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Balak
Balak ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam for the purpose of cursing the migrating Israelite community. On his journey to meet the princes of Moab, Balaam is stopped by an angel of the lord after beating his donkey. He tells the angel he will return home: "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood against me on the road". The angel instructs Balaam to attend the meeting with the princes of Moab but to "say only what I tell you". According to Numbers 22:2, and Joshua 24:9, Balak was the son of Zippor. In the preceding chapter of Numbers, the Israelites, seeking the Promised Land following their Exodus from Egypt, had defeated the Canaanites at a place named Hormah, as well as the Amorites and the people of Bashan, and next approached Moab. The biblical narrative stresses the fears of the people of Moab, who were 'exceedingly afraid' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaam
Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Beor. King Balak of Moab offered him money to curse Israel (), but Balaam blessed the Israelites instead, as dictated by God. Nevertheless, he is reviled as a "wicked man" in both the Torah and the New Testament (). According to the Book of Revelation (), Balaam told King Balak how to get the Israelites to commit sin by enticing them with sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols. The Israelites fell into transgression due to these traps and God sent a deadly plague to them as a result (). Balaam and Balak The main story of Balaam occurs during the sojourn of the Israelites in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River, at the close of forty years of wandering, shortly before the death of Moses and the crossing of the Jordan. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final form is possibly due to a Priestly redaction (i.e., editing) of a Yahwistic source made some time in the early Persian period (5th century BC). The name of the book comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites. Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their laws and covenant from God and God has taken up residence among them in the sanctuary. The task before them is to take possession of the Promised Land. The people are counted and preparations are made for resuming their march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they "grumble" at the hardships along the way, and about the authority of Moses and Aaron. For these acts, God destroys approximately 15,000 of them through vario ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesha Stele
The Mesha Stele, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a stele dated around 840 BCE containing a significant Canaanite inscription in the name of King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to the Kingdom of Israel, but at length, Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab. Mesha also describes his many building projects. It is written in a variant of the Phoenician alphabet, closely related to the Paleo-Hebrew script. The stone was discovered intact by Frederick Augustus Klein, an Anglican missionary, at the site of ancient Dibon (now Dhiban, Jordan), in August 1868. Klein was led to it by Emir Sattam Al-Fayez, son of the Bani Sakhr King Fendi Al-Fayez, although neither of them could read the text. At that time, amateur explorers and archaeologists were scouring the Levant for evidence proving th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eglon (king)
According to the Book of Judges, Eglon ( ''‘Eglon'') was a king of Moab who oppressed Israel. No archaeological evidence has been discovered to prove his existence, though some possible candidates for his palace exist. Biblical narrative He was the head of the confederacy of Moab, Ammon and Amalek in their assault on Israel. Eglon reigned over the Israelites for 18 years. One day, Ehud, who was left handed, came presenting a customary tribute and tricked Eglon and stabbed him with his sword, but when Ehud attempted to draw the sword back out, the obese king's excess fat prevented its retrieval. His servants, believing he was relieving himself, left him be. In the aftermath of his death, the Moabites were routed and the Israelites enjoyed eighty years of peace. Rabbis in the Talmudic tradition claimed that Ruth was Eglon's daughter. According to this tradition, Eglon was rewarded for rising out of respect when Ehud mentioned the Israelite God by having King David as a des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the Bible), namely Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The majority of modern scholars date the composition of the Torah to the Middle Persian Period (5th century BCE). Some of the traditions contributing to this narrative are older, since allusions to the story are made by 8th-century BCE prophets such as Amos and Hosea. The consensus of modern scholars is that the Bible does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE from the indigenous Canaanite culture. Most modern scholars believe that the story of the Exodus has some historical basis, but that any such basis has little resemblance to the story told in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midianite
Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Arabian Peninsula, on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea", an area which he notes was "never extensively settled until the 8th–7th century B.C." According to the Book of Genesis, the Midianites were the descendants of Midian, who was a son of Abraham and his wife Keturah: "Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah" (Genesis 25:1–2, King James Version). Neither Midian's nor the Midianites' existence are attested in antiquity outside of Biblical sources. Land or tribal league? Some scholars have suggested that the name "Midian" does not refer to geographic places or to a specific tribe, but to a confederation or "league" of tribes b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The ''Zohar'' contains discussions of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of Ego to Darkness and "true self" to "The Light of God". The ''Zohar'' was first publicized by Moses de León (c. 1240 – 1305 CE), who claimed it was a Tannaitic work recording the teachings of Simeon ben Yochai (). This claim is universally rejected by modern scholars, most of whom believe de León, also an infamous forger of Geonic material, wrote the book himself between 1280 and 1286. Some scholars argue that the ''Zohar'' is the work of multiple medieval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it, from its origin in medieval Judaism to its later adaptations in Western esotericism ( Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah). Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God—the mysterious '' Ein Sof'' (, ''"The Infinite"'')—and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation). It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. Jewish Kabbalists originally developed their own transmission of sacred texts within the realm of Jewish tradition and often use classical Jewish scriptures to explain and demonstrate its mystical teachings. These teachings are h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resource Depletion
Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources (see also mineral resource classification). Use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource, the more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases. There are several types of resource depletion, the most known being: Aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, pollution or contamination of resources, slash-and-burn agricultural practices, soil erosion, and overconsumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources. Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, water usage, and consumption of fossil fuels. Depletion of wildlife p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Römer
Thomas Christian Römer (born 13 December 1955, in Mannheim) is a German-born Swiss biblical scholar, exegete, philologist, professor, and Reformed minister. After teaching at the University of Geneva, he became professor of the Old Testament at the University of Lausanne. From 2007, has held the chair "Biblical environments" at the Collège de France, of which he became administrator in 2019. The Collège de France is considered to be France's most prestigious research establishment. Biography Life Thomas Römer, born 13 December 1955 in Mannheim (Germany) and raised in a practicing Protestant family of German descent, was very passionate about the Old Testament, intrigued in particular by its paradoxes. Without any particular vocation and like what was regularly practiced in Germany, he headed for Theology. From 1982 to 1984, He was trainee minister of the Reformed Church of France in Nancy. Education He studied Theology and Religious studies at the theologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nadav Na'aman
Nadav Na'aman (born in 1939 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli archaeologist and historian. He specializes in the study of Near East in the second and first millenniums BC. His research combines the history of the Ancient Near East, archaeology, Assyrology, and the study of the Bible. He possesses broad knowledge in all these four branches of research. Biography Na'aman was born on a kibbutz near Jerusalem and grew up on the Kinneret kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee. His father was Professor Shlomo Naaman, who taught in the Department of General History of Tel Aviv University. After completing his IDF military service (1957-1960), he left the kibbutz in 1964 and studied archaeology and Jewish history. He received his doctorate in 1975 from Tel Aviv University with Yohanan Aharoni with a thesis on the importance of the Amarna letters for the history of Israel. A time as a lecturer in archaeology and history of the ancient Near East at Tel Aviv University followed. In 1984 Na'aman became Ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Israel Finkelstein
Israel Finkelstein ( he, ישראל פינקלשטיין, born March 29, 1949) is an Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. Finkelstein is active in the archaeology of the Levant and is an applicant of archaeological data in reconstructing biblical history. He is also known for applying the exact and life sciences in archaeological and historical reconstruction. Finkelstein is the current excavator of Megiddo, a key site for the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Levant. Finkelstein is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and an ''associé étranger'' of the French Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Finkelstein has received several noteworthy academic and writing awards. In 2005, he won the Dan David Prize for his revision of the history of Israel in the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. In 2009 he was named ''chevalier'' of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
