Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Madkins007 · 11-07-2003, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Toto
It might have happened with Troy, but I can't think of another town that was assumed to be fictional and later discovered to be real. What is your basis for this?

Well, Troy is a pretty big example by itself, but I was thinking about another city from the Bible that was thought fictional but was discovered some 25 years ago... I want to say the name is Ebla or something like that. My professor at college was on the dig and told us about some other towns and names from the OT and other ancient sources that had popped up like that.

Toto · 11-07-2003, 11:51 PM

Please do some research before you start more urban legends.

Ebla is the site where some tablets were discovered that seem to confirm some OT cities. Do you have any proof that the existence of these cities was ever doubted?

archeology and the Bible site

Quote:

Dr. William Albright, who was not a friend of Christianity and was probably the foremost authority in Middle East archaeology in his time, said this about the Bible: "There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament."(3)

Here are a couple of examples of the historical accuracy of the Bible. A good example is found in Genesis 14. The Bible speaks of Abraham's victory over Chedorlaomer and five Mesopotamian kings. For years, the critics stated that these accounts were fictitious and many people discredited the Bible. In the 1960s, however, the Ebla tablets were discovered in northern Syria. The Ebla kingdom was a powerful kingdom in the twentieth century B.C. The Ebla tablets are records of its history. Thousands of tablets have been discovered. What is important is that many of these tablets make a reference to all five cities of the plain proving the Genesis 14 account to be accurate.(4)

William Albright not a friend of Christianity??

The Ebla Tablets

Quote:

One contribution is in relation to Genesis 14. Critics have have described the victory of Abraham over Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings as fictitious and the five Cities of the Plain (Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar) as legendary.

The Ebla archives, however, refer to all five Cities of the Plain and on one tablet the cities are listed in the exact same sequence as Genesis 14. The tablets further reflect that the region was prosperous and successful with a patriarchal culture consistent with that recorded in Genesis prior to the catastrophe recorded in Genesis 14.

Vinnie · 11-08-2003, 12:49 AM

[QUOTE] A Small Tid-Bit for Intrigue

...let us now turn our attention to another character in another work of fiction: Jesus of Nazareth, the major character of the gospels of Luke, Matthew, and John, although is is completely unknown to the writers of the epistles supposed to have been written by St. Paul. (None of the saintly forgers called Paul ever refer to "Jesus of Nazareth.") As the Wizard should have been of Oz, so Jesus should have been of Nazareth. But where was Nazareth in the first century C.E.? More fundamentally, was Nazareth in the first century?

Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament, nor do any ancient historians or geographers mention it before the beginning of the fourth century...[QUOTE]

I thought Nazareth was excavated????

Vinnie

Toto · 11-08-2003, 12:55 AM

The area that is now called Nazareth has been excavated, and some graves have been found. There is no indication that the area was known as Nazareth in the 1st century. Zindler argues that it was not inhabited, but was used as a graveyard for a neighboring area - i.e., that there was no town there.

rlogan · 11-09-2003, 12:52 AM

Whoever was looking for "Nazarene" in the OT, you should try different spellings. I found "Nazarite" in my King James Version search. It's a person who gives their life to God.

There is some sort of Prophesy in Judges 13:5, but it seems contemporaneous to the time.

Anyway, there was no prophesy about a messiah coming from a town starting with "Naz".

So even if there was a "Nazareth" - it isn't fulfilling any prophesy.

One just has to wonder. It's all just cobbled together, isn't it? They clearly did not anticipate computers and word searches.

11-08-2003, 12:49 AM	#13
Vinnie Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Waterbury, Ct, Usa Posts: 6,523	Re: Where the hell was Nazareth? [QUOTE] A Small Tid-Bit for Intrigue ...let us now turn our attention to another character in another work of fiction: Jesus of Nazareth, the major character of the gospels of Luke, Matthew, and John, although is is completely unknown to the writers of the epistles supposed to have been written by St. Paul. (None of the saintly forgers called Paul ever refer to "Jesus of Nazareth.") As the Wizard should have been of Oz, so Jesus should have been of Nazareth. But where was Nazareth in the first century C.E.? More fundamentally, was Nazareth in the first century? Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament, nor do any ancient historians or geographers mention it before the beginning of the fourth century...[QUOTE] I thought Nazareth was excavated???? Vinnie

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11-08-2003, 12:55 AM	#14
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	The area that is now called Nazareth has been excavated, and some graves have been found. There is no indication that the area was known as Nazareth in the 1st century. Zindler argues that it was not inhabited, but was used as a graveyard for a neighboring area - i.e., that there was no town there.

11-09-2003, 12:52 AM	#15
rlogan Banned Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Alaska Posts: 9,159	Whoever was looking for "Nazarene" in the OT, you should try different spellings. I found "Nazarite" in my King James Version search. It's a person who gives their life to God. There is some sort of Prophesy in Judges 13:5, but it seems contemporaneous to the time. Anyway, there was no prophesy about a messiah coming from a town starting with "Naz". So even if there was a "Nazareth" - it isn't fulfilling any prophesy. One just has to wonder. It's all just cobbled together, isn't it? They clearly did not anticipate computers and word searches.

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