Queries & Comments

008

Commuter Finally Succumbs

I started reading BAR in the 1970s when I worked in Washington, DC, picking up copies at Union Station. Amazing how many MARC train commuters would borrow it. I hope they subscribed. As a top-rate procrastinator, I have finally started my own subscription.

Mount Sinai

Archaeologists Don’t Support Archaeological Proposal

Your article “Where Is Mt. Sinai?” (BAR 40:02) reports that the identification of the holy mountain in Midian amazingly got little support in the discussion, despite the fact that this is the only proposal that is Bible-based and is now supported by archaeology. How do you explain this?

We can’t.—Ed.

New Testament Support for Mount Sinai in Arabia

The article “Where Is Mount Sinai?” showing the likelihood of a Midianite/Saudi Arabian location was very good. However, I am surprised you did not refer to the reference in Galatians 4:25 to “Mount Sinai in Arabia.”

Thanks for calling this to our attention.—Ed.

Meaning of Rock Drawings?

Whether or not most archaeologists believe Har Karkom is really the Biblical Mount Sinai, I would like to hear some opinions or comments on the rock drawings suggestive of the Ten Commandments and of the “snake and staff” petroglyph. I am not convinced by Mr. Anati’s theories about Mount Sinai, but I find the images very intriguing.

Uzi Avner, director of the Dead-Sea and Arava Science Center, responds:

First, let me say that I don’t know of any archaeologist either in Israel or abroad who supports the identification of Har Karkom with Mount Sinai. There may be, but I don’t know of them.

As to the “Ten Commandments” petroglyph, I do not know what it is, but if it does indeed represent the Ten Commandments, there are also 13, 16, 24 and 56 “commandments” in the Har Karkom area.

As to the “staff and snake” petroglyph, in my view the “staff” is a version of a “balloon,” a very common symbol in rock art worldwide, including the Negev. I know several examples in the Negev, Sinai and southern Jordan where it occurs with a snake. I include here one example, from Albuquerque, outside the rock art park, in a neighborhood called Santa Fe 009010Village (photo from 1993). A 1999 paper of mine published some of these “balloons.”¹

For many years I have been a friend of Emmanuel Anati—but also in an open debate with him on Har Karkom. My criticism is only on an academic level.

Magic and Miracles in Exodus

I read with great interest your article on the possible location of Mount Sinai.

The whole account in Exodus is so filled with magic and miracles that it is very hard for archaeologists to find physical remains of these stories. Thank you and your colleagues for all your efforts.

50 People of the Hebrew Bible

Where’s Jesus?

Re: Lawrence Mykytiuk, “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible” (BAR 40:02). Why isn’t Jesus listed with the 50 names of people in the Bible documented with archaeological evidence?

Lawrence Mykytiuk responds:

Several readers have raised this question. My article deals with the Hebrew Bible, as noted. Also, the time-span covered by my article ends at about 400 B.C.E. Whether Jesus has been archaeologically confirmed is another question.

Jeremiah’s Scribe Was Omitted

I was surprised to find Baruch ben Neriah, the prophet Jeremiah’s scribe, left off the list (see “Jeremiah’s Scribe and Confidant Speaks from a Hoard of Clay Bullae,” BAR 13:05). As noted in a later BAR article, this may be the only instance of a fingerprint from someone in the Bible (“Fingerprint of Jeremiah’s Scribe,” 22:02).

Lawrence Mykytiuk responds:

The short answer is that the two matching bullae that read, “Belonging to Berekyahu, son of Neriyahu, the scribe,” came from the antiquities market. There, authentic pieces are mixed in with forgeries, so you don’t know what you’re getting and can’t make firm identifications.

The long answer is that years after the BAR articles appeared, these two bullae were shown to be very likely forgeries. The problem is in the third line, where the letter samekh (s) is followed by pe (p). Both letters are almost exactly the same height. But in inscriptions that are known to be authentic, “samekh is substantially higher than the pe that follows, and normally the samekh towers over pe” (Christopher A. Rollston, “Non-Provenanced Epigraphs I: Pillaged Antiquities, Northwest Semitic Forgeries, and Protocols for Laboratory Tests,” Maarav 10 (2003), p. 161 [available free online]).

Ahab Overlooked?

Professor Mykytiuk overlooked one noteworthy example: In the battle of Qarqar (c. 853 B.C.E.) in what is now Lebanon, inscriptions of the Assyrian warrior king Shalmaneser list the forces arrayed against him, including their number of chariots and cavalry. Syrian, Phoenician, others and Ahab of Israel are clearly listed. The battle order for Hamath, Damascus and Israel indicates that these were fairly wealthy kingdoms in order to field such large numbers of infantry, cavalry and chariotry. Apparently, Ahab of Israel played a significant role in this coalition facing the Assyrian ruler.

This example makes one wonder how many other significant events, including battles, occurred in the Iron Age Levant that were never recorded by any of those kingdoms and states or were recorded and have not yet been found.

Lawrence Mykytiuk responds:

Thank you. I did mention Ahab as the 13th confirmed Bible figure in the chart in BAR (p. 46), along with references to Shalmaneser and the battle of Qarqar in the online notes at http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/50#note18r, where I also mentioned Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Referring to the battle of Qarqar (853 B.C.E.), Shalmaneser calls him “Ahab the Israelite.”

Three Babylonian Officials Missing?

Lawrence Mykytiuk has helpfully listed 50 “Bible People Confirmed in Authentic Inscriptions.” Under “Babylonia” at no. 43 he includes Nebo-sarsekim official of Nebuchadnezzar II (Jeremiah 39:3), identified in 2007 on a Babylonian tablet in the British Museum. The same verse names three other Babylonian officials: Nergaal-sharezer a samgar officer, Nergal-sharezer a rab-mag officer and Nebuzaradan a military officer. All have long been identified in a list of officials of the king’s court found in Babylon. These names should be added to the list of “Biblical people confirmed in authentic inscriptions.” The text is translated by A. Leo Oppenheim in James B. Pritchard’s Ancient Near Eastern Texts, pp. 307–308.

Lawrence Mykytiuk responds:

I appreciate Professor Millard’s comment that points out additional identifications of officials of Nebuchadnezzar II. To be sure, Pritchard’s Ancient Near Eastern Texts has long included a text that specifically mentions the following among Nebuchadnezzar’s courtiers: (1) “Nergalsharusur, the Sin-magir” on p. 308, rendered as “Nergal-sharezer the Samgar” in Jeremiah 39:3; and (2)“Nabuzeriddinam the chief cook” (or chief butcher of humans) on p. 307, rendered as “Nebuzaradan the chief of the guards” in 2 Kings 25:8; Jeremiah 39:9, etc. (The Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society, 1985).

011

The difficulty concerning “Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag” of Jeremiah 39:3 is that no one having the title Rab-mag appears in that list of courtiers in Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Some scholars think that Nergal-sharezer the Samgar was the same person as Nergal-sharezer the Rab-mag, simply filling two different administrative positions and thus having two titles (“wearing two hats”). Other scholars think that two different officials simply had the same name. Because no one having the title Rab-mag is listed among the courtiers in Ancient Near Eastern Texts, I affirm only identifications (1) and (2) mentioned here and exclude the Rab-mag. Thus I agree with the position of Jack R. Lundbom, Jeremiah 37–52 (The Anchor Bible, vol. 21C; New York: Doubleday, 2004), pp. 84–85, 91. Before learning about Professor Millard’s comment, I actually submitted identifications (1) and (2) to be added to the article, but by then it had already gone to print.

Author Lawrence Mykytiuk has responded to dozens of additional readers’ questions online. Take a look and join the discussion at biblicalarchaeology.org/50.—Ed.

Bricks & Straw

FAQs on Mud Bricks

I was fascinated by the article on making mudbricks in the March/April 2014 issue (Robert Littman, Marta Lorenzon and Jay Silverstein, “With and Without Straw: How Israelite Slaves Made Bricks”). What is the purpose of fermentation in brick-making? What sort of brick results if the straw/chaff isn’t fermented? Do the drying bricks need to be flipped over so the underside also dries well? How much structure do 2,000 bricks build? In traditional building is there mortar of any sort between layers of bricks?

Thank you for a very interesting article.

Robert Littman responds:

Chopped straw is added so that the fermentation process can produce lactic acid. This increases the material’s resistance and reduces shrinkage. The straw and mud mixture must be worked together for six to ten days depending on the climate/country to get the best mixture for resistance and compression strength. Straw still green or not left in the mixture long enough will not work as a shrinkage compensator. While drying, bricks are usually left in the same position for five days and then turned on the shorter side to dry for an additional three to four days.

Regarding the quantity: Two thousand bricks may seem like a huge number, but we must remember that 2,000 bricks was the average production per man per day in ancient times. Bricks were used to build external walls of a small house. Mud mortar is made of earth and various aggregates (e.g., sand, gravel); it is the same mixture as bricks but with different percentages and less vegetable aggregates.

After the wall is finished, it is covered with mud-plaster and/or lime-plaster.

069

History of Slavery in Egypt?

I enjoyed the article about the making of mudbricks, but I was not aware that the Egyptians in the second millennium B.C. (or B.C.E.) were a slave-owning culture. Is there historical evidence that Egyptians kept slaves, either as a whole enslaved nation or individual slaves in that era?

Robert Littman responds:

There is abundant evidence in all eras that Egyptians, like the ancient Israelites and virtually all ancient Mediterranean cultures, were slave owners. Scholars previously thought that the pyramids in the third millennium B.C.E. were built by foreign slaves. However, current thinking is that Egyptians, possibly as conscripts or corvée, built the structures. Foreigners, captured in war, were enslaved. Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 B.C.E.) brought back almost 90,000 prisoners from his campaign in Canaan. A letter survives, sent from Pharaoh Amenhotep III (1391–c. 1354 B.C.E.) to Milkilu, the Canaanite ruler of Gezer, ordering 40 beautiful concubines for 40 kits of silver each (Amarna Tablets).

Jerry Murphy-O’Connor

Father Jerry’s Jaunts

The news of the passing of Father Jerry Murphy-O’Connor was most unwelcome (Milestones, BAR 40:02). As a U.S. Army officer stationed with UNTSO [United Nations Truce Supervision Organization] in Jerusalem from 1983 to 1985, I spent many pleasant hours with Father Jerry. His day tours around Israel were most interesting and informative. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Roman era in Palestine and the writings of Josephus.

One fine day Father Jerry took us down the east side of the Mount of Olives, and we walked on an old Roman road that led toward Jericho. He took us on jaunts unknown to most visitors to the Holy Land. Father Jerry was a blessing to so many people.

Commuter Finally Succumbs