King Solomon’s Mines

You must read this extraordinary article from Smithsonian because it is truly fascinating and is about the discovery that copper mines once attributed to the biblical time frame of King Solomon have been found to be much older.

At about 1000-9000 BCE, the site predates the mighty republic of Rome, nestled between a time of Egyptian influence and might and its resurrection to fame much later under the Ptolemies. A large gap, to be sure. “Atika” is mentioned as an example of how far away copper was traded. Even the Temple of Zeus at Olympos (where history calls the statue within “one of the wonders of the ancient world”, in a city where the first Olympic Games would be held) had copper in some of the decorative parts of the temple, from this site.

Yet at the site of the mines no evidence of a city or even a village has been found. The conclusion was made that carbon-14 dating proved that the site predated Solomon and was operated by the Edomites, nomadic tent-dwellers who left little evidence of their presence. Or, more specifically, evidence of their identity. Authors and scribes wrote from positions of power, and often that has meant inaccuracies in the Bible.

For example, the article points out, the Bible has editions that describe the Israelites being overjoyed at the dedication of their new temple built by Solomon, going to their “homes” after the dedication was over, but the actual translation says they returned to their tents.

There was no city, as we define them in any era, of Jerusalem. Not yet.

Whether King David existed, followed by Solomon, is a matter debated endlessly. But it is impossible that, if these findings, and the tent city really existed around the temple built after David’s time, that David ever saw Bsthseba bathing on her rooftop.

I’ve always been aware the it was men who wrote the many “books” of the Canon, and that men had agendas. Most of the mistranslations were deliberate, centuries after the writing, after the authors were long before buried. The questions have never been answered to any conclusive result: was David a real person? Solomon, was he a character in a story?

The article cites fiction in book and film as fantasy without historical content; King Solomon’s Mines. Alan Quartermain, precursor to Indiana Jones, finds a cavern full of diamonds and gold. Indeed, Quartermain was too cool for a character of historical fiction, and was played by Sean Connery in the unwatchable film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Time to let our friend Alan Quartermain rest in peace, I guess.

In the long run, I find that, no, we cannot rely on the Bible for historical accuracy in many passages. Does that mean, though, that the Abrahamic religions are without truth or value?

Certainly not. Faith is believing in anything that is a challenge to believe whilst others seek to prove you a fool.

Faith is important because, as this article clearly shows, we just don’t know everything. Sometimes, it’s what we don’t know that matters most. History is a strange thing. Written by the victors of ancient wars, left behind in artifacts in barren places, I prefer to simply say, I only know one thing: that is that I can’t know everything, and I may not know anything at all.