Abstract When discussing the Old Testament concept that the Lord chose Zion and/or Jerusalem, there is a tendency amongst scholars to do so 1) part and parcel with a discussion of Deuteronomy’s Centralization Formula and 2) synonymously with other ideas of the election of Zion and/or Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this tendency neglects important considerations. This study investigates the Old Testament passages that explicitly mention the Lord’s choice of Zion and/or Jerusalem. These fourteen passages, all of with the Lord as the subject and either Zion or בחר which employ the verbal root Jerusalem as the object, constitute what has been coined the theme of the Lord’s choice of Zion/Jerusalem. In Part 1, the semantics of the theme are investigated. It is determined that this theme simultaneously draws upon Jerusalem’s cultic prestige and its connection with the Davidic dynasty. More specifically, with the exception of the occurrences of the theme in First Zechariah, all the occurrences display an explicit association with either the Deuteronomic ideology of centralization or particular ideological elements of the Davidic tradition. In 1 Kgs 11:29-39 many of these nuances converge. Through a redaction-critical investigation of this pericope, it is determined that this theme exhibits a history of development, wherein the earliest phase of the theme’s existence is intimately ideology of the Davidic tradition. In Part 2, the socio-historical נִ יר associated with the and literary-critical issues that bear upon the theme’s usage and development are investigated. This study reaches two major conclusions. First, the theme of the Lord’s choice of Zion/Jerusalem is a distinct thematic thread within the more extensive theme of the election of Zion/Jerusalem. Therefore, to speak of the Lord’s choice of Zion/Jerusalem and the election of Zion/Jerusalem interchangeably, without distinction, is imprecise. Second, while this theme was utilized for approximately two hundred years, it exhibits three identifiable phases of development, wherein the theme’s emphasis upon the Davidic facet in its earliest phase moves through a phase exhibiting a relative balance between facets and into a phase emphasizing the cultic facet. In phase one, the cultic facet informs the more salient issue, the privileged position of the Davidic dynasty for Ancient Israel. In phase two, the Davidic and cultic facets are brought into relative balance, and it is at this point that the ideology of the Lord’s choice of Jerusalem is explicitly linked to Deuteronomy’s Centralization Formula. Incidentally, to discuss the idea of the divine choice of Zion/Jerusalem part and parcel with Deuteronomy’s ideology of centralization is also imprecise. In phase three, the Davidic facet informs the more salient connotation of Zion/Jerusalem’s cultic prestige. There is reason to believe that the demise of the theme’s usage is linked to the absence of a Davidic descendent as a viable socio-political option for the community, and First Zechariah’s peculiar usage of the theme provides important evidence to support this conclusion. DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation, entitled “For the Sake of Jerusalem, the City Which I Have Chosen”: On the Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem and Its Development in the Old Testament written by David Benjamin Schreiner and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary ______________________________ Dr. Bill T. Arnold, Mentor ______________________________ Dr. Lawson G. Stone, Reader ______________________________ Dr. Michael D. Matlock, Examiner May 2012 “For the Sake of Jerusalem, the City Which I Have Chosen”: On the Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem and Its Development in the Old Testament A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Philosophy Dissertation Committee: Dr. Bill Arnold, Mentor Dr. Lawson Stone, Reader Dr. Michael Matlock, Examiner By David B. Schreiner May, 2012 Copyright 2012 David Benjamin Schreiner All rights reserved Table of Contents Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Prologue .............................................................................................................................. 1 Part 1: A Focused Investigation of the Theme of the Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem . 10 Chapter 1: An Introduction ............................................................................................... 12 1.1 Introduction to the Davidic Tradition................................................................. 13 1.2 Introduction to the Zion Tradition ...................................................................... 18 1.3 The Roots of the Davidic and Zion Traditions ................................................... 27 1.4 Synopsis and Conclusions .................................................................................. 34 Chapter 2: The Election of Zion/Jerusalem and the Theme of the Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem .................................................................................................................. 36 2.1 Methodological Considerations .............................................................................. 36 Passages .................... 38 בחר-The Election of Zion/Jerusalem According to the Non 2.2 2.2.1. Election and the Royal Institution................................................................... 38 2.2.2 Election and Future Restoration....................................................................... 45 2.2.3 Election and Divine Presence .......................................................................... 55 2.2.4 Miscellaneous Statements of Election ............................................................. 57 2.2.5 Election and Judgment ..................................................................................... 59 2.2.6 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 61 Passages; The Theme of the בחר The Election of Zion/Jerusalem According to the 2.3 Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem.................................................................................. 61 2.3.1 The Choice of Jerusalem in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles ................ 62 2.3.2 The Choice of Zion in Psalms .......................................................................... 78 2.3.3 The Choice of Jerusalem in Zechariah............................................................. 82 2.4 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 93 Chapter 3: The Lord’s Choice of Jerusalem and the Redaction of 1 Kgs 11:29-39 ......... 97 3.1 A Selected Forschungsgeschichte ........................................................................... 98 3.2 A Text-critical Discussion of 1 Kgs 11:29-39 ...................................................... 102 3.3 A Redactional Reconstruction .............................................................................. 106 i 3.3.1 The Tearing Away of the Kingdom ............................................................... 107 3.3.2 Syntactical Observations in 1 Kgs 11:29-39 .................................................. 110 3.3.3 A History of 1 Kgs 11:29-39 ......................................................................... 113 3.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 116 Passages of Kings and their Relationship to the Theme of the Lord’s נִ יר Chapter 4: The Choice of Zion/Jerusalem ............................................................................................... 119 Passages ................................ 119 נִ יר Initial Semantic Considerations of the Davidic 4.1 Passages ............................................................. 122 נִ יר The Function of the Davidic 4.2 4.2.1 Methodological Considerations ..................................................................... 123 Passages in Kings ................................................ 125 נִ יר An Examination of the 4.2.2 4.3 Final Assessment of Polzin’s Proposal and Conclusions ..................................... 140 Conclusion to Part 1 ........................................................................................................ 144 Part 2: Socio-historical and Literary Critical Issues Informing the Theme of the Lord’s Choice of Zion/Jerusalem ............................................................................................... 146 Chapter 5: A Historical Sketch ....................................................................................... 147 Chapter 6: Deuteronomy’s Ideology of Centralization ................................................... 163 6.1 Methodological Considerations ............................................................................ 164 6.2 An Analysis ........................................................................................................... 167 6.3 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 178 Chapter 7: The Literary Context of 1 and 2 Kings ........................................................