1 Egyptian royal cubit = 20.623 in = 524 mm [Enc. Brit. V.19, p. 728]
See also R.B.Y. Scott, `Weights & Measures of the Bible', BA, Feb 1959, p. 22-40.

Apostate Israelites seem to have drawn crude images on ancient storage jars found at `Kuntillet Ajrud', a town in the Sinai region. [See BAR, Vol. 20, Mar/Apr 1994, p. 52.]
Barclay
Numerous artists left us their impressions what the Bible lands looked like before modern times. Among them was James Turner Barclay (1807-??) whose picture images can be seen in BA, Vol. 51, No. 3, Sep 1988, p. 163-170.

Chalcedony
Rev. 21:19; Very hard quartz, Silicone oxide stone. Occurs in a micro crystalline precipitate as a byproduct or as dehydration product of Opal.

Chrysolite
Rev. 21:20;
May be a golden yellow stone like very hard Topaz (Hydrous aluminum silicate). In the US found at Pikes Peak, Colorado.

Chrysoprase(Hebr. shosham)
Rev. 21:20;
A grass-green gem due to nickel impurities.

Diamonds
Tiny diamond grains discovered in high-grade metamorphic rocks (gneisses) from south-western Norway may force geologists to rethink cherished ideas about the Earth's continental crust and processes. Discovered by an international team of Russian, Norwegian, British and US geoscientists, the diamond fragments at only 20–80 micrometres in size are too small to see without a microscope. Yet they have formed within the continental crust where they shouldn't have! ... there's still the possibility these micro-diamonds were deposited in the original sediments (by erosion from source rocks) before they were metamorphosed! [ Dobrzhinetskaya, L.F., Eide, E.A., Larsen, R.B., Sturt, B.A., Trønnes, R.G., Smith, D.C., Taylor, W.R. and Posukhova, T.V., 1995. Microdiamond in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Western Gneiss region, Norway., in Geology, 23(7):597–600.; http://www.answersingenesis.org/ docs/1402.asp#r1]

Emerald
Ex. 28:18; 39:11; Ez. 27:16; 28:13; Rev. 4:3; 21:19;
Emerald is the green variety of beryl/aluminum-silicate. Found on Cyprus, in Egypt and Ethiopia; may refer to a flashy, sparkling `carbuncle', in German it is called Smaragd, the 4th stone (Rev. 21:19).

Faience
Faience is made from sandy ground quartz (calcium-copper silicate) molded over a core, dried, and fired at 800 °C, resulting in a semi fired core with a glassy (vitreous), alkaline glaze. Blue, green, or reddish brown colors were produced by adding various minerals to the quartz base. Faience was used to imitate Lapis Lazuli. For a beautifully carved, Egyptian 14 cm high faience votive menat and wig see KMT, Vol. 12, Fall 2001, p. 34.

Feldspar/Felspar
Feldspar is a granite or rhyolite stone product containing (trace) amounts of quartz, alkaline sanidine, magnetite, albite, biotite, tridymite etc (a complex aluminosilicate), it crystallizes dry from magma. Also used in Egyptian jewelry products. Found in Italy, California, Oregon, England, Japan and many other locations. Feldspar is found in Egyptian Wadis. A rare Feldspar, jewelry quality Obsidian type, is found especially in Dancalla (Ethiopia). "Feldspar (Arkose) breaks down when exposed to the sun's heat, water, and air (e.g., in a humid tropical climate), and relatively quickly forms clays." [See:http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v20/i2/uluru.asp"]

Granite
Granites are not only composed of feldspars, but 20-30% quartz.

Flint
"Flint blades from Tabun Cave, near present-day Haifa, in northern Israel, had an isotope called beryllium-10 in levels indicating they were made from mined flint. However, tools found in Qesem Cave, barely 60 miles to the south, bore the hallmarks of surface rock, indicating these individuals were still using whatever stones were lying around. Flint is a hard, brittle rock that flakes easily to form sharp edges for primitive knives or axes. But because exposed rock tends to be cracked or weathered, flint from beneath the surface makes superior tools. Beryllium-10 is produced when cosmic rays that strike the Earth from space react with the silicon dioxide in rock. Tools fashioned from surface flint have higher levels of beryllium-10 than those mined from underground, explained researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science. This is because buried rocks would have been shielded from cosmic rays for their assumed `millions of years' before they were dug up." If cosmic rays have always been in a steady state is a question which has not been answered fully. [Washington Times; /Italics by CIAS]
Egyptian flint quarries. In Egypt one of the flint quarry sites was Wady Sheykh located near Maghaga (lat. 28° 42'). This site became known as a flint quarry. [Ancient Egypt, Sept. 1930, p. 103-108.]

Jade
Jade or Jadeite consists of Sodium aluminum iron silicate. Often translucent or pearly with vitreous luster. It has been found in Burma, Tibet, California and Japan. A magnificent shroud covered with wafer-thin jade plaques has been found with the body of Liu Wu, the 3rd king of the state of Chu during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 9 AD). The tomb was found chiseled 383 feet into the rock of `Lion Mountain' on the outskirts of Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province. [For more see `Jade Shroud Found', Archaeology, May/Jun 1996, p. 28]

Jacinth
Rev. 9:17; 21:20;
One of the hardest to identify with no certain results. May be an Amethyst or ligure.

Jasper
Ex. 28:20; 39:13; Ez. 28:13; Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 4:3; 21:11; 21:18; 21:19;
Today quartz, silicate type rock.; Variable in color, sometimes of flesh color like `carneol'; colors may change from yellow to red in comparison.; Found in Jurassic layers of California. In biblical times perhaps clear diamond or pale blue as the sky.

Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli consists of the blue to violet silicate mineral lazurite and is a sodium calcium aluminum silicate sulfate. Sometimes found within veins of marble it can be of a deep to pale blue, greenish or violet color. It is found in the Koksha Valley (Afghanistan), in the lava of Mt. Vesuvius, in Lazio (Italy), Chile, Burma, Labrador (Canada), Siberia, Chile, Colorado and California.

Malachite
Malachite is the product of grinding of copper. In this near Beer-sheba `Chalcolithic' location was found an apparent tuyére, or bellows tube and a heat hardened in the ground contoured crucible: 2 hollow standards (one with a pyriform-head); 2 ax heads; a broad, bracelet like band; a small pendant of copper wire with a loop in the middle and spiral rings on both sides; copper awls; grinding stones; and mortars. [BA, Sep. 1985, p. 137.] The standards were of the type found in the `Cave of Treasure' in a cliff in the Judean Desert and a comparable one at Shiqmim. We must remember that their usage is limited to the hardness of copper.

Obsidian
Consists largely of impure volcanic silican dioxides, a glass substance. C. Renfrew and others studied obsidian using sprectroscopic analysis identifying 12 farming communities which obtained their obsidian from the Ciftlik area of central Turkey (also found in Mexico). The study showed that 80% of the chipped stone in villages within 300 km of Ciftlik consisted of obsidian. Obsidian type rock is derived from rapid cooling of viscous, granitic magma spread over wide areas during eruptions. Also used in an ancient Egyptian mirror handle. [N.Reeves, `Ancient Egypt', p. 139.; B.M. Fagan, `In the Beginning', p. 470.] Obsidian was found also on the Islands of Melos (36.6° N, 24.2° E) and Lipari (off Sicily, ca. 38.4° N, 14.9° E), and marble on Naxos and Paros in the Cyclades, Mediterranean Sea (See map).

Opal
Opal or `fire' Opal consists of hydrous silicon oxides. It is often of a hazy or milky blue appearance. When black it can be highly iridescent. Found in New South Wales (Australia), Queretaro (Mexico), Virgin Valley (Nevada). Opal can replace the skeletons of many marine organisms and produces accumulations in sedimentary rocks. Stratified masses of diatomite are found in California.[800]

Potash
A loosely composed mixture of various potassium compounds, chiefly crude potassium carbonate, obtained by washing wood ashes with water and evaporating the resulting solution to dryness. This operation was at one time carried out in iron pots, hence the name `pot ash'.
The terms potash, potash lye, and caustic potash are frequently used for potassium hydroxide. In fertilizer terminology, potassium oxide is called potash.

Potassium Chloride
This substance is also known as `Potash Muriate' which is a naturally occurring potassium salt extracted from lake brines and from a number of minerals such as sylvite, carnallite, and kainite. It is a colorless or white crystalline solid with a salty taste. It has a specific gravity of 1.98, melts at 776°C, and vaporizes at 1,500°C. Its chemical configuration is KCl. Potassium chloride is used as fertilizer and as raw material for the production of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate.

Sapphire
Ex. 24:10; 28:18; 39:11; Job 28:6; 28:16; Song 5:14; Is. 54:11; Lam. 4:7; Ez. 1:26; 10:1; 28:13;
May be the colorless or light blue variety of `corundum (Aluminum oxide)' or else the dark blue mineral `lapis lazuli'.

Sardius
Ex. 28:17; 39:10; Ez. 28:13.
Found first near the site of Sardis in Turkey the gem has a blood-red or flesh color and may have a high polish.

Sardonyx
Rev. 21:20;
Sardonyx is a variety of chalcedony, a grayish or milky quartz in which an opaque layer rests on top of a clear red layer.

Serpentine
Light green or yellowish green Serpentine consists of chrysotile, lizardite and other trace substances. It is found in the Tuscan Appenines of Italy.

Steatite
Steatite is a type of soap stone (talc) or a type of ceramic (Magnesium Silicate) material made of soap stone. Steatite is said to have been used in Middle Kingdom days. [See KMT, Vol. 11, Fall 2000, p. 18, 19.]

Sulfur
White and pure sulphur from the geothermal region of the suspected area of Gomorrah, Dead Sea, can still be found.

Topaz
Ex. 28:17; 39:10; Job 28:19; Ez. 28:13;
The same stone as modern Chrysolite.

Turquoise
Turquoise consists of hydrated copper aluminum phosphate and is often of a light blue or green color. Prismatic crystalls are rare. Splendid specimen were found in Nishapur (Iran), Sinai, Samarkand (Turkestan) and in Los Cerillos (New Mexico) and in Nevada. According to a paper by M. Alexandre Chodsko, the most celebrated turquoise mines of Afghanistan are near the village of Madene located 32 English miles from Nishapoor. The principal mine (Dooletaly) is 6 miles outside Madene. This is an enormous rock on the outside covered with a thin layer of red clay. The gem is found by working the salt flats in the area. [Quoted in J.P. Ferrier, `Caravan Journeys and Wanderings', London, 1856, p. 106; To see the colorful full page image of the Cheapside Hoard found in 1912 in London with its gems of turquoise and emeralds see `The Adventure of Archaeology', Nat. Geogr. Book, p. 91.]
American turquoise: Turquoise mines are located in the SW, Toltec Mines, CA/NV border, Chaco Canyon (AZ), Mt. Chalchihuitl in the Cerrillos Hills (northern AZ), See Eric A. Powell, `The Turquoise Trail' in Archaeology, Jan/Feb 2005, p. 24-29.

Contents of Ancient Treasuries

Things made of gold
[01] England: A scrap of gold found in a Norfolk garden turned out to be an ancient lamella, or magical charm, one of no more than a few dozen known from anywhere in the Roman Empire. It invokes the protection of the eastern god Abraxas for a soldier from the Rhineland. [Archaeology, Jan/Feb 2005, p. 10.]

Sources for natural color pigments:
Egyptian's used for painting: yellow, purple, green, black, blue, brown, gray, orange, pink, red and white.
1. Yellow - derived from Orpiment, a sulfide of arsenic, and used in tomb paintings at Amarna and Thebes. It was probably imported from Persia.
2. Purple - Purple for glass making was derived from small quantities of Manganese compounds. A glass factory making small glass bottles was discovered at El Amarna. Glass (crystal) was valued as much as gold, Job 28:17.
3. Green - derived from Malachite, a green carbonate of Copper. Used in glass making, for eye paint and in wall paintings.
4. Red, Brown, Yellow - Made of iron oxide, hematite.[900] It occurs frequently associated with oxidizing environments. It may occur widespread as disseminated particles that combine with silica to cement strata. Found also at Twin Peaks, Utah, USA. [According to archaeologists some 60 bags of a `horrible smelling' yellow powder which turned out to be hematite were carried out of a tomb judged to be of 26th dynasty times based on style and some other observations. The inscription confirmed that the already by Ahmed Fakhry long sought tomb of `Zed-khonsu-ef-ankh' had been found. See `Egypt Revealed', Fall 2000, p. 26ff.] Many colors were derived from various shades of clay deposits.

Some Sources for Limestone

Some limestone is thought to have been derived from vast sea shell accumulations, the biological-chemical origin type, while other limestone seems to be derived from mostly calcite, the inorganic-chemical kind. [1000] A fine quality type known as `meleke' is found beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. [BAR, May/Jun 1986, p. 30] The process of how these large amounts of basic earth building blocks originated has been described. The way biological and physical types can be recognized is that the former contain silt-sized crystals of the mineral aragonite, ca. 20 microns in size, while the latter contain clay sized crystals of the mineral calcite, ca. =<4 microns in size.

Sources for Amber

Germany: The southern shore chalk cliffs of the Baltic Sea Island of Rugen, Germany.
Israel: A relatively small piece of amber was found in the Kurkar rocks near Jaffa, Palestine, between 1926 and 1929.
Lebanon: A single piece of amber was found in a locality near Dahr-El-Baidar, in the Bekaa valley. The Lebanese amber generally occurs in greyish sand strata, and is often found to be partially embedded in chunks of fossil wood possibly associated with the trees believed to have exuded the amber resins.
[From: http://almashriq.hiof.no/ddc/projects/amber/acra/amber.html]

New Testament Times

1. Victor Paul Furnish, `Corinth in Paul's Time', BAR, May/Jun 1988, p. 14-27; featuring numerous beautiful, scenic color photos including the temple at the foot of the 1900 foot tall `Acrocorinth', a bronze mirror, the Isthmus, the `Diolkos' road of Periander (6th cent. BC), the `Bema (speaker platform)', a pavement inscription mentioning, `ERASTVS PRO AEDILIT[AT]E / S P STRAVIT', `Erastus (Romans 16:23), a drawn city plan with labeled structures, a corona muralis adorning Fortuna, a grand photo of the whole city, the Leachaeum Road, the Fountain of Peirene, commemorative "cured human body parts", stone lintel of a Jewish synagogue and a marble arch impost and the mosaic of a cat from the villa Anaploga.
2. See also Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, `The Corinth that St. Paul Saw' in BA, Sept. 1984, p. 147-159; The article features B&W images of a map of the Gulf of Corinth showing the locations of Schoenus, Isthmia, Cromna, Lechaeum, Sicyon, Corinth and Cenchreae. There is also a city map of Corinth showing the location of the Asclepion, Lerna building, amphitheater, the Anaploga, Craneum, Temple of Aphrodite, Acrocorinth and Upper Peirene. The following city gate locations are shown: the Cenchrean Gate, Southeast Gate and the Phliasian Gate. In addition there are various artists renderings of the details of these structures and city complexes.
3. J.F.Strange & H.Shanks, `Has the House Where Jesus Stayed in Capernaum Been Found?', BAR, Nov/Dec 1982, p. 26-37.
4. Mendel Nun, `Ports of Galilee, BAR, Jul/Aug 1999, p. 18-31; Includes a coastal image and a fine color drawing where Capernaum was and what it may have looked like. Shows also images of Tiberias, location of Magda (Greek: Tarichae) where the rocks by the beach are thought to mark the places where Magdala's fish processing area used to be, and Sussita/Hippos and two Roman galley and anchor coins of the 2nd century AD. To see and read about the `Capernaum Amphitheater' where Jesus probably spoke providing the acoustical background to him speaking to thousands (Matthew 13:1-36; Mark 1:21-29) check out BA, Vol. 39, Dec 1976, p. 128-141. A Lake Tiberius fish, a `Musht (`striped bass' or German `Barsch') can be seen in BAR, Mar 1994, p. 81.
5. Robert J. Bull, `Caesarea Maritima - The Search for Herod's City?' & R. Hohlfelder, `Caesarea Beneath the Sea', BAR, May/Jun 1982, p. 24-47.
6. L. & K. Rittmeyer, `Akeldama - Potter's Field or High Priest's Tomb?', BAR, Vol. 20, Nov/Dec 1994, p. 22-46.
7. Robert J. Bull, Caesarea Maritime in BAR, May 1982, p. 24-41. Images: Elevated High & LowAqueduct of Herod the Great; The Latin inscription on a stone featuring the name of Pontius Pilate (p. 33); The Herodian theater; J.K.McDonald, `Treasures of the Holy Land?', BA, Vol. 49, Sept 1986, p. 155-165. Also features the inscribed stone found at Caesarea bearing the name of Pontius Pilate. The stone was found during excavations of the local theater which had been built by Herod and was later remodeled into a fortress. The inscription reads: "TIBERIEUM/...[PO]NTIUS PILATUS/... [PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E."
8. Zvi Greenhut, `Burial Cave of the Caiaphas Family' - `Caiaphas Name Inscribed on Bone Boxes' - `Jewish Funerary Inscriptions' - `Did Jesus Speak Greek?', BAR, Vol. 18, Sep/Oct 1992, p. 28-63; featuring many images.
9. Z. Yeivin, `Ancient Chorazin Comes Back to Life', BAR, Vol. XIII, Sep/Oct 1987, p. 22-36; featuring many photos and drawings of this city mentioned in Matthew 11:21.; (9b) For a nice color image of the locally mined black basalt columns and a very, with geometric patterns and acanthus leaves, decorated basalt pilaster of the Chorazim synagogue of the 3rd - 6th cent. AD, see BAR, Jan 1983, p. 75. The authors drawing suggests that this pilaster was part of an arched doorway which had at its top what may have been a Coptic Shell, which in pagan context symbolized the heavens.
10. H.G. May, `Synagogues in Palestine', BA, Vol. VII, Feb 1944, p. 1-20; Featuring a model of the synagogue in Capernaum, floor plans of the synagogues of a) Capernaum, Chorazin, Kefr Bir'im, Eshtemoa, Beth Alpha, Hamath, Gerasa & Dura Europos; at that time, the only surviving Greek Theodotus inscription from the time of the formation of the New Testament reading: "Theodotus, son of Vettenos, priest and archsynagogos, son and grandson of an archsynagogos, constructed the synagogue for the reading of the Law and the teaching of the commandments, built its inn, chambers, and water installations for housing needy strangers. (Originally built by his fathers and the elders and by Simonides)."; the damaged Mosaic Floor of the vestibule of the Gerasa Synagogue showing a running lioness, dogs and a short tailed deer like creature with the head missing, rows of geese, and a variety of horses, desert dwelling antelopes, and a 7 branch candlestick;
11. Menahem Magen, `Recovering Roman Jerusalem - The Entryway Beneath the Damascus Gate' in BAR, Vol. XV, May/Jun 1988, p. 48-56. Featuring a full page image (and aerial) of the Damascus Gate constructed by the Ottoman emperor Suleiman in 1542 AD, numerous interior images and a drawing of Hadrians Gate.
12. Ephesus. How not to interpret Revelation. The author makes his comments out of context of New Testament themes. The upper most desire of the early Christian church was the promised return of the Messiah to end the reign of persecution and sin and bring this world's history to a final conclusion. Revelation is primarily a prophecy of future events and not an account of recent history. But the images in the article can give the reader a good idea of what Ephesus may have looked like in the days of Paul and the disciple John who wrote Revelation toward the very end of his life, a topic unlike that of his book of the Gospel of John, but yet, both books plus the epistles of John were written by the same John, beloved disciple of Jesus. Authors can easily change their style of writing, especially in the face of a totally different subject matter and at a later time in life. See S.Friesen, `Key to a Vision in Revelation', BAR, Vol. 19, May/Jun 1993, p. 24-37.
For a full page color image of the Arcadian Way of Ephesus see BAR, May 1993, p. 28-29.
13. When were the words of Jesus written down is discussed in Letters to the Editor in `Literacy in Jesus Time', BAR, Vol. 29, Nov/Dec 2003, p. 13-16. A notable contribution may be the theory that some of either the twelve or seventy discicples (Luke 10:1) could write in short hand like Cicero's Greek slave `Tiro' who was set free for his contribution as a short hand transcriber. Since it seems that at least five of the disciples could write, over the three year span of the ministry of Jesus Christ at least 15 man-years of writing could have produced the basis for the gospels.
14. For information on the city of Jerusalem and its wall see Magen Broshi, `Along Jerusalem/s Wall' in BA, Vol. 40, p. 11-17, featuring drawn images of part of the western wall south of the citadel, a reconstruction of the Ayyubid Gate-Tower, B&W photos of the Hasmonean stone courses under the Turkish wall, the Mt. Zion Western Wall, the Ayyubid Gate, and the inscription of al-Malik alMu'zaam Isa originally affixed over the Ayyubid Gate and written in Arabic. See also in the same source E.W. Hamrick, `The Third Wall of Agrippa I, p. 18-23, featuring drawn images of the temple complex's first, second and third walls up to the North Line, excavations at the Damascus Gate (1964-66) - the third wall and gateway of Agrippa I (arch reconstructed by Hadrian) and a B&W photo of the gate. [Also BAR, Vol. 30, p. 45.]
15. R.Hestrin & Z.Yeivin, `Oil from the Presses of Tirat-Yehuda' in BA, Vol. 40, Mar 1977, p. 29-31; J. Campbell, `The Renascence of Iron Age Arad', Ibid., p. 34-37 including of B&W images of the Musicians of Ashdod clay figures and so-called cult vessels. C. Epstein, `The Chalcolithic Culture of the Golan', Ibid., p. 56 (map)-62 including B&W images of pottery found.; D. Alon, `A Chalcolothic Temple at Gilath', Ibid., p. 63-70 featuring color images of A. Kuntilat Ajrud: two painted sherds. 1. A representation of the goddess Bes and above her an inscription in Hebrew, 2. a seated figure playing a lyre, 3. a cow suckling a calf.; Tell Qasile: 4. decorated Philistine vessels from Stratum XII, cult stands and bowls,; Tell Mevorakh: 5. four painted pots and a bowl;
Nigella sativa, black seed or black cumin oil? Nigella sativa of the Ranunculaceae family is commonly known as black cumin, nutmeg flower, black caraway and Roman coriander. It was cultivated widely by the Romans. No word is known for it in the language of the ancient Egyptians. The seed contains 40% fixed oil, a saponin, and up to 1.4% volatile oil. Since black cumin seeds were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, it must have been used. It may be of interest that, even though it is different from the common Cuminum cyminum, of the family of Apiaceae, the uses of C. cyminum must have been similar. It was called _tpnn_ (Coptic `_shunis_') and appeared in more than 50 remedies in the Ebla archive. It was used as an antiseptic, bread flavoring, for headaches, gastrointestinal problems like gas colics, intestinal worms especially for children, promoter of menstruation and for milk production. It is said to be an excellent expectorant for cough and chest congestion. Cumin was and still is used widely in India as a spice and herbal medicin.
16. C.Clamer & D.Ussishkin, `A Canaanite Temple at Tell Lachish', Ibid., p. 71-76 with images.
17. a) A 38 line Aramaic text was inscribed on the life size basalt statue of a man's skirt found in 1969 at Tell Fakhariyeh, ancient Sikan, ca. 2 km east of Tell Halaf, ancient Gozan, about half way between Haran and Tell Brak, Mesopotamia. b) Also shown is a carved relief image in the Egyptian manner of the god Melqart, chief deity of ancient Tyre, found near Aleppo. The 5 lines of Aramaic text at the base, thought to date from ca. 850-755 BC on paleographic evidence, read: "The statue which Bar-Hadad, son of [....] King of Aram, set up for his lord Melqart, to who he made a vowand who heard his voice." c) Three inscriptions on steles found in the village of Sefire, ca. 25 km SE of Aleppo, mention the name of Matiel, king of Arpad, making a pact with Bar-Gayah, king of an unknown city or territory called KtK. d) The inscribed relief stele showing the Aramean Bar-Rakib, King of Sam'al in ca. 730 BC. The king was a vassal to Tiglathpileser, "lord of the four quarters of the earth." [BA, Vol. 51, Seo 1988, p. 172ff.]
The Aramaic Ostracon I as translated by A.H. Sayce: Convex Side- "Now [writes X] the ... rian to Malchiah my master, in regard to the document, that when you hear that thy princes (?) have paid tribute in Assuan send to me; behold, there is come the papyrus which thou hast (?) in the hand; send it to me; and the papyrus which I sent to you is part of (?) the papyrus (*); and the great papyrus which Malchiah gave to them, send; it belongs to it."
Concave Side - "Now, behold, the vessel (?) which Uriah has given to me for the libation; convey it to Gemaraiah the son of Achio, and he shall prepare it with the beer, and do you mix it for Uriah. Moreover, behold [Pe]tosiris; and he (Gemariah) shall go and write it on his (Petosiris's) arm above the writing which is upon his arm. Lo, thus he has sent, saying that they must not forget his child (whose name) is written above his own name." [PSBA, Vol. XXX, 1908, p. 19. *) The meaning to this Aramaic word was conjectured by Sayce, `as no such word is known elsewhere in Aramaic (at least by 1908).']
18. Rami Khouri, `Where John Baptized" in BAR, Jan/Feb 2005, p. 34-43.; Discusses `Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:28)' where John the Baptist may have worked.
19. Impressive Mosaics authored by Dodo Joseph Shenhav, Loaves and Fishes Mosaic Near the Sea of Galilee can be seen in the Byzantine church of Tabgha and in BAR, May, 1984. p. 22-44.

1. The Paleo-Hebrew Leviticus Scroll from Qumran is discussed by K.A. Matthew (quoting Sanders) in BA, Vol. 50, No. 1, March 1987, p. 45-54. Shown are images of B&W fragments, (a) Fragment 1:2 of 11QpaleoLev, Column 27 of 11QPs^a.
2. Michael O. Weise & James D. Tabor, `The Messiah at Qumran' in BAR, Nov 1992, p. 60-63. Contains the Hebrew text and translation reading, "[.... The hea]vens and the earth will obey His Messaih. [The sea and all th]at is in them. He will not turn aside from the commandment of the Holy Ones. Take strength in His mighty work, all ye who seek the Lord. Will you not find the Lord in this, all ye who wait [for Him] with hope in your hearts? Surely the Lord will seek out the pious, and will call the righteous by name. His spirit will hover over the poor; by His might will He restore the faithful. He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal kingdom. He will release the captives, make the blind see, raise up the do[wntrodden.] For[ev]er will cleave [to Him ag]ainst the [po]werful, and [I will trust] in His lovingkindness a[nd in His] go[odness forever. His] holy [Messiah] will not be slow [in coming.] And as for the wonders that are not the work of the Lord, when he [i.e., the Messiah] [come]s then he will heal the sick, resurrect the dead, and to the poor glad tidings. ... he will lead the [Ho]ly Ones, he will shepherd [th]em. He will do ... and all of it ..." [4Q521]

Tell en-Nasbeh, a very stoney site(*), was probably ancient Mizbah according to archaeologists (but see here). This site was excavated by Frederic Bade between 1926-1935 who had left meticulous records. According to the latest analysis of these records Jeffrey Zorn discovered that Bade had overlooked an entire stratum, that of the time of the Jewish Exile in Babylon. For the full article see BAR, Vol. 23, Sep/Oct 1997, p. 28-38, 66. Also J. Zorn, Mizpah in BAR, Vol. 23, Sep 1997, p. 28-38, 66 {the article shows Babylonian and Persian remains at the site.}, and `William Frederic Bade' in BA, Vol. 51, Mar 1988, p. 28-45. The article features 2.Kings 25 as it appeared and read in the 1611 edition of the King James Bible. [(*) According to Elihu Grant, Ain Shems Excavations Part I, 1931, p. 2.]
«

A List of Royal Names found at Byblos:

4th Dynasty
Queen Hetepheris (wife of Sneferu and mother of Khufu); Dunand (1959: part 2, 929 & 931, #1753).
Khufu: Dunand (1939: 322, #4506).
Queen Meritytis (wife of Khufu): Montet (1928: 75, #64, figure 23).
Khafre: Dunand (1939: 200, #3074, plate 125).
Menkaure: Montet (1928: 68 & 69, #45, fig. 21*; Dunand (1939: 120, #1794, plate 39*, 162fm #2367, plate 39*, 169f, #2471, plate 39*, 343, #5120, plate 39*, 418, #6504), Dunand (1959: text 1, 438, #11327, plate 145)
5th Dynasty
Sahure: Dunand (1939: 272, #3920, plate 125*).
Neferirkare-Kakai: Dunand (1939: 329, #4909, plate 36).
Niuserre-Ini: Dunand (1939: 280, #4030, plate 37).
Djedkare-Isesi: Nelson (1934: 20, #1; plate 3, #1).
Unas: Montet (1928: 69 & 70, #46, plate 39); Dunand (1939: 267f, #3867, plate 38, 278, #3980, plate 36; 278, #3981; 280, #4029, plate 36).
6th Dynasty
Teti: Nelson (1934: 20, #2; plate 3, #2); Dunand (1939: 258, #3753, plate 37).
Pepi I Meryre: Montet (1928: 70, #47, plate 37; 71, #48; 71, #50, fig. 2); Dunand (1939: 93, #1359, plate 37, 161, #2359, 169, #2466; 183, #2865*; 309, #4147, plate 36; 316, #4149, plate 36; 316, #4366, plate 38; 345, #5141 & 5191 - 3 fragments that fit together; 417, #6496, plate 38); Nelson (1934: 20, #3, plate 3; 20f, #6, plate 3; 21, #1, plate 4; #7&8, plate 3);
Pepi I or Pepi II: Dunand (1939: 26, #1113 and 1114, plate 36; 27, #1116; 117, #1742; 240, #3530, plate 37; 260, #3972, plate 37; 331, #4941; 373, #5446, plate 147); Montet (1928: 72, #51, plate 45; 73, #57, plate 45); Nelson (1934: 22, #2, 5 & 7, plate 5); Dunand (1959: 929, #17540, fig. 1044).
Mernere Antyemsaf: Dunand (1939: 133, #1940, plate 36).
Pepi II: Dunand (1939: 132, #1927, plate 36; 162, #2365, plate 37; 185, #2874, plate 36; 261, #3800, plate 38); Montet (1928: 72, #56, plate 40; 74, #62, plate 41); Nelson (1934: 21, #1&2, plate 5);

From the temple of Baalat-Gebal in Byblos comes also the alabaster offering plate inscribed with the titles of a non-royal Egyptian offical named Nefer-Seshem-Ra. See BA, Vol. 51, Sep 1988, p. 150. A so-called Proto-Sinaitic inscription from Serabit el-Khadem appears to show the name , `thlb', interpreted to read `Baalat' where the hay and lamed seem to be questionable.' [`The Biblical Archaeologist', Vol. 36, 1973, p. 53.]

Sea Shells for Purple Dying

The Phoenicians produced 2 distinct colors, blue-purple (hyancinth, Hebrew: tekelet) and red-purple (Tyrian, Hebrew: argaman). The colorless dye is present in shellfish and in the hypobranchial gland of snails which was removed and by exposure to sunlight and air developed. The shells of species found were in 2 piles, 1. the banded dye-murex (Phyllonotus (Murex) trunculus), 2. the spiny dye-murex (Bolinus (Murex) brandaris), 3. rock shell or oyster drill, Thais haemastoma.
[See I.I. Ziderman, `Seashells and Ancient Purple Dying' in BA, Vol. 53, Jun 1990, p. 98-101; features images and the chemical formula of the dye.]

Parts of the Text of Ptahshepses

[A child was born ... during the t]ime of Menkaure, who was educated among the royal children in the palace of the king and in the privacy of the royal harem, one more esteemed than any other child (h[r]d), Ptahshepses.
[A youth who tied on the girdle ... during] the time of Shepseskaf, who was educated among the royal children in the palace of the king etc...
[...] of Userkaf. His majesty gave him the eldest royal daughter, Khamaat, as his wife, since his majesty desired that she be with him more than any other man, Ptahshepses. [P. Dorman, The Biographical Inscription of Ptahshepses in JEA, Vol. 88 2002, p. 95-110.]

Thucydides on Sardis

"Soon after they had returned from Euboea the Athenians made a thirty years' truce with Sparta and her allies (446 BC): Athens gave up Nissea. Pegae, Troezen, and Achaea - all places which they had seized from the Peloponnesians. - In the sixth year of the truce war broke out between Samos and Miletus over the question of Priene. After having the worst of the fighting the Milesians came to Athens and lodged violent protests against the Samians. Their cause was supported by various private individuals from Samos itself who wished to set up there a different form of government. So the Athenians sailed to Samos with forty ships and established democracy there. They took fifty boys and fifty men as hostages and kept them in Lemnos. Then, leaving a garrison behind in Samos, they returned home. However, some of the Samians, instead of staying on the island, had fled to the mainland. These entered into communications with the leading oligarchs still in the city and also made an alliance with Pissuthenes, the son of Hystaspes, who at the time was the Persian Governor at Sardis." [Thucydides, `History of the Peloponnesian War', Bk. I, Sec. 115]

Findings Surrounding the Statuary of Sennefer and Senetnay

Devoted visitors over the many years these statues existed are said to be responsible for the gradual wearing away of hieroglyphic writing in the lap of these figures. "But the name of Amun is (also) untouched in the inscriptions of CG 42126, the statue of Sennefer and Senetnay. ... The gradual wearing away of the texts from the laps of the figures in the composition could, in theory, have begun before the Amarna Period, but the added inscriptions of the draftsmen are suggestive of a significantly later date. I suspect the imposing appearance of the group, not least the Gold of Favor worn by Sennefer, was responsible for attracting the attention of Djedkhonsu and Amenmose to the statue, rather than any living memory of the long-dead mayor and his wife." [M.Eaton-Kraus, `The Fate of Sennefer and Senetnay' in JEA, Vol. 85, 1999, p. 120, 121.; Also W.V. Davies, `Reading the Past', p. 16.]

Comments: Convention decided that the carved inscription on the left side names two men. Georges Legrain thought they were the sculptors signatures, later described as the draftsmen signatures. Sennefer and his wife lived in the days of Amenhotep II. However, the formula that introduces the titles and names of both men is not compatible with an 18th Dynasty date nor is the name of one of the draftsmen. In fact, both the formula and the name Djedkhonsu are typical of the Third Intermediate Period (the conv. 21st Dynasty times). Obviously the inscription was added as much as 400 years later. The revised dates would be ca. from 900/880? to ca. 480/420? BC.

Ramses II/Osorken II information has moved to Here.

1) The Boghazkoi archives ('Hittite empire' archives) can demonstrably be dated to the 7th and 6th centuries BC because of their extensive mention of persons and events from those periods (Alyattes, Croesus, etc.)(Hittite kinglist, BA, Sep. 1990, p. 64.).

2) Letters from these persons to anyone else places the intended recipient in this time period also. (You do not, as a rule, write letters to rulers long dead - least of all do you get answers from them!) When Hattusilis writes to Kadashman Enlil, ruler of Babylon, it places Kadashman Enlil as ruling Babylon in the 7th-6th century BC, whatever the 'Kassite king lists' may say.

3) As Nergilissar is not known to have more than one son, and his son Labash Marduk appears to equate to the Urhi Teshub of the archives, and Kadashman Enlil is a) a young, new ruler, b) a contemporary of Urhi Teshub, and c) does not correspond with Urhi Teshub, the commonsense solution is that the two are one and the same, using different names for different kingly offices.

Furthermore, it appears that the 'Kassite' sequence of Kadashman Turgu/Kadashman Enlil/Kudur Enlil matches Nergilissar (I do not know his Chaldean throne name - if indeed he ever had one)/Urhi Teshub/Hattusilis and Nergilissar/Labash Marduk/Nebuchadnezzar. This also suggests that Nebuchadnezzar's successors, Amel Marduk/Tudhaliyas and Nabonidus/Arnuwandas, would have taken Babylonian throne names and be represented in Babylon's 'Kassite' king lists. I have not yet found any obvious links in respect of these two (largely because I have not really looked yet), and I only conjecture an identification when there is an obvious link as it is rather pointless otherwise.

All of this leads me to conjecture, even conclude, that Neo-Babylonian monarchs took a 'Chaldean' throne name for ruling from Hattusas, and a 'Kassite' one for ruling from Babylon. Given that they were also known by their own personal name (as referred to in the Bible), the scope for mistaken creation of separate identities by later historians is understandable.

Tying these additional throne names to their correct owners may eventually be of considerable benefit towards understanding the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It will at least, I hope, cause future scholarly minds to cease whirring in unprofitable circles in the black holes of historical 'dark ages'. [Private e-mail: Patrick Waterson, London correspondent]

Additional Notes: On the subject of the Tall-i-Takht ("throne hill"). Period I, "The technical basis of Achaemenian masonry, and sometimes considerably more than the technical basis alone, can be seen to stem from Lydia and Ionia. The importation of so many features is unthinkable before Iran and Lydia came into continuous contact late in 547 BC so that stone construction on the Tall-i-Takht can only have begun in or after 546 BC. ... The technical basis of the work points firmly to the reign of Cyrus and more particularly, from what we know of the historical events of the time, to the years 546-530 BC. Indeed, limited as the evidence is, it is not unreasonable to suppose that Cyrus' own unfinished design for an elevated residential palace was based, in part at least, on the signal model of the Lydian royal acropolis at Sardis and that many of his masons were brought directly to Pasargadae from the still unfinished temple of Artemis at Sardis." [David Stronach, `Pasargadae', Oxford, 1978, p. 22-23.; George Hanfmann, The 7th Campaign at Sardis in BASOR, Dec 1964, p. 2-37.]

Israelite/Judean Kings and our built in thermometer
Ahaz: Ahaz [ca.] was deeply involved in pagan religion.
"...he ... made his sons pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.
And he scarificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."
"And Uriah the priest built an (pagan) altar according to all plans king Ahaz had sent from Damascus. And ... the king ... offered thereon. And he burnt his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar." 2.Kings 16:3,4,12-14.
"For Ahaz walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim."
"For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, `Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.
And in every several cities of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers." 2.Chronicles 28:2, 23,24.
"The sacrificed unto devils, not to God: to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared (respected) not." Deuteronomy 32:17.
"... the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils." " 1.Corinthians 10:20.
Isaiah's description of despair resulting from reliance on spirits other than the Lord fits Ahaz well. True `fear of God' means that you recognize Him as the ultimate power in the universe. Such fear or respect overcomes any other fear. It is obtained by paying attention "to the law and to the testimony", God's instructions given to them to safely guide them through life in a sinful world and not to lose sight of Him, their Creator. "if they speak not according to his word, it is because their is no light in them." If they speak of things which affects behavior and religious views in order to provoke people to sin against the Lord, it is because they do not respect God, they hate their Creator. They follow their own corrupted wisdom, because of the ridiculing of unbelievers of their God. And they want so much to be like the heathens around them, who worship artfully made gods by their own hands, while Israel worshipped their God in the spirit, in the uplifting faith of the written word given to them by Moses and the prophets according to the divine, truth loving inspiration received by them. For the true God is not made of stones and wood, but dwells in heaven and to behold Him we may perhaps let our spiritual eyes look past the moon and stars into the farthest reaches of the universe and read about his love in the holy scriptures. For prayerfully reading/studying the word of God is the acceptable way of worshipping the only true God so we may become spontaneous, impulsive doers and witnesses of His loving will like Jesus was. Our initial reactions to people and events around us may be thought of as a check or `spiritual thermometer' on how far away or how close we are to God. Do we exhibit patience, thoughts of understanding love toward our fellow human beings? Or do we experience thoughts of impatience, hate and jealousy toward others? If the latter is true we need more of the love of God in our lives. Only by comparing our life to the eternally valid commandment laws, living according to His `Golden Rule' like Jesus did, and according to the positive instructions of His prophets, can we make this world a better place to live.

A List of German Caves
The Barbados Caves List
Caves by Country
Digging up a cave bear - in German - Images in International
Caves of the North American Deserts
Apalachian Caves List
Bulgarian Caves List
Caves in Poland
Colorado Cave Sites
List of the Deepest and Longest Caves in Serbia and Montenegro
Deutsche Höhlen im Sauerland
Eastern US Limited Access Caves Lists
Germany-Nordrein-Westfalen Caves
Turkish Caves
World's Deepest Caves List
World Cave Database
The Big US/California Caves List
Endless Caverns, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, USA

[0800] Opal - Rapid formation in nature:
So now we have a new explanation of how opal is probably formed in nature. At some point in the host rock, the correct mixture of electrolyte and other ingredients is present. The chemical process starts and expands outward. It transforms the host sandstone or opal dirt into precious opal through the ion exchange process. As it does, it uses up the electrolyte. When it is all used up, the process stops and no more precious opal forms. After this initial formation, the silica gel naturally restructures, becoming more compact, 'squeezing' out water as it does.
This simple experimentally verified process can explain how opal formed in so many different ways. The so-called nobbies (round nodules of opal) of Lightning Ridge (and probably the 'crystal blobs' in Andamooka) are thus the result of a small pool of electrolyte in which the opal formation process started. As the opal grew from the centre out, a concretion or roundish shape was created. The size of the nobby or nodule was probably determined by how much electrolyte was available.
One wonders how a nobby, or a spot of opal in Mexican rhyolite (a volcanic lava rock), could have been formed under the sedimentation processes of standard evolutionary/uniformitarian theory. Where did the gel come from? How did it travel into the space it supposedly filled? There are usually no cracks to provide access. Len Cram's explanation solves this problem. With the necessary ingredients already part of the lava rock, the process started from the inside out, transforming the matrix into precious opal as it proceeded. Seams (or layers) of opal also can be explained in this way. The electrolyte initiates the ion exchange and the process takes the path of least resistance, that is, along the layering in the host rock.
Transformed into opal:
Len has a bottle where he has put opal dirt from Lightning Ridge in the bottom and his solution on top. The layer of opal formed on top of the opal dirt, but then, strangely, a pocket of precious opal began to grow in the dirt. The opal dirt (or sandy grit) was literally being chemically transformed into precious opal. In another of his bottles, precious opal has grown in horizontal layers or seams in the opal dirt, one above the other. Each seam has varying qualities, colour bases and patterns. Thus seam opal is not necessarily a sedimentary deposit in previously existing cracks in the opal dirt. Rather the chemical reaction which creates the opal has made the seam where no crack or seam previously existed.
There are other problems with the so-called sedimentation theory which make Len's experimental explanation far more believable. In some opal fields there are often several large seams of opal deposits, sometimes six or nine metres (about 20 or 30 feet) across, lying one on top of the other with little space between them. If these opal seams had originally been open cracks in the host clay, how could this soft clay have stayed suspended for millions of years with large long cracks within it without collapsing while waiting to be filled with opal? No wonder geologists have difficulty in explaining opal formation in such occurrences!
There is also a lot of natural opal that is impregnated with 'opal dirt' which has a lower specific gravity than does silica in solution. This opal dirt should thus have floated to the top of the gel if the sedimentation theory were correct, rather than being caught up in the middle of the opal as is so often the case.
Both these observable details completely discount the evolutionary theory of silica gel sedimentation over millions of years.
Potential confirmation of the comparability of Len Cram's experiments with natural opal formation comes from an experienced Northern Territory opal miner. He recently recounted how after discovering some high grade colourful opal underground, he was dismayed to find that after only short exposure to sunlight, the opal lost its colourful patterns. This suggests that some mined opal is not yet stabilized, pointing to recent formation.
This fascinating scientific story is not yet complete. The usual explanation for differences in base colour in opals is the presence of impurities. Len's research has shown that this is not how the base colour is formed. He has shown that the chemical composition of black opal is identical to that of white or other types. Rather, it is the structure of the opal which creates the base colour.
Vital creationist research:
This again is a revolutionary idea, but as before Len has the proof in the bottles in his laboratory. He has opal growing where he initially mixed various dyes to make the solutions black. Sure enough, there sits a black liquid on top of a growing layer of pure clear opal. But in another jar the liquid is clear and the opal is black. Len maintains that every black opal in Lightning Ridge (and 98 per cent of the world's black opal comes from Lightning Ridge) was originally white—he has seen white opals turn black in his bottles. So much for the old theory that the colours are produced by impurities!
All this sounds exciting but, as always, there is a catch. Len has proved that good stable natural opal hardens while still underwater, because his opal is slowly doing the same. But he hasn't so far waited the few years or decades necessary for completion of the process to be able to pour the water off his opal and cut it. Instead, he has siphoned the water off through a small hole in the plastic top over his jar and allowed the opal to slowly dry out over a number of months. And here is the 'catch'. The forced drying caused the opal to crack. Len is working on this problem but has not solved it yet.
Len's opal is not yet ready to replace natural opal. He doesn't intend it to. However, what Len's experiments have done, is provide a whole new explanation of how opal is formed, in only a matter of years. His short time-frame explanation, consistent with the biblical framework, can readily account for the field observations of natural opal in its host rocks. Furthermore, the most likely explanation of the opalization of fossil bones is now therefore the same replacement (ion exchange) process that Len has demonstrated in his laboratory. The evolutionary 'textbook' story of opal formation slowly over millions of years is going to have to be rewritten.
Research based on creationist presuppositions is thus not only true and proper research, but continues to contribute to true scientific endeavour.
However, there are also practical applications. Len Cram's creationist research into rapid opal formation has now provided a new model and exploration target in the search for more opal in existing opal fields and, more importantly, for the discovery of new opal fields.
If most of the host sediments were catastrophically deposited recently in Noah's Flood and opal formed rapidly, why should the uniformitarian geological time-scale, with its millions of years, limit exploration targets for new opal deposits to so-called Cretaceous sandstones? All sandstone strata that resemble the host rocks of known opal fields such as Coober Pedy (South Australia) and Lightning Ridge (New South Wales)—'Cretaceous'—or Mintabie, South Australia ('Ordovician') should be regarded as prospective, regardless of their inferred uniformitarian geological age.!

[0900] On the subject of Egyptian color pigments see Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus', 2001, Appendix I, p. 183, Ioanna Kakoulli in Analysis of Pigments from Polychrome Sculptures - Egyptian Blue, Conservation of Wall Painting Department, University of London.

[1000] Formula: Ocean salt (NaCl) reacts with the anorthite feldspar to release free calcium. Calcium reacts in water to form calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) and hydrogen, this in turn reacts with carbon dioxide to form calcite (CaCO3) and hydrogen. Calcite is the mineral that's found as the main ingredient of limestone, so here's a probable source for a large fraction of limestone formations produced during the Great Flood.

[1200] The Hebrew name `Joshua' is equivalent to the Greek `Jesus'. Joshua, of the tribe of Ephraim, of the Old Testament is a type for Jesus in many things which occured during his time. It was his task of conquering Palestine from these peoples. Israel was instructed not to intermarry with them for if they do, the Lord said, He will no more drive out any of these nations from before them. They did not conquer them es they had been instructed by the Lord. They didn't make a clean sweep. - This is like a man who builds a brand new house but moves in before it is finished. Result: He will leave tasks undone, because he got comfortable and procrastinates. - So it is with sin in our lives. When you have Jesus in your heart, have Him in every corner. Any area that you still give to the enemy in the Promised Land, in our heart, it will grow until it finally enslaves you again. You have to scrape it clean. You need to let every unclean, impure area in your life taken over by Joshua. In that sense, sin is like cockraoches, one will turn into many and start the infestation all over again. A sin, which you think is little and of no consequence, will grow like a Boa Constricter and wrap itself around us.(Based on Joshua 23 last part) - When Joshua makes his famous statement, "... choose you this day whom ye will serve ..." (Josh. 24:15) This statement and Mark 8:34,35 destroys the Calvinistic view that we have no choice, that our election is all done by the arbitrary power of God.

Numidia Inscription: "We are the Phoenicians, who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue (Nun)." (See Ex. 33:11;Deut. 31:23)

[2000] For images and information on a monumental Lydian structure along the highway from Izmir to Ankara, see Crawford H. Greenwalt, The Sardis Campaign of 1977 in ASOR, No. 233, Winter 1979, p. 1-32.

[3000] Five Midas type tombs are described: (From the German) 1. Arslankaja, a free, steep standing carved rock in a flat country side, 2. Maltasch, 3. Midas, 4. the fassade Arezastis, 5. Gordions tomb. See Erich Brandenburg, Phrygien und seine Stellung im Kleinasiatischen Kulturkreis in Der Alte Orient, Vol. 9-12, 1912, p. 5-31.

[5000] What we should know about the Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph). This is a Greek manuscript of the Old and New Testament, found in St. Catherine's Monastery by Count Tischendorf in 1844. He found 34 leaves in a rubbish basket. The remainder of the mansucript he did not get until 1859. He found that the early corrections on the manuscript were made based on Origen's source and that as many as 10 scribes tampered with the codex texts. Tischendorf counted as many as 14800 alterations mostly dated to the 6th and 7th centuries. "On nearly every page of the manuscript there are corrections and revisions, done by 10 different people." "... the New Testament ... is extremely unreliable ... on many occasions 10, 20, 30, 40, words are dropped ... letters, words, even whole sentences are frequently written twice over, or begun and immediately canceled. That gross blunder, whereby a clause is omitted because it happens to end in the same word as the clause preceding, occurs no less than 115 times in the NT." Here are some examples of di homoeoteleuton omissions. The Greek word means `because of similar endings.' Here are some examples: The italicized, bold words are omitted in Sinaiticus ... 1.Cor. 13:1-2. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I have nothing." The scribe had copied the verse up to the end of the first "and have not charity," but when he looked up to his example again he continued copying, his eye fell upon the second occurence of the phrase, from which he continued omitting all of those words between the two occurences of the phrase. Here is a more complicated example: 1 Cor. 15:25-27 "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet." What happened here? Once we know that some early manuscripts have the order of clauses different, we can see what happened. Some have the clauses as follows, "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. For he hath put all things under his feet The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." While it is true that there are about 45 to 50 Greek manuscripts that support the Westcott/ Hort Greek text that underlies the modern versions of the Bible, we must realize that there are more than 5000 manuscripts which underly the Textus Receptus on which the King James Bible is based. At least 99% of all manuscript evidence supports the King James textual version. The authors of the KJV used the "Formal-Equivalence" method of translating. By this method English words are selected according to their closest possible meaning to the Greek word. Modern Bible versions use the "Dynamic-Equivalence and Paraphrasing" or "Concept-Inspiration" method which is vastly inferior. The "inspiration" part is not of divine origin but the ideas of fallible men.
[5050] Sources for Ancient Treasures: 1. Herodotus, History, 3.89ff. 2. Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.96,2; B.O.Merritt, H.T. Wade-Gery & M.F. Gregor, The Athenian Tribute Lists, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press., 1950). 3. Thucydides, History, 1.96. 4. Diodorus Siculus, 17, 56.6. 5. Arthur T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire, (Chicago: Univ.of Chicago Press., 1984.), pp. 518.520. 6. Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 18.14. 7. Livy, History 37.58. 8. Polybius, History, 18.35. 9. Livy, Perioch (summary) 89. 10. Tenny, Frank, Economic Survey of Ancient Rome, 5 vols. (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Uiv. Press, 1933-1940), vol. 1, pp. 228-229. 11. Strabo, Geography, 17.1.13. 12. Suetonius, Julius Caesar 25, in The Twelve Caesars (Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1979). 13. Appian, Cassius, History. 17.8.3. 14. Appian Wars, 5.129. 15. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1.146. 16. Frank, Economic Survey, Vol. 5, p. 7. 17. Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Gaius (Caligula), 3. 18. Dio Cassius, History, 17.8.3. 19. Geza, Vermes. The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 3rd ed., (London: Penguin, 1987), p. 308.