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RE: orion Kittim, follow-up



Kittim (Kaf-tav-yod-mem) show up in Genesis 10:4 as descendents of Yavan
(=Greece)and in Numbers 24:24 where they are at the end of Balaam's
prophecy, the one in which he says he will explain the "end of days"
(Numbers 24:14).  Thus, as this is the last of the "peoples" mentioned, the
fact that they are on the scene means that the Messiah could plausibly
appear.  As it happens, the reason that "Balaam"  refers to a Greek invasion
is that Leviticus and Numbers, the so-called P material, are not
incorporated into the canon of the Jerusalem Temple, the emergent Torah,
before the 4th century BCE.  

DDear Steve,

Ilgen said to hundred years ago that the kittim in Num 24 could only 
be Macedonians. Anything else would not make sense.

NPL

Niels Peter Lemche
Dep. Biblical Studies
University of Copenhagen
Phone: 45 49 13 81 24
Fax: 45 49 13 81 28
e-mail: npl@teol.ku.dk