Friday, March 8, 2019
Mesopotamian and Egyptian Culture on the Creation of the Old Testament
The Bible has been around for so many eld now, thats why most people think that it is the most comprehensive accommodate on ancient archives. For whatever, it is even the basis for the creation of another(prenominal) scriptures of other religion, as well as the creation of other religions. However, record shows that in that respect are any(prenominal) important details that is the same in the Bible, the gray-headed Testament with the writings of other culture. This means that there are some significant parts of the holy book that might have been simulate with the writings in other religions or cultures.This means that no issuance how old the Bible is, its creation has been influenced by other cultures and other religions writings. The Epic of Gilgamesh Gilgamesh, the Sumerian King from the urban center of Uruk who lived and ruled around 2500 years B. C. There are no cover relations of relating the account on Gilgamesh with human history, other than that it was passed thro ugh enunciate of mouth some 3,700 years ago around 2100 B. C. as a part of the oldest works of literature that man knows of which is The Epic of Gilgamesh.As compared to the part of the take up of hejira wherein Moses liberates the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, it would be around 1300-1200 B. C. if ever it actually existed. save with these dates, that would make the stories of the Epic of Gilgamesh be around 800-900 years aged than that of the Old Testaments Book of Exodus. This is to build upon the facts of which of them comes first, so that it is easier to communicate which of them adopts the ideas of whom. Gilgamesh seemed to have encountered a great submerge as well, in The Epics of Gilgamesh.It was when Utanapishtim confided to Gilgamesh close to an old city where the gods might reside. It has been moved by the Greater Gods so that they can flood out the full region to purge the evil-doers. This is lots like the Great Flood which was inflicted by God in parade to punis h the human race. There were also groups of people who were spared, those who were given a warning before the punishment was actually inflicted. They were carefully instructed on what ship canal they will be spared and what they have to do for that matter.Noah was to build an ark with specific dimensions and materials, as for Gilgamesh, he was instructed to tear down a house and build a large boat with a roof. The similarities are obvious. They were some(prenominal) instructed to load up their boats with all animal life forms that they can find. Gilgamesh is considered to be the Babylonian Noah who has lived his spirit and took part in purging the world of sinful elements. The great flood will end all lives on earth, and the only thing that would unbosom them is through constructing a huge ark.This ark will also be make full with all types of animals for them survive the flood. These facts could mean that the part of the Bible telling about(predicate) Noah could be an adaptatio n of the earlier Epics of Gilgamesh, as manifested by their similarities in con cardinalt. Hammurabis Laws The sixth king of the Babylonian Dynasty, King Hammurabi, existed some clock time surrounded by 1792 to1750 B. C. and is the known author of the Code of Hammurabi. His existence was about 300 years earlier than that of Moses, the one who liberated the Hebrew slaves from their Egyptian masters, the one has been shown the ten dollar bill Commandments of the Lord.Again, this is to establish which comes first, who couldve copied whom, in the context of Moses and King Hammurabi. The fist concept was on the respect for parents, which established the importance of the family, the most basic unit of periodic life. According to Hammurabi, there should always be respect to ones parents. If a son has struck his father, hence the appropriate punishment would be to cut-off his arms. In Mosaic law, death awaits for those who cursed their father and mother and acted pig-headedly or reb elliously. Another important aspect would the vitality of marriage.According to Hammurabi, it is ok to aerate away ones wife as long as the husband provides sustenance for their children to be raised properly. On the other hand, Mosaic Law allowed divorce on the grounds that when a spouse is strand indecent or unfaithful. Both suggested death for both man and woman if ever they get caught committing adultery. Both has also forbade incest, wherein the punishment would be dire and would more or less be death. Another aspect that showed applicable similarities was on slavery. Both Hammurabi and Mosaic laws permitted to own slaves.However, they are also held liable(p) with the death of any of their slaves. They are the ones who are responsible for their slaves actions. Another operate of similarity is regarding theft. These cases are not to be treated lightly for both the Mosaic and Hammurabis laws. Mosaic law states that for those proven to have stolen something, they must(pren ominal) return it five folds if it was killed and if it was alive, it should be returned. Meanwhile, for Hammurabi, it would depend whether thirty or ten times over, depending on the social status.However, if one is caught on the act of robbery, then punishment would be death. The one that manifests great similarity was their point on the laws regarding physical injury. For Mosaic law, if the injury was not serious, the guilty person is fined and the gold will be given to the one who the damage was done to. But if the injury was serious, just like what Hammurabi said, it was right to take life for life, an ticker for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Hymn to Aton The Old Testament has also borrowed some texts from important Egyptian texts.The Hymn to the Great God Aton showed some relevant similarities with praises for the Lord, thanking him for all His blessings. Some passages on Psalms are the same with grave scriptures in the tomb of some relevant figures in Egyptian history to have ever existed. It may be a coincidence, but to bear almost similar thoughts on the same concepts would be nearly impossible. Sinai bargain The Sinai Covenant, as mediated by Moses, can be considered as the finally defining moments in the priestly history of the bond which is formed the bode entity and the human beings.The main components and proponents of this covenant are the brave people of Israel, and were but hampered by the laws and regulations being set by other books like Exodus and Leviticus. So, order to show their grateful nature, they have assigned a whole day for worship. It is the Sabbath day which is also the sign o that covenant, used to defend and uphold the laws. Having this Sabbath day is common for many cultures. This is because people devoted time and effort to their gods, thats why they have to assign certain old age for worship to the Lord. This is also a way to check on everyones faith in the religion that they belong to.
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