Body: | Pseudo-Philo 19:14-15
60 AD
Follows Septuagint Chronology
Creation in 5886 BC
Messiah come before 114 AD
Introduction:
1. Pseudo-Philo follows the longer chronological numbers in
the Septuagint and not the Masoretic Text.
a. The Pseudo-Philo chronology uses as its foundation, the
first century Jewish non-biblical doctrine that the world would end in 7000
years and that the messiah must come before 6000 years.
b. Pseudo-Philo dated the earth to 5886 BC, which meant that
year 6000, which is the latest the Messiah can come, will happen in 114 AD.
c. God tells Moses that 2.5 of 7 units remain. This echoes
the first century view that the earth would only last 7000 years.
2. Dating Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, by Pseudo-Philo
a. "What are the historical consequences of this fact?
The presence of a Palestinian biblical text in LAB allows us to establish
A.D. 100 as the date before which LAB must have been composed. The biblical
documents from Murabba'at suggest that by the beginning of the 2nd century
A.D. an authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible had been promulgated and
that this text was the archetype of the medieval Masoretic manuscripts."
The scrolls found at Masada may even enable us to push back the existence
of the rabbinic recension, if not its official promulgation, to before A.D.
73." At any rate, by A.D. 100 an official text had been promulgated, and
variant texts seem to have been suppressed. Since the author of LAB used
one of these variant Hebrew texts, he probably composed his work before
A.D. 100. In fact, given the absence of any genuine reference to the fall
of Jerusalem,21 it is likely that the work was composed before A.D. 70."
(The Biblical Text of Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, vol 33, Daniel J. Harrington, 1971 AD)
b. "Pseudo-Philo is the name given the unknown author of
Biblical Antiquities (also known as Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum), a
selective narrative of Israel's history from Adam to David, composed in
Hebrew around a.d. 70 in Palestine. Attempts at connecting the work with a
specific Jewish group (Essenes, Pharisees, Samaritans) have not been
successful. Rather it is best seen as a reflection of how Palestinian Jews
in the first century a.d. interpreted the Jewish Scriptures, as a source
for the popular biblical theology of the period and as a repository for
motifs and legends that are paralleled or even unique in ancient Jewish
literature." (Dictionary of New Testament Background, Craig Evans,
Pseudo-Philo, 2000 AD)
3. About Pseudo-Philo: Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum
a. "A Palestinian origin is indicated by its original
composition in Hebrew, use of a Palestinian biblical text, knowledge of
Palestinian geography, literary parallels to 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch, and
theological interests. A date at the turn of the era is suggested by the
silence about the destruction of the Second Temple, the assumption that
worship continued at the Jerusalem Temple, and the use of a Hebrew biblical
text-type that was suppressed around 100 C.E. (Perrot and Bogaert 1976:
22-74). Those who argue for a late 1st- or early 2d-century C.E. dating
(James 1917) appeal to the parallels with 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch (both post-70
C.E.), the great interest in Jewish leaders, and the possible allusion to
the fall of the Second Temple in 19:7. (ABD, Philo, Pseudo-)
b. "Another proof that LAB was originally written in Hebrew
rather than in Aramaic is the phrase in victoria (9:3) and ad victoriam (12
:6). The phrase, of course, can be traced back through the Greek to the
Hebrew; the meaning is "forever." What is important is that in Aramaic the
root nn was not used as in Hebrew to mean "forever" or "everlasting." In
the Aramaic dialects nYi has only the sense of "splendor" or "victory." In
LAB, however, the meaning is clearly "forever" in both passages. In the
Peshitta the root tt: is substituted for rin to convey a temporal sense as
in II Sam. 2:26; Isa. 13:2o; 25:8; Ps. 10:11. A similar situation prevails
in the Targums. A most instructive and decisive instance is the Peshitta on
Jer. 3:5, where the MT has the parallelism which in the Peshitta is
rendered. Finally, the fact that there is not any really solid evidence on
which to argue that LAB was composed in Aramaic is important. Words such as
vero and autem near the beginning of many sentences may seem to be possible
Aramaisms (corresponding to riN), but are probably better explained as
translations of Greek particles (e.g., SO. When the lack of counterargument
is coupled with good proofs that LAB was composed in Hebrew, we are led to
conclude that Hebrew rather than Aramaic is the original language of
LAB." (The Original Language of Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum
Biblicarum, Daniel J. Harrington, Western Theological Review 63, p503-514,
1970 AD)
60 AD: Pseudo-Philo 19:14-15 the creation (5886 BC) and Messiah come before
114 AD, matches LXX
1. Context of Pseudo-Philo 19:14-15:
a. Moses asks God just before he dies, how much time
remains until the end of time.
b. God tells Moses that 2.5 of 7 units remain.
c. This echoes the first century view that the earth would
only last 7000 years.
2. Calculating creation dates:
a. The seven units equals 7000 years in keeping with the
widely believed view that the world would only last 7000 years with the
messiah coming by year 6000.
b. Moses died in 1406 BC
c. Math: Creation = 4.5/7 = 0.64*7000 = 4480 years before
Moses died = 4480 + 1406 BC = 5886 BC
d. Creation date: 5886 BC
e. Septuagint creation date is 5554 BC
f. MT creation date is 4174 BC
g. While the creation date almost a perfect match to the
Septuagint (LXX).
h. Math: end of world: 2.5/7 = 0.36*7000 years = 2520 years
after Moses death in 1406 till the end of the world = 2520 - 1406 BC = 1114
AD at year 7000.
3. Calculating messiah dates:
a. Messiah comes no later than year 6000 = 114 AD.
b. Messiah must come before 114 AD
Conclusion:
1. Although we do not know who the real author of
"Pseudo-Philo" is, it provides an important historical window into
first century Jewish messianic thinking.
2. What is clear, is the Pseudo-Philo was using the
chronological numbers in the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible.
3. This proves, that at this time, the Chronological
numbers of Genesis 5 and 11 were the same in both the Greek (LXX) and the
Masoretic (Hebrew) Bibles in 60 AD.
4. It was not until around 150 AD that the Jews altered the
chronological numbers in their Hebrew Bible to rule out Jesus coming within
the messianic window of the "Days of the Messiah"
The Septuagint LXX
"Scripture Cannot Be Broken"
Start Here: Master Introduction and Index
Six Bible Manuscripts
1446 BC
Sinai Text (ST)
1050 BC
Samuel's Text (SNT)
623 BC
Samaritan (SP)
458 BC
Ezra's Text (XIV)
282 BC
Septuagint (LXX)
160 AD
Masoretic (MT)
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Steve Rudd, November 2017 AD: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections
By Steve Rudd: November 2017: Contact the author for comments, input or
corrections.
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