Ancient Israelite Origins 8 30 12 The Biblical Perspective 586 BCE 597 6 BCE 586 BCE cont d Destruction of Temple I by Babylonians Nebuchadnezzar conquers remaining independent kingdom of Judah destroys capital of Jerusalem ends monarchy exiles significant portion of Jews to Babylonia modern day Iraq Nebuchadnezzar replaced previous king with king s own brother exiled the elite of Judah Jeremiah encourages those exiled in Babylonia to settle in to the country and get comfortable if you take care of your exile in Babylonia it will take care of you Q If the Babylonians had this custom of trying to integrate their captive nations into Babylonians why were the Judahites able to withstand that pressure and remain their own people A Collective Memory of the Jewish People Strong Sense of Self Identity Heirs in participants in a very long history divided into 4 stages 1 Patriarchal Period the Judahites considered themselves to be the last remnants of a larger people called Israelites Israelites believed themselves to be the long standing descendants of Abraham and all 3 Patriarchs as descendants of those patriarchs they were required to uphold their end of the Covenant s made between God and the Patriarchs through these Covenants it is clear to the Judahites that their role in life is guided by God Divinely ordained 2 Bondage in Egypt seemingly broken Covenant with God they grew nationally but they are enslaved in a foreign land God fulfills His promise and redeems them from Egypt this reinforces His promise that He will never abandon them 3 Revelation Sinai God reveals Himself to them and through Moses gives His gift rules to them in the form of the Torah details of Torah describe specifically what God expects of them elaborating on the vague Covenant previously given 4 Conquest of Land Establishment of Monarchy Joshua leads them into Canaan and conquers establishment of Temple and institution of rituals establishment of monarchy David Solomon and political system Post Solomon Kingdom of Judahites splits into 2 conflicting kingdoms 1 Kingdom of Judah South Remains loyal to line of David Solomon etc Successors continue to be leaders Consists of 2 tribes 2 Kingdom of Israel North Establishes own separate temples shrines etc Consists of remaining 10 tribes Considered sinners in the eyes of KJ bc they rejected God who chose David and the original form of the Temple o KJ thought it was appropriate when 200 years after KI seceded from KJ the entire KI was wiped off the earth by the Assyrian Empire modern day northern Iraq north of Babylonia o KJ ultimately succumbed to the Babylonians too about 150 years after the KI was captured how do they justify themselves becoming captives to a foreign power The Babylonians destruction of the KJ turns into a story of comfort instead of despair and despondency just like they though God abandoned them in Egypt but He in fact saved them so too this time around He will not abandon them Modern Historical Scholars Perspective Who When Several different authors 1 000 BCE 200 BCE Torah describes Philistines in Canaan and are involved with Abraham 1200 BCE Persian word in pasuk implies that a person living in the times of the Persian Empire wrote that part Problems With Bible How much of this Bible is historically accurate The Bible is internally contradictory Noah 2 animals or 7 The Bible is repetitive There is a gap between the actual event and the recording of it Abraham lives sometime between 2100 1800 BCE but Bible was written 600 years after he lived 9 4 What is the relationship between this text and history 1800 s Biblical Archaeology reaction motivator Archaeology in the Near East provides scholars with new information and sources about the Bible and its relevant time period s New Discoveries drives the motivation for further archaeological pursuits Conclusion The Cemetery of Failed Theories is based on Wishful Thinking on the parts of the biblical archaeologists Proof of Patriarchal Period Stele of Pharaoh Merneptah 1207 BCE Monument erected in honor of campaign s victory in modern day Israel Hieroglyphics o Plundered is Canaan marked as place with every evil o Carried marked as place off is Ashkelon o Seized upon is Gezer marked as place o Yanoam marked as place is made as that which does exist o Israel marked as people is laid waste his seed is no more Amorite Hypothesis First reference to Israel and Canaan outside the Bible Israel is considered a people marked as a people in the monument Pharaoh Merneptah exaggerates his victory Relate Biblical narratives about Patriarchs to a series of Archaeological evidence with the Amorite people Mesopotamia Attractive because o Amorites began to move through Near East toward the beginning of the 20th century 1800 1900 BCE so everything lines up o Amorites spoke Semitic language including Hebrew Arabic etc o Amorites are depicted as living nomadic lifestyle in the Bible camping outside of big cities just as the Patriarchs are commonly described o Amorite corresponding evidence found by Mari along Euphrates and Nuzi along Tigris with similar events to those in the Bible eg person named Benjamin story of man taking wife s maid to bear child with her because first wife is barren etc Problems o Amorites did not just invade or migrate in one fluid wave but rather they came in several waves of migration o Connection of Biblical names became more common and less impressive o Bible itself never makes a connection between Amorites with Israelites which is not necessarily the case between Israelites and other foreign nations Proof of Egyptian Bondage Hyksos Theory Josephus Came from Canaan Regarded as outsiders Invaded Egypt 1700 BCE Establish themselves in Egypt for 150 years Subjugate Egypt for 2 centuries Kicked out of Egypt after Egypt regains its control Narrative of Exodus o Problems Pharaoh becomes formal title for king of Egypt only starting 1570 BCE Evidence from Ancient Egypt never mentions anyone named Moses Aaron etc Israelites were enslaved in Egypt not in control Hyksos account victimizes the Egyptians Biblical account victimizes the Israelites Chronology incorrectly makes Israelites leave 1550 BCE 130 years too early according to the Bible Hyksos expulsion in 1550 only starts the New Kingdom period in Egypt beginning of Pharaoh time period Proof of Conquest El Amarna Letter place in Egypt 1417 1362 BCE Written in cuneiform Akkadian Akhenaten o Tried to remove worship of all other gods or to incorporate all