THE RHETORIC OF NEW CONQUEST AND ITS USE IN THE EXILIC AND POST-EXILIC BOOKS by JENNIFER NICOLE BASS B.A., University of Lethbridge, 2005 Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology, Acadia Divinity College, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Theology) Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University Fall Graduation 2016 © Jennifer Nicole Bass, 2016 This thesis by Jennifer Nicole Bass was defended successfully in an oral examination on 6 December 2016. The examining committee for the thesis was: Dr. Stephen McMullin, Academic Dean & Chair Dr. Daniel Driver, External Examiner Dr. Matthew Walsh, Internal Examiner Dr. Glenn Wooden, Supervisor & MA(Th) Director This thesis is accepted in its present form by Acadia Divinity College, the Faculty of Theology of Acadia University, as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Theology). ii I, Jennifer Nicole Bass, hereby grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to provide copies of my thesis, upon request, on a non-profit basis. Jennifer Nicole Bass Author Dr. Glenn Wooden Supervisor 6 December 2016 Date iii CONTENTS ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………….….… v 1. INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………… 1 2. BACKGROUND ….……………………………………………………………….… 9 2.A. War in the Pre-Exilic Period 9 2.B. The New Exodus 28 3. ANTICIPATING A NEW CONQUEST …………………………………….……… 52 3.A. Violence and War in the Post-Exilic Period 53 3.B. The Elements of the Ban in the Restoration 63 3.C. Justifications of the New Conquest 89 4. UNFULFILLED CONQUEST, THE SECOND TEMPLE, AND APOCALYPTIC ORIGINS ………………………………………………………………….……… 115 5. CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………….…… 134 BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………….… 138 iv ABSTRACT Violence in the Hebrew Bible is a subject that is uncomfortable, and so scholars often ignore or gloss over it, favouring instead metaphorical or even pacifistic interpretations of uncomfortable texts, rather than interpreting them in their cultural setting. This is espe- cially true for the violent language used in the later books. However, the language is pre- sent and needs to be addressed. One of the most important metaphors used in exilic and post-exilic literature was the New Exodus. New Exodus language was used to describe the Exile and return from Per- sia, which opens the question as to whether or not, like the original Exodus, the figurative Exodus ended in a New Conquest. Coupled to this, there are similarities between the ele- ,which was implemented during the Conquest by the Israelites ,(חרם) ments of the ban and the events of the Restoration, and between the justification of the ban in the Conquest and the attitude of the returnees to those in the land. Over the course of this study themes will be discussed that relate to both the original Exodus and Conquest and the Exile and Restoration, in order to clarify the figurative links that were made between the two time periods. Themes that are covered include the use of violent language, the New Exodus, Yahweh as the Divine Warrior, the ban, and the second temple. They are looked at, primarily, to understand how the golah community was interpreting the events and changes that were happening around them. The focus will be on violent language and imagery, which will be followed from its roots in early con- quest stories through to its role in the development of apocalyptic literature. The main goal is to demonstrate whether or not the community purposefully used New Conquest language, and for what reason. v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The Exodus was so important to the Israelites that it became their foundational iden- tity story. They reused it as both imagery and explanation in their later writings. The role that the Exodus had in the ancient Israelites’ national identity can hardly be overesti- mated. As a shared-origin story, the beliefs held in common of their shared history and ancestral ties that bound them together as a group, it provided the starting point and back- ground for everything that happened to the nation. However, it was not the only story that shaped the people of Israel’s self-understanding. In fact, by itself it would mean very lit- tle, had it not led directly into the next phase of Israel's history: the conquest and settlement of Canaan, their Promised Land. This pattern, from oppression outside the land to independence within it, is repeated in a modified form in literature from the Exile and Restoration. 1. Reasons for this Study Analogous history. The parallels between the two parts of Israel’s stories are the starting point for this study, which will explore the relationship between the Conquest and Restoration periods. Often, due to its prominence in the Pentateuch (taking up, or provid- ing the framework for, the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy), and especially because of its frequent use as a metaphor throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Exodus is of- ten investigated independently of the Conquest. This is especially true when applied to studies of exilic and post-exilic literature, because the Israelites’ return from captivity was often compared to a New Exodus in those writings, but scholars rarely, if ever, compare it to a New Conquest1. 1 Analogous history. The parallels between the two parts of Israel’s stories are the starting point for this study, which will explore the relationship between the Conquest and Restoration periods. Often, due to its 1 It may be a mistake to end studies of the Exile with comparisons to the Exodus alone.2 Ultimately, the Exile, just like its prototype, the Exodus story, concluded with the occupation and settlement of the land. The Israelites took their early foundational myths and applied them to a new situation: the exile from, and return to, the land. As Lester Grabbe explains, “[l]iterature (whether on the real or literary level) drew on the available tradition, with reuse of phraseology and also literary allusions to other literary works, during the process of development.”3 If the original Exodus ended in war and conquest, it follows that the reuse of that story might well do the same. Therefore, it is worth examin- ing what followed the New Exodus to detect if the Israelites viewed it, too, through a symbolic lens, one that referenced the original conquest. Parallels to the Conquest. Those repeated historical themes provide the starting point for this study. From there, it is the language, symbolism, and even the parallels to -that make the New Conquest worth exploring. While New Exodus lan (חרם) the Ban guage and broad resemblance of events in exilic books have often been recognized, scholars usually stop their examinations before the end of the story: the conquest (or, in prominence in the Pentateuch (taking up, or providing the framework for, the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy), and especially because of its frequent use as a metaphor throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Exodus is often investigated independently of the Conquest. This is especially true when applied to studies of exilic and post-exilic literature, because the Israelites’ return from captivity was often compared to a New Exodus in those writings, but scholars rarely, if ever, compare it to a New ConquestAnalogous history. The parallels between the two parts of Israel’s stories are the starting point for this study, which will ex- plore the relationship between the Conquest and Restoration periods. Often, due to its prominence in the Pentateuch (taking up, or providing the framework for, the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy), and especially because of its frequent use as a metaphor throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Exodus is often in- vestigated independently of the Conquest. This is especially true when applied to studies of exilic and post- exilic literature, because the Israelites’ return from captivity was often compared to a New Exodus in those writings, but scholars rarely, if ever, compare it to a New ConquestOne of the difficulties in this study was the lack of literature that even indirectly dealt with the subject matter. E. John Hamlin’s “The Joshua Tradi- tion Reinterpreted” (South East Asia Journal of Theology 23 [1982]: 103–108) was the only literature I found that actually uses the phrase “New Conquest”, and it was a scant five pages, whereas the Exodus’s role in later writings is a common subject for scholars. See bibliography. 2 For instance, Ps 78 is an example of the Exodus being retold as a lead-up to the reestablishment of Jerusalem (Samuel E. Loewenstamm, The Evolution of the Exodus Tradition, trans. Baruch J. Schwartz [Je- rusalem: The Magnes Press, 1992], 42). 3 Lester L. Grabbe, A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period, vol 1 (London: T & T Clark International, 2004), 239. 2 the case of the Persian-period Judah, the resettlement) of the land. However, both stories end in a similar manner and both use similar metaphors. It is the goal of this study to de- termine if those similarities are merely superficial or if the writers consciously evoked them. Customary lack of treatment of violence. There is an intriguing tendency among scholars to gloss over the violence in the exilic and post-exilic writings. Many modern Christian scholars would like to think exilic stories are about Yahweh’s salvific acts mov- ing away from war and violence (for example, the early Passover story) towards more peaceful deeds; however, violence remained an inherent part of the stories and the lan- guage that was employed to tell them. The problem, as Corrine Carvalho puts it, is that “Christian theologians seem to want a pacifist messiah, a non-bloody kingdom, an effort- less victory.”4 This creates a problem of correlation between what some of the writings say and how scholars interpret them (or at least, what they emphasize).