This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. PROPHECY IN MARI, NEO-ASSYRIAN, AND HEBREW SOURCES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. JASON S. ATKINSON PHD THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 2015 Contents. Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………..iii Signed Declaration ……………………………………………………………………………….iv Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………….v Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………………….vi Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 2: Mari Prophecy Corpus ……………………………………………………….12 Chapter 3: Mari Prophetic Phenomenon …………………………………………….25 Chapter 4: Neo-Assyrian Prophecy Corpus ……………………………………….90 Chapter 5: Neo-Assyrian Prophetic Phenomenon ……………………….……104 Chapter 6: Hebrew Prophecy Corpus ………………………………………………164 Chapter 7: Hebrew Prophetic Phenomenon ……………………………………172 Chapter 8: Synthesis ………………………………………………………………………….204 Chapter 9: Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………..228 Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………………………235 ii Abstract. It is widely acknowledged that the phenomenon of prophecy was not restricted only to ancient Israel, but is well attested throughout the ancient Near East, not least but in the textual material retrieved from the Mesopotamian capitals of Mari and Nineveh. A number of recent studies have utilized these sources to discuss the literary history and rhetorical content of Hebrew prophecy. The following thesis differs from these by undertaking to examine and compare the institution of prophecy as it occurs in the Mari, Neo-Assyrian, and Hebrew sources. ―Prophecy‖ is considered to be a mode of non-inductive divination, separate from dreams, that, ideally, is denoted by the active intermediation of allegedly divine messages to a human audience. Thus, texts that record the direct speech of a deity and are communicated to an audience by a human intermediary—without recourse to dreams or technical divination—may potentially reflect prophecy in the Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources. Along with a selection of preexilic Hebrew oracular sources, the image of prophecy in all three corpora is independently examined along seven lines: Prompting Prophecy, Prophets, Prophetic Deities, Venues, Means of Delivery, Content of Oracles, and the Responses to Prophecy. Observations gleaned from this analysis are then compared and contrasted with one another to derive a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of prophecy in each source. Among other conclusions, it is observed that it is insufficient to simply silhouette Hebrew prophecy against its Mesopotamian counterparts, as if the images of prophecy in Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources themselves represent indistinguishable phenomena. Indeed, despite considerable overlap, they are not completely consistent. This result, it is argued, places in context some of the more glaring discrepancies between these sources and the image of prophecy in the Hebrew sources. iii Signed Declaration. I hereby affirm that I have composed this thesis and that the work is my own. The work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Jason S. Atkinson Date iv Acknowledgements. This thesis has been completed because of the guidance, encouragement, and support of so many learned scholars as well as loving friends and family. The primary supervision of Dr. David Reimer has been enormously helpful and encouraging. Dr. Reimer has thoughtfully commented on all of my chapters and was always responsive in my requests to meet. I am also grateful to Prof. Hans Barstad, my second supervisor, for his early assistance. The teaching and mentoring of Prof. K. Lawson Younger opened my mind to the ancient context of scripture and the importance of comprehending the message of the Hebrew Bible in its original literary environment. Prof. Richard E. Averbeck complemented this in his approach to the Pentateuch and always found time to personally meet with us, frequently opening his home to students. Between 2009–11, my tuition was supported by a University of Edinburgh School of Divinity Scholarship and a University of Edinburgh Overseas Research Scholarship. I wish to also acknowledge the generosity of the Langham Partnership and ScholarLeaders International to our family during our time in the United Kingdom. Their combined generosity have enabled my wife and myself to complete our theses. We are most grateful for their assistance, not least but during turbulent economic times internationally. The close friendship of Dr. John and Mrs. Irene Hannah has meant that in Edinburgh we have never lacked close family. Their encouragement as well as prayerful and practical support—not least childcare—has kept us going through this sojourn. Likewise, I wish also to acknowledge the pastoral care we have frequently received from our church family at Chalmer‘s Church, Edinburgh. Many others have also assisted us in countless ways and we are truly blessed and grateful for their friendship and support. My wife Rebecca as well as our sons Kereb and Nahum have all shared in the highs and lows encountered in the writing of this thesis. Kereb daily—and vigorously—cheers me off to work and enthusiastically welcomes me home. Rebecca has been my greatest champion and it is to her, my closest friend, that I wish to dedicate this thesis. v Abbreviations. A. Louvre Museum siglum AB The Anchor Bible ABAW NF Abhandlungen der Bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Neue Folge AbB Altbabylonische Briefe in Umschrift und Übersetzung ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. ABL R. F. Harper, Assyrian Babylonian Letters. London and Chicago 1892–1914 ABR Australian Biblical Review ADOG Abhandlungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft AfO Archiv für Orientforschung AfOB Archiv für Orientforschung Beiheft AGA J. Huehnergard. A Grammar of Akkadian. 2nd ed. HSS 45. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005. AHw Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. W. von Soden. 3 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 1959–1981. AJEC Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity ANES Ancient Near Eastern Studies ANETS Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Studies AO. Tablets in the collections of the Louvre Museum AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament AoF Altorientalische Forschungen APHAO Association pour la promotion de l‘Histoire et de l‘Archaeologie Orientales ARM Archives royales de Mari ARMT Archives royales de Mari, transcrite et traduite ASJ Acta Sumerologica BA Biblical Archaeologist BaghMB Baghdader Mitteilungen Beiheft BCSMS Bulletin of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies Bib Biblica BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester BLMJ Museum siglum of the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem BM3 B. Foster, Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. 3rd ed. vi Bethesda: CDL Press, 2005. Bu Tablets in the collections of the British Museum BWL W.G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature. London: Oxford University Press, 1960. BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift f r die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft CAD The Assyrian Dictionary of the University of Chicago. 21 vols. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1956-2010. CB Field numbers of tablets excavated at Chagar Bazar CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CHANE Culture and History of the Ancient Near East CM Cuneiform Monographs COS The Context of Scripture. Edited by W.W. Hallo and K.L. Younger. 3 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1997–2002. CRRAI Compte rendu de la Rencontre Assyriologique lnternationale CSMSJ Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies Journal CT Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum CurBS Currents in Research: Biblical Studies DCH The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. Edited by D. Clines. 8 vols. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993–2011. DDD Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Edited by K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, and P. W. van der Horst. Leiden: Brill, 1995. DMOA Documenta et monumenta Orientis antiqui DOTP Dictionary of the Old Testament Prophets. Edited by M. J. Boda and J.G. McConville. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2012. EI Eretz-Israel FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament FLP Tablets in the collections of the Free Library of Philadelphia FM Florilegium Marianum FOTL Forms of the Old Testament Literature FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments GAG3 W. von Soden. Grundriss der akkadischen Grammatik. 3rd ed. Rome: Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1995. 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. Richardson. 5 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1994–1999. HAR Hebrew Annual Review HCOT Historical Commentary on the Old Testament HR History of Religions vii HSMS Harvard Semitic Museum Studies HSS Harvard Semitic Series HTR Harvard Theological