The Common Theology of the Ancient near East

1952 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton Smith
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
The Common

Biblical Prophecy—A Scribal Enterprise. The Old Testament Prophecy of Unconditional Judgement considered as a Literary Phenomenon

2011 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthijs J. de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Total Destruction ◽  
The Common ◽  
Literary Phenomenon

AbstractAt the heart of the biblical prophetic books is scribal reinterpretation of earlier prophetic legacies. These legacies testify to prophetic activity in Israel and Judah—kinds of prophecy which in essence resembled prophetic and other divinatory activity found elsewhere in the ancient Near East. It was however the scribal reception, revision, and elaboration of these earlier legacies that gave rise to “biblical prophecy” and prompted the development of the prophetic books. In this process of reinterpretation the ‘prophets’ were removed from the realm of divination. They became to be portrayed as isolated figures, contra society, commissioned by Yahweh to declare his message of unconditional and total destruction. Through their ‘message’ the disastrous events that had befallen the states of Israel and Judah were explained (ex eventu) as being due to divine anger. This was in fact the common explanation for calamities, used throughout the ancient Near Eastern world.

Ezekiel, P, and the Priestly School

2008 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menahem Haran
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Literary Language ◽  
The Common ◽  
Vexed Question ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
At Will

AbstractSeeing that Ezekiel, with his law code of chaps. xl-xlviii, is connected with P in many characteristics, while, at the same time, they contradict each other in almost any tangible aspect, it is the author's contention that the two are independent manifestation of the same school, of which P is its authentic expression whereas Ezekiel is its loose and later extension. It is out of the question to argue, as was done recently, that Ezekiel saw P and modified it at will. The relationship between P and Ezekiel comprises two aspects, the first of which is the common literary language they share, which in itself calls for explanation. The lack of agreement between the two is the second aspect demanding an explanation, but only if it is assumed that, when formulating his code, Ezekiel had direct access to P. Since Ezekiel used the priestly style as his own, he should have acquired it, after the practice of the Ancient Near East, over the course of many years of training, beginning in childhood and ending up in maturity. This implies that Ezekiel received his training in Jerusalem, while upon his arrival in Babylonia he was already a qualified priestly scribe, and it was there that he became a prophet. It is a vexed question whether the P scrolls were obtainable at all in Tel Abib by the river Chebar.

scholarly journals Bilangan 5:11–31: Ritual Sotah sebagai Terobosan Budaya di Timur Tengah Kuno

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Steven Yong
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Sociological Study ◽  
The Common

Bilangan 5:11­–31 dapat menimbulkan kecurigaan tentang adanya praktik seksisme, penindasan atau pelecehan terhadap wanita. Hal ini bisa dimengerti jika Mishnah menjadi rujukan yang kemudian dijadikan tolok ukur untuk menafsir bagian Alkitab terkait. Dari penggambaran Mishnah Sotah, wanita yang tertuduh melakukan zina dipermalukan dan diperlakukan hampir sama seperti seorang pelacur. Artikel ini berusaha untuk menunjukkan perspektif yang lain dalam mengerti ritual Sotah dalam Bilangan 5:11–31. Dengan menggunakan metode kajian sosiologis, artikel ini akan mengidentifikasi masalah sosiologis yang dituduhkan terhadap teks Bilangan tersebut berdasarkan penjelasan traktat Sotah dalam Mishnah. Kemudian, posisi wanita dalam dunia Timur Dekat Kuno akan dijelaskan berdasarkan konteks budayanya. Akhirnya, dengan menim­bang inferioritas wanita dalam dunia Timur Dekat Kuno dan perbandingan antara ritual Sotah dalam Alkitab dengan ritual sejenis dan setempat, maka artikel ini berargumen bahwa teks Bilangan 5:11–31 dapat dilihat sebagai terobosan budaya dalam membela wanita yang secara budaya pada masa itu dianggap sebagai kaum yang inferior. Numbers 5:11–31 could be interpreted as a kind of sexism and repression to women. In the Mishnaic tradition, the passages indeed are being understood and developed in such manner. From tractate Sotah in Mishnah, the suspected adulterous wife indeed is ashamed and treated as a prostitute. This article seeks to present another perspective on the passage. This article uses the sociological study method to identify the sociological problems alleged against the passage based on the explanation of the Sotah tractate in the Mishnah. Afterward, the inferior position of women in the ancient Near East will be explained as a cultural context to understand the passage better. Finally, considering this cultural context and comparing the Sotah ritual with the common rituals in the ancient Near East, this article argues that Numbers 5:11–31 could be seen as a cultural breakthrough to protect women, which are considered marginalized.

scholarly journals Re-Examining Israelite Patriarchy through Marriage Laws of Deuteronomy

Spectrum ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun-Joo Lim
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Near East ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The People ◽  
The Common ◽  
Marriage Laws ◽  
Extensive List

The book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible contains an extensive list of laws, from cultic regulations tolaws addressing everyday affairs. As a legal collection, it can be observed as a symbol of practices and valuesof the ancient Israelites (the people by and for whom the Hebrew Bible was formed). Many prescriptionsin the Bible are perplexing and controversial according to our modern Western standards, especially thoseregarding gender equality in marital provisions. This essay examines the marriage laws of Deuteronomywithin its specific geographical, cultural, and historical context (the ancient Near East) including comparisonsto various law codes of nearby regional and other Biblical traditions, to argue that perspectives found inDeuteronomy are relatively progressive in protecting women’s rights. I challenge the common and oftenunquestioned assumption amongst scholars, religious followers and general readers that the Bible is sexistand misogynistic. More broadly, I advocate for the need to assess historical and religious works on gender intheir appropriate context, in order to obtain a more complex and earnest understanding of ancient traditions.1

From lingua franca to lingua sacra: The Scripturalization of Tobit in 4QTobe

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-132
Author(s):  
Andrew B. Perrin
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Common Language ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Common

In light of the growing consensus that the book of Tobit was originally penned in Aramaic, the fragmentary Hebrew copy 4QTobe is a singularly unique literary artifact of Second Temple Judaism. While a cluster of other Aramaic works were read and received as authoritative literature by at least some Jews at this time (e.g., Daniel 2-7, the booklets of 1 Enoch, and Aramaic Levi Document), Tobit alone was translated from the common language of the ancient Near East into the traditional Israelite mother tongue. This study explores how the shift from Aramaic to Hebrew should inform our conception of the status and reception of Tobit in ancient Judaism. By virtue of the new linguistic overlay given to 4QTobe, this manuscript should be considered a literary edition in its own right, with an ostensibly higher level or different degree of authority than its Aramaic language counterparts.

Prologue to Genesis (1, 1-11, 26): Prophetic Revelation, History, Myth or Metahistory?

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-46
Author(s):  
Михаил Анатольевич Скобелев
Keyword(s):  
Mystical Experience ◽  
Near East ◽  
Literary Form ◽  
Traditional View ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Symbolic Form ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The World ◽  
Genesis 1 ◽  
Book Of Genesis

В статье рассматриваются богословие, композиция и литературная форма сюжетов, входящих в состав Пролога книги Бытия (1, 1-11, 26). Во второй половине XIX - начале XX вв. в результате появления Документальной гипотезы и сопоставления Священного Писания с литературными памятниками Древнего Ближнего Востока большая часть сюжетов, составляющих Пролог, была объявлена мифами и древнееврейским фольклором (Ю. Велльгаузен, Г. Гунекель, Дж. Фрезер). Кроме выявленных ближневосточных параллелей, новому отношению к повествованиям Пролога книги Бытия способствовали: отсутствие в нём ясно выраженной исторической задачи и символичность изложения. Защищая традиционный взгляд на Пролог как на священную историю и пророческое откровение, епископ Кассиан (Безобразов) предложил рассматривать все библейские сюжеты, содержащие теофанию, как метаисторию. Протоиерей Сергий Булгаков, А. Ф. Лосев, Б. П. Вышеславцев, занимавшиеся феноменом мифотворчества, назвали библейское повествование о начале мироздания мифом, но в ином смысле, чем это делали Г. Гункель и Дж. Фрезер. Они обосновали новый положительный взгляд, согласно которому миф не есть выдумка или фантазия, а реальность, основанная на мистическом опыте. В статье анализируется каждый из перечисленных терминов: «история», «миф», «метаистория» применительно к Прологу, а также рассматривается возможность их согласования с традиционным церковным взглядом на эту часть книги Бытия. The article deals with the theology, composition and literary form of the narrations which constitute the prologue part of the book of Genesis (1, 1-11, 26). During the second half of the 19th and at the turn of the 20th cent., following the emergence of the Documentary hypothesis as well as the comparison of the Holy Scripture with the newly-discovered literary monuments of Ancient Near East, the greater part of the narrations that constitute the Prologue were labeled myths and ancient Hebrew folklore (J. Wellhausen, H. Gunkel, J. Frazer). In addition to the then detected Near Eastern parallels, this new attitude towards the narrations of the Prologue was fostered by its lack of a clearly expressed historical dedication and the symbolic form of their exposition. Defending the traditional view of the Prologue as sacred history and prophetic revelation, bishop Kassian (Bezobrazov) proposed to consider all the biblical narrations that contain theophanies as metahistorical. Archpriest Sergey Bulgakov, A. F. Losev and B. P. Vysheslavtsev, who analyzed the phenomenon of myth-making, called the Biblical narration of the origins of the world a myth, but in a sense different from that proposed by Gunkel and Frazer. They have founded a new and positive conception according to which a myth is not fiction but rather a kind of reality based upon mystical experience. The author of the article analyzes each of the terms enumerated - «history», «myth», «metahistory» - in their use relating them to the Prologue; he also examines the possibility of their harmonizing with the traditional ecclesiastical view of this part of the book of Genesis.

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