Abstract
The twelve essays in the volume honour D.P. Wright, long-time professor at Brandeis University. All contributions are influenced by W.’s scholarship and his research interests provide a welcome framework for the volume. J.M. Leonard (‘Curses and the Composition of Deuteronomy’) urges caution against a dating of the textual material to exilic or later periods. T.M. Sherman (‘Exodus 34 and the Strategic Use of Law in the Construction of National Identity’) argues that Exod. 34 is the product of a Persian period scribe defining communal identity. J.H.M. Gaines (‘Narrative Repurposing of the Circumcision Ritual in the Priestly Source’) looks at Exod. 6.12, 30, which he sees as a priestly reinterpretation of elements that were problematic for P, especially the fact that Moses was not circumcised. J.S. Baden (‘The Decalogue in Deuteronomy and [then] in Exodus’) looks at the Decalogue from a Neo-Documentarian perspective, arguing that Exod. 20 is a secondary addition to E.’s narrative. T. Kamionkowski (‘The Concept of Desecration in Leviticus’) offers a detailed exegesis of the phrase לחלל את השם and its use in Ezekiel and the Holiness Code. M.Z. Brettler (‘YHWH’s Laws in Psalms’) concludes that the Psalmists do not ‘cite’ a ‘written texts’ but rather allude to some form of cultural ethos rooted very much in conventional morality. B. Wells (‘Identifying the Form of Enslavement in Exodus 21.20-21’) offers a detailed study of the term עבד prompted by the ESV’s rendering of the word as ‘slave’. M. Richey (‘Elisha and the Bears [2 Kings 2.23-25]’) highlights the ethical difference of a modern and ancient reading of this passage. J. Stackert (‘Typicality and Verisimilitude in Neo-Assyrian and Judean Figural Representation’) highlights the ‘dynamic interplay between accurate resemblance and stylized type’ (p. 171). A. Taggar-Cohen (‘The Status of Women in the Hittite Cult as Mirrored in Royal Ideology and Prescribed Rituals’) demonstrates that — despite some flexibility — ‘the Hittites had an essentialised understanding of the biological differences of sex, and that gender was decided by its performative aspect, creating a clear difference between male and female’ (p. 192). A. Lenzi (‘Exploring Manners, Etiquettes, and Protocols with Šuila-Prayer Ištar 1’) offers a detailed philological study of ancient Mesopotamian etiquettes, social manners, and protocols. Finally, T. Abusch and E.B. West (‘Fears and Anxieties among the Gods in Mesopotamian and Indic Literature’) push the interpretative envelope when they embark on a comparative enterprise between Mesopotamian and Indian myths. The usual indices conclude the incredible rich volume.