The Ark of the Covenant
The ark was kept in the holy of holies of the temple in Jerusalem. It disappeared when Nebuchadnezzar’s armies razed the city in 586 B. C. The ark of the covenant served as a symbol or sign of God’s presence with the Israelites during battle (Exodus 30:6; Exodus 25:21–22). During the wanderings in the wilderness and in the conquest of the Promised Land the ark always went before the armies of Israel. This was to symbolize God’s active presence with His people, not to suggest that His presence was localized in that object (I Kings 8:21), or that the bringing of the ark was like a magic spell. At one time, however, the people made the mistake of thinking that the ark as a physical object assured them of God’s presence and guaranteed them victory (I Samuel 4:1–11). David, on the other hand, took the ark into battle too (II Samuel 11:11); but it appears that his trust was in God to win the battle, not in the ark as an object. His understanding of God’s guidance was like that of Israel during the conquest of the Promised Land.1
The following is about the fact that the power of God was demonstrated by the Ark of the Covenant in the hands of the enemies of Israel and that power is the Presence of God which was with the Ark of the Covenant.
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And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.2I Samuel 4:10-11
The Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Israelites by the Philistines and the Judge Eli fell dead upon hearing the news. A question arises among believers and non-believers alike as to the power of the Ark of God. Some authors have suggested that it was a powerful electrical device that was a kind of radio to talk to God with or kill people. The gems on the Levite priests’ garments have been thought to be some kind of high tech device that was elaborately arranged to be the forerunner of cell phones. Looking for some explanation that mankind can understand in terms of the culture that we happen to find ourselves in is not the key. The Bible holds the answer to what the Ark of the Covenant is. It is where God’s Presence dwells. The power of the Ark is God. It is not doo-dads or widgets parlayed into a big version of a bug zapper designed to kill people or call in extra troops. God is perfectly capable of knowing what is going on without a celestially built wireless cell phone.
The Biblical examples of what the Ark of God is and under what circumstances people were killed if they mishandled it explain the power of it to be from God’s Presence. It was not a magical device or an idol (god or goddess) as the Philistines supposed. They thought the presence of the LORD was on a par with that of the idols in their temples they worshipped as gods and goddesses. The story of the Ark being taken by the Philistines in battle demonstrates the difference between the gods and goddesses and the One True God, Yahweh. The contrast between God and Dagon (El or Bel) is drawn out upon a look at scripture.
A false representation of God replaced the Living God over time. Some thought that the One True God might be the Father of the fish god Dagon. Interestingly the destructive principle of the ancients was a male gender and the generative principle was female at one point. The association with gender has changed from culture to culture over the many thousands of years of human history. Originally the head of the gods and giver of life was El. El is known from the Baal Cycle, fertility versus famine as played out between Baal and Mot.
"Baal and Yamm are engaged in a fierce war. It is not merely a wrestling match in the sky to be observed by amused spectators. The outcome is deadly serious for believers in Baal. If Baal triumphs, the land will be fertile that year, and farmers and residents can breathe a bit easier. But if Mot wins, disaster will follow—death and sterility will rule. It may mean the year of the locust plague, or one of drought.
We learn from one of the first tablets in this series that Yamm sends two messengers to El, head of the gods, to ask that he give Baal to the messengers:
'Give up, O gods, him whom you harbor.... Give up Baal ... Dagon’s son, so that I may inherit his gold.'
El yields and hands over Baal. Angered, Baal lashes out in revenge, but is restrained by the goddesses Anath and Ashtoreth. For the moment, Yamm is victor over Baal." 3
As time went on El became obscured to some extent as new gods were recognized and replacing the original understanding of god. The name of El came to mean the Father of Bel or Dagon who was originally a fish god and later was a god of grain. In fact fertility was seen as the generative principle among the people of Sumer and the people who preceded them that occupied Mesopotamia before the Great Flood. Fish were among the earliest symbols of fertility, meaning life-giving and regeneration. The ones thought to have brought knowledge to the ancients of pre-flood Mesopotamia were fish people. Eventually Dagon/Dagan was thought to be the god of grain as well and his consorts were goddesses of grain. The connection with fertility and erotic love among the gods and goddesses continued into the time when Jesus first came. The gods and goddesses also were associated with war and battle as well as fertility and erotic love. In the hierarchy of the different worship it appears that certain pagan cults emphasized different aspects of the gods and goddesses in different geographic locations although the basic connections stayed intact in some cases. The different gods and goddesses changed identity over time with the original idea of Anu changing from Anu to Danu, fertility to war. It is likely that the different demons that were able to be summoned assumed these identities. By the first century A. D. the Gnostics melded the different gods and goddesses as well as new constructs with the identity of Jesus and Mary incorporating some of the oldest examples of the beings called gods into a new explanation of the beings who dwelt in the heavens. It appears that in part the explanations ignored the fact that the angels who disobeyed God were cast out of Heaven because they left their first estate, their place by rebelling along with Lucifer and coming down to earth and mating with women. Likely most of the different gods and goddesses are different in name only. Thor, Horus, and Bel are likely the same god in different cultures and times as an example.
When the battle with the Israelites went to the enemy a trophy was taken and placed in one of the temples of the local god or goddess. Scripture plainly states that God had judged Saul and had already chosen the son of Jesse, David the shepherd boy to replace him. Saul did not obey God and spared some of the best of the animals of the Amalekites and King Agag after God gave him the battle. To make matters worse, having disobeyed God, Saul consulted a witch to find out what would happen in a battle after that. God would not answer Saul and Saul decided to consult with the Prophet Samuel who was dead. This proved to be the final straw and Saul was rejected by God and then killed in battle due to his disobedience. The happy victors took his body as a trophy. He was beheaded and then according to Radmacher et alia:
The armor of Saul was placed in the temple dedicated to the worship of Ashtoreth, or Ishtar, the Canaanite goddess of fertility and war. Beth Shan was at the junction of the Jezreel and Jordan valleys, about four miles west of the Jordan. Although Saul’s body was fastened to the wall of the city, I Chronicles 10:10 records that his head was displayed in the temple of Dagon.4
So, the enemies of the Israelites supposed that their god and goddess, better known in more modern times as Diana and Bel, had secured the victory for them. If not for Saul’s disobedience after battle and then consulting a witch Saul may not have been killed in battle at all. But who were the god and goddess that these people worshipped that had no power? The goddess Ishtar is also known as Ashtaroth, Anat (Anath), Ashtoreth, Astarte , Atargatis, Aphrodite, Artemis, Diana, Venus, and Isis. A brief description of her and her ancient pedigree follows and then a word about Dagon. How did Anath or the more modern Diana supply fertility for the land? In the Baal Cycle she is able to do so with the blood of men.
"Anath is both goddess of war (She fights for her husband’s causes.) and goddess of love and sensuality, a common combination of attributes in ancient goddesses. Her slaughter-house tactics against Baal’s opponents are described in detail:
'Anath swells her liver with laughter/Her heart is filled with joy/For in Anath’s hand is victory/For knee-deep she plunges in the blood of soldiers/Neck-high in the gore of troops/Until she is sated.'
This slaughter results in fertility for the land."
Anath is reminiscent of the goddesses Kali and Sekhmet, who were capable of wreaking destruction and death for humans. Sekhmet is a lion-headed goddess who appears to date to pre-flood days. One way of looking at these goddesses is their nature may be derived from their exploits when they were known by more ancient names. They also may have in their dominion lesser gods that presided over regions of the earth while carrying out the particular duties of the patron goddess.
"The veneration of this goddess entered the Mediterranean world under the name Astarte, and the practices associated with her cult became associated with the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. She was called Atargatis at Ashkelon. The Canaanite worship rites were carried out not only in temples (II Kings 10:21–27) but on "every high hill, and under every green tree" (II Kings 17:10, 11). These rites were accompanied by such things as frenzied dances (I Kings 18:26–28), cult prostitution (both male and female), and, at times, even by human sacrifice (compare Jeremiah 19:5–7 with II Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:30–32; 32:30–35). Israel’s attraction to the debased fertility rites and idolatrous worship practices, as well as the loathsome life-style of Canaan, was to be a long one, despite repeated divine warnings and chastisements (compare Leviticus 20; Numbers 25:1–9; Deuteronomy 18:9–14; 23:17, 18; I Kings 21:25, 26; II Kings 17:7–18; Jeremiah 2:1–3:5; Ezekiel 8:5–18; 16; 23; Hosea 4:6–19).
Corinth was a wealthy commercial center located on a narrow neck of land (four miles wide) that connected the Peloponnesus and northern Greece. Situated as it was, it became a crossroads for travel and commerce, both north and south, and east and west. It had two harbors, one (Lechaeum) facing Italy and the other (Cenchrea) facing Asia. The wealth of Corinth was acquired by hauling freight and smaller vessels across the isthmus, and by levying tolls on such commerce.
The original city of Corinth rose to wealth and fame during the period of the Greek city-states. It was known for its cosmopolitan culture and luxurious temples. A shining sanctuary to Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love and beauty, was located on the gray, rocky hill to the south of the city (called Acrocorinth). Visible far out to sea, this temple was serviced by a thousand slave girls who doubled as prostitutes and entertainers for the city’s nightlife. Corinth’s fortunes fell dramatically in 146 b.c. when Rome besieged and sacked the city.
Julius Caesar built a new city on the same site in 46 b.c. When Paul came to Corinth in about a.d. 51, it was again a thriving metropolis, the capital of the senatorial province of Achaia. It was ruled by a Roman proconsul ("deputy," Acts 18:12).
Religiously, the city had every type of cult its pluralistic society could bring to it. There was also a synagogue and a large contingency of Jews. From such a diverse cultural hub, a strong gospel witness might well be heard all over the world. No wonder Paul felt constrained to bear a testimony to such a city.5
The Corinthians were noted for their philosophical and rhetorical abilities and also for their vices, partly because Corinth was the center for the immoral worship of Aphrodite, goddess of love, whose followers practiced ritual prostitution.6
Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia (southern Greece). It lay on the western end of a four-mile isthmus between the Peloponnesus and central Greece. Good harbors existed on both sides of the isthmus: Cenchrea on the east and Lechaeum on the west. In ancient times ships were dragged across the isthmus on rollers to avoid the stormy seas to the south. As early as New Testament times men (Nero) sought to build a canal through the isthmus, but it was not accomplished until 1893, after the invention of dynamite. In 146 b.c. the Romans crushed the Achaean League and destroyed Corinth. One hundred years later (46 b.c.) Julius Caesar rebuilt Corinth as a Roman city, and Augustus later made it the capital of Achaia. At its height this new city had a population of well over half a million. Corinth was known for its immorality even from ancient times, due partly to the temple of Aphrodite, goddess of love, with its thousand priestesses who engaged in prostitution. In New Testament times Corinth was a place of wealth and indulgence. Hence, "to live as a Corinthian" meant to live in luxury and immorality. Many of these problems affected the Corinthian church, as Paul’s epistles reveal. Paul spent over 18 months during his second journey (vv. 9–11) seeking to establish a strong church. An inscription found at Delphi in 1908 dates Paul’s stay in Corinth as occurring in the very early fifties, the inscription dating the beginning of Gallio’s term of office as a.d. 51 or 52. Modern Corinth (pop. 16,000) is four miles from the ancient site."7
"Smyrna (modern Izmir) was the probable birthplace of Homer and possibly the most beautiful city in Asia. The famous golden street which began at the seaside ran upward, culminating on Mt. Pagos. Along the way, one passed an imposing array of pagan temples to Cybele, Apollo, Aesculapius, Aphrodite, and Zeus. Smyrna was the center of Caesar-worship for Asia. See Revelation 2:8" 8
El, Dagon, Bel, Baal
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Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.9Judges 6:23
Among the Philistines Dagon was represented by a figure half man and half fish. I Samuel 5:4. On this account the worship of fish is expressly prohibited. Deuteronomy 4:18.10
Da´gon
(a fish), apparently the masculine, I Samuel 5:3, 4, correlative of Atargatis, was the national god of the Philistines. The most famous temples of Dagon were at Gaza, Judges 16:21-30, and Ashdod. I Samuel 5:5, 6; I Chronicles 10:10. The latter temple was destroyed by Jonathan in the Maccabæan wars (see account of Josephus below). Traces of the worship of Dagon likewise appear in the names Caphar-dagon (near Jamnia) and Beth-dagon in Judah, Joshua 15:41, and Asher. Joshua 19:27. Dagon was represented with the face and hands of a man and the tail of a fish. I Samuel 5:5. The fish-like form was a natural emblem of fruitfulness, and as such was likely to be adopted by seafaring tribes in the representation of their gods.11Temples of Dagon/Dagan have been identified at eighteenth-century b.c. Mari, in Mesopotamia, and at thirteenth-century Ugarit, in northern Phoenicia (where he was said to be the father of Baal).12 Dagon eventually was associated with grain as an emblem of fruitfulness, the generative principle. Dagon/Dagan is a Philistine adaptation of the Canaanite god Baal, who is sometimes referred to in ancient literature as the "Son of Dagon." 13
When the Philistines had taken the ark of the Hebrews captive, as I said a little before, they carried it to the city of Ashdod, and put it by their own god, who was called Dagon, as one of their spoils; (2) but when they went into his temple the next morning to worship their god, they found him paying the same worship to the ark, for he lay along, as having fallen down from the basis whereon he had stood; so they took him up and set him on his basis again and were much troubled at what had happened; and as they frequently came to Dagon and found him still lying along, in a posture of adoration to the ark, they were in very great distress and confusion. (3) At length God sent a very destructive disease upon the city and country of Ashdod, for they died of the dysentery or flux, a sore distemper, that brought death upon them very suddenly; for before the soul could, as usual in easy deaths, be well loosed from the body, they brought up their entrails, and vomited up what they had eaten, and what was entirely corrupted by the disease. And as to the fruits of their country, a great multitude of mice arose out of the earth and hurt them, and spared neither the plants nor the fruits. (4) Now while the people of Ashdod were under these misfortunes, and were not able to support themselves under their calamities, they perceived that they suffered thus because of the ark, and that the victory they had gotten, and their having taken the ark captive, had not happened for their good; they therefore sent to the people of Askelon, and desired that they would receive the ark among them. (5) This desire of the people of Ashdod was not disagreeable to those of Askelon, so they granted them that favor. But when they had gotten the ark, they were in the same miserable condition; for the ark carried along with it the disasters that the people of Ashdod had suffered, to those who received it from them. Those of Askelon also sent it away from themselves to others; (6) nor did it stay among those others neither; for since they were pursued by the same disasters, they still sent it to the neighboring cities; so that the ark went round, after this manner, to the five cities of the Philistines, as though it exacted these disasters as a tribute to be paid it for its coming among them.14
The Ark of the Covenant was carried about and those who possessed it found that God did not like the fact that His Ark was taken. The Bible clearly records the predicament that the people who had the stolen Ark found themselves in. The gods and goddesses of the places where the Ark was taken were proven to be no match for God and apparently offered no resistance against God.
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And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. 2When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 5Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.6
But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 8They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. 9And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 10Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 11So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.1
And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us.10
And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. 13And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite.19
And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. 20And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.1
And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. 2And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.3
And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.15I Samuel 5-7
Eventually the temple of Dagon was destroyed during the time of King Ptolemy according to Josephus:
Upon which Jonathan pursued them as far as Ashdod, and slew a great many of them, and compelled the rest, in despair of escaping, to fly to the temple of Dagon, which was at Ashdod, but Jonathan took the city on the first onset, and burnt it and the villages about it: (100) nor did he abstain from the temple of Dagon itself, but burnt it also, and destroyed those that had fled to it. Now the entire multitude of the enemies, that fell in the battle and were consumed in the temple were eight thousand. (101) When Jonathan therefore had overcome so great an army, he removed from Ashdod, and came to Askelon; and when he had pitched his camp without the city, the people of Askelon came out and met him, bringing him hospitable presents, and honoring him; so he accepted of their kind intentions, and returned thence to Jerusalem with a great deal of prey, which he brought thence when he conquered his enemies.16
Josephus says that the stealing of the Ark was the cause for the troubles
that came upon the cities that held the Ark. The gods and goddesses were useless
to prevent the will of the LORD. The disease and the eventual total destruction
of these cities is for this violation against God.
Moreover, did not Palestine groan under the ravage the Assyrians made, when they carried away our sacred ark? as they did their idol Dagon, and as also did that entire nation of those that carried it away, (385) how they were smitten with a loathsome distemper in the secret parts of their bodies, when their very bowels came down together with what they had eaten, till those hands that stole it away were obliged to bring it back again, and that with the sound of cymbals and timbrels, and other oblations, in order to appease the anger of god for their violation of His holy ark. (386) It was God who then became our general, and accomplished these great things for our fathers, and this because they did not meddle with war and fighting, but committed it to him to judge about their affairs.17
1James I. Packer, Merrill C. Tenney and William White, Jr., editors, Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1995.
2The Holy Bible, The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
3James I. Packer, Merrill C. Tenney and William White, Jr., editors, Nelson’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1995.
4Earl D. Radmacher, general editor; Ronald B. Allen, Old Testament editor, Nelson Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997.
5Thomas Nelson, Inc., King James Version Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1988 by Liberty University.
6W. A. Criswell, Believer’s Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed. , Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1991 by the Criswell Center for Biblical Studies.
7Thomas Nelson, Inc., King James Version Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1988 by Liberty University.
8W.A. Criswell, Believer’s Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed. , Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1991 by the Criswell Center for Biblical Studies.
9The Holy Bible, The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
10William Smith; revised and edited by F. N. and M. A. Peloubet, Smith’s Bible Dictionary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997.
11William Smith; revised and edited by F. N. and M. A. Peloubet, Smith’s Bible Dictionary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997.
12W.A. Criswell, Believer’s Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed. , Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1991 by the Criswell Center for Biblical Studies.
13Thomas Nelson, Inc., King James Version Study Bible [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ©1988 by Liberty University.
14Josephus, Flavius, The Works of Josephus, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1997.
15The Holy Bible, The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
16Josephus, Flavius, The Works of Josephus, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1997.
17Josephus, Flavius, The Works of Josephus, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1997.