Adam and Eve.....and Egypt

by gumby 55 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  LittleToe

  Alan:Thanks for that link. I enjoyed that.
  It's nice to be able to explore these things, and bring up conjecture, without censure.

  It would certainly fill in some of the background to Nimrod starting conquests.
• 

  City Fan

  Great link AlanB, thanks.

  I think books such as Maccabees, Jubilees, Esdras etc can give us a lot of good background information and expansion of the biblical narratives. To show how important these books were to the Jews it is interesting to note that, at Qumran, 15 or 16 copies of the book of Jubilees were found compared to say 1 copy of Ezra and 8 of Daniel. In fact from the dead sea scrolls only more copies have been found of Isaiah, Psalms and Deutoronomy than of Jubilees.

  Why were we not taught this fascinating stuff at the KH?

  You're so right. At least here we can all question each other and put forward ideas without fear of getting DF'd. I've learnt so much more about biblical history and background since leaving than I ever did at those repetitive meetings.
• 

  AGuest

  may you have peace!

  Well no actually. The Tigris valley runs north/south. To go from Babylon to Nineveh you would travel almost directly north.

  Not according to the way of thinking back then - Genesis 2:14

  I think you'll find there are only 101 years from the flood to the birth of Peleg, not 200.

  I stand corrected; I incorrectly counted from Shem - my apologies. However, I still have no problem, considering the rate of growth of this country... seeing rapid growth during the time in question. As to the other "differences" in our understandings, perhaps we should just agree to disagree. I do believe there was a global flood, based on many more things than the Bible account. You don't, based on... well, most probably, a lack of a smoking gun. And I understand that. Some would tell you that you must just have faith. I would tell you, however, that faith... is NOT blind... is not based on nothing, but on something... the "EVIDENT demonstration of realities... though not beheld (or seen with the eyes of flesh)." Again, I bid you peace. A slave of Christ, SJ
• 

  AGuest

  thank you for your response... and may you have peace!

  Your comment serves me well, for it is just as my Lord has said to me:

  "ALL things I tell you... are written. However, not all things that are written, is what I will tell you."

  So many believe the Bible to be the ONLY writings... and its contents infallible... holding all information, etc. This is not true. Therefore, I have learned to listen to my Lord's words at John 5:39, 40, for they have served me MUCH better than the Bible.

  Again, I bid you peace.

  A slave of Christ,

  SJ
• 

  City Fan

  SJ,

  I've appreciated your comments. Again looking at Geneis 2:14 I see some translations say the Tigris "flows east of Assyria", some say the Tigris "runs eastward to Assyria" and some e.g. the Revised Standard Version say the Tigris "runs along the east side of Asshur". Of course I'd prefer to use "runs along the east side of Asshur".

  But rivers do change their courses over time. I've found a map in the book 'Babylon' by Joan Oates which shows the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates from the 3rd millenium BC compared to modern times, and they are quite different. I'll just quote a little from the book:

  "Archaeological surveys and historical sources both confirm this pattern of shifting water-courses and associated concentrations of population... It is clear too that at no time did the Euphrates occupy one single channel. In the earliest period for which we have evidence there seem to have been three major branches running through Kish, Cutha and Jamdat Nasr, settlement having been heaviest along the easternmost branch. By the 3rd millenium the Kish channel was undoubtedly the most important, just as Kish was the major city. The earliest documentation for the then apparently minor Babylon branch comes later in the 3rd millenium; it was not until the end of the 2nd millenium that this channel became the most important of the Euphrates courses. It remains today an impressive river, although the main Euphrates channel now flows even further to the west."
• 

  AGuest

  may you have peace!

  Thank you for your comment... and I must agree: waterways often change their course. "Winding" is one way to describe it. At times, it is land formations that dictate the flow of a watercourse. So, I can absolutely understand how, at times, the Euphrates... and many other waterways... changed and flowed opposite their earlier course.

  As regards the Tigris, however, all three phrases... "flows east of Assyria," "runs eastward to Assyria," "runs along the east side of Asshur"... do not lead me away from the general thought: that it flows east... toward Assyria... along the east side of Asshur.

  So, again, I have no problem saying that we should just agree to disagree. I have been engaged in so many back-and-forths lately, and I have received no instruction to pursue this particular subject any further... so I am going to just let things stand as they are: you believe one thing... and I another. However, my LOVE for you... is not based on whether you and I believe the same things. Therefore my love... and offer of peace... remain.

  A slave of Christ,

  SJ