Agents of Exaltation Monotheism, Divine Supremacy, and Focal Institutions in the Book of Chronicles Público
Lynch, Matthew Jeremy (2012)
Abstract
Abstract
Agents of Exaltation
Monotheism, Divine Supremacy, and Focal Institutions in the Book of
Chronicles
Despite the ceaseless flood of publications on the origins of
monotheism, and its
alleged "refinement" in the exilic period, attention to the
varieties
and functions of monotheistic discourse in the Persian/early
Hellenistic period literature is
scant by comparison. I contend that this is due, in part, to
scholarly assumptions that
monotheism necessitated a departure from the particularist
commitments to institutions that
defined Israel's life as a nation in the land. This study
questions
such assumptions through an investigation of the book of
Chronicles, a work with clear
monotheistic rhetoric and clear particularist commitments to
Israel's temple, priesthood, and
kingship. My primary questions are, in what kind of theological
world does monotheistic rhetoric emerge
in the book of Chronicles? How does Chronicles conceive the
interrelation and interaction between Yhwh qua
supreme deity and Israel's particularist commitments to the temple,
priesthood, and kingship? I suggest that (a) Chronicles depicts
a highly integrated divine and
institutional world, such that (b) expressions of divine supremacy
and sole divinity have
correlate expressions and manifestations in Israel's focal
institutions (the temple, priesthood,
and Davidic king).
To argue this, I investigate the nature of monotheizing processes
in the book of Chronicles. By monotheizing processes, I refer
to
the various means by which Chronicles expresses and creates the
conditions for the
expression of Yhwh's oneness and absolute distinctiveness.
Monotheism and divine exaltation are part of a
mutually reinforcing dynamic between Yhwh and Israel's focal
institutions (the temple,
priesthood, and kingship). This study also attends to ways that
Chronicles
expresses and navigates tensions between divine supremacy and the
institutional flaws that
were part of Israel's history. As such, it also challenges another
scholarly perspective that
sees monotheism-institutional relationships as only fatal in
Israel's thinking and experience.
Chronicles avoids claiming an intrinsic or necessary
connection
between divine supremacy and Israel's institutions, but maintains
vigorously its ongoing
possibility. My study thus recovers a notion of the participation
of institutions in divine
reality by focusing on the idea that supposedly severed their
bond-monotheism.
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
I. Divine-Institutional Interactions and the Study of
Monotheism 3
II. Thesis Questions and Statement 14
III. A Brief History of Research on Monotheism in Chronicles 15
IV. Defining and Conceptualizing Monotheism 19
A. Divine Oneness 21
B. Divinity 22
C. Divine Existence 24
D. Toward a Conception of Monotheism 25
V. An Approach to Understanding Monotheism and its
Application to Chronicles 30
A. Modes of Monotheizing 31
B. Configurations of Divine Exaltation 38
1. Homological Configurations 40
2. Homologies in Chronicles 45
C. Rhetoric of Exaltation 46
D. Summary of an Approach to Divine Exaltation and its
Application to Chronicles 51
VI. Literary Considerations 52
VII. Historical Considerations 56
A. Population and Economic Collapse 59
B. Religious Distinctiveness in Yehud? 61
C. Yahwistic Diversity 63
D. Non-Yahwistic Diversity in Yehud and its Environs 67
E. Persian Imperium 68
VIII. Limitations 72
IX. Shape of the Study 73
CHAPTER 2: THE TEMPLE AND DIVINE EXALTATION 74
I. Functional Participation: Yhwh's Exclusive Temple and the
Disappearance of Syncretism 78
A. Saul's Reign 82
B. Solomon's Reign 85
C. Athaliah's Reign 90
D. Joash's Reign 91
E. Ahaz's Reign 92
F. Hezekiah's Reign 97
G. Manasseh's Reign 97
H. Josiah's Reign 101
I. Conclusions 105
II. Qualitative Participation 107
A. Solomon's Exchange with Huram Part I: Yhwh's Fame
(2 Chr 1:18-2:17[2:1-18]). 109
B. Solomon's Exchange with Huram Part II: Idol Polemic
(2 Chr 1:18-2:17) 114
III. Material Participation: The Jerusalem Temple and Divine
Initiative 127
IV. Chapter Conclusions 141
EXCURSUS: The Temple as a Divine Image 143
CHAPTER 3: THE PRIESTHOOD AND DIVINE EXALTATION 146
I. Introduction to Priests in Chronicles 148
II. The Divine Election, Selection (by Lot), and Design of the
Priesthood 157
A. Divine Election 158
B. Divine Selection by Lot 160
C. Divine Design 160
III. The Priesthood's Inaugural Hymn (1 Chr 16:8-36) 163
A. Paradigmatic Duties 163
B. Paradigmatic Hymn 165
1. "Beyond all gods" 168
2. "Hand-made gods" 169
3. "But Yhwh made the heavens" 171
4. "Before him … in his place" 172
5. "Transferring" wealth to the One King 175
6. The Sanctuary as the Locus of the Supreme God 176
7. Conclusions 177
IV. Divine Fullness and Perpetuity: 2 Chr 2 Revisited 178
V. Jeroboam's Revolt and its Cultic Implications 183
A. Part I: The Formation of the Kingdom of Judah
(2 Chr 11:13-17) 183
B. Part II: Abijah's Polemic against the Kingdom of Israel
(2 Chr 13:4-12) 189
1. Human-made Priesthoods 192
2. A Priesthood Like the Nations' 197
C. Conclusions 198
VI. Cult Reforms and Priestly Appointments 200
A. Asa's Reforms (2 Chr 15) 201
B. Jehoshaphat's Reforms (2 Chr 17, 19) 205
C. Athaliah's Reign and Jehoiada's Reform
(2 Chr 22:10-23:21) 207
D. Hezekiah's Reforms and Ceremony (2 Chr 29-31) 210
E. Josiah's Reform (2 Chr 35) 214
F. Conclusions 219
VII. Levites as Divine Vanguard and Heralds of Yhwh's Presence
(2 Chr 20) 220
A. Vanguard Motif 221
B. Levitical Ark-Bearing and Musical Duties 225
1. Levitical Music as the Logical Extension of
Ark-Bearing 225
2. The Levitical Vanguard in 2 Chr 20 231
C. Conclusions 236
VIII. Chapter Conclusions 238
CHAPTER 4: KINGSHIP AND DIVINE EXALTATION 241
I. The Supreme King: Davidic Devotion and the Practices of
Monotheism 244
A. David's Devotion to the Ark 244
B. David's Last Will and Testament (1 Chr 29:10-19) 247
C. Conclusions 252
II. Participation: Shared Human and Divine Kingship 254
A. Davidic Participation in Divine Kingship 254
1. David Exalted as Military Commander 254
2. The Davidic Covenant and/as the Revelation of
Yhwh's Sole Divinity (1 Chr 17:16b-27) 257
3. Co-recipient of Worship? 265
B. Solomonic Participation in Divine Kingship 268
C. Davidic-Solomonic Rule: Synthetic and Summary
Reflections 276
D. Post-Solomonic Participation in Divine Kingship 278
1. Jehoshaphat 279 2. Hezekiah 285
III. Differentiating Human and Divine Rule 291
IV. Chapter Conclusions 296
CHAPTER 5: SYNTHETIC CONCLUSIONS 302
I. Modes of Monotheizing 303
II. Configurations of Divine Exaltation 306
III. Rhetoric of Exaltation 315
APPENDIX: DIVINE-INSTITUTIONAL SUPREMACY AND MONOTHEISM
IN SAMUEL-KINGS AND CHRONICLES 317
I. The Nation and Monotheism 318
A. Samuel-Kings 318
B. Chronicles 325
II. Monotheism and Divine Presence in/at the Temple 326
A. Samuel-Kings 326
B. Chronicles 330
III. The Geography of Monotheism 335
A. Samuel-Kings 335
B. Chronicles 338
IV. Summary of Comparison 340
A. Samuel-Kings 340
B. Chronicles 341
BIBLIOGRAPHY 344
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