A town in northeastern Mesopotamia, about nine miles (14.5 kilometers) southwest of present-day Kirkuk. It was originally called Gasur but is now known as Yorgan Tepe. Archaeological digs took place from 1925 to 1931 and revealed many interesting finds. Yorgan Tepe is famous for its clay tablets, which mainly deal with business transactions.
In the third millennium BC, Gasur was mostly inhabited by Semitic people. By the middle of the second millennium, the residents were Hurrians, and the city's name changed to Nuzi. The Hurrians are identified as the Horites in the Bible (compare Genesis 14:6; 36:20–21; Deuteronomy 2:12, 22).
Many clay tablets from the third millennium BC were found, including the oldest known map. The records show that buying items through paying in installments was already practiced.
In the 15th to 14th centuries BC, Hurrian scribes wrote thousands of clay tablets, mostly in Babylonian. These records provide much information about Near Eastern customs and legal practices, shedding light on the patriarchal period of the Bible.
Here are some examples of possible connections between Nuzi and the Bible:
In Nuzi, a childless wife could give her maid to her husband to bear children in her name. This practice was followed by Sarai, Rachel, and Leah (Genesis 16:1–4; Genesis 30:1–8; Genesis 30:9–13). The father had to raise the child as the offspring of his legal wife, and the wife could not drive the child away. Thus, Sarai had no right to drive out Hagar's son, Ishmael (Genesis 16:4–6).
In Nuzi, selling property outside one's family was prohibited. To get around this, people used adoption or property exchange. For lifelong care and burial costs, a wealthy landowner might be "adopted" by peasants and receive their property. The same man could be adopted by 300 or 400 peasants. A couple without children could adopt someone to care for them and inherit their property, similar to the relationship between Abram and his servant Eliezer (Genesis 15:2). Property of little value could be exchanged for valuable property, sometimes with money to cover the difference. In Nuzi, a man named Tehip-tilla sold his inheritance rights to his brother Kurpazah for three sheep, similar to Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for stew (Genesis 25:27–34).
In Nuzi, an oral will or blessing given on a deathbed was legally binding. A man named Huya, on his deathbed, gave his son Tarmiya a wife, Sululi-Ishtar. Tarmiya's two brothers challenged this in court, but the court upheld Tarmiya's claim. Similarly, Isaac had to honor the blessing he gave Jacob, even though it was obtained by deception (Genesis 27:33).
In Nuzi, the person who possessed the household gods (teraphim) inherited the owner's property. This is why Rachel took her father Laban's teraphim (Genesis 31:19). Laban was very upset about their disappearance (Genesis 31:30–35).
Another example of adoption is similar to a case in the Bible. Nashwi adopted Wullu and gave his daughter Nuhuya to him in marriage. If Wullu married another wife, he would forfeit Nashwi's property. Similarly, Laban made Jacob promise not to take another wife besides Leah and Rachel (Genesis 31:50).