Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts by Jared L. Miller

Abstract

Reviewed by: Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts by Jared L. Miller Michael S. Moore jared l. miller, Royal Hittite Instructions and Related Administrative Texts (WAW 31; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2013). Pp. xx + 451. $73.95. Where Gary Beckman's Hittite Diplomatic Texts (WAW 7; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996; 2nd ed., 1999) publishes English translations of some twenty treaties, seventeen letters, and thirteen edicts defining Hittite leaders' external relationships with (recently) pacified neighbors, the present volume transliterates and translates twenty-eight Hittite texts defining the boundaries of the internal relationships maintained by various Anatolian leaders with palace gatekeepers, royal bodyguards, military officers, provincial governors, regional mayors, and religious chaplains, all with the intention of maintaining and improving the health and wealth of their kingdoms. Following a seventy-two-page essay aggressively attacking the problem of defining this "genre"—one that, to be kind, is deceptively bounded by mercurial boundaries—chap. 1 transliterates and translates six texts commonly dated to the Old Hittite era (CTH [Catalogue des textes hittites (ed. Emmanuel Laroche; Études et commentaires 75; Paris: Klincksieck, 1971)] 262, 263, 265, 269, 272, and 275). Chapter 2 transliterates and translates fourteen instructional memos datable to the transitional reigns of Tudḫaliya I and Arnuwanda I (CTH 251, 252, 257, 258.1, 258.2, 259, 260, [End Page 716] 261.1, 261.2, 264, 268, 270, 271 and 275), and chap. 3 transliterates and translates eight internal memos datable to the late imperial era (CTH 253, 254, 255.1, 255.2, 256, 266, 267 and 275). Not everyone will agree with the text selections here or the criteria consulted to justify them, but (a) this will not surprise anyone familiar with the ins and outs of Anatolian studies, and (b) this is one of the best English sourcebooks on this literature ever produced. Since so many of these instructional texts originate from the courts of Tudḫaliya I and Arnuwanda I (a transitional, innovative era), the author spills a great deal of ink defending the hypothesis (earlier proposed in his essay "Die hethitischen Dienstanweisungen: Zwischen normativer Vorschrift und Traditionsliteratur," in Hethitischer Literatur: Überlieferungsprozesse, Textstrukturen, Ausdrucksformen und Nachwirken [ed. M. Hutter and S. Braunsar-Hutter; Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2011] 193-205) that the "obligation" (isḫiul-) + "oath" (lingai) combination embedded within these administrative texts hardly undergoes "a process of mitosis at the end of the reign of Tudḫaliya I" (contra F. Pecchioli Daddi, "A 'New' Instruction from Arnuwanda I," in Silva Anatolica: Anatolian Studies Presented to Marciej Popko on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday [ed. P. Taracha; Warsaw: Agade, 2002] 261-68; and M. Giorgieri, "Zu den Treueiden mittelhethitischer Zeit," Altorientalische Forschungen 32 [2005] 322-46). This was rather a time, M. argues, when a "single obligation and oath genre" from the Old Hittite era "emphasizes practical and concrete obligations (isḫiul-)" within a composite genre that "in its later phases highlights above all loyalty to the king and his family (via) the (allegiance) oath" (lingai, p. 19). Whether this or any other form-critical hypothesis is provable from the fragmentary evidence at hand is, of course, problematic, so the author is quick to admit that "the assertion that the reigns of Tudḫaliya I and Arnuwanda I witness a significant change in state and administrative structures is still in need of clear support (and) should (not simply) be excluded a priori" (pp. 20-21). Still, one of the book's primary goals is to fend off any and all attempts to segregate these components. While the Hittitologists argue, Tanak students will appreciate how much these texts illuminate the literary-historical context from which several Hebrew texts emerge. Those wishing to understand, for example, (a) why Dtr so scrupulously details the priestly corruptions of Eli's sons (Hophni and Phineas), as well as (b) how best to gauge the severity of their punishment will profit greatly from examining 1 Sam 2:12–4:11 alongside the "Instructions for Priests and Temple Personnel" in CTH 264 (pp. 248-65). Why? Because this text, like Dtr, warns readers to beware of a long list of social, economic, and ethical vices constantly tempting religious professionals everywhere—not just Hebrew...