Abstracts 2007
Admirand, Peter
Trinity College Dublin
How Not to Raise Children: From Abraham to David, A Contemporary Theological Perspective
This paper will necessarily be unfair to the writers and patriarchs of our biblical history. In some ways, the criticism will be based more on absence and what is avoided: namely any strong theological and biblical foundation of Biblical role models for fathers as the care givers of children. The perspective is unfair because the role of parenting and the status of children are drastically different in our contemporary society than in the milieus of ancient Israel and the first century of Christianity. Still, because of the dearth, or heaven forbid, immorality of certain narratives, laws, or positions in the bible (and some Church fathers on the issue of children and parenting), we need to situate and address these issues, utilize what is still beneficial, and if wanting, look to other sources for guidance and dialogue.
Amihay, Aryeh
Princeton University
Numbers 24:9 and its relation to Parallels in Genesis
The conclusion of Balaam's third oracle in Numbers 24:9 evokes two blessings by the patriarchs in Genesis, namely the blessing of Jacob by Isaac (Gen. 27:29) and the blessing of Judah by Jacob (Gen. 49:9). These two similarities, brought together in one verse raise several textual and literary questions: What is the relation between these two blessings and the Balaam Oracles? Can a literary dependence of one of the sources on the other be established? What role would the re-employment of known verses play in a new context? And, finally, what significance, if any, can be ascribed to one variant between Num. 24:9b and Gen. 49:9b ? This paper will address these questions, using the ancient versions and modern literary analysis to establish the relation between the texts. My main argument is that these two blessing formulas, known from Genesis, were not originally part of Balaam's oracles. They were patched together as a conclusion to this oracle. I will demonstrate how this added verse interacts within the framework of the poetic unit (Num. 24:3-9), as well as in the wider scope of the Balaam narrative (Numbers 22-24). Unlike Milgrom, who uses this verse as part of his argument for a unity of the prose and the oracles, I contend the oracles of Balaam are much earlier to the prose in the unit, save this verse which was added by a redactor who had the narrative in mind.
Bruce, Damian
Trinity College Dublin
Sexuality as the Defining Factor for Biblical Women: An Historical and Literary Overview
It is, most likely, impossible to offer any grand expansive theme that might incorporate and allow us to understand the many and varied portrayals of women in the biblical texts. However, the dominance of a sexual theme, often subtle and withheld but sometimes very explicit, justifies its exploration as a significant factor in the biblical representation of women. From Eve to the mother of Jesus, sexuality (or its absence) might be seen as a crucial contributory factor in how these women are presented in the literature. Or, in other words, a female biblical character’s relationship to sexuality might be said to directly affect their wider portrayal in the literature. Moreover, we might consider how much, if at all, this sexuality factor permeated the historical societies that lay behind these texts and how it affected their female members. Gleaning historical facts from the often idealised and subjective texts is difficult at the best of times. In this instance, that task is made harder since we are dealing with a subordinate class of people that have no voice in the literature. They were a silent group being written about by male intellectuals in a patriarchal society. These difficulties, along with the brevity of this paper, will prevent any significant attempt here to reconstruct these women’s historical realities. Nevertheless, it will be suggested that sexuality may have played an equally crucial role in determining ancient biblical women’s lifestyle as it did the characterisation of their literary counterparts. In essence this paper explores the thesis that biblical women, both historical and literary, were, for good or bad, acutely affected by contemporary male attitudes to female sexuality.
Byrne, Máire
St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth
The Divine Designations in the Book of Isaiah
There are over thirty names, titles, and epithets used to describe God in the Book of Isaiah, several of which are unique to the text. This paper proposes an examination of the statistical distribution of the designations throughout the three traditional sections of the text, namely Proto-Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah, and Trito-Isaiah. Identifiable patterns of frequency of distribution of the designations emerge and from this, a hermeneutical model, which focuses on the distinction between the micro and macro structures of the text, may be constructed, allowing for a study of the redactional aims of the editors of the text. In conjunction with this examination, a closer assessment of the use of the designations within the text itself, in terms of intertextual usage, influence from extra-biblical sources, etymological considerations, and their situation in a particular literary context will be able to highlight the development of the three distinct “theologies” of the text as seen in the traditional divisions.
Clogher, Paul
St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth
The Jesus of Cinema and the Hermeneutical Circle
Film is a form of communication, like any medium it attempts to communicate in terms of language, theme and work, Scripture has a hermeneutical dynamic between communicator and reader. However, in film the visual assumes the same role as the text itself. When a director or screenwriter comes to put something into a theatrical or dramatic medium he/she is almost taking the place of the redactor of a Biblical text in that the director is communicating a primary or secondary source to the viewer. In the case of the Gospels the filmmaker is re-communicating or re-presenting a primary source and so the medium of film becomes a secondary source although the subject matter presented may be exactly the same in terms of the text quoted from the original source. Hence, the medium of visual drama offers a completely different dynamic in itself, it is not a simple peripheral to the process but a completely new element and changes the dynamic between the communicator and the viewer. One writer addresses the subject of drama and the person of Jesus by calling this process ‘Reading the Gospels in the dark.’ The problems of communication centre on the depiction of Judaism in the first century and Hebrew culture. Also, film can seek to add an air of historicity to texts which are non-historical. The process of communication can lead to cultural conflict.
Crouch, Carly
University of Oxford
Ethics as Cross-Cultural Reaction: Deuteronomic Ethics as a Reaction to Mannassean Multiculturalism
This paper argues that the core of the book of Deuteronomy was developed as an ideologically-charged, nationalistic response to the rapid increase in cross- cultural interaction which occurred during the reign of the Judahite king Manasseh and to a corresponding surge in (multi-)cultural imitation and assimilation in Judah. This nationalistic legal theology was developed as reaction to a perceived threat to Judahite culture from encroaching ‘foreign’ practices, and as a result the core of Deuteronomy exhibits an intense concern to establish clear and distinctive boundaries between Judahite – archaized as ‘Israelite’ – culture and the cultures of Judah’s near eastern neighbours. The focus of this boundary delineation was, unsurprisingly, on religious practices, and the close ancient connection between cult and morality means that Deuteronomy’s ethical considerations have been considerably influenced by the work’s ideological slant. Specifically, this paper argues that a significant strand of Deuteronomic ethics is based on a fundamentally ideological alignment of the activities of ‘the nations’ with evil, and bases the moral superiority of the ‘Israelites’/Judahites on their rejection of these ‘foreign’ practices.
Debel, Hans
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Life and Death Advice from a Conservative Sage: Qohelet’s Perspective on Life after Death
The book of Ecclesiastes, most likely written in the third century BCE, reflects a cultural interaction on the matter of life and death. Ancient Israel had traditionally limited its expectations about the afterlife of the individual to remembrance and progeny. Not earlier than the fourth century BCE, and most probably under the influence of the Hellenistic dualism of body and soul, a rescue out of Sheol became apparent in Israelite wisdom. The sceptical sage Qohelet speaks out against these innovations and rejects, in this respect, any distinction between the fate of the wise and that of the fool. He points out the physical reality of death and the inferiority of afterlife. In his view, one’s time on earth offers unique opportunities to enjoy life despite its iniquities, and precisely therefore, it should not be understood as a mere prelude to life after death. The present paper will shortly deal with the question of dating Ecclesiastes. Subsequently, it will offer a brief sketch of the so-called Tun-Ergehen-Zusammenhang or the doctrine of retribution, which holds out the prospect of eternal life to the wise and the righteous. Against this background, due attention will be paid to Qohelet’s perspective on life before and after death as well as to some of his arguments against an advantage of one man over the other when the great beyond is at stake. Finally, conclusions will be drawn concerning Qohelet’s practical advice to his readers.
Dixon, Helen
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Amorites at Ugarit? Rephaim, Nomads, and the Un-Making of a Scholarly Myth
The texts from Ugarit are called exemplars of West Semitic religion, and a “missing link” between literature of the Ancient Near East and early Biblical material. Speculation on the origins of this material has led some to conclude that Ugaritic elites were heirs to older “Amorite traditions,” and had a nomadic, tribal past that could be detected in their literature. However, developments in anthropology are challenging our assumptions about nomads, and Mesopotamian scholars are reanalyzing the term “Amorite” as a result. We cannot assume that all Amorites are ethnically related nomads, whose lineage can be traced from the third millennium to Ugarit and the Biblical texts. Instead, the term “Amorite” may have meant different things in different spatial and temporal contexts: an ethnic marker, a political group, even an occupation or a general term for ‘outsider.’ These insights require that the Ugaritic evidence for an “Amorite” past be reconsidered. I will survey the connections others have made between Ugarit and “Amorite” tribes or practices. In particular, I will re-examine the crux of the argument: the groups dtn (the ditanu / didanu of the “Genealogy of the Hammurapi Dynasty”?) and rp’ (the Biblical rephaim?) in the ritual texts. Reading these as the names of Amorite tribes as has been done in the past is no longer possible; instead, we should view these groups as socially important (perhaps even military elites) independent of ethnic affiliation. Without the model of nomad-as-cultural-transmitter, the case for an “Amorite” origin of Ugarit is untenable as such.
Dowling Long, Siobhan
University of Wales, Lampeter
The Akkedah in Eighteenth Century Oratorio with Specific Reference to Abramo ed Isacco by Josef Mysliveček
This paper sets out to illustrate how composers of 18th century Oratorio explored the theological issues in the Akkedah through music. The Bohemian composer Josef Mysliveček (1729-82) set his oratorio music Abramo ed Isacco to a text known as the Metastasian libretto. Pietro Metastasio wrote the libretto in Vienna (c.1740) while acting as court poet to the Hapsburg Emperor, Charles V1. The libretto Isacco, figura del Redentore is based upon the Akkedah as found in Genesis 22:1-19. An analysis of the Metastasian libretto is pivotal to understanding how the central theological issues in the Akkedah find expression in Mysliveček’s oratorio music. This paper will outline the theological issues in the Akkedah and illustrate how these issues are expressed in the poetry of the Metastasian libretto and music of Josef Mysliveček’s Oratorio, Abramo ed Isacco.
Fitzpatrick, Noel
Milltown Institute, Dublin
Who was Clement? How Does He Compare with Paul? – A Study of the First Letters of Clement and Paul to the Corinthians
Paul and Sosthenes wrote a letter to the church of God at Corinth (1 Cor) and later a letter was sent from the church of God in Rome to the church of God in Corinth (1 Clem). The author of the latter is considered to be Clement (Clemens Romanus). A comparison of the opponents faced by the church in Corinth in these letters, written almost fifty years apart, gives an understanding into the development of early Christianity. This work considers the authorship, genre, date, occasion and purpose of these letters. An excellent introduction to the current position of scholarship concerning many aspects of 1 Clem, which includes a select bibliography, has recently been published (Gregory 2006: 223-230). 1 Cor and 1 Clem show sophisticated Greco-Roman rhetoric and each was written by a single author. Both Paul and Clement were essentially sympathetic to the Roman Empire and they were from educated Jewish backgrounds, thoroughly immersed in the Hellenistic culture of the Diaspora. In particular Clement had sympathy with Roman patrician values, appreciating Roman order and Stoic ideals. He, to a greater extent than Paul, considered the importance of structures in the church. Clement probably had a slave background, similar to many Jewish Christians. He may have been a libertus or ingenuus EK THS KAISAROS (Domitian) OIKIAS or from the household of Titus Flavius Clemens. This study shows that Clement saw himself in a leadership role, was of relatively high-status. He believed that concord and peace both in civil society and in the church were of vital importance.
Flynn, Flynn
Trinity College Dublin
David’s True Sin: The Gaze in 2 Sam 11-12.15 as Literary Device
New literary/narrative methods of reading the HB have been sought as hopeful alternatives to historical reconstructions that have come under recent criticism. In particular, narrative criticism has contributed to our understanding of 2 Samuel 11-12.15; yet these readings have still maintained the traditional understanding of David’s sin(s) as his act with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. Yet another narrative reading focusing on the use of the gaze/perception as a narrative technique may reveal another sin is being communicated. By understanding the function of the gaze in structuralist works like Michael Foucault, outlining the contrasting gazes of Uriah and David, followed by an analysis of the function of perception in the parable of Nathan, this study hopes to show the use of the gaze in 2 Sam 11-12 as an exegetically important literary technique. Recognizing and following its function in 2 Sam 11-12 reveals its operation is more than just narrative style, it is essential to making the reader aware of the larger Deuteronomistic morality and thus David’s ultimate sin in not reflecting the divine gaze and thus failing in his kingly office.
Hays, Christopher
University of St. Andrews
Clash of Titans: The Christian Huios Theou in Ideological Conflict with the Divi Filius of the Imperial Cult
Ever since Deissmann’s Light from the Ancient East hit the presses a century ago, biblical scholars have been well aware that much of the language adopted by the early Christian movement generated friction with Roman imperial ideology. The present study aims to examine the appellation “son of God” as a reference to the cult of Augustus. After briefly outlining the history of Augustus’ deification in the Eastern Empire, I will articulate the relationship between the Latin epithet Divi Filius and its rendering in Greek Huios Theou. It is the contention of this paper that, at certain places in the Gospels, the anarthrous Huios Theou is ascribed to Jesus with a polemical evocation of the imperial cult. Three passages will be examined. In the Gospel of John, the Jewish officials apply the title to Jesus at his trial in order to goad Pilate into crucifying him (John 19.7). The Gospel of Mark assigns the appellation to Jesus in its opening verse (Mark 1.1) and also at Jesus’ crucifixion, through the voice of a centurion (Mark 15.39). Because of the strategic significance of the imperial cult in the eastern Empire, the ascription of the title to Jesus could either condemn him as an enemy of the state, or to elevate him as one greater than Caesar.
Heacock, Clint
University of Chester
The Rhetorical Situation of Ezekiel
Ezekiel has a well-earned reputation as “Israel’s most bizarre prophet.” This verdict is rendered largely because of his highly abstract visions, strange sign-acts, and harsh or downright offensive messages. That he does not seem to respond emotionally to these issues as do certain other prophets—namely Jeremiah—has led some readers to conclude that he is at best unfeeling, or at worst, psychologically disturbed. But is this a fair depiction of the prophet, based on observable evidence drawn from the discourse? When analyzing the rhetorical situation of Ezekiel, a different picture of the prophet emerges. Faced with a calling to a people who would not listen to his message, what could Ezekiel do in order to break through the denial and hard-heartedness of his audience? Central to Ezekiel’s rhetorical situation is this question: “Was Ezekiel’s response to the exigence a fitting rhetorical response for his audience?” In order to engage that issue, the following three questions are asked of the discourse. First, “What was the exigence?” Second, “Who was the audience?” And third, “What are the constraints under which Ezekiel operated?” The answers to those questions reveal a brilliant rhetorical strategy. Ezekiel attempted to destroy the flawed and faulty theological worldview of the exiles, while at the same time sought to replace it with a completely new frame of reference. Although Ezekiel’s message seems ruthless, it was the only way in which he could accomplish his difficult mission as Israel’s watchman.
Jacobus, Helen
University of Manchester
Jacob's weddings (Genesis 29: 14 -30) and did Laban Cheat Jacob (Genesis 31:7)?
The Use of Ancient Near East laws, Calendars and Puzzles in the Jacob-Laban Cycle
Scholars have long pointed out the overlap between Ancient Near East law codes and their literary application in the Jacob-Laban cycle. This essay suggests that Mesopotamian astronomy has also been used by the biblical authors and that there is a problem-solving element, both in terms of ancient near eastern laws and mathematics, woven into the text. The paper further suggests that the use of calendrical data in the narrative is used as part of a metaphor to describe Jacob's love for Rachel, and foreshadows her death. Ancient Near East laws and mathematics are further explored in this paper to shed a different light on Laban's relationships with his son-in-law, and his daughters. The presentation will demonstrate that without understanding the interconnection between Mesopotamian science and culture and the narrative, biblical readers have lost at least one layer of meaning. This approach is combined with textual criticism.
Kahan, David
Trinity College, Glasgow
A Memory of Jacob: Teaching Narratives and the Survival of the Church
It is a terrible burden to have a story no one is around to hear (Blaeser). With regular attendance at mainstream Protestant denominations hovering at three percent, the church’s situation is similar. If it is to staunch its decline and survive, the present Erasmian Church must more fully embrace the Old as well as the New Testament. In the time allotted, how cannot comprehensively be addressed but it is possible to examine a key factor that allowed the Israelites to survive: verbal memory facilitated by teaching narratives. This then is the paper’s raison d’ętre. In an interlocking graduated approach, there begins a descent from memory and imagery to the second part of the paper, language and the need for a language oriented community. All that in turn depends on the effective transmission of and understanding of teaching narratives. To prevent the discussion from drifting too much into theory, Genesis 25.27-34, Jacob allegedly extorting the birthright, will be the focalization; it will act as a red thread throughout.
Matassa, Lidia
Trinity College Dublin
Problems with the Identification of a Synagogue at Hasmonaean Jericho
Like the identification of a synagogue on Delos, the identification of a synagogue at Hasmonaean Jericho has the potential to distort scholarship on the chronological, political and geographic development of the early synagogue. If the Jericho identification is accepted then the development of the early synagogue moves back a couple of centuries. For this reason, we must examine the evidence at Jericho closely and critically.
McAleese, Killian
Trinity College Dublin
Danger at the King’s Table: Insult and Dynastic Struggle at Saul’s New Moon Feast
The events described in 1 Samuel 20 constitute a turning point in the relationship between David and Saul. Saul, after this episode, knows that David stands in the way of his establishment of a dynasty. The chapter begins with David’s fleeing to Jonathan, following two previous attempts by Saul on David’s life (1 Samuel 18:10; 19:9-10). David devises a plan to test Saul’s feelings towards him. The setting is the monthly hodeš feast at Saul’s table, which David is obliged to attend. David will not attend the meal, and Jonathan is to offer Saul a fabricated excuse for David’s absence. If Saul is angered, and David’s life is in danger, Jonathan is to give David a sign. Two days of feasting are subsequently described. On the first day, Saul remains silent regarding David’s absence, but we are told in the narrative that Saul took note of it. On the second day, Saul is insulted by David’s repeated absence, and attempts, in anger, to strike Jonathan with his spear, recognising David as a threat to his dynasty. The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of traditional monthly hodeš table fellowship in the above episode, particularly with regard to the expression of political power, loyalty, and the maintenance of interpersonal relationships. With reference to ethnographic material on the role of feasting in traditional societies, it is argued that the monthly hodeš feast is a deliberate and ideal narrative setting for this episode of the power struggle between Saul and David.
McLarney, Gerard
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St. John Chrysostom's Interpretation of St. Paul's Letters
To understand the text at first as well as and then even better than its author: St. John Chrysostom's interpretation of St. Paul's letters. The German thinker Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834), hailed as the "founder of modern Protestant theology" and as the "father of modern hermeneutics," advocated a hermeneutical method which calls readers "to understand the text at first as well as and then even better than its author." While Schleiermacher's hermeneutical approach is of notable significance, focus on the world behind the text and authorial intent gave way in the 20th century to other concerns, such as the text itself or one's engagement with it. The following is not an attempt to revive antiquated hermeneutical theory, but reaches even further into the recesses of time, to the late 4th century, in order to explore the Pauline homilies of St. John Chrysostom. A quick glance at Chrysostom's homilies reveals an incisive and finely tuned sensitivity toward St. Paul. For Chrysostom, each phrase and word combination unveils the mind of the Apostle. His hopes, admonitions, humility, encouragement, and praises are observantly tracked and highlighted. The life Chrysostom breathes into Paul's letters in fact appears to fulfil Schleiermacher's desire that the reader enter into the very mind of the author and know him better than himself. Chrysostom, after all, puts words on the lips of the Apostle and allow him to speak directly to his 4th century congregation. The following explores St. Chrysostom's interaction with St. Paul and his Thessalonian letters, and offers some reflections on Chrysostom's hermeneutical framework and its implications for contemporary biblical studies.
Rutherford, Will
University of Edinburgh
Monotheism in the Shaping of Early Christian Identities: Case Studies in Judaizing at Galatia, Philadelphia, and Magnesia
Scholars in the field of early Christian-Jewish relations are increasingly focusing upon the processes and forces involved in the social construction of Christian identities, as this was worked out through the production of texts, ritual practices, scriptural interpretation, etc. Such sociological concerns are best answered through the kind of “thick description” of communities advocated by Geertz for modern ethnography, yet this is not possible for historical communities given limitations in data. However, a move towards “thicker description,” towards teasing out in increasingly greater depth textual and historical nuances by allowing individual texts to speak on their own merit, remains an important desideratum in historical investigation of the social processes involved in the construction of collective Christian identities vis-ŕ-vis Judaism and Jewish influences. I propose to examine one small aspect of Christian identity construction, the role which monotheism played in shaping Christian communal consciousness vis-ŕ-vis “Judaizing” influences in three epistles to Anatolian communities: Paul’s letter to Galatia and Ignatius’ letters to Magnesia and Philadelphia. Permitting each text to speak on its own merit reveals three different “types” (i.e., literary constructions) of actual Judaizing groups. This approach is important as the groups in these texts are oftentimes subsumed under one heading “Judaizers” without adequate regard for their diversity. This is especially the case with the Ignatian opponents at Magnesia and Philadelphia, who are often conflated into a single complex Jewish-docetic “heresy.” Listening to the voices of individual texts reveals three diverse and thriving Judaizing strands (within the Christian movement) in these Anatolian communities as well as the theological (Paul) and sacramental (Ignatius) appeal to divine unity as countervoices to these groups.
Silverman, Jason M
Trinity College, Dublin
Iranian-Judaean Interaction in the Achaemenid Period
While discussing the question of the influence of Persian ideas on Judaism in the Persian period, scholars have often been sidetracked by looking for textual influences and ignoring the physical, social interactions of peoples in the empire. In any culture, but particularly in a primarily oral culture, personal interactions can be more formative than textual ones. Before examining textual evidence, then, the opportunities and contexts for social interaction need to be explored. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the evidence for various situations where Judaeans and/or Israelites would have interacted with Persian and Iranian peoples in the normal course of daily experience. Six general contexts will be discussed in this relation—Babylonia, Media and various Iranian lands, Egypt, Palestine, Asia Minor, and the system known as the ‘Royal Road’. Archaeology and texts will be used to demonstrate how each of these contexts provided and even necessitated interaction between various Judaean/Israelite communities and their imperial lords. A recognition of these various contexts will open up new ways to look at the various corpora of Persian period Judaism.
Stökl,, Jonathan
University of Oxford
The Role of Women in the Prophetical Process in Māri
Especially British contributions to the anthropological study of possession have classically stressed the prevalent position women and other politically marginalized have in possessive cults. Prophecy has classically been interpreted as a form of Possession. It is all the more surprising that within the corpus of prophetical letters from Māri there are hardly any women who act as prophetesses themselves. However, among those who transmit prophecies there is a high number of women. How can these facts be brought together? I offer two solutions: Either stress the importance of female involvement in the Prophetic Act at the human intermediary stage; or point towards the fact that none of the deities who speak through these prophets and prophetesses is marginal – they are all very much what Lewis calls “central”, and thus the involvement of a majority of men as prophets shouldn’t be too surprising.
Stone, Rota
University of Oxford
Who is My Enemy: An Answer from Exodus
In times dominated by religious hatred supposedly justified by Scripture, I am returning to the sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity in order to find out their view of hatred of the “other”. My focus is the book of Exodus on which is based the formation of Israel as a nation and a religious group. This research is limited to this biblical book and wider biblical literature alone, as it represents part of a larger research project on the concept of enmity in early Jewish and Christian commentaries on the book of Exodus. The first half of the paper will discuss the biblical terminology of enemy, the attributes and actions characteristic of enemies in the Bible, and how far the book of Exodus displays an individual approach to the question. From this analysis the paper will move on to more specific enemies, namely, the Gentile nations as enemies of Israel. The emphasis will be on two nations mentioned in Exodus: Egypt and Amalek. The paper will discuss whether a consistent biblical picture of these nations exists. This analysis hopes to answer the question ‘who is my enemy’ according to the book of Exodus.
Tollerton, David
University of Bristol
Jewish-American Interpretations of Job in the Aftermath of the Holocaust
The figure of Job, understood as an archetypal figure of both innocent suffering and theological rebellion, has often been considered resonant for Jewish religious response to the Holocaust in North America. However, the exact nature of his resonance in this context has been far from self-evident and has on occasions been the cause of dispute. A number of factors have shaped this. Firstly, how certain elements of Job’s story are emphasised, downplayed or even altered depends to a considerable degree upon the traditions of interpretation being utilised. A notable role also exists for the sometimes radically differing significance individuals believe the Holocaust to represent within Jewish history. Closely related to this, there are significant, though rarely noticed, variations that can exist between thinkers regarding the exact object of comparison with Job’s lament. Finally, it will be suggested that the very structure of the book itself evades readings that render all of its themes equally resonant. Indeed it can be perhaps tentatively – though not unproblematically - suggested that this is because its origins, or rather the origins of its various elements, may well have been in a debate regarding the validity of ancient Israelite traditions not dissimilar to the theological anxiety caused in recent decades by the extermination of Europe’s Jews.
Vayntrub, Jacqueline
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Another Look at the Shephelah 'Lamaštu' Plaque
Nearly forty years ago the corner fragment of an inscribed cuneiform plaque, whose obverse preserves six incomplete lines in Neo-Assyrian script and reverse equally fragmentary depictions, was discovered in the Judean Shephelah, landing in the hands of private collector David Gal of Moshav Lachish. It was subsequently published in 1995 by Assyriologist Mordechai Cogan, identifying the piece “an amulet of the Lamaštu class, the first to be discovered in Israel” (M Cogan, “A Lamaštu Plaque from the Judaean Shephelah,” IEJ 45 (1995): 155-161) In addition to a reconstruction of the piece's iconography on the reverse and publication of the only known photograph to date, Cogan provided in his publication a hand copy and edition, but no translation, of what he claimed to be a mainly incoherent text. A recent publication by Horowitz and Oshima, compiling cuneiform documents from the land of Israel, has made mention of the text, providing a couple additional restorations, but maintains that the text is largely unreadable (W. Horowitz, T. Oshima, and S. Sanders, Cuneiform in Canaan: Cuneiform Sources from the Land of Israel in Ancient Times, Jerusalem: IES (2006): 126.) This study, proposing new readings and restorations based on Cogan's original photograph will show that while the text is still far from complete restoration and no parallel has been found, where signs can be read a coherent text can indeed be reconstructed. This study also discusses Lamaštu and her context within the Mesopotamian pantheon, as well as her connection to the later Jewish Lilith which makes this find, if in fact part of the Lamaštu repertoire, a particularly unique and interesting find from the Land of Israel – one deserving of attention.
