Humanities

Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar would take Egypt.  Historical records make it nearly certain that these two prophesies were never realized by Nebuchadnezzar.  It is suggested here that this failure may have been a change in God’s plan due to Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and fall, as recorded by Daniel.

Radiocarbon dating has come to play a regular part in the discussion of the chronology of the Ancient Near East.  It has been a popular subject of discussion in the ongoing controversy over Iron Age dates, most notable between Mazar and Finklestein.  But it has had an even more influential role in earlier archaeological periods.  Already 40 years ago Dever considered the start of the Early Bronze Age IV to be "fixed by Radio Carbon dates at about 2350 B.C."  However, over time it has become apparent that radiocarbon dating is not so trustworthy as it was once hoped it would be.  When compared to known historical dates for the second half of the second millennium B.C. radiocarbon shows a strong tendency toward older dates.  It will be argued here that this phenomenon almost certainly holds true for the first half of the second millennium as well, and that radiocarbon dating has yielded many estimates for second millennium chronologies of the Levant that are too old by centuries.

Ezekiel's prophecy that Tyre would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar was not fulfilled in the manner predicted by the prophet. This is demonstrated from extra-biblical literature, supported by archaeological evidence, and acknowledged by Ezekiel himself in a later prophecy. As a result, it is argued that the passage supports a world-view in which God is sometimes willing to adjust his plan from what he initially declared. This supports a relational view over the conventional deterministic view of divine foreknowledge, and it helps ease the tension between the test of a true prophet and a true prophet whose prediction is not fully realised.

By retaining a non-substantive definition of “nature” and by recognizing the biblical evidence that not all divine attributes are essential, we may rightly conclude that Jesus was divine and ignorant of some facts at the same time. He had all the attributes (nature) necessary for complete humanity, and he had all the attributes (nature) necessary for full divinity. Omniscience, according to this view, is not a necessary attribute for divinity. According to the Mark 13:32, it is acceptable for God to choose to not know something.
This view preserves both the divinity and humanity of Christ in a balanced way. As one person who has all of the attributes necessary to humanity and divinity, he is truly the God-man. Mark 13:32 can be taken at face value without negating Jesus‟ divinity or resorting to antinomy or other incomprehensible positions.

Problem:
Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira have been identified by archaeologists as possible candidates for two of the biblical cities of the plain, but their existence in the Early Bronze Age III is too early to match the biblical narrative (Gen 19) by many chronologies of ancient Canaan.  This study sought to determine if there is sufficient flexibility in the archaeological and biblical chronologies to make the identification of Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira with the cities of the plain a viable interpretation.

Method:
The range of dates possible for both the archaeological data and the biblical narratives was analyzed.  For the archaeological data this involved a study of the absolute dates for contemporary periods in Mesopotamia and Egypt, with particular emphasis on the trends in dating for both areas over the last century or so, as well as a study of radiocarbon dating in the region for this time period.  For the biblical narratives the study consisted of a review of the spectrum of absolute dates that have been suggested for the patriarchs.  The results of these two datasets were then compared for possible overlap.

Results:
Chronologies for both Mesopotamia and Egypt have been steadily lowered over the past century, and it is not clear that the trend is over.  This trend has not been yet fully embraced by mainstream archaeology in Syria/Palestine.  Radiocarbon was found to generally favor higher dates, but the method has problems that render it inconclusive by itself.  The absolute dates possible for the patriarchs span a lengthy period,
the early end of which may overlap the newer low chronologies for Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Conclusions:
Combining the new lower archaeological chronologies and the higher dates for the patriarchs indicates the possibility that Bab edh-Dhra‘ and Numeira could be two of the biblical cities of the plain.  Further investigation into this possible identification is merited.

This paper argues that P75 does not preserve any portion of Luke 3:36, and thus cannot be used to argue for the absence (or presence) of "Cainan" in that verse, as some of the critical editions have suggested. Instead, the fragment in question appears to come from the first chapter of Luke.