Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Avi Wollman <avi.wollman AT gmail.com>]

Yigal Shalom,
 You wrote:
 EVEN a "maximalist" would not
take the statement in Josh. 10:13 about the sun and the moon standing still
literally, since this contradicts so much of what we know about the physical
universe.
 Well it's a bad example just note rational answers to EVEN that by Immanuel
Velikovsky.

http://www.halexandria.org/dward233.htm
http://www.varchive.org/


Avi Wollman

On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 11:20 AM, Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>wrote:

> Dear Bryant,
>
> You're right, the basic assumption underlying my statement is a
> source-critical methodology, which is universally accepted in modern
> biblical studies. Your statement is basically a declaration of faith: since
> the Bible says that God is the "author" of the "Priestly Benediction", than
> He is". That's fine in the context of a faith-based discussion, which is
> NOT
> what this list is about. My post was a reaction to a previous statement,
> that the "silver scrolls" somehow disproved "minimalism". One cannot
> "prove", "disprove" or even discuss anything, unless we first have a common
> ground for discussion. The common ground here is that the methodologies
> that
> are used in the scholarly world are valid, and that simple statements of
> faith are not.
>
> There is a very big difference between "maximalism" and "fundamentalism"
> (which I do not mean in a negative way and appologize if anyone here is
> offended by the term). "Maximalism" is a scholarly methodology, by which
> one
> can accept anything that is not made very unlikely by known archaeological
> or other empirical evidence. In other words, EVEN a "maximalist" would not
> take the statement in Josh. 10:13 about the sun and the moon standing still
> literally, since this contradicts so much of what we know about the
> physical
> universe. Instead, he would try to find a "rational" explanation. A
> "fundamentalist" would say "God can do whatever he likes, so if the Bible
> says it happened, it did". Both approaches are legitimate within their own
> contexts, but you can't carry arguments from one to the other. In other
> words, if you want to have a dialogue with "minimalists", you have to
> accept
> the basic methodology, of which minimalism is one possible conclusion. If
> you don't you're not holding a dialogue, you're preaching.
>
> Yigal Levin
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bryant J. Williams III" <bjwvmw AT com-pair.net>
> To: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>; "b-hebrew"
> <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 12:22 AM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "the Silver Scrolls"
>
>
> >
> > 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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Avi Wollman אבי וולמן
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