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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Winston Churchill and the Egyptian Bias

Winston Churchill said "God deals with the nations as they deal with the Jews. Of every fifty officers who come back from the Middle East only one speaks favorably of the Jews. That merely convinces me that I am right." For many debunking the Ancient Hebrew Bible is easy, choose any theory; the Egyptian record does not support Israel’s story; natural events led to the destruction of Egypt; Moses wrote the Bible for the Jews, he did not receive it from God; the Bible is a myth pieced together by 4 authors or any of a myriad of others. 
More archaeologists have written of their excavations in Egypt than any other place on earth and their record has infused the biases of historical writings. Notwithstanding their quality of archaeology it was construed in an environment that preferred to debunk the historical and Biblical record that Israel left Egypt. About the Jews who left Spain, Russia or Germany you won’t find much of a societal salute written by inspired locals in their records either. Given this context, it’s no surprise the archaeological fraternity fell victim to the character described by Churchill.
False supposition follows a flawed premise, in this case the ancient Egyptian anti-Semitic view that opposed Israel the shepherd nation, who herded, slaughtered and ate the Egyptians sheep and cattle gods. After 210 years Israel rose from their exile and left Egypt as it suffered remarkable blows. These were recorded in context in the Bible and separately the Ipuwer papyrus, the 'drowned soldiers on the 10th hour' mural in Amenhotep II, Ramses VI and other tombs in the Valley of Kings. Israel's time in Egypt was relatively short and was described in the mystical realm in the record of Pharaoh's. Regardless, the complete interpretation and chronology of the hieroglyphic record is not yet agreed or understood.
Nevertheless, references to Israel do exist, but many are overlooked or misinterpreted. It requires a special archaeologist to reverse the tide of inaccurate interpretation to become 'one of fifty' being sufficiently independent, strong willed, open minded and bold enough to see and retell the story of Israel coded in the existing record. I have met some like this who studied and outlined certain facts, but their voices against the backdrop of 200 years of archaeology that has been insensitive to the Jewish plight are barely audible.
Hieroglyphic is a tough language to interpret and there aren't many who will support the rare scholar that contradicts others who allege definitive knowledge. One example is the granite naos in Ismailia’s museum which speaks of “evil on the earth...and...man nor god could see faces...and...Pi-Kharoti” the latter compared to the biblical Pi-HaKirot, where the splitting of the sea occurred. Another is the Merneptah stele that specifically mentions “Israel”, a third is the Sehel Stele that speaks of Djoser and the 7 year famine. Finally the unique tomb of Djoser and its 11 additional burial chambers may have been built to transport the souls of Josephs 11 brothers. 
This author does not pursue an archaeological validation of Biblical events, rather that readers will more carefully consider historical conclusions tainted by prejudicial biases from the archaeological fraternity. There is also the matter of the pre-Jewish Bible characters and how they fit into the Egyptian record. Ten generations between Adam and Noah each larger than life characters who lived on average 6 or 7 times longer than present day lifespans. Then came Noah’s three sons, the Bible names as Shem, Ham and Yafeth, each inheriting a region of Mesopotamia’s fertile crescent that stretched from Egypt to Iran. Many of them the likely Old Kingdom pharaohs that still intrigue the minds of so many yet most fail to connect and overlay the Biblical record with the rich, but still confounding Egyptian record.
Initially Winston Churchill stood alone to oppose Hitler. His motivations to defend the values imbued in the western world ideal were justified in his brave decisions and actions. In many ways the 50:1 anti-Israel bias he highlighted is still reflected in the attitude of nations today, the United Nations being a perfect example of this continuum. Their apparently unbiased representation hears, judges and passes more restrictive resolutions about Israel than any other nation on earth. Perhaps they too should reconsider that the Biblical record Israel has fastidiously maintained for 3825 years is true and the most complete record of all.
Learning out the extreme bias of archaeologists or people who claim to be Bible scholars because they once studied a foreign language interpretation is a precautionary note to readers. Blink then blink again, sometimes that's all it takes to adjust one's perspective and see a different more sensitive reality often cloaked by the veil of an 'expert'.

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