ISRAEL AND EMPIRE ii ISRAEL AND EMPIRE A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism Leo G. Perdue and Warren Carter Edited by Coleman A. Baker LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY 1 Bloomsbury T&T Clark An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Imprint previously known as T&T Clark 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury, T&T Clark and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2015 © Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the authors. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-0-56705-409-8 PB: 978-0-56724-328-7 ePDF: 978-0-56728-051-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typeset by Forthcoming Publications (www.forthpub.com) 1 Contents Abbreviations vii Preface ix Introduction: Empires, Colonies, and Postcolonial Interpretation 1 I. Sources of Social Power 2 II. The Power of Discourse 2 III. The Discourse of Resistance 3 1 Major Considerations in the Analysis of Imperial Rule and Postcolonial Criticism 5 I. What Is Postcolonialism Criticism? Postcolonial Historiography and Biblical Interpretation 5 II. The Subaltern and Economic Exploitation 7 III. Racism in the Ideology and Practice of Imperialism 8 IV. Orientalism: The Subverting of Western Stereotypes of the East 9 V. The Location of Culture 15 VI. Can the Subaltern Speak? 19 VII. Postcolonial Historiography 22 VIII. The Imperial Metanarrative 30 IX. Colonial Resistance 32 X. The Diaspora 33 2 The Assyrian Empire, the Conquest of Israel, and the Colonization of Judah 37 I. Historical Introduction 37 II. The Metanarrative of the Assyrian Empire 40 III. Israel/Judah and the Assyrian Empire: The Example of Hosea 49 IV. The Colonization of Judah and Assyrian Domination 63 vi ISRAEL AND EMPIRE 3 Judah under the Neo-Babylonian Empire 69 I. Historical Introduction 69 II. The Babylonian Metanarrative of Empire 72 III. Jewish Communities during the Exile 76 IV. The Prophetic Resistance to the Empires: Jeremiah and Second Isaiah 87 4 The Persian Empire and the Colony of Judah 107 I. Historical Introduction 107 II. Persian Culture and the Imperial Metanarrative 109 III. Judah as a Persian Colony 117 IV. Conclusion: Unity and Diversity in Judaism in the Persian Empire 127 5 Judea/Israel under the Greek Empires 129 I. Alexander the Macedonian (336–323), his Conquests, and Successors (Diadochi) 135 II. Ptolemaic Rule and Judea/Israel 147 III. Seleucid Rule of Judea/Israel 200–175 BCE 172 IV. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BCE) 184 V. Post-164 BCE Rededication of the Temple and Independence 210 6 Judea/Israel under the Roman Empire 217 I. Historical Introduction 223 II. The Metanarrative of the Roman Empire 227 III. Rome and Judea: Roman Religious Acts and Imperial Cult Observance 235 IV. Imperial and Provincial Rule 241 V. Economics 251 VI. Judean/Israelite Religion 263 VII. Material Culture 273 VIII. Decolonizing the Mind 279 IX. Conclusion 291 Bibliography 293 Index of References 313 Index of Authors 325 1 Abbreviations ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Edited by J. B. Pritchard. 3rd ed. Princeton, 1969 COS The Context of Scripture. Edited by W. W. Hallo. 3 vols. Leiden, 1997–2003 JB Jerusalem Bible KAI Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inscriften, H. Donner and W. Röllig, 2nd ed. Wiesbaden, 1966–69 KJV Kings James Version NAB New American Bible NRSV New Revised Standard Version TEV Today’s English Version (= Good News Bible) VAB Vorderasiatische Bibliothek viii Preface It may seem strange to dedicate a book to one who has authored the book. But that’s what we have done here. In dedicating this book to Leo Perdue, we honor a ¿rst-rate scholar, one of much learning, dedicated hard work, proli¿c scholarly productivity, and signi¿cant inÀuence on scholarly discourse. Here is the backstory. This book began as Leo’s idea, another product of his fertile and creative scholarly mind. In his later scholarship, he became increasingly interested in matters of empire and especially in postcolonial approaches. He conceived this study of Israel and the empires spanning Israel’s history from the Assyrians, through the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks to the Romans. He planned for himself an opening chapter on postcolonial theory, and three chapters on Israel’s negotiation of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Typical of his enthusiasm and his humility, he recruited a co-writer to address Israel and the Greek and Roman empires, which he considered not to be in his purview. Leo worked on the project and ‘completed’ a draft of his material for his chapters. Regrettably, he became ill before he was able to complete the project for publication. Dr. Coleman Baker, a former student of Leo’s, became the editor for the volume, working on Leo’s somewhat disordered manuscript and preparing it for publication. Dr. Warren Carter completed Chapters 5 and 6. We are both grateful to our student assistants, Zhenya Gurina-Rodriguez, Naiomi Gonzalez, and Hannah Galloway for their assistance in the book’s preparation. We also express our gratitude to Dominic Mattos of T&T Clark/Bloomsbury for his encouragement and editorial assistance, and to Dr. Timothy Sandoval, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School, for his assistance on several points related to Hebrew language and literature. Leo Perdue served Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas in various roles—Professor of Hebrew Bible, Dean, President—for more than twenty years. In dedicating this volume to Leo, we honor not only a ¿ne scholar but also one who faithfully served x ISRAEL AND EMPIRE and furthered the cause of theological education in this institution. Completing and publishing this volume expresses our appreciation for Leo’s work as professor, scholar, and theological educator. We dedicate this volume to Professor Leo G. Perdue. Warren Carter Coleman A. Baker Fort Worth, Texas March 2014 1 Introduction: Empires, Colonies, and Postcolonial Interpretation Empires arose in recorded history as early as the third millennium BCE and have been generally understood as systems of international domina- tion based on power, ideology, and control. They have existed globally, arising from limited tribal conÀicts in small geographical regions and occasionally developing into rather large transnational spaces. Not limited to the past, these tyrannical forms of political and eco- nomic rule have continued to the present. Metropoles, the capitals of empires, grow economically and militarily strong and launch efforts to conquer and rule not only their own but also foreign peoples and centers. They increase their suzerainty and inÀuence through military invasion and the internal political administrations of the conquered peoples, which become colonies to support imperial demands that enhance the empire’s attainment of power and wealth. In their gaining of supremacy over colonial populations, either kingdoms or tribes, empires rule their colonies not only through superior military might and the threat of its use, but also by the establishment of economic policies favorable to the metropole and the imposition of a culture that colonizes the minds of those who are ruled. Martial force alone cannot maintain the sovereignty of an empire. Continued control requires the indoctrination of imperial values, beliefs, and concepts issuing from the de¿ning traditions of empires used to socialize not only the metropolitan core, but also the peoples of the defeated. Furthermore, through a system of recompense that rewards loyal, indigenous leaders by giving them a measure of of¿cial and social status, the chances of successful colonizations are increased signi¿cantly. 2 ISRAEL AND EMPIRE I. Sources of Social Power The sociologist Michael Mann identi¿es four principal ‘sources’ of social power that intersect in a nation: ideology, military strength, eco- nomic resources, and socio-political administration.1 When applied to the analysis of empire, the deployment and maintenance of these sources provides the means by which hegemony is gained and endures. Once these sources decline signi¿cantly and begin to fail, the imperial society that uses them deteriorates and, eventually, crumbles. Yet even the colonized and their descendants among liberated peoples also possess at least a limited degree of social power in their status of subjection to empires. This colonial power is expressed in the form of resistance, ranging from subversion in speech to deeds of passive and active revolution. However, discourse among the subjugated becomes the most important means by which the subjugated resist the hegemony of imperial nations. II. The Power of Discourse Michel Foucault’s views of discourse are essential to understand his concept of the relationship between power and knowledge.2 He argues that language is not simply the stringing together of words, but also embodies a creativity that creates and continues to shape the outside world, the value of nature, and human communities, all that embraces that which is intrinsic to self-identity. For Foucault, the concept of a single explanation, or grand narrative, is preposterous.