Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 17/08/2004 01:42, George F. Somsel wrote:

> ...
>
> I should think that it would require a rather fertile mind to know so
> precisely what Bezaleel might have been doing prior to and thus outside
> the account.  I propose that he worked as an engineer for NASA   :-)
>
>  
Come off it, George. Of course David Rohl is speculating a bit - the 
whole book is a speculative reconstruction. But we know (from the text) 
that Bezalel had been a slave as all the Israelites had been, and that 
he was a skilled craftsman working in gold, silver etc. He would hardly 
have had his own gold and silver to work with, so he must have been 
working for rich Egyptians. "Royal" may be a bit speculative, but Rohl 
argues elsewhere that the Israelites were living at the then royal 
capital of Avaris (and gives good archaeological evidence for this), and 
the royal family would have been the major users of gold and silver 
jewellery at the time and place.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/