Biblical Importance of Sumer

Sumer is incredibly relevant to the student of ancient history who seeks to understand the world of the Bible. According to the book of Genesis, Abraham came from Ur. There were several cities called Ur in Mesopotamia, but there are good reasons to believe that the Ur of southern Mesopotamia is the Ur of the Chaldees that Genesis speaks of. For one thing, the names are consistent not only with Akkadian/Sumerian names, but the description of Terah’s business is convincing. Another reason to identify Ur with Abraham is the polytheism on Abraham’s father Terah. Terah left Ur to go to Haran in northern Mesopotamia. Haran was known as a religious center for the worship of Nanna, the moon god. Ur shares this identity for southern Mesopotamia. Finally, according to our best reckoning, Terah fled Ur when the Gutians invaded. This helps us identify the chronology for Abraham as well.
Why is it important to know about Mesopotamia to understand Abraham? Abraham had a polytheistic past and this plays a large role in his life in Canaan. Abraham had to undergo the same sanctification that we do. Understanding this helps us understand some of the choices Abraham made and hang-ups that he had.
For example, the concept of land was very important to people from Mesopotamia. Perhaps very different from other cultures at the time, Mesopotamians like Abraham placed a heavy emphasis on land. They were a business people. Writing had been introduced there to help keep track of inventory and business transactions, and only later used for religious purposes. The cities of Mesopotamia are among the first anywhere to be true cities. The archaeological layouts allow us to see well-defined cultural centers all stationed around a center of worship. The nomadic lifestyle of the surrounding cultures would have seemed very odd to most Mesopotamians. Thus when God comes to Abraham in Haran and tells him to leave and go “to a land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1) we must understand it in this context.
Another important issue to keep in mind is language. As already noted the reign of Sargon introduced a non-Sumerian element into this culture that would have required bilingual (Sumerian and Akkadian) language. This helps us understand how Terah could successfully travel nearly 600 miles and settle in Haran. This also helps us understand how Terah was so successful in Haran. Being from the Sumerian city of Ur, he would have understood a multiplicity of languages and so could likely have integrated into the more Akkadian culture of Haran.
How does Abraham’s pagan past help us understand his relationship to God? One way is that this was the first time a personal deity had made himself known. To Abraham all gods would have been frustratingly transcendent. Yahweh shows himself to be personal and very much desirous of Abraham’s well-being. God is very much interested in our personal well-being. This is a means for Him to bring glory to Himself, but still very different from the gods Abraham would have known. Another way his past helps us understand the richness of his life is that of the promise. Abraham follows God’s leading based on nothing more than a promise. The newness of this comes through when Sarai laughs at the thought of bearing a child in her old age, even at the promise of a god. These people would not have been used to a god who made Himself known, but the thought of making and keeping promises would have been almost ludicrous to them.
However, Abraham’s worldview does make for some issues for us as Christians. In what world does it make sense to let your wife be taken into a king’s harem, twice? In what way can we understand some of the things that Abraham does that make us cringe with disbelief? It is here that we must attribute his own struggle with his old paganism. Perhaps it has not been totally washed away.
The history of Mesopotamia holds great importance for the student of the ancient world. It helps us understand our own past as descendants of Abraham and builds connections to the world the Bible is situated in.