DOCSLIB.ORG

Edna Edom, Edomites I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/ Old

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Edna Edom, Edomites I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/ Old 403 Edna 404 Edna Edom/Edomites in the Hebrew Bible. According As mother-in-law of Tobias, Edna appears fre- to the HB, the Edomites trace their lineage back to quently in Tobit as a strong female character. When Esau, the older brother of Jacob. The birth account Tobias arrives at their home, Edna confirms their of the twin boys (Gen 25 : 21–26) not only provides kinship bond, making him eligible to marry her evidence of shared kinship/linguistic relations be- daughter Sarah (Tob 7 : 2–8). Edna is one of the first tween Israel and Edom, but it marks out their geo- to know her new son-in-law survived the night with graphical territories as well. Esau, who emerged as the demon (Tob 8 : 11–15). She performs domestic the first born son even though Jacob “grasped” at responsibilities (Tob 8 : 19) and is named Tobias’ his heel, is called “red” (admônî) and “hairy” (śēār). mother (Tob 8 : 21). Edna makes a beautiful parting Both terms function as puns which associate Esau speech to Tobias (Tob 10 : 12) when the newlyweds with the land of Edom (i.e., “red”) (36 : 8) and the leave. Tobias blesses Edna and Raguel (his father- region of Seir (36 : 9). Esau’s connection with Edom in-law) before his journey home (Tob 10 : 13). is reinforced further in the Genesis accounts. Ac- ■ cording to Gen 25 : 30, Esau asked Jacob for some Bibliography: Moore, C. A., Tobit (AB 40A; New York 1996). “reddish” (hā ādōm) stew as he suffered from hun- Leah Rediger Schulte ger. The double reference to Esau’s red appearance and the red stew thus playfully but carefully identi- fies Esau with Edom and characterizes him as the Edom, Edomites eponymous ancestor of the Edomite people. Genesis 36 : 1 specifically refers to the “generations of I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Esau,” and in 36 : 43 Esau is called “father of the II. Judaism Edomites.” The bulk of the chapter (vv. 2–43) pro- vides a long registry of Esau’s descendants, which I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible/ interestingly includes the succession of Edomite Old Testament kings (vv. 31–39). The genealogical list of Gen 36 indicates that Edom enjoyed several links with the Territory. In biblical times, the country of Edom peoples of Canaan. Esau is reported to have married (MT Ĕdôm) was located south of the Dead Sea and a Hittite woman and a Hivite woman (vv. 1–2), in extended from the Wadi el-Hesa to the Gulf of Aqa- addition to a daughter of Ishmael (Gen 28 : 9). bah. Unfortunately, Edom’s eastern and western Esau’s connection with Ishmael underscores the boundaries remained relatively undefined. Num- later relationship between Edom and the wander- bers 20 : 16 notes, however, that Kadesh was situ- ing Arab tribes who traced their lineage to Ishmael ated on the border of Edomite territory (Num (Gen 25 : 13–18). 20 : 23; Josh 15 : 1, 21). According to the HB, Edom The Jacob and Esau narratives of Gen 25 : 23; was also associated with the mountainous region of 27 : 27–29, 39–40 additionally presuppose the his- Seir (Gen 32 : 3; 36 : 8; Judg 5 : 4) near Teman and torical and political destinies of both kingdoms. In Mount Paran (Hab 3 : 3). the prophetic statement of 25 : 23, the text refers to The Wadi el-Arabah clearly demarcated the east- “two nations” in the womb of Rebekah, stating that ern and western portions of Edom. Sixty miles the “older will serve the younger.” Moreover, south of the Dead Sea, the wadi reaches a height of Isaac’s blessing ensures that Jacob (i.e., Israel) will about 2,000 feet above the Dead Sea. From this point it descends about 700 feet until it makes con- have dominion over nations and that they will tact with the Gulf of Aqabah. Steep mountains “bow down” to him. These texts ultimately antici- emerge from the Arabah on both sides of the wadi. pate or foreshadow the arrival of the united monar- The mountains on the eastern side reach heights chy when Israel, under David, exercised political that exceed 5,000 feet and are comprised of red Nu- control over Edomite territory (2 Sam 8 : 13–14). Is- bian sandstone. The mountains peak at about 5,600 rael’s dominion over Edom did not last, however, feet as one continues further to the south. The and thus Isaac’s words to Esau in Gen 27 : 40 (“you mountains receive adequate rainfall on the western will break his yoke from your neck”) are “fulfilled” ascents and the western edge of the plateau during during the reign of Solomon (1 Kgs 11 : 14–22) or the winter due to their height. The eastern and Jehoram (2 Kgs 8 : 20) (Wolff: 135). southern sections are, for the most part, desert re- The land of Edom and the Edomites are men- gions. On the western side of the Arabah in the tioned at various places throughout the Torah. In north, the mountains range from 1,500 feet to a the wilderness wandering period there are brief ref- little over 2,000 feet in height, and they rise gradu- erences to the Israelites passing by or through the ally until they reach a height of 2,600 feet in the land of Edom (Num 20 : 14–21; Deut 2 : 4–8; Judg south. This area is mostly desert region. The moun- 11 : 17–18). Moses requested at Kadesh to travel tains on both sides of the Arabah are cut by deep through the land of Edom in order to reach the ter- gorges, which add to the foreboding character of ritory east of the Jordan as a starting point of the the land. conquest of the land of Canaan. The Edomites re- Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 7 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2013 Download Date | 1/19/19 5:12 PM 405 Edom, Edomites 406 fused Moses’ request, thus forcing the Israelites to voted to predicting the doom of Edom. Joel charged make a detour to the east of Edom. This narrative Edom with spilling innocent blood in Judean terri- indicates that the Edomites were sufficiently strong tory (Joel 3 : 19). The prophet Malachi stated that enough to prevent the Israelites’ passage along the God loved Jacob (i.e., Israel/Judah), but “hated” King’s Highway (Num 20 : 17–19), but it does not Esau and had judged Edom (Mal 1 : 3–4). give evidence that Edom was a well unified country. Not all biblical books contained anti-Edomo- Deuteronomy makes references to the “brother- mite sentiments. Neither Zephaniah nor Zechariah hood” of Edom (2 : 4) and allows Edomites to be included oracles of doom against Edom. Among the admitted to the assembly of YHWH, even up to the wisdom books, the story of Job likely takes place in third generation (23 : 7–8). Edom. Job is described as the greatest of the sons In the period of the early monarchy, both Saul of the east and living in the land of Uz (Job 1 : 1–3). and David had contact with the territory of Edom. Lamentations 4 : 21 refers to the “daughter of Edom The text notes that Saul enjoyed military success who lives in the land of Uz.” Ironically, this late against Edom (1 Sam 14 : 47), and one of Saul’s chief text makes an Edomite, and not the Judeans, the herdsmen, Doeg, was an Edomite (1 Sam 21 : 7). hero of the story. Doeg even aided Saul in the king’s pursuit of David Edom in Extra Biblical Resources. Outside of (1 Sam 22 : 9, 18–19). David, however, gained the biblical literature, the Egyptians were the first to greatest victory over the inhabitants of Edom. After make references to Edom. Papyrus Anastasi, for ex- the decisive defeat in the Valley of the Salt, where ample, contains this report from a frontier official David slew 18,000 Edomites (2 Sam 8 : 13; 1 Kgs from the reign of Merneptah (r. 1224–14 BCE): “We 11 : 15–16), David subjugated them harshly by in- have finished letting the Bedouin tribes of Edom stalling garrisons in Edom and making the Edom- pass the Fortress [of] Mer-ne-Ptah Hotep-hir-Maat – ites his servants. Later, Solomon occupied Ezion Ge- life, prosperity, health! – which is (in) Tjeku, to the ber, a southern maritime port in the land of Edom pools of Per-Atum … to keep them alive and to keep (1 Kgs 9 : 26). One of Solomon’s most bitter oppo- their cattle alive.” In this text, Edom is presented nents was an Edomite named Hadad, who “was of as a foreign territory. This Semitic place name was the royal house in Edom” (1 Kgs 11 : 14). in use by the late 13th century BCE and perhaps as During the period of the divided monarchy, early as the 15th century. The name may be much there were alternating periods of cooperation and older, but an earlier use of the term has gone unde- conflict between Israel/Judah and Edom (1 Kgs tected (Bartlett 1989: 77). 22 : 47). According to 2 Kgs 3, Jehoram and Jehosha- The Egyptians also made reference to the region phat allied with an unnamed king of Edom in an of Seir and to the Shasu bedouins that lived there. unsuccessful attack against king Mesha of Moab The place name first appears in a letter found in (vv. 9–26).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Idolatry in the Ancient Near East1
    Idolatry in the Ancient Near East1 Ancient Near Eastern Pantheons Ammonite Pantheon The chief god was Moloch/Molech/Milcom. Assyrian Pantheon The chief god was Asshur. Babylonian Pantheon At Lagash - Anu, the god of heaven and his wife Antu. At Eridu - Enlil, god of earth who was later succeeded by Marduk, and his wife Damkina. Marduk was their son. Other gods included: Sin, the moon god; Ningal, wife of Sin; Ishtar, the fertility goddess and her husband Tammuz; Allatu, goddess of the underworld ocean; Nabu, the patron of science/learning and Nusku, god of fire. Canaanite Pantheon The Canaanites borrowed heavily from the Assyrians. According to Ugaritic literature, the Canaanite pantheon was headed by El, the creator god, whose wife was Asherah. Their offspring were Baal, Anath (The OT indicates that Ashtoreth, a.k.a. Ishtar, was Baal’s wife), Mot & Ashtoreth. Dagon, Resheph, Shulman and Koshar were other gods of this pantheon. The cultic practices included animal sacrifices at high places; sacred groves, trees or carved wooden images of Asherah. Divination, snake worship and ritual prostitution were practiced. Sexual rites were supposed to ensure fertility of people, animals and lands. Edomite Pantheon The primary Edomite deity was Qos (a.k.a. Quas). Many Edomite personal names included Qos in the suffix much like YHWH is used in Hebrew names. Egyptian Pantheon2 Egyptian religion was never unified. Typically deities were prominent by locale. Only priests worshipped in the temples of the great gods and only when the gods were on parade did the populace get to worship them. These 'great gods' were treated like human kings by the priesthood: awakened in the morning with song; washed and dressed the image; served breakfast, lunch and dinner.
    [Show full text]
  • Manasseh: Reflections on Tribe, Territory and Text
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Vanderbilt Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Archive MANASSEH: REFLECTIONS ON TRIBE, TERRITORY AND TEXT By Ellen Renee Lerner Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion August, 2014 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor Douglas A. Knight Professor Jack M. Sasson Professor Annalisa Azzoni Professor Herbert Marbury Professor Tom D. Dillehay Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Renee Lerner All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people I would like to thank for their role in helping me complete this project. First and foremost I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the members of my dissertation committee: Professor Douglas A. Knight, Professor Jack M. Sasson, Professor Annalisa Azzoni, Professor Herbert Marbury, and Professor Tom Dillehay. It has been a true privilege to work with them and I hope to one day emulate their erudition and the kind, generous manner in which they support their students. I would especially like to thank Douglas Knight for his mentorship, encouragement and humor throughout this dissertation and my time at Vanderbilt, and Annalisa Azzoni for her incredible, fabulous kindness and for being a sounding board for so many things. I have been lucky to have had a number of smart, thoughtful colleagues in Vanderbilt’s greater Graduate Dept. of Religion but I must give an extra special thanks to Linzie Treadway and Daniel Fisher -- two people whose friendship and wit means more to me than they know.
    [Show full text]
  • THROUGH the BIBLE ISAIAH 15-19 in the Bible God Judges Individuals, and Families, and Churches, and Cities, and Even Nations…
    THROUGH THE BIBLE ISAIAH 15-19 ! In the Bible God judges individuals, and families, and churches, and cities, and even nations… I would assume He also judges businesses, and labor unions, and school systems, and civic groups, and athletic associations - all of life is God’s domain. Starting in Isaiah 13, God launches a series of judgments against the Gentile nations of his day. Making Isaiah’s list are Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Ethiopia, Egypt, Edom, Tyre, and Syria. Tonight we’ll study God’s burden against the nations. ! Isaiah 15 begins, “The burden against Moab…” Three nations bordered Israel to the east - Moab, Edom, and Ammon. Today this area makes up the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - a pro-Western monarchy with its capitol city of Amman - or Ammon. ! Today, it’s fashionable to research your roots - track down the family tree. Websites like Ancestry.com utilize the power of the Internet to uncover your genealogy. For some folks this is a fun and meaningful pastime. For me, I’ve always been a little leery… I suspect I’m from a long line of horse thieves and swindlers. I’m not sure I want to know my ancestry. This is probably how most Moabites felt regarding their progenitors… ! The Moabites were a people with some definite skeletons in the closest! Their family tree had root rot. Recently, I read of a Michigan woman who gave her baby up for adoption. Sixteen years later she tracked him down on FB… only to get romantically involved. She had sex with her son… Obviously this gal is one sick pup.
    [Show full text]
  • Good News & Information Sites
    Written Testimony of Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein1 Hearing on: A NEW HORIZON IN U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS: FROM AN AMERICAN EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM TO POTENTIAL RECOGNITION OF ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE GOLAN HEIGHTS Before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security Tuesday July 17, 2018, 10:00 a.m. Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154 Chairman Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Ranking Member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) Introduction & Summary Chairman DeSantis, Vice Chairman Russell, Ranking Member Lynch, and Members of the Committee: Thank you for holding this hearing to discuss the potential for American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in furtherance of U.S. national security interests. Israeli sovereignty over the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights is a key bulwark against radical regimes and affiliates that threaten the security and stability of the United States, Israel, the entire Middle East region, and beyond. The Golan Heights consists of strategically-located high ground, that provides Israel with an irreplaceable ability to monitor and take counter-measures against growing threats at and near the Syrian-Israel border. These growing threats include the extremely dangerous hegemonic expansion of the Iranian-Syrian-North Korean axis; and the presence in Syria, close to the Israeli border, of: Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Quds forces; thousands of Iranian-armed Hezbollah fighters; Palestinian Islamic Jihad (another Iranian proxy); Syrian forces; and radical Sunni Islamist groups including the al Nusra Levantine Conquest Front (an incarnation of al Qaeda) and ISIS. The Iranian regime is attempting to build an 800-mile land bridge to the Mediterranean, running through Iraq and Syria.
    [Show full text]
  • EDOM and COPPER Photo by Mohammad Najjar Mohammad by Photo Photo by Thomas E
    Edom& Copper The Emergence of Ancient Israel’s Rival Thomas E. L E v y a n d m ohammad Najjar Did King David do battle with the Edomites? The Bible says he did. It would be unlikely, however, if Edom was not yet a sufficiently complex society to organize and field an army, if Edom was just some nomadic Bedouin tribes roaming around looking for pastures and water for their sheep and goats. Until recently, many scholars took this position: In David’s time Edom was at most a simple pastoral society.1 This gave fuel to those scholars who insisted that ancient DUBY TAL / Israel (or rather, Judah) likewise did not ALBATROSS develop into a state until a century or more 24 BI B LICA L ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW • JULY/AUGUST 2006 JULY/AUGUST 2006 • BI B LICA L ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW 25 EDOM AND COPPER PHOTO BY MOHAMMAD NAJJAR PHOTO BY THOMAS E. LEVY after David’s time. Ancient Israel, they argued, explore the role of early mining and metallurgy on r PILES OF RUBBLE (opposite) bestride the outline of a large e v was just like the situation east of the Jordan—no i square fortress and more than 100 smaller buildings at social evolution from the beginnings of agriculture R AMMON n complex societies in Ammon, Moab or Edom. a Khirbat en-Nahas in the Edomite lowlands of Jordan. The and sedentary village life from the Pre-pottery d r According to this school of thought, David was o Neolithic period (c. 8500 B.C.E.) to the Iron Age J massive black mounds are slag, a waste product of the Jerusalem not really a king, but a chieftain of a few simple SEA copper-smelting process, indicating that large-scale copper (1200–500 B.C.E.) in Jordan.
    [Show full text]
  • AMOS 44 Prophet of Social Justice
    AMOS 44 Prophet of Social Justice Introduction. With Amos, we are introduced to the proclamation of Amos’ judgment, but rather in the first of the “writings prophets.” They did not only social evils that demand such judgment. preach but also wrote down their sermons. Preaching prophets like Elijah and Elisha did not write down Style. Amos’ preaching style is blunt, confrontational their sermons. In some books of the Bible, Amos and and insulting. He calls the rich ladies at the local his contemporaries (Hosea, Isaiah, etc.), are country club in Samaria “cows of Basham” (4:1). sometimes called the “Latter Prophets” to distinguish With an agricultural background, he uses symbols he them from the “Former Prophets” (Joshua, Samuel, has experienced on the land: laden wagons, roaring Nathan, etc.). lions, flocks plundered by wild beasts. Historical Context. One of the problems we DIVISION OF CHAPTERS encounter when dealing with the so-called “Latter Prophets” is the lack of historical context for their PART ONE is a collection of oracles against ministry. Since little or nothing is written in the surrounding pagan nations. These oracles imply that historical books about any of the prophets, with the God’s moral law applies not only to his chosen ones exception of Isaiah, scholars have depended on the but to all nations. In this series of condemnations, text of each prophetic book to ascertain the historical Judah and Israel are not excluded (chs 1-2). background of each of the prophets. Some of the books provide very little historical information while PART TWO is a collection of words and woes against others give no clues at all.
    [Show full text]
  • If Not Empire, What? a Survey of the Bible
    If Not Empire, What? A Survey of the Bible Berry Friesen John K. Stoner www.bible-and-empire.net CreateSpace December 2014 2 If Not Empire, What? A Survey of the Bible If Not Empire, What? A Survey of the Bible Copyright © 2014 by Berry Friesen and John K. Stoner The content of this book may be reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For more information, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ International Standard Book Number: 978-0692344781 For Library of Congress information, contact the authors. Bible quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Cover design by Judith Rempel Smucker. For information or to correspond with the authors, send email to [email protected] Bound or electronic copies of this book may be obtained from www.amazon.com. The entire content also is available in PDF format reader at www.bible-and-empire.net. For the sake of concordance with our PDF edition, the page numbering in this book begins with the title page. Published in cooperation with CreateSpace, DBA On-Demand Publishing, LLC December 2014 If Not Empire, What? A Survey of the Bible 3 *** Naboth owned a vineyard beside the palace grounds; the king asked to buy it. Naboth refused, saying, “This land is my ancestral inheritance; YHWH would not want me to sell my heritage.” This angered the king. Not only had Naboth refused to sell, he had invoked his god as his reason.
    [Show full text]
  • Of Malachi Studies of the Old Testament's Ethical Dimensions
    ABSTRACT The Moral World(s) of Malachi Studies of the Old Testament’s ethical dimensions have taken one of three approaches: descriptive, systematic, or formative. Descriptive approaches are concerned with the historical world, social context, and streams of tradition out of which OT texts developed and their diverse moral perspectives. Systematic approaches investigate principles and paradigms that encapsulate the unity of the OT and facilitate contemporary appropriation. Formative approaches embrace the diversity of the OT ethical witnesses and view texts as a means of shaping the moral imagination, fostering virtues, and forming character The major phase of this investigation pursues a descriptive analysis of the moral world of Malachi—an interesting case study because of its location near the end of the biblical history of Israel. A moral world analysis examines the moral materials within texts, symbols used to represent moral ideals, traditions that helped shape them, and the social world (political, economic, and physical) in which they are applied. This study contributes a development to this reading methodology through a categorical analysis of moral foundations, expectations, motives, and consequences. This moral world reading provides insight into questions such as what norms and traditions shaped the morals of Malachi’s community? What specific priorities, imperatives, and injunctions were deemed important? How did particular material, economic, and political interests shape moral decision-making? How did religious symbols bring together their view of the world and their social values? The moral world reading is facilitated by an exploration of Malachi’s social and symbolic worlds. Social science data and perspectives are brought together from an array of sources to present six important features of Malachi’s social world.
    [Show full text]
  • OAN) Neo-Assyrian Empire Neo- Babylonian Empire 1055– 612 B.C.) (612 B.C
    Oracles Against Foreign Nations (OAN) Neo-Assyrian Empire Neo- Babylonian Empire 1055– 612 B.C.) (612 B.C. -539 B.C. Amos Jeremiah (c. 750 B.C.) (627-574 B.C.) chs. 1-2 25:15-38 chs. 46-51 Isaiah Ezekiel (740 – 681 B.C.) (593-571 B.C.) 10:5-19 chs. 25-32 chs. 13-23 35:1-12 chs. 38-39 Nahum Obadiah (c. 650-615 B.C.) (c. 585 B.C.) chs. 1-3 vv. 1-21 Zephaniah (c. 640-625 B.C.) 2:4-15 Amos Isaiah Nahum Zephaniah Jeremiah Ezekiel Obadiah (640-625 (c. 750 B.C.) (740-681 B.C.) (650-615 (627-574 B.C.) (593-571 B.C.) (c. 585 B.C.) B.C.) B.C.) Egypt 19:1-25 46:1-12 29:1-16 20:1-6 46:13-26 29:17-21 30:1-19 30:20-26 31:1-18 32:1-16 32:17-32 Ethiopia 18:1-7 2:12 (Cush) 20:1-6 Edom 1:11-12 21:11-12 49:7-22 25:12-14 vv.1-21 (Dumah) 32:29 35:1-15 (Mt.Seir) Kedar & 49:28-33 Hazor Moab 2:1-3 15:1 - 6:12 2:8-11 48:1-47 25:8-11 16:13-14 Ammon 1:13-15 2:8-11 49:1-6 25:1-7, 10 Philistia 1:6-8 14:28-32 2:4-7 47:1-7 25:15-17 (Gaza) Amos Isaiah Nahum Zephaniah Jeremiah Ezekiel Obadiah (640-625 B.C.) (c.
    [Show full text]
  • "The Assyrian Empire, the Conquest of Israel, and the Colonization of Judah." Israel and Empire: a Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism
    "The Assyrian Empire, the Conquest of Israel, and the Colonization of Judah." Israel and Empire: A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism. Perdue, Leo G., and Warren Carter.Baker, Coleman A., eds. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015. 37–68. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 1 Oct. 2021. <http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9780567669797.ch-002>. Downloaded from Bloomsbury Collections, www.bloomsburycollections.com, 1 October 2021, 16:38 UTC. Copyright © Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker 2015. You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher, and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. 2 The Assyrian Empire, the Conquest of Israel, and the Colonization of Judah I. Historical Introduction1 When the installation of a new monarch in the temple of Ashur occurs during the Akitu festival, the Sangu priest of the high god proclaims when the human ruler enters the temple: Ashur is King! Ashur is King! The ruler now is invested with the responsibilities of the sovereignty, power, and oversight of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire has been described as a heterogeneous multi-national power directed by a superhuman, autocratic king, who was conceived of as the representative of God on earth.2 As early as Naram-Sin of Assyria (ca. 18721845 BCE), two important royal titulars continued and were part of the larger titulary of Assyrian rulers: King of the Four Quarters and King of All Things.3 Assyria began its military advances west to the Euphrates in the ninth century BCE.
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a New Synthesis of the God of Edom and Yahweh
    Kelley, Justin Toward a new synthesis of the god of Edom and Yahweh Antiguo Oriente: Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente Vol. 7, 2009 Este documento está disponible en la Biblioteca Digital de la Universidad Católica Argentina, repositorio institucional desarrollado por la Biblioteca Central “San Benito Abad”. Su objetivo es difundir y preservar la producción intelectual de la institución. La Biblioteca posee la autorización del autor para su divulgación en línea. Cómo citar el documento: Kelley, Justin. “Toward a new synthesis of the god of Edom and Yaheweh”. Antiguo Oriente: Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente 7 (2009). http://bibliotecadigital.uca.edu.ar/repositorio/revistas/toward- new-synthesis-god-edom.pdf (Se recomienda indicar al finalizar la cita bibliográfica la fecha de consulta entre corchetes. Ej: [consulta: 19 de agosto, 2010]). TOWARD A NEW SYntHESIS * OF THE GOD OF EDOM AND YAHWEH JUSTIN KELLEY [email protected] Life Pacific College USA Summary: Toward a New Synthesis of the God of Edom and Yahweh This article deals primarily with two things: 1) the history and nature of the Edomite deity Qos, as far as these can be determined from the known archaeological and textual evidence, and 2) the similarities between Qos and Yahweh, the god of Israel, particularly in regard to the theories concerning the origins of the deities. Through the article I will consider some of the recent suggestions concerning the origin of Qos and how this may relate to the origin of Yahweh. I will suggest that both deities originated in the northwestern portion of the Arabian Peninsula and, that ultimately, the mutual origin of the deities accounts for the fact that the Bible makes no reference to Qos as the god of Edom.
    [Show full text]
  • The Biblical View of Tyre
    THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF TYRE PATRICIA BERLYN To the north of Israel, along a strip of coastland between the Mediterranean Sea and the Lebanon Mountains, ran a strand of city-states peopled by Ca- naanites distinguished from other Canaanites by the name the Hellenes gave 1 them: Phoenicians. With good natural harbors, fine growths of timber for ships, and constricted by the meagerness of their hinterland, the Phoenicians early took to the sea. Their merchant fleets ranged the Mediterranean and beyond the Pillars of Heracles into the Atlantic, and a small flotilla of Phoe- 2 nician ships made the first recorded circumnavigation of Africa. The wares the Phoenicians produced and sold were luxury goods for rich customers, among them the splendid cedars of the Lebanon that far-off kings sought for their palaces and temples. They also long held a virtual monopoly on making purple dyes, an industry prodigiously profitable, for the wearing of purple was held to confer such dignity that it is even today the royal color. The Phoenicians were resourceful and successful, but Plutarch describes them as “a grim people, averse to good humor.” Homer deems them to be master mariners but greedy and tricky. Both Homer and Herodotus recall accusations of kidnapping and abduction, and that correlates with the denun- ciations of biblical prophets. Amos in the eighth century speaks of the Phoe- nicians of Tyre selling a people with whom they had a covenant of brother- hood into captivity in Edom (Amos 1:9). Joel in the fifth century addresses the Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon as well as the Philistines: You have sold the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem to the Ionians, so you have removed them far away from their homeland (Joel 4:6).
    [Show full text]