Papers by Samuel Greengus
ZAR , 2023
The long history of ancient Near Eastern laws limiting women's access to marital property offers ... more The long history of ancient Near Eastern laws limiting women's access to marital property offers a new perspective on Abigail's bold actions in 1Sam 25:4–42 and on her husband Nabal's reaction. Why was Nabal so affected by what Abigail told him? A contributing cause may lie in looking at restrictive laws, attested over many centuries that represented deeply rooted customs. Examples are found among the Old Babylonian and Middle Assyrian laws; and the later continuity of these restrictions is seen in formal law statements preserved in the Mishnah (for Palestine), Talmud (for Babylonia), and Syriac-Roman lawbooks (Syria). While these explicit restrictions are not preserved among the extant biblical laws, the argument here is that similar, restrictive norms were nevertheless also operative in Israelite society and can be reconstructed into the background of the narrative, based on textual clues within the text
The long history of ancient Near Eastern laws limiting women's access to marital property offers ... more The long history of ancient Near Eastern laws limiting women's access to marital property offers a new perspective on Abigail's bold actions in 1Sam 25:4-42 and on her husband Nabal's reaction. Why was Nabal so affected by what Abigail told him? A contributing cause may lie in looking at restrictive laws, attested over many centuries that represented deeply rooted customs. Examples are found among the Old Babylonian and Middle Assyrian laws; and the later continuity of these restrictions is seen in formal law statements preserved in the Mishnah (for Palestine), Talmud (for Babylonia), and Syriac-Roman lawbooks (Syria). While these explicit restrictions are not preserved among the extant biblical laws, the argument here is that similar, restrictive norms were nevertheless also operative in Israelite society and can be reconstructed into the background of the narrative, based on textual clues within the text 1. 12 This oath was actually expressed as "May God do so to David. . ." as noted by Kimchi and S.R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of Samuel (s.o Anm. 3) 154. One may compare 1Sam 20:13 and LXX. The utterance "May God do so. . ." was likely meant to accompany a gesture imitating the cutting of one's throat; cf. the ritual of lipit napištim "touching of the throat" used in oath ceremonies known from ancient Mari and Babylonia. See CAD L 201 and N/1 303. 13 David references this oath again in 1Sam 25:36 among his final words to Abigail. He now solemnly affirms that he will not carry out the harm that he earlier intended to inflict upon Nabal and his household.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Apr 1, 1987
Page 1. THE AKKADIAN CALENDAR AT SIPPAR1 SAMUEL GREENGUS HEBREW UNION COLLEGE ... It is my pleasa... more Page 1. THE AKKADIAN CALENDAR AT SIPPAR1 SAMUEL GREENGUS HEBREW UNION COLLEGE ... It is my pleasant task also to thank WW Hallo and Markham Geller for collations and Peter Huber, David I. Owen, and Gordon Young for helpful references. ...
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, Dec 23, 2019
Biblical laws are found mainly in the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five books of the Hebrew Bible)... more Biblical laws are found mainly in the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). The laws are linked to the figure of Moses, who is depicted as having received them directly from God in order to transmit them to the people of Israel during the years in the Wilderness after being released from slavery in Egypt. Biblical laws are thus presented as being of divine origin. Their authority was further bolstered by a tradition that they were included in covenants (i.e., formal agreements made between God and the people as recorded in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy). Similar claims of divine origin were not made for other ancient Near Eastern laws; their authority flowed from kings, who issued the laws, although these kings might also be seen as having been placed on their thrones through the favor of the gods. The biblical law collections are unlike other ancient Near Eastern “codes” in that they include sacral laws (i.e., governing cult, worship, and ritual, as well as secular laws: namely, governing civil, and criminal behaviors). This mingling of sacral and secular categories is the likely reason both for the many terms used to denote the laws, as well as for the unexpected number of formulations in which they are presented. The formulations used in biblical law can be classified as “casuistic” or “non-casuistic.” They are not equally distributed in the books of the Pentateuch nor are they equally used with secular and sacral laws. While there are similarities in content between secular laws found in the Hebrew Bible and laws found in the ancient Near Eastern law “codes,” the latter do not exhibit a comparable variety in the numbers of law terms and formulations. The Hebrew Bible tended to “blur” the differences between the law terms and their formulations, ultimately to the point of subsuming them all under the law term torah (“teaching”) to describe the totality of the divinely given laws in the Pentateuch. Biblical studies in general and Pentateuchal studies in particular are challenged by the fact that manuscripts contemporary with the events described have not survived the ravages the time. Scholars must therefore rely on looking for “clues” within the texts themselves (e.g., the laws cited by the prophets, the reform of Josiah, the teaching of torah by Ezra, and evidence for customs and customary laws found in books of the Hebrew Bible outside of the Pentateuch).
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1991
My own work on the texts began in December, 1970, when I started a systematic examination of ever... more My own work on the texts began in December, 1970, when I started a systematic examination of every tablet found at the site, with the object of preparing a working catalog of the Tell Asmar tablets. About the same time a project was started to bake and clean all the tablets, a much-needed undertaking since many of the tablets were unreadable, and even unidentifiable, in the state they were in, and their condition had hampered previous attempts at a complete catalog. The final stage of the baking and cleaning of the tablets has been carried out with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. My survey of the tablets required a full year, at the end of which all the texts had been identified 3 Sollberger, TCS 1, pp. 2-3. 4 Ibid., §6.1.1. The envelope fragments presented in the Supplement to this volume all have a seal impressed, presumably that of the sender. Note also the archaic OB letter PBS 1/2 1, which has an address formula not attested in our collection (um-ma Y-ma) and was discovered in its envelope (PBS 7 1, photographs pi. XCVII) which bears the impression of an uninscribed seal and the notation DUB Y a-na X "tablet of Y for X." 5 See E. Salonen, Grufiformeln, pp. 14-56. 6 Recently synthesized and added to by Walters in "Water for Larsa" (YNER 4) and Stol,
Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Mar 1, 1966
Page 1. OLD BABYLONIAN MARRIAGE CEREMONIES AND RITES S. GREENGUS Hebrew Union College Cincinnati,... more Page 1. OLD BABYLONIAN MARRIAGE CEREMONIES AND RITES S. GREENGUS Hebrew Union College Cincinnati, Ohio. USA Scholars have long recognized that marriage in ancient Mesopotamia, like marriage elsewhere, included ceremonies and rites. ...
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1988
Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 1982
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Jul 1, 1969
... This usage, where contract record comes to be called "contract (riksum)," i... more ... This usage, where contract record comes to be called "contract (riksum)," is attested in the Neo-Baby-lonian period;'6 accordingly, riksdtum could also have become a term for the written record in the Old Babylonian period. ...
Hebrew Union College Annual, 2015
Theology Today, Jun 18, 2014
Penn State University Press eBooks, Jul 21, 2002
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Papers by Samuel Greengus
This substantive history of Israel textbook values the Bible's historical contribution without overlooking critical issues and challenges. Featuring the latest scholarship, the book introduces students to the current state of research on issues relevant to the study of ancient Israel. The editors and contributors, all top biblical scholars and historians, discuss historical evidence in a readable manner, using both canonical and chronological lenses to explore Israelite history.
Contents
Preface Bill T. Arnold and Richard S. Hess
Introduction: Foundations for a History of Israel Richard S. Hess
1. The Genesis Narratives Bill T. Arnold
2. The Exodus and Wilderness Narratives James K. Hoffmeier
3. Covenant and Treaty in the Hebrew Bible and in the Ancient Near East Samuel Greengus
4. Early Israel and Its Appearance in Canaan Lawson G. Stone
5. The Judges and the Early Iron Age Robert D. Miller II
6. The Story of Samuel, Saul, and David Daniel Bodi
7. United Monarchy: Archaeology and Literary Sources Steven M. Ortiz
8. The Biblical Prophets in Historiography James K. Mead
9. Late Tenth- and Ninth-Century Issues: Ahab Underplayed? Jehoshaphat Overplayed? Kyle Greenwood
10. Eighth-Century Issues: The World of Jeroboam II, the Fall of Samaria, and the Reign of Hezekiah Sandra Richter
11. Judah in the Seventh Century: From the Aftermath of Sennacherib's Invasion to the Beginning of Jehoiakim's Rebellion Brad E. Kelle
12. Sixth-Century Issues Peter van der Veen
13. Fifth- and Fourth-Century Issues: Governorship and Priesthood in Jerusalem André Lemaire
14. The Hellenistic Period David A. deSilva
Indexes
and Deuteronomy). Similar claims of divine origin were not made for other ancient Near Eastern laws; their authority flowed from kings, who issued the laws, although these kings might also be seen as having been placed on their thrones through the favor of the gods. The biblical law collections are unlike other ancient Near Eastern “codes” in that they include sacral laws (i.e., governing cult, worship, and ritual, as well as secular laws: namely, governing civil, and criminal behaviors). This mingling of sacral and secular categories is the likely reason both
for the many terms used to denote the laws, as well as for the unexpected number of formulations in which they are presented. The formulations used in biblical law can be classified as “casuistic” or “non-casuistic.” They are not equally distributed in the books of the Pentateuch nor are they equally used with secular and sacral laws. While
there are similarities in content between secular laws found in the Hebrew Bible and laws found in the ancient Near Eastern law “codes,” the latter do not exhibit a comparable variety in the numbers of law terms and formulations. The Hebrew Bible tended to “blur” the differences between the law terms and their formulations, ultimately
to the point of subsuming them all under the law term torah (“teaching”) to describe the totality of the divinely given laws in the Pentateuch. Biblical studies in general and Pentateuchal studies in particular are challenged by the fact that manuscripts contemporary with the events described have not survived the ravages the time. Scholars must therefore rely on looking for “clues” within the texts themselves (e.g., the laws cited by the prophets, the reform of Josiah, the teaching of torah by Ezra, and evidence for customs and customary laws found in books of the Hebrew Bible outside of the Pentateuch).