assyrian

Everyday

1. (history) Assyrian means to do with ancient Assyria, a powerful empire in Mesopotamia (today mostly northern Iraq), with cities like Nineveh and Assur, strongest about 900–600 BC. tree →
2. An Assyrian is a person of ancient Assyria. tree →
3. Assyrians today are a people of the Middle East and around the world, mostly Christians, who speak Neo-Aramaic (also called Assyrian or Syriac). tree →
4. (Bible) In the Bible the Assyrians conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel, and Jonah was sent to preach in their city Nineveh. tree →

In the lessons

Used in history (Mesopotamia, cuneiform writing, winged bull statues, King Ashurbanipal's library), Bible lessons (Jonah and Nineveh, Isaiah), and in learning about Middle Eastern peoples today.

Examples

• The Assyrian king lived in a palace at Nineveh. tree →
• The British Museum has huge Assyrian stone carvings. tree →
• Assyrian soldiers had iron weapons and chariots. tree →
• In the Bible, Jonah was sent to the great Assyrian city of Nineveh. tree →
• Assyrian scribes wrote in cuneiform on clay tablets. tree →
• My neighbour's family are Assyrians from Iraq. tree →
• Many Assyrian Christians celebrate Easter with special bread. tree →

Note

Written with a capital A. Do not confuse with «Syrian» (from modern Syria), though the names may be related. BC dates count backwards: 700 BC is earlier than 600 BC.

In Jewish tradition

Assyria was the great empire of Mesopotamia; here the word is used about its language and writing. In the Prophets "the Assyrian" means the Assyrian king or people, who oppressed Israel and carried the northern tribes into exile, and Ezekiel pictures Assyria as a tall cedar.

Interpretation. In Jewish tradition the Hebrew square letters are called "Ashurit," Assyrian writing, and the Talmud says Ezra brought this script. This is why writers on Sefer Yetzirah discuss Assyrian. The prophets read Assyria as a rod God used to punish Israel, and as a proud power that itself later fell.

Examples

• By suri wavS apparently meant Assyrian. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• It was apparently originally invented to represent the Assyrian-Babylonian language, which consisted of seventeen or eighteen sounds. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return. (Prophets HOS.11.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• For thus saith the Lord GOD: My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. (Prophets ISA.52.4, JPS 1917) tree →
• Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature; and its top was among the thick boughs. (Prophets EZK.31.3, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Written with a capital A. Do not confuse with «Syrian» (from modern Syria), though the names may be related. BC dates count backwards: 700 BC is earlier than 600 BC.