The Body of the Greek Letter by John Lee White; Linguistic Evidence in Dating EarlyHebrew Poetry by David A. Robertson; The Old Testament Sabbath by Niels-Erik A.AndreasenReview by: Dennis PardeeJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 96, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1976), pp. 435-436Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/599069 .

Accessed: 12/06/2014 13:21

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

American Oriental Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal ofthe American Oriental Society.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.58 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:21:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Brief Reviews of Books Brief Reviews of Books

Solomon and Sheba. Edited by JAMES B. PRITCHARD.

Pp. 160, 63 half-tone illustrations and 15 line-draw- ings. London: PIIAIDON (distributed in the U.S.A.

by Praeger). 1974. $17.50.

James B. Pritchard has edited this collection of studies on the traditions which have grown up around the meeting of Solomon, king of Israel and Judah, with the Queen of Arabian Sheba, recounted in the Hebrew Bible in I Kings 10:1-13 and II Chronicles 9:1-12. Pritchard himself provides the introduction, first chapter, and conclusion, discussing the archeological and text-critical aspects of the Hebrew narrative.

The other contributors are: Gus W. van Beek, "The Land of Sheba"; Lou H. Silberman, "The Queen of Sheba in Judaic Tradition"; W. MIontgomery Watt, "The Queen of Sheba in Islamic Tradition"; Edward Ullendorff, "The Queen of Sheba in Ethiopian Tradition"; and Paul F. Watson, "The Queen of Sheba in Christian Tradition." The book is clearly one of popularization, but just as clearly it is on the highest level of populariza- tion. Each chapter is written by an expert in his respec- tive field. It would be unrealistic, therefore, to expect a work of this quality to appear written by one man, at least with any degree of frequency. Given the difficulty of mastering even one field, which has been caused by the

knowledge and publishing explosion, it would not be going too far to say that cooperative efforts of this kind constitute the most economical way of getting current

scholarly opinion before the public. Be it added that a brief bibliography is provided at the end of the book for each chapter, so the scholar can, with a bit of digging, reach all the sources upon which the popular account is based. The price is quite reasonable, too, considering the

large number of photographic reproductions. DENNIS PARDEE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Tlze Body of the Greek Letter. By JOHN LEE WHITE.

Pp. x + 166. Society of Biblical Literature Disserta- tion Series 2. Missoula (Montana): SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for mem-

bers).

Linguistic Evidence in Dating Early Hebrew Poetry. By DAVID A. ROBERTSON. Pp. x + 159. SBL Dis- sertation Series 3. Missoula: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for members).

The Old Testament Sabbath. By NIELS-ERIK A. AN- DREASEN. Pp. xii + 301. SBL Dissertation Series 7. Missoula: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for members).

The Dissertation Series published by the Society of Biblical Literature now counts 16 titles (according to

Solomon and Sheba. Edited by JAMES B. PRITCHARD.

Pp. 160, 63 half-tone illustrations and 15 line-draw- ings. London: PIIAIDON (distributed in the U.S.A.

by Praeger). 1974. $17.50.

James B. Pritchard has edited this collection of studies on the traditions which have grown up around the meeting of Solomon, king of Israel and Judah, with the Queen of Arabian Sheba, recounted in the Hebrew Bible in I Kings 10:1-13 and II Chronicles 9:1-12. Pritchard himself provides the introduction, first chapter, and conclusion, discussing the archeological and text-critical aspects of the Hebrew narrative.

The other contributors are: Gus W. van Beek, "The Land of Sheba"; Lou H. Silberman, "The Queen of Sheba in Judaic Tradition"; W. MIontgomery Watt, "The Queen of Sheba in Islamic Tradition"; Edward Ullendorff, "The Queen of Sheba in Ethiopian Tradition"; and Paul F. Watson, "The Queen of Sheba in Christian Tradition." The book is clearly one of popularization, but just as clearly it is on the highest level of populariza- tion. Each chapter is written by an expert in his respec- tive field. It would be unrealistic, therefore, to expect a work of this quality to appear written by one man, at least with any degree of frequency. Given the difficulty of mastering even one field, which has been caused by the

knowledge and publishing explosion, it would not be going too far to say that cooperative efforts of this kind constitute the most economical way of getting current

scholarly opinion before the public. Be it added that a brief bibliography is provided at the end of the book for each chapter, so the scholar can, with a bit of digging, reach all the sources upon which the popular account is based. The price is quite reasonable, too, considering the

large number of photographic reproductions. DENNIS PARDEE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Tlze Body of the Greek Letter. By JOHN LEE WHITE.

Pp. x + 166. Society of Biblical Literature Disserta- tion Series 2. Missoula (Montana): SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for mem-

bers).

Linguistic Evidence in Dating Early Hebrew Poetry. By DAVID A. ROBERTSON. Pp. x + 159. SBL Dis- sertation Series 3. Missoula: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for members).

The Old Testament Sabbath. By NIELS-ERIK A. AN- DREASEN. Pp. xii + 301. SBL Dissertation Series 7. Missoula: SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 1972. $4.20 ($3.00 for members).

The Dissertation Series published by the Society of Biblical Literature now counts 16 titles (according to

the last catalogue to reach me). The series is definitely meeting its goal of publishing important dissertations at reasonable (in fact excellent) prices. Three of these dissertations have been received for review by this journal. The first (White) is at least of marginal interest to many readers of JAOS because of the recent upsurge of interest in epistolography. For a more thorough review than I am capable of, see M. Luther Stirewalt, Jr., JBL 93 (1974), 479-80.

Robertson's contribution to the study of early Hebrew poetry is an excellent one, characterized by a very careful and conservative evaluation of proposals for new interpretations of old problems. lie studies primarily the syntactical and morphological evidences of archaism in the Hebrew Bible. I found that one of the most useful portions of the book was Robertson's very sane and careful treatment of proposals to find enclitic m in Hebrew (pp. 79-110). If the forty years which have elapsed since the beginning of Ugaritic studies have been characterized by an at times frantic search for archaisms in the Hebrew Bible, it may be hoped that a more rigor- ous criticism of these proposals is now beginning to assert itself. Robertson's work is an excellent example of the careful attention to linguistic miethodology and the careful weighing of pros and cons which must govern such re-appraisal. I have only one major criticism: the book has neither an analytic table of contents (the actual table of contents lists only major chapter headings) nor an index. An index of texts cited would have been sufficient if there had been an analytic table of contents for subject reference. To give the book its potential value as a tool of research, one has to index it on cards at first reading.

Andreasen's treatment of the Sabbath problem is tradition-historical in orientation. "Its objective is to examine the form, content, function, and history of the Sabbath material within the Old Testament..." (p. ix). He does not investigate "the Old Testament Sabbath institution, but the Old Testament Sabbath literature" (ibid.). Thus he treats mnost of the problems connected with the Sabbath (etymology, literary strata, dating of various aspects of Sabbath observance) from the point of view of the biblical traditions, rather than from a theological, anthropological, or other perspective. He concludes that the Sabbath institution as enforcing a day of rest from work is found in very old traditions, perhaps even pre-Mosaic. The second major point he makes is that the exilic period (and the P stratum of the Pentateuch) was not as decisive in the re-formulations of Sabbath traditions as has been thought. Rather, this elaboration began with Hezekiah and continued through the first part of the exilic period. This "turning-back" of the chronology of Sabbath tradition is well presented,

the last catalogue to reach me). The series is definitely meeting its goal of publishing important dissertations at reasonable (in fact excellent) prices. Three of these dissertations have been received for review by this journal. The first (White) is at least of marginal interest to many readers of JAOS because of the recent upsurge of interest in epistolography. For a more thorough review than I am capable of, see M. Luther Stirewalt, Jr., JBL 93 (1974), 479-80.

Robertson's contribution to the study of early Hebrew poetry is an excellent one, characterized by a very careful and conservative evaluation of proposals for new interpretations of old problems. lie studies primarily the syntactical and morphological evidences of archaism in the Hebrew Bible. I found that one of the most useful portions of the book was Robertson's very sane and careful treatment of proposals to find enclitic m in Hebrew (pp. 79-110). If the forty years which have elapsed since the beginning of Ugaritic studies have been characterized by an at times frantic search for archaisms in the Hebrew Bible, it may be hoped that a more rigor- ous criticism of these proposals is now beginning to assert itself. Robertson's work is an excellent example of the careful attention to linguistic miethodology and the careful weighing of pros and cons which must govern such re-appraisal. I have only one major criticism: the book has neither an analytic table of contents (the actual table of contents lists only major chapter headings) nor an index. An index of texts cited would have been sufficient if there had been an analytic table of contents for subject reference. To give the book its potential value as a tool of research, one has to index it on cards at first reading.

Andreasen's treatment of the Sabbath problem is tradition-historical in orientation. "Its objective is to examine the form, content, function, and history of the Sabbath material within the Old Testament..." (p. ix). He does not investigate "the Old Testament Sabbath institution, but the Old Testament Sabbath literature" (ibid.). Thus he treats mnost of the problems connected with the Sabbath (etymology, literary strata, dating of various aspects of Sabbath observance) from the point of view of the biblical traditions, rather than from a theological, anthropological, or other perspective. He concludes that the Sabbath institution as enforcing a day of rest from work is found in very old traditions, perhaps even pre-Mosaic. The second major point he makes is that the exilic period (and the P stratum of the Pentateuch) was not as decisive in the re-formulations of Sabbath traditions as has been thought. Rather, this elaboration began with Hezekiah and continued through the first part of the exilic period. This "turning-back" of the chronology of Sabbath tradition is well presented,

435 435

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.58 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:21:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Journal of the American Oriental Society 96.3 (1976) Journal of the American Oriental Society 96.3 (1976) Journal of the American Oriental Society 96.3 (1976)

and is sure to excite further examination of the problem. It is, in any case, refreshing to see the tradition-historical method applied to a given institution, and to see a some- what different result than that obtained by other methods.

DENNIS PARDEE UNIVERSITY OF CIIICAGO

Recherches sur les Pheniciens ei Chypre. By OLIVIER MASSON AND MIAURICE SZNYCER. Pp. 150, 22 plates. Centre de Recherches d'Eistoire et de Philologie de la IVe Section de l'1icole Pratique des I-Iautes I?tudes II: Hautes E1tudes Orientales. No. 3. Paris, Geneva: LIBRAIRIE DROZ. 1972. FF 66.40.

0. Masson, a classicist who has done miuch work on the Greek inscriptions from Cyprus, and M. Sznycer, a Semitist, have collaborated to assemble this collection of studies on fifty-one texts from Cyprus (the figure does not include incomplete studies of several other texts). The book is divided into four chapters: the first three deal with single inscriptions, the last is devoted to a series of short texts. Good photographs are provided for most of the texts (ten are unrepresented by photographs, all minor or non-Phoenician: IV 3; IV 8 D a; IV 8 bis; IV 12 B; IV 14 B d, e, g, h; IV 14 C). Though there are also some line-drawings, one should have been provided for each text-whlere the photograph is not clear, the reader is entitled to know at least what the authors thought they saw. Forty-eight of the texts are Phoenician, one has both Phoenician and syllabic Greek characters, one has only syllabic Greek characters, and another only Greek. The texts range in length from one letter (IV 14 B d, e, g) to twenty-nine lines (II = CIS I 86A-B = KAI 37A-B). Six of them were previously unpublished: III (I'smn'dn bn 'smn'dn skni sr " [Sarcophagus belong- ing to 'msnm'dn son of 'gimni'dIn, sokln of Tyre" [there is also another lamed just below the first one which is probably a stone-cutter's mistake]); IV 7 (four clear letters of uncertain reading); IV 11 (sb'l [proper name]); IV 12 E a (I'ms " [Belonging] to 'ms"); IV 16 ([...] yln bn 'bd [...]"... Ytn son of 'bd-..."); IV 17 (l'dnnzlk"[Belong- ing] to 'dnmlk").

This collection is surely to be welcomed, and warmly at that. It is difficult for one who is not a Phoenician specialist to keep tabs on the many minor texts published over the last century, and equally difficult to remain abreast of the secondary studies on these texts. Thus collections such as this one, with good photographs, philological discussion, and bibliographical references, are only to be received with satisfaction. On this level, however, one could only wish that this were a corpus of Cypriot Phoenician texts. With excavations in progress

and is sure to excite further examination of the problem. It is, in any case, refreshing to see the tradition-historical method applied to a given institution, and to see a some- what different result than that obtained by other methods.

DENNIS PARDEE UNIVERSITY OF CIIICAGO

Recherches sur les Pheniciens ei Chypre. By OLIVIER MASSON AND MIAURICE SZNYCER. Pp. 150, 22 plates. Centre de Recherches d'Eistoire et de Philologie de la IVe Section de l'1icole Pratique des I-Iautes I?tudes II: Hautes E1tudes Orientales. No. 3. Paris, Geneva: LIBRAIRIE DROZ. 1972. FF 66.40.

0. Masson, a classicist who has done miuch work on the Greek inscriptions from Cyprus, and M. Sznycer, a Semitist, have collaborated to assemble this collection of studies on fifty-one texts from Cyprus (the figure does not include incomplete studies of several other texts). The book is divided into four chapters: the first three deal with single inscriptions, the last is devoted to a series of short texts. Good photographs are provided for most of the texts (ten are unrepresented by photographs, all minor or non-Phoenician: IV 3; IV 8 D a; IV 8 bis; IV 12 B; IV 14 B d, e, g, h; IV 14 C). Though there are also some line-drawings, one should have been provided for each text-whlere the photograph is not clear, the reader is entitled to know at least what the authors thought they saw. Forty-eight of the texts are Phoenician, one has both Phoenician and syllabic Greek characters, one has only syllabic Greek characters, and another only Greek. The texts range in length from one letter (IV 14 B d, e, g) to twenty-nine lines (II = CIS I 86A-B = KAI 37A-B). Six of them were previously unpublished: III (I'smn'dn bn 'smn'dn skni sr " [Sarcophagus belong- ing to 'msnm'dn son of 'gimni'dIn, sokln of Tyre" [there is also another lamed just below the first one which is probably a stone-cutter's mistake]); IV 7 (four clear letters of uncertain reading); IV 11 (sb'l [proper name]); IV 12 E a (I'ms " [Belonging] to 'ms"); IV 16 ([...] yln bn 'bd [...]"... Ytn son of 'bd-..."); IV 17 (l'dnnzlk"[Belong- ing] to 'dnmlk").

This collection is surely to be welcomed, and warmly at that. It is difficult for one who is not a Phoenician specialist to keep tabs on the many minor texts published over the last century, and equally difficult to remain abreast of the secondary studies on these texts. Thus collections such as this one, with good photographs, philological discussion, and bibliographical references, are only to be received with satisfaction. On this level, however, one could only wish that this were a corpus of Cypriot Phoenician texts. With excavations in progress

and is sure to excite further examination of the problem. It is, in any case, refreshing to see the tradition-historical method applied to a given institution, and to see a some- what different result than that obtained by other methods.

DENNIS PARDEE UNIVERSITY OF CIIICAGO

Recherches sur les Pheniciens ei Chypre. By OLIVIER MASSON AND MIAURICE SZNYCER. Pp. 150, 22 plates. Centre de Recherches d'Eistoire et de Philologie de la IVe Section de l'1icole Pratique des I-Iautes I?tudes II: Hautes E1tudes Orientales. No. 3. Paris, Geneva: LIBRAIRIE DROZ. 1972. FF 66.40.

0. Masson, a classicist who has done miuch work on the Greek inscriptions from Cyprus, and M. Sznycer, a Semitist, have collaborated to assemble this collection of studies on fifty-one texts from Cyprus (the figure does not include incomplete studies of several other texts). The book is divided into four chapters: the first three deal with single inscriptions, the last is devoted to a series of short texts. Good photographs are provided for most of the texts (ten are unrepresented by photographs, all minor or non-Phoenician: IV 3; IV 8 D a; IV 8 bis; IV 12 B; IV 14 B d, e, g, h; IV 14 C). Though there are also some line-drawings, one should have been provided for each text-whlere the photograph is not clear, the reader is entitled to know at least what the authors thought they saw. Forty-eight of the texts are Phoenician, one has both Phoenician and syllabic Greek characters, one has only syllabic Greek characters, and another only Greek. The texts range in length from one letter (IV 14 B d, e, g) to twenty-nine lines (II = CIS I 86A-B = KAI 37A-B). Six of them were previously unpublished: III (I'smn'dn bn 'smn'dn skni sr " [Sarcophagus belong- ing to 'msnm'dn son of 'gimni'dIn, sokln of Tyre" [there is also another lamed just below the first one which is probably a stone-cutter's mistake]); IV 7 (four clear letters of uncertain reading); IV 11 (sb'l [proper name]); IV 12 E a (I'ms " [Belonging] to 'ms"); IV 16 ([...] yln bn 'bd [...]"... Ytn son of 'bd-..."); IV 17 (l'dnnzlk"[Belong- ing] to 'dnmlk").

This collection is surely to be welcomed, and warmly at that. It is difficult for one who is not a Phoenician specialist to keep tabs on the many minor texts published over the last century, and equally difficult to remain abreast of the secondary studies on these texts. Thus collections such as this one, with good photographs, philological discussion, and bibliographical references, are only to be received with satisfaction. On this level, however, one could only wish that this were a corpus of Cypriot Phoenician texts. With excavations in progress

on the island, a corpus would before long be incomplete, but it would nonetheless be an extremely useful tool. The "Liste inus6ographique et bibliographique" on pp. 133-35 does provide a catalogue of the Cypriot Phoc- nician texts still on Cyprus (i.e., it is not a complete catalogue of texts). And on p. 10 the authors promise a second book, to be devoted to the inscriptions from Lar- naka-tis-Lapithou. It is to be hoped that a corpus will eventually develop trom these researches.

DENNIS PARDEE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. By PATRICK 1). MILLER, JR. Pp. 279, incl. Ugaritic, Biblical, Author and Subject indices. Harvard Semitic Monographs, 5. Cambridge: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. 1973.

This is a much updated version of a 1963 Harvard dissertation, written under Frank I. Cross, and shows his strong influence on the themes discussed, the style of Ugaritic and Hebrew text criticism, and the general conclusions. Part One discusses divine warfare in Syria- Palestine, using Ugaritic material and Sanchuniathon as sources. Individual topics are the nature and role of the "divine asseimbly," and Ba'al, 'Anat and El as divine warriors. Miller delineates the divine-warrior pattern in West Semitic thought, and establishes the range of vocabulary and symbols that are associated witli it.

Miller attempts to demonstrate-not altogether con- vincingly in my opinion-that the "quiescent" image of El that emerges from the Ugaritic texts is misleading, and that Sanchuniathon's depiction of El as a more central, warrior god is probably more to be trusted.

Part Two exposes the theme "The Cosmic War and I oly War in Israel." A general comparison is made with the Ugaritic texts previously discussed, and individual OTpassages are taken up: Deut. 33, Jgs. 5, Ps. 68, Ex. 15, Hab. 3, II Sam. 22, Josh. 10, and several later pericopes. The difficult and early poetic passages are frequently presented in their "recanaanitized" form. This often makes sense of otherwise hopeless cola, but the approach seems sometimes to involve rather circular reasoning- one invariably finds just the meaning one was looking for to prove a particular thesis.

In his "Concluding Implications," Miller suggests that several other OT themes need to be reexamined in light of the divine-warrior theme: salvation, judgment, king- ship. One of the most valuable contributions of this monograph is the enriched insight it gives into the imagery of theophany passages in the OT.

Despite possible reservations about the methodology employed in individual cases, the overall argument of

on the island, a corpus would before long be incomplete, but it would nonetheless be an extremely useful tool. The "Liste inus6ographique et bibliographique" on pp. 133-35 does provide a catalogue of the Cypriot Phoc- nician texts still on Cyprus (i.e., it is not a complete catalogue of texts). And on p. 10 the authors promise a second book, to be devoted to the inscriptions from Lar- naka-tis-Lapithou. It is to be hoped that a corpus will eventually develop trom these researches.

DENNIS PARDEE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. By PATRICK 1). MILLER, JR. Pp. 279, incl. Ugaritic, Biblical, Author and Subject indices. Harvard Semitic Monographs, 5. Cambridge: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. 1973.

This is a much updated version of a 1963 Harvard dissertation, written under Frank I. Cross, and shows his strong influence on the themes discussed, the style of Ugaritic and Hebrew text criticism, and the general conclusions. Part One discusses divine warfare in Syria- Palestine, using Ugaritic material and Sanchuniathon as sources. Individual topics are the nature and role of the "divine asseimbly," and Ba'al, 'Anat and El as divine warriors. Miller delineates the divine-warrior pattern in West Semitic thought, and establishes the range of vocabulary and symbols that are associated witli it.

Miller attempts to demonstrate-not altogether con- vincingly in my opinion-that the "quiescent" image of El that emerges from the Ugaritic texts is misleading, and that Sanchuniathon's depiction of El as a more central, warrior god is probably more to be trusted.

Part Two exposes the theme "The Cosmic War and I oly War in Israel." A general comparison is made with the Ugaritic texts previously discussed, and individual OTpassages are taken up: Deut. 33, Jgs. 5, Ps. 68, Ex. 15, Hab. 3, II Sam. 22, Josh. 10, and several later pericopes. The difficult and early poetic passages are frequently presented in their "recanaanitized" form. This often makes sense of otherwise hopeless cola, but the approach seems sometimes to involve rather circular reasoning- one invariably finds just the meaning one was looking for to prove a particular thesis.

In his "Concluding Implications," Miller suggests that several other OT themes need to be reexamined in light of the divine-warrior theme: salvation, judgment, king- ship. One of the most valuable contributions of this monograph is the enriched insight it gives into the imagery of theophany passages in the OT.

Despite possible reservations about the methodology employed in individual cases, the overall argument of

on the island, a corpus would before long be incomplete, but it would nonetheless be an extremely useful tool. The "Liste inus6ographique et bibliographique" on pp. 133-35 does provide a catalogue of the Cypriot Phoc- nician texts still on Cyprus (i.e., it is not a complete catalogue of texts). And on p. 10 the authors promise a second book, to be devoted to the inscriptions from Lar- naka-tis-Lapithou. It is to be hoped that a corpus will eventually develop trom these researches.

DENNIS PARDEE

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. By PATRICK 1). MILLER, JR. Pp. 279, incl. Ugaritic, Biblical, Author and Subject indices. Harvard Semitic Monographs, 5. Cambridge: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. 1973.

This is a much updated version of a 1963 Harvard dissertation, written under Frank I. Cross, and shows his strong influence on the themes discussed, the style of Ugaritic and Hebrew text criticism, and the general conclusions. Part One discusses divine warfare in Syria- Palestine, using Ugaritic material and Sanchuniathon as sources. Individual topics are the nature and role of the "divine asseimbly," and Ba'al, 'Anat and El as divine warriors. Miller delineates the divine-warrior pattern in West Semitic thought, and establishes the range of vocabulary and symbols that are associated witli it.

Miller attempts to demonstrate-not altogether con- vincingly in my opinion-that the "quiescent" image of El that emerges from the Ugaritic texts is misleading, and that Sanchuniathon's depiction of El as a more central, warrior god is probably more to be trusted.

Part Two exposes the theme "The Cosmic War and I oly War in Israel." A general comparison is made with the Ugaritic texts previously discussed, and individual OTpassages are taken up: Deut. 33, Jgs. 5, Ps. 68, Ex. 15, Hab. 3, II Sam. 22, Josh. 10, and several later pericopes. The difficult and early poetic passages are frequently presented in their "recanaanitized" form. This often makes sense of otherwise hopeless cola, but the approach seems sometimes to involve rather circular reasoning- one invariably finds just the meaning one was looking for to prove a particular thesis.

In his "Concluding Implications," Miller suggests that several other OT themes need to be reexamined in light of the divine-warrior theme: salvation, judgment, king- ship. One of the most valuable contributions of this monograph is the enriched insight it gives into the imagery of theophany passages in the OT.

Despite possible reservations about the methodology employed in individual cases, the overall argument of

436 436 436

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.58 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:21:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions