The Old Testament And The Ancient Near East - 1543 Words

THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST I. Summary of Scholarly Debate Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that†¦show more content†¦Even more so, Hittite suzerainty covenants, or treaties, almost always included six elements that are identical or very similar to the six parts that are found within the structure of Deuteronomy. II. Assessment of Arguments Now that we have been introduced to similarities that exist between what we find within the Old Testament, and what we find from the Ancient Near East, we must know explore what specifically the similarities are, as well as finding some differences among them. First, we should start by comparing the origin stories found in Genesis 1-11, and their ANE counterparts. The Mesopotamian Enuma Elish starts off by describing a cosmic conflict that is occurring between two deities, Marduk and Tiamat. After killing the evil Tiamat, Marduk uses her carcass to create heaven and earth, and then, with help from his father, uses her and her co-conspirator’s blood to create humankind to do the hard labor on the earth. Coming from an Old Testament background, we can infer that the conflict between Marduk and Tiamat points to Cain and Abel the first murder, as well as Adam and Eve, where the women, Eve, first partakes in the sin which eventually brings evil into the world. In addition, the fact of human kind being the labor force on earth refers to God’s creation of Adam and His curse to him saying he would have to work the land in order toShow MoreRelatedGENESIS AND ANCIENT MYTHS OF THE NEAR EAST930 Words   |  4 Pagesapproaches the biblical text, it is important to explore the cultural context in which the text occurs. With regard to the Book of Genesis, it is important to examine the writing with other contemporary works of similar geography and topics. The people of ancient Mesopotamia, where the oldest civilizations originated, produced a number of stories of creation and natural occurrences. It is important to note that many of the stories of the Sumerians, Akkadians and Hebrews began as oral traditions as the eventsRead MoreThemes from Genesis 1-111238 Words   |  5 Pages The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; called Torah in Hebrew. 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HANEY DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY BY 03 MARCH 2013 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: HISTORY AND METHODS 3 CHAPTER 2: COMPARATIVE STUDIES, SCHOLARSHIP, AND THEOLOGY 6 CHAPTER 3: SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST 10 CHAPTER 4: THE GODS 14 CHAPTER 5: TEMPLES AND RITUALS 19 CHAPTER 6: STATE AND FAMILYRead MoreCovenant : A Special Type Of Relationship919 Words   |  4 PagesCOVENANT N THE PENTATEUCH In the clearest sense a covenant is a special type of relationship. Normally practiced in the ancient Near East, covenant making allowed two parties, who were not related by blood, to enter into a special bond. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the concept of covenantal relationship was common in the ancient Near East. J. Arthur Thompson believes that one should keep the idea of covenant sacred, â€Å"In translating the word it may be helpful to use differentRead MoreAncient Near Eastern Thought Essay3623 Words   |  15 PagesAncient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible) Introduction Using contemporary studies as the foundation of his research John Walton reviews the ancient and Near Eastern and Israelite cognitive context. He provides guidance for students and general public to have a wider understanding and expand their knowledge of today’s culture, and historical culture interacts with the ancient world culture. In doing so, he tries to balance allRead MoreBiblical Inspiration Of Romeo And Juliet1491 Words   |  6 Pagescourse begins with the following challenge. Take a few minutes to think about it and then prepare a one or two sentence response. 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Ugarit and Ebla.[footnoteRef:1] Many scholars have argued on the implicationRead MoreBook Summary of John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament:4623 Words   |  19 PagesJohn 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. Part 1- Comparative studies TheRead MoreHistory And Historical Context Of The Old Testament1684 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical andRead MoreIntroduction The great American scholar, William Foxwell Albright was an American Biblical800 Words   |  4 Pagesusually referred as the ‘father of biblical archaeology’† He was considered an expert in many areas of study associated to the ancient Near East, particularly the Old Testament. â€Å"Albright’s most enduring legacy is his contribution to the establishment of a new paradigm of ancient Near Eastern Studies called biblical archaeology.† Furthermore, Albright was an authority on Near Eastern languages and became known in the archaeological world for his authentication of the Dead Sea Scrolls. His