'Silver Scrolls' Are Oldest OT Scripture, Archaeologist Says

BP News ^ | 2-27-2004 | Gary D Myers

[blam]

Ping.

[Slings and Arrows]

Ping!

[bondserv]

Ping of Truth!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[bondserv]

Thanks for the ping!

More fuel for the discussion, eh?

[Millie]

Very interesting.

[xzins]

ping to article

[Alamo-Girl]

Indeed. It will help put to rest considerable doubt over the true antiquity of the faith.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[unspun]

You mean this "YHWH" tradition wasn't just drafted up by a sect of nostalgic Hebrews under the rule of Nebudchadnezzar and onwards?

Huh.   ;-`

[Fitzcarraldo]

“I can at least say that these verses existed in the 7th century ... the time of the prophet Jeremiah and the time of King Josiah,” Barkay said.

Read about King Josiah in 2 Kings 22-23.

King Josiah presided over a major religious revival, and when they went to clean up the Temple, Hilkiah, the high priest, "found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord", which had apparently been gathering dust during the reign of the preceeding evil backslidden Judean kings.

I wonder if this scroll was copied from what Hilkiah found.

[bondserv]

You mean this "YHWH" tradition wasn't just drafted up by a sect of nostalgic Hebrews under the rule of Nebudchadnezzar and onwards?

Great point! The Great "I AM" has been around a while.

[curmudgeonII]

...the thin fragile silver of each scroll was etched with 19 lines of tiny, Hebrew script

How on earth were they able to put 19 lines of script on a piece of metal only slightly larger than two inches?

[mercy]

****Lectures like this are important because most of the articles about finds like those at Ketef Hinnom are published only in scholarly journals, Ortiz said.****

These snobs (those who posess the arifacts) do not want 'the rabble' aware of these things. Knowledge is solely for the elete. Next thing you know Holy Scripture itself will be broadly disseminated in the vernacular (God Forbid) to the common man.

[Redmen4ever]

How did they put 19 lines of scripture on a 2 inch piece of metal?

Maybe they had nanotechnology back then.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***According to Barkay, the discovery of this early biblical inscription is an important part of the argument for an early dating of the Old Testament. He acknowledges that the find does not prove that the Pentateuch was written by the 7th century. However, it is strong evidence for that position. ***


This is big news, it undercuts one of the main tenants of liberal theological thinking. It would have been devastating news 90 or 100 years ago.

I imagine the liberals will just shrug it off with a, "well, it doesn't matter when it was written, what matters is what we read from it today."

[Dataman]

Indeed. It will help put to rest considerable doubt over the true antiquity of the faith.

FYI, 19th century German higher criticism has been dead and buried for quite a while. Orthodox Christianity has no problem with the "true antiquity" of the faith although liberal Christianity does and this discovery is not likely to change the liberal position any more than previous discoveries.

[Dataman]

I imagine the liberals will just shrug it off with a, "well, it doesn't matter when it was written, what matters is what we read from it today."

You have captured the essence of the liberal position. This kind of information is useful in removing honest objections but useless in convincing liberals.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply! I should have been more precise. My remark was with reference to secular doubts concerning the true antiquity of the Jewish faith.