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by Sidney Woolf
Whoever wrote the First Book of the Kings and the Second Book of the Chronicles could not foresee the detailed verification potential of modern archaeology.
The city of King Solomon in Jerusalem is thought to be on the slope leading down from what is now the Al Aqsa mosque. Israeli archaeologists have been desperately excavating the site for many decades yet not one iota of evidence of the existence of King Solomon has been found. No mention of his name has been found on any tablet, inscription, tax record or pot decoration.
Anyone who has visited Egypt will have seen widespread evidence of a monarch who reigned three hundred years before Solomon, Pharaoh Rameses II, yet of King Solomon who ruled over a vast empire and army (1 Kings 4, 21-26 and 1 Kings 9, 17-23, 2 Chronicles 9, 25-26) there is no trace. All the vassal peoples who paid taxes to him have left not a single record of account or inscription. Not one of the soldiers of his conquering army left a sword, helmet or shield.
Professor Yadin’s two volume work "The Art Of Warfare In Biblical Lands" (International Publishing Co. Ltd., Jerusalem 1963) has ample illustrated examples of discovered contemporary armour and weapons from other lands, but one looks in vain for a single item from the Solomonic empire.
Search through Israel’s museums and you will find no evidence from the empire although there are ample artefacts marked "Canaan" or "Philistine". It is inconceivable that if Solomon and his empire had existed in reality not a trace of them could be found from all the archaeological "digs" throughout Israel
Posted By: Sylvainy R
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 3:03PM
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This is hard for people to accept Sylvainy. Thanks for the posts. Lordy, we have been languishing here with Robert and Harry.
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 4:21PM
Steve Williams
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@ Sylvainy Soso & Steve Williams
See the problem with you dudes is the lack of research by lightweights making claims about archaeological evidence.
How about historical evidence since Israelite Kings were forbidden to make graven images of themselves.
So your simplicity and need to refute facts is based on limited information.
Besides it is well known throughout the world that the nation called Israel is hiding true archaeological evidence of Israelite and Palestinian antiquities until recent times for political purposes, however much of the history is Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
Now to prove my point let's survey records of the King's of Tyre trade transactions between King David & Solomon then I will post a blog exhibiting proof worldwide.
Try harder next time "AMATEUR'S (lol) !!!!
Along coastal strips and lowlands of the Mediterranean, the
primary areas of settlement, forested land was rapidly cleared.
[Semple, p.266] As a consequence, a lumber trade developed between
well-timbered regions and sparsely-timbered or deforested regions
of the Mediterranean. For nearly three millennia (c. 2600 B.C. -
138 A.D.), the timber from the mountains of Lebanon served obvious
needs of early settlement, demand for fuel, ship and other building
material, and timber for cabinets inclusive. [Semple, p.267]2
Writers such as Theophrastus, Homer, Pliny, and Plato, along
with the Old Testament provide the modern world with documented
descriptions of the once richly forested mountains of Lebanon. The
wood's importance in social development and improving the economic
well-being of ancient civilizations is also alluded to in the
historical record.3
Among the most significant centers of trade in lumber were
Sidon and Tyre. Due to their geographic location close to the sea,
the cities acted as ports for trade, wherein cedar logs from the
outlying mountains would be felled and sent down stream, often tied
together as rafts. The destinations were, in these cases, often
populous coastal lowland nations, e.g. Egypt and Palestine, which
had little timber and a need for building materials. [Baramki, p.19
and Semple, p.271] "...Phoenicia, especially Byblos, supplied
Egypt with the timber which she needed for her buildings, her
boats, her furniture and fuel, and especially her funerary
equipment. Vast quantities of cedar and pine timber were made into
rafts and towed by boats from Byblos, mainly to Egypt, as early as
2800 B.C..." [Baramki, p.18] Egypt chose Phoenician ports for
commercial relationships because of its relative proximity. The
next nearest source of lumber trade would have had to come from
Amanus or Cyprus. [Meiggs, p.62]
Records detail trading relationships which developed for such
important historical constructions as Jerusalem's new temple built
by King Solomon of Israel. A contract was made between Solomon and
King Hiram of Tyre, wherein cedar logs from the mountains of
Lebanon, as well as pine, were gathered and sent downstream for the
specific purpose of building the famously ornate Second Temple.
The communication between the two kings reads: �As you dealt with
David my father and sent him cedar to build himself a house to
dwell in, so deal with me.� [II Chronicles, ii.3] Biblical
passages such as this one represent the most detailed record of the
Phoenician lumber trade. It is written that Solomon even went so
far as to send forced laborers to Phoenicia in order to assist in
the clearing and facilitate the transportation of cedar to
Palestine.4 [Mikesell, p.18] Meiggs contends that securing cedar
wood was a necessity for Solomon, because he was attempting to
compete with other regional kingdoms for prestige and reputation.
Lebanese cedars built into the Israelite Temples would help Solomon
in this regard. [Meiggs, p.69]
Of further interest, Harden explains the dominating Phoenician
influence in the temple's architecture. "The full description in
the Bible of Solomon's temple at Jerusalem, built as it was by
Phoenician workmen, gives some indication of what an important
temple looked like." He continues, "The inner sanctuary...of
Solomon�s temple was panelled with cedars from floor to ceiling and
its ceiling was of cedar beams and planks forming recessed panels."
[Harden, p.91 and p.141, as well as Mikesell, p.18] Meiggs
provides the details:
Cedars were also lavishly used in the palace and adjoining
buildings. The so-called House of the Forest of Lebanon was larger
than the temple, 150x75x45 feet. The wide span of seventy-five
feet, more than twice the width of the temple, needed internal
supports for the roof. There were four rows of cedar columns with
beams of cedar over them and further lengths of cedar on top of the
walls, which were made of carefully cut blocks of stone. These two
series of cedar beams formed the basis of the roof, with smaller
cedar timbers over them and a sealing of mud. Cedar was also used
for the panelling of the Hall of Judgement. [Meiggs, pp.70-71]
These Tyrian and Sidonian commercial relationships with the
Israelites represent the level at which Levantine cedar timber was
esteemed in Palestine. Not only were cedars used in the first two
sacred temples of the Israelites, but contracts were also made to
ship Phoenician timber for the restoration of the Second Temple (c.
520 B.C.). [Ezra, iii.7] The relationship continued to develop, as
men of Kings Hiram and Solomon engaged in joint commercial
expeditions along the Mediterranean. [Meiggs, pp.71-72]
In another case, because timber along the coastal region of
Asia Minor was exhausted, cedar wood from Lebanon was imported for
the well-reputed edifice: the Temple of Diana. [Semple, p.275]
Also, in sixth century B.C. Egypt, Amasis claimed that he happened
upon Osiris� sacred barge at Thebes. Upon finding that it was made
of weak, small acacia wood, he rebuilt it with strong, large cedar
wood. [Meiggs, p.59] A further popular use of cedar timber in
antiquity was with monumental doors and roofing. In the Near East,
as well as Rome and Greece, long boards of cedar were cut for roofs
and temple and palace doors. The famed temples of Seti I at Thebes
and Osiris at Abydos serve as examples of cedar-based architecture.
[Meiggs, p.64]
References:
1. Dimitri Baramki. Phoenicia and the Phoenicians (Khayats:
Lebanon, 1961).
2. E. W. Bealsz. "The Remnant Cedar Forests of Lebanon,"
Journal of Ecology. Volume 53 (1965).
3. Wallace B. Fleming. The History of Tyre (Columbia Univ.
Press: NY, 1966).
4. John D. Grainger. Hellenistic Phoenicia (Oxford Univ. Press:
NY, 1991)
5. Donald Harden. The Phoenicians (Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.:
NY, 1963).
6. Philip K. Hitti. Lebanon in History (Macmillan: London, 1967).
7. Russell Meiggs. Trees and Timber in the Ancient
Mediterranean (Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1982).
8. Marvin W. Mikesell. "The Deforestation of Mount Lebanon," The
Geographical Review. Volume LIX, Number 1 (January, 1969).
9. Sabatino Moscati. The World of the Phoenicians (Frederick A.
Praeger, Inc.: NY, 1968).
10. M. B. Rowton. "The Woodlands of Ancient Western Asia,"
Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Volume 26 (1967).
11. N. K. Sanders. The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics:
Harmondsworth and Baltimore, 1960).
12. Ellen Churchill Semple. Geography of the Mediterranean
Region (Henry Holt and Co.: NY, 1931).
13. D. S. Walker. The Mediterranean Lands (Methuen & Co.:
London, 1962).
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 9:10PM
Yaiqab Saint
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KING SOLOMON: FACT OR FICTION
SUBJECT
the Hebraic African Asian people have a RECORDED History in an African Asian Language of Monotheistic Thought, and Events in Africa Asian for 5000+ YEARS ---- called in English AtTowraah
the Islaamic African Asian people have a RECORDED History in an African Asian Language of Monotheistic Thought, and Events in Africa Asian for 2000 years---- called in English AlQur'aan
Yes there was a Prophet Nabi Sulaymaan of AtTawrah and AlQur'aan
and of course the 'BIA whitePrivilidged' one address me?
"....It is hard for people to accept Sylvainy. Thanks for the posts. Lordy, we have been languishing with Robert.."
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 3:21PM
Steve Williams
******************************************************************
selfProfessed 'whiteMan' steveAdam and selfied soso Uncle Tom SEEM to believe that ANYTHING known to Mankind HAS to be seen from the European racistlyIgnorant History, Scholarship and Science
Even if the information is of Africa Asia in African Asian Languages and has been RECORDED history of Africa Asia for 5000+Years........... when Europe was NEANDERTHAL............
the Lordy, of 'whiteMan' steveAdam is full of flies....take your disrespectful Racism out the BIA door.....
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 9:42PM
robert powell
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Jake, how do you know about this archaeological evidence that Israel is hiding?
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 11:50PM
Steve Williams
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Robert, your old testament is only 2300 years old. The so-called hebraic version is only 1300 years old.
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 11:53PM
Steve Williams
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And it was written for political purposes, as was the Quran.
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 11:55PM
Steve Williams
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KING SOLOMON: FACT OR FICTION
SUBJECT
soso Uncle Tom ------ your 'whiteMan' brother states on YOUR blaggette..........
".....Robert, your old testament is only 2300 years old. The so-called hebraic version is only 1300 years old."
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 10:53PM
Steve Williams
And it was written for political purposes, as was the Quran.
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 10:55PM
Steve Williams
*****************************
Today is May 27, 2015-------
racistlyIgnorant steveAdam --- 0.000009 AD is considered by European paganChristians as AD-After Death
the latinJesus NEW testament may be 2000 years old --- but believe it or not
--- Hebraic African Asian People in Africa Asia came before the latinPagan Romans and Greeks
paganGreeks/Romans were BARBARIC colonizers, rapists, torturers, murders and of Africa Asia for 2300+ ...
Prophet Nabi Sulaymaan of AtTawrah and AlQur'aan lived LONG before that Barbaric paganEuropean History
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 8:23AM
robert powell
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Who then created this fiction, when and why? Many Hebrews of the Babylonian captivity, 586 BCE rose to leading positions in Babylon, became established and wealthy. They had no wish to return to the harsh life of a deserted and derelict land.
The Hebrew people were facing the greatest threat ever: total annihilation by assimilation, and their land had been entered by armed hostile tribes.
A young guard of "Zionist" activists grew up, just as they did recently in the former Soviet Union. In order to attract people to the idea of returning they had to create a glorious past, military conquests and a rich empire. Hence the symbol of Solomon.
The books of the Old Testament, except Nehemiah, were written during the same period for the same purpose - becoming the hoax of the millennia.
It is no coincidence that the writers created Abraham as going from Babylon (Ur of the Chaldees) to Canaan, which is precisely the journey they were convincing the Hebrews to undertake.
The Exodus story was to demonstrate that even fleeing from slavery, enduring forty years with their only food being provided by God, and facing powerful armies, the Hebrews triumphed and re-established their state.
How much easier their re-establishing would be now!
The problem would have arisen of Babylonian mixed union parents and offspring being ostracized in the return to the state. The story of Ruth and Boaz was inserted to allay such fears.
The books of the Old Testament could not have been written during the era of the Kings, before the Babylonian captivity, as the invidious comparison of the weak king with the former power of Solomon would have resulted in the execution of the writers. Furthermore, to forecast long before the captivity and the resulting large settlement of Hebrews in Ur, that Abraham, the fictitious founder of the nation, will come from there of all places, would have made the authors remarkable fortune tellers.
There are only three possibilities for the writing of the Torah and associated books: 1. They were written by god; 2. They were written by humans inspired by god; 3. They were written by humans. If they were written or inspired by the omniscient god there would be light-years, galaxies, supernovae, black holes, and not the fairy tales in Genesis.
The writers created an omnipotent god that demanded subservience but also attended to the wants and emotions of every human being. This is the object of the story of Abraham and Isaac. Such a god has been so attractive for thousands of years to humans fearful of a lonely, cold,empty universe.
The custom was for small captive nations to be assimilated into the population of the captors and disappear from history, as happened to the Philistines. By writing these books of the Old Testament the authors convinced sufficient numbers of the Hebrews to prevent this happening to them. Although intended only for contemporary compatriots these writings by genius Hebrews have inluenced belief for thousands of years after their time. They also preserved an influential Hebrew community in Babylon.
There are many human interest, romantic and s*xual stories in the books by authors who evidently loved to write. Academic proof and disproof are not possible as there are no extant relevant original documents. The latter may have been deliberately destroyed to increase the god belief factor.
Millions of people have died in the Middle East and the Western World through killing each other over fiction
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 9:33AM
Sylvainy R
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@ Steve Williams
I know it's hard for people to accept especially Yaiqab Saint
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 10:07AM
Sylvainy R
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Robert, your 'Torah' did not exist before it was compiled, in GREEK, in the third century BC. However, they did use documents that were in the library of Alexandria for that purpose, but we don't know what those documents were, what language they were in, or who wrote them, because the Romans destroyed those documents. You have no PROOF that Solomon ever existed, that is the bottom line. Believe it if you like, but I say you are unhistorical, unscholarly, and unscientific, and you don't even know basic geography.
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 10:20AM
Steve Williams
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Hello to All,
I would be glad to participate when the subject is about us. We are not the descendants of King Solomon. The people in the State of Israel today are the descendants of King Solomon!
Why do you dumb *****s always like to talk about other people?
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 7:05PM
Harry Watley
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Who invited you Harry?
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 8:03PM
Steve Williams
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You invite me! You are the stupidest White man I’ve ever encountered!
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 8:09PM
Harry Watley
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That's right Harry, the subject is about us.
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 9:47PM
Steve Williams
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Steve I don't any fight with you!
Thursday, May 28th 2015 at 6:44AM
Harry Watley
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KING SOLOMON: FACT OR FICTION
SUBJECT
soso Uncle Tom --- and his happy 'whiteMan' brother have no problem in believing GREEK
"....It is hard for people to accept Sylvainy..."
Tuesday, May 26th 2015 at 3:21PM
Steve Williams
'.....@ Steve Williams.. I know it's hard for people to accept..."
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 9:07AM
Sylvainy Soso
"...Robert, your 'Torah' did not exist before it was compiled, in GREEK..."
You have no PROOF that Solomon ever existed
Wednesday, May 27th 2015 at 9:20AM
Steve Williams
*************most of the nice, happy guys that believe in Greek
Cannot survive with their Greek stuff in Africa Asia
AGAIN
.....the Hebraic African Asian people have a RECORDED/WRITTEN History in an African Asian Language of Monotheistic Thought, and Events in Africa Asian for 5000+ YEARS ---- called in English AtTowraah
the Islaamic African Asian people have a RECORDED/WRITTEN History in an African Asian Language of Monotheistic Thought, and Events in Africa Asian for 2000 years---- called in English AlQur'aan
Yes...... there was a Prophet Nabi Sulaymaan of AtTawrah and AlQur'aan
Thursday, May 28th 2015 at 8:17AM
robert powell
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Believing Greek, is that like believing English, believing German, believing Chinese, believing Arabic?
Thursday, May 28th 2015 at 8:46AM
Steve Williams
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Sylvainy, back to your comment about how and why the fiction was created. I had not heard that before, but it makes perfect sense. I always wondered why they made Abraham a Chaldean. And when the Septuagint was composed, Alexandria was the largest Jewish community of the diaspora, and they would have had similar motives as the earlier Babylonian Jews.
Friday, May 29th 2015 at 7:25AM
Steve Williams
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