Chapter 2.docx

**Chapter Two** **Key Terms** **Incarnation:** Christian doctrine that God took on human form in Jesus Christ. Through an act of grace, the Son of God assumed a human body and human nature. **Fertile Crescent:** Area of rich soil joining the three geographical subregions of the ancient Near East...

**Chapter Two** **Key Terms** **Incarnation:** Christian doctrine that God took on human form in Jesus Christ. Through an act of grace, the Son of God assumed a human body and human nature. **Fertile Crescent:** Area of rich soil joining the three geographical subregions of the ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt). **Neolithic Age:** When ancient Mesopotamians first cultivated plants, domesticated animals, and began farming (ca. 7000 BC).  **Cuneiform:** Writing system invented by the Sumerians in about 3100 BC, Wedge-like shapes were pressed into wet clay or inscribed on stone or metal to represent words. **hieroglyphs:** Term for the earliest writing system. **pharaoh:** God-king of the ancient Egyptians, to whom the people gave credit for the Nile\'s annual flood. **Levant:** The eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea extends for four hundred miles and became the crossroads for all trade and travel in the ancient world. **rift:** Great fissure in the surface of the earth extending from north of the Sea of Galilee through the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea to the shores of the Red Sea. To the north, this cleavage is framed by the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. **Via Maris:** International road running along the Levant coast. This highway was used throughout the biblical period, and some of the most important cities of antiquity were located near it. **Vulgate:** It rendered Isaiah\'s phrase as Via Maris, which was used in later times to designate the whole network of roadways from Egypt through Syria-Palestine into Mesopotamia. **Paleolithic Age:** Stone Age. Pre-cave culture. **Mesolithic Age:** Stone Age. Cave culture. **Chalcolithic Age:** Stone Age. Metal replaces stone in the production of tools and weapons. **Bronze Age:** Around 3300 BC, bronze technology spread throughout the ancient Near East.  **Iron Age:** Around 1200 BC, people discovered the greater benefits of the use of iron. **Early Bronze Age:** Period from about 3300 to 2000 BC. This period witnessed the invention of writing and the beginnings of human history.  **Middle Bronze Age:** (2000-1550 BC). This period of ancient Near Eastern history is marked by the movement of ethnic groups and new empires replacing the older powers of the Early Bronze Age. Arrival of Amorites and other ethnic groups in Mesopotamia; Old Babylonian Empire; Egyptian Middle Kingdom. **covenant:** Hebrew term describing binding relationships between human partners or between God and human  **The late Bronze Age:** (1550-1200 BC) was one of international trade and balance of world powers, with Syria-Palestine caught in the middle. **New Kingdom:** Egyptians\' period of greatest political strength.  **lingua franca:** Any language used as a trade or communication medium by people of different language groups. In the Late Bronze Age, the Babylonian dialect of Akkadian was used. **Amarna Letters:** Hundreds of clay tablets written in Babylon were found at Akhenaten\'s short-lived capital. These letters from Egyptian vassal-kings in Syria-Palestine reflect the politics of the mid-fourteenth century BC. **sea peoples:** survivors of Troy and the subsequent fall of the Mycenaen cities on the mainland of Greece that fled by sea along the coasts of the Mediterranean, disrupting all the major powers of the ancient world. **Mosaic Jahwism:** Worship of Yahweh, the one true God, who made his covenant with Israel. Mosaic Yahwism was marked by strict adherence to the Law given to Moises at Mount Sinai. During the years of the divided monarchy, Omri of Israel and his son Ahab combined Mosaic Yahwism with Canaanite Baalism to gain greater political control, as the northern kingdom was plagued by political instability. **Canaanite Baalism:** Baal-worshiping religion of the Canaanites with which the Hebrew faith experienced significant ideological conflict during Ahab\'s reign.  **Study Questions** 1. **How is the Old Testament \"incarnational\"?** We read in the New Testament that God revealed himself to humanity through the incarnation; that is, God took on human form in Jesus of Nazareth. This means God\'s revelation occurred in a specific time and place. Similarly, God\'s revealed truth in the Old Testament is also incarnational. God revealed himself in specific times and places to a specific group of people, the Israelites.  2. **Why was the location of Israel strategic in ancient times?** Though Israel was geographically smaller than many of its neighbors in the ancient Near Eas, its location was strategically important throughout ancient history. This small piece of land forms a bridge connecting three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. This crossroads location for Israel had two important consequences. Frist, many nations and empires throughout history desired to control, or at least have access to, Israel for purposes of trade and transportation to other parts of the ancient world. Second, many foreign cultural influences poured into ancient Israel. Thus Israel was exposed to great cultural interchange and commerce throughout its history. 3. **Locate on a map the geographical regions of the ancient Near East and discuss their major characteristics.** The ancient Near East contains three geographical subregions joined by an arch of rich soil known as the \"Fertile Crescent\".  - Mesopotamia. It refers to that great stretch of land between the Euphrates and Tigris River. Mesopotamia\'s terrain is greatly varied, from the mountainous northern regions to the desert sands of the southwest. The weather is unpredictable, and the waters of the twin rivers are capricious. Flooding posed an ever-present threat for the ancient Mesopotamians, but so did drought. Consequently, the region hovered constantly between desert and swamp. Nor were there any natural defenses to ward off enemy invaders. Despite all the dangers, Mesopotamia could provide a good life for those fortunate enough to live there. - Egypt. It appears to have suddenly jumped from the Neolithic Age into urban culture. The relative suddenness of the birth of civilization in Egypt is probably attributable to Mesopotamian influences on the Nile Valley. The Nile played a major role in Egypt\'s history and cultural outlook on life. This great river stretches more than six hundred miles through the northeastern deserts of Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile thus created a sharp contrast between the riverside meadow and the desert on either side. The fertile black soil of the river valley abounded with life and vitality, while the lifeless red desert sands reminded the ancient Egyptians of their mortality. - Syria-Palestine. It is characterized by segmentation. Smaller rivers and vast differences of topography divided the region into subdivisions and smaller territories. Syria\_Palestine was not the site of an advanced civilization or national empires early in history. Instead, its primary geopolitical importance was its role as a land bridge along the Fertile Crescent. 4. **Locate on a map the four subregions of Israel and discuss their major characteristics.** - The coastal plains are narrow in the north but gradually become broader in the south as the coastline slants westward. This region was one of the richest in ancient Israel because of its fertile soil and the accessibility of water. The striking characteristic of Israel\'s coastline compared to the rest of the Levant in the north is the lack of natural harbors. - The ridge, or central mountain range. A ridge of hills rises sharply between the coastal plains and the Jordan Rift. These highlands may be subdivided into four main regions: Galilee, Ephraim, Judean Hill Country, and the Eastern Negeb.  - The Jordan Rift. This main topographical feature of Syria-Palestine plays a prominent role in the shape of Israel\'s landscape. The Jordan Rift may be subdivided north to south into five regions: the Huleh Valley, Chinnereth, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Arabah. - The Transjordanian Highlands. East of the Jordan Rift the land rises sharply into a plateau, which gradually gives way to the Arabian Desert. This steep plateau reaches greater altitudes than much of the central highlands, then drops precipitously as one moves westward down to the Jordan Valley. This mountain tableland is divided by four river canyons: Yarmuk, Jabbok, Arnon, and Zered. 5. **Discuss the international social and political climate during the patriarchal age of Israel\'s history.** In general, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, around 3300 BC, bronze technology spread throughout the ancient Near East, and around 1200 BC, people discovered the greater benefits of the use of iron. The period from about 3300 to 2000 BC is known as the Early Bronze Age. This period witnessed the invention of writing and the beginnings of human history. In Mesopotamia, the Sumerians first used cuneiform extensively for writing; in Egypt, the use of hieroglyphics during the Old Kingdom period is well-attested. In Mesopotamia and Syria-Palestine, city-states first began to grow, and with them the need for communication, travel, and trade. In Mesopotamia, a series of strong city-states gained dominance during the Summerian early dynastic periods. By the close of the Early Bronze Age, all the main features of human civilization and culture had appeared in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Middle Bronze Age is marked by the movement of ethnic groups and new empires replacing the older powers of the Early Bronze Age.  6. **Discuss the international social and political climate during the times of Moses and Joshua.** The Late Bronze Age was one international trade and balance of world powers, with Syria-Palestine caught in the middle. The Egyptians successfully ended their subjugation to the Hyksos and entered the period of their greatest political strength, the New Kingdom. Whereas Egypt was dominant throughout this period. Mesopotamia experienced a time of political weakness. Egypt\'s powerful rulers of the New Kingdom attempted to control the coastal areas of Syria-Palestine, the coastal highway to Phoenicia, and Nubua to the South. By controlling commercial trade with the Aegean and the rest of western Asia, Egypt dominated trade and acquired tremendous wealth and prosperity. At the height of this empire, Amenhotep IV of the Eighteenth Dynasty became pharaoh in about 1353 BC. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Akhenaten and moved the capital about two hundred miles north of Thebes to modern El-Amarna. 7. **What was the political climate of the ancient Near East in about 1200 BC? What effect did this have on the Israelites?** This period began with the invasion of the sea peoples and the shifting of political power throughout the ancient Near East. For at least a couple of centuries after the Israelite conquest, Israel governed itself as a loose confederation of twelve tribes, one for each of the sons of Jacob. During this time, leadership rose from the ranks of the common people on a temporary ad hoc basis. These judges were divinely gifted and ordained to consolidate the strength and resources of the tribes in times of national or regional crisis. Military threats arose from surrounding neighbors. Though a central governing body was not a necessity, the Israelites were weary of constant military threats from surrounding enemies. They began to long for a permanent king and royal court to maintain a standing army and secure peace for the future. The Israelite monarchy developed because of this constant threat of military invasion coupled with cultural pressure to become like other nations. Under David\'s strong leadership, Israel finally defeated the Philistines and forged a degree of peace and security in Syria-Palestine. David\'s reign ushered in a period of stability that would become Israel\'s golden age. He unified the tribes and provided economic and political freedom. Solomon expanded Israel\'s borders to the Euphrates in the north and the border of Egypt in the south. He ruled during the only period of Israel\'s history that may be called an empire. He brought great wealth and prosperity to the nation through international trade. 8. **What political changes did Iron Age II bring to the ancient Near East? What ramifications did this have for Israel?** This period covers Israel\'s divided kingdoms: northern Israel and southern Judah. Elsewhere in the ancient Near East, Egypt was trying to reassert itself as a major world power. Along the banks of the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia, a new force emerged in the Iron Age that would dominate ancient Near Eastern history for two centuries. Assyrian imperialism emerged in the middle. ninth century and began to impact the politics of Syria-Palestine. Yet Assyria went through a period of internal weakness in the first half of the eighth century. This allowed for the long and prosperous reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah in Judah. But success is not necessarily a sign of God\'s approval. While both kingdoms prospered during this half-century, social injustice and moral decay began to consume the soul of Israel and Judah. This was the backdrop for the first classical prophets: Amons, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. Assyria\'s weakness was a temporary lull in its rapacious drive for more power; the early eighth century was only the calm before the storm.