THE PRIEST and the GREAT KING Temple-Palace Relations in the Persian Empire
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THE PRIEST AND THE GREAT KING BIBLICAL AND JUDAIC STUDIES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Volume 10 edited by William H. C. Propp Previously published in the series: 1. The Hebrew Bible and Its Interpreters, edited by William Henry Propp, Baruch Halpern, and David Noel Freedman (1990). 2. Studies in Hebrew and Aramaic Orthography, by David Noel Freedman, A. Dean Forbes, and Francis I. Andersen (1992). 3. Isaiah 46, 47, and 48: A New Literary-Critical Reading, by Chris Franke (1994). 4. The Book around Immanuel: Style and Structure in Isaiah 2–12, by Andrew H. Bartelt (1996). 5. The Structure of Psalms 93–100, by David M. Howard Jr. (1997). 6. Psalm 119: The Exaltation of Torah, by David Noel Freedman (1999). 7. Between Heaven and Earth: Divine Presence and Absence in the Book of Ezekiel, by John F. Kutsko (2000). 8. The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East, by Alberto R. W. Green (2003). 9. Le-David Maskil: A Birthday Tribute to David Noel Freedman, edited by Richard Elliott Friedman and William H. C. Propp (2004). THE PRIEST AND THE GREAT KING Temple-Palace Relations in the Persian Empire Lisbeth S. Fried EISENBRAUNS Winona Lake, Indiana 2004 Published for Biblical and Judaic Studies The University of California, San Diego by Eisenbrauns Winona Lake, Indiana ç Copyright 2004 by Lisbeth S. Fried. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Cataloging in Publication Data Fried, Lisbeth S. The priest and the great king : temple-palace relations in the Persian Empire / Lisbeth S. Fried p. cm. — (Biblical and Judaic studies from the University of California, San Diego ; v. 10) Revision of the author’s thesis (doctoral)—New York University Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 1-57506-090-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Iran—Politics and government. 2. Iran—History—To 640. 3. Temples—Middle East—History—To 1500. 4. Religion and politics—Middle East—History—To 1500. I. Title. II. Biblical and Judaic studies ; v. 10. DS275.F67 2004 322u.1u0935—dc22 2004009806 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.†‰ Dedicated to Gerda Seligson (luuz) (1909–2002) Vale Contents Preface . ix Abbreviations . xi Chapter 1. Introduction . 1 The Problem 2 The Theory of Self-Governance 2 The Theory of Persian Imperial Authorization 3 The Model of Bureaucratic Empires 4 Methodology 6 Chapter 2. Temple-Palace Relations in Babylonia . 8 Sources and Methodological Limitations 8 Temple Personnel 9 Temple-Palace Relations under Nabonidus and Cyrus 20 The Resources of the Temple and Their Allocation 35 Conclusion 47 Chapter 3. Temple-Palace Relations in Egypt . 49 The Pharaoh 50 The Temple 54 The Impact of Achaemenid Rule 63 The Jewish Garrison at Elephantine 92 Conclusion 106 Chapter 4. Temple-Palace Relations in Asia Minor . 108 Darius’s Letter to Gadatas 108 Border Dispute between Miletus and Myus 119 The Donation of Droaphernes 129 A Decree of Mylasa against the Opponents of Mausolus 137 The Trilingual Inscription of Xanthus 140 Conclusion 154 vii viii Contents Chapter 5. Temple-Palace Relations in Yehud . 156 A Model of Achaemenid Rule 156 Sources and Problems for the Study of Judah 157 The Restoration of the Temple of Yhwh in Jerusalem 158 Cyrus the Messiah and a Divine Quid Pro Quo 177 The Political Organization of Persian Period Yehud 183 Nehemiah’s Mission and the Ensuing Political Struggle 193 Ezra’s Mission 212 Yo˙anan the Priest 227 Alexander 231 Yaddua, the High Priest of the Jews 232 Conclusion 233 Appendix . 234 Kings of Ancient Mesopotamia 234 Egyptian Pharaohs 235 Map: Cities and Islands of the Aegean Sea . 236 Bibliography . 237 Indexes Index of Authors . 259 Index of Scripture . 264 Preface When I began graduate school in 1989, the Persian period, unlike others, was the Dark Age of Jewish history. The years between the temple’s destruc- tion and the rise of Alexander were a blank that the books of Ezra and Ne- hemiah could not fill. Noticeably missing was a description of the change in Judah from monarchy to theocracy. At the time of the First Temple’s destruc- tion, a Davidic king ruled Judah. Under Alexander and the Ptolemies, the high priest reportedly led the Jewish nation. The book Ezra–Nehemiah could not get us from here to there, from monarchy to theocracy. More than by the theocracy’s unknown origin, I was haunted by the con- flicting views toward it. In Josephus, Philo, and Ben Sira, the high priest was God’s emissary on earth. According to biblical scholars, however, the Mosaic theocracy was rigid, legalistic, a “dead work,” “estranged from the heart,” a source of opprobrium.1 I want to know if the Jewish priesthood did accrue secular power, and if so, how it exercised this power in relation to the imperial forces that sur- rounded it. I write in an unabashed attempt to defend it. I do so by setting it in its ancient Near Eastern context. Rather than focusing on the Judean priesthood, I try to understand the role of any priest in the ancient world. I want to know if theocracies arose in other parts of the Persian Empire, and if so, how, and if not, why not. I believe that the Jews and the Jewish priest- hood were not unique and that whatever was true of other temples and other temple cities in the face of imperial domination and control would also be true of the Temple of Yhwh and of Jerusalem. Acknowledgments This book is a complete revision of my Ph.D. dissertation. Neither the dissertation nor this book could have been written without help and wise in- struction. The dissertation was conceived in the classrooms of Peter Ma- chinist and Haim Tadmor at the University of Michigan but was brought to the birthstool at New York University’s Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. At the risk of belaboring the metaphor, I would add that its mid- wives were my adviser, Baruch A. Levine, and my committee: Daniel Flem- ing, Gernot Windfuhr, William Arnal, S. David Sperling, and Lawrence 1. E.g., Wellhausen, Prolegomena, 425. Please note that in this book source references are abbreviated in the footnotes. The full citations are found in the bibliography. ix x Preface Schiffman. I add Bezalel Porten who, although not on the committee, read every word of the dissertation and made critical suggestions at every point. Although he may not agree with its conclusions, this book bears the stamp of his imprint. Gary Beckman, Lester Cole, Eugene Cruz-Uribe, Victor Horowitz, Yonatan Nadelman, Carolyn Thorpe, and Norman Yoffee were there when I needed them for suggestions, counsel, and advice. Thank you. I want to express a special note of gratitude to David Noel Freedman for his interest and concern, and for mentoring me all through my graduate ca- reer and beyond. It is greatly appreciated; I hope I continue to merit it. I thank William Propp and his committee for accepting this book into their series, and for their critical suggestions. The dissertation and now the book could not have been written without the University of Michigan’s Department of Near Eastern Studies. Their willingness to provide me a home, library, e-mail, and access to their out- standing faculty is gratefully appreciated. It would not have become a book, however, without the efforts of Beverly McCoy and Jim Eisenbraun and all of the folks at Eisenbrauns; their efforts are greatly appreciated. I want to thank my husband, Michael, who suffered through four years without a wife while I commuted to New York every week. He has supported me unflinchingly and without complaints in all my endeavors. He has been the wind beneath my wings. Finally, I dedicate this book in love to the mem- ory of my teacher and friend Gerda Seligson, lòòz , of the University of Mich- igan’s Classics department. She patiently taught me Greek, Latin, and so much more. Vale. Abbreviations General AO Antiquités orientales: Tablets in the collections of the Musée du Louvre BIN Babylonian Inscriptions in the Collection of James B. Nies BM Tablets in the Collections of the British Museum BRM Babylonian Records in the Library of J. Pierpont Morgan CBSTablets in the Collections of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia DB Bihistun (Bisitun) Inscription of Darius DNa Inscription A of Darius at Naqs-I-Rustam DNb Inscription B of Darius at Naqs-I-Rustam DSe Inscription E of Darius at Susa DSf Inscription F of Darius I at Susa ET English translation FdXFouilles de Xanthos LXX Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) MT Masoretic (Hebrew) Text NRSV New Revised Standard Version of the English Bible P. P apyrus PBS Publications of the Babylonian Section, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania PN Personal name PTS Cuneiform Tablets in the Princeton Theological Seminary RhM Rheinisches Museum VATTablets in the Collections of the Staatliche Museen, Berlin XPh Inscription H of Xerxes at Persepolis YYasna YBC Tablets in the Babylonian Collection, Yale University Library Reference Works AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research AB Anchor Bible Commentary Series ABC Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles. A. K. Grayson. Texts from Cuneiform Sources 5. Locust Valley, N.Y., 1975. Reprinted: Winona Lake, Ind., 2000 xi xii Abbreviations ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York, 1992 ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library ABL Assyrian and Babylonian Letters. Edited by R. F. Harper. 14 vols. Chicago, 1892–1914 AfO Archiv für Orientforschung AHw Akkadisches Handwörterbuch.