Factual and Scientific Claims for Judaism from source texts
These are the scientific claims for Judaism used and quoted in our four books. These are the foundation of this site.
1. Archaeology, History, and Chronology
| Claim | Cited Source(s) | Book Reference |
| Revision of academic research regarding Pharaoh Merenptah. | Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections Vol. 2:4, 2010 pp 15–25. | Book 1, p. 83 |
| Dating of the end of Egyptian hegemony in Canaan to before 1270s BCE. | Centuries in Darkness by Peter James, Nick Thorpe, Nikos Kokkinos, Robert Morkot and John Frankish – Rutgers University Press, 1993, p. 318. | Book 1, p. 84; Book 2, p. 67 |
| Annals of the Assyrian Conquests describing the removal of inhabitants from northern Israel and the introduction of Samarians. | Sargon II Inscriptions, COS 2.118A, p. 293; Nimrud Prisms, COS 2.118D, pp. 295-296. | Book 1, p. 154 |
| Archaeological papers related to Samarians and Judeans. | The Renewed Excavations at Qumran paper by Yitzak Magen and Yuval Peleg Rishut HaAtikot; Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E. edited by Oded Lipschitz, Gary N. Knoppers, Rainer Albertz. Copyright 2007 Eisenbrauns. | Book 1, p. 156 |
| Archaeological findings related to a Jewish synagogue in Qanī’, Yemen. | Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 43 (2013): British Museum, London; Article, “The Jews of Yemen in light of the excavation of the Jewish synagogue in Qanī’,” p. 351, by Yosef Tob. | Book 1, p. 170 |
| Posthumous lecture by John Maynard Keynes identifying Isaac Newton as a “Judaic monotheist of the school of Maimonides.” | “Newton the Man” – posthumous lecture – The Royal Society of London – July 1946 delivered by his brother Geoffrey Keynes. | Book 2, p. 12; Book 4, p. 59 |
| History of refined sugar, noting its use in India in 300 BCE and becoming ubiquitous only after 1700. | No specific source, but presented as a historical fact. | Book 2, p. 42 |
| Academic works from the “minimalist” school, which posits that the Bible is minimally credible and was concocted circa 300 BCE. | The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman (Free Press, 2001); The Invention of Ancient Israel by Keith W. Whitelam (Routledge, 1996); The Israelites in History and Tradition by Niels Peter Lemche (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998). | Book 2, p. 45-46 |
| Collection of scholarship related to the Merneptah Stele and the presence of “Israel” in Canaan. | Amihai Mazar, William G. Dever, Michael G. Hasel, Sir Alan Gardiner, Hermann Schögl, Donald Redford, and Israel Finkelstein. | Book 2, p. 48-49 |
| An academic work that challenges conventional biblical chronology, arguing for a new interpretation of the Iron Age in Palestine that aligns with the biblical record. | The Challenge of Jewish History – The Bible, the Greeks and the Missing 168 Years by Rabbi Alexander Hool (Mosaica Press, 2014). | Book 2, p. 79; Book 4, p. 71 |
| Source on the Uruk King Lists, which are cited as evidence contradicting conventional Babylonian king lists. | Pontificium Institutum Biblicum – Orientalia Vol 42 Nova Series J.A.Brinkman – Chicago. | Book 2, p. 105 |
| A source on Biblical archaeology. | Archaeology of the Bible by Magnusson, Magnus (1977). Simon & Schuster. | Book 2, p. 124 |
| An interview with archaeologist Israel Finkelstein. | Hershel Shanks, “The Devil Is Not So Black As He’s Painted—BAR Interviews Israel Finkelstein,” Biblical Archaeology Review 36:3 (2010). | Book 2, p. 125 |
| Roman legal codes under Emperor Theodosius II that prohibited Jews from producing or using Tyrian purple dye. | Codex Theodosius (Title XXI,3); Corpus Iuris Civilis 4.40.1. | Book 4, p. 70 |
| A historical account of Martin Luther’s anti-Semitic views. | Martin Luther, On the Jews and Their Lies. | Book 4, p. 84 |
| Edmond Halley’s identification of the comet named after him as a recurring object in 1705, contrasted with earlier sightings by the Chinese (240 BCE) and Babylonians (164 BCE). | Historical astronomical records. | Book 4, p. 90 |
2. Textual Criticism and Linguistics
| Claim | Cited Source(s) | Book Reference |
| Christian academics acknowledge 200,000 discrepancies in their biblical text. | The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. G. A. Buttrich, Abingdon Press. 1st edition 1962. | Book 1, p. 43 |
| The carbon dating of some Dead Sea Scrolls to as early as 408 BCE. | Doudna, Greg, “Dating the Scrolls on the Basis of Radiocarbon Analysis”, in The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years, Vol.1 (Leiden: Brill, 1998) 430–471. | Book 1, p. 132 |
| A list of academic works discussing the Dead Sea Scrolls. | The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception – Baigent and Leigh; The Jesus Papyrus – Thiele and D’Ancona; works by Father Dr. Raymond E. Brown and Lawrence Kelemen. | Book 1, p. 132 |
| A source on the Ashayrah debate, analyzing whether depictions are of the goddess or a prince playing a lyre. | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/3/211/htm | Book 2, p. 116 |
| Works by Alvin Plantinga on the Free Will Defense, a philosophical argument against the logical problem of evil. | “Transworld Sanctity and Plantinga’s Free Will Defense” by Howard-Snyder and O’Leary-Hawthorne (1999); “Free Will Defense” in Philosophy in America (1965); God, Freedom, and Evil (1977). | Book 4, p. 130-131 |
| Quotation from John Milton’s Paradise Lost on foreknowledge and free will. | Paradise Lost 3. | Book 4, p. 132 |
| Bertrand Russell’s statement that he might be convinced of a superhuman intelligence if he heard a voice from the sky predicting future events that then came true. | The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell. Routledge (2009); scepsis.net. | Book 4, p. 60, 162 |
3. Physics, Cosmology, and Mathematics
| Claim | Cited Source(s) | Book Reference |
| Mathematicians Eugene Wigner, Meuller, and Tegmark are cited as agreeing that probability and mathematical calculations border on the mysterious with no rational explanation. | The text refers to Wigner’s writings from 1960 and the agreement of Meuller and Tegmark. | Book 1, p. 16 |
| A book by Roger Penrose discussing the improbability of a universe conducive to life and the “singularity” that started everything. | The Emperor’s New Mind (1999 OUP). | Book 3, p. 45-47 |
| A quote from Fred Hoyle stating that a “common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics.” | “The Universe: Past and Present Reflections.” Engineering and Science, November, 1981. pp. 8–12. | Book 3, p. 57 |
| The Zohar contains a description of the Earth as a sphere with inhabitants on opposite sides, and where daylight varies to last nearly 24 hours in some places. | Zohar Va.10a. | Book 4, p. 16, 87 |
| A list of Rabbinical sources that also describe the Earth as a ball. | Jerusalem Talmud, AZ 3:1; Midrash Rabbah on Genesis 63.14; Baraita d’Rabbi Yehudah 13:14, 13:17; Esther Rabbah 1:7; Babylonian Talmud, AZ 41a Tosafot. | Book 4, p. 87 |
| An article is cited regarding the ongoing scientific debate over physical “constants” that may not be constant. | Scientific American, March 7, 2016. | Book 4, p. 180 |
4. Biology and Paleontology
| Claim | Cited Source(s) | Book Reference |
| The myth of the Yeti is likely caused by sightings of the Himalayan blue bear. | No specific academic source, presented as a known fact. | Book 1, p. 73 |
| DNA study indicating a distinct genetic lineage for the Samarians. | Human Mutation. 2004 Sep;60-248:(3)24. | Book 1, p. 156 |
| Genetic research showing that Yemenite Jews have a unique, pure DNA lineage on both male and female sides, with North African and Middle Eastern ancestry and little evidence of large-scale intermarriage. | Christopher L. Campbell, Pier F. Palamara, et al. http://www.pnas.org/content/ 109/34/13865. | Book 1, p. 161 |
| Writings by Charles Darwin on the “extermination” of “savage races” and the intellectual inferiority of women. | The Descent of Man (1896), D. Appleton and Company, New York. | Book 3, p. 9 |
| Darwin’s writing on how allowing “weak members of civilised societies” to propagate is “highly injurious to the race of man.” | The Descent of Man (1896), Volume 1, page 168. | Book 3, p. 9 |
| A quote from J. H. Rush stating that the spontaneous generation of a living organism is “impossible.” | The Dawn of Life, New York, Signet, 1962, p 35. | Book 3, p. 79 |
| A quote from Roger Lewin on a trend of decreasing complexity in the fossil record. | “A Downward Slope to Greater Diversity”, Science, vol. 217, 24.9.1982, p. 1239. | Book 3, p. 79 |
| A quote from George P. Stravropoulos stating that “under ordinary conditions, no complex organic molecule can ever form spontaneously but will rather disintegrate.” | “The Frontiers and Limits of Science”, American Scientist, vol. 65, November-December 1977. | Book 3, p. 79 |
| Dendrochronological report related to wood samples from the tomb of Tutankhamen. | Aegean Dendrochronology Project December 1998 Progress Report. | Book 3, p. 96 |
| A video analysis is cited to argue that the Aetiocetus fossil skull was damaged and misinterpreted. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb1v3XCI0Rg at 4 minutes 34 seconds. | Book 3, p. 127 |
| A scientific work on diatom morphology, which notes that species cannot be fully defined morphologically. | The Diatoms: Biology & Morphology of the Genera by Frank Eric Round, R. M. Crawford, D. G. Mann. Cambridge University Press, May 25, 1990. | Book 3, p. 142 |
| A journal article on diatom morphology changes. | Journal of Paleolimnology 2: 227-236, 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers. | Book 3, p. 144 |
| An article in Cosmos magazine discussing Neanderthal DNA. | Hayes, Jacqui (15 November 2006). ‘DNA find deepens Neanderthal mystery’. Cosmos. | Book 3, p. 170 |
| A research paper on the structure of rhinoceros dermal armor. | “The structure and mechanical design of rhinoceros dermal armour” by Robert E Shadwick, Anthony P Russell and Randolph F Lauff, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B (1992). | Book 4, p. 119 |
| A report mentioning the babirusa. | Little-known Asian Animals with a Promising Economic Future: Report of an Ad Hoc Panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation…, National Research Council, p. 93. | Book 4, p. 127 |
5. Other Scientific and Factual Claims
| Claim | Cited Source(s) | Book Reference |
| A discussion of the “phosphene effect,” a visual effect produced by the retina when staring at a bright, cloudy sky, as a scientific explanation for “miracles of the sun.” | Auguste Meessen, ‘Apparitions and Miracles of the Sun’ International Forum in Porto “Science, Religion and Conscience” October 23–25, 2003 ISSN: 1645-6564. | Book 1, p. 87 |
| A compiled list of observed “miracles of the sun” events from 1901 to 1983 across various locations in Europe and Africa. | Actas do Forum International, Centro Transdisciplinar de Estudos da Consciência, 2005. | Book 1, p. 88 |