Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Hi Bernard, It makes no sense for Aretas' daughter to go to Macherus if it was in Antipas' hands. She was trying to get back to her father. Josephus says explicitly that it was subject to her father. His whole story makes perfect sense only if Aretas' daughter is escaping to a place in her father's ...

Hi all, I have a problem with using the term "Outer Space." Wikipedia tells us "The term outer space was used as early as 1842 by the English poet Lady Emmeline Stuart-Wortley in her poem "The Maiden of Moscow".[28] The expression outer space was used as an astronomical term...

Hi Bertie, Thank you for pointing this out. John the Baptist and the story of Herod and Herodias is such an obvious interpolation into both Josephus and Mark that I did not include it as a time marker. As a false time marker, it is important, as it shows how early Christians inserted fictional chara...

Hi Charlie, Could it be anybody we know? Warmly, Jay Raskin I wish I could take credit for it, but I've seen the point about Matthew setting Jesus in the time of Archelaus made by Lena Einhorn and I think Robert Price and maybe a few others. OH!!! Jay! Someone else has argued a lot about looking at ...

Hi EdwardM, I agree. The birth narrative could very well be spliced in. "in Those Days" might have referred to something else that went before, or it could have been a generic story beginning, like "Once upon a time,". Warmly, Jay Raskin Hi Jay, "In those days" at gMatt...

Hi Ficino, I wish I could take credit for it, but I've seen the point about Matthew setting Jesus in the time of Archelaus made by Lena Einhorn and I think Robert Price and maybe a few others. Note: Pilate is the only time marker in the gospel of Mark. Ananus, Caiaphas and Pilate are the only time m...

Hi Ficino, I read Aristotle. I'm waiting for something new to be found. I thought Hercules was actually much better and more fun than I expected. it does show the gap between reality and myth, at least it opens up that possibility. Here's the appropriate text from Matthew (KJV): 19But when Herod was...

Hi EdwardM, Irenaeus, in the "Demonstration of the Apostolic Teachings," says Jesus died when Pilate was ruling Judea under Claudius - 41-54 CE. "The Acts of Pilate" that Eusebius thought was a fake put out by a Roman Emperor had the seventh year of Tiberius, 21 CE. The Gospel of...

Hi Andrew, According to this 2005 article by Talmudic scholar Judith Hauptman, in the peer-reviewed JSIJ (Jewish Studies, an Internet Journal), ( http://www.biu.ac.il/js/JSIJ/4-2005/Hauptman.pdf_ ) the Tosefta may predate the current Mishnah (189 CE), and may be reacting to an earlier Mishnah. She b...

Hi Andrew, Thanks again for this. Wikipedia says this about the Tsefta: According to rabbinic tradition, the Tosefta was redacted by Rabbis Ḥiya and Oshaiah (a student of Ḥiya).[2] Whereas the Mishna was considered authoritative, the Tosefta was supplementary. The Talmud often utilizes the tradition...