About this project

--

From Eden to Yehud: The Origins of Biblical Israel will mark the third research publication by independent historical & theological researcher and author, Petros Koutoupis.

--

Explore the World of the Bible

...dedicated to solving the long lasting mysteries: Who wrote the Bible and when? How much of it is myth, reality and tradition? What inspired or influenced the author(s)? How has the longest lasting religion evolved? Where was Eden located? What did the events of Babel symbolize? Who were the Israelites and how were they identified in the historical record? What did the ancient Near East look like during the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age period in history and how did it function. It is when these are identified that the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible will truly come to life, finally providing us with the answers to all else relating to it.

Project Goals

Hosted on the web address, www.FromEdenToYehud.com, the goal of the project is to take the reader on a tour through the Old Testament within the historical context as it is interpreted by Petros Koutoupis. That is, to understand the world in which the Bible describes.

The web-based project will highlight materials to be published in the book of the same name while also providing articles, short movie clips (i.e. in documentary form), project updates and more.

Publication Details

The publication will be formatted to the The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) style.

In this work, we will be focusing on the Old Testament as it is presented to us today, that is, the Pentateuch, Court History to even Prophetic texts. We will rely on comparative literature, studies in oral tradition, Hebrew poetry and orthography, extra Biblical sources, Biblical Criticisms, to even the mythologies and faiths of neighboring regions, archaeology, and more. We will also look into the lives of the modern day Bedouin as we examine the nomadic lifestyles of the ancient Israelite prior to settling in the land of Canaan.

The tentative table of contents. Note that this can change at any time, chapters may be added/removed. All such details will be logged and documented on the official project website and also communicated via the mailing list.

• Abbreviations
• The Chronology of Canaan (Followed by a general map of the Old World)
• An Explanation of Signs
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: In Search of Myths and Heroes
  
• Chapter 2: An Introduction to Traditions and Biblical Criticisms
  
• Chapter 3: Through the Ashes of Empires
  
• Chapter 4: Hebrew Henotheism and the Evolution to Monotheism
  
• Chapter 5: A Study on Western Semitic Linguistics
  
• Chapter 6: Oral Tradition and Early Yahwistic Poetry
  
• Chapter 7: Sirens in the Wilderness
• Chapter 8: The Primeval History
• Chapter 9: The Ancestral Story
• Chapter 10: Out of Egypt and into Canaan
• Chapter 11: The Yahwist Revealed
  
• Chapter 12: Elohistic Inspirations
  
• Chapter 13: The Dreams of Josiah
  
• Chapter 14: The Deuteronomist
  
• Chapter 15: Yehud and the Post-Exilic Period
  
• Chapter 16: The Priestly Tradition
  
• Chapter 17: A Critical Analysis of Genesis 14 and the Unknown Chronicler
  
• Chapter 18: Conclusions: From Epic to Tradition
  
• Appendix A - King Lists: Israel, Judah, Assyria and Babylonia
  
• Appendix B - Transliteration Syntax
  
• Appendix C - Miscellaneous Excerpts
  
• Bibliography
  
• Glossary
  
• General Index
  

Website Details

• General Information
• News, Updates & a section for Letters from the Reader(s)
• Mailing List
• Library (Archaeology, Chronology, Language & Religion) - will include addendum(s) to the publication, assorted but related articles, short video clips (documentary style; hosted/narrative by Petros Koutoupis and could include interviews with leading experts)
• About (Book Info & Reviews, Author Info & Benefactors)
• Shop (with a list of hand picked books/ documentaries that were either used during the research of this series or relate to the project in some way)

Author Info

As mentioned above, the From Eden to Yehud project focuses on the research and publication of author Petros Koutoupis' third book installment in search of the origins to the Old Testament and Hebraic thought. This research follows his work published in Biblical Origins: An Adopted Legacy (2008) and An Adopted Legacy: Neo-Assyrian Origin to Hebrew Lore (2007).

These publications focused on the Documentary Hypothesis where Petros has made a courageous attempt to place a clearer date to the writings under the author we refer to as the Yahwist (J). Confirmed by archaeology, his research has dated the author to the timeframe surrounding the reign of Hezekiah; specifically between 701 BCE to possibly the end of Hezekiah's reign in 687 BCE. This was during the reign of Sennacherib, king of Assyria and the Neo-Assyrian Empire that controlled the Near East during this period.

Petros is a full-blooded Greek fluent in the language, and hase been a student of Septuagintal Greek and Biblical Hebrew for quite some time now; with additional knowledge in Aramaic, Ugaritic, and Akkadian grammar. His work centers specifically around the Iron Age of both Mesopotamian and Levantine history and as of recently Late Bronze Age Greece, leading to a quest to find the origins of our history.

You can view a list of his publications (including sample chapters and articles) here.

How Funding Will Help

This funding will help with the following:

• Softcover and e-book publication.
  
• Copyright and submission to Library of Congress.
  
• Editing from a professional editor.
• Creation and dispersal of a professional press release.
• Send review copies to at least 20 reviewers which will include experts within the field of studies.
• Any additional research materials (books, articles, etc.)
• Website domain registration and hosting costs.
• Advertisement on the Internet and also in related periodicals (i.e. Biblical Archaeology Review, etc.)

Schedule

The majority of research has been done for the publication as we speak. Once full funding has been raised, the From Eden to Yehud project will come to completion within 8 months.

• The website will be up within the first month and will routinely be updated during the course of the project while also continually updated even after publication.
• The complete manuscript will be submitted to the publisher by 7 months time.
• And if all goes according to plan, everything should be edited and released in 8 months.

Stay Updated

You can easily stay updated on all news and announcements related to the From Eden to Yehud research project by signing up for the official mailing list.