One highly tenuous theory, is by Professor Kamal Salibi of the American University in Beirut. In his 1985 book Bible Came from Arabia, he performs phonology and applies it to toponyms in western Arabia today, and concludes that Palestine had absolutely no historical Hebrew presence, and rather it is indded South Western Arabia is what the Bible refers to as Israel!
Moreover, Moses and Pharaoh were not in Egypt, but rather in Yemen!
Egypt in the Bible is not today's Egypt, and so on ...
There is an overview of the book by Graham Pemberton, although it is part of a wider discussion on much wider New Testament topics.
Kamal Salibi's book, The Bible Came From Arabia is available on the Internet Archive.
To bring both sides of the argument to the table, I have to mention that I received an email on April 2005 from Dr. Bernard Leeman stating the following:
I have just published "Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship" (AWP, New Jersey) which concludes that Kamal Salibi's hypothesis is correct - that ancient Israel and Judah until 722 and 586 BCE were indeed in Western Arabia. Chaim Rabin's work (1951) (which Salibi didn't consult) on Ancient West Arabian concludes that there is too much Hebrew in certain South West Arabian dialects to be coincidental (in the same area that Salibi locates the Old Testament) . Also the map references, ancient legal code and other items in the Sheba-Melelik cycle of the Ethiopic (Ge'ez) Kebra Nagast support Salibi. Roger Schneider's discovery of Sabaean inscriptions near Mekele in Ethiopia not only confirms the presence there of Hebrews ca 800 BCE but also the narrative of the Kebra Nagast.
There is a lot more evidence, and Salibi should be taken very seriously, even though it means a major reassessment of faith-based history.
I emailed Dr. Leeman twice that I would be willing to publish a one page summary of his book on this site. I have not yet heard from him.
Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
location
Mon, 2012/06/04 - 16:50i would like to wonder. why dont we use dna to see who is who. the midle east people are all related . due to slavery by all people comingling . now there is no peace because as is always the case the people with the money make more money witn no peace just like the rich in the u.s.a. keep the lower income people from gaining power by promoting racism. what needs to be done is to cast out those in control and start over, starting with the ones that control religon of the jewish catholic and islamic peoples if we didnt have them promoting hatred we would most likely get along let each person pray to their god as they see fit and pray that we are all right in some way or another. its sorry that it is easier to hate than to help each other to all prosper and teach are kids that they dont have to die so that the contollers can live ease. peace to all and respect to people of all religons remember we all are from the same place
The Persian (not verified)
Where Were Prophet Muhammad [P]?
Tue, 2013/07/30 - 00:27If you read The Holy Quran Chapter 37, verses 75 to 138, tells us that The Prophet resides at a location very close to Prophets Nuh, Abraham, Ishaq, Alyas, Lut, Musa and Harun.
The Holy Quran Chapter 15:79 also tell us that Prophet Lut and Shuaib were at a close vicinity with the last Prophet, which was in Arabica Patrae or better known Bilad AlSham.
All the abovementioned prophets, except Shuaib, were mentioned in AQ 06:83 to 89. Those prophets that were not mentioned can only be in a different vicinity, that is, Arabica Felix.
Except for the Prophets Yacob & Yusuf, they were in a location where the Israelites were enslaves [later era],in Babylon. AQ 40:28 TO 34, tell us that one of the family of Fir3aun, believe to be Zulkifl, advised his people to believe in Prophet Musa as they used to believe in Prophet Yusuf.
From the Book of Esther, Esther was also known as Mashita by the people of Bilad AlSham. their King was Xerxes AKA by the Holy Quran as Zul Autad or better known as Fir3aun .
The names of the people in the area where Prophet Yusuf was, very similar, Zul-autad, Zul-kifl aka Ezekiel and Zul-qarnain aka Cyrus The Great. These people were the Persians. The Persians were the ones who enslaves the Israelites.
Because of their disobedient Prophet Musa left the Israelites and they had to wandered in the desert for 40 years. Prophet Alysa'a was the prophet who brought the Israelites to Yemen. Follow up with Prophet Dawood and his son Prophet Sulayman who encountered the Queen of Saba.
ALLAH KNOWS BEST
marc verhaegen (not verified)
Kamal Salibi
Fri, 2019/01/18 - 14:29I read Salibi's books several years ago, and they're absolutely convicing.
The man is a genius IMO.
Prof Marco Vigano (not verified)
Dr. Bernard Leeman and Prof Salibi
Fri, 2021/08/27 - 01:09Dr. Bernard passed in Mekele Ethiopia in 2018, just before we were supposed to meet. I and our teams find ruins in different locations via 'space archaeology'.
Whatever were the man dozens of sites bulldozed by Saudi authorities as a consequence of Salibi's main book, they deserve attention and no bulldozer, eve going deep can obliterate sites nor disintegrate the millions of stones that make them up! If re-identified, they really ought to be studied, they are vital in understanding trade, life, relationships in South Arabia and beyond in biblical times.
Khalid
No, the Saudis did not bulldoze because of Salibi ...
Fri, 2021/08/27 - 14:37No, the Saudis did not bulldoze sites because of Salibi's book. That is basically conspiratorial thought ...
They do bulldoze sites indeed, but because of more mundane reasons, including the fact that historically they did not care much for culture, history nor archeology. They also demolished sites because they were associated with rituals and/or revered by sects they see as heretic (Shia, Sufis, ...), since they see it is their duty to stop these practices. There is also the real estate and money factor, which cause a lot of sites in Makkah and Madinah to be developed into hotels and other businesses ...
I would even go as far as saying that the Saudis didn't even notice Salibi's work, at all ...
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