The Ancient Near East viewed its world in a way that provided a sense of order, explaining relationships between objects and interpreting natural events within its visual scope. Each thing was governed by a god formed from it, and the gods created humans to serve and feed them. Their cosmos included what was above the earth, on the earth, and beneath the earth. The heavens acted as a timekeeper, using the sun, moon, and stars to organize the years, months, and days. The twelve constellations were anchored in the solid dome (raqia), serving as windows of heaven that allowed the sun’s light to shine at night¹. All celestial movements had to enter and exit through the east and west gates at the edges of their universe. The land, with its abundant freshwater and fertile soil, offered a safe haven for life. Mountains reaching into the sky symbolized temple access to the gods, while at the land’s shores, the vast wilderness of the seas, with their dark depths, held monsters and the seven-headed dragon of the underworld, constantly threatening to disturb the created order. The ancients believed that every event in this three-layered cosmos was caused by the gods’ pleasure or anger and their ongoing conflicts.

Both the Old and New Testaments engage with the Ancient Near East culture and worldview, yet they reveal distinct and superior insights. The biblical narrative presents God Most High creating the universe through His breath, His Word. He cares for His creation and does not depend on it to sustain Himself. YHWH is the only God who can conquer chaos, establish order, and maintain harmony in His creation. On day four, the Creator placed lights in the raqia for signs², appointed feasts³, and to mark days and years (Gen. 1:14), refraining from naming the greater and lesser lights so they would not be worshiped as gods (Gen. 1:16). The Creator’s power governs heavenly events and calms raging seas, protecting life on the land. YHWH Elohim planted a garden eastward on Mount Eden, and there, at the intersection of heaven and earth, He put the adam whom He had formed (Gen. 2:8). Adam and Eve served as priests in the Garden, tasked with taking the knowledge of God into all the earth, subduing it, and bringing its worshipful praises to God. God Most High’s ordering of Genesis 1’s first six days ends at the door to the Sabbath (see Blog 5), a protected covenant life of worshiping Him on His throne—a witness to His interceding ownership of love.

Having all authority, YHWH, Israel’s judge and king, defeated their enemies through signs and wonders and brought them to His holy mountain so He could dwell with them, and they could worship Him. The same pattern is seen in the New Testament. On the day of Yeshua’s crucifixion, signs in the heavens signaled a cosmic conflict with evil. The sun darkened and the earth shook (Luk. 23:44-45), causing the tombs to open and release the dead from their defeated netherworld captors (Mat. 27:51). When the temple of His body was crushed under the weight of humanity’s lawlessness, the temple curtain was ripped, exposing His holy dwelling to what was profane. But through His death, He secured life for His image-bearers, rescuing us from oppressive angelic gods seeking our destruction. By His life, He brings us to His holy Mount Zion and plants us there at the junction of heaven and earth. Since He purchased us with His life, He alone is worthy of worship.

In contrast to YHWH Elohim planting a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man He had formed (Gen. 2:8), after the flood, humanity settled in the plain of Shinar, making their own “there.” There, they built a ziggurat that reached into the heavens, serving as a place to bargain with the gods and make a name for themselves. There, (in Babel), God confused their language and from there scattered them across the face of all the earth. Still, God desires His image-bearers to return to Eden and dwell there with Him on His holy mountain in the light of His face and His word. “There” is sam, שָׁם, a play on the word shem, שֵׁם, meaning “name.” His is the only name (reflecting His character) in heaven and earth we are to call upon. We are called by His name when we dwell with Him and worship on His Holy Mountain; He will give us a new name on our foreheads. “There” is where YHWH’s throne is, whether in Jerusalem or in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar (1Ki. 8:28-29; 2Ki. 23:26-27; Eze. 1:3; 40:1-3). “There” is where YHWH has put His transforming name forever, where His eyes and heart will always be—the camp of His covenant community (1Ki. 9:3, 29; Num. 2-3). In Ezekiel’s vision of a new beginning, He plants Israel there on Mount Zion to dwell with Him, and the name of that city is called YHWH-Shammah, meaning YHWH is “there.” In Revelation 21, just as in Israel’s wilderness camp and Ezekiel’s new city and temple, the new Jerusalem is a place where there is no more curse. The throne of God and the Lamb is there, and His servants serve Him, seeing His face and bearing His name. And there shall be no more night, for the glory of God and the Lamb are its light.  There, the tree of life and a pure river of water of life flow from the throne of God and the Lamb, making all the earth His sacred space. After the Lamb defeated the principalities and authorities in heavenly places that held the nations captive, “there” is the Sabbath rest of YHWH upon His throne with all people and nations worshiping Him.

Takeaway:
The Ancient Near East’s three-tiered worldview set the stage for the biblical account of creation. The Creator placed humans “there” in a mountain garden. “There” has a door, symbolizing the ground and time where YHWH sits enthroned and dwells with His covenant people in a sacred space. “There” is the appointed time of the Feasts before His throne, where we celebrate His names and His name is placed upon us. Having our sins forgiven, “there” is where we live in the light of His face and eat of the tree of life (law) in a cycle of sacred time (Deu. 33:2). When we enter the door of the Sabbath, His sacred place of meeting, we step into eternity.

Fun Factors:
The number of days Israel spent at Mount Sinai receiving the Law and building the Tabernacle was 371, 7 × 53, 53 is the numeric value of “garden” and “Oholibah” (Jerusalem’s symbolic name, meaning “My Tabernacle is in her”). The Eighth Day’s name of YHWH is YHWH-Shammah, meaning “YHWH is there,” a numerical sum of 371.

The Hebrew words for “there” and “name,” שׁם, only differ by vowel markings. Their numeric value equals 340, 2 × 2 × 5 × 17, the sum of two squares, 12² + 14², marking Israel’s tribes by the Passover, the door to the Feasts of YHWH. 2 + 2 + 5 + 17 = 26, the sum of Y + H + W + H. The digits of 340, 3 and 4, when multiplied, equal 12, but when added, equal 7.  Twelve and seven (12 + 7 = 19) mark the twelve common and seven leap years of the lunar 19-year time cycle of a larger complete lunar cycle of 689,472 years, 432 × 19 × 12 × 7, exposing the heart of Yeshua’s intercessory love through His Feast cycles, standing there before God’s throne as the true human image of God (see Blog 16).