1,720,974 research outputs found
Josephus' Adaptation of the Athaliah Narratives
Full text linkAthaliah in Josephus is rarely studied. This paper thus seeks to build on Christopher Begg’s text-critical work by discussing the literary effect of Josephus’ embellishments to the Athaliah narratives. Athaliah in Josephus is shown to be more explicitly foreign and illegitimate than in the biblical texts, but also a more dynamic, rounded character
On dying in a city gate: implications in the deaths of Eli, Abner and Jezebel
Full text linkPreviously one could easily find works on the archaeology or biblical study of cities, defences, temples and houses, but in the past year, two publications on city gates have caught the eye. What follows is concerned with applying these new conversations about the role and function of ancient Israelite city gates to the biblical texts in a socio-historical manner, and in doing so, it draws attention to the way in which the author in 1 & 2 Samuel and 2 Kings uses gates as a literary device
Bereaved Mothers and Masculine Queens: The Political Use of Maternal Grief in 1–2 Kings
Full text link© 2020 Cat Quine, published by De Gruyter 2020. Recent research demonstrates that maternal grief functions paradigmatically to epitomize despair and sorrow in the Hebrew Bible. These literary uses of maternal grief reinforce the stereotype of womanhood, defined by devotion to children and anguish at their loss. In 1-2 Kings, narratives about unnamed bereaved mothers are used politically to create a contrast with named biblical queens who lose their sons but never grieve for them. Although 1-2 Kings names the queen mothers alongside the male rulers, these mothers have no agency or when they do, they act more like men than women. Neo-Assyrian inscriptions attest the masculinity of royal female power, and this article argues that conceptions of royal female power in Judah were similar. By contrasting the masculine queens with stereotyped "real men"and "real women,"traditional gender performances literarily overcome the institution of queenship. While the queens are polemicized, unnamed mothers emerge as the female heroes of Kings. Royal female power is demoted beneath reproductive ability and emotional responses to children, while the gender fluidity of royal power is circumscribed
Victory as Defeat: Narrative Subversion of Omride Strength in 1 Kings 20
Full text linkThis paper argues that 1 Kings 20 is a literary composition that creates an idealized picture of kingship and military victory wherein the king combines with the elders, prophets, and deity to reject the impositions of vassalage and defeat their enemy. Yet, the story subverts the image, and the king is raised up only to be brought down. The result is a didactic reflection on the futility of strong kingship and military victory without appropriate Yahwistic acknowledgement. As such, 1 Kgs 20 appropriately heralds the beginning of the end of the Omride dynasty and undermines any positive associations of military strength they may have had
Ritual, rhetoric, and the polemic against the Host of Heaven
Full text linkThis study is an exploration of the theological and rhetorical potential of perceptions and proclamations of ritual failure, undertaken with specific regard to the polemic against rituals for the Host of Heaven. The Host of Heaven are a rare phenomenon within the Hebrew Bible: they occupy an accepted place within Yahwism in some texts (e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23; Neh 9:6; Ps 148:1-4) but are the targets of sustained polemic in others (e.g., Deut 17:3; 2 Kgs 21:3, 5; 23:4, 5; Jer 8:1-2). I contend that this phenomenon is best explained through the lens of ritual theory, especially theories of ritual failure. The biblical polemic is not against the Host of Heaven directly, but rather against those who practice rituals for them. These ritual practices are presented as threats to the cosmic and social order that disrupt the YHWH-Israel relationship and cause the downfall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the deportation of the people. Ritual theory suggests that scrutiny of ritual is an inevitable and necessary consequence of these and other types of social upheaval; flawed and failed rituals must be identified and either corrected or discarded to re-stabilize the cosmic and social order. The Host of Heaven rituals were identified as flawed and failed rituals, responsible for causing social upheaval, and were polemicized against in response. The textualization of these polemics against the Host rituals resulted in the texts themselves becoming agents of ritual change, offering models of correct ritual practice. Once targets of ritual polemic, the Host became exemplary ritual practitioners — not worshipped themselves, but worshipping YHWH in the heavens (Pss 103:19-22; 148:1-4; Neh 9:6). This investigation offers ritual theory as an interpretive model for the study of these religious polemics in ancient Israel and Judah. In particular, it offers a conceptually coherent way of viewing developments in Israel’s faith that led to the rise of monotheism. Perceived ritual failure offered an opportunity for theological transformation and polemic against failed rituals was an important step in the journey toward a new, monotheistic ritual programme
Casting down the host of heaven the rhetoric of ritual failure in the polemic against the host of heaven
No full textNineveh’s pretensions to divine power in Nahum 3:16
No full textWith the exception of Nahum 3:16, in the Hebrew Bible Yahweh alone has the power to multiply humans so that they will be as innumerable as the stars. Nineveh’s multiplication of her merchants “more than the stars of the heavens” (Nah 3:16) was, therefore, tantamount to a challenge to Yahweh’s divine power. The destruction of Nineveh demonstrated that Yahweh answered this challenge
Ritual, rhetoric, and the polemic against the Host of Heaven
Full text linkThis study is an exploration of the theological and rhetorical potential of perceptions and proclamations of ritual failure, undertaken with specific regard to the polemic against rituals for the Host of Heaven. The Host of Heaven are a rare phenomenon within the Hebrew Bible: they occupy an accepted place within Yahwism in some texts (e.g., 1 Kgs 22:19-23; Neh 9:6; Ps 148:1-4) but are the targets of sustained polemic in others (e.g., Deut 17:3; 2 Kgs 21:3, 5; 23:4, 5; Jer 8:1-2). I contend that this phenomenon is best explained through the lens of ritual theory, especially theories of ritual failure. The biblical polemic is not against the Host of Heaven directly, but rather against those who practice rituals for them. These ritual practices are presented as threats to the cosmic and social order that disrupt the YHWH-Israel relationship and cause the downfall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the deportation of the people. Ritual theory suggests that scrutiny of ritual is an inevitable and necessary consequence of these and other types of social upheaval; flawed and failed rituals must be identified and either corrected or discarded to re-stabilize the cosmic and social order. The Host of Heaven rituals were identified as flawed and failed rituals, responsible for causing social upheaval, and were polemicized against in response. The textualization of these polemics against the Host rituals resulted in the texts themselves becoming agents of ritual change, offering models of correct ritual practice. Once targets of ritual polemic, the Host became exemplary ritual practitioners — not worshipped themselves, but worshipping YHWH in the heavens (Pss 103:19-22; 148:1-4; Neh 9:6). This investigation offers ritual theory as an interpretive model for the study of these religious polemics in ancient Israel and Judah. In particular, it offers a conceptually coherent way of viewing developments in Israel’s faith that led to the rise of monotheism. Perceived ritual failure offered an opportunity for theological transformation and polemic against failed rituals was an important step in the journey toward a new, monotheistic ritual programme
Casting Down the Host of Heaven: The Rhetoric of Ritual Failure in the Polemic Against the Host of Heaven
No full textIn Casting Down the Host of Heaven Cat Quine analyses the ambiguous nature of the Host and explores the role of ritual in the polemic against their worship. Although commonly assumed to be YHWH’s divine army, the book reveals their non-military and fluid nature. Quine demonstrates that it was the fluidity of the Host and their roles in the divine realm that permitted the creation of wide-ranging polemic against their worship. Her analysis shows that this polemic was expressed in ritual terms which persuaded its audiences, both ancient and modern, of its legitimacy and authority
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