Abstract Based on the study of Prov 25:27, this article explores ambiguity and polysemy as intrinsic operational features of the book of Proverbs. Focusing on the Hebrew of Prov 25:27, it demonstrates that the text is not necessarily corrupt but may represent a case of deliberate “openness.” The proverb allows for a plurality of translations that sit in tension with each other, requiring the reader to take a position. It constitutes yet another example of the book’s “didactic” character and its intention to confront the disciple with issues for which there is no single solution, thus compelling reflection and discernment.
Abstract The phrase “I am Yahweh,” or in its longer form “I am Yahweh your God,” is a characteristic idiom of the Holiness School. While some occurrences are clear in context, others remain insufficiently understood. This holds particularly true in the recurring recitations of the phrase in Leviticus 19 and, to a lesser extent, in Leviticus 18 and 22, where it is scattered asyndetically amid lists of commandments with minimal or no apparent connection to the verses in which it is placed. The article argues that in these cases the phrase signifies an oath and that its multiple repetitions follow the template of an oath catalogue, indicating that each commandment is imposed as a binding oath on its recipients. This reading accords with the biblical depiction of all covenantal laws as sworn obligations and thus contributes to a fuller understanding of law in the Pentateuch more generally.
Abstract This note argues that the LXX translation of teraphim as κενοτάφια in 1 Sam 19 is a deliberate choice that invokes the ancient Greek use of effigies in empty tombs.
Abstract This article presents recent archaeological findings relating to the Neo-Assyrian period from excavations south of Jerusalem, along with a new analysis of their sociohistorical implications for the nature and methods of imperial rule in the region. It goes on to reassess and nuance Christopher B. Hays’s earlier argument that the Assyrian citadel at Ramat Raḥel was the lofty city of foreigners whose fall and destruction were repeatedly referred to in Isa 24–27. Subsequent excavations at nearby sites have shown that a number of contemporaneous Assyrian administrative buildings in the area were decommissioned, and the one at Mordôt Arnona was torn down and left as a heap of stones, just as Isa 25:2 describes regarding a citadel or “palace of foreigners.” These new data provide the real-world context for the text’s vision of the sudden downfall of an oppressive imperial order.
Abstract This essay situates Timothy Hogue’s The Ten Commandments: Monuments of Memory, Belief, and Interpretation and Mark Lester’s Deuteronomy and the Material Transmission of Tradition in the intellectual practices of historical-critical biblical scholarship, suggesting that biblical studies’ next “turn,” already underway, theorizes ancient textuality.
