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From Joseph to Moses: The Narratives of Exodus 1-2
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Abstract In this paper it is argued that the canonical text of Exodus 1-2 is a compilation of three originally independent narratives belonging to the pentateuchal sources J, E, and P. The text of Exodus 1-2 is divided source-critically, and each individual narrative analyzed on its own terms. Each of these stories contains specific narrative claims that are distinct from that of the canonical text as a whole, and each represents a continuation of the patriarchal narratives into the Exodus account.
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Sounds of Silence in Biblical Hebrew: A Lexical Study
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Abstract This article explores the semantic resources of biblical Hebrew, when it comes to speaking about silence. The aim is to reach more clarity concerning the sense and function of pertinent lexemes, and to contribute to a better understanding of the “semantic field” of silence. It is demonstrated that biblical Hebrew had several verbs with the sense “to be silent” (= abstain from speech), but no noun corresponding to the English word “silence” (denoting a situation characterized by the absence of speech or by the complete lack of audible sounds). However, the domains of silence and stillness overlap. Thus, when the biblical writers wanted to describe a situation of “silence”, they could choose one of several words associated with the wider concept of stillness.
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Another Look at Biblical Hebrew bɔmɔ ‘High Place’ 1
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Abstract This study presents a solution for morphological and lexical problems that remain outstanding concerning bɔmɔ. Two distinct Semitic nouns are identified as the derivational basis for the attested forms and meanings in biblical Hebrew.
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Sacred Architecture: The Numerical Dimensions of Biblical Poems
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Abstract I have recently studied the numerical architecture of several biblical poems and found sophisticated use of the numerical structures of words and cola. It is possible that some of these numerical structures are based on numerical values of the letters of the names of God. If this is indeed the correct explanation of these numerical structures, it should be perceived through wider cultural spectrum: The phenomenon of symbolizing divine names with numerical values is known in the Mesopotamian world. The development of Alphabetic script opened new possibilities for representation of divine name by numbers. Now, God might be represented by the numerical values of the letters of his names. This method has special significance in a society that forbids representing God’s image with a statue. The fact that the representation of the numerical values of letters is not attested in mundane use in Ancient Israel before the Hellenistic period, may point to the possibility that this method was first a sacred secret knowledge. The numerical structures are best demonstrated in the Masoretic version of the Hebrew Bible. This fact may bear a significant impact upon biblical text criticism.
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Ezekiel 16 and its use of Allegory and the Disclosure-of-Abomination Formula
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Abstract Ezek 16 and 23 have been subjected recently to much critical review, especially from feminist scholars. The present article acknowledges their work but seeks to take the discussion back to a formal analysis of the image of the adulterous wife, with a special focus on Ezek 16 and its use of the ‘disclosure of abomination’ formula. The use of this formula locates the oracle within the legal register but framed in terms of a unilateral covenant. The effect of such a formula and its employment is to silence the woman and give only the accuser/judge a voice. But the use of the formula is figurative and plays to the larger allegorical function of the oracle which, it is argued, places the prophet towards the literate end of the oracy/literacy continuum.
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Phinehas’ Zeal and the Death of Cozbi: Unearthing a Human Scapegoat Tradition in Numbers 25:1-18
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Abstract Scholars have long noted that Numbers 25, the story of Phinehas’ murder of Cozbi the Midianite and her Israelite partner in crime, contains inconsistencies and tensions that reflect a complicated history of composition and transmission. This paper offers new perspective on the evolution of this text by comparing it with two Hittite military ritual texts (CTH 407 and 394) that describe the selection and sacrifice of human, female scapegoats. Scholars have discussed these texts as they relate to biblical rites for the Day of Atonement; however, the Hittite evidence has never been considered systematically in relation to Numbers 25. Such a comparison illuminates unrecognized sacrificial dynamics operative in Numbers 25, and clarifies certain inherent ambiguities in the biblical text. Parallels with the Hittite evidence point to Numbers 25 as an additional witness to the way scapegoat rituals operated within the ancient Israelite literary imagination, if not in actual practice.
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Un triptyque au cœur du livre de Michée (Mi 4-5)
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Abstract Many contradictory proposals have been made with regard to the literary structure of Micah 4-5. This study shows that three coherent units (4:1-7; 4:8-14; 5:1-14) can be distinguished and that they form a triptych, each panel of which uses the same major themes.
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Les deux « pentateuques » d’Esdras
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Abstract When Ezra was sent to Jerusalem by the Persian authorities, he brought about a kind of revolution: he broke with Samaria after a century of good relationships and declared the Samarian wives of Jews to be pagans and therefore unclean. His new political and religious line must have provoked major resistance among Yehud’s elite. As was often the practice in such circumstances, he therefore produced propaganda documents, in order to convince opinion leaders to rally to his cause. His scribes composed the Pentateuch, using a number of existing documents: an older story already including dtr and P components in the books of Genesis, Exodus and Numbers; ritual laws; and Deuteronomy, separated from the rest of the Deuteronomistic History. Leviticus and, within Leviticus, the expulsion of the scapegoat were put at the center of this literary construction, mirroring the expulsion of the “pagan” wives. The remaining parts of the Deuteronomistic History were edited at the same occasion and with a similar goal, forming a second “Pentateuch”.
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Le souffle du jour et la fuite des ombres en Ct 2:17 (4:6) : matin ou soir?
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Abstract The paper examines the beginning of Cant 2:17 (4:6), and tries to know exactly the moment of the day that is evoked: Is it the morning or the evening?
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Book List
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