Man, Moment, Manuscript: Exploring Development of the Aramaic Apostolic Writings Traditions, 2024
This study investigates the history of the development of the Aramaic New Testament Scriptural tr... more This study investigates the history of the development of the Aramaic New Testament Scriptural traditions, from the earliest reference in 78 CE written by Achaeus of Edessa who was known by the Apostle Paul to the final revision of Thomas of Harkel in 616 CE, through the prism of important leaders in the Church of the East who had the political courage, will and ability to move these traditions forward. We will explore the Peshitta Majority Text as put forward by Mar Papa to the Edessan Variant Tradition as put forward Aitalaha of Edessa, and Old Syriac Siniaticus in particular as written by Bishop Rabulla. See the historical connections behind these manuscripts and how their development was independent from western rulers like Constantine and yet in other ways directly inspired by him and the Council of Nicea.
This paper looks at the very curious case of Hebrew NT documents found in the Synagogue of the Bl... more This paper looks at the very curious case of Hebrew NT documents found in the Synagogue of the Black Jews in Cochin, India. They were first discovered by Dr. Claudius Buchanan in 1803, but now they are being subject new scholarly scrutiny and enthusiasm, with some claiming that the entire original 27 book Hebrew canon has been recovered.
In fact, two scholarly groups have come out with translations and special materials within weeks of one another, and now I have been asked to weigh in on this matter by one of these groups.
But my conclusions differ from both such groups as it seems 25 of these 27 books are simply Hebrew translations from the Aramaic Peshitta, but the other two, Revelation and Jude, may be a completely different story and outcome.
What I do in this study is look at historical factors regarding the St. Thomas Christians and the Cochin Jews that these others have not considered yet. I also delve into the mysterious history of the destruction of the ancient archives of these same St. Thomas Christians at the village of Angamalee, in the Travancore area in 1599.
The ramifications of my conclusions on these two books in particular will, I believe, have a profound impact on this area of study, as we seriously explore the possibility that we actually have tri-lingual NT canon, with 22 books originally done in Aramaic, two done in Hebrew and the remaining three done in Greek.
In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscri... more In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscript witnesses the now lost and obscured history of Edessa, Turkey. Once a thriving center of early Christianity and Syriac scholarship, Edessa's critical role in the advancement of the Aramaic NT is all but forgotten today, sometimes shrouded in the haze of alleged legends that actually contain genuine history. This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves. The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
Restoring Proper Egyptian Chronology The Return of Astronomical Reckoning through the Sighting of Sirius in the Memphis area Revised Third Edition (August 2023), 2023
The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since ... more The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since 1904, when Eduard Meyer first deciphered inscriptions that referred to the Egyptian year aligning with the heliacal rising and return of the star Sirius, many theories have been put forward attempting to use this star data to give absolute dates of Egyptian dynasties and her Pharaohs. However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context. But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty. In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well. The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
This Third Edition supersedes the Second Edition that was posted in January 2023. It also includes new research on a massive supernova that changed the course of King Tut's life and also became an important reinforcement for the Adjusted High Chronology of Ancient Egypt.
The Lost Biography of Peter is the result of a decade long investigation into the claim that Pete... more The Lost Biography of Peter is the result of a decade long investigation into the claim that Peter the Apostle is buried in Rome. While early Roman Catholic tradition dating from the 2nd century appears unanimous in stating Peter was their first pope and died in Rome in 66 CE, this fresh investigation has found compelling primary evidence from these same sources that such is not the case.
Specifically, our earliest sources make no mention of Peter dying in Rome at all. Clement of Rome (d. 99 CE) and Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108 CE) have no knowledge of Peter's location and manner of death, although Ignatius does appear to imply vaguely that Peter and Paul may have labored together. Otherwise we have no direct claims of a Roman death until the end of the 2nd century and no confirmation of Peter dying by crucifixion, upside down or otherwise, until the start of the 3rd century.
Other avenues of research demonstrate that Peter was initially recorded as the second bishop of Jerusalem after the death of James the Just in 62 CE, but under a pseudonym of "Shimon son of Clopas" with clopas referring to a rock used for casting lots, hence, Shimon the Rock, or Peter.
And finally, we will see compelling archaeological evidence proving that Peter died at the start of the First Jewish Revolt and was buried on the Mount of Olives on the grounds of the Franciscan monastery Dominus Flevit. This tomb was sealed on or before 70 CE and was not reopened until 1953. It was a Jewish-Christian burial ground adorned with crosses and Chi-Rho iconography that could only have been placed there from 30-70 CE, and these and other clues make it clear the Shimon son of Yona person who is buried there must be Peter.
This is research I first completed in 2017 but which was updated when a friend and colleague went to Dominus Flevit and the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem and go the first ever digital color his resolution photographs of the ossuaries of Peter and others from the New Testament, and the first photographs of any kind of those ossuaries in more than sixty years. The new photographs were done in December of 2022.
Abstract and Summary for Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition, 2022
This short document is a summary of the treatise "Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition." The full... more This short document is a summary of the treatise "Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition." The full treatise is available upon request.
Tracking Luke the Evangelist: Finding Luke in the Wider Historical Record, 2021
This study investigates the possibility that the man the world knows as the author of the third G... more This study investigates the possibility that the man the world knows as the author of the third Gospel and the Book of Acts was actually a high ranking Roman government official. Lucius Cassius VItellius the Younger was a soldier, a senator and the son of the governor of Syria. He is also the younger brother of Aulus VItellius, who became emperor for eight months in 69 CE. By carefully reviewing the testimonies of Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius and the Scriptures, we can answer some long standing obscurities and mysteries about Luke the Evangelist such as: How did Luke think he could evangelize Theophilus bar Ananus, the sitting high priest and how did he succeed? Also, why is it that Paul, who is a Roman citizen, always gets arrested with his travelling companions except Luke who is always untouched? The most fascinating chapter then about Luke the Evangelist is who he is through his alter ego, and what that ultimately meant for the dissemination of his Gospel message.
Restoring the Missing Generation in Matthew 1, 2021
This paper documents the very curious case of the Gospel of Matthew promising forty-two names in ... more This paper documents the very curious case of the Gospel of Matthew promising forty-two names in three sets of fourteen names each while all Greek copies list only forty-one. After more than 20 years of research in Aramaic and Syriac Scripture and liturgical tradition, I came to the conclusion the problem came from a mistranslation of one Aramaic word into later Greek sources. That mistranslation led to the fact that the Joseph mentioned in Matthew 1:16 cannot be the same as the Joseph mentioned in Matthew 1:19. While the Greek terms aner/andros were accurate equivalents to the Aramaic word gowra, the loss of understanding Semitic culture and legal nuances therefrom led to the misunderstanding becoming permanent and widespread on the Greek side.
In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscri... more In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscript witnesses the now lost and obscured history of Edessa, Turkey. Once a thriving center of early Christianity and Syriac scholarship, Edessa's critical role in the advancement of the Aramaic NT is all but forgotten today, sometimes shrouded in the haze of alleged legends that actually contain genuine history.
This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves.
The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
It has been nearly thirty years since Ernest Martin put forth the radical idea that the Jewish Te... more It has been nearly thirty years since Ernest Martin put forth the radical idea that the Jewish Temples of Solomon and Herod the Great were located within the City of David rather than the traditional Temple Mount. Since that time more evidence has come to light in archaeology and Talmudic research that sheds new light and gives greater depth to Martin's theory. Along with revisiting the main tenets of the original theory, Roth adds to the discussion previously neglected areas of Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeological finds from the City of David and even the latest in hydrology, the study of the flow of water.
For more than two centuries of western scholarship, Syriac religious literature was viewed as lar... more For more than two centuries of western scholarship, Syriac religious literature was viewed as largely folk tradition with little historical evidence. Stories such as the Doctrine of Addai and the Acts of Thomas received little attention as faith based history.
Now however a new analysis looks this topic through the prism of literary archaeology, by "excavating" the newer upper layers to reveal the bedrock history beneath. Syriac literature, especially the Doctrine of Addai, went through many revisions with little effort on the part of the writers to harmonize their new material with earlier versions so this essay investigates what can really be proven and established to be fact once the full original structure of the story is finally revealed.
Tracking the Assemani Manuscript through Two Millennia of History 2024 Updated Second Edition
What we call "the Assemani Manuscript" is a record from the Vatican chief librarian Joseph Simon ... more What we call "the Assemani Manuscript" is a record from the Vatican chief librarian Joseph Simon Assemani in 1721 that Apostolic Library holds an Aramaic copy of the Gospels from 78 CE. This essay takes a look at all the available evidence to restore the itinerary of this precious resource and make a determination as to if it could still exist in the Vatican today.
This edition has been updated with more historical information on the manuscript's itinerary.
The Top 12 "Myth-Conceptions" of Luke and Quirinius, 2023
Introduction: What is a "Myth-Conception"?
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice ... more Introduction: What is a "Myth-Conception"?
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice used by deniers of the Scripture to put forward false assumptions, fictitious histories, and unfounded scholarly assumptions to deny the Scripture along with the wider history that proves it correct. (Roth Dictionary of Bad Scholarship) Examples include: The Documentary Hypothesis, Q Theory, Multiple Isaiah authorship trash and that the Torah was not done until the 6th C BCE.
There are twelve such "Myth-Conceptions" surrounding the misinformation and false accusations against Luke's accuracy. We will explore each one of them in their turn and get to the real truth that vindicates Luke not just from his detractors, but also address the well intentioned yet false claims from some who have been trying to defend him.
Join me, and I will show you how it all really began.
Restoring Proper Egyptian Chronology The Return of Astronomical Reckoning through the Sighting of Sirius in the Memphis area Revised Second Edition, 2023
The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since ... more The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since 1904, when Eduard Meyer first deciphered inscriptions that referred to the Egyptian year aligning with the heliacal rising and return of the star Sirius, many theories have been put forward attempting to use this star data to give absolute dates of Egyptian dynasties and her Pharaohs. However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context. But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty. In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well. The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SUBMISSION HAS BEEN MODESTLY UPDATED FROM A PREVIOUS 'SECOND EDITION.'
Man, Moment, Manuscript: Exploring Development of the Aramaic Apostolic Writings Traditions, 2024
This study investigates the history of the development of the Aramaic New Testament Scriptural tr... more This study investigates the history of the development of the Aramaic New Testament Scriptural traditions, from the earliest reference in 78 CE written by Achaeus of Edessa who was known by the Apostle Paul to the final revision of Thomas of Harkel in 616 CE, through the prism of important leaders in the Church of the East who had the political courage, will and ability to move these traditions forward. We will explore the Peshitta Majority Text as put forward by Mar Papa to the Edessan Variant Tradition as put forward Aitalaha of Edessa, and Old Syriac Siniaticus in particular as written by Bishop Rabulla. See the historical connections behind these manuscripts and how their development was independent from western rulers like Constantine and yet in other ways directly inspired by him and the Council of Nicea.
This paper looks at the very curious case of Hebrew NT documents found in the Synagogue of the Bl... more This paper looks at the very curious case of Hebrew NT documents found in the Synagogue of the Black Jews in Cochin, India. They were first discovered by Dr. Claudius Buchanan in 1803, but now they are being subject new scholarly scrutiny and enthusiasm, with some claiming that the entire original 27 book Hebrew canon has been recovered.
In fact, two scholarly groups have come out with translations and special materials within weeks of one another, and now I have been asked to weigh in on this matter by one of these groups.
But my conclusions differ from both such groups as it seems 25 of these 27 books are simply Hebrew translations from the Aramaic Peshitta, but the other two, Revelation and Jude, may be a completely different story and outcome.
What I do in this study is look at historical factors regarding the St. Thomas Christians and the Cochin Jews that these others have not considered yet. I also delve into the mysterious history of the destruction of the ancient archives of these same St. Thomas Christians at the village of Angamalee, in the Travancore area in 1599.
The ramifications of my conclusions on these two books in particular will, I believe, have a profound impact on this area of study, as we seriously explore the possibility that we actually have tri-lingual NT canon, with 22 books originally done in Aramaic, two done in Hebrew and the remaining three done in Greek.
In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscri... more In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscript witnesses the now lost and obscured history of Edessa, Turkey. Once a thriving center of early Christianity and Syriac scholarship, Edessa's critical role in the advancement of the Aramaic NT is all but forgotten today, sometimes shrouded in the haze of alleged legends that actually contain genuine history. This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves. The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
Restoring Proper Egyptian Chronology The Return of Astronomical Reckoning through the Sighting of Sirius in the Memphis area Revised Third Edition (August 2023), 2023
The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since ... more The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since 1904, when Eduard Meyer first deciphered inscriptions that referred to the Egyptian year aligning with the heliacal rising and return of the star Sirius, many theories have been put forward attempting to use this star data to give absolute dates of Egyptian dynasties and her Pharaohs. However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context. But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty. In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well. The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
This Third Edition supersedes the Second Edition that was posted in January 2023. It also includes new research on a massive supernova that changed the course of King Tut's life and also became an important reinforcement for the Adjusted High Chronology of Ancient Egypt.
The Lost Biography of Peter is the result of a decade long investigation into the claim that Pete... more The Lost Biography of Peter is the result of a decade long investigation into the claim that Peter the Apostle is buried in Rome. While early Roman Catholic tradition dating from the 2nd century appears unanimous in stating Peter was their first pope and died in Rome in 66 CE, this fresh investigation has found compelling primary evidence from these same sources that such is not the case.
Specifically, our earliest sources make no mention of Peter dying in Rome at all. Clement of Rome (d. 99 CE) and Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108 CE) have no knowledge of Peter's location and manner of death, although Ignatius does appear to imply vaguely that Peter and Paul may have labored together. Otherwise we have no direct claims of a Roman death until the end of the 2nd century and no confirmation of Peter dying by crucifixion, upside down or otherwise, until the start of the 3rd century.
Other avenues of research demonstrate that Peter was initially recorded as the second bishop of Jerusalem after the death of James the Just in 62 CE, but under a pseudonym of "Shimon son of Clopas" with clopas referring to a rock used for casting lots, hence, Shimon the Rock, or Peter.
And finally, we will see compelling archaeological evidence proving that Peter died at the start of the First Jewish Revolt and was buried on the Mount of Olives on the grounds of the Franciscan monastery Dominus Flevit. This tomb was sealed on or before 70 CE and was not reopened until 1953. It was a Jewish-Christian burial ground adorned with crosses and Chi-Rho iconography that could only have been placed there from 30-70 CE, and these and other clues make it clear the Shimon son of Yona person who is buried there must be Peter.
This is research I first completed in 2017 but which was updated when a friend and colleague went to Dominus Flevit and the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem and go the first ever digital color his resolution photographs of the ossuaries of Peter and others from the New Testament, and the first photographs of any kind of those ossuaries in more than sixty years. The new photographs were done in December of 2022.
Abstract and Summary for Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition, 2022
This short document is a summary of the treatise "Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition." The full... more This short document is a summary of the treatise "Lost Gospels of Edessa Third Edition." The full treatise is available upon request.
Tracking Luke the Evangelist: Finding Luke in the Wider Historical Record, 2021
This study investigates the possibility that the man the world knows as the author of the third G... more This study investigates the possibility that the man the world knows as the author of the third Gospel and the Book of Acts was actually a high ranking Roman government official. Lucius Cassius VItellius the Younger was a soldier, a senator and the son of the governor of Syria. He is also the younger brother of Aulus VItellius, who became emperor for eight months in 69 CE. By carefully reviewing the testimonies of Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius and the Scriptures, we can answer some long standing obscurities and mysteries about Luke the Evangelist such as: How did Luke think he could evangelize Theophilus bar Ananus, the sitting high priest and how did he succeed? Also, why is it that Paul, who is a Roman citizen, always gets arrested with his travelling companions except Luke who is always untouched? The most fascinating chapter then about Luke the Evangelist is who he is through his alter ego, and what that ultimately meant for the dissemination of his Gospel message.
Restoring the Missing Generation in Matthew 1, 2021
This paper documents the very curious case of the Gospel of Matthew promising forty-two names in ... more This paper documents the very curious case of the Gospel of Matthew promising forty-two names in three sets of fourteen names each while all Greek copies list only forty-one. After more than 20 years of research in Aramaic and Syriac Scripture and liturgical tradition, I came to the conclusion the problem came from a mistranslation of one Aramaic word into later Greek sources. That mistranslation led to the fact that the Joseph mentioned in Matthew 1:16 cannot be the same as the Joseph mentioned in Matthew 1:19. While the Greek terms aner/andros were accurate equivalents to the Aramaic word gowra, the loss of understanding Semitic culture and legal nuances therefrom led to the misunderstanding becoming permanent and widespread on the Greek side.
In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscri... more In this broad and sweeping book-length treatise, Roth explores with the aid of dozens of manuscript witnesses the now lost and obscured history of Edessa, Turkey. Once a thriving center of early Christianity and Syriac scholarship, Edessa's critical role in the advancement of the Aramaic NT is all but forgotten today, sometimes shrouded in the haze of alleged legends that actually contain genuine history.
This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves.
The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
It has been nearly thirty years since Ernest Martin put forth the radical idea that the Jewish Te... more It has been nearly thirty years since Ernest Martin put forth the radical idea that the Jewish Temples of Solomon and Herod the Great were located within the City of David rather than the traditional Temple Mount. Since that time more evidence has come to light in archaeology and Talmudic research that sheds new light and gives greater depth to Martin's theory. Along with revisiting the main tenets of the original theory, Roth adds to the discussion previously neglected areas of Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeological finds from the City of David and even the latest in hydrology, the study of the flow of water.
For more than two centuries of western scholarship, Syriac religious literature was viewed as lar... more For more than two centuries of western scholarship, Syriac religious literature was viewed as largely folk tradition with little historical evidence. Stories such as the Doctrine of Addai and the Acts of Thomas received little attention as faith based history.
Now however a new analysis looks this topic through the prism of literary archaeology, by "excavating" the newer upper layers to reveal the bedrock history beneath. Syriac literature, especially the Doctrine of Addai, went through many revisions with little effort on the part of the writers to harmonize their new material with earlier versions so this essay investigates what can really be proven and established to be fact once the full original structure of the story is finally revealed.
Tracking the Assemani Manuscript through Two Millennia of History 2024 Updated Second Edition
What we call "the Assemani Manuscript" is a record from the Vatican chief librarian Joseph Simon ... more What we call "the Assemani Manuscript" is a record from the Vatican chief librarian Joseph Simon Assemani in 1721 that Apostolic Library holds an Aramaic copy of the Gospels from 78 CE. This essay takes a look at all the available evidence to restore the itinerary of this precious resource and make a determination as to if it could still exist in the Vatican today.
This edition has been updated with more historical information on the manuscript's itinerary.
The Top 12 "Myth-Conceptions" of Luke and Quirinius, 2023
Introduction: What is a "Myth-Conception"?
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice ... more Introduction: What is a "Myth-Conception"?
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice used by deniers of the Scripture to put forward false assumptions, fictitious histories, and unfounded scholarly assumptions to deny the Scripture along with the wider history that proves it correct. (Roth Dictionary of Bad Scholarship) Examples include: The Documentary Hypothesis, Q Theory, Multiple Isaiah authorship trash and that the Torah was not done until the 6th C BCE.
There are twelve such "Myth-Conceptions" surrounding the misinformation and false accusations against Luke's accuracy. We will explore each one of them in their turn and get to the real truth that vindicates Luke not just from his detractors, but also address the well intentioned yet false claims from some who have been trying to defend him.
Join me, and I will show you how it all really began.
Restoring Proper Egyptian Chronology The Return of Astronomical Reckoning through the Sighting of Sirius in the Memphis area Revised Second Edition, 2023
The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since ... more The ancient Egyptian calendar has long been a subject of great complexity and controversy. Since 1904, when Eduard Meyer first deciphered inscriptions that referred to the Egyptian year aligning with the heliacal rising and return of the star Sirius, many theories have been put forward attempting to use this star data to give absolute dates of Egyptian dynasties and her Pharaohs. However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context. But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty. In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well. The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SUBMISSION HAS BEEN MODESTLY UPDATED FROM A PREVIOUS 'SECOND EDITION.'
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In fact, two scholarly groups have come out with translations and special materials within weeks of one another, and now I have been asked to weigh in on this matter by one of these groups.
But my conclusions differ from both such groups as it seems 25 of these 27 books are simply Hebrew translations from the Aramaic Peshitta, but the other two, Revelation and Jude, may be a completely different story and outcome.
What I do in this study is look at historical factors regarding the St. Thomas Christians and the Cochin Jews that these others have not considered yet. I also delve into the mysterious history of the destruction of the ancient archives of these same St. Thomas Christians at the village of Angamalee, in the Travancore area in 1599.
The ramifications of my conclusions on these two books in particular will, I believe, have a profound impact on this area of study, as we seriously explore the possibility that we actually have tri-lingual NT canon, with 22 books originally done in Aramaic, two done in Hebrew and the remaining three done in Greek.
This Third Edition supersedes the Second Edition that was posted in January 2023. It also includes new research on a massive supernova that changed the course of King Tut's life and also became an important reinforcement for the Adjusted High Chronology of Ancient Egypt.
Specifically, our earliest sources make no mention of Peter dying in Rome at all. Clement of Rome (d. 99 CE) and Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108 CE) have no knowledge of Peter's location and manner of death, although Ignatius does appear to imply vaguely that Peter and Paul may have labored together. Otherwise we have no direct claims of a Roman death until the end of the 2nd century and no confirmation of Peter dying by crucifixion, upside down or otherwise, until the start of the 3rd century.
Other avenues of research demonstrate that Peter was initially recorded as the second bishop of Jerusalem after the death of James the Just in 62 CE, but under a pseudonym of "Shimon son of Clopas" with clopas referring to a rock used for casting lots, hence, Shimon the Rock, or Peter.
And finally, we will see compelling archaeological evidence proving that Peter died at the start of the First Jewish Revolt and was buried on the Mount of Olives on the grounds of the Franciscan monastery Dominus Flevit. This tomb was sealed on or before 70 CE and was not reopened until 1953. It was a Jewish-Christian burial ground adorned with crosses and Chi-Rho iconography that could only have been placed there from 30-70 CE, and these and other clues make it clear the Shimon son of Yona person who is buried there must be Peter.
This is research I first completed in 2017 but which was updated when a friend and colleague went to Dominus Flevit and the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem and go the first ever digital color his resolution photographs of the ossuaries of Peter and others from the New Testament, and the first photographs of any kind of those ossuaries in more than sixty years. The new photographs were done in December of 2022.
This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves.
The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
Now however a new analysis looks this topic through the prism of literary archaeology, by "excavating" the newer upper layers to reveal the bedrock history beneath. Syriac literature, especially the Doctrine of Addai, went through many revisions with little effort on the part of the writers to harmonize their new material with earlier versions so this essay investigates what can really be proven and established to be fact once the full original structure of the story is finally revealed.
This edition has been updated with more historical information on the manuscript's itinerary.
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice used by deniers of the Scripture to put forward false assumptions, fictitious histories, and unfounded scholarly assumptions to deny the Scripture along with the wider history that proves it correct. (Roth Dictionary of Bad Scholarship) Examples include: The Documentary Hypothesis, Q Theory, Multiple Isaiah authorship trash and that the Torah was not done until the 6th C BCE.
There are twelve such "Myth-Conceptions" surrounding the misinformation and false accusations against Luke's accuracy. We will explore each one of them in their turn and get to the real truth that vindicates Luke not just from his detractors, but also address the well intentioned yet false claims from some who have been trying to defend him.
Join me, and I will show you how it all really began.
However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context.
But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty.
In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well.
The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SUBMISSION HAS BEEN MODESTLY UPDATED FROM A PREVIOUS 'SECOND EDITION.'
In fact, two scholarly groups have come out with translations and special materials within weeks of one another, and now I have been asked to weigh in on this matter by one of these groups.
But my conclusions differ from both such groups as it seems 25 of these 27 books are simply Hebrew translations from the Aramaic Peshitta, but the other two, Revelation and Jude, may be a completely different story and outcome.
What I do in this study is look at historical factors regarding the St. Thomas Christians and the Cochin Jews that these others have not considered yet. I also delve into the mysterious history of the destruction of the ancient archives of these same St. Thomas Christians at the village of Angamalee, in the Travancore area in 1599.
The ramifications of my conclusions on these two books in particular will, I believe, have a profound impact on this area of study, as we seriously explore the possibility that we actually have tri-lingual NT canon, with 22 books originally done in Aramaic, two done in Hebrew and the remaining three done in Greek.
This Third Edition supersedes the Second Edition that was posted in January 2023. It also includes new research on a massive supernova that changed the course of King Tut's life and also became an important reinforcement for the Adjusted High Chronology of Ancient Egypt.
Specifically, our earliest sources make no mention of Peter dying in Rome at all. Clement of Rome (d. 99 CE) and Ignatius of Antioch (d. 108 CE) have no knowledge of Peter's location and manner of death, although Ignatius does appear to imply vaguely that Peter and Paul may have labored together. Otherwise we have no direct claims of a Roman death until the end of the 2nd century and no confirmation of Peter dying by crucifixion, upside down or otherwise, until the start of the 3rd century.
Other avenues of research demonstrate that Peter was initially recorded as the second bishop of Jerusalem after the death of James the Just in 62 CE, but under a pseudonym of "Shimon son of Clopas" with clopas referring to a rock used for casting lots, hence, Shimon the Rock, or Peter.
And finally, we will see compelling archaeological evidence proving that Peter died at the start of the First Jewish Revolt and was buried on the Mount of Olives on the grounds of the Franciscan monastery Dominus Flevit. This tomb was sealed on or before 70 CE and was not reopened until 1953. It was a Jewish-Christian burial ground adorned with crosses and Chi-Rho iconography that could only have been placed there from 30-70 CE, and these and other clues make it clear the Shimon son of Yona person who is buried there must be Peter.
This is research I first completed in 2017 but which was updated when a friend and colleague went to Dominus Flevit and the Church of the Flagellation in Jerusalem and go the first ever digital color his resolution photographs of the ossuaries of Peter and others from the New Testament, and the first photographs of any kind of those ossuaries in more than sixty years. The new photographs were done in December of 2022.
This treatment literally breaks new ground on multiple fronts: (1) Showing eyewitness testimony for Aramaic Gospels circulating in the 1st century; (2) Recovering Edessa's rightful role in the early decades of the faith through Eusebius and other important witnesses; (3) Identifying BL Cod. Add. 14470, as a late 4th century manuscript written in Edessa, while Old Syriac Siniaticus and Old Syriac Curetonian are products of the 5th century revised from 14,470 and each other, by bishops Rabulla and Hiba respectively; (4) Revealing a comprehensive historical and textual timeline of transmission that takes into account all of the available evidence and (5) Providing the world with the first truly critical text of the Old Syriac documents themselves.
The Lost Gospels of Edessa then represents the most sincere and serious attempt to revise previous and unfounded theories on Old Syriac and Peshitta traditions in more than a century.
Now however a new analysis looks this topic through the prism of literary archaeology, by "excavating" the newer upper layers to reveal the bedrock history beneath. Syriac literature, especially the Doctrine of Addai, went through many revisions with little effort on the part of the writers to harmonize their new material with earlier versions so this essay investigates what can really be proven and established to be fact once the full original structure of the story is finally revealed.
This edition has been updated with more historical information on the manuscript's itinerary.
Myth Conception-Definition #1: A deceptive practice used by deniers of the Scripture to put forward false assumptions, fictitious histories, and unfounded scholarly assumptions to deny the Scripture along with the wider history that proves it correct. (Roth Dictionary of Bad Scholarship) Examples include: The Documentary Hypothesis, Q Theory, Multiple Isaiah authorship trash and that the Torah was not done until the 6th C BCE.
There are twelve such "Myth-Conceptions" surrounding the misinformation and false accusations against Luke's accuracy. We will explore each one of them in their turn and get to the real truth that vindicates Luke not just from his detractors, but also address the well intentioned yet false claims from some who have been trying to defend him.
Join me, and I will show you how it all really began.
However, the challenge has been interpreting the scarce and often ambiguous primary sources and applying the knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics with a solid understanding in archaeo-astronomy; often expertise in one discipline became subject to weakness in the other. Then in 1950 Richard Parker released his landmark thesis The Calendars of Ancient Egypt, doing much to put the historical issue back into a firm astronomical context.
But while Parker’s approach was both accurate and comprehensive and is to date the best attempt to completely recover the entire Egyptian calendrical system, he had a very narrow focus in terms of chronology, with him only recovering the actual dates of the 12th Dynasty.
In other words, Parker did not take the next logical step which was applying all he had discovered to recovering the rest of Egyptian history in terms of the process he so expertly documented. He also did not attempt to directly answer the key question of what city Sirius was sighted from even though his data and analysis gave a certain answer on that question as well.
The purpose of this study is to remedy both issues and demonstrate why all Pharaonic historical references to the return and realignment of Sirius relate to the 1st dynasty capital of Memphis (Menefer) and the wider area to it that encompassed Heliopolis and, in one case early on, another city called Buto, as all three are sufficiently close to one another as to render the same exact result and calendar date . Also some aspects of Parker’s theories that were obscure which have been clarified in the light of newer research, particularly that of Wells, will need to be integrated into a stronger and more modern overall framework. From that point, a new and completely accurate overall chronology for ancient Egypt can be constructed that is faithful to the totality of the evidence as it stands today.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS SUBMISSION HAS BEEN MODESTLY UPDATED FROM A PREVIOUS 'SECOND EDITION.'