Thursday, April 12, 2012

Egal Israel on the Middle Bronze I Israelites





Egal and the Exodus



Ein Hatzeva 30 47 52.43N



35 14 47.76E The coordinates are for the moshav where we stayed. I could not identify the ecavation site in the picture.



I first met Egal Israel in 1993 when I was involved in excavations at Ein Hatzeva, 18 miles south of the Dead Sea. It all started the previous year when I talked with Dr Rudolph Cohen, then head of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who holds the same view as I do on the identification of the Middle Bronze I people with the Israelites who invaded Palestine under Joshua about 1405 BC. I told him that I would like to bring my Australian group to one of the sites under his control. He readily agreed and the following year we stayed at a moshav near the dig site and went to work.



Excavations in this area are particularly relevant to the re-identification of the archaeological strata in the Middle Bronze Period because this was the area from which the Israelites first invaded Palestine. Previously Dr Cohen was in charge of the excavations at Kadesh Barnea from where Moses had sent the twelve men to spy out the land they expected to occupy. Dr Cohen realised that two million people could be expected to leave plenty of evidence of their occupation of the area and when he found a proliferation of MBI pottery he concluded that it must have been left behind by the Israelite people who were camped there for at least forty days. Numbers 13:25 says, "And they returned from spying out the land after forty days."



Egal Israel was in charge of all the excavations at Ein Hatzeva and was digging with a team of labourers on the western side of the tel. Occasionally he would come to our site to see how we were getting on, and it was on one of these visits that I asked him about his views. I said, "Egal, Rudolph Cohen believes that the MBI people were the Israelites under Joshua who invaded Palestine, as described in the Bible. Do you agree with him?"



"Of course I do," he replied. "We all do down here."



While I was in Israel this year (2004) I phoned Egal and asked him if he still held the same views about the MBI people, and he assured me that he did, even more than before. I then made an appointment to visit him at his home which, fortuitously, was only 5 miles from where our group was excavating.



On the appointed night we made our way to his house in the moshav and met Egal and his wife, a gracious lady who spoke faultless English, and spent a profitable hour there. Strange to say, Egal works at Beer Sheba and commutes the 120 km to and fro each day. He is working on excavating wells there. The Bible says that Abraham dug a well at Beer Sheba and he feels that while he is working there he is living in the land of Abraham.



Egal has worked on many sites in the Negev (Southern Israel) and was a member of the team which excavated Kadesh Barnea during the period after the Six Day War which resulted in Israel occupying the Sinai Peninsula in which Kadesh Barnea is located. By virtue of his long archaeological experience he is a highly qualified archaeologist. He is a man who has convictions and forcibly expresses his views.



I asked him if he had come to hold these views because he was influenced by Rudolph Cohen, or was it the result of his own observations. He was emphatic that he regarded the Middle Bronze I people to be the Israelites because of the huge weight of archaeological evidence to support this view. There was the profusion of the MBI pottery, not only at Kadesh Barnea, but at other sites along the route of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt to their promised land.



There is also the evidence from Jericho, Gibeon, and other sites in Palestine showing that the MBI people were nomadic, a feature to be expected from a generation that had been born in and lived in tents all their lives. The archaeological evidence shows that they were tribal, with a different culture to the preceding Canaanite people. In the course of time they seem to have completely replaced the previous culture. This would be consistent with the Biblical record which says that the Israelites ultimately replaced the Canaanites. Egal stressed that it was a long and fluctuating process, but that is the picture the book of Judges presents.



I also asked Egal if his views were coloured by his religious beliefs. Did he adopt these views because this is what the Bible says? Must we interpret archaeological evidence accordingly? He was emphatic that his conclusions were based on archaeological evidence alone. He has confidence in the historical reliability of the Hebrew writings in certain areas, but he does not regard them as a divine revelation from God. They must be submitted to the archaeological evidence, which in the case of the Exodus and the MBI period, are consistent with each other.



© David Down 2004



See also this quote from David's latest book, Unveiling the Kings of Israel.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

He is Risen as He said




1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.



2 And a certain man alame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;



3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an aalms.



4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.



5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.



6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have agive I thee: In the bname of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.



7 And he took him by the right hand, and alifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.



8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.



9 And all the people asaw him walking and praising God:



10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.



11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the aporch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.



12 ¶And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our aown power or holiness we had made this man to walk?



13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath aglorified his Son Jesus; whom ye bdelivered up, and cdenied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.



14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a amurderer to be granted unto you;



15 And killed the aPrince of life, whom God hath braised from the dead; whereof we are cwitnesses.



16 And his aname through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the bfaith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.



17 And now, brethren, aI bwot that through cignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.



18 But those things, which God before had ashewed by the mouth of all his bprophets, that Christ should csuffer, he hath so fulfilled.



19 ¶aRepent ye therefore, and be bconverted, that your sins may be cblotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the dpresence of the Lord;



20 And he shall send aJesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:b



21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of arestitution of all things, which God hath bspoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.



22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A aprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.



23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be adestroyed from among the people.



24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise aforetold of these days.



25 Ye are the achildren of the prophets, and of the bcovenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be cblessed.



26 Unto you first God, having raised up his aSon Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.



....






Regina Coeli

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as he said, alleluia. / Pray for us to God, alleluia.



Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. / For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.



Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.









Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Biblical People, Places and Events As Recorded In History




by

Damien F. Mackey



[Written for a reader]



I am using only conventional dates here, which I do not accept as being accurate.




The Ebla tablets (c. 2500 BC) give the names of cities thought to have been founded much later, such as Beirut and Byblos, leap from the tablets. Damascus and Gaza are mentioned, as well as two of the Biblical cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah. Most intriguing of all are the personal names found on the Ebla tablets. They include Ab-ra-mu (Abraham), E-sa-um (Esau).



Hammurabi’s Laws (c. 1800 BC) are thought to have much affinity with the Mosaïc laws (Torah), which they are said to pre-date.



It is generally thought that the first (non-Biblical) historical reference to Israel occurs in the Stele of Pharaoh Merenptah, the son of Ramses II ‘the Great. Merenptah records for his 5th year (the textbook date is C13th BC): “Israel is desolate, his seed is not”. Historians disagree over how to interpret this.



Israeli archaeologist, Eilat Mazar, has recently been making a name for herself by uncovering the palace in the city of King David.



Shalmaneser III, ruler of Assyria (mid-C9th BC) refers to [king] Ahab of Israel as one of his major opponents at the battle of Qarqar, when the king of Assyrian fielded about 120,000 men.

He also mentions a Jehu son of Omri in his Black Obelisk inscription. Omri, a king of Israel, was of course the father of Ahab. Shalmaneser took tribute from this Jehu.



The Tell Dan inscription, which refers to “the House of David”, tells of the defeat of king Jehoram of Israel and king Ahaziah of Judah.

There is also the Moabite stele, written by King Mesha of Moab known from the Bible at this time.



The El Amarna letters at the time of Pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV (Akhnaton) (dated to the C14th BC) refer twice to “the House of Solomon”. In these letters, Jerusalem is called ‘Urusalim’.



There is also the famous Seal of Jezebel.



The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (mid-C8th BC) refers to various biblical kings and characters, including kings Uzziah and Ahaz of Judah; Menahem of Israel; and Rezin of Syria.



Down through the centuries, Isaiah 20:1 was the only witness for the reality of Sargon II of Assyria (mid-700’s BC): “In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it”, until the palace of Sargon was unearthed in 1842. This Isaian verse fuelled great controversy back in the early days of archeology. Some researchers had uncovered a stone obelisk with an engraved list of Assyrian kings. But it didn't include Sargon! So the University of Chicago announced that they saw a "glaring contradiction in the Bible." They were wrong! When Sargon's royal palace was finally excavated, researchers found his name engraved on numerous bricks in the palace walls -- along with boastful references to his conquest of Ashdod.



The Assyrian king Sennacherib (late 700’s BC) mentions “the strong proud [king] Hezekiah” of Judah and records his spoil from his assault on Jerusalem which tallies well with the biblical account.



Petra: Years ago, we visited Petra, the "pink city" dramatized in the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The trip to ancient Edom’s capital began in Amman, Jordan, with a four-hour drive south through the desert. Finally, at the mountainous entrance to Petra, the passage once blocked to Moses and his followers, we walked through a narrow gorge. The vertical rock walls on both sides framed a sliver of the "pink palace,” permitting a teasing glimpse of the rose-colored columns and sculptured ornaments of a palatial wall.

But when we reached the once-flourishing city, the stark sunlight exposed the faded facades of a lifeless ghost town. Behind the broken ruins of a lost civilization were empty caves - the stripped tombs of a people who long ago rejected God. The path led no further. The well-traveled old roads were gone -- just as the Bible prophesied: "... it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it.... thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses.... The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals... There the arrow snake shall make her nest..." (Isaiah 34:9-15)



Edom literally dried, wilted, and died. Its streams and vineyards turned to dust -- but not because of chlorofluorocarbons! God did it, because the smug Edomites rejected His ways. But –

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says about Edom... 'The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?' Though you ... make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down'” (Obadiah 1, 34)



The Philistine city, Ekron (now called Tel Miqne): This confirmation of Biblical accuracy was published by the Archaeological Institute of America: "An inscription carved into a limestone slab found at TEL Miqne, 23 miles southwest of Jerusalem, confirms the identification of the site as Ekron, one of the five Philistine capital cities mentioned in the Bible. The inscription is unique because it contains the name of a biblical city and five of its rulers, two of whom are mentioned as kings in texts other than the Bible.... It also strengthens the identification of Ekron with a... city-state recorded in Assyrian texts of the seventh century B.C.... "In 712 B.C. this city was conquered by the Assyrian king Sargon II. For a short time, beginning in 705 B.C., it came under the control of Hezekiah, king of Judah.... In 603 B.C. the city was sacked by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar."



There is some historical record (albeit scant) of Nebuchednezzar II’s destruction of Jerusalem (587 BC).



Several of the Judaean and Babylonian officials referred to in the Book of Jeremiah (C6th BC) are known from contemporary inscriptions, and some think that they can even identify in the cuneiform records of Babylonia, as high officials, the three young men of the Book of Daniel.



The Pool of Bethesda. Liberal scholars, intent on maintaining their criticism of the Bible, claimed that the Gospel of John could not have been written by the actual disciple. They argued that verses such as John 6:1 had to be wrong, since it refers to "five porches" at the Jerusalem's pool of Bethesda. But more recent excavations verified John's account: "...approximately eight years ago archaeologists discovered underneath what they had previously thought was the earliest level at the site of Bethesda an older mikveh (pool) which had a fifth portico transecting it! One would hope that at some point the critics would concede the historical reliability of the biblical narrative.

That's unlikely! Millar Burrows, the renowned Professor of Archaeology at Yale University, explained why: "The excessive skepticism of many liberal theologians stems not from a careful evaluation of the available data, but from an enormous predisposition against the supernatural."



The accuracy of the Biblical record has been proven again and again. As Dr. Joseph Free wrote, "Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which had been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contrary to known facts."



Unlike the myths and legends of other spiritual traditions, the Bible's meticulous recording of historical events matches both secular history and archeological discoveries. Even the Old Testament droughts (that led to famines and wars) match the migrations, climatic changes, tree rings and other discoveries charted by scholars. God's Word is true. We can count on it!



"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)



Easter 2012 (“He is Risen!”)