Iron chariots
Encyclopedia
The Hebrew Bible
mentions iron chariots in the following contexts:
The perceived incongruity of these passages inspired the 1921 expedition by archaeologist and University of Pennsylvania
museum curator Clarence Stanley Fisher
(1876–1941), in which he traveled to the Holy Land
seeking physical evidence of these iron chariots.
Skeptics have cited Judges 1:19 in particular as an example of biblical self-contradiction regarding the omnipotence
of the Judeo-Christian God. On this premise a group of atheists launched the MediaWiki
site IronChariots.org in 2006. Believers however have attempted in various ways to reconcile the apparent discrepancy.
However this error can be attributed to semantic reduplication and false cognate
s. The KJV translates the Hebrew word as harrow
, evoking some agricultural device for tilling soil. While is transliterated in the Latin alphabet as chariyts, it comes from a root word meaning "to cut" or "to sharpen" and is pronounced much differently, whereas the English word chariot (similarly to car, carriage, etc.) originates from the Latin via Old French.
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
mentions iron chariots in the following contexts:
| Book | Verse | Hebrew Hebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such... | King James English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
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| Joshua Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land.... |
17:16 | And the children of Joseph Joseph (Hebrew Bible) Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.... said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. |
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| 17:18 | But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. | ||
| Judges Book of Judges The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as... |
1:19 | And the was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. | |
| 4:3 | And the children of Israel cried unto the : for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. | ||
| 4:13 | And Sisera Sisera Sisera was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor mentioned in the of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by Barak, Sisera was killed by Jael, who hammered a tent peg into his temple.... gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon Kishon The name Kishon may refer to:* Kishon River , a river in Israel* Ephraim Kishon, an Israeli satirist* 21010 Kishon , a main-belt asteroid discovered on 1988... . |
The perceived incongruity of these passages inspired the 1921 expedition by archaeologist and University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
museum curator Clarence Stanley Fisher
Clarence Stanley Fisher
Clarence Stanley Fisher was an American archaeologist.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, C. S. Fisher was a graduate of the school of architecture, University of Pennsylvania, but devoted his subsequent career to Near Eastern archaeology...
(1876–1941), in which he traveled to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
seeking physical evidence of these iron chariots.
Skeptics have cited Judges 1:19 in particular as an example of biblical self-contradiction regarding the omnipotence
Omnipotence
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
of the Judeo-Christian God. On this premise a group of atheists launched the MediaWiki
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
site IronChariots.org in 2006. Believers however have attempted in various ways to reconcile the apparent discrepancy.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The Douay-Rheims Bible differs from all other known translations by including one extra instance of this phrase:| Book | Verse | Hebrew Hebrew language Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such... | Douay-Rheims |
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| 1 Chronicles | 20:3 | And the people that were therein he brought out: and made harrows, and sleds, and chariots of iron to go over them, so that they were cut and bruised to pieces: in this manner David dealt with all the cities of the children of Ammon : and he returned with alibis people to Jerusalem. |
However this error can be attributed to semantic reduplication and false cognate
False cognate
False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not....
s. The KJV translates the Hebrew word as harrow
Harrow (tool)
In agriculture, a harrow is an implement for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper tillage. Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough finish left by ploughing operations...
, evoking some agricultural device for tilling soil. While is transliterated in the Latin alphabet as chariyts, it comes from a root word meaning "to cut" or "to sharpen" and is pronounced much differently, whereas the English word chariot (similarly to car, carriage, etc.) originates from the Latin via Old French.