A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University and the non-profit research and education organisation, EcoOcean has claimed to have found a site off the coast of Turkey whether [sic] the great flood of Noah, as described in the Bible, took place.
The school had accused the group of “harassment” and “hazing” in its acts of evangelism and service, and a few months later kicked the group off campus.
The bigger issue, Page said, is that members of local churches have taken to using blogs to carry on bitter debates about problems within their own congregations.
“It just presents a very poor and very public airing of the dirty laundry in church business,” he said. “I’m trying to tell churches, please, let’s deal with our problems in a more civil and, yes, more private fashion.”
I posted yesterday about Austrian Assyriologist Michael Jursa’s (Wikipedia) discovery of the name Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch of Nebuchadnezzar II, on a 2,500-year-old stone tablet.
Some consider this to be of monumental importance, calling it “the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years,” others “a fantastic discovery, a world-class find.” Still others think it is being blown out of proportion.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the details.
The tablet 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.
The supposed significance of this is that it confirms the historicity of some of the details in Jeremiah 39, which records the Babylonian seige on Jerusalem. In Jeremiah 39:3, there is mention of Nebo-Sarsekim (a supposed alternate spelling of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin), who is described as an official of Nebuchanezzar II, the king of Babylon. The name, description, and time period all seem to match.
Initially I couldn’t make sense of the details because texts and translations divide the names differently in Jeremiah 39:3 (and neither the ESV nor the Hebrew text have the name Nebo-Sarsekim).
The Hebrew text treats Nebo-Sarsekim as two words rather than one (combining נבו with the previous word סמגר). This reading is followed by the Vulgate and many English translations (ESV, HCSB, ASV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, KJV, NKJV, GNT, and LB.).
VUL: et ingressi sunt omnes principes regis Babylonis et sederunt in porta media Neregel Sereser Semegar Nabu Sarsachim Rabsares Neregel Sereser Rebmag et omnes reliqui principes regis Babylonis.
ESV: Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon.
The Septuagint treats the radicals נבו (nebo) as part of the following word (שר־סכים) forming the single name Nebo-Sarsekim. Several English translations follow the LXX over the Hebrew text (NET, NIV, CEV, and NCV).
NET: Then Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim, who was a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, who was a high official, and all the other officers of the king of Babylon came and set up quarters in the Middle Gate.
NIV: Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon.
For further study on this issue, see the NET Bible note on this verse as well as
F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations, vol. 16, NAC (Nashville: B&H, 1993), 341, n. 71;
J. Bright, Jeremiah, AB, 243;
William McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Jeremiah (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1986), 973;
Gerald L. Keown, Jeremiah 26–52, vol. 27, WBC (Dallas: Word, 2002), 226, 28, 30.
Conclusion
Getting back to the main issue: what does this actually prove? Here’s the tentative conclusion of one who is working outside his field:
It’s an exciting find and significant from an archaeological standpoint as it seems that it is extrabiblical confirmation of the accuracy of some historical details in the book of Jeremiah, which is no surprise to those committed to the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. (An OT PhD friend of mine noted that most critical scholars don’t really question the historical details of Jeremiah anyway.)
It also seems to have significance for biblical scholars concerning how to divide the names in Jeremiah 39:3. Prior to this discovery, there was uncertainty on how to divide the names. Now, it seems that we may have evidence in support of the LXX reading.
It is probably not as earth-shattering as some are making it out to be and certainly isn’t the most significant biblical archaeological discovery of the last one hundred years. The Dead Sea Scrolls were without question a far more significant discovery.
See our previous post, which I will update as new coverage becomes available:
Austrian Assyriologist Michael Jursa (Wikipedia) has discovered a 2,500-year-old stone tablet bearing the name Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon. Here is the full translation of the tablet:
(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.
The name, date, and identification of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin as the chief eunuch purportedly match and confirm the historical accuracy of the account in Jeremiah, which in 39:3 refers to Nebo-Sarsekim as a chief officer of Nebuchadnezzar II in the context of the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC.
Evidence from non-Biblical sources of people named in the Bible is not unknown, but Nabu-sharrussu-ukin would have been a relatively insignificant figure.
“This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find,” Dr Finkel said yesterday. “If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, 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.”
Some are calling this “the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years.”
I’m still trying to make sense out of this. I don’t have a Hebrew text and lexicon handy, so I can’t make sense of the details yet. I’ll check on this tonight and post an update tomorrow.
Herod the Great, who ruled over Judaea from about 37 to 4 BC, is perhaps best known for his cruelty as described in the New Testament, but also for the grand ancient buildings he constructed in what is now Israel.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, he ordered the execution of all young male children in the village of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn “King of the Jews”, the baby Jesus.
The jealous leader also executed his first wife Mariamne and three of his sons accused of conspiring against him.
One of his other sons, Herod Antipas who inherited half of the kingdom after his father’s death, is the one who ruled at the time of Jesus’ death and is said to be the one who executed John the Baptist.
But Herod the Great is also famed for his construction of the Second Jewish Biblical Temple, the Massada fortress and the ancient Roman town of Caesaria in what is now central Israel.
Much of his life is known through the 1st century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.
“The discovery is significant because first of all he is a well-known figure and also because of his proximity to the time of Jesus’ birth,” said Netzer.
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Here are today’s bullet points:
Here are today’s bullet points:
Here are today’s bullet points:
I 
Austrian Assyriologist 
