Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Henry Churchyard" <churchh AT usa.net>]

> Subject: Re: Miscellaneous minor points (El vs. YHWH, etc...)
> From: Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>
> Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 01:16:25 +0100

> At 15.21 21/02/00 -0600, Henry Churchyard wrote:

>> (That's why I used the term "prophets", Ian -- by which I didn't
>> necessarily mean very much more than "strict religious reformers of
>> unspecified pre-Hellenistic date".

> I realized that you were setting up an escape route. I don't think
> it helps much though.  I don't know how you can necessarily say
> "pre-Hellenistic": I can't see any evidence you can muster. But
> accepting your assumption for a moment, the problem becomes how
> pre-Hellenistic, when you consider the same situation of Yahweh and
> his consort at Elephantine, which was in contact with Jerusalem, in
> the fifth century.

Why do I need an "escape route", when Hebrew non-monotheistic worship
is amply and fully attested in the Bible?  Why is Elephantine in
contradiction with the Bible, when Jeremiah 44 places defiantly
mon-monotheistic Jews in the same area?  (I said "pre-Hellenistic"
because I don't think the Hellenistic period has much relevance to a
discussion of the _origins_ of Hebrew monotheism; no doubt those who
say the bible didn't exist until 1000 A.D. will arrive at a different
conclusion.)

By the way, the Elephantine Jews did write to Jerusalem, but
apparently Jerusalem didn't bother to write back.

>> When archaeologists turn up shrines to YHWH and his Asherah,
>> they're actually providing clear support for the factual
>> historicity of the Bible ;-) .)
 
> You have a very wonky idea of historicity here.

Boy, you don't allow a guy to crack even a tiny little smile, do you?
You should take into consideration that sometimes people will get
tired of holding the corners of their mouths down...  ;-)

--
Henry Churchyard   churchh AT usa.net   http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/