Don C. Benjamin

An Anthropology of Prophecy

Prophets and monarchs were complimentary social institutions which balanced power in ancient Israel. Prophets were leaders of the monarchs loyal opposition. Some prophets were closely aligned with royal or religious centers of power, some were peripheral-dependent on popular constituencies for power. Power in ancient Israel was understood as ability to feed and ability to protect. Prophets and monarchs both believed that only Yahweh fed and protected Israel. Monarchs, however, argued that the social system which best acknowledged this belief was the surplus or centralized economic and military system common in Canaanite city states, whereas prophets argued for the subsistence or decentralized system attempted in early Israel (1250-1000 BCE). Royal policy stressed the biblical traditions of covenant stewardship; prophetic policy stressed the traditions of Israel as a slave-free society.

Israel's God: Mother and Midwife

The social institution of midwifery in the ancient world can be reconstructed by using not only the Bible, but social sciences like archaeology, anthropology and health care research as well. Then, with this reconstruction in mind, some selections of ancient Near Eastern and Biblical literature—like Psalm 29 and Genesis 2—4—can be re-read to appreciate how much the communities who developed these texts drew on the work of the midwife to describe the work of God as creator!

The Land Rights of Women in Deuteronomy: In Memory of John J. Pilch (1937–2016)

This article continues my work in my recently published Social World of Deuteronomy: a New Feminist Commentary (2015). My thesis here is that elite males designated heirs to their land, but to exercise their rights heirs were required to marry women whom Yhwh and their tribes or states recognized as holding legal title to those rights. A better understanding of these rights contributes to a better understanding of the roles of the women in Deuteronomy on honoring both father and mother (Deut 5:7–21), on female prisoners of war (Deut 21:10–14), on terminating heirs (Deut 21:18–21), on re-marriage (Deut 24:1–4), and perhaps the significance of divorce and re-marriage policies imposed on Israel and Judah by Assyria, Babylon and Ezra-Nehemiah.

Book Review: Contexts for Amos: Prophetic Poetics in Latin American Perspective

upon Deuteronomy 1-11 in particular as well as other texts in the Deuteronomistic History and the prophets. Van Seters provides extensive analysis and examples too numerous to thoroughly list here, but a few examples will suffice: (1) The exposure of Moses in Ex 2 was inspired by 1 Kgs 11 where David had the Edomite men killed, but Hadad escaped throughMidian to Egypt and returned to become king later. (2) The enslavement of Israel was inspired by Solo. mods enslavement of Canaanites in 1 Kgs 9:20-22. (3) Moses’callispatternedafter the prophetic call of Jeremiah (Jer 1) and the commissioningofa deliverer (Gideon in Judg 6 and Saul in 1 Sam 9-10). (4) Moses’ inability to speak derives from Jeremiah‘s reluctance (Jer 1). (5) Moses returned after Pharaoh‘s death as Hadad returned to Mom after David’s death (1 Kgs 11:21-22). (6) The plagues develop out of scattered references in Deuteronomy to diseases and wonders in Egypt. (7) The crossing of the Reed Sea is derived from Joshua’s crossing of the Jordna in Josh 4 (which in turn was taken from Assyrian war reports), and the elaboration in Ex 14 by P is inspired by Second Isaiah (8) The murmuring traditions use the pattern of sin-punishment-repentance-salvation found in the book of Judges. (9) The bitter waters of Marah come from Elisha’s water treatment in 2 Kgs 2. (10) The portrayal of the theophany “at” Sinai by J draws upon old poetic texts that speak of a theophany “coming from” Sinai. (1 1) The Ex 32 narrative of the calf simply reworks the accounts i n D e u t 9-10 a n d 1 Kgs 12 ueroboam). (12) The conquest ofSihon and Og in Num 21 develops the references in Deut 2 and Jer 48:45-46. Finally, (13) Balaani is patterned after Jeremiah, and his oracles are inspired by images in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Second Isaiah. In these and many other examples in Van Seter’s formcritical analysis appears impressive. Scholars will have to address his observations indetail for years to come.

Book Reviews: New Eyes for Reading: Biblical and Theological Reflections by Women from the Third World. Edited by John S. Pobee and Barbel von Wartenberg-Potter. Oak Park, IL: Meyer-Stone Books, 1986. Pp. viii + 108. Paper,

Myers plans a second volume in which he will work out the implications of radical discipleship in the modem world as he sees them in light of Mark’s gospel. This first volume is a work of deep conviction, remarkable creativity, and scholarly distinction. There is, therefore, every reason to believe that the second volume will be as welcome an addition to contemporary readings of Mark as is Binding the Strong Man.

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to comfort a persecuted Christian community with references to past and future events. She demonstrates her preference for the eschatological reality of God’s kingdom by interpreting Rev 1:5-6 and 5:9-10 as redemption through liberation. Part Two situates the Sitz im Leben of Revelation in the early Christian communities of Asia Minor. Professor schJssler Fiorenza reviews the literature on the &dquo;Johannine school&dquo; hypothesis; compares the notions of apocalyptic and gnosis in Revelation and Paul; and describes Revelation in the context of early Christian prophecy. These tasks underline how the limitations of the historical-critical and literary-functional analyses can be met when their perspectives are combined. More importantly, the tasks present new insights about social, literary, and theological dimensions of the text. Part Three offers a literary vision and composition t’ieory for the theological perspective of Revelation. After outlining the contributions of source-critical and tradition-critical interpretation, she presents the component forms and the literary genre in Revelation which creatively surpass the two modes of interpretation. Here she indicates the structure and architectonic

Book Reviews: Martha Himmelfarb, Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985. Pp. x + 198. Paper,

Each of these successive stages has its own particular literary and theological purpose which Clines clearly and cogently lays out in Chapter Ten. Clines has produced a balanced, well-argued, synthetic treatment of the literary history of the Esther Scroll. His writing style is quite readable with occasional flashes of humor. One will not find here the reduction and fragmentation of the text wrought by other historical-critical studies. Clines’s work is a very good example of a holistic treatment of a text, while still utilizing the customary historical-critical methods. (Those who are not familiar with the intricacies of the text critical method may find Chaps. Six to Eight rather difficult.) J Perhaps in his desire to substantiate the existence of a preMasoretic stage of the material and its literary artistry, Clines downgraded the Masoretic stage with its alleged literarily inferior expansions and appendices. One initially receives the impression that the redactors of the pre-Masoretic story were inept bumblers who misunderstood its subtlety and craft (pp. 39-41, 59-60, 84). Happily, however, Clines vindicates these redactors in Chapter Ten, focusing particularly on the liturgical purposes of their editing (pp. 158-1(8). All in all, a fine study which cannot be ignored by any serious student of the Book of Esther.