Of Pharazon and Miriel

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Urwen

Why did Eru kill her but spare him? If anything, it should have been the other way around, even from Eru's perspective. In the Bible, the God rewarded the faithful and punished heretics. She is the faithful one; he is the heretic.

That's Melkorian thinking at work - the idea that living, even at the expense of righteousness and pleasure, was better than death.

Remember that death is the gift of Iluvatar to mortals. The Eldar and even the Valar were bound to the world, growing wearier with each passing age; only mortals could break free of it, returning to their Father. That freedom - after a lifetime of bondage to a world grown cold and harsh - was the greatest gift the One could give Tar-Miriel.

As for Pharazon, he got exactly what his kind had always wanted. For centuries they'd been preserving the bodies of their dead, keeping them at rest in elaborate tombs as if doing so could somehow maintain their life. Now Pharazon the Usurper is entombed alive, captured in the very moment that his victory turned to defeat and his glory to ash. If he's aware of his state - and I dearly hope he is - there could be no punishment more fitting.

hS