Download The Bible and the Ancient World

The Bible
And the
Ancient World
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
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
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
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
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
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
If You Aren’t a Chaplain, What is
Essential to Appreciate the Bible?
Essentials for Meaningful
Old Testament Study
Knowledge of the Land Labels
Awareness of the complexity of the
Background
A Basic Chronology of Events
Physical Geography of ANE
Three Main Parts of Fertile Crescent
Egypt
Palestine
Mesopotamia
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
The Kingdoms of Mesopotamia
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
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
Important Biblical Dates
Genesis 1-11
Abraham GE 12-50
Exodus
United Monarchy
Fall of Israel
Fall of Judah
Return from Exile
Birth of Jesus
4000-2000 (conservative)
2000-1550
1445/1200
1000
722 ASSYRIA
586 BABYLON
514
4 BC
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
Divided Kingdom
Upon Death of Solomon,
2 Sons, Jeroboam and Rehoboam
Jeroboam-Israel
Rehoboam-Judah
The Assyrians
853 Shalmaneser III Battle of Qarqar
841 Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
Tiglath-Pileser (PUL)
Founder of Assyrian Empire
Assyria’s Three Phase Policy
1. Collection of Tribute, Reduce King to a
Vassal of Assyria
2. Assyrians are on your doorstep, leave a
hand-selected king
3. Completely annex city-state, punish the
people by deportation and import
foreigners to settle.
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
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
The Babylonians
612 Fall of Nineveh
605 Battle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar assumes throne
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
Exile
586-539
Ezekiel
Daniel
Isaiah 40-66
Decline of Babylonian Empire through
pressure of Medes & Persians
539 Babylon surrendered to Persians
Persian Period
539-334
Cyrus the Great-Founder conquered Egypt
Darius I 522-486
Xerxes
Artaxerxes I
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
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
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