Israelite history

by Justin 4 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • Justin
    Justin

    Taking the Bible at face value, we arrive at a particular view of the history of Israel. We start with the age of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), then we have the sojourn in Egypt, the exodus, the giving of the Law at Sinai, the wilderness wandering, and the conquest of Canaan. The period of the judges is followed by the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon; the split between the northern and southern kingdoms; and finally the exile in Babylon and the return. The twelve tribes have been formed in Egypt, they are one nation under David, and then split into the two-tribe (Judah and Benjamin) and ten-tribe kingdoms after Solomon's death. The Israelites enter into a covenant with Yahweh at Sinai, but they begin worshipping the gods of Canaan and this gets them into trouble.

    How does this sacred history compare with history as critical scholars have reconstructed it?

  • gumby
    gumby

    Hi Justin,

    Biblical critics commenting on Israels history can be found in any number of books. Most agree they were not the mighty race the bible portrays them to be and were a tagalong nomadic unpopular bunch. It's intresting how often these jews fell to worshipping "other Gods" Were these people different than you and I?

    Can you imagine an entire church leaving christ to worship some other diety? How could a people who truely believed in their god as they did, and see the miracles he performed for them........even THINK of bowing to another god who they MUST HAVE KNOWN were useless pieces of garbage with no history of ever blinking an eye......yet they worshipped these gods. Did it do something for them?

    People will say it was different back then. No it was not.....in this respect. The monoistic mindset was no different than one is today. Worshipping only one god....if you truelly believe in him seems to be a no-brainer.

    Gumby

  • JCanon
    JCanon

    Well, we can't take scholarly comments seriously on issues that involve "miracles" and what not, since they can neither confirm nor dismiss those kinds of things, but there are a few good references that support the Bible that I've found. I'll just list them briefly.

    1. AKHENATON, the famous "heretic king" of Egypt who converted to monotheism and even forbade images of his god "Aten" calling all other gods in Egypt "worthless" works well chronologically as the king who ruled right after the Exodus. There's even an eclipse event that can be used to date the 1st of Akhenaton (KTU 1.78) in 1386BCE the Biblical date for the Exodus. So that's a nice comparison looking at the subjective effects of the ten plagues on the psychological behavior of a king.

    2. SHISHAK: A record from Shishak (Sheshonq) of conquering some cities in Israel survives and can be matched with the record told in the Bible of his invasion. Lots of debate on the detail, but "Shishak" is th pharoah's name and he did invade those cities and when used in supplement to the Bible it helps fill in some of the details of the story. Some historians find problems with it because they didn't note closely enough in the Bible that though the invasion was dated the 5th year of Rehoboam, Solomon was still ruling and the kingdoms had not been divided yet.

    3. RECORDS FROM SHALMANESER III. This is probably the best comparison of pagan records with the Bible I've seen. Shalmaneser III has lots of records surviving but names two Isrealite kings: Ahab at the battle of Karkar and Jehu who was ruling in his 18th year. I say this is an excellent comparison because it only allows for about 12 years from the battle of Karkar to the time of Jehu. WTS and other Biblical apologists try to squeeze in the 1-year rule of Ahaziah plus a 12-year rule of Jehoram into this 12-year period, but it doesn't work. On the other hand, the Bible doesn't date Jehoram becoming sole ruler until his 6th year, the 2nd year of the ruling king of Judah who became king himself in the 5th year of Jehoram of Israel. Thus Ahab didn't really die until the 6th year of Jehoram and thus there was a co-rulership. Shalmaneser III's records also mention Ben-hadad and Hazeal and date the death of Ben-Hadad around the 14th year of Shalmaneser III. Since the Bible also dates the death of Ben-Hadad around the 12th year of Jehoram, you have a good comparison of these parallel events shared by Assyria and Israel. But it works only if you introduce the 6-year corulership. Thus if the 14th year of Shalmaneser III is the same as the 12th year of Jehoram, then 8 yars earlier in his sixth year would be the year of Karkar which would fall in the 20th year of Ahab, 2 years before his death. That also means that Jehu is already ruling in his 4th year by the time the 18th year of Shalmaneser III rolls around! Thus the Assyrian records CONFIRM the shortened time period and imply the co-rulership, which when it is acknowledged, there is really great continuity for this period since Assyria was interacting with Israel and neighbors during this period and Shalmaneser III kept good records. Shalmaneser III also provides us with a "photo" of Jehu, thus we can study the national garb of the Israelites back then.

    4) PHOTOS OF 4 PROMINENT JEWS SURVIVES IN PAGAN RECORDS: Finally, depending upon who you believe, there are actual surviving graphic representations of up to four prominent Jews that survive in pagan artifacts. They are 1) Joseph, as the official with the multicolored coat (see more about that by searching "David Rohl's New Chronology"). 2) Of Moses himself thought to be one of the pharoah's sons -- I've seen the statue and it looks very "Jewish"!! 3) Of course, Jehu bowing to Shalmaneser III as mentioned above, and 4) Nehemiah, as Prime Minister (Cupbearer) of Persia during the time of Darius and Xerxes co-rulership as seen at Persepolis!

    The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods carry lots of contradictions and discrepancies when compared to the Bible and this is because this period of history was revised. But some basic stuff is confirmed. Nebuchadnezzar records the fight with Pharoah Necho and deportation fo the Judean king in his 7th year (Bible says 8th). Also a record that he invaded Egypt in his 37th year works out well for the Biblical timeline.

    THE GLOBAL FLOOD: All archaeologists agree on some aspect of the global flood. One is that it definitely is over since there is lots of dry land now, even deserts. This confirms what the Bible says that the flood waters were removed to allow dry land to appear again. A lack of more written records from other ancient sources regarding the global flood, of course, are lacking because those pagans who would have described it died in the flood before they could write anything down.

    JC

  • logansrun
    logansrun

    Chek out the following books (some of whom I cannot remember the authorship):

    "Rescuing The Bible From Fundamentalsim" by John S. Spong

    "The Secret Origins of the Bible"

    "The View From Nebo"

    B.

  • peacefulpete
    peacefulpete

    Perhaps the best book reviewing the history of Israel based upon archaeology is Finkelstein and Silberman's "The Bible Unearthed".

    To sum up the evidence in a paragraph, "Israel" and "Judah" were separate native tribes of Caanan. Isreal was in fact a nation perhaps a hundred years before we find any evidence that Judah was anything more than a minor hill tribe. The cult and culture was typical of the region. Egypt ruled the entire region during the supposed time of the conquest of Caanan. The Egyptian religion and legal system undoubtedly influenced the region. There are theories that "Moses" was in reality an Egyptian that influenced early relgious reforms, but this is conjecture. Egyptian names like "Moses" and "Phineas" do indicate Egyptian input in the stories but just when and how are beyond certainty. What we do know is that the early stories are religious literature not history. The Patriarchs (Abraham Isaac Jacob)were evidently local deities recast as human progentitors. The symbolism and mythic tone are typically middle eastern. Did David and Solomon exist in history? Not probably, their names, "Beloved" and "Peace" are cues that these are literary creations. But it is of course possible that there was a man (who became called David) who governed the small hill state in Judah that inspired elements in the story. Later kings names can be identified in history such as Hezekiah. After the Babylonians and Persians governed Palestine the cults of the region were transformed, Israel was no exception. Priests of YHWH in the Persian period sought to reinvent their history with legend that provided footing for the new montheism being foisted. Even the Bible makes clear that the formost influences in the period were Persian (Zoroastrian) Ezra and Nehemiah were sent by the Persian government to institute the reforms that the King felt essential for peace. A large part of the history revision being created involved the myth of a united Judah and Israel in antiquity.

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