Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs

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“Ur was at the forefront of developments. If we have our chronology straight (see later discussion) Ur controlled a powerful empire and was perhaps the greatest city-state in the world at the time.” (Page 6)

“Any discussion of Persian religion during the period of the Jewish restoration to Palestine must center on the development of Zoroastrianism. The evolution of Zoroas-trianism, the degree to which Persian kings or others in Persian society subscribed to its beliefs in the days of Zerubbabel or Ezra or Nehemiah, and the possible influence of Zoroastrianism on Judaism are very controversial and involved subjects.⁶ Certainly we should not base our conclusions about this religion on its later fully developed stage or on current practices. Some popular books simply assert that the Persian kings of the Restoration period were Zoroastrians and then proceed to discuss some of the beliefs of that faith. But the matter is not so simple as that.” (Page 333)

“The special purpose of marriage was to secure sons to perpetuate the male line. In the event that the wife was barren, she could supply a slave girl to her husband to be a substitute for her and bear her children. This action is clearly reflected in Genesis 16:1–4, where barren Sarai gives a slave girl (Hagar) to Abraham to bear him a son. Interestingly, this practice seems to have been common in Mesopotamia, and it is provided for specifically in the later Code of Hammurabi (see sidebar on following page). Polygamy seems to have been uncommon during the Ur III period; but as noted, a wife might provide a concubine for her husband if she were barren. And sometimes he himself owned slave girls.” (Page 17)