evidence confirms biblical depiction of Edom

Greetings,MPN. I think we have a Brad McFall Lite on our hands. Slow down, MPN, and let`s tackle one issue at a time. While comprehensive to you, this dashing from stele to stele, Shishak to Shasu, Egypt to Israel, just confuses the issue. Pick one subject and let`s dissect it.

Glad to see you are reining in your posts. Hate to see a 'long' one. Added as an afterthought. What do you want to tackle first--Ai, the Exodus, the settlement of Canaan, carbon dating?Edited by Nighttrain, : Added extras

Good to see someone with enthusiasm debating these subjects, even if you might be getting info from fringe sources.
Is there a point in discussing c.1200, c.1400 dates for an Exodus, when there is nothing of substance archaeologically to back up the tale? Israeli archaeologists prowled all over the Sinai and found nothing. Excavations at supposed sites for Biblical towns have not even established if the ruins are kosher, e.g. Kadesh. Mt. Sinai is still out there with a variety of guesses as to its whereabouts. The supposed crossing (Red Sea, Reed Sea) has little confirmation. The population numbers are either exaggerated or impossible to sustain. Even the suggestion made by a well-known TV doco doing the rounds that Santorini/Thera helped the Exodus is full of holes. Got anything new to contribute to the same old barren story?BTW, try to avoid bringing up the Wyatt/Moller connection.

Didn`t David Rohl lead a team to the Garden of Eden in Iran. Now if you believe in the G of E, then you should believe in the Flood. But as our esteemed creo colleagues keep telling us, the flood deposited thousands of feet of sediment. Thus, G of E is buried beyond any spade. Even a long-handled one.One thing I will agree with you is the scarcity of archaeological artifacts, making it difficult to place nomadic movements. And archaes tend to grab on to an explanation far too quickly for my liking without exhausting all other possibles. Look at the assumptions that flowed from the Qumran excavations. A scriptorium, cleansing pools, even the coins were advanced as the confirmation.
'The archaeologists had discovered the very room where many of the Dead Sea scrolls had been written'-Allegro--Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls-p 98. Bollocks. There was nothing tying Qumran with the caves except a deep wadi. Other sites--other hasty claims. Biblical archaeologists fell into the trap, and secular or less-intensely motivated archaes are doing the same thing. Publish or perish seems to be the war-cry.

The odd thing about Judea/Israel in not that so many sites have been confirmed, but how few.

You`re doing fine, Nim. Now you`ve got the hang of the quote boxes, your replies will be much clearer. If you could lay out the archaeological evidence for ISRAELITE destruction during the 'Conquest' in your own words, that would be a good starting point.

No match for the pharoah`s army, apparently (nudge,nudge,wink, wink). Maybe all that manna-munching gave them cohones?

For any lurkers who may be experiencing difficulty following the thread:Early Bronze Age (EBA)--3500-2200 BCE
Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA)--2200-2000 BCE
Middle Bronze Age (MBA)--2000-1550 BCE
Late Bronze Age (LBA)--1550-1150 BCE
Iron Age I (IAI)--1150-900 BCE
Iron Age II (IAII)--900-586 BCE
Babylonian Period--586-538 BCE
Persian Period--538-333 BCE(from the Bible Unearthed-Finkelstein-Silberman-p20)

Hi, Nim, want to have a stab at what language God/Moses used to write the tablets?