Download or read book Autobiography of Ahmose pen Ebana written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2020 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ahmose pen-Ebana was a major figure in the battles that forged Egypt’s empire during the New Kingdom era, in the late 1500 BC. According to his autobiography, he fought in the Battle of Avaris (circa 1550 BC), when the Theban Dynasty overthrew the Hyksos Dynasty, and then he fought at the Battle of Sharuhen a few years later, in which the last of the Hyksos Dynasty was destroyed. After these battles, the Thebans had gained political control over both Northern Egypt and Canaan, although the level of control exercised in Canaan is unclear. Then he reports fighting in a series of battles in Nubia as the Thebans conquered and enslaved northern Sudan. A canal had been dug through the shallow third cataract during the Middle Kingdom, which the Egyptians re-dug as soon as they took control of the region again during the campaigns of Ahmose I, who campaigned in Nubia between approximately 1540 and 1525 BC. The third cataract appears to also be the farthest south the Egyptians built a fortress during Ahmose pen-Ebana’s lifetime, the fortress at Tombos, which was more likely there to keep the canal clear for trade than to protect Egyptians from the Nubian tribes. Ahmose pen-Ebana then reports campaigns that were likely along the Yellow Nile in Darfur (modern Wadi Howar), and east past the fourth cataract of the Nile, before the Pharaoh Thutmose I declared victory in the south and marched his army as far north as it could go, invading the Mitanni Empire in Syria. His march through Canaan to the Euphrates was described as peaceful, and apparently, the Canaanite princes recognized his authority over the land. This march is believed to have happened in 1503 BC, and was his second peaceful march through Canaan, the first in 1505 BC, shortly after his coronation. Ahmose pen-Ebana does not report being part of that campaign, nor the earlier campaign of Ahmose I into Canaan after conquering Sharuhen, which strongly suggests that he did not take part in these campaigns. His long service in the Egyptian military includes service under three Pharaohs: Ahmose I (circa 1549 to 1524 BC), Amenhotep I (circa 1525 to 1504 BC), and Thutmose I (circa 1506 to 1493 BC), and included many of the most important battles that laid the foundation of the New Kingdom, allowing Egyptologists to understand the order of these battles, as well as the Egyptian view of the battles and their enemies. Ahmose pen-Ebana’s autobiography has survived to the present because it was cut into his tomb walls in El Kab, his hometown. About half of the text carved into the wall was destroyed when Egyptologists broke into the tomb in the 1800s, however, most of his biography seems to have survived. There is some damage to the wall the autobiography was carved on, resulting in short lacunas, however, Egyptologists believe their reconstructions of the missing texts are accurate, given how short the gaps are. In this translation, the Egyptologists’ reconstructions are treated as accurate, and their reconstructions are translated with the rest of the text. This may result in minor translation errors compared to the original text, however, it is better than reading sentences with missing words, especially when the words seem fairly obvious.

Download or read book Autobiography of Ahmose pen Nekhbet written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2020 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ahmose pen-Nekhbet was a major figure during the early years of the New Kingdom, who, like his contemporary Ahmose pen-Ebana, appears to have been from the city of El Kab, where his tomb was found. His autobiography is much shorter than pen-Ebana’s autobiography, however, is also far more damaged. This translation follows the general reconstruction that most Egyptologists agree on, however, sections of the original text may have been lost entirely before it was rediscovered in the late 1800s. Like pen-Ebana, he served a series of kings, starting with Ahmose I, and continuing through Amenhotep I, Thutmose II, Hatshepsut, and finally Thutmose III, meaning he served for decades longer than Ahmose pen-Ebana. This difference in length of service is likely due to his higher position within Egyptian society, already reportedly the herald of the king at a battle in Djahy, which may have been the Battle of Sharuhen. Ahmose pen-Nekhbet’s autobiography does not mention the Battle of Avaris, which had taken place a few years earlier, implying he became the king’s herald after the Hyksos dynasty lost Avaris. Egyptologists debate what exactly pen-Nekhbet meant by Djahy, and some believe King Ahmose I may have marched his army north from Sharuhen through southern Canaan to restore order in the region, however, there is no corroborating evidence of this known, and there is no reason to assume he wasn’t talking about Sharuhen, as Sharuhen was in Djahy, the ancient Egyptian name for southern Canaan. Ahmose pen-Nekhbet then mentioned serving King Amenhotep I in the campaigns in Kush, where he captured slaves, like Ahmose pen-Ebana. Unlike pen-Ebana, however, pen-Nekhbet only mentioned one campaign in Kush, which implies that he did not partake in most of the campaigns in Nubia unless those stories were lost in the damaged sections. Pen-Nekhbet’s story also includes a reference to a campaign against what appear to be the Berber tribes of the Sahara. He referred to a campaign against the Iamu-Kehek, which includes the name Kehek, a Libyan tribe later mentioned during the reign of Ramesses III, circa 1188 BC. The Thebans are recorded to having occupied the five oases of the western desert during their war against the Hyksos, including the Kharga Oasis, Dakhla Oasis, now dry Farafra depression, Bahariya Oasis, and the Fayyum. This reference to the Iamu-Kehek implies the army of Amenhotep I pushed west through the Sahara desert, likely to Siwa Oasis, where an ancient oracle temple of Amen existed by the 10th century BC.

Download or read book Septuagint 2 Maccabees written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees claims to be an abridged version of Jason of Cyrene's now lost five-volume version of Maccabees. Jason's books of the Maccabees were likely composed earlier than 1ˢᵗ Maccabees, as the story ends decades earlier, and contains many references to Sabaoth in the form of Dionysus which are missing from the 1ˢᵗ Maccabees. While 1ˢᵗ Maccabees is a very secular version of the events that lead to the creation of the Hasmonean kingdom, and was, therefore, almost certainly composed by a Sadducee, 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees claims that Judas the Hammer, the protagonist of both 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees was a Hasidean, suggesting that either Jason of Cyrene, or whoever abridged his work, was a Hasidean. 1ˢᵗ Maccabees mentioned the Hasideans joining Judas' forces, but did not claim he was one. The Hasideans were one of two Judean sects that were mentioned in the various books of the Maccabees whose relationship to other sects is unclear. Some scholars have theorized that they may be the precursors to the Pharisees. 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees appears to be an anti-Phrygian work, although it is not clear if this was added by the author, or found in Jason's earlier work. The book is the only clear reference to the origin of Sabaoth within the Judean sects, as the god appears in the book, under his Greek name Dionysus, while Philip the Phrygian is in charge of the Temple in Jerusalem. References to the Judean god Sabaoth appear at this point in the Greek language literature, either transliterated directly in the form of Sabaoth or translated into Greek as Dionysus. While there is a similar word in the ancient Israelite scriptures, it as translated as ṣbʾwt, meaning 'armies,' when the Hebrew translations were made under the Hasmoneans, which is likely a direct translation of the Aramaic term. This god Sabaoth was considered at the time, to be the same god as the Phrygian god Sabazios, who the Greeks also considered a local variant of Dionysus. The fact that Dionysus was the Greek name of Sabaoth and Sabazios was recorded by the many Classical Era scholars, including Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, Lydus, Cornelius Labeo, and Plutarch.

Download or read book Septuagint Judges written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2020-08-30 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Judges is very old, and the Song of Deborah may be the oldest surviving piece of Israelite literature. It uses some of the most archaic forms of Hebrew, and was likely composed in Canaanite before Hebrew became a defined dialect as this issue of dialect was part of the division between the Israelites during the battle between the Gileadites, east of the Jordan, and the Ephraimites from west of the Jordan. There is evidence that the book was either assembled or redacted in the Kingdom of Samaria. The region of the book also generally corresponds with the territory of the northern kingdom, both the region that had once been under Egyptian authority west of the Jordan, and the region east of the Jordan which had generally been independent of Egypt. The synchronizations between the Book of Judges and the records of Egypt are far too many to be overlooked or ignored. As almost all denominations of Christians and Jews agree that King Saul established his kingdom in 1037 BC, and the Septuagint's version of Judges includes 460 years of the land being ruled by Judges, or foreign kings, followed by an era of chaos when there was no king, the latest possible date the Exodus could have taken place was the 1500s BC, which supports the idea that the 10 plagues of Egypt were descriptions of the fallout and effects of the Minoan eruption which Egyptologists date to 1550 BC. According to Judges, 42 years later the Israelites invaded Samaria, (northern modern Israel and the Palestinian West Bank) under the leadership of Joshua, which would have been 1508 BC. The plan was already laid out in the Book of Joshua to occupy the entire land of Canaan, yet just three years later, when Joshua was 85 years old, the Israelites stopped their campaign, after having only occupied the cities in Samaria, this would have been in 1505 BC. The reason they stopped their invasion is not given, however, Egyptian records do explain it, as in the same year, 1505 BC, Pharaoh Thutmose I marched his army through Canaan to reconquer it for the Egyptian Empire. It had previously been under the control of the Hyksos Dynasty whose empire collapsed in the aftermath of the Minoan eruption. In 1550 BC, the Hyksos capital fell to the rival southern dynasty of Pharaoh Ahmose I, and the Hyksos retreated to their fortress of Sharuhen, near modern Gaza in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. This suggests the Hyksos maintained control over Canaan until Sharuhen fell to Ahmose I in 1540 BC. Ahmose I led an invasion of southern Canaan a few years later in an attempt to root out any remaining Hyksos. Egyptologists are not sure when this campaign was, placing it sometime between 1537 and 1527 BC. This campaign is not believed to have reached farther north than Byblos, in modern Lebanon, and did not result in any long-term political control over Canaan. Ahmose I's main goal seems to have been to destroy any remaining Hyksos in the region to ensure they did not try to recapture Egypt.

Download or read book Septuagint Wisdom of Solomon written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2020-06-14 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final version of the Septuagint was published in 132 BC, which included the Wisdom of Solomon, a book of wisdom credited to King Solomon, circa 950 BC. This book was never copied by the Masoretes, and no fragments of it have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, indicating it was not used much in Judea, if at all. A Syriac version of it is included in the Peshitta, the Syrian Orthodox Bible, which the Syrian Orthodox Church has always claimed was transcribed from the Aramaic text that the Jews translated into Hebrew, however, most modern scholars believe the Peshitta was a Syriac translation of the Septuagint. As a result, Wisdom of Solomon is a text that cannot be proven to have existed earlier than 132 BC, when it appeared in the Septuagint, and some scholars have concluded it was written in Greek at the Library of Alexandria. Wherever it was written, it is a very un-Jewish Israelite text, which contradicts, and occasionally even attacks the Torah. These contradictions are often interpreted as indicators that the writer was not particularly knowledgeable regarding the Torah, suggesting a Hellenized Jew, and therefore, it is generally assumed the book was written shortly before its inclusion in the Septuagint. All of these assumptions are, of course, based on the underlying assumption that Judaism was already standardized before the Greek Era. The books of Maccabees tell a very story. Given the complex religious history of the Second Temple Era, and the fact that none of the Israelites in Elephantine appear to have even heard of Moses in the 5th-century BC, the Wisdom of Solomon does not seem out of place or anachronistic at all, and dismissing it based on contradictions with the Torah seems completely invalid. The Wisdom of Solomon itself appears to have been redacted before the Greek translation, as the first half is about the spirit of wisdom, Sophia in Greek, who is credited with actually doing most of what God (or Yahweh in the Masoretic Text) was credited with doing in the Torah, however, this changes abruptly to crediting the Lord in chapter 11, and Sophia disappears entirely from the rest of the book. Chapter 11 was also the beginning of what scholars call the ‘history’ section of the book, which generally retold the history found in the Torah up until the exodus from Egypt, however, with some differences. One significant difference was the identification of the Lord as the Sun in chapter 16.

Download or read book Septuagint Psalms of Solomon written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2020-06-28 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psalms of Solomon was once in the Codex Alexandrinus' appendix, however, that section was ripped out at some point, and only the title survives. So far only eleven copies of the Psalms of Solomon have been found in ancient Septuagint manuscripts, all dating to between the 11th and 15th centuries, however, scholars generally assume the translation found in the Peshitta was made from a copy of the Septuagint sometime between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and that it was in early-Christian era copies of the Septuagint, as there are several references to it found in early Christian writing. It is universally agreed that the Psalms of Solomon is a pre-Christian work, as early Christian writers referred to it even though it is clearly not about the life of Jesus as described in the gospels. The question of when it was written remains largely debatable, and currently, the consensus is that it was likely written sometime between 63 and 1 BC, and that some chapters may be older, composed in the 2nd century BC. The idea that the bulk of the Psalms were written after 63 BC, hinges on the interpretation of the dragon in chapter 2 as the Roman General Pompey, who sacked Jerusalem in 63 BC. Overall, the sack of Jerusalem by Pompey does fit the dragon story, as he did enter at the invitation of the princes, and he did occupy the city and tear down its fortifications, and then drag of many Jews as slaves, however, he was not the only one to do this. In 609 BC, Pharaoh Necho II did the same thing. The psalm describes the dragon as wanting to rule both the land and the sea, which might have also been accurate for Pompey, however, by the 1st century, BC naval battles were common, and hardly worth mentioning, especially in regards to Pompey's battles in Syria and Judea, where no ships were used. However, in Necho's time, naval warfare was new, and he was the first Egyptian king to establish a national navy, hiring Greeks to sail his ships, as Egyptians were superstitious about sailing on open waters. Regardless of when it was composed, it is likely one of the only pre-Christian Nazarene text to make it into any version of the Christian Bible, although it was ultimately dropped in the Middle Ages. It appears to have never been used by any Jewish sect, unless one counts the ancient Nazarenes as Jewish. The author of the Psalms of Solomon's intent is to place a decendent of David on the throne of Judea, foreshadowing the events on the first few decades AD surrounding John, Jesus, James, and Jude.

Download or read book Septuagint 1 Kingdoms written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Products. This book was released on 2019-12-15 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The four books of the Kingdoms are believed to have been translated into Greek and added to the Septuagint around 200 BC when a large number of refugees fled from the war in Judea and settled in Egypt. The four books of the Kingdoms would later become two books in the Masoretic Texts, the books of Samuel and Kings. Subsequent Latin and English translations of the Masoretic Texts labeled these books as 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Samuel, and 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Kings. The Septuagint's 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms is the book called 1ˢᵗ Samuel in most Catholic and Protestant Bibles, and 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms in Orthodox and Coptic Bibles. This version differs slightly from the later Masoretic book of Samuel, although all three are generally similar. Unlike the Masoretic version, Saul does not repeatedly meet David for the first time, meaning that either the Greeks simplified the Aramaic texts they translated, or the Masoretic version is based on a different version of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms. While a Greek simplification of the text is the simplest explanation for the less-confusing narrative, it cannot explain why the Masoretic version has Saul meeting David for the first time in three unique stories, or, why the Greek translation has transliterated Hebrew words that are no longer in the Masoretic version. The origin of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms, along with the other five books of Kingdoms and Paralipomena, is a matter of great debate among scholars. The Bava Basra tractate of the Talmud, reports that the first 25 chapters of Masoretic Samuel, and therefore the first 25 chapters of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms, was written by the prophet Samuel, and the rest of Masoretic Samuel, which would be chapter 26 through 31 of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms and the entire book of 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms was written by the prophets Gad and Nathan. Samuel, Gad, and Nathan are all mentioned in 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Kingdoms, however, most biblical scholars have rejected the idea that they had anything to do with the authorship of these books for the past few hundred years. Almost all scholars in every era have agreed with the idea that the six books were based on the older, now lost, books of the Chronicles of the Kings of Samaria and Judea mentioned in the later books of Kingdoms. These six later books are generally accepted as having been written in the Babylonian or Persian era and then redacted in the Greek era or Hasmonean dynasty, however, the origin of the earlier works is a matter of debate. The language of 1ˢᵗ Kingdoms is archaic, and early sections dealing with Eli and Samuel read like a continuation of Judges, implying the original book of Judges continued until Saul seized power in 1037 BC.

Download or read book Septuagint 1 Maccabees written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 1ˢᵗ Maccabees tells the story of the Maccabean Revolt against the rule of the Seleucid Empire in the 2ⁿᵈ century BC. The content of 1ˢᵗ Maccabees appears to be a Sadducee text, as it gives all credit to the self-declared high priests that led the rebellion against the Greeks, occasionally mentioning the sky-god Shamayim or the earth-goddess Eretz. It also omits the names of the other gods that 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees and 3ʳᵈ Maccabees mention the Judeans worshiping, such as Dionysus, which supports its authorship in the Hasmonean Dynasty, when the other gods were no longer tolerated. Four books of Maccabees were ultimately added to the Septuagint, three in the 1ˢᵗ century BC, and the 4ᵗʰ as an appendix in the 1ˢᵗ century AD. No trace of these books has been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and they are generally thought to have been written in Greek. 1ˢᵗ and 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees do include several Aramaic loanwords that support an Aramaic source text. The Syriac Bibles also include a 5ᵗʰ Maccabees, which is a translation of book 6 of Josephus’ The Judean War. The Judean War is considered extended canon in the Ethiopic Bibles, however, the Ethiopic Bibles also include three books of Maccabees, which are not based on the Greek books, or Josephus. An Arabic book of Maccabees also exists, which is often mislabeled as 5ᵗʰ Maccabees in English language literature, because it was initially misidentified as being the same book as Syriac 5ᵗʰ Maccabees. The Arabic book is a translation of a Palestinian Aramaic book from circa 525 AD, which itself appears to be based on the Hebrew book of Maccabees, which surfaced much later. The Hebrew version of Maccabees was collected with other Hebrew language manuscripts from various eras in a Yiddish compilation in the 1300s. The Hebrew translation of Maccabees was likely composed in Iberia earlier than 500 AD and was probably based on an Aramaic text, along with an Iberian tale about Hannibal. The Aramaic text that was used is closely related to the text found in the Josippon, which is believed to have been composed in southern Italy in the 900s. The Josippon claims to be a copy of the book of Joseph ben Gurion, one of the leaders of the Judean Revolt of 66 AD. Joseph died in 68 AD, and Josephus, who survived the war, did not report that Joseph was a writer, however, it stands to reason his faction must have had some form of propaganda, likely based on the Maccabean Revolt. These Josippon-related versions of Maccabees are of very little historic value, as they are replete with historical errors. Their original function appears to have been to serve as inspiration rather than to educate.

Download or read book Septuagint Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2020-06-21 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira was likely the last book added to the Septuagint, in 132 BC, after Joshua ben Sira's grandson translated it in Alexandria. The book is known by several names, including Sirach, Wisdom of Sirach, Wisdom of Jesus Sirach, ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus, and the Book of the All-Virtuous Wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira. This diversity of names is based on the fact that the Masorites did not copy the text, however, an Aramaic copy and some fragments of the ancient Hebrew version have survived. As the Masorites did not copy the Wisdom of Solomon, it was ultimately dropped from most Protestant bibles, however, remains part of the Catholic, Orthodox, and Tewahedo Bibles. Hebrew and Aramaic fragments of the Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira were in circulation during the Herodian Dynasty, and fragments have survived among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the 2QSir, 11QPsa, and MasSir scrolls, however, the fragments may not have been part of a book called the Wisdom of Joshua Ben Sira. The 2QSir and MasSir scrolls are so damaged that they are barely recognizable as being excerpts from Joshua ben Sira, and the 11QPsa scroll, while being one of the best-preserved scrolls found in the Qumran caves, includes random psalms and proverbs from multiple sources, including excerpts from Joshua ben Sira. As the Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira was itself a collection of proverbs that Joshua had collected, it is possible that these scrolls may have simply drawn on the same sources. Some elements of the hedonistic version of Judaism remain in the Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira, including the reference to Iaw reacquiring Israel as his portion when the Highest God divided the nations of humanity between the princes. This is a reference to the 70 or 72 Elohim who were placed over the 70 or 72 nations of humans, in the early Second Temple era hedonistic form of Judaism. This was first mentioned in the Song of Moses, in Deuteronomy chapter 32, and then again in the Talmud which mentions the story of Dobiel, the 'prince of Persia' who was once the proxy for Gabriel in heaven for 21 days after Gabriel angered God by allowing the Jews to leave Babylon, when God wanted the Babylonians to kill them. While be was Gabriel's proxy Dobiel allowed the Persians to conquer the known world, which was the explanation of the sudden rise of the Persian Empire in the early Second Temple era. Dobiel was again referred to as the 'Prince of Persia' in the Revelation of Metatron, which listed Samael as the 'Prince of Rome.'

Download or read book Septuagint 4 Kingdoms written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2019-12-12 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Septuagint's 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms tells the history of the kingdoms of Samaria and Judah from circa 850 BC until the Babylonians conquered Judah circa 600 BC. This era of history is well documented in the historical records of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Babylonians, and unlike the earlier books of the Kingdoms, is generally accepted by historians. This era included the rise and fall of the Aramean Empire based in Damascus, the rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire farther north, the Assyrian wars against Egypt, and the sack of Thebes, and ultimately the rise of the Babylonian Empire. During this tumultuous time, the kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and Aram, which also appears to have been considered an Israelite kingdom by the prophet Ezekiel, struggled for survival and fell one by one to the expanding empires around them. Before the era of 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, Samara had established an empire, occupying the Aramean kingdoms of Damascus and Hama in modern Syria, which had ended suddenly when an earthquake had leveled Samaria. The earthquake was mentioned in the Book of Amos, and archaeological evidence of it is found throughout modern northern Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. It is estimated to have been between 7.8 and 8.2 on the Richter Scale, and aftershocks likely lasted around 6 months. In the aftermath, Damascus rose to form its own Aramean empire, occupying Hama, and northern Samaria, as well as Gilead in southern modern Syria, which had been part of Samaria since the division of Israel into Samaria and Judah. However, as Assyria began to expand to the north, Samaria and Aram formed an anti-Assyria alliance, and the Samarian forces were stationed in Aram to help defend the northern border from the Assyrians. Judah was invited to join the alliance, but instead formed an alliance with the Assyrians and invaded and pillaged Samaria and southern Aram. Judah continued to be an ally of Assyria as the Assyrians conquered Aram, Samaria, and Sidon which had also allied with them. Fortunately, as Samaria finally fell to the Assyrians after a three-year campaign, the king of Assyria died, sparking a civil war between rival heirs. This civil war provided Judah with almost twenty years to build up defenses, and King Hezekiah built extensively across his kingdom. Archaeological evidence of Hezekiah's construction projects is common in the region around Jerusalem, and the southern region of the Palestinian West Bank, including the Broad Wall in Jerusalem, and the Siloam Tunnel, which connected Jerusalem with a water source outside the walls of the city. Ancient records of anti-siege artillery on the walls of Jerusalem also exist, likely ballistas or catapults, so, it is clear the Judahites knew they would be next. While the Assyrians did lay siege to Jerusalem according to 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms, they were not able to conquer the city. The Assyrian Annals record the campaign against Judah and record the cities they captured, which did not include Jerusalem, and so historians accept the general account of what happened found in 4ᵗʰ Kingdoms.

Download or read book Septuagint Odes written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the mid-3rd century BC, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt ordered a translation of the ancient Hebrew scriptures for the Library of Alexandria. The creation of the Septuagint resulted from this order. It is generally accepted that there were several versions of the ancient Hebrew and Samaritan scriptures before the translation of the Septuagint. The Book of Odes is not believed to have been added until the 3rd-century AD, and is the only specifically Christian book to be added to the Septuagint. It includes the older Prayer of Manasseh, which was found in some copies of the Septuagint, but not all. The Prayer of Manasseh is believed to have been added in the 2nd-century BC, which is why it is not found in all copies. The current scholarly view is that it was likely written in Greek, and is not the original Prayer of Manasseh mentioned in the Septuagint's 2nd Paraleipomenon. Fragments of a different Prayer of Manasseh have been discovered among the dead sea scrolls, written in Hebrew, which could be the original, however, it is more likely that the original would have been written in Canaanite (Samaritan, Paleo-Hebrew) than Hebrew, and therefore it is still not clear which, if either, is the original Prayer of Manasseh. Most of the other songs and prayers in the Book of Odes are copied from other books found in the Septuagint, although not exactly word for word. These songs and prayers include works attributed to Moses, Hannah the mother of Samuel, King Hezekiah, the prophets Habakkuk, Isaiah, Jonah, Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael. Additionally, the Odes includes specifically Christian prayers copied from either the Gospel of Luke, by Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, Simeon, and in some manuscripts Mary the God-Bearer.

Download or read book Septuagint Ecclesiastes written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book of Ecclesiastes is generally attributed to King Solomon, however, he is not mentioned anywhere by name. Within the book the author is mentioned as being someone called the ‘ecclêsiastou’ in Greek, meaning approximately ‘female cleric,’ and qōhelet in Hebrew, possibly meaning ‘female member of the community.’ The Masoretic term probably originated in the Egyptian term qải henut, meaning ‘high queen,’ suggesting the author was Solomon’s first wife. If qải henut were transliterated directly into Canaanite in the era of Solomon, it would have been qhnt, which could have been rendered as qhlt by mistransliterating an L for an N. The current view of the academic community is to regard the text as a Persian or Greek era text, something that dates to long after the time of Solomon. There is no consensus among academics as to whether it is a Persian or Greek era text, and views are largely biased by the researcher’s view of the text, and whether it looks like it is more influenced by Plato or Zoroastrianism to that specific researcher. In all fairness, the text’s constant references to the dichotomy of light and darkness is similar to some of Plato’s work, as well as the central conflict within Zoroastrianism of light versus darkness, however, the constant mentioning of ‘everything under the Sun’ could equally point to an Egyptian influence of Amen-Ra worshipers, Atum devotees, or even Atenists. Moreover, the philosophical view of the texts, in which the toil of this life is seen as insignificant in comparison to the life in heaven, is far more in tune with Egyptian New-Kingdom era philosophy than Greek or Persian philosophy, indicating that the text may well date back to the time of Solomon. As most major Christians denominations now agree that the Proverbs ‘of Solomon’ include proverbs copied from the ancient Egyptian text called the ‘Wisdom of Amenemope’ (or Instructions of Amenemope), there is a clear precedent for New-Kingdom era Egyptian wisdom literature influencing the works traditionally associated with King Solomon, and therefore, there is no reason to rule out Ecclesiastes as dating back to circa 950 BC. As archaeologists have yet to find evidence that King Solomon existed, he is generally considered to be a fictional character by historians, however, the fact that the Book of Proverbs attributed to him includes quotes from an ancient Egyptian source does lend some creditably to his being a historical person.

Download or read book Autobiography of Thoth the Nobleman written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thoth the Nobleman was a herald of Queen Hatshepsut and her young son Thutmose III, who seems to have died while she was still ruling Egypt, as his autobiography refers to her as the King of Egypt. After she died, Thutmose III tried to remove all records of her being king, although she was still mentioned in newly written biographies as the 'divine wife' and 'chief royal wife' of Pharaoh Thutmose II. Thoth the Nobleman reports that he was trusted by Queen Hatshepsut more than anyone else, as he kept quiet about what was happening in the palace. This statement may not be entirely true as the architect Senenmut is generally considered to have been her lover. Another theory is that Senenmut may have been a homosexual friend of hers, which would then open the possibility that Thoth the Nobleman was her lover. Graffiti depicting a female or hermaphrodite pharaoh having sex with a man was discovered in an incomplete temple near the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, which is generally assumed to have been a representation of Senenmut, however, only the image survives without any writing that identifies the man, who could have been any Egyptian man, including Thoth the Nobleman, or simply intended as a representative figure of a generic male intended to insult the 'king' by depicting 'him' as a female. As this graffiti is depicted close to the massive and iconic Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, it is clear that at least some of the men in Egypt did not view her as a 'king' even late in her reign, which supports the rebellion of the 'Wicked-Evil Kushite' in the Syrian Rivers province for the first eight years of her reign in the Septuagint's Book of Judges. Thoth the Nobleman described working on many major projects throughout the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, including her Mortuary Temple, the Temples at Karnak, and the mysterious Hahut, a great sanctuary of Amen on his horizon in the west, which may have been an early reference to the Oracle Temple of Amen in the Siwa Oasis. Thoth the Nobleman also reported working on the ceremonial boat of Amen called 'Amen's Mighty of Prow.' Three centuries later, when the High Priest of Amen Her-Heru attempted to replicate this deed, it led to the problematic Voyage of Wenamen.

Download or read book Memories of the New Kingdom Collection written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2020-10-03 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New Kingdom era of Egyptian history emerged from the darkness of the Second Intermediate Period, when the Theban dynasty drove out the Hyksos from Egypt, and went on the conquer Canaan, and Nubia. The Hyksos dynasty appears to have been largely as a result of the Minoan eruption in Greece, which darkened the sky of Egypt and blanketed northern Egypt with up to 2 meters (6 feet) in ash. The Tempest Stele from Karnak described the effects of the storm reaching all the war to southern Egypt during the era of Ahmose I, the Pharaoh that ultimately drove the Hyksos from Egypt. This period of destruction was shortly before Ahmose I launched his successful invasion of Northern Egypt and captured the Hyksos capital of Avaris. The Autobiography of Ahmose Pen-Ebana covers many of the early battles that forged the Egyptian New Kingdom, including the Battle of Avaris, and the subsequent Battle of Sharuhen a few years later, which resulted in Egypt taking control over the entire former Hyksos dominion. Ahmose Pen-Ebana is often described as an Egyptian Admiral, however, his career in the Egyptian navy encompassed decades under the service of a series of Pharaohs, including Ahmose I, Amenhotep I, and Thutmose I, spanning more than 50 years from circa 1550 to the 1490s BC. As he described himself as a youth at the Battle of Avaris, where he served as his father's replacement in the fleet, it is likely that he did not retire until he was over 60. He listed extensive campaigns throughout his life, mostly in northern Sudan along the Nile and Yellow Nile, before the pharaoh turned his attention to the north, and sent them to occupy Syria. The herald Ahmose Pen-Nekhbet's biography covers much of the same era, however, his viewpoint was that of a pharaoh's herald instead of a soldier, therefore, he only mentions the battles that the pharaoh was present at. The first battle that Pen-Nekhbet partook in was the battle in Djahy under Amenhotep I, which may have been the Battle of Sharuhen, or a later battle in southern Canaan. He only reported being present at one battle in Nubia, unlike the extensive campaigns that Pen-Ebana fought in, however, also reported battles against the Libyans of the Saharan oases and a major invasion of Syria. Pen-Nekhbet served much longer than Pen-Ebana, serving the Pharaohs Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, and Hatshepsut, spanning approximately 70 years between 1540 through the 1470s BC. He reported being an old man during Hatshepsut's lifetime and carrying the infant princess Neferure, which would have been in around 1480 BC.

Download or read book Hebrew Maccabees written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2024-01-17 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hebrew Maccabees is one of the stranger Hebrew books to have survived to the present and is either a relic of the oldest surviving book about Judas the Hammer, or a remarkably heretical medieval forgery. There is no academic consensus on what it is, and few scholars have bothered to comment on it. The book deals with the life of Judas ‘the Maccabee,’ which is of little interest to Christians. His life is of interest to Jews, however, almost all books dealing with the Maccabean Revolt are rejected as scripture in Rabbinical Judaism. Jews generally treat the Septuagint’s 1st and 2nd Maccabees, and Josephus’ Antiquities of the Judeans as historical texts of debatable accuracy, while using the Megillat Taanit and Megillat Antiochus as sources on how Hanukkah should be practiced. Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, is a holiday based on the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that happened when Judas occupied Jerusalem. The festival continues, but all records of what happened are lost or ignored. The Megillat Taanit dates to the 1st century AD, and Megillat Antiochus dates to the 2nd century AD, and neither is considered a historically reliable source by academics. This suggests that what actually happened in the time of Judas was actively suppressed during the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties, likely because Judas was later viewed as a heretic. In most of the books featuring Judas, he reports seeing angelic horsemen that no one else could see. These horsemen are clearly part of Judas’ story, however, if they were, in fact, angels riding horses, then Judas would be a prophet. Yet, he is not accepted as a prophet in Judaism or Christianity. The idea of angels riding horses is itself unheard of in Israelite and Judahite texts, other than in texts related to Judas, which suggests he may have actually been following a different religion. During the era of the Maccabean Revolt, the high priest in Jerusalem was not a Judahite, but a Phrygian named Philip. The Phrygians worshiped Sabazdiôs, the great horseman of the sky, who was represented by a hand. The Greeks interpreted the Phrygian Sabazdiôs and Judahite Sabaoth as two forms of Dionysus. In 2ⁿᵈ Maccabees, Dionysus is used as the name of the god worshiped in the temple in Jerusalem under Greek rule. Sabaoth was recorded by the Greeks of the Hellenistic era as the name of the Judahite god, based on the Aramaic ṣbảwt, meaning ‘desires.’ However, this word took on a very different meaning as Classical Hebrew formed during the Maccabean Revolt, becoming a word meaning ‘armies’ or ‘battles.’ The duel meanings of ‘ṣbảwt’ in Semitic languages go back to very ancient times, where the oldest recorded form was the Akkadian ṣābum, meaning ‘soldier.’ Over thousands of years, the name transitioned to ‘server’ and finally ‘desires’ in Aramaic and ‘abundance’ in Arabic. When the Hasmonean dynasty decided to ‘restore’ the Hebrew language, many ancient words and meanings were introduced to the Judahite dialect of Canaanite, resulting in the new Hebrew language having many archaic terms, including ṣbảwt. The name Sabaoth is used in the Septuagint, generally where the Masoretic texts used the word ‘armies,' which has resulted in many modern academics simply accepting this as a mistranslation, however, in Hebrew Maccabees, Judas is repeatedly referred to as the ‘Anointed of Sabaoth,’ confirming that if nothing else, the author viewed Sabaoth as a proper god. While it is natural to assume that the Maccabean Revolt was about getting rid of the worship of Sabaoth / Sabazios / Dionysus, as recounted in 2nd Maccabees, this book contradicts that, and reports that Judas was a Sabaoth worshiper. Moreover, there is some incidental evidence of the continuation of Sabaoth worship under the rule of the Hasmoneans in the writing of Josephus, and also the Babylonian Talmud.

Download or read book Septuagint 2 Paralipomenon written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Digital Ink Productions. This book was released on 2019-11-03 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The term Paralipomena, which means 'things left out,' is a general translation of Divrei-hayyamim, which means 'things in the days.' The books are a collection of texts from various eras of Israelite history, spanning the era of the old Israelite Kingdoms, circa 1000 BC, through the Persian conquest, of circa 539 BC. Scholars have debated the origin of the books throughout their history, and there is no consensus within Rabbinical literature, Christian literature, or modern scholarship. The general Rabbinical view is that the two books of Paralipomena were written by one author, as Divrei-hayyamim, and then translated into Greek. The dominant early Christian view was that the books were written by Ezra the Scribe, circa 350 BC, however, this view was generally abandoned in Western Europe during the Protestant Reformation. Modern scholarly analysis has no consensus, however, the books do themselves indicate the eras they were compiled, nevertheless, the authors remain unknown. Based on the references within 2ⁿᵈ Paralipomenon to the Egyptian king Osorkon I as a Kushite, parts of the book must have been compiled sometime between 943 and 716 BC, when Egypt was part of the Kushite Empire, while later sections of 2ⁿᵈ Paralipomenon must have been compiled sometime after 539 BC, when Cyrus the Great conquered the Babylonian Empire. The surviving Hebrew text of Divrei-hayyamim does, however, contain a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem as the 'Temple of the Gods,' which means the original text of the book has to predate King Josiah's reforms of circa 625 BC, and likely predates King Hezekiah's similar reforms decades earlier. Both Hezekiah and Josiah are recorded as removing the idols of the gods from the temple, which had by all accounts been in the temple since it was built by King Solomon.

Download or read book Septuagint Tobit Sinaiticus Version written by Scriptural Research Institute and published by Scriptural Research Institute. This book was released on 2021-02-26 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Tobit appears to be from an older sect of Judaism, likely the one led by the 'false priest' Tobiah, who was expelled from the temple by Ezra when his genealogy could not be proven in 2ⁿᵈ Ezra. 2ⁿᵈ Ezra was the version of Ezra used by the Pharisee sect which emerged under the Hasmonean Dynasty, while Tobit, along with Enoch, Jubilees, and Job appears to have primarily been used by the Essenes sects. The Book of Tobit is generally viewed as fiction by most scholars for a variety of reasons. One major reason it is viewed as fiction is the presence of Tobit's cousin Ahikar, in both versions of the book, who is the protagonist of the Words of Ahikar, a book set in the same era, which is also considered fiction. It is quite clear from the text of Tobit, that it is the same Ahikar, and not just someone with the same name, as Ahikar's betrayal by his nephew is mentioned, which is part of the early section of Ahikar. Nevertheless, both books, Tobit and Ahikar survive in various forms, meaning that they were edited multiple times before the versions that survive to the present were transcribed. The surviving copies of the Septuagint include two versions of the Book of Tobit, the more common form, found in the Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus, and most other surviving copies of the Septuagint, and the less common version found in the Codex Sinaiticus. The differences between the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus versions of Tobit are too extensive to treat the books as the same book, however, their story is essentially the same. The two books must have had a common source, however, the Sinaiticus's version is over 20% longer than the Vaticanus's version, and appears to be an older version of Tobit. One of the reasons that the Book of Tobit is interpreted as fiction, is the existence of historical errors and anachronisms found in the Vaticanus version, which includes the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Persian king Ahasuerus jointly destroying Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Nineveh was sacked by Babylonian King Nabopolassar in 612 BC, along with Median and Persian allies, led by the Median King Cyaxares, who then integrated the city into his Median Empire. Nabopolassar's son Nebuchadnezzar, who assumed the throne in 605 BC, finally conquered the remnants of the Assyrian forces in Syria at the Battle of Carchemish that same year, however, he did not attack or destroy Nineveh. Meanwhile, the name Ahasuerus was the Aramaic name of Xerxes, the Persian king who ruled between 486 and 465 BC.