Made in Alexandria: The Origin of the Yahweh Cult

[A_Nony_Mouse]

“As for Hezekiah, the Judean, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his fortified cities, walled forts and to the countless small villages in their vicinity …. I led off 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horse, mules, donkeys, camels, big and small cattle beyond counting, and counted them as booty.” (Taylor Prism)

700 chariots, 700 cavalry, and 10,000 soldiers belonging to Irhuleni of Hama; 2,000 chariots, and 10,000 soldiers belonging to Ahab, the Israelite Shalmeneser II inscription

“I received the tribute of Jehoash the Samarian, of the Tyrian [ruler] and of the Sidonian [ruler].”Adad-Nirari inscription

I called up the kings of the country Hatti and (of the region) of the other side of the river (Euphrates)...Manasseh, king of Judah..
Inscription of Esarhaddon

(Then) I called up my mighty armed forces which Ashur and Ishtar have entrusted to me and took the shortest road to Egypt and Nubia. During my march (to Egypt) 22 kings from the seashore, the islands, and the mainland [including] Manesseh, king of Judah Inscription of Asshurbanipal

These are Assyrian records....extrabiblical historical references which are realistically the only kind worth a shit.

Related to this on the Moabite stone someone declared it had to be confirmation because it was only recently discovered. The correct question is when was it lost and there is no basis to claim it was lost before the 2nd c. BC. There is no reason to assume it was not common knowledge among the educated at that time. So also with this inscription.

How do they differ from a much longer list of characters and events which would prove Les Miserables and The Three Musketeers are true stories? Would a different list confirm the details of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar? Would different lists confirm the reality of the Starz series Spartacus or the movie 300?

They are examples of the only kind of records which were made of events. Yet from the Septuagint we find what are supposedly recountings of the other side of these events in the form of the histories invented by Herodotus and Thucydides centuries later. In reality there were only declarative inscriptions such as these and in the Septuagint we find narrative history that did not appear until centuries later.

I make of it Les Miserables as the narrative history could not have been produced in bibleland until after there is a literate Greek culture in bibleland. As to names and events for local color, noting we have lost some 99.9% of ancient material most of which we would reasonably assume was in the library at Alexandria the source material for the local names and color is found at the library.

A theory explains the greatest number of facts in a consistent manner. Granted some of the above can be explained by assuming the stories were written as contemporary history. That does not explain the absence of literacy or the non-existence of the literary form of history or the absence of archaeological evidence in support of these events.

Consider just the simplest analogy of the inscriptions you refer to. There are ZERO similar inscriptions from bibleland. If they are literate enough to produce a couple hundred words of text why not a few lines carved in stone like every other contemporary civilization? No special pleadings are permitted.

In no event can you get from the above that the Red Sea parted or any of the other people or events in the stories including the "other side" of the events mentioned.

The bible narrative as "hebrews" on both sides of the Jordon and a break out into a north and south kingdom, only two. How many are mentioned there?

If it does just serve as an inspiration or verisimilitude for fiction then we should expect the story to disagree with the inscription.

Isa 37:33-38 "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the LORD. 'For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.'" Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh."

The way I read things I would say that makes the Jerusalem part of the story entirely different, thus the inscription is an inspiration.

The Assyrians recorded the names of their vassals and/or opponents and they knew the difference between Israel and Judah. Unless you are asserting some kind of grand conspiracy...that the Assyrians were in on! You are coming across as a fanatic, Mouse. These places existed. It does not harm your position at all for them to have existed since we know nothing about them except what archaeology has shown us or what later writers tried to concoct for them.

As you noted in you last post the people would not be recognizable as Jews. If not recognizable then they are not and these inscriptions are not about Jews and therefore not about the bible. Now if you wish to say the prism or bible is lying about a real event pick which and give your reasoning.

No, there is no a priori conspiracy. I could take the prism and other inscriptions create an entirely different story and it would have no greater merit than a story written in the 2nd c. BC.

But if you want to write me off as a fanatic that is your business. I do not see how not taking it for more than it is is fanatic. They are not identifiable as Jews and it tells a different story about Jerusalem. At least it shows whomever you wish wrote the bible whenever you wish were liars. Lying in one, lying in all. The source is discredited. Making excuses for the lies in favor of the bible is arguing to a conclusion in that you have already decided before argumentation which is correct. That is a logical fallacy.

And BAR may be edited by noted con artist Hershel Shanks....but Rollston is a scholar of the highest order. I'm half surprised that Shanks printed an article by him.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465006...0465006493

You might consider going there and reading a couple pages just passed the map. He recounts his intended bible study and quickly discovers deliberate false translations and more just to support the bible. So as to scholars of the highest order what does that matter if they are believers?

What does a fallacious appeal to authority matter? There are "scholars of the highest order" who argue for Noah's flood and a 6000 year old earth and biblical miracles. Catholic heologians are scholars. Do you use them to justify your Catholic faith? Or do you selectively choose your scholars based upon which support your preconceived beliefs?

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I note also you do not make a single objection to my previous response.