a new book has just been published on judean history in the neo- babylonian period.
the title is judah and the judeans in the neo -babylonian period by obed lipschitz joseph blenkinsopp, april, 2003. it is hardcover of over 600 pages and is published by eisengraums.
the isbn is 1575060736 and can be purchased from amazon books.. this book is based on a colloquim of international scholars who met at a conference at the university of tel aviv, may, 2001 and discussed the above subject.
Hi there scholar!
The book does not support the Jonsson hypothesis in relation tho the date for the destruction of the First Temple. This recent scholarship supports 586 rather than 597.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Jonsson uses 587/586 as the date for the destruction of the First Temple.
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i was rooting around on an internet site the other day and noticed an unusual comment.. open your bible to 2 kings chapter 19. then open it to isaiah chapter 37. now, compare the two.. the two chapters are identical - word for word.
it looks like god's word processor had a hiccup.
I think god must have been working on 'repetition for emphasis'.
This whole account is about how Judah is miraculously saved by Yahweh sending his angel to destroy Sennacharib's army of 185,000 men. Judah is saved because of it's faith in Yahweh in contrast to the northern kingdom of Israel. Yahweh allowed Israel to be destroyed by Assyria because of it's continued apostacy and the evil done by it's kings. History paints a slightly different picture though.
The northern kingdon of Israel had actually prospered under many of it's kings especially the Omrides. It was this prosperity that eventually led to conflict with the expanding Assyrian empire and by the time of the death of Tiglath-pileser III most of the northern kingdom had been annexed and it's people lost to history. But it does make you wonder why Yahweh let many of these kings prosper for so long despite their continued idolatry and apostacy.
When the biblical authors compiled their history of the northern kingdom their aim was not to produce an objective history but a theological explanation for the destruction of the northern kingdom. Each one of the northern kings is judged negatively especially Jereboam I and the Omrides such as Ahab.
When Judah was attacked decades later by Sennacharib's forces it is true that Jerusalem didn't fall. The biblical authors attribute this to Hezekiah's pious faith and Yahweh intervention. But archaeology paints a very different picture. Excavations at Lachish, Judah's second city, show the Assyrian seige ramp and mass graves. An Assyrian relief found at Ninevah shows the full horror of the Assyrian destruction of this city. Further Assyrian records of Sennacharib's campaign and mound excavations throughout Judah confirm the total devastation of Judahite cities.
Hezekiah had fortified Jerusalem against an Assyrian attack including the building of a subterranean tunnel to bring water into the city from the Gihon spring. So although Jerusalem didn't fall Sennacharib achieved all his goals. Faith in Yahweh did not stop large parts of the Shepelah (Judah's agricultural land) being given away to city states of Philistia. Hezekiah was forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria and a significant number of Judahites were deported. For all the bible's talk of Yahweh's intervention, Assyria was the only victor. Judah had been fully subjugated.
If 185,000 Assyrian troops had been destroyed by Yahweh then none of the above would have happened. And certainly no other Judahite king would ever turn to idolatry again. But is this the case? No. Hezekiah's son Manasseh seduces his subjects "to do more evil than the nations had done" (2 Kings 21:9).
An objective study of the true history of the kings of Israel and Judah compared to the theological history of the bible is important to show why much of the bible was written. The bible authors based in Jerusalem were Yahwists. To them any king who rebelled against foreign influences such as Hezekiah and Josiah were good and faithful. Any king who had alliances or paid tribute to foreign powers was evil and idolatrous.
Israel and Judah's demise was the result of politics and not divine retribution.
the first known mention of yahweh outside the bible is from certain inscriptions at khirbet al-qom and kuntillet ajrud, which refer to him by this name, dating from the period of iron age ii (850 bce - mid 9th century).
the kuntillet ajrud inscription is significant as it shows yahweh was not a monotheistic god at this time, as the inscription refers to "yahweh and his asherah" (as his goddess).
asherah, is of course the goddess of the groves, whose sacred trees were destroyed by order of josiah, just before the fall of jerusalem to the egyptians (in which josiah was killed) and immediately after to the babylonian forces of nebuchadnezzar.
Interesting points Dansk.
Archaeologists have found a terra-cotta cult stand at Ta'anach a few miles east of Megiddo dated ca. 10th century BCE which shows Asherah the 'Lion Lady' on the lowest tier. So a model temple exists depicting Asherah at Israelite Ta'anach supposedly dated to the time of Solomon and the Jerusalem temple. There is vast archaelogical evidence for the cult of Asherah throughout Israel in the biblical period.
i just heard george benson on the radio.
got me to thinking - is george benson still an active witness?
Matty -
It's the same at Hank Marvin concerts (so I've been told!)
were they actually written before the events happened?
Here's an example of a bible prophecy -
Isaiah 17:1-2 "An oracle concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city, and will become a heap of ruins. Her cities will be deserted for ever; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid."
Wrong!!!
e-online recently compiled
no question about it ... there have been some stinkers.
here's e-online's list.
A couple more just came to mind.
Aliens 3 and 4 - all the trouble Ripley went through rescuing that little girl in the second film only for her to be dead at the beginning of the third one!!!
And I fell asleep in the cinema watching Beverly Hills Cop II - my mates woke me as the credits were rolling!!
e-online recently compiled
no question about it ... there have been some stinkers.
here's e-online's list.
Any Pink Panther film which doesn't have Peter Sellars in it!
Also Mummy Returns was pretty awful.
hi everyone, and thanks to all for your comments in my recent posts.
i can't always get round to logging on, but do appreciate your feedback.. now for a question - what is there left to write about?
i mean, isn't printing 24,000,000 awakes and watchtowers enough?
Great thread truthseeker!
100 Years of Kingdom Rule - Christ's Millenial Rule now at hand - released 2014
One tenth the way through rulership and nothing done!!!
what, in your opinion, is the worst thing that the society has released?
(book / tract / video / audio cassette)
Have to agree with Blondie on this one - The Babylon the Great book.
I had to sit through a study of this 3 times at the book study as a kid. One word sums it up - CRAP!
just got these from a feature on the daily mirror site (www.mirror.co.uk) about strange bible-based rules.
anybody know what the wt's take on any of these are (and if the wt flouts any of them, even though it claims to follow the bible as god's true word).
i know the following quotes probably aren't taken from the nwt version, but i suppose they would be along the same lines........ deuteronomy 21:18-21 has some bad news for wayward sons:if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son... then shall his father and his mother... bring him unto the elders of his city... and all men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die.. .
When men fight together and the wife of one of them comes near to drag her husband clear of his opponent, if she puts out her hands and catches hold of the man's genitals, you shall cut off her hand and show her no mercy.
What a load of bollocks!!!
