Introduction The redaction of the reigns of the kings Uzziah, Ahaz, and Manasseh are examples of conflicting historical documentations. The book of 2 Kings (written by a Deuteronomistic historian) is presupposed throughout this examination of texts to have been the source of the writings that the Chronicler (or the writer of Chronicles) would have referenced. This comparison will analyze, yet not exhaust, the additions, omissions, and modifications made by the Chronicler to the original texts and will also attempt to explain why he would have changed the information to fit his specific paradigm. The Reign of Uzziah When comparing the reign of Uzziah in 2 Kings 15:1-7 to the text of 2 Chronicles 26, the first difference one would notice is that there are several minor literary differences in the composure of the text that really have little significance to the subject; however, the Chronicler does vary his account of the happenings to conform his personal doctrine to that of blessing and judgment. One major change within this specific text is the name used. The Hebrew version uses the name Azariah, while the Chronicler uses Uzziah. The reasoning may possibly be that Azariah was the king’s birth name or his given name at the time of his kingship; or it may be a name set aside for distinguishing the king from the priest Azariah, who is also mentioned within this and surrounding texts. Within the selected texts, the Chronicler adds a lot of information to Kings. While Kings only gives a small record of Uzziah’s life, the Chronicler adds details of when and how Uzziah received his blessings and also added the king’s wicked ways that consequently led to his skin disorder. These additions were necessary to mold Uzziah’s years of kingshi... ... middle of paper ... ...repentance and also fall in line with the continuing theme of blessing and judgment. In 2 Chronicles 33:12 it is clearly noted that Manasseh humbled prayers in 2 Chronicles 33:13 and Yahweh answered. Conclusion In conclusion, 2 Kings a king who only allowed for sacrifice at the Jerusalem temple was favored and not condemned – no matter his other shortcomings (Hayes, 232). The Deuteronomistic historian knew that this did not pan out exactly the way he believed it should, so he added, omitted, and changed the account of Kings to fit into his theology of good equals good and bad equals bad. If a king was good, he was allowed a long reign and was victorious in battle; if a king was bad, then he had a short reign and could not be victorious. These changes made a running theme throughout the chosen texts that solidified the Chronicler’s doctrine of blessing and judgment.
An Assyrian Emperor’s Resume: Ferocious Conquests a Specialty, written by an unknown author, offers evidence about the Assyrian Society around the time of 875 BCE, under the rule of Emperor Ashur-Nasir-Pal II, including insight in to the Assyrian society as well as what they valued and thought was important, however we cannot believe that this source is one hundred percent accurate.
Much of Revelation is the source of debate. Many passages are symbolic in nature, and the exact meaning of the symbols can be difficult to determine. Some passages can be interpreted in various ways. The identity of the Four Horsemen, the 144,000, and Babylon the Great in particular are points of contention. Nevertheless, proper hermeneutics and careful study can illuminate these difficult passages.
It is the reader and his or her interpretive community who attempts to impose a unified reading on a given text. Such readers may, and probably will, claim that the unity they find is in the text, but this claim is only a mask for the creative process actually going on. Even the most carefully designed text can not be unified; only the reader's attempted taming of it. Therefore, an attempt to use seams and shifts in the biblical text to discover its textual precursors is based on a fundamentally faulty assumption that one might recover a stage of the text that lacked such fractures (Carr 23-4).
Column 1 on Tablet 11 begins the Sumero-Babylonian Flood narrative (Gardner 226). The sage Utnap...
though he was king he had to convince people that he was the true and
When considering the amount of information that can be garnered from this section, it is nothing short of abundant. It adopts a traditional narrative format in order to depict every significant event that leads up to the conception of Sundiata. This exposition of the future King helps to inform the reader of what might be considered as cultural norms in this particular setting. The respect displayed towards soothsayers and their divinations by
There is much debate over the historical accuracy of the Hebrew Bible and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Some claim that to understand a work of literature requires extensive knowledge of the background of this work. The contrary position is that a work of literature can be interpreted solely on it’s content. The meaning of the term classical literature is that it can be applied during any period of time, it is eternal. Yet the conditions surrounding the author might still be of interest to the reader, and of importance to the work. As with many cases, the truth is somewhere in between the two extremes. Both sides have valid arguments about the importance of historicity.
Writings of historical scholars, Josephus, Aristotle, and Plato, to name a few, are taken as truth and fact, yet the writings of the Scripture are constantly disputed. Why? Perhaps because of the ethical imperatives imposed to which people do not want to adhere. Perhaps because of man’s ego and pride that disallows them to submit to a Higher Authority. Nonetheless, The Bible has been, and still remains, the most widely read and revered book of all
...oyal couple changed their names to Tutankhamen, demonstrating their renewed allegiance to Amen-Re. The king restored the old temples of the many gods, and reinstated the priesthoods" (David 158). The reforms, which Akhenaten brought to return the power once held by the Pharaoh in the Old Kingdom, were unable to be understood. The people who Akhenaten had to ensure comprehension of his reasoning did not, for they no longer were connected to the old order which he was trying to reestablish.
Contained in the many intricate and poetic Surahs of the Qur’an are retellings of a number of famous stories of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Torah, Prophets, and Writings. However, the Qur’an’s account of the lives of certain biblical characters often differs in significant ways from the Jewish version. While a believer in the divine nature of the Qur’an may claim that differences in facts stem from distortions of G-d’s message as recorded in Jewish holy books, both Muslims and non-Muslims might agree that the differences in emphasis are intentional. A more cynical observer might claim that the Qur’an changed the known Bible stories to suit its purposes. By choosing to include certain parts of a famous story and leaving out others, the story itself takes on a very different significance. Occasionally, the Qur’an will also discuss parts of the story which are entirely left out of the Torah, in which case a Muslim may claim the Torah did not deem those facts important for its own reasons. A cynical observer would claim the Qur’an made these additions to make its own message clearer.
...amesh was also an old story, which was from ancient Sumeria. Written in cuneiform 750 B.C.E., it was about king Gilgamesh’s adventurous reign. The events were between Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu, who was developed by the gods to prevent Gilgamesh from dominating Uruk’s people. Enkidu was killed, and that affected Gil-gamesh’s emotions. To provide him the eternity, Gilgamesh went for a journey in search of Utnapishtim. He knew Utnapishim's flood story, and he was the only one who survived. Gilga-mesh came back and deceased there in Uruk. All citizens were extremely upset about Gilgamesh death, but Uruk never lost their remembrance in that unbelievable king. From the Epic of Gilga-mesh, it is valuable and priceless to understand and learn about Sumarian culture.
According to the Sumerian King’s List , Ur dominated Southern Mesopotamia three times, which owes to the name ‘The Third Dynasty of Ur’. The Third dynasty stretched from c.2112 - c.2004. Shar-kali-sharri was the last ruler before the decline of the Akkadian period brought by the Gutian invaders. After about 40 years after the demise of the Akkadian Empire, Ur-Namma established this empire centered in Ur. This period was one of restoration as a reaction against the previous rule of the Akkadians. It is also sometimes known as the ‘Sumerian renaissance’ as the writing was still Sumerian and there were notable advances in culture. “This period stabilized the region of Mesopotamia and allowed for development of art, literature, science, agricultural
the Accuracy of the Chronicle of Al-Jabarti." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. No. 2 (1970): 283-294. http://www.jstor.org/stable/613005 (accessed November 30, 2013).
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, is the protagonist of The Epic of Gilgamesh, where the audience is brought through the story of a tyrannical king 's transformation to become a mature king. He would learn that his responsibilities as king come before any of his wishes for fame and acknowledgment. As a being who was two-thirds god and one-third human, he desperately tried to gain the attention and later on the immortality that only deities would have. In the Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George, Gilgamesh believed that in order to be a great king, he would have to complete heroic tasks such as killing Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest and going to the netherworlds to find the source of immortality.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been hailed by people of many religious and cultural backgrounds as the greatest discovery of manuscripts to be made available to modern scholars in our time and has dramatically altered our understanding of the origins of Christianity. Perhaps the most fundamental reexamination brought about by the Scrolls is that of the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel originally accepted as a product of second century Hellenistic composition is now widely accepted as a later first century Jewish writing that may even contain some of the oldest traditions of the Gospels . The discovery of the scrolls has led to the discussion of undeniable and distinct parallels between the ideas of the society at Qumran and those present in the Gospel of John.