ANCIENT ISRAEL HISTORY YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT #5
From the book "The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel Found"
by
Steven Collins
ISRAEL - THE FORGOTTEN WORLD EMPIRE
Most readers have heard of the Greco-Macedonian Empire of
Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire of the Caesars, and other
ancient empires which are discussed in history lessons. However,
there are very few who realize that centuries before the empires
of Greece and Rome, there existed an empire whose domain,
colonies and influence included both the Old and the New World.
Its great antiquity is one reason for our ignorance of it. There
are ancient historical references to it, but it is only recently
that archaeological discoveries have made it possible to
determine the scope of this empire. The forgotten world empire
was that of Israel, begun under Kings David and Solomon and which
lasted until the eighth century B.C. when it broke into separate
remnants.
The reader of the first two chapters already has some
knowledge of this empire and why its history was so obscured. In
the last chapter, we saw evidence from secular historians that
the "Phoenicians" established an international empire in the
approximate time frame of 1000-700 B.C. We also learned that the
Greeks gave the name "Phoenicia" to the whole region on the
eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea in that same era. In doing
so, they applied the name "Phoenicia" to the alliance of people
in that region which was then headed by the Israelites. Another
historian comments concerning the Phoenicians:
"the very word 'Phoenician' was unknown to them; the label was
pasted on them by the Greeks and preserved by the accident that
the Greek language and its literature, and not the Phoenician,
have been passed down to us." 1
What the "Phoenicians" called themselves will be examined
later in this chapter. For now, it is enough to realize that the
Israelite alliance with Tyre and Sidon was called "Phoenicia" by
the Greeks, and that the term "Phoenicia" initially designated a
whole region, not merely a few city states on the shores of
ancient Lebanon. Chapter two noted that, under Kings Solomon of
Israel and Hiram of Tyre, the Israelites and the city-states
under King Hiram became virtually one people, with mingled work
forces laboring together on huge building projects and with their
navies crewed by sailors from both nations.
The city-states of Tyre, Sidon, etc., were junior partners
to the Israelites in that time of worldwide influence. Since the
Israelites and the inhabitants of the city-states shared a common
language, common customs and a common race, the differences
between them amount to mere nuances when viewed from a
perspective almost three thousand years after their existence.
The Israelite dominance in that empire was forgotten because the
Israelites left the region. Since the inhabitants of the
non-Israelite city-states did stay in that area of the earth, the
name "Phoenicia" rested on non-Israelites after 700 B.C. However,
when historians refer to the Phoenician Empire and its
international power and influence around 1000-700 B.C., they are
actually identifying the empire of Israel to which Tyre and Sidon
were allied.
Historians acknowledge that the "Phoenicians" (i.e.
Israelites) planted many colonies throughout the Mediterranean
world which were tied to the "mother country" on the eastern
Mediterranean. It is likely that many of these colonies started
as coastal trading posts founded by the city-states of Tyre and
Sidon before their alliance with Israel. Their trading contacts
were spread throughout the shores of the Mediterranean, the west
coasts of Africa and Europe, and the British Isles. When Tyre and
Sidon allied themselves to the rapidly-growing power of Israel
during the reigns of David and Solomon, the Israelites (with a
much larger population base) turned many of these trading
stations into full-fledged colonies, and founded colonies of
their own as well. We shall see the evidence of many Hebrew and
Israelite names in colonies which have traditionally been called
"Phoenician."
Before examining the colonial empire of the Israelites, let
us first review their area of direct physical rule in the
Mideast. The Bible tells us that King David subdued the
Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the
Amalekites and sufficient Syrian territory to reach the Euphrates
River (I Chronicles 18:1-17). This area would roughly correspond
to the modern nations of Israel and Lebanon together with much of
Jordan, a sizable portion of Syria and perhaps part of western
Iraq. Israel's army, at its peak only when fully mobilized,
numbered 1,500,000 men (I Chronicles 21:5-6)! As described
in the first chapter, I Chronicles 19:1-19 shows that the
Mesopotamian powers, led by Assyria, engaged Israel in combat by
the subterfuge of allowing their national armies to be "hired" as
mercenaries by the small nation of Ammon (which wanted to rebel
against David's rule). Those Syrians which were not yet under
David's rule were allied to the Mesopotamians fighting against
Israel. David speaks of that war in Psalm 83:1-8 when he names
the nations which had come to aid the Ammonites (children of Lot)
in their rebellion. He specifically names the Assyrians (verse 8)
as being part of the enemies arrayed against him. This war
resulted in the defeat of all the nations which were allied
against Israel, and greatly expanded David's rule (and the empire
of Israel). Since the kings of the defeated nations had
personally witnessed their armies being crushed by the Israelite
forces (I Chronicles 19:9), they had neither the stomach nor the
military resources to challenge Israel further. This major
Israelite victory over Assyria accounts for the eclipse of
Assyrian power at the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. 2
At that time, the kingdoms of Mesopotamia became subordinate
to the kingdom of Israel. It is interesting that the world's
historians have not linked Assyria's period of severe decline
with the ascent of King David, whose army routed the Assyrians in
a major war (I Chronicles 19:6-15 and Psalm 83:1-8). Unlike many
great conquerors who wished only to exalt themselves, it should
be noted that David, in his wars and conquests, desired to exalt
the name of the God of Israel over all nations (Psalm 83:9-18).
Consequently, the writings of David in the Psalms dwell on
glorifying the God of Israel, and the self-praise so
characteristic of other triumphant ancient monarchs is lacking.
If David's ego had been paramount, his writings would have dwelt
far more on his conquests, and he would have built great
monuments to commemorate his victories. Indeed, the lack of
self-glorifying monuments to David's victories was likely a
result of divine decision. I Chronicles 21 records that God was
so angry at David for even doing a military census of the tribes
of Israel that he slew 70,000 Israelites in a plague! Since David
was thus punished for "numbering Israel" (his own nation), he
would not have risked additional divine wrath by doing a census
of all the conquered nations as well.
God wanted Israel and her rulers to be humble and God-
centered, not vain and self-centered. The lack of great monuments
to their triumphs makes it easier for historians to miss the
accom plishments of Israel, because they naturally assume Israel
would have constructed great monuments to boast about major
triumphs as did the other ancient empires. They take this paucity
of monuments to mean such triumphs did not occur, when, in fact,
it is evidence of God's involvement in Israel's affairs to keep
the kings of his people from getting inflated egos.
The Israelites did construct great edifices, however.
Indeed, under King Solomon, the Israelites and their subject
people labored for decades to finish Solomon's immense building
projects. Their greatest monument, the Temple of God in
Jerusalem, was constructed to honor God and was one of the
wonders of the ancient world (it was later destroyed in warfare,
as were the other great projects of King Solomon).
Upon concluding his war with the Assyrians and their allies,
King David's Israel ruled (either directly or via its influence
over vassal kings) the entire mideastern world from Egypt and
Asia Minor to the region of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. I
Chronicles 19:16-19 records that David's vassal kings included
Syrians (Aramaeans) who lived east of the Euphrates River. Since
secular historians note that Assyria was invaded and subjugated
by Aramaeans from the west during this time (see chapter one),
either the Israelite role in this "Aramaean" force was missed or
the Aramaeans turned on the Assyrians and attacked them as
vassals of King David.
Since the Arabians were part of those defeated in the
IsraeliteAssyrian war (Psalm 83:6 refers to the ancient Arabians
as "Ishmaelites"), Israel's hegemony also extended an unknown
distance into the Arabian Peninsula. This description generally
sets the bounds of Israel's mideastern territory ruled by King
David (either directly or through vassal kings). However, this
was only the beginning of Israel's empire!
The city-states of Tyre and Sidon had allied themselves to
Israel during David's reign, and ingratiated themselves to King
David by building David's palace as a gift (I Chronicles 14:1-2).
During King Solomon's reign, the Phoenicians shared with the
Israelites the skills of long-range ocean travel (2 Chronicles
8:18), and the Israelites, Tyrians and Sidonians operated an
allied fleet with international destinations (I Kings 9:26-28,
10:11,22). Artifacts and inscriptions left around the world by
this alliance are called "Phoenician," after the Greek custom.
The King James Version of the Bible records in I Kings 10:22 that
King Solomon "had at sea a navy of Tharshish" (other versions
simply say "Tarshish"). What was this "navy of Tharshish," and
where did they come from? Let us examine two possible
explanations for the origin of this term.
One possibility is that Solomon had a fleet of ships based
in Spain because Tartessus (in ancient Spain) is often identified
as "Tarshish." It was noted in chapter two that "ships of
Tarshish" were recorded as having made voyages to the New World,
and that these fleets of Tarshish were Semitic/Phoenician in
nature. It is also significant to note that I Kings 10:22 is the
Bible's first mention of "ships of Tarshish." I Kings 10:22 may
be a reference to a Phoenician/ Israelite colony in Spain which
became the homeport of a major Phoenician/Israelite fleet during
Solomon's reign. If so, Tartessus (or Tarshish) was a jumping-off
point for voyages throughout the Atlantic. We must realize that
when the author of I Kings wrote these words, he was not writing
for a readership in the twentieth century A.D. He was writing for
a more contemporaneous audience which would have realized that a
reference to "ships of Tarshish" identified the fleet that Israel
(together with Tyre and Sidon) had based in ancient Spain.
The fact that the prophet Jonah sailed "to Tarshish" from
Joppa to sail away from the direction of Nineveh (Jonah 1:3)
supports the conclusion that Tarshish lay in the western
Mediterranean, as noted in Harper's Bible Dictionary. 3
The second explanation considers the possibility that the
extra "h" in the word Tharshish identifies this navy with one of
the clans of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin, which was named
"Tharshish" (I Chronicles 7:10). Since "Tharshish" is an
Israelite name, the Bible's reference to "ships of Tharshish"
could mean that this navy was primarily crewed by members of this
branch of the tribe of Benjamin. It is also possible that the
term "ships of Tarshish" later came to describe a particular
class of sea-going vessels used by the Phoenicians. This
possibility is supported by the reference in I Kings 22:48 that
over a century later Judah's King Jehoshaphat tried to "make" a
fleet composed of "ships of Tarshish" for basing in the Red Sea
port of Ezion-geber.
Dr.Barry Fell observed that the language of Tartessus/
Tarshish in ancient Spain was "no more than a dialectal variant
of Phoenician." 4 The fact that Tarshish spoke a dialect of the
Phoenician language clearly shows that it was a Semitic colony of
the Phoenician empire. The language of this Phoenician colony in
ancient Spain eventually came to be known as "Iberian-Punic." The
Israelite nature of the Tartessus/Tarshish colony is apparent in
the fact that it may have been named after a clan of the
Israelite tribe of Benjamin. Since Tyre, Sidon and the tribes of
Israel were all called "Phoenicia" by the Greeks, the naming of
this Phoenician city/colony in ancient Spain after an Israelite
tribal name confirms that the Israelite role in Phoenicia's navy
(and colonies) was far larger than hitherto realized. We shall
see more evidence to support this conclusion later in this
chapter.
I Kings 10:22 also states "once in three years came the navy
of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes and
peacocks."
That it returned, laden with trade goods and exotic animals,
after a voyage of three years indicates that its mission was that
of a commercial fleet on a very prolonged voyage. The three-year
time period is significant as Ferdinand Magellan's historic
voyage which circumnavigated the globe in 1519-1522 also took
three years. 5 A span of three years allows sufficient time for
sailing ships to circumnavigate the globe while making trading
stops as well as exploring new places. Magellan's voyage involved
a large loss of life (including Magellan's) due to its nature as
a pathfinding expedition in hostile lands. However, Solomon's
fleet could take advantage of the already established trading
routes of the Phoenicians and Egyptians in the Atlantic, Pacific
and Indian Oceans (see chapter two), and likely had a more
tranquil voyage. The above does not "prove" that Solomon's fleet
sailed around the world, but the length of its voyage does
parallel the length of Magellan's voyage in a sailing ship, and
its cargo of exotic animals from other continents also supports
such a conclusion.
Some readers might wonder whether the "ships of Tarshish"
belonged to the Japhethic tribe of Tarshish mentioned in Genesis
10:4. While that would seem to be a possibility at first, the
fact that the Tartessian "Tarshish" was located in the direction
that Jonah sailed to Tarshish, and the fact that the Iberian
"Tarshish" spoke a dialect of Phoenician (a Semitic language)
argues for a Semitic origin for Solomon's "ships of Tharshish"
and the Iberian "Tarshish." Furthermore, there is no biblical
evidence of any close cooperation between King Solomon's
Israelites and the Japhethic nation of Tarshish. Since Barry
Fell's book, "America B.C." gives evidence of "the ships of
Tarshish" being involved in ancient explorations of North
America, 6 this also argues that the biblical "Tarshish" was
located proximate to the Atlantic Ocean (such as in ancient
Spain).
The Phoenicians planted many colonies wherever their navies
sailed. Many Phoenician colonies were located in "Mediterranean
Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Spain (and) the coast of
Morocco." 7 George Rawlinson adds that "in the space of about
three hundred years, from B.C.1100 to B.C.800, Phoenician
colonists occupied all the most eligible of the mid-African sites
from Leptus Magna ... to Hippo Regina ... (400 miles) further
westward." 8 This period of heavy Phoenician colonization
directly coincided with the period of Israel's dominant role in
the "Phoenician" alliance. This strongly indicates that most of
the "Phoenician" colonists were Israelites.
The planting of many "Phoenician" colonies throughout the
Mediterranean Sea and their dominance of the region's maritime
commerce makes it clear that during Phoenicia's empire period
(which precisely parallels the period of Israelite dominance in
the "Phoenician" alliance), the Mediterranean Sea was a
"Phoenician Sea" much as it was a "Roman Sea" during the time of
the Caesars. Israel had a large population that extended inland
for a considerable distance while the city-states of Tyre, Sidon,
etc. occupied relatively small coastal areas around their
respective city-states. Therefore, the population base to support
the founding of many "Phoenician" colonies had to come from the
population of Israel, not that of Tyre or Sidon.
Also, God had promised Abraham that his progeny (the
Israelites) would have a population so large that it would become
too large to number (Genesis 13:16, 22:17). When the Israelites
occupied the Promised Land under Joshua, it was described as a
"land of milk and honey" which could easily support a growing
population. That the Israelites numbered in the millions is
obvious from the fact that David's army could muster 1,500,000
men when all reserves were mobilized, and that total would
exclude all females, all children, the elderly and maimed males.
However, the physical territory of the twelve tribes in Palestine
remained relatively static. The obvious question is "where did
their expanding population go?" We now know the answer; their
expanding population furnished the settlers for the Phoenician
colonies all over the Mediterranean region. Let us examine those
colonies for evidence of specific Hebrew/Israelite involvement.
The settlements of the Phoenicians in Spain were originally
named after several Hebrew names. One principal settlement was
named Gades, Gadir or Gadeira, and today this city is known as
Cadiz. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, it surely served as a major
port for Phoenician expeditions to Briton and North America. The
prominent historian, George Rawlinson, cites the Phoenician word
for "enclosure" or "fortified place" as the source for the name
of this ancient port city 9. He could just as easily have
credited ancient Hebrew as the source of its name as the Hebrew
word "gadar" means "enclose," "fence up" or "make (a wall). 10"
Since the Hebrew word "gadar" would have been written
without consonants at that ancient time, its consonants G-D-R
serve precisely as the root word for the names Gadir or Gadeira.
Another historian, L.A. Waddell, states Gades could be rendered
"House of the Gads" 11. Gad was the name of one of the twelve
tribes of Israel, and could easily have given its name to the
colony of Gades. The tribe of Gad was prophesied by Moses in
Deuteronomy 33:20 to "be enlarged" (i.e. "have a large
population"). As their population expanded over the centuries, it
is consistent with this biblical prophecy that Gad would have
been one of the tribes most needing to export part of its
population to some of Israel's colonies.
Another historian, Philip Hitti, cites that Gades was
founded as a colony of the Phoenicians around 1000 B.C. 12,
while the Encyclopaedia Britannica states that Cadiz was founded
"as early as 1100 B.C." 13 time frame for Cadiz's founding is in
the era of Israel's rise to empire status under Kings David and
Solomon, when we would expect to see Israel's dominance in what
is traditionally called the "Phoenician" Empire. That "Gades"
bore the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gad)
strongly indicates that it was given that name by Israelites
rather than by inhabitants of Tyre or Sidon.
George Rawlinson cited the Hebrew word "malakh" as the root
word for the original Phoenician settlement which is now called
Malaga in Spain. 14. The Encyclopedia Americana states: "Malaga,
the Malakka of the Phoenicians, was founded in the eleventh
century B.C." 15 Both Gades/Gadir and Malakka were founded
around 1000 B.C., or a little prior to that date. In chapter one
we learned that King David was importing vast amounts of copper
ores for eventual use in the Temple to be built by Solomon, and
that the ancient copper mines on Lake Superior's shores were
worked to exhaustion around 1000 B.C. In chapter two, we learned
that the Israelites constructed a massive smelting facility in
Ezion-geber around this same time. For King David to import
copper ores from ancient Lake Superior for use in the Temple, the
Israelites and their allies from Tyre and Sidon would have needed
several ports of call between North America and Israel to service
and maintain its fleet. All such shipments would have to pass
through the Strait of Gibraltar, and Cadiz and Malaga (to use
their modern names) would give them twin ports on both the
Atlantic and Mediterranean sides of Gibraltar. It is likely that
these ports were built in the eleventh century B.C. to serve
David's import needs, and were expanded into full-fledged
colonies during the tenth century B.C done by skilled mariners
from Tyre or Sidon. Locating a port on either side of the Strait
of Gibraltar would ensure the choice of either a windward or
leeward port for all ships transiting the strait, whether they
were heading toward the Atlantic Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea.
The Phoenicians also mined tin and other ores in Britain, and
exported them to other nations in the Mideast. George Rawlinson
states:
"The Phoenicians had one more colony towards the west ...
Phoenician ships from Gadeira ... crossed the mouth of the
English Channel ... to the Scilly Isles and conveyed thither a
body of colonists who established an emporium. The attraction
which drew them was the mineral wealth of the islands and of
the neighboring Cornish coast ... It is reasonable to suppose
that the Phoenicians both worked the mines and smelted the ores.
" 18
Historical evidence points to the Israelite tribe of Asher
as being directly involved with the mining of tin in early
Briton. William Camden, a British historian who lived from 1551
to 1623, states in his historical work, Britannia, that: "The
merchants of Asher worked the tin mines of Cornwall, not as
slaves, but as masters and exporters." 17
A British historian of the nineteenth century, Sir Edmund
Creasy, also noted that: "The British mines mainly supplied the
glorious adornment of Solomon's Temple." 18
There has been an awareness of a substantial Israelite
presence in ancient Britain for a long time. In fact, it appears
to have been common knowledge among earlier British historians.
Unfortunately, modern histories, steeped in evolutionary myths,
now ignore evidence from ancient history which verifies the
accuracy of the Bible. Romans 1:28 appropriately comments that
some people do "not like to retain God in their knowledge."
Modern students are now taught history courses which do not
"retain" critical historical truths verifying the Bible and God's
reality.
Since the early British histories specifically mention the
Israelite tribe of Asher and the role of Solomon's Temple in
early British mining efforts, it further supports the conclusion
that many early "Phoenician" explorations and colonizations were
mainly Israelite efforts. Tyre and Sidon simply did not have the
manpower to conduct worldwide explorations and furnish the
population for numerous colonies on several continents. Israel
had an expanding population which readily supplied the manpower
for these efforts.
As the reader now knows, Israelite/Phoenician explorations
and colonizations were not limited to the eastern shores of the
Atlantic Ocean. Their presence in North America is clear from the
evidence presented in the first two chapters. While ancient
evidence of worshippers of the God of Israel has been discovered
in Ohio and New Mexico, 19 most Israelites in North America
would have been followers of Baal and the "mother-goddess" as
Israel served these pagan gods almost exclusively from the death
of Solomon to the fall of Samaria (ca. 930-721 B.C.).
How large and viable was the early Hebrew/Phoenician
civilization in the New World? Evidence now exists that it was
both expensive and long-lived. The following passage is taken
from "The Adena Tablets," written by Robert Lenhart, and
published in The Epigraphic Society Occasional Publications,
Volume 13, 1985.
"When the first settlers moved westward from the American
colonies on the Atlantic Seaboard they discovered the great
burial mounds and earthworks of the Ohio Valley. The mounds were
obviously the work of man, but just as obviously, not within the
capacity or tribal memories of the tribes who inhabited the
valley at that time. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and William
Henry Harrison, scientists, many eminent clergymen and others
speculated that the mounds and earthworks were built either by
Egyptians, Norsemen or the lost tribes of Israel." 20
Lenhart also states concerning this early North American
civilization that:
"they reached a very high cultural level over 1500 years and then
disappeared about 500 A.D..."...[and] ... "the Adena People
dominated the Ohio Valley from about 1000 B.C." 21
The Adena People are also known as the first of the North
American "Mound Builders" as they constructed impressive burial
mounds which have survived to the present. The Encyclopedia
Americana. also traces the earliest Mound Builders in ancient
America to 1000 B.C 22 It also describes these earthwork mounds
as follows:
"The Adena people buried their dead in large conical mounds of
earth, together with rich grave goods of copper, mica and stone.
They left many ornaments and pieces of jewelry, as well as stone
tablets covered with curvilinear designs." 23
The term "curvilinear designs" is actually a euphemism for
inscriptions in ancient Old World languages. Any kind of
alphabetic writing involves "curved lines" written in a "linear"
(straight-line) manner. Therefore, "stone tablets covered with
curvilinear designs" could more accurately have been written
"stone tablets with ancient inscriptions." Dr.Barry Fell, in his
book "Saga America," stated:
"The so-called Curvilinear is in fact writing--ancient Punic,
Greek, and Libyan Arabic of North Africa - using alphabets that
are proper to those tongues. Similar texts, including also
Celtic, Iberian and Hebrew, were inscribed in other parts
ofAmerica..." 24
Dr.Fell has pointed out that some "curvilinear" markings
found in ancient America were actually ancient Arabic Kufi
inscriptions dating to as recent as the seventh century A.D., a
conclusion supported by both American and foreign experts in
ancient languages. 25 This indicates that Old World
civilizations continued to send expeditions to North America for
centuries after the birth of Christ.
The Adena People flourished in the American Midwest,
generally the Ohio River Valley, beginning around 1000 B.C. Their
arrival in ancient America parallels the expansionary phase of
ancient Israel under Kings David and Solomon around 1000 B.C. as
the "Phoenician" empire grew more powerful. Let us examine what
languages have been found on artifacts in ancient American burial
mounds.
In 1838 a tablet (found with a skeleton and copper arm
rings) was excavated in Grave Creek, West Virginia, from a burial
mound of the ancient North American Adena People. 26 Concerning
this tablet, Barry Fell states:
"It was at once recognized by Professor Rafn of Copenhagen as
being Iberian, though that script had not at that time been
deciphered. Recent studies show the language of the tablet is
Punic (Phoenician), written in the form of alphabet used in Spain
during the first millennium B.C. It may be translated as follows
(the writing reading from right to left): 'The mound
raised-on-high for Tasach this tile (His) queen
caused-to-be-made.' The alphabet of the tablet was deciphered by
Spanish scholars, and published by the English epigrapher D.
Diringer in 1968. The language is basic Semitic, and all words
occur in standard literary Semitic dictionaries." 27
Another tablet, from a separate Adena mound was:
"inscribed in Iberian script and employing the Punic language,
shares some of its vocabulary and all of its basic style
characters with the historic tablet of Tasach excavated in 1838
[in] West Virginia ... Its vocabulary is found in standard
Semitic dictionaries, and yields the following translation: 'The
memorial of Teth this tile (His) brother caused-to-be-made.'" 28
The presence of Iberian Punic inscriptions on these tablets
indicates that they are of a "Western Phoenician" origin.
"Western Phoenician," "Carthaginian," "Punic," "Iberian Punic,"
and "Iberian" are all terms used to describe the languages of the
colonies originally established by the "Phoenicians" of Israel,
Tyre and Sidon during the beginning centuries of the first
millennium B.C. These are "Semitic" languages as all the people
in the Phoenician alliance were Semites. That the Adena people
buried their dead with Semitic inscriptions of the Western
Phoenician language groups indicates that the Adena People were a
large colony of Semitic settlers from the Old World.
Given the proximity of these finds to the "Decalogue Tablet"
(found in Ohio) inscribed with the Ten Commandments in ancient
Hebrew, it seems evident that this Semitic civilization began
mostly as an Israelite colony. Only Israelites who were followers
of the God of Israel would inscribe and preserve the Ten
Commandments (of Israel's God) on a tablet. Though Israel ceased
to be a nation in the eighth B.C., their ancient American
colonies outlived their parent nation for many centuries, linked
to their sister "Phoenician" colonies in North Africa and Iberia.
It is noteworthy that the Adena Civilization began around 1000
B.C. Chapter one discussed the fact that the Lake Superior copper
mines were apparently worked to exhaustion around 1000 B.C. when
King David was importing massive amounts of copper ores for
temple purposes. It is likely that the Israelites, together with
their Tyrian and Sidonian allies, founded the Adena colonies to
further exploit the natural resources of ancient North America.
The above tablets date to approximately 300-200 B.C., 29 a
time when the North American Semites were linked to the Punic
civilization of Carthage. Since it is apparent that the late
Adena civilization was a Semitic culture like those in Iberia and
North Africa (they shared a common culture and language), it is
logical that all these groups shared a common origin. That common
origin could only have been the Phoenician alliance of Israel,
Tyre, and Sidon.
The fact that one of the ancient Adena royalty was named
"Tasach" is also significant. In Genesis 21:12, God promised
Abraham that "through Isaac shall your descendants be named."
(RSV) God was promising that the name of "Isaac" would be a
perennial, identifying "marker" for locating the descendants of
Abraham. The name "Tasach," found in ancient America, is a
derivative of the name "Isaac." Vowels were generally not written
in ancient Semitic languages, so the consonants "S-C" of Isaac
are preserved in the second syllable of "Tasach," a prominent
member of the Adena culture in ancient North America. Tasach must
have been an Israelite who had descended from the original
colonists of the Hebrew/Phoenician alliance. The presence of an
Israelite leader in the Adena civilization further indicates that
the Israelites were in a position of dominance in the Adena
colonies.
The Phoenician alliance of Israel, Tyre and Sidon founded
numerous colonies in the European and North African regions of
the Mediterranean Sea as well as the British Isles and North
America during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon, beginning
"around 1000 B.C." Under Kings David and Solomon, the Israelite
(Phoenician) Empire became a maritime superpower, and began to
export Phoenician Hebrew culture and colonies around the world.
The evidence that the ancient Israelites founded a large empire
has been in the Bible's historical accounts for thousands of
years, but only recently has there been archeological evidence
which proves the biblical accounts were correct all along. At its
zenith, the empire of Israel ruled or held primary influence over
portions of four continents (Asia, Africa, Europe and North
America)!
While we have seen that the Greeks used the term "Phoenicia"
to describe the alliance of Israel, Tyre and Sidon, it is time to
address the question: What did the ancient Israelite empire call
itself?
What is surprising is that the answer to this question is
not difficult to ascertain. The Israelites were the descendants
of Abraham, with whom God made a solemn covenant (Genesis 12:1-3,
15:18, 17:1 21, and 22:15-18) to make "many nations" and "kings"
out of Abraham's descendants. Note that in the above scriptures
the word "covenant" appears many times. This covenant, with its
many blessings, was passed on through Abraham's son Isaac
(Genesis 26:2425) to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 35:9-12). Jacob's
name was changed to Israel (Genesis 35:10), and the covenant
promises of God were next given to Israel's twelve sons who were
the progenitors of the "twelve tribes of Israel." However, the
name "Israel" was specifically placed on the individual Israelite
tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:8-16). Note especially
Israel's statement in verses 14-16:
"Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's
head ... and his left hand upon Manasseh's, guiding his hands
wittingly-And he blessed Joseph, and said ... bless the lads; and
let my name be named on them ... and let them grow into a
multitude in the midst of the earth."
Consequently, from that point on, any entity called "Israel"
in the Bible must include the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh
because they inherited the Abrahamic "covenant, and the name of
"Israel."
Ephraim and Manasseh received the "birthright" blessings of
the Abrahamic covenant such as a large population, many
independent nations, abundant natural resources, etc. (Genesis
49:16-20). The other tribes shared in these covenant promises,
but the "lions share" of the best blessings was inherited by the
tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh!
However, the tribe of Judah inherited one major
blessing/promise of the Abrahamic covenant. Abraham was promised
in Genesis 17:6 that his descendants would include kings. Before
he died, Israel (Jacob) prophesied in Genesis 49:10 that:
"The sceptre [kings and dynasties] shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto
him shall the gathering of the people be."
The word "Shiloh" is defined by Young's Analytical
Concordance as "a description of Messiah, as the Prince of
Peace." 30 The word "gathering" literally means "obedience,
expectation, hope." 31 The Messiah was (and is) the hope of
Israel and Judah, and he will ultimately be obeyed by all nations
(Zechariah 14:9-16). (Genesis 49:10 prophesied that the Messiah
would have to come from the tribe of Judah. The fact that Jesus
Christ was a member of the tribe of Judah, is one of his
credentials as the Messiah.)
After the kingdom of Israel divided into northern and
southern kingdoms, Ephraim and Manasseh became the chief tribes
of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Judah became
the chief tribe of the southern kingdom of Judah. This will
become critically important in later chapters as we trace their
descendants through history up to (and including) the modern era.
The Bible consistently refers to the Jews and their related
tribes by the name "Judah" (both in history and prophecy), while
Ephraim and Manasseh and their related tribes are referred to as
"Israel." It is critically important to realize that, after the
division of the tribes which followed soon after the death of
King Solomon, the terms "Israel" and "Judah" are not synonymous.
The entire purpose of the above discussion was to show the
importance of the word "covenant" as part of the heritage of
Israel. They were well aware that they were the "people of the
covenant," indeed, it was the central theme of their entire
heritage. The Hebrew word for covenant is "Berith." 32 With
vowels being absent in ancient Hebrew/Phoenician, this word would
be represented by the consonants B-R-T or B-R-TH (generally
written as "brt" or "brth," (but this book will present ancient
root words with capital letters and hyphens for the purpose of
emphasis). A modern form of this Hebrew word is contained in the
name of a well-known Jewish organization: B'nai Writh.
Before continuing, the reader should know that the final
symbol of B-R-T or B-R-TH, although written as "T" or "TH," is
based on the same Hebrew consonant. That consonant's
pronunciation could vary (resulting in the above different
representations), but it is still the same consonant. I wish to
acknowledge the assistance of Dr.Charles V. Dorothy, a graduate
of Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA, who comments as
follows on the different forms of this Hebrew consonant:
"It is no stretch at all of linguistic patterns for a spirant
(especially hard to pronounce in the case of 'th) to elide into a
stop: 't'."
Also, I wish to thank Dr.Dorothy (in his discussion of the
language possibilities involving B-R-TB-R-TH) for mentioning that
those consonants can also designate a Hebrew word for
"soap/alkali." Since some individuals, determined to minimize the
role of the Israelites and the God of Israel in world history,
may grasp at this straw to oppose this book's conclusions, we
will briefly discuss this possibility in order to give it the
swift dismissal it deserves. According to Young's Analytical
Concordance to the Bible, the Old Testament translates the word
"B-R-TB-R-TH" as "covenant" in 260 instances (and as related
words like "league" or "confederacy" another 19 times). 33
However, those consonants appear in a separate Hebrew word
("borith") translated "soap" only twice. 34
Anyone familiar with the Bible or Israelite history knows
that the Israelites were known, both racially and nationally, as
the "Covenant People," not the "Soap People." In terms of
relative importance to the Israelites as a national symbol or
motto, the word "covenant" merits unique and special importance
to them as an identifying term. In this, Dr.Dorothy agrees,
commenting: "...in your favor, and you may want to mention [this]
whenever possible, is the much greater importance of 'covenant'
or 'bond' [in Israelite history] against...'soap.'" It is beyond
the scope of this book to analyze every possible nuance of the
Hebrew language, but the reader may rest assured that either
B-R-T or B-R-TH, when applied in a national sense, represent the
Hebrew word for "covenant."
A book, "Phoenician Origin of Britons, Scots and
Anglo-Saxons," by L. A. Waddell, documents the prominent usage of
the word "B-R-T" (which Waddell generally renders "Barat") in the
nation and colonies of the early Phoenicians, but a cautionary
comment must be made about this book. While it contains much
evidence about the prominence of the word "B-R-T" in Phoenicia's
sphere of influence, Waddell's book (first published in 1924)
contains Aryan racial supremacy theories. [In contrast, the book
which you are now reading rejects and disavows any racial
supremacy theories and all forms of anti-Semitism.]
Waddell's book also made a critical error in not
understanding that there were two very separate Hebrew kingdoms
in the ancient Mideast: Judah in the south and Israel in the
north. He also mistakenly refers to the Israelite/Phoenicians to
the north of Judah as the "Hitto-Phoenicians." Waddell's lack of
awareness that the terms
...........................
To be continued
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