User:Reps group dreams/sandbox

Perspectives On Dreams In The Old Testament And The Ancient Near East From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from dreams in the old testament) This article is about dreams in the old testament and the ancient near east. For other uses, see the ancient near east, the old testament, bible. "dreams of the ancient near east" redirects here.

The Ancient Near East is a term used to describe various regions of the 18th - 15th century BCE, including Egypt, modern Turkey, and Mesopotamia, which includes Assyria, Sumer, and Babylonia.

The Old Testament is a compilation of 39 books altogether making up the first half of the christian Bible. Most of these books were originally written in hebrew, and aramaic, but have since been translated into 554 languages. The old testament contains the Christian creation story, history, law, prophecy, and literature of the ancient Israelite people.

Image result for map of the ancient near east                                                      Image result for map of israel and surrounding countries

Contents [hide] 1	History of the ancient near east 1.1	Culture 1.2	Religion 1.2.1	Rituals 1.4	Stories of dreams in the ancient near east

2	dreams of the Old testament 2.1	Joseph 2.2	Daniel's interpretations of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

3	Visions of the Old Testament 3.1 Abraham 3.2 Daniel 3.4 Samuel 4 Significance of dreams in the ancient near east and in the Old Testament 5	See also 6	References 7	External links

History Of The Ancient Near East Culture Image result for ra the sun god _______________________________________ Generally, many of the people of the Ancient Near East lived in small villages, and thrived through hunting, fishing, or agricultural practices (Burney 52). These small villages grew to larger ones, and eventually, there were cities with temples and ziggurats for the gods. People also gradually made advancements in pottery, architecture, metallurgy, and invented more efficient systems of writing.

Religion

The nations within those regions held numerous religious views which emphasize the existence of gods as creators. For example, the Egyptians believed Ra, the sun god was the creator of all things. Also, those regions usually associated their kings and leaders with the gods they worshipped. Assyrian monarchs and emperors as well as Sumerian of the Ancient Near East even viewed themselves as sons of heaven or a god (Ancient Near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology pg. 43, 98).

Rituals

Image result for Ishtar of Arbela

As a result of power granted to the leaders of certain nations, those leaders usually had a lot of control in judicial and other matters, and claimed to receive guidance from the gods in building temples and shrines for worship.

Image result for egyptian pharaohs

Stories of dreams in the ancient near east

The interpretation of dreams of the Ancient Near East are actually not very different from those of the Old Testament. Much of the interpretations, such as those of Egypt and Assyria, follow a framework which outline who the dreamer of a given dream is, the dream itself, and reactions to the dream.

Egypt

There are numerous examples of Egyptian dreams which were interpreted similar to Old Testament dreams. For instance, the dream of the pharaoh Merenptah features a towering figure of Ptah, an Egyptian God (pg. 187). This dream is like many other Near Eastern dream reports (pg. 189). Moreover, the dream of Thutmose IV appears to be like Joseph’s dream, because of how in both dreams, the god of the corresponding locality appears to the respective dreamers (pg. 187). It is not surprising how these interpretations can be so similar, as many of the Ancient Near East cultures influenced one another (reference - the Hays article). Nonetheless, the content of dreams is not typically described in Egyptian and Hittite, but moreso for the Old Testament (pg. 186).

Assyria

Assyria	A myriad of dream-reports from Assyria come from Assyrian king Assurbanipal’s inscriptions (pg. 187). Assyria has a few parallels with the Old Testament nations with regard to dream-reports. For example, the dream of Ishtar of Arbela, a priest of a goddess parallels the story of Samuel in the Bible (pg. 188). Additionally Assyria’s dream records were similar to those of Egypt’s.

Dreams Of The Old Testament See also: Dreams and the Old Testament Image result for joseph from the bible A shoemaker making turnshoes at the Roscheider Hof Open Air Museum Dreams are a collection of emotions and experiences had while sleeping. Everyone experiences dreams however, in the old testament, this is God's Primary way of speaking to his people. The Old Testament is filled with accounts of God speaking to people through dreams. Some of these people were prophets and others were regular people, such as Joseph and Daniel. God also Gave people such as Daniel the ability to interpret the dreams other.

Joseph

Joseph was a very valued person in the Old Testament and God used him in many ways. Joseph was the son of Jacob and had eleven brothers. His brothers had a hatred toward him because he was able to receive dreams from God at a very young age. In Genesis 37 you will find the dream where Joseph was told that his brothers would one day bow down to him, “your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf”. This caused his brothers to have a stronger hatred toward him.

Joseph also interpreted the dreams of those unable to understand their own dreams. While Joseph was in the prison he interpreted the dreams of two of the imamates as they had dreams they thought were very similar yet could not understand the meaning or significance of them. They believed that they had to have an official interpreter to interpret the dream. Joseph stated that “God can reveal the meaning of their dreams to whom he will” (commentary), illustrating Joseph’s reliance on the divine rather than the individual. Joseph showed the two prisoners what their future would look like. Both dreams were about what would be happening to the baker and the cup holder in the next three days. Due to God working through Joseph, Pharaoh came to Joseph and asked him to interpret the dream for him. Joseph’s interpretation caused the land to not perish as Joseph informed the people of the famine that was going to happen, enabling them to prepare by saving food during this time of plentiful food.

Daniel's Interpretations of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams

God communicated with people through dreams and at the time there was great importance placed on dreams and their corresponding meaning. One of the people God communicated with through dreams was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; King Nebuchadnezzar reigned from 605 to 562 B.C.  Nebuchadnezzar was a very successful king and had conquered many nations. After his conquest of Jerusalem, king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of images and visions setting out peculiar events that were to unfold in the years to come. The king did not understand the dream and this troubled him a great deal. During that time, many children of Israel had sought refuge in Babylon. Those with special gifts received training and were supported and served in the King’s government. Among these was Daniel, who was gifted with the ability to interpret dreams from God.

As was the custom, king Nebuchadnezzar called for his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers, diviners to interpret the dream (Daniel 2vs1). The instruction to the wise men and diviners was for them retell him the dream as well as provide a corresponding interpretation. This turned out to be an impossible task and they told the king that it was too difficult stating that no one other than the gods who did not live among them could reveal the meaning behind the dream (Daniel 2vs11). This angered the king who then ordered to have them all executed, this decree was to include Daniel and his three friends. It seemed very important for the king to have the dream interpreted to the extent of commanding death upon the wise men, magicians and diviners who couldn't do as asked. Daniel tactfully spoke to Aricoch the commander to find out the reason for the decree which he shared with his friends; who jointly pleaded for mercy from God concerning the mystery of the dream. God revealed the mystery of the dream to daniel in a vision (Daniel vs 18-23). Daniel praised God and said: “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. (Daniel 2vs 20)”.

Daniel requested to see the King and revealed to the king that what he had seen was a huge statue standing before him both striking in appearance and terrifying. He continued by identifying that the head of the statue was made of pure gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and hips were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were an iron-ceramic mixture. He then revealed that while the king was looking at this statue, a stone cut out of a mountain by an invisible hand hit the statue, smashing its iron-ceramic feet resulting in the entire thing falling to pieces - the iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old newspapers in a vacant lot in a hot dry summer, blown every which way by the wind, scattered to oblivion. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. He concluded by saying this was your dream ( Daniel vs 31- 36). After telling the king the dream, and the king knowing that God was saying something to him through the dream, he sought the interpretation of the dream from Daniel as he knew that Daniel did hear from God.

Summary of the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:

Daniel then interpreted the dream, he told the king that the gold head represented him because he was the most powerful and had placed him in charge of the men, women wild animals and birds all over the world. He was then told that his rule would be taken over by another kingdom, inferior to his, and that kingdom would be taken over by another kingdom, a bronze kingdom that would rule over all the earth and after that by a fourth kingdom which would be as strong as iron and would break in pieces and crush all the other kingdoms. He then prophesied that the feet of mixed clay and iron represented a kingdom that would be divided (Daniel 2:41). Finally, he explained that the stone that smashed the ceramic toes represented God setting up a kingdom that would never be destroyed but all the other kingdoms would be brought to an end. In finishing Daniel told the king that the great God had let them know what would happen in the years to come and that was indeed an accurate telling and interpretation of the dream.

Visions Of The Old Testament A Vision is an unreal encounter with a person or an experience while in a trance. One does not need to be sleeping to have a vision. Throughout the old testament God appeared to his people through visions. Often times it was as if God was really there with them. Both Abraham and Daniel, Experienced God through Visions.

Abraham Image result for abraham sees the lord God appears to Abraham in a vision Judaism, Islam and Christianity, all call Abraham their father. In christianity he is considered an ancestor of the Israelites and a father of the faith. The book of Genesis, found in the Old testament of the bible, depicts the life of Abraham. Abraham’s story begins with God speaking to him through a vision, telling him to leave his home in Mesopotamia and go to the promise land where he will bless him and create a great nation from his family line. Obedient to his God, Abraham, who according to Genesis was 75 at the time, packs up his wife and his nephew Lot, heading out towards Gods promise land.

As Abraham journeys toward the land of Canon, the lord appears to him in another vision at the place of Shechem, and tells him once more that he will give all this land to Abraham’s offspring. Thankful to God, Abraham builds an alter in this place where God has shown himself to him, and he continues on his journey. Due to famine in the land Abraham and his wife Sarai reside in Egypt for a time. Abraham fears that he will be killed in Egypt when the men see how beautiful his wife is, so he asks Sarai to pretend to be his sister. However this goes terribly wrong, as the pharaoh makes her his wife. The Lord is not pleased with Sarai or Abraham, so he inflicts plagues upon the house of the pharaoh asked them to leave. When the group reaches the Jordan Valley, Abraham splits ways with his nephew Lot, and God once again appears to Abraham in a vision expressing the vast ways in which he will bless Abraham and his offspring. To this Abraham humbly responds with the building of an alter in the place where God spoke.

Abraham grows frustrated with his lack of an heir, calling out to God he despairs that his heir will not be his own son, for he will never have one. The lord responds in a vision saying “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” (Genesis 15:1) The lord then Promises Abraham That he will give him a son, pointing towards the sky, he promises that Abrahams decedents will be as many as the stars in the sky.

Years pass and still Sarai bears no children. Frustrated she sends her hand maiden to sleep with Abraham in hope to give him an heir. The maid Hagar gave birth to a child whom God called Ishmael.

Finally when Abraham is 99 years old the lord appears to him in a vision, telling him once more that his descendants will be many and that his wife Sarai will have a son. the lord then changes the name Abram to Abraham and the name Sarai to Sarah. Then building a covent with him, the lord promises the birth of Abraham’s son Issac, asking that Abraham and all the males in his family must be circumcised. The lord then says that Sarah will give birth to Isaac in one years time. Sarah Gives birth to Isaac, and shortly after the lord speaks to Abraham in another vision commanding him to kill his son. Abraham obeys the lord, taking his son to the alter, but at the last moment, the lord tells him to stop for it was only a test.

Abraham leads a long life in conversation with God. The lord continues to speak with him through visions, blessing him and his descendants and reminding him of his great promises.

Image result for god speaks to abraham

Daniel

Image result for daniel bible ccjgcjhhvkkjvkhvhkllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll_Daniel_interpreting_dreams During the reign of Belshazzar Daniel had several dreams about the destruction of Israel. Images of different animals that conveyed strength, power to clearly show how badly the king would fall and who would conquer him. Chapters 8-12 contain a vision involving a ram, a goat, and several horns these also refer to the future kingdoms and their rulers. Daniel chapter 9 records Daniel’s “seventy weeks” prophecy where God gave Daniel the precise timeline of when the Messiah would come and be cut off. In addition, the prophecy also mentions a future ruler who would make a seven-year covenant with Israel and break it after three and a half years, followed shortly thereafter by the great judgment and consummation of all things. Daniel is visited and strengthened by an angel after this great vision, and the angel explains the vision to Daniel in great detail.

Samuel

Samuel was a boy who was placed at a young age in the Temple to do the work of the Lord. In those days, the Lord was rare to speak. One night as Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, God called out to him. Three times God called Samuel’s name and each time he runs to his mentor Eli. This was an introductory experience of a powerful way God spoke to his people which was through visions. By the third time Eli tells Samuel to go back to bed and if he hears someone call his name again to respond saying “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” By his response, he recognized and identified God’s calling on him and it opened up the stream of communication with God. Through this experience God then starts to reveal himself to Samuel and starts to speak to him about the future. Samuel becomes God’s mouthpiece for a nation that has been deprived of the voice of God for many years, and His primary way of speaking to him is through visions. Samuel becomes a renowned prophet throughout the rest of his life, and the basis of his career started by simply having his eyes open and being perceptive to what the Lord was saying.

Image result for samuel from the bible

Significance of dreams in the ancient near east and in the Old Testament

See also The old Testament The ancient near east Dreams visions The Israelites The red sea bible References Jump up ^ "Bible Odyssey: People, Places, and Passages." Bible Odyssey. Accessed October 6, 2016. http://www.bibleodyssey.com/. Browning, W. R. F., R. J. Coggins, and Graham Stanton. A Dictionary of the Bible. Oxford University Press, 2009. Jump up ^ Brueggemann, Walter. "The Power of Dreams in the Bible." The Power of Dreams in the Bible. June 28, 2005. Accessed October 13, 2016. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3218. Brundage, Burr C. "The American Historical Review." The Ancient Near East as History 54, no. 3 (April 1949). http://www.jstor.org/stable/1843006. Burney, Charles Allen. The Ancient Near East. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1977. Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter's Bible: The Holy Scriptures in the King James and Revised Standard Versions with General Articles and Introduction, Exegesis, Exposition for Each Book of the Bible. New York,: Abingdon Press, 1953. Goetze, Albrecht, and A. Leo Oppenheim. "The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient near East." Journal of Biblical Literature 77, no. 1 (1958): 85. doi:10.2307/3264342. Newsom, Carol A., and Brennan W. Breed. Daniel: A Commentary. Louisville, Kentucky: Jon Knox Press, 2014. Niehaus, Jeffrey Jay. Ancient near Eastern Themes in Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2008. Jump up ^ The HarperCollins Study Bible: Fully Revised Standard Version, with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books Student Edition. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments. Trenton: I. Collins, 1791. Tischler, Nancy M. All Things in the Bible: An Encyclopedia of the Biblical World. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006.