STRANGE Mysteries Of The Bible
From ghost-summoning witches to massive creatures crafted by God, today we look at The Mysteries
of the Bible.
#10 The Holy Grail The Holy Grail is a legendary relic that has
sparked the interest of people for ages, inspiring everyone from King Arthur to Indiana Jones
to search for the famed artifact.
Said to be Jesus’s cup from the Last Supper, the common telling of the legendary chalice
is that Joseph of Arimathea used the grail to catch the blood of Christ at the Crucifixion.
And with that legend came one of its granting eternal youth to those that drink from it.
Unlike other entries on this list, however, the mystery of the Holy Grail comes entirely
from works inspired by the Bible and not a word of the legendary chalice is mentioned
in the Bible itself.
Thus, it is seen by most historians as entirely fictional in its use, existence, and importance.
#11 The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel In the year 732 BCE the cities of Damascus
and Israel were sacked by the kingdom of Assyria.
In the aftermath of the invasion, the twelve tribes were split with ten of them being relocated
to the Khabur River, an area in former Mesopotamia.
From there, the tribes were only mentioned briefly in the Book of Tobit before vanishing
from history altogether.
Their disappearance has given way to many religious claims referencing the lost tribes
ever since.
Some religious scholars throughout history have pointed to the appearance of devout Jewish
followers in China, Japan, parts of Africa and South America as evidence of the lost
tribes’ migration.
Others, like Mormons, believe the Ten Tribes are to be restored and that their missionary
work is actively working toward that purpose.
Despite these beliefs, however, leading historians in the field have determined the majority
of claims in regards to descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes are highly fictionalized,
or at least grossly exaggerated.
#10 The Witch of Endor The story begins with a King, Saul, on the
brink of invasion by a coalition of Philistine forces.
Panicked and without response from God, King Saul turns to black magic.
Unfortunately, he had banished all magicians and necromancers from his land, and so he
set about finding a witch while wearing a disguise.
He finally comes upon a woman that claims she could make contact with Samuel, Saul’s
deceased advisor and a prophet.
Saul convenes with Samuel, whereby Samuel complains to Saul for disturbing him, then
condemns his actions and predicts the downfall of Saul and his army.
King Saul and his army all perished the next day.
But the true mystery lies in the Witch.
The concept of a medium connecting the living with the deceased in conversation opens up
a can of worms in terms of biblical purposes.
Where is the soul of the deceased coming from?
Purgatory or somewhere else?
Did it really happen or was it a product of Saul’s panicked state?
Was the appearance due to the Witch or was it divine intervention?
Religious scholars have disagreed for centuries on the Witch’s significance and what this
ghost scene actually meant, and its implications are still debated today.
#9 Melchizedek Genesis 14 introduces readers to a mysterious
priest and king from a city referred to as Salem.
This priest-king, named Melchizedek, served a god named “El ‘Elyon,” a term used
to indicate a Canaanite deity but also has been conflated in historical works to be synonymous
with the name of God in the Abrahamic religions.
This is especially curious due to the implications of someone coming to follow God as known in
the bible without influence of Abraham.
This was centuries before the founding of the Israelite priesthood and hence preceding
the spread of Judaism or other Abrahamic religions.
In addition, it is later stated in Hebrews 7:3 that Melchizedek was without lineage,
leaving his family history lost to time in lieu of his service to God.
The mystery of Melchizedek’s origin and the city of Salem, which may or may not be
a synonym for Jerusalem, persists today as this is the only known information regarding
the biblical king.
#8 The Giants of Genesis The Earth in the time of the book of Genesis
was a particularly interesting place with the Garden of Eden present, human lifespan
being hundreds of years, and apparently giants roaming the land.
Called Nephilim in some translations, these giants were said to be born from the “sons
of God” and the “daughters of man.”
With little else to go on, theories abound as to the origin, purpose, and the role the
Nephilim served, with even some debating on whether they were giants at all.
Some theories assert that they were giants, often associating them with degenerate and
sinful tendencies.
Others see them as potentially being the children of Seth, son of Adam, and thus born from the
“sons of God.”
A few scholars even claimed once they were fallen angels, though that is now widely viewed
as incorrect.
Whoever they were, the Nephilim and their conclusion continue to mystify scholars in
the modern world.
#7 Eden While considered mythological by the majority
of religious scholars, that didn’t stop the world from proposing various real life
locations for the legendary Garden of Eden.
According to almost all versions of the bible, the great flood in Genesis wiped out most
everything, including Eden.
And yet for centuries, many Christians wholly believed it to still exist.
Locations like the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iraq, north of there in Iran, the Armenian
Highlands, or even the jungles of Venezuela have been suspected at one time or another
of being the location of Eden.
But with most all maps complete thanks to modern satellite technology, it seems as though
the Garden of Eden, wherever it once was, is no longer on the surface of the Earth.
#6 The Behemoth In the Book of Job, God speaks to Job and
others about his creations, specifically two massive creatures referred to as the Behemoth.
In this speech, God claims to have not only created this titanic being but also being
the only one capable of capturing it.
But, what is it?
In Job 40, the description of Behemoth portrays it as a creature with bones “as strong pieces
of brass” and “bars of iron,” and that its tail “moveth(...) like a cedar.”
Not particularly indicative of any known animal, especially thanks to a supposed tree-trunk
like tail, though some interpretations point to cedar branches that fan out similar to
the tail of an elephant.
Then again, other interpretations believe the supposed tail described to represent a
more...graphic appendage.
Either way, the world still doesn’t know what the Behemoth could have been in actuality,
and thus centuries of depictions and adaptations to fictional media continue to fill the visual
gap.
#5 God’s Name While those unfamiliar with Judaism or Abrahamic
religions may confuse it for an acronym, perhaps as a clothing line or viral hashtag, the true
name of God according to Jewish tradition is “YHVH.”
Called the Tetragrammaton for easier reference, which literally means composed of four letters.
This collection of letters has a pronunciation lost to time.
Originally without restriction, saying the name of God became an exclusive privilege
to those within the Temple of Jerusalem around the time of the first century.
Unfortunately, around this same time is when Rome invaded the city, destroying the temple
by A.D. 70.
But rather than abolishing the law restricting citation of the Tetragrammaton outside of
the Temple, the name was just never spoken again.
The memory of the Tetragrammaton pronunciation was sealed with those few who had visited
the temple before its destruction.
#4 The City of Ophir (Oh-fur) Although material wealth isn’t exactly praised
in most religions as a worthwhile focus, the Old Testament doesn’t hold back in making
the city of Ophir sound spectacularly decadent.
Overflowing with gold, silver, precious gems and stones, ivory and exotic pets, this golden
kingdom was known for gifting King Solomon a plethora of luxurious goods every three
years.
Believed to have been an actual place, this Abrahamic El Dorado has yet to be located.
Some consider Zimbabwe, Somalia, India, or somewhere on the Arabian Peninsula as potential
locations for this millenia-old port city.
#3 Sodom and Gomorrah One of the most commonly used biblical references,
Sodom and Gomorrah have quite the reputation.
Destroyed by fire and brimstone by God himself, these cities were punished for the crimes
against nature committed by their inhabitants.
An example of the Lord’s wrath, these cities have become synonymous with the most punishable
of sins, both in and out of religious circles.
But where were these heathen havens?
Archaeologists debate, but the bible cites the location of the forsaken cities as being
somewhere near the Dead Sea.
Excavations near the area have uncovered high amounts of sulfur with concentration levels
so high that they were unheard of, even by active volcano standards!
The true cite of these twin cities of sin has yet to be found, but the signs surrounding
the Dead Sea have many convinced.
#2 The Dead Sea Scrolls Within the Qumran Caves surrounding the Dead
Sea shores, archaeologists discovered hidden manuscripts dating from as early as 8th Century
BCE to as late as the 11th Century CE.
That’s almost a two-millenia timespan!
These scrolls,thought to be collected by a people called the Essenes, detailed the many
events, stories, and teachings that would be included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible.
Some of these writings even demonstrated the clashing of religious views, evidence of a
diversity in theological beliefs during the development of many common Hebrew traditions.
Another interesting affirmation came in the fact that, prior to the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the oldest known Hebrew-language manuscripts were the Masoretic texts from the 10th century
CE.
The discovery of these scrolls extended that backwards an extra thousand years, as well
as confirmed an oddly accurate transference of writings across that period.
This has lead to many scholars to believe the current incarnation of the Old Testament
to be fairly accurate to its original text as well.
Much of the text found within the Dead Sea Scrolls didn’t quite make the final cut
of the Bible, however, and many scholars write them off as insignificant.
Newer theories have questioned that thinking though, as researchers now know that some
of these works predate the Essene people and were more likely from a period in which Biblical
books were still being written.
The discovery of these texts continues to shake the foundation of Abrahamic faiths as
new information continues to unravel.
#1 Jesus’s Lost Years Jesus is extremely famous and, were he around
today, he would most definitely be a favorite of the paparazzi.
Unfortunately during his time, however, media coverage wasn’t nearly as saturated and
the life and times of Jesus Christ are incomplete.
From birth to the age of 12, most everything is accounted for.
Then there’s a gigantic gap in the historical records, as scholars have found nothing on
his life until he was 30 years old.
Hundreds of books have been written on these missing years, with just as many theories
detailing what scholars predict he could’ve done.
But no matter what the theories say, there’s only two things for sure: he learned to work
with wood and he grew up!