Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>]

Jim,

I'd like you to take a quick look at a recent satellite image of an
uncultivated portion of a wadi in the Negev.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=nahal+paran,+israel&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.426865,56.513672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Nahal+Paran&ll=30.254526,34.972701&spn=0.006747,0.021973&t=h&z=16

Please note that you are looking at an uncultivated section. The majority of
what you can see are probably acacia trees which grow abundantly in the wild
wherever there is an underground water supply. The acacia roots can reach
down the 20 metres required to drink from the underground river systems.
Pretty much every wadi has one. The amount of trees you see is a good
indicator of how rich the water supply is. When a bunch of wandering nomads,
which the Amorites primarily were (only the minority founded cities for
archaeologists to find), find a rich water supply they dig wells and build
an oasis were their camels can feed and where they can grow more interesting
things to eat than the odd blade of grass in the Wadi (they generally let
their livestock enjoy this type of feed).

In an Oasis, you can find quite a lot of variation in the flora and fauna
from what you would normally find in the wild (acacia trees and the odd
blade of grass as well as bushes of the type Moses saw on Mount Sinai).
Perhaps one of the best examples I've seen of this kind of phenomenon is the
Feran Oasis in Wadi Feran in the Sinai. So, now take a look at this:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=gebel+musa,+egypt&sll=28.685769,33.571472&sspn=0.877045,2.8125&ie=UTF8&hq=Biblical+Mt+Sinai&hnear=Biblical+Mt+Sinai&ll=28.705532,33.656852&spn=0.003425,0.010986&t=h&z=17

pan around along the valley to the East and West. I hope you are now
starting to see the difference a little organised cultivation can make when
there is a rich underground water source to exploit. Even in the satellite
images you can already see there is much more than a few wild acacia trees
growing. Seeing this close up is a completely different experience. You
would not believe the flowers that can grow in the Sinai deserts when a
small community takes the effort to make them grow. I really strongly advise
that you visit these places before making strong conclusions that one single
turpentine tree could not be found in an Oasis in the desert South of the
mountains of Seir South of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea).

James Christian

On 6 May 2010 10:10, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au> wrote:

>  You have until the end of today.
>
> *GEORGE ATHAS
> **Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
> *www.moore.edu.au
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From: *James Christian <jc.bhebrew AT googlemail.com>
> *Date: *Thu, 6 May 2010 16:57:55 +1000
> *To: *George Athas <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>
> *Cc: *B-Hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> *Subject: *Re: [b-hebrew] El-Paran
>
>
> Come on George. Let it go a few more days. We finally managed to turn Jim's
> theories into an interesting and linguistically based discussion. Besides,
> I've been looking deeper into this and I don't think we have quite reached a
> stalemate yet. There is still a lot to be said about the words El and Paran
> that could bring more light to the discussion.
>
> James Christian
>
> On 6 May 2010 09:33, George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au> wrote:
>
> OK everyone, this discussion is not progressing anywhere. It's obviously
> reached a stalemate, so it's to leave it there.
>
> No more posts on this thread, please.
>
>
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Co-Moderator, B-Hebrew
> (Sydney, Australia)
>
>
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