Iraq and the Bible
Bryant G. Wood
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PREVIEW A
History of the Christian Church Williston Walker
We are becoming increasingly
familiar with the topography of Iraq as we watch TV news reports and read
newspaper accounts of events unfolding there. Iraq, about the size of
California, is ancient Mesopotamia, Greek for "in the midst of the
rivers." The rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, played a key role in the
development of civilization in this region. The easternmost river, the Tigris,
has its headwaters in eastern Turkey and flows past Mosul (ancient Nineveh),
Tikrit, Baghdad, Kut and Basra. The Euphrates begins in east-central Turkey and
flows past Karbala, Hilah (ancient Babylon) and Nasiriyah.
Iraq is called the "Cradle of Civilization," as evidence has been
found there for the earliest writing system, urban centers, literature,
metallurgy, science, medicine and business, as reflected in the Bible (Gn 2:14;
4:21-22; 10:10-11; 11:1-5). Our modern culture has its roots in ancient Iraq.
Biblical names for the southern part of ancient Mesopotamia include Shinar
(ancient Sumer), Chaldea, and Babylon, and for the northern area, Assyria. The
ancient language of the region is called Akkadian, named after the city of
Akkad, one of the cities founded by Nimrod in Shinar (Gn 10:10). The language
was written in cuneiform, or "wedge-shaped," characters impressed
into clay tablets with a wedge-shaped stylus. There are tens of thousands of
archaeological sites in this celebrated land. Starting in the south, we shall
point out Biblical connections to some of the many discoveries that have been
made in this country so rich with ancient history and archaeological remains.
These connections cluster around two time periods: the time of the Patriarchs,
i.e., the Early Bronze and the first part of the Middle Bronze Ages, and the
time of the Divided Monarchy, the Iron Age.
Ur
Located ten miles southwest of Nasiriyah, Ur is most famous as the hometown
of Abraham. He migrated from Ur to Haran in southern Turkey, the actual
homeland of the Patriarchs, and then to Canaan (Gn 11:31; 12:15). Evidence for
a very advanced culture from Abraham’s day has been unearthed at Ur. Its
restored ziggurat, or temple tower, is often shown in news reports. A temple to
the moon god Nanna, or Sin, was situated on the top of the tower. The name of
the Babylonian king Belshazzar (Dan 5) appeared for the first time in a text
found in a foundation deposit of the temple. Scholars once said the Bible was
wrong in naming Belshazzar as king when the Persians conquered Babylon, since
the known records indicated that Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon. What
the foundation deposit tablet, along with other subsequently found texts,
revealed was that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and coregent with his
father. While Nabonidus was away campaigning, which he loved to do, Belshazzar
was left to run the country from Babylon. Thus, Belshazzar offered Daniel the
position of "third highest ruler in the kingdom" if he would decipher
the handwriting on the wall (Dan 5:16). This was the highest available office
in the kingdom, since Nabonidus was number one and his son Belshazzar was
number two. Instead of being in error, the Bible precisely reflected the
political situation that existed in ancient Babylon at the time of its fall to
the Medes and Persians.
Uruk (=Erech)
Twenty-five miles east of Samawah is Erech, another of the world’s earliest
cities built by Nimrod (Gn 10:10). Excavations there have shown that it indeed
was one of the oldest cities in the world and a key city in the Sumerian
culture.
Babylon
The expansive ruins of Babylon are located a few miles north of Hilah and
about 25 miles south of Baghdad. Founded by Nimrod (Gn 10:10), it was one of
the most famous cities in the ancient world. Babylon was capital of the
Babylonian empire that ruled the world from 612 to 539 BC. Five of its kings
are named in the Bible: Merodach-Baladan (2 Kgs 20:12), Nebuchadnezzar II
destroyer of Jerusalem in 586 BC (2 Kgs 24-25, etc.), Evil-Merodach (2 Kgs
25:27-30; Jer 52:31-34), Nergal-Sharezer (Jer 39:3, 13) and Belshazzar (Dan 5).
Many important finds have been made at Babylon, including the foundations of
the "Tower of Babel" (Gn 11:18), the royal palace built by
Nebuchadnezzar where God pronounced judgment on the Babylonian Empire by means
of the handwriting on the wall (Dan 5), records detailing rations given to King
Jehoiachin and his family who had been taken to Babylon as captives (2 Kgs
24:15), the Babylonian Chronicle detailing the capture of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar March 16, 597 BC, and the Cyrus Cylinder recording the fall of
Babylon (in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy) in 539 BC and the subsequent
freeing of captives so they could return to their native lands as was the case
with the Judeans (2 Chr 36:23; Ezra 1:24, 6:35).
Baghdad
One of the tragedies of the war in Iraq, and perhaps the greatest
archaeological tragedy of all time, was the looting of the National Museum
following the capture of Baghdad by U.S. forces. Mobs ransacked the
museum, grabbing treasures dating back to the dawn of civilization in
Mesopotamia. "They have looted or destroyed 170,000 items of
antiquity...They were worth billions of dollars," said deputy director
Nabhal Amin, weeping. Some of the world’s most important ancient finds
chronicling the achievements of the Uruk, Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian,
Persian and early Islamic civilizations were there. Included were mankind’s
earliest written documents, ancient mathematical texts, ancient sculptures and
other works of art. Also the riches from the royal death pits at Ur from the
late third millennium BC and tablets of the Gilgamesh Epic describing a great
flood with many elements similar to those of Noah’s Flood (building an ark,
taking animals on board, releasing birds). Museums in other parts of the
country were looted as well.
Nuzi
Located eight miles southwest of Kirkuk, the oil capital of the north, Nuzi
was a center of the Hurrian culture. The Hurrians are called Horites, Hivites
and Jebusites in the Bible. About 3,500 tablets were found there dating from
1600 to 1400 BC. Many of the tablets deal with laws and customs and provide
some of the best available evidence for the common social, economic and legal
practices in the ancient world. Such things as a childless couple adopting a
slave to be their heir (Gn 15:23), having children by proxy (Gn 16:12),
deathbed blessings (Gn 27, 4849) and the importance of household gods (Gn
31:19, 30) are illuminated in the texts.
Calah
Calah, 20 miles southeast of Mosul, is one of three cities referred to as
the "Assyrian Triangle." Along with Nineveh and Khorsabad, Calah was
an important center of the Assyrian Empire that flourished ca. 900-612 BC.
Nimrod built it when he went from Shinar to Assyria (Gn 10:10-11). Two Assyrian
kings mentioned in the Bible ruled from Calah: Tiglath-Pileser III, also called
"Pul" (2 Kgs 15:19, 29; 16:7, 10), and Shalmaneser III (2 Kgs 17:36,
24; 18:9). The ruins of the palace of Tiglath-Pileser III were found, including
his annals recording his campaigns to Israel mentioned in 2 Kings 15:19-20 (740
BC) and 2 Kings 15:29 (732 BC). In addition, three Israelite kings who paid him
tribute are named (Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea), as well as one king of Judah
(Ahaz). A prize find was made in the palace of Shalmaneser III - the so-called
"Black Obelisk" that depicts Jehu, king of Israel, bowing before
Shalmaneser III as he presents tribute.
Tell al-Rimah
In 1967, a stela of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari III was found at Tell
al-Rimah, 40 miles west of Mosul. It records a campaign to the west in which
Adad-nirari received tribute from Jehoash, king of Israel.
Nineveh
Located at Mosul, Nineveh was also founded by Nimrod (Gn 10:11). Walls
nearly eight miles long enclose an area of 1,700 acres. There were outlying
suburbs as well, so that when Jonah went there in the early eighth century BC
it took him three days to traverse the city (Jon 3:3). Although Nineveh
repented at Jonah’s preaching (Jon 3:5) the revival was short-lived. The
Assyrians were soon back to their cruel practices and God ultimately brought
the empire to an end, as predicted by the prophets Nahum and Zephaniah.
Nineveh was most famous as the capital city of Sennacherib, the greatest of the
Neo-Assyrian kings. Portions of his fabulous palace covering three large city blocks
have been excavated. Painted sculptured reliefs depicting his exploits lined
the walls. Many records were also found. The Bible tells of Sennacherib’s
campaign against Judah in 701 BC (2 Kgs 18:18-19:36). In the Assyrian version,
Sennacherib states that he shut Hezekiah in Jerusalem "like a bird in a
cage." He could not boast of capturing Jerusalem, because an angel of the
Lord decimated his army and he was forced to return to Nineveh (2 Kgs
19:35-36). His most significant accomplishment, in 701, was the defeat of
Lachish (2 Kgs 18:14, 17; 19:8). One entire room in Sennacherib’s palace was
devoted to this event. The walls were lined with reliefs, now in the British
Museum in London, depicting the city and the battle. Sennacherib is seen seated
on a throne reviewing a procession of captives and booty being brought out of
the city.
The next two kings, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, are also referred to in the
Bible at 2 Kings 19:37 and Ezra 4:10, respectively. Their records mention
Manasseh king of Judah. He supplied building materials for Esarhaddon’s palace
at Nineveh and troops for Ashurbanipal’s invasion of Egypt. One of the most
significant finds at Nineveh was the library of Ashurbanipal which comprised
about 1,500 different texts, some with multiple copies, including archival,
literary, magical, medical, divinatory and ritual tablets. It was here that the
famous Epic of Gilgamesh, with its flood story, was first discovered.
Khorsabad
At Khorsabad, 15 miles northeast of Mosul, is the site of Dur Sharrukin,
"fortress of Sargon," ruler of the Assyrian Empire 721-705 BC. Prior
to 1847, Sargon was known only from Isaiah 20:1 where it says, "In the
year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod
and attacked and captured it." Since his name did not appear in classical
sources, scholars concluded that the Sargon in the Bible was not a bona fide
king, but rather an alias for some other Assyrian ruler. Ironically, Sargon was
the first name of an Assyrian king to be read from Assyrian inscriptions when,
in 1847, his vast palace of more than 200 rooms and 30 courtyards, with
sculptured reliefs and written records, was excavated at Khorsabad.
Sargon campaigned in the Palestine region three times, 720, 716/715 and 712/711
BC, turning Israel into an Assyrian province and Judah into a vassal state in
the process. In 720 BC, following the initial defeat of Samaria by his
predecessor Shalmaneser V, Sargon boasted of deporting 27,280 Israelites to
Assyria. In 712/711 BC he turned his attention to Ashdod and the area of
Philistia. According to Isaiah 20:1, he sent his commander-in-chief (tartân)
to capture the city. Assyrian records verify that Sargon remained in his
capital at Khorsabad, stating that he stayed "in the land," no doubt
to supervise the construction of his palace.
The Future of Iraq
What lies ahead for Iraq? In the short term we pray for a quick end to
hostilities, and peace, stability and prosperity for the Iraqi people. In the
long term, God said through the prophet Isaiah, "In that day there will be
a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the
Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship [the Lord]
together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a
blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be
Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance'" (Is
19:23-25).