The Old Testament is the story of Yahweh and His Covenant relationship with His people Israel. Many other Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) peoples are mentioned in the context of their relationship to Israel. This Covenant relationship which began with Abraham had a core component, the gift of land (Gen 12:7), the Promised Land. The Covenant was ratified at Mount Sinai where the terms, the Ten Commandments were given to Israel. Core to the terms was the obligation that Israel would serve no other god but Yahweh and without any representative image. Israel must be a monotheistic people. Only then would they retain the Promised Land. The Promised Land was occupied by the Canaanites. The Canaanites though difficult to identify with precision, were a people whose religious cult was the direct opposite of Yahwism. They worshipped Baal the fertility god. The fertility cult was a belief that there is no absolute being but a universal realm with a womb of fertility. This womb is the source of fertility and the gods are the agents. In the land of Canaan, Baal was the agent of fertility. The wealth and fertility of the land, crops, livestock, and humans was attributed to Baal. Baal was worshiped through the fertility cult which had cult personnel like prophets, and temple prostitutes. The fertility cult had festivals in which sympathetic magic was performed to induce the gods into action. This magic involved cultic sex and wine consumption in honor of Baal. The Canaanites were driven out of the land lest they influence Israel to copy their ways. This would violate the Covenant and Israel would be ejected out of the land because the occupation was based on keeping the Covenant. There were no strict conditions of obedience in Baal worship like in the Covenant. Baal offered them release from „Covenant Obedience‟ to indulge in sensuality while enjoying the blessings. In the end, the Baal fertility cult had such a negative impact on the Covenant that Israel was ejected out of the Promised Land and deported into the Babylonian Exile as seen in the book of Jeremiah / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Th. (Old Testament)

I detta examensarbete undersöker jag hur de två första skapelseberättelserna i Bibeln samt skapelseberättelserna i den babyloniska och kanaáneiska mytologin skildras i läromedel på 1960-, 1990- och 2000-talet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur skapelseskildringarna i första Mosebok skildras i läromedlen samt om de jämförs med tidigare skapelseberättelser i Främre Orienten. Studien syftade även till att se huruvida det skett förändringar i skildringen under årtiondena. I min bakgrund kommer jag först att presentera en överblick över den samhälleliga och religiösa kontexten som de människor i den dåtida främre orienten verkade i. Då detta är tillkomstområde för skapelseberättelserna i Enuma Elish, den kanaáneiska mytologin och Genesis syftar min presentation till att lättare kunna förstå hur de kan ha påverkat varandra. Metoden jag valde att använda är en komparativ kvalitativ analys av tre läromedel från 1960-talet, tre från 1990-talet och tre från 2000-talet. Resultatet har därefter presenterats i enlighet med den systematiserande undersökningsmetod jag har använt mig av. Syftet med den systematiserande undersökningen var att få en tydlig översikt över möjliga förändringar men även för att på ett enkelt sätt kunna behandla resultatet. Studiens resultat visade att läromedel på 1960-talet hade tydligare skildring och mer historiskt innehåll, medan på 1990-talet skildras den bibliska skapelsen mer som en saga med få texter om den historiska bakgrunden. Fokus i läromedel på 2000-talet låg på att skildra syftet med skapelseberättelserna mer än dess innehåll. / In this essay, I examine how the first two creation stories in the Bible and creation stories of the Babylonian and Canaanean mythology are portrayed in the teaching materials in the 1960s, 1990s and 2000s. The purpose of the study was to investigate if the creation stories in Genesis are mentioned in the school textbooks and if they are compared with earlier creation stories in the Near East. The study also aimed to see whether there have been changes in the portrayal over the decades. In my background, I will first present an overview of the social and religious context in which the people of the contemporary Near East lived in. As this is the geographical area of origin for the creation stories in the Enuma Elish, the Canaanean mythology and Genesis, the purpose of my background presentation is to make it easier to understand how they may have influenced each other. The method I chose is a comparative qualitative analysis of three teaching materials from the 1960s, three from the 1990s and three from the 2000s. The result is then presented in accordance with the systematizing research method I have used. The purpose of systematizing the survey was to get a clear overview of possible changes, but also as an easy way to process the results. The study results showed that the study materials in the 1960s had clearer depiction and more historical content, while in the 1990s the biblical creation are more described like a fairy tale, with few texts about the historical content. The focus of the study materials in the 2000s was on portraying the purpose of the creation stories over the content.

The full text of this thesis/dissertation is not available online. Please <a href="mailto:upetd@up.ac.za">contact us</a> if you need access. Read the abstract in the section 00front of this document. / Dissertation (MA (Semitic Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

No / Resin found within Canaanite amphorae from the Late Bronze Age shipwreck discovered off the coast of southwest Turkey at Uluburun has previously been identified as Pistacia sp. Although evidence from Egypt suggests that this resin was in high demand and typically transported in such amphorae, it has also been proposed that the amphorae contained wine, with the resin used to seal the interior surfaces and to flavour and/or preserve the wine. To attempt to resolve this question, we have analysed five samples of pistacia resin found in amphorae from the shipwreck using a range of analytical techniques which have used in the past for the analysis of wine residues: spot tests, FT-IR, and HPLC-MS-MS. As well as the archaeological samples, we have analysed modern samples of pistacia resin, leaves and fruit to determine the effectiveness of each technique and to exclude the possibility of false positive results. In addition to the analyses for wine we also detail analysis (GC-MS) of the terpenoids for the purpose of further molecular characterisation of the resin. Bulk stable isotope analysis was used in comparison with similar resins to attempt to identify the geographical origin of the resin.

The focus of this thesis will be an exegesis of the term burnt offering in Old Testament. The diploma thesis deals with the location of the cult (Tent of Meeting, temple), priests in Israel, human offerings and reconstruction of ritual burnt offerings with an evaluation of particular acts based on translation and interpretation of the first chapter of Leviticus. The purpose of this work is to detect, what function and meaning this ritual had for the community of Israel, as well as what message the texts contain, with respect to burnt offerings for the current reader.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:18:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elcio V S Mendonca.pdf: 938537 bytes, checksum: 5c2862b0c25ee6bf58d1c47c44fb8074 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The Theology of Zion by the tradition of sons of Korah is somewhat curious. Tease is entertaining the idea of a canaanite influence in the Theology of Zion. There isn t denying that fact, because Psalm 48 seems to really have this influence. It is a canaanite influence and also the traditions of South Judahite. This research aims analyze the existing Theology of Zion in Jerusalem and presented in Psalm 48. This is to arrive at an answer about the influence that the sons of Korah may been the canaanite religion, using elements of canaanite myths in the composition of Psalm 48 and other psalms of this collection. Terms like Saphon, sea, death and Mount Zion, and concepts like mythology, sacred mountain, end of the world, Olympus, etc., make us think that really wanted to override the canaanite myths presenting a new reading from the faith in Yahweh. The sons of Korah had were North Israelite traditions, the cities where they lived were located in Ephraim, Manasseh and Dã. Some cities of Manasseh and Ephraim were canaanites cities. The kings of North were mostly promoter of the canaanite Religion. This was the environment where the sons of Korah lived and served your levitical minitstry. / A Teologia de Sião expressa pela tradição dos filhos de Corá é de certa forma curiosa. É implicante admitir a idéia de uma influência cananeia na Teologia de Sião. Não há como negar esse fato, pois o Salmo 48 parece realmente possuir esta influência. É uma influência cananeia e também das tradições do Sul judaíta. Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar tal teologia de Sião existente em Jerusalém e apresentada no Salmo 48. Isto para chegar a uma resposta acerca da influência que os filhos de Corá podem ter sofrido da religião cananeia, ao utilizar elementos dos mitos cananeus na composição do Salmo 48 e de outros salmos de sua coleção. Termos como Safon, mar, morte, Monte Sião e outros, e conceitos como mitologia, montanha sagrada, extremidade do mundo, Olimpo, etc, fazem pensar que eles de fato queriam sobrepor os mitos cananeus apresentando uma nova leitura, a partir da fé em Javé. Os filhos de Corá possuíam tradição do Norte israelita. As cidades onde eles habitaram estavam situadas em Efraim, Manassés e Dã. Algumas cidades de Manassés e Efraim eram cananeias. Os reis do Norte eram em sua maioria promotores da religião cananeia. Este era o ambiente onde os filhos de Corá habitaram e cumpriram seu ministério levítico.

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)

This thesis is a demographic analysis of Late Bronze Age Canaan (ca. 1550/1500-1200/1150 BCE), undertaken through the use of archaeological and anthropological data. The purpose is to establish estimates for the settlement population, nomadic population, nuclear family size, house size, sex ratio, and life expectancy of the people of Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Previous studies have not addressed these issues in detail, nor had data from the entire scope of Canaan been considered, nor had a precise methodology been developed or used for estimating specific settlement populations and nomadic populations for Canaan during the Late Bronze Age. Thus, additional aspects of the thesis include the development and use of a new methodology for estimating ancient populations and a database of all of the Late Bronze Age sites in Canaan—both archaeological and textual. To accomplish these goals, the thesis uses archaeological data from excavations and surveys, texts from the Late Bronze Age, human skeletal remains from Late Bronze Age burials, demographic and ethnographic studies of various types of nomads, and methods, techniques, and observations from previous relevant studies. The primary objectives are to 1) obtain individual settlement, nomadic, and total population estimates for Canaan in the Late Bronze Age that are as accurate as possible based on the currently available data, along with additional demographic estimates of life expectancy and sex ratio, 2) propose a new methodology for estimating settlement populations in the ancient world, 3) present a catalogue and map of all of the sites in Canaan that were inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, 4) illuminate demographic trends during the Late Bronze Age in Canaan. The implications of the results may lead to a modified demographic view of Canaan and its sub-regions during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Archaeology)