The Legacy of Solomon
Page 48
THE BIBLE TELLS US OF THE GREAT and magnificent united monarchy of David and Solomon in the 10th century BC, which Solomon's son, Rehoboam divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, resulting in two centuries of strife, wars and fraternal hatred.
At that time Jerusalem was a merely a small mountain town compared to the great cities of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Nothing has been found that remotely compares to the monuments and architecture of the Pharaohs or Nebuchadnezzar. Its temple was insignificant in comparison to the splendour of the temples of Egypt.
If we know a great deal of Egypt, Babylon and Assyria the question can be asked as to how dates mentioned in the Bible fit in with those put forward by archaeologists? Calculations have been made by Bible specialists that show Abraham was called by God in 2090BC and the Exodus began in 1447BC. After forty years in the desert Joshua conquered Canaan in 1407BC. In 1011BC Saul was killed and David became King of Judah, then all of Israel, his son Solomon ascended the throne in 971BC and built the Temple in 966BC. Then historically verifiable facts coincide with Bible dating when in 605BC Nebuchadnezzar became King of Babylon and invaded Judah, destroying Jerusalem and the Temple in 586BC.
This leads to the question as to why the Bible was written, what was its purpose. But before that question is answered a word has to be said about the invention and use of writing. The first structured writing system appeared in Egypt in the form of hieroglyphics and the written alphabet was developed by the Phoenicians. In addition the Assyrians brought their writing skills when they conquered Israel in 720BC. Thus the literary skills of the Hebrew’s neighbours to the north and south were naturally adopted by them, in any other circumstances the Bible story, its legends and traditions, most of which were doubtlessly handed down by oral tradition from the time when the Hebrews were desert tribes, would have never been recorded and the Bible as it is known today would have never existed.
Writing also required a support, which was invented by the Egyptians in the form of papyrus and parchment, easily stored and easily transportable prior to that the Assyrians had invented cuneiform writing on clay tablets, which were compact and solid, though not so readily usable as papyrus since the clay had to be soft for writing then dried and was not practical for large documents that were to be transported. At the outset writing was used for recording commercial transactions, administrative needs and military communications. Scribes were men of learning, officials and priests employed by the wealthy and powerful in their communities.
Before these supports writing was used for monuments, it was therefore brief, telegraphic, it is not easy to carve words onto stone and space was limited, but stone could survive weather and time, leaving a permanent record of glorious conquests by great kings, praise to the Gods, laws to be obeyed. Writing therefore became a tool of power, authority and obeisance as can be seen from the Ten Commandments that were engraved on stone.
Therefore the authors of the Bible had understood the power of the written work, the power of an ancient book, which starts with the creation, designating the Jews as God’s Chosen People and the Promised Land given by God to his people. In other words the most powerful piece of propaganda ever invented, since it was the word of God creator of heaven and earth who made man in his own image and likeness.
However, the book was not written in one go, like Harry Potter, it was the work of innumerable generations, starting with tribal laws and oral traditions transcribed onto paper, probably in the seventh century BC, the texts were enlarged by kings and priests, re-written, improved, collated, edited, censored, until the collection had reached an unwieldy quantity that no doubt became difficult to interpret. At some point in the third century BC the texts were re-written once and for all, thus codifying forever the history and laws of the Jews with their monotheistic religion with one God, its capital Jerusalem, the Temple and a king.
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A Question of Interpretation