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Amidst various methodologies for the comparative study of the Hebrew Bible, at times the opportunity arises to improve on a method recently introduced into the field. In YHWH is King, Flynn uses the anthropological method of cultural translation to study diachronic change in YHWH’s kingship. Here, such change is compared to a similar Babylonian development to Marduk’s kingship. Based on that comparison and informed by cultural translation, Flynn discovers that Judahite scribes suppressed the earlier YHWH warrior king and promoted a creator/universal king in order to combat the increasing threat of Neo-Assyrian imperialism. Flynn thus opens the possibility, that Judahite scribes engaged in a cultural translation of Marduk to YHWH, in order to respond to the mounting Neo-Assyrian presence.
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YHWH is King
Supplements to
Vetus Testamentum Editor in Chief
Christl M. Maier Editorial Board r.p. gordon – j. joosten – g.n. knoppers – a. van der kooij – a. lemaire – s.l. mckenzie – c.a. newsom – h. spieckermann – j. trebolle barrera – n. wazana – s.d. weeks – h.g.m. williamson
VOLUME 159
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/vts
YHWH is King The Development of Divine Kingship in Ancient Israel
By
Shawn W. Flynn
LEIDEN • BOSTON 2014
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Flynn, Shawn W. YHWH is king : the development of divine kingship in ancient Israel / by Shawn W. Flynn. pages cm. – (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, ISSN 0083-5889 ; VOLUME 159) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-26303-1 (hardback) : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-26304-8 (e-book) : alk. paper) 1. God–Kingship–Biblical teaching. 2. Kings and rulers–Biblical teaching. 3. Bible. Old Testament–Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. BS1192.6.F59 2014+ 296.3'112–dc23 2013043056
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 0083-5889 ISBN 978-90-04-26303-1 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-26304-8 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi 1
2
3
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Scholarly Ambiguity in Assessing YHWH’s Kingship . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Scholarly Origins for the Static Vision of YHWH’s Kingship . . . . 1.3 Methodologies for Uncovering Development in YHWH’s Kingship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Establishing the Background of YHWH’s Early Kingship . . . . . . .