Interest In Buying Judea and Samaria Land ?

israelAM

Nadene Goldfoot                                          

This is Eretz Yisrael with Judea and Samaria in brown.  The names come from Jewish history.  Judea was one of the 12 Tribes of Israel, the Israel under Kings Saul, David and Solomon, and Jeroboam (933-912 BCE) who was not Solomon's son but the superintendent of labor who rebelled for the pittance they were earning, and divided the country.  Solomon's son, Rehoboam took the remaining state of Judah, Benjamin and Simeon and became their king under Judah's name, being it was the largest and included Jerusalem, the capital and most important.  Samaria or Shomron was the name of  the Capital of the Northern  kingdom of Israel, founded in about 880 BCE by King Omri, king of Israel (887-876 BCE) on a hill bought from Shemer as documented in I Kings 16:24.   

King Omri of Israel purchased the hill from Shemer for two talents of silver (approx. 150 pounds or 68 kg) to establish his new capital city, Samaria (1 Kings 16:24). Omri built the city on this hill around 880–870 BC, naming it Shomron (Samaria) in honor of Shemer. 

 The site, 7 miles NW of Shechem-now Nablus, was on an isolated elevation dominating a wide countryside.  It city was on 25 acres.  It had withstood the siege of the Syrians but fell in 721 BCE to Sargon II of Assyria who resettled it with Cutheans who intermarried with the former population left behind.  Cutheans (or Cuthites) were a group of people from Cutha (or Cuthah), an ancient Babylonian city, who were forcibly resettled into Samaria by the Assyrian king in the 8th century BCE to replace the exiled Ten Tribes of Israel. They were largely identified with the Samaritans in Jewish tradition, often acting as opponents to the returning Jews during the Second Temple period. 

They became the ancestors of the Samaritans..  

 Until now, Jews were prohibited from purchasing land directly and had to do so through locally registered companies. Under the new framework, most barriers to land purchases are removed, with transactions requiring only basic professional registration rather than approval from the Civil Administration.   The cabinet canceled a law banning land sales to foreigners and abolished the requirement for special transaction permits. 

Jewish buyers will now also be able to look up owners in land-owning registries and approach them directly with purchase offers. The government summarized the measures as allowing Jews to “purchase land in Judea and Samaria just as they purchase in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.”

[Sounds fair. If an Arab wants to sell his property and a Jew wants to buy it, and they both agree to make the transaction, what could be wrong with that? Unless, of course, you believe that Jews should be discriminated against and be prohibited to buy real estate??]

Also, planning and construction authority for the Jewish settlement in the city, including at the Cave of the Patriarchs, will be transferred from the Hebron municipality, which is under the Palestinian Authority, to Israeli authorities. Similar steps were approved for Rachel’s Tomb, located within Bethlehem’s municipal boundaries, including the establishment of a dedicated Israeli municipal administration for the site and an adjacent yeshiva.

The measures also authorize Israeli enforcement bodies to act against illegal Palestinian construction even in Area A, a move that until now had been largely restricted to Area B. The policy would allow demolitions and land expropriation in cases involving damage to archaeological or heritage sites.                          

Well, knock me down with a feather!!!  In a rare joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan condemned what they described as “illegal Israeli decisions and steps aimed at imposing illegitimate Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlements and creating a new legal and administrative reality in the West Bank.” The EU also criticized the move. [So much for fairness and free economies.]

So much for buying your own land back, land that holds the indigenous Jews' ancestors' bones and memories.  The problem is these Arabs cannot admit that Jewish history started in Canaan which became their Israel.  It's known how most Arabs refuse to accept the fact that Jews were here first and have the Bible for proof.  It is unfortunate that Jews lost the land to many empires and countries, like England who held a 30 year mandate-like a lease, sort of, life with them for 30 years of their police/soldiers under their rule. We had family living under this that had returned.                                      

Where fools rush in, Angels fear to tread.  It's not a GOLD RUSH.  We had a lot of Angels buying land from Arabs who couldn't pay the taxes to the Ottoman Empire owners and were all too happy to find buyers who were Jews willing to pay their high prices.  

                             Baron Edmond de Rothschild

Key individuals and organizations facilitating Jewish land purchases from Arabs before and after 1920 included Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin, the Jewish National Fund, and philanthropists like Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934). The early Jewish Pioneers appealed to him in the early 1880s to save the land for the Jews.  He helped to protect their new settlements and visited the land in 1887, 1893, 1899, 1914 and 1925.  He bought 125,000 acres in Palestine and its to be credited with the settlement of Galilee and Samaria.  He and his wife,  Adelaide Rothchild are buried in Israel.  

Land was often purchased from absentee landlords through entities like the Palestine Land Development Company. We were organized for just such an occasion.  land-purchasing company of the world zionist organization.

Established in 1908 by Arthur Ruppin, a German Jew, as part of the World Zionist Organization, the Palestine Land Development Company (PLDC) used Jewish National Fund and private monies to purchase and populate tracts of land with Jewish immigrants. It acquired extensive holdings in northern Palestine (Galilee), particularly in the 1920s and 1930s.

The PLDC bought nearly 90 percent of its land from large landowners, rather than individual peasants. Many of the transactions created controversy, such as the PLDC's purchase of 240,000 dunums (144,000 acres, 60,000 ha) of fertile land in the Jezreel valley between 1921 and 1925, its purchase of 30,000 dunums (18,000 acres, 7,500 ha) at Wadi Hawarith in 1929, and its assumption of the Lake Huleh concession in 1934. 

Oh yes, the Arabs were only too happy to sell their holdings and get out of the there.  They went on to Damascus and Paris, places like that.  Our angels found out what they bought;  land of mosquitoes and swamps, and had a lot to do to turn it into what it has become today.  

 People born and ancestrally native to a land are typically referred to as Indigenous peoples, original inhabitants, or natives of that region. They share deep, generational, and cultural connections to their ancestral land, often predating colonization or written history. Jews are such people.  

Abraham himself had walked with his family; ,Sarah and the rest, all the way from the 

city of Ur to Canaan and settled there.  Saul was our first King with the 2nd king being

David who reigned from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE.  That's over 1,000 years before

Jesus was born and like 2,000 before Mohammad was born.  

     Announcing the birth of Israel:  May 14, 1958

Israel never was barren of Jews;  there were always a certain amount of Jews living here;  

just not enough to win over an empire who didn't bother to live here, only to rule it.  

Once that 30 year period was up in 1948, Israel was born once again, on May 14, 1948 with 

high hopes.  .  

Along with our Jewish beliefs, from Torah, Talmud, etc, Frank Sinatra reminds us: and our 

friends the young Revolutionaries of Iran, not to give up...

Next time you're found
With your chin on the ground
There a lot to be learned
So look around

[Verse 1]
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant can't
Move a rubber tree plant

[Chorus]
But he's got high hopes
He's got high hopes
He's got high apple pie in the sky hopes

[Post-Chorus]
So any time you're gettin' low
'Stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant:
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant
Oops, there goes another rubber tree plant

Ignoring Their Religion, Ancient Northern Israel Became Samaria- Part I

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Israel was first created  where the 12 tribes of Judah were to live in Canaan which was king Saul's Israel.   Later, Israel and Judah parted ways in their own Civil War. 

In 721 BCE, the Assyrians attacked Israel and took away 27,290  of the best people and brought them to Assyria and Medina, and replaced them with Syrian and Babylonian prisoners.  In that same year, ten to twenty years after the initial deportations, the ruling city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samaria, was finally taken by Sargon II after a three-year siege started by Shalmaneser V. 

Hoshea was the last king of the kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE. It had been kept as the Kingdom of Israel in 933 BCE by Jeroboam after Solomon's death and then later was called the Kingdom of Samaria by 890 BCE as the city Samaria became the capitol.  Israel-Samaria existed for 280 years after that as a separate kingdom from the Kingdom of Judah, a much smaller kingdom.  The USA is now only 245 years old.  It will be 280 by 2056, G-d willing.                                   

When King Solomon died in 933 BCE, there was the question of his son, Rehoboam (933-917 BCE) and Solomon's high taxes.  Rehoboam said he would keep these high taxes in his government and the Israelites rebelled.  The Israelites were made up of the other 10 tribes of Jacob, and Rehoboam represented the 11th tribe of Judah, the southern end of Israel, of which Jerusalem lay.  

The Israelites rebelled and ceded from the union of the 12 tribes or states.  They chose their own king, who happened to be the Ephraimite, Jeroboam (933-912 BCE) who was Solomon's   superintendent of forced labor during the reign of Solomon.  He was the one who had led this revolt that turned into a Civil War causing the ceding from the union.  After running to Egypt for safety, he returned when Solomon died and led a delegation to King Rehoboam and talked about the taxes and labor problems.  Most kings coming after him were from the tribe of Ephraim.   Israel-Samaria was the largest of the 2 kingdoms, made up of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Asher, Dan, and across the Jordan River on the eastern side were  Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh.  

The kingdom of Israel had wealth and political importance that was much greater than Judah had.  All Judah had of importance was the city of Jerusalem with the Temple of Solomon.  However, one must realize that this new kingdom of Israel without Judah was now born out of violence.  It perpetuated this tradition and was the subject of constant revolution.  In the course of its existence of 210 years, it had had 19 different kings belonging to 9 different dynasties.  10 had died by violence and 7 ruled for less than 2 years.  People had gained the throne by slaying its king, who may have even been a relative.  Though this hunger for power wasn't new in the world of Rome or Greece or elsewhere, it was not expected from King Saul's Israel or why he had fought so hard to create their special state.  

Peaceful conditions came only under THE HOUSE OF OMRI.  King Omri maintained peace and prosperity  under 4 successive monarchs from 887-744 BCE.  The Assyrians called his kingdom  by his name for the rest of its existence, or the Kingdom of Omri.  Omri bought the city in 880 BCE of Samaria (Shomron) that was on a hill from Shemer.  It occupied 25 acres.  It is 7 miles NW of Shehem, now renamed Nablus, occupied by Palestinians.  It is part of today's SAMARIA.                  

In a scene from the Black Obelisk Jehu, designated ^mIa-ú-a mar ^mHu-um-ri-i (Jehu of the land of people of Omri) bows before Shalmaneser III., king of Assyria (860-825 BCE).  he received tribute from Jehu.  Hoshea, king of Israel, revolted against Shalmaneser but fell into his hands.  Shalmaneser died during the siege of Samaria.  

Then there was the HOUSE OF JEHU who had 5 rulers from 874-744 BCE.  During this period, the kingdom reached its greatest power, conducting successful campaigns against neighboring states, enjoying much luxury, and at one time extending its sway as far as the Gulf of Akaba. 

Israel's strength was sapped in being in perpetual warfare with the Kingdom of Damascus (Syria), and both ultimately fell before the advancing power of Assyria.

The capture of Samaria by Sargon II in 721 BCE ended the history of the KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, though some of its traditions were preserved thereafter by the Samaritans.                                                            

The religious life of the kingdom of Israel was on a relatively low level.  This was partly as a result of the deliberate policy of its first rulers who set up local sanctuaries in order to divert their subjects from Jerusalem.  Only a minority of the biblical prophets like Hosea and Amos had worked in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  However, in the Book of Kings, we see lengthy accounts of the prophets Elijah and Elisha's endeavors to put an end to idolatry and social injustice.   Over 210 years, they had just 4 prophets teaching them the religion they had thrown down the toilet either accidently or on purpose in favor of the idol-worshipping that took its place.  

Sargon II was the King of Assyria from 721-712 BCE.  During the siege of Samaria which he brought to a successful conclusion, caused the exiling of many of the Israelite people.  Where they were taken was unknown until this date, found to be many of the Pashtuns of India, Afghanistan and Pakistan who are Muslims today.   Sargon II resettled  the capital of Israel with Cutheans who intermingled with the remnants of the former population.  The Cutheans and Israel's former population of who had remained of the 10 Lost Tribes kidnapping became the population of the Samaritans.                                  

                                  Sargon marching away the Israelites from Samaria                               

In 720 BCE, he defeated a military alliance which included the remnants of the Israelites of Samaria.  He was assassinated and was succeeded by Sennacherib, son of Sargon II. King Sennacherib (705-681  BCE) was busy constantly in fighting against Babylon and Elam until 689 BCE.  This is when the kings of Phoenicia and Judah, led by Hezekiah, rose in revolt.  Sennacherib invaded Judah in 701 BCE.  He captured 46 cities, but not Jerusalem, and took many prisoners again from this country.  A plague that broke out in his camp caused him to retreat, most likely with his prisoners.  

From 701 BCE to 70 CE, what had become of Israel-Samaria?  That's a period of 771 years.  As we learned, the people became the Samaritans from the natives of Israel and the Cutheans.  Who were the Cutheans?  They seemed to be the Scythians, described as barbarians, the most savage of all, aliens, uncivilized and uncouth, barbaric. 

 A Talmudic term for Samaritans, alluding to their reported origin, is the Kutim.(II Kings 17:24).  The term was used occasionally to denote any person or group rejecting the Oral Law.  It is also the name of one of the minor tractates appended to the Talmud in which the relationships between Samaritans, Jews, and Gentiles are discussed.  

                                                              

The newly created Samaritans kept the capital of Samaria as their capital.  They first called themselves Bene Yisrael or Shomerim (the keepers of the Law).  They were mostly descended from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (II Chron 34:9;  and Jer. 41:5). with an admixture of the non-Israelite colonists (II Kings 17:24-41).  I notice that the Israelites were still the majority population.   Ephraimites were from the younger son of Joseph and Manassahites were from the first son of Joseph and Asenath.  Joseph was Jacob's son by Rachel, her first before Benjamin was born.  The Tribe of Judah was from Judah, Jacob's 4th son by Leah, Rachel's sister.  

A note on Ephraimites:  In the period of the Judges, Ephraimites claimed priority among the Israelite tribes, partly because their religious center was situated at Shiloh in their territory.  The civil War  centered on the tribe of Ephraim to which Jeroboam, the 1st northern King belonged.  The prophets would later speak of THE HOUSE OF JUDAH and the HOUSE OF EPHRAIM. as representing the 2 branches of the Hebrew people.  

  The Samaritan, SANBALLAT, (Sanballat the Horonite – or Sanballat I – was a Samaritan leader and official of the Achaemenid Empire of Greater Iran who lived in the mid to late 5th century BC and was a contemporary of Nehemiah.) attempted to have political and religious influence over Judah.  The result was that his son-in-law was driven from Jerusalem.  Sanballat then built a rival Temple on Mt. Gerizim which was destroyed by John Hyreanus in about 128 BCE.  The territory between Judea and Galilee was still part of Samaria.  The Samaritans did not participate in the Jewish revolt from 66 to 70 CE and were not in Jerusalem when the Romans burnt down the city and Temple in 70.

486 CE:  Zeno destroyed the  2nd Samaritan Temple on Gerizim and built a Christian church in its stead.

529 CE:  Emperor Justinian issued a decree against the Samaritans and thereafter, their autonomous existence practically ended.  Samarians were not considered as PEOPLE OF THE BOOK like the Jews were, and suffered under Islam, and their numbers dwindled rapidly.                     

1990:  530 Samaritans were living in Nablus and Holon.  Their synagogue housing the ancient Pentateuch is at Mt. Gerizim near Nablus and there they hold their annual Passover sacrifice.                                                   

                                     Holon's Samaritan Synagogue 

The present-day population has been consistently divided between the West Bank and Israel.. Samaritans in the West Bank live in Qiryat Luza on Mount Gerizim, while those in Israel are concentrated in the city of Holon, just outside Tel Aviv. ... Samaritans in Holon and Qiryat Luza today speak Hebrew and Arabic.  Holon  is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In 2019 it had a population of 196,282. Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. Its jurisdiction is 19,200 dunams and its population is about 194,273 residents as of 2018 according to CBS data.

A diaspora of Samaritans existed in Egypt from the time of the Ptolemies and lasted until the 18th century.  A Samaritan synagogue in Rome was destroyed in about 500 CE.  There were Samaritans in Babylonia in the Talmudic Period  and in Syria in the 17th century.  

                                                               

If if were up to me, I'd give them an award for keeping the faith of the Jewish people for this whole time after they had lost their leadership and help that the Temple in Jerusalem gave to them.  Evidently they still considered themselves as Jewish or at least the followers of Moses.  The Samaritans of today do live in Israel and are citizens.  Their differencs from Judaism are:  Samaritans believe Judaism and the Jewish Torah have been corrupted by time and no longer serve the duties God mandated on Mount Sinai. Jews view the Temple Mount as the most sacred location in their faith, while Samaritans regard Mount Gerizim as their holiest site.

"Many people who know this parable or the term ‘Good Samaritan’ are unaware of who the Samaritans really are. In actuality, the Samaritans are a unique people whose history can be traced to Biblical times. They are not considered ethnically Jewish or Arab, despite the fact that Samaritans have lived in close proximity to both groups for thousands of years. Though they used to be numerous, there are now only about 700 Samaritans left, divided between two towns near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. They rarely marry non-Samaritans, and their religious practices are distinct from all Jewish sects. Their ability to remain both (seemingly) genetically and culturally isolated in one of the most diverse regions on Earth has piqued the interest of both geneticists and historians, who have spent years trying to understand this unique group of people tucked away in the Levantine desert.

However, recent archaeological findings, coupled with deeper examination of religious texts, have led researchers to propose that the Samaritans were Jews themselves.

Specifically, researchers argue that during the Babylonian Captivity, not all Jews were rounded up by the Assyrians. Some stayed behind, possibly marrying other Assyrian exiles who themselves had been relocated. This would make sense given that, even though Samaritans are not considered Jews, they share many of the same ancient Hebrew rituals. While these rituals have evolved for hundreds of years among most Jewish sects, they remain unchanged among the isolated Samaritans, even to this day. This also fits well with the historical animosity of Jews toward Samaritans because of their association with non-Jews.    

Furthermore, the Dead Sea scroll 4Q372, which recounts the hope that the northern tribes will return to the land of Joseph, remarks that the current dwellers in the north are fools, an enemy people, but does not explicitly refer to them as foreigners. It goes on to say that these people, the Samaritans, mocked Jerusalem and built a temple on a high place (Gerizim) to provoke Israel.^[12]

Conflicts between the Samaritans and the Jews were numerous between the end of the Assyrian diaspora and the Bar Kokhba revolt. Jewish historiography describes multiple instigations from the Samaritan population against the Jews and disparages them, and Jesus' Parable of the Good Samaritan also gives evidence of conflict. The destruction of Mount Gerizim's Samaritan temple is attributed to the High Priest John Hyrcanus.

Following the failed revolts, Mount Gerizim was rededicated with a new temple, which was ultimately again destroyed during the Samaritan revolts. Persecution of Samaritans was common in the following centuries. 

                                                   

The Samaritans claim to be descended from the Israelite Tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Levi. This gives us more information about the Y haplogroup of J1, the Cohen gene from Aaron, brother of Moses.

According to Samaritan Law and their interpretation of the Torah, Samaritans were forbidden from marrying non-Israelites, and unlike Jews, they did not accept any converts until 1924. Jews too were forbidden according to Jewish Law from marrying Samaritans. All Samaritans today have only four surviving Y lineages. (A fifth, from the Tribe of Benjamin, died out in 1912). According to the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, many Samaritans are descended from Jews of Jerusalem who left and moved northward for religious reasons before the time of Alexander the Great in 338 BCE.

Indeed, not only are the Y-chromosomes of the Jews and Samaritans more similar to each other than either is to the Palestinians’, the Y-chromosomes of the Samaritans show striking similarities to a very specific Y-chromosome most often associated with Jewish men. Although the Samaritan type is slightly different from the Jewish type, it is clear that the two share a common ancestor, probably within the last few thousand years.

As a result, is  that the traditional hypothesis, that the Samaritans were transported into the Levant by the Assyrians and have no Jewish heritage, is largely incorrect. Rather, these Samaritan lineages are remnants of those few Jews who did not go into exile when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BC. Those who remained in the Levant may have take non-Jewish wives, which would account for the genetic admixture on the female side. But according to the authors the Y-chromosome clearly shows that the Samaritans and the Jews share common ancestry dating to at least 2,500 years ago."

Ancient Israel was inhabited all this time by the Samaritans since the  10 Tribes of Israel had been taken away and were lost to the major body of Judeans.   

Under the Roman Empire, Samaria became a part of the Herodian Kingdom, Herodian Tetrarchy and with deposition of the Herodian ethnarch Herod Achelaus in early 1st century CE, Samaria became a part of the province of Judaea.

Samaritans appear briefly in the Christian gospels, most notably in the account of the Samaritan woman at the well and the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the latter, it is only the Samaritan who helped the man stripped of clothing, beaten, and left on the road half dead, his Abrahamic covenantal circumcision implicitly evident. The priest and Levite walked past. But the Samaritan helped the naked man regardless of his nakedness (itself religiously offensive to the priest and Levite^[59]), his self-evident poverty, or to which Hebrew sect he belonged.

The Temple of Gerizim was rebuilt after the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Romans, around 136 CE. A building dated to the second century BCE, the Delos Synagogue, is commonly identified as a Samaritan synagogue, which would make it the oldest known Jewish or Samaritan synagogue. On the other hand, Matassa argues that, although there is evidence of Samaritans on Delos, there is no evidence the building was a synagogue.

Much of Samaritan liturgy was set by the high priest Baba Rabba in the 4th century.

There were some Samaritans in the Sasanian Empire, where they served in the army.

During the 30 year British Mandate after World War I, The situation of the Samaritan community improved significantly.   At that time, they began to work in the public sector, like many other groups. The censuses of 1922 and 1931 recorded 163 and 182 Samaritans in Palestine, respectively. The majority of them lived in Nablus, the former Shechem, now a part of the West Bank of Samaria.  

Do Samaritans serve in the IDF? Evidently not.   The Israeli military says the Samaritans pose no threat to the area and even serve as a peaceful buffer. But for the Samaritans, living in a militarized zone is not without hardship. "The Samaritans know the value of having the IDF there, but on the other hand," says Tsedaka, "They are suffering from the situation."  This is because of those living in the West Bank. "No one will help us," says Joseph Cohen, a Samaritan of Mount Gerizim. "The tanks remain in our front yard, and create dust and mess. When it rains, the mud is so bad, our children can't even go to school."  Beyond the inconvenience, transit through the Green Line, the border that separates Israel from the West Bank, can prove perilous, as Cohen lived to tell.  Of course, they are living right on the border between 2 opposing forces, and the Palestinians are always attacking Israel, even more so between Gaza and Israel.  

As for the Palestinians, "Palestinian claims to be related to the Canaanites are a recent phenomenon and contrary to historical evidence. The Canaanites disappeared from the face of the earth three millennia ago, and no one knows if any of their descendants survived or, if they did, who they would be.

We can't ignore the fact that the Ottoman Empire was governing the land from Turkey for 400 from 1517 years up to World War I., interested only in the taxes they could collect from the few farmers.

Sherif Hussein, the guardian of the Islamic Holy Places in Arabia, said the Palestinians' ancestors had only been in the area for 1,000 years.  Even the Palestinians themselves have acknowledged their association with the region came long after the Jews. In testimony before the Anglo-American Committee in 1946, for example, they claimed a connection to Palestine of more than 1,000 years, dating back no further than the conquest of Muhammad's followers in the 7th century. And that claim is also dubious. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been massive invasions that killed off most of the local people (e.g., the Crusades), migrations, the plague, and other manmade or natural disasters. The entire local population was replaced many times over. During the British mandate alone, more than 100,000 Arabs emigrated from neighboring countries and are today considered Palestinians.  This is when they most likely settled in parts of Samaria.   It's the period when Brits kept the Jews out and let the Arabs in.  

Resource; 

Updated 3/8/21 morning

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

 https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/priscilla-papers-academic-journal/scythians-who-were-they-and-why-did-paul-include

https://blog.23andme.com/ancestry-reports/more-than-just-a-parable-the-genetic-history-of-the-samaritans/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritanism#:~:text=Samaritans%20believe%20Judaism%20and%20the,Gerizim%20as%20their%20holiest%20site.

https://www.ancient.eu/israel/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritans

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/samaritan/about

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/10/08/samaritans/#:~:text=The%20Israeli%20military%20says%20the,are%20suffering%20from%20the%20situation.%22

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/myths-and-facts-israel-146-s-roots

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeroboam%27s_Revolt

  

  

 

Proving Our Jewish History To Minimalist Archaeologists and Anti-Semites

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                       

                                                         

     Jerusalem , the capital of an empire reaching from the Red Sea to the Euphrates.    Incidently, this was not argued with, but "The association of the Red Sea with the biblical account of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is ancient, and was made explicit in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Exodus from Hebrew to Koine Greek in approximately the third century B.C.E. In that version, the Yam Suph (Hebrew: ים סוף‎, lit. 'Sea of Reeds') is translated as Erythra Thalassa (Red Sea). Although reeds do not grow in the Red Sea today (reeds do not grow in salt water), Professor Colin Humphreys explains the discrepancy on the basis that a freshwater marsh of reeds could have existed around Aqaba.

Gerard Gertoux wrote in the opening of his abstract that "The David and Solomon's kingdoms are no longer considered as historical by minimalist archeologists. According to Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman, for example, authors of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, at the time of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was populated by only a few hundred residents or less, which is insufficient for an empire stretching from the Euphrates to Eilath.' 

How is it then, that we know so much about our history?  We find facts in the Torah.  You have to look in many sections, just as I have done in a simple encyclopedia.  The information to answer such people was not lumped together for my findings.  One fact has led to another fact to look into.  That's the key.  Time must be spent looking, for the answers are here to be found.  This is only one source for the beginner.  I'm sure there are other sources to be used, like original sources.                                                          

They suggest that due to religious prejudice, the authors of the Bible suppressed the achievements of the Omrides. The Omrides, Omrids or House of Omri were a ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Israel founded by King Omri. According to the Bible, the Omride rulers of Israel were Omri (887-876 BCE) , Ahab (876-853 BCE) , Ahaziah (853 BCE)  and Jehoram (853-843 BCE). Ahab's daughter Athaliah D(842-836 BCE)  also became queen regnant of the Kingdom of Judah.  

Elah, son of Baasha, was king of Israel for 2 years from 886 to 885 BCE.  He was murdered by the captain of his chariots, Zimri, while the Israelite army was besieging the Philistine city of Gibbethon.  Zimri was a general, then  became king of Israel.  He had murdered his master to seize power.  When news of the conspiracy reached the Israelite army fighting the Philistines, they declared Omri king.  Omri therupon besieged Tirzah, the capital city of Samaria (I Kings 15:21)  which was Menahem's base of operations in his successful rising against Shallum.  After a 7 day reign, Zimri set his palace on fire and himself with it (I Kings 16:8-18).  Zimri died in 887 BCE.

Menahem was King of Israel (744-735 BCE) He gained the throne by killing Shallum.  His brutal treatment of the citizens of Tipsah, who refused to open the gates of the city, is recorded in II kings 15:16).  When Tiglath-Pileser III invaded Syria and Israel, Menahem was forced to pay him a heavy tribute.  

Shallum was King of Israel in 743 BCE.  He conspired against and slew Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II and seized the throne.  After 5 months, he was killed and succeeded by Menahem.  

Another Zimri  was the head of a clan of the tribe of Simeon.  He consorted with a Midianite woman.  They were stabbed by Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, and this action ended a plague visited on the Israelites for "COMMITTING HARLOTRY" with Midiantie women and worshipping Baal Peor. (Num.25).  One can never say that our Tanakh (Bible) is boring to read.  

There was another Shallum who was King of Judah, son of Josiah.  Probably this was an alternative or even the original  name for  King Jehoahaz. (608 BCE).   His father, King Josiah ruled from 637 to 608 BCE).   This Shallum/Jehoahaz was King of Judah for 3 months in 609/8 BCE.   He was crowned by the people after his father was killed fighting the Egyptians.  Jehoahaz apparently belonged to the pro-Babylonian party since he was deposed and arrested by Pharaoh Necoh, dying in captivity in Egypt.  Information was in II Kings 23:29-34.)  

 Omri was Israel's King Elah's (888-887 BCE) general.  He directed the operations against the Philistine city of Gibbethon.  Elah was murdered and Omri was dubbed King after Zimri's rule in 887 BCE.  He faced a 6 year struggle with Tibni (I Kings 16:16-27).  Omri forged the Sidonian alliance which exercised a marked influence on the development of the Israelite religion.  According to the MOABITE STONE, He subdued Moab.  The Assyrians called the kingdom of Israel by his name for the rest of its existence.  Therefore, OMRI in their records is Israel.    

Athaliah was Queen of Judah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.  Her son, King  Ahaziah, only reigned a year and was assassinated, making her so angry that she exterminated the entire royal family except her grandson, Joash, who survived only because his aunt, Jehosheba saved him.  Jehosheba was married to the high priest, Jehoiada.   Athaliah seized power and introduced the Baal cult into Judah.  She ruled for 6 years when a successful revolt broke out in favor of Joash or Jehoash, and Athaliah was put to death for her rebellious behaviors.

Joash was king of Judah (836-797 BCE).  when he was a year old, the throne was seized by his grandmother, Athaliah who had all members of the House of David murdered.  He was kept hidden in the Temple by his aunt for 6 years.  Jehoiada, high priest in Jerusalem then crowned Joash king and had Athaliah put to death.  She obliterated the Baal cult and acted as regent until Joash's majority.  Joash continued in the priestly tradition and restored the Temple, but later, according to Chronicles, deviated from his former uprightness.  During his reign, the country was invaded by Hazael of Aram who was bought off with a large indemnity.  Joash was killed by conspirators.  

Moses is the writer of our Torah. He was an educated Egyptian who could read and write, something the slaves were kept from learning.   Jews have the oral and written Torah, and have written down what they were told orally at the time of the Exodus.  This is our vetting, our proof of our history.  That's what Moses felt was so important to do.  He was told through G-d what to do and write.  Who among us has argued this point considering how lofty and spiritual are the commands of 613 laws and history we have received?  We have had hundreds of rabbis discuss and debate from that time on the points we have received this way, like the famous RASHI (1040-1105 CE) who lived in France.  Our Tanakh (Bible) is loaded with the comments on every point by these well-known rabbis.  Many German rabbis gathered together and debated the essence and validity of our Torah and other writings in the Tanakh including the Talmuds both in Palestine and Babylonia.  They did this in Worms, Germany, and in Mainz in the 1100s and 1200s.  All their findings and comments are written down, usually found right in the Tanakh itself as it is in the Stone Edition of the torah and other writings.  

                                                                   

Some Biblical minimalists like Thomas L. Thompson go further, arguing that Jerusalem became a city and capable of being a state capital only in the mid-seventh century.  Thomas L. Thompson is an American-born Danish biblical scholar and theologian. He was professor of theology at the University of Copenhagen from 1993 to 2009. Thompson was raised as a Catholic and obtained a bachelor of arts from Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1962.  He currently lives in Denmark.  We know that Jerusalem was King David's choice for a final capital.  

Neil Silberman said, "I teamed up with my good friend and colleague Israel Finkelstein to see what we could accomplish in the re-construction of modern views of biblical history.  The result was The Bible Unearthed (2001) which got a lot of attention, but I’m not sure it changed many minds– particularly minds that are hardwired to believe that THEY are the authentic heirs of the biblical tradition."  Silberman was born in Boston in 1950 and studied Religion at Wesleyan University and Archaeology at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  Wesleyan  is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the college was the first institution of higher education to be named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. It is now a secular institution.  

Therefore, his ideas of religion are not Jewish-viewed.  Catholicism and Episcopalism are very close views.  I beg to differ with their findings.  I agree with Gerard Gertoux's views.  He's a French Historian from Lyon, France.  Maybe he knows about RASHI, the French rabbi.  He's into ancient history.  

Estimates of the area's population in history are disputed, but at the time of King David - approximately 1000 BCE - it is generally estimated at under 2 million. By about 100 CE, the population numbered between 2-3 million, and was at least half a million less by 1000 CE.Dec 30, 1999

Moses took 2 censuses, at the beginning and end of the Exodus.  They had started with 603,550 and ended with 601,730.  Over the 40 years, they had a loss of 1,820 people.  This gives us a starting population of the people of the Exodus.  it's listed in the Torah.  We know that the Exodus took place 480 years before the 1st Temple of Solomon was built.  Solomon lived from 961 to 920 BCE.   The Exodus took place in 1445 BCE or 1500 BCE.  

Under the leadership of Joshua, the 12 tribes conquered the Land of Israel and settled in territories on both sides of the Jordan River.  For about 2 centuries, there was tribal autonomy, a period also known as the PERIOD OF THE JUDGES, as the central role of the national and tribal leaders was that of a judiciary.  Famous names are Deborah, Gideon and Samson.  

King David ruled from 1000 to 970 or 960 BCE.  He was the youngest son of Jesse and was King Saul's armor-bearer.  He married Saul's daughter.  Our Tanakh depicts David's virtues and vices as it does with everyone.  This is a difference between information found in Egypt and other places and Israel.  Egypt and others have glorified their country and people whereas Israel's writer/s show both sides, therefore more historical and believable.  We even know that Egypt has erased their walls if it told of another out of fashion fact.  David captured Jerusalem in 1010 BCE.  (II Sam.5:6-8)(I Chron. 11:4-6). 

 David dealt leniently with the JEBUSITES living there, but established himself in the city, adding the fortress of Zion and also a "House of Heroes" for his guard.  He also constructed a tomb inside the city for himself and his dynasty.  He transferred the Ark of the Covenant there and made Jerusalem the religious center of Israel.  By his conquestss, he made it the capital of an empire reaching from the Red Sea to the Euphrates.                                                            

 Likewise, Israel Finkelstein  an Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University. Finkelstein is a minimalist.  He is active in the archaeology of the Levant and is an applicant of archaeological data in reconstructing biblical history and others consider the claimed size of Solomon's temple implausible.

We know that:  The dimensions for the Jerusalem Temple King Solomon built: “60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and 30 cubits high” (1 Kings 6:2).

                                                                   

As for biblical usage, scholars estimate the cubit at anywhere from 1.33 to 2.2 feet, says Joshua Schwartz, the dean of Jewish studies at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, writing in the current Biblical Archaeology Review.  The consensus appears to be the 1969 view of Arye Ben David that in Temple measurements, at least, a cubit was 1.84 feet.  However, Asher Selig Kaufman is a “cubit minimalist” who puts the length at only 1.43 feet. Historian Kaufman specializes in aspects of the Temple Mount, the sector where the Temple once stood (called the Haram as-Sharif or “Noble Sanctuary” by Muslims). His short cubit provides the basis for controversial calculations on the location of the ancient Temple.

During the past five centuries, most Jews have agreed with Rabbi David ben Zimra’s belief that the ancient Temple stood at the exact site that’s now occupied by the Dome of the Rock. This is one of Islam’s holiest structures, commemorating what’s believed to be the spot from which Muhammad ascended to heaven.

The prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the restored Temple precinct: “Set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a holy district, 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad” (Ezekiel 45:1).

"Cubit, from the Latin word for “elbow,” is used in most English Bible translations when the Hebrew word for “elbow” refers to measurements."  I guess it mattered how long the distance was from the elbow to the middle finger.  That was a cubit or 1.84 feet.  Frankly, i measure about 15 " or 1.25 feet, and I'm a woman and am about 5'1."  The internet dictionary says that "The cubit, generally taken as equal to 18 inches (457 mm), was based on the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger and was considered the equivalent of 6 palms or 2 spans. In some ancient cultures it was as long as 21 inches (531 mm)..  

A review of methods and arguments used by these minimalists shows that they are impostors for writing history. The historical testimonies dated by a chronology anchored on absolute dates (backbone of history) are replaced by archaeological remains dated by carbon-14 (backbone of myths). The goal of these unfounded claims is clearly the charring of biblical accounts. 

A cave, unearthed in the Ophel dig in Jerusalem, contained coins with inscriptions that help us to precisely date them to the years 66-70 AD. But along with the optimistic message on the coins minted by the rebels who were fighting for freedom towards the end of the second temple era were later coins with a different message. At first the Jewish zealots were certain they’d win their country back from the Roman conquerors, but the coins dated 70 AD that were found in the same cave carried a different rallying cry: “For the Redemption of Zion!” By that last year of the rebellion, it had become obvious that their resistance was not going to survive for long, and that the best they could hope for was the eventual redemption of Zion.

In looking into carbon dating; nothing like our known history is taken into account.  Bio dating math  is used, instead.  "Carbon is a key element in biologically important molecules. During the lifetime of an organism, carbon is brought into the cell from the environment in the form of either carbon dioxide or carbon-based food molecules such as glucose; then used to build biologically important molecules such as sugars, proteins, fats, and nucleic acids. These molecules are subsequently incorporated into the cells and tissues that make up living things. Therefore, organisms from a single-celled bacteria to the largest of the dinosaurs leave behind carbon-based remains.

Carbon dating is based upon the decay of ¹⁴C, a radioactive isotope of carbon with a relatively long half-life (5700 years). While ¹²C is the most abundant carbon isotope, there is a close to constant ratio of ¹²C to ¹⁴C in the environment, and hence in the molecules, cells, and tissues of living organisms. This constant ratio is maintained until the death of an organism, when ¹⁴C stops being replenished. At this point, the overall amount of ¹⁴C in the organism begins to decay exponentially. Therefore, by knowing the amount of ¹⁴C in fossil remains, you can determine how long ago an organism died by examining the departure of the observed ¹²C to ¹⁴C ratio from the expected ratio for a living organism."

                                                     

Good grief, a horrid thought!  This might be used on Mars remains if any are found and brought back.  it sounds like a good idea until you compare it with our known history and wonderful archaeological finds already discovered that proves our known history from writing.  

Resource:

Academia:  Kings David and Solomon:  Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence , by  Gerard Gertoux.  

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia/Dr. Geoffrey Wigoder, D. Phil, Editor-in Chief from over 200 European-Israeli scholars....

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/pressroom/1999/pages/israel-s%20%20population%20%2062%20million%20%20at%20%20millennium%20-.aspx#:~:text=Estimates%20of%20the%20area's%20population,million%20less%20by%201000%20CE.

facts about Israel, division of Information, Ministry for foreign affairs, Jerusalem.

https://www.britannica.com/science/cubit

https://www.jns.org/topic/archaeology/?gclid=CjwKCAiAg8OBBhA8EiwAlKw3krYqVdVFV9c-Qru1iDXB6eYBeVPiPGn2jsdt1HxF6a5gg-la9RXcKBoCjS4QAvD_BwE

https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/biblical-archaeological-treasures-signed-sealed-and-delivered/?gclid=CjwKCAiAg8OBBhA8EiwAlKw3kuEJFckcV48FeBp8w94JaZIiYZFR5W72hnwyJ564o0r8A9OAmq4sBRoCChcQAvD_BwE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea