Anat

Well, Lemaire thinks he can read btdwd in line 31 of the Mesha stele.

How were the dynasties of other kingdoms in the area referred to?

yummyfur

Hey Celsus,

is it possible that Bet Omri just refers to the city of Samaria, as I believe the OT states that Omri built it. Or possibly it refers to the Temple there? I've always felt the David story might have been made up to bolster Jerusalem's attempt to become the preeminent city/temple in the region.

Anat

I realise that. I was just wondering if DWD the deity could be related to any archetypical deity from other cultures. I mean, it is easy to infer that Ba'al is a pretty important deity, Yam a sea god and Mot a death god from their names alone. Sun gods are also common. The only masculine divine being whose name seems to be related to love that I am aware of is Eros. But I can't imagine Eros leading armies. If David and Solomon were both symbolic names they should have been the deities of a flower children type movement - Love and Peace. Come to think about it, Solomon's other name was Jedidiah - the friend of YHWH. Would that be a hint that David and Solomon were once a single entity?