courage. The Bible contains numerous exhortations for people to “take courage” in a variety of contexts (1 Sam. 4:9; 2 Chron. 15:7; Pss. 21:14; 37:24; Isa. 41:6; Hag. 2:4; cf. 1 Chron. 22:13; 28:20; 2 Chron. 32:7). Examples of those who do this include the Israelites, in their fight against Benjamin (Judg. 20:22); David, in putting forth a daring prayer (2 Sam. 7:27); Asa, in putting away idols (2 Chron. 15:8); Jehoiada, in putting forward Joash as king (2 Chron. 23:1); Amaziah, in leading an army against Seir (2 Chron. 25:11); and Ezra, in bringing exiles in Babylon back to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:28). By contrast, the citizens of Jericho lose courage after they hear how God assists the Israelites (Josh. 2:11), Saul’s son Ishbaal’s courage fails when he hears Abner has died (2 Sam. 4:1), and the courage of those who go down to the sea in ships melts away when God raises stormy winds (Ps. 107:23–26). In the NT, Jesus tells his disciples, “In the world you will face persecution. But take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). Paul says he had courage in God to declare the gospel in spite of opposition (1 Thess. 2:2) and, in Acts, Paul inspires sailors to take courage in a storm (27:22–25; cf. 23:11).

M.A.P.

covenant (Heb. berit), a formal agreement or treaty between two parties in which each assumes some obligation. In the Bible, a covenant might be a pact of mutuality between two individuals, such as Laban and Jacob (Gen. 31:44–54) or David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:3; 23:18), or a covenant between a husband and wife (Ezek. 16:8; Mal. 2:14). More often, a covenant is between political entities or their representatives: Abraham and the Amorites (Gen. 14:13); Abraham and Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen. 21:22–32); Abner and David (2 Sam. 3:12–13, 21); David and the people (2 Sam. 5:3); Solomon and Hiram (1 Kings 5:26); Asa and Ben-hadad (1 Kings 15:18–19). A covenant also might be imposed by a greater power upon a lesser one. The greater power demands loyalty and obligates itself to the protection of the lesser one, as was the case between Israel and the Gibeonites (Josh. 9). This is also what is reflected in the request by Jabesh-gilead of the king of Ammon (1 Sam. 11:1–2). The vast majority of the references to covenant in the Bible, however, are to covenants between God and God’s people, especially the covenant that God makes with Israel at Sinai.

The Sinai Covenant: The framework of the Sinai covenant has significant affinities with suzerain-vassal treaties from the ancient Near East, specifically, the Hittite treaties of the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE and the Assyrian treaties of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. In these documents a suzerain makes a treaty with a lesser king. The main elements of the Hittite treaty are: (1) identification of the treaty maker (i.e., the great king); (2) historical introduction, listing prior beneficial acts done by the great power on behalf of the lesser one; (3) stipulations (the primary demand is for loyalty); (4) a list of divine witnesses; and (5) blessings and curses to come upon the lesser party as a consequence of keeping or not keeping the treaty. The treaty was recited, a ceremonial meal eaten, and the treaty deposited at the feet of the deity’s iconic representation.

The narrative concerning the Sinai covenant in Exod. 19–24 has similar elements: the identification of God, who has performed saving acts for Israel (19:4–6; 20:2); stipulations (20:3–23:33); and treaty recital followed by a ceremonial meal (24:7, 9–11). The other elements appear elsewhere. Deposit of the treaty in the ark of the covenant is mentioned in Exod. 25:16; 40:21; Deut. 10:1–5; 31:25–26 (the ark elsewhere is called the footstool of God, Pss. 99:5; 132:7–8; 1 Chron. 28:2). Witnesses appear in the form of “heaven and earth” (Deut. 4:26; 30:19; 31:28). Blessings and curses are listed in Lev. 26 and Deut. 27:11–28:68 (cf. 29:17–27). This political structure emphasizes the seriousness of the relationship between God and Israel and ipso facto eliminates the possibility of foreign alliances (e.g., Isa. 31:1–3; Jer. 2:18, 36). The Sinai covenant obligates both parties to each other: Israel must keep the stipulations (familial, societal, dietary, ritual, agricultural, etc.) or suffer severe punishment. This, however, does not mean that it is a “conditional covenant”; indeed, the punishment that disobedience brings presumes that the relationship between the parties is still intact.

The judicial element of the Sinai covenant is manifested in the stipulations, which are the law of the nation. Now any crime committed is against God, whether it is ritual, criminal, moral, or civil. Israel was apparently unique in its perception that all its law is divinely given.

Another social element contained in the Sinai covenant is the familial one. The Israelites are called God’s children in Deut. 14:1 (see also Exod. 4:22; 19:4; Deut. 32:9–12, 18). Furthermore, the stipulations and even the covenant itself are called torah (Deut. 31:25–26), which means “teaching” or “instruction.” Within the context of the covenant it is equivalent to law, but if Proverbs (e.g., 3:1; 4:2; 7:2) uses torah in its original social context—as parent instructing child—then its usage in the covenant may suggest the analogy of God instructing Israel.

Covenants with Abraham and David: Two other primary divine covenants, those with Abraham (Gen. 15) and David (2 Sam. 7; Ps. 89:1–38), are more unilateral than the Sinai covenant: they speak of what God offers, but not of what God requires in return. Although these proclamations are called covenants, they actually have more in common with promissory royal grants, which also existed in the ancient Near East and which are attested in Hittite and Assyrian documents. According to such a grant, land was given to loyal servants by the king, and the grant required no further action on behalf of the grantee. Gen. 17:1–14 does demand circumcision of Abraham and his descendants, but this is only a sign of the covenant, not a condition of its validity. The Davidic covenant assures David of a permanent dynasty in which the Davidic king is depicted metaphorically as the son of God (2 Sam. 7:14; Pss. 2:7–8; 89:27–28). Sometimes, however, the Davidic covenant is viewed as conditional and dependent on obedience to the Sinai covenant (1 Kings 2:4; 8:25; 9:4–9; Ps. 132:12). The prophets also tended to view the Sinai covenant as dominant, but they sometimes tried to maintain an ultimate validity of the Davidic covenant by recasting its promises in terms of messianic expectation.

New Covenant: Jer. 31:27–37 (building upon Hos. 2) predicts that God will establish a new covenant with Israel. The uniqueness of this covenant, however, will not lie in its content, which is presumed to be identical to the Sinai covenant (the Torah; 31:33), but in its form—it will be given internally. What the covenant requires will become natural behavior for each individual, so that obedience will be guaranteed (31:34). Thus, the covenant will become unbreakable, and its eternality will be assured (31:35–37; cf. 32:36–44).

In the NT: Influenced by the idea of a new covenant, NT authors saw the death and resurrection of Jesus as instituting such an arrangement (Mark 14:24; 1 Cor. 11:2; cf. 2 Cor. 3:6). Indeed, the coming of Jesus is conceived as providing a fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham (cf. Luke 1:72–73; Acts 3:35) in that God’s salvation is now being offered to all nations of the earth. Although Paul insists that the covenants God made with Israel are “irrevocable” (Rom. 11:27–29; cf. Rom. 9:4; Gal. 3:17), he also avers that “not all Israelites belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6) and maintains that, with regard to the “old covenant,” a veil lies over the minds of Jewish people who do not know Christ (2 Cor. 3:14–15). The most extensive covenant language in the NT is found in Hebrews, where the “new covenant” (8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24) is also termed a “better covenant” (7:22; 8:6) and the “first covenant” is said to have been flawed (8:7). Indeed, Heb. 8:13 claims that “in speaking of a ‘new covenant,’ (God) has made the first one obsolete.” See also Abraham; David; Sinai; Torah.

Bibliography

Hillers, Delbert R. Covenant: The History of a Biblical Idea. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1969.

Levenson, Jon D. Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible. Harper & Row, 1987.

McCarthy, D. J. Treaty and Covenant. Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1963.

J.U.

covenant, new. See covenant; New Testament.

cow. See cattle.

crane, a bird of the Gruidae family of the Gruiformes order. A crane is a tall wading bird similar in appearance to a heron. Isa. 38:14 indicates its noisy character, although the Hebrew is uncertain. Jer. 8:7, similarly uncertain, focuses on its nesting habits.

creation, the act of God by which the universe came into being. The Bible’s first account of creation is provided in Gen. 1:1–2:3 (or 2:4a). This text is generally attributed to a sixth-century BCE priestly author (designated by the siglum P), who wanted to challenge other versions of the origin of the cosmos depicted in poetic literature of the ancient Near East (especially the Ugaritic Baal epic and the Babylonian Enuma Elish). Instead of describing the world as coming into being as a result of divine combat and a struggle with willful primordial matter, the Gen. 1:1–2:3 account depicts a sole, sovereign master of the universe directing the work of creation by verbal command and a freely determined plan. God is shown making the world in six days and resting on the seventh (cf. Exod. 20:11).

On the first day God creates light and darkness, night and day; on the second, the firmament separating earthly and heavenly waters; on the third, dry land and vegetation; on the fourth, the heavenly luminaries of the sun for ruling the day and the moon for ruling the night; on the fifth, sea creatures and birds; and on the sixth, land creatures and humans. The first three days present frameworks of the cosmos, the last three, their respective inhabitants. God names the works of the first three days; humans presumably name the rest (cf. 2:19–20).

A second, probably older, creation story is found in Gen. 2:4–25 (the first half of the Adam and Eve narrative). The order of creation is here reversed: man appears first (2:7), and plants and animals later (19–20). The woman is created separately (2:22), instead of simultaneously with the man (cf. 1:26–27). The role of humanity in God’s creation is also depicted differently. In 2:15–17, the emphasis is on the man being a servant who tills and keeps God’s garden, while in 1:26–28, the emphasis is on sovereignty, as humans are to have dominion over all other creatures (cf. Ps. 8:5–9).

God’s role as Creator is often mentioned in the Bible, especially in Psalms and Isaiah (e.g., Pss. 8:3–8; 24:1–2; 100:3; 104:24; 143:3 148:5; Isa. 40:28; 42:5; 45:12, 18; cf. Gen. 14:19, 22; Job 4:17; Eccles. 12:1; Amos 4:13; Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:3–4; 1 Pet. 4:19). In the NT, Paul describes idol worshipers as people who serve “the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). Some NT writers maintain that all things were created through or by Jesus Christ (Col. 1:15–16; cf. John 1:2–3; Heb. 1:2). There is also mention in the Bible of future creation, when God will make new heavens and a new earth (Isa. 65:17); Paul maintains that the new creation has already occurred for one who is in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Gal. 6:15). See also Genesis, book of; sky.

J.W.R./M.A.P.

creatures, animate beings, whose existence is dependent upon God (Gen. 1:20–24; Ps. 104:24; Rev. 5:13). In the Bible, the term “creatures” usually refers to animals commonly found on the earth, wild or domestic beasts plus, sometimes, birds and/or fish. Occasionally, prophets have visions of fantastic, hybrid creatures unlike anything known on earth (Ezek. 1:5–24; Rev. 4:6–9). Paul describes idol worshipers as people who serve “the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). See also creation; life; soul.

creeping things, a general term for various forms of reptile, insect, or worm life. Gen. 1:24–26 uses it as a generic term. It is similarly used in the flood story (Gen. 6:7, 20; 7:14, 23; 8:17, 19). Such creatures are considered unclean (Lev. 22:5), but they join in praise of God (Ps. 148:10). They are associated with corruption and evil (Ezek. 8:10) and express awe at God’s wrath (38:20), but they will participate in God’s promised covenant (Hos. 2:18). “Creeping things” appears to be a general term for creatures that are neither birds, fish, nor wild or domesticated animals.

R.S.B.

Crescens (kres′uhnz), a person who, when 2 Timothy was written, had left the writer for Galatia (2 Tim. 4:10). Nothing more is known about him.

Crete (kreet), also called Caphtor, the fifth largest Mediterranean island, 152 miles long from west to east, 7.5 to 35 miles wide and 3,189 square miles in area. Crete forms the southern boundary of the Aegean Sea. While maintaining a resolute identity and culture of its own, its primary relationship has been with Greece, rather than with Anatolia, Egypt, or the Levant. Biblical references to Caphtor or Crete are few. The Israelites, who played no active role at all on the Mediterranean Sea, knew the remote island chiefly as the home of the Philistines (Deut. 2:23; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7; see also Gen. 10:14; 1 Chron. 1:12), part of the great movement of the Sea Peoples. Among these Philistine immigrants were the Cherethites and Pelethites, who formed an important part of David’s army (2 Sam. 8:18; 15:18; 20:23). The island is also mentioned in 1 Macc. 10:67, where it is called Crete, not Caphtor. Crete is mentioned five times in Acts 27, as a boat carrying Paul to Jerusalem navigates around the island but does not land there. The Letter to Titus speaks of a visit to Crete by Paul, who is said to have left Titus in Crete “to put in order what remained to be done” and “appoint elders” (1:5). This letter’s derogatory quotation about the Cretans being “always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons” (1:12) comes from the same poem of the Cretan poet Epimenides as that quoted by Paul at Athens in Acts 17:28. See also Fair Havens; Pelethites; Philistines.

D.B.

crib. See manger.

crime and punishment. See law.

Crispus (kris′puhs), according to Acts 18:8, the ruler of a synagogue in Corinth who became a Christian. He was baptized by Paul (1 Cor. 1:14), and his inclusion in the Corinthian church indicates that that congregation was not entirely Gentile. See also synagogue.

cross (Gk. stauros), an ancient instrument of torture and execution. The use of an upright stake (also stauros) to display a corpse or to torture or execute a person was widespread in the first millennium BCE, especially in times of war. The Hebrew Bible does not mention the stake or cross as a mode of execution, but it does refer to the practice of displaying the corpse of an executed person “on a tree” to signify that such a person was accursed by God in Deut. 21:22–23. This text is applied in several of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the act of crucifixion, and Paul also makes that connection in Gal. 3:13.

In the NT, references to “the cross” function primarily as a shorthand way of referring to the death of Jesus and its consequences. Paul says that the “message about the cross” is foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power of God to those who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18). This message consists of various theological claims. Paul says that by the cross of Jesus Christ, the world has been crucified to him and he to the world (Gal. 6:14). Eph. 2:16 says that God makes peace through the cross, reconciling Jews and Gentiles in one body and putting to death hostility between them. Col. 1:20 indicates that God made peace with all creation through “the blood of (the) cross,” so that all things in heaven and on earth have now been reconciled with God. Col. 2:13–14 maintains that God’s record of human transgressions of legal demands was nailed to the cross and that the record is now erased and transgressions forgiven. 1 Pet. 2:24 states simply that Christ “bore our sins in his body on the cross.” Although some of these claims assume complex theological constructions, they all imply the basic notion that Christ’s death on a cross was part of a divine plan intended to bring salvation (variously construed as forgiveness of sins, redemption, reconciliation, or atonement) to humanity (or all creation).

Thus, “the cross” can become a virtual synonym for “the gospel,” or the core message of Christian proclamation. People can be persecuted for the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:12) or live as enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18). In the latter instances, however, the term assumes an understanding of the gospel that emphasizes a connection with God through grace (as manifested on behalf of humanity through Christ’s death) rather than through observance of works of the law. That distinction also informs Paul’s refusal to remove the “offense of the cross” (Gal. 5:11) and his insistence that the cross is an ironic source of boasting (6:14), around which he developed a rich theology. The potential offense is not just that “Jesus died a shameful death,” but that the consequences of that death relativize the significance of all human endeavors (including, especially, observance of the law). In the same vein, boasting of the cross, for Paul, implies total reliance on what God has done through the death of Jesus rather than reliance on one’s own faithfulness in being obedient to the law.

The cross likewise becomes the ultimate symbol of God’s love (Rom. 5:8) and, at the same time, the ultimate symbol of Christ’s obedience (Phil. 2:8; Heb. 12:2). As such, it becomes a model for Christian existence, which is to be characterized by unselfish concern for others (Phil. 3:18). In the Synoptic Gospels, following Jesus involves “taking up one’s cross” through self-denial and service to others (Matt. 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). John’s Gospel, on the other hand, uses double entendre to link the raising of Jesus on the cross with his resurrection and exaltation (12:32). See also atonement; crucifixion; forgiveness; reconciliation; redemption; salvation.

M.A.P.

crown, a headpiece signifying position or honor. The high priest is said to have worn a crown (Exod. 29:6; 39:30; Lev. 8:9; cf. Exod. 28:36–38). Among kings, both Saul (2 Sam. 1:10) and Joash (2 Kings 11:12) are specifically said to have worn crowns, and when David conquered the Ammonite capital Rabbah, he put the Ammonite king’s crown on his own head (2 Sam. 12:30). Queen Esther and Mordecai both wore crowns given them by the Persian king (Esther 2:17; 6:8; 8:15). The Hebrew text employs different terms for these crowns, though whatever distinctive meaning might have been implied by each particular term is not evident. The most general Hebrew word for crown (‘atarah) is found frequently in poetic contexts. Another term (nezer) tends to have priestly associations, but this is not always the case and, indeed, royal and priestly authorities were often closely linked (cf. Zech. 6:11–14). A third term (keter) appears only in Esther. In the NT the Greek word diad–ema is used only three times, all in Revelation: the dragon has seven crowns (12:3); the beast from the sea has ten (13:1) and Christ is crowned with many crowns (19:11–13). The more common Greek word in the NT is stephanos, which often applies to a wreath or laurel, such as would be bestowed upon a victor in an athletic competition. This is probably the intended sense when it is used to symbolize the final reward of faithful Christians (e.g., 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10). Paul twice says that the people to whom he is writing are his “crown” (Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19); in these instances the word is used figuratively to mean something similar to the modern expression “badge of honor.” Finally, the word is used in the Gospels for the “crown of thorns” placed on Jesus’s head (Matt. 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2, 5) and, in this context, it seems intended to invoke ironic images of a royal crown worn by a king.

C.L.M./M.A.P.

crucible, a vessel, usually ceramic, employed for heating substances to high temperatures. It was used mainly for the refining of silver (Prov. 17:3; 27:21). It also designates the bottom of a small furnace where a bloom of metal gathers in the refining process. See also refining; silver; smith.

crucifixion, a means of execution that involved fastening a person to a cross so death would be slow and painful. Grisly spectacles involving the crucifixion of sometimes hundreds or even thousands of victims were arranged for the intimidation of besieged cities, the punishment of conquered peoples, or the deterrence of rebellious slaves or troops.

In a rare instance, crucifixion was employed by the Jewish ruler Alexander Jannaeus, a Hasmonean king and high priest (103–76 BCE) noted for his brutality: in a single day, he crucified eight hundred Pharisees who had rebelled against him. Crucifixion is most closely associated, however, with the period of Roman rule. Though the Romans continued the wartime use of mass crucifixions, they also used it as a form of punishment for individuals accused of heinous crimes (e.g., high treason and violent robbery) and for certain classes of people, especially peasants or slaves (cf. the “bandits” crucified with Jesus, Mark 5:27, as well as Jesus himself).

The procedure was subject to wide variation. The upright stake continued to be used, but frequently a crossbar was added across the top of the stake forming a T (later known as the tau cross or St. Anthony’s cross). Condemned persons were nailed or tied to the stake or crossbar, sometimes upside down, sometimes with other sadistic touches added at the executioner’s whim. Several features became fairly standard. The victim was often flogged and then paraded to the site of execution wearing around the neck a wooden placard proclaiming the crime. The condemned person also carried the crossbar (not the whole cross) to the place of execution, where the upright stake was already in place. Because deterrence was the primary objective, the cross was always erected in a public place. The prisoner was stripped and affixed to the crossbar with nails through the forearms or with ropes. The crossbar was then raised and attached to the upright stake and the victim’s feet were tied or nailed to the stake. The weight of the hanging body made breathing difficult, and death came from gradual asphyxiation, usually after a few hours. To prolong the death and thus increase the agony, a small wooden block was sometimes attached to the stake beneath the buttocks or feet to provide some support for the body. Then death came only after several days and resulted from the cumulative impact of thirst, hunger, exhaustion, exposure, and the traumatic effects of the scourging. After death, the body was usually left hanging on the cross. Because of the protracted suffering and the utter degradation of this manner of execution, it was viewed by the Romans as the supreme penalty, the “most wretched of deaths” (Josephus).

Though thousands of persons were put to death in this way, the remains of only one crucified individual have been found, those of a young male Jew named Yehohanan who died in the first century CE and was buried northeast of Jerusalem in an area called Giv’at ha-Mivtar. The physical evidence from his skeleton is scanty—one heel bone penetrated by a nail and bones that show no stress to the hands or forearms, suggesting that in this case the victim’s arms were tied to the crossbeam with ropes.

The Crucifixion of Jesus: Jesus’s crucifixion is described in Matt. 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19. According to these accounts, it was decreed by the Roman prefect (Pilate), who alone had the authority to order this form of execution. The wording on the placard (“The King of the Jews”) indicates that the crime for which Jesus was condemned was not blasphemy (cf. Matt. 26:65; Mark 14:64), but a political crime of treason, identifying him as one who was perceived as posing a threat to Caesar’s sovereignty. Jesus was flogged and led away to a place outside the city called Golgotha, an Aramaic word meaning “Skull.” According to the Synoptic Gospels, a bystander named Simon from the North African city of Cyrene was compelled to carry his cross. Two of the Gospels suggest the use of nails through the hands (Luke 24:39; John 20:25), though it was normally the forearms, with their larger bones, that were impaled in order to support the body. According to Mark 15:23, Jesus was offered an opiate (myrrh) to dull the pain, but he rejected it. Death came rather quickly, after only six hours. According to the Gospels, his body was not left on the cross; a disciple, Joseph of Arimathea, appealed to Pilate for permission to remove the body, in accordance with the injunction of Deut. 21:23.

In Theology: When Christians hailed as Messiah and worshiped as Lord one who died on a Roman cross, a central theological problem was posed. How could such status be accorded to one who died a shameful death, condemned as a criminal according to Roman law and cursed by God according to Jewish law (Deut. 21:23)? Paul’s Letters reveal how foolish and scandalous this seemed to both Jews and Gentiles (1 Cor. 1:23). See also cross; Golgotha; Jesus Christ; Pilate, Pontius; trial of Jesus.

Bibliography

Cousar, Charles B. A Theology of the Cross. Fortress, 1990.

Hengel, Martin. Crucifixion. Fortress, 1977.

Reed, Jonathan L. The HarperCollins Visual Guide to the New Testament. HarperOne, 2007.

Shanks, Hershel. “New Analysis of the Crucified Man.” Biblical Archaeology Review 11 (1985): 20–21.

J.M.B.

crystal, a form of mineral with flat, symmetrical surfaces. The Greek word can mean ice or rock crystal, namely, pure silica or quartz in a transparent and colorless form (Rev. 4:6; 22:1; cf. Job 28:17; Ezek 1:22).

cubit (kyoo′ bit), the standard ancient Near Eastern linear measure. Theoretically it was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, about 17.5 to 20 inches. See also weights and measures.

cucumber (Cucumis sativus), a water-filled vegetable, growing on a vine, that was commonly cultivated in Egypt (Num. 11:5) and throughout the ancient Near East as a staple of the diet. During the growing season, in order to discourage theft, cucumber fields were guarded (Isa. 1:8).

cummin (kuh′min; Cuminum cyminum), a cultivated herb whose tiny aromatic seeds were harvested by beating the stalks with a rod (Isa. 28:25, 27). It was used medicinally, as a perfume oil, and as a seasoning for stews and breads. Paying a tithe on cummin symbolizes scrupulous attention to details of the law (Matt. 23:23).

cuneiform writing, a form of written communication done in wedge-shaped marks usually impressed on clay tablets. A massive body of writings in cuneiform script has been unearthed during the past hundred and sixty years. Most of these texts come from Mesopotamia and are written in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. Writing was first invented in Mesopotamia. The cuneiform ideographic script was devised in the late fourth millennium BCE in order to facilitate the administration of the large economic complexes that the southern Mesopotamian Sumerian temples had become. The formation of the earliest “cuneiform” signs drew upon the system of tokens and upon representation in glyptic art. Originally the script was largely pictographic/ideographic. Increasingly, it developed a phonetic dimension, and in addition to representing concepts it could now also represent sounds. Moreover, elements began to be written in the order in which they occurred in speech. Even with phonetization, Mesopotamian cuneiform writing never surrendered its ideographic (some prefer logographic) quality and remained a mixed logographic-syllabic system of linguistic representation.

The Earliest Texts: The earliest texts were administrative accounts and sign lists for scribes. With increased phonetization, the script began to convey complex statements in Sumerian as well as words in a foreign language, namely, Akkadian. Narrations and utterances were now recorded, though initially writing served as an aid to memory rather than a full record. Alongside administrative and lexical texts, votive inscriptions, narratives, incantations, hymns, myths, and proverbial instructions appeared. Accordingly, a distinction may be drawn between two types of texts: those that have no existence except in writing and require writing as their medium (these come into existence alongside and consequent to the invention of writing, e.g., administrative accounts, lexical lists, collections of omens) and texts that exist independently of writing and are set down as the cultural importance of writing is discovered (e.g., epics, incantations, hymns). The recording of this latter type becomes fuller and more explicit in the course of time, and new texts of this type may eventually be composed originally in writing.

With the development of phonetization came the adaptation of the script by Semitic speakers for the representation of Akkadian. The system of writing was eventually adopted and adapted for the rendering of Elamite, Hurrian, Urartian, Hittite, and others. The Mesopotamian writing system was not borrowed in a vacuum: those who borrowed the writing were themselves influenced by the literary forms and, in turn, became bearers of the culture. In this manner, Mesopotamia influenced biblical literature and Greek mythology, and cuneiform became the point of origin and model for a developed Near Eastern legal tradition.

Writings in Sumerian and Akkadian: The balance of this article focuses on Mesopotamian writings in Sumerian and Akkadian. The classification of texts according to whether they are canonical, archival, or monumental provides a convenient arrangement for purposes of schematic presentation.

Canonical texts include those literary, religious, technical, and scholastic texts that were copied, transmitted, revised, and edited in ancient institutions and private collections. One such institutional collection was the famous library of Ashurbanipal. The discovery of this collection in Nineveh in the mid-nineteenth century served as the starting point for the recovery and reconstruction of Akkadian literature. Although Sumerian texts were also found in the library, it was the discarded remains of the Old Babylonian schools of Nippur that served as the basis for the reconstruction of Sumerian literature. Canonical literature is normally sorted into four major temporal clusters: Sumerian texts from the third millennium (Fara, Abu-Salabikh, etc.); Sumerian texts from the Ur III and Old Babylonian periods (Nippur, Ur); Akkadian texts from the Old Babylonian period (e.g., Gilgamesh, Atrahasis, Anzu); and standard Babylonian Akkadian texts from the end of the second and the first millennium. Prior to ca. 1250 BCE in the post–Old Babylonian period, canonical texts are found mainly outside of Mesopotamia (e.g., Amarna, Ugarit, Boghazkoi). It is often assumed that almost all major works of Akkadian literature were composed and standardized by the latter half of the second millennium, and that the first millennium was relatively impoverished with regard to the creation of traditional religious literature. A more reasoned judgment seems to be that Mesopotamia of the first millennium also was religiously and literarily creative, certainly far more creative than is normally assumed, and that some classics were actually composed during the several centuries prior to their attestation in the libraries and collections of Assyria and Babylonia of the eighth century BCE and later. By the same token, the oft-repeated statement that the religious poetry of the post–Old Babylonian period is characterized in the main by stock phrases combined to create stereotyped forms is to be modified and perhaps disregarded. Given the small number of workers in the field, the pressing need to sort and decipher tablets, to edit texts, and to prepare dictionaries and grammars has resulted in interpretation taking a back seat. Thus, many literary texts still require detailed study and further investigation concerning the creative and editorial activities of literati and theologians in the centers of ancient Babylonia and Assyria.

Key Akkadian texts include the creation epic Enuma Elish, the Epic of Gilgamesh, prayers of individual supplicants, sequences of incantations and their accompanying rituals, wisdom compositions, and the humorous tale “Poor Man of Nippur.” Of no little interest also are the scholarly collections of medical prescriptions, omens, and lexical equations. In these scribal handbooks, both the individual entries and the pattern or arrangement of units merit attention.

The masses of archival texts and numerous monumental texts allow for the study of government administration, international diplomacy, economic enterprises, military organization, and the like. Scholars are not always able to integrate or even harmonize the contemporary evidence of these texts with the information embedded in the traditional canonical literature. Here readers of the Bible may be particularly drawn to examine such diverse bodies of texts as the Akkadian Amarna letters written to Egypt from Canaan in the fourteenth century BCE, collections of laws such as the code of Hammurabi, and Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions and historiography. Particularly during these last mentioned periods (from 750 BCE on) there was direct contact between Israelites and Assyrians/Babylonians, and during these periods Mesopotamian literary forms and intellectual life began to have a profound impact on the Bible and Israelite religion.

Bibliography

Cooper, J. C. “Babylonian Beginnings: The Origin of the Cuneiform Writing System in Comparative Perspective,” in The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process. Cambridge University Press, 2004. Pp. 71–99.

Foster, B. F. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3rd ed. CDL Press, 2005.

Hallo, W. W., and W. K. Simpson. The Ancient Near East: A History. 2nd ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1998. Pp. 150–69, 176–81.

Hallo, W. W., and K. L. Younger Jr., eds. The Context of Scripture: Canonical Compositions, Monumental Inscriptions, and Archival Documents from the Biblical World. 3 vols. Brill, 1997–2003.

Jakobsen, T. The Harps That Once . . . : Sumerian Poetry in Translation. Yale University Press, 1987.

Oppenheim, A. Leo. Ancient Mesopotamia. University of Chicago Press, 1977. Pp. 228–87.

Rubio, G. “Sumerian Literature,” in From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. Pp. 11–75.

I.T.A.

cup. Cups were usually made of pottery, but were sometimes fashioned of precious metal (Gen. 44:1–34; Jer. 51:7; Rev. 17:4; cf. the cuplike oil holder of the temple lamp, Exod. 25:31–35). They are usually associated with meals (2 Sam. 12:3; Pss. 16:5; 23:5) and are especially connected with drinking wine (Gen. 44:5; Prov. 23:31; Amos 6:6; Matt. 26:7). The term is frequently used metaphorically to refer to the limited and fixed amount of what God allows one to have in life. The wicked’s cup may consist of “a scorching wind” (Ps. 11:6); cf. “cup of wrath” (Isa. 51:17) and “cup of staggering or reeling” (Isa. 51:22; cf. Zech. 12:2). A worshiper may give thanks for an overflowing cup (i.e., a life of abundance, Ps. 23:5) or for a cup of salvation (Ps. 111:13) or a cup of consolation (Jer. 16:7). The cup, then, may symbolize a person’s lot or fate (Jer. 49:12; Ezek. 23:31–33; Mark 10:38–39; 14:36). At a final meal with his disciples, Jesus identified the cup of wine that they drank with his blood, which in Matthew’s Gospel he further identified as “the blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (26:27–28; cf. Mark 14:23–24; Luke 20:22; 1 Cor. 11: 25). Paul surmised from this that the Corinthians should examine themselves before drinking the cup, since to do so in an unworthy manner would bring judgment upon themselves (1 Cor. 11:27–30).

B.J.M./M.A.P.

cupbearer, a member of a royal court whose full duties are unknown. The first servant of Pharaoh imprisoned with Joseph had apparently been Pharaoh’s cupbearer (Gen. 40:11): the description there (“Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand”) suggests that a cupbearer literally had responsibility for providing food and drink to those in his care. Nehemiah served as cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes before being granted leave to assist the returning exiles (Neh. 1:11; 2:1). Ahikar was “chief cupbearer” (implying that there might be minor, assistant cupbearers) to King Sennacherib of Assyria (Tob. 1:22). See also Ezra and Nehemiah, books of; Joseph.

curse, a pronouncement for harm. Whereas the Hebrew Bible uses only one word for “bless,” it employs three different words for “curse.” The first (’alah) is associated with invoking an oath (Judg. 17:2; Neh. 10:29; also Ps. 10:7, where the context implies false oaths): persons basically request that ill come to them if they fail to carry out what they promise. A second, much more common, term (‘arar) creates a ban or barrier intended to exclude someone from benefits or to qualify someone for misfortune; pronouncing someone “cursed” in this sense is roughly equivalent to “casting a spell.” This is the word employed when God curses both the snake and the land in Gen. 3:14, 17. Cain is likewise cursed by God in Gen. 4:11 and the “angel of the LORD” declares Meroz to be cursed in Judg. 5:23. Noah curses his son Canaan in Gen. 9:25, and Saul pronounces a curse on anyone who eats food before he can be avenged (1 Sam. 14:24, 28). This is also the word used repeatedly in Deut. 27:15–26; 28:16–19, where curses are stipulated for those who fail to keep God’s covenant (but qillel [see below] is used in Deut. 11:26, 28; Jos. 8:34). The word ‘arar is also used with regard to the “water of bitterness” test to be applied to a woman suspected of adultery in Num. 5:23–27, and it is used throughout the Balaam story in Num. 22–24 (where Balaam is asked to curse Israel, but repeatedly blesses Israel instead). Finally, a third term (qillel) describes a wide range of injurious activity, from verbal abuse to material harm. Its basic meaning is “to treat lightly,” i.e., to treat with disrespect, to repudiate, to abuse. This word is used, for example, when the law states “whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death” (Exod. 21:17; Lev. 20:9). One who curses God in this sense (Lev. 24:11, 15; cf. Exod. 22:28, where NRSV has “revile”) shows a lack of reverence for God or for God’s standards. The opposite of curse in this sense is not “bless,” but rather “respect” (as exhibited by one who fears God and holds to God’s standards). The word is also used without any object to say that someone is “cursing” in general (e.g., Shimei in 2 Sam. 16:5, 7; he is angry at David, but is not said to “curse David” but simply to curse, which might imply a general use of abusive or vulgar language).

A pattern of curse and blessing is sometimes thought to form the basic concept of the book of Genesis. The Priestly author of Gen. 1 places the divine blessing on humankind at the beginning of his work (1:28), but the chapters that follow (attributed to the Yahwist, or J, source) present a narrative dominated by God’s curse in response to disobedience (Gen. 3:16–19; 4:11) until, after the flood, there is a renewal of divine blessing (9:1). The cycle of sin and curse begins again, climaxing in the hubris of the Tower of Babel (11:1–9), but it is countered now by a new act of God, the blessing of Abram (12:1–3). This is the beginning of a history of blessing (22:15–18; 24:60; 26:2–4) that culminates in the blessing of Jacob by Isaac (27:27–29) and by God (32:27). Balancing this history of blessing, however, is the history related in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, until Deuteronomy brings the Torah to a close on the note of covenant, with blessing promised for covenant obedience and curse for covenant breach (Deut. 28). “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse” (Deut. 30:19); the history that follows (Joshua–2 Kings) demonstrates the tragic consequences of choosing death and curse, a theme fundamental to the preexilic prophets. The relationship between blessing and curse in Deuteronomy and the prophets can be seen by comparing such traditional curses as Deut. 28:30–40; Amos 5:11; Mic. 6:15; Zeph. 1:13; and Hag. 1:6 to corresponding formulations of blessing (Deut. 6:11; Josh. 24:13; Amos 9:14–15; Isa. 62:8–9; 65:21–23).

In the NT, most references to curses or cursing employ some form of the Greek verb kataraomai or its related noun katara (words typically used to translate both ’alah and ‘arar in the LXX; kakologe–o usually translates qillel). Jesus curses a fig tree (Matt. 11:21) and instructs his followers, “Bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28; cf. Rom. 12:14). James 3:9–10 reflects on the inappropriateness of blessing God and cursing people made in God’s image. See also Heb. 6:8 and Gal. 3:10, 13 (which quote Deut. 27:26; 28:58). Elsewhere, Peter curses (or perhaps swears an oath) to underscore his denial of Christ: the English word “curse” also translates katathemtidz–o in Matt. 27:64 and anathemtidz–o in Mark 14:71, variations on a word meaning something like “anathematize.” Paul uses the related noun (anathema) in 1 Cor. 12:3 (“No one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, ‘Let Jesus be cursed’”). Finally, Revelation uses the word blas-ph–eme–o (usually “to blaspheme”) with reference to those who “cursed God” in 16:9, 11, 21. See also bless, blessing.

Bibliography

Brichto, Herbert C. The Problem of “Curse” in the Hebrew Bible. Society of Biblical Literature, 1963.

Hillers, Delbert R. Treaty-Curses and the Old Testament Prophets. Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1964.

J.S.K./M.A.P.

Cush (koosh). See Ethiopia.

Cushan-rishathaim (koosh′an-rish′uh-thay′im), the name of a king by whom the Israelites were oppressed until delivered under the leadership of the judge Othniel (twelfth century BCE; Judg. 3:8–10).

cylinder seals. See seal.

cymbal. See music.

cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), a kind of tall evergreen found among stands of cedar and oak. Because of their beauty, cypresses were used as ornamental trees in gardens and cemeteries. The hard fragrant wood was preferred for buildings and furniture (Isa. 44:14, NRSV: “holm tree”). The fir trees supplied by Hiram of Tyre to Solomon for his temple and palace (1 Kings 9:11) were cypress, as was also the wood for Noah’s ark (Gen. 6:14; KJV: “gopher wood”). Prophets offer metaphorical references to cypress (Hos. 14:8; Zech. 14:12), and Isaiah uses cypress growth as an image of replenishment and prosperity (41:19; 55:13; 60:13). See also fir tree; wood.

Cyprus (si′pruhs), an island in the eastern Mediterranean about sixty miles west of the Syrian coast and about the same distance from the coast of Turkey. Approximately a hundred and forty miles long and sixty miles wide (about the same size as ancient Israel), the island was known as Alashia in the cuneiform literature, and Elishah in the Bible (Ezek. 27:7; cf. Gen. 10:4; 1 Chron. 1:7). Some scholars also equate the island with the biblical name Kittim (Jer. 1:10), although others identify the latter with Crete. By NT times the island was called Cyprus (Greek Kypros, related to the word for “copper”). Cyprus was famous throughout the ancient world for its copper, a metal whose importance made the island a center of seafaring commerce. The island’s active participation in world trade is evidenced by the discovery of great quantities of Cypriot imports in ancient Mesopotamia, the Levant, Egypt, Asia Minor, and the Aegean world.

Apparently an independent state during the second half of the second millennium BCE, Cyprus was colonized and ruled by Phoenicia in the tenth–eighth centuries, then subjugated by the Assyrians in the late eighth and seventh centuries. Cyprus subsequently became part of the Greek and Roman empires. A Jewish population is attested on the island as early as Ptolemy I (cf. 1 Macc. 15:23). Nicanor, the governor of Cyprus, is mentioned in 2 Macc. 12:2 as a ruler who would not allow Jewish farmers to live in peace. By the Roman period (63 BCE–325 CE) the Jewish population was significant. A Jew named Barnabas, an early member of the Jerusalem church, was a native of Cyprus (Acts 4:36), as were some of the other early disciples (Acts 11:19–20; 21:16). Acts reports that Paul and Barnabas traveled across the island, from Salamis to Paphos, on their first missionary journey (13:4–13). At Paphos they encountered the sorcerer Bar-Jesus and the proconsul Sergius Paulus. Barnabas and Mark later returned to Cyprus during Paul’s second missionary journey (15:39).

D.A.D.

Cyrene (si-ree′nee), city in Cyrenaica (modern Libya) that had a thriving Jewish community of settlers from Egypt from Ptolemaic times (late fourth century BCE). Jason, the Hellenistic Jewish writer whose history was abbreviated in 2 Maccabees, came from Cyrene. Simon of Cyrene is said to have carried Jesus’s cross (Mark 15:21). Cyrenian Christians were also prominent in Antioch (Acts 11:20; 13:1).

Cyrenius (si-ree′nee-uhs). See Quirinius, P. Sulpicius.

Cyrus (si′ruhs) II, a Persian emperor and founder of the Achaemenid dynasty (ruled Babylonia 539–530 BCE). His name occurs twenty-two times in the Bible, in the books of Daniel, Ezra, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. Extrabiblical evidence comes from the classical Greek authors Herodotus and Xenophon as well as cuneiform records. From the latter we learn that Cyrus’s ancestor was Teispes of Anshan. His grandfather was named Cyrus (I). His father was Cambyses (I) and his mother, Mandane, was the daughter of the Median king Astyages. Cyrus is therefore known to modern historians as Cyrus II (or Cyrus the Great). His son, who ruled Babylonia from 530 to 522 BCE, was Cambyses II. Cyrus’s capital was Pasargadae, in what is now southern Iran.

Cyrus’s military victories eventually put him in possession of the largest empire the world at that time had seen. These began with the conquest of Media (549), followed by Lydia (546) and Babylonia (539). It would seem that the Babylonian provinces of Eber-nari (today’s Syria, Lebanon, and Israel) fell to him after the conquest of Babylonia, although no specific mention of them is extant in contemporary records. Cyrus’s policy toward the peoples of his empire was one of tolerance and understanding. In the Bible, he is said to have authorized the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple by returning Judeans (2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4), and this accords well with what is known from contemporaneous documents. Isa. 45:1–3 speaks with enthusiasm of Cyrus as the anointed one (messiah) of the Lord. A coregency with his son, Cambyses, ran for a short while in 530 and ended in the same year with the death of Cyrus in battle. Achaemenid rule in Babylonia continued for two hundred years until another major turning point in history, the conquests of Alexander the Great. See also Persia.

D.B.W.