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