Ashvath Asia Asia Minor

1005 Asia Minor 1006 through the 3rd/2nd centuries BCE. “Ashur,” in a kingdom, the setting of the mountains of Ararat number of late biblical texts, stands for “Syria” where Noah’s ark supposedly lay (Gen 8 : 4). Ionian (e.g., Isa 11 : 11–16; 19 : 23–25; 27 : 13; Mic 7 : 12; colonies appear in the P source’s Table of Nations Zech 10 : 10–11; Ps 83 : 8), and a Minaean text from (Gen 10 : 2–5), the sole Hebrew reference to the the 3rd century BCE has Asur in the same sense. Greeks before the coming of Alexander. Javan (LXX Ιων α) and Lud (LXX Λυδ α) are among the future Bibliography: ■ D. Edelman, “The ‘Ashurites’ of Eshbaal’s State (2 Sam. 2,9),” PEQ 117 (1985) 85–91. ■ E. A. Knauf, witnesses to God’s glory (Isa 66 : 19). Javan came to “Saul, David and the Philistines,” BN 109 (2001) 15–18. mean the whole Aegean world and its king, Alexan- ■ F. V. Winnett, “The Arabian Genealogies in the Book of der (Dan 8 : 21; 10 : 20; 11 : 2). The Septuagint Genesis,”inTranslating & Understanding the Old Testament, makes Asia Minor more prominent than in the He- FS H. G.May (eds. H. T. Frank/W. L. Reed; Nashville, Tenn. brew Bible: Cappadocia (Amos 9 : 7; HB Caphtor); 1970) 171–96. Rhodians (Ezek 27 : 15; HB Dedanites); Cilicia (Jdt Ernst Axel Knauf 1 : 12; 2 : 21–25); “crown of Asia” (1 Macc 11 : 13– 14; 12 : 39; 13 : 32). In the New Testament, Acts 21 : 39 presents Ashvath Paul as Asian, a citizen of Tarsus, Cilicia, who trav- Ashvath (MT Asˇwa¯ t; LXX Ασιθ) only appears in els through much of Asia Minor as an apostle. His 1 Chr 7 : 33 as a 4th-generation descendant from co-worker Lydia, a “dealer in purple cloth” (Acts Asher. The meaning of the name can be derived 16 : 14), comes from the Roman province of Asia from the Arabic asˇa¯ , “be blind” or asˇwat, “lack of and shares in its commercial prosperity. Ephesus, intelligence” (Noth: 228). Within the Hebrew man- the capital city, was an early Christian missionary uscript tradition and the Septuagint a number of center, from which as much as half of the New Tes- orthographic variants are attested. Two Hebrew tament may have originated (most of Paul’s letters, manuscripts evidence As´ wa¯ t in contrast to MT. Luke–Acts, the Pastoral Epistles, and Revelation Within the Greek translations, the Lucianic recen- from nearby Patmos). The great Ephesian Temple sion reads Ασσυαθ, while LXXBA has Ασειθ. The of Artemis numbered among the seven wonders of LXX variations can be explained by the graphic the ancient world, and Acts 19 : 23–41 criticizes its similarity between waw and yod. On the other hand, commercialization of religion. The wealth and cul- the Lucianic recension recognizes the Hebrew let- tic Roman integration of Asia’s major cities (e.g., ters and read the waw as a mater (the Vulgate fol- Ephesus, Pergamum, Smyrna, Sardis) receive vitu- lowed this reading, translating Asoth). peration in the Apocalypse (Rev 2 : 1–3 : 22). Galatia is the address of a major Pauline letter. The term ■ Bibliography: M. Noth, Die israelitischen Personennamen denoted both a general region (central Anatolia) (BWANT 46; Hildesheim 1980 [= Stuttgart 11928]). and a Roman province (with variable borders), Peter Altmann which makes understandable a debate in New Tes- tament studies over whether the letter addresses in- habitants of Roman Galatia proper (North Galatian Asia theory) or in the southern cities around Pisidian /Asia Minor; /East Asia; /South Asia; Antioch (South Galatian theory). To the east of Ga- /Southeast Asia latia lay the frontier land of Cappadocia, extending to the Euphrates River and the border of Armenia. Jews resided in the region (Acts 2 : 9), as did early Asia Minor Christians (1 Pet 1 : 1). 1. Asia Minor in the Bible Bibliography: ■ A. Y. Collins, Crisis and Catharsis (Philadel- 2. Archaeology phia, Pa. 1984). ■ S. M. Elliott, Cutting Too Close for Comfort 3. History (JSNT 248; London 2003). ■ S. J. Friesen, Imperial Cults and 4. Society the Apocalypse of John (Oxford 2001). ■ O. R. Gurney, The 5. Religion Hittites (New York 21954). ■ P. H. Harland, Associations, 6. Culture and Arts Synagogues and Congregations (Minneapolis, Minn. 2003). 7. Asia Minor and the Bible ■ H. Koester (ed.), Ephesos (HThS 41; Valley Forge. Pa. 1995). ■ B. W. Winter (ed.), The Book of Acts in its First Century Setting, 1. Asia Minor in the Bible 6 vols. (Grand Rapids, Mich. 1993–). Asia Minor means not only Anatolia but also the Ae- J. Albert Harrill gean world. For the Old Testament the term is an- achronistic, being unattested before the Roman era. 2. Archaeology It encompassed the Hittite Empire, among the This article will survey the beginnings of archaeol- greatest ancient Near Eastern powers, whose suze- ogy in Asia Minor. It will tell the story of Anatolian rainty treaties parallel the biblical idea of covenant, archaeology by describing the history of excavation an occasional partner with ancient Israel in trade at representative biblical sites and mentioning the and war (1 Kgs 10 : 29; 2 Kgs 7 : 6); and the Urartu significant personalities and discoveries associated Authenticated | [email protected] Download Date | 1/5/19 7:18 PM Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 2 (© Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2009) 1007 Asia Minor 1008 with them. It will conclude with a discussion of the the English artist T. Allom visited the Seven current state of archaeology in Turkey today. Churches. A year later his Constantinople and the Scen- a. Beginnings and First Travelers. The beginning ery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor appeared. of the scientific study of Asia Minor’s ancient sites Through Allom’s art, the ancient sites of Asia Mi- can be traced to the messianic and millenarian nor were brought to life visually for Europeans. Al- movements of 1666. Apocalyptic expectations though the scenes are idealized, the gravures never- among European Christians coupled with the an- theless show the biblical sites as they existed in the nouncement in Smyrna by Sabbatai Zevi that he early 19th century. was the Jewish messiah created great interest in the Best known for his discoveries at Xanthus in Seven Churches of Revelation. In 1667 P. Rycaut Lycia, C. Fellows made four trips to Asia Minor be- was appointed by the Levant Company as consul tween 1838 and 1844. In 1852 Fellows prepared a at Smyrna. Before his return to Turkey, the Royal popular abridged version of his journals for publi- Society asked Rycaut to “inquire after these excel- cation. Fellows’ published accounts of his travels lent Works of Antiquity.” Rycaut assured H. Olden- and researches created even more interest in the an- burg, the society’s secretary, that he would be dili- tiquities of Asia Minor. gent to give him an account of the ruins of the In 1869 A. Svoboda provided the earliest photo- Seven Churches of Asia. In the next two years Ry- graphic record in his The Seven Churches with accom- caut visited all of the sites, discovering the site of panying text. These photographs are historically Thyatira at Akhisar in the process. His observa- and archaeologically significant because they show tions, published in 1678 at the command of the ruins that have either deteriorated further or else king, summarized the present state of the Seven have disappeared today. Churches. One of the most famous names associated with In 1670 T. Smith, the British chaplain at Con- archaeology in Asia Minor is W. M. Ramsay, who stantinople, traveled in the Aegean, and eight years made repeated visits beginning in 1880. His re- later published in Latin and English an account of search resulted in the publication of two classics – his visit to the Seven Churches. Smith blamed the The Historical Geography of Asia Minor (1890) and The carelessness of the Greeks for the neglect of the ru- Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia (1895). His journeys to ins, while at the same time faulting western Chris- Turkey continued until 1914. Ramsay’s example of tians for “either not caring or not daring to visit on-site research was soon followed by younger Eu- them.” Smith commented on the architectural re- ropean scholars who began to take similar archaeo- mains and did pioneering epigraphic work by re- logical journeys through Asia Minor. cording 36 inscriptions. b. Archaeology at Select Biblical Sites. i. Assos. Smith’s book created much interest among The Archaeological Institute of America sent J. T. other scholars. One was E. Chishull, the chaplain Clarke and F. H. Bacon to Assos in 1880 to begin of the Levant Company at Smyrna. His Travels in the AIA’s first excavation. Their work continued Turkey (1847) chronicled his visits to Ephesus and until 1883, although it was fraught with leadership Smyrna. The French traveler J. P. de Tournefort problems, lack of field experience, and ineptness in published a two-volume work in 1718 called Travel working with the Turkish authorities. Only 13 out to Asia Minor. The volume included a description of of 50 cases of excavated artifacts were allowed to be numerous biblical sites as well as gravures of se- shipped to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In lected sites. R. Pococke in 1739 traveled from 1884 a change in Ottoman antiquities law prohib- Smyrna to Ankara, but his A Description of the East ited all antiquities from leaving the empire. The (1743–1745) is largely concerned with regions of Anatolia previously unexplored by the British. publication of the site lingered for years.

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