The Exodus Significant portions of the story told in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy may not have been intended to be historiographic, but the overall intent was historical according to the understanding of the ancient writers: to demonstrate God's actions in history, to recall Israel's bondage and salvation, and to demonstrate the fulfillment of Israel's covenant. No archeological evidence has been found to support the Book of Exodus and most archaeologists have abandoned the investigation of Moses and the Exodus as "a fruitless pursuit". The opinion of the overwhelming majority of modern biblical scholars is that the Pentateuch as we know it was shaped into its final form in the post-Exilic period, although the traditions behind the narrative are older and can be traced in the writings of the 8th century prophets. Origins of the Exodus story[edit] Historicity[edit] Numbers and logistics[edit] Archaeology[edit] Anachronisms[edit] Chronology[edit] Route and date[edit] Route[edit]
Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant (Hebrew: אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית ʾĀrôn Habbərît, modern pron. Aron Habrit), also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in the Book of Exodus[1] as containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed. According to some traditional interpretations of the Book of Exodus,[2] Book of Numbers,[3] and the Letter to the Hebrews,[4] the Ark also contained Aaron's rod, a jar of manna, and the first Torah scroll as written by Moses; however, the first of the Books of Kings says that at the time of King Solomon, the Ark contained only the two Tablets of the Law.[5] According to the Book of Exodus, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accordance with the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai.[6] God was said to have communicated with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover.[7] Biblical account[edit] Construction and description[edit] Mobile vanguard[edit] Capture by the Philistines[edit] In Solomon's Temple[edit]
Menelik I Menelik I (called Bäynä Ləkḥəm in the Kebra Nagast; also named Ebna la-Hakim, Arabic: Ibn Al-Hakim, "Son of the Wise"[1]), first Solomonic Emperor of Ethiopia, is traditionally believed to be the son of King Solomon of ancient Israel and Makeda, ancient Queen of Sheba (in modern Ethiopia). He is alleged to have ruled around 950 BC, according to traditional sources.[2][3] Tradition credits him with bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia, following a visit to Jerusalem to meet his father upon reaching adulthood. According to the Kebra Nagast, King Solomon had intended on sending one son of each of his nobles and one son of each temple priest with Menelik upon his return to his mother's kingdom. According to legend, he founded the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopia that ruled Ethiopia with few interruptions for close to three thousand years (and 225 generations later ended with the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974). Popular culture[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Garden of Eden The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel.[2] The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 14, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.[3] Traditionally, the favoured derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe". Biblical narratives[edit] Eden in Genesis[edit] The second part of the Genesis creation narrative, in Genesis 2:4–3:24, opens with "the LORD God"(v.7) creating the first man (Adam), whom he placed in a garden that he planted "eastward in Eden". The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Eden in Ezekiel[edit] Proposed locations[edit]
Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba (Hebrew: מלכת שבא, Malkaṯ Šəḇâ in Biblical Hebrew; Malkat Sh'va in Modern Hebrew; Ge'ez: ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nigiste Saba (Nəgəstä Saba); Arabic: ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ) was a monarch of the ancient kingdom of Sheba and is referred to in Yemenite and Ethiopian history, the Bible, the Qur'an, Yoruba customary tradition, and Josephus. She is widely assumed to have been a queen regnant, but, since there is no historical proof of this, she may have been a queen consort.[9] The location of her kingdom is uncertain. Wallis Budge believes it to be Ethiopia[10] while Islamic tradition says Yemen. More modern scholarship suggests it was the South Arabian kingdom of Saba.[11] Diverse references[edit] The queen of Sheba has been called a variety of names by different peoples in different times. In the Ethiopian Book of Aksum, she is described as establishing a new capital city at Azeba, while the Kebra Negast refers to her building a capital at Debra Makeda, or "Mount Makeda". Story[edit]
Solomon According to the Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets.[4] In the Qur'an, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David. Biblical account[edit] Succession[edit] Cornelis de Vos, The Anointing of Solomon . According to 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon was anointed by Zadok. According to the biblical First Book of Kings, when David was old, "he could not get warm Adonijah asked to marry Abishag the Shunammite, but Solomon disallowed that, although Bathsheba now pleaded on Adonijah's behalf. Wisdom[edit] Artist's depiction of Solomon's court (Ingobertus, c. 880) One of the qualities most ascribed to Solomon is his wisdom. "And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. The judgment of Solomon (painting on ceramic), Castelli, IT: Lille Museum of Fine Arts, 18th century . Solomon is also noted as one of many authors of Wisdom literature.
Paradise Lost Epic poem by John Milton Composition[edit] In his introduction to the Penguin published edition of Paradise Lost, the Milton scholar John Leonard notes: "John Milton was nearly sixty when he published Paradise Lost in 1667. Leonard also notes that Milton "did not at first plan to write a biblical epic". Publication[edit] In the 1667 version of Paradise Lost, the poem was divided into ten books. Synopsis[edit] The poem follows the epic tradition of starting in medias res (lit. At several points in the poem, an Angelic War over Heaven is recounted from different perspectives. The story of Adam and Eve's temptation and fall is a fundamentally different, new kind of epic:[further explanation needed] a domestic one. Meanwhile, Satan returns triumphantly to Hell, amid the praise of his fellow fallen angels. Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden, and Michael says that Adam may find "a paradise within thee, happier far". Characters[edit] Satan[edit] Adam[edit] Adam is the first human created by God. C.
Mesopotamia Map showing the extent of Mesopotamia Mesopotamia (from the Ancient Greek: Μεσοποταμία: "[land] between rivers"; Arabic: بلاد الرافدين (bilād al-rāfidayn); Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ (Beth Nahrain): "land of rivers") is a name for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, corresponding to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, the northeastern section of Syria and to a much lesser extent southeastern Turkey and smaller parts of southwestern Iran. Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization in the West, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of modern-day Iraq. In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. The indigenous Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. Etymology Geography History Periodization Literature