Audrey

Research paper blahhh

Filed under: Musings by audrey

Yeah, so i would post something more interesting but I totally forgot about blogging so I’m just putting this up. Warning: It’s not done or very good.

The Israelites in Egypt

The Exodus really did happen; there is sufficient evidence that the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians and were able to escape with the help of their leader Moses and god Yahweh. Scientists question the actual events of the Exodus because there is so little evidence of it. But, recently archaeologists are finding more artifacts to help confirm the information told by the Bible.

The Israelites previous leader Joseph had received land in Egypt during the time of the Hyksos. However, Joseph had died long before the first pharaoh of the New Kingdom came to power. The Israelites had grown numerous over the years and the new pharaoh saw the outsiders as a threat so he put them to work as slaves (Keller 118). Because the Israelites continued to grow numerous still, the pharaoh ordered that all Hebrew baby boys born were to be slaughtered before their numbers grew greater than the Egyptians’(The Holy Bible, Exo.1:22).

A painting found by Percy A. Newberry in a rock tomb west of Thebes helps prove the enslavement of the Israelites. In the painting there are light skinned workers, wearing white linen aprons toiling to make bricks. The overseer in the painting has darker skin and is saying “The rod is in my hand” and “Be not idle.” This shows that the workers are under forced labor by the darker skinned people which is a perfect illustration of what the Bible says about the Israelites in Egypt. The Bible also says that the slave drivers treated the Israelites brutally in hopes to wear them down (Keller 119). Also in a book called pharaohs and kings by David Rohl, Rohl says “More adult women were buried in the settlement than adult men which indicates a disproportionately high female population. There was also a higher percentage of infant burials – 65% of all the burials were those of children under 18 months (compared to the expected rate of 20% to 30%). These two bits of archaeological evidence are explained by the slaughter of Israelite infant males by the Egyptians.”

Basically this quote is saying that there were much more fully grown women buried at a certain time period (the time the Israelites were in captivity) than men because so many of the Hebrew men were killed when they were infants (Biblical Archaeology).

According to the bible Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses was born as a Hebrew, grew up as royalty, and became a prophet for God. He was adopted into the pharaoh’s family and became the brother of the pharaoh’s other son. Later when he was around 40 years old, Moses killed an Egyptian overseer for beating a Hebrew. He then fled to Midian where he got married and had an encounter with God (in a burning bush). God told him to free the Israelites from the Egyptians and lead them to the promise land. Following these instructions Moses went to the pharaoh to request the freedom of his people (The Holy Bible, Exodus).

Unfortunately not many written records have been found yet that prove Moses’ existence in Egypt. But, Artapanus a Jewish historian from the third century B.C. researched Moses and accumulated information on him. Some of it still exists today, in it he refers to a pharaoh who had a daughter that adopted a Hebrew boy who became a prince of Egypt and was known as prince Mousos (Biblical Archaeology). This retells and confirms the story of Moses being brought up in Egypt as a prince.

The Bible says that the pharaoh refused to allow the Hebrews to leave so in turn God sent ten plagues down onto Egypt. The ten plagues were; turning the Nile river to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils, locusts, darkness, and the all important death of first born. Although there are no direct descriptions of the plagues, a papyrus found and put in the Leiden Museum in Holland refers to them. It quotes: “Nay, but the heart is violent. Plague stalks through the land and blood is everywhere … . Nay, but the river is blood. Does a man drink from it? As a human he rejects it. He thirsts for water … . Nay, but gates, columns and walls are consumed with fire … . Nay but men are few. He that lays his brother in the ground is everywhere … . Nay but the son of the high-born man is no longer to be recognized … . The stranger people from outside are come into Egypt … . Nay, but corn has perished everywhere. People are stripped of clothing, perfume and oil. Everyone says “there is no more”. The storehouse is bare … . It has come to this. The king has been taken away by poor men.”

Scholars say this may have been written around the 13th dynasty of Egypt (Moses’ time) after the plagues had been sent. The quote talks about the Nile River being turned to blood first then of death which is referring to the death of first born. It even mentions how there is no food because of the livestock disease and locusts (which destroy crops). At the end of the quote it may even be talking about the death of the pharaoh in the Red Sea (Down, David).

When God killed every firstborn of the Egyptians the pharaoh’s son also died. This finally broke him and he let the Israelites leave. That is, until he changed his mind and wanted to take them back. This is where the most miraculous event occurs. The Israelites were just about to cross the Gulf of Akabah (a strip of the Red Sea) when the Egyptians caught up with them. God held the Egyptians back with an arch of fire and then using Moses split the Red Sea! He allowed the Israelites to walk through on dry grounded but when the Egyptians tried to pass through too he closed it above their heads and they were drowned (the Holy Bible, Exodus).

There is proof of the crossing of the Reed Sea due to the findings wheels and other artifacts in the Gulf of Akabah. The wheel may have belonged to a chariot of the Egyptians’. Peter Elmer, a forklift mechanic wanted to explore the depths of the sea looking for remnants of the Exodus. He quotes “I am 99.9 percent sure I picked up a chariot wheel” and “I believe I actually sat in an ancient chariot cab.” But still scientists are doubtful that it was a real chariot wheel and Richard Rives, president of Wyatt Archaeological Research, says “All kinds of people are finding coral and calling it chariot parts. It’s most likely coral covered with coral. … Opportunists are combining false things with the true things that are found. These people are making it up as they go to be TV stars.” But Elmer is not the only one to discover remains of the Exodus, Ron Wyatt and Jonathan Gray have found artifacts such as a chariot wheel that has been proved to be from the time of the Exodus (“Pharaoh’s chariots found in Red Sea?”). The finding of a chariot wheel is really important because the Bible clearly states that pharaoh took chariots with him: “And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.”

Ron Wyatt found many chariot wheels in the Gulf of Akabah using a molecular frequency generator from his boat above. The design of the wheels found matches that of paintings inside an Egyptian tomb from the same time period. Wyatt also found and identified a human femur bone covered in coral that was tested at Stockholm University and checked out to be a 165-170cm tall bone from the right leg of a man. He even discovered a horse’s hoof at the bottom of the sea and horses are no longer found on the Sinai Peninsula (Red Sea Crossing).

Up until Wyatt and Reeves discovered ancient artifacts in the Gulf of Akabah there had been much argument over where the Israelites actually crossed the Red Sea. Many scholars thought that the Israelites crossed at the Reeves Sea which is known as the Gulf of Suez today and is next to the Gulf of Akabah. This is the traditional route of the Israelites but the point at which they have said to have crossed was much too shallow to wipe out an entire army. Not only that, but historians found that if they crossed there they wouldn’t have been out of Egypt yet. Many archaeologists searched the Gulf of Suez in vain hoping to find evidence of the Isralites crossing there but it wasn’t until 1978 that Wyatt found artifacts in the Gulf of Akabah proving that the scholars had the wrong route mapped out for the Exodus.

Favorite Food Recipe

Filed under: Musings by audrey

Ok, so scalloped potatoes are like my favorite food in the world, it’s basically like potatoes and cheese but it’s really good. Plus I needed like 200 more words:) So if you ever wanna make it here’s the recipe:

The Recipe!!!;)

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced potatoes, about 6 to 8 medium potatoes

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups scalded milk

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

In a buttered 2-quart baking dish, place a layer of about 1/3 of the potatoes. In a cup or small bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper. Sprinkle about half of the flour mixture over the potatoes; repeat with another layer of potatoes and the flour mixture and top with remaining potato slices. Dot with butter then pour hot milk over potatoes. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes, or until scalloped potatoes are tender and cheese has melted. Scalloped potatoes serves 6 to 8.

2010 earthquake

Filed under: Musings by audrey

Nothing says “Happy New Year!” like a natural disaster. Of course I’m talking about the earthquake in Haiti. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0 (Jan 12th) it hit Port Au Prince, Haiti,Les Cayes,Haiti,Cap-Haiten,Haiti, and a bit of Miami Florida. The Death toll is still rising but it’s currently at around 500,000 confirmed deaths. It’s terrible that an earthquake of this magnitude would hit Haiti considering that it’s one of the poorest countries in the world. Unfortunately, there was a huge aftershock (because the earthquake was huge) today that had a magnitude of 6.0 which is basically another earthquake.

Ive never been in a real earthquake but I’ve watched a video on them (still it’s still confusing how they work). But, basically the shifting of the tectonic plates causes fault lines on earth’s surface and the ground shakes as they move, knocking down buildings and what not. People get trapped under cars and crushed under buildings/houses and that’s what happened in Haiti. What’s most confusing to me though is that no one spotted this earthquake (especially of this magnitude) before it happened. I thought we had some sort of detectors for earthquakes to see when they’re coming.Or is that just in America?They probably could’ve gotten at least some of the people out of Haiti/Florida (kind of) before it happened. But, I’m sure this is a lesson for everyone and we can all donate money to help them rebuild their cities and care for the sick/hungry etc. thanks for reading:)

Triplets etc.

Filed under: Musings by audrey

It has always been a dream of mine to have triplets when I grow up. Ever since I met a family that had three identical triplet girls I’ve been obsessed with multiple births. The chances of having triplets alone is rare but to have identical triplets the chances are 150,000 to one! The show Jon & Kate plus 8 amazed me. Kate Gosselin has twins at first (Cara & Madelyn) and they wanted just one more child and instead they got 6! Their children are so cute and the sextuplets were 3 girls (Hannah, Alexis, & Leah) and 3 boys (Collin, Joel, & Aaden). Unfortunately the show got discontinued after Jon & Kate split up. But I will always remember that show as the family who got 8 kids in two pregnancies.

My cats

Filed under: Musings by audrey

I have two cats their names are KG and Joshie. Yes, they are really weird names for cats but I’ll tell you why. Joshie, my older cat we got in Massachusetts from someone who was moving and couldn’t take him along. The owner had already named him and my mom insisted we didn’t change his name because maybe he was used to it (it’s not like he comes to it anyway). I had wanted a dog really badly and was reluctant to opt for a cat. But, I’ve grown to love him and he sleeps at the end of my bed every night now.

KG on the other hand we got from a veterinarian here in Virginia. He was found in a trash can and when I saw him in his cage (a kitten at the time) I knew we had to get him. I told my mom Joshie needed a friend and she eventually gave in and we took him home. We voted on the name I wanted to name him Ruben or Jasper but my older brother Lyndon won with the name KG (which is short for the name Kevin Garnet on the Boston Celtics). KG is much more wild than Joshie probably because he’s only a couple months old. He is also more mischievous and will jump in the kitchen sink or try to eat off your plate.

Party Express

Filed under: Musings by audrey

When I lived in Massachusetts all through Middle School my class had this thing called “Party express.” Party Express was basically having a two minute dance party while the teacher wasn’t in the room. When the teacher left, my friend Vinny would always get out his portable ipod speakers and whoever had their ipod with them would plug it in. Here’s a link to what the speakers were like :http://store.apple.com/us/product/TW170VC/A?fnode=MTY1NDA1NA&mco=MTA4NTE2MTA&p=1&s=topSellers  it looks just like a pencil case : ). The one time we got caught was in 8th grade and it was pretty bad. Our teacher Mr. Bray had walked out for a couple minutes and Vinny decided to turn up the speakers a lot louder than usual. Too bad there was a teacher conference going on next door.I’ll never forget the shock there was in that classroom (for everyone), when five angry teachers walked in to see 30 students having a dance party. Needless to say we all got detention but three years of two minute dance parties was well worth it. : )

Eric

Filed under: Musings by audrey

My cousin Eric is 6 years old now but, he still walks like a toddler. I think maybe it’s because one of his legs might be longer the other. Early on Saturday mornings, he likes to sing and dance to his favorite Kidz Bop CDs when the rest of his family is trying to sleep. I remember waking up one morning when he was over at my house to unusually high voices singing, “Waiting, waiting, waiting on the world to change.” I had walked downstairs saying “Eric turn that down.” He was spinning and hopping around to the music and when I tried to turn the volume down he screamed “Eeeeeeeeeeee” at the top of his lungs.

His favorite TV show is Spiderman so he sings the theme song over and over. He likes to play with animals and copy the sounds birds make. Once when his mom was driving he opened the window and yelled out “Cuh-caw, Cuh-caw!” My aunt said “Eric stop that, close the window!” Eric replied “I was talking to the birdies mommy.”

He learned his ABC’s when he was two years old. He also figured out how to lock himself in the bathroom when he was in trouble so his mom couldn’t get to him. My aunt had rattled the door saying “Eric open this door.” Eric teased “you can’t get me, you can’t get me.” He learned how to read and write very early on too. When I was staying over at Eric’s house a year ago, he woke me up with loud banging on the toy drum he had received for his birthday. He enjoys seeing people’s reactions when he disturbs them early in the morning. If you ever leave out candy, cake or any form of sweet around Eric’s house you can bet that Eric will have swiped it within minutes of you putting it down.

Eric likes to make people laugh and has tried many times to cause “accidents.” He was probably about three when he brought the garden hose into the kitchen and decided to turn it on. He knew what it did he just wanted to see the kitchen fill up with water, which it didn’t. Instead it flooded through the doorway onto the carpeted living room floor. I remember my aunt’s screams of rage when she saw him holding the hose. “Eric Jay Heiman” she had yelled. Eric had laughed saying “Hee hee I watered the floor mommy.” My family used to live near Eric’s family so we visited often. Every time when we had to leave, Eric would try to hide in the trunk. This almost worked once until we realized that instead of Eric standing on the driveway, was a piece of luggage he had taken out for more room.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Filed under: Musings by audrey

It was a crisp autumn day in northern Massachusetts and I had just gotten home from school. As I walked down the sidewalk, leaves rustled past my feet and the wind whistled softly through my hair. I zipped up my coat, the wind stung my ears and cheeks. Children ran past me laughing, playing, and running towards the nearby park to join the others. It brought me back to when I was their age, without any cares, and all the time in the world. A small girl with short brown hair blew bubbles and the wind carried them past me as one popped on my nose. It was then that I realized that I had passed my house and was now standing at the end of the street. I laughed to myself as I headed back up the street hopping on crunchy leaves as I went.

Exchange Student

Filed under: Memoir writing by audrey

English 10/15/09

“Come on mom we’ll be late” I yelled up the stairs. I hopped over to the bench in the main hallway to put on my other sock. I couldn’t wait to meet our foreign exchange student, although he wasn’t really an exchange student he was more like a visitor from another country. Alton was from the U.K. and we signed up to take him in for a few days. “Hurry” my mom was already standing outside the front door. I hopped to the car trying to wiggle my shoes on as I went. My older brother was already sitting in the passenger listening to his iPod.

“About time.” he said. When we got to Logan Airport we made our way to where we would meet Alton.

“Here hold this” my mom passed me a sign that said Alton Hall, her eyes gleamed with anticipation, wringing her hands, and dusting off her clothes, she was almost as excited as I was! Suddenly the door we waited in front of opened and people of all shapes and sizes filed through looking tired and groggy. A boy who had to be about a foot taller than me turned to us with a friendly wave.

“Hi I’m Alton Hall” he said “you must be my caretaking family.”

Alton had short wavy brown hair, almond shaped eyes, a small amount of freckles, I knew that he was my age from the info paper we got in the mail, but best of all he had a real British accent!

 I instantly liked Alton, I couldn’t wait to teach him basic American ‘culture’. Like one side of a Dorrito chip tastes better than the other and no one actually uses the sidewalks in the streets. My mom introduced herself as did my brother and I, so we went to the luggage pickup to find his baggage. As we rode home we explained pretty much everything we passed.

“What’s that?” Alton asked pointing out the window. I looked back.

“Oh, that’s Burger King.”

“Burger King?”

“Yah they sell burgers and other fast food there” my brother said. Alton still looked confused but decided to settle for that answer because he had another question.

“And that?”

“That’s Dunkin Donuts those are everywhere.”

“Dunking Doughnuts…ooh what is that!” He said pointing to a building with a large cartoonish mouse on it.

“Oh that’s Chuck Cheese’s” said my brother.

“Erm Chucky Cheese is what exactly?”

“A place where kids play games and eat pizza” I said.

“Oh, pizza tastes good.”The rest of the car trip was basically a Q&A session of asking Alton what his life was like back home. This was going to be great! I couldn’t wait to introduce him to American TV shows, candy, games, and I was even going to get to take him to school!

Hello world!

Filed under: Uncategorized by audrey

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