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Department of Biblical Studies University of Helsinki 2017 Judeans of Egypt in the Persian period (539-332 BCE) in light of the Aramaic Documents Esko Siljanen Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Helsinki in the Main Building, Auditorium XIV, on the 31th of March 2017 at 10 a.m. Author Esko Siljanen Pielestie 7, 50190 Mikkeli Finland e-mail:[email protected] Supervisor Professor Martti Nissinen Old Testament Studies University of Helsinki Pre-examiners Professor Antti Laato Gammaltestamentlig exegetik med judaistik Åbo Akademie Professor Emeritus Bob Becking Biblical Studies Utrecht University Opponent Professor Antti Laato Gammaltestamentlig exegetik med judaistik Åbo Akademie Cover pictures Front: Ferry boat on Blue Nile in Ethiopia (© Esko Siljanen 2015) Back: Author on Blue Nile (© Samuel Siljanen 2015) ISBN 978-951-51-3019-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-3020-4 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2017 ABSTRACT Siljanen Esko: Judeans of Egypt in the Persian Period (539-332 BCE) in Light of the Aramaic Documents This study aims at finding out what kind of picture the Aramaic documents found from Egypt present about Judeans of Egypt in the Persian period (539-332 BCE). The main research ques- tions are: (1) What picture do the Aramaic documents discovered from Persian-period Egypt pro- vide about the Judean settlement of Egypt during the same period in question? (2) How do these documents present the religion of the Judeans of Egypt? (3) Did the Judeans of Egypt have any knowledge of the texts and traditions included in the Hebrew Bible, especially in the Torah? (4) What kind of picture do these Aramaic documents provide about the administration, military and economic organization of the Persian Empire in Egypt? The data consists of the 1,042 Aramaic documents dating from the Persian period, found from Egypt and published up through the year 2013. Historical analysis is implemented in three phases: source criticism to verify the reliability and validity of the sources, content analysis to analyze the data and interpretative dialogue to un- derstand the findings in relation to the research questions. The vast data complements the picture provided by previous research placing the Judeans of Egypt in the historical context of the Per- sian Empire. The findings, in relation to the research questions, show that: (1) the Judeans were settled in Egypt mainly in the areas of Elephantine in the South as well as in the region of Memphis in the North. Through this research the picture of the Judean settlement in Egypt in general and of the Judean military garrison in Elephantine in particular becomes clearer. The research confirms the previously suggested theory that the Judean settlement of Egypt was rather old, most proba- bly dating back to the end of the 7th and beginning of the 6th century BCE. Judeans served as loy- al subjects of the Persian Empire in the positions of regular soldiers and professional Aramaic scribes. (2) They possessed a religious group identity that was mainly Yahwistic; however, clear evidence also exists to prove their partial religious acculturation, especially with the Arameans. (3) The Judeans of Egypt drew from the same source of religious tradition as the texts of the He- brew Bible; however, their knowledge of the traditions known from the Torah was limited. They maintained good relationships with the High Priest of Jerusalem, although they did not know about the centralization of the cult in Jerusalem. No copy of the texts of the Hebrew Bible has been found from Egypt. Thus, it is very probable that the religious tradition was passed down to the Judeans of Egypt in oral form. In addition, this study (4) enhances the current understanding of well-organized Persian Imperial administration with an effective economic system, and power- ful army that was present and active in Egypt during the first Persian period (525-404 BCE). Its greatest challenges were the peripheral location of Egypt from the heartland of the Empire and the evident corruption of its officials. Since the end of the 5th century BCE, the Persian rule in Egypt began fading, and also the Judeans of Egypt disappeared from the scene. This study enriches recent understanding of the Judean settlement of Egypt through its vast data of Aramaic documents that have been systematically examined. The findings confirm that Judeans had families with them in Egypt, a fact which indicates the long age of their settle- ment. A novel finding in this study is the fact that the Judeans occupied mainly the positions of regular soldier and professional Aramaic scribe. This research shows that the Judean community of Egypt mainly had a Yahwistic group identity. The greatest token of this identity was their temple of Yahu in Elephantine. Yahwistic names were also still highly preserved by the Judeans of Egypt during the Persian period. Keywords: Judeans of Egypt, Persian period, Aramaic documents, Elephantine. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My interest in Biblical studies, Hebrew language and Jewish history awakened when I en- rolled in the University of Helsinki for theological studies in 1974. Since then, I have been privileged to conduct research in three continents: Africa, Europe and the Middle East. I want to express my warm gratitude to all those people who have encouraged and helped me during the long study process that produced this dissertation. I am grateful to Prof. Tapani Harviainen who was the first to lead me into the inter- esting world of the Hebrew language. I am in debt of gratitude also to late Prof. Timo Veijola who guided me into the process of doctoral studies. I would like to thank Professors Risto Lauha and Anneli Aejmelaeus who encouraged me to proceed in the study process after the sudden loss of Prof. Veijola. My special thanks belong to Prof. Martti Nissinen who has carried the greatest burden of advising me through the study process to the final goal. His wise advice and patient attitude have always been a great source of encouragement for me. Both of us coming from the Land of Savo has provided us with a common language. I would also like to express my thanks to Dr. Juha Pakkala who kindly has acted as my sec- ond adviser. Mrs. Brenda Stelle deserves my special and warm thanks for correcting the English language of the dissertation. She did this in the middle of the jungle of Africa. I thank the pre-examiners of my dissertation, Prof. Antti Laato from Åbo Akademie and Prof. Emeritus Bob Becking from Utrecht University. Their constructive comments have been valuable and provided important new aspects to the dissertation. I am in debt of gratitude to the Rothberg School of the Hebrew University of Jerusa- lem for facilitating my studies of Semitic languages in 2000-2003. I was honored to be able to study topics related to the Persian period in the guidance of Professors Ephraim Stern and Wayne Horowitz, as well as under the mentorship of Mr. Yehuda Kaplan, Curator of the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. I thank École Biblique et Archéologique Franҫaise in Jerusalem for hosting me several times in 2008 while collecting the data of my research. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa Ethio- pia for letting me be part of its inspiring faculty during the years 2013-2016. Particularly I want to raise the name of my late Superior Gideon Adugna who left us a legacy to continue theological studies in spite of all the difficulties on the way. Having written the research principally along a full-time job makes me very grateful to the Finnish Cultural Foundation, South Savo Regional fund which by its grant enabled me to take a one year study leave for the research work. I am also grateful to the Golda Meir Fellowship Fund that enabled me to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addi- tion, I would like to express my warm thanks to the Finnish Middle East Society for its sup- port to my study. Thanks also to the Finnish Lutheran Mission for supporting the academic study of Jewish history, and specifically this research. I would like to thank all my friends and colleagues who have encouraged and sup- ported this research with their wise advice, comments and other means. Thanks to my for- mer Superior, Rev. Simo S. Salo, for his encouragement and support, thanks to Dr. Kirsi Valkama and doctoral student Tero Alstola for their comments and advice, special thanks to Dr. Marjatta Tolvanen-Ojutkangas for her academic and personal support, thanks to Mr. Joel Ahola for his skillful help with the map of Egypt. Last but not least, from the bottom of my heart I want to express my sincere and lov- ing gratefulness to my dear wife Tuula and our children Eeva-Maria, Samuel and his wife Lotta, and Mikael. This research process would never have been completed without your support. Thank you for allowing me to be occupied with this research so many years and carry the heavy books in our luggage between different continents! Thank you for your pa- tience and love. I want to thank my children for their contribution in improving the English language of this dissertation as well as in solving some technical problems related to it. Dear Dr. Tuula, thank you for your constant encouragement, support, and practical help. Your patience is greater than what you ever have imagined! I thank you for your un- failing love and prayers that have carried me through this study process! To you I dedicate this work. Sola Gratia ‒ Soli Deo Gloria! Jerusalem, February 2017 Esko Siljanen ABBREVIATIONS AfO Archiv für Orientforschung Akk.
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