Search Results for: Russell Gmirkin

Genesis = Science + Myth + Theology — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus – 3a]

Here is the thesis that Russell Gmirkin [RG] is buttressing in Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts: Plato’s writings, including Plato’s Laws, envisioned theologically trained educated elites ruling the nation and creating a national literature to shape the beliefs and character of the ordinary citizenry, both youths and adults (Gmirkin 2017: 255-61). The creation … Continue reading “Genesis = Science + Myth + Theology — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus – 3a]”

Genesis 1 “Amazing” “Unique” — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus – 2]

The creation account in Genesis 1 is unlike other creation myths from the ancient world. There are little hints in the chapter that the author was aware of more dramatic myths of gods fighting monsters and in the process creating the cosmos, but unlike those myths Genesis 1:1-2:3 appears to be . . . . … Continue reading “Genesis 1 “Amazing” “Unique” — [Biblical Creation Accounts/Plato’s Timaeus – 2]”

Biblical Creation Accounts and Plato – 1

Similarities between the Pentateuch and Greek literature have long been noted and discussed in scholarly literature, but most of those discussions have assumed that the Greeks and the authors of the biblical books were independently drawing on Asiatic stories or even that some Greeks were exposed to translations of parts of the Pentateuch. (Evangelia Dafni … Continue reading “Biblical Creation Accounts and Plato – 1”

Next up…

My reviews of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato’s Timaeus and the Biblical Creation Accounts and Mike Duncan’s Rhetoric and the Synoptic Problem have to wait till I return home where I can work with something larger than a laptop screen. Till then, however, I must take the opportunity to catch up with where I left off with … Continue reading “Next up…”

Paradigm Shifts in Religious Studies (Part 3)

In a comment to the previous post, Russell Gmirkin took issue with my explanation of Kuhn’s definition of a paradigm and my conclusion that fields of study outside of natural sciences don’t have Kuhnian paradigms, and hence no “paradigm shifts.” He quoted from his forthcoming book, as follows: One may define an academic paradigm as … Continue reading “Paradigm Shifts in Religious Studies (Part 3)”

From Hermes to Yahweh

  We know the story of Elisha retrieving the iron axe head by having it float to the surface of a river. It is in 2 Kings 6:1-7: The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, … Continue reading “From Hermes to Yahweh”

How the Story of Solomon Emerged from Assyrian and Babylonian Elites — part 4

My original plan for a single post has now stretched out into four. Time to wrap up with Russell Gmirkin’s explanation for the relationship between the Solomon narrative and Assyrian records of Shalmaneser’s ninth century conquests and subsequent (eighth century) Assyrian building accounts. The close correspondence between Sennacherib’s building account of Solomon’s temple and palace … Continue reading “How the Story of Solomon Emerged from Assyrian and Babylonian Elites — part 4”

Solomon’s Palace and Temple as Re-worked Assyrian Accounts — part 3

One of the main tasks of the historian is to compare and cross-reference sources. If different sources attest independently to the same phenomenon, the historical reliability of that phenomenon is greatly enhanced. Thus, the biblical description of Solomon’s Temple, the stone building model from Khirbet Qeiyafa, and the temple from Motza correspond to one another, … Continue reading “Solomon’s Palace and Temple as Re-worked Assyrian Accounts — part 3”

The Acts of Solomon as a Neo-Assyrian Composition — part 2

In the previous post we saw that the biblical account assigned the same boundaries as the later Assyrian empire (150 years after Solomon’s near-namesake Shalmaneser III) to the kingdom of Israel in the time of Solomon. And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far … Continue reading “The Acts of Solomon as a Neo-Assyrian Composition — part 2”

Is Solomon’s Glory Based on the Assyrian Shalmaneser III’s Exploits? – part 1

Here we [begin to] conclude our overview of Russell Gmirkin’s chapter ‘Solomon’ (Shalmaneser III) and the Emergence of Judah as an Independent Kingdom by addressing his view that the Acts of Solomon that we read about in 1 Kings were sourced from records of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser. For context see the previous two posts: … Continue reading “Is Solomon’s Glory Based on the Assyrian Shalmaneser III’s Exploits? – part 1”

Those Sources the Bible Cites

Here I bring together different scholarly views on the sources cited in the Old Testament books of Kings directing readers to other writings for further information about a particular monarch. I conclude with a new perspective on one of those sources (the chronicles or annals of the kings of Judah) that would actually subvert the … Continue reading “Those Sources the Bible Cites”

Reconstructing the History of “Biblical” Israel and Judah

This post is based on Russell Gmirkin’s chapter, “‘Solomon’ (Shalmaneser III) and the Emergence of Judah as an Independent Kingdom”, in the Thomas L. Thompson festschrift, Biblical Narratives, Archaeology and Historicity. All posts addressing the same volume are archived here. Russel Gmirkin’s conclusions (p. 77): • That the area later known as the kingdom of … Continue reading “Reconstructing the History of “Biblical” Israel and Judah”

conclusion … Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, Historicity – Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson

The previous posts in this series: 25th August 2020 (introduction and Part 1 and half of Part 2) 27th August 2020 (completion of Part 2) 28th August 2020 (first half of Part 3) This post concludes my overview of the festschrift to Thomas L. Thompson on his 80th birthday. I hope to post soon a … Continue reading “conclusion … Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, Historicity – Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson”

Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, Historicity – Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson

Why a volume of essays in honour of Thomas L. Thompson? The opening paragraph of the Introduction explains (with my highlighting): Thomas L. Thompson has been, for the past five decades, behind some of the – if not all – major changes in Old Testament historiography, if we consider that his criticism of the patriarchal … Continue reading “Biblical Narratives, Archaeology, Historicity – Essays in Honour of Thomas L. Thompson”