Biblically Compatible Archaeology and Geography

    by   Damien F. Mackey   At some point in time – was it late, during the Seleucid era? – certain major Judean cities became associated with, even absorbed into, central and southern Mesopotamia.   I am referring in particular to Lagash (var. Lakish), Eshnunna and Girsu.   The focus for the ‘history’ of this period of time, whoever was writing it, appears to have been Lagash, rather than the Girsu that was regarded, nonetheless, as being the very spiritual centre.      But a host of place names ostensibly belonging to central and southern Mesopotamia do not appear actually to belong there. In fact, some of them – e.g. Lagash and Girsu – seem to “fall permanently off the political map”, according to Seth Richardson, as quoted in my article:   A new location proposed for Sumer   (3) A new location proposed for Sumer   According to this article, Sumer may be the Sumur(a) near the Mediterranean coa...

    “Finkelstein believes that the original city of Jerusalem must have constituted a large tel mound located within the area today known as the Temple Mount. It’s an interesting theory. But how much of it is “facts and data”?” Brad Macdonald  and  Christopher Eames   Was David and Solomon’s Jerusalem a ‘Godforsaken’ Place? What does archaeology tell us? By  Brad Macdonald  and  Christopher Eames   From the  March-April 2024  Let the Stones Speak  Magazine Issue   I n a 2021 interview series hosted by the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, one of Israel’s most prominent archaeologists made some bold remarks about the Bible and its role in archaeology in Israel.   He explained that David and Solomon were simple, hill-country chieftains, and not the towering monarchs recorded in the Bible. He theorized that the story of David and Goliath was invented during the time of King ...

    “ There are of course very many library tablets that purport in their colophons to be the work of Ashurbanipal that quite clearly were not, but quite apart from the uniquely long and poetic colophon, would an ordinary scribe dare to proclaim “I am Ashurbanipal, king of the world, king of Assyria” as part of a tablet colophon’s content? ”. Alasdair Livingstone   Alasdair Livingstone writes: 098_118.ps   Ashurbanipal: literate or not?   Although many rulers and monarchs in the Ancient Near East lay claim to various kinds of wisdom, relatively few claim literacy, and of these Shulgi and Ashurbanipal were by far the most vociferous. While it may never be possible to actually test the veracity of Shulgi’s assertions, the purpose of this article is to present and discuss for the first time some evidence that has direct bearing on the question of Ashurbanipal’s literacy. …. Serious commentary on this issue commenced almost twenty-five year...