Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations x
Introduction
Issues and Procedure 1
History of Interpretation 2
1 The Form-critical and Traditio-historical Approaches 3
2 The History of Religions Approach 10
3 Summary 15
Part 1 Motifs of Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East
Introduction 27
Chapter 1 Mesopotamian Literary Texts 30
1 The Exaltation of Inanna and the Typology of Exaltation 30
2 The Nur-Adad Letter 33
3 The Tukulti-Ninurta Epic 35
4 The Erra Epic 42
5 Enuma eliš 48
Chapter 2 The Assyrian Annals 59
Chapter 3 Mesopotamian Iconography and the Cult 74
1 Divine Symbols 74
2 Cultic Processions 76
a The Gudea Cylinders 77
b The Journey of Ninurta 83
c The Journey of Nininsinna 86
3 Summary: Annals, Iconography, and Cult 88
Chapter 4 Northwest Semitic Texts 96
Summary 104
Excursus: Presence and Guidance in Pre-Mosaic Traditions 106
Part II Motifs of Divine Presence in the Old Testament
Introduction 120
Chapter 5 The Reed Sea and Sinai 123
1 The Song of the Sea 123
2 The Reed Sea Narrative, Sinai, and the Figure of Moses 130
Chapter 6 Moses and the Divine Presence 144
1 Exodus 33.7-11 144
2 Numbers 11 and 12 l45
Chapter 7 Israel and the Divine Presence: Exodus 23-34 153
Chapter 8 The Departure from Sinai 164
1 Numbers 1.1-10.28 164
2 Numbers 10.29-36 168
Chapter 9 Wilderness March and Conquest-The "Classic Epiphany Texts" 176
l Habakkuk 3 176
2 Psalm 68 177
3 Deuteronomy 33 178
4 Judges 5 182
Chapter 10 The Jordan River 196
1 The Early Narrative 196
2 The Deuteronomistic Redaction 197
Chapter 11 The Davidic Empire 213
1 Military Victory and Cultic Procession 214
2 Royal and Divine Exaltation 218
Summary 233
Appendix 1 Supplementary Cuneiform Texts 245
Appendix 2 Terminology of Divine Presence in the Old Testament 252
Illustrations 263
Selected Bibliography 271
Index 287
List of Illustrations
Figure
1 Assyrian standards 265
2 Assyrian standard in war chariot 266
3 Assyrian standard in camp 266
4 Bull standard from Ras Shamra 267
5
a Bull standard and procession from Mari 267
b Bull standard from Mari 268
