Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peterkirk AT qaya.org>]

On 21/08/2004 01:51, MarianneLuban AT aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 8/20/2004 2:33:56 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
> peterkirk AT qaya.org writes:
>
>
>  
>
> > > Does this come from some midrash--or what?  Just someone's imagination?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >      
> > Maybe. But your imagination sometimes seems just as fertile as this one.
> >    
>
> Excuse me but--how with your present knowledge of ancient Egypt are you in a 
> position to distinguish just what is my imagination and what is not? ...

I was not referring to your statements about Egyptian history, which is 
your field of expertise, but to your speculations about the date and 
authorship of biblical books, which is more my field.

> ... I know Hebrew but have the humility not to contradict 
> anything said by them because I do not know the territory.  I am not their 
> equal in this area and must be content to read their posts and absorb what is 
> there. ...

OK, but you have contradicted us, or some of us, on authorship and 
dating. I am happy if you provide evidence for use in debates on these 
matters, But you went too far outside your own field when you wrote such 
things as "the Book of Exodus is a story" and "the Torah demonstrates 
its late composition by its anachronisms.  That is the truth.  Unless 
you believe that Moses existed no earlier than around 500 BCE he cannot 
have written the Torah".

> ... Sure--I could jump right in and make them defend every one of their 
> assertions on some pretext or another--but what for?  Do you think it might be 
> possible for you to write with a little more humility when it comes to ancient 
> Egyptian matters?  Unless you believe you are my equal in scholarship in this 
> field.
>  

No, I don't. I accept that you know more about Egyptian matters than I 
do, and I'm sorry if I have sometimes given a different impression. But 
how these matters are applied to the interpretation of the Bible is 
where our fields meet. We have been having a fruitful debate in this 
area. So let us indeed try to continue this without treading on one 
another's fields and without ad hominem comments.


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