Who Were the Sumerians

Question: "Who were the Sumerians?"

Answer: The Sumerians were an ancient people that occupied Sumer, that is, the southern region of Mesopotamia, which is now southern Iraq. It is unclear when the first settlers of the region arrived, but they were a non-Semitic people that historians believe may have come out of the Samarra culture in northern Mesopotamia or Assyria. The Sumerians established many city-states in southern Mesopotamia, and their culture thrived there until around 1700 BC when Babylonia subdued the Sumerians and took control of the region during the reign of Hammurabi, the last Sumerian king.

The Sumerians are credited with creating one of the first forms of writing, cuneiform, which is made of a series of wedge-shaped marks carved into clay with a stylus. The famous Epic of Gilgamesh was written in cuneiform and took archeologists a long time to decipher. Once it was translated, they found the Epic of Gilgamesh to be a heroic story about a Sumerian king. The manuscript describes the daring adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, a wild man who was first created by the gods to fight against Gilgamesh but who befriends him and fights alongside him. The epic also contains a fascinating account of a great flood with many similarities to the Genesis account.

The Sumerians were also the builders of the city-state of Ur and the Ziggurat of Ur, an impressive structure built in the worship of the Sumerian moon deity, Nanna. Archeology suggests that the Sumerians were powerful warriors, skilled at agriculture, architecture, and literature.

The Sumerians farmed the fertile land by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, and historians have even classified the Sumerians as “proto-Euphrateans.” The Tigris and the Euphrates are two of four rivers mentioned in Genesis 2:14 that flowed from the Garden of Eden. Today, these rivers still have a common source, in the mountains of Turkey, from which they flow through Syria and Iraq. That area later became known as the “Fertile Crescent” and the “cradle of civilization” because agriculture flourished there and the peoples of that region developed glass, the wheel, and irrigation techniques.

The Sumerians have a connection with biblical history. In the Bible, Ur is mentioned as the birthplace of Abram, or Abraham, who became the first Hebrew patriarch and later the spiritual father of all those who would have faith in the Lord (Genesis 17:5; Acts 3:25; Romans 4:12, 16). The Bible does not tell us Abram’s nationality, but he was likely a Sumerian, or perhaps a Babylonian. Abram was living in Mesopotamia when the Lord spoke to him and told him to leave his family and the land of his fathers and go to a new land (Genesis 12:1). By faith (Hebrews 11:8–9), Abram took his wife, Sarai; his nephew Lot; and all their possessions, and they left Ur and traveled to Canaan, which is present-day Lebanon and Israel. Many scholars also see the Bible’s references to “Shinar” [Ur] in Genesis 10:10 and 11:2 to mean Sumer.

Now, there is an obvious anomaly in this characterization. If Abram was returning to “the land of his fathers”, clearly he was Israelite. Period, enough of the silly postulating and speculating. If he was Babylonian, he was not at the same time an Israelite. Who were the Sumerians really, living in the land of Ur. Historically, the Israelites have lived alongside many non-Semitic populations, sometimes even “mixing” with those populations. They certainly did following the first Diaspora when they removed largely to E. Anatolia. Additionally, the Torah is about Israel/ Israelites, with others being mentioned ONLY with respect to their interactions with Israel/ Israelites. We do know Ur was on the Northern Tip of the Persian Gulf. It is here the 3 great rivers, mentioned in connection with Eden, empty.

Who/ What was Ur:

https://www.ancient.eu/ur/

It should also be noted that Shem, one of the sons of Noah, known as Father of the Semetic people settled here originally. Shem is called “the father of all the children of Eber,” meaning the Hebrew people. The word Hebrew means ‘of Eber,’ or ‘descended from Eber.’  Gen. 10:25.  To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan.    The Hebrew race has therefore descended from Eber in two branches: Peleg and Joktan.  The name Peleg means division, (indicating the division of mankind in Babylon, Gen. 11:7-9), and the name Joktan means diminished, (indicating the diminished lifespan of mankind at that time).

 Joktan’s family of thirteen sons is the largest family of early Bible times.  Only
Joktan’s first-generation lineage was recorded; Gen. 10:26-29; I Chron. 1:19-23.
(Even this much is unusual because Joktan’s descendants are not mentioned in
later Bible history.)  All later Bible history is based on Peleg’s lineage (Gen. 11)
so readers have traditionally thought Peleg’s descendants are the only existing
Hebrews.  Peleg’s lineage has more visibility in the Bible because it led up to
Abraham—and God took Abraham’s people to lead the Bible narrative.  But the
descendants of Joktan made another even larger branch of Hebrews.  The total
disappearance of Joktan’s people from the Bible narrative means that his family
left west Asia entirely and migrated to another land far away. 

For over a century Noah and the Flood survivors were migrating in the east,
(eastwards of the Euphrates River plain, which is Shinar).  Gen. 11:2, “And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar [This would be Ur] and settled there.”

http://www.eifiles.cn/oo-en.htm

So, all things considered, who were the Sumerians? I would respond by saying they were many descendants of Noah and many who were not. There would be many admixtures of DNA, some Israelite, some not.

It is a well-known phenomenon in the story of DNA referred to as mutations and these can occur at any time, from brother to brother. Shem fathered Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, father of the Aramaeans. From Arphaxad come the Hebrews, Israelis and Jews. Please note that these are not at all lumped into one grouping, nor are the Aramaeans. The Israelites are no more homogenous than Europeans. The DNA will have root characteristics but with Mutations occurring every so often over time. The Aramaeans are no less Semitic than are the Israelis. So, were they Jews, Hebrews, Israelis? They spoke the same root language and wrote much the same on sticks at one time. Go figure…

It should be fairly clear that Sumerians and the Sumerian writings were devolved from Shem, who descended from Noah. Please do not tell me that all who descended from Noah were deaf mutes, without written and linguistic communication. They carved their writing on sticks. That would be Coel Bren, literally, writing on sticks. Writing on sticks has at least 30 references in the Bible. So, did Moses write the Torah on sticks or scrolls? Think about it.