Page 4 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

Study Section 1: Ancient Mesopotamia and Abraham
(Genesis 11-12)

1.1 Connect.

How did the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia shape the way Abraham saw and worshipped
God? Where did Abraham come from? What was the culture like there? How did it shape
Abraham’s understanding of who God was and how to follow Him? What was the Tower of
Babel? In this section we will focus on the world that shaped the life and actions of Abraham.
You will find that understanding this information brings the Bible to life. Let’s get started.

1.2 Objectives.

1. The student will be able to summarize the location and government of Ancient Mesopotamia.

2. The student will be able to explain some of the religious thought of Ancient Mesopotamia and
how it informs the book of Genesis and the story of Abraham.

3. The student will be able to explain the basic social and economic backgrounds of Ancient
Mesopotamia and how they shed light on the biblical story.

1.3 Ancient Mesopotamia and Abraham.

Ancient Mesopotamia is in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates river. The culture
that arose there is considered the birthplace of civilization. The name Mesopotamia is not
the name it was originally known by. Mesopotamia simply means “the land between the
rivers.” This region is known for having invented writing, the wheel, architecture, irrigation
systems, and metal working abilities. In what follows we will briefly summarize the
location, government, religious thought, social, and economic background that produce Abraham. We
will start with the location. They wrote on many backgrounds, but the surviving examples include
1
Cuneiform tablets primarily. Here is an example of a Sumerian Cuneiform tablet.

1 Illustration used with permission from John Holmes from his Biblical Backgrounds course.

3