Sessions & Papers
Ottawa 2009 | Vancouver 2008 | Saskatoon 2007 | York 2006
Ottawa 2009
The 2009 Ancient Historiography Seminar will meet during the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, May 24-26, 2009. Please note that presenters will only be summarizing their papers. Please read the papers before the seminar.
Prophets and Prophecy in Ancient Israelite Historiography (Session I)
Monday 25 May 2009 - 8:45-12:00 (SA 406)
Chair / Président: Patricia Kirkpatrick (McGill University)
8:45-9:05 am - Neither Prophets nor History Writing in the Nebi’im 
Kurt Noll (Brandon University)
nollk [at] brandonu [dot] ca
Deuteronomy 18:22 defines genuine prophecy as the ability to foretell events without contingency. The story of Micaiah ben Imlah (1 Kings 22) attacks that definition with a deliciously deceptive tale in which prophets who tell lies are genuine and a prophet who tells the truth is not. In this story, the king of Israel is not defeated by his own hubris. He is defeated by an ingeniously deceptive god who chooses a false prophet to speak a true message that is articulated in such a way that the king is compelled to reject it as false. As such, this story is another example illustrating that the Former Prophets do not constitute a Deuteronomistic History. Rather, these scrolls testify to an ongoing literary debate among ancient scribes who were dissatisfied with the religion advocated by the book of Deuteronomy. The implications of this are profound. The biblical Former Prophets are not best described as history writing and the treatment of prophets within this narrative literature has nothing to do with real flesh-and-blood prophets. These tales are literary conceits, artificial constructions understood by the ancient reader to represent theological debates in dialogue with Deuteronomy, not reports of historical events under the guidance of a god who revealed his intentions to prophetic servants.
9:05-9:15 am - Discussion
9:15-9:35 am - Prophecy as Prediction in Biblical Historiography
John Van Seters (Waterloo, ON)
john [dot] vanseters [at] sympatico [dot] ca
There is great diversity in the roles that prophecy plays within the biblical historical narratives, but the present paper will focus on the role of prediction of future events by prophets within the Dtr corpus and its later literary supplements. Such a role of prediction may be viewed in comparison with the element of prediction in Near Eastern literature, primarily in the form of omens and divination; and in Greek histories, such as Herodotus, in his use of oracles, mantics and wise counselors to anticipate future events. While the biblical narratives do recognize the use of omens manipulated by specialist ephod-wearing priests for the purpose of predicting the outcome of an impending battle, Dtr seems to denigrate the use of divination and give to the prophet the function of predicting future events. This has to do, not only with warnings about the consequences of disobedience to the divine will, but also concerning the more long-term destiny of royal dynasties and the fate of the nations of Israel and Judah. This is reflected in the so-called “theology of the Dtr history,” as spelled out by von Rad, as well as in certain reactions to Dtr in later additions to the history (e.g. the David Saga). The paper will take up a number of examples to illustrate these features. What I hope will become clear are the great differences in the understanding of prophecy as prediction within biblical historiography.
9:35-9:45 Discussion
9:45-10:05 am - Recycling Heaven's Words: Prophets, Angels and Priests in the Historiography of Judges
Mark J. Boda (McMaster Divinity College)
mjboda [at] mcmaster [dot] ca
It is often noted that the dominant historiographic structure in the book of Judges is that of a five stage cycle of events which include: sin, punishment, crying out, salvation, quiet (e.g., Amit 36-37; cf. Greenspahn 1986: 388). Others have suggested a four part cycle (Trompf 1979: 219-20) by excluding the element “quiet” or a six part cycle (Mayes 1983: 61-62; cf. Gunn 1987: 104-105) by including the element of the raising up of the deliverer (cf. O’Connell 1996: 26n18). The present paper investigates the role of prophets and other divine intermediaries within the historiographic structure of the book of Judges, revealing that a word from the deity is as consistent as other elements in this historiographic structure. A close look at the similarities and differences between the various instances of this element within the book highlights a key theme in the book and suggests the role of the book within a broader Deuteronomic History/Former Prophets.
10:05-10:15 am - Discussion
10:15-10:30 - Break
10:30-10:50 am - A Bad News Bearer: The Dramatic Fulfillment of a Prophetic Word about the Dissolution of a Priestly Line
Keith Bodner (Atlantic Baptist University)
Keith.Bodner [at] abu.nb.ca
Even a brief glance at Thomas Römer’s recent book on the Deuteronomistic History is sufficient for noticing the great artistry of the overall story that stretches from Joshua to Kings. Part of the allure of this history—as a legion of commentators have observed—is the extraordinary cast of characters that populate the Former Prophets. One such under-rated (yet intriguing) character is Jonathan son of Abiathar, and I am proposing this character for the subject of my paper. In the two prominent episodes in which he appears, this member of the Elide line is used in a larger discussion about succession, which is ironic, since he himself is banished into obscurity by the succession of a rival house. Through the character of Jonathan the reader is confronted with both literary issues of composition, and thematic issues at the heart of the narrative.
10:50-11:00 - Discussion
11:00-11:20 am - Ahijah and Jeroboam: Template for Prophetic Activity in the Book of Kings
Lissa M. Wray Beal (Providence Theological Seminary)
lissa.wray.beal [at] prov.ca
The kingship of Jeroboam I, so crucial to the remainder of the Book of Kings, is bounded and punctuated by prophetic interactions. In those interactions, the fate of successive Israelite kings is found. Ahijah, in 1 Kgs. 11 proffers the word of hope for an enduring house, and in 1 Kgs. 14 delivers the fatal word of judgment against that house. In 1 Kgs. 13 the man of God from Judah delivers the dramatic word against the altar, and is then himself caught up in another prophetic interaction as commentary upon the first. This paper explores the three prophetic interactions, noting the similar means and motifs by which the prophetic word comes to Jeroboam, and the comparability of those means and motifs to other prophetic words at similar junctures in successive kingships. In this, the Jeroboam narrative provides a template for prophetic activity throughout the Books of Kings. This paper also explores how some of the prophetic interactions in Jeroboam’s reign are fulfilled within his reign, while others remain open. Both the fulfilled and unfulfilled words in Jeroboam’s reign provide narratological threads to connect this narrative to the remaining history of the kings of Israel and Judah. Further, each works together to provide a commentary upon the certainty of YHWH’s prophetic word.
11:20-11:30 am - Discussion
11:30-12:00 General Discussion
Prophets and Prophecy in Ancient Israelite Historiography (Session II)
Monday 25 May 2009 - 1:30-5:30 pm (SA 406)
Chair / Président: Tyler F. Williams (The King's University College)
1:30-1:50 pm - Prophecy Influencing History: Dialogism in the Chronicler’s Ahaz Narrative
Paul Evans (Ambrose University College)
pevans [at] ambrose [dot] edu
The Chronicler's account of the reign of Ahaz of Judah (2 Chronicles 28) has invariably been read in comparison with the account in 2 Kings 16 (his putative Vorlage). Though the Chronicler follows the general outline of 2 Kings 16 there are numerous differences between the accounts (including the insertion of an encounter between Israelites and a prophet) which interpreters have explained in various ways. Interestingly, 2 Chronicles 32:32 references the “vision of Isaiah” (which is the editorial incipit and natural title of the canonical book) as a source employed by the Chronicler, inviting the interpreter to view Chronicles in dialogue with the book of Isaiah. Following this lead, this study will examine the relationship between 2 Kings 16, Isaiah 7 and 2 Chronicles 28, drawing on Bakthin’s ideas of dialogism. While in the context of the Syro-Ephraimite threat, Isaiah 7 emphasized the need for Ahaz to trust in Yahweh (Isa 7:9) and clearly predicts that Assyria will trouble Ahaz severely (Isa 7:17), in 2 Kings 16 Ahaz’s trust in/appeal to Assyria appears to successfully end the Syro-Ephramite threat as Assyria comes to his aid. The potential for conflict between these texts is obvious. As well, the insertion of a new prophetic story into the Ahaz narrative may be influenced by the prophetic encounter between Isaiah and Ahaz in Isaiah 7. This study suggests that the texts of Isaiah and 2 Kings are positions that are answered by Chronicles.
1:50-2:00 pm - Discussion
2:00-2:20 pm - The Reconstruction of Jerusalem in Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi:
Finding History in Prophecy
Ken Ristau (Penn State)
ken.ristau [at] anduril.ca
Haggai and Zechariah are identified in Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 as prophets at the time of the reconstruction of the temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem. This, and the date formulations that appear in their writings, have given scholars confidence that their books are among the earliest of the Persian period and provide contemporary reflections on the situation in Jerusalem. Among the biblical texts, this sets them apart; few texts in the Bible are accepted today as contemporary to the events they describe. Yet, using these texts to reconstruct our understanding of the period is complicated by their prophetic genre. My paper will examine this problem through a careful historical reading of the texts.
2:20-2:30 pm - Discussion
2:30-2:50 pm - The "Exilic Prophecy" of Daniel 7: Does It Reflect Late Pre-Maccabean or
Early Hellenistic Historiography?
Ralph J. Korner (McMaster University)
kornerrj [at] mcmaster.ca
The prophetic vision in Daniel 7 of four Beasts that are judged by the "Ancient of Days" is set within the context of an exilic timeframe (King Belshazzar of Babylon). But what is its historiographical context? The usual answer is the late pre-Maccabean period just prior to the desecration of the Temple (167 BCE) by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Others, though, shift the creation of ch. 7 to an early Hellenistic timeframe. This matches the compositional date of Daniel 2–6, with which it has linguistic and literary ties. But this shift in compositional history also impacts the classification of Daniel 7 as apocalyptic literature; this implication is not sufficiently addressed in previous scholarship. I will investigate this intersection of historiography and genre in ch. 7, and suggest how the historical context of late 4th cent. BCE Yehud may have influenced, and been influenced by, the cosmic ideology of Daniel 7
2:50-3:00 pm - Discussion
3:00-3:15 pm - Break
3:15-3:35 pm - Once again, the Motif of the "Empty Land": Reflections on the Intersection of History, Ideology and Community in Sixth-Century BCE Literature.
John Kessler (Tyndale Seminary)
jkessler [at] tyndale.ca
This paper will present a summary of the socio-demographic situation in Yehud in the mid- to late-sixth-century (BCE) in Yehud, then survey the way in which this situations is variously portrayed and explained in some of the literature of the period. The paper will conclude with an examination of the way in which the complex, mutual interaction between historical reality and ideological concerns shapes historical representation within the biblical text.
3:35-3:45 - Discussion
3:45-4:05 pm - Deus ex Machina: The Role of the Prophetic Voice in Ezra 5:1.
Lisbeth S. Fried (University of Michigan)
lizfried [at] umich.edu
I have suggested in a previous article (Fried 2008) that the authors of Ezra-Nehemiah attempted to describe a restoration community that instantiated Ezekiel’s programmatic ideals. A major component of those ideals was a belief that the prophets caused the downfall of Judah and that they must never again enter the land of Judah (Ezek. 13:9). It is likely to comply with Ezekiel’s ideology that prophets are noticeably absent from the lists of returnees in Ezra 2=Nehemiah 7. In spite of this, the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah is portrayed in Ezra as instrumental in ending the stoppage of work on the temple and in permitting it to continue until the temple is completed (Ezra 5:1, 2 and 6:14). I suggest that after creating the drama of the forced cessation of work on the temple, the author had no way to get it started again. He used the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah as a type of deus ex machina to unravel his plot and so complete the work on the temple. This use of the prophets expresses the author’s very practical, but mundane, conviction that sometimes they can inspire the people for good.
4:05-4:15 - Discussion
4:15-4:35 pm - (Re)Visionary History: Historical Reconstruction and Religious Identity
in the Animal Apocalypse
Colin M. Toffelmire (McMaster Divinity School)
toffelcm [at] mcmaster.ca
The Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch 85-90 offers a unique example of ancient historiography in the guise of a prophetic vision of the history of the people of Israel in which the players are represented by animals. The structure of the allegory is controlled by the primary image of clean v. unclean. All of the animals representing the people of God are clean animals, and all of the animals representing the surrounding nations are unclean animals. Also of vital importance for the rhetoric of the Animal Apocalypse are the roles of the primeval patriarch Enoch. By assuming the mantle of Enoch the pseudonymous author is able to offer his comments regarding Israelite history and identity both as an authoritative prophet living in the ancient past and also as a perfect priest able to enter the heavenly Temple (cf. 1 En 14-15). Through a close literary examination, I argue that this controlling metaphor of clean v. unclean is used by the author of the Animal Apocalypse, in concert with the dual prophetic/priestly role of Enoch, to retell Israelite history, thereby establishing both a religious history and identity for Jews living in Seleucid era Yehud. History thus becomes a frame in which the author sets his message of religious and militant resistance.
4:35-4:45 - Discussion
4:45-5:00 - Open Planning Session for Montréal 2010