Who's Who in The Old Testament

483 Pages·1993·3.04 MB·English

by  Joan Comay

Who’s Who in the Old Testament
together with the Apocrypha
The Routledge Who’s Who series
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guides to a diverse range of subjects drawn from literature and the arts, history
and politics, religion and mythology.
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Who’s Who in the Old
Testament
together with the Apocrypha
JOAN COMAY
LONDON AND NEW YORK
ADVISORY EDITORS FOR THIS VOLUME:
Rabbi Michael Graetz,
Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem
Revd Dr Leonard Cowie, F.R.Hist.S.,
Senior Lecturer in History,
Whitelands College, London
First published 1971 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson
First published in paperback 1993 by J.M. Dent Ltd
Reprinted 1995
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition first published 2002
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
© 1971, 1993, 2002 Joan Comay
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN 0-203-43684-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-74508-6 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-26031-0 (Print Edition)
Contents
Author’s Preface vii
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT ix
The Books of the Old Testament ix
The physical setting xiii
Chronology xv
WHO’S WHO IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE APOCRYPHA 415
WHO’S WHO IN THE APOCRYPHA 418
Author’s preface
A scholar approaches the Old Testament in much the same spirit as an
archaeologist attacks a site inhabited over several ages. He takes into account that
the present text has evolved over a lengthy period, is woven together from
different sources and has been constantly re-edited in the light of changing
concepts. He will try to retrace this process—to sort out the different historical
and literary strata and to interpret each element in relation to the time and place
of its origin. In this way it becomes possible to analyse a biblical character in
historical depth.
However, such a strictly scholastic treatment is not the intention of the present
work. In general, the events relating to specific characters are set out as a
straightforward narrative derived from the text, and designed to bring out the
human interest of the story. In many cases, notes and comments are added that
sketch in the general background or touch on the problems of interpretation that
have occupied the scholars, without presuming to resolve them. It is not laid down
whether each person in the Bible really existed in historical fact, or only in folk-
mythology, or as fictional characters in tales written for moral purposes.
A few more points may help to explain the method of presentation:
As a rule, the biblical narrative and its historical setting are fully dealt with
under the heading of the main character, while under each subordinate character
the relevant events are briefly retold.
It is doubtful whether either the nations or the pagan deities mentioned in the
Old Testament have a place in a Who’s Who devoted to individual human
beings. For convenience of reference, they have been included, but briefly.
The meanings of personal names have been given in those cases where the
derivation is reasonably clear.
The following abbreviations have been used:
Acc. Accadian Gk. Greek
Ass. Assyrian Heb. Hebrew
Bab. Babylonian Pers. Persian
Egypt. Egyptian
viii
It is difficult to be precise about biblical dates. Generally, the older the period
the more conjectural are the dates. It is essential in a work of this kind to adhere
to one single chronological table and that given in the new Jerusalem Bible has
been used as a basis. Where no approximate date or even century can be given
the term ‘date unknown’ has been used. Here again no judgment is implied on
the question whether the character had an historical existence or is legendary.
This refers particularly to the chapters in Genesis before Abraham.
Author’s acknowledgments
The author would particularly like to thank the advisory editors, Rabbi Michael
Graetz and Revd Dr Leonard Cowie, who while not always in agreement with
me on matters of interpretation have provided invaluable comments and
suggestions. Dr Meir Gertner, of the Near and Middle Eastern Department,
School of Oriental and African Studies, and his two assistants, Mr S.Sharvit and
Mr J.Dean, supplied extremely helpful advice on the derivations of the names.
I am also deeply indebted to Jonathan Cowan for his research assistance with
the mass of small entries; to Diane Kagan and Nomi Miller for their patient
checking of quotations and references; and to Pauline Cooperstone without
whose rapid and accurate typing and retyping of drafts this work could not have
been completed in the given time.
As usual my long-suffering husband and children provided much-needed
encouragement.
Introduction to the Old Testament
The Books of the Old Testament
The Old Testament contains the ancient literature of the Hebrew people. The
works in it were composed and re-edited over a period of more than a thousand
years, up to about the end of the 3rd century BC.
Other Near Eastern civilizations, such as the Egyptian and the Babylonian,
produced religious and historical writings, legal codes, legends and folktales,
prophecies, proverbs and poetry. But only the Hebrews wove them into a sacred
anthology. What resulted was not so much an historical work in the modern
sense, as a religious epic. The covenant between a small people and a universal
God was the central theme, and all events were related to it. When neighbouring
nations oppressed them, when the imperial armies of the ancient world trampled
upon them, when they were afflicted by plague or bad harvests, it was because
the Lord was angry with the Israelites for their transgressions. Even kings had to
obey the Law, for it was God’s Law. Perhaps for this reason, the Hebrews
portrayed their own forefathers with remarkable honesty, and refused to make
saints or demigods of them. Jacob can trick his old, blind father into giving him
Esau’s blessing; and David, the national hero, can behave shamefully over
Bathsheba. It is this quality which makes the Old Testament so intensely human
a chronicle.
The most venerable part of the Old Testament is the Pentateuch, or the Five
Books of Moses. Its ultimate form was a blend of four early written versions: the
‘J’ Document, compiled in the southern kingdom of Judah in the 10th century
BC; the ‘E’ Document, compiled in Ephraim in the northern kingdom of Israel in
the 9th and 8th centuries BC; the Book of Deuteronomy (the ‘D’ Document),
dating from the 7th century BC; and the material introduced by the priestly
writers (the ‘P’ Document) about the time of the Exile.
Chronicles, produced about the 4th century BC, drew its material partly from
Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Joshua, and mainly from the Books of Samuel
and Kings. This material was rewritten in a way that suited the Chronicler’s
didactic purpose. Ezra and Nehemiah are usually regarded as a continuation of
Chronicles.