Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yigal Levin <Yigal-Levin AT utc.edu>]

At 03:43 PM 9/4/2002 +0100, Ian Goldsmith wrote:
>Hi.
>
>> Even in more modern times
>> [Clock strikes]
> 
>> BRUTUS: Peace! count the clock.
>
>Your point I take it, is with the clock.
>Yes. Well we know who wrote Shakespeare...
>Shakespeare!
>But we don't know catagorically who wrote Genesis do
>we? Or when? 
>
No, but the point is (forgive me for butting in) that the mention of Iron
is neither a proof of the antiquity of iron or of the lateness of the text.
Both have to be evaluated independantly, and then combined. But if it could
be established that iron was not known (or at least not used) until the 8th
century, this would be proof that at least that part of that redaction of
that particular text did not reach its present form until the 8th century.


Yigal




Dr. Yigal Levin
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403-2598
U.S.A.