The Cup of Blessing and the Cup of Wrath

Every week my fellow blogger Duane Smith at Abnormal Interest shows his abnormal interest for languages and ancient Near Eastern cultures by posting a study of words that are common in the culture and societies of the Ancient Near East. On February 6, 2009, the Friday Culture Word was the word ks, generally translated as “cup.”

In the Old Testament, one of the four words for “cup” is kôs (Hebrew כוס). The word appears 31 times in the Old Testament. Generally, the word “cup” was used to describe a vessel used for drinking water and wine. A cup was made of gold, silver, copper (or bronze), stone, and even clay.

Most of the times the word is used in the Old Testament, it generally refers to a literal cup. However, the word is widely used in a figurative, symbolic way to refer to different kinds of life experiences that God brings to the faithful and to evil-doers.

In this post, I will begin with Duane’s study of the word kôs, “cup.” I will not repeat his study of the word but simply look at the figurative ways the word “cup” appears in the Old Testament. In addition, I will not provide an explanation for each use of the word. That, I believe, is almost self explanatory in the context where the word appears.

A Drinking Cup

“Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand” (Genesis 40:11 ESV).

The Cup of the Evil-doers

“On the evil-doer he will send down fire and flames, and a burning wind; with these will their cup be full” ( Psalm 11:6).

The Cup in the Lord’s Hand

“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs” (Psalm 75:8 ESV).

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

“Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering” ( Isaiah 51:17 ESV).

The Cup of the Lord’s Fury

“For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: "Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it” (Jeremiah 25:15 NKJ).

The Cup of Staggering

“Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering” (Isaiah 51:17 ESV).

The Believer’s Cup

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot” (Psalm 16:5 NRSV).

The Cup of Blessings

“You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalm 23:5 NLT).

The Cup of Salvation

“I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:13 ESV).

The Cup of Consolation

“No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother” (Jeremiah 16:7 ESV).

The Golden Cup

“Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD's hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad” (Jeremiah 51:7 ESV).

The Cup of Suffering

“Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Edom, you that live in the land of Uz; but to you also the cup shall pass; you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare” (Lamentations 4:21 NRSV).

The Cup of Terror

“Yes, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: You will drink from the same cup of terror as your sister-- a cup that is large and deep. And all the world will mock and scorn you in your desolation” (Ezekiel 23:32 NLT).

The Cup of Horror and Desolation

“You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria” (Ezekiel 23:33 ESV).

The Cup from the Lord’s Right Hand

“You will be filled with shame instead of glory. Now it is your turn! Drink and be exposed! The cup from the LORD's right hand is coming around to you, and disgrace will cover your glory” (Habakkuk 2:16 NIV).

The Cup of Trembling

“Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again” (Isaiah 51:22 KJV).

All the figurative uses of the word “cup” refer to people’s experiences of joys and sorrows, of hope and despair. At times the word is used to describe the blessings and joys of God’s people; at times the word is used to describe God’s judgment and his wrath upon evil-doers. All in all, the use of the word “cup” reflects the richness and the beauty of the language used to describe the every day life of God’s people.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Blessings, Cup, Wrath

The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt

Photo: Meresamun’s mummy


The March/April 2009 issue of Archaeology magazine is dedicated to tell the story of Meresamun, a temple singer in ancient Egypt and a priestess of Amun. Meresamun lived in Thebes, Egypt around 800 B.C.

The magazine is also highlighting an exhibition, “The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt,” being presented by the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum. The presentation at the Oriental Institute Museum runs through December 6.

I encourage you to visit the web page of Archaeology magazine and see some amazing photos of Meresamun’s mummy and read summaries of the article published in the magazine:

The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt

Meresamun: Priestess of Amun

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Amun, Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, Meresamun

Hezekiah and the Assyrian Crisis

The events related to the Assyrian invasion of Judah and the siege of Jerusalem are difficult to determine because the timing and sequence of events as they appear in the book of 2 Kings is difficult to interpret. Assyrian records provide supplementary information that helps determine what happened before, during, and after the invasion of Jerusalem. An item of controversy is the sequence of events related to Sennacherib’s campaign in 701 B.C. This post will address some of the political issues related to Hezekiah’s rebellion against Assyria. My next post will deal with Sennacherib’s invasion and the siege of Jerusalem.

When Hezekiah became king of Judah in 715 B.C., Assyria was the dominant power in the Ancient Near East. During his reign, all of Hezekiah’s actions, his political and economic reforms, and his alliances with Egypt were preparation for his revolt against Assyria.

The siege of Samaria began under the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (726-722). However, he died just before the city was conquered. The conquest of the Northern Kingdom was finished by Sargon II. When Sargon became king in 722, he incorporated Samaria into the Assyrian empire. He deported 27,290 citizens of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria.

Under Ahaz, Judah had become a protectorate of Assyria and paid tribute to their overlord every year. During the reign of Sargon, Judah continued as a satellite state of Assyria and Hezekiah continued paying the yearly tribute.

When Sargon became king, many nations controlled by Assyria revolted against the empire. Sargon’s attention was required somewhere else, leaving Palestine free to recover somewhat politically. Babylon, under Merodach-baladan (2 Kings 20:12, Isaiah 39:1) revolted against Assyria (720 B.C.).

With the help of the Elamites, Babylon broke free from Assyrian control for twelve years. Urartu, the Assyrian enemy to the north, revolted in 719 B.C. Phrygia, a city in Asia Minor, and Carchemish, a Hittite city in North Syria, revolted against Assyria at this time. Sargon invaded Asia Minor and deported most of the population to other parts of the empire. The Medes, a group of people from the Iranian plateau, revolted in 715 B.C.

Because of political instability in his empire, Sargon was unable to embark on any significant campaign into Palestine for several years following the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. In 716 B.C. Piankhi, an Ethiopian king, became king of Egypt. Piankhi's policy was to unify Egypt and to extend Egypt's control to Asia. With the presence of Egypt in Asia, Assyrian vassals in Palestine turned to Egypt for help against Assyria.

Several of the Philistine cities revolted against Assyria in 714 B.C. in what is commonly known as the Ashdod Rebellion. Ashdod withheld its tribute and other Philistine towns also rebelled. Egypt had political interests in this rebellion. According to Assyrian documents, Judah, Edom, and Moab were invited to participate in the rebellion.

Hezekiah was tempted to join the alliance and may have discussed this possibility with Egypt since Isaiah says that Egypt sent ambassadors in what the prophet sarcastically called “vessels of papyrus” (Isaiah 18:1-2). Both the desire for political freedom from Assyria and the requirement of paying the annual tribute to Assyria were strong motivating factors that almost prompted Hezekiah to join this rebellion.

The prophet Isaiah strongly opposed the revolt against Assyria (see Isaiah 20:1-4). According to the text, Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot to demonstrate what would happen to Egypt and Ethiopia and the foolishness of trusting in them for help. Although the text is silent on Hezekiah’s decision, it is clear that he listened to Isaiah’s words and did not participate in the revolt for when Sargon crushed the revolt, Judah did not suffer any reprisal from Assyria.

After Sargon’s decisive demonstration of force, Hezekiah made no other overt act of rebellion against Assyria. As long as Sargon ruled, Judah remained a vassal and paid the annual tribute to Assyria. However, while Hezekiah continued paying the annual tribute, he quietly began his preparations for revolt.

These preparations for a possible revolt included a concerted effort to arm Judah, to prepare for war, and to plan against a siege of Jerusalem. As discussed in a previous post, Hezekiah prepared for his revolt against Assyria by making weapons and setting combat commanders over the people, by preparing storehouses for the harvest, stalls for the animals, by rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem, by strengthening the Millo, and by making a water tunnel to bring water into Jerusalem.

In 705 the opportunity for rebellion against Assyria became a possibility. Sargon was killed in a battle and his death motivated several of the vassal nations to revolt against Assyrian domination. When Sennacherib, Sargon’s son, ascended the throne, he immediately took steps to deal with vassal rebellion against his kingdom. Merodach-baladan had revolted against Assyria and regained his throne in Babylon. With Elamite help, Merodach-baladan fought against Assyria until 702 when Sennacherib was able to subdue Babylon. At the same time Sennacherib was fighting against Babylon, rebellion broke out in the west and it was into this situation that Judah was eventually drawn.

It was in the midst of this political upheaval that Merodach-baladan sent messengers to Hezekiah to congratulate him for recovering from his illness (2 Kings 20: 12-19; Isaiah 39:1-8). It is possible that the real purpose of the Babylonian embassy was to gain Judah’s assistance in the Babylonian struggle against the Assyrian stronghold.

Scholars are not in agreement with the purpose of the Babylonian visit. However, since Merodach-baladan was fighting against Sennacherib and Assyrian imperialism, it is possible that he wanted to enlist potential allies or at the very least promote diversionary rebellions to occupy Sennacherib’s attention which would then relieve Assyrian pressure from the Babylonian army.

According to the Deuteronomic historian, sometime after Sargon’s death in 705 B. C., Hezekiah withheld his tribute from Assyria: “He rebelled against the king of Assyria, and would not serve him” (2 Kings 18:7). This act of defiance was an open declaration of rebellion against Assyria.

Hezekiah took action against some of the Philistine cities that refused to join in the revolt (2 Kings 18:8). According to Sennacherib’s inscription, the people of Ekron deposed their king, who was loyal to the Assyrians, and delivered him to Hezekiah who kept him captive in Jerusalem.

Hezekiah sent an embassy to Egypt asking for help. Isaiah opposed this alliance with Egypt and called it “a covenant with death” (Isaiah 28:15). He warned against the revolt by declaring that an alliance with Egypt would bring disaster to Judah:

“Oh, rebellious children, says the LORD, who carry out a plan, but not mine; who make an alliance, but against my will, adding sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my counsel, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt; Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation” (Isaiah 30:1-3 NRSV).

While Isaiah was successful in stopping Hezekiah from revolting against Sargon during the Ashdod Rebellion in 714 B.C., he was unsuccessful in stopping Hezekiah from revolting against Sennacherib. Scholars have suggested that Hezekiah’s revolt against Assyria came as a result of his illness. Since Hezekiah became very sick and was at the point of death (2 Kings 20:1), it is possible that he became too incapacitated to handle the duties of the kingdom and that his princes and nobles took the initiative to enter into this alliance with Egypt.

It is also possible that the anti-Assyrian faction in his government pressured him to revolt against Assyria and that he was the one who decided to establish the alliance with Egypt. Regardless of the motivation behind the alliance with Egypt, the decision to revolt had been made and there was nothing else to do but to prepare for the coming of Sennacherib and the siege of Jerusalem.

Other posts on Hezekiah:

1. Hezekiah , King of Judah

2. Hezekiah’s Religious Reforms

3. Hezekiah’s Political and Economic Reforms


Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Assyria, Hezekiah, Sargon

An Etruscan Vase Moon Rising

Photo: An Etruscan Vase


The Etruscans were an ancient civilization which lived in Italy and Corsica before the birth of the Roman empire. Their culture flourished around 800 BC. The origin of the Etruscan is unknown. Archaeologists believe they came from the eastern Mediterranean, possibly Asia Minor.

The Etruscans were a sophisticated people. They used an alphabet based on the Greek alphabet and left behind many sculptures and artifacts with a distinct painting tradition. The photo above shows a beautifully painted Etruscan vase.

Have you see an Etruscan vase moon rising?

An Etruscan vase moon rising is a celestial phenomenon that occurs at the time of a full moon. An Etruscan vase moon rising occurs when the full moon appears distorted as it rises. In a copyrighted picture, John Stetson has captured the rising moon in the form of an Etruscan vase.

The narrative accompanying the photo describes the celestial effect: “Visible in particular was a curiously inverted image section pinched off near the horizon, an effect dubbed the Etruscan vase by the pioneering science fiction writer Jules Verne for its familiar shape. This odd moon image piece was created by moonlight refracting through an atmospheric inversion layer on Earth where cold air was trapped near the surface.”

Click here and see an Etruscan vase moon rising.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Etruscans, Etruscan Vase

“I Have Seen Noah’s Ark”

A few days ago, while doing research on an unrelated topic, I came across the name of Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), an English woman educated at Oxford who loved archaeology and loved to travel.

On a site dedicated to preserve her papers, her biographical information says that she developed an interest in the Arab culture. She learned Arabic in order to visit and study archaeological sites. She became Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq and established the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.

In one of her letters, dated Friday, May 14, 1909 she made a reference to visiting the site where Noah’s Ark rested and of personally having seen the Ark. She wrote:

So yesterday we set off at 4 and climbed through the oak woods for 2 hours and then we came out onto the mountain tops where the snow was still lying in great wreaths and the high mountain flowers were in bloom. There were few of the real alpines - perhaps I wasn't high enough up for them - but the great beauty was the bulbs. Pale blue hyacinths and pale blue scillas, and a new asphodel (new to me I mean) and at the very top the scarlet tulips were still all in bloom just below the - but I forgot to tell you what it was I came out to see - I wasn't just taking the air in the mountains, I went up to look at - the Ark. There is a large body of opinion in favour of this having been the place where it alighted and I also belong to this school of thought partly because, you see, I have seen the Ark there and partly because, since the Flood legends are Babylonian, it's far more likely that they chose for their mountain the first high mountain that they knew (which is this Judi Dagh) rather than a place far away in remote Armenia. We got up to the Ark about 9 - it was a most wonderful place from which you could see the whole world, though I must confess there isn't much of the Ark left.

Her statement, “I have seen the Ark,” is very intriguing because according to Bell, Noah’s Ark was located on Mountain Judi (the word “Dagh” means “mountain”), and not on Mount Ararat. Her view on the location of the Ark is based on the fact that the flood took place in Babylon. She wrote:

I have seen the Ark there and partly because, since the Flood legends are Babylonian, it's far more likely that they chose for their mountain the first high mountain that they knew (which is this Judi Dagh) rather than a place far away in remote Armenia.

Mountain Judi (or Judi Dagh) was the place where, according to the Koran, Noah’s Ark rested. The view is based on the assumption that the statement in Genesis 8:4, that “the ark came to rest on the mountains of RRT,” does not refer to “Ararat” but to “Urartu.”

Urartu was the name of a kingdom located in Anatolia (see Jeremiah 51:27), in an area known today as the Armenian Highlands. Many people believe that Urartu was the place mentioned in Genesis which became associated with Noah’s Ark.

I do not believe that Gertrude Bell saw the remains of Noah’s Ark. She is one of the many people who have either seen, touched, been inside, or possessed a piece of the Ark.

Recently, I wrote a post, In Search of Noah’s Ark, describing the new effort to find Noah’s Ark. As with all past efforts, this one also will not find anything on Mount Ararat.

All this preoccupation with finding Noah’s Ark has one, and one purpose only: to show to an unbelieving world that the Bible is the word of God. The Bible is the word of God, whether the Ark is on Mount Ararat, on Mount Judi, or on another mountain. And the Bible is still the word of God even if the Ark is not there.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Gertrude Bell, Mount Ararat, Mountain Judi, Noah’s Ark, Urartu

Defending the Bible: The Date of Joel

In a previous post, I discussed the efforts of some Christians to defend the Bible by trying to explain some of the difficult passages found in the Biblical text. One of the issues raised by my post was the effort some Christians make to defend the traditional views of authorship of biblical books.

One thing I often emphasize to my students is that just because the name of an individual appears in the title of a Biblical book, it does not mean that that individual wrote that specific book. Take for instance, the books of Samuel. In our English Bibles, we have 1 and 2 Samuel. In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Samuel is one book. In 1 Samuel 25:1 we read: “And Samuel died.” If Samuel died in Chapter 25:1, who wrote 1 Samuel 25-31? Who wrote 2 Samuel? For sure it was not Samuel.

We may use the book of Joshua as another example. In Joshua 4:14 we read: “That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.” The author of Joshua is already announcing in Joshua 4:14 that Joshua was dead when the book of Joshua was written. As for the authorship of Joshua, John Calvin wrote:

“As to the Author of this Book, it is better to suspend our judgment than to make random assertions. Those who think that it was Joshua, because his name stands on the title page, rest on weak and insufficient grounds.”

Some Christians defend the integrity of the Bible by defending traditional views of authorship. Another way by which some Christians defend the integrity of the Bible is by arguing for the traditional dates of events or the traditional dates for the composition of a Biblical book. Some people believe that the older the writing, the more authority and authenticity that book carries.

Take for example, the date of the Exodus. Based on a single verse in the Bible, the Exodus is dated to the 15th century B.C. 1 Kings 6:1 reads: “In the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.”

The 480 years of 1 Kings places the date of the Exodus around 1446 B.C., although archaeological evidence and the mention of Pithom and Rameses in Exodus 1:11 place the date of the Exodus in the 13th century B.C. Here is where the theological divide occurs: Those scholars who accept the 15th century date for the Exodus are generally classified as conservatives. Those scholars who accept the 13th century date for the Exodus are generally classified as liberal.

When conservative scholar James K. Hoffmeier wrote an article, “What Is the Biblical Date for the Exodus?” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50 (2007): 225-247, in which he defended the 13th century date for the Exodus, he received an immediate response from Bryant G. Wood with his article, “The Biblical Date for the Exodus is 1446 BC: A Response to James Hoffmeier,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50 (2007): 249-258. Conservatives who emphasize the 13th century date for the Exodus are considered to have departed from the teachings of Scripture.

In this post I want to emphasize the defense of traditional dates for the composition of biblical books. In his book A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), a book that has been translated into many languages and influenced many people in many countries, Gleason Archer wrote:

The prophecy of Joel has been dated all the way from the ninth century to the fourth century B.C. by the various schools of criticism, conservative and liberal. But on the basis of internal evidence, the most reasonable estimate is in the minority of King Joash, during the regency of Jehoiada, the high priest, about 830 B.C.

Archer then proceeds to offer three categories of evidence for a 9th century composition for the book of Joel. Here I am listing only evidence number two. Archer wrote:

There is a distinct evidence of borrowing, as between Amos and Joel. For example, both Joel 3:18 and Amos 9:13 contain the promise, “The mountains shall drop sweet wine.” While Joel might possibly have quoted from Amos, the contextual indications are that it was the other way around. Another example is found in Joel 3:16 where in the midst of a prophetic discourse he says, “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem.” This same verse appears at the beginning of the prophecy of Amos, and it may fairly be inferred that Amos was using it as a sort of text from which he developed his first serrnon. On this basis, then, Joel must have been written earlier than Amos, that is, earlier than 755 B.C.

Let me quote the two texts in Joel and Amos Archer mentioned:

Joel 3:18; “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk.”

Amos 9:13: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when ... new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.’”

Joel 3:16: “The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem.”

Amos 1:2: “The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem.”

In light of this evidence of borrowing, Archer wrote: “While Joel might possibly have quoted from Amos, the contextual indications are that it was the other way around.”

It is convincing, right? Not necessarily.

What Archer did not say is that Joel quotes from Amos, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah Ezekiel, Nahum, Jonah, Malachi, Zechariah, and Obadiah (see my article “Joel 3:10 [H 4:10] : “Beat your plowshares into swords,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 14 [1987]: 125-130).

Here are the passages Joel quoted from other biblical books:

Amos 1:2 = Joel 3:16 [H 4:16]; 9:13 = 3:18 [H 4:18].

Micah 4:3 = Joel 3:10 [H 4:10].

Isaiah 2:4 = Joel 3:10 [H 4:10]; 13:6= 1:15; 13:10 = 2:10; 2:31 [H 3:4]; 45:5,6,18,21=2:27; 51:3 = 2:3; 52:1 = 3:17 [H 4:17]; 63:3 = 3:13 [H 4:13]; 66:18 = 3:2 [H 4:2].

Jeremiah 30:3; 33:15; 50:4, 20 = Joel 3:1 [H4:1].

Zephaniah l:7 = Joel 1:15; 1:14-15 = 2:2; 1:16 = 2:1.

Ezekiel 30:2-3 = Joel 1:15; 32:7 = 2:10; 2:31 [H 3:4]; 36:11 = 3:17 [H 4:17]; 36:35 = 2:3; 39:29 = 2:28 [H 3:1]; 47:1-12 = 3:18 [H 4:18].

Nahum 2:10 [H 2:11] = Joel 2:6.

Jonah 3:9 = Joel 2:14; 4:2 = 2:13.

Malachi 3:2 = Joel 2:11; 4:5 [H 3:23] = 2:11; 2:31 [H 3:4].

Zechariah 14:2 = Joel 3:2 [H 4:2]; 14:8 = 3:18 [H 4:18].

Obadiah 10 = Joel 3:19 [H 4:19]; 11 = 3:3 [H 4:3]; 15 = 1:15; 3:4 [H 4:4]; 17 = 2:32 [H 3:5].

It is hard to imagine that all these prophets believed that Joel was so important that they all quoted from him, including Amos, as Archer stated in his book. However, the truth is more complex that Archer intimates. Just because Amos follows Joel in the canonical order of the prophetic books, it does mean that Amos was written after Joel.

All these quotations clearly demonstrate that Joel’s writing was highly influenced by the writings of past prophets. As I wrote in my article (p. 126), “These quotations, sometimes part of a verse, sometimes a theme or an idea contained in the verse, represent a later form of prophecy in which prophetic sayings were reinterpreted to a new generation in order to describe the ways and judgments of God. This readaptation and reinterpretation of the ancient prophetic traditions suggests a post-exilic date.”

I think Archer’s argument for a 9th century date for Joel is misleading because he provided only partial information to prove his point. To defend the integrity and the authenticity of the Bible by providing partial or misleading information is wrong and it does not convince people who are already critics of the Bible. There is nothing wrong with Christian apologetics. However, those who want to defend the Bible should be sure that their arguments are based on solid evidence.

Study # 1: Defending the Bible

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Christian Apologetics, Gleason Archer, Joel

New Royal Seals from the Reign of Hezekiah

Royal seal from Umm Tuba



According to a news release issued by the Israel Antiquities Authority, several royal seal impressions were discovered in excavations at Umm Tuba, in the southern hills of Jerusalem. The following is an excerpt from the news release:

Considering the limited area of the excavation and the rural nature of the structure that was revealed, the excavators were surprised to discover in it so many royal seal impressions that date to the reign of Hezekiah, King of Judah (end of the eighth century BCE). Four "LMLK" type impressions were discovered on handles of large jars that were used to store wine and oil in royal administrative centers. These were found together with the seal impressions of two high ranking officials named Ahimelekh ben Amadyahu and Yehokhil ben Shahar, who served in the kingdom's government. The Yehokhil seal was stamped on one of the LMLK impressions before the jar was fired in a kiln and this is a very rare instance in which two such impressions appear together on a single handle.

According to the press release, the name of the Arab village, “Umm Tuba” is derived from”Metofa”, which is Biblical “Netophah.”

Netophah was a town located near Bethlehem in the hill country of Judah. Two of David’s mighty men, Maharai and Heleb were Netophathites (2 Samuel 23:28-29). Netophah was also the place where some Levites lived (1 Chronicles 9:16). According to the list of the people who returned from Babylon, fifty-six Netophathites returned from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:22; Nehemiah 7:26).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: LMLK Seals, Netophah, Netophathites, Royal Seals, Umm Tuba

Google Earth Discovers Atlantis

If you go to Google Earth on your PC, check the following coordinates: 31 15'15.53N, 24 15'30.53W. What you will see is a rectangle on the ocean floor that some people say is the lost city of Atlantis.

You can see the picture here.

However, in an article here, Google Earth has denied that the rectangle is a picture of Atlantis.

Do not believe that what you will see is the lost city of Atlantis. Of course, only those people who want to believe that Atlantis can be found would associate what they see in the rectangle with the lost city of Atlantis.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags:

Atlantis


Atlantis

Defending the Bible

Many Christians accept the doctrine of verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. Those Christians who hold to this doctrinal view believe that all of the Bible’s words are true and that all its statements are accurate.

Christians who accept and use what is commonly known as Biblical criticism are said to deny that the Bible is the word of God and are no longer within the bounds of orthodox Christianity.

One test that is generally applied to examine orthodoxy is whether one believes Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. Since the Bible is considered to be an inspired book, then the Bible is without error. So, if the Bible says that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, then Moses must have written the five books that carry his name.

There have been many attempts at defending the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible. One of these efforts is the book by Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1992). This book is an attempt to provide answers to some of the difficult texts of the Bible.

I have selected one example from the book to show how the Bible is defended. The example I use is taken from their comments on the book of Deuteronomy. The issue is whether Moses wrote Deuteronomy. I cite their statement verbatim from page 113:

DEUTERONOMY 1:1 - How could Moses have written this when biblical criticism claims it was written many centuries later?

PROBLEM: According to this verse, "these are the words which Moses spoke." However, many biblical critics claim that Deuteronomy was written in the third century B.C., many centuries after Moses' time.

SOLUTION: There are many arguments that support the claim that Moses wrote the Book of Deuteronomy.

First, there is the repeated claim of the book that “these are the words of Moses” (1:1; 4:44; 29:1). To deny this is to claim the book is a total fraud.

Second, Joshua, Moses' immediate successor, attributed the Book of Deuteronomy to Moses, exhorting the people of Israel to "observe to do . . . all the law which Moses . . . commanded" (Josh. 1:7).

Three, the remainder of the O'I' attributes Deuteronomy to Moses (cf. Jud. 3:4; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6; Ezra 3:2; Neh. 1:7; Ps. 103:7; Dan. 9:11; Mal. 4:4).

Fourth, Deuteronomy is the book of the Law most quoted in the NT, often with words like "Moses truly said" (Acts 3:22), "Moses says" (Rom. 10:19), or "it is written in the law of Moses" (l Cor. 9:9).

Fifth, our Lord quoted the Book of Deuteronomy (6:13, 16) as the authoritative Word of God when He resisted the devil (Matt. 4:7, 10), and He also directly attributed it to the hand of Moses, saying, "Moses said" (Mark 7: 10) or "Moses wrote" (Luke 20:28).

Sixth, the geographical and historical details of the book display a firsthand acquaintance such as Moses would have had.

Seventh, scholarly studies of the form and content of Near Eastern covenants indicate that Deuteronomy is from the period of Moses (see Meredith Kline, Treaty of the Great King, Eerdmans, 1963).

I sympathize with the authors’ effort to explain some of the difficult passages of the Bible. There are many texts that need explanation and even I have made several attempts in previous posts to explain some problematic texts of the Old Testament. I have also tried to clarify some issues of translations because I believe that the reader of the Bible needs to have a clear understanding of what the Bible says and teaches.

I am not opposed to a book such as this one. What I am opposed to is the way the Bible is defended. If a writer (or writers) desires to defend the Bible and explain some of the problems we find in the Bible then the defense must be honest and deal with the difficult issues raised by the text.

Take for instance the way Deuteronomy 1:1 is defended. I am quoting the book again:

PROBLEM: According to this verse, "these are the words which Moses spoke." However, many biblical critics claim that Deuteronomy was written in the third century B.C., many centuries after Moses' time.

I emphasized the text in order to show how the writers explain the problem of Deuteronomy 1:1. However, what they failed to do was to cite the remainder of the text. Here is how the text reads in its entirety:

“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan -- in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab” (Deuteronomy 1:1 NRSV).

The words in italics are the words the authors quoted; the words in bold are the ones they omitted.

The expression “beyond the Jordan” means in this context “east of the Jordan.” Since Moses never crossed the Jordan River, the words in bold were written by someone who lived on the west side of the Jordan.

If Moses had written Deuteronomy 1:1 the text probably would say: “These are the words I spoke to all Israel” or “These are the words I spoke to Israel in the wilderness.” However, since the writer was on the west side, he said that Moses spoke these words while he was on the east side of the Jordan.

This is how the versions understand the meaning of Deuteronomy 1:1:

RSV: “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness.”

NASB: “Across the Jordan.”

NIV, GNB: “ast of the Jordan.”

ASV, JPS: “Beyond the Jordan.”

NEB: “Transjordan.”

LXX: "on the other side of"

There are other examples of the same Hebrew word referring to the east side of the Jordan. For instance, in Deuteronomy 3:25 Moses said to God: “Let me cross over to see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and the Lebanon.” Moses was on the east side and he wanted to go to the west side, that is, “beyond the Jordan.”

In Joshua 1:14-15, Joshua (who was already on the west side of the Jordan) spoke to the Transjordanian tribes: “Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you shall cross over armed before your kindred and shall help them, until the LORD gives rest to your kindred as well as to you, and they too take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land and take possession of it, the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan to the east.”

All translations agree that the Hebrew word translated “beyond” means “on the other side.” All translations have similar reading, except the King James Version. The KJV reads: “These be the words which Moses spake to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness” (Deuteronomy 1:1). The translators of the King James Version believed that Moses wrote Deuteronomy, so they tried to harmonize the translation of the text with their view of Mosaic authorship.

The Bible is still the word of God even if Moses did not write the book of Deuteronomy. One can be an evangelical Christian and still accept biblical criticism. Thus, any attempt at defending the Bible should deal with the text in its entirety and deal with the problems of the text with integrity.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Biblical Criticism, Deuteronomy 1:1, Moses, Norman Geisler

A New Blog

My fellow blogger Doug Chaplin moved him blog from metacatholic to Blogito ergo sim. If you want to know the reason for the move, click here. If you want to know more about the new blog, click here.

According to Doug, his new blog will focus on Luke-Acts and other topics of interest.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Blogging

Honor Killing

According to an article in the Wikipedia, “An honor killing is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, when the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community, normally by (a) utilizing dress codes unacceptable to certain Islamic people or (b) engaging in certain sexual acts. These killings result from the perception that defense of honour justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonours their clan or family.”

Ynetnews is reporting that an Arab father is accused of soliciting his son to murder his older sister because the young woman brought shame to the family. According to the news report,

Indictment filed against man suspected of convincing 16-year-old son to murder his 21-year-old sister for 'bringing shame on family' due to 'immodest' dress, behavior. Prior to murder, father allegedly attempted to run daughter over with car.

A 57-year-old man from the Arab town of Qalansuwa was indicted Sunday for allegedly soliciting his 16-year-old son to murder his 21-year-old sister for desecrating the family honor.

According to the indictment, the father chose to have his teenage son carry out the murder, believing he would receive a lighter punishment. The teen stabbed his sister 27 times and slit her throat.

It is sad that people in the Twenty-first century choose to live according to primitive traditions that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. What is tragic in all of this is that, even in our days, women still continue to be the victims of men’s prejudice.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Honor Killing

Abraham Lincoln and Religious Liberty

Today is Presidents Day.

Presidents Day, also known officially as Washington’s Birthday, is a federal holiday set aside to honor all the Presidents of the United States.

Presidents Day is a good occasion to learn more about some of the achievements of those who served in the highest political office of our nation.

In an article published in the Jewish World Review, Michael Feldberg wrote about Abraham Lincoln’s concern for religious liberty for all.

In his article, Feldberg discusses Lincoln’s effort to make possible for Jewish chaplains to serve in the Army. The following is an excerpt from Feldberg’s article:

Hoping to create a test case based strictly on a chaplain's religion and not his lack of ordination, Colonel Max Friedman and the officers of the Cameron's Dragoons then elected an ordained rabbi, the Reverend Arnold Fischel of New York's Congregation Shearith Israel, to serve as regimental chaplain-designate. When Fischel, a Dutch immigrant, applied for certification as chaplain, the Secretary of War, none other than Simon Cameron, for whom the Dragoons were named, complied with the law and rejected Fischel's application.

Fischel's rejection stimulated American Jewry to action. The American Jewish press let its readership know that Congress had limited the chaplaincy to those who were Christians and argued for equal treatment for Judaism before the law. This initiative by the Jewish press irritated a handful of Christian organizations, including the YMCA, which resolved to lobby Congress against the appointment of Jewish chaplains. To counter their efforts, the Board of Delegates of American Israelites, one of the earliest Jewish communal defense agencies, recruited Reverend Fischel to live in Washington, minister to wounded Jewish soldiers in that city's military hospitals and lobby President Abraham Lincoln to reverse the chaplaincy law. Although today several national Jewish organizations employ representatives to make their voices heard in Washington; Fischel's mission was the first such undertaking of this type.

Armed with letters of introduction from Jewish and non-Jewish political leaders, Fischel met on December 11, 1861 with President Lincoln to press the case for Jewish chaplains. Fischel explained to Lincoln that, unlike many others who were waiting to see the president that day, he came not to seek political office, but to "contend for the principle of religious liberty, for the constitutional rights of the Jewish community, and for the welfare of the Jewish volunteers."

According to Fischel, Lincoln asked questions about the chaplaincy issues, "fully admitted the justice of my remarks ... and agreed that something ought to be done to meet this case." Lincoln promised Fischel that he would submit a new law to Congress "broad enough to cover what is desired by you in behalf of the Israelites."

Lincoln kept his word, and seven months later, on July 17, 1862, Congress finally adopted Lincoln's proposed amendments to the chaplaincy law to allow "the appointment of brigade chaplains of the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish religions." In historian Bertram Korn's opinion, Fischel's "patience and persistence, his unselfishness and consecration ... won for American Jewry the first major victory of a specifically Jewish nature ... on a matter touching the Federal government."

Korn concluded, "Because there were Jews in the land who cherished the equality granted them in the Constitution, the practice of that equality was assured, not only for Jews, but for all minority religious groups.

This case shows once again the reason Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest Presidents of the United States.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Chaplaincy, Jewish Chaplains, Religious Liberty

Talk About Ignorance!

We live in “an age of rampant ignorance.” All of us are aware of the amount of Biblical illiteracy in our society these days. Most people do not read the Bible and know very little about what the Bible teaches. When people read the Bible, they are selective in their reading. They read a verse here and there; read a familiar chapter or a popular book of the Bible and that becomes the extent of their biblical knowledge.

The Bible is a library of books. Through its sixty-six books, the reader learns how God has revealed himself through the history of Israel and through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Through human writers, God speaks and teaches readers of the Bible his plan for the redemption of all human beings.

Whenever a person reads the Bible with an open heart, when he or she approaches the Bible with a desire to learn and understand, God reveals himself to the diligent reader. Bible reading provides a way for the reader to discover and understand the personality, the ways, and the plan of God for the world and for those who read.

Enter Chris Curry.

Chris Curry, a student at San Jose State University, was trying to understand God, the church and Christianity, so he decided to read the Bible. However, instead of reading the whole Bible as a book which tells of God’s love and concern for the men and women he created, with a storyline that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation, he chose to read only the book of Leviticus.

It is impossible for anyone to know the God of the Bible by just reading Leviticus. I hope that, by reading Leviticus, Chris discovered that God is a holy God and that the strange laws and requirements in Leviticus which he ridiculed, are part of God’s call to Israel to become a holy people, a people separated from the strange and unwholesome practices of its neighbor.

By reading only Leviticus, Chris never discovered that the God of the Bible is a God who cares for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. He never discovered that the God of the Bible is the giver of all good gifts, a God who provides instructions to keep people from harmful acts and thoughts, who is true to his promises to forgive those who truly seek forgiveness, a God who is just and fair.

By reading only Leviticus, Chris never discovered that the God of the Bible is a God who suffers with those who suffer, who weeps for sinful nations, and who agonizes because of the rebellion of his people. Chris never discovered that the God of the Bible is a gracious God, merciful, slow to get angry, and full of kindness.

By reading only Leviticus, he never read God’s loving words to a sinful people: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called him, the more he rebelled against me. How can I give you up, Ephraim? My heart cries out within me, how I long to help you” (Hosea 11:1-2, 8).

Because Chris stopped reading the Bible in Leviticus, he came to the conclusion that the God of the Bible is an evil God. But his approach to knowing God is flawed, as Chris himself recognized. He wrote:

A bit of a confession, though: I have not read the entire Bible. I have read the entire book of Leviticus, and it is this that I base my appraisal of the entire scripture’s current relevance.

I also realize that using one chapter in the Bible to condemn all religion is quite a jump, but Leviticus is a choice example from an age of rampant ignorance. It is to this age that the pillars of a vast majority of the world's religions date.

Chris speaks of the Biblical period as “an age of rampant ignorance.” However, what his attempt at understanding God reveals is rampant ignorance about God’s purpose for the world and God’s plan for his life. By reading only Leviticus, Chris never read of God’s loving concern for him and never heard the voice of God calling him to a life of faith and obedience. Maybe a paraphrase of the Hosea’s text quoted above will show God’s concern for Chris:

“When Chris was a child, I loved him, and while he was reading Leviticus, I called him. But the more I called him, the more he rebelled against me. How can I give you up, Chris? My heart cries out within me, how I long to help you” (Hosea 11:1-2, 8).

Maybe what Chris Curry needs is to read a little bit more of the Bible. Why stop with Leviticus? Begin with Genesis and think about man and woman being created in the image and likeness of their Creator. Then linger a little in Genesis 2 and 3 and reflect on how ingratitude and human rebellion affected their relationship with the Creator. Then, read all the things God did to restore that relationship. And Chris, when you finish reading Revelation, you also will be amazed at the God of the Bible.

In the end, however, I guess Chris Curry and our politicians have a lot in common:

Chris never read the Bible and came to the conclusion that God is not good. The politicians in Washington never read the massive economic stimulus bill and came to the conclusion that it was good.

Talk about ignorance!

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Biblical Illiteracy, Leviticus

A Special Collection of Hebrew Texts

Sotheby’s, the famous auction house in New York, is promoting an exhibition of a collection of more than 13,000 books and manuscripts that were collected by Jack V. Lunzer.

The uniqueness of Lunzer’s collection is that all books are written in Hebrew or printed using Hebrew script. According to a news report, “many of them rare or even unique. Most come from the earliest centuries of Hebrew printing in their places of origins and thus map out a history of the flourishing of Jewish communities around the world.”

According to the news report published by The New York Times, some of the books in this collection are very special:

There are extraordinary items on display here, including a Hebrew Bible handwritten in England in 1189 - the only dated Hebrew text from England before King Edward I expelled the Jews in 1290. In 1190, the Jewish community of York was massacred and its property, including many books and manuscripts, was looted and sold abroad, where this volume was discovered.

There is also an exquisitely preserved edition of the Babylonian Talmud (1519-23) made by the Christian printer Daniel Bomberg in Venice, an edition created with the advice of a panel of scholars that codified many aspects of how the Talmud is displayed and printed.

There is also a 12th-century scroll of the Hebrew Pentateuch that came from the Samaritans, a Jewish sect that still exists in Nablus on the West Bank, their ancient Hebrew script resembling inscriptions on archaeological finds rather than the letters that came to define mainstream Hebrew.

This is a unique collection that deserves to be preserved. The collection reflects Mr. Lunzer’s love for books: “Every one of these books I have held in my hands. They’re my friends. I’ll be happy if they are well kept and respected. Every one of these books is crying its own tears.”

The words of a bibliophile.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bibliophile, Hebrew Texts, Jack Lunzer

Publications

I just received my copy of volume 4 of The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009). I wrote nine articles for this volume. Below is a list of my most recent publications:

“Israel as God’s Servants,” Biblical Illustrator 35 (Spring 2009): 56-60.

“Menahem,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:40-41.

“Micaiah,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:77.

“Naaman,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:199-200.

“Naboth,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:204.

“Ohad,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:321.

“Pekah,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:426-427.

“Pekahiah,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:427.

“Perez,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:443.

“Rezon,” The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Me-R (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009), 4:802.

With these published articles, the total number of my published books, articles, and book reviews has surpassed 200.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Publications

Medieval Manuscripts On the Web

Matthew Fisher, an assistant professor of English at the University of California at Los Angeles, has developed the Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts. The Catalogue is a centralized online archive that contains thousands of medieval manuscripts that have been digitized and made available on the web by libraries around the world.

According to a published report, there are more than 5,000 digitized manuscripts available on the web. So far, the Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts has catalogued 1,024 of these manuscripts.

Among the documents available in the Catalogue is a copy of the Gospel of John presented to Charlemagne around 800. The document is located in the monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Digitized Manuscripts, Matthew Fisher, Medieval Manuscripts

The Valley of Elah

Photo: The ostracon from the Valley of Elah


The Biblical Archaeological Review has posted a visual tour of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site located in the Valley of Elah. It was in this place that Yosef Garfinkel, professor at the Hebrew University, discovered a fortified city from the Iron Age IIa (1000–900 B.C.).

Carbon dating and the pottery found at the site date the city to the time of King David, that is, in the early tenth century.

Garfinkel also discovered an ostracon containing five lines of text totaling 50 letters. According to the information provided by BAR, “The inscription also dates to the early tenth century and is written in proto-Canaanite script-the longest inscription of its kind-but the language is Hebrew. According to Garfinkel, the words "don't do," "king," "judge" and "servant" are all legible. Although a full translation has yet to be completed, it is already the earliest Hebrew inscription ever found, predating the rest by 100 years or more.”

Visit BAR online and take a visual tour of the Valley of Elah.

I have already written posts on the ostracon and on the significance of the Hebrew text.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Valley of Elah, Yosef Garfinkel

New Mummies Discovered in Egypt

Photo: A mummy in a sarcophagus from Saqqara



A news report from Egypt is announcing the discoveries of several mummies at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo. The following is an excerpt from the news report:

A storeroom housing about two dozen ancient Egyptian mummies has been unearthed inside a 2,600-year-old tomb during the latest round of excavations at the vast necropolis of Saqqara south of Cairo. The tomb was located at the bottom of a 36-foot deep shaft. Twenty-two mummies were found in niches along the tomb's walls, he said.

Eight sarcophagi were also found in the tomb. Archaeologists so far have opened only one of the sarcophagi - and found a mummy inside of it.

In the photo above, released Monday, Feb. 9, 2009 by Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, a newly-discovered Egyptian mummy in a sarcophagus is seen in a tomb at Saqqara, south of Cairo, in Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009. Egyptian archaeologists say they have discovered 30 mummies inside a 2,600-year-old tomb, discovered at an even more ancient site dating back to the 4,300-year-old 6th Dynasty.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Egypt, Mummies, Saqqara

Hezekiah’s Political and Economic Reforms

At the same time Hezekiah was reforming the religious life of Judah, encouraging the people to worship and serve Yahweh only, he was also embarking on a program to reorganize the government and improve the economic conditions of Judah. Many of these reforms were likely done in preparation for his revolt against Assyrian domination. However, Hezekiah’s economic reforms were a genuine effort at improving the socio-economic conditions of the people of Judah.

Some of Hezekiah’s political reforms were part of his effort to arm Judah, to prepare for war, and to plan for an eventual siege of Jerusalem. According to the Chronicler, Hezekiah repaired the broken walls of Jerusalem, built defensive towers on the walls, and reinforced the Millo, the defensive rampart of Jerusalem.

Hezekiah also built a second wall of defense around the city which extended the city boundaries. This second wall may have been a defensive measure to enclose the city’s water supply within the walls of Jerusalem. However, archaeological evidence indicates that there was a sizable increase in Jerusalem’s population during the time of Hezekiah, possibly due to the migration of people from the Northern Kingdom to Jerusalem before, during, and after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. This increase in population may have been a motivating factor in extending the wall around the city.

Hezekiah made many weapons and shields to supply the army with the armament needed for the war (2 Chronicles 32:5). He set military commanders over the people. Sennacherib’s account of his campaigns against Hezekiah indicates that Hezekiah had both regular and irregular troops under his command. This information indicates that Hezekiah’s army was composed of both the national militia and of foreign mercenaries. According to the Chronicler, Hezekiah gathered his officers and the people together at the public square in front of the city gate and encouraged the people with these words:

“Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for there is one greater with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8).

Hezekiah’s economic reforms and great wealth are seen by the Chronicler as evidence of God’s blessings (2 Chronicles 32:29). Hezekiah prepared for a possible siege by building storehouses to hold surpluses of wine and oil. He also built stalls for his livestock. This description of Hezekiah’s wealth may reflect his achievements as a king honored by God but may have also another purpose. These economic reforms and building projects were probably designed to provide stockpiles of food for distribution in a time of shortage, such as during a siege.

One of Hezekiah’s greatest engineering achievements was also a step he took to prepare Jerusalem for a possible siege. Jerusalem’s main water source was the Gihon spring, a perennial fountain located outside the walls of the city. During a time of siege, the city’s water supply could be cut off by the besieging army, thus depriving the inhabitants of the city and the city defenders of drinking water. This problem is apparent in the reference to the aqueduct of the upper pool mentioned in Isaiah 7:3, which indicates that Ahaz was taking steps to protect the city’s water supply in preparation for a possible siege of Jerusalem during the Syro-Ephraimite war.

Hezekiah’s aim was to bring water from the Gihon spring and at the same time conceal the source of water from his enemies. In order to build a tunnel and bring water into the city (cf. 2 Kings 20:20), Hezekiah’s engineers cut an aqueduct that is more than 1700 feet long (about 500 meters long), underneath the walls of Jerusalem, through solid rock, in order to bring water from the Gihon spring into the Pool of Siloam. The Gihon Spring was concealed and the cave was sealed up in order to protect the source of water. An inscription written in ancient Hebrew script and found on the wall of the tunnel in 1880 confirms the Biblical account of this engineering achievement and describes how the two teams of hewers working from opposite directions literally met in the middle.

The passage reads (ANET p. 321):

[...when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through:- While [ . . . ] (were) stil [ . . . ] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellow, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1,200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits.

In addition to military improvements in preparation for a conflict with Assyria, Hezekiah also implemented other reforms which were designed to improve Judah’s economy and promote a more efficient government.

One of these changes was his attempt to introduce a system of tax collection and the development of a royal storage system for collecting tax in kind. Excavations at several sites in Judah have uncovered large storage jars containing a special type of seal impression on them. Hundreds of these seal impressions have been unearthed almost exclusively in Judean sites. The most popular of these seal impressions are those that contain the Hebrew inscription lmlk, a word which means “belonging to the king.” The seal impressions also include the name of four places: Hebron, Socoh, Ziph and mmsht, a name that remains unidentified.

According to J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah, 2nd ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), p. 413,

“The use of these impressions was introduced under Hezekiah and is evidence for the administrative system used during his reign. The jars were part of a system of tax collection in kind or a royal storage program. The material collected in these containers was sent to four district centers for storage, redistribution, and administrative/military usage. These centers were Socoh for the Shephelah region, Ziph for the Negeb, Hebron for the southern hill country and mmsht for Jerusalem and the northern Judean hill country.”

There is some debate concerning the dating of lmlk seals. However, most archaeologists believe that they come from the time of Hezekiah and are related to his economic reforms. The lmlk seals indicate that Hezekiah developed an organized administrative system for the distribution and storage of supplies for use in times of peace and war.

According to John Bright, A History of Israel, 4th. ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), p. 284, it is possible that the lmlk seals reflect an attempt at standardizing weights and measures in order to discourage dishonesty in trade. Bright also suggests that Hezekiah may have developed a system of guilds to protect the craftsmen from exploitation.

Hezekiah’s political and economic reforms indicate that there was genuine evidence of prosperity in Judah at the close of the eighth century B.C. Evidence of this prosperity, at least from Hezekiah’s perspective, may be seen in the Biblical account of the Babylonian envoys’ visit to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12-19). Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, sent envoys to Hezekiah at the time of his illness, probably as part of the Babylonian’s plan to revolt against Assyria. Hezekiah welcomed the Babylonian envoys and “showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses” (2 Kings 20:13).

Hezekiah’s religious and economic reforms and his military preparations occurred prior to the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 B.C. The accumulation of weapons, the reorganization of the military personnel as well as the building of walls, fortifications, and the water tunnel would have taken time and appear to have been done in preparation for a revolt in his attempt at independence from Assyrian control.


Other posts on Hezekiah:

1. Hezekiah , King of Judah

2. Hezekiah’s Religious Reforms


Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Assyria,Gihon Spring, Hezekiah,lmlk

The 37th Biblical Studies Carnival

N. T. Wrong has posted the 37th Biblical Studies Carnival. The 37th Carnival is a selection of the best posts for December 2008. Read N.T. Wrong’s presentation and you will discover the best posts published last December, posts that you will want to read.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Biblical Studies Carnival

A Statement from the Vatican

In response to my post, Calls for the Pope to Resign, an anonymous reader left a statement from the Vatican explaining Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to revoke the excommunication of four bishops who were consecrated in 1988 by the rebel conservative French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The statement also includes the Vatican’s view about British Bishop Richard Williamson and his anti-Semite views and his Holocaust denials.

In order to be fair and balanced, I have decided to republish the statement from the Vatican in its entirety.

VATICAN CITY, 5 FEB 2009 (VIS) - The Secretariat of State of the Holy See, published the following note yesterday afternoon:

"In the wake of reactions provoked by the recent Decree from the Congregation for Bishops lifting the excommunication on the four prelates of the Society of St. Pius X, and with reference to declarations denying and reducing the Shoah pronounced by Bishop Williamson, a member of that society, it is felt appropriate to clarify certain aspects of the issue:

1. Remission of the excommunication

"As has previously been explained, the Decree from the Congregation for Bishops, dated 21 January 2009, was an act by which the Holy Father benignly responded to repeated requests from the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X.

"His Holiness wished to remove an impediment that hindered the opening of a door to dialogue, and he now awaits a similar readiness to be expressed by the four bishops, in complete adherence to the doctrine and discipline of the Church.

"The extremely serious penalty of excommunication 'latae sententiae', which these bishops incurred on 30 June 1988, formally announced on 1 July of the same year, was a consequence of their illegitimate ordination by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

"The remission of the excommunication has freed the four bishops from a serious canonical penalty, but it has not altered the juridical position of the Society of St. Pius X which, at the present time, enjoys no canonical recognition within the Catholic Church. Even the four bishops, though released from excommunication, have no canonical function in the Church and cannot legally exercise a ministry within her".

2. Tradition, doctrine and Vatican Council II

"An indispensable condition for any future recognition of the Society of St. Pius X is their full recognition of Vatican Council II and of the Magisterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI.

"As already affirmed in the Decree of 21 January 2009, the Holy See will not fail, in ways considered most appropriate, to join the parties concerned in a profound examination of outstanding issues, so as to be able to reach a full and satisfactory solution to the problems that gave rise to this painful split".

3. Declarations concerning the Shoah

"Msgr. Williamson's views on the Shoah are absolutely unacceptable, and firmly rejected by the Holy Father as he himself said on 28 January when, referring to that brutal genocide, he reiterated his complete and indisputable solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters who received the First Covenant, affirming that the memory of that terrible event must 'induce humankind to reflect upon the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man', adding that the Shoah remains 'an admonition for everyone against oblivion, negation and reductionism, because violence against a single human being is violence against all'.

"In order to be readmitted to episcopal functions within the Church, Bishop Williamson must absolutely, unequivocally and publicly distance himself from his views concerning the Shoah, which were unknown to the Holy Father at the moment he lifted the excommunication.

"The Holy Father asks all the faithful to accompany him in prayer, that the Lord may illuminate the path of the Church. May all pastors and faithful increase their commitment in support of the delicate and onerous mission of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, the 'custodian of unity' within the Church".

Pax,
John

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Pope Benedict XVI, Richard Williamson

The Financial Problems of the Crystal Cathedral

According to a published report, the Crystal Cathedral, the megachurch founded by Robert H. Schuller, is facing a financial crisis and may have to sell some of its assets in order to survive. The following is an excerpt from the news report:

Once one of the nation's most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble.

His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades.

The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors. In the letter, Schuller Sr. implored the Eagle's Club members - who supply 30 percent of the church's revenue - for donations and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.

"The final months of 2008 were devastating for our ministry," the 82-year-old pastor wrote.

One of the reasons for the problems faced by the Crystal Cathedral is because the church was built on the popularity of its founder, Robert H. Schuller. His son was unable to continue the work of his father and as a result, many people left or stopped contributing to the church.

Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University, said that the crisis facing the Crystal Cathedral is a problem common “to personality driven ministries.” According to Ammerman, most personality driven ministries have collapsed after their founders left the pulpit or died. When asked about the problems of the Crystal Cathedral, Ammerman said:

Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution. Schuller, with a style that blends pop psychology and theology, has a particularly devoted following. Viewers are probably much less likely to give when it’s not their preacher they’re giving to. There’s something about these televised programs where people develop a certain loyalty.

The problems of the Crystal Cathedral remind us of a great truth of the Bible: The church of Jesus Christ is built on Christ and not on the popularity of a charismatic leader. When a church is built of the popularity of a leader, an evangelist, or a charismatic personality, the foundation of that church eventually will crack.

I hope the ministry of the Crystal Cathedral will continue because it is still the church of Jesus Christ.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags:Crystal Cathedral, Robert Schuller

Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVIII

Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVIII has been posted at Judy’s research blog. The Carnival is a collection of the best posts published in January 2009.

Notwithstanding problems with her computer, Judy has done a great job.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Biblical Studies Carnival

The Discovery of an Ancient Version of the Bible

Photo: The ancient Bible written in Syriac



According to a news report published by Reuters, governmental authorities in northern Cyprus have reported that they have discovered an ancient version of the Bible written in Syriac, a dialect of the language spoken by Jesus. According to the report,

The manuscript was found in a police raid on suspected antiquity smugglers. Turkish Cypriot police testified in a court hearing they believe the manuscript could be about 2,000 years old.

The manuscript carries excerpts of the Bible written in gold lettering on vellum and loosely strung together, photos provided to Reuters showed. One page carries a drawing of a tree, and another eight lines of Syriac script.

Experts were however divided over the provenance of the manuscript, and whether it was an original, which would render it priceless, or a fake.

Experts said the use of gold lettering on the manuscript was likely to date it later than 2,000 years.

Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic. Aramaic, which was language spoken by Christ, was also the language spoken in much of the Middle East and Central Asia.



Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Bible, Syriac Bible