How Sumerian And Hebrew People Relate To Their Gods
The passages in this chapter illustrate various ways in which humans relate to their gods. How do the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Hebrew people differ in this respect?
In 2000 B.C.E the meaning of God has changed very little from the present meaning of God, Supreme Being, but the characteristics of God have changed drastically. Today in Christian America God is not a man with human characteristics, but an idea of pure, everlasting life. Associating this idealist image is very hard for people today to relate to their God. In 2700 B.C.E the Sumerian people have many gods and goddesses, some who control the sun and others who support love or war. The Epic of Gilgamesh describes how the gods act when the sacrifice of sugar is put out for them, “When the gods smelled the sweet savor, they gathered like flies over the sacrifice.” (5) Giving the gods human characteristics and emotions is one way the Sumerian people can relate to their gods. …show more content…
The Egyptian people also have god and goddesses they worship.
The worship of the Nile River is what sets apart the Egyptian people. They may not be able to relate to the river, but the Egyptian people have to respect and worship the Nile River because the Nile was the only source of water and it brought fresh soil every year. The Hymn to the Nile states, “The bringer of food, rich in provisions, creator of all good, lord of majesty, sweet of fragrance.”(16) Giving the people fresh soil means grass for the cows and with that they can sacrifice the cows to the gods. The Nile helps the Egyptians in every way, every day to worship their
gods.
The Egyptian people believed in reciting a passage, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, to enter the afterlife. The book contains very specific actions and activities the people should not have committed during their life. Overall the book states that the gods have not been hurt or done wrong by the Egyptian people. The Book of Dead states, “I have not caused pain, I have not caused tears, I have not made anyone suffer.”(8) Not only does the person have to had treated their god right, but also their neighbor. Relating a god to a person makes it easier to not have caused anyone pain or suffering and therefore the Egyptian people can say the passage with true honesty.
The Hebrew people worship only one, God; he is most powerful and is similar to today’s Christianity God. In the Book of Exodus God spoke in a very loud voice and told Moses to tell the people what is now known as the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”(19) The Commandments are similar to the Book of the Dead in that there shouldn’t be any killing or stealing, but one big difference is the Hebrew people only have one god to worship. Focusing all the worship on one god can make relating to him hard because the people have to perform the Ten Commandments and not worship the other gods they were worshiping before. Overall the Hebrew people followed what God had said and that following is still happening in present day America.
In 2000 B.C.E the meaning of God has changed very little from the present meaning of God, Supreme Being, but the characteristics of God have changed drastically. Today in Christian America God is not a man with human characteristics, but an idea of pure, everlasting life. Associating this idealist image is very hard for people today to relate to their God. In 2700 B.C.E the Sumerian people have many gods and goddesses, some who control the sun and others who support love or war. The Epic of Gilgamesh describes how the gods act when the sacrifice of sugar is put out for them, “When the gods smelled the sweet savor, they gathered like flies over the sacrifice.” (5) Giving the gods human characteristics and emotions is one way the Sumerian people can relate to their gods. …show more content…
The Egyptian people also have god and goddesses they worship.
The worship of the Nile River is what sets apart the Egyptian people. They may not be able to relate to the river, but the Egyptian people have to respect and worship the Nile River because the Nile was the only source of water and it brought fresh soil every year. The Hymn to the Nile states, “The bringer of food, rich in provisions, creator of all good, lord of majesty, sweet of fragrance.”(16) Giving the people fresh soil means grass for the cows and with that they can sacrifice the cows to the gods. The Nile helps the Egyptians in every way, every day to worship their
gods.
The Egyptian people believed in reciting a passage, The Egyptian Book of the Dead, to enter the afterlife. The book contains very specific actions and activities the people should not have committed during their life. Overall the book states that the gods have not been hurt or done wrong by the Egyptian people. The Book of Dead states, “I have not caused pain, I have not caused tears, I have not made anyone suffer.”(8) Not only does the person have to had treated their god right, but also their neighbor. Relating a god to a person makes it easier to not have caused anyone pain or suffering and therefore the Egyptian people can say the passage with true honesty.
The Hebrew people worship only one, God; he is most powerful and is similar to today’s Christianity God. In the Book of Exodus God spoke in a very loud voice and told Moses to tell the people what is now known as the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”(19) The Commandments are similar to the Book of the Dead in that there shouldn’t be any killing or stealing, but one big difference is the Hebrew people only have one god to worship. Focusing all the worship on one god can make relating to him hard because the people have to perform the Ten Commandments and not worship the other gods they were worshiping before. Overall the Hebrew people followed what God had said and that following is still happening in present day America.