Oldest Stories

Today we get some serious military history as we look at the main chunk of King Saul's reign. We deliberately avoid David as much as possible today, because it is far too easy for King Saul to get upstaged in his own chapters by history's favorite king, and so we end up with a surprising amount of often quite detailed military history, and a bunch of interesting details about the time period itself. Finally, we get to see how Saul is super desperate to be a good Yahweh worshipper, and then we read his final eulogy and hear that the bible writers blame his death on failing to pursue God, which seems a bit unfair, but sometimes life is just that way. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we properly start the career of King Saul, or at least Saul as he makes his bid for kingship. This story is important as a piece of ancient literature, it is important through the question of whether or not the bible is valid as history, but most of all it is important because this is one of the only windows we get in the entire near east for military history details during the crucial transition from late bronze age chariot warfare to the massed imperial warfare of the iron age. Thanks to both the text itself and its extensive commentary traditions, we can pull out some really interesting details about how armies equipped themselves and the grander picture of how warfare and tactics contributed to ancient kingship that will play into our wider story even past the Israel section. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we look at the lead up to King Saul, and how Israel made the transition from a collections of tribes to a unified kingship. Why is the Old Testament so ambivalent on the matter of kingship? Most interestingly, there is a universally applicable political lesson here, in what may be history's earliest commentary on the nature and source of effective governance. Also, why do the Israelites cut up animals as messages so often in this period? We look at Gideon, Abimelech, Micah and the Danites, and the Benjaminite war. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we see Adad-Nirari bring huge quantities of Arameans into the Assyrian empire. This will change the linguistic fabric of the entire near east in time, but as we will see, at the time it just seemed like a set of good decisions, or at least imperialistic decisions. We also discuss what it is to be an Assyrian, and why no one was overly concerned about the sort of ethnic conflicts that seem to dominate nowadays. The main feature today is the Temannu war, which spanned perhaps 6 to 8 years and shows Adad-Nirari's strategic flexibility, as well as the full range from brutality to generosity in victory. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

The king today is Adad-Nirari II, but we have a lot to discuss in the background as well. The Nairi get their spotlight right before they get destroyed, and we look at the dating system for the Neo-Assyrian period and why it is so reliable, compared to the earlier parts of ancient history. And we also ask what an Empire is and whether or not the Neo-Assyrian Empire counts as one, which it does. Adad-Nirari is a conquering king, and though we know little about the army at this point, we know it is doing quite well under his leadership. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we talk about iron working, economics and climate change. Then we watch Assur-Dan II flay his enemies alive and hang their skins from the city wall. The doldrums of the Bronze Age Collapse are now officially over and a new age is rising - an age of iron and an age of empire. The most exciting and historically important period of Mesopotamian history begins now. Also, check out the spin off channel by searching Christ and Questions, or going here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/entirelyalive5/episodes/Gods-Theory-of-Government-e2h21t3 or seeing it on youtube here: https://youtube.com/@ChristandQuestions --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Most of our modern end of the world literature is set in the future, but the Babylonians, in the midst of a dark age, set their end of the world literature right in their own times, since for them it may have seemed like the world itself was ending. Erra, also called Nergal, wants to destroy a bunch of stuff because that is his nature. He tries protecting the universe, but gets frustrated with that, so he destroys the universe instead. Interestingly, this story may have become extremely popular in Babylonia because it predicted that Babylon would rise again, and in due course of the centuries is sure enough did, in fashion similar to that predicted in the text. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Do dreams count as literature, are the dream records we have an accurate depiction of ancient dreams, and does reading a dream account from a man 3000 years dead give us any insight into his state of mind? Today, we read through a bunch of dreams, read about dreams, and just generally ponder some of this stuff. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

The thrilling conclusion of the Enuma Elish is an extended hagiographical top-50 list extolling the virtues of Babylon's patron god. As we are now well into the period where Marduk is unquestionably supreme within Babylon's walls, it is high time that we focused out attention a bit more on just who this Marduk fellow truly is. We look at the context of the naming, the fact that by some counts Marduk has more than 50 names, and then look through the canonical listing itself, including commentary by later ancient scholars on the Enuma Elish as an etymological text, which is not a perspective we would usually approach it from. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we look at Pazuzu, Lamashtu, Samanu, Mushussu, and Lamassu. These are not the great gods of myth, nor are they the personal gods that would have absorbed the majority of the average Mesopotamian's attention and worship. They exist somewhere in the middle, in the realm of magic, of diseases, of charms, and of the middle spirit realms. This means there isn't a good place to talk about them - they don't come up much in the main narratives of history or myth, and when talking about magic it is usually the rituals and systems that grab the attention more than the demonic actors, at least among those who nowadays don't believe in the existance of these beings. But today we will correct that with a dedicated episode just for them. I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we read through the Dialogue of Pessimism and the Poor Man of Nippur. Both are comedies with a bit of edge to them, though in very different formats, showing the richness of ancient literature. Dialogue of Pessimism is basically a two-man standup routine, with a fair amount of philosophical ideas thrown in as part of the comedy. Poor Man of Nippur is a farce mixed with a revenge tale, grounded with a perspective we rarely see in ancient literature, the common man viewing the wealthy and powerful. It is also the subject of the world's first movie made in the Babylonian language which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/pxYoFlnJLoE?si=jr4O7CGWpls6ulzU Also, The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad, is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we overview the historical portions of the bible and look at the fallibility of heroes, resolving moral conflicts with God, and the historical problems with strict literalism. I have gotten specific questions on these three topics over the course of the series, but rather than answering the specific questions, I thought it would be more useful and interesting to consider the underlying issues, which I think are extremely common in the Christian community. Because my purpose in the Israel series has not been to weaken anyone's faith, but to examine God's truth in a way that can "turn the hearts of the children to their fathers." Nothing in today's episode is a criticism of anyone of faith who disagrees with me, but I do consider it a needed perspective. Also, for anyone who needs scripture in their life, I recommend three resources: For a web based reading, try: https://www.biblegateway.com/ For a quality bible app, try: https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/ And if you would like a free paper copy, you can in most parts of the world get a free delivery here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/free-holy-bible --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we read through the five poems of Jeremiah's Lamentations over the destruction of Jerusalem. We look in particular at the historical context and the humanness of this 2600 year old performance, but also at some of the theological innovations that, already at the start of the Babylonian exile, are marking the exilic Jews out as a faith distinct from their neighbors and unique in the world. The main Mesopotamian context here is the genre of Laments which was already at least 1500 years old when Jeremiah wrote this one. I read one of these on the main show, a bonus episode between eps 55 and 56 called Lament for Ur, but if you want to get deeper into the now little known genre of this text, definitely take a look at the City Laments section on ETCSL: https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.2.2*# The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad, is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we go on a wide ranging survey of the Near Eastern predecessors to the Book of Job, including the biblical books that also speak to the same themes, before looking through the Book of Job to see a fairly unique answer to the question of why do good things happen to bad people. The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad, is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we ask the question - Who put the "Deuteronomic" in the Deuteronomistic Histories? Plus thousands of people die, so all in all a pretty jam packed episode. Our focus is King Josiah, about whom much ink has been spilled, and after him we will briefly look around at the emerging Babylonian Empire, then quickly destroy Jerusalem to finally round out our extended look at biblical history. The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad, is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Israel has been destroyed by the Assyrians, and Judah very nearly follows. But Jerusalem never does fall to the Assyrians, and the re-emergence of the southern kingdom is almost as shocking as the internal discord that accompanies it. We look today a lot of prophets and religious policies alongside military issues, because these do seem to be driving politics and polarized factionalism in a big way. The first Oldest Stories book, covering Sumer and Akkad is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

The first Oldest Stories Book is available for purchase: https://a.co/d/64mxp6w Today, we go in depth with what it might have been like as the Assyrians invaded, first Israel and then Judah, looking deeply at the battle of Lachish. Today's is a tale of hard times and despair, though today is more the despair at what is coming, and next time will be more the despair at what has passed. Of course, there is still a lot to deal with with the ups and downs of the biblical Yahwist faction in Israel and Judah alike, and we look at a man who so loved his world that he gave his only begotten son. Quite a lot going on today, really, but it is all good stuff, I think. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we are in a mad gallop through decades and kings, each of them having pretty short, one or two episode lives, and also mostly having the same or extremely similar names to get everything super confused. This part of Israelite history moves pretty quickly, but there are a lot of interesting things that can be pulled from relatively short mentions, plus we get the first and only artistic depiction of what an Israelite actually looked like in the Monarchy period, and it turns out they just looked like people, because they were people. Also, we look at the story of Jehu among all these kings, and he is absolutely fantastic, would make a great movie. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

Today we talk about Phoenicia, overviewing where it has been since we left our bronze age Canaan series, discussing the nature of the economic prosperity it brought to the region, and talking a bit about the causes and nature of their famous trade colonies. We also actually look at Jehoshaphat, after mostly ignoring him for a few episodes. Also, even though it builds over a few centuries, the development of what gets called the iron age economies is perhaps the quickest societal advancement in human history up to this point, and people's ideas about the world are struggling to keep up, so we talk about that a bit, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

One of the most important extra-biblical confirmations of biblical history is the Mesha Stele, written by king Mesha of Moab. But it is not only interesting for what it tells us about Israel, but also for being the only window into the otherwise enigmatic Moabites, their god, and their self-perception, at least from the highest levels. And so today we discuss the context of Kings Ahaziah and Jehoshaphat, but then switch over to read through the Mesha Stele and learn what we can of the region as a whole. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message