IntroductIon to the Old Testamen t This volume introduces Israel’s Scriptures, or the Hebrew Bible, commonly called the Old Testament. It also traces the legacy of monotheism found in the pages of the Old Testament. Where pertinent to the message of the Old Testa- ment, the book explores issues of history, comparative religions, and sociology, while striking a balance among these topics by focusing primarily on liter- ary features of the text. In addition, frequent sidebar discussions introduce the reader to contemporary scholarship, especially the results of historical-critical research and archaeology. Along the way, the book explores how the Old Testa- ment conceptualized and gave rise to monotheism, one of the most significant developments in history. This work •  pays unique attention to the origins of monotheism, the common heritage of  Jews, Christians, and Muslims; •  includes frequent sidebar discussions in each chapter, a generous number of  illustrations, and twenty freshly created maps, as well as concise chapter sum- maries and a glossary of terms; •  has a Web component that includes study guides, flash cards, PowerPoint  lecture slides, and a test bank. Bill T. Arnold is the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation  at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books and articles in biblical studies, including Genesis (The New Cambridge Bible Com- mentary Series, 2009) and A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (with John H. Choi, 2003). He is also the coeditor of Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (with H. G. M. Williamson, 2005) and Readings from the Ancient Near East: Primary Sources for Old Testament Study (with Bryan E. Bayer, 2002) and the author of Who Were the Babylonians? (2004) and 1 and 2 Samuel: The NIV Application Commentary (2003). introduction to the ld estamen O T t BIll t. Arnold Asbury Theological Seminary 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521705479 © Bill T. Arnold 2014 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2014 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Arnold, Bill T., author. Introduction to the Old Testament / Bill T. Arnold. pages cm – (Introduction to religion) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-87965-1 (hardback) 1. Monotheism – History of doctrines. 2. God (Judaism) – History of doctrines. 3. Bible. Old Testament – Theology. I. Title. bs1192.6.a76 2014 221.6′1–dc23 2013027349 isbn 978-0-521-87965-1 Hardback isbn 978-0-521-70547-9 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents List of Illustrations page xii Preface xv 1 What Is the Old Testament? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 sidebar 1.1. Friedrich Delitzsch’s rejection of the old testament 2 Old Testament, Tanak, or Hebrew Bible? 4 The legacy of monotheism 6 sidebar 1.2. Israel’s God, Yahweh 6 sidebar 1.3. “Monotheism” 11 Your main task in reading the Old Testament 12 2 Word of Truth – Word of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The power of words 17 What is a book? 19 The Old Testament canon 21 sidebar 2.1. “Canon” 21 sidebar 2.2. Council of Jamnia 22 sidebar 2.3. Jerome, also known as eusebius Hieronymus (ca. 347–420 Ce) 25 Copies and translations of the Old Testament canon 25 The word’s influence  28 3 The Old Testament World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Axial Age changes in world history 32 The stage of the Old Testament drama 32 sidebar 3.1. What shall we call the land of the Bible? 37 v vi Contents World history before and during the Old Testament drama 40 sidebar 3.2. Christian thomsen and the periodization of history 41 sidebar 3.3. the correspondence of Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem 45 The Old Testament story 46 sidebar 3.4. Highlights of Israel’s story 47 4 The Primary History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Herodotus, father of history? 52 sidebar 4.1. Antiquarianism versus historiography 53 sidebar 4.2. Herodotus (ca. 484–425 BCe), the father of history 54 Israelite historiography 54 sidebar 4.3. sources of old testament literature 56 The Primary History: From creation to the fall of Jerusalem  58 sidebar 4.4. spinoza on biblical studies 59 5 Beginnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Old Testament reading: Genesis 1–11 67 The Primeval History: Genesis 1–11 69 sidebar 5.1. Historical and priestly traditions of Genesis 1–11 70 sidebar 5.2. YHWH, Yahweh, and “LoRD” 71 The concept of “creation,” and the need to explain origins 72 Ancient Near Eastern parallels 74 sidebar 5.3. sources for ancient near eastern texts 75 Myth, epic, or history? Something else entirely? A question of literary type 77 Themes of the Primeval History  79 sidebar 5.4. Monotheism and the equality of men and women 82 6 Ancestors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Old Testament reading: Genesis 12–50 84 Fathers and mothers of faith 85 sidebar 6.1. From where do we get our chapter and verse numbers? 86 sidebar 6.2. More on the literary sources of Genesis 88 Archaeology and the search for what really happened 89 sidebar 6.3. the rise of archaeological research 90 Life in ancient Israel 92 Religion in the ancestral narratives 94 Abraham’s faith and Abrahamic religions 96 7 Torah Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Old Testament reading: Exodus and Numbers 99 sidebar 7.1. the torah’s literary sources 100 Contents vii Israel’s story 100 What really happened? 106 sidebar 7.2. excerpt from the stela of Merneptah 108 Yahweh: What kind of God? 112 8 Torah Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Old Testament reading: Leviticus and Psalms 19 and 119 116 sidebar 8.1. excerpt from Psalm 119 117 Commandments, ordinances, statutes, instructions, laws, and so forth 117 The core of the Torah, and Israel’s “ethics” 120 The Ten Words 121 sidebar 8.2. ten Words? try counting them! 123 Tabernacle, sacrifice, and priesthood in ancient Israel’s worship 124 Law “codes,” writing, and monotheism 125 sidebar 8.3. How old are the priestly legal materials of the torah? 126 sidebar 8.4. Ancient near eastern law codes 128 9 Torah Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Old Testament reading: Deuteronomy 131 Speeches of Moses 132 sidebar 9.1. the shema 134 Covenant renewal and the book’s structure 135 sidebar 9.2. treaty of suppiluliuma, the Hittite “Great King” 136 sidebar 9.3. succession treaty of esarhaddon 138 Moses’ sermons – the “center of the Old Testament” 138 sidebar 9.4. King Josiah and his reforms 140 The death of Moses – the birth of Torah 144 What does “Deuteronomic” mean? What about “Deuteronomistic”? 145 sidebar 9.5. the Deuteronomistic History 146 10 The Religion of Moses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Old Testament reading: Exodus 3:1–15, 6:2–9, and 18:1–12; Psalms 104, 105, and 106 148 Main features of the religion of Moses 149 Moses and Abraham 152 sidebar 10.1. exodus 6:2–9 in light of source analysis 154 sidebar 10.2. el in Canaanite religion 154 Moses and ancient Near Eastern precursors 156 sidebar 10.3. excerpt from The Great Hymn to the Aten 158 sidebar 10.4. the Baal Cycle 161 viii Contents Origins of the religion of Moses 162 sidebar 10.5. “shasu of YHW” in egyptian inscriptions 163 Legacy 164 11 Was There an “Ancient Israel”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Interpreting text and tell – the example of Jericho 169 sidebar 11.1. the tale of a tell 170 Chronology of ancient Israelite history 173 sidebar 11.2. High chronology or low chronology? 175 sidebar 11.3. excerpt from the Babylonian Chronicle 177 sidebar 11.4. excerpt from the Cyrus Cylinder 178 History of Israelite religion(s) 178 12 Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Old Testament reading: Joshua and Judges 184 sidebar 12.1. Where is the book of Ruth? 185 At long last, the land! Fulfillment of the Pentateuch’s promises  185 The books Joshua and Judges 189 sidebar 12.2. the role of Joshua and Judges in the Deuteronomistic History 189 sidebar 12.3. What is “Yahweh War” in the old testament? 192 Three views of what really happened 195 sidebar 12.4. Israelite architecture and pottery 197 Israelite religion in Iron Age I 201 The problem with the promise – What about the land today? 204 sidebar 12.5. Why does genocide play a role in Joshua and Judges? 204 13 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 Old Testament reading: 1 and 2 Samuel 207 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” 208 The books of First and Second Samuel 209 sidebar 13.1. the role of 1–2 samuel in the Deuteronomistic History 209 sidebar 13.2. the original source known as David’s “Court History” 216 What really happened? 217 sidebar 13.3. the evidence of the tel Dan Inscription 219 Religious expression in the United Monarchy 220 sidebar 13.4. the strange case of 1 samuel 28 – Death cults in ancient Israel? 222 sidebar 13.5. Was Israel an ancient amphictyony? 224 Contents ix 14 More Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 Old Testament reading: 1 and 2 Kings 226 The books of First and Second Kings 227 sidebar 14.1. the role of 1–2 Kings in the Deuteronomistic History 228 sidebar 14.2. excerpts from The Instruction of Ptahhotep 229 sidebar 14.3. the role of Josiah in Israel’s history and in old testament literature 233 What really happened? 234 sidebar 14.4. excerpt from the Babylonian Chronicles 235 sidebar 14.5. the Black obelisk 237 Religious expression embedded in the account of Israel’s monarchy 237 15 History Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Old Testament reading: 1 and 2 Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah 244 sidebar 15.1. Where is the book of esther? 245 A new history for postexilic times 245 The books of First and Second Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah 248 sidebar 15.2. David, solomon, and the city of Zion 250 sidebar 15.3. the evidence of the Moabite stone 251 Background of the Chronistic History 254 sidebar 15.4. Kings of ancient Persia 257 Monotheism in the Chronistic History? 259 16 More Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 Old Testament reading: Genesis 49, Deuteronomy 32, and Judges 5 261 All the rest, and how they relate to the Primary and Chronistic  Histories 262 sidebar 16.1. titles and authors of ancient compositions 264 The characteristics and qualities of Old Testment poetry 267 sidebar 16.2. Is poetry a distinct old testament literary category? 268 sidebar 16.3. Acrostic structures in poetry 273 17 Israel’s Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Old Testament reading: Job and Proverbs  275 Wisdom literature in the ancient Near East 276 sidebar 17.1. excerpts from The Poem of the Righteous Sufferer 279 The books of Job and Proverbs  280 sidebar 17.2. And ecclesiastes makes three 280