30 | Genesis 11:10
GENESIS 11:4
Ziggurats
Though they may resemble pyramids in appearance, ziggurats are nothing like them in function. Ziggurats have no inside. The structure was framed in mud brick, and then the core was packed with fill dirt. The facade was then completed with kiln-fired brick. Ziggurats were dedicated to particular deities. Any given deity may have several ziggurats dedicated to him or her in different cities. Furthermore, a given city may have several ziggurats, though the main one was associated with the patron deity of the city. Archaeologists have discovered nearly 30 ziggurats in the general region, and texts mention several others. The main architectural feature is the stairway or ramp that leads to the top. There was a small room at the top where a bed was made and a table set for the deity. Ziggurats range in size from 60 feet( 18 meters) per side to almost 200 feet( 60 meters) per side.
Most important is the function of the ziggurat. The ziggurat did not play a role in any of the rituals known to us from Mesopotamia. If known literature were our only guide, we would conclude that common people did not use the ziggurat for anything. It was sacred space and was strictly off-limits to profane use. Though the structure at the top was designed to accommodate the god, it was not a temple where people would go to worship. In fact, the ziggurat was typically accompanied by an adjoining temple near its base, where the worship did take place.
The best indication of the function of zig-
Stele of Nebuchadnezzar looking at the design of Babylon’ s ziggurat, Etemenanki, Babylon, 604 – 562 BC. Many also believe the Tower of Babel was a ziggurat.
The Schøyen Collection, Oslo and London, MS 2063, www. schoyencollection. com
continued on next page there the Lord scat tered them over the face of the whole earth.
From Shem to Abram 11:10-27pp— Ge 10:21-31; 1Ch 1:17-27
10 This is the ac count of Shem’ s fam i ly line.
Two years af ter the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he be came the fa ther a of Ar phax ad. 11 And af ter he be came the fa ther of Ar phax ad, Shem lived 500 years and had oth er sons and daugh ters.
11:12 f Lk 3:35
12 When Ar phax ad had lived 35 years, he
be came the fa ther of She lah. f 13 And af ter he be came the fa ther of She lah, Ar phax ad lived 403 years and had oth er sons and daughters. b
a 10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25. b 12,13 Hebrew; Septuagint( see also Luke 3:35, 36 and
note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters