The Making of the Sin of Achan (Joshua 7)

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-131
Author(s):  
Joshua Berman
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Minor Characters ◽  
Great Scrutiny ◽  
Corporate Personality ◽  
Collective Punishment

The ascription of blame to an entire people for the infraction of a nondescript individual found in the account of the sin of Achan (Joshua 7) is without parallel in the Hebrew Bible and in the legal and treaty literature of the ancient Near East. Attempts to explain the account through concepts such as “corporate personality” or the “contagion” to be found in devoted goods have rightly come under great scrutiny. This paper seeks to understand collective punishment in Joshua 7 by engaging in a close reading of the final form of the text and with recourse to notions found in contemporary ethical theory. The paper introduces the rhetorical use of minor characters as markers of collective attitudes in biblical narrative. Central to the exposition of the Achan account is the role of the spies’ report (7:2-3) as such a marker of collective attitudes shared by the polity as a whole.


Female Prophetic Traditions in the Old Testament

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-82
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Grey
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
National Life ◽  
Prophetic Tradition ◽  
Women Prophets ◽  
Gender Limitations

Abstract This article explores the tradition of female prophets in the Old Testament utilizing Isaiah’s woman (Isa. 8.1-4) as a case study. First, it discusses the general evidence for a female prophetic tradition in the Old Testament, locating it in the broader ancient Near East context. It then focuses on examples of women prophets within the Old Testament to demonstrate the role of female prophets in shaping national life and politics despite the gender limitations of women in ancient Israelite society. Following this broader discussion, a case study of Isaiah’s wife is presented to explore her function and role as a prophet. In particular, the role of hannevi’ah as a possible mother within the prophetic guild is examined. Finally, the implications for the Pentecostal community are considered, focusing on retrieving the role of prophetic mothers to function alongside prophetic fathers.

Archaic lists, writing and mind

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-504
Author(s):  
Rita Watson
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Near East ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Near Eastern

Theories of writing and mind have proposed that the uses of literacy give rise to a distinct repertoire of cognitive skills, attitudes, and concepts. This paper reconsiders the earliest lexical lists of the Ancient Near East as one type of evidence on writing and mind. Past and present conceptions of the lists are briefly reviewed. Early views cast the lists as reflecting a Sumerian mentality or a uniquely literate mode of thought, while recent accounts suggest they may simply be routine scribal exercises. A view from the philosophy of science, on which lists are considered a sub-type of ordering system, suggests a way of aligning a scribal practice account with aspects of earlier views by articulating the nature of list entries and the intentions of the list makers. On this account, the Ancient Near Eastern lists can be seen both as uniquely literate and as uniquely informative on the role of writing in mind.

Introducing the Oxford History of the Ancient Near East

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Karen Radner ◽  
Nadine Moeller ◽  
D. T. Potts
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
North African ◽  
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Asia ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Issues

With the emphasis of the Oxford History of the Ancient Near East firmly placed on the political, social, and cultural histories of the states and communities shaping Egypt and Western Asia (including the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), this introduction to the five-volume series seeks to place the region in its environmental context. It discusses the lay of the land between the North African coast and the Hindu Kush, including the role of tectonics and geomorphology. It also considers some key issues regarding climatic conditions, focusing in particular on the significance of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and the potential impact of megadroughts and pandemics.

Laying Out the Fleece

2019 ◽  
pp. 67-89
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Near East ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Different Cultures

Chapter 3 approaches Gideon’s story in three different ways: the role of divine signs in the ancient Near East; the portrait of Gideon as a hesitant solider in need of divine assurance in the biblical stories of Judg 6:36–40, 7:1–8, and 7:9–15; and the ways that early Christian exegetes interpreted Gideon’s requests for divine assurance. The chapter continues to trace how masculinity is constructed in different cultures, including the Greco-Roman world of early Christianity, where men were encouraged to fight spiritual battles rather than physical battles. These interpretations serve as a powerful reminder that masculinity is always “in crisis,” tending toward transformation and change, depending on cultural context.

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