Last evening a program on public television caught my attention, so much so that I passed on the semi-final of “Dancing with the Stars.” The title of the two hour program — “The Bible’s Buried Secrets: Exploring the Evolution of the Bible, from the Origins of the Israelites and Beyond.” I find it intriguing how, with bits of writing and shards of pottery, so many conclusions can be drawn from the smallest of clues. Apparently some discussion has gone on whether or not King David was a historical figure or a mythic character. On a found bit of stone tablet, dated to about 1000 B.C., an inscription indicating “The House of David” proved to archaelogists that he did indeed exist. So many points regarding the development of the Bible and monotheism were made that I’m not going to try to summarize them. One interesting point though was the discovery of two tiny silver scrolls that pre-dated the Dead Sea Scrolls by 400 years that when unrolled revealed the Priestly Blessing still used today as found in the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6.
As I watched I was reminded of a book I’d read many years ago. James Michener’s The Source which, for the main point, centered on an archeological dig and told of successive discoveries made as the scientists reached deeper and deeper into one cities’ past. Michener, in all his genius, explored the evolution of the Jewish religion in this large novel.
I’m further reminded, given my and Mary’s interest in family geneology, of how difficult it is to ferret out information of family after two or three generations have disappeared. Most of us do not have to go back very far before we hit a solid wall which we cannot travel through. The average person who passes through this life does not make many waves and facts of his or her life are not recorded in history books. About all we can do is make generalizations about their lives by reading history of the period in which they lived.
