The superscription to Nahum announces an oracle ( massā ) concerning Nineveh. In the rest of the book, one finds a vivid portrayal of the fall of this capital city of the Assyrian Empire, named explicitly in Nah. 3.7 when Nineveh is declared to be utterly destroyed ( šaddā ) (cf. also Nah. 2.8 [MT 9]). However, given the complexity in dating the book of Nahum, with scholars arguing respectively for a 7th century, an exilic, or post-exilic setting for this book, it is a question of which empire’s real or imagined fall is celebrated in this book. This article considers whether Nineveh really is Nineveh and whether this fallen city perhaps may also represent empires to come. Being mindful of the shifting constructions of empire and how later generations reused past empires to speak about the empire that remains holds important implications for contemporary readers who continue to navigate complicated relationships with empire themselves.
This paper builds on two trajectories of our recent scholarship: (1) the study of indigenous motifs in Priestly and pre-Priestly literature, and (2) an examination of Zionist and scholarly debates in the formative years of the State of Israel concerning a Jewish ‘right to the land’. The ancestral traditions in Genesis articulate belonging to the land through genealogies, covenants, treaties, and shared ancestry rather than through conquest, defining Israel’s identity in relation to surrounding peoples rather than in opposition to them. These traditions, preserved especially in the Priestly materials of Genesis, emerged in contexts of dispossession and exile, where aspirations for unconditional belonging existed alongside forms of coexistence with neighboring groups. It is therefore illuminating to consider how these traditions have been received, adapted, and reinterpreted within modern Zionist scholarship.
Is the phrase אם שׁלמים or משׁל מים found in Nah. 1.12? The textual tradition is divided. The Septuagint (LXX) and the Peshitta support the reading משׁל מים in Nah. 1.12, whereas the Masoretic text, the Targum, and the Vulgate preserve אם שׁלמים (‘though they are at full strength‘ or ‘though they are complete’). This disagreement prompts significant inquiries regarding the verse’s initial phrasing, its interpretation, and the origins of the differing readings that arose during the transmission process. This article utilizes textual criticism as its main approach—analyzing manuscript evidence, assessing the likelihood of transcription and translation variations, and considering contextual and linguistic elements—to identify the most probable original text and to explore the potential explanations for the discrepancies among these ancient sources.
The existence of those who do not experience sexual attraction (asexual) and those who do not experience romantic attraction (aromantic) is an underrecognized reality with implications for biblical interpretation. This article examines current interpretation of the Song of Songs, finding evidence of compulsory sexuality and amatonormativity which serve to dehumanize asexuals and aromatics respectively. I show how the highly sexual nature of Song 5.2-6 resides solely within innuendo and double entendre that is dependent on the imagination of the interpreter and moreover may not be obvious to an asexual. I then read the text without the sexual overlay to reveal a story of mismatched desire, which may include a mismatch of type of desire. I also find the actions and experiences of the woman in the text to evoke the experience of platonic abandonment. The readings developed here highlight the possibilities of an asexual aromantic perspective and contribute to the queer project of resistance to hermeneutical hegemony.
The motif of going eastward appears repeatedly in both the primeval and patriarchal narratives of Genesis. Close attention to this motif reveals a key structure of these narratives: the repeated narrowing of the lineage that can carry forth God's blessing. The appearance of DTP signals the moment at which one part of humanity, or of the patriarchal family, moves to the margins of the narrative and marks the refocusing of the narrative on the individual not associated with the word DTP. The DTP motif, though, presents a multi-faceted interpretive conundrum: First, why is the east, a place associated with Eden, the place to which those who do not remain at the center of the narrative's concern depart? The generation of Jacob and Esau, the last in which someone in Genesis goes eastward, presents additional anomalies: It is Jacob, the brother who will carry forth the blessing, who goes to 'the land of the sons of DTP', and Jacob, for the first and only time in Genesis, returns from his journey to the east. And Esau's subsequent departure, while described in terms that create every expectation that he will go to DTP, does not in fact include this word. This article analyzes the DTP motif in Genesis and offers solutions to the intriguing conundrum that attention to this motif discloses.
This article develops a conjectural map of the world that aims to visually summarise the geographic knowledge of the ancient Israelites. Its exegetical usefulness is demonstrated with three case studies, namely Gen. 10 (the Table of Nations); Ezek. 27 (Tyre's trading partners); and Gen. 2 (the Garden of Eden).
This article examines the narrative of Jabez (1 Chron. 4.9-10) through Robert Alter's theory of type-scene, to answer the unresolved question of why Jabez is described as 'more honored than his brothers'. It contends that the Chronicler deliberately adapts conventional biblical narrative patterns-especially the type-scene of honor attained through military achievement-to recast the concept of honor in terms of land acquisition through divine favor. Jabez's honor thus arises not from genealogy or martial prowess alone, but from his active reliance on YHWH through prayer, which results in the expansion of his borders and the memorialization of his name as a monument within Judah's lineage.
The declamation of the Masoretic Text likely featured a structured rhythm with breves and longs, similar to other traditions of elevated recitation. Unlike the Qur'& amacr;n recitation, this rhythm was not determined by syllable structures but by prominences linked to stress and phrasing, as indicated by Masoretic accentuation. This prosody is best seen in the recitation of the Yemenite Jews, whose tradition shares many similarities with Masoretic Hebrew. The interaction between independently determined breves and longs and long and short vowels alters vowel length; in turn, syllable structures slightly influence the duration of breves. Neither phrasing hierarchy nor melodic pitch resembles spoken prosody. Melody supports the prominence of phrasing boundaries; however, the main purpose of the melodic line is to mark the division into verses. The signs of Masoretic accentuation were only partly a direct representation of sound distinctions, and even less so of the specific melodic contours.
This article offers a reevaluation of Gehazi's role in the Elisha narratives by reading him through the lens of prophetic succession. Rather than interpreting Gehazi solely as a foil or a morally deficient figure, the study explores how the narrative portrays him as a potential successor to Elisha-echoing biblical patterns in other master-servant relationships, namely that of Moses with Joshua and Elijah with Elisha. Drawing on textual analysis, literary parallels, and the symbolic function of prophetic items, the article argues that Gehazi's characterization can be understood as part of a prophetic apprenticeship. However, Gehazi's premature appropriation of prophetic authority in 2 Kgs 5 marks a critical failure. His downfall is crafted to critique unauthorized prophetic aspiration and highlights the importance of timing in succession.
