Biblical Archaeology #2 - The Black Obelisk

A depiction of King Jehu of Israel prostrating himself before King Shalmaneser III of Assyria

The Black Obelisk of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria (reigned 859-824 BCE) is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian bas-relief sculpture, the most complete Assyrian obelisk yet discovered.  It has been dated to 825 BCE.  It lists Shalmaneser's military campaigns of 31 years, and glorifies his achievements.

The obelisk depicts five subdued kings, bringing tributes to Shalmaneser III and prostrating themselves before him.  One of the kings is Jehu of Israel (reigned circa 842-815 BCE).  The depiction of Jehu prostrating himself before Shalmeneser III is the earliest depiction of an Israelite yet discovered, and confirms the existence of Kings Omri and Jehu of Israel.

The caption above the picture, written in Assyrian cuneiform, can be translated:

"The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, [and] spears."

In the Bible, King Jehu's reign is described in 2 Kings 9-10. 

The Black Obelisk was discovered by archaeologist Henry Layard in 1846, during his excavations of the site of Kalhu, the ancient Assyrian capital.  It is now housed at the British Museum in London.

Dedication of the Firstborn (Exodus 13:1-16)

The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"Even more peculiar is God's obsession with first-born sons.  In Exodus 13:2 the Lord said "Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among Israelites, both man and beast, for it belongs to me."  Later it says that you can redeem (replace) an ass with a sheep and that you must redeem a child for an unspecified price.  It is clear from the context that "consecrate" means a burning sacrifice.  These priests are guilty of theft and kidnapping.  Since any sins in the Old Testament were punishable by death, these priests used the threat of death to extort food and money from their followers.  What do we call a scum-bag that threatens to kill your kids unless you pay a ransom?  A kidnapper!  If these priests were alive today they would be in prison with Abraham."

            Let us examine this passage, and others in the Torah that discuss the dedication of firstborn males, both human and animal.

            Evilbible.com claims that "it is clear from the context that 'consecrate' means a burning sacrifice".  The Hebrew word used in Exodus 13:2 is qadash, which means "to set apart, consecrate, sanctify, be pure, separate, be holy" [1].  This differs from the word that is normally used to describe a burnt offering: 'olah.  It was not God's intention that every firstborn human male was supposed to be sacrificed as a burnt offering; rather, it was to set each firstborn male apart, dedicating them to God.  The sacrifice of a human child was forbidden; the Law clearly stated that every firstborn son (and every unclean firstborn animal) had to be redeemed with a price, not sacrificed (Exodus 13:15, 34:20; Numbers 18:15; Deuteronomy 12:31, 18:10).  The redemption price was not unspecified; it was 5 shekels of silver, about 2 ounces (Numbers 18:16). 

            The reasoning behind this is given later in Exodus chapter 13: "In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand” (Exodus 13:14-16). 

            The redemption of the firstborn sons was a permanent reminder to the Israelites that God had spared their firstborn sons during the first Passover, when God struck down all of the Egyptian firstborn males (Exodus 11-12).  This was partially in response to Pharaoh refusing to release the Israelites from slavery, and partially because, years earlier, Pharaoh had commanded the murder of thousands of Israelite baby boys (Exodus 1:8-22).

            The purpose for redeeming a donkey with a sheep was because the donkey was unclean, and unfit for sacrifice (Exodus 13:12-13; Numbers 18:15-17).  All clean firstborn animals were sacrificed as an offering to God.  

References

[1] Gesenius's Lexicon, Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (translated by Samuel P. Tregelles), 1847

Offerings (Leviticus 1-7)

The following quote is taken from evilbible.com:

"The first seven chapters of Leviticus have extensive rules regarding animal and food sacrifices.  These offerings are supposed to be burnt so that God can smell them.  If you read through these it seems clear to me that the priests were getting their followers to make a big feast for them every week.  The priests were very particular about what kind of food to bring and how to prepare it."

            Let's examine the first seven chapters of Leviticus.  You can read the full text here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%201-7&version=NIV

            (A side note: I find it interesting that this section is included under "Ritual Human Sacrifice" on the website, since there were no human sacrifices commanded in Leviticus 1-7.)

            Leviticus is one of the books of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  At this point in the story, God had freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and had led them into the wilderness.  There, he gave them the Law.  The first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus describe the various offerings that the people had to make to God: the burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering.

            The primary purpose of these sacrifices were not so that the priests or those making the offering could eat them, although the priests received a portion of some of the grain and sin offerings (Leviticus 2:3, 10; 5:13; 6:26-30; 7:7-10, 28-36) and some offerings were eaten as a communal meal by the one who was presenting the offering (Leviticus 7:16-21) .  The primary purpose of these sacrifices were to make atonement for sin, to make oneself right with God.  The animal being sacrificed died in the place of the person offering up the animal.  The animal had to be without defect or blemish, in order for the offering to be accepted by God.

            A burnt offering (chapter 1) was a voluntary act of worship.  It was an expression of devotion.  The animal, once slaughtered, was completely burned on the altar.  None of it was set aside, and none of it could be eaten.  This represented a whole commitment and complete surrender to God.

            A grain offering (chapter 2) was also voluntary, it was a recognition of God's provision, and symbolized devotion to God.  A portion of the grain offerings were set aside for the priests.  Since the priests lived near the Tabernacle and had no land of their own (Numbers 18:20-24; Deuteronomy 10:9, 14:27), God made provision for them by providing grain and meat to be eaten.  However, God commanded that the blood and fat of the animal were never to be eaten (Leviticus 3:17; 7:22-27).  Those were always reserved as an offering to God, and there were serious consequences for any priest who attempted to take the best part of the animal for themselves (1 Samuel 2:12-17).   

            A peace offering (chapter 3) was voluntary, it expressed thanksgiving and fellowship (a portion of this offering could be eaten both by priests and by the one making the offering).

            Sin and guilt offerings (chapters 4-7) were mandatory.  Priests also had to make this kind of an offering themselves (Leviticus 4:3-12).  The offering made atonement for sin, and allowed the one presenting it to be forgiven by God (Leviticus 6:7).

            We come now to the comments on evilbible.com: "God wanted to smell some burnt flesh" and "these offerings are supposed to be burnt so that God can smell them".  While the phrase "a pleasing aroma to the Lord" is used 37 times in the Torah, the meaning is not literal.  God did not want them to sacrifice animals just so that he could smell the aroma.  (The smell of an animal burnt whole is not appealing in the slightest.)  It was what the offering represented that pleased God - a complete dedication and surrender to him, a willingness to make a sacrifice to him and acknowledge him as sovereign.  Burnt offerings on their own, without the person's commitment and dedication to God, meant nothing to him.  “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).  (See also Jeremiah 6:18-20; Amos 5:21-24).

Biblical Archaeology #1 - The Pilate Stone

 The inscription on the stone, translated from Latin to English, reads as follows:

"To the divine Augusti [this] Tiberium
...Pontius Pilate
...prefect of Judea
...has dedicated [this]"

The Pilate Stone was discovered in 1961 by Italian archaeologists, in the ruins of a Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima.  It is roughly dated to the years 26-37 CE.  It is significant because it is the only physical evidence of Pilate to date.  Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the four Gospels, and also by Tacitus (c. 56-117 CE), a historian of the Roman Empire, Josephus (c. 37-100 CE), a Jewish historian, and Philo (c. 20 BCE-50 CE), a Jewish philosopher. 

The Pilate Stone is currently housed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.