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The Inquisitive Bible Reader
Япония
Добавлен 20 мар 2021
Inquisitive. Academic. Unapologetic. A place for video essays about the Bible and ancient religion without a theological agenda, based on up-to-date academic research.
The Location of the Garden of Eden
Episode 16: Did the author of Genesis 2 have a specific location for the Garden of Eden in mind? What other texts from the ancient world can provide insight on the geography of paradise?
⦾ Contents
0:04 - Prologue
1:06 - Eden: A Wasteland Transformed
2:26 - The Four Rivers
6:20 - Impossible Geography
8:44 - The Paradise of Dilmun
11:16 - The Mountain of Cedars
16:14 - Conclusion
17:26 - Credits and Easter egg
★ Special thanks to John Kesler for consulting and advice.
Donate a few drachmae to support this channel:
⦾ ko-fi.com/pauldavidson
Sources and References:
⦾ Ayali-Darshan, Noga (2017). “The Background of the Cedar Forest Tradition in the Egyptian Tale of the Two Brothers in the Light of West-Asian...
⦾ Contents
0:04 - Prologue
1:06 - Eden: A Wasteland Transformed
2:26 - The Four Rivers
6:20 - Impossible Geography
8:44 - The Paradise of Dilmun
11:16 - The Mountain of Cedars
16:14 - Conclusion
17:26 - Credits and Easter egg
★ Special thanks to John Kesler for consulting and advice.
Donate a few drachmae to support this channel:
⦾ ko-fi.com/pauldavidson
Sources and References:
⦾ Ayali-Darshan, Noga (2017). “The Background of the Cedar Forest Tradition in the Egyptian Tale of the Two Brothers in the Light of West-Asian...
Просмотров: 2 082
Видео
The Philistines in History and the Bible
Просмотров 26 тыс.3 месяца назад
Episode 15: What do history and archaeology tell us about the Philistines? Where did they come from, and what were their culture and religion like? In this video, I summarize recent scholarship on the Philistines and other Sea Peoples and compare it to the depiction of the Philistines in the Bible. Content clarification: The map that appears at 1:45 is based on map produced by Eric Cline in “11...
How Scholars Date the Book of Daniel
Просмотров 3,8 тыс.5 месяцев назад
Episode 14: Even though critical scholars reached a broad consensus on the dating and context of the book of Daniel long ago, Daniel’s dating and purpose remain contested in religious circles. In this video, I analyze the genre of Daniel and present some of the reasons scholars date it to the Maccabean period. Chapters: 0:00 - Prologue 1:30 - A tale of two genres 4:16 - Kings and things 11:25 -...
The Riddle of the Golden Calf - A Story Shaped by Controversy
Просмотров 10 тыс.8 месяцев назад
Episode 13: The strange story of Aaron's golden calf in Exodus 32 is connected to the bull statues erected at Bethel and Dan by king Jeroboam, but how exactly? This video examines the complicated history of these passages and their connection to multiple controversies that embroiled Jewish communities during and after the exile. Chapters: 0:00 - Prologue 1:21 - Aaron’s golden calf 2:52 - Jerobo...
Leviathan and Yahweh's Conquest over the Sea
Просмотров 34 тыс.10 месяцев назад
Episode 12: The Old Testament is full of passages that describe God’s creation of the world, and most of them are described in terms of combat between Yahweh and the sea as well as a primordial sea monster named Leviathan. In this video, I explore the roots of this ancient motif and how it is developed within the Bible. Erratum: The reference to KTU 1.2.IV at 9:15 is incorrect. The correct sour...
The Magicians Jannes and Jambres: Ancient Fan Fiction in 2 Timothy
Просмотров 3,7 тыс.Год назад
Episode 11: How did an extra-biblical tradition about the magicians of the Exodus story became accepted as fact and part of the Christian Bible? Follow the development of the Jannes and Jambres legend from the deserts of Judaea to the writings of Roman philosophers and beyond, with an excursus on the doctrine of biblical authority. Chapters: 0:12 - Prologue 2:05 - The History of Jannes and Jamb...
The Plagues of Egypt and the Contest of Magicians
Просмотров 3,6 тыс.Год назад
Episode 10: The story of the “Plagues of Egypt” - the signs and wonders performed by Moses and Aaron in the book of Exodus - has a complicated history, and the Priestly author’s contest of magicians is a particularly overlooked aspect of the story. Learn more about this tale and why some of the popular interpretations are probably incorrect. Chapters: 0:03 - Prologue 0:36 - Signs and Wonders 3:...
The Canaanites in History and the Bible
Просмотров 39 тыс.Год назад
Episode 9: What does archaeology tell us about the Canaanites, and how does that compare to the role they play in the Bible? I delve into the geopolitics, language, and religion of Bronze Age Canaan before turning to biblical passages and figuring out how it all fits together. Correction: The Bible reference given as Isaiah 29:46 at 12:36 is a typo. The correct reference is Isaiah 49:26. Chapte...
The Strange Tale of Balaam and His Talking Donkey
Просмотров 17 тыс.Год назад
Episode 8: The Strange Tale of Balaam and His Talking Donkey The seer Balaam from the book of Numbers was famous even outside the Bible. Over time, however, he became seen as an extremely negative figure in Judaism and Christianity. This legacy is complicated by the contents of his oracles, which were believed to predict the Jewish messiah. Oh yeah, and he had donkey that could talk. Contents: ...
King Saul and the Ghost of Samuel - Death and Necromancy in Israel
Просмотров 8 тыс.Год назад
Episode 7: King Saul and the Ghost of Samuel The tragic rise and fall of King Saul ends with a seance that raises the ghost of the prophet Samuel from the dead. What is the meaning of this story, and how does it intersect with Israelite beliefs about magic and the afterlife? Contents: 0:02 Prologue 0:43 The Eve of Battle 2:37 A Necromantic Rendezvous 7:45 The Afterlife Is a Come-As-You-Are Part...
Did Jezebel Murder Naboth? A 3,000-Year-Old Murder Mystery
Просмотров 3,3 тыс.Год назад
Episode 6: Jezebel has been described as the most-hated woman in the Bible, and to this day her name is used as a racist stereotype by some and as an anti-feminist slur by others. Does she deserve this ignominy? When we examine Naboth's murder in 1 Kings 21, which is the story most responsible for her reputation, we discover that the facts are not so simple. #Jezebel #Ahab #Naboth #Elijah #Bibl...
The Book of Jasher - What was this lost Hebrew scripture about?
Просмотров 3,9 тыс.2 года назад
Episode 5 Extras: Three times the Old Testament cites an obscure work of Hebrew scripture called the Book of Jasher. What can these brief excerpts and their connections with other scriptures and extra-biblical sources tell us about Jasher? And does it still exist today? Contents 0:00 Prologue 1:29 Quote 1: The sun at Gibeon 3:00 Did the book of Jasher actually exist? 4:55 Quote 2: A lament for ...
Joshua and the Miracle of the Sun
Просмотров 4,1 тыс.2 года назад
Episode 5: Joshua and the Miracle of the Sun The text of Joshua 10 describes the sun standing still at Gibeon as the greatest miracle in history. Analysis of this chapter reveals a complicated composition history, and the archaeological evidence suggests that a very different historical situation underlies the narrative. To theologians, reconciling the story with modern science has been a chall...
Joseph: The History of a Jewish Novella
Просмотров 5 тыс.2 года назад
Episode 4: Joseph - The History of a Jewish Novella The story of Joseph is full of puzzles and questions regarding its dating purpose. Identifying the way the story has evolved and the connections it makes with other myths and historical events can provide a renewed appreciation for this biblical masterpiece. Related blog post • isthatinthebible.wordpress.com/2020/01/26/from-robes-to-riches-the...
Sodom and Other Tales of Divine Visitors in Disguise
Просмотров 3,8 тыс.2 года назад
Episode 3: Sodom and Other Tales of Divine Visitors in Disguise • Does the typical understanding of the Sodom and Gomorrah story hold up to biblical scrutiny? To understand how the Bible’s authors understood the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, we have to look beyond Genesis. Understanding the cultural context and related stories from Greek mythology shed additional light on the story’s intent. I al...
Babel: History, Mythology, and Meaning
Просмотров 4,4 тыс.3 года назад
Babel: History, Mythology, and Meaning
The Genesis Flood: Sources and Mesopotamian Background
Просмотров 6 тыс.3 года назад
The Genesis Flood: Sources and Mesopotamian Background
Extremely well done and informative.
Greeks
To those who wants to know if the Jews are also Arab, the answer is yes. Jews, Hebrews, and Arab are descended from Sumerians as Abraham himself was born in Capital City Ur of the Ur Empire. There are just a few Sumerian Empires of Abraham's time and Ur Empire stood out the most unlike its Sumerian cousins, the Akkadian Empire, Elam Empire, Assyrian Empire, Mari Empire, and Mitanni Empire.
8:00 my bookmark to return to later
Peleset land, Misran, egyptian. corrupted to Philistine and thence by the usual brit ignorance of actual names and places to Palestine.
Are you kidding me. This is 2025 and people still believe this fairy tale.
If your comment is addressed to me (the video creator), I encourage you to watch the full video. My intent is to explore how Eden is portrayed in Genesis and Ezekiel by connecting those passages to related (older) paradise myths in Near Eastern literature.
Isn't it funny how the story is similar to the story of Marduk and Tiamat. However, the sumarian version pre dates the bible by thousands of years.
Has anyone here looked into the birth of Noah? This guy wasn't a human, his birth scared his father. Also, his great grandfather Enoch was the guy they took out into space to the Pladian star system. Non terrestrials were involved in this whole timeline. Thank you for using the word Elohim. For those who dont know the word, it means god's. Plural.
Just. Found. Out. About Book of Jasher
No different than Marduk vs Tiamat
Great video! One possible minor errata at 9:21, I think you may have the wrong reference listed for the "Because you smote Leviathan..." part of the Baal Cycle. I'm not seeing that text in KTU 1.2.iv, but instead in KTU 1.5.i.1 It caught my attention because I've seen that part of the Baal Cycle quoted before in commentaries as either being part of a shared tradition with or source text for Isaiah 27:1.
You're right, it looks like I forgot to change the citation from the text about Baal fighting Yam. Thanks for catching it! I'll put a note in the description.
Their model of the world is accurate
Its pretty obvious if you simply ask God for the answer hence the scripture is without conditions nor prejudice clearly stating : "ask , ye shall recieve" - Balaam was indeed an Israelite, but no desire to be with his people & a man of simple faith but foolish loving money more than God. Whenever God left him he quickly returned to his sinful ways like a pig to mud altho it SEEMS the scriptures contradict they actually don't because as we know that whole faithless generation perished in Sinai and Balaam played his part in that via idolatrous Midian but Joshua and his men were immovable hence Balaam died in Joshua's conquest 👆
10 minutes of bullshit
This was very interesting! Great presentation. I didn't know about the possible Greek origin of these stories. I would like to point out that although the Greek version might have had a non sexual moral intention, it doesn't mean that the Hebrew version didn't. Today we retell Shakespeare's stories in modern contexts, often putting aside the concerns of the Elizabethan era. As they say, it's perfectly possible that the jews "repurposed" the tale as they wanted. Another issue I would like to bring is that the "scholar" that reads the words "wanting to know" as just "wanting to interrogate the strangers" should then explain why Lot offers his virgin daughters in response. The mental acrobatics people do to sanatize the Bible " for modern audiences" 😀
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I agree with you on all counts.
this is so well put together, love the quality of this
This is VERY easy to answer. The Persian Gulf! It wasn't always underwater. Bahrain is the highlands of Eden, still above water. The island of Qeshm is the highlands of Nod, still above water. Three of the rivers that joined together in the now sunken lowland river valley still flow. The first two most everyone knows so I won't repeat their names. The Pishon dried up long ago. We would call it the Kuwait River today. And the Gihon is now called the Karun. This all was before the Younger Dryas Flood (what science is now calling Noah's Flood) happened. about 13 thousand years ago.
Thanks for the comment. It's a compelling idea, but I have a few problems with it. (1) It doesn't account for additional details like proximity to Havalah for the Pishon and proximity to Nubia for the Gihon. (2) The Persian Gulf was full of water by 4,000 BC and even extended further inland during the Bronze Age than it does now. There's no evidence that any civilization was aware of the state of the Persian Gulf was it was 12,000 years ago, nor any way for such knowledge to have been transmitted to Judaean scribes by the time Genesis was written.
great video.. how about the land of Nod east of eden? :)
Hey! I read on Charles Berlitz's Languages of The World (book) that the word babble had indeed come from the hebrew word for Babel. :(
That's kind of funny. Since I didn't get into detail, the word can be traced to Middle Low German babbelen and has been reconstructed in Proto-Indo-European as baba. Most European language have a similar word, including ancient Latin and Greek, and they may simply originate as mimicry of baby sounds.
@InquisitiveBible thanks! I have been loving watching your stuff.
Great video. Please do a video on Book of Esther soon.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Why are you are using “BCE?” It’s BC or AD. This is modern historians trying to write Jesus out of history. Don’t use these 1:10
Thanks for the comment. I understand that this is a common sentiment. I tend to use BCE because it is the norm in academic literature. The CE/BCE notation was, in fact, first introduced by the famous Christian scientist Johannes Kepler.
Great void, but could you lower the Balfour noise. I want to learn from you and the music is distracting
Pasargadae is the garden of Eden. The Polvar River is the unnamed river. Cyrus Christ rebuilt His Father’s garden 550bc.
No shit it wasnt called Babel.
Also why do you people nitpick the Bible. Ashdod is a Phillistine city. Abimelech was a Phillistine King. Gerar was also a Phillistine city.
Deep dives into the minutia of the biblical text and its archaeological background are what I do. And as the video title implies, my goal here was to examine both the historical record and biblical references to the Philistines in order to compare them. I think the fact that the archaeological record shows the existence of an Iron II king by that name is quite interesting.
Supposedly in Iraq, that is where the Tigris and Euphrates are, but the Jew-Book "bible" is a superstitious Jew delusional fantasy and complete garbage. *Genesis 2:13-15 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.[e] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.15 The Lord God (imaginary, supernatural Jew war-lord YAHWEH) took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.*
Eden is gone. It was destroyed in the flood...
I don't see any biblical justification for that view. Genesis describes its location in relation to rivers and countries that are known to its audience, which is the whole reason I think it is an interesting question to ask.
Something I haven’t seen anyone else mention, especially in light of the Greek parallels is that the word translated as ‘ventriloquist’ ‘engastrímythos’ didn’t convey the entertainment tone it has today. The exact practice seems to have varied, but it involved voice throwing and speaking for the dead. The Septuagent using that word really strengthened the nekiya connection for me.
I have long believed that the biblical miracles were inspired by older myths, most of which were inspired by or exaggerations of exceptional circumstances. Like that the blood plague was based on some older myth which was based off of an algae bloom. I don't have any evidence, I just think it's interesting; like putting myself in the shoes of an ancient human, and trying to make sense of unfathomable cataclysms that are millennia away from being scientifically described. I guess I haven't really acknowledged that some myths were made up, as if fiction was a recent invention. Interesting video, made me reflect on my beliefs about ancient people.
I’ve done so many evangelical Bible studies over the years that insist The Anointed one in Daniel 9 is Jesus Christ. It as a few years ago that I started looking into the scholarship and realized it isn’t! Great video man.
One of the less focused on aspects of the story that’s recently interested me is that Eden is planted by God and tended by Adam. The people for whom it mattered conceived of the lush land as NEEDING intervention, first divine and then mortal, to exist. Which, is an interesting idea considering how often in the modern world we conceive of paradise as nature untouched by human hands.
Thanks, that's a great point.
The absolute refusal of monotheism to understand polytheist cult images (all while having their own sacred inanimate objects), never ceases to astonish and amaze me.
It’s at the bottom of the ocean due to the great flood
As always, great presentation, well researched, and clearly conveyed. You clearly put a lot of work into these videos. Thank you!
Some of the background illustrations are really nice. Are those AI generated or is there an artist behind em?
Thanks for the comment. If you mean the Gilgamesh backgrounds and river backgrounds, I started in Midjourney (AI) and then did additional editing and compositing in Photoshop. I don't have the budget (yet) to commission custom art, unfortunately.
@@InquisitiveBible Understandable! Thanks for the great vid as ever :)
The GARDEN OF EDEN IT IS STILL AROUND TRUE LOCATED IN CALEXICO CA KINGS OF THE VALLEY EGYPT 👆
THE GOAT BIBLICAL RUclipsR HAS RETURNED!
Cnahan was son of ham . Abraham was shem and Israelites come from his
Israelites no cannint 😂. The Shem
There is little point in pretending to explore a probable location, when your introduction classifies Eden as myth. Where is your evidence, supporting your claim that Eden is a myth, not a historical place? Perhaps, first demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt, that Eden never existed. Then proceed to assume where it might have been.
Are you suggesting there's an actual place where a tree is being guarded by a flaming sword?
Thanks for the comment. Usually, when I use the word "myth" in my videos and writing, I don't mean it in the everyday sense of "an untrue story" but in the anthropological sense of "a well-known story that explains primary principles, beliefs, and values". I also think that if were were going to have a conversation on whether Eden existed, figuring out where the Bible's authors believed it was is a helpful first step.