Still, who are the Phoenicians and what were their real name? Donald Harden in his book "The Phoenicians,Ancient People and Places "(pg.21,22) states, "They did not invent this name themselves. It seems to have been given to them by the Greeks, presumably the Mycenaeans, who came into trading contact with them in the later second millennium. At first it was no doubt used for all the people who lived in Canaan. Later it would be confined to those who lived in the coastal belt. The word ‘Phoenician’ is first found in Homer’s writing (singular - phoenix, plural - phoenixes) and appears to denote originally a dark red or purple or brown color. whence it was transferred both to date palm and the brown skin of the people. the people we called the Phoenicians were not differentiated from the several mass of Canaanites until somewhere during the later half of the second millennium BC when they reached their zenith and began to spread their stock by colonization throughout the Mediterranean and beyond." In Fenici’s book "The Phoenicians", he states on pg. 62 and 63 that "The Kerethi, Pelethi and the sea people did not bring equal benefits to all the towns on the Lebanese coast. It was detrimental to Byblos at first. She forfeited her position as the leading trading center and had to look on while the younger towns of Tyre and Sidon over took her and became the leading cities of the New Phoenicia. Neighboring people now spoke of Sidonians and Tyrians instead of Giblites, as hither to, when they meant Phoenicians." On pg. 62, Fenici states that the "New arrival were the descendants of the poor Sinai bedouins, of the relations of Abraham the children of Israel, and some northern barbarians who some historians believe came from Denmark and should therefore really be called, "North" sea people. Together with the succession of the Homeric heroes, they became forged into the Phoenician people". Pamela Odijk states in her book, "The Phoenicians" pg. 9 that "The Phoenicians occupied the land that is called Lebanon today and parts of Syria and Israel. The ancient name for this area was Canaan (Kenaan) and they called themselves Canaanite or Kenaani. In Hebrew the word Kena" ani meant "merchant". This describes the Phoenicians well she said. And she speaks of Sidon on pg. 44 stating "Sidon was an ancient Phoenician city found in the third millennium BC Sidon was famous for its purple dye and glassware. Along with Aradus, Byblos, Tyre and Akka, Sidon was one of the great cities of the Phoenicians and it is thought that Sidon was the leading city until the tenth century. Homer and the Bible both use the word Sidonians to mean Phoenicians." Base upon the scriptures the word Phenice appear in the bible 4 times. Acts 11:19 speaks of Hebrews as being in the area of Phenice. Acts 15:3; Phenice is a area like Samaria and Galilee in the land of Israel. Act 21:2; Phenicia is near the land of Syria, and Acts 27:12; Crete is right before Phenice. Tyre according to Joshua 19:27 was a border city of Israel. Luke 6:17 states that Tyre was on the sea coast of the land of Israel and that Hebrews lived there. In the book of Jasher Ch. 90:43 and Gen. 49:13 states that Sidon was a city of Zebulon. Matthew 10:41 and Gen.46:10, Mark 3:8 both records a Hebrew named Simeon as being called a Canaanite, verifying that some Hebrews were also called Canaanites as the Phoenicians were sometimes refered to.
How did the Phoenicians look and dress? Donald Harden earlier states that "they were a brown skinned people". In the book, Ancient Civilization : The Near East And Mesoam by Lambery-Karlovsky, C. on pg. 70. they state that they were a dark skinned semitic people like the Israelites, who spoke a language akin to Hebrew" and in the book The Sea Traders by Edey, Maitland states, " There are careful pictures by Assyrians (the part of the gates erected at Balawat by Shalmaneser III the king of Assyria shows the Phoenicians leading tribute-bearers dressed in the same garments as Solomon is depicted on his Seal, also with long hair and beards) and Egyptians depicting Phoenicians, but they usually portray important persons: trading emissaries tribute-bearers, high-ranking captives. All wore long dresslike garments, thickly embroidered and usually secured by wide belts. Although museums contain a considerable number of small female statuettes, clay models and ivory carving made by Phoenicians, most are believed to be goddessess. We can surmise that Phoenician men were bearded. They wore their , hair long and rather elaborately curled. Jewelry was abundant which included finger rings ,bracelets, earrings, necklaces both beaded and made of metal links and pendants of all sorts, including the flat, circular or oval plates known as plastrons (breast plates) . Displayed on the breast, plastrons were supported by fine necklace chains and decorated with enamel, jewels or delicately incised designs." In Pamela Odijk book she states on pg.19" Sculptures have been found that show men wearing belted pleated skirts ornamented on the front with two large uraei claps. Large necklaces or pendants of a sovereign or god were worn by men. Other sculptures show men in loin clothes (short skirts) and tight-fitting tunics reaching to the ankles. Men are shown on tiles and frescoes wearing multi-colored clothes with emdroidered borders. Conical-shaped caps seem to have been worn by most men, who seem to have preferred long hair and beards". In reference to this, the bible in three places refer to some Israelites as being black. Song of Solomon ch.1:5, Jeremiah 8:21, and Lamentations 5:10, Leviticus 19:29, II Samuel 10:4-5, II Samuel 14:26 shows here the cultural significance of the hair and beard to Hebrew people. Exodus 28:22-30 and Numbers 15:38 speak of the importance of the breastplates and fringes among the children of Israel in reference to identification.
Now historically the Phoenicians have been depicted as merchants, seafarers, explorers and colonizers. Herodotus and other historians wrote that they circumvented the African continent, traveled to the British Isles and that they sailed to the North American continent long before Columbus and other voyagers. They are known to have colonized numerous cities throughout the Mediterranean, in Spain, on the coast of Africa and other areas. Harden writes.......`` the Phoenicians always sought similar sites in the Mediterranaen such as Cadiz in Spain, Valletta in Malta, Bizerta in Tunisia, Cagliari in Sardinia, Palermo in Sicily". Odijk states, " Although the total number of Phoenician colonies is not known, it is thought to have been at least fifty. Some of these colonies developed into great cities ,such as Carthage , located on the northern coast of Africa, which became a powerful trading center in its own right. On the internet HTTP WWW.MAT " The Search For The Lost Tribes ", by Steve Jones it states; "Cecil Rhodes and others maintained that the Phoenicians founded Great Zimbabwe in South Africa"( Which also the Lemba people said that they had built Great Zimbabwe, who just recently have been proven through DNA testing, to be the children of Aaron the high priest of the children of Israel). They were also said to have journeyed to America. In the history book " History and Life, The World and Its People " , written by T. Walker Wallbank, Arnold Schrier, Donna Maier-Weaver, and Patricia Guiterrez it states that " The most resent theory is that Phoenicians, who are known to have traveled to Spain and Britain in the 600’s B.C., established a colony in North America". The evidence is inscriptions discovered in the state of Iowa. 1. A collection of 400 graves markers found near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2.A site in Tennessee known as Bat Creek cave where an inscription that has been found which mentions the adminstration of Jehua. 3.A stone discovered in the area of Los Lunas, Mexico which has the Ten Commandments on it. And 4. Inscriptions found in the nation of Brazil all written in Phoenician/Hebrew. In response to this Zebulon the father of the new Sidonian was said to be first to make a boat with a sail. The Testaments of Zebulon Ch.6:1-4, Genesis Ch.49:13. Israel had a navy and worked with the King of Tyre in bringing gold from Tarshish and other places. Judges 5:17, I Kings 9:26-28, II Chronicles 20:35-37. Hebrews sailed to America long before Columbus. The History of the Rechabites Ch.8:1-6, 11:1-8, and The Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 18:23, 2 Nephi 10:19-22, Omni Ch1:15.
The Phoenician Cities And Architecture. "Assyrian writting has revealed Phoenician cities to us, writes Odijk (pg. 28,37) describing them as surrounded by walls with turrets and battlements. Relief of Sennacherib depict a Phoenician town with walls and two-story houses". "...they commonly surrounded the town with a large fortified wall. The top story has windows with balustrades and miniature palm-shaped columns". on (pg.24)she states, "Each Phoenician city was independant and was governed by its own king. Kings were assisted by a council of ancients (elders) who often made decisions if the king was absent" . She also writes that, " Priests had administrative duties as well as religious duties, and some priests also had duties such as chief priest of shepherds which meant they looked after temple flocks". According to Odijk (pg. 9,11,14) " .......,the Phoenicians grew wheat, olives, vines, and fruit trees, especially figs and sycamores. Palms grew abundantly. Flax was cultivated. The hillsides were terraced and irrigated. Phoenician engineers built dams and bridges, using huge block of stone". "The most common domesticated animals were donkeys, oxen, sheep, and goats. Carvings show that the Phoenicians tilled the lands with a simple plow drawn by oxen. Fish was a main source of protein in the people’s diet. Many animals, including elephants, were raised in the Phoenician city of Carthage in North Africa".No parts of temple remain in what used to be Phoenicia... ,on pg.28.She writes "The writings of the historian Herodotus describe some Phoenician temples, and the pictures of some temples appear on coins. On (pg.20) she states " Open-air and closed temples were built.Temples were considered to be places where the gods dwelled.Each temple had a porch, a chaple and a betyl, and the altar was the most holy place. There was usually a sacred fountain or bowl. A chief priest and other priests carried out religious ceremonies."Harden (pg.91) writes, "a Phoenician sanctuary of the same type which was in use in the tenth and the fifth /forth centuries B.C. has recently been found in plain of Sharon. The method of dressing and laying the large stones of the walls of these buildings, together with their general plan, sufficiently indicates Phoenician influence". He also relates (pg.91) that "the temple found in area H at Hazor shows the same triple form with the porch somewhat narrower than the rest. There are three wings. Two round pillar-bases of basalt stood in the porch on either side of the entrance to the main hall. This may be compared with a less well-preserved temple of similar plan found by Wolley in the thirteenth/century temple at Tell Tayanat in Syria, which has the same structure, but no side chambers. There can be no doubt that similar buildings existed in most, if not all, Phoenician cities. They would usually be surrounded with an open court". Harden (pg.90) writes "The scanty remains of Phoenician temples that we possess are very informative". Our comment on this is that the Sanctuaries of the Israelites came from the pattern God gave Moses and David on how to build them; Exodus 25:8-9 and I Chronicles 28:11-12. The Hebrews had two kinds of priests, The High Priests of just the Sons of Aaron and the priest of the rest of the tribe of Levi. They were given walled cities that they completely controlled. Leviticus 21:10, Numbers 35:3-7, and Deuteronomy 24:8. David was the king of Hebron before he became king of all Israel and the 70 Elders Counciled the king. 2 Samuel 3:19-22 and Exodus 24:1 Israel had a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olives and honey; Number 18:12, Deuteronomy 8:8.
" Historians and archeaologist have had difficulty finding out about Phoenician religion. Only a few writings have been found, and most of these are only fragments". However "El (According to Godfrey Higgins Anacalypisis Book on pg . 67 written in 1836, Robert Young, LL.D analytical concordance to the Bible on pg. 3 written in 1879 and Strong’s Exhaustive concordance of the Bible on pg.12 written in 1890 the word EL denotes the name Allah) was the father of their gods...", writes Odijk on ( pg 20). Harden reveals that there are" ... many Egyptian deities represented among the amulets and figurines found on the Phoenician sites...". "The most frequent of all is Be’s the dwarf demi-god, who seems to have been particularly popular with the Phoenicians". Moscati states on ( pg. 32) that the third god of Byblos, Adonis, is only given this name by the Greek authors. The name, however, is obviously Semitic - adon "master", and the pronominal suffix -i "my master" and that the direct sources of information about Phoenician religion are the numerous inscriptions from Phoenician cities. The nature of these inscriptions, however, as well as their brevity, tend to limit the data solely to the names of deities: they tell us little about the cults and religious life, and nothing about mythology". Based upon the scriptures the word Eli is one of the names used for, The Most High; Gensis 33:20 and Mark 15:34. "Be or Being" is the way The Septuagint Version by Samuel Bagster and Sons and The Holy Name Bible by A.B. Traina translates at Exodus 3:14 the name Yahwah. The word Adonis is a word the Hebrews used for Lord or Master; Joshua 10:13, Judges 1: 4-7. But in this book(the bible so-called) it is made very clear to you the order of these three . That is Allah (j e la ) the god beyond you ,Yahwah (e ve j ) the god with you and Eli (i la ) the god in you , all three are one . Ashtar also called Astarte, Ashtart and Ashtoret is mother earth or the spirit of the earth who’s chief resting place is mount Zoin and the latest but not least spirits revealed in this book is El spirit of the heaven, all apart of the family of God.
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