Genesis 14: Looking at it
historically
Koot
van wyk (DLitt et Phil; Thd)
Visiting
Professor
Department
of Liberal Arts Education
Kuynpook
National University
Sangju
Campus
South
Korea
Conjoint
lecturer of Avondale College
Australia
Scholars
are easy to allocate any part of the Word of God as fiction and myth and to put
it more bluntly, human fabrications for propaganda purposes. The saying
applies: “Two men sat behind bars, the one saw mud, the other, stars”. This
saying of Ian Hartley of Helderberg College, emphasized that people believe what
they focus on. For this reason, Genesis 14 will be analyzed here historically.
Genesis
14:1 opens with the announcement of kings of the Ancient Near East in the days
of Abraham.
“And
it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar,
Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim”.
These
names are not fictitious. They are real persons in history past.
A
cuneiform tablet with copies and duplicates were found from the date of
Nabonidus, one of the last kings of Babylon, the father of Belshasar. If we
give the cuneiform a date 538 BCE, it would be the first year of Cyrus. The
date can be anything for the past 15 years from that date. This cuneiform
tablet CT XXXIV 29 ii 1-3 explains that 700 years before the Kassite king
Burna-buriash, Hammurabi lived.
It
had scholars like John Brinkman of Chicago
Oriental Institute in a flat spin and in his doctoral dissertation on the Kassite History and Chronology with the
title Materials and Studies for Kassite
History 1976, he spent a lot of time trying to make sense of this. The
famous Hammurabi that we all know, with the legal code discovered at Susa, is
dating to 1790 BCE. In fact, Zimrilim of Mari 11th year coincided
with the 30th year of Hammurabi and that is the year 1762 (JCS 40/2
1988: 250). If one subtracts 700 from 1792, one ends down in 1092 BCE, a time
when Kassites were out of history since Babylon did not belong to them any
longer. Brinkman’s criticism is all valid. So is there an error or as Brinkman
tries to postulate, a random guess or approximation of time? The ancient were
careful with mathematics, with astronomy, with lunar calculations so why would
they not be careful with chronology? Instead of ascribing a scribal error to
the CT XXXIV text mentioned above, why do we not accept it as correct and just
search for another Burna-buriash earlier than the one Brinkman is thinking of.
Brinkman
himself listed a number of Burna-buriash personalities in history. Undoubtedly.
In fact during the Amarna period a Burna-buriash corresponded with pharaohs in
Egypt in letters EA 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14 (Brinkman 1976: 108). Then
Brinkman also points out a pre-Amarna Burna-buriash.
The chronology of the Amarna period
cannot be just during the days of Ikhnaton. What is meant here, is that not all
texts from Tell Amarna, the city of Ikhnaton, the hippie pharaoh, is from his
time. It was the custom of kings and pharaohs to bring into their archives also
the texts and correspondence of their fathers and grandfathers. There is a
strong possibility that some EA texts are from Thutmosis IV who died around
1405 BCE and was followed by his son Amenhotep III, the father of Ikhnaton. For
example, EA 51 says that the grandfather of the unnamed pharaoh was Thutmosis
III, “mma-naḫ-a-bi-ia the king of Egypt”.
Thutmosis III, the pharaoh of the Exodus which happened in 1450 BCE, had the
title mn-ḫpr-ra. Also, texts of
Amenhotep III, the father of Ikhaton is part of the Amarna corpus. The other
important thing about the Amarna corpus is, that not all texts are from the
same period. There are early Amarna letters and later Amarna letters. The
earlier ones talks of problems with the Habiru and the later ones talks of
economic links and intermarriages.
If Burna-buriash was at the height of
his role and function in the early Amarna texts, then he may have started his
crownprince years in ca. 1428 BCE which 700 years would bring the Hammurabi in
2128 BCE, the year after Isaac was born (see Genesis 21:5).
If 2128 BCE is the year we really should
be focused on for Hammurabi or Amraphel, then one should ask, what is
the /l/ doing at the end of Hammurabi’s name? There is a dingir or d in front of his name in the cuneiform so
that ‘god’ sign may led to a semiticising of the dingir as –el also the
semitic for God. Thus, instead of adding it at the beginning of the word, the
semitic scribes would add it at the end and not as dingir but as –el.
We need to fit the events in the life of
Abraham when he was still strong enough to navigate a defensive against
enemies.
Hammurabi of Babylon (Shinar); Arioch of
Ellasar; Chedorlaomer of Elam; and Tidal of Goiim joined a confederation and
came against the kings of the valley of Siddim. The valley where the five
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was, was called Siddim because it is the Salt Sea
(Genesis 14:3). It is the area adjacent to the Dead Sea.
Elam we know where it is since it is
modern Iran. The other nations we do not know really where it is, but it must
have been in adjacent areas. It may have been the nations of the two rivers,
the desert nomads, Elam, and the Eastern Europian nations adjacent to Babylon.
They came to the valley of Siddim next
to the Dead Sea (Genesis 14:3). In those days, the fauna and flora of Jordan
was very beautiful and it was a wetter period than today. During this time, the
Caspic sea’s level was 4 meters higher than at present (Iranica Antiqua XVI [1981]: 130). For Ancient Weather patterns one
should look at the Nile meter in C. R. Lepsius DAUA Text Vol. V (1975): 223 and also Archiv Orientálni 40 (1972): 105ff.
Elam took over the valley of Siddim and
for 12 years 2128-2116 BCE, the king of Sodom, Bera; the king of Gomorrah,
Birsha; the king of Admah, Shinab; the king of Zeboiim, Shemeber; and the king
of Bela/Zoar served Elam (Genesis 14:4).
In 2115 BCE, these kings of the valley
of Siddim rebelled (Genesis 14:4) against Elam, or modern Iran. The rebellion
was widespread and not only in the valley of Siddim since many other nations
were subdued subsequently by Chedorlaomer of Elam and his alliances (Genesis
14:5). They defeated Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim; Zuzim in Ham and Emim in
Shaveh-kiriathaim. We are not sure about all these places mentioned but the
rebellion was much wider than just the valley of Siddim kings. They also
subdued the Horites in Mount Seir as far as El-Paran, which is by the
wilderness. The reality today is that everywhere is almost wilderness. They
also conquered all the country of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who
lived in Hazazon-tamar (Genesis 14:7).
The kings of the valley of Siddim
arrayed then a battle arrangement against Hammurabi of Babylon, Chedorlaomer of
Elam, Tidal of Goiim and Arioch of Ellasar (Genesis 14:9).
In those days, the valley of Siddim was
full of tar pits. As they were fleeing, the kings of the valley of Siddim and
their men fell in these pits. Those who survived fled to the hill-country
(Genesis 14:10).
These invaders took the possessions of
Sodom and Gomorrah as booty (Genesis 14:11).
They also took the possessions of the
nephew of Abraham, Lot, and departed with Lot kidnapped (Genesis 14:12).
Abraham was a Hebrew (Habiru) and a
fugitive came to tell him about the events (Genesis 14:13).
When Abraham heard it he took 318 men
and led them in a defensive against the kidnappers in the direction of Dan
(Genesis 14:14).
Abraham divided his forces and chased
the kings in the night beyond Damascus as far as Hobah (Genesis 14:15).
Abraham rescued Lot and his possessions and
the women and the people (Genesis 14:16).
It is possible that Abraham came down
the Kings Highway and that valley next to it is called the Kings Valley and
that is where the king of Sodom went out to meet him, also called the Valley of
Shaveh (Genesis 14:17).
Melchizedek the king of Salem or [Jeru]salem
came with bread and wine because he was the priest of the Most High (Genesis
14:18). We must remember that every generation God had his people and that what
is recorded about Abraham is only selective information of one person of the
remnant. There were many like Abraham. He was just chosen as an example for us.
So Melchizedek knew about the Sanctuary Message and Christ our High-Priest who
will do atonement for us in future in a Heavenly Sanctuary not made by hands.
So he had a type of that reality to come at Salem or Jerusalem in the days of
Abraham, in 2115 BCE. Abraham had his victory by God and Melchizedek realized
that and came out to acknowledge his close relationship with God (Genesis
14:19-20). Abraham gave the priest Melchizedek 10% of all his camels, sheep,
cows, gold, silver, precious stones and gems, for the tithe principle existed
from Adam and Eve and was not invented by Moses (Genesis 14:20). It was
re-introduced by Moses because people tend to forget God’s instructions. The
king of Sodom wanted only to take the people and wish Abraham to keep the goods
retaken (Genesis 14:21). Abraham said that he sworn to God not to take anything
because he does not want anyone from Sodom to say in future, that they have
made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:23).
Just the men that were with him, got a
small compensation for their hard work, Aner, Eschol, and Mamre “let them take
their share” (Genesis 14:24).
It was in 2114 BCE that Abraham and
Isaac went up Mount Moriah at the age of 115 (Genesis 22) and three years
later, in 2112 BCE, Urnammu started to reign in the Ur III Period which was to
last until 2004 with the destruction of the city of Ur.
Dear
God
How
wonderful is Your history book that selects highlights from the past to direct
us in the present. Lead also us and protect us as your did Abraham and his
family, in Jesus name. Amen