Update on My Book

This is coming a little bit late, but I think that it is worth a post: I am done with the draft of my book! This is not like the “first” draft, but it is the first, all-in-one-place draft. Technically I still have a genealogy to create, an index to figure out, and a couple graphic design elements to set in stone, but it is done. And of course I have to wait for my beta readers to give me feedback, and I will have to do more editing once I get it all back. Wow, that still seems like a lot of work, and I am not even to the publishing yet! But hey, this is a huge milestone. I have been working on this book since the Autumn of 2015, technically. I have read hundreds of books, looked up countless old documents, translated handfuls of original texts, found more stories than I previously knew existed. Through it all, I found one theme: mankind is truly one blood.

While I was unable to put into my book everything that I wanted to – like Eden and Flood legends and a dissection of language and linguistic theory – I was able to put in most things, the things that I think will be most important to readers. This book perhaps will not be a best seller or one that a person would read cover to cover (like I do most research books). But that is OK. It is designed to be something like a reference book, but also as a greater argument for the reality of Babel found in texts, history, legends, genetics, linguistics, and Scripture. My hope is that my book will be a help to those who read it, and that it will be used to the glory of God.

Blessings to you and yours,

~Rose

Problems of Convenience: A Modest Propsal

 

 

Author: Jonathan Swift
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Commentary

Jonathan Swift, Irish by parentage but Englishman by citizenship, wrote A Modest Proposal in 1729. During the time he wrote this, there was great suffering in Ireland, and the English seemed to be at a loss as to how to deal with that problem. As the name might suggest, Swift hoped that his readers would be convicted to respond to the plight in Ireland by considering his “modest” proposal. Though he is possibly best known for his novel Gulliver’s Travel’s, Swift was at his best when he was writing satire, and that is what A Modest Proposal is: satire. Those who first read this piece probably did not think this “proposal” was satire at first. Their assumptions may have been based on many things, including the somewhat misleading subtitle and the fact that something really did need to be done in Ireland. Although what Swift wrote was for a specific time and place, his message still applied 100 years afterwards and still applies in the present.

As was true during most of the time Ireland was under British rule, Swift’s time saw a great oppression of the Irish people. It is not as though the people were intentionally abused, but their suffering was there nonetheless. They were poor, dirty laborers. Many of the imports to England came from Ireland, while the Irish starved. In general, the Irish were treated as the lessor of society. Because of their great suffering, the Irish often sold themselves to various shipmasters, traders, and colonists so that they might leave their wretched land and eat. Selling themselves for work, often to pay for their passage, was the only way for most of them to find prosperity and freedom because they had no money.

Swift saw the plight in Ireland and the apathy in Britain. Therefore, he wrote his proposal in hopes of waking up the British to the reality they were ignoring. There were many problems in Ireland that the English saw. For one, the Irish had far too many children, who were a “grievance” to society and their parents. They were beggars, thieves. They even demanded the charity of England, who took most of their goods through trade. Moreover, they were Catholic, leading in part to the great number. Swift also notes some of the horrid practices among these people who, as it was well know, were dying and rotting before them in filth, misery, and starvation. Swift writes,

There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas, too frequent among us, sacrificing the poor innocent babes, I doubt, more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman beast.

This was a great grievance, and the English looked down upon the Irish because of it. But the British missed how their deeds were causing the death via starvation of those same children. Indeed, much like the supposed cannibals of Montaigne’s essay, Swift compares the English to a similar inhumanity. But what is Swift’s solution to this great problem? Well, since the English are already devouring the Irish by devouring their only supply of food, already withholding the support that Ireland needed, already treating them as livestock, Swift proposes that they eat them.

Yes, literally. Or figuratively. His proposal is straight-faced satire, and Swift does in fact go through the many ways a person could eat a child. You can fillet them, roast them, boil them, and, to make sure that nothing is wasted of so plentiful a crop, use their skin for gloves and boots. Indeed, the mothers and fathers would care so much for their children if they could make even three pounds per child. Even a few shillings would give them enough for bread! And then, since they will not have to care for their children after about a year, which before they would have had to raise the babe to adulthood – what an expense! – they can have more children which they can sell for money. The meat will be good and nourishing and the land better able to support others because of their sacrifice. Even if the meat cannot last long, Swift writes, he is sure that there is a “county which would be glad to eat up a whole nation” before it went bad.

By using the workers for food, the tenants of the land could have food to give to their lords, “as they have already devoured most of the parents, [they] seem to have the best title to the children,” like one would treat a mare or sow and their offspring. Some will have to be kept for breeding, but all of the extra people can be slaughtered without hindrance. After all, Swift writes, they are going to die of old age, disease, accident, or starvation anyway. And there really were, he reminds, too many Papists. Why not make the best use of them for the whole country, not to mention those poor starving, struggling parents? This will then support the parents and the country. As his proposal is “of no expense and little trouble,” he can see no reason why anyone would object to it.

Now Jonathan Swift was not actually saying that the English should eat the Irish. Rather, he was pointing out the problem with England’s apathy towards the plight in Ireland. They saw Ireland as a means for trade and supply. Ireland was better off forgotten until they needed it for food, like corn, wheat, or potatoes. The land and its people were not good for much else. Swift is merely pointing out that if the English are so calloused that they are willing to let the Irish starve so that the citizens that live in England may live, then they might as well go the whole way and literally eat the people themselves. They already were being devoured.

Swift’s writing seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, for a similar problem arose during the Victorian Era. During this time, a great famine broke out, and, like before, England basically ignored it or came up with excuses: they are lazy; much nutrition can come from other common plants; we cannot let them become dependent; what would happen if our citizens found out we were financially supporting the Irish?; and so on. In their eyes, the Irish were the unwashed masses, not really citizens of England. They were those who practiced Catholicism and brought this upon themselves by having too many children. They did not really deserve the help of England.

In short, many were practicing ideas that had long since been growing in popularity. These ideas were first plainly written by men such as Thomas Malthus. In his book  Principles of Population, he stated that it was good for the masses, the lessor of society, to die out so that, plainly speaking, the strong could survive. If the land could not produce enough to support the people, they would naturally select themselves to reduce the population.

Many different groups of people were viewed this way – from Africans to the Irish. In fact, only a handful of years after the Famine had basically ended, Darwin wrote his infamous book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Not many know the full title of his book, but he meant what he said. Many during Darwin’s time felt the need for the lessor races to die out so that the higher races might live on and not be burdened by those below.

The above image comes from a book called Ireland from One or Two Neglected Points of View written by H. Strickland Constable. The point of this drawing was to show that the Irish are actually descended from Africans, thus making them less human than Europeans. This idea is false on two counts: first, while the Irish and Africans are brothers in the sense that they descend from Noah’s sons, they are not related in the way that Strictland, or others, proposed; second, their origin of descent does not make them more or less human as all are of one blood and are children of Adam formed in the image of God. We may think it barbaric that brothers would treat each other this way, but we are not far from this reality in our own society today.

This was both the main problem and the mainline idea that permeated societies of that time: different races existed and those different races were more or less human. Because of this, millions were oppressed and killed. And while the Irish, among others, were killed for the sake of convenience and apathy among the British, today such an apathy and desire to murder for convenience happens with abortion. Do we really think this practice is any different from England’s? Do we not devour the children? Do we not see them as animals, not quite human, merely a burden to us and society? And if we do not think this, do we not hear it? Do we not find ways to excuse their deaths and encourage their mothers to lead them to the slaughterhouse? Thousands die each day via abortion, yet many people do not care, do not know what it is, or desire it. While the culture is changing, it is not happening quickly enough. Many more will die to the hand of convenience before this horrendous atrocity ends.

Whether people wish to admit it or not, the genocides that have happened around the world – African, European, or otherwise  – all of them are committed because of ideas purported by Malthus and his followers, like Darwin, Galton, Sanger, and others. People are killed for difference, hate, and convenience. They are killed because at one point in time, after years of whispers, men finally began to say what they desired to be true, that it was not only natural, but good for certain people to be eliminated, or left to die, for the sake or progress and convenience. And as Swift wrote, we have propped up these people as if they were the “preserver of the nation” despite the fact that they are among those who aided in its destruction. Do we really think we are any different from the British in the way they viewed their subjects as our nation treats abortion? So I ask you: will we look on in horror at our current state, as we do at Swift’s modest proposal, or will we continue to be those who future generations will look on with disgust?

Blessings to you and yours,

~Rose

 

Problems of Convenience: A Modest Proposal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Swift, Irish by parentage but Englishman by citizenship, wrote A Modest Proposal in 1729. During the time he wrote this, there was great suffering in Ireland, and the English seemed to be at a loss as to how to deal with that problem. As the name might suggest, Swift hoped that his readers would be convicted to respond to the plight in Ireland by considering his “modest” proposal. Though he is possibly best known for his novel Gulliver’s Travel’s, Swift was at his best when he was writing satire, and that is what A Modest Proposal is: satire. Those who first read this piece probably did not think this “proposal” was satire at first. Their assumptions may have been based on many things, including the somewhat misleading subtitle and the fact that something really did need to be done in Ireland. Although what Swift wrote was for a specific time and place, his message still applied 100 years afterwards and still applies in the present.

As was true during most of the time Ireland was under British rule, Swift’s time saw a great oppression of the Irish people. It is not as though the people were intentionally abused, but their suffering was there nonetheless. They were poor, dirty laborers. Many of the imports to England came from Ireland, while the Irish starved. In general, the Irish were treated as the lessor of society. Because of their great suffering, the Irish often sold themselves to various shipmasters, traders, and colonists so that they might leave their wretched land and eat. Selling themselves for work, often to pay for their passage, was the only way for most of them to find prosperity and freedom because they had no money.

Swift saw the plight in Ireland and the apathy in Britain. Therefore, he wrote his proposal in hopes of waking up the British to the reality they were ignoring. There were many problems in Ireland that the English saw. For one, the Irish had far too many children, who were a “grievance” to society and their parents. They were beggars, thieves. They even demanded the charity of England, who took most of their goods through trade. Moreover, they were Catholic, leading in part to the great number. Swift also notes some of the horrid practices among these people who, as it was well know, were dying and rotting before them in filth, misery, and starvation. Swift writes,

There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas, too frequent among us, sacrificing the poor innocent babes, I doubt, more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman beast.

This was a great grievance, and the English looked down upon the Irish because of it. But the British missed how their deeds were causing the death via starvation of those same children. Indeed, much like the supposed cannibals of Montaigne’s essay, Swift compares the English to a similar inhumanity. But what is Swift’s solution to this great problem? Well, since the English are already devouring the Irish by devouring their only supply of food, already withholding the support that Ireland needed, already treating them as livestock, Swift proposes that they eat them.

Yes, literally. Or figuratively. His proposal is straight-faced satire, and Swift does in fact go through the many ways a person could eat a child. You can fillet them, roast them, boil them, and, to make sure that nothing is wasted of so plentiful a crop, use their skin for gloves and boots. Indeed, the mothers and fathers would care so much for their children if they could make even three pounds per child. Even a few shillings would give them enough for bread! And then, since they will not have to care for their children after about a year, which before they would have had to raise the babe to adulthood – what an expense! – they can have more children which they can sell for money. The meat will be good and nourishing and the land better able to support others because of their sacrifice. Even if the meat cannot last long, Swift writes, he is sure that there is a “county which would be glad to eat up a whole nation” before it went bad.

By using the workers for food, the tenants of the land could have food to give to their lords, “as they have already devoured most of the parents, [they] seem to have the best title to the children,” like one would treat a mare or sow and their offspring. Some will have to be kept for breeding, but all of the extra people can be slaughtered without hindrance. After all, Swift writes, they are going to die of old age, disease, accident, or starvation anyway. And there really were, he reminds, too many Papists. Why not make the best use of them for the whole country, not to mention those poor starving, struggling parents? This will then support the parents and the country. As his proposal is “of no expense and little trouble,” he can see no reason why anyone would object to it.

Now Jonathan Swift was not actually saying that the English should eat the Irish. Rather, he was pointing out the problem with England’s apathy towards the plight in Ireland. They saw Ireland as a means for trade and supply. Ireland was better off forgotten until they needed it for food, like corn, wheat, or potatoes. The land and its people were not good for much else. Swift is merely pointing out that if the English are so calloused that they are willing to let the Irish starve so that the citizens that live in England may live, then they might as well go the whole way and literally eat the people themselves. They already were being devoured.

Swift’s writing seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, for a similar problem arose during the Victorian Era. During this time, a great famine broke out, and, like before, England basically ignored it or came up with excuses: they are lazy; much nutrition can come from other common plants; we cannot let them become dependent; what would happen if our citizens found out we were financially supporting the Irish?; and so on. In their eyes, the Irish were the unwashed masses, not really citizens of England. They were those who practiced Catholicism and brought this upon themselves by having too many children. They did not really deserve the help of England.

In short, many were practicing ideas that had long since been growing in popularity. These ideas were first plainly written by men such as Thomas Malthus. In his book  Principles of Population, he stated that it was good for the masses, the lessor of society, to die out so that, plainly speaking, the strong could survive. If the land could not produce enough to support the people, they would naturally select themselves to reduce the population.

Many different groups of people were viewed this way – from Africans to the Irish. In fact, only a handful of years after the Famine had basically ended, Darwin wrote his infamous book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Not many know the full title of his book, but he meant what he said. Many during Darwin’s time felt the need for the lessor races to die out so that the higher races might live on and not be burdened by those below.

The above image comes from a book called Ireland from One or Two Neglected Points of View written by H. Strickland Constable. The point of this drawing was to show that the Irish are actually descended from Africans, thus making them less human than Europeans. This idea is false on two counts: first, while the Irish and Africans are brothers in the sense that they descend from Noah’s sons, they are not related in the way that Strictland, or others, proposed; second, their origin of descent does not make them more or less human as all are of one blood and are children of Adam formed in the image of God. We may think it barbaric that brothers would treat each other this way, but we are not far from this reality in our own society today.

This was both the main problem and the mainline idea that permeated societies of that time: different races existed and those different races were more or less human. Because of this, millions were oppressed and killed. And while the Irish, among others, were killed for the sake of convenience and apathy among the British, today such an apathy and desire to murder for convenience happens with abortion. Do we really think this practice is any different from England’s? Do we not devour the children? Do we not see them as animals, not quite human, merely a burden to us and society? And if we do not think this, do we not hear it? Do we not find ways to excuse their deaths and encourage their mothers to lead them to the slaughterhouse? Thousands die each day via abortion, yet many people do not care, do not know what it is, or desire it. While the culture is changing, it is not happening quickly enough. Many more will die to the hand of convenience before this horrendous atrocity ends.

Whether people wish to admit it or not, the genocides that have happened around the world – African, European, or otherwise  – all of them are committed because of ideas purported by Malthus and his followers, like Darwin, Galton, Sanger, and others. People are killed for difference, hate, and convenience. They are killed because at one point in time, after years of whispers, men finally began to say what they desired to be true, that it was not only natural, but good for certain people to be eliminated, or left to die, for the sake or progress and convenience. And as Swift wrote, we have propped up these people as if they were the “preserver of the nation” despite the fact that they are among those who aided in its destruction. Do we really think we are any different from the British in the way they viewed their subjects as our nation treats abortion? So I ask you: will we look on in horror at our current state, as we do at Swift’s modest proposal, or will we continue to be those who future generations will look on with disgust?

Blessings to you and yours,

~Rose

 

Book Update, the Middle East, and the World

Well, it has been over a month since the last time I have given any sort of update on my book. This is much longer than I would have hopped to go, but alas that is how things are. I have yet to finish this section, but hopefully that will happen soon so I can begin work on Aram and start editing! I would thought I would be less surprised about how long this section is taking, but I suppose I never really considered just how many people are connected to Arphaxad. I would think that just about everyone knows that the Israelites, Ishmaelites, and Edomites come from his line, namely that of Abraham, but there are frankly just so many more, more than I initially even planned for.

Some who may have written this book, and as I have seen those who have written similar books do, would have probably skipped over some of these people. They do not seeem important enough to the greater scope of history. Why bother to write about Abram’s brothers? Why worry about the descendants of Lot? Do the Edomites actually matter to the rest of Scripture, let alone world history? How do other people mentioned in the Bible, like the Amalekites, actually play in? The Midianites? The book of Job?

Believe it or not, a lot of them do.

To begin, Edom had more people come from him than just the Edomites. The Amalekites and the Temanites also come from him. And while they may not seem all that important, the Amalekites were one of the most infamous enemies of the Israelites and may have been a thorn in their side possibly to the time of Esther. And many people may have not have heard of the Temanites, but the only other Eliphaz mentioned in the Bible – for their were only two – was a friend of Job, descended from Eliphaz, son of Edom and father of Teman. And while we are on the subject of Job, another of his friends, a Shuhite, was descended from a son of Abraham named Shuah. This helps locate Job, the man from, Uz, where and when he might have been located, probably east of Israel in Edom, and why he is so closely connected to the Scriptures at all. Additionally, Midian, a sometimes ally/sometimes foe of Israel, was in fact a people who were in large part descended from Abraham from his wife Keturah. They made up many different groups of nomads throughout the southeastern part of Saudi Arabia. Did you know that Abraham actually has eight sons, not just two? Most do not and I plainly forgot, let alone knew the implications of each people. This is not even to mention the Moabites and Ammonites, though I have yet to research these “sons” of Lot.

While most consider the Arabs to be this “single group” in regards to “ethnicity”, this is not necessarily so. In the north many are from Asshur, Nahor and his family, Aram, Nimrod, and even Arphaxad. In the south, many are actually descended from Cush, Joktan, and others. In the middle, there is Madai and Elam on one side, and Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, and so many more, not to even the aforementioned Canaanites. These people are a diverse group, and their connection to Abraham through Ishmael and Keturah has only just begun to be uncovered. It is amazing and overwhelming. There is so much history, so much genealogy to be found in the Middle East. It is little wonder why Mesopotamia is referred to as the Cradle of Civilization.

All of this is to make a partial point that I have been wanting to make with these posts and my book on a large-scale. Each of these groups in the Middle East, on the level that I am discussing them on, could be divided into different people groups. Yet even that can be difficult as they intermarried so often. For example, Edom had two Canaanite wives and one who was daughter to Ishmael. Boaz, of the line of Judah and Christ, married a Moabitess. This is not to mention all of the intermarrying before that – from Midianite Zaporah to different Canaanite women during the Judges. And this is just for Israel. The list could go on, but the point I make is this: while thier “nationality” is often called different, for most of these people groups, their parentage is the same. As I mentioned at the beginning, why bother to account for all of these groups? Because at the end of this, they are one of the many that made up what is today largely known as the Middle East. While the land is under different names today, all those people are basically descended from those original settlers in one way or another. Moreover, all of them are still traced back to these three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In fact, I’ve mentioned descendants from all three of these sons in this post as all leaving descendants in the Middle East.

We are all of one blood, and that is something that not only should be remembered but also repeated in daily life. There is so much strife in the world over race and whatnot, yet this is strife among brothers, among siblings. No matter where you go, especially today, it is difficult to find a group that is not of “mixed heritage”. And while it is good to be interested or proud of where your family came from,  everyone in the world is related through these three sons of Noah, and in turn, we are all children of Adam and Eve. This should be our focus: to remember that we are all of one blood and because of that we should treat, think of, and love each other as such.

God’s blessings, my family,

~Rose

The Middle East, Grecians, and the People of the Sea

Despite of, or perhaps because of, my lack of activity on here, I have actually managed to make quite a bit of progress on my book in the last week and a half or so. So much so that I even found time to paint, which is something I have missed doing. I am slowly learning to enjoy oil paints, which I would not have thought only a couple years ago.

Anyway, I have managed to write about two more sons of Japheth since my last update. After Magog, I continued with Madai. Now his name in that form may not look that familiar, but hopefully most people, especially those who have studied history, would recognize the Medes. The Medes were a people living in what is now modern day Iran, which also includes the territory of the Elamites, the Medes, and then later yet the Persians, who are simply relatives of the Medes. After a time, they took over their cousins’, the Babylonians, territory with the rise of Darius.

Perhaps you might ask, “But why is Madai in the Middle East? Isn’t he the son of Japheth?” Good question. Yes, he is a son of Japheth and yes he is in Shem’s territory.  Time for a little review. After the Flood and the possibly the Tower of Babel event, Japheth was given all of the land to the north, Shem was given all of the land in the middle, and Ham was given all of the land to the south. Now if you think about this, that would mean that Japheth gets all of Europe and across; Shem Asia, the Middle east, and possibly a few other lands; and Ham Africa, Australia, and possibly some other lands that I have yet to prove with certainty. So what is Madai doing in the Middle East? As it turns out, according to the book of Jubilees, Madai married a daughter of Shem, making him the brother-in-law to Elam, son of Shem. Because of this, he asked Elam and some of the sons of Ham, who became Babylon, if he could have some land near his wife’s family. Thus, Madai became the Medes, north of the Elamites, who eventually together became the Medes and the Persians. While that is really oversimplifying the events, this is the gist of what happened, and the rest is history.

Of course, this can only leads to the downfall of the Medes and the Persians with the Greeks. This is where Javan, the fourth son of Japheth, takes the stage. Thankfully, he actually went to where he was supposed to go, which was to all of the isles of the sea. Basically, when you go back far enough, nearly all of the northern coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea were at one point settled by the descendants of Javan, even Italy and Spain. Though all of the lands were at different point dominated by other groups – Italy the descendants of Tubal and others, and Spain Tubal and the Gomerites – they have some roots to these maritime people. Also, when the Phoenicians, who I believe to be descended from Ham, came around, they took over some of the sea ports of the Javanites, such as Tyre and Sidon.

This leads me to the Sea Peoples. While much seems to be myth and legend, as always, some is founded in fact. The Sea People, as they have come to be known, appear to be in part related to the descendants of Javan. Most of this is in reference to Javan’s son referred to a the Dodanim – a people group rather than one person. While not all of the “People of the Sea” are traced to this group, some have very strong ties, enough worth the interest and study. So while most of the legends became fancified with the years, as all good stories do, they were once simply maritime people with cool boats that lived within the Mediterranean.

For now, I am off to finish my research on Tubal, the fifth son of Japheth. While I am pretty sure of two places he ends up, I have yet to determine every place that might bear his name.

And with that, I am off to research some more! Hopefully soon I will have another book review I was persuaded to write more of those. Until then, blessings to you and yours,

~Rose

Magog, “Natives”, and Latin

Hello all.

Today I come with good news and bad news. The good news is that I finished writing about both Togarmah and his uncle Magog for my book. The bad news is that I found it nearly impossible to find information on this Magog character. He is a person who has much written about him, but very little is known. Some think his people became the Lydians, others the Scythians, and a few the Russians. Some think he is yet to come in prophecy, others giants of old epic tales. In fact, he even has a hill mistakenly named after him in England. Personally, I follow his line to those dwelling in the land and surrounding lands of Scandinavia. It has been quite the journey, but finally, I am done with those drafts.

Also, I believe that I have found some evidence supporting a theory I have had on the ancestors of the “natives” of North America. I always found the word native odd. After all, is anyone really a native anywhere? We all came from somewhere, originally, especially considering the peoples of the “Old World”. They were all nomads. We are all descent of nomads. Actually, we were paced here by God, descent from Adam and Eve through Noah’s sons. Could we call them native of Mt. Ararat? Here is a trail that would be entertaining to follow…someday. Anyway, I believe the people of the Americas came from specific peoples of Noah’s sons. For those of the north, I believe they are descended of Togarmah’s people and possibly of Magog, at least distantly. From what I have found, these people spread across Russia and into Siberia, across the Bering Strait, and into North America, this long before the Norse, relatives to the early Magogites, settled on the opposite side of the continent. I still have more research to do on the subject, especially concerning the people of South America, whom I currently link to either Shem or Ham, and more strongly Ham. Another addition to my list of papers to write, someday.

Lastly, among my happy victories of the last week, I found a Latin copy of the Historia de omnibus gothorum sueonumque regibus. While this might not seem like much, it was a struggle ongoing for about a month. Though I was originally looking for an English translation, I had to settle for translating the text myself. While I have stumbled upon more than a dozen languages I cannot read, which is of little surprise, I at least have a passing understanding of Latin. Word to the wise: learn multiple languages while you can!

Now, I need to get back to book 11 of the Wheel of Time series. These books are great, by the way, and I hope to share how fantastic they are soon.

Until then, blessings to you.

~Rose

Plates, Names, and Togarmah

Hello, all.

I meant to wait until Saturday to make another post, yet some things simply need to be written when they come to mind.

As you may know, I have been researching one grandson of Noah for the last couple of days and it has been frustrating to say the least. I ha e moved on to Togarmah and while he may not be as elusive as Riphath, he may have three times as many various names. Perhaps I am exaggerating, slightly, but the emphasis must be understood. It seems as though I have been dancing around the southern Turkey and northern Syria area, knowing my foot is bound to land on the right source, but getting awfully tired all the same. Still, I truly thank God that I was born in the era of the internet and search tools. Do not mistake me, as a former library worker and current research junkie, nothing can truly replace having a book in your hands. But I am not independently wealthy and have yet to own my own library. So the internet is a blessing.

Still, sometimes the endless interlocking circles of texts can wear me down.  I feel, some days, like I am balancing stacks of plates on my fingertips with each carrying a collection of names, maps, and words all waiting to fall. While I m balancing them, I move different plates to different fingertips. Then, just as I think they are going to fall, they do. Suddenly, all of them line up and I see that I made a trail that makes some semblance of sense from the first plate to the last, and I can write a paragraph at last. I do not always know how the jumps are made, but they are and the result is satisfying.

This is what just happened; alas, there is still more to do. But hey, here’s to one more step taken and one more victory won.
Blessings to you,

~Rose

An Update, a Book, and a Roadmap

Hello all.

Indeed, I am still around and I am still writing away, but most of that writing has not been either here nor on my other blog The Fingerprints of God. Over the past few months, most of my writing has been short stories, extremely long research papers, and other various joggings of my mind that were taken in my last few steps of college. (Yay!) Since then, I have gotten married, moved, and began writing some more. This writing, however, was a project I started back in 2015. Then, I titled it the “Language Project”; then I changed it to my “Babel Project”. Now, it is grown much bigger, and the current name is something a little more creative, but I will settle on that when I have actually settled on it.

But you might wonder, what is this project? This project is a journey through history, our history. From the beginning of time through the Flood, Babel, the Dispersion, and a little ways past, this book follows the trails left by our ancestors across the globe. This is of course linked to our recent past and present, as its goal is to not only show that we are all of one blood, but also to testify that God came to save all. It is quite a journey, and as you may have noticed in the above date, one that has been going on for quite some time.

So in regards to all of this, today I decided that in lieu of going mad, because sometimes research drives me insane though I love it dearly, I would update some bits of progress on here. What is better for me to do with my time than to write about writing? Thus, that is what I will do.

I began writing for this project not with an intro or even completing my research on a new theory on language, but on the first listed son of Noah: Japheth. I began with him because he was the first listed in Genesis 10, the Table of Nations, but also because the languages he left behind are most similar to mine. Currently, I am finding that such histories are still complex not only for their writing but also for their number. I am concerned about what I will find with other sons. Anyway, he went on to father the people who would populate the European Continent and beyond. And let me tell you, they do not stay in one place. In fact, much of my trouble has been caused by that very fact. While many people are nomadic, Japheth’s seemed to have the bug to not keep still, for any one of his sons can be found in any number of nations’ histories. The reality and research is quite fascinating. After Japheth, I began on his son, Gomer, whose name is most probably, at least from what I have found, to be the best preserved to today. I am now working on his second son, for if I wrote any more on his first I would go mad (some people are confusing even if long dead). It is amazing how much you can read and how little you can write in eight hours.

So now, I actually need to get back to writing. But in the event that you ever want to do your own research on the subject, keep these things in mind:

1. God’s Word is sovereign in all things, including history.
2. Names are more similar than you might think.
3. The Caesars will drive you mad with how they divide lands on a whim. Seriously. It is almost like they do not even care what makes sense.

On that note, I hope you have enjoyed this and will join me on this journey.

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.

~ Deuteronomy 4:9 ~

God’s blessings to you,

~Rose