Posted on 07/10/2007 5:48:08 PM PDT by blam
Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament
By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 10/07/2007
The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum's great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years.
But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry last Thursday. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact.
Searching for Babylonian financial accounts among the tablets, Prof Jursa suddenly came across a name he half remembered - Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, described there in a hand 2,500 years old, as "the chief eunuch" of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.
Prof Jursa, an Assyriologist, checked the Old Testament and there in chapter 39 of the Book of Jeremiah, he found, spelled differently, the same name - Nebo-Sarsekim.
Nebo-Sarsekim, according to Jeremiah, was Nebuchadnezzar II's "chief officer" and was with him at the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, when the Babylonians overran the city.
The small tablet, the size of "a packet of 10 cigarettes" according to Irving Finkel, a British Museum expert, is a bill of receipt acknowledging Nabu-sharrussu-ukin's payment of 0.75 kg of gold to a temple in Babylon.
The tablet is dated to the 10th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 595BC, 12 years before the siege of Jerusalem.
Evidence from non-Biblical sources of people named in the Bible is not unknown, but Nabu-sharrussu-ukin would have been a relatively insignificant figure.
"This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find," Dr Finkel said yesterday. "If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power."
Cuneiform is the oldest known form of writing and was commonly used in the Middle East between 3,200 BC and the second century AD. It was created by pressing a wedge-shaped instrument, usually a cut reed, into moist clay.
The full translation of the tablet reads: (Regarding) 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
The Bible relates that they were told not to look back, no matter what, and she did. That was her punishment. She’s been a salt lick ever since.
Oh, what YOU said! I’m telling mom....
He didn’t bed the daughters, THEY bed HIM when he was drunk with wine. He couldn’t tell who it was because he was soused.
Go to your room!
Mmmmm, wheaties!
Jeez, I best keep it zipped.
The revised story in Genesis puts all the blame on the girls. The hapless Lot is drunk (as usual).
We do not consider drunkeness to absolve one of guilt these days and, if we were to rewrite the story, would portray Lot as some sort of monster I am sure.
You do realize the original story has been revised to make the men guiltless and women the source of evil in the world.
Nabu-sharrussu-ukin is the spelling from 2500 years ago. Nebo-Sarsekim is probably the modern english "sounds like".
“You know you’re a language nerd when the most surprising thing to you in this thread is that Dravidian is agglutinative. I was also stunned that cuneiform came from an agglutinative language, so I poked around some.
I already knew that Jeremiah was reliable. :-)”
***
I recently read a book by the late Samuel Noah Kramer on the Sumerian culture. It was a fascinating culture. According to Kramer, the Sumerians prior to the Akkadian era referred to themselves as “the black heads”.
It is somewhat remarkable that the Bible, as far as names and places go, is one of the single most verified pieces of ancient literature that exist. Probably rivaled only by the Roman and Egyptian records.
Damn the Romans for burning Alexandria!!
As a lover of books to save and share the learning of humankind, I agree with your sentiment. What must have been lost from the species with that profane act!
It’s pretty naive to believe that no accidental or deliberate changes were ever made. Many of the copiers were no doubt carefully and accurately copying already-changed texts. Given the right political climate, failing to make a change or omission that was desired by those in power was also likely to lead to the swift demise of the copier. And then there’s the matter of translations between languages. Have a look through the Oxford Annotated Bible and read up on all the passages where ancient sources vary signficantly.
I suspect that an archive that includes much of what was there actually exists. An archive that might even exceed the 500,000 or so texts. But just as inaccessible as Alexandria for the average Joe.
The Vatican.
bump for later read
Don’t turn on the TV. This is punishment.
I do realize that the middle east mindset believes so, that’s why the women are covered from head to toe. Sigh.
It’s okay. Mom likes you better anyway. Sigh.
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