'Silver Scrolls' Are Oldest OT Scripture, Archaeologist Says

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

[ET(end tyranny)]

Microcaligraphy has long been a distinct Jewish artform. In the Israel Museam in Jerusalem, there's a copy of the entire book of Exodus written on a single 8x11 piece of paper.

Fascinating! Do you think they will put 'YHWH' back into the bible, now?? ;)

Kosta50, thought you'd like this article.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Along the same lines...

An excellent book on the topic is "The New Testament Documents, Are They Reliable." ny F.F. Bruce.

Bruce was, arguably, the greatest evangelical Biblical scholar or the 20th century. Any higer-critic arguing with Professor Bruce quickly found himself way out of his depth.

The above mentioned book is a very brief but rock-soild argument for reliability of the NT.

It can even be found online: http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/ffbruce/ntdocrli/ntdocont.htm

[Fedora]

Thanks! I read one of his books on that a while ago but don't have my own copy and didn't know there was a text online--very handy! :)

[ChicagoHebrew]

What are you talking about? YHWH is in every Hebrew Bible I've ever seen.

[ET(end tyranny)]

Yes YHWH is in the Hebrew bible, but gets removed when translated. Usually. I did find an English online JPS-Divine Name Restored bible though. ;) That's what I meant, that maybe now they will return the Divine Name to English translations.

[AndrewC]

Ping of Truth!

Thanks for the ping.

I guess that rules out the theory that someone in the Babylonian exile is the sole writer of those words.

Destruction of the Temple -- The 9th of Av, 586 B.C.E.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the book recommendation and the link!!!

[kosta50]

I am surprised this has been kept "hush-hush" all this time -- since 1979!? Why? If true this would be a major archaeological find -- something that would turn everything upside down, proof positive that the Bible wasn't written, as some imply, after the Babylonian captivity. Yet no one talks about this. Strange.

The fact that the lettering is '7th century' (BC) style (known from what?) is good, but what is lacking is any mention of carbon dating. Why is there no carbon dating?

When the Catholic church tried to convince the world that the so called Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus, carbon-dating showed it was a medieval hoax.

Again, this is not just an occasional object of interest but a major, major find and carbon-dating would put all doubt to rest.

[Ancesthntr]

The fact that the lettering is '7th century' (BC) style (known from what?) is good, but what is lacking is any mention of carbon dating. Why is there no carbon dating?

I'm no scientist, let alone one expert in the area of carbon dating, but it seems to me that carbon dating is restricted to that which had some carbon in it to begin with. In other words, now dead tissue of formerly living things - organic matter. The Shroud of Turin is made of a material that was from a living thing, so it is able to be carbon dated. Not so with something made from silver, which is inorganic.

[kosta50]

Seems reasonable. I was referring to some kind of timed decay that could be established but maybe that is not possible. Nevertheless, the magnitude of this discovery historically and otherwise is disproportionate to its publicity. Why? Is it because the very people who discovered it are not absolutely sure?

[TigersEye]

ping

[syriacus]

I was reading some web-based articles on Ketef Hinnom today. I knew that, if I did a google search, I would find some enterprising Freeper had posted an article on this important, yet undervalued, discovery.

Thanks for posting this!! Bookmarked.

[nightdriver]

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

Someone had pretty sharp eyesight.

I have a complete bible (all 66 books!) on a film the size of a playing card. You have to have at least a 100-power microscope to read it!

[SunkenCiv]

[mel]

Thanks

[PetroniusMaximus]

"Thanks"

You're quite welcome! That sure was a blast from the past.

[SJackson]

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Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking the keyword or topic Israel.

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[johniegrad]

The history of the writings and their dating is obviously important but not as important as the writings themselves: The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.

Amen. And God bless you all during the Easter season and the Passover. It is us against them.

[mvpel]

It'll be interesting to compare the lettering of this scroll to a modern-day Torah scroll. The Muslims claim that the Torah has been corrupted over the years, while the Koran is impeccably accurate.