History - Intro

History

Background authentication.

Hammurabi was a king and a great law giver of the Old Babylonian (Amorite) Dynasty. His law code was produced in the second year of his reign. Such codes do not appear from nowhere, but are distillations of customs and rules which have developed in a society over a period of time. So it is to be expected that people from the region, but living in earlier times, would be aware of some of these customs.

Abraham is such a person. He preceded Hammurabi historically. He came from Mesopotamia. He should have been familiar with the customs Hammurabi codified.

There are a number of examples which show this to be the case, and confirm that Abraham thought as a man of that period. One such example concerns Abraham's wife.

In Genesis 16 Sarai decided to take a hand in producing an heir for Abram, and presented her handmaid Hagar for Abram to take and have a child. Abram listened to her, showing he was a man of his time, and aware of the customs. The Code of Hammurabi 146 says

When a man married a woman and she gave a female slave to her husband and she has then borne children, if later that female slave has claimed equality with her mistress because she bore children, her mistress may not sell her; she may mark her with the slave mark and count her among the slaves. James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East. Volume 1 (Princeton, 1958) p 154.

This law almost exactly parallels the events surrounding Abram, Sarai and Hagar, for Sarai gave her maid Hagar to Abram so he could father a child. Clearly this was a recognized practice in Abram's time.

The background of a Bible story is confirmed by a historical record.

Genesis 14 tells of Abram's rescue of Lot after the four kings, Amraphel, Arioch, Chederlaomer and Tidal had taken him captive. There is good evidence that such roving military groups existed then. One is described.

Thus Hammurabi spoke to me. I am sending Sakirum with three hundred troops to Shabazum, and the troops which I have sent are one hundred and fifty [Hanu], fifty Suhu, and one hundred troops from the bank of the Euphrates River; and there are three hundred troops of Babylon. In the van of the troops of my lord there goes Ilu-nasir, the seer, the subject of my lord, and one Babylonian seer goes with the troops of Babylon. These six hundred troops are based in Shabazum, and the seer assembles the omens. When the appearance of their omens is favourable, one hundred and fifty go out and one hundred and fifty come in. James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East. Volume 1 (Princeton, 1958) pp 260 - 261.

Abram's party consisted of three hundred and eighteen trained men from his own household. He was in the plain of Mamre, and he pursued the enemy to Dan in northern Palestine where he attacked by night then pursued them to Hobah, near Damascus. It sounds as though Abram's force waged guerilla warfare against a group much like that described.

Again, a detail of the background of the Bible story is confirmed by historical research.

Another interesting historical illumination is found in the first chapter of Exodus. Pharaoh told the midwives to kill any male children born to Hebrew women. Specifically, he said

"When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools"

This is an interesting little note on the methods used in childbirth at that time. Pharaoh appears to be referring to what today would be called a birthing stool.

This fits in nicely with what is known about child-birth in Ancient Egypt. It gives a picture of women delivering in a sitting or squatting position over the edge of a stool or bricks. Meskhenet, the Egyptian goddess of these birth bricks, was depicted as a tile with a female head. She was sometimes depicted near the scales in judgement scenes, presumably there to ensure rebirth into the next life. The chair these bricks formed was in use as early as the Old Kingdom, and was called 'mshnt', presumably the source of the name of the goddess.