Journal of Hebrew Scriptures (JHS)
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Review of Van Hecke, Pierre, From Linguistics to Hermeneutics: A Functional and Cognitive Approach to Job 12-14 (Studia Semitica Neerlandica 55; Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2011).
No full textGendered Historiography: Theoretical Considerations and Case Studies: Edited by Shawna Dolansky and Sarah Shectman
No full textThe essays in this collection each expand the possibilities of biblical historical-critical scholarship with a focus on textual representations of gendered systems and their implications for understanding the social, political, cultural, and religious contexts in which they were composed. In doing so, they demonstrate the ways in which a gendered historiography can cultivate a more nuanced understanding of power hierarchies in the social reality of ancient Israel
Jerusalem\u27s Survival, Sennacherib\u27s Departure, and the Kushite Role in 701 BCE: An Examination of Henry Aubin\u27s Rescue of Jerusalem: Edited by Alice Ogden Bellis
No full textThis volume focuses on Henry Aubin\u27s thesis in The Rescue of Jerusalem: The Alliance between Hebrews and Africans in 701 BC (2002) that an army of Egypt\u27s Kushite Dynasty (also known as the Twenty-fifth Dynasty) was influential in saving Jerusalem from capture by Assyrian forces. Eight scholars from a range of disciplines—biblical studies, Assyriology, Egyptology and Nubiology—assess the thesis and explore related ideas. Most of the evaluators tilt in varying degrees toward the plausibility of the book\u27s thesis. The volume concludes with Mr. Aubin\u27s response to each essay
“Seek Peace And Pursue It” (Ps 34:15): A Call to Beleaguered Members of a Community
Full text linkPsalm 34 contains a call to promote peace in a context where peace is threatened by damaging speech. This paper seeks to define the social setting that could explain such a call. Its thesis is that the psalm is addressed to Jews who are beleaguered by others speaking deceit. It is an attempt to convince them not to be seduced by Hellenistic culture and not to be misled by deceitful discourses of those who discard their traditions in favour of Hellenistic beliefs and lifestyles
The “High Court” of Ancient Israel’s Past: Archaeology, Texts, and the Question of Priority
Full text linkThis study examines debates surrounding what evidence, textual or archaeological, deserves priority within matters of historical interpretation as they pertain to the history of ancient Israel. Rather than resolving this debate, however, this investigation problematizes the premises that undergird approaches that accord precedence to one type of evidence over another. Drawing on theories of assemblage, this study concludes with a sketch of how an alternative interpretive framework might be conceived
The Daniel Narratives (Daniel 1–6): Structure and Meaning
No full textThis article presents a new structural analysis of the Daniel narratives in Chapters 1–6. This structure is based on a new reading of the Daniel narratives from a perspective that emphasizes the tension between earthly and divine rule. Rather than focusing on the conflict between the Jewish courtier and his environment, the article highlights his internal identity conflict—he is caught between his loyalty to God and that to the king. The article thus sheds new light on the Daniel narratives in general and specifically on Daniel 1
The Material Turn in the Study of Israelite Religions: Spaces, Things, and the Body
Full text linkThis study discusses how a material religions approach might be applied to the study of Israelite religions. After providing a discussion of recent theory on space and the body in the study of religion, we give several suggestions for how these ideas can apply to Israelite tomb and temple spaces. Our approach brings the study of Israelite religious texts and material culture (back) into the broader study of material religion. To this end, we prioritize the role that the body plays in shaping perceptions of these spaces and in determining the use of things in ritual practice
Isaiah 40:1–2: Reading Royal Commission as a Call for Return Migration in the Early Persian Period
Full text linkThis paper offers a new interpretation of Isa 40:1–2 that takes into account the greater rhetorical project of Isa 40–48 as well as evidence of Judean diaspora life from Āl–Yāḫūdu. Rather than a charge to the divine council, the call to comfort Jerusalem is meant to inspire an embedded community of Judeo-Babylonians to return migrate by hailing them as members of Yahweh\u27s royal procession. This new reading gestures towards broader questions of Judean diaspora identity in the 6th century
Where Are You, Enoch? Why Can’t I Find You? Genesis 5:21–24 Reconsidered
Full text linkIn this article, the Enoch passage in Genesis 5:21–24 is examined both within the immediate context of Gen 5 as well as within its ancient Near Eastern context. Taking both synchronic and diachronic aspects into account, it is argued, in contrast to many other studies, that the passage is not ambiguous about Enoch’s fate. Readers in biblical times would have understood that Enoch did not die but was translocated by God to a mythological or, “supernatural” location on earth; a location like the garden in Eden
