BAMBINO (BRIT-AM BIBLICAL ISRAEL NEWS ONLINE)
Discussion of the Bible, Biblical History, Lost Israelite Tribes Identity in the Light of the Bible and other matters relating to Scripture.

BAMBINO no. 30
24 Tevet 5769, 10 january 2010
Contents:
1. Charlotte Mecklenburg: Creationism and Evolution
2.
Machon Shilo: Torah Web Site of Interest
3. New Find: A Biblical Message From the 900s BCE.
(a)
Physorg.Com
Most Ancient Hebrew biblical inscription deciphered
(b) Israel National News
KING DAVID ERA POTTERY SHARD SUPPORTS BIBLICAL NARRATIVE
by
Avi Yellin



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1. Charlotte Mecklenburg: Creationism and Evolution
re BHR-26
#2. Questions on the Questions. Proof for Creationism or Against Evolution?

http://www.britam.org/BHR/BHR26.html#Questions

  Do we have to Dovetail Creation with Evolution?
 by Charlotte Mecklenburg

Some people that believe there is a gap between Genesis 1:1-2 and the six days of creation are accused of trying to dovetail creation story with evolution. The Bible Society says in one of their commentaries that there is no Biblical basis for the gap theory. So, it looks like someone needs to straighten me out because the following is what I see from scripture.
 
 All the arguments about creation did not convince me that one person was right over another. It was obvious to me from childhood that evolution was some idea made up in the mind of someone who didn't believe in God. But the matter of six days or billions of years is even argued among Creationists. Perhaps it shouldn't make any difference but I find myself wanting to make sense of all the arguments about it.
 
There are several scriptures I would like the reader to have a look at:
Is. 45:18 ,  For this is what the LORD says he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited he says:  " am the LORD, and there is no other".
 
This is the verse that made me question whether Genesis 1;1-2 were included in the six days of creation. It is rather emphatic though that the Lord did this and no other. Eventually, the way I wrestled with this was the two words in Hebrew "boreh" and "asa". The first word "boreh" means to create something from the unseen realm and the word "asa" means to form or make something from material.  You will find there is a scripture that says Adam was both created and made. God formed him first from the ground but it was that breath or spirit breathed into him that made him a creation.
 
In this scripture God is saying through Isaiah that he created the heavens and the earth and he did not create it for the purpose of being formless and empty. Therefore, after he created it, he then formed it.
 
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen. 1:2
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
 
These verses say to me that God created from some unseen substance (Words are unseen.) the heavens and the earth. The words made a material universe. The NIV which I have quoted here uses the word "Now" at the beginning of the next sentence. However, KJV and the Hebrew use the word "and". The word "and" does not designate a time. It could have been immediately or it could have been billions of years later. It really doesn't matter to God. He is eternal and sees everything as if it is now. But one thing we know for sure, either He created it formless and empty or something made it become formless and empty. Do we really think He spoke it into being with it shrouded in darkness and covered with water and then turned around the same day and spoke again and said, "let there be light"?
 
He spoke and His word rolled back the darkness, whatever that darkness might have been.  Darkness usually indicates, something that opposes God. Maybe He is talking about some kind of interference to what He is doing. If so we don't know what it was or when it happened.
 
I have come to the conclusion, that there is nothing here to indicate time, or how much time from this original creating out of the unseen went by or when chaos came over the earth. We do not know when God decided it was time to make the earth inhabitable. We saw in the Isaiah scripture that He created it and He made it.
 
Gen. 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
Gen. 1:4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
Gen. 1:5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning the first day.
Gen. 1:6  And God said, 'Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.'
Gen. 1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.

 
You will see that in each of the days that God is working with physical matter in making the earth inhabitable. Light is a form of matter. The waters are already there and He separates them. Then you see Him forming the earth by the water that runs off of it.  He calls the plants and animals out of the ground. That is like a resurrection. The sun, moon and stars, are moved into place so that they serve a purpose for the earth. I have no question that this is done in six - twenty four hour days. A thousand years in between each and the plants would not survive without the animals and birds to pollinate them.
 
Ex. 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
 
When the scriptures speak later about a new heaven and new earth, will it be something out of the unseen. I suspect we are going to get a renewed heaven and earth. In my mind that is what the word redemption and salvation means. We don't know how many times He has done it. Certainly during Noah's time He renewed the earth and it was different after the flood than it was before the flood.
 
Will science eventually submit to the record in the Bible? I believe the record in the earth will tell the story. Are we worried about the bones that are found, supposedly more than 5000 years ago? Remember, we do not know how long Adam lived before he sinned and whether or not he had sons or daughters before the fall. They lived in eternity and we do not know what happened between the time he was made a living person and when he sinned. Our story starts with Adam sinning being expelled from the garden.
 
Look at Ezekiel 31 the prophet speaks of nations and leaders that are in the garden of God. God may be looking at the nations of the time of Ezekiel and their potential to be in His garden but it also could include a reflective time back before when there actually was a garden of Eden. These nations blossomed then and were pleasing to the Lord but they became proud and forgot who the Lord and King of the garden is. As it says the present nations will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below. There apparently were some leaders and nations in the garden that were brought low and this will also happen to the nation that is mentioned here, Egypt to be specific and also Assyria and Lebanon.
 
God's book is the truth.  All other truth will line up with it. Whether I understand it correctly or not, we will eventually know what is true.




 2. Machon Shilo: Torah Web Site of Interest
Machon Shilo (www.machonshilo.org) features articles and lectures etc by HaRav [i.e. The Rabbi] David Bar-Hayim.
Rabbi David Bar-Hayim in the past was sympathetic (with reservations) towards Brit-Am.
His opinions are interesting but controversial and in many cases we ourselves might not agree with them.
Nevertheless, sometimes controversial topics and opinions are what is needed to arouse and maintain our interest and Rabbi  Bar-Hayim may be relied upon to provide just that.



3. New Find: A Biblical Message From the 900s BCE.

(a) Physorg.Com
 Most Ancient Hebrew biblical inscription deciphered:
http://www.physorg.com/news182101034.html

January

Magazine A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription on a pottery shard discovered in the Elah valley dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing.

Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who deciphered the inscription: "It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research."

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing. The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.

The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Elah valley. The inscription was dated back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David's reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another local language.

Prof. Galil's deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to its being Hebrew, based on the use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language, and content specific to Hebrew culture and not adopted by any other cultures in the region. "This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans. It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah ("did") and avad ("worked"), which were rarely used in other regional languages. Particular words that appear in the text, such as almanah ("widow") are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages. The content itself was also unfamiliar to all the cultures in the region besides the Hebrew society: The present inscription provides social elements similar to those found in the biblical prophecies and very different from prophecies written by other cultures postulating glorification of the gods and taking care of their physical needs," Prof. Galil explains.

This undated picture released by the University of Haifa shows an ancient inscription on a piece of pottery in early Hebrew writing. The 3,000 year-old inscription discovered at a site where the Bible says David slew Goliath has been deciphered, showing it to be the earliest known Hebrew writing, Israeli archaeologists said.
He adds that once this deciphering is received, the inscription will become the earliest Hebrew inscription to be found, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE. This stands opposed to the dating of the composition of the Bible in current research, which would not have recognized the possibility that the Bible or parts of it could have been written during this ancient period.

Prof. Galil also notes that the inscription was discovered in a provincial town in Judea. He explains that if there were scribes in the periphery, it can be assumed that those inhabiting the central region and Jerusalem were even more proficient writers. "It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century BCE, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel." He adds that the complexity of the text discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa, along with the impressive fortifications revealed at the site, refute the claims denying the existence of the Kingdom of Israel at that time.

The contents of the text express social sensitivity to the fragile position of weaker members of society. The inscription testifies to the presence of strangers within the Israeli society as far back as this ancient period, and calls to provide support for these strangers. It appeals to care for the widows and orphans and that the king - who at that time had the responsibility of curbing social inequality - be involved. This inscription is similar in its content to biblical scriptures (Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, Exodus 23:3, and others), but it is clear that it is not copied from any biblical text.

More information: English translaton of the deciphered text:

1' you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2' Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3' [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4' the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5' Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
Provided by University of Haifa

(b) Israel National News
KING DAVID ERA POTTERY SHARD SUPPORTS BIBLICAL NARRATIVE
by
Avi Yellin
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135432
Extracts:
A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew Scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible books of the Prophets were written. Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign) and has proven the inscription to be ancient Hebrew, thus making it the earliest known example of Hebrew writing.
The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the Biblical scriptures are now proven to have been composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.
The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15x16.5cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Professor Yosef Garfinkel near the Elah valley, south of Jerusalem, and west of Hevron.
The researchers dated the inscription back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David?s reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another Semitic language.
Professor Galil's deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to it being authentic Hebrew based on its use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language and content specific to Hebrew culture not adopted by other regional cultures at the time.
?This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans. It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as "asah" (did) and "avad" (worked), which were rarely used in other regional languages. Particular words that appear in the text, such as "almana" (widow) are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages. The content itself was also unfamiliar to all the cultures in the region besides the Hebrew society: The present inscription provides social elements similar to those found in the Biblical prophecies and very different from prophecies written by other cultures postulating glorification of the gods and taking care of their physical needs?
Galil added that once this deciphering is received at research centers, the inscription will become the earliest Hebrew inscription to be found, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE. This stands opposed to the dating of the composition of the Bible in much current academic research, which does not recognize the possibility that the Bible or parts of it could have been written during this ancient period.
Galil also noted that the inscription was discovered in a provincial Judean town, explaining that if there were scribes in the periphery, it can be assumed that those inhabiting the central region and Jerusalem were even more proficient writers. ?It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century BCE, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel.? He added that the complexity of the text, along with the impressive fortifications revealed at the site, refute theories that attempt to deny the existence of the Kingdom of Israel at that time.
The contents of the text express social sensitivity to the fragile position of weaker members of society and the inscription testifies to the presence of strangers within the Israeli society as far back as this ancient period, calling on native Hebrews to provide support for these strangers. It advocates care for widows and orphans and encourages the king, who at that time had the responsibility of curbing social inequality, to be involved in improving Israeli society. This inscription is similar in its content to Biblical scriptures (Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, Exodus 23:3, and others), but according to Galil it is not copied from any Biblical text.






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