Keulen, P.S.F. van

Leiden University Scholary Publications

SHORT NOTESTHE MEANING OF THE PHRASE WN'SPT 'L-QBRTYK BSLWMIN 2 KINGS XXII 20In 2 Kings xxii 20, thé oracle of Huldah concerning Jerusalem andits inhabitants ends with a promise directed to Kingjosiah personally.The divine message, imparted by the prophetess, reads as follows:"Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers (finny 'spk 'l-'btyk),and you shall be gathered to your grave (wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk) in peace, andyour eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place"(Revised Standard Version). This prophecy can be compared with the actualreport of Josiah's death in 2 Kings xxiii 29-30a. There it is stated thatPharaoh Neco, having advanced from Egypt, slew Josiah at Megiddowhen he saw him. V. 30a reads: "And his servants carried him deadin a chariot from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buriedhim in his own tomb" (RSV). The question arising here is whether theprophetic oracle tallies with the actual report of Josiah's death and bur-ial. Stated differently, can the events described in 2 Kings xxiii 29-30abe taken as the fulfilment of Huldah's prophecy?Scholars do not agree on this point. On the one hand, P.M. Cross,R.D. Nelson, M. Rose and S.L. McKenzie, among others, believe thatin the prophecy Josiah is promised a death bslvum i.e. a peaceful death.'Consequently, these scholars find a discrepancy between Huldah'sprophecy in xxii 20 and the account of Josiah's death in xxiii 29.W. Dietrich, H.-D. Hoffmann, A.D.H. Mayes and I.W. Provan, onthe other hand, are of the opinion that the oracle presents an accu-rate prediction of the events described in xxiii 29. They claim that in2 Kings xxii 20 b shim refers not to the manner of Josiah's death butto the circumstances of his burial.2 Hoffmann and Provan in particu-lar have pointed out that the phrase to which bslwm, is attached, i.e.wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk, is a reference to Josiah's burial. In their opinion, finny'spk 'l-'btyk and wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk in xxii 20 must have different meaningsbecause otherwise these phrases would be tautologous. Thus, whereasfinny 'spk 'l-'btyk is a reference to Josiah's death, wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk is a ref-erence to his burial.Some fifty years ago B. Alfrink arrived at the same conclusion in anarticle on the meaning of the expression n'sp 'l-'myw.3 I believe this viewstill holds true. However, Alfrink, Hoffmann and Provan have not clearlyindicated what could have prompted the author of v. 20 to write down© EJ. Brill, Leiden, 1996 Velus Testammtum XLVI, 2SHORT NOTES 257the unique phrase wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk. It is the aim of this note to fill thislacuna.Before discussing the meaning of the phrase wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk we mustdetermine the meaning of the expression preceding it in v. 20, 'sp X'l-'btyw. This expression is closely related to the expression n'sp 'l-'bwtywwhich is found in Judg. ii 10, the only differences being the conjuga-tion of the verb and the preposition used. By way of Judg. ii 10,2 Kings xxii 20 can be linked with the expression n'sp 'l-'myw, whichis recurrent in Pentateuchal sources.4 This expression must originallyhave referred to the union of the deceased with his ancestors in theafterlife, as can be inferred from Gen. xxv 8, 9 and xxv 29.5 Wheren'sp 'l-'myw is not accompanied by other death/burial formulae, as inNum. xx 24, xxvii 13 and xxxi 2, the expression refers to dying assuch. The expressions of Judg. ii 10 and 2 Kings xxii 20 must be takenas similar "general euphemisms for death" (Provan [n. 2], p. 149,n. 53). The active form 'spk (Qal participle) used in 2 Kings xxii 20may be due to the fixed formula for prophetic announcements Iknhnny + participle, which occurs several times in the books of Kings (seeDietrich [n. 2], pp. 9-21).The above-mentioned expressions all make explicit reference to thekin or clan to which the deceased is gathered. Such a reference is not-ably lacking in the expression under examination here, n'sp 'l-qbrtyw.This strongly suggests that it has an origin different from 'sp X 'l-'btyw.6Alfrink rightly pointed to a few passages in Samuel, Jeremiah andEzekiel, where 'sp occurs in connection with interment, and is followedby the root qbr ([n. 3], p. 120). In these passages 'sp refers to the gath-ering of the 'smwt, the bones of the deceased, as preceding the burial.Whereas 2 Sam. xxi 13 and Jer. viii 1, 2 make explicit reference tothe 'smwt, Jer. xxv 33 and Ezek. xxix 5 have only n'sp, "one is gath-ered," which may be elliptical for: the various parts of the body, the'smwt, are gathered, wn'spt in 2 Kings xxii 20 may likewise be under-stood as a concise reference to the gathering of the bones.An argument in favour of this interpretation of wn'spt lies in the factthat in three of the four instances mentioned, i.e. in 2 Sam. xxi 13,Jer. xxv 33 and Ezek. xxix 5, references to the gathering of the bodyoccur in connection with violent death. It can be concluded from thesetexts that in case of a violent death it is by no means a matter ofcourse that the body is integrally buried. Thus, in Jer. xxv 33 Jeremiahannounces that those who will be slain by YHWH will remain ungath-ered and unburied. In all probability, this prophecy is a true reflection258 SHORT NOTESof the harsh reality of warfare as existing in Jeremiah's days. Againstthis background the purport of Huldah's promise to Josiah becomesclear: although Josiah will suffer a violent death, he will not meet thedreadful fate of being left unburied.Since in the passages mentioned above the verbs denoting gather-ing and burying have analogous forms, one would expect to find alsoin xxii 20 wnqbrt buy analogy with um'spt. The author of xxii 20 mayhave departed from this fixed pattern in order to establish a link withthe burial notice in xxiii 30a, where it is stated that Josiah is buriedbqbrtw, i.e. in his grave.7 Throughout the books of Kings three kingsare explicitly reported to have been buried bqbrtw. Significantly, thesekings all died a violent death." By using the construction 'l-qbrtyk, theauthor probably intended to hint at the impending violent death ofJosiah, as he did by using the verb n'sp.As stated above, the expression bslwm is best regarded as a referenceto the circumstances of Josiah's burial. According to Provan, what ispromised here is that Josiah will be buried "in time of peace," that is,before the disasters of 597 and 586 B.C., announced in v. 20b, willcome to pass ([n. 2] p. 149).To sum up, the expression wn'spt 'l-qbrtyk bslum states that Josiahwill be buried in peaceful circumstances, but it also implies that he willdie in a violent way. Thus the wording of the oracle in v. 20 is gearedto the account of Josiah's death in xxiii 29-30a. In all likelihood, bothpassages were written by the same author.Since v. 20b refers to the fall of Jerusalem, v. 20 as a whole musthave an exilic date. There is, however, some reason to assume that thesalvation oracle to Josiah as such was not the invention of an exilicauthor. In its present shape, the oracle is marked by a peculiar ambi-valence. The introduction in v. 19 unambiguously qualifies it as a sal-vation oracle, intended to exclude Josiah's fate from the fate of theinhabitants of Jerusalem who are bound to experience YHWH's wrath.However, if taken at face value, the message of v. 20a does not seemto indicate much salvation. The promise given to Josiah that he willenter his grave in peace can only be considered a message of comfortagainst the background of Jerusalem's coming destruction. In a situa-tion of doom and judgement an orderly burial may count as a specialfavour. Thus, in 1 Kings xiv 13 Ahijah prophesies that Jeroboam's sonwill be the only one of the Israelite king's relatives who will be buried,because he is the only one in Jeroboam's house in whom YHWH hasfound anything good (Hoffmann [n. 2], p. 184). Even so, this does notSHORT NOTES 259alter the fact that in 2 Kings xxii 20 it is difficult to conceive of anoriginal salvation oracle prophesying Josiah's death, let alone his deathon the battle-field. Moreover, one is driven to ask in what way thepresent oracle in v. 20 could have induced Josiah subsequently to com-mit himself so strongly to YHWH's case and carry out a cultic reform.Thus it seems likely that the present oracle has replaced an earlier ora-cle that promised salvation much less ambiguously than the presentone. However, the question of the original form of the oracle is a com-plex one, which goes beyond the scope of this short note.Leiden P.S.F. van Keulen' F.M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion oj Israel(Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1973), p. 286; R.D. Nelson, The Double Redaction of theDeutenmomistic History (Sheffield, 1981), pp. 6-9; M. Rose, "Bemerkungen zum historischenFundament des Josia-Bildes in II Reg 22f.," -ÇW 89 (1977), 50-63; M.A. O'Brien, TheDeuteronomistic History Hypothesis: A Reassessment (Frihourg and Göttingen, 1989), pp. 244-9;S.L. McKenzie, The Trouble with Kngs, SVT 42 (Leiden, 1992), pp. 111-12, 143-4.2 W. Dietrich, Prophétie und Geschichte: Eine redaktionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung zum deute-ronormstischen Geschichtswerk (Göttingen, 1972), pp. 55-8; H.-D. Hoffmann, Reform und Re-formen: Untersuchungen zu einem Grundthema der deuteronomistischen Geschichtsschreibung (/ürich,1980), pp. 181-7; A.D.H. Mayes, The Story of Israel between Settlement and Exile, (London,1983), pp. 128-30; I.W. Provan, Hezekiah and the Books of Kings (Berlin and New York,1988), pp. 147-9.3 "L'Expression n'sp 'l-'myw" OTS 5 (1943), pp. 118-31 (especially 119-20).4 Gen. xxviii 8-9, 17, xxxv 29, xlviiii 29, 33; Num. xx 24 (cf. xx 26), xxvii 13,xxxi 2; Deut. xxxii 50 (2).5 In Gen. xxv 8, 9 and xxxv 29 the expression n'sp 'l-'myw follows the death formula(mwt), but precedes the burial formula (qbr). See Alfrink (n. 3), p. 128; N.J. Tromp,Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World in the Old Testament (Rome, 1969), p. 168;K.-J. Illman, Old Testament Formulas about Death (Âbo, 1979), pp. 43-4, K. Spronk, BeatificAfterlife in Ancient Israel and the Ancient Near East (Kevelaer and Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1986),p. 240.'' The LXX (kaige-rcvision) seems to confirm this view. It renders 'spk 'l-'btyk asitpooTÎÔrjui ce Ttpôç TOÙÇ Tttxtépaç ao\). Forms of the verb icpoanönui have also been usedin the renderings of Gen. xxv 8, xxxv 29, xlviiii 29, 33; Num. xx 24, 26, xxvii 13, xxxi2; Deut. xxxii 50; Judg. ii 10. Significantly, the Greek translators of 2 Kings xxii 20did not choose Jtpoati&nui for rendering 'sp in the phrase im'sp 'l-qbrtyk. They preferredto use the more neutral crovoyû), and accordingly translated truvctxonari eic töv T<x(povaou. This rendering is in keeping with 2 Sam. xxi 13 (LXX 2 Reigns xxi 13) and Ezek.xxix 5 (cf. Jer. ix 21), because in these passages auvayco is used to refer to the gather-ing of the bones.7 LXX B and IJCX L render singular forms. Reading qbrtk in analogy with LXX Band LXX L would bring about exact correspondence with MT xxiii 30a, where theterm used to designate the tomb is qbwrh. On the other hand, text-critical support forreading a singular form in 2 Kings xxii 20 is not strong. In the parallel version ofChronicles, both the MT and the LXX (probably attesting the "Old Greek") maintainthe plural. Moreover, the fact that the plural form does not tally with the singular in260 SHORT NOTES2 Kings xxiii 30a may indicate that it is the original reading in xxii 20. Therefore, Iam inclined to follow the MT and read the plural form qbrtyk in 2 Kings xxii 20. It isthe reference to the grave as such which provides the link between 2 Kings xxii 20aand xxiii 30a, irrespective of the terms used. The feminine plural qbrwl in xxii 20 mayrefer to a family-tomb, which includes several rooms (see HAL, p. 996)." Ahaziah (2 Kings ixc 28, 29); Amon (xxi 23, 26); Josiah (xxiii 29, 30). 2 Kings ix28, 29 may have been modelled upon xxiii 29, 30.A NEW SUGGESTION REGARDING 2 SAMUEL XXIII 7"David's last words" (2 Sam. xxiii 1-7), the poem which has occu-pied both ancient and modern biblical exegetes,1 concludes with twodifficult verses:übëliyya'al këqös münäd kullähamkï-lö' bëyad yiqqähüwë'ïs yigga' hohem yimmâlë' barzflwë'ês hanïtüba'ês saröp yissarëpü bassäbetI will discuss the final term: bassäbet. The understanding of the term Iwish to propose may shed light on the entire context. The term pre-sents a number of difficulties: neither its lexical significance nor its func-tion in the context is clear. In fact, it appears superfluous. Since thedays of Wellhausen and Driver, it has commonly been regarded as amisplaced gloss originally referring to ysb bsbt in verse 8.2 Others havesought to resolve the problem by suggesting alternative readings.3 Theancient exegetes, however, and with them a number of the moderns,laboured to explicate the term—in its present form and context—ac-cording to one of its recognized semantic overtones. Some consider theterm to be derived from ^lysb and interpret accordingly: "they shall beburned in their place";4 others derive it from ^Isbt and interpret theverse as referring either to utter destruction5 or to cessation of activ-ity, rest.6 These interpretations are, I believe, forced. As opposed tothese attitudes, I wish to take a different path and propose a new lex-ical understanding of the term. This suggestion came about as a resultof research concerning a certain Midrash, which I have discussed in aseparate lexical investigation.7 In that Midrash as well we find the wordbsbt, and there too it is awkward and seems, prima facie, superfluous.I shall begin the discussion with this Midrash (Bereshit Rabba XXIX 2,on Gen. vi 8, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord"):

The Meaning of the Phrase WN'SPT 'L-QBRTYK BŠLWM in 2 Kings XXII 20'

NARCIS 

https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2732199/download

The Meaning of the Phrase WN'SPT 'L-QBRTYK BŠLWM in 2 Kings XXII 20'

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Leiden University Scholary Publications

NARCIS