Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East.
Matthews, Victor H.
Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East. By MARTTI NISSINEN,
with C. L. Seow and Robert K. Ritner. Writings from the Ancient World,
vol. 12. Atlanta: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE, 2003. Pp. xix + 273,
maps. $29.95 (paper).
This volume continues the tradition of fine scholarship exemplified
in previous volumes in the SBL Writings from the Ancient World series.
Along with The Context of Scriptures, ed. W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger,
Jr. (3 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1997-2002), it also contributes to the
growing body of ancient Near Eastern texts in fresh translations
available to scholars. The commissioning of this set of volumes by the
Society of Biblical Literature and the increasing citation of these
texts in the critical examination of biblical materials demonstrates a
revival of an interest that had somewhat flagged as J. Pritchard,
Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Bible, 3rd ed. (Princeton:
Princeton Univ. Press, 1969) grew dated. This also opens up an
opportunity for those who have not studied Akkadian or Egyptian both to
familiarize themselves with the linguistic characteristics of these
languages and, hopefully, spark an interest among students in studying
them as well.
The author is somewhat apologetic about the SBL/WAW convention of
providing transcriptions of the ancient texts rather than the "sign
for sign" transliterations found in the technical literature.
However, since the volumes in this series are designed to appeal to a
more general audience of biblical scholars and historians, no concern is
necessary. The inclusion of bibliographic references to the
transliterations prepared for specialists as well as translations and
explanatory/analytical treatments of the texts provide the full range of
readers the opportunity to broaden their study.
Like M. Roth's compilation of legal documents in this series
(Scholars Press, 1995), a collection of prophetic texts in a single
volume is particularly useful to biblical scholars. Most of this
prophetic literature has been scattered in various publications, some
difficult to access and much of it in French or German (see, however, J.
J. M. Roberts, The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Collected Essays
[Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2002], 157-253, for a new translation
of the Mari prophetic texts that complements Nissinen's work).
While the manner and the agency of the prophetic figures differ
(being more closely tied to temple communities and more often
transmitted second-hand by correspondents to the king) in the
Mesopotamian context from that in ancient Israel, comparisons can be
made and the phenomena of prophetic utterance can be analyzed. For
example, in ARM 26 221bis (pp. 56-57), in what is a mundane report by a
provincial governor to king Zimri-Lim about the progress of the harvest,
the bureaucrat matter-of-factly recounts what sounds like a very
strident warning by a prophet (muhhum). The prophet gives "strict
orders" to say that a city gate must be built or disaster is
imminent. Despite the apparent urgency expressed by the prophet, the governor asks for a decision by the king because his men are busy with
the harvest and he does not want to divert them from their work. This
situation suggests how governments sometimes figure the warnings of
prophets into the overall mix of the administrative work calendar
(compare Ahaz's reaction to Isaiah's pronouncement in Isaiah 7
and the pressure to rebuild the temple put on Zerubbabel by Haggai).
Given the possibilities for comparative analysis, however, Nissinen
makes no attempt to suggest literary or stylistic parallels between
these ancient Near Eastern texts and the Bible. Perhaps this was a
conscious decision designed to highlight the original context of these
prophetic materials without the distraction of comparison, but these
could at least have been inserted in the footnotes to indicate an
awareness of the possibilities at work here. The only exception to this
is in the appended section on "West Semitic Sources," where C.
L. Seow does provide a few biblical references in the discussion of
Balaam and the Deir 'Alla plaster texts (p. 208) and in the preface
to the Lachish ostraca (p. 213).
One other aspect of this collection of texts is the inclusion of
prophetic texts that are less familiar than those from Mari. Having
oracles from Eshnunna, from the archives of the Assyrian kings
Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, as well as miscellaneous cuneiform sources
including the El Amarna letters, ration lists, omen texts, and even a
small section of the Egyptian text of the travels of Wenamon broadens
the field and suggests the range of possibilities for exploring the role
and the words of ancient prophets. For instance, what could be
considered "related" or ancillary material is found in
economic texts. Thus we learn that prophets had economic concerns and
received equipment and rewards, being issued garments, silver, a donkey,
bronze lances by the government.
All of this makes Nissinen's volume a very useful addition to
the scholar's bookshelf and an essential reference for ancient Near
Eastern prophetic texts.
VICTOR H. MATTHEWS
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
