Digging Up the Bible: A Phoenician Ivory

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996
 

Phoenician Ivory Panel
(8^th century BC)

This face surfaced from the bottom of a well in Nimrud (biblical Calah). The artist carved the mask (approximately 6" x 4.5") from a single section of ivory tusk and used it to adorn a piece of furniture. The portrait may be a likeness of the Assyrian goddess Ishtar, whom the Phoenicians called Astarte. Alternatively, it could be a picture of the furniture's owner.

 

 

The prophet Amos disapproved of expensive ivory ornamentation, and he denounced its ostentatious display—"houses adorned with ivory" (Amos 3:15) and "beds inlaid with ivory" (Amos 6:4). At this time, ivory was as valuable as gold and, for the very rich, more popular. (The uncontrolled demand for ivory eventually drove the Syrian elephant into extinction.) Although there are several references to ivory in the Bible, there is no mention of elephant hunting or of ivory carving (i.e., as an Israelite craft). Apparently, ivory decorations were something rich Israelites bought from Syria or Phoenicia.

 

The largest collections of ivory found in Israel thus far are from the ancient cities of Megiddo and Samaria; both served as residences for the king.

 

 

At Megiddo, the palace treasury yielded over three hundred items dating from the beginning of the 12^th century B.C. At Samaria, archaeologists discovered over five hundred pieces from the 9^th and 8^th centuries B.C. The Samarian hoard is from the time of Amos and illustrates a reason for the prophet's outrage beyond Israel's opulent lifestyle. The ivories reflect Egyptian influence, including reliefs of deities such as Horus, Ra, Heh, Isis, Nephthys, and Osiris. These symbols compounded the sin of God's people by violating His repeated prohibition against graven images:

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything (Exod 20:4).

Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves (Lev 26:1).

Do not become corrupt [by] an idol, an image of any shape (Deut 4:16).

Israel's embracing of pagan culture, with the destructive effect it had on the social and political structure, eventually led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom:

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God.... They worshiped other gods.... They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.... So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria.... (2 Kgs 17:7, 15, 23)

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Phoenician Ivory Panel was typical of an ostentatious lifestyle among the wealthy in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. While God does not oppose wealth, using it at times to express His favor, He prefers a reserved way of life, one characterized by "modestly...decency, and propriety" (1 Tim 2:9).

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Digging Up the Bible: A Philistine Relief

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996
 

Philistine Relief from Temple at Medinat Habu
(12^th century BC)

This portrait is a close-up of one of the many captured Philistines carved on the walls of the Medinat Habu temple at Thebes in Egypt (the mortuary temple of Ramesses III).

 

 

The battle on the mural took place in 1177 B .C. and pits the Sea Peoples against Egyptian forces. In the hieroglyphic text accompanying the reliefs, Ramesses III claims to have repelled the Sea Peoples, including the Philistines.

 

 

That victory (in 1177 B .C.) must have been a partial one, however, because in the 12th and 11th centuries there were Philistine colonies in the Nile delta, along Egypt's southern frontier with Nubia, and in Canaan.

 

The Bible first mentions the Philistines in the patriarchal narratives. Both Abraham and Isaac dealt with Abimelech of Gezer, king of the Philistines. At that time, the Philistines lived in and around Beersheba. They were generally peaceful—not yet the enemy of Israel.

 

 

Eventually, most of the Philistines settled in the southwestern part of Canaan and took possession of five major cities, subjugating or displacing the Canaanite population.

The territory of the five Philistine rulers [was] in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron.... (Josh 13:3)

Not content to remain on the coast, they expanded inland. The first mention of the Philistines as Israel's principle foe appears in the days of Samson, about the beginning of the 11^th century when they already controlled much of Dan and Judah:

The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. (Judg 13:1)

Though eventually beaten back, the Philistines continued to harass God's people through several administrations of the Judean monarchy until the Babylonian invasion when Nebuchadnezzar's forces finally destroyed them.

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: A Philistine relief from the temple at Medinat Habu depicts one of the Sea Peoples who battle the Egyptians for control of Canaan. The relief shows how the Philistines may have appeared and explains, in part, how they came to be in the land. This find adds color and definition to what the Bible says about the Philistines and their eventual contact with the Israelites.

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Digging Up the Bible: A Persian Cup

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996
 

Persian Cup
(550-332 BC)

Persia had three capital cities: Susa (biblical Shushan), Ecbatana (150 miles north of Susa), and Persepolis (300 miles southeast of Susa). This formal gold wine cup comes from the royal palace at Ecbatana. The cast of a roaring lion displays the skills of a Persian artisan (550-332 B.C.). Ahasuerus, the king who chose Esther as his queen, probably drank from vessels similar to this at royal banquets described in the Book of Esther. This cup is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

 

When Ahasuerus came to power, Persia was already the largest empire in the known world and still growing. In the first year of the king's reign, he attempted to conquer Greece but suffered setbacks at Thermopylae, defeat in a navel battle at Salamis, and humiliation at Plataea.

 

The Book of Esther opens in "the third year" of Ahasuerus's reign (1:3). Esther did not become queen until "the seventh year" of his rule (2:16), evidently after the king had come back from Greece (479 B.C.). The Greek historian, Herodotus, specifically relates that, upon the king's return, Ahasuerus consoled himself by enlarging his harem. Because the events of the story and the characters, except King Ahasuerus, are still unknown from secular sources, many critics consider the book a work of fiction. A. Bentzen, author of Introduction to the Old Testament (Copenhagen, 1948, vol. 2, p. 192), for example, calls it an "historical novel."

 

Although archeology cannot prove the historicity of the Book of Esther, it supplies ample evidence pointing to the book's genuineness. The fact that there is no Hellenistic coloring in the narrative and that there are no Greek words, both features being characteristic of a later period, suggest a date at least before the late 4th century B.C. Bentzen must admit that "the story teller knows something of the administration of the Persian kingdom and especially of the construction of the Palace at Shushan," despite his contention that the book is nothing more than historical fiction.

 

Excavations show that "Shushan the Palace" (1:2) refers to the acropolis of the Elamite city of Susa, where magnificent ruins remain, recalling the splendor of the Persian kings. Between 1880-1890, French excavators uncovered Ahasuerus's breathtaking royal residence spread over two and a half acres. These explorers found so much treasure from the period of Xerxes (the Greek equivalent to Ahasuerus) that the Louve in Paris devoted two large rooms to the collection.

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Persian Cup from the royal palace the Book of Esther describes is one of the few places in the Old Testament that historians can restore accurately from excavation data, which helps to confirm the reliability of the biblical text. The gold cup is typical of the extravagant drink ware official celebrations there used.

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Digging Up the Bible: Messianic Apocalypse

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture

pdf

Linda Manuel—1996

Messianic Apocalypse
(c. 100 BC)

The Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521) is a collection of fifteen leather fragments with three columns of Hebrew text. Originally called "On Resurrection," it is among the most intriguing of the newly released Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS). Abbe Jean Starky began the translation but died in 1988 before finishing. After Starky's death, Father Emile Puech of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem took over the work and is the present official editor.

 

Qumran cave 4, where most of the scrolls were found

The largest fragment, consisting of fourteen lines from column two, appears above and is translated below. The precise date of the text is uncertain, from 200 B.C.—70 A.D., though perhaps soon after 100 B.C.

 

This text, designated 4Q521 (document 521 from cave 4), reflects a close relationship to messianic belief among certain Jewish groups outside Qumran. The most well preserved part of this text are fourteen lines from column two. (In accord with scholarly convention, the parts in square brackets are reconstructed on the basis of surviving portions.):

 

A Translation of U521

1. [...The hea]vens and the earth will obey his messiah.
2. [The sea and all th]at is in them. He will not turn aside from the commandment of the holy ones.
3. Take strength in his mighty work, all you who seek the Lord.
4. Will you not find the Lord in this, all you who wait (for him) with hope in your hearts?
5. Surely the Lord will seek out the pious, and will call the righteous by name.
6. His spirit will hover over the poor, by his might will he will restore the faithful.
7. He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal kingdom.
8. He will release the captives, make the blind see, raise up the do[wntrodden .]
9. For[ev]er I will cleave [to him ag]ainst the [po]werful, and [I will trust] in his lovingkindness
10. a[nd in his] godliness forever. His] holy [messiah] will not be slow [in coming.]
11. And as for the wonders that are not the work of the Lord, when he (i.e., the messiah) [comes]
12. then he will heal the sick, resurrect the dead, and to the poor announce good tidings.
13. ...he will lead the [holy] ones, he will shepherd [th]em. He will do
14. ...and all of it...

Both Matthew and Luke state that when John the Baptist was in prison he sent his disciples to ask Jesus about the rabbi's messianic identity. Jesus' reply settles their suspicions:

Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. (Matt 11:4-5 = Luke 7:22-23)

These signs of the messiah apparently confirmed Jesus' messianic identity to John's disciples, because they left without further discussion.

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Messianic Apocalypse is like passages in Matthew and Luke, and it may represent a tradition within Palestinian Judaism one hundred years before Jesus' birth. It offers a comparison between the groups that fled into the wilderness to prepare "the way of the Lord" (Isa 40:3; Luke 3:4). They had similar expectations and drew on similar texts from the Hebrew Bible. 4Q521 provides an important example of common messianic hope among Jews, including followers of Jesus and John.

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Digging Up the Bible: Merneptah Stele

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996
 

Merneptah Stele
(c. 1220 BC)

Pharaoh Merneptah, who ruled Egypt 1223-1211, commissioned this seven and a half foot monolith found in 1896 at his Thebes funerary temple. The monument, now in the Cairo Museum, recounts the pharaoh's battles with the Sea Peoples, invaders representing several different nations from Europe and Asia Minor. Another name for this granite piece is "The Israel Stele" (or stela) because it mentions a short campaign into Canaan, where Merneptah allegedly defeated a people called Israel.

 

 

The text contains the earliest reference to Israel and is indispensible for confirming biblical events for which there is scant or even no extra-biblical evidence:

The rulers lie prostrate saying 'peace;' none raises his head among the Nine Bows [Egypt's traditional enemies, by now a literary convention]. Plundering is for Tehenu [Libya]. Hatti is at peace. Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe. Ashkelon has been overcome. Gezer has been captured. Yano'am was made non-existent. Israel is laid waste, (and) his seed is not. Hurru [Canaan] is become a widow for Egypt. All lands are united in peace.

 

 

 

When Merneptah took the throne of his father Ramses II (perhaps the pharaoh of the exodus), he was already elderly. Egypt was an empire in decline, and the myth of the invincible divine Pharaoh often led to exaggerated claims of military victories that cannot be substantiated by historical evidence. The boast of an Israel campaign is one such claim. Although history cannot prove the battle actually took place, the stele does show that Israel was a viable force in Canaan at the time.

 

The hieroglyphics include determinatives (signs indicating a word's category) that mark Ashkelon and Gezer as city-states; but the determinative attached to Israel identifies it as a people group, apparently not possessing a distinct location. In other words, Israel's status seems to be that of a nomadic collection of tribes rather than a settled population—the land is not yet theirs. These small details help to answer some historical questions, while other issues remain unresolved. For example, it took the nation more than forty years to get into Canaan but, once there, how long did it actually take to possess the land? Joshua was very old when God commanded him to divide the land among the Israelite tribes, and even then they had not completed the conquest.

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Merneptah Stele, with its specific citation of Israel, provides evidence of the people's presence in the land of Canaan at a time of great regional upheaval, having entered from the east as the Sea Peoples entered from the west.

 

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Digging Up the Bible: Megiddo Altar

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Megiddo Altar
(13^th century BC)

Tel Megiddo is widely regarded as the most important archaeological site in Israel today. (A Tel is an artificial hill or mound.) Researchers have uncovered twenty levels of civilization representing 5500 years of continuous habitation from 6000-500 B.C. The round altar there (2950-2350 B.C.) was the center for much of the city's religious activity. Seven steps (in the photo) lead to a huge platform twenty six feet in diameter and five feet high. Adjacent to it were three small temples, each assigned to a different deity. In some respects, this altar resembles the biblical "high places" which religious reformers in the 81h and 7th centuries condemned.

Megiddo was a major city and cultic center in Canaan. The culture of the Canaanites was not primitive according to the standards of its day. They had international trade connections throughout the Mediterranean, drew advanced architectural design and construction techniques from Egypt, and displayed intricate pottery decoration. (A small broken tablet found on the site containing a passage from the Gilgamesh Epic may indicate a scribal school in Megiddo.) Their religious practices, however, were morally depraved, including child sacrifice, fertility rites, and sexual perversion, all of which God considered detestable. He instructed Israel to destroy the Canaanites, but His people failed to complete the task. Israelite forces did not conquer Megiddo until long after the initial incursion:

Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. (Judg 1:27)

Most scholars date its capture to the time of David, several hundred years later.

The book of Leviticus gives detailed instruction on ceremonial law and lists warnings and condemnations of Canaanite cultic practices:

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'I am the LORD your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.... "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Lev 18:1-3, 24-28)

Despite this instruction, Israel allowed some pagan religious centers to remain, and these eventually led the nation away from God.

Later in Israel's history, God used the Assyrians to take the ten northern tribes into exile because of their involvement in these corrupt practices. The southern tribes also adopted Canaanite rites, and God sent them into exile through Babylon. Leviticus calls God's people to be holy in every aspect of life. Holiness cannot coexist with evil or depravity, a point believers would do well to remember even today.

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Megiddo Altar is a reminder of why the Northern Kingdom of Israel went into exile and of the devastating effect idolatry had on the nation:

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt.... They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. (2 Kgs 17:7-9)

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Digging Up the Bible: The Manachem Seal

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Manachem Seal
(late 1^st century AD)

This bulla was one of several clay seals (bullae) that was part of a cache in Jerusalem, having survived the burning of the Jewish capital by Roman troops in A.D. 70.

While the survival of many seals, which once marked correspondence (since destroyed), have a simple design unique to the author, this particular seal has the name of its author: "Achiav ben [son of] Manachem."

Menachem appears in the biblical text as a monarch from the Northern Kingdom of Israel: "In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah [Uzziah] king of Judah, Menachem...became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria ten years. (2 Kgs 15:17). Archav resembles another Israelite king: "Ahab...became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years" (1 Kgs 16:29). Although the seal chronology of these individuals (i.e., Achiav after Manachem) does not match their relative reigns (i.e., Menachem after Ahab), the appearance of these names shows their popularity in Jewish society.

Seals were an important part of official correspondence, helping to ensure the secrecy and integrity of a letter's contents:

"[Jezebel] wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles" (1 Kgs 21:8).

This whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, "Read this, please," he will answer, "I can't; it is sealed." (Isa 29:11)

"I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy" (Jer 32:11).

Multiple seals on a single document marked additional security or a document the recipient should open in stages:

I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals.... The Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. The Lamb opened the second seal.... The Lamb opened the third seal.... The Lamb opened the fourth seal.... He opened the fifth seal.... He opened the sixth seal.... He opened the seventh seal.... (Rev 5:; 6:1,3,5,7,9, 12;8:1)

Significance for Biblical Studies: While the Manachem Seal does not confirm the historicity of any particular king, it shows the popularity of these names and demonstrates how people in 1^st century Judaism secured their correspondence.

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Digging Up the Bible: An Ivory Cherub

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Ivory Cherub from Samaria
(9^th century BC)

This ivory cherub is from a cache of over 200 pieces that excavators found in the palace of King Ahab (876-854 B.C.) at Samaria: "As for the other events of Ahab's reign, including all he did, the palace he built and inlaid with ivory..." (1 Kgs 22:39).

All the ivories in the collection represent the Phoenician style and are similar to those from Cyprus, Syria, and Assyria. Some scholars believe Jezebel, Ahab's Tyrian wife, introduced them along with various cult practices to the northern capital of Israel. Tradition identifies human-headed lions with spread wings as the biblical cherubim.

Cherubim are composite creatures, perhaps the most spectacular of the supernatural realm. They appear in the Old Testament numerous times yet only once in the New: "Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover" (Heb 9:5). Not all cherubim are alike, although they have similar features in each account. When describing them for the wilderness tabernacle, the biblical author assumes the reader is already familiar with the cherubim's appearance, concentrating on their placement over the ark and their relative orientation:

Make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites. (Exod 25:18-22)

When describing cherubim for the first temple, the biblical author again assumes the reader is familiar with the cherubim's appearance, specifying the materials and dimensions for their construction:

In the inner sanctuary he made a pair of cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing five cubits—ten cubits from wing tip to wing tip. The second cherub also measured ten cubits, for the two cherubim were identical in size and shape. The height of each cherub was ten cubits. He placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple, with their wings spread out. The wing of one cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the other touched the other wall, and their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. He overlaid the cherubim with gold. (1 Kgs 6:23-28)

Several other passages speak about the LORD "enthroned between the cherubim" (2 Sam 6:2; Ps 80:1; 99:1; Isa 37:16).

The fullest description of cherubim is in Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly entourage that attends the LORD:

In the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. (Ezek 1:5-10)

 Later, the prophet identifies these "living creatures": "I realized that they were cherubim" (Ezek 10:20).

The living creatures in Rev 4 are probably the same beings (cherubim), but John describes them differently from the creatures in Ezekiel. Each has one prominent feature, but all have six wings and many eyes:

The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. (Rev 4:7-8)

 Whether the decorative image in Ahab's palace or the "living creature" in John's vision, the cherub is a composite, supernatural being that should be terrifying to the people of God because it serves in the presence of God. 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Ivory Cherub from Samaria is a reminder that what is evident to the physical senses is not all there is, that we do not live in a closed system but in a realm both natural and supernatural beings inhabit, a collective group we will one day join:

There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.... They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. (Rev 7:9, 11).

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Digging Up the Bible: The Code of Hammurabi

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996
 

Hammurabi Code
(18^th century BC)

M.J. de Morgan, archeologist and curator of the Louvre (1901), discovered this eight foot diorite stele (an upright slab or pillar, usually with an inscription on it) in Susa where the Elamite king, Shutruk-nehhunte, took it as booty following a successful raid on Babylon in 1160 B.C. The piece was originally created for King Hammurabi and placed in the Esagil temple of Marduk, chief god of the Babylonian pantheon. The prophet Jeremiah mentions Marduk:

This is the word the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: "Announce and proclaim among the nations, lift up a banner and proclaim it; keep nothing back, but say, 'Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror. Her images will be put to shame and her idols filled with terror.' (50:1-2)

The inscription consists of forty-four columns of laws and specific cases that the king judged. The Code of Hammurabi derives, in part, from the king himself and may date from the beginning of his rule. He commissioned the final edition and compilation on this stele thirty years later.

 

 

King Hammurabi reigned over the city of Babylon from 1792-1750 B.C. An abundance of letters and other administrative documents profile a strong king engaged in direct control over matters of war, diplomacy, and business, yet attentive to the finer things of life such as good food, hunting, and beautiful architecture. Through his conquests, the kingdom grew from a small city-state to include the entire Mesopotamian valley. In his first full year as king, Hammurabi made a public pronouncement of the law which would govern the religious and economic life of his people, much like the "reforms" of Hebrew kings who, by restating allegiance to biblical law in the opening year of their rule, "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD". The code bears many similarities to Sinaitic legislation:

	Hammurabi	Deuteronomy
False witness	If a man accused another man and brought a charge of murder against him, but has not proved it, his accuser shall be put to death.... If he came forward with (false) testimony concerning grain or money, he shall bear the penalty of that case. (1, 4)	1 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime...and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you. (19:16-18)
Parental treatment	Parental If a son has struck his father, they shall cut off his hand. (195)	Honor your father. (20:12)
Adultery	If the wife of a man has been caught while lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the water... If the husband of the woman wishes to spare his wife, then the king in turn may spare [the man]. (1,29)	If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. (22:22)
Kidnapping	If a man has stolen the young son of another man, he shall be put to death. (14)	If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you. (24:7)

 

The origin and purpose of these two legal bodies, however, were quite different. In biblical tradition, God created man for fellowship with Him and gave the law so that, through it, His people could become holy and represent Him to others. Hammurabi recorded the laws and cases on this stele to demonstrate his stewardship and wisdom to his god Marduk. The king displayed the pillar in the temple for Marduk to see, and it remained there for five centuries. Moreover, whereas Hammurabi boasted about his accomplishments, Moses was self-effacing: "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" (Exod 3:1 1)
 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Hammurabi Code ceased to be the law of the land at his death. Our God, however, is eternal, and His laws are "eternal" (Ps 119:160). Moreover, those who keep His commandments will enjoy fellowship with Him "forever" (Deut 5:29).

For a pdf go here.

Digging Up the Bible: The Gilgamesh Epic

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Gilgamesh Epic
(7^th century BC)

This clay tablet with cuneiform (wedge-shaped) script was discovered at the site of ancient Nineveh (modern Iraq), capital of the Assyrian empire, by Austen Henry Layard in 1851 and deposited in the British Museum. George Smith translated the text in 1872.

The Gilgamesh Epic (tablet XI) is an ancient Mesopotamian (Sumerian) poem that chronicles the events of a flood told by one of the only survivors, Utnapishti, to the mythical hero, Gilgamesh.

King Gilgamesh

There were originally twelve clay tablets recounting the adventures of the King of Uruk from the third dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 B.C.). The tale was recorded centuries before Moses wrote the book of Genesis. The document shows a striking resemblance to the biblical account of the flood (chapter 8), as the selections below illustrate. This tablet came from the library ruins of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal.

Gilgamesh	Genesis
When the seventh day arrived, I put out and released a dove. The dove went; it came back, for no perching place was visible to it, and it turned round.	After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. (Gen 8:6-7)
I put out and released a swallow. The swallow went; it came back, for no perching place was visible to it, and it turned around.	Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. (Gen 8: 8-9)
	He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. (Gen 8: 10-11)
I put out and released a raven. The raven went, and saw the waters receding. And it ate, preening, lifted its tail, and did not turn around.	He waited seven more days and sent the  dove out again, but this time it did not return  to him. (Gen 8:12)

This text, although not identical to the biblical record, probably came from the same source, but in the transmission of the actual account the traditions diverged. There are other texts even older than Gilgamesh that speak about a great flood, yet we believe the story that came down through the patriarchs and that Moses recorded is what actually happened during the time of Noah.

Significance for Biblical Studies: What this document (and others like it) shows is that Scripture was not composed in a vacuum. Biblical authors working through the guidance of the Holy Spirit may have used existing literary sources to compile the historical record we now call the Bible.

For a pdf go here.

Digging Up the Bible: The Gezer Calendar

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Gezer Calendar
(late 11^th to early 10^th century BC)

R.A.S. Macalister discovered the Gezer Calendar in 1908 at the site of the ancient Canaanite city, about seventy miles west of Jerusalem. The inscribed limestone tablet is 4'14" by 2/4". Its irregular bottom edge indicates that a portion broke off before the scribe made this record. Moreover, an examination of the surface reveals an earlier but now indistinguishable use (having been scraped and sanded smooth). The current text, which is complete, fits the available space. The inscription's paleography (study of ancient writing) and orthography (study of ancient spelling) help date the text.

 

 

The writing is paleo-Hebrew, and the text describes the agricultural year in verse form. It may have been an aide for teaching children:

His two months are (olive) harvest
     His two months are planting (grain)
          His two months are late planting
His month is hoeing up flax
     His month is harvest of barley
           His month is harvest and feasting
His two months are vine-tending
     His month is summer fruit.

The significance of this find is not just the insight it offers into early educational material—although it does suggest that literacy may have been fairly prevalent in Israel—but the window it offers into the regular agricultural cycle. For example, reading the book of Ruth against the backdrop of the Gezer Calendar offers perspective on the timetable of those events, that they occurred over several months and not just a few weeks, as the brevity of the four-chapter narrative may seem to suggest: "Ruth went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz." (Ruth 2:3)
 

Plowing and sowing began in November, after the early rains, and continued into February. The new grass and herbs sprang up quickly during the later rains of March and April, and farmers either harvested them for fodder or left them for pasturing livestock. Flax was one of these "new grasses" pulled up by hand. Having gathered and stored the fodder, the barley, first of the major grain crops, was ripe. Reaping occupied the months of April, May, and June. Ruth spent at least three months in the fields of Boaz: "Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished" (Ruth 2:23).
 

Wheat was the largest crop of the year, and processing it took considerable time. Threshing was the final step and lasted through June and July. During that period Boaz and Ruth would have had time to develop a relationship. Furthermore, the threshing floor was a public area, probably near the city gate, and may have been where farmers paid their debts and taxes. Naomi would have known this and advised Ruth to seek Boaz there: "Is not Boaz...a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor." (Ruth 3:2)
 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Gezer Calendar may have been a child's practice tablet, but it provides insight to Israelite customs of that time. It describes the order of the agricultural year and shows how children may have learned that order. It also explains the chain of events God used to bring Ruth and Boaz together: "Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.... The LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.... Boaz [became] the father of Obed." (Ruth 4:13, 21) The union of Ruth and Boaz began the line from which David came, and ultimately the messiah: "Jesus... was the son...of Joseph...the son of David...the son of Obed, the son of Boaz." (Luke 3:23, 31-32)

For a pdf go here.

Merry Christmas! 2017

Dr and Mrs Paul Manuel

5351 Church View Road

Loysburg, PA  16664

Dear Family and Friends,

Christmas is ever an opportunity for both affirmation and anticipation, despite what may have happened in the past or what may be happening in the present, affirmation of what we know about God and anticipation of what we know God is about. It was so on the first Christmas, and it should be so on this Christmas. The first Christmas affirmed that God is deserving of "glory in the highest" (Luke 2:14). The first Christmas affirmed that events were not out of control, despite their appearance, but were very much in control as God was fulfilling His plan "when the time had fully come" (Gal 4:4).

For Jews in the first century, it had been many years since the Lord made Himself known as "the God of Israel" (Exod 24:9; Jer 50:18). The Roman government controlled both the land of Israel and the people of Israel. Most citizens of the Empire, if they had any religious inclination, were polytheists not monotheists. As Jews looked to the future, their national prospects were not especially bright. They lived under the thumb of an oppressive regime with no relief in sight. Many wondered if God had abandoned them, despite the repeated promise of His presence: "I am with you" (Isa 41:10; 43:5; Jer 1:8; 30:11; 42:11; 46:28; Hag 1:13; 2:4).

It is similar in America today for gentile believers and for Jews. A largely secular government controls both the land and its citizens. Most people, if they have any inclination, are increasingly secular. They live under a regime (and in a society) that is often hostile to godly concerns. Christians continue to observe their holidays but with the ever-present denuding of their formerly explicit religious content (despite the president's return to "Merry Christmas"), the same question inevitably rises: "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." (2 Pet 3:4) But God has not changed. His plan is still on track, and He remains committed to His people.

Christmas is an annual reminder that neither God nor His program has changed. He is still concerned for and committed to the best interests of His people. The promise He issued through Jeremiah holds true yet today: "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord... "plans to give you hope and a future" (29:11). Christmas is the regular confirmation of God's good intentions for His people: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

May the affirmation and anticipation of this season stay with you throughout the new year as you contemplate the joy of the savior's advent.

Merry Christmas!
Pastor Paul and Linda

For a pdf see here.

Digging Up the Bible: The Elephantine Papyri

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Elephantine Papyri
(6^th-4^th century BC)

These papyri, folded neatly and sealed with clay bullae, are part of a cache of documents discovered on the Egyptian island of Elephantine (at Aswan along the Nile River). The hoard consists of legal contracts and personal correspondence, mostly in Aramaic, providing insight to the Jewish presence in Egypt during the Persian Period.

The Elephantine community probably started during Manasseh's reign as a military outpost. In 650 B.C. the king sent a small contingent of soldiers to support Pharaoh Psammetichus I in his fight against the Nubians in the south and against the Assyrians in the north. With his help, Psammetichus was able to declare independence (for a short time) and drive back the Assyrian forces. Israel, however, was not able to stop the invasion of its territory. The Northern Kingdom had already fallen to Assyrian forces (722 B.C.), and the Southern Kingdom became a vassal state. The Jewish soldiers at the outpost chose to remain in Egypt after Manasseh's defeat and deportation:

The king of Assyria took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. (2 Chr 3:11)

Perhaps as incentive to stay (on the first line of defense between Egypt and the ever-advancing Assyrian military), Pharaoh allowed the displaced Jews to build a temple to their God on the island of Elephantine. This was not an isolated accommodation; Egypt also allowed Arameans stationed on the mainland to build temples to their many gods.

Why the Jewish military outpost needed a temple is not clear. Some scholars think that clergy and laity loyal to the faith who fled Manasseh's state-sponsored paganism joined the garrison in Egypt to create a new community, and Isaiah's prophecy may have inspired them to build a temple:

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. (Isa 19:19)

The Egyptian Jews did not have extensive resources, but they duplicated the dimensions and basic structure of Solomon's temple. They also performed the offerings biblical law required.

Although the date of construction is not certain, one of the papyri in the Elephantine collection states that the temple was standing before the Persian invasion in 525 B.C.:

During the days of the kings of Egypt [i.e., when Egypt was independent] our forefathers built that temple in the Elephantine fortress, and when [the Persian ruler] Cambyses entered Egypt, he found that temple built.

The temple remained untouched until 410 B.C. when Egyptian priests of the ram god Khum along with a wayward Persian official named Vidranga destroyed it.

Jedaniah, leader of the Jewish community at Elephantine, wrote to Baghohi, the Persian governor of Judah, to intercede on his behalf for the rebuilding of the temple:

Your servants Jedaniah and his colleagues and the Jews, all (of them) citizens of Elephantine, thus say: If to our lord it is good, take thought of that temple to (re)build it. Regard your obligees and your friends who are here in Egypt. May a letter from you be sent to them about the temple of the Lord the God to (re)build it in Elephantine the fortress just as it had been built formerly. And the meal offering and the incense and the burnt-offering they will offer on the altar of the Lord the God in your name and we shall pray for you at all times...

The reply to this letter was probably an oral message to Jedaniah through the person who delivered the letter to Bogohi. A small note, in the first person, did get permission to rebuild on the condition that they make only certain offerings there:

You may stay in Egypt before Arsames about the altar-house of the God of heaven which is in Elephantine the fortress was formerly built was formerly before Cambyses (and) which Vidranga, that wicked (man) demolished in year fourteen of King Darius: to (re)build it on its site as it was formally, and the meal offering and the incense they shall offer upon the altar just as formerly was done.

During the period of the first Elephantine temple, Manasseh's pagan reign ended and Josiah's major reforms centralized worship in Jerusalem again. Josiah's primary concern was to eliminate idolatry and to correct the perversion of blood sacrifices. His reforms, however, did not extend beyond the land of Israel. During the Persian Period, when the Elephantine Jews asked the governor of Judah to intercede with the Egyptian authorities for permission to rebuild their temple, the governor consulted the Jewish council in Jerusalem. The council agreed on condition that the Egyptian Jews not make animal sacrifices but did not restrict other offerings, perhaps in light of Malachi's prophecy:

"My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. (Mal 1:11)

Digging Up the Bible: The Cyrus Cylinder

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
pdf
Linda Manuel—1996

Cyrus Cylinder
(539-538 BC)

Hormuzd Rassam discovered this intricate clay artifact in Babylon during the late 19h century. It constitutes part of the Persian collection at the British Museum. The inscription is in Akkadian cuneiform on parallel lines around the circumference of the cylinder.

 

 

Two hundred years before Persia conquered Babylon, the Lord named Cyrus and described how He would employ this future king to liberate captive Israel:

This is what the LORD says to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isa 45:1-6)

This passage states that God would use Cyrus, although the king would "not acknowledge" Him. The Cyrus Cylinder chronicles the king's version of the same events. Cyrus did consider himself divinely appointed, but the deity he served was Marduk, the god of Babylon:

He scanned and looked through all the countries, searching for a righteous ruler willing to lead him [i.e., Marduk] in the annual procession. Then he pronounced the name of Cyrus (Ku-ra-as), King of Anshan, declared him [lit, 'pronounced his name'] to become the ruler of all the world... Marduk, the great lord, protector of his worshippers, beheld with pleasure his [i.e., Cyrus's] good deeds and his upright mind and ordered him to march against his [i.t., Marduk's] city Babylon.

Scripture records Cyrus's intention to release the Israelites and to fund the building of a new temple in Jerusalem:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him—let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-4).

The cylinder shows that Cyrus wanted to placate the gods of all the displaced peoples in the empire and ordered the restoration of other cultic centers as well.

I returned to these sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris River, the sanctuaries of which had been ruins for a long time, the images which used to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries.... Furthermore, I resettled them upon the command of Marduk, the great lord, all the gods of Sumer and Akkad whom Nabonidus had brought into Babylon to the anger of the lord of the gods, unharmed in their former chapels, the places which make them happy. May all the gods whom I have resettled in their sacred cities ask daily Bel and Nebo for long life for me, and may they recommend me to him; to Marduk, my lord....

The Cyrus Cylinder is a general record of what the king did for the peoples in his realm. He would have sent out individual documents to the various religious groups, perhaps even in different languages. The text of the cylinder is similar to the decree that appears in the Bible, although the original proclamation to Judah that Ezra quotes was probably in Aramaic, the official language of the Persian Empire. Nevertheless, that the God of Israel called Cyrus "by name" to deliver His people two hundred years before the Persian monarch was even born confirms that He is the LORD and that apart from Him "there is no other" (Isa 45:5, 6, 14, 18, 22).

 

Cyrus died in battle in 530 B.C. Little is known about the end of his reign, although his tomb still stands in Pasargadae (present day Iran).

 

 

This simple gabled edifice once bore the inscription: "O man, I am Cyrus the son of Cambyses, who founded the empire of Persia and was king of Asia. Grudge me not, therefore, this monument." When Alexander the Great viewed the tomb some two hundred years later, he ordered it restored and its treasures replaced because the humility of the man so impressed him. It is perhaps because of this attribute that God takes such an interest in Cyrus saying through Isaiah, "He is my shepherd" (44:28) and "[my] anointed" (45:1), and "[I will] make all his ways straight" (45:13). The Persian ruler created the largest empire at that point in history, yet he asked such a small token in death. While it is uncertain if Cyrus actually knew the LORD, his humility may have met with God's approval: "Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly" (Ps 138:6).

 

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Cyrus Cylinder corroborates Isaiah's record (8^th century B.C.) of Cyrus' decree (6^th century B.C.) for the restoration of Israel from captivity in Babylon. The prophet Isaiah predicted Cyrus would do this well before the Persian monarch actually came on the world scene.

For a pdf go here.