The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis
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2005
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu11805432132021-08-03T05:52:20Z The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis Pace, Carl Elliot This paper is about the imagery and ideology of the desert in the Hebrew Bible. It is an investigation of how the biblical authors conceptualized the desert as a place and as a period in Israel's history. A necessary part of the investigation into the biblical ideology of the desert is the discussion of the "nomadic ideal," an hypothesis proposed at the turn of the century. This hypothesis, though it has been largely dismissed, is an important milestone in the discussion of the ideology of the desert and the nomad in the Bible that cannot be ignored. The hypothesis claimed that the biblical prophets idealized the desert as the home of Yahweh and the original homeland of Israel, to which the prophets wished to return. The premise of this paper is to summarize the main arguments and to define the state of the field of research on the biblical ideology of the desert. This investigation has included the discussion of the "nomadic ideal" and its implications. A review has been conducted of four key works: those of two proponents of the "nomadic ideal," K.Budde and J.W. Flight, and those of two opponents of the "nomadic ideal," P. Riemann and S. Talmon. Each work has been reviewed on its own and critiqued. Special attention has been given to two passages in the Bible that have become standard in the discussion: Hos 2:16-17 and Jer 2:2ff. Language materials in Hebrew, Akkadian and Ugaritic have been used to establish a contextual understanding of the biblical ideology of the desert. An investigation has been conducted into Mesopotamian ideologies of the desert and the city in order to suggest possible cultural contexts for the Israelite perspective on both. Various ancient near eastern texts have been cited as evidence of a common ideology of the desert. The conclusion reached in this paper is that the biblical authors held a negative perspective on the desert. The desert was chaos, the home of demons, a place of destruction, and the realization of divine punishment. There is no idealization of the desert or the nomadic life in the prophets. The positive value found in Hos 2:16-17 and Jer 2:2 is not associated with the desert. It is the result of other themes in each passage that implicate Yahweh as the source of positive value. Even in these passages, the desert does not lose its negative connotation. Rather, a negative connotation of the desert is necessary to the function of many of the relevant passages. It is hoped that the reader will gain an adequate knowledge of all the key issues in the discussion. Further, it is hoped that this analysis will function both as a tool for advancing research in the area of ancient Israelite and ancient near eastern ideologies of space and as a corrective measure for other scholars, in light of the fact that the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis has unjustifiably survived in the works of recent scholars, such as B. Levine (1993), B. Bandstra (1999), and M. Homan (2002) 2005 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180543213 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180543213 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| author |
Pace, Carl Elliot |
| spellingShingle |
Pace, Carl Elliot The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| author_facet |
Pace, Carl Elliot |
| author_sort |
Pace, Carl Elliot |
| title |
The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| title_short |
The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| title_full |
The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| title_fullStr |
The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The biblical perspective on the Midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| title_sort |
biblical perspective on the midbār & the "nomadic ideal" hypothesis |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2005 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1180543213 |
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AT pacecarlelliot thebiblicalperspectiveonthemidbarthenomadicidealhypothesis AT pacecarlelliot biblicalperspectiveonthemidbarthenomadicidealhypothesis |
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