Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Was Balamon in the Book of Judith the Baal Hamon in Song of Songs?
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Continuing in Song 8:11-12, we note that these two verses clearly go together (each mentioning Solomon, vineyard, thousand and fruit), though there is dispute as to who is speaking and what is truly being portrayed. Solomon, we are told in verse 11, had a vineyard in Baal Hamon, a name otherwise unknown. In verse 12, Solomon is addressed and mention is made of "my own vineyard." How are we to take these verses?literally or figuratively? And why are they here? As with verses 8-10, this segment that follows seems at first glance to come out of the blue. Yet considering the reflection we have already noted?and the symmetry between this closing section of the Song (8:5-14) and the opening section (1:1?2:7), it is natural and appropriate to look for more of the same.
Solomon, we should note, is mentioned twice here (8:11-12) and also twice in the opening section (1:1, 5)?both these positions being exactly opposite to three mentions of his name in the central section of the Song concerning the apparent wedding procession (3:7, 9, 11). The word translated "keepers" or "those who tend" (8:11-12), thus appearing twice here in this segment, occurs elsewhere in the Song only in the opening section?in that case also appearing two times together as "keeper" and "kept" (1:6). This former instance is part of the segment that also mentions Solomon (1:5-6). Furthermore, it should be recognized that the word "vineyards" and then "my own vineyard" at the end of 1:6 parallels the two mentions of "vineyard" in 8:11 and "my own vineyard" in 8:12. On top of this, we should observe that 1:6 is also the verse that mentioned the Shulamite's brothers assigning her work?parallel to their authority over her we have already noted in 8:8-9. All of this very strongly indicates that 8:8-12 should all be taken together?as parallel to 1:5-6.
This can help us to understand what is going on in 8:11-12. In 1:6, the girl was sent by her brothers to work in the sun in literal vineyards?and this prevented her from devoting as much energies as she would have liked to her own personal vineyard, a figurative reference to her own person (her appearance being at issue here). This gives us good reason to see the vineyard of 8:11 literally and the personal vineyard of verse 12 as a figurative reference to the speaker's person. Indeed the vineyard of verse 11, in this parallel, would seem to be one that the girl was sent to work in?followed by reference to her own person in the vineyard of verse 12. However, the related wording between verses 11 and 12 indicate that the vineyard in verse 11 is to be understood figuratively on some level, as we will see. Thus it may be that a literal situation in verse 11 is being used in a symbolic manner.
A literal interpretation of the vineyard in verse 11 most naturally implies a literal interpretation of Solomon here as well. It does not follow that a poor shepherd or even an average citizen would have a great vineyard leased to keepers who were to bring a return of 1,000 silver coins for the fruit sold. The lord of this vineyard would be a wealthy individual, and King Solomon makes a great deal of sense in that light. Solomon is the likely author of Ecclesiastes, and the writer of that book lists among his great works the planting of vineyards and the making of gardens and orchards with pools and all kinds of fruit trees (2:4-7). That Israelite kings had a penchant for possessing vineyards is also evident in the story of Ahab's desire for Naboth's vineyard in 1 Kings 21. We may also note David's appointment of officials to oversee vineyards and wine production, evidently to supply state needs (1 Chronicles 27:27). Solomon's administration was surely no different in this. So it may well be (putting the whole story together in Song 1:5-6 and 8:8-12) that the king placed one of his vineyards into the care of the Shulamite's brothers and that they delegated some responsibilities to her.
In this scenario, Baal Hamon in verse 11 would be a literal place?though it is probably also a figurative reference. On the literal side, we should note that even though "Baal-hamon" is not specifically attested to elsewhere, there are other geographic names in Scripture beginning with Baal?for example, Baal-hermon, Baal-meon, Baal-peor, Baal-perazim, Baal-hazor. Some see a resemblance to a place mentioned in the Apocrypha, which is written in Greek: "As pointed out by a number of commentators, Judith 8:3 mentions a place called Balamon, possibly a Greek equivalent to Baal-hamon, which is near Dothan. In this regard, it is interesting that the Septuagint translates the Song of Songs' reference as Beelamon" (New International Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 219, note on Song 8:11). This is the same as "Khirbet Balama, modern Ibleam...about a mile south-west of Janin [in the northern West Bank]....
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Sunday, December 9, 2012
Amazing New Satellite Archaeology
Egypt's lost pyramids: Spied from space by satellite, 17 tombs buried by sands of time
By Fiona Macrae
- More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements found
- Findings are a major boost to relatively new science of space archaeology
Satellites have helped locate 17 pyramids and 3,000 ancient settlements hidden underground in Egypt.
More than 1,000 burial sites were also discovered thanks to infra-red technology capable of probing beneath the desert sands from 450 miles above the Earth.
Pyramid of Djoser: Many more are thought to be buried underground. The cameras on the satellites are so powerful that they can precisely image objects on Earth that are less than one metre in diameter
NASA-funded archaeologist Sarah Parcak said: ‘I couldn’t believe we could locate so many sites. To excavate a pyramid is the dream of every archaeologist.’
The finds are hugely significant. Until the latest discoveries there were thought to have been almost 140 pyramids across Egypt.
But experts have long argued that there must be many more that remain undiscovered, buried by the sands of time. Dr Parcak, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, analysed images from satellites equipped with cameras so powerful they can zoom in on objects less than three feet in diameter on the Earth’s surface.
The amazing satellite images have revealed pyramids and ancient homes
Ancient streetmap: A satellite image shows Tanis to be a city littered with underground tombs. Buildings in ancient Egypt were constructed out of mud brick - the material is dense, allowing satellites orbiting above Earth to photograph the outlines of structures invisible to the human eye
Hidden history: This image of Tanis shows the difference between what the naked eye can see and the underground details that the high-powered satellite camera can pick up
THE LOST ARK IN A LOST CITY?
In Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Tanis is named as the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
The film chronicles the archaeologist adventurer's race against the Nazis to recover the Ark - which they want as they believe it will make them invincible.
With the help of his dead mentor's daughter Marion - an old girlfriend of his - tracks down the Well of Souls, the secret chamber in which the Ark is buried, before they do.
From the Well of Souls he recovers the Ark, but the Nazis steal it off them.
But when they open it to unleash its power, it releases a stream of demonic apparitions which destroy those who look at them.
The mud bricks used by ancient Egyptians are much denser than the sand and soil that surrounds them, allowing the shapes of homes, temples, tombs and other structures built thousands of years ago to be seen by satellites orbiting 435miles above Earth to photograph the outlines of structures invisible to the human eye.
The cameras on the satellites are so powerful that they can precisely image objects on Earth that are less than one metre in diameter.
The researchers' findings are a major boost to the relatively new science of space archaeology.
Their most promising excavations are taking place in Tanis, the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant in the 1981 Indiana Jones blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark, where they are uncovering a 3,000-year-old house.
Excitingly, the outline of the house exactly matches the shape seen on the satellite images.
Two pyramids at Saqqara – the burial ground for the ancient capital of Memphis – have already been confirmed by excavations and the site is being hailed as one of the most important in Egyptian archaeology. The oldest pyramids ever discovered were built in Saqqara around 2,600BC.
Only the beginning: Archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak points out the site of a buried pyramid on a satellite image
The camera's high level of accuracy has impressed the Egyptian government, which now plans to use the technology to identify and protect its colossal heritage in the future.
Dr Parcak, whose work will feature in the BBC documentary Egypt’s Lost Cities on Monday, believes that there are many more buildings buried deeper than those already spotted, the most likely location being under the banks of the River Nile.
She said: 'These are just the sites close to the surface. There are many thousands of additional sites that the Nile has covered over with silt.
'This is just the beginning of this kind of work.'
Dr Parcak, whose work will feature in the BBC documentary Egypt’s Lost Cities on Monday, believes that there are many more buildings buried deeper than those already spotted, the most likely location being under the banks of the River Nile.
She said: 'These are just the sites close to the surface. There are many thousands of additional sites that the Nile has covered over with silt.
'This is just the beginning of this kind of work.'
Digging deep: The archaeologists' most promising excavations are taking place in the ancient city of Tanis
‘These are just the sites [close to] the surface. There are many thousands of additional sites that the Nile has covered over with silt. This is just the beginning of this kind of work.’
She said the technology could be used to monitor the looting of antiquities, as well as to engage young people around the world in science and help archaeologists in their quest to uncover the secrets of the past.
The archaeologist said, ‘We have to think bigger and that’s what the satellites allow us to do. Indiana Jones is old school. We’ve moved on from Indy, sorry Harrison Ford.’
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1390667/Seventeen-lost-pyramids-thousands-buried-Egyptian-settlements-pinpointed-infrared-satellite-images.html#ixzz2Eb4z0h7s
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