What is the difference in the political climate between Mesopotamia and Egypt at the beginning of the second millennium B.C.?

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1) The weekly writing assignment is to be a minimum of five (5) full pages. 2) The format of the weekly assignment is to be as follows: a) double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt font b) One inch margins on all sides10Lecture Two – Old Testament Backgrounds: Archeology and GeographyWeek Two Highlights:Purpose of Lecture 2: To continue the studies in Old Testament Backgrounds.Lecture objectives:1) The student will learn about the place of archeology in biblical studies;2) The student will be introduced to the geographical area of the ancient Near East andPalestine proper.Along with the lecture your reading assignment includes:Old Testament Backgrounds (cont.) -Archeology and GeographyAssignment: Bright – Prologue, pp. 23-44Coogan – Chapter 2“ What I Did During My Summer Vacation”Biblical Archeology Video – HowellQuestions that you should consider as part of the weekly written assignment:1) Know the important developments in the prehistory ofcivilization.2) What is the difference in the political climate betweenMesopotamia and Egypt at the beginning of the second millenniumB.C.?3) What is happening in Palestine during this time?4) Why is it important to have knowledge of thegeography of Palestine proper and the ancient Near East?I. ArcheologyA. Definition“Is a serious discipline dedicated to the search for truth aboutancient cultures by studying the material remains of those cultures(Tullock, The Old Testament Story, p.13).B. Purpose1. Not to prove – but to learn2. “Shed light on the Bible by trying to understand its people andtheir culture more thoroughly (Tullock, 13).C. Methods1. Sites in biblical lands – “tells”a. Flat-topped artificial hills built up over the centuries11Figure 1 Tel MegiddoFigure 2 Various layers (strata) of a tellFigure 3 – stratification of a balk wall in Iron Age II gate chamber. The dark layer is a burn layer denoting a point ofdestruction.12b. Divided into section – 5 meters x 5 metersUncovering inches at a timeFigure 4 Preparing to photograph an area before beginning a day of digging. The white sandbags mark the balk wall anddelineate the area of the dig. This is a section of a living quarters of the fortification.Figure 5 “Digging” their work centimeters at a time13Figure 6 Sifting the dirt to uncover objects from the “square.” That is me in the blue shirt. Figures 3, 4 and 5 are fromthe Summer 2011 dig at Mudaybi, an ancient Moabite fortress in the Jordanian desert.4. Dating– epigraphic material – writing samples– such samples provide clues through1) writing styles2) information in the writingFigure 7 Development of the Hebrew alphabet from 1000 B.C. (Gezer Calendar) to A.D. 1000 (square Hebrew letters).14Figure 8 Ostracon (boken potery with writing) from Tel Arad.– carbon-14 testing – plant material– Radio chronometry– all life, esp. plants have carbon– ½ life of carbon – 5,730 years– Potassium-Argon (K/Ar)– Potassium decomposes to Argon– ½ life of Potassium – 1300 million years-early hominid fossils – ancestral man– Themoluminescence– heated – light emitted according to the amount ofradioactivity exposed to since item was last heated orexposed to sunlight.15Figure 9 Dr. Mark Green taking a soil sample from underneath a plaster floor for thermoluminescence testing. This soilwas last exposed to light just before the plaster floor was installed ca. 700 B.C.– Pottery– an important method of dating is the use of pottery– dating according to shape, materials, decoration,color and other factors.Figure 10 – example of various styles of pottery found in the ancient Near East and time periods associated with the styles.16Figure 11 Pot sherds found while working with the survey crew. The survey crew works outside the dig “surveying” thearea and plotting locations for new sites.D. Important findsA. The Rosetta Stone – Understanding of Egyptian manuscriptsB. The Gilgamesh Epic – a flood story that parallels the biblicalaccountC. The Gezer High Place10 upright stonesA place of worship – making of a covenantFigure 12 The Rosetta Stone – 3 languages telling the same story.D. The Dead Sea Scrolls1. Most important archeological find of the 20th century172. Shepherd by found in the western side Cave region ofthe Dead Sea known as QumranFigure 13 Cave at QumranFigure 14 Copy of Psalm 21 from Qumran3. Both biblical and non-biblical text4. At least fragments found of every OT book except:Esther (West) two (Tullock)5. Some date 1000 years before the latest manuscripts6. Invaluable for textual studyD. Limitations and Contributions of archeology1. Limitationsa. Does not and cannot prove the Bible to be accurate181) Too imprecise a science2) Findings subject to change with new findingsb. Data is partial and changingc. Need for inscriptions1) epigraphic dating2) Without inscriptions must interpret the data byinference.2. Contributiona. We know more about the lives and the people of thebiblical timesb. Relationship between archeology and biblical studies –1) Archeology makes the findings2) Biblical Studies are given the task of applyingthe findings3) Findings in surrounding cultures can even aid ininterpreting biblical culture.II. GeographyA. The geographical and historical setting for the Old Testament prior to 1200 B.C.1. Bright: We tend to underestimate the achievements of the 2nd millennium B.C.a. See Patriarchs as primitive nomadsb. However the earliest decipherable inscriptions date to the 3rdmillennium.c. Evidence of cultures date from the 4th through the 7th millennia2. Various eras (Bright) Early Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) – up to 200,000 years ago Middle Paleolithic – skeletal remains in Palestine Late Paleolithic – cave dwelling phase End of last Ice Age – 9th millennium B.C.– grass cultivation and animal herding Mesolithic Age (before 8000 B.C.)– life associated with Jericho– hunters– evidence of harvesting grains Neolithic Age – 7th and 6th millennia– move from cave to sedentary life– from food gathering to food producing– permanent villages– Neolithic Jericho (5000 year before Abraham) Chalcolithic Age (copper/stone)– rise of Mesopotamian cultures– settlement along waterways Proto-Literate Period (3200-2800 B.C.)19– The invention of writing– Cuneiform– With the ability to communicate comes the developmentof civilizationsFigure 15 Example of cuneiform writing from MesopotamiaFigure 16 Example of cuneiform writing from Mesopotamia20I. The Geographical and Historical setting for the Old Testament prior to 1200 B.C.E.A. To look at it, one first notices the barren dryness of the area.1. The Arabian desert to the east2. The desert of the Sinai Peninsula to the South3. The Sahara Desert on North AfricaFigure 17 Map of the ancient Near East – the Fertile Crescent is marked in dark pink.21B. In the midst of this barrenness is the Fertile Crescent1. A crescent shaped area (see map of the ancient Near East)2. Beginning east of the Persian Gulf, it stretches north westward through thevalleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.A. Mesopotamia – in the midst of (or between) two riversB. Civilizations associated with this area1) Sumerians (3150-2350, 2060-1950 B.C.E.)a) Major area Sumer – start of civilizationb) Ur – major ancient cityc) Earliest known form of writing (cuneiform)d) Counting by sixties – (minutes and hours)2) Akkadians (2350-2060 B.C.E.)a) Semites – predecessors of the IsraelitesB) Akkadian language dominated the language of theirheirs including the Babylonians and Assyrians.3) Amorites (Arameans)b) Also Semitic people – invasion of the Fertile Crescentwas at about the same time as the Patriarchsc) Westerners – semi-nomadic tribesmen from Arabiad) 2000 B.C.E. – 1800 B.C.E. appeared all over the FertileCrescente) Settles in Palestine and Mesopotamiae) Two strong states in Mesopotamia1) MariA) NorthwestB) Mari tablets – clarify many patriarchalcustoms2) Babyloniaa) South-centralc) Hammurabi – legal codes (ca. 1950 BC)Figure 18 Babylonia Empire ca. 1950 B.C.22Figure 19 Code of HammurabiFigure 20 Image of Hammurabi receiving the law from the sun god.4) HurriansA) Horites (OT)B) Absorbed the Amorite cultureC) Clay tablets of Nuzi – information on the patriarchs5) Arameans and Habiru (1500-1000 B.C.E.)A) Seminomads from Arabia (again)B) Who are the Habiru (Apiru)?1) Mercenaries, outlaws, slaves2) seminomadic wanderers3) Hebrews? – NoA) ref. throughout the Fertile ClassB) Habiru broader range of peopleC) Hebrews belong to the same classHebrews were HabiruNot all Habiru were Hebrews3. The Fertile Crescent moved through Asia MinorA. The Hittites – outside the bounds of the Fertile Crescent in Asia MinorB. Hittite Empire – important through the NT timeC. Moved into Syria and Lebanon and threat to Egypt4. The southern tip of the Fertile Crescent ends in Egypt in the Nile River valleyA. 3000-2000 B.C.E.1) Nile Delta – rich fertile area2) Prized land3) Distance and isolation allowed it to develop into a greatcivilization.4) Time of the great pyramidsB. 2000-1000 B.C.E.1) Hyksos (foreigners) rulers at the time of the Patriarchs (1720-1570 B.C.E.)a) Chariots and cavalryb) Protected cities (walls – glacis -steep walls)c) Ruled both Egypt and Palestined) Thus, explained Patriarchs migration to Egypt duringdifficult times2) Overthrown by the 18th Egyptian dynastya) Did not know Josephb) Rulers at the time of the ExodusFigure 21 Pyramids at GazaC. Syria-PhoeniciaSyria (3000-2000 B.C.E.)A. Narrow strip of the Fertile Crescent between the Mediterranean Seaand the Arabian Desert.B. Land bridge connected Mesopotamia , Asia Minor and EgyptC. Population changed with migration and conquestD. Ebla – important archeological to understand ancient SyriaPhoenicia (2000-1000 B.C.E.)A. SW Syrian coastal areaB. Biblical CanaanitesC. Fine Harbors and timber landD. Poor agricultural landE. Thus, developed a merchant fleet Ugarit (North) (1400 B.C.E.)a. Center of Canaanite culture and Learningb. Ras Shamra texts – help to understand the cultureDamascusa. Most famous of the Syrian citiesb. Crossroads of major trade routesFigure 22 Syria-PhoeniciaD. Palestine ProperFigure 23 Palestine Proper1. Four Divisionsa. Coastal Plains1) Wider in the south – narrows in the north2) South – Plain of Philistia North – Mt.Carmel3) Philistines4) Five major cities:Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath5) Brought under Israelite control during thereign of David.6) Few natural seaportsb. Central Highlands (Hills) (Mountain Range)1) Hill country to the east of the costalplains2) Country of Ephraim – North3) County of Judah – Southc. Jordan Valley (Rift) (Jordan River – “Down-rusher”1) Mt. Herman to East Africa2) Palestine – Jordan Rivera) Sea of Galileeb) Dead Sea – no outlet3) Jordan Rivera) Created by an earthquakeb) Soil not suitable for agriculturec) Floods at the wrong time – would ruin cropsd. Transjordanian Highlands (plateau) – fertile area1) Bashan – fine cattle2) Land of Gilead2) Moab and Edom3. Because of its location in the middle, control of Syria-Palestine became veryimportant.a. Prized by the world powers at that timeb. Thus, the conflicts we see going on now are notrecent history but have been going on for thousands ofyears.c. Two major roads1) The Way of the Sea (of the Philistines)a) Roman – Via Marisb) From Egypt, followed the Sea coastc) Northward through Gaza and Ashdodd) At the Yarkon River went east towardMegiddoe) Along the Sea of Galilee (North) toDamascus then to Mesopotamia2) The King’s Highway– East of the Jordan Rivera) Egypt to Edom (trans-Sinai)b) North to DamascusFigure 24 two major North-South Highways . . The post What is the difference in the political climate between Mesopotamia and Egypt at the beginning of the second millennium B.C.? appeared first on Assignment Hub.Source link “Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you with a guaranteed plagiarism-free A+ quality paper.Discount Code: SUPER50!”