After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. (1 Kings 12:28-30 NIV)
<idle musing>
Too far to go to Jerusalem—but not too far to Dan!?
</idle musing>
Idle musings by a once again bookseller, always bibliophile, current copyeditor and proofreader. Complete with ramblings about biblical studies, the ancient Near East, bicycling, gardening, or anything else I am reading (or experiencing). All more or less live from Red Wing, MN
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- jps
- Red Wing, Minnesota, United States
- I'm a freelance editor/proofreader in Red Wing, MN along the Mississippi River.
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2 comments:
Surely you realize, Jim, that the issue in going to Jerusalem here is not distance, but politics … and that there are indeed parts of the Iron Age kingdom of Israel that are closer to Dan than to Jerusalem. Imagine Mexican-Americans living in San Diego who want their own Spanish-speaking church there instead of having to go to Tijuana every Sunday.
Chris,
Of course! But, some who lived closer to Jerusalem still chose to go to Dan. That's the point the author was trying to make.
I don't think your comparison is accurate, though. They both spoke some form of Hebrew, just dialectically different.
James
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