"Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament"...?

Question

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/11/ntablet111.xml

Comments, anyone ?

Thanks in advance for your response. Bless you.

Lazarus -

Thank you for a polite and considered answer, even though we are in disagreement on the subject of the Bible.

What a refreshing change from the usual rude comments, and proof positive that one can disagree with another in a gracious manner.

May God bless you.

Answer 1

Carl-

I think that a lot of people will be very dismissive of this find, as something rather irrelevant.

"Oh, so what? They got the name of Nebuchadnezzar's chief emasculated bureaucrat right."

I will admit to being a bible mocker.

An outright Bible mocker.

The fact that the Bible got a minor detail like this right is amazing to me. There is no reason why knowing this person's name was valuable for the Jews to remember. It's not worth making up to add to the story. It would seem to me, then, that regardless of what a person thinks about the spiritual content of the book of Jeremiah, that it was probably written contemporaneously with the events described. We can maybe begin to examine it as a serious historical work.

This makes it powerful as a historical witness. It doesn't necessarily mean that the metaphysical content is valid. It doesn't mean that history outside of the book of jeremiah is necessarily correct, either.

I don't view the Bible as a coherent whole, where the validity of one book makes the whole true. The validity of one part of one book doesn't make the whole book true.

It does make it worth taking another look. I'd like it if archaelogists proved even more of the minutae correct. That would go a long way toward proving authorship conclusively.

All the best,

Lazarus

Answer 2

Seeing as they started writing the Bible after the Babylonians forced them out of Palestine and into captivety I suppose that they might know the name of the second highest ranking officer in the Babylonian Empire. I would think most Iraqis today would be familiar with Condi Rice and likely will note her, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney in any history they write as well as noting who President Bush was.
The tile is a piece of Babylonian history. So all it proves is that Jews from 650 BC knew something about local history.
WOW, I am Amazed! It is a Miracle!

Answer 3

Proof of what? Divine creation? The existence of an almighty deity? Miracles and prophecy? No. Most people would agree that a few historical facts are sprinkled through the the bible, to give it credence -- these are added in retrospect, interweaving history with fantasy.

Answer 4

There are many fragments that prove the historical validity. Anchorstone.com has a story of pillars, probably placed by Solomon, at the very points were Israel crossed the Aegean Sea. And Oceanographic Charts show the land raised under water about 600 ft between the pillars.

The Bible testifies of its validity in fulfilled prophecies, too. One that was sealed until the end of the days, among other things, proves mathematically that Jesus is the Messiah. Check that out at http://abiblecode.tripod.com

Blessings, Balaam

Answer 5

I read the news story. I am going to comment a little differently than some others. Yes it is good that it mentions one figure in the Bible. But what it doesn't do is disprove the Bible. As time goes on, more proofs are coming to light, which makes a stronger case for what the Bible really is, and that is the Word of God.

Answer 6

The tablet suggests that a biblical character existed - so what? Extrapolating this to demonstrate the truth of the bible as a whole, just does not stand up to scrutiny.

Answer 7

I understand scientists needing proof of anything before they believe it, but what galls me is that statement that the Old Testament may have been "based" on fact.

While I acknowledge that not everything in the Bible may be strictly speaking true (here I am thinking of Jonah, which may well be a parable), I believe it deeply, and I don't much appreciate people who treat the whole thing like some kind of historical fiction.

Other than that, I'm excited that there is immutable (sp?) proof that some of these people existed.

Answer 8

It is one of many corroborating cuneiform writings which have been studied; but not the only one -- others, like the Gilgamesh epic which is Sumerian (some say Babylonian) in origin document the great flood.

I find the most compelling evidence for biblical truth to be in the numerous artifacts recovered from the geologic strata by archaeologists.

Answer 9

It will not be the first piece of evidence or the last. In the British Muesum there are some other clay tablets that speak of King Saul & David that were found in Egypt in the 1950's. Hopefully alot more will be found & scientists will have to re think some of their theories because of the evidence that matches in with the Bible.

Answer 10

Christian "proofs" are always fun to read.
Ah yes, it proves that one figure in the OT is likely to have existed. Well done.
We can conclusively disprove the Adam and Eve story, the Great Flood, the Parting of the Red Sea, the Exodus (as told in the Bible), the Plagues.....