IamJoseph

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The Passover, like other festivals, were current in Solomon's first temple period not as a consequence of harvesting, but because this was mandated in the Bible it should be observed at the harvest time, with a given histrical set of events.

IamJoseph

Prove it.

IamJoseph

If small numbers, this would make it even more difficult to leave. There is the world's first scientific cencus conducted when they left, with gender and age sub-totals and tribes and tribal family head names, and this is hardly possible to make up. There is also a stelle which says Egypt had a war with Israel more than 3.2K years ago. Please post your proof.

Did the canaanites speak Hebrew? - so where are the canaanite writings which proves your story - of note here is the Canaanites would have preceded the hebrews, thus you have no excuse for the lack of proof? We know that Egypt made Canaan a vasal state - but both never spoke Hebrew, which makes it implausable the Hebrews were a sub-group, as opposed to originally coming from Meso - which was not an Arabian region.

Did the canaanites follow the Booths festival as did the Hebrews, which was not a generic harvest celebration - so what is your proof of this?

IamJoseph

Those letters have no contradictions with anything in Hebrew scriptures, and the extended embellishments have no veracty:

Here, the term forefathers refers only to the Patriachs of Israel - a common reference used throughout Israel's history. Also, 'in the days of the kingdom of egypt' refers to a 'time period' only, which was a manner of identifying a period before the calendar was in full usage, and egypt being a widely known and acknowledged landmark - the only fitting description possible of the Israelite's history to be made at that time.

The date of the letters, 407 BCE, and alligns with this being post Babylon destruction of the temple, and the Hebrews would have wanted this temple rebuilt, in keeping with the mandated laws in their bible - they could not build in Jerusalem which was then not a safe place; it became safe to do this after the Persians assisted the Hebrews - both temples were built on the same place, in the same design, exactly as described in the Hebrew bible. This history alligns only with the Hebrew texts - but there is a rampant obsession to manipulate and distort both written texts and Israel's history.

Wiki is not a good source for Hebrew/Israel history.

semiopen

Regarding wiki not being a good source, is the source you gave in Solomon's navy, presenting known forgeries as truth an example of a better source?

Regarding the escape to Egypt Anat referred to, that is well known from Jeremiah. The first exile featured a group (not large) of mostly upper class people who were sent to Babylon, another smaller group who went to Egypt, and the majority who stayed in Judah.

There are a few issues with Elephantine, that you are free to ignore in your continuing search for truth.

The temple at Elephantine was technically dubious because worship was consolidated in Jerusalem and sacrifices outside of this were illegal. This is the major point of the elimination of the high places etc, and an important reason why we don't offer animal sacrifices anymore.

If you would read the article, you might see that the temple was badly damaged by a local anti-semitic riot (interesting in itself) and both the Jerusalem and Samaritan temples refused to help them rebuild.

The wiki suggests polytheism, which surprised me personally, but the juxtaposition of the temple with an idolatrous temple is striking and worthy at the least of further study.

Another peculiarity is the absence of anything from the Torah. Not even a fragment of something like yevorekhekha.

I haven't reached a firm conclusion on this yet, but it suggests an early Israelite religion that was at least tolerant of other Gods and a late writing of the Torah. This seems consistent with Jewish Studies opinion, maybe somewhat to the minimalistic side.

I'm glad you know these documents, I thought you'd get a kick out of them being written in Aramaic.

Anat

Give evidence supporting the idea that Passover as we know it was celebrated in the 10th century BCE? That hundreds of thousands left Egypt in the Bronze Age, traveled through Sinai, spent 38 years in Kadesh Barnea, conquered the cities of Palestine in short succession? And no, saying it is described in the Bible in great detail does not prove it to be true anymore than saying the events of Harry Potter are true because they are described in great detail in a series of 7 books. What of all the Biblical account of the exodus and conquest can be corroborated externally?

Anat

Give evidence supporting the idea that Passover as we know it was celebrated in the 10th century BCE? That hundreds of thousands left Egypt in the Bronze Age, traveled through Sinai, spent 38 years in Kadesh Barnea, conquered the cities of Palestine in short succession? And no, saying it is described in the Bible in great detail does not prove it to be true anymore than saying the events of Harry Potter are true because they are described in great detail in a series of 7 books. What of all the Biblical account of the exodus and conquest can be corroborated externally?

semiopen

There is evidence that the fantastically accurate hebrew calendar lost a month somehow, as the passover had to be moved up a month after the fall of Israel during the reign of Hezekiah as discussed in 2 Chron. From King,Cult, and Calendar in Ancient Israel (or via: amazon.co.uk)by Shemaryahu Talmon.

Had a little trouble with the leap months for about 1500 years.

Clivedurdle

I am puzzled that the elites of a group would ever be allowed to return - that sounds like setting up trouble. I thought empires always played the wall street shuffle - if anyone did alright they would be given gifts of land somewhere else - never back home where they could re-establish relationships and become a threat to the Empire.

I see an elite group from somewhere else in the huge Persian empire being rewarded with a new world in the Jerusalem area - much like Jamestown, but this time importing their Most High with them and him being converted into Yahweh when they started marrying the local lasses.

Just because someone writes a great song that Boney M does a very successful cover of does not mean the original is saying anything real!

And isn't it normal behaviour for newcomers to claim that they belong? Darius claimed he was king cos god said so, when he did it himself, a thunderstorm helping!

Toto

King Cult and Calendar on google books p.124 ff.