Pub Date : 2022-06-06DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10082
R. Steiner
An important method of resolving contradictions in the Bible was developed by Saadia Gaon and Menasseh ben Israel based on the writings of Aristotle. It is rooted in the insight that failure to recognize linguistic ambiguity is a common source of apparent contradiction—in the Bible as elsewhere. In the case of the apparent Ishmaelite/Midianite contradiction, the crucial ambiguity—overlooked by critics of all persuasions—is syntactic. There is a second syntactic reading of וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִדְיָנִים סֹחֲרִים that eliminates the contradiction and solves other problems, leaving only a lack of uniformity. For the latter, there are three literary explanations, which complement each other. They involve (1) stylistic variation, (2) subjective perspective (based on the historical context), and (3) keywords and foreshadowing.
{"title":"“Midianite Men, Merchants” (Gen 37:28): Linguistic, Literary, and Historical Perspectives","authors":"R. Steiner","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10082","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 An important method of resolving contradictions in the Bible was developed by Saadia Gaon and Menasseh ben Israel based on the writings of Aristotle. It is rooted in the insight that failure to recognize linguistic ambiguity is a common source of apparent contradiction—in the Bible as elsewhere. In the case of the apparent Ishmaelite/Midianite contradiction, the crucial ambiguity—overlooked by critics of all persuasions—is syntactic. There is a second syntactic reading of וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִדְיָנִים סֹחֲרִים that eliminates the contradiction and solves other problems, leaving only a lack of uniformity. For the latter, there are three literary explanations, which complement each other. They involve (1) stylistic variation, (2) subjective perspective (based on the historical context), and (3) keywords and foreshadowing.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79771063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10098
Vladimir Olivero
The verbs נִשְׁקַף and הִשְׁקִיף are usually both rendered into English as “to look down,” with no apparent difference in meaning despite their occurrence in the niphal and the hiphil, respectively. However, there seems to be a clear pattern in the choice between the two binyanim, which is determined by the gender of the person described. The author’s selection of either stem may give us a glimpse into the Weltanschauung of the biblical writers and their perception of how men and women acted in society and on the stage of life. In one interesting instance regarding queen Jezebel (2 Kgs 9:30), the regular linguistic pattern is reversed to further emphasise the stark contrast between her character and the usual way in which female characters are described in the Hebrew Bible. Paying attention to the general pattern also gives additional evidence in the question of the identity of the speaker in Prov 7:6.
{"title":"“She Gazed Through the Window”: Gender and Grammatical Voice in Ancient Hebrew","authors":"Vladimir Olivero","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10098","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The verbs נִשְׁקַף and הִשְׁקִיף are usually both rendered into English as “to look down,” with no apparent difference in meaning despite their occurrence in the niphal and the hiphil, respectively. However, there seems to be a clear pattern in the choice between the two binyanim, which is determined by the gender of the person described. The author’s selection of either stem may give us a glimpse into the Weltanschauung of the biblical writers and their perception of how men and women acted in society and on the stage of life. In one interesting instance regarding queen Jezebel (2 Kgs 9:30), the regular linguistic pattern is reversed to further emphasise the stark contrast between her character and the usual way in which female characters are described in the Hebrew Bible. Paying attention to the general pattern also gives additional evidence in the question of the identity of the speaker in Prov 7:6.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"585 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77813692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10095
Aurélie C. Bischofberger
This article examines the lists of unclean birds (Lev 11:13–19; Deut 14:12–18) based on a Christian Arabic translation found in twenty medieval manuscripts. While previous research has discussed the bird lists in the Hebrew and Greek traditions, very few studies have analysed the Syriac and Arabic versions. The present essay first demonstrates that the tradition represented by these manuscripts goes back to a single translation, which is itself a fairly literal rendering of the Peshitta. Since the Arabic list, like the Syriac, omits five prohibited birds, the article then turns to explain their omission by comparing the Syriac list with other late antique and early medieval Jewish sources. Finally, it draws several conclusions for the transmission of the bird lists and more generally for the study of Arabic Bible translations.
{"title":"The Rendering of Unclean Birds in an Arabic Translation of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14","authors":"Aurélie C. Bischofberger","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10095","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article examines the lists of unclean birds (Lev 11:13–19; Deut 14:12–18) based on a Christian Arabic translation found in twenty medieval manuscripts. While previous research has discussed the bird lists in the Hebrew and Greek traditions, very few studies have analysed the Syriac and Arabic versions. The present essay first demonstrates that the tradition represented by these manuscripts goes back to a single translation, which is itself a fairly literal rendering of the Peshitta. Since the Arabic list, like the Syriac, omits five prohibited birds, the article then turns to explain their omission by comparing the Syriac list with other late antique and early medieval Jewish sources. Finally, it draws several conclusions for the transmission of the bird lists and more generally for the study of Arabic Bible translations.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"151 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85374130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10101
Paul Byun
Ezra 10:44 has been known to be notoriously difficult to translate due to its awkward syntax and unconventional use of words. Contrary to various scholarly assessments, this article will argue that the author deliberately constructed this verse in a confusing manner. The context of Ezra 10 and the wordplay embedded within the verse all point towards the fact that Ezra 10:44 is an example of confused language. The use of confused language, thus, suggests that the ending of Ezra is purposely not made clear. The reader is left with no clarity as to the eventual outcome of the foreign wives and their children .
{"title":"Confused Language in Ezra 10:44","authors":"Paul Byun","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10101","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Ezra 10:44 has been known to be notoriously difficult to translate due to its awkward syntax and unconventional use of words. Contrary to various scholarly assessments, this article will argue that the author deliberately constructed this verse in a confusing manner. The context of Ezra 10 and the wordplay embedded within the verse all point towards the fact that Ezra 10:44 is an example of confused language. The use of confused language, thus, suggests that the ending of Ezra is purposely not made clear. The reader is left with no clarity as to the eventual outcome of the foreign wives and their children .","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"194 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77650357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10097
Yigal Bloch
Based on the use of the Hebrew verb שוב in Isa 29:17 and the parallel Akkadian verb târu in SAA 12 19, this note suggests that 2 Kgs 14:28 refers to a change in the political status of Damascus and Hamath, which Jeroboam II made similar to that of Judah vis-à-vis Israel.
{"title":"2 Kings 14:28—A Proposal for Solution","authors":"Yigal Bloch","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10097","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Based on the use of the Hebrew verb שוב in Isa 29:17 and the parallel Akkadian verb târu in SAA 12 19, this note suggests that 2 Kgs 14:28 refers to a change in the political status of Damascus and Hamath, which Jeroboam II made similar to that of Judah vis-à-vis Israel.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74777353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10093
Christopher B. Hays
This article demonstrates that Isa 45:1–19 is a pro-Persian oracle of well-being, promising the Achaemenid emperor that he will conquer Egypt, and subsequently impugning the theological ignorance of the Egyptians. The Egyptians misspeak in saying that Yhwh is a “Hidden God” like their own Amun (45:15). The unique title, the only reference to divine hiding that uses the reflexive hithpael, was chosen to echo the reflexive formulations in Egyptian texts (including during the early Persian Period) describing Amun’s self-hiding. Two other aspects of Amun’s mythology as creator are also alluded to: His close association with the primordial chaos (45:18–19) and his identification as the divine potter (45:9). Each would have been understandable to an audience in Egypt that lived among the cults of its deities in a very hybridized religious culture. They also would have been clear to elites in Jerusalem who were in regular contact with the Egyptian diaspora.
{"title":"A Hidden God: Isaiah 45’s Amun Polemic and Message to Egypt","authors":"Christopher B. Hays","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10093","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article demonstrates that Isa 45:1–19 is a pro-Persian oracle of well-being, promising the Achaemenid emperor that he will conquer Egypt, and subsequently impugning the theological ignorance of the Egyptians. The Egyptians misspeak in saying that Yhwh is a “Hidden God” like their own Amun (45:15). The unique title, the only reference to divine hiding that uses the reflexive hithpael, was chosen to echo the reflexive formulations in Egyptian texts (including during the early Persian Period) describing Amun’s self-hiding. Two other aspects of Amun’s mythology as creator are also alluded to: His close association with the primordial chaos (45:18–19) and his identification as the divine potter (45:9). Each would have been understandable to an audience in Egypt that lived among the cults of its deities in a very hybridized religious culture. They also would have been clear to elites in Jerusalem who were in regular contact with the Egyptian diaspora.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89559427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10094
David B. Schreiner, Kyle R. Greenwood
This article examines the tendencies surrounding 1 Kgs 20:27 and ultimately proposes an alternative translation for and understanding of the phrase כִּשְׁנֵי חֲשִׂפֵי עִזִּים. We open with a survey of major English translations and commentary by salient interpreters to emphasize tendencies associated with the passage. We then examine the grammar and semantics of the passage in conjunction with ancient translations in order to highlight a disconnect between the translations and the Hebrew text. We then evaluate a proposal from Amitai Baruchi-Unna and argue that while he properly considers behavioral traits of the genus Capra to explain the imagery of 1 Kgs 20:27, his proposal is ultimately deficient. In response, we consider the phrase כִּשְׁנֵי חֲשִׂפֵי עִזִּים in conjunction with specific behaviors and physiological characteristics of certain species within the genus Capra. We propose that the description of the Israelite army may recall specific behaviors and characteristics of rutting male goats.
{"title":"An Army Like Goats: A Semantic and Zoological Reconsideration of 1 Kings 20:27","authors":"David B. Schreiner, Kyle R. Greenwood","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10094","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article examines the tendencies surrounding 1 Kgs 20:27 and ultimately proposes an alternative translation for and understanding of the phrase כִּשְׁנֵי חֲשִׂפֵי עִזִּים. We open with a survey of major English translations and commentary by salient interpreters to emphasize tendencies associated with the passage. We then examine the grammar and semantics of the passage in conjunction with ancient translations in order to highlight a disconnect between the translations and the Hebrew text. We then evaluate a proposal from Amitai Baruchi-Unna and argue that while he properly considers behavioral traits of the genus Capra to explain the imagery of 1 Kgs 20:27, his proposal is ultimately deficient. In response, we consider the phrase כִּשְׁנֵי חֲשִׂפֵי עִזִּים in conjunction with specific behaviors and physiological characteristics of certain species within the genus Capra. We propose that the description of the Israelite army may recall specific behaviors and characteristics of rutting male goats.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83371603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-13DOI: 10.1163/15685330-bja10103
Suzanna R. Millar
Nathan tells David a story about a rich man who takes and kills a poor man’s lamb (2 Sam 12:1–4). This, it turns out, is figurative for David’s own deeds of killing Uriah the Hittite and taking his wife. The story and its application suggest the intersecting power dynamics between groups: rich and poor, male and female, native and foreigner—and, crucially, human and nonhuman. This article argues that intersectional analysis should include an interspecies dimension, and explores these dynamics at work through various mechanisms of relation. Low status human groups are connected with nonhumans through animalisation, and are thereby delegitimised. Nonhuman animals and animalised humans are positioned as objects within mechanisms of domination, such as exploitation, exchange, and semiosis. The relationship between the poor man and lamb, though, offers another possibility: alliance. Care can be extended across species lines, with implications for intergroup relations throughout the intersectional web.
{"title":"The Poor Man’s Ewe Lamb (2 Sam 12:1–4) in Intersectional, Interspecies Perspective","authors":"Suzanna R. Millar","doi":"10.1163/15685330-bja10103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-bja10103","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Nathan tells David a story about a rich man who takes and kills a poor man’s lamb (2 Sam 12:1–4). This, it turns out, is figurative for David’s own deeds of killing Uriah the Hittite and taking his wife. The story and its application suggest the intersecting power dynamics between groups: rich and poor, male and female, native and foreigner—and, crucially, human and nonhuman. This article argues that intersectional analysis should include an interspecies dimension, and explores these dynamics at work through various mechanisms of relation. Low status human groups are connected with nonhumans through animalisation, and are thereby delegitimised. Nonhuman animals and animalised humans are positioned as objects within mechanisms of domination, such as exploitation, exchange, and semiosis. The relationship between the poor man and lamb, though, offers another possibility: alliance. Care can be extended across species lines, with implications for intergroup relations throughout the intersectional web.","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"84 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75314273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-23DOI: 10.1163/15685330-00001148-04
J. Schaper
{"title":"Les Psaumes: Livre 1. Psaumes 1–40 (41 TM), written by Gilles Dorival with the collaboration of Claudine Cavalier and Didier Pralon","authors":"J. Schaper","doi":"10.1163/15685330-00001148-04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-00001148-04","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75086288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-23DOI: 10.1163/15685330-00001148-03
Suzanna R. Millar
{"title":"Water and Water-Related Phenomena in the Old Testament Wisdom Literature: An Eco-Theological Exploration, written by Kivatsi Jonathan Kavusa","authors":"Suzanna R. Millar","doi":"10.1163/15685330-00001148-03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-00001148-03","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":46329,"journal":{"name":"VETUS TESTAMENTUM","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2022-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83867327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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