G. Herbert Livingstona <\/b><\/p>\n
The archives of Nuzi are not as large as those from Ebla, Nippur or Mari, but the contents of the inscriptions on that site\u2019s clay tablets are worthy of notice. Besides the documents of the ruling elite, there are many inscriptions belonging to the merchants, professionals and small landowners, who lived in or near the city. This kind of inscription is uncommon at the other ancient sites.<\/p>\n
NUZI TABLET<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Nuzi was not located along the Tigris or Euphrates Rivers, nor near the Mediterranean Sea; Nuzi was located on an important trade route between the Mesopotamian Valley and the land now known as Iran. The site is now known as Yorgan Tepe, which is about ten miles southwest of Kirkuk in modern Iraq.<\/p>\n
The site was settled before 3,000 BC and was an important trading village, called Gasur throughout the third millennium BC. A few inscribed texts date from that period, but the majority of the clay tablets date from about 1,600 to about 1,350 BC, during which time the place was known as Nuzi. During most of this period Nuzi was dominated by the Hurrian empire called Mitanni.<\/p>\n
Early in this century, clay tablets began to appear in antiquity shops in Iraq, having on them unknown words mixed with the Akkadian language. Scholars responded by searching for the source of the tablets. The source turned out to be Yorgan Tepe, and Edward Chiera of the American Institute of Oriental Research in Baghdad began excavating there in 1925 and renewed working 1929 to 1931. Nearly 4,000 inscriptions were brought to light.<\/p>\n
The date of most of these inscriptions are two to three hundred years later than those of Nippur and Mari and one thousand years later than the tablets found at Ebla. However, the social, economic, political and religious laws and customs were much the same. There were some differences due to the strong Hurrian influence on Nuzi society.<\/p>\n
The tablets have a number of administrative records of Nuzi and surrounding villages produced by scribes of officers of the royal family of the province of Arraphe whose capital was Kirkuk. There are also records of life events of the middle class which do not appear at many of the other sites in the <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 7:1 (Winter 1994) p. 28<\/p>\n
ancient Near East. These records preserve trading invoices, contracts, and lawsuits. More significantly for those interested in the social and religious practices of this level of society, there are deeds, wills, marriage agreements, adoption and inheritance contracts, and legal actions involving brothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
MAP OF MESOPOTAMIA AREA WITH LOCATION OF NUZI WITH VARIANT SPELLING (NUZU)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
The information provided by these inscriptions shows that the laws and customs at Nuzi were similar to those laws and customs followed by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph recorded in the book of Genesis. A few of these laws and customs show up in the narratives about Moses and Joshua, but they are not mentioned in the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, or 1 and 2 Chronicles.<\/p>\n
Prior to the excavation of Nuzi, the way of life of the Patriarchs reflected in the narratives of Genesis came across as strange, even fictional, to many Western readers. Those people who are acquainted with the content of the Nuzi tablets now see the way the Patriarchs lived was very much like the way their middle class neighbors lived.<\/p>\n
A series of comparisons between the Nuzi life style and the Patriarchal life style may be helpful. Let us start with Abraham.<\/p>\n
The Biblical witness that Sarah was both a sister and wife to Abraham at first glance appears much like an incestuous relationship, or a deceptive ploy in Abraham\u2019s interactions with the Pharaoh of Egypt (Gen 12:10\u201320) and with Abimalek (Gen 20:1\u201318). A possible explanation may be found in the fact that some Nuzi tablets, called tablets of sistership, have agreements in which a man adopted a woman as a sister. The <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 7:1 (Winter 1994) p. 29<\/p>\n
man agreed to provide a husband for the woman; nothing indicates the man could or could not be that husband. Perhaps the case of Abraham and Sarah illustrates that the man doing the adopting could have the woman as both a \u201csister\u201d and a wife.<\/p>\n
TABLE SHOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CUNEIFORM SCRIPT FROM 3500 BC TO 75 AD<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
The story that tells of Sarah offering Hagar to Abraham as a second wife (Gen 16:1\u20132) comes across to a Westerner as an unacceptable situation. Several Nuzi tablets clarify the legal aspects of this offer made by Sarah. One tablet has this agreement: \u201cIf Gilimninu (the wife) will not bear children, Gilimninu shall take a woman of Lulluland as a wife for Shennma (the husband).\u201d Under the stress of barrenness, Sarah decided to follow the custom of the time.<\/p>\n
According to Nuzi law, a husband must care for the second wife and offspring thereafter. Abraham ignored this obligation when he permitted Sarah to eject Hagar and Ishmael from the family circle. In effect, God took over this obligation when He sent an angel to Hagar with a divine promise to protect and provide for her and Ishmael in the future (Gen 16:5\u201316; see also 21:11\u201321).<\/p>\n
Nuzi law also stipulated that if the first wife should later bear a son, that son should rank above the son of the second wife as the inheritor and head of the family. This happened in Abraham\u2019s family when Isaac was born (Gen 21:1\u201310).<\/p>\n
There are tablets of adoption in the Nuzi collection that state that a childless couple could legally adopt a slave or a man lacking property. This adopted person was obligated to care for the couple\u2019s needs and weep over them when they died, then bury them. The servant Eliezer in Abraham\u2019s household <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 7:1 (Winter 1994) p. 30<\/p>\n
AT HIS DEATH, ISRAEL BLESSES JOSEPH\u2019S TWO SONS, Rembrandt<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
(article continued on page 31)<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 7:1 (Winter 1994) p. 31<\/p>\n
was most likely adopted so he could be heir to his master\u2019s property (Gen 15:2).<\/p>\n
Marriage contracts recorded on Nuzi tablets gave the father the obligation to find a wife for his sons. Abraham followed this custom when he sent his servant to his distant relatives in Haran to locate a wife for Isaac. Nuzi records also show that when parents have died their male heir had the obligation to arrange the marriage of his sister and that sister had the right to choose whether to marry the proposed husband. See the story in Genesis 24 for an illustration of these provisions.<\/p>\n
When Jacob came to Laban\u2019s household, Laban as father had full authority to marry his daughters as he wished and they had no choice in the matter (Gen 29). In Nuzi marriage contracts, a clause gives the woman the right of choice when a brother is involved, but that clause is missing in marriage contracts drawn up by fathers.<\/p>\n
There are legal tablets found at Nuzi that state heirs to parental property could sell their birthrights to a brother. Note this instance: \u201cOn the day they divide the grove. .. Tupkitilla (father) shall give it to Kurpazah (son) as his inheritance share. And Kurpazah had taken three sheep to (his brother) in exchange for his inheritance share.\u201d Compare this case with birthright exchange between Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:29\u201334).<\/p>\n
Some Nuzi wills refer to family gods as symbols of ownership and authority in a family and were highly valued by the head of the family. They were passed on to the heir of the family leadership and fortunes. This legal practice throws light on Laban\u2019s concern about the disappearance of his family idols. His chase of the fleeing Jacob, his quarrel with Jacob, and Rachel\u2019s possession of them (Gen 29).<\/p>\n
In ancient Nuzi, fathers were not obligated to pass their position and possessions on to their oldest son. He could choose any one of his sons to be his heir. The parental privilege is illustrated in Jacob\u2019s choice of Joseph, the sons\u2019 jealousy and their successful effort to get rid of Joseph (Gen 37). Jacob also followed this custom when he chose Ephraim and Manasseh as future leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen 48).<\/p>\n
Levirate marriage practices were observed in Nuzi much as in the Judah\/Tamar story (Gen 38), and stated as law in Deuteronomy 25:5\u201310.<\/p>\n
Nuzi tablets record blessings pronounced by an old father just before his expected death. Compare with Isaac\u2019s blessings on Jacob and Esau (Gen 27), Jacob\u2019s blessings given to his sons and grandsons (Gen 48\u201349), Moses blessings on Israel (Dt 33), and Joshua\u2019s blessing (Jos 23\u201324).<\/p>\n
Some of the Nuzi tablets were highly valued by families for they were passed on from father to son for as many as six generations. Nowhere else in the ancient Near East is this kind of reverence for family documents illustrated, except in the Old Testament. Indirectly, this practice in Nuzi supports the position that Genesis and the other books of history in the Old Testament are grounded on actual family, clan and tribal records carefully passed from generation to generation.<\/p>\n
(See Archeology and Biblical Research,<\/i> Spring 1988, for more information on the Nuzi Tablets.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
G. Herbert Livingstona The archives of Nuzi are not as large as those from Ebla, Nippur or Mari, but the contents of the inscriptions on that site\u2019s clay tablets are worthy of notice. Besides the documents of the ruling elite, there are many inscriptions belonging to the merchants, professionals and small landowners, who lived in … Continue reading “THE
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