BBS Abraham
Introduction
What is for the most part an exact
copy of the script follows. There are a
few places where individual speakers could neither be heard nor understood: for
this we apologize. Every effort was made
to be precise: there were just spots that defeated us. Since this is a quote in its entirety it
seemed unnecessary to mark it with quotation marks. The notation for each speaker is tedious
enough: Narrator, Reader, etc. If you
discover bothersome errors please reply to this Blog and point them out. You may verify the script more easily by
starting to replay it where the “time” stamps indicate discussion begins. The second of the above links is free from
advertising and thus easier to use.
http://swantec-oti.blogspot.com/
The study of biblical archaeology based only on Egyptian and Palestinian
artifacts with no regard whatsoever for the archaeology of Mesopotamia is a snipe
hunt. The return to the life of Abraham
has no benefit without considerable study of Mesopotamia. Moreover, it is impossible to develop the
idea of covenant without such Mesopotamian artifacts. We have only scratched the surface here. Even so, the attempt to construct an idea of
covenant without such study of Mesopotamia and the Bible results in a
botched-up invention of man, without any regard to facts.
Script
Abraham
(time 10:20)
N: The Hebrew Bible is full of stories of Israel’s origins. The first is Abraham, who leaves Mesopotamia
with his family and journeys to the Promised Land, Canaan.[1]
R: “The Lord
said to Abram, Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to
the land that I will show you. I will
make of you a great nation. And I will
bless you. I will make your name great.”
— Genesis 12:1 and 2
N: According to the Bible, this promise
establishes a covenant, a sacred contract between God and Abraham. To mark the covenant, Abraham and all males
are circumcised. His descendants will be
God’s chosen people. They will be
fruitful, multiply, and inhabit all the land between Egypt and
Mesopotamia. In return, Abraham and his
people, who will become the Israelites, must worship a single God.
Commentary
We are unsure why The Bible’s Buried Secrets now returns to Abraham. Any person who reads the Bible realizes that
the statement, “The first [of Israel’s origins] is Abraham,” is patently
false. No serious student of Scripture could
so heedlessly allow such a false claim to stand unchallenged. It is true that Abraham, Sarah, and Lot
appear to be the first of the patriarchs and matriarchs to enter the Promised
Land; yet, the record hardly begins here.
We pointed out in a previous blog
that any intellectually honest person who wishes to deal with this era must
give some attention to the broad archaeological material on the subject, mostly
material coming from Mesopotamian sources that precede Egyptian sources. We surveyed some of the material related to
the creation, temptation, and flood. All
of this material deserves intense study before we begin to draw conclusions
about the origins of Israel.
Following the flood the whole Sumerian culture develops in Mesopotamia.[2] A whole complex of city states arises
there. The exquisite domestic slow-wheel
pottery of the Ubaid period (5300) is replaced by inferior mass produced
fast-wheel pottery in the Uruk period (4100-2900), which turns the whole theory
of pottery dating on its head. In The
Ancient Near East in Pictures[3] there is a striking copy
of what is clearly a Sumerian Phalanx.[4] Military historians generally credit
Alexander the Great with the invention of the Phalanx.[5]
So when we discuss Abram or Abraham (ca. 1960-1730[6]) and his departure from Ur
of the Chaldees, together with Sarai or Sarah, Lot, and Terah, we understand
that we are in the context of a highly developed and very sophisticated society:
a society with advanced literature and art, complicated but artistically degrading
pottery development, and well developed military tactics which will not be
discussed by the Greeks for millennia.[7]
We speed past the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2270), the Akkadian Empire
(2270-2083), a Second Dynastic Period (2083-2047), and the Sumerian Renaissance
(2047-1940), when we reach a period of decline, of reduced agricultural
production, and mass migration to the north lasting until 1700. In this period Ur[8] was sacked (ca. 1940).
So what we find here is that Abraham, Sarah, Lot, and Terah are part of a
tide of Semitic and/or other refugees, fleeing north, to escape Amorite,
Elamite,[9] or Sumerian persecution,
famine, or who knows what else. In spite
of this pile of evidence The Bible’s Buried Secrets regards Abraham as a non-historic person,
whose escape from Ur will be considered the creation of priests during the
Babylonian Exile (500).
Hammurabi[10]
(1792-1750) will rise to power and restore some semblance of peace to the
region. By this time Abraham and his family
are long gone, taking with them their memories of creation, temptation, flood,
literature, law, and worship; which were very possibly less influenced by the
old wives fables, and urban legends of the era.
In any case, by walking with Yahweh, they were instructed in a better
way, so there is every reason to believe that whatever Abraham preserved was
more accurate than the exaggerated reports from which he walked away.
Covenant
At this point The Bible’s Buried Secrets introduces the idea of covenant without examining
it. By Genesis 12, before ever receiving
the call of God, while he was still a young man, Abram had followed his father
Terah to the north where they established a new settlement, which they named in
honor of Haran, Abram’s departed brother and Lot’s father.[11] It is not clear that the Nahor II clan(s)
journeyed with them, or if they migrated at a different time, either earlier or
later.[12] We will eventually discover that all of the
Terah clans have relocated to the north.[13] So Yahweh’s first call to Abram in a vision occurs
while Abram lives in Haran, which is a sorry model to impose on either the
Exodus or the Babylonian Captivity.[14] Since the idea of covenant returns us to the
opening sentence of The Bible’s Buried Secrets we should examine it more closely.
Ostensibly, the Jews are discouraged because Yahweh broke the Covenant with
them. It should be perfectly clear that
if Yahweh has broken the Covenant, then God cannot be God, and this whole quest
for monotheism is foolishness. Yahweh
did not break the Covenant. The
Israelites and Jews broke the Covenant.
Breaking the Covenant with Yahweh involves considerably more than
failure to perform a human contract.
What is involved in breaking the Covenant?
First of all there are not several covenants between Yahweh and man;
rather, there is only one such covenant which has a wide scope, a scope that is
increasingly disclosed over time. From
the human perspective, these covenant aspects appear to be breaches or
brokenness, and they are broken, or breached.
From Yahweh’s perspective, they represent maturity stages in the
development of His disobedient created children.
We begin with the idea that Yahweh’s Covenant is always everlasting. This raises a question concerning Adam and
Eve. Were Adam and Eve under the Eternal
or Everlasting Covenant before they sinned?
Since the Bible offers no information on that matter, we will leave the
question to the theologians.
The first mention of the Eternal or Everlasting Covenant of Yahweh occurs
after the Flood.[15] Note that, even though the Covenant is
promised before the Flood,[16] it is not given until
after the Flood is ended.[17] It should be equally clear that the Eternal
or Everlasting Covenant of Yahweh creates a new beginning for all mankind,
indeed for all the earth. Earth has been
washed with a giant baptism. Noah
receives the sign of the rainbow. Elsewhere
this is related to the idea of grace.[18]
The next mention of Everlasting Covenant does concern Abram, but it is not
found in Genesis 12. Genesis 12 is
nothing more than the first call or promise of a covenant to Abram. Several events will take place in the life of
Abram before the Covenant is actually given.[19] Abram, along with Sarai and Lot have now
migrated to the Promised Land; and during famine, into Egypt, where Abram has
an altercation with Pharaoh. Returning
to the Promised Land the growing clans of Abram and Lot experience additional
strife and separate. Abram is forced to
fend off an invasion of Mesopotamians in defense of his family, after which he
meets and is blessed by Melchizedek.[20] Yahweh now comes to Abram in a vision, where Abram is promised a son[21] who will bring a vast
family to him. This repeats the Covenant
theme of a new beginning for all mankind in the multitude of Abram’s
children. Abram responds to the vision
by sacrificing animals, amid which Yahweh passes: this is the first known
incidence of the Shəkinah motif.[22] Abram has a false start with Hagar and
Ishmael. Then, and only then, is the
Covenant actually granted. Abram is
renamed Abraham and is given the sign of circumcision. Elsewhere this is related to the idea of
faith.[23]
The next occurrences of Everlasting Covenant are associated with the Law of
Moses.[24] The first occurrence relates immediately to
the Table of Show Bread, which foreshadows a distinctly liturgical motif. As strange as this must seem to us, the
Covenant emphasis is not on the Decalogue itself, or on bloody animal
sacrifice. The climactic event of
Israel’s worship is the offering of bread.
The second occurrence relates immediately to the Aaronic priesthood and
the zeal of Phinehas, which is again a startling turn of events.
Samuel introduces the covenant made with David to us.[25] The Davidic Covenant[26] has direct tangencies
with Abraham and with the Law.[27]
Isaiah refers to the breach of covenant,[28] and promises renewal[29] over one hundred fifty
years before Jerusalem’s destruction.
This prophetic element in covenant is fatal to the theory supporting The
Bible’s Buried Secrets. The
Israelites and Jews knew exactly what was going to happen and refused to
listen. Yet, it is this prophetic note
that gives them hope in Babylon.
Jeremiah insists that this renewal
will take the form of a new covenant.[30]
In Babylon Ezekiel makes further
predictions.[31] So the dire introduction of the The
Bible’s Buried Secrets is without biblical foundations.
None of this reaches fruition in the
Old Testament, so it is all either a big lie, or it is fulfilled
elsewhere. In the New Testament we
finally read of the completion of this Eternal or Everlasting Covenant of Yahweh,[32] where all the elements of
the Everlasting Covenant are brought together in one final concluding Covenant
renewal.[33]
Since The Bible’s Buried Secrets decided to open the topic of covenant, they
should have at least pursued it through the Old Testament. This might be an exercise in futility, were
it not for the rich background of Mesopotamian law, which is available, to
which The Bible’s Buried Secrets also gives no time. None of this law code partitions law the way The
Bible’s Buried Secrets will
attempt to partition law. Experts in
this field consider Deuteronomy to be a covenant renewal document, a standard
practice in a situation where God, or a leader needed to deal mercifully with
the progeny of an erring generation.[34]
Breaking the Eternal or Everlasting Covenant of Yahweh involves nothing less
than a major disruption in the world’s salvation history. Each time, God turned bad into good. He rescued us from the peril’s into which we
got ourselves, and delivered us from the evil.
With each new turn of an aspect of the Covenant, it got better, instead
of worse. On the other hand the suicidal
loss of unbelievers was horrendous. As
sad as this seems, God does not force people to love Him.
Conclusion
The study of biblical archaeology based only on Egyptian and Palestinian
artifacts with no regard whatsoever for the archaeology of Mesopotamia is a snipe
hunt. The return to the life of Abraham
has no benefit without considerable study of Mesopotamia. Moreover, it is impossible to develop the
idea of covenant without such Mesopotamian artifacts. We have only scratched the surface here. Even so, the attempt to construct an idea of
covenant without such study of Mesopotamia and the Bible results in a
botched-up invention of man, without any regard to facts.
[1]
Thus Adam, Eve, Noah and his family, Heber, and a host of others, including
JHVH are dismissed without even a breath.
[3] ANEP:
Pritchard, James B., The
Ancient Near East in Pictures, second edition with supplement (Princeton
University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1969: 396 pages)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ancient-near-east-james-b-pritchard/1116828799?ean=9780691147253
ANET: Pritchard, James B., Ancient Near Eastern Texts, third
edition with supplement (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1969: 710
pages)
[4] Stele
of the Vultures (2600-2350), ANEP:
pages 95, 96, 284; plates 300, 302
[5] The
same picture of a Sumerian phalanx is included in this article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx
[6] We
avoided putting a sharper date on Abraham without much additional research.
[7]
All of this fits well with a post-flood era.
Ever increasing population in limited space makes time necessarily more
precious. One simply has no time for art
when lots of babies are around. As
congestion increases exponentially, conflict and strife increase
accordingly. Cities are built, crime
increases, oppression develops: these are all part of the normal consequences
of exponential growth. It is not
difficult to show that population growth follows an exponential pattern:
overall babies are born at a steady rate, while the elderly die at a steady
rate. Baring a major disaster, like
flood or famine, population growth is exponential. At only 1% growth, the population of Sumer
will double every 70 years. In a period
of only 1400 years the population of Sumer would have exceeded eight million:
people were compelled to migrate. As the
population density increased, irrigation also increased due to the growing
demand for food. Before long the land
became useless, and panic set in. Ur
would become a worthless desert.
[12]
Genesis 11:27-32
[13] Both
Isaac and Jacob married related Mesopotamian wives. Rebekah,
granddaughter of Nahor II is from Nahor (Genesis 24:10). Leah and Rachel, Laban’s daughters are
from Padan-aram (Genesis 31:18).
Both of these places appear to be in the general vicinity of Haran.
[14]
Later on The Bible’s Buried Secrets will seek to impose the Ur
model and the Exodus model on the Babylonian Captivity as non-historic events
that justify the return of the Jews to Jerusalem around 516.
[15]
Genesis 9:16
[16]
Genesis 6:18
[17]
Genesis 9
[18] Genesis
6:8
[19]
Genesis 17:7, 13, 19
[20]
Genesis 14:18-20
[21]
The promise of the Son is one of the critical elements of the Everlasting
Covenant.
[22]
NB that the promise extends all the way from the Euphrates to the Nile. Genesis 15:17-18
[23]
Belief or faith or trust is the outcome of a considerable, lengthy, often
painful walk with Yahweh. Genesis 15:6
[24] Leviticus
24:8; Numbers 25:13
[25] 2
Samuel 23:5
[26]
The psalter explores the full gamut of the Covenant. Since the Psalter is in its essence a
collection of hymns or odes dedicated to Torah, we ought not miss the
connection between Covenant and Law.
Psalm 25:10, 14; 44:17; 50:5, 16; 55:20; 74:20; 78:10, 37; 89:3, 28, 34,
39; 103:18; 105:8, 9, 10; 106:45; 111:5, 9; 132:12
[27] 1
Chronicles 16:16-22; Psalm 105:10-45
[28]
Isaiah 24:5
[29]
Isaiah 55:3; 61:8
[30]
Jeremiah 31:31; 32:40
[31]
Ezekiel 16:60; 37:21-28, especially verse 26
[32]
Hebrews 13:20-21
[33] Matthew
26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 1:27; 22:20; Acts 3:25; 7:8; Romans 9:4; 11:27; 1
Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:25; Galatians 3:15, 17; 4:24; Ephesians 2:12; Hebrews 7:22;
8:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13; 9:1, 4, 15-20; 10:16, 29; 12:24; 13:20; Revelation 11:19
[34]
We encourage interested readers to undertake the arduous task of studying every
occurrence of the word covenant or testament in the Bible. Experts in the field such as Meredith Kline
(1922-2007), The Structure of
Biblical Authority (Eerdmans) and Treaty of the Great King: The Covenant Structure
of Deuteronomy are very informative also. Perhaps, we shall find time for such extended
discussion in a future blog.
[35] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations,
please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish. No rights are reserved. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely received,
and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
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