The world's greatest ancient civilizations were developed in this area often referred to as the Cradle of Civilization. Present-day Iraq possesses a huge amount of historical monuments and archaeological sites. Nineveh, (Mosul) where Jonah preached ... Ur, where Abraham was born; ... Uruk, the scene of the Gilgamesh Epic; ...Assur, the first capital of the Assyrian kingdom with the famous Ishtar temple.
A UN effort to help restore Iraq's 'Garden of Eden' home to rare and unique species like the Sacred ibis and African darter, an $11-million project, funded by Japan.....21 April 2005 News Release
Traditionally the date for Adam and the Garden of Eden has been 4000 B.C. based on the genealogies of Genesis and Matthew .
Adam was the first and lonely inhabitant of Eden. He was required to dress and keep it. All the inhabitants of earth and air passed before him, and he named them all; but for him there was not found a suitable companion, and to meet this want, the woman was created and placed in the garden with him (Genesis 2:8-23) The Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve lived in sinless bliss was a subtropical climate, for they lived there without clothing (Genesis 1:25), and the fig tree grew in luxuriance (Genesis 3:7).
Gen. 2:10-14. The four rivers of Eden : the Pishon, the Gihon, the Hiddekel, and the Euphrates were real rivers which existed on a modern landscape before Noah's flood. The now-dry Wadi al Batin was probably the Pishon River which the Bible identifies as draining the land of Havilah (Arabia) when the climate was wetter that it is today. "from whence came gold, bdellium, and onyx stone." ... The Gihon is the Karun (and/or Karkheh), which "encompasses" (winds around) the whole land of Cush (western Iran) and is Iran's only navigable river. It is a meandering river with great bends. Its course is 510 miles long, but its distance (in a bird's-eye view) is only 175 miles long. Since the sedimentary rocks of the Zagros Mountains are folded into great anticlinal and synclinal structures, they create a zigzagging, "roundabout course" for the river as it follows them. Pliny's Natural History states that, during the conquest of Alexander the Great, the confluence of the Tigris and Karun Rivers was at Charax, at a distance of one and one- fourth miles from the coast, and that after that time the Karun appears to have shifted its center of deposition to the southeast. Charax was located about eighty miles southeast of Ur, and for a short time represented the location of a temporary seaport on a retreating Gulf. After conquering the world, Alexander the Great, at the age of 33 died an untimely death at Babel in 323 B.C
The Tigris River rises on the southern slopes of the Taurus Mountains in eastern Turkey and cuts a bed almost 1160 miles long on its way to the Persian Gulf. On its journey to the sea, it is joined by a number of tributaries flowing from the Zagros Mountains: the Khabur, Great Zab, Little Zab, Nahr al 'Uzaym, Diyala, Karkheh, and lastly the Karun . Arriving at Mosul, the river flows through a piedmont region of rather low hills. While the course of the upper Tigris appears not to have changed substantially over the last five thousand years, its lower course has been very unstable (for example, one of its ancient courses was called "Idiqlat" by the Sumerians). The Tigris River floods annually due to the spring melting of snows in the Taurus Mountains. Its waters first begin to rise in March, reach their peak in May, and normally recede in June or July. At Baghdad, the river is about one-quarter mile wide, with a depth at high water of twenty-six feet and at low water of about four feet. The current in flood is about four miles per hour and at low water it is one and one-quarter miles per hour. The river below Baghdad is navigable by boats of some size, while the upper Tigris is more difficult to navigate. The Tigris is capable of flooding over vast areas of land. For example, an overflow of the Tigris River in 1954 submerged the low-lying Babylonian plain for hundreds of miles. The Tigris was the great river of ancient Assyria. On its banks stood many of the cities mentioned in the Bible, including Nineveh, Nimrud and Asshur. Gen. 2:14 identifies it as "that which goeth toward the east of Assyria," or the land of Asshur, who was the grandson of Noah (Gen. 10:11).
The Euphrates drains the
western part of Mesopotamia. It starts in the highlands of Turkey,
flows southeastward over a limestone hill terrain in northern
Iraq, and enters its delta at Hit (about 80 miles west of
Baghdad). Overall, it winds its way over a meandering 1700- mile
path on its way to the Persian Gulf. South of Hit, the river has
an extremely low gradient. Hit is located more than 500 miles
upriver from the Gulf, but is only 175 feet above sea level. At An
Nasiriyah, the water level of the Euphrates is only 8 feet above
sea level, even though the river still has to cover a distance of
more than 95 miles to Basra. Once Ash Shamiyah is passed, the
water of the Euphrates is lost in an immense marshland region, and
during spring floods this whole region, from the Euphrates east to
the Tigris, can become severely inundated. The course of the
Euphrates River has constantly changed channels in its lower
portion. Today the Euphrates flows west of where it did in the
third to second millennium B.C. At this time the lower Euphrates
(then called by the Sumerians "Purattu") flowed from the ancient
city of Sippar, to Kish, to Nippur, to Shurrupak ( Noah's home
town), to Uruk, to Ur, and then into the Persian Gulf .
As America wages its war for liberty's survival against
the evil, sadistic, and devious forces of terrorism, (and its
state sponsors) it has inevitably come to a dramatic
geo-political fork in the road, by the river Euphrates, in the
modern State of Iraq.
The names Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi, Hillah, Najaf, Karbala, the Sunni Triangle, and many others are becoming commonly heard names as we are continually being fed daily broadcast news accounts about the conflict in Iraq. Many prophecy writers have long speculated about the rebuilding of ancient Babylon, and as America moved into the Euphrates River Valley to eliminate Saddam Hussein, it fueled even more speculation about the rise of Babylon. Whatever the future holds for Iraq, it should be noted that it is no mere coincidence that the climactic events of the Last Days would cycle their way back to the region where the civilization of the world began.
The Euphrates River Valley is widely regarded as the cradle of civilization. Here in this river valley stood the earliest city-states constructed by mankind. (4000 BC) The Tigris-Euphrates drainage basin loops around the Middle East forming a crescent shaped green-space that has become known as the Fertile Crescent. Ironically, this crescent likely encircles the ancient land of Eden. Its present desert topographical status belies an emphatic note of symbolism that mankind has been banished from his earthly paradise. A place that was once heavenly is now desolate. In this vicinity also, was the place where the earth's earliest inhabitants lived, and where much of the early pre-flood record of Genesis most surely occurred. Mesopotamia is the name most usually associated with the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley that runs down through the modern state of Iraq. The word Mesopotamia is the Greek derivative word that literally means, ìthe land between the great rivers.
The land that is between the rivers specifically identifies the land between the modern Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These two rivers are identified as two of the four rivers that flowed out from the ante-diluvian garden. The exact location of these two rivers has undoubtedly been altered since the Garden era, but their names linger on in history, still attached to the post-flood rivers in the same vicinity as their original sources. The writer of the Genesis flood account seems to use names that were clearly understood by all the earthís inhabitants as being associated with the geography of the pre-flood Eden region. One glance at the known place-names in this list strikes us at once with an important factor. They appear to be names used in later history, definitely being postdiluvian names, not antediluvian names, as evidenced by the Biblical record itself. They are names, which came into use only after the flood. The importance of this can scarcely be over-emphasized. "Assyria," (Hebrew, "Asshur") is a name which the Hebrews understood to be derived from Asshur, a son of Shem (or grandson of Noah) born after the flood. (Genesis 10:22) Therefore, in the Hebrew concept the name simply did not exist before the flood. The same is true of other names. "Havilah" is a postdiluvial name, (Genesis l0:29) and so is "Ethiopia." (Cush) (Genesis l0:6) This proves conclusively that the Genesis writer was using names in current use and recognized geographically at the time he was writing in his day after the flood. In short, he quite expected his readers to be able to identify the locality by his description.
Now as to the general whereabouts of Eden, Ezekiel used the name of Eden as belonging to an actual locality or region existing in his day. It should be noted that Ezekiel's reference of the term Eden was still being used only about 1700 years after the flood. When listing the countries that traded with the city of Tyre, Ezekiel names "Eden" as being one of them. Ezekiel seems to have referred to western and southern Babylonia, as the land of Eden. In chapter 27:23, Ezekiel enumerated the places that had traded with Tyre, he begins at Haran, then mentions Canneh (a corruption of Calneh of Genesis 10:10 identified by the Talmud with Nippur), Eden, and the traffickers of Sheba. He places Eden in the series exactly where western and southern Babylonia lies. This may be a clue from Scripture itself as to where Eden was located. As archaeologists have dug into the ruins of the cities of Babylonia they have unearthed thousands of clay tablets in the cuneiform script. Great libraries have been unearthed and from these writings have come a tremendous wealth of knowledge. We know that a very brilliant race, the Sumerians, lived there in earliest times. A part of Babylonia was called Sumer after their name, and this word "Sumer" when taken over into the Hebrew, and then transliterated into English appears as, "Shinar."
The Sumerians appear to be related to the Chinese, Mongolians, and Basques by their language. Before 3,000 BC the Sumerians called the Euphrates by the name, "Puranum" meaning, "great water;" and sometimes they called it "Pura," that is, "water." The Semitic people, including the Hebrews, called it "Purat." The Persians altered the "p" to "ph" or "f", and added an initial vowel, making it, "Ufratu." To the Greeks this became, "Euphrates" and the Greek name has been retained as the commonly held name for the river. The Arabs today however, still call it "Furat." For over 5,000 years this important river has kept actually to one name, varying only in pronunciation from language to language. So, somewhere along the Euphrates River, between its source and mouth, or the upper reaches of the Pison and Gihon to the south probably lay the ancient Land of Eden.
The Pison and Gihon Rivers (the Hiddekel River is the same as the Tigris River) were the other rivers that formed out of the great water source that emanated from the Garden, and they are carefully described as going from Eden to water the lands of Havilah and Ethiopia. It is worth noting that only one main river flowed throughout the Garden of Eden area itself.
One theory about Eden suggests that where the Eden River began its downhill trek to the lower land-masses down stream of the garden area, it became divided into four divergent river systems. Therefore, the Garden of Eden must have occupied the highest elevation for hundreds of miles around. This theory suggests that the 4 rivers went froth out of the garden toward the four-corners of the earth. Still another theory suggests that the four river-heads converged somewhere in Eden before entering the Garden, and if that were true the Garden would have been at a lower elevation. Whatever the geological fact, the Euphrates River Valley reveals that it has undergone extreme drainage fanning and sedimentation shifting.
The entire Mesopotamian region lies in a trench in front of the Zagros Mountains, (running along the Iraq-Iran border) partly occupied by the sea and gradually being infilled by sediments brought down by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The situation at different times in the past has been determined by the balance of these three dynamic processes: rising sea-levels in the post-glacial period, reaching a maximum around 4000 BC. The accumulation of Tigris-Euphrates sediment and the infilling of the upper part of the gulf; and the pinch effect created by the progradation of the Karun-Karkeh delta, gradually restricted the outlet to the Gulf for the Tigris-Euphrates waters and creating the present zone of lakes and marshes. The present dry wadis were formed long ago in the past by water-action. Some of this action is doubtless by annual streams and the sudden gushes from the exreme1y rare thunder storms which today occur, but there is evidence of a one time greater water abundance in the Arabian Desert than is the case now. Geologists indicate the appearance that a great, broad, long belt on the earth's surface, embracing both the Sahara and the Arabian Deserts, has dried up since early times. The whole region has undergone a period of drying up, of decreasing water supply. That being so, it is certainly not unreasonable to suppose that some of the main, now dry wadis or river beds, in Northern Arabia at least, once held in them perennial sparkling streams and little rivers of life-g1ving water in earlier times. As we mentioned before, these river-beds drain away toward the Euphrates River. That one of these bore the name Pison is altogether reasonable.
While the exact location of the Garden of Eden cannot be absolutely ascertained, it is quite likely that it was either just west or south of the post-flood ìland between the riversî area, or very near to the Euphrates Valley. Many theologians speculate that the Garden of Eden was actually a special vicinity within a broader region known as Eden, hence the term the garden of Eden.
Although many geologists maintain that the earth's land surface remained intact after the flood, it seems logical that the topography of the earth must surely have been drastically altered after the world-wide flood of Noah, leaving sediment deposits and erosion effects around the world. Some geologists believe that the desert sands of Arabia and North Africa were deposited by the flood. Although there were mountains in Adam's day, the earthís crust exhibits that the breaking of the fountains of the deep must have caused the mountains to break upwards, for sea-beds to enlarge, and for coastlines to emerge, thereby rendering a landmark tracking of the Garden of Eden and its ancient river system virtually impossible. It is a certainty that the worldís climate and eco-systems were affected by the post-deluvian continental shifts. And this is obviously in keeping with God's design to prevent mankind from ever reentering the Garden.
It is ironic that much of the Middle East today is composed almost entirely of desert, since the Garden of Eden was such a well-watered and productive paradise on earth. That very topographic condition speaks to the curse of sin that has plagued not only mankind but also the entirety of creation since the fall of man in the Garden. Romans 8:22 says " For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now"
If the Garden of Eden was situated upon an elevated plateau crest, then the source of the water that watered Eden came from a gigantic fountain-spring-basin beneath the garden. This would have been the only source for all the water that formed the river that watered the garden, for there was no rainfall. (Genesis 2:5-6 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.)
Genesis chapter four describes the epic tale of Cain. (who slew his brother Abel) For the sin of slaying Abel, the Lord sent Cain away from Eden toward the east, in the land of Nod. Eastward of Eden in the pre-flood era would likely have placed Cain somewhere in the post-flood Euphrates River Valley region. Here, Cain built the city of Enoch, which he named after his son.
It should be noted that "the presence of the Lord" was in Eden. (Genesis 3:8) Here, in the infancy of the human race the Lord's presence is connected with a place, much like it would later become connected to the city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many theologians think the place of the presence of the Lord, was the entry to the Garden, where the Cherubim stood with a flaming sword. It is generally assumed that to this sacred spot the people brought their sacrifices, as we read of the offerings of Cain and Abel. At this place God spoke directly to the worshippers and the worshippers spoke to Him. It was from this place that Cain was driven and cut off for life, and was at least part of the reason that compelled Cain to complain that his punishment for killing Abel was too harsh. (Genesis 4:14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.)
Cain dwelt thereafter in the Land of Nod. Nod was "on the east of Eden," an expression which seems to mean adjoining it on the eastern side. Therefore, it was not far away from Eden. Here in due time Cain's son Enoch was born. As Adam's family increased in Eden, and Cain lived in fear that "everyone" there sought his life for slaying Abel, he hit upon an idea. He enclosed and "fortified" his residence, for self-protection. This is the primary meaning of the word, "city" in Hebrew. It did not at first denote size, but rather referred to an enclosed fortified or walled place. Cain may merely have erected a wooden palisade about a few huts, but his city was new, and it was novel, and it deserved a name. So, he named it after his son, "Enoch." The Biblical record reads: "And he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." (Genesis 4:17)
Now obviously the city which Cain built and named after his son Enoch, must have been destroyed by the Flood so that the physical entity itself probably disappeared, though it was subsequently re-founded. It is quite likely that although the original city was lost for a season, the name and the special significance were never lost sight of, for in time the name Enoch ceased to be a name at all and became merely a word meaning City. The word Unuch, or Ereck soon became synonymous with the city of Cain. In later cuneiform writings, this city was known as Ereck. Even though the first city was destroyed by the flood it seems logical that the re-bui1ders could have re-built it either exactly or very close to the original pre-flood site.
Thus the Land of Eden apparently would be somewhere west of the land of the ancient Euphrates River course, as the land of Nod became marked by the sites of cities which sprang up along its course, Eridu, Isin, Kisurra, Shuruppak and Unuk or Enoch. Possibly all these sites would be classed as being in the Land of Nod, but the boundary between Eden and Nod is not researchable. It is interesting to note that the cuneiform story of the Flood makes the city Shurappak to be the home of Utnapishtim, the Babylonian name for Noah.
The Euphrates River is the largest, the longest, and by far the most important of the rivers of southwestern Asia. Aside from the Nile River of Egypt, it is the most important river system in the entire Middle East. It rises from two chief sources in the Armenian Mountains of Turkey, and flows southeastwardly into the Persian Gulf. The entire course of the river is 1780 miles in length, (2890km) and of this distance more than two-thirds (1200 miles) is navigable by boat. The width of the river is greatest at the distance of about 700 miles from its mouth. There the Euphrates averages 400 yards in width. (1/4 mile) The annual inundation of the Euphrates River Valley is caused by the melting of the mountain snows in the Armenian highlands which usually occurs in the month of May. The great hydraulic works ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar had for their chief object to control this natural inundation. The Euphrates is linked with some of the most important events in ancient history.The ruins of many ancient cities are located along the river in Iraq. Among them are Babylon, Eridu, Kish, Larsa, Nippur, Sippar, and Ur. The ancient city of Ur, situated near the mouth of the Euphrates (southern Iraq) was the birthplace of Abraham.
On the banks of the Euphrates, about 300 miles upstream from the Persian Gulf stood the wondrous city of ancient Babylon. Babylon, with its Ishtar Gate and great massive fortress wall enclosure and the Hanging Gardens was the centerpiece of the great Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar. Also on the Euphrates River nearby, the army of Egypt's Pharoah Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar near Carchemesh; Persian King Cyrus the Younger and Crassus perished after crossing it; and Alexander the Great of Greece crossed it to establish his Hellinistic empire. The Roman Generals Trajan and Severus descended down the Euphrates from Syria into Iraq to enforce Rome's eastern borders.
Near the Persian Gulf delta area, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers join to form the Shatt-el-Arab seaway. The word Euphrates is the Greek modification of the Hebrew word, Perath. It is most frequently denoted in the Bible by the term "the great river." The word Perath, means to break forth, and the mere name of this river epitomizes the mission of Abraham's call to leave the lower Euphrates River valley, and go to the land of Canaan and to establish a new nation. Israel was called forth by God to become the river of living water for the whole world.
The Euphrates River actually formed the northern boundary (in Syria) of the territories promised by God to Israel. The Bible declares that the fathers of Israel had lived on "the other side of the Jordan River" (Josh. 1:15); and dwelt beside the great river Euphrates, where they served other gods. But God took Abraham "from the other side of the River" and brought him to the land of Canaan, on the western side of the Jordan River. Later, King David attempted to expand the boundaries of his kingdom all the way back to the Euphrates River. (II Samuel 8:3)
The Euphrates River has a lot of significance in Bible Prophecy. Not only is it mentioned in Genesis as being one of the four rivers that proceeded out of the Garden of Eden, but it is also identified in the Abrahamic Covenant as the northeastern boundary of the Promised Land. (Genesis 15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates) In I Chronicles chapter 18, the writer conveys that King David conquered Damascus and extended the Israeli kingdom all the way to the Euphrates River. But this extensive border was short-lived, and Israel gradually lost its northern expanse. Thus, Israel has never realized its promised kingdom. In fact, later, the Disciples inquired of Jesus after his resurrection, and witnessing many infallible proofs that he was the long awaited King of Israel, if he would then restore the kingdom unto Israel. But the Lord answered by saying: (Acts 1:6-7 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.)
Thus the Kingdom of Israel, replete with its borders and the blessings of God is appointed for the day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to destroy the gods of this world and all those who follow after them. That grand climactic appointment with destiny has ramifications for the angels and demons that are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Revelation chapter nine depicts the Euphrates River as being the location where four great fallen angels are bound. The Revelation account conveys that these angels will be loosed during the Great Tribulation, and cause the death of 1/3 of the earthís Tribulation era population.Some prophecy scholars view this horde as the size of the invading armies of the Kings of the East who will launch an invasion upon Israel when the Euphrates is supernaturally dried to permit a vacuum for easy access into the western portion of the Middle East region. Many scholars have concluded that the drying up of the waters of the Euphrates is a literal drought-like event that permits the invading armies to advance against Israel.
Revelation 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon
the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,
that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared
The prophecy of Revelation 16:12-16 reveals that the demonic spirits locked away in the Euphrates River also will play a role in world events that will culminate in Armageddon. These angels remain bound in the Euphrates, restrained from carrying out their ancient subversive desires that were part of the Luciferic Rebellion. The ancient rebellion of Satan and 1/3 of the host (angels) of Heaven resulted in their being cast out of Heaven to the earth sometime after the week of the creation. Undoubtedly they came immediately to the Eden-Euphrates garden region to entice mankind into that great cosmic war.
The primeval Euphrates that emerged from the Garden of Eden probably drew its flowing waters (life) from the vast underground reservoir that welled up to the surface by the design of God, and from there flowed out to water and preserve the garden in a pristine and non-entrophy condition. Afterwards, with the fall of man, earth's pristine geography also fell under the curse and the paradise that was the Euphrates Valley gradually began to become a mere image of their former glory. It is easy to perceive that the former glory of the presence of the Lord evaporated from the Euphrates region, and the emergence of the deceptive powers of Satan and his demons took greater and greater hold. As the Cainitic civilization developed on the Euphrates, it tended more and more towards decadence. Later, after the flood judgment, the Nimrodic civilization followed the same pattern, submitting to the same spirits of devils and before long the Babel system was installed and the worship of the hosts of heaven atop a mighty tower The tower of Babel stood as the ultimate blasphemous affront to the one true God that placed Adam and Eve in the original paradise of the Garden of Eden.
Today, the world has divided itself into four spheres of influence, as measured from Jerusalem; 1.) Russia (Magog) to the north, 2.) China to the east, 3.) the Islamic Middle East and Africa to the south, and 4.) Europe to the West. America is a sphere of influence unto itself, being primarily a part of the West, but resented by all four because of its support for Israel. This is the precise lineup of nations predicted by Scripture for a horrible end-times war that will engulf the whole earth in the Armageddon scenario. The Scripture assigns a role to each of these four; Gog-Magog, the Kings of the East, the Kings of the South and the revived Roman Empire of Antichrist, who will likely control the Western Empire. The Euphrates River Valley is becoming America's own Middle East crossroads. The Prophet Jeremiah depicted the scenario of the Euphrates River region becoming a geo-political quagmire that would explode into the era known in prophecy as the Day of the Lord. Ironically, today, America is placing all its eggs in the Iraq basket.
Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, (wrath) that he may avenge him of his adversaries: (enemies of the God of Israel) and the sword (Islam) shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice (see Revelation 14:16-20) in the north country by the river Euphrates.
President Bush's vision for freedom and liberty is a wonderful concept, but according to the Biblical Signs of the Times, his experiment in the Middle East in an attempt to thwart the seeds of terrorism by transplanting democracy while coercing Israel to divide it's land and accept a 2-state solution to the Palestinian question. A formula for bringing upon the U.S.the curse of God..... America's venture into Iraq will require America to take a fork in the road very soon! That fork may be to extend the war on terror into either Syria or Iran!
Syria and Iran are both already preparing for war with the US. .... Syrian President Assad is looking to Russia for sophisticated weaponry to counter the US moves in the region. Presently, the strategy in the war on terror has enabled the US to completely encircle Iran, (Persia in Ezekiel 38) and to dissect the direct geographical link between Teheran and Damascus. Damascus is the Capital of Islam and is the control center for the terrorist operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
The prophet Ezekiel reveals that Iran will be spared a confrontation with the great Western power until the time for the great Northern Magog-led coalition against Israel. Russia is way too smart to insert itself against the power of the US at this present time, and will likely wait for the war on terror, and for the Rapture event to take a toll on the American structure.
These two dynamics will probably render the US as nothing more than a bit player in end-time events and likely lead to the political amalgamation of the US into the rising empire of the EU. Eventually, Russia will come down upon Israel after the emergence and revelation of the Antichrist, at a time when Israel has already entered into a false peace-safety covenant with the new Man of peace (Antichrist) that rises to the apex (Super President) of the Roman-EU sphere of power.
Jeremiahís prophecy (Jeremiah 46:10) concerning the sacrifice that is building in the north country (Syria) by the river Euphrates has connections to the Day of the Lord, (tribulation) and the time of vengeance when the Lord will settle the ages old controversy (Jeremiah 25:31) that he has with the nations of this world that hate his people Israel.
Six thousand years ago, the Persian Gulf may have been located as much as 150 miles inland from where it is today, and it might have been at this inland position where the four rivers confluenced near Eden. The river that "rises in" Eden could have been a spring, possibly supplied with water from the Dammam limestone aquifer. The four rivers of Eden cut across sedimentary rock. The pitch for the ark was supplied by sedimentary rock; therefore sedimentary rock must have existed in pre-flood time.
The Bible locates the Garden of
Eden as somewhere near where the head of the Persian Gulf some
6000 years ago. "Dilmun" (present day Bahrain) is Sumerian for the
"Garden of Eden." Sumeria was located near the mouth of the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers ("The Fertile Crescent") where agriculture
began.
The Oldest Known City in the World
Eridu is archaeologically one of the oldest settlements known dating to before 4000 B.C. According to ancient Mesopotamian tradition, Eridu ranks as the oldest city in the world, and it was also regarded as a sacred city. Eridu, has been explicitly described in Sumerian inscriptions as "standing upon the shores of the sea," and Ur (Abraham's hometown, situated only a few miles away from Eridu) was also described as having quays (landing docks) where oceangoing vessels changed their cargos. Both of these cities now lie about 150 miles inland from the Gulf .After about 2000 B.C., the sea level dropped and the Persian Gulf retreated to its present-day position, leaving former seaports--one after another--high and dry. On Sumerian tablets found at Nippur, there is a list of ten "pre-flood" kings ending in Ziusudra.
The gold of Gen. 2:11-12 was probably obtained at Mahd adh Dhahab, one of the richest gold mines in the ancient Near East. The source of the onyx stone of Gen. 2:12 may have been the Wadi al Aqiq ("aqiq" agate), which is located near Mahd adh Dhahab and along the Arabian incense route. The bdellium of Gen. 2:12 most likely came from Yemen. Gold, onyx, and bdellium were transported by camel along the Arabian incense road to Sumer. This trade route was already established by the time Genesis 2 was written, so the location of the Pishon River (and Eden) was identified for the reader of Genesis by citing these commodities. These important trade route would be familiar to people in the region. Everyone living then would have known where the "land of Cush" was located.
Mahd adh Dhahab (literally meaning "cradle of gold") was the largest and one of the richest gold mines of the ancient world. (see above ) It is believed to be the fabled "Ophir" of the Bible, the source of King Solomon's gold. (Ophir was another one of Joktan's sons; Gen. 10:29.) The gold of Ophir is referred to in the following passages: 1 Kings 9:28, 10:11, 22:48; 1 Chron. 29:4; 2 Chron. 8:18, 9:10; Job 22:24; Ps. 45:9; and Isa. 13:12. Based on the number of ancient mine tailings (refuse left over after the ore is treated), geologists have estimated that the Mahd adh Dhahab mine produced more than 950,000 ounces (about 30 metric tons) of gold in antiquity and they believe it was mined during the reign of King Solomon (961-922 B.C.) and gold may have been mined at Mahd adh Dhahab much earlier than during Solomon's time--even as early as the patriarchal period as evidenced by the Royal Tombs of Ur.
The last commodity mentioned in Gen. 2:12 is bdellium. Bdellium is a fragrant gum resin obtained from plants of the bursera (balsam) family. Frankincense comes from trees of the genus Boswellia of the bursera family, while myrrh and bdellium come from trees of the genus Commiphora.33 Bdellium is often regarded as myrrh.
All of these kinds of gum-resins (frankincense, myrrh, and bdellium) were used in the ancient Middle East for religious (incense), cosmetic (perfume), and medicinal purposes. Mesopotamian cuneiform texts note that myrrh (bdellium) was used in making poultices for the head; for treating ailments of the eyes, nose, and ears; and for other medicinal purposes. Also, the Sumerians and Babylonians burned incense as part of their temple purification rites. Incense is created by the burning of a variety of gums, resins, and spices to create fragrant fumes.
Myrrh (bdellium) grew within the modern-day country of Yemen from about 18° latitude southward to the Gulf of Aden , although the Arab geographer al-Maqdisi referred to a bdellium called muql which grew in the area of al-Marwah, somewhat north of Yemen. Over time, a substantial incense trade developed between south Arabia and Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other parts of the Middle East, such as Israel and Jordan. Bdellium is a substance somewhat similar to myrrh and is often regarded as myrrh--as it was in ancient times ...
When frankincense and myrrh (bdellium) first came into general use in the ancient world is obscure, but the trade of these items was intimately tied up with two things: the establishment of the Arabian incense (spice) route and the domestication of the camel. During the heyday of the incense road, huge camel caravans trudged up and down the entire length of the Arabian Peninsula, carrying precious spices and other commodities to the temples, courts, and markets of the north. Thus came the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon's court carrying (by camel) gold, precious stones, and spices (1 Kings 10:1-13). "And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices of very great store, and precious stones; there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon" (1 Kings 10:10).
The Queen of Sheba came from Marib (ancient Mariaba, now part of Yemen), the great and prosperous caravan city which was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of the Sabaeans (Saba means the biblical Sheba). Marib was on the ancient trade route, which began in the south along the Gulf of Aden, and which continued northward past Marib and Najran, then to Abha, Bisha, and Mecca . From Mecca the old incense road split, with its western route going to Jordan, Israel, and Egypt and its eastern route going past the Mahd adh Dhahab gold mines (stopping at Bir Madid, the "well of the mines"), northeast to the Wadi Rimah, down the wadi to Buraydah, and then along the Wadi al Batin (Pishon River) to Mesopotamia. From the land of Havilah and along the Pishon River, the bdellium (from Yemen), the onyx (from the Wadi al Aqiq- Mahd adh Dhabab area), and the gold (from Mahd adh Dhabab) could have been brought to Mesopotamia, as is suggested by Gen. 2:11-12.
Scholars agree that by 1100 B.C. trade was well underway, with the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon sometime around 950 B.C. When trade began along the Arabian incense route seems to hinge on when the camel (Camelus dromedarius) was domesticated in Arabia. The incense route covers a very arid and inhospitable terrain, suitable for camels but not for other beasts of burden, such as donkeys.
The Bible itself attests to a probable early date for the domestication of the camel, and hence the export of items like gold, precious stones, and bdellium along the Arabian incense route. Job 6:19 hints at a link between the caravan merchants of Sheba and Tema. Gen. 12:16 states: "And he (the Pharaoh) treated Abram well for her (Sarah's) sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels." The date that Abraham lived has been fairly well established (about 2000 B.C.), and thus this verse implies that domesticated camels were already present in Egypt by this time. Abraham also maintained his camel herd after he left Egypt and came back to Palestine. Gen. 24:10 states: "And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master (Abraham) and departed ... (to the city Nahor in Mesopotamia to find Isaac a wife)." That these camels were domesticated is clear from the text. Abraham's "goods" were carried by these camels to Mesopotamia (Gen. 24:10), and Rebekah drew water for these camels (Gen. 24:19).
The headwaters of the Wadi al Batin drain the ancient gold and onyx areas of Mahd adh Dhahab and Wadi al Aqiq, and all three commodities are known to have been transported by camel into Mesopotamia at an early date. Finally, the Wadi al Batin confluences with the Tigris and Euphrates in the land of Mesopotamia just as the Bible states. All of the above is evidence that the Wadi al Batin is the now dry, ancient Pishon River and that the land of Havilah (the son of Joktan, not Cush) is indeed Arabia.
The Ziggurat at Ur
One of the most intriguing monuments still standing in Iraq is the Ziggurat at Ur, the birthplace of Abraham. A ziggurat is a colossal stepped platform that supported a temple at the top.
In the year 4000 B.C., temples were built on top of mud-brick platforms. As the years passed and new temples were built, the remains of preceding temples were used to expand the platforms under new temples. This was discovered by the excavation works of archaeologists who found different bricks from various eras in the foundation platforms, some of which were stamped with the names and titles of the kings who built the temple complexes. In this way, platforms grew with the construction of new temples.
Excavation of the ziggurat at Ur took place under the direction of a British archaeologist named C. Leonard Woolley in 1923. Using information he recovered from ancient cuneiform texts, which carried descriptions of ziggurats, and after further excavations that led to the discovery of other parts of the temple complex, he envisaged what the original building looked like. What he envisaged was used by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities to reconstruct and restore the lower levels of the ziggurat.The core of the ziggurat at Ur was constructed using mud bricks which were then covered with baked bricks. The mud bricks were made out of mud and reed; the reed was pressed into moulds that had been left to dry in the sun. Each brick measured around 25 x 16 x 7 centimeters and weighed around 4.5 kilograms.
The first stage of the ziggurat was built using 7,000,000 mud bricks. On top of every sixth layer of bricks, reed matting was placed in a criss-cross manner. Sandy soil was also placed with the layer of reeds. This design was used to solve the problems caused by the dumping of silt from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers during each flood season. The settling of this silt was to make building on it similar to building on quicksand. This manner of construction prevented the whole structure from drooping sideways when it became wet.
The baked bricks, which measured about 30 x 30 x 7 cm and weighed up to 15 kg, were made out of clay pressed into moulds. The bricks were left to dry and were then baked in a mud oven using dry twigs which were set on fire. This made the bricks water resistant. In the first stage of the ziggurat around 720,000 baked bricks were used. Most of those bricks were stamped with the name and title of King Ur-Nammu.
A large main staircase is found at the front of the ziggurat and goes all the way up to the temple, which is thought to have stood on the top terrace of the ziggurat. Two side staircases run up both sides of the ziggurat and meet each other, as well as the main staircase, at the gate. A support called a buttress was built on both sides of the main staircase. It is believed that the use of these staircases was restricted to temple priests. Each stage of the structure had a terrace covered with baked bricks. ... One of the most interesting things about the ziggurat is the so-called weeper hole. Weeper holes were small gaps that were left between the brickwork on the sides of the ziggurat. The purpose of such holes was to allow evaporation of water from the core of the structure. The weeper holes were lined with baked bricks. A vertical drain was built on either side of the ziggurat to carry away rainwater. The drains were also made using baked bricks.
The garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BC. This was the height of the city's power and influence and King Nebuchadnezzar constructed an astonishing array of temples, streets, palaces and walls. The gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis, daughter of the king of the Medes, who married Nebuchadnezzar to create an alliance between the nations. The land she came from was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing. The king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens.
The Greek geographer Strabo, who described the gardens in first century BC, wrote, "It consists of vaulted terraces raised one above another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick and asphalt. The ascent to the highest story is by stairs, and at their side are water engines, by means of which persons, appointed expressly for the purpose, are continually employed in raising water from the Euphrates into the garden."
Babylon rarely received rain and for the garden to survive it would have had to been irrigated by using water from the nearby Euphrates River. That meant lifting the water far into the air so it could flow down through the terraces, watering the plants at each level. This was probably done by means of a "chain pump." consisting of two large wheels, one above the other, connected by a chain. On the chain are hung buckets. Below the bottom wheel is a pool with the water source. As the wheel is turned, the buckets dip into the pool and pick up water. The chain then lifts them to the upper wheel, where the buckets are tipped and dumped into an upper pool. The chain then carries the empty ones back down to be refilled. The pool at the top of the gardens could then be released by gates into channels which acted as artificial streams to water the gardens.
Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, stated that the platforms on which the garden stood consisted of huge slabs of stone (otherwise unheard of in Babel), covered with layers of reed, asphalt and tiles. Over this was put "a covering with sheets of lead, that the wet which drenched through the earth might not rot the foundation. Upon all these was laid earth of a convenient depth, sufficient for the growth of the greatest trees. When the soil was laid even and smooth, it was planted with all sorts of trees, which both for greatness and beauty might delight the spectators." Diodorus also tells us the Gardens were about 400 feet wide by 400 feet long
From ancient Greek sources, including the writings of Strabo and Philo of Byzantium. Here are some excerpts
"The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway..."The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns... Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels... These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches... This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators".
The Ctesiphon arch is also considered as one of the many architectural wonders of Mesopotamia. This arch was built in 400 A.D. by the Parthian Persians to be the largest single-span vault of un-reinforced brickwork in the world. The arch has a span of seventy-five feet and is about 110 feet high. It stands in the ancient city of Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon is a historically significant city that lies on the east bank of the Tigris River just south of Baghdad.
Arab astronomers have left quite a discernible impact on maps of the heavens and given us such words as azimuth, nadir, and zenith. Our mathematical vocabulary includes such borrowed terms as algebra, algorithm (from al-Khwarizmi), cipher, surd, and sine. They turned toward the ancient Babylonians in order to return to primary sources instead of relying on Greek translations.
Haik was the founder of the Armenian Kingdom in 2350 BC, which expired with Levon Vl, in 1375 AD, lasting for a period of 3,725 years.
Ararat, in the Armenian Highland, is the final resting-place of Noah's Ark and as the Holy Bible states the point of rebirth of life on earth. Mt. Ararat is located in the heart of Armenia and has been a Holy Mountain and a Holy land for the peoples of the ancient world. The Sumerians, an ancient peoples and one of the first civilizations in the world called Ararat, Arrata. In their great epic poems of Gilgamesh and Arrata, they call the land of their ancestors, the Arratans in the Highlands of Armenia. The Sumerians also in the epic poems describe the Great Flood and the rebirth of life after the terrible deluge that fell from the Highlands of Armenia unto the lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent. The Sumerians had a very close connection with the ancestral Land of Ararat and considered it as their ancestral homeland (many historians and archaeologists are convinced that the Sumerians initially lived in Northern Mesopotamia and Armenian Highland).
When the downpour of rain stops and the water secedes, Noah descends from upon the Holy Mt. Ararat into the Araratian Valley of Armenia. One of the first things Noah does as a symbol of Human Rebirth is the planting of the seeds of a grape vineyard. He advises his three sons to venture from the Land of Armenia into all corners of the known world to repopulate and revive the world. Japheth, Noah's oldest son decides to stay with Noah in Armenia and becomes the Forefather of the Armenian People. The Armenians since those times have considered Ararat as the Holiest spot in the world, and as a Holy ground have taken the symbol of the Holy Mt. Ararat as God's covenant, the eternal symbol of the continuum of the undying tenacity and vigor of the Armenian nation.
Josephus, a Hebrew Historian of first century AD writes that the Armenian people at the time of his writings still remembered, and knew the place of Noah's Ark. He wrote "the Armenians call that spot the Landing-place, for it was there that the ark came safe to land, and they show the relics of it to this day."
. The Bible records that Noah used pitch in construction of the ark: "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" (Gen. 6:14). Bitumen found at Hit was a likely source for the pitch used by Noah in building the ark. Pitch is a thick, tarry, oil product composed of a mixture of hydrocarbons of variable color, hardness, and volatility. Bitumen mixed with two or three parts of mineral and/or vegetable matter makes asphalt or pitch, a crude but versatile adhesive. Bitumen is a natural petroleum product derived from kerogen. It can be encountered by oil drillers in the subsurface, or it can move up cracks and faults and make its way naturally to the surface in the form of bitumen seepages. Many bitumen seeps exist in the Middle East. Bitumen was used extensively by the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia for every type of adhesive-construction need, including the waterproofing of boats and mortar for buildings (e.g., "slime" for mortar; Gen. 11:3). The center of bitumen production in Mesopotamia was (and still is) at Hit, located along the Euphrates River about eighty miles west of Baghdad . The Hit bitumen occurs in "lakes" where lines of hot springs are welling up along deep faults. This water is sometimes accompanied by so much gas that the latter will burn. In the water, "snakes" of asphalt collect together, and the Iraqis consolidate them into lumps. It is likely that bitumen was collected in this same manner in ancient times, because similar lumps of asphalt have been found at Ur in levels dating from about 3000 B.C. Sir Leonard Woolley's famous expedition to Ur found a lump of bitumen just above his "flood layer" which had an imprint of a reed basket on it. Even today, bitumen is packaged into reed baskets and floated down the Euphrates in boats.
The bitumen from Hit has
been utilized by the people of southern Mesopotamia for thousands
of years, as recorded at numerous archaeological sites. The
earliest evidence of bitumen use is at al'Ubaid (4000 B.C.), where
reed matting plastered with a mixture of earth and bitumen was
found during the excavations of Woolley. Later in the Ubaid Period
, bitumen-covered headdresses of clay figurine goddesses were made
at Ur. However, while some bitumen has been found at very early
sites such as these, the bitumen industry (where bitumen was
extensively traded) had its beginnings between 3500-3000 B.C. Hit
is known to have been the major source of bitumen in southern
Mesopotamia because chemical analyses of bitumen collected at
archaeological sites compares with that from Hit and not with that
collected from sites along the tributaries of the Tigris.
This article benefitted from the comments of Alan Hill, Andrea Hill, Larry Hill, Al Hoerth, Cathe Hoerth, Steve Moshier, and Roger Wiens.
Notes: . F. Keil and F.
Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1, The Penteteuch
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975), 171; and R. L. Harris, "The Mist,
the Canopy and the Rivers of Eden," Bulletin of the Evangelical
Theological Society 11:4 (1968): 179.
. A. Speiser, Anchor Bible
Commentary, vol. 1, Genesis (Garden City: Doubleday, 1981),
. A. McClure, "Late Quaternary
Palaeogeography and Landscape Evolution of the Rub' Al Khali," in
Araby the Blest, ed. D. T. Potts, Carsten Niebuhr Institute of
Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Copenhagen: Tusculanum Press, 1988),
9-13.
A. Sauer, "The River Runs Dry--Creation Story Preserves Historical Memory," Biblical Archaeology Review 22:4 (1996): 52-57, 64.
Saudi Arabia Antiquities Department, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, (Riyadh: Ministry of Education, 1975), inside cover map.
N. Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: a Study in the Arabian Incense Trade (London: Longman, 1981), 20.
U.S. Geological Survey-Arabian American Oil Company, Geologic Map of Saudi Arabia (1963), scale 1:2,000,000.
R. J. Fleck, R. G. Coleman, H. R. Corwall, W. R. Greenwood, O. G. Hadley, D. L. Schmidt, W. C. Prinz, and J. C. Ratte, "Geochronology of the Arabian Shield, Western Saudi Arabia, K-Ar Results," Geological Society of America Bulletin 87 (1978): 9-21; and W. D. Peters, J. J. Pint, and N. Kremla, "Karst Landforms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," National Speleological Society Bulletin 52:1 (1990): 21-23.
U.S. Geological Survey-Arabian American Oil Company, Geologic Map of Saudi Arabia (1963), scale 1:2,000,000.
J. A. Sauer, "The River Runs Dry," .
R. J. Roberts, "Mahd adh Dhahab--the Ophir of Antiquity?" Arabia Antiqua, Conference on Conservation and Enhancement of the Archaeological Heritage of Arabian Peninsula, Rome (May 27-31, 1991)
R. W. Luce, A. Bagdady, and R. J. Roberts, "Geology and Ore Deposits of the Mahd adh Dhahab District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," U.S. Geological Survey, Saudi Arabian Project Report 195 (1976)
G. Algaze, The Uruk World System (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990): 77.
The photos in the May 1991 issue of National Geographic Magazine.
A. M. Afife, "Geology of the Mahd adh Dhahab District, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," U.S. Geological Survey, Open File Report 90-315 (1990)
P. R. S. Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries (Oxford: Clarendon, 1994)
E. M. Yamauchi, Persia and the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990)
A. Lucas and J. R. Harris, chap. 15 in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries (London: Edward Arnold, 1962)
Luce, et al., "Geology and Ore Deposits," .
Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries
S. Ratnager, Encounters--The Westerly Trade of the Harappa Civilization (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1981)
Pliny, Natural History; in about 70 A.D.
Ratnager, Encounters
E. R. Caley and J. F. Richards, Theophrastus on Stones (Columbus: Ohio State University, 1956)
Albertus Magnus (1280 A.D.), Book of Minerals, trans. Dorothy Wychoff (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967
Clifford Frondel, ed., The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana and Edward Salisbury Dana, 7th ed., vol. III, Silica Minerals (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1962)
G. Algaze, "The Uruk Expansion--Cross-Cultural Exchange in Early Mesopotamian Civilization," Current Anthropology 30:5 (1989)
R. G. Worl, "Ore Controls at the Mahd adh Dhahab Gold Mine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" in Evolution and Mineralization of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, vol. 2, ed. A. M. S. al-Shanti (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1979)
A. M. S. al-Shanti and M. J. Roobol, "Some Thoughts on Metallogenesis and Evolution of the Arabian-Nubian Shield" in Evolution and Mineralization of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, vol. 1, ed. A. M. S. al-Shanti (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1979)
E. M. Meyers, ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997)
G. Usher, A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man (London: Constable, 1974)
N. Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: a Study in the Arabian Incense Trade (London: Longman, 1981)
J. Zarins, "The Camel in Ancient Arabia--Further Note," Antiquity 52 (1978)... J. A. Sauer and J. A. Blakely, "Archaeology Along the Spice Route of Yemen" in Araby the Blest, ed. D. T. Potts, Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies (Copenhagen: Tusculanum Press, 1988) and Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries
R. W. Bulliet, The Camel and the Wheel (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1975), 66; M. M. Ripinsky, "Camel Ancestry and Domestication in Egypt and the Sahara," Archaeology 36:3 (1983):21-7; and Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh
K. A. Kitchen, "Ancient Arabia and the Bible," Archaeology in the Biblical World 3:1 (1995)
A. S. Yahuda, The Accuracy of the Bible (London: William Heinemann, 1934
G. R. Morton, "The Mediterranean Flood," Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 49:4 (1997).
Speiser, Anchor Bible Commentary
M.-C. DeGraeve, The Ships of the Ancient Near East (c. 2000-500 B.C.) (Lewen: Dept. Orientalistich, 1981)
D. J. Hamblin, "Has the Garden of Eden been Located at Last?" Smithsonian, 18:2 (1987)
D. M'Causland, Adam and the Adamite: On the Harmony of Scripture and Ethnology (London: Richard Bently, 1864)
DeGraeve, The Ships of the Ancient Near East
H. F. Vos, Beginnings in Bible Geography (Chicago: Moody Press, 1973)
E. Uchupi, S. A. Swift, and D. A. Ross, "Gas venting and late Quaternary sedimentation in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf," Marine Geology 129 (1996): 237-69; and W. Nützel, "The Climatic Change of Mesopotamia and Bordering Areas, 14,000 to 7,000 B.C.," Sumer 32 (1976)
H. J. Nissen, The Early History of the Ancient Near East, 9000-2000 B.C. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983), 56; M. Rice, The Archaeology of the Arabian Gulf (London: Routledge, 1994), 75; A. Mirsky, "Influence of Geologic Factors on Ancient Mesopotamean Civilization," Journal of Geological Education 30 (1982): 294-9; and G. A. Cooke, "Reconstruction of the Mesopotamian Coastline in the Holocene," Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 17:7 (1985)
C. T. Larsen, "The Mesopotamian Delta Region: a Reconsideration of Lees and Falcon," Journal of American Oriental Society 95 (1975)
T. Jacobsen, "The Waters of Ur," Iraq 22 (1960) ; and S. Lloyd, The Archaeology of Mesopotamia (London: Thames and Hudson, 1978)
P. R. S. Moorey, Ur "of the Chaldees," a revised and updated edition of Sir Leonard Woolley's Excavations at Ur (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982)
G. A. Cooke, "Reconstruction of the Holocene Coastline of Mesopotamia," Geoarchaeology 2:1 (1987)
Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry by: Darrell G. Young March, 2005