Note to late daters

Discussion about the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmud, Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, etc.
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StephenGoranson
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Note to late daters

Post by StephenGoranson »

“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” appeared in 1895 in the context of geology discussion, I noted elsewhere. But then the “Quote Investigator” blogger found a precursor in Live Stock Journal of 1891. And (meta) the saying may well be older than that.

In an earlier posting on ane-3 list (#7 in Dec., “Dating DS Scrolls by Paleography, C14 and AI”) I noted preliminary reports that some Qumran Scrolls are to be dated somewhat older than paleography estimates previously supposed.

F.M. Cross dated 4QExod-Lev-f to circa 250 BCE (according to DJD XXXIX p. 378 simplification of his date range in DJD XII p. 134), but the new study has better methodology and data.

If these preliminary reports are confirmed, and 4QExod-Lev-f dates before R. Gmirkin’s assertion (in his Berossus book) that the first five books of the Hebrew Bible were "composed in their entirely about 273-272 BCE," in Alexandria, I hope some late daters notice.
StephenGoranson
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Re: Note to late daters

Post by StephenGoranson »

In the current issue of Dead Sea Discoveries 28.1 (2021), Laura Quick, “Bitenosh’s Orgasm, Galen’s Two Seeds and Conception Theory in the Hebrew Bible” the Abstract includes: “…. in this essay I argue that rather than deriving these ideas [of embryogenesis] from the Greco-Roman world, the conception theory which informed the Genesis Apocryphon is in fact consistent with notions that can already be found in the Hebrew Bible and the wider ancient Near East.” If I understand her article correctly, she cautioned against imposing in this case Greek sources on a Genesis account.
gryan
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Re: Note to late daters

Post by gryan »

Dear Dr Goranson,

I stumbled onto this from back in 2013:
"Even Stephen Goranson, for whom despite past disagreements I retain a grudging respect for his doggedness and sincerity, is on the right side of the radiocarbon dating issue in this sense: it was Goranson, then unknown to me, who authored an article in Biblical Archaeologist (not to be confused with BAR) at the time, reporting on the Zurich radiocarbon datings and suggesting further radiocarbon datings be undertaken, the sensible and prevailing sentiment at the time which I shared."
https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/article ... /dou378031

Since you are one of the experts in the field, I would be very curious to know your current response to Robert Eisenman's interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls as related to the apostle Paul?
StephenGoranson
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Re: Note to late daters

Post by StephenGoranson »

Hello, gryan.
Though I have tried to keep up with c14 reports and discussions, I am not a C14 expert.
Though Robert Eisenman was one of those who, years ago, pushed for the inventory and access to then-unpublished Qumran mss, I do not agree with his proposal that Paul is alluded to in Qumran texts.
(The then-unpublished card concordance, back then, also played a role.)
I agree with Andrew C. and others that the texts that ER cited as related to Paul were written (or copied) before the adult life of Paul, so not about him.
I base this view on C14.
And, maybe to a lesser extent, base on paleography, which is currently being refined by use of Artificial Intelligence.
And, imo, base on the historical placement and identification of individuals, the "Wicked Priest," Absalom, and the "Teacher of Righteousness"--contemporaries--and earlier than Paul.
Secret Alias
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Re: Note to late daters

Post by Secret Alias »

Bob's relationship with the Qumran scrolls is complicated. https://books.google.com/books?id=4pIvW ... rt&f=false I think it is fair to characterize his 'interpretation' of the scrolls as misguided and disproved by C14 evidence. It was a great story which didn't quite fit the actual evidence.
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