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kootvanwykEschatology in Ancient Near Eastern Texts
by koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)
Kyungpook National University
Sangju Campus
South Korea
conjoint lecturer of Avondale College
Australia
14 November 2009
The doctrine of the Last Things, is what eschatology is all about. The Bible is full of eschatology from the beginning to the end. Many scholars and writers think that eschatology is only a kind of after-sauce thrown over the biblical message. Not so. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God is packed with eschatology. The Bible is as old is Moses, and he was born in 1530 BCE. He started writing around 1460 BCE in Midian hiding from Thutmosis III. Job, and Genesis were written then. Psalm 90 also was written by Moses, but since then until 96/7 CE when John completed Revelation, eschatology is a seminal ingredient of the Bible.
Eschatology and genres
Says, some scholars, that eschatology is locked up in only some books that are either apocalyptic or prophecy. Not so. Eschatology is in poetry, wisdom, law, in fact, anywhere in the Bible. No genre is singled out for its presence. Again scholars try to say it is glossed in, or added later by mistake or oversight or even by redactor's design.
Eschatology as linear
Eschatology in biblical language is linear. Time is seen as having a beginning and an end. History will come to an end. Since God is Creator and real and since one of his top creatures, an angel called Lucifer became evil and rebelled against Him, our universe is excluded from the wonderful experience that is awaiting us. Thus, eschatology is the morning after, the day when all these evils, tragedies and pain will be changed into joy and happiness eternally. Buddhism, and most pagan religions is cyclic in their conception. They do not have a Rebellion in Heaven Motif in their thinking, except in a cyclic way as some alternative god that is in constant warfare or tension with the good god. There is no beginning and no end in their conception. One can expect that the eschatology of the Ancient Near Eastern religions were also cyclic and connected with the yearly cycle of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. It is connected with the solar and lunar movement, the constellations and stars.
Literature on "time" in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East is the article of Norman H. Snaith in 1963 (N. Snaith, "Time in the Old Testament," Promise and Fulfilment in Essays presented to S. H. Hooke ed. F. F. Bruce [Edinburgh, 1963], 175-186). He mentions three kinds: circular time, horizontal time and vertical time. One must speak of one model that has a straight line, another model that has a spiral line on a horizontal level and another model that is a circular line.
Eschatology in Egyptian literature
For examples of Egyptian concepts of eschatology, one should consult the book by E. Hornung, Conceptions of god in ancient Egypt, 162-165. One should look at the Coffin Texts, the Book of the Two Ways and also the Book of the Dead. The Coffin Text 476e-468b is applicable. The Book of the Dead chapter 175 is relevant (see Hornung 165 footnote 81).
Eschatology at Mari 1746 BCE
J. M. Sasson wrote about eschatology at Mari in 1982 (J. M. Sasson, "An Apocalyptic Vision from Mari? Speculations on ARM X. 9" Mari I [1982]: 151-167). The article by William L. Moran, "New Evidence from Mari on the History of Prophecy" Biblica 50 (1969): 15-41ff. is also relevant.
In ARM X. 50 there is also evidence of a prophetic experience that the writer claimed to have had. ARM are texts from the city of Mari on the Euphrates in which the following are listed by Moran (1969): 16 footnote 2 as relevant for prophecy at Mari in the days of Zimri-lim: ARM X 4; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 50; 51; 53; 80; 81; 94; 100; 117. An English translation of ARM X 50 can be found in ANET 631. The visionary, a woman with the name of Addu-duri said that she had a dream with signs and when she saw it she was weeping. She said that the dream was in the evening-watch. It was a warning to Zimri-lim not to go on an expedition (line 24). A complete translation and discussion of this text by this researcher is online at http://www.egw.org at VANWYK NOTES (old series).
Eschatology from the Hittite texts of Mursilish (1345-1315 BCE)
Mursilish II was a Hittite King who reigned between 1345-1315 BCE. This period spans the time of Ehud the Judge of Israel between 1346-1266 BCE (Judges
From a source on Mursilish II, by Emil E. Forrer, Die Bohhazkoi-Texte in Umschrift 2er Band Geshichtliche Texte aus dem Alten und E. Neuen cHatti-Reich (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1926), VII and also pages 36-37 we learn of events regarding the time of Mursilish II that were "apocalyptic" in nature.
Apocalyptic signs during Mursilish's reign
Plague
In his book, The Hittites (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1952, reprint 1966) page 60, O. R. Gurney explained that in the beginning of the reign of Mursilish II a plague occurred. He started to reign in 1345 BCE so during that year or near that year the plague occurred. He said that the land of Hatti was suffering from a pestilence. This was a very long pestilence. In fact, it lasted since the reign of Suppiluliumas and when this prayer was offered in the days of Mursilish II, it was already 20 years that passed.
The plague was between 1365 BCE and 1345 BCE. Suppiluliumas took office in 1386 BCE and the plague started in 1365 BCE and lasted throughout the remainder of his reign. He stopped rulership in 1354 BCE. It is the time of Othniel of Israel (1403-1363 BCE) of the book of Judges. The plague started two years before the end of the reign of Othniel the judge of Israel.
According to Gurney, the king searched the archives for a possible reason for the god's anger and came across two tablets which seemed to provide a clue.
The first tablet showed that a certain festival had been neglected.
A second tablet indicated that the Weather-god made a treaty with the Hittites and Egyptians in Egyptian territory but that it was the Hittites who broke the oath to the god and therefore Suppiluliumas invaded Egypt twice at least. The wars of Suppiluliumas were successful but according to Gurney, it was among these prisoners that the pestilence first broke out (Gurney 1952/1966: 61).
Our comment is that for these wars of Suppiluliumas to have taken place during the reign of Ikhnaton is very unlikely. It is rather present in the period of his soldier days before he took office in 1386 BCE. For that we have ample proof from the Amarna Tablets of Hittites invading their territory (see EA 75:35-38 "May he be informed, the king, my lord that has seized, the king of Hatti all the countries that were vassals of the king of Mitanni". Areas that belonged to the Hurrians were taken over by Suppiluliumas as soldier before he became ruler. During the time of the post-conquest of Israel of Canaan (which started according to strict consonantal text of the Masoretic tradition chronology in 1410-1405 BCE), and during the time of Suppiluliumas, Tushratta of Mittanni succeeded (see EA
The immediate citation by Gurney does not say that the pestilence started during those two wars into Egyptian territory.
What we do know is that the pestilence is concurrent with the 18 years of Moabite oppression of Israel 1364-1346 BCE (Judges
The prayer of Mursilish is recorded by Gurney as such:
"What is this, O gods, that you have done?. You have let in a plague and the land of Hatti, all of it, is dying, so no one prepares the offerings of food and drink. And you come to us, O gods, and for this matter you hold us guilty ... and there is nothing that we do aright in your eyes" (Gurney 1952-1966: 157).
Stars Falling (Meteorite Fall)
In a text called, the Ten Year Annals of Mursilish II (with many duplicates and compliment texts), it is explained that in the 3rd year of Mursillish II, in 1343/1342 BCE, meteors fell from the sky. That was during his march to a campaign to Arzauva. He had a victory of the son of the king of Arzauva.
Darkening of the Sun or Sun-Eclipse
In the same text(s), the Ten Year Annals of Mursilish II, in the 10th year 1336/1335 BCE, there was a Sun-Eclipse. Astronomically scholars have placed this eclipse on the 13th of March 1335 BCE. There was a trip to Azzi and a victory of Dukkamma and Arib쉆 (Forrer 1926: 35-36).
Biblical parallel
What is interesting in the information of Mursilish II on the plague, is that the gods sent a plague to the Hittites for a holding them guilty in the year 1365 BCE until 1345 BCE. At the same time, in the book of Judges
In no way should it be concluded that the Biblical authors have just plagiarized the surrounding cultures expressions for their own descriptions. Apocalyptic phenomena like the sun standing still in the days of Joshua was during 1410-1405 BCE and those cloud columns protecting and lightening the Israelites were in 1450 BCE. One can go on with the Apocalyptic elements in the event of the Flood. The Apocalyptic phenomena of the Bible is selected by God Himself to be programmic signals of the start of periods in his historical plan of salvation and events related to it. Their timing is sometimes more a factor than their quantity of appearance or volume of strength (see VANWYK NOTES at http://www.egw.org for the same content on Murshilish).
Eschatology at Babylon 1032-942 BCE
A. K. Grayson published some Cuneiform texts from Assyria and Babylon indicating that they had an interest in those days in strange events in nature (A. K. Grayson, Texts from Cuneiform Sources Vol. V. Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles [Locust Valley, New York: J. J. Augustin Publisher, 1975], 133).
One Tablet, BM 35968 it seems that there is an interest in strange phenomena in nature. Chronicle 17 and 24 are relevant. In the days of Nabu-Shumu-lihur (1032-1025 BCE) until Nabu-mukin-apli (977-942 BCE). In line 9 it states "On the 25 day of the month of Tishri a live panther (10) floated down the river (Euphrates) and was killed (line 11). In line 14 it reads "on the twenty-sixth day of the month of Siwan, in the seventh year, day turned to light and there was a fire in the sky".
About Akkadian Prophecies, A. K. Grayson wrote at length in 1980 (A. K. Grayson, Assyria and Babylonia OR 49/2 [1980]: 40-194).
He indicated that Akkadian Prophecy is a prose composition consisting of a number of "predictions" of past events. "It concludes with either a 'prediction' of phenomena in the writer's day or with a genuine attempt to forecast future events" (Grayson 1980: 183).
"The author, in other words, uses vaticinia ex eventu to establish his credibility and then proceeds to his real purpose which might be to justify a current idea or institution of to forecast future doom of a hated enemy. The predictions are divided according to reigns and often begins with some such phrase as 'a prince will arise'. The reigns are characterized as 'good' or 'bad' and the phraseology is borrowed from omen literature. There is some evidence that the genre has its roots in Sumerian literature. Comparative material is also known from Egypt in the form of the Admonitions of Ipu-Wer and the Prophecy of Neferti (A. K. Grayson 1980: 183).
Five Addadian prophecies are known: the Dynastic Prophecy, Text A, the Uruk Prophecy, the Marduk Prophetic Speech and the Shulgi Prophetic Speech." Shulgi was the king who built a personality cult around himself to be deified while he is still alive in the days of Abraham, after Abraham left Ur.
"The Marduk Prophetic Speech was written in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (c. 1128-1104 BCE) and was part of the momentous religious movement of the time, the elevation of the god Marduk to kingship over the gods. The author 'predicts' the three occassions in the past when Marduk's statue had been carried off by a foreign invader. Then he 'predicts' the return of the statue in his own time and the peace and prosperity in the land which ensued" (A. K. Grayson 1980: 184).
"The purpose of the Shulgi Prophetic Speech is not so apparent since the text is badly broken, particularly towards the end. The Speech concludes about the time of the fall of the Kassite dynasty or possibly as late as Nebuchadnezzar I. The cities of Nippur and Babylon with their inhabitants have a prominent role and one wonders if the text was intended to lend prophetic support to claims of these cities to priviledged status in a period when these priviledges were being challenged" (A. K. Grayson 1980: 184).
"The Uruk prophecy is concerned solely with the city Uruk and its welfare. It concludes with a prediction that the kings of Uruk will rule the world in a period of plenty. There is no clue to the date of this chauvenistic composition" (A. K. Grayson 1980: 184).
"The Dynastic Prophecy contains a 'prediction'of the Fall of Assyria and Rise of Babylonia, the Fall of Babylonia and Rise of Persia, and the Fall of Persia and Rise of Macedonia. The concluding portion of the document is poorly preserved but may have contained a prophecy of the Fall of Macedonia. If so, this real attempt at prediction could be an expression of anti-Seleucid sentiment in Babylonia. Of great assistance in identifying specific reigns in the Dynastic Prophecy is the inclusion of numbers of years the unnamed monarchs ruled" (A. K. Grayson 1980: 184). Here one needs to draw attention to two points: the date of Daniel 2, 7 and 8 are all spread out between 597 to 520 BCE so that a prediction of the fall of these successive empires listed also in this cuneiform text is very relevant with Daniel predating this cuneiform text. Furthermore, and that is the second point, the Seleucids ruled Babylon no earlier than in the middle of the Greece World rule, 250 BCE. This is 300 years later than Daniel and his clear concepts. The influence of Daniel was thus, in our conclusion, extending far and wide.
"Although the fifth Akkadian prophecy, Text A, also includes precise figures of length of reign, the tablet is poorly preserved and there is no certainty when to date the content nor what the purpose of the composition was" (A. K. Grayson 1980: 184).
There is a Kassite text dating to the end of the Kassite empire (middle of the twelve century BCE). This text is a hemerological text of which several copies exists dating later in the neo-Assyrian and neo-Babylonian empire. The predictions are made for the whole year of 360 days in one year with 30 days in one month. It tells the king when to go out and when not, which day to avoid woman and which not, what to eat and what not. This is also a form of prediction for every day of the year. Plagiarism was involved since the later neo-Assyrian and neo-Babylonian scribes copied this text and it is unlikely that two kings will have the same problems in a year like is suggested here separating the two texts by a period of nearly 600 years. One can see a discussion of this Kassite text by this researcher online at http://www.egw.org at VAN WYK.
One can also see the work of Stefan Maul "Divination culture and the handling of the future", in G. Leick, The Babylonian World (New York/London 2007), 361-372. In 1901 Claude H. W. Johns wrote a book An Assyrian doomsday book or Liber censualis of the district round Harran: in the seventh century B.C.
In 1925, C. J. Gadd published a number of Babylonian omen texts. It is part XXXVIII in that series. They are mostly from Niniveh and dates from 650 BCE. This particular genre, the omen texts are so called since a priest or seer called the baru-priest was claimed to be able to interpret strange happenings of daily life transforming it into a kind of prediction of a kind of future event that may happen.
Let us look at some ways in which the priest was supposed to predict the future:
1. Omens derived from the fanciful resemblances of the forms assumed by water poured on the ground.
2. Omens derived from incidents during the sinking of a well.
3. Omens derived from the position and fantastic forms of cracks (birsu) which appear in the walls of houses. The way it works is that there was a crack in the house and then this priest predicts some future evil to come and then suggest a ritual that should be carried out to avert that evil (Gadd 1925: 7).
4. Omens derived from the appearance of various visitants in the house, chiefly ghosts and especially ghosts of deceased members of the family. Sometimes it may be of the presence of cries of certain birds. "If a man sees the ghost of his father...." then follows a ritual that was to be carried out (Gadd 1925: 7).
5. Omens against serpents.
6. Scorpion omens. There are rituals and incantation against scorpion bites.
7. Omens derived from a lizard.
8. Omens derived from an insect called sasiru or the cricket/grasshopper.
9. Tablet 45 deals with omens derived from the actions of pigs and sows. The way it works is that the priest carefully observe how the sows litter and they see then something divine in it and predict the future (Gadd 1925: 8).
10. Omens derived from the actions of dogs.
In 1926 C. J. Gadd published some more of these Babylonian omens texts. It is part XXXIX in that series.
11. Omens derived from agricultural scenes and operations.
12. Omens from the growth of plants and crops.
13. Omens from the presence of plants in a city well.
13. Omens derived from observations of rivers (Tablet 61A) (Gadd 1926: 6).
14. Omens derived from the appearance and character of springs (Tablet 61B) (Gadd 1926: 6).
15. Omens derived by the flight and actions of a falcon (surdu, kususu) (Tablet 66).
16. Omens derived from the actions of ravens and eagles (aribu and aru) (Tablet 67).
17. Omens derived from the unnatural relations of dogs, swine, sheep, oxen, horses.
18. Omens derived from the observation of flames (Tablets 91-94) (Gadd 1926: 7).
19. The text D.T. 10 (Gadd 1926: 7) deals with omens related to consequences of a man's shoe being eaten by a pig, ass, or a horse and in the next paragraph deals with observations of the objects upon which a man might sit and on the reverse of this tablet, there are observations of nervous twitchings of various members of a persons body.
20. Omens after casting flour upon water.
21. Omens of the sounds man may hear when approaching a god (Tablet 95) (Gadd 1926: 8).
22. Omens from animals and birds that may cross the path of one on his way to prayer.
23. Omens from a man's relations with female members of his family.
24. Omens derived from relations of sexes.
25. Omens derived from family quarrels.
Eschatology in Canaanite Religion
John Day is known for his book trying to show that Canaanite myths are reflected in the Bible (John Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament [Cambridge: University Press, 1985], 174-175). We need to say something here about Canaanite studies. Ras Shamra or Ugarit is the city where they have found many texts dating to the years 1280-1180 BCE. Between the Dagon and Baal Temples on the hill religious texts were found related to Baal and Ashterot. People connect the content, phrases, words (M. Dahood) to Biblical Words and phrases. This is no problem. But, the problem starts when they postulate that the biblical writers copied their information from these cuneiform texts or their derivatives. This is a big problem. Moses' literature were composed between 1460-1410 BCE and thus predate these texts. The tension of Satan, snake and the Dragon with God could not have originated from Canaanite myths that postdate the texts of Moses by more than two centuries. This is the methodological dilemma of many famous scholars (O. Loretz et al) all over the world. The Habiru who left Egypt in 1450 BCE brought with them many hymns and Psalms and if Moses can compose Psalm 90 in his time, then they could also have had more Psalms in circulation. Thus, when the secular Habiru and religious Habiru parted ways and the secular Habiru settled at Rash Shamra, acculturation may have caused Mosaic and Habiru Psalms to be transformed in Baal myths and songs that will show comparisons to biblical Psalms of David, Solomon and others.
Eschatology in Jordan at Deir Alla
A Deir Alla text was found dating to the 7th-5th centuries BCE and it was written in Aramaic. The text starts with the lines: "[A strange vision of Bileam the son of Beor] the man who was a seer of the gods. Concerning him, the gods came to him in the night [and caused him to see a vision]" (see online text at http://www.egw.org at VANWYK NOTES).
Again, here is a case where the individual Bileam existed much earlier than the text and where the influence of events in 1411-1410 BCE are recast in a text written on a wall at Deir Alla.
Concluding remarks:
1. When the Bible shortly mentioned that Henoch expected a city of God (Hebrews) then one must accept that the criptic notes canonized by the Holy Spirit for us is true and that he indeed was also someone who had access to eschatology or teaching of the last things, which he of course believe and followed.
2. Ancient Near Eastern phenomena of prophecy and apocalyptic genres are here only touched upon.
3. Biblical eschatology is not a copy of Ancient Near Eastern eschatology since the Deir Alla text also proved that the text of Moses (Numbers) was the precursor to the Deir Alla text.
4. In similar vein, the so-called Canaanite connections of Psalms and other parts of the Old Testament that
5. Conventionalism on parallelomania is deviant on this issue by insisting that the Hebrews copied from the Ancient Near Eastern sources.
6. Biblical Eschatology did not originate with Zoroastrianism as some scholars tend to think.
End item
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Mission
