Date: Thursday, October 13, 2011, 6:30pm

Chapter: New York, NY

Speaker: Gary Greenberg, President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York (BASNY) and the author of several books on biblical and ancient Near Eastern History

Location:  Alston & Bird LLP, 90 Park Avenue, (between 39th and 40th Streets), 15th Floor Lecture Room (Note:  Photo ID Required to enter Building

FREE TO THE PUBLIC

R.S.V.P. REQUIRED: Please reply to info@arceny.com

A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception to follow the Lecture

Description: The biblical book of Judges contains two versions of the story of the judge Deborah, who rallied Israelite forces against Canaanite oppressors, one poetic and one narrative. The poetic account, which differs in many particulars from the narrative version, is thought to be one of the oldest biblical passages in the bible and preserves some cosmological elements that suggest some sort of battle between ancient gods.

The bible also contains a second story about a different Deborah, who served as Rebekah's nurse. (Rebekah eventually married Isaac, father of Jacob.) The passage is one sentence long and contains some odd iconic references to this nurse. Neith was an Egyptian goddess identified with the kingship of Lower Egypt. Like the Greek Athena she had martial characteristics and the Greeks identified Athena with Neith. In some Egyptian circles Neith was a Creation deity who also functioned as a judge and as a nurturer.

In this talk, Mr. Greenberg will examine the iconography associated with Neith and the two biblical Deborahs and compare them. The talk will reveal some intriguing parallels that will suggest a possible literary relationship between the Egyptian goddess and the two biblical characters.

Neith With Crown Of Lower Egypt

 

About the Speaker: Gary Greenberg is President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York and the author of several books on biblical and ancient Near Eastern History, including "Manetho: A Study In Egyptian Chronology" and "The Moses Mystery: The Egyptian Origins of the Jewish People." He has presented papers at several ARCE conferences and has published articles in KMT, The Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities, and Discussions in Egyptology. He maintains a web site at www.bibleandhistory.com.