Posted on 08/17/2021 7:44:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
My father gave me Werner Keller’s The Bible as History when I was a kid. I’ve been a sucker for Biblical histories since then. Keller’s been superseded, both by the deconstructionists who claim the Bible isn’t true and by modern archeology, which has added to and reinterpreted many archeological findings since Keller’s time. And last week, in Jerusalem, an archeologist discovered an earring that helps confirms one of the most pivotal stories in the Bible: The destruction of Solomon’s Temple and the Babylonian captivity.
The Bible describes how the Kingdom of Judah, under Jehoiakim, refused to pay tribute to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, Judah’s capital, ultimately destroying Solomon’s Temple – one of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history. Jews still mourn that destruction on Tish B’Av, which is one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.
Over the next twenty years or so, Babylonians depopulated most of Judah, bringing Jews to Babylon. All of this took place from around 605 B.C. to 580 B.C.
While the event was a tragedy, it also consolidated the identity of the Jewish people. Historically, when a nation was defeated in war, with the survivors deported to the victor’s kingdom, that nation vanished from history. That didn’t happen with the Jews. Because their God wasn’t tied to graven images and temples, He traveled with them and helped them maintain their distinct Jewish identity, right up until the Persian king, Cyrus, conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return home.
The Babylonian captivity gave us one beautiful psalm and one amazing story (a story I wish the Democrats would heed). Psalm 137 is lovely despite that gruesome last line:
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
BTTT
I like the Samson & Delilah part.
https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p2280_p_v10_aa.jpg
In archeology many things have to be inferred with the evidence found.
—
And inference is one of the major problems - it leads to consensus thinking, more grant money, and more major errors, until the whole thing begins to unravel from the weight of the errors, take Egyptology for one.
Twilight zone was my first thought. Great minds think alike.
Twilight Zone is a fine choice too.
Maybe someone will finally get a clue and realize that their so-called "Temple Mount" was really a Roman fortress and that Mount Zion is where the Temple really stood.
bump
Earring. Third sentence.
Or as my then 4 ye old son would yell when it came on the radio “oooh oooh, waydah wub. Waydah wub!!!!!”
From the article:
Dr. Lewis noted that in the field of archaeology, the Bible and science could coexist.
“The Bible is certainly one of our sources,” Dr. Lewis said. “You have to treat it respectfully. It represents something spiritual and was not written as a history book. It was written as a religious book but there is a historical base and root. But we cannot reject the Bible when studying archaeology. I would not rely on the Bible exclusively just like I would not rely on any other source exclusively. We need as many sources as possible and the Bible can be one of them.”
Intelligent common sense... He is a least honest enough to not try and claim this one find proves every word in the book as absolute fact. Which is the normal standard immediate “go to” with these finds.
There is an Israeli archaeologist who is absolutely sure that the first temple is under a city park downtown. But they refuse to let him look and try to prove it. It might destroy the official narrative and remove justification for the perpetual conflict.
You hit the nail on the head. That's EXACTLY why the ruling elite in Israel won't even consider the possibility of the Temple actually belonging somewhere else.
Even worse... They have created an eternal conflict against Islam for it. I can understand the hate for Islam, but Islam was not even a religion yet when it was destroyed. The action of the Babylonians has been twisted into blaming Islam for it. They could at least be honest about this historical fact. They have a dozen other legitimate real reasons to hate Islam.
The “perpetual conflict” is based on the existence of a Jewish state, not the location of the Temple.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
