The Bible And the Ancient World

1. The Bible And the Ancient World

2. Why Should I Care? • 3 Major Religious Traditions have an interest in this area • Earliest Flood Epics and Law Codes • Writing introduced • Biblical Characters intersected with Ancient History

3. What Happened Here? • The Garden of Eden? Tower of Babel? • God identified himself throughout OT as God of “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob” • Abraham came through here • The Assyrians built their kingdom here • Jonah ran the other way to not come here • The Babylonians built their kingdom here • The Exiled of Israel lived here

4. Why So Much Confusion? • One thing is on top of the other! • The time-span is huge! • Scholars vary greatly on this issue • Conservatively, there were kingdoms rising and falling here: • 6000 Years Ago

5. Abraham • Father of Israel, to Jewish and Christian Tradition • Important to Muslim Tradition • Lived in Ur • Was Called By God to Leave Ur of Chaldees • Genesis 15 • Abraham was as far away from Jesus in years, 2000 as Jesus was for Us. • Abraham is dated somewhere in the Middle Bronze Age 2000-1550 BC

6. Why is Abraham Significant? Before Abraham…… There was no Israel There were no Ten Commandments There was no Quran There was no New Testament If you can substantiate Abraham’s Existence It is an excellent apologetic for your respective faith tradition

7. What Should I Know? • The Land Labels of the Past…….. • Palestine • Egypt • Mesopotamia • Have Changed • Palestine is now Israel, Palestinian authority, Syria, Jordan • Egypt is still Egypt • Mesopotamia is now Iraq

8. If You Aren’t a Chaplain, What is Essential to Appreciate the Bible?

9. Essentials for Meaningful Old Testament Study • Knowledge of the Land Labels • Awareness of the complexity of the Background • A Basic Chronology of Events

10. Physical Geography of ANE

11. Three Main Parts of Fertile Crescent Egypt Palestine Mesopotamia

13. Pre-History of ANE The time period in-between Creation and the Exodus Specifically the Backdrop of Genesis 12-50 Many kingdoms rose and fell Welcome to Mesopotamia

14. Places Warka Erech Ur Eridu Nippur Kish Lagash Time Period/Developments 4000-3500 Al-Ubaid 3500-3100 Uruk 3100-2900 Proto-Literate 2850-2360 Classical Sumerian 2360-2180 Akkadian 2180-2060 Gutian Decline 2060-1950 Neo-Sumerian Revival The Kingdoms of Mesopotamia

15. Middle Bronze Age • `Roughly 2000-1550 BC • Time Period of Abraham’s Migration • Stories of Patriarchs fit authentically into Second Millennium • Patriarchal names fit with Mesopotamian cultures • Nuzi Texts mirror Patriarchal customs (marriage, adoption, inheritance) • Wanderings of Patriarchs fit into cultural and political mileu of early second millennium

16. Important Biblical Dates • Genesis 1-11 4000-2000 (conservative) • Abraham GE 12-50 2000-1550 • Exodus 1445/1200 • United Monarchy 1000 • Fall of Israel 722 ASSYRIA • Fall of Judah 586 BABYLON • Return from Exile 514 • Birth of Jesus 4 BC

17. 3 Kingdoms in Mesopotamia Intersect Directly with the Bible • Assyria-deports Israel • Shalmaneser III • Tiglath Pileser (PUL) • Babylon-deports Judah • Nebuchadnezzar • Belshazzar • Persian • Darius • Cyrus

18. Divided Kingdom • Upon Death of Solomon, • 2 Sons, Jeroboam and Rehoboam • Jeroboam-Israel • Rehoboam-Judah

19. The Assyrians • 853 Shalmaneser III Battle of Qarqar • 841 Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III • Tiglath-Pileser (PUL) • Founder of Assyrian Empire

20. Assyria’s Three Phase Policy • Collection of Tribute, Reduce King to a Vassal of Assyria • Assyrians are on your doorstep, leave a hand-selected king • Completely annex city-state, punish the people by deportation and import foreigners to settle.

21. Fall of Israel • Under Shalmaneser V • Assyrians besieged Samaria 3 years before it fell • 722 Sargon II claimed credit for conquering Samaria • Deported 27,000 captives from Israel and settled them in Assyria • II Kings 17:1-6

22. Judah under Assyrian Threat • 715 Revolt of Hezekiah • Hezekiah’s Reforms II Kings 18:3-6, II Chronicles 29-30 • 701 Campaign of Sennacherib against Hezekiah • Decline of Assyria after death of Ashurbanipal II

23. The Babylonians • 612 Fall of Nineveh • 605 Battle of Carchemish • Nebuchadnezzar assumes throne

24. The Fall of Judah • 598 First Siege of Jerusalem • Jehoiachin Taken into Exile 1st deportation • II Kings 24:1-16 Zedekiah appointed king • Zedekiah rebels, 2nd siege • 2nd Deportation, destruction of Jerusalem Temple • II Kings 25:24-21, Jeremiah 52:1-30 • 586 3rd deportation

25. Exile • 586-539 • Ezekiel • Daniel • Isaiah 40-66 • Decline of Babylonian Empire through pressure of Medes & Persians • 539 Babylon surrendered to Persians

26. Persian Period • 539-334 • Cyrus the Great-Founder conquered Egypt • Darius I 522-486 • Xerxes • Artaxerxes I

27. Return & Restoration • 538-445 • Edict of Cyrus • Jews were allowed to go home • The Temple could be rebuilt • Rebuilding of Temple accomplished under reign of Darius I 522-486

28. Other Intersections with Biblical Events • Ministries of Haggai and Zecheriah 520 BC • Temple dedicated in 515 BC • Ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah • Ezra led spiritual renewal based on Law • Nehemiah rebuilt walls of Jerusalem

29. What Did We Leave Out? • Exodus • History of Israel prior to United Monarchy • United Monarchy • Saul • David • Solomon • Events specific to Palestine/Egypt • All New Testament Events