ISRAELI RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY BIBLICAL KINGDOM OF EDOM

jpost.com ^ | September 19, 2019 | AARON REICH

[ransomnote]

he biblical kingdom of Edom has always been a significant puzzle for biblical archaeology. Although evidence is supplied in the Bible, the archaeological record has always had trouble interpreting the text, which said that it existed as a kingdom long before the kings of Israel.

But research has uncovered the untold story of a thriving and wealthy society in the Arava Desert – in parts of Israel and Jordan – that existed during the 12th-11th centuries BCE.

 

Collecting slag and charcoal samples from “Slaves’ Hill”, Timna Valley, Israel. The fine layers of technological waste – well-dated by radiocarbon – provide a detailed record of technological change in biblical Edom (Credit: E. Ben-Yosef and the Central Timna Valley Project)

“Using technological evolution as a proxy for social processes, we were able to identify and characterize the emergence of the biblical kingdom of Edom,” explained Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Ezra Ben-Yosef, who led the study with Prof. Tom Levy of the University of California, San Diego. “Our results prove it happened earlier than previously thought and in accordance with the biblical description.”

According to the study, which was published on Wednesday on the site of the scientific journal PLOS ONE, the kingdom’s wealth appears to have been built on a “hi-tech network” of copper, the most valuable resource in the region at the time. Copper was used in ancient times to craft weapons and tools, and the production process for copper is incredibly complex.

“Copper smelting was essentially the hi-tech of ancient times,” Ben-Yosef told The Jerusalem Post.

Using a methodology called the punctuated equilibrium model, the research team analyzed findings from ancient copper mines in Jordan and Israel to create a timeline of the evolution of copper production from 1300-800 BCE. The investigation found a significant decrease of copper in the slag – the waste of copper extraction by smelting – at the Arava site, implying that the process became more efficient and streamlined.

Researchers say the more efficient process was a result of the military invasion of Pharaoh Shoshenq I of Egypt (the biblical “Shishak”), who sacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. Rather than result in destruction in the region, the researchers argue that it instead sparked a “technological leap” in copper production and trade.

“We demonstrated a sudden standardization of the slag in the second half of the 10th century BCE, from the Faynan sites in Jordan to the Timna sites in Israel, an extensive area of some 2,000 sq.km., which occurred just as the Egyptians entered the region,” Ben-Yosef said. “The efficiency of the copper industry in the region was increasing. The Edomites developed precise working protocols that allowed them to produce a very large amount of copper with minimum energy.”

However, as Egypt was a weaker power at this time, it is unlikely that it had control over the copper trade, allowing it to remain a local enterprise. Ben-Yosef explained that Egypt was primarily an importer of goods at the time, so it had an interest in streamlining efficiency in the region.
MORE AT LINK-Includes photos

[Hostage]

I saw that years ago and it’s a good comeback but it’s not an honest comeback.

I am old school when it comes to science. Politicization of science is a no-no in my world and in my experience.

The standards for science are very high, very tough. If we let the slightest erosion of scientific integrity get a foot hold, we lose out ability to focus on the practical and the beneficial and instead are steered by political winds.

We become Lysenko.

Can’t give an inch, else the agenda takes a mile.

[marron]

BC = before Christ

BCE = before Christian era

Not a problem. :)

[Robert DeLong]

At least that Stinking Bishop cheese hasn’t been around for awhile.

[marron]

Oh, I just saw your post...

Obviously, I agree.

[LeoTDB69]

“I cheddar to think how many cheese jokes are going to emerge.”

IDK but this could be added to the ping list for Gods, Glyphs and “Muensters”

[DannyTN]

This thread could turn into a real muenster.

[SunkenCiv]

Steeenkeeeng Bishop? We don't neeed no Steeenkeeeng Steeenkeeeng Bishop!

BTW, I just loooooove Fontinella. It's not a popular smellin' cheese, but cheese really is supposed to go in the mouth, not the nostrils. It tastes great, and the strength of the flavor/aroma means the pleasure doesn't fade for a long time.

[SunkenCiv]

I'm getting tired and I've always been a little lazy, so...

Monty Python- Cheese Shop

[Robert DeLong]

AS bad as limburger cheese? Feta good though huh, I’ll have to try it, perhaps. 8>)

[TXnMA]

Thank you, ransomnote!!

And a GGG Ping to SunkenCiv...

TXnMA
  

[Lurking Libertarian]

BCE is an attempt to remove Christ from the date differentiator. It’s a red flag you are probably dealing with leftists.

BCE and CE were originated by British Jews in the 19th century, so that they could use the same dates as everyone else without acknowledging something they didn't believe in. It's often (as in the case of this article) a "red flag" that you are dealing witha Jew.

[Verginius Rufus]

Our current system of counting from the supposed year of the birth of Christ was invented about A.D. 500 and did not become common until quite a bit later.

Edom was later called Idumaea. Herod the Great and his family were Idumaeans.

[bitt]

p

[Candor7]

Edom was not related to Sodom.

Edomy is not Sodomy.

Apparently, if you dig into it, you have to have your copper ready to commit edomy.

[skepsel]

Would that make it a copper clapper caper?

[Bob Ireland]

***The Sequence of Dynasties | Immanuel Velikovsky***

It is good to see Velikovsky still cited today; I have most of his works and have read them, but decades ago. More recently I have seen much criticism of his historical chronologies but no 'proof' that he is amiss.

I remember the days of the first manned moon shots; Velikovsky cautioned NASA to note the position of recovered rock samples so that scientists could determine the magnetic poles of the moon. NASA just laughed about amateurs getting involved in space science; the moon was 4 billion years old and had not had any tectonic activity for countless ages.

When NASA brought the rock samples back to Earth they discovered that they had magnetic properties. . . . Eventually they brought Velikovsky in to NASA for a lecture - but I doubt they paid much attention to him :^/

[Candor7]

Would that make it a copper clapper caper?>>

Yes!

But who has a copper clapper these days?

I suspect that instead of a copper clapper caper, the edomy would simply result in Copper Sulphate Clappers!That’s almost as bad as a pillar of NaCl ( Sodium Chloride!).

They had it tough back in the day.

[Bob Ireland]

It is hard for me to believe that Solomon's wealth - from King Solomon's Mines - was from copper mines. The Bible says gold. The Davidic Kingdom may have taken control of Edom's ancient copper mines but they were apparently operated with slave labor deep underground. I am not sure Israel would support such.

[SunkenCiv]

Obviously there was slavery in the ancient world, including the Kdm of Israel. Gold is and was an extravagance that is and was a consequence of the acquisitioin of wealth. Silver was little thought of in Solomon's time (1 Kings 10:21).

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks, glad to hear it. It's too bad he didn't publish Ages in Chaos first (which in his words, took the lion's share of the toil), he might have not been just blown off. His reconstruction of ancient history has not only held up, it has been strengthened by new finds since his death almost 40 years ago. It's amusing and bemusing how the fringe authors (I'm acquainted with a bunch of 'em) often don't have any idea what they're talking about regarding what IV actually wrote, and in some cases, they don't have any idea what they themselves are writing about. :^)