Posted on 01/10/2010 10:16:56 AM PST by NYer
Did the writing of the Bible begin as far back as the 10th century B.C.E., during the time of King David? That is four centuries earlier than Biblical scholars currently believe - but an inscription recently deciphered by a scholar at Haifa University indicates that for at least some books of the Bible, the answer may be yes.
The inscription, written in ink on clay, is the earliest yet found in Hebrew. It was discovered about 18 months ago in a dig at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Emek Ha'ela. While it was quickly dated, its language remained uncertain until Prof. Gershon Galil was able to demonstrate that it was an early form of Hebrew - containing roots commonly found in Hebrew, but which are very rare in other Semitic languages.
The content, Galil said, "which relates to slaves, widows and orphans," is typical of the Biblical text, but reflects ideas virtually unheard of in the surrounding cultures.
Galil said this discovery disproves the current theory, which holds that the Bible could not have been written before the 6th century B.C.E., because Hebrew writing did not exist until then.
Moreover, he added, the inscription was found in what was then a minor, outlying community - so if scribes existed even there, Hebrew writing was probably sufficiently well developed to handle a complex text like the Bible.
(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...
I don’t know what your argument, or issue is; with my post or with something else.
The fact that the oral telling of the biblical stories, was from time to time, and increasingly as time went on, committed to writing, and that in Abraham’s time any written form of it may not have been in the “Hebrew” script of the 6th century BC/BCE is NOT in contradiction of anything either you or I said.
The fact that a “Hebrew” script is not found in Mesopotamia in the area where Abraham was said to be born, is not evidence that there was no such religious tradition with Abraham, there, in the land of his birth, as the bible says.
It’s like looking for an “English” script in the ancient world that proves the philosophical continuum from which Thomas Jeffeson derived “all men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights”. But, we know such an “English” artifact is not needed because we know Jefferson’s philosophical ancestors for those words runs from the Hebrew and Christian religious experience as well as Greek, Roman and European philosophical and political experience, with trails of the precedents for his words in all their languages and scripts - but, not in an ancient “English” script.
The fact that a “Hebrew” script is not known to have existed before a certain time, is not evidence that proves a lack of the links to the biblical ancestors of the Hebrews, from Abraham or earlier. It proves only when they, “the Hebrews” developed a certain written form of language; not when they started thinking a certain way, about God.
I can see I'm out of my league in this discussion.
Sometimes I butt in too early with too little knowledge.
It’s only done because most people utilize the pagan Gregoian calendar.
You all are wrong, wrong, wrong!
It stands for Before Clinton Era.
Prior to the Blue Dress of Sainted Memory.
Also prior to the descent of the WON. MHBP!
English translation of the deciphered text:
1’ you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2’ Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3’ [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4’ the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5’ Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
What I find most striking is how much the substance of the text exactly mirrors the criteria Jesus Christ set for the final judgment of the nations:
Matthew chapter 25
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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.