under what circumstances is it permitted to kill children and strangers living in the land. One of its six chapters deals with the prohibition for a Jew to give up his life in order to avoid killing a non-Jew, while another chapter deals with the question of when it is necessary and permissible to kill innocents.

"The prohibition (in the Ten Commandments) ‘Thou shalt not murder’," the authors write, "applies only to a Jew who kills a Jew." Since "non-Jews are uncompassionate by nature," they should be killed in order to "curb their evil inclinations," they write.

"There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults."

The article describes the reaction of Rabbi Ya'akov Meidan, head of the Gush Etzion Yeshiva in Alon Shvut, a settlement south of Bethlehem, while lecturing to his students:

He held up a copy of "Torat Hamelekh" ("The King's Torah"), a book with a marblepatterned cover and embossed gilt letters, to his students.

"This is a challenging book, written by learned men," he said to the assembly of students.

After a short silence, he added, calmly and deliberately, "We should burn this book and never allow its authors to teach halakha ever again."

Read the article in its entirety here.

The controversy among religious leaders in Israel is whether rabbis are free to express their religious opinions or whether the banning of the book goes against the principles of freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Another issue raised by this controversy is whether the banning of the book could be considered “the persecution of the Torah by the institutions of the State.”

I am not familiar with Israeli secular and religious laws, thus, I am unable to invoke Israeli laws to answer the issues involved in this controversy. However, I can speak as an outsider and give my personal opinion about the content of the book.

I have not read the book, thus, my views are based solely on the citations that appear in the article published in The Jerusalem Post. First, I believe that the prohibition in the Torah, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), applies to every person, Jews and non-Jews, because all human beings are created in the image of God: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6).

Second, it is false that “non-Jews are uncompassionate by nature.” I could cite several examples from the Hebrew Bible showing the compassion of non-Jews, but this statement is so false that it does not deserve to be addressed.

Finally, by treating non-Jews according to the principles developed by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira and Rabbi Yosef Elizur, Jews repudiate their mission in the world, as God gave it to Abraham and to his descendants. When God called Abraham, God told him: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:13).

That all the families of the earth shall be blessed through Abraham is repeated in Genesis 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; and 28:14. The call of Abraham means that Israel was never to live in a vacuum. God’s words to Abraham summarize Israel’s mission in the world. God desires to give life to all people, Jews and non-Jews, and as Walter Brueggemann wrote: “God freely gives it and none must ‘qualify.’”

I agree with the statement of Rabbi Ya'akov Meidan: “We should burn this book and never allow its authors to teach halakha ever again.”

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Torah Hamelekh, King’s Torah, Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, Rabbi Yosef Elizur, Rabbi Ya’akov Meidan

Wind Setdown and the Crossing of the Red Sea

Two scientists published an article titled “Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta” in which they say that wind setdown could be a possible hydrodynamic explanation for the people of Israel crossing the Red Sea. According to Exodus 14:21, as the people were preparing to cross the sea, “The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided.”

The authors, Carl Drews, from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, and Weiqing Han, from the NCAR Earth System Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado define wind setdown:

Wind setdown is the drop in water level caused by wind stress acting on the surface of a body of water for an extended period of time. As the wind blows, water recedes from the upwind shore and exposes terrain that was formerly underwater. Previous researchers have suggested wind setdown as a possible hydrodynamic explanation for Moses crossing the Red Sea, as described in Exodus 14.

According to the article, a similar event happened at Lake Menzaleh in Egypt:

Next morning on going out I found that Lake Menzaleh, which is situated on the west side of the [Suez] Canal, had totally disappeared, the effect of the high wind on the shallow water having actually driven it away beyond the horizon, and the natives were walking about on the mud where the day before the fishing-boats, now aground, had been floating. When noticing this extraordinary dynamical effect of wind on shallow water, it suddenly flashed across my mind that I was witnessing a similar event to what had taken place between three and four thousand years ago, at the time of the passage of the so-called Red Sea by the Israelites.

Below is a video that shows a computer simulation of wind pushing the waters away:





Some people in the press and many bloggers are skeptical about the article and the conclusions presented by the scientists. There is no way any scientific study today can prove or disprove what happened more than three thousand years ago.

There are several references in the Bible to the people of Israel crossing the sea. The parting of the waters and the crossing of the sea is presented as a mighty act of God in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. If the work of God can be explained by a wind setdown theory or by any other hydrodynamic explanation, that can be helpful. But believers do not need a scientific explanation for the things God does.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Wind Setdown, Red Sea, Exodus, Carl Drews

Solomon and Social Oppression - Part 1

The Hebrew Bible presents Solomon as one of the wisest men of his time. When one reads the narratives about his reign, Solomon is portrayed in the Bible as the king who brought glory and splendor to Israel and the king who reigned over one of the wealthiest periods in the history of the nation. Solomon is also presented as a great builder, a brilliant businessman, a leader of his people, and as a composer of songs and proverbs.

The fame of Solomon is legendary. The stories about the “Golden Age of Solomon” have entered the realm of literature, movies, and the popular imagination. And yet, when one reads how the Old Testament presents the last years of his reign, the reader begins to wonder what happened to Solomon and all his glory. What are the facts behind the real Solomon that caused the division of the kingdom? How should one explain the contradictory pictures that the Bible presents of Solomon, whose name was Jedidiah, “Beloved of Yahweh” (2 Samuel 12:25)?

Today I am beginning a series of studies that will explore the social and economic policies of Solomon. These studies will show that Solomon’s success and his desire for glory and wealth perverted the covenant traditions of Israel and placed in jeopardy the very promise which God had given to Abraham and through him to Israel.

This series of studies will deal with the problem of social oppression during the reign of Solomon. In the process, I will describe the oppressive policies Solomon put into place in order to establish his kingdom, to build the temple and the palace, and maintain his opulent lifestyle which corrupted the very stability of his empire.

In these studies we will see how these oppressive policies brought down his kingdom, destroyed his relationship with the people of Israel, and eventually caused the United Monarchy to split into two kingdoms: Judah and Israel.

Israel was a nation that was born out of a great deliverance, from their oppressive experience in Egypt. Israel’s God was known as the God of the oppressed. For this reason, to declare that Solomon was a great oppressor is a seemingly anomaly.

The oppressive policies of Solomon produced a movement for liberation among the people of Israel. The people yearned to recover their vocation of freedom and their sense of justice, and by this struggle for liberation, to recover their past as a free people and to carry out their mission in the world as the special people of Yahweh.

This movement against the oppressive policies of Solomon was the people’s affirmation of their call to be the special people of Yahweh. Israel was a people who were liberated from the oppressive house of Pharaoh in order to serve their God as a free people in a free society.

Jean Jacques Rousseau, in his study of a legitimate society, said that “man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Rousseau’s statement was a declaration of the fact that many people in society do not enjoy the freedom for which they were created. Nowhere is this fact more evident than in the history of Israel at the time when Solomon reigned over the people of Judah and Israel.

According to the Deuteronomic theology, Israel was elected as the nation of Yahweh in order to declare the justice and the faithful love of God (God’s hesed) in the world. Through its liberation from Egypt, Israel became a society, which in the understanding of the Deuteronomic historian, would be an egalitarian society. In this society, each person would always remember the fact that they were slaves in Egypt, and the remembrance of that experience would influence their treatment of each other and the stranger in their midst.

However, something happened between those idyllic days portrayed in the book of Joshua and the days of Solomon, because the people who at one time were oppressed, have become themselves the oppressors, and the nation that was born to be free, is again oppressed; this time, however, not by a foreign king, but paradoxically as it may seem, by its own king.

This series of studies on the problem of social oppression in the reign of Solomon will be divided into several parts. First, I will deal briefly with the rise of the monarchy in Israel and the consolidation of power under David and Solomon.

Second, I will study the policies of Solomon that contributed to the enlargement of the kingdom. Third, I will study the sociology of oppression, dealing with Solomon as the oppressor, and the struggle for liberation as seen in the various aspects of opposition to the monarchy.

At the end of these studies, I hope you will gain a different perspective of Solomon and his reign. I hope you will read my posts and share them with other people who love studying the Bible.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, Solomon, Oppression, Social Oppression

Founders Day: Equipping the Church to Change the World

Photo: Michael Quicke



Northern Baptist Seminary will celebrate Founders Day with a dinner on Friday, October 8th, 2010, from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM. This year’s Founders Day theme is “Equipping the Church to Change the World.”

Northern Seminary is equipping the church to change the world. Our graduates are serving in life-changing ministries around the globe. You are invited to celebrate Founders Day with us!

The evening will be highlighted by an address from Dr. Michael Quicke, the Charles W. Koller Professor of Preaching & Communication at Northern Seminary. He is a world-renown speaker and writer. His book, 360 Degree Preaching, was just recognized as one of the 25 most influential preaching books of the last 25 years by Christianity Today.

To register for the event, please click here. We would love for you to join with us during this evening of celebration.

2010 Founders Day Dinner
Friday, October 08, 2010, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Lindner Conference Center, 610 E. Butterfield Rd, Lombard, IL US 60148

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Founders Day, Northern Baptist Seminary, Michael Quicke

Women and the Torah

Photo: Courtesy Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune


A group of Jewish women, members of the Congregation Solel, a Reform temple in Highland Park, Illinois, walked into the sanctuary holding a copy of the Torah, the sacred scripture of Judaism. The women smiled for the camera, as a photographer took their picture holding the Torah.

The event was a way of protesting the arrest of Anat Hoffman on July 12, 2010, for carrying the Torah at the Western Wall (the Kotel). Hoffman is the leader of a group called “Women of the Wall.” The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that women cannot read the Torah at the Western Wall, but they can carry it. Women of the Wall is an organization that promotes and encourages women to pray at the Kotel.

According to an article written by Becky Schlikerman and published in the Chicago Tribune, the women’s “demonstration highlights a difference of practice between Orthodox and progressive Jews that more often plays out behind the closed doors of a synagogue. Because women don't touch or read the Torah in the most traditional Orthodox Jewish settings, they also are forbidden from doing so at the Western Wall, the remnant of the wall that surrounded the sacred Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Many progressive Jews interpret the restriction as a violation of their right to worship in the Holy Land.”

The photo of the women carrying the Torah will be sent to Israel in order to convey a message to the Jewish authorities there that there is more than one way to practice and live Judaism.

Religious equality between men and women has been a divisive issue throughout the ages. In general, religious leadership has been the domain of men. However, as women seek to make a greater contribution to their faith communities, they seek a relaxation of restrictive rules that do not allow them to fully exercise their gifts and talents.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, Religious Equality

The Declaration of Independence According to Barack Obama

In a speech before the Congregational Hispanic Caucus Institute, President Barack Obama mentioned the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence but he left out the words “by their Creator.”

The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence states as follows: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

This is what the President said:



No wonder many people today doubt that Barack Obama is a Christian.

HT: Michael Barber

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Barack Obama, Declaration of Independence,

Constitution Day Celebration

Constitution Day

On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created. All Americans are encouraged to observe this important day in the nation's history by attending local events in your area. Celebrate Constitution Day through activities, learning, parades and demonstrations of our Love for the United States of America and the Blessings of Freedom Our Founding Fathers secured for us. (Adapted from the Constitution Day website)



Happy Constitution Day.



Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Constitution Day

Constitution Day

Today is Constitution Day. Northern Baptist Seminary is honoring this special day with a video featuring students, faculty, and staff introducing the Constitution. Below is the information about the Constitution that appears on Northern’s web page.

Constitution Day

Constitution Day is September 17. Northern Seminary commemorates Constitution Day with a call to prayer on that day for the USA and for all countries around the globe.

On September 17, 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the document they had created. All Americans are encouraged to observe this important day in the nation's history by attending local events in your area. Celebrate Constitution Day through activities, learning, parades and demonstrations of our Love for the United States of America and the Blessings of Freedom Our Founding Fathers secured for us. (Adapted from the Constitution Day website)

Northern decided to have a little fun as it commemorates this day. We are blessed to have a diverse staff, so we spent time together one day recording The Preamble to The Constitution. It is a fun way to celebrate Northern's diversity. Here is the video. Maybe sometime we'll be able to release the outtakes!

Constitution Day from Northern Seminary on Vimeo.

Happy Constitution Day.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Constitution Day, Northern Seminary

Hadad, the Moabite God

Image: A statue of the Moabite bull-shaped god Hadad discovered at Ataruz in Jordan.




Archaeologists digging in a 3,000-year-old Iron Age temple site at Ataruz in Jordan have found a statue of the Moabite bull-shaped god Hadad. The god Hadad appears in the Old Testament as Rimmon (2 Kings 5:18).

Ataruz was a town east of the Jordan in Gilead. The town appears in the Old Testament as Ataroth and it is mentioned both in Numbers 32:3 and 32:34 and it was located in the territory of the tribe of Gad. The city was captured from Sihon, the king of the Amorites and from Og, the king of Bashan (Numbers 32:33). Numbers 32:34 says that “the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer.”

The name of the city also appear in the Mesha Stele as “Ataroth,” where Mesha, king of Moab boasted of its destruction:

“Now the men of Gad had always dwelt in the land of Ataroth, and the king of Israel had built Ataroth for them; but I fought against the town and took it and slew all the people of the town as a satiation (intoxication) for Chemosh and Moab” (ANET, 320).

Below are a few excerpts from the article announcing the discovery:

Among the findings are a statue of a bull-faced god and nearly 300 vessels, lamps and altars for religious rituals. In antiquity, the bull was often tied to the principal deities of the region, including El, Hadad and Baal.

Much of what is known of the Ataruz temple has been learned from King Mesha, immortalized in a basalt tablet listing his victories and accomplishments. Known as the Mesha Stele, the tablet was discovered near Dhiban and is now on display in the Louvre in Paris.

The Moabites -- whom the Bible says are descended from Moab, a grandson of Lot and a nephew of Abraham -- are believed to have been Canaanite tribes that settled in the land between the River Jordan and the Eastern Desert near what is now Dhiban in the 14th century BC. Their reign came to an end with the Persian invasion around the 7th century BC.

Read more about this discovery here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archaeology, Hadad, Bull God, Mesha Stele, Ataruz, Ataroth

Rosh Hashanah

Today, September 9, 2010, is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. According to the Jewish calendar, this is the year 5771. This brings me to an interesting issue about the Jewish calendar.

Steve Morse is a Jewish computer scientist who has dedicated many years of his life studying the intricacies of the Jewish calendar, since it is both a solar and a lunar calendar. In order to better correlate dates in the Jewish calendar with dates in the Gregorian or Western calendar, Morse wrote a computer program that converts Jewish-calendar dates into Gregorian-calendar dates.

However, as Morse began converting dates from the Jewish calendar into the Gregorian calendar, he encountered a problem with the date of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. In an article explaining the problem Morse faced, the writer wrote:

The Jewish New Year begins on the first day of the month of Tishri. And in the Book of Genesis — the first book of the Torah and the Christian Bible — it says God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, which Jews observe from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, their Sabbath.

Because of this, Morse said, he had naively assumed that creation and the Jewish calendar both began on a Sunday in Tishri 1 in Year 1. Yet the only way other dates converted correctly in his program was if creation, as described in Genesis, started on a Monday, not a Sunday. That would make Sunday the seventh day, or day of rest.

The fact that Morse’s study of the Jewish calendar indicated that Sunday was the seventh day, the day of rest, did not agree with the teachings of the Torah and the Jewish understanding of the Sabbath. So, Morse had to find a solution to this perplexing problem. And he found one.

To discover the solution to this problem, you will have to read the rest of the article here.

Happy Rosh Hashanah

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah

Burning the Quran

Reverend Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida is planning to burn the Quran (also spelled Koran) in order to honor those people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. According to Jones, he is also using this occasion to proclaim that Islam is an evil religion.

Jones’ lawyer has advised him that his First Amendment right allows him to express his belief about Islam and to proclaim his belief by burning the holy book of Islam. Although Jones has the constitutional right to burn the Quran to express his view about Islam, I believe that his action is wrong and expresses a negative view of Christianity.

General David Petraeus, the general commander of the American forces in Afghanistan, has expressed his concern about what could happen to Americans in Afghanistan and in the Muslim world if Jones carries out his threat. Petraeus has warned that Jones’ plan to burn the Quran could provoke violence against American troops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries.

The events of September 11, 2001 will remain in the minds and hearts of Americans for many years. The pain, the suffering, and the loss of those people whose friends and family members lost their lives in those barbaric events in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania is still fresh in their minds. But what Jones plans to do this Saturday will not bring back those who lost their lives, will not honor their death, and will not bring honor to Christianity.

There are two accounts of book burning in the Bible. The first case was the burning of Jeremiah’s scroll by Jehoiakim, king of Judah. In the case of Jehoiakim, he burned Jeremiah’s book because he was unhappy with Jeremiah’s message:

“Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary; and Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier”
(Jeremiah 36:21, 23).

By his action, Jehoiakim showed that he did not believe the words of Jeremiah. He also did not believe that the words of judgment Jeremiah had preached were true. It is also possible that by burning the book, Jehoiakim believed that God’s word in the mouth of the prophet would not come to pass. Jehoiakim burned the book but he could not burn God’s word. God told Jeremiah to write another book as a sign that he, God, would bring the disasters he had pronounced against Judah.

The second example of book burning in the Bible was in Ephesus. In Ephesus, God performed extraordinary miracles through Paul’s ministry there. As a result, the fear of God fell upon many people and scores believed in Christ. As the writer of the book of Acts reported: “Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars” (Act 19:18-19 NLT).

However, Jones cannot use any of these examples to support his plan to burn the Quran. In the first case, the burning of Jeremiah’s book was an act of Jehoiakim’s unfaithfulness to God. Because Jehoiakim did not believe the message of judgment Jeremiah was proclaiming, he burned Jeremiah’s book.

In the second case, the new believers in Ephesus burned their books of magic and sorcery as a demonstration that they had abandoned their old life and made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ.

As Jones’ lawyer said, the First Amendment gives him the right to express his belief about Islam by burning the Quran. However, in this case Jones should not listen to his lawyer, but to the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

“We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

Paul also wrote:

“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no cause of trouble to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31-32).

If Jones loves the Lord and loves the church of God, he should listen to Paul’s words. He should also refrain from carrying out his plan to burn the Quran.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Terry Jones, Quran, Book Burning, Jeremiah

Shopping on Sunday

From an article on health:

How do you spend your Sunday? For many, this traditional day of rest and churchgoing has become a day to shop, but it may be taking a toll on happiness.

Researchers from DePaul University in Chicago and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel tracked church attendance and levels of happiness among Americans living in states that had repealed so-called blue laws, which once required most retailers to stay closed on Sundays.

The researchers found that allowing stores to open on Sundays was linked with a decline in church attendance among white women, which led to a subsequent decline in happiness.

If the results of this research is true, that is, if shopping on Sunday is the cause of unhappiness, then we must conclude that there are a lot of unhappy people in our country.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Sabbath, Rest, Happiness

Stephen Hawking and the Great Designer

The Wall Street Journal has published an excerpt from Stephen Hawking’s new book The Great Design. Stephen Hawking is the famous British theoretical physicist and cosmologist and a professor at the University of Cambridge. The book was written in cooperation with Leonard Mlodinow, who is also a physicist. Mlodinow is a professor at the California Institute of Technology.

In his book, Hawking argues that God did not create the universe and that science provides the best answer for the creation of the world. Thus, according to Hawking, one does not need God to explain order in the universe. Hawking argues that the fine-tuning of the laws of nature explains why the universe seems “tailor-made for humans, without the need for a benevolent creator.”

Hawking and Mlodinow wrote:

If one assumes that a few hundred million years in stable orbit is necessary for planetary life to evolve, the number of space dimensions is also fixed by our existence. That is because, according to the laws of gravity, it is only in three dimensions that stable elliptical orbits are possible. In any but three dimensions even a small disturbance, such as that produced by the pull of the other planets, would send a planet off its circular orbit, and cause it to spiral either into or away from the sun.

The emergence of the complex structures capable of supporting intelligent observers seems to be very fragile. The laws of nature form a system that is extremely fine-tuned. What can we make of these coincidences? Luck in the precise form and nature of fundamental physical law is a different kind of luck from the luck we find in environmental factors. It raises the natural question of why it is that way.

Many people would like us to use these coincidences as evidence of the work of God. The idea that the universe was designed to accommodate mankind appears in theologies and mythologies dating from thousands of years ago. In Western culture the Old Testament contains the idea of providential design, but the traditional Christian viewpoint was also greatly influenced by Aristotle, who believed "in an intelligent natural world that functions according to some deliberate design."

The quote above was taken from the excerpt of the book published in The Wall Street Journal. Visit the Journal online and read the full text of the excerpt.

When it comes to the creation of the universe, the old popular saying still holds true: “Nothing comes from nothing.” Hawking may argue that “the laws of gravity and quantum theory allow universes to appear spontaneously from nothing.” He also argues for “spontaneous creation,” that is, that the universe is self-generated, that it exists without an external cause: “It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

Hawking’s view of the creation of the universe reminds me of God’s dialogue with Job in response to Job’s questioning of God’s control of the universe. God asked Job: “Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance?” (Job 38:2 NAB).

If Hawking were confronted by the God he denies, how would he answer God’s questions:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4).

“Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” (Job 38:33 NLT).

Neither Job nor Hawking could answer these questions with any deal of certainty. As God told Job, he created the universe and he set the universe’s laws in motion and only he, God, possesses the power to govern his creation.

Stephen Hawking may not believe that God created the universe. However, one thing is true: God created Stephen Hawking.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Stephen Hawking, The Great Design, Leonard Mlodinow, Creation

Zadok the Priest

“Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King” is a coronation anthem composed by George Frideric Handel. Handel composed “Zadok the Priest” for the coronation of George II of Great Britain in 1727. Handel’s coronation anthem has been sung in Westminster Abbey at the coronation of every British monarch since the days of King George.

The words for the coronation anthem are based on 1 Kings 1:38–40, as written in the King James Bible. Below is the full text of “Zadok the Priest”:

Zadok the Priest

Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King.
And all the people rejoic'd, and said:
God save the King! Long live the King!
May the King live for ever,
Amen, Allelujah.

Enjoy the video.







Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Zadok the Priest, Nathan the Prophet, George Frideric Handel, Coronation Anthem