Foes From The Northern Frontier

Are there any biblical references to territories in what is today the country of Russia? The author's answer is yes, but Ezekiel's reference to Rosh and Meshech is not one of them. In a thoroughly documented discussion, the author describes the Uratrians, Manneans, Cimmerians, and Scythians. Three of these northern foes of Israel are referred to by Jeremiah (in 51:27), the Cimmerians by Ezekiel (38:6). ...with the exception of Egypt, writes the author, almost all of Israel's enemies came from the north, though from the viewpoint of a modern map, many of these came ultimately from the east. The Urartians occupied what is now Soviet Armenia, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. The Manneans lived south of Lake Urmia, between Urartu and Assyria. The Cimmerians first appeared in the steppes north of the Caucasus, then crossed the Caucasus, and eventually invaded Asia Minor. The Scythians were nomadic tribes from the Russian steppes, some of whom settled in the Ukraine north of the Black Sea, others east of the Caspian. But what of Rosh, Messhech, and other names in Ezekiel 38:2? Is Rosh, Russia and Meshech Moscow? Rosh cannot possibly be related to Russia, insists the author. Nor can the terms Gog and Magog, no proposed identification for which has yet to win universal consent. Meshech and Tubal, on the other hand, have been located for certain - in central and eastern Anatolia.

Are there any biblical references to territories in what is today the country of Russia? The author's answer is yes, but Ezekiel's reference to Rosh and Meshech is not one of them. In a thoroughly documented discussion, the author describes the Uratrians, Manneans, Cimmerians, and Scythians. Three of these northern foes of Israel are referred to by Jeremiah (in 51:27), the Cimmerians by Ezekiel (38:6). ...with the exception of Egypt, writes the author, almost all of Israel's enemies came from the north, though from the viewpoint of a modern map, many of these came ultimately from the east. The Urartians occupied what is now Soviet Armenia, southeastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. The Manneans lived south of Lake Urmia, between Urartu and Assyria. The Cimmerians first appeared in the steppes north of the Caucasus, then crossed the Caucasus, and eventually invaded Asia Minor. The Scythians were nomadic tribes from the Russian steppes, some of whom settled in the Ukraine north of the Black Sea, others east of the Caspian. But what of Rosh, Messhech, and other names in Ezekiel 38:2? Is Rosh, Russia and Meshech Moscow? Rosh cannot possibly be related to Russia, insists the author. Nor can the terms Gog and Magog, no proposed identification for which has yet to win universal consent. Meshech and Tubal, on the other hand, have been located for certain - in central and eastern Anatolia.

This work completes Daniel Block's two-volume commentary on the book of Ezekiel. The result of twelve years of studying this difficult section of Scripture, this volume, like the one on chapters 1-24, provides an excellent discussion of the background of Ezekiel and offers a verse-by-verse exposition that makes clear the message of this obscure and often misunderstood prophet. Block also shows that Ezekiel's ancient wisdom and vision are still very much needed as we enter the twenty-first century.

In lean, swift-moving prose, Across the Northern Frontier chronicles the compelling adventures of the Spaniards who ventured north from colonial New Mexico into the unknown, and their contacts and conflicts with Native Americans. The narrative takes the reader along on those dangerous frontier expeditions for diplomacy, trade, and war.North of colonial New Mexico, the northernmost province of New Spain, loomed the region's highest mountains, seemingly limitless plains, moving black hills of buffalo, and a bewildering maze of mesas and canyons held by disparate and often hostile native peoples. Few journeys across the frontier were routine, for they included unpredictable encounters, with natives and exposure to the hazards of the wild. Water, and its scarcity, influenced every decision. Expedition leaders routinely kept journals of their often momentous travels, and those that survive provide rich detail on the new lands and strange peoples.Spanish explorers exerted a profound influence on the subsequent history of the present-day states of New Mexico and Colorado -- a legacy not fully documented until now -- as well as Texas, Kansas, Arizona, and Utah. Colorado's people, their cultural practices, place names, and even occasional artifacts all attest to this early Spanish influence.

'The Light of Discovery' is a Festschrift honoring Dr. Edwin Yamauchi and it focuses on the Mediterranean world. The collection is ambitious in terms of time (from ancient Egypt to Late Antiquity) and wide-ranging in topic (from astrology and Gnosticism to the Van Kampen Collection of manuscripts in Orlando).

Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus proposes a provocative new theory regarding the date and circumstances of the composition of the Pentateuch. Gmirkin argues that the Hebrew Pentateuch was composed in its entirety about 273-272 BCE by Jewish scholars at Alexandria that later traditions credited with the Septuagint translation of the Pentateuch into Greek. The primary evidence is literary dependence of Gen. 1-11 on Berossus' Babyloniaca (278 BCE) and of the Exodus story on Manetho's Aegyptiaca (c. 285-280 BCE), and the geo-political data contained in the Table of Nations. A number of indications point to a provenance of Alexandria, Egypt for at least some portions of the Pentateuch. That the Pentateuch, drawing on literary sources found at the Great Library of Alexandria, was composed at almost the same date as the Septuagint translation, provides compelling evidence for some level of communication and collaboration between the authors of the Pentateuch and the Septuagint scholars at Alexandria's Museum. The late date of the Pentateuch, as demonstrated by literary dependence on Berossus and Manetho, has two important consequences: the definitive overthrow of the chronological framework of the Documentary Hypothesis, and a late, 3rd century BCE date for major portions of the Hebrew Bible which show literary dependence on the Pentateuch.

Provides a thorough introduction to the Old Testament prophetic books, considering their historical and social setting while surveying the important theological themes.