The begettings of Terah and the structure of Genesis and the tetrateuch: A zadokite polemic

Revue Biblique

Volumn , Issue 1, 2004, Pages 31-60

  Hepner, Gershon ^a  

^a NONE   (United States)

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References (142)

1. Deutero-Isaiah's language in Isa. 41: 8, 10 echoes Jer. 30-10-11 in a passage where Jeremiah makes no allusion to Abraham (see B. D. SOMMER, "A Prophet Reads Scripture: Allusion in Isaiah 40-66," Stanford University Press, 1998, 34
2. R. C. HEARD, Dynamics of Diselection: Ambiguity in Genesis 12-36 and Ethnic Boundaries in Post-Exilic Judah, Atlanta, SBL, 2001
3. Abraham is reluctant to expel Ishmael (Gen. 21: 11) and when Jacob separates from Esau it is for economic reasons (Gen. 36: 6-8). The language describing his separation from Esau contrasts striking with that describing his separation from Lot (G. HEPNER, "Abraham's Incestuous Marriage with Sarah, a Violation of the Holiness Code," VT 53 [2003]: 143-155)
4. The Song of Moses implies that the Edomites become reunited with Israel before the Sinai theophany when his words indicate that YHWH shone forth from Seir, which is coterminous with Edom, before giving the Torah (Deut. 33: 2). The verb, shine, in Deut. 33: 2, a verse whose antiquity is attested by Morag in in Tarbiz 41 (1971-1972): 4ff
5. links this verse to an 'Arjud inscription that says "when God...shines forth (=appears) the mountains melt" (M. WEINFELD, "Kuntillet 'Ajrud Inscriptions and Their Significance," Studi epigrafi e linguistici 1 (1984): 126). My interpretation implies that the author considers that the Edomites will become comparable to an, easterner, a term discussed towards the end of this paper. The author of Genesis uses the verb to highlight the fact that Jacob is an easterner when he leaves Mesopotamia and encounters Esau (Gen. 32: 32)
6. The term denotes "family history" (see J. SCHARBERT, "Der Sinn der Toledoth-Formel in der Priesterschrift," in Wort-Gebot-Glaube: Beiträge zur Theologie des Alten Testaments: W. Eichrodt zum 80. Geburtstag, ed. J. J. STAMM et. al., Zuich, Zwingli Verlag, 1970, 50-52
7. D. M. CARR, Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches, Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 1996, 70, n. 43)
8. Friedman's translation of the word as "records" (R. E. FRIEDMAN, Commentary on the Torah, San Francisco, Harper San-Francisco, 2001, 15-16) fails to penetrate to the deep polemical significance of this word
9. See N. STEINBERG, "Alliance or Descent? The Function of Marriage in Genesis," JSOT 51 (1991): 51-53
10. Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective, Minneapolis, Fortress, 1993, 121-132. Steinberg believes that the emphasis on keeping marriage within Terah's lineage is intimately linked with the question as to who will inherit the land, saying that "only patrilineal marriage within the line of Terah establishes the right to claim the land of Israel" (p. 6; cf. 133, 135)
11. F. BREUKELMAN, "Das Buch Genesis als das Buch der Adams, des Menschen-eine Analyse der Komposition des Buches," in Störenfriedels Zeddelkasten: Geschenkpapiere zum 60. Geburtstag von Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt, ed. U. Gniewoss, et al., Berlin, Alektor, 1991, 75-85
12. See J. D. LEVENSON, Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity, Yale University Press, 1993, 96
13. G. HEPNER, "The Affliction and Divorce of Hagar Involves a Violation of the Covenant and Deuteronomic Codes," Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte, 8 (2002): 166-206
14. N. HOWE, "Arrow-odd and Half-troll," The New Republic, August 28 and September 4, 2000, 33-38
15. See M. L. LOCKSHIN, Rabbi Samuel ben Meir's Commentary on Genesis: An Annotated Translation, Lewiston/Lampeter/Queenston, Edwin Mellen Press, 1989, 241-245. Rashbam criticizes his grandfather Rashi for translating as "these are the events," claiming that this interpretation is midrashic and fails to appreciate the peshat, or plain meaning. Rashbam fails to appreciate the fact that the distinction between midrash and peshat is often artificial since the biblical authors in their pursuit of polysemy frequently give words more than one meaning
16. See U. CASSUTO, translated by I. ABRAHAMS, A Commentary to the Book of Genesis: Part One. From Adam to Noah Genesis I-VI 8, Jerusalem, The Magnes Press, 1961, 256-257
17. F. M. CROSS, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the religion of Israel, Harvard University Press, 1973, 302-331
18. T. D. ANDERSEN, "Genealogical Prominence and the Structure of Genesis," in Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics, 1994, 242-266
19. J. BLENKINSOPP, The Pentateuch: An Introduction to the First Five Books of the Bible, New York, Doubleday, 1992
20. K. A. MATHEWS, Genesis 1-11: 26, Broadman & Holman, 1995, 27-29
21. D. T. OLSON, The Death of the Old and the Birth of the New: The Framework of the Book of Numbers and the Pentateuch, Brown Judaic Studies, Chico, Scholars Press, 1985, 83-125. Olson points out that the use of the formula in Num. 3: I focuses attention from the twelve tribes to the tribe of Levi from which Aaron and Moses come
22. G. HEPNER, "Verbal Resonance in the Torah and Intertextuality," JSOT 96 (2001): 19-22
23. The word may mean "birthstool" by analogy with the meaning of "potter's wheel" in Jer. 18: 3, as Cassuto proposes (U. CASSUTO, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, Jerusalem, Magnus, 1967, 14), pointing out that the language in Exodus implies that the Egyptians attribute the creation of human beings to the god Khnum, portraying him like a potter beside the wheel, fashioning human beings out of clay in a manner that recalls the second Creation narrative
24. Interestingly enough, the pivotal verse, Gen. 31: 18, describes the way that Jacob prepares to take his livestock back to Canaan
25. The Torah does include Dinah because the narrator highlights the ancestry of the twelve tribes, anticipating the birth of Benjamin in Canaan (Gen. 35: 16-18) to complete the twelve tribes. On the other hand, the Torah includes her in the genealogical list of Jacob's 66 descendants who accompanied him to Egypt (Gen. 46: 8-27), adding her to the sons whom Leah bore in Paddan-arm (Gen. 46: 15) because this list also includes descendants who ostensibly have no offspring such as Er and Onan (Gen. 46: 12). The probable reason why the Torah claims that the number of children Leah has are thirty-three (Gen. 46: 15) is because the number of sons her maidservant Zilpah has is 16, making the total number of the children associated with Leah 49, a multiple of 7. Rachel has 14 sons and Bilhah 7 so that the pericope is built around the number 7 (V. P. HAMILTON, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1995, 598-599). Hamilton also points out that the seventh son in this genealogy and in Gen. 30: 11 is Gad, whose numerical value is seven (gimel=3, dalet=4). The inclusion of Dinah is important for numerological reasons!
26. See R. BORGER, "Die Inschriften Asarhaddons Königs von Assyrien," Archiv für Orientforschung, Beiheft 9, Graz. 1956, p. 15
27. The inscription says: Seventy years, the reckoning of its destruction which he had inscribed, The merciful god Marduk, as soon as his heart had calmed down, Reversed the order (of the signs) (lit "exchanged upper and lower"), And ordered its resettlement after 11 years. The phenomenon is discussed by M. COGAN ("The Chronicler's Use of Chronology Illuminated by Neo-Assyrian Royal Inscriptions," p. 199
28. in Empirical Models in Biblical Criticism" ed. J. H. TIGAY, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, 1985
29. Rashbam has trouble understanding this in his commentary to Deut. 32: 8
30. The 11 citations of the word, work, creates a chiastic structure in Leviticus 23, as Warning points out (W. WARNING, Literary Artistry in Leviticus, Leiden, Brill, 1999, 89). The way that that pericope begins with a reference to the Sabbath and uses the keyword twice in connection with it (Lev. 23: 3 [2]) proves not only that the Holiness Code regards the Sabbath is one of the festivals but that the festivals follow the paradigm of the Sabbath in the same way as the holiness of space of the tabernacle and the Temple
31. The verb, circumcise, appears 11 times elsewhere in the Torah (Gen. 21: 4; 34: 15, 17, 22 [2], 24; Exod. 12: 44, 48; Lev. 12: 3; Deut. 10: 16; 30: 6) (W. WARNING, "Terminological Patterns and the Noun 'orlh, 'foreskin,' in the Pentateuch," Scriptural Bulletin 32 (2002): 93-99
32. See W. WARNING, "Theological Patterns and Genesis 39," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 44 (2001): 409-419). The sixth citation, which is the pivotal one, describes the beauty of Joseph
33. Gen. R. 84: 5 and Rashi on Gen. 37: 2
34. Gen. R. 12: 9; B. T. Menahot 29b
35. The Chronicler's use the formula to link Abraham to Ishmael as well as Isaac reflects his tolerance of non-Terahites, as we shall see. He does not need to street the Terahite origins of the matriarchs because, unlike the author of Genesis, he tolerates non-Terahites
36. When giving the begetting so Jesus Matthew starts his genealogical list with Abraham (Matt. 1: 2), but Luke include Terah in his genealogy, without ascribing any particular importance to him (Luke 3: 5)
37. Steinberg emphasizes that Sarah is Abraham's sister (N. STEINBERG, "Alliance or Descent?" 52-53). She acknowledges that Abraham's interest in defending himself decreases his credibility but verbal resonances that link the incestuous relationship with Sarah to the prohibition of sibling incest in the Holiness Code (Gen. 20: 13 and Lev. 20: 17 both contain the word, lovingkindness and disgrace, see HEPNER, "Verbal Resonance," 5-6
38. "Abraham's Incestuous Marriage with Sarah, a Violation of the Holiness Code," VT 53 [2003]: 143-155, support the view that Sarah is truly Abraham's sister and hence the daughter of Terah like Abraham
39. Mistranslating the word as "birthplace" causes R. E. FRIEDMAN, (The Hidden Book of the Bible, San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1999, 309-310) to suggest that the word "Ur" in Gen. 15: 7 should be corrected to Haran
40. God takes Abraham not only from Haran but from all his, kindred, who lived in Ur. Cassuto cites Gen. 43: 7, 48: 6 and Esther 8: 6 as prooftexts confirming that means kindred (U. CASSUTO, A Commentary on the book of Genesis: Part Two, The Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1964, 274)
41. Terah leaves Ur, which was the ancient site of a moon cult, and his name its etymologically related to the Hebrew word, moon, and other Semitic cognates
42. In the Book of Jubilees Abraham asks his father Terah: "Why do you worship things that have no spirit in them, for they are the work of men's hands?" (Jub. 12: 5)
43. According to Tur-Sinai does not denote the city of Ur but the land of the Chaldees, the word being coterminous with, land, as when the word is contrasted with, land of Egypt, in Gen. 15: 7 and Exod. 20: 1 (N. H. TUR-SINAI, The Language and the Book, Jerusalem, Mossad Bialik, 1954, 3.250-251)
44. The commandment in Gen. 1: 28 echoes language in Joshua 18-19, as pointed out by Blenkinsopp (see J. BLENKINSOPP, Prophecy and Canon: A Contribution to Jewish Origins, Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame, 1977, 68)
45. (see G. HEPNER, "The Relationship between Biblical Narratives and Laws," JLR 18 [2003] (in press)
46. See Y. ZAKOVITCH, "The Exodus from Ur of the Chaldeans: A Chapter in Literary Archaeology," pp. 429-439 in R. CHAZAN, W. W. HALLO, L. H. SCHIFFMAN, eds., Ki Baruch Hu: Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical, and Judaic Studies in Honor of Baruch A. Levine, Winona Lake, Eisenbrauns, 1999. Also, the way Laban accuses Jacob of stealing his gods using the words, you have gone away (Gen. 31: 30), echoes the words, go you forth (Gen. 12: 1), which God uses to Abraham in Gen. 12: 1, suggesting that both exodus events are related to the abandonment of patriarchal gods
47. U. CASSUTO, Commentary of Genesis II: From Noah to Abraham, 28-29
48. Trible suggests that the small family of Abraham and Sarah carry the promise rather than the large family of Nahor and Milcah (P. TRIBLE, "Genesis 22: The Sacrifice of Sarah," in "Not in Heaven": Coherence and Complexity in Biblical Narrative, ed. J. ROSENBLATT, J. SITTERSON, Indiana University Press, 1991, 170-191) but the fact that the families join when Isaac finds a wife in Rebekkah (Gen. 24: 1-67) suggests that they are of equal importance, both being Terahites
49. The Torah says that Esau marries Mahalath, Ishmael's daughter because he realizes that he has displeased Isaac and Rebekkah by marrying Canaanite wives (Gen. 28: 8-9). His marriage with an Ishmaelite may be better in his parents' eyes than his marriage with Canaanites because it does not violate the Deuteronomic prohibition of intermarriage with Canaanites (Deut. 7: 3) but is nevertheless a violation of the imperative that Abraham gives his servant when he tells him to find Isaac wife from his kindred (Gen. 24: 4). He considers Terah's descendants to be kindred but does not consider Ishmael's daughter, a non-Terahite, to have that status
50. See G. HEPNER, "The Relationship," JLR (in press)
51. R. C. HEARD, Dynamics of Diselection
52. T. E. FRETHEIM, Creation, Fall and Flood: Studies in Genesis 1-11, Minneapolis, Augsburg, 1969, 28-29
53. There is some controversy in the bible as to whether Moses' marriage with a non-Israelite, Zipporah the daughter of a Midianite priest, was acceptable. His firstborn, Gershom (Gen. 2: 22), becomes an idolater (Judg. 18: 30), possibly a Mushite priest (see J. WELLHAUSEN, "Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel," trans. Munzies and Black, Cleveland: World, 1961, 142 (original German 1878)
54. F. M. CROSS, "Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel," Harvard University Press, 1973, 73, 195-215, 23, 234n, 237
55. "From Epic to Canon: History and Literature in Ancient Israel," The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1998, 45, 57, 59), a hypothesis supported by the way the language leading to his birth echoes that used to describe the way that the Levite priest serve the idol of Micaiah in Laish (Exod. 2: 21; Judg. 17: 11). Furthermore, the Priestly narrator describes how God rejects Moses' priesthood when God gives Phineas the covenant of peace and eternal priesthood (Num. 25: 12-13), foreshadowing the way that he rejects the priesthood of the mushita priest Eli and his two sons, Hophni and Phineas (1 Sam. 2: 31-36). The failure to mention Moses' lineage in Num. 3 may be an oblique way of expressing displeasure with Moses
56. Cassuto considers that Deut. 33: 12 refers to Bethel rather than Jerusalem (U. CASSUTO, "Biblical and Canaanite Literatures" [Heb.], Tarbiz 13 [1942]: 197-212; 14 [1943]: 1-10; Biblical and Canaanite Literature: Studies on the Bible and the Ancient Orient, Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 91-97)
57. The Deuteronomist says in Moses' blessing of Benjamin: Of Benjamin he said: the beloved of YHWH, Let him dwell beside Him; he surrounds, Him every day, and between His shoulders he dwells (Deut. 33: 12). The verb, surround (Deut. 33: 12), is a hapax whose translation is supported by an Arabic cognate haffa. The intimacy between Benjamin and God implied by the verb, he surrounds, is comparable to that between a bride who is joined to her groom under a, wedding canopy (Joel 2: 16; Ps. 19: 6). The juxtaposition of Benjamin to Levi whom the Deuteronomist blesses in Deut. 33: 8-11 implies that Benjamin enables the Levitical priests to accomplish their duty in the same way that the citation of Benjamin as the twelve son of Jacob implies that he enables to Jacobites to fulfill theirs. The reference to "shoulders" is an allusion to Jerusalem since in Joshua the word denotes one of the "shoulders" of the Jebusite (Josh. 15: 8; 18: 16)
58. (see Y. AMIT, Hidden Polemics in Biblical Narrative," trans. J. Chipman, Leiden, Brill, 2000, 164). The Priestly legislator says that Aaron's shoulders must support the names of all the Israelites (Exod. 28:12), perhaps implying that the Aaronites must lead the twelve tribes in the rituals of the Temple. Interestingly enough, the same legislator implies that Moses' face is comparable to the altar because the word, horn, appears 10 times in the pericope describing the construction of the altar of the tabernacle (Exod. 27:2 [2]; 29:1; 30:2, 3, 10; 37:25, 26; 38:2 [2]), and a further 3 times denoting the horns or rays of light of Moses' face (Exod. 34:29, 30, 35), a total of 13 times, while the word face, appears 13 times in the pericope describing Moses' encounter with God after the sin of the Golden Calf and the appearance of his face after he returns from Sinai with the second two tablets of stone (Exod. 34:6, 11, 20, 23, 24 [2], 29, 30, 33, 34, 35 [2]), a total of 26 times, a number that corresponds to that of the tetragrammaton (see Hepner, "The Relationship," JLR [in press])
59. The first Creation narrative cites the word, earth, 21 times (Gen. 1: 1, 2, 10, 11 [2], 12, 15,17, 20, 22, 24 [2], 25, 26 [2], 28 [2], 29, 30 [2]); 2: 1), highlighting the fact that the narrative is focused on the creation of the earth in contrast to the second Creation narrative including that of the Primal Sin with which it concludes in which the root, man, appears 21 times, 17 times in the word, woman (Gen. 2: 22, 23, 24, 25; 3: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13 [2], 15, 16, 17, 20, 21), and 4 times in the word, husband (Gen. 2: 23, 24; 3: 6, 16). The word, wife, appears 14 times in the narrative of the Primal Sin (Gen. 3: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13 [2], 15, 16, 17, 20, 21; 4: 1. Whereas the first Creation narrative is primarily about the creation of the, earth, the second is primarily about the creation of the first, husband, and, wife
60. According to Warning the seventh citation in a list of twelve is also very important (Warning, Literary Artistry, 70, 112-114 152-153, 155, 157). In the case of the, these are the begettings, the seventh citation is that of the begettings of Ishmael (Gen. 25: 12), but that seventh citation must be regarded as the seventh of 11 in Genesis and therefore not of especial significance
61. Commenting on Gen. 28: 11, the Midrash says that the stone on which Jacob lies during his dream is formed from a union between twelve stones, each representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel (B. T. Hullin 91b). This foreshadows the twelve stones that Elijah takes on Mount Carmel, "like number of the Israelites" in order to build an altar (1 Kings 19: 31). Although the biblical authors do not link the two pericopes, the Rabbis cleverly find a link between them, because in both cases the hero manages to bring the heavens down to earth, as it were!
62. Carr, Reading the Fractures of Genesis, 74-75
63. At the end of his Antiquities, Josephus lists the high priests who guaranteed the constitution from its inception under Moses until the return to aristocracy after the monarchical experiments (Antiquities, 20.224-251). His reading of Israelite history is consistent with the program that is outlined in the Tetrateuch by means of the language in Num. 3: 1!
64. N. KLAUS, Pivot Patterns in the Former Prophets, JSOTSup 247, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999, 13
65. Y. T. RADDAY, "Chiasmus in Hebrew Biblical Narrative," in Welch, Chiasmus, 50-117
66. W. G. E. WATSON, "Classical Hebrew Poetry," JSOTSup 26, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1984, 118-168
67. J. W. WELCH ed., Chiasmus in Antiquity, Hildesheim, Gerstenberg Verlag, 1981
68. N. KLAUS, Pivot Patterns, 18-20
69. As an example of a defective chiasmus Klaus cites 1 Sam. 11: 1-11 which according to Fokkelman demonstrates a pivotal pattern (J. P. FOKKELMAN, Narrative Art and Poetry in the Book of Samuel, 4. Vow and Desire, Assen, Van Gorcum, 1993, 456)
70. The significance of the number 26 in the bible is supported by the study of Langlamet who finds that the 4082 words in the "Book of Jonathan" (2 Sam. 2: 1-7) are 157 times 26 (F. LANGLAMET, "Le cadre alphabétique du "Livre de Jonathan" (1 Sam 16: 14-2 Sam 1: 27 )," in "Temples, Text, and Tradition: A Tribute to Menahem Haran," ed. M. V. FOX, Winona Lake, Eisenbrauns. 1992, 163-186)
71. The biblical authors' awareness of the numerical value of the tetragrammaton is confirmed by analysis of Psalm 92 which, excluding the introductory verse, is formed of 15 verses whose fulcrum is, "And You are high for ever, YHWH" (Ps. 92: 9), which is enveloped by two pairs of seven verses, each containing the tetragrammaton 3 times (Ps. 92: 2, 5, 6; 10, 14, 16). Thus the tetragrammaton appears 7 times including Ps. 92: 9 - a heptadic structure that is the rationale of the dedication of the Psalm to the Sabbath day (Ps. 92: 1). Verse 2-8 and 10-16 contain 52 words each, 52 being twice 26, proving conclusively that the biblical authors were familiar with the numerical value of the tetragrammaton. The significance of numerical equivalents of words is also attested by the case of the citation of the name of Abraham's servant, Eliezer, in Gen. 15: 2, a name that has the numerical value of 318, the number of Abram's warriors mentioned in Gen. 14: 14
72. The root, bless, appears in the narrative of the purloined blessing half as often as the root, hunt, which is associated with Esau and appears 13 times (Gen. 27: 3 [2], 5[2], 7[2], 19, 25 [2], 30, 31, 33 [2])
73. N. SARNA, Genesis, Philadelphia, The Jewish Publication Society, 1989, 69
74. When Jacob describes himself as, smooth, in the narrative of the purloined blessing (Gen. 27: 11), he implies that he is entitled to the priestly blessing that Isaac mistakenly wishes to bestow on Esau
75. J. H. TIGAY, The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy, Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society, 1996, Excursus 31, 513-518
76. As Tigay explains, it would have seemed perfectly natural for polytheistic Yahwists whose existence is implied in Deut. 17: 3 to believe that the worship of heavenly bodies by other nations was legitimate (J. H, TIGAY, "The Significance of the End of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 34: 10-12)," in Texts, Temples, and Traditions, 140), especially since such rule by the heavenly bodies is also mentioned in Gen. 1: 16, 18 and mentioned in Deut. 4: 19
77. JOSEPHUS, Jewish Wars, 2, 128-129
78. M. DOUGLAS, Leviticus as Literature, Oxford University Press, 2000, 1-65
79. See G. Hepner, "Verbal Resonances," JSOT, 13-15; "The Relationship," JLR (in press); The Incestuous Origins of the Davidic Dynasty, Harrassowitz, in press
80. Jochebed is both wife and aunt of Amram (Exod. 6: 20; Num. 26: 59), so that the conception of Moses involves a violation of the Holiness Code (Lev. 18: 14; 20: 20), echoing the violation of this code by Abraham when he married his half-sister Sarah. The maternal as well as paternal Levite ancestry of Moses echoes the paternal and maternal Terahite ancestry of the Patriarchs and gives Moses the credentials to be the ancestor of the Mushite priesthood
81. V. A. HUROWITZ, "Inside Solomon's Temple," Bible Review 10 (1994): 24-27, 50
82. An Akkadian cognate selu denotes the "wing" of a building (CAD S 126), and such side-chambers have been identified in 'Ain Dara in northern Syria (A. ABU ASSAF, Der Tempel von 'Ain Dara, Mainz, Von Zabern, 1990,11-20
83. J. H. MONSON, "Solomon's Temple and the Temple at 'Ain Dara," Qadmoniot 29 (1996): 33-38 (Hebrew). The side chambers were probably used for storage of equipment and for stocks of supplies needed for daily operations of the cult
84. In 2 Sam. 16: 13 the word means the side of a hill
85. It is because the holiness of Woman is so prominent that the serpent tries to cause her rather than Man to sin since the serpent represents the force against holiness
86. Some scholars consider the genealogical table at the end of Ruth to be an appendix that was not part of the original book (see E. F. CAMPBELL, JR., Ruth, New York, Anchor Bible, Doubleday, 1975, 172-173), which is probably why Josephus omits it in his retelling of the story. However, it is indeed a crucial part of the narrative, linking the way the descendants of Perez, the descendant of Judah by means of a levirate union, establish the Davidic dynasty to the way that that Jacob establishes the people of Israel
87. J. SASSON, "A Genealogical "Convention" in Biblical Chronography?", ZAW 90 (1978) 171-185
88. J. LIMBURG, "Structures in the Book of Amos," JBL 106 (1987) 217-222
89. M. PARAN, Forms of the Priestly Style in the Pentateuch. Patterns, Linguistic Usages, Syntactic Structures, Jerusalem, Magnes [Hebrew], 1989,155, 198, 204-205
90. M. TSEVAT, "Abzählungen in 1 Samuel 1-4," in Die Hebräische Bibel und ihre zweifache_Nachgeschichte, Festschrift für Rolf Rendtorff zum 65 Geburtstag, ed. E. Blum et al.
91. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1990, 208, 213
92. Hepner, "Verbal Resonance," 19-22
93. Warning, Literary Artistry, 1999
94. "Terminological Patterns and Genesis 17," HUCA 70/71 (2001): 93-108
95. "Terminological Patterns and Genesis 39," JETS 44 (2001): 409-419
96. A similar phenomenon occurs with the word, mighty, which appears 11 times in the Pentateuch (Gen. 18: 18; Exod. 1: 9; Num. 14: 12; 22: 6; 32: 1; Deut. 4: 38; 7: 1; 9: 1; 9: 14; 11: 23; 26: 5). As Warning points out, the seventh citation, in Deut. 7: 1, is in association with the list of the seven Canaanite nations (Wilfried WARNING, "Terminological Patterns and the Term atzum 'Strong, Powerful' in the Pentateuch," Andrews University Seminary Studies 39 (2001) 233-239), similarly emphasizing the number seven!
97. See J. C. DE MOOR, ed., Synchronic or Diachronic: A Debate in Old Testament Exegesis, OTS 34, Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1995
98. Whybray, The Making of the Pentateuch, 12-28
99. "Terminologische Verknüpfungen und Genesis 12, 1-3," Biblica
100. Warning, "Terminological Patterns and Genesis 17," 93-108
101. Heard, Dynamics of Diselection, 179-182
102. It should be noted that the prohibition of intermarriage by Ezra and Nehemiah contrasts with the attitude of the Chronicler who reveals a continuous line of support of mixed marriages (1 Chron. 2: 17, 34-35; 4: 18; 7: 14; 2 Chron. 24: 26), as Japhet points out (S. JAPHET, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought, Frankfurt am Main, Verlag Peter Lang, 1989, 325-351
103. See also Yamit, Hidden Polemics, 79-81). It is not clear whether the Chronicler regards Zabad the Ammonite and Jehozabad the Moabite favorably. Though they are assassins of Jehoash they avenge the death of Jehoaiadah the priest
104. The use of the rare word, gifts, which otherwise appears only in 2 Chron. 21: 3; 32: 23, links the departure of Rebekkah from Mesopotamia with that of the Judahites from Babylon described in Ezra 1: 6
105. Jer. 29: 5-6 indicates that the exiles became well integrated in Babylonian society. Jeremiah tells the Judeans to find wives for their sons and husbands for their daughters and does not stipulate that these spouses should be Judeans, perhaps unconcerned about this since the Babylonians were Mesopotamians like Terah!
106. Hepner, "The Relationship," JLR (in press)
107. The word, lord, is a keyword in the Genesis narrative, appearing 20 times (Gen. 24:9, 10 [2], 12, 14, 27 [2], 35, 36, 37, 39, 42, 44, 48 [2], 49, 51, 54, 56, 65), echoing its strong emphasis in Kings where it appears 14 times (1 Kings 1:13, 17, 18, 20 [2], 21, 24, 27, 31, 33, 37, 38, 44, 47), while the name of, Adonijah, with which it resonates appears 10 times (1 Kings 1:8, 13, 18, 24, 25, 41, 42, 43, 49, 50). The verb, swear, is a keyword in both narratives, appearing 4 times in the narrative of the betrothal of Isaac (Gen. 24:3, 8, 9, 37) and 5 times in the narrative of the succession of Solomon (1 Kings 1:13, 17, 29, 30, 51), and resonates with the name of, Bathsheba, appears 7 times (1 Kings 1:11, 13, 15, 16, 31; 2:18, 19)
108. Rofé points out that Genesis 24 is a polemic against intermarriage with the indigenous population, called Canaanites, reflecting the program of Ezra and Nehemiah (A. ROFÉ, Die Hebräische Bibel und ihre zweifache Nachgeschichte. Festschrift für Rolf Rentdorff zum 65. Geburtstag, Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1990, 27-39). The book of Ruth takes a diametrically opposition position, approving of intermarriage with Ruth the Moabite whom the Deuteronomist forbids no less than Canaanites
109. Gottwald proposes that Israel originated as tribalized elements that withdrew from the urban society of the Late Bronze period and revolted against it (N. K. GOTTWALD, The Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, 1250-1050 B.C.E., New York, Orbis, Maryknoll, 1979)
110. E. T. MULLEN JR., Ethnic Myths and Pentateuchal Foundations: A New Approach to the Formation of the Pentateuch, Semeia Studies, Atlanta, Scholars Press, 1997, 64-65
111. Mullen, 68
112. See S. JAPHET, "In Search of Ancient Israel: Revision at all Costs," pp. 212-233
113. in D. N. Myers, D. B. Ruderman, eds., The Jewish Past Revisited: Reflections on Modern Jewish Historians, New Haven, Tale University Press, 1998)
114. Japhet's critique is directed chiefly against Davies (P. R. DAVIES, "In Search of Ancient Israel," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement 148, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1992
115. N. P. LEMCHE, The Israelites in History and Tradition, Westminster John Knox 1998
116. K. W. WHITELAM, "The Identity of Early Israel: the Realignment and Transformation of Late Bronze-Iron Age Palestine," JSOT 63 (1994): 57-87). She asks why a Yehud elite that favored a single-shrine pattern of centralized worship should have invented ancestors that rejected such a pattern and whether it is credible that an elite that administered a small, well-defined province in the Persian empire should have invented an idealized version of a relatively large country which might have been interpreted as fostering an irredentist, anti-Persian policy
117. See also Z. ZEVIT, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches, London, New York, 2001, 61-62, n. 87
118. "Three Debates about Bible and Archaeology," Biblica 83 (2002): 1-27
119. E. T. MULLEN, Narrative History and Ethnic Boundaries, 37-47
120. Ethnic Myths and Pentateuchal Foundations: A New Approach to the Formation of the Pentateuch, Semeia Studies, Atlanta, Scholars Press, 1997, 292-306
121. Y. ZAKOVITCH, Ruth: A Commentary, Am Oved, Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1990, 28-29
122. B. PORTEN, The Scroll of Ruth: A Rhetorical Study, Gratz College Annual of Jewish Studies 7 (1978): 24-25, 47-48)
123. G. HEPNER, "Separation Between Abram and Lot Foreshadows the Deuteronomic Law Prohibiting Ammonites and Moabites (Gen 13,5-13)," ZAW, 2005 (in press)
124. M. STERNBERG, "The Bible's Art of Persuasion: Ideology, Rhetoric, and Poetics in Saul's Fall," HUCA 54 (1983): 45-82
125. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading, Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1985, 46
126. Amit, Hidden Polemics, 2000
127. Scholars who concentrate on the psychology of the protagonists of Genesis like Zornberg (A. ZORNBERG, Genesis: The Beginning of Desire, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1995, 159), misread and trivialize the narratives
128. D. MENDELSOHN, The Bad Boy of Athen, The New York Review of Books, 50 (2003): 24
129. Thompson claims that the rationale of what he calls "The Toledoth of Terah: The Story of Abraham" is to indicate that Israel is not a stranger in the land but "autochthonous and indigenous" (T. L. THOMPSON, "The Origin Tradition of Ancient Israel," vol. 1 of The Literary Formation of Genesis and Exodus 1-23, Sheffield, JSOT, 1987, 80-101)
130. See B. LONG, Review of "The Oral Tradition," by Thomas L. Thompson, JBL, 108/2 (1989): 327-330
131. S. D. SPERLING, The Original Torah: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers, New York University Press, 1998, 44-45)
132. Gottstein similarly proposed that tlie root in the term in Gen. 23: 6 denotes carrying away, suggesting that it means "one brought along by God" (Moshe GOSHEN-GOTTSTEIN, nsy' 'lhym [Gen. xxiii 6], Vetus Testamentum 3 (1953): 298-299)
133. The events probably involve fulfillment for an ancient Israelite marriage sacrament described in Lev. 19: 23-25 which ostensibly requires only the removal of "foreskin" from fruit in the fourth year of a tree, was actually part of an ancient Israelite marriage sacrament, memory of which persisted to the Mishnaic era, as indicated by Mishnah Ta'anit 4:8 and by the use of the verb, sanctify, used to denote marriage (Mishnah Qiddushin 2: 1; 1 Cor. 7:12-13) (see Hepner, "The Relationship," JBL [in press])
134. According to halakhah, marriage takes place in two steps, the first being betrothal, after which the bridge remains in her father's house. It is only after the second step, that the bride is "carried away" from her father's house and lives with her husband
135. In a footnote at the beginning of the paper I suggest that in Deut. 33: 2 the Song of Moses implies that Edom became like an eastern at the Sinai theophany
136. The Chronicler describes Ethan as the son of Zerah (1 Chron. 2: 6)
137. See B. M. LEVINSON, "The Reconceptualization of Kingship in Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic History's Transformation of Torah," VT 51 (2001): 533-534, n. 55
138. Sheshbazzar is called, elevated leader, in Ezra 1: 8. A more lofty aspiration to the royal title may have been his undoing (see Zevit, The Religions of Israel, 614, n. 8)
139. See P. D. HANSON, The Dawn of Apocalyptic, Philadelphia, Fortress, 1979, 226-238
140. S. L. COOK, Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Post-exilic Sodal Setting, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1995, 109-112
141. See G. BOCCACCINI, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, From Ezekiel to Daniel, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2002, 49-60
142. Mishnah Eduyot 8:7, and Bertinoro on Mishnah Eduyot 8:3