This paper illuminates the positive theological value of the oracles against the nations (oans) in the Old Testament. Tracing the historical development of the oan tradition, I propose that the oan tradition originated in a war or a cultic setting and went through three stages of transformation: first, the shift from salvation oracles for Israel to oracles against Israel by the 8th century prophets Amos and Isaiah: second, the shift from a realistic depiction of enemies to a more cosmic depiction of them during the exilic period: third, the inclusion of the nations into the future restoration in the postexilic period. The trajectory of the development of the oan tradition shows how Israel’s self-understanding and attitude toward foreign nations changed with a strong emphasis on Yahweh’s kingship. The emphasis on Yahweh’s kingship over Israel’s special status provides a ground for the inclusion of foreign nations into Yahweh’s plan. By prioritizing Yahweh’s kingship, his people can avoid the danger of self-elevation and embrace the other people into the community.
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Hugo Gressmann, Der Ursprung der israelitisch-jüdischen Eschatologie. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1905).
Gerhard von. Rad, Der Heilige Krieg im Alten Israel (Zürich: Zwingli-Verlag, 1951).
Gunkel, Einleitung in die Psalmen die Gattungen der religiösen Lyrik Israels, xxxii-xxxiii.
J. Begrich, “Die priesterliche Heilsorakel,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 52 (1934), 81-92; Hayes, “The Usage of Oracles Against Foreign Nations in Ancient Israel,” 87.
Ibid., 89-90.
Ibid., 90.
Graham R. Hamborg, “Reasons for Judgement in the Oracles Against the Nations of the Prophet Isaiah.” Vetus Testamentum 31 (1981): 145-159.
John B. Geyer, “Mythology and Culture in the Oracles Against the Nations.” Vetus Testamentum 36 (1986): 129-145; C. Crouch, “Ezekiel’s Oracles Against the Nations in Light of a Royal Ideology of Warfare,” Journal of Biblical Literature 130 (2011): 473-492.
Crouch, “Ezekiel’s Oracles Against the Nations in Light of a Royal Ideology of Warfare,” 492.
Louis Stulman, Order amid Chaos: Jeremiah as Symbolic Tapestry (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), 94-97; Smelik also notices the lack of detailed historical allusion in Jer 50-51 (Klaas A. D. Smelik, “The Function of Jeremiah 50 and 51 in the Book of Jeremiah,” pages 87-98 in Reading the Book of Jeremiah [Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2004]). By comparing Jer 50-51 with other oracles against Babylon in Zech 2:10-16, Isa 13-14, 21, 47, Reimer concludes that they commonly lack historical allusion (David J. Reimer, The Oracles against Babylon in Jeremiah 50-51: A Horror among the Nations [San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1993]).
Stulman, Order amid Chaos: Jeremiah as Symbolic Tapestry, 94-99; Martin Kessler, Battle of the Gods: The God of Israel Versus Marduk of Babylon: A Literary/Theological Interpretation of Jeremiah 50-51 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 2003), 199.
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This paper illuminates the positive theological value of the oracles against the nations (oans) in the Old Testament. Tracing the historical development of the oan tradition, I propose that the oan tradition originated in a war or a cultic setting and went through three stages of transformation: first, the shift from salvation oracles for Israel to oracles against Israel by the 8th century prophets Amos and Isaiah: second, the shift from a realistic depiction of enemies to a more cosmic depiction of them during the exilic period: third, the inclusion of the nations into the future restoration in the postexilic period. The trajectory of the development of the oan tradition shows how Israel’s self-understanding and attitude toward foreign nations changed with a strong emphasis on Yahweh’s kingship. The emphasis on Yahweh’s kingship over Israel’s special status provides a ground for the inclusion of foreign nations into Yahweh’s plan. By prioritizing Yahweh’s kingship, his people can avoid the danger of self-elevation and embrace the other people into the community.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 1117 | 61 | 6 |
Full Text Views | 295 | 6 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 195 | 9 | 0 |