Mesopotamian Civilization and the Origins of the New Testament

506 Pages·2022·10.648 MB·English

by  Robin Baker

Mesopotamian Civilization and the Origins of the
New Testament
Inthisgroundbreakingstudy,RobinBakerinvestigatesthecontribution
ancient Mesopotamian theology made to the origins of Christianity.
Drawingonaformidablerangeofprimarysources,Baker’sconclusions
challenge the widely held opinion that the theological imprint of
Babylonia and Assyria on the New Testament is minimal, and what
Mesopotamian legacy it contains was mediated by the Hebrew Bible
and ancient Jewish sources. After evaluating and substantially supple-
menting previous research on this mediation, Baker demonstrates
significant direct Mesopotamian influence on the New Testament
presentation of Jesus and particularly the character of his kingship.
He also identifies likely channels of transmission. Baker documents
substantial differences among New Testament authors in borrowing
MesopotamianconceptionstoformulatetheirChristology.
Thismonographisanessentialresourceforspecialistsandstudentsof
theNewTestament,andforscholarsinterestedinreligioustransmission
intheancientNearEastandtheafterlifeofMesopotamianculture.
RobinBakerisEmeritusProfessorofOldTestamentandAncientNear
Eastern Studies at the University of Winchester and a Fellow of
University College London. He is the author of Hollow Men, Strange
Women:Riddles,CodesandOthernessintheBookofJudges.

Mesopotamian Civilization and the
Origins of the New Testament
ROBIN BAKER
UniversityofWinchester
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781009098946
:10.1017/9781009106634
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Firstpublished2022
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Names:Baker,Robin(ProfessorofOldTestament),author.
:MesopotamiancivilizationandtheoriginsoftheNewTestament/RobinBaker,
UniversityofWinchester.
:Cambridge,UnitedKingdomNewYork,NY,USA:CambridgeUniversityPress,
2022.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
:LCCN2021053908(print)|2021053909(ebook)|9781009098946
(hardback)|9781009102018(paperback)|9781009106634(epub)
::Bible.NewTestament–Criticism,interpretation,etc.|
Iraq–Civilization–To634.
:2361.3.352022 (print)|2361.3 (ebook)|
225.6–23/eng/20220118
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2021053908
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978-1-009-09894-6Hardback
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For Rachel, with my love, admiration and gratitude
We believed that the completely new could be transplanted only
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BélaBalázs, librettistof Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’sCastle
Contents
List of Figures and Tables pagexi
Preface xiii
List of Abbreviations xvii
Prolegomena xxix
Beginnings xxix
Methodology xliii
OnAvoidingAnachronisms,Defining‘Influence’ xlvii
1 The Religious Landscape ofthe Near East atthe Turn of
the Era 1
TheMesopotamia-PalestineNexusandtheJewishDiaspora 1
MesopotamianLearningandItsAfterlife 8
Hellenism 14
‘SentimentsofAffinity’:BabylonandIsrael 23
2 Channelsof Transmission 33
BabylonandJerusalem 33
Israel’sGodinNebuchadnezzar’sBabylon:Abandonment,
Exile,Restoration 36
JudahinBabylonia 50
Josephus,BerossusandTheBabyloniaca 54
TheSignificanceofMatthew’sGospelforThisInvestigation 60
TheCompositionalBackgroundofMatthew’sGospel 62
3 New Testament Epistemology: AReappraisal 66
Omens,ParallelWorldsandMidrashicReasoning:Introduction 66
TimesandSigns 73
DoubleyetOppositeandtheAmbiguityoftheCrossSymbol 81
TimeConceivedasOperatinginTwoForms 89
vii
viii Contents
Myth,HistoryandtheFloodasCosmicTurningPoint:
ApkallusandFishersofMen 91
PastasParable 110
AnalogicInterpretationofData 112
ModesofReasoning 122
Summary 127
4 KingshipModels and the Dying-Rising King 129
KingshipintheAncientNearEast 129
KingshipandDivinity 140
Kingship,Assyrian-Style 150
KingofKings,LordofLords 159
TheCharacterofJesus’Kingshipandthebītsalā’mê 171
Ištar-InannaasDying-RisingGoddess 180
Tammuz-Dumuzi,theDivineShepherd-King,Fisher-King 181
Conclusions 194
5 Ninurta, Nimrod,Abimelech andChrist: ACaseStudyof
Mediated Influence 196
NinurtaRedivivus 196
Abimelechben-Jerubbaal 201
Babel,NimrodandIntertextualityintheGideon-
AbimelechSeries 201
TheNinurtaCultandItsReach 211
AbimelechasNinurtaParody 217
EvidenceforAkkadian-HebrewBilingualisminthe
AbimelechPericope 229
AntithesisandSimulacrum:JesusandAbimelech/
NinurtaCompared 231
TheTenacityofLiteraryMotifsandDevices 241
Ninurta’sLegacyandtheColossiansHymn 244
6 Marduk,Ištarand Nabû,and New Testament Christology 254
Marduk,IštarLadyofBabylonandtheFigureofBabylon
intheBookofRevelation 254
EnūmaelišandtheNewTestament 272
TheCultofNabûComparedwiththeNewTestament
PresentationofChrist 278
FatherandSon:JesusandtheFather,NabûandMarduk 287
WisdomPersonifiedandGloriousBridegroom:Jesus,
Solomon,Nabû 301
Summary 319
7 Bloodlines, Omens and Festivals 321
TheMattheanGenealogy:ItsStructureandSignificance 321
KingUzziah 327