The People and the Land in the Old Testament Session 2D The People and the Land in the Old Testament

“…history itself in many respects is inseparably bound by and subject to the limitations of geography.” Barry J. Beitzel 3)CONTEXT: How Geography plays a part in understanding theology

אֶךֶץ ’erets land, earth a)earth b)land (country, territory, district, region, tribal territory, piece of ground, land of Canaan, Israel, inhabitants of land, Sheol, land without return, (under) world, city (-state) ) 1c) ground, 1d) people of the land. space or distance of country (in measurements of distance), level or plain country,land of the living, end(s) of the earth 1e) (almost wholly late in usage), lands, countries, often in contrast to Canaan

“There was therefore an inextricable and vital interconnection between landlessness and hopelessness. Alternatively, it was the whole notion of ‘land,’ and, more important, being in possession of it, that became at once a powerful medium to display God’s mighty acts, and through which his promises might be realized by Israel. Furthermore, monarchic, Messianic, and eschatological expectations cannot be dissociated from, and often find their context precisely within, the concept of ‘land.’” Barry Beitzel

Semites arriving in Egypt

Origin of the Nations

Abraham & Moses’ Near East

Modern Middle East

Mesopotamia

The River Euphrates

Sumer

The earliest writing was probably a pictogram like this:

Cuneiforms: Wedge Writing

The Ziggurats of the Sumerians

ZiggarautZiggaraut Step Pyramid - in the center of the city

Hammurabi giving the law

Hammurabi’s Stele

The fabled hanging gardens of Babylon (artist's interpretation pictured) was built on the banks of the Euphrates river by King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Assyrians going to battle

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser IIIBlack Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. This is the only known image of an Israelite king. It shows Jehu, the king of the northern kingdom of Israel from B.C., bowing before the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, who ruled from 858 to 824 B.C.

The Mesopotamian Empires

1.) THE FORCES FROM THE NORTH

EGYPT

Hieroglyphics on the wall of the tomb of Ramses V and Ramses VI, in the Valley of the Kings.

The Gift of the Nile: Egypt

The Nile River

Boat on the River Nile

Another boat on the Nile

The Great Pyramids

Murex bearing the name of Rimush, king of Kish, ca BC, Louvre, traded from the Mediterranean coast where it was used by Canaanites to make a purple dye

1. C o a s t a l P l a i n 2. C e n t r a l H i l l C o u n t r y 3. J o r d a n R i v e r / R i f t V a l l e y 4. T r a n s j o r d a n P l a t e a u