The Steward in Ancient Israel: A Study of Hebrew ('aser) 'al-habbayit in Its near Eastern Setting

1990 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 633
Author(s):  
Scott C. Layton
Keyword(s):  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel

On Agricultural Imagery in Biblical Descriptions of Catastrophes

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-14
Author(s):  
Nili Samet
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Mass Killing ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
Ancient Israel

This article examines the use of agricultural imagery in biblical literature to embody the destructive force of war and other mass catastrophes. Activities such as vintage, harvest, threshing, and wine-pressing serve as metaphors for the actions of slaughtering, demolition and mass killing. The paper discusses the Ancient Near Eastern origins of the imagery under discussion, and presents the relevant examples from the Hebrew Bible, tracing the development of this absorbing metaphor, and analyzing the different meanings attached to it in different contexts. It shows that the use of destructive agricultural imagery first emerges in ancient Israel as an instance of popular phraseology. In turn, the imagery is employed as a common prophetic motif. The prophetic books examined demonstrate how each prophet appropriates earlier uses of the imagery in prophetic discourse and adapts the agricultural metaphors to suit specific rhetorical needs.

The Economics of Worship in Ancient Israel and Judah

2020 ◽  
pp. 472-485
Author(s):  
Joachim Schaper
Keyword(s):  
Economic Activity ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Social Formation ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Economic Basis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The World

In addressing the problem of the “economics of worship” in ancient societies it is advisable first to ascertain on what area of “worship” we should focus our investigation. And while one could indeed attempt to explore the economics of, say, the practices of family religion in ancient Israel and Judah, this does not seem to contribute much to deepening our understanding of the economics of worship generally—not because family religion was not representative of the overall practice of religion in that part of the world, but because, due to its very nature, it did not produce hubs of economic activity and therefore gives us no decisive insights into the correlation between economic and religious practices. By contrast, temples are indeed such hubs; this is true today and was no less true of ancient Israel and Judah. In fact, it was probably more obvious then than it is now that temples hosted economic transactions of various kinds and that some of them were veritable economic hubs of huge significance for the whole of the social formation that had brought them forth. Biblical and other ancient Near Eastern texts do not obfuscate the central significance of the economic basis and the economic consequences of cultic activity; on the contrary, they address them without any qualms.

Wisdom Traditions and the Writings

2018 ◽  
pp. 83-98
Author(s):  
James L. Crenshaw
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Wisdom Literature ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Wisdom Traditions ◽  
Wisdom Of Solomon ◽  
History Of

This chapter explores the wisdom literature and teachings of sages and scribes in ancient Israel, with a special focus on the postexilic and early Roman periods. Definitions of wisdom, sage, and scribe, their social status, their literary identities, and their teachings are discussed. Pertinent comparisons with ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature, Torah and Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the history of ancient Israel anchor presentations of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon. The importance and pertinence of this literature and its teachings for ancient and contemporary seekers of wisdom are argued throughout.

The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Textual Criticism ◽  
Reception History ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Book Of The Twelve ◽  
Ritual Practices ◽  
Political Disputes

This volume explores historical, literary, and ideological dimensions of the books of the Latter Prophets of the Hebrew Bible—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve—along with Daniel. The prophetic books comprise oracles, narratives, and vision reports from ancient Israel and Judah spanning several centuries. Analysis of these texts sheds light on the cultural norms, theological convictions, and political disputes of Israelite and Judean communities in the shadow of the empires of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. ThisHandbookfeatures discussion of ancient Near Eastern social and cultic contexts; exploration of focused topics such as divination and other ritual practices of intermediation; textual criticism of the prophetic books, constructions of the persona of the prophet, and the problem of violence in prophetic rhetoric; historical and literary analysis of key prophetic texts; issues in reception history, from early reinterpretation of prophetic texts at Qumran and readings in rabbinic midrash to medieval ecclesial interpretations and modern Christian homiletical appropriations; and feminist, womanist, materialist, postcolonial, and queer readings of prophetic texts in conversation with contemporary theorists.

scholarly journals Ancient Israelite and African proverbs as advice, reproach, warning, encouragement and explanation

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Community Culture ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Sense Of Identity ◽  
Sub Saharan

With few exceptions, the majority of biblical scholars (Euroamericans and Africans) concentrate on comparing ancient Israelite proverbs with the so-called ancient Near Eastern proverbs. Despite the importance of proverbs in Sub-Saharan Africa it is doubly unfortunate that the majority of African biblical scholars did not think it wise to compare proverbs from ancient Israel with Sub-Saharan African proverbs. It is also a double tragedy that young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are ignorant of proverbs because they have refused to learn them because they think them archaic. Proverbs in both ancient Israel and in Africa are similar in function and classification. Thus, they serve as advice, reproach, warning, encouragement and further explanation of some facts. They have great value and importance, such as giving a sense of identity, community, culture, respect for authority and elders, sacredness of everything under the sun and a sense of hospitality and others.

scholarly journals Love of God and Apologia for a King

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Kalimi
Keyword(s):  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Newborn Child ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Birth Story ◽  
Literary Phenomenon ◽  
2 Samuel

The birth story of Solomon is unique in the ancient Israelite historiography from the monarchic period. Though the birth name of the newborn child was “Solomon,” he received an additional name “Yedidyah.” The purpose of this name should be understood within three contexts: the immediate passage in 2 Samuel 12; the wider story regarding Solomon’s rise to power in 1 King 1–2; and comparable ancient Near Eastern texts that recount the claims of usurpers outside the royal line to a throne. The latter attempted to legitimize their kingship by introducing themselves as beloved or chosen by patron deities, occasionally taking a new throne-name to reflect their status vis-à-vis the god or gods. This historical and literary phenomenon is clearly reflected from Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Persian, and Egyptian writings of different periods. The discussion here reveals that in ancient Israel and in the surrounding cultures, both Semitic and non-Semitic, the method of self-legitimation by usurpers was to claim that they had divine legitimization.

scholarly journals The Desert’s Role in the Formation of Early Israel and the Origin of Yhwh

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
‘Uzi Avner
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Cultural Environment ◽  
Copper Industry ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
History Of

The origin of ancient Israel has been questioned and intensively discussed for almost two centuries by many researchers, from two main schools of thought. One believes the early Israelites came from outside the Land of Cana‘an and conquered it, while the other believes they rose from within Cana‘an, forming a new polity and culture. Scholars are likewise divided whether the Israelite God, Yhwh, originated from the Near Eastern cultural environment or from the desert. A multitude of studies has been dedicated to these two themes, usually separately. This article attempts to examine the connection between the two through several themes: desert roots in the culture of ancient Israel, the origin of Yhwh, Asiatics in Sinai and the Negev, desert tribes and the copper industry, the location of biblical Paran, Nabataean data from Sinai which illuminate biblical issues, and others. By including materials which were previously underutilized or overlooked, these themes may be integrated to form a reasonable scenario of a chapter in the history of early Israel.

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