Faith

Archaeologists Discover ‘Stunning’ Ancient Synagogue & Mosaic Featuring the Biblical Figure Samson

Archaeologists continue to make discoveries that shed further light on Biblical times. This week, the latest noteworthy finding is an ancient synagogue uncovered in the Jewish village of Huqoq in Northern Israel. The structure, dated to the fourth and fifth centuries (the Talmudic and late Roman periods, as CNN notes), includes a mosaic floor that depicts the Biblical figure Samson, women and a Hebrew inscription.

(Related: Do These Ancient ‘Biblical’ Bones Belong to John the Baptist?)

The building, discovered during a recent excavation, includes artwork that Jody Magness, a professor of early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, calls “very high quality.” She dubs the overall discovery “significant” and says that the site is “extraordinary” and “stunning.”

Archaeologists Discover Synagogue & Mosaic Featuring Samson in Israel

An image of a woman depicted in the mosaic. (Image Credit: Jim Haberman)

The detailed floor is made with colored stone cubes and, as can be seen in the image above, it is vibrant and detailed. Magness notes that it’s very rare to find such intriguing scenes on late Roman-period synagogues.

In this particular mosaic, Samson, the Biblical figure whose story is told in the Book of Judges, is seen placing torches between the tails of foxes. CNN has more about the depiction and about Samson:

That image, from a vignette in the Book of Judges, is a reference to Samson exacting revenge on the Philistines by sending out flame-laden foxes to burn their lands.

She said the only other images of Samson in synagogues are at one nearby place in the Galilee known as Wadi Hamam, where Samson is seen “smiting” the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Another is in what is now modern Turkey, depicting scenes from Samson’s life.

Archaeologists Discover Synagogue & Mosaic Featuring Samson in Israel

Another image from the mosaic. (Image Credit: Jim Haberman)

LiveScience continues with additional information on the structure:

So far, Magness and her team have excavated only part of the eastern wall of the structure, so they don’t yet know how big the synagogue was. But the building appears to be made of large, “beautifully cut” blocks of stone, Magness said, suggesting an expansive structure.

The mosaic, which is incomplete, depicts several scenes. In one, two female faces flank a Hebrew inscription about rewards for people who perform good deeds. In the other, Samson, of the biblical story Samson and Delilah, ties torches to pairs of foxes, an event described in the Book of Judges in both the Christian and Hebrew Bibles. As the story goes, Samson falls in love with a woman of Philistine origin, a people who ruled the city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath in the ancient Middle East. The Philistines are depicted as enemies of the Israelis in the Bible.

Following the intriguing discovery, Magness plans to figure out why two houses of worship very close together both feature images of Samson. So far, the archaeologists behind the dig have yet to release the portions of the mosaic that depict Samson.

(H/T: CNN)

Comments (112)

1 2
  • blair152
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 5:51pm

    Back in the ’90s, TLC had a series called Archaeology. Each episode had a story of a different archaeological discovery. One episode was about the discovery of a church in a cave that was supposedly the hiding place of Lot and his daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
    This is breathtaking.

    Report Post »  
    • Larry E
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 6:53pm

      Ah, yes, back when you could actually LEARN something from watching TLC instead of blowing through that channel as fast as possible.

      Report Post »  
  • Iron_Wyll
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 2:46pm

    Fascinating subject and the responses for/against are just as interesting. Perhaps the Bible was a lesson book, and not a blueprint. Perhaps it was meant to inspire us and not bind us. Perhaps we ignore it’s inspiration leading to our own decline. For instance, the Sumerian epic The Gilgamesh, many hundreds of years older than Genesis, related the story of man’s creation from clay, the great flood and even the garden of eden. For isntance, the use of X-mas is not a secularization of birth of Christ. The “X” is the first letter in the Greek word that stands for Christ. It would be proper to call yourself a X-ian, not a slur. My point is this: do not get hung up on the details. Instead, read, pray and be inspired. And never give up.

    Report Post » Iron_Wyll  
    • jblaze
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 4:45pm

      Proof of the Bible? Seals of Jeremiah’s Captors Discovered : Now on display in Edmond Oklahoma USA!!!! Jeremiah, Chapter 38. Prominent in this account are two of Jeremiah’s worst persecutors: Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, and Gedaliah, son of Pashur. What if tangible evidence of these princes existed? It would corroborate Jeremiah’s account—and be colossal proof of the accuracy of the Bible. In 2005, archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was digging into the northern section of the City of David when one of her colleagues spotted a small piece of clay lying in the dust. It had originally been made to seal a cord tied around a papyrus scroll. The tiny bulla bore a three-line Paleo-Hebrew inscription: “Belonging to Yehucal, son of Shelemiyahu, son of Shovi.” This was the seal of Jehucal.
      In 2008, Dr. Mazar and her team were enlarging the dig, wet-sifting debris they had excavated just a few yards from the location of the Jehucal bulla. After washing away 2,600 years of dirt and dust from another seal, Dr. Mazar found herself reading “le Gedalyahu ben Pashur”—”belonging to Gedaliah, son of Pashur.” Rarely do science and the Bible converge as dramatically as with the Jehucal and Gedaliah bullae. Unearthed near the palace of Judah’s king and scientifically dated to the time of Jeremiah, these artifacts resurrect the life and commission of one of the great prophets of scripture. http://www.armstrongauditor

      Report Post » jblaze  
    • BondmanPhil
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 8:34am

      JBlaze is so spot on! I visited the City of David last month. It is hard to comprehend the size and scope of the archeological work being done there. There were two active digs, one smaller, near what is believed to be King David’s palace, and one much larger in another section. Remarkably, there is a structure which shows clear signs of having been burnt, including remains of partially burnt fine furniture. This completely supports the Biblical account of the fall of the first Jewish Commonwealth to Assyria in 586 B.C., which recounts how the Assyrians burned the homes of the leaders and nobility in the city. Kudos for the Israeli Antiquities Authority for their work in the City of David. It is what Israel’s enemies fear most: Actual proof that Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital, is indeed the ancient homeland of the Jewish People.

      Report Post »  
    • AbbeyNormal
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 12:40pm

      The Bible leading to our decline? Where do you get that from? Societal breakdowns always occur when there is a lack of morality and ethics. When the people only seek personal gratification and no longer care about improving their lives that is when we have a decline.

      Not only are declines shown in the historical parts of the Bible when people turn from God but the Bible is also a book of morals. The same morals and ethics that this nation was founded on. The same morals and ethics that made this nation once a place the world looked up to. It is because we are losing our morals that we are in a decline.

      Report Post »  
  • Archer60
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 2:23pm

    Delilah really wasn‘t much to look at if she’s anything like that tiled picture.

    Report Post »  
    • Joudicca
      Posted on July 8, 2012 at 5:40pm

      I think the mosaic is more likely to be of Samson as it looks more like a young male with long hair than a beautiful, sexy Delilah who would have had quite a different hairstyle. Look again at that male-ish face and you’ll probably come to the same conclusion

      Report Post »  
  • thegreatcarnac
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 2:17pm

    I love archeology. I am one of those people that loves to visit museums and look at the old artifacts. I love to go to Rome and see the old collesium and the old part of the city. I really liked the article. Israel has a lot of archelogical sites and is full of undiscovered items that prove the bible every day. They are just waiting to be discovered.

    Report Post »  
    • h20sue
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 3:13pm

      Maybe, just maybe, these Arch. digs will prove without a doubt, to Atheists, the Bible is real, not fiction, and we’re all part of Gods creations, whether they like it or not. I can only pray they find their way before it’s too late.

      Report Post »  
  • MasterJoshua7
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:26pm

    Fun stuff. I like these stories.

    Report Post » MasterJoshua7  
  • mzk1
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:13pm

    No, this is impossible. There were no Jews in Israe. Ask the PLO and Hamas, they’ll tell you.

    Please note this was several hundred years AFTER the destruction of the Temple. The Jewish community in Israel lasted for centuries after Jesus. Sorry, replacement theologists!

    Report Post »  
  • commonsensefreethinker1
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:12pm

    @JOHN VINCENT

    As much as I hate people quoting scripture as truth I will respond to your crazy talk.

    (God authorizes rain from heaven) REALLY???? UUUGHH!!!!!

    So were exactly is heaven? Is it between atmosphere and the mesosphere? NO? between the thermosphere and the troposphere? NO? the exosphere and outer orbit NO? Well we know it’s not between earth and the moon unless you doubt there was an actual moon landing. Just anther line out of the 2000 year old story book that proves that they didn’t know jack $hit about anything. Welcome to the 21st century or live in the past, turn off your electricity and put on your sandals.

    commonsensefreethinker1  
    • paperpushermj
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:35pm

      It’s between the 5 and 6 Dimension.

      Report Post » paperpushermj  
    • Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:38pm

      You sir may be right to think this in no longer God’s land. In 1962, teachers worried about chewing gum in class and spitballs. That year we took the one true God out of our classrooms and today a teacher worries with schools that have become warzones of 9mms and trench coats. Abe Lincoln said “The philosophy of the classroom today will be the philosophy of government tomorrow.” We can’t discipline our children any longer so we spend our nation into irrelevance by undisciplined leaders and tyranny puts drones over American cities. And, can two conflicting gods coexist in the same culture or classroom? One god says kill the sinner and one God says love the sinner. We’ve allowed our history to be rewritten while the author of our existence is mocked and now we say Merry X-mas. In 2003 we took God’s law out of Judge Roy Moore’s courtroom. So where now is the basis for thou shall not kill? It eases our guilt so we continue to murder over 50 million children in slaughter clinics and call it choice. We now allow gay couples to adopt children and openly glamorize a life style that that God calls an abomination, while they mock the holiness of marriage between a man and a woman. They only now discover this leads to child disorders? The absence of His law has allowed greed to bankrupt our financial system. Moral corruption has plagued our ability to defeat our enemies as we now have created a witchcraft position of chaplaincy in our military. While God may re

      Report Post » Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist  
    • john vincent
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:39pm

      hey common:
      Do you not know an illustrious figure of speech when you hear one? The heavens contain all that is God’s. It is HIs sun, His moon, His air, etc. Let me see you take a big handful of nothing in a lab, and make a tree!
      And yes, he sendeth rain from heaven. Maybe you could grab a few atheists and create a hailstorm, I would be impressed. Or one better. Try to paint a rainbow: In the heavens. Or teach a bird to fly: in the heavens. Or change the location of the moon: in the heavens. God calls your so called wisdom: foolishness.

      Report Post » john vincent  
    • paperpushermj
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:42pm

      While you shared with the rest of us your opinion on faith do you think you might not sound so Smug in your declaration.

      Report Post » paperpushermj  
    • paperpushermj
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:45pm

      John:
      That was eloquent.
      .Thank You

      Report Post » paperpushermj  
    • paxnhymn
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:46pm

      that’s OK, God doesn’t belive in you either….

      Report Post » paxnhymn  
    • black9897
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:48pm

      Hey there, Delilah
      This is your ex-boyfriend Samson
      I know you thought that lifting weights
      Made me so buff and handsome
      You were wrong
      It’s cause I let my hair grow long
      That makes me strong

      Hey there, Delilah
      You came in while I was sleeping
      And I couldn’t feel you cutting
      And I didn’t hear you creeping out the door
      You left my hair piled on the floor
      While I just snored.

      Tim Hawkins is awesome.

      Report Post » black9897  
    • Dkoonz
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:08pm

      And you my friend will never know.

      Report Post » Dkoonz  
    • rennie823
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:34pm

      Thats just your problem..Using commonsense. It takes heart knowledge not head knowledge to know the truth of god….You either believe by faith or not at all.

      Report Post » rennie823  
    • jimfurr
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 2:07pm

      You sound like you’re in great pain, and bitterness.
      So sorry for you, I’ll pray for you.

      Report Post »  
    • commonsensefreethinker1
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 2:32pm

      @CAPE
      @JOHN
      So what we really want to know is: were is your god? I mean , in your book he supposedly visited earth all the time and came down from the so called heavens and spoke. If you really believe in all that than I have to ask, don‘t you wonder why he doesn’t just fly down on a cloud as it is written and depicted in murals and prove all us nonbelievers wrong? I think it’s the least he could do to solve this war of religion or non religion. Also please explain why do we have to be here on earth before we go to a place called heaven or hell? Earth is my heaven. Why would I spend so much time wanting and worrying about how I live out my life so that I can go somewhere else . If I die at 80 and went to church ,bible, study, and misc. events I have wasted an estimated 32,000 hrs. or 1,300 days or 3.5 years on a bunch of nonsense. I have been there and done that and do not believe a word of it. It got to the point of fingernails on a chalkboard and thinking to myself how can grown adults buy into this crap.
      So a child that is 1 year old gets in a car wreck with his mom and dies,what was his/her purpose? to be here for one year than die? makes no sense.
      I guess he/she gets a get out of hell free card for being so young right for not being old enough to abide to the word of god.YEAH! Everything CAPE posted are just natural events no god or jesus needed to make our own evolution of the current human.

      Report Post » commonsensefreethinker1  
    • black9897
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 3:36pm

      @COMMONSENSEFREETHINKER1

      He doesn’t just fly down because in the Bible it states the next time he comes (2nd coming) will be to finally (well, officially) defeat evil and create the new heavens and new earth where all the saved will be. Besides, if he were to come to end the debate, then you wouldn’t be accepting him on faith, but by sight. People are saved through Faith, not by having 100% evidence he’s real.

      Well, if you don’t believe in the Bible then of course you wouldn’t do those things. The point of the church is for fellow Christians to come together to worship and do things to spread God’s word. Going on mission trips where you help others physically, emotionally, meeting their needs so you can then help them spiritually. It’s not enough to believe, we must act on our faith and be DOERS of the word.

      “So a child that is 1 year old gets in a car wreck with his mom and dies,what was his/her purpose? to be here for one year than die?”

      I do not know. I’m not God. Sometimes the reasons for such things are seen, sometimes it takes years and years for someone to understand…and sometimes we never find out/know.

      I know there are things in my life that I’ve asked what the point was, and then I found out and it made sense. Other things I still don’t have an answer to. When you do get an answer to something that you ask what was the point, it’s a great feeling.

      Report Post » black9897  
    • yehuda
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 3:42pm

      @COMMONSENSEFREETHINKER1

      Your questions are all legitimate questions, and believe it or not there ARE common sense, rational answers to them. As long as you are willing to listen with an open mind, I’d be happy to share these answers to the best of my ability.

      I am a religious Jew and as part of my education, ALL these questions and much much more are addressed. We are not afraid to broach these topics.

      One important thing to realize is that Atheism does not provide better answers to explain the existence of our universe ex-nihilo (from nothing). Neither does the theory of evolution provide us with even a decent explanation for how the amazingly complex human has come to be. Evolution theory is rife with confusion and distortion. Be aware that Evolution is taken at face value by many scientists and all questions therein are asked while bearing in mind that Evolution MUST BE and all answers therefore must fit into the narrative.

      True theology answers more questions than it raises while evolution raises more questions than it answers.

      Lastly, people always approach questions about existence from outside themselves, meaning they take their own existence for granted. Don’t take your existence for granted! The mind boggling complexity that YOU are is something that YOU know inherently was not a totally random fluke.

      If you are really a free thinker, let me know by responding to this post and I will address one by one, your theological queries.

      Report Post »  
    • John655
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 4:12pm

      There there is a 5th dimension beyond which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinety. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of mans fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. The area we call the Twilight Zone.

      Note: Yet it still isn’t Heaven. Time and space are but a thought of God. It is fool hardy to think your mind could possible understand God, beyond which he reveiled to us.

      Report Post » John655  
    • Ephraim
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 4:19pm

      This from a guy who’s trapped near The Circle of Fault? Hardly persuasive.

      Report Post » Ephraim  
  • cemerius
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:19am

    Wow! You mean they didn’t find an ancient mosque with the depiction of muhammeds 9 year old “bride”??? How about a cornerstone from a building with “palestinian” enscriptions? Nothing to prove there was a nation called palestine? Doesn’t bode well for the anti-semites huh? I mean, MORE proof that Israel was populated by Jews many many centuries before…….the audacity of facts to be so unforgiving to political correctness and a written script!!!

    Report Post » cemerius  
    • Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:34am

      Ditto! The land was the Jews

      Report Post » Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist  
    • Blackman Standing Tall71
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:20pm

      Yeah I agree,but not these Khazars Jews!

      Report Post » Blackman Standing Tall71  
    • jeffile
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:01pm

      Before they were Kazar Jews, they lived in Israel. Unlike 95% of purported Palestinians who have never lived in Israel or their grandparents emigrated to Israel for employment..

      Report Post »  
    • mzk1
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:07pm

      Leaving out that the Khazar theory is garbage, you cannot escape the fact that around 40% of the Jewish population of Israel consists of Jews from the middle east, where even the Khazar theory does not apply. I might add that the khazars were legitimate converts, so excluding them is racist.

      Report Post »  
    • wilsonj72
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:19pm

      Your right :)

      Report Post » wilsonj72  
  • BeingThere
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:14am

    How do they know it’s Samson???

    Report Post » BeingThere  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:24am

      You don’t suppose they read the inscription beside the likeness?

      Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
    • tzion
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 3:38pm

      Foxes with burning tails kind of gives it away.

      Report Post »  
  • Pontiac
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:12am

    “In one, two female faces flank a Hebrew inscription about rewards for people who perform good deeds.”

    “In the other, Samson, of the biblical story Samson and Delilah, ties torches to pairs of foxes,“ ”a reference to Samson exacting revenge on the Philistines by sending out flame-laden foxes to burn their lands.”

    Wow, talk about polar opposites. Someone should talk to their interior decorator. Try to get a consistent theme going.

    Report Post » Pontiac  
    • darkknight91
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:38am

      That WAS Sampson’s good deed for the day. Did the world a favor.

      Report Post » darkknight91  
  • HeisIAM
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:01am

    This is a cool discovery and I would like to go see it, but it neither proves nor disproves the Samson story any more than going to the Magic Kingdom proves the Micky Mouse stories are true. Samson lived 1500 years earlier historically speaking. The Mosaic in a Synagogue says after the destruction of the temple in AD70 the Jewish people followed the culture of the Byzantines. It only proves that there were Jews living in this area 1500 years ago who believed in the God of Samson.

    Report Post »  
    • Iswingright
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:15am

      Yeah, maybe. But you won’t find a mosaic of Mickey Mouse… nor in a synagogue. I would say it’s more like discovering art of George Washington.

      Report Post »  
    • Elena2010
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 4:59pm

      @Heisiam – Mosaics have been popular art forms in the Middle East and were adopted by the Byzantines, not the other way around. What is unusual abt these is that they depict Biblical stories like stained glass windows in Europe. Often, the mosaics are geometric patterns, like a carpet. In Jordan, there is a fabulous ancient map of the ANE in mosaics written in Koine Greek.

      Report Post » Elena2010  
  • RevDave
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:54am

    “Israelites,“ not ”Israelis.” Besides that, interesting article.

    Report Post »  
  • OneTermPresident
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:52am

    Similar to finding the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah and artifacts with Pontius Pilate’s name inscribed on them. The #1 selling book in history continues to amaze in….the truth.

    Report Post » OneTermPresident  
    • commonsensefreethinker1
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:25am

      @ONETERMPRESIDENT

      I really hope he is a one term pres. however if Atlas Shrugged was in the top drawer of every hotel, motel in the U.S. it would be the #1 seller also. Just sayin.

      Report Post » commonsensefreethinker1  
    • davecorkery
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:31pm

      Nope. Not the No.1 selling book, but the most produced and distributed. Big difference. Besides, why would this man made book be any different than any other? If god had written anything, that might be one thing. But he never wrote one word and left evidence. It was all man made, man written, man edited, man forged, etc. A very human book, with simple people using it for simple answers.
      Faith is no reason.

      Report Post »  
  • TROLLMONGER
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:41am

    YAWN!….just more fodder for the old and irrelevant bible thumpers.

    Report Post » TROLLMONGER  
  • VA firebrand
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:30am

    He was Palestinian of course. Yeah, right.
    More support for Israel’s sole claim to their land.

    Report Post »  
  • Twinspeedr
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:24am

    By this time period everyone, including the Jews, had lost sight of what Scripture says about graven images. The archaeological aspect of this find is interesting. However, if this really was a Synagogue, it is quite sad how far they had strayed from how God wants us to worship him.

    Report Post » Twinspeedr  
    • GKS
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:40am

      Nonsense. How do you explain God commanding that “graven images” of cherubim be put permanently on the Ark of the Covenant or God commanding the “graven image” of the bronze serpent be set up in the wilderness not to mention that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, could easily be depicted because He could be seen? photographed? What is sad is how so many Protestants are basically iconoclasts or down right Islamic in their naive understanding of Sacred Scripture.

      Report Post »  
    • Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:30am

      @GKS But his point is still true my friend. These images or decorations were never to be worshipped

      Report Post » Cape_Lookout_RW_Extremist  
    • VigilantGuardShark
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:14pm

      The imagery in a place of worship, everything from lighting to wall color to artwork is meant to establish a tone of sanctity. Having artistic renderings of ‘biblical events’ within a place of worship not as images to be worshiped, but there to ingender the proper mind set for worship, is not incorrect.

      Report Post »  
    • scotte5620
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:32pm

      I have pictures of my son on the mantel. When I look at that picture it reminds me of him. When I want to talk to my son, I don’t talk to his picture and expect it to answer, because I know he is not in the picture. I call him on the phone. I have a crucifix on my wall. When I look at it, it reminds me of what Jesus did for us. When I want to talk to Him, I call Him with prayer. In the same way that a crucifix is not a “graven image”, a mosaic depicting a story to remind us of God’s words cannot be considered a sin.

      Report Post »  
    • BondmanPhil
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 8:41am

      Graven images refers to a fairly well defined set of three-dimensional depictions of humans in part or whole, or images of ficticious creatures that were worshipped in antiquity. These mosaics, like others of the period, are two-dimensional. Also, depictions of animals, such as the lions of Judah, were and are quite common in synagogues throughout the world.

      Report Post »  
    • newocean1
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 6:56pm

      If you‘re going to criticize a ’graven image,’ it might be nice to know what one is. A mosaic is not ‘graven.’ Something like the image on the face of a coin is, but not another type of artwork. If the Almighty had wanted to prevent artwork, he wouldn’t have been so specific about making graven images which could be worshiped; the Commandment would have said, “Thou shalt not make any artwork featuring anything for any purpose.” I find this to be a common Muslim and Protestant outlook on art, esp religious art, such as icons and mosaics.

      Report Post » newocean1  
  • GrayPanther
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:12am

    The more discoveries (Dead Sea Scrolls) in this cradle of civilization, the more factual the Bible becomes. And therein lies the path we must unshakably take.

    Report Post » GrayPanther  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:54am

      This discovery, intriguing as it is, does not make the Bible “factual.” any more than future archaeologists’ discovery of a huge statue of Paul Bunyan would make Paul Bunyan “factual.” It just shows that the story of Samson was current among Jews of the 4th-5th centuries CE, something we already knew.

      Report Post » Lloyd Drako  
    • AnimalsAsLeaders
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:48am

      How does this make the bible more “factual”? These mosaics were made after people read the stories in what would become the bible. It’s not like these mosaics were made before the stories were written, thus giving historical support to the events. That’s like me drawing a picture of Jesus and you saying that gives support to the factuality of the bible.

      Report Post » AnimalsAsLeaders  
    • newocean1
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 7:10pm

      You mean Paul Bunyan isn’t real? Well, paint me blue and call me Babe!

      Report Post » newocean1  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:56am

    Pretty cool.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
  • Hickory
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:47am

    American Jews have been hiding for the past generation behind the cloak of liberalism so they would not have to face the call to protect their own. Now, the situation is such that if they do not respond now, Israel could be in dire straits. The call may go out soon for the sons and daughters of Israel to come to the aid of the last have for a Jewish state. Will they answer or will they hide even more deeply in the hedonistic swamp of liberalism? It looks like the Israelis may have to depend on their distant kin, the Christians, to save them. You guys just go on and hide in your Shuls and we will do the job because someone has to.

    Report Post » Hickory  
    • tzion
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:10am

      As an American Jew who has never bought into the fantasy of Liberalism, I really wish you wouldn’t treat American Jews as a homogeneous group when anyone can see we are not. Don’t get me wrong, your criticism of Liberal Jews is accurate but the same could be said of the vast majority of liberals, not just Jews. Secularism, the true face of Liberalism, is an ideology that seeks to destroy all other religious and cultural views and replace them with itself. This is something it shares in common with radical Islam.

      Report Post »  
    • BondmanPhil
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:28am

      Tzion +1 !

      Report Post »  
    • newocean1
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 7:06pm

      I am an Orthodox Christian, but am married to a Jewish woman, in fact, whose father was a rabbi. My church is in the Socialist Republic of Maryland. Orthodox Christianity is perhaps the most ‘conservative’ religion I have every been associated with, possibly outdone by the Amish, Hutterites, and so forth. But, my church is filled with many political ‘liberals.‘ My wife’s family — Jews all — are nice, very well educated people, and highly religious in the Jewish tradition — and about 98% totally Liberal Democrats. It has taken me years to get my wife over to being more-or-less conservative, but she is getting there. I honestly don’t understand how thinking people who claim to be followers of Gods teaching, can be in the Liberal mindset; I’m learning that it comes from a desire to be personally tolerant of their ner-do-well family members and gay friends, than having an integrated worldview.

      Report Post » newocean1  
  • momrules
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:46am

    There seems to be a lot of evidence being *dicovered* recently proving the existance of the people in the Bible. I wonder if God is allowing these proofs to be found now to give sceptics and unbelievers one last chance to discover Him and to reach out to Jesus Christ.

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    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:52am

      How does this prove anything?
      People have always illustrated stories.

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • JACKTHETOAD
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:14am

      What do you think this is VERCE? A Batman comic?

      Report Post » JACKTHETOAD  
    • huntinwabbits
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:32am

      There were people who walked with Jesus his whole life who ended up killing him because they did not believe him. Unfortunately, for that reason, I doubt a found mosaic will have much impact on hardened hearts.

      Report Post »  
  • rickc34
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:32am

    Yes, there is more evidence of the Bible coming out everyday, The story of Sampson is in Judges chap 13-16. Read it and compare Sampson’s story to what is going on today. A promise , a champion, a falling away then forgiveness and last of all Gods vengeance against the Enemies of Israel.

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  • john vincent
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:29am

    Good stuff. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob neither slumbers nor sleeps. True discovery and science always affirms the truth of scripture. And by the way, there was an ark to house animals; it also poured rain forty days and forty nights; (hence the reminder called the rainbow) Adams wife was named Eve; God created woMAN from MAN; Then there was that outstanding citizen named Judas Iscariot; It all stands or falls together. Keep these dig sites coming, and let the sceptic beware.

    Report Post » john vincent  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:54am

      They illustrate Grimm’s fairy tales too.
      What’s your point?
      Is Snow White true too?
      Beauty and the Beast.

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • tzion
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:14am

      @Reason
      Beauty and the Beast was never preserved in a house of worship. Your analogy is inherently flawed. Historical scenes were often preserved in stain glass or mosaics in important building. Children’s stories and fiction rarely, if ever, are presented in this manner.

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    • john vincent
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:15am

      reason:
      the point is in the very article you are responding to! The scripture narrative backs it up-there was a historical event about a man caught between GOd and man, and a dig site proved that he lived. Facts are strange things. You mention Dopey and his kin: what coal mine found his bones or his hammer?? correct, it is a fairy tale, and thats the difference. But you must answer a more simpler question which I posed: God created woMAN from MAN. What does Mr Grimm have to say about this allegation? Your correct answer here will help you in many other ways.

      Report Post » john vincent  
    • nelbert
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:20am

      @VERCEOFREASON

      For a very long time, the Noahic flood was thought to be merely a fable. It and other flood myths, like the one mentioned in the Gilgamesh, were at worst a fairy tale and at best an exaggeration of a local event. In the 1990s, however, the marine explorer Bob Ballard found evidence that the Black Sea had once been a fresh water lake that was turned to a sea when a cataclysmic flood at the end of the last ice age burst through the area now known as the Bosphorous.
      And there are myriad Biblical stories that have been shown to have a strong and hitherto discounted element of historical fact.
      This seems just a bit of a cry from Grimm’s fairy tales.

      Report Post » nelbert  
    • NJBarFly
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:37am

      @nelbert

      The Noahic flood story IS merely a fable. It and other flood myths, like the one mentioned in the Gilgamesh, are a fairy tale and an exaggeration of a local event. So there was a flood at the end of the last ice age that changed the salinity of the Black sea? So what? The last ice age gauged river valleys and changed the landscape of the Earth over a period of thousands of years. This is not evidence of a world wide flood from it raining for 40 days, nor is there any evidence of the ridiculous ark story.

      Report Post » NJBarFly  
    • commonsensefreethinker1
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:08am

      @VERCE
      They don’t get it… I know what you are saying, but my take on it is I am not totally denying that these people in the bible did not exist but it is the actual events and beliefs that are very easily swallowed by the gullible that want the bible to be true in it’s entirety. I mean come on tying torches to a foxes tale I would like try that and see what happens but P.E.T.A. wouldn‘t like it too much I’m sure. You can dig up all murals you want it does not prove anything just look at Picasso’s work. It only gives you an idea of what the people believed or thought they saw at that particular time in history. The bible is full of little storys that refer to things that just don’t happen ,wont happen, and will never happen .It’s called common sense, reason, and logic and if you don‘t have all three I don’t want you on my team PERIOD.

      Report Post » commonsensefreethinker1  
    • john vincent
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:21am

      barfly, reason, and common sense,
      I’ll level your house of cards in a word or two.
      The ark, flood, was a historical certainty. (Matthew 24.39 kjv) He who is the ‘way, the truth, and the life’ said so. He does not lie. He cannot lie. He will not lie. If you disbelieve this saga, you are in effect calling him a liar. And I am ok with that, but there consequences with this foolishness. A fool once said: ‘if there is a God, let him strike me dead in 15 minutes.’ After he remained alive, a man said, ‘do you think you could exhaust the patience of GOd in fifteen minutes?’ You are exhausting his patience as well, by your continual mindless rants of unbelief, and this is again ok, but time will run out. I saw hail stones yesterday the size of golf balls. Science may be able to explain this freak of heat and ice, but the simpler version is :God authorizes rain from heaven. You fairy tales of Grimm could only wish they had this simple answer.

      Report Post » john vincent  
    • NJBarFly
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:34am

      John – So, the ark and flood was a historical certainty because your holy book says so? And you claim you arrived at this conclusion using reason and common sense? I guess I can’t argue with such sound and convincing, well thought out logic. You got me, I’m a believer now.

      Report Post » NJBarFly  
    • Cavallo
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:45am

      Biblical texts hold a wealth of historical knowledge. Is every single word true as defined by Webster’s? Likely not. Such expressions are the realm of faith. To deny that such individuals, places, or events didn’t happen at all is also the realm of faith. As far as the flood, even Vedic texts recount a cataclysmic flood and one man building an “ark” to save himself and his family. It is, of course, told from the Hindu/Indo religious perspective, but the similarities are uncanny. We can’t say if the same flood that is spoken of in the Vedas is the same one in Genesis, however, it is likely that there was some catastrophic flood at some point. Another example of oral and written “fables” having distinct historical truth is the Iliad. For centuries scholars and learned men claimed that Homer’s tale was a complete fabrication. Until a British businessman dug up Troy .. seven of them to be more precise one on top of the other.. in Turkey in the late 19th century. To claim that Biblical tales did not occur in total is evangelical atheism. Samson was likely a historical figure of some renown.

      Report Post » Cavallo  
    • john vincent
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:50am

      barfly
      Im ok with your sarcasm. The issue on the table started with Samson-He lived- he died- its either true, or a lie. The ark existed, built by Noah. God sent a flood. You have gone on record saying Jesus Christ is a liar. I am willing to say that you have an issue with authority. Most disagreements involve mis- or wrong information, all stemming from lies. We all bow the knee to somebody. Who gets your worship? And what do you do with your sin?????

      Report Post » john vincent  
    • shagphil
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:00pm

      Hey Verce, we do know where “Snow White” and “Beauty and da Beast” came from.

      Report Post » shagphil  
    • NJBarFly
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:06pm

      John- Just because you assert that the ark was real or that god sent a flood, doesn’t make it true. You seem to have difficultly understanding that your beliefs are faith and little more. You may believe them, but there’s little reason for others to do so as well.

      I don’t believe that Jesus was any type of authority figure, so no, I don’t have a problem with authority. He was just a guy who preached things like loving your neighbor. Most of what he said is probably a good philosophy to live by, but he was in no way special or divine.

      I don’t worship anyone or anything. If I commit an act that I am not proud of or happy about, I learn from my mistakes and try to not make them again in the future. I don’t need some supernatural being to forgive my supposed sins.

      Report Post » NJBarFly  
    • NJBarFly
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:13pm

      Cavallo- Yes, lots of cultures have flood stories. I’m sure any culture living along the Mississippi has flood stories as well. This does not imply a world wide flood that covered the entire Earth and occurred in 40 days. It also does not mean that one man gathered two of every single creature on Earth and put them into an ark.

      It doesn’t take faith to not believe these stories. These stories are extraordinary, but the evidence is less than extraordinary. That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence. This does not make me an “evangelical” atheist. If I claimed that I grew wings and flew to Chicago last night, but failed to provide you with any evidence, would you believe me? Doubtful.

      Report Post » NJBarFly  
    • john vincent
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:32pm

      barfly
      So u do not believe in God; His light will just have to shine on your back then

      Report Post » john vincent  
    • Cavallo
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 12:49pm

      No, but I would believe that you Hang glided with wings in Chicago, or built your own set of wings (personal airplane) to fly to Chicago. In translation “craft” and “grow” can be interchanged easily, especially if retold and rewritten over centuries. This doesn’t change the core fact that you flew in or to Chicago. The historical kernel is still true. Back to the example of the flood as a possible historical truth, there could very well have been a local weather system or climate change that caused the coastal areas (and a lot of the population at this time lived close to the sea or other bodies of water) to rise and flood in a global fashion. The time period might even be poetic license or misinterpretation, because the same book also claims Noah lived an insane number of years. It is more than possible that a man or men had constructed a large vessel, and when the flood came were able to save their families and a significant representation of the local fauna.

      Report Post » Cavallo  
    • KJQ
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:49pm

      There is ample evidence of a global flood if one is willing to look at it. Fossils are found throughout the world. Many show creatures with undigested food in the stomachs, prey in their jaws, and in large groups/herds. This is evidence for rapid burial such as would happen from a large flood. Same goes for canyons and flattened plateaus. Common sense says fish don’t die and “float to the bottom where over thousands of years sediment gradually covers them up” (been swimming in a lake lately?) – but evolutionists want us to believe that is how we have fish fossils. There are thousands of scientific articles/papers on answersingenesis.org and creation.com web sites for those willing to look.

      Report Post »  
    • Verceofreason
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 3:20pm

      The printing press was not invented until the 1500′s.
      Hence representations in mosaic and stained glass.
      hell-O!

      Report Post » Verceofreason  
    • NJBarFly
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 4:25pm

      @Cavallo – I don’t disagree with you. Good luck trying to convince everyone else here that there is poetic license in the bible!

      Report Post » NJBarFly  
  • 321481
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:26am

    Samson is such an interesting person in the Bible. He had such God given talent but he sqandered it. He looked like a 98 pound weakling, but he in fact had shocking strength given to him by God to be used in his job as judge. But he wanted his mommy and daddy to go get a woman for him he had the hots for, he lay about with woman of the enemy, he gave in to all his impulses that led to his down fall. He didn’t finally wake up until he was old. A man with such a promising future but he so squandered it. Like so many we meet in life today, Our country is so blessed of God, but we have given in to these dead end impluses that is destroying our country. The late J. Vernon McGee brings out how God speeks to people thru the mistakes people like Samson made in his life to help us not make the same mistakes. The bottom line, God wanted to bless Samson like he wants to bless us, but Samson made it impossible for God to do that, but there is time for us, God wants to bless us, will we make it possible for God to bless us, time is running out, we will see.

    Report Post »  
    • RRFlyer
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:32am

      No, the bottom line was God’s forgiveness of Sampson

      Report Post »  
    • 321481
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:50am

      rrlyer, you are right, God forgave Samson, God forgives sin, but God speaks to us thru these people in the Bible. Samson’s life could have turned out differently it was his choice for it to end up the way it did. We are free to make decisions but we are not free from the consquensces of those decisions. Samson made a series of bad decisions, he was not free from the consquences of those decisions, his life was not what it should have been, he ended up in bondage, made a laughing stock, he ended up dying with his capturers, but in the end, he realized what he did was wrong and God did foregive him.

      Report Post »  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:17am

    “The Philistines are depicted as enemies of the Israelis in the Bible.” Some things never change.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 10:48am

      Ain’t the truth!

      Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
    • Lloyd Drako
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 11:01am

      The Philistines were enemies of the IsraelITES in the Bible. There is considerable discontinuity between Israelites of old and Israelis of today, and no continuity whatsoever between the ancient Philistines and today’s Palestinians. The Philistines were a small conquering elite who fastened on the coastal plain, analogous to the Norman knights who conquered England.. The Palestinians are the descendants of people who comprised virtually 90% of the population between the Mediterranean and the Jordan as recently as 1900.

      Report Post » Lloyd Drako  
    • mzk1
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:11pm

      You are picking a very specific date. Before the Jews returned (and I emphasize that word; we ARE the “Ancient Israelites”) the entrie population of the area was 300,000. Arguably, most of the so-called “Palestinian Arabs” came after the Jews returned, as we improved the economy.

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    • Doug
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 1:23pm

      Gonzo, My understanding id that ‘Philistine’ is correctly pronounced with a hard ‘P, as in PILL-is-teen, hone PHIL-is-teen. Very close to PAListine where the ‘P’ has a hard ‘P’ pronunciation.

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    • Elena2010
      Posted on July 5, 2012 at 5:11pm

      Philistines, aka Sea Peoples, were fm the Aegean originally. They tried invading Egypt but were pushed into the Levant where they made trouble for Israel because of their nascent iron technology. Israel and surrounding were still working in bronze at the time of the Judges.

      Report Post » Elena2010  
    • BondmanPhil
      Posted on July 6, 2012 at 11:41am

      The Philistines are completely unrelated to the group of Arabs currently calling themselves Palestinians. The Philistines were conquerers, probably from the Greek isles, who captured and controlled the Eastern coast of the Mediterrenean until they were defeated by the Jews. They do not exist today. The name Palestine was given to the Land of Israel by Rome as an insult, since Romans underrstood that the Jews and the Philistines disliked each other. The term Palestinian only referred to residents of British Mandatory Palestine between WWI and the founding of the modern State of Israel. It referred to Christians, Muslims and Jews who lived there. I know several Jews with old “Palestinian” passports provided by the British during the Mandate era.

      Report Post »  
  • SquidVetOhio
    Posted on July 5, 2012 at 9:14am

    Super cool. I love this stuff. To be an archeologist in Israel would be the greatest job in the world!

    Report Post » SquidVetOhio  
    • newocean1
      Posted on July 7, 2012 at 7:23pm

      Yeah, I agree. I’m not an Archaeologist alas, but I am a member of AIA and read Archaeology magazine. Recently, I read an article there by an archaeologist working in Israel, and it sounded at once exciting (the work) and worrisome (sometimes winding-up in a free-fire zone by accident, or some Hamas missile raining-down on your work-area). You know, there are two kinds of people — squids, and targets!

      Report Post » newocean1  
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