Keep taking the stone tablets

I think the writer of this piece is getting a bit carried away:

THE British Museum yesterday hailed a discovery within a clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archeology – proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.

A tablet that verifies the entire Old Testament? Blimey. So it’s a giant tablet’o'facts? Er, not quite.

The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time – revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.

It is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.

And that’s it. It’s fascinating from a historical perspective and of course, it’s a big deal in biblical scholarship circles, but it hardly justifies the opening paragraph.

One Response to “Keep taking the stone tablets”

  1. Carlton  on July 17th, 2007

    proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament

    More like…
    Proof of a single accuracy…

    Reply


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