Elisha's Profile in the Book of Kings: The Double Agent

191 Pages·2013·0.96 MB·English

by  Keith Bodner

’
ELISHA S PROFILE IN THE BOOK OF KINGS
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’ fi
Elisha s Pro le in
the Book of Kings
The Double Agent
KEITH BODNER
1
3
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Acknowledgments
For centuries Oxford University Press has been among the finest
publishing houses in the world, and I am extremely grateful to Tom
Perridgeandhisteamforunflaggingsupport,andtotheDelegatesof
the Press for their commitment to impressive standards without
compromise.
Several institutions provided me with opportunities to lecture on
this material, including Tyndale UniversityCollege and Seminary in
Toronto,withthankstoDanScott,LarryHopperton,andJanetClark,
and Crandall University, where I am deeply appreciative of inquisi-
tive students who patiently study ancient literature, along with the
consistentsupportofPresidentBruceFawcettandAcademicVPSeth
Crowell.
Every year at the university we host the annual Murray Lecture,
and Nicholas Wolterstorff deserves a twenty-one-gun salute for his
rich encouragement, careful questioning, and thoughtful conversa-
tionaroundthetopicofthisbook.
Various colleagues rendered assistance along the way, including
BrianAucker,WalterBrueggemann,MarkLeuchter,IanYoung,Erin
Vearncombe, David Lamb, Deven MacDonald, Jon Vickery, Ellen
White,BrentStrawn,EdithHumphrey,LouisStulman,JacobWright,
PaulEvans, JeffGreenman,andJeremyHutton.Lotsofeditingtook
placeinShanghaionalecturetourwithmygreatfriendJohnStack-
house,mentorandmodeltoall.Ialsovaluetheopportunitytoserve
theJournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestamentandthechancetoread
the highest quality of current scholarship on the Hebrew Bible, so
John Jarick, Yvonne Sherwood, Duncan Burns, and the editorial
boarddeserveawordofthanks.
Like the fellow who loses his grip in 2 Kings 6:5, every day
Iexperiencesomerandomaxeofkindnessfrommyfamily.Gratitude
should be expressed to Coreen, Evelyn, Victoria, Jeff, not least be-
causetheyremindmethatElisha’smiraclesanticipatethearrivalofa
laterAgentwhobindsupthebrokenheartedandsetsthecaptivesfree.
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Contents
Abbreviations ix
Prologue:DoubleVision 1
1. TheApprentice 21
2. IncendiarySuccessions 39
3. MusicandMaternity 61
4. AxesandAllies 81
5. CounterIntelligence 103
6. ThroneCalls 127
Postscript:DoubleTake 149
Bibliography 165
Index 177
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Abbreviations
AB AnchorBible
ABD AnchorBibleDictionary
ABR AustralianBiblicalReview
BibInt BiblicalInterpretation
BIS BiblicalInterpretationSeries
BN BiblischeNotizen
BZAW BeiheftezurZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissenschaft
CBC CambridgeBibleCommentary
CBQ CatholicBiblicalQuarterly
CBR CurrentsinBiblicalResearch
ESHM EuropeanSeminarinHistoricalMethodology
FOTL FormsoftheOldTestamentLiterature
HCOT HistoricalCommentaryontheOldTestament
HUCA HebrewUnionCollegeAnnual
ICC InternationalCriticalCommentary
JBL JournalofBiblicalLiterature
JETS JournaloftheEvangelicalTheologicalSociety
JHS JournalofHebrewScriptures
JJS JournalofJewishStudies
JPS JewishPublicationSociety
JSOT JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament
JSOTSup JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament:SupplementSeries
KJV KingJamesVersion
LHBOTS LibraryofHebrewBible/OldTestamentStudies
LXX Septuagint
MT MasoreticText
NCB NewCenturyBible
NIBC NewInternationalBiblicalCommentary
NRSV NewRevisedStandardVersion
OTL OldTestamentLibrary