So what was going on in the world in 603BC?
Archaeologically the EKRON INSCRIPTION is dated to be 603. [1]
The inscription states:
1. The temple which he built, 'kysh (Achish, Ikausu) son of Padi, son of2. Ysd son of Ada, son of Ya'ir, ruler of Ekron,
3. For Ptgyh his lady. May she bless him, and
4. protect him, and prolong his days, and bless
5. his land.
"The goddess Ptgyh may be an unknown Philistine deity or, more likely, by reading the damaged fourth letter of the name as "nun=n", as Pt[n]yh." As we know nun is also fish in Aramaic.
"This would be read as "Potnia," meaning "lady," the formal title used for various goddesses in ancient Greek."
"The inscription thus helps confirm that the Philistines, whose origins were in Caphtor=Crete, in biblical tradition (See Amos 9:7), had largely assimilated to Canaanite culture in the centuries between their arrival and the dedication of the temple of Ekron."[1]
In this time period Greece was suffering from economic problems like it is today. How history repeats itself when people do not break the never ending cycles.
Biblically speaking 603BC was the time of Prophet Jeremiah, his scribe and the covenant that he delivered. He was a brave man delivering the truth when the people did not wish to listen and do the will of God. He stood against idolatry, oppression and false prophets. Like all of God's prophets he knew what was coming but the people refused to listen. [2]
Like most true prophets Jeremiah was reluctant. Probably one of the most remarkable things about him for the people of modern day; is that spoke about the delivery of a new covenant that Jews, Christians and Muslims choose to ignore.
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name: "Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me."[3]
How can the people know his law if they do not live in their hearts? They can't.
Jeremiah also made a prediction about the distant future and how the LORD would create a new thing on the earth, a woman would surround a man.
It was also the time when the prophet Daniel interpreted the dream about the future for Nebuchadnezzar whom he called king of kings. The dream interpretation predicted that in the future the end would come, and all the kingdoms created by man would be destroyed. It speaks of a single rock that God would cut out of his mountain in his Kingdom that he creates. [4] Just like cutting a diamond with many different facets, it is his intelligent design.
If I am inspired with anything else on 603BC, I will add it to this post.
May glory be to God and his will be done
UPDATE
David Yeagley (USA) wrote:
"The first actual burning of sacred scripture, in defiance of its authority, was actually in the palace of King Jehoiakim, in Jerusalem (609-598 BC). In the winter of his fifth year as king, the scroll of Jeremiah the prophet was burned before the king, on the hearth, in the presence of his administration (Jeremiah 6: 21-26). Thus the king showed disdain for the ‘anti-Zionist’ word of the Lord from the prophet Jeremiah–who had prophesied the Babylonian captivity of the Jews." [5]
1. http://biblicalstudies.info/top10/schoville.htm
2. http://soulkiln.org/bible/bibhist/bibhist90.html
3. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2031&version=NIV
4. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%202&version=NIV
5. http://www.badeagle.com/2010/09/08/paster-terry-jones-and-the-book-burning-tradition/
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