Battle of the Gods: The God of Israel Versus Marduk of Babylon

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> Battle of the Gods: The God of Israel Versus Marduk of Babylon

Battle of the Gods: The God of Israel Versus Marduk of Babylon

A Literary / Theological Interpretation of Jeremiah 50-51

M. Kessler

Books

Available
Publication year: 2003


Series:	Studia Semitica Neerlandica, 42
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 23 23909 3
ISBN-10:	90 23 23909 1

Cover:	Hardback
Number of pages:	274 pp.

List price:	€ 99.00 / US$ 147.00

Table of contents

From the Contents

Chapter One: History of Scholarship

A Introduction
1. The Early Critical Period
2. The Later Critical Period
3. Bernhard Duhm and the Modern Era
4. Recent Scholarship on Jeremiah
5. Dissertations on Jeremiah 50-51
B Unresolved Issues
1. Historical Questions
2. Literary Questions
3. Diachronics/Synchronics

Chapter Two: From Genres to Motifs

1. Judgment Oracles
2. Oracles of Promise
3. Calls to Flee
4. Calls to Battle
5. Declarations of Defeat
6. Others
7. Narrative
8. Conclusion

Chapter Three: Literary Commentary – Introduction

A The Difficulty of Biblical Interpretation
B The Interpretative Agenda
C The Challenge of Segmenting the Text
D A Proposal for Segmenting
1. General Comparison with other Jeremian OAN
2. The “Great Reversal” Theme
3. The Recurrent Patterns: “War” and “Return to Zion”
4. The Spirit of the anti-Babylon Oracles
E Significant Verbal Markers

Chapter Four: Literary Commentary on Jeremiah 50

Verse by verse commentary
1. 50:1-3 Introduction and Focus
2. 50:4-10 A Triptych
3. 50:11-16 Flee Babylon, the Doomed City!
4. 50:17-20 Israel Hunted, Avenged, Restored, Forgiven
5. 50:21-28 YHWH at War against Babylon
6. 50:29-30 Turning of the Tide
7. 50:31-32 The Fall of Babylon’s Pride
8. 50:33-46 Israel Redeemed

Chapter Five: Literary Commentary on Jeremiah 51

Verse by verse commentary
9. 51:1-6 Babylon Indicted
10. 51:7-10 The Butler who got Sick
11. 51:11-14 YHWH swears to Execute his Plans
12. 51:15-19 Doxology: YHWH and Israel
13. 51:20-24 Flashback on Babylon
14. 41:25-26 A Magnificent City Reduced to Rubbish
15. 51:27-33 The Battlefield a Threshing Floor
16. 51:34-40 Israel Redeemed
17. 51:41-46 Lament Babylon and Leave her Behind!
18. 51:47-53 Punishment on Babylon and her Gods
19. 51:54-57 Babylon Collapsed
20. 51:58 Echoes of Babylon: Utter Futility
21. 51:59-64 Weighty Postscript

Chapter Six: Literary Summary

A Rhetorical Inventory
B Structure
1. General Overview
2. Conclusion
C Keyword Structure
1. Verbal Roots
2. Concluding Comments
D Diachronic Postscript

Chapter Seven: The Jeremiah Oracles against Babylon in Context

A Context in the Jeremian Oracles
1. The Sequence of the List of Nations
2. Comparative Inventory of Motifs
3. Overview of the Jeremian OAN
4. The Oracles against Moab
5. The Oracles against Edom
6. The Oracles against Babylon
B Context within the Canonical Book of Jeremiah
1. The Rise and Fall of Babylon: The Great Reversal
C In the Context of the Isaian OAN
1. Isaiah 13
2. Isaiah 14
3. Isaiah 21:1-10
4. Conclusion on the Isaian Oracles
5. Isaiah 47
D Summary

Chapter Eight: Jeremiah 50-51 against the Background of Babylonian History

1. The Question of Historicity
2. Geographical Aspects
3. The growing Influence of Babylon
4. Nebuchadnezzar
5. Babylon’s Decline after Nebuchadnezzar
6. The Capture of Babylon
7. Biblical and extra-biblical History
Chapter Nine: Summarizing Conclusion

A Jeremiah the Prophet
B Authorship and the “Historical Jeremiah”
C The Fate of the Exiles
D The “Exodus” Motif
E The Dating of the Oracles
F The City of Babylon
1. Biblical Aspects
2. The Tower of Babel
3. Characterization of Babylon
4. Sin and Guilt
5. Babylon versus Judah
6. Feminine and Masculine Imagery
7. Babylon in the New Testament
G Marduk H YHWH, Covenant Partner with Israel

About the author(s)

Martin Kessler (1927) holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from Brandeis University, and a M.Sc. from Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg. His publications include Kornelis Miskotte. A Biblical Theology (1997) and, together with K.A. Deurloo, Book of Beginnings.
A Commentary on Genesis (2003).

This monograph is a literary study of the oracles against Babylon in Jeremiah chapters 50-51. They form the climax of the foreign oracle collection in the book of Jeremiah. Included are a survey of early scholarship on these chapters, a discussion of genres and motifs, verbal components, and a succinct survey of the historical context. However, the major emphasis is directed to the dynamic of these oracles as a literary creation with a message. That message is directed to Judah and Israel, who are urged to flee a doomed city with its idolatrous civilization, and to return to their homeland, to Jerusalem, to enter a permanent covenant with YHWH the God of their fathers.
Throughout, the literature is discussed in its natural contexts: within the oracle collection in Jeremiah, in comparison with the Isaian oracles against Babylon, and within the canonical book of Jeremiah, demonstrating the climactic position of these oracles.

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