Post-exilic Period Research Articles

Eastern Light on Jerusalem

If the Post-Exilic period is now held to be the main phase of scribal production for the Hebrew Bible, understanding education in the Persian Empire is essential. Biblical scholarship has largely depended on evidence from earlier (Babylonian) or later (Hellenistic) periods, which is not applicable. This essay draws on direct evidence of Persian education in the eastern provinces to suggest a model of broader Persian scribalism.

The House of God as the House of Salvation for All People

This paper explores the existence of eunuchs in ancient Israel and the Israelites’ reception of them in the postexilic period. Using a postcolonial approach, this paper analyzes the ambiguity of the identities of foreigners and eunuchs, the liminal position they occupy in the Israelite community, the stereotypes they receive, and God’s actions to create a third space for them. The postcolonial reading of Isaiah 56:1-8 shows that there is an opportunity for foreigners and eunuchs who promise to keep the Sabbath and obey God’s covenant to live and become part of the Israelite community. Furthermore, Isaiah 56:1-8 also creates a third space for eunuchs where their dignity will be restored and their names will be immortalized forever. When connected to the Indonesian context, God’s initiative to bring marginalized and rejected eunuchs into the third space—a space of transformation that breaks down all oppressive binaries— becomes news of hope for sexual minority groups in Indonesia who have also experienced trauma and suffering. This interpretation calls for religious communities, including their leaders, to create a warm and loving home for others who are also part of God's family.

The David-Benjaminites Episodes (2 Sam 16:1–14; 19:16–31): The Conflict between the Golah Community and the Benjaminites

Abstract In this article, we first argue that the David-Benjaminites episodes (2 Sam 16:1–14 and 19:16–31) can be read in the Persian conflict context based on “exclusive inclusivity.” Second, we examine the validity of reading the episodes together and demonstrate their textual combination through inclusio. Third, we analyze the literary and historical implications of the three different Benjaminites’ changing actions toward David and, conversely, David and Abishai’s dialog about them. Fourth, we propose that the various aspects of the three Saulide characters’ reactions to David reflect the Benjaminites’ changing actions in the postexilic period and that the reactions of David and Abishai give us insights to comprehensively understand the two symbolic types of the Golah community’s responses toward the Benjaminites. Consequently, the David-Benjaminites episodes signal the complex aspects of the Persian Yehud Judean’s internal struggles and their strategies to resolve the ideological issues.

From Šulgi to Abraham: Encounters with Ur in the First Millennium BCE

Of all the ancient cities that could have served as Abraham’s hometown, why does the Hebrew Bible choose Ur? This article explores how different groups may have interacted with Ur and its legacy circa the exilic and postexilic periods of biblical authorship, to discern the ways different groups in Babylonia engaged with Ur, and how their interactions may have informed their perception of the city. It argues that Babylonian Judeans largely did not have direct access to the city or to the cuneiform artifacts that described its history. Instead, Judeans would have had to rely on information transmitted orally from Babylonians, whose interest in Ur may have been elevated due to the preponderance of artifacts from the Third Dynasty of Ur. As such, this article will evaluate different forms information traveled in the ancient world, and the ways they impacted the direction of cultural memory: through archaeological discoveries, word-of-mouth transmission, and scholarly rationalization.

Negative Theology as an Expression of God’s Freedom in the Torah of the Book of Deuteronomy and Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible

This paper traces the history of the negative theology of YHWH from the beginning of the integration of YHWH into the Canaanite pantheon to the post-exilic period in the Torah through the interpretation of the Shema’ Israel from its mono-Yahwistic understanding to monotheism as an expression of God’s freedom. In the second step, the development of negative theology is traced from the pre-exilic proverbs, which understand God as a limit of knowledge, to negative theology in the Book of Job and Qohelet, as well as the overcoming of negative theology in the paradise-narrative in Genesis 2–3 through the freedom of choice granted to man by God.

The Solomonic Districts and the Nimshide Dynasty Administrative System in the Southern Levant

Scholars once eagerly claimed that 1 Kgs 4:7–19 contains historical information and represents a reliable source of information on David and Solomon’s administrative system. However, with the idea of a great United Monarchy becoming controversial since the 1990s, some pivotal studies have proposed new dates for this list’s composition, ranging from the 10th, mid-ninth, early eighth, and mid-seventh centuries BCE to even the post-exilic period. This article begins with the premise that 1 Kgs 4:7–19 represents the political reality of a specific time period, which could leave traceable factual evidence. Synthesizing topographical-textual, archaeological, and historical observations of 1 Kgs 4:7–19 to elucidate its likely historical background results in an inference suggesting early eighth century BCE composition during the reigns of Joash and Jeroboam II.

The Forging of a Tradition: The Hebrew Bible, Ezra the Scribe, and the Corruption of Jewish Monotheism According to the Writings of al-Ṭabarī, al-Thaʿlabī, and Ibn Ḥazm

A widely distributed religious legend maintains that Ezra the scribe rewrote the Hebrew Bible sometime during the post-exilic period. The story is interpreted differently among its varying iterations. Some accounts view Ezra’s recovery of the Scriptures as an act of divine wonder while other versions insist that Ezra’s hand distorted the biblical text. Both outlooks are present in medieval Islamic writings. This article considers the polemical approach of three Muslim authors (e.g., al-Ṭabarī, al-Thaʿlabī, and Ibn Ḥazm) and their portraits of Ezra, including his role that led to a purported compromise of Jewish monotheism. The article explores Ibn Ḥazm’s claim that Ezra the scribe corrupted the biblical text. Several sources are examined (e.g., 4 Ezra, Porphyry, Justin Martyr, a Samaritan liturgical imprecation, and diverse rabbinic traditions) as plausible support for the charge that Ezra corrupted the Scriptures. A tale from Avot d’Rabbi Natan that features Ezra’s alleged scribal dots is posited as a reasonable source for the comment. Given Ibn Ḥazm’s interpretive outlook and Ezra’s prominent role in the story, the dots offer a new and sensible explanation.

Absalom’s Rebellion and David’s Flight (2 Sam 15): The Emergence of the Ideal King David

Abstract David’s depiction in 2 Sam 15 shows his absolute faith in YHWH and his sole reliance on Him. This portrayal accords with Dtn 17,14–20 and contrasts sharply with the characterization of Absalom. The description of Ittai’s oath in YHWH’s name is deemed an example of adherence to YHWH by non-Israelites. The narrative portrays the ideal relationship between the people (the Israelites and foreigners) and YHWH. It is construed to depict the essential objective of the Deuteronomists in the postexilic period. Consequently, 2 Sam 15 does not belong to the so-called Succession Narrative; instead, it represents a Deuteronomistic narrative accomplished by the Deuteronomists in the postexilic period to express their theological ideals and opinions.

God and Gods in the Deuteronomistic History ed. by Corrine Carvalho and John L. Mclaughlin

Reviewed by: God and Gods in the Deuteronomistic History ed. by Corrine Carvalho and John L. Mclaughlin Mark Lackowski corrine carvalho and john l. mclaughlin (eds.), God and Gods in the Deuteronomistic History (CBQI 2; Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2021). Pp xxiii + 277. Paper $39.99. This collection of essays came out of the Divinity in Ancient Israel Continuing Seminar at the annual meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association. Over a period of four years, the scholars who participated and published the essays in this volume examined the Deuteronomistic History (DH). Across the introduction and twelve different essays, attention is given to each book in the DH, providing a rich variety of texts to explore. Indeed, the literary diversity in the DH is reflected in its different portrayals of divinity, something even seen in the title of the book, which uses the words “God” and “Gods.” After an introduction [End Page 175] that provides a clear and concise overview of past and present scholarship on the DH and the central arguments of the different authors in the volume, the essays are organized canonically, followed by useful indexes of ancient sources, modern authors, and relevant subjects. The opening essay by Thomas B. Dozeman (“‘El, the Living’: Divinity and Holy War in the Book of Joshua,” pp. 1–29) uses diachronic exegesis to offer a synchronic reading of the final form(s) of Joshua, which he argues combined Deuteronomistic and Priestly themes to create a unique revelation of Israel’s God during the postexilic period. Dozeman shows how the controversial holy war stories in Joshua marked by “the ban” (ḥērem) are the combination of cultic features from Priestly texts and warlike features from Deuteronomistic texts into a unique revelation of “El, the Living” (Josh 3:10), who “demands ritualized genocide as the highest form of religious obedience in taking possession of the promised land” (p. 29). The essay by Corrine Carvalho (“Yhwh, Rahab, and Gibeonites: The Hybrid Other in the Book of Joshua,” pp. 30–48) challenges scholars who excuse the violent actions of Yhwh toward the Canaanites by appealing to the seemingly positive portrayals of Rahab and the Gibeonites. Rather than interpret Yhwh’s mercy toward Rahab and the Gibeonites as a divine characteristic that overcomes the merciless action of the ḥērem, Carvalho argues that it most likely reflects the postexilic author’s belief that faithful obedience by the colonized (e.g., Judahites) can result in positive treatment by the colonizer (e.g., Persians). Thus, she demonstrates how “the narrator cannot manage to tamper with the ideology of obedience to the colonizer” (p. 48). Mahri Leonard-Fleckman’s essay (“Binding Samson to Yhwh: From Disorder to Order in the Samson Cycle,” pp. 49–68) focuses on the compositional history of the Samson stories and argues how it is reflected in the complex social landscape of the Shephelah, where the stories are set. According to Leonard-Fleckman, the Samson stories are marked by blurred lines of identity, reminiscent of a preexilic reality where even the deities are not clearly delineated. However, with the addition of Samson’s death in the temple of Dagon, Deuteronomistic scribes made it clear that the “final act of terror against the Philistines and their god, with the questionable help of Yhwh, leaves the reader with the unmistakable impression that Samson belongs to Israel” (p. 65). Mark Smith (“Retrospective Deities in Judges: Memory and Amnesia about ‘Other Gods,’” pp. 69–103) uses the compositional history of Judges to highlight traces of a polytheistic past. According to the Deuteronomists, the Israelites who follow other Gods and disobey Yhwh are given into the hands of their enemies. Nevertheless, this happens repeatedly and with increasing severity from one tribe and judge to the next, reflecting a form of cultural amnesia by scribes describing cultic contexts and foreign Gods centuries after those represented in the text. The religious reforms of the Deuteronomists in Judah from the seventh century b.c.e. onward are superimposed then on an ancient Israelite past marked by cultic pluriformity and what Smith calls “retrospective deities.” Mark Enemali (“Divine Presence in the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Samuel 4:1b–7:1,” pp. 104...

Berdamai Dengan Ekosistem: Sebuah Kajian Implikatif Terhadap Eksposisi Yoel 2:18-27

The purpose of writing this article is to find out the meaning in the text of Joel 2:18-27 for the life of the Israelites during the post-exilic period which will later have implications for contemporary life. This text contains joy and hope for the people of Israel who are experiencing misfortune as a result of their commitment to live a new way of life. True worship is true life. The approach used to interpret the text is Historical-Apocalyptic hermeneutic. The results show that God's message in Joel's preaching depicts God who cares about the continuity of the life of His creation, God hears the lamentations and changes in the lifestyle of the Israelites so as to restore the nation's condition in peace. This also has implications for calls for peace between humans and ecosystems where this is the basis for restoring natural life for the better. God's people must live in the new covenant order with God through concern for responsibility for the environment, which must preserve and protect the natural surroundings. Obedient and faithful people will enjoy peace, both in the present and in the future.

REX IUDÆORUM: FROM THORNBUSH TO THE CROWN OF THORNS

The aim of this study is to trace the development of the messianic thought from its pre-monarchic roots (Pre-Temple) to the monarchic period (First Temple), to the post-exilic period (Second Temple), and to the post-Second Temple period. I hypothesise that the first identification of the messiah (the anointed) with the military leader was an intellectual and religious endorsement of the “original sin” of kingship described in the allegory of the trees (Judges 9:8-15). However, the Babylonian exile catalysed the process by which Jews learned to abstract their expectation of the messiah from the “pagan” worship of the extant commander-in-chief. I trace this gradual process of learning to its acme in the Qumran literature: where historical and extraterrestrial strains of messianic thought are reconciled. Then I follow Mack and Juel in arguing that Mark the Evangelist used the wisdom pattern (learned after the Babylonian exile) as the foundation on which to rethink the concept of kingship from scratch. Thus it was no longer kingship that “seemed” divine but wisdom that “seemed” royal. The significance of Jesus’s scandalous ministry could only be captured by the irony which Mark uses to narrate his Gospel: Jesus’s coronation as a king could only happen as mockery because his claim to kingship does not make the slightest sense. Hence the idea of messianism was liberated from the confusion with the powers-that-be by being identified with the powerless teacher whose life embodied the wisdom tale pattern at the heart of Israel’s history – Egyptian slavery and Exodus, trial and vindication, exile and homecoming, death and resurrection.

“The Robe of Righteousness”: Exilic and Post-Exilic Isaiah in The Book of Mormon

“The Robe of Righteousness”: Exilic and Post-Exilic Isaiah in <i>The Book of Mormon</i>

The Davidic Messiah in the Old Testament Tracing a Theological Trajectory

Abstract The present article revisits the issue of messianism, particularly as it finds its expression in the Davidic kingship tradition, that is, the belief concerning a Davidic Messiah. Since Old Testament messianic hope is inseparably associatied with the dynasty of David a study that traces the various perspectives concerning the Davidic Messiah chronologically and canonically can bring a contribution to this important Old Testament theme, too often neglected. Thus, the study shows that the belief in the coming of a Davidic Messiah is a prominent eschatological theme in the Old Testament. Its roots can be traced back to the historical covenant made by Yahweh with David, which receives hyperbolic and symbolical dimensions in the royal Psalms, and a full-fledged eschatological orientation in prophetic writings. The monarchic prophets: Isaiah, Micah, Amos, and Hosea draw on the covenant promises to David to ground their message regarding the coming of a ‘new David’, who would destroy the wicked, protect the poor and oppressed, and institute an eternal era of peace, justice, and righteousness. In the context of the Babylonian exile, Jeremiah and Ezekiel foresee that God will bring forth a righteous ‘shoot’ of Davidic line to reunite the nation and shepherd God’s people. In the post-exilic period, Zechariah underscores the promise that David’s son will build a house for Yahweh, moving from the initial historical focus on Zerubbabel and his role, to the eschatological expectation of the one and only messianic figure that will bring the final restoration.

The Continuity of the Cult at Bethel after Exile

In this paper, as I follow Oded Lipschits and Joseph Blenkinsopp’s argument regarding the continuity of the cult at Bethel in the post-exilic period, I argue that polemics between Bethel and Jerusalem reflect the obvious dichotomy between remainees and returnees (golah) in the post-exilic period. In order to prove the continuity of the cult of Bethel, first and foremost, I investigate the identity of the delegations from Bethel in Zech 7:2; in light of the context of Zech 8:20-23, I suggest that the identity of the delegations is composed of people from the city of Bethel. By using the derogatory idiomatic expressions about Bethel, the scribes belong to the community of Yehud must have sought a resolution. In other words, since their identity was based on Judah, they must have intentionally attempted to denounce Bethel, which represents the cult of Israel. I examine the scribes’ endeavors by investigating the ambiguous position of the Benjaminites and Bethel’s geographical position.

Historical Books

Historical Books Christopher T. Begg and Leslie J. Hoppe Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Leslie J. Hoppe OFM, Catholic Theological Union 1739. [Joshua 20–22] Erasmus Gaẞ, Asyl, Leviten und ein Altar. Eine literarhistorische Analyse von Joshua 20–22 (FAT 144; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2021). Pp. vii + 304. €134. ISBN 978-3-16-159830-2. The three chapters of G.'s (sub-)title constitute an appendix to the account of the partitioning of the newly occupied land in Joshua 13–19 (previously treated by G. in a monograph of 2019), each of which has its own content focus that is alluded to in G.'s three-word main title: the cities of refuge (Joshua 20), the Levitical cities (Joshua 21), and the altar of the Transjordanian tribes (Joshua 22). G.'s aim in the present volume is to reconstruct the formation-history of the three chapters in a way that takes into account all relevant evidence—text-critical, literary-critical, redaction-critical, and intra- and intertextual (as well as the long-running scholarly discussion of this evidence). Among his findings are the following: Joshua 22* is the conclusion of a P segment in Joshua 13–19* which itself rounds off the P account of Israel's time in the Transjordan as recounted in Numbers 26–36* and as such constituted the finale of a "Hexateuch." Joshua 21, for its part, was initially composed on the basis of two preexisting lists, independently of the materials that now precede and follow it. Joshua 20, by contrast, was composed in view of Joshua 21, with which it was eventually combined. At a still later point, this complex was incorporated into the P narrative in Joshua 13–19, 22 by a Deuteronomistic redactor who inserted the [End Page 634] resultant segment Joshua 13–22* into the earlier Deuteronomistic Book of Joshua, chaps. 1–12* and 23–24*, resulting in a Vorform of the Book of Joshua whose various components subsequently underwent a series of late P and Deuteronomistic supplementations that eventually gave rise to the extant (MT) Book of Joshua. Throughout, G. underscores the need, in text-historical reconstructions like this, to make use of all relevant evidence—something that previous scholars have often failed to do—as well as the ambiguity of so much of that evidence which may be accounted for in alternative ways (or may resist any satisfactory "solution"), a state of affairs that renders any proposed reconstruction—including of course his own—non-definitive and always open to revision. The volume's end matter comprises a series of appendixes in which G. reproduces the materials of Joshua 20–22 with the component strata distinguished by different typefaces, a bibliography, and various indexes.—C.T.B. Google Scholar 1740. [Late Hebrew in the Book of Judges] Alexander Müller, Historische Linguistik und Redaktionsgeschichte. Spätbiblisches Hebräisch im Richterbuch (AKM 121; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2021). Pp. x + 181. Paper €48. ISBN 978-3-447-11654-7. The German-language commentators W. Groß (2011) and E. A. Knauf (2016) have identified elaborate multi-strata redactional levels within the current Book of Judges, each with its approximate datings; their proposals differ in many instances, with Groß tending to ascribe more material to the preexilic, Knauf to the (late) postexilic period. In this revision of his 2016 Bern University dissertation directed by A. Wagner and E. A. Knauf, M. seeks to evaluate the above authors' redaction-critical and dating proposals in light of the character of the Hebrew used in the various segments of the Book of Judges. To that end, M. works through the component passages of the book (leaving aside the "special case" of chap. 5, the "Song of Deborah"). In so doing, he focuses on select linguistic (orthographical, morphological, syntactical, and lexical) features of each segment in light of the long-running scholarly discussion concerning these as well as the stage of Hebrew the particular feature seems to represent, e.g., (preexilic) Northern Hebrew, Standard Hebrew (the Hebrew, inter alia, of the Pentateuch), and Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH, the language of writers of the late Second Temple Period that was itself impacted by the spoken vernacular...

Guadalupe Seijas de los Ríos-Zarzosa, ed. “Sal de tu tierra”: Estudios sobre el extranjero en el Antiguo Testamento. Asociación Bíblica Española Monografías Bíblicas 76.

Guadalupe Seijas de los Ríos-Zarzosa, ed. <i>“Sal de tu tierra”: Estudios sobre el extranjero en el Antiguo Testamento</i>. Asociación Bíblica Española Monografías Bíblicas 76.

Resurrection of the Dead in Early Judaism, 200 BCE–CE 200 by C. D. Elledge

Reviewed by: Resurrection of the Dead in Early Judaism, 200 BCE–CE 200 by C. D. Elledge Glenn B. Siniscalchi c. d. elledge, Resurrection of the Dead in Early Judaism, 200 BCE–CE 200 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019). Pp. xiv + 253. $25. C. D. Elledge’s treatment of early Jewish conceptions of the resurrection and immortality should prove invaluable for future studies on Jewish theology and early Christianity. Focusing on the latest writings of the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha (i.e., the deuterocanonical texts), Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, and other Hellenistic Jewish authors, E. stresses the diversity of Jewish perspectives concerning the afterlife in the Second Temple era. Furthermore, Jews had multiple understandings of each view of the afterlife. According to E., “Resurrection is to be defined by the new, qualitatively different life into which the dead are raised. . . . This new, exalted existence, however, is reflected in a wide diversity of expressions within early Jewish literature” (p. 3). E. is also concerned with resituating ancient belief in the eschatological resurrection within the literary settings in which it arose and was sustained. [End Page 336] Elledge maintains that some Jews did not understand resurrection as the revivification of the same body that died. Instead, they thought that resurrection was compatible with certain expressions of belief in the immortality of the soul. E. states, “The varied forms in which resurrection is attested indicate that it was not an exclusive belief that banished all other possible conceptions of the afterlife from consideration. While resurrection made a specialized claim, it was still adaptable to belief in the immortality of the soul and a variety of mythological conceptions about the fate of the dead” (p. 4; cf. 5, 6, 16, 41). Diverse perspectives on the resurrection helped to adapt and accelerate beliefs up to and including the time of Jesus and the nascent church. But it should be emphasized that resurrection was one among many options within an array of viable viewpoints. In this context, some Jews denied the possibility of an afterlife. Although belief in the resurrection remained widespread in the postexilic period, E. argues that it mostly developed from earlier expressions of Judaism and was even spurred on to some degree by external religious influences: “Persian influence may have made it plausible for Judaism to reinterpret the imagery of earlier prophetic texts in a more literalizing way” (p. 53; cf. 58). Similarly, Jews legitimated their belief in the emerging hope of resurrection in several ways. E. summarizes the reasons why it was accepted: “Jews utilized the language of earlier prophecy when describing resurrection . . . they [also] appealed to the paradigm of creation as a precedent for God’s power to ‘re-create’ the human in the resurrection life. . . . Finally, some also insisted that resurrection was an essential, not merely optional, affirmation of divine justice” (p. 66). A major reason why resurrection was promoted and fostered had to do with the experience of hardship, violence, and even martyrdom; resurrection was seen as an answer to the common problem of suffering. Unjustified suffering may seem to have the last word in human affairs, but Jews said that Yhwh would reward and raise the dead. Toward the end of the book, E. discusses the relevant passages in the Book of Watchers, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Josephus. An analysis of Watchers indicates that physical, earthly conceptions of resurrection developed much earlier than is usually recognized. As he says, “One is likely, therefore, to avoid any tendency to regard the interim state as an exclusively later development. Instead, the interim state in the Book of Watchers suggests a much earlier and more intimate connection to the idea of resurrection itself, as its authors imagined cosmic landscapes for both the present state of the dead and their future judgment” (p. 147). Finally, E. blends together his lessons on Jewish conceptions of resurrection as background material for understanding the Pauline Epistles. Recognizing the wide range of views on the afterlife that prevailed in Judaism, E. affirms that the NT writers expressed their belief in the bodily resurrection in “strikingly new ways” (p. 202). Resurrection became a focal point of their religious belief; Christians held that one man was raised...

Community Leadership, Diaspora, and Ezra-Nehemiah: Continuing the Conversation with Gary Knoppers

ABSTRACT This article examines the last contributions that Gary Knoppers made to the study of Ezra-Nehemiah. In his last book, which was published posthumously, he examined the 'conspicious' disappearance of Zerubbabel from Ezra-Nehemiah (and from other prophetic literatures) as well as the surprising down-playing of the places Mizpah and Ramat Rahel that were - according to the archaeological record - important places during the post-exilic period. In his assessment, he shows a more prominent ideological-critical line of scholarship that had not been so overt in his very well-known work on Chronicles. This article engages in further debate with Knoppers regarding these contributions to the study of Ezra-Nehemiah. Keywords: Ezra-nehemiah, Community Leadership, Diaspora, Gary Knoppers, Ideological-critical Approach

Remembering the Covenants in Song: An Intertextual Study of the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants in Psalm 105

Remembering the Covenants in Song: An Intertextual Study of the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants in Psalm 105

Another Look at the Speeches of Reuben and Judah in Genesis 37

Abstract Using a narratological synchronic reading, this article argues that Reuben and Judah are contrastively juxtaposed in their rhetoric and intentions in Genesis 37. Reuben considers the brothers’ plot a criminal act and bans both their internal intentions and their external evildoings against Joseph, whereas Judah repeatedly forbids them from killing Joseph, their own brother, posing a moral argument against fratricide. Problematically, however, he permits another evildoing, the sale of their own brother. The contrastive parallel of the two brothers in Genesis 37 does not support the classic documentary hypothesis, nor the supplementary expansion in favour of Judah. Rather, Judah’s problematic dealings with his own brother harkens to the practice of selling of own “flesh” and “kindred” into slavery in the post-exilic period. Genesis 37 in its present position provides a natural link to Genesis 38, as both chapters are identical in their negative depiction of Judah.