The Historical Books: Joshua–2 Kings

Abstract

The Historical BooksJoshua–2 Kings Christopher T. Begg, Richard A. Taylor, Fred W. Guyette, and Brian J. Meldrum 518. [The Deuteronomistic Portrait of Monarchy] Thomas Karimundackal, S.J., "[The] Deuteronomistic Portrait of Monarchy in the Deuteronomistic History," BibBh 47 (1-2, 2021) 33-54. The aim of this paper is to better understand the Deuteronomistic portrayal of monarchy as this is developed over the course of Dtr. Dtr provides a theological interpretation of Israelite monarchy from its very inception until its demise. According to the Deuteronomist, monarchy in Israel was supposed to function in a way that is consistent with the requirements of Yhwh's covenant between himself and Israel established by him at Sinai (see Exodus 19–24) and in the subsequent law of Moses featured in Deuteronomy. Accordingly, the primary purpose of the monarchy in Dtr's view, was to lead and instruct the people in covenantal obedience as a covenantal servant of Yhwh. At the same time, the Dtr presents the Israelite monarchy as a failed form of human leadership vis-à-vis Yhwh's own leadership. Yhwh alone is Israel's true king whom his anointed ones, the kings of Israel, are to adhere to unconditionally. In fact, however, Israel's history turns out to be one in which the man-made evil of monarchy leads to Israel's rejection of Yhwh as its true king. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 519. [Constructing a Landscape Monument in Josh 8:30-35] Lisa J. Cleath, "Divine Enthronement in a Conquered Land: Constructing a Landscape Monument in Josh 8:30-35," HeBAI 10 (3, 2021) 331-48. My study reads Josh 8:30-35 in light of ANE landscape monuments of the LBA and the Iron Ages. Building upon a long scholarly tradition that compares the HB's sēper hattôrâ texts to Mesopotamian âde texts, my comparison to landscape monuments and monumental art at Birleyn, Carchemish, and Zincirli highlights the significance of the geographical location of the inscription, the ritual performance of the inscription in a monumental setting, and the transmission of the Joshua pericope itself as literary monumental art. In the Book of Joshua, the narrative of Josh 8:30-35 serves to emphasize Yhwh's rule over the conquered lands of Canaan, via the creation and activation of a monumental tôrâ of Moses. The narrative conveys the enduring and socially efficacious mechanisms of a monumental inscription in ANE contexts, and in so doing serves the larger socio-political purposes of Dtr. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 520. [The King List in Josh 12:9-24] Josef Tropper and Juan-Pablo Vita, "Die 'Liste der Könige' diesseits des Jordans (Josua 12,9-24)," BN 192 (2022) 47-57. All previous interpretations of Josh 12:9-24 assume that each of the Cisjordanian kings listed is assigned the number "one" with a concluding total "together thirty-one kings." Our article offers a different understanding of the numbers in the list: it is not the [End Page 177] kings cited in the list who are numbered, but rather their dominions (which are to be distributed to the Israelites). [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 521. [Parallel Structures in the Book of Judges] Klaas Spronk, "Parallel Structures in Judges and the Formation of the Book," JSOT 46 (3, 2022) 306-18. In addition to the well-known repetitions in the Book of Judges, my article maps a number of meaningful cases of repetition in the form of parallel structures in chaps. 1, 14–16, and 17–21. This special case of repetition can be regarded as characteristic of the editor who was responsible for the book in its final form. The analysis of this phenomenon serves to provide an understanding of the structure of the book as a whole and to explain the function of its double references to the death of Joshua and to Samson's 20-year tenure as judge. The specific use of parallel structures at the beginning and end of the book is of relevance for theories that attempt to account for the formation of the...