Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Bathyra, the center for the Babylonian Jews who may have played a major role as devotees of the "Damascus Covenant", has been lost to history. This was supposedly a fort and town founded by Zamaris so he could protect the region from robbers at Herod's orders. There's one clue from Josephu...

The eunuch "Simeon Bachos" compare "Simon Boethus". Also, the same is "Simeon the Black" compare Abgar "Ukkama" (the black).

In Eisenmann's view, Agabus symbolizes the royal house of Adiabene. The discussion of a discourse between church brethren in Antioch and Jerusalem in this context he sees as stemming from a historical discourse between the early Christian/Qumranite community and Adiabene (in his view, Edessa, though...

Perhaps the prophets are merely an attempt by Jerusalem sages to construct a counter-cult in the Assyrian model... Maybe its roots are pre-Babylonian captivity. Michael Wood has noted that Pre-Captivity, there were plenty of clay figurines (representing gods and goddesses?), male and female, but af...

... Cain is identified with Horus, and hence Egypt, but also his name gives away his identification with the Sumerian-Babylonian Empire which oppressed the Israelites in the Exile. Seth is identified with the line of the Annunaki because he comes from the higher realm, rather than the worldly realm...

The name Batanea doesn't seem to be attested in literature until after Josephus. I would propose it derives from "Bethaniyeh". This distinguishes it from a "Beit Hanina", which is remembered as Ananias. Perhaps the region was named "Beit Honiyyo" for the Oniades. If thi...

I've learned a few things. I think one reason why the Kurds are identified as the children of the watchers because the region is associated with Noah's Ark. Noah is apparently identified with Kothar-wa-Khasis, or Kaveh the Blacksmith. This treats Noah in his role as a craftsman, or Tekton, and there...

The Kurds, despite claiming a Median heritage, may not necessary be descended from this people. Certainly, they inherit the legacy of Corduene. Corduene is interesting, since Josephus notes it as the understood home of Noah's Ark. Indeed, to this day the region contains a purely geological formation...

The later 'legends about Paul' presented in the Acts of the Apostles don't play a role in my understanding of Paul's letters. Do you think the author of Acts is presenting their understanding of Paul's letters, and if so, shouldn't that be taken into consideration? The author of Acts is constructin...

I have been investigating whether Boethus derives from Beit Honi, and began with a simple search of "Bethonius". It returned this 17th century work, and as far as I can tell the paragraph is mentioning Maria and (her son) James in Galilee, with Simon Cantheras and something about a former ...