Abstract:Even though he may not have been the first to suggest that YHWH was a causative verb, Pa... more Abstract:Even though he may not have been the first to suggest that YHWH was a causative verb, Paul Haupt certainly initiated academic inquiry into the meaning of the Tetragrammaton. Subsequent scholars, especially W. F. Albright and F. M. Cross have expanded and clarified Haupt's thesis by examining the issue from a predominantly West Semitic linguistic and cultural perspective. During the interval of time that has passed since Cross published his definitive work, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, significant advances have been made in the morphological development of East and West Semitic verb forms. This encourages a more nuanced approach regarding the points in time when certain principles, such as the Barth-Ginsberg law and the earliest use of the III-he mater lectionis may be accurately applied. The fact that Barth's yiqtal cannot be substantiated without the existence of an earlier yaqtal encourages a reexamination of the chronological placement of Albright's third-person masculine singular imperfective hiphil yahwĕ(h). Is this truly the oldest form of the verb? I proposes that it is not and that the earliest form is, in all likelihood, a G-stem yaqtal, *yahway. A careful analysis of the development of the third-person common/masculine singular imperfective verb forms of III-*y roots in East and West Semitic provides the template for uncovering the sequence of morphological changes that may eventually have led to *yahwēh in Hebrew. As for yahwī, which occurs in Early Old Babylonian and Old Babylonian texts, it initially entered the West as a thirdperson masculine singular G-stem poetic-perfective meaning "he was present."
This inquiry reevaluates the Naboth pericope of 1 Kgs 21 in light of a refined translation of ARM... more This inquiry reevaluates the Naboth pericope of 1 Kgs 21 in light of a refined translation of ARM 10.73, a letter written by Inib-Šarri to her father Zimri-Lim, king of Mari. The content of ARM 10.73 permits a comparison between the two texts regarding a form of political intrigue that the principal players exploit to gain advantage. Inib-Šarri details the efforts of her husband, Ibâl-Addu, to incriminate the regional Mari delegate, Itûr-Asdû, in seditious activities. Ibâl-Addu’s maneuverings, which Inib-Šarri labels karṣīšu īkulū (lit., “they ate his pieces,” that is, denounced him), are remarkably analogous to the steps Jezebel takes against Naboth. Such a correlation reveals an operative relationship between the lu2.meš sarār (“dishonest men”) mentioned in ARM 10.73,rev. 21 and the האנשם בנ־בליעל (“worthless men”) in 1 Kgs 21:10, 13. Two Amarna letters, EA 160 and 161 confirm the ongoing relationship between the lu2.meš sarrūti and the act of karṣī akālu. Both EA 252 and 254 likewise attest to the abiding relevance of karṣī akālu in the area of Omri’s future kingdom. On the basis of the evidence adduced, this study concludes that 1 Kgs 21 records an incident of karṣī akālu without using the expression, and suggests that Jezebel’s acts are not the product of authorial imagination but reflect features of the ancient Near Eastern practice of denunciation.
Over one hundred years have past since Paul Haupt first proposed that the divine name Yhwh is an ... more Over one hundred years have past since Paul Haupt first proposed that the divine name Yhwh is an imperfect hiphil verbal form from the root *יIhwy ("to be") that means "he causes to be > he creates." In this article, I propose that the Semitic concept of a *יIhwy deity, a deity's whose name is formed from this root, began in the East when Enki, the Sumerian god of subterranean waters, acquired the Semitic name Ea. To this day Ea, written e2-a, is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Semitic root hyy ("to live"), a hypothesis founded on an old reading of the cuneiform sign e2 and its associative vocalic values that were, at the time, based on later Akkadian dialects. It is now known, however, that, prior to the Ur III period, e2 was read כ30 and reflects /ha/. With this refinement in hand it is now possible to show that Ea's name was pronounced either ¡hayal and/or Ihawayl, a third person masculine singular Stative or predicative construction of Vhyy Ihwy. It means "he is/exists." It is feasible, therefore, that the earliest articulation of the West's *יIhwy deity was lyahwayl, an imperfect yaqtal G-stem. Although this means that lyahwë(h)l qua hiphil is a later development, the subsequent shift to a causative marks a fundamental theological change in the evolution of the Semitic perception of a *יIhwy deity's true nature.
Does the Hebrew Bible refer to demons? Remarkably, the standard answer to this question has remai... more Does the Hebrew Bible refer to demons? Remarkably, the standard answer to this question has remained rather stable: although there are indeed traces of demons, there is no evidence of the sophisticated type of demonology that is found in Akkadian texts. While this may be true, a more fundamental point remains unanswered. Did the ancient Near Easterners view demons in the same way as modern scholars do, as intrinsically evil beings who deliberately choose to engage in malicious activities contrary to the wishes of the governing deity? Here the answer must be negative.
As OUR UNDERSTANDING of biblical prophecy has increased, there is a growing sense that the custom... more As OUR UNDERSTANDING of biblical prophecy has increased, there is a growing sense that the custom is linked to the broader religious phenomenon of divination. 1 The difficulty, however, lies in establishing a model that illustrates the nature of this connection. Since prophecy involves human beings, there has been a tendency to treat the procedure in isolation. This has usually, but not always, resulted in comparative studies limited to an examination of similar activities in other cultures , most especially those of Mari, Emar, Ebla, and now Neo-Assyria. 2 I would like to express my gratitude to Professors William W. Hallo and David Noel Freedman for their comments on this article. 1 Among the few scholars who have explicitly acknowledged that prophecy is a form of divination are J.-M. de
EVERY LANGUAGE USES SIMILES. Not only do they lend interest and color to otherwise bland discours... more EVERY LANGUAGE USES SIMILES. Not only do they lend interest and color to otherwise bland discourse, but they can also provide insight into the original ancient context. As is commonly known, a simile is a figure of speech that estab lishes a comparison between two different objects. In English they are signaled through the use of the prepositions/conjunctions "like" or "as" and succinctly express the notion "in the same way that" or "in or to the same degree in which." There are two biblical passages that have proved difficult to understand prop erly: Num 5:11-31, a well-known but somewhat baffling biblical text that records a very unusual drinking ritual, and Psalm 109, a "curse" psalm, replete with a series of harsh invectives. Many scholars have seen a relation between these two texts owing to the simile in Ps 109:18 13ΊΡ3 D^ÖD iOTO, "it [the curse] entered his inner parts as water." 1 Of special importance, though, is the question of their Sitz im Leben. Numbers 5:11-31 has been described principally as a trial by ordeal. 2 1 Among those who have recognized an affiliation between Num 5:21-24 and Ps 109:18 are Klaas R. Veenhof, review of E. Kutsch, Salbung als Rechtsakt im Alten Testament, BO 23 (1966) 308-13, here 313; Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, King and Messiah: The Civil and Sacral Legitimation of the Israelite Kings (ConBOT 8; Lund: Gleerup, 1976) 223; Baruch A. Levine, Numbers: Anew translation with introduction and commentary (2 vols.; AB 4, 4A; New York: Doubleday, 1993-2000) 1. 198. 2 An ordeal is understood to be a process designed to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused to hazardous or painful tests thought to be under heavenly authority. Those who hold that Num 5:11-31 is an ordeal or a combination of an oath and ordeal are George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (ICC; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 440
As many extant texts demonstrate, the world of the Ancient Near East was replete with curses. The... more As many extant texts demonstrate, the world of the Ancient Near East was replete with curses. They managed almost every feature of life from simple business affairs to complex international relations. Of significant importance for the survivability of any society at that time was the maintenance of the happiness of the local deity or deities whose ongoing presence and patronage was inexorably linked to the preservation of their respective tribe, city, or empire. Cursing importuned these patron deities, as well as personal deities, to injure others so that the well-being of their tribal or city residents might be sustained. A curse's ultimate purpose was to inspire heavenly rage by soliciting supernatural powers to intercede in situations that were believed to be beyond mortal control such as injustices, disease, injury, or just plain bad luck. The following study will review the underlying features of all curses in the Ancient Near East. The deities, as will be shown, played a central role in the execution of maledictions. They were viewed as the agents who would, in one way or another, realize the requested punishment should they judge in the speaker's favor. This analysis will be followed by an examination of the most common types of curses the Ancient Near Easterners used.
Abstract:Even though he may not have been the first to suggest that YHWH was a causative verb, Pa... more Abstract:Even though he may not have been the first to suggest that YHWH was a causative verb, Paul Haupt certainly initiated academic inquiry into the meaning of the Tetragrammaton. Subsequent scholars, especially W. F. Albright and F. M. Cross have expanded and clarified Haupt's thesis by examining the issue from a predominantly West Semitic linguistic and cultural perspective. During the interval of time that has passed since Cross published his definitive work, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, significant advances have been made in the morphological development of East and West Semitic verb forms. This encourages a more nuanced approach regarding the points in time when certain principles, such as the Barth-Ginsberg law and the earliest use of the III-he mater lectionis may be accurately applied. The fact that Barth's yiqtal cannot be substantiated without the existence of an earlier yaqtal encourages a reexamination of the chronological placement of Albright's third-person masculine singular imperfective hiphil yahwĕ(h). Is this truly the oldest form of the verb? I proposes that it is not and that the earliest form is, in all likelihood, a G-stem yaqtal, *yahway. A careful analysis of the development of the third-person common/masculine singular imperfective verb forms of III-*y roots in East and West Semitic provides the template for uncovering the sequence of morphological changes that may eventually have led to *yahwēh in Hebrew. As for yahwī, which occurs in Early Old Babylonian and Old Babylonian texts, it initially entered the West as a thirdperson masculine singular G-stem poetic-perfective meaning "he was present."
This inquiry reevaluates the Naboth pericope of 1 Kgs 21 in light of a refined translation of ARM... more This inquiry reevaluates the Naboth pericope of 1 Kgs 21 in light of a refined translation of ARM 10.73, a letter written by Inib-Šarri to her father Zimri-Lim, king of Mari. The content of ARM 10.73 permits a comparison between the two texts regarding a form of political intrigue that the principal players exploit to gain advantage. Inib-Šarri details the efforts of her husband, Ibâl-Addu, to incriminate the regional Mari delegate, Itûr-Asdû, in seditious activities. Ibâl-Addu’s maneuverings, which Inib-Šarri labels karṣīšu īkulū (lit., “they ate his pieces,” that is, denounced him), are remarkably analogous to the steps Jezebel takes against Naboth. Such a correlation reveals an operative relationship between the lu2.meš sarār (“dishonest men”) mentioned in ARM 10.73,rev. 21 and the האנשם בנ־בליעל (“worthless men”) in 1 Kgs 21:10, 13. Two Amarna letters, EA 160 and 161 confirm the ongoing relationship between the lu2.meš sarrūti and the act of karṣī akālu. Both EA 252 and 254 likewise attest to the abiding relevance of karṣī akālu in the area of Omri’s future kingdom. On the basis of the evidence adduced, this study concludes that 1 Kgs 21 records an incident of karṣī akālu without using the expression, and suggests that Jezebel’s acts are not the product of authorial imagination but reflect features of the ancient Near Eastern practice of denunciation.
Over one hundred years have past since Paul Haupt first proposed that the divine name Yhwh is an ... more Over one hundred years have past since Paul Haupt first proposed that the divine name Yhwh is an imperfect hiphil verbal form from the root *יIhwy ("to be") that means "he causes to be > he creates." In this article, I propose that the Semitic concept of a *יIhwy deity, a deity's whose name is formed from this root, began in the East when Enki, the Sumerian god of subterranean waters, acquired the Semitic name Ea. To this day Ea, written e2-a, is conjectured to derive from the Proto-Semitic root hyy ("to live"), a hypothesis founded on an old reading of the cuneiform sign e2 and its associative vocalic values that were, at the time, based on later Akkadian dialects. It is now known, however, that, prior to the Ur III period, e2 was read כ30 and reflects /ha/. With this refinement in hand it is now possible to show that Ea's name was pronounced either ¡hayal and/or Ihawayl, a third person masculine singular Stative or predicative construction of Vhyy Ihwy. It means "he is/exists." It is feasible, therefore, that the earliest articulation of the West's *יIhwy deity was lyahwayl, an imperfect yaqtal G-stem. Although this means that lyahwë(h)l qua hiphil is a later development, the subsequent shift to a causative marks a fundamental theological change in the evolution of the Semitic perception of a *יIhwy deity's true nature.
Does the Hebrew Bible refer to demons? Remarkably, the standard answer to this question has remai... more Does the Hebrew Bible refer to demons? Remarkably, the standard answer to this question has remained rather stable: although there are indeed traces of demons, there is no evidence of the sophisticated type of demonology that is found in Akkadian texts. While this may be true, a more fundamental point remains unanswered. Did the ancient Near Easterners view demons in the same way as modern scholars do, as intrinsically evil beings who deliberately choose to engage in malicious activities contrary to the wishes of the governing deity? Here the answer must be negative.
As OUR UNDERSTANDING of biblical prophecy has increased, there is a growing sense that the custom... more As OUR UNDERSTANDING of biblical prophecy has increased, there is a growing sense that the custom is linked to the broader religious phenomenon of divination. 1 The difficulty, however, lies in establishing a model that illustrates the nature of this connection. Since prophecy involves human beings, there has been a tendency to treat the procedure in isolation. This has usually, but not always, resulted in comparative studies limited to an examination of similar activities in other cultures , most especially those of Mari, Emar, Ebla, and now Neo-Assyria. 2 I would like to express my gratitude to Professors William W. Hallo and David Noel Freedman for their comments on this article. 1 Among the few scholars who have explicitly acknowledged that prophecy is a form of divination are J.-M. de
EVERY LANGUAGE USES SIMILES. Not only do they lend interest and color to otherwise bland discours... more EVERY LANGUAGE USES SIMILES. Not only do they lend interest and color to otherwise bland discourse, but they can also provide insight into the original ancient context. As is commonly known, a simile is a figure of speech that estab lishes a comparison between two different objects. In English they are signaled through the use of the prepositions/conjunctions "like" or "as" and succinctly express the notion "in the same way that" or "in or to the same degree in which." There are two biblical passages that have proved difficult to understand prop erly: Num 5:11-31, a well-known but somewhat baffling biblical text that records a very unusual drinking ritual, and Psalm 109, a "curse" psalm, replete with a series of harsh invectives. Many scholars have seen a relation between these two texts owing to the simile in Ps 109:18 13ΊΡ3 D^ÖD iOTO, "it [the curse] entered his inner parts as water." 1 Of special importance, though, is the question of their Sitz im Leben. Numbers 5:11-31 has been described principally as a trial by ordeal. 2 1 Among those who have recognized an affiliation between Num 5:21-24 and Ps 109:18 are Klaas R. Veenhof, review of E. Kutsch, Salbung als Rechtsakt im Alten Testament, BO 23 (1966) 308-13, here 313; Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, King and Messiah: The Civil and Sacral Legitimation of the Israelite Kings (ConBOT 8; Lund: Gleerup, 1976) 223; Baruch A. Levine, Numbers: Anew translation with introduction and commentary (2 vols.; AB 4, 4A; New York: Doubleday, 1993-2000) 1. 198. 2 An ordeal is understood to be a process designed to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused to hazardous or painful tests thought to be under heavenly authority. Those who hold that Num 5:11-31 is an ordeal or a combination of an oath and ordeal are George Buchanan Gray, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Numbers (ICC; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 440
As many extant texts demonstrate, the world of the Ancient Near East was replete with curses. The... more As many extant texts demonstrate, the world of the Ancient Near East was replete with curses. They managed almost every feature of life from simple business affairs to complex international relations. Of significant importance for the survivability of any society at that time was the maintenance of the happiness of the local deity or deities whose ongoing presence and patronage was inexorably linked to the preservation of their respective tribe, city, or empire. Cursing importuned these patron deities, as well as personal deities, to injure others so that the well-being of their tribal or city residents might be sustained. A curse's ultimate purpose was to inspire heavenly rage by soliciting supernatural powers to intercede in situations that were believed to be beyond mortal control such as injustices, disease, injury, or just plain bad luck. The following study will review the underlying features of all curses in the Ancient Near East. The deities, as will be shown, played a central role in the execution of maledictions. They were viewed as the agents who would, in one way or another, realize the requested punishment should they judge in the speaker's favor. This analysis will be followed by an examination of the most common types of curses the Ancient Near Easterners used.
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