2017, Vol.23, No.4

The King’s Rights in 1 Samuel 8: 11-17 - An Article That Tells the King’s Legitimate Rights -

Lee Keung Jae | 2017, 23(4) | pp.14~41 | number of Cited : 2

PDF

The text of the ‘king’s rights’ in 1 Samuel 8: 11-17 along with the ‘Jotham fable’ has been usually considered a representative criticism of the monarchy. Because its content is mentioned by such negative words as “exploitation” or “servant.” However, this study attempts to raise a question as to whether the text really speaks to the king's negative ruling principle. To answer this question, I would like to argue that the Sitz im Leben of the king’s rights in 1 Samuel 8: 11-17 was the king’s covenant, which a king made with his people during the enthronement ceremony. For this study, I used a textual-critical method for Samuel 8: 11-17 as well as a religio-historical method for the comparison and analysis of the ancient Near East. Although the ‘king’s covenant’ is mentioned only twice at the coronation ceremony of David (2 Sam 5: 3) and of Joash (2 Kgs 11: 4) in the Old Testament, but the king's covenant was a ceremonial event which was celebrated at every coronation ceremony in the history of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The fact that the king’s covenant was a ceremonial event in the enthronement ceremony is also proven through several examples of the Hittite and Assyrian empires. The ‘king’s covenant’ includes mutual duties and rights between the two parties (a king and his people), just like a ‘covenant’ in the secular world. One of the ‘king’s rights’ is to use human and material resources and to receive taxes, as partially introduced in 1 Samuel 8: 11-17. The king's duty, on the other hand, is to defend his nation and people from the enemy, to observe the religious ceremonies and feasts, to enrich the people, and to develop national infrastructure. Thus, if we think of the ‘king’s rights’ in connection with the covenant between a king and his people at the enthronement ceremony, it can be seen that the text of the ‘king’s rights’ in 1 Samuel 8: 11-17 is not a criticism of the monarchy.

Affinity of the resistance of the Hebrew midwives and “the words of psalm” - From the viewpoint of Intertextuality: Ex 1:15-22 and Ps 34-

Lee Il Rye | 2017, 23(4) | pp.42~73 | number of Cited : 5

PDF

An ideological conflict in the Mt. Sinai covenant text (Ex 19:1-24:11)

Jeong-Jin Lee | 2017, 23(4) | pp.74~118 | number of Cited : 1

PDF

Exodus 19:1-24:11 is a literary unit that differs from unit Exodus 24:12-34:35. Exodus 19:1-24:11 refers to the original covenant-making story, but it also contains two redactions. Therefore, the text can be divided into three layers, the original text and two redactions. The original story described the covenant with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai, in which all the Israelites became treasures of Yahweh, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. After the covenant was made, the Israelite elders went up to Yahweh with the priests Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, as well as Moses (Ex 24:9-11). This indicates that the common Israelites became holy in the same sense as Moses and the priests. For this reason, the ceremony of priestly ordination was conducted on all the people of Israelite (Ex 24:3-8). Moreover, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu were mentioned with the elders, who were the representatives of Israelites (Ex 24:9-11). And first redaction was made to insert the Decalogue into the original story. Second redaction was made after the first redaction. The second redaction is related to the expressions that deny such holiness of the common people (Ex 19:9, 12-13a, 19; 24:1-2). The second redaction corresponds to the idea in other priestly texts. Therefore, it seems that these verses (Ex 29:9, 12-13a, 19; 24:1-2) were inserted by later priestly redactor(s) to nullify the idea that all the Israelites were as holy as to approach God. In short, the Sinai covenant text consisted of a story that challenged the existing priesthood, with two redactions, one was related to the Decalogue and the other was a priestly redaction. For a challenge of that type to be made, the historical context can be placed at the end of the Exile period. This is because, at that time, the home country of Israelites could be a platform to try new things. And the priestly redaction was possible after the second temple was erected because the second temple was the central sanctuary centered on the priests. It is my opinion that Sinai covenant story could be written between the end of the Exile and sometime not long after the construction of the second temple.

A Study on the hopeful oracle in Amos 8-9

Choi Jong-Won | 2017, 23(4) | pp.119~149 | number of Cited : 8

PDF

The reign of Yahweh through the 'priest-king' - The Interpretation and Application of Psalm 110

Kyung-Taek Ha | 2017, 23(4) | pp.150~182 | number of Cited : 4

PDF

’āmâ and šipḥâ in the Hebrew Bible

Koog-Pyoung Hong | 2017, 23(4) | pp.183~208 | number of Cited : 0

PDF

A Study on Calvin’s Exegetical Methodology for Royal Psalms

Jinkyu Kim | 2017, 23(4) | pp.210~250 | number of Cited : 1

PDF

On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, this paper aims to analyze and evaluate Calvin’s exegetical methodology for the Psalms, with a specific focus on the royal psalms. Because of the limited space, Psalms 2, 72, 89, 110, and 132 were selected to be studied. This study analyzes Calvin’s exegetical methodology for these psalms, specifically from a grammatical/literary, historical, and theological perspective. It also examines Calvin’s method of application. This study investigates the following details: First, Calvin’s grammatical interpretation such as the pursuit of the plain literary sense of words, the study of etymology, the usage of words, the context of words, and the study of the original language. Second, Calvin’s literary interpretation and utilization of literary features such as personification, metaphor, figures of speech, imagery, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, and so on. Third, Calvin’s historical interpretation, specifically in terms of how he understands the author, historical background, original meaning of the text, and its relation to the New Testament. Fourth, Calvin’s theological interpretation, which further examines typological, prophetic, Christ-centered, and inner-biblical interpretation. Fifth, Calvin’s effective application of the message of the text to the situations of the audience when he has finished exegeting the text. As a result of this study, I came to realize that we can still utilize some of Calvin’s exegetical methods today. Calvin makes use of many useful methods of interpretation, such as the study of the original language and words, literary analysis, historical interpretation considering the original historical context, and theological interpretation including typology, promise-fulfillment, and Christ-centered interpretation. However, the readers who use Calvin’s commentaries should discern when he reads the meaning of the New Testament into the translation and interpretation of the Old Testament text. Besides, the readers should be aware of inaccuracies in Calvin’s interpretation of the original language, which occur in his commentaries from time to time.

The Canonical Function of Psalms 19 and 119 as a Macro-Torah Frame

Jeung Yeoul Bang | 2017, 23(4) | pp.251~285 | number of Cited : 5

PDF

The Old Testament and Religious Reforms – The Case of Josiah and Its Modern Implication

DongGyw Lee | 2017, 23(4) | pp.286~323 | number of Cited : 5

PDF

As of the 500th anniversary of the Religious Reform, many people agree that there is a need of another reform in the Korean church and theology. This paper deals with the reformation that we need through an investigation of the most famous reform in the Old Testament - Josiah’s religious reform, and studies the nature and content of his reform, and the lessons and implications that it gives us today. First, Josiah had the Book of the Law functioning as a driving force of his reform. He presented the Book with his ideology to the people through the process by which they are willing to follow. The reformers in the 16th century also followed almost the same pattern by presenting the Bible translated into their comtemporary languages, claiming ‘sola scriptura’ that is the basis of the reformed Christianity. In this way, they proposed their religious and spiritual ideology of the reform. The Korean church and theology should keep this in mind. Especially, the tradition of highly regarding the Bible should be preserved. Second, Josiah embraced and subsumed diverse social groups for the reform. In the diverse society of the post-modern age, the Korean church should embrace the diversity in order to achieve successful transformation. Unlike John Huss and Savonarola, Luther could be successful in the reform, because there were supporting groups from peasants to nobles. Third, Josiah made a covenant with the whole Judean people in the process of the reform, which assured their support to the reform. Through the covenant, Josiah well prepared for the future, and the reform was inherited to the future generations. As a result, his reform remains as one of the major events in the Old Testament even after twenty five hundred years. Reformation is a long-term process, and really essential is the preparation for the future. Without the preparation for the future, any reformation would end up with a failure. Thus, the Korean church should prepare for the future beyond the reform of our generation.

David's Political and Religious Measures for Social Integration of Israel

Lee Hee Hak | 2017, 23(4) | pp.324~353 | number of Cited : 1

PDF

Qumran Hebrew: A Typology within the History of Ancient Hebrew

DONG-HYUK KIM | 2017, 23(4) | pp.356~383 | number of Cited : 4

PDF

The purpose of this study is to describe the orthography and phonology of the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls (= Qumran Hebrew, hereafter QH) and, on the basis of the description, to locate them typologically within the history of ancient Hebrew. In the current context, two conditions necessitate this study. First, an overview like this one has never been attempted in Korean biblical scholarship. Second, in the 21st century, with the publication of the scrolls having been completed, the necessity of a linguistic overview of QH has re-emerged. As QH’s orthographic features, the study discusses (1) the use of the mater w, (2) use of the mater y, (3) the use of the 2nd person masculine singular forms of -kh and qtlth, (4) the writing of some III-h construct nouns with final y, (5) the use of the digraphs 'w, w', y', 'y in medial and final positions. As QH’s phonological features, the study examines (1) the weakening of the gutturals, (2) the insertion of the glides /w/ and /y/, (3) the insertion of ' between vowels or glides, (4) the change of final m into n, (5) the orthographic merge of /s/ and /ś/. Each feature is examined especially by comparing it with the corresponding BH feature. The comparable Mishnaic Hebrew (hereafter MH) features are also addressed briefly. On the basis of the above discussions, this study concludes the following. First, just like MH, QH uses the full spelling more frequently than the Masoretic tradition and thus tries to bring its spellings closer to actual pronunciations. Second, the final digraphs are not thought to represent pronunciations different from the Masoretic tradition. Third, QH’s overall weakening of the gutturals points to the same direction as BH of the Masoretic tradition and MH. Fourth, QH’s confusion of some nasals indicates that the system of QH’s nasals was different from that of BH’s but similar to that of MH’s. Fifth, the merge of /s/ and /ś/, which continued in MH also, presupposes a situation different from the situation of BH. This study concludes that, typologically speaking, the orthography and phonology of QH are not so different from those of BH and MH, and that they are firmly placed in the tradition of ancient Hebrew. In addition to portraying the general picture of QH and locating it within the history of ancient Hebrew, the significance of this study is that it can help and encourage students to access the Dead Sea Scrolls more readily.

A Planned City in the period of Rehoboam and Its Implication: A View from Tel Lachish Excavation in 2017

Hoo-Goo Kang | 2017, 23(4) | pp.384~409 | number of Cited : 0

PDF

It is worthy of being very careful for biblical archaeologists to try to connect archaeological results with a biblical person or his/her period. If we would properly relate archaeological results from excavations at Tel Lachish to King Rehoboam, by taking biblical, historical, and archaeological considerations into account, the fifth level could be a reasonable candidate for his days. This paper reports that the 4th excavations at Tel Lachish in the year of 2017 revealed a series of three-room houses at Level 5 which were abutting against the city wall built with a regular width, 10 royal cubits, and discusses their biblical-archaeological implications. Combination of a public construction, a city wall, with private buildings in a three-room house type, built with a width of 5.2 meter in Level 5, indicates a planned city during the period of King Rehoboam. This leads us to assume that Lachish must be in the second category (a central city) out of the four stages of the city (the capital, a central city, a local city, and a fortress) indicated by Yigal Shiloh. This refutes the assertion of minimalists that the establishment of Judean kingdom was not possible until the 8th century BCE based on archaeological results, inter alia, from the City of David and Tel Lachish. In a chronological point of view in longue durée, it is understood that a tradition of constructing a planned city in Judah began at Khirbet Qeiyafa during the time of King David, at Tel Gezer during the time of King Solomon, and at Tel Lachish during the time of King Rehoboam. Later, Tell Beit Mirsim, Tel Beersheba, and so forth can be perceived to follow this tradition, indicating the construction of a well planned city. Albeit controversy among scholars, a pillared four-room/threeroom house considered to be a typical private house type of the ancient Israelites, which was based on the regional and chronological analysis, was revealed for the first time from Area BC in the Tel Lachish excavations in 2017. The finding of a series of pillared three-room houses at Lachish, known as the second important and traditional city in Judah, supports the argument that a pillared four-room/threeroom house is ethnographically associated with the ancient Israelites. In addition, the fact that pillared three-room houses were constructed against a city wall of Level 5 might indicate the religious intention of King Rehoboam to keep a law of purification.

KJCKorea
Journal Central

Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.67

2017, Vol.23, No.4