YOUR BROTHERS, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN POLITICAL DISCCOURSE AND THE PROCESS OF BIBLICAL COMPOSITION A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Dustin Dale Nash January 2015 © 2015 Dustin Dale Nash YOUR BROTHERS, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND THE PROCESS OF BIBLICAL COMPOSITION Dustin Dale Nash, Ph. D. Cornell University 2015 The Hebrew Bible contains seventeen isolated passages, scattered from Genesis to 2 brother”) to define an inter-group“) אח Samuel, that use the Hebrew term relationship between two or more Israelite tribes. For over a century, biblical scholars have interpreted this terminology as conceptually dependent on the birth narratives and genealogies of Gen 29-50, reiterated in stories and lists elsewhere in the biblical corpus. However, examination of the Bible’s depiction of the Israelite tribes as “brothers” outside these seventeen passages indicates that the static genealogical structure of the twelve-tribe system constitutes a late ideological framework that harmonizes dissonant descriptions of Israel as an association of “brother” tribes. Significantly, references to particular tribal groups as “brothers” in the Mari archives yields a new paradigm for understanding the origins of Israelite tribal “brotherhood” that sets aside this ideological structure. Additionally, it reveals the ways in which biblical scribes exploited particular terms and ideas as the fulcrums for editorial intervention in the Hebrew Bible’s composition. More specifically, close analysis of these Akkadian texts reveals the existence of an ancient Near Eastern political discourse of “brotherhood” that identified tribal groups as independent peer polities, bound together through obligations of reciprocal peaceful relations and supportive behavior. A detailed examination of Judg 19-21 ,in this precise situated meaning אח brings to light a textual core that uses the word indicating that the original source concerned a war between Israel and Benjamin as allowed later scribes אח separate polities of parity status. The polysemic character of to incorporate this textual tradition by reorienting the term’s situated meaning to fit evolving ideologies of Israelite and early Jewish identity in a manner that is detectable in additional biblical passages. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Dustin Dale Nash received his Bachelor of Arts in 2004 from Luther College of Decorah, IA. He subsequently attended the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 2004-2005 as a visiting graduate student, while also serving as an intern at the Bible Lands Museum during the spring of 2005. In 2007 Dustin received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and 2011, a Master of Arts from Cornell University. During his graduate studies at Cornell, Dustin has presented original research at both the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2009 and 2013, as well as an academic symposium honoring Dr. David I. Owen in 2010. In addition, Dustin was the recipient of the Beatrice R. Kanders Memorial Scholarship for the Intensive Study of Greek or Latin in 2008. v To Elias and Ruby, My “Thesis Babies” vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All dissertations are a collaborative effort, and my own is no exception. It is only through the support and guidance of a variety of people that I have been able to complete this project. My Special Committee deserves special recognition in this regard. The time and attention that my advisor Dr. Lauren A. S. Monroe has given to me throughout my research and writing, whether through detailed comments on drafts or lengthy conversations about my ideas, has made the project what it is. Moreover, in my studies at Cornell she effectively balanced her encouragement of my abilities with a continued challenge to grow as a scholar. She has been a teacher to me in the most expansive sense of the term, and I thank her deeply. Dr. Kim Haines-Eitzen has given generously of her time to reading portions of the dissertation at various stages of its composition. She has also nurtured my professional development by calling on me to consider the implications of my work beyond the disciplinary boundaries of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern Studies. Additionally, I thank Dr. Jonathan Tenney for accepting to join my committee after the project had already taken shape and providing me the assyriological guidance that I needed. I would also like to thank my former Special Committee member Dr. David I. Owen, now in retirement. His support regarding my early plans for the dissertation instilled me with confidence as I began my first forays into the Mari archives. I am also indebted to Dr. Daniel E. Fleming of NYU for his work as an Ad-Hoc Member of my Special Committee. Despite the significant demands on his time, Dr. Fleming compelled me to refine my arguments through expansive written comments, phone conversations, and personal meetings. Although I was unable to study with him directly at NYU, I am grateful that fate and mutual scholarly interest vii put me in a position to productively, and humbly, exploit his expertise as my doktorgrossvater. Completion of my dissertation would also have been impossible without the two Sage Fellowships I received from Cornell University, as well as additional financial support from the Department of Near Eastern Studies. Much of my decision to attend Cornell came from my feeling that the department was invested in my success. This perception proved truer than I could have imagined. My work has also benefited greatly from the advice and questions of my fellow graduate students in Near Eastern Studies. In particular I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Pearce, Dr. Hamza M. Zafer, Adam Bursi, and Eilis Monahan for their food, their laughter, their babysitting skills, and their friendship. Although my wife Lorena reads neither Hebrew nor Akkadian, her fingerprints can be found on every one of the following pages. Without her love, support, and patience as a partner, mother to our children, and editor, I could not have finished the dissertation. She has taught me more about being a good scholar and writer than she realizes. I am also grateful to my children Elias and Ruby for placing my doctoral work in proper perspective. I love you both beyond words. Finally, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my family as a whole. This is especially true of my parents, Claude and Debra Nash, who have offered unwavering and enthusiastic support of my academic goals. They are my oldest and biggest fans; just as everyone’s parents should be. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH………………………………………………………………………………………………vi DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………..viii LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………………………………………..xiv LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..xv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………………………………..xvi INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 6.…………………………………………………………………………………………………אח The Case for Theory and Methodology……………………………………………………………………………….18 The Mari Archives…………………………………………………………………………………………..25 Historical Overview of Mari during the Old Babylonian Period…………26 The Case for Comparative Use of Mari Texts in Biblical Studies……….33 Important Concepts and Terms………………………………………………………………………37 Kinship, Ethnicity, and Genealogy……………………………………………………..37 Tribe and Tribalism…………………………………………………………………………….46 Political Discourse……………………………………………………………………………….50 Overview of the Project…………………………………………………………………………………..53 TEXTS AND ISRAELITE “BROTHERHOOD” IN PAST אח CHAPTER 1: THE INTER-GROUP AND PRESENT SCHOLARSHIP……………………………………………………………………………………..57 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………57 ix Texts…………………………………………………………………………………..61 אח The Inter-Group Texts and Israelite Tribal “Brotherhood” in Ancient and אח The Inter-Group Modern Scholarship………………………………………………………………………………………..69 The Sons of Jacob and the Twelve-Tribe System……………………………………………87 Israelite Material Culture and the Merneptah Stele………………………………………95 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………….101 CHAPTER 2: THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL AS “BROTHERS” OUTSIDE OF THE INTER-GROUP TEXTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….103 אח Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….103 The Jacob Story (Gen 25-35)………………………………………………………………………….104 117............................אחים The Joseph Story (Gen 37-50) and the Sons of Jacob as The Tribal List Tradition in the Hebrew Bible………………………………………………127 “The Blessing of Jacob” in Gen 49……………………………………………………..129 “The Blessing of Moses” in Deut 33…………………………………………………..138 “The Song of Deborah” in Judg 5………………………………………………………142 Pan-Israelite “Brotherhood”…………………………………………………………………………149 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………….156 CHAPTER 3: INTER-GROUP “BROTHERHOOD” IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST………….158 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….158 Genealogies in the Ancient Near East…………………………………………………………..159 Mesopotamian Genealogies………………………………………………………………160 Arab Genealogies……………………………………………………………………………….162 Greek Genealogies……………………………………………………………………………..163 The Mari Tribes as “Brothers”………………………………………………………………………168 x The Yaminites, Sim’alites, Numḫa, and Yamutbal……………………………168 The Inter-Group Aḫum Texts........................................................................179