Russell, your misrepresentation included declaring that there was no evidence other that what you mentioned, whereas you know I that draw on other evidence (too much to retype here; I hope to offer more later). Misrepresentation included again presenting Judah "ensconsed" in the temple, as if he had that option or as if he could not move (in other words, it is the wrong word), and as if his prophecy concerning two brothers of Jannaeus just before the latter took power somehow made him effectively about to die in Timbuktu (spelling?), i.e. irrelevant. (This reminds me of the minimalism (of another) declaring a min was attested in Sepphoris on one time only. Strabo's extant description of Egypt includes Jews in one line only--did he know more, say in his more ambitious History?) Rather than describing Judah as the first known Essene, teacher, at the beginning of Jannaeus getting out of prison; a sectarian among sectarians--local and some foreign groups of every stripe had cause for worry during Jannaeus' long time. He was a major priest and ruler. Most others proposed as "wicked priest" are too late or too early.
On ANE list you Russell recently declared differences between you and G. Athas small or the like; but he described carving of the dalet that you consider forged was written in a direction that would make your forgery claim (about what the carver did) on the Tel Dan Aramaic inscription falsified. I have read your curious source criticism and your claim that M is the Maccabee War Scroll. I am puzzled why you offer a method lecture. Have you taught method at some university? A point I was trying to make is that the 3 items (listed, not argued there) are related: E.g., Are the 2 characters historical? Are they contemporary? Is one Essene? What's Essene? Some things are more readily falsified or more completely falsified than others. Falsification may not be our only tool. Another observation or invitation was to consider the most probable (tentative) reconstruction of history, the confluence of evidence. best, Stephen Goranson _______________________________________________ g-Megillot mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.McMaster.CA/mailman/listinfo/g-megillot
