Book of Kings

A Pre-teaching Interpretation Paper:
Today, the word “Messiah” commonly incites George Handel’s renowned oratorio or the person of Jesus Christ, whose second name is a Greek translation of the word. This is understandable given the pervasiveness of Christianity as a religion in the world. However, not only has the word been understood differently in different circles, it has also been attributed to and claimed by different individuals throughout the history. This paper seeks to evaluate the claim made by third-century Rabbis Bar Kappara and Hillel II that King Hezekiah of Judah is the Messiah.  In order to do that, what the word means to Jews in Ancient Near Eastern and Rabbinical contexts needs to be considered.
Although Rabbi Joseph has refuted Hillel II’s claim,  it is still a worthy endeavor to give the claim a second hearing, especially as Mika Pajunen noted that “there was renewed interest in these traditions,” referring to Deuteronomistic and Chronistic traditions, “to highlight the unity of the people and hence also their common heritage” after the destruction of the second temple.  Therefore, the account of Hezekiah in Chronicles will be exegeted, highlighting its uniqueness from that in Kings and, by extension, Isaiah, and drawing implications if the thesis, “King Hezekiah is the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise for THE Messiah,” is supported by Chronistic perspective.

This article investigates: 1) the identification of the 'real' Hezekiah's tunnel, as described in 2 Chr. 32:30 (see also 2 Kgs 20:20); and 2) the identification of 'the springs and the stream that flowed through the land' in 2 Chr. 32:3–4. The possibility of Channel II instead of Tunnel VIII as the actual conduit that Hezekiah built in response to the approaching Assyrian threat has gained increasing attention among both archaeologists and biblical literary scholars, and new discoveries in the past fifteen years have both answered questions and raised new ones. This article is a rigorous interdisciplinary evaluation of the evidence from both fields, and it may be seen that when the issue of identifying Hezekiah's tunnel is taken in consideration with an understanding of the biblical text in its ancient Near Eastern literary milieu along with the most reliably expert findings in archaeology, several recent questions may be resolved.

Manasseh of Judah: an idolatrous ruler and murderer to be condemned, as depicted in 2 Kgs 21:1-18, or a converted sinner and restorer of his kingdom, a pattern to follow, as presented in 2 Chr 33:1-20? These two biblical portrayals of the king cannot be reconciled without raising questions about the assumptions of the biblical historiographers who built up two alternative traditions about this biblical figure. The case of King Manasseh is therefore an intriguing example of the Chronicler's reinterpretation of historical material found in the Books of Kings. It is argued that particular narrative strategy and theological issues lie behind this vision of the king and its significance for the addressees of both writings. Consequently, the biblical figure of Manasseh is somehow biased, and its historical reconstruction has its limitations.

After detailed observations on K.I. Parker’s thesis (’Repetition as a Structuring
Device in 1 Kings 1-11’, JSOT 42 [1988], pp. 19-27), another theory about the
structure of the narrative of Solomon’s reign in Kings (NSR) is presented. In the
light of literary-theological considerations, the scope of NSR is held to be 1 Kings
1.1-12.24. The narrative consists of 9 units arranged in a concentric structure, at the
centre of which stands the description of the Temple (6.1-9.9). This structure not
only emphasizes the Temple, but also suggests criticism of Solomon after the focal
unit, at first implied and then (from 11.1) explicit. The contrast between the last units
and their parallels gives weight to the concept of reward and punishment: Solomon’s
loyalty to God yields blessings, whereas disloyalty causes misfortunes climaxing
with his son losing his rule over the tribes of Israel.

Author: Brenda Griffin Warren
Publisher: CBE International

This study on the prophetess Huldah as found in 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34 will include a background study of prophets and prophecy of the Old Testament. This study will include a general definition and role of a prophet as nabi and prophetess as nebiah. Other prophetic roles such as roeh and hozeh (seer) will not be included. Also, there is a short study on the message of the prophet and how a true or false prophet is discerned.

"This collaborative commentary on Kings explores cross-cutting aspects of Kings ranging from the analysis of its composition, historically regarded, to its transmission and reception.  Ample attention is accorded sources and figures and peoples who play a part in the book.  Concern is directed to its treatment in translation and role in later ancient literature.  While its comment does not proceed verse by verse, the volume furnishes guidance, from contributors highly qualified to advance contemporary discussion, on the book's historical background, its literary intentions and characteristics, and on themes and motifs central to its understanding, both of itself and of the world from which it arose.  It functions as a meta-commentary, offering windows into the secondary literature, but assembling data more fully than is the case in individual commentaries.

The Formation and Interpretation of Old Testament Literature series; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2010.
"

Excavations conducted on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority at Tel Lachish exposed the southern half of the six-chambered gate in Level III. In the eastern chamber, a gate shrine was uncovered. The shrine was split in two: a larger northern room and a smaller southern room. The southern room, which served as the holy of holies, had a niche in its southern wall in front of which a double altar was placed. Dozens of bowls and oil lamps were revealed inside the shrine. At some point, evidently prior to the destruction of Level III by Sennacherib in 701 b.c.e., the shrine was desecrated and sealed. This act was evident in the breakage of the altar’s horns and the placement of a latrine in the holy of holies. The available data suggests that the desecration of the shrine should be associated with Hezekiah’s cultic reform (2 Kgs 18:4).

The famous baths of two biblical women, Bathsheba and Susanna,
captured the lust of their respective onlookers. Despite what is
not a hint of seductive intent in their stories, many interpreters
have portrayed these two characters as, essentially, “asking
for it.” Feminist scholars have worked to rehabilitate Bathsheba
and Susanna’s reputations. Curiously, though, neither traditional
scholars portraying the characters as femmes fatales nor feminist
interpreters defending them have brought a third biblical bathing
woman, Judith, into the discussion. This paper argues that
Judith is the only one of the three to whom the biblical text actually
does attribute seductive motives. Judith uses the idea that a
bathing woman is an irresistible object of desire to her advantage
and so arranges semipublic baths while she is in an Assyrian military
camp. Using close readings of the three texts and feminist
interpretive strategies, Tamber-Rosenau argues that Judith, unlike
the other two bathing women, choreographs her exposure
for maximum effect. Judith’s baths, unlike those of Bathsheba
and Susanna, are a calculated part of a larger seduction routine.

An examination of the geographical sources of Solomon’s luxury, as specified in the book of Kings. The aim is not to demonstrate whether the tenth century kingdom existed, but instead, by identifying the cultural sources of the Solomon story, to suggest when and in what historical context it was written.

This is the English version of the paper published in French as "Les sources du luxe du roi Salomon". The published French text is also available on academia.edu.

Chapter from Catherine Grandjean, Christophe Hugoniot, Brigitte Lion, eds, Le banquet du monarque dans le monde antique (2013) available from Presses Universitaires de Rennes

An examination of the geographical sources of Solomon’s luxury, as specified in the book of Kings. The aim is not to demonstrate whether the tenth century kingdom existed, but instead, by identifying the cultural sources of the Solomon story, to suggest when and in what historical context it was written.

The English version of this paper is also available on academia.edu, titled "The Sources of King Solomon's Luxury"

Este arquivo contém os slides de Teologia Bíblica de 1-2Reis das aulas de TBAT1 que leciono no Seminário Bíblico Palavra da Vida.

This file contains the slides about Biblical Theology of 1-2Kings of the BTOT classes that I teach at the Word of Life Biblical Seminary in Brazil.

In this article, the stories of Balaam's donkey (num. 22.22-35) and the man of God from Judah (1 Kgs 13) are analyzed independently and are also compared for similarities. Features that are common to both accounts include: the importance of the word of Yhwh, the employment of animals as literary characters, the motif of death, and the portrayal of animals as divine agents. This study argues that the literary function of animals as divine agents is a distinctive characteristic of the so-called preclassical phase of biblical prophecy.

The present paper examines the phenomena of expansion of biblical texts at the cost of exclusion of rival authoritative textual traditions known from the Samaritan Pentateuch and the pre-Samaritan biblical scrolls from Qumran (4QpaleoExod-m and 4QNum-b) beyond the familiar corpus of Pentateuchal texts. It is argued that the same phenomena can also be found in 4QJoshua-a (the disputed passage about the altar on the Ebal), 4QSamuel-a (particularly 2 Sam 24) and the Septuagint of Joshua, 1 and 3 Kingdoms. An interesting parallel can also be found in the transmission of the early Ptolemaic papyri of the Homeric writings, the Iliad and Odyssey. The oldest documents are often label "eccentric manuscripts", but in fact reflect the very same phenomena as we find in the expansionistic biblical texts. The scribal tradition of expanding authoritative writings with passages from elsewhere within the same exclusive tradition is therefore a cross-cultural phenomenon and might point to the real Alexandrian scholarship background of early Jewish tradition.

The Temple in Jerusalem, both the First and Second, was conceived and appointed in a manner intended to enhance its nature as a microcosm of the universe. I will illustrate this nature in several ways, first mentioning some of the appurtenances in the Temple, then studying the relevant texts in the Tanakh, listing some Temple portrayals in early visual  art, then reading a passage each from the Talmud and the Mandæan Book of John, then surveying other domes in ancient architecture, glancing at the special question of the Qa’aba, and closing with an examination of the Dome of the Rock, which today graces the Temple Mount.

This article for Margreet Steiner describes and evaluates the contribution of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology from 1997 to 2011 to the professional use of archaeology in the reconstruction of the history of Late Bronze and Iron Age Southern Levant. In addition, a textual and archaeological analysis of 1 Kgs 4:7-19 is added as an example of how a healthy interaction between both disciplines could look like.

This thesis is a literary analysis of minor secondary characters in the Elisha narratives (2 Kings 2-8). I define a minor secondary character as one that appears once or twice in this corpus and either plays a minor role or a leading role in a short story (seven verses or less). The great and diverse cast in the Elisha stories feature many common Israelites and foreigners, besides kings, high  officials and the prophet himself. I contend that the narrative function of minor secondary characters is not only to provide indirect characterization for major characters, but also to express central themes of the Elisha narratives.
The prominence of minor secondary characters in the Elisha narratives reflects both on the particular historical context of the stories and the unique calling of Elisha ben Shaphat. In my introductory chapter, I offer a survey of recent scholarship on the Elisha story-cycle (1.1). First, I summarize the recent history of social-scientific analyses of these stories, which aim to reconstruct the social, economic and religious atmosphere of the Kingdom of Northern Israel (KNI) during the Omride dynasty. I draw on social-scientific criticism since it applies modern social theory to textual analysis with selective use of material evidence to establish the social context of the biblical text, while cautioning against its tendency toward generalization. During this period, the KNI endured unprecedented changes, transitioning from a tribal society to a centralized monarchy. Israelite peasants encountered extraordinary social pressures owing to the great economic, political and religious changes initiated by the Omrides in the KNI. The introduction of Phoenician cults endangered traditional worship of YHWH. The development of agriculture from subsistence farming on tribal plots to commercial latifundia to produce cash-crops for export threatened traditional social structures and transformed peasant land-owners into tenant farmers. Militarization to protect domestic interests introduced further competition for precious land and production resources. The Omrides' international and cosmopolitan outlook benefitted the royal house and nobles that aligned themselves with these new policies but left many others in extremis. I then turn to a history of the literary study of the Elisha narratives, including form critical and literary-aesthetic scholarship. I show how scholars of both schools have endeavored to establish the genre of these stories as foundational for understanding its meaning. Recent scholarship has proposed vastly different genre categories, including general and specific, genre labels. My survey demonstrates that genre analysis, in its tendency to establish the “correct” genre, unnecessarily limits the multivalence of the Elisha stories.
Following this survey, I open a case for the study of minor secondary characters in the Elisha narratives (1.2). The character of Elisha is primarily understood through his actions. Unlike his predecessor Elijah who contended with Ahab and the people of Israel for the sole worship of YHWH, Elisha is not distinguished by a correspondingly discernible divine message. This gap casts a shadow of ambiguity on the character of Elisha, despite his prominence in the book of Kings. Consequently, several scholars have attempted to fill this gap by interpreting his portrayal as negative. However, Elisha is consistently portrayed as available and helpful, and he is almost always portrayed in the company of others. Many of these “others” include minor secondary characters, representing common Israelites, who relate to Elisha as one who can solve various problems. Recent literary-aesthetic scholarship reveals that within the realm of biblical storytelling, minor characters are not intrinsically important, often functioning as an accessory to the plot. When they are important, their literary function is usually indirect characterization of the major characters. However, minor secondary characters in the Elisha narratives are distinctive in several ways that merit examination.
In my next section (1.3), I establish my thesis. I briefly discuss a recent trend in New Testament scholarship to recognize that minor characters are instrumental to the expression of key themes of the gospels. Similarly, I propose that minor secondary characters are key message-bearers in the Elisha story-cycle. The stories ascribe worth and importance to ordinary folk, counter-culturally, during a period in Israel's history when they were severely marginalized. Though they wield neither royal nor prophetic authority, they contribute positively and significantly to the outcome of the Elisha narratives and to the accomplishment of divine purposes therein.
In the following section, I discuss my methodology (1.4). I discuss the difference between generic realism and generic conceptualism as defined by Kenton Sparks, which provides a theoretical framework to the classification methodology I employ. I aim to classify types of minor secondary characters and analyze their role through comparison and contrast with stories within the Elisha corpus and without. The classification of literature or genre analysis is understood to be utilitarian, subject to the research aims of the scholar, not a universal or absolute taxonomy. As such, the literary categories I define are intended for the analysis of minor secondary characters in the Elisha story-cycle. They are “handles” to facilitate intertextual comparison and contrast. In analyzing similarities between minor secondary characters, common motifs and broad themes emerge. In elucidating their differences, the unique message of each story is afforded focus. Each chapter groups minor secondary characters together according to a specified function within the narrative and seeks to determine their literary role and corresponding theological theme. In each of these chapters, narrative elements of characterization and thematic considerations will be explored.
Chapter 2 analyzes characters who approach Elisha directly seeking a solution for a specific problem. I establish the category “Direct Appeal Miracle Stories” as one in which a secondary character approaches the prophet, who solves their problem by working a miracle. These stories have a similar literary structure that proceeds from the Presentation of the Problem (by the minor character) to the Presentation of a Solution (by Elisha) to the Resolution (cooperation of both Elisha and the minor character). Common elements of the working of the miracle in these stories include obedience of the secondary character, usage of physical material, prophetic action, and oracle/fulfillment formula in the name of YHWH. Not every element is present in the miracle of every story. As I show, the absence or presence of certain elements elucidates the unique situation of the story and bears thematic relevance.
Chapter 3 analyzes characters who appear abruptly and very briefly (typically only one verse) to dispense advice, which, when followed by a floundering leader, results in the successful outcome of the story. In these stories servants are the unsung heroes. Rarely in biblical literature are servants afforded such a pivotal role. I call such characters “Agents of Prophetic Referral,” since each one refers his or her master to the person or activity of Elisha. As opposed to the ordinary folk in the “Direct Appeal Miracle Stories,” kings and officials require the assistance of their sagacious servants. The employment of such characters subtly critiques the ruling class. These servants highlight the critical theme of submission in the Elisha story-cycle by offering their advice forcefully while avoiding insubordination. While their advice displays mundane wisdom, the execution of their advice achieves results that accomplish divine purposes for Israel and the surrounding nations. These characters demonstrate that divine providence is accomplished through ordinary people, as well as prophets and kings. Ultimately, kings, prophets, and servants all serve YHWH, and to faithfully discharge their duties demands submission to God's authority.
Chapter 4 analyzes characters who reveal a surprising element in the stories. I call such characters “Surprise Agents” because the reader discovers the surprise concurrently with and through the perspective of the character. In each case, the Surprise Agent reveals unexpected and relevant facts that change the course of the plot, and draws attention to thematic elements that accompany the plot twist. While major characters can similarly reveal a surprise, such a literary device is employed to draw attention to a previously undisclosed deficit in that character. Minor secondary characters, on the other hand, draw attention to the central moral theme the author wishes to convey, as they do elsewhere in the Elisha story-cycle.
Some of these key theological themes include the following. Despite the taxing policies imposed by the Omrides, YHWH has not abandoned his people but is actively working through his prophet Elisha to deliver and preserve his people. Despite the stratification of Israelite society, YHWH has not consigned his people to suffer as victims, but through the working of Elisha's miracles has assigned them an active role in national deliverance. Minor characters portray ordinary people as empowered and empowering. They do not wield prophetic or royal power, but they can participate in the miracles through their active obedience and contribute to the welfare of the kingdom by dispensing timely insights to their leaders. Relative to their cursory appearance in each story, their impact on its outcome is prodigious.

SOMMAIRE

Cet article examine le récit de Jézabel, en particulier 2 R 9,22.30, afin d’y déceler des indices de sexualisation de la reine phénicienne, devenue femme fatale dans l’histoire de la réception. D’abord, l’auteure s’intéresse à l’accusation de « prostitutions » dirigée contre Jézabel dans le discours que tient Yéhou à Yéhoram en 2 R 9,22. Ensuite, le motif de la femme à la fenêtre que l’on retrouve en 2 R 9,30 est étudié. Un intérêt particulier est accordé à l’érotisme sous-jacent à ce motif proche-oriental. Puis, l’auteure propose une analyse approfondie de la séance de maquillage et de coiffure de Jézabel avant sa rencontre avec Yéhou (2 R 9,30). On discerne non seulement un pouvoir de séduction, mais aussi un pouvoir royal à l’œuvre dans la représentation de Jézabel. Un tel portrait complique la lecture de la performance de genre de la reine phénicienne, entre respect et désobéissance aux normes de la féminité. Ce sont de telles intrications entre genre, sexualité et pouvoir dans les textes bibliques qui ont contribué à construire la femme fatale Jézabel, une figure qui subsiste encore aujourd’hui dans la culture populaire.



SUMMARY

This article investigates Jezebel’s story, especially 2 Kgs 9: 22,30, to find textual evidences of sexualization of the Phoenician queen, turned into a femme fatale in the history of reception. First, the author is concerned with the accusation of “harlotries” aimed at Jezebel in Jehu’s address to Jehoram in 2 Kgs 9:22. Next, the “woman at the window” motif at play in 2 Kgs 9:30 is under study. Special attention is given to the eroticism of this Ancient Near East motif. Then, the author puts forward a thorough analysis of Jezebel’s makeup and hairdo session before she meets Jehu (2 Kgs 9:30). Both seductive and royal powers are at play in the portrayal of Jezebel. This complicates the reading of her gender performance, between conformity and disobedience to feminine norms. These intricacies between gender, sexuality and power in the biblical texts all contribute to shape Jezebel as a femme fatale in today’s popular culture.

With help of a religious-historical and theological analysis of Joshua 24 as part of the Primary History (Genesis - 2 Kings), also in relation to Late Bronze and Iron Age archaeological remains of the Southern Levant, this lecture explores the meaning of the biblical chapter for Christian theology in the present context of religious plurality.

In dieser Arbeit wird der Text in 1.Kön 6-7 in seinem Kontext und von mehreren Blickwinkeln untersucht. Es wird versucht am Ende zu einem Gesamtbild zu kommen, das alle diese Blickwinkel zusammenführt und – hoffentlich – auch einige neue Einsichten bringt.
    Im zweiten Kapitel dieser Arbeit wird der traditionelle Approach zu 1.Kön 6-7 untersucht, der den Text nur als einen Teil des größeren, sogenannten deuteronomistischen, Geschichtswerkes (DtrG) verstand. Diese Ansicht setzte sich seit dem fünfziger Jahren vor allem durch die Werke M. Noths durch. In verschiedenen Forschungsschulen und -richtungen ist dieser Approach bis heute, vor allem im deutschsprachigen Raum, sehr verbreitet und seine Bedeutung ist kaum zu überschätzen. Seine Nützlichkeit und Legitimität wird im Rahmen dieser Arbeit nicht bezweifelt, aber die ganze diachrone Textanalyse, die im Hintergrund der Hypothese vom deuteronomistischen Geschichtswerk steht, wird nur als ein – und nicht immer als der primäre – Blickwinkel in der Gesamtdarstellung des Problems verstanden. Die verschiedenen Meinungen über den Text in 1.Kön 6-7 werden untersucht und am Ende wird versucht diese kritisch abschätzen, mit ständigem Blick auf die Ergebnisse anderer Forschungsmethoden.
    Im dritten Kapitel wird versucht die Nützlichkeit des Textes in 1.Kön 6-8 für die Erforschung der Geschichte Israels abzuschätzen. Diese Frage war gerade in letzten Jahren mehrmals in der Literatur behandelt worden und auch hier zeigt sich eine große Pluralität der Ansichten. Hier kommt die Idee des „Paradigmenwechsel“ im Forschung über die Geschichte Israels vor, sowie auch die Frage nach der Nützlichkeit des biblischen Textes für die Darstellung der Geschichte Israels überhaupt. In diesem Kapitel werden die biblischen Texte mit den archäologischen Befunden aus dem vermutlichen Bereich des Königreichs Salomos und seiner Umgebung konfrontiert, vor allem mit den Tempelstrukturen und Tempeltypen in Kanaan, die mit der Beschreibung in 1.Kön 6-7 verglichen werden können. Besondere Beachtung wird der Frage des möglichen Vorläuferbaus im Jerusalem gegeben, und untersucht und archäologisch verglichen wird auch das in 1.Kön 6-7 beschriebene Tempelinventar.
    Das vierte Kapitel versucht die ikonografischen Belege aus dem Text in 1.Kön 6-8 und aus den archäologischen Befunden zu interpretieren. Der Vergleich der Tempelbeschreibung in 1.Kön 6-8 mit anderen, archäologisch belegten, Tempeln sowie auch mit anderen ikonografischen Material, das noch nicht im im vorherigen Kapitel genannt wurde, wie zum Beispiel Rollsiegeln, Stempelsiegeln und Amuletten, ermöglicht dann die Historizität der Beschreibung in 1.Kön 6-8 näher abzuschätzen. Auch die Darstellungen des Herrschers sind von Bedeutung für die Frage der Königsideologie in verschieden Zeitabschnitten, und damit auch für die Datierung des Textes.
    Das fünfte Kapitel untersucht einen spezifischen Text, der in der Frage nach der  impliziten Königsideologie sehr interessante Parallelen zu 1.Kön 6-7 bietet. Bis jetzt wurde die Mescha-Stele in diesem Kontext und Zusammenhang nur wenig beachtet, darum sind die Vorschläge, die diese Arbeit hier bietet, als ein Beitrag für weitere Diskussionen gemeint. Diese Kapitel versucht den Text in 1.Kön 6-7 mit anderen Tempelbauüberlieferungen aus dem Bereich des Vorderen Orients zu vergleichen und die gemeinsame literarische und motivische Strukturen in diesem Genre festzustellen. Der Zweck und das ideologische Element werden in den Texten besonders untersucht. Ein wichtiger Aspekt dieser literarischen Analyse ist auch die Feststellung der Rolle des Übertreibens in den Bauberichten, als gerade dieser Aspekt für den Baubericht im 1.Kön 6-7 von großen Bedeutung ist. Auch die Frage des Unterschiedes zwischen Neubau und Umbau in den Texten wird separat betrachtet.
    Zum Abschluss wird versucht die partikulären Ergebnisse der vorherigen Kapiteln zusammenzufassen. Vor allem wird hier versucht die diachronische Textanalyse im Lichte des anderen Methoden zu reflektieren und zur eigenen Hypothese über die Quellen von 1.Kön 6-7 zu kommen. Daneben möchte mit dieser Arbeit auch weitere Fragen stellen, die in Zukunft weiter untersucht werden sollten, vor allem die Frage der Königsideologie und ihrer Äußerungen im Text des vermutlichen deuteronomistischen Geschichtswerks und im Alten Testament überhaupt.

forthcoming in: The Textual History of the Bible from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Biblical Manuscripts of the Vienna Papyrus Collection: Papers from the Fifteenth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, Cosponsored by The University of Vienna Institute for Jewish Studies and The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies,10–13 April, 2016, ed. Ruth A. Clements, Russell E. Fuller, Armin Lange, and Paul Mandel (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 137; Leiden: Brill, 2022), 219–240

Œuvre fondatrice de la culture et de la littérature iraniennes, le Livre des rois (Shâhnâmeh) de Ferdowsi est une épopée royale de guerre et de sagesse, écrite au tournant des Xe-XIe siècles. Longue d’environ 52’000 distiques, elle raconte l’histoire, plus ou moins légendaire, des rois et héros iraniens, de la création du monde et des premiers rois mythiques, jusqu’aux Sassanides (IIIe-VIIe siècle) et à la conquête de l’Iran par les Arabes musulmans au VIIe siècle. Copiée, illustrée et chantée pendant des siècles, encore lue et admirée aujourd’hui, cette épopée est riche en épisodes et en personnages célèbres, comme les rois Djamshid, Key Khosrow, Khosrow Anushirvan ou Khosrow Parviz, le héros Rostam, ou le sage vizir Buzurdjmihr. Formatrice de la langue et de la poésie épique persanes, l’œuvre de Ferdowsi est à la fois le récit de la gloire des rois, l’expression d’un esprit chevaleresque, et un livre de sagesse ponctué d’éléments mystiques. C’est à cette œuvre multiple, unique dans la littérature universelle et pourtant peu connue en Europe, que cette étude aimerait introduire.