Syro-Palestinian Archaeology

kbs2244 · Post by **kbs2244** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:32 am

From the news page.

This is the wrong part of the world for the section, but since we have wandered off into myth and such....
Does anyone know of a story of a man being eaten by a fish other that the Biblical Jonah?

http://www.smh.com.au/

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:38 am

kbs2244 wrote:From the news page.

This is the wrong part of the world for the section, but since we have wandered off into myth and such....

Yes absolutely KB. Why didn't you just post:

"Hey I'm taking this right off topic and I don't give a flying fish."?

Suggest you start a new topic in the Mythologies section.

Forum Monk · Post by **Forum Monk** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:09 am

Ishtar wrote:I've started a new thread in Mythologies called Philo's Guide to Decoding the Hebrew Bible. He saw it as primarily allegorical although literal in parts as well - and then he gives a list of features to look out for, to tell if a passage is allegorical. Just click on the link: http://archaeologica.boardbot.com/viewt ... 9791#49791

Good!
I'll start to add my commentary on gnosticsim there. Perfect choice becaase I think the claim that christianity derived itself from gnosticism is pure mythology.

Besides, this thread is about the regional archaeology but frequently falls into religious discussion. I think we all know who's responsible for that!

neilmarr · Post by **neilmarr** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:31 am

***Does anyone know of a story of a man being eaten by a fish other that the Biblical Jonah?***

Well, there's Pinocchio, Kbs. And tradition suggests he even had holes in his hands and feet. Neil

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:14 am

Forum Monk wrote:
Besides, this thread is about the regional archaeology but frequently falls into religious discussion. I think we all know who's responsible for that!

Yes .... Min.

Post by **Minimalist** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:17 pm

Jesus was not a historical figure.

I rely on actual history to tell me that.

Post by **Minimalist** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:05 pm

Important find, if true.

Actual evidence seems somewhat speculative but still actual evidence of a "temple" built by anybody prior to the Babylonian Exile is lacking.

http://blog.ritmeyer.com/2008/07/18/the ... -hezekiah/

These stones are similar in size and shape to the ones that can be seen on either side of the Golden Gate. I have dated this masonry to the time of King Hezekiah’s expansion of the Temple Mount in about 700 B.C.

Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:54 pm

PBS weighs in on exodus....to the undoubtedly great annoyance of christian fundies everywhere....especially in South Korea!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertai ... 5323.story

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen?

The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor.

"It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down."

The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics Association.

Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:32 am

Excellent essay from Haaretz.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1005648.html

"To the king my lord and my sun: These are the words of your servant, Belit-nesheti [literally, "mistress of lions/lionesses"]. I fall at the king's feet seven times over. I must tell the king that this country is witnessing [acts of] hostility and that the land of the king, my lord, will be lost forever."

A Canaanite queen from one of the cities in Palestine's lowland sent this desperate request in the 14th century B.C.E. to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The name of the city ruled by Belit-nesheti is not mentioned in this letter or in others that depict violent acts that aroused in her a justified feeling that she was facing a dire threat.

Ishtar · Post by **Ishtar** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:51 am

Who are the Apiru?

Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:03 am

The ‘Apiru people were runaways from the stable Canaanite society, usually from the upper classes. They always strove to hire out as mercenaries or to support some leader who was strugging to found a new Canaanite-style feudal state.

http://members.bib-arch.org/publication ... rticleID=9

In their desperation, fundies have constantly tried to equate the Apiru with the "Hebrews."

seeker · Post by **seeker** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:15 pm

I've become convinced that 'apiru' was simply the Egyptian word for 'vagrant'. (I would have typed 'bum' but that americanism would have been completely misread by our members from England)

Post by **Minimalist** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:22 pm

Yes...never wave a bum around an Englishman.

Post by **Minimalist** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:34 pm

Eilat Mazar is at it again.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? ... 2FShowFull

A seal impression belonging to a minister of the Biblical King Zedekiah which dates back 2,600 years has been uncovered completely intact during an archeological dig in Jerusalem's ancient City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said on Thursday.

Hopefully, this time, she remembered to read it backwards to see what it really says!

Post by **Minimalist** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:57 pm

4000 year old Canaanite Warrior Found at Sidon

SIDON: The British Museum's excavation team in Sidon have recently unearthed a new grave containing human skeletal remains belonging to a Canaanite warrior, archeology expert and field supervisor Claude Doumet Serhal told The Daily Star on Monday. According to Serhal, the delegation made the discovery at the "Freres" excavation site near Sidon's crusader castle.

"This is the 77th grave that we have discovered at this site since our digging activities has started ten years ago with Lebanese-British financing," she said.

According to Serhal, the remains go back to 2000 B.C., with a British archeologist saying the warrior had been buried at the age of 15 to 20 along with a spear and two stamps.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp ... e_id=94781