Were kings actually slaves? Circumstantial etymological evidence from the Bible.

[Solvedit]

First of all, how do you make a foreign word into a loan word?  You tack on the ending used by the language accepting the word.  For example, if you were the first Spanish speaker to learn about the internet, you might call it the "internet-o."  

Now then, suppose a person was captured into slavery and his captors realized he understood they were making errors in how they run things.  Or perhaps they purchased a child with a known intelligent pedigree.  

Suppose they wanted his help.  However, they couldn't simply give the reins of power to some captured stranger.  

So they realized if they got to know him disgustingly well, then they would realize if his directives were meant to help or hurt.  

But how do they ensure his cooperation?  They give him a choice.  "There's a car in the field, now, in a column of flame.  There are two doors to choose, but only one bears your name."  He could be sacrificed to their gods, or he could step into the role of king.  

Suppose he wisely chose to become king.  He might have chosen "don't be an offering" for his motto.  Or....











"Nebūk atnašas." (š=sh)

The Assyrians might have said "this sounds foreign to our ears.  Can we make it Nebuk adnezzar?"  It might have become a family name long before Nebuchadnezzar II became famous in Hebrew scripture.   The supposed Akkadian etymology "Nabu, watch over my heir" may be a supposition.  Nabu means prophet or authorized person, not necessarily a god, angel, or guardian. 

Babylon had the cult of Ishtar, which sounds like "ištarti" or "to pronounce."  It is possible they used Proto-Indo-European speaking slaves to teach their people standardized speech.  Another name for Ishtar was Astarte.

[UltraBudgie]

With power, ever thus.

[Moon68]

Astartes you say?






What heresy is this?

[MalevolentTwitch]

Quoting Monster Magnet lyrics AND a 40K reference in the same thread? Clearly I have come to the right place.

[Moon68]

Quoting Monster Magnet lyrics AND a 40K reference in the same thread? Clearly I have come to the right place.

We are nothing if not accommodating.

[ReturnofBroccoli]

The internet in Spanish is internet 

[ntech]

Well, if demons can possess people why not angels or God even?  Christianity does have that rushing of air of the Holy Spirit.   Could see it/he/them hanging around and striking up a dialog with their chosen one.  Sending them visions.  Etc and so forth.

[Solvedit]

Well, if demons can possess people why not angels or God even?  Christianity does have that rushing of air of the Holy Spirit.   Could see it/he/them hanging around and striking up a dialog with their chosen one.  Sending them visions.  Etc and so forth.

Ancients may have created a cult around venerating a supposed god Astarte but the actual transmission of verbal skills could have been done by people who had been enslaved and may have been called priests or priestesses of Ishtar/Astarte.  Would you want to be a god?  What do people do with gods?  Ask them for things. 

If you became omnipotent (or if people thought you were omnipotent) and simply used it to get your lawn mowed and fancy food delivered every day, your memory would not linger on through millenia.  

The only point of it all is that proto-Indo-European (also called proto-Indo-Aryan) speech may have been widespread enough that a few words linger on which modern speakers of Lithuanian can understand.  The ancient ancestors of Lithuanians may not have changed what they had to learn of proto-Indo-Aryan very much, even though they are a Corded Ware rather than an Aryan people, or the Aryans may have adopted the ancient Lithuanian ancestors' language?  

It is definitely true that most languages of Europe (except Basque, Finnish, and Welsh) and some of West Asia are descended from proto-Indo-European speech.  Lithuania probably did not spread their own language themselves because their DNA is not found in conquering amounts thoughout the area in which proto-Indo-Aryan is spoken, and as mentioned, they are a Corded Ware people, not Aryans.  

The Aryans are not called that by archaeologists because their language is spoken by many non-Aryans.  They are called the Yamnya or Yamnaya.  For an interesting watch on how they spread so far, consider viewing PBS Nova "The First Horse Warriors" and fast forward to 36 minutes and 12 seconds. 

NOVA First Horse Warriors Season 46 Episode 9

There is also an interesting article on the various migrations which formed Europe in the August 2019 National Geographic.

[Solvedit]

Quoting Monster Magnet lyrics AND a 40K reference in the same thread? Clearly I have come to the right place.

IMHO the ancient world was probably pretty gangsta.  It would explain a lot in the Old and New Testaments.

Evidence the Gospel message may not be so Marxist

[Solvedit]

The notion that kings could have been slaves or used slaves throws new light on the events in the Book of Ezra.  

God was said to have given the Israelites land in Canaan in the Book of Genesis.  Perhaps when Moses recorded the events, which had been passed down orally for many generations, it was no longer clear what was done by God and what was done by a king who was thought to be divine. and whose edicts were simply regarded as being from God.  

Can it be that back in Genesis times, some nearby kingdom wanted a nation of Nobel laureates to live, work, and defend themselves, and thus not grow spoiled or sullen as slaves who had to be motivated by avoiding punishment or by giving luxury?  Perhaps the plan was to obtain a few of them for the royal Persian court every now and then.  Can it be a king who was thought to be divine gave them the land?  

Back to the Book of Ezra.  Can it be Nebuchadnezzar wanted to seize this nation of potential slaves for his own use, then they got freed, perhaps by the nation that had created their people?  Can it be Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes wanted to go back to the way it was before Nebuchadnezzar, where the Jews' morals were preserved by having to work and fight for a living, but the kings of Persia would occasionally try to obtain a few helpers from them?  The Book of Nehemiah clearly states the Jews were always buying their people back from foreign captivity. 

As an aside, can it be the actual God would have helped them a bit more had they not been so complicit at the time?  Or perhaps treated their conquered peoples with a bit more dignity?  Although, most of the conquered peoples were probably just as willing to do it to them. 

Perhaps the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis is an allegory for the slaves having become too wise and learning to manipulate, sabotage, and extract concessions from their captors with forbidden knowledge?