BMCR Review of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts

Bryn Mawr Classical Review has published a review by Nicholas Banner of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts in addition to giving space for Gmirkin to post a reply. Last year and early this year I posted a series on the same work: Plato and the Biblical Creation Accounts (Gmirkin). Banner’s judgment … Continue reading “BMCR Review of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts”


Vridar Goes to Poland with Russell Gmirkin, Plato and the Hebrew Bible

. . . with Russell Gmirkin’s book, Plato and the Hebrew Bible These three Vridar posts have been translated into Polish and posted on the Testimonia blog: 1. Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible 2. The Pentateuch’s Debt to Greek Laws and Constitutions — A New Look 3. David, an Ideal Greek Hero — … Continue reading “Vridar Goes to Poland with Russell Gmirkin, Plato and the Hebrew Bible”


The Hebrew Bible Composed in the Hellenistic Era: Dr. Robert M. Price & Russell Gmirkin – MythVision Podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9znMWH3LC9E Vridar posts on Russell Gmirkin’s books discussed in the podcast: Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus: Hellenistic Histories and the Date of the Pentateuch Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible .


Archaeological Support for Gmirkin’s Thesis on Plato and the Hebrew Bible

Neils Peter Lemche (link is to my posts referencing NPL) has reviewed archaeologist Yonatan Adler’s The Origins of Judaism (link is to my post on Adler’s book) and related its evidence and argument to the work of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato and the Hebrew Bible. — on which I have posted in depth here. Lemche’s review … Continue reading “Archaeological Support for Gmirkin’s Thesis on Plato and the Hebrew Bible”


Hebrew Bible of Hellenistic Origin – Gmirkin responds to Anthonioz’s review

A week ago we saw Stéphanie Anthonioz‘s review of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato and the Hebrew Bible on The Bible and Interpretation. See Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible – review. Today we can read Russell’s response: A Response to Stéphanie Anthonioz, “Review of Russell E. Gmirkin, Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew … Continue reading “Hebrew Bible of Hellenistic Origin – Gmirkin responds to Anthonioz’s review”


Some preliminaries before resuming Gmirkin’s Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible

I originally wrote the following as an introduction to my next post on Russell E. Gmirkin’s new book, Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. On reflection, it was too long to be part of a post addressing the book so here it is a separate introductory post instead. Our historically conditioned deafness to … Continue reading “Some preliminaries before resuming Gmirkin’s Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible


Why (to me) the Old Testament “Feels” Hellenistic

In this post I will explain “my personal reason” for strongly suspecting a Hellenistic origin of the biblical literature — though I am sure I have come across the same ideas throughout different books and articles over the years. It follows on from #5 in the preceding post. When I wrote that I was expecting … Continue reading “Why (to me) the Old Testament “Feels” Hellenistic”


The Problem with an Early Date for the Hebrew Bible

Imagine digging down through centuries of layers at an archaeological site and suddenly finding an old smartphone. You would know it must have been planted there by some trickster. You would know that it could not be more than a few years old despite uncovering it in a layer supposedly centuries old. I believe it … Continue reading “The Problem with an Early Date for the Hebrew Bible”


How a Biblical Tale Could have Emerged from a Greek Myth

Derek Lambert of the MythVision program dedicated a program to something he found on “yours truly” blog outlining aspects of Philippe Wajdenbaum’s case for linking Abraham’s (near) sacrifice of Isaac with the Greek myth of Phrixus: The Bible’s roots in Greek mythology and classical authors: Isaac and Phrixus Greek Myths Related to Tales of Abraham, … Continue reading “How a Biblical Tale Could have Emerged from a Greek Myth”


Could Plato Really have Influenced Judaism and the Bible?

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it. — Karl Marx We call that a ridiculous state of intellect in a man, Socrates, which is concerned only with divine knowledge. — Plato Stranger Every architect, too, is a ruler of workmen, not a workman himself. Younger Socrates Yes. Stranger … Continue reading “Could Plato Really have Influenced Judaism and the Bible?”


Where Did the God of the Bible Come From? – [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus-Critias – 8]

Most of us have been conditioned by the conventional wisdom that the Old Testament books were written between the eighth and fifth centuries. But there is no independent evidence for the existence of any of the Bible’s books or any knowledge of biblical traditions (Davies, 1992 and Vridar.info notes), nor any evidence for the practice … Continue reading “Where Did the God of the Bible Come From? – [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus-Critias – 8]”


When Yahweh was at Peace with Other Gods — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus-Critias – 7e]

When we read the Bible we assume that its references to God or Lord all mean the same idea: the deity of Judeo-Christian belief. So when we (non-scholars) read that the Bible’s references to the God of the Patriarchs were originally names of various local deities it can be a difficult pill to swallow. But … Continue reading “When Yahweh was at Peace with Other Gods — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus-Critias – 7e]”


Sons of God, Daughters of Men … and “Giants” — Why are they in the Bible?

In Genesis 6 we read a most cryptic detail that leaves us wondering what it is all about: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and … Continue reading “Sons of God, Daughters of Men … and “Giants” — Why are they in the Bible?”