Report on Ebla BST 550. Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. Dr. Delamarter

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1 Report on Ebla BST 550 Old Testament and the Ancient Near East Dr. Delamarter Jeffrey Chambers February 17, 2002

2 General Information Before 1960 archaeology had focused its efforts on Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. Little regard had been given to Syria. The presence of a great number of tells caused Professor Paolo Matthiae to begin excavation of the largest tell he found; Tell Mardikh. Tell Mardikh covers more than 140 acres and is 50 feet high. This tell is located in Northern Syria about 44 miles South of Aleppo. 1 Professor Matthiae first began excavating there in Excavations conclude that the Tell was occupied by its first residents near 3500 BCE. The tell reached it largest size around 2400 BCE and was occupied almost continuously until approximately 60 BCE where evidence of occupation dries up. 2 Important / Helpful Publications on the Site Bermant, Chaim. Ebla: a revelation in archeology, by Chaim Bermant and Michael Weitzman. New York: Times Books, Gordon, Cyrus. Ebla as background for the Old Testament. Congress volume. Leiden: E J Brill, (1988): , Supplements to Vetus Testamentum Vol. 40. Kitchen, K. A. The Bible in its world: the Bible & archaeology today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, Matthiae, Paolo. Ebla, an empire rediscovered trans. by Christopher Holme. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981, Pettinato, Giovanni. The archives of Ebla: an empire inscribed in clay. Garden City, NY.: Doubleday, Kitchen, K. A. The Bible in its world: the Bible & archaeology today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1978 p Matthiae, Paolo. Ebla, an empire rediscovered trans. by Christopher Holme. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981,

3 Major Discoveries from the Site In 1968 a statue dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, and bearing the name of Ibbit- Lim, a king of Ebla was found. 3 This discovery lead to the positive identification of Tell Mardikh as the ancient kingdom of Ebla. The kingdom of Ebla had been known to archaeologists from references in Sumerian, Akkadian and Egyptian texts, but until now was lost. Between 1974 and 1976 over 17,000 tablets were recovered. The next largest find was in Mari dating several hundred years later than the Ebla tablets. The tremendous number of texts found equaled approximately four times the amount of material ever collected from this time period by all other expeditions combined. What is even more astonishing is that these tablets were found in what is believed to be a subsidiary library and not even the cities main archives. The tablets date to around the Early Bronze Age ( BCE) and are written in Eblaite, a Semitic dialect, as well as in Sumerian. A vocabulary list matching words from the two languages was found among the tablets. This tablet has allowed scholars to translate the previously unknown language of Eblaite. The tablets relate mostly to economic matters, showing that Ebla was a major commercial center trading grain, livestock, textiles, lumber, and finished metals. The tablets include different conversion rates of one precious metal to another. From this one may infer that different trading partners had varying qualities of refined gold and silver or the underlying value of the commodity varied from year to year. However, other matters such as offerings to the gods are also dealt with. There are literary texts with mythological backgrounds, incantations, collections of proverbs, and hymns to various deities. Rituals associated with the gods are referred to, many of these gods being known 3 Kitchen, K. A. The Bible in its world: the Bible & archaeology today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1978 p.38. 3

4 in Babylonian literature of a later period. These include Enki, Enlil, Utu, lnana, Tiamut, Marduk and Nadu. 4 Other texts provide lists of wildlife and professions. The city was in contact with other cities all over the Ancient Near East. The tablets identify personal names of officials and lists of towns (260) in their geographic regions, and even lists of the towns that are subject to Ebla. Estimates of the population of the city range from 20,000 to 40,000 based on the size of the tell. One tablet listed barley rations for 260,000 people, which is likely to have been for the whole kingdom. 5 The law code of Ebla is recognized as the oldest ever found (approx years prior to Moses). The tablets include detailed examples of case law, with distinctive conditions listed for determining different degrees of offense. In the case of a complaint involving sexual relations, if the girl was able to prove that she was a virgin and that the act was forced on her, the penalty against the man was death. Otherwise, he would pay a fine that varied according to the circumstances. It is remarkably like Deuteronomy 22: Methodological Issues Giovanni Pettinato reported he had found the names of the five cities of the plain not only listed on one of the tablets but also in the same order as the Bible. Pettinato later recounted that the order was the same as in Genesis, but did maintain the identification of Sodom and Gomorrah were correct. The Biblical significance implied by Pettinato angered the Syrian government and appears to be partly to blame for his forced resignation as epigrapher and his subsequent replacement by Alfonso Archi. The Syrians were unhappy with the tablets being used as a link between the Patriarchs and Syrian 4 Wilson, Clifford A. Ebla tablets: secrets of a forgotten city. San Diego, Calif.: Master Books, Pettinato, Giovanni. Ebla, a new look at history, trans. by C. Faith Richardson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, p

5 history. Archi has stated that there is no relevance to biblical studies to be found in the Ebla Tablets. There continues to be extensive disagreement between Pettinato and his supporters with Archi and his supporters. Among Archi s most vocal advocates is Paolo Matthiae himself. The following is from a letter to the editor that Matthiae sent defending Alfonso against accusations made by Pettinato in an earlier article Biblical Archaeology had run. Of course, its tone of wild and personal invective does not conform at all with the dignity of a scholarly contribution, but it qualifies its author. 6 There is nothing quite like the quest for knowledge that brings people so close together. There are questions regarding missing tablets and refusing to share information on tablets between scholars. Apart from the actual evidence still being reviewed from the site, the tablets are the main focus of everyone s attention. The debate at best between these groups over the exact translation of words falls into personal attacks and innuendos on the others scholarship and integrity. Relevance for our Understanding of the Old Testament The Ebla tablets have begun to change the time frame of Biblical studies. Critical scholars have attempted to portray the patriarchs as a first-millennium fable, now it would appear that the historical evidence has a different take. For example the tablets attest to the existence of number of Old Testament cities previously identified from other sources as existing in the first and possibly second millennium. These cities include Salim, possibly the city of Melchizedec, Hazor, Lachish, Meggido, Gaza, Dor, Sinai, Ashtaroth, Joppa and Damascus. Of special interest is Urusalima (Jerusalem), this being the earliest known reference to this city. 7 6 Matthiae, Paolo. The Ebla Debate. Biblical Archeologist Vol. 44 Num. 2 (1981): Wilson, Clifford A. Ebla tablets: secrets of a forgotten city. San Diego, Calif.: Master Books,

6 Historians ideas regarding which gods were worshipped when and where now have new information to consider. For example the god ya is found in the Ebla texts. Much discussion has arisen over whether or not ya is Yahweh. If so, what does this say about Yahweh working in the lives of people prior to the patriarchs? A colleague of Pettinato, Mitchell Dahood, presents some very convincing research relating the worship of ya or Yahweh among Arabs, Edomites, Canaanites, Israelites, as well as Eblaites. 8 The tablets are also changing preconceived ideas about the writing ability of Old Testament writers. It is no longer reasonable to assume that the level of prose contained in the Old Testament was beyond the ability of the early Israelites. Greater insight into the Hebrew language has been provided through new historical references for already known words and greater understanding of Old Testament poetic style. Stories in the Bible such as King Solomon s extravagant wealth and extent of power are made more realistic when examined against the accounts listed in the Ebla tablets. One tablet lists the amount of tribute required from the city of Mari after its defeat: 11,000 pounds of silver and 880 ponds of gold. 9 While this is not an exorbitant amount of money, it does lend credibility to the size of payments Solomon enjoyed through trade and conquest. Another point of relevance is that the creation story found among the tablets is remarkably similar to the creation account in Genesis. It would seem those who have offered the idea of the biblical account as being a knock off of the Babylonian creation account will have to reconsider in light of the fact the Ebla account is considerably older than the Enuma Elish. Finally we are left to wonder what further insight into the Ancient Near East might be gained if the main archives of Ebla are ever discovered. 8 Dahood, Mitchell. The god Ya at Ebla: [the biblical name Yobab; Ugaritic bob] Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 100 (1981): Kitchen, K. A. The Bible in its world: the Bible & archaeology today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press,

7 Bibliography Althann, Robert. The impact of Ebla on biblical studies. Religion in Southern Africa Vol. 2 No. 1 (1981): Archi, Alfonso. Are the cities of the plain mentioned in the Ebla tablets. Biblical Archaeology Review Vol. 7 No. 6 (1981): Archi, Alfonso. "Further concerning Ebla and the Bible" Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 44 (1981): Archi, Alfonso. The epigraphic evidence from Ebla and the Old Testament Biblica Vol. 60 No. 4 (1979): Archi, Alfonso. Studies in the Pantheon of Ebla. Orientalia Vol. 63 No. 3 (1994): Archi, Alfonso. Boundaries of the ancient Near Eastern world. Sheffield, Eng: Sheffield Academic Press, Beld, Scott G. The tablets of Ebla : concordance and bibliography, by Scott G. Beld, William W. Hallo, and Piotr Michalowski. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, Bermant, Chaim. Ebla: a revelation in archeology, by Chaim Bermant and Michael Weitzman. New York: Times Books, Biggs, Robert. The Ebla tablets. An interim perspective. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 43 (1980): Buccellati, Giorgio. Ebla and the Amorites. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbraus, Buccellati, Giorgio. Syro-Mesopotamian studies, a preface, by Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati. Malibu, Calif.: Undena Publications,

8 Buckman, Ross. A major new discovery in Canaan. Royal Ebla St Mark's Review No. 98 (1979): Dahood, Mitchell. Ebla, Genesis and John. Christian Century Vol. 98 (1981): Dahood, Mitchell. The first Ebla congress. [Ap 21-23, 1980, Naples ]. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 44 (1981): 63. Dahood, Mitchell. The god Ya at Ebla: [the biblical name Yobab; Ugaritic bob] Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 100 (1981): Dahood, Mitchell. The temple and other sacred places in the Ebla Tablets, in The Temple in antiquity. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young Univ. (1984): 77-89, Religious studies monograph series, v.9. Freedman, David. Ebla and the Old Testament: Studies in the period of David and Solomon and other essays, Int'l Symposium for Biblical Studies, Tokyo, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, (1982): Freedman, David. Real story of the Ebla Tablets : Ebla and the cities of the plain Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 41 (1978): Freedman, Nadezhda. Nuzi Ebla. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 40 (1977): Gordon, Cyrus. Ebla as background for the Old Testament. Congress volume. Leiden: E J Brill, (1988): , Supplements to Vetus Testamentum Vol. 40. Gordon, Cyrus. Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbraus Gordon, Cyrus. The Ebla exorcisms, in Eblaitica. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, (1992): Gordon, Cyrus. The geographical horizons of Ebla. New horizons in the study of ancient Syria. Malibu: Undena, 1992: 63-68, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica Vol

9 Gordon, Cyrus H. and Rendsburg, Gary A. Eblaitica. Essays on the Ebla archives and Eblaite language, vol 3. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, Hattem, Willem C. van. Once again. Sodom and Gomorrah. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 44 (1981): Hawkes, Jacquetta. The First Great Civilizations. New York: Knopf, 1973 Healey, John F. The immortality of the king: Ugarit and the Psalms, Orientalia Vol. 53 No. 2 (1984): Kilian, J. Ebla. An empire inscribed in clay, Theologia Evangelica Vol. 17 No. 2 (1984): Kitchen, K. A. The Bible in its world : the Bible & archaeology today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, Krecher, Joachim. The Ebla tablets and their possible significance for biblical studies, Biblical Archaeology Today (1990). Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, (1993): La Sor, William S. Further information about Tell Mardikh. Journal of the Theological Society Vol. 19 (1976): Matthiae, Paolo. Ebla, an empire rediscovered trans. by Christopher Holme. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981, Matthiae, Paolo. Ebla in the late early Syrian period. The royal palace and the state archives. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 39 (1976): Matthiae, Paolo. New discoveries at Ebla. The excavation of the western palace and the royal necropolis of the Amorite period. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 47 (1984): Matthiae, Paolo. The Ebla Debate. Biblical Archeologist Vol. 44 Num. 2 (1981):

10 Milano, Lucio. Ebla. A third-millennium city-state in ancient Syria. in Civilizations of the ancient Near East Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, Pp Millard, Alan R. Ebla and the Bible: What's left (if anything)? Bible Review Vol. 8 (1992): 18-31, 60, 62. Pettinato, Giovanni. The archives of Ebla : an empire inscribed in clay. Garden City, NY.: Doubleday, Pettinato, Giovanni. Ebla, a new look at history, trans. by C. Faith Richardson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, Pettinato, Giovanni. Royal archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 39 (1976): Shea, William H. The calendars of Ebla pt 3. Conclusion. Andrews University Seminary Studies Vol. 19 (1981): Steinkeller, Piotr. Observations on the Sumerian personal names in Ebla sources and on the onomasticon of Mari and Kish, The Tablet and the scroll. Bethesda, Md: CDL Press, (1993): Pp Viganò, Lorenzo. Judges at Ebla, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus Vol. 41 (1991). Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press (1992): Pp , Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus, Vol. 41. Viganò, Lorenzo. Literary sources for the history of Palestine and Syria. The Ebla tablets. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 47 (1984): Viganó, Lorenzo. Mari and Ebla. Of time and rulers, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus Vol. 44 (1994). Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press (1995): Pp , Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus Vol

11 Viganò, Lorenzo. The use of the Sumerian word níg-ba, gift in the Ebla administrative reports, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus Vol. 45 (1995). Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press (1996): Pp , Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Liber Annuus Vol. 45. Vitkus, Saul N. Sargon Unseated. Biblical Archaeologist Vol. 39 (1976): Wilson, Clifford A. Ebla tablets: secrets of a forgotten city. San Diego, Calif.: Master Books, Zatelli, Ida The Origin of the Biblical Scapegoat Ritual: The Evidence of the Two Eblaite Texts Vetus Testamentum Vol. 48 (1998):

6. Considerable stimulus for international trade throughout the Near East.

6. Considerable stimulus for international trade throughout the Near East. Session 4 - Lecture 1 I. Introduction The Patriarchs and the Middle Bronze Age Genesis 12-50 traces the movements of the Patriarchs, the ancestors of the Israelites. These movements carried the Patriarchs