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.
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
