Debating Authority: Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets (Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft)

Human leadership is a multifaceted topic in the Hebrew Bible. This holds true not only for the final form of the texts, but also for their literary history. A large range of distributions emerges from the successive sharpening or modification of different aspects of leadership. While some of them are combined to a complex figuration of leadership, others remain reserved for certain individuals. Furthermore, it can be considered a consensus within the scholarly debate, that concepts of leadership have a certain connection to the history of ancient Israel which is, though, hard to ascertain. Up to now, all these aspects of (human) leadership have been treated in a rather isolated manner. Against this background, the volume focuses on the different concepts of leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. Concepts like "priest," "prophet," "judge," and "king" are examined in a literary, (religious-/tradition-) historical and theological perspective. Hence, the volume contributes to biblical theology and sheds new light on the redaction/reception history of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. Not least, it provides valuable insights into the history of religious and/or political "authorities" in Israel and Early Judaism(s). Preface 5 Table of Contents 7 Debating Authority – Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets: An Introduction 9 Concepts of Leadership in the Book of Exodus 25 Moses vs. Aaron: The Clash of Prophetic and Priestly Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch 39 Aaron’s Vestments in Exodus 28 and Priestly Leadership 53 Priestly Leadership in the Book of Leviticus: A Hidden Agenda 76 Leadership and Conflict: Modelling the Charisma of Numbers 97 Debated Leadership: Conflicts of Authority and Leadership in Num 16–17 123 “[...] and the LORD’s Anger was Kindled against Israel” (Num 25:3) – Who’s in Charge and Who’s to Blame?: Punishment, Intercession, and Leadership-Related Competences in Num 25 140 “You Shall Walk Exactly on the Way which YHWH Your God has Commanded You”: Characteristics of Deuteronomy’s Concepts of Leadership 167 Competing Competencies: The Struggle for Authority in Deut 17:8–13 in Comparative Perspective 186 Post mortem Mosi: Conceptualizing Leadership in the Book of Joshua 201 Gideon, a Liminal Leader: The Transformation of Leadership Concepts in Judg 6–8 214 The Structures of Offices in the Heroic Narratives and Judge Narratives and Their Literary-Historical Development 227 Samuel’s Political Career 256 Saul, the Charismatic King: Concepts of Political Leadership in 1Sam 11 270 From David to Solomon, from Crisis to Leadership 296 Prophetic Leadership in the Books of Kings 310 The Unique Status of Jehu’s Dynasty 322 Debating Authority – Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets: A Synthesis 337 List of Contributors 352 Index of Ancient Sources 353 The volume presents 20 articles of renowned European scholars on human leadership in the Hebrew Bible. Concepts like "priest", "prophet", "judge" and "king" are examined in a literary, historical, and theological perspective with special emphasis on coneptual changes and developments. It contributes to biblical theology as well as to the ocmplex interplay between history of ancient Israel and literary history of the Hebrew Bible