Stockmen from Tekoa, Sycomores from Sheba: A Study of Amos' Occupations (The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series)

172 Pages·2003·0.72 MB·English

by  Richard C. Steiner

Stockmen from
Tekoa, Sycomores
from Sheba
BY
Richard C. Steiner
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 36
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Monograph Series
36
EDITORIAL BOARD
Mark S. Smith, Chairperson
Lawrence E. Boadt, C.S.P. Richard J. Clifford, S.J.
John J. Collins Frederick W. Danker
Robert A. Di Vito Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.
Ralph W. Klein Léo Laberge, O.M.I.
Bruce J. Malina Pheme Perkins
Eugene C. Ulrich Ronald D. Witherup, S.S.
Stockmen from Tekoa,
Sycomores from Sheba
A Study of Amos’ Occupations
BY
Richard C. Steiner
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
Monograph Series
36
© 2003 The Catholic Biblical Association of America,
Washington, DC 20064
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any means without permission in writing from the author and the
chairperson of the editorial board.
Produced in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steiner, Richard, 1945-
Stockmen from Tekoa, sycomores from Sheba : a study of Amos'
occupations / by Richard C. Steiner. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (The Catholic Biblical quarterly. Monograph series ;
36)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-915170-35-3
1. Amos (Biblical prophet)—Career in herding. 2. Amos (Biblical
prophet)—Career in agriculture. 3. Bible. O.T. Amos I, 1—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 4. Bible. O.T. Amos VII, 14-15—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 5. Balas (The Hebrew word) 6. Herding—Palestine.
7. Agriculture—Palestine. I. Title. II. Series.
BS580.A6S64 2003
224'.8067 dc22
2003019378
yrwm yntwj tm`n rkzl
@yy`nzywr [fn @tn hòòwm @b bwd rk``y hòòwm
hòòbxnt

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (cid:127) ix
INTRODUCTION (cid:127) 1
!ymq` slwb
1. : HISTORYOFINTERPRETATION (cid:127) 5
slwb
Ancient and Medieval Interpretations of (cid:127) 5
slwb
The Septuagint’s Interpretation of and Sycomore
Horticulture (cid:127) 8
!ymq`
The Septuagint’s Translation of : The Meaning and
Etymology of sukavmino" (cid:127) 17
slwb
Aquila’s Interpretation of (cid:127) 20
slwb
Rashi’s Interpretation of and Sycomore Silviculture (cid:127) 23
slwb
2. : ETYMOLOGYANDMEANING (cid:127) 32
slwb
Bochart’s Etymology of (cid:127) 32
Bochart’s Etymology and a Post-biblical Survival
slb
of “Sycomore Fig” (cid:127) 35
!ymq` slwb
Bochart’s Etymology and the Meaning of (cid:127) 43
slb hmq`
3. and : LINGUISTICEVIDENCEFORTHEORIGIN
OFTHEBIBLICALSYCOMORE (cid:127) 48
The Controversy Surrounding the Origin of the Biblical
Sycomore (cid:127) 48
vii
viii · Contents
The Distribution of Blsand Šqmtin the Semitic
Languages (cid:127) 52
slb hmq`
and : Lexical and Botanical Imports
from South Arabia (cid:127) 58
hmq`
The Etymology of (cid:127) 64
rqwb !ydqnb @axh yrjam
4. , , AND (cid:127) 66
rqwb
The Meaning of (cid:127) 66
!ydqnb
The Meaning of (cid:127) 70
[wqtm !ydqnb hyh r`a swm[ yrbd
The Syntax of (cid:127) 87
@axh yrjam òh ynjqyw
The Meaning of (cid:127) 91
5. AMOS’ OCCUPATIONS (cid:127) 95
The Herdsmen from Tekoa (cid:127) 95
The Location of Amos’ Sycomores (cid:127) 101
Linking the Two Occupations (cid:127) 105
Amos’ Occupations and His Prophecies (cid:127) 116
SUMMARY (cid:127) 120
BIBLIOGRAPHY (cid:127) 123
Ancient and Medieval Works (cid:127) 123
Modern Works (cid:127) 127
INDEX (cid:127) 149
Acknowledgments
This book grew out of a graduate course given at Yeshiva University,
and so I would like to begin by thanking members of its faculty, student
body and staff. Arthur Hyman, who became dean of the Bernard Revel
Graduate School at a time of great turmoil, has worked hard to restore
a sense of tranquility and an atmosphere in which scholarship is prized.
David Berger, Louis H. Feldman, Elazar Hurvitz, S. Z. Leiman and
Hayim Tawil, my friends, teachers and colleagues at Yeshiva University,
have contributed to this book in numerous ways, as have my students
A. Koller and M. T. Novick. Pearl Berger, dean of libraries, has greatly
increased the resources available for research. Zvi Erenyi, Mary Ann
Linahan, Haya Gordin, Kerry Santoro and other librarians of Yeshiva
University have responded to my unending stream of requests with an
alacrity that went well beyond the call of duty.
I would also like to express my deepest appreciation to the experts
that I turned to outside of my institution: Joshua Blau and John
Huehnergard in Semitics; John Brinkman and Erica Reiner in
Assyriology; Leo Depuydt, Janet H. Johnson and Robert K. Ritner in
Egyptology; Jan Joosten in ancient biblical translations; Harry Fox,
Shama Friedman, B. Septimus, and Israel M. Ta-shma in Jewish Studies;
Avinoam Danin, David Heller and Mordechai Kislev in botany. Their
individual contributions are mentioned in many footnotes, but I am
keenly aware that this does not give a full accounting of the generous
and invaluable help I have received from them. The same goes for Mark
S. Smith, who honored this work with a place in the CBQ monograph
series and labored patiently and selflessly to improve every aspect of it.
ix