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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Lot as a Hostage
  • Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 11:04:43 EST


Lot as a Hostage

A. Traditional View Does Not Make Sense

If the four attacking rulers in chapter 14 of Genesis were “Mesopotamia-based”
kings, it would not make sense for them to take Lot, Lot’s wife, and Lot’s
daughters as hostages. If ransom money were the rationale for taking
hostages, the 4 kings would have left Lot’s wife behind in Sodom to try to
raise
ransom money. Genesis 14: 16 confirms that Lot’s wife and daughters were all
taken
hostage. It would not make sense for a king of the predecessor of Persia to
take Lot, Lot’s wife, and Lot’s 4 daughters all the long way back to the
predecessor of Persia, east of Mesopotamia, certainly.

Abraham’s military attack also makes no sense on the traditional view. Four
kings from Mesopotamia would certainly still be a unified force until they
had
gone a long ways north and east of Damascus. This unified force had just now
devastated much of Canaan. Abraham could possibly snatch the hostages in the
dead of night, and then steal away, but that is not what Genesis 14: 14-15
says:

“And when Abram heard that his brother [Lot] was taken captive, he led forth
his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued
as
far as Dan. And he divided himself against them by night, he and his
servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left
hand of
Damascus.” Genesis 14: 14-15

If “Dan” means Lus/Laish, at the southern foot of Mt. Hermon/Mt. Lebanon, as
traditionally viewed, then Abraham drove all 4 Mesopotamia-based kings more
than 50 miles from Dan to Damascus, and then beyond that to Hobah, though
there
is no Hobah on the Kings’ Highway north of Damascus. Abraham’s men could
not possibly have forced the combined armies of 4 Mesopotamia-based kings to
flee more than 50 miles. That is preposterous. And in the Patriarchal Age,
the
town at the southern foot of Mt. Lebanon was not called “Dan”, but rather was
called “Lus”, to which Jacob gave the personal nickname “Bethel” in honor
of Jacob’s “Jacob’s Ladder” religious experience there. Genesis 27: 19; 35:
15; 48: 3 That town was not called “Dan” until the period of the Judges.
Judges 18: 29 So neither the geography, nor Abraham’s military maneuvers,
make any sense on the traditional view.

B. Everything Makes Sense on the Historical View

Based primarily on the linguistic analysis in prior posts of the nicknames
used in chapter 14 of Genesis for the four attacking rulers and for their
homelands, we have determined that the four attacking rulers, from south to
north,
were historically as follows: (1) “Amrapel of Shinar” is west
Semitic-speaking princeling ruler Aziru of Amurru, in northern Lebanon (near
Mt.
Lebanon/Shenir/Shinar); (2) “Arioch of Elassar” is the Hurrian princeling
ruler Etakama
of Qadesh, who had been re-educated in Year 13 by the Hittites in the Hittite
heartland at Alisar (Biblical “Elassar”); (3) “Chedorlaomer of ’Eylam” is
west Semitic-speaking princeling ruler Niqmaddu II of Ugarit, who
iniquitously
sold out Ugarit to the dreaded Hittites without a fight in Year 14 (of
Akhenaten’s rule, “in the fourteenth year” referenced at Genesis 14: 5); and
(4) “
Tidal king of nations” is Suppililiuma I, the mightiest Hittite king of all
time, a true king of nations, who had seized the Hittite throne by the
dastardly
expedient of murdering his own older brother named Tudhaliya/“Tidal”. The
Hittite heartland was in Anatolia, well north of Ugarit.

The Hittites took Lot, Lot’s wife, Lot’s daughters, and several other
families of defeated city-states as hostages with the plan to try to
re-educate them
in the Hittite heartland near Alisar. If Lot proved to be a quick study, as
Etakama (Biblical “Arioch”) had the previous year, then the Hittites might
decide to install Lot as the new leader of Sodom, with Lot being forced to be
a
compliant Hittite vassal. So Lot’s family was not taken hostage in hopes of
any ransom money, but rather because the Hittites hoped to develop several
Hittite vassals from the defeated peoples who would then rule these defeated
city-states as Hittite vassal states.

Abraham passes north through Amurru, Qadesh in northern Lebanon, and Ugarit
as well, looking for Lot. Abraham only finds Lot when Abraham has gone all
the
way to Danuna (Biblical “Dan”), immediately north of Ugarit. The three
attacking rulers who were mere princelings had gone back home by this point.
Only
the Hittites were proceeding north of Ugarit, on their way back home to
Anatolia. So we know that it was the Hittites, whose leader was Suppililiuma
I
(Biblical “Tidal”), who were holding Lot hostage.

But most of the Hittite forces would have gone far ahead, eager to return
home. A small detachment of Hittite soldiers was bringing up the rear,
lazily
guarding the hostages, and holding a small portion of the loot the Hittites
had
taken from many places in Canaan, which as good luck would have it happened
to
be the loot taken from Sodom. Abraham catches up with this small detachment
of Hittite soldiers in southern Danuna, just north of Ugarit in western
Syria,
and plans a surprise attack. Abraham will surprise the hostage holders by
circling around and attacking them from the north, driving the hostage
holders
south, away from the bulk of the Hittite forces, who are already far to the
north on their way back home to Anatolia. At night, Abraham launches a
surprise
attack from various positions to the north, Abraham having “divided himself
against them”. Abraham successfully routes the hostage holders, who abandon
their hostages and the loot and flee south, away from Abraham. Abraham
chases
them a short distance south, from the southern border of Danuna (immediately
north of Ugarit) to Hobah in the northern Bekka Valley. Biblical “Hobah” is
probably historical Hasabu, which we know from Amarna Letter 174: 8 was
probably
located in the northern Bekka Valley, well north of Damascus. (Speaking of
Amarna Letters, all 4 of the attacking rulers, and Danuna and Damascus as
well,
are mentioned in Amarna Letter #151, written by our good friend Abimilki of
Sur (Biblical “Abimelech”).)

Note that no casualties are mentioned on either side. Abraham did not defeat
4 “Mesopotamia-based” kings on the open field of battle. That would not be
credible. Rather, Abraham realistically routed a small contingent of Hittite
soldiers, and took the hostages and loot that this small contingent of
Hittite
soldiers abandoned in their panicked flight away from Abraham. By the time
the main body of Hittite troops heard what had happened, they were already
back
home in Anatolia. The Hittites’ revenge would have to wait until the next
military campaigning season (which is indirectly referred to in chapters 18
and
19 of Genesis, but there is no space to discuss that here). Note, however,
that the Sodom story is not over at the end of chapter 14 of Genesis. The
nefarious Hittites would not give up that easily. Sodom was by no means out
of the
woods yet, but Abraham had at least given Sodom a fighting chance, a second
chance.

The northern pre-Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives brilliantly
portrays Abraham as doing exactly the opposite of what had historically
happened
the previous year (in Year 13 of Akhenaten’s reign) to Etakama. Etakama of
Qadesh had been taken hostage by the Hittites, re-educated at Alisar in the
Hittite heartland, and then promptly installed as the new Hittite puppet
leader of
Qadesh, replacing the legitimate princeling ruler of Qadesh, who was
Etakama’s
own father. Etakama then began terrorizing Lebanon with his good friend
Aziru of Amurru, as they opportunistically took part in whatever looting
opportunities arose, often in conjunction with the Hittites’ military
maneuvers.
Abraham bravely refuses to let that happen to Sodom and Lot. Abraham rescues
Lot,
who is never re-educated by the Hittites. Abraham then promptly hands Lot
over to the King of Sodom, who had not been captured or killed by the
Hittites.
(Abraham proceeds south through Damascus and then down the east bank of the
Jordan River. Abraham sends messengers ahead to have the King of Sodom meet
Abraham the moment Abraham steps foot in Canaan proper, at the hamlet of
Salim on
the west bank of the Jordan River, a short distance east of Shechem.) The
King of Sodom resumes his place as the rightful leader of Sodom, and Lot
resumes
his place as a loyal resident of Sodom, with neither of them being Hittite
vassals. (Sodom is not comprised of violent male homosexual gang rapists, as
traditionalists and Prof. Robert Alter argue. If that were the case, Abraham
would not link arm in arm with the King of Sodom in chapter 14 of Genesis,
nor
would Abraham return Lot to Sodom and to the King of Sodom. Ignoring the
secular historical context of the Patriarchal narratives leads to all sorts
of
nonsensical results like that.) The brilliant Hebrew author is showing how
the
Hittites should be dealt with. Rather than iniquitously selling out to the
Hittites, the princeling rulers of Canaan should count on their fellow
Canaanite
princeling rulers, the tent-dwelling habiru/Hebrews, and temporarily
monotheistic Egypt, to keep the powerful Hittites out of Canaan.

Note that the entire sequence makes perfect sense, in the historical context.
What happens to Lot in chapter 14 of Genesis is exactly the opposite of what
had happened, historically, the year previously to Etakama (Biblical “Arioch”
) of Qadesh in northern Lebanon. The burning question of the moment, in Year
15 of Akhenaten’s reign (which is when the Patriarchal narratives were
composed), was whether Canaanite city-states like Beth Shan in Canaan proper
were
going to go the route of Qadesh and Amurru in northern Lebanon and sell out
to
the nefarious Hittites, or rather whether Canaan and Egypt would stand united
against the feared onslaught of the dreaded Hittites. (Egypt’s two most
prized
possessions in Canaan were Qadesh and Beth Shan. Qadesh was now lost to the
Hittites. Would Beth Shan be next? Sodom in many ways represents Beth Shan
in the Patriarchal narratives, although historically it was Qatna, not Beth
Shan, that was permanently destroyed by fire after having opposed the
Hittites.)
You see, the physical existence of the first Hebrews was in the balance here.
The brilliant northern pre-Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives is
trying to convince everyone to stand tall against the dreaded Hittites, so
that
Canaan could remain free and the Hebrews would not be wiped out by invading
Hittites.

Rather than being nonsensical and non-historical, chapter 14 of Genesis in
fact is closely based on the well-documented secular history of the mid-14th
century BCE. To the first Hebrews, it seemed that YHWH had answered their
fervent prayers, since the Hittites in fact never did invade Canaan proper.
That
was the foundational event of Judaism. This is not a fairy tale made up by
J,
E, P and D as southern Hebrews 700 years later in the mid-1st millennium BCE.

No, this is actual secular history, and is the historical background for the
birth of Judaism. The Patriarchal narratives are the rock-solid historical
foundation of Judaism. J, E, P and D had nothing to do with the Patriarchal
narratives. One proof of that is the stunning, pinpoint historical accuracy
of
chapter 14 of Genesis in identifying the precise ethnic origins of the four
attacking rulers who terrorized northern greater Canaan in Year 14 of
Akhenaten’s
reign (“in the fourteenth year”), and who potentially threatened all of
Canaan proper in the years to come. Chapter 14 of Genesis is very closely
based on
the actual secular history of the mid-14th century BCE. Unlike the
traditional view of the case, chapter 14 of Genesis does not deal with a
single “
Mesopotamia-based” ruler. No “Mesopotamia-based” ruler would have taken Lot
and Lot
’s entire family as hostages.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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