Has Armenia been erased from the Bible? What a shock, right? Setting my ethnic pride aside, today, I opened my Bible and some history books to simply find the answer to this question that leaves many of us Armenians feeling victimized or marginalized.
Armenia was not mentioned in the original Hebrew Bible. However, “Armenia” appeared in the newly translated English King James Holy Bible- 1611 Version- various times as the Land of Armenia. The Word Armenia, on the second page of the year 1630 printed books, is shown as the origin of humanity.
In other English versions, “land of Armenia” is simply replaced with “land of Ararat.” Eventually, I ended up researching and comparing many sources. I compared the online results with an Armenian bible, newly translated from the original Greek Bible, by the very holy Archbishop Zareh Aznavorian.
I discovered that the original ancient versions of the Bible, including the Greek and Hebrew versions, mentioned the phrase “land of Ararat.” I ended up discovering even more than before.
Fact “In 1604, England’s King James I authorized a new translation of the Bible aimed at settling some thorny religious differences in his kingdom—and solidifying his power. But in seeking to prove his supremacy, King James ended up democratizing the Bible instead.”- History.
Did Armenia Exist in biblical times?
The Bible mentions the defeat of Bel of Babylon. The same Bel that Hayk, our Armenian Forefather, defeated when he decided to move to the place later called Armenian Highlands.
Isaiah 46:
1 “Gods of Babylon
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden….”
and Jeremiah 50
2 “… ‘Babylon will be captured; Bel will be put to shame, Marduk filled with terror….’
44And I will visit retribution on Bel in Babylon, and I will take what he has swallowed out of his mouth, and nations shall no longer stream to him: even the wall of Babylon has fallen.
Hayk the Forefather is known for his love of freedom and choosing to move from Babylon to live freely in the mountainous region he fell in love with. The ruler back then was Bel, who advised Hayk to return from his decision and stay in Babylon.
Brave Hayk had made up his mind and chose to fight for his freedom, and he eventually did.
He moved his wife, children, and the rest of the family to build his first city Haykashen. The Armenians lived in the region; however, between the 4th and 19th centuries, the traditional area of Armenia was conquered and ruled by Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, and Turks, among others.
It feels like there is more to this question than what I already wrote, right? I decided to look for some more answers, this time in Hebrew. After all, according to the Bible, life on earth was rebooted with Noah’s Arc and from Ararat.
Video showing Armenians in the Bible
What is meant by “Land of Ararat” in the Bible
The name Ararat, as it appears in the Bible, is the Hebrew equivalent of Urardhu, or Urartu, the Assyro-Babylonian name of a kingdom that flourished between the Aras and the Upper Tigris rivers from the 9th to the 7th-century BCE.
When you search for Armenia in Britannica, you will discover that the Land Of Ararat is where Ancient Armenia is located. It is just too shy to openly write about how it ended up in Turkey.
It is mentioned how half of Armenia was under Ottoman Iranian rule(Western Armenia), and the other (Eastern Armenia) was Annexed by Russia, eventually becoming the modern-day Republic of Armenia.
They missed filling the blanks, leaving out the part where Ottoman Armenia somehow ended up under Turkish rule. It is up to you to accept or decide if the Land of Ararat is the same as the Land of Armenia (Ancient Armenia), a sort of faith thing.
What was Armenia called in biblical times?
Yirmiyahu – Jeremiah – Chapter 51
27Raise up a standard in the land, sound a shofar among the nations, prepare nations against her, gather against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint over her a marshal, bring up horses like bristling locusts.
Melachim II – II Kings – Chapter 19
37And he was prostrating himself in the temple of Nisroch, his god, and Adramelech and Sharezer, his sons, slew him with a sword, and they fled to the land of Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead.
2 Kings 19:37(King James Version)
37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch, his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead.
In Armenian Bible is 4 kings 19:37 land of Ararat
Bereshit – Genesis – Chapter 8
4 And the ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
During Biblical times, Armenia was called the Kingdom of Ararat or the Kingdom of Urartu in Aramaic. To prove this, I decided to go to the source again, The Old Testament of the Bible, which was written in Aramaic and Hebrew.
I found an article by Rabbi Eliyahu Birenbaum in the Israeli newspaper “Mokor Rishon” titled “Armenia, Yerevan and Sevan, the land of Ararat.” He is the director of the Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel Institutes for Educational and Rabbinical Emissaries. Following is an excerpt:
“… According to folk traditions, Armenians originate from Mesopotamia, where they actively participated in constructing the Tower of Babel and even served as translators after the confusion of languages.
Other Armenian and Jewish traditions see the Armenians as the descendants of Japheth ben Noah. In various sources in the Bible, Sages, and history books, Armenia is mentioned as a place where significant biblical and historical events took place.
Job’s “land of Utz” is attributed to Armenia – the Aramaic translation identifies the land of Utz as “the land of Armenia” (Icha 4:11, Bara Deutz, Karta Dematbania Bara Armenia)…
… Also, the Ararat Mountains, the resting place of Noah’s Ark, are Located according to tradition in Armenia. To this day, residents know about Armenia being the place of the biblical Ararat mountains and have a great affinity and identification with the figure of Noah. He also appears in many statues in the capital city…..
Armenia is also not absent from the Talmud, and the name of Rabbi Jacob the Armenian appears in the Jerusalem Talmud (Jerusalem Talmud, Gitin 6, 7, MH 12b). Apparently, it originated in Armenia. Stories from the Middle Ages describe Armenia as the place of the “free Jews…”
Was Armenia supposed to be written in the Bible??
Armenia was and could never be erased from the Bible. Facts are Facts. No matter how nations try to change History, people will survive. Maps will change. Nations will not.
Politics was the main reason why Armenia was erased from the Bible. King James wanted to translate the Bible into English. It was translated democratically, according to the map of his time. The Land of Ararat was the Land of Armenia. It was only changed back because it wasn’t subjective.
Armenia was present in the Bible with Mount Ararat, defeating Bel. Just as Israel was, Palestine was, and Assyria, in addition to all the various countries mentioned in it.
Once there was no Israel as there was no Armenia, as there was no Assyria.
One thing we know for sure is that there was no Ottoman Empire before 1299 and no Turkey before 1923. Urartu was mentioned in the Sumerian records of 2700 BC.
Accepting Armenia as the origin of humanity is in direct contrast that the Garden of Eden in Genesis or its surrounding as the first place of propagation of humanity. Another point would be the reference of archeological studies directs experts away from Armenia as site for the Garden of Eden but rather towards Iraq or Iran. Catholics has nothing to do with originla Bible. Manuscripts from the so called Bedouin caves has the original writings of early translations of the Bible.
I believe the article speaks about the ark of Noah landing on mount Ararat (ancient Armenia), not about Garden of Eden in Armenia. There is a difference.
It’s still in the Bible. My Bible, KING JAMES VERSION says Armenia in that verse
Completely agree that ARMENIA is part of the BIBLE , , also is NOAH’S ark resting place and the Land of were the GARDEN OF EDEN WAS PLACED , the BIBLE is Clear. And the 4 rivers mention in the BIBLE one runs in BLESSED ARMENIA. , I PRAY that HOD ,Gives Divine Justice to ARMENIA and pays. With wrath and fire. The corrupt. Malice Cruel ,vicious and impune hoverments of Erdogan and Aliyev and. I see now the beggining of the answers .