Evangelical Scholarship Devoted to the Old Testament

The Words of the Wise Are like Goads
Engaging Qohelet in the 21st Century
EIS – Eisenbrauns
Edited by Mark J. Boda, Tremper Longman III, and Cristian G. Rata
Eisenbrauns, 2013
Pp. xi + 515, English
Hard cover, 6 x 9 inches
ISBN: 9781575062655
List Price: $64.50
Your Price: $58.05
www.eisenbrauns.com/item/BODWORDSO

Congratulations to my good friend Russell Meek for his contribution “The Meaning of hebel in Qoheleth: An Intertextual Suggestion,” in Eisenbraun’s new volume on Ecclesiastes in the 21st century. Read Peter Leithart’s comments on Russ’s article here. Overall, the book has a fabulous lineup of authors, and I am excited to read all of them. Here is the table of contents:

Preface vii
Part 1
Early History of Interpretation
Ecclesiastes in Premodern Reading: Before 1500 C.E. 3
Eric S. Christianson
Qohelet and the Rabbis 37
Ruth Sandberg
Ecclesiastes and the Reformers 55
Al Wolters
Sweet and Lawful Delights: Puritan Interpretations of Ecclesiastes 69
Cristian G. Rata
Part 2
History, Form, and Rhetoric
Determining the Historical Context of Ecclesiastes 89
Tremper Longman III
The Book of Qohelet “Has the Smell of the Tomb about It”:
Mortality in Qohelet and Hellenistic Skepticism 105
Leo G. Perdue
Qohelet and Royal Autobiography 119
Martin A. Shields
Framed! Structure in Ecclesiastes 139
David J. H. Beldman
The Poetry of Qohelet 165
John F. Hobbins
Part 3
Key Concepts and Passages
Epistemology in Ecclesiastes:
Remembering What It Means to Be Human 197
Ryan P. O’Dowd
“Riddled with Ambiguity”: Ecclesiastes 7:23–8:1 as an Example 221
Doug Ingram
The Meaning of hebel in Qohelet: An Intertextual Suggestion 243
Russell L. Meek
Speaking into the Silence: The Epilogue of Ecclesiastes 259
Mark J. Boda
Part 4
Language and Grammar
The Grammar of -? and ??? in Qohelet 285
Robert Holmstedt
The Verb in Qohelet 311
John Cook
“Aramaisms” in Qohelet: Methodological Problems in Identification and Interpretation 345
Eva Mroczek
Part 5
Interpreting Qohelet
The Theology of Ecclesiastes 369
Craig G. Bartholomew
Ecclesiastes and the Canon 389
Stephen G. Dempster
Fresh Perspectives on Ecclesiastes: “Qohelet for Today” 403
Iain Provan
Preaching Qohelet 419
Daniel C. Fredericks
Solomon’s Sexual Wisdom: Qohelet and the Song of Songs in the Postmodern Condition 445
Peter J. Leithart
Works Cited 465
Indexes 495

- Rusty Osborne

(Thanks to the folks at JETS for allowing me to re-publish this review online. It originally appeared in JETS 55/4 (2012): 836-38.)

The Return of the Chaos Monsters – And Other Backstories of the Bible. By Gregory Mobley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012, 155pp., $16.00 paper.

Fewer things have become more popular in Christian circles than talking about the Bible as story. In The Return of the Chaos Monsters – And Other Backstories of the Bible Gregory Mobley, professor of Christian Bible at Andover Newton Theological School, provocatively continues the conversation by presenting seven basic “backstories” that serve as the interpretive key for unlocking the significance of the Old Testament. Mobley’s backstories, which he defines as “implied or yet-to-be composed narrative[s] that [are] the necessary prologue to an existing story” (p. 9) all grow out of a worldview of Chaoskampf. In so doing, Mobley presents what he believes to be the metanarratives that gave rise to the Bible. These backstories are caught up in the deep structures of tale-telling that have captured human beings since the dawn of time.

Mobley begins his backstory biblical survey by examining the creation of the world according to the Babylonian Enuma Elish. The cosmic battle between Marduk and Tiamat illustrates that the Bible is built upon a worldview that saw all reality as struggle between chaos and order. In fact, both of these categories are built into the framework of creation. “Chaos is the raw material of creation,” (p. 19) and for this reason it keeps breaking lose all over the place when not kept in check. This is played out within the story of the Bible by God revealing divine commands that give order to the world and human beings are to function as chaos “co-managers” with God by keeping his commands (p. 23). Therefore Mobley argues that “Sin awakens the chaos monsters” (p. 22).

Marduk on a piece of lapis luzi (mid-9th cent. BC). Photo credit Wikimedia Commons.

From here it is easy to see how Mobley develops his backstory for Torah—“God has given humans an instruction manual for life on planet Earth so they can partner with God in the management of chaos” (p. 34), and the Former Prophets—“God has enacted the tough love of moral cause and effect” to encourage obedience, which in turn manages chaos. Mobley then works through the Latter Prophets highlighting the prophets’ mediatory role as divine anger managers, and then identifies the backstory of the Psalms as “Through praise humans release energy that augments God’s management of the chaos” (p. 97). Biblical wisdom is associated with humans catching glimpses of God’s chaos-managing blueprint that they can then choose to follow in order to subdue chaos. Lastly, Mobley turns to examine apocalyptic literature, which he argues, recycles the story back to its origin: “the only hope the faithful have during such tribulation is that God, as in the beginning, as in the oldest stories about divine heroes and dragons, can subdue chaos” (p. 137).

Mobley’s work is creatively communicated and imaginative. He writes with an energetic style and quip that are rarely observed in the world of biblical studies. And his articulation of the relationship between human sin and cosmic de-creation is very well taken. However, Mobley’s lively prose moves quickly from a playful pushing-the-boundaries to a troubling reality that there appear to be no boundaries—especially hermeneutical ones. Many biblical scholars have recognized that the creation story of the Bible contains polemical elements that seek to distance it from other ancient cosmologies. However, Mobley ignores such methodological sensitivity and wades forward in his chaos hunt assuming that the same human motivations that produced Mesopotamian tales are identical to those human motivations that produced the Bible. Mobley’s emphasis on chaos as an integrated part of the created world finds its ultimate—and disturbing—culmination in his dualistic assertion that at the end of all things, Satan will receive his commendation from the Lord, “well done my good and faithful servant” (p. 138).

Evangelical readers will likely find numerous other problems in Mobley’s work, such as his highly critical dating of biblical material, a derogatory dismissal of the doctrine of divine wrath, his frequent forays in Jewish mysticism, and his portrayal of a needy God who is sustained by the praise of his people. In many ways Mobley’s book embodies the dangers of philosophical intertexuality where all texts have a pretext—or, as he puts it “there is no single dry bone of a story” (p. 10). Mobley is right in that the biblical story points back to the beginning. But if God’s revealed Word is not the “dry bone” of the biblical story, then we are all simply left with our clever backstories and metanarratives. Thankfully, and to his credit, Mobley makes no claims of truth in his re-telling, but what a sad position to be in after the hard work of writing a book about the Bible.

- Rusty Osborne

I would like to extend warm congratulations to Charles Halton and Timothy Michael Law on the launch of their much-anticipated project, Marginalia: A Review of Books in History, Theology & Religion. The project boasts extensive, world-renowned advisory and editorial boards, and if the reviews already published are an indication of what is to come, then its readers are in for a treat. Marginalia is certain to become the place to go for  pleasurable, engaging, multi-faceted reviews of volumes in history, religion, and theology. Congratulations, gentlemen!

-Russ Meek

I am pleased to report that Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament 1.2 is now available for open access viewing and dowloading at www.jesot.org. Here is the article and book review line up:

“The Election and Divine Choice of Zion/Jerusalem” by DAVID B. SCHREINER

ABSTRACT: This essay examines the fourteen passages in the Old Testament that mention that the Lord chose (בחר) Zion or Jerusalem. After briefly discussing the ideas of Zion/Jerusalem’s election throughout the Old Testament, this essay discusses each of the fourteen passages to determine the semantics and nuances. This essay concludes that these fourteen passages constitute a distinct ideological thread within the larger idea of Zion/Jerusalem’s election. Thus, scholars should exhibit more precision when invoking the passages of the Lord’s choice in discussions of Zion/Jerusalem’s election. In the second half, this essay discusses the historical-critical issues that surround each occurrence. Ultimately, this essay suggests that the demise of the ideology of the Lord’s choice of Zion/Jerusalem may be linked to the dissolution of the Davidic dynasty as a viable political option. This essay closes with a few thoughts on how this phenomenon testifies to the progressive nature of God’s revelation. 

KEYWORDS: choice, election, Davidic dynasty, Zerubbabel, centralization

“Wisdom Incarnate?: Identity and Role of אשׁת־חיל (“the Valiant Woman”) in Proverbs 31:10-31″ by JISEONG KWON

ABSTRACT: Understanding the identity of אשׁת־חיל (literally, “a woman of strength”) in Prov 31:10–31 presents various exegetical and interpretative issues. What is the rational way to look at the business woman’s characteristics? Should the life of the ancient successful woman which the Hebrew acrostic pragmatically portrays be recognised as speaking of social activities in ANE culture or should it be limited to religious virtues relevant to an Israelite community? Or perhaps, we can make an interpretive decision looking at it from both sides? Employing textual and literary approaches to find the persona of אשׁת־חיל (“womon of strength”), I argue that all the activities of the woman in the poem indicate the model of virtuous woman as well as of the mundane woman in a particular historical period and that אשׁת־חיל (“the valiant woman”) is used for a symbolic figure of personified Wisdom.

KEYWORDS: אשׁת־חיל (“the valiant woman”), Hebrew acrostic, hermeneutical model, personified Wisdom

“Abraham’s Tamarisk” by MATTHEW UMBARGER

ABSTRACT: Genesis 21:33 states that “Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba” without giving any explanation for this act. One possible explanation for the tamarisk’s significance, based on religious and magical uses of tamarisk in other ancient Near Eastern cultures, is that Abraham plants the tamarisk to zone off the area around his altar in Beersheba as an outdoor shrine.

KEYWORDS: Abraham, Tamarisk, Purity, Shrine, Magic, Ancient Near Eastern religion

“The Gibeonite Revenge of 2 Sam 21:1-14: Another Example of David’s Darker Side or a Shrewd Monarch?” by BRIAN NEIL PETERSON

ABSTRACT: Second Samuel 21:1–14 records the Gibeonites’ ritualistic execution of the seven sons of Rizpah and Merab. Many scholars insist that this account illustrates David’s brutality in his securing of the throne from the Saulides. Furthermore, chapters 21–24 appear to be chronologically disruptive to the Succession Narratives of 1 Sam 16–1 Kgs 2 with no real purpose other than to offer a few closing remarks on David’s kingship. However, David’s actions in 2 Sam 21:1–14 must be understood not so much as acts of wanton brutality and carpe diem but rather as the actions of a wronged man at the hands of Saul. What is more, David’s actions must not only be appreciated in light of ANE treaty-curses and their reversal, but also in light of the motifs of “settling scores” and of throne preparation and transition. In keeping with this latter motif, 2 Sam 21:1–14 fits thematically within the appendix of 2 Sam 21–24 and the greater rhetorical purposes of the complier of 2 Sam 21–1 Kgs 2:12. The picture that emerges from this material is one of a shrewd monarch righting past wrongs and preparing his kingdom for his successor.

KEYWORDS: Gibeonites; Second Samuel 21:1–14; Curse reversal; Succession Narratives; Merab

“Correlation of Select Classical Sources Related to the Trojan War with Assyrian and Biblical Chronologies” by RODGER C. YOUNG and ANDREW E. STEINMANN

ABSTRACT: Archaeological findings have added greatly to the credibility of Josephus’s citations of Tyrian records, in particular the list of Tyrian kings and their lengths of reign from 1000 to 786 B.C. and then from 593 to 532 B.C. Considerable skepticism remains, however, regarding the accuracy of another chronological datum that Josephus found in the Tyrian records, namely that Tyre was (re)founded 240 years before construction began on Solomon’s temple. The present study cites Pompeius Trogus/Justin and other classical authors that placed the refounding of Tyre immediately before the end of the Trojan War, thus bringing into harmony the date given in the Parian Marble for the fall of Troy, 1208 B.C., with the date for Tyre’s refounding as calculated from Josephus. Essential to this reasoning is the argument for the independence of the various sources that date these two events to the last decade of the 13th century B.C. Their independence, yet essential agreement, is compared to the weakness of the reasoning for the traditional date of 1183 B.C. for the end of the Trojan War. The precision of these various arguments is based on the firmness of the regnal dates of Solomon and his successors, as derived from biblical texts.

KEYWORDS: Old Testament Chronology, Josephus, Solomon, Hiram of Tyre, Tyrian King List, Trojan War

Book Reviews

Biblical Hebrew Grammar Visualized by Francis I. Anderson and A. Dean Forbes (Reviewed by M. J. Hamilton)

Blood Expiation in Hittite and Biblical Ritual: Origins, Context, and Meaning by Yitzhaq Feder (Reviewed by S. J. Park)

Human Consciousness of God in the Book of Job: A Theological and Psychological Commentary by Jeffrey Boss (Reviewed by J. E. Stewart)

Isaiah 40–55 by R. Reed Lessing (Reviewed by P. J. Long)

Key Questions about Christian Faith: Old Testament Answers by John Goldingay (Reviewed by I. German)

The Message of Kings: God Is Present by John W. Olley (Reviewed by G. Galvin)

Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction by Craig G. Bartholomew and Ryan P. O’Dowd (Reviewed by J. M. Philpot)

Rethinking Rewritten Scripture: Composition and Exegesis in The 4QReworked Pentateuch Manuscripts by Molly M. Zahn (Reviewed by A. R. Meyer)

Right in Their Own Eyes: The Gospel According to Judges by George M. Schwab (Reviewed by D. S. Diffey)

Soundings in the Theology of the Psalms: Perspectives and Methods in Contemporary Scholarship by Rolf A. Jacobson (Reviewed by R. J. Cook)

Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 3rd ed. by Emmanuel Tov (Reviewed by J. Squirrell)

Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age by Christopher A. Rollston (Reviewed by D. B. Schreiner)