Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Seventy metal books found..

Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Seventy metal books found in cave in Jordan could change our view of Biblical history

For scholars of faith and history, it is a treasure trove too precious for price. This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity. Academics are divided as to their authenticity but say that if verified, they could prove as pivotal as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.

On pages not much bigger than a credit card, are images, symbols and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly even, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Adding to the intrigue, many of the books are sealed, prompting academics to speculate they are actually the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation.

The tribes of Benjamin and Judah made up the kingdom of Judah, from which came the New Testament Jews.

The nation ruled by David and Solomon, known as “Israel” divided after the death of Solomon and the ascension of his weak son Rehoboam to the throne.

At that time (ca. 933 B.C.), 10 tribes followed Jereboam and established the northern kingdom, known as “Israel.” The southern kingdom, which included the territories of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, retained Jerusalem as its capital and became known as “Judah.”

Because of continued idolatry, the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria ca. 720 B.C., and the inhabitants were scattered throughout the Assyrian empire, never to return as a society.

The southern kingdom of Judah, ruled by descendants of David, survived for another century or so before also being taken into captivity (by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) as a result of idolatry. They, however, were allowed to return to their homeland after 70 years, roughly 500 years before the birth of Christ.

The descendants of the captives who returned from Babylon are the “Jews” who we read about in the New Testament and to whom we refer today. They are descendants of Judah and Benjamin, which made up the kingdom of Judah from which the term “Jew” derives.

Technically, all descendants of Jacob, whom Yahweh re-named “Israel,” are Israelites. But the descendants of 10 of Jacob’s 12 sons (the 10 “lost tribes of Israel”) lost their identity when the northern kingdom was disbanded by Assyria.

In other words, all Jews are Israelites, but only some of the original Israelites became Jews.

You refer to New Testament passages. By that time, anyone of Israelite heritage was considered a “Jew.”

(Except, of course, the Samaritans, who were a mongrel race with some Israelite blood, but that’s another story.)

Didn’t mean to write an opus. Old Testament history is fascinating. The story of Abraham’s descendants and their flaws holds so many lessons for us today. Not to mention that they’re still dominating world events.)

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