Ezra the Scribe: The Development of Ezra 7-10 and Nehemia 8 (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fuer die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft)

356 Pages·2004·10.132 MB·English, Hebrew

by  Juha Pakkala

Juha Pakkala
Ezra the Scribe
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von
John Barton · Reinhard G. Kratz
Choon-Leong Seow • Markus Witte
Band 347
W
DE
G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
Juha Pakkala
Ezra the Scribe
The Development of Ezra 7—10 and Nehemia 8
w
DE
G_
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within
the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability.
ISBN 3-11-018280-7
library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pakkala, Juha.
Ezra the scribe : the development of Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah
8 / Juha Pakkala.
p. cm. — (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft ; Bd 347)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 3-11-018280-7 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Ezra VII-X - Criticism, Redaction. 2. Bible. O.T.
Nehemiah VIII - Criticism, Redaction. I. Tide. II. Beihefte zur
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ; 347.
BS1355.52.P35 2004
222'.7066-dc22
2004016774
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Cover Design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin
Acknowledgements
After investigating the younger editorial phases of the Deuteronomistic
History in my dissertation, my interest developed toward the younger
literature of the Hebrew Bible. Since Ezra's activity seemed to be a
culmination of many ideals set out by the nomists of the Deuteronomistic
History, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were a natural next step. I was
encouraged to take this path by Prof. Dr. TIMO VEIJOLA (University of
Helsinki, Finland). As it seemed clear to me that the books of Ezra and
Nehemiah have been heavily edited, a systematic literary and redaction
criticism had to be the basis of the analysis. In this undertaking, I was kindly
guided by Prof. Dr. CHRISTOPH LEVIN (University of Munich, Germany). I
would like to express my warm thanks to both Prof. Dr. TIMO VEIJOLA and
Prof. Dr. CHRISTOPH LEVIN for their constant support for my endeavor.
They have given me invaluable advice throughout the work.
Many other people have influenced this work. I would particularly like
to mention the research seminar of Prof. LEVIN at the University of Munich:
Prof. TETSUO YAMAGA, SUSANNE RUDNIG-ZELT, Dr. THILO RUDNIG, Dr.
REINHARD MÜLLER and Dr. PAUL KÜBEL. Countless discussions with them
have had considerable impact on this work, for which I am very grateful. I
would also like to thank Dr. JACOB WRIGHT for many fruitful discussions.
For correcting and improving my English, I warmly thank Dr. ROBERT
WHITING.
I am also grateful to the Research Unit for Early Jewish and Christian
Culture and Literature, a Center of Excellence of the University of Helsinki,
and the Academy of Finland for financing my research in Munich, Germany
and Bern, Switzerland. I would like to express warm thanks to the editors of
BZAW for accepting my manuscript for publication in this series as well as
to Dr. ALBRECHT DÖHNERT (de Gruyter) for helping me with the layout.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my dear wife
CHRISTINE VÖGELI-PAKKALA, who has supported my work in all of its
phases. She has tolerated my irregular and impossible working hours without
complaint. This work is dedicated to her.
Liebefeld bei Köniz, Switzerland Juha Pakkala
June 6, 2004 (60fh anniversary of D-Day)

Contents
Acknowledgements V
Abbreviations X
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Methodological Considerations - Editorial Processes 6
1.2 New Approaches and Traditional Questions 13
1.3 Text Critical Considerations 17
2. Ezra 7-8 22
2.1 Introduction 22
2.2 Ezra 7 23
2.2.1 Artaxerxes' Rescript 32
2.2.1.1 Artaxerxes'Rescript and the Basic Text 40
2.2.1.2 The Authenticity of Artaxerxes'Rescript 46
2.2.1.3 The Dating of Artaxerxes'Rescript 49
2.2.2 Ezra 7:27-28 53
2.3 Ezra 8 56
2.4 Ezra 6:9-10 68
2.5 Ezra 6:15-22 69
2.6 Discussion and Conclusions 73
3. Ezra 9-10 82
3.1 Introduction 82
3.2 The Relationship between Ezra 9 and 10 83
3.3 Literary Critical Analysis of Ezra 9 - Ezra's Prayer 89
3.4 Literary Critical Analysis of Ezra 10 94
3.5 Redaction and Tradition Criticism 103
3.5.1 The Basic Text of Ezra 9-10 103
3.5.2 Ezra 9 - Ezra's Prayer 108
3.5.2.1 Excursus: Deut23:2-9 Ill
3.5.3 Ezra's Prayer in Relation to Nehemiah's Prayer 122
3.5.4 Additions to Ezra 9 and 10 125
3.6 Conclusions and Discussion 132
VIII Contents
4. Neh 8 136
4.1 Introduction 136
4.2 Neh 7:6-72 and Its Relationship to Ezra 2:1-70 137
4.3 Ezra 3:1-6 140
4.4 Literary Criticism of Neh 8 145
4.5 Redaction Critical Considerations - Neh 8 153
4.6 Neh 8 and Deut 31:9-13 157
4.7 Neh 8:13-18 and Lev 23:33-43 158
4.8 Neh 8:13-18 and Ezra 3:4-5 164
4.9 Neh 8:1 and Ezra 3:1 165
4.10 The Original Location of Neh 8 167
4.10.1 Excursus: Dates in Ezra-Nehemiah 170
4.11 Where Did Neh 8 Come From? 175
4.12 Conclusions 177
5. Neh 9-10- Late Fortschreibung of the Ezra Material 180
5.1 Introduction 180
5.2 Neh 9-National Confession 180
5.3 Neh 10 185
5.4 Conclusions 210
6. Neh 13 212
6.1 Neh 13:1-3- Separation of Foreigners from Israel 213
6.2 Neh 13:4-22 216
6.3 Neh 13:23-31-Nehemiah Condemns Mixed Marriages .. 218
6.3.1 Neh 13:23-31 and Ezra 9-10 222
7. Development of the Ezra Material 225
7.1 Introduction 225
7.2 The Original Text - The Ezra Source 227
7.2.1 The Ezra Source and Chronicles 231
7.2.2 The Ezra Source and the Nomists 233
7.2.3 The Ezra Source as an Independent Source 235
7.2.4 Ezra the Scribe 236
7.2.5 The Historical Value and Dating of the Ezra Source 243
7.2.6 Ezra's Arrival from Babylon 255
Contents IX
7.3 Ezra's Itinerary 257
7.4 Ezra's Prayer and the Liturgical Additions to Neh 8 258
7.5 Artaxerxes' Rescript and Related Expansions in Ezra 8 ... 260
7.6 The Gola Editors 263
7.6.1 The Gola Editors and Chronicles 266
7.7 The Levitical Editors 266
7.7.1 The Levitical Additions and Chronicles 274
7.8 Alternative Solutions 275
8. The Ezra Material and the Torah 278
8.1 The Content and Extent of Ezra's Torah 284
9. Summary 291
Appendix A: The Main Editorial Phases 300
Appendix Β : Literary Strata of the Ezra Material 301
Appendix C: Reconstructed Text of the Ezra Source 302
Appendix D: The Editorial Phases of the EM in Translation 303
Bibliography 310
Index of Hebrew and Aramaic Words and Phrases 329
Subject Index 331
Author Index 333
Index of Ancient Sources 337
Abbreviations
For abbreviations see SCHWERTNER, SIEGFRIED M., Internationales
Abkürzungsverzeichnis für Theologie und Grenzgebiete. (- TRE 2.,
überarbeitete und erweitete Auflage. Berlin - New York. 1994) and
ALEXANDER, PATRICK H. at alii, (eds.), The SBL Handbook of Style. For
Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Early Christian Studies (Hendrickson
Publishers. Peabody, Mass. 1999). In addition, the following abbreviations
have been used:
AP = Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C., see COWLEY 1923
DH = Deuteronomistic History
Dtn = Deuteronomic
Dtr = Deuteronomistic
EM = Ezra material, i.e., Ezra 7-10 + Neh 8
ES = Ezra source; the oldest text of the Ezra material
LBH = Late Biblical Hebrew
MT = Masoretic text
NM = Nehemiah memoir
SBH = Standard Biblical Hebrew
SESJ = Suomen eksegeettisen seuran julkaisuja (= Publications of the
Finnish Exegetical Society)