Joseph, Jehoiachin, and Cyrus: On Book Endings, Exoduses and Exiles, and Yehudite/Judean Social Remembering

Abstract

In a recent ZAW article, Michael Chan argues that II Reg 25,27-30 alludes to Gen 40-41, and that this allusion provides a hermeneutical key for understanding the purpose of II Reg 25,27-30 in an Enneateuchal context: it points to an imminent exodus, a return from exile and a gathering of diaspora in the promised land. This article picks up where Chan left off, in order to flesh out some of the implications of his contribution. It argues that remembering exodus at the end of II Reg included hope, as Chan says, but also struggles and failure, punishment and death. Exodus is multivocal. Likewise, the end of II Reg contributes to a multivocal discourse concerning Davidic kingship, which included the end of Chronicles and prophetic literature. The diminution of Davidic kingship in II Reg 25,27-30 is balanced by other perspectives. The article concludes with an observation on the import of this multivocality for Yehudite social memory