BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Ancient Mesopotamia and Alexander the Great: Two D.C.-Area Lectures

The Washington, D.C.-area Biblical Archaeology Society of Northern Virginia (BASONOVA) and Biblical Archaeology Forum (BAF) will be hosting the lectures “The Problem of Evil in Ancient Mesopotamia” (March 15, 2015) and “Israel and the Conquests of Alexander the Great” (March 19, 2015) this month. Not in the D.C. area? The Biblical Archaeology Society offers a wide range of travel/study programs in the United States and across the globe.


delnero-jobOn Sunday, March 15, at 3 pm, Johns Hopkins University assistant professor of Assyriology Dr. Paul Delnero will deliver the lecture “The Problem of Evil in Ancient Mesopotamia.”

The question of how evil is possible in an ordered and perfect universe created and maintained by an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent deity has continued to occupy philosophers and theologians for centuries. The source text for nearly all of these inquiries is the Biblical Book of Job, in which the question of suffering in a divinely-ordered cosmos is raised with poignant clarity. In this talk, the Ancient Near Eastern context for the Book of Job will be elucidated by examining the ways in which catastrophe and human suffering were addressed in Mesopotamia and Egypt, to shed light on aspects of the Biblical narrative that are frequently overlooked when its ancient context is not considered.

Click here for more information.


cline-alexanderOn Thursday, March 19, at 8 pm, the George Washington University associate professor of history Dr. Diane Cline will deliver the lecture “Israel and the Conquests of Alexander the Great.”

When Alexander the Great campaigned against the Great King of Persia Darius III, the land of Judah and Israel had to decide whether to resist and fight, or concede and win his appreciation. A deal was struck with Alexander, and as a result, Israel and Judah did not suffer his aggression. After Alexander died in 323 B.C.E., two of his generals split up the Middle East: the Ptolemies ruled in Egypt and the Seleucids ruled in Syria. Unfortunately, the border between the two kingdoms ran right through the Holy Land and was constantly contested: Between 319 and 302 B.C.E., Jerusalem changed hands seven times. This lecture explores the relations between the Greeks and Jews during the Hellenistic period, from the time that Alexander conquered the region in 332 B.C.E. until independence was won in 141 B.C.E.

Click here for more information.


Not in the D.C. area? The Biblical Archaeology Society offers a wide range of travel/study programs in the United States and across the globe.


 

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Digital Humanities: How Everyone Can Get a Library Card to the World’s Most Exclusive Collections Online by Diane Cline
Amphipolis Excavation: Discoveries in Alexander the Great-Era Tomb Dazzle the World
Job Challenges God by Suing: God Responds
The Evil Inclination


 

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