The emergence of proto-apocalyptic worldviews in the neo-Babylonian period: An analysis of selected passages from Ezekiel and Isaiah 40-55

THE EMERGENCE OF PROTO-APOCALYPTIC WORLD VIEWS IN THE NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD: AN ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PASSAGES FROM EZEKIEL AND ISAIAH 40-55

A dissertation submitted to the Caspersen School of Graduates Studies Drew University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy

Hong Pyo Ha Drew University Madison, New Jersey May 2009

UMI Number: 3376833

Copyright 2009 by Ha, Hong Pyo

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ABSTRACT The Emergence of Proto-Apocalyptic Worldviews in the Neo-Babylonian Period: An Analysis of Selected Passages from Ezekiel and Isaiah 40-55 Ph.D. Dissertation by

Hong Pyo Ha

Graduate Division of Religion Drew Theological School

May 2009

The discussion of the phenomena of apocalyptic has been very intense in the last few decades. Together with other topics, the understanding of the emergence of proto-apocalyptic, the forerunner of a sort for apocalyptic itself, has been quite disputed, especially in the publications of two leading scholars on that topic, Paul D. Hanson and Stephen L. Cook. Firstly, Hanson and Cook, though agreeing on the presence of what they identify as proto-apocalyptic in the exilic community, draw upon different texts, while ignoring texts viewed as vital by the other to the discussion. Secondly, Hanson sees proto-apocalyptic as emerging within marginalized groups, i.e., as issuing from deprivation, focusing on Isaiah 40-55, whereas Cook focuses on Ezekiel 38-39, taken to reflect the language and perspective of the central, powerholding Zadokite priesthood which did not experience deprivation. The present study focuses on the exilic texts taken up as "proto-apocalyptic" by either Hanson or Cook and argues, contrary to Hanson, that Ezekiel 38-39 does reflect the exilic period, and, contrary to Cook, that Second Isaiah must be considered. The present study seeks an alternative hypothesis by presenting a more complete analysis of the nature of protoapocalyptic within the social and ideological context of the exilic community in Babylonia. My

study emphasizes a wider definition of deprivation, drawing in particular on Daniel SmithChristopher's attention to Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome among the exiles as affecting both peripheral and central groups, thus offering a more comprehensive analysis of the emergence of proto-apocalyptic. My conclusion is that proto-apocalyptic is an ideology produced during a time of perceived crisis and offering hope to oppressed and beleaguered individuals and communities in the exilic situation, whatever their status within the exilic community, by giving them an alternative picture of the possible realities in the larger world. My understanding of the emergence of proto-apocalyptic includes attention to the psychology of the exiles and draws on new Neo-Babylonian and Persian period texts to illuminate the exilic context. I argue that the emergence of proto-apocalyptic is an understandable response by rather differing groups— central priestly and marginal prophetic—to the harsh experiences of the exilic period. Word count: 351

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I. INTRODUCTION

1 -26

A. The Problem of Proto-Apocalyptic

-

1-12

B. Research Design—

13-17

C. Methodological Considerations-

18-26

II. THE DATING OF THE PROPOSED PROTO-APOCALYPTIC PASSAGES

~—

A. Dating Ezekiel 38-39 1. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian Period 2. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian period and the early Persian period but prior to the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem (515 B.C.E.) 3. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the early Persian period, including after the rededication of the temple 4. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the late fifth to the Maccabean PeriodB. Dating Key Passages in Deutero-Isaiah (40-55) 1. Dating Deutero-Isaiah (40-55) 2. Hanson's Selected Four Passages

HI. THE JUDAEAN EXILES DURING THE NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD A. The Life of the Judaean Exiles 1. Forced Labor Practices Under the Neo-Babylonians 2. Judean Deportees/Captives Under the Neo-Babylonians 3. The Ethos of Life in Exile B. Settlements in Babylonia 1. Living Together in the Outside of the Capital City 2. The Urban Exilic Groups 3. Resettlement: Probable Historical Background of Ezekiel 38-39 4. The Exilic Groups in the Babylonian Countryside

27-89 27-53 28-36

36-47 47-51 51-53 54-89 -55-74 74-89

90-168 93-110 94-104 104-109 109-110 111-138 112-116 116-121 121-130 —130-138

C. Social and Psychological Position of Jewish Exiles 1. Social Position of Jewish Exiles 2. Inclusive Perspectives on Deprivation in an Exiled Community 3. Apocalyptic Idea of Korean Diaspora in 1930s

139-164 139-143 144-155 156-168

VI. CONTEXTUAL READING OF EZEKIEL 38-39 AND THE PASSAGES OF ISAIAH 40-55 AS PROTO-APOCALYPTIC TEXTS OF THE EXILIC PERIOD 169-232 A. Reading Ezekiel 38-39 in Terms of the Babylonian Exile—

169-181

B. Reading Selected Passages in Isaiah 40-55 in Terms of the Babylonian Exile

182-194

C. Cook's Understanding of Ezekiel 38-39 in Reference to the Babylonian Exile and the Question of Deprivation 1. Reference to the Babylonian Exile 2. Question of Deprivation 3. Ezekiel's Group as Dominated but Central-

V.

195-232 197-206 206-224 225-232

PROTO-APOCALYPTIC IN THE NEO-BABYLONIAN EXILIC PERIOD A. Basic Features of Proto-Apocalyptic B. Selected Proto-Apocalyptic Passages in the Neo-Babylonian Exilic Period 1. Ezekiel 38-39 2. Isaiah 51:9-11 C. Mythic Motifs in Proto-Apocalyptic Passages in Ezekiel 38-39 and Isaiah 40-55

233-287 -

233-250

251-272 251 -260 260-272

273-287

VI. CONCLUSION

288-301

BIBLIOGRAPHY

302-321

1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. The Problem of Proto-Apocalyptic

In the last few decades a great deal of discussion has taken place on the phenomena of apocalyptic and the study of apocalyptic stuff and the concept of protoapocalyptic have made rapid strides. In particular, the contributions of two scholars, Paul D. Hanson and Stephen L. Cook,1 have been especially important. Although they offer different views of the nature and emergence of apocalyptic, both refer to a text category of "proto-apocalyptic" in somewhat parallel or overlapping ways. Before one can turn to differentiation between these two scholars, in regard to proto-apocalyptic, however, it is important to review some of the other important differences between them. Firstly, Hanson (selections from Deutero-Isaiah) and Cook (Ezekiel 38-39)

The relevant works are P. D. Hanson, "Jewish Apocalyptic against its Near Eastern Environment," RB 78 (1971): 31-59; "Old Testament Apocalyptic Re-examined," Interpretation 25 (1971): 454-479; The Dawn of Apocalyptic (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975, 1979); The People Called {San Francisco: Harper, 1986), 253-311; and Old Testament Apocalyptic (IBT; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987); and S. L. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995); and The Apocalyptic Literature (IBT; Nashville: Abingdon, 2003). Note the discussion of their work in Charles E. Carter, The Emergence ofYehud in the Persian Period: A Social and Demographic Study (JSOT Sup297; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 316-323; and in Jon L. Berquist, Judaism in Persia's Shadow: A Social and Historical Approach (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 7-9. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 127, 310-312.

2

drew upon "proto-apocalyptic" texts dated, at least in part, to the exilic period. Although Cook also labels Zechariah 1-8 and Joel as "proto-apocalyptic," these two texts are excluded in my discussion because these texts are commonly dated to the postexilic period.3 Secondly, these two scholars agree upon the socio-historical context out of which the "proto-apocalyptic" perspective grew, in their respective texts, in spitie of different emphases: for Hanson, the exilic Jewish community and for Cook, the exilic community together with the restored community in Yehud; and also, for Hanson, the productive group is the the visionary group who experienced deprivation and failed to gain control of the restoration cult in the early post-exilic community, whereas for Cook it is the the centrally located Zadokite priesthood. Thirdly, although one needs to give special attention to their contrasting ideas of the relationship of proto-apocalyptic to apocalyptic, both these scholars4 see the apocalyptic worldview as preceded by a "proto-apocalyptic" perspective that took shape among the exiles during the Neo-Babylonian or early Persian period. In particular, both scholars' share a common area by putting "proto-apocalyptic" (chronologically) in between prophecy (Cook: "visions of Amos as nonapocalyptic visions"5 vs. Hanson: "prophetic eschatology"6) and apocalyptic (Cook: "the visions of Daniel as "full-blown

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2; 34-35. 4

For Cook's ambiguous attitude for this matter, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 26 n. 24; 34; 35. 5

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 10-11.

3

apocalyptic"7 vs. Hanson: Daniel as "apocalyptic eschatology" ), though they offer a different understanding of the "trajectory" between prophecy and apocalyptic.9 On the other hand, the different constructions developed by these two scholars point to some basic problems. Firstly, the constructs draw upon different texts. Hanson identifies Deutero-Isaiah (as a whole) as proto-apocalyptic, with special attention to Isaiah 40, Isa 43:18-19, and Isa 51:9-11.10 With regard to texts illustrative of protoapocalyptic, Hanson identifies a number of passages in Isaiah 40-55 as showing "protoapocalyptic" in the exilic period, and essentially bypasses Ezekiel 38-39, which he identifies as representing a post-exilic apocalyptic perspective reinterpreting Ezekiel 1-37, 40-48. As Cook notes, "he (Hanson) assumes that a central priest such as Ezekiel would not have had an apocalyptic worldview."11 So Hanson judges Ezekiel 38-39 as irrelevant to the discussion of the emergence of apocalyptic.12 On the other hand, Cook labels Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8, and Joel as proto-apocalyptic13 that "occurs in books from central priestly circles of exilic and postexilic times,"14 thus making a case against the association of apocalyptic with deprivation. Cook challenges Hanson's view by arguing

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34. Q

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 7-12. Carter, The Emergence ofYehud, 318 n. 171. 10

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 127; 310-312. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 86.

12

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 234 n. 47; and The People, 270. Cf. Old Testament Apocalyptic, 37. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2; 34-35. 4

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 12.

4

for at least a portion of Ezekiel 38-39 as presenting "proto-apocalyptic" in the exilic period.15 Curiously, Cook barely mentions the exilic texts in Isaiah 40-55. For Hanson, Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8 and Joel, as post-exilic, are merely of secondary importance. Secondly, Hanson adopts the viewpoint of social theorists such as Weber, Mannheim, and Troeltsch,16 who see apocalyptic as emerging from within marginalized groups or a minority group, i.e., in association with alienation and deprivation.17 Hanson places the social setting of the emergence of "apocalyptic eschatology" within a postexilic conflict between the Third Isaiah prophetic group, including groups of disenfranchised Levites, and the Zadokite-dominated priestly group in charge of the temple. If so, a question arises as to the character of "proto-apocalyptic" in the exilic period? Hanson finds a shared conflict relationship associated with "proto-apocalyptic" in the exilic period, involving the adaptation of the ancient conflict myth18 imvolving the Divine Warrior, Yahweh, and, e.g., Yamm, used again in the exilic situation after the fall of Jerusalem and the temple. The goal of divine conflict was to restore the historical entity Israel. "An event of the realm of plain history would provide the context of the divine act, namely, the fall of the Babylonian Empire."19

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 111. "[T]he earlier core of the Gog passage probably comes from the end of Ezekiel's ministry in Babylon. Perhaps it was written during the rise of Cyrus (c. 555 B.C.E.)." 16

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 212-214 (Weber and Mannheim); 215-216 (Troeltsch). 17

"[F]or the crisis which sociologists find at the root of every apocalyptic movement is a minority phenomenon." "A new apocalyptic mood began to descend upon the brooding minority." See Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 2. See also p. 214. 18

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 23, 126-128.

19

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 127.

5

On the other hand, Cook concentrates on texts that derive from central-priestly circles and identifies Ezekiel 38-39 as reflecting the language and perspective of the central Zadokite priesthood who held power in the (exilic/) post-exilic situation rather than being a marginalized or deprived group. Hence, although these two scholars agree that the exile itself constituted a major crisis and was a central ingredient in the further development of the sense of the possibility of great future changes, there are yet significant differences in how they view the situation of the exilic community as contributing to the rise of proto-apocalyptic conceptions. Whereas Hanson views the exile in terms of social, political and economic deprivation which prompted the rise of apocalyptic, Cook, as mentioned, emphasizes a locus of proto-apocalyptic within central groups and suggests that "the mere perception of the ending of an era" was a basic and positive contributing factor that provided the critical seedbed for the rise of apocalypticism. So while Hanson refers to a deprivation background, Cook contests it. Nonethless, Cook does provide several references to the special stress experienced by the exilic community.20 Thirdly, although both scholars seem to agree that the exilic period21 is when proto-apocalyptic is "born"—given Cook's willingness to see Ezekiel 38-39 as being in part exilic—they define "proto-apocalyptic" differently.22 For Hanson, Second Isaiah's

20

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 115 ("extremely nebulous and stressful"); 220 ("a foundation-shaking change"). For another evaluation regarding captivity in Babylon, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 214 ("noting the lack of evidence that Ezekiel and his priestly circle suffered or were persecuted in the exile"). 21

Hanson, "Jewish Apocalyptic", 34 and Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 23-27; 127130; 206 and Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 87; 97; 107; 109; 110-111; 112; 114; 116 n.116; 120; 211; 212; 213; 219. For more details see below, Chapter IV, section C. 22

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 27; "Apocalypticism," in IDBSup (1976): 32; Old Testament Apocalyptic, 36, and Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34-5.

6

use of mythic motifs in the exilic period points in the direction which apocalyptic eschatology would pursue while still being fully related to the historical realm. Hanson designates such texts in Second Isaiah as "proto-apocalyptic." Positing a particular chronological and social development, Hanson sees proto-apocalyptic as part of a continuum from prophetic eschatology into apocalyptic eschatology.

For Cook, who

also refers to "proto-apocalyptic," this term should not imply "acceptance of any typology presupposing a trajectory" from prophecy to apocalyptic.24 He uses the term proto-apocalyptic only to describe primarily Persian-period texts that come from "powerholding priestly groups,"

presenting "worldviews and practices that have clear

affinities with the full-blown apocalypticism found in the subsequent Hellenistic and Roman periods,"

with Daniel and 1 Enoch even featuring a general resurrection of the

dead or a judgment of the dead.27 Cook refrains from a more precise description of the relationship of his proto-

The distinction of proto-apocalyptic as a phase in between prophecy and apocalyptic is illustrated through the concept of myth versus history: prophecy expects its pronouncements to be worked out in plain history, whereas apocalyptic has abandoned real history for the mythical realm. Particularly, in the Neo-Babylonian period myth and eschatology began to merge strongly, as illustrated in Isaiah 40-55. In powerfully dramatic terms, myth is reemphasized in Israel's religion to add a cosmic dimension. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 9-19; and "Apocalypticism," 29-31. Deutero-Isaiah incorporated more mythic material in his oracles than previous prophets, especially material involving Yahweh's role as the divine warrior. However, the visionary element never threatened to become detached from the particulars of plain history, in keeping with prophets of the pre-exilic period. See Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 23-25; 127129. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35. (See also p. 34). Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2; 34. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35. 27

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34.

7

apocalyptic texts to later apocalypticism. For Cook, "proto-apocalyptic" does not develop into apocalyptic. Rather, in Cook's view, it is more of a parallel development, though something of a "dead end," to that of later apocalyptic. However, Cook refers to "family resemblances" between his three corpora (Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8, Joel) and "the Jewish apocalyptic texts written after 250 B.C.E."28 Furthermore, Cook states that "There may be a trajectory from certain eschatological positions to an apocalyptic symbolic universe. Alternatively, a position of eschatology and the world view may evolve together."

Accordingly, Cook shows a somewhat ambiguous attitude.

It is intriguing that Hanson and Cook focus on different texts and have a different understanding as to the seedbed of apocalyptic. However, the importance of the texts in Isaiah 40-55 for the development of proto-apocalyptic cannot be ignored, and the setting aside of Ezekiel 38-39 as post-exilic may be contested. One can also question just how different Hanson's and Cook's perspectives are regarding marginalization. Hanson's deprivation emphasis includes the shock of the end of an era and the hope for a new beginning (a "new exodus," one could say). And Cook's end of an era includes several losses—a homeland, an active temple with its related sacrificial cultus, a long-enduring Davidic kingship, and a way of life—linguistic and economic. Cook also acknowledges the importance of the perception of deprivation, though he finds that "[i]t is a more difficult concept to apply objectively, and it permits almost any group to be described as

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 26 n.24 (reference to Hanson, "Apocalypticism," 30).

8

deprived."30 So deprivation and "the end of an era" are perhaps not very far apart and both seem to represent marginalization. Overt oppression in the exile in the form of slavery, for example, was not an ingredient, but psychic stress or oppression was a common experience. Cook's claim that the exilic community was not a peripheral community in Babylonia but, for themselves in their own settlement, central,31 seems to ignore the immense psychic dislocation in the socio-cultural context of the exilic community in Babylonia. One may argue that the real issue is whether groups perceive themselves as relatively deprived, not whether others in their larger society—or later historians—would agree.

Resolution of this issue is central to understanding the social

setting for proto-apocalyptic in the exilic context. This present study focuses on exilic texts taken up as "proto-apocalyptic" by Hanson (selections from Isaiah 40-55) and, with hesitation, by Cook (Ezekiel 38-39), and will argue that these texts, dating to the exilic period, reflect what may be appropriately identified as "proto-apocalyptic." As such, analysis of these texts allows the possibility of a better and more unified understanding of the nature of proto-apocalyptic and the social and ideological contexts which spawned the emergence of proto-apocalyptic worldviews in the Neo-Babylonian period. In particular, this study will argue that the exilic context

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 16-17. 3

' Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 214.

32

A case in point is Cook's treatment of Ezekiel whom he identifies as part of the Zadokite leadership in the Exile (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 87-121), as he presumably was. It would seem obvious that when Ezekiel was ministering in the temple in Jerusalem he was part of the elite. When, however, he was carried into Exile, he was a displaced priest living among a small, displaced group that was a classic example of those who would perceive themselves as deprived vis-a-vis continuing on in an intact Judah.

9

was the foundation for the formation and development of proto-apocalyptic worldviews prior to the actuality of the option of a return to the homeland under the Persians. Therefore, I seek to offer plausible arguments both for identifying selected passages in Isaiah 40-55 and Ezekiel 38-39 as proto-apocalyptic and for dating them to the exilic (or Neo-Babylonian) period, as well as clarifying the social context behind the protoapocalyptic texts. Also pertinent is the argument that even people who have power in certain arenas may experience themselves as deprived, a major limitation of Cook's approach. So, I will review whether or not "deprivation" in some sense, is an important part of the development of the texts within the contrastive social groups. In recent studies on apocalyptic, two foci of scholarly attention have emerged: definition and derivation. Although definition was the subject of sustained discussion in the 1970s and early 1980s, stimulated by the work of K. Koch and P. Hanson, and continuing through the SBL genres project and the Uppsala colloquium in 1979,33 the

A watershed was marked by K. Koch because his study prompted a revival of interest in apocalyptic. See K. Koch, Rediscovery of Apocalyptic (London: SCM, 1972), 18ff. Koch called for a focus on apocalypses as a literary type and the SBL genre group took up the challenge. P. D. Hanson ["Apocalypticism," 27-34] gave definitions that are still often appealed to. On the other hand, the importance of definition was recognized by the SBL Apocalypse Group which produced a volume summarizing their work on the genre apocalypse. This volume, however, has demonstrated that it is much easier to define the literary genre of apocalypse than it is to tackle the broader social and literary phenomenon of apocalypticism. The objective of the SBL genres group, chaired by John Collins, was simply to try to get agreement on what should be called an apocalypse, and to produce a definition that might serve as a starting point for further discussions of this literature from literary or sociological perspectives. At least the project showed just how much a given body of texts had in common. See John J. Collins, "The Morphology of a Genre: Introduction" in Semeia 14 (1979): 1-20. A symposium held in Uppsala in 1979, edited by David Hellholm, addressed many issues relating to the whole field of apocalypses and apocalyptic, including definitions (Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East [Tubingen: Mohr, 1983]). Widely accepted points of agreement in that discussion were that the use of apocalyptic as a noun was a source of confusion, and that distinctions should be made between apocalypses as a literary genre, apocalypticism, whether as a social movement or as a worldview, and apocalyptic eschatology.

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issue of definition still remains in discussion,

as other subsequent discussions have not

made much reference to the category "proto-apocalyptic."35 In fact, Hanson's idea builds upon the earlier work of his teacher, F. M. Cross.36 On the other hand, in regard to the origin of apocalyptic, scholarly opinion is divided over whether apocalyptic derives from influence from outside

or is an indigenous development. Many scholars today cite

foreign influence on the rise of apocalyptic, but without claming that that influence was In an attempt to bring about precision and clarity regarding the term apocalyptic, scholars often distinguish among prophetic eschatology, apocalyptic eschatology, apocalypses, and apocalypticism. See Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 9-31, 126-34, 299-315; "Apocalypticism," 24-31; Old Testament Apocalyptic,35-3S; M. A. Knibb, "Prophecy and the Emergence of the Jewish Apocalypses," in Israel's Prophetic Tradition: Essay in Honor of Peter Ackroyd (ed. R. Coggins, A. Phillips and M. A. Knibb; Cambridge University Press, 1982), 156-65; M. G. Reddish, Apocalyptic Literature (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1990), 19-38; D. S. Russell, Divine Disclosure (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 8-13; and Collins, "The Morphology of a Genre," 120; and L. L. Grabbe and R. D. Haak, eds., Knowing the Endfrom the Beginning: The Prophetic, the Apocalyptic and their Relationships (London; New York: T & T Clark International, 2003). 35

See Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979), 17-27, 127-130, 206 and Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34-35. 36

F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973), 106 n. 52. "Were there no processional psalms, the proto-apocalyptic theme of the Second Exodus-Conquest, the way through the desert to Zion, would require the reconstruction of a processional march of the Divine Warrior in the royal cult." He discusses Isaiah 40:3-6; 35; 51:9-11 (see pp. 105-111). Regarding proto-apocalyptic see also Cross, Canaanite Myth, 135, 137, 169, 171, 174, 324, 343-346. 37

H. Gunkel (Schopfung und Chaos in Urzeit and Endzeit [Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1895], 379-98) helped popularize the tracing of apocalyptic themes to mythological traditions from Babylonia. Some have recently reinstated Babylon for "scientific" speculation and the figure Enoch: J. J. Collins, "Genre, Ideology and Social Movements in Jewish Apocalypticism," in Mysteries and Revelations (ed. J. Collins and J. Charlesworth; JSPSup 9; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991), 25-32; J. C. VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth of an Apocalyptic Tradition (CBQMS 16; Washington D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1984). For an analysis of claims of Iranian influence, see Rudolf Otto, The Kingdom of God and the Son of Man (London: Lutterworh Press, 1938; revised in 1943; reprinted in 1951); J. Barr, "The Question of Religious Influence: The Case of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity," JAAR 53 (1985): 201-235; N. Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993). It is widely argued that Iranian religious thought, with such apocalyptic motifs as dualism, angels and demons, life after death and the resurrection of the dead, influenced apocalyptic thinking. On the other hand, for the problem of dating of the Iranian texts, R. Wilson ("The Biblical Roots of Apocalyptic," in Imaging the End [eds. Abbas Amanat and Magnus Bernhardsson; London, New York: I. B. Tauris Publishers, 2002], 56-66), argues that most of the Persian sources that deal with eschatological and cosmological thought are in fact quite late and were written long after the biblical period.

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the sole inspiration for the appearance of apocalypticism in the Hebrew Bible. Secondarily, the question of the roots of apocalyptic has become more complex. In assessing the state of scholarship on the issue, those who see apocalypticism as an essentially home-grown phenomenon locate its origin primarily either from prophecy or wisdom. Differing from the research on the origin of apocalypticism that concentrated more on literary matters and hoping to break the impasse, some scholars focused on the

The International Colloquium on Apocalypticism, meeting in Uppsala in 1979, included papers on Akkadian, Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, Persian, and Roman apocalypticism. See Hellholm, Apocalypticism. 39

R. H. Charles, A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life (London: Black, 1913), 108; H. H. Rowley, The Relevance of Apocalyptic (2d ed,; London: Lutterworth, 1955), 13-14; D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (Philadelphia: SCM Press and Westminster Press, 1964), 73-103 (92, 94); E. W. Nicholson, "Apocalyptic," in Tradition and Interpretation (ed. G. W. Anderson; Oxford: Clarendon, 1979), 189-213; R. R. Wilson, "From prophecy to Apocalyptic: Reflections on the Shape of Israelite Religion," Semeia 21(1981): 79-98; Knibb, "Prophecy," 169-76; E. Clements, "The Interpretation of Prophecy and the Origin of Apocalyptic," BaptistQuarterly 33 (1989): 28ff.; J. Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, revised 1996 [1983], 212-39; and P. L. Redditt, "The Vitality of the Apocalyptic Vision," in Passion, Vitality, and Foment (ed. Lamontte M. Luker; Trinity Press International, 2001), 77-118. 40

G. von Rad, (Old Testament Theology 2 [trans. D. M. G. Stalker; New York: Harper & Row, 1962-65; reissued SCM Press, 1973], 301-308), argued that the apocalyptic understanding of history was deterministic and, thus, incompatible with the view of history in the prophets, and that the nerve-center of apocalyptic literature was "knowledge." See also J. C. H. Lebram, "The Piety of Jewish Apocalyptists," in Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East (ed. David Hellholm; Tubingen: Mohr, 1983), 190-91. On the other hand, other scholars have relied more on the nature of wisdom in other cultures as a possible clue to the role wisdom in Israel had in the birth of Jewish apocalyptic. J. Z. Smith roots the connection between wisdom and apocalyptic in their shared scribal milieu ("Wisdom and Apocalyptic," in Religious Syncretism in Antiquity [ed. B. A. Pearson; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1975), 131-56. Hans P. Miiller locates the transition between wisdom and apocalyptic in the diviners ("mantic" wisdom) who read the future encoded in a variety of sources, e.g. dreams, livers, and patterns of oil on water ("Mantische Weisheit und Apokalyptik," in Congress Volume, Uppsala, 1971 [ed. P. A. H. de Boer; VTSup 22; Leiden: Brill, 1972], 281-89).

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social setting. Otto Ploger and P. Hanson have maintained that apocalyptic literature reflects the frustrations and dissatisfaction of prophetic elements in exilic and earlyPersian period Judean society that were opposed and suppressed by the emerging power of the Zadokite priesthood.41 Conflict tradition is at the heart of their understanding of the tension between two groups. As already noted, Cook challenges the connection of the development of apocalypticism with opposition to the interests of those who held power in society.42 Hence Cook's critique is sociological in nature, taking issue with sociological models which link the experience of deprivation to the development of a millennial worldview. Cook begins his analysis with a study of groups in which millennial worldviews appear within a variety of social locations.

He argues for a more

expansive palette in terms of social status than is comprehended in Hanson's view. However, Cook's critique of deprivation theory may be questioned not only in terms of perceived and/or real economic or political status but also in terms of the recognition of the potential for cultural conflict—due to fundamental changes in land, language, economy, and cultural world—within the exilic situation.

O. Ploger, Theocracy and Eschatology (trans. S. Rudman; Richmond: John Knox Press, 1968), 53-78. Both scholars base their arguments in distinctions made between the righteous and the wicked in Isaiah 24-27 and 56-66. Hanson, however, adds the reinterpretation of myth to posit a visionary group that opposed the Zadokite priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple. 42

For a critique of Hanson, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 55-84; R. P. Carroll, "Twilight of Prophecy or Dawn of Apocalyptic?," JSOT14 (1979): 3-16; Knibb, "Prophecy," 169-76; Marvin A. Sweeney, "The Priesthood and the Proto-Apocalyptic Reading of Prophetic and Pentateuchal Texts," in Knowing the Endfrom the Beginning, 167-176; and Donald C. Polaski, Authorizing an End (BIS 50; Leiden: Brill, 2001), 12-24. 43

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 19-84 and Apocalyptic Literature, 79-87. See the helpful summary of the social-scientific evidence in L. Grabbe, "The Social Setting of Early Jewish Apocalypticism," JSP 4 (1989): 27-47.

13

B. Research Design My goal is not to adjudicate between Hanson and Cook, determining who is right and who is wrong, but to build on their work and to offer a fresh case for the "emergence" of proto-apocalyptic during the exilic, Neo-Babylonian period, in terms of texts that are central to each of their reconstructions and which are identified by them as proto-apocalyptic: portions of Isaiah 40-55 for Hanson and Ezekiel 38-39 for Cook. The basic structure of my research design is to address the issues raised by Hanson and Cook in connection with a new formulation of the character and role of "proto-apocalyptic" in the exilic period. Whereas Hanson sets Ezekiel 38-39 aside as a later post-exilic writing (and from a central-priestly group) and Cook ignores Isaiah 40-55 in his discussion, I believe it is inappropriate to set either text corpus aside from the examination of the emergence of proto-apocalyptic. Also, recent perspectives support Cook's view that Ezekiel 38-39, or portions thereof, can be plausibly dated to the exilic period. 44

Once a plausible case is

For assigning Ezekiel himself only a bit-part (exilic) but identifying additions from Ezekiel's "school or disciples (the later development), see G. Fohrer, Ezechiel, (Handbuch zum Alten Testament 13; Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1955), 212: W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2 (trans. J. D. Martin; Hermemeia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), 296-99; J. W. Wevers, Ezekiel (NCB: London: Nelson. 1969), 286; F. L. Hossfeld, Untersuchungen zu Komposition und Theotogie des Ezechielbuches (FB 20' Wurzburg: Echter Verlag, n 1977). 431; B. Lang, Kein Aufstand in Jerusalem: Die Politik des Propheten Ezechiel (2 ed; SBB; Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1978). 126-27; and Cook. Prophecy, 110-11; R. M. Hals, Ezekiel (FOTL 19; Grand Rapids, Mick.: Eerdmans, 1989V 111 n. 18. Cf. B. Erling, "Ezekiel 38-39 and the Origins of Jewish Apocalyptic," in Ex Orbe Religionum (eds. C. J. Bleeker, S. G. F. Brandon, M. Simon; Studia G. Widens ren; Studies in the History of Religions 21; Leiden: Brill, 1972), 104-114: and Ble nkinsopp, History oj Prophecy, 178; Ezekiel (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), 1-13, 180. On the other hand, some scholars find essentially a unified oracle authored by Ezekiel himself prior to Cyrus's edict in 539. See M. Greenberg, Ezekiel 1-20 (AB 22; New York: Doubleday & Co., 1983), 20; R. W. Klein, Ezekiel (Colombia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988) 157-58; M. S. Odell, "Are You He to Whom I Spoke by My Servants the Prophets?' Ezekiel 38-39 and the Problem of History in the Neobabylonian Context" jfPh.DDiss University of Pittsburgh, 1988)-D. I. Block The Book of Ezekiel (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 426-27; T. Renz. The Rhetorical Function of the Book ofEzekier(\TSup 76: Leiden: Brill, 1999), 2; and P. E. Fitzpatrick, The Disarmament of God: Ezekiel 38-39 in Its Mythic Context (Catholic Biblical Monograph Series 37; Washington D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2004), xvi; T94.

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presented for an exilic date for both corpuses under review, the question of "protoapocalyptic" takes on a new dimension. Though other texts, such as some passages from the Book of Jeremiah and some of the Psalms also contribute to our study, selections from Isaiah 40-55 and Ezekiel 38-39 may be taken as primary texts for an analysis of attempts to make sense of events during the exilic period. Also pertinent is the possibility of generational differences between Ezekiel (first-generation) and Second Isaiah (clearly second generation) within the exilic experience.45 I will also focus on showing that the texts under review bear important resemblance to later apocalyptic texts but are not yet fully-formed apocalyptic, as Hanson and Cook agree. I will seek to show that selected texts from Isaiah 40-55 and Ezekiel 3839 illustrate ideology and literary forms that provide a transition to the later, full-blown apocalyptic such as found in the Book of Daniel and I Enoch. Therefore, I will first differentiate proto-apocalyptic from both the earlier prophetic eschatology and the later "full-blown" apocalyptic.46 One of the central features of proto-apocalyptic is the use of

Klein, Ezekiel, 5-6; 157-166. The Book of Ezekiel begins as much earlier (prior to the capture/ fall of Jerusalem) and carries on through the destruction. There is a clear generation gap, as Second Isaiah has an audience basically born in the exile (vs. Ezekiel's initial audience, basically going into Exile as adults with first-hand knowledge of Judah). So Ezekiel's ministry was exercised in the early part of the exilic period; that of Second Isaiah in the final part (550-540 B.C.). See also W. H. Schmidt, Old Testament Introduction (Trans. M. J. O'Connell; New York: Crossroad, 1984), 257 and John J. Ahn, "Exile, Literature, and Theology: The Literary and Socio-Theological Impact of the Forced Migrations of the Southern Kingdom of Judah" (Disertation, Yale University, 2006), 154-206. 46

Hanson {Dawn of Apocalyptic, 11-31, 126-32, 299-315, 368 and Old Testament Apocalyptic, 35-38) sees a shift from prophecy to proto-apocalyptic (Deutero-Isaiah), early apocalyptic (Zechariah 9-11; Isaiah 56-66), middle apocalyptic (Isaiah 24-27 and Zech. 12:1-13), to full-blown apocalyptic (Daniel 7-12). On the other hand, Cook {Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34-35) distinguishes the proto-apocalyptic texts of the exilic and Persian period, requiring a special designation recognizing their distance, both from non-apocalyptic visionary literature (e.g., Amos's vision-cycle) and full-blown apocalyptic literature (the visions of Daniel).

15

myth.47 For example, several texts in Isaiah 40-55 as well as passages in Ezekiel 38-39 invoke the direct intervention of God in cosmic warfare, even described in highly dramatic terms, resulting in a judgment on all the opponents. I will argue that these passages indicate that this present world was still viewed optimistically as the context within which the fulfillment of the divine promise could occur. Furthermore, in respect to different appeals to the social context, the historical information concerning the Judeans during the exilic period is in fact so scanty that it provides little immediate data for the reconstruction of the exilic context in terms of the specific historical situation or specific sociological factors.4 However, with the help of an examination of the patterns of imperial relationship with exiled communities that pertain to other locations and periods in the Ancient Near East, one can propose the plausible structure of the exiled Jewish communities under the umbrella of the NeoBabylonian Empire.4 Apart from the obvious major contrasts between life in Judah and life in Babylonian exile, it is particularly through a critical examination of the

Firstly, note the heavy use of the divine warrior motif blending myth and eschatology; secondly, the transforming of the cosmic vision into terms of plain history; and finally, the reflection of the mundane setting of the exilic situation as a historical setting. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic (1975), 1-31. 48

O. Lipschits and J. Blenkinsopp, eds., Judah and the Judeans in the NeoBabylonian Period (eds. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2003). 49

D. S. Vanderhooft deals with the nature of Neo-Babylonian imperialism in the Levant and examines the characteristics of the Neo-Babylonian economy as presented in the royal inscriptions. See Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets (HSM 59; Atlanta: Scholars, 1999), 45-49, 56-57, 82-83, 97-98, 104-42. In a recent study, E. Stern considers the Neo-Babylonian empire as a highly centralized regime that concentrated entirely on the welfare of Babylonia and neglected completely the periphery. The Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Vol.2: The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian Periods (732-332 B.C.E.) (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 303-09.

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Mesopotamian sources, such as Assyrian and Babylonian building inscriptions

and

economic texts,51 as well as the reliefs showing Judean "captives" performing forced labor in Assyria in the time of Sennacherib (early 7* century),5 that it is possible to formulate a plausible picture of Judean life in exile during the Neo-Babylonian period. As a new perspective regarding categorization of the social milieu, the concluding element of my research design is a more inclusive perspective on the aspects of ideological oppression, psychological oppression and "deprivation" for those in exile, in order to comprehend the generative power of exile in the development of protoapocalyptic worldviews. The exiles do not have the legal status of slaves, yet the category of slavery is useful for describing the deprivations that they face, apart from physical threats to their well being, in the role of forced labor.53 The Jewish exiles, stripped of

V. Hurowitz, / Have Built You an Exalted House: Temple Building in the Bible in the Light of Mesopotamian and Northwest Semitic Writings (JSOT Sup 115; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992). 51

Nebuchadnezzar's Istanbul prism-fragment supplies information about the economic background of his reign. The last seven lines begin with "king of the land of X" and present a list of toponyms which include Tyre, Gaza, Sidon, Arwad, and Ashdod. It is assumed that these western kings participated in the construction of the palace since they provided or contributed either raw materials or craftsmen. The text is published in E. A. Unger, Babylon: Die heilige stadt nach der Beschreibung der Babylonier (2n ed.; ed. R. Borger; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1970), 282-94. For economic texts dated to the early years of Nabonidus's reign (551-550 B.C.E.), see A. L. Oppenheim, "Essay on Overland Trade in the First Millenium B.C.,'VGS21 (1967): 236-54. 52

For descriptions of Judaean captives, presumably from Lachish in 701 B.C.E., working on the installation of a great stone bull colossus, see D. Ussishkin, The Conquest of Lachish by Sennacherib (Tel Aviv University Publications of the Institute of Archaeology, 6; Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology, 1982), 127-130. 53

See I. Mendelsohn, Slavery In the Ancient Near East (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1949; reprnt. 1978); Muhammad A. Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia from Nabopolassar to Alexander the Great (626-331 B.C.) (trans. V. A. Powell; DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1984); Gregory C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East (JSOT Sup 141; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993); and Daniel C. Snell, Flight and Freedom in the Ancient Near East (Leiden, Brill, 2001).

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their previous social identity, are put at the margins of the local society and are given a new social identity within it, a process described as 'social death' by O. Patterson.54 Clearly, relations of domination are ubiquitous in human society, taking an enormous number of different forms and provoking a vast range of possible responses. The world within which a group conducts its affairs, substantially affected by its material and social conditions, helps shape the group's ideology. Moreover, structures of domination will elicit reactions and patterns of resistance, for, as James Scott argues,

ordinarily slaves

and serfs dare not contest the terms of their subordination openly. However, through the voice that proto-apocalyptic communities created behind the scenes, their sense of themselves as an oppressed community yearning for divine transformation may come to the fore.

54

O. Patterson, Slavery and Social Death: A Comparative Study (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982), 38-45. 55

Even in the most dominated of slave populations, there are numerous ways in which the subordinates will manage to communicate with one another and make some form of communal resistance to their oppressors. See J. C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990).

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C. Methodological Considerations

I will argue in this dissertation that the assessments of the Babylonian exile, as presented by Hanson and Cook, lack an important element of analysis. Specifically, the analysis lacks an informed perspective on the socio-psychological impact of the transportation of thousands of Judaeans to Babylonia and the total destruction of Jerusalem and temple in 587 B.C.E. This dissertation seeks to emphasize the profound importance of the events associated with the exile. It is important to acknowledge this issue in dealing with the emergence of proto-apocalyptic in the period of exile in Babylonia. In the first major section, I note that many scholars have emphasized the importance of the situation of the Babylonian exiles (primarily from 597 and 586 B.C.E.), especially after 586, and they have recognized the upheaval caused by the Babylonians as bringing a major crisis: the end of the Davidic kingdom, the destruction of the temple, the loss of the sacrificial cultus, the razing of Jerusalem, the deportation of thousands of elite people, their confrontation of a totally different culture, not to forget the death of thousands of others.56 Scholars have also focused on the extent of Judah's demise,57 producing in the past several decades a strong divergence of opinion about what the

Note J. M. Miller and J. H. Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel andJudah (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986), 377-436; G. Ahlstrom, The History of Ancient Palestine from the Paleolithic Period to Alexander's Conquest, JSOTSup 146 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993), 733-803; I. Finkelstein, "Environmental Archaeology and Social History: Demographic and Economic Aspects of the Monarchic Period," in Biblical Archaeology Today 1990 (ed. A. Biran and J. Aviram; Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1993), 58-64; and Daniel Smith-Christopher, "Reassessing the Historical and Sociological Impact of the Babylonian Exile (597/587-539 BCE)," in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (ed. J. M. Scott; Brill: Leiden, 1997), 7-36. 57

B. Oded, "Judah and the Exile," in Israelite andJudean History (ed, J. H. Hayes, J. M. Miller; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1977), 472-49; Ahlstrom, History, 788-89; and Miller and Hayes, History, 311.

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Babylonian destructions and deportations involved.

Recent discussions of the material

remains are of some help in evaluating the tenability of these various theories,59 and many scholars have addressed the destructive effect of the Babylonian invasions of Judah

There were basically three positions. Torrey saw the exile as "a small and relatively insignificant affair" involving a relatively small number of nobles. Jerusalem recovered quickly and was soon rebuilt. C.C. Torrey, Ezra Studies (Chicago: University of Chicago press, 1910; reprinted, New York: Ktav, 1970), 285; idem, The Chronicler s History of Israel (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954). Responding to Torrey, Albright, as representative of a second position, stressed the havoc and devastation caused by the Babylonians. W. F. Albright, The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra (New York: Harper, 1963), 81-86; idem, The Archaeology of Palestine (reprinted, Gloucester; Mass.: Smith, 1971), 140-42. Like Albright, Ackroyd stressed the gravity of the disaster. But he also pointed to issues involving the use of terminology, such as "exile" and "restoration," citing evidence that not all Judahites were exiled and arguing that some sacrifices continued, at least for a while, at the temple (e.g., Jer. 41:4-5). He took an interest in those who must have remained in the land following the assassination of Gedalish (2 Kgs 25:22-26). See P. R. Ackroyd, Israel under Babylonian and Persia (New Clarendon Bible; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), 1-25. In recent years more radical views of the exile have appeared, refashioning Albright's theory. Whereas Albright traced continuity between the exilic community and its former existence in Judah, Thompson advers that dislocation and displacement caused by the Babylonian campaigns were so pervasive that the national ethnicity of Judah ceased to exist either in the land or among the exiles. For Thompson, the notion of a postexilic restoration is a pious fiction designed to buttress immigrant claims to a new territory. T. L. Thompson, History of the Israelite People: From the Written and Archaeological Sources (SHANE 4; Leiden: Brill, 1992), 334, 415. On the other hand, the concern of Torrey and Ackroyd to reconstruct the history of the remaining community in the land has been given a radical twist by R. P. Carroll, who insists that for some area of Judah "there was no serious change in social conditions." In Carroll's view, the books of Leviticus, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Chronicles, Ezra, andNehemiah together constitute a deportation literature, a production of the postexilic community designed to defend its exclusivistic policies. Carroll and Thompson view the relevant biblical literature as a postexilic ideological construct justifying the usurpation of territory from the indigenous population. But whereas Thompson posits complete discontinuity, Carroll, like Torrey, assumes a fundamental continuity between the preexilic, exilic, and postexilic communities in Judah. See his "The Myth of the Empty Land," Semeia 59 (1992): 79 and Jeremiah (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster/John Knox, 1986), 55-81. 59

For continuity and discontinuity of occupation in Judah, the overviews by E. Stern are useful: "Israel at the Close of the Monarchy: An Archaeological Survey," BA 38 (1975): 26-54; A. Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 B.C.E. (ABRL: New York: Doubleday, 1990), 548-49; G. Barkay, KetefHinnom: A Treasure Facing Jerusalem's Walls (Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1986).

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and Jerusalem, the fall of Jerusalem, and the issue of continuity of occupation in a number of areas outside Jerusalem.60 Many of these studies focus on Judah and people who remained in Judah after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., showing a marked preference for analysis of the history, people, life, and materials describing the community that remained in Judah, rather than those in Babylonia, during the NeoBabylonian exilic period. My own focus, however, is on the situation of the exiles in Babylonia, for which there have been important new discoveries. In the second major section, I take up the analysis of the conditions of those in exile. Some believe that there is no evidence of suppression or religious persecution, and that the community members had a certain internal autonomy, enjoying the freedom to manage their community life.61 But notable in their sanguine picture of exilic life is a reference to the Murashu texts from the Persian period. It is frequently pointed out that many Jewish names appear in the Murashu archive from Nippur. These business documents show persons with Jewish names involved in significant commerce, leading some scholars to the conclusion that life in exile was far from horrible. Here I have to clarify an important matter. The Murashu archive dates from the later Persian period, 455-403B.C.E., nearly a century later than the exilic period being examined here.62 One

60

In short, many scholars did not pay much attention to the Jewish exiles in Babylonia. For discussion of the political and military history, imperial policies pursued by Babylonian rulers affecting the western provinces, continuity and discontinuity in the material culture of Judah between the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of Babylon, etc., see Lipschits and Blenkinsopp, eds., Judah and the Judeans. 61 62

See Oded, "Judah and the Exile," 483.

G. Cardascia, Les archives des Murasu (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1951); M. D. Coogan, West Semitic Personal Names in the Murasu Documents (Missoula, MT: Scholar Press, 1976); and D. L. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002), 69.

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cannot assume that the texts reflect the much earlier Neo-Babylonian period, so we must be extremely cautious in using these texts to draw conclusions about the social situation of the exiles in the sixth century. In this regard, it becomes necessary to consider the developmental process of the exiled communities. Therefore, I feel a great need to divide the whole exilic experience into periods and to examine each sub-period so as to prevent exaggerated statements and to be able to depict something of the near-real situation for the exiles in the Babylonian period. As one discusses the situation of the whole exilic period of almost 70 years in Babylonia, one cannot say that the whole exilic situation is merely very difficult, because there are dynamic changes in the exilic life as time passes. For example, Daniel SmithChristopher has emphasized the understanding of the sociology of the exiles and the importance of identity.

He compares the experience of the Babylonian exiles with that

of a number of exiled groups in more recent history. These groups, although they have suffered and been dispossessed, conquered, or marginalized, sought to resist outside pressure and to retain their identity. In a comparative sociological examination of the modern and the biblical communities, Smith-Christopher finds a number of strategies or patterns of activity which act as mechanisms for survival. Charles E. Carter nicely summarizes four major types of adaptation: Structural adaptation, in which the ruling structure of the social group changes in response to a new reality; a split in leadership, in which traditional leaders and new vie for influence as the larger group attempts to adapt and survive; the development of new rituals that redefine the boundaries between the community and its rulers; and the development of folk heroes and a literature of resistance. These strategies of survival functioned to keep the D. L. Smith, The Religion of the Landless: The Social Context of the Babylonian Exile (Bloomington, Ind.: Meyer-Stone, 1989); idem, "The Politics of Ezra: Sociological Indicators of Postexilic Judean Society," in Second Temple Studies, Vol. 1 Persian Period (ed. P. R. Davies; JSOTSup 117; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991), 73-97.

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social and religious structure of the gola communities intact. Their strong identity and belief that they represented the true Israel in turn led to a protracted struggle for power between their leaders and those of the indigenous community of Judeans who had remained in the land.64 With reference to these categories one expects changes and developments in the exilic community as time passes. Therefore, I want to address the differing experiences during the exilic period, though even Smith-Christopher does not trace and describe the progressive changes of the exiles in their social and political life during the whole exilic period with any special attention to the chronology. This goal naturally leads me to explore the development of the sociological and political situations of the exiles because the biblical books also are not arranged in a chronological sequence. It is, no doubt, a difficult task to compare the early situation of the exiles and the later situation so as to depict and understand their situation more concretely. Therefore, I do not merely say that the exiles are experiencing very bad situations because the overall situation changes as time passes, and individual groups may well have had different experiences. Thus, I seek to divide the whole exilic period into three sub-periods: the early exilic period, the adjustment period, and the later exilic period. Particularly, I emphasize the sub-periods of the mandatory exilic period (almost 70 years), because one must ask whether any development in the imperial context is discernible, e.g., in the royal inscriptions composed under the different kings of the NeoBabylonian dynasty and in the age-related situation of the exiles themselves. I will point out that although a relatively stable program is presented and sustained during the long

C. E. Carter, "Opening Windows onto Biblical Worlds: Applying the Social Sciences to Hebrew Scripture," in The Face of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Contemporary Approaches (ed. D. W. Baker and Bill T. Arnold; Michigan: BakerBooks, 1999), 439-40.

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reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, various other kings of the dynasty express different aspirations, as presented in Chapter III, suggesting that ideas pertaining to imperial rule are not uniform during the whole course of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. In the third major section I deal with the striking fact, insufficiently noted, that the Hebrew Bible does not contain a continuous account of the exilic period: how the exile came about (2 Kings 24-25; Jeremiah 39; 2 Chronicles 36), how Jerusalem was plundered in the hour of conquest65 (Jer 51:34-35), and how the exile ended (Ezra 1). These recorded fragments are pieced together with a few isolated events, such as the assassination of Gedaliah and its consequences (Jer 40:1-43:7; 2 Kgs 25:22-26) at the very beginning of the exilic period and the pardon of the captive King Jehoiachin by Evil-Merodach in the thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin's exile in 2 Kgs 25:27-30 and Jeremiah 52 (561/560 BCE).66 The book of Daniel adds some dramatic episodes that Daniel and his friends are said to have encountered as Jewish hostages at the court of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar (Daniel 1-6), but these are generally regarded as later productions without historical information about the exile. How do we fill this huge gap in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible? We can only do this rather partially. The clearest shift is the transformation of a community of people who experienced life in Jerusalem as well as in exile and a later community where life had mostly eventually been in exile.

Jer 5:19 and 28:14 are general expressions symbolic of political-national subjugation. Lamentations reflect the sufferings of Jerusalem in the hour of destruction. Isa 42: 22-25 describes explicitly the terrors of the destruction. Isa 47:6 and 51:23 are also descriptive of the hour of the catastrophe. 66

J. H. Hayes and J. M. Miller, Israelite and Judaean History (ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1977), 481.

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In spite of such a critique,67 the gaping hole that the exilic period represents in the historical tradition of the Hebrew Bible has been filled to some degree by later edifying stories such as those found in the books of Daniel (1-6), Susanna (Daniel 13), Bel and the Dragon (Daniel 14), 1 Esd 3:1-5:6 (the Story of the Three Youths), Tobit, and Judith.

These stories, set before and during the Judaean exilic period, provide another

picture of life in exile, but they are not historically reliable. They do, however, recognize that Israel underwent the experience of exile, and they help to interpret the place of the exile in the history of Israel and provide us with unique protests against the fated life of Israel in exile. The purpose of the narratives is clear immediately: they are not intended to be an authentic account of single individuals and their fate. Rather, the figures of the narratives embody and exemplify the fate of Israel. They provide a heavily stylized outline of Jewish experiences during centuries of Diaspora. However, at their great historical distance from the exile, such as the Book of Tobit, which dates69 between the third and second century B.C.E.,70 they do not paint an authentic picture of life in Assyria or Babylonia prior to the Persian takeover. Compared to the sources for the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the sources for

These narratives are secondary; except for 1 Esdras, and no attempt is made to integrate them into Israel's historical tradition. See R. Albertz, Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E.(trans. David Green; Atlanta: SBL, 2003), 15-38. 69

In the story of Judith, the stage is broadened enormously and the setting fundamentally exaggerated: the famous Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar is declared as the "king of Assyrians" (Jdt 1:1); he has a general with a name that is clearly Persian (Holofernes); and so forth. So Albertz contends that the apocalyphal book of Judith dates roughly from the middle of the second century B.C.E. See, Albertz, Israel in Exile, 34-35. Albertz, Israel in Exile, 32 n. 58.

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reconstructing the political and social history of the Neo-Babylonian Empire are significantly

less adequate. What one knows of their political and military

accomplishments comes almost entirely from the Babylonian chronicles, which unfortunately are fragmentary.71 The gaps are filled only in part by scattered information from Babylonian literary texts,72 sporadic material from Berosus, Josephus and the scattered recovery of significant sources for Judeans in Babylonia.73 Although I attempt to reconstruct the history of the exilic period in Babylonia from these patchy sources, they provide scanty information about actual life. Fortunately, the numerous NeoBabylonian economic texts, 74 among other documents,

and the later Murashu

archieves provide further information for the reconstruction of Jewish life in Babylonia.7

See Albert K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (TCS 5; Locust Valley: Augustin, 1975), 69-114. 72

A. K. Grayson, Babylonian Historical-Literary Texts (Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1975), 24-37; 79-97. 73

S. M. Burstein, The Babyloniaca of Berossos (SANE 1/5; Malibu: Undena, 1978), 26-28; F. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities Books IX-XI (translated by R. Marcus; Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966), 101.186-281; F. Joannes, and A. Lemaire. "Trois tabelettes cuneiforms a onomastique ouest-semitique (Collection Sh. Moussaieff)," Transeuphratene 17 (1999): 17-34; L. E. Pearce, "New Evidence for Judeans in Babylonia," in Judah and Judeans in the Persian Period (ed. O. Lipschits and M. Oeming; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2006), 399-408. R. Zadok, The Jews in Babylonia during the Chaldean and Achaemenian Periods according to the Babylonian Sources (Haifa: University of Haifa, 1979), 38-40.; "Some Jews in Babylonian Documents," JQR 74 (1984): 294ff. Zadok had been able to list a mere handful of individuals whose names indicate that they may be identified as Judeans. 75

There is an interesting legal document from the early Persian period (531 B.C.E.) in which the daughter of a Judean family in Sippar is threatened with enslavement if she continues to meet her friend without her father's approval. See Dandamaev, Slavery in Babylonia, 105. 76

Many persons named in these documents can be identified as Jews. See Zadok, The Jews in Babylonia, 49-81.

26

Finally, this study seeks to reconstruct the situation of the exiles under Babylonian imperialism. As the earlier discussion indicates, the present study does not attempt an exhaustive examination of the political or social history of the NeoBabylonian dynasty. However, political and social history is important to the discussion, so it is pursued comprehensively rather than selectively so as to clarify issues concerning the Babylonian imperial worldview and administration in relation to exiled groups. Furthermore, the exegesis of biblical passages is not exhaustive. The focus is rather on what representative biblical texts say about the time in Babylonia and how they say it, and the value of this information for understanding the experience of the exiles. The primary focus is on the context of the eschatological and proto-apocalyptic thought of the exiles in pre-Persian Babylonia as found in Ezekiel 38-39 and selected oracles of Deutero-Isaiah.

27

CHAPTER II THE DATING OF THE PROPOSED PROTO-APOCALYPTIC PASSAGES

A. Dating Ezekiel 38-39 For my purposes in this section what is important above all is the date, rather than the authorship of these chapters. The prophet Ezekiel died well before 539 B.C.E., so a text can be exilic without being by Ezekiel or others of his age set. For example, it can derive from the Ezekiel circle and still be exilic. I note that many of the scholars I survey are dealing with a different question, viz., the redactional history/process of the Book of Ezekiel.1 That is not without any interest for me, but it is not the crucial matter. Crucial is making a plausible argument for the exilic date of Ezekiel 38-39: Can Ezekiel 38-39, as a whole or in part, be plausibly assigned to the exilic period? If so, what are the arguments? Scholarly Discussions on Dating Ezekiel 38-39 Date Scholars A. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian Period 1) Ezekiel himself G. Forher, M. Astour, R. W. Klein, M. Greenberg, D. Block

1

See Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 302; D. I. Block, "Gog and the Pouring Out of the Spirit," FT 37 (1987): 257; and Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 1-49. A. Mein, Ezekiel and the Ethics of Exile (Oxfrd: Oxford University Press, 2001). Note also Mein's examination of Ezekiel provides an interesting insight into the life of the Judean community in Babylonia from shorthly after the first deportation in 597 B.C.E. Ezekiel explains the disaster in terms familiar to his audience's past experience as members of Judah's political elite. For Mein, the book is largely the work of Ezekiel himself and his exilic editors. Unfortunately, he never mentions the oracles against the nations (Ezekiel 25-32; 35; 38-39).

28

C. G. Howie, W. Zimmerli, H. McKeating, P. Fitzpatrick B. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian period and the early Persian period but prior to the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem J. W. Wever, F. L. Hossfeld, The core from Ezekiel in the exilic period, expanded by the Zadokite school of Ezekiel T. J. Mills, L. C. Allen, J. Blenkinsopp, S. Cook, W. Eichrodt C. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the early Persian period, including after the rededication of the temple R. Albertz After 515 (the rededication of the temple) Between 500 -450 B.C.E. P. D. Hanson2 R. Clements Added at a time when Ezekiel's grand assurances still seemed unfulfilled. R. Ahroni Added to Ezekiel in the period after Zechariah. D. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the late fifth to the Maccabean Period H. Gressmann The late fifth, early fourth century B.C.E. Third-century (about 230 B.C.E.) C. C. Torrey Addition from the time of Alexander W. H. Brownlee 2) Ezekiel himself and his disciple(s) or school

1. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian Period

This group is divided into: 1) scholars who accept Ezekiel 38-39 as from Ezekiel (by himself), and 2) scholars who accept Ezekiel 38-39 as exilic, whether from Ezekiel or not (Ezekiel and his school). Many scholars accept the Gog pericope as from Ezekiel himself.3 Ezekiel is presumably among the 3,000 plus or more (Jer 52:28) who, together with family members, had been exiled in 597 B.C.E. with King Jehoiachin. More dates are provided for Ezekiel's prophecies than for those of any other prophet. The assigned dates range from 13 July 594/3 (Ezek 1:2) to 1 Marchl 571 (Ezek 29:17).4 The large number of dated oracles stemming from the years of the final siege of Jerusalem and its destruction suggest the intensity of Ezekiel's activity at that time. However, he

2

Hanson, The People Called, 252-53.

This text is still frequently attributed to the prophet Ezekiel, and thought to derive from the period of Judah's exile. See Block, "Gog and the Pouring," 257 n. 1.

29

presumably continues to deliver messages. The last recorded date indicates a tradition of about twenty-two years of prophetic activity. Fohrer's focus was the identification of secondary (non-Ezekiel) material and the process of the book's compilation. In his view, the book was produced by an editor who collected Ezekiel's oracles after his death. The prophet himself wrote down his sayings which had been spoken, but he left them without arrangement by date or subject matter. Later an editor (s) built up the basic form of the book.5 Fohrer does not see any value in the more radical theories that alter the place or period of Ezekiel's ministry, though he does acknowledge some later additions. He concludes firmly that there is no evidence for dating the book at any other period than the one to which it purports to belong. He accepts that Ezekiel was deported in 597, called to prophesy in 593 or 592 and accepts the originality of the dating series according to the regnal years of Jehoiachin. He does see evidence that some of the material was delivered orally, but he thinks that Ezekiel wrote down his own sayings and later added expansions of his own.6 Fohrer therefore attributes a good deal less to editorial revision than some other critics. He distinguishes a number of primary collections which have been put together at an editorial stage: These primary collections, which include Ezekiel 38-39, contain within them a number of additions which Fohrer brackets. The primary collections include Ezekiel 36-39, for which Fohrer notes no bracked additions.7

4

For a table of dates for the biographical record in Ezekiel see Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 4.

5

G. Fohrer, Die Hauptprobleme des Buches Ezechiel (BZAW 72; Berlin: Alfred Topelman, 1952), 196. Fohrer, Die Hauptprobleme, 27. 7

Fohrer, Die Hauptprobleme, 6off.

30

M. Astour states that there is little reason to deny that Ezekiel penned the Gog passage: "The style and imagery of its basic parts are not different from those of the chapters which are generally accepted as genuine writing of Ezekiel."8 Astour posits the origins of the Gog prophecy in the Babylonian didactic poem known as the "Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin" which the prophet might have known in Babylonia during the exile, a poem in which the legendary and terrifying northern hordes known as the Umman-manda were repulsed by divine intervention. But even if Ezekiel knew and was influenced by such mythic literature, the Gog pericope was very likely an original composition created by Ezekiel out of mythic elements. Astour supposes that Ezekiel knew and used foreign myths and folklore themes "in most o f his prophecies.9 Ezekiel "modernized the setting of his Babylonian model by introducing into his prophecy names of his own times or recent past."10 R. W. Klein argues that the Gog of Magog material is essentially a unified oracle authored by Ezekiel himself prior to Cyrus's liberating edict of 539 B.C.E. According to Klein, in the description of Israel after its restoration to the land in Ezekiel 38-39, there is no knowledge of the edict of Cyrus that allows the Jews to return home, nor any specifics about the delay in rebuilding the temple or the meager living conditions

M. C. Astour, "Ezekiel's Prophecy of Gog and the Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sin," JBL 95 (1976): 567. Tremper Longman III, Ficktional Akkadian Autobriography: A Generic and Comparative Study (Eisenbrauns, 1991), 103-117, 228-231 .Translation, discussion; J. G. Westenholt, Legends of the Kings ofAkkade (Mesopotamian Civilizations; Eisenbrauns, 1997), 263-368. Text, translation, discussion; B. R. Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology ofAkkaidian Literature (3rd ed., Bethesda: CDL Press, 2005), 344-56. Translation only. 9

Astour, "Ezekiel's Prophecy," 572; 579. Astour, "Ezekiel's Prophecy," 576.

31

that plagued the first years of the restoration. Therefore, Klein contends that these chapters antedate 539 B.C.E. If a relatively early date is to be assigned to these chapters, in whole or in part, the possibility of interpreting them as coming from the prophet himself needs to be pursued." Despite the attempts of an earlier generation of critical scholars to cast doubt upon the authenticity of numerous oracles and to assign vast portions of the book to a much later period,

recently many scholars has rallied to defend the essential unity and

structure of the book of Ezekiel. M. Greenberg, who differs sharply from exegetes like Zimmerli, goes so far as to assign the actual authorship of the book to the historical prophet Ezekiel. The various operations undertaken in this commentary test the working assumption that the present Book of Ezekiel is the product of art and intelligent design.... A consistent trend of thought expressed in a distinctive style has emerged, giving the impression of an individual mind of powerful and passionate proclivities. The chronology of the oracles and the historical circumstances reflected in them assign them to a narrow temporal range well within the span of a single life. The persuasion grows on one as piece after piece falls into the established patterns and ideas that a coherent world of vision is emerging, contemporary with the sixth-century prophet and decisively shaped by him, if not the very words of Ezekiel himself.13 Stressing the need to respect the literary integrity of the book, he argues that much of the

11

Klein, Ezekiel, 157-8.

For convenient summaries of critical Ezekielian scholarship see O. Kaiser, Introduction to the Old Testament: A Presentation of Its Result and Problems (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1975), 248-257; and B. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979), 353-372; The New Interpreter's Bible (Vol. 6; Nashiville: Abingdon Press, 2002), 1512-13; Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 2-48. 13

Greenberg, Ezekie, 1-20, 26-27.

32

work of revision and re-application was carried our Ezekiel himself.14 More recently D. I. Block also adopted a holistic approach: true, the final pericope probably includes secondary additions, but Ezekiel himself may have been responsible for them.15 C. G. Howie attributed a greater part of the book to Ezekiel himelf, prophesying in Babylonia at the time specified in the book, but concluded that only chapters 1-32 were composed by Ezekiel. After the prophet's death, a disciple made a collection of his teachings. He began with these thirty-two chapters and then gathered other material from records and memory. He made chapter 33 into a literary link between what Ezekiel had written down and other independent material, to which he then attached chapters 40-48.16 For Howie, chapters 38-39 were independent material written by Ezekiel but gathered and appended, among other independent writings, by a disciple (not disciples: Howie's emphasis) after the death of Ezekiel. Somewhat differently Zimmerli

from Howie regarding the prophet's disciple(s),

argues that Ezekiel interacts with a great deal of mythological, legendary and

literary material and identifies three stages in the composition of the book: 1) an oral delivery stage by the prophet; 2) Ezekiel's fixing of his preaching in writing; and 3) a number of further phases of redaction and addition, the earlier ones attributable to the prophet himself, the later ones to a school of redactors. In this last stage original texts 14

Greenberg, Ezekiel 1-20, 20.

15

D. I. Block, The Book of Ezekiel: Chapters 25-48 (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 426-27. 1

C. G. Howie, The Date and Composition of the Book of Ezekiel (JBLMS 4; Philadelphia: SBL, 1950), 100-102. 17

W. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapters 1-24 (trans. R.E. Clements; Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979), 25, 41-42, 68, 70-71; and Ezekiel 2, 296-305, particular 304.

33

were reworked both by Ezekiel himself and his followers so that the earlier texts could address the concerns of the later period. On the setting of the Gog oracle, Zimmerli finds the basic text is in no way stylistically different from what is typical elsewhere in Ezekiel, but rather in many respects corresponds to that.19 Moreover, Zimmerli states that "alongside these stylistic considerations there are those of a factual nature involving the contents, which suggests that the basic text of chapters 38f should not be removed too far from Ezekiel, even that a derivation from the prophet himself is not impossible."20 He locates the oldest elements as in 38:1-9 (minus a few minor additions), and 39:1-5, 17-20.21 He further maintains that "in the Gog pronouncement we see the prophet of the exile, in the completely new exposition of older prophetic word." Zimmerli describes the expansions as continuing theological reflection among Ezekiel's disciples, stating that the redaction of the Gog pericope strengthened the apocalyptic features of the prophet's preaching. He also notes that the expansions reflect the further cumbersome development of the text. He attributes their ordering to Ezekiel, but not the final form; for the prophet, the judgment of the enemy in 38-39 is not incorporated into the description of ultimate salvation in 34-37 and 40-48. He goes on to state that in the prophet's mind the sequence of the sixteen chapters is not to be 18

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 25,41-42. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 302.

20

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 302; 304.

21

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 298-99.

2

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 303.

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systematized.

Zimmerli also detects no indication of Persia's rise in the region or the

return of the exiles in the book. He suggests about a thirty-year period when Ezekiel's disciples could work from Ezekiel's last prophecy (571 B.C.E.), prior to the defeat of Babylon by Cyrus (539 B.C.E.). Zimmerli believes that the material written in this thirtyyear period provides genuine access to the thinking of the prophet.

As a consequence,

the historical setting of the basic text of the Gog oracle, then, is sometime "before the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus"25 He therefore thinks that the Gog theme can be traced back to the exilic period, and conceivably even to a late phase in the preaching of Ezekiel himself. According to H. McKeating, who follows Zimmerli's opinions regarding the date of chapters 38-39, the book of Ezekiel does not tell anything about the future of Babylon, this imperial power which was so decisive to the fate of Judah:26 A view that deserves consideration takes as its point of departure the fact that nowhere in the book of Ezekiel, in all the oracles against foreign nations, is there any oracle against Babylon. This seems remarkable in view of all that Judah suffered at Babylonian hands over the period which the book of Ezekiel covers. It is not remarkable, however, if Ezekiel is prophesying in Babylonia, where such oracles, if they had come to public notice, would doubtless have involved the prophet in immediate and serious trouble. What more likely, then, that the land of Gog is a cipher for Babylon itself, and the prophecies of Gog's destruction a heavily coded message predicting the demise of the Babylonian power? This can not, of course, be proved. If it could be proven by us, now, in the twentieth century, it could have been proved then, in the sixth, with the aforementioned unwelcome results.27

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 70; and Ezekiel 2, 296-98, 310. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 68, 70-71. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 303. H. McKeating, Ezekiel (OTG; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), 121. McKeating, Ezekiel, 121-22.

35

He continues, arguing that the name Magog is derived from the name Babel (Hebrew for Babylon), by replacing each letter of the name with the letter which follows it in the Hebrew alphabet (hence BBL becomes GGM) and then turning the whole back to front, thus GGM becomes MGG/Magog. This is an interesting suggestion, but he cites no other evidence for such a cypher. The author of these prophecies may or may not have intended them to be understood as referring to Babylon. The Gog pericope was then filled out in a multitude of stages, and at some stage or stages Gog was turned into something like an eschatological cosmic figure.28 We may add P. Fitzpatrick in this group. He has argued for the thematic unity of these two chapters with the overall book based on a study of mythic elements in the text. He supports the position of a strong editorial hand on the formulation of the final form by using the massive textual linkage in Ezekiel. The book is primarily about writing a theology, not a political history. Myth serves as the frame of reference for writing such a theology that would inspire a defeated people with hope in their God and enkindle again the fire of their religious imagination in Yahweh's possibilities.29 The Gog passage, accordingly, is not an unconnected insertion into an Ezekiel anthology. It belongs to the final chapter of the Ezekiel cosmogony after which a regal dwelling place is built for the creator God to celebrate his victory. Chapters 38-39, in their final form (Fitzpatrick's emphasis), offered the exiles hope, after 587,

that the

sovereign God of Israel would accomplish his purposes, bringing creation to a marvelous completion. All this, with the tragic and devastating events of the exile integrated into the

28

McKeating, Ezekiel, 122. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 81.

36

plan when Yahweh, in the Gog accounts, unilaterally and irrevocably destroyed his arms, fulfilling the mythic pattern in the covenant of peace, such that the events of 598/587 might never happen again.31 So Fitzpatrick sees Ezekiel 38-39 as at least indirectly exilic. A second chapter of Fitzpatrick's The Disarmament of God deals with the significance of myth. The final form of Ezekiel draws a new mythopoeic conclusion to the story of the victory of the Creator over chaos, in a renewed source of eschatological hope for Israel in historical distress. In his conclusion he argues that "the final form of Ezekiel presents a new mythic conclusion to the Israelite creation account that would give the exiles hope."32 Consequently, Fitzpatrick assumes that the final form of Ezekiel is a literary work of integrity although the entire book does not derive from Ezekiel. This last and late section of book should be understood as resulting from efforts to actualize the myths of Israel and the ancient Near East in the exilic period.

2. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Neo-Babylonian Period and the Early Persian Period but Prior to the Rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (515 B.C.E.)

Several recent form-critical treatments counter the earlier radical critiques of Ezekiel and suggest that the core of Ezekiel 38-39 comes from the prophet Ezekiel himself. This core was then expanded within the Zadokite school. J. W. Wever's commentary shows the complexity within these two chapters. Wevers states: The original oracle may well come form Ezekiel, but it was extensively commented on by later members of the Ezekiel school. Because many of these expansions were eschatological in nature the section was not placed by the Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 194. 31

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, xvi; 198.

32

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 194.

37

editor with the oracles against the nations (cf. also chapter 35), but at the end of the restoration section.3 Wevers introduces his commentary with the statement that the book of Ezekiel shows evidence of intentional arrangement and a single editorial mind. Yet when he discusses chapters 38-39 in relation to the whole book, he departs from his initial assessment in noting that these two chapters are more problematic than other sections.

In fact, he

finds no clear principle of arrangement in chapters 33 to 39, which he attributes to the many expansions, eschatological in nature, that the editor placed in these two chapters at the end of the restoration section.34 Even if all of Ezekiel 38-39 cannot be assigned to Ezekiel, Wevers does assign at least the core (only 39:1-4, 6) of these two chapters to the prophet.35 More specifically, he talks about the date of Ezekiel: There is no certainty whatsoever as to the time of the editor's activity, though it is likely that he was active in exile rather than in post-exilic Judah. Since there is no evidence that the traditions represented in chapters 33-48 show any awareness of the post-exilic Temple or of the conditions in Judah after the return, it would seem likely that he did his work before the end of the sixth century.36 Frank L. Hossfeld also focuses on the redactional history of Ezekiel. The original sixth-century core of the book was subjected to expansion over a considerable period and through a multitude of stages (six redactional strata).

Hossfeld determines

the original oracle of the Gog pericope to be 38:1-3a and 39:lb-5. Comparing the original

For the original oracle of Ezekiel see Wevers, Ezekiel, 285-86. Wevers, Ezekiel, 5. Wevers, Ezekiel, 286. Wevers, Ezekiel, 29. Hossfeld, Untersuchungen, 9; 525-28.

38

oracle with several oracles against the foreign nations, he notes that it is a classic example of a text that was further elaborated toward an eschatological understanding of itself. Hossfeld sees the reworking of the oracle as a response to the problem of unfulfilled prophecy. It was the separation of the oracle from its original historical meanings which made the expansions possible. He sees the relationship of chapters 38-39 in stark contrast to both what precedes and follows.38 He also argues that the authentic Ezekiel material of Ezekiel 38-39 has been expanded in a complex growth process within the Ezekiel school.39 T. J. Mills argues with Eichrodt's dictum that these chapters are an "unorganic insertion" into the book of Ezekiel, a later oracle from the early years of Persian domination.

His dissertation argues that the discontinuities between the Gog chapters

and the rest of the book of Ezekiel are abundant. This leads him to confess that his study of Ezekiel 38-39 was strikingly similar to that described by R. Ahroni: In the course of my reexamination of the manifold aspects of the prophecy, I found myself more than ever concurring in the main with the view voiced by many scholars who claim...that the Gog Prophecy is an independent and selfcontained entity which differs widely from the rest of the Book of Ezekiel in content, form, mood and literary genre. ' Mills continues to argue that the Gog pericope was inserted between two blocks of material, 33-37 and 40-48.42 As an editorial motivation for the placing of the Gog 38

Hossfeld, Untersuchungen, 405; 494; 496-97; 500-501. Hossfeld, Untersuchungen, 403.

40

T. J. Mills, The Gog Pericope and the Book of Ezekiel (Ph.D. Dissertation, Drew University, 1989), 160. 41

R. Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy and the Book of Ezekiel," in HAR 1 (1977): 1-2.

42

Mills, The Gog Pericope, 148.

39

pericope, he follows, with some modification, D. I. Block's idea of the Gog oracle as a "proof of restoration promises: In the present context, the promise of the permanence of the new relationship between deity and nation remains just that, a promise, a word. The function of the Gog oracle is to provide specific and concrete proof for the prophet that Yahweh mean exactly what he said [in 37:26-27]. ... like the Pharaoh of Egypt (Exodus vii-xiv), Gog is merely functioning as a an agent serving the revelatory purpose of Yahweh... Gog becomes the agent through whom Yahweh declares concretely that 587 B.C. shall never again repeat itself.43 Although Ahroni emphasizes that "the prophecy does not supply us with sufficient data that can enable us to assign it with any certainty to a specific historical event or period," he does maintain that post-exilic frustration is the proper perspective from which to read the prophecy.

Mills reaches the same conclusion,

that though

extravagant promises of restoration were made by Deutero-Isaiah, promises which a dispirited, dejected Israel hoped would quickly come to pass, the only characteristics of those returning from captivity were misery and distress. Mills adds: It was not general post-exilic frustration that created the Gog drama, but the particular frustration of no temple. At the time of the insertion of the basic text of the Gog pericope into the Book of Ezekiel the visionary temple is a promise made but not yet fulfilled. The temple vision is there (in some form) as the concluding portion of Ezekiel's book, but it remains visionary, promissory, and future. It is frustration over that lack of fulfillment which motivated the insertion of the Gog pericope.46 Mills also addresses an important question: How does a battle scene relate to an unfulfilled temple vision? If the temple is the ultimate sign of Yahweh's covenant with

Block, "Gog and the Pouring Out of the Spirit," 269-70. Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy," 21. Mills, The Gog Pericope, 157. Mills, The Gog Pericope, 158.

40

his people, of Yahweh's presence among his people, then the battle is the penultimate sign. There is no temple yet, but there is a battle. And this battle shows a God of Israel who is so powerful that he can perform whatever he wills on behalf of his people. So this battle is visionary in the sense that it is about the future. Its power is not in its fulfillment, necessarily; rather, its power lays in its traditional story-line. Mills argues that "as one might read the exodus story in a time of despair and derive hope and strength from it for what it tells of the character of the God of Israel, and his disposition toward his people, so might the early post-exilic community read the Gog pericope."47 Finally, Mills sets up a geo-political situation for these chapters. The Golah descendants have returned to the hill country of Judah, which is a waste land without a temple and without the divine presence which would be associated with it. No nation actually threatens them (thus Gog and his troops are dragged into the battle). This is the post-exilic period—the time of the great stability of the Persian empire—but early enough that no temple-building activity has begun in Judah. As to the hypothetical basic core, L. C. Allen accepts the basic texts from Wevers (39:1-4, 6), Zimmerli (38:1-9; 39:1-5, 17-20) and Hossfeld (38:1-3a and 39:lb-5). As to authorship, he tends to attribute the basic core, however he defines it, to Ezekiel and the subsequent layers to his school, though he does not mention the date. "It is probable that some of the layers are to be assigned to Ezekiel's hand. It is not possible to find a historical occasion in the early exile that triggered the basic oracle, although clear links with Jeremiah's 'foe from the north' oracles afford a parallel with Ezekiel's evident

Mills, The Gog Pericope, 159.

41

dependence on Jeremiah elsewhere." Like Allen, J. Blenkinsopp argues that Gog pericope has undergone considerable expansion in the course of transmission: The result is seven sayings each introduced by the customary formula "Thus says the Lord Yahweh" (38:1-9, 10-13, 14-16, 17-23,39:1-16, 17-24,25-29). The repetition of the language of the first saying in the two sayings that follow suggests serial composition, and the abandoning of the slain as carrion (39:4-5, 17-20) is not easily reconciled with their careful collection and burial (39:11-16). Allusion to the prophets of former days (38:17; cf. Zech 1:4-6) suggests a date for the section beginning here considerably later than Ezekiel. Yet there remains enough of language and theme characteristic of Ezekiel to justify assigning the basic narrative to him, though a glance at commentaries will convince the reader of the difficulty of distinguishing between what is "primary" and "secondary."4 On the other hand, differing with other scholars within this group (i.e., Mills, Cook), Blenkinsopp dates Ezekiel 38-39 is subsequent to the rededication of the temple (515 B.C.E.), though he assigns the basic narrative to the prophet Ezekiel. Particularly, regarding Ezekiel 38:10-13, 14-16, he argues that "the following sayings (i.e., 38:10-13, 14-16) make extensive use of the language of the first, and are therefore generally read as editorial comment on it." For the historical background of these verses the description of the peaceful and secure state of the province of Judah corresponds not at all with the situation there during the Persian period. Jerusalem remained, however, undefended and unwalled until the administration of Nehemiah in the second half of the fifth century B.C., and there were those who believed though that its defense should be left entirely to God (Zech 2:5-9).50

45

L. C. Allen, Ezekiel 20-48 (WCC Vol. 29; Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1990),

204. 49

Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 180-81.

50

Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 185.

42

According to S. Cook, "Ezekiel and his disciples, having gone into exile from central priestly roles in Jerusalem, were among the leaders of the exiled Israelites. Ezekiel's continuing school provides the theological basis for the program of the lateexilic Zadokite leadership."51 At the time, the Zadokite priestly group settles for a rebuilt temple in Yehud that is humanly realistic, though the Zadokites are just as apocalyptically minded as they had been in exile. The group that writes Ezekiel 38-39 is central in standing in terms of its own society, even though that society is dominated by another culture. In Ezekiel 38-39 domination refers to the continuing captivity in Babylonia. Such a location in Babylonia is supported by the late-exilic viewpoint implied in Ezek 39:25-29, probably part of the last stage of the formation of the Gog pericope. Stylisticly, nny and Tiiopi in Ezekiel 39:25 (the use of the future tense) looks ahead to the completion of the restoration, indicating that it is still in an early stage. So Cook contends that "the earlier core of the Gog passage probably comes from the end of Ezekiel's ministry in Babylon. Perhaps it was written during the rise of Cyrus (c. 555 B.C.E.)."53 We, however, can raise two problems here. Firstly, the earlier core for Cook may not include any of the passages in Ezekiel 38-39 that are more clearly "protoapoclayptic." Elsewhere he argues for millennialism that proto apocalyptic supplements in 38-39 during the post-exilic period. Secondly, if Cook dates "the end of Ezekiel's ministry in Babylon" as to include the rise of Cyrus, ca. 555, as he does, he then has a

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 109. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 110. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 111; and The Apocalyptic Literature, 94; 95.

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rather unusually long life for Ezekiel, though no text in the chronological sheme offered indicates any date later than 571 B.C.E. (Ezek 29), nor is there any hint of the release from imprisonment of Jehoiachin (561 B.C.E.). Cook says, "[I]t has been shown that the priestly interests of Ezekiel were indeed compatible with apocalyptic forms and ideas."

His following discussion

concludes: "Ezekiel was a central priest who also had the role of catalyst figure for millennialism."55 We have noted that for Cook the proto-apocalyptic elements in the Gog-Magog pericope are exilic additions. Cook finds elements of proto-apoclayptic in Ezekiel 38-39 in terms of "the earlier core."56 I conclude that for Cook the adition of "millennialtist," i.e., proto-apocalyptic elements to Ezekiel 38-39 in the post-exilic period, implies at least that the earlier exilic core allowed or even invited such expansion, i.e., that it was "incipient" proto-apocalyptic. For the radicalization of apocalyptic motifs, according to Cook,57 both Ezekiel 38:16-23, and Ezekiel 39:11-16 begin with "and it will come about on that day," and both passages speak of Gog in the third person, whereas the rest of the Gog passage does not. Ezekiel 38:18-23 and 39:11-16 most likely reflect the period of uncertainty at the end of the exile "when an actual return to Israel became viable." Cook suggests that Ezekiel 3839 was radicalized in this type of environment: 4

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 109.

5

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 110.

56

People had been exiled from their land in Ezek 38:8 and 39:27, Jerusalem's defeat is blamed on their forsaking God in Ezek 39:23-24 and "the Ezekiel group had strong religious bonds with and desires for their land" in Ezek 38:8. See Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 110 n. 115. 57

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 114-115.

44

In this period (539-520 B.C.E.), the Ezekiel group found itself in a unique sociological situation ripe for radicalization of its eschatological hopes. On the one hand, the policies of Cyrus II (559-530 B.C.E.) made tangible the group's hopes for restoration. A first return under Sheshbazzar actually occurred c. 538 B.C.E. On the other hand, the circumstances were extremely nebulous and stressful. It did not appear that a humanly accomplished restoration would fufill the Ezekiel group's expectation of God's power being made clear to all nations. That the temple and cities of Israel were still in ruins as the restoration began (Isa 64:10-11; 63:18) was a further cause of stress. A new temple could be built, but unless God intervened the Zadokites would have to settle for much less than the structure depicted in the visions of Ezekiel 40-48. The sociological situation in which a group has its basic expectations built up as its members' world changes rapidly is often rife with apocalyptic radicalization.58 The Ezekiel group, as part of the upper echelon of the exiles, was among those in charge of postexilic society and, given authority over the restoration by the Persians, they saw the possibility for their dreams to come true. However, this central position set them up to experience stress, inner dissonance (there is no mention about what kind and with whom) and, in turn, a radicalization of millennial beliefs. The Ezekiel group must have dreamed of the fulfillment of the promises of Ezekiel 34-37 as Cyrus arose in history, only to fear that they would not be realized. Thus, as stress increased and the group's fear grew, they underwent the type of radicalization.... After their return the Ezekiel millennial group still believed in the rise of a Gog, much like twentieth-century endogenous millennial groups in the United States speculate that countries such as Russia or Libya will soon become end-time foes. On the other hand, the Ezekiel group is routinized "when its worldview becomes more mundane than they were at first, and group activities are toned down to a

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 115. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 116. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 117.

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level where they can be sustained indefinitely."61 Thus Ezekiel 39:21-29 was added in one or two stages as a concluding unit both to Ezekiel 38-39 and to the rest of the preceding chapters of Ezekiel. This redaction may constitute one of the last layers in the book, postdating the protoapocalyptic redaction. This concluding unit is different from perspectives in the earlier layers of Ezekiel 38-39. It takes us back to the exiles' "real time," the mundane situation of those still feeling on the verge of restoration. The focus is on the stage before Gog's appearance (Ezekiel 39:25). Millennial groups tend to focus on the imminent end. Thus, this return to a focus on the present is literary evidence that the writers have lost some of their apocalyptic fervor. Replacing that fervor is a concern by the Ezekiel group to place the Gog oracles within the overall prophetic message of the prophet. There even seems to be an emphasis on living out of a reinstituted, thus worldly, covenant relationship (39:28-29).62 The book of Ezekiel was completed by engaging in editorial activity with the purpose of producing a coherent edition of the book of Ezekiel. Drawing on a literary and theological study of Ezekiel 34, 36, and 37, the Ezekiel school ("the redactors") "added an appendix to the Gog passage that both summarized the preceding chapters of Ezekiel and functioned to better level the incorporation of Ezekiel 38-39 into the book of Ezekiel as a whole."63 W. Eichrodt considers Ezekiel 38-39 a late, postexilic intrusion into the book of Ezekiel.64 The Gog pericope answers the need of a generation long after the time of the sixth-century Ezekiel. Eichrodt thinks of the post-restoration uncertainty and feelings of helplessness attested in Isaiah 56-66, perhaps around 520 B.C.65 For him, both chapters

Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 117. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 120. Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 121. 64

W. Eichrodt, Ezekiel: A Commentary (trans. C. Quin; Old Testament Library; London: SCM Press, 1970), 18; 21. 65

For a specific date (520 B.C.) see Hals, Ezekiel, 284.

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are the completely independent work of redactors, written after the return from exile to deal with the agonizing problem of acknowledging the sovereignty of Yahweh while his people suffered diminished political circumstances.

But there is no mention of the

rededication of the temple in these two chapters. One sees here the thoughts of a generation who had seen it all come to pass, expressed in words (38: 8,1 If), whereas the equally important side still remained unfulfilled. Ezekiel presents these, convinced that he has helped to do justice to prophecies hitherto left unfulfilled, and has thus found a firm support for his future expectations. Having agreed that this Gog prophecy is far from possessing any dramatic unity of conception, Eichdrodt reached a conclusion that it is a series of individual visions developing to a large extent into a series of events, but impossible to combine with one another into an organic picture even if they are complementary to one another and describe an action on the part of Yahweh. So he finally contends that "one may therefore feel inclined to regard it as the original transition from 37:28 to 40:Iff." Eichdrodt considers the Gog prophecy as an "unorganic insertion into Ezekiel's description of the future."

7

The salvation of the new Israel, described in chs. 34-37 and carried to its

conclusion by the establishment of the new temple and the transformation of the land in chs. 40ff, is complete, and stands in need of no further addition. In the literary perspective, the disruption of the connection between 37:28 and chs. 40ff, by the insertion of chs. 38 and 39 is contrary to the prophet's intentions. Eichrodt's solution presupposes that the purpose for chs. 38-39 is to show Yahweh's superiority and domination over the nations

Eichrodt, Ezekiel, 519; 521. Eichrodt, Ezekiel, 521.

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and that their insertion after chapter 37 is rather arbitrary: He leaves unexplored the ramifications of the promised "Covenant of Peace" mentioned in Israel's midst in 37:2628.

3. Ezekiel 38-39 as from the Early Persian Period, including after the Rededication of the Temple For the date of the book of Ezekiel as 545-515 B.C.E.68 except for Ezekiel 3839, R. Albertz suggests: The unique quality of the book of Ezekiel is connected not only with Ezekiel's location in exile, which forced him to commit much of his message to writing so that it could be published in Jerusalem, but also and above all with its date: it was not composed until late in the exilic period. The terminus a quo is 574, the year of the prophet's last vision, which in fact enabled the visionary conception of the entire book (Ezekiel 1-3; 8-11; 40-48). However, the promises of return and reconstruction (34; 36-37) require a later date...The detailed plans for the new temple and the reorganization of the community in Palestine in chapter 4048 make sense only at a time when people felt a new beginning to be immediate, following the fall of the Babylonian Empire in 539 at the earliest but probably not until Cambyses' Egyptian campaign in 525. Since the sometimes Utopian conceptions of Ezekiel 40-48 agree only very slightly with the reality achieved after 520, it is highly unlikely that they were developed after the temple was finished in 515. Apart from chapters 38-39, which are clearly secondary, there is nothing to suggest a dating much after this terminus ad quern.

As his arguments indicate, for Albertz the date of Ezekiel 38-39 is the early Persian period but after the rededication of the temple in 515 B.C.E. In Ezekiel 38-39, Yahweh finally displays his greatness and glory to the nations in Palestine (38:1, 6, 23: 39:21) at the end of days (39:8, 16). The addition is written in a different style (the realm of late prophetic/apocalyptic concepts) and it also requires in Ezekiel 39:25-29 a new

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 352. Albertz, Israel in Exile, 353.

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transition to chapter 40, after the one already given in 37:24-28. Paul D. Hanson sees Ezekiel 38-39 as the product of a postexilic apocalyptic circle that tried to answer why the glorious promises of Ezekiel 36-37 were not fulfilled as expected once the program outlined in chapters 40-48 had been completed. Hanson writes: In a sense, Ezekiel 38-39 serves to reinterpret Ezekiel 1-37, 40-48 even as Isaiah 56-66 seeks to interpret Isaiah 40-55. Why have the dazzling promises of the prophets not taken place? Because the evil remaining in the land necessitates further destruction and judgment, after which the restoration will finally occur.70 Hanson sees redactors, from a post-exilic circle, asking why the promises of the prophet's have not been fulfilled and judging the reasons to be the need of further purification from the evil remaining in the land, hence the threatened destruction by the enemy from the north. In his more recent work, The People Called, he argues that after rebuilding the temple, "a deep wound had torn into the tissue of the community between those with pragmatic and those with visionary predilections throughout the Second Temple period. The literary corpus for this period (500-450 B.C.E.) will be the books of Chronicles, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, Ezra 1-6, Isaiah 24-27 and 56-66, and Ezekiel 38-39 and 44 "71 While R. E. Clements does not speak forcefully of the overall unity of the text, even more pronounced is his negative assessment of the location and purpose of chapters. He contends that the most convenient analogy to use in understanding how the scroll of Ezekiel acquires its present form is that of a great person's collected papers that have

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 234 n.47. 71

Hanson, People Called, 253.

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been edited after their author's death. Some sections must certainly have been added at a later stage. This is especially true of Ezekiel 38-39, which can be identified as a very late reversion of the perspective regarding God's future plans for Israel given in the main part of the book.72 Although Clements studies the post-exilic period, he does not directly mention the redactional dating of the two chapters. Clements understands them as a text which adds a rather ominous postscript to the ringing tones of the earlier message of assured hope. Notably in 38:17-23, there is a marked awareness that the time of the great prophets of Israel already lies in the distant past ("I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel": 38:17). This suggests that what we are presented with here is no longer a report of Ezekiel's message given during the early years of the Babylonian exile; "it is a much later message, added at a time when Ezekiel's grand assurances still seemed unfulfilled and the prosperity they promised need to be looked at afresh."73 He gives some tips for the date of two chapters: Clearly, Ezekiel's message was given at a time when Israel's national fortunes were at their lowest ebb and hope seemed all but impossible. He painted a picture of a return to the land and a national renewal culminating in the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem and Israel's return to full independent nationhood. In the event, such a hope was only partly realized by the end of the sixth century B.C. Accordingly it is likely that Ezekiel 38-39 was written after the rededication of the temple (515 B.C.E.). He contines describing the historical contexts of these chapters: The story (of return and restoration) is revealed to us by the prophecies of 72

R. E. Clements, Ezekiel (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 6. Clements, Ezekiel, 170. Clements, Ezekiel, 171.

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Haggai and Zechariah, and later problems and controversies concerning Israel's restoration are reported to us by Ezra and Nehemiah...National strife continued within Israel, new conflicts arose with neighboring powers, and most significantly, the dispersion of Jews among the nations did not come to an end. So the fulfillment that took place a half century or so after Ezekiel's grand vision needed, in the course of time, to be updated and set in a new perspective.75 Therefore it seems that these two chapters "can be identified as a very late revision of the perspective regarding God's future plans for Israel given in the main part of the book."76 As noted above, scholars of this group have insisted that Ezekiel palyed no role in creating the Gog of Magog oracle. So, for example, R. Ahroni assigns a late, postexilic date to the pericope, thereby eliminating the prophet from the possible cast of authors. He argues that the Gog passage was added to Ezekiel in the period after Zechariah, that it is "an independent and self-contained entity" that "differs widely" from the rest of the book in content, form, mood and literary genre."77 Ahroni states: the consummation of these promises of restoration is unequivocably confirmed in Ezekiel 38-39 which depict Israel as long-gathered out of many people (38:8), and as now dwelling securely in their habitation...(38:11), having no enemies to fear. Totally unexpected therefore is the terrible invasion of Gog...and it surprisingly takes place after the restoration. He sees the Gog section as a disruption of the clear chronological sequence and intentional structure in chapters 1-37 and 40-48 of the Book of Ezekiel.78

Clements, Ezekiel, 171. Clements, Ezekiel, 6. 77

78

Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy," 2.

Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy," 9. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick {The Disarmament of Chapter 5) asks if, for a consistent chronological schema, chapters 40-48 could take place before what is accomplished in chapters 38-39?

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Ahroni, adhering to deprivation theory, argues that the Gog prophecy arose out of some distressful or traumatic experience in post-exilic times that released the bitter emotions of Israel. Ahroni gives another reason for interpreting Ezekiel 38-39 as a late postexilic work. The cosmic dualism, represented by the conflict between Yahweh and Gog, the obscurities, the symbolic languages, the prominence of the number seven, and the enigmatic nature of the names of peoples all point to an apocalyptic genre, and he references previous prophecy (38:17) and the expression "the navel of the earth" (38:12) as supporting evidence for a late date.

4. Ezekiel as from the Late Fifth to the Maccabean Period

Scholars in the first half of the twentieth-century tended to miss the significance of these chapters because they often treated as an inauthentic, not from Ezekiel or his school.81 The hopeful words of Ezekiel 33-37 climax in a passage (Ezek 37:24-28) /y

Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy," 24.

80

Ahroni, "The Gog Prophecy," 11-18.

81

G. R. Berry ("The Date of Ezekiel 38:1-39:20," JBL 41 [1922]: 224-32) understands 1 Mace, (during the Maccabean period) as the background to the Gog oracle, and equates Gog with Antiochus Eupator in 163/162 B.C.E. H. Gressmann in 1929 argued that Ezekiel could not have written Ezekiel 38-39 because the exilic prophets viewed the exile itself, not some future events, as Israel's final catastrophe (Der Messias [Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1929], 124). Gressmann located the Goe piece historically closer to the locust-prophecy of Joel than to the exilic prophecies oTEzekiel {Der Messias, 134). See also C. C. Torrey, Pseudo-Ezekiel and the Original Prophecy (New Haven, Conn., 1930 reprinted [ed. M. Greenberg] New York, 1970), 96. In 1943 William A. Irwin could write, "Recent critical opinions is practically unanimous that these chapters are spurious," and argued that only one formula and ten words in Ezekiel 38-39 could be attributed to the prophet of the exile (The Problem of Ezekiel [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1943], 172ff). According to R. H. Pfeiffer, "Although Ezekiel could have written this apocalypse, it is probably a work of a later author. This attack of the Gentiles on the Jews has no logical place in Ezekiel's hope for the future. In 34:28 he had said that the Israelites, after returning to their land, would dwell there safely, 'and they shall not be a prey to the nations'" (Introduction into the Old Testament [New York: Harper, 1948], 562).

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which promises everlasting possession of the land, an everlasting Davidic prince, an everlasting covenant, and an everlasting sanctuary in the midst of Israel. One could easily expect that this paragraph would be followed immediately by the vision of chapters 40-48, which provides a detailed description of the temple, its rites, and the idealistic distribution of the land in a restored Israel. Instead, in chapters 38-39 one leaps ahead to a time after Israel has already been restored to the land and when it is threatened by a mysterious invasion from the north. Problems such as chronological difficulty and the perception of differences in content, form, mood, and genre in the normal message of Ezekiel, have led scholars to deny these chapters in their entirety to Ezekiel. On the relationship of the Gog pericope with the rest of the book, despite his tracking the derivation of the Gog myth to sources prior to the exile, Gressmann ultimately did not attribute authorship of Ezekiel 38-39 to the prophet. The portrayal of the Eden-like existence after restoration in 38:8 and 12 did not allow him to date the unit to the exilic period or even the early period after the exile. Gressmann locates the Gog myth historically in the late fifth and early fourth centuries B.C.E. closer to the locust prophecy of Joel than to the exilic prophecies of Ezekiel. He sees chapters 38-39 as separated thematically from what precedes and follows and dates both recensions of these chapters to the post-exilic period.82 C. C. Torrey not only denied Ezekielian authorship and the Babylonian background to the prophecies, but he argued that the book generally is a third-century (about 230 B.C.E.) Palestinian redaction of an earlier pseudograph purporting to be written in the reign of Manasseh, specifically from the thirtieth year of Menasseh (cf. 1:1,

Gressmann, Der Messias, 123-134.

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with 2 Kings 21:1 fF. in the background). Torrey suggested that Alexander the Great was the Gog of Ezekiel 38-39.

In the "Introduction" to his commentary on Ezekiel 1-19, in

general agreement with Torrey, Brownlee lists 38-39 under the heading, "Additions from the Time of Alexander." The conclusions from the scholarly opinions about Ezekiel 38-39 are as follows: 1) there is a considerable degree of acceptance of these two chapters' as from the context of the exile; 2) there is a general acceptance that locates Ezekiel's ministry, in part or in whole, in Babylonia; 3) there is a readiness to accept that there is a substantial body of material which goes back to the prophet himself or at least to the exilic period close to his lifetime; and 4) there is a very widespread recognition that however the core of material original to the prophet and to the exilic period is defined, it has received considerable additions and expansions, probably in a multiplicity of stages and over a very long period. However, in conclusion I note that 1) if chapters 38-39 are from the prophet himself, these two chapters of course have to be exilic; and 2) if chapters 38-39 are not from Ezekiel, Ezekiel 38-39 could still be exilic—just not from Ezekiel or the immediate Ezekiel school.

83 84

Torrey, Pseudo-Ezekiel, 58-64; 95-99; 102-12.

W. H. Brownlee, Ezekiel 1-19 (World Biblical Commentary vol.28; Waco: Word Books, 1986), xxxvii. (He did not complete the commentary).

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B. Dating Key Passages in Deutero-Isaiah (40-55)

The best-known and most widely accepted critical hypothesis concerning the composition of the Book of Isaiah is that the book does not entirely, or even largely, derive from or contain oracles from Isaiah of Jerusalem, the late-eight-century Judean prophet.85 And it is almost unanimously agreed that the historical background of Isaiah 40-55 is the closing years of the Babylonian exile. In this section the issue is not the composition of the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 1-66) but the date of the key passages for the question of proto-apocalyptic in Isaiah 40-55 as indicated by Paul Hanson. I will argue that these four passages, or at least some of them, can be reasonably dated to the NeoBabylonian period. I will again organize discussion of the scholarly arguments regarding dating in terms of the conclusion reached, and focus on the dating of the four passages (Isa 42:10-16; 43:16-21; 51:9-11; 54:7-12) that Hanson specifically identifies as protoapocalyptic.

This theory steadily gained ground during the nineteenth century until it was developed in its classical form by Duhm. For a fuller discussion of nineteenth-century trends in the study of Isaiah prior to the publication of Duhm's commentary, see E. J. Young, Studies in Isaiah (London, 1954), 9-38. On the studies of Isaiah 40-55 after Duhm see H. G. M. Williamson, The Book Called Isaiah: Deutero-Isaiah's Role in Composition and Redaction (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), 1-18; C. Franke, Isaiah 46, 47, and 48: A New Literary Critical Reading (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994), 1-20. 86

Hanson, Dawn ofApocalyptic, 310-312. Hanson (311) states that these passages sharing "the ritual pattern of the conflict myth" are not an exhaustive list, but he does not identify other examples.

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1. Dating Deutero-Isaiah (40-55) Chs Date A. Deutero-Isaiah as from the Neo-Babylonian Period 40-55 Before the actual fall of Babylon From 553 to 539 B.C.E. His career within the years 550-539/8 B.C.E. Presumably some time after 550 and by 539 B.C.E. (the downfall) The former half as the product of an earlier period in the prophet's career than the latter from 550 to the 540s B.C.E. Particularly, Isaiah 40-66 all between 550-515 B.C.E. 40-55 The last decade of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (ca. 550-539) was when the core of this section of the book was composed. B. Deutero-Isaiah 40-48 as from the Neo-Babylonian Period 40-48 Before the fall of Babylon Fitting the events of the years 546-539 (before the fall of Babylon) 40-48 C. Deutero-Isaiah as from the Neo-Babylonian and the early Persian Period, just after the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus 40-55 Within 550-538 BCE. Cyrus entered Babylon in 538 and gave permission to the peoples who had been deported there to return to their own countries. D. Deutero-Isaiah as from the Neo-Babylonian and the early Persian Period, but prior to the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem (515 BCE). From 556 to 539 B.C.E (after the fall of Babylon). 40-55 40-55 Written and delivered in the 540's, quite possibly in the 530's as well. Cyrus has already entered the city. 40-55 The end of the Babylonian and the beginning of the Persian period. 40-55 From the beginning to later after the fall of Babylon. E. Deutero-Isaiah as from the Neo-Babylonian and the early Persian periods, including after the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem. 40-55 From the last day of the exile (540 B.C.E) to later in date, at a time when the Temple had been rebuilt. Related to its sixth-century context and perhaps to later Second Temple 40-55 contexts in which the material was further developed. E Deutero-Isaiah 49-55 as from the early Persian period, prior to 515. 49-55 After the fall of that city After the fall of Babylon in 539 until about the year 530. But no mention 49-57 of actual return in his prophies. Albertz brings his discussion down to 520 B.C.E. and the "restoration" in 40:152:12 the early Persian period (dates the first edition ca. 520). G. Deutero-Isaiah as from the Fifth century B.C.E. 40:3Dates the second edition as 500. 55:13 40-55 Written in Jerusalem during the last half of the fifth century (450-400 BCE ) rather than in the Babylonian exile during the last part of the sixth. 40-66 Including chapters 34-35, composed and written down in the present order in Palestine near the end of the fifth century. 40-48 49-55

Scholars H. H. Rowely O. Kaiser R. N. Whybray; W. H. Schmidit C. Westermann P. D. Hanson

J. Blenkinsopp

H. Jagersma Y. Kaufmann

C. R. North

S. Smith R. J. Clifford A. Laato R. E. Clements

B. Duhm J. Goldingay

H. Jagersma Y. Kaufmann R. Albertz

R. Albertz K. Baltzer C. C. Torrey88

J. Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55: A Literary-Theological Commentary (New York: T & T Clark, 2006), 3-5. 88

C. C. Torrey, The Second Isaiah: A New Interpretation (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1928), 53.

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For dating Deutero-Isaiah (40-55), the dating judgments of the scholars may be divided into seven major groups, as shown above. The group contending for a date within, the Neo-Babylonian period is divided into two sub-groups: "A" dating Isaiah 40-55 as pre-539 and B) only portions of Isaiah 40-55 are written during the exilic period. As H. H. Rowley suggests, although the wonderful new epoch that awaits the Judean exiles is due to the policy of Cyrus, all of Isaiah 40-55 is composed before the actual fall of Babylon, which took place in 538 B.C.89 According to O. Kaiser, the Persian king Cyrus (559-529) is mentioned (44:28 and 45:1) by name and 41:2f., 25 speaks of his surprising victorious advance; according to 48:14f he is to perform Yahweh's will for Babylon and the Chaldaeans, and according to 44:26 and 45:13 he is to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. The situation of the exile is everywhere presupposed (cf. 40:10; 42:14; 44:26; 47:1; 49:17; 52:1 If) and, accordingly, Deutero-Isaiah is a contemporary of Cyrus. Since his activity seems to cover quite a long period, his work should not be limited to the period immediately before the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus in 539. Rather, his activity began as early as the capture of the capital of Media, Ecbatana, in 553 or, as is more probable, after Cyrus's conquest of the capital of Lydia, Sardis, in 546, or some time later still, although it cannot be decided with certainty when his • •

i

90

activity began. R. N. Whybray contends that Isaiah 40-55 is "substantially the work of a single anonymous prophet" who lived amongst his fellow Jewish exiles in Babylonia during the H. H. Rowley, The Growth of the Old Testament (New York: Longmans: Green & Company, 1950), 95. Kaiser, Introduction, 262-65.

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sixth century B.C.E. ' Deutero-Isaiah's prophetic ministry is exercised during the period following 587 B.C.E., that is, during the half century between the fall of Jerusalem and the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus in 539 B.C.E. His familiarity with the Babylonian scene establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that he is one of the exiles in Babylonia. However, his career falls in the latter part of the period, as has already been noted, because he is familiar with the activities of Cyrus.92 Throughout the historical background, Whybray sheds light on the interpretation of some of the oracles and concludes that Cyrus's name and reputation, and the threat he presents to Babylonian power are unlikely to have been familiar to the ordinary inhabitants (which includes the Jewish exiles) of Babylonia before his victory over the Medes in 550 B.C.E.93 Yet after that date his name will have become a household word. On the other hand, the terminus ad quern is 538, when Cyrus gave permission to the deported peoples to return to their homes. It is clear that the career of the prophet belongs to the latter part of this exilic period. However, the prophet himself regarded the capture of Babylon as imminent.

91

R. N. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCB; London: Oliphants, 1975), 21-23 and also The Second Isaiah (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 3-4. The most obvious indication of a sixth-century date is provided by the occurrence of the name Cyrus in 44:28 and 45:1. In addition, the sixth-century date does not depend on these two references alone. It is a simple fact that the content of the prophet's message from start to finish is quite inappropriate to the circumstances of the eighth century B.C. but entirely appropriate when seen as a message to Jewish exiles in Babylonia. In four passages (43:14; 47; 48:14, 20) a group of people has been exiled from their homeland. Particularly, Babylonia, a conquering power, is mentioned by name in these terms, and this historical situation is confirmed in numerous other passages. 92

Whybray, Second Isaiah, 8

"From 550 onwards the prophet's prediction of the imminent fall of Babylon and his glorification of Cyrus as a great conqueror and as the deliverer of the Jews, though extremely dangerous to the prophet's personal safety, would have seemed increasingly realistic." Whybray, Second Isaiah, 11.

58

Cyrus had "not yet attacked that city."

"His oracles must therefore have been delivered

within the years 550-539 B.C., and probably even towards the end of that period. It is not possible to go beyond this and assign dates to the individual oracles."95 W. H. Schmidt also assumes that Deutero-Isaiah is active in the final part of the exilic period, approximately 550-540 B.C. Cyrus's swift victory over Croesus, the king of Lydia (546), may be reflected in some texts (41:2f., 35; 45:2ff.), but not the capture of Babylon in 539 B. C.96 In Isaiah 40-55 the author speaks in a situation completely changed by comparison with that of most of chapters 1-39. This prophet does not announce judgment, because for him judgment is an accomplished fact. Jerusalem has been destroyed (44:26; 51:3); the people he addresses live under oppression (44:22) and in exile. He looks for the fall of Babylon (43:14, 36f) and the rise to power of Cyrus the Persian (44:26f.). While the prophet predicts the destruction of Babylon and of its gods (46f.), Cyrus actually enters in triumph and, as part of his policy of religious toleration in 07

dealing with subject people, he preserves or restores the cultic practices in Babylon. no

C. Westermann

argues that the time of the prophet's activity most certainly

94

Whybray, Isaiah 40-66, 21-23.

95

Whybray, Second Isaiah, 12.

96

Schmidt, Old Testament Introduction, 257.

97

Schmidt, Old Testament Introduction, 257.

QO

C. Westermann, Isaiah 40-66 (OTL; Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1969). Westermann argues that "in all essentials, chs. 40-55 go back in their entirely to DeuteroIsaiah himself, and that their contents represent what he himself preached. Further, chs. 40-55 show such clear signs of a deliberate, orderly arrangement as to lead me to believe that the form in which we have them goes back basically to Deutero-Isaiah himself (p. 28). On the other hand, Westermann argues that "the four servant songs represent a separate strand, and form a subsequent addition to the book, even if, as I assume, the author of the first three was Deutero-Isaiah himself (p. 29). For him, the fourth, which pre-supposes the Servant's death, is later than the others (pp. 29-30).

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exists between the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. and the downfall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.E. All the evidence points to a date towards the end of this period, presumably some time after 550, the year which saw the beginning of the victorious campaign of Cyrus. Hence, the prophet was "active for some considerable length of time, perhaps several years." P. Hanson assumes that the prophet—whose name, gender and social class are unknown to him—crafted the message found in Isaiah 40-55 (as well as chs. 34-35) while living with the exiles in Babylonia. Specifically, Isaiah 40-66 is written between 550 and 515 B.C.E.100 However, he notes a seam between chapters 48 and 49. Regarding 40-48, aside from 49-55, subtle reasons exist for viewing these chapters as the product of an earlier period in the prophet's career than chapters 49-55, because the sense of urgency and of imminent expectation is heightened in Isaiah 49-55.' ' At any rate, "it is naive to expect that a prophet, one with as rich an imagination as Second Isaiah, will not have experienced development in outlook over a period of years."102 Hanson attempts to concretely deduce a date for Deutero-Isaiah, stating: "in the 540s B.C.E., Deutero-Isaiah had announced to the Jewish exiles in Babylon God's intention to bring about their release from captivity and their return to Zion."103 Blenkinsopp sees rather modest continuity between Isaiah 1-39 and 40-55. He is 99

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 3.

100

P. D. Hanson, Isaiah 40-66 (Interpretation; Louisville: John Knox Press, 1995), 2.

101

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 12.

102

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 13.

103

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 185.

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equally unconvinced by the dissection of Deutero-Isaiah into numerous editorial strata. In particular, he ascribes the whole sequence to a single author, albeit with minor addenda, perhaps as edited and abstracted by a disciple. In terms of structure, Blenkinsopp argues that Isaiah 40-48 are unified by a similarity of style and by such themes as the mission of Cyrus, the departure from Babylon, and the polemic against cult idols. By contrast, Isaiah 49-55 takes no note of the aforementioned themes. Further, the style of Isaiah 49-55 has more in common with Isaiah 56-66 than with 40-48. He suggests that Isaiah 40-48 is different in tone and content from 49-55 and represents an earlier stage in the prophet's career. "The allusions to Cyrus in Isaiah 40-48 indicate that the last decade of the NeoBabylonian Empire (ca. 550-539) was when the core of this section of the book was composed."I04 However, in the following section (Isaiah 49-55) the focus shifts decisively from Jacob/Israel to Jerusalem/Zion: The shift no doubt corresponds to the disappointment of the actually quiteunrealistic expectations placed by the prophet and his supporters on Cyrus and a consequent falling back on the internal dynamics of the Judean community, principally the possibility of the rebuilding and repopulation of Jerusalem.105 So Isaiah 49-55 has been fragmented by insertions from a scribe associated with TritoIsaiah and partially rewritten.106 In 49:14-26 the poem moves to a consideration of the physical city with its walls, also anticipating Nehemiah's rebuilding program and his repopulation of Jerusalem (Neh 11 :l-36).107 He also argues that Isaiah 55 is a transitional

104

J. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55 (New York: Doubleday, 2002), 93; 104. The bulk of 55-66 reflects the situation in Yehud during the first century of Persian rule (522-424). See also J. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56-66 (New York: Doubleday, 2003), 43. 105

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 360.

106

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 80-1; 114. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 360.

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chapter that both anticipates Trito-Isaiah and concludes Deutero-Isaiah. Blenkinsopp is cautious, too, in discussing the place of composition. He opts, finally, for a Babylonian context, based on the author's familiarity with the liturgy of Marduk, but recognizes the evidence as inconclusive.109 Blenkinsopp considers DeuteroIsaiah 40-55 to be diasporic literature. It is pervaded by a sense of "profound discontinuity" and dependence on the wider Babylonian imperial culture, exemplified by the inversion of Babylonian liturgy and its claim to supremacy of Marduk in the insistence on Yahweh's incomparability and his sole responsibility for creation. The prophet sought to overcome the rupture by finding reference points in the past for the exile's dislocation and aspirations, notably Abraham, Jacob, and the exodus. Indeed, Blenkinsopp considers these texts (Isaiah 40-55) to have been edited in their present form during or after the period of Deutero-Isaiah's composition.110 Unlike group A, group B includes scholars regarding only Deutero-Isaiah 40-48 as from the Neo-Babylonian period. According to H. Jagersma,1'' it is generally assumed that Deutero-Isaiah was active during the exile and addressed the exiled people in Babylonia. Isaiah 40-48 may be connected with events from before the fall of Babylon, while Isaiah 49-55 is perhaps connected more with events after the fall of that city. The

lus

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 369.

109

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 103-4. Nevertheless, throughout the course of his commentary, Blenkinsopp is conscientious in pointing out passages and interpretations that either favor a Judean provenance or call into question the assumption of a Babylonian origin. 110

111

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 200.

H. Jagersma, A History of Israel in the Old Testament Period (translated by John Bowden; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), 189.

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political background of Deutero-Isaiah's emergence appears to be determined primarily by the rise of Cyrus and the gradual decline of the Babylonian empire. Clearly all of the events connected with these political environments had a great influence on the oracles of Deutero-Isaiah. Y. Kaufmann, though a little different from Jagersma, also divides the prophecies of chapters 40-66 into three groups: 40-48, 49-57, and 58-66.112 In Isaiah 4066, the prophecies are grouped into three distinct collections, and yet interwoven and unified by content and language patterns. The grouping gives evidence of chronological ordering and reflects the composition of the prophecies at distinct stages. Chapters 40-48 49-57 58-66

The Historical Background The events of the years 546-539 (before the fall of Babylon) are the historical background of the first collection of prophecies, 40-48. (Kaufmann, 103) Immediately following the conquest (Kaufmann, 162). A limited number of years after the conquest of Babylon in 539. No indication of the actual return to Zion (Kaufmann, 72-3)

The events of the years 546-539 are the historical background of the first collection of prophecies, 40-48. The victories of Cyrus are mentioned in chapters 40-48 and Cyrus is mentioned by name in 44:28 and 45:1. At this time, Cyrus had already conquered Media and triumphed brilliantly over Lydia. The struggle with Babylon had begun. Babylon was preparing to defend itself but was not strong enough to attack, and that fact determined its fate. The anticipation of the change of guard in world rule is the background of chapters 40-48.113 In this section alone is there mention of the conquests of Cyrus and the coming

12

Y. Kaufmann, The Babylonian Captivity and Deutero-Isaiah (New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1970), 61-2. 13

Kaufmann, The Babylonian Captivity, 104.

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downfall of Babylon. After chapter 48, neither Cyrus nor the Chaldeans are mentioned. There is also in this section no moral chastisement nor any prophecy of national vengeance. This implies that this first section was written before the fall of Babylon.114 Hence, for Cyrus the prophet foretells victory over Babylon (43:14 and 48:14), and for Babylon calamity, loss of children, widowhood, and enslavement (chapter 47). Cyrus's victory will be the end of the exile, and the exiles will return to their home from Babylonia and from other lands. Despite this foreshadowing, the prophecies (40-48) give no definite indication of Babylon's actual fate after the victory of Cyrus. The following group contending that Deutero-Isaiah is from the NeoBabylonian and the early Persian period is divided into four sub-groups: C) just after the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus; D) prior to the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem (515 B.C.E.); E) at least in part after the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem; and F) Deutero-Isaiah 49-55 (not the whole of Deutero-Isaiah 40-55 but this latter portion) as form the early Persian period, but prior to 515 B.C.E. Within these groups some view the redactor (someone from the Isaianic school of disciples) not simply as a collector but as a creative editor and others argue that Isaiah chapters 40-55 were written by the anonymous prophet from the exile and the early post-exilic period. C. R. North sets the historical background of Isaiah 40-55 as from 550-538 B.C.: Cyrus rose to prominence some years before 550 and had a series of spectacular victories, first over the Medes (550), then over Croesus of Lydis (547), and finally over the Babylonians. He entered Babylon in 538115 and gave permission to the peoples who 114

115

Kaufmann, The Babylonian Captivity, 89.

According to Briant, Cyrus captured Babylon in 539 (dated 10 October 539). See P. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander (Indiana, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2002), 41.

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had been deported there to return to their own countries.116 In the closing verses of the prophecy (55:12f) the release from Babylon is still in the future and the terminus ad quern of the chapters should be earlier than the liberation edict of Cyrus, which cannot be earlier than the last days of 539. S. Smith, an Assyriologist, attempts to arrange the various oracles in a chronological sequence. He sets explicit dates (556-539 B.C.E.), ranging from after the outbreak of hostilities between Cyrus and Nabonidus shortly before the attack on the Babylonian governors in North Syria to the period after the fall of Babylon. Smith observes that although Cyrus is named only twice in Isaiah 40-48 (44:28; 45:1), he is alluded to without being named throughout this section of the book.117 He sought to identify references in these chapters to specific events in the career of Cyrus leading to the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.E. Smith gives an example: Isa 41:1-5 describes the reaction to Cyrus's spectacular conquest of Sardis in 547. For him, the historical mission of Cyrus is the theme in the central segment of Isaiah 40-48 (44:2445:17), in which Cyrus's name is used twice. Cyrus's historic mission is to put an end to the Babylonian Empire (43:14; 48:14-15), liberate prisoners and deportees, especially the descendants of Judeans who had been deported by the Babylonians (42:6-7; 43:5-7; 45:13), restore Jerusalem to its former state, and rebuild its temple and the cities of Judah that had been devastated during the Babylonian conquests (44:26-28; 45:13). Smith seems overly optimistic in making such precise correlations with historical events. R. J. Clifford claims that chapters 40-55 are a collection of speeches from the 116

117

C. R. North, The Second Isaiah (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964), 1.

S. Smith, Isaiah Chapters XL-LV: Literary Criticism and History (London: Oxford University Press, 1944), 49.

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540's B.C.E., and perhaps of the following decade, delivered to the Jews who had been deported to Babylonia from their native Judah a half century earlier. He emphasizes the context that Persia, under Cyrus, was rising to take Babylonia's place. Such changes in empire caused both trepidation and hope in small dependent peoples like the exiled Judahites.118 According to Clifford, speeches for Cyrus assume that everyone is aware that Cyrus is invincible and is responsible for the downfall of Babylon. They also probably presuppose that Cyrus has already entered the city as conqueror and has issued his decrees permitting the deportees to return and rebuild their temple. This view of Cyrus is possible only after he overthrew Astyages of Media in 550 B.C and had gone on to conquer the Lydian kingdom in 547 B.C." 9 According to Laato, the present form of the textual corpus fits in well with the historical atmosphere of the end of the Babylonian and the beginning of the Persian period.120 The pressing problem addressed in Isaiah 40-55 has to do with the return to Judah. For Laato, at the beginning of the Persian period, the historical situation suddenly changed giving the Judeans the opportunity to return to their homeland.121 On the other hand, Clements presents an understanding of the unity of the book of Isaiah based on the relationship between the prophecies of the historical Isaiah of

R. J. Clifford, Fair Spoken and Persuading: An Introduction of Second Isaiah (New York: Paulist Press, 1984), 3. 119

Clifford, Fair Spoken, 9.

120

A. Laato, The Servant ofYHWHand Cyrus: A Reinterpretation of the Exilic Messianic Programme in Isaiah 40-55 (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1992), 283. 121

Laato, The Servant ofYHWHand Cyrus, 243.

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Jerusalem and their later interpretation after the destruction of Jerusalem in 589/586.122 Clements argues that while it has been shown that Isaiah is not the work of a single author, there are signs that the book is not simply an accidental collection put together for literary convenience. Hence, he concludes, "the overall structure of the book shows signs of editorial planning and at some stage in its growth, attempts were made to read and interpret the book as a whole."

He argues that a correct appreciation of the book

should focus on its editorial history and should not, as is usually the case, focus on individual units isolated from the larger literary contexts in a search for original 124

meaning. He nonetheless contends that "chapters 40-55 form a reasonably coherent and unified whole, and are usually dated with confidence in the period 546-538 B.C"125 which he says is presupposed by the prophecies of chapters 40-55. Regarding date particularly with 538, 1 am not sure what Clement means by reference to 538. In given the date 538, does he mean the date of the surrender of Babylon? Is 538 understood as after the surrender of Babylon? or Is it understood as the date of the beginning of the return? Surely, following the fall of Babylon in 539, the return did not begin but one day after Babylon opened its gates to Cyrus! However, because Clement contends that, "chapters 40-55 of the book of Isaiah originated from the sixth century B.C., when Judah 122

R. E. Clements, "The Unity of the Book of Isaiah," Interpretation 36 (1982): 117-

29. 123

Clements, "Unity," 121.

124

R. Clements, "Beyond Tradition History: Deutero-Isaianic Development of First Isaiah's Themes," JSOT 31 (1985): 100. R. Clements, Old Testament Prophecy: From Oracles to Canon (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 97.

67 1 "J ft

and Jerusalem were under the domination of Babylon,"

Clements, in spite of reference

to 538, actually seems to fit with those who date all of Isaiah 40-55 before the "fall" of Babylon. The examination of features relating to the editorial structure of the book carries with it a number of important considerations and expectations regarding the situations to which its sayings are related and, not least, to the delicate task of establishing some reasonably convincing chronology of the origin of its various component parts. The literary order of the collection of prophetic sayings points to varying stages in the chronological order of their inclusion in the overall collection. Clements argues that the order has been determined by editorial considerations in which certain literary and theological interests must be postulated in order to account for the positioning of the material.127 B. Duhm regarded Isaiah 40-55 as from the period after the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem (515 B.C.E.) and concluded that not only are the three major divisions of Isaiah to be ascribed to authors of three different historical periods,128 but even within these major divisions later material is also to be separated out.129 Duhm 126

Clements, Old Testament Prophecy, 82

127

Clements, Old Testament Prophecy, 93, provides a lot of examples in p.95-103.

128

In his commentary, Das Buch Jesaja iibersetzt und erkldrt (HKAT 3/1; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1892; 4ifi edn., 1922), 14-15; 19; 418-19. Isaiah 40-66 is a redactional composite with three major sections: Isaiah 40-55 from ca. 540, written in one of the Phoenician cities; the "Servant Songs" (41:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12), all from one author writing a few years later; and Trito-Isaiah (56-66) composed in Jerusalem shortly before the activity of Ezra and Nehemiah. This is best known with regard to his isolation of four so-called servant songs in 40-55 and of chapters 55-66 (the period of after return to Jerusalem), which Duhm regarded as later additions to the text written originally in the margins or in spaces between sections, but also within Proto-Isaiah he found many examples of material which had been added subsequently to the work of the eighth-century propnet. For the further discussion see Williamson, The Book Called Isaiah, 4; and Franke, Isaiah 46, 47, and 48,

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himself, however, hardly addressed the question of multiple-authorship directly, for his view is that the two major halves of the book developed independently of one another and were only combined at a very late stage. Diverse material came together as a single book. In short, there is no inherent connection between the various parts of the book at the level of initial composition itself. The references to a return from exile begin in Isaiah 40. For Isaiah 40-55 Duhm identifies no "authentic" passage as incompatible with the last days of the exile. Twice the name Cyrus is mentioned. The chapters that follow these must be later in date, written at a time when the Temple had been rebuilt. Duhm regarded the authentic passages in chapters 40-55 as a book written by one man from ca. 540, but subject to interpolation and editing.130 On the other hand, group F is a little different from group E, for they conclude that although not the whole of chapters 40-55 but some portion (chapters 49-55) was written prior to 515 B.C.E. According to Kaufmann and Jagersma, Isaiah 40-48 are substantially prior to the fall of Babylon, but Isaiah 49-55(57) are post 539 but prior to 515. For Kaufmann, Cyrus's victories were the prologue to the founding of a new pagan empire, not of the kingdom of God in Zion. Israel was still what it had been: conquered, exiled, and dispersed.131 The great political convulsion of the period ended the prolonged slumber of the Jewish captivity. What was its prospect in this titanic struggle? What would happen to it when the Neo-Babylonian monarchy collapsed, the very empire which had put an end to the independent political life of the Jewish nation? Would the enemies devour the Judaeans? Or does the exiled community still remain hopeful of a return to its

130

Duhm, Das Buch Jesaia, 390. See also Smith, Isaiah Chapters XL-LV, 2; and Blenkinsopp Isaiah 56-66, 55. 131

Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 123.

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homeland and a renewal of national life? This agitation of the captivity gives rise to Deutero-Isaiah. His prophecy discloses the breath of life that began to stir in the silence of the captivity. After the conquest of Babylon, Cyrus granted the exiles permission to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. But the prophet says nothing concerning this permission, the aliyah, its deeds and fate, the people who led them, or what they accomplished in Jerusalem.132 "Go ye forth from Babylon" (48:20), "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence," (52:11-12) refer to the miraculous aliyah of all the people. They are unrelated to the actual return. The actual aliyah and its fate are not mentioned at all in chapters 40-66. Only its overall purpose is mentioned there: the hope of rebuilding the Temple.1 But it is obvious that to the prophet the permission and the return are not 'redemption.' Cyrus did not become an enemy and persecutor, but his monarchy, marked by less cruel than Assyria and Babylonia, was still a mighty and tyrannical oriental empire. Cyrus did not restore the kingdom of the house of David even as a dependent, vassal state. He did not restore political freedom to Israel. Thus Cyrus's permission of a return did not change the situation of Israel in the pagan world.134 It is evident in the fact that from chapter 48 onward he does not again mention Cyrus or the conquest of Babylon. This is conclusive proof to Kaufmann that the prophecies of chapters 49 and following were written after the fall of Babylon.135

Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 72. Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 72-73. Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 123. Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 68

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The prophet found a way out of the confusion and consternation that followed the fall of Babylon. Sin was the cause; Israel was not yet worthy of redemption— recognizing this fact was the turning point in the prophecies. The prophet continued to proclaim the tidings of salvation, and as redemption was delayed, the element of rebuke became predominant in the prophecies of the second section. The exiles were more concerned with their everyday troubles than with the great historic confrontation of idolatry, and this, in the eyes of the prophet, was considered as forgetting God (51:12-13). Therefore, the sin which prevented redemption was above all the absence of trust in and true devotion to God. The crisis of the year 539 accounts adequately for the differences between the earlier prophecies in 40-48 and the latter prophecies in 49-55.136 Kaufmann assumes that all of the prophet's prophecies were spoken in Babylonia. There is no need to assume that the prophet himself went from Babylonia to the land of Israel.137 His high hopes were not realized but his ardent faith in redemption did not give away. He continued to proclaim the tidings of salvation. Yet the spiritual crisis stamped his assurances after 539 with a new character. Group F might include Albertz in that he argues that the first edition of Deutero-Isaiah (some parts) was written around 520 BCE. Finally, the last group G, which includes scholars such as R. Albertz,

K.

Baltzer, and C. C. Torrey, separates genuine or authentic sections of Isaiah 40-55 from

Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 103. 137

138

Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 73; 103.

R. Albertz, A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period (Vol. 2; Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994).

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material in these same chapters that they attribute to a later hand, usually the author(s) or compiler(s) of Isaiah 56-66. They usually attribute a significant number of these expansions to a school or group rather than to an individual author. According to Albertz, Deutero-Isaiah possesses two conclusions: Isa 52:7-10, 11-12 and 55:6, 8-13. Albertz therefore assumes that it went through two editions: the first edition (including three of Hanson's divine warrior passages: 42:10-16, 43:16-21, 51:9-10) comprised Isa 40:1-5, 9-52:12 because the command to comfort Jerusalem (40:1-2) and to build a highway for Yahweh (40:3-5) as well as the mandate to Jerusalem to herald the good news of Yahweh's arrival ("messenger of joy" in 40:9-11) are fulfilled in 52:7-10 ("messenger of joy" in 52:7 and "comfort" in 52:9); and the second edition (including one of Hanson's divine warrior passages: 54:7-12) provided 40:6-8 and 55:1011 as a new frame, emphasizing the power and endurance of God's word.1 For the dating of Deutero-Isaiah, Albertz argues that: God's judgment on Jerusalem lies in the past; a new era of God's mercy and favor has dawned. Therefore, the central focus and turning point of DeuteroIsaiah is the fall of Babylon (noted in chapter 47); it concludes with the miraculous resurrection of Zion (chapters 49-54). Thus Deutero-Isaiah is the only prophetic book of the exilic period that contains nothing but prophecy of salvation. "This is because it dates from the end of the exilic period and the beginning of the post-exilic period. It has ties not only historically but also materially with the books of the two early postexilic prophets, Haggai and Zechariah(l-8). 140 According to Albertz, most of the book emerged before Cyrus's victory over Babylon in 539 B.C.E. But a closer reading reveals that only one of the royal oracles names Cyrus explicitly—twice in Isa 44:28-45:1—whereas three remain anonymous as originally

139

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 392-3.

140

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 380.

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45:5-7; 45:11-13; 48:12-15. For Albertz, the first edition was written around 520 B.C.E. Such an edition can be understood much better if one applies the anonymous oracles to Darius,141 who usurped the Persian throne in 522 and who captured the rebellious city of Babylon in the winter of 522 and summer 521 B.C.E. In addition, for Albertz, there were negotiations in the first half of 521 between Darius and the leaders of the Judean colonies in Babylonia which led to the first large-scale return in the year 520.142 Since the first edition urges the audiences to seize the chance to return without delay, and now that return is finally possible in Isa 52:11-12, it must have been written before the arrival of the Zerubbabel group in 520 and probably before the successful conclusion of the negotiations. Then Albertz contends that in the dramatic year 521 B.C.E. when the throne of Darius was still far from secure, the possibility of return was by no means assured.143 On the other hand, since the second edition of Deutero-Isaiah shifts the emphasis to Zion, with Judah being threatened by external enemies (Isa 51:12-13; 54:1417) and an ongoing population deficit (51:1-2; 54:103), Albertz argues that it was produced in Jerusalem. In addition, this condition could fit any time between the completion of the temple in 515 BCE and the rebuilding of Jerusalem's wall in 445. However, the dating of Trito-Isaiah cautions against assigning too late a date to the second edition. For Albertz, the earliest portions of Trito-Isaiah (chapters 60-62) date from the first half of the fifth century at the latest. Since they presuppose Isaiah 54-55, the second edition presumably was written by "a prophetic disciple of the third

141

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 399-400.

142

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 119-224.

143

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 400.

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generation" at the end of the sixth or the beginning of the fifth century.144 Interestingly, in considering the probable date of Deutero-Isaiah as even later, Baltzer is interested in the parallels between Deutero-Isaiah and the measures taken by Nehemiah.145 Chronologically a little later yet, according to C. C. Torrey, Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 34-35 and 40-66) "formed a homogenous group and were the work of a single hand."146 His "new view" was that there were twenty-seven poems, composed and written down in the present order in Palestine near the end of the fifth century. As the preceding discussion has shown, except for the last group (G), Isaiah 4055 was written not earlier than the defeat of the Median kingdom in 550, and after the taking of Sardis in 547/6 (540's B.C.E.). On the other hand, the terminus ad quern is not later than the capture of Babylon in 539/8. And even stretching out the completion of the temple in 515 B.C.E, or later. Deutero-Isaiah is viewed by the scholars as the author of chapters 40-55, being an anonymous prophetic individual or his disciples and school,

144

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 429-30.

145

K. Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah (translated by M. Kohl; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 30-31. For assuming a later date—to be more specific, sometime between 450 and 400 B.C.E. around the time of Nehemiah: (a) the building of the walls (Isa 49:16, 17-19; 54:ll-14a; cf. Neh 2:11-4:17; 6:15-16); (b) the association of the cities of Judah with Jerusalem (Isa 40:9-11; 44:26; cf. Nehemiah 3; 11); (c) the liberation of people enslaved because of debt (Isa 42:22; 4:5; 46:10; 49:8-9; 51:10-11, 13-14; cf. Nehemiah 5); and (d) the link among the group of the exiles, those who had remained in the country, and the Diaspora (Isa 49:12, 22-23; 51:1-3, 9-11; cf, the biography ofNehemiah). Furthermore, references to the concrete political situation of Nehemiah's conflict with his opponents, Sanballat, Tobiah (Isa 49:7, 17; 52:1 and 54:14b-17; cf. Neh 2:19-20; 3:33-4:5). For a critique of Balzer, see the review by B. D. Sommer, "Review of K. Baltzer's DeuteroIsaiah" in RBL 4 (2003), 1-6. 146

Torrey, Second Isaiah, 53. In order to defend his thesis that Deutero-Isaiah is not a prophet of the return, he considers all references to Cyrus and Babylon to be interpolations. Because Cyrus did not do what the prophet anticipated, the prophecy must be symbolic only and belong to a much later date (pp. 20-52).

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active in Babylonia among the exiles, and anticipating their return in the manner of a second exodus. The next task is to note that the key proto-apocalyptic passages in Isaiah 40-55 are accepted as exilic texts. Although some scholars date these passages-as some of them—as after 539/538 but before 520, the texts drawn upon by Hanson can fit as evidence for my hypothesis of a neo-Babylonian exilic context for proto-apocalyptic. It is clear that if one grants that the key texts could be exilic, and that they represent protoapocalyptic, then one is also granting that proto-apocalyptic could have emerged during the exilic period.

2. Hanson's Selected Four Passages The preceding discussion has shown that many scholars date these four passages as from before the end of 539. For Isa 42:10-16, Hanson indirectly depicts its historical setting as the exilic period: "because of the perennially ravaging effects of war, captivity and homelessness, the people whom the prophet addressed were a people plagued with hopelessness regarding the future." With every passing year, the chief Babylonian god Marduk would potentially seem more relevant and Yahweh more incidental to the major events that were engulfing the exilic community. The pragmatic response was accommodation to the new realities, including worship of the Babylonian gods as part of the recognition of Babylonian power and conformity to their customs. Therefore, the distinctive religion of the Judaeans in Babylonia was possibly threatened with extinction.147 147

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 48-9.

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However, the prophet was clearly aware of the antidote for the exilic situation. The prophet sings out with the sudden outburst of lyrical praise: "Sing to the Lord a new song." Furthermore people everywhere are called on to join the paean of praise, whether they are on the farthest seas or on the highest mountains (42:10-12). Hanson gives the reasons for the invitation: "he invites the people to celebrate their confession under the inspiration of the spirit of God who was breathing new life into the community, into nature, and into the entire universe." This invitation will be one that burst all bonds, spilling over from tiny Israel to the ends of the earth.148 In Deutero-Isaiah the inbreaking of the new that breaks the bonds of exile and heals the brokenness of both human community and nature is a central theme (Isa 43:18-19 and 48:6).149 Unlike Hanson, Oswalt mentions the point more specifically. The unit 42:1-9 had ended with a divine promise: "new things I now declare." 'A new song' in the first verse of this unit (42:10-16) must correspond to the new work that God is about to do. Oswalt is convinced that "at the least, this phrase refers to the promised return from exile." Because God is not part of the world order, he can do something that had never happened before. So it will be a "new thing" (42:9; 43:19).150 The prophet continually advises that the immediate cause of the praise is the recognition that although God may often appear to be silent and inactive, he is not truly so (40: 14-16). At the right time and in the right circumstances, God will burst forth on

148

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 49.

149

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 48.

150

J. N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 40-66 (NICOT; Grand Rapids; Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), 123.

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behalf of his own, and no difficulty, neither the power of his enemy (v. 13) nor the weakness of his people (v. 16), will hinder him. According to Oswalt, "this situation could certainly be applied to the period of the exile (586-539 B.C.), when people (the exiles) must have felt that God had abandoned them."151 Blenkinsopp also concurs with Oswalt's idea: "the period of silence and inactivity (42:14a), of the hiding of God's face, corresponds to the epoch of the 1 CI

Babylonian conquest."

Blenkinsopp regards the silence of God as the time of Israel's

sesse of abandonment by God, the end of which is now proclaimed in Isa 40:1-2; 42:14. In particular, 42:13 recalls acclamations of Yahweh as warrior god, going forth from his appearance surrounded by cosmic reverberations and natural upheavals. The castrophic effects of this violent intervention in nature in 42:15—mountains, hills, rivers, and lakes —is reminiscent of the anti-Babylonia poem in Isa 13:9-13 and points to the same historical referent15 (the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.: my emphasis). Goldingay raises a question for the audience of Isa 42:10-17: "Who is addressed?" Although he does not provide a specific date or situation, presumably this section is addressed to people in the sixth century (the exilic period). "In isolation the invitation could be addressed to Israelites, and they could be envisaged as scattered to the end of the earth and over the sea."154 "The people with whom vv. 1-17 are concerned are Israel's fellow-victims of Babylonian domination who will hear the proclamation of 151

Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah 40-66, 124.

152

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 215.

153

Ibid., 215.

154

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 168.

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Yahweh's decision (vv.1-4), see the embodiment of Yahweh's covenant (vv.5-9), join in praise for Yahweh's new deed (vv.10-12), and experience the gains of Yahweh's own battling (w.-17)." However, Westermann, in analyzing this hymn-form (vv.10-13), states more specifically: "Deutero-Isaiah summons his audience, his fellow-countrymen in exile, even now to strike up jubilation at the event which, while it lies ahead of them all, is already settled fact in the mind of God, the return which he himself brings about."155 By the blindness and darkness in v. 16 he describes "the Golah's present condition." The result of this new work on God's part is that Israel's foes turn back in v. 17 ("the movement opposed to the mighty rise and advance of the neo-Babylonian power") and are put to shame.156 For Isa 43:16-21, Hanson contends that the reference in Isa 43:16 is to God's saving activity in the historical realm, more specifically the exodus from Egypt. DeuteroIsaiah's audience would feel immediately at home with words bringing with them a very familiar sound: "way in the sea," "chariot and horse," "army and warrior." These words would have have had a lulling effect, giving comfort to a people battered on all sides by a threatening world filled with unfamiliar gods, rulers, languages, and customs. Specifically, the exilic Jewish community was being engulfed by international developments that threatened to obliterate its identity and its vocation as God's people. Hanson describes their destiny as hanging in the balance with earthshaking events unfolding around them. Accordingly, right at the point, when his audience might have begun to yield to the 155

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 102.

156

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 107.

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soothing effects of the recitation of the traditional images of the exodus, Deutero-Isaiah introduces a clashing dissonance with the words in 43:18. "Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old."157 Like the slaves in Egypt, the Jewish exiles in Babylonia (Hanson's emphasis) are in bondage to a foreign power. Hanson pictures the situation "as standing on a threshold." At the point where a nostalgic relation to tradition threatens to tie the people to their past and to stultify alertness to present realities, responsiveness to new opportunities, and the potential for growth into yet-unrealized possibilities. Although Hanson does not mention a specific date, he provides a historical reference for Isa 43:16-21. In particular, the advent of Cyrus (after 550 B.C.) had become a chance to lift the shackles of imposed bondage and hold out the promise of political release. But the newest threat to freedom was the prison of the people's own lethargy and the wistful sort of memory of the past that dulls one's alertness to the present. The prophet felt that Israel needed to be shocked out of such lethargy and Deutero-Isaiah heard a God, whose presence was not limited to the past but who was active in contemporary events, say to the exiles in 43:19. "I am about to do a new thing, now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" 15

Cyrus's rise to preeminence is a challenge to muster sufficient

theological imagination to see how God's purpose is unfolding in the political events of their time with their senses keen to perceive the advent of the God who comes to deliver slaves, to heal the sick, and to restore to wholeness that which is broken.159 Here again 157

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 72.

158

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 73.

159

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 74-5.

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Hanson pictures the context of this passage as a daring openness to the future. He implies Cyrus's rise before the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C. The passage projects people who were in bondage joining freedom and restoring dignity. So far it has seemed that the prophet had in mind the overthrow of mighty Babylon. However, what those new things were in the prophet's mind is only partly apparent. Blenkinsopp and Goldingay take the view that Isa 43:14-21 represents a single consciously designed unit. According to Blenkinsopp, the first saying (vv.14-15) includes predictions about the fate of Babylon incompatible with what came to be known about the fall of the city. The prophet affirms that "Cyrus has a historic mission to conquer Babylon and that the fall of the city is the opening act in the drama of Israel's redemption."160 In the use of present participles in vv. 16-17a, the deed done a long time ago is superimposed on the drama of redemption, in which the fall of Babylon is to be the first act. "The new thing now begins to unfold as the anticipated return of the Babylonian diaspora to the homeland," although Blenkinsopp does not "oblige us to domicile the author among the Jewish ethnic minority in Babylon." The prophet anticipates a return from the ends of the earth and from all points of the compass, not just from Mesopotamia, in 41:9, 43:5, and 49:12.161 So Oswalt and Blenkinsopp mention the historical references from the fall of Babylon to the return of the exiles in this section, which begin now to unfold. On the other hand, although Goldingay mentions two historical references, like Oswalt and Blenkinsopp, he deals with them as the future. He gives as title for the section 160

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-66, 227'.

161

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-66, 228.

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(43:14-21): "Yahweh Will Defeat Babylon and Open Up a New Future (43.14-21)." Two verses (vv. 14-15) make a statement about the future that includes the prophecy's first specific mention of Babylonia and the Chaldeans, whose coming downfall it announces.162 In particular, he implies a recognition that "the purpose of a prophet's imaginative portrayal of a future event was not to give a literal anticipatory account of it. It was precisely to speak from imagination to imagination in order to provoke a response now."163 Westermann emphasizes the response expected by audiences: Verses 16b and 17 could conceivably correspond to that part of a community lament known as 'the review of God's former acts of salvation'... But if in v. 16f. the prophet relates himself to this part of the lament, then by the term 'remember' in v. 18 he does not have the mere remembering of God's original act in mind, but the expostulation made in laments reproaching God with the contrast between his present attitude towards his chosen people and great thing he did for them in former days. 64 The prophet had not the slightest intention of saying that the old traditions are abrogated and that a new act of God is impending. Rather, the prophet wants to say, 'stop mournfully looking back and dining to the past, and open your minds to the fact that a new, miraculous act of God lies ahead of you!' What is now springing up is a new thing, which is shortly to appear as a reality which the exiles themselves will experience: "you will know it or you will perceive it," in v. 19. This new deliverance as 'the Exodus from the exile' is given effect and becomes historical reality by means of a new journey

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 205. Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 207. Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 128.

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through the wilderness.165 Goldingay concurs with Westermann, who finds historical references hidden in this section (Isa 43: 16-21), presented as a futuristic event. So I might say that Isa 43:16-21 had already been written before the events (the fall of Babylon and the return of the exiles) in the exilic period. For Isa 51:9-11, Hanson sketches the historical background: The prophet calls out to the power that in the birthing of the universe created the possibility of life: "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord!" (v.9). In that power alone resided hope for a community now assailed by the dread specter of chaos (the Babylonian empire: my emphasis). A new movement lies in the future, but it is implicit already in the paradigmatic events of the past. Deliverance from exile shall occur. God has not changed! God will act as God acted in the exodus and in creation. His power is sufficient to defeat the pernicious power of chaos (implying the fall of Babylon: my emphasis)!166 The power lesson of this recapitulation of history in Isa 51:9-11 is immediately applied to the present situation of the exilic community in 51:12-16. Their real problem is that they now live in the fear of tyrants and the dread of oppressors; they have no control over their own destiny. Thus, the exiles are to rouse themselves from their helpless stupor and awaken to the freedom they have received from God to join in the drama of restoration.167 In the midst of the hardships of historical existence the exilic community, as victims living under the domain of evil, experiences the transformation from despair and brokenness

165

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 128-9.

166

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 146.

167

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 147.

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into faith and hope. It implies that this section was written before the fall of the Babylon. According to Blenkinsopp, the repeated verb ('awake') in this section can signify a call to battle, a summons to a special mission, such as when Yahweh aroused the spirit of Cyrus (41:2, 25; 45:13), or a prophetic calling (50:4)—(or even all three). The repeated command itself indicates a sense of urgency and conveys the impression that a critical point has been reached. The repetition further along urging departure, presumably from Babylon (52:11, fem-sg), connects structurally with a repeated set of imperatives (40:1-5, m-pl) in the initial passage in Isaiah 40-55, and with the same injunction at the end of section 40-48 ('depart [m-pl] from Babylon' in 48:20-22).168 It is likely that Blenkinsopp regards the events after the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C. as the historical reference for this section. The arm of God signifies strength, protection of the week, and challenge to the proud and over-confident (40:10; 48:14; 51:5; 52:10). In this section the metaphor is military: the warrior putting on a tunic and armor in preparation for battle. Throughout these chapters, Yahweh has appealed to his power as cosmic Creator to strengthen the faith of a dispirited and disoriented people. Now the prophet, speaking for the people, echoes back to Yahweh the same theme in terms of the old myth of the victory of God over the forces of chaos at the beginning of time (and at the time of the return of the exiles as a new event: my emphasis). So he concludes "this kind of imagery should not be dismissed as mere myth or mere poetic metaphor, since it conveys a vivid sense of the deep anxieties (of the Jewish exiles in the foreign land: my emphasis) that fuel much of

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 331.

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the religious language in prophecy"169 Yahweh's arm in 51:9 is a symbol for Yahweh as involved in fighting. Now Babylon is the recipient of its force in order to make possible a return to Jerusalem and a restoration of Jerusalem (40:10; 48:14; 52:10). According to Goldingay, "the depth of sea," i.e., "the waters of the great deep" in 51:10, refers to the recurrent human experience of being overwhelmed by depths of danger and distress (the exilic situation).170 At this point Yahweh opens up 'the restored crossing specifically over the sea as over a way' before the people (the return home after the fall of Babylon: my emphasis). In v. 11, the prophet has directly spoken of the deportees' 'return' to the homeland. The notion of a return to Zion is in close association with that of a return to Yahweh (Jer 31:6, 50:5). Returning to Zion would in itself suggest a returning to Yahweh, not merely a returning to the city of Jerusalem.171 Although Goldingay does not cite specific historical references for this section, one can imagine the events after the fall of Babylon because of the emphasis on 'an exodus motif and the deportees' return, in keeping with his general idea for dating Deutero-Isaiah ("Isaiah 40-50 related to its sixthcentury context and perhaps to later Second Temple contexts in which the material was further developed").172 Elsewhere in Deutero-Isaiah the stricken and humiliated nation's laments are only suggested, or at best have but a few words quoted from them, as in 40:27. Here, 169

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 332-3.

170

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 433.

171

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 435.

172

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 3.

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however, it is given plainly, for 51: 9-10 is, word for word without change, the beginning of a community lament "made by Israel, enslaved and in exile," consisting of the introductory cry for help in v. 9a and the review of God's saving actions in the past, vv.9b-10. m Westermann adds as well a clue for subsequent editing of verse 11 in the exilic period: Verse 11 is almost word for word identical with 35:10. Duhm felt this to be the proof that v. 11 was an addition taken from 35.10. Subsequent editors have been divided without being able to come to any conclusion. Verses 9-10 constitute a community lament's review of God's previous assaying acts, and therefore there must be some kind of transition before they can continue as a proclamation of salvation. To put it in another way, the 'redeemed' of v. 10 are Israelites who departed from Egypt, while the 'ransomed' of Yahweh' of v. 11 are those who depart from Babylon. It is not possible for the two events to be linked merely by the one word, 'and'. On the other hand, the addition of v. 11 at this point because the 'redeemed' of v. 10b were taken to be Israel in the exile in Babylon, is at once intelligible. Deutero-Isaiah's authorship of v. 11 is not only possible but probable. Only, this is not its original position (cf. on 52:If.). In this passage, J. Day argues, "We have a blending of God's victory over chaos at the creation, at the Exodus, and in the coming deliverance from Babylonian exile." By implication, the defeat of Rahab may be cited and the thought extended to Babylon at the time of the prophet. The return from exile in Babylonia is both a new creation and a new Exodus. Isa 51:9-11 "dates from the exilic period and similarly appeals to God's defeat of the dragon in the past as a basis of confidence in God's deliverance in the present lamentable situation."174 The fact that it could be appealed to in this way in the time of need during the exile implies that it was deeply rooted in the exiles' consciousness. Isa 54:7-12 starts with a very frightening statement of divine absence. "For a

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 240. 17

J. Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 92.

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brief moment I abandoned you... In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you," in 54:7a-8a. Hanson states, "The historical background of this tensive passage is the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the ensuing exile."175 The prophet seems to anticipate the further doubting of the exiles in Babylon: How can they be sure that God's wrath has been overcome by everlasting love? Here the prophet turns to tradition again, this time to the story of Noah. This parallel to Israel's experience is apt. In spite of the war rather than the flood, the effect of recent events has been comparable. The nation has suffered great loss. At this time, the prophet recalls a story from the past describing God's solemn commitment not to repeat total devastation in v. 10. "My steadfast love shall not depart from you." This verse reminds the exiles that God's love is stronger than God's wrath. In verse 11 'Zion' is addressed as 'O afflicted one.' Westermann states that the address is reminiscent of a lament made by Jerusalem after she had been destroyed.176 Not only is Zion promised restoration as in 49:8b, but she is also to be raised up in supernatural splendor. Hanson understands that verses 11-12 picture God's preparation of Zion for the return of the faithful people. The restoration of God's people is not a fuzzy abstraction. The exiles will sing their praises within a real-life context, a city adorned and protected by God.177 According to Goldingay, Isaiah 54 does not refer to 'new' Jerusalem, despite the prophet's liking for reference to 'new' things. Verse 12 is "a vision of the restoring and transforming of the existent Jerusalem." Also there is no reference to

175

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 170.

176

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 277.

177

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 173.

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the temple, the focus is on the city itself."

So he implies that the historical reference of

this passage is to an event before the rebuilding the temple. On the other hand, vv. 11-17a speaks more directly, if in visionary fashion, about Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians in a deliberately punitive act and still lying in ruins. According to Blenkinsopp, the theme of Isa 54:1-17 is anticipated in 49:14-26, in which, after Yahweh replies to the complaint of spousal abandonment, the passage moves to a consideration of the physical city with its walls, also anticipating Nehemiah's rebuilding program and his repopulation of Jerusalem (Neh 11:1 -36). Since the Babylonian had been controlling Judah 'for a long time' (Isa 42:14), these passages are clearly the answer to a lamentation in which the exiles had reproached him with inactivity. "The complaint of the exiles was that God was apparently indifferent to their distress."180 But now Yahweh's decisive action is presented in military terms (42:13), following an ancient tradition that Yahweh led the Israelite tribes to victory. In view of Deutero-Isaiah's frequent portrayal of the coming deliverance as a new Exodus, it is significant that the statement that Yahweh is like a warrior is also found in connexion with the first Exodus (Exod 15:3). According to Whybray, this does not contradict the assertion made elsewhere in the book that it is Cyrus whose victories will save the exiles.181 'The way in the wilderness' (43:19) is the highway of 40:3 which is to be constructed at Yahweh's command for the returning exiles. It corresponds partly to the 7

179

Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-66, 537. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 360.

180

A. S. Herbert, The Book of the Prophet Isaiah: Chapters 40-66 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975), 45. 181

Whybray, Isaiah 40-66, 78.

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'way in the sea' in 43:16. The new exodus will be followed, like the old, by a miraculous journey thorough the desert. The theme of the Exodus, crossing of the Red or Reed Sea, and consequent journeying through the desert formed part of the same complex in Israel's traditions, and Deutero-Isaiah, is able to compare and contrast the former acts and the new acts of Yahweh simply by picking out details without needing to specify each one. Some verses point to the people's present hopeless state (42:7 and 16), referring the exiles as 'the blind.'182 On the other hand, the prophet borrows the expression 'Yahweh's arm' (51:9), addressing Yahweh himself in his capacity as warrior, in order to escape from their situation. Similarly God is thought of as clothing himself with strength, the attribute above all needed by a warrior. The list of Yahweh's mighty deeds begins with an allusion to a mythological battle in which he slew a sea-monster variously known as Rahab or the dragon, which represents Israel's enemy, the Babylonians. In the Babylonian form of the cosmic conflict myth (Enuma elish) the chaos monster was defeated by Marduk after a great battle. In Deutero-Isaiah, the myth is transformed by equating 'the waters of the great abyss' with the waters of the Red or Reed Sea through which Israel passed in safety. "This in turn became the symbol for deliverance of the lOI

exiles."

The prophet uses exodus themes to draw out the nature of God's new action

for his people, the exiles. The contrasts with the promise to the exiles (Isa 41:18) are obvious in these passages: the turning of fertile mountains and hills into arid deserts (42:15) may imply the destruction of Israel's enemy. The drying up of rivers (42:15) means salvation for 182

Herbert, Book of the Prophet Isaiah, 45.

183

Herbert, Book of the Prophet Isaiah, 101.

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Israel but destruction for her enemy. In contrast with the fate of the Babylonians, the joyous return home of the exiles is now described in 42:16. Furthermore, Zion is addressed (54:1-10) and the reassurances about her future prosperity which are Yahweh's answer to her specific lamentations. The prophet does not deny that the Exile constituted a separation from Yahweh, but the prophet emphasizes that this separation was not only not permanent, but even insignificant in comparison with the immensity of the love with which he will take her back (54:7). On the other hand, the prophet was evidently familiar with the patriarchal tradition and used it in an extremely effective way (Abraham tradition in 41:8; 51:2). And the story of Noah (54:9) is still in the prophet's mind. It may be the thought of the disappearance of the mountains (54:10) beneath the waters of the Flood which inspired the prophet to make the comparison. Noah's story that affirms that God protects those who show special piety, even when the mountains disappear, encourages those who are in trouble and in great anxiety in a foreign land. Deutero-Isaiah invokes this 'covenant' in his affirmation about the new era (the return from the exile) which is about to begin (the future: my emphasis). This basis of the covenant is his 'steadfast love' in 54:10 or faithfulness to his promises. The exiles, through these messages, had recognized God's presence even in God's absence and had been aware of the deep sorrow experienced by the compassionate God driven by human stubbornness to perform acts of severe mercy. "The Jewish community of Second Isaiah's time was brought back to God's covenant of peace through the devastating stroke of national calamity."184 Here are the conclusions that I draw from the above: Firstly, the prophetic

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 176.

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author of (most of) chapters 40-55 actually lived in the time of Cyrus, and the contents, style, and purpose of his prophecies confirm this opinion. The prophet who uttered these words of comfort urges a return to Zion; thus, it only makes sense that he lived toward the end of the Babylonian exile and helped strengthen the movement that began immediately after Cyrus conquered Lydia (547/6 B.C.E.). The entire purpose of that movement was for God to bring the Jews back to their own land, to restore the ruins of Jerusalem, and to even rebuild the Temple. Secondly, for the dating issue within the exilic period, either with reference to the whole of Isaiah 40-55 or with the division of the chapters into two sections (40-48, 49-55), many scholars limit the time-frame of Deutero-Isaiah from the earliest event in 550 B.C.E. and the defeat of Median kingdom to the fall of the Babylonian empire in 538/9 B.C.E. Some, however, extend the period to a point a little earlier than the fall of the Median Empire and a little later than the fall of Babylon. This allows one to read part of Isaiah 40-55 with a slightly earlier historical background in mind than that of 550 B.C.E (my emphasis). In conclusion, except the third group, none of the scholars as mentioned above has seriously questioned the basic view that Deutero-Isaiah was active in the Babylonian exilic period and that at least some of Hanson's key passages for proto-apocalyptic date to the time of the Babylonian exile. Even if portions of Isaiah 40-55 are regarded as from the post-exilic period, they are presumably still Exilic in conceptual origin, even if not strictly from the Neo-Babylonian period of the exile.

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CHAPTER III THE JUDAEAN EXILES DURING THE NEO-BABYLONIAN PERIOD

M. Noth perceptively stated that the Babylonian exile of 586 BCE ought to be seen as the final event, who sense "merely the conclusion of a long historical process," of the fall of the independent state of Judah.1 Jerusalem was treated severely, the temple, of course, was destroyed, and many of the religious implements of worship were carried into exile with the people. Kern helpfully notes the horrific realities in his monograph on ancient siege warfare: "it is apparent that all conquerors of cities considered both people and property at their disposal. Looting was universal, massacres or transportation common."2 The older view, as as presented by Klamroth, writing in 1912, is that the Jewish exiles suffered greatly at the hands of their captors, they were put to hard labor and burdened with heavy taxes, many were sold into slavery, some imprisoned and others lived in dire poverty (see Isa 58:10).3 On the other hand, in an analysis of the conditions of exile written several decades later, Noth argues "the exiles were not 'prisoners' but represented a compulsorily transplanted subject population who were able to move about freely in their daily life, but were presumably compelled to render compulsory labor

1

M. Noth, The History of Israel (trans. P. R. Ackroyd, 2nd ed; New York: Harper & Row, 1960), 289. 2

P. B. Kern, Ancient Siege Warfare (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), 25. E. Klamroth, Die judischen Exulanten in Babylonien (Leipzig, 1912), 1-52.

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service. More positively, Oded believes that there is no evidence of suppression or religious persecution, as the community members had "a certain internal autonomy and they enjoyed the freedom to manage their community life" (see Ezek 33:30-33). The exile community became land tenants of royal land, Judaean craftsmen were involved in projects, and at least by several decade after 539 religious personnel were able to conduct some aspects of Jewish religious ritual at sites such as Casiphia (Ezra 8:15-20). Furthermore, M. A. Dandamaev contends that they were not "slaves" in the technical Neo-Babylonian sense. "The forced labour sector in Babylonia, in contrast to Greek and Roman antiquity, was not able to absorb such masses of captives."6 But notable in Oded's sanguine picture of exilic condition is a reference to the Murashu texts in the later Persian period. It is precisely these tendencies to presume a tame, even if not entirely comfortable, existence that needs to be challenged in the light of an analysis informed by the experience of exiles throughout history. Even if it be assumed that all the prominent exiles were transported in chains, this is still only a temporary suffering, and irrelevant to the condition of the whole situation of the exiles. It is possible that many of the captive exiles were sold into slavery,7 but this possibility is not decisive with respect to the state of affairs in exile. In

4

Noth, The History of Israel, 296.

5

Oded, "Judah and the Exile," 480-86 (483).

6

M. A. Dandamayev, "Social Stratification in Babylonia 7th to 4th Centuries BC," Acta Antiqua 22(1974): 437. 7

Klamroth, Die jiidischen Exulanten, 37, is sure this happened. One might cite the later reference in Neh 5:8. Yet note the intimation in Neh 5:7 is of debt slavery, which is another matter.

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Neh 5:8 one learns that the later ongoing community in Babylonia (and Persia) were sufficiently well-off to be able to redeem some slaves. There were also slaves in Babylonia from among the local sovereign peoples. Although the people, described as imprisoned in the prison-houses (cf. Isa 42:22) might be captives, such as Jehoiachin and his followers, the majority of the exiles were not imprisoned. On the other hand, enforced service and taxation were not peculiar to the exiles. These were obligations of all the o

Babylonian provinces for all their inhabitants. However, that the exiles were not slaves is hardly a decisive observation because this does not tell us very much about the human conditions of the exiles. Therefore, the first goal in this section is an account of what is actually known about what was going on among the exiles in the Neo-Babylonian period, for which there is circumstantial evidence from the biblical and nonbiblical texts. The second goal is to suggest the factors that generated proto-apocalyptic in the Neo-Babylonian period. I will discuss the situation of the Judeans exiles, present an evaluation of their situation as deprivation, and comment on how their experience of deprivation contributed to the development of a proto-apocalyptic perspective. Unfortunately, in the discussion of the Judean exiles as slaves 1 cannot find current scholars who so identify them, but I can point to forced labor of war captives in the Neo-Babylonian period as part of the argument for deprivation. Though the people were forced to go there, that does not mean that they became slaves. It is, however, important to note that oppression does not presuppose slavery and that not being slaves does not mean that the people were not oppressed. The argument for deprivation is not itself based on the exiles being slaves or

Kaufmann, Baylonian Captivity, 1.

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serving in forced labor, though they may have done so. What I will emphasize is the cultural dislocation of the exiles, which involves the loss of the temple, the loss of their own active king, the loss of their own language as a dominant language, and changes in the economy and topography—in brief, enormous dislocation.

A. The Life of the Judaean Exiles I will take up the forced-works of the exiles as war captives, the high level of possibility of being incorporated in the wide-ranging economy of temple services, the sale of children, voluntary self-sale, and the likelihood of female Judaean exiles being incorporated into the Neo-Babylonian slavery system. All of the exiles, of course, experienced a severe discontinuity with their past. My intention is to sketch the sense of cultural deprivation of the Judaean exiles as part of the social context of protoapocalyptic in the Neo-Babylonian period, and to recover the voices that have been ignored or marginalized. After I cite parallels regarding the situation of slaves in the NeoBabylonian period, I will focus on information as to the actual status of the Judaean exiles. So I will point to the implications of major building projects that used workers9 by exiled/captive groups. Particularly, I note the date of the Neo-Babylonian texts that I cite, as the connection with the Judeans in particular requires project dates later than the first captivity in 598 B.C.E.

9

For Nebuchadnezzar's building activities in Babylon such as the palace gardens, the canals, the streets, the Euphrates river bridge, the temples, and the Ziggurat, see D. J. Wiseman, Nebuchadnezar and Babylon (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 51-73, and M. Mansoor, Biblical Archaeology in Focus (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1978), 189-90.

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1. Forced Labor Practices under the Neo-Babylonians After Nabopolassar (626-605 B.C.E), the Neo-Babylonian regime was at its height and Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.E) was busily engaged in building operations in order to strengthen the defenses and beautify the chief cities of his empire. For example, two sets of fortification walls of a great defensive system enclosed the city of Babylon.10 Nebuchadnezzar reports about construction work: In order to strengthen the defenses of Esagila that the evil and the wicked might not oppress Babylon, that which no king had done before me, at the outskirts of Babylon to the east I put about a great wall. Its moat I dug and its inner moat-wall with mortar and brick I raised mountain-high. About the sides of Babylon great banks of earth I heaped up. Great floods of destroying waters like the great waves of the sea I made to flow about it; with marsh I surrounded it.11 J. Oates describes the scale and usage for the outer and inner walls completed by Nebuchadnezzar: The outer wall in fact comprised three separate walls: the innermost (some 7 m thick) was constructed of sun-dried mud-brick; 12 m beyond this was a second slightly thicker wall of baked brick; while outside and against this was a further baked-brick wall about 3 m thick, forming the scarp of a moat perhaps as much as 100 m in width. The space between the walls was filled with rubble. The length of these eastern walls is over 8 km. The inner fortifications consisted of two sun-dried-mud-brick walls. The space between them, a width of just over 7 m, was used as a military road.12 Furthermore, it is likely that one of Nebuchadnezzar's early concerns was the repair of the capital city including the main river wall and quay to receive this.

10

Joan Oates, Babylon (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979), 146-48 (note the sketch map of the site of Babylon, the air photograph and the schematic plan of the inner city in the Neo-Babylonian period). 11

As cited by Oates {Babylon, 145) who cites S. Langdon, Building Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Empire I (Paris, 1905), 85. 12

Oates, Babylon, 148

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Nebuchadnezzar set in hand a series of hydraulic works: 1) he extended quay-walls to counter the drift of the River Euphrates eastwards and the net-work of canals across the city; 2) The quay at 1.4 m above high water level served as a dock with stairways leading from the town level to it, with others descending further to at least -^4.90 m. below to allow access to the river at low-water level; and the refurbished canal 2.70 m. wide served both for water supply and as drainage.13 According to Oates, along the river were bulwarks of masonry to strengthen the banks, and at intervals steps led down to landing platforms. In the towers of the river wall were gateways opening towards the quay. Thus the city, excluding the western suburb, had become a fortified island, 12-13 km in circumference, elaborately defended and enclosing the royal palace, the temple of Marduk and a considerable residential area.14 The magnificent construction of Nebuchadnezzar's royal residence to the west of Nabopolassar's palace gives a hint of the massive call-up of the valuable and rare materials—woods, precious stones and metal—that were used in the building project: The upper walls were decorated all round with a band of blue enameled bricks, and the doors made of cedar, Magan, sissoo or ebony-wood encased in bronze or inlaid with silver, gold and ivory. The doorway ceilings were coated with lapis lazuli and the threshold, lintel and architraves cast in bronze. The rooms themselves were roofed with huge cedar beams from Lebanon, or with selected pine and cypress logs, some covered in gold.15 This palace also reflects Nebuchadnezzar's immediate aim to unite Babylonia administratively. He describes the palace as the seat of his royal authority, "a building for

Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 51. 14

Oates, Babylon, 149. Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 55.

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the administration of my people, a place of union for the land."16 The Processional Way, named "the enemy shall never pass," leading from the north to the Ishatar Gate (originally over 23 m), was bordered with high defensive walls, ornamented with some 120 lions in glazed-brick relief, in which the lions appear on a blue ground in white with yellow manes or yellow with red manes.17 On leaving the gate, the Processional Way slopped downwards, and then some 900 m to the south, it turns west between the ziggurat enclosure and the Marduk temple towards the Euphrates bridge built by either Nabopolassar or Nebuchadnezzar. Access to the Procession Street from the river was by way of Nebuchadnezzar's strengthened landing stage, by pedestrian steps and by the bridge built with piers of limestone and brick shaped like pontoons pointing upstream.18 The kings of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty embellished their capital with numerous architectural wonders. They also extensively rebuilt the temples of Babylonia, which had been left in a state of disrepair for centuries because of economic stagnation, civil disorders, and repeated foreign interference.1 Nabopolasar had received a divine call to restore the sacred edifice which had been weakened and had fallen. To make a new and firmer foundation 'on the heart of the nether-world' and to make its summit rival or equal the heavens, he called up the diverse skilled laborers from all parts of his own

16

S. Langdon, Die neubabylonischen Konigsinschriften (VAB IV; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs' sche Buchhandlung, 1912), 136 Nr. 15 vii 36-37. 17

Oates, Babylon, 152.

1 it

G. Bergamini, "Levels of Babylon Reconsidered," Mesopotamia 12 (1977): 126 fig. 76. 1

W. W. Hallo, The Context of Scripture Vol. II: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (ed. Leiden: Brill, 2003), 306.

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country.20 According to the inscription of Nabopolassar's rebuilding of the inner defensive wall of Babylon, the wall Imgur-Enlil ("the god Enlil has been favorable"), he "levied the troops of Enlil, Shamash and Marduk, had (them) wield the hoe, imposed (on them) the corvee basket" (i.e., his own soldiers).21 On the other hand, unlike his father Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, in undertaking his work on the temple-tower named Etemenanki, imported many men from the lands he had conquered and he cited captive the kings who were made to carry the corvee basket. Chiefs and officials from the conquered territories as well as governors and chiefs of the Chaldean tribes and local people also participated. Babylonian officials from Hattu are said to have had great cedars of Lebanon brought to Babylon down the Euphrates for the work.22 The whole of the races, people from far places, whom Marduk my lord delived to me—I forced them to work on the building of Etemenanki—I imposed on them the brick-basket. In particular, "the terms used in this inscription: 'I forced them to work' refers clearly to corvee labor, and 'I imposed on them the brick basket' further employs strong terms of subservience."24 This massive undertaking took many years to complete and it is likely that naturally the more works that needed to be completed, the more laborers (including possibly Jewish exiles: my emphasis) and materials were needed. Babylonian chronicles concerning the early years of Nebuchadnezzar make frequent reference to his acquisition 20

Langdon, Konigsinschriften, 60 (Nabopolassar) Nr. I i. 33-39; ibid. 60 i. 32-iii. 14.

21

Hallo, The Context of Scripture Vol. II, 308.

22

Langdon, Konigsinschriften, 144 Nr. 17 i.3-iv. 4; 152 Nr. 19 iii. 19-ix. 1.

23

The translation from F. H. Weissbach's German (Das Hauptheiligtum des Marduk in Babylon [Leipzig: Hinrich, 1938), 46-47] is Smith-Christopher's own in Biblical Theology of Exile, 66-67. 24

Smith-Christopher, Biblical Theology of Exile, 67. For military troops serving less as a fighting force than as a labor force in the Assyrian sources see Kern, Ancient Siege Warfare, 131.

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of massive tribute, including war prisoners, from his campaigns,

while the Hebrew

Bible specifically alludes to the deportation of skilled and other laborers in 2 Kgs 24:14 and Jer 52:28-30. Particular efforts were directed towards reconstructing and enlarging the capital city of Babylon, making it the most splendid city in the entire Near East or even the entire world. These efforts required an advanced degree of engineering and construction skills, and thus Nebuchadnezzar required an abundance of skilled labor and materials. Hence, his various military expeditions in Syria and the west were partly for the acquisition of spoil, including massive cedars specifically taken for construction work, and expert captive labor for the improvement of his capital city. Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi-Brissa inscription reports that he floated cedars of Lebanon down the Arahtu canal as if they were reeds carried by the river.

Here we see

the important function which wood from the mountains of Lebanon and Syria, play in building in Babylon, while describing how these materials (wood) were transported to building sites. Materials

were delivered to the building site from distant places

Particularly in his accession year, and the first, third, fifth, seventh, and tenth years of Nebuchadnezzar we find the repeated phrases, "took the vast booty," "received their vast tribute," "brought the vast booty:" "refitted his numerous horses and chariotry," and "taking the vast tribute he brought it into Babylon" or "received their vast booty.' Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles, 100-2. 26

ANET, 307; For the logging industry in the Lebanon during the Assyrian period, see H. W. F. Saggs, '2The Nimurcf Letters, 1952-Part II," Iraq 17 (1955): 127 no. 1Z 6-11. For several examples of letters dealing with the purchase or acquisitions of building materials, see Hallo, ed.. The Context of Scripture 2. 424-29; Oppenheim in ANET, 26869; and O. R. Gurney, "The Sultantepe Tablets VI. A Letter of Gilgamesh," Anatolia Studies 7 (1957): 127-36. In this letter, Gilgamesh asks the addressee for numerous sorts of merchandise in immense quantities. Among other things he orders 120,000 talents of some type of metal in order that a smith can do work on a temple. In a letter from Burnaburish (Babylonia) to Amenemophis IV the king of Egypt [A. L. Oppenheim. Letters from Mesopotamia-Official, Business, and Private Letters on Clay Tablets from Two Millennia (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967), 115-6, no. 59], the king of Babylon tells the Pharaoh that he is building a temple and asks for gold to be sent. In a letter from Asur-uballit, king of Assyria, to Amenemophis III of Egypt, the Assyrian king asks that he be sent gold. See A. K. Grayson, Assyrian Royal Inscriptions. I. (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, f972), 11:311-18.

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(particularly from Lebanon) and usually brought to the building sites by water transportation. This job was not easy and needed lots of labor. Here one can easily see that captives from many countries (Jewish exiled people probably included) participated in various forced-works. TO

In Nabopolassar's account of building Etemenanki,

after the king defeats the

Assyrians, Marduk commands him to build the temple. The king drafts workmen to mold bricks and float them down the canal. Nabopolassar (625-605 B.C.E.) uses experts for surveying the temple site. In this inscription, one notes that building the temple is organically linked to the defeat of the Assyrians ('workmen' perhaps including war captives). In the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar's account of rebuilding Etemenanki,29 he states that Nabopolassar founded the temple but did not complete it. Continually his son Nebuchadnezzar undertook that work and drafted workmen 'from all over the empire' (which implies a lot of war captives). Indeed, "The corvee is imposed on the armies of Shamash and Marduk (citizens of Sippar and Babylon?)," although this part is unclear as to whether the king used Babylonian citizens or military units, because part of the continuation of the text is lost. Particularly, "wood is dragged from Lebanon by foreigners (war captives: my emphasis). The king continually drafts workers and imposes the corvee."30 Therefore, this corvee might be not only on the citizens but on the war captives including Jewish exiles. This inscription informs us that large groups of people

Langdon, Konigsinschriften, 60ff., Nabopolassar no. 1. Langdon, Konigsinschriften, 144ff., Nebuchadnezzar wo. 17. Hurowitz, I Have Built, 84.

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from the defeated countries were taken to Babylonia and forced to work on public projects. The supply of native citizens was at times insufficient to satisfy the demand for help in a lot of the construction and beutification work on the capital city, and hence there was a need for workmen (war captive) from neighboring countries. Another of Nebuchadnezzar's building inscriptions mentions war captives 'from the upper sea to the lower sea.' They were forced to bear the yoke of slavery and to perform service in the building of temples in Babylon.31 In the Harran inscription of Nabonidus's restoration of Sin's temple, the description of drafting workmen ("drafted" by the Babylonians) from the upper (Mediterranean) and lower (Arab-Persian Gulf) sea is as follows:32 I called up the people of Akkad and Hatti from the shore of the upper sea to the lower sea which Sin, king of the gods, had delivered into my hands. These remarks bring to mind, naturally, the statements of the kings of Babylon that Judaean captives cut down for them trees which were used in royal building projects.33 The great projects of military fortification, of road, irrigation, and temple (king's palace) construction, accomplished by the Neo-Babylonian empire would have been impossible a great number of without the help of war captives from many countries, presumably including Jewish exiles, many of whom were skilled craftsmen (2 Kgs 24:14). According 31

As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 92), from Langdon, Building Inscriptions, 148-51.

C. J. Gadd, "The Harran Inscriptions of Nabinidus," ^«ato//a« Studies 8 (1958): 3592 (85); and Hallo, ed., The Context of Scriptures Vol. 2, 311-13. "I mustered my numerous troops, from the country of Gaza on the border of Egypt, (near) the Upper Sea, on the other side of the Euphrates, to the Lower Sea, the kings, princes, governors and my numerous troops" (p. 311). In spite of the different time and region, Hurowitz gives a specific example of the use of Jewish war captives in the stela of Moab's King Mesha: "and I cut down the cuttings for the beams with Israelite captives." Hurowitz, I Have Built, 100.

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to R. M. Adam's archaeological survey of the central flood plain of the Euphrates: There is no doubt about the rapid, continued growth that got under way, during, or perhaps even slightly before, the Neo-Babylonian period. This is most simply shown by the rising number of sites...the total increases from 143 in the Middle Babylonian period to 182 in the Neo-Babylonian period, to 221 of Achaeinid date...the available documentary evidence suggests that large masses of people were involuntarily transferred as part of intensive Neo-Babylonian efforts to rehabilitate the central region of a domain that previously had suffered severely. From earliest recorded times it was the fate of those enemies who were spared on the battlefield to be reduced to slavery. Although the Jewish exiles in Babylonia were not involved in real slavery, most of them were people taken into captivity and brought, together with material booty, to Babylonia by the conquering king (2 Kgs 24:8-17 and 25:1-21). As a rule, according to Mendelsohn, "these war captives were reduced to the status of slaves and became the property of the king, i.e., state slaves."35 However, one cannot find any explicit evidence of the Judaean exiles being slaves during the NeoBabylonian period. According to Blenkinsopp, "the Babylonian authorities seem to have

R. M. Adams, Heartland of Cities: Surveys of Ancient Settlement and Land Use on the Central Floodplain of the Euphrates (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 177. 35

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 1, 92. For specific examples, see Mendelsohn, Slavery, 1-3 (for war captives, such as King Rimush of the Dynasty of Accad, the Third Dynasty of Ur, Rim-Anum king of Kish, the king of Ugarit, the Amarna period, David and Solomon in Israel, particularly, see nn. 2-5, 15-18 and for various state and temple tasks, such as military fortifications, of road, irrigation, and temple constructions, see nn. 5, 9, 10-13,). In the late Assyria period, for a vivid picture of the multiple uses of war captives, especially of the Tyrian, Sidonian, and Cyprian sailors who were instrumental in the building up of an Assyrian navy, see D. D. Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib (Oriental Institute Publications 2; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1924), 73: 59ff. On the other hand, "among the tasks assigned to these captives were activities in the weaving, brewing, and general work departments of the palace." As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 92) and in A. Koschaker and A. Ungnad, Hammurabi's Gesetz VI (Leipzig: Eduard Pfeiffer, 1904-11), 1841, 1843, 1851 (weaving); 1852 (brewing); and 1848 (general work). Particularly, for the usage of the foreign was captives for the construction of the city in the Assyrian period, see D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia II (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1927), II §§116-23 and 383-40 (Inscription of Sargon II); for molding bricks, landscaping and gardening see Luckenbill, Annals of Sennacherib, 94-98 and 103-106.

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found it more cost-effective to practice a kind of rent capitalism by settling foreign immigrants on the land rather than using their services as slaves."36 After the exiles were settled in certain local areas, Blenkinsopp argues, groups like Ezekiel's community had -in

some freedom, as shown in the biblical passages (Ezek 8:1; 14:1; 20:1, 3; Jer 29:1),

I

suggest that they were not completely independent from the state, and it is possible that Ezekiel's community was also employed in public work projects as auxiliaries to the corvee and had to pay tax.38 Therefore, one has to be open to the possibility of temporary forced-labor assignments. Hence, though they were not real slaves in the sense of being the property of private individuals, they presumably were attached at times to the Babylonian work groups. For war captives in the Assyrian period, "the whole corps of war prisoners were (at times) incorporated into the Assyrian army," but such a practice in the Neo-Babylonian period is not found.39 Mendelsohn notes that "the practice of enslaving war captives was continued in the Neo-Babylonian period" and they were used

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 100; and J. L. Berquist, Judaism in Persia s Shadow: A Social and Historical Approcah (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 14. 37

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 100-1. Berquist, Judaism in Persia's Shadow, 15.

39

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 92. As a rule, in the Assyrian period they were taken into Assyria and forced to perform menial tasks as state slaves did. For example, Sargon used the labor of enemy people to build Nineveh (Mendelsohn, Slavery, 93). Luckenbill also gives useful information about the Assyrian policy for war captives. Sennacherib also submitted the people of Chaldea, the Aramaeans, the Mannai, Kue and Hilakku, deported them from their land, and made them carry the basket and mould bricks. The king used them to cut down the reed marshes in Chaldea. See Luckenbill, Annals of Sennacherib, 95:7Iff; 55-6, 117. The Assyrian royal inscriptions inform us that war captives were used to construct roads, dig canals, erect fortresses, build temples, and till the crown lands. Therefore, one may assume that Nebuchadnezzar II and later kings might well use Jewish war captives for the beautification of the capital city and construction of canals and temples in the cities, though we lack specific evidence.

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in numerous public works.

As Kuhrt observes, the fruits from the many wars of

conquest and punitive campaigns beyond the immediate borders of the empire enriched the Babylonian state enormously: exotic materials for palace building, novel styles of architecture, strange animals and plants tended in palace gardens underscored the greatness of the king's conquests. More mundanely, they provided the king with much-needed manpower, particularly for agriculture, the army and royal construction works. According to Mendelsohn, "the earliest Sumerian terms for male (female) slaves are the composite signs nita (munus) + kur 'male (female) of a foreign country,' indicating that from early days people enslaved in ancient Babylonian were described as captive foreigners."42 Furthermore, it is likely that captive craftsmen were deemed especially valuable assets. Jer 24:1 and 2 Kgs 24:14 stress the great value attached in Babylonia to captive skilled workmen, as the list of the deportees carried away from Jerusalem specifies: the king of Judah, the princes of Judah, the carpenters, and the smiths. Overall, Wiseman argues that "some of these deported men (Jewish exiles included) would have been required to devote their skills to the building-projects in progress in Babylon."43 While a great many specialized workmen were probably imported for the construction projects, it is likely that the majority of those who helped to 40

As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 2) from Langdon, Konigsinschriften, n. 17, cols. II, pp.146-7; III, pp.148-9 and Unger, Babylon, 318. 41

A. Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East c. 3000-300 BC (vol.2; London; New York: Routledge, 1995), 518. 42 43

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 1.

Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 76. Oded argues that this practice was common in Assyria: foreign personnel were employed on rebuilding the capital. For example, 17,500 from Bit-Adini alone by Shalameser III at Assur and 47, 500 by Assurnasir-apli II at Kalhu among them. B. Oded, Mass Deportations and Deportees in the Neo-Assyrian Empire (Wiesbaden: L. Reichert, 1979), 55-8.

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carry them out were war captives who had been brought to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had an urgent need for both skilled and manual workers, and the skill of these men was put to work on the building sites and to help maintain the canals.44 These considerations prompt Wiseman to conclude that "Prisoners from Jerusalem were employed on the lavish building projects of Nebuchadrezzar who was then engaged in embellishing his great capital city and adding to the fortifications,"45 although explicit evidence is lacking.

2.

Judean Deportees/Captives under the Babylonians

So far I have described the life of captives as reflected in the Neo-Babylonian inscriptions. Although the Jewish exiles were not real slaves, imperial policies tended to involve the acquisition of subjugated labor forces for areas of imperial need. In this section I will also indicate the high level of involvement of some Jewish exiles with the Babylonian temple economy and the potential fate of the exiles pressed particularly by economic forces: self-slavery, and the involvement of women in the slavery system of the Babylonian period. Although the Jewish exiles were not generally slaves in Babylonia, one cannot ignore various possibilities of exploitation (cf Isa 47:6). However, there is no specific term for these war captives as a general category. Nonetheless, it is a reasonable assumption that they were used in a lot of roles by the empire. Berquist reasonably concludes that "those exiles from Judah with governmental experience (including temple

44

5

J. Wellard, Babylon (New York: Schocken Books, 1974), 176-7.

D. J. Wiseman, Illustrations from Biblical Archeology (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958), 70.

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service) would have worked within the Babylonian palace and temple system."46 Many scholars have ignored this issue, but obviously the exile included the element of compulsion and subjugation both for the community and the individual. The uprooting of masses of people and their transport abroad entailed political-national ruin and much mental suffering. Discussing the fate of the Jewish exiles not merely as relocated but as captives, one has to consider the possibility of temple service because temple workers could be recruited from war captives.47 The temples profited prodigiously from the many successful wars conducted by the kings, as large numbers of captives were usually donated by them after each victorious war.

Included among the various war trophies

that, Nebuchadnezzar, as many previous kings, presented to various deities were doubtless also Jewish war captives.49 In the Neo-Babylonian period, "the pious Nabonidus presented at one time 2,850 war prisoners to the temples of Bel, Nabu, and Nergal."50 Berquist states: 46

Berquist, Judaism in Persia's Shadow, 15.

7

R. P. Dougherty, The Shirkutu of Babylonian Deities (Yale Oriental Series. Researches 5/2; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1923), 20f; 24f; 34; 38-40; 41; 45. 48

Moses also reported as having taken one of every five hundred, or one of every fifty prisoners and presented them as a gift to the temple in Numb 31:25-47. Joshua made the Gibeonites 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' in the sanctuary in Joshua 9:21-27. Even if not sober history, these reports illustrate custom. Among the temple slaves who returned from Babylonian exile were descendants of the temple slaves whom David and the princes had given to the Levites (Ezra 8:20). 49

For the examples of royal donation, such as Rimush the successor of Sargon of Accad, Puzur-Shushinak the ensi of Susa, Ur-Nesu ensi of Umma, Rim-Anum in the Hammurabi period, and the later Assyrian kings, see Mendelsohn, Slavery, 101-2. Langdon, Konigsinschriften, 284, col. IX, lines 3Iff.

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As was the case with all of the ancient empires, Babylonia required a substantial bureaucracy in order to operate its expanding holdings. Both palace and temple needed experts in bureaucratic, imperial functioning as well as persons with foreign experience. The Jewish exiles who had worked within the government before, as well as those with priestly experience, would have met this imperial need. Perhaps Judah's scribes found employment within the palace and temple as Babylonian scribes, continuing their same line of work but for a new employer. Likewise, the Babylonian temple system would have found attractive the inclusion of trained personnel. Although the religious systems were different, and although the Babylonian priests might well have seen the worship of Yahweh as a conflicting religion, syncretism was well entrenched and should not be discounted. Certainly Deutero-Isaiah gives the impression of a close knowledge of the Babylonian temple system, perhaps also indicating the high level of involvement of some Jews with that system.51 According to R. Zadok, the documents from the archive of the Ebabbarra temple in Sippar in the Neo-Babylonian period mention several individuals bearing Yahwistic names.52 Another administrative document and from the reign of Nabonidus, from the archive of the Ebabbara temple, mentions "22 hired workers of whom at least two are Jews and five West Semites."53 Thus, there is clear evidence that some of the Jewish deportees in the Neo-Babylonian period became temple workers in Babylonia. According to Dougherty, Neo-Babylonian temple slaves were housed in special quarters, divided into gangs, and went out to perform their arduous tasks under strict supervision.5 Their movements were under rigorous control, and infringements of any kind were severely punished.55 The mistreatment of the temple slaves is reflected in the

51

Berquist, Judaism in Persia's Shadow, 16. For the examples, see Zadok, "Some Jews in Babylonian Documents," 294-95.

53

Zadok, "Some Jews in Babylonian," 295-96.

54

Dougherty, Shirkutu, 44, n. 42.

55

Dougherty, Shirkutu, 63 f.

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very large number of fugitives from their ranks. 6 In a private letter of the NeoBabylonian period, an agent reported to his employer that a female slave who had fled had been recaptured and brought to the palace gate of Babylon.57 Guaranties safeguarding the purchaser against the escape of the acquired slave are also found in a Neo-Babylonian contract dated in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar: 'Responsibility against CO

the flight or death of [the sold slave], [the sellers] bear.' A fugitive slave was subject to severe treatment. A private letter from the NeoBabylonian period states that: the slaves had run away and were recaptured. The owner decided to mark them.59 According to Dougherty, the numerous marks in the NeoBabylonian period include tattoos of the owner's name on the hand or on the wrist of the slave. Some Neo-Babylonian temple slaves were, marked with a star, the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. Similarly, animals belonging to her temple were also marked with a star.60 Hence, the 'mark' of slaves and animals publicly proclaimed their status. The Babylonian slave mark was device to safeguard the master's precarious possession. Further protection in slave contracts is provided in clauses in which the seller guarantees to the purchaser that the slave sold has already performed his corvee duty and

Dougherty, Shirkutu, 53f, 56ff; Mendelsohn, Slavery, 59-61. 57

As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 62) from Yale Oriental Series. Research III, 46.

58

As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 62) from J. N. Strassmaier, J. N. Inschriften von Nabuchodonosor, Konig von Babylon (Leipzig: Verlag von Eduard Pfeiffer, 1889), 346. For similar documents dated in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, see E. W. Moore, Neo-Babylonian Business and Administrative Documents (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1935), Document 27 and Document 248. 59

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 46. Dougherty, Shrikutu, 82ff.

108

is free from any further government claim upon his service.61 Although the sale of children was not an uncommon practice in the Ancient Near East62 (Exod 21:7-11; 2 Kgs 4:1; Neh 5:5), there is such a document dated in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar: a man and his wife jointly sold their son.

From a document

dated in the reign of Neriglassar64 a certain person handed over his son, Inna-silli-babi, as surety for a loan of fifty-two shekels of silver. The reasons for such a sale into slavery include lack of employment, debt, the absence of any state or communal help for those driven from the soil by famine, or other economic misfortunes.

These reasons prompted people to sell first their children

andthen even themselves into slavery. Even Babylonians sometimes resorted to this desperate step, thus, it is possible that this would happen to the exiles. During the Babylonian exilic period this possibility also existed for the exiled Jewish community. Another issue regarding the situation of the exiles (cf. Isa 54:11, 14; 55:1-2) is the matter of females who "were leased for work, given as a pledge, handed over as a part of a dowry, or presented as a gift to the temple. In addition to routine duties as a maid

61

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 99.

62

Various examples in the Assyrian period are presented by Mendelsohn {Slavery, 614): a direct sale of a girl by her father, a father handed his daughter over to the creditor, a mother sold her young daughter, and a father sold his young son. 63

As cited by Mendelsohn {Slavery, 9) from Strassmaier, Inschriften von Nabuchodonosor, 70. 64

Dougherty, Shrikutu, 28ff. Mendelsohn, Slavery, 14-17.

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servant, she was subject also to burdens peculiar to her sex."66 Owners had the right to employ her physically and to assign her to male members of her master's household.67 The highest position a female slave could achieve was to become a child-bearing concubine to her master, and the lowest was to be used as a prostitute. This double function of the female slaves68 as maids to their mistresses and as concubines to their masters, could have applied within the exilic situation in Babylonia, though I have not found any explicit evidence for this. The further exploitation of female slaves as prostitutes, leased to an individual or to a brothel, is attested in the Neo-Babylonian period. In the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, a man leased his female slave as a prostitute. And in the reign of Nabonidus, some owners leased their female slaves to individuals who chanced to pass by.

Some of Jewish exiles may have been forced to sell their

daughters.

3. The Ethos of Life in Exile

Smith-Christopher briefly considers the lexicography of trauma from the harsh 66

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 50.

67

"That the female slave was not always bought with the sole purpose of acquiring household help is evident from the high prices which some of them fetched in the market. Their youth and beauty were more decisive in fixing their value than their ability to work." Mendelsohn, Slavery, 142 n.93. 68

An illustration of this custom is the biblical story of Hagar (Genesis 16).

As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 54) from Strassmaier, Inschriften von Nabuchodonosor, 409. As cited by Mendelsohn (Slavery, 54) from J. N. Strassmaier, Inschriften von Nabonidus, Konig von Babylon (Leipzig: Verlag von EduardPfeiffer, 1889), 679.

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vocabulary of defeat that leads to an initial sobering judgment of the impact and experience of exile. In particular, chains, bonds, and imprisonment (Isa 43:6) are spoken of with different major terms and frequently associated with the Babylonian conquest whether literally or figuratively. In Isa 52:2, "Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem, loose the bonds from your neck"; in Isa 45:14 (of foreigners coming as prisoners, a reversal of fortune motif), "they shall come over in chains and bow down to you." Clearly, various forms of the terms normally regarding imprisonment turn up as metaphors of exile.71 These metaphors do not grow more plentiful during the exilic period by pure chance, but surely from the experience of being deeply influenced by the exile. First of all, the exilic life in Babylonia entailed great differences for the Jewish exiles: these deportees had been elites; they had been the people with significant employment in the palace or the temple, and they had been the large landowners with considerable wealth and social power in their home country. It is a highly significant change in the pattern of their daily existence from the lives they had known in Jerusalem and environs. The Exile means not only a geographic dislocation but a removal from their resources of power that had formed the basis of their self-existence. No longer could they be as rulers; they were now subjects of a powerful empire.

The exile spells a

fragmented existence. The traumatic experiences (Isa 51:13, 14) became a frequent theme in proto-apocalyptic in the Neo-Babylonian period.

71

Smith-Christopher, Biblical Theology of Exile, 71-72.

72

Berquist, Judaism in Persia's Shadow, 15.

Ill

B. Settlements in Babylonia

One must consider, when talking about the very early exilic life, that the deportees did not have any resources for their well-being except their own abilities and the natural resources in the areas they were sent to. The Jewish exiles had to live in a different environment and land, namely, Mesopotamia meaning the "land between the rivers," the alluvial plains of the Tigris and the Euphrates. In this section, I will consider the developments of the Jewish exilic communities in Babylonia that occurred during the Neo-Babylonian period, and I will include as well some information about the later periods in Bbaylonia as well.

Nebuchadnezzar's Reign and The Exilic Period 605

597

586

8

«

] ]yrs

in

•«

lOyrs

•

«

15ys

•

-,, <

562

94

•

in

«—early period • Preparation for beautifying the capital city

570

middle pe

<• o

8 •

j

538

<--later period—•

«• «• «•

Less construction but more resources used to complete the work on the city and its temples. Focus on irrigation & agriculture

Political History 605 accession

Expeditions in the west/Gathering booty and skilled workmen

15/16 March 597 ••--early exilic period--* Ezekiel/Jehoiachin the first captivity Adding booty and workers

August, 586 «

adjustment period • Zedekiah the second captivity Extension of construction from the capital city to other cities.

562 his death < later period • Decline of the empire Construction of other cities

112

1. Living Together in the Outside of the Capital City It is probable that many of the exiles in the early exilic period were assigned to work as building laborers on the upkeep of the canals and in the service of civic and temple construction, but we do not know their precise location(s) at this time. The earliest reference in the Book of Ezekiel is to the call of the prophet in the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. Assuming a spring New Year, the call came to him on the fifth day of Tammuz, which in the year 593 B.C.E was July 31. 73 These verses locate Ezekiel as being by the Kebar River (canal) in the Nippur area, which means that some exiles were located in that area by the time five years had passed by and may have been there from the beginning of the exile, or even ealier, if we follow Berossus. Berossus provides some background in describing the events immediately preceding the death of Nabopolassar (605 B.C.E). Upon leaning of the king's death, Nebuchadnezzar immediately made arrangements to return to the capital, taking prisoners—including some Judaeans—with him from the campaign against Pharaoh Necho. Nebuchadnezzar learned of his father's death shortly thereafter. After he arranged affairs in Egypt and the remaining territory, he ordered some of his friends to bring the Jewish, Phoenician, Syria and Egyptian prisoners together with the bulk of the army and the rest of the booty to Babylonia He took charge of the whole of his father's realm. When the prisoners arrived, he ordered that dwelling places be assigned to them in the most suitable parts of Babylonia.

On the computation of the year 593, see R. A. Parker and W. H. Dubberstein, Babylonian Chronology 626 B.C.-A.D. 75 (BUS 19; Providence: Brown University Press, 1956), 28. 7

Burstein, Babyloniaca of Berossus, 27; see also R. H. Sack, Images of Nebuchadnezzar: The Emergence of a Zege«J(Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press; London, Cranbury, NJ.: Associated University Press, 1991), 60.

113

In a tablet from the second year of Nebuchadnezzar (603 BCE) found near the Habor river (tributary of the middle stretch of the Euphrates), a certain Hanana sold a plot of land adjacent to the land of Ha-za-qi-id-a-u. The witness to this deed were Ah-zi-id -au and the son of a certain Sa-me- '-ia-a-u. According to Oded, "the names with the theophoric element -ia-a-u indicate persons of Israelite/Judean origins. Me-na-se-e and Hal-lu-su in the same list may also of Israelite/Judean origins."75 Although this evidence shows that some Jewish exiles in the Nebuchadnezzar's early year lived in an area rather distant from the capital city, this most probably reflects a Jewish community that had been there a long time, resettled there from the norther kingdom by the Assyrians. A number of tablets concerning the deportation of Jehoiachin to Babylonia,76 found in an administrative building at Babylon, list elite foreign prisoners who received rations of oil and barley from the royal storehouses. Among those listed are Jehoiachin and his sons, and eight other Judeans are named along with other royalty and craftsmen (kings and craftsmen together) from other places, such as Egypt, Philistia (Ashkelon), Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, Lydia, Elam, Media and Persia.77 An administrative text

B. Oded, "The Settlement of the Israelite and Judean Exile in Mesopotamia in the 8 -6 Centuries BCE," in Studies in Historical Geography and Biblical Historiography (ed. G. Galil and M. Weinfeld; Leiden: Brill, 2000), 96. th

,h

76

For the Jehoiachin tablets, see W. F. Albright, "King Joiachin in Exile," BA 5 (1942): 49-55; ANET, 308; Wellard, Babylon, 177; Oded, "The Settlements of the Israelite," 99; and E. Yamauchi, "The Eastern Jewish Diaspora under the Babylonians" in Mesopotamia and the Bible (ed. M. W. Chavalas and K. L. Younger, Jr; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2002), 361. 77

Nebuchadnezzar's prism found in Babylon ends with a list of the kings of Tyre, Gaza, Sidon, Arvad, Ashdod and Mir[.. .].The king of Judah is not mentioned here. The absence oflaukin (Jehoiachin) of Judah (Iakudu), known to be in Babylon, may suggest that his name has been lost in the break. See ANET, 307-8.

114

mentions provisions for prisoners and others who belonged to the royal household in the time of Nebuchadnezzar—it confirms that Jehoiachin did in fact remain in Babylon. The Jehoiachin tablets use the ethnic 'Judean' Ia-(a-)-u/u-da-a-a and cite Yaukin la-ku-u-kinu/la- '-(u-)kin (biblical Jehoiachin) king of Judah and his five sons. The same records mention Ga-di- '-il, Ur-mil-ki, Qa-na- '-a-ma, Sa-lam-ia-a-ma, and Sa-ma-ku-ia-a-ma, all of them with the ethnic designation Ia-a-hu-da-a-a/Ia- u-da-a-a (Judean). Now I will turn to initial difficulties in settlement. For those who were deported in 598/7, as opposed to those who remained in Judah, the forced exile from Judah meant a deep social uprooting. They had lost not only their homes but also their land, their king, their temple, and a social status which was usually influential; many of them were doubtless separated from their clans or even families and were thus deprived of the solidarity provided by kinsfolk, though again there is no explicit evidence. Furthermore, they had the bitter experience of seeing how quickly they were written off by the population who were there after 587/6, who happily took over their land and their property (Ezek 33:21-24). The Lachish reliefs from the time of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib (701 B.C.E.),79 depict Judahite families departing Lachish for exile. One sees the deportees with little bags on their shoulders. The women and girls wear an unadorned garment, which was longer than the male garment, reaching just above the ankle. They also wear

Zadok, Jews in Babylonia, 38-39. 79

P. King, and L. E. Stager, Life in Biblical Israel (Lousville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 267 (111.138); and C. Uehlinger, "Clio in a World of Pictures-Another Look at the Lachish Reliefs fom Sennacherib's Southwest Palace at Nineveh," in Like a Bird in a Cage (ed. Lester L. Grabbe; JSOTSup 363; London and New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003), 234.

115

mantles pulled over the head like hoods. Over the tunic the women have a long shawl covering the head and shoulders, reaching just above the ankle, and they are shown with little else. In the Lachish reliefs some of the refugees were naked and barefoot. Not wearing shoes was a sign of low status, although sometimes sandals were removed as a sign of respect (when in a sacred precincts as in Exod 3:5; Josh 5:15); in this context it is a sign of humiliation. On the other hand, in relief segments depicting captives dragging a bull colossus to Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh, the colossus is pulled with the aid of long ropes by scores of captives, cruelly driven by Assyrian overseers. The captives of each row are distinctly dressed, indicating that they represent different ethnic groups because they wore the attire of their country of origin. The center row appears to be Judean captives, dressed just like the Lachish deportees.

Ultimately, Ussishkin gives us two important

pieces of information: 1) the captive Judahites later worked on the construction of Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh, and 2) they are depicted in short garments with a fringed tassel secured with a belt. Their heads are bound by a scarf whose edges hang down to cover their ears. "Clearly, these are the men of Judah, quite possibly the men of Lachish, who were deported to Nineveh in 701 B.C.E. and who were forced to labor in Q 1

the construction of the royal palace." On the Lachish Reliefs, the Judahite men and women are barefoot just after their surrender, 80 1 82

whereas the Judahites captives working on construction at Nineveh

Ussishkin, Conquest of Lachish, 127-130. Ussishkin, Conquest of Lachish, 130. King and Stager, Life in Biblical Israel, 111. 48, 135, 138, 159.

116

wear leggings and boots (a kind of provision for the exiles: my emphasis). According to King and Stager, the Assyrian soldiers in the Lachish Reliefs were outfitted with coats of mail, short tunics, leggings and high boots.

So the Assyrians may have subsequently

provided some footware for the Jewish exiles working on Assyrian projects.

2. The Urban Exilic Groups

In Jehoiachin tablets from ca. 561 B.C.E., a contemporary record of the treatment of the captive king, inform us that: 1 Vv sila (oil) for 3 carpenters from Arvad lA sila each 11 Vi sila for 8 ditto from Byblos, 1 sila each 3 XA sila for 7 ditto, Greeks, 3^ sila each Vi sila to Nabu-etie, the carpenter 10 (sila) to Ia-ki-u-ki-nu (Jehoiachin), the son of the king of Ia-ku-du(Judah) 2 Vi sila for the 5 sons of the king of Ia-ku-du... (text: Babylon 28186, reverse ii 13-18)84 Apart from the captives from Judah, the texts contain the name of many other recipients, including kings and various craftsmen in captivity who received rations monthly (mainly DC

oil and barley, but on occasion also dates and spices).

Oppenheim gives a more

concrete clue about the prisoners and other foreigners: "the tablets list deliveries of oil for the subsistence of individuals who are either prisoners of war or otherwise dependent

King and Stager, Life in Biblical Israel, 230. 84

ANET, 308; see also P. R. Ackroyd, The People of the Old Testament (London: Christophers, 1959), 149 and E. Weidner, "Jojachin Konig von Juda, in babylonischen Keilschrifttexten" in Melanges Syriens offerts a monsieur Rene Dussaud (Bibliotheque archeologique et historique 30; Paris: Geuthner, 1939), 923-35. 85

W. J. Martin, "The Jehoiachin Tablets" in Documents From Old Testament Times (ed. D. W. Thomas; London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1958), 84-86.

117 Of.

upon the royal household. They are identified by name, profession, and/or nationality." These recipients were exiles and subjects of the king and others, including Jehoiachin and leading people, were prisoners of some sort. Other Judeans are mentioned by name in the texts: Urmilki, Gaddiel (Num 13:10), Shelemiah (cf. Ezr 10:39; Neh 13:13), and Semachiah (cf. 1 Chr 24:7; the name also occurs in the Lachish letters).

One thing is

apparent: some of the craftsmen lived as one group in the capital city, and received rations from the Babylonian government. The record suggests that the Babylonians were not unduly harsh to captives.88 But, the texts do not point to other people, such as soldiers and religious leaders, who were exiled. The texts themselves do not make clear whether or not Jehoiachin was a prisoner, as indicated in the biblical tradition (Jer 52: 3134; 2 Kgs 25:27-30). The contribution that the brief references in these texts to Jehoiachin make to our knowledge of conditions during the exile is significant. From 2 Kgs 24:12 we know that Jehoiachin was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. When he is next mentioned in 2 Kgs 25:27-30 thirty-seven years have passed. Here we learn that "Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; and...he changed his prison garments, and set bread before him continually all days of his life" (2 Kgs 25:27ff.). From this Martin argues that Jehoiachin had been treated as a prisoner. The term 'prison' need not, of course, imply anything more than house-arrest—which is the impression given by these texts. It is probable that 86

ANET, 308.

87

Martin, "The Jehoiachin Tablets," 85.

88

Ackroyd, The People of the Old Testament, 149.

118

he and the princes and the nobles were housed together in the South Citadel (where the barrel-vaulted building was), and the distribution of oil would seem to indicate that they had their own kitchen.89 It implies that the skilled men also had considerable freedom. Providing rations suggests that the Babylonians did not treat them harshly. After the first captivity in 598 BCE, which was the middle of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, the Babylonian empire needed a lot of skilled men for the construction projects in the capital city. The captives, from various categories, doubtless contributed to the labor pool. There is no specific evidence as to how the exiles were treated at this time. However, selected highly skilled foreigners were respected and given rations from the royal palace. The texts include Salamyama, a gardener, and Gadi'il, both probably Judeans.90 Carpenters from Byblos and Arvad were particularly noted, presumably for their potential skills. According to the texts, 126 men from Tyre who were shipwrights or mariners were granted rations of Vi sila of oil, that is the same as given to three mariners from Ashkelon and the royal princes from Judah who were held in Babylon. Wiseman, citing Herodotus, says that the mariners "were engaged in directing the construction of a fleet of ships to counter Necho IPs Red Sea navy. These vessels were to be floated down the R. Euphrates to a new port Nebuchadnezzr established at Teredon."91 ...to Ia-u-kin, king..

89

Martin, "The Jehoiachin Tablets," 85.

90

Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 11.

91

Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 77.

119

.. .to the qiputu-house of... ... for Shalamiamu, the... ... for 126 men from Tyre... .. .for Zabiria, the Lydian...

(text: Babylon 2822, obverse 29-33)92

How were the Jewish captivities absorbed into the Babylonian urban society? The city, palace, and temple were big closed-circuit organizations in which goods and services were channeled into a circulation system and through which the entire personnel was integrated in a hierarchic order.

According to Pollock, some temples were also

important centers of economic activity in addition to their religious and ceremonial function. Such "working temples" contained storerooms, kitchens, and rooms where artisanal activities were performed.

But who performed these activities in the temples?

According to Oppenheim, menial work was performed either by slaves or, to a much larger extent, by persons of restricted freedom who were obliged to devoted either all or a part of their time and work to the central authority. These persons received food allowances for their sustenance.95 Although we do not know how the Babylonians specifically dealt with the exiles, the temple and palace may well have used many Jewish exiles. For example, the administrative document BM 56189, which belongs to the archive of the Ebabbarra temple in Sippar from the time of Nabonidus, mentions 22 hired

92

ANET, 308.

93

A. L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977), 95. 94

S. Pollock, Ancient Mesopotamia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999; 2001), 51. 95

Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 96.

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workers of whom at least two are Judaeans and five are West Semites.96 Most of the Judaean exiles who stayed in the city, apart from the royal entourage, would presumably have been skilled workmen. The splendor and luxury displayed in the temple and palace demanded not only materials which had to be imported but attracted artists and craftsmen and others whose talents could be utilized. How then do we depict the exilic community in Babylon? How were they treated by the Babylonians? According to Oppenheim, there are unattached individuals who belong in the categories of refugees, displaced and runaway persons. In the cities they were often given the personal name Munnabtu, "refugee."97 As a rule, such people did not seek refuge among the natives of a city but attached themselves to the great organizations, if their personal skill was in demand, or they joined that part of the population that lived outside the urban settlement. A special section, within or outside the capital's city wall, was probably set aside for the exiled community, including a majority of the skilled workmen. Without a doubt the exiles from Jerusalem were foreigners and non-citizens from the perspective of the Babylonians. However, it remains uncertain to what extent foreigners, non-citizens, or non-natives were admitted into the city. According to Oppenheim, their status must have been dependent on their relation to the palace. Foreign emissaries, traders, political refugees, and others were able to move in and out under royal protection or could even be incorporated into the royal household. It is probable that to some extent non-citizens were allowed to settle in the karu, the harbor of the city, 96

R. Zadok, "The Jews in Babylonian Documents," The Jewish Quarterly Review LXXIV, No. 3 (1984): 295-96. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 78.

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a section outside of the town proper. There they would enjoy a special administrative, political, and social status.98

3. Resettlement: Probable Historical Background of Ezekiel 38-39 The General Context of Ezekiel

Considering the extensive construction in Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar's early reign, there must have been a massive need for skilled workers, including craftsmen from other countries. Kuhrt addresses Nebuchadnezzar's extraordinary building works in Babylonia: It was ringed by huge double walls and moated; the river flowed through the middle of the city and was crossed by a finely built stone bridge. At the centre rose the gigantic ziggurat, Etermenanki ('House of the frontier between heaven and earth'), next to the great Marduk sanctuary (Esagila), with its many chapels and large courtyard. From there the handsomely paved processional way led to the monumental Ishtar gate. The walls lining the splendid ceremonial street and the great gate were decorated with bricks glazed in deep blue and with moulded reliefs of bulls and the dragons sacred to Marduk. At the northern end of the city, built out from the wall, was a great fortified palace, some of it, too, decorated with glazed colored bricks... There were several other city-gates, smaller temples dotted around the city and dwelling houses." One can argue that all the great old cities were extensively rebuilt, their shrines repaired and beautified. Most notable in this massive effort at reconstruction is the development of Babylon into the immense and beautiful city of legend. Thus, the exile of craftsmen from Judah fits into Nebuchadnezzar's policy of transporting talent from conquered areas to aid in the vast building program in his capital.

Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 78. Kuhrt, Ancient Near East (vol.2), 593.

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In the case of Assyria, on completion of their building chores, the "prisoners" were sent to other places of residence, some allotted to governors or officials, to army personnel or a few to the temple administrative services,1

and something similar may

have occurred under Nebuchadnezzar. In the adjustment period, whereas some may have remained in Babylon, others were probably moved to the more distant countryside. There were security advantages, presumably, in the exiles being dispersed in small groups. Another reason for dispersal is the canal system of the Babylonian empire. According to Contenau, from the very earliest times the rulers of Mesopotamia regarded it both as a duty and as an act of piety to improve the canal system. As an indication of this central role, note that during the period when years were commonly identified by the outstanding events of the preceding months, many years were identified by reference to the digging of a canal, which was regarded as parallel in importance to a victory, the annexation of some territory or the building of a temple.101 So many captives, including Ezekiel, were settled near canals (Ezek 1:1-3), presumably for agricultural and canal maintenance work. Given the low rainfall in Babylonia, irrigation works were of central importance. The floods were strong enough that the Euphrates, like the Tigris, overflowed its banks, inundating and depositing a layer of silt over much of the surrounding land. These rivers flooded just before or at the harvest time (April-May), too late to benefit the crops

100

101

0'ded, Mass Deportation, 112-15.

G. Contenau, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria (New York: St. Martin's Press Inc., 1954), 42.

123

and, in fact, at the time when it could do them the most damage.102 Not surprisingly, flood control was a major concern.103 Ezekiel, who dwelt among the captives along the Chebar canal, knew that the exiles were scattered in various communities and dispersed among several peoples, hence the repeated phrases in his prophecies about the "Israelites" as scattered (20:23, 34; 22:15; 28:25; 34:5; 36:19). One has some clues as to where some of the captives lived from places mentioned long afterwards in the book of Ezra (2:59) as the points of origin of the group that returned from the captivity to Judah. In addition, there is Ezekiel's reference to Tel-Abib, on the Chebar/Kebar (3:15). According to Jer 29:5-7, many exiles settled as farmers. As mentioned, Ezekiel was among the exiled Jews who were settled along the Chebar canal.

Located in the vicinity of Nippur, the Chebar conduit was but

one of many branches of an elaborate canal system that distributed water from the Tigris and the Euphrates throughout the city and its environs.1

5

It is unclear whether "by the

Chebar canal" (nehar kebar; Ezek 1:1) means that Ezekiel was personally beside the waterway at the time of the vision, or if the expression serves simply as a general designation for the region where the Judean exiles were settled. According to Babylonian

Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 41. 103

A. Parrot, Babylon and the Old Testament (New York: Philosophical Library, 1958),

124. 104

The mention of this river canal, which is further found in the book of Ezekiel in 1:1,3; 3:15, 23; 10:15, 20, 22; 43:3, is preceded by the general reference "in the land of the Chaldeans." RSV translates it as "river Chebar," but the Chebar was actually a canal. See H. O. Thompson, "Chebar," in Anchor Bible Dictionary Vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 893. 105

On the subject see R. Zadok, "The Nippur Region during the Late Assyrian, Chaldean and Achaemenian Periods Chiefly according to Written Sources," IOS 8 (1978) 266-332.

124

contracts from the Nippur region, dating to the time of Artaxerxes I (464-424) and discovered in that same district, the river (canal) is to be identified with the nar kabari/u (big canal),106 as the Hebrew nehar kebar is the equivalent of Akk. nar kabari/u, "Kabaru canal," which occurs several times in the 5th-century archives of the Murashu banking family in Babylonia.107 Here, the canal is a navigable channel of the Euphrates v

1 OR

south-east of Babylon, which is thought to be the same as the present Satt-en-nil.

It

flows through the site of ancient Nippur and then subsequently enters again into the Euphrates. Large manors and date palm groves were located along its course, and the names of several settlements near the Chebar are attested.1

Therefore, it is reasonable

to believe that some Jewish exiles were settled not too far from Nippur, near the canal. King Jehoiachin, along with his family, his retinue, and a few nobles, were presumably at this time confined in Babylon. On the other hand, most of the other exiles were settled in country districts south of Babylon, as colonists in separate villages, doubtless for purpose of agricultural expansion. They might even preserve their own system of elders (Ezek 14:1), but at the same time they surely had to pay tribute and do

For the Murashu archive, see H. V. Hilprecht and A. T. Clay, Business Documents of the Murashu Sons of Nippur (The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, Ser. A: Cuneiform Texts 9; Philadelphia, 1998), 26ff nos.4, 84; text no. 9. 84; and M. W. Stolper, "Fifth Century Nippur: Texts of the Murashu Family and From Their Surroundings," Journal of Cuneiform Studies 53 (2001): 83-132. 107

The archives, consisting of some 730 tablets, represent our main source of information on the population of the Nippur region at this time. Knowledge of the ethnic composition of the settlers is derived from the personal names that occur in these business records. For comments on these settlements, see M. D. Coogan, "Life in the Diaspora: Jews at Nippur in the Fifth Century," BA 37(1974): 6-12. 1

Eichrodt, Ezekiel, 52. See Thompson, "Chebar," 893.

125

forced labor as subjects of the Babylonian empire. Their experience of life along the Chebar, one of the naharot babel, "waters of Babylon," of Ps 137:1, is doubtless reflected in the weeping and alienation expressed in that Psalm. Tel-Abib,110 for that matter, has a negative connotation of the time of the great deluge, as the name of this settlement is probably a term used for any long uninhibited mound. Tel-Abib is to be connected with Akkadian til abubi, meaning "ruin mound from the Flood," and frequently applied to a heap of ruins. Hence, what must have been in the mouths of the Babylonian a description of an uninhabited, ancient mound, was used as a proper name by the exiles assigned to that area for a settlement. The Jews gave the Hebrew name Tel-abib (mound of ears of corn) to the Babylonian Til-Abubi.111 But the name indicates the Babylonian policy of settling deportees such as the Jewish exiles in such areas to restore the ruined settlements 1 1O

and cultivate the deserted arable lands. The Bible names many of the villages where the deported population was settled, though their sites cannot be identified: Tel-Melah, Tel-Harsha, Cherub, Addan, Immer (Ezra 2:59), Casiphia (Ezra 8:15), and Tel-Abib (Ezek 3:15). Among the returning exiles were those who came from Tel-melah ("mound of salt") and Tel-harsha ("mound of potsherds"), Cherub, Adan, Immer, Casiphia and probably a place near the Ahava

This place-name corresponds to the Akkadian //'/ abubi meaning a mound that had stood deserted from the time of the great deluge. For example, this name is mentioned in a curse in Codex Hammurabi xliii 79 ("May he [Adad] turn his land into hills of ruins") and in the Annals of Tigrath-pleser III, line 208f ("591 towns... from the sixteen regions of the land I destroyed as a til abubi,"); see Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 139, and Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 27. 111

Parrot, Babylon, 124.

112

Oded, "The Settlements of the Israelites," 99.

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canal (Ezra 2:59; 8:15-17). These lists indicate that the Jewish exiles in Babylonia "must have maintained some cohesion as members of local communities; those that returned went "each to his own town" (Ezra 2:1; Neh 7:6)."" 3 During this exilic time towns with names beginning til are very common, for many old tells or mounds, long unoccupied, were being resettled.114 The frequency of names formed with "tell" suggests a policy of settling the deportees on abandoned sites, a providential circumstance helping them to stay together, resist assimilation, and preserve their traditional identity and way of life. But this pattern also indicates that the Babylonian regime settled the Judean exiles in places where they could return land to cultivation. These area were most likely crown lands, assigned to the exiles by the expanding state for farming (cf. 2 Kgs 18:32); in return, they owed the state taxes, corvee and socage, and military service. According to Albertz, Despite the metaphor of "Babylonian captivity," it must be stressed that the "exiles" were neither prisoners of war in the modern sense, kept in prison camps, nor slaves in the legal sense, meaning that they could bought and sold. The overwhelming majority were semifree tenants on state land; tied to their plot of ground, they owed their economic status to the crown, to which they owed service.115

The Particular Background of Ezekiel 38-39 In keeping with the plausibility of an exilic date for these chapters, at least in part, the chapters reflect life in Babylonian exile. Gog (presumably the subject of Ezek 113

Yamauchi, "The Eastern Jewish Diaspora, 365.

114

G. E. Wright, An Introduction to Biblical Archaeology (London: Gerald Duckworth &Co. Ltd., 1960), 132. 115

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 101.

127

38:11) says "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people, all of them living without walls and without gates and bars." As far as we know, the Babylonians did not bring in deportees from various areas to a given place, as had been the previous Assyrian custom. Rather they deported populations into the Babylonian heartland and settled them in discrete enclaves.116 This explains the phenomenon whereby settlements, especially in the vicinity of Nippur, were often named after the ethnicon or place of origin of the exiles settled in them.117 At first it might seem that conditions for the exiles are not as bad as might have been feared. The Judeans exiles are not scattered, as had been the inhabitants of the northern Kingdom of Israel who were deported by the Assyrians in the eighth century. Rather, they are placed in ghetto-like settlements in Babylonia, such as Tel-Abib (Ezek 3:15). They seem to have enjoyed some freedom of association, for the elders are depicted gathering at the house of Ezekiel (8:1; 14:1; 20:1). The letter to the exiles in Jeremiah 29, whoever the author, certainly assumes that the exiled community enjoys the liberty to "build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce; take wives and have sons and daughters" (Jer 29:5-6). From this background, Ezekiel 38 emphasizes peace. The reference to being "rich in livestock and goods" (38:12) refers to the wealth that is the object of Gog's desire (38:12-13), whether really available or not: "silver and gold...cattle and goods...a great amount of booty." And this also implies that it is not the early exilic period but later, after they settled down for some while in Babylonia. 116

Vanderhooft, Neo-Babylonian Empire, 110. For the analysis of the Assyrian procedure for deportation, see Oded, Mass Deportation. 117

Oded, Mass Deportation, 101.

128

The Babylonians settled ethnic minorities such as Egyptians, Greeks, and Phoenicians in cohesive groups and allowed them to organize themselves.118 As recently discovered cuneiform texts show, some Judeans exiles were settled in a place called "the city of Judah" (URUya-a-hu-du), which probably was near Sippar.119 And other towns were established to accommodate the influx of Judaeans. The overwhelming majority of Judean exiles (those who had been members of the upper class, large landowners, officials, and merchants)1

appears to have been

engaged in state-sponsored agriculture, as the letter to them suggests (Jer 29:5). On the other hand, the Judaean artisans mentioned in the account of the deportation (2 Kgs 24:14, 16; 25:11) were probably employed primarily on the vast state-sponsored building programs of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors. It would appear, then, that after some initial difficulties the legal and economic situation of the Babylonian golah was far from physically oppressive. The signs pointed to increasing legal and economic integration. After the end of the exile, in 532 B.C.E.,

Cf. For the "village of the Tyrians" located in the vicinity of Nippur between 575 and 565, see F. Joannes, "Trois textes de surru a lepoque Neo-Babylonienne," RA 81 (1987): 147-58(11.1, 147ff.). 119

Since the name is identical with the official term for Jerusalem in the Babylonian Chronicle, this "New Jerusalem" was probably established by the official initiative of the government. Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tabelettes," 17-34. The same name "Judah city" or "city of Judah" {URUya-a-hu-du) in the Babylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (Lines 11-14) was also given to a settlement of Judean exiles in Babylonia (Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tablettes," 18 (line 23) and 24-26. Cf. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (II. 1), 99ff and Pearce, "New Evidence," 399-408. 120

Probably they felt farming to be an almost unbearable social degradation. This feeling was one of the roots of the trauma of exile evident in the text, emphasized by Smith-Christopher in his argument against downplaying the gravity of the exile. See D. L. Smith-Christopher, "Reassessing the Historical and Sociological Impact on the Babylonian Exile (597/587-539 BCE)," in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (ed. J. M. Scott; JSJSup 56; Leiden: Brill, 1977), 27ff.

129

one finds a Judean named Abda-yahu (Obadiah) entrusted with the office of tax collector.121 From the year 498, the sale of a bull to a Judaean by a Babylonian was recorded, indicating full legal equality in the realm of civil law.122 The knowledge that the Babylonian golah after the end of the exile was in a position to make a sizable financial contribution to Jerusalem (Zech 6:10-11; cf. Ezra 2: 69; 8:30), and the fact that only a limited number were prepared to return, demonstrates that at least many, if not a majority, of the Babylonian golah had found a way to make an acceptable life during their extended exile in Babylonia. Again, returning to the text, "I (Gog, i.e, Babylon in code) will attack a peaceful people (the resettled exiles in Babylonia)...rich in livestock and goods (not in the early exilic period, but in the middle of the exilic period), living at the center of the land (Babylon)...to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder." God portrays Gog's intentions to plunder nations (38:10-13) and advance with a mighty army against Israel (38:14-16). However, this attack is not a real one, but just imagination of the author. If the Babylonian attacks God's people, God has a just cause to defeat Israel's enemy. Therefore, the prophet announces that God defeats Gog with cosmic events (19-20) by using mythic factors, because the exiles could not defeat the Babylonian in reality. The author leads many to believe the expression to have eschatological meaning in the context (See chapter IV and V). The actual purpose of the author in these two chapters is to affirm for the exiles that Gog (the Babylonian empire) will be destroyed by God in their real context—the exile. Indeed, the exilic period could

121

Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tabelettes," 27-30.

122

Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tabelettes," 17-27.

130

fit into the historical background of Ezekiel 38-39.

4. The Exilic Group in the Babylonian Countryside

Probably from the beginning the exiles were placed both in Babylon itself and in the surrounding area of Babylonia. The Neo-Babylonian officials settled together groups of exiles who originated in one or more adjacent areas. Most of this evidence comes from the Nippur archives. Zadok mentions: 19^

The Lydians and Phrygians around Nippur lived in one haduru-community, and Uratians and Melideans in another. Bit-Surraya may be another haduru for Tyrians in Nippur.124 With this concentration of foreigners, it can be compared to the use of Nippur in Middle Babylonian times as a place for groups of forced i -ye

laborers including prisoners of war and others from as far as Syria and Elam. According to Wiseman, the Ashkelonian settlement by the Sin-Magir canal at Nippur and other place-names implying groups of Greeks and men from Gaza could indicate a similar situation. Almost two hundred settlements along sixty named canals in the Nippur region are known.126 And at Uruk, near the Persian Gulf, Sidonians appear to have been settled there in the Neo-Babylonian period (c.580/579). In addition, above Sippar, the Dur-kurasu village on the River Euphrates was a place where men from the

For the term Hatru/haduru ("association"), see E. J. Bickerman, "The Babylonian Captivity," in The Cambridge History of Judaism vol. I (eds. W. D. Davies and I. Finkelstein; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 345. 124

R. Zadok, "Phoenicians, Philistines and Moabites in Mesopotamia," BASOR 230 (1978): 60-61. 125

Zadok, "The Nippur Region," 326. Wiseman, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, 11.

131

Hatti-land were congregated either in a labor or military cantonment.1

Hence, if Chebar

and Tel-Abib of Ezekiel (1:3; 3:15; cf. Ezra 2:59) are correctly equated with the nar kabari near Nippur, this could be an indication that some Jewish exiles lived in that region also under similar arrangements. The importance of understanding the physical setting in which the exilic communities developed cannot be overestimated. People who settled in the rural areas depended on the physical world around them. Climate, vegetation, and landforms place constraints on the way they make their livelihood. This is not, however, to say that they are just at the mercy of nature, as the labor of the exiled communities could alter the world around them. Each time the river rose in flood and spilled out over its banks, the rapid loss in water velocity caused sediments carried in the water to be dropped, forming levees. In the process of levee formation, the bed of the river was gradually raised until it flowed above the level of the surrounding land.12 This feature of the Euphrates was particularly important for the exilic community's settlement in the region, because it made it relatively easy to cut irrigation channels through the levee and allow the water to flow by force of gravity to cultivate fields and gardens. Levee soils of good drainage are prized for date palms, fruit trees, cereals, legumes, whereas other vegetables are preferentially planted on the level tops, along with crops of mesquite and camel thorn, common weeds in cultivated areas.129 As river

Gadd, "The Harran Inscriptions of Nabonidus," 85 n.l (Nabonidus Chronicle ii 13). Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, 41. Pollock, Ancient Mesopotamia, 32-3.

132

channels moved, abandoning old channels and forming new ones, or as the people extended or shortened irrigation channels, areas that were previously cultivated revert to sub-desert vegetation, and sub-desert areas turn into fields, orchards, and gardens. Other aspects of exilic life are also known. According to Parrot, an Assyrian alabaster relief from the palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh shows a group of prisoners (three lyre players), under escort, singing to the accompaniment of a harp.131 This scene was considered to reflect the capture of Lachish in 701 although the assumption is questionable.132 Parrot contends this must have been a Sabbath—which might be the case—when the Jews, observing the rest required by their religious tradition, gathered on the banks of the canals. Particularly, in Psalm 137 the songs they refused to sing were religious hymns which they considered as sacrilegious to sing on foreign, that is, unclean, soil133 (The same issue is addressed in Hos 9:3-7). Hence, places along the irrigation canals, as in Psalm 137 and Ezra 8:21, may have constituted gathering places for worship or education.134 The psalmist attests to the understandable sense of alienation that the exiles

130

Pollock shows a picture of irrigated fields and date-palm gardens in the sub-desert. See Pollock, Ancient Mesopotamia, 34 (fig.2.3). 131

Parrot, Babylon, 125 (XLIII: Prisoners singing).

132

J. Rimmer, Ancient Musical Instruments of Western Asia (London: British Museum, 1969), 34. 133

134

Parrot, Babylon, 125-6.

Parrot, Babylon, 126. n.l. On the other hand, according to Goulder, no mention is made of synagogues, and such are not to be thought of. However, ritual mourning by a river is mentioned for a large group of Jews in Ezra 8:21, and services by the river are still seen in Acts 16:13. See M. D. Goulder, The Psalms of the Return (JSOTSup258 ; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 225.

133

experienced: "By the streams of Babylon we sat as we remembered Zion. On the poplars there we hung our lyres" (Ps 137:1-2). Homesick, the people of Judah, when asked by their Babylonian captors, to sing the "songs of Zion," replied, "How can we sing the Lord's song on foreign soil? (Ps 137:4)." According to King and Stager: Although life in exile is not well documented Ezekiel, prophesying in Babylon from 597 to 571, gives an indication of what it was like. The expatriates were free to perform their religious practices, such as circumcision and Sabbath observance. Ezekiel's vision of the restored Temple encouraged the exiles to persevere (Ezekiel 40-44).135 Jer 29:5-6 envisages settlement and some independence of life. Ezek 8:1 and 20:1 refer to the elders of the community meeting with the prophet. Ezek 1:1, Ezra 1:4 and 8:15-17 suggest various settlements at which Judaeans were to be found. In addition, Ezra 8:17, referring to "temple servants at Casiphia," hints at the existence of a worship place, though no temple. In time, most of the exiles made a fair adjustment to their Babylonian environment. They took to heart the counsel of Jeremiah 29 and prepared for a sustained period of exile. According to Bickerman, during the settlement period under Nebuchadnezar, which I call the adjustment period, the Babylonian policy was one of settling war captives from individual countries as closed groups and granting them crown land. Thus the Jewish exiles, too, were able to settle as groups in various locations.136 Zadok contends that according to the Murashu tablets (written between 455 and 403 B.C.E.) there are Judahites in 28 of the 200 settlements named in the area of Nippur. Jewish

135

King and Stager, Life in Biblical Israel, 256.

136

Bickerman, "The Babylonian Captivity," 344ff; 346.

134

names occur in approximately eight percent of all the available Murashu documents.137 The Bible also mentions seven localities: Tel-abib, Tel-harsha, Tel-melah, Cherub, Addon/Addan, Immer and Casiphia (Ezek 3:15, Ezra 2:59; 8:17; Neh 7:61). Particularly, the Jewish exiles were able to live in the various locations in families (Ezra 2:59) or according to professional groups (Ezra 8:17). Here Levites, priests, and other former temple officials, despite their restricted functions, formed their own groups (Ezra 2:36ff). Alongside priests and prophets, elders exercised leadership (Jer 29:1, Ezek 7:1, 14:1, 20:1) and perhaps were even able to build up limited communal selfgovernment. Even dispersed among the Babylonians, the Jewish exiles could have communal institutions such as the "elders." Berossus, in his Babyloniaca, mentions that many deportees ("the prisoners of Egyptians, the Jewish, Phoenician, Syrian prisoners") from various nations apparently were brought into Babylon to enlarge and strengthen the capital city (cf. Jer 51:58). Berossus describes how Nebuchadnezzar II deported peoples from various countries and "ordered that dwelling places be assigned to them in the most suitable parts of Babylonia."

Here Berossus informs us that the policy of the Babylonian empire was to

settle deportees from various countries not only in the capital city, but also in the rural areas, and even in ruined settlements and uncultivated areas. According to Oded, "this policy aimed at enlarging the cultivated arable lands, restoring ruined places, and

Bickerman ("The Babylonian Captivity," 346) cites Zadok, "Nippur in the Achaemenid Period: Geographical and Ethnical Aspects" (Dissertation, Hebrew University, 1974), xiii, xxi, xxxiii. Burstein, The Babyloniaca ofBerosus, 27.

135

building new ones."139 Information about Babylon itself and other places for the exiles is also found in the Edict of Cyrus: "all the dwelling places" where the exiles dwelt.140 Josephus (Against Apion, 1,18) also mentions that Nebuchadnezzar II brought Judaeans to the great cities of Babylonia as well as to rural areas.141 The continuing existence of a Jewish community in Babylonia from the sixth century B.C. onwards is also attested. According to Oded, Nippur, about 100 km southeast of Babylon, was continually growing in the Neo-Babylonian period due to the resettlement of deportees implemented by Nebuchadnezzar II. 142 Zadok, in his investigations of the Jews in the light of the Murashu archive (approximately 150 years later: 455-403 BCE)143 indicates that Judeans lived in nearly 30 settlements in Babylonia. This implies that descendants of the Jewish deportees were dispersed during the NeoBabylonian period. The Murashu archive from Nippur contain evidence of the economic activities of individuals who may be presumed to be descendants of Judeans exiled to Babylonia.144 Apart from the already cited Murashu archive and various biblical

139

Oded, "The Settlements of the Israelite," 92.

140

R. W. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (2 ed. New York, Cincinnati: The Abingdon Press, 1926), 380 (The Cylinder of Cyrus line 10); Hallo, Context of Scripture 2, 315 ("all the habitation"). 141

As cited by Oded "The Settlements of the Israelite," 99.

142

Oded, "The Settlements of the Israelite," 100-101.

43

144

Zadok, The Jews in Babylonia, 34; 82.

For Zadok's scattered references about Judeans exiled to Babylonia, see R. Zadok, "The Nippur Region, 266-332; Geographical Names according to New- and LateBabylonian Texts (RGTC 8; Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1985); and "Foreigners and Foreign Linguistic Material in Mesopotamia and Egypt," OLA 65 (1995): 431-47.

136

references, Zadok, mentions the broken name Ia-'-u-[...].\, standing for Yhw, which appears in a record from Babylon from 537 BCE. A document found from 511/10 BCE refers to Ne-ri-ia-a-ma the son of Bel-zera-ibni, who is presumably the son of a Judean deportee who has taken a Babylonian name. The same may be said of Ia-hu-u-iddina, mentioned in a legal document from Babylon from 509/8 BCE.145 However, it would be hazardous to deduce from this later situation firm conclusions about the life of the exiles under Babylonian rule. One of the tablets, a tax receipt,146 shows simple business documents. The Murashu firm was not itself Jewish, and only a small proportion of its customers bore Judaean names. All that we can deduce is that in the period of these tablets some exiles were engaged in trade with men of other nationalities. Little can be deduced about the degree of their prosperity and influence, and all that this tells us about the preceding century is that some of the families who were settled in Babylonia remained there and were engaged in business transactions. As Pearce notes, the archive of the agricultural trading and credit house of Murashu from Nippur attests, though strictly speaking only for a later period (455-403), that people "who may be presumed to be descendant of Judeans exiled to Babylonia,"147 were fully and legally integrated into Babylonia and got along quite normally in their business. There is a long gap (approximately 150 years), however, between the earliest Murashu text, to 454 B.C.E.,148 and the 597 deportation.

R. Zadok, The Pre-Hellenistic Israelite Anthroponymy and Prosopography (Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 1988), 305; 306. 146

Ackroyd, Israel Under Babylon, 19.

147

Pearce, "New Evidence," 399.

M. W. Stolper, Enterprenuers and Empire: The Murasu Archive, the Murasu Firm, and Persian Rule in Babylonia (Leiden: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Institutu te Istanbul, 1985), 17.

137

Recently, Joannes and Lemaire introduced new information for the study of Judeans in Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid Babylonia.149 As summarized by L. Pearce, Text 1 of three cuneiform texts published by F. Joannes and A. Lemaire "was written in al-Yahudu, a previously unattested place-name, to be translated 'the city of Judah.' Its name reflects the geographic origin of a major component of its population."150 The practice of naming a newly established settlement for the place from which most of its occupants originally came is well attested in Babylonia.151 Pearce also cites new texts from al-Yahudu (one-third of nearly 100 texts) and Nasar (a second third), and offers a preliminary report on the contents of this text corpus, with a great deal of new evidence for the presence of Judaean deportees and their descendants in the Neo-Babylonian period. Particularly, these texts, according to Pearce, "preserve a number of orthographies for the toponym al-Yahudu, almost all of which appear in the notation at the end of the tablet that records the name of the scribe, the date on which the transaction took place and the place in which the document was composed."15

For example, sdu so

Yahudaia, occurs in a document dated to

Nebuchadnezzar 33 (572 B.C.E.), fifteen years after the 587 B.C.E. deportation, and establishes the place of origin of the residents. The next-oldest tablet, preserving the orthography URVia-a-hu-du for the toponym, dates to Amel-Marduk 1 (561 B.C.E.).

149

Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tabelettes," 17-34.

150

Pearce, "New Evidence," 400.

151

Pearce, "New Evidence," 400 n. 1. For an example, see I. Epha'al, "The Western Minorities in Babylonia in the 6th-5th Centuries B.C.: Maintenance and Cohesion," Orientalia Al (1978): 80-83. Pearce, "New Evidence," 401. See, for example, 401. n. 6 and 7.

138

All subsequent attestations of the toponym al-Yahudu also lack the gentile ending (-a-a), suggesting that Judean deportees and their descendants were sufficiently established in the social and economic life of Babylonia that their town could simply be called 'Judea-ville' or the like. The integration of Judeans into Babylonian economic life is evidenced by their participation in very ordinary economic transactions in which they were recorded as the creditors and debtors in a variety of loan documents and receipts.153 Particularly, Pearce finds indications that al-Yahudu lay in the Babylon-Borsippa region.154 The onomastican of the corpus provides striking new evidence for the study of Judeans in Babylonia, specifically the Babylon-Borsippa region, during the NeoBabylonian period. The greatest number the individuals bearing Yahwistic names appear in texts with the writing al-Yahudu, 120 of approximately 600 individuals. This points to "a concentration of individuals of Judean descent in al-Yahudu, although their presence is attested in other settlements (assumed to be) in the vicinity."155 So I conclude that there were many groups of exiled Judaeans in Babylonia. Many of them were settled along the rivers/canals of Babylonia. They were in part organized according to families and place of origin (Ezra 2). The exiles lived side by side with the local inhabitants as a minority and among other minorities. The Judaean exiles were not concentrated in one place but were dispersed in various places in Babylonia prior to the Edict of Cyrus. The exiles were settled in urban centers and in rural areas along the Tigris and the Euphrates, their tributaries, and the associated canals. In the course of time some exiles quite probably moved from one place to another for economic and or other reasons. 153

Pearce, "New Evidence," 402.

154

Pearce, "New Evidence," 403.

155

Pearce, "New Evidence," 404-5.

156

Oded, "The Settlements of the Israelite," 103.

139

C. Social and Psychological Position of Jewish Exiles 1. Social Position of Jewish Exiles 1 S7

There is a document dated in either Nabonidus's reign (556-539 B.C.E.)

or

the beginning of the Achaemenid period, discussed by Zadok: the administrative document, BM 56189, from the archive of the Ebabbarra temple in Sippar mentions 22 hired workers of whom at least two are Judaeans and five West Semites. From this evidence, Zadok contends that "this new material, albeit very scanty, seems to confirm M. A. Dandamayev's opinion that Jews were not absorbed by the Babylonian forced labor sector,"158 that is, the exiles in the later exilic period to some extend enjoyed some economic freedom. On the other hand, unfortunately, the new texts introduced by Pearce do not yet provide much evidence for the legal status of the deportees, "nor do they provide any indication of the participation of those deportees in cultic activities, Babylonian or otherwise." Conquered populations in the Neo-Babylonian period were resettled in communities defined by the majority composition. These communities functioned largely as units within the administrative structure of the empire. In addition, the texts demonstrate that "at least a portion of the Judean deportees and their descendants provide a ready supply of labor for the official administration."159 According to Albertz, the Jewish exiles in Babylonia were mostly in simple

P. Beaulieu, The Reign ofNabonidus King of Babylon 556-539 B. C. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989). 158

Zadok, "Some Jews in Babylonian Documents," 295-6.

159

Pearce, "New Evidence," 407-8.

140

employment such as farmers, shepherds, and fishermen, but sometimes they could also rise to higher positions in the service of Persian masters (e.g. as irrigation experts) as early post-exilic biblical texts indicate. Very few, such as Sheshbazzar and Zerubbbabel, found their way to high political offices after Cyrus' Edict. Furthermore, both the donation lists in Ezra 2:69 and 8:30 and the fact that only a limited number were prepared to return suggest that the majority of the Babylonian Gola had assimilated well enough that they did not choose to return in the time of Cyrus and/or were not attracted to a ruined city. "Josephus explicitly gives the desire of the exiles to hold on to their property as a reason for the delay in returning."160 Though the Judaean exiles were not in the status of slaves, according to Mendelsohn, in the Neo-Babylonian period even legal slaves played an active part in the economic life of the country. They appear as artisans, agents, tenant farmers, house and land owners, merchants, and even bankers. They borrow and lend money, engage in business transactions with members of their own class as well as with freemen, and with their own master. They carry their own seals and som e even possess, as in the Late Assyrian period, their own slaves. They live with t heir families outside their master's dwelling in their own or in rented houses. '

In this period, quite frequently slaves appear as lessees of the land. In such cases, they dealt directly, with the respective owner of the property rather than through the medium of their masters. Rich landowners, bankers, and businessmen often leased parts of their

R. Albertz, A History of Israelite Religion Vol II: From the Exile to the Maccabees (trans. J. Bowden; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), 374. 1

' Mendelsohn, Slavery, 67-69. In one case a slave signed a lease for a house for four years. R. P. Dougherty, Archives from Erech, Time of Nebuchadrezzar and Nabonidus (Goucher College Cuneiform Inscriptions 1; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922), 21: no. 35.

141

cultivated or uncultivated land to tenant-farmers and lessees. Among the latter were also their own slaves, who availed themselves of the opportunity to become semiindependent.162 We may assume that many exiles, given that they were not slaves, also achieved semi-independent status by the later exilic period. Judaean exiles also could lease a plot of cultivated land for some years from the Babylonians. Gradually, many of the Judaean exiles could accumulate their own wealth in the land of exile. The documents in the Neo-Babylonian period do not tell us how and by what means the exiles acquired property. As workers they may have been able to produce an excess that could become personal resources. It seems reasonable to suggest that the Jewish exiles' industry and ability as artisans and craftsmen provided the basis of their success.163 For economic reasons big landowners would lease large parcels of their land to tenant-farmers, presumably including Jewish exiles. These lands were equipped with tools and animals, and by taking them over for cultivation on a seasonal or yearly basis the tenants needed no initial capital, for the payments in kind were due after the harvest or in the case of cattle-farms and fish ponds, in daily rations to be supplied to the owners. If successful in an initial venture, an exile might gradually amass a small profit, which in turn could be invested in other fields and thus could become, after a number of years (in the later exilic period), a comparatively wealthy person. In the Neo-Babylonian period, within certain limits even the slaves could act 162

One slave leased a cultivated plot of land from its two owners for a fixed rental of fifty kurru of dates per year. See Mendelsohn, Slavery, 68. In one case, one master lent to his slave 880 shekels of silver at 20 per cent interest. Slaves also borrowed money from strangers. Mendelsohn, Slavery, 68. Some of the exiled Judaeans could presumably have done the same.

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like free men. They could buy and sell slaves, have their own seal, and even appear in court as claimant if the defendant was of their own class.164 Thus, I conclude that the Neo-Babylonian Judaean exiles could accumulate property in land and even eventually possess their own slaves. With the increase of commercial and industrial activities already in the late exilic period, many Jewish exiles were able to engage in various enterprises for their benefit. Much later, persons with Jewish names appear in the Murashu documents as small land-holders and petty officials.165 So it does not seem that the exiles were restricted from improving their lot economically. According to Lemche, it appears that most of them became peasants who farmed plots of land assigned to them by the Babylonians. The exiles' status was not as slaves or as prisoners of war, but rather as clients of the Babylonians employed to form an expanded Babylonian community. They seem to have been settled on uncultivated agricultural land, perhaps as part of a deliberate policy to develop unused land or previously abandoned sites.1 6 Furthermore, the exiles were placed in various locales in lower Mesopotamia167 and later records from the fifth century (the Murashu archive) suggest a concentration around the city of Nippur.

There are no indications that the

Mendelsohn, Slavery, 70. 165

M. W. Stolper, "Murashu, Archive of," in Anchor Bible Dictionary 4, 928

166

N. P. Lemche, Ancient Israel: A New History of Israelite Society (The Biblical Seminar; Sheffield: JSOT, 1988), 179-80. Yamauch, "Eastern Jewish Diaspora," 356-77. 168

J. D. Purvis, "Exile and Return: From the Babylonian Destruction to the Reconstruction of the Jewish State" in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple (ed. H. Shanks; Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1999), 207.

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Jewish exiles were under coercion to abandon their traditional cultural ways or social organization. They had some continuation of religious observances, including public prayers and fasts.169 From a legal point of view, the Jewish exiles in Babylonia were not treated as chattels. They were not bought and sold, leased and exchanged, and there is no evidence that they were branded or tattooed. Although the exilic life in Babylonia might not be so bad, we should not fail to recognize that life in exile included cultural and psychological deprivation, though not necessarily economic deprivation. Economic deprivation is not the central question. As already mentioned in Chapter I, Cook's weak point is a focus on deprivation as meaning economic deprivation, and he is right in noting that the exiles did not constitute a community overwhelmed by economic deprivation. But that is not the issue. Accordingly, the major purpose of the next section is to emphasize the cultural and psychic alienation that the Judaean exiles experienced in their transplanted life under the dominating power of the Neo-Babylonian empire.

Purvis, "Exile and Return," 212.

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2. Inclusive Perspectives on Deprivation in an Exiled Community After the fall of Jerusalem the people deported to Babylonia became alienated, dislocated people. In Babylonia, the Jewish exiles represented differences in ethnicity, speech, and religion from the Babylonians, as well as being themselves in a strange land—a new economy and a new topography. Furthermore, the great majority of the Jewish exiles proper, prior to the rise of the second generation by 550 or so, were, from a Babylonian perspective as well, foreigners in a foreign land. Also, the deported exiles were probably mostly from the elite classes. The account in 2 Kgs 24:14 says that "He (Nebuchadnezzar) carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans." Given all these factors, life in exile could easily produce feelings of deprivation, isolation, and marginalization. In his book, A Biblical Theology of Exile, Smith-Christopher suggests a reading of exilic texts such as Ezekiel and Lamentation in the context of trauma studies. He argues that "attention to the social, economic, and traumatic factors at work in circumstances and contexts of subordination, disaster, warfare, or political oppression (either individually or a group) has led in recent years to increased attention to PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (hereinafter PTSD)".170 Smith-Christopher, commenting on Ezekiel's vision of the valley of bones in

Smith-Christopher, Biblical Theology, 89. He argues that "PTSD has by now been thoroughly documented as resulting from a variety of traumatic experiences both natural and man-made, and the central symptoms of which - particularly intrusive memory and debilitating depression, have been documented across an impressive variety of cultures around the world, from studies among Armenians surviving the massive earthquake of 1988 (6.9 on the Richter scale, 25,000 dead), Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees in the USA and Norway, Sri Lankan survivors of disaster, Israelis, Russians, Indians, and the work continues, particularly on nuancing cultural variations in symptoms and expression of symptoms." (p. 90).

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Ch. 37, notes that "many modern scholars suggest that the vision is intended to depict a battlefield strewn with dead." He also quotes Murray's observation: "combat exposure, its duration, witnessing the death of comrades, and participating in atrocities were the most frequent factors associated with PTSD"171 Indeed, Smith-Christopher promotes a profound recognition that the reality of PTSD requires a much greater depth in our understanding of the psychological and even spiritual impact of warfare and refugee life. The loss of one's way of life, not to mention one's entire world, may itself trigger such symptoms. From the biblical texts we see clearly a community in exile that is struggling with crises, personal and social, crises that include dealing with suddenly mobile identities and transnational culture. The tragic event of exile from home is addressed in many ways in Deutero-Isaiah. Deutero-Isaiah addressed a deported Judaean population that was, at least for the most part, living in Babylonia. The prophet encountered a faith community reinforced by a story of rejection that left it with little hope for the future, but rather with experiences of separation from familiar surroundings, loss, attendant hardships, stress associated with uprooting, various long-term adjustment problems, and an unfamiliar environment for an indefinite period.172

171

•

•

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 91. J. B. Murray, "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Review," in Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 118, no. 3 (1992), 316. 172 W. S. Morrow''Comfort for Jerusalem: The Second Isaiah as Counselor to Refugees," Biblical Theology Bulletin 34 (2004), 80-85. According to Morrow, analogies exist oetween psychological problems faced by contemporary populations of displaced iersons (e.g., refugees) and those exiled by the Babylonian empire after the destruction of udah and Jerusalem. The approach of the prophet(s) who composed the poems and oracles found in Isaiah 40-55 is similar to some contemporary therapies. Through various ;enres of poetry, Second Isaiah counseled the exiles to reframe their pessimism about srael, Yahweh, and their future.

f f

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Deutero-Isaiah addressed a deported Judean population who must have been, by the earlier 540s, mostly second-generation exiles resident in Babylonia.173 The mid-540s place the first exile about fifty years prior and post-dates the second exile by more than forty-some years. Since the average life-span of people from ancient Israel was presumably less than forty,

those Judaean exiles who had personally experienced life

in pre-exilic Jerusalem or Judah were, by the 540s, probably few in number. And though the trauma of the fall of Jerusalem may have been in the past by the 540s, there was also trauma from exilic life in Babylonia. Yet Morrow makes an additional point: There is evidence that the transmission of a traumatic story to the children of survivors can affect their sense of identity. Imparting a collective identity to the next generation as heirs of a story of trauma may convey secondary victimization and stigmatization... The second-generation exiles in Babylon possessed a narrative that allowed for secondary victimization and stigmatization in terms of their collective identity. This was their shared story as defeated Israel, rejected by God.175 This collective trauma story was transmitted through memories of their ancestors' traumatization which were continually reinforced by liturgies of lament in the exilic community. "Community liturgies appealing for help in the face of national distress appear in poems such as Psalms 44, 74, 79, 80, and 83. Quotations or allusions to this liturgical tradition can be found in the passages such as Isa 40:27, 49:14, 50:1 and 51:9i i ,,176

R. J. Clifford, "Isaiah, Book of (Second Isaiah)" in Anchor Bible Dictionary Vol. 3, 492. 174

Hans W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981),

119. 175

Morrow, Comfort for Jerusalem, 82.

176

Morrow, Comfort for Jerusalem, 82.

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Deutero-Isaiah provides several images of the community that may be interpreted as metaphors of the chronic injuries experienced by survivors of severe trauma. For "exile" usually refers to enforced absence or expulsion from one's home or country by official power.177 Violence is naturally involved. According to Morrow, "violence typically alters a sense of both self and world. Self-esteem is reduced and the world is perceived as less safe and less meaningful."178 The loss of meaning can result in a sense of abandonment or despair in that the Jewish exiles feel alone and spiritually bereft. The perception of divine abandonment is strongly conveyed in Isa 40:27, "why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, 'my way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God?"' and 49:14, "the Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." Morrow observes that "violence also leads to chronic shame and doubt symptomatic of a damaged self-concept."179 For example, Israel's self image in Isa 41:14 was evidently that of a "worm," a people plundered and despoiled, trapped and imprisoned (42:22) and far from victory (46:12). The exiles were already burdened with the low self-esteem among the initial generation, which had actually suffered through the violence of the Babylonian conquest and deportation. The offering of the exiles continued to carry their parent's shame as those judged and rejected by Yahweh. As time went on, hope for divine intervention diminished. Both the prophet and the exiles seem to agree that Israel's future was uncontrollable from the point of view of their own actions. The exiles were basically

177

M. Stroinska and V. Cecchetto, Exile, Language and Identity (Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2003), 13. 178

Morrow, Comfort for Jerusalem, 82.

179

Morrow, Comfort for Jerusalem, 82.

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passive with regard to the possibility of a different future for Israel, and resigned to permanent Babylonian hegemony, including the possibility of fascination with the religion of their conquerors (Isa 40:18-20; 44:24-25; 47:12-13). Among the exiles there was resistance to the prophet's message found in citations of Israel's complaints: God has ignored Jacob (40:27), forsaken Zion (49:14) and divorced her (50:1). Furthermore, in the case of the Judean deportees, Israel's defeated state was ascribed to the fact that the faith community had a shameful identity (Isa 53:1-3). We should not make light of the implications of this. As a measure of the emotional, social, and obvious spiritual impact of the disaster, our analysis of biblical texts in relation to the exile needs to be rethought. For a long time, the exiles clung to their past identity, to the memories of their country and their friends and companions of the time in Judah, all having disappeared. Psalm 137 surely expresses the feeling of many exiles. They are like a dead person pretending to be alive. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion" (Ps 137:1). They didn't belong in Babylonia but in Judah. Clearly, many exiles had not adapted to Babylonia. Many found life there very difficult and they doubtless wanted to return to Judah as soon as possible. This must have been especially true of the exiles between 598 and 587, when Jerusalem was still an operative city. Hananiah (Jeremiah 28) was not the only one looking to a short time in exile. Doubtless even those who settled down in Babylonia missed sensing, feeling, touching, engaging that community life, that earth, even that weather that they had known in Judah. There are many similar situations of PTSD in Korean history.180

180

For the Koreans of Kazakhstan and the survival of a culture, including many pictures, see Byung-yool Ban, "Koreans in Russia: Historical Perspective," The Korea Times (2004-09-22); and Yeong-ha Choe, "The Tajikistan Civil War and Ethnic Koreans," Donga Ilbo (Seoul: Korea, 1998-12-13).

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By the 1930s, the Koreans of the Soviet Far East had established their own identity, culture and traditions. In the Far East, there were dozens of Korean agricultural and fishing Kolkhozes; Koreans were actively involved in the government and social organization; the traditional culture flourished; the Korean intelligentsia prospered; and Korean radio, theater, educational and cultural institutions were established. Hundreds of young Koreans were educated in the universities of Moscow, Leningrad, and other big cities of Russia. Koreans were sovietized and integrated into the new political and socioeconomic system.1 ' However, subsequently the Koreans of the Far East were the first people of the Soviet Union to be deported, after which the same fate was shared by dozens of other populations. A top secret order of the Soviet government and Communist Party, dated August 21, 1937, regarding the deportation of the Korean population of the Far East and signed by Molotov and Stalin, was an oppressive but logical continuation of earlier Czarist and Soviet policy relating to national minority populations. In 1937, the Soviet Regime deported 180,000 Koreans from the Russian Far East (near Vladisvostock in the Primorsk and Khabarask provinces) to Kazakhstan, nearly 4.000 miles and one month away by train. The Koreans settled in this new place, sought to establish the basis for a new life, and tried to contribute to the development of agriculture in Kazakhstan. In terms of enforced absence from one's home or country, banishment or expulsion by official decree, one of the characteristics of exile or deportation is

181

262. 182

Songmoo Kho, "Koreans in Soviet Central Asia," Studia Orientalia 61 (1987): 1-

D. Napoleon, "A 4.000-Mile Journey to Nowhere: Koryo Saram Recounts the Harrowing Journey of Exile Under Stalin, in LSA (Fall 2006), 28. For Sahalin Koreans, see Byung-yool Ban, "Koreans in Russia" and Jin-woo Lee, '3,100 Sakhalin Koreans yearn to return home," The Korea Times (Seoul: Korea, 2005-02-18).

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deterritorialization, and the full range of displacements that it engenders. One element, of course, is physical separation from home, even from a secondary home, from the familiar past, from the family, and so forth. But another element has to do with certain losses and shifts in status. They had jobs, they had a particular status back home. But when they moved across several borders, things were changed. They couldn't go back. They didn't have access to the money or property or whatever they had possessed, so they had to live a different lifestyle. Their status, their jobs, and their human relationships changed considerably. So both physically and symbolically, the elements that now constructed their world were transformed. What deterritorialization represented, then, was that the physical, symbolic, and ideological terrains had shifted as though by tectonic force. In terms of status change, it had also been very difficult. Like the Judaean exiles in Babylonia, these displaced Korean communities, in spite of economic independence, experienced themselves as seriously deprived. As for the Judaean exiles, they had had a fairly high-level, secure role in Judah. But it just so happened that their exile coincided with another sort of life crisis that was driven by the exile itself, as many—perhaps most—of them were no longer professional persons working for themselves or their community. Exilic life included the recall of traumatic memories and feelings of loss and grief. After Jerusalem was captured the temple, royal palace and homes of the aristocracy See Z. T. Sullivan, Exiled Memories: Stories of Iranian Diaspora (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001). The stories included in this book show how one accidentally chosen group of Iranians in the United States remembers the past, produces a discourse about their lives, and negotiates the troubled transitions from one culture to another after the revolution in Iran. See also K. R. Jolluck, Exile and Identity: Polish Women in the Soviet Union During World War //(Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2002). This book focuses on the women who were forcibly transported from eastern Poland to the interior of the USSR and endeavors to explain not only the ways these women were victimized but also how they responded.

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were burned to the ground. The city walls were torn down. Some surviving royal and temple officials, military commanders and provincial leaders were rounded up and summarily executed. Although there is no way to estimate the casualties, it is safe to assume that a significant percentage of Judah's manpower and leadership was killed off.184 The exiles had to deal with personal experiences of violence and loss (death and separation), a dramatic decline in social status, and a thousand-mile forced march out of their home. Supplementing these matters, M. Stroinska and V. Cecchetto describe the life of exiles in terms of language and identity: Exiles move in space, migrating from one place to another, but they also enter a very interesting and idiosyncratic relationship with time. They long for what they have lost (past) and fear what is yet to come (future), but they also cannot face the present...Exiles, also, feel suspended in the present, trapped in time, imprisoned between what they have lost and what they are reluctant to face, the future. One reason for this inability to connect with the surrounding world is the lack of language that would help them to bridge the gap between them and the others, who do not speak their language. Language must be understood here as an instrument of communication, rather than just a system of signs associated with a specific national language...People who have suffered unspeakable torture may be unable to express their emotions even if they, in theory, speak the same language as their interlocutors. The exile's self translation is then the process of reconnecting with the outside world, finding again one's voice, rediscovering a way of expression for this ensnared experience. It requires a new language so that the self may take a new shape. Some immigrants find a way of translating their past and fitting it into their new lives. Some spend the rest of their lives waiting to return to their country. Others, yet, live some sort of halflife, neither here nor there.'85 Language is a tool that links together our internal life and who we are, on the one hand, and the way we function in the outside world and interact with fellow human

Miller and Hayes, History of Ancient Israel, 408-16. 185

M. Stroinska and V. Cecchetto, Exile, Language and Identity (Peter Lang: Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern; Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, 2003), 13-14.

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beings, on the other. Whenever people move to a new place, physically or emotionally, they carry with them their own experiences that are stored in the form of sensory and, more often than not, also verbal memories. Without these things—images, feeling, voices and words—people would not be who they are. Such things constitute part of the people's identity. "Thus languages with which people grow up are factors in identity construction."186 There is one thing all displaced people take with them—it is their own language. "With language comes a representation of the surrounding reality, including the native culture, in the form of verbalized beliefs, traditions and ways of perceiving the world."187 It might not be easy to retain this culture and language determined point of view if people are physically removed from their sphere of influence. An exile is understood as any kind of displacement or compulsory expulsion from one's native land. The Jewish exiles must have felt displaced, exiled and alienated by moving to a territory where, inter alia, different languages are spoken with a different accent. Language is so closely intertwined with all aspects of one's identity that it may at times seem inseparable from it. This is why one often equates national identity with the ability to speak the national language. "Individual identity too is strongly related to 1 RR

language and so the loss of one's language could be seen as a loss of identity." After the Jewish exiles had spent some time in Babylonia, and many doubtless could even speak the Babylonian language and might regard themselves as being

186

Stroinska and Cecchetto, Exile, Language and Identity, 95.

187

Stroinska and Cecchetto, Exile, Language and Identity, 96.

188

Stroinska and Cecchetto, Exile, Language and Identity, 97.

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Babylonianized,189 yet they could still have a deep sense of alienation. The acquisition of the new culture could be painful, and while living within the Babylonian world a high percentage of the Judaean exiles remained outside the culture. The Jewish exiles began as total strangers to the land within which they were required to build a completely new community. The people who were to mould this community had come against their will and were symbolic of the defeated enemy and the defeated or co-opted "local" god, Yahweh. Here the dominant image of the exiles was that of persons who had fallen, "who ceased to belong and had been expelled from normal participation in the community because of a failure to meet certain minimal legal or socioeconomic norms of behavior" in the strange land. If I may borrow Patterson's language for social death as slavery, I can summarize the social death in the situation of the exiles by saying that the exiles were conceived of as persons who did not belong because they were aliens, outsiders, and at least former enemies. The exiles were outsiders; they did not belong. ' The Judeans deported by the Babylonians after the subjection of Jerusalem (598/7) and the later conquest of Jerusalem (587/6) were victims of violent political processes in keeping with the military and political goals of the Babylonians. According to O. Patterson, "institutional marginality, the liminal state of social death, was the

Note the many personal names of exiles that are Babylonian (e.g., Sheshbazzar in Ezra 1:8 and Zerubbabel in Ezra 2:2, etc.) Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 41. 191

Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 44.

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ultimate cultural outcome of the loss of nationality as well as honor and power." One very characteristic novelty for the Jewish exiles, and that which symbolizes their special situation, was the cessation of the sacrificial cult. While in exile, their sense of the uniqueness of the temple in Jerusalem did not allow any temple cult of Yahweh in Babylonia, that is, any of the sacrificial rites which in that period were thought of as a most important means of worship and maintenance for the Yahwistic community. They had no temple and no altars. They lived without basic cultic elements. What would be left when the honor of the exiles was destroyed? There is no need to elaborate, for most of the exiles at once knew the answer. The dishonor of the exiles came in the primal act of submission. The sense of dishonor is the most immediate human expression of the inability to defend oneself or to secure one's tradition. The dishonor the exiles experienced sprang from that raw, human sense of debasement inherent in having no being except as an expression of another's being. The exiles would be considered degraded people. For the nature of honor, Patterson states: Those who do not compete for honor, or are not expected to do so, are in a real sense outside the social order. To belong to a community is to have a sense of one's position among one's fellow members, to feel the need to assert and defend that position, and to feel a sense of satisfaction if that claimed position is accepted by others, and a sense of shame if it is rejected. It is also to feel that one has a right to take pride in past and current successes of the group, and to feel shame and dishonor in its past and present failures.193 If the sense of honor is intimately related to power which goes to the person who is bold enough to enforce a claim as the basis of right to precedence, the exiles

Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 46. Ptterson, Slavery and Social Death, 79.

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totally lost the power to defend their honor. I conclude, therefore, that the Judaean exile was fundamentally a discontinuous state of being. The Jewish exiles were cut off from their roots, their land, and their past. What is the sense of life in Babylonia? Although they were not actual slaves, and were not physically suppressed, they did feel deprived and alienated. It is not a matter of merely physical and economic deprivation but of ideological deprivation. The exiles lived in new and contrasting religious, economic, cultural, and social systems. In short, they lived with a low status in a totally different, strange land. Furthermore, many in the initial generation could no longer practice their own professional jobs which they had been practicing back in their own land. They were naturally alienated persons. True honor is possible only where one is fully accepted and included, where one is considered by one's potential peers as wholly belonging. They were always structurally marginal, whether economically, socially, politically, or culturally. Their marginality made it possible for them to be used in ways that were not possible with the Babylonians, who truly belonged. These factors come together to provide a seedbed for the development of protoapocalyptic among the exiles of the Neo-Babylonian period. The Judaean exiles were ripe subjects for a new perspective, for a new self-understanding and a new way of being in the world. They were ready to consider seeing themselves in a proto-apocalyptic perspective.

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3. Apocalyptic Idea of Korean Diaspora in 1930s

Famine, natural disasters, exploitation, lack of land ownership, and later repression during the Japanese occupation of Korea from the late 1860s to the mid-1920s pushed many Korean people to emigrate from Korea to Russia. The geographical proximity, the tolerance at that time of Russian authorities to Korean immigration, the availability of farmland, and the opportunity for starting a new life led people to immigrate. According to Nahm, by the beginning of the 20th century Koreans had settled not only in the cities of the Far East but also in Siberia.194 The October Revolution of 1917 united workers of all ethnic groups with its slogans of justice, freedom, and equal rights for all workers. Koreans largely supported the Soviet cause, with hundreds sacrificing their lives in the war with Japan, believing this would also help lead to the liberation of Korea. On the other hand, it was the period mentioned above (the late 1860s to the mid1920s) in Korea that most people who were oppressed and exploited by the upper ruling class (Yangban) and a foreign power (Japan) underwent the experience of a religious movement called "Donghak." Particularly, this movement planted the seed of apocalyptic thought in their hearts. Although Choi su-un, founder and the first great leader of Donghak ("Eastern Learning"), was arrested and executed as a heretic by the government in 1864, his religious teaching and social reform movement survived, wining converts

Andrew C. Nahm, Intoroduction to Korean History and Culture (Seoul: Hollym, 1993), 201.

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among the oppressed, exploited masses

and even among the "overseas" Koreans in

China, Manchuria, and Siberia.' Before Japan occupied Korea (1910), Korea (Yi dynasty) was at a stage of national sickness. Periodically droughts or floods struck the rich, rice-producing area of Korea and caused great famines. Furthermore, the rulers raised the taxes on farm crops and demanded more free labor by the starving peasants. Consequently, anti-government and anti-landlord sentiments led people to engage in violent uprisings, such as the Hong Kyong-nae Rebellion (1811-1812) and the Jinju riot (1862) which targeted oppressive provincial officials and wealthy landowners. Everywhere people were restless, as the social system was corrupt. The central government was too weak to execute any policy to alleviate this disastrous situation; instead, it was constantly plagued by factional power struggles.197 Moreover, the influence of Christianity and Western capitalism began to add strong external pressures. According to Choi su-un:

In 1860 there were rumors that in order to serve God's will, the Westerners, though not seeking wealth or glory, yet attacked and conquered the world, and built their churches and spread their religion. I also wondered whether it was true and why they did that.198

195

B. B. Weems, Reform, Rebellion, and The Heavenly Way (The Association for Asian Studies: Monographs and Papers, No. XV; Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1964), 49-86. 196

I have learned about Donghak's apocalyptic ideas from oral histories collected from people in Manchuria and Siberia. 197

198

Nahm, Intoroduction to Korean History, 136-39.

Yong Choon Kim and Suk San Yoon (tras), CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE: Donggyeong Daejeon (Lanham: University Press of America, 2007), 4.

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However, Korea began to modernize slowly and many Koreans did not like the foreign influences upon their country.199 People had been seeking a way out of national disaster or despair for a long time. Choi su-un formulated the Donghak ideology (from which Chondogyo, Religion of the Heavenly Way, is derived) and advocated social reform movements in the 1860s. Great Master Choi su-un experienced the erosion of the Confucian order, social unrest, and economic poverty of the people. He sensed the imminent ruin of the Yi Dynasty when he saw the rampant diseases, floods and frequent famines that plagued the people's lives.200 We find the immediate context of the emergence of this religious movement (Donghak) in Choi's religious experience. In April, 1860, Choi suddenly fell sick and went into a state of trance. It is claimed that in his state of half-consciousness he received a revelation:

^mm -imm. m^ mm. WF n m&m mnm w<m> mmw^ a nmm IMA mmft %& %i±3m rmm a #&mAftm$m &M8& mmi a mvmmj& a ^m mm n m, im m> *ti y& ^ mam m/jm %m%x mmm\ ^mm. 201

Hearing a mysterious voice, he was astonished, and inquired. The voice said, "Be not afraid and do not worry. The people call me Sangje (God); you do not know Sangje." I asked, "Why do you say so?" The voice said, "I have not wrought results either, and thus you are born into this world to teach this law, and therefore, do not doubt or be suspicious." I asked, "Then shall I teach the people with the Western Way (Christianity)?" The answer said, "Not that. I have a Yongbu, its name is Sonyak (mysterious medicine); it is shaped like the symbols of Taeguk or Kunggung. With My Yongbu you shall heal the illness 199

Weems, Reform, 5.

200

Kim and Yoon, CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE, 55-62.

201

Kim and Yoon, CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE, 5-6.

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of the people and with my Chumum formulas (incantations). You shall teach the people to live for me, and then you shall live long to spread virtue under Heaven." At that time, the Eastern culture of Korea had reached a dead end ("Then shall I teach the people with the Western Way?"). Confucianism and Buddhism had no capacity to cure the ills of Korean society. The masses suffered under the minority ruling class. Moreover, even learned people wandered without direction and lost their historical consciousness. Therefore, a religious movement emerged in Korea. Their religious task was only to search for a cure for the decay of society. CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE PODEOK-MUN (On Propagating Truth) says:

mi %m mm ;sa ssm^ss mimzm, s* wmm. mem ffipn^g ifmsoR mm$& %m&ti m. J^HA m&m mmmw AWE m\mt ^mm. mmi vm mt m^m mmm. um« jsmsa MSMZ. issiai mmm Recently, our country has been filled with evil things. The people live in a time without peace. This is an indication of the bad fortune of our nation. The Western powers are victorious whenever they fight, and they succeed and take over wherever they attack. There seems to be nothing that they cannot achieve. I am worried that if China is destroyed, Korea may be next. Where can we find a way for supporting the nation and comforting the people? Alas! The people of this generation do not understand that a new age is coming. After listening to my words, they go home and deny them in their minds, and when they are outside their house, they gossip about my teaching. Thus, they do not follow Truth and Virtue. This is truly a worrisome situation. The wise men hear the gossip and reject it as false. It is regrettable that I cannot convince everyone in the world, I am writing this (Podeok-muri) to instruct the people. Receive this writing with respect and admire my teaching always.202 Internationally, the Opium War in China (1839) sent shock waves to Korea, as well as to other countries, such as Japan, following the incident of the killing of the French priest in Peking. The united forces of the West invaded Peking in 1856; more

Kim and Yoon, CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE, 5-6.

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immediately English and French warships attacked the coastal waters of Korea. The presence of French priests since around 1836 had also added to the uneasy feelings among the populace,203 that is, a sense of coming apocalypse. In this kind of situation popular apocalyptic teaching deeply penetrated the hearts and minds of the common people. The beginning of Yongdam-ga

describes the place where Choi su-un was

born and his family had been living. The language is very decorative regarding his "messianic" birth: 7flt^

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You are the first one in the 50,000 years since the creation of the world. I too have wrought no results since the Kaebyok. I have succeeded in meeting you and you have gained meaning. All this is the destiny of your family. On the other hand, the last part of Anshim-ga, Choi's song of comfort, deals with the destiny of his country: Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful is the fate of our nation! Turbulent, turbulent, turbulent is the destiny of our nation. Let us destroy the dog-like Japanese (barbarians) in one night. By receiving Chohwa (miraculous power) from God, God has sent me to this world so that I may preserve our nation's destiny.206

Weems, Reform, 5-6. 204

After 1860 Choi su-un wrote many pieces in order to teach his followers regarding important doctrines of Donghak. Yongdam-ga was composed in Korean for the commoners to understand the ideas and meanings easily. This style of writing includes Yongdam-ga (Song of Yongdam), Gyohun-ga (Song of Instruction), Ansim-ga (Song of Comfort), Dosu-sa (Poem on Spiritual Training), Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga (Song of Dialogue between the Old and Young in a Dream), and Dodeok-ga (Song of Morality). After the death of Choi su-un, his Chinese writings were collected by his disciples, and the collection was published as Donggyeong Daejeon (Great Scripture of Eastern Learning). 205

Ho-sungKim, Yongdam-ga at http://blog.naver.com/hwarm/80045380103. Ho-sung Kim, Anshim-ga at http://user.chol.com/~HWARM/ansim.html.

161

In Yongdam-ga God was referred to in terms of Choi's personal biography and personal destiny; and yet in Anshim-ga the language had changed or developed into a language that concerned the destiny of the nation and its people. Here his personal destiny is tied up with the collective destiny of his people and his nation. His suffering is identified with that of the people. He wrote this song to comfort his people, as the title indicates (Ansimga, Song of Comfort): 4S3L?}tatrll-a*1*r!-£ ^?1#°1 ^§0)5f tfafl^JE

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I too was born in this world, receiving life from God, and when I look back on my life, the time of my childhood, I have suffered a very difficult existence. This is what Heaven has determined, there was nothing I could do about it. Ignorant wives and children envy noble princes who eat and are clothed without working, and regard them as angels. And they murmur, looking to heaven, saying why is there such a discrepancy under Heaven? When I see this, I cannot but sigh and weep. But listen to me for a moment, abandoning sorrow and regret. Sangje in the heavenly palace does not discriminate good and bad, Everyone from the upper court and the ministers to the bottom, has received life from Hanulnim. But the rich and noble are ministers, and the poor and ignoble are the people. We too have grown up in the lower village as the poor and ignoble. We cannot reach there even if we aspire to be a noble prince who lives without work. When all the riches are gone, the words are fierce and misfortunes fearsome. Sudden richness and nobility are not eternal; this truth is an ancient heritage. As Confucius said, I am happy even as I am poor. Even to us (our destiny) there shall be given happiness when suffering is exhausted.207 The matrix of interconnection of these two stories is that in the religious experience of God—his encounter with God—Choi finds the watershed of his personal

Ho-sung Kim, Anshim-ga at http://user.chol.com/~HWARM/ansim.html.

162

life and destiny or the point of axial change in his personal history in the identification of his personal history with the story of the people—suffering—which means that Choi's personal transformation becomes the basis for finding his messianic vocation to transform the history and destiny of the people. My position is that Donghak, which played a prominent role among the Koreans in Russia, is a kind of apocalyptic religion. In order to clarify the apocalyptic nature of Donghak religion, we must turn to Choi's self-consciousness as a messianic figure for the people. We note in the above discussions Choi's calling from heaven in his song, Anshim-ga. In his religious experience he was ordered to teach the true way of salvation for the people. According to Anshim-ga, God (Hanulnim) said, "You are the first one in the 50,000 years since the beginning of the world. I have wrought nothing in that time; now I have succeeded in meeting you; it is my success and you have received a mission. This is the destiny of your family." This is a clear statement of messianic self-consciousness. There are a number of statements similar to this that describe his personal religious experience. In Anshim-ga, his self-portrait appears as miracle curer of the sick and as defender of national destiny: "God sent me to this world to preserve the destiny of our nation." The messianic consciousness of Choi is most clearly expressed in his awareness that he is a bearer of a new destiny, as a result of the encounter with God. From this personal sense of a new destiny Choi sees that the old destiny of his society is exhausted and that he is commissioned to bring about a new destiny through the way and teaching he has received from God. The religious experience he has had provides a radical transition not only in his

163

personal life but also in the destiny of his nation, the world, and the cosmos. A primary thrust was the apocalyptic transition of the universe; and in this context his new vocation of the transformation of man and his history has emerged, the messianic vocation to save the people who are deprived of knowledge, wealth and happiness, and every privilege that they should be entitled to have. As we have seen in his personal biography and social experiences, Choi's religious experience has as its background a sense of apocalyptic crisis. This is often described in his writings: In recent years men pursue their own self-interest and do not follow the heavenly principles, nor the mandate of heaven. Thus there is a confusion under heaven—the people's minds and hearts are unsettled, and thus they are laden with anxiety.20 Again in his Podeok-mun, he writes:

^& $m wm asta mmmzg Mfimgzm. s$ wmm mminm Therefore this nation is full of bad diseases and there is not even a single day for the people to have peace. This is indeed the ill fortune that will bring injuries and suffering. They say the West is so strong that there is nothing impossible for them. When they go to war, they win, and when they invade, they plunder. Thus, the world is in destruction and ruin, and lamentations will fall from people's mouths. How can the future plan for the protection of the nation and the happiness of the people come to pass? Here we can see very clearly that in his messianic consciousness Choi's personal destiny is intertwined with the destiny of the Korean people. Choi recites in Anshim-ga again: "God has shown me all the details of the beginning of our nation at the time of the creation of the world, and he gave priority to the fortune (destiny) of our 208

Kim and Yoon, CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE, 4.

209

Kim and Yoon, CHONDOKYO SCRIPTURE, 5.

164 nation among all the nations in the world." This is recited in the context of his religious experience. Choi's personal destiny cannot be separated from the destiny of the nation and people. Choi continues: "God has allowed me to be born in order to protect the destiny of our nation. Do not listen to this or that saying, my woman! Do not worry but be at peace."210 The old era of ruined destiny is ending and at the same time the nation's destiny is in great danger and, therefore, we must consider the nation's destiny first. But Choi was clear that the existing ways of Confucianism and Buddhism could not rectify the declining destiny of his nation or give peace to the suffering and confused people ("This world cannot be ruled even by the rules of Yo and Sun; and the virtues of Confucius and Mencius are lacking in means to rectify the society"). In this Kwonhak-ga, Choi reiterates the same theme. 3 £ 1 ? 3 a 0 X I 2 & J ^ § ^ #IHSL| ¥ X ^ £ ! ^±1^21 ¥ ¥ S f i

SSSA) i ? s ^ sixiofe ej&'g^ jiioism -m«Ai M&m^ mm&o\ XIUULI 01X1101= 01 All#011 8961 £J2fsm AlgOl S^EPf Rtl!2ig ¥ ^ Q i £ 01 All^K)|| StHSm 0IE2JAI A|g0lEl While touring the land, I studied the customs and morality of the people principles of filial piety, loyalty to the King, distinction of husband and wife, order between the old and young, and friendship were well spoken in words, but the customs and morals of the people were chaotic. This, too, is ill destiny...I have wasted forty years of life. But suddenly I have become aware that a new destiny has returned to this world. The infinite and greatest Way, which never existed before, has been established now. This too is destiny. Thus, in his writings Choi believes that he is the bearer of a new destiny for his life and for the nation and the people, and that this new destiny or fortune is to be realized

ziu

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211

See Ho-sung Kim, Kwonhak-ga at http://blog.naver.com/hwarm/80045380103.

165

through Chondogyo (the Heavenly Way) that he has received from God. In this word of destiny, old and new, there is an unmistakable influence of popular folk symbolism with some apocalyptic features. When suffering by the people and a sense of crisis are widespread in a society, apocalyptic language may gain great popularity. In the late Yi dynasty the Donghak movement urged apocalyptic views, such as the end of the world and the coming of a messiah or a new rule which would eliminate all the suffering and crises of the present time. The purpose of Donghak is clarified in 717

Chisang Chonkuk, the paradise of Heaven on earth.

The principle of Chisang

Chonkuk emphasizes improving the quality of real human life rather than concentrating on the hereafter. Donghak had a kind of apocalyptic view, Kaebyok (apocalyptic turnover 71^

of the universe), which was formulated by Cho su-un.

According to Shin, since the

time that this religion was established by the founder, the turmoil and moral decay of society has been eliminated, changing the old culture and customs. The Great Master Choi su-un argues that this time is the transition period, with the passing away of the old

212

Weems, Reform, 5-6.

7 1 -I

Chondo-gyo Scripture usually consist of the Tonggeong Daejeon (Great Scripture of Eastern Learning) and Yongdam Yusa (Memorial Songs of Yongdam). Both are works of the founder Choe su-un and contain basic doctrine of Chondogyo. Yongdam Yusa includes Yongdam-ga (Song of Yongdam), Ansim-ga (Song of Comfort), Kyohun-ga (Song of Instruction), Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga (Dialogue between Old and Young), Tosusa (Instruction on Spiritual Training), Kwonhak-ga (Song of Encouraging the Study of Truth), Dodok-ga (Song of Morality), Heungbi-ga (Song of Parables of Success) and Komgyul (Song of Sword). Yongdam is the name of a place on Gumi mountain in the city of Gyeongju, where Choi su-un meditated and received revelation. See Weems, Reform, 62, 90. The word, "Kaebyuck" appears five times in Yongdam Yusa: Ansim-ga (2), Yongdam-ga (2), Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga (1).

166

fashioned and irrational world and the creating of a new era in a new world.214 It strives to convert our earthly society into a paradise on Earth. This idea rapidly gained broad acceptance among the peasantry who were suffering from abject poverty and exploitation. The central element of the Donghak symbolism is the belief that the present order will end: its destiny has been exhausted. When morality is eroded and social disorder is created through the natural disasters of famine, drought, and disease and also through rebellions of the people, these are signs pointing to the end of the present dynasty. In this social context apocalyptic symbolic language thrived among the oppressed people of the lower class. It was the language of the oppressed, in a sense. In such a situation of hardship, messianic language may arise. Donghak is supposed to come to found a new dynasty in which the suffering of the people will end. The main structure of this symbolism is that the old (order and destiny) will end and the new will come. In this process Choi is increasingly aware that he is to play a messianic role to save the people from the evil and suffering of the present order and destiny, and to lead them to a new order and a new destiny. Therefore, it is messianic and even Utopian. Donghak's ideas played a crucial role in creating a revolutionary consciousness among the people, foretelling the end of the Yi dynasty, and it was further popularized by the defeated factions of the Yangban class (nobility) in the intense power struggles at the

Il-chul Shin, Understanding Donghak Ideology (Seoul: Saheubipyungsa, 1995), 28-53. And also see Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga and Ansim-ga. 215

Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga at http://blog.naver.com/hwarm/80045380103. "4J0I 4J0IHR H J I S ^ aAPH^ 0\M&D\ EHS£A|| CMIS8H ^ EH 212!- H30IU JH&XI£ ¥X|^I> X\X\X\X\ XiyiOlSl- o\&& XIU>|^ # 3 ! a SA|§0tl °JHgJfe ^ C H E 0IAH&0II 'd 3! 01 L|."

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end of the Yi Dynasty.

The Utopian symbolism is not separable from the symbolism of

revolutionary destiny. Utopian language is found in the references to the new future, new era, new order and new destiny, which is discontinuous with the present and past order that is old and ruined. The coming Utopia is antithetic to the present order, in which the people are suffering. For Choi, Utopia is not in the past or present, but in the future; still, it is not outside of time, that is, it is not other-worldly but this-worldly. Unlike Confucians he does not describe the age of Yao-Shun as an ideal state of affairs ("G££A|| L\A\2iM ^EH£J2I £1X101^" in Ansim-ga). Rather, for Choi, the ideal state of affairs will come in the future: There is hope in the New Year. Success comes in due time, so there should be no regret when such a thing comes late....In the morning of the New Year, we should sing and wait for the good wind. Last year, friends visited us from the northwest. Later I realized the significance of the meeting at our home. As I can feel the arrival of spring, news of the arrival of the paradise on Earth is near, breaking into the present order.217 The process of transformation of the world from the old destiny to the new destiny is termed Huchon Kaebyok. This term is contrasted with Sonchon Kaebyok. Whereas Sonchon Kaebyok is the beginning or origin of the world (the creation of the world in the beginning), Huchon Kaebyok is the new creation or transformation of the present world into a new world. It is the process in which the old destiny is found in

216 217

Weems, Reform, 11.

Weems, Reform, 38. "Words According to Divine Will" was written in 1863. According to Weems, this title means words composed in accordance with God's teaching. This song includes a new determination and hope for the future. The New Year here means 1863 (see Weems, Reform, 84 n. 131). In December 1863, by the special government official sent by the royal court of the king, Choi was arrested and imprisoned (Weems, Reform, 56).

168

Anshim-ga: "All the nations are full of bad fortunes; isn't it another Kaeby6k?"("£J0mi^ jUSur^ CIAPH^ Oiy 031"). The same reference occurs in Mongjung-noso-mundab-ga ("EH@^A|| D1AIS5H ^EH&i°l H3±0|L| JH&XI£ ¥11^12 X\X\X\X\ X\^0]E.[ §fS& XIU?)§ &S!2r S All Oil ^UStfe ¥ ^ Q I £ 01 Al & Oil bk5!0|L|"). Although the Koreans of the Soviet Far East live in a different time and place, they brought with them and now convey silently and indirectly the apocalyptic idea of Donghak's Kaebyok. This has been going on since around the 1930s, eliminating old culture and customs and creating and developing a new culture of this world, as I have discovered through interviews with the Korean diaspora in Russia in 1993 (some 70 years later).

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CHAPTER IV CONTEXTUAL READING OF EZEKIEL 38-39 AND SELECTED PASSAGES OF ISAIAH 40-55 AS PROTO-APOCALYPTIC TEXTS OF THE EXILIC PERIOD

A. Reading Ezekiel 38-39 in Terms of the Babylonian Exile

The message of Ezekiel 33-37, argued to be subsetantially exilic, is given at a time when Israel's national fortunes are at their lowest ebb and hope seems all but impossible. The prophet paints a picture of a return to the land and a national renewal culminating in the rebuilding of the temple of Jerusalem and Israel's return to full, independent nationhood. Ezekiel 38-39 also forms a sequel to the message of hope and deals with a threat to Israel from the mysterious Gog of the land of Magog. The threat is a major one and comes "out of the remotest part of the north" (38:15). God rises to defend Israel against this Gog and swiftly brings terrible destruction upon Gog. After Gog is defeated, the weapons and armor of Gog's warriors are destroyed in a huge conflagration, and the corpses of Gog's soldiers are left as a sacrificial feast for birds of prey. It is all an unexpected and, in most respects, an unwelcome aftermath to the bold and confident message of hope expressed in chapters 33-37. From a purely literary point of view, the disruption of the connection between chapter 37 and chapters 40-48 by this insertion of chapters 38-39 seems contrary to the source's intentions. Chapter 37 ends with the promise that the nations will know that Yahweh dwells in Israel once the new temple is set up among his people. The mention of this theme undoubtedly points towards 40-48, where it is developed at length. However, in this context there is no clear reason why the

170

text should once again assert the worldly superiority of Israel's God through terrible acts of chastisement. When and why is it inserted at this point in the prophetic book? With regard to the dating issue, one of problems is a great campaign reaching right to the hills of Israel. The sole purpose of reference to such a campaign is to annihilate the invaders by a miraculous divine intervention and remove all traces of their presence, so as to bring the nations into humble subjection to this mighty God. Moreover, this great campaign from the north will take place many years after Israel's return to the land of its fathers. The return of the Israelite people will have already taken place and will be a considerable distance in the past, as is indicated by the way in which the nation is pictured as living peacefully and prosperously upon the mountains of Israel after having rebuilt the dwelling places destroyed in earlier days (38: llf). Additionally, Ezek 38:8 indicates that the prophecy refers to events a long time after Ezekiel's words havegiven hope regarding the restoration of a new settlement in the land of Israel. Particularly, the distant future of the scene makes it difficult to resolve the dating issue. My approach is to assume that the book of Ezekiel, essentially in its present form, is a coherent and consistent whole, written during the time of the exile. This approach does not suggest a return to the view that the whole book was written in a single effort. It seems apparent that some passages were reworked and modified, whether by the author himself or by later redactors. Note the following basic suppositions concerning the Gog oracle. By Whom

1

When

J. E. Lapsley, Can These Bones Live? (Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2000), 171-73; and Cook, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 98-108.

171

The core from Ezekiel, expanded by exiled Zadokite priests.

During the exilic period (after 597 and before the fallofBabylonin539BCE).

The historical setting of the Gog oracle is a time "before the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus."2 Hals argues that any prophecy against Babylon, otherwise absent in Ezekiel, would be most understandable in the time of the threat to Babylon engendered by the rise of Cyrus. Since Media fell to Cyrus in 550 B.C., we are brought back very close to the time of Ezekiel himself. The passage simply provides little by way of an objective, concrete basis for any dating, and the subjective matters are very hard to evaluate.3 The chronology given allows us to assume at the very least that the visions in Ezekiel 38-39 originate in the period after the first captivity in 597 B.C., and that the development of the oracles still continues into the later exilic period . Ezekiel was a priest (Ezek 1:3) who was taken captive (2 Kgs. 24:14) in 598/7 B.C.E. The prophet was old enough to be married (Ezek 24:18). This exiled priest received a call to become a prophet of Yahweh and exercised his prophetic role between 593 B.C. (Ezek 1:2)4 and 571 B.C. (Ezek 29:17).5 Given that life expectancy in the ancient Near East for those who reach the age of 20 is for about another 25 years,6 and that Ezekiel, who seems very familiar with the details of the temple in Jerusalem, was at least 20 by 598/597, one could possibly take the reference in Ezek 1:1 to the 30th year as

2

Zimmerli's historical setting of the basic text of the Gog oracle is that of a time prior to the fall of Babylon. See Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 303. 3

Hals, Ezekiel, 284. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 115.

5

6

For the entire dating system in Ezekiel, see Howie, Date and Composition, 27-46.

The class of Professor Huffmon at Drew University, 2004, based on the provided ages of kings.

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an indication of his age of that time.7 Assuming an age of 25-30 at the time of the first dated oracle, Ezekiel would have been a minimum of 47 to 52 at the time of the latest oracle, in 571.8 Though the core of the text seems to come from Ezekiel himself, it is apparently expanded by exiled Zadokite priests, not by the Zadokite school of Ezekiel (to differ from Zimmerli), because "the school" means a later date chronologically, namely a group deeply influenced by his writings who continued to write using his style and themes. The exiled priests (later becoming a "school") gathered and combined existing utterances of the prophet, interpreted them, developed them, and gave them a new form, or, in short, "continued to write" Ezekiel. Albertz argues that: The book was probably written not by Ezekiel himself but by the first and second generations of his disciples. If we assume that he was thirty years old in the fifth year after the deportation of Jehoiachin (594; cf. Ezek 1:2), he would have had to attain the truly biblical age of 109 to have lived as late as 515. Furthermore, the last date given in the book (572) is connected with an emendation that the prophet obviously felt compelled to make when the siege of Tyre was broken off (29:17-21), whereas there was no analogous emendation concerning the oft-foretold deportation of the Egyptians (29:12; 30:23, 26; 32:9), which never happened during Nebuchadnezzar 's Egyptian campaign in 568/567. It is therefore highly probable that Ezekiel died between these two dates,

Bee, like many others, assumes that he was born about 25 years before the deportation of King Jehoiachin. He received his call to be a prophet in Babylon, by the river of Chebar, at the age of 30 (1:3). S. Boe, Gog and Magog: Ezekiel 38-39 as Pre-Text for Revelation 19, 17-21 and 20, 7-10 (Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001), 77. 8

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 353. He argues that if we assume that he was thirty years old in the fifth year after the deportation of Jehoiachin (Ezek 1:2), he would have had to attain the truly remarkable age of 86 to have lived as late as 538. One arrives at this estimate if the difficult date given Ezek 1:1, "In the thirtieth year," equated by 1:2 with "the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin" (=594 BCE), is interpreted as referring to Ezekiel's age at the time of his call. See Zimmerli, Ezekiel 1, 100-1.

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sometimes around 570. Considering his probable age shown above, 597 BCE (30's); 571 (26 years later, a 56 year-old man), and 562 (his death probably at 65 years around the time of the death of Nebuchadnezar), my assumptions are as follows: Stages of Growth (Ezekiel 38-39) When Who

From 597 to 562 B.C. Ezekiel himself During his ministry

After 562 to around 539 B.C. The exiled Zadokite priests Probably after his death

Although the prophet presented the promise (Ezekiel 37) and the visions (Ezekiel 40-48) of the new temple and the transformation of the land, the probable period of his life (the exilic condition under the Babylonian empire) did not see the realization of these hopes. As for the appropriateness of Ezekiel 38-39 in the larger structure of Ezekiel 3348, M. C. Astour claims that "it links quite naturally with the preceding chs. 36-37, of which it was intended to be the dramatic climax."10 Although the passage contains doublets and glosses which suggest subsequent elaboration, the style and imagery of its basic parts are not different from those of the chapters which are generally accepted as genuine writings of Ezekiel. B. Batto also argues: The principal argument for seeing these two sections, chaps. 25-32 (the oracles against the nations) and chps. 38-39 (the Gog oracles), is that in each case the oracles seem to interrupt an idea that is announced immediately prior to the oracle but that reaches its conclusion or fulfillment only in the passage following the oracle. Thus, Ezekiel 24:26 announces that the day is approaching when a fugitive will arrive to report the fall of Jerusalem and Ezekiel's dumbness will be removed. The fulfillment of this announcement is related in chapter 33. Sandwiched in between the announcement and the fulfillment are 9

Albertz, Israel in Exile, 353. Note also that there is no hint of the release of King Jehoiachin in 561. 10

Astour, "Ezekiel's Prophecy," 567.

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the oracles against the seven foreign nations in Ezekiel 25-31. Similarly, Ezekiel 37:26-28 contains Yahweh's announcement that he will set his sanctuary in the midst of a sanctified Israel and dwell in their midst forever. The fulfillment of this announcement is the subject of Ezekiel's vision in chapters 40-48. Again coming between announcement and fulfillment are the Gog oracles of chapters 38-39." This apparent violation of logical sequence disappears when one recognizes that built into the literary structure of Ezekiel's text is a pattern of suspension, resumption, and/or reversal of themes. The structural observations give one confidence to assert that the oracles against the nations (Ezekiel 25-32) are intentionally parallel to the oracles against Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39). The former precede and lead into the restoration of the historical Israel in chapters 34-37; the latter precede and lead into the advent of the new era in chapters 40-48. I am reading the text as a unity in the following manner: after Judah's total defeat, Jerusalem's destruction, and the captivity of the people, God promises a future of hope and consolation. In Ezekiel's metaphorical language the "heart of stone" will be replaced by the "heart of flesh"; idolatry will be replaced by a true worship of Yahweh in a new and cleansed sanctuary; the graves of Judah and Israel will be opened and God will raise the people and make them into a great army; God will assemble the people of all 12 tribes of Judah and Israel and lead them to the land of Israel; the land shall produce an abundance of food, and a faithful shepherd, a new David, shall reign. Then, at this happy future stage, Gog (symbolically Babylonia) will appear with his great hordes to attack Israel and gather spoil (describing the empire's desire). Before final security, the people of the Lord, will once more be in great distress, although they seem to be already

11

156.

B. F. Batto, Slaying the Dragon (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992),

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dwelling upon their own soil (the resettlement of the exilic community from Babylonia after the deportation: 37:15-28; 38:8,12). However, in reality, or in this historical situation, in order to return from exile, the Babylonian empire (Magog) as an enemy must be destroyed somehow. In this situation, proto-apocalyptic arises. A defenseless Israel in the exilic situation, however, will be protected by God's direct interference from heaven—a radical breaking in by God—and Gog and his vast army shall be totally destroyed, their fate being described in the grossest possible way. Similar to Deutero-Isaiah, Ezekiel also uses a mythic factor in his prophecy as a significant feature of proto-apocalyptic, though his prophecy is still within the historical context, by mention of the final goal of the prophet: the return from exile and the restoration in Ezek 39:23-29. None of the exiles will be left in a foreign land, nor will they be exiled any more, nor will they be afflicted with suffering. Thus the ingathering of exiles will be complete and final. After this, in Ezekiel 40-48 a new temple is described according to both its external building and internal organization. Its characteristics are unpolluted worship and the presence of God's glory. A final vision prescribes the borders of the land and its distribution among the tribes. Thus one finds that the idealized conditions centering around the new temple (Ezekiel 40-48) are set apart from the peaceful conditions of Ezekiel 34-37, prior to the Gog-attack. At the end of Ezekiel 37 the prophet places special stress on the importance of Yahweh's sanctuary for the future, restored Israel. Yahweh's promise to sanctify Israel by putting his sanctuary in the midst of his people is punctuated with the final, emphasizing word "forever" (37:28). This promise receives extensive elaboration in the final nine chapters of Ezekiel. Chapters 38-39 have at once resolved a potentially threatening

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problem: the invasion of a northern enemy, and the heightened anticipation for the climax of the book. In Ezekiel 37 all of these promises are subsumed in the sanctification of Israel, the visible sign of which is the sanctuary in their midst. The conclusion, therefore, connects with the final vision in Ezekiel 40-48 which will give specific form and substance to the promise. On the other hand, at this point defining who Gog actually was is an important question. The names of Gog and Magog offer no solid basis for historical exploration. Who is Gog from Magog? The proposed identifications of Gog and Magog are so numerous and different that it is difficult to systematize them properly. Many explanations represent some sort of historical identification between the names "Gog" and "Magog" and ancient individuals or nations. Others see the names as symbolic or even coded references to people or powers hostile to Judah/Israel. The attempts to interpret these names generally point in two directions: some see historical realities12 as the proper background, others give priority to mythological ideas.13 Many suppose the truth to lie somewhere in between.

12

Detailed references to Gog and Magog are found in a number of ancient sources: the Annals of Assurbanipal refer to him under the name Gugu, Herodotus brings legendary traditions about him, there are accounts by Plato, and Nicholas of Damascus (first cent. B.C.) refers to the Lydian historian Xanthos, who lived in the fifth century B.C. See "Lydia and Ionia," in The Cambridge Ancient History (Vol. 3; eds. J. B. Bury, S.A. Cook and F. E. Adock; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1925), 501-526; E. Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier. Invading hordes From the Russian Steppes (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1982), 23-24; Allen, Ezekiel 20-48 (WBC Vol. 29), 204. Diakonoff finds the historical background of Ezekiel 38-39 in the Median-Lydian war of the early sixth century. See I. M. Diakonoff and I. N. Mevedeskaya, "The Kingdom Urartu," Biblotheca Orientalis 44 (1987): 385-394. 13

This is probably at present the closest we come a majority view among scholars. Cf. M. G. Reddish, "Gog and Magog," ABD 2 (1992): 1056.

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(1) Various Identifications with Historical Realities Gog as an historical individual 1) Gyges, king of Lydia (Delitzsch)14 2) Lydian dynasty (Sayce, Hogemann)16 3) A number of individual warriors'7

Magog as the historical lands 1) The land/people of the Scythians'5

(2) Mythological Ideas Symbolic or coded references to peoples or powers hostile to Judah/Israel. Comparable to the Cuthean legend of Naram-Sin Astour Zimmerli A mere cipher for a legendary ruler 14

F. Delitzsch, Wo lag das Paradise? (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1881), 246.

15

The Scythians they are commonly associated with Ashkenaz, Gomer's son, and Magog's nephew, as in Gen 10:2-3. Reference is often made to Jer 51:27, where Ashkenaz is said to march against Babylon along with Ararat and Minni, two other northern kingdoms of the day. They probably took part in the conquest of Niniveh in 612 BCE and possibly campaigned in Syria and Palestine the following years. B0e, Gog and Magog, 48; 96. The historical information about the Scythians, along with references to biblical notes, is conveniently presented by Yamauchi, Foes From the Northern Frontier, 63-85. 16

For the theory that "Gog" refers to king Gyges or his descendants on the Lydian throne, see J. Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1955), 127-28; A. H. Sayce, "Gog," in Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 2; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publ, 1988), 224; P. Hogemann, "Gog," Neus Bibel-Lexikon, Band 1 (Ed. by Manfred Gorg und Bernhard Lang; Zurich: Benziger Verlag, 1991), 897-898; and A. Millard, "Gog and Magog," in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (4 Vols.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 686. 17

For example, Alexander the Great (C.C. Torrey), Antiochus Eupator (G. R. Berry), Antiochus III (Pfeiffer). See B0e, Gog and Magog, 94-5. 18

Astour, "Ezekiel's Prophecy of Gog," 567-79. In the narrative of the Cuthean Legend, the motifs of overbearing pride, of kings not heeding divine prophecies and being punished for their disobedience, are frequently voiced as us in Ezekiel's own writings. "The denouncement of the Babylonian story was again in perfect agreement with Ezekiel's intention" (p. 577). In the final part of the Cuthean Legend, the immense hordes of plunders and conquerors were stopped and destroyed not by human hands but by the same great gods who had raised and unleashed them in the first place. This is also the central idea of the Gog prophecy. The long list of ills and plagues (II. 94-98 and 12743) was condensed and remolded by Ezekiel who retained its essential items: the anger of Enlil, terror, plague, bloodshed, flooding rains, fire, and the internecine slaughter as in Ezekiel 38:18-22 (pp. 587-8). 19

Although Zimmerli (Ezekiel 2, 301) claims that "the present text speaks very definitely of a ruler who bears this name (i.e. Gog), he finds the name of Gog makes it "immediately clear" that Ezekiel's knowledge of historical and geographical affairs is very poor. Some knowledge of legendary mountain peoples he may have gained, but "no distinction is made between the area of the Lydian kingdom with its king Gyges and the areas encompassed by these four names" (Tubal, Meschech, Gomer, and Togarmah). Therefore, Zimmerli questions the connection between Gyges and Lydia in Ezekiel's mind, suggesting that Gog has become a mere "cipher for a legendary ruler who rules over the multiplicity of threatening northern powers of the edge of the then-known world" (Ezekiel 2, 302).

178 Gowan20 Mills" Batto22 Fitzpatrick23

A mysterious, legendary figure Mills particularly focuses on cosmological myths and Canaanite traditions Ezekiel adapts traditional motifs from the combat myth The personification of evil which Yahweh will engage in battle at some future time

(3) Magog as the Babylonians in the Exilic Situation: My emphasis The text indicates to its readers that both Gog and Magog are proper names for the following reasons: Verses 38:2,3 38:7 38:3b-18; 39:1-5 38:10 38:13

Gog appears to be the name of a person. The title given to him, "Chief prince of Meshech and Tubal" is best understood as used in reference to an individual person. Gog shall be "a guard," as if directed to a single person, regarding the nations following his campaign. As if an individual, God's words are directed to him in the second person singular. Gog is described as a thinking and planning figure: "On that day thoughts will come into your (sg.) mind and you (sg.) will devise an evil scheme" Gog is said to be the military leader of a huge army.

D. E. Gowan, Ezekiel (Knox Preaching Guides; Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985), 133. Gowan argues that "it is true that the other proper names in chapters 38-39 can be identified, but they are all at the fringes of the known world." Similarly, regarding Gog, Gowan claims that "as a historical character he does not explain anything in chapters 3839, but he was remembered as a mysterious, legendary figure from the threatening north." 21

Mills, Gog Pericope, 98-142.

99

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 163-65. For Batto, Gog of Magog is the ultimate symbol of anti-creation and all that stands in opposition to the divine sovereign. Wakeman notes that while the most common appellation given to the monster designates it as sea, various names associated with dry land are given to monsters as well. See M. K. Wakeman, God's Battle with the Monster (Leiden: Brill, 1973), 44-45, 117. Cohn argues that Gog is a godless power who is evil incarnate, universal in scope and absolute in character. Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, 161. 9'!

t

#

For Fitzpatrick, it is the potential for such chaos, disorder and darkness embodied in enemy nation states which needs to be definitively undone if the promised covenant of peace in chapters 34 and 37 is to be established forever between Yahweh and his people. Fitzpatrick implies that Gog represents the personification of evil which Yahweh will engage in battle at some future time without identifying who Gog is. Therefore, Gog represents a threat that must be permanently eliminated so that the events of 597/587 may never happen again. See Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 88. Cf. Bae, Gog and Magog, 89.

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This understanding is supported by Ezekiel's ability to portray the fate of nations and groups in terms of individual representatives (Ezekiel 16 and 23). Similarly, the oracles against Egypt are directed to Pharaoh in the second person singular in Ezekiel 29-32. The fate of Egypt is there presented through the person of the Pharaoh. So one may suggest that the fate of Babylon is presented through the person of Gog. Additionally, Magog is mentioned only in Ezek 38:2 (Gog of the land of Magog) and 39:6 ("I will send fire on Magog"). But the two names occur together only in 38:2. Magog, therefore should be taken as the name of a land or country. The fact that Magog is the name of a person in the genealogy of Genesis 10 does not present a real objection to this theory, since many of the names in Genesis 10 are names of ancestors who founded tribes that developed into entire peoples. One may, however, object to this interpretation on the basis that proper names normally do not have an article in Hebrew, whereas Magog has the article in 38:2, which is somewhat "awkward."25 Yet examples are found in the Hebrew Bible of a land or area name with an article.26 Interestingly, none of the oracles against the nations in the book of Ezekiel are directed against Babylonia. Neither does the Book of Ezekiel say anything explicitly about the future of Babylon, though this imperial power was so decisive to the fate of the exiles.27 One explanation of this has been the risk of the prophet offending the world

2i

Allen, Ezekiel 20-48, 199 n.2. Cf. Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 283-4.

26

Though a land-name with the article in the Hebrew Bible is not found, the article can be found with the town of Gilgal (haggilgal in Josh 9:6; 10:6, 7, 9; hal-lebanon in Josh 9:1 and hak-kephiyrah in Josh 9:17; 18:26). One can argue that the definite article is used to mark the people as one well known from the time of Genesis, and therefore properly the land of the Magog (people) Zimmerli, Ezeliel 1, 66.

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power holding Judah captive. It is possible, therefore, that Ezekiel 38-39 is intended to get rid of an obstacle (the Babylonian empire) in order to achieve the hope necessary for the return and restoration depicted in previous chapters. Through reference to the force from the North (Gog's symbolic meaning in the text), the author affirms the destruction of Babylonia (Gog). "Gog of the land of Magog"

in Ezekiel 38:2 seems to draw upon a

legendary people living in the far north, whereas the real goal is to utilize some traditional material in 38-39 as concealed reference to Babylon. The mythical names of Gog and Magog are used for an actual enemy, the Babylonians. The purpose of Ezekiel 38-39 is not to directly describe the actual historical situation, but to express the resistant spirit of the prophet against Babylonia during the exilic period. Isaiah speaks of a far-off nation coming against Judah (Isa 5:26) and Jeremiah speaks at length of an enemy coming from the north (Jeremiah 4-6). Ezekiel takes up the idea of a powerful force from the distant north descending upon Israel. But instead of allowing them to punish his people further, God destroys the aggressors, fulfilling the earlier prophecies and affirming the restoration of divine protection to the people and the land. In Ezekiel 38-39 the names "Judah" or "Jerusalem" are not used, rather the chapters name Israel, "my people" (38:14), "my people Israel" (38:16; 39:7), living "in the towns of Israel" (39:9), "the house of Israel" (39:23, 25, 29), or "Jacob" (39:25). The battle will take place in "the land of Israel" (38:18, 19) or on "the mountains of Israel" (39: 2, 4, 17). The closest the author comes to citing Judah is in the use of the somewhat enigmatic expression, "the navel of the earth" (38:12). The Babylonians regard Babylon

The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 1115.

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as the center of the universe. In short, Ezekiel knows that in the case of the fall of Assyria, Babylonia and Persia were united in the destruction of Nineveh in 612. This may be why Ezekiel 38 mentions Persia first as one of the allies (38:5). The early and middle exilic period could be appropriate as the historical background of Ezekiel 38-39. The defeat of the Medians by Cyrus, which is hinted at as the historical background of Isaiah 40-55, would happen later. Unlike Deutero-Isaiah with Cyrus, Ezekiel does not depict Gog as a tool of Yahweh. For Ezekiel, Persia is an enemy. For Ezekiel, Babylonia, Persia and other countries were all potential threatening powers who could be enemies. From the early exilic time, Ezekiel depicts the reality and the hope of the exiles with symbolic language. The phrases "after many days...in the latter years" in 38:8 and "in the latter days" in 38:16 are connected with the future tense in the phrases later used: "you will invade," and "I will bring you." The exiles hope that their enemies will be destroyed by God. Why here does Gog, as a hidden Babylonia, attack a peaceful people? In order to get rid of Babylonia through the help of God, Ezekiel identifies Gog as the first invader. God will overthrow Babylonia.

Cf. G. A. Cooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel (ICC. Edingburgh" T & T. Clark, 1936), 412-13.

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B. Reading of Selected Passages in Isaiah 40-55 in Terms of the Babylonian Exile The direct references to Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1 are strong evidence for dating Isaiah 40-55 by ca.540 B.C.E., but more broadly from 546 (the defeat of Croesus). Furthermore, Isaiah 40-55, by the observe of references, can be dated between Jehoiachin's release from prison by Evil-Merodach in 562/1 B. C. E. and the capture of Babylon by Cyrus in 539.30 The outline of my analysis for dating Deutero-Isaiah is as follows: Periods Location Chapters 1) Generally 2) Specifically 3) Possible historical Context

During the exilic period In Babylonia Chs.40-55 During the exilic period From the defeat of the Medes Closer to the fall of Babylon 540 550B.C.E. B.C.E. 562/1 B.C.E. 539 B.C.E. After the release of Jehoiachin Before the fall of the Babylonia

Throughout Isaiah 40-55, the dominant sentiment is of the importance of comfort for the present and promise for the future. Particularly the opening commands in Isaiah 40 focus on comfort and assurance that the punishment of the nation is completed and deliverance is at hand. In the course of the chapters one finds a clear indication that Jerusalem is in ruins (44:26, 28), and that the exile to Babylon is in the past (47:7). But Babylonia will soon be overthrown (47:1-5; 48:14) and the exiles will be set free (48:20; 52:11-12), for Jerusalem and her people shall be delivered (52:1-2; 54). The sacred processions of Babylon are referred to in 46:1-2, probably according to the celebration of the New Year festival. Nor is there any doubt as to the human agent through whom all

Many refer to the passages as implying post 539, which are driven by the enthusiastic expectation of an exodus from Babylon and a return to the homeland after the pattern of the exodus from Egypt (Isa 40:3-11; 42:15-16; 48:20-21; 49:9-12; 52:1112). See Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 103.

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this should be effected. It is to be noted that promises of return continue to stand in the later chapters (51:2; 52:2; 55:12). Hence, there can be little doubt that one is dealing with a prophet in the exilic period who was active in Babylonia31 and who heralded a return from the exile. It is therefore better to regard all—or at least the vast bulk—of these chapters as being composed before the fall of Babylon. The time of redemption for the exiles is coming close. Israel has been in Babylonian "captivity" as punishment (tacitly mentioned in Isaiah 40). Punishment is now at an end and the time of comfort, return and world regeneration is beginning. Israel (in whole or in part) is God's Servant for this task of world regeneration. Babylonia was a vehicle for God's punishment of Israel, and Babylonia is not about to sponsor a return and a rebuilding of the temple. The one positive gesture was that in ca. 562/1 Jehoiachin was released from prison and given a place of honor among the various captive kings in Babylon, but Jehoiachin remained in Babylon. Jehoiachin's release was potent hope for the future of the Babylonian exilic community. However, an expression of expectation is that a real return of the exilic community may be made possible with divine help. In reality Jehoiachin was still under Babylonian supervision and his release from "house arrest" does not fulfill this high promise.

Instead of the clear Babylonian background, some evidence of a Palestinian background has been alleged. Duhm, for example, situated Deutero-Isaiah in the Lebanon region on account of the Sinim mentioned in Isa. 49:12, whom he identified with the Sinites of Gen 10:17. See Duhm, Das Buck Jesaja, 373. H. M. Barstad, A Way in the Wilderness: The Second Exodus in the Message of Second Isaiah (Manchester: University of Manchester, 1989), implies that these chapters (40-55) were written somewhat later in Palestine. Barstad had argued for a Palestinian origin on the basis of the command to depart in 52:11: "Depart, depart, go out from there!"

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Returning, then, to Isaiah 40:3-5, a discussion is prompted on the kind of activity on the part of those who had formerly been paralyzed by discouragement and hopelessness, as illustrated in 40:27. In this passage (40:3-5) one does not see the king, but the prophet does dare to believe that the Lord is coming. The Lord, not the deposed king or one of his sons, is returning to their homeland! Furthermore, there is a wilderness, the desert of desolation that stretches between Babylonia, where the exiles are, and Judah. How did the exiles overcome these problems? Out of their despair, an apocalyptic worldview arises: if they put their trust not in human things, but in the mighty hands of Yahweh, their god, their situation may soon change for the better. In 40:3-5 there is no mention of preparing a route for the return of the exiled people from Babylonia. Rather, a processional way is to be prepared for the return of Yahweh to his special place, not of a claimant to the Jerusalem throne. Given what one imagines is the state of travel at the time, this highway project reflects a procedure in preparation for the visit, the parousia, of an exalted dignitary. The way though the wildness is laid down, metaphorized and linked with the traditions of Israel's uneven progress through the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The figure of the way or the journey indicates a broader development, one from a historical particularity to an eschatological and eventually, apocalyptic perspective.32 Here I see the historical background for the appearance of proto-apocalyptic in Deutro-Isaiah. Apocalyptic factors, particularly divine deliverance, allow for escape from political bondage. In the midst of the hardships of historical existence the exiled community experiences the transformation from despair

For example, in w . 3-5, the emphasis is not just on constructing a highway but also, and more prominently, on the theme of ecological transformation. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 182.

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and brokenness into faith and hope. The key gesture was that during 550-546 B.C.E. God used Cyrus as a vehicle of preparation for God's transformation of the political structure, and the restoration of Israel. Cyrus was born to Cambyses I

in Anshan, while the Medes were having

success34 and the world seemed ready to bow down at their feet. Cyrus grew to manhood as king of Anshan, and as a tributary prince beneath the authority of Astyages, king of the Medes.35 After Cyrus ascended the Persian throne in 559 B.C.E.,36 three years before Nabonidus was crowned in Bbaylon (556 B.C.E.), he began his career as head of the Archaemenid clan of the Pasargadae tribe in southwest Iran. Very soon Cyrus had united all the Persian tribes.37 The text implies Cyrus's absorption of Susa (the Elamite

For the royal genealogy, see The Cambridge Ancient History (vol. 4; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1926), 4-5; H. R. Hall, The Ancient History of the Near East: From the Earliest Times to the Battle ofSalamis (London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1960), 553-4; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 16-17. 34

Kuhrt, Ancient Near East, 654-6; W. Culican, The Medes and Persians (London: Thames and Hudson, 1965); Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 22. 35

. When Cyrus was born in 598, the Median Empire was extremely extensive, covering roughly the area of modern Iran together with part of ancient Assyria and northern Mesopotamia and a large part of Asia Minor, which had fallen to them when, together with the Babylonians, they has dismembered the Assyrian Empire in 612. Smith, Isaiah Chapters XL-LV, 29; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 15-16. Cyrus was about forty years of age when he inherited from his father a kingdom small in extent and weak in power. R. W. Rogers, A History of Ancient Persia: From its Earliest beginning to the Death of Alexander the Great (New York: Charles Scribner's Son, 1929) 35-6; G. Roux, Ancient Iraq (London: Penguin Books, 1992), 383; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 18; 22. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 18-19.

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kingdom)38 before Cyrus revolts against Astyages in 553 B.C.E. Cyrus was destined for far greater things. His first step in the fulfillment of his destiny was to unite under his throne the Iranian peoples, from Persia in the south to Media in the north, including all others whom the kings of Media had already subjugated to themselves. During this period (559-553 B.C.E.), although the Jewish exilic writings did not recognize Cyrus (the historical background of Ezekiel 38-39: my emphasis), the fame of Cyrus already existed. At the beginning of Cyrus's reign (around 559 B.C.E.), the Near East was divided

into

several

competing

kingdoms: Media

(Ecbatana/Astyages),

Lydia

(Sardis/Croesus), Babylonia (Babylon/Nabonidus), Elam (Susa/Ummnanis?), and Egypt (Sais/Amasis). Finally two of the Asian powers faced off: 1) the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, continued to amass conquests in the west, to the point of dominating the entire Fertile crescent, beginning with Nebuchadnezzar's victory at Carchemish in 605 B.C.E., until a few years after the accession of Cyrus in 559 B.C.E., shortly before Nabonidus took supreme power of Babylon in 556 B.C.E.; and 2) the Median kingdom, which imposed its dominion to the west as far as the Halys under the direction of Astyages. Briant informs us that Cyrus undertook vast military reforms, modifying the Persian armaments such as breastplate, wicker shield, swords, and battle-axes rather than simple spears and bows, before conflict with the Medes.

Around the year 553 B.C.E.

Cyrus rebelled against Astyages.40 It is likely that the revolt of the Persians was not the TO

The Elamite realm at this time is discussed by Kuhrt, Ancient Near East, 601-2, 657; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 17-22. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 16-17. 40

Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels, 376. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 31-32.

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consequence of their suffering any grievous oppression, nor did it seem to arise from any widespread discontent or dissatisfaction with their condition. Rather, its main cause apparently was the ambition of Cyrus. That prince had seen that the strength of the Medes was undermined by luxury, that their old warlike habits were laid aside, and that, in all the qualities which make a soldier, they were not a match for his own countrymen. Thus, he made Persia an independent power. Cyrus pushed his own country into the imperial position and dislodged the Medes from primary power. In 550 B.C.E. Cyrus conquered the empire of the Medes with its principal city Agamatanu (Ecbatana) and took Astyages captive without Babylonian assistance.41 According to Briant, "it is not out of the question that Nabonidus, without necessarily going so far as to enter into a formal alliance with Cyrus, did nothing to thwart the undertakings of the Persian king against the Medes of Astyages."42 One can easily guess one result of Cyrus's Median victory: greatly increased resources as well as material and manpower. Cyrus became the heir to the Median hegemony, thus gaining control of territory from eastern Iran to the Halys river.43 In the war between Cyrus and Astyages, Babylonia maintained neutrality with a certain preference for Cyrus. Even if Nabonidus had seen nothing but benefits in the Medo-Persian conflict, Cyrus's victory plunged him into a situation full of danger. Henceforth, Cyrus's Medo-Persian kingdom made Cyrus a rival rather than an ally.

41

Whybray, Second Isaiah, 9-11; Kaufmann, Babylonian Captivity, 62; Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels, 376; and Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 32-33. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 32. In fact, Nabonidus left Babylonia (under his son) to take up residence at the north Arabian oasis of Teima in 553. Kuhrt, Ancient Near East, 658.

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After the capture and sack of Ecbatana by Cyrus (550 B.C.E.), it became evident that Cyrus was the principal threat to Babylonian hegemony and the other powers of the area, Lydia and Egypt. Nabonidus now realized that it was the Persians who were the real enemy. Nabonidus then made an alliance with the only other two powers of consequence at that time, Egypt and Lydia, whose king was Croesus. At the time of the fall of Astyages, the king of Lydia, Croesus, was celebrated throughout the Near East and Greece for his wealth and his military power. He controlled the Greek coastal cities, which sent him tribute. He also held all of Anatolia in his grasp, except for Lycia, Cilicia, and Tabel (Cappadocia).44 In Isaiah 41, identifying Cyrus as God's instrument, the prophet engages contemporary history in the person of Cyrus. From being the prince of Anshan, a small state lying on the border between Elam and Persia, a near neighbor of Babylonia to the east, in 550 B.C.E., Cyrus became lord of Media. It was Deutero-Isaiah's keen insight that saw in Cyrus an instrument which God was using on behalf of the exiles in Babylonia. In Isa 41:1-7 the early career of Cyrus is described. As he was conquering Media in 550 B.C.E., in the dust of Babylonia lay the scattered members of a nation, captive and exiled, a people civilly dead and religiously degraded; yet the prophet could welcome and understand Cyrus as the hope of this people. In Isa 41:25-29 there is the second implicit reference to Cyrus and his forces, describing how he will dominate the Middle East through a victorious military campaign (550 B.C.E.). However, the entire situation is a little unclear due to the Babylonian

Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 34.

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Empire's continuing reality. As yet he is not mentioned by name, being designated as "one from the east" in Isa 41: 2.45 The prophet is keenly aware of being a pioneer in proclaiming to indolent Zion a new and hopeful message. However, it is presumably much too dangerous for the prophet to use the name "Cyrus," because the Babylonian Empire is not an idle power. Note that none of the oracles against the nations in the book of Ezekiel are explicitly against the Babylonians. One explanation of this has been the risk that a prophet would run of offending the world power holding Judah captive. Cyrus formed a mighty kingdom at one stroke with the destruction of the Median kingdom. He was indeed the most powerful ruler in western Asia and had only two rivals— Lydia in Anatolia and the Babylonian realm of Nabonidus which touched the Persian Gulf in the south and then followed the Euphrates toward the northwest, embracing a portion of the former Assyrian Empire, but not its capital, Nineveh. In Palestine and Syria Cyrus laid claim to rule as far as Gaza, "on the border of Egypt," but it must have been a shadowy power as he exercised it.46 In comparison with these two rivals Cyrus ruled an empire not merely greater in extent than either of the two others, but even greater than both combined. From the mountains east of Elam to the Halys on the west, and from Ararat on the north to the Persian Gulf on the south his territories

The juxaposition of'east" and "north" has been used in defense of both a Palestinian (e.g., Young) and a Babylonian (e.g., Whybray) locus of writing. On the one hand, Whybray urges that knowledge of the direction of the attack must presuppose a Babylonian origin. On the other hand, one can argue that most attacks on Israel by eastern countries such as Assyria and Babylonia actually came from the north, so that the Israelite author is speaking in culturally derived terms about a great conqueror. See also Oswalt, Book of Isaiah, 103, n. 109. Rogers, History of Ancient Persia, 38. Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 34.

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stretched in great and practically unbroken sweeps. After Cyrus overthrew Astyages (550 B.C.E.), he proceeded to deal with Croesus of Lydia. Under Croessus the power of Lydia had risen to its greatest height, and the fame of his wealth attracted many of the more cultured Greeks to his court at Sardis. When Cyrus conquered the Medes in 550 B.C.E. Croesus recognized the danger of having such a neighbor and took such steps as were necessary to defend his kingdom. He made alliances with Amasis, king of Egypt, and with Nabonidus, and had the promise of Spartan help. War broke out between Cyrus and Croesus around 546 B.C.E. Croesus had fewer men in his forces and they lacked unity because they were mixed with foreign troops, some of whom, must have come from the Greek cities on the Aegean littoral, constrained to serve, and others of whom many were mercenaries hired with gold. The fidelity of neither might safely be trusted, and such a force was hardly fit to meet the Persians, who were hardy men of one ethnicity and who served under the greatest general of the period. Croesus was captured and his immense treasure fell to Cyrus (546 B.C.E.).50 As Income from trade was great; and this rising increment of funds was used in part to secure alliances with the Greek states; Rogers, History of Ancient Persia, 42-3. According to Briant, Croesus controlled Greek coastal cities and also held all of Anatolia in his grasp; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 34. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels, 376; Whybray, Second Isaiah, 9; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 34-5; Kaufmann, Babylonia and Deutero-lsaiah, 63. 49 5

Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels, 46; Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 36).

Rogers, History of Ancient Persia, 48. According to Kaufmann, the allies did not come to the aid of Croesus {Babylonian Captivity, 63). Briant, however, contends that it appears that Egypt sent troops, who would later play an important part in various offensive against the Persians. Babylon, on the other hand, did not intervene. Perhaps, Nabonidus (still in Arabia) and Belshazzar (his son and regent in Babylon) did not take a negative view of the conflict between their two main rivals (Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 35).

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soon as Cyrus had defeated the king of Lydia, who had conspired against Cyrus with Ahmose (Amassi), king of Egypt, and with Nabonidus, king of Babylonia, it was possible for the prophet to see that soon Cyrus would bring an end to Babylonian rule also. On the other hand, it was then, it seems, that Nabonidus began to understand the danger which threatened his empire. Yet Deutero-Isaiah was convinced that the Babylonian kingdom was unstable and could not hold out very long. When the word of Cyrus's Lydian victory was heard from afar, it was a foregone conclusion that new power would wreak vengeance on the Babylonians (Isaiah 46-47). Thus it was natural that the prophet should see that the fall of Babylon could be imminent. Indeed, the fall of Sardis sent a shock wave throughout the Near East. With the Lydian empire brought to an end, Cyrus was free to turn his attention to Babylonia. The expectation of the overthrow of Babylonia led to a new and positive hope as found in Isa 43:1-7. Deutero-Isaiah was probably assuming that Cyrus's mind was on Babylonia. Thus, he deals with Babylon in Isaiah 46-48 and then the oracle to Zion in Isaiah 49. If Cyrus himself started his march to Babylon, then after the fall of Babylon Jerusalem would be naturally under the authority of Cyrus. So the prophet could imagine the restoration of Jerusalem in 49:8-9. In words apparently addressed to the servant, Israel: In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!' During this time (particularly between 550-546 B.C.E.) the Jewish exiles in Babylonia seem to have been aware of the trend of political and military events. The meteoric career of Cyrus made a profound impression on the prophet and he delivered a number of

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oracles in which he predicted that Cyrus would overthrow Babylon, release the Jewish exiles (41:2-4; 41:25; 42:2-4; 44:28; 45:1-6; 45:13; 46:11; 48:14-15), and restore the temple in Jerusalem (44:28; 52:11). So far I have briefly described the process of subjugation (550-546 B.C.E.) before Cyrus attacked Babylon in 539 B.C.E. The Neo-Babylonian kingdom was Cyrus's most formidable adversary and rival in the Near East. The hour for the attack on Babylon had sounded. Confronted by such a giant, Babylon seemed to be at an end of its power. Clearly, at that time there was no leader who might have measured up to a war leader such as Cyrus. The Jewish exiles foresaw the Persian attack and their prophet hailed Cyrus as a liberator (41:1-7; 41:21-29; 44:24-28; 45:1-7; 45:9-13; 46:8-11; 48:12-16)51. Absolutely, Babylon itself was next. However, one may ask a question, "Did Cyrus begin war against Babylon?" Babylon was overthrown (539 B.C.E.) about ten years after the fall of Media (550 B.C.E.). Here there is a gap between 550 and 539, particularly from 546 to 539 (almost seven years). According to R. Ghirshman, Cyrus and his army turned to the eastern frontiers and pushed farther east during 546-539: Drangiana, Arachosia, Margiana, and Bactria, one after another, became new provinces of the Empire. He crossed the Oxus and reached the Jaxartes, which formed the north-eastern limit of his state; there he built fortified towns with the object of defending this line against the attacks of the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. Returning from the eastern borders, Cyrus undertook operations along his western frontiers. The hour for the attack on Babylon had sounded.52 One might suspect that it was a bitter disappointment to the prophet. Although Cyrus was regarded as a tool (a human agent) for liberation, as mentioned in some

51 52

For the analysis of the Cyrus passages, see Laato, Servant ofYHWH, 166-95.

R. Ghirshman, Iran (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1961), 131, and Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander, 38-40.

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passages above, Cyrus is not mentioned by name or allusion in the proto-apocalyptic texts (Isa 42:10-16; 43:16-21; 51:9-11; 52:7-12) cited by Hanson. This Persian ruler disappears from the drama of Isaiah after Isaiah 48 and is eclipsed by a more precise description of God, a mighty warrior, in proto-apocalyptic passages. Now God goes to war on behalf of Israel, as in Isa 42:13. The Lord will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies (Isa 42:13). Thus it was natural enough that the prophet should see that the fall of Babylon was imminent by God, not by a human agent. And the fall of the conqueror of his beloved land filled the heart of the prophet with vengeful joy and fair hope in Isa 43:14-17. For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, in the ships in which they took pride. I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your king. He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariot and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again. On the other hand, the Servant of God in Deutero-Isaiah encounters resistance and suffers, which itself is part of the transformation—the change comes through the Servant's weakness, not the Servant's power; though this may not really be pertinent to the issue of the emergence of proto-apocalyptic. However the emphasis on the weakness/death of the servant in Isaiah 53 may have to do with an emphasis that it is not the power of the servant that can accomplish this change—apart from intercession, an as/?a/w-offering—but only God's cosmic power can do this. Otherwise put, though the Servant is weak, God is a cosmic warrior. In particular, the picture of deliverance takes on a cosmic note. All of this comes to its climax in the announcement of the messengers in 52:7-12 that God has indeed won the victory, and the people will become free to follow

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the Servant's task. God's mighty arm is about to be revealed (50:2; 51:9; 52:10; 53:1)53 and will destroy the arrogant forces of the Babylonian empire. The prophet encourages the people to anticipate salvation through divine defeat of a real enemy, the Babylonian empire, not through a display of power by a human agent such as the Servant, or even Cyrus, but ultimately only by God.

Oswalt, Book of Isaiah, 287.

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C. Cook's Understanding of Ezekiel 38-39 in Reference to the Babylonian Exile and the Question of Deprivation

Cook in his book, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, reviews Ezekiel 38-39 (chapter 4), Zechariah 1 -8 (chapter 5), and Joel (chapter 6) as proto-apocalyptic54 and examines these texts to determine whether or not these apocalyptic passages might have originated from central power-holding groups.55 In particular, Cook focuses on a sociological analysis of apocalyptic groups so as to show that "apocalypticism as a group phenomenon"56 emerges from a wide variety of social matrices and does so under the leadership of many kinds of figures. As it turns out, he argues, groups at the center of society and under the direction of people who hold power quite often initiate a turn to apocalyptic.57

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2; 34-35. 55

In each case he follows the same approach. First he establishes the apocalyptic genre of the text: texts should exhibit radical eschatology involving "an imminent inbreaking by God inaugurating a future age qualitatively different from this age," (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 24) should use dualistic language about "this temporal world and the world to come," and should employ futuristic expressions, including a range of "secondary features such as numerology and pseudonymity" (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 23. Actually, Cook, who cites the work of J. J. Collins, notes other features as well, as on pp. 23-24). Cook finds these qualities in each of the selected corpuses and argues for the general unity of each of the texts and for the integration of Ezekiel 38-39 with the rest of the Book of Ezekiel (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 97-108). Finally, based on his literary analysis, he contends that each of the texts is shaped by a Second Temple Zadokite movement, —i.e., post-exilic—allowing thereby the possibility that apocalypticism could originate among the powerful (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 109-121). 56

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 21. Also see H. F. van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting," in Hebrew Studies 38 (1997): 137. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35-54.

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On the basis of his survey, firstly, Cook develops a typology of apocalyptic groups that takes particular account of each group's relationship to its own society and of whether or not the group develops under conditions that are endogenous or exogenous. Cook begins his analysis with groups in a variety of social locations, acknowledging that a group may be central in its own culture but marginal in relationship to a larger, colonizing culture.

Secondly, Cook posits a late exilic and early Second Temple period

Zadokite movement that stood at the center of the Judean community, one which was not afraid to use apocalypticism to move its constituency to new perspectives. Thus apocalypticism for Cook was not solely a means of dreamy escape from difficult conditions for deprived and marginalized groups; it was also used by those in power to shape and direct those under their control in positive ways. In short, Cook allows the possibility that millennial groups in exilic and post-exilic Israel were "in power."59 But even considering this point, he seems to misjudge the exilic situation. For me, two things from his arguments are problematic. First of all, he seems to ignore the relationship between the Zadokite millennial group and its surrounding circumstance of a Babylonian colonizing culture in his typology of apocalyptic groups.60 In this section, this matter plays an important role in critiquing his argument that apocalypticism has nothing to do with deprivation. Secondly, his main focus is on the Zadokite group in the post-exilic period rather than the exilic period.

58

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 59-62.

59

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 55; 213. Cook helpfully provides a grid which represents the various positions related to power which millennial groups have held (p. 57). 60

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 52-54.

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By way of critique, Smith-Christopher has made the very important point that the historical trauma and severity of the exile indicates that the exile was "a time of serious decline, the ossification of religious, 'priestly' practices of purity, and the general loss of prophetic energy,"61 that is, a time of human catastrophe. Against C.C. Torrey and his intellectual heirs, Smith-Christopher is convinced that the exile was a very big event indeed, and that is was not an insignificant incident that well served a political agenda, as has been described more as The Myth of the Empty Land, the title of Hans Barstad's recent work.

To the contrary, Smith-Christopher argues that the events were

catastrophic and transformative for Hebrew existence. Here Smith-Christopher makes his original and exceedingly useful contribution: an understanding of the impact of the Babylonian exile must make serious use of non-biblical documents63 and archaeological reports, and an imaginative use of biblical texts read in the light of what we know about refugee studies, disaster studies, and sociologies of trauma.

1. Reference to the Babylonian Exile

My main point in this section is that Cook concedes that proto-apocalyptic features were present during the exile—Ezekiel 38-39—when under Babylonian domination. He posits the beginning of this proto-apocalyptic viewpoint in Ezekiel 38-39 as taking place in the (late) exilic period, the period singled out for special attention in this present study. Note some specifics of Cook's argumentation:

61

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 12. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 32-33; 46-48

63

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 66.

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Firstly, Cook argues that the core of Ezekiel 38-39 was composed and expanded by Ezekiel and the Zadokite school in a time period spanning from the exilic period to the post-exilic period: Recent form-critical treatments, however, contradict the earlier radical critiques of Ezekiel and suggest that the core of Ezekiel 38-39 comes from the prophet Ezekiel himself. This core was expanded within the Zadokite school of Ezekiel. If the Gog prophecy can indeed be shown to be a product of exiled Zadokite priests, we would have in Ezekiel 38-39 an example of early apocalyptic literature produced by a priestly elite. Ezekiel and the school that transmitted and interpreted his book are located sociologically among the priestly upper echelons of Israelite society...Not only was Ezekiel a priest, he was a Zadokite priest. At the time of the exile, the Zadokites controlled the high priesthood and held central-priestly power....it was almost certainly from among this central Zadokite group that Ezekiel was taken into exile as part of the first Babylonian deportation of 597 BCE.65 Secondly, Cook investigates the language of Ezekiel 38-39 and finds language and theology that reflect or adapt the Jerusalem central priestly theology from the time before the exile: Ezekiel 38-39, however, does not repeat the Jerusalem central theology, it reactualizes it. Because of the exile, the Jerusalem theology was profoundly called into question.66 Thirdly, Cook argues that the social milieu of Ezekiel 38-39 is that of Ezekiel and his school, who, "having gone into exile from central posts in Jerusalem, were among the

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 87. Note also his comments on pp.109, 110, 112, 212, and 213. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 97. Note also his comments on pp. 116, 211, 215, 219, and 220. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 107.

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leaders of the exiled Israelites."

He concludes that "Ezekiel's continuing school

provided the theological basis for the program of the late-exilic Zadokite leadership." Such an exogenous arena in Babylon is supported by the late-exilic viewpoint implied in Ezekiel 39:25-29, probably part of the last stage of the Gog traditionhistory. The use of the future tense in Ezekiel 39:25 (nny + an imperfect verb) looks ahead to the completion of the restoration, indicating that it was not too far under way. Thus, the earlier core of the Gog passage probably comes from the end of Ezekiel's ministry in Babylon. Perhaps it was written during the rise of Cyrus (c. 555 B.C.E.).69 Finally, Cook presents a diachronic analysis of Ezekiel 38-39, which "reveals much about the history of Ezekiel's millennial group as it carried the Gog material through the end of the exilic period."70 The addition of Ezekiel 38:18-23, 39:11-16 probably occurred in the period of uncertainty at the end of the exile, when an actual return to Israel became viable.71 Thus Ezekiel 39:21-29 was added in one or two stages as a concluding unit both to Ezekiel 38-39 and to the rest of the preceding chapters of Ezekiel. This redaction may constitute one of the last layers in the book, postdating the proto-apocalyptic redaction. The perspective of the Ezekiel school when this concluding unit [39:21-29] was added differs from earlier perspectives in the layers of Ezekiel 38-39. It takes us back to the exiles' "real time," the mundane situation of those still feeling on the verge of restoration. As Daniel Block notes, with Ezekiel 39:23 the chronological perspective is focused back on the exile of Israel.72 Furthermore, Cook quotes as concurrence Blenkinsopp's observation: The concentration by the school of Ezekiel on the central issue of cult and divine Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 109. 8

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 109.

69

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 110-11. Note the unusually late date for the activity of Ezekiel, which may represent a misprint in Cook's book. 7ft

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 112. 71

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 114-15. 72

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 120. Emphasis added.

presence, on which other matters such as land tenure depended (see especially Ezekiel 11:14-21), their familiarity with the old sacral law, their polemic in favor of Diaspora Judaism and of the Zadokite priesthood (e.g., Ezekiel 40:46; 43:19; 44:15-31; 48:11), suggests strongly that we are dealing with a priestly elite, probably in Babylonian Diaspora, which was actively preparing for the return to Judah.73 Cook also, at times, explicitly acknowledges the psychic stress experienced by the exilic community that resulted from the radical disconnect between life in Judah by using the words, "the ending of an era"74 and "a foundation-shaking change"75 (before 598, and in the intervening periods up to the deportations of 587 and 582) and life in Babylonia. However, he does not associate this acknowledged psychic stress with the development of proto-apocalyptic. Note the following references: [T]he policies of Cyrus II (559-330 B.C.E.) made tangible the group's hopes for restoration. A first return under Sheshbazzar actually occurred c. 538 B.C.E. On the other hand, the circumstances were extremely nebulous and stressful. It did not appear that a humanly accomplished restoration would fulfill the Ezekiel group's expectation of God's power being made clear to all nations. That the temple and cities of Israel were still in ruins as the restoration began (Isa. 64:10-11; 63:18) was a further cause of stress.76 As part of the upper echelon of the Diaspora, working out restoration plans, they (the Zadokites) saw the possibility, for their dreams to come true. This central position, however, set them up to experience stress, inner dissonance and, in turn, a radicalization of millennial beliefs. The Ezekiel group must have Blenkinsopp, History of Prophecy, 197, as quoted in Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 116. 74

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 219. "For example, the mere perception of the ending of an era can motivate the rise of millennial groups." 75

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 220. "By the same token, the exile must have been a foundation-shaking change. This change in the exile's world was accompanied by changes in their beliefs and ways of thinking." 76

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 115. Emphasis added. Note that Cook seems to encompass both the anticipation of the return and the early days of the return in this statement.

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dreamed of the fulfillment of the promise of Ezekiel 3-37 as the Persian period began, only to fear that they would not be realized.77 As shown above, Cook dates the proto-apocalyptic of Ezekiel 38-39 to the exilic period and acknowledges that the exile was a period of considerable stress. Even if I accept nearly all of Cook's arguments, that does create any real problem for my own assessment. Cook clearly dates part, at least, of Ezekiel 38-39 to the late exilic period as shown above, and he clearly recognizes that the overall situation of the exiles was stressful and that the exilic period was a very turbulent time for the Jewish community in Babylonia, whatever the position of the Zadokite priests within the community. Nevertheless, Cook omits or neglects deprivation theory in discussion about the social setting of proto-apocalyptic in the exilic period. Cook, I think, purposely avoids it. In that the exile is a situation wherein Ezekiel's own Judaean exilic society encounters another, the Babylonian society, Cook's argument that "In a situation involving one society dominating another, the central institutions of the dominated society may well appear (to both the dominated and the dominating) as peripheral over against those of the dominating society,"78 proves his own implicit acceptance of the deprivation theory, as will be discussed later. On the other hand, one can see his contrary understanding of the social context of Ezekiel 38-39. Cook argues: There is no evidence in the book of Ezekiel that this social context involved any suffering or oppression for Ezekiel and the priestly elite. Indeed, the fact that many exiles did not return to Israel as part of the restoration indicates that life was not so bad in Babylon. This conclusion is supported by the fact that there is no anti-Babylonian oracle in Ezekiel. 77

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 116-17. Emphasis added. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 56. 7Q

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 111. Note that the failure to return could just as easily be attributed to the terrible state of affairs in Jerusalem at that point.

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But I examined a variety of evidence for suffering and hardship in the exilic situation in Chapter III, and I will argue that the mythical names of Gog and Magog are used for an actual enemy, the Babylonians, and that no anti-Babylonian oracle in Ezekiel can be taken as a kind of silent resistance; see Chapter V. Cook does not present an analysis of the exilic society, thus, he misses an important element that could prompt a proto-apocalyptic worldview in the exilic period. My critique of Cook's arguments is as follows: Although some examples of nondeprived millennial groups that Cook provides came from wealthy, well-established family backgrounds, the proto-apocalyptic groups in the exilic period behind Ezekiel 38-39 (and Deutero-Isaiah which Cook unfortunately ignores) include the uprooted elite, now become poor, banding together in order to compensate for their frustrations. So, the exile is more than "the mere perception of the ending of an era," as Cook described it. Cook argues that "upper-echelon figures are quite capable of desiring major changes in or even the overthrow of the system they control. These figures may come to embrace a worldview that anticipates such changes."

However, Cook has to answer the

question, who were the Judaean exiles in Babylonia during the exilic period? Protoapocalyptic groups in the exilic situation could come from the upper strata of their former society, especially before the actual fall of Jerusalem. They were aristocrats drawn from the Judaean categories of warriors, priests and the ruling family. They were part of the financial elite of society. Though they were in power in Judah, they were taken into Babylonia as war captives as shown in 2 Kgs 24:10-16 and 25:8-12 (18-21). Actually

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 50-51.

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they had very limited power in Babylonia vis-a-vis the larger Babylonian world. In short, Cook does not acknowledge the reality of the larger exilic life situation. According to Cook, "by attesting to the existence of nondeprived millennial groups in other societies, the sociological evidence shows that we cannot assume when we encounter a biblical proto-apocalyptic group that its members must have been peripheral or marginalized in their society."

However, I showed in Chapter III that

some of the exiles in the Babylonian period were significantly deprived and marginalized, although perhaps many of them were not deprived in terms of life within their immediate community. Although "the sociological evidence shows that priests can form the leadership of millennial groups, and cult functions can be a crucial part of a millennial group's program,"

the exile itself, in terms of economic, political and psychological

factors for their life within the Babylonian world, constituted deprivation. The group was not in the center in the "real" exilic situation and was peripheral to the Babylonian Empire. Another issue in this section is that the radicalization of apocalyptic motifs occurred "in the period of uncertainty at the end of the exile when an actual return to Israel became viable."

From this point on, Cook focuses on the postexilic period. For

Cook, it was in this period (c. 539-520) that "the Ezekiel group found itself in a unique sociological situation ripe for the radicalization of its eschatological hopes." 4 O 1

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 83. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 83. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 114-15. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 115.

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Although Cook mentions that the policies of Cyrus II (559-530) for the Babylonian exiles made tangible the group's hopes for return to their home, Cook argues that the real radicalization for apocalyptic occurred in the postexilic period. After a first return under Sheshbazzar (Ezr 1:8-l 1) around c. 538 B.C.E., the circumstances surrounding the returnees were extremely vague and stressful. It was unlikely that "a humanly accomplished restoration would fulfill the Ezekiel group's expectation of God's power being made clear to all nations."85 The temple was not yet rebuilt and some cities of Israel destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. were still in ruins (Isa 63:18; 64:1011). It was a further cause of stress. A new temple, which was blueprinted by Ezekiel, could be built, but the Zadokite millennial group would have to settle for much less than the structure projected in Ezekiel 40-48, unless God intervened. According to Cook, "the sociological situation in which a group had its basic expectation built up as its members' world changes rapidly is often rife with apocalyptic radicalization."86 For Cook, Ezekiel 38-39 was radicalized in this type of environment through the addition of Ezek 38:18-23, and 39:11-16. "The possibility is that apocalyptic worldviews in general should be seen as most common among those groups that have some access to rewards or power and thus 'see what is possible.'"

Cook argues:

The Ezekiel group was among those in charge of postexilic society, given authority over the restoration by the Persians. As part of the upper echelon of the Diaspora, working out restoration plans, they saw the possibility for their dreams to come true. This central position, however, set them up to experience stress, inner dissonance and, in turn, a radicalization of millennial belief. The Ezekiel group must have dreamed of the fulfillment of the promise of Ezekiel Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 115. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 115. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 116.

34-37 as the Persian period began, only to fear that they would not be realized. Thus, as stress increased and the group's fears grew, they underwent the type of radicalization described above.... According to Cook, in the postexilic period "the social arena of this Zadokite millennial group was no longer exogenous when they eventually returned to Yehud."89 Under the control of Persians, the exiles were not in a contact circumstance in the same way as when in Babylonian exile. However, he does not discuss it specifically. After their return to Jerusalem the Zadokite millennial group still had belief in the rise of a Gog, "much like twentieth-century endogenous millennial groups in the United States speculated that countries such as Russia or Libya would soon become end-time forces."90 So Cook pays primary attention to the post-exilic period, though he recognizes that the proto-apocalyptic element is present in the late exilic period. However, he does not address the significance of the exilic situation for the rise of proto-apocalyptic. As noted, my own focus is the exilic period. One thing I want to emphasize from Cook's argument is that Ezekiel 38-39 was basically composed in the exilic period, but a process of radicalization occurs in the postexilic period. Therefore, for Cook, the ultimate social arena of the apocalyptic group is set in the postexilic period with the Zadokites becoming a power-holding millennial group.91 Cook's focus is on the postexilic period not the exilic period. That is a major difference between Cook and myself. Of lesser importance is whether the radicalization

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 116-17. Emphasis added. on

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 117. 90

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 117.

91

Aaron, "Review of Prophecy & Apocalypticism," 341.

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of the proto-apocalyptic group is present in the exilic period or only in the postexilic period.9

2. Question of Deprivation

Cook's review of the history of scholarship regarding millennial groups provides the backdrop for his rejection of the deprivation argument: There are fundamental problems with this (deprivation) view, and I propose to argue for a sociological theory that better clarifies the background of the protoapocalyptic texts.. ..The Hebrew Bible contains groups of texts that deprivation approaches cannot successfully interpret. I intend to examine these text groups and to assess the broader implications of a different approach to them. My thesis is that the following proto-apocalyptic texts are not products of groups that are alienated, marginalized, or even relatively deprived. Rather, these protoapocalyptic texts have been produced by power-holding priestly groups, not marginal and deprived groups. Not all Israelite proto-apocalyptic texts stem from antiestablishment groups on the periphery of society. Although the "conventicle" interpretation may work for some texts, it can no longer be generalized to all.94 Stepping back and taking a larger view of the exilic and postexilic periods does not change the assessment of deprivation theory developed in studying Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8, and Joel. In both the general and specific cases, there are clear positive factors motivating a worldview change to apocalypticism. A research for deprivations that caused millennialism in these cases is unnecessary.95 Cook's proposal is interesting and offers some new ways of thinking about

92

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 114-16. Cook here dates Ezek 38:18-23 and 39:11-16 probably from "the period of uncertainty at the end of the exile, when an actual return to Israel became viable" (pp. 114-15), recognizing an exilic context. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 1-2. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 213. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 220.

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apocalypticism, especially so-called proto-apocalyptic texts and the groups that gave rise to them (Ezekiel 38-39; Zechariah 1-8; Joel) in the late exilic and early Second Temple period. Helpful is his general observation that one errs if one restricts apocalypticism to those on the margins of society, that is, of the internal society, and I grant his point. Contradicting the notion of a preference for apocalypticism among alienated communities, Cook successfully argues that apocalypticism is not tied to internal (!) alienation or deprivation. Firstly, Cook claims that because of imprudent scholarly reliance on deprivation theory, their "conventicle approach" sees proto-apocalyptic texts as written within small religious communities that meet secretly for fear of those in authority, as exemplified particularly by Otto Ploger, Theocracy and Eschatology (1968), and Paul Hanson, The Dawn of Apocalyptic (1979).96 Led by Otto Ploger and Paul Hanson, many scholars have reached a consensus about the nature of biblical proto-apocalyptic groups. Their "conventicle approach" assigns proto-apocalyptic texts sociologically to the losers of the political disputes and power struggles that are held to have characterized the 97

restoration community. Ploger traced two different lines of development represented by two groups within the postexilic Yehud.98 For Ploger, intergroup conflict within the postexilic Israelite 96

Van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism," 137.

Q7

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 1. One community "had no trace of eschatological thinking, while the other was thoroughly apocalyptic" (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 6). Ploger connected these two lines of thought with two different groups that opposed the policies of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Hasidim produced Isaiah 24-27, Zechariah 12-14, Joel, and "the Daniel apocalypse and represented a dualistic eschatological tradition," but the other group, the Maccabeans, "interpreted events from a noneschatological point of view ana saw themselves as involved in a this-worldly revolt against mundane oppressors"(Cook. Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 6). Ploger ' reconstructed a postexilic 'theocratic group, represented by P and the Chronicler," that was "interested only in cult and law" and "had a realized eschatology with no tolerance for apocalypticism." (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 6). On the other hand, the Hasidim were opposed so to these theocrafs and "organized themselves into antiestablishment conventicles (secret groups meeting for religious purpose)." (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 7). 98

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community was the substantial issue and apocalyptic literature was produced by a community alienated from the postexilic priestly social setting." Hanson100 developed ideas similar to those of Ploger.101 Cook notes that Hanson finds "a reuse of myth among postexilic factions," such as the Third Isaiah group, with groups of disenfranchised Levites as their allies ("prophets-become-visionaries"), and "a Zadokite-led priestly hierocratic group" in conflict "with the restored community's leaders."102 Hanson views these factions and conflicts as constituting "the generative matrix of apocalyptic."103 Regarding "alienation and deprivation as characteristic of the tradents of apocalyptic ideas," Cook criticizes Hanson's idea that "there is a brooding minority behind every apocalyptic movement."104 Cook contends that Hanson puts the emergence of Israelite apocalyptic eschatology in those postexilic groups (particularly peripheral or disenfranchised factions) deprived by the priestly power group at the center of society.105

99

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 7, with Andrew D. H. Mayes, The Old Testament in Sociological Perspective (London: Marshall Pickering, 1989), 7-17. 100

A similar summary of the argument of The Dawn of Apocalyptic may be found in R. P. Carroll, "Twilight of Prophecy or Dawn of Apocalyptic?," JSOT 14 (1974):3-16. 101

While Ploger "used the term theocratic to refer to a rule of the priests at the center of postexilic society," Hanson "prefers the term hierocracy to denote the same priestly government." See Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 6-7 n. 14). 102

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 8. However, Cook ignores Hanson's point that Deutero-Isaiah from the time of the exile, and presents proto-apocalyptic ideas. Cook's setting aside of Deutero-Isaiah seems/is a major problem for Cook's analysis, derived from Ezekiel and other texts apart from Deutero-Isaiah. 103

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 8.

14

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 8; see Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 2.

105

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 9.

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Secondly, according to Cook, the basic sociological problem raised by the conventicle approach that puts "forward alienation and deprivation as the cause of millennialism" is a misleading, "generalizing and overarching understanding of the social matrix of apocalyptic literature."106 The sociological paradigm of apocalyptic groups at the foundation of Hanson's thesis107 emphasizes exceedingly powerless, persecuted, dissatisfied or deprived groups. As a result, Cook argues, apocalyptic groups have too often been uncritically located among socially and economically deprived classes, and their catalysts have erroneously been identified as almost exclusively marginal, socially alienated figures.108 Cook seems to make a valid point here regarding the post-exilic period, as opposed to the exilic period. Also, for Cook, these terms "hierocratic" and "visionary" should be avoided because the notion that the priests of Persian-period Yehud ascended to governmental hegemony, ruling the society in the place of civil leaders, is overstated. Of course, this does not mean that no priests were associated with central power in this period. Such a reading of the hierocratic group in power as disenfranchised and deprived "cannot account for the biblical evidence and must be corrected."109 According to Cook, rather, the texts often identified as proto-apocalyptic may derive "from central priestly circles of exilic and postexilic times."110

106

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 12

107

For Hanson's reliance on Weber, Troeltsch, and Mannheim, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 8-9. Hanson explicitly discusses their works in the context of the developing conflict between the visionaries and hierocrats {Dawn of Apocalyptic, 211-20). 108

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 12.

10

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 12.

210

Although the conventicle approach "offers an understanding of the protoapocalyptic texts that appears to clarify their sources and nature and to answer the formcritical question of the social setting of this literature," Cook believes that apocalyptic writings in Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Joel stem from ruling priestly groups "allied with or identical to the priests at the center of restoration society," i.e., the post-exilic world.1'' But when he states that the expression of the end-time assault of Gog in the pericope in Ezekiel 38-39 connotes the same priestly group's "motifs and concerns as the rest of the book of Ezekiel,"112 he has opened the door to the exilic world. Thirdly, Cook also points to Hanson's adoption of the cognitive dissonance approach in his argument that "an apocalyptic symbolic universe resolves inner contradictions between religious hopes (a collapse of prophetic hopes) and experience."113 For Hanson, "the symbolic universe in question is opposed to that of the dominant society, and the experience causing inner contradiction is always the group experience of alienation."114 Cook argues that Hanson uses this approach to explain that exilic and "postexilic deprivation accompanied by a collapse of prophetic hopes gave rise to dissonance"115 and, as a response, apocalyptic became the resolution of the dissonance. According to Cook, "it is unfortunate that scholars have so closely linked the dissonance

1

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2.

113

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 15.

114

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 15 with Hanson, "Apocalypticism," IDBSup, 28-31. 115

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 15; see also R. P. Carroll, When Prophecy Failed (New York: Seeabury, 1979), 88, 110, 160, 205, 219. For other scholars' use of this approach, such as Carroll and Paul L. Redditt, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 15, n. 53.

211

theory with deprivation theory."116 Dissonance can even occur when some of the millennial group have wealth or belong to the upper levels of that society. Furthermore, Cook acknowledges that cognitive dissonance, another area of stress, can be experienced by a society's leaders. For instance, a millennial group in power can experience psychological stress or turmoil "when confronted with an important omen or the message of a persuasive teacher."" 7 In these cases, one would "consider such psychological 1 1 it

turmoil as cognitive dissonance, but not as deprivation."

But my own argument is that

deprivation should not be so narrowly understood for the Babylonian exilic situation, as shown in Chapter III. Here Cook takes a position that a connection between apocalypticism and alienation does not indicate that apocalypticism flourished only among conventicles, or small religious groups who have lost power struggles. For me, rather, by way of critique, just like the Babylonian Judaean exiles, even the elite can suffer from alienation. Therefore, Cook, who recognizes psychic turmoil, cannot rest with the argument that the apocalyptic imagination arose from powerful groups who though alienated and marginalized in the Babylonian society, were in fact powerful and not alienated during the exilic period itself. Cook is not considering the full picture. Cook's dispute with the term alienation stems from a very strict interpretation thereof. There is no reason to avoid the word alienation when it so clearly evokes

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 15. See also, Van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy & Apocalypticism," 137. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 16. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 16.

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dissatisfaction and a feeling of "not being at home" in a way that "cognitive dissonance" does not. Moreover, Cook assumes that the temple priestly imagery constitutes priestly authorship and never details the psychological and social outlook of temple priests, who are without the temple following the fall of Jerusalem in 587. Indeed, in his review of Cook's work, Petersen suggests that post-exilic temple priests may have been subordinate to the power of bet abot, or "ancestral houses."119 Cook seems to wrongly emphasize that alienation was not a factor in the rise of apocalypticism. Fourthly, Cook criticizes the original concept of deprivation: The sociological concept of deprivation originally had to do generally with unsatisfactory economic conditions or at least the existence of a social setting involving other observable lacks or stresses. Deprivation commonly involves a group's being dispossessed or kept from those things that it needs and expects to have. Early deprivation theorists viewed this observable type of social matrix of deprivation as the cause of millennialism. When biblical scholars examine biblical apocalyptic groups as alienated and disenfranchised, they are presupposing this original causal explanation. For Cook, this general concept of deprivation is not enough to account for the phenomenon of millennialism because many millennial groups are not observably deprived economically, politically, or by social class even if they are deprived of their former context.121 Cook cites several examples of apocalyptic movements122 that were led by persons who, as he says, "came from wealthy, well-established family 119

David L, Petersen, "Review: Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting," in The Journal of Religion 77/4 (1977): 655-656. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35. 171

See the discussion of his argument in Richard Coggins, "Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting," in Theology 100 March-April (1997): 136. According to Coggins, "he devotes a full discussion to the sociology of apocalyptic groups and notes that they have by no means been confined to the poor and deprived. 122 These non-deprived millennial groups are not connected "with unsatisfactory economic conditions or at least the existence of a social setting involving other observable lacks or stresses." Furthermore, these examples do not "involve a group's being dispossessed or kept from those things that it needs and expects to have (Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35).

213

backgrounds."123 The chief examples are, in chronological order: 1) 2) 3) 4)

JoachinofFiore124 (Italy, 12th century); The Free Spirit Brethren125 (Europe, 13th century); The Wirsberg brothers126 (Europe, mid-fifteenth century); The well-to-do Irvingite Catholic Apostolic Church127 (Britain, 19,h century);

5) The Brotherhood of the Sun128 (California, 20th century); etc. Cook points out that members of every class and occupation were involved in these millennial groups or movements listed above. Furthermore, some millennial groups at times held governmental power, such as noblemen or state officials. The chief examples are: 1) Savonarolan millennialism (Florence, latter 15th century) which "was not the religion or worldview of the deprived. Rather, the group instruction was taken up as the basis for the civic program of the Florentine republic itself."129 2) Geronimo De Mendieta who led Joachimite millennialism (New Spain, 16* century) "acted on behalf of Spain's monarchy."130 According to Cook, many have overlooked that although some millennial groups that are associated with the upper class in a society were not spurred by economic or class-status

123

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35.

124

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 37.

125

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35.

126

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 36.

127

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 37'.

128

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 39.

129

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 36 with D. Weinstein, "Millenarianism in a Civic Setting: The Savonarola Movement in Florence," in Millennial Dreams in Action: Essays in Comparative Study (ed. S. Thrupp; The Hague: Mouton, 1962), 187. 130

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 37

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deprivation, yet their worldview was clearly millennial—such groups expected "an imminent judgment that would usher in the millennial kingdom."131 For "Cook's proposal of the social location of apocalypticism in the central Zadokite priesthood," Carter criticizes: he "[fjails to consider archaeological, socioeconomic or socio-political information. One is left, therefore, questioning the degree to which either study can speak to social location of apocalyptic literature and groups without first assessing the larger internal and external social setting that obtained within Yehud as it related both to its surrounding provinces and the Persian empire."132 My own critique is shifted from the Persian period to the exilic period. Although Cook makes an effective case for the social location of apocalypticism in the central power group, he does not address the exilic context in Babylonia, i.e., the dependent and marginal relationship with the Babylonian authorities, and the loss of a familiar land and culture. On the other hand, as mentioned, Smith-Christopher, emphasizes the presence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and provides a dynamic description of lament, urging that one hears the voice of Nebuchadnezzar the conqueror, as well as listens to the cries from Babylon.

The book of Ezekiel claims to come directly from the

experience of the exile from Babylonia. Ezekiel was "apparently taken with the first deported groups around 597 BCE and only heard of the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE from that great distance."134 The exiles in 597 and 586 connect with the economics

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 38. 1

Carter, The Emergency of Yehud, 322.

133

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 75-104 (see chapter 3).

134

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 75.

215

and power politics that dragged the prophet Ezekiel and his compatriots to the totally different soil, Babylonia. When the exilic texts are read with "an eye to the study of refugee culture" and state-sponsored terrorism, such a reading "may shed light on the impact of traumatic events like the Babylonian conquests."135 When we read Ezekiel 5:12: "One third of you shall die of pestilence or be consumed by famine among you; one third shall fall by the sword around you; and one third 1 will scatter to every wind and will unsheathe the sword after them," do we have any substantive reason to excuse Mesopotamian regimes from the accusation of state-sponsored terrorism merely because it is ancient history we speak of rather than the twenty-first century?136 According to Smith-Christopher, what has been particularly important in PTSD research is that symptoms can persist, or even turn up, years after the events that triggered them, especially in cases of rape and in circumstances of subordination, disaster, warfare, or political oppression (either individually or a group). Notable for our discussion of PTSD, Smith-Christopher quotes Murray's observation: "The interval between rape and presenting for treatment was about eight years for a woman who had lost her ability to speak in the meantime."137 Smith-Christopher includes Ezekiel, who was struck mute for the duration of most of his symbolic actions (Ezek 3:26-27) and could speak only following the news of the death of his wife (Ezek 24:18) and the fall of Jerusalem (Ezek 33:1-2). If PTSD studies lend verisimilitude to the historical claims of the book of Ezekiel, then we cannot dismiss the presumed traumatic background of the exilic group. Modern refugee studies indicate that stereotyped language is sometimes an entirely appropriate description of sorrow in known cultural matrices. "Stereotypical literature of 135

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 76.

136

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 77.

137

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 93. Murray, "Posttraumatic," 327.

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suffering is not literature that can somehow be 'decoded' to mean that the exiles actually lived in Babylonian comfort."138 Moreover, Cook argues that the concept of relative deprivation, which Aberle, an anthropologist, identifies as "a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectation and actuality," is still not enough to understand the cause and nature of millennial 139

groups. Even documented disasters that cause objective deprivation may not provoke a millennial response. Typoon Ophelia, which hit Ulithi in Micronesia in 1960, did not provoke any millennial groups. Social arenas displaying economic and social deprivation need not produce millennial groups either. ... [fjhe problem of nonoccurrence weakens the strength of the correlation between deprivation and millennialism and suggests that, at best, deprivation may merely precipitate other more direct causes of millennialism.140 Cook argues that relative deprivation is much too easily applied: "almost any group can be seen as relatively deprived. This being the case, it is too easy for adherents of deprivation theory to apply their interpretation in every case of millennialism, even when empirical warrants are not obvious."1 ' Again, Cook has a point, but he does not address the full exilic situation.

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile, 104. 139

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 40, with reference to D. F. Aberle, "The Prophet Dance and Reactions to White Contact," Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 15 (1959): 79 and " A Note on Relative Deprivation Theory as Applied to Millenarian and Other Cult Movements," in Millennial Dreams in Action: Essay in Comparative Study (ed. S. Thrupp; The Hague: Mouton, 1962), 209. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 40-41. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 42.

217

Smith-Christopher attempts to take seriously not only the historical indications that nasty conditions and forced labor were traits of the exilic period in question,142 but also to pay attention to the lexicography of trauma.143 This kind of phrasing uses rich layers of metaphor—"bonds," "fetters," "release of the prisoners" and the like—in a way that quite likely builds upon literal bonds, fetters, and imprisonment. Having justified the seriousness with which he tries to hear the biblical voices of exile in Babylonia as to just what they imply, Smith-Christopher turns to the exegesis of suffering in Ezekiel and Lamentations.144 As Smith-Christopher perceives the context of these books, "the communities of the books of Ezekiel and Lamentations are clearly communities that are struggling with crises, personal and social, that include dealing with suddenly mobile identities and transnational culture and theology. They are voices of traumatized communities"145 to be seen through the lens of "state-sponsored terrorism," including torture. Essentially the deeds of the Babylonian empire against the exiles, either as individuals or as groups, might intend to achieve specific psychological changes in their victims, such as the Jewish exiled community. The survivors in exile have not merely been the unintentional victims of physical harm or menace of death such as might take place in daily life through natural disasters or accidents. In the individual experience of the adversity of the exile it is not only individuals who suffer. And for every person who

142

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 66-67.

143

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 71-72.

144

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 75-104.

145

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 76.

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suffers there are parents, spouses, and children, as well as friends and relatives who are faced with danger, fear, and uncertainty. The psychic stress of the exile impacts the whole exilic community.146 Because of destruction and displacement associated with the exile, the exiles could "lose their capacity to define a situation that they see as serious or even worrying through traditional understandings and symbolic parameters."147 Yet Cook argues that the deprivation understanding of the exilic world does not fit with the form criticism of apocalyptic texts, particularly the setting: The deprivation approach to the form criticism of apocalyptic texts has oversimplified the relationship between text and setting, and also adopted from sociology too broad an understanding of setting. Form criticism, for its part, does not focus on the question of the wider socioeconomic factors and environments that may influence or, in some philosophies, even cause human actions and thoughts. It is concerned with the narrower sphere of life or institution, whose regulations and needs influence and form associated manners of speech and writing.148 The deprivation approach, in Cook's evaluation, "has too long viewed millennial religion only in negative or compensatory terms."14 Furthermore, the factors prompting millennialism have been regarded too unilaterally as deficiency or negative elements. "Constructive or active motivating factors are characteristically present behind millennial

146

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, gives examples of state-sponsored terrorism (p.77) in the biblical materials as the suddenness of executions demanded by the "mad king" in the drama of the tale in Daniel 1-6, Esther, and the Joseph story (Gen 37-50). 147

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 79. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 46. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 46.

219

groups, and these have been insufficiently explicated."15 Cook identifies "one actual positive factor allowing for millennialism" as "a belief predisposition."151 A millennial group will not take shape unless the belief that apocalyptic proceedings can happen is allowed. Thus, the traditions or literature accepted by the group must make available a radical intervention of God. Cook continues his argumentation: Data such as that of List 1 above {Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35-40) show that deprivation is not a necessary cause of a group's creation or adoption of an apocalyptic worldview... [A] change in worldview can take place among many kinds of groups, even among groups in power who do not feel resentment like those in a setting of deprivation... [PJeople with power and high social rank often develop and hold worldviews seemingly inconsistent with their status ... Furthermore, though the elite of a society are most well-off, their hopes and wishes often transcend a mere desire to maintain the realized status quo.15 For Cook, "external oppression or deprivation is not the issue; rather, interior turmoil" may arise when members of this elite stratum of society, as in the case of Janism in the sixth century B.C.E., began to experience revulsion at their own social category.134 Cook gives an example: The integrity of the Kshatriya universe of meaning began to break down due to purely internal and subjective factors. According to their worldview, their own category of persons did not have access to Moksha, the religious goal of absorption into Being itself... Burridge describes Jainism as a "revulsion on the part of Kshatriyas against continuing to be Kshatriyas." Kshatriya predisposition for a worldview change manifested itself objectively in the successive appearance of new religious teachers propounding new ideas. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 46-47. 1

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 47.

1 S2

153 154

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 47. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 50.

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 51. With the reference to internal turmoil, Cook make note of, but does not develop, the issue of stress felt within the community.

220

Eventually, a catalyst figure arose who disseminated a religious view that embodied the new assumptions and convictions about redemption increasingly necessary to many Kshatriyas. The catalyst figure here was Mahavira, a founder of Jainism, who is described by Burridge as a guru, a prophet or teacher. In holding that Moksha was open to anyone, Mahavira paved the way for a new religion, Jainism, for the Kshatriyas. Conversion to Jainism involved a radical change in orientation for the aristocrats. It involved substituting unworldliness for worldliness and the giving up of wealth so as to become mendicants. The founding of Jainism may thus serve as a paradigm of how a group in power may undergo a radical change in their symbolic universe.'5S Thus Cook takes the position that millennial groups, "like other social occurrences, institutions, and groups that constitute the Sitz-im -Leben"^

will arise in a variety of

larger social settings. "No social stratum or type of social contact configuration can be ruled out a priori as a possible social arena or matrix for millennialism."157 In conclusion, Cook argues that "deprivation is a variable that may or may not be part of an arena in which millennialism occurs."158 Here again, Cook may have a case concerning deprivation and millennialism, but he does not address the impact of the exilic experience on the dislocated community of exiles, even though he acknowledges psychological stress and turmoil. "[T]he exile must have been a foundation-shaking change. This change in the exile's world was accompanied by changes in their beliefs and ways of thinking."15 By this recognition he would seems to grant the point of an exilic experience of deprivation, as usually understood, which he otherwise ignores. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 51-52. Empasis added. 156

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 53.

157

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 54.

158

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 52. Empasis added.

159

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 220.

221

There is no evidence in the book of Ezekiel and that this social context involved any suffering or oppression for Ezekiel and the priestly elite. Indeed, the fact that many exiles did not return to Israel as part of the restoration indicates that life was not so bad in Babylon. This conclusion is supported by the fact that there is no anti-Babylonian oracle in Ezekiel. 6 The arena of the group that wrote Ezekiel 38-39 is closest to class C [central in their own society, but dominated/colonized] because of the group's continuing captivity in Babylon. This classification should be qualified, however, by noting the lack of evidence that Ezekiel and his priestly circle suffered or were persecuted in exile.16' Finally, Cook brings up an important question. If the deprivation of the loss of temple, the land, and nationhood of the exile are not principal factors in the emergence of Israelite millennialism, why do the biblical proto-apocalyptic texts come from the exilic and postexilic periods?162 Cook's answer is that "positive motivating factors in the exilic and postexilic periods can be identified that provide a more critical understanding of the rise of apocalypticism than viewing the exile"

as a physically and economically

powerful setting of deprivation. Furthermore, the Babylonian exile involved important additional keys that predisposed some Israelite groups to apocalyptic tendencies. As already mentioned, Cook gives an example. "The mere perception of the ending of an era," just like the exile in 586, can prompt the emergence of apocalyptic groups, just as there was a great interest in apocalypticism in Western culture as the year 2000 C.E.

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 111. Of course, those who did not return may have been unwilling to tackle the redevelopment of a destroyed and devastated city. Empasis added. 161

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 214. The writer of Psalm 137 would doubtless be quite surprised to learn that there was no suffering or persecution in Babylonia. Empasis added. See Aim's dissertation, Exile, Literature, and Theology, 34-36; 50-83. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 219. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 219.

approached.

By the same token, for Cook, the Babylonian exile marked the end of an

era and evoked expectations of coming radical change in the world. So Cook concludes that "a larger view of the exilic and postexilic period does not change the assessment of deprivation theory developed in studying Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8, and Joel."1

5

In

the general and specific cases, there are clear positive factors prompting a worldview change to apocalypticism. "A search for deprivations that caused millennialism in these cases is unnecessary,"

as sufficient factors were at work.

However, another point regarding a sense of (psychological and economic) deprivation during the exile is that the exiles are unable to pass on any inheritance in Judaean land, a basic form of wealth, as pre-exilic titles to land in Judah were not viable at that time (Of course, there may have been hopes of reclaiming land after some kind of return). Cook neglects these aspects of life in the exilic period. I can agree about the lack of any clear physical oppression, but I cannot ignore the enormous psychic stress caused by the dislocation of the exiles, nor can I ignore that the shift from being the elite within their own society to being leaders of an exiled, displaced group within an imperial world made a major difference. Smith-Christopher, in his analysis of the lexicography of trauma regarding the status and treatment of the exiled community in Babylonia, argues in a way that is contrary to Cook:

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 219. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 220. Note again that Cook includes the exilic period. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 220.

223

Clearly, various forms of the Hebrew terms normally rendered "imprisonment" turn up as metaphors for exile, along with the various use of terms of binding and fetters. Can all of this be dismissed as mere stereotyped metaphor? In more detail, however, note the frequent biblical motif that relates "sight to blind" and "release of prisoners" as metaphors of exile. This is found in many exilic and postexilic passages (e.g., Ps 146:7-8; Isa42:7; 61:1; Zech 9:12). Indeed, this may be a Babylonian motif borrowed by those who experienced aspects of the Babylonian tradition. [I]n short, the metaphor of imprisonment and references to places of imprisonment do not grow more plentiful during the exilic period by pure chance, especially in view of its foreignness to the Israelite judicial system. Contemporary assessments of the exile must not simply dismiss this imagery as purely metaphorical with no historical basis.168 Smith-Christopher tries to establish ways that the biblical literature arises from the experience of the exile, being deeply influenced by the social, economic, and political contexts. He argues that "any modern 'theology of exile' must carefully recall their context, as well as our own context, for any theological reflection on the biblical experience."169 In conclusion, even though the development of proto-apocalyptic in the exilic period was not exactly caused by economic or class-status deprivation in Babylonia, I emphasize that cultural and psychological deprivation was an important factor, a point somewhat acknowledged but then excluded in Cook's discussion. The exiles as "war captives" in the early exilic period were at the lower end of the social ladder in Babylonian society and in that sense endured deprivation. Furthermore, the deprivation analysis of the exilic situation derives from empirical observation (chapter III). There is evidence (Deutero-Isaiah) that those holding proto-apocalyptic worldviews experienced a

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 72. 168

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 73.

169

Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 73

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kind of a psychopathology, a real voice from the reality of the life of the exiles170 In contrast to Cook, proto-apocalyptic groups in the exilic period can be characterized as arising in reaction to a situation of deprivation, especially once we include psychological deprivation. My understanding of proto-apocalyptic includes social psychology and an actual socio-historical setting and links that to the exilic experience of deprivation. Then I argue that proto-apocalyptic is one of the responses to the harsh exilic times (chapter III). Some passages in Isaiah 40-55—and Ezekiel 38-39 as well—are most easily understood as a response to many elements that contributed to widespread deprivation (chapter IV and some sections in chapter V). I am also concerned with proto-apocalyptic's relationship to a culture's contact with a dominating culture or society, in this case the Babylonian culture confronted by the Judaean exiles. The conditions of hardship in the exilic situation, or at least of extreme dissatisfaction, can be understood as prompting proto-apocalyptic. Because proto-apocalyptic can originate in times of stress as an irrational flight from reality—the loss of ways of life— I have argued that stress and deprivation can give rise to this type of ideology. I accordingly describe proto-apocalyptic as an ideology of the oppressed. It conveys a message of hope in the face of crisis and deprivation (see chapter V). Marginalized and alienated people could adopt proto-apocalyptic to hold their anxieties at bay and make themselves feel important.

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 43.

3. Ezekiel's group as Dominated but Central Cook uses two main divisions in categorizing millennial groups. The first category is subdivided in terms of "whether the social environment of a group involves one culture alone" (an endogenous condition: within their own culture) "or two cultures in contact" (an exogenous condition: in relation to other cultures).171 The other main subdivision is in terms of the social position of a millennial group in its own society as central or peripheral. In particular, Cook argues that millennial groups can occur within the dominating or colonizing side of contact or even collision between two different societies.172 For example, although the first Ghost Dance movement in 1870 occurred "in the western United States among Native Americans in the midst of years of increasing interference in native culture by whites," such a group "does not help explicate the sociology of millennial groups in power" because the millennial catalyst figure came from the periphery of his Native American society (the first condition: my emphasis), and his perspective was not at first accepted by the members of that society173 as "the majority voice in that society"174 (the second condition: my emphasis).

171

See Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 55, 58. Van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism," 137, notes that "In the case of just one culture, the group responsible for apocalyptic literature could be part of either the dominating or the dominated group. In the case of cultures in contact, the millennial group responsible for apocalyptic literature could form the dominating or the dominated culture and in each case may be from the center or the periphery of that specific group" (p. 138). Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 58. 1TK

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 58. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 59.

When a millennial group satisfies the two conditions above (1 :from the perspective of its own society or reinforcing a central community's conviction, belief, value, worldview, and patterns; and 2: not from the periphery of its own community), the millennial group under dominated condition may be a central group that holds internal political or social power. In another case, when the worldviews derived from their own community gain the support of a large number of people, or someone's worldview is actualized as the military plan of the support group (the third condition),17 this millennial group can be considered as a central group holding power in a dominated society within its own society and that society's relationship to another society. Cook moves on to the question as to whether the biblical proto-apocalyptic group of Ezekiel 38-39 may have held social and political power within its own community: Ezekiel and the school that transmitted and interpreted his book are located sociologically among the priestly upper echelons of Israelite society...Not only was Ezekiel a priest, he was a Zadokite priest. At the time of the exile, the Zadokites controlled the high priesthood and held central-priestly power, if not hegemony, at the temple in Jerusalem—a position they had consolidated since the time of Solomon's dismissal of Abiathar (1 Kgs 2:26-27). Examination of Ezekiel 38-39 leaves little doubt that it is from this Ezekielian circle of Zadokite priests. As following data base (List 2) shows, numerous linguistic usages and idioms link the Ezekiel 38-39 passage to the rest of the book of Ezekiel.176 Cook provides a more specific social milieu for the Ezekiel group: The arena of the group that wrote Ezekiel 38-39 is closest to class C [dominated/colonized]: the millennial group is central in terms of its own society, but that society is dominated by another culture. In Ezekiel 38-39 that 1 7S

For the cases, see Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 59 (the second Ghost Dance movement of 1890); 60 (the cult of the Dreamers in Washington and Oregon in the 19th century). Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 97-98. Emphasis added.

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domination is the continuing captivity in Babylon and the reproach of the foreign nations.177 As argued above and in agreement with Cook, in Babylonia under a dominating power, Ezekiel and his followers "provided the theological basis for the program of the lateexilic Zadokite leadership."178 This Zadokite group shares the beliefs, worldviews and values from the center of their own community and, thus, are at the center of society (in terms of playing an important role in the exilic community) as "a central priest who also had the role of catalyst figure for millennialism."179 "They represent Zadokite priestly interests, with a strong commitment to the reestablished order but with equally strong hopes for radical change in the future."

Aaron identifies Cook's contribution as

showing that "proto-apocalyptic thought is a positive, creative, integral development in biblical literature rather than an escapist retreat from reality."1 However, it is striking that Cook does not deal with the clear proto-apocalyptic texts in Deutero-Isaiah, nor does he suggest that Deutero-Isaiah was a Zadokite priest or a centrally located figure, whereas such issues seem obviously relevant to any discussion about the emergence of proto-apocalyptic in the exilic period. So the overall situation suggests that there might be multiple sources of support for proto-apocalyptic, as in

177

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 110 and 214 (Chart 3. Placement of Zadokite Millennial Groups). Emphasis added. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 109. 17

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 110.

180

So Coggins, "Review of Prophecy & Apocalypticism," 137.

181

Charles L. Aaron, "Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism: The Postexilic Social Setting," in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 59 (1997): 341; and see Lester L Grabbe, "Book Review of Prophecy and Apocalypticism," in Journal of Theological Studies 49 (1998): 191.

Deutero-Isaiah and Ezekiel 38-39, and that Zadokite priests probably were among the supporters for the proto-apocalyptic texts in Ezekiel, though they were not necessarily the only supporters. Cook's sociological analysis "makes clear the validity of inquiring whether some Biblical proto-apocalyptic groups may have held social and political power,"1 and indeed he makes a case that some supporters of proto-apocalyptic came from honored groups within the exilic and the postexilic community. But the structure of his argument derives from reading Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 1-8 and Joel, i.e., including other post-exilic texts, while ignoring Deutero-Isaiah. Cook presents possible linkages to the Zadokites who held power.183 The texts appear to be Zadokite (unlike DeuteroIsaiah). Indeed, Cook finds that they stem from different groups within the Zadokites ("three different sub-groupings in the Zadokites").184 For example, Zechariah 1-8 does not include Ezekiel's emphasis on gradations of purity and accepts a major role for a 1ftS

Davidide messiah.

Furthermore, Joel is resonant with texts identified as Zadokite

works and shows differences of opinion from both the Ezekielian and Zecharianic circles.

Joel's purpose was to unify the whole community in the face of a disaster

which his millennial Zadokite faction interpreted as a token of the eschaton. In this fashion I can even argue that it is likely that Ezekiel 38-39 also—not to mention Deutero-

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 83. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 97. Van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy & Apocalypticism," 138. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 153-54. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 199-201,

Isaiah—was written by a minority group within the contemporary community, a group favoring the proto-apocalyptic perspective. Cook's understanding of the social arena of the Ezekiel group in the exilic period was exogenous (dominated/ colonized, but the group being central in its own society), however, it is possible to make a case that the Ezekiel group in the Babylonian exile may not have been central in its own society. The proto-apocalyptic group was not central from the perspective of the dominant Babylonian context. And I can not agree with Cook's argument that there is a "lack of evidence that Ezekiel and his priestly circle suffered or were persecuted in the exile."1

7

Therefore, there is a

major difference between Cook and myself. There is at least indirect evidence that Ezekiel and his priestly circle suffered or were persecuted in the exile. Although the exiles were not real slaves in Babylonia, they were deeply deprived and marginalized physically, economically, politically, religiously, and, as Cook himself recognizes, psychologically. When Cook says that Ezekiel 38-39 was "produced within the social center of exilic and postexilic Israelite society,"

it means that for him the apocalyptic

group is central in its own society and played an important role in the process of radicalization even when they were in the exilic situation. I can accept that idea. However, the Zadokite priests were hardly central figures from the perspective of the Babylonians—at best they where channels for the Babylonian socio-political control. Being central in one's own small community while living under the domination of 187

188

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 214.

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 213; Van Rooy, "Review of Prophecy & Apocalypticism," 138.

another culture,

is a very limited kind of centrality, and such an analysis stops

there and ignores the radical psychological effects of such non-volitional relocation, apart from the lingening reality of (for later exiles) knowing about the destruction of the city and the temple. In concludion, Cook has focused his discussion on the differences between peripheral and central groups especially within their own community. He argues that "proto-apocalyptic texts have been produced by power-holding priestly groups" at the center of restoration society.1

When we move to a different timetable, not the postexilic

period but the Babylonian exilic period, we can say that certain groups, such as the Ezekiel group and the Deutero-Isaiah group within the community of exiles—priestly or non-priestly—could develop or produce proto-apocalyptic views. Furthermore, the protoapocalyptic groups in exilic Babylonia were not the whole community, for that matter, but probably only a minor faction -or minor factions—within the Judaean exilic community. The proto-apocalyptic supporters did not necessarily agree among themselves. Although Cook provides examples of millennialism in a central group holding power in a threatened or dominated society (dominated but central),191 he does not mention two cultures in contact, as in the exilic situation (the Zadokite group in a very different land and culture), in his chart of millennial groups' social environments (Chart

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 110. Cook refers to "the late-exilic viewpoint implied in Ezekiel 39:25-29." Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 2. 1

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 58-62.

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2: Class A through F),192 so I reiterate the psychological factors that Cook acknowledges in passing but then ignores. Thus, I find that Cook does not pay attention to the evidence of suffering or oppression in the exilic situation, even though he mentions it.193 Yet, as Smith-Christopher argues: [I]t is precisely these tendencies to presume a tame, even if not entirely comfortable, existence that needs to be challenged in the light of an analysis informed by the experience of exiles throughout history and the evidence of trauma in the Hebrew literature after the experience. A good example of this assumption is the view, nearly obligatory in the literature about the exile, that the exiles were not "slaves." This is hardly a precise observation, however, given the wide variety of slave systems in human history and the typical lack of definition given for this term among biblical scholars who use it.194 Smith-Christopher argues that it is important to see the wide diversity in the slavery systems. Furthermore, he points out two phrases in a cuneiform inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II: "I forced them to work" refers clearly to corvee labor and "I imposed on them the brick basket" further employs strong terms of subservience. Furthermore, he quotes Adams's conclusions following his archaeological survey of the Euphrates in 1981: There is no doubt about the rapid, continued growth that got under way, during or perhaps even slightly before, the Neo-Babylonian period. This is most simply shown by the rising number of sites ... the total increases from 143 in the Middle Babylonian period to 182 in the Neo-Babylonian period, to 221 of Achaeminid date ... the available documentary evidence suggests that large masses of people were involuntarily transferred as part of intensive NeoBabylonian efforts to rehabilitate the central region of a domain that previously had suffered severely.195

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 57. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 111; 214. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 66. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology, 68. Adams, Heartland of Cities, 177.

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Such evidence should not be overlooked when considering the impact and condition of the exiles in Babylonia, as indicated by Jer 51: 34-35. Smith-Christopher's study contradicts the conclusion that the exilic life in Babylonia was surely not "so bad" for the deported people. In this section I tried to clarify Cook's understanding of Ezekiel 38-39 in reference to the Babylonian exile and the question of deprivation as his tool of sociological analysis for the millennial groups. Firstly, Cook posits that the beginning of the proto-apocalyptic viewpoint in Ezekiel 38-39 took place in the exilic period while also arguing that the texts were expanded by the Zadokite school in the post-exilic period. I noted some specifics of Cook's argumentation. Secondly, Cook understands the exile as "the end of an era," or "a foundationshaking change." Although Cook acknowledges the psychic stress experienced by the exilic community, he did not take that into consideration in his analysis of the social setting of proto-apocalyptic under Babylonian domination. This matter impacts on his rejection of the deprivation argument. Apocalypticism is not solely a means of dreamy escape from difficult conditions for deprived groups. For Cook, it is used by those in power to shape and direct those under their control in positive ways. However, the exile itself, I argue, is experienced as deprivation from the top to the bottom of the community. The Judaean exiles including the king, political, military and religious leaders, and craftsmen who made the forced march to Babylonia, lost everything, land, temple, house, family, friends, language, jobs, and foods which they previously enjoyed. In short, Cook does not successively counter deprivation as Hanson's case as a motive power of protoapocalyptic. Indeed, Hanson understands the deprivation.

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CHAPTER V PROTO-APOCALYPTIC IN THE NEO-BABYLONIAN EXILIC PERIOD

A. Basic Features of Proto-Apocalyptic

In terms of identifying proto-apocalyptic in the time of the Babylonian exile, I wish to emphasize the use of myth and the integration of vision and history rather than a sense of periodic transition or ages. Following Hanson, I focus on three aspects of protoapocalyptic:

Features of Proto-Apocalyptic

Table 1 1

First Feature: Different Periodical Contexts Pre-exilic period

Exilic period

Post-exilic period

One can see the continuity between prophetic eschatology in the pre-exilic period and apocalyptic eschatology in the post-exilic period. "It must be emphasized that the essential vision of restoration persists in both, with the vision of Yahweh's people restored as a holy community in a glorified Zion."2 2

Second Feature: Integration of Vision and History Vision and reality were strongly incorporated in the pre-exilic period.

1

Difference in Exilic and Post Exilic Period Post-exilic period Exilic period Deutero- Isaiah did not stray from the prophets' messages, which aimed the religion of Israel away from a mythopeotic worldview. Rather, Deutero-Isaiah raised the dialectic between vision and reality to a higher tension.

Hanson, Dawn ofApocalyptic, 17-24. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 12.

There is a rejection of the prophetic goal of translating the cosmic vision into historical terms in Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56-66). The beginning of apocalyptic follows upon the loss of the belief that fulfillment of the vision of Yahweh's restoration of his people could occur within a this-worldly context. There is no need for maintaining the dialectic

234

Similarity in Pre-exilic and Exilic Period between vision and reality. The prophets affirm that "the historical realm is a suitable context for divine activity" and understand "it as their task to translate the vision of divine activity from the cosmic level to the level of the politico-historical realm of everyday life."3 The dialectic between a vision of the cosmic realm and its interpretation in historical terms can be demonstrated in all of the pre-exilic prophets and down through the prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah in the exilic period. It implies that this world was still viewed positively as the context within which the fulfillment of the divine promise could come about.

Third Feature: Use of Myth Non-mythologized Pre-exilic Period The distinctive significance of the preexilic prophets is that they historicized Israel's religion, integrating the cosmic vision into thisworldly history. The prophets' messages directed the religion of Israel away from a mythopoetic worldview.

Prophetic Eschatology

Strongly blending myth and eschatology Similarity in Exilic and Post Exilic Period The use of mythic material in the exilic and post-exilic period means that the move toward a more mythopoetic view of reality discernible in early apocalyptic is a return to some of Israel's most ancient roots. Difference in Exilic and Post Exilic Period Exilic Period During the exilic period, in contrast with the pre-exilic period, myth, in powerfully dramatic terms, is reintroduced into Israel's religion so as to add a cosmic dimension. It was Deutero-Isaiah who formed the theology that helped deliver the exiled community from misery. However, the prophet still needed to keep up the dialectic between vision and reality. Myth is reintroduced into Israel's self-understanding in order to add a cosmic dimension to Yahwism. Prior to the reintroduction, Yahwism was prone to an interpretation of divine activity which limited divine action too severely to historical events. Proto-Apocalyptic Deutero-Isaiah

Post-exilic Period The function of myth in the post-exilic period (apocalyptic eschatology) concerned the sense that the order of this world could not accommodate the promises, a sense which yielded to the pessimism of apocalyptic eschatology and provoked people to leave the vision of restoration on the cosmic level of myth. By leaving their vision more on the cosmic level of the activities of the Divine Warrior, the apocalypticists increasingly gave up the responsibility for the politico-historical order of translating the cosmic vision into the terms of the mundane.

Apocalyptic Eschatology Trito-Isaiah

For Hanson, prophetic eschatology envisioned God accomplishing the divine plan within

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 12.

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the context of human history and by means of human agents.4 It proclaimed that on the final judgment day God would establish Jerusalem as a world center, even, at least to some, with a Davidic king on the throne of Israel. Furthermore, Israel's enemies would be defeated, the faithful would be rewarded, and the wicked would be punished.5 All of these events would occur on earth within the normal bounds of history and would be brought about by God. The prophets relate "how the plans of the divine council," revealed to some, "will be effected within the context of their nation's history and the history of the world"6 for the king and the people. When the prophets translated "Yahweh's cosmic rule into the terms of contemporary history and politics," they played the role of intermediaries for God, "as seen in their pronouncements on treaty relationships, threats of war, and decisions regarding internal affairs,"7 throughout the pre-exilic period. It was the exilic period that first featured proto-apocalyptic as Deutero-Isaiah intended to offer comfort and hope for the exiles and to formulate a faith which would help deliver the exiled community from despair and frustration. Deutero-Isaiah articulated this message in powerfully dramatic terms by emphasizing God as creator and ruler of the entire universe (Isa 40:22, 28; 41:4; 43:15; 45:12). Such a confessional formulation

of Israel's theology was made possible through

Deutero-Isaiah's

Hanson, Dawn ofApocalyptic, 11; 12; 16. 5

For the chief eschatological themes from the pre-exilic period prophets, see W. S. McCullough, "Israel's Eschatology from Amos to Daniel," in Studies on the Ancient Palestinian World (ed. J. W. Wevers and D. B. Redford; University of Toronto Press, 1972), 87. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 11. 7

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 16.

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reintroduction of the cosmic dimension of divine activity into prophecy by the use of powerful motifs drawn from myth. According to Hanson, the immediate source was the liturgical elements of the Jerusalem cult, "a cult by then defunct." These elements are primarily rooted in ancient mythology. A crucial focus among the motifs in the older royal liturgy was God's primordial defeat of the hostile natural powers. This defeat established the created order, a victory presumably repeated or reenacted yearly and •

•

•

R

"closely connected to the reign of Yahweh's anointed, the Davidic king." Hanson also points out a second feature of proto-apocalyptic, which is the continuity of a parallel element in both the pre-exilic period as well as the exilic period namely, a historical element: For Deutero-Isaiah, the cosmic dimension of myth did not require Deutero-Isaiah to break with the historical dimension of the ptophet's tradition in the pre-exilic period. In other words, Deutero-Isaiah did not seek to escape a presence of divine activity in historical events. The prophet still projected Yahweh acting through historical events to save the people and to deliver the nation from exile. Yahweh, who dwells in the midst of the cosmic host and brings nature back to fertility, does this as an act accompanying the historical deliverance of Israel from Babylon. While stretching the heavens out as his habitation, he is also actively bringing the rulers of the earth to naught. While he slays the dragon in the primeval battle, his victory makes possible the deliverance of his nation Israel. While a lofty, cosmic quality is discernible in Deutero-Isaiah, his message contains numerous historical references which bind the message to the earthly sphere. In the transition from the prophetic eschatology of the pre-exilic period to apocalyptic eschatology in the post-exilic period, prophetic eschatology did not suddenly

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 23. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 24.

237

emerge as apocalyptic eschatology. Hanson designates Deutero-Isaiah's prophecy as intermediate, as proto-apocalyptic, since Deutero-Isaiah's use of mythic motifs signifies the direction later "apocalyptic eschatology would pursue while still being grounded in the historical realm."10 The visionary element appeared in the proto-apocalyptic of Deutero-Isaiah, but it never became separated from the particulars of plain history." God's message of restoration was thoroughly translated into the historical realities of God's time. "A historical event made the restoration possible—the fall of Babylon; a historical conqueror acted as Yahweh's agent—Cyrus; a historical nation in a historical land would he recipients of Yahweh's salvation—Israel."

Hanson finds examples of this translation of

cosmic vision into political realm throughout Deutero-Isaiah 40-55 (41:2-4, 8-10, 25; 42:1-9; 44:26-28; 45:1-7, 13; 48:14-15; 49:1).13 A peculiar feature of proto-apocalyptic is that Deutero-Isaiah "skillfully maintained the dialectic between mythic embellishment" and divine action connected with the historical realm: while "he allowed myth to add a cosmic dimension to Yahweh's acts, those acts were always anchored in mundane events."14

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27. 11

J. D. Thomas, "Jewish Apocalyptic and the Comparative Method" in Scripture in Context: Essays on the Comparative Method (Pittsburg: The Pickwick Press, 1980), 25152. 12

P. D. Hanson, Visionaries and their Apocalypses (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983), 47. 13

Hanson, Visionaries, 59 n. 15. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 206.

238

Despite this profound utilization of myth in his exilic prophecy, Deutero-Isaiah never abandoned the relation between myth and history because the purpose which the divine action was to attain was the concretely historical goal of restoring the historical people of Israel to its historical land, albeit with a new task. This historical goal reveals Deutero-Isaiah's deep attention to the contemporary events and the historical leaders in the realm of ordinary history, namely, the fall of the Babylonian Empire to Cyrus, the Persian King. Hence, Cyrus, "a conqueror within the historical realm, would be Yahweh's instrument."1 The exiled people thereby released from local obligations "would have the concrete vocation of being Yahweh's witness" to the world. Thus, God's cosmic activity is tightly connected with secular history and this latter realm "is taken seriously as the context of the salvation event."16 Though the political entity Israel was no longer active in the exilic situation, the sense of peoplehood was still very much alive. Thus, the prophet was conscious of being a speaker for Yahweh to the exiled people in their historical setting. The need to translate the cosmic vision into the categories of the politico-historical realm was basic. Hence, vision and reality remained integrated in the proto-apocalyptic of Deutero-Isaiah. It is the reintroduction of myth into prophecy (the third feature of protoapocalyptic) that leads Deutero-Isaiah to present an enlarged stage for the divine drama, expanding from the limited historical events impinging upon Jerusalem to the many nations of the world and the hosts of the vast universe. For example, Yahweh appears as "the Lord of the divine council announcing the renewal of nature that accompanies

Hanson, Dawn ofApocalyptic, 127. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 128 and Visionaries, 47.

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Israel's (God's) return to Zion" (40:11), as "the Mighty Creator stretching out the heavens like a tent for his habitation (40:22)," and, finally, as "the Divine Warrior slaying the dragon in the primeval battle (51:9-l l)." 17 The effect of including the mythic material in prophecy was profound, producing the proto-apocalyptic of the exilic period. By not allowing Yahwism to slip back to the timeless, unhistorical framework of myth, it added a cosmic aspect to Yahweh's activity which hitherto had been set aside in historically focused prophecy. The divine council (Isaiah 40) transforms all of nature, as the curse is removed from the land and the way in the desert is prepared for the second Exodus as well as the divine procession to the glorious city of Zion. The battle of Yahweh, in Isa 51:9-11 (rather than Baal), against the primeval power, Yamm, is recalled in order to add a cosmic aspect to the second Exodus, as announced by the prophet. "The remarkable cosmic change throughout nature" brought about by Yahweh's new activity "would eventually cause the prophet to divide history into two periods: the past, which was to be forgotten, and the 18

future 'new things,' which Yahweh was about to perform (43:18-19)."

Hence, the

mythic motifs in Deutero-Isaiah have cosmic significance in connection with Yahweh's historical acts. "The original home of the Divine warrior" tradition was "the cosmic realm of myth, a realm torn between the contending forces of fertility and of sterility."19 Hanson borrows F. M. Cross' idea: Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 24. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 127. 19

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 126.

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Though Israel's earliest literature betrays the influence of mythopoeic thought, the achievement of the pre-exilic prophets kept at bay the mythopoeic practices of Canaanite religion. The pre-exilic prophets interpreted Israel's relation to the divine in terms of the categories of Yahweh's guiding his people in their historical experience. Similarly, the eschatology which grew out of this prophetic ideology was remarkably free of mythical elements: salvation was construed as the reestablishment of the historical people Israel in their historical land. It was the royal theology of the Jerusalem court wherein the ancient myth and ritual patterns were combined with the archaic league traditions of conquest. This new formulation of an ancient hymnic pattern was apparently used in royal festivals commemorating the enthronement of the Davidic ruler and celebrating the Heavenly King's victory in overcoming the dark powers of sterility—a victory which guaranteed the fertility of the land and the prosperity of the people.20 After the collapse of Jerusalem and the temple, Deutero-Isaiah, according to Hanson, borrowed "the Israelite version of the conflict myth" from the defunct royal cult, and "applied it to his prophetic message of the restoration."21 As Hanson states, "This application of mythic material to the prophetic message marks the important first step in the direction of apocalyptic, and hence our designation of Second Isaiah's message as proto-apocalyptic." On the other hand, in order to show elements of the transition from protoapocalyptic to apocalyptic through more developed apocalyptic factors in Trito-Isaiah and •

to help clarify just what distinguishes proto-apocalyptic from apocalyptic,

9^

Hanson

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 126. See also F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 1973), 91-105. 21

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 126.

22

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 127.

23

Knibb, "Prophecy and the Emergence," 169-176; P. D. Hanson, "Prophetic and Apocalyptic Politics," in The Last Things (ed. C. E. Braaten and R. W. Jenson; Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 52-61; J. J. Collins, "The Eschatology of Zechariah," in Knowing the Endfrom the Beginning : The Prophetic, the Apocalyptic and their Relationships (ed. L. L. Grabbe and R. D. Haak; London and New York: T & T Clark International / A Continuum Imprint, 2003), 75, 111-12, 194.

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nicely sketches his perception of apocalyptic eschatology

in Isaiah 56-66. The

emergence of apocalyptic follows upon the disappointments due to the realities of the post-exilic community. Failure of the promises of Deutero-Isaiah to become manifest made the optimistic prophetic belief that "fulfillment of the vision of Yahweh's restoration of his people could occur within the context of this world"25 seem an illusion. Thus, there is no longer any need for maintaining the dialectic between vision and reality as featured in the pre-exilic and exilic period. From this point of view one can see a different role for myth in apocalyptic eschatology as opposed to proto-apocalyptic eschatology. The inablity to envision how the order of this world could accommodate the promises resulted in pessimism regarding historical realization for advocates of apocalyptic eschatology, and prompted people to shift the vision of restoration from the mundane setting to the cosmic level. Trito-Isaiah— 59:15-20—reflects the tendency to discard the prophetic hope of interpretation into historical terms. By focusing "their vision more on the cosmic level of the activities of the Divine Warrior," the visionaries—in Hanson's view—"increasingly abdicated the responsibility to the politico-historical order of translating the cosmic vision into the terms of the mundane."26 Apocalyptic focuses on the exposure to the elect of the cosmic vision of Yahweh's sovereignty and relates to his acting to deliver his faithful. Thereby

For Hanson's term see G. MacRae, "Apocalyptic Eschatology in Gnosticism," in Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Apocalypticism Uppsala, August 12-17, 1979 (ed. D. Hellholm; 2nd ed. Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1989), 317-324; Wilson, "Biblical Roots of Apocalyptic," 62. 25

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 26; and also see Old Testament Apocalyptic, 75-93. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 26.

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apocalyptic increasingly uses the idiom of the cosmic realm of the divine warrior and his council. Thus, Hanson argues, the adoption of the Divine Warrior hymn's archaic genre by the prophet can be viewed "as a powerful factor behind the transformation of prophetic eschatology into proto-apocalyptic and subsequently into apocalyptic."27 So the apocalyptic eschatology in Trito-Isaiah is different from prophetic eschatology in the pre-exilic period and proto-apocalyptic in the exilic period, Hanson argues that "the firm mooring of the prophetic message in history begins to loosen."28 In Trito-Isaiah Hanson sees the rarified atmosphere of apocalyptic eschatology. The visionary group found the circumstances in the post-exilic period harsh. This environment convinced them that "the politico-historical reality was overcome by evil and was no longer a realm over which they had any control."

Mythic elements enjoy a

tremendous reappearance in apocalyptic. Once the visionary's relationship "to a political order had become tenuous,"

the visionary turned increasingly to the spiritual task of

engaging the events of the cosmic level, "a role akin to that of the mythmaker."31 In Trito-Isaiah the mythic elements of Deutero-Isaiah were accepted and "were interpreted with a fresh literalness."32

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 126. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 26. 30

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 26.

•a i

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27. On the study of fully-developed apocalyptic see F. J. Murphy, "Introduction to Apocalyptic" in The New Interpreter's Bible (Vol. 7; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 1-16.

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The rise of apocalyptic emphasizes this sense that the prophets, despite the authenticity of their religious fervor, dare not get involved any further in the course of history. The result was to begin to calculate the time of deliverance by assuming that history was the playground of a divine force which could accomplish the predestined date of the final deliverance. According to Uffenheimer, "This passive attitude towards history was the prelude of spiritualistic flight from history and internalization of redemption, as has become evident in early mysticism."33 Table 2

Hanson's Terminology

Period

Terminology

Pre-exilic

Prophetic Eschatology

Exilic

ProtoApocalyptic

Characteristics The prophets made a translation of the pure cosmic vision into the terms of plain history. The result was prophetic eschatology.34 1) Myth is reintroduced into Israel's religion, yet 2) is fully related to the historical realm. 3) Because prophetic eschatology did not break into apocalyptic (eschatology) suddenly and without an intervening period of transition, only gradually did the firm mooring of the prophetic message in history begin to loosen. So, "proto-apocalyptic" exists as a transition in between prophetic

Texts Isaiah 6 and Amos 1-2.35 Isa40;51 36

33

B. Uffenheimer, "From Prophetic to Apocalyptic Eschatology," in Eschatology in the Bible and In Jewish and Christian Tradition (ed. H. Graf. Reventlow; JSOTSup 243; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 217. 34

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 11; and "Jewish Apocalyptic," 35.

35

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 18; and Visionaries, 41.

36

Hanson, Visionaries, 47-48. "The vision in chapter 40 tugs heavily at its historical moorings; the myth in chapter 51 seems ready to break loose from mundane realities, and the disjunction coming between past and future acts threatens to split those acts asunder in 43:18" (p. 48).

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Postexilic

Early Apocalyptic Eschatology37

4.Full-blown Apocalyptic Eschatology

and apocalyptic eschatology. 1) Transitional stage between prophecy and Isaiah 56-6638 apocalyptic, but a little different from the Zechariah 1-639 proto-apocalyptic stage. In these early Zechariah 9-10, apocalyptic writings the central features of Isaiah 24-27,40 full-blown apocalyptic are present only in an Malachi.41 inchoate or emergent from. 2) Apocalyptic eschatology still uses Second Isaiah's mythic motifs, but increasingly they are applied with a literalism that offers escape from the harsh realities of this world, realities which were contradicting the covenant promises. This world will be replaced by the reign of Daniel 7-1242; God, the people will be vindicated, their Zechariah 11-1443 enemies will be destroyed.

As mentioned above, Hanson argues in terms of three (even four) categories: prophetic eschatology, proto-apocalyptic, apocalyptic eschatology, and full-blown apocalyptic, developing from the pre-exilic period to the post-exilic period. For Cook, "the term proto-apocalyptic has arisen from the attempts to trace the origins of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology."44 While Hanson sees proto-apocalyptic as

37

Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic, 35; Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27.

38

Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic, 35-6.

39

Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic, 37.

40

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27; Old Testament Apocalyptic, 36, 94-97 (94). Considerations relating both to style and to content point to the late sixth or early fifth century as the time of origin, and to dissident elements within the Jewish community as the protagonists. See W. R. Millar, Isaiah 24-27 and the Origin of Apocalyptic (HSM 11; Missoula, Mon.: Scholars, 1976), 146. 41

Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic, 37.

42

Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic, 35, 38. Coming out of the first flourishing period of fully developed Jewish apocalyptic ("during which 1 Enoch 6-36, 85-90, 91 ;1217, 93:1-14, and the apocalyptic writings within the sectarian works of Qumran were also produced"), especially Daniel 7-12 describes "the Jewish community afflicted by the anti-Yahwistic campaign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes"(p. 38). 43

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27; and Old Testament Apocalyptic, 35. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35.

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part of a continuum transforming prophetic eschatology into apocalyptic eschatology,45 Cook does not assume such a sequential development.46 Unfortunately, Cook allots only one page47 to this matter, so he only briefly explains that he retains the term proto-apocalyptic because of the family resemblance of some basically Persian-period Israelite literature with "the Jewish apocalyptic texts written after 250 B.C.E."

Cook

uses the term proto-apocalyptic to describe those Exilic/Persian period "religious texts, viewpoints, and practices," which have clear affinities with—and difference from— "the full-blown apocalypticism found in the subsequent Hellenistic and Roman periods."49 Cook does discuss the differences with subsequent apocalypses. For example, "the regularities and accepted features of these later works only developed"50 over time. Additionally, the early apocalyptic texts, particularly, "Persian-period texts such as those in Isaiah and Zechariah," lack many of the significant apocalyptic ideas and motifs such as the idea of resurrection and judgment of the dead found in the Hellenistic apocalypses (e.g., Dan 12:2 and 1 Enoch 90:13-36). Such new features are judged by Cook to be due in part to Hellenistic influences.51 Consequently, Cook considers the earlier texts as proto-apocalyptic, recognizing

45

Hanson, "Apocalypticism," 32; Dawn of Apocalyptic, 27; Old Testament Apocalyptic, 33. 46

For Cook, the use of this term "should not be taken as implying acceptance of any typology presupposing a trajectory from prophetism to apocalypticism." Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35. 47

Cook Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34-5.

48

Cook Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34.

49

Cook Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 35. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism 34.

51

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism 34; see also J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity (New York: Crossroad, 1984), 28.

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its distance both from non-apocalyptic visionary literature—such as Amos's visioncycle in the pre-exilic period (my emphasis)—and from full-blown apocalyptic literature—such as the visions of Daniel. Cook identifies the terms as follows:

Table 3

Cook's Terms

Time Table (period) Pre-exilic Exilic Post-exilic (Persian period)

After 250 B.C.E. Hellenistic and Roman Periods

Illustrative Texts Amos's vision cycle Some parts of Ezekiel 38-39 Some parts of Ezekiel 38-39; also Zechariah 1-8; Joel 2:1-11; 3-4 The Jewish apocalyptic texts in Daniel and 1 Enoch.

Terms used by Cook Non-apocalyptic visionary literature Written in the exilic period. Proto-apocalyptic

Apocalypses Full-blown apocalyptic literature. Full-blown apocalypticism. Hellenistic apocalypses.

According to Cook, the requirement for qualifying as proto-apocalyptic is literary resemblance; it is not basically a matter of date, e.g., during the exilic period. Ezekiel 3839 straddles these two periods! Here are the contrasts between the two scholars:

Table 4 Hanson Cook

Differences between Hanson and Cook Pre-exilic period

Exilic period

Prophetic eschatology Non-apocalyptic visionary literature

Proto-apocalyptic Proto-apocalyptic

Post-exilic period

Later

Apocalyptic eschatology Proto-apocalyptic

Full-blown apocalyptic Full-blown apocalyptic (not sequential)

In this section, I seek to determine the features of proto-apocalyptic through identifying proto-apocalyptic as presented by Hanson and Cook and then contrasting the views of these two scholars. I have found important differences: Firstly, whereas Hanson identifies three features of proto-apocalyptic, Cook argues that "apocalypticism does not exhibit invariably fixed ingredients, but neither does it have a statable essence," and he uses the concept of "family resemblance" which

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describes "various resemblance that overlap and crisscross so that the various examples of apocalyptic surveyed form a family."

For example, Cook finds a shared worldview.

All millennial groups share a certain world view5 which can be focused by tracing the resemblances among sociologically similar millennial groups. The millennial group connects "a linear view of history with a futuristic eschatology that pictures an imminent radical change in the way things are."54 This intervention is by a deliverer from another world, "a resurrection of the dead who may fight alongside the living; or the arrival of a messiah."55 Secondly, though Hanson emphasizes the continuity from prophetic tradition into apocalyptic, Cook favors a discontinuity between prophetic tradition and apocalyptic. But Cook has an ambiguous attitude on this matter: The question of the exact relationship between a millennial worldview and a given viewpoint on eschatology remains as problematic. There may be a trajectory from certain eschatological positions to an apocalyptic symbolic universe. Alternatively, a position on eschatology and the worldview may evolve together.56 Thirdly, for Cook, the origin of apocalyptic or ("proto-apocalyptic") on the one hand starts in the post-exilic period,

even though on the other hand Cook accepts that a

core of Ezekiel 38-39, which he identifies as proto-apocalyptic, was written in the exilic period. So Cook indicates the presence of proto-apocalyptic, which resembles later Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 22. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 20. 54

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 26.

55

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 27.

56

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 26 n. 24; empasis added.

57

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34-35.

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apocalyptic, already in the exilic period. Fourthly, while Hanson finds "proto-apocalyptic" in Deutero-Isaiah (though not much developed in his Dawn of Apocalyptic), Cook considers Ezekiel 38-39, dating to both exilic and post-exilic time, as proto-apocalyptic. One of the important differences between the two scholars is their contrasting criteria for proto-apocalyptic. For example, Hanson does not consider Ezekiel 38-39 proto-apocalyptic because it is a later text, ruling it out as a matter of date. On the other hand, Cook contends that Ezekiel 38-39 has fully developed apocalyptic elements and finds that some parts—not clearly specified—are written during the exilic period. Unfortunately, Cook does not take up Deutero-Isaiah. Finally, something that is peculiar is that Hanson strongly emphasizes the use of myth as a criterion of proto-apocalyptic. In particular, the use of myth plays an important role in understanding the social setting of proto-apocalyptic in the Babylonian exilic period. In other words, by presenting the reuse of myth in Deutero-Isaiah in the exilic situation, Hanson brings deprivation into relief as a generative element of protoapocalyptic. On the other hand, Cook only regards the usage of myth in Ezekiel 38-3958 as a close resemblance "found in more elaborate form in the Jewish apocalyptic texts written after 250 B.C.E."59 The mythical image of the divine warrior is used to express a radical eschatology. Therefore, Hanson and Cook are in agreement regarding this aspect, "the heavy use of the divine warrior motif in the early history of the development of Israelite apocalyptic religion."60

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 88-89. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 34. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 88.

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Hanson sees a developmental shift from prophecy to apocalyptic.61 Hanson's scenario depends on his widely influential differentiation between prophecy and apocalyptic. Particularly, he confines the issues to a discussion of prophetic eschatology and apocalyptic eschatology62 without a close analysis of his basic texts. In this chapter I will accept Hanson's distinctions between prophecy and apocalyptic based on his concept of "myth" versus "history": prophets expected their pronouncements to be worked out in plain history whereas the apocalypticists have abandoned the idea of fulfillment in real history in favor of fulfillment in a mythical realm. And I also accept certain characterisitics of apocalyptic literature presented by Cook in the next section (B), such as literary phenomena (dualisitic language, the expression of futuristic ideas, and numerology) and a worldview or vision of the coming new era including specific goals for the group and an emphasis on preserving the group's structure. In conclusion, regarding the date of the texts identified as proto-apocalyptic in keeping with Cook and Hanson, I can see two proto-apocalyptic sources in the Hebrew Bible during the exilic time, namely Ezekiel 38-39, at least in part, and selected passages in Deutero-Isaiah. This allows me to present the categories of apocalyptic as follows: Table 5

#1 #2 #3 Terms

Categories of Apocalyptic

Pre-Exilic Period

Exilic Period

Post Exilic Period

Eschatology within historical expectations Not within historical expectations Unmythicized Blending myth and eschatology Prophetic Eschatology Proto-Apocafyptic Apocalyptic Eschatology

Hanson sees a shift from prophecy to proto-apocalyptic (Deutero-Isaiah), earlyapocalyptic (Zech. 9-11; Isa. 56-66), middle apocalyptic (Isa 24-27 and Zech 12:1-13), to full-blown apocalyptic writings: Dawn of Apocalyptic, 11-31, 126-32, 299-315, 368). Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 9-12; "Apocalypticism," 29-31.

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Texts

Prophetic texts

Gestation Period

Some passages Ezekiel 38-39 in DeuteroIsaiah 40-55 Delivery Time

Trito-Isaiah

Birth of Apocalyptic

As shown for the pre-exilic period, the eschatology of that period was basically "non-mythicized." During the exile, eschatology began to express itself more and more strongly in mythological images and concepts. Thus, one may reckon that the period of gestation is over and that apocalyptic is about to be born, but the time of travail will be the long years of exile.

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B. Selected Proto-Apocalyptic Passages from the Neo-Babylonian Exilic Period

1. Ezekiel 38-39

For Ezekiel 38-39, F. Hitzig was the first to apply the term apocalyptic to the Gog prophecy.63 Technically one can say that this use of the term apocalyptic had less to do with the form of a text than with its content and style. According to Hitzig, the typical characteristics of apocalyptic texts are a heightened use of symbol and imagery, and visionary experiences by the prophetic or apocalyptic writers. J. Wellhausen also claimed that "Mit dieser Weissagung iiber Gog und Magog beginnt die judische Eschatologie."64 Accordingly, from "the scale of the events, the vague outlines, the loosely-strung sequence of ideas," along with the nature of the language, G. A. Cooke also concluded that Ezekiel 38-39 represent apocalyptic, coming from unfulfilled prophecy.

5

However,

the analysis of Ezekiel 38-39 becomes more complicated with its identification as apocalyptic. B. Otzen argues: It is usually maintained that Ezekiel 38-39 stands at the transition from eschatology to apocalyptic. This somewhat vague position is connected with the uncertainty concerning the differentiation between the nucleus that probably goes back to Ezekiel himself and later additions. Frequently it is argued that the Ezekiel nucleus is of the traditional prophetic type, while the additions represent an apocalyptic tendency.66 F. Hitzig, Der Prophet Ezechiel (Leipzig: Weidmann'sche Buchhandlung, 1847), xiv-xv. 64

J. Wellhausen, Israelitische undjudische Geschichte (8; Aufl., Berlin, 1921), 146.

65

G. A. Cooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1936), 407. 66

B. Otzen, "Gogh," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament Vol. 2 (ed. G J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren, translated by J. T. Willis; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 424.

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The "transition from eschatology to apocalyptic" provides one of the fascinating perspectives from which to consider the Gog pericope. Essentially, this is a passage reflecting the development of apocalyptic. Ahroni argued that the whole text falls in the area of apocalyptic but is a late, post-exilic addition into the book of Ezekiel: The totally unrealistic and imaginative style, along with its hyperbole and fantasy, contrasts sharply with the historical roots and the realism of the rest of the book. Furthermore, the cosmic dualism, represented by the conflict between Yahweh and Gog, the obscurities, the symbolic language, the prominence of the number seven, and the enigmatic nature of the names of peoples all point to an apocalyptic genre, and the references to previous prophecy (38:17) and the expression "the navel of the earth" (38:12) give supporting evidence for a late date.67 More recently, J. Blenkinsopp argues that although the Gog pericope is often said to be the earliest example of biblical apocalyptic, this explanation is not entirely accurate in terms of his understanding of apocalyptic and eschatology. As the name suggests, the apocalyptic genre deals with revelations, generally mediated by angelic beings, of secret information about the heavenly world and, occasionally, the course of future events. Eschatology, on the other hand, has to do with the final phase of history in general or a particular epoch of history, including the end of individual existence and the postmortem destiny of the individual. Apocalyptic therefore may, but need not, be eschatological in character, but where it is, it is generally characterized by a precise determination of historical epochs preceding the final consummation.68 The author of Ezekiel 38-39 has skillfully drawn together into a consecutive narrative several major themes of prophetic eschatology, such as (1) the enemy will attack from the north (Jer 1:13-15; 4:5-18; 6:22; Joel 2:20); (2) their invasion will lead to a final war in which Yahweh fights for Israel (Isa 17:12-14; Hab 3:8; Zech 14:3-4); (3)

Ahroni, "Gog Prophecy," 11-13. Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 182.

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this final conflict will be accompanied by earthquake and cosmic convulsion (Isa 24:1923; Nah 1:4-5; Joel 4:15-16); (4) it will happen in the land of Israel (Isa 14:24-25), in fact, in or near Jerusalem (Zech 14:1-5); (5) following the defeat of the enemy, their weapons will be smashed and used as fuel (Isa 9:5); and (6) God's people will rejoice at a sacrificial feast (Isa 34:5-8; Jer 46:10; Zeph 1:7-8).69 Blenkinsopp points out that there are indications both in the prophetic writings and in the psalms, that several of these themes may have been brought together in mythic recital and cultic celebration long before Ezekiel. He concludes that Ezekiel 38-39 moved a step further by giving these themes a distinctly narrative form which can be seen as transitional between prophetic eschatology and the apocalyptic visions of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.70 As part of this transition, Ezekiel 38-39 might well be called proto-apocalyptic, though Blenkinsopp himself does not use this phrase. Some of similarities between Ezekiel 38-39 and apocalyptic are presented by Boe:71 Most of the names and figures in Ezekiel 38-39 do not have any obvious connection with known historical figures or events in the days of Ezekiel. Ezek 38:17 refers to unfulfilled prophecies of the past; the use of the number seven in 39:9 (years) and 39:12 and 14 (months); orientation toward a distant future; the prediction of future events without an opening to the change of the course of history, due to the influence of possible conversion; the coming tribulations of God's people; and the intervention by God himself in the warfare, described in highly dramatic terms, resulting in the judgment

Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 182. Blenkinsopp, Ezekiel, 183. 71

B0e, Gog and Magog, 87.

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of all the opponents. Bee, accordingly, concludes that Ezekiel 38-39 stands at the transition between prophetic eschatology and apocalyptic: "In spite of these reservations, we may refer to Ezekiel 38-39 as 'apocalyptic,' since so much of the perspective of these oracles share apocalyptic features."72 So Bee would seem to allow a label such as protoapocalyptic. The basic features of proto-apocalyptic were presented above in Table 1. According to Cook, Ezekiel and the subsequent editors of his book—Ezekiel's continuing school—lived in a momentous period during the sixth century B.C.E., defined by the Babylonian empire having invaded, conquered, destroyed, and then exiled the leaders in Jerusalem and in much of Judah.73 The exile was a crucial time religiously as well as politically. The core of this Gog-Magog vision probably goes back to the exilic period and even, at least in parts, to Ezekiel himself. It is significant that one finds these signs of nascent apocalypticism as early as the active period of Ezekiel, around 593-571 B.C.E. Ezekiel and his continuing followers wrote their texts well before the time of the clearly apocalyptic writings, such as found in Zechariah, Joel, and Daniel.74 Ezekiel was a priest by birth (1:3), and presumably had already associated with the priestly group in charge at the Jerusalem temple, the Zadokites, before the Babylonians selected deportees to send off from Jerusalem in 597 B.C.E. The way in which the Book of Ezekiel highlights the Zadokites supports the conclusion that he was one of those prominent Judahite deportees. The many priestly concerns in his writings

Bee, Gog and Magog, 88. 73

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 94

74

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 95.

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provide further confirmation.75 Among these are concerns about purity and holiness (e.g., Ezek 38:16, 23; 39:7; 39:11-16; 39:27). The cultic purity of Israel's land is also a major concern, especially after God slays the army of Gog. In Ezek 39:11-16, Israel devotes seven months of work and commissions a group of investigators to bury Gog's evil bodies and cleanse the land. The pericope refers to ceremonial cleansing of the land three times (vv. 12, 14, 16).76 Since Ezekiel and most of his followers as well, presumably, were Zadokite priests from the Jerusalem temple establishment, they were well educated and fairly familiar with Israelite and general Near Eastern tradition and mythic poetry. Ezekiel's priestly training informs the literary character of his book, which repeatedly uses rich metaphors and mythic images to depict and interpret the times.77 On the other hand, Ezek 39:21-29 helps the reader put the radical fervor of Ezekiel's apocalyptic prophecies into a long-term perspective, a second feature of protoapocalyptic (see Table 1). These verses focus the reader's/hearer's attention away from end-time battle and onto the preceding era of history, the era when God restores God's people to faithful living. In light of God's future salvation, God's people should live securely in the here and now (v. 26). They should reflect God's holiness (v.27) and know God's grace (v.28). The defeat of Gog marks the beginning of millennial security for Israel ("never again," 39:7) and new life is inaugurated by the outpouring of God's spirit (39:29). Though the apocalyptic battle fought by God ends the present order (39:7, 13),

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 97. Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 108. M. Greenberg, Ezekiel 21-37 (AB 22A; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1997), 569.

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the new secure order pictured is not without continuities with the present age (39:25-28). The coming golden age is to have great renown (39:13), but at the same time it happens still within the context of their nation's history (returning from the exile) and the history of the world (39:23, 25-28), as found in Deutero-Isaiah. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that Ezekiel 38-39 presents a heavy use of myth, drawing on the divine warrior motif (See Table 1, Third Feature). The prophecies picture a great battle in which Yahweh defeats his enemies and restores peace with honor to his people. God defeats Gog through superhuman means (38:19-23). The burning of the weapons after the battle (39:9-10) implies that the victory and plunder are Yahweh's. In particular, the equipment of the enemy army is burned after the battle as devoted materials; the Israelites are not part of the battle; Israel merely handles the clean-up, cleansing the battlefield and burying the enemy dead (39:9-16). The motif of the wars of Yahweh is transformed so that historical victory becomes an apocalyptic final judgment. Thus, Ezekiel 38-39 uses the image of cloudbursts and hail stones, borrowing terminology from the old biblical stories about the wars of Yahweh such as in Josh 10:10-11 and 1 Sam 7:10-11. Along with the participation of nature, the motif of the self-slaughter of the enemy (38:21) is a holy war ingredient, as in Judg 7:22 and 1 Sam 14:20. Furthermore, the scene of becoming glutted and drunk on the fat and blood of the slain enemy (39:19-20) has been found in the divine warrior passages of Ugaritic mythology. "The warrior goddess Anat plunged herself into blood and gore "until she was satiated.'"78 The reluctance to speak of Yahweh as drunk, 78

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 89. For the Ugaritic texts, see M. Pope, "Notes on the Rephaim Texts from Ugarit," in Essays on the Ancient Near East in Memory of Jacob Joel Finkelstein (Memories of the Connecticut Academy of Art and Sciences V.19; ed. M. Ellis; Hamden, Conn.: Archon, 1977), 175.

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however, is articulated in Ezek 39:17-20, where it is animals and not Yahweh, or even the sword of Yahweh, that become intoxicated from the blood of the slain. Ezekiel 38-39 also uses the mythical image of enemy nations attacking Jerusalem to express a radical eschatology. Yahweh's deliverance from an attack by the allies of united kings and of nations was taken up and "expanded into the judgment at the end of time."80 Several psalms refer to the Israelite king's (45:5; 110:1) and God's (47:3; 110:5) subduing of the peoples. S. Mowinkel argues that descriptions of the nation's unsuccessful attack on Jerusalem, resulting in their rout and destruction, are to be understood as "the cultic myth" of the Yahweh enthronement festival. The use of this motif, which we call the myth of the battle with the nations,

repulsing an attack against

"the center of the world" (Ezek 38:12), indicates that the eschatology of Ezekiel 38-39 looks forward to a significant cosmic event.82 According to S. Cook, in our passage the Gog event is to happen in the "later years" (38:8) or "latter days" (38:16). Here the text uses an old idiom (Num 24:14; Isa 2:2; Jer 23:20) and "gives it a use akin to that in full-blown apocalyptic, as a term for the eschatological end-act" (Dan 10:14).83 Ezekiel provides a universal dimension to this coming judgment on the nations. The battle "in the latter days" (Ezek 38:8, 16) is

The apocalyptic judgment of God's enemies in Isaiah 63:1-6 also continues the image of intoxicating blood, although here again Yahweh does not become drunk. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 90. oi

S. Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship (trans. D. R. Ap-Thomas; New York: Abingdon, 1967), 1:152. 82

Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 311. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 90.

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considered the final stage before the coming of the new age.

The text emphasizes the

culmination of the era, not the remoteness of the end. The above mentioned eschatological feature indicates that the concept of the Day of Yahweh (38:10, 14, 18, 19; 39:8, 11, 22) "is closer to apocalyptic concepts of the end time than to the pre-exilic prophetic emphasis on judgment against Israel and Judah."85 Thus, the Day of Yahweh in the Gog-Magog pericope is connected with Yahweh's eschatological salvific drama. In Ezekiel 38-39, the Day of Yahweh implies the attack of many nations followed by the dawning of the coming new era. Ezekiel does not put off the end-time judgment to a distant, abstract future. Mythic archetypes86 are important in Ezekiel's oracles against the nations (Ezekiel 25-32), wherein he blasts the character of Israel's international enemies. Using mythic images to indicate the real enemies of Israel allowed Ezekiel to express judgment against them. Ezekiel's priestly affinity for myth and archetypes strongly predisposed him toward apocalyptic thinking . Particularly, in Ezek 38:18-39:8 God does battle against Gog and his hordes. Yahweh's action is that of the Divine Warrior. In 38:19, a "great shaking or earthquake" in Israel, initiated by God's anger as indicated in the previous verse, is related with the

84

B. S. Childs, "The Enemy from the North and the Chaos Tradition," JBL 78 (1959):

196. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 91. 86

See Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 96. The apocalyptic imagination of Ezekiel focuses "heavily on the primordial images of mythology to build its picture of the end times," especially new creation. Cook even refers to "apocalypticism accurately as creation myth metamorphosed to focus on creation's end and rebirth." For the prophet's use of mythological symbols in the oracles against Egypt (Ezekiel 31) and the Gog oracles, see also Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 97-98.

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manifestation of Yahweh revealing his power over creation and effecting his defeat of primeval power.87 In this decisive battle Yahweh shows the power to make the earth tremble. The words "on that day" signal the conclusive "battle which will complete the cosmogony." "The cosmic powers are enlisted in the service of God to introduce the legal proceeding which issues in judgment in the form of cosmic upheaval: plague, blood, rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone"

in Ezek 38:22. This judgment upon the nations is "a

recurring feature of the rule of God in the eschatological time."

In particula, God's

"universal victory will show him to be holy, sovereign, having ultimate superiority to be faithful to his creation" in subduing "the forces of chaos that war against it."

Thus, the

powers of chaos will be decisively undone and brought under the rule of their creator. In this section, I introduce the opinions on the proto-apolayptic features of Ezekiel 38-39 in terms of style or worldview of proto-apocalyptic. Their approaches and foci reveal various factors of proto-apocalyptic, from its content and style in reference to its origin, major themes, and transition between prophecy and apocalyptic. In particular, Cook identifies literary features of proto-apocayptic in this section, focused especially on "a radical, imminent eschatology and dualism,

and secondary features

such as

notions of apocalyptic determinism expressing inevitability, speculative devices and

87

Childs, "The Enemy from the North," 189. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 95 (both citation).

89

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 96. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 94.

91

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 87-94. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 94-96.

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numerology. He also notes the apocalyptic-sword motif in Ezekiel 38:21 and the sacrificial-feast motif in Ezekiel 39:17-20. On the other hand, Hanson focuses on the transitional factors in terms of apocalyptic worldview and the use of myth within the timetable from the exilic to the post-exilic period as already shown in the previous section.

2 Isaiah 51:9-11

Deutero-Isaiah 40-55 presents some similar features to Ezekiel 38-39. In particular, according to Hanson, in the exilic period Deutero-Isaiah restored "the old league tradition of ritual conquest with various features of the royal festival to create an eschatological poem celebrating Yahweh's new act of delivering his people."

Hanson

argues that the Divine Warrior Hymm derived from these two Israelite traditions—"the conquest tradition of the league" (e.g., Exod 15:1-18) and "the enthronement tradition of the royal cult" (Psalms 29, 47, 48).94 The background is the ancient ritual pattern of the conflict myth in Canaan (The Baal-Yamm conflict) and Mesopotamia (Enuma elish),

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 300. 94

For the Divine Warrior Hymn in Exodus 15 and in the psalms see F. M. Crosss, "The Song of the Sea and Canaanite Mtyh," JThCh 5 (1968): 1-25 and "Notes on a Canaanite Psalm in the Old Testament," BASOR 117 (1950): 19-21. To understand this pattern with a degree of clarity it becomes necessary to consider in some detail the nature of the two Israelite traditions—the conquest tradition of the league and the enthronement tradition of the royal cult—from which it was derived, and even to move behind them to the ancient ritual pattern of the conflict myth in Canaan and Mesopotamia, which is the ultimate source of the genre in question. See also Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 300, 307-308.

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classic representatives of the genre. The common element of the Divine Warrior Hymm in Isaiah 51, "from its point of origin in ancient myth to its late application in apocalyptic" literature, "is a scenario presenting the cosmic battle of the Divine Warrior (originally the storm god) and his subsequent temple building, banquet, and glorious reign."95 Before the exilic period the ritual pattern of the conflict myth played an important role in the hymnody of the royal cult, while the pre-exilic prophetic tradition seems to have rejected it entirely, probably because of a reaction against what the preexilic prophets considered an excessive use of elements hostile to Yahwism within the hymnody of the royal cult. Yet as one reviews the prophetic literature of the exilic period, one finds "numerous examples of that same ritual pattern incorporated into the oracles of Deutero-Isaiah."96 According to Hanson, the reason for the reentry of the conflict myth into the Isaianic prophetic tradition in the exilic period is as follows: In reformulating a confession which had become so brittle as to threaten disintegration in the face of harsh historical experiences, he adopted mythic forms in order to explain the relation of Israel's God to the catastrophic events of the immediate past. It was thus this great prophet of the exile who for the first time placed the ritual pattern of the conflict myth at the center of the prophetic message.97 Deutero-Isaiah found that the liturgy of then "defunct royal cult of Jerusalem supplied numerous hymms based on the ritual combat of the divine king against the cosmic enemies threatening his sovereignty."98 With these the prophet was able to fuse two other

95

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 300.

96

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 309.

97

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 310. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 310.

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traditions which are centered on the cosmic activities of conflicting deities and Yahweh's saving acts for Israel, chiefly in historical events. During the exile Deutero-Isaiah combined them in "a powerful portrayal of a second exodus-conquest motif, universal and even cosmic in scope, by which the Israelites would be restored to their land."99 Isa 51:9-l 1 is a good example of this. Additionally, Hanson finds other texts (Isa 42:10-16; 43:16-21; and 54:7-12) in which Deutero-Isaiah "incorporates the ritual pattern of the conflict myth."100 Although the ordering and fusing of the various elements are not consistent, "the basic pattern of combat-victory-salvation-procession"101 is clear: Table 6 Basic Pattern Yahweh's return Combat Victory Salvation Procession

The Ritual Pattern of the Conflict Myth102 Isa 42:10-16

Isa 43:16-21

Isa 51:9-11

vv. 13-15 vv. 10-12 v.16

vv. 16-17 vv. 18-19a vv. 20-21 v. 19b

vv. 9-10a v. 10b v. 11

Isa 52:7-12 vv. 7-8 vv. 9-10 v. 11a vv. llb-12

First of all, Yahweh's saving activity as the Divine Warrior in Isa 51:9-11 is initially combined with the language of the conflict myth. In v. 9 Yahweh, instead of Baal, slays the dragon of chaos (Rahab/Yamm). "In this way a concept of God which had shriveled up to the point of transforming Yahweh into a pattern of the royal house (now defunct) of Jerusalem is exploded by impregnation with the cosmic metaphor of

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 310. 100

Hanson, Dawn ofApocayptic, 311-12. Hanson also finds related material in Isaiah 34-35, which possibly dates "from the latest phase of Second Isaiah's own career" and in Isaiah 24-25, which is presumably from "a disciple of Second Isaiah" writing "in the mid-or late-sixth century"—thus likely to be post-exilic (p. 313). Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 312. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 311.

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myth."103 Hanson argues: But he (the prophet) does not stop at this recosmologizing of God-language, which would have destroyed the prophetic dialectic and returned Yahwism to the lap of a mythopoeic worldview. In the following verse (v. 10) the ritual conquest tradition of the league is recalled (cf. Ex 15), within which Yahweh's victory against the Pharaoh is celebrated in metaphors at once drawn from myth and at the same time filled with a persistent historical orientation. In verse 11 the prophet moves one step further: The God who established order in the primordial battle and the God who saved Israel in historical events of the past will save Israel in eschatological events of the future. In the three verses he thereby recapitulates the entire development of prophetic Yahwism from the cosmic vision of myth, to the translation of that vision into the categories of history, to the future orientation of prophetic eschatology. This is made possible through the interpretation of the old combats, victories, processions, and banquets of the past as prototypes of the eschatological battle, victory, procession, and banquet of the future.104 In Isa 51:9-11, using mythical elements at a cosmic level in the decaying exilic situation, the prophet excludes pessimism or an atmosphere of frustration. Contrary to the prophet's soaring expectations, he realizes that the forces of evil have not yet disappeared and that the world remains the same. However, by mentioning the ancient myths about Rahab, the primeval dragon, and Leviathan, the sea monster, who were slain by Yahweh when they rebelled against him in the dusky and distant past, the prophet entreats God to reveal his strength again. Awake! Awake! Robe yourself in power, O arm of Yahweh. Awake as in primordial days, primeval generations. It is not you who cleaves Rahab in pieces, who pierces the Sea-dragon? It is not you who dries up the Sea (yam), the waters of the great Abyss (tehom) The one who makes the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to pass over? (51:9-10) As shown in Ezekiel 38-39 above, one can discern the motif of "the Day of the

Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 310-11. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 311.

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Lord" that will presage the redemption. And now, as in the ancient tradition, that will be the day of judgment upon the nations (49:15-20). The prophet draws a picture of the Day of the Lord using vivid colors borrowed from ancient mythology: Yahweh is a mighty warrior (Exod 15:3).105 But the use of this radical expression of ancient mythology attests to a regression from the eschatological assessment of the present, caused by disappointment with historical reality, the Babylonian exile. The disaster of the exile urged the Judaeans in Babylonia to reexamine their religious presuppositions and to reconceive, sometimes radically, their sacred tradition. The defeat of Judah and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. implied to many that the Babylonian god, Marduk, was more powerful than the Israelite god, Yahweh. To others it implied that Yahweh had discarded the chosen people into the enemy's hand because they had angered him. If the first group was right, then they had backed the wrong deity. If the second group was right, then the covenant whereby Yahweh was their God and they were the chosen people was now renounced, declared null and void. In either case the religious traditions upon which Israel had relied were crumbling. Deutero-Isaiah not only needed to convince the exiles, as his audience, that their covenant with Yahweh remained intact but also that Yahweh truly was the creator (Isa 40: 12-17) and divine sovereign of the world (Isa 40:18-24).106 With an abundant knowledge of ancient Israelite traditions, Deutero-Isaiah utilizes and adapts freely from the bulk of traditions available to him and develops protoapocalyptic in the exilic period. Deutero-Isaiah is able to present us with his own, distinct

Hanson, Visionaries, 40. Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 49.

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message about Yahweh, and Yahweh's love, comfort and concern for the people, the people that God is now going to restore to central importance (Isa 40:1-12). Throughout his message, the conclusion that the prophet wrote out of the experiences of the Babylonian exile seems unavoidable. For this reason, it is only to be expected that one can also find references to the exodus event in Deutero-Isaiah, indeed a new exodus for the exiles now as well.1 7 Isa 51: 9-11 makes a very characteristic connection between creation and deliverance (the dual reference to the creation and the Exodus). Divine action as creator, projected as a victory over the dragon of chaos, is linked with "the deliverance of Israel at the Sea of Reeds in such a way that the transition from the one (v.9b) to the other (v. 10) is barely noticeable."108 V. 9b describes the creation of the world, and v. 10b refers to the passage through the Sea; 10a forms a transition, since it continues to speak of creation but it turns to the second miraculous act, the drying up of the Sea. Certainly Deutero-Isaiah uses ancient combat myth imagery to great effect in prophesying that Yahweh would deliver the exiles from their captivity in Babylonia. Nowhere is this expression more evident than in Isa 51:9-11, the so-called ode to the arm of Yahweh.109 Here the exilic prophet stings Yahweh to rouse himself—i.e., his arm—"from his rest and, as in primeval times, to slay the chaos monster anew."110 The reference to the combat myth and the passing of the Israelites through the Sea plays an important role of underlining, in a

Barstad, Way in the Wilderness, 72-3. Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 241 and 241 n. 1. Isa 40:10, 11; 51:5; 52:10; 53:1. Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 81.

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hymnic/rhetorical way, the mighty powers of Yahweh. Inseparably connected with this exodus motif are creation motifs (40:3-11; 41:17-20; 43:16-21; 44:27 50:2; 51:9-10; 52:7-10)."' The two divine actions are understood as essentially one and the same act of deliverance. Yahweh, alone, and no other god, is affirmed as the authentic creator and as sole lord of the world (Isa 40:12-31; 45:18-22; 48:12-19). However, for Deutero-Isaiah the most important divine creative activity was not primeval creation but Yahweh's creation of his chosen people for himself through the exodus out of Egypt. Nevertheless, as important as the first historical exodus out of Egypt was for Israel, it pales into insignificance before the advent of new exodus with which Yahweh will launch the eschatological Israel.113 This passage (51:9-11) seems to be a part of a deep conversation between the exiles and their God, as their view of this world grew so pessimistic that the mundane order assumed an aspect unsuitable for their hope of return and restoration."4 The Babylonian exiles lament that their God had no thought for his people, but Yahweh responds with "a series of divine assurances (51:12-16; 51:17-23; 52:1-2)" that he has not forgotten his people but is even now in the process of restoring them to Jerusalem."5 The

C. Stuhlmueller, Creative Redemption in Deutero-Isaiah (Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1970), 66-98, offers an elegant description of this process. The exodus theme can be detected at least implicitly in Isa 40:3-11; 41:17-20; 42:14-21; 43:1-7; 43:16-21; 44:1-5; 44:27; 48:20-21; 49:8-12; 50:2; 51:9-10; 52:11-12; 52:12-13. See Stuhlmueller, Creative Redemption, 66-94. 113

Hanson, Visionaries, 48. Hanson, Visionaries, 48.

115

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 82.

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prophet's appeal to a tradition of God's salvific events in the past as a pattern for how God will act in the present exilic situation is instructive. God's saving power is described as most evident in two divine activities: in the victory over the chaos monsters at the creation at the beginning of the world, and in the splitting of the Sea when he delivered his people out of Egypt.116 "Just as Egypt and other foreign enemies" could be regarded as "historical manifestations of the power of chaos," the exodus could be seen "as an extension of 117

God's creative power." Just as God split the primeval sea to create dry land, God also split the sea again during the exodus from Egypt to create a special people. But given the depths of the present crisis, the exiles might be forgiven for doubting whether all that ancient display of divine power was really relevant to their own existential situation. In calling upon Yahweh to "wake up," the exiles imply that Yahweh had retired prematurely to his "resting place." Far from being over, the battle against the chaos monster continues right into their own time in the person of the Babylonian marauders. With the temple razed and Jerusalem in ashes, it was obvious that the chaos monster was far from vanquished. But far from being a cry of despair, Isa 51:9-11 is actually an expression of Judah's continuing confidence in Yahweh as "her maker, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundations of the earth" (Isa 51:13).118 Divine victory is over both "the monster defeated at creation" and also "Egypt at the time of the exodus" and, "it may be argued, the thought is even extended to Babylonia at the time of the prophet himself."119 Thus, the return from the Babylonian exile is a new creation and a second exodus. As Isa 51:11 clearly shows, the return to Jerusalem plays

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 82. 117

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 82.

118

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 82-83.

119

Day, God's Conflict, 91-92. See also B. W. Anderson, "Exodus Typology in Second Isaiah," in Israel's Prophetic Heritage (eds. B.W. Anderson and W. Harrelson; New York: Harper & Row, 1962), 181-2.

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an important role in the eschatological restoration program of Deutero-Isaiah. DeuteroIsaiah reapplies the combat myth to Yahweh, but he is not satifsfied with retelling the myth or simply replacing the name of the power of chaos by that of some other, such as MardukorBaal. 120 Our purpose in citing these passages is to record how the prophet employed the exodus motif to express Yahweh's creative redemption of Israel. The prophet applied the redemptive faith of the exodus to the agonizing need of the exilic time. It would appear that the combat myth121 could have particular appeal to the exiles. For the prophet, the suffering of the exiles was viewed as "part of the cosmic struggle between creation and non-creation," between Yahweh and "the monster of chaos, between good and evil."122 (Here already one can see elements consistent with the later apocalyptic dualism). The prime task of Deutero-Isaiah was to assure the people that they had a future, however difficult to believe that might be in their present dark hour. The prophet shaped the myth to his own belief and theological understanding. With all things firmly under the control of the divine sovereign, the motif worked as a guarantee that nothing would happen apart from Yahweh's will. Yahweh, who "in primordial time transformed the 120

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 112.

121

There can be no doubt that the sea in the combat motif is heavily laden with mythological overtones. The clearest indication of this is in the concept of the "splitting" of the sea, a motif clearly drawn from the West Semitic Combat Myth about the smiting of the sea dragon. See Cross, Canaanite Myth, 112-144. In this myth God the creator overcomes his foe, the watery dragon of chaos, by splitting it in two. In the Babylonian version of Enuma elish, Marduk defeated Ti'amat by blasting his storm winds into her mouth, thus distending her belly. Marduk then cleaved Ti'amat's carcass in twain, fashioning one half into the earth and the other half into the heavens. See Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 86-87. In Genesis 1:2 and 8:1-2, P is using the wind as the divine sovereign's instrument in creation and in controlling the natural elements. Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 83-84.

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unruly waters of chaos into an ordered universe by the power of his word,"123 is the same God who made an everlasting covenant with his people (55:3), even an oath with Noah (54:9).124 Therefore, the prophet urged the exiles to be without doubt that they have a bright future, since by divine calling God has a continuing mission for them to accomplish even in Babylonia. The divine conflict with the dragon and/or the sea can be applied to a conflict with a nation hostile to Israel, such as Egypt (or its Pharaoh).125 This is presumably due to the oppressive role which Egypt had played for Israel at the time of the Exodus. Additionally, the center of the deliverance actually took place at the sea (Exodus 4-15; the Reed Sea; Ps 77:17-21; Isa 51:10). Although the imagery was applied, for example, to Babylonia (cf. Jer 51:34; Isa 27:1) or to the Seleucids (cf. Daniel 7), when these implied or represented the main world power, it was still used of Egypt long after the Exodus had happened and even at a time when Egypt was no longer a dominant world power. "Isa 51:9-11 dates from the exilic period," as I have argued in Chapter II, and "appeals to God's defeat of the dragon in the past as a basis of confidence in God's deliverance" from the present miserable situation.

The dragon is hereby historicized.

123

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 84.

124

God is engaging the covenant people (Isa 42:6; 49:8).

125

Isa 30:7; 51:10;Ps 77:17-21 (ET16-20), 87:4; Ezek 29:3-5; 32:2-8 and Exodus 15.

126

Day, God's Conflict, 92.

127

Day, God's Conflict, vi-vii and 88-138 for the Historicization of the Divine Conflict with the Dragon and Sea. The book has the following outline: Tests Isa 30:7 Ps 77:17-21(ET: 16-20) Isa 17:12-14 Hab 3:8-10, 15 Jer 51:34 Isa 27:1 Ps 18:5-18 (ET 4-17), 144:5-7 Ezek 29:3, 32:2

The dragon as a designation for nation(s) Egypt The chaos motif and the Exodus from Egypt The chaotic sea as a designation for Assyria The chaotic sea as designation for Babylonia The dragon as a designation for Babylonia The dragon as an uncertain political enemy The cosmic waters as the nations in general Egypt

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These various forces or monsters,128 in all versions of this myth known from the ancient Near East,

represented and inhabited the waters of the ocean that

ultimately surrounded and threatened the narrow landhold of ordered social life. Thus, this kind of imagery should not be dismissed as irrelevant myth since it conveys a vivid scene of the deep anxieties from the exile that fuel much of the religious language in this proto-apocalyptic text. According to Blenkinsopp, for those in exile, "chaos, the dissolution of order that makes meaningful social and individual life possible, is never far away."130 If so, why should such imagery gain prominence during the exilic period? It is clear that the experience of exile itself encouraged fondness for the imagery, for Israel was now totally subject to a foreign power in a way which had never been the case since the time of the exodus. Thus, the dragon and sea were apt terms to be applied to Babylonia, for it appeared that the powers of chaos defeated at creation and in the Exodus had reasserted themselves. However, as with the earlier occasions, they were to be overcome yet again. The blending of myth and history in this portrait of the creator-redeemer has the

For Rahab representing perilous water, the oceanic element, associated with sea (yam), the Sea Serpent (Job 26:12-13; Ps 89:11), and the Dragon (tannin), the mythic monster plying the primeval ocean as the counterpart of the Ugaritic tunnanul, see Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 332. The Dragon created by God on the fifth day in Gen 1:21 "is often associated with creation (Ps 74:13; 148:7; Job 7:12), and will be present at the final unraveling of creation according to the nightmare scenarios" of Dan 7:2-3 and Rev 13:1. For the Mesopotamian version, Enuma Elish, see Pritchard, ed., ANET, 66-67; B. R. Foster, "Epic of Creation," in W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger, Jr., eds., The Context of Scripture, vol.1. Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World (Brill: Leiden, Boston 2003), 390-402. 130

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 333.

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effect of evoking a sense of awesome majesty for God. Deliverance from exile shall occur. God has not changed! God will act as God acted in creation and the exodus! God's power is sufficient to defeat the destructive forces of chaos! The recapitulation of history is immediately applied to the present situation of the exilic community (51:12-16). Their real problem is that they now live in fear of tyrants and the horror of oppressors; they have no control over their own destiny.131 In short, by the use of mythic images the prophet evoked the notion of an exilic move from bondage to freedom and erected an expectation that even now God was preparing to return the exiled community to Jerusalem. Hence, the use of the myth in Isa 51:9-12 stimulated people to rouse themselves from their helpless coma and waken to the liberty they can receive from God to join in the plan of restoration. Furthermore, questions raised with considerable skepticism are answered in this passage (51:9-16), in a reply that bristles with the raw power of mythopoeic imagery. Until now, I have observed how Deutero-Isaiah built a message of consolation for the exiles around the themes of God's creative power and a new exodus, with the implication that Yahweh's battle against the chaos monster was being played out dramatically in the exiles' own experience. The assurance of Yahweh's victory over his eternal foe was presented as a basis for confidence among the exiles. In this section I focused on describing features of proto-apoclayptic, as presented in section A, that are found in a specific passage (Isa 51:9-11) of DeuteroIsaiah. Comparing Cook with Hanson, I find a common area in the features of protoapoclayptic, although both scholars use different passages. Cook and Hanson commonly

131

Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, 147.

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identify the use of myth as a feature of proto-apocalyptic. Both scholars agree that the worldview of proto-apocalyptic is that the radical changing of the world through the use of ancient myth is accomplished by special intervention.132 This intervention is not by human agency, but by a deliverer, such as the Divine Warrior, from outside the world. In particular, I focused on the need of the use of myth in the Babylonian exilic situation which found the people as pessimistic, deprived, marginalized, and disappointed. The force of evil in this world has not yet disappeared. For this context, the prophet drew upon motifs such as "the Divine Warrior" or ancient combat myth imagery connected with creation and the exodus from ancient mythology. The prophet urged the exiles in Babylonia to have hope and sense the assurance of deliverance from the exile by presenting the victory over the chaos monsters at the creation and at the time of the exodus.

Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 27.

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C. Mythic Motifs in Proto-Apocalyptic Passages in Ezekiel 38-39 and Deutero-Isaiah 40-55

The term "apocalyptic"133 has been applied to literary phenomena (a genre: a body of literature), a worldview or type of religious thinking (a worldview), and historical and social phenomena (a social entity).134 Ultimately, apocalyptic literature comes from an apocalyptic worldview or type of thinking. Apocalyptic worldviews construe such an apocalyptic understanding of social phenomena, articulating the views of groups who share and support such worldviews. If the bizarre, mythic language and "beliefs of biblical and related apocalyptic writings are to be explained satisfactorily," beyond imitating existing constructions, "they must be related to a social setting appropriate to an apocalyptic worldview."

So, in this section I will try to extract

mythic motifs from Ezekiel 38-39 and four key passages in Deutero-Isaiah, connect them with their social setting, and explicate the role of mythic motifs in proto-apocalyptic. Particularly, I focus on the conception of God as divine warrior, a conception shared by Ezekiel 38-39 and the four key passages in Deutero-Isaiah. The active involvement of the people Israel in the war against Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 is not very evident and the participation of the king-messiah does not appear at all. The one who fight alone against the enemies, as shown in the Divine

For general understanding the term see E. J. C. Tigchelaar, Prophets of Old and The Day of the End: Zechariah, the Book of Watchers and Apocalyptic (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996), 1-15; G. Carey and L. G. Bloomquist, eds. Vision and Persuasion: Rhetorical Dimensions of Apocalyptic Discourse (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1999), 2-10. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 21; and Apocalyptic Literature, 22. Cook, Prophecy & Apocalypticism, 25- 6.

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Warrior Myth, is Yahweh.136 Regarding the functions of mythic motifs in Ezekiel 38-39, Batto notes that myth is an important means for revelation in mythopoeic speculation which carries conviction.137 Ezekiel 38-39 has consciously and deliberately adapted older mythic motifs to convey a vision of religious realities in a highly original manner and in fact has extended the older mythic patterns into new mythic paradigms for the intended audience. Ezekiel 38-39 shares the apocalyptic expectation that Yahweh's eschatological kingdom will emerge "only after divine intervention makes a definitive end, first, of the evil powers that rule this world, and second and more importantly, of the very power of evil itself."

According to Batto, such a double removal of evil is the purpose linking in

tandem the oracles against the nations (Ezekiel 25-32) and the oracles against Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38-39). "The former represents the destruction of the hostile earthly" or historical powers who are against the establishment of God's chosen people, while the latter demonstrates "the metahistorical power of evil." Both powers must be destroyed because they oppose Yahweh's will.139 Thus, the advent of the new eschatological creation by God in Ezekiel 38-39 needs to involve the removal of the very cause of evil in the battle between creation and nonexistence. If this interpretation of Ezekiel 38-39 is accepted, then it is pointless to try to identify Gog and Magog with known historical 136

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 98. Batto, Slaying the Dragon, chs. 3, 4, and 5.

138 139

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 158.

This two-stage destruction of evil corresponds to the program in the Book of Revelation where first the beast which is Babylon-Rome, the earthly manifestation of evil, is overcome (chs. 17-19), then the dragon, Satan himself, is overcome and eliminated (ch. 20). Only after both powers are disposed of can the new creation be unveiled (21:1-22:5). See Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 158.

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entities from the ancient world. Gog gathered a horde of wicked allies for the purpose of destroying a settled and restored Israel. Here one is no longer dealing with Israel in a historical form but "with the eschatological people of God" in a metahistorical form. Consequently, eschatological Israel is described "in traditional mythic terminology as possessing the fullness of creation."14 The Book of Ezekiel even underscores the correlation between Egypt and Gog by having God say to both Pharaoh and Gog, "I will put hooks in your jaws" (Ezek 29:4; 38:4). This image is obviously inspired by the Combat Myth of the creator subduing the watery chaos monster, as a similar image is found again in Job 40:25-26 (ET: 41:1-2), where Yahweh demonstrates his mastery over Leviathan. So Gog seems to be a mythic symbol of chaos.141 In Ezekiel 38-39, the prophet envisions the arrival of "the new order coming about only through a cosmic battle between Yahweh and Gog, the battle so awesome in scope that the whole world will tremble to its very foundations (Ezek 38:19-23). The evil will be removed from "the face of the land only when Gog's carcass" and the carcasses of all his hordes are buried (Ezek 39:11-16) "or, alternatively, fed as carrion to the scavengers" (Ezek 39:17-20).142

Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 159. 141

The superabundance of mythic allusion within the Book of Ezekiel is well known. Perhaps the clearest example is to be found in the oracle against Tyre (Ezekiel 28). In that oracle the hubris of the king of Tyre is characterized under the double image of a man who claimed to be god (vs. 2-10) and of a perfect being who once inhabited the Garden of Eden (12-19). In addition, Jon Levenson has called attention to the mythic allusions in chapters 40-48. J. Levenson, Theology of the Program of Restoration of Ezekiel 40-48 (HSM 10; Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1975). Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 162.

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Until now I have discussed Gog's meaning as a mythic symbol in the perspective of myth. Now I will focus on the role of myth, i.e., Gog's symbolic role in Ezekiel 38-39. In the Babylonian exilic situation, the prophet depicted the enemy (the Babylonian empire) as the representative of a deeper menace, the metahistroical force of evil. Ezekiel 38-39 identifies Gog as this force from the mysterious land of Magog. As in the rhetoric of the original Combat Myth, the battle against the chaos dragon was depicted with the past tense. Nonetheless, implicit in myth is the recognition that mythic events stand outside of historical time. In myth, primeval events and eschatological events merge; hence, Urzeit wird Endzeit. Thus, myth provides assurance that the outcome of the struggle between the creator and chaos is certain, and that the power of evil has been removed by God. Nevertheless, to humans living in historical time the result of this battle often seems far from certain; its ravages are all too present. Accordingly, Ezekiel 38-39 projects the outcome of the battle against evil into the future, rather than into the past. The day is imminent, the prophet assures the reader living in the exilic situation, when God and the dragon will meet in the final battle field. Even now Gog marshals his evil forces in anticipation of victory over the creator. In the end, however, God will prevail and confirm his rule, symbolized in the eschatological victory over Gog. The text has deliberately matched Egypt and Gog as historical and metahistorical symbols of chaos or evil, respectively. By creatively adapting traditional mythic motifs, especially those of the combat myth, Ezekiel 38-39 sets the end of the Israelite creation story as a new vision for the exiles. Creation will be complete only when Israel is established under a covenant of peace and centered around the cosmic mountain throne of Yahweh in Zion. However, before this can take place the nihilistic

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power of evil must be totally removed from the face of creation. In the apocalyptic thinking of Ezekiel 38-39, this meant the elimination of their foes in the exilic historical situation. The text articulated this theological message in the words of myth, the most powerful symbol known to author and audience, without specifically mentioning the Babylonian empire. Through such deliberate recasting of commonly accepted myths available at that time, Ezekiel 38-39 attempted to undermine the position of the enemy and to enhance the Yahwistic faith of the exilic community.143 The divine warrior God in the Yahweh-war biblical tradition is depicted as speaking in thunder and shooting lightning in Exod 19:16-19, presenting fire and using it as his weapon in Exod 13:21 (see also 1 Kgs 19:38), and controlling the waters of the earth, the sea in Exod 14:21, rivers in Josh 3:16-17, and the rain in Gen 2:5 (see also 1 Kgs 17).144 As shown above, the main purpose of the use of divine warrior (God) in the Gog periscope and Deutero-Isaiah is that the prophets can put their confidence in Yahweh and only in Yahweh. The Lord himself is depicted as a strong redeemer who strengthened the exiles' hopes for deliverance and restoration, a redeemer compared to whom there is none other (40:18; 25), one who is the first and the last (41:4), and one whose power there has no limit or end (40:26). Therefore in Deutero-Isaiah the "worm Jacob" need not fear anything (Isa 43:2). This redeemer, the God of Jacob, will lay hold of the people to strengthen and help them. All who rise up to fight against God will perish and become as nothing (Isa 41:10-13). The "worm Jacob" will become a new threshing-sledge with

143

Similar conclusions are drawn by L. Boadt, "Rhetorical Strategies in Ezekiel's Oracles of Judgment," in Ezekiel and His Book (ed. J. Lust; BETL 74; Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1986), 199-200. 144

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 104.

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sharp teeth, which will thresh the mountains and beat them small and make the hills as chaff to be scattered by the wind (Isa 41:14-16). Isa 41:10 presents an added assurance, "stating that the outcome of God's intervention on Israel's behalf will be the destruction of her enemies" with his right hand (v. 10 and 13).145 The clearest use of the theme of Yahweh-war in the servant proclamations is found in Isa 41:8-13 (v. 10).146 It asserts that Israel's enemies will be annihilated because Yahweh will come to the aid of his servant (the descendents of Abraham), the exiles. From this it is plausible to infer that the Yahweh-war tradition (which also presupposes Israel's sole trust in Yahweh and not in foreign political powers) occupied a foremost position in the time of the exile and became an important element in the proto-apocalyptic worldview. Isa 42:10-12 invites all and sundry to celebrate Israel's God in song and is followed by discourse by Yahweh in vv. 14-16, introduced as a warrior god in v. 13. In the prologue in Isa 40:10 the return from the captivity in Babylonia is spoken of as Yahweh's coming with power, like a mighty warrior. Similarly, God's marching forth to victory in 42:13 is the first step in the process which is to result in the exiles' going forth from Babylonia. "The motif is most of all at home in the 'old wars of Yahweh'" (e.g., Judg 5:4f; Ps 18:8-16) in which God "draws near as warrior and smites Israel's foes."147 The prophet here takes up the Yahweh-war tradition derived from myth and its characteristic is divine intervention on behalf of his people. As for the purpose of the

145

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 69.

146

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 71.

147

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 104.

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simile, Westermann argues: The purpose of the simile is to say to those who heard it that God is intervening now—and that things are to be as they were in days of old, when God came to his chosen people's aid in its extremity. Without actually saying so, the simile also suggests that 'the God, of whose miraculous act our ancestors sang the praises, is as much alive as he was then: is as zealous for his people as he was 14R

then: acts with deeds as overwhelmingly mighty as then! Isa 51:9-11 also reflects the mighty warrior motif (the divine warrior myth) which features destruction of the enemies of Israel. The Divine Warrior will destroy Israel's enemies and put an end to their misery by restoring his chosen people. This passage shows how Deutero-Isaiah built a message of consolation to the exiles around the themes of a new exodus and a new creation, with the implication that Yahweh's battle against chaos was being played out dramatically in the exiles' own experience.149 Deutero-Isaiah appeals to the "arm of Yahweh" (40:10, 11; 51:5; 52:10; 53:1) as the power to act. The metaphor is military: the warrior pulling on a tunic and armor in preparation for battle. The phrase "put on strength" suggests in itself "the pictures which follow of events taken from myth—arming with weapons that lend strength plays an important part in the epic telling of the struggle with chaos."150 There is an accumulation of mythological names such as Rahab, Tannin, Yam, and the Dragon. And 51:10b describes the victory over the chaos-dragon in a way that parallels the Babylonian epic Enuma elish.151 Now the prophet, speaking for the exiles, echoes back to Yahweh the 148

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 104.

149

Sttuhlmueller, Creative Redemption, 86-90.

150

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 241

151

Prichard, ed., ANET, 66; Hallo and Younger, eds., The Context of Scripture I, 271 (tr. Dennis Pardee), 391-99, 401 (tr. B. A. Foster)

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same theme in terms of the old myth of the victory of god over the evil forces of chaos at the beginning of time. According to Blenkinsopp, "this kind of imagery should not be dismissed as mere myth or mere poetic metaphor, since it conveys a vivid sense of the deep anxieties that fuel much of the religious language in psalms and prophecy."152 In Isa 52:10, again using the metaphor of God's arm,153 one can hear a plea for help. Its role is to indicate that divine intervention is the decisive fact. The exiles can now see what their God is doing for his chosen people. Furthermore, "the time of trial—due to the fact that God's sovereign power had been concealed"— is now over because Yahweh is coming to deliver his people with his holy arm (v. 10).

And the final operative order

is the one here, "go out hence" in Isa 52:11. It means that the God of Israel is about to resume an active rule among the people with the defeat of cosmic and earthly forces and the restoration of Zion. The anticipated return from the exile in Babylonia is given fuller resonance by the use of language connected with the departure from Egypt. Unlike the people's ancestors leaving Egypt, the exiles will not depart in haste (v. 12), and they will not easily take to flight. As on that first occasion, they will be protected both in front and behind by Yahweh, the God of Israel (Exod 13:21-22; 14:19-20). Israelite mythology and the Israelite understanding of God come to central stage in the proto-apocalyptic worldviews.155 Basic to all religion is a unique experience of 152

Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55, 332.

153

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 252.

154

Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, 252.

155

On Israel's myth in its relationship to ancient Near Eastern religions and in particular to its significance for Israel's religious faith after fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, see Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, 154; F. M. Cross, "The Development of Israelite Religion," Bible Review 8.5 (1992): 18-29, 50.

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confrontation with powers not of this world. The human response to this experience makes up religion.156 Myth's efforts to evoke responses to this experience of suprahuman powers are central to proto-apocalyptic. A central function of myth informs realities and events from the origin of the world and the revitalization of that origin, realities which remain valid for the basis and purpose of all there is.157 Thus, the function of myth in proto-apocalyptic seeks to articulate what is true for the exiles in their experience of forces beyond the physical world perceived with their senses. Specifically, the motif of a decisive battle against an evil force in protoapocalyptic (Ezekiel 38-39 and several passages in Deutero-Isaiah) exerted a powerful impact on the religious imagination158 of the exiles. In particular, one needs to pay attention to the Combat Myth narrative159 which takes a very contrastive aspect, before and after: when the enemy rules there is chaos, but when the divine king rules there is

T. Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 3-5; J. W. Rogerson, Myth in Old Testament Interpretation (BZAW 134; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1974), 174; Batto, Slaying the Dragon, 11. 157

K. Bolle, "Myth, An Overview," in Encyclopedia of Religion 10 (ed. M. Eliade; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1987), 261, 264. 158

Fontenrose begins his famous study Python with the words: "every god has his enemy, whom he must conquer and destroy." J. E. Fontenrose, Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1959), 1. The struggles of Baal against Yamm and Yahweh against Leviathan belong to this genre of divine conquest. For the genre of divine conflict dispersed widely in India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Greece and Europe, see N. Wyatt, Myths of Power (UBL 13; Minister: UgaritVerlag, 1996), 127. 159

For the Sumerian Myth of the annihilation of Zu by Ninurta from the same period see Pritchard, ed., ANET, 514-17. Its later Assyrian counterpart again reflects this motif, as does the Sumerian myth of the battle and victory of Ninurta over the Azag demon (S. N. Kramer, History Begins at Sumer [3rd rev. ed.; Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981], 170-72), this latter having significant parallels with the Gog pericope. For the Babylonian legend of Tiamat in all her darkness defeated by Marduk, the god of light, see Hallo and Younger, eds., Context of Scripture I, 390-402 (tr. Stephanie Dalley). And for the West Semitic myth of the victory of Baal, the storm god who provided fertility to the earth with his rain, over Yamm the sea god of chaos, Hallo, and Younger, eds., Context of Scripture I, 241-74 (tr. Dennis Pardee).

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order. Furthermore, the assured outcome is the triumph of the protagonist,1

a mythic

theme of marked importance for proto-apocalyptic as well as full-blown apocalyptic. It is concerned with upholding the cosmos by invoking Yahweh's supernatural power. God is directly addressed, being adjured to repel the forces of chaos. Proto-apocalyptic through myth reflects a story of world origins and world ordering which is grounded in divine power and the divine will. The prophets can give authority to their words in the eyes of the exiles by describing the great events of the exile in the context of myth. If God intervenes in their exilic situation, as reflected in the proto-apocalyptic worldview involving the Divine Warrior, everything is going to be all right. So the use of myth in proto-apocalyptic evoked a sense of hope among the exiles in Babylonia. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick discusses the importance of the myth as "the glorification of the divine world of the gods and the presentation of a paradigm replicated on earth."161 God's deed in the chaos conflict motif is foundational for the earthly king's power because the earthly king's military action will be described in terms of mythic combat to give it greater force and legitimacy.

The Choaskampf myth as a model of

the primordial deeds of God raises a political theme to a supernatural level. As the king believes "his victory to be a reflection of the Chaoskampf victory, he establishes a firmer foundation for his own right to rule."

However, the reality of the exilic situation did

160

N. Forsyth, The Old Enemy, Satan and the Combat Myth (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987), 447-51. Significant incidents in the plot structure of the Combat Myth are villainy, battle, victory, and a triumph. Without these four parts, the narrative would not be a combat. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 54. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 54. Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 54.

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not involve an Israelite king, but rather the earthly but foreign king, Cyrus, whose role contrasts with that of God's servant. So proto-apocalyptic, through the myth, echoes (not directly but indirectly) a strong resistant voice over and against the Babylonian empire. "It was, in fact, its political application which made the Chaoskampf myth so serviceable" in the exilic situation.164 Amidst the cognitive dissonance caused by the exile, Ezekiel 38-39 sees this decisive battle coming "in the latter years" (Ezek 38:8). Various texts in Deutero-Isaiah (40:10; 42:13; 43:14-21; 49:24-26; 51:9-11) see such a conquest as coming at a future time. These verses presuppose that the powers of chaos have not yet been removed or completely domesticated. These powers still threaten, and human evil (potentially, the Babylonian Empire) can, as God's agent, provoke disasters such as the exile. So long as the primordial, archetypal enemy endures, the fullness Yahweh's creation cannot be accomplished. It will only remain in potential5

So it is safe to say that the proto-

apocalyptic of Ezekiel 38-39 and Deutero-Isaiah came from and with the exilic situation. This decisive victory must be interpreted in the light of the painful historical experiences which Israel had endured: the destruction of their worship place, the absence of hope, the sacred name profaned, what appeared to be the unraveling of Yahweh's covenant and promise, the apparent general collapse of God's mastery over the world, etc. Proto-apocalyptic draws attention to the painful gap between the faith tradition of God's absolute sovereignty and the empirical reality of evil triumphant and unchecked,

Fitzpatrick, Disarmament of God, 54-55. 165

J. D. Levenson, Creation and the Persistence of Evil (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), 36-38.

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as in the reality of the exilic situation. However, the authors of proto-apocalyptic refuse to abandon the affirmation of God's world-ordering and of God's power to defeat even the primeval personification of chaos and so fashion the world properly. The past triumphs are incomplete; therefore, there must be more to continue. Cognitive dissonance was in this case an impetus to faith. In the proto-apocalyptic passages the primeval myth functioned to authenticate the traditional faith of Israel that their God was truly the sovereign creator both in heaven and on earth, despite the evil in what seemed to be a world that had come apart. Creation for Israel, in the worldview of proto-apocalyptic, will come to completion only when the exiles are gathered again under a covenant of peace in Zion. Isa 51:9 speaks of splitting Rahab in the cosmogonic battle, which was part of the creation account, and Isa 51:10 shifts without pause to the miracle at the Sea where Yahweh held back the waters for the redeemed to pass through. The creation can almost be looked on as act one of the drama of divine saving action in the account of the struggle with the dragon of chaos.166 Here one also finds the message of hope through the use of creation myth in proto-apocalyptic, just like the use of the conflict myth. The prophet foresees the home-coming of the exiles, who form a part of the restoration of the Judaean community, in v. 11. By referring to the mighty acts of salvation of Yahweh in the past, the prophet seeks to convince his audience of the reality of God's saving words to Jerusalem and Judah, as well as of God's words of doom regarding the foreign nations. Thus, Yahweh's action "in defeating the sea monster and creating the world" is appealed 166

G von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol 1: The Theology of Israel's Traditions (trans. D. M. G. Stalker; New York: Harper & Row, 1962), 137-38; Preuss arrives at similar conclusions as von Rad. Horst D. Preuss, Old Testament Theology I (trans. Leo G. Perdue; OTL; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995), 235.

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to as a ground of hope in Yahweh's gracious intervention in their exilic distress. Creation in many of the creation myths of the ancient Near East

means

precisely the transformation of chaos into cosmos (or hope, as in restoration from the exile), and the combat myth implies the victory of stability and order over the forces of destruction that would negate creation. The exile is seen as endangering the very cosmos itself, but the God of Israel, who is creator of the past, the present and the future, describes the deliverance of the exiles in terms of creation. In proto-apocalyptic, God's creative power and God's mighty actions for deliverance of his people from the bondage of the Babylonians are joined together (Isa 41:20; 42:16; 43:19; 44:23)169 and the combination delivers the message of hope to the exiles. It is important to remember that throughout the proto-apocalyptic worldview, the motif of creation and the truth to which creation myth bears testimony was to not only focus on the creation of the cosmos with its mineral, vegetable, animal and human life forms, but also to focus on God's power to have an impact on the emergence of a stable community in divine order.170 This idea in proto-apocalyptic shows a resistant spirit

[bl

Day, God's Conflict, 92.

168

Enuma Elish is fundamentally an account of world origins and world ordering which is the product of the conscious creative intelligence of Marduk. See Jacobsen, Treasures of Darkness, 191. In Ugarit, the process of cosmogony begun by El is completed by Baal's action presented in the Chaoskampfmotif. See L. Fisher, "Creation at Ugarit and in the Old Testament," VT\5 (1965): 316, 320. 169

M. Korpel, "Creator of All," in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Peiter W. van der Horst; 2nd ed; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 209-10. 170

See R. J. Clifford, "The Hebrew Scriptures and the Theology of Creation," TS 46 (1985): 508-12, and "Cosmogonies in the Ugaritic Texts and in the Bible," Or 53 (1984): 201.

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against the Babylonian empire, just as the Chaoskampf myth did. The order that comes out of chaos in the proto-apocalyptic worldview is not only the ordering of physical creation, but the cosmogony also completed for the exiles the benign and successful working together of elements that promote a resistant spirit in their situation. Hence, the creation myth in proto-apocalyptic leads to hope in a new creation that will complete the history of Yahweh's deliverance for his people in this world. The major focus of this section has been certain characteristics typical of proto-apocalyptic texts from the Neo-Babylonian period. The proto-apocalyptic worldview presents a worldly eschatological hope. It does not ignore or abandon the kind of life which human beings experience in this world in favor of speculation concerning some other, better place or form of existence, to be hoped for or achieved. Furthermore, it is a comprehensive hope. It neither focuses on an improved social structure inhabited by the same kind of people who experience and in part create the present mess, nor does it promise that salvation will somehow make social problems go away; neither does it imagine that a healthy human society can exist without a mutually beneficial interaction with the natural world. The proto-apocalyptic worldview understands the future to be in the hands of Yahweh. The foundation for hope in proto-apocalyptic is the assurance of a coming divine intervention that will introduce a new thing that people have failed and will fail to accomplish. It came out of the conviction that human failure has so corrupted life on this earth, as illustrated by the exile, that only a radical transformation initiated by God can make things right. Therefore, it demands a basically passive drift into the divinely wrought paradise. The proto-apocalyptic worldview does not put a strong emphasis on human agency, although repentance is seen as essential. Humans participate actively in

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the new world, but they cannot produce it; that is only divine work. In this section I focusd on the role of myth in proto-apoclayptic within the Babylonian exilic social setting. Three main purposes of using mythic motif in protoapoclayptic are present. Firstly, the prophets put their confidence in Yahweh as a strong deliverer who strengthene the exiles's desire for their return from the captivity in Babylonia to their homeland, made possible by Yahweh's intervention as warrior on Israel's behalf and the defeat of her enemies. Secondly, as the reflection on the mighty warrior motif features destruction of the enemies of Israel, it consoles the exiles and gives hope to them. The exiles now can see what Yahweh is doing for them as very positive. Thirdly, the myth promotes a strong resistance voice over and against the Babylonian empire. The powers of chaos have not yet been eliminated and defeated. These still threaten. Nonetheless, the mythic factor in proto-apocalyptic nourishes a strong resistant spirit in the exilic situation.

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CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS

First of all, I have sought to show that the Sitz-im-Leben of proto-apocalyptic involves the exiled community of Judeans under the Babylonian empire, a people whose ideology included the emergence of proto-apocalyptic as a response to experiential factors that featured elements of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, brought on by their psychic dislocation and alienation, and in that respect their sense of fundamental deprivation. The exiles were not slaves and were neither imprisoned nor starved, but, contrary to Cook's assessment, those conditions are not central to an experience of deprivation. The term "exile" denotes the forced removal of individuals or groups from their former residential and occupational life.1 The reference of the Hebrew word golah represents both devastation of the homeland and relocation to a land of alienation, an unclean land, as in Amos 7:17, "your land shall be divided up with a measuring line, you will die in an unclean land, for Israel shall be exiled from its land." S. Talmon nicely defines the concept of exile: Deportation violently severs the natural bonds of the banished with their land,

1

In biblical Hebrew the state of being in exile is defined by golah, connected with the sense "to strip" or "to remove" (cf. Ezek 12:3-7). S. Talmon, '"Exile and Restoration' in the Conceptual World of Ancient Judaism," in Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Perspectives (ed. James M. Scott; Journal for the Study of Judaism Sup 72; Leiden: Brill, 2001), 107.

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rips apart physical and spiritual, emotional and cultural ties, engenders a break with the tried and true, an alienatio mentis, and entails a forced transfer to the gaping void of the unknown. Together with the loss of the familiar landscape, displaced people are prone to be deprived of inherited values, such as their mother tongue and time-honored manners and customs.2 One does not ignore a sense of individual expatriation in an event of personal as well as historical significance that throws one into existential despair. The Judaean community incurred exile even more radically in the wake of the upheaval that followed the fall of Jerusalem (587/6 B.C.E.), at which time one could no longer merely go home. Thus, the phenomenon of "exile" comes into being, experienced by a collective entity, family, tribe, community, or nation. In the history of Judah, the unprecedented exilic life spells a fragmented existence, a life of dependence on and marginalization by the dominant society that is prone to maintain an inimical stance to the strange enclaves in its midst (cf. Deut 28:65). Forced expatriation creates a ghetto-type situation, which arises from the imposed separation of the exiles from the dominant surrounding society, but in part also from a self-imposed segregation. The exilic community that endeavors to cling to its particular identity will be put on the defensive vis-a-vis its immediate environment. An unfamiliar language, uncommon names, peculiar beliefs, an uncomfortable lifestyle, different clothes, different tastes and even different body odors make the exilic community appear to be an extraneous, even suspect element in the new surroundings. Although at least many of the Israelites succeeded in preserving their ethnic and religious distinctiveness in exile, they were not able to maintain their traditional world. In most instances, dispersion is viewed as having resulted from the impact of adverse political, economic, and socio-

Talmon, Exile and Restoration, 107.

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religious factors. Since resistance to the forced transfer for the most part proves to be futile, the expatriates nolens volens resign themselves to the new situation. Hence, in submitting to external pressure and adjusting to reality, individually and as a collective, some of the exiles also gave up internal resistance. The exilic community develops due to compulsory displacement. However, the Babylonian policy for the resettlement of deportees in their new abodes could allow the establishment of semi-independent enclaves in the alien environment, such as the recently disclosed presence of "Judah City" or "City of Judah." Such exilic communities tend to form voluntarily distinct social and political entities. They thus achieve new standing, which provides a sense of security and mitigates the exiles' feeling of being strangers. As time passes, when the bitter experience of dispersion is ameliorated, an intrinsically unique value often is conferred upon the deportees' life, which may provide them with a sense of mission. The exile then comes to be seen as the soil in which the expatriates' transplanted faith can experience an improved and richer growth. In such instances, an exilic community (Deutero-Isaiah group) may conceive of itself as being sent to become a "light to the nations," a symbolic watchword derived from a biblical matrix (Isa 42:6; 49:6). Of course, as time passes (the early period, then the adjustment period, and then the later period) the exilic situation changed. The return from the exile can become attainable through a major change in the previously adverse political situation. Nevertheless, the exiles were confronted with a severe obstacle to a return as long as the Neo-Babylonian empire prevailed. So Deutero-Isaiah viewed the world as completely captured by a negative force, in actuality the Babylonian empire, and as irredeemable

3

Joannes and Lemaire, "Trois tablettes," 18 and 23-26; Pearce, "New Evidence," 402.

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without a radical intervention of God. Proto-apocalyptic arises in this alienating but fertile exilic situation. The exiles could respond to an apocalyptic outlook in this time of crisis when it seemed they could be overwhelmed by the powerful and, as victorious, seductive Babylonian world which was beyond their capacity to defeat and who offered economic advantages in assimilation. The proto-apocalyptic perspective allowed the Judaean exiles to interpret their experience in a redemptive way that could preserve and strengthen their faith in God. Furthermore, the most basic point established in protoapocalyptic is that the God who "creates light and darkness, well-being and evil" (Isa 45:7), is about to transform the world. A new age is dawning. The exiles can take courage in the exilic situation in which they felt alienated, marginalized, and even relatively deprived. However, Cook has rightly noted that (proto-) apocalyptic movements (which he calls millennialism) may also arise within groups who have power and may be spearheaded by influential figures.4 He suggests that the (proto-) apocalyptic elements in Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Joel derive from and/or were written by Zadokites, apocalyptic texts in Isaiah originated with Aaronides, and Malachi comes from the Levitical tribe of priests.5 He strongly objects to an appeal to deprivation theory to account for the appearance of apocalyptic in the Hebrew Bible. Contrary to Hanson, Cook firmly opposes what he views as the limiting stereotyped understandings of the origins and meaning of apocalyptic, that apocalyptic writing is to be understood primarily as consolation for persecuted (deprived) peoples or as a coded "timetable" for an imminent 4

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 79-87. For a fuller discussion of the social location of apocalyptic movements see idem, Prophecy and Apocalypticism, 19-84. 5

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 93.

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end of the world in our times. Instead, he uses cultural and spiritual backgrounds to depict a richer context in which the "apocalyptic spirit" is an integral part of faith, not simply an unnecessary and uncomfortable addition. He criticizes theories that explain apocalyptic imagination as an answer to crises.6 On the other hand, I argue that proto-apocalyptic is an ideology produced during a time of perceived crisis to offer hope to oppressed and beleaguered individuals and communities in the exilic situation by giving them an alternative picture of the possible realities. The crisis underlying proto-apocalyptic in Detero-Isaiah and Ezekiel 38-39 includes military or political oppression, a theological crisis and a sense of alienation brought about when the exiles were cut off from their homeland. So the best terms to describe the situation in which proto-apocalyptic did develop are relative deprivation and cognitive dissonance, connected as well with PTSD. As for a situation that involves relative deprivation, the exiles were deprived of some status, position, authority, or other value they believed they should have had but did not, in fact, possess. Since the exiles were powerless in themselves to change the situation, the only solution was an act of God, an act in which God destroys the current evil and establishes an order (i.e., restoration for the exiles) in which justice and goodness are dominant. This study of proto-apocalyptic texts has examined the questions of the conditions of the Babylonian Jewish exiles. There is little direct evidence in contemporary sources to support the idea of physical or economic oppression of the Babylonian exiles. Yet, the creators of proto-apocalyptic are greatly concerned about the Babylonian empire as powerful and restrictive. The resolution of this dilemma lay not so

Cook, Apocalyptic Literature, 35.

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much in the physical reality of a bad situation of the exiles, but in the people's perception that such was the case. The peoples had experienced psychological and physical trauma. Furthermore, they were feeling political changes around them. These perceptions provided the basis for their understanding of the situation. Whereas, objectively speaking, very little physical or economic oppression may have existed, from the perspective of the peoples who were feeling oppressed, threatened and changed, the exile itself seemed to be a very negative reality. The proto-apocalyptic ideology provided an alternative. In keeping with perception of many of the exiles, at least, the prophets provided the people with a different way of viewing the situation, presenting an alternative symbolic universe through recapturing Israelite mythology. The worldly exilic situation seemed to be that God had lost control and the forces of evil had the upper hand. The Babylonian empire, as the representative of evil, held all power. What the prophets did through proto-apocalyptic was to provide a different way of understanding their exilic situation, an eschatological view of current events. Beyond the appearance was the reality that God was bringing order out of the chaos of the universe. The evil power, especially the Babylonian empire, would be defeated by God. God would be victorious. This divine victory extended to include a new possibility for God's people who had been taken into captivity. Those who remained faithful would populate God's new restored nation. So, one of the functions of proto-apocalyptic, such as in some selected texts of Deutero-Isaiah and Ezekiel 38-39, was to offer hope and comfort to the Babylonian exiles by means of an alternative vision. They were encouraged to endure their situations, being assured that ultimately God would triumph. The current exilic situations were relativized because they were shown to be only temporary. God would soon bring about a change, another world, one in which the exiles are not the alienated ones in their new homeland

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but purposeful people restored to their home of many centuries. On the other hand, proto-apocalyptic also functioned as a form of protest against the Babylonian empire. Proto-apocalyptic involves a passive resistance to the Babylonian empire in a non-confrontational manner, rather than active resistance which may be violent, armed resistance, as is the case in violent revolutions and class conflicts. Protoapocalyptic does seek to foster this passive [not active] kind of resistance. The prophets resist quietly and unobtrusively (in case of Ezekiel 38-39), attempting to avoid detection and confrontation (not using the name of the Babylonians in Ezekiel 38-39). The worldview of proto-apocalyptic generally is that the course of world events and history has already been determined by God and will be brought to completion by God. Human efforts to change God's designs are futile. The prophets present another view of the world by telling their listeners and their readers that true power and authority in the world belong to God. All human institutions and rulers are flawed; God alone is the ruling power. Through their visions of another world and a higher reality, the prophets challenge and confront the present enemy, the Babylonian empire and its inadequate worldview, including especially its vain religious beliefs. The prophets encouraged the Judaean exiles to focus only on the transformed world to come, with the result that the present world, with its social and political evils, would be put aside. The protoapocalyptic worldview pushed people into enduring life as it is now by offering them a task and hope for the coming time. The proto-apocalyptic worldview called upon the people to resist the charms and delusions of the present Babylonian world, to look beyond them and see a better world, to realize God's ultimate authority in the world. The proto-apocalyptic worldview served as a catalyst for resistance and change, not a sedative to encourage hopeless acceptance of the current exilic situation.

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Rather than being understood as fostering an escapist mentality in the Babylonian exilic situation, the proto-apocalyptic worldview should be understood as a protest spirit. The prophets spoke out against a world of evil (particularly in Ezekiel 3839), violence, oppression, and injustice in the exilic situation. They provided visions of a better world, a world of inclusive peace and justice in their proper homeland. They called for allegiance to a higher authority (the one and only God in Deutero-Isaiah), not to human institutions, even the house of David. The allegiance was to God alone, to God the Divine Warrior who would create this possibility of world transformation. Indeed, the proto-apocalyptic worldview proclaimed that history was in God's hands and that human efforts could not set it aside. Proto-apocalyptic did not encourage calls for political and social revolt. Yet, this worldview was still a form of protest, of refusing to accept the present social and historical exilic reality. The proto-apocalyptic worldview functions not only to offer comfort and consolation, but also to register a strong word of protest. Both aspects are important and should not be separated. If only comfort and hope are emphasized, there is a clear danger that the proto-apocalyptic worldview will be misused to encourage the exiles to ignore their exilic reality by living only for the future. The people need to prepare for their active role in the future, not a passive role as in full-blown apocalyptic. On the other hand, if the protest element for the people is stressed, the risk of failure is so great that the transcendent perspective of the proto-apocalyptic worldview could be lost. The new world of proto-apocalyptic does not point to a world that is a human construct brought into being solely through human efforts. Most importantly, it points to God's new world, God's new creation, which will be brought into reality through divine means, soliciting their active engagement in the role of transformation. Proto-apocalyptic worldviews in

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the Neo-Babylonian period functioned in this dual capacity by consoling and challenging, by offering comfort and protest, by offering hope and a vital and active future. In the exilic perception of deprivation in their context, a perception that doubtless fluctuated throughout the many decades of the whole exilic period, protoapocalyptic worldviews, such as God's intervention into the real situation and the use of myth as a tool of being able to escape their exilic reality, were emerging as powerful and persuasive. Although the people were not slaves in Babylonia, the Babylon Empire could be viewed by many as their enemy, depriving them of major elements of their former life, and thus leading them to understand themselves as deprived. Despite the rigors and severity of the exile, despite the exploitation by the Babylonians and the power of Babylonian domination over the exiles, the latter, nonetheless, were never completely subdued. Proto-apocalyptic was one of the various techniques used by the exiles in resisting the power assumed by the Babylonians over them. Even the second generation of exiles (Deutero-Isaiah), who had by and large never known what it was to be free in their own land, could easily see themselves as deprived. Although some exiles could avoid near-slavery and came to live well in the later Persian period, the overall circumstances of the exiles in Babylonia during the whole exilic period was not good because they had involuntarily lost their land, their position,

For the various techniques used by the slaves in resisting the total power assumed by the master over them, see O. Patterson, The Sociology of Slavery (Rutherford, Madison, Teaneck: Fair Dickinson University Press, 1969), 260-83. According to Patterson, there were two basic forms of resistance: one passive, the other violent. Passive resistance may be further sub-divided into four types: refusal to work, general inefficiency and deliberate laziness or evasion; satire; running away; suicide. Violent resistance may also be divided into two sub-categories: individual violence and collective violence. Ahn, "Exile, Literature, and Theology," 154-206.

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and their daily life in Judah. How could anyone compensate for these things? Only God could effect a fundamental change. So proto-apocalyptic worldviews reflect a collective expression of complaints, despair, confession, hope and courage within the situation of the exile. The relationship of myth and history needs to be mentioned as a final point to understand the role of myth in proto-apocalyptic. Unlike apocalyptic eschatology (Hanson's term) in the post-exilic period, proto-apocalyptic texts do not cut off involvement of the deity in the worldly affairs of mortals. Like prophetic eschatology in the pre-exilic period, the proto-apocalyptic worldview interprets historical and political fortunes (events) with direct reference to the role played in them by the deity. The events were understood to be shaped by God who divides and governs affairs in heaven and on earth and possesses special abilities in divine warfare and executive power. In protoapocalyptic, history remains at least in part a human arena and may be intended to provide only partial explanations that make no claim to be comprehensive, while the broader question involving the meaning of history is left to myth. In the exilic situation, Yahweh's acquiescence in Israel's exile which leads to God's intervention to save the people from exile, providing them with a transformational mission, mingling myth and history in a proto-apocalyptic understanding could play a decisive role in sustaining faith. Yahweh's actions and intentions would be discerned directly and transparently within the events of history. This is one of the profound criteria of proto-apocalyptic—the translation of the cosmic vision of myth into categories of history. In reformulating a confession which had become so brittle as to threaten disintegration in the face of harsh historical experiences, proto-apocalyptic adopted

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mythic forms in order to describe the relation of Israel's God to the catastrophic event— the exile. The God who established order in the primordial creation (by battle) and the God who saved Israel in the historical events (Exodus 15) of the past (Isa 51:9-11), the God who creates light and darkness, well-being and evil (Isa 45:7), is able to and ready to save Israel in eschatological events of the future. Though Deutero-Isaiah and Ezekiel 3839, as shown in the previous chapter, were able to maintain elements of the historical perspective of classical prophecy of the pre-exilic period ("Prophetic Eschatology"), it is appropriate to call aspects of exilic

prophecy "proto-apocalyptic," inasmuch as it

represents an important turning point in the development from the prophetic eschatology of the pre-exilic period to the later apocalyptic eschatology, i.e., apocalyptic (a loosening of the relation or tie to the actual political realm or plain history) of the post-exilic period. For the understanding of the context and character of the formation of protoapocalyptic worldviews, a major development within the exile itself, the problems raised by two scholars who were especially under review, Paul Hanson and Stephen Cook, are addressed in Chapter I. In response to the basic conflicts between them, I sought, in Chapter II, to present a convincing case for the exilic date of major texts that they draw upon, specifically, selected passages in Second Isaiah (Hanson) and Ezekiel 38-39 (Cook). Furthermore, I sought, in Chapter III, to develop a more unified understanding of the context of the development of proto-apocalyptic by presenting a detailed analysis of the situation of the exilic community. In particular, I tried to provide a much more inclusive perspective on deprivation, a condition that takes many forms, and which is

Patterson describes the two modes of representing the social death that was slavery by saying that in the intrusive mode the slave was conceived of as someone who did not belong because he was an outsider, while in the extrusive mode the slave became an outsider because he did not (or no longer) belonged. Patterson, Slavery and Social Death, 44.

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not restricted to economic and/or physical deprivation (which is emphasized by Cook) but includes psychic and cultural deprivation as well (as presumed by Hanson but especially supported by Smith-Christopher and his emphasis on PTSD).10 It became apparent from this analysis that our knowledge of the social settings of proto-apocalyptic in the Babylonian exile is quite limited. This limitation cannot be overcome by adopting ideal models from sociology or cultural anthropology and deducing social settings from the biblical texts themselves, but an understanding of this context is aided by the presently available cumulative information about the actual historical circumstances of the Babylonian exile, as explored in chapter III, which examines the voices from the margin' in the exilic situation. So it should be apparent that proto-apocalyptic can arise from the experience of alienation, in a time of national crisis and physical and psychic dislocation. This assumption is defensible if one grants that experiences of alienation, and crises, may be of many kinds. Apocalyptic can provide support in the face of persecution, reassurance in the face of culture shock or social powerlessness, reorientation in the face of national trauma, and consolation for the fate of the exiles in Babylonia. In Chapter IV, I attempted to establish a picture of the development of protoapocalyptic within the exilic community, at least from the time of the first captivity (597 B.C.E), through the threatened downfall of Babylon (accomplished in 539 B.C.E.). I also tried to determine whether the proto-apocalyptic texts reflect the views of a minority or a

See Smith (-Christopher), Religion of the Landless. He subsequently addressed some of the same areas in an article, "Reassessing," 7-36; and in his Biblical Theology of Exile. In particular, Smith-Christopher makes the intriguing suggestion that passages about suffering in Ezekiel and Lamentations can effectively be read in the light of recent work on Post-traumatic Stress Syndrome.

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majority of the community. I concluded that the "servant of God" passages and the history of community of the return suggest that the proto-apocalyptic community remained a minority group. Doubtless some exiles became "central" persons even within the larger Babylonian-Persian scene, but by-and-large the exilic community identified with being deprived, oppressed, and marginalized and thus a significant minority adopted the (proto-) apocalyptic perspective. In Chapter V, I further argued that some passages of Isaiah 40-55 and Ezekiel 38-39 divert attention from the distressful present to the heavenly world and the eschatological future. This diversion should not be seen as a flight from the exilic reality. Rather it is a way of coping with reality by providing a meaningful framework within which some of the Babylonian exiles could sustain hope, as in Isaiah 40-55, or show resistance as in Ezekiel 38-39. Finally, there are major differences between Hanson and Cook. As to their different views of proto-apocalyptic, I argued that development of proto-apocalyptic cannot be identified with a single social movement. Different people could adopt aspects of this perspective for different reasons. So I argued that it cannot be identified with but a single text or a single strand of theology. There is diversity within proto-apocalyptic as well as within the groups that affirmed that perspective. Future research will be able to build upon the promised full publication by Laurie Pearce of the Neo-Babylonian texts that provide direct information about the situation of the Jewish community in Babylonia during the latter days of the NeoBabylonian period as well as the earlier Persian period, not to mention the potential recovery of even more such texts. Future research can also ask somewhat different questions of the biblical sources already in hand, as it has become clear that proto-

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apocalyptic, as found in Second Isaiah and the book of Ezekiel, can arise within differing groups more or less at the same time. Following along this line, a future task will be to attempt to find indications as to how these differing groups of proto-apocalyptic supporters interact and develop. For it has become clear that deprivation, understood as including psychic stress, as in PTSD, can take a wider variety of forms than suggested by either Hanson or Cook. It is also possible to examine other texts of the exilic period, and even the postexilic period, for indications of psychic deprivation, texts such as Third-Isaiah, as well as investigating indications of psychic stress in texts that Cook has shown to represent apocalyptic perspectives held by centrally situated communities, such as the book of Zechariah. It would also be beneficial to look freshly at the development of actual apocalyptic with the issue of interaction with a dominant community clearly in mind and the stress and deprivation that results in such as situation. But these are tasks for the future.

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VITA

Full Name: Hong Pyo Ha Place and Date of Birth: Kyung Nam, Korea, December 23, 1966 Parents Name: Won Doo Ha Ok Soon Cho Educational Institutions: School

Place

Degree

Date

Secondary: Namhae High School

Namhae, Korea

Diploma

Feb. 1985

Collegiate: Pusan National University

Pusan, Korea

B.A.

Aug. 1993

Graduate: New Brunswick

New Brunswick, NJ

M.Div.

May, 1999

Cambridge, MA

Th.M.

May, 2001

Madison, NJ

M.Phil.

May, 2004

Madison, NJ

Ph.D.

May, 2009

Theological Seminary Harvard Divinity School Drew University Drew University

I understand that the Drew University Library may have this dissertation reproduced by microphotography and made available by sale to scholars and other libraries.