Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Joe Baker <joebaker AT cygnus.uwa.edu.au>]

Ian
Further to your response to my comparison of Moab and Judah.

Just where do you place Mesha - 750 or 850?

If it is 850 then what extra-Biblical evidence are you using?

-----------------------------------------------

While we are on the subject of the reliability of Bible for information
about the monarchy period, let me again bring up the following argument.

Shalmaneser 3 says that in the time of Assur-rabi (1013-972), the king of
the land of Arumu, seized by force the city of Mutkinu on the Assyrian side
of the bank of the Euphrates. This city was near the bend of the Euphrates
and in the time of Shalmaneser was held by Bit-Adini. Now earlier Aramean
raiders had shaken the empire but it had recovered. But this was a new
threat. The Arameans now had powerful kings capable of taking fortresses and
over the next few reigns they began to take cities and set up kingdoms even
in the upper Khabur region.

Now based on biblical information it so happens that the "supposed" king
David of Israel was ruling between 1010 and 971. This would make him a
contemporary of Assur-rabi. Now about the middle of his reign (going by the
information in the book of Samuel) he fought with an Aramean king named
Hadadezer of Zobah who controlled territory from the Euphrates to Hauran. On
one occasion it is said that Hadadezer was on his way to restore his control
over the river [Euphrates].

Is this just a coincidence? Why would the writers of this story even know
that the Arameans were establishing control of the Euphrates bend at this
time. After all we know that for most of the period, down to neo-Assyrian
times, it was the neo-Hittite states of Carchemish and Masuwari (Bit-Adini)
who controlled this part of the Euphrates.

Regards
Joe Baker ===========\
Perth                |
Western Australia ===/