Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Raymond de Hoop <rdehoop AT keyaccess.nl>]

At 23-05-2001 23:53 Peter Kirk <Peter_Kirk AT sil.org> wrote:

> But my point is more that we have almost no
> way of telling what Solomon really looked like apart from this picture.
> There is no alternative, historical picture, no photograph. Either we accept
> the Biblical picture as something like correct, as the best we can do, or we
> retreat into knowing nothing.

Dear Peter,

The two alternatives you suggest (total acceptance or retreat in nothing)
are both the extreme opposite poles of a wide range of possible
interpretations of biblical texts. They are neither less nor more legitimate
like any other interpretation between these two extremes, they are just two
possible interpretations of the texts. However, doing history is not just
simply copying, nor ignoring the texts involved: one would not do it with
the Mesha stele, and one should not do it with 1 Kings 1-11.

Regards
Raymond