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    D.  Cylinder seal of Gilgamesh and Enkidu slaying the bull of heaven.  600s B.C.
        1.  Style:  Stylized, or representational.  Forms become generalized, rather than detailed.
        2.  Content: Mesopotamian myth of Gilgamesh.
        3.  Medium: Cylinder made of brown agate, for impressions on clay tablets.
        4.  Other:
a. size: 3,9 cm, diam. 1,6 cm ONLY ONE OF FIVE SIMILAR REMAINING SEALS.
b. Enkidu, wearing a short kilt decorated with rosettes, hair and beard in curls, an axe in one hand, holding the tail of the Bull of Heaven in the other
c. the winged human-headed bull crouches down on its foreleg
d. in front Gilgamesh, wearing long fringed robe with rosettes, a double horned headdress, long curled hair and beard, holding one of the bull's horns while plunging his sword into its neck.
5. About Cylinder Seals
Among other Sumerian arts, one of the most sophisticated was the cylinder seal, a small carved cylinder of stone or metal, that, when rolled over seals of moist clay, would leave the reverse image of its carving in relief as an identifying mark or signature. Used to mark documents and property, the cylinders were worn on a wristband or necklace during their owners' lifetime and were buried with them.

    E. Gudea of Lagash 2150-2100 B.C.
1. Content: Gudea was a ruler during the second Sumerian state over the city-state Lagash.  He is depicted as serene and religious.
2. Style: Sculpture
3. Medium: mixture of quartz and stone
4. Purpose: One of many statues.  Probably commissioned by him and placed in temples.  
5. Inscription: “Gudea, the man who built the temple, may his life be long.”

    Sumerian Art
I. What are major themes for Sumerian Art?
    A. Sumerian art is primarily associated with their religion.  They saw movement around them as the magic of spirits, magic being the only explanation they had for how things worked. These spirits were their gods.
    B. Records of kings rule, business transactions within a province, agricultural records.

II. Examples of their art.
A.  Ram caught in a thicket c. 2650-2550 B.C.
1. Content: Goat, possibly represents the god TAMMUZ, who was the god of renewal, rebirth, and male strength.
2. Medium: Wood statue covered in old, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, red limestone
and bitumen 42.5 cm height.

3. Style? Classical Sumerian.  

B.  Bull headed lyre 2650 – 2550 B.C.
1. Content: The sound box of the lyre is decorated with scenes one with a partial deity wrestling two bulls, the focus of the piece is a head of a bull.
2. Medium:  Wood decorated with gold, lapis-and-shell inlays and a bull’s head made of sheet gold with tufts of hair and a beard of lapis lazuli..  35.6 cm height of head, 33 cm height of plaque
4. Style: Classic Sumerian.
5. Function:  A large wooden Lyre. This is one of the oldest known musical instruments
6. Where? Found near the body of a musician who may have played during burial ceremonies.
    

    
    C. Tell Asmar Statues 2700-2600 B.C.?
         1. Content: humans and gods from various social statuses.        
2. Medium: clay, (wood and stone, marble- imported)
3. Style:  Sculpture
a. representational, not life-like.  Each statue is generally the same in form, with large eyes focused upward.
b.  The size of the god corresponds with status.  The largest ones were gods (30 in. tall), the smaller ones were priests and the smallest were worshippers of the gods.
4. Found in a man-made mound.
5. Function: Used to represent deceased individuals in religious ritual services.

Mesopotamian Gods and Religion
I. Three types of religions
    A. Polytheism-the belief that there are many gods
    B. Atheism-the belief in no gods.
    C. Monotheism-the belief in only one god.
    D. Pantheism-the belief that nature is god.
II. The four major gods of Mesopotamia
    A. An/Anu-the god of the sky, the high one
        1. the most important force in the universe
        2. He gave earthly rulers and fathers their authority
        3. He was the king of gods, demons and spirits
        4.     “What you have ordered comes true!
                   The utterance of prince and lord is but what you have ordered.
            O An! Your great command takes precedence, who could oppose it?
            O father of the gods, you command the very foundations of heaven and earth.”
    B. Enlil-the god of the wind
        1. the second greatest power in the universe
2. He represented both good wind that gives fertile soil (rain) as well as destructive storms
        3.     “What has he planned
            What is in my father’s heart?
            What is in Enlil’s holy mind?
            What has he planned against me in his holy mind?
            A net he spread the net of an enemy; a snare he set:
            The snare of an enemy.
            He has stirred up the waters and will catch the fish,
            He has cast his net, and will bring down the birds too.
    C. Enki-the god of the earth/waters
        1. the god of inventions and creativity, wisdom and magic
        2. Lived in the underwater abyss.
        
    D. Ninhursaga-“mother of all children”
        1. The mother goddess
        2. Began as a goddess of vegetation and soil
        3. Gave birth to kings and placed royalty upon them
III. The lesser deities were grandchildren of An.
    A. Utu-sun (Shamash)
    B. Nannar-moon
    C. Inanna-goddess of the morning and evening (stars/war/rain)
IV. What is man’s relationship to the gods?
    A. Man was created to do manual labor for the gods.    
    B. Man can manipulate the gods by magic and fortune telling
    C. Man depends on god, god depends on man.
V. In what ways did they practice magic and fortune telling?
    A. by looking at the organs of animals
    B. reading smoke
    C. interpreting dreams
    D. reading the stars
    E. examining body features


VI. How did they practice magic?
    A. cultic spells and formulas
    B. images with magic power
    C. chants to ward off evil spirits
VII. Why?
    A. to know the plans and intents of the gods
    B. to know how to act wisely
VIII. Why are magic and fortune telling wrong?
    A. They attempt to reduce God to a thing or force of nature which can be controlled.
        1. God cannot be directed (Job 23:13-15, Deuteronomy 32:39-40)
        2. He does what he pleases (Isaiah 44, 45, Malachi 3:6)
        3. God does not change (Num. 23:19, Eccl 3:14)        
B. The only one who knows the future is God, any attempt to know the future apart from what he has revealed is forbidden by him. (Lev. 19: 26-33, Deut. 13:1-5, Isaiah 44:24-26, Deut. 18)
C. God has told us what true wisdom is and how we should live. (Prov.2, Micah 6:8, Ex. 20-23)

God of Abraham                    The gods of Mesopotamia    
The sovereign God controls all nature            forces of nature and not all-powerful    
Personal                        impersonal
Unchanging                        can be manipulated
Man is made valuable in God’s image             man exists to be slaves for the gods
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The Akkadians
I. Led by their ruler, Sargon, they conquered the first Sumerian city-states.
II. The Akkadian Empire was the first in history; and while it prospered under his rule, it soon collapsed after his death.
The Second Sumerian State
I. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, the Sumerians became united under the leadership of kings and priests
II. The capital of this Sumerian state was Ur, which was a thriving seaport 6 miles from the Euphrates and less than 100 miles from the Persian Gulf.
III. Around 1900 B.C., Ur was destroyed and Mesopotamia became a land of chaos for 200 years or so.  The second Sumerian state had ended.
Abraham (c.2000 B.C.)
I. Abraham is a descendant of Noah’s son Shem; this is the line of promise.
II. What do we know about Abram as a person?
A. He was a Sumerian from Ur who followed God’s command to leave his country, not knowing exactly where he was going. (Gen. 12:1-4, Heb. 11:8-10)
B. A wealthy nomad who lived in tents. (Gen. 13:2)
C. Had his own army from (Gen. 14:14-16)
III. Why is Abram important?
    A. He is the father of the nation Israel.  It is with him that the nation begins. He is the patriarch of Israel. (Father Leader)
    B. Through Abram, all the families/nations of the earth would be blessed. (Gen. 12:3)
1. The promised one would come from his family.  Christ is a gift for the nations. (Gal. 3:7-14, 16-18, 26-29, Romans 4:16-25)
2. He is the father of not only the nation of Israel, but also the father of all who believe. (Gal. ???) The same faith which he had is what we must have to be saved.
IV. Questions about Abraham
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Hammurabi and the Old Babylonian Empire (c. 1750 B.C.)
I. Who was Hammurabi?
A. by organizing and having a well disciplined army, he gains control of Sumer and unifies Mesopotamia under the Old Babylonian Empire.
    B. Declared himself the “Sun of Babylon, the king who made all four corners subservient.”
C. Hammurabi believed that he was the earthly representative of the Babylonian Sun god,     Shamash (Marduk) and answered only to him.
II. What was the code of Hammurabi?
    A. Although not the first written law in history, it is the most complete for its time. (c. 1750)
    B. Made of 282 different laws, it gives us insight into their daily lives.
III. What does it mean that Hammurabi promulgated his laws?
    A. It means that he made them known.  
    B. How did he make them known?
1. They were carved on a stone and placed in the middle of the city for everyone to see.
    C. Why is this important?
        1. People must know the laws so that they can follow them.
IV. Where did Hammurabi claim the laws came from?  How did he use this to his advantage?
A. He claimed that the sun-god, Shamash gave them to him.  If the laws came from the god, then the people had a greater obligation to obey them.
V. What were the laws like?
    A. penalties were often severe and unjust.
    B. the status of an individual often determined the punishment.
        See Deut. 1:16-17, 10:17, 16:19, James 2:9
    C. women and children were not treated as equals (some people are more valuable)
        Deuteronomy 24:17


VI. Give specific examples of his laws.
    A. 5- a judge can be fined and lose his job if he makes a false judgment.
    B. 3-those who bring capital charges against another are put to death if charges are false.
C. 8-a thief must pay in proportion to what he steals-if he cannot pay, he will lose his life. (Ex. 22:1-9)
    D. 14-kidnapping is worthy of death (Ex. 21:16)
    E. 21-22-robbing homes is a capital offense
    F. 53-55-those who damage another’s goods by negligence must repay in full (Ex. 22:14-15)
    G. 129-two people committing adultery are put to death, the husband may pardon his wife.
    H. 195-ifyou strike your father, your hands are to be cut off (Ex. 21:15)
    I. 196-97-eye for eye, bone for bone (Deut. 19:21)
    J. 209-212-striking and killing woman and or child bears a small fine.    

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The Epic of Gilgamesh
I. Overview
    A. Gilgamesh is the earliest hero in world literature
B. He could have possibly been a historical king who lived around 2150 BC and ruled over the city of Uruk.
C. The story was not the work of a single author, but was passed on orally before being written down in cuneiform on clay tablets.
    D. This would have been a well known story to the people of Mesopotamia.

II. The Main Characters
A. Gilgamesh-He is the hero of the story. He is the king of Uruk, wise, strong, and handsome, but he treats his people harshly. He is 2/3 god and 1/3 human.
B. Enkidu-He is created to be a rival to Gilgamesh.  He is a wild beast of a man who eventually is tamed. 
C. The gods- are working behind the scenes, but they quarrel and struggle with each other and mankind.  Not all powerful.
D. Utnapishtim-the sole survivor of the flood, spared by Enki (Ea), Enlil becomes furious, however, Utnapishtim is given eternal life by the gods.
E. Humbaba-the guardian of the Cedar forest. Gilgamesh and Enkidu make it their job to fight him.
F. Ishtar-the daughter of Anu and the goddess of love. She tries to get Giilgamesh to marry her, but he will not.
III. The Plot
    A. Chapter 1
1. What kind of a king is Gilgamesh toward his people? What do the people ask the gods for?
        2. What was Enkidu like when he was first created?
        3. Why was Enkidu created?
        4. Gilgamesh has two dreams, what are they about?
        5. How does Enkidu boast against Gilgamesh?
6. How does the battle between Gilgamesh and Enkidu go? Who wins? And what happens after the fight?
    B. Chapter 2
        1. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh that he is meant to be a king, what is it that he cannot have?
        2. Why does Gilgamesh want to go to the Cedar forest? 
        3. Describe Humbaba.
        4. Who is afraid of Humbaba? Why is the other not? Do both have times of fear?
        5. What dream of a mountain does Gilgamesh have?
        6. What happens to Gilgamesh after cutting down the tree in Humbaba’s forest?
        7. How did Shamash help the two in defeating Humbaba?
8. Humbaba challenges Enkidu for Gilgamesh’s friendship, begging for mercy and promises to be his servant. Who does Gilgamesh choose? How does the other die?
    C. Chapter 3
1.Why does Gilgamesh refuse to marry the goddess Ishtar? What one example proves his point?
2. What is Ishtar’s reaction to Gilgamesh?  Who does she go to? What does she ask for?
3. Who killed the Bull of Heaven?
4. What does Enkidu do with the thigh of the Bull?
5. Does Gilgamesh get what he wanted when he returns to Uruk?
6. What do the gods decree concerning Enkidu?  Is their decision unanimous?
        7. How does Gilgamesh describe the afterlife?
        8. How does Gilgamesh want his friend remembered?
    D. Chapter 4
1. What is Gilgamesh’s new journey in chapter four? Why does he go on it? What does he fear?
        2. Who is guarding the way to the mountains of Mashu?
        3. What is the journey through the mountains like? What is on the other side?
        4. What is Shamash’s advice for Gilgamesh?
5. What does Siduri, the wine maker say Gilgamesh is searching for?  What advice does she have for him?
    SEE ECCLESIASTES 2:1-11, 3:18-22
6. What is Gilgamesh’s appearance like? And why do they keep mentioning it?
7. Who is Urshanabi?
8. What does Utnapishtim have that Gilgamesh wants?
    E. Chapter 5
1. Why do the gods decide to flood the earth?  Which god is the most determined to do this?
2. How is Utnapishtim saved?
3. What does Utnapishtim take with him on the ark?
4. How do the gods react as the flood is taking place?
5. What does Ishtar say about the flood?
6. What similarities are there between this flood story and the story of the Bible.
7. Why does Enlil become so angry at the end of Ch. 7?
    F. Chapter 6
1. Why does Utnapishtim challenge Gilgamesh to stay awake for seven days and seven nights? Is Gilgamesh able to complete this challenge?
        2. How does Utnapishtim offer Gilgamesh his youth again? What happens?
3. How does Gilgamesh show a different attitude at the end of the story than the beginning?
    G. Chapter 7
IV. Themes of the Story
    A. The story is divided into two sections:
1. Gilgamesh and Enkidu undertake a journey to make his name great among all the earth.  Honor is the one thing that surpasses immortality.
2. After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh is obsessed with the search for immortality.  He will do whatever it takes to prevent his death.
B. Friendship
    1. The greatest of friendship is found with one who is like minded.
    2. Each supports the other when he is depressed, encouraging and caring for them.
3. Compare their friendship to the friendship of David and Jonathan.
    C. Death/Immortality
1. Death is built into the human condition as a result of sin; all humans seek for eternal life, we want to see death defeated.
2. In the Epic, eternal life is unobtainable even for the greatest of the human race; instead immortality is having your name remembered in this world.
3. In the Christian beliefs, eternal life is obtained by a man who is both completely God and completely man.  He is able to defeat death for us.



IV. Worldview
A.  Gilgamesh represents and is the greatest of all humanity.  A historical figure is embellished to become a part man, part god. 
    B.  What is the single flaw that Gilgamesh has?  Gilgamesh will one day face death.
C.  Gilgamesh is a messiah figure, but hope in him is wrongly placed.  He is not the perfect savior.  He cannot reverse or get around the effects of sin.
D.  Be able to discern God’s truth from Pagan replicas which are false.


 

Mesopotamian Civilization (begins c. 2300 BC)
I. This is the world’s oldest known civilization; it is believed to have been begun by a people known as the Sumerians.
II. Mesopotamia = “the land between the rivers”
III. Where is Mesopotamia?
    A. Mesopotamia is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, in what is the modern day Middle East.  Iraq, Syria and Kuwait
IV. Who is Nimrod? See Genesis 10:8-10
    A. Nimrod is the grandson of Ham; he is believed to be the founder of this civilization.
    B. The beginning of his kingdom was Babel
V. Inventions
    A. the wheel-used for chariots, transporting items and for potters wheels.
    B. Written language
1. the first people after the flood to develop written language using pictures and symbols, called pictograph. Later these became signs which represented syllables
2. cuneiform “wedge-shaped”-using a pencil like stylus, the scribe would press into the clay tablet.  The different symbols would appear wedge shaped.
    C. Irrigation system which transferred water from one place to another.
VI. Government
    A. Sumer was made of many independent city states, there was no loyalty among them.
    B. Each city-state had its own ruler, and they fought often with one another.
VII. The Tower of Babel (2250B.C.)
A. Genesis 11, this is most likely the beginning of the Sumerian civilization under the rule of Nimrod.
    B. All the people of the earth spoke only one language (descendants of Ham, Shem and Japheth)
    C. What motivated the builders of the tower?
        1. To make themselves great.
        2. Build a one world empire
        3. They were rebelling against the creation mandate to fill the earth.
    D. What does God do in response?
        1. He confuses their language, causing chaos
2. They are scattered over the face of the earth.  Forces them to do what they do not want to do.
        3. How does God act in Psalm 2, when the rulers of the earth take a stand against him?
VIII. Ziggurats-
    A. The ziggurat was the city temple located at the center of the city.
B. This was the most important building, it includes a workshop, kitchen areas, businesses and living quarters for the priests.
    C. The temple was made of levels, rising up to the height of a mountain.
    D. at the highest level was the temple (cella) to the local city god
    E. Built out of mud bricks and mortar
IX. Religion
A. Each city was dedicated to and owned by a god, but they worshipped many other gods as well polytheists- worshippers of many gods.
B. the human ruler of the city served also as the high priest in helping the people worship their god.
    C. the god supposedly owned the city and thus all work done in the city was done for him.

The Corruption of Mankind and the Flood (Genesis 6)

I. The children of Seth which are the “children of God” begin to marry with the line of Cain “the daughters of men.”

II. God responds by promising to take away His Spirit from them.
    A. God graciously gives the human race another 120 years to repent before destroying them.
    B. Man’s wickedness is so great that every one of his thoughts is always evil.

III. God repented that He made man.
    A. God does not think like mankind.  
    B. This is written to help us at least partly understand the mind of God.  Our language is insufficient to communicate perfectly.

IV. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord”
     A. God will not destroy the entire human race because of His promise made in the Garden of Eden.
     B. Even though wickedness spreads, God will not let evil take over his world.  God saves His people.

V. The Flood
     A. Legends of a worldwide flood are in nearly every culture.   This seems to testify to the truth of the event actually happening.
     B. Preparations

1. Noah brings in every clean animal by sevens, unclean by twos, and birds by sevens along with food.
2. Noah’s family: his wife, theirs sons (Ham, Shem and Japheth) and their wives.
3. God saves these 8 while all the rest of creation (everything that has the breath of life) is judged for its wickedness.

B. After the flood
     1. The first thing Noah does after coming out of the ark is offer a sacrifice to the Lord, in thankfulness for his salvation.              (Appropriate response)

a. God promises that he will never again destroy every living creature as he had just done.  We do not have to fear that humans will destroy the world.  We are not capable.

     2. God is essentially recreating the world, and as a result he gives again the Creation Mandate, but there is a warning given…” Gen. 9:1-7
    a. whoever sheds mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God He made man.
    b. God creates civil government to stop wicked behavior, and provides the death penalty for murder.
- There is nothing else that can pay for the life of another.
-The purpose of government is to protect life by restraining wickedness.  Human life is the single most valuable thing on earth.
-Government must promote good behavior and punish wickedness, so that life can be lived as God intended it.
-Sin makes government necessary, however laws themselves are not a result of sin.

Since we don’t have self government, God gives us the three types of government. Each is given by God and must be obedient to him

·    Church
o    Preach the word
o    Give the sacraments
o    Exercise discipline
·    Family
o    Provide for needs
o    Teach children
o    Discipline children
·    State
o    Preserve life
o    Punish evil
o    Enforce laws