Showing papers in "Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft in 2016"
TL;DR: The original biblical Noah was not affiliated with the Flood as discussed by the authors, and it is this Noah who is referenced in Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah -not the familiar Flood hero.
Abstract: Abstract The original biblical Noah was not affiliated with the Flood. An early edition of J told of a devastating famine that afflicted the entire earth from the days of Adam and Eve until it was brought to an end on account of Noah. The Proto-J narrative was supplemented with a version of the popular Babylonian Flood story, ironically transforming a story of drought into a tale of torrential rain. It is this Noah who is referenced in Ezekiel and Deutero-Isaiah – not the familiar Flood hero.
15 citations
TL;DR: The distinction between pre-exilic and post-Exilic Hebrew is discussed in this article, where a linguistic examination of Biblical Hebrew reveals an unmistakable difference between the First Temple period and the language of the Second Temple period.
Abstract: Abstract Late Biblical Hebrew is the literary language preserved in the post-exilic books of the Hebrew Bible. It differs from the literary Hebrew of the First Temple period, Classical Biblical Hebrew, in several orthographic, grammatical, syntactic, and lexical features. The distinction between pre-exilic and post-exilic language in the Hebrew of the Bible contradicts the assertion of the minimalists, who argue for the late date of the composition of the Hebrew Bible. The linguistic examination of Biblical Hebrew reveals an unmistakable difference between the language of the First Temple period and the language of the Second Temple period.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that Isa 10,16,19, located in the context of the anti-Assyrian prophecy, provides essential clues in understanding the formation of the book of Isaiah.
Abstract: Abstract This study argues that Isa 10,16–19, located in the context of the anti-Assyrian prophecy, provides essential clues in understanding the formation of the book of Isaiah. While current research often takes this text as a late redactional composition, it is more reasonable to argue that the pericope was relocated by the editors from a prophecy originally threatening Israel with destruction. This level of meaning is endorsed by the specific metaphors used, as well as arguments from the context, most notably vv. 20–23, which still regard vv. 16–19 as an anti-Israel text. As a result of this editorial process, the earlier message of judgment on Israel becomes a threat against Israel’s enemy. Restoring world order by inverting fates according to the measures of proportional retribution, often explicitly formulated in prophetic literature, elucidates the rationales behind inverting texts within the editorial process.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the postnational history of Kemosh and Yhwh and argue that both deities underwent the Greek interpretation by becoming identified with their equivalent in the Greek pantheon.
Abstract: Abstract What happened to Kemosh in the era after Moab’s loss of political independence? The present article first argues that this question is of interest to scholarship on the Hebrew Bible because Kemosh and Yhwh were initially twinlike: both were patron deities of Iron Age Levantine kingdoms and shared various similarities of profile. As such, comparing the postnational history of Kemosh and Yhwh can help to isolate the historical and intellectual events without which Yhwh would presumably have developed along similar lines to Kemosh. This article next argues that both deities underwent »the Greek interpretation« by becoming identified with their equivalent in the Greek pantheon. But unlike Kemosh, Yhwh’s evolution included a counterbalancing force, i.e. inscripturation. Because prophetic oracles and regional stories about Kemosh were never gathered into an authoritative corpus, Kemosh became the Greek god Ares, without remainder.
4 citations
TL;DR: The authors found several words and expressions in ancient Hebrew texts with two sets of meanings: one old, genuine, and more often than not paralleled in cognate languages, and one late and secondary, with echoes in the ancient versions and exegetical writings.
Abstract: Abstract Several words and expressions turn up in ancient Hebrew texts with two sets of meanings: one old, genuine, and more often than not paralleled in cognate languages, and one late and secondary, with echoes in the ancient versions and exegetical writings. To all appearances, these are words that were reused in a meaning based on scriptural exegesis after their original meaning was forgotten. Pseudo-classicisms show that scriptural interpretation had become an institution at the time of the late biblical books. They also show that interpretation led to re-appropriation, with later authors making a strong claim to continuity with earlier writings that had become authoritative. They provide strong evidence of diachronic evolution in ancient Hebrew. CBH and LBH are not the same language, nor even contiguous chronolects: they are separated by a period of time long enough to allow for the forgetting of many expressions, their reinterpretation in an unrelated way, and their revivification with the new meaning.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the identity of Eshem and Herem-Bethel is illuminated by new evidence from the Aramaic texts in Demotic script known as papyrus Amherst 63, and it is shown that Eshem is a particular manifestation of Bethel; the one in his role as fiery storm-god; the other in his capacity as sexual mate of a divine consort.
Abstract: The pluralism that characterized the religious life of the Jewish community at Elephantine (5th century BCE) included the veneration of Eshem-Bethel and Herem-Bethel. This contribution seeks to illuminate the identity of these gods on the basis of new evidence from the Aramaic texts in Demotic script known as papyrus Amherst 63. It shows that Eshem-Bethel and Herem-Bethel are particular manifestations of Bethel; the one in his role as fiery storm-god; the other in his capacity as sexual mate of a divine consort.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an examination of Aramaic curses from the Iron Age and of two texts from biblical law demonstrates striking and robust parallels in thematic content, vocabulary, and syntactical formulation.
Abstract: Abstract An examination of Aramaic curses from the Iron Age and of two texts from biblical law demonstrates striking and robust parallels in thematic content, vocabulary, and syntactical formulation. The curses are all patterned according to a consistent syntactical formula (termed the Northwest Semitic Curse Formula) that governs the order of the presentation of the elements within each line. Thus, the formula shapes both the content of the curse and the order in which the various syntax pieces are given. Furthermore, the geographic distance between these inscriptional exemplars of this curse formula demonstrates broad diffusion of Aramaic curses during the Iron Period and especially during the mid-eighth to the early seventh centuries BCE. These parallel imprecations suggest that a shared tradition of formulaic curse language was part of the training of Aramaic-language scribes and practitioners from the Neo-Assyrian Empire who were sent to peripheral states to facilitate administration.
4 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that an examination of the nature of the Book of Proverbs and its poetics must necessarily precede the use of this text in reconstructing the values and practices of ancient Israelite and Judean education.
Abstract: Abstract The study challenges the use of the book of Proverbs as a primary data set in the recovery of ancient Israelite and Judean educational values and practices. The study argues that an examination of the nature of the Book of Proverbs and its poetics must necessarily precede the use of this text in reconstructing the values and practices of ancient Israelite and Judean education. Although Pro verbs can and has been compared to ancient Near Eastern instruction or ›wisdom‹ texts, the study demonstrates how the frame of Proverbs is distinct from the frames of these other texts. The study further argues that the Book of Proverbs in its framing and poetics articulates a specific and idiosyncratic position on formal speech performance and the value of participating in such an activity.
3 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the literary relationship between these two census accounts, which contain several similar components as well as some significant differences, and concluded that the differing features of the census accounts are explained by the assumption that two different documents underlie both accounts, while the similarities between them suggest that the same editorial hand was responsible for the composition of both.
Abstract: Abstract The Book of Numbers receives its name from the two census accounts it includes, at the beginning and towards the end of the account of the wilderness wandering (chapters 1–2; 26). In this paper I examine the literary relationship between these two accounts, which contain several similar components as well as some significant differences. Upon a careful inspection, it emerges that the differing features of the census accounts are explained by the assumption that two different documents underlie both accounts, while the similarities between them suggest that the same editorial hand was responsible for the composition of both. The terms used as part of the editorial activity in both accounts can teach us that this activity took place in the Persian period. The redactional process revealed in the census accounts seems to be related also to a similar process in the story of the spies, especially in Num 14,29.35.
1 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a parallel of the psalm 105,1-15 in the Davidic context of the instauration of the cult of the temple during the transfer of the ark of alliance of Yahweh Sabaoth to Jerusalem is presented.
Abstract: Abstract Ps 105,1–15 transfers the characteristics of the alliance with David of Ps 89 upon the alliance with the patriarchs. I Chr 16 puts a parallel of Ps 105,1–15 in the Davidic context of the instauration of the cult of the temple during the transfer of the ark of alliance of Yahweh Sabaoth to Jerusalem. The reaffirmation of David concerns also the staff of the temple installed by David, particularly the Levitical singers, with the Asaphites in the first place. The »servants« of Ps 105,16–46, and first Joseph, are not in the line of a glorious David. The proofs of the »servants«, like the proofs of the exile, prepare the salvation. On this point we observe also a new using from components of Ps 18, a psalm that puts back David and his dynasty. The book of Isaiah recalls the patriarchs »servants« in 41,8 and then the »servant« of 42,1 appears in the line of the servants of Ps 105,16–46.
1 citations
TL;DR: A motif that runs throughout the reunion scene of Genesis 32 and 33 is the intersection of the human and the divine as discussed by the authors, and the present article highlights this literary theme, exploring structural, linguistic, and narrative resonances that, both implicitly and explicitly, direct the reader's attention to this motif and its significance in these chapters.
Abstract: Abstract A motif that runs throughout the reunion scene of Genesis 32–33 is the intersection of the human and the divine. The present article highlights this literary theme, exploring structural, linguistic, and narrative resonances that, both implicitly and explicitly, direct the reader’s attention to this motif and its significance in these chapters.
TL;DR: The authors examines the meaning and function of the verb חרם in the Old Testament and shows that in contexts of war the verb indicates the extermination or destruction of people, emphasizing the radical nature of the destruction.
Abstract: Abstract This article examines the meaning and function of the verb חרם in the Old Testament. A survey of the semantic domain shows that in contexts of war the verb indicates the extermination or destruction of people, emphasizing the radical nature of the destruction. The usual interpretation of the verb as »to devote to destruction« is problematic. The use of the verb in the Mesha Inscription, which is often mentioned in favour of this interpretation, is not identical with the use in the Old Testament. In the Mesha Inscription, the verb has the meaning »to devote«, but both the construction (with the complement l + divine name) and meaning (as the motivation for the killing of people, not the killing itself) are different from the Old Testament use. In Genesis to Kings, the verb חרם appears to function almost exclusively in connection with the conquest of Canaan and the extermination of the indigenous population.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present Joseph's second dream (Gen 37,9) as an exposition of a narrative thread in the Joseph Story regarding Joseph's character development, a thread that ends in Gen 50,19 where he explicitly distinguishes between himself and God.
Abstract: Abstract Joseph’s second dream (Gen 37,9) does not merely duplicate his first one, but presents Joseph as a presumptuous dreamer, who is venerated even by the sun, the moon, and the stars. This gesture is otherwise reserved for God alone. The second dream serves as an exposition of a narrative thread in the Joseph Story regarding Joseph’s character development, a narrative thread that ends in Gen 50,19 where he explicitly distinguishes between himself and God.