Habakkuk (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews 135 to her "judging" Israel. Instead he assigns the role of leader to the less than impressive Barak: apparently "even a bad male leader is better than a good female leader" (p. 81). Josephus does not actually portray Jephthah 's daughter negatively, but neither does he give much attention to her story. He depicts her as dutiful toward her father and her country, and he subtly shapes this depiction to make it suit his particular audience (for example, by echoing the Greek story of Iphegenia, who was devoted to Artemis in exchange for her father's victory over the Trojans). Josephus adds the apologetic note that God did not approve ofJephthah's act, and that it was illegal according to the Jewish scriptures. In recounting the story of Hannah, Josephus omits any reference to the taunting of Peninnah, leaving the reader to infer that her vexation was due solely to her frantic obsession with having a child. He emphasizes Hannah's subordination to Elkanah, and he omits any reference to her nursing of Samuel. Josephus's expanded depiction of the witch of Endor, on the other hand, greatly magnifies her positive traits. In his account the witch exemplifies the Roman ideals of clementia and humanitas. Josephus even describes her slaughter of her fatted calf for Samuel in terms echoing Nathan's parable of the poor man and the ewe (2 Sam 12:1-14). He adds a lengthy epilogue in which he commends her virtues and encourages others to emulate her example. Brown suggests that Josephus depicts the witch so positively in an attempt to appeal to his educated pagan audience, "for which the occult was fashionable," and whose members "would have seen no incongruity in a necromancer being of such exemplary character" (p. 204). Brown reads the texts carefully, and ably correlates the data she uncovers with knowledge from other sources of this era. Some readers may find the book a bit repetitive (with numerous summaries and conclusions, perhaps reflecting the work's origin as a dissertation), but others will welcome these clear restatements of Brown's results. Brown has made a perceptive' and interesting contribution to our knowledge of attitudes toward women in the biblical world. Susan R. Garrett Yale Divinity School Habakkuk, by Robert D. Haak. ieiden: E. J. Brill, 1992. 177 pp. $57.25. This book is a revision of Haak's Ph.D. dissertation (University of Chicago Divinity School, G. W. Ahlstrom [advisor]). Firmly rooted in the 136 SHOFAR Spring 1994 Vol. 12, No.3 historical-critical approach, Haak searches for an understanding of the historical (original) message of Habakkuk. Since such a message is fully intelligible only in the context of the historical situation in which it was created, Haak also studies the social and historical circumstances of the late monarchic period, which is, according to Haak, the time of Habakkuk's message. Haak first discusses the state of the masoretic text of Habakkuk and compares it especially with ancient Hebrew texts and Greek versions. His goal here is to develop general guidelines for the reconstruction of the original text of Habakkuk. Haak's conclusions are similar to those ofD. N. Freedman and others who maintain the general priority of the consonantal masoretic text (hereafter MT), but not necessarily that of the vocalization tradition attested in the MT. Haak next approaches the issue of the genre of the prophecy of Habakkuk. He concludes that the prophecy should be characterized as a complaint, and that the woe oracles (2:6-19) and the psalm (3:2-19) are expanded sections that are integral to the complaint. Haak then presents a translation of his proposed late monarchic text of the prophecy of Habakkuk. He also provides a comprehensive set of notes (pp. 29-106) that explain the textual and interpretive decisions reflected in the translation. It is impossible to summarize in a few lines the many discussions presented there. It is worth noting, however, that Haak's translation of the reconstructed original text strongly disagrees in numerous instances with the "usual" English translations of Habakkuk. Haak then moves to discussion of the political and social history of the late monarchic period in order to...