The biblical authors take well-known expressions and motifs from the ancient Near Eastern milieu and apply them to the person and work of Yahweh, and not to the other gods of the ancient world. Polemical theology is the use by biblical writers of the thought forms and stories that were common in ancient Near Eastern culture, while filling them with radical new meanings. In his second chapter, Currid begins by defining what he means by "polemical theology," his key analytical concept and central theoretical perspective (p.
#The book of the heavenly cow archive#
One of the few major discoveries of this period was that of "an archive at Elba (Tell Mardikh) in 1976," Elba being the oldest known West Semitic language, and the Elba tablets preceding "the time of Abraham by at least 450 years" (p. 21), began after the Second World War and continues to the present day. Currid's fourth and final stage, the "age of synthesis" (p. Other important discoveries of this era included the Ugaritic texts at Ras Shamra, the Human cuneiform archives at Nuzi, and a similar find at the Mesopotamian city of Mari, many tablets of which reflect a setting "quite similar to the patriarchal period of biblical history" (p. 19), including the previously undeciphered Hittite. A (third) period of "new horizons" in ANE studies was initiated in 1906 when excavations at the Hittite city of Bogazkoy uncovered "thousands of inscriptions in several languages" (p. 18), for example, the word tehom ('deep') in Gen 1:2. Thus, many scholars of this period "believed that the biblical accounts of creation and the flood were stripped of their original polytheism and of many pagan elements," though remnants of such elements "remained in the text" (p. 15).Ĭurrid's second stage, "the period of suspicion" began with the discovery of the Assyrian flood story by George Smith in 1873 (p. 14), and over in Mesopotamia, the Annals of Sargon II, who epigraphically recorded his deportation of citizens from totally defeated Israel (p. 13), the Rosetta Stone, whose hieroglyphic script was later deciphered to "open up the world of ancient Egypt" (p. During this period, some ground-breaking discoveries were made, such as the Valley of the Kings near Thebes (p. Therefore, according to Currid, the first great advance in the field may be dated to 1798 when Napoleon invaded Egypt, including along with his expeditionary force a number of scientists-"scholars, architects, and draftsmen whose primary purpose was to survey the ancient monuments" of the land (p. Ancient historians, such as Herodotus, did not have much interest in archeological details. 11) of the history of ANE scholarship apportions the field into four temporal stages: First, "the beginnings of research in the ancient Near East (1798-1872)" (p. 1), followed by "the nature of polemical thought and writing" (ch. He thus begins with "a brief history of ancient Near Eastern studies" (ch. 9).Ĭurrid leads off with two foundational chapters that lay the groundwork for specific topics or aspects of the debate that are dealt with thereafter. He states his central thesis up front in the Prologue, a firm theological perspective that is reflected in his treatment of the various issues taken up in subsequent chapters: "the Old Testament worldview is unique in the ancient Near East, and this is immediately confirmed by its all-pervasive monotheism" (p. The author's modest aim is "to advance the debate a little, stir up some thoughts, and perhaps to make progress in the discussion" (p. 9-10, all page references are to the book under consideration). He characterizes his book as "introductory," that is, not specifically written for scholars as "exemplary," that is, not exhaustive and "not reductionistic," that is, not seeking to simplify the complexities that are there (pp. Currid acknowledges this, but also recognizes the importance of this subject for a proper understanding of many passages in the OT. The nature of the relationship between the writings of the HB and other ANE literature is both complicated and controversial. He has extensive archaeological experience in Israel and Tunisia and has authored several books and commentaries.Īgainst the Gods offers a brief, but remarkably broad introduction to the question of how the OT relates and responds to certain prominent religious ideas of Israel's neighbors in the ANE. John Currid (PhD, University of Chicago) is a Professor of OT at the Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina and senior minister at Ballantyne Presbyterian Church. Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament, Wheaton, 111.: Crossway, 2013.
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