Monday, February 21, 2005

Lo RaInu Aino Raaya

= "We haven't seen" is not a proof. {Or, absence of proof is not proof of absence.}
From Jerusalem Post: [emphasis mine]
Jordanian dig confirms Biblical Edom
Just-published evidence from a US-directed archeological dig in Jordan further authenticates the Bible's descriptions of the existence of the ancient nation of Edom during the eras of King David and his son, King Solomon.

...

The new study, headed by archeology Prof. Thomas Levy of University of California, San Diego, contradicts much contemporary scholarship claiming – on the basis of no physical evidence – that no Edomite state existed before the 8th Century BCE. Until the new discovery, many scholars said the Bible's numerous references to ancient Israel's interactions with Edom could not be valid.

While previous investigations in Edom had been carried out in the Jordanian highland zone and put the rise of the Edomite kingdom during the 8th to 6th centuries BCE, the new archeological data from modern-day Jordan presents strong evidence for the involvement of Edom with neighboring ancient Israel as described in the Bible and indicates the existence of the biblical nation of Edom at least as early as the 10th Century BCE – when David and Solomon were alive.

...
Read it all. (hat tip: Eliyahu)

Update: The next paragraph:
The Edomite lowlands, home to a large copper ore zone, had been ignored by archeologists because of the logistical difficulties of working in the extremely dry and hot region. But with an anthropological perspective and using high precision radiocarbon dating, the team showed evidence of two major phases of copper production – during the 12th to 11th centuries BCE and the 10th to 9th centuries BCE.
reminds me of the old joke:

Late one night, a drunk guy is crawling around under a lamppost. A cop comes up and asks him what he's doing.

"I'm looking for my keys," the drunk says. "I lost them about three blocks away."

"So why aren't you looking for them where you dropped them?" the cop asks.

The drunk looks at the cop, amazed that he'd ask so obvious a question. "Because the light is better here."

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