Approaches to Literary Readings of Ancient Jewish Writings Studia Semitica Neerlandica
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Approaches to Literary Readings of Ancient Jewish Writings Studia Semitica Neerlandica Editor-in-Chief Prof. dr. K.A.D. Smelik Editorial Board Prof. dr. P.C. Beentjes, Prof. dr. W.J. van Bekkum, Dr. W.C. Delsman, Prof. dr. H. Gzella, Prof. dr. J. Hoftijzer, Prof. Dr. W. Th. van Peursen, Prof. dr. J. Van Steenbergen, Prof. dr. E. Talstra, Prof. dr. M. Tanret VOLUME 62 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ssn Approaches to Literary Readings of Ancient Jewish Writings Edited by Klaas Smelik and Karolien Vermeulen LEIDEN • BOSTON 2014 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Approaches to literary readings of ancient Jewish writings / edited by Klaas Smelik and Karolien Vermeulen. pages cm. — (Studia Semitica Neerlandica ; volume 62) “The essays in this volume were presented at the “Ancient Jewish Texts and the ‘Literary’” Conference organised by the institute of Jewish Studies (university of Antwerp) and the research unit Hebrew and Judaic Studies at Ghent university in 2012 (March 14–15)”—Preface. Includes index. ISBN 978-90-04-25819-8 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25856-3 (e-book) 1. Bible. Old Testament—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—Congresses. 2. Midrash—Criticism, Textual—Congresses. I. Smelik, K. A. D., 1950– editor of compilation. II. Vermeulen, Karolien, editor of compilation. III. Smelik, K. A. D., 1950– editor of compilation. Battle of wits and words: Hushai, Ahithophel, and the Absalom rebellion (2 Samuel 16–17) BS1171.3.A67 2013 221.6’6—dc23 2013027599 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. ISSN 0081-6914 ISBN 978-90-04-25819-8 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-25856-3 (e-book) Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................... ix Introduction: Some Thoughts on Ancient Jewish Texts and the ‘Literary’ ................................................................................................. 1 Karolien Vermeulen PART ONE HEBREW BIBLE “Literary” Craft and Performative Power in the Ancient Near East: The Hebrew Bible in Context ................................................................ 19 Scott B. Noegel Selecting and Analyzing Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible: Cognitive Linguistics and the Literary ................................................ 39 Johan de Joode and Hanneke van Loon Literary Theory and Composition History of the Torah: The Sea Crossing (Exod 14:1–31) as a Test Case ................................................. 53 Angela Roskop Erisman Eyewitness Accounts in the Book of Samuel? A Reappraisal ........... 77 Klaas Smelik A Battle of Wits and Words: Hushai, Ahithophel and the Absalom Rebellion (2 Samuel 16–17) ..................................................................... 99 Robert P. Gordon דבר סתר The Intentional Use of Polysemy: A Case Study of (Judg 3:19) ..................................................................................................... 115 Karolien Vermeulen vi contents Bridging the Gap between Linguistics and Literary Studies of Ancient Biblical and Jewish Texts: A Proposal Exemplified by a Study of Gen 9:8–17 ......................................................................... 137 Ellen van Wolde The ‘Literary’ in Trickster Narratives: A Comparison of Gen 27:1–39; 29:15–30; 31:19–55; Joshua 9 and 2 Sam 3:26–27 ...... 167 Anne-Laure Zwilling PART TWO OTHER ANCIENT JEWISH WRITINGS “Friends Hearken to Your Voice”: Rabbinic Interpretations of the Song of Songs .............................................................................................. 183 Tamar Kadari Between Tradition and Innovation: Seder Eliyahu’s Literary Strategies in the Context of Late Midrash ......................................... 211 Lennart Lehmhaus Medieval Rationalist Exegesis and Intertextuality in Samuel Ibn Tibbon’s Ma’amar Yiqqawu ha-Mayim ................................................ 243 Rebecca Kneller-Rowe Index of Primary Sources ............................................................................. 269 PREFACE The essays in this volume were presented at the “Ancient Jewish Texts and the ‘Literary’” Conference organised by the Institute of Jewish Studies (University of Antwerp) and the research unit Hebrew and Judaic Studies at Ghent University in 2012 (March 14–15). The conference explored the literary dimension of ancient Jewish texts, gathering scholars from dif- ferent academic fields (rabbinic studies, biblical studies, literary studies, and philosophy) and drawing on different methodologies (literary criti- cism, rhetorical criticism, cognitive linguistics, historical criticism, and reception history) in order to establish the state of the arts in the field of ancient Jewish text studies. Participants discussed the relevance, accuracy, potential—and possible alternatives to the literary approach developed in the 1960s and 1970s and predominant since the 1980s in addressing textual features. We are grateful for the generous support of the Institute of Jewish Stud- ies and her director, prof. Vivian Liska, who made this meeting possible. We also like to thank the other members of the Institute who assisted in various ways and in particular Jan Morrens, the administrative coordina- tor of the Institute. Additional thanks go to the University of Antwerp and Ghent University for providing the more general setting for the confer- ence and the consequent book volume as well as to the several speakers at the conference who were willing to rework their contributions for the current volume. We are indebted to Irene van Rossum and Stephanie Paalvast of Brill for accepting our manuscript and for their help in producing the text. Ghent, 17th May, 2013 Klaas Smelik and Karolien Vermeulen ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library ACEBT Amsterdamse Cahiers voor Exegese en Bijbelse Theologie ACEBT.SS Amsterdamse Cahiers voor Exegese en Bijbelse Theologie Supplement Series AnBib Analecta Biblica AJSR Association for Jewish Studies Review AMD Ancient Magic and Divination ANEP J.B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern in Pictures relating to the Old Testament ANET J.B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament AOS American Oriental Series ARM Archives royales de Mari AS Anatolian Studies AThD Acta Theologica Danica Bibl Biblica BiKi Bibel und Kirche BDB F. Brown, S.R. Driver & C.A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford, 1907 BEThL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensis BIS Biblical Interpretation Series BJS Brown Judaic Studies BKAT Biblisches Kommentar zum Alten Testament BM British Museum Collection BLS Bible and Literature Series BSPS Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science BSS Biblical Seminar Series BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft CAT Commentaire de l’Ancien Testament CBC Cambridge Bible Commentary CB.OT Coniectanea Biblica. Old Testament Series CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CHAN Culture and History of the Ancient Near East Series x abbreviations DCH The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew DJD Discoveries in the Judaean Desert EThL Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses ESV English Standard Version FAT Forschungen zur Alten Testament FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testament GKC W. Gesenius, E. Kautzsch & A.E. Cowley, Hebrew Grammar HALOT Koehler, L., W. Baumgartner, and J.J. Stamm, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translated and edited under the supervision of M.E. Richardson. 5 vols. Leiden, 1994–2000 Herv. Teol. Stud. Hervormde Teologiese Studies HTR Harvard Theological Review ICC International Critical Commentary of the Holy Scriptures IJS IJS Studies in Judaica Interp. Interpretation ISBL Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature ITC International Theological Commentary JANES Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Studies JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JBQ Jewish Bible Quarterly JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies JHS Journal of Hebrew Scriptures JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JJTP Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy JLT Journal of Literature and Theology JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JNSL Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages JR Journal of Religion JS Jewish Studies JSHL Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature