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Trees
Apr 30, 2014 3:19:54 GMT
Post by richard on Apr 30, 2014 3:19:54 GMT
21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
I was wondering what the deal was with the trees , did they worship them?
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Lee
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Trees
Apr 30, 2014 23:51:42 GMT
Post by Lee on Apr 30, 2014 23:51:42 GMT
I've wondered that too. Given the context, I think they must have. Here's a little clip from Wickipedia....
A sacred grove or sacred woods are any grove of trees of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient Near East and prehistoric Europe, but feature in various cultures throughout the world.
They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of Celtic, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism, and were also used in India, Japan, and West Africa. Examples of sacred groves include the Greco-Roman temenos, the Norse hörgr, and the Celtic nemeton, which was largely but not exclusively associated with Druidic practice. During the Northern Crusades, there was a common practice of building churches on the sites of sacred groves.
Ancient holy trees still exist in the English countryside and are mentioned often in folklore and fairytales.
Sounds like this was a real common practice.
So how about the following verse?
Gen 21:33 And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
How do we reconcile these two different occasions?
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Lee
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Trees
May 1, 2014 0:31:04 GMT
Post by Lee on May 1, 2014 0:31:04 GMT
Looking at Strong's, I suspect the one prohibited, refers to an "Asherah pole", which was worshipped as a Goddess of fertility.
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