Ancient Hebrew Poetry

Psalm 55: confronting your abuser in prayer

The matrix of many prayers in the Bible is conflict. When the one who harms you over and over again is part of one’s inner circle of family and friends, the sense of betrayal and the sting of abuse are enormous, an open wound that never heals. Your abuser enlists the support of others among your mutual friends and extended family. You look around for support, but find none. You are powerless. Psalm 55 is a prayer that speaks out of a situation of objective powerlessness. When it is not possible to confront your abuser directly without endangering yourself further, it is still possible to confront him in prayer. To call out to him in that context, even as you call out to God, the principle of justice, your hope of deliverance. Psalm 55:13-16:

Jacob Needleman: an atheist comes to believe in God

According to Jacob Needleman, it’s not about talking. It’s about listening. There is so much truth to that, Needleman is worth it for that insight alone. Lisa Webster treats us to an interesting and frustrating interview. Frustrating because it breaks off in midstream. Frustrating because it doesn’t ask analytical questions. For an entrée into Needleman’s opus, there is his (deserted) official blog and website.

“a rege iz gefaln vi a shtern” : remembering Avraham Sutzkever (1913-2010)

A magnificent poet passed away ten days ago: אברהם סוצקבר Abraham Sutzkever. A Yiddish poet, one of the greatest of all time. Even in translation, one can sense the power of Sutzkever’s language. In Benjamin and Barbara Harshav’s rendering:

The Napoleon Complex of lawyer-apologists of the Bible

David Ker has an in for lawyer-apologists of the Bible. So do I. True, lawyers are good. They deserve their outrageous fees. Like Johnny Cochran, they convince open minds that their client is in the right and the prosecution is in the wrong. Impressive. But I have a question: in “Bible vs. the skeptics,” who hired these guys? Do they think they are working for God?

Sure they do. So did Job’s friends. But God hath no need of lawyers. 

Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription Update

For a clear presentation of the inscription, with an indication of areas of agreement and disagreement with respect to its exact contents among Haggai Misgav, Ada Yardeni, and Gershon Galil, go to the Khirbet Qeiyafa Archaeological Project’s official website here. Published recently: an open letter of the expedition addressed to Gershon Galil. Go here. The Hebrew University expedition holds the press release of the University of Haifa to the same standards one would apply to a peer-reviewed article. I would think that the best response from Galil and the University of Haifa would be: “No disrespect intended. For a properly footnoted discussion, see the forthcoming article by Gershon Galil, to appear in [    ].”

Jeremy Pierce’s view of Scripture is not high enough

Not everyone knows that Jeremy Pierce is blogging over at First Things now. An excellent deal all around. Not everyone knows what FT is: an ecumenical venture that unites Christians, Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical, confessional Lutheran, and so on, not to mention Jews like David Novak who have the patience of Job. FT’s agenda is clear: to bring the full intellectual resources of the classical Jewish and Christian traditions to bear in the public square, without apology and without pulling any punches. What positions do FTers take in the public square? The algorithm is easily stated: identify the politically correct position; an FTer will almost always take a position in defiance thereof.

Absence of grave goods = absence of care for the dead?

Funerary and mortuary practices are things I think about. As a teenager at Tel Dan, I was given the responsibility of carefully removing the ancient dirt from around the skeletal remains and simple stones of a Muslim grave near the surface in the area above the city gate. As a pastor, I have a hand in shaping the funerary and mortuary practices of families and communities. Does the absence of grave goods signify absence of care for the dead? Not in your life.

In her study of the “funeral kit” of Middle and Late Bronze Age chamber tombs of Canaan – a kit consisting of (1) a recognizable set of ceramic vessels (packaging for commodities, food service-ware, and table-ware, “utilized” [a great word in this context], one imagines, during the funerary banquet held in honor of the deceased), (2) a scarab, and (3) a toggle pin – Jill Baker speaks about three categories of grave goods -- personal, status, and essential. I run through these categories over a broader set of realia as I work with funeral directors and the cemetery committee of my parish (three cemeteries to keep up; two nestled among fields in the countryside; one in town, on a tree-lined hill overlooking the football field of the high school). Most especially, with families, musicians, and the kitchen crew, in preparing the celebration of the life of a loved one. Don’t think the marzeah/ funerary meal is unimportant! What Methodists lack in the libation department they make up for in home cooking.

There are (no) myths in the Bible

The term “myth” is used by scholars of ANE literature in a variety of ways. If the term is reserved for a genre of literature, a narrative in which gods do things like have sex, get drunk, and kill each other – there are no myths in the Bible. More precisely, the plots of the few narratives of this kind that are deployed in the Bible are reduced to essentials. This contrasts with the situation in neighboring cultures. Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Ugaritic literatures offer abundant examples of luxuriant narrative in which a motley cast of gods and goddesses interact. In this genre of literature, if mortals appear, they make a guest appearance only.

Dead Aid: Why International Assistance Does Not Alleviate Poverty

Jagdish Bhagwati favorably reviews Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa. Go here. I have a prediction: Moyo’s cri du coeur will go unheeded, first and foremost, by Jeffrey Sachs, her teacher with whom she parts ways. Her points will not be discussed by those ensconced in the soft bigotry of low expectations. Moyo speaks too plainly. She refuses to play the victim card. I would not bother to give this book to Europeans and North Americans. Let Haitians read it. Let Africans read it. 

Updated Mario Liverani Bibliographies

This is how things stand as of now, based on the information I have, for 2009, 2010, and forthcoming. I thank Professor Liverani for sending me updates. For a select bibliography of works in English, go here. For a complete bibliography, go here.