Free Republic

A special lecture will be held at the Babylon Jewish Heritage Center this week that will reveal an archive of Iraqi Jews that was found by US Army soldiers in the basements of Saddam Hussein's intelligence building. The one who will tell about the findings is the one who was among the archivists, Dr. Harold Rudd, a consultant to the US Department of Defense who was sent together with the US task force to the basements that were hit by an American bomb. In an interview with Israel National News, Dr. Rudd talks about the rescue operation and the findings...

BET SHEMESH, ISRAEL—Investigators working with the Israel Antiquities Authority have claimed David used an illegal "ghost" sling in his famous battle with Goliath. Experts allege the ghost sling would have been untraceable, which would account for why Goliath was caught off guard so easily. "Goliath, a man who stood about 7'10" by modern reckoning, would not have been defeated so easily if David had a legal sling registered with the proper authorities," said Dr. Phil Gath, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "David probably used a 3D printer or something, maybe he just stole some leather and grabbed...

Babylon has seen it all. From its peak as the Neo-Babylonian capital under King Nebuchadnezzar through its heavy-handed 1987 reconstruction by Saddam Hussein to its post-invasion demise when American and Polish troops ran roughshod over its ruins and ISIS threatened its very existence, the ancient city has witnessed empires come and go. The 2500-acre site, 50 miles south of Baghdad, comprises both the ruins of the ancient city as well as surrounding villages and agricultural areas. Between 626 and 539 BCE, the city was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire and the largest metropolis in the world. It was here...

Kanye West premiered his opera production “Nebuchadnezzar” Sunday that is based on the biblical account of the Babylonian king in the book of Daniel which shows his transition from a wicked, self-declared ruler to a believer in God. “Nebuchadnezzar,” the opera, premiered Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The production was directed by Vanessa Beecroft and featured singer Peter Collins, and the group Infinity’s Song, as well as West’s popular gospel choir the Sunday Service collective, according to a press release.“West conceived of this opera as an expression of his commitment to both his faith and ever-expanding musical...

Kanye West tweeted a heavily marked-up bible verse on Sunday night, and fans could not help but notice he posted it right as Taylor Swift was winning the Artist of the Decade Award at the AMAs. The rapper has a complicated history with Swift and with award shows, but he is putting all of his focus and energy on his spirituality this days. Fans wondered what Sunday's selection was meant to say. West posted a picture of a bible page on Sunday night in the middle of the American Music Awards of 2019. The book was open to Daniel 3:27,...

On Sunday, Kanye West took to Twitter to announce an opera. It’s titled, “Nebuchadnezzar” and will be performed at the Hollywood Bowl on November 24th, at 4pm. The announcement notes, “Music with Sunday Service, Peter Collins & Infinities Song*” As of right now, we don’t know what this opera will entail. The most obvious question some may have, though, is: why Nebuchadnezzar? Overall, one macro takeaway from the story of Nebuchadnezzar is this: you may not think God had anything to do with your success until one day you realize God had everything to do with your success. After the...

In Jeremiah 15, God tells the prophet that “I will make [Jerusalem] an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.” Can you imagine God saying that He’s going to make you “an object of horror”? Well, as God does, He kept His word. The wealth of Jerusalem’s inhabitants was given as plunder to invaders, only after they were starved, put to the sword, or enslaved. Of course, passages like this one, in which God “speaks,” are rarely taken seriously, much less historically, in academic...

Researchers discovered what they believe is evidence of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem that is detailed in the Bible. Layers of ash, arrowheads, Iron Age potsherds, lamps, and jewelry from the period were uncovered on Mount Zion by a team led by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “For archaeologists, an ashen layer can mean a number of different things,” UNC Charlotte professor of history Shimon Gibson explained in a statement. “It could be ashy deposits removed from ovens; or it could be localized burning of garbage. However, in this case, the combination of an ashy layer full of...

..... “For archaeologists, an ashen layer can mean a number of different things,” said Shimon Gibson, a UNC Charlotte professor of history and co-director of the project. “It could be ashy deposits removed from ovens; or it could be localized burning of garbage. However, in this case, the combination of an ashy layer full of artifacts, mixed with arrowheads, and a very special ornament indicates some kind of devastation and destruction. Nobody abandons golden jewelry and nobody has arrowheads in their domestic refuse.” "The arrowheads are known as 'Scythian arrowheads' and have been found at other archaeological conflict sites from...

The Babylonian Gap Revisited Perhaps the greatest disaster to befall ancient Israel was the conquest, at the end of the sixth century B.C.E. and start of the fifth, by the Babylonian empire. The fall of Judah to this new regional superpower occurred in two stages: Major strongholds like the Philistine cities of Ashkelon and Ekron fell to the armies of Nebuchadrezzar (Biblical Nebuchadnezzar) in 604 B.C.E. Jerusalem was besieged in 597 B.C.E. and capitulated to the Babylonians. Under the leadership of the puppet king Zedekiah, the Judahite capital survived another decade. But when Nebuchadrezzar learned that Zedekiah had conspired with...

The structure in which shattered jugs were found during the summer 2017 Israel Antiquities Authority dig, attesting to the destruction. (Eliyahu Yanai, Courtesy of the City of David Archive) On the eve of the Hebrew commemoration of the destruction of the Temples, archaeologists discover remnants of a blaze indicating the city was grander than thought New finds in the City of David confirm the veracity of the biblical account of the Babylonian capture and conquest of First Temple period Jerusalem. The event is commemorated next Tuesday on the Hebrew date Tisha B’av (August 1) in a day of fasting and...

The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem A 2,600-year-old seal from the Kingdom of Judah bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was recently discovered in the City of David, according to an announcement Sunday. The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem. ADVERTISING Read More Related Articles Trump cuts foreign aid to three countries with strong relations with Israel One of France's most advanced warships...

A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself. But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David …" putting it out of reach of any would-be treasure seeker. King Solomon's Temple, also called the First Temple, was plundered and torched by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar...

If you ran the world, what is one thing you would decree/do/enact?

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.(Luke 21:24)According to Jesus and the Prophets which preceded Him, there would be a long period of time, in which the Jewish people would languish under Gentile domination, as a consequence of the repetitive sins of idolatry and God defection. From the time the pagan King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem in 600 BC, Jews have been ruled by Gentiles. Exactly as Joel had...

Human Remains in Ancient Jar a Mystery Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News Jan. 23, 2007 — For over 100 years, four blue-glazed jars bearing the nametag of Rameses II (1302-1213 B.C.) were believed to contain the Egyptian pharaoh's bodily organs. But analysis of organic residues scraped from the jars has determined one actually contained an aromatic salve, while a second jar held the organs of an entirely different person who lived around 760 years later. Now the question is, who was this individual? "We do believe that the unknown person was of importance for at least two reasons," said Jacques Connan,...

Based on a statistical analysis of the results, and taking into account the content of the texts that were chosen for the sample, the researchers concluded that at least six different hands had written the 18 missives at around the same time. Even soldiers in the lower ranks of the Judahite army, it appears, could read and write... The study was based on a trove of about 100 letters inscribed in ink on pieces of pottery, known as ostracons, that were unearthed near the Dead Sea in an excavation of the Arad fort decades ago and dated from about 600...

ERRIADH, TUNISIA // In 586BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar laid waste to Jerusalem, inadvertently sowing seeds for a Jewish haven across the sea that has outlived his realm by 25 centuries and counting. Legend tells that refugees fled to the Tunisian island of Djerba, carrying a block from the ruined Temple of Solomon. Today it lies beneath the El Ghriba synagogue, the cornerstone of a thriving Jewish community. And after decades of Jewish exodus from Arab countries, that community is growing. For western holidaymakers, Djerba is a strip of lavish resorts along a sandy Mediterranean coast. For Tunisians, it also...

JERUSALEM – Over 100 tablets that date back to the times of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule in Babylon, now modern-day Iraq, have been placed on display in Jerusalem as a further testament to the reliability of the Scriptures. The palm-sized tablets, which provide a glimpse into the lives of the Jews during the time they lived in exile in Babylon, had been discovered in Iraq and held by a UK-based Israeli collector. The artifacts contain writing in the ancient akkadian cuneiform script and detail transactions, trades and contracts between Jews in approximately 500 B.C. They also trace at least one Judean family...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A new exhibition of ancient clay tablets discovered in modern-day Iraq is shedding light for the first time on the daily life of Jews exiled to Babylon some 2,500 years ago. The exhibition is based on more than 100 cuneiform tablets, each no bigger than an adult's palm, that detail transactions and contracts between Judeans driven from, or convinced to move from, Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC.