For those who believe in talking snakes, and that God spoke to Moses and had a son, the possibility that the Patriarchs (if they existed) rode mules and not camels is not likely to dissuade them. However, your post makes the same absolutist errors made by right wing Israelis to justify the state of Israel.
There is a wide range of possible ‘truths in the Bible’ yet you take the most extreme position possible to support your ideological position. There were of course no Jewish slaves in Egypt, but the Exodus story has authentic Egyptian elements suggesting that it is a reworking of some historical event. The same can be said of the flood myth common to many cultures. More importantly, the size and importance of the kingdom of David and Solomon is an active archeological debate and should not be approached as you do from a political position. You accept the position of the ‘minimalists’ like Finkelstein that the kingdoms of David and Solomon were unimportant. However, their previous position was that neither existed, a view found in error when an inscription ‘the house of David’ was found. There is also a considerable body of research (which includes archaeological sites) that contradicts their view. If you choose their position through a study of the primary literature in biblical research it is fine, but if you choose to support the minimalists through a preference for the political consequences that it implies you are making the same error as the biblical literalists.
In any event, I don’t see how any historical finding is relevant to the current oppression of the Palestinians or any other group of people.
For those who believe in talking snakes, and that God spoke to Moses and had a son, the possibility that the Patriarchs (if they existed) rode mules and not camels is not likely to dissuade them. However, your post makes the same absolutist errors made by right wing Israelis to justify the state of Israel.
There is a wide range of possible ‘truths in the Bible’ yet you take the most extreme position possible to support your ideological position. There were of course no Jewish slaves in Egypt, but the Exodus story has authentic Egyptian elements suggesting that it is a reworking of some historical event. The same can be said of the flood myth common to many cultures. More importantly, the size and importance of the kingdom of David and Solomon is an active archeological debate and should not be approached as you do from a political position. You accept the position of the ‘minimalists’ like Finkelstein that the kingdoms of David and Solomon were unimportant. However, their previous position was that neither existed, a view found in error when an inscription ‘the house of David’ was found. There is also a considerable body of research (which includes archaeological sites) that contradicts their view. If you choose their position through a study of the primary literature in biblical research it is fine, but if you choose to support the minimalists through a preference for the political consequences that it implies you are making the same error as the biblical literalists.
In any event, I don’t see how any historical finding is relevant to the current oppression of the Palestinians or any other group of people.