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    The Structure of Ezra Iv-Vi: Nah R (H) (Iv 8-10 V 6) - Both Requests Direct The Emperor To Archived

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    The nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has stylized this material such that the basic narrative pattern and much of the terminology of chapter iv are repeated in chapters v-vi. The aggression of iv 6-23 lasts only as long as that of the summary--to ('ad ) the reign of darius.

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    The Structure of Ezra Iv-Vi: Nah R (H) (Iv 8-10 V 6) - Both Requests Direct The Emperor To Archived

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    alfalfalf
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    The nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has stylized this material such that the basic narrative pattern and much of the terminology of chapter iv are repeated in chapters v-vi. The aggression of iv 6-23 lasts only as long as that of the summary--to ('ad ) the reign of darius.

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    The nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has stylized this material such that the basic narrative pattern and much of the terminology of chapter iv are repeated in chapters v-vi. The aggression of iv 6-23 lasts only as long as that of the summary--to ('ad ) the reign of darius.

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    18 views4 pages

    The Structure of Ezra Iv-Vi: Nah R (H) (Iv 8-10 V 6) - Both Requests Direct The Emperor To Archived

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    alfalfalf
    The nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has stylized this material such that the basic narrative pattern and much of the terminology of chapter iv are repeated in chapters v-vi. The aggression of iv 6-23 lasts only as long as that of the summary--to ('ad ) the reign of darius.

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    of 4

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    THE STRUCTURE OF EZRA IV-VI


    H.-Mallau has shown that Ezra iv-vi is comprised of two parallel panels.1 Building upon his work, this article notes several previously overlooked points of correspondence between the panels. It also demonstrates that by means of inclusio the nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has marked oV Ezra iv 1-vi 22 as a self-contained unit. The nal author of Ezra-Nehemiah has stylized this material such that the basic narrative pattern and much of the terminology of chapter iv are repeated in chapters v-vi.2 The repeated pattern is as follows: Encounter (iv 1-5; v 1-5), Request (iv 6-16; v 6-17), Decree (iv 17-22; vi 1-12) and Enactment (iv 23-24; vi 13-15). Both panels open with an account of the Jews rebuilding the temple and the subsequent approach of neighboring Gentiles (iv 1-3; v 14). After describing this initial encounter, both panels provide a proleptic summary. In the rst panel, iv 4-5 introduces the aggression to be detailed in iv 6-23. To be sure, the events of iv 6-23 are quite removed, historically speaking, from those of the summary. In the present literary context, however, the hostile correspondents of iv 6-23 are identi ed with the adversaries of iv 4-5. The subject of kt^b, the main verb in verse 6, is expressed by an incorporated third person pronoun whose antecedent is am-h"re, the subject of verse 4. Furthermore, in this literary context, the aggression of iv 6-23 lasts only as long as that of the summaryto (ad ) the reign of Darius (iv 5; iv 24).3 In similar fashion, the second panels proleptic summary, v 5, previews all of the events of v 6-vi 12. It looks forward to (ad ) a report going to Darius (v 6-17) and a written response (vi 1-12). In both panels, the neighbors request an imperial ruling regarding the Jews building project. The authors of the requests are two men identi ed by name and accompanied by k^nwthn.4 The rst mans title is provided, and both delegations include "parsatky "5 from barnahr(h) (iv 8-10; v 6). Both requests direct the emperor to archived material that, it is hoped, will inform his response. The rubrics of the two letters (iv 6-12; v 6-8) are quite similar, and the main argument of each letter addresses the building projects history, motivation and authorization. 6 The roots yd ", bn" and kll are prominent in both letters (iv 12-16; v 8-11). The emperor then issues (from ym) a ^ m authorizing a search (from bqr) which leads to the discovery (from k) of relevant information in the archives (iv 19; vi 1-2). In chapter iv, Artaxerxes decrees
    Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2000 Vetus Testamentum L, 4

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    that the project be stopped; in chapter vi, Darius forbids interference and requires public funding of the project. Both decrees are introduced with k^ an. Both designate the Jews as g brayy" "ill k (iv 21; vi 8). In both panels, the emperors decree closes with a stern warning against disobedience (iv 22; vi 11-12). In addition to the parallels just described, the two decrees contain three remarkable verbal parallels. In both imperial responses, the root bl gures signi cantly. It appears four times in iv 21-24, expressing Artaxerxes intention to stop the building project. In contrast, Darius concern is that the costs of the project be subsidized so as not l^bal" (vi 8). The royal responses also make contrapuntal use of the noun l. In the rst panel, Artaxerxes warns against l in stopping the Jews work (iv 22). In the second panel, Darius interdicts l in providing needed commodities to the Jews (vi 9). The two panels make similar use of the root bl. In the rst panel, Artaxerxes is concerned lest >bl>" increase to the injury of the kings (iv 22). In contrast, Darius threatens anyone who would try l^ abbl(h) the house of God (vi 12).7 Both panels close by describing local enactment of the imperial decree. This description begins with parallel occurrences of "^dayin (iv 23; vi 13). Both accounts highlight the recipients (again, two men and k^nwthn) resolute compliance with the decree (iv 23; vi 13). Lastly, both panels link a nal summarizing statement to an exact year of Darius reign (iv 24; vi 15). Thus, by means of these various repetitions, the author presents the second panel as a response to the rst. Con rmation of H.-Mallaus view that Ezra iv-vi is a single unit is found in two smaller units at the extremities of the larger passage. The parallels between Ezra iv 1-5 and vi 19-22 are striking. In vi 1922, the author repeats a number of words, phrases and motifs from iv 1-5, thus de ning the outer limits of the passage. The appellations yhwh and "^lh yir" l both appear exactly four times, twice each in the introductory frame and twice each in the closing frame. 8 The phrase melek "ar occurs once in each half of the inclusio.9 A verb built from the root dr appears in both halves of the frame.10 In each half of the inclusio, the author uses h"re as the absolute noun of a construct phrase; in each case, it is part of a reference to the Jews neighbors. The relationship between the Jewish community and their neighbors is a motif which contributes to the framing device: iv 3 describes the exclusion of neighbors due to lack of commonality, while vi 21 reveals the criterion for inclusion in the Jewish community. A

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    contrast between discouragement and encouragement also helps to delimit the unit: in iv 4 the adversaries are m^rappm y^d am-y^hd, but in vi 22 Yahweh acts l^azz q y^dhem.11 Finally, it is noteworthy that the literary frame identi ed here is nearly coincident with the lingual frame (the Hebrew of iv 1-7 and vi 19-22) which surrounds the Aramaic text of iv 8-vi 18.12 Thus, the two clusters consisting of these various parallel elements serve to de ne the bipartite unit Ezra iv-vi.13 Though beyond the scope of this article, analysis of the parallel and contrasting elements both between the large panels and between the smaller framing units will be critical toward an understanding of the nal authors didactic purposes in this literary unit. Syracuse, New York
    Abstract
    Ezra iv-vi is a carefully constructed literary unit comprised of two parallel panels and delimited by means of inclusio.

    Stefan C. Matzal

    1 H. H.-Mallau, The Redaction of Ezra 4-6: A Plea for a Theology of Scribes, Perspectives in Religious Studies 15 (1988), pp. 70-73. 2 In addition to the work of H.-Mallau, others have observed various of these parallel elements, e.g., J. G. McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (Philadelphia, 1985), pp. 39, 41; J. Blenkinsopp, Ezra-Nehemiah (Philadelphia, 1988), p. 120; and T. C. Eskenazi, In an Age of Prose (Atlanta, 1988), p. 59. For other examples of parallel panels in Ezra-Nehemiah, see M. A. Throntveit, Ezra-Nehemiah (Louisville, 1992), pp. 6-8. 3 Cf. S. Talmon, Ezra and Nehemiah (Books of Men), IDBSup (Nashville, 1976), p. 322. 4 So in iv 9; in v 6 the third person masc. sing. suYx is used. 5 So in iv 9; in v 6 the variant ">parsky " appears. 6 B. Halpern, A Historiographic Commentary on Ezra 1-6: Achronological Narrative and Dual Chronology in Israelite Historiography, in The Hebrew Bible and its Interpreters (Winona Lake, 1990), pp. 114, 120. 7 These parallel occurrences of l and the root bl are their only occurrences in the Aramaic portions of Ezra-Nehemiah. The cognate Hebrew root bl occurs only twice in Ezra-Nehemiah (both in Neh. i 7). 8 In v 1 and vi 14, the Aramaic "^lh yir" l also functions as part of an inclusio along with the appellations for the two prophets. 9 These are the only two occurrences of this phrase in Ezra-Nehemiah (its plural equivalent appears in Neh. ix 32). At the very least, this observation demonstrates that the curious reference in Ezra vi 22 to an Assyrian cannot be attributed to scribal error. 10 In both cases, the subject of the verb is the Gentile neighbors and the object is Yahweh. The only other occurrences of verbs built from dr in Ezra-Nehemiah are at Ezra vii 10; ix 12 and x 16. 11 The only other occurrence of these idioms in Ezra-Nehemiah is at Neh. vi 9. 12 The nal author uses Aramaic to narrate the main body of the account from an

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    external point of view; see B. T. Arnold, The Use of Aramaic in the Hebrew Bible: Another Look at Bilingualism in Ezra and Daniel, JNSL 22 (1996); cf. J. W. Welch, Chiasmus in Ugaritic, UF 6 (1974), p. 427. One other item which may also be a component of the inclusio consists of yaad in iv 3 and "ed in vi 20, two words from the same semantic eld. 13 Cf. S. Talmon, Ezra and Nehemiah, in R. Alter and F. Kermode (eds.), The Literary Guide to the Bible (Cambridge, Mass., 1987), pp. 359-60. Talmon sees Ezra iv 4-5a as a summary notation that defines iii 2-iv 5a as a single literary unit. Against this view, however, Ezra iv 4-5a, in fact, does not summarize iii 2-iv 3. Ezra iv 4-5a is concerned with opposition to the rebuilding project and not with the two primary issues of chapter iiithe reinstitution of the sacri cial system and the founding of the temple. Talmons view is conceivable only upon the assumption that the events of Ezra iii must be assigned to the reign of Darius, an assumption that actually finds little warrant in the text of Ezra i-vi. See Halpern, pp. 104-10; cf. J. Lust, The Identi cation of Zerubbabel with Sheshbazzar, ETL 63 (1987), pp. 90-5.

    LEV. XXVII 20: SOME FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS


    Walter Houston makes out a powerful and persuasive case for his interpretation of Lev. xxvii 20, VT 49 (1999), pp. 416-20. However, there are perhaps some points which merit further consideration. As his article shows, the issue is complex and it has never proved easy to establish the precise import of the passage in question. This may be because Lev. xxvii, which appears to constitute a distinct section,1 perhaps re ects a period when new social and legal developments were aVecting the operation of the older laws and the compilers had some problems in reconciling the two. Thus, as Houston notes, it might be expected, on the basis of the ancient legislation of Lev. xxv, that a piece of dedicated land would revert to the original owner at the jubilee. Lev. xxvii 20 is deliberately formulated to exclude this and to make clear that the act of dedication involved a permanent and irrevocable gift to the sanctuary. The redemption procedure has the same eVect: it ensures that the priesthood receives the full value of the propertyand indeed somewhat moreand is thus the equivalent of an outright gift of land. That this is the case is shown by the following verses, Lev. xxvii 2225. They deal with the case of a man who has bought a piece of land which, by de nition, is not part of his ancestral patrimony, and then dedicates it to Yahweh. When this is done, the purchaser, in contrast to the situation in Lev. xxvii 16-21, is at once obliged to pay the redemption price, which makes the dedication an irrevocable gift, holy to the Lord, v. 23. The reason for this is because the property in question had to revert to the seller at the jubilee, v. 24, and hence, if the
    Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2000 Vetus Testamentum L, 4

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