India (Bible)

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The Dominions of Solomon and his Allies: Sheba with the Voyage to Tarshish and Ophir by Robert Wilkinson (1798) The Dominions of Solomon and his Allies.png
The Dominions of Solomon and his Allies: Sheba with the Voyage to Tarshish and Ophir by Robert Wilkinson (1798)

In biblical geography, India is described as bordering the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), as referenced in the Book of Esther (Esther 1:1 and Esther 8:9). [1] 1 Maccabees, which is located in the Deuterocanonon/Aprocrypha, references "the Indian mahouts of Antichus's war elephants [second century B.C.]" (1 Maccabees 6:37). [1] Archaeological findings in the cities of Sumer, including Kish, Lagash, and Ur, confirm trade between India and Mesopatamia. [1] For example, ivory objects crafted in India have been found in Mesopotomia. [1]

1 Kings 9:26–27 discusses the navy of King Solomon sailing to Ophir ("Sopheir" and "Sophara" in the LXX), with the word Sophir meaning India in Coptic; as gold was plentiful in India, "it is generally accepted that Ophir was a port in India". [1] 1 Kings 10:22 mentions "gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks" brought by the navy of King Solomon and King Hiram to Israel. [1] In the Old Testament, the word for peacock tuki, the word for ivory shen habbim, and the word for ape kof are likely "derived from their Indian counterparts tokei, ab, and kapi, respectively." [1] Proverbs 7:17, Psalms 45:8, and Song of Solomon 4:14 reference the Indian fragrant wood aloes, which in the Hebrew is ahalim, being derived from the Sanskrit agaru. [1] Contemporary Babylonian texts use the word sindhu (meaning "Indian") for linen, as with Greek texts that use the word sindon for the same. [1] The term Hodu in Esther 1:1 is a biblical name of India, which is derived from the word Hindu , referring to the inhabitants of the Sindhu River of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. [2]

The Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature states, with respect to Indian Jews being presented at Pentecost: [3]

It is also with some reason conceived that in the list of foreign Jews present at the Pentecost (Ac 2:9) we should read Ι᾿νδίαν, India, and not Ι᾿ουδαίαν, Judaea; but the still more probable reading is Ι᾿δουμαίαν, Idumaea, if indeed the common reading ought to be changed at all (see Kuinol, Conmment. ad loc.). The Hebrew form "Hoddu" is an abbreviation of Honadu, which is identical with the indigenous names of the river Indus, "Hindu," or "Sindhu," and again with the ancient name of the country as it appears in the Vendidad, "Hapta Hendu." The native form "Sindus" is noticed by Pliny (vi, 23). [3]

According to Gerald Flurry, the context of Ezekiel 38:5, the descendants of Cush and Phut are found in India and what is now Pakistan. [4] To this end, "the Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic versions frequently render that term [Cush] by India or Indians, as in 2Ch 21:16; Isa 11:11; Isa 18:1; Jer 13:23; Zep 3:10." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

The deuterocanonical books are books and passages considered by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and/or the Assyrian Church of the East to be canonical books of the Old Testament, but which Jews and Protestants regard as apocrypha. They date from 300 BC to 100 AD, before the separation of the Christian church from Judaism. While the New Testament never directly quotes from or names these books, the apostles quoted the Septuagint, which includes them. Some say there is a correspondence of thought, and others see texts from these books being paraphrased, referred, or alluded to many times in the New Testament, depending in large measure on what is counted as a reference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindus</span> Adherents of the religion of Hinduism

Hindus are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indus River</span> River in South Asia

The Indus is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The 3,120 km (1,940 mi) river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, and flows south-by-southwest through Pakistan, before emptying into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi.

Tarshish occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings, most frequently as a place far across the sea from Phoenicia and the Land of Israel. Tarshish was said to have exported vast quantities of important metals to Phoenicia and Israel. The same place name occurs in the Akkadian inscriptions of Assyrian king Esarhaddon and also on the Phoenician inscription of the Nora Stone in Sardinia; its precise location was never commonly known, and was eventually lost in antiquity. Legends grew up around it over time so that its identity has been the subject of scholarly research and commentary for more than two thousand years.

Ophir is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. Its existence is attested to by an inscribed pottery shard found at Tell Qasile in 1946, dating to the eighth century BC, which reads "gold of Ophir to/for Beth-Horon [...] 30 shekels" The location of Ophir is unknown, though the find confirms it as a real place from which gold was imported.

Hiram I was the Phoenician king of Tyre according to the Hebrew Bible. His regnal years have been calculated by some as 980 to 947 BC, in succession to his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I. Hiram is also mentioned in the writings of Menander of Ephesus, as preserved in Josephus's Against Apion, which adds to the biblical account. According to Josephus, Hiram lived for 53 years and reigned 34.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throne</span> Seat of state of a potentate or dignitary

A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the throne".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindustan</span> Historic and geographic term for the whole or part of the Indian subcontinent

Hindūstān is the Persian name for India, broadly referring to the Indian subcontinent. Also shortly known as Hind, it is the Iranic cognate of the Indic word Sindh, and originally referred to the tract of land on the left bank of the lower Indus River. Later, the term referred to the Indo-Gangetic plain, and became the classical name of the region in the Hindustani language, and it finally referred to the entire subcontinent since the early modern period. Since the Partition of India in 1947, Hindustan continues to be used to the present day as a historic name for the Republic of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Names for India</span> Various names used for India

The Republic of India has two principal short names, each of which is historically significant, India and Bhārat. A third name, "Hindūstān", is sometimes an alternative name for the region comprising most of the modern Indian states of the Indian Subcontinent when Indians speak among themselves. The usage of "Bhārat", "Hindūstān", or "India" depends on the context and language of conversation.

The non-canonical books referenced in the Bible includes non-Biblical cultures and lost works of known or unknown status. By the "Bible" is meant those books recognized by Christians and Jews as being part of Old Testament as well as those recognized by most Christians as being part of the Biblical apocrypha or of the Deuterocanon.

Sri Lanka is a country in the northern Indian Ocean which has been known under various names over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu Raj</span> Mountain range in Pakistan

The Hindu Raj is a mountain range in northern Pakistan, between the Hindu Kush and the Karakoram ranges. Its highest peak is Koyo Zom, 6,872 m (22,546 ft). Other notable peaks include Buni Zom, Ghamubar Zom and Gul Lasht Zom. The peaks in the Hindu Raj mountains reach around 5,000 metres to 6,000 metres on average.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindush</span> Achaemenid province

Hindush was a province of the Achaemenid Empire in lower Indus Valley established after the Achaemenid conquest circa 500 BC. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, it was the "easternmost province" of the empire. It is believed to have continued as a province until the invasion of the empire by Alexander the Great circa 326 BC.

The Old Testament is the first section of the two-part Christian biblical canon; the second section is the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) or protocanon, and in various Christian denominations also includes deuterocanonical books. Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Protestants use different canons, which differ with respect to the texts that are included in the Old Testament.

Mylapra is a village in Pathanamthitta district in the Indian state of Kerala. It comes under the Mylapra Panchayath. It is on the way to the famous Hindu pilgrim center of Sabarimala. The Main Eastern Highway passes through Mylapra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topography of Pakistan</span>

The topography of Pakistan is divided into seven geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, the desert areas, the Pothohar Plateau, Balochistan Plateau, Salt Range, and the Sistan Basin. All the rivers of Pakistan, i.e. Sindh, Ravi River, Chenab River, Jhelum River, and Sutlej River, originate from the Himalayas mountain range. Some geographers designate Plateau as to the west of the imaginary southwest line; and the Indus Plain lies to the east of that line.

Sindhu Darshan Festival is a festival held in Leh, Ladakh, India. The festival is held every year in June on the full moon day of Guru Purnima. On this day, devotees gather near the banks of the Indus River, which is known as the Sindhu River in India. Since 1997, the festival has stretched for three days, attracting large number of foreign and domestic tourists.

Kudiramalai is a cape and ancient port town on the west coast of Sri Lanka.

Hindustan Zindabad is an Hindi-Urdu phrase and battle cry most commonly used in the Republic of India in speeches and communications pertaining to or referring to patriotism towards India, and has been used since the British Raj in the colonial India. It translates to "Long Live India". It is a nationalistic slogan, and has been used in nationalist protests such as radical peasant movements in post-colonial India. Another variation of the slogan is Jai Hind. Such slogans are common while cheering the Indian team in cricket matches.

The importance of Tamil loanwords in Biblical Hebrew is that linguistically these words are the earliest attestation of the Tamil language. These words were incorporated into the writing of the Hebrew Bible starting before 500 BCE. Although a number of authors have identified many biblical and post-biblical words of Tamil, Old Tamil, or Dravidian origin, a number of them have competing etymologies and some Tamil derivations are considered controversial.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Zacharias P. Thundy (1993). India and the West in Antiquity. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 212–267.
  2. Dulin, Rachel Zohar (26 October 2015). "Tarnegol hodu, a bird called turkey". The Dayton Jewish Observer. Retrieved 7 March 2024. Hodu is the biblical name for India (Esther 1:1), which is derived from the Persian word Hindu, a name for the region around the Indus River. By the way, Russian, Polish, and Yiddish also call turkey an Indian bird. And even in Turkish it is called Hindi, namely India.
  3. 1 2 3 McClintock, John (1872). Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Harper. p. 551.
  4. Jacques, Jeremiah (28 May 2019). "Is India in the Bible?". The Philadelphia Trumpet . Retrieved 9 August 2023.