Babylonian Business Records

VM44

I have read that thousands of Babylonian Business records exist on clay tablets, and that these alone provide proof that the year 607BCE is not what the Watchtower claims it is.

Since business is conducted on a day to day basis, these records should provide a continuous record of each Babylonian kings reign

Is there a summary of the Babylonian Business records? In particular, a timeline showing the number of business tables in existence corresponding to various Kings and dates within a King/s reign?

I know COJ goes into the topic of the business tables, but has the Watchtower ever tried to explain away the existence of the business tablets? Or do they just ignore the tablets completely?

--VM44

You're right, COJ does discuss and give several examples of the business documents. I believe it is these documents that assist in assertaining the exact day any given King died. I can't say with any certainty that the WTS ignores the records, however they would be plastering them over the pages of the WT if there was any proof to their theories.

Kwin

kwintestal

Pages 118-121 discusses Economic documents, and COJ makes the following note regarding the WTS on his footnote on pg. 121:

As a matter of course, defenders of the Watch Tower Society's chronology have made great efforts to discredit the evidence provided by these enormous quantities of dated cuneiform tablets. On perusing modern catalogues of documents dated to the Neo-Babylonian era, they have found a few documents that seemingly give longer reigns to some Babylonian kings than are shown by the Royal Canon and other sources. A fresh check of the original tablets, however, has shown that most of these odd dates simply are modern copying, transcription, or printing errors. Some other odd dates are demonstrably scribal errors."

It's funny that hundreds of thousands of these documents have been found, yet the WTS picks on a few errors to discredit.

Kwin

Midget-Sasquatch

As far as I know (I never was that avid a reader of WT stuff) an attempt at refuting the tablets was in the 1981 Book Let your Kingdom Come

*** kc p. 187 Appendix to Chapter 14 ***

Business tablets: Thousands of contemporary Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablets have been found that record simple business transactions, stating the year of the Babylonian king when the transaction occurred. Tablets of this sort have been found for all the years of reign for the known Neo-Babylonian kings in the accepted chronology of the period.

From a secular viewpoint, such lines of evidence might seem to establish the Neo-Babylonian chronology with Nebuchadnezzar?s 18th year (and the destruction of Jerusalem) in 587/6 B.C.E. However, no historian can deny the possibility that the present picture of Babylonian history might be misleading or in error. It is known, for example, that ancient priests and kings sometimes altered records for their own purposes. Or, even if the discovered evidence is accurate, it might be misinterpreted by modern scholars or be incomplete so that yet undiscovered material could drastically alter the chronology of the period.

kwintestal

However, no historian can deny the possibility that the present picture of Babylonian history might be misleading or in error.

That is an outright lie. True kings altered records, however this has NEVER been the case of the Babylonians.

Kwin

Honesty

The Governing body is good at what they do best... twisting scriptures. They start screwing around with secular documents and their ignorance is going to bring the whole sham down around their deaf ears and sightless eyes.

BluesBrother

I had to look up that quote on the cd rom. I think it is priceless. It is saying as good as , "We cannot prove our point or defend our position successfully, so just remember that they might find something yet that proves us right " I guess that could be true, but it is hardly a basis for belief?

I thought this was telling as well from the same passage

It seems evident that the easiest and most direct understanding of the various Biblical statements is that the 70 years began with the complete desolation of Judah after Jerusalem was destroyed. (Jeremiah 25:8-11; 2 Chronicles 36:20-23; Daniel 9:2) Hence, counting back 70 years from when the Jews returned to their homeland in 537 B.C.E., we arrive at 607 B.C.E. for the date when Nebuchadnezzar, in his 18th regnal year, destroyed Jerusalem, removed Zedekiah from the throne and brought to an end the Judean line of kings on a throne in earthly Jerusalem.?Ezekiel 21:19-27.

Even as a dub, I could see that the argument was simply using a scripture to support itself, then claim fulfillment of prophecy. I never liked discussing that sort of thing becauase I knew I was on poor ground

Midget-Sasquatch

Hey KWIN

Its down right sad isn't it? I mean sure the king could alter the court's own records, but what sort of conspiracy would they need to cover thousands of business documents in their land and in other ones?

AlmostAtheist

ancient priests and kings sometimes altered records for their own purposes

I'm glad we live in a time when no one stoops to altering what has been written for their own purposes.

Link from quotes site: Changing What Has Been Published

Dave

City Fan

Here are a couple of posts on this subject:

This one is from Alleymom's KISS thread, probably the best thread on 607. It basically is a copy of the relevant info from Parker and Dubberstein's book:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/55372/817048/post.ashx#817048

Here is a post by Leolaia which is simple and to the point about records of a Babylonian banking firm:

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/84135/1385959/post.ashx#1385959

CF.

Babylonian Business Records

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