Scholarly world abuzz over Jewish scrolls find [ Afghanistan ]

Jerusalem Post ^ | Saturday, December 31, 2011 | Gil Shefler

[jjotto]

The Ark was known to have been in the First Temple hundreds of years after it was supposed to have been brought to Ethiopia. Ethiopians claim that the one in the Temple was a fake! Does that seem plausible? Or is it more likely that ancient Ethiopians may have had a copy?

An ancient copy would be almost as cool, but no one has produced one of those either.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

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The Taliban suggests burning them.

[Sawdring]

Most likely it rests somewhere in Warehouse 13.

[Bellflower]

Thanks, links to one of my favorite topics, the lost 10 tribes of Israel. Will have to take time and check them all out.

[SunkenCiv]

My pleasure, I hope you enjoy 'em.

Quest For The Lost Tribes Simcha Jacobovici, director VHS

[SunkenCiv]

also may be worth checking out.

http://www.amazon.com/Across-Sabbath-River-Search-Israel/dp/0618029982

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks agrace, and Happy New Year.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks jjotto for the interesting stuff about the Ark of the Covenant. My wild guess is (and has been) that the item in the Ethiopian shrine is just a pharaonic-era coffin from Egypt that had been set up as a tourist attraction at Elephantine.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2816298/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/arkofthecovenant/index

[rmlew]

More likely Radhanites.

[george76]

The expert in ancient Persian languages said the scrolls included an ancient copy of the book of Jeremiah; hitherto unknown scholarly works by the medieval sage Rabbi Sa’adia Gaon; personal poems of loss and mourning and even bookkeeping records that could teach us about everyday life in the community.

“The person who wrote it, a Jewish merchant, keeps track of who owed him how much,” said Shaked.

He added that the texts show the community may have been Karaite, a sect of Judaism which strictly adheres to the bible rather than the Talmud and other later Jewish texts, and name several early Karaite leaders.

In Afghanistan and northern Pakistan they all say they are the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel and I never knew what they were talking about,” said Eisenman, who visited the country in the ’60s. “If this was part of a Jewish permanent settlement then to my mind it reinforces the mythology that the 10 Lost Tribes were in that part of the world.”

http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=251913&R=R5

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

• The Edicts of King Ashoka

  The language used in the edicts found in the western part of India is closer to Sanskrit although one bilingual edict in Afghanistan is written in Aramaic and Greek.

  [At least two of the surviving inscriptions are in Aramaic, apparently there's also a third one in Aramaic that is now buried and unavailable for casual inspection]

[SunkenCiv]

(file from David Derrick files)