[b-hebrew] Wellhausen JEPD Theory re Patriarchal Narratives
Uri Hurwitz
uhurwitz at yahoo.com
Mon Dec 24 13:00:00 EST 2007
Dear Rev. Williams,
You wrote, in part:
"Then are you saying that the noted Kenneth Kitchen is incorrect in his
statements that situations presented in the Pentateuch are reflective of 2nd
Millennium BC? (I am unable at this time to give you the quotes since I have his
books packed to move to a new location here in Redding, CA.)"
It would be a truism to state that individual opinions, on this list
or elsewhere, are valueless unless based on specific knolwedge of
the work discussed. Generalities, such as "many scholars believe
that.." can never substitute for refutations of an author's arguments.
Kitchen's "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" is, like every
human endeavor, not above criticism. He did collect a vast
amount of extra-biblical ANE evidence to support his arguments
about the general validity of biblical historicity. The important point here,
again, is the vast amount of material he collected over the decades.
He is not alone in his views of ancient Israel in Egypt: scholars
like Hoffmeier, an Egyptologist who does archaeological work
in the Sinai, Curdis and others support such a position. Bietak's work on
West Semites in the Delta is pertinent to the subject.
Some who dismiss Kitchen because he is a "mere Egyptologist" are
simply ignorant of the the breadth of his work.
On the Reliability of the OIld Testament has of course been reviewed;
the SBL has two on line, if memory serves. The best, in my opinion,
is the balanced review of H G Williamson from Oxford.
Uri Hurwitz Great Neck NY
---------------------------------
Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
More information about the b-hebrew
mailing list