Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (JHS)
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The End of Desire: On the Meaning of תשׁוקה in the Hebrew Scriptures and the Dead Sea Scrolls
No full textDespite the long-standing tradition of translating תשׁוקה as “desire” in its three biblical occurrences (Gen 3:16; 4:7; Cant 7:11 [Eng. 10]), recent studies have put forth alternatives such as “turning, return,” “preoccupation, devotion” and “driving.” This essay examines these possibilities in light of the usage of תשׁוקה in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QM 13:12; 15:10; 17:4; 1QS 11:22; 4QInstrb 2:4). The meaning “desire” is shown to be particularly problematic, not only as a result of its absence in the earliest biblical versions, but also due to the expression לעפר תשׁוקתו immediately after a depiction of mankind being created from dust (עפר) in 1QS 11. The standard translation, “for dust is [mankind’s] desire,” appears incongruous, and parallels in Hodayot reinforce the likelihood that a “return” to dust is in view. The meanings “preoccupation, devotion” and “driving” also lack plausibility in 1QS 11, and “turning, return” proves problematic in 1QM 13 and 15. It is suggested the semantic range of תשׁוקה includes both “a focused movement toward” and “a focused movement back toward.” As such, it denotes “preoccupation, devotion” in most of its occurrences, yet indicates “return” in 1QS 11, and possibly Gen 3:16
Yahweh Performs Administrative Writing: Exodus 32:32–33 in Context of Ancient Administrative Writing Practices
Full text linkThis article examines how Yahweh is depicted as writing in Exod 32:32–33. It dispels the notion that the scroll in Exod 32:32–33 is a book of life, and instead shows that Yahweh performs administrative writing duties by (1) analyzing how scholars often historicize Exod 32:32–33, (2) showing that כתבת in Exod 32:32–33 indicates that Yahweh wrote the scroll, and (3) situating Yahweh’s scroll and writing in the context of non-numinous ancient administrative writing
Form, Content, and Meaning in Leviticus 24:10–23: A Diachronic Analysis
No full textThe narrative of the blasphemer (Lev 24:10–23)—the only narrative segment within the Holiness Code (Lev 17–26)—has long been a subject of scholarly debate. Discussions have primarily focused on issues of textual coherence and thematic connections, such as the link between the prohibition against desecrating God\u27s name and the subsequent inclusion of case laws that align with the principle of lex talionis (the law of retaliation). In this article, I aim to address the complex questions raised by this passage and propose that it should be understood as a cohesive unit consisting of two sequential stages. The arrangement of these stages not only emphasizes their inherent connections but also sheds light on the underlying rationale that shapes the structure and purpose of this narrative unit
The Royal Wedding Reimagined: Textual Criticism and Interpretation of Psalm 45\u27s Superscription
Full text linkThe article presents a critical edition and exegesis of Psalm 45’s superscription, examining its textual, lexical, and semantic dimensions. Through analysis of ancient versions, it reassesses key terms (למנצח על ששנים לבני־קרח, ידידות), proposes alternative readings, and suggests a revised heading, highlighting prophetic-messianic links and the superscription’s role in illuminating the Psalm’s themes and characters
The Sale of Joseph in Genesis 37:18–26: Narrative Cohesion and Coherence
Full text linkThe purpose of this discussion is to assess the ability of the Documentary Hypothesis to provide a compelling reading of Genesis 37. Is the literary reconstruction of the J/E source divisions able to offer a compelling, internally consistent text? As a counter proposal, I consider the framework of coherence theory as a means of evaluating the central claim of documentarians that Genesis 37 lacks compositional cohesion and coherence. The method of this discussion takes the following course. First, I sketch out a brief overview of the various compositional approaches to Genesis 37 and its place in the Joseph story. Second, I consider the nature of narrative cohesion and coherence and how these concepts inform one’s reading of Genesis 37, arguing that the markers of cohesion embedded in the narrative provide a means of guiding the reader coherently through the twists and turns of the plot line. Third, I highlight several narrative links that cross proposed source boundaries, functioning as linguistic signals for cohesion, and that suggest literary coherence. Fourth, I re-assess the so-called Ishmaelite/Midianite problem that has served a central role in most source divisions of Genesis 37
International Agreements, Judah in Egypt, and the Problem of "Language": A Verbal Pattern to Explain שְׂפַת כְּנַעַן in Isa 19:18
Full text linkThe phrasing in Isa 19:18 מדברוֹת שׂפת כנען has proved vexing linguistically and historically. In this article, I explore previous proposals and offer support for a non-linguistic reference to the idiom based on verbal parallels elsewhere as well as cognate evidence. I conclude with further reflection on the idiom in Isa 19:18 and broader implications from this study, which includes observations about the semantics of שׂפה based on parallel uses of the lexeme in the Hebrew Bible
The Thought-Scene: A Literary Convention of Hebrew Narrative
Full text linkThere is an unidentified literary convention within narratives of the Hebrew Bible, wherein the narrator portrays the thought process of certain characters. In these episodes, which I coin “thought-scenes,” characters express the motivating reasons for a past, current, or upcoming action. That is, they explain “why” an action, decision, or request is being undertaken. These passages constitute distinctive instances of human reasoning and offer insight into how rationality was viewed in the ancient world, as well as how forms of argumentation were fashioned within biblical literature. I examine the reasoning process of Abraham (Gen 12:10-20) and Joseph (Gen 39:7-10) in detail and supply a full, annotated catalogue of thought-scenes in Genesis, along with representative examples from across the Hebrew Bible
Ritual Textualization in the Priestly Traditions of the Hebrew Bible and Late Babylonian Priestly Literature
Full text linkThis article explores how the pressures of empire inspired comparable processes of ritual textualization in Persian-period Jerusalem and Late Babylonian temple communities in Uruk and Babylon. We provide the first detailed comparison of the Priestly rituals texts of the Pentateuch and the Late Babylonian temple ritual texts, highlighting several distinctive features they have in common: namely, their concern to integrate their ritual materials into larger corpora that promote priestly hegemony, their interest to articulate ritual behavior in a way that does not rely on royal agency, and their tendency to describe ritual action in an idealized manner. These similarities, we argue, add powerful weight to the theory that the textualization of ritual in the Priestly traditions was inspired by similar historical dynamics to those that informed the textualization of ritual in the Late Babylonian materials; namely, the cultic disruption caused by foreign imperial interference and temple destruction, and the resulting challenges of rebuilding the temple in the absence of a local king with a stake in the cultic restoration
In Nehemiah\u27s Footsteps? Uzziah at the Service of the Chronicler\u27s Ideology
No full textUzziah ruled in Judah for many years, yet the description of his rule in the book of Kings is laconic. The book of Chronicles, on the other hand, provides an extensive description of his reign that stems from authorial ideology, theology, and processes of identity formation. The book of Ezra-Nehemiah describes a series of confrontations from four directions, with Uzziah’s battles with the Philistines, the Arab tribes, and the Ammonites being three of these fronts. The Chronicler, writing several decades after Ezra-Nehemiah, was aware of the Ezra-Nehemiah text or its narrative, and developed the figure of Uzziah as a great king, thus serving his own national, economic, ethnic, and religious goals
Rediscovered Fragments Shed New Light on a Proto-Masoretic Torah Scroll
Full text linkAfter Edna Engel and Mordechay Mishor had discovered that two fragments with excerpts from the book of Exodus belonged to a single Torah scroll dating from the seventh or eighth century CE, Mordechai Veintrob identified thirteen additional fragments of the same scroll, most of them coming from the Cairo Genizah. This article shows that in the preserved fragments no orthographic differences occur with the (partially reconstructed) text of the more recent Aleppo Codex, while there are such orthographic differences with the other ancient Bible codices. The relationship between the ancient scroll and the Aleppo Codex is looser as far as the sectional division by means of petuḥot and setumot is concerned. However, the tradition according to which five specific lines must be written above the text of the Song of the Sea (Exod 15:1–19) seems to have this very scroll as its source. This tradition was followed in the Aleppo Codex and other ancient codices