Exile and Restoration Revisited

Essays on the Babylonian and Persian Periods in Memory of Peter R. Ackroyd

Gary N. Knoppers, Lester L. Grabbe, Gary N. Knoppers, Lester L. Grabbe

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780567280831
• eBook ISBN: 9780567109828
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This volume had its origins in a session presented to the Society of Biblical Literature in Washington in 2006 in order to examine the legacy of Peter Ackroyd to the field of biblical studies. Ackroyd's work stretched over a wide range of topics within Biblical Studies, notably study of prophetic literature and work on exile and restoration. This volume particularly focuses upon his work on the latter. Whilst the present work is founded upon the papers given at the session it also includes several essays solicited subsequently which further serve to draw the contributions together into a fitting tribute to a pioneer in his field. The contributions take account of Ackroyd's approach to the theme of exile and restoration, focusing largely upon the study of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronciles. As a brief flavour, Bob Becking examines the epigraphic evidence concerning the mixed marriage crisis Ezra-Nehemiah. Joe Blenkinsopp seeks to find the 'Sons of Aaron' before the 5th Century in a fascinating essay focusing which picks up the work of R.H. Kennett over a century ago. Among the other distinguished contributors are John Bergsma, Eric Myers and Jill Middlemass.

Chapter 1
ON THE IDENTITY OF THE ‘FOREIGN’ WOMEN IN EZRA 9–10

Bob Becking (The University of Utrecht)

The Mixed Marriage Crisis in Ezra and Nehemiah

a. Introduction

In the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah mention is made of a mixed-marriage crisis: Israelites had married women from other nations, eight of which are mentioned at Ezra 9.1. In Ezra 10 the ‘ethnic’ character of these women is labelled as nokriyy

h, ‘foreign, strange’. The problem is solved by Ezra and the elders of the community in ending these marriages by sending away the foreign women.¹ These – in modern eyes² – harsh measures are motivated by the concept of the ‘holy seed’ and with an allusion to the Mosaic laws. What intrigues me is the question of the identity of these women. Who were they? Why did they evoke the anger of the community? This question will be approached first by looking at the existing motivation for the measure, then by taking some archaeological and epigraphic material into account and finally by discussing patterns of stereotyping and the scapegoat mechanism.

b. Text-Internal Motivation

There exists a text-internal motivation for the measures taken. From the book of Ezra it becomes clear that one group of ‘Israelites’ construes itself as the true Israel to the exclusion of other groups and persons. The most significant indication for this group can be found in Ezra 9.2. In a message to Ezra, some leaders report the intermarriage of Israelites, priests and Levites with women from other nations with the outcome that ‘the holy seed has become mixed with the peoples of the land’. The idea of divine election is thus reformulated in biological categories.³ This reformulation should be interpreted as a device of discontinuity. In a way it is an answer to a changed situation. On the political level, Judah had lost its independence. Apart from the difficult question of how to classify sociologically the ‘Ezra-group’, it should be noted that this group is looking for a religious and ethnic identity in Ezra 9–10. The term ‘holy seed’ should be seen as a combination of two traditional depictions of Israel. In Deuteronomy, Israel is often called a ‘holy nation’; elsewhere the ‘seed of Abraham’ is used. Both depictions are related to its self-understanding as elected by God. The term ‘holy seed’ shows a radical self-interpretation of the Ezra-group. To them being elected by God implies that the group may not be defiled by foreign elements. As the background of the indignation of the leaders in Ezra 9.1–2 and also of the measures taken by Ezra stand the warnings in the Torah of Moses not to marry with the indigenous population of Canaan because intermarriage would almost certainly lead to syncretism and apostasy. This proposition is reinterpreted in the book of Ezra. The negative assessment of intermarriage is based on fear of apostasy and syncretism. The anguish is, however, phrased in terms of taboo and fear of the pollution of the group as can be detected from the use of the words ma‘al and to’

b

h in this connection. In Ezra 9 the concept of the ‘holy seed’ functions as a clear indication of the boundaries of the community (Stiegler 1994; Carter 1999: 307–16). In the ‘Prayer of Ezra’ a ‘quotation’ from the commandments is given:

The land which you are about to enter in order to possess it, is a land polluted by the impurity of the peoples of the land and by their abominations whereby they have filled it with their uncleanness from one end to the other. Thus, do not give your daughters to their sons in marriage nor take their daughters as wives for your sons. Never seek their peace and welfare, that you may grow strong, eat the good things of the land and bequeath it in perpetuity to your children.⁴

Basically, Deut. 7.1–5 is quoted, although some elements have been left out and some new features have been included.⁵ What has been left out are the commandments to ban the indigenous people and not to conclude a covenant with them. Features that are included have to do with the concept of uncleanness: the land is said to have been polluted (ndh) by its inhabitants who had conducted abominations (to’

b

h). The theme of pollution is attested in the P-source and related texts.⁶ In Ezra 9.11 the Hebrew verb ndh refers to ‘moral turpitude, not to the ritual/legal “impurity” connected with menstruation’.⁷ The other concept is rooted in Deuteronomistic theology.⁸ Pentateuchal texts, like Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 7, do not offer stipulations in cases where the warning is transgressed. In Ezra 9 measures are taken to dissolve these marriages and to send away women and children. It should be noted that these rigid measures are difficult to understand in light of all that is said in the laws of Israel about the protection of the poor and the needy. Moreover, as has been observed by Blenkinsopp,⁹ the Deuteronomic prohibition includes both sexes, while in Ezra (and Nehemiah) measures are taken against foreign women only. And, finally, as Olyan has noted, the ideas behind Ezra 9 contain a deviation from earlier concepts in ancient Israel. The Holiness Source and the Deuteronomistic texts did find ways to integrate the resident outsider of foreign origin into the body of Israel. In Ezra 9 traces of this integration are absent.¹⁰ In other words, Ezra 9.1–5 implies an aggregative appropriation of the legal tradition¹¹ and an extension of the concept of holiness from the priests and Levites to the community in its – be it restricted – entirety.¹²

According to the text-internal view, the ‘foreign women’ were women from a different – non-Judahite/Yehudite – ethnicity, who formed a threat for the pure form of Yahwism that the ‘Ezra-group’ was trying to establish.

c. Text-External Motivations

This brings me to the text-external explanations of the character of the mixed-marriage crisis. As implied by the observations above, the rigid measures of Ezra and Nehemiah are difficult to understand against all that is said in the laws of Israel about the protection of the poor and the needy. Recently, some attempts have been made to understand these measures against their own historical and social backg...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• List of Contributors
• Introduction
• 1. On The Identity of the ‘Foreign’ Women in Ezra 9-10
• 2. The Persian Period as Penitential Era: The ‘Exegetical Logic’ of Daniel 9.1-27
• 3. The Mystery of The Missing ‘Sons of Aaron’
• 4. From Exile and Restoration to Exile and Reconstruction
• 5. Jeshua’s ‘High Priestly’ Lineage? Areassessment of Nehemiah 12.10-11
• 6. ‘They Shall Come Rejoicing to Zion’- or Did They? the Settlement of Yehud in the Early Persian Period
• 7. Was Jerusalem a Persian Fortress?
• 8. Administration of Achaemenid Phoenicia: Acase for Managed Autonomy
• 9. The Relation Between History and Thought: Reflections on the Subtitle of Peter Ackroyd’s Exile and Restoration
• 10. Exile and Restoration in Light of Recent Archaeology and Demographic Studies
• 11. Going Beyond the Myth of the Empty Land: A Reassessment of the Early Persian Period
• 12. Rebuilding Jerusalem: Zechariah’s Vision Within Visions
• Index of References
• Index of Authors
• Footnotes