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This is exciting stuff! The passage in the Tanakh (which most people in this country call the Old Testament) that is referenced here is:
"When Jerusalem was taken, all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon." (This is from the New Revised Standard Version, Angicized Edition). "Sarsechim" is the name, and "Rabsaris" is the title "Chief Officer" or, alternatively "Chief of Eunuchs". The event to which is refers is the story of the fall of Jerusalem's first Jewish Temple, commonly called Solomon's Temple.
It is very unusual to find ANY new direct sources for this period, and pretty much, scholars that work on that period spend their time studying over and over the same material.
What is cool about Jewish scripture though (aka, Old Testament), is that the ancient Jews were EXTREMELY careful about the accuracy of the copies. The Dead Sea Scrolls included much older copies of many of the books, and these copies are virtually identical to newer copies, even when separated in age by hundred of years.
The only thing is, most people read these books as "religious texts" rather than "historic documents" (contrary to what they may claim). Reading them as historic documents, in my mind, is MUCH more exciting than as religious texts. The story they tell is amazing
Sunday, July 15, 2007
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2 comments:
This was interesting. I've realized over the years that I'm more scientist than faithful religionist. I've felt for years that the more that ancient texts are studied, the more history we can confirm in religious texts.
I've also had a passing acquaintance with several cultures' creation myths, catastrophe myths [the Great Flood not being unique to Hebraic mythology], and deeds of heroic figures [like links between the stories of Osiris and Jesus]. I've been amazed at how much Christianity has borrowed or pre-empted from many cultures and other religions.
This is very true. The ancient texts were copied with extreme accuracy. However, what many people fail to realize, is that they are all written from a certain point of view. Originally, there were probably more than one point of view for many of them, but those points of view were not preserved as part of the "cannon"
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