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The Ancient Egyptians & Ancient Hebrews

1800-500 BCE. The Ancient Egyptians & Ancient Hebrews. Discuss cultural development of the ancients. Why do historians place so much interest on geography and climate in their assessment of cultural development of the ancient word?. Overview of Ancient Egypt.

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The Ancient Egyptians & Ancient Hebrews

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  1. 1800-500 BCE The Ancient Egyptians &Ancient Hebrews

  2. Discuss cultural development of the ancients • Why do historians place so much interest on geography and climate in their assessment of cultural development of the ancient word?

  3. Overview ofAncient Egypt

  4. Timeline Ancient Egypt & the Hebrews • 2700-2200 BCE: Old Kingdom • 2000-1800 BCE: Middle Kingdom • 1800-1600 BCE: Rule of the Hyksos and settlement of Hebrews in Egypt • 1600-1100 BCE: New Kingdom, enslavement, and Exodus of Hebrews • 1000 BCE: rule of King David

  5. Why do we study the ancient Near East in a course mostly focused on European history? • Because the ancient near East had a substantial impact on European culture • In order to be more politically correct and foster diversity • I have no idea • Some other reason

  6. The Old Kingdom

  7. Middle Kingdom Temple of Amon, Karnak

  8. Isis Set Osiris

  9. Hyksos 1700-1500 BCE

  10. Extent of Hyksos rule

  11. New Kingdomc. 1450 BCE

  12. King Tutankhamen c. 1330 BCE

  13. 1800-500 BCE The Ancient Hebrews

  14. What has been the legacy of ancient Judaism on our culture?

  15. What was the most pronounced impact of the Hebrews on Western culture? • Monotheism • A linear understanding of time • A contractual approach to religion • Sympathy for the oppressed • Celebration of underdogs • Seinfeld & Bagels

  16. Marble depiction of Moses created by Michelangelo c. 1515 Tomb of Pope Julius II

  17. Moses Before Pharaoh

  18. Moses, Ten Commandments,Religious IdentityPainting by Rembrandt1600s

  19. David the Giant Slayer as depicted by Donatello and Michelangelo

  20. Oil painting by Domenico Feti, c. 1620 David with the head of Goliath

  21. William Blake – Sacrifice of Isaac c. 1900

  22. Abraham, Patriarch of Western Monotheism

  23. Drunkenness of Noah – G. Bellini c. 1490

  24. What did you make of the readings in Genesis & Exodus? • They were long and/or boring • They were confusing and/or ridiculous • I enjoyed them but was a bit confused • I was able to follow them and make sense of them • What readings? I did not even know about them

  25. Abraham’s Journey

  26. The Temple of Solomon

  27. Ancient Israel at the Height of its power in the 10th century BCE

  28. The Kingdoms of Israel & Judah

  29. Prophet Jeremiahc. 650 – 586 CE

  30. Where did Abram begin his journey in Genesis? • Ur of the Chaldeans • Jerusalem • Jericho • The Sinai Peninsula

  31. How does Hammurabi’s code differ from the Exodus Laws of the Hebrews? • It does not contain the law of the talion • The death penalty is not in the Hebrews’ laws • Hammurabi did not claim divine approval for his laws • Hebrew laws did not have different penalties for various classes

  32. Hellenistic Successor State: Seleucid Empire

  33. Painting by Charles de la Fosse c. 1675 The Finding of Moses

  34. Overview • Our sources for understanding the Hebrews • From Ur to Canaan • Ancient Judah and Israel • The Babylonian Captivity • The centuries before Christ

  35. Sources for the Ancient Hebrews • The Old Testament - especially the Pentateuch aka the Torah which literally means the law or the teachings • Some of the oldest surviving historical literature • linear concept of time • the intervention of God in human affairs • little descriptive information about geography • God acts along moral and ethical lines and expects his chosen people to do the same • Archeological studies

  36. Old Testament as History • Difficulties associated with its usage as historical source • credibility of some claims: people live for hundreds of years • miracles are outside the realm of modern experience • parting of the Red Sea • contradictions, especially in sequencing and dating • One solution is to interpret the Old Testament as a myth • similar to poetry in that in conveys values and meaning • not to be taken literally: allegory & exegesis

  37. From Ur to Canaan • The Hebrews were originally a nomadic tribe that appear to have migrated along the fertile crescent from Sumeria to Egypt before eventually settling in the Levant near the end of the second millenium BCE • They left Ur sometime around 1900 BC and settled in Egypt probably in the aftermath of the invasion of the Hyksos, when lower Egypt became a melting pot of cultures • Their fortunes may have suffered with the ouster of the Hyksos and their enslavement is recounted in the Book of Exodus

  38. The Hebrews in Egypt • The Hebrews were not uniformly monotheistic when they arrived in Egypt; by the time they left Egypt their monotheistic tendencies were strengthening • Exodus tells us of the difficulties that the Hebrews had in maintaining faith in a single God when they were surrounding by polytheists; the Ten Commandments amplify this concern • It is also likely that the Hebrews witnessed firsthand the abortive attempt of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten to impose monotheism or at least henotheism in the 1300s BCE

  39. The Book of Exodus • Writing may have started as early as 1200BC but was not completed until c. 500BC • Tells the story of the Hebrews living under Pharaoh and their dramatic escape • Has inspired generations of oppressed peoples that God will eventually come to their aid and may be the inspiration for Karl Marx’s description of religion as “the opiate of the masses” • Imparts the notion that God favors the humble rather than the proud and powerful

  40. The Book of Exodus • Contains the Ten Commandments c. 1250 BCE • definition of sin along the terms of a legal agreement between God and his people • communicated directly by God • would be incorporated in numerous medieval legal codes as the foundation of law and rules of civil society • some disagreement over number and content of commandments • they are followed by numerous legal prosciptions, including the law of the talion - an eye for an eye - which is also contained in the Babylonian/Sumerian Code of Hammurabi

  41. The Conquest of Canaan • Begins with Joshua’s fabled conquest of Jericho (c. 1200 BCE) • They carry the Ark of the Covenant into war and are unbelievably successful ( a la Raiders of the Lost Ark) • Occurs over approximately two centuries and includes the well known battle against the Phillistines in which David slays Goliath (c. 1000); once again the Old Testament glorifies the underdog

  42. The Kingdoms of Israel & Judah • Originally the single state of Israel emerges as a confederation of Hebrew tribes in the period 1200-1000 BCE but by 930 it is divided into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah • The faithlessness of the Israelites to YHWH eventually brings the destruction of their kingdom by the Assyrians and eventually the fall of Judah to the neo-Babylonians; an impending sense of doom influence the prophecies that precedes the fall • 597 BCE: the deportation of Jews to Babylon begins

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