Sworn Enemies The Divine Oath, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Polemics of Exile BZAW 436 (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 436)

Casey A. Strine explores how the book of Ezekiel uses the exodus origin tradition to craft a national identity for the Judahite exiles in Babylon that contests competing interpretations of the recent past advanced by internal and external opponents. In this study, he demonstrates that Ezekiel utilizes formulaic language - especially YHWH ́s oath - in order to define Israel ́s identity around the exodus from Egypt, particularly asserting that YHWH favors a community outside Israel and under foreign oppression. Subsequently, this national identity is employed to refute an autochthonous origin tradition based upon the characters of Abraham and Jacob current among non-exiled Judahites (Ezek 11, 33, 35-36). Strine also argues that this same formulaic language is employed to contradict Babylonian claims that YHWH was powerless to help the exiles. YHWH swearing as I live ́ not only challenges the underlying ideology that the destruction of Jerusalem indicated Marduk had defeated the Judahite deity, it repeatedly introduces passages where YHWH performs actions that the Babylonians would attribute to Marduk. This raises the issue of whether Ezekiel includes a nascent monotheism, which Strine explores with respect to recent contributions. Sworn Enemies: The Divine Oath, the Book of Ezekiel, and the Polemics of Exile......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Sigla and Abbreviations......Page 14 1 Introduction......Page 18 1. Formulaic Language in Ezekiel’s Rhetoric......Page 19 2. Forms of the Divine Oath......Page 23 3. History of Research......Page 27 a. Comparative Analysis......Page 34 b. Form Critical Analysis......Page 39 c. Public and Hidden Transcripts......Page 43 Part I: The Meaning of the “As I Live” and “Lifted Hand” Formulae......Page 58 2 The Ancient Near Eastern Context for the Divine Oath......Page 60 1. Ancient Near Eastern Comparative Study and the Book of Ezekiel......Page 61 2. The Divine Oath in Egyptian Texts......Page 63 3. The Divine Oath in Akkadian Texts......Page 69 4. The Divine Oath in Ugaritic Texts......Page 82 5. Summary......Page 86 Excursus I: The Lifted Hand Formula and Akkadian našû-nadānu......Page 89 1. Evidence for the “Lifted Hand” Formula as a Divine Oath......Page 90 2. Difficulties Internal to the Hebrew Bible......Page 91 3. Našû-nadānu: A New Potential Parallel......Page 103 1. The Concept of Genre......Page 115 2. Genre and the “As I Live” Formula......Page 119 3. Genre and the “Lifted Hand” Formula......Page 133 a. The “Lifted Hand” Formula and the Land Theme......Page 135 b. The “Lifted Hand” Formula and the Punishment Theme......Page 140 4. Summary......Page 144 4 Social and Literary Setting of the “As I Live” and “Lifted Hand” Formulae......Page 146 1. Prolegomena: The Relationship between Num 13–14 and Ezekiel......Page 147 2. Social Setting of the “As I live” Authenticating Element......Page 151 3. Social Setting of the “Lifted Hand” Land Transfer Formula......Page 171 4. Social Setting of the “Lifted Hand” Punishment Formula......Page 182 5. Implications for Ezekiel’s Relationship to the Holiness Code......Page 183 6. Summary......Page 186 1. Summary of Evidence......Page 188 2. Summary of Findings......Page 190 Part II: The Function of the “As I Live” and “Lifted Hand” Formulae......Page 192 5 The Intra-Judahite Polemics of Exile......Page 194 1. The End of YHWH’s Restraint: Ezek 5:5-17......Page 195 2. This Land is Our Land......Page 198 a. Abraham Was One Man: Ezek 33:23-29......Page 200 b. The Land of Sojourn: Ezek 20......Page 207 c. Jacob and Esau: Ezek 35:1–36:15......Page 210 d. Jerusalem’s Genealogy: Ezek 16:43-58......Page 228 3. Ezekiel and the Formation of the Pentateuch......Page 232 4. Ezekiel’s Fight for the Public Transcript......Page 238 5. Summary......Page 243 1. Whither Babylonia?......Page 245 2. Divine Human Cooperation: Ezek 17:1-24......Page 247 a. Ezek 17:1-10......Page 248 b. Ezek 17:11-21......Page 250 c. Ezek 17:22-24......Page 256 d. Hidden Transcript in Ezek 17......Page 258 3. The True Shepherd: Ezek 34:1-16......Page 260 4. Return of the King: Ezek 20:32-44......Page 269 5. Ezekiel and Monotheism......Page 275 6. Ezekiel and the Arts of Resistance......Page 279 7. Summary......Page 284 7 Summary and Conclusion......Page 286 1. Summary of Findings......Page 287 2. The Polemics of Exile as Identity Formation......Page 293 3. Boundary Markers in Ezekiel......Page 296 1. The “As I Live” Formula Passages......Page 301 2. The “Lifted Hand” Formulae Passages......Page 309 Bibliography......Page 312 Index of Ancient Texts......Page 340 Index of Authors......Page 355 Sworn Enemies explains how the book of Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition – especially YHWH's oath – to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles. This language openly refutes an autochthonous origin tradition preferred by the non-exiled Judahites while covertly challenging Babylonian claims that YHWH was no longer worthy of worship. After specifying the layers of meaning in the divine oath, the book shows how Ezekiel uses these connotations to construct an explicit, public transcript that denies and mocks the non-exiles'appeals to a combined Abraham and Jacob tradition (e.g. Ezek 35). Simultaneously, Ezekiel employs the oath's exodus connotations to support a disguised polemic that resists Babylonian claims that YHWH was powerless to help the exiles. When YHWH swears “as I live” the text goes on to implicitly replace Marduk with YHWH as the deity who controls nations and history (e.g. Ezek 17). Ezekiel, thus, shares the “monotheistic” concepts found in Deutero-Isaiah and elsewhere. Finally, using James C. Scott's concept of hidden transcripts, the author shows how both polemics cooperate to define a legitimate Judahite nationalism and faithful Yahwism that allows the exiles to resist these threatening “others”. Main description: Casey A. Strine explores how the book of Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition - especially YHWH's oath- to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles that refutes an autochthonous origin tradition preferred by the non-exiled Judahites while also challenging Babylonian claims that YHWH was no longer worthy of worship. In the course of his study, Strine addresses a number of key questions: the relationship between the exodus and patriarchal traditions, Ezekiel's contribution to the development of monotheism, and the date and setting of the book of Ezekiel Introduction -- The Ancient Near Eastern Context For The Divine Oath -- The Lifted Hand Formula And Akkadian Našû-nadānu -- Genre Analysis Of The As I Live And Lifted Hand Formulae -- Social And Literary Setting Of The As I Live And Lifted Hand Formulae -- The Meaning Of The Lifted Hand Formula -- The Intra-judahite Polemics Of Exile -- The Inter-national Polemics Of Exile -- Summary And Conclusion -- Appendix One : A Structural Analysis Of The As I Live And Lifted Hand Passages. C.a. Strine. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 295-322) And Indexes. This book explains how Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles that refutes an autochthonous origin tradition preferred by the non-exiled Judahites. The book addresses a number of key questions: the relationship between the exodus and patriarchal traditions, Ezekiel's contribution to the development of monotheism, the date and setting of the book of Ezekiel, and Ezekiel's apparent silence about the Babylonians