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MAPS FOR THE JOURNEY
Geographical, Historical, and Literary Context
CHAPTER TWO
- Archaeology is an ancient activity
• Understanding the context of each find is as important as the actual item found
• The artifact is almost useless if we do not know the level of the dig, other artifacts associated with it, and its location
Archaeology & Biblical Studies
Archaeology & Biblical Studies
- Early writing forms included pictograms, which evolved into conventional symbols
- Before alphabets were invented, scribes needed to learn hundreds of signs and symbols
- The Rosetta Stone featured the same text in both hieroglyphics and Greek, allowing Greek readers to work on Egyptian translations
- The “Mesha Inscription”
• Discovered in 1868
• References have evidence that piece together the world in which the Old Testament was created
- The “Merneptah Stele”
• Discovered by Sir Flanders Petrie
• Writes about a “people” called “Israel”
• Oldest reference to the Israelites in existence
Archaeology & Biblical Studies
Archaeology & Biblical Studies
- Archaeological evidence (mostly stone tools) shows humans have lived in the Palestinian region over a million years
- Two of the most important sites for discovering prehistoric artifacts are Jericho and Ain Ghazal
Archaeology & Biblical Studies
- Tools of the Israelites show us they settled in the hills of Palestine instead of on the coastal plains
-Largest motivation for writing was not spiritual or religious, but business or military
• Context
• Pictograms
• Scribes
• Hieroglyphic Writing
• Prehistoric
Vocabulary
Area that was once Canaan
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cfford/fertile%20crescent.jpg
Modern Day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syrian Coastlands
Land of CanaanZones of Canaan (now Palestine):
1.) Coastal Plains
2.) Hill Country
3.) Jordan Valley
4.) Transjordanian Plateau
Land of Canaan
1.) Coastal Plains
- Become narrow towards the North of Palestine
2.) Hill Country
- Runs up the back of Palestine, where the hills turn into mountains
Land of Canaan3.) Jordan Valley
- A rift extending from Turkey into Africa
- Somewhat unstable which accounts for the frequency of serious earthquakes in Palestine
4.) Transjordanian Plateau
- Contained the “King’s Highway”
• Major North-South trade route of the ancient world
Land of Canaan
- The fertile crescent is the land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia
- This was a major trade route for the ancient world
http://www.netours.com/2003/appendices_files/08112002145657.jpg
Land of Canaan
- The Israeli people settled in the Fertile Crescent
- Many armies marched north and south through this area as Egyptian and Mesopotamian empires struggled for control of the passageway
- Israel was “caught in the middle”
- Helps us understand why the Old Testament has many examples of warfare- it was all around the Israelites
- The Israelites’ God Yahweh was portrayed as a warrior
- Since the Israelites could not do much military damage, they needed to rely on their God to protect them
Land of Canaan
- It was not the vast empires that wanted to control the Israelites, rather the passageway they lived in that interested enemies
- The Canaanites worshipped a variety of gods in temples
- The most popular was Baal
- This was Yahweh’s most significant rival.
Land of Canaan
- Israel arose into the land known as Canaan
- The Canaanites established a strong civilization
- The book of Exodus formally introduces the Chosen People
- Early Israelite faith was based on:
• A relationship with a God named Yahweh
• Worship in a movable shrine or tent
• Basic moral expectations (laws)
History of Israelites
History of Israelites
- Worship and living by the laws of Yahweh began among Egyptian slaves and converted Canaanites
- Would lead to Judaism, relying that God would save the people from their enemies, and that faith meant obedience to God wherever they lived
Assyrian Exile
- Israel joined a coalition of states in an attempt to resist increasing pressure of the Assyrian Empire
- Assyria invaded the west, the coalition of states
- Deported large numbers of newly conquered, and replaced them with a group from another part of the empire.
- Assyrian empire was eventually defeated by the rise of a rival Mesopotamian power, the Babylonians
History of Israelites
History of IsraelitesBabylonian Exile
- Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Assryrians and placed a new ruler, Zedekiah, on the throne
- He returned to Babylon with Jewish exiles
• Involved upper classes of Jewish society and anyone who posed a threat to the rule of Babylon
- Exile represents one of the most decisive changes in destiny for the Jewish people
• Judeans continued to reconstruct the faith, community, and temple worship
- The main task of the historical writers of ancient Israel was to illustrate their understanding of God and how He was involved in their lives
- The Old Testament was written as religious literature
Literature Styles
Pentateuch
- Core of the Old Testament
- Means “five books”
• In the Hebrew Bible, called the Torah
- Collections of laws contained in first five books:
1.) Covenant Code (contained in Exodus)
2.) Deuteronomic Code (included Deuteronomy)
3.) Priestly or religious laws added by priests (found mainly in Leviticus)
Literature Styles
Literature StylesHistorical Books
- Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles
- Tell about the history of Israel as a collection of tribes and then moving toward existence as a royal state
- Discuss the breakup of the kingdom
• Disobedience of the kings
• Disasters preceding the exiles
Literature StylesWisdom Books and Psalms
- Includes books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach
- Intended to guide people in learning the lessons of human life
- Main themes of wisdom literature:• Relationships
• Diplomacy
• Gaining of Knowledge
• Dangers of Adultery
The main activities of the prophets:
- To be messengers of God
- To be God’s prosecutor, delivering judgement on sinful acts
- To act as tireless advocates for the less fortunate of Israelite society
Literature Styles
