Israel in Exile

The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E.
Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-90-04-12717-3
Verlag: Brill Academic Publishers

Buch, Englisch, Band 3, 466 Seiten, Gewicht: 992 g

Reihe: SBL - Studies in Biblical Literature

The period of the Babylonian Exile (597/587–520 B.C.E.) is one of the most enthralling eras of biblical history. During this time, Israel went through what was probably its deepest crisis; at the same time, however, the cornerstone was laid for its most profound renewal. The crisis provoked the creation of a wealth of literary works (laments, prophetic books, historical works, etc.) whose development is analyzed in detail by the methods of social history, composition criticism, and redaction criticism. The history of this era is hard to grasp, since the Bible has almost nothing to say of the exilic period. The author nevertheless attempts to illuminate the historical and social changes that affected the various Judean groups, drawing heavily on extrabiblical and archaeological evidence. His study also includes the treatment of the exile in later biblical material (Daniel, Tobit, Judith, apocalyptic literature). Thirty-five years after Peter Ackroyd’s classic 'Exile and Restoration', this book summarizes extensively the results of recent scholarship on this period and builds on them with a number of its own hypotheses.

Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)

Autoren/Hrsg.

Albertz, Rainer

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Bibelwissenschaften Altes Testament: Exegese, Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Geschichte des Judentums: Biblische & Klassische Periode
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Heilige & Traditionstexte: Torah, Talmud, Mischna, Halacha

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword
Preface to the English Edition
Abbreviations
Chronological Table
Map of the Ancient Near East

Introduction

I. The Biblical Picture of the Exilic Era
I.1. The Exile As a Historical Lacuna
I.2. Conceptions of the Exile
I.2.1. The Exile As a Lost Opportunity (Jeremiah 39–43)
I.2.2. The Exile As the (Temporary) End of History (2 Kings)
I.2.3. The Exile As a Sabbath for the Land (2 Chronicles)
I.2.4. Narrative Additions
I.2.4.1. The Stories of Daniel (Daniel 1–6)
I.2.4.2. The Stories of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon
I.2.4.3. The Story of the Three Youths (1 Esdras 3:1–5:6)
I.2.4.4. Tobit
I.2.4.5. Judith
I.2.5. Integration of the Exile into Apocalyptic Conceptions of History

II. The History of the Exilic Era
II.1. The Neo-Babylonian Empire
II.1.1. Sources
II.1.2. The Rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire
II.1.3. The Golden Age of Nebuchadnezzar
II.1.4. Destabilization, Restoration, and End
II.2. Israel in the Exilic Period
II.2.1. Sources
II.2.2. Principles of Historical Reconstruction
II.2.2.1. Number of Deportations
II.2.2.2. Dates of the Deportations
II.2.2.3. Numbers Deported
II.2.3. Judah in the Exilic Period
II.2.4. The Egyptian Golah
II.2.5. The Babylonian Golah
II.3. The Thwarted Restoration
II.3.1. The Persian Empire from Cyrus to Darius I
II.3.2. Return and Rebuilding of the Temple
II.4. Social Displacements and Their Religious Consequences

III. The Literature of the Exilic Period
III.1. Genres of Exilic Literature
III.1.1. Communal Lament and City Lament
III.1.2. Hybrid Genres
III.1.3. Salvation Oracles
III.1.4. Oracles against the Nations
III.1.5. “Sermons”
III.2. Exilic Literary Works
III.2.1. The Book of the Four Prophets (Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah)
III.2.1.1. Micah
III.2.1.2. Zephaniah
III.2.1.3. Amos
III.2.1.4. Hosea
III.2.2. The Book of Habakkuk
III.2.3. The Exilic Patriarchal History
III.2.3.1. The First Edition of the Exilic Patriarchal History
III.2.3.2. The Second Edition of the Exilic Patriarchal History
III.2.4. The Deuteronomistic History
III.2.5. The Book of Jeremiah
III.2.5.1. The Deuteronomistic Books of Jeremiah
III.2.5.2. The First Deuteronomistic Book of Jeremiah
III.2.5.3. The Second Deuteronomistic Book of Jeremiah
III.2.5.4. The Third Deuteronomistic Book of Jeremiah
III.2.6. The Book of Ezekiel
III.2.7. The Book of Deutero-Isaiah
III.2.7.1. The First Edition of the Book of Deutero-Isaiah: Reconstruction
III.2.7.2. The First Edition of the Book of Deutero-Isaiah: Place and Date
III.2.7.3. The First Edition of the Book of Deutero-Isaiah: Interpretation
III.2.7.4. Appendix: Fourth Servant Song (Isa 52:13–53:12)
III.2.7.5. The Second Edition of the Book of Deutero-Isaiah

IV. Theological Contribution
IV.1. Theological Appropriation of a Calamitous History
IV.2. Theological Interpretation of History
IV.3. Foiling Imperial Theology
IV.4. God’s Glory and Separation of Powers

Primary Sources Index
General Index

Über Autor(innen)

Rainer Albertz is Professor of Old Testament at the University of Münster, Germany. He is the author of numerous scholarly works, including A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period.