The Yahweh Ostracon and Baal Worship
"How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal"
Jeremiah 23:26-27 King James Version (KJV)
Recent discoveries in the ancient Judean city of Arad, have unearthed numerous shards of pottery, also known as Ostracons, dated to the time of the prophet Jeremiah.
The House of Yahweh Ostracon reads, in part, as follows: "To my lord Elyashib, may the Lord seek your welfare…and as to the matter which you command me-it is well; he is in the House of Yahweh.
Jeremiah first began his ministry in 626 B.C. warning the kingdom of Judah over their apostasy, and worship of the false god Baal Yahweh, throughout, approximately, 40 years of ministry.
Not only are these recently discovered ostracons a powerful testimony to the widespread literacy amongst the Judean population, but they also serve as an even more powerful testimony of the false deity being worshipped in Judea by the Judahites, prior to, during, and after their captivity by the Babylonians.
Breif Timeline
605 Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon
605 The Babylonians invade Judah
605 First wave of deportation of Judahites to Babylon
605 Daniel is taken captive and begins to prophesy
601 Judah decides to realign itself with Egypt, Jeremiah warns
597 Jehoachin becomes king of Judah
597 Babylonians capture Jerusalem
597 Second wave of deportation to Babylon from Judah.
597 Zedekiah becomes king of Judah
593 Ezekiel begins to prophesy
586 The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple (9th of Av)
586 Jerusalem’s walls and gates are burned with fire
586 Third wave of Judahites deported to Babylon
586 Babylonian Exile (Galut Bavel) begins
586 End of First Temple Period
586 Jeremiah's ministry ends
Image: Pottery shards unearthed at a seventh century, B.C. fort in the desert in Israel may reveal when parts of the Bible were written. The ostraca, or pottery shards, show that literacy was widespread by about 600 B.C., suggesting the Bible could have been compiled around that time.
CREDIT: PNAS, Faigenbaum-Golovin et al
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