Today's lecture was about Hezekiah's Jerusalem. Basically, this is the period where Jerusalem splits up into Judah and Israel.
Sequence of Events
1. Rehoboam (Solomon's son) is a harsh king
2. Split of Jerusalem into Israel and Judah
- Rehoboam (Judah) asks Pharaoh Shoshenq (Egypt) for help
- Baasha (Israel) attacks Judah
- Asa (Judah) asks Ben-Hadad (Syria) for help
- Jehu (Israel) asks Shalmaneser III (Assyria) for help; (black obelisk of Shalmaneser III)
3. Rise of the Assyrian Empire (I'm a little confused of the details here!)
- Tiglath-Pileser III (Assyria) conquers many lands
- Syria & the north attack Judah. So Ahaz (Judah) asks Shalmaneser V (Assyria) for help, and Israel is defeated; Israel is reinforced under Assyria with Hoshea as king
- The north try to get help from Egypt (is this right?)
- Sargon II (Assyria) continues policy of deportation
- Sennacherib (Assyria) conquers Philistia and Judah (but not Jerusalem)
- Esarhaddon (Assyria) conquers Egypt
3. Assyria takes over Israel (Seems like Jerusalem is a land protected by God), and Israel is no more
- Military tactics = kill (surround and starve a city), take over (deportations), brag, and intimidate (crucifixions, decapitated heads on spears, Sennacherib's Palace Reliefs)
5. With Israel gone, --> growth of Jerusalem to the west
- Urbanization
- Industrialization (olive oil, wine)
- Centralization of power; need for taxing and administration (lamellics - royal seal impressions, LMLK - for the king) (What is MMST??)
- Population increase
- Social dislocation
- Family structure: extended --> nuclear)
- Different religious views arise
- Urban vs. rural traditions clash
- Social justice: craft specialization --> social classes
- Assyrians adopt Aramaic language (seals and ostraca receipts)
4. Hezekiah's reign - prepare to rebel against Assyria
- Stockpile grains ("broad" wall)
- Gain water (Hezekiah's Tunnel - Graffito, 2 Kings 20:20, "Israel" pool)
- Administration (royal storage jars w/ LMLK seal impression)
5. Josaiah's reign
Major Themes
1. Weak states must pay tribute to powerful nations (Assyria, Egypt) for protection, or simply to avoid being killed.
2. The north was always viewed as being "evil," and the bible is even written from the southern point of view; all their misfortune is attributed to their disobedience of God
Questions
1. 2 Kings 25 says that Ishmael "...son of Elishama, who was of royal blood," killed "Gedaliah [the governor of Judah appointed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon] and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians", and this made people fear the Babylonians and flee to Egypt. What side/country is Ishmael from? Why would someone kill the King of Judah appointed by the Babylonians, men of Judah, and the Babylonians? Google says Ishmael is the first son of Abraham, father to the 12 tribes...
2. It seems like Judah is the "chosen land," while Israel is the "rebellious land." I'm having trouble completely believing this distinction, as there were numerous evil kings also in Judah. Additionally, Judah is also destroyed at the end (as said in Malachi). How can Judah be the chosen nation?
There are so many similar names that confuse you! For example, Jeroboam (King of Israel) & Rehoboam (King of Judah). Were they both sons of Solomon because their names both ended in -boam? Another prime example: In 2 Kings 22-25, after Josiah, Jehoahaz becomes King of Judah, then Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin.... Super confusing, right?
What was the point of powerful nations like Assyria and Babylon setting up new kings that were loyal to them in the lands they conquered? Why didn't they just add on this new land and rule it themselves? That way, they wouldn't have to worry about rebellion. Perhaps it is because the fusion of cultures was inconvenient.
Why is the word "Israel" so prevalent in Christianity? It almost has a positive connotation, and God is sometimes referred to as the "God of Israel." Why would this be so if Israel was a disobedient nation in the eyes of God?
This background knowledge has shed a LOTTTTTTT of light in my readings and basic understanding of history. (:
No comments:
Post a Comment