Quote:He did however determine that Solomon was a real person,
Really? I don't recall that. In fact, "Solomon" is not attested anywhere archaeologically.
My only complaint with The Bible Unearthed is that Finkelstein goes off the rails at the end when he treats "Josiah" as a real person even though he, too, is not attested anywhere in the archaeological record.
He should stick to his method.
BTW, the Assyrian king Shalmanessar V [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_V ]
Quote:Quote:Shalmaneser V (Akkadian: Šulmanu-ašarid;
Solomon? Sulmanu? I'd say that if you were looking for a source for that particular legend you need go no further than Assyria. Shalmaneser ( which is derived from Greek, not Akkadian) was a great and rich king....unlike the overlords of whatever Jerusalem may have been called at the time which was a miserable little one-horse town if that.
