Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (JHS)
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Joel 2:17 and the Calamities of Joel 1:2-2:11
Full text linkThe relationship between the calamities of Joel 1:2-2:11 remains an unsettled problem. This article contributes to discussion of the problem by attending to what the speakers in the text envision as the outcome of those calamities. Joel 2:17 is proposed as an interpretive aid, and suggestions that the wording there is ambiguous or polysemous are examined; a close analysis of syntax there and of the valence of transformative נת״נ affirms the reading of the ancient versions over against claims of inclarity or wordplay. Although the locust plague is juxtaposed and metaphorically intermingled with the invading army, the text’s speakers at this point envision the outcome of the calamities not only as agricultural disaster but also as foreign domination. While in the text the agricultural disaster is a fait accompli, the second calamity may still be averted. The possibilities of agricultural restoration and foreign domination become literary goads; the addressees are spurred to act in their own self-interest, which is entangled with the deity’s
Rethinking Images in the Septuagint and Greek Traditions: Eídōlon, Eikōn, and Homoíōma
Full text linkThis article analyses the semantics of εἴδωλον, εἰκών, and ὁμοίωμα in the LXX in light of Greek literary and documentary evidence. By addressing the issue of the relationship between the vocabulary of images and the vocabulary of idols, (1) it deconstructs some oppositions inherited from early Christian interpretations of biblical passages (especially regarding Genesis 1). Moreover (2) it shows the interest of including evidence from the LXX in a broader discussion on the role of visual representation in antiquity
A God of Mockery? Revisiting the “Omnipotence Effect” in Numbers 22:21–35
Full text linkThe characterization of YHWH, Israel\u27s only God, is unique in the Hebrew Bible. The deity, while a character in the narrative, transcends the narrative on the level of discourse, rising above other characters, the narrator, and even the reader. This exceptional dynamic of characterization is exemplarily illustrated in the episode of Balaam and the talking jenny (Num 22:21–35), a text loaded with irony and ambiguity that recounts the deliverance of a foreign seer from YHWH’s hands by his jenny. The characterization of YHWH in this text shows a God who manipulates both the narrated world and the formal structure of the text, exemplifying what Sternberg termed the “omnipotence effect.
On Comparisons with Ancient Greek Traditions: Lessons from the Mid-Century
Full text linkIn the twentieth century, at two crucial instances, comparisons with ancient Greek traditions played an important role in forwarding the argument in favor of the early origins of the pentateuchal narrative: Martin Noth’s “amphictyonic hypothesis” and Frank Moore Cross’s account of the Israelite “epic.” This article argues that success of these arguments owes to a hidden “parallelomania” at work in the mid-century, which successfully made the evidence of ancient Greek phenomena seem like something that it was not in service to desirable arguments. Finally, it explores how contemporary approaches can avoid repeating past mistakes
“Exodus” in Diaspora and the Homeland: Narrative Technique and a Model for Salvation in Ezra-Nehemiah and Esther
Full text linkScholarship has been divided on whether there is any reference to the exodus in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah and Esther. In this article, it is argued that although both books do refer to the exodus, they do not necessarily refer to the book of Exodus. Rather than approaching this problem from the perspective of intertextuality, the article studies the use of exodus motifs as a narratological phenomenon. It compares the way that two texts, one from the diaspora and one from Yehud, use exodus motifs to support their own agendas. In each text, the exodus acts as a model for a type of salvation
Why Does H Demand the Guarding of YHWH’s Sabbaths, Respecting of Elders and Reprimanding of Compatriots?
Full text linkAmong the commands of H, elderly honor, Sabbath observance, and mutual reprimanding of compatriots are hallmarks. The origin, genre, and a comparable legal framework of these sentences can be found in what was labeled rules of (local) religious associations known from demotic papyri, from the Fayum going back to the 6th century BCE. In a tone comparable to a constitutional legislation, H is seen as an analogy for the rules of conflict settlement of local communities: it seeks to keep out governmental authority from local affairs, stipulates the respective festival day, and claims jurisdiction for its local community. All of these are also key elements of H’s anti-Persian stance. Read as a constitutional law of local bulwarks fending off central governmental authority in Egypt, the rules of local religious associations provide a hermeneutical lens for an analogous historical reading of H as "constitutional law." H in Lev 19:3-4, 11-18, 30—as a document of the priestly community in Yehud—would strengthen local institutions, including the arbitrarily stipulated festival day at the sanctuary, the elders as local institution, and internal jurisdiction of a priestly community bolstering itself as a bulwark against transgressions of the Achaemenid empire
Amos Overheard: Amos 7:10–17, Its Addressees, and Its Audience
Full text linkThis article argues that the depiction of Amos in 7:10–17 reflects the post-exilic scribal turn in prophecy and was meant to legitimize this new mode of prophecy for Yehudite audiences. Much of the scholarship on 7:10–17 focuses on what Amos’s words meant to Amaziah and vice versa, but the addressees within the text are not the same as its actual audience. Within the text Amos’s words are addressed to Amaziah, but this article argues that their real audience consisted of rural Yehudites, who were meant to “overhear” the conversation and accept its new scribal version of Amos
2 Samuel and the Architecture of Poetic Justice
Full text linkThe so-called Succession Narrative abounds in references to locales and architectural structures used by royals and their aides to their advantage in matters of private and national interests. This article considers two episodes, which feature individuals lamenting near entrance ways: in 2 Sam 13:1–20 Tamar, David’s daughter, laments on either side of the door to Amnon’s private quarters; and in 2 Sam 18:33–19:1–4, David laments over the city gate. Using studies on the intersection of place, ideology, and behaviour and analysing the bolted door and the chambered gate within their immediate contexts and a wider narrative space (i.e., the Absalom crisis), this article discusses the role these structures play in the construction of David’s reign
Inner-Biblical Allusion and the Direction of Dependence: Toward a Comprehensive List of Criteria
Full text linkA prevailing need in biblical studies is a comprehensive set of valid arguments for determining the direction of dependence once a literary relationship between two texts in the Hebrew Bible is reasonably established. This study takes a step toward addressing this lacuna by inductively cataloguing, illustrating, and evaluating eight criteria used to substantiate a proposed direction of borrowing in cases of inner-biblical allusion in Isaianic scholarship. These criteria provide a working list of plausible arguments that can be used when claiming the direction of influence in other cases of inner-biblical allusion throughout the Hebrew Bible. Such a list encourages both methodological clarity due to the increased precision of defined categories and scholarly creativity by suggesting multiple viable means to argue for the direction of dependence
Jeremiah 32: A Hinge between Restoration and Disaster
Full text linkJeremiah 32 exhibits a complex combination of the contrasting motifs of disaster and restoration. The present article argues that these twofold contents of the chapter reflect its original literary function as a hinge between the Book of Consolation (Jer 30–31) and the stories about Judah’s collapse (Jer 34–45). Due to later developments, Jer 32 lost its original hinge function, as the chapter was integrated into the expanded Book of Consolation (Jer 30–33)