Jewry 1. General information about Bible research, documents and archeology

from: Israel Finkelstein / Neil A. Silberman: The Bible unearthed. Archeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts; The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2001; Deutsche Ausgabe: Verlag C.H.Beck oHG, München 2002;

Here in this analysis is used a German version "Keine Posaunen vor Jericho" of DTV, Munich 2004, second edition of 2005. All page indications refer to the German version. I hope the page numbers are not very different.

Israel Finkelstein, portrait, Archeology Department, Tel Aviv

Neil Asher Silberman, portrait

Preface

Old Testament has to be written in an new manner. Some murders, some brave actions, and some slaveries can be omitted, and other culprits must be added, above all considering the policy of Egypt Empire and of the Empires in Mid East.

The presenting work is a survey in a chronological form of history of Jewry up to Nebuchadnezzar, always with indications about disagreements according to documents and archeology. Many Jews know about it, but most of the Christians don't know anything.

Christianity even refuses further education since centuries whereas Bible researcher and archaeologists are Jews in many cases.

There should change something: We need a new Old Testament by chief rabbis.

Here was analyzed the German edition "Keine Posaunen vor Jericho" edited by dtv 2004.

Michael Palomino
April 2006

1. General information about Bible research, documents and archeology

There is a scheme of development for written documents

Strong written documents regularly are made in a strong state. There are characteristics for a strong state:
-- big houses
-- a specialized economy
-- a dense net of communities with villages up to big towns (p.34).

So, in a region where are only villages or nomads there is no great literature, economy or state's administration, and big houses are missing. When there cannot be found any remnants for a certain time, so this is an indication that the population was organized in a nomadic way without any army (p.34).

Bible research

There are some methods of Bible research
-- by analysis of languages and by analysis of different kinds of texts with the research of the origin of the different texts
-- archeology is proving history by remnants found or can contradict faked legends by remnants - or not found remnants
-- so a big part of history in Israel-Palestine from 1,000 to 400 before "Christ" can be deduced today.

By all this the texts of the Bible can be classified in a new way and we can make a difference between poetry and historic descriptions (p.15).

Documents in Egypt are correcting the OT: there are letters from Pharaohs and the Amarna letters

Above all the letters of the Tell al-Amana contain the correspondence of the pharaohs. These are about 400 Amarna tablets which are distributed over all the world in museums today,
-- with letters of the Hittite kings (today Anatolia, Eastern Turkey) to the Pharaoh
-- with letters of Babylon Empire (today Iraq) to the Pharaoh
-- and above all with letters from the city states of Canaan when they were subordinated states, with letters from Jerusalem, from Sichem Megiddo, Hazor, and Lachish (p.90).

Archeology in Israel-Palestine is correcting the OT

-- archeology can state with remnants e.g. which agriculture in which time was applied, which tradition of meals were, how was the structure of the town (p.15), who were the trade partners etc. (p.16)

-- archeology is setting free all locations which are mentioned in the Bible, and basically can confirm or disprove the Bible text

-- archeology can make laboratory tests and can distinguish the civilizations of the Israelis, Philistines, Phoenicians, Aramaic, Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites

-- archeology can state inscriptions and seals, and by this archeology can connect the persons with the bible texts (p.16)

-- Arab word "et-Tell" and Hebrew word "ai" mean "the ruin" (p.96).

From the 1940s on archeology developed new methods of research finding pattern of settlements and maps of settlements of the past. By this also demographic developments can be stated (p.122).

Since 1967 complete archaeological groups (with students) are working in the newly Jewish occupied territories of the alleged tribes Judah, Benyamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and daily are investigating a surface of about 2.6 km². There are excavations at many locations thinking something important could be found there (p.122).

By the remnants found in Egypt and by deciphering of hieroglyphs (p.28) and by findings of cuneiform scripts in Mesopotamia (p.28,30) history in Israel Palestine can be researched precisely, independent of Hebrew Bible. Many and essential lies in Old Testament can be made out (p.30).

[There are repeating political changes in the big Empires - but this for example is not mentioned but is presented as "God's miracle" etc.].

Figures in the Pentateuch

Pentateuch is brilliant indicating different dates for the same event:
-- leaving Egypt is said having happened 480 years before the construction of the temple in 4th year of Solomon's lordship (1st Kings, 6,1)
-- it is indicated that the Israelits had suffered 430 years of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12,40)
-- Abraham, Isaak and Jakob are said having reached an age of over 100 years (p.47)
-- but the average life expectation in these times during the alleged person of Mose was only 40 years (p.64-65).

Comparison with European epochs

Compare the epochs in Middle East with the European epochs:

European data of epochs
Epoch	date
Early Bronze Age	3500-2200 B.C. appr.
Interim period	2200-2000 B.C.
Middle Bronze Age	2000-1550 B.C. appr.
Late Bronze Age	1550-1150 B.C.
Interval between late Bronze Age and Iron Age I	12th century (p.135)
Iron Age I	1150-900 B.C. appr.
Iron Age II	900-586 B.C.
(Finkelstein / Silberman: Posaunen 2001, edition 2004, p.130)

The strip of Israel Palestine

-- there are many dry times

-- this place is always a place of wars between the big Empires Egypt and Syria (p.15) because the leaders want to reign over the trade roads to Africa or to Arabia (p.289)

-- during Bible times compared with Egypt and Mesopotamia the strip of Israel Palestine has only a very little population and culture is very low (p.15)

-- there can be stated that there was an old agriculture

-- at the end of European Stone Age the populations are settling down

-- during the European Bronze Age in 3500 to 1150 B.C. there is developing a town's civilization (p.32) [above all on the coast line and in the plains, in the mountains only later]

-- during the European Iron Age from 1150 to 586 B.C. there are developing territorial states [and also this development is later in the mountains] (p.32).
There is an illiterate tradition in the mountains of Israel Judah

Judah tradition is archaic, and there has to be considered illiteracy:

-- belief is dominating that houses, farms and tombs will be inherited by the special Gods and by the ancestors

-- there are sacrifices on cases in the village, near family graves in the village (p.261), and on the open altars on the hills ("heights") (p.261-262)

-- during wars the locations of sacrifices on the heights are rated as intouchable and stay intact, and this is well described in OT: "The heights were not abrogated"

-- God JHWH is one of many Gods of the old tradition

-- for example there are also adapted cults from neighbor populations

-- God JHWH is adored in different kinds, sometimes presented with divine followers

-- archeology finds in Judah's old sites of settlement 100s of naked figurines of naked fertility goddesses

-- one inscription on North Eastern Sinai peninsula in Kuntillet Airud stays in cultural connection to the North Reich and refers according to Finkelstein / Silberman to Ashera as the wife of God. Also a latter inscription from the Judah mountains is speaking of God and Ashera as a pair of Gods (p.262).

[Ashera is an ugarite / Syrian fertility goddess, the wife of Creator God "El"].

OT: There is a mix of traditions in the Middle and Mid East region

There is the belief with sacrificial cults for Baal (weather god for rain and fertility), for Ashera (Aramaic fertility goddess) (p.298-299).

There are Gods, to whom are given sacrifices on the hills, for example
-- goddess of Sidon Astarte (goddess of love, fertility and night) (p.299), according to Finkelstein / Silberman represented with a figurine normally having both tits in their hands (p.309)
-- there is Moab god Kamos
-- there is Ammonite god Milkom (2d book of Kings, 23, 10-14) (p.299).

More cults are:
-- there is an astral cult: sun, moon and stars probably are rated as holy symbols and can often be seen on seals of Judah before the times of king Joshia (p.309)

-- there is a cult of heavenly hosts (p.298-299).

This is a total complex of rites: the sacrifices on the hills, the inscriptions in stones, and the Ashera pictures etc. The aim is pleading the divine powers for fertility and wealth. The neighbor populations have similar rites (p.261).

Biblical and archaeological information indicate this mix of cults for gods ("syncretism"). But OT is propagating a "1 god cult" and is claiming [in a religious racist manner] that all other religious orientations would be "atrocities" [without describing the cults precisely]. So, all cults for Baal, for Astarte, for the angelic hosts and for the gods of the neighbor countries are demonized [without giving information to the reader about what the fact is basically].

It's said that the cults also were performed in the temple of Jerusalem (p.262), but there is not one single remnant of the "First Temple" (p.261).

[It's possible that the first temple was only a big tent].

Astarte: Goddess of love, fertility and night. Jewish orthodox philosophy is forbidding Astarte, and so called "Christianity" is following in the same manner partly until today...
Figurine of Astarte: breasts in their hands 1 Figurine of Astarte of 8th century B.C., Jewish, carved ivory, finding place: Gaza strip	Figurine of Astarte with folded arms before their tits Figurine of Astarte: Breasts in their hands 3, finding place: Lachish	Figurine of Astarte: Breasts in their hands 2
Mostly Astarte is presented with breasts presented in their hands, but also with simple big breasts. So, it seems a basic need having big breasts giving milk to the baby later, and Israelites have celebrated also this cult. But this basic need is always damned in the patriarch population since the grounding of the North Reich Israel in 7th century B.C. So, the patriarchs have not recognized life, and "Christianity" is following this...

Cults of Baal (p.262)

Baal was a god of fertility and of weather, above all a rain good for the peasants. It's indicated that there were Baal festivals in spring like a free carnival. Oh, this has to be forbidden, orthodox Jews thought. In this case "Christianity" did not follow.

Figurines of god of fertility and weather Baal
Figurine of Baal	Figurine of Baal made of gold
Baal was a god for fertility and weather. This carnival god has to be prohibited, the patriarchs thought after the collapse of North Reich of Israel in 7th century B.C.

Relation to Egypt has always two sides

-- Egypt always is a sheet anchor when Canaan and the strip of Israel Palestine is affected by a dry period [because Egypt has got more or less regular harvests by the regular floods of Nile river]

-- but Egypt is also a permanent danger because Egypt military strategists always are ready making their campaigns to Mesopotamia [and for some periods this was also realized] (p.84).

Egypt wants the occupation of a part of "Fertile Crescent", the fertile part of territory in Middle and Mid East.

At the same time the Empires of Mesopotamia also want to dominate "Fertile Crescen" and the aim allways is the occupation of the delta of Nile.

Therefore there are always military campaigns passing Mid East.

Map of "Fertile Crescent"

The fertile territories go from Sinai to Persian Gulf and are the aim of the Empires Egypt and Mesopotamia. The military campaigns regularly destroy the Middle East.

Place names in the Bible and today
-- Gibeon = the ruins near ed-Dshib
-- Bethel = the ruins near Betin
-- Silo = the ruins near Selun (p.27).
-- Kadesh-Barnea (oasis in Sinai) = En el-Quderat, aside is the little spring En Qadis (p.77)
-- Debir (allegedly occupied during the occupation) = Tell Bet Mirsim (p.94)
-- Betin (Arab village) = Bethel, is said having been named Lus before the occupation (p.94).

Landscapes in the Bible and today
The landscapes are the same and the descriptions in the Bible correspond with the real landscape of today (p.27).

[But according to the documents and archeology the landscapes are the only thing which corresponds. And Dead Sea does hardly exist any more today (2010)].

["Christianity" and Orthodox Jewry are refusing modern Bible research
In many circles of so called "Christianity" Bible research is absolutely refused until today. The pastors, Fathers and self-made preachers in the house circles and on "missionary farms" etc. are preaching Bible word for word until today, and are preaching also the lies of Old Testament which are really disproved].

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