- Titel
- A Fresh Start Comes from God
- Untertitel
- Theological, Historical, and Sociological Background of the Clean-Slate Acts of Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15
- Zitierfähige Url:
- https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-717509
- Datum der Einreichung
- 31.01.2020
- Datum der Verteidigung
- 11.05.2020
- Abstract (EN)
- The clean-slate acts of the Hebrew Bible, i.e., the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 and the Šemittah Year and the Law of Slave Release in Deut 15:1-18, are a part of the tradition of clean-slate acts in the ancient Near East. In these acts, those who have become indebted and have loss land and freedom, are given a fresh start. Through comparing the biblical clean-slate acts with the evidence of clean-slate acts in ancient Mesopotamia including the existing Edict of Ammiṣaduqa and fragments of an edict from Samsuiluna, the Holiness Code’s Year of Jubilee and Deuteronomy’s Šhemittah Year and the Law of Slave Release are brought into sharper focus. The goal of this book is to use the lens of the ancient Near Eastern clean-slate acts to better understand not only the biblical acts but the role they play within their respective law codes. Through the clean-slate acts, both the Holiness Code and Deuteronomy set economic justice as a cornerstone of their theology. They serve as a culmination of what it means to be the people of YHWH. Analyzing the biblical clean-slate acts in light of the larger tradition shows that the Year of Jubilee and the Šemittah Year and the Law of Slave Release call the people of Israel to be participants in renewal, blessing, and providing justice for the community.
- Freie Schlagwörter (EN)
- Lev 25, Deut 15, Year of Jubilee, Shemittah Year
- Klassifikation (DDC)
- 200
- Den akademischen Grad verleihende / prüfende Institution
- Universität Leipzig, Leipzig
- Version / Begutachtungsstatus
- angenommene Version / Postprint / Autorenversion
- URN Qucosa
- urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa2-717509
- Veröffentlichungsdatum Qucosa
- 28.08.2020
- Dokumenttyp
- Dissertation
- Sprache des Dokumentes
- Englisch
- Lizenz / Rechtehinweis
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0- Inhaltsverzeichnis
Table of Contents Abbreviations vii A Note on the Spellings of Names ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 General Tendencies of the Research 2 Leviticus 25 2 Deuteronomy 15:1-18 5 The Relationship between Lev 25 and Deut 15:1-18 8 Lev 25 and Deut 15:1-18 and the Ancient Near East 12 Ancient Near Eastern Literature and the Hebrew Bible 15 Methodology 17 Chapter 2: From Freedom to Slavery. 20 Introduction 20 Causes of Debt in the Hebrew Bible 21 Loans 22 Taxes and Corvée 23 Consequences of Debt in the Hebrew Bible 25 Oppression of the Poor in the Literary Prophets 27 Debt in Ancient Mesopotamia 32 Interest-Bearing Loans 33 Taxes and Corvée 36 Consequences of Debt in Ancient Mesopotamia 38 Loss of Land 38 Loss of Freedom 39 Conclusion 43 Excursus 1: Debt in Ancient Egypt 44 General Survey 44 Debt-Slavery under Joseph - Genesis 47:13-26 45 Chapter 3: Economic Justice and Clean Slate Traditions in Ancient Mesopotamia 47 Introduction 47 Ur-Namma (regnal years: 2112-2095 B.C.E., Ur): 49 Lipit-Ištar (regnal years: 1934-1924 B.C.E., Isin) 51 Ur-Ninurta (regnal years: 1923-1896 B.C.E., Isin) 53 Sumulael (regnal years: 1880-1845 B.C.E., Babylon) 54 Sabium (regnal years: 1884-1831 B.C.E., Babylon) 54 Hammurabi (regnal years: 1792-1750 B.C.E., Babylon) 55 Samsuiluna (regnal years: 1749-1712 B.C.E., Babylon) 58 Abiešuḫ (regnal years: 1711-1684 B.C.E., Babylon) 63 Ammiditana (regnal years: 1683-1647 B.C.E., Babylon) 63 Date and Attribution Uncertain 64 Ammiṣaduqa (regnal years: 1646-1626 B.C.E., Babylon) 64 Conclusion 71 Chapter 4: Esarhaddon’s Neo-Assyrian Clean-Slate Acts 73 Introduction 73 Sennacherib and Babylonia 73 Esarhaddon’s Restoration of Babylon 77 Conclusion 84 Chapter 5: Dating the Holiness Code and Deuteronomy 87 Introduction 87 Overview 87 Deuteronomy 88 The Holiness Code 90 The Role of the Covenant Code 93 Evidence from Jeremiah 34 98 Authorship 101 Deuteronomy 102 The Holiness Code 106 Conclusion 109 Chapter 6: The Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25 111 Introduction 111 Textual Issues 112 Land as Subject of Sabbath 112 Meaning of יוֹבֵל and דְּרוֹר 112 Debates 114 Questions of Redaction 119 Pronoun Switching 119 Cities 120 Structure 122 Sabbath and Jubilee 123 The Debt-Spiral and Clean-Slate Remedies 126 Key Issues and Themes 134 Sabbath: Not for the Poor 134 Debt and Debt Relief 135 Cities 136 Theology 137 Particularity 137 The Exodus Event and the Israelites as YHWH’s Slaves 138 The Land is YHWH’s 142 The Jubilee as Holy 144 The Day of Atonement and Created Order 146 In the Context of the Holiness Code 149 Conclusion 150 Chapter 7: The Šemittah Year and Law of Slave Release in Deuteronomy 15:1-18 152 Introduction 152 Šemittah 152 Debates 154 Debt Forgiveness or Deferment 154 Same or Double Work in v. 18 156 Structure 157 The Šemittah Year (15:1-11) 161 The Law of Slave Release (15:12-18) 165 Key Issues and Themes 166 Sabbath Rhythm 166 Generosity 168 Right Attitude 171 חטא in Deuteronomy 172 Particularity 174 Slave Laws in Deuteronomy 15:12-18 and Exodus 21:2-11 175 Theology 179 Care for the Poor Kin 179 The Gift of Land 180 Slavery in Egypt and the Exodus Event 181 Sovereignty of YHWH 182 Šemittah Year, Torah, and Joy 185 Conclusion 186 Excursus 2: A Clean-Slate Act in Nehemiah 5:1-13 187 Introduction 187 The Narrative 188 The Vocabulary 189 Shared Themes 191 The Nehemiah Memoir as Self-Presentation and Propaganda 192 Conclusion 194 Chapter 8: Comparisons and Conclusions 196 Introduction 196 Divine versus Human Agency 197 Sabbath 201 Forward-Looking 204 Provisions for the Future 207 Divine Ownership 209 Exclusivity 209 The Exodus Event 212 The Land and the Promise of Blessing 215 Community Ethics 217 Different Approaches 219 Community in Deuteronomy 221 The Land and YHWH’s Sovereignty in the Holiness Code 224 Conclusions 225 Bibliography 228