1.7 Writing the Pentateuch

1.5 The Names of God

History in the Bible - 1.6 Canaan of the Patriarchs

1.6 Canaan of the Patriarchs

Hello, I'm Gary Stevens, and welcome to the History in the Bible podcast.

All the history, in all the books, in all the Bibles.

Thank you. Episode 1.6, Canaan of the Patriarchs.

Hello, and welcome back to the History in the Bible podcast.

In this episode, I'll present a potted history in the Middle East in the period that the Bible covers in the books of Genesis through judges.

You can find some great charts and maps to help you at my website, www.com.

Recorded history begins about 3200 BC, with the first cities in Mesopotamia constructed by the Sumerians,

and enigmatic people whose language we cannot link to any other.

We next have records for Egypt, from about a century later.

Archaeologists call this the early Bronze Age,

the age when humanity started to build cities and to write and to work metals.

Around the periphery of Mesopotamia, the lands were occupied by Semites,

a collection of people speaking any of a group of closely related languages, Arabic, Hebrew, Acadian, Amorite, Aramaean, Canaan.

Again and again through the centuries, the fertile crescent would be overrun by Semitic waves,

emerging from either Arabia or Scyria. It is now thought that in most ancient times, perhaps

three thousand years before the Sumerians laid stylus to clay tablet,

the Semites emigrated from drought-stricken North Africa, through the Nile Valley and onwards east.

The first Great Semitic conqueror was Sargon the Great, who claimed to have been rescued from a floating basket in a river.

Around 2250 BC, he seized control of the Sumerian cities and established

the world's first empire, the empire of Akkad, which stretched all the way to the Mediterranean.

His successors maintained control for a century until the Sumerians briefly reasserted themselves

A guide to the history presented in the Bible, for people of all faiths and backgrounds, presented by an independent podcaster, and biblical studies buff. I explore the religion of ancient Israel, the beginnings of Christianity, then finally the evolution of the heirs of Abraham to the year 200. I discuss every single book in every Bible (there are more than you think!). Lightly garnished with a dash of drollery, a soupçon of scrutiny, and not one ounce of objectivity. Not one ounce! The main narrative concluded in January 2024. But I continue to publish Afterlife shows.

0:00.0	Hello, I'm Gary Stevens, and welcome to the History in the Bible podcast.
0:24.8	All the history, in all the books, in all the Bibles.
0:27.9	Thank you. Episode 1.6, Canaan of the Patriarchs.
0:45.6	Hello, and welcome back to the History in the Bible podcast.
0:49.5	In this episode, I'll present a potted history in the Middle East in the period that the Bible covers in the books of Genesis through judges.
0:56.8	You can find some great charts and maps to help you at my website, www.com.
1:05.8	Recorded history begins about 3200 BC, with the first cities in Mesopotamia constructed by the Sumerians,
1:12.8	and enigmatic people whose language we cannot link to any other.
1:16.3	We next have records for Egypt, from about a century later.
1:20.8	The pyramids were built about 2,600 BC.
1:24.4	Archaeologists call this the early Bronze Age,
1:26.7	the age when humanity started to build cities and to write and to work metals.
1:31.3	Around the periphery of Mesopotamia, the lands were occupied by Semites,
1:36.3	a collection of people speaking any of a group of closely related languages, Arabic, Hebrew, Acadian, Amorite, Aramaean, Canaan.
1:45.0	Again and again through the centuries, the fertile crescent would be overrun by Semitic waves,
1:51.0	emerging from either Arabia or Scyria. It is now thought that in most ancient times, perhaps
1:57.0	three thousand years before the Sumerians laid stylus to clay tablet,
2:01.6	the Semites emigrated from drought-stricken North Africa, through the Nile Valley and onwards east.
2:07.6	The first Great Semitic conqueror was Sargon the Great, who claimed to have been rescued from a floating basket in a river.
2:14.6	Around 2250 BC, he seized control of the Sumerian cities and established
2:20.3	the world's first empire, the empire of Akkad, which stretched all the way to the Mediterranean.
2:27.3	His successors maintained control for a century until the Sumerians briefly reasserted themselves
	...

1.6 Canaan of the Patriarchs

History in the Bible

Garry Stevens

Summary

Transcript