„Asaf“ und „Jesaja“. Eine komparatistische Studie zur These von Tempelsängern als für Jesaja 40–66 verantwortlichem Trägerkreis, Old Testament Essays 22 (2009) 456–487 (original) (raw)
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Republished and updated version (2024): https://www.academia.edu/92764420 (pp. 197–222)
This article inquires into the meaning of the name “Asaph” by examining the inscriptional and Biblical evidence for bearers of this name. The main focus is upon those bearers of the name (and their descendants) who are mentioned in the superscriptions to twelve psalms (Pss 50; 73-83) and in the books of Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. The characteristics associated with Asaph and the Asaphites will be presented by means of the aforementioned Biblical books. This article will then present two current scholarly paradigms for explaining the history of the Asaphites. According to the first model, the Asaphites are, on the whole, an exilic or post-exilic guild of Levitical singers. They originated with the collective songs of lament sung after the downfall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. and continued until at least the time of Chronicles (probably the late Persian period). The second model reckons with a longer history. There are indications in the Asaph psalms in particular that they date back to the northern kingdom of Israel and that they were concerned with lamenting its downfall around 722 B.C.E. The tradents of these Psalms (and perhaps other northern traditions) brought them to Judah. Here this group seems to have gained influence at the royal court and/or the temple, presumably during the time of Hezekiah. Through a process of reinterpretation and by adding a new song (Ps 79), these psalms that originally lamented the downfall of the northern kingdom came to serve as a similar function for the downfall of the southern kingdom. Later, the Asaphites were significantly involved in to the worship of the post-exilic temple. In conclusion, this article will express preference for the second model..
Republished and updated version (2024): https://www.academia.edu/92764420 (pp. 259–293), 2024
From the Psalms of Asaph (Pss 50, 73-83) to the “Deutero-Asaphite” Psalms in Book IV of the Psalter (Pss 90-106): Considerations about an Asaphite Circle of Transmitters This study first defines five parameters that characterize a transmitter circuit (TC). In addition, four characteristics of palms attributed to Asaph (Pss 50, 73-83) are listed. It is then asserted that, on the basis of the quintessential characteristics of a TC, one can infer with sufficient certainty the existence of an Asaphite circle of transmitters at work in these psalms. There are indications of a similarity between the Asaphite psalms and the members of Book IV of the Psalter (Ps 90-106). This presumption is then tested within the context of a comparative process through which the headings, form and function, concepts and motifs of the psalms in Book IV are meticulously compared to the Asaphite psalms. The confirmed overall Asaphitic imprinting of these psalms indeed shows gradual increments. Consequently, in 14 of the 17 psalm of this section there is a suspected Asaphite influence, while it can be accepted in the case of 8 psalms. In at least 7 of these psalms a direct dependence on the Asaph psalms can be substantiated. It is remarkable that both psalms in Book IV, which are ascribed to David (Ps 101 and 103), practically show no Asaphite colouring. Finally, possible implications are discussed, open question stated and directions indicated which further investigation should follow.
Republished and updated version (2024): https://www.academia.edu/92764420 (pp. 361–384)
OTE 32/2 (2019) is dedicated as a Festschrift to Phil J. Botha, Pretoria (well known Psalms scholar and earlier General editor of OTE).– Starting from the questioning of intertextuality, its possibilities, methods and challenges, the evidence of the (war) bow (קשׁת) in the Asaph psalms (Ps 76; 78) and in the Hosea script (Hos 1-2; 7) is subjected to a comparative analysis. The study shows broad similarities and refers to a common prophetic-levitic-northern Israelite environment. Probably the arch documents in the Asaph psalms were formulated with knowledge of the Hosea passages.
2022
This paper examines the impact on, and responses by, the defeated parties in the southern Levant and Egypt following their conquest by the Assyrian Empire in the late 8 th and early 7 th century BCE, by tracing the political, economic, and socio-demographic transformations of the vanquished. Conquests and military conflicts in antiquity have traditionally been explored from the viewpoint of the victor, and have rarely focused on the defeated party whose experiences were often significant, traumatic, and enduring. Such a defeat was experienced in the southern Levant after the expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the late 8 th century BCE. Assyria subdued the northern Kingdom of Israel in 720 BCE and conquered the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly thereafter. These defeat events resonate in the cultural and religious traditions of the region, and beyond, to this day. Examining the archaeological record, the Assyrian sources, and the Biblical account and related epigraphic evidence, substantial changes and adaptations in political (modes of governance, pax Assyriaca, acceptance and resistance), economic (production, consumption, trade, subsistence) and socio-demographic (deportations, refugees, gender aspects) aspects of defeat can be discerned. Tracing defeat in Egypt and Egyptology on the other hand is more complicated. Despite the fact that several traumatic events have happened during the course of several thousands of years of Egyptian history, the reconstruction of defeats often relies on circumstantial evidence, external or much later sources. This absence of defeat accounts stands in stark contrast to the textual corpus of the neighbouring ancient Near East, where similar events are acknowledged in the Hebrew Bible or in Mesopotamian sources. In order to trace defeat in Egypt, textual evidence relating to the Assyrian conquest of Egypt is being discussed and contrasted with the archaeological data. While a detailed reconstruction is possible based on the Assyrian texts, we almost lack suitable Egyptian sources. The archaeological record seems to be silent as well, whereas we find archaeological traces of booty and deportees in Assyria. This discrepancy between the archaeological record in Egypt and the textual sources will be compared to the evidence from the Levant and questions will be posed in which way short-term political/military events could manifest themselves in the archaeological record.
Republished and updated version (2014): https://www.academia.edu/5911258 (pp. 363–391)
A shared interest in the Psalms of Asaph was the trigger for this contribution to a Festschrift for Klaus Seybold. Commonalities across the Asaph Psalms (Pss 50; 73–83) are discussed first: (1) subject horizon (»We«) and national focus (people of God; Israel); (2) emphasis on divine judgment (through the »processing« of judgment by the nation, fellow mourners, and those over whom judgment is pronounced); (3) prophetic »I«-speech from God’s side and wisdom accents (e.g. Pss 73 and 78); (4) a distinctive »Name Theology« (variation and accumulation of divine designations and appellations); (5) awareness and use of earlier national traditions (e.g. Moses traditions). A concern for Israel in the sense of the ten tribes is, despite the tie to Jerusalem, which shines through, the distinctive characteristic of this group of Psalms. In the case of the majority of these Psalms a probable date of composition at the end of the 8th cent. B.C. presents itself, triggered by the end of the Northern Kingdom (722 B.C.). Ps 78 serves as the »lead psalm« of the set, insofar as it clarifies the end of the Northern Kingdom in theological terms and, at the same time, opens a perspective of hope on the future of those concerned. Following the Exile, after which Psalm 79 is to be dated, the Asaph Psalm group was closed. As far as the composition history of the miniature Asaph Psalter is concerned, a twostage model is proposed: (1) In the pre-exilic period, Pss 73–83, with Ps 50 placed after Ps 80 but without Ps 79, would have formed a group. (2) Later, in the exilic period, the theme of the fall of the Southern Kingdom (Ps 79) along with the fall of the Northern Kingdom stands at the core of the Asaph Psalter (Pss 77–79). The order of the Psalms that has come down to us would have originated then. Ps 50 was relocated and placed before the (second) group of David Psalms (a »re-framing« of existing collections). The post-exilic Asaphites (Chronicles; also, Ezra-Nehemiah) share features with the Asaph Psalms, but also clear differences, such that another, later context needs to be taken into consideration.
Jesaja, ein alttestamentlicher Prophet und seine Botschaft in der islamischen Tradition
Reference: Wehe dieser sündigen Gemeinde, die nicht weiß, ob ihr Gutes oder Böses widerfährt‘: Jesaja, ein alttestamentlicher Prophet und seine Botschaft in der islamischen Tradition, in: Transmission and Interpretation of the Book of Isaiah in the Context of Intra- and Interreligious Debates, ed. Peter Gemeinhardt and Florian Wilk, (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium, 280), Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2016, S. 393-431