Old Testament Essentials 4

Front 1

Significant Foreign Kings

Back 1

Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Cyrus, and Ahasueras/Xerxes

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Sennacherib

Back 2

(704-681 BC): Assyrian king who invaded Judah during Hezekiah’s reign

Front 3

Nebuchadnezzar

Back 3

(605-562 BC): King of Babylon who invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took the people of Judah into exile

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Belshazzar

Back 4

(550?-539): Babylonian king who called for Daniel to interpret the cryptic handwriting on the wall

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Cyrus

Back 5

(559/539-530): King of Persia who conquered Babylon twenty years later and allowed the Jews to return to their land and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem

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Ahasueras/Xerxes

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(486-464): Son of Darius the Great and the Persian king in the book of Esther; known for his wars with the Greeks

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Ancient Near Eastern Literature

Back 7

Enuma Elish, Gilgamesh, Treaty/Covenant, and Atrahasis Epic

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Enuma Elish

Back 8

Babylonian praise hymn to their chief god Marduk, recounting his ascension to the head of the pantheon. Dates to ca. 1200 BC and contains a creation account

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Gilgamesh

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Epic from second millennium BC that records the exploits of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and his companion, Enkidu, and ultimately the king’s search for immortality. Includes an account of a devastating flood that destroyed humanity

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Treaty/Covenant

Back 10

Hittite treaties from second millennium BC and Assyrian treaties from first millennium that use a literary format similar to that which the Old Testament uses for the covenant

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Atrahasis Epic

Back 11

Akkadian text from early in second millennium BC that has an account of creation, followed by population growth and then a flood that destroys the human race

Front 12

House of David Inscription

Back 12

Fragments of an Aramaic royal inscription that recounts a defeat of the kings of Israel and Judah by an Aramean king in the 9th century [Hazael]. Identifies the king of Judah as belonging to the house of David—the only reference to David in contemporary sources outside of the Bible

Front 13

Sennacherib Prism

Back 13

Royal inscription of the Assyrian king, telling of his siege of Jerusalem at the time of Hezekiah

Front 14

Balaam Text of Deir ‘Allah

Back 14

Painted text on a plaster wall from the eighth century BC, recording a prophecy of Balaam about the displeasure of the divine council

Front 15

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

Back 15

Royal inscription & relief that record the paying of tribute by Israelite king Jehu and portrays him bowing before the Assyrian king [841 BC]

Front 16

Silver Scrolls

Back 16

Small, rolled silver amulet containing Numbers 6:24-26—oldest portion of Scripture found (7th century BC)

Front 17

Merneptah Stele

Back 17

Royal inscription by an Egyptian Pharaoh concerning his conquests from just before 1200. Includes the earliest mention of Israel outside the Bible

Front 18

Hammurabi Stele

Back 18

Collection of legal sayings from about 1750 BC, gathered by the Babylonian king to demonstrate his wisdom to the gods and the future kings

Front 19

Cyrus Cylinder

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Decree written by Cyrus proclaiming freedom of a group of people to rebuild their temple with help from the treasury, just as the Bible indicates he did for Israel

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Mount Sinai

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Mountain where God appeared and gave the law to Moses. Exact location unknown but traditionally placed in the southern Sinai Peninsula

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Mount Zion

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Elevated section of Jerusalem where the temple was situated

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Valley of Jezreel

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Flat, fertile section of land that cuts E-W across Israel from Mount Carmel in the west to the towns of Jezreel and Beth-shean near the Jordan River just south of the Sea of Galilee

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Shephelah

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Rolling hills that transition from the high central mountains around Jerusalem to the coastal plains where the Philistine cities were located

Front 24

Coastal Road

Back 24

Main route from Egypt up to Syria and over to Mesopotamia, used by merchants and armies alike. Began in Memphis, Egypt, crossed the northern Sinai, turned north up the coast, then jogged east through the Valley of Jezreel and over to Damascus. Continued northeast until it reached the northwestern spur of the Euphrates

Front 25

Negev

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Area south of the hill country of Judah, bordered on the south by a steppe region called the “wilderness.” Focal point: the valley east of Beersheba over to Arad, extending about 10 miles north and south of Beersheba

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Jordan Valley

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Deep depression marking a fault line through which the Jordan River flows. Lowest elevation on earth, going down to about 1,300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea

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Central Hill Country

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Ridge of mountains running N-S through Israel from north of Hebron down to the Valley of Jezreel

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Judean Wilderness

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Arid section of wilderness running N-S between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley and the upper section of the Dead Sea

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Transjordanian Plateau

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Steppe region running N-S on east side of the Jordan Valley