SCOTS SCHOLARS UNLOCK ANCIENT TEXTS’ SECRETS
By Tom Fullerton
The Express, UK
February 5, 2008 Tuesday
Scottish Edition
Scrolls reveal apocalyptic visions dating back to 800BC
THEY’RE not light reading, but they are tomes worth persevering with
since they reveal warnings of the Apocalypse and mysteries of the
Final Judgment and Hell.
The oldest of the texts being pored over by Scots experts was written
between 700 and 800 BC and has a "vision of the gods" portending
disaster and the overturning of human institutions.
For two years, 40 academics from eight countries, led by experts from
St Andrews University, have been translating more than 60 ancient
documents in order to understand early religious thinking.
The papers have titles such as Apocalypse of the Seven Heavens,
Queen of Sheba, Visions of Heaven and Hell, and the Cave of Treasures.
One even claims to provide clues to the treasures of the Lost Ark,
gold and silver tables and vessels sacked from Solomon’s Temple by
the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.
Now, many of the documents, written by Jews, Christians and pagans
between the 3rd century BC and the Middle Ages, have been translated
by the international team of divinity scholars.
Several are written in the name of Old Testament characters such
as Moses and Enoch and include legends about biblical characters,
books of proverbs, sermons, magical and astrological handbooks,
oracles and apocalyptic prophecies.
They are written in Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic,
Georgian, Greek, Hebrew, Old Irish, Latin, Slavonic, and Syriac.
"The oldest, and the only one that actually comes from the Old
Testament period, is the Balaam Text from Deir Alla in Jordan,
" said Dr James Davila of St Andrews University.
"It was found in the Sixties, dated between 700 and 800 BC and has a
‘vision of the gods’ portending disaster. The Book of Giants tells
of the defeat of the fallen angels by the archangels."
Dr Davila added: "The Treatise of the Vessels claims to reveal the
hiding places of the treasures of Solomon’s Temple, just before the
Temple was sacked.
"Alas, it’s a collection of legends, put together as late as the
Middle Ages.
But it shows people were interested in the Temple treasures long
before Raiders of the Lost Ark."
It’s hoped translation will be completed and the results published
within the next three years.