Acts 29 - The Behistun Inscriptions

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The Behistun Inscriptions:

Behistun Inscription or Bisutun Inscription - cuneiform text, the decipherment of which was the key to all cuneiform script and opened to scholars the study of the written works of ancient Mesopotamia. The inscription in Old Persian, in Susian (the Iranian language of Elam), and in Assyrian is chiseled on the face of a mountainous rock c.300 ft (90 m) above the ground at Behistun, Persia (modern W Iran). A bas-relief depicting Darius I with a group of captive chiefs is carved together with the inscription. Although the rock was known in ancient times (Diodorus attributed the carvings to Semiramis), it was not until 1835 that Sir Henry Rawlinson scaled it and copied the inscriptions. Rawlinson translated the Persian section of the inscription, which later led to the entire decipherment of the Assyrian text.

Behistun Rock is one of the keys to finding the Lost Tribes. The crux is knowing the names used to identify those people. With the trilingual inscription of Behistun Rock we discover what three other cultures called the Ten Tribes. And it wasn't Israelites. Behistun Rock is found in the Zargos mountains, in northwestern Iran, on an old caravan road that runs from Babylon to Ecbatana, the ancient capitol of Media. The mountain is 1700 feet high and on the sheer face, 300 feet above the base is a huge bas relief commissioned by Darius the Great in 515 BC as a grandiose Ode to his great accomplishments. Listed are the nations and peoples he conquered and ruled as the king of the Medo-Persian empire. The picture is accompanied by many large panels which are inscribed with three languages. The size of the whole monument is larger than half a football field; 100 feet high, 150 feet wide. One example of the quality of workmanship that went into the monument is the preparation of the sufaces. Where loose rocks and cracks were found, hot lead was added as a stabilizer or fill. At 300 plus feet! ! Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, shown working on a ladder in the sketch below, is mainly responsible for the decipherment of the inscriptions. It's interesting that Rawlison accomplished the feat of scaling the rock face while copying the inscriptions, and in 1840 deciphering the texts, all by the age of thirty! The text contains many references that link Darius' subjects with the Israelites. The name "Kana", which is Canaan, appears 28 times. We also have a man named "Sarocus the Sacan who wears a hebrew hat. Included in the nations listed is the Sakka. The term Sakka in Persian and Elamite becomes Gimri in Babylonian. Let me add here that Assyrian and Babylonian are virtually the same. We'll be hearing a lot more from the Gimri when we look at the Assyrian Tablets evidence. In the picture we see King Darius facing nine captives, which are secured by the neck with a rope. A tenth is under the King's foot. Each of these men is differently dressed. Across the bottom and up one side are many panels containing the story of Darius' conquests. There is also a large section of supplementary text.

The Behistun Rock inscriptions are confirmed in two other places: Darius' tomb, and a gold tablet. The gold tablet again mentions the conquering of the Sakka, while the tomb inscription expands the evidence by talking about three different kinds of Sakka. In all cases, the same name in Babylonian was Gimri.

I'll skip ahead a bit to tell you that the Sakka comes from Isaac and becomes Saxon. Gimri comes from Khumri(out of the Biblical name Omri) and goes through Gimmira and the Greek Kimmerioi to Cimmerian.

We'll find that almost all those names we learned in European history are traceable to the Sakka, Gimri and Scythians.

Behistun Rock   [Ilustration]

It's interesting to note that while Darius was putting down insurrection among the Israelites, he was assisting the Jews with the rebuilding of the Temple.

Behistun Rock is one of the keys to finding the Lost Tribes. The crux is knowing the names used to identify those people. With the trilingual inscription of Behistun Rock we discover what three other cultures called the Ten Tribes. And it wasn't Israelites. Behistun Rock is found in the Zargos mountains, in northwestern Iran, on an old caravan road that runs from Babylon to Ecbatana, the ancient capitol of Media. The mountain is 1700 feet high and on the sheer face, 300 feet above the base is a huge bas relief commissioned by Darius the Great in 515 BC as a grandiose Ode to his great accomplishments. Listed are the nations and peoples he conquered and ruled as the king of the Medo-Persian empire. The picture is accompanied by many large panels which are inscribed with three languages. The size of the whole monument is larger than half a football field; 100 feet high, 150 feet wide. One example of the quality of workmanship that went into the monument is the preparation of the sufaces. Where loose rocks and cracks were found, hot lead was added as a stabilizer or fill. At 300 plus feet! ! Sir Henry C. Rawlinson, shown working on a ladder in the sketch below, is mainly responsible for the decipherment of the inscriptions. It's interesting that Rawlison accomplished the feat of scaling the rock face while copying the inscriptions, and in 1840 deciphering the texts, all by the age of thirty! The text contains many references that link Darius' subjects with the Israelites. The name "Kana", which is Canaan, appears 28 times. We also have a man named "Sarocus the Sacan who wears a hebrew hat. Included in the nations listed is the Sakka. The term Sakka in Persian and Elamite becomes Gimri in Babylonian. Let me add here that Assyrian and Babylonian are virtually the same. We'll be hearing a lot more from the Gimri when we look at the Assyrian Tablets evidence.

In the picture we see King Darius facing nine captives, which are secured by the neck with a rope. A tenth is under the King's foot. Each of these men is differently dressed. Across the bottom and up one side are many panels containing the story of Darius' conquests. There is also a large section of supplementary text.

The Behistun Rock inscriptions are confirmed in two other places: Darius' tomb, and a gold tablet. The gold tablet again mentions the conquering of the Sakka, while the tomb inscription expands the evidence by talking about three different kinds of Sakka. In all cases, the same name in Babylonian was Gimri.

I'll skip ahead a bit to tell you that the Sakka comes from Isaac and becomes Saxon. Gimri comes from Khumri(out of the Biblical name Omri) and goes through Gimmira and the Greek Kimmerioi to Cimmerian.

We'll find that almost all those names we learned in European history are traceable to the Sakka, Gimri and Scythians.

Behistun Rock

It's interesting to note that while Darius was putting down insurrection among the Israelites, he was assisting the Jews with the rebuilding of the Temple.

The Behistun Inscription
The Persian Rosetta Stone   ['Illustration]

The following exempts give a fascinating account of the background and history behind this great monument.