DID GOD SMOKE WEED?
Was Hashish offered to God on the Holy Mountain?
Exodus 30:7 Aaron must burn the fragrant incense on the altar every morning…
C’mon somebody! Can I get an amen!
Forensics
Back in the 1960’s just 34 Miles south of Jerusalem, archeologists discovered the Judean fortress town of Tel Arad. At the centre of town is a temple and upon its altar they found a burnt residue that took forensic scientists decades to identify. Turns out It was a mix of Frankincense and some form of Cannabis.
This unholy possibility has delighted atheists, stoners and stoned atheists for years but is it, the smoking Ganja the they’ve longed for?
Phonetics
Now this is not the first time we’ve heard this trippy theory. Back to the 1960’s again…Polish anthropologist Sula Benet postulated that cannabis was mentioned several times in the Bible and was used as an ingredient in incense and the anointing oil!
Benet pointed to the prolific use of hemp throughout the Near East and some thought-provoking phonetic similarities with an unknown mystery plant mentioned in the Good Book.
In the Bible books of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Song of Solomon & Exodus we have the word qeneh (pronounced kanah) which was translated in the Septuagint* as Sweet Cane. Most subsequent bible translations either kept the term “sweet cane” or jumped to the conclusion it was the plant known as Sweet Calamus but those bible translators were just guessing! No one knew exactly what qeneh was.
However we do know that qeneh was fragrant, because it’s a prime ingredient in the anointing oil and the incense. A variation of the word qeneh is used in Ex 30:23, it’s the word qeneh bosem. Professor Benet claimed qeneh bosem sounds like cannabis, and then pointed out the similar sounding words from the surrounding areas.
In Arabic qannabi is Cannabis Sativa
In Assyrian qunnabu is Hashish
In Persian kenab is hemp
In Sanskrit Sana (cana) is hemp
In Greek Kannabis is hemp
&
In Hebrew qeneh bosem is…
no one knows what plant this is.
But we do know it’s literal translation;
qeneh is reed.
bosem is aromatic.
So qeneh bosem is, aromatic reed, but was it Morrocan Madness? Are the phonetics enough to link, qeneh bosem to Cannabis?
Say it 3 times fast:
qeneh bosem
Cannabis
qeneh bosem
Cannabis
qeneh bosem
Cannabis.
Hmmmm maybe?…maybe not!
Alternatives?
Are there any possible alternatives to cannabis? Yes, there’s several plants growing in the Middle East which could alternatively be the biblical Sweet Cane they are;
Sweet Calamus
Ginger Grass
Lemon Grass
Sugar Cane
Royle
Spikenard
Hemp (non psychoactive)
Sweet Flag**
I personally lean towards Sweet Flag.
Conclusions:
Now, what about the stash of hash found on the altar in Tel Arad? Well, If you know your Bible you’ll know that building a Temple anywhere but The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, was a big no no! Such a sin would get you stoned…and not in a good way. So these guys were already way off track when they built a temple in Judea, who knows what else they were getting wrong? Just because the wannabes in Judea threw some Kif into the mix, doesn’t mean the OG’s in Jerusalem did!
So…Did God smoke weed?
How would you score the likelihood of this being true? Why don’t I go first?
Cannabis resin found on the altar after 2500 years:
8/10
qeneh bosem sounds like Cannabis
7/10
There’s at least eight other plants Sweet Cane could be, the chances it’s cannabis sativa are:
1.25/10
The likelihood the guys in Tel Arad got it right:
3/10
So, Did God smoke weed?
I give this a possibility score of;
19.25 out of 40.
How about you?
Let me know in the comments below.
I love yous all!
Lorko
If you liked Cannibis story you might like my story about Jacob going Benny Trippin:
https://medium.com/@alexlorkin/did-jacob-go-benny-trippin-5aa5231232ab
Notes
*Greek translation of the Old Testament written around about 300 BC.
** Sweet Flag is also known as Sweet Rush, it’s psychoactive, with a mild high comparable to Coca leaf, it’s banned from human consumption in the USA due to its alleged toxicity.
