History of Israel: Interlude #1 - A World In Upheaval

While the nation of Israel was going through their cycle of apostasy and repentance, there were other nations that were going through some pretty tough times. In this episode of Bible Backdrop, we're taking a step back from the narrative in the book of Judges and taking a look at what's happening in the wider world. We look at Egypt, Greece, Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittite empire. We discuss the phenomenon known as the Late Bronze Age Collapse and see how that event impacts these nations.

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Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Bible Backdrop. Today, I thought that I would go back to something I wanted to do when I started this series and that’s to give you an idea of what’s happening in the world around Israel. Often we read the Bible without the context of what’s happening in the wider world at the time. I will probably do this again as we make our way through future books of the Bible.

Currently, we are smack in the middle of Judges. Most scholars believe that Judges covers the period between the years 1380-1050 BC. We already know what’s going on in Israel: Apostasy – Consequences – Repentance – Deliverance – Correct living – then the slide back into apostasy. What’s going on with Israel’s neighbors?

First, we’ll look at Egypt. Ever since the 10 plagues, Egypt is a shadow of itself. If you notice, they never come into the picture during the book of Judges. All the attacks come from smaller, local kingdoms. They are still in the time of the New Kingdom, when Egypt reached their zenith for territorial expansion and culture. However, at this point, it’s all starting to fall apart and the New Kingdom will soon be over leading to what’s called the Third Intermediate Period. The end of the New Kingdom is due to another factor besides the plagues called the Late Bronze Age Collapse.

So what exactly was the Late Bronze Age Collapse? It wasn’t just a singular event with a singular cause. Occurring between 1200 – 1150 BC, this time period saw the end of several advanced civilizations including the Hittites and Mycenaean Greece. Consider how this overlaps with the book of Judges that runs from around 1380 to 1050 BC. It’s hard to put into words what exactly happened during this collapse of some ancient civilizations. Scholars believe that the Mediterranean was a very interconnected and inter-dependent area. Trade routes across the sea led from Greece to Cyprus to Phoenicia to Egypt and back again. Ships carted goods from port to port in a very lucrative trade but it was also always standing on a knife’s edge. If any of these supply lines were interrupted, it could affect the whole route. In this case, this time period seems to include a change in climate, drought, rebellions and social upheaval. Could the plagues have been the catalyst for this collapse? Perhaps, but it seems unlikely given the time of the Exodus versus when the collapse started. Of course, things like this don’t happen overnight and could have built up if problems from the 10 plagues continued to mount and put a strain on the trade routes. Egypt exported grain, gold and papyrus along with some luxury goods. If the grain and plants used to make papyrus were destroyed in the plagues, it would have an affect on all the other trade routes. Egypt was likely the breadbasket for the eastern Mediterranean and the destruction of their crops could have hurt many other areas besides themselves. Then you have the Israel conquest of the Promised Land. They likely took over cities that used to be ports of call for these traders and they either didn’t do business with them or the business style changed leading to even fewer goods being traded. Add to this a change in climate that leads to famine and people start getting rebellious. In this case, it seems to have been very widespread to the more advanced civilizations. Did it affect Israel as much? Maybe not since they were so decentralized but they could have been affected by the climate change and resulting famine.

Besides Egypt, there were some other neighbors of Israel that would rise and fall during this time period. The next one we’ll look at is the Hittite Empire. We’ve discussed them previously in the first episode of this series. The Hittites occupied most of Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and northern Syria. Their capital, Hattusa, was located in central Anatolia and from there they ruled a fairly vast empire. The Hittites were known for their chariot warfare, diplomacy, law codes and iron working. In fact, the iron chariots of Sisera in the story of Barak and Deborah may have come from the Hittites. Their location gave them access to important trade routes through the area which was a lucrative source of revenue. Their high water mark came at the battle of Kadesh where they went toe to toe with the Egyptians. The battle was a draw but led to the first surviving international treaty. About 70 years after the battle, the Hittite empire suddenly ended as part of the Late Bronze Age Collapse. Hattusa was abandoned and the empire broke up into what are being called Neo-Hittite city-states. They probably carried the same culture but no longer had the wealth and size to project power.

As we move a little further west, we come to mainland Greece where the Mycenaean civilization rules. Mycenaean Greece is the first great Greek civilization and they also built around the polis or city-state, similar to later Classical Greece. The central feature of a Mycenaean city was the palace. Unlike our thought of a palace which is usually just a royal residence, the palace in this case was the religious, military, administrative and economic hub of the city. The king, or wanax, was considered a semi-divine figure and was the bridge between man and the gods. The palace hosted religious feasts and sacrifices to the Greek pantheon. The palace was also responsible for very exact record keeping from military items to grain brought into the storehouses. The food was redistributed to the people in the city-state in a quasi-socialistic manner. Artisans and metal workers were employed at the palace and international trade was done there under the watchful eye of the king. On top of the palace structure, the Mycenaean Greeks had a written language called Linear B which was used for official correspondence and in record keeping and administration. Like all the other kingdoms at this time, the Late Bronze Age Collapse hit this civilization. The palace system fell apart, ruining the cities and launching what is known as the Greek Dark Ages which continued until the rise of Classical Greece along with the city-states of Athens and Sparta.

As we look further east, we come to the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon. Long before they were classical superpowers, both kingdoms went through periods of growth, stagnation and decline before growing again. We see them again as empires in the future, but for now they are kingdoms being remade. Assyria is centered on the city of Ashur along the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). Just before and during the early years of Judges, they experienced a period of expansion, even defeating Babylon and extending their influence in Mesopotamia. Like all the other kingdoms though, Assyria also falls prey to the Bronze Age Collapse. Migrating tribes such as the Arameans (who we met very briefly in a previous episode) started putting pressure on the Assyrians while at the same time their trade routes broke down and their influence shrank considerably. This put them on a defensive posture instead of trying to conquer their neighbors. Out of this, however, will come the empire that will conquer much of Mesopotamia including a large portion of Israel.

Finally, we’re going to look at the kingdom of Babylon. At the time of Judges, Babylon has already existed for centuries. Hammurabi and his famous law code are well in the past. The kingdom is now ruled by the Kassite Dynasty, a formerly nomadic tribe from the Zagros mountains in eastern Iraq and western Iran. The Kassites migrated into the area and slowly but surely took over the area until they established themselves and took the throne of Babylon. They reigned until 1155 BC and let the Babylonians keep their language, culture, and religion. Unlike the Assyrians, the Kassite’s weren’t aggressive conquerors but focused more on agriculture and trade. When the collapse hit, the Kassite power weakened and collapsed from the influx of Aramean tribes and another tribe from the east called the Elamites.

Before leaving, I want to look a little further to the west where a few small huts reside on an area of 7 hills near a river that would eventually be called the Tiber. This is the location of the future mighty city of Rome. At this point in the story, it is nothing more than a scattered few hovels overlooking the river. The Etruscans, the culture that would profoundly influence the Romans, was only now starting to develop but wouldn’t become truly ascendant until after 900 BC.

So as we take a snapshot of this point in time, we see a lot of kingdoms declining due to the Late Bronze Age collapse. Had Israel followed the Lord, they could have been an ascending nation at a time when every other culture was falling apart. This could have led to the spreading of the worship of Yahweh to the far corners of the known world. Instead, we see a loose confederation of tribes that constantly forget what was done for them by the Lord and fight among themselves more than fighting their common enemies.

On that note, I think we’ll leave it here for now. Next episode, I’ll pick up again on the narrative with looking at what happened with Israel’s battle with the Midianites and finish up the story on Gideon. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating and review. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Word of mouth is still the best way for this show to get around, so tell a friend and have them subscribe. You can find Bible Backdrop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere podcasts are found. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!