Sumerian City Laments and Ezekiel: the Ancient Near Eastern Context of a Literary Genre

Archaeological discoveries of Sumerian City Laments have given us access to a unique genre of the ancient Near East that has strong parallels to the Book of Ezekiel. Dr. Donna Petter (PhD Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations) lays out the general format of these ancient city laments and how they are similar or different to Ezekiel. This genre comparison reveals great insights for how we understand the book of Ezekiel in its historical, cultural, literary context.
Watch the full interview here: • Making Sense of Ezekie...
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[@ronniewhitakerIIImusic]

Is this similar to Ezekiel's use of ancient Babylonian iconography/reliefs that surface in his illustrations? By using imagery, and themes that would have felt familiar because of the context of the personal world where he resided?

[@hebrewbibleinsights]

Excellent point! Iconography brings so much insight to biblical texts. Just this morning in an advanced Biblical Hebrew class that I was co teaching, the other professor showed pictures of Egyptian iconography of depictions of the outstretched arms of the sun god. This is a great area within ANE archaeology.

[@ronniewhitakerIIImusic]

@@hebrewbibleinsights Thank you! I am genuinely fascinated with all things pertaining to the background context of scripture! It serves a great purpose to remind us of the reality of the author's/editors, while reinforcing the rich depth of what is meant by the 'inspired' Word of God!

[@hebrewbibleinsights]

Well said! We couldn’t agree more. This is in essence what our goal is with our podcast/youtube page. We think the inspired text makes more sense when it is understood in its ancient context. From that foundation, we can start to see how the text has meaning in the New Testament and our world today. When we neglect the original context, it is easy to slip into ungrounded views.
Thanks for engaging with our content! It sounds like you are passionate about the same things, and you have great insight!