Chapter Five
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chapter five THE CONTEXT AND MOTIVATIONS FOR YHWH’S NEW KINGSHIP The analysis of chapter two solidified different stages in YHWH’s kingship: a 12th–10th century YHWH warrior king as well as an 8th century Jerusalemite YHWH who is a creator and universal king. The goal of this chapter is to clarify the context in which that change took place. Thus the rise of Mar- duk’s kingship discussed in chapter four operates as a historical analogue to understand the similar change to YHWH’s kingship in Israel. YHWH’s king- ship changed in response to similar historical pressures that the Babylonians experienced under the Assyrian pressure of Tukulti-Ninurta I. We will argue that YHWH’s new kingship in Pss 93, 95–99 was expressed in response to the Neo-Assyrian imperialism begun under Tiglath-pileser III. This chapter will also spend some time assessing similarities between YHWH and Mar- duk, both to explore if this is a possible moment of CT, and to demonstrate how the features of Marduk’s rise inform developments in YHWH’s kingship. Only secondarily is this analysis open to the possibility that Israelite scribes culturally translated Marduk’s kingship to their own context in reformulat- ing YHWH’s divinity. This secondary feature is not required for formulating a suitable context for change in YHWH’s kingship, thus answering the moti- vations for change in YHWH’s kingship. 5.1. The Similar Histories of Marduk’s and YHWH’s Kingships Marduk is a suitable candidate to assess the re-expression of YHWH since both are similar deities, with similar histories and share the ability to attract a variety of elements to their divine natures. Although both deities share similar features in the early stages of their divinities, this does not imply that Israelite scribes were aware of Marduk’s early history. Identifying their shared histories assists in understanding how the deities became related and why the eventual translation of Marduk to YHWH may have taken place. Marduk and YHWH share parallel expansions in their kingships evident in the movement from their early histories to the height of their expressions in the Enūma eliš and Pss 93, 95–99 respectively. In their earliest stages, 120 chapter five YHWH and Marduk were relatively unimportant deities. Marduk’s early divinity was not connected with a cultic centre; only during the reign of Hammurabi was Marduk explicitly connected to Babylon. Nor did Marduk have any particular connection with an element of nature that made him an important deity. A similar history is true of YHWH. As discussed in chapter 1, YHWH was not originally connected with a cultic centre. There are no indications he was connected to a specific part of nature at his earliest stages. YHWH was thus a relatively minor deity at his earliest stages as texts like Deut 32:8–9 demonstrate. Related to this early stage, YHWH and Marduk are also outsider deities as opposed to the more popular deities of the main Canaanite and Mesopota- mian cults. Across the ANE, we see patterns of outsider deities being related cross-culturally. The early poetry of the Hebrew Bible presents YHWH’s geographical origin in the south, and thus outside Israel, but also presents YHWH like Baal from the north. In that poetry there is a strong alignment of YHWH with Baal of Ugarit. Therefore, storm and warrior deity features are used to reify YHWH.1 Like Marduk and YHWH who were outsider deities without a strong connection to a specific cult, Baal was also not the head deity in his early stages. Baal was an outsider compared to the astral fea- tures of other members of the divine council at Ugarit.2 At the outset of the Baal Cycle, Baal comes into the divine council from the periphery, to admonish the gods for the way they have allowed Yamm, the god of the sea, to make demands of them (KTU 1.2 I 23–28).3 Baal causes the gods to lower their heads (in shame?), upsets the traditional structure of the divine coun- cil, and answers the challenge of Yamm in the form of battle. Indeed, the Baal Cycle seems to operate as a legitimizing myth for the institution of the Baal cult at Ugarit among a predominate El cult. As a deity of the periphery, Baal is also associated with other outsider deities. The Egyptian deity with the greatest correspondence to Baal was Seth, who is also represented as a deity on the periphery of the Egyptian pantheons.4 Like the relationship 1 Judg 5:4–5 // Ps 69:8–9; Deut 33:2–5; Exod 15:1–18. 2 Smith discusses Baal compared to the astral qualities of El’s family; Shahar and Shalim (dusk), Yarih (the moon), Athtar and Athtart (stars and heaven), and Repesh (new moon) are all given astral qualities in various Ugaritic texts; Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism, 61–63. These astral features contrast with Baal the storm-god, suggesting Baal’s outsider status. 3 Mark S. Smith, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Vol 1 (VTSup 55; New York: Brill; 1994), 266–267. 4 Thus it is no surprise that Seth eventually becomes connected with the foreign deity Baal in the Ramesside period (Dynasty 19); te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion, 114. Te Velde offers various instances where Seth is associated with foreign deities and peoples. The stela.