The Nuzi Tablets and the Hurrians Modern archaeology has not only resurrected the ancient Hittites, who were for centuries practically unknown except for sporadic references on the pages of the Bible, but also the enigmatic Horites. In the books of the Pentateuch there are numbers of references to a perplexing people called Horites. These people were defeated by Chedorlaomer and the invading Mesopotamian army (Gen. 14:6). They were governed by chiefs (Gen. 36:20–30). They are said to have been destroyed by Esau’s descendants (Deut. 2:12, 22). This unknown people used to be thought of as a very local, restricted group of cave dwellers. The name “Horite” was thought to be derived from the Hebrew hor; “hole” or “cave. Other than this etymological description the Horites remained completely obscure, not appearing outside the Pentateuch or in extrabiblical literature. Within the last thirty-five years, however, archaeology has performed a miracle in resurrecting the ancient Hurrians, the biblical Horites. They are known not to be a local, restricted group but to be a prominent people who took a preeminent place on the stage of ancient history. It is now known that they not only existed but played a far-reaching role in ancient Near Eastern cultural history. As a result of the discovery of the Hurrians, the popular etymology that connects them with “cave dwellers” has had to be abandoned. The Hurrians or Horites were non-Semitic peoples who, before the beginning of the second millennium b.c., migrated into northeastern Mesopotamia. Their homeland was in the region south of the Caucasus. They appear first upon the horizon of history about 2400 b.c. in the Zagros Mountains east of the Tigris River. In the period around 2000 to 1400 b.c., the Hurrians were very common and widespread in Upper Mesopotamia.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 02:38:50 +0000
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