Page 3 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook
P. 3

Advanced Biblical Backgrounds of the Bible
                                               By Randall Whitman, Jr, M.Div.
                                                      Ryan Reed, Ph.D.
                                                     Kris Bjorgen, Ed.D.
                                                     Jairos Banda, B.Th.


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



               1.1 Connect.

                        Have you ever had to live by faith alone?  God told you to do something, or go somewhere,
                        and you could not figure out how obedience was logically possible.  Over the centuries God
                        has asked people to launch out in ministry but they had no means of support.  God told
                        Hudson Taylor to go to China, but he had no money or means of support.  Yet he went and
                        thousands, if not millions have come to Christ directly or indirectly because he was willing to
               walk with God by faith.

               God spoke to Abraham and asked him to leave his home and go to a place that he did not know.  As we
               will see in this lesson, Abraham had a comfortable and secure life in Ur.  Why should he take his family
               to a foreign country?  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





                                                              2
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8