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June 25, 2010 In my view, you can discount most of what the Bible relates about anyone before the time of King David. Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Joshua and Samson almost certainly did not exist at all. The narratives that speak of them are all wild, incredible tales for which no scrap of tangible evidence has ever been found. Similarly, you can just write off the Gospels as a series of novels, tall tales and works of fantasy. There probably never was a Jesus at all. There is no physical evidence. He left no writings, garments, artifacts, relics or remains. If a mature, objective person reads the Gospels dispassionately and scientifically, she or he will understand that these things could not have happened in this world. On planet Earth, there is no raising of the dead, healing of lepers, making the lame to walk, walking on water, and multiplying fish and loaves. However, the books of the Bible that cover the period from David to the Jewish captivity in Babylon are probably largely historical. There are few if any wild tales of miracles and floods. There is a goodly amount of physical evidence. Some of the people in that period, like Tiglath Pileser, Nebuchadnezzar and Sennacherib are known from inscriptions from other countries in addition to Israel and Judah. Also, the Books of the Maccabees, of the Catholic Old Testament, which are not included in the Jewish Bible, are probably historical. This is not to say that the Bible does not have its errors, exaggerations and concealments even for the era of the Kings of Israel and Judah, but if you approach the narrative with a bit of caution, it can be informative. In the eighth century BCE, that is, about 200 years after the time of David, King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Syria formed an alliance in order to wage war on King Ahaz of Judah. Ahaz was rescued by King Tiglath Pileser III, King of Assyria. Thereafter Ahaz became his tributary. Chapter 7 of the Book of Isaiah, starting with Isaiah 7:1, tells the story. Just scroll down at the link I have provided, which is the King James Version: http://www.kingjamesversionofthebible.com/23-isaiah.html To me, this squabbling of ancient petty kings is not terribly important. However, note in particular Isaiah 7:14, 7:15 and 7:16. “Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. “Isaiah 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. “Isaiah 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.” In this, Isaiah is prophesying to King Ahaz that Ahaz will prevail over his foes in very few years, before a child will know good from evil. Pekah and Rezin formed their alliance in 732 BCE, so it would appear that the fulfillment of the prophecy was expected in the 720’s BCE. According to many scholars the word virgin is a mistranslation of the Hebrew wordalmah, which means girl rather than virgin. This came about because almah was translated into Greek as parthenos, which does mean virgin, and King James’s translators may have been relying on the Greek translation. So it’s doubtful that Isaiah really intended to say virgin at all, and it’s obvious that his prophecy relates not to Jesus but to Ahaz. One of the most outrageous and mysterious things in the Bible is that the author of the Gospel According to St. Matthew seems somehow to have decided that Isaiah’s prophecy was about Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the Chapter 7 of Isaiah shows. You can read about the genealogy and nativity of Jesus in Chapter 1 of Matthew: : http://www.kingjamesversionofthebible.com/40-saintmatthew.html The relevant passage is Matthew 1:22-23. “Matthew 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, “Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Here the author of Matthew has misappropriated Isaiah’s prophecy altogether. Moreover, he has used the mistranslation virgin, which he probably got from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible Since Greek was the language of the Gospel of Matthew, it’s no surprise that the author would refer to the Septuagint. The author of Matthew, pretending that he knew or knew of a real Messiah, searched the Jewish Bible for prophecies that would seem to corroborate the idea that Jews knew he was coming. In other words, Matthew acts as if he has a real person and now needs the prophecies that foretold him. In my opinion, though, Matthew found prophecies in the Jewish Bible first, and then started inventing a Messiah who would fulfill them. He seized upon Isaiah and then made Mary out to be a virgin. But there probably was no Mary at all, and probably no Jesus either. Even if they existed, Isaiah did not prophesy their coming. Actually he did not “prophesy” anything. He made a good guess about Ahaz’s fortunes in Syro-Ephraimite War. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! 
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