David Ascendant (Chronicles of the Nephilim Book 7) (45 page)

The ancient understanding of
ariel
as a lion-like hybrid humanoid finds support in a later Nag Hammadi text that speaks of a gnostic deity, Yaldabaoth, who was an
ariel
(spelled slightly different): “Ariael is what the perfect call him, for he was like a lion.”
[30]

The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
says of this possible religious mythical interpretation of
ariel
:

This interpretation could be supported by a recently found bronze-silver figurine from Tell Abū el-Kharaz in Transjordan representing, according to the excavator’s opinion a male lion-faced warrior(-god?), which can be viewed, because of its appearance and its attributes, as a male pendant.
[31]

The author then reveals that the word
ariel
shows up in the Mesha Stele, a Moabite stone inscription not too long after the time of King David.
[32]
These are the very Moabites from which 2 Samuel says the
ariels
come. The line of text in question could be translated, “the lion figure [
ariel
] of their beloved (god)’ which was dragged before Chemosh after the fall of the Israelite city.”
[33]

Bible scholar B. Mazar notes this Mesha Stele connection and adds that the word
ariel
became a synonym for the lion-headed cherubim at the base of kingly thrones.
[34]

So in
David Ascendant
, I created a special unit of these Ariels, lion-headed warriors of Moab, to explore that supernatural dimension with imagination that fit the thread of the cosmic War of the Seed.

The ancient Book of Jasher was a source text for both Joshua and David’s stories (Josh. 10:13, 2 Sam. 1:18). The extant version we have of the Book of Jasher, though dubitable, tells of two different stories that contain hybrid creatures that may be similar to the lion-men of Moab or the satyrs of Banias. In Jasher 36:29-35 we read of Anah, one of the sons of Seir the Horite, (remember the Seirites’ connection to satyrs) during the days of Abraham. There is a large storm that the writer says caused a group of about 120 “great and terrible animals” to come out of the forest by the seashore to be witnessed by Anah feeding his asses.

Jasher 36:29-35

And those animals, from their middle downward, were in the shape of the children of men, and from their middle upward, some had the likeness of bears, and some the likeness of the keephas, with tails behind them from between their shoulders reaching down to the earth, like the tails of the ducheephath, and these animals came and mounted and rode upon these asses, and led them away, and they went away unto this day.
[35]

Another chapter in Jasher tells the story during the youth of Balaam son of Beor, about a strange animal that was devouring the cattle of the people of Chittim. A man named Zepho went in search of this creature and…

Jasher 61:15

he came into the cave and he looked and behold, a large animal was devouring the ox; from the middle upward it resembled a man, and from the middle downward it resembled an animal, and Zepho rose up against the animal and slew it with his swords.
[36]

Were these creatures just legends or were they genetic hybrid remnants of the miscegenation of the Watchers?

Dagon and Asherah

Two new gods take the stage in
David Ascendant
that were not in previous Chronicles: Dagon and Asherah. These are both mysterious deities about whom not much is revealed in the Old Testament or in ancient extra-Biblical sources beyond their names and few details.

Dagon.
In the Bible, Dagon is described as the chief god of the Philistines. The story of Samson’s death in Judges 16 takes place in the temple of Dagon, god of the Philistines. In 1 Chron. 10:10 the Philistines are said to have hung the decapitated head of King Saul in a temple of Dagon at Beth-shan. 1 Sam. 5 tells the story of Philistines capturing the ark of the covenant and placing it in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod. Two mornings in a row, the statue of Dagon was found flat on its face before the ark, the second time, with its head and hands “cut off.” Severing hands and heads was a common tactic of ancient Near Eastern powers, both Mesopotamian and Canaanite.
[37]
This supernatural “power encounter” between Yahweh and Dagon becomes then a spiritual polemic of warfare and conquest between gods. But beyond these mentions, nothing more is revealed in the Old Testament.

The meaning of the name Dagon is uncertain. Early scholarly interpreters argued that it came from the Hebrew word for “fish,” thus one tradition depicts him as a hybrid deity with the upper torso of a man and the lower bottom of a fish. The 1 Samuel passage describing the lower part of the Dagon statue has been interpreted by some as “his fishy part.” Later scholars argued the name Dagon came from the Hebrew word for “grain,” thus another tradition understands him as a god of fertility or grain. Still others have argued Dagon was a storm god, whose name came from the Arabic word for cloudy rain.
[38]
No scholarly consensus has been reached on these interpretations, though the earlier ones have fallen out of favor
.
[39]

Dagon had a strong presence in Mesopotamia and Syria primarily as a storm god, spelled
Dagan,
and likened to the Babylonian weather god Enlil.
[40]
The Syrians included Dagon in their pantheon at Ugarit, which was in Syria, but nowhere in Canaan. The Canaanite champion deity Ba’al is described throughout the Ugaritic texts as the “Son of Dagon” which made him an outsider to the family of gods ruled over by the high god El and his wife, Athirat (Asherah), the Mother of the Gods.
[41]

But since the Philistines were known for adapting customs and gods from their newly conquered lands it is entirely possible that Dagon was imported from Philistine contact with Syria and adapted to the interests of the coastal Sea People.
[42]
Because of this syncretistic worldview of the Philistines, I combined all three of the major interpretations of Dagon into one in
David Ascendant
as a hybrid fish-man who is a god of both storm and grain. And this is not too different from the nature of the Babylonian Marduk and the Canaanite Ba’al, who were also both gods of storm and vegetation
.

Asherah
. The name Asherah appears 40 times in the Bible (plural:
Asherim
,
Asheroth, Ashtaroth
). Some of those instances refer directly to the goddess herself (Judg. 3:7; 1 Kgs. 14:13, 18:19; 2 Kgs. 21:7, 23:4) and many others refer to a wooden cult object used in worship to symbolize the goddess (Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25-30; 2 Kgs. 18:4; Isa. 17:8; Jer. 17:2). From the time of Judges on into the monarchy and the Josianic reforms, The Asherah poles or sacred pillars are often spoken of in close connection with altars of Ba’al (Judg. 6:25; 1 Kgs. 16:33; 2 Kgs. 17:16; 21:3), which hints at a theological connection between this unseemly pair of idols that exercised an ongoing apostasizing influence on Israel throughout her history. Archeological discoveries of inscriptions in Israel have even confirmed the attempt of Israelites to syncretize Asherah into their religion as Yahweh’s consort (Deut. 16:21-22).
[43]

Asherah appears extensively in the Ugaritic texts from Ras Shamra. There, she is referred to as
Athirat
. John Day points out that as consort of the high god of the pantheon El, she is called “mother of the gods,” whose divine offspring are called the “seventy sons of Athirat.” He then concludes, “There is a direct line of connection between this concept and the later Jewish idea of the seventy guardian angels of the nations (see 1 Enoch 89:59; 90:22-25; Tg. Ps.-J. on Deut 32:8).”
[44]

She is a goddess of fertility and connected to sacred prostitution (2 Kgs. 23:7). She is also linked with the host of heaven (2 Kgs. 17:16; 21:3; 23:4), which are acknowledged as deities (Job 38:7), thus supporting her moniker the “mother of the gods.”

Here is what the
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
says of Asherah in the Ugaritic texts:

In the
Râs
Shamrah texts Asherah is the consort of El, the supreme god. She is mentioned as “creatress of the gods” and as “Lady Asherah of the sea,” titles that are given to the most important goddess of the pantheon. In the Ugaritic Keret text Asherah is said to have a shrine in Tyre, which would indicate her supremacy there also. She is the adversary of Baal… As the role of Baal grows in importance and overshadows that of El, Asherah’s interest seems to shift more toward Baal. When a house is to be built for Baal, he and Anat, his sister-consort, bribe Asherah with gold and silver in order to persuade her to intervene for them before El, a mission she gladly undertakes. Again, in a myth stemming from the Late Bronze Age, Asherah attempts to seduce Baal
.
[45]

The Asherah as a wooden cultic object has several explanations without a clear conclusion. The Septuagint translates the word Asherah as “groves” of trees. Thus some earlier scholars argued they were literal groves of trees. But as Day explains, “the OT often refers to the making of Asherim (1 Kgs 14:15; 16:33; 2 Kgs 17:16;21:3, 7; 2 Chr 33:3) and also of the building (1 Kgs 14:23) and erection (2 Kgs 17:10) of Asherim, which does not seem appropriate for trees.”
[46]
He concludes that the most widely held view is that the Asherim were wooden poles sacred to the goddess Asherah. But how they functioned and exactly what they looked like, no evidence can be found.

About the Author

Brian Godawa is the screenwriter for the award-winning feature film,
To End All Wars,
starring Kiefer Sutherland. It was awarded the Commander in Chief Medal of Service, Honor and Pride by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, won the first Heartland Film Festival by storm, and showcased the Cannes Film Festival Cinema for Peace.

He also co-wrote
Alleged
, starring Brian Dennehy as Clarence Darrow and Fred Thompson as William Jennings Bryan. He previously adapted to film the best-selling supernatural thriller novel
The Visitation
by author Frank Peretti for Ralph Winter (
X-Men, Wolverine
), and wrote and directed
Wall of Separation,
a PBS documentary, and
Lines That Divide
, a documentary on stem cell research.

Mr. Godawa’s scripts have won multiple awards in respected screenplay competitions, and his articles on movies and philosophy have been published around the world. He has traveled around the United States teaching on movies, worldviews, and culture to colleges, churches and community groups.

His book,
Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment
has been released in a revised edition from InterVarsity Press. His book
Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination
(IVP) addresses the power of image and story in the pages of the Bible to transform the Christian life
.

Find out more about his other books, lecture tapes and dvds for sale at his website
www.godawa.com
.

BOOKS BY BRIAN GODAWA

When Giants Were Upon the Earth: The Watchers, Nephilim, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed

By Brian Godawa

The Appendices of the
Chronicles of the Nephilim
Together in One Book.

The bestselling Biblical fantasy novel series
Chronicles of the Nephilim
has opened a door for Christian imagination and theology like none other. But many have appreciated the appendices of each novel as much as the novels. In those appendices, author Brian Godawa shares the Biblical and ancient historical and mythical research that undergirds the fiction. Now all those appendices have been placed together in one book for those who want serious study of the topics of the Watchers, Nephilim, and the Biblical Cosmic War of the Seed
.

This book has the special bonus of a previously unpublished chapter on the Book of Enoch, as well as a newly expanded chapter on the Sons of God. But it also contains the appendices of the last two Chronicles,
David Ascendant
and
Jesus Triumphant
before their release!

Chapters Include:

1) The Book of Enoch: Scripture, Heresy or What? (Bonus Chapter)

2) Sons of God (Newly expanded from
Noah Primeval
)

3) The Nephilim (from
Noah Primeval
)

4) Leviathan (from
Noah Primeval
)

5) Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography in the Bible (from
Noah Primeval
)

6) Retelling Bible Stories and Mythic Imagination (from
Enoch Primordial
)

7) Gilgamesh and the Bible (from
Gilgamesh Immortal
)

8) In Defense of Ancient Traditions (from
Abraham Allegiant
)

9) Mythical Monsters in the Bible (from
Joshua Valiant
)

10) Canaanite Ba’al and Old Testament Storytelling Polemics (
Caleb Vigilant
)

11) Goliath was Not Alone (from
David Ascendant
)

12) Jesus and the Cosmic War (from
Jesus Triumphant
)

To order books and products by Brian Godawa,

as well as FREE articles, just go to the STORE at:

www.godawa.com

Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment

By Brian Godawa

With the sensibilities of an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter and the sensitivities of a thoughtful Christian, Brian Godawa guides us through the place of redemption in film, the "tricks of the trade" that screenwriters use to communicate their worldview through their stories, and the mental and spiritual discipline required for watching movies.
Hollywood Worldviews
helps us enter a dialogue with Hollywood that leads to a happier ending, one that keeps us aware of our culture and awake to our faith.

Endorsements:

“Provocative and challenging. Even when I find myself disagreeing with Brian Godawa in his evaluation of a particular film, his cinematé and sophisticated point of view command attention.”

— Michael Medved, Film critic and author of
Hollywood Versus America
.

“Brian’s analysis is insightful and stimulating. Our Biblical values are colliding with worldviews in the movies, and Brian shows us why. Those values are also illuminated by intersecting with movies, and I find that especially exciting. We might even understand the Bible with more insight from seeing these connections.”

—
    
Ralph Winter, Producer
X-Men 2, Planet of the Apes, X-Men

To order books and products by Brian Godawa,

as well as FREE articles, just go to the STORE at:

www.godawa.com

Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story & Imagination

By Brian Godawa

In his refreshing and challenging book, Godawa helps you break free from the spiritual suffocation of heady faith. Without negating the importance of reason and doctrine, Godawa challenges you to move from understanding the Bible “literally” to “literarily” by exploring the poetry, parables and metaphors found in God's Word. Weaving historical insight, pop culture and personal narrative throughout, Godawa reveals the importance God places on imagination and creativity in the Scriptures, and provides a biblical foundation for Christians to pursue image, beauty, wonder and mystery in their faith.

Endorsements:

“Brian Godawa is that rare breed—a philosopher/artist—who opens our eyes to the aesthetic dimension of spirituality. Cogently argued and fun to read, Godawa shows convincingly that God interacts with us as whole persons, not only through didactic teaching but also through metaphor, symbol, and sacrament.”

— Nancy R. Pearcey, Author,
Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity

“A spirited and balanced defense of the imagination as a potential conveyer of truth. There is a lot of good literary theory in the book, as well as an autobiographical story line. The thoroughness of research makes the book a triumph of scholarship as well.”

— Leland Ryken, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English, Wheaton College, Illinois. Author,
The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature & Writing
.

To order books and products by Brian Godawa,

as well as FREE articles, just go to the STORE at:

www.godawa.com