Debating Authority: Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets

Human leadership is a multifaceted topic in the Hebrew Bible. This holds true not only for the final form of the texts, but also for their literary history. A large range of distributions emerges from the successive sharpening or modification of different aspects of leadership. While some of them are combined to a complex figuration of leadership, others remain reserved for certain individuals. Furthermore, it can be considered a consensus within the scholarly debate, that concepts of leadership have a certain connection to the history of ancient Israel which is, though, hard to ascertain. Up to now, all these aspects of (human) leadership have been treated in a rather isolated manner. Against this background,the volume focuses on the different concepts of leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. Concepts like "priest", "prophet", "judge", and "king" are examined in a literary, (religious-/tradition-) historical and theological perspective. Hence, the volume contributes to biblical theology and sheds new light on the redaction/reception history of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. Not least, it provides valuable insights into the history of religious and/or political "authorities" in Israel and Early Judaism(s).

Frontmatter --; Preface /; Table of Contents --; Debating Authority - Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets: An Introduction /; Concepts of Leadership in the Book of Exodus /; Moses vs. Aaron: The Clash of Prophetic and Priestly Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch /; Aaron's Vestments in Exodus 28 and Priestly Leadership /; Priestly Leadership in the Book of Leviticus: A Hidden Agenda /; Leadership and Conflict: Modelling the Charisma of Numbers /; Debated Leadership: Conflicts of Authority and Leadership in Num 16-17 /; "[...] and the LORD's Anger was Kindled against Israel" (Num 25:3) - Who's in Charge and Who's to Blame?: Punishment, Intercession, and Leadership-Related Competences in Num 25 /; "You Shall Walk Exactly on the Way which YHWH Your God has Commanded You": Characteristics of Deuteronomy's Concepts of Leadership /; Competing Competencies: The Struggle for Authority in Deut 17:8-13 in Comparative Perspective /; Post mortem Mosi: Conceptualizing Leadership in the Book of Joshua /; Gideon, a Liminal Leader: The Transformation of Leadership Concepts in Judg 6-8 /; The Structures of Offices in the Heroic Narratives and Judge Narratives and Their Literary-Historical Development /; Samuel's Political Career /; Saul, the Charismatic King: Concepts of Political Leadership in 1Sam 11 /; From David to Solomon, from Crisis to Leadership /; Prophetic Leadership in the Books of Kings /; The Unique Status of Jehu's Dynasty /; Debating Authority - Concepts of Leadership in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets: A Synthesis /; List of Contributors --; Index of Ancient Sources / Pyschny, Katharina / Schulz, Sarah --; Pyschny, Katharina / Schulz, Sarah --; Oswald, Wolfgang --; Berner, Christoph --; Nihan, Christophe / Rhyder, Julia --; Hieke, Thomas --; Frevel, Christian --; Pyschny, Katharina --; Schäfers, Kirsten M. --; Ebach, Ruth --; Samuel, Harald --; Krause, Joachim J. --; Schulz, Sarah / Schäfer, Manuel --; Focken, Friedrich-Emanuel --; Bezzel, Hannes --; Müller, Reinhard --; Steiner, Till Magnus --; Sauerwein, Ruth --; Robker, Jonathan Miles --; Pyschny, Katharina / Schulz, Sarah --