Engaging Westermann and the Assumptive World

The work of Claus Westermann was foundational for the modern study of lament literature in the Hebrew Bible. Westermann’s work on the Psalms arose from his experiences in the Second World War, where he learned to value both the praise and the lament elements of the Psalms. This article reconsiders Westermann’s contribution to the theology of lament in light of contemporary theory on the impact of trauma on individuals, focussing on the understanding of the impact of traumatic experience on the assumptive world of those who suffer. There are significant points of correspondence between the two, demonstrating anew the insights of Westermann’s work.

“Die Empörten Weiber”: Gender, Authority and Protestant Modernism in Jeremiah 44

Because of Protestant modernism’s reconstrual of older Protestant views of inspiration around the Romantic notion of the male charismatic prophet, it unintentionally opened doors for the latent gender inequality of its misogynist cultural context when interpreting female religious activity in the prophets. Because of Protestant modernism’s inability to distinguish itself from its 19th-20th century social elite status, it can end up enabling gender stereotypes of its time and thus engage in unexamined gender bias. Vestiges at times remain in literature that assumes the non- or reduced agency of women in Israelite religion. This is a case study in one of the founders of historical-critical Jeremiah study, Sigmund Mowinckel, focusing not on Protestant modernism broadly but rather on Mowinckel’s clear expression of the modernist Protestant notion of the inspiration of sacred speech.

The Main Character of the Book of Esther: The Contribution of the Textual Divisions and the Assigned Titles of the Book of Esther to Uncovering Its Protagonist

Scrutiny of the traditional textual divisions of the Hebrew version of the book of Esther—the sedarim, the Hebrew paragraphs and the Latin chapters – throws light on whom some ancient readers thought was the main character (protagonist) of the book. The sedarim appear to favour Mordecai’s role over Esther’s in the events narrated, whereas the positioning of the Hebrew paragraph breaks apportions attention more evenly between Esther and Mordecai, who each sought the welfare of the Jewish people. The chapter divisions show an interest in all three leading characters namely, Esther, Mordecai and Ahasuerus. In terms of assigned titles, the book was given the alternate names of Esther and Ahasuerus. It is plain, therefore, that early readers did not come to a settled conclusion as to who is the main character; however, it is clear that the role of Ahasuerus cannot be ignored and that the Persian king must be a candidate for the main character of the book.

The Aqedah as ‘template’? Genesis 22 and 1 Kings 17–18

The story of Abraham’s willingness to give up his beloved son (Gen. 22) is a highly productive text – that is, it has triggered subsequent literary activity and played a significant role in the composition and shaping of other texts. In this essay, I want to first explore the possibility that 1 Kgs 17–18 is yet another text in which an author has alluded to Gen. 22 and then to reflect on the use of Gen. 22 as a source for narratives composed on analogies to it.

Ceremonial Celebrations Outside the Temple Compound in Ezra-Nehemiah in Babylonian Ritual Context

The article examines three Judean rituals described in Ezra-Nehemiah—the erection of the altar, the public reading of the Torah, and the inauguration of the Jerusalem wall—in the Neo-Babylonian–Persian context. It suggests that the Babylonian rituals observed throughout the Long Sixth Century shed light on, and constitute a relevant cultural context for consideration of these celebrations as described in Ezra-Nehemiah, which took place in Judah in the seventh month.

The ancestors’ masculinities in Genesis

In Genesis, many of the male protagonists represent different peoples in the Levant and their relationships among each other. How those ancestors perform as ‘masculine’ men reflects the notion of the masculinity of the peoples descending from them, formulated from an Israelite/Judahite point of view. While the ancestors of Israel and Judah (Seth, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) perform a certain masculine style, which can be labelled as pious, peaceful, gentle, smart and cultivated, the ancestors of neighbouring peoples (Ham, Lot, Ishmael, Esau) are portrayed as wild or sexually perverted but also aggressive, dominant or hypermasculine. The authors perceive their own people in a historically realistic way; they are no super-men. However, their masculine performance is favoured throughout and even divinely approved.

Israelite or Moabite? Ethnicity in the book of Ruth

Scholarship on ethnicity in the book of Ruth has taken it as axiomatic that Ruth is transformed (at least partially) into an Israelite by the end of the book. This article argues on narrative grounds that the book of Ruth continues to present Ruth as a Moabite, even at the book’s end. Moreover, scholarship has been mistaken in attempting to force an ancient text to function according to modern constructivist assumptions about ethnicity. Although from our perspective as modern readers, Ruth may undergo changes that would qualify as ethnic transformation, the book of Ruth describes her change in social and kinship terms, rather than ethnic ones: the text itself does not imply that Ruth ceases to be a Moabite.

David, Once and Future King? A Closer Look at the Postscript of Psalm 72.20

How did scribes understand Psalm 72.20, ‘Ended are the prayers of David, son of Jesse’, in view of subsequent Davidic psalms in the MT Psalter? After appraising the major proposals and examining its earliest reception (MT pointing, DSS parallels, and early Jewish and patristic evidence), this paper argues that the oft-overlooked genealogical qualifier ‘ben Jesse’ indicates a primary focus on ‘historical’ David in Books 1–2, whereas Books 3–5 primarily have future or eschatological ‘David’/Davidic monarchy in view. This synchronic account of 72.20’s meaning in the Psalter honours its plainest sense and explains its editorial retention/reuse, yet leaves room for diachronic theories about its origins. It also accounts for evidence other theories do not, especially Psalm 86’s identification as a ‘prayer (תפלה‎) of David’ and the Psalms’ predominant association of תפלה‎ with David. Further implications for ‘psalmic voice’ and David’s significance as YHWH’s praying servant in the Psalter are then explored.

Let There Be Cain: A Clash of Imaginations in Genesis 4

This article contributes to the ongoing discussion of the story of Cain by exploring the speeches within Genesis 4 as speech acts. The investigation will focus on two narrative levels of analysis, the story level (the viewpoint of the characters) and the storyteller level (the presentation of the narrative to the audience). The speech acts in this story display a clash of imaginations, with Eve and Yhwh on one side and Cain and Lamech on the other. On the story level, Eve and Yhwh imagine the world in ways that resist human sin and violence and that celebrate God’s relationship with humanity. Cain and Lamech reject this notion and choose to focus only on themselves. On the storyteller level, the speech acts of Genesis 4 invite the audience to adopt and celebrate the imaginations of Eve and Yhwh and to reject the imaginations of Cain and Lamech.

The Prevalence and Purpose of the ‘Assyria-Egypt’ Motif in the Book of Hosea

This paper examines the occurrence of the ‘Assyria-Egypt’ pair in the MT of Hosea. On a literary plane, the paper introduces two new definitions: Assyria-Egypt is defined as a correlative pair in this book, and based on the recurring meaning of the pair and its diverse application, the pair is defined as a motif. This motif consistently serves to describe distance from God. From an ideological perspective, the paper discusses the perceptions that emerge from the application of the motif in the units with regard to God’s description, and to the relationship between Israel’s two central sins in Hosea: idolatry, and turning to foreign nations for assistance. Based on this, the paper addresses the motif’s contribution to mirroring the relationship between God and Israel. The paper’s insights evolve from each other, altering the perspective on the motif, on the units’ contents, and on the relationship between the units.