The Transformation Of Tĕhôm: From Deified Power to Demonized Abyss

Primeval waters encircle the biblical world, representing dualities of life, death, deliverance and judgment. This book examines Tehom, the Hebrew Bible's primeval deep, utilizing comparative and interdisciplinary methods to explain how religious communities repurposed this concept during times of suffering. Front Cover ‎Half-Title Page ‎Series Title Page ‎Title Page ‎Copyright Page ‎Contents ‎Acknowledgements ‎Tables ‎Abbreviations ‎Chapter 1. Introduction ‎1. The Deep: Person, Place, or Thing? ‎2. Ancient Near Eastern Deities and Dragons of the Deep ‎3. The Problem of Conflict ‎4. The Ugaritic Evidence ‎5. Methodological Approach ‎6. Towards Transformation ‎Chapter 2. Deification ‎1. Introduction ‎2. Ancient Egypt ‎2.1. Ancient Egyptian Ritual ‎2.1.1. Treaty of Kadesh ‎2.2. The Continuous Cycle of Life and Death ‎3. Ancient Mesopotamia ‎3.1. Sumerian Texts ‎3.2. Babylonian/Akkadian Texts ‎4. Ancient Canaan: Ugarit ‎4.1. Ritual Texts ‎4.2. Divine Witness ‎5. Summary of Creation and Ritual Texts ‎6. Conclusion ‎Chapter 3. Personification ‎1. Introduction ‎1.1. Deification and Personification in the Hebrew Bible ‎1.2. Yahweh as Transcendent Deity ‎1.3. Ancient Israel’s Identity in Creation and Ritual ‎2. Tehom in Creation ‎2.1. Synonymous Terms ‎3. Tehom in Ritual ‎3.1. The Names of Yahweh ‎3.2. Tehom in Blessing ‎3.3. Towards a Developing Identity ‎4. Tehom in the Song of the Sea ‎4.1. Tehom as Liberating Destroyer ‎5. Tehom and the Promise of Land ‎6. Tehom Remembered in Prophecy and Prayers ‎7. Tehom and Wisdom ‎8. Tehom and the Bronze Sea ‎9. Conclusion ‎Chapter 4. Subjugation ‎1. Introduction ‎2. Sea Monsters and Their Subjugators ‎2.1. Leviathan and Yahweh ‎2.2. LTN and Baal ‎3. The Subjugated Deep in Human-Divine Relationships ‎3.1. Enacting Judgment and Conferring Legitimacy ‎3.2. Justifying Conquest and Conferring Legitimacy ‎4. The Significance of Subjugated Tehom for Ancient Israel ‎4.1. The Language of Distress ‎4.2. A Comparative Example: Sumerian balag ‎4.3. Distress Empowering Hope ‎5. Emotions, Experiences, and Affect Theory ‎5.1. Tehom as Oppressor (Tehom as Affective Object in the Book of Psalms) ‎6. Conclusion ‎Chapter 5. Demonization ‎1. Introduction ‎2. Textual Traditions ‎3. Dead Sea Scrolls ‎3.1. Distress and Engulfment in the Hodayot ‎3.2. Spatially Constructed Identity ‎3.2.1. Tehom as the Projected Place of Judgment (Tehom as Thirdspace in the Hodayot) ‎3.3. Spatial Separation in Exorcism Psalms ‎3.4. Identity and Ideology in the Dead Sea Scrolls ‎4. Septuagint (LXX) ‎4.1. “De-deifying” Tehom ‎4.2. Tehom in Cultural Memory ‎4.3. Interpretive Omissions ‎5. Targums ‎5.1. Fixed Phrases ‎5.2. Omissions and Replacements ‎5.2.1. Blessings of Tehom ‎5.3. Targum Onqelos Additions ‎5.4. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Additions ‎5.5. Other Targum Additions ‎5.6. Psalms of Ascent ‎6. Rabbinic Tradition ‎7. Conclusion ‎Chapter 6. Transformation ‎1. Introduction ‎2. The Necessity of Transformation ‎3. Origins of Evil and Demons ‎4. Restraining and Sealing Evil ‎5. Oppressive Dragon Enemy ‎5.1. Transforming Leviathan’s Origins and Purpose ‎5.2. In the End: Dragon and Abyss ‎6. Conclusion ‎Chapter 7. Conclusion ‎1. The Power of a Fluid Concept ‎2. Circular Beginnings and Endings ‎3. Awaiting the End ‎Appendix 1: Tehom in the Hebrew Bible ‎Appendix 2: Tehom-Related References in the Hebrew Bible ‎Appendix 3: Tehom in DSS Non-Biblical Manuscripts ‎Appendix 4: LXX Translations of Tehom ‎Appendix 5: Targum Translations of Tehom ‎Appendix 6: Tehom in Later Jewish and Christian Tradition ‎Bibliography ‎Index of Ancient Sources ‎Index of Names and Subjects Back Cover