TAMMUZ ( Ezekiel 8:14 ) was a Babylonian god whose worship spread into PhÅ“nicia. The name appears to be Sumerian, Dumuzi, Tamuzu , and may mean ‘son of life.’ He was a form of the Sun-god and bridegroom of Ishtar. He was celebrated as a shepherd, cut off in early life or slain by the boar (winter). Ishtar descended to Hades to bring him back to life. He was mourned on the second of the month Tammuz (June). His Canaanite name Adonai gave rise to the Greek Adonis , and he was later identified with the Egyptian Osiris. In Amos 8:10 and Zechariah 12:10 the mourning for ‘the only son’ may be a reference to this annual mourning, and the words of the refrain, ‘Ah me, ah me l’ ( Jeremiah 22:18 ) may be recalled.
C. H. W. Johns.