(March 30, 2013 at 10:51 pm)Minimalist Wrote: 2 "Corinthians" 11:32
Quote:32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me.
This quite correctly describes a situation c 84 BC where the Nabatean king, Aretas III had conquered Damascus. Aretas III was also deeply involved in the palace intrigues of the crumbling Hasmonean dynasty in Jerusalem and the idea that he may have provided political sanctuary - or withdrawn sanctuary - to one side or another in that internecine squabble is not at all far-fetched.
Of course, xtians would rather slam their balls in a car door than admit that fucking "paul" is talking about a first century BC event. Can't say I blame them. Such an admission and their whole bible blows up in their fucking faces.
http://bible.cc/2_corinthians/11-32.htm
Quote:"Under Aretas the king" - There were three kings of this name who are particularly mentioned by ancient writers. The first is mentioned in 2 Macc. 5:8, as the "king of the Arabians." He lived about 170 years before Christ, and of course could not be the one referred to here. The second is mentioned in Josephus, Antiquities 13, xv, section 2. He is first mentioned as having reigned in Coele-Syria, but as being called to the government of Damascus by those who dwelt there, on account of the hatred which they bore to Ptolemy Meneus. Whiston remarks in a note on Josephus, that this was the first king of the Arabians who took Damascus and reigned there, and that this name afterward became common to such Arabian kings as reigned at Damascus and at Petra; see Josephus, Antiquities 16, ix, section 4. Of course this king reigned some time before the transaction here referred to by Paul. A third king of this name, says Rosenmuller, is the one mentioned here. He was the father-in-law of Herod Antipas. He made war with his son-in-law Herod because he had repudiated his daughter, the wife of Herod. This he had done in order to marry his brother Philip's wife; see the note, Matthew 14:3. On this account Aretas made war with Herod, and in order to resist him, Herod applied to Tiberius the Roman emperor for aid. Vitellius was sent by Tiberius to subdue Aretas, and to bring him dead or alive to Rome. But before Vitellius had embarked in the enterprise, Tiberius died, and thus Aretas was saved from ruin. It is supposed that in this state of things, when thus waging war with Herod, he made an incursion to Syria and seized upon Damascus, where he was reigning when Paul went there; or if not reigning there personally, he had appointed an ethnarch or governor who administered the affairs of the city in his place.
