Inerrancy vs. Infallibility

Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy: A Review - thinktheology.co.uk - By Jamie Franklin | Friday 31 January 2014

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy with Exposition - Though I approach, I will never be able to arrive at an inerrant view. Disagreements: 

• 1. Inerrancy could only apply to the relatively few literalistic passages purporting to record precise data in the Bible, such as geographical descriptions or chronology relative to regnal events. It is extremely unclear to me how fallible humans using literary devices and phenomenological accounts could be inerrant in the CSBI sense. How do you have inerrant irony?! 

  2. One must allow for the natural distortion in second-hand accounts. In general, it seems the biblical authors are aware of this distortion and often deflect it by using various literary devices such as numerology, metaphor, and irony.

INERRANCY AND CHURCH HISTORY: IS INERRANCY A MODERN INVENTION? - tms.edu - Many of the quotes of Church Fathers support an infallibility that approaches inerrancy, but not CSBI inerrancy, as these authors are suggesting.

Chronology of the Bible - aschmann.net - Thoughtful connections and speculations about the Bible. Great charts!  Highlights: Table of Nations Location Probabilities, Kings of Babylon, Media, and Persia in the Bible, When Was Hebrew First Written? 

Bible Timelines: Detailed - bcresources.net - Timelines of various secular histories and a conservative literalistic biblical history are all on the same chart. Abraham is contemporary with the Sumerian Ur III dynasty rather than Hamurabi. Imagines an early Exodus. 

AGE-SCIENCE: Articles and Letters in the journal of ASA, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith - asa3.org

A Translation Guide to the Chronological Data in Kings and Chronicles - lmf12.wordpress.com - by Dr. Leslie McFall.

• • • Has the Chronology of the Hebrew Kings been finally settled?

Bible Chronology - nwcreation.net - Highlights some of the assumptions and discrepancies in chronology from a literalist perspective. I hold their "Young Earth Creationism" to be refuted on evidence both outside and inside the Bible (eg. Psalm 90, 2 Peter 3), which limits my trust of their work to their own internal criticisms.

CreationWiki by NW Creation Network - creationwiki.org - Although the insistence of a 6000 to 7500 year old earth is wrong and severely biases their work, many of the articles dealing with chronology from Abraham on are well written, researched, and generally correct. Highlights: Biblical chronology dispute , Jericho chronology dispute, Thera volcanic eruption 

THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS. BOOK III. 

Tanakh (Old Testament)

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament - jesot.org

Kitchen, Kenneth (2006) The Factual Reliability of the Old Testament - theologynetwork.org - Short article addressing common criticisms by the famous Egyptologist.

"53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically" by Lawrence Mykytuik - biblicalarcheology.org

The Edited Bible: The Curious History of the "editor" in Biblical Criticism By John Van Seters - books.google.com - This book demolishes the black boxes of editors and redactors that are part of the DH. While Van Seters has criticism of the Bible similar to the DH and proposes a late date for the Pentateuch in line with the Supplementary Hypothesis in other works, he shows high discipline in not letting that leak into this book for the sake of the overall argument.

• • • Review by Clyde E. Billington - biblearchaeology.org - Mostly positive review with a summary of the major sections of the book.

    • Author or Redactor? - jhsonline.org archived - Van Seters responds to critics.

Genesis Unleashed (2020) by Dick Fischer (PDF) - csun.edu - Many of the same points in the same direction as made here on Redeeming Asimov with some interesting additions. First resource on the Genesis Proclaimed Association website.

Genesis Proclaimed Association - genesisproclaimed.org - Accessed by me for the first time on 6/2021 and therefore completely independent from Redeeming Asimov up to that time, the content seems to be moving in the same direction as this site, including many of the same arguments and resources. One criticism is the greater degree to which the text is taken literally. On some points, this won't do - the divine days of creation, for instance. Both the viewpoint of the observer/author and literary devices will have to be accounted for to be convincing. Highlights:

• In Search of the Historical Adam: Part 1 (1993) by Dick Fischer - asa3.org - While I appreciate the honest searching in this article, it has to be said that the biblical text never talks about ha adam as "a man". Adam was created male and female. Adam is a population. Adam is the Sumerian word for "settlement." Furthermore, Eve was not given her name until after the fall. She also represents a population of women within Adam. Taking that fact with the fact that the Persian Gulf filled with water from roughly 7000 BC to 4000 BC to a level 2 meters higher than today's Mean Sea Level puts the garden squarely under the Persian Gulf waters and accumulated sediments of Southern Mesopotamia. The water level lowered, exposing the previous "Garden" lands by 2000 BC. 

• In Search of the Historical Adam: Part 2 (1994) by Dick Fischer - asa3.org - Associates the Garden of Eden with an irrigated Eridu and the Babylonian sage Adapa (Alulum, first on the Sumerian Kings list) whose home was in Eridu before moving to nearby Uruk. I take this back one population: Adam left the Garden East of Eden - now under sediment and the Persian Gulf to Eridu within Eden, Cain left Eridu to Uruk (Sumerian Unug). The Sumerians called the Garden Dilmun and clearly located it South and East of Eridu, later associating it with the island of Bahrain, Sussiana, and the west coast of the Persian Gulf.

MESOPOTAMIAN MOTIFS IN THE EARLY CHAPTERS OF GENESIS (1962) By: E.A. Speiser -  penn.museum  PDF - A view from 1962 regarding the Mesopotamian character of the first 11 chapters.

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS By Flavius Josephus - gutenberg.org

• BOOK I. Containing The Interval Of Three Thousand Eight Hundred And Thirty-Three Years. — From The Creation To The Death Of Isaac.

The Creation

On Genesis: Two Books on Genesis Against the Manichees and On the Literal Interpretation of Genesis: An Unfinished Book - English translations of two early books by St. Augustine. The second of which builds the theme in Galileo's Letter to Princess Christina.

Augustine's Origin of Species - christianitytoday.com - also here 

• "Augustine wrestled with Genesis 1–2 throughout his career. There are at least four points in his writings at which he attempts to develop a detailed, systematic account of how these chapters are to be understood. Each is subtly different."

• Quoting Augustine: "In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines our position, we too fall with it.”

St. Augustine and Cosmology - villanova.edu -

THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS - earlychristianwritings.com - Theophilus writes (~180 AD) about the creation through the Logos.

• • • Book I: Chapters III-VI God's attributes in relation to creation

THE BIBLE OF THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH by ROBERT M. GRANT (pdf) - 

Functional

From The Narrative Form of Genesis 1: Cosmogonic, Yes; Scientific, No by Conrad Hyers

1. The “Cosmogonic” Form of Genesis 1 

2. The Numerology of Genesis 1 - biologos.org 

3. The “Phenomenal Language” of Genesis 1

John Walton: Interpreting the Creation Story - Seedbed - youtube.com - Functional understanding instead of material understanding.

John Walton at Acadia Divinity College channel- youtube.com 

Evolutionary

Evolutionary Thought Before Darwin - plato.stanford.edu - Summary of evolutionary thought before the Origin of Species.

Dennis Venema & Scot McKnight: Adam & the Genome - youtube.com 

BioLogos - biologos.org - "BioLogos invites the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God's creation."

Garden of Eden

Has the Garden of Eden been located at last? (1987) by Dora Jane Hamblin- ldolphin.org - 

Southern Location for the Biblical Garden of Eden - israel-a-history-of.com -

The Etymology of Eden by A. R. Millard - jstor.org - Vetus Testamentum Vol. 34, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1984), pp. 103-106

Rabbi David Fohrman lecture (Sept. 22, 2019) at Orthodox Union - ou.org - Demonstrates the very Jewish approach of questioning everything and then hypothesizing answers. Addresses nagging questions about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Fall. Perhaps the restriction against the Tree of KGE wasn't permanent, but something that was to be given after maturing in the garden? 

The 'Rib'

Baculum

Congenital Human Baculum Deficiency: The Generative Bone of Genesis 2:21-23 (2001) by Scott F. Gilbert & Ziony Zevit - onlinelibrary.wiley.com - American Journal of Medical Genetics 101:284-285 (2001) - Biology, literature and theology have an unlikely meeting in a medical journal.

A Most Interesting Bone (2013) by Carl Zimmer - nationalgeographic.com - Describes an experiment correlating smaller baculum with more monogamous relationships. At the end states, "Chimpanzees, our closest relatives, are far from monogamous." Yes, but they are far more hierarchically family oriented than many other mammals such as say Brown Bears.

The Baculum was Gained and Lost Multiple Times during Mammalian Evolution (2016)- academic.oup.com - Nicholas G. Schultz,  Michael Lough-Stevens,  Eric Abreu,  Teri Orr, Matthew D. Dean Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 56, Issue 4, October 2016, Pages 644–656,

“The baubellum is more developmentally and evolutionarily labile than the baculum.” (2017) by Lough-Stevens, Michael et al. - ncbu.nlm.nih.gov Ecology and evolution vol. 8,2 1073-1083. - "The accumulation of more evolutionary transitions, especially losses in the baubellum, as well as noisier developmental patterns, suggests that the baubellum may be nonfunctional, and lost over time."

“The ultimate database to (re)set the evolutionary history of primate genital bones.” (2021) by Spani, Federica et al - ncbi.nim.nih.gov - Scientific reports vol. 11,1 11245. - Homo Sapiens neither have a baculum or baubellum. The closest living relation is Pan troglodytes (ie. chimpanzees) which has a small baculum, but no baubellum in females.

The Man

“Adam, Where Art Thou?” Onomastics, Etymology, and Translation in Genesis 2–3 by Ben Spackman (PDF) - byu.edu - Excellent summary of the use of adam in the text along the various translation problems this produces. The key issue is how ancient and modern translations have turned adam into a personal name far more than is warranted by the text. The author's Mormon theology motivates his criticism but does not unduly leech into the argument.

What Does it Mean to be a Man? by Rabbi David E. S. Stein - scholar.davidesstein.name - Eight part memorandum strongly arguing for a more extended semantic range to the word ish beyond merely 'adult male' and 'husband'. Makes a strong case (especially part 2) with copious examples and discussion for ish being used as agent, householder, authority in question, subordinate, and representative member depending on the context.

The Tree

Giovino, Mariana (2007). The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History of Interpretations. Fribourg, Switzerland / Göttingen, Germany: Academic Press / Vandenhoeck Ruprecht. PDF 

The Story of Rabbi David Fohrman | Meaningful People #72 (2022) - youtube.com - Contains Fohrman's idea that there is just one tree as spurred by Deuteronomy 30.

Fohrman, David and Shalev, Immanuel (2023) A Book Like No Other, Season 1 Podcast 7 episodes. AlephBeta. www.alephbeta.org/podcasts/book-like-no-other?season=season-1 - Extensively explores the implications and stress tests the single tree theory. 

The Serpent

Serpents of Desire by Rabbi David Fohrman - aish.com - Series showing an Orthodox Jewish take on the serpent in relation to the Garden of Eden story by asking prodding questions of the text. This is a great representation of the functional meaning the ancients would have grasped or at least contended with. 

• An Introduction - The Lullaby Effect.

• Part 1, Adam, Eve and the Elephant in the Room - See comment 44 - Adam's core mission was to care for the garden; 

• Part 2, A Tale of Two Trees - The choice between the two trees is a type of the choice between embracing or rejecting the Torah experienced later at the end of the Exodus. (Deu 30:14, 19)

• Part 3, The Dark Side of Paradise - Makes sense of the dialogue with the snake and the verse: "Man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil..." 

• Part 4, The Naked Truth - The "Leading Word" in the Garden of Eden account is arom which means both "naked" and "cunning."

• Parts 5, What's In It for the Snake? - I do take issue with the idea that Adam was looking for a mate rather than a helper or fulfiller. The uncomfortable rabbit hole that "mate finding" goes through is alluded to in the Interpretations of Adam and Eve table above.

• Part 6, Beauty and the Beast - "Which Divine voice should you listen to? The voice of God that comes to you in words, or the voice of God that pulses inside you, that animates your very being?"

• Part 7, A World of Broccoli and Pizza - True and False vs. Good and Evil. Instead of "True and False," I prefer "Wise and Unwise." That at least captures the gradations that true and false are missing.

• Part 8, A Dark and Rainy Night in Manhattan - Dilemmas of competing ideals vs. dilemmas involving desire.

• Part 9, The I of the Beholder - Desire changing our perspective.

• Part 10, Friedrich Nietzsche and the Disc Jockey - "Feel your passion, your sexuality, your ambition, the Torah says; don't destroy it. But direct it this way, rather than that way. Steer it; don't let it steer you."

• Final Chapter, History's First Question: Where Are You? - The "where" of location vs. being.

"The Serpent as a Symbol of Primeval Yahwism" by Nissim  Amzallag - academia.edu 

The Good And Evil Serpent: How a Universal Symbol Became Christianized (2010) by Charles H. Charlesworth - google.com  - Relevance of the serpent in John 3:14-15 and associated such as John 12:32-33, Numbers 21, 2 Kings 18, 

• "...almost all gods and goddesses in the first century CE were accompanied by serpents or were perceived as serpents." (xii)

• "The key verb [in John 3:14-15] "to lift up," which obtains singularly important Christological meaning in the Fourth Gospel....it signifies that Jesus' crucifixion was not a failure but an exaltation; note especially 12:32-33..." (1)

• "...Hercules who took the apple signifying immortality from a tree - guarded by a serpent - in the Hesperides?" (6)

• Charlesworth arrogantly builds up to "seventeen succinct points...from over two hundred years of intense and focused research..." and then blows it on the first point: "Herod the Great, who was king...to 4 BCE." Priceless. 

Hmmm, I wonder if any of his other points might be dodgy? #2 Might Jesus have died in 33 AD rather than 30 AD? #7 "Absolutely no record" of what Jesus said? What are the Gospels then? What of the Q document? #9 If Matthew was his secretary, wouldn't he have recorded some of his sayings and kept track of his doings? #11 Are "accepted facts" really the same as true facts? Hasn't the overturning of consensus in the hard sciences ruled out the monolithic model of knowledge? Isn't Chronology the most overturned brand of consensus (see #1)? #12 & #13 If Jesus' prophecy is not believed to be authentic in a secure area of the text - therefore setting the lowest date of the text by its fulfillment - is that not agnostic if not anti-Christian? #16 Doesn't the fourth evangelist write with knowledge of existing biographies? Don't most commentators put John as the last Gospel? (pgs. 9-10)

• Commentators on Numbers 21 pgs. 16-23

• Bronze bowl with winged serpent and Hebrew name possibly spoil from Israel. 12.5 cm copper serpent from Timna 1200-900 BC.

Inanna as the serpent

• https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/ - Never portrayed as a mother goddess.

• https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.4.1.1# 

The Fall

Childbirth Pain

Shipman, Pat (2013) "Why is Human Childbirth So Painful?" American Scientist, November-December 2013, Volume 101, Number 6 Page: 426 DOI: 10.1511/2013.105.426 - Looks at the two leading models to explain differences between human and chimpanzee birth. 

Does gestation vary by ethnic group? A London-based study of over 122 000 pregnancies with spontaneous onset of labour International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 33, Issue 1, 1 February 2004, Pages 107–113, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyg238 - The median gestational age at delivery was 39 weeks in Blacks and Asians and 40 weeks in white Europeans. The odds for preterm delivery of mature infants was more frequent for both Black and Asian women. 

Babies Take Longer To Come Out Than They Did In Grandma's Day - npr.org - The typical first-time mother takes 6 1/2 hours to give birth these days. Her counterpart in the 1950s labored for barely four hours.

Are there ethnic differences in the length of labor? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Sep;195(3):743-8.- Black women had shorter labors than the average of other racial groups (nulliparous women, 22 minutes; multiparous women, 7.5 minutes). 

Genetic Variant May Explain Why Some Women Don’t Need Pain Relief During Childbirth (2020) - neurosciencenews.com - Summary of “Human labour pain is influenced by the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv6.4 subunit”. by Lee, M.C. et al. Cell Reports. - I appreciate the undisguised frankness in the report to a source of bias - "Blinding was not feasible in our experiments, and social desirability bias may explain our overall findings of an increased threshold and tolerance of pain." It is precisely these kinds of direct humble admissions that argue for the credibility of the research.

Antediluvians

Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, “The Mesopotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nephilim,” in Francis I. Andersen, et al, eds., Perspectives on Language and Text: Essays and Poems in Honor of Francis I. Andersen’s Sixtieth Birthday, 1985

Editorial Note on the Apkallu and the Roadmap Ahead - therealsamizdat.com - by Estéban Trujillo de Gutiérrez - 

The Flood

The Great Flood - Livius.org -  Overview of Great Flood stories and sources.

• The Great Flood: Parallels - Livius.org - Table comparing similarities in the major Mesopotamian flood (and creation) texts.

"Qualitative Hydrology of Noah’s Flood" by Carol A. Hill - asa3.org (pdf)

"New Historical and Geological Constraints on the Date of Noah’s Flood" by Alan Dicken - asa3.org (pdf) - Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. Volume 70, Number 3, September 2018. - Proposes a ~5700 BC flood on the basis of his specialty of geology and competent evidences outside his specialty. Excellent basis for further studies. Some of his sources:

• “Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq,” - academia.edu - Carrie Hritz et al., Radiocarbon 54 (2012): 65–79.

• Stream Gage Descriptions and Streamflow Statistics for Sites in the Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq - pubs.usgs.gov (pdf)

• "Qualitative Hydrology of Noah’s Flood" by Carol A. Hill - asa3.org (pdf)

• The Eastern Mediterranean paleoclimate as a reflection of regional events: Soreq cave, Israel -academia.edu - Miryam Bar-Matthews et al., Earth and Planetary Science Letters 166, no. 1–2 (1999): 85–95.

• “Climatic, Vegetation and Cultural Change in the Eastern Mediterranean during the MidHolocene Environmental Transition,” - citeseerx.ist.psu.edu - Neil Roberts et al.,  The Holocene 21, no. 1 (2011): 147–62.

• “Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: Radiocarbon Chronology, Cultural Change, and the 8.2 Ka Event,” - arizona.edu - Johannes van der Plicht et al., Radiocarbon 53, no. 2 (2011): 229–43.

• Solar Forcing of Nile Discharge and Sapropel S1 Formation in the Early to Middle Holocene Eastern Mediterranean - agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com - Rick Hennekam et al. Paleoceanography 29, no. 5 (2014): 343–56.

• Holocene Fluvial and AnthropogenicProcesses in the Region of Uruk in Southern Mesopotamia - academia.edu - Jaafar Jotheri et al. Quaternary International 483, no. 30 (2018): 57–69

• Archaic Sumerian Standards - jstor.org - Krystyna Szarzynska Journal of Cuneiform Studies 48 (1996): 1–15.

THE GENESIS FLOOD The Biblical Argument for its local extent - jrtalks.com - A laymen's commentary on the Flood narrative with many common sense observations.

• THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS FLOOD: Adapted from Genesis, Chapters 6,7 and 8. - Summary of facts.

• The Flood Chronology - Includes his reasoned interpretation of the Flood's hydrograph.

• THE RELIEF OF THE FLOODED AREA - Reasoning for why the crow first and then the dove.

REFLECTIONS ON THE MESOPOTAMIAN FLOOD (1967) by Samuel Noah Kramer - penn.museum

The Ark

"The Impossible Voyage of Noah's Ark" - ncse.com - Robert A. Moore Creation/Evolution Journal Issue 11 (Winter 1983). Scathing criticism of the traditional literalistic interpretation of Noah's Ark. Any relevant theory of the ark will need to deflect or answer these criticisms. 

Ark's Resting Place

Common Errors: Ararat - There was no mountain named Ararat in ancient times.

The Ancient Excavation of the Ark - sccompton.com - Photos of the anciently accepted site of the ark on Mt. Cudi. Other site.

• Surveying Noah’s Ark and the Summit -

• The Ark atop Mt. Cudi - 

• Nature on Mt. Cudi - 

• The First Modern Photo of the Sennacherib Relief on Mt. Cudi - 

• Summiting Mount Cudi

Timo Roller: The German Explorers of Cudi Dağı, University of Şırnak, 2013 - noahsark.site (pdf) - 

"Mount Cudi—True Mountain of Noah’s Ark" - Crouse, Bill and Franz, Gordon Bible and Spade 19.4 (2006)

Table of Nations

Nimrod (Ninurta)

NIMROD BEFORE AND AFTER THE BIBLE (1990) - godawa.com (pdf) -K. van der Toorn and P. W. van der Horst. Harvard Theological Review 83:1 (1990) 1-29. Relating to Genesis 10:8-12: 

• Shinar is likely a West Semitic version of Sumer (which is actually pronounced 'Shumer') that designates a "sphere of influence based in the south (Babylonia) and later extending to the north (Assyria)."

• After extensively considering other possibilities, Nimrod = Ninurta, the Sumerian hero demi-god parallels the later Greek demi-god Hercules.

• Marduk (biblical Merodach) is considered, but there is no philological case for this and Marduk replaces the exploits of Ninurta in the Enuma Elish.

• Ninurta is also known as "the good farmer" and "on boundary stones, the plough is used as his symbol."

• "Though the texts at our disposal do not say that he built cities, they imply that he laid the foundations of all civilized life and thus created the conditions under which human settlements could prosper"

• "Under the first dynasty of Akkad (ca. 2330-2150), Ninurta developed from a local deity of minor importance into a warrior god equal in rank with An, Enlil, and Enki."

• From there he "went forth into Assyria." The Middle Assyrian (1366-1050 BC) king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BC) was the first Assyrian king to invoke the deity in his throne-name.

• Nimrod may be a "deliberate distortion of the Mesopotamian name," as Nimrod literally means "we shall revolt".

In Sumerian literature, Ninurta is finally put in his place by Enki in a story that may well be the resolution of the tower of Babel story, Ninurta and The Turtle, ETCSL 1.6.3 lines 36-54. 

Against Ninurta, Enki fashioned a turtle from the clay of the abzu. 

Against him he stationed the turtle at an opening [sun5-na 𒁔𒈾], at the gate of the abzu. [kan₄ 𒆍 abzu-a 𒍪𒀊𒀀, temple and/or ziggurat at Eridu? or Babylon?]

Enki talked to him near the place of the ambush and brought him to the place where the turtle was. 

The turtle was able to grab Ninurta's tendon from behind [ie. Achilles tendon?]. 

The hero Ninurta managed to turn back its feet. 

Enki, as if perplexed, said, "What is this!" 

He had the turtle scrape the ground with its claws, had it dig an evil pit. 

The hero Ninurta fell into it with the turtle. 

The hero did not know how to get out from ……. 

The turtle kept on gnawing his feet with its claws (?). 

The turtle digging an evil pit may be a reference to the same place as the "pit of Babylon" in the Weidner Chronicle (ABC 19, 49'-51' and ABC 20 A.18-20). 

Tower of Babel

John Walton: The Meaning of the Tower of Babel - youtube.com

“The Mesopotamian Background of the Tower of Babel Account and Its Implications” (1995) by John Walton - biblicalstudies.org.uk - Bulletin for Biblical Research 5 (1995): 155-175.

Babel/Babylon

Sumerian Cuneiform for Babylon - 

𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 = KA₂.AN ki  = babilim₂ ki

Akkad, Agade

Weidner Chronicle ABC 19, 49'-51' 

Chronicle of the Early Kings ABC 20 A.18-20 - livius.org - 

[A.18] He [Sargon] dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon and

[A.19] made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade.

[A.20] Because the wrong he had donenote[I.e., building a rival to Babylon.] the great lord Marduk became angry and wiped out his family by famine.

[A.21] From east to west, the subjects rebelled against him

[A.22-23] and Marduk afflicted him with insomnia.

A Translation and Commentary on Weidner Chronicle Obv. 46‒52 by Wenxuan Yuan - academia.edu - 

• Different terms for Babylon used in different fragments of the Weidner Chronicle Line 51: A) KÁ.DINGIR.RA (KI) 𒆍𒀭𒊏 = KA₂.AN ki  = babilim₂; B) TIN.TIR (KI) 𒁷𒌁𒆠 ; E) Ba-bi-lim; F) TIN.TIR (KI)

• Translation of ll. 8-11 K 2130 Neo-Assyrian Omen Text at the British Museum:

Sargon, who under this omen […] the migh[t of Bab]ylon, 

and removed the soil of … the gate…, and […], 

and built a city […] Agade, and called its name […]; 

[…….there] in he caused to dwell. 

Marad

https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/912901 

https://books.google.com/books?id=xBzpBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA193&ots=wksPO3IdBp&dq=Eigikalama&pg=PA193#v=onepage&q=Eigikalama&f=false - pg.193. Eigikalama mentioned by Nebuchadnezzar II had not been built since Naram-Sin

https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2019/12/06/envelopes-made-of-clay-in-the-ancient-mesopotamian-city-of-marad/

The "Babel of Tongues": A Sumerian Version (1968) by Samuel Noah Kramer - jstor.org

Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta t.1.8.2.3 - etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk

Abraham 

Ur Kasdim

Ur Kasdim: Where Is Abraham’s Birthplace? by Gary Rendsburg - thetorah.com

Canaan

 "Canaanites." In Reader's Guide to Judaism by Scott B. Noegel - washington.edu

Sodom and Gomorrah

The_Geography & History_of_Tall_el_Hammam (2014) by Phillip J Silvia - academia.edu -  Summary of reasons why Tall el-Hammam is the strongest candidate for being the biblical Sodom.

Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project - tallelhammam.com 

• • • Main Site as of 2014 including a PPT animation of Tall el-Hammam and the area.

    • TeHEP RELATED PUBLICATIONS as of 2018

    • Discoveries as of 2018

Evidence Sodom is Tall el-Hammam - geekychristian.com 

Sodom and Gomorrah - ritmeyer.com - Agreement with Tall el-Hammam being Sodom and images of the current state of the other "cities of the plain."

• The Search for Sodom

Dead Sea

Scientists Use Drones to Track Dead Sea Sinkholes - pbs.org - Video 3 mins

Dead Sea Asphalt from the Excavations in Tel Arad and small Tel Malhata - persee.fr - Nissenbaum A., Serban A., Amiran R., Ilan O. (1984) Paléorient, 1984, vol. 10, n°1. pp. 157-161. PDF - Chemical analysis confirms trading of floating blocks of dead sea asphalt.  

Jacob

"Sex, Sticks, and the Trickster in Gen. 30:31-43: A New Look at an Old Crux." - faculty.washington.edu - Noegal, Scott B. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Society 25 (1997), 7-17

Joseph

The Joseph Story: Ancient Literary Art at Its Best Gary Rendsburg - thetorah.com - 

The Joseph Story between Egypt and Israel (2021) - mohrsiebeck.com PDF - VI, 178 pages, Archeology and Bible 5 - Results from a workshop held in Lausanne on June 15th–16th, 2018 “The History of the Pentateuch: Combining Literary and Archaeological Approaches"

Susan Hollis - Out of Egypt: Did Israel's Exodus Include Tales? (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com - Potiphar's Wife Motif was not merely in Eqypt but exists throughout ancient literature:

• Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (Sumer)

• Gilgamesh and Ishtar (Tablet Six)

• Aqhat (Ugarit 14th cen. BC)

• Adonis (Greek by 600 BC)

• Attis (Phrygian by 1250 BC)

• Eshmun and Astronoe (Phoenician)

• Tale of Two Brothers (Egyptian 1200 BC)

Egypt

Papyrus Anastasi V

Out of Egypt (2007) by James Hoffmeier - www.academia.edu - 

The Exodus from Egypt, a Lecture 2012 with Dr. James Hoffmeier also 2011 - Pi-Ramesses 1270-1070 BC blocks moved to Tanis (Zoan) 12 miles away. Very large, 10 km2. Forts on the way out of Egypt match Exodus. 

Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition (1996) By James K. Hoffmeier 

Bietak, Manfred (2015) “On the Historicity of the Exodus: What Egyptology Today Can Contribute to Assessing the Sojourn in Egypt,” in T. E. Levy, T. Schneider and W.H.C. Propp (eds.), Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective, Heidelberg-New York: Springer, 17-36. 

Exodus 6:3 - was God's name Yahweh known before the time of Moses? by Richard Abbott - oldtestamentstudies.datascenesdev.com - An answer to the question concerning the use of Yahweh before Moses. 

Brad C. Sparks - Egyptian Text Parallels to the Exodus: The Egyptology Literature (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com

Levy, Thomas & Schneider, Thomas & Propp, William. (2015). Israel's Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective: Text, Archaeology, Culture, and Geoscience. 10.1007/978-3-319-04768-3. 

Plagues

"Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues" by Ziony Zevit - biblicalarchaeology.org 

"The Significance of the Seventh Plague." by Scott B. Noegel - faculty.washington.edu - Relating the double climax at the seventh and tenth plagues. -Biblica 76/4 (1995),532-539. 

"Moses and Magic: Notes on the Book of Exodus." by Noegel - Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 24 (1996), 45-59.

Could Akhenaten’s Monotheism Have Been Due to the Plague in Egypt? - thecollector.com - Might Amenhotep III have been the Pharoah of the Exodus - the heretic king Akhenaten one of the consequences?

John Grattan - Times of Darkness -   Impacts and responses of volcanic eruptions on populations in general and the Nile culture (16:39) in particular. 

Sea of Reeds

"A Highway out of Egypt": the Main Road from Egypt to Canaan - academia.edu - Hoffmeier & Moshier (2013) Desert Road Archaeology

Stephen Moshier - Which Way out of Egypt? Physical Geography Constraints on the Exodus Itinerary (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com - 

James Hoffmeier - Egyptology, Egyptologists and the Exodus  (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com - Maskhuta = Succoth; Yam suf = "Sea of Reeds" > p3 twf(y); Onomasticon of Amenemope (1150-1100 BC); Pi-hahiroth possibly "The mouth of the canals"; Baal-Zephon known body of water called "waters of Baal"; Tel El Herr = Magdalla from Persian to Roman times; Tell Qedua = Migdol of 8th-7th century BC; Seti I at Karnak Temple; 

The Egyptian Border Wall and the Exodus - sccompton.com 

Mt. Sinai

"Moses Did Not Sleep Here! A Critical Look at Sensation Exodus and Mt Sinai Theories" - James Hoffmeier & Stephen Moshier - Sinai candidates can be eliminated, but not confirmed. Biblical data: Ex. 15:22ff; Numbers 33 itinerary; Ex. 19:1 - 3 months after departing Egypt; departed from Pi Ramesses; Deut. 1:2 11 days from Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea (narrowed to 2 places). About 20 miles/day. 

Har Karkom

Har Karkom, Mount Sinai, and the Exodus () by Deborah Hurn - academia.edu - Overview Har Karkom and departures in interpretation with Emmanuel Anati that make the site more likely than other sites.

Emmanuel Anati - Har Karkom: Archaeological Discoveries on a Holy Mountain in the Desert of Exodus (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com

“Eleven days from Horeb”: Deuteronomy 1:1-2 and Har Karkom - academia.edu - Alternative to the majority, but not a new translation (YLT, NKJV, Robert Alter), produces a 6-day journey to Kadesh Barnea. 

Urim and Thummim

The lost meaning of ‘urim and thummim’: mysterious oracle of the Old Testament - medium.com 

Chronology of the Exodus

Lawrence T. Geraty Dates for the Exodus I Have Known (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com 

Michael Dee - Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Egypt (2013) UCSD Exodus Conference - youtube.com - Correlation with New Kingdom Pharaohs and other relevant c14 dated events.

Early Exodus

From Genesis to Hernán Cortés: Volume Twenty-Two: Fall of Jericho and Ai by Damien F. Mackey - academia.edu - Espouses an Early Bronze III to Middle Bronze I exodus and conquest with some internal criticisms considered.

Middle Exodus - Traditional

Thutmoses III or Amenhotep 

The Dating of the Exodus Steve Perry - biblicalstudies.org - (1992) Marshals some of the older basic evidence to suggest a 15th-century Exodus.

The Rise and Fall of the 13th Century Exodus-Conquest Theory - biblearchaeology.org - 

Israel in Canaan (Long) Before Pharaoh Merenptah? A fresh look at Berlin statue pedestal relief 21687 

The Amarna Letters: Proof of Israel’s Invasion of Canaan? (2023) by Christopher Eames - armstronginstitute.org - Lays out the evidence for a 14th-century BC conquest from Habiru=Hebrew and Amarna letters correlation with the biblical text. 

Late Exodus - Consensus

"Archaeology and the Hebrew Exodus" by Kitchen, Kenneth - theologynetwork.org - Very brief synopsis of archaeology on the Exodus by the well known Egyptologist. relating to a 13th Century dating for the Exodus.

Leviticus as a Literary Tabernacle by Gary Rendsburg - thetorah.com - The book of Leviticus may be laid out in the pattern of the tabernacle. 

Deuteronomy and de Wette: A Fresh Look at a Fallacious Premise - jesot.org 

The Name Theology in Israelite Religion by Michael S. Heiser (PDF) from drmsh.com 

The date of Deuteronomy: linch-pin of Old Testament criticism (1985) by GORDON WENHAM - thegorpelcoalition.org  PDF -  Themelios V.10 I.3

• "So what are the real arguments for a seventh-century date that first led to the establishment of this critical consensus?...It comes as something of a surprise considering how much has been built on the seventh-century dating to find what a narrow basis it rests on."

• "There are essentially two key arguments: the language of Deuteronomy and its demand for the centralization of worship."

The Septuagint and the Deuteronomists (2008) by Emmanuel Tov - emanueltov.info

Law

Cities in the Book of Joshua - wikipedia.org - The book of Joshua lists nearly 400 different cities and towns in the areas the tribes of Israel were taking. This table compiles information about them.

Conquest of Canaan

Bethinking 3/6: Peter J Williams on New Atheists & Old Testament (incl. The Canaanites) - youtube.com - Taking on the thorny question of genocide in the conquest of Canaan. Essentially shows the New Atheists making the genocide accusation are presenting a strawman. When considered in its context of text and belief William's has seven justifications that distinguish the Jews under Joshua from the regimes under Hitler: specific guilt of the Canaanites, not indiscriminate violence, concern for children, 400+ year delay, warning ignored, warrant, and God does most of the fighting. 

I would add one more thing - there is evidence that the Canaanites and the people who migrated into the region had prior belief in the Sumero-Akkadian triad. That is, they had believed in the same God as Abraham, were in the process of throwing that away during Abrahams time, and had thrown it away by the time of the conquest. To use a biblical analogy, the Canaanites had been married to Elohim, cheated many times, become completely estranged and unredeemable. The conquest of Canaan was the terms of the final divorce.

The Conquest of Palestine - altriocchi.com - Argues for the conquest beginning in the 1180s BC with the consent of the Pharoah Sethnakht, a usurper and first Pharoah of the 20th Dynasty.

Tribal lists and geography - oldtestamentstudies.datascenesdev.com - archive Tribal lists and geography

pg. 42 (51) - three locations of Jericho.

Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look at the Archaeological Evidence - biblearchaeology.org

The Rise and Fall of the 13th Century Exodus-Conquest Theory - biblearchaeology.org

Jericho

"When Did What Walls Fall? The Archaeological Debate Over Jericho" by  Stephen Langfur - new.netours.com -  A fair statement of the problems with the Jericho story.

Lorenzo Nigro, “TELL ES-SULTAN 2015 A Pilot Project for Archaeology in Palestine,” Near Easter Archaeology 79:1 (2016), 16. Online: http://www.lasapienzatojericho.it/Biblioteca/Jericho/TELL_ES-SULTAN_Jericho_2015_A_Pilot_Proj.pdf

Biblical Sites: Three Ways to Date the Destruction at Jericho - biblearchaeologyreport.com -

Early bronze Jericho; high-precision (super 14) C dates of short-lived palaeobotanic remains. by Hendrik J Bruins, Johannes van der Plicht (1998) - Report of 10 Early Bronze C-14 samples at Jericho. Despite comparing them as being superior to previous measurements, 2 of the 10 samples had 200+ year disagreements with other same in kind samples. Is a 20% failure rate normal, or is there something unique about the Jericho material?

Sturt W. Manning, Carol Griggs, Brita Lorentzen, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, David Chivall, A. J. Timothy Jull, and Todd E. Lange, “Fluctuating radiocarbon offsets observed in the southern Levant and implications for archaeological chronology debates,” PNAS June 12, 2018 115 (24) 6141-6146; first published May 29, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719420115 -  

David

The Birth and Death of Biblical Minimalism - Yosef Garfinkel - Influential article. 

• Vituperative response from Philip Davies - A Minimalist Disputes His Demise. 

• Response with more detail from Yosef Garfinkel - A Minimalist Disputes His Demise: A Response to Philip Davies.

Solomon

Was King Solomon the ancient world’s first shipping magnate? - thegaurdian.com - A hill at the Rio Tinto mine in Spain (ancient Tarshish, Tartessos) was named Solomon’s Hill in ancient sources. Silver hordes in Israel show they come from Rio Tinto. The connection between Solomon’s description in the Bible and metals trade with Tarshish is secure.

Jerusalem

The Parking Lot That Determined the Future of Jerusalem’s Past (2025) by Doron Spielman - mosaicmagazine.com 

The Ophel Treasure - biblicalarchaeology.org

Did I Find King David’s Palace? - biblicalarchaeology.org

City of David - cityofdavid.org

Temple Mount

Where will the Jewish Temple be Rebuilt? | Dr. Leen Ritmeyer | InGrace - youtube.com - Interview with Dr. Leen Ritmeyer gives a good overview of many of the biblical and archeological connections to the temple. 

Solomon's Temple Explained - youtube.com - Excellent visual overview of the Temple and its function. Although the author is LDS, Leen Ritmeyer has recommended it with some minor reservations. 

The LOST TEMPLE Mount- the REAL Location of Solomon's Temple in the City of David, Jerusalem - youtube.com - Overview of the alternative location of the Temple. This is very much outside of the mainstream and very unlikely. I would not consider it except for the disputatious Ernest L Martin has been correct about other things when so many others were not (see Birth of Jesus below) and some of the excavations under the City of David have been suggestive:

• Part 1: King David's Prayer Altar Discovered at City of David? - youtube.com - Rooms interpreted as processing rooms for sacrifices.

• Part 2: King David's Prayer Altar Discovered at City of David? - youtube.com - Private altar? Unlikely with the extensive processing nearby. Location of the Ark before being moved to the first temple (1 Kings 8:1-9) ? → The Temple Mount in the time of Solomon - ritmeyer.com

Ritmeyer Archaeological Design - ritmeyer.com - Defense of the traditional Temple Mount and other archaeologically tidbits from the well-respected archaeologist and architectural graphics artist.

• A Response to Dr. Ernest L. Martin (2014) by Leen Ritmeyer - Rebuts the core evidences of Martin.

• The Antonia Fortress: A guard to the real Temple Mount in Jerusalem 

• “Here, in this carved-out place, stood the Ark of the Covenant”

  • The Antonia, Herod’s Temple Mount Fortress 

• The mysterious Akra in Jerusalem 

• The Jerusalem Temple on Mount Gerizim - A rival temple on Mount Gerizim from the time of Nehemiah destroyed by the Hasmoneans in 128 BC.

• The Quest – Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (2006) - Considered by many to be The Book on the Temple.

  •  Dr. Richard Hess's review 

Daniel’s Seventy Weeks By Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. - 

• Ancient of days (Jürg Eggler ) Text - last updated: 23 March 2010 
    http://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_ancient_of_days.pdf

http://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublication.php 

https://www.academia.edu/5818318/Approaches_to_Sumerian_Literature_VANSTIPHOUT_F1_i_vi_4_26_06_8_08_PM_Page_i 

• “They say—the wise men—a word true and right: ‘Never has a sinless child been born to its mother, A mortal has never been perfect, a sinless man has never existed from old!” - (103–105).

• “Narru (=Enlil), king of the gods, who created mankind, Majestic Zulummar (=Ea), who pinched off their clay, And the queen who fashioned them, mistress Mami, Gave twisted speech to the human race, They endowed them forever with lies and untruth.” -Babylonian Theodicy 276–280(Lambert 1960: 88–89)

• Compare to Job 4:17-21; 15:14–16 with Eliphaz speaking.

Boaz Married Ruth at the Threshing Floor: A Grammatical Solution to Ruth 4:5 by Gary Rendsburg - thetorah.com - A difference between the Ketiv ("that which is written") vs. the Qeri ("that which is read") and the effect of Enclitic mem.

Chronology of the Four Gospels - aschmann.net - Extensive table correlating the Gospels with alternative views.

New Evidences the Gospels were Based on Eyewitness Accounts (2011) Lecture by Dr. Peter Williams - youtube.com - Local knowledge in the gospels shows that the Gospel authors were either very clever fiction writers or recording eyewitness accounts.

1. Things Which Ought To Be Better Known About The Resurrection Of Jesus (2012) Lecture by Dr. Peter Williams - youtube.com Non-Christian accounts: Tacitus, Annals 15.44; Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96; Josephus, Antiquities 20.200

2. Christian accounts of resurrection: 1 Cor. 15:3-6; Galatians 1:1; Identical Words; subtle agreements and unlikely features against invention. 

3. Objection to miracles: David Hume, On Miracles

4. The third leg of the stool: Jesus was already famous, believed to be the Messiah, died during Passover, etc.

Chief Priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, and Sanhedrin in Luke-Acts and Josephus (2009) Steve Mason - academia.edu - Chapter 11 in Josephus, Judea, and Christian Origins: Methods and Categories. Profitable comparison of Luke and Josephus think about the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke by James Kiefer PART ONE - elvis.rowan.edu - Good introduction to the Star and the Census. Assuming that Herod died in 4 BC, discusses the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces taking place on May 29, October 3, and December 4 of 7 BC.  A similar conjunction took place in 2020.

The Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke by James Kiefer PART TWO - elvis.rowan.edu - The Massacre of the Innocents.

Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem - ritmeyer.com - The manger birthplace of Jesus as known from archaeology. 

Associates for Scriptural Knowledge (Ernest L. Martin) - askelm.com - Features works by the pugnacious and controversial Ernest L. Martin that focus on the birth of Jesus among other topics.

 Martin established his credibility on two fronts. His defection from the Worldwide Church of God based on a disagreement with church teaching and historical research was one of the seminal acts that led that church away from its cultish reliance on Herbert Armstrong. We know then that his work is not beholden to any denomination. The second is his often clear presentation of evidences on aspects that the 'secular' history has brushed over, for instance the Tibur inscription. 

Martin will get into trouble by taking things farther than is warranted and being over-precise with biblical material such as in The Geographical Design of the Holy Scriptures where he directly equates the Temple very precisely with Eden and the scriptures on the construal of just a couple of Bible verses and alternative translations. He should be seen then more as a trailblazer pushing out the edges of knowledge for the sake of the Gospel rather than a reserved guide whose reticence will stand the test of time (ala Daniel B. Wallace).

• The Star That Astonished the World - askelm.com - Ernest L. Martin (Second Edition; Portland, Oregon: ASK Publications, 1996) ISBN 0-94-5657-87-0. - Link to book with audio.

Herod's Death - 4 BC or 1 BC

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS By Flavius Josephus - gutenburg.org -  

• Book XVII - The last years of Herod, the revolt that followed, sometimes called the War of Varus, and Caesar imparting new authorities. 

  • Chpt. 6 p. 4 - A lunar eclipse occurred sometime after a fast in which Matthias the High Priest could not officiate. His kinsman Joseph had to stand in for him and so was High Priest for a day. Another Matthias, who encouraged the destruction of an idol, was burned alive in the daytime before the lunar eclipse.

• Book XVIII. Chpt 4, Paragraph 6 - The key passage used to date Herod's death:

About this time it was that Philip, Herod's brother, departed this life, in the twentieth year of the reign of Tiberius, after he had been tetrarch of Trachonitis and Gaulanitis, and of the nation of the Bataneans also, thirty-seven years.

The math works this way: The 20th year of Tiberius is securely dated to 34 AD, and there is no 0 BC year. Therefore, 34 AD - 37 years = -3 AD = 4 BC.

The math and this date only correlate with the death of Philip's father, Herod the Great, if Philip is assumed to take up leadership directly after Herod's death, as per his will (XVII 8.1). 

• • • If the 37 years are taken from the time Caesar first appoints Philip as a leader (XVII 11), that would be after the War of Varus (XVII 10), possibly a year or more after Herod's death.

    • If the 37 years count as any length of coregency, then Herod must have died sometime after 4 BC.

    • If any of these numbers are off by even a few months, Herod could not have died in 4 BC. The chronology of Herod's 4 BC death is already impossibly tightly packed.

Josephus: all the Manuscripts - tertullian.org - 

4 BC Historians

A history of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus Christ (1891, pg.400) by Schürer, Emil - archive.org - The primary source for the 4 BC consensus.

Timothy David Barnes, "Date of Herod's death," Journal of Theological Studies ns 19.1 (April 1968): 204-209. - Partial source w/ disputatious annotations.

The Date of the Nativity and the Chronology of Jesus' Life (1998) by Paul L. Maier - redatedkings.com PDF, PDF2

Herod - newadvent.org - by Tierney, J. (1910). In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 25, 2021 - Article is all in on the 4 BC consensus. 

Jewish Encyclopedia: HEROD I. (surnamed the Great) (1906) By Joseph Jacobs, Isaac Broydé

1 BC Historians

The earliest Christian authorities put the birth of Jesus around 2 to 3 BC and the death of Herod from 1 to 2 BC. It is only after the printing press that Herod's death is conceived as an earlier date of 4 BC. There are four layers of criticism of the 4 BC date of Herod's death - all of which are going concerns. Anyone of them can be fatal to the 4 BC date: 

1. The rediscovery of the "twenty-second year of Tiberius" variant of Josephus' Antiquities that was widely available prior to a 1544 AD Greek printed edition. There has not yet been a source prior to 1544 AD that has the "twentieth year." Until one is found, it appears that reading is spurious.

2. The 37 years of Philip may include a coregency with several suggestive quotes from Josephus to this effect.

3. Internal inconsistencies in the Schürer account such as being a year off accounting Sabbatical years and the standard coin dating scheme being in conflict with both the 4 BC and 1 BC dates.

4. Despite Herod being closely connected to the key figures of his time, there is no independent chronology that corroborates the death of Herod in 4 BC. The 4 BC date has also been fruitless for determining other events around this time, adding nothing to what was already considered a dark decade.

“Josephus Reexamined: Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius”  (1998) by David W. Beyer - books.google.com - Chronos, Kairos, Christos II, edited by E. Jerry Vardaman (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1998) ISBN 0-86554-582-0. - The uncovering of a copyist, typesetting or intentional error that might make almost all the of the copies of Antiquities printed from 1544 AD on erroneous concerning Herod's death. The implication is that Herod actually died in 1 BC instead of 4 BC and (therefore) Jesus was born in 2 or 3 BC as per the traditional accounting. Summary of findings:

My visits to the British Library in April 1983 uncovered evidence that substantiates Filmer's thesis. Out of the forty-six early editions of Josephus's Antiquities published before 1700 that were examined, twenty-seven demonstrate the uncommon "twenty-second year of Tiberius." Of these twenty-seven texts, all but three were published prior to 1544, some dating back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Of greatest importance, however, is the fact that, in the British Library, not a single edition published prior to 1544 was uncovered bearing the "twentieth year of Tiberius."...[In the Library of Congress] Five more editions supported the "twenty-second year." Among the others, none prior to 1544 recorded the "twentieth year." (pg. 86)

• 1544 signifies the oldest printed version in the British Library of Josephus' Antiquities in Greek characters, about a century after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press using Latin movable type.  This had the "twentieth year of Tiberius."

• 1548, a Latin edition based on the 1544 Greek preserved the "twentieth year of Tiberius" until the modern day.

• WE Filmer 1966 Journal of Theological Studies - Molkenbuhr 1798 dissertation describes the existence of a "twenty-second year of Tiberius" document.

• Barnes, T., The Journal of Theological Studies, XIX (1968), 209. - Denies the existence of the variant.

“When Did Herod the Great Reign?”, Andrew Steinmann, Novum Testamentum, Volume 51, Number 1, 2009 , pp. 1-29 www.jstor.org/stable/25442624 - also academia.edu

• Pages 23-24 cite Beyer 

NT Chronology and the Death of Herod the Great (2019) by Rodger Young - academia.edu - Presentation showing that consensus 4 BC has four false assumptions: 1) Zuckermann’s Sabbatical year calendar  2) Inclusive numbering in Josephus for the life of Herod  3) Nisan years in Josephus for the life of Herod  4) Josephus’s consular years for Herod’s investiture by the Romans and his siege of Jerusalem

Elapsed Times for Herod the Great in Josephus (2020) by Andrew E. Steinmann and Rodger C. Young - academia.edu 

The Star That Astonished the World - askelm.com 

• https://www.askelm.com/star/star009.htm#_ednref27 - Section related to footnote #27

• https://www.askelm.com/star/star015.htm - Beyer cited in 5th paragraph and section related to footnote #84.

Coins and the Dating of Roman Governorships: 27 BC - AD 17 by Dwight R. Hutchison - academia.edu

Discussion

Herod’s Death, Jesus’ Birth and a Lunar Eclipse - Letters to the Editor, 12/08/2018 - biblicalarchaeology.org - A constructive letter debate of the 1 BC and 4 BC dates for Herod's death ends with an excerpt from Andrew Steinmann settling the matter.

How modern historians got confused over the year of Christ's birth (2019) by David Heilbron Price - academia.edu, also, thenazareneproject.blogspot.com - Summary of history and manuscripts leading to a 1 BC death of Herod.

The Death of Herod the Great and the Latin Josephus: Re-Examining the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius (2015) by Raymond J Jachowski - academia.edu  - Summarizes and identifies the sources of the variant "twenty-second year of Tiberius" texts, which go back at least to the 6th century AD. He identifies two possible sources of "twentieth year of Tiberius" prior to 1544 AD used in Niese's 1887 Greek text - the 1354 Codex Vaticanus Graecus and the 11th-century Codex Bibliothecae Ambrosianae. Whether these texts specifically have the "twentieth year", lacunae or something else is still unknown. He then speculates the variants away to arrive at the consensus 4 BC date of Herod's death.

A Possible Project on the Date of Herod’s Death - jamesbradfordpate.wordpress.com 

• The Alleged 1544 Copy Error - jamesbradfordpate.blogspot.com 

• More on the Alleged 1544 Copy Error - jamesbradfordpate.wordpress.com 

Astronomical and Historical Evidence for Dating the Nativity in 2 BC (2012) by James A. Nollet - asa3.org - Good discussion of the available evidence. Argues that Herod most likely died in 1 BC or 1 AD before Passover, after one of the two Lunar eclipses. The lunar eclipse of 4 BC was barely noticeable, didn't begin until after midnight and peaked at 1:38 am, making it an unlikely eclipse for Josephus to record. In contrast, both the lunar eclipses of 1 BC were spectacular. The January 9/10 eclipse was total as seen from Jerusalem and Jericho, and the December 29 eclipse rose from the horizon 53% eclipsed at 5:02 pm, less than 20 minutes after sunset!

Star of Bethlehem

Regardless of when Herod died, there are only two sets of serious contenders for the Star(s) of Bethlehem:

1. One of the most common conjectures through the ages is that the two occurrences of the star of Bethlehem were a comet. The "star in the East" would be the comet traveling towards the sun, while the Bethlehem star (in the West) would be the comet on its way out after rounding the sun. The primary advantage of a comet is the match it provides to the phenomenological language in Messianic passages that seem to describe the star as a scepter or sword. Colin Nicholl book The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem works out the imagery, path, and other astronomical data for a comet that matches the messianic biblical passages. The key findings are that this would have been a large long-period comet (> 200 year orbit) in a retrograde path around the sun. The comet was seen both coming towards the sun where it appeared as a growing fetus in the constellation Virgo (ie. Babylonian constellation of "The Maiden") that Virgo appears to give birth to. As the comet was going it would have appeared south of Jerusalem, almost as an arrow pointing to the house where Jesus was. 

The two main issues with Dr. Nichol's hypothesis: 

• We have no certain historical corroboration or astronomical identification for this magnificent comet. 

• The hypothetical comet has no secular necessity in history or science.

In addition, Dr. Nicholl's criticism of the Venus-Jupiter-Regulus associations during 3-2 BC is somewhat anemic as he doesn't seriously consider the evidence for Herod's death in 1 BC, which is at least on par with, if not better than, the 4 BC date. 

What Is Wrong with Rick Larson’s 'Star of Bethlehem' DVD Documentary by Colin Nicholl - uniontheology.org - A sound calling out of some of the inaccuracies and over-precise speculations of the Larson account. I question if Nicholl is not being a bit over-precise in his own direction.

What Star is This, With Beams so Bright? by Colin Nicholl - uniontheology.org 

The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem - socratesinthecity.com - Video 1:25:46 

Colin Nicholl - The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem - youtube.com - 1:24:12

Dr. Colin Nicholl | "The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem" - youtube.com - 36:08

2. Many associations with the Bethlehem star focus on Jupiter and Regulus during the time Jupiter was visible from August 2, 3 BC to June 25, 2 BC. In particular, a close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter rising from Babylon's eastern horizon in the early morning of August 12, 3 BC, one day after the earliest possible observation of the heliacal rising of the King Star Regulus. Then, a second conjunction even closer than the first on June 17, 2 BC, during a Full Moon with Venus/Jupiter dropping below the western horizon at 10 pm. 

Mars, Mercury, and the king star Regulus precede Venus-Jupiter below the horizon on the ecliptic line, an observation that could be described as a sword or scepter. All of these objects are on the ecliptic and therefore would seem to set in the same place on the horizon, thus pointing to a particular place. This might, in their view, confirm the directions they were given by Herod's people, as they visit the Davidic family homestead the next day. 

The Star of Bethlehem: Signs in the East and a Surprise in the West (2019) by Dwight Hutchison - academia.edu - The most recent deep researcher into this hypothesis. I agree with him that the Magi would have seen Jupiter as "the star" and would not have been concerned that Venus is brighter. 

Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a StarAnywhere, But … (2019) by Dwight Hutchison - academia.edu - A bit of a reality check for what the Babylonians could do and what they would focus on.

• Mr. Hutchison makes a mistake associating December and January with Passover. The beginning of the year in the Jewish calendar has always been one of the New Moons nearest the Spring Equinox. Passover is the first full moon after that. See, for instance, http://www.observadores-cometas.com/cometas/Star/Passover.html 

The Star That Astonished the World - askelm.com - Ernest L. Martin (Second Edition; Portland, Oregon: ASK Publications, 1996) ISBN 0-94-5657-87-0. - Link to book with audio.

• Christmas Star - askelm.com - Summary interactive of the Star of Bethlehem as per Martin.

The Star of Bethlehem: About the Project - bethlehemstar.com - Documentary and website by lawyer Frederick A. Larson.

The Star of Bethlehem (1996) Craig Chester - hillsdale.edu PDF

Starry Portents (slide 113)

17th of Tammuz

Tammuz is the name of the 4th month in the ancient reckoning of the calendar. The name comes through the Akkadians from the Sumerians. Dumu-zi means "favored son" in Sumerian and is the name of several kings on the Sumerian King list. All of these kings are associated with good shepherds. There was also the god Dumuzi who descends into the netherworld for half of the year and has several messianic parallels. 

The second appearance of the Star of Bethlehem occurred on the 17 Tammuz according to the conversion charts and software I've used. This has confused me as it seemed the major festivals revolve around the 14th and 15th of the month. I had assumed these would be the two days that the full moon would most likely appear, but the conversion charts consistently put this on the 17th. From the tale of Noah's flood, the 17th appears repeatedly. The 17th day of the month would be the full moon if counting from the beginning of the New Moon. Both the Full Moon and the New Moon have about a two day dwell time. The 15th would be a guaranteed Full Moon if counting from the middle or end of the New Moon, which is how most of the ancients did it.  

The 17th of Tammuz How Is the 17 of Tammuz Relevant Today? - alephbeta.org - The rabbinical literature called the Mishnah list four calamities that took place on 17 of Tammuz, consequently it is the beginning of a 3 week fast and time of mourning.

Census of Quirinius

P. Sulpicius Quirinius - Livius.org - A standard chronology has Quirinius becoming the governor of Syria for the first time around 3 AD and then administering his famous census around 6 AD.

The Problem of Luke 2:2 "This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria" by Daniel B. Wallace - bible.org - Heroic example of restraint while taking a position of inerrancy. 

The Lucan Censuses, Revisited (1999) Brook Pearson - academia.edu 

• Quoting Marshall: "the form of the sentence is in any case odd, since it is hard to see why protos was introduced without any object of comparison," that "it may be that protos should be understood as a comparative with the meaning 'before,'" and that Luke 2:2 "may well be an example of Luke's tendency to write loose sentences on occasion.'' (281)

• Quoting Ramsay: "The latter part of the reign of Augustus, in fact, the whole period from about 15 B.C. to the beginning of the reign of Tiberius in 14 A.D., is almost completely hidden from our knowledge. No historian illumines it." (282)

Chapter 11: Quirinius the Governor of Syria - biblehub.com - Sir William Mitchell Ramsay Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?

Fragment of the sepulchral inscription of Quirinius - museivaticani.va - Although the name is not attached, the inscription is thought to match Quirinius and additionally states he was governor of Syria twice. However, Ernest Martin convincingly shows that Quintilius Varus, a Syrian governor at the time of Herod's death, better matches the inscription.

Census Edict for Roman Egypt - kchanson.com - From about 104 AD, confirms that those away from their own homes should return home for a Roman census. 

The Census of Quintilius Varus - askelm.com - Proposes the census as a special empire wide registration of allegiance for Augustus 25th year Silver Jubilee in 2 BC.

• Justin Martyr (Apology I.34) describes Cyrenius (ie. Quirinius) as the "first procurator in Judaea."

• Oath to Caesar in Josephus, Antiquities XVII 2.4 "Accordingly, when all the people of the Jews gave assurance [took an oath] of their good-will to Cæsar, and to the king's government, these very men did not swear, being above six thousand; and when the king imposed a fine upon them, Pheroras's wife paid their fine for them. " Martin: "How else did Josephus know that over 6000 Pharisees refused to take the oath unless some kind of record of their number had been made?" and furthermore, how did Herod know to fine them for not registering an oath of allegiance?

• The office that Quirinius holds is not specifically mentioned in Luke 2:1. The word ἡγεμονεύοντος  could be used of a proconsul, procurator or magistrate - "while Quirinius was [governor, administrator, leader] of Syria." and again in Luke 3:1 - "Pilate was [governor, prefect, administrator, leader] of Judea,"

Graham, Daryn. “In Those Days: The Dealing and Purpose of Augustus’ Census at the Time of the Birth of Jesus Christ.” CLASSICUM (2015): 33–47. - academia.edu 

The Beginnings of the Roman Census in Egypt (1991) by Roger S. Bagnall - grbs.library.duke.edu

• • "With the discovery of new evidence, it is now possible to show definitively that although there were census declarations before 19 [AD], the fourteen-year cycle cannot have begun before that year and may even be later. On the other hand, some evidence suggests - without quite demonstrating - an earlier seven-year cycle dating back as far as 11/10 B.C. "

The Beginnings of the Roman Provincial Census: A New Declaration from 3 BCE (2015) by Roger Bagnall (PDF) - grbs.library.duke.edu - Describes an Egyptian "census declaration submitted by Harthotes at the end of Augustus’ 27th year (3 BCE) to five registration officials (λαογράφοι) of his home village Theadelphia."

Sabbatical Year

https://www.askelm.com/star/star020.htm 

Resurrection

New Evidences the Gospels were Based on Eyewitness Accounts (2011) Lecture by Dr. Peter Williams - youtube.com - Local knowledge in the gospels shows that the Gospel authors were either very clever fiction writers or recording eyewitness accounts.

1. Things Which Ought To Be Better Known About The Resurrection Of Jesus (2012) Lecture by Dr. Peter Williams - youtube.com Non-Christian accounts: Tacitus, Annals 15.44; Pliny the Younger, Letters 10.96; Josephus, Antiquities 20.200

2. Christian accounts of resurrection: 1 Cor. 15:3-6; Galatians 1:1; Identical Words; subtle agreements and unlikely features against invention. 

3. Objection to miracles: David Hume, On Miracles

4. The third leg of the stool: Jesus was already famous, believed to be the Messiah, died during Passover, etc.

lost parables

Special Event: Three Lost and Found Parables; Mark Lanier with Dr Peter Williams, 11 21 2021 - youtube.com

Road to Emmaus

The Road to Emmaus - ritmeyer.com 

4. The Gospel of John: Introduction, Argument, Outline (2004) by Daniel B. Wallace - bible.org - Earliest manuscript evidence; John authorship confirmed back to Irenaeus w/o dissent; 

• "Concentric Proofs" - the Author demonstrates he was a Jew in Palestine, an eyewitness, an apostle, named John. Written either in the early 60s or 90s with most pointing to the 90s. 

• May have been written in 3 stages: "primitive diary which John made while with Jesus; 41 a virtually finished version which lacked the prologue (1:1-18) and the epilogue (ch. 21) as well as, perhaps, other incidental comments; and the final edition, in which chapter 21 was appended.... Chapter 21 is occupied with one principal concern: the death of Peter."

• Prologue asserts the Son of God's divinity. Book of Signs shows the Son of God performs seven “signs” in eight locales. Then final days with the Instruction of the disciples and praying

My Favorite Passage that's Not in the Bible (2008) by Daniel B. Wallace - bible.org - Comments on John 7:53–8:11 the pericope adulterae and why it is still in the main text of the Bible - "there has been a longstanding tradition of timidity among translators." 

BibleWalks.com Holy Land Sites Review - biblewalks.com 

Biblical bibliographies and related material by Charles Conroy - Useful representative Bibliographies for a variety of subjects including archaeology and theology.

BioLogos - biologos.org - "BioLogos invites the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God's creation."

Chris Gousmett pages - allofliferedeemed.co.uk - 

CHRISTIA library - elvis.rowan.edu -  

Chronology of the Bible - aschmann.net - Thoughtful connections and speculations about the Bible by Richard P. Aschmann. Great charts!  Highlights: Table of Nations Location Probabilities, Kings of Babylon, Media, and Persia in the Bible, When Was Hebrew First Written? 

Daniel B. Wallace - bible.org - Articles written for Bible.org. Wallace is something of an academic hero of mine for demonstrating the kind of restraint and self-criticism needed to hold a view of biblical inerrancy and still be trustworthy.

Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (IDD) - religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch 

Satellite Bible Atlas Channel - youtube.com - Excellent video commentaries by Bill Schlegel on Biblical geography keyed to his book The Satellite Bible Atlas.

• Regional Maps Introduction PDF - bibleplaces.com – A brief commentary on the first section in the Satellite Bible Atlas with links to the related commentary videos.

Scott B. Noegel - faculty.washington.edu - Professor of Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies especially focused on how literary devices are used in the Old Testament.

Journals

AWOL - THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE - ancientworldonline.blogspot.co.uk 

Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies - brbs.library.duke.edu 

Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society - janes.scholasticahq.com - 

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament - jesot.org -

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures - jhsonline.org

Perspectives on Science & Christian Faith - asa3.org - The Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation

Journals

AWOL - THE ANCIENT WORLD ONLINE - ancientworldonline.blogspot.co.uk 

Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies - brbs.library.duke.edu 

Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society - janes.scholasticahq.com - 

Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament - jesot.org -

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures - jhsonline.org

Perspectives on Science & Christian Faith - asa3.org - The Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation