Pseudo-Science and Sensationalist Archaeology
Author: Henry B Smith Jr MA MAR Category: Breaking News Created: 31 August 2009
The following link is an Exposé of Jimmy Barfield and the Copper Scroll Project. While ABR would not fully agree with the full tone and every point made in this article (some folks would lump ABR into the blindly religious and unscientific category for our convictions about the Bible being the very Word of God), we feel that this article is very instructive for the Christian community. There is a troubling tendency within the Church to accept the sensationalist claims of these tabloid pseudo-archaeologists, who are untrained in the field and have not adequately researched the biblical and archaeological data pertinent to their claims.
Extrabiblical historical and archaeological data should be meticulously researched before it is touted as support for the Bible. As Paul instructed the Thessalonians: ‘Test everything. Hold onto the good.’ (I Thess. 5:31). We have enough trouble making our case with sound scholarship, the parade examples being emotional and unscientific reactions to our research pertaining to Jericho and Ai. We don’t need our brethren making the situation more difficult by trying to ‘prove’ the Bible with unsubstantiated ‘evidences.’ They are unnecessary and ultimately damaging.
Recommended Resource:
Holy Relics or Revelation: Examining the Claims of Ron Wyatt Biblical archaeologists have gathered archaeologica[...x]
l data with painstaking effort and scholarship. Their work validates the accuracy of the Bible. Yet mostly within a single decade, Ron Wyatt sought out and claimed the most amazing biblical sites and relics. The sensational discoveries claimed by Wyatt number nearly 100 and include such things as the Ark of the Covenant, anchor stones from Noah’s Ark, a book of the law written by Moses, and the original Ten Commandments in stone. Also Christ’s literal living blood, fences from Noah’s farm, the Golden Censer, Goliath’s sword, the graves of Korah and friends, the Table of Showbread, and the wheels of Pharaoh’s chariots (Standish, pages 7-10). These are only the beginning.
Pictures of the Copper scrolls at the Amman Museum in Jordan. Photos by Michael Luddeni.
“The Bible and Interpretation – On the Insignificance and the Abuse of the Copper Scroll”. Bibleinterp.com. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
^ “Copied copper scroll is one to treasure”. The Jewish Chronicle. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
^ Lundberg, Marilyn J. “The Copper Scroll (3Q15)”. West Semitic Research Project. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
^ abcd Wise, Michael (2005). A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Harper Collins Publisher. pp. 211–223. ISBN 978-0-06-076662-7.
^ [1] Archived February 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
^ Allegro 1960, pp. 22–24, 27.
^ Allegro, 1960, p. 6.
^ Al Wolters, article on the “Copper Scroll”, in Schiffman, 2000a (Vol.2), p.146.
^ George J. Brooke; Philip R. Davies (2004). Copper Scroll Studies. A&C Black. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-567-08456-9. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
^ See Poffet, et al. 2006.
^ Al Wolters, article on the “Copper Scroll”, in Schiffman, 2000a (Vol.2), p.146.
^ Puech, “Some Results of the Restoration of the Copper Scroll by EDF Mecenat“, in Schiffman, 2000b, p.893.
^ abc VanderKam, James C. (2010). The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0-8028-6435-2.
^ Lundberg, Marilyn J. “The Copper Scroll (3Q15)”. West Semitic Research Project. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^ abcde Wise, Abegg, and Cook, Michael, Martin, and Edward (2005). A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Harper Collins Publisher. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-06-076662-7.
^ Milik, J.T (September 1956). “The Copper Document from Cave III, Qumran”. The Biblical Archaeologist. 19(3): 60–64. doi:10.2307/3209219. JSTOR 3209219. S2CID 165466511.
^ Wise, Abegg, and Cook, Michael, Martin, and Edward (2005). A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Harper Collins Publisher. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-06-076662-7.
“NOVA | Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land”. Pbs.org. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
^ Wise, Abegg, and Cook, Michael, Martin, and Edward (2005). A New Translation: The Dead Sea Scrolls. New York: Harper Collins Publisher. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-06-076662-7.
^ Lundber, Marilyn. “The Copper Scroll (3Q15)”. West Semitic Research Project. Archived from the originalon 3 March 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. pp. 19, 169. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 104. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 50. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Epiphanius (1935). James Elmer Dean (ed.). Epiphanius’ Treatise on Weights and Measures – The Syriac Version. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 57. OCLC 123314338.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrst Lurie, Benzion, ed. (1964). The Copper Scroll from the Judean Desert (megīllat ha-neḥoshet mimidbar yehūdah) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: The Society for biblical research in Israel, in affiliation with Kiryat Sefer Publishing House. OCLC 233295816.
^ Hai Gaon (1921–1924), “Hai Gaon’s Commentary on Seder Taharot”, in Epstein, J.N. (ed.), The Geonic Commentary on Seder Taharot – Attributed to Rabbi Hai Gaon (in Hebrew), 2, Berlin: Itzkowski, p. 85, OCLC 13977130
^ Hai Gaon (1921–1924), “Hai Gaon’s Commentary on Seder Taharot”, in Epstein, J.N. (ed.), The Geonic Commentary on Seder Taharot – Attributed to Rabbi Hai Gaon (in Hebrew), 1, Berlin: Itzkowski, p. 20, OCLC 13977130
^ Lurie, B. (1964), p. 61
^ Maimonides (1963). Mishnah, with Maimonides’ Commentary (in Hebrew). 1. Translated by Yosef Qafih. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook. p. 38 (part II). OCLC 741081810.
^ Allegro (1964), pp. 64–65
^ Lehman, Manfred R. (1964). “Identification of the Copper Scroll Based on its Technical Terms”. Revue de Qumrân. Peeters Publishers. 5 (1): 97–105. JSTOR 24599088.
^ Zissu, Boaz (2001). “The Identification of the Copper Scroll’s Kaḥelet at ‘Ein Samiya in the Samarian Desert”. Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 133 (2): 145–158. doi:10.1179/peq.2001.133.2.145. S2CID 162214595.
^ Lurie, B. (1964), p. 68
^ Ratzaby, Yehuda (1978). Dictionary of the Hebrew Language used by Yemenite Jews (Osar Leshon Haqqodesh shellivne Teman) (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv. p. 166. OCLC 19166610.
^ Lurie, B. (1964), p. 93 (note 204)
^ Danby, H., ed. (1933), The Mishnah, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 590, ISBN 0-19-815402-X
^ Josephus, The Jewish War 5.204
^ 15.11.5.
Jastrow, M., ed. (2006), Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, p. 1379, OCLC 614562238
^ Jewish Vitual Library
^ Danby, H., ed. (1933), The Mishnah, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 10, ISBN 0-19-815402-X
^ Schiller, Eli, ed. (1989). The Temple Mount and its Sites (הר הבית ואתריו) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ariel. pp. 129-134 (Cisterns on the Temple Mount). OCLC 741174009. (Reproduced from Ariel: A Journal for the Knowledge of the Land of Israel, volumes 64-65).
^ Schiller, Eli, ed. (1989). The Temple Mount and its Sites (הר הבית ואתריו) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Ariel. p. 131 (Cisterns on the Temple Mount). OCLC 741174009. (Reproduced from Ariel: A Journal for the Knowledge of the Land of Israel, volumes 64-65).
^ Wolters, A. (1989). “The ‘Copper Scroll’ and the Vocabulary of Mishnaic Hebrew”. Revue de Qumrân. Leuven (Belgium): Peeters. 14 (3 (55)): 488. JSTOR 24608995., items 2:9 and 10:3
^ London 1884, p. 220
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 121. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. pp. 14, 179. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Marcos, Menahem (1979). “‘Ain Hajla”. In Ben-Yosef, Sefi (ed.). Israel Guide – The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). 5. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. p. 169. OCLC 745203905.
^ Chapmann III, R.L.; Taylor, J.E., eds. (2003). Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville. Jerusalem: Carta. p. 120. ISBN 965-220-500-1. OCLC 937002750.
^ Cf. II Kings 4:38, Zechariah 14:20, et al.
^ Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund., pp. 206–207
^ Lurie (1964), p. 85
^ Ben-Yosef, Sefi (1979). “Wadi Qelt”. In Yitzhaki, Arieh (ed.). Israel Guide – The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). 5. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. pp. 76–82. OCLC 745203905.
^ Ben-Yosef, Sefi (1979). “Wadi Auja”. In Yitzhaki, Arieh (ed.). Israel Guide – The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). 5. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. pp. 73–74. OCLC 745203905.
^ XV
^ Allegro (1960), pp. 68–74, 144–145
^ ab Ben-Yosef, Sefi (1979). “Ḥorvat Chariton”. In Yitzhaki, Arieh (ed.). Israel Guide – The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). 5. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. p. 88. OCLC 745203905.
^ Joshua 15:61
^ Allegro (1960), pp. 68–74, 144–145
^ Allegro (1964), pp. 63–70 (Chapter Seven)
cf. Le Strange (1965), Palestine under the Moslems: a Description of Syria and the Holy Land from AD 650 to 1500, p. 214, who cites Idrisi (1154) over this tradition.
^ Quarrying History in Jerusalem, The New York Times (December 1, 1985)
^ Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 243.
^ Hai Gaon (1924), “Hai Gaon’s Commentary on Seder Taharot”, in Epstein, J.N. (ed.), The Geonic Commentary on Seder Taharot – Attributed to Rabbi Hai Gaon (in Hebrew), 2, Berlin: Itzkowski, p. 103, OCLC 13977130
^ Høgenhaven (2015), p. 277, s.v. item 6:11
^ Allegro (1964), p. 23 (item no. 28); Allegro (1960), p. 43 (item no. 28)
^ Allegro (1964), p. 23 (item no. 28)
^ 1 Maccabees 16:15
^ Ben-Yosef, S. (1979), p. 55
^ Lurie, B. (1964), p. 97.
^ Lurie, B. (1964), p. 97
^ Allegro (1964), p. 24
^ Conder, C.R; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 358.
^ Lurie (1964), p. 111
^ Judges 20:33
^ Chapmann & Taylor (2003), pp. 37, 117, s.v. Baalthamar
^ Allegro (1960), p. 158 (note 222)
^ Lefkovits (1994), p. 114
^ Payne Smith, R. (1903). Jessie Margoliouth (ed.). A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (in Syriac and English). Oxford. p. 448. ܦܠܚ a labourer, a husbandman, a vine-dresser
^ Lurie (1964), p. 111
^ Nathan ben Abraham (1955), “Perush Shishah Sidrei Mishnah – A Commentary on the Six Orders of the Mishnah”, in Sachs, Mordecai Yehudah Leib (ed.), The Six Orders of the Mishnah: with the Commentaries of the Rishonim (in Hebrew), Jerusalem: El ha-Meqorot, OCLC 233403923, s.v. Tractate Nedarim
^ Dalman, Gustaf (2013). Work and Customs in Palestine. I/2. Translated by Nadia Abdulhadi Sukhtian. Ramallah: Dar Al Nasher. pp. 541–543. ISBN 9789950385-01-6. OCLC 1040774903.
^ Dalman (2020), p. 277.
Neubauer’s Geography: Adolphe Neubauer, La Géographie du Talmud, Paris 1868, pp. 131 – 132, s.v. Jerome, Comm. ad Amos, VI, 1
^ Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 20.
^ Mishnah Middot 3:4; Niddah 2:7.
^ Lurie (1964), p. 115.
^ Palestine Open Maps, Palestine 1940s. The dale passes between the upper Kh. Umm er Rūs and the lower Kh. Umm er Rūs.
^ Lurie (1964), p. 115
See Greenfield’s review of Milik “The Small Caves of Qumran” in Journal of the American Oriental SocietyVol. 89, No. 1 (Jan.–Mar., 1969), pp. 128–141).
^ British TV program: Channel 5, 21 April 2018, “The Dead Sea Treasure Map Mystery”, 4/6