29:30 – The love story of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba is memorialized not only in the movies and the Kebra Nagast, but in the book of the Bible variously known as the Song of Solomon, the Song of Songs, or the Canticle of Canticles. It resulted in a male love child being born during Queen Makeda’s return journey to Sheba (Ethiopia). When this man-child attained his majority, he resolved to make his own pilgrimage to Jerusalem to visit his father, a trip that culminated in a plot to steal the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple of Solomon.
Show art: Movie poster from the silent version of The Queen of Sheba (1921) with Fritz Leiber as King Solomon and Betty Blythe as the titular queen, Public Domain.
Theme music: “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from Act III of Solomon (1748) by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Public Domain, performed by the Accordion Ensemble ARTE in 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
30:14 – The Ethiopian sacred text known as the Kebra Nagast tells the full story of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon, including what happened to the Ark of the Covenant. It is a decidedly non-canonical and somewhat steamy story, and the action will get even hotter in the next episode when we investigate the Song of Solomon, also known as the Song of Songs, arguably the sexiest book of the Bible. Dav(e) in Kentucky conducts the proceedings, but not the accordions.
Show art: The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon (1890) by Sir Edward John Poynter (1836-1919), Public Domain.
Theme music: “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from Act III of Solomon (1748) by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Public Domain, performed by the Accordion Ensemble ARTE in 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
30:36 – The Promised Land is still a ways off when Moses types “30” or “THE END” at the bottom of last page of the Book of Exodus. Who knew?? No doubt a sequel is in the works. Why was there was so much repetition in the early books of the Bible? What language were the stone tablets written in? Were there 603,550 adult male Israelites or were there six hundred squad leaders commanding 3,550 fighting men? What do Ray Bradbury, Devo and Weird Al Yankovic have to do with anything we’re talking about? Tune in and Dave in Kentucky will tell you, or at least tell you what he thinks about it. Also: a preview of what comes next in the series (hint: it ain’t Leviticus) including some tasty classical accordion music. (Baroque, actually.)
Show art: The Erection of the Tabernacle and the Sacred Vessels by the illustrators of Figures de la Bible (1728) by Gerard Hoet (1648-1733), Public Domain.
Closing theme: Part of “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from Act III of Solomon (1748) by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Public Domain, performed by the Accordion Ensemble ARTE in 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
30:24 – Since Moses broke the original tables of testimony in a fit of rage, Lord Yahweh teaches him a lesson by forcing him to hew new ones and do part of the engraving himself, instead of having them pre-hewn and professionally engraved by skilled Yahwelian artisans. Dave in Kentucky explains how the lack of vowels in ancient Hebrew writing led to mistranslations, and why the distance to a star system is not the sole determining factor in the amount of time dilation that occurs during lightspeed travel to that system. Did Moses come out of his Yahwelian meetings with a bright, shiny face, or with hornlike implants in his forehead? Dave doesn’t know for sure, but he thinks he can explain either one. Maybe not the headlight beams, though.
Show art: Moses and the Messengers from Canaan (1621-1624) by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647), Public Domain.
30:11 – Yahweh recommends a contractor and a sub-contractor to build the tabernacle and its furniture, prescribes drastic punishment for anyone working on the Sabbath, and gives Moses two stone tables with something inscribed on them, though not necessarily the Ten Commandments. When Moses descends the mountain, he finds that leaving his brother Aaron in charge was a big mistake, so he turns big rocks into smaller rocks and proceeds to commit atrocities on a Biblical scale. What god did the golden calf represent, and why was dancing naked around it considered an appropriate form of worship? Dave in Kentucky thinks he has the answers.
Show art: The Israelites Dancing Around the Golden Calf (1899) by Henri-Paul Motte (1846-1922), Public Domain.
29:47 – More instructions for how Aaron and his sons are to conduct the high priest’s office, more specifications for furnishings for the tabernacle, and recipes for oils and perfumes that are so special they are considered intellectual property. While the original Creator Elohim were concerned with Big Ideas, the Yahweh Elohim tended to micro-manage everything, including the exact procedures for dispatching the countless animals who ended up on the Holy Barbecue Grill. What’s the difference between a “wave” offering and a “heave” offering? How much was the annual half-shekel tabernacle tax in today’s dollars? And if sacrificing a lamb twice a day was purely symbolic, how come bread and wine was served with it?
Show art: Illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop’s Treasures of the Bible (1894) showing the High Priest at the Altar of Incense, artist unknown, Public Domain.
30:54 – In addition to the Ark, the Holy Candelabra and the Holy Coffee Table, the Yahwelians order the construction of a curiously oversized barbecue grill, made to a godly scale yet tended at least part of the time by a priestly class headed up by Moses’ older brother Aaron, one of whose vestments is a twelve-gemstone breastplate of “Lights and Perfections” (Urim and Thummim) which in concert with the Ark of the Covenant provides a means of communication when the Yahwelians are not physically present in the Tabernacle. Dave in Kentucky speculates on the nature of the code they may have used.
Show art: Part of an illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible, artist unknown, Public Domain.
Doc Sleaze!! Dave in Kentucky!! Chad Bowers!! Frank Edward Nora!!! A splendid look at cool things to see, hosted by PQ Ribber!!
Next: You’re invited to participate in next week’s show, when the topic is a basic Holiday Related Thoughts theme!! Details at the end of this transmission!!
Attribution by PQ Ribber. Hosts appear courtesy themselves.
Released December 2022 on The Overnightscape Underground (onsug.com), an Internet talk radio channel based on a freeform monologue style, presenting diverse and fascinating hosts who craft thought-provoking, unique transmissions for now, and all future times!
29:46 – This episode presents Chapter One of the prequel to Raiders, with more chapters to follow as we progress through the Old Testament, and also deals with the design and construction of the Tabernacle, the Menorah and the Holy Coffee Table. Why was the Tabernacle just a big tent, and why did all its furniture pieces have rings and poles for carrying them? Did the Yahweh Elohim suffer from yeast intolerance resulting inungodly flatulence? Why do churches traditionally have such high ceilings? Why was the Ark even called an ark, since all that gold made it far too heavy to float? As always, Dave in Kentucky leads the speculative investigation into our distant past.
Show art: Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (1896-1902) by James Tissot (1836-1902), Public Domain.
30:00 – The Top One Hundred Commandment Countdown finally concludes, as Dave in Kentucky discusses the Golden Rule and Kant’s Categorical Imperative, the practice of usury, the origin of the Divine Right of Kings, the physical urges of the gods, the different types of justice, the basics of agricultural land management, the suppression of inconvenient history, the origin of the patriarchy and much more, including whether Moses went up in a cloud of smoke. Grab yourself a Manna Ready to Eat and get ready for some edification.
Show art: Moses on Mount Sinai (1895-1900) by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824-1904), Public Domain.
