Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryant J. Williams III" <bjwvmw AT com-pair.net>]

Dear Yigal,

YL:    "All it DOES prove is that the author of whatever source Num. 6:24-26 
was
taken from knew of a blessing-formula and used it as part of his composition."

Bryant:    Source Criticism is being used in the statement above. The text
clearly states that it came from the LORD (vss 22-23) and that Moses was to 
tell
Aaron and his sons what blessing was to be pronounced upon the people of 
Israel.
That is the source: God to Moses to Aaron and his priestly sons to the people 
of
Israel. Unless the text indicates that the priestly blessing came from 
somewhere
else, then to postulate/speculate without any evidence to the contrary is
letting one's presuppositions overrule the evidence.

Rev. Bryant J. Williams III

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 11:45 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] "the Silver Scrolls"


> Just so that everyone here understands what Lloyd and Harold are talking
> about: while excavating a tomb in Jerusalem in 1979, Barkay found two tiny
> silver amulets, which, when unrolled, contained two slightly different
> versions of the "Priestly Benediction" of Num. 6:24-26. The tomb, and the
> amulets, are dated to about 600 BCE, just prior to the destruction of the
> First Temple, and indeed, this is the first time that something similar to a
> biblical quotation has been found in a First Temple Period inscription. I
> write "something similar to a biblical quotation" because there are actually
> severl differences between the exact text of Num. 6:24-26 and the versions
> found on the two amulets, but they are similar enough.
>
> Does this spell "the death of minimalism", or "the triumph of maximalism"?
> Well, that depends on how you define "minimalism" and "maximalism". If a
> "minimalist" is someone who believes that the entire Hebrew Bible was
> composed out of nothing in the Second Temple Period, well, this find would
> seem to disprove that claim. But I know of NO "minimalist" who actually
> would go that far. On the other hand, if a "Maximalist" is someone who
> beleives that the Bible is entirely inerrant, well, this does NOT go
> anywhere near proving that either.
>
> What DOES this find prove? It proves that a forumla very similar to Num.
> 6:24-26 was used as a blessing in late Iron Age Jerusalem. It does NOT prove
> that the entire text of the Torah was already known. It does NOT prove that
> Num. 6:24-26 was recited by priests in the Temple. It does not even prove
> the existance of Solomon's Temple. All it DOES prove is that the author of
> whatever source Num. 6:24-26 was taken from knew of a blessing-formula and
> used it as part of his composition.
>
> "Minimalism" and "maximalism" are relative terms, usually used by people
> when describing someone else. Such titles do little to further scholarly
> debate.
>
> Yigal Levin
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Harold Holmyard" <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>
> > HH: Here is an article on the silver scroll:
> >
> > http://www.crystalinks.com/scrollsilver.html
> >
> > HH: I will try to see the program you mentioned.
> >
> > Yours,
> > Harold Holmyard
> >
>
>
>
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