“Hearts of Flesh:” Collective Identity and the Body in the Book of Ezekiel
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“Hearts of Flesh:” Collective Identity and the Body in the Book of Ezekiel by Rosanne R. Liebermann A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland June 2019 © 2019 Rosanne R. Liebermann All Rights Reserved Abstract The book of Ezekiel bears witness to one of the most critical periods for Judean identity formation: the sixth-century BCE forced migrations to Babylonia. It contains an ideology of collective identity which sets the Judean forced migrants apart from the foreign nations surrounding them as well as from the Judeans who remained in Judah. Previous scholarship has tended to emphasize the rhetorical context of one or the other of these outside groups instead of recognizing the significance of both. Meanwhile, social scientific research into collective identities has shown that they are continually reproduced through social interactions in the material world. Individual bodies are the primary sites of identity expression through activities such as bodily modifications, speech, and other behaviours. An ideology of collective identity outlined in a text must have the capacity to be enacted through the body if it is to be effective. This material aspect of ideology is rarely acknowledged in biblical studies, and the book of Ezekiel is no exception. Therefore, the current project addresses Ezekiel’s approach to the collective identity of the forced migrant Judeans in relation to all proximate external groups, paying especial attention to the way he utilizes bodily symbols of identity. Examining Ezekiel’s ideology in this way reveals that he seeks to construct the boundaries of his community by “othering” the practices of foreigners and of the Judeans remaining in Judah. By evoking practices connected with the body in particular, Ezekiel creates an impression of bodies which are inherently different from those of his designated in-group. In so doing, he forms a new ethnic identity for the forced migrant Judeans. Additionally, by describing ii bodily practices within his own community, Ezekiel reveals his idealized structure of society in terms of gender stratification and religious hierarchy. Studying the bodily practices mentioned in the book of Ezekiel helps to explain not only the writer’s ideology of group identity but also why it was evidently effective, given the survival of a distinct Judean community in Babylonia. These discoveries contribute to both a synchronic and diachronic understanding of some of the key developments in Judean collective identity. Advisor: Theodore J. Lewis Second Reader: Alice Mandell Committee Chair: Mary Favret Readers: Paul Delnero Pier Larson iii Acknowledgements I could not have completed this project without help from a multitude of sources. My advisor, Theodore J. Lewis, provided me with detailed feedback for every draft I gave him – even those far from ready to be seen by anyone else. His guidance, stimulating discussion, and enthusiastic support throughout the PhD programme kept me on track right up to the end. I am also very thankful to Alice Mandell, who came in as an advisor to this project in its final stages. Her ability to identify its contribution in ways I hadn’t fully articulated has been of immense help. To Paul Delnero I owe especial thanks for introducing me to the theoretical approaches which inspired this dissertation. His seminar on Mesopotamian ritual was one of the highlights of my graduate student experience and I greatly appreciate his support for this project. Additionally, I would like to thank the outside readers on my committee, Mary Favret and Pier Larson, for providing insightful comments and questions during my defense. My endeavor to study the Hebrew Bible is largely due to the mentorship of Susan Gillingham at the University of Oxford. Meeting her whilst still in secondary school inspired me to attend Worcester College, where I was introduced to the academic study of the Bible in an incredibly supportive and stimulating environment. If it weren’t for Sue, there is little chance this dissertation would exist. I also owe thanks to the entire Near Eastern Studies department at Johns Hopkins University for substantial financial and educational support. Especial thanks are owed to its amazing administrators, Glenda Hogan and Vonnie Wild, who helped me avoid many a bureaucratic nightmare. I am very grateful for the other sources of financial support I received: the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Jewish Studies grants, Alvin H. Blum iv Fellowship, and Dean’s Teaching Fellowship at Johns Hopkins, as well as the George Barton Fellowship at the Albright Institute. I’m also thankful for the opportunities I was given to support myself through working at the Johns Hopkins libraries and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. My fellow students in Near Eastern Studies made the graduate school experience worth having. My good friends and colleagues in Hebrew Bible, Erin Villareal and William Reed, generously shared with me their insights, books, and words of encouragement. The “Calvert House,” which at various times included (in addition to myself) Anna Glenn, Ioana Dumitru, Jacob Bongers, and Rania Galal, was a wonderful place to live during the majority of my graduate student years. Its residents were the best housemates and friends I could have had. Finally, I owe a huge amount of gratitude to my family for all of their love and support. My parents, Howard and Anne Liebermann, have encouraged me wholeheartedly in every endeavor. My parents-in-law, Craig and Anne Patterson, have likewise been a constant source of support, especially during my final year of writing when I spent a good deal of time in Kansas. Most of all, I’m thankful to my husband Patrick Patterson, who has been by my side throughout this entire process. Even though at times the end did not seem to be in sight, he always believed in my ability to succeed and ensured that I did, providing me with a steady flow of meals and pastries to fuel the dissertation writing. It is to him that I dedicate this work. v Table of Contents Abstract..............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................iv List of Tables.....................................................................................................................ix List of Figures.....................................................................................................................x Abbreviations....................................................................................................................xi Introduction........................................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Sources, Methodology, and History of Scholarship...............................7 1.1 Sources...........................................................................................................................7 1.1.1 Ezekiel the Book and Ezekiel the Prophet..........................................7 1.1.2 Judeans in Babylonia: The Evidence................................................12 1.2 Methodology................................................................................................................29 1.2.1 Collective Identities..........................................................................30 1.2.2 Materiality, the Body, and Identity...................................................36 1.2.3 Forced Migrations, Trauma, and Identity.........................................46 1.3 History of Scholarship.................................................................................................49 1.3.1 Ezekiel’s Exilic Setting.....................................................................50 1.3.2 Ezekiel and Collective Identity.........................................................59 Chapter Two: Foreign Bodies.........................................................................................66 2.1 Babylon: Textual Influences........................................................................................68 2.1.1 Vocabulary........................................................................................70 2.1.2 Literature...........................................................................................83 2.2 Babylon: Non-Textual Influences................................................................................92 2.2.1 Iconography......................................................................................95 2.2.2 Clothing............................................................................................98 2.2.3 Military Practices............................................................................110 2.2.4 Religious Practices..........................................................................120 2.3 Other Foreigners........................................................................................................130 vi 2.3.1 Assyria............................................................................................134 2.3.2 Egypt...............................................................................................143 2.3.3 The Question of Gog.......................................................................147 2.3.4 The Uncircumcised Nations............................................................150