Benedikt Hensel
Benedikt Hensel is Full-Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (Germany) and in 2019–2021 held positions as Interim Professor of Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology at the universities of Mainz (Germany) and Zurich (Switzerland). He holds a PhD (2011) and Habilitation (2016) in Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. He is specialized in the religious history, archaeology, and literary history of Israel, Judah, and Transjordan. His main fields of work are related to the Persian and early Hellenistic periods as well as to the Neo-Assyrian period. He conducted research on the Ancient Samaritans (as Principal Investigator 2013–2016; Mainz) and on the Pentateuchal traditions and their historical backgrounds (2017–2020, Zurich). Visiting scholar at the Universities of Haifa (2015), Tel Aviv (2018) and Montpelier (2018). Since 2023 he is Co-Director of the Hazor Excavations Project (with Igor Kreimerman, HUJI).
Address: Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel
Lehrstuhl für Altes Testament
Institut für Ev. Theologie und Religionspädagogik
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118
D-26129 Oldenburg
https://uol.de/theologie/fachbereiche/altes-testament
https://uol.de/theologie/transjordan
Address: Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel
Lehrstuhl für Altes Testament
Institut für Ev. Theologie und Religionspädagogik
Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Ammerländer Heerstr. 114-118
D-26129 Oldenburg
https://uol.de/theologie/fachbereiche/altes-testament
https://uol.de/theologie/transjordan
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Monographs by Benedikt Hensel
Published in German.
Benedikt Hensel presents in this volume new insights on the emergence of the Old Testament and Judaism. Starting with the Mt. Gerizim Yahwists, who were later identi ed as “Samaritans”, the author investigates their relationship to their Judean counterparts in the post-exile period (600–100 BCE) by using all the currently available Samarian archaeological, iconographic, numismatic and epigraphical sources. He also simultaneously evaluates the literary testimonies of the Old Testament and later Jewish traditions, esp. Ezra-Nehemiah, the books of the Chronicles and 2 Kings 17. The religious-sociological and -political developments hereby demonstrated lead to the conclusion that there were two Yawhistic communities in Judah and Samaria existing side-by-side and in communication with one another in post-exile Palestine.
Die Zürcher Bibelkommentare richten sich nicht nur an Theologinnen und Theologen, sondern auch an Lesende, die nur in beschränktem Masse mit wissenschaftlichen Kommentaren arbeiten. Sie ermöglichen sowohl dem Gemeindeglied als auch Menschen, die kirchlich nicht engagiert sind, eine fundierte und verständliche Einführung in die Bibel. Das Alte Testament ist in 26 Teile aufgefächert, die in etwa 30 Bänden behandelt werden, das Neue Testament in 22 Teile, wofür etwa 25 Bänden vorgesehen sind.
Edited Books by Benedikt Hensel
Hensel, B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology - in collaboration with Jordan Davis, hg. von Benedikt Hensel (ArchB), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024 (accepted for publication; expected to be published: early 2024).
Bibliographie:
Migration und Theologie. Historische Reflektionen, theologische Grundelemente und hermeneutische Perspektiven aus der alt- und neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft (ABG/Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 74), herausgegeben von Hensel, Benedikt und Christian Wetz; Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig 2023.
Bibliography:
Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 167), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023; hg. von Hensel, B., Nocquet, D und Adamczewski, B.
Edom and Idumea in eighteen essays written by researchers from
different disciplines (history, archaeology, Assyriology, epigraphy,
memory studies, and Hebrew Bible studies). The topics examined include
the emergence of Idumea, the evolution of Edomite/Idumean identity,
the impact of the Arabian trade on the region, comparative and
regional studies of Idumea and Judah, studies of specific sites,
artifacts, epigraphic and literary sources, and a section on literary
and ideological constructions and memories of “Edom” reflected in the
Hebrew Bible. This volume is a “go-to” for all who are interested in
the current state of research about Edom and Idumea.
About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period:
Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible
Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Edited by Benedikt Hensel (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg),
Ehud Ben Zvi (University of Alberta) and Diana V. Edelman (University
of Oslo)
Series: Worlds of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean
ISBN (Hardback) 9781800501331
Price £145 / $180
e-PDF 9781800501348
Price £145 / $180
Pages 478, 71 colour and black and white figures
Book webpage: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/edom-idumea/
This volume comprises seven articles from renown international specialists in the field that offer comprehensive insights into new approaches and current research questions. The unique perspective lays in its combining of literary, archaeological, and historical approaches in order to understand and to evaluate the historical realities behind the Jacob Cycle and its traditions.
Benedikt Hensel: The History of the Jacob Cycle in Recent Research: An Introduction to the Volume – Konrad Schmid: Shifting Political Theologies in the Literary Development of the Jacob Cycle – Friederike Neumann: Jacob, Laban, and the Two Daughters: Insights into the Formation of the Jacob-Laban Story (Genesis 29–31) – Benedikt Hensel: Edom in the Jacob Cycle (Gen *25–35): New Insights on Its Positive Relations with Israel, the Literary-Historical Development of Its Role, and Its Historical Background(s) – Jakob Wöhrle: Jacob from Israel and Jacob from Judah: Reflections upon the Formation and the Historical Backgrounds of the Jacob Story – Christian Frevel: Jacob as Father of the Twelve Tribes: Literary and Historical Considerations – Guy Darshan: The Priestly Account of the End of Jacob’s Life: The Significance of Text-Critical Evidence – Aharon Tavger: “And He Called the Name of that Place Bethel” (Gen 28:19): Historical-Geography and Archaeology of the Sanctuary of Bethel
The main objective of the volume lies in the literary-historical implications of this diversity: How did these groups or their interactions with one another influence the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as its complex textual transmission? This perspective has not been sufficiently pursued in the more religious and historically oriented research before.
The volume comprises thirteen articles by renowned international specialists in the field, which aim at closing this gap in the scholarly discussion.
Table of Contents:
Benedikt Hensel: Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: State of the Field, Desiderata, and Research Perspectives in a Necessary Debate on the Formative Period of Judaism(s)
Part I: Perspectives for and from Judah, Samaria, and Diaspora? The Debate within the Pentateuch and Hexateuch
Reinhard Achenbach: Die Integration der heiligen Orte der Provinz Samaria in das Narrativ des Hexateuch – Konrad Schmid: The Diaspora as a Blessing for the Nations: The Case of Gen 28:14 – Dany Nocquet: The Question of Israel’s Kinship with the Arameans: Rachel and Laban in Gen 31:1 – 32:1: A Samaritan Contribution? – Julia Rhyder: Unity and Hierarchy: North and South in the Priestly Traditions – Raik Heckl: The Temple within the Book and Its Function: Considerations on the Cultic Conception of the Composition of the Torah
Part II: Ongoing Debates – Historical Developments – Intensifying Polemics: Literary-Historical, Text-Historical, Theological, and Historical Aspects of the Formation Processes
Jean Louis Ska: Why is the Chosen People Called Israel and Not Judah? –Hervé Gonzalez/Marc Mendoza: ‘What Have the Macedonians Ever Done for Us?’ A Reassessment of the Changes in Samaria by the Start of the Hellenistic Period – Stefan Schorch: Where is the Altar? Scribal Intervention in the Book of Joshua and Beyond – Detlef Jericke: Shiloh between Shechem and Jerusalem – Magnar Kartveit: The Tension between the Law and the Prophets as a Background to the Formation of the Samaritan Pentateuch – Veit Dinkelaker: Gen 2:2 Reconsidered: Marginal Notes on a Peculiar Variant in Samaritan, Greek, and other Manuscripts – Jonathan Miles Robker: Die Texttraditionen von 2. Könige 17 als Spiegel der Entwicklung des Verhältnisses von Juden und Samaritanern
The main objective of the volume lies in the literary-historical implications of this diversity: How did these groups or their interactions with one another influence the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as its complex textual transmission? This perspective has not been sufficiently pursued in the more religious and historically oriented research before.
The volume comprises thirteen articles by renowned international specialists in the field, which aim at closing this gap in the scholarly discussion.
Articles / Book Chapters by Benedikt Hensel
Published in German.
Benedikt Hensel presents in this volume new insights on the emergence of the Old Testament and Judaism. Starting with the Mt. Gerizim Yahwists, who were later identi ed as “Samaritans”, the author investigates their relationship to their Judean counterparts in the post-exile period (600–100 BCE) by using all the currently available Samarian archaeological, iconographic, numismatic and epigraphical sources. He also simultaneously evaluates the literary testimonies of the Old Testament and later Jewish traditions, esp. Ezra-Nehemiah, the books of the Chronicles and 2 Kings 17. The religious-sociological and -political developments hereby demonstrated lead to the conclusion that there were two Yawhistic communities in Judah and Samaria existing side-by-side and in communication with one another in post-exile Palestine.
Die Zürcher Bibelkommentare richten sich nicht nur an Theologinnen und Theologen, sondern auch an Lesende, die nur in beschränktem Masse mit wissenschaftlichen Kommentaren arbeiten. Sie ermöglichen sowohl dem Gemeindeglied als auch Menschen, die kirchlich nicht engagiert sind, eine fundierte und verständliche Einführung in die Bibel. Das Alte Testament ist in 26 Teile aufgefächert, die in etwa 30 Bänden behandelt werden, das Neue Testament in 22 Teile, wofür etwa 25 Bänden vorgesehen sind.
Hensel, B. (ed.), Transjordan and the Southern Levant. New Approaches Regarding the Iron Age and the Persian Period from Hebrew Bible Studies and Archaeology - in collaboration with Jordan Davis, hg. von Benedikt Hensel (ArchB), Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen 2024 (accepted for publication; expected to be published: early 2024).
Bibliographie:
Migration und Theologie. Historische Reflektionen, theologische Grundelemente und hermeneutische Perspektiven aus der alt- und neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft (ABG/Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 74), herausgegeben von Hensel, Benedikt und Christian Wetz; Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig 2023.
Bibliography:
Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 167), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023; hg. von Hensel, B., Nocquet, D und Adamczewski, B.
Edom and Idumea in eighteen essays written by researchers from
different disciplines (history, archaeology, Assyriology, epigraphy,
memory studies, and Hebrew Bible studies). The topics examined include
the emergence of Idumea, the evolution of Edomite/Idumean identity,
the impact of the Arabian trade on the region, comparative and
regional studies of Idumea and Judah, studies of specific sites,
artifacts, epigraphic and literary sources, and a section on literary
and ideological constructions and memories of “Edom” reflected in the
Hebrew Bible. This volume is a “go-to” for all who are interested in
the current state of research about Edom and Idumea.
About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period:
Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible
Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Edited by Benedikt Hensel (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg),
Ehud Ben Zvi (University of Alberta) and Diana V. Edelman (University
of Oslo)
Series: Worlds of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean
ISBN (Hardback) 9781800501331
Price £145 / $180
e-PDF 9781800501348
Price £145 / $180
Pages 478, 71 colour and black and white figures
Book webpage: https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/edom-idumea/
This volume comprises seven articles from renown international specialists in the field that offer comprehensive insights into new approaches and current research questions. The unique perspective lays in its combining of literary, archaeological, and historical approaches in order to understand and to evaluate the historical realities behind the Jacob Cycle and its traditions.
Benedikt Hensel: The History of the Jacob Cycle in Recent Research: An Introduction to the Volume – Konrad Schmid: Shifting Political Theologies in the Literary Development of the Jacob Cycle – Friederike Neumann: Jacob, Laban, and the Two Daughters: Insights into the Formation of the Jacob-Laban Story (Genesis 29–31) – Benedikt Hensel: Edom in the Jacob Cycle (Gen *25–35): New Insights on Its Positive Relations with Israel, the Literary-Historical Development of Its Role, and Its Historical Background(s) – Jakob Wöhrle: Jacob from Israel and Jacob from Judah: Reflections upon the Formation and the Historical Backgrounds of the Jacob Story – Christian Frevel: Jacob as Father of the Twelve Tribes: Literary and Historical Considerations – Guy Darshan: The Priestly Account of the End of Jacob’s Life: The Significance of Text-Critical Evidence – Aharon Tavger: “And He Called the Name of that Place Bethel” (Gen 28:19): Historical-Geography and Archaeology of the Sanctuary of Bethel
The main objective of the volume lies in the literary-historical implications of this diversity: How did these groups or their interactions with one another influence the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as its complex textual transmission? This perspective has not been sufficiently pursued in the more religious and historically oriented research before.
The volume comprises thirteen articles by renowned international specialists in the field, which aim at closing this gap in the scholarly discussion.
Table of Contents:
Benedikt Hensel: Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible: State of the Field, Desiderata, and Research Perspectives in a Necessary Debate on the Formative Period of Judaism(s)
Part I: Perspectives for and from Judah, Samaria, and Diaspora? The Debate within the Pentateuch and Hexateuch
Reinhard Achenbach: Die Integration der heiligen Orte der Provinz Samaria in das Narrativ des Hexateuch – Konrad Schmid: The Diaspora as a Blessing for the Nations: The Case of Gen 28:14 – Dany Nocquet: The Question of Israel’s Kinship with the Arameans: Rachel and Laban in Gen 31:1 – 32:1: A Samaritan Contribution? – Julia Rhyder: Unity and Hierarchy: North and South in the Priestly Traditions – Raik Heckl: The Temple within the Book and Its Function: Considerations on the Cultic Conception of the Composition of the Torah
Part II: Ongoing Debates – Historical Developments – Intensifying Polemics: Literary-Historical, Text-Historical, Theological, and Historical Aspects of the Formation Processes
Jean Louis Ska: Why is the Chosen People Called Israel and Not Judah? –Hervé Gonzalez/Marc Mendoza: ‘What Have the Macedonians Ever Done for Us?’ A Reassessment of the Changes in Samaria by the Start of the Hellenistic Period – Stefan Schorch: Where is the Altar? Scribal Intervention in the Book of Joshua and Beyond – Detlef Jericke: Shiloh between Shechem and Jerusalem – Magnar Kartveit: The Tension between the Law and the Prophets as a Background to the Formation of the Samaritan Pentateuch – Veit Dinkelaker: Gen 2:2 Reconsidered: Marginal Notes on a Peculiar Variant in Samaritan, Greek, and other Manuscripts – Jonathan Miles Robker: Die Texttraditionen von 2. Könige 17 als Spiegel der Entwicklung des Verhältnisses von Juden und Samaritanern
The main objective of the volume lies in the literary-historical implications of this diversity: How did these groups or their interactions with one another influence the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as its complex textual transmission? This perspective has not been sufficiently pursued in the more religious and historically oriented research before.
The volume comprises thirteen articles by renowned international specialists in the field, which aim at closing this gap in the scholarly discussion.
Hensel, Benedikt, “Herkunft und Ausbreitung der frühen JHWH-Verehrung: eine Reevaluation der Quellen mit einem besonderen Blick auf die Kupferindustrie im Arabah-Graben.” In: transformatio; Heft 1 – 2024: Mobilität. Religion und Glaube in Bewegung, S. 40-69 (peer-reviewed).
https://transformatio-journal.org/ojs/index.php/trans/article/view/1115
In “Transjordan and Judah from the Babylonian to the Hellenistic Periods (6th–2nd Centuries BCE): Their Cultural, Religious, Economic, and Political Entanglements and Their Impact on the Formation of the Hebrew Bible and Emerging Judaism,” Benedikt Hensel (University of Oldenburg, Germany) pre- sents a reconstruction of the historical development of Transjordan (in tradi- tional terms: Ammon, Moab and Edom), the Jordan Valley and the western Arabah Valley and Idumea from the Babylonian to Hellenistic periods (6th to 2nd centuries BCE) in the context of the Southern Levant. The article first pre- sents a brief history of research relating to the Transjordan in the context of the Southern Levant, in particular the changing perspective on the limitations of research on Transjordan concerning the Persian period realities, as well as a discussion on the possibilities of identifying and characterizing findings of the Persian period. This is followed by an analysis of the presently available ar- chaeological, epigraphic, iconographic, and literary (i.e., biblical) sources. A particular emphasis will be dedicated to Transjordan’s cultural, political and economic entanglement with Cisjordan, especially regarding questions of group identity and the attribution of ethnicity, as well as the possible reflections of these historical realties in different biblical traditions. The article demon- strates that despite lying on the fringes of the Southern Levant, the Transjordan regions (together with the Jordan Valley and Idumea in the western Arabah Valley) prove rather impactful for the entire eastern Mediterranean and espe- cially for the formation of Judah and early Judaism, and their normative scrip- tures that later became the Hebrew Bible.
Der vorliegende Beitrag wird sich mit den Philistern beschäftigen, wie sie in der neuesten historischen und archäologischen Forschung greifbar werden (Sektion 1.). Sodann wird sich der Beitrag vor diesem Hintergrund den Philistern in den Samuelbüchern widmen (Sektion 2.) – und zwar an seinen narrativen Nahtstellen: In 1 Sam 4 treten die Philister erstmals als Israels überlegene und aggressive Invasoren auf. Sie bleiben die Erzfeinde Israels und des frühen Königtums unter Saul und David, bis letzterer die Philister endgültig besiegt (2 Sam 5,17–25). Flankiert wird diese Philistergefahr bemerkenswerter Weise über Erzählungen um die Lade, die erst von Philistern gestohlen (1 Sam 4–6) und dann von David am Ende (2 Sam 6) nach Jerusalem wieder überführt wird. Große Teile dieser Erzählstoffe gehören zum ältesten überlieferungsgeschichtlichen Bestand der Samuelbücher. Unter Berücksichtigung der historischen Forschungen sowie der literatur- und redaktionsgeschichtlichen Entwicklungen der alttestamentlichen Forschung differenziert der vorliegende Beitrag anschließend drei Dimensionen des Philisterbildes in den ältesten Traditionen aus (Sektion 3.-5.). So eröffnet dieser Beitrag eine neue historische Einordnung wie textpragmatische Deutungen, nämlich: 1.) Assyrer als Philister: Kritik an neu-assyrischer Reichspolitik im Spiegel der Philister; 2.) Legitimation der judäischen Monarchie um 700 v. Chr.: Beseitigung der Philister im Kontext der Ladeerzählung; 3.) Die Philister als Sachwalter Assurs – historische Grundierung der Philister-Assyrer-Identifikation in den Ereignissen nach 701 v. Chr.
Zum gesamten Band:
Im Kontext wissenschaftlich reflektierter Theologie sind Migration sowie die zugehörigen Themenfelder Flucht und Vertreibung im gesamten Fächerkanon zu einem breit diskutierten und hochaktuellen Gegenstand wissenschaftlicher Forschung geworden. Ein Desiderat ist allerdings die konsequente Reflexion des Themas in der Theologie des Alten wie auch des Neuen Testaments. Die unterschiedlichen theologischen Prägungen der Bücher und Sammlungen der Bibel lassen das Thema Migration in je anderen, aber zentralen Akzentuierungen zum Vorschein kommen. Der innovative Band schließt diese Lücke, indem die Einzelbeiträge thematisch breit aufgestellt die Geltungsansprüche alt- und neutestamentlicher Migrationsthematik im Okular ihres komplexen Verhältnisses von Historie, Theologie und literarischer Genese der Traditionskomplexe betrachten und hermeneutisch reflektieren.
Bibliography:
Benedikt Hensel, „Selbstprädikation JHWHs und Herausführungsformel in der Dekalogeröffnung Ex 20,2–6/Dtn 5,6–10: Zur Theologie eines Gottesbildes und seiner religions- und rechtsgeschichtlichen Entwicklung,” in: Hensel, B./Wetz, C. (Hg.), Migration und Theologie. Historische Reflektionen, theologische Grundelemente und hermeneutische Perspektiven aus der alt- und neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft (Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 74), Evangelische Verlagsanstalt: Leipzig 2023, 337-381.
Bibliography:
- Hensel, Benedikt, “Introduction”. In: Hensel B. et al. (ed.), Social Groups behind Biblical Traditions: Identity Perspectives from Egypt, Transjordan, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Israel in the Second Temple Period (Forschungen zum Alten Testament I), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2023, 1-7.
Summary:
Benedikt Hensel’s article discusses the different questions about the identification of redactor groups and social groups behind the biblical traditions in the so-called formative phase of Judaism. Here, I identify and detail two modes of representation of the different Yahwistic and especially Diaspora groups. This results in the observation that the different traditions and social groups behind the biblical texts establish differing concepts of a “biblical Israel” under the question of who does and who does not (anymore) belong. The formation of the biblical traditions thus comprises the counterpart to the historical processes of the formation of Judaism within the “canon” of the various Yahwistic groups.
You can eMail me for full text (Benedikt.hensel@uni-oldenburg.de)
The article addresses questions concerning the literary-historical classification and historical dimension tangible behind the Journey of the Ark established in the narrative of 1 Sam 5:1–7:1, 2a: What role does the itinerary play for the Ark’s larger function in the narrative and how does the possible, but highly controversial connection with 2 Sam 6 come into play? A second aspect of inquiry is functionally related to the first: Why are the Philistines introduced in connection with the Ark Narrative as—at least within the narrative itself—the “primary nemesis of Israel”? Their existence and threat to Israel guide the fate of Saul and David, beginning in 1 Sam 4 and lasting until the latter emerges victorious in 2 Sam 5:17–25. Alongside the literary-historical reappraisal of the issue, a particular cultural-historical and religio-political background of the narrative is explored that has rarely been undertaken in this context. In the view of the author, this aspect constitutes a central element within the Ark’s journey that critically influences both the fundamental dynamics of the narrative as well as its theological intention: the practice, well attested in ancient Near Eastern sources, of the deportation of cult statuary. Following these observations, the narrative in 1 Sam 4:1–7:1 (without the idol polemic in 1 Sam 5:3–5, 7b); 2 Sam 5:17–25; 6:1–19 is contextualized temporally and functionally as stemming from an origi-nal “catastrophe narrative” (“Katastrophenerzählung”, W.Dietrich) in 1 Sam 4* in the late-eighth and seventh centuries BCE with both anti-Assyrian and anti-Philistine inclinations.
Abstract: The essay introduces the current state of research on Edom in the Persian period and outlines the open questions, desiderata, and issues for future research. The essay is meant to serve as an orientation into this complex and problematic situation, particularly the intersections of historical studies, archaeology, and cultural, religious, and literary histories. Consequently, it is imperative that perspectives from historical research, Hebrew Bible studies, and ancient Near Eastern studies are brought into dialogue with each other. Therefore, the essay concerns itself with the various (and partially divergent) results, inquiries, and sectors of future research from the different disciplines on the question of Persian-period Edom, and it seeks to bring these together so as to develop the larger historical, literary-historical, and religious-historical picture that the field desperately needs.
Structure of the article:
Migration als Gegenstand gegenwärtiger Theologie
I. Migration als Leitthema des Pentateuch I.1 Migration, Flucht und Exodus
I.1 Migration, Flucht und Exodus
I.2 Ambivalenzen: die Wüstenwanderung
II. Zwischen Exodus und Exil: Israel als Migrationsgemeinschaft im Enneateuch (Gen-2Kön)
III. Migration als Eigenschaft Gottes
IV. Migration als prägendes Emblem Israels ab persischer Zeit: die Pentateuchredaktion im historischen Kontext
Abschließende Erwägungen
Zusammenfassung: Der Beitrag analysiert die Konversion der Seeleute in Jon 1,5–16 und die Umkehr der Niniviten in Jon 3,5–19 und vergleicht sie miteinander. Hensel kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass zwei unterschiedliche Modelle der Zuord- nung zum antiken Judentum im Rahmen dieser prophetischen Lehrerzählung vorgestellt und im Kontext vielfältiger Applikationen von Schrifttraditionen (ins- besondere Joel und Jer; sowie der Gnadenformel Ex 34,6 f.) verhandelt werden. Im Hintergrund steht die Debatte um die Zuordnungsoptionen für »Proselyten« (Jon 1) und »Sympathisanten« des hellenistischen Judentums (Jon 3).
Preview. Vollständiger Artikel in: Hensel, Benedikt, Gottesfürchtige Seeleute (Jon 1,5–16) und bußfertige Feinde (Jon 3,5–10). Zwei unterschiedliche Modelle des »Heil für die Völker« im Jonabuch, ZAW 133/2 (2021), 188-207.
This essay pursues three major objectives: 1) describing the historical Edom in light of the most recent archaeological and historical research; 2) investigating Edom’s role within the narrative of the first literary edition of the Jacob Cycle; 3) exploring the role of Edom throughout the various redactional processes of the Jacob Cycle during the exilic and Persian periods. The primary hypothesis is that Edom’s role in the Jacob Cycle underwent a particular series of developments throughout its literary growth. This resulted in a conception of “Edom” that developed alongside its conception of “Israel” in a process roughly spanning the 8th to the 5th/4th centuries BCE. Hensel proposes that the early Jacob Cycle (Gen *25, 27, 29–31, 32–33) should be understood as a post-722, yet still 8th century “exilic” tradition of Northern (and thus Samarian) origin. For the redactional processes, emphasizing positive Israel-Edom relations after 586 BCE, Hensel proposes that they represent a deliberate counter-image to the portrayal of Edom in other parts of biblical literature after 586 BCE, which is overwhelmingly negative. This notion of Edom could then either a) substantiate claims to Judean settlements in Idumea (“Edom”), or b) represent the integration of the (ex-)Judean settlements or individuals within the west-Edomite/Idumean regions in the 6th/5th centuries BCE (and continuing into the Persian and Hellenistic periods).
Director/Projektleiter:
Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel - Chair of Hebrew Bible – University of Oldenburg/Germany
Co-directors/Projektpartner:
• Dr. Erik Eynikel – Faculty of Catholic Theology – University of Regensburg/Germany
• Dr. Igor Kreimerman – Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies-
Project Duration
36 Month (3 years)
Perspectives from Babylonia, Idumea, Judah and Israel
Session/Research Unit at the EABS Annual Conference, Toulouse, 4th-7th July 2022
Chairs:
Bartosz Adamczewski, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw
Benedikt Hensel, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
Dany Nocquet, Protestant Institute of Theology, Montpellier
Thursday, 7th July, 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Workshop EABS Annual Conference 2022, Toulouse, 4th-7th July 2022
Chairs:
Erez Ben-Yosef, Tel Aviv University
Benedikt Hensel, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg
Session 1: New Venues in Hebrew Bible Research
Session 2: New Venues in Archaeology
Veranstaltungsankündigung (for english version see below)
Prof. Dr. Benedikt Hensel (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg) und Dr. Stephen Germany (Universität Basel) richten an der Universität Basel vom 12.-14. Oktober 2022 eine internationale Konferenz unter dem Titel „The Book of Samuel in the Shadow of Empires. Relations between Israel, Judah, and Neighboring Nations in Historical, Compositional, and Theological Perspective” aus, zu der Interessierte herzlich eingeladen sind.
Ziel der Konferenz ist es, eine präzisierende Erfassung der Rolle der imperialen Großmächte wie auch der Anrainerstaaten und Nachbarkulturen Israels und Judas zu leisten. In den Samuelbüchern spielen die Nachbarvölker Israels und Judahs wie auch die in der Südlevante agierenden imperialen Großmächte des 1. Jahrtausends eine so entscheidende Rolle wie kaum in einem andere biblischen Literaturbereich, nämlich, erstens, für die Erzählwelt der Bücher, wie auch, zweitens, für die in Samuel reflektierten, aber wechselnden historischen Realitäten, und drittens für die literaturgeschichtliche und insbesondere redaktionsgeschichtliche Erforschung der Samuelbücher spielen.
Erforderlich, möglich und lohnend ist diese Fragestellung und Zielsetzung der Konferenz wegen der aktuellen und neuesten Entwicklungen der historischen Forschungen und literaturgeschichtlichen Debatten zu den Samuelbüchern und ihren weiteren Kontexten (Kön-Bücher; DtrG; Enneateuch). Die Beschreibung der Nationen und Großmächte, wie sie sich auf narrativer, textpragmatischer, literaturgeschichtlicher und historischer Ebene in den Samuelbüchern und deren Auslegung niederschlagen, hängt damit eng mit der präzisierenden Erfassung der Literaturgeschichte der Samuelbücher und seinen größeren literarischen Kontexten (Kön-Bücher, DtrG; Enneateuch) zusammen.
Der Vielschichtigkeit der Problemlage wird mit einem breiten multi- und cross-disziplinären Ansatz entsprochen, der Beiträge aus Archäologie, Geschichte, Literaturgeschichte und Narratologie mit einschließt.
Mit dem für diese Konferenz entscheidenden „Okular“ der Völker- und imperialen Geschichte leistet die Konferenz somit einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur die historische wie auch die literarturgeschichtliche Erschließung innerhalb der aktuellen Samuelforschung.
Die Tagung wird großzügig durch die Schweizerische Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften (SAGW) sowie durch den Schweizerischen Nationalfonds (SNF) gefördert.
Interessiert melden sich zur Anmeldung bitte an: Anita Dirnberger: at-theol@unibas.ch.
About the Conference:
Israel’s and Judah’s relationship with other ancient Near Eastern nations is a theme that permeates the book of Samuel on multiple levels of interpretation. Within the narrative world of the book, the decisive cultural-political transition to kingship is closely tied up with Israel’s relations with neighboring peoples. The book recounts the story of the early monarchy through its main protagonists Samuel, Saul, and David and their contacts and conflicts with neighboring nations, such as the Philistines, Edomites, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites. Given this panoply of neighboring nations in the book of Samuel, it is all the more striking that not a word is said explicitly of the major ancient Near Eastern empires that presumably loomed in the background at the time when the book was written, namely, the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. And yet, as recent research has shown, the composition and ideology of book of Samuel clearly bear the mark of Israel’s and Judah’s experiences under the latter empires.
Several questions thus arise: What narrative function do foreign nations and empires serve within the world of the text? What can be said about the nations and empires described in the text from the perspective of extrabiblical evidence, such as archaeology? To what extent does the text reflect the historical conditions of the period in which the narrative is set (i.e., the late Iron Age I) versus those of the later periods in which the book developed? What might the book of Samuel have to say about Israel’s and Judah’s experiences under the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian Empires and biblical scribes’ attitudes toward these empires or toward the concept of empire more broadly?
A closer look at the representation of neighboring nations as well as the theme of empire in the book of Samuel from multiple perspectives – archaeology, compositional development, and his-toriographical and theological function – serves as a gateway to understanding the historical back-ground and literary history of the book of Samuel more broadly. Here, it is crucial to maintain a clear distinction between these different levels of interpretation and methodological approaches (which have not always been adequately distinguished from each other in previous research) in order to reach a historically sound interpretation of the book.
This more nuanced approach to the discourse on foreign nations and empires in the book of Samuel stands at the center of the conference.
This interdisciplinary conference will place a special focus on integrating the results of ongoing archaeological excavations and international research projects relating to Israel’s neigh-bors (particularly the Philistines, Edomites, and Arameans) with current narratological and literary-historical analyses of the book of Samuel. The major methodological approaches are reflected in the three main sections of the conference: (1) The Nations and Empires of the Book of Samuel: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives; (2) Nations and Empires as a Catalyst in the Formation of the Book of Samuel; and (3) Nations, Empires, and the Construction of Israelite Identity in the Book of Samuel.
To register, please contact Anita Dirnberger: at-theol@unibas.ch
Research Workshop at the EABS Annual Conference 2022 at Toulouse 4th-7th July 2022:
Edom East and West of the Arabah Valley, in the Negev and in the Hebrew Bible
Chairs:
PD Dr. Benedikt Hensel, University of Goettingen
Prof. Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef, University of Tel Aviv
This workshop aim is to advance our knowledge of historical Iron-Age Edom, Persian and Hellenistic Idumea, and Judean constructions of both, as attested in the books that ended up in the Hebrew Bible. The workshop is meant to foster dialogue among historians, archaeologists and scholars of the Hebrew Bible on these matters.
The study of Edom has experienced an immense upswing in recent years, with particularly high interest in its historical and archaeological aspects as well as its place within larger Near Eastern studies. Meanwhile, its importance for the fate of the Southern Levant in antiquity is becoming increasingly clear. This is especially true for the Edom of the Iron Age: Here, Edom was a rather influential polity, and despite lying on the fringes of the Southern Levant, both its copper mining activities in the early stages of its nomadic tribal organization as well as the later Edomite trade and economic systems proved rather impactful for the entire eastern Mediterranean. New research and findings raise questions with certain historical cultural-historical, religious-historical and geo-political aspects which the workshop plans to address and discuss.
Additionally, there is the question of the “after-history” of the monarchy of Edom after 552 BCE. Contrary to the prevailing line of research in both the recent and more distant past, Edom did not completely disappear. Overall, recent findings strongly suggest, that there was a significant decline in settlement history after the Babylonian interventions, but there was also continuity of settlement at several key sites in Cis- and Transjordanian sites in the Persian period, as well as a continuation of nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism that had been a characteristic of this landscape for centuries. Biblical research has also since identified the Persian period as a decisive phase for the formation of the Hebrew Bible and has become sensitized to possibility that specific texts that reference Transjordan may have stemmed from that time and do also depict or reflect contemporary “Transjordanian realities.”
The focus of the Workshop
The workshop will deal with three main fields of research which we encourage scholars to participate in: (a) The Question of an Early Iron Age Edomite “Polity” and the Transregional Organization of Semi-Pastoral and Pastoral groups in the Iron Age Southern Jordan regions against the Background of Empires; (b): Trans- and Cisjordanian “Edom”; Interactions - Similarities and Differences; and (c) The Biblical Reflection of Edom Through the Ages. Several papers will be invited to open a conversation on these matters, but suitable submissions will also be considered.
Organisation:
Katharina Schmidt, German Protestant Institute of Archaeology (GPIA) in Amman
Benedikt Hensel, University of Zurich - Theologische Fakultät
Rocío Da Riva, Facultat de Geografia i Història/Universitat de Barcelona
Mohammad al Najjar, Amman
Conference-Website: www.edomarchaeology.com (with information how to register for the conference. Participation is free of charge. So, everyone welcome!).
About the Conference:
The conference focusses on Edom in the Transjordan regions. The region of Edom in Southern Transjordan played a key role in the early to middle First Millennium BCE, especially in the Iron Age II period, and – as most recent research suggests – already in the early Iron Age I. Edom was strategically positioned alongside well frequented trade routes leading from the North to the South, and from the East to the Western regions of Southern Levant and the Mediterranean – thereby connecting different cultural, political and economic zones. The presence of Edomite trade in the respective regions is very well documented in epigraphical and archaeological sources.
Interest in the archaeology and history of Southern Jordan during the First Millennium BCE started in the 19th century and then accelerated in the middle of the 20th century. The history of the exploration is long and certainly multifaceted since it was strongly connected to the search for the ancient sites relating to the events and peoples mentioned in the Bible. Despite a long history of research, the ar-chaeological coverage of Edom still remains fragmentary, as large areas have not been surveyed, and others have provided data that are not stratigraphically controlled.
Only a few sites have been excavated, and even fewer have been published in final form such as, e.g. Tawilan, Busayra and Umm al-Biyara; others, such as e.g. Baja III, have been presented in the form of articles, reports and overviews. It is therefore difficult to provide a comprehensive overview of the sites and finds. Moreover, major questions such as the precise chronology of the sites have not yet been sufficiently resolved.
The archaeological record shows itself as quite complex. The settlement patterns are diverse and highly flexible. This most probably results from more uncertain conditions directly related to socioec-onomic factors. Yet the different forms of land-tied tribalism, the degree of centralized political rule and level of urbanization are still a matter of discussion. Additionally, the traditional view, that the kingdom of Edom only came to existence from the 8th century onwards, seems to be challenged in the light of recent findings.
And, last but not least, the discussion about the extent to which the Edomite territory also covered areas of the Southern Negev in the Iron Age has been very much debated lately in the light of recent findings; it definitively needs further investigation. Beyond this, from a religious-historical perspective there is the still unresolved question of the Edomite main deity “Qos”/ “Qaus” and the relation with other Levantine gods.
The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers from different disciplines (Archaeology; Assyriology; Biblical Studies) to discuss the current state of research on the Iron Age in Southern Transjordan. The perspectives of history, archaeology, philology and Biblical studies will be included in the discussion at the same level, as all these disciplines are equally interested in the topic and have left their mark on the history of research. Through this holistic approach, all aspects of Edom should be combined to a uniform, albeit multifaceted picture.
Conference Website: www.edomarchaeology.com
The 10th German-Israeli Frontiers of Humanities symposium under the title "Cultural Encounters: Translation, Transformation, Tension" will approach the theme of cultural encounters from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, ranging from American history and ancient Near Eastern studies to comparative religion, sociology and political science. The presenters will address such questions as: How did cultural encounters of Judeans and locals in Babylonia during the Achaemenid period affect their social and religious daily lives? In what ways did the ongoing cultural dynamics of contacts, exchanges, and interactions among Muslims, Jews, Chris- tians and Zoroastrians in the ancient world shape the theologies and beliefs of these four religions? What are the social meanings attributed to the figure of ‘the stranger’ within such cultural encounters, and in what ways can the stranger serve not only to better comprehend contemporary migratory encounters across cultural contexts, but also allow for the critical evaluation of the burgeoning field of ‘migration studies’? And no less significantly, how does the scholarly position of being a stranger to the culture we study affect our readings of painful twenty-first-century cultural encounters and histories of xenophobia, racism and exclusion in the American, German, and Israeli contexts and beyond them?
Organizing Committee:
Moshe Blidstein, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Manuela Bojadzijev, University of Lüneburg
Shervin Farridnejad, Freie Universität Berlin
Uri Gabbay, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Orit Gazit, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Benedikt Hensel, University of Mainz
Yael Sternhell, Tel Aviv University
Simon Wendt, Goethe University of Frankfurt
Wuppertal 2020 Call for Papers
The “Yahwistic Diversity and the Hebrew Bible” research unit will investigate the religious development from historical and biblical Israel to ancient Judaism. The central underlying perspective for the research unit concerns the relatively new observation that abroad variety of different Yahwistic (and not necessarily “Jewish”) groups existed inside and outside Judah during the 6th-1st century BCE (e.g. in Egypt (Elephantine/Jeb; Alexandria), Babylonia (al- Yahudu), Samaria, Idumea etc.). To sum up the recent discussion so far, the indicators point toward the significantly more multifaceted and regionally diverse early history of Judaism than typically assumed in scholarship. Especially the influence of this diversity on the Hebrew Bible will be in focus of the research unit, as this has not been done sufficiently in the more historically oriented studies on Israel in the Persian and Hellenistic periods.
The research unit organizes two sessions in Wuppertal 2020 and invites papers addressing a) historical and religious-historical aspects of the phenomenon of “Yahwistic diversity” and b) questions on how these groups or their interactions with each other influenced the formation of the Hebrew Bible. Apart from the literary-historical perspectives, the sessions will include the questions of the complex textual transmission of biblical text, which seems to reflect (in some cases, especially in the case of the Samaritan tradition) a reworking of the text in favor of certain group-specific interests.
https://www.eabs.net/EABS/Research-Units/Research_Units/Research_Units_2020/Yahwistic_Diversity_and_the_Hebrew_Bible.aspx
2019 The New Research Unit Proposal (EABS); Warsaw, Poland, 11-14 August 2019
This workshop organises two sessions in Warsaw 2019. The first session invites papers that address Israelite and Jewish wisdom texts as “dynamic modes of cultural discourse” in the relationship with the Mosaic discourse including Pentateuchal narrative, law, and diverse interpretations. The second session welcomes papers that deal with certain intertexts between Wisdom—Proverbs/Job/Ecclesiastes/Ben Sira/Wisdom of Solomon/Baruch/Qumran sapiential texts [4Q525, 4Q185, 4Qinstruction, 4Q424, the Book of Mysteries], etc—and Mosaic discourses—laws (legal texts), narratives, and interpretations including Apocrypha and Qumran materials—in the Second Temple period.
December 6th to 8th, 2018, at the Institut Protestant de Théologie, Montpellier/France.
Conference Organizers: Bartosz Adamczewski (Warsaw), Benedikt Hensel (Zurich), Dany Nocquet (Montpellier)
"Research on the post-exilic period (the so called formative period of Judaism and the Old Testament) is primarily occupied with the innovative achievements and literary workings of the Judean Gola community. However, a further important monotheistic Yahwism existed in post-exilic times in the Levantine Region, namely in Samaria. A notable Samarian Diaspora existed in this very period, too, as did other Yahwistic groups, e.g., in Idumea, Elephantine, Transjordan, Mesopotamia and Leontopolis. Nevertheless, little attention was for a long time devoted to its formative influence on the history of theology and the literary history of the Bible in the time after exile. Especially Samarian Yahwism was essentially being marginalized as a Judean deviation. However, in recent years research started to realize the importance and the individuality of the Samarian Yahwism, seeing it as a variant of what might be called “post exilic Yahwism(s)”. It is for this reason that due consideration should be given not only to Juda, but also to Samaria and the diaspora as well as potentially influential, tradition(s) and text(s) forming groups for the “biblical Israel”.
This international conference highlights the place of the Samarians and the other (extra-Judean) diaspora communities on the historical and literary level in the Persian and Hellenistic period, and tries to show how the new trend of biblical research on Samaria and diaspora are possibly connected with the actual theories about the formation of the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, Enneateuch and the prophetic literatures."