Download or read book The Encounter with the Divine in Mesopotamia and Israel written by H. W. F. Saggs and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While most of its contemporary religions have faded away, Israelite religion continues to have a major influence in the world. First delivered in 1975 as a Jordan Lecture in Comparative Religion, this volume argues that in its beginnings Israelite religion had much in common with ancient Mesopotamian religion and suggests that its endurance is due to its dynamic development of the concepts it shared with other religions.
Download or read book Secrecy and the Gods written by Alan Lenzi and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Secrecy and the Gods is a comparative mythological study of the human reception and treatment of divine secret knowledge in ancient Mesopotamia and biblical Israel. The human royal council was the social model for ancient ideas about divine knowledge being secret - just as human kings had secrets so too did the gods. Diviners who received this knowledge from the gods in an on-going, ad hoc manner were an essential link between the divine assembly and the human royal council for whom such knowledge was intended. Scribes eventually adapted the ad hoc divinatory means of receiving divine communications to their culturally significant texts. By discursively asserting a historical connection between themselves and unique mediators with a close divine affiliation (the apkallus and Moses), the scribes constructed myths that legitimated their texts as divine revelation and claimed these were received in history through normal scribal channels. In this manner, scribes fixed the secret of the gods permanently among humans in textualized form that valorized their own position within society. Although the origin of divine secret knowledge was rooted in a common mythological idea of the divine assembly, its treatment was quite distinct. The Mesopotamians guarded divine secret knowledge through various scribal means, including the attachment of a Geheimwissen colophon to certain tablets (treated exhaustively), whereas biblical Israel published it openly. The contrast in treatment of divine secret knowledge was directly related to different mytho-political self-understandings: Mesopotamia's imperial aspirations versus biblical Israel's vassaldom. As vassals to Yahweh, the divine imperial king, the kings of Judah and Israel as presented in the biblical material were not to formulate secret orders; they were only to obey them.
Download or read book Wisdom Literature in Mesopotamia and Israel written by Richard J. Clifford and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2007 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last fifty years have seen a dramatic increase of interest in the wisdom literature of the Bible, as scholars have come to appreciate the subtlety and originality of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes as well as of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon. Interest has likewise grown in the wisdom literatures of the neighboring cultures of Canaan, Egypt, and especially Mesopotamia. To help readers understand the place of biblical wisdom within this broader context, including its originality and distinctiveness, this volume offers a collection of essays by Assyriologists and biblicists on the social, intellectual, and literary setting of Mesopotamian wisdom; on specific wisdom texts; and on key themes common to both Mesopotamian and biblical culture. --From publisher's description.
Download or read book Ancient Mesopotamian Religion and Mythology written by W.G. Lambert and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2016-03-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The late W.G. Lambert (1926-2011) was one of the foremost Assyriologists of the latter part of the twentieth century. His principle legacy is a large number of superb critical editions of Babylonian literary compositions. Many of the texts he edited were on religious and mythological subjects. He will always be remembered as the editor of the Babylonian Job (Ludlul bel nemeqi, also known as the Poem of the Righteous Sufferer), the Babylonian Flood Story (Atra-hasis) and the Babylonian Creation Epic (Enuma elish). The present book is a collection of twenty-three essays Lambert published between the years 1958 and 2004. These endure not only as the legacy of one of the greatest authorities on ancient Mesopotamian religion and mythology, but also because each makes statements of considerable validity and importance. As such, many are milestones in the fields of Mesopotamian religion and mythology.
Download or read book The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel written by Benjamin D. Sommer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-29 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sommer utilizes a recovered ancient perception of divinity as having more than one body, fluid and unbounded selves.
Download or read book Sin and Sanction in Israel and Mesopotamia written by K. van der Toorn and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-07-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East written by Neal H. Walls and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While biblical prophets ridiculed the notion of humans fashioning an idol that they would then worship, ancient Near Eastern theologians developed a sophisticated religious system in which divine beings could be physically manifest within the material of a cultic image without being limited by that embodiment. The four essays in this compact volume examine the intriguing subject of cultic images and divine iconography in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Syria-Palestine. This interesting and eclectic group of essays explores the textual and artifactual evidence for the creation and veneration of divine images in the ancient Near East. The recent resurgence of scholarly interest in the study of divine representation in ancient Israel and the Near East makes this comprehensive reexamination especially timely.
Download or read book Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Daniel written by John H. Walton and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a brief essay that introduces each book, a verse-by-verse commentary follows. Drawing upon linguistic analysis, archaeological evidence, history, other ancient Near Eastern literatures, and the like, the commentary provides the historical and cultural background against which the texts can be read and understood. --from publisher description.
Download or read book Heilsgeschichte as a Model for Biblical Theology written by Robert Karl Gnuse and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 1989 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work discusses the ongoing debate concerning the notion of salvation history in the Hebrew Bible and its relation to the ancient world. The author also proposes new directions in our present understanding of salvation history and its importance for the Israelite ethos. Contents: The Concept of Salvation; Advocates of Salvation History Theology; The Critical Theological Response; Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Theology; Salvation History Themes in the Ancient Near East; Continuity of Basic Religious Values between Israel and the Ancient Near East; The Continuing Debate over Israel's Concept of Salvation History; Reconstruction of a Salvation History Model; Impetus for Change; General Conclusions. Co-published with the College Theology Society.
Download or read book The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel written by Benjamin D. Sommer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-29 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sommer utilizes a lost ancient Near Eastern perception of divinity according to which a god has more than one body and fluid, unbounded selves. Though the dominant strains of biblical religion rejected it, a monotheistic version of this theological intuition is found in some biblical texts. Later Jewish and Christian thinkers inherited this ancient way of thinking; ideas such as the sefirot in Kabbalah and the trinity in Christianity represent a late version of this theology. This book forces us to rethink the distinction between monotheism and polytheism, as this notion of divine fluidity is found in both polytheistic cultures (Babylonia, Assyria, Canaan) and monotheistic ones (biblical religion, Jewish mysticism, Christianity), whereas it is absent in some polytheistic cultures (classical Greece). The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel has important repercussions not only for biblical scholarship and comparative religion but for Jewish-Christian dialogue.
Download or read book Modern Societies and the Science of Religions written by Lammert Leertouwer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume gathers essays written by seventeen specialists in the science of religions. It focuses on the social, cultural, institutional, and political contexts of the Study of Religions in resp. modern France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan, and China.
Download or read book Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context written by John H. Walton and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 1994-07 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book surveys within the various literary genres (cosmologies, personal archives and epics, hymns, and prayers) parallels between the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern literature.
Download or read book Joshua and the Rhetoric of Violence written by Lori L. Rowlett and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 1996-09-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Joshua and the Rhetoric of Violence' examines the book of Joshua as a construction of national identity. This pioneering New Historicist analysis shows how the Deuteronomist used war oracle language and epic historical lore to negotiate sociopolitical boundaries. It asserts that text and context interacted in a programme consolidating King Josiah's authority in the wake of Assyrian imperial collapse. The book argues that the conquest narrative is not simple 'us against them' propaganda but a complex web of negotiations defining identity and otherness. The analysis draws on Foucault's principle that power is something exercised rather than merely possessed.
Download or read book Who Were The Babylonians written by Bill T. Arnold and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2005 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who was Hammurapi, and what role did his famous "law code" serve in ancient Babylonian society? Who was the mysterious Merodach-baladan, and why did the appearance of his emissaries in Jerusalem so upset Isaiah? Who was Nebuchadnezzar II, and why did he tear down the Solomonic temple and drag the people of God into exile? In short, who were the Babylonians? This engaging and informative introduction to the best of current scholarship on the Babylonians and their role in biblical history answers these and other significant questions. The Babylonians were important not only because of their many historical contacts with ancient Israel but because they and their predecessors, the Sumerians, established the philosophical and social infrastructure for most of Western Asia for nearly two millennia. Beginning and advanced students as well as biblical scholars and interested nonspecialists will read this introduction to the history and culture of the Babylonians with interest and profit. Paperback edition available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org).
Download or read book Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible written by Kevin J. Vanhoozer and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2005-11-01 with total page 896 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the pastor or serious layperson, the realm of biblical interpretation can be a confusing maze of personalities, communities, methods, and theories. This maze can often result in obscuring the main goal of interpreting Scripture: hearing and knowing God better. The Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible is a groundbreaking reference tool that introduces readers to key names, theories, and concepts in the field of biblical interpretation. It discusses these approaches and evaluates their helpfulness in enabling Christians to hear what God is saying to the church through Scripture. The contributors come from a variety of backgrounds, and the dictionary covers a broad range of topics with both clarity and depth.
Download or read book Divine Encounters written by Zecharia Sitchin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-03-01 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains the links between the Bible and ancient Sumerian texts, probing the age-old question of the relationship between humanity and its creators. • Challenges scientific maxims of the basis of human life. • Draws fascinating parallels between the leaders of the Anunnaki (from the 12th planet) and Yahweh. • A comprehensive new look at the history of man. • First time available in hardcover. In Divine Encounters Zecharia Sitchin draws on basic Judeo-Christian texts to analyze the creation myths, paralleling Biblical stories to the myths of Sumer and Mesopotamia in order to show that humanity did not evolve without assistance. Sitchin daringly hypothesizes instead that Enki, one of the leaders of the Anunnaki from the 12th planet, created humanity as a "primitive worker." Furthermore, Sitchin suggests that the extraterrestrial encounters of today demonstrate the continued interest of the Anunnaki in the Earthlings they created.
Download or read book Divine Inscrutability in Wisdom Literature in Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia written by Ryan Conrad Davis and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
