Download BEFORE ISRAEL: Syria-Palestine in the Bronze Age

BEFORE ISRAEL: Syria-Palestine (SP)
in the Bronze Age
 The term Syria-Palestine designates the area
covered by the modern states of Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, the recently formed
Palestinian entity, and Jordan.
 It was never culturally unified, rather, it was
the home of several distinct, but
interrelated, contemporary cultures.
 Urban civilization only arose in NE
during the 2nd half of the 4th
millennium BC. First in Mesopotamia,
then in Egypt.
 However, urbanization in SP happened
in the early 3rd millennium BC when
small fortified cities began to emerge
throughout the region.
 At present, we know more about Palestine
(3rd millennium) than Syria because of the
excavation taking place in region (southern
and northern parts).
 Evidence tells us that Palestine’s population
increased in the Early Bronze I period
(3300-3100 BC), but not until 3200 did
walled fortification first appear.
 During Early Bronze Age II (3100-2700)
and III (2700-2300), Palestine contained
several fortified towns ranging in size
from 8-22 hec as well many villages
scattered throughout the countryside.
Later, more cities were founded,
fortifications, temples, and palaces.
 When Egypt abandoned its way through
Israel in Early Bronze Age III in favor of
the sea route to Byblos in Lebanon,
Palestine may have forced to look toward
Syria.
Ancient Tablets Discovery
 Ebla Tablets
 Mari Texts
 Nuzi Texts
 Ugaritic Text
 Amarna Tablets
Ebla Tablets
Ebla, Modern Tell Mardikh
 Located 35 miles southwest of Aleppo,
Syria.
 One of the only three Syrian cities to have
yielded written documents from this
period (cf. Mari and Tell Beidar, where
7064 tablets were found in 1993).
 Series of excavation took place in that
region from 1963, 1970s
 In 1973, they found the royal palace
which housed tablets from archive
room.
 The so-called “Ebla tablets” are known
as the one of the largest recovered
archives of the 3rd millennium BC from
the NE (17,000 tablets were
catalogued).
The image shows part of the excavated city of Ebla. Most of the ruins have been given a
top layer of new bricks. Some stones used to grind flour are also seen in the picture.
Contents of Ebla Tablets
 Initial reports linked it to the Bible. However, it
was proved wrong.
 80% are economic and administrative
documents.
 Mostly recording royal dealings in a wide variety
of goods—gold, silver, clothing, etc.
 Administrative texts show that Ebla controlled a
large area of northern Syria. It also reveals the
highly developed bureaucracy of the city.
 Non-economic tablets are a few literary texts such
as hymns; incantation texts; list of animals, birds,
professions, etc.
Mari Texts
Mari
 2nd millennium is a much more documented
period.
 Extraordinary archives have been discovered in
the cities of Syria and Mesopotamia about
political, social, economic, and religious
situation of the lands.
 Example: Texts from Mari
 This time is also called as the age of Amorite
kingdoms.
The Amorite Kingdom
 Earlier studies presented them as nomadic tribes
people sweeping Syrian desert; attaching urban
centers of Mesopotamia; bringing down NeoSumerian culture at the end of the 3rd
millennium.
 Then, they began to settle down and develop into
city-dwellers.
 Toward the end of the 19th century when the
written sources were beginning to appear, most of
the major cities of Mesopotamia and northern
Syria were ruled by kings with Amorite names.
Discovery of Mari Texts
 Mari was an ancient city in Syria situated on the
western bank of Euphrates river. It flourished from
2900 BC until 1759 BC, when it was sacked by
Hammurabi. Abraham is thought to have passed
through Mari on his way from Ur to Harran.
 It was discovered in 1933 by a Bedouin tribe. Then
they came across a headless statue. After a month of
digging (Dec. 1933), they found the temple of Ishtar.
 It was considered as the "most westerly outpost of
Sumerian culture.” Over 25,000 clay tablets in
Akkadian language written in cuneiform were
discovered.
Ancient History of Mari Texts
 The inhabitants of Mari were a Semitic people, thought to be part
of the same Eblaite and Akkadian migration.
 First Golden Age
The city flourished since it was strategically important as a relay
point between Sumerian cities of lower Mesopotamia and the
cities of northern Syria. Sumer required building materials such as
timber and stone from northern Syria, and these materials had to
go through Mari to get to Sumer.
 First Destruction
After a period of eminence beginning 2900 BC, Mari was
destroyed around 24th century BC. This destruction brought a
period of relative decline in importance in the region and the city
was reduced to no more than a small village.
 Second Golden Age
The second golden age commenced around 1900 B.C. under
the Amorite dynasty. Two significant archaeological discoveries
were made that dated back to this period:
 The palace of Zimri-Lim, a king of Mari (ca. 1775-1761 BCE),
contained over 300 rooms. The palace was possibly the largest
of its time.
 The state archives were also built during this time. From the
archives over 25,000 cuneiform tablets have been taken. The
tablets provided more than 500 new place names and
contributed to the revision of the historical dating of ANE and
redraw the geography of ancient world.
 Final Destruction
Mari was destroyed again after Zimri-lim was defeated by
Hammurabi (ca. 1759 B.C.). After this destruction, there were
scattered inhabitations by Assyrians and Babylonians, but the city
remained a village until the arrival of the Greeks, and vanished
from history thereafter.
Ruins of Mari
Remains of the historical city of Mari
Rooms inside Zimri Lim's
great palace in Mari, finest
example ever found of
Mesopotamean architecture.
Roof over the royal palace of Mari
Central courtyard of the palace of Zimri-Lim
Inside the
impressive
palace of
Zimri-Lim
Importance of Mari Texts in
the OT Studies
 These texts are important for Old
Testament studies because names
mentioned in the book of Genesis also
appear in the Mari Texts. For example the
name Canaan first appears in the Mari
Texts.
 Another reason for its importance in Old
Testament studies is that written prophecy
similar to Israel's prophets appears in the
Mari texts. This is important because it is
quite different from the prophecy of the
surrounding countries. There are twentythree such prophecies found in the Mari
texts. They were written to the king and the
authors claimed to be inspired by different
gods. These prophecies came in the form of
dreams, visions, and trances.
 These Mari texts show that some passages
in the Old Testament does describe the
culture of the region as it really was. For
instance the Mari texts shows that land was
not to be sold outside the extended family.
Usually land was inherited, apportioned, or
assigned to someone but it was never sold.
Tablet of Zimri-Lim, king
of Mari, concerning the
foundation of an icehouse in Terqa. Baked
clay, ca. 1780 B.C.
Goddess of fertility
Statue of a wosrhiper
Ugaritic Texts
History of Ugarit
 Ugarit was at its height from ca. 1450 to 1200 B.C.
 The first written evidence mentioning the city
comes from the nearby city of Ebla ca. 1800 B.C.
 A stela and a statuette from the Egyptian pharaohs
Sesostris II and Amenemhet III that were found
demonstrate of Egyptian influence (art).
 From the 16th to the 13th century B.C., Ugarit
remained in constant touch with Egypt and
Cyprus.
 A cuneiform tablet found in 1986 shows that Ugarit
was destroyed after the death of Merneptah,
probably in 1195 B.C.
The Discovery of the Ugaritic Texts
 Ugarit is a capital of the Ugarit kingdom.
 It is an ancient city lying in a large artificial
mound called Ras Shamra (Ra's Shamrah).
 It was first uncovered by the plow of a peasant at
Al-Bayda Bay when an ancient tomb at the small
Arab village of Ras Shamrah was discovered.
 Excavations were begun in 1929.
 The site has been particularly rich in finds, which
have yielded much valuable historical
information from which a partial account of the
city has been constructed .
The Ras Shamra Mound
Entrance to the royal palace
Excavated ruins at Ras Shamra
The Banquet Hall
The King of Ugarit serving lunch
to the clapping "Almighty" El, an
Old Testament Hebrew god
A Ras Shamra stele
depicting the god Baal
with his mace held high
Statuette of the chief
God El, at Ugaritic
pantheon.
El Seated on a throne
and raising
his hand in
benediction
The Finds
 Musical piece on a clay tablet, dating to the 14th century
BCE, has been excavated on site. Ugarit, in other words,
employed musical notation a full thousand years before
Pythagoras.
 One clay tablet reveals something of the Canaanites'
family values:
 Starting from today I Yaremano give up all my properties to my
wife Baydawe and two sons Yataleeno and Yanhamo. If one of
my sons treats his mother Baydawe meanly, he must pay five
hundred pieces of silver for the king. Beyond that he should
take off his shirt, leave it on the door's lock and go into the
street. But the one who treats his mother Baydawe with respect
and consideration, his mother will give him all the properties.
 The excavations have revealed the world's
first linear alphabet and information about
Canaanite religion that is highly significant
for Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies.
 The above Ugarit inscription is an Alphabet Chart showing all of the Ugarit
letters in order (Ugarit is read from left to right). Not only is this helpful in
knowing the actual Ugarit alphabet but also shows that the modern order of the
Hebrew alphabet has not changed. There are eight additional letters in the
Ugarit alphabet that are not in the Hebrew alphabet, two of which are vowels. It
may be possible that these were originally in the Hebrew alphabet but were
later dropped (not an uncommon occurence in the evolution of alphabets
around the world). The tablet is missing three letters, the 13th, 14th and 25th
letters, and may be broken off the right end of the tablet.
Significance of Ugaritic Archives to
Biblical Scholarship
 It provides for the first time a detailed description
of Canaanite religious beliefs during the period
directly preceding the Israelite settlement.
 It shows significant parallels to Biblical Hebrew
literature, particularly in the areas of divine
imagery and poetic form. Ugaritic poetry has
many elements later found in Hebrew poetry:
parallelisms, meters, and rhythms.
 The discoveries at Ugarit have led to a new
appraisal of the Old Testament as literature.
Canaanite Gods Mentioned in the Bible
 Baal
 Baal speaking - "So, my father,El the bull,
won't you bless him? Creator of all, won't
you show him your favor?” (Excerpts from
the Story of Aqhat)
 Baal means "lord" and is an euphemism
for the Canaanite god Hadad.
 Hadad was the storm god bringing life
giving rain; He was the son of Dagon.
 2 Kings 10:28-29: Thus Jehu wiped out BAAL from Israel. But
Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam son of
Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit - the golden calves
that were in Bethel and in Dan.
 1 Kings 16:31b-32 he (King Ahab) took as his wife Jezebel
daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and went and
served BAAL, and worshipped him. He erected an alter for
BAAL in the house of BAAL, which he built in Samaria.
 2 Kings 10:25-27: As soon as he (King Jehu) had finished
presenting the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and to
the officers, "Come in and kill them; let no one escape." So
they put them (all the prophets of BAAL) to the sword. The
guards and the officers threw them out, and then went to the
citadel of the temple of BAAL, and burned it. Then they
demolished the pillar of BAAL, and destroyed the temple of
BAAL . . . .
 Ashera
 The Canaanite mother of all the gods representing life
giving and the primeval sea . She was the principal
goddess of the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre.
 Asherah, besides being carved in a female likeness was
also symbolized by a pole.
 Judges 6:25: Pull down the altar of BAAL which your
father has, and cut down the ASHERAH that is beside
it:
 1 Kings 15:13 He also removed his mother Maacah from
being queen mother, because she had made an
abominable image for ASHERAH; Asa cut down her
image and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.
 1 Kings 18:19: Now therefor have all Israel assemble for
me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred fifty
prophets of BAAL and the four hundred prophets of
ASHERAH, who eat at Jezebel's table.
 2 Kings 17:10: they set up for themselves pillars and
ASHERAH's on every high hill and under every green
tree;
 2 Kings 17:16: They rejected all the commandments of
Yahweh their Elohim and made for themselves cast
images of two calves; they made ASHERAHs,
worshipped all the host of heaven, and served BAAL.
 2 Kings 21:7: The carved image of ASHERAH that he
had made he set in the house . . .
 Dagon
 Dagon is the father of Baal; the Semitic root
means “grain.”
 The first reference to the worship of the god
Dagon is found in the inscriptions of Sargon of
Akkad (a Semitic kingdom) dating to 2,200 B.C.
and located in the middle Mesopotamian region
around the city of Mari.
 The Bible reports that the at least some
Philistines adopted Dagon as one of their gods in
the cities of Ashdod, Beth-shan, and perhaps
Gaza.
 DAGON in the Bible:
 Judges 16:23: Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer
a great sacrifice to their god DAGON, and to rejoice; for they
said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand."
 1 Samuel 5:1-3: When the Philistines captured the ark of God,
they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod; then the Philistines
took the ark of God and brought it into the house of DAGON
and placed it beside DAGON. When the people of Ashdod rose
early the next day, there was DAGON, fallen on his face to the
ground before the ark of the YAHWEH. So they took DAGON
and put him back in his place.
 1 Chronicles 10:10: They (the Philistines) put his (King Saul's)
armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the
temple of DAGON.
 El
 El is the supreme creator god of the
Canaanites who lives with the other gods
on Mount Zaphon (similar to Mount
Olympus of the Greeks).
 He is the father of all the gods and men
and is often addressed as such by the
Canaanite gods.
 He is the god of the earth and the air who
is represented by a bull.
 Ashtoreth
 (Hebrew astart") is rendered Ashtoreth in
most of the older biblical translations due
to the insertion of the vowels from the
Hebrew word "boset" meaning "shame" to
form "astoret".
 She is the sister of Baal. A goddess of war,
love, storms. She is also called the queen
of heaven
 2 Kings 23:13: The king (Josiah) defiled the high
places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of
the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon
had built for ASTARTE the abomination of the
Sidonians, for CHEMOSH the abomination of
Moab, and for MILCOM the abomination of the
Ammonites.
 Judges 2:13: and they abandoned Yahweh and
worshipped Baal and the Astart.
 Judges 10:6: The Israelites again did what was evil
in the sight of Yahweh, worshipping the Baal and
the Astart, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the
gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the
gods of the Philistines