John H. Walton’s Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible is broken up into fourteen chapters. Those fourteen chapters are each part of one of five sections. This book also contains over twenty historical images. Before the introduction, the author gives readers a full appendix of all images used in this published work. The author then gives his acknowledgements followed by a list of abbreviations.…
. .Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah." The appointment of Zedekiah as king over Judah mentioned in the preceding passage has also been found in records from Babylon known as the Babylonian Chronicles. The tablet records that after Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in March of 597 B.C., “He installed a king of his own choosing.” (Zedekiah) The second Elnathan found in the Bible is Elnathan son of Achbor, who was a prince in king Jehoiakim's household. He is mentioned in Jeremiah 26:22 and Jeremiah 36:12. In the second part of letter III is an astonishing statement about a letter which came to Shallum son of Jaddu'a through the Prophet. Since there was only one major prophet at the time the Lachish letter was written, it seems very likely that this is an amazing reference to the prophet Jeremiah of the Old Testament. And Shallum son of Jaddu'a may in fact be the uncle of Jeremiah who is mentioned in Jeremiah 32:6-9: "And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, "Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it." "Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. "So I bought the field from Hanamel, the…
Jeremiah is the prophet of the old testament that I choose. He lived in the southern Kingdom of Judah and was alive about 600 BC before Jesus was born. He spread the message that all people were equal and that the people of Israel should worship God and never worship strange gods. He tried to explain to them that God loved them and would protect them, but the people of Israel didn’t listen. He continued preaching the word of God and telling people that God was good in all ways.…
In today’s society as people begin to comprehend how the ancient people viewed the world; the Old Testament becomes a book that can clearly stand within its ancient context. Although sometimes speaking against it, John Walton in the introduction of the book gives a well thought out introduction to ancient Near Eastern literature, and what information the book provides for understanding the world of ancient Israel.…
--Trace the chronology of Israel’s history from the patriarchal period through the end of the prophetic era emphasizing its significant events, personalities, and cultural settings.…
Isaiah’s contribution to the development and expression of Judaism was heavily influenced by the political and religious context of his time. In the midst of political and religious instability in Judah’s history, Isaiah, was a recognisable source of hope and guidance, and paved the way for the expression of modern Judaism. The evident political and religious instability, was to be vastly influenced by Isaiah’s works. Isaiah took an active role in the development and expression of Judaism in his time, through his influence in the guidance of the aristocracy, providing guidance even for the kings. “Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: Go and tell Hezekiah… ‘I have heard your prayers and seen your tears… I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria” (Isaiah 38:4-6) Isaiah, as the mediator between God and his people, forespoke guidance both politically and religiously, redirecting the Jews back to Mosaic Law. As a result, Isaiah instilled within the hearts of Jews faith in God, in a time of suffering and religious apathy.…
Ezekiel too mentions idolatry as the reason for Israel'scaptivity. In chapter eight he sees numerous examples of idolatry and the sin of Israel. The Lord commands Ezekiel to "Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here" (Ezekiel 8:9). He sees idols and detestable animals. He sees a woman morning for the Tammuz, which is the Babylonian fertility god (Ezekiel 12:31). Ezekiel also sees "twenty-five men with their backs toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east"(Ezekiel 8:16). God tells him, "I will deal with them in anger, and I will not look on them with pity or spare them"(Ezekiel 8:18). Ezekiel symbolizes the Babylonian exile by exiling himself from Israel, he is instructed to "dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it"(Ezekiel 12:5) Ezekiel is instructed to tell whoever asks him "As I have done so is will be done to them. They will go into exile the prince among them will put his things on his should at dusk and leave, and a…
Akhenaten was the Pharaoh of Egypt for 17 years during the Eighteenth Dynasty which took place from 1352 to 1336 B.C. He was born the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tyie. His was originally named after his father, Amenhotep IV, but decided to change his name during the fifth year of his reign. During that year he changed his name to Akhenaten, which means “horizon of the sun,” or can also be translated to “He who is of service to Aten.” He had six daughters, Merytaten, Meketaten, Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, and Sotepenpre. Akhenaten was also suspected of having two more sons, Smenkhkare who succeeded him on the thrown, and Tutankhamun whom reigned after his brother. Both sons were born from different mothers. His first wife Neferiti, who was renamed to Nefernefruaten by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, which translated, means “beautiful is the beauty of Aten,” was also known as the “great royal wife” during the early years of his reign. He also had 3 consorts during…
The letter of Cyrus the Great concerning the Jews was a letter Cyrus wrote stating his plans of helping the Jews return to their kingdom and promising them to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. He kept his word and made sure that the temple was built and if anyone opposed he threatened them with death. Cyrus’s strategy of conquest was unique because it allowed people that he conquered to have a sense of freedom, even though they were being ruled over. They didn’t have to confirm to Persian culture and religion by force. Rather he allowed the different groups that he conquered like the Babylonians, Egyptians, and others to continue their own religious practices as long as they pay taxes, and gave their sons to be soldiers to the Persian army.…
The Old Testament ends with the prophets. These teachers provided insight on many issues facing Jews who were desperate to know God. Idolatry, social injustice and religious ritualism are three areas that are emphasized in their teachings and instilled in the minds and hearts of believers today. The prophets were great teachers who had much to say about God and the way man lived, social issues they faced, religious rituals they took part in, and their teachings are just as important today as they were in the past.…
As much as the story is an epic battle that has always represented God’s ability to empower people to overcome any obstacle, it is a complex literary work of comparison, contrast, parallels, and proportions, repetition and point of view concepts, as he develops the characters in this story. The story reveals God’s provincial plan for the nation of Israel, the qualities of Godly leadership and how impossible tasks are accomplished when we submit to God’s authority. There are three main characters of this story; David, Goliath, Saul, and Eliab. David is the anointed king who is rising in power. Saul is the rejected King who is declining and Goliath is the agent of David’s introduction onto the political scene of Israel. In addition, some of the words the characters in this narrative use are of no small significance. The…
Ezekiel the “watchman “ prophet who had an assignment to bring the message to God’s people. Ezekiel was one of the prophet who were taken into exile along with King Jehoiachin. The prophet gift was in his dreams and then he reveal them as it were given to him. Ezekiel purpose were to bring restoration and hope to God’s people.…
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In the latter case, which is the one that recent research makes more probable, Abraham's own eyes and those of his kinsfolk rested often and familiarly on the sights of the great metropolis in the days of Sumu-abi and the first powerful Semitic kings. Amid these surroundings there came to the patriarch the impulse, God-given as are all high impulses, to leave the oppressive civilization for a freer, purer…
Moses the prophet was a very loyal servant of God and he was the one who set the example for the Israelites while they were on his journey to the Holy Land. Since his encounter with God in the burning bush he was chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. In this encounter God says to him, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a…