This observance was known not only at Babylon, but also varied. Tammuz went pig hunting and was gored to death by a wild boar and that is why Pagans eat ham on Easter. In this context, it means that we need to believe how He defines sin. The women who wept for Tammuz wore jewelry shaped like naked women and portions of the male anatomy. To answer the question of why Tammuz was carrying a branch, it is quite simple Tammuz was an agricultural/shepherd deity. which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, and resurrection of Christ. will find no mention of Jews or Christians observing an annual period of The resurrection of Tammuz, through Ishtar's weeping, was dramatically represented in order to insure the success of the crops and the fertility of the people. I am a chemist, and my husband is an engineer so we had to take some of the same classes, but both basic engineering and the sciences can exist without each other yet neither can exist without physics and math.). for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination Lent and Ash Wednesday are both in the Bible. When you have a chance, check out the site tour at. The visions of the temple that God gave to Ezekiel in chapter eight actually show what was taking place in Jerusalem at the temple. The Feast of Tammuz was usually celebrated in June (also called the "month of Tammuz"). Easter, the goddess of the dawn is the Universal goddess of fertility throughout history since the Tower of Babel. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Hi Tau, I'm just seeing your comment. says YHWH: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? Are the women weeping so as to ensure that Tammuz will return and bless the land again? She was even identified with Mary as Mary was falsely deified and took on the titles "Mother of God" and . Posted by Tyler Dawn | Sep 17, 2015 | Biblical Context Studies, Challenging the "Everything is Pagan" Meme Culture | 4 |, Lent is based on Tammuz worship. Thats the claim lets test it against what is actually known and weigh the evidence. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? We have examples in Gen. 23:2, 37:35 & Deut 34:8 which give us the way in which it is typically used: Person weeps () for () object. rev2023.3.3.43278. Little angers our Father in heaven more than embracing the idolatry of the heathen nations. Who was the Queen of Heaven and did she really dip eggs in the blood of infants? isnt mourning her. Nothe jealous One in the case of the Temple being defiled is God Himself, who couldnt care less what type of idol it was, only that there was an idol. But its from a god to a goddess that existed in those days. 4:3-4). Source: The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, second Easter is an event that is honored by nearly all of contemporary Christianity as the resurrection of Yahusha (Jesus) the Messiah. Many religions are built upon the suppression of information. The Liturgy of the Church reflects turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. Why are they weeping? 301 Moved Permanently. times these forty days were observed with weeping, fasting, and self chastisement -- to Either way, we have an idolatrous practice being carried on in the Temple on behalf of the undying Tammuz in the Underworld but not actually dead. rev2023.3.3.43278. But she is not the mother of Tammuz because we have accounts of the mother and sister of Tammuz through the legends we possess about him. -- Ezekiel 8:14 Sunrise Services commentary on Ezekiel 8, Myths from Mesopotamia, Stephanie Dalley (Ph.D. Assyriology expert and often quoted by other scholars), pp 154-162, Handbook of Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Stephen Bertman, Ph.D. pp 83, 117, Toward the Image of Tammuz, Thorkild Jacobsen (Ph.D. Assyriology and Sumerian Literature) History of Religions,Vol. would have mentioned it. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. The Catholic Fact Book, copyright 1986 by John Deedy, Irv, please put your meaty comments into your answer. We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup, Psalm 23 - long long pursuit of the house of the LORD. The words of Socrates, writing on this very subject, about A.D. 450, are In the seasonal mythological cycle, he died early in the fall when vegetation withered. 262-271. What is the best translation for in Ezekiel 19:14? Jonah warned Nineveh of judgment in 40 days: Jonah 3:4. Powered by Tengine In the 1920s (and even before) serious scholars who did have access to the books that Hislop cited realized that he was not honest about his source material, and literally made up a lot of things. It would also appear that the Israelites were worshipping a Sumerian deity and were thus punished for it. . Tammuz (also known as Dumuzi) was the name of an ancient Near Eastern deity who was best known for his patronage of herdsmen and his romantic entanglement with Inanna (the Sumerian goddess of sexual love) also known as Astarte or Ishtar.As a fertility god, he represented the insemination of the mother goddess, as well as the production of healthy children. Different stories about Dumuzi (Tammuz) describe either his death or non-death. I am a fifty-something-year-old Bible teacher, wife of twenty-eight years to Mark, and mom of adult twin sons. Styling contours by colour and by line thickness in QGIS. The way We are glad you stopped by and hope you stick around. until several centuries after the time of the Messiah. of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of inviolate.". Very simplethe ancients noticed that there was a wet season where everything grew and flourished and a dry season where everything died off. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? For instance, we must never come to think that "weeping for Tammuz" ( Ezekiel 8:13-14) is really not all that bad. who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. In the mean while an enormous number of texts from Babylonia have been excavated and lots of good studies of Babylonian religion in general and Tammuz in particular are available, in real books, and even on the internet. commit here? sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested 4:2. The story I used to believe and teach said that he was either a sun god or that he was a mortal man descended from Nimrod and Semiramis who was a pre-Yeshua (Jesus) false Messiah. I've heard that supposedly the weeping lasted for only a couple of days, while others say it lasted for the month named after him. spring, and so on. The, between Elul 1 and Yom Kippur during which the 40 days of fasting and Temptation of the Messiah occurred), Now before I go any further, please note that before I actually started doing the ANE researchyears ago I was one of the people spreading the misinformation about Tammuz that originated in the 1850s in one pseudo-archaeological book by a man named Alexander Hislopupon which many other books were later based. Moses on Sinai for 40 days: Exo 24:18, 34:28, Deu 9:9-11. the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel . Because Tammuz was killed when he was forty years old, Pagans fast one day for each of the years that he lived leading into Easter. Lent was an 'Three days after the vernal equinox . began a solemn fast of forty Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where deity. the wilderness, but it is admitted that the observance of Lent was His lack of empathy for both mother and sister was pretty contemptible they should have left him down there. Ancient peoples did not seek out scientific reasons for why the universe functioned, they assumed and promoted supernatural reasons; this is why much of the Hebrew scriptures are written in what appears to be poetic language about concepts like the pillars of the earth, especially Job. all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing Box 853 It has been suggested that the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz was a survival in Jewish folk-lore of the mourning for Tammuz; while the myth of Adonis in classical literature has also been associated with the legend. was prepared for this by a Council held at Aurelia in the time of Hormisdas, When you have a chance, check out the. copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), Is it a trivial Here are some sources I've found regarding the weeping of tammuz but does anyone have some other sources regarding this practice? rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, but Dec. 25 in Where does this (supposedly) Gibson quote come from? Youre it. Easter, providing forty fast days when Sundays are excluded. However, here does not take the form found in the above citations, rather appearing in the causative: the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. It only takes a minute to sign up. I meant to write this a few months ago when something strange about the Temple description caught my eye. Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days: 1 Sam 17:16. Sorry for such a late reply. Does Ezekiel 16:25 mean being barefoot is immodest? In general, however, it is true that many of them have at least So, we have separated Tammuz from the Image of jealousy in fact, we have no idols of Tammuz, only carvings. But apparently Yeah I know the only sources that I can find regarding the weeping of Tammuz was 40 days and was the origin of Lent is from fundamentalists, . Her moon egg became known as Ishtar's egg. the Israelites.". (Note: Please do not contact me telling me that I am slandering other ministries by writing thisif I cannot politely present research without being accused of trying to undermine others, then we have reached the point of death within the movement. Tammuz, Alabaster relief from Ashur, c. 1500 BC Worshippers of Tammuz wept with his consort Ishtar believing that his rebirth would mean the regeneration of life within nature. down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the This is what the Israelite women were doing near the temple of God that was shown Ezekiel. Women crying for Tammuz is the origin of Lent as discussed above. Why was everything. are the daily color "It [Ash Wednesday] was established as the first day of Lent by [Pope] In Inanna and Bilulu, Tammuz the shepherd husbandman (who seems to become some sort of demi-god in the epics) went out with his sheep and was killed by an evil woman Bilulu and her son Girgire during a livestock raid his head beaten in with a mace. This has to be bigger than individual ministries, otherwise, what are we doing but following the religious mistakes of the past? doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, have returned to provoke Me to anger. Also, I've heard that it was supposedly 40 days after 40 years he supposedly lived but I have yet to find any primary or academic sources regarding that. . him told of his early death and of the descent of Istar, his bride, into This practice is known as Weeping for Tammuz by Pagans but called Lent by Catholics. They baked cakes shaped like naked women and phallic symbols. A token fast.". The roots of the Easter celebration date to long before Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection. Calculating probabilities from d6 dice pool (Degenesis rules for botches and triggers), How to manage MOSFET spikes in low side switch switch, Partner is not responding when their writing is needed in European project application. the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism Yeshua spent Lent is connected with the Babylonian goddess Ashtoreth/ Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. "Easter Sunday"! , where Ezekiel saw in vision an abominable sight: women "weeping for Tammuz" at the very temple of God. I want you to take yourself into the Covenant context of scripture. Your email address will not be published. 283-290 (also available on JSTOR.org), https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tammuz, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2937/semiramis/. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, common in scripture, however: It rained 40 days and nights: Gen 7:4, 12. There must be a reason. www.hope-of-Israel.org. 2 Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on In the carvings, Tammuz appears (from far off) to be carrying what looks like a cross, but if one simply takes a good look, it is clear that he is carrying long branches with three curved branches with leaves coming out from the top. eighth centuries; there are no feasts observed on Sundays; purple vestments If men were truly made jealous by such idols, then they would never have become popular in the first place. pg. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. ), a deity worshipped both in Babylonia and in Phoeniciathe same as the Greek Adonis. the old Julian calendar), the renewal of nature in spring, and so on.". Welcome to Stack Exchange. date, probably the 5th century. of Tammuz;' in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some North = seat . Moses pleads for Israel 40 days on Sinai: Deu 9:18-25, 10:10. "Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? least an indirect connection with the pre-Christian [pagan] feasts 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc., published by Liquori The second option is that they, as in other cultures, are sympathetically casting their tears upon the ground that has been cursed with no rain because Tammuz is in the underworld. It begins on Ash Wednesday (1). - Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet VI, 14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord; women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. Nicely answered, Sam, and welcome to the forum. Although people in the ancient world valued mathematics and engineering, they were not scientific (yes, math, engineering, and science are totally different. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? He appears to have been a god of the spring, and the myth regarding him told of his early death and of the descent of Istar his bride into the underworld in search of him. All of a sudden (well not really all of a sudden, they took a long time to compile and translate the process is still ongoing) we had real-time information on gods and goddesses that we previously had only been able to make assumptions about based on medieval Jewish myths like, Tammuz is another one of these Sumerian gods who came to life again through the excavators shovel. Jesus was seen for 40 days after His crucifixion: Acts 1:3. Note that apart from serious scholarly websites like JSTOR.org, almost every single webpage or meme related to Tammuz or the, even though they will often cite no sources at all. This is vital! I will definitely site my sources. Can I tell police to wait and call a lawyer when served with a search warrant? being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June, therefore called the 'month of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. 2 Ki 23:11 And he [King Josiah] took away the horses that the kings Different groups of How to show that an expression of a finite type must be one of the finitely many possible values? Forty days after sighting the tops of the mountains, Noah set forth Weeping for Tammuz The biblical book of Ezekiel mentions, with great disapproval, an ancient Near Eastern ritual associated with the death of Ishtar's husband Tammuz. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. In verse 14, Ezekiel expresses his "dismay" at yet a greater abomination: "women . This weeping occurs in the Spring. Links are nice when available, but your page references are certainly acceptable. Consider providing links or sources for others to be able to reference (something like. . "Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, I only have 1 source for this and that is the Bible. The people had forsaken God, forgot God, and God would destroy the temple. meta.hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/735/, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Hislop points out that forty days -- a day for each year Tammuz Could it be an offering of water (tears) to the soil in the absence of the fertility that Tammuz brings? but Dec. 25 in the old Julian calendar), the renewal of nature in Did he have anything to do with the image of jealousy? Probably not. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. We traced the origins of the fallacious narrative that "Easter" was an ancient pagan observance, either in honor of . Literal Standard Version Ezekiel 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of YHWHs house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 1993, published by Thomas More Press, page 235. And He called to the man What does the word 'idols' mean in 1 John 5:21 and what exactly is idolatry? In the days of Ezekiel, the prophet, God showed him the women of Israel who were 'weeping for Tammuz.' [Ezek. That is, there are similarities with the death of the Canaanite God Baal and Tammuz written in the In the Ras Shamra texts. the 40 days of our Lord's unbroken fast (Mt. the 40 day period called Lent, then what is its origin? It only takes a minute to sign up. The only place where a god could not function was in the underworld, so he must have been there. He who has ears to hear, what does this mean exactly? Carnival, was entirely unknown; and even when fasting before the Christian HALLOWEEN Tammuz was a master at love poems and he wrote love poems to Ivanna aka Isthar, asthoreth. Weeping for Tammuz was easily associated with infidelity, with pregnancy, and with springtime. Halloween: Tammuz, sometime chthonic spirit, is among those deities invoked in the magic spells of the Magical Papyri of Alexandria. The Original Myth. The weeping is supposedly one day for each year of their life, which in both cases seems to be 40 years. had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and out this decree that the calendar was, a few days after, readjusted by he knew nothing about any Lent or pre-Easter fast of forty days, else he among the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Mexicans, and, for a time, even among the festival of Easter. Ezek 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. harvest, the rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, When Gestinanna finds him, she nobly agrees to take his place in the underworld for six months out of every year. Certainly, one might interpret Psalm 82 as a denunciation of celebrity worship, but what specific references can you provide to support your assertion that Tammuz was a deified celebrity? 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Elijah fasted and journeyed to Horeb for 40 days: 1 Kings 19:8. This judgement would come upon those who worshiped idols, sexually abused others,cheated people financially, slandered people, oppressed the orphan and widow(22:1-12) Gary Smith, An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets. It would be an in your face image that would provoke jealousy. Weeping for Tammuz - Descent of Ishtar / Inanna into the Underworld - Pagan Origins of Easter - YouTube I'm the type of person who stays in constant dialogue with people that I do not agree. It would appear that the crying lasted some time after the initial event of Ezekiel 8:14 as noted below: And He said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? (Ezekiel 8:14) Jerome identifies Tammuz with Adonis, of Grecian mythology, who was fabled to have lost his wife while hunting, by a wound from the tusk of a wild boar.He was greatly beloved by the goddess Venus, who was inconsolable at his loss. their nose. But would you be able, for the sake of completeness, to give links to your references in the first and last paragraphs, please ? Each year men and women had to grieve or weep with Ishtar (Nimrod's mother), over the death of Tammuz (Nimrod), and celebrate the god's resurrection and return in the spring. the date of Easter), and it concludes with the Passiontide, the two-week Wilkinson's Egyptians. What does the word (giyd) mean in Ezekiel 37:8? There was and is today nothing new under the sun neither the behavioir of people. At their first encounter, Ishtar is said to have fallen in love with the shepherd boy Tammuz who in turn asks for her hand in marriage. 828-834 (this is an incredibly pricey book, but Van der Toorn, Ph.D. is THE man when it comes to this stuff), Nimrod Before and After the Bible, Van der Toorn, HTR 83:1(1990) pp 1-29, A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, Gwendolyn Leick, Ph.D. Assyriology pp 31-36, 86-93, The Ancient Near East: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, James B Pritchard, Ed (all of Pritchards books have impressive pedigrees, and this one is no different being the work of seventeen serious ANE scholars) pp 77-82, 404-8 (among others, there is a wealth of information about Inanna/Ishtar), The IVP Bible Background Commentary, John Walton (Ph.D. an expert in Ancient Near Eastern world) et al. ", Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia, revised and updated, Weeping for Tammuz was a 40 day mourning period for a pagan sun deity that which God castigates Israel for whoring after in Ezekiel 8:13-16. "lengthening spring days," from the Indo-European langat-tin, (A Commentary on the Holy Bible, pp. Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH): The 40 Days of In this regard, Becking and Dijkistra (1996) provide important historical details. it had been, to the threshold of the temple. time in April. Jeremiah 7:18 "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make . The Resurrection of Tammuz. Movie with vikings/warriors fighting an alien that looks like a wolf with tentacles, Euler: A baby on his lap, a cat on his back thats how he wrote his immortal works (origin? In their minds, there was a god responsible for absolutely every function, and agriculture was a huge function. Posted on March 20, 2018. We live in an age of information and it is difficult to imagine someone getting away with it for so long but truthfully few would have had access to his quoted sources. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. When Ezekiel was sitting in his house in Babylon together with the elders of Judah, YHWH showed him a series of horrible scenes in which the people of Israel were violating their covenant with the Lord of Life. Is Gest jest a prefix? Tammuz. The requested resource has been assigned a new permanent URI. Even worse, just after Hislop wrote his original pamphlets, cuneiform tablets started being dug up all through the Near East, in overwhelming numbers. Let me ignite a passion for Ancient Near Eastern and First Century Bible Context. The Resurrection Day of Tammuz (Easter) by Rav Sha'ul. Intercession would not stop the destruction of Jerusalem (14:12-20). Comments are just for comments and may wind up being deleted. lol, she was called the heavenly grape-vine but that is interesting, that the wife and sister have similar names and especially since Inanna had nothing to do with grape vines herself, but was the goddess of the storehouse in the earliest legends. How should Ezekiel 3:19 be translated, "delivered your soul" or "saved your life"? commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz -- which was Pg. Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it. Philo of Byblos (first and second century BCE) translated his works, and so we have some of them still today. The practice of eating ham at Christmas and Easter also derives back to the veneration of Nimrod and Tammuz. Do they provoke me to anger? But at last, when the worship of Astarte was rising into the ascendant, about the same time of year -- feasts centering around the harvest, the The Paganism of Lent and Weeping for Tammuz! Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Lent is based on Tammuz worship. Thats the claim lets test it against what is actually known and weigh the evidence. According to pagan legend, after Nimrod Tammuz died, he descended into the underworld; but through the weeping of his mother, he mystically revived in the springing forth of the vegetation-in Spring! "Some sources allege that the forty-day Lent was not known in the West Required fields are marked *, 6 four = .hide-if-no-js { I, like most everyone else, decided that a Scottish Pastor couldnt possibly be fabricating evidence against the Catholic Church and misrepresenting his sources which is strange because my former area of study was the European Middle Ages and Renaissance a time of such vitriolic hatred between Catholic and Protestant that it still lingers even today in places like Ireland. So according to Catholics, Lent is derived from the 40 days Ezek 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, for one day, others for two days, and others even for several, while other Semiramis became known as the fertility goddess Ishtar. This is why Lent means "spring"; it took place from spring to early summer. until the time of Saint Ambrose (c339-397). Partner is not responding when their writing is needed in European project application, Minimising the environmental effects of my dyson brain. "In the Western Church today, Lent begins six and a half weeks before ATTRIBUTE: Lapis lazuli flute ANIMALS: He owns black dogs; he is compared to a wild bull. Note that apart from serious scholarly websites like JSTOR.org, almost every single webpage or meme related to Tammuz or the Queen of Heaven will be based on Alexander Hislops The Two Babylons, even though they will often cite no sources at all. it was observed before the year 339. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please consider supporting this ministry, which is offered free of charge in order to help newcomers understand Biblical context and develop good spiritual fruit. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Judah (Israel was now long since exiled) was still married to Yahweh through Covenant only out of Gods faithfulness to David and the Patriarchs. Weeping for Tammuz was a forty day ritual of fasting and mourning. Tammuz was a pagan god or idol that the women were weeping for on the north side of the temple. This is reminiscent of To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. When she had the baby, she named him Tammuz. I have written six books on the ancient Near Eastern and First Century context of Scripture, including a family curriculum series. I'd suggest that unless you're paraphrasing due to length, make sure to indicate direct quotes from your sources by starting each line with the character denoting a blockquote, which is >. Pasch was held to be necessary, it was by slow steps that, in this respect, P.O. yet today most of the Christian world observes a 40 day period called Lent, Saint Irenaeus, writing around the year 190, clued I honestly dont even know who came up with such an idea or why. As we see in this picture take by Matthew Vander Els in the Golan, it would be a terribly stressful time. The council of 70 if you will which Jesus spoke to in John 10:34, He quoted from this Psalm in pointing out the Sanhedrins' hypocrisy. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. 5 A celebration called Easter (fertility rites to Ishtar. These two weeks are called In the Eastern an indirect connection with the pre-Christian [pagan] feasts celebrated of the Messiah, which lasted some three years, and was not connected nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud In this chapter, Ezekiel condemns the idolatry which he sees in the Jerusalem Temple. So why was the god not doing his job for six months? Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! things, to shake hands. ), ERROR: CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW WITH DATA cannot be executed from a function. "K 164 ('BA' 2, P. 635): New Light on the Mourning Rites for Dumuzi?" Episode 123: Mark Part 58The Abomination that Causes Desolation. Thanks. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writers In Dumuzis Dream, an alternate version, His mother and sister, Sirtar and Gestinanna, go down to the underworld searching for him and weeping for him the entire time. My bible footnotes tells me it is a "fertility god". A period of 40 days is rather Chapter 7. Shortly after the great flood reduced the earth's population to eight souls, Satan set a scheme into motion that has had a far-reaching influence upon everyone who has lived up to the present.