Books in the Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft series

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.

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.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für 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.

An alphabetical and chronological bibliography of the longest book of wisdom in the Old Testament.

The Hebrew Bible is a product of ancient editing, but to what degree can this editing be uncovered? "e;Uncovering Ancient Editing"e; argues that divergent textual witnesses of the same text, so-called documented evidence, should be the starting point for such an endeavor. The book presents a fresh analysis of Josh 24 and related texts as a test case for refining our knowledge of how scribes edited texts. Josh 24 is envisioned as a gradually growing Persian period text, whose editorial history can be reconstructed with the help of documented evidence preserved in the MT, LXX, and other ancient sources. This study has major implications for both the study of the book of Joshua and text-historical methodology in general.

Long neglected by scholars, the Dead Sea scrolls rewriting Samuel-Kings shed precious light on the ancient Jewish interpretation of these books. This volume brings all these texts together for the first time under one cover. Improved editions of the fragments, up-to-date commentary, and detailed discussions of the exegetical traditions embedded in these scrolls will be of interest to both scholars and students of Second Temple Jewish literature.

In the Hebrew Bible, war is a prominent topic which is dealt with in both legal and narrative texts. So far, the interplay between the two areas has received only little attention. This volume explores the impact of biblical war legislation on war accounts in the Hebrew Bible and in Early Jewish Literature.

In response to the growing interest in the history of biblical interpretation, this volume brings together a variety of studies exploring ways in which ancient and modern readers, Jewish and Christian, understood the Prophetic Books. It also features essays that focus on the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament.

Drawing among others on new materials from cuneiform texts, the contributions study how Judean and other exiles interacted with the host society and vice versa, this book explores new ways of understanding the Babylonian Exile and the return to Yehud - a formative period in ancient Judaism.

Ezekiel is one of the best-structured books in the Old Testament. It is commonly recognized that the strongly interrelated vision accounts (Ez 1:1-3:15; 8-11; 37:1-14; 40-48) contribute greatly to this impression of unity. However, there is a marked lacuna in publications focusing on the vision accounts in Ezekiel as an interconnected text corpus. The present study combines redaction-critical analysis with literary methods that are typically used in a synchronic approach. Drawing on the paradigm of Fortschreibung, it is the first to present a united redaction history that takes into account the growing interconnections and dependencies between the vision accounts. Building on these results, the second part follows the development of selected themes, such as the relationships between characters, the roles of intermediate figures and anthropological and theological implications, throughout the stages of redaction.The study thus represents an important step towards an understanding of the complex redaction history of the book of Ezekiel, and indeed of its theology. The combination of diachronic and synchronic methods makes it relevant for scholars of both directions and is itself a methodological statement.

The controversy between Wellhausen and Kaufmann concerning the history of ancient Israel and the question of historical reconstruction has prompted this study. While Wellhausen's hypothesis introduces a synthesis of the religious development of ancient Israel, Kaufmann's work emphasizes the singularity of the Israelite religion. Their respective works, which represent the methodologies, presuppositions and the ideologies of their times, remain an impetus to further inquiry into the history of ancient Israel and its religion. Both Wellhausen and Kaufmann applied the historical-critical method, but were divided as to its results. They agree that the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible is the primary source on which to base writing about the history of ancient Israel, but differ concerning the authority of its text. This book illustrates the real clash between Wellhausen and Kaufmann, with the aim of providing some basis for reaching a middle ground between these two poles. As becomes clear in this study, Wellhausen reconstructed the religion of Israel in the framework of its history. Kaufmann, by contrast, proposed that monotheism emerged in Israel as a new creation of the spirit of Israel.

Sworn Enemies explains how the book of Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition especially YHWHs oath to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles. This language openly refutes an autochthonous origin tradition preferred by the non-exiled Judahites while covertly challenging Babylonian claims that YHWH was no longer worthy of worship. After specifying the layers of meaning in the divine oath, the book shows how Ezekiel uses these connotations to construct an explicit, public transcript that denies and mocks the non-exiles appeals to a combined Abraham and Jacob tradition (e.g. Ezek 35). Simultaneously, Ezekiel employs the oaths exodus connotations to support a disguised polemic that resists Babylonian claims that YHWH was powerless to help the exiles. When YHWH swears as I live the text goes on to implicitly replace Marduk with YHWH as the deity who controls nations and history (e.g. Ezek 17). Ezekiel, thus, shares the monotheistic concepts found in Deutero-Isaiah and elsewhere. Finally, using James C. Scotts concept of hidden transcripts, the author shows how both polemics cooperate to define a legitimate Judahite nationalism and faithful Yahwism that allows the exiles to resist these threatening others.

This monograph is a comparative, socio-linguistic reassessment of the Deuteronomic idiom, leshakken shemo sham, and its synonymous biblical reflexes in the Deuteronomistic History, lashum shemo sham, and lihyot shemo sham. These particular formulae have long been understood as evidence of the Name Theology - the evolution in Israelite religion toward a more abstracted mode of divine presence in the temple. Utilizing epigraphic material gathered from Mesopotamian and Levantine contexts, this study demonstrates that leshakken shemo sham and lashum shemo sham are loan-adaptations of Akkadian shuma shakanu, an idiom common to the royal monumental tradition of Mesopotamia. The resulting retranslation and reinterpretation of the biblical idiom profoundly impacts the classic formulation of the Name Theology.

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

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fr 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.

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fr 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.

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

This book presents the development of a theological reading strategy in conversation with contemporary hermeneutical theories. Using that as a model, Gen 1-11 is read as a unified text refracted through the prism of textuality from a canonical approach.

This monograph enquires into the unity of the Book of Isaiah. Was the final text of Isaiah intended to give an answer to the prophet Nathan's questioning of YHWH's faithfulness to his promises to David (II Sam 7)? The background to Nathan's prophecy - anchored above all in the union between the Royal House of David and the House of YHWH - forms the thread leading the reader through the 66 chapters of the Book of Isaiah and presenting it as the inheritance of the promise. The added meaning given by the final redaction in its turn poses the question of the role played by redactors in the prophetic literature.

In diesem Buch gelingt es erstmals, die literarischen Probleme von II Sam 9 - I Reg 1f zu erklren. Statt der These einer Thronfolgeerzhlung rechnet der Vf. damit, dass zeitgenssische prodynastische Quellentexte am Anfang der berlieferung standen. Diese Quellen wurden noch unter Salomos Herrschaft zu einer Art Grndungsdokument der beginnenden Dynastie redigiert. Danach erfolgten mehrere umfassende Nachbearbeitungen, die bis ins dritte Jahrhundert v. Chr. andauerten und intensive theologische Debatten reflektieren. Dabei verleiht eine Redaktion im Zeichen des Tat-Ergehen-Zusammenhanges dem Text sein wesentliches theologisches Profil. Dadurch ergeben sich wesentlich neue Erkenntnisse ber Israels frhe Knigszeit.

Drawing inspiration from the widely recognized parody of Ps 8:5 in Job 7:1718, this study inquires whether other allusions to the Psalms might likewise contribute to the dialogue between Job, his friends, and God. An intertextual method that incorporates both diachronic and synchronic concerns is applied to the sections of Job and the Psalms in which the intertextual connections are the most pronounced, the Job dialogue and six psalms that fall into three broad categories: praise (8, 107), supplication (39, 139), and instruction (1, 73). In each case, Jobs dependence on the Psalms is determined to be the more likely explanation of the parallel, and, in most, allusions to the same psalm appear in the speeches of both Job and the friends. The contrasting uses to which they put these psalms reflect conflicting interpretive approaches and uncover latent tensions within them by capitalizing on their ambiguities. They also provide historical insight into the Psalms authority and developing views of retribution. The dialogue created between Job and these psalms indicates the concern the book has with the proper response to suffering and the role the interpretation of authoritative texts may play in that reaction.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls more than sixty years ago has revealed a wealth of literary compositions which rework the Hebrew Bible in various ways. This genre seems to have been a popular literary form in ancient Judaism literature. However, the Qumran texts of this type are particularly interesting for they offer for the first time a large sample of such compositions in their original languages, Hebrew and Aramaic. Since the rewritten Bible texts do not use the particular style and nomenclature specific to the literature produced by the Qumran community. Many of these texts are unknown from any other sources, and have been published only during the last two decades. They therefore became the object of intense scholarly study. However, most the attention has been directed to the longer specimens, such as the Hebrew Book of Jubilees and the Aramaic Genesis Apocryphon. The present volume addresses the less known and poorly studied pieces, a group of eleven small Hebrew texts that rework the Hebrew Bible. It provides fresh editions, translations and detailed commentaries for each one. The volume thus places these texts within the larger context of the Qumran library, aiming at completing the data about the rewritten Bible.

Whilst prophetic oracles in late prophetic books evidence tensions about the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood, MacDonald demonstrates that the relationships between prophetic oracles have been incorrectly appraised. Employing an interpretative method attentive to issues of redaction and inner-biblical interpretation, MacDonald show that Ezekiel 44 is a polemical response to Isaiah 56, and not the reverse as is typically assumed. This has significant consequences for the dating of Ezekiel 44 and for its relationship to other biblical texts, especially Pentateuchal texts from Leviticus and Numbers. Since Ezekiel 44 has been a crucial chapter in understanding the historical development of the priesthood, MacDonald's arguments affect our understanding of the origins of the distinction between Levites and priests, and the claims that a Zadokite priestly sept dominated the Second Temple hierarchy.

The volume contains eight original studies, each of which focuses on a different chapter or central passage in Daniel and offers a new interpretation or reading of the passage in question. The studies span the Danielic tales and apocalypses, offering innovative analyses that often challenge the scholarly consensus regarding the exegesis of this book. The eight chapters relate to Daniel 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, Susanna, and the conception of angelology in Daniel. The studies are all based on careful textual analysis, including comparison between the Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek versions (especially regarding Daniel 4-6), and, in each case, the larger arguments are built upon solid philological foundations. Many of the insights proposed in this volume are based upon the realization that the authors of Daniel were frequently interpreters of earlier biblical books, and that the identification of these intertextual clues can be the key to unlocking the meaning of these texts. In this sense, Daniel is similar to other contemporaneous works, such as Jubilees and Qumran literature, but the extent of this phenomenon has not been fully appreciated by scholars of the book. This volume therefore contributes to the appreciation of Daniel as both the latest book in the Hebrew Bible, and a significant work in the landscape of Second Temple Judaism.

The central theme of the book is the relationship between a hero or cultural icon and the cultures in which he or she is venerated. On one hand, a hero cannot remain a static character if he or she is to appeal to diverse and dynamic communities. On the other hand, a traditional icon should retain some basic features in order to remain recognizable. Joshua son of Nun is an iconic figure of Israelite cultural memory described at length in the Hebrew Bible and venerated in numerous religious traditions. This book uses Joshua as a test case. It tackles reception and redaction history, focusing on the use and development of Joshua's character and the deployment of his various images in the narratives and texts of several religious traditions. I look for continuities and discontinuities between traditions, as well as cross-pollination and polemic. The first two chapters look at Joshua's portrayal in biblical literature, using both synchronic (literary analysis) as well as diachronic (Uberlieferungsgeschichte and redaction/source criticism) methodologies. The other four chapters focus on the reception history of Joshua in Second Temple and Hellenistic Jewish literature, in the medieval (Arabic) Samaritan Book of Joshua, in the New Testament and Church Fathers, and in Rabbinic literature.

This study offers a reconstruction of Sennacherib's campaign against Judah and Jerusalem in 701 BC. It contrasts and compares various, partly contradictious readings of this event and challenges established narratives. By giving equal weight to a great variety of different sources, whether literary or archaeological, the author comes to a new and profound understanding of this complex military conflict.

What was Judaean religion in the Persian period like? Is it necessary to use the Bible to give an answer to the question? Among other things the study argues that * the religion practiced in the 5th c. BCE Elephantine community and which is reflected in the so-called Elephantine documents represent a well-attested manifestation of lived Persian period Yahwism,* as religio-historical sources, the Elephantine documents reveal more about the actual religious practice of the Elephantine Judaeans than what the highly edited and canonised texts of the Bible reveal about the religious practice of the contemporary Yahwistic coreligionists in Judah, and* the image of the Elephantine Judaism emerging from the Elephantine documents can revise the canonised image of Judaean religion in the Persian period (cf. A. Assmann). The Elephantine Yahwism should not be interpreted within a framework dependent upon theological, conceptual and spatial concepts alien to it, such as biblical ones. The study proposes an alternative framework by approaching the Elephantine documents on the basis of N. Smart's multidimensional model of religion. Elephantine should not be exotified but brought to the very centre of any discussion of the history of Judaism.