The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs: 5 - Rilegato

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 0310255775 ISBN 13: 9780310255772

Casa editrice: Zondervan, 2009

Riassunto

An image rich, passage-by-passage commentary that integrates textual and artifactual context from the ancient Near East to inform our understanding and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible—while remaining respectful to the inerrancy of Scripture.

Without a deep knowledge of the ancient cultures the Old Testament was born from, we can be tempted to impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This unique Bible backgrounds commentary examines:

• The history of the ancient Near East as a means of recovering knowledge of the events that shaped the lives of the people.
• The archaeology as a means of recovering the lifestyle reflected in the material cultures.
• The literature of the ancient Near East as a means of understanding the heart and soul of the people who inhabited the ancient world that Israel shared.

Detailed exegetical notes are combined with comparative discussions of the cultural settings that help scholars interpret the writings of the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi) and books of wisdom and poetry; Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

This volume of the celebrated Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary series brings these 17 books of the Bible into sharper focus—enabling scholars, pastors, and laity to access rich data from over one hundred and seventy years of explorations and excavations in the Near East.

THE ZONDERVAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE BACKGROUNDS COMMENTARY SERIES

Invites you to enter the world of the Old Testament with a company of seasoned guides, experts who will give new insights into these cherished writings. Features:

• Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams, and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text.
• Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more.
• Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages.
• Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sugli autori

John Hilber (PhD, Cambridge University) is professor of Old Testament at McMaster Divinity College, having previously taught at Dallas Theological Seminary and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is author of Cultic Prophecy in the Psalms, Psalms in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary, Ezekiel: A Focused Commentary for Preaching and Teaching, Old Testament Cosmology and Divine Accommodation: A Relevance Theory Approach, and co-editor of Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament.

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is a distinguished scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is on the advisory council of the BioLogos Foundation, and is the Old Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and general editor for the Story of God Bible Commentary Old Testament, and has authored many articles and books on the Psalms and other Old Testament books.

Duane Garrett (Ph.D., Baylor Univerity) is John R. Sampey Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

J. Glen Taylor (Ph.D., Yale University), is associate professor of Old Testament, Wycliffe College and the School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto.

Mark W. Chavalas (Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles) is professor of History, at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Dalla quarta di copertina

Many today find the Old Testament a closed book. The cultural issues seem insurmountable and we are easily baffled by that which seems obscure. Furthermore, without knowledge of the ancient culture we can easily impose our own culture on the text, potentially distorting it. This series invites you to enter the Old Testament with a company of guides, experts that will give new insights into these cherished writings.Features include• Over 2000 photographs, drawings, maps, diagrams and charts provide a visual feast that breathes fresh life into the text.• Passage-by-passage commentary presents archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, notes on manners and customs, and more.• Analysis into the literature of the ancient Near East will open your eyes to new depths of understanding both familiar and unfamiliar passages. • Written by an international team of 30 specialists, all top scholars in background studies.

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The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs

Zondervan

Copyright © 2009 J. Glen Taylor
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-25577-2

Contents

Acknowledgments......................................................viMethodology..........................................................ixGeneral Bibliography.................................................xviiAbbreviations........................................................xxHosea J. Glen Taylor................................................2Joel Mark W. Chavalas...............................................42Amos Philip S. Johnston.............................................54Obadiah Alan R. Millard.............................................90Jonah John H. Walton................................................100Micah Daniel M. Master..............................................120Nahum Alan R. Millard...............................................148Habakkuk Victor H. Matthews.........................................164Zephaniah Mark W. Chavalas..........................................178Haggai Kenneth G. Hoglund...........................................192Zechariah Kenneth G. Hoglund and John H. Walton.....................202Malachi Andrew E. Hill..............................................232Job Izak Cornelius..................................................246Psalms John W. Hilber...............................................316Proverbs Tremper Longman III........................................464Ecclesiastes Duane Garrett..........................................504Song of Songs Duane Garrett.........................................518Picture Index........................................................535

Chapter One

HOSEA by J. Glen Taylor

Introduction

Hosea prophesied from as early as the time of the Israelite king Jeroboam II (786-745 B.C.) to perhaps as late as the reign of the Judean king Hezekiah (725-686 B.C.). His prophetic ministry thus lasted between twenty and forty-five years. Most, if not all, of what is recorded in this prophecy took place before the conquest of Samaria by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.

It is odd that a book about an Israelite prophet ministering within the kingdom of Israel begins by mentioning the kings of Judah prior to the king of Israel. This suggests that the message of the book in its final form was primarily directed to the southern kingdom of Judah and at a later period when Hosea's preaching had become famous for its divine authority and abiding relevancy.

Extrabiblical evidence complements and supplements what 2 Kings 14:23-29 already tells us about life in Israel under Jeroboam II, first king over Hosea the public prophet. Historical evidence tells us that for more than a century before Tiglath-pileser III took the throne of Assyria late in the spring of 745 B.C., this tyrannical nation had tried to flex its muscles in Syria-Palestine, but with little effect because of economic and social instability. Thus far it had dealt no substantive blow to Israel but it had to Syria, Israel's neighbor and traditional rival to the north. Syria's losses were economically and militarily advantageous for Israel, allowing Jeroboam II to reclaim strategic territory to the north and east. As well, it inadvertently created a buffer zone that helped the elite in Israel to accumulate the wealth that, as Amos and Hosea eloquently remind us, they badly abused.

Such abuse of wealth might be reflected in the archaeological record at the former capital city of Tirzah (Tell el-Farah north; see 1 Kings 15:33; 16:8). There in stratum III, dating to the eighth century B.C., have been found solidly built, stately four-room houses in the neighborhood immediately south of an administrative headquarters, while further to the south was a cluster of four-roomed houses that were poorly built and shabbily aligned. Samaria, which had a large cluster of impressive building complexes outside her (especially to the south toward Shechem) possibly suggests a similar gap between the wealthy and rich.

History, especially as it relates to the other kings of Israel, sheds further light on Hosea's time. The murder of Jeroboam II's son Zechariah spelled an end not only to the Jehu dynasty (which held a record in Israel for longevity) but to any semblance of political stability in Israel. From then on, as one short-lived, illegitimate king replaced another, all that reigned with consistency was chaos itself. And it could not have come at a worse time for Israel. Starting with the kingdom of Urartu near Turkey in the north (743-740 B.C.) and moving progressively south over an additional three campaigns (738, 734, 733-732 B.C.), the Assyrian king Tiglathpileser III, a brilliant military strategist, systematically mobilized his army against the entire eastern Mediterranean seaboard in order to quell rebellions and to redirect needed goods along trade routes to Assyria.

Living in Israel at this time would have been much like living in an unruly Third World country today, where political stability and godly diplomacy were necessary (and were within reach), but where something close to anarchy prevailed, along with looting and other forms of lawlessness. This was a particularly tough pill for Israel to swallow, as she could still remember the sweet taste of peace and stability. For this to happen when a ruthless superpower threatened to devour the once mighty Israel no doubt stirred up feelings of both frustration and terror.

Assyria's foreign policy allowed kingdoms like Israel three main options: (1) submit voluntarily and pay tribute; (2) be conquered and pay tribute as an independent puppet state; or (3) be conquered and pay tribute as a full-fledged province of Assyria, with an Assyrian overseer. Israel graduated from options one to two under Tiglath-pileser III (campaigns of 738 B.C. and 732 respectively) and to option three under Sargon II (722 B.C.).

Each of these three stages of Israel's subjugation is attested in Assyrian sources. Records of Tiglath-pileser found on slabs at Calah record Menahem of Israel (745-737 B.C.) paying voluntary tribute:

I received tribute from Kushtashpi of Commagene, Rezon of Damascus, Menahem of Samaria, Hiram of Tyre, Sibittibi'li of Byblos (etc.).... gold, silver, tin, iron, elephant-hides, ivory, linen garments with multicolored trimmings, blue-dyed wool, purple-dyed wool, ebony-wood, boxwood-wood, whatever was precious (enough for a) royal treasure; also lambs whose stretched hides were dyed purple, (and) wild birds whose spread-out wings were dyed blue, (furthermore) horses, mules, large and small cattle, (male) camels, female camels with their foals.

Tiglath-pileser's annals also record Israel's ill-fated final king Hoshea being installed as a puppet king (in keeping with option two): "Israel [lit., Omri-Land] ... overthrew their king Pekah and I placed Hoshea as king over them. I received from them 10 talents of gold, 1,000 (?) talents of silver as their [tri]bute and brought them to Assyria."

Finally came option three. Annals from stone stabs and inscriptions on walls at Khorsabad contain this boast of the Assyrian king Sargon II: "I besieged and conquered Samaria, led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants of it. I formed from among them a contingent of 50 chariots and made remaining (inhabitants) assume their (social) positions. I installed over them an officer of mine and imposed upon them the tribute of the former king."

It may be helpful to apply a simile to the situation with Israel and Judah at this time. They were like two cats living in an alley with one tiger named Egypt living at one end and another named Assyria at the other, each scrapping for control over the laneway. These countries sought not only to get the upper hand over each other, but to dominate smaller countries like Judah, Israel, and Syria between them. This was not only in order to nip possible rebellions in the bud (the most threatening of which were coalitions like the one between Syria and Israel, which Judah refused to join and which forms the likely backdrop to 5:8-14), but also to keep open trade routes that provided the goods necessary to fuel their large economies and infrastructure. For Israel and Judah, the challenge was this: How do we stay loyal to Yahweh despite living in a bottleneck between powerful and sophisticated rivals? (For more on history, see the sidebar on "Historical Background to Hosea 5:8-7:16" at 5:1-15.)

Hosea's Wife and Children (1:1-2:23)

Take to yourself an adulterous wife (1:2). The Hebrew word translated "adulterous" (zennm) is not a technical term for a prostitute; it is rather a general term describing the promiscuous sexual behavior of a woman who is either betrothed or married. Its range of meaning can nonetheless include the sexual behavior of a prostitute (Nah. 3:4).

Regarding the possibility of her involvement in prostitution, we must rule out for lack of historical evidence any notion that Hosea's wife was likely involved in what is normally meant by "sacred prostitution"-that is, prostitution at a temple where the sex act was done imitatively to conjure up fertility among the gods. (For an alternative explanation, see comment on 4:14.) Moreover, contrary to Andersen and Freedman, the Hebrew syntax of the phrase in which "adulterous" occurs can (and usually does) describe the present behavior of the wife, thereby favoring the notion that Gomer is promiscuous at the time Hosea marries her.

In addition, the Hebrew syntax of "to yourself" draws attention to the implications of the command for the person who receives the command, suggesting in this case that Yahweh knows that he is asking Hosea to do something ominous, at personal cost. (Compare, roughly, the case of a mother saying "off you go" to a child on the ominous occasion of the first day of school as the young tike trembles with fear at the notion of boarding the school bus for the first time.) The use of such a general term "adulterous" also suggests that the Hebrew text is less concerned than the modern reader to specify the context of the illicit sexual behavior (i.e., whether an adulteress or prostitute).

Finally, assuming that Hosea is asked to marry an unchaste person, one remaining moral issue is certain: Given the great moral offense that would otherwise apply to Gomer's first husband, Hosea marries a woman whose husband is no longer on the scene. Gomer is thus likely a prostitute, or else a promiscuous divorcee or widow. And since the legitimacy of Gomer's children pre-Hosea is questioned (see comments on 1:2), she was most likely a prostitute.

For any who still might not be able to let go of this problem, consider the following. First, an important rule of biblical interpretation is to dwell on only those problems that the text by its own wording invites us to entertain rather than on the problems that modern-day readers bring to the text. Second, this is no lesson on whom to marry. God often uses biblical characters to teach us things about himself without ever expecting us to imitate the actions or behaviors of those characters. Finally, desperate situations sometimes call for unusual practices. This being so, God was not unfair to ask Hosea to marry a prostitute in order to help save God's people from apostasy, in the same way that a fire chief is not unfair to ask a firefighter to break into a house in order to save a family trapped inside. In such circumstances Hosea can no more be aptly called unwise or immoral than can the firefighter be considered a burglar.

Children of unfaithfulness (1:2). Taken at face value, this call to "take" children of unfaithfulness implies that Gomer had children from her previous life that Hosea was now being asked to adopt (the word "take" in such an expression can be a technical term for "adopt"). The children mentioned here might thus be in addition to the three ominously named in verses 4-9. (Note that "children of unfaithfulness" is an unlikely characterization of the children of the prophet and his wife. Note, too, that 1:3 identifies Hosea as the biological father of Jezreel.)

Further, in 2:1 the three sign-children (two boys and a girl) are told to speak to their "sisters" (note the plural) as well as to their "brothers." A face-value reading of these plurals suggests that Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi are recent additions to what we today call a blended family.

The Name Hosea

The name "Hosea" consists of an abbreviated form of the name Yahweh together with a causative form of the verb yasa', meaning "to save, deliver." His name literally means "(Yah[weh]) has caused salvation." The earliest attestation of the root yasa' is in a West Semitic personal name from Ur (2050 B.C.); other early attestations come later from Mari and Ugarit (15th-14th centuries B.C.). In these cases, the meaning "save" can be assumed. In these cases too (as with Hosea), the individual's name is normally tied with a particular god who is said to "save" (e.g., Ugaritic yt'd, which is rendered in a parallel list in Akkadian as "Hadad saves," or the even earlier Amorite la-[ya]su-'il, which means "surely El saves"). Within the Old Testament itself, the subject of the causative root behind Hosea's name is most often Yahweh. The root is used rarely in everyday language, except in personal names, where it is popular.

There are fourteen different personal names derived from the basic root yasa' in the Old Testament, including Isaiah, Joshua, and Yeshua (the same as New Testament "Jesus"), the latter two of which are, respectively, earlier and later variations of the name Hosea. To date, at least eight extrabiblical Hebrew inscriptions-mostly seals, and all dating (so far as can be known) to the eighth to seventh centuries B.C.-are attested with the name Hosea; a further twenty-two have turned up with the longer form Hoshaiah (i.e., with Yah[weh] at the end), mostly on bullae (seal impressions) believed to originate from the Tell Beit Mirsim area and dated provisionally to a century or so later.

A Wisdom Saying from Babylon

Do not marry a harlot whose husbands are six thousand.

An Ishtar-woman vowed to a god,

A sacred prostitute whose favors are unlimited,

Will not lift you out of trouble:

In your quarrel she will slander you.

Reverence and submission are not with her.

Truly, if she takes possession of your house, lead her out.

Toward the path of a stranger she turns her mind.

[Or, the house which she enters will be destroyed, her husband will not prosper.]

Hosea's Marriage

Texts from ancient Ugarit as well as biblical narratives suggest that monogamy was the norm in both Canaan and Israel at this time. The reference both to Hosea's father Beeri and to Gomer's father Diblaim implies that Hosea's marriage was of the type that involved at least consultation between the fathers. (Judges 14:3 shows us how heart-wrenching deliberations over a less-than-ideal bride could be for an Israelite lad's parents!) To secure his bride, Hosea would likely have paid to Diblaim a payment called a mohar. If we combine the practice of Deuteronomy 22:29 (which suggests a payment of fifty silver shekels for a virgin but less for a nonvirgin) and the practice reflected in the Ugaritic poem of Nikkal and the Moon (in which the bride's whole family takes part in weighing out the bride price on the scales), the transaction may well have proved embarrassing for the families of the bride and groom.

Marriage had two distinct components. The first, betrothal, which was secured by the payment of the mohar, is suggested by the word "take" in 1:2. Hosea 2:19 possibly conveys the actual words said at the moment of betrothal (see also comments on 2:2, 16, 19). (Compare what is said in marriages today: "I, John, take you, Cathy, to be my wife.") The second part, marriage itself, need not have been consummated for months, but the wife's unfaithfulness past the time of betrothal (when she would still have continued to reside with her father) would be considered as adultery (cf. Matt. 1:18-25).

If the practice of Jews living at Elephantine in the fifth century B.C. was typical, the mohar normally became part of the dowry at marriage. However, other comparative evidence from Nuzi suggests that the mohar was often not included in the dowry, as the two gifts had different purposes; the mohar at Nuzi was normally given to the brother of the bride in order to help him afford a wife, whereas the dowry was equivalent to an early inheritance for the couple. The dowry evidently went over to the groom's house but was kept intact for the wife to have if her husband predeceased or divorced her. Under no circumstances would she retain the dowry if she remarried, as this would jeopardize the inheritance of the first husband. The dowry ultimately went to any children the couple had had. The reversion of the dowry initially to a widow was but one example of the way in which the rights of a married woman were protected.

Marriage itself was not egalitarian. For the purposes of understanding the metaphor of marriage and divorce in Hosea, it is important to remember that the husband was the "master" (Heb. ba'al) of the wife. If the wife committed adultery, the ancient writer considered the husband as the victim of the "great sin." It was like committing treason against her husband. Similarly, a husband's decision to pardon his wife was akin to a king's pardon of a subject. At the same time, however, although the wife was clearly subordinate, she was not merely regarded as the husband's property.

(Continues...)

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Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Zondervan
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0310255775
• ISBN 13: 9780310255772
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 557
• Redattore: Walton John H.
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
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