3. History,Geography and Sociology

Avraham, Nachum, Marginal People in Biblical Times: Lawbreakers and Banished Persons, Lepers and Gonorrhea Sufferers, Homosexuals and Transsexuals, Prostitutes and Temple-Prostitutes (Biblical Encyclopaedia Library, 27; Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 2011), pp. ‭זט‬ + 199 + xi. $26.03. ISBN 978-965-536-055-4. [In Hebrew]

A. employs three major tools in his study of the social position of various marginalized groups in ancient Israel. The first tool is linguistics: by analysing synchronically the paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations of key technical terms (e.g. ‭קיד, בז, חנוז, [ה] שדק‬) he attempts to uncover their original meanings in ancient Israelite society, and thereby to disclose the ‘real social phenomena’ (p. 14) to which they referred. The second tool is comparative ANE sources: A. assumes continuity between Israelite and Mesopotamian societies (p. 20) and therefore feels at liberty to supplement biblical data with comparable evidence from other ANE sources. The third tool is anthropology: arguing from ‘the spiritual unity of man’ (p. 17), A. borrows methodological resources and comparative data from the fields of anthropology and sociology. A. distinguishes between texts that only indirectly provide historical information (e.g. songs and proverbs), and those that purport to be historical. He claims to treat the latter with more suspicion. In practice, however, some readers may feel that he has ignored important prior questions in the way he treats the biblical text as a treasury of accurate information about ancient Israelite society. The study contains several interesting readings from a narratological perspective, including a sane discussion of the nature of the relationship between David and Jonathan. Unfortunately, the poor editing of this work renders it less persuasive than it might have been (e.g. 13 vocalization errors in the biblical citations on p. 98 alone).

K.L. Phillips

Azzoni, Annalisa, The Private Lives of Women in Persian Egypt (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013), pp. viii + 151. $39.50. ISBN 978-1-57506-270-9.

A. examines the betrothal and marriage documents relating to three well-known women from fifth-century bce Elephantine: Mpṭaḥiah, Tamut and Yehoišma’ (hereafter M., T. and Y.). Admittedly, the legal aspects of the documents have been well explored in the past, but A. has made her focus the extraction of what may be known of the private lives of the three women and of the specifically gendered features of their legal rights in terms of ownership of moveable and immoveable property under the differing legal and life conditions of betrothal, inchoate marriage, marriage and potential divorce, contrasting the Elephantine material with a wide range of ANE documents at every juncture. M. was a fairly rich, twice-married woman; less well off, T. and her daughter Y. were latterly manumitted slaves, yet T. owned property while still a slave. A. provides many other interesting details but the most unusual feature of these women's lives in Elephantine seems to be their apparent right to initiate divorce without cause, being able also to repossess the items of their dowries, aspects unparalleled in the cultures of the surrounding regions. Sadly, however, nowhere does A. provide the full texts of the parallel documents relating to the three women, making ongoing comparisons difficult for the non-specialist reader; but her closing chapter describing the life stories of the three women provides a fitting and fascinating conclusion to her work.

H.A. McKay

Berlejung, Angelika (ed.), Disaster and Relief Management—Katastrophen und ihre Bewältigung (FAT, 81; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), pp. viii + 544. €114.00. ISBN 978-3-16-151706-8; ISSN 0940-4155.

This weighty tome contains the 19 contributions (7 in English, 12 in German) from a conference in Leipzig in 2010, organized by B. as part of her research project on space and mobility in Syria-Palestine in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. B.'s introductory essay (‘Katastrophen und Katastrophenbewältigung im Alten Israel/Palästina, in Ägypten und im Alten Orient’) precedes the three parts of the volume. The first part (‘Theories of Disaster’) contains the following three essays: E.M. Geenen, ‘Gesellschaftliche Verfügung über Kapitalien und Vulnerabilität in konzeptioneller Perspektive’, E. List, ‘Einbruch ins Selbstverständliche. Katastrophen als Kontingenzerfahrung’, and J. Dietrich, ‘Katastrophen im Altertum aus kulturanthropologischer und kulturphilosophischer Perspektive’. The second part (‘Disaster and Relief Management in Israel/Palestine’) is itself subdivided into two parts, 1. Biblical, and 2. Archaeological. The first contains B. Janowski, ‘Eine Welt ohne Licht. Zur Chaostopik von Jer 4:23–28 und verwandten Texten’, S. Grätz, ‘Gericht und Gnade. Die Fluterzählung im Rahmen der biblischen Urgeschichte’, T. Römer, ‘The Hebrew Bible as Crisis Literature’, J.L. Wright, ‘Die Zerstörung des Ökosystems als Element der Kriegsführung im Alten Israel’, and D.V. Edelman, ‘Earthquakes in the Southern Levant: A Literary Topos and a Problem Requiring Architectural Solutions’. The second subsection contains A.M. Maeir, ‘Philistia and the Judean Shephelah after Hazael and the “Uzziah Earthquake”: The Power Play between the Philistines, Judahites and Assyrians in the 8th Century bce in Light of the Excavations at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath’, A.A. Burke, ‘Coping with the Effects of War: Refugees in the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages’, G. Lehmann, ‘Survival and Reconstruction of Judah in the Time of Manasseh’, and A.M. Bagg, ‘Floods in the Desert: How Nabateans Managed Catastrophes’. The third and last part deals with Egypt and the Ancient Near East: J.F. Quack, ‘Danaergeschenk des Nils? Zu viel oder zu wenig Wasser in Alten Ägypten’, L.D. Morenz, ‘Hungersnöte im Bild. Zur Inszenierung von Topoi im Alten Ägypten’, P.A. Kruger, ‘Disaster and the Topos of the World Upside Down: Selected Cases from the Ancient Near Eastern World’, H. Schaudig, ‘Erklärungsmuster von Katastrophen im Alten Orient’, M. Stockhusen, ‘Die Deutung kosmischer Erscheinungen am Beispiel von Sonnen- und Mondeklipsen. Ein Vergleich zwischen den Kulturräumen Mesopotamien und Ägypten im 1. Jt. v. Chr.’, and J. Klinger, ‘Krankheit und Krieg im Spannungsfeld zwischen mythischer und realer Katastrophe’. Extensive indexes help readers navigate the lengthy book. As a reviewer I was not always sure how well the essays cohered with the theme, but each judged on its own merit, the essays were mostly interesting and well written.

J. Stökl

Ghantous, Hadi, The Elisha-Hazael Paradigm and the Kingdom of Israel: The Politics of God in Ancient Syria-Palestine (BibleWorld; Durham: Acumen, 2013), pp. viii + 213. Several figures. £60.00. ISBN 978-1-84465-739-1.

This is a study of the historical Hazael and also the place of the ‘Elisha-Hazael paradigm’ in the HB. After an introductory chapter on previous study and another discussing the question of history and the Bible, the primary sources (archaeology, Assyrian and other epigraphic sources) are carefully examined (chs. 3–9). The ‘Elisha-Hazael paradigm’ (i.e. Yhwh's mysterious action in using Hazael as a tool to punish Israel and Judah) in Kings and the minor prophets is examined in chs. 10–11. Hazael was much more significant historically than often realized and also plays a larger role in the HB than readers usually notice. A cogent picture of the historical Hazael emerges from the judicious argumentation based on the sources. For example, the Tel Dan inscription is thoroughly discussed for what it can and cannot tell us (such as that Hazael rather than Jehu may have killed Joram and Ahaziah). The multiple ‘Ben-Hadads’, so often found in secondary sources, are rejected. A number of the positions taken are not new but they are well argued. In the literature of the HB, Hazael ‘provided a theological interpretative paradigm to grapple with the political misfortunes of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah’ (p. 184). G. has written an important book; it looks like a revised doctoral thesis, and G. often mentions E.A. Knauf's views and observations, as if he were the supervisor; however, there is no statement to this effect anywhere in the book or on the cover, so we are left to guess.

L.L. Grabbe

Hunt, Alice (ed.), Second Temple Studies. IV. Historiography and History (LHBOTS, 550; London: T & T Clark, 2012), pp. ix + 126. £55.00. ISBN 978-0-567-45699-1.

Despite its small size, this volume contains eleven contributions—five of which are responses to another paper in it—focusing on historiography and by whom and how it should be carried out. N.P. Lemche argues that only non-evangelical scholars should do biblical, i.e. ultimately historical, research. In response, S. Mandell agrees that scholarly history is what is needed. W.G. Dever, in typically direct style, claims that biblical scholars are insufficiently versed in archaeology to write histories of ancient Israel. D.A. Knight rightly criticizes Dever's positivism and ad hominem style. D. Edelman argues in favour of gathering and carefully evaluating all available evidence for Persian Yehud. T.L. Thompson, however, argues that she oversimplifies the issues and that she disregards social-scientific methodologies. J.H. Neyrey reviews some central concepts in the social-scientific study of the New Testament. I. Hjelm comments on Neyrey's failure to include any mention of ‘theories of science, philosophy, and hermeneutics’. N.K. Gottwald exhorts historians to be self-reflective and self-critical in their work. A. Hunt summarizes Lemche's, Thompson's and Dever's relative positions, and suggests where biblical historians might start working again after the polemics involving these and others. In his response, L.L. Grabbe adds his observations on these three and on recent biblical historiography. One gets the sense that these essays have had a relatively long gestation period (Edelman refers to her 2005 book on the date of the Temple rebuilding as ‘forthcoming’), and from a historiographic point of view the discussion seems to have moved on, so that it is not entirely clear why they were published now.

J. Stökl

Pfoh, Emanuel and Keith W. Whitelam (eds.), The Politics of Israel's Past: The Bible, Archaeology and Nation-Building (The Social World of Biblical Antiquity, Second Series, 8; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013), pp. xviii + 249. £60.00/ $95.00/€75.00. ISBN 978-1-907534-82-9.

As the title of this collection indicates, it wants to bring together issues relating to the history of ancient Palestine with those of modern nationalisms and identities in Israel and Palestine. The 13 essays are the following: some reflections on the politics of ancient history, archaeological practice and nation-building in Israel/Palestine (Pfoh), tribes, genealogies and the composition of the HB (I. Hjelm), connecting the production of the biblical narratives to the Platonic writings (P. Wajdenbaum), what we know about pre-Hellenistic al-Quds/Jerusalem (T.L. Thompson), inventing the Jewish religio-ethnic identity in Ezra-Nehemiah (F. Sawah), critique of F. Sawah's thesis (Thompson), the ideological construction of ‘the land’ in NT studies (J.G. Crossley), history as an argument for land possession (N.P. Lemche), Israeli archaeology in the Old City of Jerusalem (G. Sulimany), selected documents on archaeology in Israel, 1948–73 (R. Kletter), how to create and support the nation-state archaeologically (T. Oestigaard), using genetics to try to create history (N.A. El-Haj). In the final essay, Whitelam argues for an integrated history of Palestine that does not privilege one period over another. The editors provide a helpful Introduction that summarizes the essays and discusses how they fit together in this volume, which is an important contribution to the debate.

L.L. Grabbe

Rom-Shiloni, Dalit, Exclusive Inclusivity: Identity Conflicts between the Exiles and the People who Remained (6th–5th Centuries bce) (LHBOTS, 543; New York/London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2013), pp. xx + 316. $140.00/£70.00 (print); £23.00 (PDF e-book). ISBN 978-0-56708-006-6; e-ISBN 978-0-56712-244-5.

This book traces the development of communal identity boundaries in the sixth and fifth centuries bce to uncover what strategies are used to define the ‘in group’, namely Yhwh's people. Adopting the model of Daniel Bar-Tal with slight modification, R. argues that claims to be the ‘true’ people of Yhwh employ techniques of continuity with earlier groups, assertions for ‘entirety’ by a subset of a larger community, and annexation of traditions to eliminate or subsume others. These techniques support the exclusion of ‘Those Who Remain’ in Judah after 587 bce from Yhwh's people. R. works in reverse chronological order through Ezra–Nehemiah, Zechariah 1–8, Haggai, Deutero-Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. These texts—excluding the earliest layer in Jeremiah—employ the three techniques to argue that ‘Those Who Remain’ are not Yhwh's people because either they are foreigners (Ezra–Nehemiah, Ezekiel) or because the land has been left empty (the prophetic texts). These two strategies converge in Ezekiel, the fountainhead of the project and its logic. R.'s work is clear and possesses moments of fresh insight (e.g. her discussion of Ezek. 20 and 16). Nevertheless, there are weaknesses. Key secondary sources are absent: for instance, neither Katherine Southwood's work on return migrations and Ezra–Nehemiah nor Michael Lyons' work on the relationship between Ezekiel and H feature. R.'s inclination to see continuity in the texts is welcome, but, for instance, she fails to explain adequately their divergent treatments of the patriarchs (cf. Ezek. 33.23–29; Isa. 51.1–3; Neh. 9). These issues weaken the argument, but the strengths of the book make it a valuable contribution nonetheless.

C.A. Strine

Seevers, Boyd, Warfare in the Old Testament: The Organization, Weapons, and Tactics of Ancient Near Eastern Armies (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2013), pp. 328. Numerous figures. $29.99/£19.99. ISBN 978-0-8254-3655-0. [Distributed in the UK by Alban Books.]

This book aims ‘to help us better understand the world and message of the Old Testament’ (p. 21) by describing the military practices of Israel and its neighbours. It offers two chapters each on Israel, Egypt and Assyria and one each on Philistia, Babylon and Persia. Each begins with an extensive piece of ‘historical fiction’ which imagines, from a fictive individual's point of view, the events surrounding some major battle, before proceeding to describe military organization and weaponry. Whilst an aesthetically pleasing volume, its veneer of scholarly rigour is belied by the admission that it ‘assum[es] the authenticity of the Bible's historical texts’ (p. 34) and considers these to be ‘primary historical documents’ (p. 21). S. recounts the military endeavours of Joshua and David with credulity, and the discussions of Egypt and Philistia are premised on the reliability of the biblical accounts of the exodus and the rise of David. Unsurprisingly, ‘For Further Reading’ (there is no Bibliography) is dominated by material which pre-dates the crisis in biblical historiography. Though possessed of the occasional interesting observation, the volume is hamstrung by its wilful ignorance of contemporary scholarship.

C.L. Crouch

Shafer-Elliott, Cynthia, Food in Ancient Judah: Domestic Cooking in the Time of the Hebrew Bible (BibleWorld; Sheffield, UK/Bristol, CT: Equinox, 2013), pp. xiv + 239. £60.00/$99.95. ISBN 978-1-908049-73-5.

A number of publications devoted to the diet of ancient Israelites have recently appeared, so S.-E.'s welcome study contributes to this wider discussion. Her primary goal is to discover whether differences in domestic cooking between urban and rural settings can be discerned in mid- to late-Iron II period Judah. Her first chapter sets out methodology, which is to attend first to archaeological reports, and then to integrate these findings with accounts of home cooking in the Hebrew Bible and data from ethnographic studies and experimental archaeology. Chapter 2 offers a classification of settlement types by means of a lexical analysis of Hebrew vocabulary. The third chapter surveys examples of domestic space from two of her four settlement types (‘fortified settlement’, and ‘farmstead’; missing out ‘royal settlements’ and ‘unfortified settlements’). Chapter 4 adds artistic, literary and ethnographic data to the mix, although non-elite, domestic interests are submerged in this discussion. The biblical texts relating to ‘home cooking’ (Gen. 18.1–8; 25.29–34; Judg. 6.19–21; 2 Sam. 13.5–10) are then read in ch. 5. Ironically, none of these stories depicts an ‘average ancient Judahite’ (p. 178) dwelling in a settlement: they depict nomads or the elite. S.-E. is well aware of the complexities attending her research, and the limits of the data. It remains curious that a monograph on ‘food’ should examine the vocabulary of settlement patterns, but not cooking utensils (listed briefly in the conclusion to ch. 3), cooking procedures, or foodstuffs. Still, her work provides a useful contribution to our understanding of the ‘daily life’ of an average ancient Israelite.

D.J. Reimer

Thompson, Thomas L., Changing Perspectives. II. Biblical Narrative and Palestine's History (Copenhagen International Seminar; Sheffield, UK/Bristol, CT: Equinox, 2013), pp. xvi + 352. £65.00/$99.95. ISBN 978-1-908049-95-7.

T. has collected 19 essays that exemplify the development of his life's work on the history of ancient Palestine, as follows: the first essay consists of a few short pages on the Joseph and Moses narratives from J.H. Hayes and J.M. Miller (eds.), Israelite and Judean History; essay 2 gives a critique of the ‘peasants' revolt’ theory of G.E. Mendenhall and N.K. Gottwald; essay 3 replies to the positions of W.G. Dever and W.M. Clark on the patriarchs; essay 4 is on the conflict themes in the Jacob narratives; essay 5 responds to a critique of J.B. Geyer on comments on the Joseph and Moses narratives by Thompson and Dorothy Irvin. Essay 6 is on Israelite historiography (he critiques J. Van Seters but also those who have argued for an Israelite ‘epic’); essay 7, on pastoralism and Israelite origins; essay 8, on ‘inclusive monotheism’ in Persian-period Palestine; essay 9, Exodus 3 and 6 and Yahweh as God; essay 10, on 4QTestimonia and Bible composition. Essay 11 makes further comments about treating the Hebrew Bible either as historiography or epic, while essay 12 in some sense epitomizes his approach to the text found in his recent The Bible in History (British title) or The Mythic Past (American title). Essay 13 is about the epithet ‘messiah’ in the Hebrew Bible; essay 14, about kingship and the wrath of God; essay 15, about Psalm 8 and the book of Isaiah; essay 16, about Job 28: biography or parable? Essay 17 is on Mesha and questions of historicity; essay 18, on the imago dei: a problem in the discussion of the Pentateuch. T.'s approach to writing history is well summed up in his final essay, which was first written in 1991 but then subsequently revised and presented several more times over the years, until appearing for the first time in its present form here. The essays are prefaced by a highly perceptive Introduction from Philip R. Davies that briefly summarizes the essays and also shows how they mark T.'s changing perspective on Palestinian history and, especially, how the biblical text is to be related to this task of writing such a history.

L.L. Grabbe