ANCIENT ISRAEL'S HISTORY YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT #1
From the book "The 'Lost' Tribes of Israel...Found"
by
Steven Collins
This is a great history book. I believe still obtainable from
Amazon.com We pick it up in the time of Solomon - Keith Hunt
King Solomon and the "Golden Age" of Israel
Since the Temple project took 7 years to complete, and the
period of conscript labor lasted only three months, it seems
apparent that many thousands of Israelites had a chance to work
on this project as they took turns rotating through the three
months of required national service on the Temple project. In
instituting a short period of conscript labor for Israelite
citizens, Solomon made certain that all the tribes of Israel
equally shared the burdens of this gargantuan public works
project.
The Temple project served as a unifying force to cement the
alliance between Israel's tribes and the Phoenician city-states.
I Kings 5:6 and 18 record that Israelites routinely worked in
Phoenician territory, and that Phoenicians from Tyre (King
Hiram's servants), Sidon and Gebal (see RSV) worked side by side
with the Israelites. Massive rafts were built to float the cedar
timbers to Israel via the Mediterranean Sea, and artisans of
Phoenicia worked side-byside with Israelites at the Temple site
in Jerusalem. This extraordinarily close working relationship was
greatly facilitated by the two nations sharing both a common
racial and linguistic heritage (as was documented in chapter
one). This ability to quickly integrate the labor forces of both
nations confirms that there were minimal linguistic differences
between the Israelites and the Phoenicians.
While the Temple itself was the focal point of this mutual
construction effort, many auxiliary buildings (treasure
buildings, granaries for the Levites, livestock holding pens for
sacrificial offerings, residential areas for the priests, etc.)
were undoubtedly built to support the Temple activities. After
the Temple complex was finished, this joint Israelite-Phoenician
labor force worked another thirteen years to complete Solomon's
personal palace (I Kings 7:1, II Chronicles 8:1). II Chronicles
8:2 records that Hiram ceded a number of Phoenician cities to
King Solomon, and that Solomon settled Israelites in them. The
permanent settlement of Israelites in Phoenician cities further
accomplished the intermingling of the Israelites and Phoenicians.
Also built were storage cities, military cities, fortifications
and other projects throughout Israel, Lebanon and the other lands
ruled by Israel, and even a separate palace for Solomon's first
wife, a daughter of Egypt's Pharaoh (I Kings 7:1-12, II
Chronicles 8:1-6).
Since all the tribes of Israel and the various Phoenician
citystates worked together for decades on Solomon's immense
building projects, these projects would have united the
Israelites and Phoenicians, for all intents and purposes, into a
single entity. Cultural and linguistic differences would become
less noticeable as they lived and worked in such close
association with one another for twenty years. While certain
differences in culture and dialect would remain, members of other
nations would have had increased difficulty in distinguishing
between the two peoples. This will become an important factor
when we examine the secular records about the "Phoenicians."
Solomon had other concurrent interests besides building projects.
I Kings 4:29-33 records:
"God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and a mind with
broad interests. In fact, his wisdom excelled that of any of the
wise men of the East, including those of Egypt. He was wiser
than ...[other versions add "all men "]... and he was famous
among all the surrounding nations. He was the author of 3000
proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He was a great naturalist, with
interest in animals, birds, snakes, fish, and trees - from the
great cedars of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop which grows in cracks
in the wall. And kings from many lands sent their ambassadors to
him for his advice (The Living Bible)."
Solomon, as a result of God's divine gift of wisdom,
excelled in many fields! He was a ruler, a builder, an author and
songwriter, and a naturalist who wanted to study all forms of
flora and fauna. The arts flourished under Solomon, who built
gardens, had all manner of gold and silver treasures from many
nations, and acted as a patron for the best singers and musicians
he could find (Ecclesiastes 2:4-10). He was so rich, and had so
much free time, that he literally could "afford to do it all."
His insatiable scientific curiosity led him to collect treasures,
art works, singers, musicians, plants, animals, etc. The zoos,
museums and cultural activities of his reign must have been
incredible. It was truly the "golden age" of the Israelites.
The Living Bible account captures, in modern terms, the fact that
Solomon became a scientific naturalist with an interest in
studying (examining, collecting, cataloguing) all forms of animal
and plant life. However, it has two shortcomings. The King James
and Revised Standard Versions of the Bible state that Solomon was
wiser than "all men" and "all other men," respectively. They also
state that Solomon was visited by representatives of "all" kings
of the earth. The Living Bible is limited in its description of
Solomon's preeminent wisdom and worldwide fame, perhaps a
reflection of a modern "apologist" approach toward the Bible's
claims. When we examine evidence from secular accounts, we shall
see that the Bible did not resort to exaggeration, but was
writing the literal facts about Solomon's reign.
Projects as vast in scope as Solomon's could not go
unnoticed in either the Mideast or the more distant nations of
the earth. Small wonder his fame spread rapidly. He was in close
alliance with the Phoenician city-states whose maritime fleets
carried news of Solomon's projects and activities wherever they
sailed. Even as the Israelite and Phoenician populations were
melded on land due to the vast building projects of Solomon, they
also coalesced into one unit at sea. I Kings 9:26-27 states:
"King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is
beside Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were
familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon."
Solomon was not content to be a land power alone; he wanted
to make Israel a major maritime force in the world as well. Note
that this fleet was based on the Red Sea near Ezion-geber, at the
precise location of the large ore smelting facility described in
chapter one. Naturally, in order to import the ores in sufficient
quantity to keep the blast furnaces operating, it made sense to
base a large fleet at the site of the industrial activity. It is
possible that Solomon's fleet sailed around Africa's Cape of Good
Hope to reach the Atlantic Ocean (and the copper mines of North
America described in chapter one); however, there is a more
likely alternative.
Modern mankind hailed the construction of the Suez Canal as
a major engineering achievement, and so it was. However, ancient
civilizations had also linked the Mediterranean and Red Seas via
a water route on several occasions. Sesostris III, of ancient
Egypt, is credited with connecting the Nile River Sea, creating a
sea route between the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Persian
Emperor, Darius the Great, in the years 521-486 B.C., is credited
with building "a Nile-Red Sea waterway anticipating the Suez
Canal." Regarding the ancient Egyptian waterway, it has been
dated to approximately 1380 B.C. Indeed, the Encyclopaedia
Britannica states that "the channel of this canal is still
traceable in parts of the Wadi Tumilat, and its direction was
frequently followed by the engineers of the fresh-water canal"
(i.e. the modern canal). Indeed, efforts to reopen or maintain
this ancient waterway are attributed to the Ptolemy Dynasty of
Egypt in the third century B.C., the Roman Emperor Trajan (ca.
100 A.D.), and the Moslem rulers of Egypt in the seventh century
A.D. Since the Egyptians had established a waterway link from the
Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea before the rule of King Solomon,
it is likely that Solomon's Israelite fleet utilized the Egyptian
waterway to link Ezion-geber with the Mediterranean Sea and the
Atlantic Ocean.
Since King Hiram's Phoenicians sailed with the Israelites
and taught them maritime navigational skills, the Israelite navy
would quickly have gained the skills of the Phoenician navy.
Since the Bible records the Phoenicians and Israelites jointly
crewed the Israelite ships, it is also likely that Israelites
served on the Phoenician ships as well (II Chronicles 9:21
indicates the navies of the nations had commingled crews).
Solomon's Red Sea fleet could, of. course, easily trade with
Africa and Asia via the Indian Ocean. As the Israelites and
Phoenicians continued to join forces on both land and sea, they
became, for all intents and purposes, a virtual confederation
under Solomon's leadership.
Before examining where the joint Phoenician/Israelite navy
sailed, one important event of that time must be mentioned. The
Pharaoh of Egypt joined the Israelite/Phoenician alliance, making
this alliance even more of a "superpower" in the ancient world. I
Kings 3:1 notes that Solomon's first wife was a daughter of the
Egyptian Pharaoh. Marriage among the royalty of ancient nations
was a standard means of cementing an alliance. I Kings 9:16 adds
that Pharaoh sent his army to conquer a city and present it to
Solomon as a gift (probably a dowry for his daughter's marriage
to Solomon). Solomon, the tireless builder, rebuilt the city all
over again (I Kings 9:17). With Solomon in a close alliance with
King Hiram of Tyre, and with Egypt's Pharaoh now Solomon's
father-in-law, Israel, Phoenicia and Egypt became a tripartite
alliance under Solomon's leadership.
This alliance is made all the more understandable by secular
histories which record that the Egyptians were regular rivals of
the Mesopotamian powers which Israel had defeated. Egypt's
attitude was basically: "any enemy of the Assyrians is a friend
of ours." This, plus the fact that the Egyptians and the
Phoenicians were historically on friendly terms,? made for a
natural alliance among the three powers. Egypt also had a
significant maritime capacity, using descendants of the
light-skinned, ancient "sea-peoples" who settled in ancient Libya
as their navy's sailors.
Having established that Israel, Phoenicia and Egypt
comprised a joint alliance under Solomon's direction, we can now
examine where the fleets of these three nations sailed, explored
and colonized during Solomon's peaceful reign. As we shall see,
Solomon's rule likely constituted the greatest golden age in the
ancient world!
While it is well-known that the Phoenicians traded
throughout the Mediterranean as well as into the Atlantic Ocean
to western Spain and the tin mines of the ancient British Isles,
it has only recently been confirmed that Phoenician contacts and
colonization efforts extended to the New World as well. The
remarkable discoveries of the extensive Phoenician contacts in
the New World are detailed by the late Dr.Barry Fell in his book
"America B.C." While this work will cite pertinent portions of
that book, the entire book is recommended to readers with
additional interest in this subject matter. Dr.Fell was a
professor emeritus of Harvard University, an internationally
renowned expert on ancient languages, and the founder of the
National Epigraphic Society.
Dr.Fell cited evidence that the Phoenicians had a regular
portof-call off the coast of Maine where an ancient inscription
was found which was "coeval [contemporaneous] with Phoenician
inscriptions." He translated this inscription as "Ships of
Phoenicia, Cargo Platform," and added:
"it is obvious that the flat-topped rocky islet would not have
been set aside for the loading and unloading of Phoenician ships
were they not regular visitors to America with a predictable
timetable of ports of arrival and departure at expected dates."
He further added:
"these inscriptions, therefore, suggest that organized
international maritime commerce was well established in the late
Bronze Age, that North American ports were listed on the sailing
timetables of the overseas vessels of the principal Phoenician
shipping companies, and that the same information was circulated
to customers in America."
A substantial colony of Semitic people was planted in
America by the Phoenicians as remains of their presence have been
found in New England and other parts of America, with a large
temple observatory site located at what has been known as Mystery
Hill in North Salem, New Hampshirre. This site covered
approximately twenty acres, and included shrines dedicated to the
Phoenician/Canaanite god Baal. A temple site of twenty acres
gives us a clear indication that the Phoenicians had a major
presence in the New World. Dr.Fell dated inscriptions at this
temple of Baal to approximately 800-600 B.C. although radiocarbon
dating of charcoal samples from this site show it to have been
inhabited "back to the second millennium B.C."
Such dates are entirely consistent with biblical accounts of
the Israelite/Phoenicians. Since Kings David and Solomon were
worshippers of God when they dominated the Phoenicians during the
tenth century B.C., one would not expect to see pagan temples
develop on the site until well after their reign. A dating of
800-600 B.C. includes the time when the Bible states Baal worship
was widespread in both Israel and the Phoenician city-states. It
is logical that the same pagan religion would be dominant in
their contemporary colonies.
Unfortunately, much physical damage was done to this ancient
temple site in New England before it was realized to be a
priceless archeological site confirming the presence of Old World
civilizations in the New World. This ancient site was composed of
"stone-slab chambers and associated henge stones" for determining
the times of spring and winter solstices. These stone structures
were substantially dismantled during the 1800's, and the stones
were reused to build walls, dams and bridges in New England.
Indeed, during the years 1823-1848 alone, "about 40% of the stone
structures were destroyed or damaged severely by building
contractors." Dr.Fell observed, concerning walls built with
stones from this ancient site, that their original use as an
ancient temple site was "abundantly attested by the number of
temple dedications we have since found in [these] stone walls."
That ancient Old World Semitic civilizations built a large
temple observatory complex in ancient America indicates that they
were colonizing, not merely exploring, ancient America.
Radiocarbon dating tests showing this facility was in use during
the 2nd millennium B.C. confirms that this Semitic colony was
present in North America at the time King David was importing
prodigious amounts of copper ore for the building of God's
Temple. The presence of a large Semitic settlement in North
America during King David's reign confirms the likelihood that
King David's Israel (with its huge copper smelting facility at
Ezion-geber) was the consignee for the many millions of pounds of
copper ores which "vanished" from the ancient Lake Superior
copper mines.
The ships of Tarshish (referred to in Ezekiel 27:25 and
Jonah 1:3) were also regular callers in the New World, and
inscriptions and tablets of their involvement in colonizing
ancient America was preserved in Rhode Island, Ohio, and West
Virginia. This identification is dependent on "Tarshish" being
the same as ancient "Tartessus" on the Iberian Peninsula of
ancient Europe. Fell notes that the Tartessian inscriptions in
ancient America are a "dialectal variant" confirming that these
early American visitors were also Semites from the Mediterranean
area.
The reader might justifiably be wondering at this point,
given the extensive evidence of Old World civilizations in
ancient America, why America's history books haven't been updated
with this new information. The reason is, unfortunately, that the
modern academic establishment is in a state of denial regarding
these discoveries because they are uncomfortable with these
facts.
Dr.Fell noted that some archaeologists have tried to dismiss
clearly readable ancient American inscriptions as "accidental
markings made by plowshares and roots of trees ... (and) ...
colonial stonecutting drills." Ancient American dolmens
(megalithic monuments consisting of a large slab stone positioned
atop smaller supporting stones) which parallel Old World dolmens
have been labelled as glacial "erratics" to avoid facing the
obvious evidence of Old World ties to ancient America. It is most
unfortunate that members of modern academia have gone to such
fanciful extremes to maintain their state of denial regarding the
evidence of Old World civilizations in ancient America. The truly
exciting story of ancient America's history has been withheld
from the American public.
Unfortunately, the concept that "Columbus discovered America
in 1492" has become such a cherished dogma that it appears to
demand an almost superstitious devotion by modern academics.
Columbus was a very brave mariner, but he was clearly preceded by
other discoverers and colonists from the Old World who arrived
and settled thousands of years prior his arrival. Columbus'
voyage was a courageous effort which reestablished links to the
New World after the Dark Ages, but it is now known that such
links commonly existed prior to his voyage.
So far, we have discussed only the Phoenician inscriptions
and presence in the New World. As noted earlier, the ancient
Egyptians were also allies of King Solomon during his reign.
Their navies were also skilled in oceanic navigation, utilizing
the Semitic inhabitants of ancient Libya as their mariners. The
ancient Egyptian/Libyan fleets sailed across the Indian Ocean and
sent exploration and mining expeditions into the Pacific Ocean.
The Egyptians mined gold in Sumatra, and records of their Pacific
explorations are found as far as the Hawaiian Islands. It is also
noted that "the Egyptians roamed the Indian and Pacific Oceans
for gold about 1000 B.C." The date "about 1000 B.C." is
significant as that is the timeframe when the united kingdom of
Israel, under Kings David and Solomon, moved to world prominence,
with the Phoenicians and Egyptians serving as Solomon's allies.
That the Egyptian fleet would be searching a large portion of the
world for gold during a time which included the reign of King
Solomon will become most significant when we examine (later in
this chapter) King Solomon's virtually insatiable appetite for
gold!
So far, we have only scratched the surface of the subject of
ancient civilizations being present in North America. Let us
examine another aspect of their presence in the ancient New
World.
Consider the languages of the tripartite alliance spoken of
by the historical writers of the Bible. Their languages included
the Semitic language shared by the Israelites and Phoenicians
(with dialectal differences), Egyptian, and the language of the
North African/Libyan sailors of the Egyptian navy. Let us now
examine evidence that North America was both widely explored and
colonized by people speaking Phoenician/Hebrew, Egyptian, and
ancient Libyan.
Dr.Fell's book "America B.C." includes much evidence of the
exploration of American soil by ancient people with the above
language groups. We have already examined evidence from his book
that the Phoenicians had a significant presence in North America,
and that the Phoenician god Baal was worshipped at an ancient
temple site in New Hampshire. Rawlinson cited the habit of the
Phoenicians in bringing their religion wherever they went, and
building temples in their colonies to honor their deities, so the
existence of a temple dedicated to Baal at the ancient New
England temple site is consistent with their habits.
Apparently, ancient explorations and settlements were
concentrated on the major inland waterways of America as much of
the evidence of their presence has been found in such locales. A
major archeological find, a stele inscribed with ancient Old
World languages, was found in 1874 near Davenport, Iowa.
Unfortunately, this New World equivalent of the Rosetta Stone was
largely ignored because no one could read it. Also, the false
dogma that no Old World explorers prior to Columbus could have
been on our continent affected people's perceptions. If it had
been discovered in Europe, it would surely have been recognized
for what it was: a trilingual archeological stele of ancient
cultures. Since it was found in Iowa of the United States, it had
to wait approximately a century to be understood. Interestingly,
one of the reasons the stele was initially rejected was that it
contained "some signs resembling Hebrew and others resembling
Phoenician."
This ancient stele contains joint inscriptions in three
ancient Languages: Iberian-Punic (a language related to and
descended from Phoenician and Hebrew), Egyptian, and ancient
Libyan. These are the language groups of the tripartite alliance
which the Bible reveals began in the reign of Solomon! Since the
ancient Iowan stele shows these groups were traveling and working
together as far from the Mideast as the interior of North America
indicates that this alliance clearly did have the international
power and impact the Bible attributes to it.
Indeed, Dr.Fell described this stele as "one of the most
important steles ever discovered." Why then, is this priceless
evidence of ancient explorations in North America not proclaimed
in textbooks everywhere? Again, we are confronted by the fact
that modern academia has an almost superstitious attachment to
the false dogma that nobody could have discovered America before
Columbus. This dogma has been believed so long that all evidence
of Old World explorations and colonizations prior to Columbus is
conveniently "lost" in the denial mechanisms of the modern
educational system.
The stele found in Iowa demonstrates that the language
groups of King Solomon's alliance were, indeed, working together
in the New World, and that their explorations reached deep into
ancient American territory. Unless it was a well-established
practice for the nations with these language groups to be working
together, there would have been no need for parallel inscriptions
on the same stone carving. Dr.Fell dates this stele as follows:
"The date is unlikely to be earlier than about 800 B.C., for we
do not know of Iberian or Libyan inscriptions earlier than that
date. The Egyptian text ... may merely be a local American copy
of some original. That original could be as old as about 1400
B.C., to judge by the writing style ... it seems clear that
Iberian and Punic speakers were living in Iowa in the 9th century
B.C..."
This broad dating is consistent with biblical information,
and confirms biblical accounts of the period. That these language
groups were acting in such close concert with each other that
they left a trilingual inscription in approximately 800-900 B.C.
indicates that they had been cooperating together for a
considerable period of time. As the Bible reveals, an alliance of
these linguistic groups was established under King Solomon during
the tenth century B.C. The terms "Iberian" and "Punic" indicate
languages which are closely related to and descended from the
Phoenician/Hebrew language of King Hiram's and King Solomon's
navies. Indeed, the term "Tberian" comes from the name "Eber,"
the forefather of the Hebrews. The term "Iberian" proclaims
Hebrew roots. Dr.Fell specifically noted the "Phoenician
character" of the Iberian inscriptions. If the Egyptian text on
the stele was a copy from an earlier Egyptian original dating as
early as B.C., we are well within the period of time when the
Bible states that Egypt joined itself to the Israelite/Phoenician
alliance (the tenth century B.C.).
It must also be realized that in 800 B.C., the kingdoms of
Israel and Judah were both still in existence. As we will note in
the next chapter, the Phoenician/Israelites had extensive
settlements in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal),
and this New World stele may have been made by explorer/colonists
who set forth from these Iberian settlements. Indeed, a date of
800 B.C. for this stele indicates the ancient tripartite alliance
of Israel, Phoenicia and Egypt lasted well beyond the lifetime of
King Solomon. The Bible reveals that Israel forsook worshipping
the Creator God after Solomon's death, and adopted the religious
customs of other nations, particularly the Phoenicians and
Egyptians. I Kings 16:29-31 shows Israel and Phoenicia were
closely allied during the reign of King Ahab of Israel (circa 850
B.C.), and there is no evidence that their alliance suffered a
breach until approximately 721 B.C. when Israel ceased to be a
nation in the Mideast. Also, after Israel and Judah split into
two separate Hebrew kingdoms, Egypt did fight periodic wars with
Judah, but there is no mention that Egypt and Israel fought any
wars during that time. Therefore, the Iowa stele that these
ancient nations were still working together around 850 B.C. in
the New World is consistent with biblical accounts.
This ancient Iowan stele does not reflect any worship of the
true God, but rather depicts and describes a pagan sun-worship
ceremony involving human sacrifice. This supports the contention
that the stele does not date from the reign of King Solomon (when
God was honored, but dates from a more recent period (such as 850
B.C.) when these nations were all united in pagan practices. As
the Bible makes clear, the Israelites of 850 B.C. were steeped in
the worship of Baal and pagan practices.
Dr.Fell also wrote that this ancient stele, along with other
"associated artifacts," was found in an Iowan "mound burial."
That this "mound burial" from the ninth century B.C. confirms the
presence of Semites in ancient America, begs the following
question: How many other burial mounds in ancient North America
were placed there by Old World cultures?
Another stele exhibiting an ancient Egypto-Libyan script was
found on Long Island, New York. This inscription, according to
Dr.Fell, "probably dates from about the ninth B.C." In his
discussion of the inscriptions found on the Davenport and Long
Island steles, Dr.Fell notes clear similarities between the
written script of the Micmac/Algonquin Indians and that of
ancient Egypt. Some of his
.........................
To be continued
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