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Saturday 4 August 2012

Herodotus Palestine And The Jews

Herodotus Palestine And The Jews
One of the oldest arguments prepared by skeptics of the Christian and jewish historical handiwork is that Herodotus; the "fright of Recount", does not breath jews at all in his" 'Histories'". Enormously if you inspect up Herodotus and Jews in Google you general feeling find an indisputable wealth of Christian and jewish sites claiming this isn't the organize and professing to put forward with the skeptic objections. I general feeling put forward with some of citizens objections voguish.

Why resolve them?

Extremely simply: the objections that are recycled by Christians and jews impossible to tell apart comply with to place the jews at the very centre of the world and as such place them on a memorable stand of to the same extent a key and dynamic historical nation. Although if we fleece that to another place and we find tiny breath of the jews in Herodotus next their whispered pivotal echo in ancient history becomes downgraded to a sea tribal scarcity.

Let us begin with the mentions that Herodotus makes of Palestine and next work principal what it does in fact articulate us as aggressive to what it doesn't. To wit:

"'The Scythians subsequently turned their consideration to Egypt, but were met in Palestine by Psammetichus the Egyptian king, who by sincere entreaties supported by temptation managed to be exclusive of their errand advance. They withdrew by way of Ascalan in Syria. The bulk of the navy accepted the urban short work any grow weaker, but a small fit into of men got left like and robbed the temple of Aphrodite Urania - the greatest extent ancient, I am told, of all the temples of this goddess. The one in Cyprus the Cyprians themselves recognize was minor from it, and the one in Cythera was built by the Phoenicians, who belong to this part of Syria. The Scythians who robbed the temple at Ascalan were punished by the goddess with the infliction of what is called the female tumor, and their ancestors still arrange from it. This is the explanation the Scythians generate for this indecipherable moan, and travellers to the dominance can see what it is touching on. The Scythians footing citizens who arrange from it 'Enarees'.'" (1)

[...]

"'The Egyptians did, while, say that they study the fresh Colchians were men from Sesostris' navy. My own persona on the take was based first on the fact that they presume black skins and woolly hair (not that that amounts to far-flung, as other nations presume the incredibly), and secondly, and foster on top, on the fact that the Colchians, the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians are the unaided races which from ancient time presume practised circumcision. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine themselves recognize that they educated the practice from Egypt, and the Syrians who postponement rigorous the rivers Thermodon and Parthenius, as well as their neighbours the Macronians, say that they learnt it unaided a ephemeral time ago from the Colchians. No other nations use circumcision, and all these are short doubt considering the Egyptian lead. As together with the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, I cannot say which learn from the other, for the avail yourself of is evidentially a very ancient one; but I presume no doubt that the other nations adopted it as the cultivate of their intercourse with Egypt, and in this belief I am tightly supported by the fact that Phoenicians who presume strike home with Greece plummet the Egyptian mode, and allow their children to go uncircumcised.'" (2)

[...]

"'Fifth: from the urban of Posideiium, which was founded by Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus, on the curb together with Cilicia and Syria, as far as Egypt - omitting Arabian region, which was free of tax - came 350 talents. This territory contains the whole of Phoenicia and that part of Syria which is called Palestine, and Cyprus.'" (3)

[...]

"together with Persia and Phoenicia lies a very large territory of country; and from Phoenicia the layer I am native tongue of runs downcast the Mediterranean shores principal Palestine-Syria to Egypt, wherever it ends. It contains three nations unaided.'" (4)

[...]

"'The Phoenicians, with the Syrians of Palestine, contributed 300. The crews wore helmets very touching on the Greek ones, and linen corslets; they were armed with rimless shields and javelins. These kin presume a tradition that in ancient time they lived on the Persian Fracture, but migrated to the Syrian shores, wherever they are found today. This part of Syria, together with the dominance which extends southward to Egypt, is all renowned as Palestine.'" (5)

Now it is to hand from all the mentions that Herodotus gives of Palestine and its kin that they did not presume a massively odd monotheistic religion (which the Bible claims they did) as if they had done so: it is the variety of thing that Herodotus was and is apt to breath. Although none of his informants breath this and hence neither does Herodotus. Enormously the unaided breath we presume of a temple is of a pagan one; to Aphrodite, who was probably far-flung favoured by the locals in Ascalan; modern Ashkelon, who were supposedly jews at this time according to the Biblical word. This is as you might expect an odd omission not easily argued opposed to.

The unaided breath we presume of extraordinary religious practices is in the practice of circumcision involving both the Syrians of Palestine and the Phoenicians who are lead optional to presume minor their practice from Egypt. This is commonly engaged as" proof" that the "'Syrians of Palestine'" were jews, but this cannot be done for the a number of explanation that we presume no way to know that the "'Syrians of Palestine'" were jews or even followed a monotheistic or quasi-monotheistic religion! To blandly be marked with the specialization is to make a way of thinking a priori and next "grab"the" substantiation" for it.

Enormously the fact that Herodotus mentions that circumcision was equally recycled involving the Phoenicians removes any single bed what-so-ever for making the specialization as it tells us of plurality of use: in other words if foster than one kin in the incredibly territory recycled circumcision next how can it be recycled as substantiation of the living of a scrupulous kin being foster than one kin in the territory was using it?

The persona that the "'Syrians of Palestine'" are unsophisticatedly equatable with jews is errand condemned to the dustbin of history by Herodotus' clarifying remark: "'Phoenicians who presume strike home with Greece plummet the Egyptian mode, and allow their children to go uncircumcised'".

This tells us enough lead that the Phoenicians behaved somewhat touching on Hellenizing jews of the incredibly customary calendar day. To let off briefly: at more or less this time the Tanakh tells us that the jews had two generalised factions. One were the refined jews; the Hellenizers of a group, who tended to; as Herodotus says, row the classification of buy (circumcision) and to a large capacity Judaism in favour of Greek practices. The other were the religious fanatics (touching on the Prophets Ezra and Nehemiah) who protected that doesn't matter what non-jewish was fatally evil and demanded that circumcision be practised.

So this explanation is that since Herodotus in a minute identifies the Phoenicians as behaving touching on Hellenizing jews and not the" 'Syrians of Palestine'" you cannot clutch that the Phoenicians and" 'Syrians of Palestine'" are traceable from each other. In other words you cannot clutch that the 'Syrians of Palestine' are jews sound since the Phoenicians in Herodotus' supply are actually behaving foster touching on the jews of the Tanakh than the "'Syrians of Palestine'" who are the claimed jews of the Christian and jewish historical handiwork.

The other pencil case oft propounded; despite the fact that this time by Zionists and their apologists, is that Palestine is an" conception" of the Sovereign Hadrian's: hence dating the name to once the jewish kingdoms that are claimed to presume existed. Thus; in jewish eyes, meaning that Palestine is an "conception" and gives fly to the usual clutch that the Palestinians are an" made up kin". This is indisputable cobblers as Herodotus in a minute says Palestine and Syrians of Palestine in the fresh Greek: he does not say an difficult or stick up for. Thus the feature was called Palestine want very much at the forefront the jews turned up and affirmed Yahweh had detailed the land to them.

To argue; as numerous jews do, that bestow was a jewish state of compound at the forefront Herodotus is somewhat meticulous sound since the unaided substantiation we presume is from jewish religious writings in print once the fact. Every time I say unaided substantiation it break down surprise some as it is one of citizens gigantic historical shibboleths that comply with to breathe in any age: while the mystifying thing about the "'Kingdoms of Israel'" is that aren't mentioned textually by guise overly. It is somewhat touching on the" 'holocaust'" in a depression in that it is all deduction and very tiny substance: yet "everybody knows'" it existed.

In standard next it is very meticulous to due beg that the jews are mentioned at all; even by hypothesis, in Herodotus' "'Histories'" short technique a priori.

Did the jews breathe in Palestine at this matter as some argue?

Exactly by chance, but next at the incredibly time certain arguments presume been put further that they didn't.

Although I comply with to err on the crafty side voguish and show that the simplest achievable vow is the likeliest in that the jews of antiquity were a diminutive tribal conglomeration and not" 'states'" or" 'kingdoms'" per se, but somewhat rose to power higher and next imposed their religion on other Semites for a time. Most likely the adjoining we can get to the ability area in my view is the express of Islam from Arabia that was talented by aggressive explanation. So next that would place the express of Judaism as a variety of slipshod move at broadcasting a barbaric tribal religion by the sword.

Rather characteristic to the "lofty" history of "prehistoric Israel'" isn't it?

REFERENCES


(1) Herod. 1:105(2) Ibid, 2:104(3) Ibid, 3:91(4) Ibid, 4:39(5) Ibid, 7:89