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  • From: LM Barre <l_barre AT yahoo.com>
  • To: Ancient Bible History <AncientBibleHistory AT yahoogroups.com>, b-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>, Mainstream Biblical Scholarship <mainstreambiblicalscholarship AT yahoogroups.com>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The Shasu Yahwists were literate
  • Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 14:38:32 -0800 (PST)

These Old Negev inscriptions give us the earliest texts to understand the
Shasu and their form of Yahwism.  It is interesting that while El has a
consort, he is also spoken of as "God."  Indeed, Yah is identified with El. 
Or perhaps these Shasu thought of Yah as their "god," so that we should
translated 'el with a small case "g."  At any rate, the old thesis that
Yahwism began among the Kenites/Midianites seems to be vindicated by these
findings.  One thing is sure.  The Shasu Yahwists were sophisticated in their
religion as we can see from this rock graffiti.  We also find other
tantalizing connections with the biblical traditions.
 
 
Hebrew: = From El (God)
Hebrew: = El (God).
The earliest El Yah inscription (late Late Bronze Age) was found on a
beautiful Ewer, discovered in a rubbish heap of a temple at Lachish in 1934.
A more recent article on the subject was a BAR, Sept/Oct. 1991, p. 50. work
of Ruth Hestrin, titled "Understanding Asherah--Exploring Semitic
Iconography.." Hestrin viewed the seven branched tree as an icon that favored
the translation of "Elath" , as a female consort of El "Asherah." We have
numerous examples of the seven branched tree used as an icon for Yah (Yahweh)
and sometimes in an El/Yah combination with such a tree and/or a ram. Also
the "Taw" after the El was an archaic ending for El. The "Yah of Gat"
ligatures were recognized and translated by Harris and Hone

The Lachish Ewer,; (1220 BCE):
Hebrew: [ ] [ ]
Lexical analysis: `Elat ( the feminine form of El) `Elat is directly above
the tree and Yah (Yahweh) is directly above the ram; (alt) = a place of
suspense, uncertainty; y-h (a short form of Yahweh); g-t () = a place name,
Gat.

Translation: The tree [of] `Elath, a place of suspense, the ram Yah of Gat.
[From Ruth Hestrin, "Understanding Asherah" BAR, Sept./Oct. 1991, pp.
50-52-59. The "Yah of Gat" translation by Harris and Hone.
Old Negev, L-1
Hebrew:
Old Negev, L-2
Hebrew:
Translation: Beloved, escape to my God my Father, Jah.
Old Negev:
Hebrew:
(Sun and rain) (Sun and rain and Yah)
(as a human like figure with his arms out- stretched.)
Transliteration: l-t-t () = to give (a gift from the heavens) [a prefix
followed by Kal infinite construct of n-t-n (]; y-h ()= Yah (abbreviation of
Yahweh); r-b-l-t-h ()= fertility (with a paragogic ending); m-tz, ()=
sufficient [imperfect of m-tz-`, () the silent ending "aleph" being dropped.]
Translation (of symbols and phonetic signs): The gift of Yah from heavens
[sun and rain, bringing sufficient fertility].
Old Negev:
Hebrew;

Translation: My mountain (refuge is) El
(God)-deliverance for the Jew.
To be read from right to left:
Old Negev:
Hebrew:

Lexical Analysis: b-m-h,= Bamah ( a hlgh place dedicated to religious
worship) b-z, spoil (booty); b-h-'-l-h, () [hiphil imperative verb with
prefix -notice position above the line]= bring up by;; d-k, ()= the door;
b-t, () = the house [of]; y-h.= () Yah (Yahweh). Translation: "Bamah (place
of worship), spoil bring up by the door of the house of Yah." Or, "Bring thou
up spoil by the door of the house of Yah." Interesting notes; This
inscription is particularly interesting since it demonstrates the suggested
grammar of the Midianite script. Note that the Beth above, and a little to
the left, of the first up side-down He is a prefixed preposition attached to
the hiphil imperative of the verbal root '-I-h () meaning "bring thou up by."
Also this inscription shows a consistent use of turning the last letter (or
first letter) in a word or phrase up-side-down [see the Midianite line]. This
practice is characteristic of Old Negev but is not characteristic of
North Arabian, pre-Arabic Thamudic scripts.
Translation: "Bamah (place of worship), spoil bring up by the door of the
house of Yah." Or, "Bring thou up spoil by the door of the house of Yah."
Also the word "bamah" and the phrase, House of Yahweh are precisely
appropriate element of this composition. "Bamah (place of worship), spoil
bring up by the door of the house of Yah." Or, "Bring thou up spoil by the
door of the house of Yah." Also the word "bamah" and the phrase, House of
Yahweh are precisely appropriate element of this composition.
 
Old Negev:
Hebrew:
Transliteration: l y-h,= For Yah; n-m,= flee away; b-n,= son; `-r-t, = of
lights.
Translation: Flee away for Yah son of lights (revelations). Flee from the
enemies of the Ram (of God)? Also regarding the appearance of a sword at the
side of the figure on the right above the inscription, we saw a steel sword
on exhibit in the Israel Museum (April 1997) dated to the time of king
Hezekiah.
The inscription shown above and the inscriptions shown below are among those
we regarded as of special importance and that contained unclear script that
required an on site examination from which our own sketches and photos could
be made, interpreted, and translated.
 
Old Negev: L-1,
Hebrew;
1. l-`,= not, no; r-',= evil; l-h,= for him.

Old Negev: L-2,
Hebrew;
2. `-l,= El (God); y-h,= Yah; '-d-t,= time, season, a long time.
Old Negev: L-3,
Heb.;
3. l-n,= abide, remain, lodge; m-b-b-r= by election; be chosen; w-h-b,= to
love, to give; w-t-l,= unto the tel (high place of worship); p-l-y-h,= the
escaped of the remnant.
Translation: For him in the time of evil (turn to) El Yah. Upon the heights
God gave to the chosen, the escaped of the remnant (continued below) watchful
[for] Yah.
 
Read in both directions from the middle.
Hebrew: (middle) = Yah - El
 
Old Negev, L-4
Hebrew: = watchful for Yah.
Old Negev, L-5
Hebrew:
Old Negev, L-6
Hebrew:
Translation: (L-5 & L-6) To dream of great Yah lament (those) bold in
speaking, (of the) Lord.
 
Old Negev:
Hebrew:
Translation: El Yah, life you will deliver, life in the hard night
 
Old Negev;=Hebrew: Yah & the Burning Bush [also the Tree of Life & Light - a
very unconventional minorah.
 
Old Negev:
Hebrew;
Translation: Yahh [one of three approved abbreviation for Yahweh
 
The ethnic ties of the Old Negev scribes may include Kenite Midianites,
Israelites, and other Canaanites such as the Avites and the Canaanites that
worshipped Yah of Gad (Lachish Ewer).
 





Perceptions of Yah in the Ancient Negev:

The name of Yah was never spelled out in full in any of the inscriptions. The
most often use form was Yah (hy), followed by El/Yah or Yah/El (hy la) and
just two inscriptions of Yahh (hhy).
The ram is the most frequently encountered icon associated with Yah and El.
The ram's seventy appearances in the first four books of Moses (which invite
and insure the continued favor of the God of Israel) are complimented by the
image of the Ram of Redemtpion and is an acknowledgment of God's intervention
among the ancient inhabitants of the Negev.

Place names found in the compositions are appropriate for the time, location,
and context in which they are used. The persona of Yah is associated with
radiance, as from the sun and the head of the radiant Serpent. The glory of
the radiant serpent was to be extended to his people so that their
countenances would shine as they become a holy nation (a sanctified people).
It is possible that the serpent (as an icon of Yahweh) would have survived in
greater numbers had it not been for the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah. The
serpent symbolizes Yah as the healer, and God of the storms, rain, sun, and
Prince of Life. Yah was the disciplinarian, judge, protector, deliverer,
teacher, purifier, and Father of his covenant people.

The Shield of David represents Yah as the protector of the Twelve Tribes
(represented by the twelve points of the star). In addition to the "Shield of
David" inscription shown above, we have an enlarged photo of a geoglyph
Shield of David on top of one of the Har Karkom platforms.


The Tree of Life icon projects the conception of Yah as the life and
light of the world and the simple but powerful representation on
Har Karkom is hard to discount as a commemoration of the bush
that burned but was not consumed before the eyes of Moses
(Exodus 3:1-2).
 
We learn from Exodus 18 that Jethro was a priest of Midian and also a priest
of Yahweh.  He has a posture of authority over Moses.  This tradition also
locates Yahwism among the Midianites and is consistent with the Old Negev
inscriptions.  We thus locate the heart of Yahwism among the Shasu of Midian,
occupying and radiating around the northern Negev.


 
Lloyd Barré
 
 



>From l_barre AT yahoo.com Sun Feb 8 17:42:41 2009
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To: Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au>, b-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
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Only the consonants were written.  The inclusion of a system of vowels is
quite late, around the time of Christ.

 
Lloyd Barré
 
 

--- On Sun, 2/8/09, Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au> wrote:

From: Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
To: l_barre AT yahoo.com, "b-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sunday, February 8, 2009, 12:44 AM





Was it written in the form of YHWH , or actually written as "Yahweh" , and by
the 9th century , are you bc'ing , or 9th century from Adam.
 
doug belot

----- Original Message -----
From: LM Barre
To: Doug Belot ; b-Hebrew
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 8:46 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible






The 9th century.  The Mesha Stele

The Mesha Stele (popularized in the 19th century as the "Moabite Stone") is a
black basalt stone, bearing an inscription by the 9th century BC Moabite King
Mesha, discovered in 1868 at Dhiban (biblical "Dibon," capital of Moab) now
in Jordan. The Stele is notable because it is thought to be the earliest
known reference to the sacred Hebrew name of God - YHWH. It also notable as
the most extensive inscription ever recovered that refers to ancient Israel,
and French scholar André Lemaire reported that line 31 of the Stele bears the
phrase "the house of David" (in Biblical Archaeology Review [May/June 1994],
pp. 30-37).[1]
The inscription of 34 lines is written in the Moabite language. It was set up
by Mesha, about 850 BC, as a record and memorial of his victories in his
revolt against the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of king Ahaziah after
the death of Israel's king Ahab.
The stone is 124 cm high and 71 cm wide and deep, and rounded at the top. It
was discovered at the ancient Dibon now Dhiban, Jordan, in August 1868, by
Rev. F. A. Klein, a German missionary in Jerusalem. "The Arabs of the
neighborhood, dreading the loss of such a talisman, broke the stone into
pieces; but a squeeze (or papier-mâché impression) had already been obtained
by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, and most of the fragments were recovered
and pieced together by him".[8] The squeeze (which has never been published)
and the reassembled stele (which has been published in many books and
encyclopedias) are now in the Louvre Museum.

 
Lloyd Barré
 
 

--- On Fri, 2/6/09, Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au> wrote:

From: Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
To: l_barre AT yahoo.com
Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 11:59 PM

WHEN WAS THIS WRITTEN .


----- Original Message ----- From: "LM Barre"
<l_barre AT yahoo.com>
To: "Ancient Bible History"
<AncientBibleHistory AT yahoogroups.com>; "b-Hebrew"
<b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 7:46 AM
Subject: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible


Another instance of Yahweh outside the Bible, as if that mattered, is the
Mesha
inscription:

"And I took from there the ['r']ly of Yahweh and I dragged them
before Chemosh."

Lloyd Barré





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>From l_barre AT yahoo.com Sun Feb 8 17:48:51 2009
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] B in Gen 1:1 (was Hebrew considerations)
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The primeval waters pre-exist.  No statement is made of their creation.  They
show the same elements as are found in Egyptian primeval waters.  Thus,
Genesis 1 is not a beginning of the universe.  It is the beginning of the
formation of creation out of chaos just as we have in Egyptian cosmology. 
You have a tendency to stray from a simple point and to get lost in
technicalities.

 
Lloyd Barré
 
 

--- On Sun, 2/8/09, Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com> wrote:

From: Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: B in Gen 1:1 (was Hebrew considerations)
To: l_barre AT yahoo.com, "b-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sunday, February 8, 2009, 12:52 AM


Lloyd,

I will try to explain what I mean again. You said that B should be translated
as temporal in Gen 1:1, and I wholly agree.

First, let's consider again the traditional translation "In the
beginning....". You asserted that this is a locative translation of B. That
is simply not true. The preposition "in" can be either locative or temporal,
depending on whether its object is a location ("in the room") or a time
reference ("in the second year of his reign"). It is exactly the same with,
for instance, the preposition "at": it may be locative ("at the big tree") or
temporal ("at that moment"). In Gen 1:1, the object of the preposition is a
time reference ("beginning"), so the context clearly obliges us to read it as
a temporal "in", i.e. "during the time of the beginning, God created...". We
could also use "At the beginning, God created...", and any native English
speaker will immediately interpret the preposition as a temporal "at (the
time of)".

Now, let's consider your translation "As a beginning, elohim created...". In
this usage, "as" is not temporal in meaning - it does not mean "during the
time of" here. Rather, it means something like "being" or maybe "to function
as". Roughly speaking, the entire sentence (in your translation) would have
the sense: "Elohim created the heavens and the earth - this constituted a
first step [to his work??]"

If the phrase "as a beginning" does have a temporal sense, that is entirely
due to the temporal word "beginning". If we change it, the non-temporal
nature of "as" becomes clear; for instance, "As a show of his power, elohim
created the heavens and the earth". Same sense of "as", but an entirely
atemporal phrase.

Incidentally, your translation also changes the meaning of "beginning" from
an absolute time period to something like "a first step" (what was the next
one??).

Summary: If B is a temporal preposition, "In the beginning" is a possible
translation, but "As a beginning" is not.

Am I being clear?? If not, I'll have to give up... :)

Stephen Shead
Santiago, Chile


2009/2/7 LM Barre <l_barre AT yahoo.com>





Why is "as a beginning . . ." a bad translation?

 
Lloyd Barré

 
 

--- On Sat, 2/7/09, Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com> wrote:


From: Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: B in Gen 1:1 (was Hebrew considerations)
To: l_barre AT yahoo.com, "b-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009, 12:36 AM





Lloyd,

I'm a little confused! If I didn't make myself clear before, I do not agree
with your translation of BR)$T in Gen 1:1. Yes, I agree that B has a temporal
sense here. But for that reason, "as a beginning, elohim created..." is a bad
translation: "as" (in that context) is not a temporal preposition at all. On
the other hand, "in the beginning" is a temporal translation of B, and is
perfectly adequate. "In the beginning" is *not* a locative translation of B.

Stephen Shead
Santiago, Chile


2009/2/6 LM Barre <l_barre AT yahoo.com>





Thank you.  I am glad you took my meaning.  Do you agree?

 
Lloyd Barré
 
 

--- On Fri, 2/6/09, Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com> wrote:

From: Stephen Shead <srshead+bh AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: B in Gen 1:1 (was Hebrew considerations)
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org, l_barre AT yahoo.com
Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 1:41 PM





Lloyd,

You wrote:
'Also, in Genesis 1, the first preposition, b, should be translated as
temporal rather than locative as is so commonly done.  Thus, I would
interpret, "as a beginning, elohim created . . , not "in the beginning . . ."'

This is a miniscule point, but I think you have it the wrong way around: "in
the beginning" is a temporal translation of B, not a locative one, whereas
your translation doesn't render B either temporally or locatively.

Perhaps your confusion is with the word "in", whose most "basic" meaning
(shall we say) is a locative one. But in line with the human propensity to
interpret temporal experience by analogy with spatial experience, it also has
a very common and normal temporal sense ("during the time of"). So "in the
kitchen" uses the locative sense of "in", whereas "in the 16th century" uses
the temporal sense.

In the context of Gen 1:1, the preposition "in" in the phrase "in the
beginning" establishes a temporal relationship between "the beginning" and
"God created...".

But your translation does not render B temporally at all. The temporal bit in
your translation is the substantive "beginning" itself - R)$T - but the
prepositional relationship "as" is not temporal translation of B at all; it
means something like "by way of".

Stephen Shead
Centro de Estudios Pastorales
Santiago, Chile


2009/2/5 <b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org>

From: LM Barre <l_barre AT yahoo.com>
To: Ancient Bible History <AncientBibleHistory AT yahoogroups.com>, b-Hebrew
<b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 15:27:03 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [b-hebrew] Hebrew considerations
The interest in a consistent transliteration system for Hebrew leads me to
think that this list, called "b-Hebrew," has an interest in the language. 
Perhaps I could offer some help on this topic with a brief discussion of the
verbal system:
 
There are seven basic stems in pairs of active and passive:
 
Qal -Niphal
Piel-Paul
Hiphil-Hophal
Hithpael is middle voice
 
There is an active and passive participle
qatol and qatul
 
Also the infinitive construct.

The stems are determined by reading the infix patterns.
 
There is also the perfect and imperfect aspects.  This is not tense but
archionsart or type of action.  The action is conceived as either complete or
incomplete and may be applied to any tense.
 
There is also waw consecutive with the first verb in a sequence determines
the aspect of all verbs connected by the conjuction waw.
 
The issue that might be open to discussion is whether or not we are right to
see the qtl and yqtl forms as communication aspect rather that time of action.
 
Also, in Genesis 1, the first preposition, b, should be translated as
temporal rather than locative as is so commonly done.  Thus, I would
interpret, "as a beginning, elohim created . . , not "in the beginning . . ."
 
Lloyd Barré
http://freewebs.com/lmbarre
 









>From l_barre AT yahoo.com Sun Feb 8 17:55:20 2009
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From: LM Barre <l_barre AT yahoo.com>
To: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>, b-Hebrew
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
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The vocalization of the Tetragrammaton is not a guess but is based upon the
LXX.  It is Yahweh, as is widely recognized.  It is a hiphil imperfect with
sabaoth as the object (Cross).

 
Lloyd Barré
 
 

--- On Sun, 2/8/09, Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il> wrote:

From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sunday, February 8, 2009, 12:59 AM

Doug,

The Mesha (or Moabite) stone (or stele) was written in the 9th century BCE.
And in the Western Semitic (including Hebrew and Moabite) orthography
(that's "spelling") of the time, vowels were not written at all.
So it was
written YHWH. How it was vocalized is anyone's guess.

Yigal Levin

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Belot" <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au>
To: <l_barre AT yahoo.com>; "b-Hebrew"
<b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 2:44 AM
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible


>
> Was it written in the form of YHWH , or actually written as
"Yahweh" , and
> by the 9th century , are you bc'ing , or 9th century from Adam.
>
> doug belot
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: LM Barre
> To: Doug Belot ; b-Hebrew
> Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 8:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
>
>
> The 9th century. The Mesha Stele
>
> The Mesha Stele (popularized in the 19th century as the
"Moabite
> Stone") is a black basalt stone, bearing an inscription by the 9th
century
> BC Moabite King Mesha, discovered in 1868 at Dhiban (biblical
"Dibon,"
> capital of Moab) now in Jordan. The Stele is notable because it is thought

> to be the earliest known reference to the sacred Hebrew name of God -
> YHWH. It also notable as the most extensive inscription ever recovered
> that refers to ancient Israel, and French scholar André Lemaire reported
> that line 31 of the Stele bears the phrase "the house of David"
(in
> Biblical Archaeology Review [May/June 1994], pp. 30-37).[1]
> The inscription of 34 lines is written in the Moabite language. It
> was set up by Mesha, about 850 BC, as a record and memorial of his
> victories in his revolt against the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of
> king Ahaziah after the death of Israel's king Ahab.
> The stone is 124 cm high and 71 cm wide and deep, and rounded at
> the top. It was discovered at the ancient Dibon now Dhiban, Jordan, in
> August 1868, by Rev. F. A. Klein, a German missionary in Jerusalem.
"The
> Arabs of the neighborhood, dreading the loss of such a talisman, broke the

> stone into pieces; but a squeeze (or papier-mâché impression) had
already
> been obtained by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, and most of the fragments

> were recovered and pieced together by him".[8] The squeeze (which has

> never been published) and the reassembled stele (which has been published
> in many books and encyclopedias) are now in the Louvre Museum.
>
>
> Lloyd Barré
>
>
>
>
> --- On Fri, 2/6/09, Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au> wrote:
>
> From: Doug Belot <dbelot AT bigpond.net.au>
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
> To: l_barre AT yahoo.com
> Date: Friday, February 6, 2009, 11:59 PM
>
>
> WHEN WAS THIS WRITTEN .
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "LM Barre"
> <l_barre AT yahoo.com>
> To: "Ancient Bible History"
> <AncientBibleHistory AT yahoogroups.com>; "b-Hebrew"
> <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 7:46 AM
> Subject: [b-hebrew] More Yahweh outside the Bible
>
>
> Another instance of Yahweh outside the Bible, as if that mattered, is the
> Mesha
> inscription:
>
> "And I took from there the ['r']ly of Yahweh and I dragged
them
> before Chemosh."
>
> Lloyd Barré
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
>
>
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>From klriley AT alphalink.com.au Sun Feb 8 18:19:23 2009
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Deuteronomy 28 (Gabe Eisenstein)
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What made me start wondering as a teenager was the number of times the
Israelites come up against a single city - which I knew meant only 10-20,000
people - and yet they were not convinced they would win. Surely with over
600,000 men to call upon, there should not have been any question of them
defeating even the largest cities, even without God's help? Whole empires
were conquered with smaller armies. I also wondered how so many people
could march around Jericho? Apart from the actual numbers given, there are
so many places where the story itself seems to assume a much smaller number
of people.

Kevin Riley

-------Original Message-------

From: Bill Rea
Date: 9/02/2009 10:00:45 AM

B-Hebrewers,

I was away for several days so wasn't able to contribute to the discussion
On evidence. My silence wasn't intentional.

I noticed this thread started by Gabe and would like to look at a slightly
Different aspect from Deut 23: 12,14. If we recall the vast numbers of
People said to have undertaken the Exodus here are a few verses which seem
Inconsistent with such a huge camp. I'm sure someone will point out that I'm

Taking this out of context because it is supposed to be instructions about
What to do once they were in the land. That aside, my point is that the
Instructions given in these verses are only workable if ``the camp'' is very

Small. A ``camp'' of a number of square kilometers (square miles for our US
Friends) could not use this method of sewage disposal.

I think this is some of the problem with trying to date the books. There
Appears to be a kernel of historical memory within them overlaid with much
Material from later times.


Bill Rea Ph.D., ICT Services, University of Canterbury \_
E-Mail bill.rea AT canterbury.ac.nz </ New
Phone 64-3-364-2331, Fax 64-3-364-2332 /) Zealand
Unix Systems Administrator (/'





  • [b-hebrew] The Shasu Yahwists were literate, LM Barre, 02/08/2009

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