and you find evidence of such a return in the archaeological material from the Jerusalem area? Sorry, I have absolutely no confidence in Ezra/Nehemiah as a...
12722
Lisbeth S. Fried
lizzfried
Aug 16, 2010 5:34 pm
Well, forget the last line of that paragraph then. I do think that an exile and return can be found in the archaeology of Judah and Jerusalem (Faust has a book...
12723
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 16, 2010 6:13 pm
Dear Liz, may I suggest that we take this discussion to the biblical studies list where we have as eminar based on Ahn's forthcoming book on the exile. It is...
12724
Michael Banyai
michael_banyai
Aug 16, 2010 6:35 pm
The 70 years of exile, Thomas is speaking about, appear also in the prophecy of Isaiah 23:15 and 17 about Tyre. This seems to be an important Mesopotamian...
12725
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 16, 2010 6:41 pm
As I said to Liz, Take this discussion to where it belongs: Biblical Studies. Discussions about biblical historicity are normally not welcome on this list. And...
12726
Francesco Brighenti
frabrig
Aug 17, 2010 2:49 pm
... Cf. also the case of the Persian Empire. Foreign workers, called _kurtash_, who were sometimes slaves, sometimes free people working for wages, and...
12727
Francesco Brighenti
frabrig
Aug 17, 2010 4:40 pm
... OK, this apparently settles the question. I didn't know Egypt is never mentioned in the Mari letters. So, judging from what you write, Meluhha, that is,...
12728
ehud
ebenzvi
Aug 20, 2010 12:58 am
Dear all, I am glad to announce the recent publication of the following contribution in the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (http://www.jhsonline.org) and of some...
12729
frankclancy
Aug 22, 2010 7:55 pm
Hello - What would members of this group recommend for a good history of Seleucia on the Tigris? Thanks Frank Clancy Waterloo Ontario...
12730
Peter M. Fischer
peter8fischer
Aug 23, 2010 10:28 am
Website presenting the preliminary results of the excavations by the New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2010 at Hala Sultan Tekke. ...
12731
Antonio Lombatti
antonio_lomb...
Aug 24, 2010 4:32 pm
... near Snefru's Bent Pyramid. Article and photos can be found here: ...
12732
fdscalf
Aug 25, 2010 7:49 pm
Oriental Institute Museum Exhibition Shows How Ancient Scribes Invented Writing A new exhibition at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago...
12733
James Spinti
tweetynwiley
Aug 26, 2010 1:53 pm
From the Atlantic, 10 Reading Revolutions before E-books: http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2010/08/10-reading-revolution s-before-e-books/62004/ Or...
12734
sbudin@...
maratshami
Aug 26, 2010 1:57 pm
I don't think there's anything Semitic about Braille, FWIW. -Stephanie Budin ... "Maybe we can link up with someone who's meditating and download ...
12735
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 26, 2010 1:58 pm
Sounds like rubbish to me, and that early alphabet's were only invented for merchants is nonsense, as the alphabetic texts from Ugarit show. Niels Peter lemche...
12736
R. Lehmann
rglehmann
Aug 26, 2010 3:25 pm
Yes, it's too simplistic in some respect. And the "abjad - proper alphabet" antagonism is too simplistic because a proper Semitic alphabet simply is - a proper...
12737
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 3:26 pm
... Basically, it's true. Keep in mind that we're only talking about alphabets/abjads. Other types of writing systems, like syllabaries and logo-syllabaries...
12738
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 3:31 pm
Braille is not an independent alphabet but is a secondary tranference of an existing alphabet to a different medium. It no more represents the "invention" of...
12739
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 3:40 pm
The Ugaritic alphabet is not a new invention, it is merely the adaptation of the contemporary West Semitic script to cuneiform. But you can be sure that the...
12740
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 26, 2010 3:45 pm
I agree, but that was not my trust: That this alphabet was used for a lot more than merchants accounts. And then it was also used for letters in Ugaritic....
12741
Peter T. Daniels
grammatim
Aug 26, 2010 3:55 pm
[a bunch of postings this morning!] The five basic shapes of the Korean letters come from hPags pa, which comes from Tibetan, which comes (ultimately) from...
12742
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 4:16 pm
... First, the "oldest" document means the oldest one known, not the first one ever written. Second, the fact that it is a treaty shows that it fulfills the...
12743
itamar singer
singer_itamar
Aug 26, 2010 4:18 pm
Bob, can you specify on what grounds can you confidently state that "But you can be sure that the adaptation [to Ugaritic] wasn't done to write literary texts....
12744
jnardellis36@...
jfnardelli
Aug 26, 2010 4:21 pm
NPL is wrong at least in the case of Linear B, the Theban tablets included given the case mounted by T. G. Palaima against Godard's and Aravantinos' religious...
12745
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 26, 2010 4:25 pm
I was certainly not talking about Linear B. Already in my Early Israel from 1985 I write about the disappointment that may have followed the breaking of Linear...
12746
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 4:38 pm
Yes, but Linear B is not an alphabet so it falls outside the discussion. But it is a valid observation that there is no literature written in Linear B. But...
12747
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 26, 2010 4:47 pm
As I said, it is an assumption based on parallels. A likely one, but nevertheless -- in the case of Ugaritic -- an assertion. Furthermore Bob Whiting will...
12748
Robert M Whiting
whiting35
Aug 26, 2010 5:12 pm
NP has got the tomatoes before the horse again. No one says that writing is necessary for trading activities. Trading activities existed for millennia before...
12749
Peter T. Daniels
grammatim
Aug 26, 2010 5:13 pm
You may not _need_ writing to have urbanization, but you don't get writing without urbanization. (The urban Incas didn't have writing, but they had another ...
12750
Niels Peter Lemche
nplemche
Aug 26, 2010 5:42 pm
Complexity, which was also my point when I talked about the 500 persons limit. But I believe that we will find societies in Syria and Mesopotamia from before...
