Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (JHS)
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Review of Earl, Douglas, Reading Joshua as Christian Scripture (Journal of Theological Interpretation Supplement 2; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2010).
No full textReview of Schiffman, Lawrence, , The Courtyards of the House of the Lord: Studies in the Temple Scroll (STDJ, 75; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008).
No full textTo Create, to Separate or to Construct: An Alternative for a Recent Proposal as to the Interpretation of ברא in Gen 1:1–2:4a
Get PDFRecently, Ellen van Wolde has proposed that the Hebrew verb ברא in Genesis 1 should be understood as ‘(to) separate.’ She also suggests that this is a new proposal. In this article, we maintain: (1) The idea has roots in nineteenth century scholarship; (2) the proposal is week from an etymological perspective; (3) an understanding of ברא as ‘(to) separate’ does not take into account that ברא is not used with prepositions; (4) as far as we can see— and contrary to Van Wolde’s statement— an active participle of the verb ברא meaning ‘creator’ does occur in Biblical Hebrew; (5) the ‘sea-monsters’ are not separated from the other marine animals; (6) a survey of parallelisms and word-pairs yields that the verb ברא was part of a semantic field characterized by ‘building; constructing; making;’ (7) there is no phrase or sentence in the HB in which ברא must be translated as ‘(to) separate’. Finally we offer the alternative to render ברא with ‘(to) construct’ as means to indicate that Genesis 1 praised the divine construction of cosmos and life, while at the same time avoided an anthropomorphism that the use of the verb בנה might have raised
The Typological Classification of the Hebrew of Genesis: Subject-Verb or Verb-Subject?
Get PDF, the Object can precede or follow both the Subject and the Verb, and adverbs and prepositional phrases can be thrown into a variety of positions. To the reader word order often seems to be random, but grammarians have long agreed that it is not random or ‘free’. Describing precisely what determines the order of words, though, remains an elusive task. Yet, it is universally understood that determining a rhyme and reason for the variation exhibited in the biblical texts would provide access to subtle linguistic cues the ancient authors used to get their message across. And so many Hebraists have attempted to identify the patterns. As with all investigations, though, the initial assumptions strongly influence the conclusions and for Hebrew word order studies the almost universal starting point has been to assume a basic Verb-Subject order. In this essay I challenge this assumption, thereby potentially undercutting the methodologies and conclusions of the vast majority of existing word order studies. I introduce, describe, and illustrate the typological linguistic criteria for determining basic word order and conclude, contrary to near-consensus position, that Biblical Hebrew is better classified as a Subject-Verb language
Jeremiah 41 and the Ammonite Alliance
Get PDFThis article explores the possibility that a polemic between disempowered Davidic and emerging Saulide groups motivated the murder of Gedaliah and the 70 pilgrims in Jeremiah 41. The discussion is informed by evidence from the Judean/Aramean settlements at Elephantine and Syene, and an analysis of the role of Ammon as presented here and in the Deuteronomistic History
El as the Speaking Voice in Psalm 82:6–8
Get PDFYHWH is usually understood to play two roles in Psalm 82: that of prosecutor of the gods (vv 2–5) and that of high judge who convicts the gods to death (vv 6–7). This article suggests that the role of the high judge is played not by YHWH but by El. YHWH serves as prosecutor of the gods in El\u27s court. In this reading YHWH speaks only in vv 2–5. In vv 6–8 El offers his verdict, after hearing the testimony of YHWH against the gods. After sentencing the gods of his council to death (vv 6–7), El appoints YHWH to rule the world in their place (v 8)
Zechariah 8 and its Allusions to Jeremiah 30–33 and Deutero-Isaiah
Get PDFThis article argues that the first eight oracles in Zechariah 8:2–19 are based on the ideas and vocabulary of Jeremiah 30–33, while the last two oracles, vv 20–23, have no parallel in Jeremiah, but correspond to oracles of the anonymous prophet in Isaiah 40–66. Zechariah selectively used and adapted the material of his predecessors, in order to address the specific social and political reality of his generation. The ways in which this process was carried out are assessed in this article
“Some Worthless and Reckless Fellows”: Landlessness and Parasocial Leadership in Judges
Get PDFIn this essay, I argue that the narratives in Judges 9, 11, and 18 should be read as examples of “parasocial” leadership in the Iron Age Levant. Specific characters such as Abimelek and Jephthah are parasocial leaders whose existence fits within known categories of regional social change. By extension, Judges may be read as the most sustained literary product in the ancient Near East depicting a world of habiru-like actors generating political transformation
