Masada

Nationalists always go digging in the past to make an argument about the present.

Like the British looking back to Boudicca, or the Jews looking back to Masada, or the Scots looking back to Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Or the ancient Germanic leader Arminius and his victory over the Romans in the Teutoburg Forest way back in ancient times.

German nationalists turned Arminius into Hermann, a national symbol.

A story is told of some French soldiers in the Peninsular War who utilized some of its twigs to serve as spits for roasting meat, with the result that seven out of twelve who ate of it shortly died.

We knew better than to expect to find Jericho roses in the Jericho district, although this curious and interesting crucifer anesthetica exists in considerable quantities about Masada, towards En Gedi, some twenty hours south.

It is an annual, and its curious blossoms are formed in the spring.

We found, however, many specimens of the Dead Sea fruit, though still green and unripe.

A story is told of some French soldiers in the Peninsular War who utilized some of its twigs to serve as spits for roasting meat, with the result that seven out of twelve who ate of it shortly died.

We knew better than to expect to find Jericho roses in the Jericho district, although this curious and interesting crucifer anesthetica exists in considerable quantities about Masada towards En Gedi, some twenty hours south.

It is an annual, and its curious blossoms are formed in the spring.

We found, however, many specimens of the Dead Sea fruit, though still green and unripe.

It was a great revolt and the Romans systematically eliminated the opposition town after town, Jewish city after Jewish city, destroying and slaying hundreds of thousands and culminating with destroying of the Jewish temple, which was standing for 420 years.

And of course, there was the reverberations of that, famously the last standoff in Masada in the year 73.

But even afterwards, the Jewish people spent many, many decades trying to rebuild and to reestablish Jewish life in a way that we could flourish despite these harsh conditions.

And that, of course, was very difficult because the Romans were very keen on keeping the Jews oppressed and suppressed.

A story is told of some French soldiers in the Peninsular War who utilized some of its twigs to serve as spits for roasting meat, with the result that seven out of twelve who ate of it shortly died.

We knew better than to expect to find Jericho roses in the Jericho district, although this curious and interesting crucifer anesthetica exists in considerable quantities about Masada, towards Engedi, some twenty hours south.

It is an annual, and its curious blossoms are formed in the spring.

We found, however, many specimens of the Dead Sea fruit, though still green and unripe.

A story is told of some French soldiers in the Peninsular War who utilized some of its twigs to serve as spits for roasting meat, with the result that seven out of twelve who ate of it shortly died.

We knew better than to expect to find Jericho roses in the Jericho district, although this curious and interesting crucifer anesthetica exists in considerable quantities about Masada towards Engeti, some twenty hours south.

It is an annual, and its curious blossoms are formed in the spring.

We found, however, many specimens of the Dead Sea fruit, though still green and unripe.

However, we also know that the rest of the Tanakh, the rest of the Hebrew Bible, was translated before the time of Jesus.

The prologue to Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus, Ben Sira, which goes back to 132 BCE, and a Hebrew copy of Ben Sira was found at Masada.

Many of you will know that.

He refers to the Greek translation of the Torah, the prophets, and the other books.

And as it was passed down, it was understood this is what it's referring to.

The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible before the time of Jesus.

As attested again in Greek in the book Ben Sira, we have the original Hebrew of it at Masada.

translated into Greek, 132 BCE, saying, yes, we have the Torah, the prophets, and we have the rest of the books, the other books in Greek.