Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah

Transcription

1 Christopher B. Hays Death in the Iron Age II and in First Isaiah Mohr Siebeck

2 Christopher B. Hays, born 1973; 2008 PhD at Emory University; presently D. Wilson Moore Assistant Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. e-isbn PDF ISBN ISSN (Forschungen zum Alten Testament) Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at Mohr Siebeck Tübingen. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher s written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was typeset by pagina in Tübingen, printed on non-aging paper by Gulde-Druck in Tübingen and bound by Großbuchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany.

3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments VII Preface IX List of Figures and Charts XV Abbreviations XVI 0. Introduction Topic Method Historical Context and Mechanisms of Influence (chs. 1 2) ANE Beliefs About Death and Their Impact on Judah (chs. 1 4) The Rhetoric of Death in Isaiah Death and the Dead in Mesopotamia during the Iron Age II Introduction Historical sketch Mechanisms of Mesopotamian influence Linguistic contacts The question of religious imposition Death in Mesopotamia Burial and mourning in Mesopotamia The Mesopotamian dead The Mesopotamian underworld and its deities Conclusions Death and the Dead in Egypt during the Iron Age II Introduction Historical Sketch Mechanisms of Egyptian influence Death in Egypt Burial and mourning in Egypt

4 XII Table of Contents The Egyptian dead The Egyptian underworld and its deities Conclusions Death and the Dead in Syria-Palestine outside Israel and Judah Introduction Bronze Age Cults of the dead in inland Syria and Hatti Ugarit Ugarit and the Bible The archaeology of death in Ugarit Death in the Ugaritic texts Burial and mourning The Ugaritic dead The Ugaritic cult of the dead up to the Spronk synthesis The rpum (et al.) The Ugaritic marziḣu A minimalist backlash The Ugaritic underworld and its deities Between Ugarit and Israel Conclusions Death and the Dead in Iron II Israel and Judah and in the Old Testament Introduction A brief history of modern scholarship Early modern scholarship The mid-century assertion of distinctiveness A new flourishing of underworld and afterlife Minimalist backlash, redux The archaeology of death in ancient Judah Death in the Hebrew Bible Burial and mourning Burial in the texts Mourning The marzēaḣ The corpse The Israelite dead The powers and cult of the dead

5 Table of Contents XIII The Rephaim Necromancy Summary The underworld and its deities Terms for and images of the underworld Underworld gods Molek and child sacrifice Demons Yahweh and the dead Historical conclusions The rhetoric of death in the Hebrew Bible Rhetoric and the Bible Uses of the rhetoric of death in the Hebrew Bible The Rhetoric of Death in Isaiah Introduction Texts Threats of unhappy afterlife Isaiah 14:4 23: The tyrant in Sheol Reversal of royal funerary expectations The myth of Hêlēl The rhetoric in historical context Isaiah 30:27 33: A pyre for the king Isaiah 22:15 19: Shebna s tomb Isaiah 36:12: A hellish meal Comparisons of the living to the dead Isaiah 5:11 17: The nobility s parade to hell The hôy-oracles Isaiah 29:1 8: A near-death experience for Jerusalem Isaiah 8:16 9:6: Those who consult the dead are like them Other reactions to cults of the dead Isa 7:10 13: YHWH s sign from Sheol? Isaiah 19:1 15: Egypt will consult its ghosts in vain Isaiah 28:1 22: The covenant with Mut The Egyptian goddess Mut Competing proposals Exegesis Life s triumph over death

6 XIV Table of Contents Isaiah 25:6 8: He will swallow up Death forever Isaiah 26:11 21: Your dead shall rise Isaiah 38:9 20: The Psalm of Hezekiah Isaiah 37:4, 17: The Living God Conclusions Death in the Ancient Near East during the Iron Age II The rhetoric of death in the Hebrew Bible Isaiah s rhetorical employment of death imagery The offer of life Implications Foreign influences The formation of the book of Isaiah Isaiah s role in the history of Judean religion Isaiah s condemnation of religious practices Isaiah and resurrection Isaiah as Judah s Book of the Dead? Bibliography Index of Sources Index of Authors Index of Subjects