Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Duvduv · 03-12-2012, 03:06 PM

Are the opinions about the times and events of ancient Persia considered sacrosanct that a contrary opinion about such events warrants that kind of outburst? And even if such deities with such names existed, why does it ipso fact have to be the case that Mordechai and Esther used those names, and more to the point, why does that mean that the story of Purim involves mythologies relating to these deities?
Anyway, the name Mordechai is not Morduch or Marduch, and Esther is not Ishtar or Eshtar. Just like Yonatan is not Yochanan and Chaya is not Chava.

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Originally Posted by semiopen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duvduv

Shucks, the advocates of the Humanistic Judaism movement are so tolerant and patient. They could NEVER have any fantasies at all. After all, they have purified their intellectual powers more than even Guatama Buddha could have ever hoped to...It violates their "halacha" to even conceive of the possibility that the names Marduk and Ishtar were derived from Mordechai and Esther rather than the other way around.
Besides, Mordechai was only his official name. Among the Jews he was known as Pesachya, and also Balshon because of his knowledge of many languages. Esther was known also (in the Scroll of Esther itself) as Hadassah.

This claim is totally outrageous.

Marduk

Ishtar

Ishtar is very old

Epic_of_Gilgamesh

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The Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five, independent Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. It seems that four of these were used as source material for a combined epic in Akkadian. This first, "Old Babylonian" version of the epic dates to the 18th century BC and is titled Shūtur eli sharrī ("Surpassing All Other Kings").

semiopen · 03-13-2012, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duvduv

Are the opinions about the times and events of ancient Persia considered sacrosanct that a contrary opinion about such events warrants that kind of outburst? And even if such deities with such names existed, why does it ipso fact have to be the case that Mordechai and Esther used those names, and more to the point, why does that mean that the story of Purim involves mythologies relating to these deities?
Anyway, the name Mordechai is not Morduch or Marduch, and Esther is not Ishtar or Eshtar. Just like Yonatan is not Yochanan and Chaya is not Chava.

Your contrary "opinion"

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It violates their "halacha" to even conceive of the possibility that the names Marduk and Ishtar were derived from Mordechai and Esther rather than the other way around.

is ridiculous, as I stated.

Whether Purim is based on a name flim flam or not, the subject has generated considerable scholarly attention. Whether this is true or not is one question however your treatment of the subject is silly. Perhaps this passes as erudition in a Yeshiva but that is not where we are.

Duvduv · 03-13-2012, 05:19 AM

You can attribute any adjective you like. But the hypothesis remains a hypothesis, especially since no other sources exist showing the use of the names Mordechai or Esther as names of Jews or non-Jews.

semiopen · 03-13-2012, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duvduv

You can attribute any adjective you like. But the hypothesis remains a hypothesis, especially since no other sources exist showing the use of the names Mordechai or Esther as names of Jews or non-Jews.

Let me attempt to summarize your argument -

Quote:

since no other sources exist showing the use of the names Mordechai or Esther as names of Jews or non-Jews,

the names Marduk and Ishtar were derived from Mordechai and Esther.

As I stated before, this is too deep for me.

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03-13-2012, 05:19 AM	#13
Duvduv Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: USA Posts: 4,095	You can attribute any adjective you like. But the hypothesis remains a hypothesis, especially since no other sources exist showing the use of the names Mordechai or Esther as names of Jews or non-Jews.

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