and Near

Reconnecting with the Ancient World creation in Gen~ ch 1 (1876). From Susa (1905) Ancient Near Eastern inscriptions, monu­ came Hammurabi of Babylon's imposing law ments, and artifacts (with the exception of code stela that questioned the distinctive­ the Egyptian pyramids), and the knowledge ness of biblical divine legislation. With all of the ancient cultures that they revealed, these antecedents to biblical lore, the hot were largely unknown to Western culture topic around the First World War was which throughout the Middle Ages and the Early to credit, the Bible or Babylon, for stimulating Modern period. At the close of the 19th C; as our culture? Some of the debate (pressed by the Ottoman empire was breathing its last, the German Friedrich Delitzsch, and labeled European powers posted many missions to Babel und Bibel in contemporaneous journal­ the Middle East that included archeologists: ism) degenerated into anti--'Semitic diatribes; At first, essentially they were looters who took but it did stimulate scholarship (e.g., Form back monuments, many with hieroglyphics Criticism,· best associated with Hermann and cuneiform writings. When these scripts Gunkel) that interpreted biblical traditions were deciphered in the mid-19th c., the though comparison with Near Eastern, inscriptions told an eager public about the especially Mesopotamian, lore. The aimwas world in which Israel was formed. to illuminate the contexts for the produc­ tion, application, adaptation, and diffusion of themes and motifs that excited the mind in Mesopotamia antiquity. In this enterprise, the focus came From Nineveh (present day Mosul) in As- · to be less on when, where and by whom syria, a cavalcade of rulers mentioned in the Hebraic traditions were created (the focus of Bible:._among them Sargon II, Sennacherib, the earlier Documentary Hypothesis), but on and Ashurbanipal~took flesh to validate ele-. how, why, and under which circumstances ments of the biblical accounts.of the Assyrian ideas commonly shared in antiquity came devastation of Israel and Judah. Yet nothing to have their particular infle'ction among the was as sensational as the presentation George Hebrews. In effect, the Bible had come to be Smith made to the British Society of Biblical one more source from the ancient Near East, Archaeology on December 3, 1872. Reading . and a latecomer at that. from a Nineveh tablet, Smith revealed how a An industry soon came to the fore in the Mesopotamian hero (Utnapishtim; then read late 19th and early·2oth c. in which special­ as Hasisadra for AtralJ_asis) survived a flood ized compilations "paralleled"·the Bible, the gods had sent to destroy humanity.. The book by book, through excerpts from mostly news stunned: Could the account of God's cuneiform documents. In this way, a treasure command to Noah have been cribbed from trove of ancientmaterial came to the atten.., Babylonian antecedents? tion of a wider public, with mythological There were other jolts: abandoned as a (Enuma Blish, Atrafjasis), epic (Gilgamesh), baby, Sargon of Agade was shown (in 1870) to cultic (hymns and rituals), wisdom, juridical, have survived in a reed basket, eventually to annalistic~ and divinatory contents. These earn divine favor. The god Marduk (in some publications are precursors to more recent versions Assur) conquered Tiamat (possibly reference sets such as J.B. Pritchard'sAn­ cognate to Gen. tehom, "the deep") and rear­ cientNear Eastern Texts Relating to the Old ranged its corpse in terms reminiscent of the Testament(3rd ed., 1969) and W.W. Hallo

-2137- and K. L. Younger, The Context ofScriptures By contrast to evasive historical confir­ deciphered hieroglyphic script. The Hebrew to have false foundations. Comparisons that (3 vols., 1997-2003). Here, however, trans" mations, Egypt's literature has contributed writers got to know them best after Arameans explained theLaban-Jacob marriage arrange­ lated texts tend to be complete rather than notable conjunctions with biblical equiva­ dominated the region; that is why practically ments and their sheep-herding provisions extracts and are arranged by genre rather lents. Its sun-splashed hymn to the god Aten all Hittites in the Bible have patently Semitic have fared better; but they cannot be used to than following the sequence of biblical (Amarna period, 14th c.) has reminded many names and are not related to the much earlier date episodes in Gen. because such practices books. In these reference works, too, selec­ of the great Ps. 104 ( see Ps: 104 n. ); but with Hittites of Hattushash. had long duration in the ancient Near East. tions come from a broad horizon, including this linkage. came much speculation on an The bulk of recovered Hittite documents lands and subjects only remotely associated Amarna period birthplace for monotheism as came fromelite circles, and although they Ugarit with the Bible. Among the translated sources well as sensationalizing rewrites of the early contained ritual, legal, as well as literary This is Ras Shamra, on the Syrian coast; exca,. are those from ancient Egypt, which out­ years of Moses. Egypt's courtly love lyrics texts, the material that has delivered the vated since 1929. Its Late Bronze Age archives side of Mesopotamia was the other locus of (13th c.) haveillumined the study of the Song most satisfying correspondence with bibli­ came from the palaces of merchant-princes scholarly attention. of Songs, in particular accenting courtly set­ cal thought is historiographic. Embedded in and the houses of learned priests. Although ting and erotic desire. Egypt's rich display of Hittite annals and in penitential prayers are a they include documents in many languages, wisdom treatises (esp. that of Amenemope) powerful sense of obligation(covenants and those preserved in alphabetic cuneiform Egypt has nicely enhanced understanding of Prov. oaths), a visceral urge for expiation, and an quicklycaptured the imagination of biblicists. Given its accessible monumental remains and the carpe diem ("seize the day") Urgings obsessive need for absolution; these themes Until their discovery, knowledge of Canaanite (pyramids, temples, tombs, and mummies), of the Harper's Songs that are often cited are exploited extensively by many biblicists (andPhoenician)·culture had been drawn Egypt has enticed the wider public.with- along those of Eccl. ·Many episodes in Egypt's despite the significant chronological gap largely from the Bible, where it had been out being linked to the Bible. Still, at least arsenal of delightful tales are brought into present between the Hittite and biblical texts. caricatured as fickle (many gods), seductive since Josephus (1stc. CE), there has always comparison with those in the Bible, none as (cheap thrills), brutal (human sacrifice), and been interest in finding Egyptian sources to frequently as the attempted seduction of an depraved (orgies). The first charge is arguably confirm biblical episodes: Had Joseph not innocent youth by a married woman ("The Northern Mesopotamia and Syria true; the others hardly likely. governed Egypt, second only to Pharaoh? Did Two Brothers"), the life that Sinuhe created After the collapse of the Ottoman empire, The Ugaritic literature proved to be espe­ Israel not live in bondage there for centuries? for himself in Middle Bronze Canaan, or the western Asia was administered by the French cially fresh and stimulating. Among the texts Had God not deployed "signs and wonders" neat magician's trick of dividing waters to re­ and British, an arrangement that for all prac­ were the saga of a king, Keret or Kirta, who when confounding.Pharaoh? Did Solomon veal dry land ( see the "Westcar Papyrus"). In tical purposes came to an end just after the risked losing it all by making an unnecessary not marry an Egyptian princess? Since the addition, the 14th c. Amarna Letters have of­ Second World War. In the interval, a number vow; the tale of Danel, who begged for a son decipherment of hieroglyphics in the early fered helpful background for understanding of sites began to disgorge tablets. Through only to see him killed by a petulant goddess; 19th c., the brunt of biblical focus on Egypt the early history oflsrael, including the origin such outlets as the Illustrated London News and a grandmyth, featuring a dysfunctional has been on the Late Bronze Age, specifically of the name "Hebrew;' connected by many (before it petered out in the 1970s ), an eager pantheon, about Baal's struggles to deserve from the Hyksos through the 21st Dynasty (ca; to the Hapirus/Habirus that were frequently public learned of major finds as they were leadership of the gods. Characters from these 1630 to 1100 ). Israel is thought to enter (eis­ mentioned in those documents. being made and in the process supported texts continue to inspire scholarship; none odus) and leave (exodus) Egypt during that investment in more expeditions. These are more so than Asherah, wife of El, and Anat, interval. In the absence of credible Egyptian noted below by the sequence of their first consort of Baal. Especially since the discovery testimony, establishing a date and condi- Anatolia discovery: of inscribed jars in Kuntillet el-Ajrud (Sinai tion for the exodus (however conceived) The recovery of cuneiform tablets from Peninsula, since the mid-197os), Asherah is has required the juggling of a broad array of Bogazkoy in the heartland of Anatolia (Tur­ Nuzi commonly discussed as an erstwhile partner circumstantial evidence, from many sources, key) had occurred early in the 20th c. Because Nuzi is located at Yorghan Tepe, east of the of the Hebrew God. Yet, it is not often kept in and not always fully compatible. Not surpris­ many were inAkkadian andcould be read, Tigris River; excavated from 1925 to 1931. Its mind that Ugarit was much more cosmopoli­ ingly, proposals have a limited shelf-life or they confirmed the site to be Hattushash, familyarchives were from the 14th c. and they tan than Israel or Judah ever were. As such, they appeal to narrow circles. Totally unex­ the capital of the Hittites. The Hittites turned gave detailed information on the social lives its pantheon was by no means limited to · pected was the recovery ( since the 1890s) of out to be Indo'"Europeans; but a disposition of a Ijurrian community: They were widely those evoked in the Bible and its mythmaking Aramaic archives affirming a 5th c. Jewish to connect them with the (litti ("Hittites") of exploited, at first to give a late Bronze Age had broader applications than that shaped in (mercenary) presencein Elephantine (near Scripture proved tenacious despite evidence setting for the patriarchal narratives (see Israel. Aswan)~ with contracts for marriage (earliest of vast differences. In fact, the Hittites of the works ofEphraim Speiser; Cyrus Gordon). The language of the alphabetic texts in attestation), syncretistic worship (blessings Hebrew Bible were mostly northern Syrians Some spectacular Nuzi parallels that clarified proved especially useful. It shared with Heb by YHVH and other gods), and references to with populations that included Indo-Europe.: the wife-sister connection between Abraham a vocabulary (esp. as it concerned the cult, the Passover. ~,, an Luwians, who also wielded a just recently and Sarah (Gen. chs 12; 20; cf. ch 26) proved including the names of deities like El, Baal,

-2138- -2139- and Yam), some grammatical constructions, to the lifetimes of the signatories-unlike contribution to elucidating biblical passages hardly any mention in Hebrew recall of its and its poetry was comparable to bibli- what would later develop in the Amarna is decidedly uneven. origins. Similarly, when Enuma Blish (often cal psalms. After a period of undisciplined period, when covenants were deemed to termed(ithe Babylonian Creation Epic") exegesis based on Ugaritic, a modest number be eternal and permanent. This perception was being deciphered, how Marduk shaped of biblical passages have indeed found clarity too has had application in studying Hebrew Biblicizing the cosmos was first read with Gen. ch 1 as through application ofUgaritic principles. historiography. More recent are the discoveries at Emar (Tel a guide. The pattern and sequence of Mar­ Still under debate is the value of dating the More widely discussed are the origins Meskene'" Balis, by the Upper Euphrates; duk's creative effort are often used to secure a production of biblical verse on the basis of and development of prophecy. During the rescue operation 1972-1976; resumed since Mesopotamian background to Gen. ch 1, even Ugaritic poetics. reign of King Zimri~ Lim, a concerted effort 1996) and at Ebla (Tel Mardikh, not far from if no individual-act in the accounts matches to consult the gods left us a rich dossier of vi­ Aleppo; excavated since 1964, but with stun­ securely and no step in the transmission Mari sions, dreams, and prophecies. None is more ning results after 1~n5). These two discoveries charts reasonably. This site is Tel Ijariri, on the right bank of the biblically evocative among the latter than exemplify an older phenomenon that has The evaluation ofEmar'srecords is still Euphrates, 50 kms north of the Iraqi frontier; an admonition attributed to the god Addu spiked in our days, as information is deliv­ ongoing. The site has delivered a large variety excavated since 1933. Its palace archives were (Hadad) of Aleppo in which a just rule is the ered online with little lead-time for proper of texts from a building of an official titled, largely from the 18th c. and they gave insight price for divine support: scholarly evaluation, namely a tendency to "diviner of the gods of Emar:' Along with some into the lives of Amorite rulers in the age of biblicize Near Eastern records. literary documents several elaborate rituals Hammurabi of Babylon, with Aleppo and I had given all theland to (your fa- To biblicize is to attach Bible-derived were recovered, among them a libretto for Qatna proving to be major Middle Bronze ther) Ya1J_dun-Lim and by means of my explanations to details in Near Eastern docu­ the installation of the High Priestess of Baal. powers. The site preserved records of dip­ weapons he had no opponent. But when ments and artifacts on first exposure to them. Gathering the attention of biblical scholars lomatic relations with Mediterranean cities he abandoned me, I gave (his enemy) The result then becomes evidence by which is the unique,sequence of activities for the such as Ugarit, Byblos, and Hazor, and docu- · Samsi-Addu the land I had handed to to clarify biblical contexts and passages. The zukru-festival. Apparently recurring every mentation of trade with Cyprus and Crete him.... I brought you back to your father's logic is circular; the goal is to draw recipro­ seven years, the ritualinvolved the citizens (but not yet with Egypt).No direct links can throne and I handed you the weapons cal benefits for biblical and Near Eastern lore of Emar on the first full moon of theyear, and be made as yet between Mari's Amorites and with which I battled against Sea [temtum by highlighting proximal parallels-and over extended over a full week. There were proces-' the ancestors of Israel, although a Yaminite = Yam]. I rubbed you with oil frommy time such commissions correct themselves. sions beyond the city gate, with stops at blocks tribal branch that roamed the environs of numinous glow.so that no one could Occasionally, however, the process gives per­ of standing stones, apparently in a renewal of Mari may have eventually settled Benjamin · stand up to you. Now listen to my only manence to misconceptions. For example, pledge to the god Dagan: For some scholars, territory near Jericho. (The names "DUMU wish: Whenever anyone appeals to you just after the First World War, Leonard Wool­ this type of ritual comes frombeyond Canaan· Yamina" and "Benjamin" are identical in for judgment, saying, "I am aggrieved;' be ley excavated Tel el-Muqayyar in southern and so might remind of renewal ceremonies meaning.) An 18th c. cuneiform fragment of there to decide his case and to give him Iraq, a site that covered Sumerian Ur. There among the Hebrews who likewise moved from local origin from the coastal region (Siyanu, satisfaction. This is what I desire of you. he found evidence of a flood so major that he inland Syriainto Canaan. Yet, as achieved, the near Latakia) shows scribal procedures that imagined it impacting biblical historiography balance between the two institutions relies on are similar to Mari's: Startling and most un­ Alalab and his suggestion resurfaces periodically in outlines crafted much too accommodatingly. likely is a suggestion that Amutpiel of Qatna Known as Tel Achana, in the Turkish Amuq the literature. More significant for understanding the back­ is Amraphel of Gen. ch 14. Valley; excavated intermittently since 1937, Of more consequence was his recovery ground of the Bible are juridical documents, Many practices and institutions recov­ its royal archives-some from the 17th c. and of an early dynastic tomb (27th c.) with the with women playing major roles in guiding ered from the Mari tablets show remarkable others from the 14th c.-include a picaresque remains of a beautiful statue of a "ram in the family life, even with male kin around. affinity to those in the Bible, albeit without (auto) biography of King Idrimi. A refugee thicket:' For Woolley, the pose evoked a detail Logic might have discouraged linking the direct influence. In particular, the biblical from Aleppo, Idrimi grasped fate by the horns in the aftermath of Abraham's near sacrifice extensive Ebla archives with anything bibli­ gift for storytelling, with its lively phrasing, and shaped for himself a throne in Alala1J_. oflsaac (Gen. 22.13); thenceforth, "Ur of the cal, for most of them date from the 25th c. on, vivid pacing, fine structure, and wordplays, The story, inscribed on a homely likeness, is Chaldees" (Gen. ch11) became the name of when Israel was yet to be conceived.· Indeed, is nicely matched in Amorite letter writing. full of folkloristic touches, inviting compari-· · the site. Woolley had actually found a bejew­ Ebla depicts a society where the elite owned Details on tribal configuration, covenant sons with the rise to power of such figures. as eled goat that was likely paired and balanced huge herds of sheep, with scant evidence of ceremonials, battle strategies, third-party Abimelech (son of Gideon), Jephthah, and to hold a bowl.But the explanation took the nomadic life that was the remembered marriage arrangements (as was Isaac's), and especially David. While many individual hold and it is practically impossible today to. trait of Israel's ancestry. Ebla was a wealthy matzebot ( stone monuments) installations, texts-dealing with marriage, loans, wills, locate a biblical map of the patriarchal period city in a region teeming with urban settle­ have all shed light on biblical passages. In and treaties-are readily presented in the withoutfinding in it Abraham trekking from ments and with influence far and wide. While the Mari age, treaty obligations were limited reference collections mentioned above, their Southern Mesopotamia, a region thathas the scribes relied on Sumerian formulae to

-2140- -2141- maintain their records, we now know that the of skewed or hyped evidence, the process comparison-after all, Israel partook of that divine will through interaction with a cho­ written language of the archives is reminis­ nonetheless brings many discoveries to the world. After a century of such proximation, sen people; that this people must meet an cent of Akkadian ( so East Semitic), but with attention of a public that focuses best with the inventory of biblical practices that remain elevated code of behavior worthy of that God; many West Semitic words. the Bible as lens. The better message here as yet exclusively Israel's is now slim but and that history progresses by commitment William F. Albright, the architect of a major is how to think of the conjunction "and" in significant: beyond the adoption of monothe­ to a divine covenant rather than by adher­ American school of biblical scholarship, had "The Bible and the Ancient Near East:' The ism by a substantial segment ofthepopula­ ence to international treaties. For this reason, relied on Near Eastern archives to buttress two entities are frequently linked in this way, tion,-they include circumcising males a week short of uncovering a nice cache of extrabibli­ Israel's version of its patriarchal history; but yet there is only coarse equivalence or match after birth, observing a seventh.:.day Sabbath, cal records from Judah or Israel that might after his death in 1971, studies challenged his to the components. The "ancient Near East" excluding women from the priesthood and give living testimony of their social culture approach and conclusions. His supporters, is a geographical area, generally stretching from juridical transactions, legalizing cultic and historical experience, matching ancient therefore, turned to the Ebla archives to reaf­ from Egypt through Iran, with records long instruction, codifying purity and diet taboos, Near Eastern records.with biblical accounts firm his vision. Read with the then imper­ before the invention of writing. The label has and regulating aspects of intimacy, dressing, will continue to be a challenge. Nonetheless, fectly understood Ebla syllabary, documents meaning only in reference to an aggregate , and grooming. as students oflsrael and of the ancient Near were thought to reveal the names of cities of societies unequal in power, intellectual So far, Israel's soil has been uncommonly East, we cannot deny the accuracy of two mo­ that played a role in Hebrew historiography, worth, and lasting contribution. Some of stingy in yielding independent and datable mentous contentions advanced in our Bible: among them Sodom, Gomorrah, Jerusalem, these powers achieved regional control or in­ records that might confirm the Bible's rnarch That ancient Israel has been exceptional in its Hazor, Lachish, and Gaza. Ebla personal tellectual primacy that lasted over centuries of events;It is really jolting for us to acknowl:. capacity to discover the logic of monotheism names also seemed to have a biblical calque and occasionally influenced ancient Israel.In edge that so far no record from .Israel of'its and that it remained stubborn in its resolve to to them, among them Eber, Abram, Esau, Saul, the process, they have bequeathed humanity neighbors has had direct or specific recall of broadcast it as a historical truth. David, and Israel. Because some names ended a treasury of enriching concepts and ideas as any of Israel's storied ancestors and lead - in -ya, plausibly a shortened form ofYahveh, well as modelsfor evaluating the social ex­ ers, the first such validation surfacing when some argued that the Hebrew god was already periment that became Israel. These achieve­ Ahab ruled Israel (9th c.). We should.rea­ Beyond this Essay worshipped in Canaan. Even family tombs, ments and models are for us to reconstruct son,·of course, that the dearth of evidence is A handyand (almost) painless guide into the of the type known at Machpelah, were shown by evaluating thousands of records that the never a cogent argument against historicity; world oflsrael's neighbors is through Jack M. to be typical of Eblaite culture, hence proto­ modern spade recovers. However, none of still, we might also keepjn mind that what Sasson (et al., eds) Civilizations of the Ancient Hebraic. There could be little reason; these the component cultures has left us anything Israel wanted most to communicate through Near East (2 volumes; Hendrickson Publish­ scholars claimed, to doubt the Bible's accurate remotely comparable to the "Bible;' that is a , its literature is embedded in momentous - ers, 2001). Kenton L. Sparks's Ancient Texts for memory oflsrael's earliest past. shared scripture that has codified a people's exchanges between God and Hebrew ances­ the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the The debate about Ebla's role in sustain- religious, social or religious mores and has tors, dialogues that are largely impervious Background Literature (Hendricksons Pub­ ing biblical historiography was conducted sustained a vision of a narrated past covering to historical appraisal. One day we might lishers, 2005) is a truly remarkable synthe:. by eminent scholars on both sides of the many centuries. recover from some tel a document that men.:. sis, for it surveys literary treasures from the Atlantic. It stretched into the mid-198os be­ In contrast, for many the "Bible" is a tions ''Abram son of Terah"; but what pos:.. Levant in an elegant and judicious way. Many fore sharper understanding ofEbla's records distinct entity, with iconic status and spe­ sible source could there be to substantiate of the works mentioned in it can be found in took out much of its steam. Better knowledge cial sanctity. But the Bible also emerges as the divine revelations that sent him off to the Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts and in of the script soon taught that there was no a highly processed compendium of distinct promised land or had him ready to sacrifice Hallo's and Younger's The Context ofScrip­ equivalence to any personal name found in efforts, each of disputed origins. When we his beloved son? tures, cited above. Those interested in how the Bible and no uncontested mention of any search it to learn how Israel conducted its Finally, the arguments detailed in Israel's ancient documents have affected our knowl­ place familiar to us from the land of Israel. life-how people married, raised children, accounting of its past aim less to chart an edge of Israelite history can now turn to a Ebla was abruptly dropped from several tours worked, and died-we develop insights by exact accounting of events than to promote a masterly, if generally conservative, overview: of the Holy Land, alas for the wrong reasons. capturing tidbits from across diverse types set of principles articulated in some biblical The Sacred Bridge: Carta's Atlas of the Biblical When in the early 1990s similar archives were of literatures ( narratives, love songs, prayers, texts, including the ideas that there can only World ( Carta, 2005) by Anson F. Rainey and recovered from Tel Beydar in northeast Syria, and the like), not all of them as attached to be one God/with no heavenly lineage or a R. Steven Notley. hardly any biblical scholar paid them mind. actual ancient practice aswe would wish. recognizable form; that this God displays [JACK M. SASSON] So, we welcome what the ancient Near East,; with its accumulation of more precisely The "and" of the Matter targeted testimony, has to tell us about the Yet the risk of biblicizing must not be over­ lives of Israel's neighbors, and try to reach stated. Despite the occasional endurance,__ applicable conclusions through judicious

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