Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ian Hutchesson" <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

From: Walter Mattfeld <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>

>
>I would expect at least "a few" place-names from a Primary History
>"allegedly written in the Hellenistic age." The absence of the below sites
>should be a "wake-up call" for those advocating a late creation. How will
>they explain ALL of these sites NON-APPEARANCE in a Hellenistic creation
>(Some of these sites, however, DO APPEAR in other Hellenistic compositions,
>like for instabce, Maccabees I-IV).

Walter, you wouldn't expect specifically Greek founded 
cities to have been knowingly included would you? -- 
for that's what many of the cities you list are.

>004  Abila (Gilead); 

Greek?

>023 Adasa; 

Greek?

>046 Alexandrium/Sartaba; 

Hasmonean fortress

>073 Apollonia; 

Greek

>081 Arbela (Galilee); 

Mainly caves at the time of Bacchides

>085 Ariedela (Gharandel); 
>087 Aristobulias; 

Very late? Hasmonean?

>102 Asphar;
>292 Docus; 

Greek?

>299 Eeitha; 
>307 Elasa; 

Looks Greek, only heard of in 1 Macc

>315 Emmaus (Nicopolis); 

Greek

>333 Ephron (Gilead); 
>352 Gadara; 

Greek?

>357 Gamala; 

Greek?

>359 Garaba; 
>380 Gerasa (Gilead); (Antioch on the Chrysorhoas)

Greek

>434 Hippias; 

Greek

>567 Malumas; 504 Kedron (Gedrus); 
>558 Macherus; 

Specifically built by the Hasmoneans

>564 Mahalol; 
>579 Masada; 

Not a city and not built on until the time of A.Jannaeus

>581 Mazraa; 
>614 Modein; 

As this was the centre of the early Hasmonean family 
they would probably have known its history.

>627 Nadabath; 
>643 Nessana; 

Nabataean?

>651 Oboda; 

Nabataean?

>652 Odollam; 657 Orda; 

>662 Pella (existed in LB but not in Iron Age); 

Rebuilt by the Greeks

>666 Pharathon; 

Greek?

>693 Ragaba; 
>728 Samaga; 

Only known from the time of John Hyrcanus, so probably late

>744 Seleucia (Golan); 

Greek

>748 Sepphoris; 

Greek

>768 Skoufiye.

There are a number that I couldn't track down, so perhaps 
you have some insights on them.

In all though not very a inspiring list of candidates for 
anachronisms that didn't occur where one might hope for 
occurrences in texts one wants to show are not late.


Ian