Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature

Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature studies the concept of rest in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern literature. Through close examination of Mesopotamian texts and selections from the Deuteronomistic History and Chronicles, Kim delineates a concept of rest for each body of literature, and employs a comparative approach to illuminate the rest motif in the Hebrew Bible in light of Mesopotamian literature.

Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC

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SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0709-0

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Publication Status: In Print

Series: Perspectives on Hebrew Scriptures and its Contexts 29

Publication Date: Nov 13,2019

Interior Color: Black

Trim Size: 6 x 9

Page Count: 329

Language: English

ISBN: 978-1-4632-0709-0

Price: $114.95

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What is the rest that God promises to his people and how is it disclosed in the Hebrew Scriptures?

To explore these questions, Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature studies the rest motif in major Mesopotamian texts, such as Enuma Elish, Atrahasis, and The Poem of Erra, as well as various other texts, including royal inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. This analysis, in turn, provides a basis for comparison with the promise of rest in Deuteronomy 12:8-11 and its development in the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Through close examination of these Mesopotamian texts and selections from the Deuteronomistic History and Chronicles, Kim develops a theology of rest from each body of literature and employs a comparative approach to illuminate the rest motif in the Hebrew Bible in light of Mesopotamian literature.

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What is the rest that God promises to his people and how is it disclosed in the Hebrew Scriptures?

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	Contributor	Biography
	Daniel Kim	Daniel E. Kim is Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Semitics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in La Mirada, California. He earned his PhD at the University of Aberdeen.

Table of Contents v
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword xi
Chapter One. Introduction 1
   The Theological Significance of Rest 1
   Studies on Rest from a New Testament Perspective 4
   Studies on Rest from a Hebrew Bible Perspective 5
   Synchronic Approach and Heuristic Comparison 6
   The Scope of this Study 8
   Overview and Outlook 10
Chapter Two. Rest in Mesopotamian Literature 13
   Introduction 13
   Rest as Divine Authority 17
   Divine Rest after Creation or Victory 17
   “Noise” and the Disruption of Divine Rest 25
   Rest as Divine Provision 50
   Rest to Deities 50
   Rest to Humans 53
   Rest in a Divine Abode 55
   Temple Building as a Response to Rest 55
   Temple Building as a Response to Victory 56
   The Temple as the Resting Place of Deities 57
   Rest as Divine Appeasement 58
   Epic Narratives 59
   Royal Inscriptions and Annals 65
   The Future Hope of Rest 74
   Summary Conclusions 79
Chapter Three. Rest in the Deuteronomistic History 81
   Introduction 81
   The Deuteronomistic History 81
   Hebrew Words for Rest 92
   Deuteronomy 96
   The Promise of Rest: Deuteronomy 12:9 98
   The Nature of the Promise: Deuteronomy 12:8–14 104
   The Response to the Fulfillment of the Promise: Deuteronomy 14:28; 26:4, 10 106
   The Curses of Disobedience: Deuteronomy 28:65 108
   Joshua 111
   Partial Rest for a Nation in Transition: Joshua 1:13, 15 111
   Symbolic Rest: Joshua 3:13; 4:3, 8 114
   Rahab’s Rest: Joshua 6:23 117
   שׁקט as a Temporary State of Rest: Joshua 11:23; 14:15 118
   The (Partial) Fulfillment of the Promise of Rest: Joshua 21:43–44 121
   Rest Reminded: Joshua 22:4 123
   The Conditionality of Rest: Joshua 23:1 124
   Judges 126
   Conditionality Enforced—Resting for Testing: Judges 2:23; 3:1 126
   The Downward Spiral of Rest-Cycles: Judges 3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28 130
   Gideon’s Test of Rest: Judges 6:18, 20 135
   The Son of Rest: Judges 16:26 138
   The Disturbers of Rest: Judges 18:7 142
   Civil War and “Unrest”: Judges 20:43 144
   The Books of Samuel 153
   A New Beginning: 1 Samuel 6:18 153
   Rest and the Constitution of the Monarchy: 1 Samuel 10:25 157
   The Juncture of Rest from the Past to the Future: 2 Samuel 7:1, 11 166
   The Books of Kings 177
   The Prerequisites of Rest Achieved: 1 Kings 5:1–6 [MT 5:15–20] 177
   The Preparation for the Fulfillment of Rest: 1 Kings 7:47; 8:9 178
   The Pinnacle of Rest in the Deuteronomistic History: 1 Kings 8:56 179
   The Challenge to a Deity’s Sleep: 1 Kings 18:27 187
   Judges Revisited: 2 Kings 11:20 188
   The Resting of Foreign Deities in Samaria: 2 Kings 17:29 190
   The “Hope” of Being Laid to Rest: 1 Kings 13:29–31; 2 Kings 23:18 190
   Summary Conclusions 194
   Martin Noth’s Original Thesis 194
   Gerhard von Rad’s Conception of a Deuteronomistic Rest 196
   Cycles of Rest 196
   Features of the Rest Motif in the Deuteronomistic History 198
   Comparisons with Mesopotamian Literature 200
Chapter Four. Rest in Chronicles 207
   Introduction 207
   The Title of Chronicles 208
   Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah 209
   Parallel Rest-statements between Chronicles and the Deuteronomistic History 211
   Rest in Chronicles 212
   A Land at Rest: 1 Chronicles 4:40 213
   The Resting of the Ark: 1 Chronicles 6:31 [MT 6:16] 214
   The “Non-Resting” of Other Nations: 1 Chronicles 16:21 216
   The Shift of Emphasis from David to David’s House: 1 Chronicles 17 217
   The Man of Rest: 1 Chronicles 22:9 220
   Israel’s Rest: 1 Chronicles 22:18 226
   The Transition toward a Permanent Dwelling: 1 Chronicles 23:25 230
   The House of Rest: 1 Chronicles 28:2 232
   The Resting of שֻׁלְחָנוֹת: 2 Chronicles 4:8 235
   The Temple of YHWH’s Rest: 2 Chronicles 6:41 238
   Asa’s Reform, Part I: 2 Chronicles 14:1; 14:5–7 [MT 13:23; 14:4–6] 245
   Asa’s Reform, Part II: 2 Chronicles 15:5, 15 249
   Jehoshaphat—YHWH Has Judged: 2 Chronicles 19:1; 20:30 252
   שׁקט-Cycles Revisited: 2 Chronicles 23:21 255
   Hezekiah, the Second Solomon: 2 Chronicles 32:22 257
   Rest in Peace: 2 Chronicles 34:28 258
   The Sabbath of the Land: 2 Chronicles 36:21 260
   Summary Conclusions 263
   The Development of Rest from the Deuteronomistic History to Chronicles 263
   Significant Aspects of the Chronicler’s Theology of Rest 264
   Comparisons with Mesopotamian Literature 272
Chapter Five. Conclusion 275
   Conclusory Remarks 275
   Rest, Defined 275
   Expressions of Rest 276
   Cyclical Nature of Rest 277
   Eschatological Rest 277
   For Further Research 278
   ANE Concept of Rest 279
   The Book of Ruth 279
   The Books of Judges and Chronicles 279
   The Prophetical Books 280
   The Psalms 280
   The Targumim 281
   The New Testament 281
Bibliography 285
Index 299

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