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.: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
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:71750 |
| Date | 28 August 2020 |
| Creators | Rogers, SandyJo Dorothea |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion, doc-type:doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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