We knew it all along, now non jews are starting to beleive it

Seraph

Wed, Jul 11 2007, 10:54 pm

Babylonian King's Eunuch Really Existed!

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) A routine research visit to the British Museum nets a landmark archaeological discovery and proof of the Old Testament's truth.

British newspapers report that ancient Babylonian expert Dr. Michael Jursa of Vienna discovered a small clay tablet that provides proof of the Old Testament's veracity. Though the tablet was unearthed near Baghdad in 1920, only last week was it deciphered for the first time, by Dr. Jursa.

Upon reading the tablet, which records a donation of gold by "the chief eunuch of King Nebuchadnezzar," a man named Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, Jursa suddenly realized that the name sounded familiar. He quickly consulted Jeremiah 39, where he found the man's name listed as one of Nebuchadnezzar's top ministers who took part in the destruction of the First Holy Temple 2,500 years ago. The Biblical account, however, has his named spelled slightly differently: (Samgar) Nevo Sarsekim.

Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the British Museum's Middle East Department, was very excited: "This is a fantastic discovery," he told The Telegraph, "a world-class find. If Nevo-Sarsekim existed, [then] which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power."

Speaking with The Times, Finkel said, “A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. This is a tablet that deserves to be famous.”

Dr. Jursa, associate professor at the University of Vienna, said, “It’s very exciting and very surprising. Finding something like this tablet, where we see a person mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in Babylon and quoting the exact date, is quite extraordinary.”

Dr. Jursa has been visiting the museum for over 15 years to study a collection of more than 100,000 inscribed tablets. Reading and piecing together fragments is painstaking work, The Times reports, and more than half are yet to be published.

The full translation of the tablet, as provided in The Telegraph, reads: "[Regarding] 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon."

"Not Altogether Invented"
On hearing of the discovery, Geza Vermes, the eminent emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, said it shows that “the Biblical story is not altogether invented."

The reactions of Vermes and Finkel indicate that the discovery has not yet totally shaken the core faith of some who believe that the Bible is not true. The Bible is merely not "altogether invented," one says, and "who knows how many other Old Testament figures may have existed?" However, many websites provide information regarding the truth of the Torah; click here for one sample site.

Motek

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 7:58 am

breslov wrote:

On hearing of the discovery, Geza Vermes, the eminent emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, said it shows that “the Biblical story is not altogether invented."

So glad to hear that the eminent prof of Jewish studies sees this as evidence that the Bible is not altogether a bubbe maisa. I suppose that now he thinks it's only partly made up Rolling Eyes

Lechatchila Ariber

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 1:36 pm

I had the same reaction motek

BrachaVHatzlocha

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 1:41 pm

someone just told me about this article, too. I wonder if we have the same "source", breslov!

TammyTammy

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 2:02 pm

Motek wrote:

breslov wrote:

On hearing of the discovery, Geza Vermes, the eminent emeritus professor of Jewish studies at the University of Oxford, said it shows that “the Biblical story is not altogether invented."

So glad to hear that the eminent prof of Jewish studies sees this as evidence that the Bible is not altogether a bubbe maisa. I suppose that now he thinks it's only partly made up Rolling Eyes

Don't roll your eyes. Just because one detail in Yirmiyahu proved to be true doesn't logically mean the entire thing (or even the entire sefer Yirmiyahu) has to be true. It's akin to someone stating that because George Washington was the first president of the U.S. under the Constitution, therefore everything else we've heard about his life must be true.

(And yes, I personally do believe it's true... but try seeing it from someone else's POV).

Tammy

Motek

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 2:13 pm

You seem to think that my point was that because this detail in Yirmiyahu was corroborated, that therefore this proves the veracity of the entire book.

Plenty of non-Jews, especially numerous Christians, believe in the truth of the Old Testament without clay tablet proofs. My point and the eye-roll were about a professor of JEWISH STUDIES who apparently teaches this subject without even believing in the truth of his material, who until now thought the entire Bible was made up.

TammyTammy

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 2:23 pm

Fair enough. I didn't get that angle from what you wrote.

(see... I'm not unreasonable Smile

)

Tammy

Lechatchila Ariber

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 2:58 pm

Tammy Tammy wrote:

Fair enough. I didn't get that angle from what you wrote.

Motek wrote:

So glad to hear that the eminent prof of Jewish studies sees this as evidence that the Bible is not altogether a bubbe maisa. I suppose that now he thinks it's only partly made up

TammyTammy

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 3:03 pm

OK, OK. I missed it. I missed it.

Mea culpa!!

Tammy

Lechatchila Ariber

Thu, Jul 12 2007, 3:04 pm

thats ok, I just thought I'd reinforce it Wink

Ruchel

Tue, Jul 17 2007, 2:35 am

I'm not surprised, we discover more and more proofs. Obviously we don't need it to believe. But it's always cool to read.