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Josephus' Retelling of the Jonathan Narratives*

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Abstract

This article analyzes Josephus' rewriting of the biblical narratives about Jonathan, son of Saul (1 Sam. 13–14; 17–23; 31 // Ant. 6.95, 105–29, 205–12, 224–41, 252–53, 369). It compares the biblical narratives to Josephus' rewriting in an attempt to understand the nature of the changes he entered into the biblical text. These include omissions, additions, and changes of focus. Did these changes stem from a different Vorlage or from exegetical reasons? Can these changes be explained as deriving from Josephus' apologetic view?

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The first eleven books of Josephus’s Jewish Antiquities and the Testament of Zebulun, part of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, present a common insistence on emotional responses to the pain of others. This article studies how both texts construct the emotions that one is supposed to have when facing the suffering of others. For Josephus, the basic response to others’ pain is pity, rooted in the rhetorical tradition but reinterpreted. Emotionally responding to others’ pain depends on a cognitive appraisal and is characteristic of high moral character, which may contribute to creating a sense of superiority. In the Testament of Zebulun, the response to others’ pain is primarily an embodied experience. The self may be unable to help the one in pain, and intense emotions then compensate for lack of action. Compassion is rooted in the realization of one’s own vulnerability. Both discourses, in fact, illustrate a particular aspect of compassion, emphasizing either empowerment or vulnerability. In the conclusion, the article looks at emotional responses to others’ pain as occasions for the self to position itself toward others while they are vulnerable, thus less threatening. By displaying appropriate emotions, the self redefines its position vis-à-vis its peers and manifests its belonging to the social group.
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Girard may have been on to something when he attempted to trace religious violence back to a struggle between mimetic rivals, but the resulting theory has been rightly criticized for its indifference to the particulars of historical context. With help from post-colonial scholarship, this paper aims to rethink the concept of mimicry as used by scholars of religion by situating an example from ancient Judaism, Josephus's description of the Samaritans as hostile doubles of the Jews, in the particular cultural environment in which this ancient historian wrote. The author hopes to contribute to our understanding of the Samaritans, and of Josephus as a slippery double in his own right, but the essay's real point is to caution against any generalizing approach to mimicry by stressing it as an adaptive behavior, a tactic, whose motives and workings are best understood within the particular cultural habitat to which the mimic is responding.
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This article examines a number of passages in 1 Samuel to show that the narrator indicates emotional distance between Saul and his son Jonathan. On the other hand, the narrator describes Saul and David as close, despite Saul's jealousy of David. Indeed, Saul acts toward David and speaks to him at times as if he, not Jonathan, were his son. The narrator's development of the Saul-Jonathan-David triangle serves his larger purpose of showing that David is the legitimatesuccessor to Saul.
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The word děbāš in the Bible denotes various types of fruit syrup as well as the honey produced by bees. An overview of the literary adaptation of honey in biblical narrative and poetry leads us to an impressive assemblage of honey metaphors in the wisdom books of Proverbs and Job. This study identifies four rhetorical categories which encompass both didactic and reflective frameworks of honey imagery: A. 'Honey' as a metaphor of internalization wisdom and attaining good reputation; B. 'Honey' as a symbol of restraint and moderation against overindulgence; C. 'Honey' as a metaphor for temptation and ensnarement; D. 'Honey' in the context of the two antithetical idiomatic expressions; "Honey under the tongue" and "venom under the tongue". These expressions serve to draw an ideational contrast between the pleasant words of the Wise and the evil stratagems of the Wicked. My investigation will provide insight into the way that particular qualities of raw bee honey inspired the composers of the various metaphors.
For a thorough analysis of MT and LXX to 1 Sam. 16-18, see
  • J S Arthur
For a thorough analysis of MT and LXX to 1 Sam. 16-18, see J.S. Arthur, 'Giving David his Due: An Investigation of Text, Structure, and Chronology in 1
The Character of Jonathan Son of Saul in Jewish and Christian Interpretations
  • A Kleczar
A. Kleczar, 'The Character of Jonathan Son of Saul in Jewish and Christian Interpretations', Polish Journal of Biblical Research 3 (2004), pp. 165-74 (168);
XXXVI-XLIII. As Mason points out, on several occasions Josephus denigrates the use of rhetoric (War 1.2, 16; Life 40-42
  • S Mason
S. Mason, Flavius Josephus. Translation and Commentary. IX. Life of Josephus (Leiden: Brill, 2001), pp. XXXVI-XLIII. As Mason points out, on several occasions Josephus denigrates the use of rhetoric (War 1.2, 16; Life 40-42; Apion 1.23-25), while using it himself.
For the ambiguity regarding the type of honey described in New Testament texts, see J.A. Kelhoffer, The Diet of John the Baptist: 'Locusts and Wild Honey' in Synoptic and Patristic Interpretation (WUNT, 176
  • J C Exum
J.C. Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOTSup, 163; Shef eld: Shef eld Academic Press, 1993), p. 52. 33. T. Forti, 'Bee's Honey-From Realia to Metaphor in Biblical Wisdom Literature', VT 56 (2006), pp. 327-41. For the ambiguity regarding the type of honey described in New Testament texts, see J.A. Kelhoffer, The Diet of John the Baptist: 'Locusts and Wild Honey' in Synoptic and Patristic Interpretation (WUNT, 176; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), pp. 81-99.
The Adventures of Jonathan
  • See Begg
See Begg, 'The Adventures of Jonathan', p. 26.
The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel
  • C See
  • Van Dam
See C. Van Dam, The Urim and Thummim: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997), p. 161. 38. Begg, Commentary, p. 133 n. 466.
Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of
  • S Driver
S. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of
According to Ulrich, Josephus was often based on a Greek text much like the supposed proto-Lucianic recension. See E.C. Ulrich, The Qumran Text of Samuel and Josephus (HSM, 19
  • M H Segal
M.H. Segal, The Books of Samuel (Jerusalem: Kiriath Sefer, 1956 [Hebrew]), p. 113 42. According to Ulrich, Josephus was often based on a Greek text much like the supposed proto-Lucianic recension. See E.C. Ulrich, The Qumran Text of Samuel and Josephus (HSM, 19; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978); idem, 'Josephus' Biblical Text for the Books of Samuel', in Feldman and Hata (eds.), Josephus, the Bible and History, pp. 81-96. However, we did not nd evidence in the present study for his conviction.
(Hebrew). I have tried to show in my earlier works on Josephus that a fruitful comparison between the MT and his rewriting of the biblical text may be gained through a solid acquaintance with the unique features of biblical narratives
  • M Garsiel
M. Garsiel, 'The Battle at Michmash (I Samuel 13-14): A Historical-Literary Analysis', in U. Simon and M. Goshen (eds.), Studies in Bible and Exegesis-Arie Toeg in Memoriam (Ramat Gan: BIU Press, 1980), p. 31 n. 39 (Hebrew). I have tried to show in my earlier works on Josephus that a fruitful comparison between the MT and his rewriting of the biblical text may be gained through a solid acquaintance with the unique features of biblical narratives. See, most recently, M. Avioz, 'Josephus' Portrait of Michal', Jewish Studies Quarterly 18 (2011), pp. 1-18.
Hens-Piazza cites both those scholars who prefer the LXX over the MT and their opponents. Targum Jonathan and the Peshitta translate here 'bring it in truth' and 'give sincerity' (respectively). See E. van Staalduine-Sulman, The Targum of Samuel (Studies in the Aramaic Interpretation of Scripture
  • G Hens-Piazza
G. Hens-Piazza, Of Methods, Monarchs, and Meanings: A Socio-Rhetorical Approach to Exegesis (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996), p. 63 n. 57. Hens-Piazza cites both those scholars who prefer the LXX over the MT and their opponents. Targum Jonathan and the Peshitta translate here 'bring it in truth' and 'give sincerity' (respectively). See E. van Staalduine-Sulman, The Targum of Samuel (Studies in the Aramaic Interpretation of Scripture; Leiden: Brill, 2002), p. 316. 41. See the de nition of Hellenization in n. 4. 42. According to Ulrich, Josephus was often based on a Greek text much like the supposed proto-Lucianic recension. See E.C. Ulrich, The Qumran Text of Samuel and Josephus (HSM, 19; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978); idem, 'Josephus' Biblical Text for the Books of Samuel', in Feldman and Hata (eds.), Josephus, the Bible and History, pp. 81-96. However, we did not nd evidence in the present study for his conviction.