Historical Books: Joshua–2 Kings

Abstract

Historical BooksJoshua–2 Kings Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, J. Edward Owens, John M. Halligan, Rhiannon Graybill, Jeremy Corley, and Thomas Hieke 404. [Dtr] Sang-wan Lee, "Der Umgang mit der Kulteinheitforderung in sekundären Einschreibungen im Deuteronomistichen Geschichtswerk," Eigensinn und Entstehung, 331-38 [see #789]. In Dtr, the requirements for worship of Yhwh alone (Kultreinheit) and worship of Yhwh at a single designated sanctuary (Kulteinheit) are repeatedly alluded to. Some scholars posit that the two requirements derive from different Deuteronomistic hands, but L., following E. Blum, argues that both requirements were elements of the original Deuteronomist's presentation of the history of Israel and Judah. At the same time, there are, L. further argues, a variety of secondary elements within Dtr containing allusions to the above double requirement, these including mentions of cultic places and cultic activities that take place outside of and/or prior to the Jerusalem Temple. A particularly noteworthy case in point is the account of Elijah's altar on Mount Carmel in 1 Kgs 18:30ff., which postdates the construction of the Temple but which nonetheless is (apparently) legitimated by the presence of a Yhwh prophet and Yhwh's own sending fire to consume the sacrifice on Elijah's altar. According to L., all the secondary texts identified by him, while they do derive from secondary Deuteronomistic hands, do not stand in contradiction with the primary Deuteronomist's combined requirement of worship of Yhwh and worship of him at one central sanctuary; in fact, the focus of many of these secondary texts is on concerns other than Dtr's double cultic requirement (e.g., in Josh 24:26, the center of attention is not on the "great stone" erected by Joshua at Shechem, but rather on the "book of the law" that he is said to have deposited there).—C.T.B. 405. [Dtr; Jeroboam I; "High Places"] Kristin Weingart, "Jerobeam und seine Kulthöhen. Geschichte als Argument in religiösen Diskurs der Perserzeit," Eigensinn und Entstehung, 315-30 [see #789]. The Deuteronomistic History (Dtr) features recurrent references to the "sins of Jeroboam" which resulted in the eventual overthrow of the Northern Kingdom. What were those "sins" exactly? In the extant text of 1 Kgs 12:26-32, one finds juxtaposed two categories of such sins: Jeroboam's erection of the bull-images in Bethel and Dan on the one hand and his establishment of "houses" for worship on the high places and the inauguration of a non-Levitical priesthood to service these sites on the other. In her article, W. identifies the latter set of "sins of Jeroboam" as deriving from a Persian-period redaction of Dtr, found in 1 Kgs 12:31-32; 13:31-33; 2 Kgs 17:24-30; and 23:16-20, which, in contrast to the original Dtr stratum, in 1 Kgs 12:26-30, as well as the story of the "man of God at Bethel of 1 Kgs 13:1-30 (for which 1 Kgs 12:31-32 and 13:31-32 function as a redactional frame), is directed not against the Bethel cult and its bull image but rather against the cult of the Samaritans of the Persian era with its central Yahwistic sanctuary on Mount Gerizim, which, from the Judean perspective, was viewed as an offense against the sole legitimacy of the Jerusalem sanctuary.—C.T.B. [End Page 135] 406. [Joshua–Judges; Divine and Human Kingship] Sarah Dalrymple, "Ephraim or Judah? Divine Sovereignty and the Potential for Kingship in Joshua–Judges," The Seed of Promise, 50-74 [see #797]. From which of the twelve tribes would God's promised messiah come? One place where we might begin to look is in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50). The narrative of Joseph and his brothers is suffused with themes of divine sovereignty, wise leadership, and royal power. Or we might follow a thread that runs through the story of Joshua, from the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua was the warrior and shepherd-leader chosen to follow Moses. How about Caleb, who was from the tribe of Judah? Joshua and Caleb were eager to settle in the Promised...