Discoveries in sites revealing the ancient cultures of the Near East and Greece have contributed much to a better understanding of the Old Testament. As new finds constantly add new information, this precious evidence has to be (re)evaluated time and again. In this volume members of the Society for Old Testament Study in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as members of the 'Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap' in the Netherlands and Belgium join forces to undertake this demanding task. Egyptian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Neo-Hittite, Aramaic and Greek texts are inspected in order to establish whether or not they are relevant to the understanding of the Hebrew Bible.
Author(s): Robert P. Gordon, Johannes C. De Moor
Series: Oudtestamentische Studiën, Old Testament Studies
Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 303
The Old Testament in Its World......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 8
1 Introduction......Page 12
2 Examples Using Akkadian......Page 14
3 Examples Using Ugaritic......Page 18
4 Examples Using Old Aramaic......Page 21
1 Introduction......Page 25
2 Historiographic Background and Roots of Israelite Historiography......Page 26
3 A Survey of ‘Babylonian’ Chronicles......Page 30
4 Sources of the Deuteronomistic Chronicles......Page 37
5 The Chronicle of Haggai......Page 41
6 Babylonian Scholars on Divine Šulgi of Ur......Page 45
7 Conclusion......Page 50
Appendix A: The Life, Illness and Death of King Šulgi......Page 51
Appendix B: The Babylonian Chronicle......Page 53
Robert P. Gordon: 'Comparativism' and the God of Israel......Page 56
Divine Action in History......Page 57
Prophecy......Page 58
The National Covenant......Page 60
Aniconism......Page 62
‘Reverse’ Comparativism......Page 64
The Coat of Many Colours......Page 66
God and the Narrative Tradition......Page 67
The Anthropomorphised God......Page 70
The Conciliar God......Page 73
In Conclusion......Page 77
Anselm C. Hagedorn: 'Who would invite a stranger from abroad?' The Presence of Greeks in Palestine in Old Testament Times......Page 79
2 Death in Egypt......Page 105
3 Death in Israel......Page 115
4 Reflection......Page 123
2 Introductory Matters......Page 128
3 The Transitional Era of Western Mini-Empires, c. 1180-950 bc......Page 130
4 The Cultural Background to Samuel-Kings/Chronicles afforded by the HH Inscriptions......Page 133
5 In Conclusion......Page 142
2 A Depressing Sense of Guilt......Page 146
3 Disillusioned Monotheists......Page 148
4 Jonah’s Disappointment......Page 151
5 No Davidic King......Page 153
6 No Temple for All Israel......Page 154
7 The Loss of Names......Page 155
8 Disillusion among Jews at Elephantine......Page 159
9 The Nihilism of the Book of Esther......Page 164
10 Conclusion......Page 167
Nathan MacDonald: Whose Monotheism? Which Rationality? Reflections on Israelite Monotheism in Erhard Gerstenberger's Theologies in the Old Testament......Page 169
Conclusion......Page 177
1 Coptic Traditions......Page 179
2 Pharaonic Traditions......Page 181
3 Pharaonic Autobiography......Page 183
4 An Egyptian Living in Palestine......Page 186
5 Exotic Words and Customs......Page 190
6 Concluding Remarks......Page 192
Janet E. Tollington: Abraham and his Wives: Culture and Status......Page 194
1 Introduction......Page 211
2 Methodological Observations......Page 212
3 Reversed Pastoral Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible......Page 214
4 Reversed Pastoral Metaphors in the Ancient Near East......Page 220
1 Introduction......Page 229
2 The Priestly Festival Calendar......Page 233
3 Sukkot and ‘the end of the year’......Page 235
4 Pesaḥ-Maṣṣot and ‘the season of ears’......Page 239
5 Shavuˁot: A Post-priestly Addition......Page 244
6 Ezekielan Calendar Innovations......Page 250
7 The Babylonian New Year Festivals......Page 256
8 The Transformation of the Ancient Israelite Festival Year......Page 259
1 Introduction......Page 264
2 The Kilamuwa Inscription......Page 265
3 A Surprise to Start With......Page 268
4 Trapdoor Construction and Deliberate Ambiguity......Page 269
5 Trapdoor Construction in the Bible......Page 270
6 Comparable Cases of Polysemy in Biblical Prose Texts?......Page 272
7 Ambiguity in Central Passages......Page 273
P.J. Williams: Are the Biblical Rephaim and the Ugaritic RPUM Healers?......Page 277
Abbreviations......Page 290
Index of Authors......Page 292
Index of Biblical Texts......Page 299
