Jonathan Miles Robker The Jehu Revolution Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Herausgegeben von John Barton · F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp Reinhard G. Kratz · Markus Witte Band 435 De Gruyter Jonathan Miles Robker The Jehu Revolution A Royal Tradition of the Northern Kingdom and Its Ramifications De Gruyter ISBN 978-3-11-028489-8 e-ISBN 978-3-11-028501-7 ISSN 0934-2575 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData ACIPcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenappliedforattheLibraryofCongress. BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutsche Nationalbibliografie;detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternet athttp://dnb.dnb.de. ”2012WalterdeGruyterGmbH&Co.KG,Berlin/Boston Printing:Hubert&Co.GmbH&Co.KG,Göttingen (cid:2)Printedonacid-freepaper PrintedinGermany www.degruyter.com Acknowledgements The journey to complete this dissertation was a long and arduous one, covering a period of some three years, from March of 2008 until May of 2011, when I completed my Rigorosum. Over the course of this academic wending, too many people have rightfully earned my gratitude to all be listed here, but several deserve to be noted in a special way. First and foremost, I must extend my thanks to my family for their support and for understanding my longing to complete this degree in Germany, far away from the land I since birth have called my home. To my second family, the Hildenspergers of Scheppach, I must extent my eternal gratitude for the wel- coming spirit and cheerful, uplifting attitude that has always greeted me there. To Anja I continue to offer thanks for the support that you have given me, both with linguistic matters in Latin and Spanish, and with the practical support you have provided me in day-to-day living, in spite of my sometimes less-than- sunny disposition. From a scholastic perspective, my gratitude is extended to Professor Dr. Jürgen van Oorschot and Professor Dr. Hans-Christoph Schmitt, both of whom have undertaken the extensive task of guiding my research from the conception of this project. Further, my thanks are extended to Professor Dr. Markus Saur for his encouraging words at the right times. Finally, I offer thanks to the members of the alttestamentliches Forschungsseminar in the years 2006–2010 in Erlan- gen, especially Dr. Lars Allolio-Näcke, Andrea Beyer, Philipp Herrmanns- dörfer, Dr. Gerhard Karner, Delia Klingler, and Sarah Schulz for questioning, criticizing, and probing my hypotheses in a friendly, collegial atmosphere. On the practical side of life, I extended my deepest gratitude to Villigst for their financial support. Without the stipend they were gracious enough to extend to me, this research could not have been undertaken, not to mention the research trips to London, Jerusalem, Tartu, and Helsinki, which of course, without the financial support of Villigst, would have remained the dream they turned out to be. For their diligent work in correcting part or the whole of the manuscript, I thank Anja Hildensperger, Delia Klingler, Jonathan Kühn, Nicholas Loup, and Frani Scheler. Their work was both efficient and thorough, yet any errors that remain are my responsibility alone. Further, I must extend my thanks to Prof. Dr. Siegfried Kreuzer and Prof. Dr. Aaron Schart, who gainfully employed me in Nordrhein-Westfalen, yet still provided me with enough freedom to complete the final phase of editing this VI Acknowledgements manuscript for publication. My gratitude is also offered to the editors of the series BZAW for accepting this dissertation into their series and to the publishers at de Gruyter, especially Dr. Albrecht Döhnert and Sabina Dabrowski, as well as Steve from technical support at Nota Bene, for their assistance with the for- matting and editing of the final manuscript. Finally, I would like to offer my thanks to the individuals who took the time to remind me that life is more than composing a dissertation or earning a doc- toral degree. The residents of the WEH and my students in the Fachbereich Theologie in Erlangen must be recognized in this capacity. My special thanks goes out to the Akademischen Rat Dr. Gerhard Karner, Delia Klingler, Eduard W. Schlichtinger, and Markus Westhauser for the many hours of discussion, sometimes heated, and relaxation that we could all enjoy. My love and thanks are extended to Anja Hildensperger for all of her support in every facet of my life. Thank you. Jonathan Robker Wuppertal, 18 June 2012 The abbreviations used in this dissertation follow the SBL Handbook of Style. Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. V Chapter 1: Introduction: Objectives and Methodology ...................................... 1 The Problem................................................................................................... 1 Objectives ...................................................................................................... 2 Methodology .................................................................................................. 6 Excursus: The Greek Text of Kings ............................................................... 8 Chapter 2: The Literary Jehu: A Construct and its Ramifications ................... 17 The Oldest Biblical Jehu Tradition: 2 Kings 9–10* ..................................... 17 Literary Criticism ......................................................................................... 35 Analysis of Style .......................................................................................... 58 Date of Composition .................................................................................... 62 Form and Sitz im Leben ............................................................................... 65 Chapter 3: The Jehuide Dynasty ...................................................................... 70 Excursus: A Judean Redaction or a Judean Source? .................................... 81 2 Kings 13:1–9* ........................................................................................... 83 Translation and Textual Considerations .................................................. 83 Narrative Considerations ......................................................................... 84 2 Kings 13:10–14:22* .................................................................................. 86 Translation and Textual Considerations .................................................. 86 Narrative Considerations ......................................................................... 90 1 Kings 20:1–34* ......................................................................................... 99 Translation and Textual Considerations .................................................. 99 Narrative Considerations ....................................................................... 105 2 Kings 14:23–29* ..................................................................................... 110 Translation and Textual Considerations ................................................ 110 Narrative Considerations ....................................................................... 111 Chapter 4: The Israel Source in the Book of Kings: From Jeroboam II through Joram ................................................................................................ 117 David and Solomon: 1 Kings 1:1–11:25* .................................................. 117 Jeroboam I: 1 Kings 11:26–14:20* ............................................................ 118 Translation and Textual Considerations ................................................ 119 VIII Table of Contents Narrative Considerations ....................................................................... 123 Nadab through Joram: 1 Kings 15:25–16:34 + 22*; 2 Kings 1* ............... 130 Translation and Textual Considerations ................................................ 130 Narrative Considerations ....................................................................... 138 The Plausibility of a Political Source in the Time of Jeroboam I .............. 157 Concluding Remarks.................................................................................. 164 Chapter 5: Historicity and the Bible: Evaluating the Biblical Materials for Reconstructing Israel’s History ...................................................................... 166 Introduction................................................................................................ 166 The Israel Source ....................................................................................... 166 Other Material in Kings ............................................................................. 171 Hosea ......................................................................................................... 174 Amos .......................................................................................................... 181 Chronicles .................................................................................................. 188 Josephus ..................................................................................................... 193 Concluding Remarks and Evaluations ....................................................... 195 Chapter 6: Akkadian Sources ......................................................................... 197 Shalmaneser III .......................................................................................... 197 The Campaign of 853 ............................................................................ 201 The Campaign of 849 ............................................................................ 210 The Campaign of 848 ............................................................................ 211 The Campaign of 845 ............................................................................ 213 The Campaign of 841 ............................................................................ 215 The Campaign of 838 ............................................................................ 223 Summary of Shalmaneser III ................................................................. 225 Adad-nārārī III and Shalmaneser IV .......................................................... 225 The Assyrian Texts .................................................................................... 229 Chapter 7: Levantine Epigraphy: Tel Dan, Mesha, Zakkur, Samarian Materials ........................................................................................................ 232 Textual Sources in Syria and Palestine ...................................................... 232 The Mesha Inscription ............................................................................... 232 General Matters and Dating .................................................................. 232 Translation ............................................................................................ 233 Historical Considerations and Reconstruction ...................................... 236 The Tel Dan Inscription ............................................................................. 240 General Matters and Dating .................................................................. 240 Reconstruction and Translation ............................................................. 246 Historical Considerations and Reconstruction ...................................... 265 The Zakkur Inscription .............................................................................. 275 Table of Contents IX General Matters and Dating .................................................................. 275 Translation ............................................................................................ 275 Historical Considerations and Reconstruction ...................................... 277 Samarian Stele Fragments ......................................................................... 278 The Samaria Ostraca .................................................................................. 279 General Information and Dating ............................................................ 279 Contents ................................................................................................ 280 Historical Considerations ...................................................................... 282 Conclusions................................................................................................ 283 Chapter 8: Conclusions .................................................................................. 285 Historical Reconstruction .......................................................................... 285 Impulses for Further Study ........................................................................ 301 Appendix: The Israel Source .......................................................................... 303 Bibliography .................................................................................................. 315 Index of Biblical Citations ............................................................................. 333