Did the Reed Sea Crossing Really Happen?
- Thread starter Hizikyah
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
[h=1]Bible Artifacts Found Outside the Trench: The Dead Sea Scrolls Discovery[/h] [h=2]These oldest Biblical manuscripts are an example of Biblical artifacts found by archaeological looting[/h]Any discussion about archaeological looting and unprovenanced Biblical artifacts, which are Bible artifacts found outside of a professional excavation, must include the case of the most important Biblical artifacts found in the Middle East: the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery. Although the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) have banned the publication of articles and the presentation of papers about unprovenanced objects and Biblical artifacts in a recent attempt to curb archaeological looting and forgery of Bible artifacts found in Israel and Jordan, the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery shows that Biblical artifacts found without a stratified context are by no means worthless. Study of these oldest biblical manuscripts has contributed enormously to scholarship.
The Temple Scroll is one of the many hundreds of scrolls and scroll fragments that comprise the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery, the oldest Biblical manuscripts and best-known Biblical artifacts found in recent history.
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovery is so widely celebrated by the scholarly community and the scrolls have played such an important part in Biblical scholarship as the oldest biblical manuscripts that it is sometimes easy to forget that most of them are in fact Bible artifacts found during archaeological looting by Bedouin. Yet the provenance of these Biblical artifacts has been established with reasonable certainty, and their authenticity was never doubted.
In early 1947 (or late 1946) an Arab shepherd searching for a lost sheep threw a rock into a cave in the limestone cliffs on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Instead of a bleating sheep, he heard the sound of breaking pottery. When he investigated, he found seven nearly intact ancient documents that became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although seemingly innocent, this kind of nonscientific removal of Biblical artifacts is still considered archaeological looting.
[HR][/HR]
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
[HR][/HR]
Muhammad edh-Dhib, known as “the Wolf” , is credited with discovering the first Dead Sea Scrolls when he entered Cave 1 in search of a lost sheep. This resulted in some of the most famous Biblical artifacts found in the process of archaeological looting. Photo: John C. Trever
Three of the scrolls, including the Book of Isaiah, were acquired in Bethlehem by Eleazar L. Sukenik of The Hebrew University, who recognized the potential of these Bible artifacts found during the Bedouins’ archaeological looting to be the oldest biblical manuscripts in existence. The other four scrolls were acquired by the Metropolitan Samuel, the Jerusalem leader of a Syrian sect of Christians. When he was unable to sell them in Jerusalem, he took them to the United States, where they were displayed in the Library of Congress. Still unable to sell them, he placed a classified ad in The Wall Street Journal offering them for sale. Through fronts, thesewere purchased for Israel by war hero and archaeologist Yigael Yadin, Sukenik’s son.
Père Roland de Vaux of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, together with G. Lankester Harding, the British-appointed head of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, mounted an archaeological excavation early on at Khirbet Qumran, near the cave where the scrolls had been found. Since then, a debate has raged among scholars as to the relationship of the Qumran ruins to the scrolls. The majority of scholars believe Qumran was the monastery-like settlement of a Jewish sect known as Essenes, to whom the scrolls belonged. Other suggestions range from a caravanserai to a pottery factory.
Ultimately a total of 11 caves were found (mostly by the Bedouin) containing ancient manuscripts. Scholars date the scrolls between about 250 B.C. and about 68 A.D., when Roman legionaries overran the Judean Desert on their way to destroying Jerusalem and the Temple (which they did in 70 A.D.).
The most famous, or infamous, of the caves is Cave 4, found by the Bedouin practically under the noses of the archaeologists digging at the adjacent ruins. Cave 4 contained more than 500 different manuscripts, but all in tatters. About 80 percent of them had been looted by the Bedouin before the archaeologists discovered the cave.
Khalil Iskander Shahin (“Kando”) was a cobbler from Bethlehem with an antiquities shop in back. He frequently served as middleman between scholars and the Bedouin for the purchase of the scroll fragments found by archaeological looting instead of scientific excavation.
The publication of the Cave 4 fragments was assigned under Jordanian auspices to eight scholars. Over the years the publications of this team gradually dwindled to a trickle and finally disappeared. In the meantime, the unpublished texts were unavailable to the public or to other scholars.
In the late 1980s, BAR took up the call, publicly demanding the release of the scrolls so that all scholars could study them. The scrolls remained under the control of the small, non-Jewish, practically nonfunctioning scroll-publication team.
The first break in the release of the scrolls came when the Biblical Archaeology Society published some unpublished texts that had been reconstructed with the aid of a computer, based on a private concordance of the Cave 4 fragments.
Then the Biblical Archaeology Society published a two-volume work of photographs of the unpublished scrolls, obtained in a still-mysterious way by Professor Robert Eisenman of California State University.
Finally, director William Moffett of the Huntington Library in California decided to release images of the unpublished scrolls on a microfilm strip that had been deposited in the library as a security measure in case the originals were lost. Although Israel first considered suing the library (and the Biblical Archaeology Society), saner minds eventually prevailed, and the scrolls were declared open and available to all.
These thousands of fragments constitute almost 900 documents dating between the third century B.C. and the first century A.D. They contain the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible by nearly 1,000 years, and they continue to change our understanding of first-century Judaism, the origins of Christianity, the development of the Biblical canon and Hebrew textual traditions.
The Dead Sea Scrolls discovery is so widely celebrated by the scholarly community and the scrolls have played such an important part in Biblical scholarship as the oldest biblical manuscripts that it is sometimes easy to forget that most of them are in fact Bible artifacts found during archaeological looting by Bedouin. Yet the provenance of these Biblical artifacts has been established with reasonable certainty, and their authenticity was never doubted.
In early 1947 (or late 1946) an Arab shepherd searching for a lost sheep threw a rock into a cave in the limestone cliffs on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Instead of a bleating sheep, he heard the sound of breaking pottery. When he investigated, he found seven nearly intact ancient documents that became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although seemingly innocent, this kind of nonscientific removal of Biblical artifacts is still considered archaeological looting.
[HR][/HR]
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
[HR][/HR]
Three of the scrolls, including the Book of Isaiah, were acquired in Bethlehem by Eleazar L. Sukenik of The Hebrew University, who recognized the potential of these Bible artifacts found during the Bedouins’ archaeological looting to be the oldest biblical manuscripts in existence. The other four scrolls were acquired by the Metropolitan Samuel, the Jerusalem leader of a Syrian sect of Christians. When he was unable to sell them in Jerusalem, he took them to the United States, where they were displayed in the Library of Congress. Still unable to sell them, he placed a classified ad in The Wall Street Journal offering them for sale. Through fronts, thesewere purchased for Israel by war hero and archaeologist Yigael Yadin, Sukenik’s son.
Père Roland de Vaux of the École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, together with G. Lankester Harding, the British-appointed head of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, mounted an archaeological excavation early on at Khirbet Qumran, near the cave where the scrolls had been found. Since then, a debate has raged among scholars as to the relationship of the Qumran ruins to the scrolls. The majority of scholars believe Qumran was the monastery-like settlement of a Jewish sect known as Essenes, to whom the scrolls belonged. Other suggestions range from a caravanserai to a pottery factory.
Ultimately a total of 11 caves were found (mostly by the Bedouin) containing ancient manuscripts. Scholars date the scrolls between about 250 B.C. and about 68 A.D., when Roman legionaries overran the Judean Desert on their way to destroying Jerusalem and the Temple (which they did in 70 A.D.).
The most famous, or infamous, of the caves is Cave 4, found by the Bedouin practically under the noses of the archaeologists digging at the adjacent ruins. Cave 4 contained more than 500 different manuscripts, but all in tatters. About 80 percent of them had been looted by the Bedouin before the archaeologists discovered the cave.
The publication of the Cave 4 fragments was assigned under Jordanian auspices to eight scholars. Over the years the publications of this team gradually dwindled to a trickle and finally disappeared. In the meantime, the unpublished texts were unavailable to the public or to other scholars.
In the late 1980s, BAR took up the call, publicly demanding the release of the scrolls so that all scholars could study them. The scrolls remained under the control of the small, non-Jewish, practically nonfunctioning scroll-publication team.
The first break in the release of the scrolls came when the Biblical Archaeology Society published some unpublished texts that had been reconstructed with the aid of a computer, based on a private concordance of the Cave 4 fragments.
Then the Biblical Archaeology Society published a two-volume work of photographs of the unpublished scrolls, obtained in a still-mysterious way by Professor Robert Eisenman of California State University.
Finally, director William Moffett of the Huntington Library in California decided to release images of the unpublished scrolls on a microfilm strip that had been deposited in the library as a security measure in case the originals were lost. Although Israel first considered suing the library (and the Biblical Archaeology Society), saner minds eventually prevailed, and the scrolls were declared open and available to all.
These thousands of fragments constitute almost 900 documents dating between the third century B.C. and the first century A.D. They contain the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible by nearly 1,000 years, and they continue to change our understanding of first-century Judaism, the origins of Christianity, the development of the Biblical canon and Hebrew textual traditions.
This is a most excellent website for images, maps and info on the Red Sea crossing
Ark of the Covenant, Ron Wyatt
Good pictures on the wadi, the beach head, chariots and down the bottom is
mapping of the natural land bridge between Sinai and Arabia.
Enjoy
Ark of the Covenant, Ron Wyatt
Good pictures on the wadi, the beach head, chariots and down the bottom is
mapping of the natural land bridge between Sinai and Arabia.
Enjoy
[h=1]Did Archaeologists Really Discover a New Dead Sea Scroll Cave?[/h] [h=2]Dead Sea Scroll cave under the microscope[/h] Robert R. Cargill • 02/21/2017
Archaeologists excavating a cave west of the Dead Sea settlement of Qumran found this piece of parchment that had been rolled up in a jug. Could this and other evidence found inside the cave indicate that a new Dead Sea Scroll cave has been discovered? Photo: Casey L. Olson and Oren Gutfeld.
I read with eager anticipation the first news stories out of Israel that a new Dead Sea Scroll cave had been discovered west of Qumran. As one who wrote a dissertation on Qumran and who teaches a Dead Sea Scrolls course at the University of Iowa, I was keen to see how the new discovery would fit into our present knowledge of the scrolls. What was found that made it a “Dead Sea Scroll Cave”? Was it a new copy of a Biblical book? Was it a copy of a known pseudepigraphical work? Or, was it a new, previously unknown sectarian manuscript that sheds light on the late Second Temple Jewish world? As I read the Hebrew University of Jerusalem press release and various press reports, I quickly discovered the answer: none of the above. Let me explain:
Recently, a Hebrew University press release and multiple news reports announced a discovery made by archaeologists Dr. Oren Gutfeld, Teaching Fellow at the Hebrew University, and Dr. Randall Price, Founder and President of World of the Bible Ministries, Inc. and Distinguished Research Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Judaic Studies at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.[SUP]1[/SUP]
A Dead Sea Scroll fragment from Qumran Cave 4. Photo: Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.
Among the hundreds of caves explored near the Dead Sea settlement of Qumran, only eleven caves have ever produced scrolls or scroll fragments. Gutfeld and Price claim that the cave they excavated should be considered the 12th Dead Sea Scroll cave, despite the fact that Gutfeld confirms, “[A]t the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we ‘only’ found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing…” However, Gutfeld claims later in the press release, “[N]ow there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave.” Gutfeld makes this claim because of the discovery inside the cave of pickaxe heads that appear to have been made in the 1950s—which suggest that people had been inside the cave around that time. Gutfeld continues, “[T]he findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen. The findings include the jars in which the scrolls and their covering were hidden, a leather strap for binding the scroll, a cloth that wrapped the scrolls, tendons and pieces of skin connecting fragments, and more.”
But no Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, only a blank piece of parchment.
Thus, Gutfeld speculates that this must be the “12th Dead Sea Scroll Cave,” arguing that Dead Sea Scrolls must have been looted from the cave. Once again, Gutfeld speculates regarding these proposed looters: “I imagine they came into the tunnel. They found the scroll jars. They took the scrolls … They even opened the scrolls and left everything around, the textiles, the pottery” (italics mine).
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
I must, in all fairness, concede that Gutfeld’s speculation is entirely plausible. However, we must also acknowledge that it is still speculation—even if well-informed speculation on the part of Prof. Gutfeld—because no Dead Sea Scrolls were actually discovered in the cave! We could similarly speculate that scrolls were once present in several other caves excavated in the past, but that does not make them scroll caves. If there are no Dead Sea Scrolls in the cave, then it is not a scroll cave, even if we think there might have been in the past.
The caves of Qumran. Photo: “Caves@Dead Sea Scrolls (8246948498)” by Lux Moundi is licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0.
Let me also state that it is possible that Gutfeld’s team did find scrolls or scroll fragments in the cave, but are not announcing this discovery in an effort to keep looters from surreptitiously stealing any scrolls that still may be in the cave. Withholding public disclosure of a major find is not uncommon on digs in Israel, as is withholding the exact location of the cave. If Gutfeld has discovered actual scrolls in the cave that the team has simply not announced, then this should obviously be considered Cave 12. However, absent the disclosure of the discovery of actual scrolls, we must evaluate the claim of a new Dead Sea Scroll cave on the evidence that has been disclosed, and the disclosed evidence does not warrant a designation of a scroll-producing cave. Gutfeld’s team did not find a new Dead Sea Scroll cave. Allow me, however, to provide an alternative conclusion that better fits the evidence we have. It is possible to argue that the cave in question was part of a larger parchment production enterprise, and that the jars, leather, textiles and blank parchment discovered in the cave are simply the latest evidence that someone or some group near Qumran engaged in some form of scribal activity and had the means of producing its own parchment. Indeed, the discovery of a blank piece of parchment—placed there either to dry or for storage—fits with previously discovered pieces of archaeological evidence that have been piling up for years, all of which support the theory that scrolls were produced at Qumran.
[HR][/HR]
Visit the Dead Sea Scrolls study page in Bible History Daily for more on this priceless collection of ancient manuscripts.
[HR][/HR]
One of the inkwells discovered at Qumran.
In the excavations of the Qumran ruins in the 1950s, a stylus and multiple inkwells were discovered, suggesting that some sort of writing was taking place at Qumran. In addition, stables and the bony remains of numerous animals buried inside jars were also excavated within the ruins of Qumran. The presence of animals means that Qumran was capable of producing the animal skins needed to manufacture parchment. Large, shallow pools were also uncovered in the western building at Qumran that may have been used to soak the parchment. Lime, which is used in curing parchment, was also found in large quantities at Qumran.[SUP]2[/SUP] This initial evidence—along with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves surrounding Qumran—led early archaeologists like Roland de Vaux, Gerald Lankester Harding and Eleazar Sukenik to conclude that some Jewish sect (the Essenes, they believed) wrote the scrolls at Qumran. More recent scientific tests support the theory that Qumran could have been a site of scroll production. In July 2010, a team of Italian scientists from the National Laboratories of the South in Catania, Italy—which is part of Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics—led by Professor Giuseppe Pappalardo, discovered that the ink used to write the Temple Scroll possesses the same unusually high bromine levels as the waters from the Dead Sea, suggesting that the ink used on the Temple Scroll came from water from the Dead Sea and not from some other water source. This evidence indicates that the ink was produced near Qumran and not Jerusalem.
Gutfeld and Price’s recent discovery of curing jars, leather, textiles and a blank piece of parchment is but the latest piece of evidence supporting the theory that Qumran was, in fact, a place of scribal activity, and perhaps even of scribal implement production.
But this cannot be called the discovery of a new Dead Sea Scroll cave. One can certainly understand why archaeologists would be tempted to issue a press release stating as much, especially before any peer-reviewed reports about the excavation are published. The press is far more likely to cover a story claiming “New Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered!”—which is inevitably what people think when they read of the discovery of a “new Dead Sea Scroll cave,” especially in the weeks leading up to Easter—than they are to write a story about the discovery of the most recent piece of evidence supporting the theory that scribal activity took place near Qumran.
But that does not mean this most recent discovery is unimportant. Despite the fact that Gutfeld and Price did not discover a new Dead Sea Scroll or a new Dead Sea Scroll cave, they have provided archaeologists studying Qumran and its relationship to the Dead Sea Scrolls with another piece of solid evidence that someone near Qumran was engaged in activities required for scribal endeavors. And this discovery offers one more piece of evidence that someone or some group living at Qumran was capable of producing the materials needed to produce the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the caves surrounding Qumran.
[HR][/HR]
Robert R. Cargill is Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Iowa and Associate Editor at Biblical Archaeology Review. His research includes study in the Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, literary criticism of the Bible and the Pseudepigrapha, and the Ancient Near East. Cargill’s recent book is The Cities that Built the Bible (HarperOne, 2016).
[HR][/HR] [h=2]Notes:[/h] 1. The archaeological project is a joint expedition carried out by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria (“Judea and Samaria” is the Israel Defense Forces’ name for the West Bank), which is a part of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). COGAT “is charged with administering the government’s civilian policy in the territories of Judea and Samaria and the corresponding the civilian policy to the Gaza Strip.”
2. The manufacture of parchment is shown in a beautiful video produced by the BBC.
I read with eager anticipation the first news stories out of Israel that a new Dead Sea Scroll cave had been discovered west of Qumran. As one who wrote a dissertation on Qumran and who teaches a Dead Sea Scrolls course at the University of Iowa, I was keen to see how the new discovery would fit into our present knowledge of the scrolls. What was found that made it a “Dead Sea Scroll Cave”? Was it a new copy of a Biblical book? Was it a copy of a known pseudepigraphical work? Or, was it a new, previously unknown sectarian manuscript that sheds light on the late Second Temple Jewish world? As I read the Hebrew University of Jerusalem press release and various press reports, I quickly discovered the answer: none of the above. Let me explain:
Recently, a Hebrew University press release and multiple news reports announced a discovery made by archaeologists Dr. Oren Gutfeld, Teaching Fellow at the Hebrew University, and Dr. Randall Price, Founder and President of World of the Bible Ministries, Inc. and Distinguished Research Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Judaic Studies at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.[SUP]1[/SUP]
Among the hundreds of caves explored near the Dead Sea settlement of Qumran, only eleven caves have ever produced scrolls or scroll fragments. Gutfeld and Price claim that the cave they excavated should be considered the 12th Dead Sea Scroll cave, despite the fact that Gutfeld confirms, “[A]t the end of the day no scroll was found, and instead we ‘only’ found a piece of parchment rolled up in a jug that was being processed for writing…” However, Gutfeld claims later in the press release, “[N]ow there is no doubt that this is the 12th cave.” Gutfeld makes this claim because of the discovery inside the cave of pickaxe heads that appear to have been made in the 1950s—which suggest that people had been inside the cave around that time. Gutfeld continues, “[T]he findings indicate beyond any doubt that the cave contained scrolls that were stolen. The findings include the jars in which the scrolls and their covering were hidden, a leather strap for binding the scroll, a cloth that wrapped the scrolls, tendons and pieces of skin connecting fragments, and more.”
But no Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, only a blank piece of parchment.
Thus, Gutfeld speculates that this must be the “12th Dead Sea Scroll Cave,” arguing that Dead Sea Scrolls must have been looted from the cave. Once again, Gutfeld speculates regarding these proposed looters: “I imagine they came into the tunnel. They found the scroll jars. They took the scrolls … They even opened the scrolls and left everything around, the textiles, the pottery” (italics mine).
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
I must, in all fairness, concede that Gutfeld’s speculation is entirely plausible. However, we must also acknowledge that it is still speculation—even if well-informed speculation on the part of Prof. Gutfeld—because no Dead Sea Scrolls were actually discovered in the cave! We could similarly speculate that scrolls were once present in several other caves excavated in the past, but that does not make them scroll caves. If there are no Dead Sea Scrolls in the cave, then it is not a scroll cave, even if we think there might have been in the past.
Let me also state that it is possible that Gutfeld’s team did find scrolls or scroll fragments in the cave, but are not announcing this discovery in an effort to keep looters from surreptitiously stealing any scrolls that still may be in the cave. Withholding public disclosure of a major find is not uncommon on digs in Israel, as is withholding the exact location of the cave. If Gutfeld has discovered actual scrolls in the cave that the team has simply not announced, then this should obviously be considered Cave 12. However, absent the disclosure of the discovery of actual scrolls, we must evaluate the claim of a new Dead Sea Scroll cave on the evidence that has been disclosed, and the disclosed evidence does not warrant a designation of a scroll-producing cave. Gutfeld’s team did not find a new Dead Sea Scroll cave. Allow me, however, to provide an alternative conclusion that better fits the evidence we have. It is possible to argue that the cave in question was part of a larger parchment production enterprise, and that the jars, leather, textiles and blank parchment discovered in the cave are simply the latest evidence that someone or some group near Qumran engaged in some form of scribal activity and had the means of producing its own parchment. Indeed, the discovery of a blank piece of parchment—placed there either to dry or for storage—fits with previously discovered pieces of archaeological evidence that have been piling up for years, all of which support the theory that scrolls were produced at Qumran.
[HR][/HR]
Visit the Dead Sea Scrolls study page in Bible History Daily for more on this priceless collection of ancient manuscripts.
[HR][/HR]
In the excavations of the Qumran ruins in the 1950s, a stylus and multiple inkwells were discovered, suggesting that some sort of writing was taking place at Qumran. In addition, stables and the bony remains of numerous animals buried inside jars were also excavated within the ruins of Qumran. The presence of animals means that Qumran was capable of producing the animal skins needed to manufacture parchment. Large, shallow pools were also uncovered in the western building at Qumran that may have been used to soak the parchment. Lime, which is used in curing parchment, was also found in large quantities at Qumran.[SUP]2[/SUP] This initial evidence—along with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in caves surrounding Qumran—led early archaeologists like Roland de Vaux, Gerald Lankester Harding and Eleazar Sukenik to conclude that some Jewish sect (the Essenes, they believed) wrote the scrolls at Qumran. More recent scientific tests support the theory that Qumran could have been a site of scroll production. In July 2010, a team of Italian scientists from the National Laboratories of the South in Catania, Italy—which is part of Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics—led by Professor Giuseppe Pappalardo, discovered that the ink used to write the Temple Scroll possesses the same unusually high bromine levels as the waters from the Dead Sea, suggesting that the ink used on the Temple Scroll came from water from the Dead Sea and not from some other water source. This evidence indicates that the ink was produced near Qumran and not Jerusalem.
Gutfeld and Price’s recent discovery of curing jars, leather, textiles and a blank piece of parchment is but the latest piece of evidence supporting the theory that Qumran was, in fact, a place of scribal activity, and perhaps even of scribal implement production.
But this cannot be called the discovery of a new Dead Sea Scroll cave. One can certainly understand why archaeologists would be tempted to issue a press release stating as much, especially before any peer-reviewed reports about the excavation are published. The press is far more likely to cover a story claiming “New Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered!”—which is inevitably what people think when they read of the discovery of a “new Dead Sea Scroll cave,” especially in the weeks leading up to Easter—than they are to write a story about the discovery of the most recent piece of evidence supporting the theory that scribal activity took place near Qumran.
But that does not mean this most recent discovery is unimportant. Despite the fact that Gutfeld and Price did not discover a new Dead Sea Scroll or a new Dead Sea Scroll cave, they have provided archaeologists studying Qumran and its relationship to the Dead Sea Scrolls with another piece of solid evidence that someone near Qumran was engaged in activities required for scribal endeavors. And this discovery offers one more piece of evidence that someone or some group living at Qumran was capable of producing the materials needed to produce the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the caves surrounding Qumran.
[HR][/HR]
[HR][/HR] [h=2]Notes:[/h] 1. The archaeological project is a joint expedition carried out by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria (“Judea and Samaria” is the Israel Defense Forces’ name for the West Bank), which is a part of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). COGAT “is charged with administering the government’s civilian policy in the territories of Judea and Samaria and the corresponding the civilian policy to the Gaza Strip.”
2. The manufacture of parchment is shown in a beautiful video produced by the BBC.
[h=1]The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament[/h] Megan Sauter
6-8 minutes
[HR][/HR] This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2015. It has been updated.—Ed.
[HR][/HR]
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the caves by Qumran, a site in the Judean Wilderness on the west side of the Dead Sea. James C. VanderKam explores similarities between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament in the March/April 2015 issue of BAR. Photo: “Caves@Dead Sea Scrolls (8246948498)” by Lux Moundi is licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0..
What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say about Jesus? Nothing.
What do they say about the world in which Jesus lived? Lots.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are comprised primarily of two types of texts: parts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and sectarian works written by the small group (or groups) of Jews who lived at Qumran. The scrolls date from the mid-third century B.C.E. until the mid-first century C.E.
While the Dead Sea Scrolls do not shed light on the person or ministry of Jesus, they do illuminate practices and beliefs of ancient Judaism. Since Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, the scrolls are very important for understanding the earliest Christians and their writings—the New Testament.
In the March/April 2015 issue of BAR, James C. VanderKam, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame, examines the overlap between these two bodies of texts in his article “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament.” Dr. VanderKam was a member of the committee that prepared the scrolls for publication.
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
In his BAR article, James C. VanderKam explains, “The earliest followers of Jesus and the literature they produced were thoroughly Jewish in nature. As a result, the more one knows about Judaism during the time of Christian origins, the stronger basis we have for understanding the New Testament. And the scrolls are the most significant body of Hebrew/Aramaic literature related to a Jewish group or groups from roughly this time and thus are potentially invaluable for shedding light on the meaning of New Testament texts.”
There is no reason to suggest that the New Testament authors knew any of the sectarian works discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Further, it is quite possible that the two groups never interacted with each other. VanderKam points out that there is no overlap between the cast of characters in the scrolls and the New Testament (except for figures from the Hebrew Bible). He notes that “not even John the Baptist, who for a time lived in the wilderness and around the Jordan, not too far from the Dead Sea Scroll caves (see Luke 1:80; 3:3)” appears in the scrolls—let alone Jesus, much of whose ministry happened in Galilee.
What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say about Jesus? Nothing. However, they shed some light on the world in which Jesus lived. This scroll, the Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521), has a list of miracles very similar to Luke 7:21–22, even though it was written approximately 150 years before Luke’s Gospel.Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem.
The worldviews of early Christians and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were also starkly different. VanderKam explains, “A group that set a goal of spreading its religious message to all peoples to the ends of the earth had a very different understanding of God’s plan than ones who seem to have done no proselytizing and had no interest in bringing the nations into the fold.”
Nevertheless, there are some similarities between the two groups and their writings, which make for interesting comparisons. For example, a list of miracles appears in both Luke 7:21–22 of the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scroll known as the Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521). In Luke 7, Jesus gives these miracles to the disciples of John the Baptist as proof that he is the messiah. In the Messianic Apocalypse, which was written approximately 150 years before Luke’s Gospel, the Lord is the one who will perform these miracles. The source for both of these lists is Isaiah chapters 35 and 61. While not all of the same miracles appear in Luke 7 and the Messianic Apocalypse, the miracles that do appear in both are listed in the same order (see chart).
Parallels between Luke 7:21–22 and 4Q521 and the parts of Isaiah from which they come.
The curious thing is that not all of these miracles, such as “raising the dead,” appear in the passages from Isaiah, which were the source material for the lists—the prophecies being fulfilled. Yet the miracle of “raising the dead” appears in both Luke 7 and the Messianic Apocalypse right before bringing “good news to the poor.” Rather than suggesting that the writer of Luke 7 copied from—or was even aware of—the Messianic Apocalypse, this similarity suggests that both groups shared certain “interpretive and theological traditions on which writers in both communities drew.”
6-8 minutes
[HR][/HR] This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2015. It has been updated.—Ed.
[HR][/HR]
What do the Dead Sea Scrolls say about Jesus? Nothing.
What do they say about the world in which Jesus lived? Lots.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are comprised primarily of two types of texts: parts of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and sectarian works written by the small group (or groups) of Jews who lived at Qumran. The scrolls date from the mid-third century B.C.E. until the mid-first century C.E.
While the Dead Sea Scrolls do not shed light on the person or ministry of Jesus, they do illuminate practices and beliefs of ancient Judaism. Since Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, the scrolls are very important for understanding the earliest Christians and their writings—the New Testament.
In the March/April 2015 issue of BAR, James C. VanderKam, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame, examines the overlap between these two bodies of texts in his article “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament.” Dr. VanderKam was a member of the committee that prepared the scrolls for publication.
Interested in the history and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls? In the free eBook Dead Sea Scrolls, learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls are and why are they important. Find out what they tell us about the Bible, Christianity and Judaism.
In his BAR article, James C. VanderKam explains, “The earliest followers of Jesus and the literature they produced were thoroughly Jewish in nature. As a result, the more one knows about Judaism during the time of Christian origins, the stronger basis we have for understanding the New Testament. And the scrolls are the most significant body of Hebrew/Aramaic literature related to a Jewish group or groups from roughly this time and thus are potentially invaluable for shedding light on the meaning of New Testament texts.”
There is no reason to suggest that the New Testament authors knew any of the sectarian works discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Further, it is quite possible that the two groups never interacted with each other. VanderKam points out that there is no overlap between the cast of characters in the scrolls and the New Testament (except for figures from the Hebrew Bible). He notes that “not even John the Baptist, who for a time lived in the wilderness and around the Jordan, not too far from the Dead Sea Scroll caves (see Luke 1:80; 3:3)” appears in the scrolls—let alone Jesus, much of whose ministry happened in Galilee.
The worldviews of early Christians and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls were also starkly different. VanderKam explains, “A group that set a goal of spreading its religious message to all peoples to the ends of the earth had a very different understanding of God’s plan than ones who seem to have done no proselytizing and had no interest in bringing the nations into the fold.”
Nevertheless, there are some similarities between the two groups and their writings, which make for interesting comparisons. For example, a list of miracles appears in both Luke 7:21–22 of the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scroll known as the Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521). In Luke 7, Jesus gives these miracles to the disciples of John the Baptist as proof that he is the messiah. In the Messianic Apocalypse, which was written approximately 150 years before Luke’s Gospel, the Lord is the one who will perform these miracles. The source for both of these lists is Isaiah chapters 35 and 61. While not all of the same miracles appear in Luke 7 and the Messianic Apocalypse, the miracles that do appear in both are listed in the same order (see chart).
The curious thing is that not all of these miracles, such as “raising the dead,” appear in the passages from Isaiah, which were the source material for the lists—the prophecies being fulfilled. Yet the miracle of “raising the dead” appears in both Luke 7 and the Messianic Apocalypse right before bringing “good news to the poor.” Rather than suggesting that the writer of Luke 7 copied from—or was even aware of—the Messianic Apocalypse, this similarity suggests that both groups shared certain “interpretive and theological traditions on which writers in both communities drew.”
Psalm 136
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11, "And brought out Yisra’ĕl from their midst, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]12, "With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]13, "To Him who split apart the Sea of Reeds, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]:14, "And made Yisra’ĕl pass through the midst of it, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]15, "But shook off Pharaoh and his army in the Sea of Reeds, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]16, "To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His loving-commitment is everlasting!!![/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]11, "And brought out Yisra’ĕl from their midst, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]12, "With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]13, "To Him who split apart the Sea of Reeds, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]:14, "And made Yisra’ĕl pass through the midst of it, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]15, "But shook off Pharaoh and his army in the Sea of Reeds, For His loving-commitment is everlasting;[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]16, "To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His loving-commitment is everlasting!!![/FONT]
[h=1]Ancient Scribe Links Qumran Scrolls to Masada[/h] Biblical Archaeology Society Staff
4-5 minutes
[HR][/HR] • 04/04/2017
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2012.—Ed.
[HR][/HR]
Ada Yardeni identified the same ancient scribe’s unique handwriting on this Hosea commentary and many other Qumran scrolls. Photo: Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority/Photographer Tsila Sagiv.
There has been a great deal written about
the community of scribes that penned
the Qumran scrolls. These studies rarely focus on an individual ancient scribe; they generally consider
the religious orientation and scholarship of the broader community.
Israeli paleographer Ada Yardeni recently identified over 50 Qumran scrolls penned by the same scribe; moreover, she identified a manuscript from
the desert fortress at Masada written by the same scribe. In the
November/December 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Sidnie White Crawford discusses the implications of the important paleographic discoveries made by Ada Yardeni.
Ada Yardeni identified the handwriting of a single ancient scribe on Qumran scrolls found in six different caves. According to Sidnie White Crawford, the discovery of a single scribal hand in multiple caves suggests that “the scribe was a member of that sect who also copied Jewish scriptural scrolls, countering the idea that the Qumran collection was a non-sectarian ‘general Jewish’ library.” Moreover, she argues that a single scribe’s penmanship in multiple caves counters the idea that each cave reflects a separate collection belonging to a different Jewish group.
4-5 minutes
[HR][/HR] • 04/04/2017
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2012.—Ed.
[HR][/HR]
There has been a great deal written about
the community of scribes that penned
the Qumran scrolls. These studies rarely focus on an individual ancient scribe; they generally consider
the religious orientation and scholarship of the broader community.
Israeli paleographer Ada Yardeni recently identified over 50 Qumran scrolls penned by the same scribe; moreover, she identified a manuscript from
the desert fortress at Masada written by the same scribe. In the
November/December 2012 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Sidnie White Crawford discusses the implications of the important paleographic discoveries made by Ada Yardeni.
Ada Yardeni identified the handwriting of a single ancient scribe on Qumran scrolls found in six different caves. According to Sidnie White Crawford, the discovery of a single scribal hand in multiple caves suggests that “the scribe was a member of that sect who also copied Jewish scriptural scrolls, countering the idea that the Qumran collection was a non-sectarian ‘general Jewish’ library.” Moreover, she argues that a single scribe’s penmanship in multiple caves counters the idea that each cave reflects a separate collection belonging to a different Jewish group.
[h=1]King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light[/h] Robin Ngo
7-9 minutes
[HR][/HR]
HEZEKIAH IN THE BIBLE. The royal seal of Hezekiah, king of Judah, was discovered in the Ophel excavations under the direction of archaeologist Eilat Mazar. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Eilat Mazar; photo by Ouria Tadmor.
For the first time, the royal seal of
King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation. The stamped clay seal, also known as a bulla, was discovered in
the Ophel excavations led by
Dr. Eilat Mazar at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The discovery was announced
in a recent press release by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, under whose auspices the excavations were conducted.
The bulla, which measures just over a centimeter in diameter, bears a seal impression depicting a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols and containing a Hebrew inscription that reads “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.” The bulla was discovered along with 33 other stamped bullae during wet-sifting of dirt from a refuse dump located next to a 10th-century B.C.E. royal building in the Ophel.
In the ancient Near East, clay bullae were used to secure the strings tied around rolled-up documents. The bullae were made by pressing a seal onto a wet lump of clay. The stamped bulla served as both a signature and as a means of ensuring the authenticity of the documents.
Jerusalem lies at the heart of Biblical archaeology. In the free eBook Jerusalem Archaeology: Exposing the Biblical City, learn about the latest finds in the Biblical world’s most vibrant city.
Hezekiah, son and successor of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah (reigning c. 715–686 B.C.E.), was known for his religious reforms and attempts to gain independence from the Assyrians.
The Ophel excavation area at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Photo: Andrew Shiva.
In Aspects of Monotheism: How God Is One (Biblical Archaeology Society, 1997), Biblical scholar P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., summarizes Hezekiah’s religious reforms:
[HR][/HR]
Which finds made our top 10 Biblical archaeology discoveries of 2015? Find out >>
[HR][/HR]
The Sennacherib Prism on display in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Photo: Hanay’s image is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0/ Wikimedia Commons.
On the six-sided clay prism called the Sennacherib Prism
as well as other annals of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib details in Akkadian his successful campaigns throughout Judah, bragging that he had Hezekiah trapped in Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage.” According to the Bible, however, Sennacherib ultimately failed to capture Jerusalem before his death (2 Kings 19:35–37).
The bulla discovered in the Ophel excavations represents the first time the royal seal of Hezekiah has been found on an archaeological project.
“Although seal impressions bearing King Hezekiah’s name have already been known from the antiquities market since the middle of the 1990s—some with a winged scarab (dung beetle) symbol and others with a winged sun—this is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation,” Eilat Mazar said in the Hebrew University press release.
Bullae bearing the seal impressions of Hezekiah have been published in Biblical Archaeology Review. In the March/April 1999 issue, epigrapher Frank Moore Cross wrote about a bulla depicting a two-winged scarab. The bulla belonged to the private collection of antiquities collector Shlomo Moussaieff.[SUP]1[/SUP] In the July/August 2002 issue, epigrapher Robert Deutsch discussed a bulla stamped with the image of a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols—similar to the one uncovered in the Ophel excavations. Both bullae published by Cross and Deutsch bear a Hebrew inscription reading “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.”
The Hebrew University press release explains the iconography on the Ophel bulla and other seal impressions of Hezekiah:
The prize find of the so-called Ophel treasure unearthed in the Ophel excavations is a gold medallion featuring a menorah, shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll. Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Eilat Mazar; photo by Ouria Tadmor.
The renewed excavation of the Ophel, the area between the City of David and the Temple Mount, occurred between 2009 and 2013. Under the direction of third-generation Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar, the excavation unearthed another extraordinary find: the so-called Ophel treasure, a cache of gold coins, gold and silver jewelry and a gold medallion featuring a menorah, shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll.
7-9 minutes
[HR][/HR]
For the first time, the royal seal of
King Hezekiah in the Bible has been found in an archaeological excavation. The stamped clay seal, also known as a bulla, was discovered in
the Ophel excavations led by
Dr. Eilat Mazar at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The discovery was announced
in a recent press release by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, under whose auspices the excavations were conducted.
The bulla, which measures just over a centimeter in diameter, bears a seal impression depicting a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols and containing a Hebrew inscription that reads “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.” The bulla was discovered along with 33 other stamped bullae during wet-sifting of dirt from a refuse dump located next to a 10th-century B.C.E. royal building in the Ophel.
In the ancient Near East, clay bullae were used to secure the strings tied around rolled-up documents. The bullae were made by pressing a seal onto a wet lump of clay. The stamped bulla served as both a signature and as a means of ensuring the authenticity of the documents.
Jerusalem lies at the heart of Biblical archaeology. In the free eBook Jerusalem Archaeology: Exposing the Biblical City, learn about the latest finds in the Biblical world’s most vibrant city.
Hezekiah, son and successor of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah (reigning c. 715–686 B.C.E.), was known for his religious reforms and attempts to gain independence from the Assyrians.
In Aspects of Monotheism: How God Is One (Biblical Archaeology Society, 1997), Biblical scholar P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., summarizes Hezekiah’s religious reforms:
According to 2 Chronicles 29–32, Hezekiah began his reform in the first year of his reign; motivated by the belief that the ancient religion was not being practiced scrupulously, he ordered that the Temple of Yahweh be repaired and cleansed of niddâ (impurity). After celebrating a truly national Passover for the first time since the reign of Solomon (2 Chronicles 30:26), Hezekiah’s officials went into the countryside and dismantled the local shrines or “high places” (bamot) along with their altars, “standing stones” (masseboth) and “sacred poles” (’aásûeµrîm). The account of Hezekiah’s reform activities in 2 Kings 18:1–8 is much briefer. Although he is credited with removing the high places, the major reform is credited to Josiah (2 Kings 22:3–23:25).
Hezekiah’s attempts to save Jerusalem from Assyrian king Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C.E. are chronicled in both the Bible and in Assyrian accounts. According to the Bible, Hezekiah, anticipating the attack, fortified and expanded the city’s walls and built a tunnel, known today as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, to ensure that the besieged city could still receive water (2 Chronicles 32:2–4; 2 Kings 20:20).
[HR][/HR]
Which finds made our top 10 Biblical archaeology discoveries of 2015? Find out >>
[HR][/HR]
On the six-sided clay prism called the Sennacherib Prism
as well as other annals of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib details in Akkadian his successful campaigns throughout Judah, bragging that he had Hezekiah trapped in Jerusalem “like a bird in a cage.” According to the Bible, however, Sennacherib ultimately failed to capture Jerusalem before his death (2 Kings 19:35–37).
The bulla discovered in the Ophel excavations represents the first time the royal seal of Hezekiah has been found on an archaeological project.
“Although seal impressions bearing King Hezekiah’s name have already been known from the antiquities market since the middle of the 1990s—some with a winged scarab (dung beetle) symbol and others with a winged sun—this is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation,” Eilat Mazar said in the Hebrew University press release.
Bullae bearing the seal impressions of Hezekiah have been published in Biblical Archaeology Review. In the March/April 1999 issue, epigrapher Frank Moore Cross wrote about a bulla depicting a two-winged scarab. The bulla belonged to the private collection of antiquities collector Shlomo Moussaieff.[SUP]1[/SUP] In the July/August 2002 issue, epigrapher Robert Deutsch discussed a bulla stamped with the image of a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols—similar to the one uncovered in the Ophel excavations. Both bullae published by Cross and Deutsch bear a Hebrew inscription reading “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.”
The Hebrew University press release explains the iconography on the Ophel bulla and other seal impressions of Hezekiah:
The symbols on the seal impression from the Ophel suggest that they were made late in his life, when both the royal administrative authority and the king’s personal symbols changed from the winged scarab (dung beetle)—the symbol of power and rule that had been familiar throughout the ancient Near East, to that of the winged sun—a motif that proclaimed God’s protection, which gave the regime its legitimacy and power, also widespread throughout the ancient Near East and used by the Assyrian kings.
The renewed excavation of the Ophel, the area between the City of David and the Temple Mount, occurred between 2009 and 2013. Under the direction of third-generation Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar, the excavation unearthed another extraordinary find: the so-called Ophel treasure, a cache of gold coins, gold and silver jewelry and a gold medallion featuring a menorah, shofar (ram’s horn) and a Torah scroll.
2 Kings 10:26-27, “and brought out the pillars of the house of Ba‛al and burned them, and broke down the statue of Ba‛al, and broke down the house of Ba‛al and made it a latrine to this day.”
Ancient Latrine: A Peek into King Hezekiah’s Reforms in the Bible?
Robin Ngo 11/08/2017
The latrine discovered in what may be a shrine at Lachish. Photo: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
A millennia-old latrine discovered at Tel Lachish in Israel might reveal some interesting insights into Biblical history. According to Sa’ar Ganor and Igor Kreimerman, who conducted the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the latrine could be evidence of King Hezekiah’s religious reforms enacted throughout the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. The archaeologists detail their discovery in the article
“Going to the Bathroom at Lachish”
in the November/December 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review
The Hebrew Bible has several references to King Hezekiah’s reforms and attempts to centralize worship in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 29–32 describes his efforts during the first year of his reign to cleanse and refurbish the Temple in Jerusalem, believing that his ancestors had not worshipped the God of Israel dutifully. 2 Kings 18:4 narrates that “he removed the high places (bamot), broke down the pillars (masseboth), and cut down the sacred pole (asherah).”
Lachish, located in the foothills of Judah (the Shephelah), was regarded as the second most important city in the Kingdom of Judah after Jerusalem. Spanning more than 18 acres on the tell, the Iron Age city boasted a palace-fort, city wall and six-chambered gate complex—within which, Ganor and Kreimerman argue, may be an Israelite gate-shrine.
The massive six-chambered city gate at Tel Lachish. Photo: Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The excavations at Tel Lachish fully exposed the massive city gate complex, which measures about 80 feet by 80 feet. Discovered at the complex were remnants of storage jars—including some that bore the stamp lmlk (“[belonging] to the king”)—that may be evidence of Hezekiah’s preparations against Assyrian king Sennacherib’s impending attacks. Lachish was completely destroyed in 701 B.C.E.
Our free eBook Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries brings together the exciting worlds of archaeology and the Bible! Learn the fascinating insights gained from artifacts and ruins, like the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, where the Gospel of John says Jesus miraculously restored the sight of the blind man, and the Tel Dan inscription—the first historical evidence of King David outside the Bible.
Part of this gate complex, the archaeological team found, was a large room that appears to have been a shrine. The room contained two four-horned altars, whose horns had been intentionally damaged, and several ceramic lamps, bowls and stands. Ganor and Kreimerman believe that the destroyed altars corroborate Biblical references to King Hezekiah’s reforms: his efforts to centralize worship in Jerusalem and abolish it elsewhere (see 2 Kings 18:4).
The left-most chamber in this isometric reconstruction of Lachish’s gate complex shows where the archaeologists found what they interpret to be an Israelite gate-shrine. In the innermost room, archaeologists discovered two four-horned altars (visible in the drawing). Photo: Sharon Gal, Israel Antiquities Authority.
Most surprising of all was that in one corner of the room, the archaeologists discovered a seat carved of stone with a hole in the center—what Ganor and Kreimerman believe to be a toilet. This latrine, Ganor and Kreimerman say, was unquestionably a form of desecration of this shrine room—a practice described in the Hebrew Bible: “Then they demolished the pillar of Baal, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day” (2 Kings 10:27).
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="width: 389"]
The four-horned altar with evidence of intentional destruction—perhaps due to King Hezekiah’s reforms in worship. Photo: Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
[/TD]
[TD="width: 434"]
BAR authors Sa’ar Ganor and Igor Kramerman believe this latrine excavated at Lachish was symbolically placed to desecrate the shrine as part of Hezekiah’s reforms. Photo: Igor Kreimerman.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
“Laboratory tests we conducted in the spot where the stone toilet was placed suggest it was never used,” Ganor said in an IAA press release. “Hence, we can conclude that the placement of the toilet had been symbolic, after which the holy of holies was sealed until the site was destroyed.”
“This is the first time that an archaeological find confirms this phenomenon,” Ganor explained.
Ancient Latrine: A Peek into King Hezekiah’s Reforms in the Bible?
Robin Ngo 11/08/2017
The latrine discovered in what may be a shrine at Lachish. Photo: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
A millennia-old latrine discovered at Tel Lachish in Israel might reveal some interesting insights into Biblical history. According to Sa’ar Ganor and Igor Kreimerman, who conducted the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the latrine could be evidence of King Hezekiah’s religious reforms enacted throughout the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. The archaeologists detail their discovery in the article
“Going to the Bathroom at Lachish”
in the November/December 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review
The Hebrew Bible has several references to King Hezekiah’s reforms and attempts to centralize worship in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 29–32 describes his efforts during the first year of his reign to cleanse and refurbish the Temple in Jerusalem, believing that his ancestors had not worshipped the God of Israel dutifully. 2 Kings 18:4 narrates that “he removed the high places (bamot), broke down the pillars (masseboth), and cut down the sacred pole (asherah).”
Lachish, located in the foothills of Judah (the Shephelah), was regarded as the second most important city in the Kingdom of Judah after Jerusalem. Spanning more than 18 acres on the tell, the Iron Age city boasted a palace-fort, city wall and six-chambered gate complex—within which, Ganor and Kreimerman argue, may be an Israelite gate-shrine.
The massive six-chambered city gate at Tel Lachish. Photo: Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The excavations at Tel Lachish fully exposed the massive city gate complex, which measures about 80 feet by 80 feet. Discovered at the complex were remnants of storage jars—including some that bore the stamp lmlk (“[belonging] to the king”)—that may be evidence of Hezekiah’s preparations against Assyrian king Sennacherib’s impending attacks. Lachish was completely destroyed in 701 B.C.E.
Our free eBook Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries brings together the exciting worlds of archaeology and the Bible! Learn the fascinating insights gained from artifacts and ruins, like the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, where the Gospel of John says Jesus miraculously restored the sight of the blind man, and the Tel Dan inscription—the first historical evidence of King David outside the Bible.
Part of this gate complex, the archaeological team found, was a large room that appears to have been a shrine. The room contained two four-horned altars, whose horns had been intentionally damaged, and several ceramic lamps, bowls and stands. Ganor and Kreimerman believe that the destroyed altars corroborate Biblical references to King Hezekiah’s reforms: his efforts to centralize worship in Jerusalem and abolish it elsewhere (see 2 Kings 18:4).
The left-most chamber in this isometric reconstruction of Lachish’s gate complex shows where the archaeologists found what they interpret to be an Israelite gate-shrine. In the innermost room, archaeologists discovered two four-horned altars (visible in the drawing). Photo: Sharon Gal, Israel Antiquities Authority.
Most surprising of all was that in one corner of the room, the archaeologists discovered a seat carved of stone with a hole in the center—what Ganor and Kreimerman believe to be a toilet. This latrine, Ganor and Kreimerman say, was unquestionably a form of desecration of this shrine room—a practice described in the Hebrew Bible: “Then they demolished the pillar of Baal, and destroyed the temple of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day” (2 Kings 10:27).
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="width: 389"]
The four-horned altar with evidence of intentional destruction—perhaps due to King Hezekiah’s reforms in worship. Photo: Yoli Shwartz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
[/TD]
[TD="width: 434"]
BAR authors Sa’ar Ganor and Igor Kramerman believe this latrine excavated at Lachish was symbolically placed to desecrate the shrine as part of Hezekiah’s reforms. Photo: Igor Kreimerman.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
“Laboratory tests we conducted in the spot where the stone toilet was placed suggest it was never used,” Ganor said in an IAA press release. “Hence, we can conclude that the placement of the toilet had been symbolic, after which the holy of holies was sealed until the site was destroyed.”
“This is the first time that an archaeological find confirms this phenomenon,” Ganor explained.
Okay, everyone! I thought this was a typo, but no. The video is not taken at the Reed Sea or the Sea of Reeds but at the Red Sea. Note how the title of the video is not matching Marcelo's post. This is deliberate as was Hizikyah.
Psalm 136:[SUP]11 [/SUP]And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP]12 [/SUP]With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.[SUP] 13 [/SUP]To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP] 14 [/SUP]And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP] 15 [/SUP]But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.[SUP] 16 [/SUP]To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
There is a Reed Sea that one could wade in across on the other side of Saudi Arabia near Egypt, but it can hardly overthrow the Pharaoh and his host.
REED SEA or the SEA OF REEDS is NOT the same as the Red Sea.
I take offense for changing His words in the Bible, brothers. Get rid of that Bible version now.
Psalm 136:[SUP]11 [/SUP]And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP]12 [/SUP]With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.[SUP] 13 [/SUP]To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP] 14 [/SUP]And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:[SUP] 15 [/SUP]But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.[SUP] 16 [/SUP]To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.
There is a Reed Sea that one could wade in across on the other side of Saudi Arabia near Egypt, but it can hardly overthrow the Pharaoh and his host.
REED SEA or the SEA OF REEDS is NOT the same as the Red Sea.
I take offense for changing His words in the Bible, brothers. Get rid of that Bible version now.
I thought they used the name RED SEA in the video just because it is much more popular than SEA OF REEDS or REED SEA. Well, in my post I said that this video SEEMS to be an evidence that God parted the waters for Moses and his people.
If this video was produced by a guy called Ron Wyatt it is a fraud. He claims to have found Noah's Ark, the remains of the Tower of Babel, Joseph's coat of many colors, the jawbone of a donkey used by Golliath, the sling used by David, etc.
If this video was produced by a guy called Ron Wyatt it is a fraud. He claims to have found Noah's Ark, the remains of the Tower of Babel, Joseph's coat of many colors, the jawbone of a donkey used by Golliath, the sling used by David, etc.
The Greek for Red Sea does not give any doubt that it is the Red Sea in the N.T.
So what does that mean for what you had done? You chose another definition for the Hebrew word.
Look at pneuma.
Now are you going to allow someone to choose another definition for the Holy Spirit with demon? No.
Then why be confusing His words when there is a Reed Sea located on the other side of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula next to Egypt from where the actual crossing took place which is located on the map as at the Red Sea?
Originally Posted by Hizikyah
As you can see the vast majority of translations get it wrong, however a few get it right, and a word study shows it is reed, or what most would call seaweed.
1Kings 9:26 And Sovereign Shelomoh built a fleet of ships at Etsyon Geḇer, which is near Ĕyloth on the shore of the Sea of Reeds*, in the land of Eḏom.
*5488. suphStrong's Concordance
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: suph
Phonetic Spelling: (soof)
Short Definition: red
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
probably of foreign origin
Definition
reeds, rushes
NASB Translation
red* (24), reeds (2), rushes (1), weeds (1).
Originally Posted by Hizikyah
Yam Suph From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yam Suph (Hebrew: יַם-סוּף) has traditionally been understood to refer to the salt water inlet located between Africa and the Arabian peninsula known in English as the Red Sea. More recently, alternative western scholarly understandings of the term have been proposed for those passages where it refers to the Israelite Crossing of the Sea as told in Exodus 13-15. These proposals would mean that Yam Suph is better translated in these passages as Sea of Reeds or Sea of Seaweed; see Egyptian reed fields, also described as the ka of the Nile Delta. In Jewish sources, 1 Kings 9:26 yam suph is translated as Sea of Reeds at Eilat on the Gulf of Eilat.
Did you bother to read your second quote?
That video was not taken at that place. It was located on the other side of the Saudi Arabia of that Red Sea.
You chose to see Reed of Sea by an errant reference and at a Wikipedia source too.
Marcelo shown a video that was not taken place in Egypt's River Delta, but in the actual Red Sea.
So what does that mean for what you had done? You chose another definition for the Hebrew word.
Look at pneuma.
Now are you going to allow someone to choose another definition for the Holy Spirit with demon? No.
Then why be confusing His words when there is a Reed Sea located on the other side of the Saudi Arabian Peninsula next to Egypt from where the actual crossing took place which is located on the map as at the Red Sea?
As you can see the vast majority of translations get it wrong, however a few get it right, and a word study shows it is reed, or what most would call seaweed.
1Kings 9:26 And Sovereign Shelomoh built a fleet of ships at Etsyon Geḇer, which is near Ĕyloth on the shore of the Sea of Reeds*, in the land of Eḏom.
*5488. suphStrong's Concordance
suph: reeds, rushes
Original Word: סוּף
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: suph
Phonetic Spelling: (soof)
Short Definition: red
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
probably of foreign origin
Definition
reeds, rushes
NASB Translation
red* (24), reeds (2), rushes (1), weeds (1).
Yam Suph From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yam Suph (Hebrew: יַם-סוּף) has traditionally been understood to refer to the salt water inlet located between Africa and the Arabian peninsula known in English as the Red Sea. More recently, alternative western scholarly understandings of the term have been proposed for those passages where it refers to the Israelite Crossing of the Sea as told in Exodus 13-15. These proposals would mean that Yam Suph is better translated in these passages as Sea of Reeds or Sea of Seaweed; see Egyptian reed fields, also described as the ka of the Nile Delta. In Jewish sources, 1 Kings 9:26 yam suph is translated as Sea of Reeds at Eilat on the Gulf of Eilat.
Did you bother to read your second quote?
That video was not taken at that place. It was located on the other side of the Saudi Arabia of that Red Sea.
You chose to see Reed of Sea by an errant reference and at a Wikipedia source too.
Marcelo shown a video that was not taken place in Egypt's River Delta, but in the actual Red Sea.
