Biblical illustrator winter 2017 sample

B I B L I C A L

ROMAN CITIZENSHIP Privileges and Expectations Jericho: A Strategic Locale With Sackcloth and Ashes

volume 43 number 2

winter 2016-17

Eric Geiger Vice President, Church Resources

O

NE OF THE MANY things I miss about my dad is that he was a great story teller! Number 9 of 11 children, he was raised on a farm in south Georgia during the depression. Sources of entertainment were non-existent. So they told stories.

I remember fondly listening to dad and his siblings tell stories about growing crops, going to school, and learning to drive. They told several stories about a pair of mules they had, including going to church in a mule-pulled wagon. Somehow, stories connect and stick with us, don’t they?

My dad also had a great sense of humor. Later in his life, someone found and gave him a photo of those two old mules. Proudly, Dad framed it and put it in the den. One day the preacher came by and Dad said, “Hey! Let me show you a picture of me and my bride on our wedding day.” And yes, you know which picture he showed.

Rather than getting the joke, the preacher looked at Mom with pity as if to say, “I understand; it’s probably dementia,” which made the experience even funnier! Dad retold THAT story for years.

The other day a co-worker said, “Behind every Bible verse is a story.” What a profound yet simple concept! What we first learned from the Bible were the stories: Adam and Eve; the flood; Moses at the Red Sea; the battle of Jericho; David and Goliath; Daniel in the lions’ den; Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus; the boy with loaves and fish; Jesus walking on water; Jesus on the cross; the empty tomb; Saul on the road to Damascus.

Over a century ago, Katherine Hankey wrote a poem, which was later put to music. She wrote about an “old, old story” that “satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.” I am grateful for stories that entertain—but am even more grateful for those that change people’s lives and have eternal worth!

G. B. Howell, Jr. Content Editor Dwayne McCrary Team Leader Ken Braddy Director, Adult Ongoing Curriculum Michael Kelley Director, Group Ministry Send questions/comments to: Content Editor, Biblical Illustrator One LifeWay Plaza Nashville, TN 37234-0175 Or make comments at www.lifeway.com @B_Illustrator visit www.lifeway.com/biblicalillustrator Biblical Illustrator (ISSN 0195-1351, Item 005075109) is published quarterly by LifeWay, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. © 2016 LifeWay. For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com, or write LifeWay Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax (615) 251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, fax (615) 251-5933, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, or write to the above address.

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Printed in the United States of America B I B L I C A L B I B L I C A L I L L U S T R AT O R ROMAN CITIZENSHIP I JERICHO I SACKCLOTH AND ASHES WINTER 2016-17

These past Biblical Illustrator articles may be helpful to you as you prepare for January Bible Study 2017: the Book of Malachi.

The Fuller; Su ‘85 Repentance in the Old Testament; Su ‘86 The Life Situation in Malachi; Sp ‘96 Metallurgy in Ancient Israel; Sp ‘96 Tithes and Offerings; F ‘97 Does It Pay to Be Good?; Su ‘99 Spiritual Climate at the Close of the Old Testament Era; Su ‘07 An Overview of Malachi; Su ‘12 Widows and Orphans in the Old Testament; Sp ‘15

ROMAN CITIZENSHIP Privileges and Expectations Jericho: A Strategic Locale With Sackcloth and Ashes

volume 43 number 2

winter 2016-17

1105

About the Cover: Marble statue depicting Rome’s Emperor Caracalla in the guise of Helios, the Greek sun god. The hairstyle mimics that of Augustus. Caracalla is credited with granting citizenship to all free males of the empire in A.D. 212.

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ GB HOWELL/ NORTH CAROLINA MUSEUM OF ART/ RALEIGH (68/0017)

K

On a scale of 1-10, this book receives a rating of 9.5 camels.

The First Days of Jesus, Andreas J. Kostenberger and Alexander E. Stewart; Crossway, 2015; 272 pages; softback; ISBN: 978-1-4335-4278-7.

Book reviews are limited to those the Illustrator staff feels confident to recommend, based on ease of reading, quality of content, and doctrinal viewpoint. Each book is reviewed within LifeWay’s doctrinal guidelines. The 1 to 10 scale reflects overall quality and usefulness.

YES!

OSTENBERGER AND Stewart wrote The First Days of Jesus in order “to present the most important information in a clear and understandable way in order to enable [readers] to grasp and be changed by a biblical understanding of Christmas” (p. 21). Each chapter looks at a specific text, examining it with a biblical, exegetical, historical, and devotional approach. One of the writers’ concerns was: “Our familiarity with the Christmas story could unwittingly cause us to miss the unexpected wonder, shock, and newness that accompanied these events” (p. 212). To highlight the significance of Jesus’ birth, the writers draw attention to every known facet.

The book includes those whom readers would expect: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men. It moves beyond these and explores how Zechariah and Elizabeth, Anna and Simeon, and Herod are weaved into the biblical narrative. Those too might not be unexpected. The book, though, also includes chapters on the significance of the virgin birth and the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, what the Jews were expecting in a Messiah, the preexistent Christ as described in the prologue of John, the witness of

John the Baptist, and how Jesus’ birth relates to living the Christian faith.

One of the book’s strengths is the way it addresses questions related to the details in the birth narrative’s accuracy, such as the dating of the census and the differences in Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts. A second is the way it shows how John’s prologue highlights the theological aspects of Jesus’ birth.

A third is the book’s devotional aspect, which the writers weave throughout.

A fourth is the thorough examination of the Old Testament description of the anticipated Messiah and the sample of the noncanonical Jewish writings that feature the intense longing the Jews in the intertestamental period had for a coming deliverer.

My only disappointment was the writers’ not explaining more thoroughly the meaning of the Greek term kataluma in Luke 2:7, which the kjv interprets “inn.” The First Days of Jesus, however, is an excellent read. It will cause readers to slow down and examine the significance of each facet of the Messiah’s birth, including maybe some unexpected aspects, and to appreciate more fully His coming.

I G.B. Howell, Jr. is the content editor of Biblical Illustrator magazine.

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Contents

WINTER 2016-2017 VOLUME 43 NUMBER 2

FEATURES 2

BI Lines

48 Friendship: Lessons from Philippians

by John Polhill

January 22 // Session 1

3 BI the Book: The First Days of Jesus

By Andreas J. Kostenberger and Alexander E. Stewart

Book review by G. B. Howell, Jr.

34 What Was the Praetorian Guard?

by Timothy N. Boyd

January 29 // Session 2

98 Issues Gone BI

6

BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFE 18 Psalm 119: A Hymn to God’s Law

by Todd Borger

December 4-January 8 // Sessions 1-6 41 Delight: A Word Study

by Kevin Hall

December 11 // Session 2 60 Words for “The Word”

by Francis X. Kimmitt

December 11 // Session 2 InSites // The Messiah’s Birth: Foretold & Fulfilled

(between pages 66-67)

December 25 // Session 4 82 Who Were the “Righteous” in the Psalms?

by Tom Goodman

January 1 // Session 5

94 Paul’s Means of Support

by Timothy Faber

February 26 // Session 6 EXPLORE THE BIBLE 26 The Hittites: A Historical Perspective

by Claude F. Mariottini

December 4 // Session 1 10 Jericho: A Strategic Locale

by David L. Jenkins

December 11 // Session 2 79 The Aijalon Valley

by Joseph R. Cathey

December 18 // Session 3

34

4 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / WINTER 2016-17

Roman Citizenship: Privileges and Expectations

by Sharon H. Gritz February 12 // Session 4

14

S E E R E L AT E D B I B L E S T U D Y R E S O U R C E S :

www.GospelProject.com • www.BibleStudiesForLife.com • www.lifeway.com/ExploreTheBible

InSites // The Messiah’s Birth: Foretold & Fulfilled

(between pages 66-67)

December 25 // Session 4

64 The Anticipated Deliverer

by Stephen R. Miller

December 25 // Session 4

44 Gad: The Man and the Territory

by R. Raymond Lloyd

January 1 // Session 5

InSites // The Messiah’s Birth: Foretold & Fulfilled

(between pages 66-67)

December 25 // Session 4

90 Shechem

by W. Wayne VanHorn

January 8 // Session 6

67 Zerubbabel, the Leader and Builder

by Dorman Laird

January 8 // Session 6

22 Ashtoreth

by Robert A. Street

January 22 // Session 8

InSites // Exiles: Return & Rebuild

(between pages 66-67)

January 8, 15; February 5, 12, 19 // Sessions 6-7, 10-12

70 The Midianites in the Time of the Judges

by Gary P. Arbino

February 5 // Session 10

14

52 Old Testament Themes in the Book of Ruth

by Scott N. Callaham

February 19 // Session 12 THE GOSPEL PROJECT

37 Hebrew Slaves and Slavery

by R. Kelvin Moore

January 29, February 12 // Sessions 9 & 11 86 Nehemiah’s Adversaries

by Robert C. Dunston

February 12 // Session 11

56 Jehoiakim, Racing Toward Disaster

by Leon Hyatt, Jr.

December 4 // Session 1

30 Sick Religion: Malachi’s Call to Repentance

by Alan Branch

February 26 // Session 13

74 Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar

by Daniel C. Browning, Jr.

December 11 // Session 2

70

With Sackcloth and Ashes: Ancient Expressions of Grief

by E. LeBron Matthews January 22 // Session 8

74

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BSFL: Philippians 3:12-21

ROMAN CITIZENSHIP Privileges and Expectations

By Sharon H. Gritz

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EAGLE: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ KEN TOUCHTON (1/10/16)

STATUE: LLUSTRATOR PHOTO/JOY BORGAN / NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ROMAN ART (32/1/2)

HE APOSTLE PAUL knew his “target audience” well as he wrote to the church at Philippi. The Philippians lived in a city that was officially named both a Roman colony and an Italian city (ius Italicum).1 These distinctions raised the status of this urban center and gave it a Roman flavor despite its being in a Greek province hundreds of miles from Rome. Paul encouraged the believers in this mini-Rome to conduct their lives, or literally, live as citizens, “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27, niv). He also reminded the Philippians that their citizenship was in heaven (3:20). Why did Paul choose the concept of citizenship in writing to the Philippians? What significance did Roman citizenship have in the first-century world?

Importance of Roman Citizenship The Roman Empire represented a major world power in the first century a.d. Its rule extended from present-day Spain and France to North Africa and the Middle East.

Caesar Augustus (27 b.c.–a.d. 14) stationed legions of soldiers throughout the empire to maintain order and control.

As a result, Roman citizens were privileged persons. They belonged to the elite in every part of the realm. Since their government ruled, they received special treatment and respect in social and business matters, particularly outside of Italy. Citizens of Rome could travel wherever they wanted, knowing that Roman law would protect them. Non-citizens had no such benefits.

Becoming a Roman Citizen An individual could become a Roman citizen in several ways. A child born to Roman citizens became one automatically. Initially, only freeborn natives of the city of Rome could be citizens. As the empire expanded beyond Italy, others who were not Roman by birth received this honor. A slave whose Roman-citizen owner awarded him his freedom (manumission) gained citizenship status. Rome also granted

this honor to people who performed some valuable service benefiting Roman interests.2 For example, Rome granted citizenship to auxiliary soldiers who served in the Roman army for 25 years. Groups of people were declared citizens all at once through the colonization of their town or its promotion to Latin rights.

One historian, Dio Cassius (about a.d. 150–235), stated that citizenship could be purchased, especially during the reign of Claudius (a.d. 41‑54), who continued the practice begun under Caesar Augustus.3 Persons could not purchase citizenship­—but they could pay bribes to lesser officials to add their names to a list of candidates for citizenship. Evidently, the tribune Claudius Lysias obtained his citizenship in this way.

He told the apostle Paul, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money” (Acts 22:28, hcsb).

Advantages of Citizenship Being a citizen of Rome made a person a member of the ruling power. Wherever they traveled throughout the empire, citizens were allowed all the rights and privileges of Roman law. Citizenship shaped every area of life. Citizens received better treatment than non-citizens in family matters, such as getting married, having children, and making wills and in business concerns, such as holding property and making contracts.

Citizens had advantages in legal concerns involving courts, custody, and punishments. For instance, citizens accused of any crime had the right to a fair and public trial. They also could appeal to Rome. This exempted a person from having to leave final control of his case in the hands of local authorities. Paul claimed this right when he appealed to Caesar while stating his case before Festus, the local Roman governor (25:10‑12).

Left: Toga-clad figure shows a man in the formal dress of the Romans in the 1st–2nd centuries A.D. The toga, a large trapezoid cloth,

typically wool, that wrapped around the whole person, was for citizens; they wore them over a tunica. Slaves typically wore only a tunica.

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CITIZENSHIP UP AND MILITARY DOWN

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ GB HOWELL/ MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS/ BOSTON (64/2074)

Authorities could not use shameful forms of punishment against Roman citizens. This included scourging (a brutal whipping) and death by crucifixion (binding or nailing the accused to a cross). The Philippian magistrates became alarmed when they learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens after they had publicly beaten the two missionaries and had thrown them into prison without a trial (16:22‑39). The officials had broken Roman law. Rome did punish some cities for such crimes; the most serious penalty was causing them to lose their Roman rights.4 The deaths of Paul and Peter reflect their different citizenship status. According to tradition, Paul, the Roman citizen, was beheaded. The law considered such a quick death to be merciful and thus proper for a citizen of Rome. In contrast, Peter, the non-citizen, was crucified upside down.5 Generally, authorities used torture when questioning slaves and non-citizens who had been accused of committing some crime; Roman citizens could not receive such treatment. Only the imperial court in Rome could impose the death penalty on a citizen.

Responsibilities of Citizenship Citizens were responsible for all the civic duties Roman law imposed. During the Roman Republic (509–27 b.c.), citizens had to serve in the army. With the beginning of the Principate or early part of the Empire, though, “the onerous military duty of Roman citizens was greatly lessened by the general shift to a volunteer, professional army.”6 Citizens enjoyed the right to vote, although they had to be in Rome to exercise this privilege. Some individuals, however, were given citizenship status without voting rights. Under the Principate the right to vote was an illusion, not a reality.

Proving Citizenship Proving citizenship in one’s hometown was easy since this was part of the public records. Citizen parents had to register their legitimately born child within 30 days of its birth. The difficulty of proving citizenship 8 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / WINTER 2016-17

Above: Funerary relief of the Publius Gessius family; from western Italy; dated to about 50-20 B.C. The Latin inscription identifies the central figure as Publius Gessius, a Roman citizen.

He is flanked by Fausta Gessia, a slave whom he had freed, and by their son, P. Gessius Primus, also a freed slave.

The inscriptions on the sides indicate that Fausta built the tomb that held this relief with money provided in Primus’s will.

This monument is thus affected by citizenship in two ways: slaves freed

by Roman citizens became citizens, and only citizens could draw up a will.

arose when one traveled. Romans citizens could have private copies made of a document, called a testatio, confirming their status. Such a testimony consisted of a diptych, two wooden tablets connected with a cord or hinges. The writing was engraved on the interior sides, covered with a bright wax. Seven witnesses had to attest to this certificate of citizenship.7 Perhaps a citizen who took trips frequently would, by habit, carry such a document with him. Retired auxiliary soldiers received a document in bronze that held up better for travel. In time Roman law considered making a false claim of citizenship to be a capital offence. The guilty party could be prosecuted and even receive the death penalty.8

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE/ WALTERS ART MUSEUM/ BALTIMORE (75/0275)

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OLD MEDALLION depicts Emperor Caracalla, who ruled a.d. 211-217. He is shown in profile and bearing on his shoulder a shield decorated with the images of Nike and a racing chariot. In a.d. 212, Caracalla issued an edict granting citizenship to all free male inhabitants of the Roman Empire.

Some accused the emperor of merely wanting to increase the empire’s tax revenue since noncitizens did not pay taxes.

The edict, though, produced an unexpected result. Before the edict, citizenship was limited and held mainly by men who actually lived in Italy and who had served in the military. After the edict, though, serving in the military became less attractive to many men.

Recruitment plummeted. The military was stretched thin and morale waned. Some have cited the edict as being one of the early factors that led to the ultimate downfall of the empire.

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ BRITISH MUSEUM/ LONDON (570/1)

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ/ NATIONAL MUSEUM OF DAMASCUS (9/1/13)

Roman citizens possessed three names: a forename (a personal or individual name), a family name, and a cognomen, the name by which a person was normally known. Paul’s cognomen was Paulus, the only one of his three names now known. The apostle may have used Paulus (Greek, Paulos) because it rhymed with his unofficial Jewish name, Saul (Greek, Saulos). Paulus sounded like the name of a Roman citizen.9 Philippi and Citizenship After winning the Battle of Philippi in 42 b.c., Mark Anthony and Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus) made the city a Roman colony. This provided its residents with Roman citizenship. The two victors settled many army veterans in the city. When Octavian overcame Anthony in 31 b.c., he reestablished Philippi as a Roman colony and settled some of the defeated soldiers there. Octavian also gave the city the status of ius Italicum.

This gave the colonists the same rights and privileges those who lived in Italy possessed and secured their loyalty to Rome. As a Roman colony, Philippi possessed the right of selfgovernment under Roman

Above: Emperor Trajan (ruled A.D. 98–117) issued this bronze military diploma to Reburrus, a Spanish junior

officer in the First Pannonian Cavalry regiment.

It granted him citizenship and the right to marry; dated A.D. 103.

Lower left: Basalt relief from the early Roman period depicts a Roman centurion with a dagger in his left hand.

laws and freedom from direct taxation of the city’s citizens and lands. No doubt the Philippians prized their Roman citizenship.

Paul knew that the church at Philippi understood the implications of being a colony of Rome. The Philippians lived as Romans in their Greek province. The apostle reminded believers that they represented a colony of heaven in Philippi.10 He wanted them to remain loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ and conduct themselves as worthy citizens of their heavenly home, living as Christ followers in their earthly home, Philippi.

I 1. Richard R. Melick, Jr., Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32 in The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991), 24; Ralph Martin, Philippians, vol. 11 in Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 18.

2. Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 62-63.

3. Dio Cassius, Roman History in Nine Volumes, The Loeb Classical Library, trans.

Earnest Cary, vol. 7 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1955), 60.17.4-6, (pp. 410-11).

4. Francis Lyall, “Roman Law in the Writings of Paul—Aliens and Citizens,” Evangelical Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 1 (January-March 1976): 10.

5. Ferguson, Backgrounds, 63.

6. Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard J. A. Talbert, The Romans: From Village to Empire (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004), 421.

7. Eckhard J. Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, vol. 2, Paul and the Early Church (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), 1156; F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 39.

8. Brian M. Rapske, “Citizenship, Roman” in Dictionary of New Testament Background [DNTB], ed. Craig A. Evans and Stanley E. Porter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 216.

9. Bruce, Paul, 38; Rapske, “Citizenship, Roman” in DNTB, 216.

10. Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 162.

Sharon H. Gritz is a freelance writer living in Fort Worth, Texas.

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ETB: Joshua 6:12-25

Jer cho A STRATEGIC LOCALE

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BY DAVID L. JENKINS

TWIN CUP: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ JOSEPH A. CALLAWAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM/ THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY/ LOUISVILLE, KY (13/10/2)

JORDAN VALLEY: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (60/0133)

WALL AND ROPE: ISTOCK PHOTOS

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O ANCIENT BIBLICAL city carries more intrigue, mystery, or historical significance than Jericho. Sunday School children, in folk-song fashion, sing, “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, . . . and the walls came a-tumblin’ down.” They listen with excitement to the story of “a wee little man” named Zacchaeus who climbed a sycamore tree in Jericho and positioned himself so he could see Jesus, who was passing by on the street below. Then, pilgrims en route to the holy city of Jerusalem from the land of Jordan usually traveled through Jericho on their journey. Still today, tourists relish visiting Jericho, sampling the luscious fruits gathered from the Jordan Valley. In Jericho they relive the biblical stories and history that surround the town.

The word Jericho means either “a place of fragrance,” maybe referring to the prolific flowers native to the area, or “place of the moon,” alluding to this being a site where people worshiped the lunar gods, which they believed controlled the seasons. Jericho has deep roots in the early history of Bible lands and places. Surrounding the ancient city were walls so massive that houses were built upon them (Josh. 2:15). The remains of Old Testament and pre-historic Jericho lie beneath a mound known as Tell es-Sultan. This mound is located on the west side of the Jordan Valley, approximately 10 miles north of the Dead Sea and 4 miles west of the Jordan River.

A spring, ‘Ain es-Sultan, provides ample water to the site, producing up to 1,000 gallons per minute. The spring hydrates an oasis that stretches from Jericho eastward toward the Jordan. This

spring and the area’s fertile soil attracted settlers from as early as the Mesolithic Age (10,000–8000 b.c.). The oldest known building on the site dates to about 9250 b.c.

Unlike other inhabited places from early in the Neolithic Era (8000– 4500 b.c.), Jericho was a walled site. “By 8000 b.c. a walled town (the world’s earliest) of about 10 acres had been built.”1 The wall, constructed of huge stones, stood over 19 feet tall. “A massive round tower within the wall was amazingly well constructed. The tower measured 8.5 m [27.9 feet] in diameter and is preserved to a height of 7.7 m [25.3 feet]; it was built with a solid stone core, and a steep stairway led to its top.”2 Jericho has consequently been called the “Citadel of the Neolithic Age.”3 Archaeologists have thus found at Jericho evidence of prehistoric nomads who were hunter-gatherers; later, those who developed a village on the site; and still later, those who established permanent dwellings, farmed the area, and had domesticated animals. During this era, also emerging was the expansion of human technology. People

moved from developing polished stone implements to making crudely fired ceramic vessels. Jericho is the oldest biblical city to show all of these types of progression.4 Archaeological evidence indicates the site was abandoned about 4000 b.c. but began to repopulate about 700 years later. By the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, people in Jericho were living civilized lives. Archaeologists have found at Jericho tombs dated to about 1600 b.c., wooden furniture, fine pottery, wooden boxes with inlaid decorations, and basket-work.5 As the Israelites settled into Canaan, Joshua assigned Jericho to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 18:21).

Even though ancient Jericho was destroyed some time after this, a small settlement remained, assuring the continuity of life in that area.

On His last journey to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Jericho where He encountered a man named Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1‑10).

Jericho was a strategic location for collecting Roman taxes—and Zacchaeus was a corrupt tax collector. Seeing Zacchaeus in the tree,

Archaeologists have found at Jericho evidence of prehistoric nomads who were hunter-gatherers; later, those who developed a village on the site; and still later, those who established permanent dwellings, farmed the area, and had domesticated animals.

Right: Twin cup with stirrup handle from Jericho; dated 3200–2400 B.C. Left: Looking over the Jordan Valley from Old Testament Jericho.

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village. In fact, Herod the Great fortified the city and built several new palaces there, naming them after his friends. He retired and died in Jericho. Jericho’s, and by extension, Zacchaeus’s, wealth no doubt came in part from taxes on the salt, sulphur, and bitumen (natural products of the Dead Sea) as they passed through the city.

Wealth acquired from this trade likely contributed considerably to the city’s many building projects.

The Synoptic Gospels record Jesus’ encounter with beggars in Jericho (Matt. 20:29‑34; Mark 10:46‑52; Luke 18:35‑43). Beggars would have considered such a prosperous city ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ KRISTEN HILLER (50/4477)

Jesus commanded that he come down quickly. Zacchaeus obeyed.

Afterward, Jesus informed him that He was going to be a guest in his home that day. Luke stated that Zacchaeus was rich, so we can imagine that he lived in a palatial home in Jericho. Jesus’ visit resulted in the tax collector’s conversion.

The dramatic end of that encounter with Jesus revealed the proof of Zacchaeus’ faith in Christ by his willingness to give half of his possessions to the poor, and to restore fourfold what he may have taken from them fraudulently (v. 8).

No doubt, then, Jericho was more than a small, nondescript

Left: Part of the ruins of Herod’s palace at Jericho.

Part of the brickwork is in a pattern known as opus reticulatum.

Stones were cut like small pyramids, and the points were inserted into concrete, leaving the exposed bases, which were set at roughly a 45-degree angle.

an ideal place to assure an income for themselves.

Another plus for Jericho was the city’s location near a major ford in the Jordan River. This made the city a natural gateway from the Transjordan and the plains of Moab to the region that lay westward beyond the Jordan River (Num. 22:1; 26:3; 31:12; 33:48,50; 35:1; Deut. 32:49; Josh. 2:1). Situated on the major east-west trade route, Jericho controlled the traffic flow from the Transjordan area into the central hill country. This included the city of Jerusalem, which was approximately 14 miles southwest of Jericho. To further enhance the importance of Jericho’s geographical significance was its location on an important north-south highway that connected the city to Beth-shan to the north.

Consequently for an invading army to possess Jericho carried many benefits, including control of the major entrance to western Canaan from the Transjordan, possession of the water rights and oasis-like garden land east of the city, and control of the mineral traffic in the area of the Dead Sea.

Artist’s rendering of Herod’s palace at Jericho.

ILLUSTRATOR ART/ BILL LATTA

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Jericho •

Jerusalem •

MOAB

Lower right: The Wadi Qelt, a dry river bed at New Testament Jericho, shows evidence of erosion at the bottom. The wadi ran through the middle of Herod’s winter palace complex at Jericho.

Below: Pre-pottery Neolithic (8000– 6000 B.C.) stone pestle and mortar for grinding; from Jericho.

Surely Joshua’s heart beat faster as he gazed toward Jericho, that Canaanite citadel that stood between him and his army and the conquest of the land God had promised His people through Abraham.

With wisdom and military skills God had given him, Joshua likely shared with his lieutenants the strategy they would use in mounting this military challenge. From the standpoint of human military

ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (60/0111) ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (60/0147)

Jordan River

Bethshan•

Dead Sea

MAP: ILLUSTRATOR MAP/ LINDEN ARTISTS/ LONDON PESTLE AND MORTAR: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ JOSEPH A. CALLAWAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM/ THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY/ LOUISVILLE, KY (13/8/17)

Sea of Galilee

Right: Shown among the ruins at ancient Jericho is the base of a round Neolithic tower dated to about 8000 B.C. The tower, which measures about 28 feet in diameter at the base and 25 feet tall, has an internal staircase.

Especially considering that workers had only stone tools, the tower was a remarkable engineering feat.

planning, it would be a completely unorthodox procedure. For six days, a parade of priests would march once each day around Jericho, bearing the ark of the Lord among them, leading the army behind them. Then they would return to their camp. This no doubt confused the people of Jericho. On the seventh day, the priests would circle the city seven times. As the priests blew their trumpets, the people shouted and they witnessed the mighty power of God as the walls surrounding Jericho “fell down flat” (Josh. 6:20, kjv).

Thus Jericho indeed was a strategic location where the Israelites

witnessed the guiding and protecting power of their God. Against overwhelming odds, they would advance with confidence to lay siege against the final barrier between them and the victory God had promised.

I 1. Karen Joines and Eric Mitchell, “Jericho” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, gen. ed. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, and Archie England (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 886.

2. Amihai Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000–586 B.C.E. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 41.

3. LaMoine F. DeVries, Cities of the Biblical World (Peabody, MA: Hendrikson Publishers, 1997), 189.

4. Charles F. Pfeiffer, ed., The Biblical World (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976), 306.

5. Pat Alexander, ed., The Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible (Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest, 1987), 264.

David L. Jenkins is a retired pastor living in Gilmer, Texas.

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TGP: Esther 4

WITH

SACKCLOTH ASHES AND

ANCIENT EXPRESSIONS OF GRIEF

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VALLEY OF THE KINGS: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (16/33/15) BOOK OF THE DEAD: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRITISH MUSEUM/ LONDON (31/24/53) SACK CLOTH AND ASHES: ISTOCK PHOTOS

By E. LeBron Matthews

T

HE DRAMATIC EVENTS described in Esther 4 threatened Jewish survival. Haman’s genocidal scheme would eradicate all Jews. Upon learning that the king had enacted Haman’s plan into law, Mordecai tore his clothing, dressed in sackcloth, covered himself with ashes, and cried bitterly. In ancient cultures, tearing one’s garments was a common reaction to bad news, such as the death of a relative (Gen. 37:34) or the defeat of an army (2 Sam. 1:11). Sackcloth was a course, dark fabric fashioned from the hair of camels or goats.1 Mordecai’s reactions were common biblical expressions of grief. Abstaining from routine hygiene tasks such as washing or anointing with oil likewise signified mourning.2 Tears are more of a biological or emotional reaction rather than a cultural expression to some deeply felt loss.

But every civilization observed certain expressions of grief and mourning.

The Egyptians are known for their tombs. From their earliest history they held a fervent belief in an afterlife.

This strongly influenced their attitudes and rituals concerning death. Egyptians did not consider death to be the end of life but the beginning of a new phase of existence.

Thus, early in life Egyptians began planning and preparing for their deaths.

Economic ability and social status determined the type of burial an Egyptian would receive. For Egyptians who could afford it, mummification was a lengthy process. They dried the corpse with natron salt for 70 days. Afterward

Above: From Akhmim, Egypt, a hieratic Book of the Dead; written on linen; dated after 664 B.C. The Book of the Dead con-

tained a collection of magical spells to help the deceased in his journey toward paradise in the afterlife.

Top: Overview of

the Valley of the Kings in Thebes, Egypt. From the 16th to the 11th centuries B.C., Egypt’s royalty and powerful elite were buried in this area of Upper Egypt.

they decorated and wrapped the body in linen before encasing it in a coffin. Burial handlers gathered various objects they thought the deceased might need in the afterlife and placed these along with the coffin in a stone tomb. The most elaborate of these tombs were for pharaohs. On the other hand most poor people were buried in shallow graves in the desert. For these bodies the dry sand and arid climate provided the only mummification they would receive.3 Even though the extended period of preparation surely moderated the initial shock, ancient Egyptians deemed public expressions of mourning as essential. A long procession accompanied the deceased to the place of interment. Male relatives walked beside oxen that pulled the sarcophagus on a sledge. Female members of the immediate family walked at the head and foot of the coffin. Behind them walked other mourners. Egyptian tomb art depicts mourners making dramatic gestures. The images show women exhibiting less self-control; tears roll down their cheeks, their garments are torn, and they rub dust on their heads. Families sometimes WINTER 2016-17 / BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR

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and lyres; from the palace of the Hittite King Barrekup; dates

from 8th cent.

B.C. Music was regular part of Hittite funerals.

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ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ G.B. HOWELL/ LOUVRE MUSEUM (35/21/43)

ISTOCK PHOTO

Right: Basalt relief orthostat showing musicians playing tambourines

bleached dry, they are dropped through the hole in the middle. Such burials, which date to the 5th cent.

B.C., were discontinued in many parts of the world late in the 20th cent., when newly enacted laws prohibited the practice.

Lower left: Bronze vase decorated with bull and horses in high relief; from Susa, which was the setting for the Book of Esther. Thinking the honor should have gone to him instead, Haman “clothed Mordecai and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king wants to honor’” (Esth. 6:11, HCSB).

Afterward Haman went home and covered his head in grief.

Israel (Lev. 19:27‑28).8 Phoenician burial rituals are poorly documented. Archaeology of ancient Phoenicia has revealed, however, depictions of lamentations that include wearing sackcloth, pulling hair, and beating one’s chest.9 The Babylonians commonly buried their dead within the precincts of their house, usually under a wall or floor.10 ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ/ MUSEUM OF THE ANCIENT ORIENT/ ISTANBUL (12/29/5)

hired professional mourners to accompany the procession.

These hired mourners pulled their hair and tossed dust on their heads. Egyptians also wrote letters to the dead, which they left at the burial place.4 Grief was not limited to funeral rites. Other disasters equally generated anguish. An inscription on one stela describes the elderly grieving during a famine. They sat on the ground with their legs drawn up and clasped by their arms.5 The Egyptians normally did not record military defeats or other disasters. Nevertheless such tragedies certainly occurred and brought some form of grieving.

Archaeologists have uncovered numerous Hittite graves.

Cremation was common. The Hittites commonly placed the ashes of the dead in jars and buried them in shallow graves.

They also buried funeral gifts with their loved ones. These gifts often had little intrinsic value. For instance, mourners would place broken farming implements in the grave. The broken state indicated they were for use in the afterlife.

Funeral rites included incantations, prayers, sacrifices, dirges by musicians, and wailing lamentations by women.6 Prior to the establishment of Israel, Egypt dominated most of Canaan. Consequently Egyptian culture influenced the Canaanites. Some Canaanite graves reveal efforts to mummify corpses. Even dating to the Persian period (586–332 b.c.), graves in the region display a strong Egyptian character.7 Cutting one’s hair or beard and lacerating the skin were common pagan practices especially when mourning the dead. Mosaic Law prohibited both in

Left: In Yazd, Iran, this Tower of Silence was a hold-over from the burial rituals of Zoroastrianism. The tower, always circular, has a flat roof with a round hole in the middle and an elevated perimeter wall. Bodies are placed on the flat roof and exposed to the elements and scavenging birds.

After the bones are

BOWL: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ MUSEUM OF ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY/ UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI/ COLUMBIA (406/6A) STATUE: ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ GB HOWELL/ MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS/ BOSTON (64/1834)

Lower right: Andesite-stone statue of a man seated and holding a bowl; likely Neo-Hittite; dated mid-9th to mid–8th centuries B.C. Typically placed

in tombs, these statues were believed to ensure that the deceased would never go hungry in the afterlife.

Right: Bowl

with scene from Homer’s Illiad, shows Achilles dragging the body of Hector behind his chariot; dates to the Hellenistic period.

They believed properly performed burial rites were important, but the role of personal religion for ordinary Babylonians remains unclear. A vast library of incantations and rituals for warding off evil spirits and witchcraft exists, but these offer almost no details about how the Babylonians grieved and mourned.

The Persians generally wrote in Aramaic on perishable materials such as parchment and papyrus. Consequently few documents survived. Much of our knowledge about Persia comes from the observations of other cultures, particularly the Greeks.11 Zoroastrian Iranians today still practice many of the centuries-old traditional funerary customs. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persians chiefly were concerned with religious purity.12 They elevated their king above the rest of humanity and worshiped him as the image of god. Society thus imposed certain restrictions on his behavior. For instance, he directed battles but was prohibited from fighting.13 This religious concept likely also was the basis of the Persian law that barred Mordecai from entering the King’s Gate (Esth. 4:2). Since the law of Persia did not conflict with the law of God, Mordecai obeyed the law of the land.14 The Persians believed the dead were punished in hell or rewarded in heaven. Funeral rites took place immediately after death. Persians left their dead in exposed locations for the flesh to decay or for scavengers to consume it. Mourners, all dressed in white, conducted the burial procession in silence in order not to interfere with prayers for the dead.

During the first three days after death, the deceased’s family fasted, prayed, and sacrificed to the gods. Later the family buried the bones in graves to await the judgment day.15 The Greeks believed burial was a divine obligation. Their wild laments were expressions of emotions that survivors felt. Homer described the Trojan’s King Priam covering himself in dirt and rolling on the ground when his son Hector was killed. The Greeks also cut their hair and wore special garments as a sign of grief.16 Every ancient Near Eastern culture exhibited sorrow.

Some signs of grief, such as crying, were universal. Some, such as exposure of corpses, were limited to specific societies. Other practices, such as wearing sackcloth and ashes, were widespread throughout the region in every age.

I 1. “Sackcloth” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary [HIBD], gen. ed. Chad Brand, Charles Draper, and Archie England (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1428.

2. John W. Drakeford and E. Ray Clendenen, “Grief and Mourning” in ibid., 691.

3. Rosalie David, Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, rev. ed. (New York: Facts on File, 2003), 206‑7; Barbara Mertz, Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1978), 305‑307.

4. David, Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, 193; Mertz, Red Land, Black Land, 295, 341; Joann Fletcher, The Egyptian Book of Living and Dying (London: Duncan Baird, 2002), 118; Gay Robbins, Women in Ancient Egypt (Cambridge: Harvard Univ.

Press, 1993), 164.

5. Fletcher, The Egyptian Book of Living and Dying, 33.

6. Trevor Bryce, Life and Society in the Hittite World (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2002), 176-77; J. G. Macqueen, The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor (Boulder: Westview Press, 1975), 135‑38.

7. Jonathan N. Tubb, Canaanites, Peoples of the Past (Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 1998), 90, 131‑32.

8. F. B. Huey, Jr., Jeremiah, Lamentations, vol. 16 in The New American Commentary [NAC] (Nashville: Broadman, 1993), 167; Mark F. Rooker, Leviticus, vol. 3a in NAC (Broadman & Holman, 2000), 262.

9. Glenn E. Markoe, Phoenicians, Peoples of the Past (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 2000), 138.

10. Gwendolyn Leick, The Babylonians: An Introduction (London: Routledge, 2003), 117, 131.

11. J. M. Cook, The Persian Empire (New York: Schocken Books, 1983), 12‑14.

12. Ibid., 154.

13. Geo Widengren, “The Persians” in Peoples of Old Testament Times, ed. D. J. Wiseman (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1973), 345‑46.

14. Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 10 in NAC (1993), 334.

15. Massoume Price, “A History of Moharram & Other Rituals of Death in Iran,” Iran Chamber Society [online; accessed 29 April 2016]. Available from the Internet: www. iranchamber.com/culture/articles/rituals_of_death.php.

16. Jacob Burckhardt, The Greeks and Greek Civilization, ed. Oswyn Murray, trans.

Sheila Stern (New York: St. Martin’s, 1998), 111, 142, 301; Thomas R. Martin, Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1996), 125.

E. LeBron Matthews is senior pastor, retired, of Eastern Heights Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia.

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