[ Return to The Pub ]
Posted by Vince on 2/3/2009, 1:11 pm, in reply to "Then again, like I said... "
A lot of it is.
Still, there are often little indicators to show where a passage doesn't fit into place or where a statement is too hyperfluous (like Josephus' passage on Jesus, or Peter's statement about Paul in 2 Peter 3:15), thereby casting suspicion on its authenticity.
Can you think of any reason why Paul would make it up or why any later scribe would interpolate this bit of trivia into the text, that Aretas was after Paul in Damascus and had a garrison of soldiers stationed there? Look for a motive; I can't think of any.
We DO know that Decapolis was Gentile/Greek, and we do know that it was culturally advanced (from the ruins that still survive) and we do know that it was a 10 city federation, even before Pompey arrived on the scene (because they welcomed his arrival, to give them more protection from the Hasmonean Kingdom -the Jewish state to the west) ........... and so, it's not as if Rome CREATED this region.
There are (apparently) no records of this region ever rebelling or initiating any kind of warfare against neighboring regions and so ....... in my perception, it appears to have been much like Switzerland was during WW2. 'Don't mess with us and we'll leave everyone alone as well.'
Oh and ....... in light of this "new" information, it's even MORE highly unlikely that the Jews of Damascus would have gained enough control of the city to force Paul to go over the wall in his little basket (as it's stated in Acts)! Gosh darn, it was a GREEK GENTILE city, after all! They didn't want no orthodox Jews in Decapolis!
-Vince
Message Thread:
« Back to thread