Extrabiblical Evidences of Biblical Persons, Places, and/or Events: The Gezer Calendar

The Gezer Calendar is a tenth century BC/BCE (possibly 925 BC/BCE) fragment of an inscribed limestone  plate.  It was found in the ruins of the Canaanite city of Gezer (Tell el-Jazari).  The inscription is one of the earliest known examples of a text written in ancient Hebrew script.  It consists of seven lines of text and was discovered in 1908 by R.A.S. Macalister (see the bibliography below).  The Hebrew name, Abijah, appears in the text.

The calendar describes the crops planted, tended, and harvested in various months.  The purpose of the calendar is unknown, but some have suggested that it may have been used for taxation purposes. 

http://www.google.com/search?q=the+gezer+calendar&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-9jBUerzIYzS9ASAzoDQCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1202&bih=812

The limestone tablet is housed in the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul, Turkey. The Jewish Virtual Library gives these bibliographical listings for the Gezer Calendar: 

R.A.S. Macalister, Excavation of Gezer, 2 (1912), 24–28; Albright, in: BASOR, 92 (1943), 16–26; L. Finkelstein, ibid., 94 (1944), 28–29; Wright, in: BA, 18 (1955), 50–56; Segal, in: JSS, 7 (1962), 212–21; Talmon, in: JAOS, 83 (1963), 177–87; Wirgin, in: Eretz Israel, 6 (1960), 9–12 (Eng. section); Rathjen, in: PWQ, 93 (1961), 70–72; Honeyman, in: JRAS (1953), 53–58; Pritchard, Texts, 320; Pritchard, Pictures, 272; EM, 2 (1965), 471–4 (incl. bibl.).  S. Ahituv, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions (1992), 149–52.

Biblical mentions of Gezer: Joshua 10:1-34, 12:12, 16:3-10, 21:21; 1 Chronicles 6:67, 7:28, 14:6, 20:4; Judges 1:29; 2 Samuel 5:25; 1 Kings 9:15-17.  Gezer is not mentioned in the New Testament.  During that period it was known as Gazara.

Pastor's Wife Found Murdered

Karen Shahan, the wife of pastor Richard Shahan, was found murdered in her home in Homewood, Alabama (USA) on 23 July, 2013.  Richard Shahan is the Children and Families Pastor at The First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Alabama.  The police are not releasing any information about the case at this time.  When more information is available it will be posted on this blog.

First Baptist Church was an important player in the civil rights struggle in Birmingham in the Civil Rights Era of the 1960’s and early 1970’s.  The Baptist Church of the Covenant split from First Baptist  in 1970, primarily over whether or not to admit Winifred and Twyla Bryant, who are black, as members of the church. Read the history of the controversy in the links below.

http://fbcbirmingham.org/

http://www.bcoc.net/templates/System/details.asp?id=43147&PID=579177

http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/First_Baptist_Church_of_Birmingham

http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Baptist_Church_of_the_Covenant

http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Temple_Emanu-El

A Christian Composition on the Theremin

“Hosanna” on the Theremin, arranged from the Romanian Othodox liturgy by Benedict Popescu. 

The Theremin was invented by the Russian physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen (aka: Leon Theremin, b. 1896, Russia – d. 1993).  The instrument is unusual in that it is not touched by the person creating the music.   An electrical field is created between two antennas and the field is distorted by the moving hands of the performer.  One hand controls the amplitude and the other controls the frequency of the created signal.  The signal is amplified and sent to a speaker to produce sound.

The link below is to a secular composition which highlights the abilities of the Theremin.  The other instrument is a Vulcan Harp.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRfbWrI03gc

The Vulcan Lute (aka: Vulcan Harp) was created for the original television series, Star Trek.

http://ontd-startrek.livejournal.com/1378268.html?thread=172342492

This link also shows the capabilities of the Theremin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAQChI7Yq-I

Biblical Sources of Phrases in Common Use: A Drop in the Bucket

The English language idiom, "a drop in the bucket," is used to refer to something which is insignificant when compared to what is actually needed.  The nations of the Earth are of meaningless value when compared to the magnificence of God.

"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing." Isaiah 40:15

הֵן גּוֹיִם  כְּמַר  מִדְּלִי,  וּכְשַׁ חַק מֹאזְנַיִם נֶחְשָׁבוּ; הֵן אִיִּים, כַּדַּק יִטּוֹל.

A literal English language translation of the first sentence of Isaiah 40:15 is: “Behold the nations a drop a bucket a speck the scales regarded.” (from biblehub.com)  I have added spaces between the three words "kamar mideli ukasahaq/ a drop a bucket a speck") in the Hebrew text above.

When You Have a Fifth Place Car

On a recent NASCAR television broadcast, Kyle Petty, a former driver and now a television race commentator, was talking about one driver who was unable to pull any closer to the lead than fifth place in the race no matter how hard or well he drove his automobile.  Petty said, “Sometimes you just have a fifth place car.”

Then, Petty added this, “When that happens, your responsibility is to come in fifth.”  Do not make excuses.  Do your best with what has been given to you. You are responsible for your use of what you have been given.

Christians call this stewardship.   To be a steward is to manage the property or affairs of another person.  Christians are expected to use their God-given gifts to further the work of the Lord.

What? You say that you do not seem to have any “gifts?”  All Christians have at least one gift, the unearned and unearnable free grace of God who spent the most valuable thing in the universe, the life of Jesus Christ, to provide for our salvation.  He spent this resource for me and for you, as a gift to us, as if each of us was the only one.  The sacrifice of Jesus did restore order to the entire universe, but it also was made for each of us … individually.  A gift.

No Christian should think to use their lack of ability as an excuse for not performing a task which God has clearly assigned to them.  He gives us whatever time or resources we need to do whatever He asks because nothing and no one can stand in His way or prevent Him from achieving His purposes.  “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Isaiah 14:27

    

As members of the ἐκκλησία we each have been given specific gifts so that we may perform specific functions.  “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15

All the gifts are needed and none of the gifts are more important than any of the others for the proper function of God’s plan.  Some can teach, some can comfort, some can do manual chores, some can provide financial resources, some can preach, some can pray, some can nurture faith in others, some can care for the sick, some can cook, some have a special connection with children, some are judges, some are peacemakers.  All the gifts are exercised under the leadership of the Holy Spirit..

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”  1 Corinthians 12:12

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:” Romans 12:4

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:4-6

James, the brother of Jesus, gave us the other side of this, a warning. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

Amazing Grace Drum Solo!

I would not have thought this was possible but the Amazing Grace melody is clearly discernable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqF62r_XxOc

Biblical Sources of Phrases in Common Use: Forbidden Fruits

Recently, on the bulletin board in the place in which I work, someone wrote , “Do NOT Read This!”  Seeing this, almost everyone’s immediate response is “Why not?”  We do not respond well to being told what to do.

When an action or a thing is forbidden to us, it often becomes very attractive.  Many will risk their reputations, or their fortune, or their career, or even their family, to have it.  This is the idea behind “forbidden fruit.”

The allusion is to the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Everything was permitted to them except the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Of course, they had to have that fruit. (Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-6)

The English language phrase is a metaphor for any pleasure, vice, or indulgence that is considered to be immoral, illegal, or “forbidden.”