251 7 About the "Syrian city Cadytis" = Gaza (Herodotus II 159) cf. Herodotus' description of the Eastern Mediterranean coast (III 5), and also Azotus (II 157) and Ascalon (I 105), which are both called "a city of Syria". 8 Jehoiakim ruled eleven years (2 Kings xxiii 36); his fourth year was the year 605 B.C.E. (E. R. Thiele, The MysteriousNumbers of the Hebrew Kings [Chicago, 1951], p. 283). 9 Cf. also J. Lewy, MVAG 29 (1925), p. 31, n. 2. 10 Wiseman, pp. 68-9. The famous Saqqarah-letter (KAI no. 266) must have been sent by the king of Ashkelon (and not of Ekron, as lately proposed by B. Porten, BAr 44 [1981], pp. 36ff., or of Tyre, or of Sidon, as suggested by Lipi�ski, p. 239). Since in the Egyptian alphabet the letter L is expressed by the letter R, the reading of Ekron is far from sure, and the reading of the Demotic line on the verso of the letter is extremely difficult and not yet verified. The Chroniclesof Chaldaean Kings do not mention the town of Ekron; furthermore, the only Philistines men- tioned in the Weidmer texts (from the 13th year of Nebuchadrezzar = 592 B.C.E.) come from Ashkelon (E. F. Weidner in MélangesSyriens Offerts ä M. RenéDussaud II [Paris 1939], p. 928); certainly in the days of Josiah Ekron belonged to the kingdom of Judah (cf. Josh. xix 43); cf. also the date of the ostracon of Yabneh- Yam (J. Naveh, IEJ 10 [1960], pp. 129ff.). 11 R. A. Parker and W. H. Dubberstein, BabylonianChronology (Providence, 1956), p. 27. 12 2 Kings xxiv 7; Josephus, Ant. X 86 (trans. R. Marcus, LCL). 13 Pace many scholars, who have deleted it, because it is not translated by the LXX (cf. the commentaries). BOOK LIST D. PATRICK,The Rendering of God in the Old 1èstament. Overtures to Biblical Theology 10. xxvi + 148 pp. Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1981. $8.95. This book is the product of reflection following the undermining (particularly by J. Barr) of many of the positions adopted by the so-called "biblical theology move- ment". It argues that the God of the O.'I'. is depicted in a consistent and cohe- rent manner, with regard to both his character and his actions and words, as a dramatispersona of the biblical story. The thesis is lightly illustrated from a wide range of well-known biblical passages. In a concluding section, Patrick relates his suggestions to the three classical arguments for the existence of God, but this is less convincing, since no reference is made to the logical fallacies which, for instance, are said to underlie the ontological argument. F. PEREZCAs'rRo et al., El Códicede Profetasde El Cairo 1, Josue-?ueces.Textos y Estudios "Cardenal Cisneros" 26. 230 pp. Instituto "Arias Montano", Ma- drid, 1980. A further volume of publication of this manuscript with an appara- tus and footnotes. Cp. VT 31 (1981), p. 380. D. L. PETERSEN,The Rolesoflsrael's Prophets.JSOT Supplement Series 17. 131 pp. JSOT Press, Sheffield, 1981. This is an attempt to obtain a better understan- ding of O.T. prophecy with the aid of the sociological concept of "role function". Three types are distinguished: first, the h6zehand nabi', the "central morality prophets", and the two terms are thought to be those current injudah and Israel, respectively; second, rd'eh; third, 'I§ (hä) 'elõhîm,the "peripheral prophet". It is not, however, claimed "that each of the four prophetic role labels [i.e. ro'eh, 'is (hä)'eliihim, ndbi', and h6zeh]refer innately, to a specific role. Rather the word tends to be used regularly to refer to a role; i.e. 'is 252 (hä) 'e!õhîmcould be used to describe a central morality prophet, or a näbî' a pe- ripheral prophet" (p. 107). This is an interesting attempt to analyse the diffe- rent forms of Israelite prophecy in a new way, and the method may yet shed light on the subject, but many of the conclusions drawn by Petersen are questio- nable, because the evidence sometimes seems inadequate to justify the inferen- ces drawn from it, and because arguments lack cogency. It may be doubted, for example, whether the distinction drawn on p. 67 between the ethic of Elijah (who belonged to "peripheral prophecy") in his condemnation of Ahab for the judicial murder of Naboth and the ethic of the "central morality prophets" will carry the weight that appears to be laid on it; and the distinction is relevant to the assertion that the "god of peripheral prophecy is himself amoral" (p. 49). It is also strange to find the terms bl'nêhannebi'im and ndbi' applied to different ty- pes of prophet (nothwithstanding the words of caution on p. 107): does not the former term imply that one who belonged to the class could be described as the latter? The book has a bibliography, and indexes of modern authors (and here, as elsewhere, authors are rationed to no more than one initial each), and bibli- cal references. The English is sometimes strange. For example, "Emblematic" on p. 51 appears to be intended to mean "typical". Do the words "evince a striking commonality in basic analytical vocabulary" (p. 9) mean more than "use the same terms"? G. PETTINATO,The Archivesof Ebla. An EmpireInscribed in Clay, with an Afterword by M. Dahood. xvii + 347 pp. Doubleday &Co., Inc., Garden City, New York, 1981. $15.95. The finds at Ebla have attracted much attention and aroused controversy. On the one hand, sensational claims have been made about their importance; on the other, stress has been laid on the uncertainty of the reading of the alleged North-West Semitic words and their interpretation. This new book by Pettinato, in which he sets out his understanding of the discoveries and their significance, is welcome as a substantial contribution to the discussion. He examines various aspects of the history, life, language, and religion of the third millennium city of Ebla. The Afterword of 54 pages, "Ebla, Ugarit, and the Bi- ble", is contributed by the late M. J. Dahood, whose recent death is regretted by many who often disagreed with him no less than by his followers. He sug- gests ways in which the texts shed light on numerous verses in the O.T. There are a bibliography, and indexes of persons, places and rivers, gods, Ebla texts cited, biblical references, and Hebrew words discussed by Dahood. This book will both help to satisfy readers' curiosity about Ebla and stimulate further inte- rest. H. D. PREUSS,Deuteronomium. Ertrdge der Forschung 164. vii + 269 pp. Wissen- schaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1982. DM 50; for members DM 29.50. This helpful survey of scholarly work on Deuteronomy is divided into three chapters. The first discusses the reform of Josiah, the centralization of the cult, Deuteronomy in the framework of the so-called "Deuteronomistic" historical work, the origin and development of Deutcronomy and its layers, and the composition of Deuteronomy and the covenant formulary (Preuss is scep- tical about theories of the influence of treaties on the structure of Deuteronomy, but recognizes the influence of their ideas). The second examines in turn each of the sections of Deuteronomy. The third considers the language, style, and theology of Deuteronomy: God and the worship of him, Israel, the history of Israel, Israel's land, and law and obedience. There are an extensive bibliography sub-divided according to subjects, and indexes of authors, Hebrew expressions, people, places and subjects, and biblical references. In a survey of this kind, it is inevitable that some of the bibliographical references will be inadequate. It is a pity, for example, that the discussion of Josiah's refor- mation fails to mention J. A. Montgomery and H. S. Gehman, A Criticaland ExegeticalCommentary on the Booksof Kings (Edinburgh, 1951); that there is no mention of D. T. Fenton, "bkl-'wt nplw- phraseological criteria for the study .