Tree of the knowledge of good and evil In Genesis[edit] Motif[edit] Composition[edit] In the phrase, tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree imparts knowledge of tov wa-ra, "good and bad". Religious views[edit] Judaism[edit] In Jewish tradition, the Tree of Knowledge and the eating of its fruit represents the beginning of the mixture of good and evil together. In Kabbalah, the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (called Cheit Eitz HaDa'at) brought about the great task of beirurim, sifting through the mixture of good and evil in the world to extract and liberate the sparks of holiness trapped therein.[8] Since evil has no independent existence, it depends on holiness to draw down the Divine life-force, on whose "leftovers" it then feeds and derives existence.[9] Once evil is separated from holiness through beirurim, its source of life is cut off, causing the evil to disappear. Christianity[edit] Islam[edit] God in Quran (Al-A'raf 27) states: "[O] Children of Adam! Other cultures[edit] Ethnomycology[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Clues to Lost Prehistoric Code Discovered in Mesopotamia Researchers studying clay balls from Mesopotamia have discovered clues to a lost code that was used for record-keeping about 200 years before writing was invented. The clay balls may represent the world's "very first data storage system," at least the first that scientists know of, said Christopher Woods, a professor at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, in a lecture at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, where he presented initial findings. The balls, often called "envelopes" by researchers, were sealed and contain tokens in a variety of geometric shapes — the balls varying from golf ball-size to baseball-size. PHOTOS: Cryptic Codes Yet to Be Cracked The researchers used high-resolution CT scans and 3D modeling to look inside more than 20 examples that were excavated at the site of Choga Mish, in western Iran, in the late 1960s. Researchers have long believed these clay balls were used to record economic transactions. PHOTOS: Ancient Etruscan Prince Emerges From Tomb
Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; Hebrew: קֹהֶלֶת, qōheleṯ, Greek: Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of 24 books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim (Writings). Originally written c. 450–200 BCE, it is also among the canonical Wisdom literature of the Old Testament in most denominations of Christianity. The title Ecclesiastes is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Kohelet (also written as Koheleth or Qoheleth), the pseudonym used by the author of the book. In traditional Jewish texts and throughout church history (up to the 18th and 19th centuries), King Solomon is named as the author, but modern scholars reject this. Textually, the book is the musings of a King of Jerusalem as he relates his experiences and draws lessons from them, often self-critical. Structure[edit] Ecclesiastes is presented as biography of "Kohelet" (or "Qoheleth", meaning "Assembler", but traditionally translated by Christians as "Teacher" or "Preacher").
Serpent (Bible) In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Genesis refers to the serpent who was partly responsible for the Fall of Man (Gen 3:1-20). Serpent is also used to describe sea monsters. Examples of these identifications are in the Book of Isaiah where a reference is made to a serpent-like Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1), and in the Book of Amos where a serpent resides at the bottom of the sea (Amos 9:3). Serpent figuratively describes biblical places such as Egypt (Jer 46:22), and the city of Dan (Gen 49:17). The prophet Jeremiah also compares the King of Babylon to a serpent (Jer 51:34). The Hebrew word nahash is used to identify the serpent that appears in Genesis 3:1, in the Garden of Eden. God placed Adam in the Garden to tend it and warned Adam not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Debate about the serpent in Eden is whether it should be viewed figuratively or as a literal animal. 20th century scholars such as W.
Ebla Ebla (Arabic: إبلا, modern Tell Mardikh, Idlib Governorate, Syria) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria, located about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo. It was an important center throughout the Third millennium BC to the end of the first half of the Second millennium BC Started as a small settlement in the early Bronze Age, it developed into a trading empire and later turned into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria, its language, the Eblaite language is now considered the earliest attested Semitic language,[1] after Akkadian, the site is most famous for the Ebla tablets, an archive of about 20,000 cuneiform tablets found there,[2] dated from around 2350 BC, written in both Sumerian and Eblaite languages and using the Sumerian Cuneiform which allowed a better understanding of Sumerian. History[edit] The first kingdom[edit] Early period[edit] Archive period[edit] Royal palace G First destruction[edit] Mari revenge: prof. Palace Q
Genesis flood narrative Biblical flood myth A global flood as described in this myth is inconsistent with the physical findings of geology and paleontology.[4] A branch of creationism known as flood geology is a pseudoscientific attempt to argue that such a global flood actually occurred.[5] Composition Sources The flood is part of what scholars call the primeval history, the first 11 chapters of Genesis. These chapters, fable-like and legendary, form a preface to the patriarchal narratives which follow, but show little relationship to them.[8] For example, the names of its characters and its geography—Adam ("Man") and Eve ("Life"), the Land of Nod ("Wandering"), and so on—are symbolic rather than real, and much of the narratives consist of lists of "firsts": the first murder, the first wine, the first empire-builder. Comparative mythology The flood myth originated in Mesopotamia. Genesis 6:9–9:17 Summary Noah was a righteous man and walked with God. The flood and the creation narrative Intertextuality Religious views
Aztec Religion - AZTEC GODS - Aztecs of Mexico History AZTEC RELIGION AZTEC STUDENT RESEARCH GUIDE (C)1997-2005 (Thomas H. Frederiksen) All rights reserved The following major Deities have been removed from this larger work and placed into their own section TITLED MAJOR DEITIES, along with their corresponding footnotes: TEXCATLIPOCA, QUETZALCOATL, ZIPE TOTEC, TLALOC, XOCHIQUETZAL, and HUITZILOPOCHTLI. COLNAHUACATL- "The One From the Twisted Region" Wife is unknown and as the name may represent, this deity resided in one of nine hells(*9) told in Aztec mythology. AMAPAN- "Patron of the Ball" "Ball Court Deity" Along with Uappatzin, these two deities presided over the ball game(*10) and various ceremonies associated with the game itself which were conducted in Tenochtitlan. AMHIMITL -"Dart of Mixcoatl" Old Chichimec (*11) god from the ancient homeland of the Mexica in Aztlan. ____________________ 9 There are several books in print that detail the Aztec view of afterlife. 11 The Chichimec are sometimes referred to as Mimixcoa. 25 Boone p. 200.
History of Mesopotamia The history of Mesopotamia describes the history of the area known as Mesopotamia, roughly coinciding with the Tigris–Euphrates basin, from the earliest human occupation in the Lower Paleolithic period up to the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. While in the Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods only parts of Upper Mesopotamia were occupied, the southern alluvium was settled during the late Neolithic period. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the Early Bronze Age, for which reason it is often dubbed the cradle of civilization. Short outline of Mesopotamia[edit] Mesopotamia literally means "(Land) between rivers" in ancient Greek. Chronology and periodization[edit] Prehistory[edit] Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic periods[edit]
Siduri Role in the Epic of Gilgamesh[edit] In the earlier Old Babylonian version of the Epic, she attempts to dissuade Gilgamesh in his quest for immortality, urging him to be content with the simple pleasures of life.[3][4] Later influence[edit] Several scholars suggest direct borrowing of Siduri's advice by the author of Ecclesiastes.[5] The advice given by Siduri has been seen as the first expression of the concept of carpe diem, although some scholars see it as urging Gilgamesh to abandon his mourning, "reversing the liminal rituals of mourning and returning to the normal and normative behaviors of Mesopotamian society Siduri has been compared to the Odyssey's Circe. Siduri's name means "young woman" in Hurrian and may be an epithet of Ishtar.[9] References[edit] ^ Hartman, L.
Temptation More informally, temptation may be used to mean "the state of being attracted and enticed" without anything to do with moral, ethical, or ideological valuation; for example, one may say that a piece of food looks "tempting" even though eating it would result in no negative consequences. Religious usage[edit] Temptation has implications deeply rooted in Judaism and the The Old Testament, starting with the story of Eve and the original sin. Many non-Western cultures had no precise equivalent until coming into contact with Europeans.[citation needed] For example, Jesuit missionaries in Brazil, translating the Lord's Prayer into Old Tupi, had to use the Portuguese word tentação, since Tupi had no word expressing "temptation" in that sense (see Old Tupi language#Sample text). Non-religious usage[edit] Temptation is usually used in a loose sense to describe actions which indicate a lack of self control. See also[edit] References[edit]
Noah In addition to the Book of Genesis, Noah is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the First Book of Chronicles, and the books of Tobit, Wisdom, Sirach, Isaiah, Ezekiel, 2 Esdras, 4 Maccabees; in the New Testament, he is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, and Luke, the Epistle to the Hebrews, 1st Peter and 2nd Peter. Noah was the subject of much elaboration in the literature of later Abrahamic religions, including the Quran (Surahs 71, 7, 1, and 21). Biblical account[edit] 12th-century Venetian mosaic depiction of Noah sending the dove The primary account of Noah in the Bible is in the Book of Genesis. Genesis flood narrative[edit] After the flood[edit] Noah died 350 years after the flood, at the age of 950,[7] the last of the extremely long-lived Antediluvian patriarchs. Noah's drunkenness[edit] Noah's drunkenness, Ham mocks Noah, Noah is covered, Canaan is cursed. After the flood, the Bible says that Noah became a husbandman and he planted a vineyard. Curse of Ham[edit] Table of nations[edit]