Jehoiakim

Jehoiakim was the King of Judah from 608 to 598. He was first Known as Eliakim but pharaoh Necho II deposed his brother in throne, making Eliakim king in his place. He is known for being a ruthless and not faithful ruler, he is know for burning one of the scroll of prophecies of the prophet Jeremiah. acording to 2 Kings 23:35 Jehoiakim ruled originally as a vassal of the Egyptians, paying a heavy tribute. To raise the money he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to their assessments. However, after the defeat of the Egyptian empire by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Jehoiakim swiftly changed factions to avoid being destroyed and deposed.to be able to be spared by the Babylonians he accepted to pay tribute and gave to the Babylonians some precious artifacts from the temple and handed over some members of the royal family as hostages.Jehoiakim served as a vassal for king Nebuchadnezzar II for three years until one of the campaigns of  Nebuchadnezzar II to conquer Egypt failed, making Jehoiakim optimistic to come back under the Egyptian rule and hoping for the defeat of Babylon. However,  Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege  over Jerusalem for three months. Jehoiakim died short before the siege ended, and it is know that his body was taken out and thrown outside the city walls. in conclusion Jehoakim was not a very good king and all the mistakes he made ended in the destruction of the city and the plunder of the temple.

Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II is without a doubt one of the most famous and well known kings in the Old Testament. he is mentioned in the book of Daniel and he has direct interaction with Daniel -the main character of this book- Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem and alsohe had a special dream where he saw a gigantic image that was made of different materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay). the prophet Daniel told him that the dream was just a prediction of what will happen to his kingdom. However, information about how Nebuchadnezzar II contributed to history is scarce and are limited to some research projects made by a short group of history scholars.

one thing that we can learn about Nebuchadnezzar II is that he was a king under the Neo-Babylonian empire he ruled from 605 BC – 562 BC and the construction of the hanging gardens of Babylon and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem are attributed to him. For that reason, Nebuchadnezzar II was a king that was focused in conquering and developing by constructing important landmarks.

Nebuchadnezzar II was know by conquering Jerusalem and destroying the temple. however this was not the only military campaign that he was involved on. Nebuchadnezzar II is widely known in the Neo-Babylonian history for developing huge campaigns all around the Levant region. Moreover, his hunger of contest made him to get into a campaign to invade Egypt. however, the rebellion in the Canaanite and Judah states made him to withdraw and focusing in stopping the rebellion by destroying Jerusalem and deposing king  Jehoiakim. after he took the control of the region again he focused on siege and taking control Tyre which was the border with Egypt. Unfortunately for Nebuchadnezzar II, the siege lasted for 13 years and ended with the submission of Tyre and accepting the authority of the Babylonians, but was late to continue the campaign to conquer Egypt.

the second thing that made Nebuchadnezzar II famous was that he developed great structures such as the Mede Wall, the Ishtar Gates and the hanging gardens of Babylon. when the father of Nebuchadnezzar II, Nabopolassar was in ruing Babylon he started to rebuilding the city and temples of the previous attacks of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal and some other local rebelions that left the city devastated. Nebuchadnezzar II had the idea to make Babylon one of the greatest wonders of the world. they did not spared in any resource, they used for construction cedar-wood, nor bronze, gold, silver, rare and precious stones. and for work force they brought to Babylon many captives from western Asia.

The Dreamer Pharaoh

The story contained in genesis 37-50 has a very rich depiction of how important and powerful the Egyptian civilization was. Furthermore, their importance in commerce with the Levant region. in this period of  the history a seventeen years old kid son of Jacob and Rachel, was thrown into an empty cistern by his 11 brothers and later sold to Egyptian merchants. this moment in history developed a great story that it is believed for many people as one of the greatest moments of the Old Testament. Joseph was the name of the one who faced the betrayal of his brothers and the uncertain future that he will face in Egypt.
we all are familiar with Joseph story and how he develop his career from being a servant to  become something like a prime minister for the Egyptian civilization. In the other hand,  we know so little about who the Pharaoh was, his name is not mentioned in Genesis, and he is always mentioned as Pharaoh. For that reason I turned to different researches and findings of archaeology scholars. Many modern-day scholars believe the historicity of the events in the Joseph narrative cannot be demonstrated. however, the event of the 7 years drought its something concrete that we can track back in time. David Rohl an English Archaeologist and Egyptologist has found evidence of a 7 years drought in a piece of rock named "the Famine Stela" this rock located on an island in the Nile shows that Egypt was affected by a severe drought that lasted for seven years. However, It is thought that the stela was inscribed during the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled 332–31 BC, which is long time after the events of the drought that affected Egypt and Canaan. Furthermore, recent researches have shown that the term 7 years famine is more a myth that a reality due to many civilizations around the Levant region also used the term 7 years famine. Such as the Mesopotamians, the Hebrews and the Egyptians.
Another theory who tries to link the biblical events with Egyptian history is the one by the French scientist Joseph Davidovits who says that Joseph might be Amenhotep-Huy, Vizier of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. this information even though is not conclusive can give us some insight of how Egypt was so important economically for Canaanites to went there and buy food from them.

Esau Father of Edom

Even thou Esau is never mentioned a s a king in the bible, he was indeed the father of the Edomite nation. The name Edom in Hebrew means "red" it is because Esau born red all over like if he were wearing a red garment. Additionally, Edom is not only mentioned in the bible but also in list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I and in the battle chronicles of Ramses III. This nation was established at the south of the dead sea.

Esau selling his birthright to Jacob

As we all know Jacob bought the birthright of Esau for a bowl of lentil stew. which made that all the promises of Abraham where now in Jacob hands. Furthermore, Rebekah Instructed Jacob to take advantage of Issac blindness and wear a coat to emulate the hairy skin of his brother. after receiving the blessing of his father Esau was furious and vowed to kill Jacob. for that reason Jacob fled to dwell with his uncle Laban. after several years Esau and Jacob reunited again they reconciled and in cosequence conclude that bitter conflict.

Esau married to a Canaanite woman Named Judith and to Bashemath that was also Canaanite, this decision grieved his parents. for that reason he decides to go to his uncle Ismael house and marry one of his cousins Aholibamah. however, even those actions did not were able to make him the bearer of Abraham blessings.

Esau is know for being the Father of the Edomite nation. the information about the Edomites is scarce, but there are some information that mention that they were wealthy merchants who controlled the market between Egypt and the Levant, south Arabia and Mesopotamia. their economic abilities where exceptional. one reason could be that in the entire Edomite nation water and good land to settle crops were almost nonexistent. However, his location in the kings Highway made them extremely good for commerce.

Due to his richness the Edomites were also target of attacks and loots. in consequence the Edomites developed stronghold cities like the capital Sela, which was a city surrounded by mountains and accesible for only specific ways. the city was also know as "the rock". Moreover, Petra was a city within the Edomite nation but was developed about one thousand years later. but with the same pattern. a city with a narrow access and with big warehouses. that testify of the talent and skill of the Edomites.

Abimelech of Gerar

Abimelech is a King Mentioned in one of the three wife-sister narratives. as happened before in Egypt Abram faced the same trouble that when he moved to dwell in pharaohs land. in this case God came into Abimelech in a dream to warn him that Sarah was not Abram sister but his wife.

In this case it is hard to locate Abimelech in history due to his meeting with Abram and Issac respectively. Acording to the Haggadah an ancient Jewish text, mentions that the Abimelech of Abram and Isaac are diferent people, but both were kings of Gerar. in this case Abimelech more than a personal name was a title that means "My father is a King". if this information is right. then what was the name of this king?
an ancient correspondence letter known as the Amarna letters, gives us more information about Abimelech. first of all, this letters were made of clay and were used as diplomatic correspondence between the Egyptian kingdom and they representatives in Canaan. Furthermore, this letters mention some correspondence between the pharaoh and a Egyptian governor known as Abimilku. this character is believe to be the biblical Abimelech.
in this case information of Abimilku can be traced on the Amarna letters where he appears to rule the city of Tyre and some other surrounding cities. His interaction with pharaoh started when Abimelech advised the pharaoh that the new political updates that he sent to Abimilku to apply on Tyre and surrounding cities have failed. Thus, creating a division of the interest of the cities that seemed  capable of start a war against the Egyptian dominion. for that reason  Abimelech updated Egypt of his condition and the needs of his city for fresh water and wood.
in conclusion Abimelech or Abimilku was a king that had a hard time dealing with political conflicts. the Bible show us just a little bit of information about who he was, but today with all the informative technology we can find more information about who we was and how he contributed in the history of the world.

The first biblical pharaoh

While I was reading Genesis 12 I realized that Abram also had met other kings. Moreover, he had one experience with the Egypt Pharaoh even before the he clashed Chedorlaomer and his army. This even is know as the first event in the wife-sister narratives. In this case Abram fled Canaan because of a severe famine that desolated Canaan, and consequently sojourn in the southwest country of Egypt. In this case Abram wife Sarai, was a beautiful woman. For that reason, Abram was worried of his security. It was common that in those days that if someone liked someones wife. he will kill the husband to take the wife for himself. Abram was aware of that practice and asked Sarai to say that she was his sister rather that his wife.

After they settle in Egypt, Egyptians started noticing the beauty of Sarai. Furthermore, the princes of pharaoh also knew of her and commented that before pharaoh. For that reason Abram and Sarai were invited to pharaoh's house, where pharaoh decided to take her for wife and reward Abram with cattle and servants. However, Yahweh did not approved such union and punished pharaoh by sending plagues over him and his house. According to the Jewish encyclopedia the punishment over the pharaohs house was to protect the covenant between Abram and Yahweh.

Information that lead to identify which Pharaoh was this is extremely scarce and almost nonexistent. There exist some theories that relate this Pharaoh with Khufu the pharaoh who ordered the construction of the pyramid of However, there are no one scientific proof that can validate that theory, for that reason it will be necessary to do more research in order to find out who this pharaoh was.

Tidal "King of Nations"

 Before the campaign against Sodom, Gomorrah and the other cities of the plains. The Elamite king Chedorlaomer allied with other three Mesopotamian kings Amraphel, Arioch, and Tidal. However, the historic impact of this even has been somehow minimized. As a result of this event, it can be highlighted the advancements in social, politic, and military advancements. In this case, Tidal was a king who ruled Goyim. according to the Jewish Tradition the translation of Goyim is “king of nations”. Which means, that he probably ruled over several nomadic tribes. Unfortunately, information about Tidal is scarce. Nevertheless, Peake's Commentary on the bible, which is a one-volume commentary with special emphasis in archaeological evidence, gives some insight about who this king of nations was.

First of all, Tidal was one of the four kings that battled against the kingdoms Sodom, Gomorrah and the cities of the plain. according to Peake's, Tidal can be considered as the equivalent of Tudhaliya a Hittite King, contemporary to Hammurabi, in the 17^th century BC. The interesting fact about Tidal is that he was a Hittite king that expanded the Hittite empire to the land of Assuwa. Which is believed to be the origin of Asia. Furthermore, by defeating the Asuwwa league he was able to claim also the adjacent territories of Taruisa and Wilusiya. that are generally referred to the mythic city of Troy.

The Hittite empire originated approximately 2,000 years BC. with the migration of ancient Anatolian people who moved from the Armenian highlands to found the city of Hatussa which was the capital of their empire. However, the information about Tudhaliya is confusing the main reason is because there are three consecutive king Tudhaliya wich make hard to settle which one was the one who accompany Chedorlaomer into the battle of Siddim.

Despite the fact that information about Tidal is scarce. We can infer that he was also a mighty king that contributed to the ferocious expansion of the Hittite empire. Furthermore, it also reflects the political bilateral relations that existed between empires.  

Amraphel "the underestimated king."

 In previous post I have mentioned the event know as the battle of the vale of Siddim or the battle of the nine kings. Where king Chedorlaomer of Elam had subdued Sodom and the other cities of the plain. We know from Genesis 14that Chedorlaomer allied with other Mesopotamian kings in a campaign to regain the control of the plains. At the beginning of the chapter we can notice that the narration in located in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, for that reason, why should be important to mention such king in this narration? According to the The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Shinar is believed to be the ancient city of Babylon and in consequence Amraphel is believed to be the superb king Hammurabi. This revealed identity of the king Amraphel enhance the dimensions of the battle of Siddim, and why Chedorlaomer was very confident with the support that he received from their allied armies.

Many scholars support the hypothesis of the king Hammurabi, the world famous assyriologist Eberhard Schrader who was a pioner in theoryzing about how Amraphel is Hammurabi. The evidences provided that support the theory are basically three. The first mentions that the city of Babel was geographically located within the land of Shinar were Nimrod was the first king of this land. The second, mentions the phonetically relation in the pronunciation of Hammurabi and Amraphel. The third, Amraphel is mentioned first in the chronicle of the battle, making clear his might over the land mentioning him first rather than the other kings.

The bas-relief of Hammurabi at the United States Congress

King Hammurabi is well known for the flourishing, empire that he developed, it is believed that his domains were extended trough central Mesopotamia and the Levant region. Furthermore he is also known, for developing city defenses , that helped him to defend his city from the attack of Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria for the control of Mesopotamia, is well known that Hammurabi made alliances with smaller states to strengthen his own territory, that can explain why he was supporting Elamite king Chedaorlaomer in the control of the plain cities. Furthermore, Hammurabi is better known for the code of laws or code of Hammurabi. This code was written in akkadian, contained 282 laws and was written in 12 tables. The code of laws was available for everyone to see it and also was written on a stele were everyone could read it. However, the stele was later stolen by the Elamites, and finally found again in 1901 and now is secured in the Louvre museum in France.

Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in c. 1792 BC and upon his death in c. 1750 BC

The code of laws is the most famous contribution of Hammurabi to the world, and nowadays still being a point of controversy due to the similarities with the table of the 10 commandments received from from God by Moses. Furthermore, the Semitic background of both cultures suggest that both laws have evidence of other laws from nearby civilizations in their writing such as Ur-Nammu's code, Laws of Eshnunna, and Code of Lipit-Ishtar, and the later Hittite code of laws.

Hammurabi was an outstanding king and results fascinating to me that he probably was the same king Amraphel that we meet reading Genesis, which is just mentioned a couple times with an almost nonexistent presence of his might in the chronicle of the battle of the nine kings. The change of setting whit this mighty king in the scene make the conflict even more important in the historical value of the event.

Melchizedek a Righteous King

 After the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the rescue of Lot by his uncle Abram. The triumphant company set out their journey back home. In the way back home, Bera king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (Genesis 14:17). Where, Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine for the weary men of the Abram company. Although, other kings Melchizedek is a very popular character in the Christian world, as well in the Judaisms and Islam. Hence, he is well know for being the Priest who received Abram tithes and also, blessed him and El Elyon (God Most High, in Canaanite). However, information about Melchizedek genealogy, kingdom, and his regime as king of Salem are almost nonexistent.

Abraham's encounter with Melchizedek - Peter Paul Rubens

The information about the origin of king Melchizedek is relative scarce. Since, the bible does not provide other information other than, he was king of Salem and priest of the Highest God. Nevertheless, there are many hypothesis about his origin.

Melchizedek mosaic in San Vitale Basilica

The first theory, is from a Roman Jewish historian from the first century named Josephus. He mentioned on his book “the Jewish Wars” that Melchizedek was a Canaanite chief, and his name, in Canaanite means melek “king” ṣedeq “righteous”. Furthermore, his kingdom was located in the land of Canaan, which were in the territory inherited by Ham. Which make hard to believe that such prestigious person came from that cursed lineage. However, Melchizedek was a monotheist priest, whom only adored El Elyon (God most High), that definitely contrasted with the Canaanite customs of adoring multiple deities.

Photography of a Roman portrait bust said to be of Josephus, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark.

The second theory is from the Melchizedekites. Who believe that Melchizedek came from the lineage of Shem. Moreover, the Chazalic literature claims that Melchizedek is just a title for Shem son of Noah. Thus, a strong reason to believe that Melchizedek came from a chosen lineage perfect aligned to his priest condition. However, the reason why a descendant of Shem was ruling over Canaan is not totally clear.

 The role of Melchizedek as the king of Salem during the great war between the Mesopotamian kings and the Elamite king Chedorlaomer against the Five king of the Jordan river plains. Are not clear, Salem, does not appear to be oppressed by the infamous Chedorloamer. But, it is widely accepted that was friendly to the kingdoms of the plain. Moreover, the city was in the neighborhood of the valley of Shaveh where Abraham payed his tithes to the priest king, and restored his goods to kng Bera of Sodom. Sugesting the interpretation that Salem was a place of reunion for the near plain's kingdoms, who venerated El Elyon. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia Salem is the ancient name of the city that today we know as Jerusalem. Thus, the importance of the place is reflected in the person of Melchizedek who is portrayed at the same category of the most notable prophets of history.

Jerusalem in the present

Chedorlaomer and the battle of the Nine Kings

While I was reading Genesis chapter 14, the mention of a battle in the vale of Siddim totally drag my attention. Furthermore, this chapter is the one who mentions another Mighty king "Chedorloamer" who ruled the Elamite Kingdom, and he is specially mentioned in the chapter for two reasons. First, because he have subdued the kingdoms near the jordan river plain, and most important because he took captive Lot the nephew of Abram.

First of all,  Chedorlaomer was king of the Elamite kingdom who was subduing the plains near the Jordan river. According to Genesis he have subdued at least five  cities for at leas 13 years, causing that the subdued kings rebelled and start a war against the Chedorlaomer rule. This war had an episode known as the battle of Siddim or the war of the nine kings. Although, the bible never mentions a battle in the vale of Siddim, we can infer that the battle took place there between the oppressor force of Chedorloamer and the rebel force commanded by the five kings of the plains. as a result of the battle the rebel forces were surpassed and  the rebels were forced to flee. hence, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fell into the slime pits, that were located around the battlefield, causing many others to die in the escape.
One thing that its important to highlight is that in this battle, the 9 kings joined together for the clash. That style of combat gives us a background of how belligerent strategies and setting were done in the past. according to the Cambridge Atlas of Archaeology it was common for powerful king to bring with them every kind of company such as vassals or other allied kings to show the mighty and power of their army, as a strategy to frighten the opponents and making them flee or renegotiate the therms of their submission. In consequence, we can infer that Chedorloamer was a brilliant strategist because he allied with other Mesopotamian kings and brought them into battle. Furthermore, his strategy plus his allied armies made him to win the battle and advance to Sodom and Gomorrah were they claim their goods and victuals and come back their way kidnapping Lot who dwelt in the Land of Sodom.
when the word of the kidnapping of Lot reached Abram, he rapidly formed a small army of 318 person who accompanied him in the chase of Chedorloamer. the chase was not easy, we can read in Genesis that Abram caught up with Chedorloamer in the city of Dan. According to GIS measurements there are 200 km between the city of Hebron and the city of Dan, which means that the persecution was fast and definitely exhausting. However, Abram had the strength and courage to battle Chedorloamer forces. When Abraham finally caught up with Chedorloamer, he decided to divide his army between The infamous king troops and finally smote them by night. As a result, The attacked army fled Dan going northeast into Damascus.

The Vale of Siddim

Finally, Abram Chased Chedorloamer for approximately additional 65 km, finally slaughtering Chedorloamer's army in the city of Hobah near Damascus. Hence, Abraham took back the stolen goods and also the prisoners in which Lot was one of them. When Abram come back he was received by Melchizedek King of Salem who brought bread and wine unto him and blessed him.

Nimrod a "Mighty Hunter"

Nimrod is the first King mentioned in the Bible, ruler of Babel and the surrounding cities. After the great flood, the land was dry and clear. Noah and his family were commanded to multiply and fill the earth. Thus, the land was given to Noah sons Shem, Ham, and Japhet. Nimrod is the fourth generation who inhabited the new earth. Nimrod is son of Cush, who is son of Ham, who is son of Noah.

Litograpy of Nimrod by Gustave Dore

Abraham is trow into a furnace by Nimrod

The fist Biblical mention of Nimrod is found in Genesis chapter 10 verse 8 and 9 who describes him as a “mighty one in the earth” and a “mighty hunter before the LORD”. When I first read this verse my conception of Nimrod was that he was righteous man who stood for the LORD will. However, the Islamist conception of Nimrod differed mine. According to the Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, Nimrod is not mentioned in the Qur’an. However, in the Islamic tradition Nimrod was the Antagonist of Abraham. And the one who ordered to burn Abraham in a furnace, from which he was saved by the LORD. This fact caught my attention because the bible never mentions any interaction between Nimrod and Abraham. Furthermore, there are a separation of seven generations between them. The difference between epochs in the Bible and the Islamic tradition are different for that reason I decided to research now the Jewish point of view. the Jewish Encyclopedia says that “Nimrod is the prototype of a rebellious people, his name being interpreted as "he who made all the people rebellious against God"”. Hence, this information made me rethink about what I just read in Genesis 10. However, further in Chapter it is told that Babel was part of Nimrod kingdom. Although the Bible never mentions that Nimrod requested the building of the Babel tower, it is widely accepted in the Christian and Jewish belief that Nimrod was the one who ordered to build the tower, after all he was the king of the whole region where Babel was part of the kingdom, also the tower was being built under his regime.

Stone panel dedicated to Nimrod an the British museum 

Besides being a king, Nimrod was also a “mighty hunter” according to the Jewish encyclopedia, Nimrod was the first hunter in the human history and the one who introduced the people to eating meat. Furthermore, it is believed form the Jewish community that he possessed the coats of skin that God made for Adam and Eve when they left the garden of Eden. Those clothes were believed to be in Noah possession, and stolen from him by Ham who passed them to Cush who did the same and handed them to Nimrod. Who used them to attract animal who crouched before him whenever they saw him wearing the clothes, making extremely easy for him to catch his prey. This version totally blew out my perception of “mighty hunter” or at least the traditional idea that we have about how a hunter acts.  

As I mentioned before the tower of Babel is believed to be requested from Nimrod. Furthermore, the tower is also one of the most popular stories of Christianity because its is believed that during its construction language was split into different ones, that rendered the tower impossible to complete. As a consequence the people fled the place and scattered throughout the world. What happened to the tower of Babel after the people fled is not known, the Bible does not mention the destruction of the tower. But still, it is accepted in the christian community that the tower was destroyed while the people were leaving Babel.  

Engraving confusion of tongues by Gustave Dore

Gilgamesh

Additionally, something that definitely grabbed my attention is a prominent theory about who Nimrod was. This theory was  held by George Smith it  mentions that Nimrod can be related to the Babylonian hero Izdubar (Gilgamesh). Izdubar was a hunter who was always followed by four dogs who accompanied him into his journeys of hunting. Also he is named in some Sumerian poems and it is believed that he was the king of the city of Uruk. The Legends of Izdubar are recorded in twelve tablets dated from between 1800 and 2000 B.C.  

In conclusion, for this first edition of the blog I can mention that reading and finding out more information about who this king were make me very exited to know more about who I am and I what I believe in, research about Nimrod made me realize that he was not as good as I first though. This exercise gives me the lesson that an effective comprehension of the bible does not only require reading but also a little more research to get to know those forgotten kings.

Welcome!

When I was a child back in the early 90s, my father used to read a chapter of the Bible to my siblings and me every day. I remember that he gathered us together to lay on the grass under the shade of a Chinese banyan tree and it was an enjoyable experience to hear him reading. I remember closing my eyes just to imagine those great scenes involving kings such as Nebuchadnezzar II king of Babylon, Saul the first king of Israel, Solomon third king of Israel son of David, Herod king of the Herodian kingdom. Those kings were great because of their contributions to the history, but they also had a weak side that made them make mistakes because they were humans after all. 

Recently, I started rereading the Old Testament, but what makes it very interesting is that I want to do it in a more deep way. I want to be able to better understand the story behind the history. In other words, I want to learn more about those kings, their personalities, lives and contributions to the history. It will be interesting primarily because when we talk about the Old Testament, we just think about Adam and Eve, and probably about Moses too but the general conception of the history behind it is broad. Writing here will be a personal aid to keep me researching about something that I am passionate about and to share that research with those who are interested in doing the same. I expect this project to be a miraculous journey to remember those forgotten king.