The Deuteronomistic History and the Name Theology: lᵉšakkēn šᵉmô šām in the Bible and the Ancient Near East

262 Pages·2002·11.61 MB·English

by  Sandra Lynn Richter

Sandra L. Richter
The Deuteronomistic History
and the Name Theology
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von
Otto Kaiser
Band 318
W
DE
G
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
2002
Sandra L. Richter
The Deuteronomistic History
and the Name Theology
lesakkên semô säm in the Bible
and the Ancient Near East
w
DE
G_
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
2002
® Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
to ensure permanence and durability.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — CIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Richter, Sandra L.:
The deuteronomistic history and the name theology : l'sakkën semô
säm in the Bible and the Ancient Near East / Sandra L. Richter. -
Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 2002
(Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ;
Bd. 318)
Zugl.: Harvard, Univ., Diss., 2001
ISBN 3-11-017376-X
© Copyright 2002 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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sion in writing from the publisher..
Printed in Germany
Cover design: Christopher Schneider, Berlin
Preface
The present book is a partial revision of my doctoral dissertation, "The
Deuteronomistic History and the Place of the Name," submitted to the Near
Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department at Harvard University in
2001. This thesis was completed under the supervision of Jo Ann Hackett.
My readers included John Huehnergard, Jon Levenson, and Paul-Alain
Beaulieu.
My interest in the Name Theology was originally sparked in a Hebrew
200 seminar in which I was asked to write a paper on the Deuteronomist and
the temple. In the process of researching that paper, I found that every study I
encountered regarding the temple in the Deuteronomistic History assumed
some form of the Name Theology. As the immanence-to-transcendence
paradigm of the Name Theology is clearly reminiscent of Julius Well-
hausen's developmental model of Israelite religion—a model unfavorably
critiqued decades ago—I was intrigued. Moreover, I was intrigued by the fact
that every form of the Name Theology I encountered eventually resorted to
the deuteronomic idiom, l'Sakkën fmô Mm, for substantiation. Hence, I set out
to evaluate this idiom based upon a comparative-linguistic method in order to
determine if the idiom actually supported the hermeneutical paradigm it had
supposedly fostered. The seminar paper grew into a SBL presentation, the
presentation into a prospectus, and the prospectus into a dissertation. The
present study is the end result of these labors.
Although the weaknesses of this study are my own, it is my pleasure to
express my sincere thanks to the individuals whose time and expertise have
expanded and enriched the project. My special thanks go to my committee
members. To my advisor, Jo Ann Hackett, I owe a great debt. Throughout my
years at Harvard she instructed me in many areas, from Hebrew grammar to
Epigraphy, from pedagogy to professionalism, and I am a better teacher,
scholar, and person for her tutelage. To John Huehnergard, for his patient
instruction in the nuances of Akkadian and Sumerian texts and grammar, his
exhaustive attention to the textual details of my work, and his unflagging
commitment to Proto-Semitic perfection, I wish to express my appreciation. I
would not have braved the deep waters of Assyriology without his guidance.
I am also indebted to Jon Levenson for his early support of this project, his
facility with the biblical text, and the classes in which I was privileged to
learn of his love for the Rabbis in his unique, ironic style. To Paul-Alain
Beaulieu I also owe my thanks for his willingness to take on the task of
vi Preface
reading for my dissertation in midstream, and the contribution of his mastery
of the texts and grammar of the Neo-Babylonian era.
Others to whom I owe my thanks include Daniel Fleming of New York
University, who freely contributed his expertise in the Mari texts, provided
more than one pre-publication article for my research, and repeatedly,
generously, volunteered his time and insight in reading drafts of this project.
My thanks to Otto Kaiser for his corrections and contributions to the final
project, as well as for publishing this study in the BZAW series. To Bill
Arnold, Frank M. Cross, Suzanne Heim, André Lemaire, Peter Machinist,
Glenn Magid, Kathryn Slanski, Piotr Steinkeller, Lawson Stone, and Brent
Strawn—who kindly participated in discussions which served to clarify
difficult issues and interpret enigmatic evidence—I am indebted. And to
Linda Henson, Nicholas Matthews, and Sujatha Pichamuthu, I am grateful
for their editorial and technical assistance.
My greatest debt, however, is to my husband, Steven Tsoukalas, to whom
this book is dedicated, with love.
Asbury Theological Seminary Sandra L. Richter
Wilmore, Kentucky
June, 2002
Contents
Preface ν
List of Abbreviations ix
List of Figures xiii
I. Introduction 1
A. The Deuteronomistic History 1
B. The Deuteronomistic History & the Name Theology 7
C. Whence the Name Theology? 11
1. Nominal Realism 14
2. Julius Wellhausen and the Evolution of Israelite Religion 22
3. Wellhausen's Disciples 24
4. Modern Reconstructions of the Name Theology 26
D. A New Paradigm 36
II. The l'iakkèn fmô Mm Formula in Its Biblical Context 41
A. The Distribution of the fSakkén fmô Mm Formula and Its
Synonymous Reflexes lâsûm fmô iäm
and lihyôt fmô Mm 43
Β. The Biblical Occurrences of the Deuteronomic Formula ... 53
1. The Book of Deuteronomy 53
2. The Deuteronomistic History 64
3. 2 Samuel 7 & 1 Kings 8 68
4. Jeremiah, Ezra, & Nehemiah 91
5. Conclusions 95
C. The Translation of the Deuteronomic Formula 96
1. The verb $kn in its Biblical Occurrences 98
2. The verb Skn in Semitic 106
3. Conclusions 118
D. Could Deuteronomy's fSakken Be Borrowed into Biblical
Hebrew? 121
vili Contents
III. The FSakkên fmô Säm Formula in Its ANE Context 127
A. The Vocabulary: Suma + Sakänu 128
Β. The Corpus:
The Royal Monumental Inscriptions of Mesopotamia .... 130
C. Classifying the Inscriptions 136
1. Votive Texts 136
2. Triumphal Texts 139
3. Building Inscriptions 142
4. Foundation Deposits 144
5. Clay Nails 148
D. Suma Sakänu and the Monumental Corpus 153
1. The Old Akkadian Inscriptions and Suma Sakänu 153
2. Gudea and Suma Sakänu 158
3. The Victory Stelae of the Amanus Mountains
(or "Journey to the Cedar Forest") and Suma Sakänu ... 160
4. Building Inscriptions and Suma Sakänu 170
5. Correspondence and Suma Sakänu 174
6. Suma Sakänu as a Metaphor for "Acquiring Fame" .... 179
7. Conclusions 182
E. Suma Satra Sakänu and the Monumental Corpus 184
1. Vocabulary \ Suma + Satäru 184
2. Foundation Deposits and Suma Satra Sakänu 188
3. WaH-sikkätu and Suma Satra Sakänu 194
4. Conclusions 198
F. Suma Sakänu in the Levant 199
G. The Relationship Between Suma Sakänu and Deuteronomy 204
IV. Conclusion: The Meaning of the fSakkên fmô Säm formula in
the Deuteronomistic History 207
Bibliography 219
Index of Texts 243
Abbreviations
AB Anchor Bible
Ab Β Altbabylonische Briefe in Umschrift und Übersetzung. Edited
by F. R. Kraus. Leiden, 1964-
ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols.
New York, 1992
ABL Assyrian and Babylonian Letters Belonging to the Kouyunjik
Collections of the British Museum. Edited by R. F. Harper.
14 vols. Chicago, 1892-1914
AFC Anales de filologia clásica
AfO Archiv für Orientforschung
AHw Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. W. von Soden. 3 vols.
Wiesbaden, 1965-1981
AJA American Journal of Archaeology
AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literature
Akk Akkadian
ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament.
Edited by J. B. Pritchard. 3rd ed.. Princeton, 1969
AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament
ArBib The Aramaic Bible
ARI Assyrian Royal Inscriptions. A. K. Grayson. 2 vols.
Wiesbaden, 1972-1976.
ARM Archives royales de Mari. Edited by André Parrot, Georges
Dossin, and Jean Marie Durand [vol. 21 onward]
AS Assyriological Studies
BAGD Bauer, W., W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker.
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature, 2nd ed. Chicago, 1979
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BDB Brown, F., with the cooperation of S. R. Driver, and C. A.
Briggs. The New Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament. Peabody, Mass., 1979
BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium
bH Biblical Hebrew
BiOr Bibliotheca Orientalis, Leiden
BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament
BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
CAD The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the
University of Chicago. Chicago, 1956-
CANE Civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Edited by J. Sasson,
4 vols. New York, 1995
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly