the Berasit Hebrew Dictionary

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=====Division=====
FIXME this is a VERY ROUGH pre-draft

Dividing the Earth
At least five distinct division events are noted in the Bible.

====Dividing Earth from ...====
In Genesis 1:1 earth and heaven are divided

Job 38:10 appears to be speaking of the act of a boundary being set between earth and the galactic core: "//The sea screened off the Latayim (door people) bursting from the womb. Clouds formed a curtain (literally a robe), a cloth of thick darkness, but the Wa-ashim (planted people) broke through the boundary, locking in the door people, saying, ‘You may come this far, and no farther; here stop your arrogant waves’//".


====rivers of division====
נהר 5104

Rivers are usually referring to Political borders - relate this back to Genesis 2


====Dividing the Mayim====
In Gen 1:6 the [[mim]] territory is split between their sons.

This may refer to the dividing from a single ocean to multiple oceans.

Around 250 Million years ago, Pangea broke up, thus creating separate oceans in between the lands.

Around the same time the Permian extinction of water-based lifeforms

The “expanse” or “firmament” is Hapax legomena and used ONLY in Gen 1:6 and Ezekiel 1:22 along with the Hayim. It could very well be a “land”, “border”, “map”, “simulation”, etc.


====Babel====
Babel is a division of culture that was somehow centered on Sumer after the flood of Atrahasis


====the 70====

FIXME - this section will be an examination of an idea that the [[alehim]] were assigned as regional lords over various parts of the earth.


Deuteronomy 32:8 (New Living Translation) - When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of ___.

see also Psalm 82

this concept is entirely biblical, it does NOT appear in the book of Enoch.

There is evidence in 2 Samuel 7 ?

It is supported in the Enuma Elish and in the “Ugaritic corpus”, and Plato “Once upon a time the gods divided up the whole earth between them according to its regions” https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html


The main idea here is that the earth is divided into territories by God. It MIGHT imply that there are direct elohim (gods) as regional managers.

Conceptually, this is important as it is the only other specific biblical narrative regarding the **sons of the Elohim**, aside from siring the nephilim

Other appearances may include the list of leaders named in the book of Enoch

Problematic details:

No actual number is given. Deuteronomy does not say 70.
Apparently the idea of seventy nations and languages in the world is based Genesis 10, where seventy grandsons of Noah are enumerated, each of whom became the ancestor of a nation.
the Septuagint, however, lists seventy-two grandsons of Noah
Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843–1926) interprets Genesis 14 as Melchizedek exclaiming that God had chosen to gift Abram a tenth of God's possession of the entire human race (consisting of seventy nations as described in Genesis) in the form of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, including the cities of Sodom that Abram succeeded in saving.
apparently some obscure fragment of the Ugaritic texts also supports the idea.
the unnumbered “sons” are alternately given as sons “of elohim”, or “of israel”, or incorrectly (and irrelevantly) translated as “angels” in some versions of the greek Septuagint
there is confusion regarding who is referred to when establishing the boundaries
it is not completely clear WHY
Dead Sea Scrolls fragment 4QDeutj 'sons of ’Elohim'

When ʽElyōn divided nations, he separated the sons of Ādām he set the bounds of the masses according to the number of the sons of the elohim


Deuteronomy 32:8–9 is often debated. Prominent versions of the Bible have rendered it rather differently.

4QDeutj (the Dead Sea Scrolls version)

“When Elyon gave the nations as an inheritance, when he separated the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God (bny 'l[hym]). For Yahweh's portion was his people; Jacob was the lot of his inheritance”.

LXX (The Septuagint) is a Greek translation, not the original language.

“When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God(aggelón theou). And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance”.

'Several later revisions' of the Septuagint (LXX) say sons of Israel

MT (The Masoretic text)

“When Elyon gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all the sons of man, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel (bny yshr'l). For Yahweh's portion was his people, Jacob was the lot of his inheritance”.

If “sons of elohim” is the correct original version, all the other translations can be taken as an indication of attempts to remove a potentially problematic phrase. See also sons of God who sired the nephilim

If however “sons of israel” is the correct original version, why does the dead sea version change it to “sons of elohim”? This could simply be a way of referring to Israel, similar to how modern Christians may call themselves “God' children” Except that Israel did not worship the Elohim. They worship Yahweh. This interpretation would make sense of it called them the sons of Yahweh. Compare to other sons of God verses

Edit
Who are the sons of elohim?
70 sons of Elohim? 70 sons is clear. Sons of whom is less clear.

See the 70 sons of Athirat. Athirat = Asherah = Aherim

What is the exact relationship between Aherim and Elohim

the Dividing of the nations takes on the Deuteronomy verse.

But also there are only a few references to the bene elohim so its easy to handle it exhaustively

OK heres another one - 1 Kings 22:19 Micaiah and the “sky council”

Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’

A few more are listed at Divine_Council#Hebrew/Israelite

Exodus 12:40 summarizes the time of wandering in Sinai but the word is actually 'seat' implying a political dominion which has ended

Edit
Canaanite Religion
Although none of the “Ugaritic Texts” (tablets found in 1929 in the Canaanite city of Ugarit (destroyed c. 1200 BC)) specifically revealed a cosmology, a pantheon was reconstructed from the much later Phoenician text by Philo of Byblos (c. 64–141 AD), obtained from from Sanchuniathon of Berythus (Beirut) only after and under heavy Greco-Roman cultural influence.

According to Philo, the elohim (Ugarit 'ilhm) are the sons of Elion, who was “married to” Beruth (Beirut = the city).

This “marriage” of a divinity with a city is paralleled elsewhere.

Melqart with the city of Tyre
Chemosh with Moab
Tanit (Baal Hammon) with Carthage
Yah with Jerusalem.

deuteronomy7:22 - _ Ihoh (tree) with nation to edge _ _ not _ finished _ before flourish on life in the hills

Lev 18:2 seems to be Ihoh's account of his intention with his portion of the territory


Once upon a time the Gods divided up the Earth between them - not in the course of a quarrel; for it would be quite wrong to think that the Gods do not know what is appropriate to them, or that, knowing it, they would want to annex what property belongs to others. Each gladly received his just allocation, and settled his territories; and having done so they proceeded to look after us, their creatures and children, as shepherds look after their flocks. They did not use physical means of control like shepherds who direct their flocks with blows, but brought their influence to bear on the creature's most sensitive part using persuasion as a steersman uses the helm, to direct the mind as they saw fit and so guide the whole moral creature. The various Gods, then, administered the various regions which had been allotted to them. - Plato, Critias

====As for me and my House====
Joshua decides on further cultural division

This theme is perpetuated by Jesus, particularly in his “brother against brother” speech

This is Individuality over the Collective Unity, and Idealism over Harmony