I made a bold statement last week about how studying the Greco-Roman culture will help us understand many aspects of the Bible better.  However, you don’t create culture overnight; it spans centuries of tradition.  A lot of the subjects I’ll discuss are ancient ways of thinking.  They go at least as far back as the 8th century BC, and are possibly older.

Thus, I think it’s important to talk about the history of contact between the Greeks (whose culture the Romans absorbed and made their own) and the Hebrews.  Certainly, there are other people groups who interacted with the Israelites, and those studies are incredibly fascinating; however, I will be focusing on the Greeks, since their culture was the culture Jesus came to physically.

This topic will be split into two blogs, with this one focusing on the time of the Judges, c. 1400 BC.  I know, I know.   It sounds boring.  However, just as archaeology gives us clues to the past, so this shared history gives us clues to God’s plan.  By the end, I hope to “prove” the importance of understanding “the mind of the ancients.”

The Mycenaean Greeks and the Israelites

The Hebrews and Greeks possibly had contact as early as the late 14th century (going with a high date for the exodus). [1]  The Mycenaeans (c. 1600-1100 BC), the inhabitants of the Peloponnese before the Classical Greeks, definitely traded with the Canaanites, as “large Canaanite [wine] jars” have been found in Mycenaean citadels.[2]  Seeing as how the Israelites came to Canaan around 1405 BC,[3] it’s possible they made contact through peaceful trade.

However, their main contact would have been through another trade – the trade of people.  We know from the book of Judges how the Israelites were invaded and terrorized, which included the Israelites being sold “to the enemies around them” (Judges 2:14).  We also know from the account of the healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 (600 years later) that a foreign household contained a Hebrew slave.  If this could happen in a period of “relative” stability, it almost certainly happened in the time of the Judges.

There is linguistic evidence of this trade in human flesh.  The Greek word for tunic (khiton) is derived from the Hebrew word for tunic (kutton-eth).[4]   Although they could have borrowed the word through peaceful trade, again we must keep in mind the times.  Also, cloth was only produced by spinning, a task that “naturally” fell to female slaves in the Mycenaean citadels.[6]  As they spun, these women would speak of the garment in their own language, attaching the word to it.[7]

Seeing as how this word is found as early as Homer,[8] we can safely say it had been circulating within the Greek culture for some time.  There is even some evidence in the Linear B tablets (the writing of the Mycenaeans, who spoke a precursor to Classical Greek) that the word “kito” was used for tunic[9] – which over time became “khiton.” Thus, we can safely “assume” that the Greeks had contact with the Hebrews from before the 8th century BC, and quite probably from the 14th century onwards.  Otherwise, the word would not have attached itself to their most basic form of clothing.

Why Through Slavery?

But why did it have to be through slavery?  Slavery in every era is an atrocity, albeit scholars claim that slavery was “different” in the ancient world.  Perhaps.  But humans are sinful in all ages, and undoubtedly abuse occurred everywhere and in every time period.

Just so you know, God never wanted slavery.  Period.  However, because His people were in the world, and “because of the hardness of their hearts” (Matt. 19:8), He had to address it in his law.  Thus, He did allow it (just as He allowed divorce), but there were strict laws so as to temper the abuses within Israel.[10]

The hard truth of the matter is that when we run from God, sin overtakes us and things become so much worse than we intended with our original sin.  For Israel, that meant another city would come and enslave them, and we see that happen to the Israelites time and again throughout their history.  But in that terrible plight, God gave His people a choice: to repent and believe in Him, or not.

I don’t know all the reasons why God allowed this particular evil to come upon His people over and over again.  However, I do know the consequences, which are the reason we’re studying this topic to begin with.

For the dispersion of the Israelites throughout the world caused the Name of Yahweh to be known and spoken everywhere.

Where History Meets Faith

Ok, that’s a lot of history, and you’re probably thinking at this point, “So what?  Why do I care that ancient Greeks and Hebrews met?”

You should care because God is continually weaving a beautiful tapestry through history.  He shows the world His Grace and Mercy by placing His people in specific areas.  In this time period, they were placed in the homes of the wealthy elite.  As these slave women chatted over their work, they would have also spoken of their culture.  They would have spoken of their Great God.

From before written history, God placed His people throughout the world in order to speak His truth to the gentiles.  Everyone had the chance to know about this Great God of Israel.

 

 

Sources

[1] Interestingly, either the high or low date of the Exodus would support this view, however I personally believe the high date is more accurate.

[2] Bettany Hughes, Helen of Troy: The Story Behind the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (New York: Vintage Books, 2005), 366.

[3] The New Inductive Study Bible (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2000), timeline on page 355.

[4] Elizabeth Wayland Barber, Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994), 132.

[5] Ibid. 294

[6] Ibid. 166

[7] Ibid. 132, 137

[8] “Chiton,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed October 15, 2017, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5509&t=KJV.

[9] “Linear B Tablet KN 594 R p II, textiles (military),” Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae, May 17, 2016, accessed October 15, 2017, https://linearbknossosmycenae.com/2016/05/17/linear-b-tablet-kn-594-r-p11-textiles-military/.

[10] “Why was slavery allowed in the Old Testament?” Compelling Truth, accessed October 15, 2017, https://www.compellingtruth.org/slavery-Old-Testament.html.


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