MadPhatCat

Somehow, in a thread about "God is Love" in GRD, the question of biblical historical accuracy arose:

Anyone want to spend a small amount of time dealing with this?

spin

Off the top of my head?

1. There was no universal flood 5000 years ago. Archaeology has frequently proved this claim inaccurate.
2. The name "Sabteca", Gen 10:7, is of a king of Kush from the 8th/7th century BCE.
3. There were no Philistines in Palestine at the time attributed to Abraham or Isaac to rule Gerar. They arrived in Palestine circa 1170 BCE.
4. The city of Raamses was constructed by Ramses II and so was later than the time attributable to the exodus. Pithom also attributed to the time of the exodus was even later. (Check Redford's "Egypt, Canaan and Israel".)
   Beersheba didn't exist at the time attributed to Joshua.
5. The geographical and historical allusions in the Gog of Magog "prophecy" (Gugu of Mat-Gugu for the Assyrians or Gyges to the Greeks) are an anachronistic mix from different periods.
6. Daniel is riddle with errors: Belshazzar is not the son of Nebuchadnezzar; Belshazzar was not present at the fall of Babylon, but his father, Nabonidus unmentioned in Daniel was; there was no Darius the Mede; the Medes didn't have equal status in the Persian empire (ie there was no Medes and Persians empire); et al.

That should be a start.


spin

spin

A few for the NT:

1. Matt claims that Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, while Luke claims that Neri was.
2. Matt claims that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the great, while Luke claims that Jesus was born at the time of the census of Quirinius, a census caused by the annexation of Judea by the Romans at the end of Archelaus's reign at least ten years later.
3. Jesus was supposed to have been killed about a year after John the baptist's death (or three years if you go by the gospel of John), yet Josephus puts John's death within a few years of the war between Herod Antipas and Aretas IV of Nabatea in late 36 CE.

spin

Zeichman

I'm not incredibly well-informed on the issue, but I'm fairly sure Josephus doesn't explicitly place John ministry or death during any particular year. I'll let someone else argue this, since I don't have the knowledge, time, or motivation to take this on. I could be wrong, though.

Jack the Bodiless

A few historical inaccuracies that come to mind:

1. No Genesis creation.

2. No Noachian Flood.

3. No Tower of Babel (no change in written records after the "confusion of languages").

4. No Exodus.

5. No Conquest of Caanan.

6. No "Golden Age" of Solomon.

7. Failure of Ezekiel's "Tyre Prophecy".

8. Failure of Ezekiel's "Egypt Prophecy".

9. Failure of the "Babylon Prophecy" (Isaiah and Jeremiah).

10. Numerous historical inaccuracies in Daniel.

11. Herod/Quirinius issue (Luke's Jesus born a decade after Matthew's Jesus).

12. No "Massacre of the Innocents".

13. No "zombie invasion of Jerusalem" or "supernatural darkness" (easily-noticed large-scale miracles).

14. No return of Jesus within "this generation".

hatsoff

How about the laws of physics?

Gamera

As opposed to what text that is historically accurate?

Sven

This isn't a black-or-white question.

KaleriaStorm

They weren't written as histories. Example using Genesis, specifically the Creation.

MadPhatCat

Obviously.

PS - I notice TonyN still hasn't bothered to show his face in here.