THE BIBLE AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Session 7

Welcome

REVIEW LAST WEEK

Huh???????

ABRAHAM

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE BIBLICAL RECORD

PART 2

EXPLORING ABRAHAM’S LIFE

• Abraham- ignorant Arab sheik • Abraham the merchant prince • Abraham the warrior• Abraham the trader

VIEWS OF ABRAHAM

CYRUS GORDON

American Near Eastern Scholar 1908-2001

ABRAHAM THE MERCHANT PRINCE

• Finds in Ras Shamra in Syria

• Mentions merchants from Ura

• The City of Ugarit in the Hittite Kingdom

• King of Ugarit complained about the merchants from Ura

• He restricted the trade of the merchants

• Based on Genesis 42:34; 34:10, and 23:16

Where is Ras Shamra?

Ugarit

BIBLICAL VIEW OF ABRAHAM

• He was rich in flocks and herds

• He was influential

• He bought land for his burial

• He traveled extensively

• He was regarded as important by the princes of Pharaoh and Pharaoh's house

• He equipped an army to save Lot

ABRAHAM RESCUES LOT

• Genesis 14 and the coalition of Mesopotamian Kings

• Lot and his family became a captive as a result of this war

• Abraham arms and trains some men to rescue them

• They are successful

HISTORICITY OF GENESIS 14

1. Amraphel King of Shinar

2. Arioch (Arriyuk or Arriwuk)

3. Ellasar (Asshur or Larsa)

4. Chedorlaomer (Kudur-Lagamar)

5. Tidal (Tudkhalia)

MARI

• Mari (Tell Hariri) was discovered in 1933

• Found a large palace which included a library and ziggurat

• Akkadian Cuneiform is the language

• Dates between 2700 B.C. and 1700 B.C.

• Mentions about 500 place names including Hazor (Josh 11:10) and Laish (Judges 18)

MARI TABLET

WHERE IS MARI (Tell Hariri)?

KING YAHDUN-LIM OF MARI

• Reigned around 1820 B.C.

• In a letter left an account of a series of raids into Syria/Palestine

• Needed to enforce submission of local kings

• Fits well into the Genesis 14 narrative

CAVE OF MACHPELAH

• Genesis 23:19• Same as modern day Hebron• Burial place and first plot of land that

Abraham bought in Israel• Bought originally for Sarah but was used

for Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah,Jacob and Joseph.

• Herod the Great built a monument in Hebron

GENESIS 23:19

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

CAVE OF MACHPELAH (HEBRON)

CAVE OF THE PATRIARCHS

THE CAVE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

ABRAHAM’S EFFECT TODAY

• Israel’s independence --1967

• Moshe Dayan, Minister of Defense

• Exploring the mysterious cave

• 700 years since last exploration

• Young 12 year old Michal

• Secrets revealed

• Disappointment…

QUESTIONS?

Does anyone have any questions about last weeks lesson?

OT AND NT ARCHAEOLOGY

• Focus

• Setting

• People

• Scope

• Science

DIFFERENCES

NT AND OT ARCHAEOLOGY

• We are dealing with “old” things

• Digs and tells are still important

• Purpose

SIMILARITIES

NEW TESTAMENT ANDARCHAEOLOGY

OVERVIEW

1.The Archaeology before Jesus' Birth2.The Archaeology at Jesus’ Birth3.The Archaeology during Jesus’ Life4.The Archaeology after Jesus death

and Resurrection

HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

• Herod the Great (Herodian Dynasty)

• Rome, Parthia, Seleucids, Hasmoneans

• Antiochus Epiphanes

• Hanukkah or Feast of Dedication

• Palaestina, Judeaus, and Ioudas

HEROD (THE GREAT)

73 BC- 4 BC

WHO WAS HEROD (THE GREAT)?

• His father (Antipater) and mother (Cyprus) were Idumeans (Edomites)

• He was from Jericho

• He was a nominal Jew

• He married into the Hasmonean dynasty

• He is mentioned twice in the New Testament (Matt 2:1-19; Luke 1:5)

• He had ten wives

HEROD’S KINGDOM

MACCABEAN LINEAGE

Fight for Power

HERODIAN DYNASTY

ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS

ISRAEL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS

ROMAN I(HERODIAN)

• 37 B.C. – 70 A.D• Roman domination• Herod (the Great) and his sons rule Israel• The line of David as a political force has been

marginalized• The priestly class has been politicized and

corrupted• Vying political parties vied for control of the

Temple

ARCHAEOLOGY AND HEROD

• Temples to Roma, Augustus and Baal Shamim, the Pythian temple at Rhodes and Jerusalem Temple

• Palaces at Masada, Jericho, Ascalon and others

• Gymnasia, baths, fountains, colonnades, markets and other public buildings throughout the eastern Roman empire

• The cities Sebaste and Caesarea Maritima

MASADA

HERODIUM

CAESAREA MARITIMA(BY THE SEA)

PUBLIC FORUM

HEROD’S DEATH

“In the days of Herod the king…”

• Luke 1:5There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

• Matthew 2:1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Jesus was born into this world