Did Moses Speak Attic?: Jewish Historiography and Scripture in the Hellenistic Period (Library Hebrew Bible Old Testament Studies)

JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SUPPLEMENT SERIES

317

Editors David J.A. Clines Philip R. Davies Executive Editor Andrew Mein

EUROPEAN SEMINAR IN HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY

3 Editor Lester L. Grabbe

Sheffield Academic Press

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Did Moses Speak Attic? Jewish Historiography and Scripture in the Hellenistic Period

edited by Lester L. Grabbe

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 317 European Seminar in Historical Methodology 3

Copyright © 2001 Sheffield Academic Press Published by Sheffield Academic Press Ltd Mansion House 19 Kingfield Road Sheffield S11 9AS England www.SheffieldAcademicPress.com

Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press and Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by Biddies Ltd www.biddies. co. uk

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 1-84127-155-1

CONTENTS Dedication Abbreviations List of Contributors

7 8 13 Part I INTRODUCTION

LESTER L. GRABBE Introduction

16 Part II ARTICLES

RAINER ALBERTZ An End to the Confusion? Why the Old Testament Cannot Be a Hellenistic Book!

30

HANS M. BARSTAD Deuteronomists, Persians, Greeks, and the Dating of the Israelite Tradition

47

BOB BECKING The Hellenistic Period and Ancient Israel: Three Preliminary Statements

78

ROBERT P. CARROLL Jewgreek Greekjew: The Hebrew Bible Is All Greek to Me. Reflections on the Problematics of Dating the Origins of the Bible in Relation to Contemporary Discussions of Biblical Historiography

91

PHILIP R. DAVIES Judaeans in Egypt: Hebrew and Greek Stories

108

6

Did Moses Speak Attic ?

LESTER L. GRABBE Jewish Historiography and Scripture in the Hellenistic Period

129

LESTER L. GRABBE Who Were the First Real Historians? On the Origins of Critical Historiography

156

DAVID M. GUNN The Myth of Israel: Between Present and Past

182

NIELS PETER LEMCHE How Does One Date an Expression of Mental History? The Old Testament and Hellenism

200

KAI PELTONEN A Jigsaw without a Model? The Date of Chronicles

225

Part III OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS THOMAS L. THOMPSON The Bible and Hellenism: A Response

274

NIELS PETER LEMCHE The Old Testament—A Hellenistic Book?

287

Part IV CONCLUSIONS LESTER L. GRABBE Reflections on the Discussion

Index of References Index of Authors

320

341 346

DEDICATION

To the Memory of Professor Robert P. Carroll (1944-2000) This volume was in the press when news came of Robert Carroll's sudden death on 12 May 2000. This was a great loss to scholarship as well as a personal tragedy for many friends and colleagues in the 'Academy' (as he liked to refer to it) on both sides of the Atlantic. Robert first made his name in the area of prophecy. His work on Jeremiah has been controversial, but it is difficult to find another commentary on the book which throws the particular perspective on the text that his does; there are many of us who feel that his Jeremiah commentary will go down in the history of biblical interpretation as a twentiethth-century classic. More recently his work on Ideologiekritik was very much relevant to the work of the European Seminar in Historical Methodology, of which he was an active member. The essay in this present volume is typical of his combative—and entertaining—style. Even when you disagreed with him, you learned something. Several times I pressed him to be clearer on his views about history, but his reply was that he had to write several more papers before he could say. Unfortunately, that developed position will never emerge, but his papers arising out of our debates are a part of the Seminar's developing thoughts. Many of us owe a good deal to Robert as a friend. He was an interesting and informative conversationalist about all sorts of matters, academic and otherwise. He was generous with his time: to take up invitations to contribute to publications and to give lectures in far-flung areas of the world, to write references, to read the work of others, and to serve the cause of biblical scholarship in innumerable ways. Above all, he was a great drinking companion, than which no higher praise can be given. Lester L. Grabbe

ABBREVIATIONS

AB ABD ABRL AfOa AGJU AHw AnBib ANEP

ANET

ANRW

AOAT ArOr ATD BA BAR BASOR BEATAJ BBB BETL Biblnt

BibOr BWANT BZAW CAD

Anchor Bible David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992) Anchor Bible Reference Library Archivfur Orientforschung Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums Wolfram von Soden, Akkadisches Handworterbuch (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1959-81) Analecta biblica James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954) James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950) Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase (eds.), Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung (Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1972-) Alter Orient und Altes Testament Archiv orientdlni Das Alte Testament Deutsch Biblical Archaeologist British Archaeological Reports Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Beitrage zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des Antiken Bonner biblische Beitrage Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches Biblica et orientalia Beitrage zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament BeiheftezurZW Ignace I. Gelb et al. (eds.), The Assyrian Dictionary of the

Abbreviations

CANE CBET CBQ CBQMS ConBOT CPJ

CRBS CRINT DBAT DDD

DTT El EPRO ESHM EvT ExpTim FAT FOTL FRLANT FTS GAT HAE HAT HSM HTR HUCA IEJ JAOS JBL JEA JJS JNES JNSL JQR JR JSOT JSOTSup

9

Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1964-) J. Sasson (ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (4 vols.; New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995) Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology Catholic Biblical Quarterly Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Monograph Series Coniectanea biblica, Old Testament V.A. Tcherikover, A. Fuks and M. Stern (eds.), Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (3 vols.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1957-64) Currents in Research: Biblical Studies Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum Dielheimer Blatter zum Alien Testament K. van der Toorn, B. Becking and P.W. van der Horst (eds.), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Leiden: E.J. Brill; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2nd rev. edn, 1999) Dansk teologisk tidsskrift Eretz-Israel Etudes preliminaries des religions orientales European Seminar in Historical Methodology Evangelische Theologie Expository Times Forschungen zum Alten Testament The Forms of the Old Testament Literature Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments Freiburger theologische Studien Grundrisse zum Alten Testament Handbuch der Althebraischen Epigraphik Handbuch zum Alten Testament Harvard Semitic Monographs Harvard Theological Review Hebrew Union College Annual Israel Exploration Journal Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Biblical Literature Journal of Egyptian Archaeology Journal of Jewish Studies Journal of Near Eastern Studies Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages Jewish Quarterly Review Journal of Religion Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series

10

JSPSup KAT LCL LSJ

NBL NCB NEB NedTTs NTOA OBO OBS OBT Or OTG OTL OTS PW

RB REJ RLA RSV

SBAB SBB SBLDS SBLMS SBLRBS SBLSBS SBLSCS SBLSS SBLTT SBLWAWS SBT SDOAP SHANE SHCANE SJLA SJOT ST TBu ThW

Did Moses Speak Attic ? Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Supplement Series Kommentar zum Alten Testament Loeb Classical Library H.G. Liddell, Robert Scott and H. Stuart Jones, Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 9th edn, 1968) Neues Bibel-Lexikon New Century Bible Neue Echter Bibel Nederlands theologisch tijdschrift Novum Testamentum et orbis antiquus Orbis biblicus et orientalis Osterreichische Biblische Studien Overtures to Biblical Theology Orientalia Old Testament Guides Old Testament Library Oudtestamentische Studien August Friedrich von Pauly and Georg Wissowa (eds.), RealEncyclopddie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1894-) Revue biblique Revue des etudes juives Reallexikon der Assyriologie Revised Standard Version Stuttgarter Biblische Aufsatzbande Stuttgarter biblische Beitrage SBL Dissertation Series SBL Monograph Series SBL Resources for Biblical Study SBL Sources for Biblical Study SBL Septuagint and Cognate Studies SBL Semeia Studies SBL Texts and Translations SBL Writings from the Ancient World Series Studies in Biblical Theology Studia et documenta ad iura orientis antiqui pertinentia Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East Studies in the History and Culture of the Ancient Near East Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament Studia theologica Theologische Biicherei Theologische Wissenschaft: Sammelwerk fiir Studium und Beruf

Abbreviations TOTC VT VTSup WBC WMANT ZAH ZAR ZAW ZDMG ZDPV ZPaE

11

Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Vetus Testamentum Vetus Testamentum, Supplements Word Biblical Commentary Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament Zeitschrift fur Althebrdistik Zeitschrift fur Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenldndischen Gesellschaft Zeitschrift des deutschen Paldstina-Vereins Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

Rainer Albertz is Professor of Old Testament at the Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat in Minister. Hans M. Barstad is Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Oslo. Bob Becking is the Professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of Utrecht. Robert P. Carroll was Professor of Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies at the University of Glasgow. Philip R. Davies is Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. Lester L. Grabbe is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism at the University of Hull. David M. Gunn is the A.A. Bradford Professor of Religion at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas. Niels Peter Lemche is Professor of Theology at the University of Copenhagen. Kai Peltonen is Docent of Old Testament Exegetics at the University of Helsinki. Thomas L. Thompson is Professor of Theology at the University of Copenhagen.

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Parti INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Lester L. Grabbe

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