Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Do Ants Really Do That?
Remember how Proverbs 6: 6-8 say: " Go to the the ant, you lazy one; see its ways and become wise. Although it has no commander, officer or ruler, it prepares its food even in the summer; it has gathered its food supplies even in the harvest." This, as we'll see was no myth or allegory.
According to experts some ants, including the harvester (Messor semirufus) found in Israel today do in fact gather and store food.
These ants leave their nests during warmer weather to harvest or collect such things as seeds they find either on the ground or growing on plants -- just as we today often search for and pick fruits from trees.
Not only that but this species of ant also constructs nests close to granaries or threshing floors and store their harvest in underground ganaries or chambers up to five inches in diameter and one-half inch high.
These are not isolated holes in ground forcing the ants to expose themselves to predators or cold weather to run from one to the other in search of more food. Each granary is a part of a network connected underground by galleries forming an underground city.
Such well-stocked colonies enable the ant to survive underground for up to four months without any outside source of food -- or water.
So Solomon's advice to copy the planning and activity of the ant was truly well founded.
According to experts some ants, including the harvester (Messor semirufus) found in Israel today do in fact gather and store food.
These ants leave their nests during warmer weather to harvest or collect such things as seeds they find either on the ground or growing on plants -- just as we today often search for and pick fruits from trees.
Not only that but this species of ant also constructs nests close to granaries or threshing floors and store their harvest in underground ganaries or chambers up to five inches in diameter and one-half inch high.
These are not isolated holes in ground forcing the ants to expose themselves to predators or cold weather to run from one to the other in search of more food. Each granary is a part of a network connected underground by galleries forming an underground city.
Such well-stocked colonies enable the ant to survive underground for up to four months without any outside source of food -- or water.
So Solomon's advice to copy the planning and activity of the ant was truly well founded.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
How Far Did Early Missionaries Travel?
Part 3 - Pytheas Sails North
In 320 B.C.E. the Greek mariner set out on a voyage to discover new lands north of the Mediterranean
By that year Massalia (now the modern French city of Marseilles) had become a prosperous commercial centre with traders sending Mediterranean wines, oils and bronzeware to countries to the north and importing amber and raw metals, such as tin from those lands.
According to scholars Massiliote traders commissioned Pytheas to find a quicker (and probably safer) sea route to those lands. From the careful account that Pytheas kept of seas, tides, geography as well as the different peoples he encountered and different readings he took of the sun's angle with a survey device known as gnomon which showed how far he had traveled, it appears that after sailing westward from Massalia he sailed north along the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain) to Brittany (France) and then northward still farther between Ireland and Britain and even farther north.
He wrote that he sailed some 6 days north of Britain to the land called Thule, a land where the sea was frozen and had a midnight sun.
There is some debate about exactly what land this was: Iceland, Norway, the Faroe or Orkney Islands, but Pytheas described it as a land of frozen seas and "the midnight sun" so he obviously had sailed pretty far north before returning home, sailing south through the North Sea back to Brittany and the Atlantic coast and home.
Other Phoenician, Greek, Roman, as well as sailors from other lands followed followed over the years. The world of Paul's day was one of expanding exploration, trade, and travel around the southern tip of Africa as well as far north as the Arctic.
But for most people these new territories were still unknown to most of the people Paul was writing to and it was not likely that he had these frontier territories in mind when he spoke about the good news being preached, "in all creation that is under heaven."
It was more likely that he was still referring to Mediterranean lands such as: Parthia, Elam, Media, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Asia Minor parts of Libya, and Rome. By Paul's day, long after Pentecost of 33C.E. when many Jewish persons as well as proselytes from these lands accepted Christianity the Christian message had indeed become well known in these areas of Mediterranean.
It's possible that individuals could have begun to carry the Christian message even farther afield into Africa and Europe by Paul's day -- but if so there is apparently no record of it.
In 320 B.C.E. the Greek mariner set out on a voyage to discover new lands north of the Mediterranean
By that year Massalia (now the modern French city of Marseilles) had become a prosperous commercial centre with traders sending Mediterranean wines, oils and bronzeware to countries to the north and importing amber and raw metals, such as tin from those lands.
According to scholars Massiliote traders commissioned Pytheas to find a quicker (and probably safer) sea route to those lands. From the careful account that Pytheas kept of seas, tides, geography as well as the different peoples he encountered and different readings he took of the sun's angle with a survey device known as gnomon which showed how far he had traveled, it appears that after sailing westward from Massalia he sailed north along the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain) to Brittany (France) and then northward still farther between Ireland and Britain and even farther north.
He wrote that he sailed some 6 days north of Britain to the land called Thule, a land where the sea was frozen and had a midnight sun.
There is some debate about exactly what land this was: Iceland, Norway, the Faroe or Orkney Islands, but Pytheas described it as a land of frozen seas and "the midnight sun" so he obviously had sailed pretty far north before returning home, sailing south through the North Sea back to Brittany and the Atlantic coast and home.
Other Phoenician, Greek, Roman, as well as sailors from other lands followed followed over the years. The world of Paul's day was one of expanding exploration, trade, and travel around the southern tip of Africa as well as far north as the Arctic.
But for most people these new territories were still unknown to most of the people Paul was writing to and it was not likely that he had these frontier territories in mind when he spoke about the good news being preached, "in all creation that is under heaven."
It was more likely that he was still referring to Mediterranean lands such as: Parthia, Elam, Media, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Asia Minor parts of Libya, and Rome. By Paul's day, long after Pentecost of 33C.E. when many Jewish persons as well as proselytes from these lands accepted Christianity the Christian message had indeed become well known in these areas of Mediterranean.
It's possible that individuals could have begun to carry the Christian message even farther afield into Africa and Europe by Paul's day -- but if so there is apparently no record of it.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Creator Needed
Notice in the post below that it was scientists that designed and built this brain.
Nothing like this ever happens without intelligent direction -- a Designer.
Now the same designers will have to keep this brain maintained or like everything else it won't improve by itself. It will start to crumble.
The Bible says that God created... Yet evolutionists will still claim that the human brain -- just evolved by itself.
Nothing like this ever happens without intelligent direction -- a Designer.
Now the same designers will have to keep this brain maintained or like everything else it won't improve by itself. It will start to crumble.
The Bible says that God created... Yet evolutionists will still claim that the human brain -- just evolved by itself.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
How Far Did Early Missionaries Travel?
Part Two -- Necho 's Phoenician Flotilla
You can imagine the look or surprise on faces of natives living along the East and West coasts of Africa one day in the seventh century B.C. as they saw a fleet of foreign galleys sailing past them.
These vessels were part of a flotilla commissioned by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho to sail around Africa from East to West starting in the Red Sea.
There was no certainty they would succeed. For centuries Phoenician mariners had been trying to sail southward along Africa's Atlantic coastline for centuries but had not succeeded in a complete trip around Africa from that direction according to the Greek historian Herodotus, because of tricky Atlantic currents and winds along that part of the coastline.
Still, they set off, sailing down the Red Sea and then southward along the East coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. And according to Herodotus they returned to Egypt after sailing around the southern tip of Africa, north along the Atlantic coastline and eastward through the Mediterranean three years later after stopping over somewhere along the route long enough to plant and harvest a food crop.
Some historians have debated the reliability of Herodotus' account but historian Lionel Carson believes there is no reason why skilled Phoenician mariners could not have completed the voyage in the time mentioned.
This successful voyage by the Phoenican flotilla do doubt opened up the way for merchants and traders and even early Christian missionaries to follow behind them just as the voyage of Pytheas we'll look at in Part Three did much the same thing North of the Mediterranean along the Atlantic Ocean as far as Britain and beyond.
You can imagine the look or surprise on faces of natives living along the East and West coasts of Africa one day in the seventh century B.C. as they saw a fleet of foreign galleys sailing past them.
These vessels were part of a flotilla commissioned by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho to sail around Africa from East to West starting in the Red Sea.
There was no certainty they would succeed. For centuries Phoenician mariners had been trying to sail southward along Africa's Atlantic coastline for centuries but had not succeeded in a complete trip around Africa from that direction according to the Greek historian Herodotus, because of tricky Atlantic currents and winds along that part of the coastline.
Still, they set off, sailing down the Red Sea and then southward along the East coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. And according to Herodotus they returned to Egypt after sailing around the southern tip of Africa, north along the Atlantic coastline and eastward through the Mediterranean three years later after stopping over somewhere along the route long enough to plant and harvest a food crop.
Some historians have debated the reliability of Herodotus' account but historian Lionel Carson believes there is no reason why skilled Phoenician mariners could not have completed the voyage in the time mentioned.
This successful voyage by the Phoenican flotilla do doubt opened up the way for merchants and traders and even early Christian missionaries to follow behind them just as the voyage of Pytheas we'll look at in Part Three did much the same thing North of the Mediterranean along the Atlantic Ocean as far as Britain and beyond.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
How Far Did Early Missionaries Travel?
Part One - Voyages to the Western Mediterranean and China
At Colossians 1:23 the Apostle Paul wrote about 60 C.E. that, "the good news was preached in all creation that is under heaven."
What exactly did he mean by that? Exactly how far had Christian missionaries traveled by his day? Some have suggested that he meant just the Mediterranean world his readers would have been familiar with.
But this known world would have included lands far beyond the Eastern end of the Mediterranean. Long before Paul's day Phoenician and other mariners had traveled across the entire Mediterranean to the Atlantic. There are reports of the Phoencians sailing regularly to both to Gadir ( the modern port city of Cadiz) and to Tarshish by the ninth century B.C.E. Still others had sailed down the Red Sea -- as far as India and even China by the second century B.C.E.
So the "known world" could have referred to other areas beyond the Eastern end of Mediterranean or The Great Sea as it was called then.
In Part Two we'll take a quick look at a Phoenician voyage around Africa organized by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt in the seventh century B.C.E.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Wine As A Medicine.
During Bible Times wine was prescribed and used as a potent medicine.
There are a number of examples of this in the Bible. One is at Luke 10: 30-34 where the Good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of a a traveler after he had been attacked and left for dead by robbers. Another is at 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul told Timothy, "Do not drink water any longer, but use a little wine for your sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness."
This was regarded as wise medical treatment at the time. According to the book Ancient Wine which describes win as a "analgesic, disinfectant, and general remedy all rolled into one."
Because of this it played a major role in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Syrian health care.
Two other publications support this. The Oxford Companion to Wine says that wine is actually man's "oldest documented medicine" and The Origins and Ancient History of Wine says:
"It has been shown experimentally that living typhoid and other dangerous microbes rapidly die when mixed with wine."
And modern research supports these claims showing. Researchers have found that there are more than 500 compounds contained in wine and that some of these can protect persons from such diseases as typhoid as well a provide a number of other medicinal benefits.
There are a number of examples of this in the Bible. One is at Luke 10: 30-34 where the Good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounds of a a traveler after he had been attacked and left for dead by robbers. Another is at 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul told Timothy, "Do not drink water any longer, but use a little wine for your sake of your stomach and your frequent cases of sickness."
This was regarded as wise medical treatment at the time. According to the book Ancient Wine which describes win as a "analgesic, disinfectant, and general remedy all rolled into one."
Because of this it played a major role in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Syrian health care.
Two other publications support this. The Oxford Companion to Wine says that wine is actually man's "oldest documented medicine" and The Origins and Ancient History of Wine says:
"It has been shown experimentally that living typhoid and other dangerous microbes rapidly die when mixed with wine."
And modern research supports these claims showing. Researchers have found that there are more than 500 compounds contained in wine and that some of these can protect persons from such diseases as typhoid as well a provide a number of other medicinal benefits.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
The Garment That Made Them Gamble
According to John 19: 223 four Roman soldiers who witnessed Christ's death on the torture stake cast lots to see who would take the inner garment he had worn
You might wonder why they would view his inner garment as such a prize. I mean inner garments were not unique. Natives of the Middle during that time often wore these under their clothes much as we would wear a sweat shirt today. They were not that unique.
Early tailors made from rectangular pieces of linen or wool that when finished reached to the wearer's knees after the clothes maker had sewn together two pieces of rectangular cloth along three sides and left holes for head and arms.
More expensive garments were made from one longer piece of cloth and folder in the middle with a hole left for the head. The sides then were hemmed up with holes for both arms on the sides according to the publication Jesus and His World. Still not that unusual.
But both the loom and the tunic produced on it were very unique -- at least in Palestine. The operator worked with an upright loom with two sets of of vertical threads -- one at the front of the loom and one at the rear.
Unlike other looms the operator making this style of garment alternated the shuttle on the machine which carried the weft threat alternatively between the two enabling the weaver to produce sa cylindrical garments -- with no seams.
This style of inner garment was very rare in Palestine of that time and would have been a prized possession -- something Roman soldiers saw as something worth casting lots for. The rest of Jesus' clothes they apparently just divided up.
You might wonder why they would view his inner garment as such a prize. I mean inner garments were not unique. Natives of the Middle during that time often wore these under their clothes much as we would wear a sweat shirt today. They were not that unique.
Early tailors made from rectangular pieces of linen or wool that when finished reached to the wearer's knees after the clothes maker had sewn together two pieces of rectangular cloth along three sides and left holes for head and arms.
More expensive garments were made from one longer piece of cloth and folder in the middle with a hole left for the head. The sides then were hemmed up with holes for both arms on the sides according to the publication Jesus and His World. Still not that unusual.
But both the loom and the tunic produced on it were very unique -- at least in Palestine. The operator worked with an upright loom with two sets of of vertical threads -- one at the front of the loom and one at the rear.
Unlike other looms the operator making this style of garment alternated the shuttle on the machine which carried the weft threat alternatively between the two enabling the weaver to produce sa cylindrical garments -- with no seams.
This style of inner garment was very rare in Palestine of that time and would have been a prized possession -- something Roman soldiers saw as something worth casting lots for. The rest of Jesus' clothes they apparently just divided up.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Creators of Durable Portable Shelters
Modular, portable buildings had an early start in the Middle East. Archaeological evidence shows that during the time of Roman occupation of Egypt young men about 13 began learning a trade. One of these was tent making -- a craft that might take them several years to master according to the book The Social Context of Paul's Ministry.
It was not just a matter of grabbing a needle and start sewing. There was much to learn such as how to cut material to size and shape and sewing it all together with a variety of awls and needles and using a variety of stitching techniques.
Tent makers also had to learn how to weave different materials to work with before sewing them together. Different materials included goal and camel hair, which expanded when wet, blocking out the rain as well as leather and even linen --used to create sun awnings to cover the atria of private houses and possibly other buildings.
Once they mastered their trade, as the Apostle Paul did according to Acts18:3young Jewish men, as well as men from surrounding countries had valuable skills that enabled to earn a living almost anywhere they traveled -- either making new or repairing old tents for others.
This is a trade that exists down to this day in the Middle Eastern countries.
It was not just a matter of grabbing a needle and start sewing. There was much to learn such as how to cut material to size and shape and sewing it all together with a variety of awls and needles and using a variety of stitching techniques.
Tent makers also had to learn how to weave different materials to work with before sewing them together. Different materials included goal and camel hair, which expanded when wet, blocking out the rain as well as leather and even linen --used to create sun awnings to cover the atria of private houses and possibly other buildings.
Once they mastered their trade, as the Apostle Paul did according to Acts18:3young Jewish men, as well as men from surrounding countries had valuable skills that enabled to earn a living almost anywhere they traveled -- either making new or repairing old tents for others.
This is a trade that exists down to this day in the Middle Eastern countries.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Critical Reactions to Warnings
How do you respond to warnings about disasters? Are you like the thousands fleeing Hurricane Sandy or those who stubbornly refused to listen? Your reaction could mean your life.
Take the one Jesus made about Jerusalem for instance. Jesus warned, as recorded at Luke Luke 21: 20, 2,1 that the city was going to be destroyed. Most of the inhabitants of that city unfortunately had rejected him as the Messiah and did not listen when he said, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by the encamped armies...Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw." because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.
What happened? Several decades later Cestius Gallus' Roman army surrounded Jerusalem while crushing a Palestinian revolt according to Josephus and was on the verge of sacking the city when Gallus, for some reason, ordered a withdrawal.
There were two completely different responses to this sudden retreat. Encouraged by this sudden change of fortune most of the inhabitants thought the danger was over and ignored Jesus' warning to flee the city when this happened.
But Judean Christians listened and fled to Pella, a mountain city in the Decapolis region, according church historian Eusebius. They stayed their faithfully for years, not returning to Jerusalem which appeared to be still thriving. It must have been tempting to return.
But by remaining in Pella these disciples of Jesus escaped the returning Roman armies in 70 C.E. In that year the Roman General Titus led another army that besieged and laid waste to the entire city. Hundreds of thousands perished as the Roman legions had no pity on those who refused to heed Jesus prophetic warning and continued to defy Rome.
Take the one Jesus made about Jerusalem for instance. Jesus warned, as recorded at Luke Luke 21: 20, 2,1 that the city was going to be destroyed. Most of the inhabitants of that city unfortunately had rejected him as the Messiah and did not listen when he said, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by the encamped armies...Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw." because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed.
What happened? Several decades later Cestius Gallus' Roman army surrounded Jerusalem while crushing a Palestinian revolt according to Josephus and was on the verge of sacking the city when Gallus, for some reason, ordered a withdrawal.
There were two completely different responses to this sudden retreat. Encouraged by this sudden change of fortune most of the inhabitants thought the danger was over and ignored Jesus' warning to flee the city when this happened.
But Judean Christians listened and fled to Pella, a mountain city in the Decapolis region, according church historian Eusebius. They stayed their faithfully for years, not returning to Jerusalem which appeared to be still thriving. It must have been tempting to return.
But by remaining in Pella these disciples of Jesus escaped the returning Roman armies in 70 C.E. In that year the Roman General Titus led another army that besieged and laid waste to the entire city. Hundreds of thousands perished as the Roman legions had no pity on those who refused to heed Jesus prophetic warning and continued to defy Rome.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Ancient Brew Masters
The desire to relax and celebrate with the help intoxicating drinks made by ancient brew masters and wine makers is as old as human history. Right from Genesis where Noah is depicted as enjoying his wine after the flood down through the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures or New Testament there are frequent references to wine and intoxicating liquors.
Two of these references are at Deuteronomy 14: 26 where God spoke of enjoying wine and intoxicating liquor and Luke 1:15 where he showed that John the Baptist should not touch "wine or strong drink" at all as a special evangelist going in advance of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
This was not a blanket prohibition against the consumption of such drinks, however. Jesus, himself on at least one occasion during his earthly lifetime, turned water into wine during a wedding feast and the Apostle Paul on at least one other occasion suggested to Timothy that he take a little wine, "for his stomach's sake."
Just what Luke meant by "strong drink" is unclear, but certainly the Jews and other peoples had a wide variety of types of alcoholic beverages other than grapes. Other drinks were made other fruits such as dates, figs, apples, and pomegranates as well as honey. He apparently did not have in mind anything like the gins, vodka, or whiskeys we enjoy today though.
The forerunners of our Seagram's and other distillers of grains and other crops to make such beverages were a much later development in man's history, but the early Jewish and other peoples of the Middle East, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Philistines did consume beers made from crops such as barley.
They all enjoyed their refreshing beers. Archaeologists have found evidence of this in the form of paintings of brewers in Egyptian tombs, artifacts showing Babylonian nobles as well as commoners enjoyed their beer on a daily basis. And in addition to these discoveries searchers have found jugs with strainer spouts to prevent Philistine drinkers from swallowing the barley husks as they drank in archaeological digs through modern day Palestine.
So the idea of relaxing and celebrating with the help of wines and other alcoholic beverages has a long history starting with the ancient Brew Masters such as Noah and others of his era.
Two of these references are at Deuteronomy 14: 26 where God spoke of enjoying wine and intoxicating liquor and Luke 1:15 where he showed that John the Baptist should not touch "wine or strong drink" at all as a special evangelist going in advance of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.
This was not a blanket prohibition against the consumption of such drinks, however. Jesus, himself on at least one occasion during his earthly lifetime, turned water into wine during a wedding feast and the Apostle Paul on at least one other occasion suggested to Timothy that he take a little wine, "for his stomach's sake."
Just what Luke meant by "strong drink" is unclear, but certainly the Jews and other peoples had a wide variety of types of alcoholic beverages other than grapes. Other drinks were made other fruits such as dates, figs, apples, and pomegranates as well as honey. He apparently did not have in mind anything like the gins, vodka, or whiskeys we enjoy today though.
The forerunners of our Seagram's and other distillers of grains and other crops to make such beverages were a much later development in man's history, but the early Jewish and other peoples of the Middle East, such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Philistines did consume beers made from crops such as barley.
They all enjoyed their refreshing beers. Archaeologists have found evidence of this in the form of paintings of brewers in Egyptian tombs, artifacts showing Babylonian nobles as well as commoners enjoyed their beer on a daily basis. And in addition to these discoveries searchers have found jugs with strainer spouts to prevent Philistine drinkers from swallowing the barley husks as they drank in archaeological digs through modern day Palestine.
So the idea of relaxing and celebrating with the help of wines and other alcoholic beverages has a long history starting with the ancient Brew Masters such as Noah and others of his era.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Part of The Roots of Modern Publishing
By the time of the Apostle Paul and other scribes the development of pens and various types of inks was well under way in the Middle East -- the roots of the sophisticated inks used in publishing today.
He and others used pens, not unlike early quills or even our modern fountain pens, particularly the ones without an ink reservoir office workers and students used to tip into the ink bottle to pick up enough ink on the to write a few words. Most of us remember those you used to have sitting on your desks as well as in the paper blotter to used to dry the words to keep them from smudging if you turned to page?
Paul and other used a pen made from a reed carved to a point with a slit in the centre on one end just like a modern fountain pen or a brush to paint the words onto the writing surface
The ink Paul and other scribes used was usually black, but according The Aid to Bible Understanding some ancients also produced colored inks by adding iron oxides and tinctures to other colors such a rich gold. But apparently black ink predominated and was made basically from amorphous soot or crystalline charcoal contained in a liquid containing gum, blue or varnish which bound the ink to the scrolls.
This ink was not kept in a liquid form however. The ink was stored in dried cakes or bars and when writing the writer had to moisten sufficiently to transfer the ink to the tip of his brush or reed pen.
These early writers worked with two basic ink varieties. Some were quite resistant to smudging once they had dried -- even after they had been soaked in water for several weeks. Others could be wiped out with a damp cloth or sponge. ( Some scholars believe that this feature of some of the inks was the basis for the warning at Exodus 32:33 where Jehovah warned: " Whoever has sinned against me I shall wipe him out of my book.") That would create a very vivid impression in the mind of the listener or reader.
The editors of Aid to Bible Understanding do not mention when the first inks were produced or who came up with the idea, but do explain that," To make the best inks much time was required to grind and disperse the pigments into their vehicles," the liquid mediums containing that gum glue or varnish.
He and others used pens, not unlike early quills or even our modern fountain pens, particularly the ones without an ink reservoir office workers and students used to tip into the ink bottle to pick up enough ink on the to write a few words. Most of us remember those you used to have sitting on your desks as well as in the paper blotter to used to dry the words to keep them from smudging if you turned to page?
Paul and other used a pen made from a reed carved to a point with a slit in the centre on one end just like a modern fountain pen or a brush to paint the words onto the writing surface
The ink Paul and other scribes used was usually black, but according The Aid to Bible Understanding some ancients also produced colored inks by adding iron oxides and tinctures to other colors such a rich gold. But apparently black ink predominated and was made basically from amorphous soot or crystalline charcoal contained in a liquid containing gum, blue or varnish which bound the ink to the scrolls.
This ink was not kept in a liquid form however. The ink was stored in dried cakes or bars and when writing the writer had to moisten sufficiently to transfer the ink to the tip of his brush or reed pen.
These early writers worked with two basic ink varieties. Some were quite resistant to smudging once they had dried -- even after they had been soaked in water for several weeks. Others could be wiped out with a damp cloth or sponge. ( Some scholars believe that this feature of some of the inks was the basis for the warning at Exodus 32:33 where Jehovah warned: " Whoever has sinned against me I shall wipe him out of my book.") That would create a very vivid impression in the mind of the listener or reader.
The editors of Aid to Bible Understanding do not mention when the first inks were produced or who came up with the idea, but do explain that," To make the best inks much time was required to grind and disperse the pigments into their vehicles," the liquid mediums containing that gum glue or varnish.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
A Truly Unique Book
Most ancient books have been long forgotten but the Bible has proven itself a very memorable and unique book not only because it has been the most widely translated, distributed, and sold book of all time but because it accomplished all this despite unending attempts to destroy it.
19th-century theologian Albert Barnes reminds of these attempts to suppress and destroy it, saying, "No other books has received so much opposition as this, but it has survived every attack which power, talent, and eloquence have ever made on it.
Speaking of the many attacks on it he continues, "But no army every survived so many battles as the Bible....and still stood unmoved."
It has truly proved itself to be a unique book that can not be destroyed although many have tried even as it words were being written, such as the Israelite king, Jehoiakim who was provoked by Jeremiah's warning that Jerusalem would be destroyed because of the evilness the Jewish people at the time.
These attempts to destroy the Bible have continued by such people through the centuries but with no success.
(See Jeremiah 36: 1-23 for more information).
19th-century theologian Albert Barnes reminds of these attempts to suppress and destroy it, saying, "No other books has received so much opposition as this, but it has survived every attack which power, talent, and eloquence have ever made on it.
Speaking of the many attacks on it he continues, "But no army every survived so many battles as the Bible....and still stood unmoved."
It has truly proved itself to be a unique book that can not be destroyed although many have tried even as it words were being written, such as the Israelite king, Jehoiakim who was provoked by Jeremiah's warning that Jerusalem would be destroyed because of the evilness the Jewish people at the time.
These attempts to destroy the Bible have continued by such people through the centuries but with no success.
(See Jeremiah 36: 1-23 for more information).
Friday, September 7, 2012
How About That Book of Beginnings?
What about that Book of Beginnings? Have you ever taken the time to look into the background of the Bible book of Genesis? It is an intriguing book of only 50 short chapters which contains a mine of information about the origin and early history of man.
It is not based on mythology as some critics have claimed, but a carefully researched, written and edited introduction to the Bible as the first book of the the Pentateuch which made up the first five books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.
Moses, who edited or put all of this part of the Bible together made a careful investigation of the written and even oral histories of those who lived before him. As you read through Genesis you will see expressions called "colophons" identifying the author of the original document Moses used in compiling the early history of man.
A good example of this is the one at Genesis 5:12 where it says, "This is the book of Adam's history." These histories carried (and us) from the time of Adam and Noah in 4026 B.C.E. down to the time of Jacob in 1728 B.C.E.
You'll notice that from this point that what Moses wrote is not supported by such histories. However Moses still had a very reliable resource of information in his family.
His great grandfather, Levi, was the half brother of Joseph who lived during a part of the time covered in the last segment of Genesis. He no doubt what have shared what he knew with his family members. And God, through his Spirit, would have ensured that none of this history was lost or distorted.
Because of all of this we can be assured of the accuracy of all of Genesis -- the book of man's beginnings.
It is not based on mythology as some critics have claimed, but a carefully researched, written and edited introduction to the Bible as the first book of the the Pentateuch which made up the first five books of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.
Moses, who edited or put all of this part of the Bible together made a careful investigation of the written and even oral histories of those who lived before him. As you read through Genesis you will see expressions called "colophons" identifying the author of the original document Moses used in compiling the early history of man.
A good example of this is the one at Genesis 5:12 where it says, "This is the book of Adam's history." These histories carried (and us) from the time of Adam and Noah in 4026 B.C.E. down to the time of Jacob in 1728 B.C.E.
You'll notice that from this point that what Moses wrote is not supported by such histories. However Moses still had a very reliable resource of information in his family.
His great grandfather, Levi, was the half brother of Joseph who lived during a part of the time covered in the last segment of Genesis. He no doubt what have shared what he knew with his family members. And God, through his Spirit, would have ensured that none of this history was lost or distorted.
Because of all of this we can be assured of the accuracy of all of Genesis -- the book of man's beginnings.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Pony Express and Couriers in Bible Times
American Western movies used to create the idea that the earliest mail delivery was carried out by the hardy pony express riders who raced across mountains, deserts, and prairies fighting treacherous weather, outlaws,
and hostile Indians to deliver the mail and messages for the government sand private citizens -- but they were actually only continuing a long tradition began in the Middle East.
Many of these couriers in ancient Israel and other nearby countries were working unofficially being family members, friends, soldiers, or merchants who were travelling to the desired city or town.
The Apostle Paul, for instance, gave some of his letters to fellow Christians as Tychicus to deliver to the Ephesians. Obviously, depending on the nature of the letter or message such couriers would be selected carefully to ensure confidentially and delivery.
Governments, however, had more organized mail delivery systems. Esther 8:10, for example describes how Mordecai had a letter with King Ahasuerus official seal delivered by a royal courier riding, "sons of speedy mares."
And the Roman government also had such an official courier service for military and administrative mail or messages despatched throughout the Roman Empire.
So although the American mail delivery system might have begun with the Pony Express by then it was by then merely carrying on a long tradition of mail delivery by horseback (and other) couriers.
and hostile Indians to deliver the mail and messages for the government sand private citizens -- but they were actually only continuing a long tradition began in the Middle East.
Many of these couriers in ancient Israel and other nearby countries were working unofficially being family members, friends, soldiers, or merchants who were travelling to the desired city or town.
The Apostle Paul, for instance, gave some of his letters to fellow Christians as Tychicus to deliver to the Ephesians. Obviously, depending on the nature of the letter or message such couriers would be selected carefully to ensure confidentially and delivery.
Governments, however, had more organized mail delivery systems. Esther 8:10, for example describes how Mordecai had a letter with King Ahasuerus official seal delivered by a royal courier riding, "sons of speedy mares."
And the Roman government also had such an official courier service for military and administrative mail or messages despatched throughout the Roman Empire.
So although the American mail delivery system might have begun with the Pony Express by then it was by then merely carrying on a long tradition of mail delivery by horseback (and other) couriers.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Retail Centers and Inflation Not Unique to Modern Times
Retail centers and inflation were well known in Bible times.
Not unlike modern cities merchants like to establish their business in areas where there was a lot of traffic. The Bible mentions markets at various city gates in ancient Jerusalem such "The Fish Gate," The Sheep Gate, and the "Gate of Potsherds."
There was even a "street of the bakers according to Jeremiah 37:21
Naturally such names referred to the type of goods sold at each of these gates and commercial centers -- mentioned in Nehemiah 3: 1,3 and Jeremiah 19:2 just as some street names in modern cities suggest the type of commercial activity carried on there -- such as Fleet or Wall Streets in England and the United States.
Like our modern era goods were sold through bartering as well as money and customers had to cope both a variety of prices as well as inflation down through they years.
For example at the time that Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in the 18th century B.C.E. in a jealous rage all they received for him was 20 silver pieces -- possibly a shekel. But 300 years later the price for a slaver shot up to 30 shekels according to Exodus 3: 32 and by the eighth century B.C.E. the price for a slave was 50 shekels as described in the 2 Kings 15:20 account. And 200 years after this the asking price for a slave was 90 shekels -- or more.
So both shopping at the local market or mall and having to pay ever more for food and other items seems to be common to both Biblical and our modern worlds.
Not unlike modern cities merchants like to establish their business in areas where there was a lot of traffic. The Bible mentions markets at various city gates in ancient Jerusalem such "The Fish Gate," The Sheep Gate, and the "Gate of Potsherds."
There was even a "street of the bakers according to Jeremiah 37:21
Naturally such names referred to the type of goods sold at each of these gates and commercial centers -- mentioned in Nehemiah 3: 1,3 and Jeremiah 19:2 just as some street names in modern cities suggest the type of commercial activity carried on there -- such as Fleet or Wall Streets in England and the United States.
Like our modern era goods were sold through bartering as well as money and customers had to cope both a variety of prices as well as inflation down through they years.
For example at the time that Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery in the 18th century B.C.E. in a jealous rage all they received for him was 20 silver pieces -- possibly a shekel. But 300 years later the price for a slaver shot up to 30 shekels according to Exodus 3: 32 and by the eighth century B.C.E. the price for a slave was 50 shekels as described in the 2 Kings 15:20 account. And 200 years after this the asking price for a slave was 90 shekels -- or more.
So both shopping at the local market or mall and having to pay ever more for food and other items seems to be common to both Biblical and our modern worlds.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Did the Pool of Siloam Actually Exist?
Remember how Jesus told the blind man, after putting softened clay on his eyes, " Go wash in the pool of Siloam."? The did what Jesus says, the Bible account at John 9: 6,7 says, and came back seeing.
But, did this pool actually exist? Many tourists in modern times have bathed in a pool found at the end of the 530-metre-long tunnel King Hezekiah constructed at the end of the eighth century B.C.E.
It was later discovered that the pool found here was built by Byzantine Christians in the fourth century C.E. long after Jesus' time. Apparently they thought the original Pool of Siloam would have been at the end of this tunnel and so decided to reconstruct the pool there.
The true Pool of Siloam has been discovered, however. In 2004, archaeologists found the remains of another pool 100 meters southeast of the Byzantine pool and concluded that this was actually the site of the original Pool of Siloam.
This was discovered accidentally by an alert archaeologist watching workers repair a sewer main. When the work was halted an archaeological team went in and discovered the pool of 70 meters long.
It had fallen into disuse after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. and had gradually filled in with mud washed down the nearby v alley during winter storms.
The archaeological discovery proves the accuracy of the Gospel account of Jesus restoring the eyesight of the blind man.
But, did this pool actually exist? Many tourists in modern times have bathed in a pool found at the end of the 530-metre-long tunnel King Hezekiah constructed at the end of the eighth century B.C.E.
It was later discovered that the pool found here was built by Byzantine Christians in the fourth century C.E. long after Jesus' time. Apparently they thought the original Pool of Siloam would have been at the end of this tunnel and so decided to reconstruct the pool there.
The true Pool of Siloam has been discovered, however. In 2004, archaeologists found the remains of another pool 100 meters southeast of the Byzantine pool and concluded that this was actually the site of the original Pool of Siloam.
This was discovered accidentally by an alert archaeologist watching workers repair a sewer main. When the work was halted an archaeological team went in and discovered the pool of 70 meters long.
It had fallen into disuse after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. and had gradually filled in with mud washed down the nearby v alley during winter storms.
The archaeological discovery proves the accuracy of the Gospel account of Jesus restoring the eyesight of the blind man.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Trusted Genealogists
Great care was taken with these genealogies by the government and private families: Because accurate genealogies were so critical special officers were assigned to keep such family histories according Flavius Josephus and the editors of The Jewish Encyclopedia.
Special steps were taken to ensure the accuracy of these public records of royal, priestly, and Levitical families. First of all the character of these historians was carefully checked to make sure they were ethical and diligent workers. And their work was examined in detail by a court of inquiry established in Jerusalem.
Their work proved priceless: Through these genealogies Gospel writers such as Mathew, Mark and Luke were able to trace the ancestry of Jesus all the way back to King David -- as could other prominent religious leaders of Jesus" time such as rabbi Hellel. And even Flavius Josephus could prove that he was of royal blood on his mother's side.
Because such genealogies were also need to proved family ties and inheritances and other rights families also appointed one family members or members to preserve an accurate family history down through the years
Special steps were taken to ensure the accuracy of these public records of royal, priestly, and Levitical families. First of all the character of these historians was carefully checked to make sure they were ethical and diligent workers. And their work was examined in detail by a court of inquiry established in Jerusalem.
Their work proved priceless: Through these genealogies Gospel writers such as Mathew, Mark and Luke were able to trace the ancestry of Jesus all the way back to King David -- as could other prominent religious leaders of Jesus" time such as rabbi Hellel. And even Flavius Josephus could prove that he was of royal blood on his mother's side.
Because such genealogies were also need to proved family ties and inheritances and other rights families also appointed one family members or members to preserve an accurate family history down through the years
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Genealogies Critical to Israelites
Many persons today go to extraordinary lengths to trace their family ancestry sometimes to be able to share in inheritances, but often just for personal satisfaction. To the ancient Israelites, however, it was a much more serious matter.
The keeping of accurate genealogies played a number of critical roles for individuals as well as the nation as a whole.
First of all, in order to exercise any civic rights an Israelite man had to prove his pure connection to one of the tribes -- with no fleshly connection to the Ammonite or Moabite race for instance, according to Deuteronomy 23: 2,3, according to scholar Joachim Jeremias. Beyond that accurate geanologies were also critical in establishing, "tribal and family relationships and determining land divisions and inheritances.
And on a national level, according to Jeremias such family records were also critical to protective the purity of the hereditary line of Levites and Aaronic priests. "It was imperative that the purity of line remain unblemished," says Jeremias.
They went to great lengths to achieve this goal such as insisting that women wanting to marry into priestly families had to prove their hereditary background was pure and disqualifying entire families claiming a Levitical history in Nehemia's day after Cyrus freed them from Babylonian captivity when these families could not produce genealogical proof of their claims.
The Bible is perhaps one of the best example of an accurate genealogical record proving without a doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah a descendant of the line of King David of the Tribe of Judah the Bible said he would be.
(See "Evidence All Around us" Below)
The keeping of accurate genealogies played a number of critical roles for individuals as well as the nation as a whole.
First of all, in order to exercise any civic rights an Israelite man had to prove his pure connection to one of the tribes -- with no fleshly connection to the Ammonite or Moabite race for instance, according to Deuteronomy 23: 2,3, according to scholar Joachim Jeremias. Beyond that accurate geanologies were also critical in establishing, "tribal and family relationships and determining land divisions and inheritances.
And on a national level, according to Jeremias such family records were also critical to protective the purity of the hereditary line of Levites and Aaronic priests. "It was imperative that the purity of line remain unblemished," says Jeremias.
They went to great lengths to achieve this goal such as insisting that women wanting to marry into priestly families had to prove their hereditary background was pure and disqualifying entire families claiming a Levitical history in Nehemia's day after Cyrus freed them from Babylonian captivity when these families could not produce genealogical proof of their claims.
The Bible is perhaps one of the best example of an accurate genealogical record proving without a doubt that Jesus was the promised Messiah a descendant of the line of King David of the Tribe of Judah the Bible said he would be.
(See "Evidence All Around us" Below)
Evidence All Around Us
I believe it was the Apostle Paul who wrote them we have no reason for doubting the existing of God because of the evidence all around us in nature.
And nature does tell a compelling story of his existence when we observe its beauty and think about the marvelous skills these plants and animals have. Only a fool would think that something as marvelous a the Space Station requires careful design and construction techniques, but our marvelous earth with its diverse forms of life and their intricate designs and skills -- which humans often try to mimic -- all happened by accident.
Look up "Box Fish" for instance, either on line or in a print publication and you will see an example of such creations we are surrounded by.
Do you really think such crations just popped up by blind chance through the forces of "Mother Nature"?
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Excitement Over God Particle
Now there is lot of excitement in the scientific world about the supposed discovery of the "God Particle" -- that some claim will help them to understand how the universe began.
Don't get too excited about this though. How do we know that the self-appointed "scientific clergy" are going to be able to correctly -- s or honestly -- interpret what they find?
When you stop to think about think about the number of times scientists have changed their minds about such relatively minor things like whether or not coffee is good or bad for you -- the number of different theories about the "Big Ban" that allegedly started the whole universe growing -- or the number of times you hear about dishonesty in scientific discoveries any claims about how the universe just happened by accident have to viewed for what they are --more desperate attempts to prove that God is not necessary.
Don't get too excited about this though. How do we know that the self-appointed "scientific clergy" are going to be able to correctly -- s or honestly -- interpret what they find?
When you stop to think about think about the number of times scientists have changed their minds about such relatively minor things like whether or not coffee is good or bad for you -- the number of different theories about the "Big Ban" that allegedly started the whole universe growing -- or the number of times you hear about dishonesty in scientific discoveries any claims about how the universe just happened by accident have to viewed for what they are --more desperate attempts to prove that God is not necessary.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
More Honey Proof To Prove Accuracy of Bible
Here is some more "sweet evidence" that proves the Bible accuracy.
Moses described the land the Israelites were going to inherit as a "good and spacious, ...a land flowing with milk and honey."
But what was the source of this honey? Was the honey just the sweet juice from dates, figs, or grapes or was it the wild honey Mathew and other Bible writers mentioned? In Mathew 3: 1, 4 Gospel Writer, Mathew, said that John the Baptist existed on locusts such wild honey while living in the wilderness.
The Israelites made good use of such juices no doubt, , but recent archaeological finds show that some of them were skilled beekeepers. A Professsor (Amihai) Mazar of the Hebrew University has mentioned the archaeological evidence of this.
He mentions an apiary found at Tel Rehov which dates back to the time of Solomon's Temple Period around the 10th and 9th centuries B.C.E.
Such apiaries as this one played a significant role in early development of the Jewish nation. This one had some 100 hives set up in three rows and according to scholar could produce up to 100 tons of honey and beeswax annually.
This honey and beeswax was used in a number of industries.These apiaries provided the early Israelites not only with a delicious food and food sweetener, but also with a steady supply of beeswax used in the metal and leather industries. And it was also used in the production of writing boards which consisted of a wooden panel and recess filled with the wax.
Moses described the land the Israelites were going to inherit as a "good and spacious, ...a land flowing with milk and honey."
But what was the source of this honey? Was the honey just the sweet juice from dates, figs, or grapes or was it the wild honey Mathew and other Bible writers mentioned? In Mathew 3: 1, 4 Gospel Writer, Mathew, said that John the Baptist existed on locusts such wild honey while living in the wilderness.
The Israelites made good use of such juices no doubt, , but recent archaeological finds show that some of them were skilled beekeepers. A Professsor (Amihai) Mazar of the Hebrew University has mentioned the archaeological evidence of this.
He mentions an apiary found at Tel Rehov which dates back to the time of Solomon's Temple Period around the 10th and 9th centuries B.C.E.
Such apiaries as this one played a significant role in early development of the Jewish nation. This one had some 100 hives set up in three rows and according to scholar could produce up to 100 tons of honey and beeswax annually.
This honey and beeswax was used in a number of industries.These apiaries provided the early Israelites not only with a delicious food and food sweetener, but also with a steady supply of beeswax used in the metal and leather industries. And it was also used in the production of writing boards which consisted of a wooden panel and recess filled with the wax.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
How Great Was Babylon Really?
Nebuchadnezzar, King of ancient Babylon seemed to think that the city he build was truly magnificent, saying at Daniel 4:30: " Is not this Babylon the Great, that I myself have built for the royal house with the strength of my might and the dignity of my majesty?" But was he deluding himself?
He was quite a builder. According to historian the main temple in Babylon featured a tower or ziggurat over 230 feet or 70 meters high. That would make it comparable many of the modern sky scrapers designed by architects today. This was in addition to many temples, palaces, walls and that magnificent terraced garden.
But according to the author of Babylon--City of Wonders The Processional Way which ran through the Ishtar gate was bordered by statues of striding lions and was his grandest project as a builder.
The gate itself was covered with deep blue glazed bricks which featured reliefs of hundreds of marching bulls and dragons.
Visitors to this ancient city must have been awestruck by the magnificence of this and other architectural projects -- as were the archaeologists was uncovered the evidence of much of his work in the earth part of the Twentieth Century. He definitely was not deluding himself when speaking of the city he had designed and had built.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Was the Flood of Noah's Day Really Global?
What do you think of the flood of Noah's Day. Myth or reality?
Many experts have tried to explain away the flood of Noah's day as described in the Bible as merely the sudden flooding of the Black Sea -- and many persons accept that.
But is that all it really was. There is evidence from all over the world that it was a global flood. Take the frozen carcasses of elephants and other animals discovered frozen solid in the Arctic tundra with edible food still in their mouths. Take the discovery shells and other objects found on some of the highest mountains.
And take for example the huge flood that geologists said roared through the northwestern part of the United States thousands of years ago. One of these swept through this area as a wall of water 600 metres high at some 105 kilometers an hour. They say there is evidence of this being a huge wall of water containing some 2,000 cubic kilometers of water and weighing more than two trillion tons. And much of that water is still here -- with the earth still 71 percent water.
This flood is not an isolated piece of flood evidence. Similar geological evidence of a huge flood in other areas of the globe have convinced open-minded scientists that a global flood as described in the Bible is a distinct possibility.
So the next time you read the part of the Bible which says, "The deluge went on for forth days upon the earth...And waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to fifteen cubits [6.5 metres] the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered" think of the evidence that -- yes -- it really did happen.
Many experts have tried to explain away the flood of Noah's day as described in the Bible as merely the sudden flooding of the Black Sea -- and many persons accept that.
But is that all it really was. There is evidence from all over the world that it was a global flood. Take the frozen carcasses of elephants and other animals discovered frozen solid in the Arctic tundra with edible food still in their mouths. Take the discovery shells and other objects found on some of the highest mountains.
And take for example the huge flood that geologists said roared through the northwestern part of the United States thousands of years ago. One of these swept through this area as a wall of water 600 metres high at some 105 kilometers an hour. They say there is evidence of this being a huge wall of water containing some 2,000 cubic kilometers of water and weighing more than two trillion tons. And much of that water is still here -- with the earth still 71 percent water.
This flood is not an isolated piece of flood evidence. Similar geological evidence of a huge flood in other areas of the globe have convinced open-minded scientists that a global flood as described in the Bible is a distinct possibility.
So the next time you read the part of the Bible which says, "The deluge went on for forth days upon the earth...And waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to fifteen cubits [6.5 metres] the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered" think of the evidence that -- yes -- it really did happen.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Jesus' Death Stumbled Many
Jesus' death did stumble many. They were revolted by his impalement and stopped believing in him. As the Apostle Paul said at 1 Corinthians 1:23, this "became a cause for stumbling." But why?
The reason, is that in the eyes of most Jews, according to historian, Ben Witherington III, such as an impalement was "the most shameful way to died in the world. He says that people in the Middle East believed that the nature of your death portrayed who you were as a person -- and being impaled was usually reserved for criminals guilty of murder or sedition.
So in the eyes of many Jesus must have been really a scoundrel -- a person guilty of blasphemy against God and sedition against the state as the Jewish Sanhedrin alleged.
This seems strange since centuries earlier Hebrew prophets predicted the vile treatment that the Messiah would receive at the hands of his enemies, but still it did happen.
In view of this it does not seem reasonable to believe, as some Bible critics do, that the early Gospel writers, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, made up the accounts of Jesus' trial, death, and resurrection.
If they were trying to create myths about Jesus in order to attract others to their beliefs this is not the way they would have gone about it in view of the way most Jews viewed death by impalement.
The reason, is that in the eyes of most Jews, according to historian, Ben Witherington III, such as an impalement was "the most shameful way to died in the world. He says that people in the Middle East believed that the nature of your death portrayed who you were as a person -- and being impaled was usually reserved for criminals guilty of murder or sedition.
So in the eyes of many Jesus must have been really a scoundrel -- a person guilty of blasphemy against God and sedition against the state as the Jewish Sanhedrin alleged.
This seems strange since centuries earlier Hebrew prophets predicted the vile treatment that the Messiah would receive at the hands of his enemies, but still it did happen.
In view of this it does not seem reasonable to believe, as some Bible critics do, that the early Gospel writers, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, made up the accounts of Jesus' trial, death, and resurrection.
If they were trying to create myths about Jesus in order to attract others to their beliefs this is not the way they would have gone about it in view of the way most Jews viewed death by impalement.
Friday, June 1, 2012
What Was This Coccus-Scarlet Material?
Exactly what was this coccus-scarlet material mentioned by Moses in his description of the tabernacle, Israel's ancient center of worship and the High Priest's clothing, as the writing of Pliny, a Roman historian?
Moses at Exodus 26: 1 and Exodus 38:18 says tent cloths forming the walls and gate of the tabernacle...were made of "blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple and coccus scarlet material and fine twisted linen." and at Exodus 28: 1-6 he mentions that the garments of the high priest were also made using a coccus-scarlet material.
His reference to a coccus-scarlet is a dye extracted from the bodies of female insects of the Coccidae family -- found in the Middle East as well as the Mediterranean areas on lermes oak tree.
Since it is the eggs that actually contained the dye harvesters waited until the wingless female, about the size and shape of a pea, was filled with these eggs and then plucked them off the oak trees.
The females were then crushed to release the water soluble dye for dyeing linen, wool, and other materials used in the clothing of the Israelite priests as well as high ranking officials in other countries such as Italy.
It was a rich, highly esteemed color before and after the time of Jesus Christ.
( Biblical History of David and Edom Below)
Moses at Exodus 26: 1 and Exodus 38:18 says tent cloths forming the walls and gate of the tabernacle...were made of "blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple and coccus scarlet material and fine twisted linen." and at Exodus 28: 1-6 he mentions that the garments of the high priest were also made using a coccus-scarlet material.
His reference to a coccus-scarlet is a dye extracted from the bodies of female insects of the Coccidae family -- found in the Middle East as well as the Mediterranean areas on lermes oak tree.
Since it is the eggs that actually contained the dye harvesters waited until the wingless female, about the size and shape of a pea, was filled with these eggs and then plucked them off the oak trees.
The females were then crushed to release the water soluble dye for dyeing linen, wool, and other materials used in the clothing of the Israelite priests as well as high ranking officials in other countries such as Italy.
It was a rich, highly esteemed color before and after the time of Jesus Christ.
( Biblical History of David and Edom Below)
Bible History of David and Edom Accurate
Critics have long sought to discredit the Biblical account of King David but archaeologists have vindicated it on two fronts.
First of all did King David actually exist or is this just a piece of Biblical mythology as some claim? Before there was little or no proof outside of the Bible itself that he did actually exist.
In 1993, however, archaeologists discovered a basalt stone in northern Israel from the ninth century B.C.E. On it they read the words: "House of David" and "kings of Israel". Proof of his existence apart from the Biblical account.
Now, what about Biblical accounts such as 2 Samuel 8: 13, 14 describing battles with Edom? Until recently critics claimed that Edom during the reign of David was just a small pastoral society that could not possibly threaten David and Israel.
Now, however, according to the Biblical Archaeological Review fairly recent discoveries have proved that Edom was indeed a very complex society centuries earlier than critics have claimed. And could have been a serious threat to David's Israel as described in the Bible.
So the Biblical accounts of David's existence and battles with the Edom are accurate
First of all did King David actually exist or is this just a piece of Biblical mythology as some claim? Before there was little or no proof outside of the Bible itself that he did actually exist.
In 1993, however, archaeologists discovered a basalt stone in northern Israel from the ninth century B.C.E. On it they read the words: "House of David" and "kings of Israel". Proof of his existence apart from the Biblical account.
Now, what about Biblical accounts such as 2 Samuel 8: 13, 14 describing battles with Edom? Until recently critics claimed that Edom during the reign of David was just a small pastoral society that could not possibly threaten David and Israel.
Now, however, according to the Biblical Archaeological Review fairly recent discoveries have proved that Edom was indeed a very complex society centuries earlier than critics have claimed. And could have been a serious threat to David's Israel as described in the Bible.
So the Biblical accounts of David's existence and battles with the Edom are accurate
Monday, May 28, 2012
Real Opportunists in Ancient Israel
The scribes of ancient Israel proved to be real opportunists using their research and copyist skills to build great power alongside the Pharisees and Saducees of ancient Israel.
Before King Nubuchadrezzar's destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C. the focus of their work was transcribing portions of the Old Testament as well as business and government documents.
However after a remnant was set free by the Cyrus who defeated the Babylonians to establish a Medo-Persian empire stretching from the Mediterranean to the borders of India the Scribes assumed an ever more powerful role not just as copyists of the Law and rest of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scripturess, but also as interpreters and enforcers of that and other laws.
By the time of Jesus the Scribes had become a part of that elite group made up of the Chief Priest, priests, Sadducees, Pharisees and members of artistocratic families.
In small towns throughout Israel as well as in Jewish centres outside of Palestine these men secured positions as minor government officials and judges as well as the interpreters and enforcers of the Mosaic Law traditions.
Although they came from all walks of life: Some were priests, but others were originally fishermen, carpenters, and labourers, they studied hard from the age of 14 to 40 in order to be certified or ordained as Scribes.
They were highly revered by most of the common people because of their supposed knowledge of the Law Covenant and what it required of the people. This knowlege they jealously kept to themselves on the grounds the common people did not have the intelligence to understand why God required certain things from them under the Law Covenant. This was much like the clergy class in Europe during the Dark and Medieval Ages in Europe.
However, Most of the people never thought of questioning them and relatively few of the Biblical Jews ever realized that most of the traditions that they were forced to follow were nothing more than the creations of the Scribe brotherhood.
In Jerusalem itself the Scribes had even more power and prestige working closely with the Chief Priest and other Sanhedrin members. Many of them, in fact, became members of that supreme body which governed so much of the daily life of the Jewish people right up to and beyond the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
Through their distorted interpretation of the Law Covenant and blind allegiance to those traditions they set themselves up as enemies of Jesus Christ.
Before King Nubuchadrezzar's destruction of Jerusalem in 607 B.C. the focus of their work was transcribing portions of the Old Testament as well as business and government documents.
However after a remnant was set free by the Cyrus who defeated the Babylonians to establish a Medo-Persian empire stretching from the Mediterranean to the borders of India the Scribes assumed an ever more powerful role not just as copyists of the Law and rest of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scripturess, but also as interpreters and enforcers of that and other laws.
By the time of Jesus the Scribes had become a part of that elite group made up of the Chief Priest, priests, Sadducees, Pharisees and members of artistocratic families.
In small towns throughout Israel as well as in Jewish centres outside of Palestine these men secured positions as minor government officials and judges as well as the interpreters and enforcers of the Mosaic Law traditions.
Although they came from all walks of life: Some were priests, but others were originally fishermen, carpenters, and labourers, they studied hard from the age of 14 to 40 in order to be certified or ordained as Scribes.
They were highly revered by most of the common people because of their supposed knowledge of the Law Covenant and what it required of the people. This knowlege they jealously kept to themselves on the grounds the common people did not have the intelligence to understand why God required certain things from them under the Law Covenant. This was much like the clergy class in Europe during the Dark and Medieval Ages in Europe.
However, Most of the people never thought of questioning them and relatively few of the Biblical Jews ever realized that most of the traditions that they were forced to follow were nothing more than the creations of the Scribe brotherhood.
In Jerusalem itself the Scribes had even more power and prestige working closely with the Chief Priest and other Sanhedrin members. Many of them, in fact, became members of that supreme body which governed so much of the daily life of the Jewish people right up to and beyond the time of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
Through their distorted interpretation of the Law Covenant and blind allegiance to those traditions they set themselves up as enemies of Jesus Christ.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Can You Make The Trip?
Can you make the trip? If you can and are interested in learning more about the Bible and the latest archaeological and other findings about the Bible you should really try.
The the BAR sponsored 15th Annual Bible and Archaeological Fest being held in Chicago this coming November.
For more information contact the Biblical Archaeology Review magazine.
You can pick up as print copy of this journal at most large book stores in Canada and the United States -- as well as other parts of the world.
If you prefer to go online just click on the title of course and you be whisked away to the Web site -- where you will find many different links to follow.
The the BAR sponsored 15th Annual Bible and Archaeological Fest being held in Chicago this coming November.
For more information contact the Biblical Archaeology Review magazine.
You can pick up as print copy of this journal at most large book stores in Canada and the United States -- as well as other parts of the world.
If you prefer to go online just click on the title of course and you be whisked away to the Web site -- where you will find many different links to follow.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Were Bible Miracles Impossible?
Many persons has dismissed miracles described in the Bible as being impossible and belong with all the other myths that ancient people created. But would they have really be impossible?
The word "impossible" is not always absolute as we saw in the case of the Titanic. This ultra-modern vessel for its day was considered impossible to sink because of the special construction of its haul. But that ship vanished in the ocean depths taking 1500 persons with it. So "impossible" is truly a relative term.
Actually many scientists are reluctant today to say anything is impossible -- maybe improbably -- but not impossible. This is because things we take for granted today -- because of advanced technology -- were inconceivable at one time. Examples of this include: sending a man to the moon; sending a space vehicle to Mars; mapping the human genome; and watching events happening on the other side of the world in "real-time" as they are happening such as the Gulf Wars.
Because of this Professor John Brobeck commented: " A scientist is no longer able to say honestly something is impossible.."
From his comments he also obviously feel that a God as portrayed in the Bible -- with far greater powers and energy than any scientist or other human-- would be able to accomplish things such as the as Creation, the Noachian Flood, and the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross, things that many persons today consider as impossible.
The word "impossible" is not always absolute as we saw in the case of the Titanic. This ultra-modern vessel for its day was considered impossible to sink because of the special construction of its haul. But that ship vanished in the ocean depths taking 1500 persons with it. So "impossible" is truly a relative term.
Actually many scientists are reluctant today to say anything is impossible -- maybe improbably -- but not impossible. This is because things we take for granted today -- because of advanced technology -- were inconceivable at one time. Examples of this include: sending a man to the moon; sending a space vehicle to Mars; mapping the human genome; and watching events happening on the other side of the world in "real-time" as they are happening such as the Gulf Wars.
Because of this Professor John Brobeck commented: " A scientist is no longer able to say honestly something is impossible.."
From his comments he also obviously feel that a God as portrayed in the Bible -- with far greater powers and energy than any scientist or other human-- would be able to accomplish things such as the as Creation, the Noachian Flood, and the parting of the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross, things that many persons today consider as impossible.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Seven Species of "The Good Land."
When Moses was allowed to see from the mountaintop the land that Jehovah was going to give the people he had led out of Egypt and through the wilderness for over forty years it must have been an awe inspiring and promising view.
Laid out before him was a widely varied countryside with arid plains in the south and snow covered mountains in the north and also the many hills, valleys, coastal plains, and plateaus which resulted in a wide variety of climate zones and soil types.
Just how fertile this land could be was seen from the grapes that some of the spies had brought back to him forty years earlier as they were preparing to enter this" good land" promised by Jehovah God.
For centuries after this the Israelites enjoyed the agricultural bounty of these productive soils. These vegetables and fruits included the seven species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:7, 8. as well as other fruits and vegetables, such meat such as lamb, and fish from the sea.
Wheat and Barley
Two of the big crops were wheat and barley. Barley ripened in time for the Festival of Unleavened Bread in March or April and wheat in May in time for the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost in May as described in Leviticus 23: 10, 11, 15-17. Bread made from these two grains were a staple food for people in this regions from Bible times to the present day.
Grapes, Figs, and Pomegranates
These three fruits were what the ten spies brought back from the excursion into the Promised land described in Numbers 13: 20, 23and were soon a common sight on Israelite tables.
Vineyards needed proper care, however. This included carefully designed terraces on a hillside with a protective stone wall and hedges, as well as proper irrigation, pruning, and harvesting in order to keep the vines productive. As Isaiah describes (Isaiah 5:1-7) Negligent farmers were soon faced with a vineyard of wild grapes, thorns, and weeds and dried up because of a lack of water.
Properly cared for vineyards provided an abundance of grapes at harvest time. These were used in three ways after the grapes were trampled in a vat or squeezed in a wine press: (1) to produce a delicious wine by allowing the juice to ferment (2) to produce a natural sugar by boiling the juice and extracting the sugar or (3) to produce raisins, used in baking raisin cakes, by allowing the grapes to dry in the sun as described at 2 Samuel 6:19.
The fifth food Moses mentioned, the fig when picked fresh was a mouth watering delicacy although most of us in Western lands are familiar with the fig only in its dried and pressed form.
In Israel and other Mediterranean lands it grew (and still grows) on the tree as a sweet and delicious reddish fruit surrounded by green leaves. but the Jews quickly learned that it had to be quickly sun-dried and turned into "cakes of pressed figs mentioned in 1 Samuel 25:18 in order to preserve it. And that is the way most of us know the fig today.
The pomegranate, which we often see on the shelves of our Western markets as a raw fruit, hid nutritious "minifruits" under the leathery skin. These could be eaten raw or turned into a refreshing, healthful and nutritious juice.
Likely because of this the pomegranate became very popular in ancient Israel. So much so that clothing designers even included representations of it on the garments of the high priests. According to the Bible account in Exodus 39: 24 The pomegranates were woven from blue thread, wool dyed reddish purple, and coccus scarlet material. These were interspersed with real gold bells along the hem of the high priests' sleeveless coats.
And in addition to this Jewish architects featured it in the decorations on the top plate of 50 cubic high pillars supporting Solomon's temple according to 1 Kings 7:20.
Olives and Honey
To see an entire family out beating the branches of olive trees to make the ripened olives fall to the ground where they could be harvested was a common sight in the Promised Land during October of each year. They would pick up the olives and store some away used in winter meals or taken to a communal press to be crushed and the oil used in the food, cosmetics, or as fuel for lamps. As it was crushed the pale green fluid was poured into containers for family use or selling at the market.
The honey Moses mentioned as the seventh species of food they could look forward to in the Promised came in two forms. Some of it came from the syrups extracted from dates and grapes ( a sweetener still used today) and the wild honey from the honey comb mentioned at Judges 14: 8,9 which describes how Samson scooped wild honey out of the corpse or a lion and 1 Samuel 14:27, a narration of how King Saul's son, Jonathan, ate wild honey from the trip of a rod after dipping it into a honeycomb in a field.
Exactly which type of honey Moses meant is not stated but archaeologists have discovered more than 30 beehives in northern Israel showing that beekeeping was practiced as early as Solomon's time.
These "seven species" are still found in the market of modern Israel -- along with a wide variety of other foods native to the land or introduced to Israeli farmers and grown successfully by them. All of this shows that Moses was not wrong in describing this narrow strip of land along the eastern end of the Mediterranean as the "good land."
Laid out before him was a widely varied countryside with arid plains in the south and snow covered mountains in the north and also the many hills, valleys, coastal plains, and plateaus which resulted in a wide variety of climate zones and soil types.
Just how fertile this land could be was seen from the grapes that some of the spies had brought back to him forty years earlier as they were preparing to enter this" good land" promised by Jehovah God.
For centuries after this the Israelites enjoyed the agricultural bounty of these productive soils. These vegetables and fruits included the seven species mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:7, 8. as well as other fruits and vegetables, such meat such as lamb, and fish from the sea.
Wheat and Barley
Two of the big crops were wheat and barley. Barley ripened in time for the Festival of Unleavened Bread in March or April and wheat in May in time for the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost in May as described in Leviticus 23: 10, 11, 15-17. Bread made from these two grains were a staple food for people in this regions from Bible times to the present day.
Grapes, Figs, and Pomegranates
These three fruits were what the ten spies brought back from the excursion into the Promised land described in Numbers 13: 20, 23and were soon a common sight on Israelite tables.
Vineyards needed proper care, however. This included carefully designed terraces on a hillside with a protective stone wall and hedges, as well as proper irrigation, pruning, and harvesting in order to keep the vines productive. As Isaiah describes (Isaiah 5:1-7) Negligent farmers were soon faced with a vineyard of wild grapes, thorns, and weeds and dried up because of a lack of water.
Properly cared for vineyards provided an abundance of grapes at harvest time. These were used in three ways after the grapes were trampled in a vat or squeezed in a wine press: (1) to produce a delicious wine by allowing the juice to ferment (2) to produce a natural sugar by boiling the juice and extracting the sugar or (3) to produce raisins, used in baking raisin cakes, by allowing the grapes to dry in the sun as described at 2 Samuel 6:19.
The fifth food Moses mentioned, the fig when picked fresh was a mouth watering delicacy although most of us in Western lands are familiar with the fig only in its dried and pressed form.
In Israel and other Mediterranean lands it grew (and still grows) on the tree as a sweet and delicious reddish fruit surrounded by green leaves. but the Jews quickly learned that it had to be quickly sun-dried and turned into "cakes of pressed figs mentioned in 1 Samuel 25:18 in order to preserve it. And that is the way most of us know the fig today.
The pomegranate, which we often see on the shelves of our Western markets as a raw fruit, hid nutritious "minifruits" under the leathery skin. These could be eaten raw or turned into a refreshing, healthful and nutritious juice.
Likely because of this the pomegranate became very popular in ancient Israel. So much so that clothing designers even included representations of it on the garments of the high priests. According to the Bible account in Exodus 39: 24 The pomegranates were woven from blue thread, wool dyed reddish purple, and coccus scarlet material. These were interspersed with real gold bells along the hem of the high priests' sleeveless coats.
And in addition to this Jewish architects featured it in the decorations on the top plate of 50 cubic high pillars supporting Solomon's temple according to 1 Kings 7:20.
Olives and Honey
To see an entire family out beating the branches of olive trees to make the ripened olives fall to the ground where they could be harvested was a common sight in the Promised Land during October of each year. They would pick up the olives and store some away used in winter meals or taken to a communal press to be crushed and the oil used in the food, cosmetics, or as fuel for lamps. As it was crushed the pale green fluid was poured into containers for family use or selling at the market.
The honey Moses mentioned as the seventh species of food they could look forward to in the Promised came in two forms. Some of it came from the syrups extracted from dates and grapes ( a sweetener still used today) and the wild honey from the honey comb mentioned at Judges 14: 8,9 which describes how Samson scooped wild honey out of the corpse or a lion and 1 Samuel 14:27, a narration of how King Saul's son, Jonathan, ate wild honey from the trip of a rod after dipping it into a honeycomb in a field.
Exactly which type of honey Moses meant is not stated but archaeologists have discovered more than 30 beehives in northern Israel showing that beekeeping was practiced as early as Solomon's time.
These "seven species" are still found in the market of modern Israel -- along with a wide variety of other foods native to the land or introduced to Israeli farmers and grown successfully by them. All of this shows that Moses was not wrong in describing this narrow strip of land along the eastern end of the Mediterranean as the "good land."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Did Jesus Really Die on a Cross?
Look up at most Christian church windows or somewhere on the building and you will usually see a cross. This is a reminder of how Jesus supposedly died on behalf of mankind, but is this idea accurate? Did he really die on a cross?
Some Bible translations convey the idea that yes he did. Take Today's English Version for instance, say that the soldiers forced Simon from Cyrene, "...to carry the cross of Jesus. The word cross
however is translated from stauros. And that is a problem.
Greek scholar W. E. Vine tells us why. He says stauros "denotes primarily an upright pale or stake. One such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, which means tofasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross."
So what is it that Jesus was impaled on really an upright pole or a two-beamed cross? Another word Bible writers used when describing what Jesus was impaled on. They said it was a xylon which it t urns out meant a piece of timber or wooden stake that the Romans used to crucify criminals and those found guilty of sedition.
Although this picture of Jesus on a cross has been burned into our minds over the years it is wrong. This the conclusion of the editors of the Critical Lexicon and Concordance. Even The Catholic Encyclopedia admits: "Certain it is at any rate, that the cross originally consisted of a simple vertical pole, sharpened at its upper end."
Following the death of the last of the apostles apostates succeeded in getting church leaders to accept ideas adopted from Asian religions such as the Hindus and the Buddhists. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by the middle of the 3rd Century A.D. many such things had crept into the Christian church. Constantine, for example was one who encourage his subjects and followers to accept such symbols in their worship.
Historians, however, have found no evidence of the use of the use of a stake or a cross in the worship of early Christians. They used no idols. As a matter of fact Paul at 2 Cor 6: 14-16 asked: "What agreement does God's temple have with idols?"
And it does not make much sense, much sense as one 17th-century writer pointed out for Jesus followers to be worshiping the object on which such an agonizing death does it?
So those who promote cross worship have it wrong on two counts: First of all facts show that Jesus was impaled on a stauros (xylon) or stake not a two-beamed cross. Secondly the early Christians never used any such thing to commemorate Jesus' execution.
Some Bible translations convey the idea that yes he did. Take Today's English Version for instance, say that the soldiers forced Simon from Cyrene, "...to carry the cross of Jesus. The word cross
however is translated from stauros. And that is a problem.
Greek scholar W. E. Vine tells us why. He says stauros "denotes primarily an upright pale or stake. One such malefactors were nailed for execution. Both the noun and the verb stauroo, which means tofasten to a stake or pale, are originally to be distinguished from the ecclesiastical form of a two beamed cross."
So what is it that Jesus was impaled on really an upright pole or a two-beamed cross? Another word Bible writers used when describing what Jesus was impaled on. They said it was a xylon which it t urns out meant a piece of timber or wooden stake that the Romans used to crucify criminals and those found guilty of sedition.
Although this picture of Jesus on a cross has been burned into our minds over the years it is wrong. This the conclusion of the editors of the Critical Lexicon and Concordance. Even The Catholic Encyclopedia admits: "Certain it is at any rate, that the cross originally consisted of a simple vertical pole, sharpened at its upper end."
Following the death of the last of the apostles apostates succeeded in getting church leaders to accept ideas adopted from Asian religions such as the Hindus and the Buddhists. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by the middle of the 3rd Century A.D. many such things had crept into the Christian church. Constantine, for example was one who encourage his subjects and followers to accept such symbols in their worship.
Historians, however, have found no evidence of the use of the use of a stake or a cross in the worship of early Christians. They used no idols. As a matter of fact Paul at 2 Cor 6: 14-16 asked: "What agreement does God's temple have with idols?"
And it does not make much sense, much sense as one 17th-century writer pointed out for Jesus followers to be worshiping the object on which such an agonizing death does it?
So those who promote cross worship have it wrong on two counts: First of all facts show that Jesus was impaled on a stauros (xylon) or stake not a two-beamed cross. Secondly the early Christians never used any such thing to commemorate Jesus' execution.
"A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey"?
What exactly did God mean when he told Abraham's descendants that they would inherit a land flowing with milk and honey?
There have been a number of explanations of this.Some of have suggested that the refrence was only to a sweet syrup from dates, figs or grapes or perhaps to the wild honey such as Judge Samson on one occasion scooped from the carcass of a lion he had killed as described in Judges 14: 8, 9.
But fairly recently archaeologists have discovered an ancient apiary at Tel Rehov in modern-day Israel which dates from the 10th to early 9th centuries B.C.E. Here they found over 30 hives in three rows and scholars estimate that "as much as half a ton of honey could be culled each year from these hives.
This discovery proved that that keeping busy was a highly developed industry by the time of Solomon. In addition to using the honey it itself the Jews used the beeswax in both the manufacture of metal and leather products as well as for writing boards with panels filled with the beeswax which could be written down and then melted down and reused in other boards.
So the description of the land as a land" flowing with milk (There was an abundant supply of wholesome milk from cows, sheep and goats as well.)and honey" was very true and and painted part of an accurate Biblical picture of The Promised Land.
There have been a number of explanations of this.Some of have suggested that the refrence was only to a sweet syrup from dates, figs or grapes or perhaps to the wild honey such as Judge Samson on one occasion scooped from the carcass of a lion he had killed as described in Judges 14: 8, 9.
But fairly recently archaeologists have discovered an ancient apiary at Tel Rehov in modern-day Israel which dates from the 10th to early 9th centuries B.C.E. Here they found over 30 hives in three rows and scholars estimate that "as much as half a ton of honey could be culled each year from these hives.
This discovery proved that that keeping busy was a highly developed industry by the time of Solomon. In addition to using the honey it itself the Jews used the beeswax in both the manufacture of metal and leather products as well as for writing boards with panels filled with the beeswax which could be written down and then melted down and reused in other boards.
So the description of the land as a land" flowing with milk (There was an abundant supply of wholesome milk from cows, sheep and goats as well.)and honey" was very true and and painted part of an accurate Biblical picture of The Promised Land.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Bricks Corroborate Accuracy of Moses' Writing
The making of bricks in the 15th-century B.C.E. illustrates again the accuracy of the Biblical record.
Exodus 1 :14 and 5:10-14 Moses described the ancient making of bricks by the Egyptians using captive Hebrews in the Nile River valley using clay mortar and straw is back. This account was accurate in all of its details.
According to the International Standard Bible Encylopedia the Israelite slaves in this case would have mixed water with this clay and then carried this to the spot where the brick maker was pouring this mixture into a mold on the ground.
When this had dried to a consistency where it would not run he would take this wooden mold or form away and leave the damp bricks to continue drying in the sun.
Further corroboration of both the Biblical account was found in two other sources, The first is a wall painting of the 15th-century B.C.E. tomb of Reckhmire in Thebes illustrating the manufacture of bricks during the era covered in the Biblical account. The second is the papyrus documents from the second millennium B.C.E. which describe the making of bricks in this way by slaves or serfs. including the daily production quota that they would have had to reach.
Exodus 1 :14 and 5:10-14 Moses described the ancient making of bricks by the Egyptians using captive Hebrews in the Nile River valley using clay mortar and straw is back. This account was accurate in all of its details.
According to the International Standard Bible Encylopedia the Israelite slaves in this case would have mixed water with this clay and then carried this to the spot where the brick maker was pouring this mixture into a mold on the ground.
When this had dried to a consistency where it would not run he would take this wooden mold or form away and leave the damp bricks to continue drying in the sun.
Further corroboration of both the Biblical account was found in two other sources, The first is a wall painting of the 15th-century B.C.E. tomb of Reckhmire in Thebes illustrating the manufacture of bricks during the era covered in the Biblical account. The second is the papyrus documents from the second millennium B.C.E. which describe the making of bricks in this way by slaves or serfs. including the daily production quota that they would have had to reach.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Esther Account Was Historically Accurate
Do you remember the story of Esther and how she was able to save her people from genocide as described in the Bible Book of Esther?
This account described how one of the King's princes, Haman the Agagite, tried to have the Jews murdered but he was thwarted by Mordecai and Esther who turned the tables on Haman by appealing her husband King Ahasuerus to pass an order arming the Jews so they could defend themselves against Haman's murderers as described in Esther chapter 8. In the end it was Haman and his cohorts who were destroyed.
But outside of the Bible is there any proof that this actually happened -- that this king actually existed? The Bible said he was Ahasuerus. But there is no King Ahasuerus of Persia. And this has caused some to question whether or not this Ahasuerus ever existed.
But eventually through their deciphering of Persian monuments archaeologists found evidence that this Ahasuerus mentioned in Esther was Xerxes I the son of Darius the the Great. In their transliteration of Xerxes into Hebrew they found it almost identical to the Ahasuerus mentioned in the book of Esther.
And everything said in the book of Esther about Ahasuerus, his capital at Susa (Shusan) in Elam, his rule over Media and the extent of his empire from India to the island of the Mediterranean all agree with the facts about one Persian king: Xerxes.
Regarding this scholar Lewis Bayles Paton wrote, "The character of Ahasuerus, as portrayed in the Book of Esther also agrees well with the account of Xerxes given by Herodotus and other Greek historians."
So yes, the Bible account was accurate -- further evidence of the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible.
This account described how one of the King's princes, Haman the Agagite, tried to have the Jews murdered but he was thwarted by Mordecai and Esther who turned the tables on Haman by appealing her husband King Ahasuerus to pass an order arming the Jews so they could defend themselves against Haman's murderers as described in Esther chapter 8. In the end it was Haman and his cohorts who were destroyed.
But outside of the Bible is there any proof that this actually happened -- that this king actually existed? The Bible said he was Ahasuerus. But there is no King Ahasuerus of Persia. And this has caused some to question whether or not this Ahasuerus ever existed.
But eventually through their deciphering of Persian monuments archaeologists found evidence that this Ahasuerus mentioned in Esther was Xerxes I the son of Darius the the Great. In their transliteration of Xerxes into Hebrew they found it almost identical to the Ahasuerus mentioned in the book of Esther.
And everything said in the book of Esther about Ahasuerus, his capital at Susa (Shusan) in Elam, his rule over Media and the extent of his empire from India to the island of the Mediterranean all agree with the facts about one Persian king: Xerxes.
Regarding this scholar Lewis Bayles Paton wrote, "The character of Ahasuerus, as portrayed in the Book of Esther also agrees well with the account of Xerxes given by Herodotus and other Greek historians."
So yes, the Bible account was accurate -- further evidence of the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible.
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