Q: In my devotions the other day I was reading about when the Philistines captured the ark, and how God showed the Philistines that he was greater than Dagon… If the Philistines were Greeks, why don’t we see them worshipping any of the Greek gods – only Dagon? --Sarah P.
A: You’re right that the Philistines have now been identified as Greeks of some kind—or at least that they developed from an original core of Greeks that settled in what is today Israel and intermarried with the local population. This is the result of both DNA analysis, pottery analysis, and the similarity of cultural practices that point to a connection with Greece and/or other areas of Greek influence (such as Cyprus, Crete, and western Turkey). These include the bronze greaves worn by Goliath, the Philistine hero that was defeated by David (1 Sam. 17:6), and even Goliath’s call to one-on-one combat (representative warfare), otherwise unknown in the area. However, the connection with the Philistines is at a very early time in Greek history known as the Mycenaean Age (15th-11th cent. BC). This was long before the Classical Age of Greece (5th-4th cent. BC) with its well-known Greek gods (the Olympian gods). It was even before the Archaic Period (8th-6th cent. BC) in which the Greek alphabet first appears. (See diagram)
Showing posts with label Archaeology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Archaeology. Show all posts
The Tav Mark (Q&A)
Q: I have read your message, "When did the 'Tav' mark start to look like a cross"? I`d be very thankful, if you can answer some questions.
How do you know that the mark mentioned in Ezekiel 9:4 is the letter
tav? In the Bible it reads only "...and set a mark upon the forehead of the men." Where is it mentioned in the Hebrew Bible that the mark was the letter "tav"?
You say that the Essenes marked Messianic prophecies in their Bible
scrolls with a cross mark. Can you give me some example of that, how they
use the cross? Is there no doubt that the crosses were placed there with
some definitive purpose and not only to mark the messianic passages out of the
others?
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