The Old Testament alludes to (and sometimes directly mentions) locations on the African continent that may or may not have a formally named people.
The following list and its substance are not intended to be comprehensive. Nevertheless, the reader is given some idea as to places and peoples in the Old Testament, and what areas large concentrations of them could be found.
CRETE: The island of Crete is mentioned once in the main text of the Old Testament at Amos 9:7, where we find the Hebrew word Kaph·tohr (Caphtor) for “Crete. ”
That Crete had a strong association with Black Africa can be seen when considering the verse in its entirety:
“‘Are you not like the sons of the Cushites to me, O peo-ple of Israel?’ declares Jehovah. ‘Did I not bring Israel up out of the land of Egypt. The Philistines out of Crete, and
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(Compare Jg 20:1) Scholars say that, according to Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, this Migdol was a fortress.
NO-AMON (NO) : Found only once in the Old Testament under the label No-Amon (Nahum 3:8), the name of this an-cient Black African city means “City of Amon .” Amon was an Egyptian god mentioned as such at Jeremiah 46:25, which reads:
“Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Now I am turning my attention to Amon from No [No-Amon ], to Pharaoh, to Egypt, to her gods, and to her kings—yes, to Pharaoh and all those trusting in him.’” As is the case at with this Scripture text, so it is at Eze-kiel 30:14, 15, where No-Amon is shortened to “No .” In the Latin Vulgate, No is rendered “Alexandria.”
Furthermore, in the same Latin Vulgate, at Jeremiah 46:25, the city of No is rendered “Alexandria.” In sum, “No,” “No-Amon,” “Thebes,” and “Alexandria” are all one in the same as culled from various scholarly
The Greeks named the city Hierakonpolis, or “City of the Falcon”, in reference to a local god. The falcon god was the predecessor of Horus, the god of order and symbol of Egypt’s kings. Nekhen’s rulers received both ideological and political power through their link with, or personification of, Horus. A statue of Horus placed upon a pole, guarded a large and colorful shrine in the middle of Nekhen where worshippers deposited their sacrificial offerings. The ideological power exuded by Nekhen made it an important spiritual destination. Political power was also expressed in the tombs of the elites and rulers. Tomb 100, located in a cemetery outside of Nekhen, is a royal tomb with painted walls that show how the occupant fought against chaos and upheld the ideals of Horus. Palettes found in Nekhen, similar to the Narmer palette, illustrated the military prowess of rulers and were likely tools of propaganda used to proclaim superior political power over rival
Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley are the authors of The Sacred Land Bridge, which is an Atlas of the biblical world and includes maps, pictures, and historical cementation as to the significance of this region. The biblical world that this atlas focuses on is defined as the eastern Mediterranean littoral, or more commonly called the Levant in modern archeological discussions. In my critique of this book I will be focusing on pages 30-34 which will define the boundaries and explain the importance of the Levant.
Yahweh, B. L. (2013). Jewish and african affairs. In B. Yahweh (Ed.), Jews and the African
The significance of monumental architecture lies not only in the function it is built to serve but also in the cultural values it represents. Monumental architecture is aesthetic as well as functional, and in its aesthetic aspects it is a form of cultural expression. In Bronze Age Mediterranean civilizations, the development of monumental architecture was influenced primarily by the political structure of the state. Perhaps the most disparate forms of monumental architecture in this region were developed in Pharaonic Egypt and Minoan Crete, reflecting the differences in their political systems. The socio-political structure of these two cultures can be sharply contrasted through an examination of a predominant type of monumental architecture found in each region.
Jericho was an important city in the Old Testament. The city was overtaken and devastated several times. However, it was always reoccupied -- sometimes quickly and other times very slowly. Herod the Great, Cleopatra, and Augustus are some of the mighty rulers that once took claim of some or all of Jericho. Many Galileans would travel through the Jordan valley and go by Jericho on their route to Jerusalem. By taking this course, they could avoid passing through Samaritan territory (Metzger and Coogan, 1993).
...house of the Lord." But that term has been found complete in only one inscription other than the Bible: a faded shard of sixth-century BC pottery from Arad, an ancient town now in modern-day Israel, according to Shanks. (7)
Mignolo (2002) found that these sections were then given bible names. The biblical names were the three sons of Noah—Shem, Japheth, and Ham (p. 27). It was strange how perfect those names connected to the descriptions of these countries. Little was known about the three countries at the time, but they were given names that matched their...
It is only recently that more reliable studies have brought to light much information about great civilizations that developed in Africa while Europe was in the period often referred as the Dark Ages. The earliest of these mature civilizations were in West Africa. In a vast region south of the Sahara, Africans organized kingdoms which in time became great empires. This region is called the Sudan (a word meaning "land of the Blacks" in Arabic) The Sudan was important in the early history of Black Africa because the Africans first practiced agriculture in this region, and thus became the first people south of the Sahara to fashion and use iron tools and weapons. They were also among the first people in Africa to organize viable political systems. The Sudanic Blacks had learn to domesticate crops long before the coming of Christianity, and their grain production furnished food for an expanding population.
Zevit, Ziony. "Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues." Biblical Archaeology Society. N.p., 17 July 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
James S. Jeffers wrote The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era. Jeffers intent in writing this book was to give the readers in insight into what early Christianity looked like. The book aligns what readers may have learned in their high school history class with what was written in the Bible. In summary, this book gave information about Greek and Roman life and history into early Christianity.
Five myths from throughout Africa will be mentioned throughout this essay. They are from the Boshongo, Mande, Shilluk, Egyptian, and Yoruba peoples. For a brief description of these myths please see the appendix. Please remember that these myths do not represent the beliefs and stories of all of Africa.
The books of I and II Thessalonians, which are in the New Testament, are both letters to a church that Paul the apostle helped establish in the city of Thessalonica. First Thessalonians is agreed by biblical scholars to be written by Paul. The author of II Thessalonians, however, is still being debated about.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
The older of the two, Ancient Greece was a civilization for three centuries, from 800 B.C. to 500 B.C. Ancient Greece advanced in art, poetry, and technology. More importantly, Ancient Greece was the age where the polis, or city-state, was invented. The polis was a defining feature in Greek political life for a few hundred years (Ancient Greece).
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).