Hi WTWizard. Interesting sceptical view about the Bible. But I've found some interesting parallels. One of my favorite is Akhenaten.
Akhenaten suddenly converts to monotheistic worship and builds an altar to the god Aten in the middle of Egypt. David Rohl, the author of "New Chronology" uses the KTU 1.78 eclipse dated to the 12th of Akhenaten to try and date that king during the Davidic Period by using a 1012 BCE eclipse. But the conventional eclipse reference is 1375 BCE, in which case the 1st of Akhenaten would fall in 1386BCE.
Manetho gives us the precise year Joseph became vizer in Egypt, year 17 of Apophis, by which we learn that the Exodus would have occurred at the end of the rule of Amenhotep III. It is quite precise. Per the Bible the ruling king, indeed, died in the Red Sea and thus the year of the Exodus should mark the end of the rule of a pharaoh. Only we know specifically it is Amenhotep III. So we look to the reign of Akhenaten for specific evidence of the Exodus. We don't expect to find written records because all of his were deliberately destroyed.
But look at the circumstantial evidence? Akhenaten's behavior, converting to monotheism is clearly what one might expect if he underwent the ten plagues. Problem is, the Bible indicates that indeed, after the ten plagues, Egypt would become monotheistic and build an altar to YHWH in a specific location, that is, in the middle of Egypt near it's "boundary." Egypt was quie evenly divided between Upper and Lower Egypt, so that "boundary" would be halfway between. That's where Akhenaten built his city to Aten. It is the famous site of Tel el-Amarna, where the famous Amarna letters come from:
But you are right. The Bible does indeed hide details and secrets. Secrets lost until it's God's time to reveal them. Here's the Biblical reference that seems like it is a future prophecy but is actually a reference to the time of Moses and the Exodus and Ten Plagues:
19 In that day there will prove to be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt[Tel el-Amarna], and a pillar to Jehovah beside its boundary. 20 And it must prove to be for a sign and for a witness to Jehovah of armies in the land of Egypt; for they will cry out to Jehovah because of the oppressors[the Jews in bondage as slaves], and he will send them a savior, even a grand one[the grand savior, obviously, is MOSES], who will actually deliver them. 21 And Jehovah will certainly become known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians must know Jehovah in that day[known through the Ten Plagues and Red Sea incident], and they must render sacrifice and gift and must make a vow to Jehovah and pay it. 22 And Jehovah will certainly deal Egypt a blow[the Ten Plagues]. There will be a dealing of a blow and a healing; and they must return to Jehovah, and he must let himself be entreated by them and must heal them[i.e. they would become monotheists].
23 In that day there will come to be a highway out of Egypt to As·syr´i·a, and As·syr´i·a will actually come into Egypt, and Egypt into As·syr´i·a; and they will certainly render service, Egypt with As·syr´i·a. 24 In that day Israel will come to be the third with Egypt and with As·syr´i·a, namely, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 because Jehovah of armies will have blessed it, saying: “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, As·syr´i·a, and my inheritance, Israel.”
So in my case, I found the Bible more than quite fascinating historically, though you do have to dig past the cryptic references to confirm this. Oh, how does this sit archaeologically, dating the 1st of Akhenaten to 1386 BCE?
Kathleen Kenyon: Digging Up Jericho, Jericho and the Coming of the Israelites, page 262:
"As concerns the date of the destruction of Jericho by the Israelites, all that can be said is that the latest Bronze Age occupation should, in my view, be dated to the third quarter of the fourteenth century B.C. This is a date which suits neither the school of scholars which would date the entry of the Israelites into Palestine to c. 1400 B.C. nor the school which prefers a date of c. 1260 B.C."
The "third quarter of the 14th century B.C." means between 1350-1325 BCE. The Exodus occurs exactly 40 years earlier than the fall of Jericho which per Kenyon would thus fall between 1390-1365 BCE. 1386 BCE, of course, falls within this archaeological period.
Finally, what about my advanced chronology or those like Preterists and Martin Anstey who believe the 1st of Cyrus should fulfill the "70 weeks" prophecy and thus dated to 455 BCE? Well the Exodus is exactly 19 jubilees earlier than the return from Babylon, so we merely add 931 years to 455 BCE to get the absolute date for the Exodus per the Bible's chronology. 931+455=1386 BCE. Of course, JWs date that event in 1513 BCE, some 127 years too early.
Finally, if you like science and archaeology, the very latest we have related to absolute dating is RC14 dating from Rehov. Basically, it is presumed by archaeologists that cereals are the best way to date an event if they are found burned at the time of a destructive level. That is their best chance at dating something to a precise period. Previously RC14 only got them to within 90-100 years of any event like this, thus samples found at Rehov at the level associated with Shishak's invasion has a range of 918-823 BCE for 95.4% testing. But it was discovered recently that when you multi-test a single sample the weighted average accummulates around the very center of the range, as can be seen by the chart below. Thus it is believed the very middle of the range is closest to the "true date" of that event. Meaning, you could theoretically narrow this event to within a year or so, and certainly within less than ten years.
http://www.geocities.com/ed_maruyama/rehov872.html [Rehov testing]
http://www.geocities.com/siaxares/REHOVPROB.JPG (comparison 871 vs 925 BCE)
RESULT? 871 BCE. That's the scientifically highest probable date for that event. Now that dating does not agree with the current secular dating for Shishak's invasion, now dated to 925 BCE. BUT...since we can calculate directly Solomon's rule from the date of the Exodus, which would be from 910-870 BCE, we can determine the year of Shishak's invasion near the very end of Solomon's rule in year 5 of the co-ruler Rehoboam. Year 39 of Solomon falls in 871 BCE! Precisely where the scientific dating points to as well!
SO... some find the Bible useless, perhaps because they don't know what to look for or because they don't understand it. While others, like myself, find it completely reliable. Sure what is left today can't cover all the events in the Bible's ancient past, but some are covered, like Shishak's invasion date and the conversion to monotheism after the Ten Plagues. In the meantime, nothing can be disproven either.
So two different opinions about the value of the Bible. I respect the sceptics, but they often fall short of doing a truely through investigation so oftentimes their results are erroeneous, fraudulent or incompetent. Unfortunately, some who even claim the Bible is true, like JWs, sometimes misrepresent what is in the Bible, adding to the Bible's poor reputation as an accurate historical record or reliable book of prophecy. Case in point, they use the secular date of 539 BCE as their "pivotal date" for the fall of Babylon, instead of using the Biblical dating for the 1st of Cyrus in fulfillment of the 70-weeks prophecy that would date that event to 455 BCE. Others like Martin Anstey though, managed to ignore the secular records from this period and hold steadfast to the Biblical dating. NOW, the VAT4956 confirms precisely that, indeed, the 1st of Cyrus fell in 455 BCE before complex revisions.
So that's another thing. Scientists, archaeologists and others, some who know the truth, love to LIE about it, misrepresenting history and facts, ignoring the critical evidence supporting the Bible, and then claim the Bible is incorrect. A lot of flash over substance. When they get cornered on some key issues in show down, then they turn tail and run, like Carl Olof Jonsson who wrote extensively about chronology in two recent books, who refuses to answer any challenges by me. Some think he has good reason to refuse to debate with me because I'm "crazy" but others can see, obviously, I might know too much and it's better not to debate than to debate and lose face.
Plato and Aristotle were involved with Xenophon in the Greek Period revisions, with Socrates and Aristotle being former lovers. This is probably a well kept secret from olden times and its still too embarassing to bring out now, hence the phony allegiance to the current revised timeline. Scientists may be smart, but they are also deceitful and can be bought off by the highest bidder. Few things exit in the modern world without FUNDING, and that goes for most archaeological programs.
I'm glad at least I'm honest. And it's wonderful to see the Bible confirmed when it can be by science and archaeology and astronomy!
Different experiences. Same book.
JC
