Watchman's Teaching Letter #177 January 2013

This is my one hundred and seventy-seventh monthly teaching letter and continues my fifteenth year of publication. Since WTL #137, I have been presenting a series entitled The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, and have been expanding on its seven stages ever since: (1) the courtship, (2) the marriage, (3) the honeymoon, (4) the estrangement, (5) the divorce, (6) the reconciliation, and (7) the remarriage.

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD, Part 36:

THE ESTRANGEMENT continued:

In lesson #’s 175 and 176, we examined the description of a process in Jeremiah chapter two that anticipated a time when Yahweh (the Husband) would have no alternative but to cast the twelve tribes of Israel (the wife) out of His house. Matters continued to go from bad to worse until we Israelites came to a time of great apostasy, as it was recorded in the book of Hosea. The ten northern tribes of the house of Israel would be the first to become castaways. The situation continued to deteriorate and reached an appalling low described at Hosea 5:6-7:

6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously against Yahweh: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.”

The Hebrew word here rendered “strange” in the KJV is zuwr, meaning given over to idolatrous impurities such as committing adultery (i.e., fornication, which includes race-mixing in the Greek) with the non-white heathen around them. The Strong’s number for the word rendered “strange” here is 2114, and is defined thusly:

2114 ... zûwr, zoor; a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active participle) to commit adultery:- KJV (come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).” A “participle” is defined: “verb form with functions of both verb and adjective.” In other words, both to describe an action and participate therein! Therefore, if one is going to participate in miscegenation (race-mixing), Yahweh will send a parasite to devour that participant’s possessions, if not their very life, in less than a month (thirty years in prophecy). There is no other parasite more bloodthirsty than a Canaanite-Edomite-jew! What we need is some real strong “moth” repellent! One should reference Proverbs 5:15, 17, where it states:

5 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well ... 17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’2114 with thee.”

Four particular parasites are mentioned at Joel 1:3-5:

3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.” Today, we would identify such parasites as Edomite-jews, negros, mexican, and other half-breed beings sucking the lifeblood from the White Israel nations!

In order to comprehend the message which the Bible conveys, it is necessary to meticulosly analyze each passage in its entirety! When one does so, one will encounter many words and subjects which will necessitate searching other Scriptures which support the passage which the reader has determined to examine. Study goes far beyond just surface reading, or a casual scan of the text. We must, at all times, take into consideration the original language the passage was written in, for what it appears to express in English may not be at all what the writer intended to impart. Additionally, if the reader is not familiar with the original language, it will be necessary for that person to invest in some reliable Bible dictionaries and lexicons. Once the reader establishes the definition and/or definitions of a word or phrase, then one must determine the part and/or parts of speech to understand how the word or phrase is generally applied. It is not unusual sometimes to spend four to eight hours of study on a single word. For Instance, the Hebrew word “âdâm” is used four ways: (1) #119 as a verb, (2) #120 as a noun masculine, (3) #121 as a noun or pronoun masculine, and (4) #122 as an adjective. While I have several lexicons and dictionaries both in book form and in electronic digital programs, I find The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew And English Lexicon especially useful in determining the proper parts of speech.

I still use the KJV, as it is keyed to the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek numbers. Having these numbers allows me to search in several ways to authenticate the original intention of the writers! I hate to rain on your parade, but if you are one of those who believe the KJV is God-breathed, the King James Version of the Bible often applies the wrong part of speach to a word or phrase. William Finck confirmed this several times in his audio podcast. Fortunately, Finck proofreads all of my lessons and special articles, and he lets me know quite quickly if I have made a linguistic error of some kind. Finck uses and highly recommends the Liddell & Scott Greek Lexicon. However, no matter how favorable a Biblical dictionary or lexicon might be, even the best that we have are polluted with a certain amount of unsavory churchianity dogma. That is why we need White Israelites who are able to “discern both good and evil”, Heb. 5:14!

With all of these study habits addressed, we will continue with the subject of Hosea the Prophet. In the first four chapters of Hosea we become familiar with his life and his very important utterances, especially concerning the northern ten tribes of the house of Israel. In chapters one and two the prophet recounts the sad story of the rejection and punishment, and follows with Israel’s regathering and ultimate restoration in the last days. In chapter three, Hosea points to the impending judgment and desolation of Israel for being unfaithful to her Husband, Yahweh, after which all of Israel would seek Yahweh in the latter days. Whereupon, Yahweh would deliver all of Israel, and restoration would follow. In chapter four, Hosea makes it clear that apostate Israel would not escape the wrath of Yahweh, but that punishment would surely follow. Hosea then outlines the severity of the punishment which would ultimately come to them.

Priests Condemned: Starting with the fifth chapter of Hosea, and continuing through the thirteenth, Hosea then directs his prophecy against an apostate priesthood at Hos. 5:1 thusly:

Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.”

Contrary to the generally accepted belief, Mizpah does not imply benediction, but was rather a symbol for the necessity of watchfulness, separating those who might take action to harm one another, as Laban and Jacob might have done at Gen. 31:49. The name “Mizpah” means “watch tower”, (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament):

4708, 4709 [4709 is an orthography variation of 4708, Strong]: “... (‘watch-tower.’ ‘lofty place’), [Mizpah], n.pr.lok. (nomen proprium, proper name; and loci, proper name of place, [Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius]) – (1) of a town of Gilead, Judges 10:17; 11:11, 34; Hos. 5:1; more fully, Judges 11:29 ... As to the origin of this place, see Gen. 31:49 – (2) of a town of the Benjamites, where the people were accustomed to assemble, Judges 21:1; 1 Sam. 7:5. It was afterward fortified by Asa, to guard the frontiers against the kingdom of Israel (1 Ki. 15:22; 2 Chr. 16:6); and at length it was made the seat of the Chaldean governor, Jer. 40:6; compare Neh. 3:7, 19 ....”

There you have it: two towns by the name of “Mizpah”, one in Gilead and one in Benjamin. The one we are interested in at Hosea 5:1 is the one that was in Gilead. And indeed its name was “a symbol for the necessity of watchfulness”! At least, that’s what Asa made it. It would appear to me that if we are going to study the book of Hosea, and he mentions “Mizpah” at 5:1, we surely should figure out what he is talking about.

Hosea was simply declaring that the priests, who should have been tending to their duty upon the watchtower, should have warned Yahweh’s people of impending danger. But were rather becoming a snare by allowing and countenancing the house of Israel to entangle themselves in idolatry which would entrap them into committing adulterous fornication, which is race-mixing. Probably the most lamentable words in all Scripture are recorded at Hosea 4:17: “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.” Here Ephraim represents the northern ten tribes of the house of Israel!

Surely Paul’s words were inspired when he wrote his epistle to the Ephesians at 2:12: “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens [Greek: alienated] from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without Yahweh in the world ....”

Adam Clarke, in his 6-volume Commentary, vol. 4, p. 663 makes the following observation on Hosea 5:1: “Verse 1. Hear ye this O priests] A process is instituted against the priests, the Israelites, and the house of the king; and they are called on to appear and defend themselves. The accusation is, that they have ensnared the people, caused them to practice idolatry, both at Mizpah and Tabor. Mizpah was situated beyond Jordan, in the mountains of Gilead; see Judg. xi. 29. And Tabor was a beautiful mountain in the tribe of Zebulun. Both these places are said to be eminent for hunting, &c.; and hence the natural occurrence of the words snare and net, in speaking of them.”

Prayers Unheard: What the prophet declared to the ecclesiastical leaders of his day, which contributed to the general over-all apostasy of that time, could be resoundingly repeated, with emphasis, to our modern-day assemblies of nominal churchianity – all 666 flavors of them! Hosea’s message was not a very popular one, as he pointed out the misdeeds of the people, declaring in no uncertain terms that their evils were not hid from the sight of Almighty, Omnipresent Yahweh! Hosea emphasized to the leaders of the house of Israel that the iniquity they were committing impeded their opportunity to return to their only true Husband!

Hosea also took this occasion to point out that the house of Judah had also stumbled, and that although both Judah and Israel might still offer sacrifices, it would not, however, release them from their misdeeds, which had become so great in magnitude that Yahweh simply refused to listen any longer to their prayers. Hosea also took this occasion to point out to the house of Israel that “they have begotten strange [bastard] children”, which I have already covered.

Betraying Yahweh: The phrase, “betraying Yahweh”, is of explicit interest, for it signifies: “to violate a trust” and/or “to deliver over to the enemy through disloyalty or treachery” that which belongs to Yahweh. Parenthood among the Israelites carried with it a sacred trust of raising up children in the knowledge and admonition of Yahweh. As a matter of fact, this was part of the marriage Covenant between Yahweh and His Cinderella bride, the twelve tribes of Israel, at Deut. 6:1-7:

1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which Yahweh your Elohim commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear Yahweh thy Elohim, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Yahweh Elohim of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim is one Yahweh: 5 And thou shalt love Yahweh thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

During his time, Hosea informed his fellow Israelites, and wrote it down for all succeeding generations, that any failure to carry out these Divine injunctions would be considered a betrayal of Yahweh Himself. Having willingly neglected instruction with regard to Yahweh’s Commandments, and a lack of faith in their Husband – sort of like women’s rights today – they became vulnerable to every evil Satanic influence. Then – as today – they became a prey to the Arch Enemy of Yahweh – now known as Edomite-jews – and became targets for Satan’s exploitation, and were no longer of any value to Yahweh’s Kingdom! As a result, all twelve tribes of Israel became estranged from their Husband, and no longer worthy of the name of “Israel”, but would be downgraded to the level of a “stranger”, without any hope! When I say, “no longer worthy”, I include myself!

Responsibility of Parents: The iniquitous problems during Hosea’s time period are amazingly similar to our own day – and the failure of parents to bring up their sons and daughters to fear and obey the admonitions and knowledge of Yahweh, doom us to the same decline that our ancient Israelite ancestors experienced. Today, instead of raising up our sons and daughters to obey Yahweh’s Commandments, we permit the State to raise up our sons and daughters in accordance to the ten planks of the Karl Marx Manifesto! So, we have a choice between Yahweh’s ten Commandments or Satan’s ten planks!

You’ve probably been told the LIE that Communism is dead. Don’t you believe it! Communism is alive and well, especially in these United States of America. Let’s, for a moment, review the ten planks of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto:

1) ABOLITION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.

2) HEAVY PROGRESSIVE INCOME TAX.

3) ABOLITION OF ALL RIGHTS OF INHERITANCE.

4) CONFISCATION OF LAND.

5) CENTRAL BANK.

6) GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF COMMUNICATIONS & TRANSPORTATION.

7) GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF FACTORIES AND AGRICULTURE.

8) GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF LABOR.

9) CORPORATE FARMS, REGIONAL PLANNING.

10) GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF EDUCATION.

There you have it. One can either bring up their children teaching them the tenets of Yahweh, or one can allow the liberal-trained college graduates to do so, those who were instructed in multicultural behavior modification, and end up with a mulatto in one’s family tree, and paying dearly for the so-called privilege of being politically correct! One should rather consider the tremendous responsibility placed upon parents in the sight of Yahweh, from whom not a single thing is hid, who requires that parents, train their children to respect and obey His Commandments. Primarily, the failure to train the children lies with the mothers, who would rather become a professional senior executive of some fortune-500 company rather than a faithful housewife to her husband and family. But ultimately, this is the man’s responsibility. Today, the majority of our beautiful young White women aren’t looking for a husband, but a negro, or mexican, or mongolian sex-partner – any thing other than a Christian White man!

When new generations in White Israel are not trained up to know Yahweh, His judgments will not be long delayed. Hosea portrayed the first stage of that judgment in terms of the brutal discipline that overtook Benjamin for their indulgence into bisexual and homosexual activity. He used Gibaeh as an example, where the men of Benjamin mistreated a Levite’s concubine, a crime which led to the slaughter of all the men of Benjamin except three hundred in Judges chs. 19 thru 21.

Evidently the women of Benjamin must have also become lesbians, as they were all destroyed when the cities of Benjamin were completely burned to the ground by fire. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the other tribes of Israel to contributing virgin females to the remaining three hundred male Benjamites who survived the three days of war. The bisexual behavior of the men of Benjamin suggests strongly that the women of Benjamin may have been partly responsible for the unnatural sexual activity of the men. During our own day, with numerous White Israelite women jumping in bed with nonwhite men have caused a severe lack of White Israelite women for the men. Being I was born in 1927, I witnessed a period of time, up until the early 1960s, when the majority of women still behaved like women should. By-and-large in the early 1960s, it was the White Caucasian Israel women who first broke Yahweh’s law of kind-after-kind in significant numbers!

Because of this kind of activity, Hosea exclaimed at 5:8:

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.”

House of Iniquity: Therefore, what is meant by blowing “the trumpet in Ramah” denotes a city on the border of Benjamin, and would signify a signal marshaling for invasion and war. The citing of Beth-aven was indicative of the state of apostasy in which Israel found herself, starting with the dividing of the twelve tribes into the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Actually, there were five different towns in Israel by the name of “Ramah”: in Benjamin, in Simeon, in Asher, in Naphtali, and in Ephraim. To give the reader a better description of the Ramah in Benjamin, I will quote from the 2-volume Insight on the Scriptures, vol. 2, p. 731:

RAMAH: (Ra’mah) [Height]. The Hebrew word signifies a height or a high place. (Eze. 16:24) It was used as a proper name for a number of locations in Israel.

1. A city in the territory of Benjamin. In Joshua 18:25 it is listed between Gibeon and Beeroth. Apparently it was near Bethel, which city was in the south of Ephraim’s territory. (Judg. 4:5) A Levite traveling north past Jerusalem came to Gibeah, with Ramah evidently just beyond. (Judg. 19:11-15; Hos. 5:8) And it was in the neighborhood of Geba. (Isa. 10:29) These references combine with testimony of Eusebius in identifying Ramah in Benjamin with the locality of modern er-Ram, which is about 8 km (5 miles) north of Jerusalem, 3 km (2 miles) north of Gibeah, 5 km (3 miles) east of Gibeon, and 3 km (2 miles) west of Geba. The city is on an elevation, as the name implies.

During the divided kingdom, Ramah came in for considerable attention, located, as it was, near the border between Israel and Judah and the north-south road of the hill country. King Baasha of Israel began to expand or fortify Ramah in Benjamin while warring against Asa (1 King. 15:16, 17; 2 Chr. 16:1). But when the king of Syria attacked Israel from the north, Baasha’s attention was diverted and Asa took Ramah as well as the building materials Baasha had been using there, using these to build up neighboring Geba and Mizpah. (1 Ki. 15:20-22; 2 Chr. 16:4-6) It appears that, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C., the Jews [sic Judaeans] taken captive were assembled in Ramah before being moved to Babylon. (Jer. 40:1) After the exile Ramah was repopulated. – Ezr. 2:1, 26; Neh. 7:30; 11:33.”

From the 2-volume Insight on the Scriptures, vol. 1, p. 293:

BETH-AVEN: (Beth-a’ven) [House of Hurtfulness (Something Hurtful)].

1. A town in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, close by the ancient city of Ai. (Jos. 7:2; 18:11, 12) It was in the wilderness, located east of Bethel and west of Michmash, and became involved in an outstanding battle when Saul and Jonathan routed the Philistines from this latter city. – 1 Sam. 13:5; 14:23.

2. In lamenting the idolatrous conditions to which Israel had turned in his time, the prophet Hosea mentions Beth-aven together with Gibeah and Ramah, other prominent cities of Benjamin. (Hos. 4:15; 5:8; 10:5, 8) It appears that the prophet applies the name in a derogatory sense to the city of Bethel, which at one time had been a ‘house of God’ but had now become a ‘house of what is hurtful’ because of the calf worship instituted there. – 1 Ki. 12:28-30.”

From this Biblical data, we can readily see that “Bethel” means the “house of El”, while “Beth-aven” means “house of naught”, or “house of iniquity”. Jereboam profaned the location which belonged to the “House of El” by reestablishing the worship of the golden calf, by placing one at Bethel and another at Dan. Thus, the House of El became the house of iniquity!

Using Benjamin’s gross sexual-impropriety as an example, and his subsequent nearly complete annihilation by his brother tribes, we can begin to comprehend how dangerous idol worship was in Hosea’s day, and still is today. Today idol worship consists of watching nonwhites running up and down football fields and basketball courts, and a thousand other types of interracial activities, especially in bedrooms. Whenever White Israelites engage in such gross sexual impropriety – and cheering for nonwhites at ball games encourages gross sexual impropriety – the judgment of Yahweh is not far behind. A case in point is when Benjamin was fighting his brother tribes on the third day of battle, and the men of Benjamin looked behind them and saw their cities were entirely engulfed in flames, completely consuming their homes, the women, any children, and the elderly men. No doubt, the Canaanite-jews of their day taught the Benjamite tribe the art of gross sexual impropriety, like the jewess, Dr. Ruth, taught gross sexual impropriety on television in our day!

Upon seeing their cities burning, the Benjamites lost heart to continue the battle, and turned their backs on their pursuers, who in turn decisively defeated them with great slaughter. (See Judges ch. 20)

Coming Desolation: After reminding Isreal’s priests of the incident with the tribe of Benjamin, Hosea predicted the downfall of the ten tribes of Israel as well as the two tribes of Judah, at Hos. 5:2-6:

2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled. 4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their Elohim: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known Yahweh. 5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.”

This declaration just proclaimed by Hosea was to announce to the ten northern tribes, collectively called “Ephraim”, the terms of the punishment which was about to be heaped upon them. Neither would Judah escape, for Hosea also accused their rulers of corruption and practicing injustice! Hosea likened the failure of the rulers to deal righteously with their subjects as one who removes ancient landmarks, an unlawful act severely condemned under the prenuptial marriage agreement Israel made with her Husband, Yahweh, at Mt. Sinai (Deut. 19:14). The result was that Yahweh allowed an enemy to invade their land and make it desolate, in fulfillment of the curses that Moses had said would come upon Yahweh’s people should they ever turn away from their nuptial agreement with Him.

Hosea then condemned Ephraim (i.e., the ten tribes of the house of Israel) as disheartened and impoverished, for they had willingly followed the idolatrous practices of Jeroboam. For this Deut. 28:33 was tragically fulfilled, time and again, which states:

The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway ....”

Forbidden Alliances: Once alliances are made with alien non-kinsmen, prosperity soon evaporates into thin air. Yahweh had warned through Hosea this very thing, at 5:12-14:

12 Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. 14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.”

The next four passages are examples of how the twelve tribes were emphatically warned against making pacts with non-kinsmen:

Exo. 23:31-32: 31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.”

Exo. 34:12-16: 12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous Elohim: 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.”

Deut. 7:1-3: 1 When Yahweh thy Elohim shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when Yahweh thy Elohim shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.”

Judg. 2:1-2: 1 ... I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?”

It is recorded at Joshua 9:3-8, 15, that even Joshua was deceived and that all of Israel had disobeyed Yahweh’s command:

3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? ... 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.”

To get an idea of just what a league would bring about to Ephraim and Judah, I will quote from the History Of Assyria, by Olmstead, pp. 504-505, under the chapter heading “Heirs Of The Ages”:

... The true Assyrians were Semites and close to the desert; thus they brought with them, almost undiluted, the truly desert, that is, Semitic point of view. Comparative assimilation of the various elements had been completed by the time that Assyria became a worldpower, but the fusion was in many respects imperfect. The lower classes were in a state of inferiority amounting to serfdom, and the different dress of nobles and commons, as we see them, for example, in the gate sculptures of Shalmaneser III, points in the same direction. All now spoke the Assyrian language and appeared to have left behind their peculiar, non-Semitic characteristics.

It was not from these lower classes that the complexity of Assyrian culture was to develop. A period of Shumerian control is indicated by the names of the sanctuaries and by early examples of art, and this cultural element was emphasised when Ashur fell under the physical control of the Babylonia of the Ur dynasty. The Amorite dynasty of Babylon was likewise under considerable indebtedness to the Shumerian civilisation, but in race they were close to the Assyrians, and their lordship over Ashur strengthened the Semitic features.

More mature consideration indicates that the unlikenesses between the two civilisations are as great as the similarities. The chief cause, it will soon be recognised, is the fact that while the culture of Babylonia was always local and somewhat nationalistic, that of the Assyrians was almost from the beginning imperial in that it rested on the subjugation and incorporation of peoples of different languages, races, and cultures, not to speak of a difference in political organisation far greater than was to be detected between the city-states of the alluvium. Thus the Assyrian empire rested upon a far more complex grouping of peoples than had ever before been seen. A glance at the ancient ethnographic map will confirm this to the fullest satisfaction ....”

When all of Israel, and about two-thirds of Judah, were deported into Assyria, as a result of their Yahweh given punishment, they found themselves among a multiracial, multicultural, cosmopolitan environment similar to New York, N.Y. of America today. II Esdras 13:41-42 informs us: 41 But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt. 42 That they might there keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land.” The “statutes” would require disinheriting mixed-race children!