[b] [QUOTE]
The first was your question regarding the Arc of the Covenant, the second your comment about the watered
down wine, the third your question regarding the language in Matthew. There is also your silence on several of the topics.
[/b][/QUOTE]
I thought the ark mentioned in Joshua 6:4 was the ark of
the covenant, carried by the isrealites.
'And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.'
Seem to have read about that somewhere, years ago.
As far as good tasting watered wine is concerned ... the romans
commonly drank watered wine so I don't see the relevence. Perhaps
you would be suprised by the taste should you try it, and
possibly even remark upon it.
I always thought that the authors of the gospels were not the
disciples themselves. I think that was mentioned during religous
study classes in school ... might be wrong ... some else could
perhaps comment on that.
As for omissions ... I didn't want to bog down the board with
an explanation for every single one, but I realise I'm going to
have to go through the others now
As for swimming ... you have perhaps answered a question I have
wondered on for a long time. I know that in many ancient
cultures, even those that were fishermen, swimming was not well
known and hardly practiced. My suggestion of this was that the
witnesses were unaware of the art fo swimming, or of a word for
it (perhaps it was not in common usage) and so had no alternative
but to be descriptive using other language.
I looked up 'peripateo' and there was a suggestion that it could
also mean 'to live'.
So perhaps the suprise was not about 'walking on the water' but 'living on the water' rather than drowning