Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament

ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT

BOOK SUMMARY

by

JOE VALENTI

Old Testament Introduction

OBST 590 B06

Dr. Randy Haney

March 1, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 45

CHAPTER 57

CHAPTER 69

CHAPTER 711

CHAPTER 812

CHAPTER 914

CHAPTER 1015

CHAPTER 1117

CHAPTER 1219

CHAPTER 1320

CHAPTER 1422

POSTSCRIPT23

WORKS CITEDi

CHAPTER 1

The opening chapter begins by orienting the reader to the idea of "comparative study," or the area of study that strives to understand things within their broader cultural context. In the case of this book, the goal is to understand the Old Testament within the context of the Ancient Near Eastern milieu. Walton explains that over the years there has been much debate on the issue of comparative study and the way in which it is to be exercised. Scholars, always biased by their presuppositions, tend to enter the argument negating the importance of the Old Testament on the one side, or defending the inerrancy of Scripture so vehemently that the cultural context is lost. Walton poses a better way, namely, accepting the study of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures as important and academic in their own right while attempting to comprehend the Old Testament in light of what modern scholarship is learning about the ancient world.

Studies of this time period often center around who borrowed what literature from whom, but Walton insists that this is not the main issue that ought to be dealt with. Rather, studies of the literature and literary genres of the ANE should assist in the broader understanding of the society. Walton observes several areas that the text will deal with in further details. He first puts emphasis on appreciating the literary genres and how they function as a foundation to any quest into comparative studies. In order to understand the Old Testament fully, one must know how the genres were written and how they are to be interpreted within their cultural context.

Secondly, Walton notes religious practices and the necessity of understanding them clearly. Ritual sacrifices, priests, and ceremonial cleanliness are things that are foreign to readers in a modern context. Additionally, a crucial part of understanding the Old Testament is understanding not only the practices of the Israelites, but the practices of the other people groups that made up the ANE. Finally, it is important to understand the theology of a people group and thebroaderviews of God and the gods within the ANE in order to interpret the text well. Walton closes the first chapter by pointing out that comparative studies assists study of the Bible in at least four major areas: (1) history of the ANE, (2) archeological understanding of the lifestyle, (3) literature, and (4) language.[1]

CHAPTER 2

Chapter two deals with the different ways in which comparative studies are used within current scholarship. Walton first attends to the ways in which comparative studies are being utilized within critical scholarship. As additional information is unearthed about the ANE, many of the ideas once held in critical scholarship have been challenged. Previous assumptions about texts and thoughts, primarily based on evolution, are being reconsidered. Critical scholarship has a history of assuming that critical thought and religious practice had simple beginnings and have evolved through time. Research is showing theseassumptions in source criticism, reaction criticism, and issues of datingto be incorrect in light of the data. Though, as Walton notes, there has been some resistance to comparative studies within the circles of critical scholarship, most of the data being provided is being accepted and studied at greater length. Walton also notes the use of comparative studies in polemics and dismisses such uses due to the fact that the text is not approached in a scholarly manner.

Scholars of a more conservative persuasion, primarilyEvangelicals, and others termed "confessional scholars" by Walton, have had a more difficult time adopting comparative studies.[2]As further information has been gathered about the relation of the Pentateuch to ANE literature and as new data has arisen through archeology, confessional scholars have felt their longstanding foundations threatened, which has caused theirhesitancyto fully embrace comparative studies. Many feel that maintaining the Bible's unique status among other ANE literature is of supreme importance and continue to argue that comparative studies degrades the inspiration of the text thus making God's word subject to man's interpretation.

Walton closes the chapter by proposing an integrated approach including critical analysis tobetter understand the history of the Bible,unbiased and educated defense of the biblical text, and solid exegesis that guards the reader from understanding the text outside of its context. Walton argues that the field of comparative studies must be important not only to serious scholars, but also to anyone committed to truly knowing and understanding the Word of God.

CHAPTER 3

Chapter three is dedicated to a brief overview of the literary styles of the ANE and gives examples of the styles from some of the primary people groups. The discussion begins with myth, which was one of the primary ways that ancient civilizations explained their present reality. Short examples from several cultures are given and include many parallels to the Biblical stories such as the creation account and the flood. Others bear little resemblance to the Bible such as the stories of the fighting gods of Akkadian myths. Next are literary texts and epics which tell the stories of the kings of different lands, their struggles to power, and their exploits while ruling. The most famous is the Gilgamesh epic, which follows Gilgamesh on his journey to find immortality. The third literary type is ritual texts which, as the name says, follow the rituals of the people groups of the ancient world. Rituals wereimportantas they helped humans communicate with and persuade the gods. Fourth, Walton deals with divination and incantation texts which were used to divine the meanings of omens, undo evil spells, and ward off bad spirits. These are dealt with at length later in the book. Fifth, he explains the significance of the use of letters exchanged between kings gives the modern day reader noteworthy information about the culture of the past.

Walton then moves to royal inscriptions which were recordings ordered by kings. They could contain items such as details on how a building was to be constructed, conquests, details of how to handle their succession, and other various accomplishments and instructions. In a similar vein are annals and chronicles which detailed the succession of rulers through the history of an empire, coupled with their important victories in war. Treaties were another piece of literature that was used to establish rules between kings and rulers of different lands.The next section deals with government and points out law collections and legal documents as important literary devices. While law collections detail the ways in which society was to run and[O1]how people were to behave, legal documents dealt with contracts for marriages, children, family estates, and court rulings.

Religious literature was also common in the Ancient Near East[O2]. Psalms and hymns were ways to give adoration to the gods so that they would be pleased and provide for the people. Wisdom literature contained details about how to make good choices, but also contained[O3]laments and writings concerning ethics. Prophetic writing was another important communication because it contained communication from the gods which was a vital part of the life of the ancient cities. Kings sought answers to their problems from the gods and they received them through the prophets. These prophesies were often recorded[O4]. Walton closes the chapter by noting various miscellaneous writings as well as archives, which were groups of literature often found together which contained all sorts of different information.

CHAPTER 4

Chapter four opens the third section of the book which is an overview of the religious views of the ANE. In order to fully understand the Old Testament and the interactions of the Hebrew people with God, and other false gods, it is important to understand how the religious system worked. Throughout the chapter Walton shows how other empires worshiped and compares those beliefs to beliefs held by Israel. First and foremost, the other people groups of the ANE were polytheistic and therefore, the idea of one Godwas odd in itself. Add to this the fact that the Israelite God was not made and had simply always been, and the oddities became significantly greater. Not only was the norm polytheistic, but there were great stories about how the gods came to be, their battles with one another, their failures, and their flaws. The gods were defined by the things that they did. Earlier chapters note the fact that the culture of this time period was highly focused on function. Again, due to the polytheism, the gods functioned as a team of sorts. The God of the Bible is, indeed, three in one, but nonetheless one God who is all powerful. The Old Testament does make mention of a council that God used to make decisions, but this is altogether different from the unstable group of random gods of other people groups which were completely separate, with different gifts and skills, and with significant flaws.

Walton then turns to the roles that the gods played in the cosmos as well as their attributes. Whereas Yahweh is completely outside of the cosmos, the gods of the ANE were associated with elements of the cosmos. So while Yahweh is the creator of the sun, the moon, and the waters, the gods of other polytheistic religionsactuallywereone with those elements. They had no life or meaning independent from those elements. For instance, the god of the seas controlled the sea and was the sea itself. There was no distinction and no separation as with the God of the Israelites. The attributes of the gods were in some ways similar to Yahweh, but were altogether different in others. The most notable difference is the fact that while Yahweh is completely other, the gods were inherently human in their characteristics. They argued with one another, they needed to be flattered with prayers that did not necessarily communicate their true nature, they were limited in their geographic location, they procreated, and they failed. People of the ANE had attributed to the gods of their myths the samecharacteristicsthat they saw in their everyday lives. The main differencebetween the gods and humans was that the gods were simply stronger. All other characteristics were intrinsically human. This is a far cry from the God of the Bible who is holy, not bound by anything, and never fails.

The chapter closes by dealing with a very important part of the makeup of the gods, their divine attributes. In Evangelical circles God is not simply described as being loving. Rather,Heislove itself. God does not simply rule in a just way, he is theepitomeof justice. The God of the Old Testament is perfection in every area of everything. There is no flaw or limitation in him. His wisdom, love, justice, and mercy are not only perfect in and of themselves, but Godisthose things. The gods of the ANE weresignificantlydifferent in that the attributes that they had weredirectly linked to their actions. There were no inherent attributes in them, or as Walton says, "deity is as deity does."[3] The duties that each god had were the attributes that they carried.

CHAPTER 5

Chapter five is dedicated to the understanding of the role of the temple and the accompanying rituals in the ANE. Walton first deals with the role that the temple played. Temples were created not primarily for worship of the gods, but were the places where the gods resided while on earth. This was a sacred space that was to be free from all profanity and reserved for the rest and worship of that god. Each temple contained an idol,like a plaque or a statue. This statue was not simply a rendering; the commonly held view was that the god actually inhabited the idol in some way without actually becoming the idol. Because of this, the ancients believed that the creation of the idol was supernaturally overseen and organized by that specific god so that the idol would meet its expectations. This process was familiar to the Old Testament prophets and they prophesied against the idols and false gods.

Attached to the temple was at least one ziggurat, which was a structure that encased a stairway which served as a portal for the god from the heavenly realm into the earthly temple. These were large structures and this was probably what Moses was referring to when he spoke of the tower of Babel in Genesis. So in opposition to common Sunday school teaching, the tower of Babel was not meant to reach to the heavens, but was a portal meant to bring heaven to earth.

The temple was the most important structure in ancient culture. It was the center of everything and, due to the fact that the god inhabited the temple, was the source of all things good. Temples wereviewed as the center of the cosmos in the ancient world. Walton observes that in this area, the Bible and ancient myths agree in that the presence of the god, or Yahweh in the case of the Bible, was what made the space important. He claims that the Garden of Eden was not a literal geographic place on earth, rather it was a place in the cosmos where God dwelt. The presence of God was what made Eden special. The same goes for the temples of the ancients. The presence of the gods made them the focal point of life. Not only was the temple the central point of worship, but also of law, the wealth of the city, and the social activities of the people. The focal point of daily activities was the temple.That God would inhabit the tabernacle, or the temple, therefore, makes perfect sense in the culture of the ANE. Solomon's temple is used as the focal point of the city, where God dwelt and where worship was given. Here, again, the ancient myths and the Bible agree.

Harvest, weather, health, wealth, and victory in battle, among other things, were all controlled by the gods in the ANE. Due to this fact, the rituals that were performed for the gods in the temple were important to thelivelihoodof the people. The gods had to be appeased and the forces of evil and chaos needed to be held at bay. Rituals, therefore, were the way in which humans interacted with the gods to make sure that they were happy and that the cosmos was in balance. Blood sacrifices were not unique to the Israelites, but were a common trend of the day. However, unlike the other tribes of the ANE, the Israelites did not use incantations. Furthermore, while faith in God was of primary concern for the Israelites, action and involvement in the cult of the temple were of paramount importance.

CHAPTER 6

In the midst of everything that was happening in and around the temple, the way in which the common people of the land practiced religion was different. The contrast between the religion of the state and the religion of the common people is the focus of this chapter.

Religion in the city environment is handled first. As mentioned in previous chapters, the gods were to be served, taken care of, and appeased. For these reasons, the idols mentioned in chapter five were cared for just as one might take care of a new born baby. They were woken, fed, pampered, and put to bed at night. The problem was that there was no way to know if the people were, indeed, pleasing the god. Without any revelation there was no way to know if the practices were actually making any difference in thetemperamentof the god. Each god was assigned roles and responsibilities, and each one, in turn, delegated their[nk5]responsibilitiesback to the people. For instance, a certain god might be in charge of keeping justice, but those responsibilities weremetedout to the king. However, in the midst of all of this service to the gods, the gods were prone to betemperamental. Gods would change their minds and moods often. Diviners might offer solutions like giving more money or upgrading the temple, but again, without revelation the gods were unknowable and this kept the ancient people always guessing and attempting new tactics to change their situations. Yahweh stood in stark contrast to the gods of the polytheistic pantheon. God has no need of anything from man. He [nk6]is not contained. All [nk7]of his choices are perfect and right. What is most important, however, is the fact that He communicated with his people so that they were fully aware of what he expected and in order that [nk8]they might know the consequences for their actions.