Textual Evidence of a Jaredite-like Voyage

[Rajah Manchou]

Here is an interesting passage from the Akhbar al-Zaman, a 9th-10th century Arabic text that draws from a number of ancient sources:

"A branch of the family of Āmir, son of Japheth, separated and went to China. The leader of this tribe built vessels on the model of the ark of Noah, his grandfather, in which all his family embarked; they crossed the sea, reached China, multiplied, built cities, and there developed the sciences and arts, and exploited its gold mines. This leader reigned three hundred years."

Does this demonstrate the possibility of a Jaredite migration? It's around the same time period and it describes long ocean voyages by boat. 

Also, its important to note that many early texts referred to everything in the far east as Ṣin (China), so when this text says Ṣin we don't know exactly where in the east that would be. It could be anywhere between India and the Americas.

Edited November 17, 2016 by Rajah Manchou

[Anijen]

5 hours ago, Rajah Manchou said:

"...they crossed the sea, reached China,"

Yes. The text implies such a voyage is plausible.

 

 

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Does this demonstrate the possibility of a Jaredite migration?

Yes. The text (although not mentioning Jaredites) implies such a migration is plausible.

 

 

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"...It's around the same time period." 

The Akhbar al-Zaman does not date back to the time of the Jaredites however it is writes about antediluvian people.

 

 

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Also, its important to note that many early texts referred to everything in the far east as Ṣin (China), so when this text says Ṣin we don't know exactly where in the east that would be. It could be anywhere between India and the Americas.

If this is correct, it could mean any location East of them. Hence It could reach as far as America, or beyond (I really wanted to put "to infinity," when writing that, ~Buzz Light Year)

I enjoy your posts.

[Monster]

Just because something is old has no bearing on whether it is accurate or not. You can find all sorts of statements in ancient texts about the heavens and the earth that are false by todays knowledge.

[Rajah Manchou]

16 hours ago, Anijen said:

Yes. The text implies such a voyage is plausible.

Yes. The text (although not mentioning Jaredites) implies such a migration is plausible.

The Akhbar al-Zaman does not date back to the time of the Jaredites however it is writes about antediluvian people.

If this is correct, it could mean any location East of them. Hence It could reach as far as America, or beyond (I really wanted to put "to infinity," when writing that, ~Buzz Light Year)

I enjoy your posts.

Haha, its appropriate that you mention infinity. I was reading somewhere (but I can't find it now) that some explorers of that era believed the ocean extended into infinity, or that they would be sucked into a whirlpool that would pop them out into an upside-down antipodean world. 

But if you read the entire Akhbar al-zaman (its actually a fascinating read) there is speculation about islands under the rising sun beyond China, inhabited by red haired savages. These could be based on the rumors of Fusang and other Chinese legends that some have associated with North America.

So its hard to know what was meant by Ṣin. I don't believe they had knowledge of America. But if they did, they probably would have called it Sin (China), or Hind (India). Who knows, maybe there is textual evidence of the Jaredites and Lehites and we are missing it because our presentism.

In my opinion, the Book of Mormon account can be fully accounted for in historical references to the islands of the sea. This one passage in the Akhbar al-zaman is just one example of many.

[Rajah Manchou]

16 hours ago, Monster said:

Just because something is old has no bearing on whether it is accurate or not. You can find all sorts of statements in ancient texts about the heavens and the earth that are false by todays knowledge.

So true. It seems the more ancient a record is, the more likely it is that it will be fantastic creatures and bizarre events. The Akhbar al-zaman is a perfect example of how inaccurate these ancient texts can be:

"One of the races that is most similar to man is that of the Wāḳwāḳ. These individuals hang from branches by their hair; they have breasts and sexual organs similar to those of women, and they have a ruddy complexion; they constantly shout “Wak Wak!”, and if one of these females is captured, it goes silent and falls dead."

But the Book of Mormon is mostly devoid of such things. That puzzles me. If it were an ancient text written by explorers venturing into a new world full of unknowns, shouldn't we expect to find more oddities like unicorns and Wāḳwāḳs?