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Today on Critical Thinking Aloud we are going to continue our study of the ancient biblical authors three tiered cosmology by looking at the last tier The Underworld.

This is another installment in our What is the Bible? Series. We went into detail about the biblical authors worldview and cosmology in previous teaching. If you havent gone through that material yet we suggest you do so first by clicking here.

We are building out a portfolio in our minds about the Bible. Our Goal here is to add some new insight that you may have never thought about before. So far we have made these observations about he Bible.

It is a library of ancient Near Eastern Literature. The Literature contained within is written with recognizable literary devices that all humans can understand. The authors of this literature’s worldview is vastly different from our own and we must not conflate the two. They believed in a three tiered cosmology consisting of the Heavens, A flat Earth, and The Underworld.

In this installment we will be covering the final tier The Sea/ The Underworld of the ancient Near Eastern Biblical Authors.

How we are going to learn

Today we will be looking at the topic of the Underworld in the ancient Near Eastern cosmology. As I have done in the past with other teachings I want to quote from scholarly sources to make my point. I do this in hope that you will see this isn’t just my interpretation of the Scriptures but that this view is steeped in acadeemia.

We will be using two amazing sources which we highly recommend.

1. Faithlife Study Bible: This is an amazing resource that is free if you download the app or use it online. To download the app or use this resource online visit their website here. This resource is also available in print which you can purchase here.
2. The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: This is my favorite resource for gaining a better understanding for the ancient Near Eastern worldview of the Biblical authors. This is available in a multitude of variations all of which you can find on our resource page here.

Let’s get started

The Sea/ The Underworld

Over the last three installments of Critical Thinking Aloud we have been looking at the Ancient Biblical authors three tiered cosmology in detail. These writers along with all of the Israelites shared the same ancient Near Eastern worldview as their neighboring nations.

This three tiered cosmology consisted of The Heavens, A Flat Earth, and The Sea/ The Underworld. The biblical authors alluded to this three tiered cosmology in many of the text they wrote in The Bible. Here is and example:

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.'”

Haggai 2:6

In our last in segments while talking about the domed sky and the flat earth we briefly spoke about how to the ancient biblical authors believed that the waters of the deep encompassed the flat earth. Here is a picture to help refresh your memory.

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In the ancient Near Eastern worldview the sea was a chaotic force and for the majority of the people in the ancient Near East that was seen negatively. This was due to the fact that the sea is not hospitable to human life. It is a desolate place comparable to deserts and mountain tops that are not created for the habitation of the Human race.

The sea is ascribed to be a place of death, where a great sea monster abides.

Here is a quote from our trusty resources to help ground us in their cosmological understanding of the sea

“The Image of the ocean as chaos was already seen in Job 3:8 (there called Leviathan) and in Job 7:12 (there it is put under guard), while in Job 38:8-11 it is shut up behind doors: its limits are set with doors and bars and halted from going any further.”

The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: In the Article Cosmic Geography pg 836

The Leviathan

This “sea beast” or “chaos monster of the sea” was a well known element of the cosmology that was held by the biblical authors as well as all throughout the whole of the ancient Near East. The same source says this about the Leviathan.

“Leviathan is found in Ugaritic texts that contain detailed descriptions of a chaos beast, representing the seas or watery anarchy in the form of a many-headed, twisting serpent, who is defeated by Baal… Several other passages in the OT mention Leviathan, but most of them like Ps 74:14, speak in terms of God’s creative act that establishes control over watery chaos (personified by the sea serpent…”)

The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: In the Article Leviathan pg 874

Watery Grave?

This watery anarchy represented in the ancient Near East as the chaos sea monster links the sea with the underworld. I know that this is a really hard concept for us modern 21st century church goers to comprehend.

Our perception that we have learned through the teachings of Jesus about the underworld and Hell are vastly different than Old Testament authors view of Death, Sheol/ The Underworld.

It is only in the second temple period literature that a fiery underworld is introduce. Jesus gives us more information about this fiery underworld by expanding on the second temple period literature of His day.

We do not want to read the New Testaments ideas back into the text of the Old Testament but we should use the Old Testaments cosmology to influence that which we read in the New Testament.

The Underworld/ Sheol

The place of the dead in the Old Testament was called Sheol. Though they share common elements we want to be careful not import what we believe about Hell into what the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors believed about Sheol.

Here is an another quote from our sources:

“The term Sheol is used in parallel with death (see note on Job 17:13) in the OT to indicate the grave or the underworld… The word Sheol is unique to the Hebrew Bible, but the concept of the grave or underworld is well known in the ancient Near East. In Mesopotamian mythology, the underworld is a very inhospitable place from which no one returns: there is no light there, and the inhabitants eat clay or mud and drink unclean water.”

The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: In the Article on Death and Sheol pg 833

From the picture above you can see the correlation in the ancient Near Eastern cosmology to the sea and the underworld/ Sheol.

The Sea = Sheol?

Both are under the flat earth. Both occupy the the space surrounding the foundations of the earth, also known to them as the roots of the mountains. Both are inhospitable to humans and no human can return from either once they have gone there. The sea houses the sea monster Leviathan that represents chaos who’s dwelling is the equivalent to Sheol in the deep sea. If one would cross paths with this creature they would end up in Sheol.

Here is our last quote to help us further tie these two concepts together in our minds.

“The realm of the dead was believed to be located under the earth, The most frequent Hebrew term for this place was She’ol, often transliterated in English Bibles as Sheol or translated as the realm of the dead, or even the grave (Prov 9:18; Psa 6:4-5; 18:4-5). At times, the Hebrew word for “earth” (‘erets) is also used to describe the underworld, since graves were believed to represent gateways to the underworld. In Job, the realm of the dead is even described in watery terms: “the spirits of the dead tremble below the waters and their inhabitants” (Job 26:5). Jonah’s description is perhaps the most vivid. Although he is located in the belly of the great fish, Jonah says he is in the underworld: the watery deep at “the foundations of the mountains,” a “pit” that had “bars” that closed forever (Jonah 2:6).”

Faithlife Study Bible: in the Article: The Old Testament and the Ancient Near Eastern Worldview under the notes of Genesis 1:1-7

There you go! In that last quote we have the whole matrix of ideas about the underworld which the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors had floating in their heads. This cosmology deeply impacted the way they wrote the scriptures.

That last quote is taken from a free resource that is available to anyone who wants to go deeper in the bible studies. Get it now by clicking here.

Supernatural Worldview

Isn’t it amazing how much of the ancient Near Eastern worldview was supernatural. The Leviathan a supernatural chaos serpent, the gates to the underworld, door ways to the heavens, portals to the realms of the dead, and of coarse the great cosmic God reigning supreme over all of it.

I love it! It’s my hope that Critical Thinking Aloud is doing its job in renewing a love for the supernatural worldview of the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors within our post enlightenment, scientific, 21st century modern christian community.

Check out this short video series on Spiritual beings by our friends over at The Bible Project by clicking here. They are amazing and super helpful to better grasp what we will be covering in this series.

Citations:

Faithlife Study Bible. J. D. Barry et al. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012.

NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Grand Rapids, Michigan USA Zondervan 2016

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Our Favorite Bible

U.K. Link: NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Kindle Edition

U.S. Link: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Bonded Leather Bible, Bonded Leather: Thumb Index, Imitation Leather Women’s, Imitation Leather Men’s, Kindle Edition

Our Favorite Book

U.S.- Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters- Paperback book, Kindle Edition, Audiobook

U.K.- Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters- Paperback book, Kindle Edition Audiobook

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Let us know your thought about our series in the comment section. If you have any topics you would like to suggest please let us know and we will add them to the list of future subjects we will covered.