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In this book the author thoroughly examines the pentateuchal elohistic source, its structural unity and its relationship to the yahwistic source. His conclusions differ considerably from the accepted paradigm in the following ways: 1) In contrast to current scholarly opinions, it is assumed that E is the first basic pentateuchal source and that it predates J. J functions as E's first supplementary redactor- much as F. M. Cross, among others, conceived of P's redaction of J. 2) The name "e;Elohim"e; is used exclusively by the elohistic source even after Exodus 3 while the verses in Exodus 3 revealing Yahweh's name can be shown to be later additions. 3) Instead of the fragmentary source described by scholars, this study demonstrates the literary unity of E.

The exile is a central turning point in Israel's construction of the past as it is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Ancient Israelite concepts of exile have exerted much influence in later Christian and Jews discourses. This title gathers papers presented at two workshops organized by the University of Munich and the University of Alberta.

Dieser wichtige Beitrag zur Pentateuchforschung zeigt paradigmatisch, wie aus Gen 14 die politisch-geographischen und aus Gen 15 die verheiungstheologischen Konzepte in Gen 17 und der Endkompositionsschicht aufgenommen und spezifisch umgepragt werden. Die Hypothese einer Priestergrundschrift wird fur die Genesis ad acta gelegt und Gen 17 stattdessen als Schluss-Stein gewurdigt, der eigens fur die endkompositionelle Systematisierung der Genesis im unmittelbaren Vorfeld der Veroffentlichung der Tora (um 400 v.Chr.) geschaffen worden ist und das biblische Abrahambild nachhaltig bestimmt.

This monograph presents a fresh and detailed treatment of the problems posed by the Nehemiah-Memoir. Starting from the pre-critical interpretations of Ezra-Neh, the study demonstrates that the use of the first-person does not suffice as a criterion for distinguishing between the verba Neemiae and the additions of later authors. The earliest edition of the Memoir isconfined to a building report, which was expanded as early generations of readers developed the implications of Nehemiah's accomplishments for the consolidation and centralization of Judah. The expansions occasioned in turn the composition of the history of the "e;Restoration"e; in Ezra-Neh.

Presents a collection of international papers on the literary genesis of the deuteronomistic history and on "Deuteronomism" in the books from Genesis to Kings. This work discusses the essence of Old Testament historiography together with the historical editorial and compositional relationship between "Pentateuch", "Hexateuch" and "Early Prophets".

After a structural analysis of each stanza, the author analyzes structural units beginning with the first stanza (including the sequence of stanzas I through XII) and afterwards in reverse order the study of all units leading towards stanza XXII (including the sequence of stanzas XII through XXII).

Zeugnisse antiker Geschichtsschreibung finden sich aus dem antiken Griechenland spätestens seit Herodot. Bereits zuvor entsteht geschichtliches Bewusstsein, das sich in historischen Omina, epischer Literatur aus Mesopotamien, in Brief- und Vertragstexten der Hethiter und in ägyptischen Quellen niederschlägt. Konzeptionellen und formalen Eigenarten von Dokumenten aus unterschiedlichen Situationen und Epochen vom dritten Jahrtausend bis ins 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. sowie der Ausformung des Geschichtsbewusstseins und des historiographischen Interesses geht dieser Band nach.

This book investigates the relationship between cult and ethics in the book of Isaiah. Part I attempts to revise some of the common Old Testament views on prophets and cult. After inspecting cultic concepts such as sacrifice, purity and impurity, holiness, and the Promised Land, it suggests that the priestly and prophetic understandings of the role of the Ancient Israelite cult were essentially the same. This general proposition is then tested on the book of Isaiah in Part II: each chapter there analyses the key passage on cult and ethics in the three main parts of the book, namely, Isa 1:10-17; 43:22-28; and 58:1-14 and concludes that, even though the role of cult and ethics in each part of the book varies significantly, the underlying principles behind the teaching about ritual and social justice in the various parts of the book of Isaiah are the same. Furthermore, these principles are cultic in nature, and in accord with priestly teaching. Far from being anti-ritualistic, the studied texts are concerned with what can be labelled The Ethical Dimension of Cult. The reason behind the variations of the role of cult and ethics in the book called Isaiah seems to be cultic as well, namely the purity or impurity of the people and the land before, during, and after the Babylonian exile.

Die Arbeit bietet die erste Untersuchung aller heptadisch strukturierten Geschichtsentwurfe aus der Zeit des Zweiten Tempels. Behandelt werden Dan 9, das athiopische Henochbuch, das Jubilaenbuch, die Qumrantexte und das Testament Levis. Durch detaillierte Einzelexegesen wird gezeigt, dass jeder Text ein individuelles geschichtstheologisches Profil aufweist. Im Hintergrund der zu verzeichnenden Gemeinsamkeiten steht keine universell gultige Referenzchronologie, sondern die Arbeit mit denselben chronologischen Traditionen, die je nach theologischem Interesse uberformt werden.

This work examines the relationship of the speeches of Wisdom to one another and with the rest of Proverbs 1-9. This rapport between the speeches is expounded in the close reading chapters and is also scrutinized from the perspective of their genre definition. In turn, it is suggested that the affinities between the speeches and parental instructions of Proverbs 1-9, point towards viewing the speeches as a component genre, called instruction by Wisdom within the framing genre parental wisdom instruction. Furthermore, it is proposed that the path, house and treasure imageries function as cohesive and unifying elements in the structure of Proverbs 1-9. All these features offer the conclusion that the speeches, in relation to each other and the rest of the material, exhibit the emphatic signs of a successful literary composition, even if stages of redaction are accepted in their editing. Therefore, they function as framing pillars in the structure of Proverbs 1-9. In terms of their overall focus and message, the speeches reflect careful and meaningful designing, notably considering the tripartite formula of temptation, enticement and desirability.

The formation of the Book of the Twelve is one of the most vigorously debated subjects in Old Testament studies today. The book's contributors focus on questions of method, history, as well as redactional and textual history.

The Jehuite Dynasty ruled more than ninety years (841-747 BCE) in the Kingdom of Israel, the longest dynasty in the history of the Northern Kingdom. Under the five kings of the dynasty, Israel was thrown into the arena of the regional political struggles and experienced the time of an unprecedented upheaval and then enjoyed great prosperity. The Aramaeans under Hazael and Ben-Hadad of Damascus and the Assyrians from the north Mesopotamia had great influence on the history of the dynasty. This book is the result of a comprehensive and updated historical study on this significant dynasty. By consulting all the available Assyrian, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Moabite inscriptions and recent archaeological data, this study radically evaluates the historical authenticity of the biblical text of 2 Kings and some parts of the Books of Amos and Hosea and integrates the results into the historical discussion. The study reveals the great importance of this dynasty in the history of the Northern Kingdom as a turning point in its policy toward the Neo-Assyrian Empire and will contribute toward understanding the history of Syria-Palestine in the 9th-8th centuries BCE.

We present a comparative epistemological analysis of the wisdom motifs in Psalms 1, 73, 90, and 107. These texts were selected on the basis of their epistemological content (each confronts the relationship between virtue and prosperity), and their canonical placement within the Psalter (each begins one of the Psalter's five "e;Books"e;). We explore the implications of their respective epistemological features for our understanding of the canonical structure of the Psalter.After developing a diagnostic method for the identification and analysis of the epistemological features within a biblical text, we apply it to each of the four psalms, and discuss their epistemological qualities with respect to their canonical placement in the Psalter.We find that an epistemic progression develops across the canonical ordering of the four psalms. While the psalmists are increasingly forthright in acknowledging the moral paradox that the righteous often suffer, while the wicked can prosper, they engage this paradox with ever more sophisticated responses. Although Yhwh is ultimately the source of all wisdom, human beings can facilitate their acquisition of knowledge by seeking him out intentionally, by questioning him directly, and by observing him with a heart focused on learning.

In der Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) erscheinen Arbeiten zu sämtlichen Gebieten der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Im Zentrum steht die Hebräische Bibel, ihr Vor- und Nachleben im antiken Judentum sowie ihre vielfache Verzweigung in die benachbarten Kulturen der altorientalischen und hellenistisch-römischen Welt. Die BZAW akzeptiert Manuskriptvorschläge, die einen innovativen und signifikanten Beitrag zu Erforschung des Alten Testaments und seiner Umwelt leisten, sich intensiv mit der bestehenden Forschungsliteratur auseinandersetzen, stringent aufgebaut und flüssig geschrieben sind.

Discussions about the phrase "Daughter of Zion" have not come to rest. The present book is a study of this and similar phrases from a linguistic point of view. The author proposes new understandings and translations of the phrases.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.

Das Gebet gehort nicht zu den Grundformen prophetischer Uberlieferung. Gleichwohl wird in den Prophetenbuchern der hebraischen Bibel an theologischen Knotenpunkten gebetet. In der vorliegenden Studie untersucht Alexa F. Wilke die Texte des corpus propheticum, in denen sich Sprecher an Gott wenden. Sie verfolgt die Frage nach der literarischen und theologischen Funktion der Gebete in ihrem Kontext und zeichnet das jeweilige Selbst- und Gottesbild der Betenden nach. Dabei berucksichtigt sie das literarische Textwachstum der behandelten Gebete und ihre entsprechende redaktionsgeschichtliche Einordnung. Sie zeigt auf, dass die Gebete der Propheten nicht von ihrer Umgebung zu isolieren sind. Die durchgangig spat in ihren Kontext eingetragenen Hinwendungen zu Gott aktualisieren und interpretieren ihren Kontext und sind Medium der Personalisierung und Intensivierung des im Kontext Verkundeten. Mit der Erarbeitung dieser Texte, in denen sich theologische Entwicklungen der Prophetenbucher kristallisieren, leistet die Studie sowohl einen Beitrag zur Erhellung der Rezeptions- und Fortschreibungsgeschichte der Prophetenbucher als auch zur Frage nach einer Theologie des Betens.

Gender in the Book of Ben Sira is a semantic analysis and, also, an investigation of hermeneutical pathways for performing such an analysis. A comparison of possible Greek and Hebrew gender taxonomies precedes the extensive delineation of the target-category, gender. The delineation includes invisible influences in the Book of Ben Sira such as the author's choices of genre and his situation as a member of a colonized group within a Hellenistic empire. When the Book of Ben Sira's genre-constrained invectives against women and male fools are excluded, the remaining expectations for women and for men are mostly equivalent, in terms of a pious life lived according to Torah. However, Ben Sira says nothing about distinctions at the level of how "e;living according to Torah"e; would differ for the two groups. His book presents an Edenic ideal of marriage through allusions to Genesis 1 to 4, and a substantial overlap of erotic discourse for the female figures of Wisdom and the "e;intelligent wife"e; creates tropes similar to those of the Song of Songs. In addition, Ben Sira's colonial status affects what he says and how he says it; by writing in Hebrew, he could craft the Greek genres of encomium and invective to carry multiple levels of meaning that subvert Hellenistic/Greek claims to cultural superiority.

Numerous studies have sought to understand the nature ofeducation and the extent of literacy in ancient Israel, but none has asked what the ancient Israelites thought about teaching.

Western biblical studies have tended to follow either faith-based theological approaches or value-free historical-critical methods. This monograph challenges the two extremes by pursuing the middle path of philosophical hermeneutics. While drawing on Eastern and Western philosophical writings from ancient to modern times, the author proposes original interpretive solutions to a wide range of important biblical texts, including the Akedah, Second Isaiah, the Decalogue, Qohelet, Job, and Jeremiah. Yet, this is not a collection of antiquarian studies. Readers will also gain fresh and stimulating perspectives concerning monotheism, religious faith and identity, suffering and salvation, and modern and postmodern ethics. Finally, in a supplementary essay, the author introduces readers to the history of Old Testament studies in Japan, and he outlines prospects for the future.

This volume explores `thinking of water' and concepts expressed through references to water within the symbolic system of the late Persian/early Hellenistic period and as it does so it sheds light on the social mindscape of the early Second Temple community.

The extent of the so-called History of David's Rise has been indecisive, and as a result, various issues around the document have been left extremely flexible. This comprehensive monograph sees the root of the problem in inadequate methodological reflection, and seeks to provide sensible answers to the source-critical question on the basis of hermeneutic and literary reflection.

The humanitarian concerns of the biblical slave laws and their rhetorical techniques rarely receive scholarly attention, especially the two slave laws in Deuteronomy. Previous studies that compared the biblical and the ANE laws focused primarily on their similarities and developed theories of direct borrowing. This ignored the fact that legal transplants were common in ancient societies. This study, in contrast, aims to identify similarities and dissimilarities in order to pursue an understanding of the underlying values promoted within these slave laws and the interests they protected. To do so, certain innovative methodologies were applied. The biblical laws examined present two diverse legal concepts that contrast to the ANE concepts: (1) all agents are regarded as persons and should be treated accordingly, and (2) all legal subjects are seen as free, dignified, and self-determining human beings. In addition, the biblical laws often distinguish an offender's "e;criminal intent,"e; by which a criminal's rights are also considered. Based on these features, the biblical laws are able to articulate YHWH's humanitarian concerns and the basic concepts of human rights presented in Deuteronomy.

This work presents an exegetic and theological interpretation of Qoheleth's speech on riches. The analysis distinguishes the existential meaning from the anthropological and theological meaning and develops a rhetorical figure of wisdom.

Are the rituals in the Hebrew Bible of great antiquity, practiced unchanged from earliest times, or are they the products of later innovators? The canonical text is clear: ritual innovation is repudiated as when Jeroboam I of Israel inaugurate a novel cult at Bethel and Dan. Most rituals are traced back to Moses. From Julius Wellhausen to Jacob Milgrom, this issue has divided critical scholarship. With the rich documentation from the late Second Temple period, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is apparent that rituals were changed. Were such rituals practiced, or were they forms of textual imagination? How do rituals change and how are such changes authorized? Do textual innovation and ritual innovation relate? What light might ritual changes between the Hebrew Bible and late Second Temple texts shed on the history of ritual in the Hebrew Bible? The essays in this volume engage the various issues that arise when rituals are considered as practices that may be invented and subject to change. A number of essays examine how biblical texts show evidence of changing ritual practices, some use textual change to discuss related changes in ritual practice, while others discuss evidence for ritual change from material culture.

In his articles Stefan Reif's articles have dealt with Jewish biblical exegesis and the close analysis of the evolution of Jewish prayer texts. Some fourteen of these that appeared in various collective volumes are here made more easily available, together with a major new study of Numbers 13, an introduction and extensive indexes. Reif attempts to establish whether there is any linguistic, literary and exegetical value in the traditional Jewish interpretation of the Hebrew Bible for the modern scientific approach to such texts and whether such an approach itself is always free of theological bias. He demonstrates how Jewish liturgical texts may illuminate religious teachings about wisdom, history, peace, forgiveness, and divine metaphors. Also clarified in these essays are notions of David, Greek and Hebrew, divine metaphors, and the liturgical use of the Hebrew Bible.

The book of Jeremiah poses a challenge to biblical scholarship in terms of its literary composition and textual fluidity. This study offers an innovative approach to the problem by focusing on an instructive case study. Building on the critical recognition that the prophecy contained in Jer 10:1-16 is a composite text, this study systematically discusses the various literary strands discernible in the prophecy: satirical depictions of idolatry, an Aramaic citation, and hymnic passages. A chapter is devoted to each strand, revealing its compositional development-from the earliest recoverable stages down to its late reception. A range of pertinent evidence-culled from the literary, text-critical, and linguistic realms-is examined and sets within broader perspectives, with an eye open to cultural history and the development of theological outlook.The investigation of a particular text has important implications for the textual and compositional history of Jeremiah as a whole. Rather than settling for the common opinion that Jeremiah developed in two main stages, reflected in the MT and LXX respectively, a nuanced supplementary model is advocated, which better accords with the complexity of the available evidence.

In der Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) erscheinen Arbeiten zu sämtlichen Gebieten der alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Im Zentrum steht die Hebräische Bibel, ihr Vor- und Nachleben im antiken Judentum sowie ihre vielfache Verzweigung in die benachbarten Kulturen der altorientalischen und hellenistisch-römischen Welt.