Esther's Revenge at Susa : From Sennacherib to Ahasuerus

"Why are the names of the chief characters in the biblical Book of Esther those of Mesopotamian deities? Stephanie Dalley argues that the narrative reflects real happenings in seventh-century Assyria, where the widespread belief that revenge belongs to the gods explains why Assyrian kings described punitive campaigns as divine acts, leading to the mythologizing of certain historical events. Ashurbanipal's sack of Susa, led by the deities Ishtar and Marduk, underlies the Hebrew story of Esther, and that story contains traces of the cultic calendar of Ishtar-of-Nineveh. Dalley traces the way in which the long-term settlement of 'lost tribes' in Assyria, revealed by the fruits of excavation in Iraq and Syria, inspired a blend of pagan and Jewish traditions."--Jacket Contents......Page 10 List of Illustrations......Page 11 Family Tree of Assyrian Kings......Page 17 Introduction......Page 18 PART I. THE BACKGROUND IN ASSYRIAN HISTORY AND LITERATURE......Page 26 1. Kings Sargon and Sennacherib, Father and Son......Page 28 2. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, Son and Grandson of Sennacherib......Page 54 3. Troubles in Babylon and Retribution in Susa......Page 77 4. Dissemination in Palestine and Egypt......Page 101 5. Some Literature and Its Genres......Page 129 6. Ishtar-of-Nineveh and her Feasts......Page 154 PART II. TRANSITION TO A JEWISH STORY......Page 180 7. Assyrian Words, Phrases, and Customs in the Hebrew Book of Esther......Page 182 8. Links between Seventh-Century Assyria, the Hebrew Story of Esther, and the Kingdom of Adiabene......Page 202 9. From History into Myth: Evolution of a Story......Page 223 Bibliography......Page 244 Glossary......Page 266 A......Page 268 B......Page 269 E......Page 270 G......Page 271 I......Page 272 M......Page 273 O......Page 274 S......Page 275 T......Page 276 Z......Page 277 Akkadian words and phrases......Page 278 Persian-derived words......Page 279 The names of the chief characters in the biblical Book of Esther are those of Mesopotamian deities. Stephanie Dalley argues that the narrative reflects real events in seventh-century Assyria which were `explained' soon after they occurred in a mythologizing cuneiform text and linked to religious festivals comparable to the Jewish rites of Purim. - ;Why are the names of the chief characters in the biblical Book of Esther those of Mesopotamian deities? Stephanie Dalley argues that the narrative reflects real happenings in seventh-century Assyria, where the widespread belief that revenge belongs