Happy Passover

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Non-biblical primary sources are not necessarily reliable. Take some Assyrian chronicles. Assyrian kings seem prone at times to self-laudatory propaganda. In contrast, the Tanak (Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament) frequently contains events far from flattering to the protagonists. That said, your challenge is a worthy one. So what percentage of those assembled in this forum have sufficient knowledge of both the biblical and non-biblical primary sources to adequately confront this task? This should bring some fruitful discussion. Well, interesting discussion; whether it bears fruit remains to be seen.

I have followed that link, Machine. The article quoting Dr. Hawass does not provide as much infromation as I would like; I remain at a loss for what precisely the nature of the archaeological discovery in North Sinai was. Admittedly it was cited by one themselves not agreeing with the article. They seem quite polemical (the contrast of the "debunking" of Jewish and Christian belief with a lack of archaeological questioning Muhammad's ascension in the night journey from the rock on Mount Moriah/ Haram es-Sharif seems to me gratuitously anti-Muslim and irrelevant to the point under discussion, so perhaps they are not above a selective quotation of the original article. Still, I would like more information. I assume the reference to "one" piece of archaeological evidence for Jewish presence was to the rather later presence at Elephantine (what about later still in Ptolemaic times) which does not appear to have much connection to the period relevant to the Exodus.

Also, cliche though it may be, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." The article as displayed on the site the link led to did not provide a very compelling case one way or the other. Now, I am aware that archaeologists such as Israel Finkelstein have interpreted the evidence of artefacts to debunk much of the account in the Tanak Old Testament (not just Exodus but later history as well) but even while I am only a BAHons majoring in history, an interpretation is not a decisive edict that all scholars will be unanimous in acknowledging to be "reality" or "the truth"; in the words of La Trobe University Doctor Anne Gardner (not a religious believer of either Jewish or Christian persuasion, but an expert on the history of both faiths and knowledgeable about ancient near eastern history more generally) once observed,
"Scholars are a fairly suspicious lot." Incidentally, she was fairly sceptical herself, but not to the point of a dogmatic refusal to consider the Biblical account as a primary source like others.

No, it means 'blessed be the Lord' it is a way of saying 'thank you!' towards God creator of the universe and all in it.

The whole frase goes:
Baruch ata Adonai, Elohe'inu Melech ha'olam => Baruch = Blessed, ata = you, Adonai = God, melech = king, ha'olam = universe or the world but more than just Earth

Star

Thank you for correcting my benighted ignorance. I have only one semester of Hebrew from first semester last year (though I will do another unit of Hebrew next semester this year) compared to three of koine Greek, and two of Classical Greek years ago. I am eager to learn. I was, however able to recognise most of the words in the full blessing. I am studying theology. Before hand I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History, the third year included two units on Ancient Israel; there was also some material in Ancient Civilisations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Canaan, Israel and Greece) in first year as well as in Interpreting Ancient Texts.

Maybe I can help you with both languages I speak Greek (koina ellinika) and Hebrew. Greek I speak better than Hebrew but I can still help you if you have questions.

I am also interested in the ancient civilizations of Israel and Greece, and would like to talk with you about any of these topics.

Star

Delighted to make your acquaintance, Star. I would indeed be interested in discussing the ancient histories of Israel and Greece. As far as linguistics goes, I have actually done well with Greek and with the limited acquaintance with Hebrew, at least in terms of results, but obviously my knowledge is flawed and I would be eager to learn more. Keeping Hebrew refreshed in my mind between now and next semester would also be desirable.

Is the koina ellinika you speak of modern Demotic Greek or the Koine that was once a lingua franca in a good part of the ancient world and used in writing the New Testament? I have some books on modern Greek, though I have not studied it formally (in a class setting with a lecturer) as I have with Classical and Koine Greek (even there my fluency is probably very limited). I had two semesters of Classical Greek (the Attic of the Classical period) along with other subjects in history, literature and other disciplines in the first year of my Bachelor of Arts in 2001; the following year at La Trobe a second year level was discontinued due to lack of numbers, a great shame. I had a brief acquaintance with New Testament Koine with a interrupted series of private classes with a university chaplain, Helen Bell; my first acquaintance, beyond forms and names of letters from the sections in Psalm 119 and a few words, with Hebrew was in auditing a reading class at the time I was studying Ancient Israel B (there were two semesters, one from the patriarchs to the Babylonian captivity, one continuing right into the Hellenistic age about as far as the Maccabees) but pressures of my actual assessed subjects led to my not keeping up with these classes to my great regret. Koine Greek in earnest was in the first and second semesters of 2005 (when I began my theological degree) and the first semester of the following year, when I also studied a unit of Hebrew (with Masoretic vowel-pointings).

What would you like to discuss about the history of the civilisations of Israel and Greece, to both of which we are so indebted? Sorry if I went on to long about myself in the above paragraph.