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Dead Men Tell Tales
Dead Men Tell Tales
by HARRY RIMMER, D. D., Sc. D. With 37 Plate Illustrations in the Text Eleventh Edition Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan Dead Men Tell Tales BY HARRY RIMMER, D.D., SC.D. Copyright 1939 by Research Science Bureau, Incorporated Printed in the United States of America All rights in this book are reserved No part of the book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For information address the publishers. ELEVENTH EDITION...
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
In an older generation, especially among the writers of the more lurid types of fiction, it was an accepted axiom that “Dead men tell no tales!” But this was before the great era of modern archeology had impressed its findings on the general public, and indeed before most of those discoveries had been made. Our generation knows better. Dead men do tell tales, and marvelous and wonderful are the stories they bring to us. By means of an archeological resurrection, the great men of antiquity are wi
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Plate 1
Plate 1
Egyptians at a wine orgy Crude hieroglyphics on an ancient statue. Depicting the early development of art and writing It shall be the purpose of the following pages to cull and summarize some of the striking facts of archeology, which demonstrate beyond question that the Book which men call the Bible is historically credible, scientifically accurate, and has been derived by inspiration from the Spirit of God. In almost every branch of this fascinating science, archeology has been the handmaid of
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Plate 2
Plate 2
Magnificent example of embellished statue, conveying the name, hopes, and some of the record of an early ruler Colossi at Luxor The Sheltered Wife Strangely, in view of the consistent demands of the evolutionary school, we find no evidence of human evolution in the land of Egypt. More than this, the doctrine that man began with a brutish intellect and gradually developed his high and peculiar culture, is refuted by the evidences from this country. In fact, the contrary is strikingly the case. In
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Plate 4
Plate 4
Colossi of Amen-Hetep III guarding Valley of the Kings At tomb of Tutanhkamen, in the Valley of Kings The brilliant ability of this mighty ruler is one of the high points of far antiquity. The king-lists of antiquity, derived from many sources, were compiled by order of several of the kings of Assyria and constitute another of the many valuable records to be found in the British Museum. A recent publication of the Museum entitled “The Annals of the Kings of Assyria” is well worth many times the
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Plate 5
Plate 5
{open burial} {open burial} {open burial} Open burial lower left Another mural from an ancient tomb: butchers at work The god Hapi drawing the Two Kingdoms into one Among the quaint frescoes of antiquity, there is one that has no word of explanation. There are many such murals in Egyptian tombs, and the cattle also figure often in the pictures on the papyri. (See Plate 9 .) This fresco, however, was quite unique. Across the scene there parade fourteen cattle. The first seven are round, fat and i
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CHAPTER IV The Ten Plagues
CHAPTER IV The Ten Plagues
The prosecutors of the old charge of “folklore and mythology” so constantly directed against the faith of those who hold to the credibility of our present Scripture text, found some of their keenest shafts in the Biblical account of the exodus from Egypt. Scrutinizing the record of that notable event under the microscope of prejudice, the critics claimed to have found many outstanding weaknesses in the text. Particularly was this so in that section of the story which dealt with the plagues with
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Plate 7
Plate 7
Note cuneiform writing and sculpture on stone weapon Then another company of people looking for a permanent dwelling place would chance upon this hill. Finding it suited to their requirements they would immediately start building upon the surface. With no knowledge whatever that a previous group of people had made this hill their habitation, the new dwellings and walls would rise high upon the covered ruins of the earlier period. Within a comparatively short time they also would be the victims o
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Plate 8
Plate 8
Ancient seals, depicting historic events. Section of a funerary papyrus, showing the progress of the soul on its journey in the Other World “Well, it may be that every one else in antiquity could write, but Moses couldn’t...! ” And such an one would accuse another of dogmatism! Because we stand upon the certainty of the approved and orthodox conception of the credibility of the Scriptures, and maintain our case with the most exact evidence, we are not “scholarly.” Yet here is a reputedly religio
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Plate 9
Plate 9
Herds of cattle, such as the Hyksos kings possessed...
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Plate 10
Plate 10
Ancient mural of the slaughter of cattle Papyrus showing the capture of quail “Rome was not built in a day,” is a self-evident truth: but it is equally true that it was not excavated in a day, either! In fact, as all visitors to Italy can testify, the Department of Antiquities is still working on some of the more ancient sites, and certain of the most extensive ruins are just beginning to emerge for the delight of our generation. Archeology is a very fine exposition of the truth inherent in the
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Plate 11
Plate 11
Cartonnage in the anthropoid sarcophagus...
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Plate 12
Plate 12
Showing both outside and inside writings and decorations on anthropoid sarcophagus The new chronology, derived from archeological research, has utterly and finally upset these critical conclusions. The Exodus can be credibly dated now to within a span of ten years. The earlier probability is 1447 B. C. and the latest possible time would be 1437. It may be said that if we consider the archeological sources alone, there is a possible spread of thirty years, but no more. Even if we make the most li
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Plate 13
Plate 13
Detailed study of outside and inside of anthropoid coffin. Note voluminous record Outside, or rectangular coffin also covered with writing and records...
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Plate 14
Plate 14
Murals and frescoes from tomb walls When her husband-brother-consort became of age, he naturally rebelled against her usurpation. He gathered a company of adventurous nobles about him and forced the queen to abdicate, after which she disappeared under circumstances which would have interested Scotland Yard, if that noted institution had been in existence in that day and place! The ambitious young king took the name of Tuthmosis the Third, and left a brilliant record as a conqueror and builder. C
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Plate 16
Plate 16
Ancient boundary markers On the monolith of Shalmaneser the record begun on this stele is further continued. This battle, according to Shalmaneser’s chronology, would be about 854 B. C. This Benhadad is known on the Assyrian monuments variously by the names of Hadad-ezer and Hadad-idri. He is authenticated by the finest type of historical proof that the most carping critic could demand. Incidentally, Benhadad is one of the forty-seven kings mentioned in our preliminary remarks, who were supposed
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Plate 18
Plate 18
The famed Black Obelisk, which confirmed the record of Jehu Hamath Inscription Among the ancient races that are catalogued in the lists which appear in the pages of the Old Testament, the most important one in the presentation of this thesis is the Hittite race. In the heyday of their brief popularity the higher critics indulged in an orgy of refutation concerning these sections of the Scripture. Since the Hittites are mentioned forty-eight times in the pages of the Bible, if it could be proved
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Plate 19
Plate 19
Small ivory lion from Ahab’s palace Author’s collection (Photo by Dworshak)...
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Plate 20
Plate 20
Fragmentary frieze showing ancient chariots (Museum of the University of Pennsylvania) King Solomon, the merchant prince, had developed business relations with all of the many chieftains and kings of the Hittite peoples, and had a well developed trade in the horses and chariots for which the Hittites were famous in their day. (See Plate 20 .) This coincidence of affairs began when Abraham consummated the first commercial transaction that is mentioned in human history. Before Abraham left Ur of t
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Plate 21
Plate 21
{hieroglyphs} From such funerary papyri much valuable information regarding Egyptian beliefs and customs is derived Incidentally, the walls of Karnak yielded from the records of other kings the historic evidence of an actual Hittite empire. Tuthmosis the Third immortalized the Hittites on the walls of Karnak when he gave a list of towns in the land of the Hittites over which he was victorious. Unquestionably this list contains the first and oldest authentic account of ancient cities, which are f
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Plate 22
Plate 22
Monuments of Petra, showing extent of the ruins in one direction...
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Plate 23
Plate 23
Looking the opposite way from Plate 22 It is also noted that Assur-Nasir-pal has given a detailed account of the treasures that he derived from the defeated Hittites. Among them he lists with great delight “swift chariots with horses therefor.” Whenever this monarch won a victory over the Hittites, he refers again and again to their chariots. One such reference is seen in this statement: “The chariots and warlike engines of the general of Charchemis I laid up in my magazines.” We have already no
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Plate 24
Plate 24
The rough approach to Petra (Photo by Matson)...
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Plate 25
Plate 25
Approaching Petra by way of the main siq the first sight of the ruins The extent of their operations may be dimly understood from plates numbered plate 22 and plate 23 . Some of these tombs that are here depicted, were never finished. A few of them have suffered from the ravages of time, but the general state of preservation of these priceless monuments of Petra is fascinating. In plate 30 we have depicted the approach to the garden tomb. By the side of this tomb there is the ascent to the “high
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Plate 27
Plate 27
Showing the manner in which these buildings are carved from the living stone In the course of the passing years, Siamen was gathered to his fathers, and Psabekhanu the 2nd reigned in his stead. The wise mother of Hadad, knowing that alliances do not always outlast the persons who made them and, desiring to protect Hadad’s interests in the country that they had lost by force of arms, entered into a typical and common intrigue. She brought about the marriage of her son, Hadad, with a sister of Psa
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Plate 28
Plate 28
Note how top of building seems to erupt from the hill...
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Plate 29
Plate 29
Compare size of men in the doorway of “El Deir” We now enter into a consideration of one of the most tragic and humiliating spectacles in all antiquity. When the penitent and restored king saw the effects of his apostasy, he called the people back to the practice of their earlier faith and himself came daily to the house of the Lord for the exercise of prayer. But as the humbled monarch knelt in prayer, he could not keep his eyes off the vacant walls. Where the five hundred golden objects had on
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Plate 31
Plate 31
The Altar of Sacrifice “And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” The high-hearted courage and simple faith of Asa is sufficient introduction to the very natural result, which follows in simple words: “So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and
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CHAPTER X Mingled Voices
CHAPTER X Mingled Voices
The next definite contact between Israel and Egypt is found in the graphic and terse statement of II Kings 17:4, “And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.” From this point on, the records of Egypt and Palestine are so enmeshed and tangled with the records of Babylon and Assyria that we cannot sep
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CHAPTER XI Vindication of Daniel
CHAPTER XI Vindication of Daniel
Nowhere in all this long and profitable study has archeology more perfectly and thoroughly vindicated the accuracy of the Scripture than in those portions of the disputed record that are found in the Book of Daniel. A great deal remains to be discovered at Nineveh and Babylon, and it is highly probable that the excavations to the present hour have but scraped the surface of the marvelous treasure that remains to be uncovered. It is a happy circumstance, however, that in our present incomplete bu
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Publications of the British Museum : A Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities The Babylonian Story of the Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamesh The Babylonian Legends of the Creation and the Fight Between Bel and the Dragon The Book of the Dead The Mount Sinai Manuscript of the Bible The New Gospel Fragments The Rosetta Stone Pamphlets : The Bearing of Archeological and Historical Research Upon the New Testament. By the Rev. Parke P. Flournoy. The Witness of Archeology to the Bible. By A. M
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