Hello Dick,
Thanks for bringing the history of the ancient Near East up, as it relates to
the dating of Noah's flood. I had hoped to ask you about it.
But first, you wrote: you have only two data points. A possible meteor
impact dated at 2350 BC,
Actually, the 2350 BC date has not been scientifically connected to any
possible meteor impact. It has only been scientifically connected to a major
change in climate in the ancient Near East by a study of tree ring growth.
You wrote: and the flood date from the Masoretic text which itself varies
from the Septuagint (3128 BC).
Jewish history tells us that from about 300 BC the Mazorite copyists went to
extreme lengths to make sure they perfectly preserved every single letter of
the ancient Hebrew manuscripts they copied. So we have very good reason to
believe that the Masoretic text is an extremely well preserved copy of the
ancient Hebrew scriptures. On the other hand, the Septuagint is only a Greek
translation of the Hebrew scriptures. A translation which shows many clear
signs of carelessness, paraphrasing and deliberate tampering with the Hebrew
text. These things being so, why would anyone think that the chronological
information contained in the LXX might be more trustworthy than that
contained in the MT?
You wrote: You have totally ignored the history of Mesopotamia which has been
carefully assembled from numerous archaeological expeditions. ... The entire
period breaks down into three sub periods: Early Dynastic I - 2900 to 2750
BC; Early Dynastic II - 2750 to 2600 BC; Early Dynastic III - 2600 to 2370
BC. ... Each of these periods is filled with history, all of which had to
occur after the flood.
Why do you say they all had to occur after the flood?
How do you explain the following statement saying that history of the ancient
Near East appears to harmonize with a 2350 BC date for Noah's flood?
"The catastrophic effect of these [meteor impacts] could explain the mystery
of why so many early cultures went into sudden decline around 2300 BC. They
include the demise of the Akkad culture of central Iraq, with its mysterious
semi-mythological emperor Sargon; the end of the fifth dynasty of Egypt's Old
Kingdom, following the building of the Great Pyramids and the sudden
disappearance of hundreds of early settlements in the Holy Land."
Quote taken from article at this link:
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F11%2F04%2Fwme
t04.xml
Are you saying that "the demise of the Akkad culture of central Iraq," "the
end of the fifth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom, following the building of
the Great Pyramids and the sudden disappearance of hundreds of early
settlements in the Holy Land," did not take place around 2300 BC?
Thanks for your help.
Mike
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