Joseph, Known and Unknown: The account of ancient Joseph is truly a chiasmas paralleled by the modern story of Joseph. It is a prefiguring of the Savior's mission. In slavery, his identity is really unknown, yet he serves and saves those around him. Later, he serves and saves his brothers before identifying himself. Latter-day Messiah Preceded by a Joseph Messiah? "According to the Talmud, the Messiah will be a descendant…

Modern Finds Give Insights to Biblical Culture: The Biblical area of Haran may have been discovered in modern Iraq. Writings found in an ancient town of Nuzi give some insight to the culture of Biblical times: "NUZI is an ancient city in northeastern Iraq . . . discovered thousands of tablet-documents dating from the 15th-14th centuries B.C.E. . . . when deciphered, turned out to be extremely valuable . .…

Promise Kept: Isaac was a miracle child, born of Sarah who was ninety-years old and barren. One could ask, "what did the neighbors say?" Isaac in Hebrew means laughter, humor, amusing or delightful. Abraham and Sarah were delighted. A human impossibility became a God-given fulfillment. In the Lord's own plan, he kept his promises! A Chosen Birth Date: "According to the aggadah, Isaac was born to Sarah on the first…

Dead Sea Scroll People Move to the "Great Salt Lake": The Dead Sea Scrolls people moved away from wickedness to establish a singular community of righteousness. Their leader was called the "Teacher of Righteousness" and he had two assistants. There was also a council of "Twelve Overseers." They had an order following the 'righteous king', which is said in Hebrew, "Melech Zedek." The Dead Sea sect shunned others, and probably…

Abrahamic Covenant Before Abraham? It can be considered that the "Abrahamic covenant" was in existence before Abraham's time. The honor bestowed on this faithful dispensation leader was to have the covenant that eternally binds God and man named after him. A few others have been honored similarly, such as in "The Law of Moses" and the "Sign of the Prophet Jonah." New Name: It is a common practice among religious…

Jew's View of a Law Preceding Moses: "Noachide Laws, seven laws which were supposed by the rabbis to have been binding on all mankind even before the revelation at Sinai . . . Exegetically derived from statements made by God to Adam and to Noah, six of them are negative: not to 1) worship idols; 2) blaspheme the name of God; 3) kill; 4) commit adultery; 5) rob; 6) eat…

References to Enoch: "Enoch" appears in several apocryphal works. The Ethiopian Jews who claim to be descendants of King Solomon (and the Queen of Sheba) have brought their holy books from Ethiopia to Israel. Although they are recent in terms of age (less than two-thousand years old), they do contain two apocryphal books, one of which is the Book of Enoch. "Probably the most important work in pseudepigraphical literature deals…

Who Remembers the "Fall of Adam" Anymore?: The fall of Adam is one of the faded doctrines of Judaism. Discovery of ancient scriptures (The Pearl of Great Price) and the restoration of temples in modern times have restored understanding that was on the earth before. Following is a collection of Jewish thought on Adam, Eve and sin. Literal or Allegorical? "For most of the medieval Jewish thinkers, the biblical story…

Texts Before the Bible was Written: Before the Bible as we know it was written there were written correspondences between peoples in the Middle East. The oldest known writing may be the Ebla Tablets found in today's Syria. Approximately eighteen thousand ceramic plates were found. They even contained a language that had never been known before. Even more astounding was a set of plates that contained a sort of dictionary…

Pre-earth Life Exists Before New Testament: At the time of Jesus a Society of Jews that many call the Essenes lived at the Dead Sea. Their writings included inferences of "pre-existence." This seems evident because their scribes referred to the Messiah they expected as known by previous prophets and sages. Doctrine Changed: Again, the eighth century Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, eliminated references to a pre-earth life. Various writing of sages prior…

True Nature Of God Known in Antiquity: The anthropomorphic nature of God was known to the Jews at the time of Jesus. The Old Testament, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls contain several references to God in 'human terms'. As the true nature of God is seen to diminish in history, true religion fades away. When Jewish Belief in God Changed: By the time the Crusaders were approaching the…