Essays on Judaism in the Pre-Hellenistic Period (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft): 495

272 Pages·2017·1.612 MB·English

by  Joseph Blenkinsopp

Joseph Blenkinsopp
Essays on Judaism in the Pre-Hellenistic Period
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift
für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Edited by
John Barton, Reinhard G. Kratz, Nathan MacDonald,
Carol A. Newsom and Markus Witte
Volume 495
Joseph Blenkinsopp
Essays on Judaism
in the Pre-Hellenistic
Period
ISBN 978-3-11-047514-2
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-047687-3
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-047529-6
ISSN 0934-2575
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
♾ Printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Germany
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Foreword
Thesefifteenessays,eitherpublishedindifferentformatsoverthelastthreedec-
adesorpreviouslyunpublished,dealwiththeearliestphaseinthehistoryofthe
JewishpeoplefromtheliquidationoftheJudaeanstatein586B.C.E.totheMace-
donianconquestin332B.C.E.ThiswasanaxialperiodinthehistoryoftheNear
Eastandtheeastern Mediterraneanworldingeneral.Itwitnessedtheendofthe
great Semitic empires, Assyrian and Babylonian; decisive advances in religion
withtheappealtoacreator-deityinDeutero-Isaiah,BabylonianMarduktheology,
andZoroastrianism;theriseofwhatcanbecalledthefirstworldempirewiththe
conquestsoftheIranianCyrusII;thePre-SocraticsandthegreatageofGreekphi-
losophy, art and science. For the Judaean survivors of the Babylonian conquest
andthesubsequentdeportationslivinginapost-collapsesocietytherewas,asal-
ways in such a situation, the issue of continuity with the past, with different
groupsinthelandofJudahandthediasporaclaimingpossessionofthetraditions
without which no societycan continue in existence.This was a situation favour-
abletotheemergenceofsectarianismthefirstindicationsofwhichcanbetraced
to these two and a half centuries.With the suppression of the national dynasty
and,with it, the apparatus of an independent state, the rebuilt temple became
thefocusandemblemofnationalandethnicidentity.Theessaysdealwithdiffer-
ent aspects of the religious, intellectual and social historyof this crucial period.
Itismypleasuretoacknowledgeandthankthosewhogavepermissiontore-
print the following essays:
The Society of Biblical Literature of Atlanta, Georgia, USA for
permission to reprint
“The Theological Politics of Deutero-Isaiah” from A. Lanzi and J. Stökl (eds.),
Divination, Politics and Near Eastern Empires (Atlanta: SBL, 2014),129–43.
“Was the Pentateuch the constitution of the Jewish ethnos in the Persian peri-
od?”fromJ.W.Watts(ed.),PersiaandTorah.TheTheoryofImperialAuthorization
of the Pentateuch (Atlanta: SBL, 2001),41–62.
TheCatholicBiblicalAssociationandtheeditorofCatholicBiblicalQuarterlyfor
permission to reprint: “Deutero-Isaiah and the Creator-Deity: Yahweh, Ahura-
VI Foreword
mazda,Marduk”from“TheCosmologicalandProtologicalLanguageofDeutero-
Isaiah”, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 73 (2011),433–510.
Eisenbrauns Publishing House, Winona Lake, Indiana, USA for
the following:
“Judeans,Jews,ChildrenofAbraham”fromO.Lipschits,G.N.KnoppersandM.
Oeming (eds.), Judah and the Judeans in the Achaemenid Period (Winona Lake,
Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2011),461–82.
“Ideology and Utopia in 1–2 Chronicles” from E. Ben Zvi and D.V. Edelman
(eds.), What was authoritative for Chronicles? (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisen-
brauns, 2011), 89–103.
“Jewish Sectarianism from Ezra to the Hasidim” from O. Lipschits,G. N. Knop-
pers,R.Albertz(eds.),JudahandtheJudeansinthefourthcenturyB.C.E.(Winona
Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2007), 385–404.
SheffieldAcademicPress,Sheffield,UKfor“TempleandSocietyinAchaemenid
Judah”fromP.R.Davies(ed.),SecondTempleStudies1(Sheffield:SheffieldAca-
demic Press,1991), 22–55.
T&TClarkInternationalUS,animprintofBloomsburyPublishingInc.for“Foot-
notes to the Rescript of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11–26” from P. R. Davies and D.V.
Edelman(eds.),TheHistorianandtheBible.EssaysinHonourofLesterL.Grabbe
(New York & London:T. & T.Clark, 2010),150–58.
OxfordUniversityPressfor“TheNehemiahAutobiographicalMemoir”fromS.E.
BalentineandJ.Barton(eds.),Language,TheologyandtheBible.EssaysinHon-
our of James Barr (Oxford: Clarendon,1994),199–212.
The Editor of Biblica, Rome, Italy for “The Social Context of “the Outsider
Woman” in Proverbs 1–9” from the same title in Biblica 72 (1991),457–73.
TheeditorsofJournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestamentfor“TheSocialRolesof
ProphetsinAchaemenidJudah”from:thesametitle,JournalfortheStudyofthe
Old Testament 93 (2001), 39–58.
EisenbraunsPublishingHouse,WinonaLake,Indiana,USAforthefollowing: VII
KoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,Netherlandsfor“ACaseofBenignImperialNeglect
anditsConsequences:AnExercizeinVirtualHistory”fromJ.CherylExum(ed.),
Virtual Historyand the Bible (Leiden: Brill, 2000),129–36.

Overview
Foreword V
I. The Theological Politics of Deutero-Isaiah 1
II. Deutero-Isaiah and the Creator God: Yahweh, Ahuramazda, Marduk 15
III. Judaeans, Jews, Children of Abraham 30
IV. Bethel in the Neo-Babylonian and early Achaemenid period 48
V. Temple and Society in Achaemenid Judah 61
VI. The Intellectual World of Judaism in the Pre-Hellenistic Period 84
VII. Was the Pentateuch the constitution of the Jewish ethnos in the Persian
period? 101
VIII.Footnotes to the rescript of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11–26 119
IX. The Nehemiah Autobiographical Memoir 132
X. Ideology and Utopia in the book of Chronicles 144
XI. The social context of the “Outsider Woman” in Proverbs 1–9 159
XII. Social Roles of Prophets in Early Achaemenid Judah 178
XIII.The sectarian element in early Judaism 192
XIV.Jewish Sectarianism from Ezra to the Hasidim 207
XV. A Case of Benign Imperial Neglect and its Consequences: An Exercize in
Virtual History 221
Abbreviations 227
Bibliography 228
X Overview
Author Index 247
Biblical Index 251