Sárospataki Füzetek 18. (2014)
2014 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Jacob J. T. Doedens: The Return of YHWH and the End of the Exile
The Return of YHWH and the End of the Exile Maccabean revolt and the Roman supremacy, many Jews were deported, sold into slavery, became forced labourers or refugees.48 The Assessment of Exile and Restoration in the Old Testament It is virtually impossible to separate ‘mere historical’ questions from ‘theological’ ones for the period in view. Assyrian and Babylonian conquerors displayed their acts of war as resulting from the assignment and approval of their gods. Sargon II, for example, mentioned: I prayed; and Assur, the [great] god ... heard [my prayer] and received my supplication.49 I fought against them (the inhabitants of Samerina) with the power of the great gods, my lords. I counted as spoil 27,280 people, together with their chariots and their gods, in which they trusted. ... I caused the awe-inspiring splendor of Assur, my lord, to overwhelm the people of Egypt and the Arabians.50 Assur, Nabű (?), (and) Marduk, the gods [my] helpers, granted [me] a kingship [without] equal and [have ex]tolled my good [fa]me reach to the utmost. ... Moreover, my hands defeated Marduk-apla-idina (Merodach-baladan), ... who ex[cer]cised kingship over Babylon against the w[ill of the gods].51 Sennacherib, similarly, referred to the power of his god Assur, and related how he destructed the images of the gods of other peoples or piously gave them back their rightful places: My men took the (images of the gods) who dwell there (in Babylon) and smashed them. They took their property and their wealth. Adad and Shala, the gods of Ekallate, which Marduk-nadin-ahhe, king of Babylon, had taken and carried off to Babylon during the reign of Tiglath-pileser (I), king of Assyria, I brought out of Babylon and returned them to their place in Ekalatte.52 In a comparable way, the historical disaster that befell Israel and Judah was evaluated theologically. It was not just enough to search for historical reasons. 48 See James M. Scott, "Exile and the Self-Understanding of Diaspora Jews in the Greco-Roman Period," in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (JSJSup 56; ed. James M. Scott; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 207-209. 49 "The Assur'Charter)" translated by K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (COS 2.118G295). 50 "Nimrud Prisms D & E," translated by K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (COS 2.118:295-296). 51 "TheTang-i Var Inscription,"translated by K. Lawson Younger, Jr. (COS 2.118J:299-300). 52 "Sennacherib: The Capture and Destruction of Babylon,"translated by Mordechai Cogan (COS 2.119E:305). Sárospataki Füzetek 17. évfolyam 20141 1 35
