Biblical Terror: Why Law and Restoration in the Bible Depend Upon Fear 9780567670816, 9780567670847, 9780567670823

Table of contents :
Cover
Half-title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
Chapter 1. Introduction
Premise, Authorial Perspective, and Understood Audience
Caveats: What Must Be Said Before What Can Be Said
I Did It My Way: How Visions of a Restored World Reflect the Subject's Desire
Defining Revelation, Law, and Restoration as Pillars of Monotheism Within the Context of This Study
Understanding the Role of Conflict and Anxiety in the Centralizing of Law and Restoration in the Bible
Understanding the Importance of Revelation for Law and Restoration Within the Biblical Texts
How the Theories of Foucault, Deleuze, and Žižek Are Helpful
Description of Chapters
Chapter 2. The Problems of Revelation, Ritualizatio, Contradiction, and Law's Dependence Upon Them
Revelation as a Strategy for Difference
Biblical Law and Its Encouragement of Ritualization Are Attempts to Stabilize Contradiction
Why Biblical Ritual Preserves Difference
Law Defines Ethics and Preserves Difference
How Law Might Be an Expression of Power
Law, Intermarriage, Prejudice: Expressions of Identity Through Contrapositional Strategies
Casting Žižek Upon the Contraposition Between Annihilation and Restoration
Contraposition in Intermarriage
Why Prohibiting Intermarriage Interrupted the Social Order
Chapter 3. Restoration in Haggai-Zechariah as Dependent Upon Difference
The (De)Constructive Role of Ideology
Saving the Temple from the “Other”
Jerusalem Temple as a Potentializing Symbol
The Necessity of Violence for Utopia
Petersen's Typology of the Profane "Other," or Satan
The Law as Constructive in Light of Petersen's Typology
Finding Order in Restoration
Chapter 4. The Role of Exclusion in Monotheistic Law
Let's Dispense With Theocracy
Exclusion Is the Dark Side of Monotheistic Law
Biblical Law in the Discourse of Power
The Role of the Social Body in the Law: Ritualization and Exclusion
Law as a Negative, Repressive Power?
Legal Taboos or Categorical Restrictions: Further Discussion on Legalized Strategies of Exclusion
The Intent of Monotheistic Law Was to Create a New Normative Order
The Reactionary Nature of Law?
A Final Word on Law as a Framework for Restoration
Chapter 5. Constructivism as a Consequence of Exile
Understanding the Social and Political Aspects and Impacts of Constructivism
“We Are the World”: Defining "People" as a Shared Object in Malachi
“We Bow Down at Your Temple… and Give Thanks”: Temple as a Shared Object in Haggai-Zechariah
Foucault's Theory on Power Helps Us Discern Some Important Things About the Temple
Ezra-Nehemiah: The Law as a Lurking Body
"I'm Better Than You": Deutero-Isaiah the Ideal Social-Political Body
“This Land Is My Land”: "Law" and the Power of Land Claim as Shared Objects in Jeremiah
Chapter 6. Differentiating Exiles
Difference and Distinction: A Primer
The Exile as a “Univocal” Event and Its Quality as a Symbol of Difference
The Role of a Value System in Self-Preservation
The Necessity of Exile for Restoration Betrays Utopian Desire
Chapter 7. Returning to The Centrality of Religion
The Problematic Dichotomization of Religion and Society in Ancient Israel
Problematic Reconstructions
Joseph Blenkinsopp's "Sectarian Phase"
Fear + Desire = Monotheism
The Impotence and Power of Revelation
Bibliography
Index of References
Index of Authors

Citation preview

Biblical Terror

BIBLICAL TERROR Why Law and Restoration in the Bible Depend Upon Fear Jeremiah W. Cataldo

T&T CLARK Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, T&T CLARK and the T&T Clark logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published in Great Britain 2017 Paperback edition first published 2018 Copyright © Jeremiah W. Cataldo, 2017 Jeremiah W. Cataldo has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. This work is published open access subject to a Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 licence (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). You may re-use, distribute, and reproduce this work in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided you give attribution to the copyright holder and the publisher and provide a link to the Creative Commons licence. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-0-56767-081-6 PB: 978-0-56768-262-8 ePDF: 978-0-56767-082-3 ePUB: 978-0-56767-083-0 Typeset by Forthcoming Publications (www.forthpub.com) To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.

For Ruth, a woman of grace and poise.

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Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1 ,ඇඍඋඈൽඎർඍංඈඇ Premise, Authorial Perspective, and Understood Audience Caveats: What Must Be Said Before What Can Be Said I Did It My Way: How Visions of a Restored World 5HÀHFWWKH6XEMHFW¶V'HVLUH 'H¿QLQJ5HYHODWLRQ/DZDQG5HVWRUDWLRQ as Pillars of Monotheism Within the Context of This Study 8QGHUVWDQGLQJWKH5ROHRI&RQÀLFWDQG$Q[LHW\ LQWKH&HQWUDOL]LQJRI/DZDQG5HVWRUDWLRQLQWKH%LEOH Understanding the Importance of Revelation for Law and Restoration Within the Biblical Texts +RZWKH7KHRULHVRI)RXFDXOW'HOHX]HDQGäLåHN$UH+HOSIXO 'HVFULSWLRQRI&KDSWHUV Chapter 2 7ඁൾ3උඈൻඅൾආඌඈൿ5ൾඏൾඅൺඍංඈඇ5ංඍඎൺඅංඓൺඍංඈඇ&ඈඇඍඋൺൽංർඍංඈඇ, ൺඇൽ/ൺඐ¶ඌ'ൾඉൾඇൽൾඇർൾ8ඉඈඇ7ඁൾආ 5HYHODWLRQDVD6WUDWHJ\IRU'L൵HUHQFH Biblical Law and Its Encouragement of Ritualization Are Attempts to Stabilize Contradiction :K\%LEOLFDO5LWXDO3UHVHUYHV'L൵HUHQFH /DZ'H¿QHV(WKLFVDQG3UHVHUYHV'L൵HUHQFH How Law Might Be an Expression of Power /DZ,QWHUPDUULDJH3UHMXGLFH([SUHVVLRQVRI,GHQWLW\7KURXJK Contrapositional Strategies &DVWLQJäLåHN8SRQWKH&RQWUDSRVLWLRQ%HWZHHQ$QQLKLODWLRQ and Restoration Contraposition in Intermarriage :K\3URKLELWLQJ,QWHUPDUULDJH,QWHUUXSWHGWKH6RFLDO2UGHU

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Contents

Chapter 3 5ൾඌඍඈඋൺඍංඈඇංඇ+ൺ඀඀ൺං±=ൾർඁൺඋංൺඁൺඌ'ൾඉൾඇൽൾඇඍ8ඉඈඇ'ංൿൿൾඋൾඇർൾ The (De)Constructive Role of Ideology Saving the Temple from the “Other” Jerusalem Temple as a Potentializing Symbol The Necessity of Violence for Utopia 3HWHUVHQ¶V7\SRORJ\RIWKH3URIDQH³2WKHU´RU6DWDQ 7KH/DZDV&RQVWUXFWLYHLQ/LJKWRI3HWHUVHQ¶V7\SRORJ\ )LQGLQJ2UGHULQ5HVWRUDWLRQ &KDSWHU 7ඁൾ5ඈඅൾඈൿ(එർඅඎඌංඈඇංඇ0ඈඇඈඍඁൾංඌඍංർ/ൺඐ /HW¶V'LVSHQVH:LWK7KHRFUDF\ Exclusion Is the Dark Side of Monotheistic Law Biblical Law in the Discourse of Power The Role of the Social Body in the Law: Ritualization and Exclusion /DZDVD1HJDWLYH5HSUHVVLYH3RZHU" Legal Taboos or Categorical Restrictions: )XUWKHU'LVFXVVLRQRQ/HJDOL]HG6WUDWHJLHVRI([FOXVLRQ The Intent of Monotheistic Law Was to Create D1HZ1RUPDWLYH2UGHU 7KH5HDFWLRQDU\1DWXUHRI/DZ" A Final Word on Law as a Framework for Restoration Chapter 5 &ඈඇඌඍඋඎർඍංඏංඌආൺඌൺ&ඈඇඌൾඊඎൾඇർൾඈൿ(එංඅൾ Understanding the Social and Political Aspects and Impacts of Constructivism “We Are the World”: 'H¿QLQJ³3HRSOH´DVD6KDUHG2EMHFWLQ0DODFKL “We Bow Down at Your Temple…and Give Thanks”: 7HPSOHDVD6KDUHG2EMHFWLQ+DJJDL±=HFKDULDK )RXFDXOW¶V7KHRU\RQ3RZHU+HOSV8V'LVFHUQ Some Important Things About the Temple (]UD±1HKHPLDK7KH/DZDVD/XUNLQJ%RG\ ³,¶P%HWWHU7KDQ0LQQHDSROLV)RUWUHVV@ 6HHDOVR3KLOLS5'DYLHV “Urban Religion and Rural Religion,” in Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah, ed. Francesca Stavrakopoulou and John Barton (London: T&T Clark, 2010), ±

1. Introduction

13

entire institution crashing down. For the terrorists, even if through twisted logic, these offensive acts were defensive in that they were preemptive attempts to remove external road blocks from the creation of an Islamic State, or political reality, a utopian world in which peace and stability, though of a particular genre, might reign. In the case of the returnees in Yehud, the intended purpose of their utopian strategies was to take aim at the dominant social-political order, to bring it crumbling down and rebuild it on the strength of divine favor. In that sense, they are revolutionary.20 0RVW VFKRODUO\ ZRUNV GHDOLQJ ZLWK 0XQLFK%HFN@±³'LH5ROOH6DPDULDVEHL der Entstehung des Judentums,” in Kleine Schriften zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel >0XQLFK&+%HFN@±  22௒&I 'DQLHO / 6PLWK ³7KH 3ROLWLFV RI (]UD 6RFLRORJLFDO ,QGLFDWRUV RI Postexilic Judaean Society,” in Second Temple Studies, 1: Persian Period, ed. Philip 5'DYLHV6KHI¿HOG6KHI¿HOG$FDGHPLF ±-RHO:HLQEHUJDQG'DQLHO/



Biblical Terror

legal agreement that depends entirely upon collective agreement that the divine (1) exists and (2) requires authorship over cultural taxonomy and social-political hierarchy—emphasizes an idealized pattern of division of labor.23 What this means is that the Bible, in its, and those of scholars who are likewise guilty, tendencies to overlook social, economic, and political realities is more characteristic of a revolutionary text written RQ WKH PDUJLQV RI SRZHU ,W LV EHVW UHDG QRW SULPDULO\ DV DQ REMHFWLYHO\ KLVWRULRJUDSKLFSURMHFWQRUDWKHRORJLFDORQHEXWDVDUDGLFDODWWHPSWWR institutionalize utopian ideals within the collective memory of a minority. Oh, what that would mean for modern monotheistic thought! Theologies based on the biblical texts must then confess to their dependence not on revelation but on revolution. I Did It My Way: How Visions of a Restored World 5HÀHFWWKH6XEMHFW¶V'HVLUH Within the biblical texts, law and restoration, as concepts foundational to group identity, represent the attitudinal position of a minority group and its expressed desire for change. Our restored world, our “heaven,” is a world in which our anxieties are alleviated. Our law is the blueprint for that world.7KH\ UHÀHFW XWRSLDQ KRSHV GLUHFWHG DW RU HPSKDVL]LQJ D VRFLHW\ Smith-Christopher, The Citizen-Temple Community-6276XS6KHI¿HOG-627 1992); Sigmund Mowinckel, Studien zu dem Buche Ezra–Nehemiah ,±,,, 2VOR 8QLYHUVLWHWVIRUODJHW  23௒-$VVPDQQZDVLQWKDWUHJDUGFRUUHFWDERXWWKHUROHRIWKH0RVDLF&RYHQDQW (cf. The Price of Monotheism [Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010], ± 1RWHDOVR6*UHHQJXVZKRDUJXHVWKDWSULHVWVWRRNRQSRVLWLRQVRIDXWKRULW\ because the religious law (of the remnant community) was given central place and legitimated as such by the imperial king (cf. “Biblical and ANE Law,” ABD± 52). One should also consult the classical work of J. Wellhausen in which he argues that the golah community constructed a theocracy based on the Mosaic archetype (cf. Prolegomena to the History of Israel, Scholars Press Reprints and Translations >$WODQWD 6FKRODUV 3UHVV @   %RWK RI WKHVH VFKRODUO\ SURSRVDOV DVVXPH DV DIIHFWLYHO\ UHDO LQ D VRFLDOSROLWLFDO VHQVH WKH GHVLUHG REMHFW²UHVWRUDWLRQ WKURXJK obedience to the law—of the returnee community. ௒2I FRXUVH ODWHU &KULVWLDQ WKHRORJLHV WHQG WR DEVROXWL]H WKH UHODWLYH )RU instance, modern, evangelical examples of this tend to emphasize the absolute natures and distinctions of heaven and hell. In his defense of the existence of hell, for example, Albert Mohler writes, “Can a truth clearly revealed in the Bible be anything OHVVWKDQJRRGIRUXV"7KH%LEOHSUHVHQWVWKHNQRZOHGJHRIKHOOMXVWDVLWSUHVHQWVWKH NQRZOHGJH RI VLQ DQG MXGJPHQW WKHVH DUH WKLQJV ZH KDG EHWWHU NQRZ *RG UHYHDOV these things to us for our good and for our redemption. In this light, the knowledge

1. Introduction

15

restructured in support of the “righteous” community as the paradigm for VRFLDOSROLWLFDO PHPEHUVKLS *LYHQ WKHLU IRFXV RQ XQIXO¿OOHG GHVLUH WKH\ are best read as describing relational strategies, those conveying the formaWLRQ RI QHZ VRFLDOSROLWLFDO LQWHUVXEMHFWLYH UHDOLWLHV ,Q RWKHU ZRUGV ODZ and restoration as relational strategies—GH¿QLQJ ZKR , DP LQ GLVWLQFWLRQ from you²UHÀHFWDQXQGHUO\LQJXWRSLDQLQWHUSUHWDWLRQRIWKH³UHDO´ZRUOG 7KHVHVWUDWHJLHV¿WYHU\ZHOOZLWK)HUQDQGR$LQVDDQG-HDQQH)HUJXVRQ¶V GH¿QLWLRQRIWKHXWRSLDQSRVLWLRQ The territory of the Utopia that “is not here” supposes then the courage to create “another world,” as it should be in the future, as we imagine it in the past or that we presume exists in “another place.” A determined construction of a counter-image of our immediate reality is necessary for this representation in time and space. That “other world,” since it is Utopian, must be ³FULWLFDO´ RI WKLV ZRUOG PXVW FRUUHFW LW DQG LPSRVHV PRGL¿FDWLRQV RQ WKH LQMXVWLFHVRILWVVWUXFWXUH25

To be clear, this does not mean that they are utopian strategies incapable RI LQÀXHQFLQJ VRFLDOSROLWLFDO EHKDYLRU DV LI WKH\ ZHUH LUUHOHYDQW WR WKH real desires of the utopian-minded community. There is a real-world practicality to them that makes even the faintest whisper of hope a deeply motivating ideal in the “real” world. For these strategies in particular it was the religious world being constructed that made them suitable for the everyday life. They became the banners behind which the footsteps of believing monotheists set the dust of history into a suffocating tizzy. &HUWDLQO\WKHVHWHUPVKDYHEHHQJLYHQJUHDWWKHRORJLFDOPHDQLQJUHÀHFWLQJ a near, or sometimes overt, supernatural presence behind the formation of an “elect” community. Take, for instance, something sometimes heard in conservative, Christian communities: God blessed me, one of his children, by giving me X dollars. But such emphases typically overlook reality in favor of the utopian ideal, an ideal that is itself the driving ideological basis behind monotheistic concepts of restoration. Never does one hear the more realistic, non-quasi-solipsistic version: What really happened was that someone fretfully dropped the only money they had to buy much needed milk for her own hungry children. And I took it for myself. Rather than VRPHELJ2WKHUZKRDFWLYHO\FRQ¿UPVWKHEHVWSHUFHSWLRQVRIRXUVHOYHV of these things is grace to us” (“Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens” [Albertmohler.com, 2010], n.p. Online: http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/01/26/ air-conditioning-hell-how-liberalism-happens/). Maybe. 25௒)HUQDQGR$LQVDDQG-HDQQH)HUJXVRQ³8WRSLD3URPLVHG/DQGV,PPLJUDWLRQ and Exile,” Diogenes 30, no. 119 (1982): 50.

16

Biblical Terror

we should instead be referring to attitudes and corresponding actions whose purpose is to interrupt surrounding cultural conventions.26 What my God wants may be a futile conversation. But what my community wants… now you and I are approaching a more accessible ground for dialogue. To avoid possibly ensnaring theological interpretations, we should begin by reading references to “God” within the Bible and its interpretation not DVELRJUDSKLFDOVWDWHPHQWVRIDQDEVROXWHUHDOLW\EXWDVSURMHFWLRQVRIDQ idealized sense of collective self.27 Within all monotheistic traditions, the

26௒8(FR¶VGLVWLQFWLRQPD\EHKHOSIXOKHUH³:KHQZHVD\WKDWLQRUGHUWRGHFLGH whether an animal is a MAMMAL or not, we have to fall back on a system of cultural conventions (or…reconstruct one), while, in order to decide if something is an egg, we intuitively put our faith in perception and an elementary knowledge of the language being used, we are saying something that goes beyond intuitive obviousness. Of course if someone has not been trained to apply the word egg to a certain CT [= Context Term] (which already considers the form, the presence of yolk and albumen, the presuppoVLWLRQWKDWLIWKLVREMHFWLVVDWRQIRUWKHULJKWDPRXQWRIWLPHWKHQDOLYLQJFUHDWXUH might be hatched from it), there will be no agreement on the recognition of an egg. Therefore perceptual consensus too always springs from a prior cultural agreement, QRPDWWHUKRZYDJXHRUIRONLWPLJKWEH$QGWKLVFRQ¿UPVZKDW,ZDVWU\LQJWRVD\ shortly before, that in the process of understanding, the structural moment and the interpretative moment alternate and complement each other step by step. Nevertheless LWFDQQRWEHGHQLHGWKDWLQGH¿QLQJDQHJJDVVXFKWKHWHVWLPRQ\RIWKHVHQVHVSUHYDLOV ZKLOHLQRUGHUWRGH¿QHDPDPPDODVVXFKZKDWSUHYDLOVLVDNQRZOHGJHRIFODVVL¿cations and our agreement on a given taxonomic system” (Umberto Eco and Alastair McEwen, Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition [New York: Harcourt, 1999], 253). Each taxonomic category that helps constitute and legitimate social-political order takes for granted presupposed meanings, ideas, or realities that are both critical to its importance and part of the fabric of social-political order. Our LQWHQWLQWKLVSURMHFWLVWRH[SRVHVRPHRIWKRVHSUHVXSSRVLWLRQV 27௒:UHVWOLQJ ZLWK WKH QDWXUH RI *RG LQ UHODWLRQ WR JURXS LGHQWLW\ FDQ EH IRXQG to a limited extent even within monotheistic traditions. Is not process theology within the Christian tradition close to this more sociologically aware understanding? “Process theologians make a place for Jesus, but basically he is seen not as the Word PDGH ÀHVK EXW LQVWHDG DV WKH XQLYHUVDO FHQWHU RI SV\FKLF FRQYHUJHQFH WKH PRGHO of self-realization. Sharply breaking with Christian tradition, they deny that there ZDVMXVWRQHLQFRPSDUDEOHLQFDUQDWLRQLQKLVWRU\²ZKHQ*RGEHFDPHPDQLQ-HVXV Christ. In its place they argue for a universal cosmic incarnation of which Jesus is a supreme manifestation. While some hail Jesus as the perfect embodiment of the ideals of goodness, truth and beauty, others see him as only one step, albeit a crucial one, in the upward surge of creative evolution” (Donald Bloesch, “Process Theology and Reformed Theology,” in Process Theology, ed. Ronald H. Nash [Grand Rapids: %DNHU@ 

1. Introduction

17

FHOHEUDWHGDWWULEXWHVRI*RGUHÀHFWWKHSURMHFWHGLGHDOVRIWKHFRPPXQLW\ 2XUGLVFHUQLQJUHDGHUZLOODJDLQQRWHWKDWWKLVSRVLWLRQLVPRUHGLI¿FXOWWR PDLQWDLQIRUWKHFRQVHUYDWLYHWKDQIRUWKHOLEHUDO@± 



Biblical Terror

turbaned Arab holding a machine gun displayed across U.S. media outlets as a way of rousing collective, popular support among blacks, whites, liberals, and conservatives for further military action in the Middle East. We’re all members of the same community when we mark that one as an outsider. This, of course, begs the question of ethical behavior, since such principles govern, together with law, group behavior. The solving of political problems coincides with the production of ethical norms. “In order for DQ DFW WR EH WUXO\ HWKLFDO >äLåHN@ VD\V LW must transgress the norm, for only such a transgression can reveal the compensatory nature of norms themselves and bring into the open the incomplete, yet-to-be-fashioned character of reality.”70+DUSKDPVXPPDUL]HVIXUWKHU³äLåHNKDVDUULYHGDW the conclusion that no ethical act can be strictly warranted by existing fact and indeed that an ethical act must involve a shattering of existing fact.”71 7KH VROXWLRQ WR D SUREOHP PXVW LQ RWKHU ZRUGV UHYHDO WKH GH¿FLHQFLHV DQG ZHDNQHVVHV WKDW HPSRZHUHG WKH SUREOHP LQ WKH ¿UVW SODFH %XW WKLV revelation must involve a self-destructive act that breaks down previously accepted conventional norms, values, ethics, morals, and attitudes. ,W LQYROYHV D VXEMHFW¶V GHVWUR\LQJ WKH YHU\ WKLQJ XQGHUJLUGLQJ KHU RZQ identity. But it is in that moment of seeming chaos or nothingness that absolute universality, the commonness of all humanity, is revealed. It is, for äLåHNLQWKHPRPHQWRI³GHDWK´ZKLFKLVLWVHOIDFDWHJRU\WKDWLVDSURGXFW of binarily opposed categories within social and political knowledge, that true being, universality, as existence without categories is revealed. 'HDWK LV WKH ¿QDO WKUHVKROG EHWZHHQ EHLQJ ZLWK FDWHJRULHV DQG %HLQJ without universality. Problems are a consequence of being unable to see beyond the oppressive restrictions of categories. There is the point where biblical revelation obscures its own uncertainty, which is itself a product of its anxiety. Because it too cannot see the very things that restrict it, and because it fears internal collapse due to its own limitations, it presents itself as an overcoming of the normative order by interrupting its social and political processes and imposing a new, absolute, universal authority. To note, “[S]o the anger of the LORD was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book. The LORD uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as is now the case. The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the ZRUGVRIWKLVODZ´'HXW± FI/HY±@ 5LWXDOLVDQG&DWKHULQH%HOO was correct on this, better understood not as a separate or different type RI DFWLYLW\ EXW DV SURFHVVHV WKDW DUH ÀH[LEOH DQG VWUDWHJLF Moreover, “[R]itual activity is tangible evidence that there is more to religion than a simple assent to belief; there are practices, institutions, changing customs, and explanative systems.” Ritual is a socially stabilizing activity that mediates relational parameters between members of a community and between members and nonmembers. It necessitates contradiction between the productive forces of identity and the perceived anomy of the space in which an “other” resides or that it represents. Through ritual we express ourselves and reinforce the boundaries that separate us from them. They are profane, uncivilized, chaotic. Is that not in part, after all, what ௒*LRYDQQL*DUELQLHistory and Ideology in Ancient Israel, trans. John Bowden (New York: Crossroad, 1988), 169. ௒&DWKHULQH0%HOORitual: Perspectives and Dimensions (New York: Oxford 8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV ± ௒,ELG ௒6HHDOVRLELG[L ௒1RWH IXUWKHU ³>,@W KDV EHHQ VXJJHVWHG DQG ZLWK JRRG UHDVRQ WKDW ULWXDOL]HG activities are ways of acting that do not particularly encourage a great deal of immediate and overt explaining. As these typical answers imply, ritualization gives SHRSOHWKHVHQVHWKDWWKHVHDFWLYLWLHVGRQRWQHHGDORWRIMXVWL¿FDWLRQ7KH\DSSHDUWR DGGUHVVDYHU\VSHFL¿FDQGREYLRXVQHHGRUKDYHDVXI¿FLHQWO\ORQJKLVWRU\WKDWLQ LWVHOIMXVWL¿HVWKHP,QGHHGLWLVPRUHFRPPRQLQPRVWFRPPXQLWLHVWRQHHGDJRRG reason not to participate in ritual activities” (ibid., 167).

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VKRXOG EH LQIHUUHG IURP (]UD¶V GHVFULSWLRQ RI WKH 3DVVRYHU"7KDW LQ WKH midst of anomy, death, and dissolution it was a ritualistic behavior that, by providing a mechanism through which to preserve homeostasis, “saved” the golah community and the Hebrews before it upon whom the tradition is based? :H DUH ,VUDHO D GH¿QHG RUGHUO\ VWDEOH LGHQWLW\ Observance of the Passover required communal reparation from the people already LQWKHODQGWKH³SURIDQHRWKHU´(]UD± 7KHFHQWUDOLPSRUWDQFH EHVWRZHGXSRQULWXDODQGOHJDOEHKDYLRULVUHPLQLVFHQWRIWKH3HQWDWHXFK¶V legal material (P). Throughout that material, as Ackroyd observes, the salvation of Israel is dependent upon a properly ordered cultus, such that a stabilized world would be preserved within the distributed relations of the cult wherein God represented the central authority. In Ezra, the distinction between sacred and profane, as a contradiction par excellence, is wrapped up in the distinction of the “returned exiles” DVWKH³SHRSOHRI,VUDHO´± 6XUHO\WKDWLVZKDWWKHDXWKRUPHDQW when he wrote, “[The Passover] was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile and also by those who had been separated from the pollutions [uncleanliness] of the nations of the land to seek Yahweh, WKH *RG RI ,VUDHO´ Y  WUDQVODWLRQ PLQH  $FNUR\G¶V SURSRVDO WKDW ³WKRVH ZKR MRLQHG WKH FRPPXQLW\´ SRLQWV WR IDLWKIXO PHPEHUV RI WKH QRUWKHUQWULEHVEDVHGLQSDUWRQ&KU LVDKHOSIXOFODUL¿FDWLRQRIZKR those who might be deemed worthy of permission are. Deuteronomy, ZKLFK WKH DXWKRU RI (]UD±1HKHPLDK ZDV OLNHO\ IDPLOLDU ZLWK DV SDUW RI the Pentateuch,50VWLSXODWHVWKDWWKH3DVVRYHUVDFUL¿FHPXVWQRWEHHDWHQ with anything leavened for seven days “so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt” (16:3). As a component within the larger ritual, consumption is shaped by the larger act of separation. So much so that the type of food consumed and the manner in which it is so done is itself an activity of distinction. 'HXWHURQRP\ VWLSXODWHV WKDW WKH VDFUL¿FH FDQ RQO\ EH FRRNHG DQG HDWHQ # ('!+ !#!' :%' :9LHQQD$XVWULD@ 

2. The Problems of Revelation, Ritualization, Contradiction

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has chosen; v. 7). The emphasis there is upon Yahweh as “your” god, which means Yahweh is the primary shared symbol of the collective, the basis of distinction in collective identity,51 distinguishing member from nonmember. The “you” refers to the listening community, the boundaries of which mark the primary lines of distinction. Ezra also assumes this parameter of distinction to be a necessary component. Ezra 6:21, for example, describes the people who had returned from exile as “Israel” but also Yahweh as the “God of Israel.” There is in this statement a competition over the identity of Yahweh. While some of the people already in the ODQGGHVFULEHGWKHPVHOYHVDVZRUVKLSHUVRI(]UD ±¶V@ SURKLELWLRQ RI LQWHUPDUULDJH ZLWK WKH QDUUDWLYHV LV DOVR EHKLQG WKH ¿UVW DQG SULQFLSOH VWLSXODWLRQ RI 1HKHPLDK¶V FRYHQDQW 1HK 10:30 [MT 31]). Closely related is the absolute exclusion from the Israelite assembly of Ammonites and Moabites and the banning to the third generDWLRQRI(GRPLWHVDQG(J\SWLDQVLQ'HXW±07± 7KLVVWLSXODWLRQ ZDVLQYRNHGE\1HKHPLDK1HK± DQGLQVLQXDWHGLQWRWKHDFFRXQW RI(]UD¶VFDPSDLJQDJDLQVWLQWHUPDUULDJH(]UD ´88

%OHQNLQVRSS H[SODLQV (]UD±1HKHPLDK¶V SURKLELWLRQ RI LQWHUPDUULDJH DV D WKHRORJLFDO VWUDWHJ\ IRU GHDOLQJ ZLWK RXWVLGHUV $QG RQH FDQ ¿QG D SRLQW RI DJUHHPHQW ZLWK KLV DUJXPHQW LQ WKDW LW UHÀHFWV D VWUDWHJ\ RI 86௒%OHQNLQVRSSJudaism: The First Phase, 125. 87௒&I )UDQN 6FKLPPHOIHQQLJ ³7KH &RPPXQLW\ 7UDS /LEHUDO 1RUPV 5KHWRUical Action, and the Eastern Enlargement of the European Union,” International OrganizationQR ±-RQ/%HUTXLVW³&RQVWUXFWLRQVRI,GHQWLW\LQ Postcolonial Yehud,” in Lipschits and Oeming, eds., Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period ± -RKQ %HUU\ ³,PPLJUDWLRQ$FFXOWXUDWLRQ DQG$GDSWDWLRQ´ Applied Psychology Appl.Psychol.QR ±.DUHQ$&HUXOR³,GHQWLW\ Construction: New Issues, New Directions,” Annual Review of Sociology 23 (1997): ± 5 ' +LQVKHOZRRG ³,GHRORJ\ DQG ,GHQWLW\$ 3V\FKRDQDO\WLF ,QYHVWLJDtion of a Social Phenomenon,” Psychoanalysis, Culture & SocietyQR  ± -XGLWK $ +RZDUG ³6RFLDO 3V\FKRORJ\ RI ,GHQWLWLHV´ Annual Reviews in Sociology ± 88௒%OHQNLQVRSSJudaism: The First Phase, 126.

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VRFLDOSROLWLFDO HQJDJHPHQW %XW DV ZH¶YH SRLQWHG RXW KH DOVR SURSRVHV that this strategy was developed before any real social engagement with the people already in the land occurred. It was a strategy of response developed before knowing who one needed to respond to and what any ideological position might have been. I don’t know who lives in the country next to mine, but I already know how I’m going to respond to anyone who tries to get in the way of my building my house when I get there. In his explanation, Blenkinsopp centralizes theology as the barometer for socialpolitical engagement, which is intended to provide a more “universal” ideological strategy. In other words, for him the golah community was D WKHRORJLFDOO\ GH¿QHG FRPPXQLW\ WKHRORJ\ GH¿QHG WKH LGHQWLW\ RI WKH community, when in fact the reverse is more accurate.89 The better conclusion is that the theological attitudes and positions expressed in Nehemiah concerning intermarriage and other related matters ZHUHSURGXFWVRIWKHFRPPXQLW\¶VH[SHULHQFHLQWKDW@ GHSHQGV XSRQ *RG¶V GLUHFW UHYHODWLRQ ,W ZDV WKXV WKDW +H GLUHFWHG WKH SDWULarchs, and whenever the writers of the Old Testament mention the relationship between God and His people, they are speaking of a kind of theocracy (see Judg 8:23; 6DPFRPSDUH6DP&KU6DP3V'HXW  No other literature, ancient or modern, so sharply portrays a people or nation ruled directly by God.”



The Role of Exclusion in Monotheistic Law

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'HVSLWH KLV KLVWRULFDO SUR[LPLW\ WR %@\SXUSRUWLQJWRH[HUFLVHLWVVXSHUYLVRU\MXULVGLFWLRQRQO\RYHUWKHPRUH egregious aberrations, abuses and excesses of disciplinary power, law FRQ¿UPVWKHEDVLFFODLPDWWKHKHDUWRIGLVFLSOLQDU\SRZHUWRDGMXGLFDWHRQ TXHVWLRQV RI QRUPDOLW\ DQG VRFLDO FRKHVLRQ« 7KXV LQ FRQ¿QLQJ LWV OHJDO supervision to the contested periphery, the instability at the very core of disciplinary power (the lack of epistemological certitude and authority IRU LWV QRUPDOL]LQJ SURMHFW  LV OHIW XQTXHVWLRQHG DQG KHQFH UHLQIRUFHG ,W LV VROHO\ WKRVH LQVWDQFHV RI GLVFLSOLQDU\ SRZHU¶V DSSOLFDWLRQ ZKLFK LQ WKH margins, appear somewhat excessive that receive the legal treatment— everything else is plausibly rendered, in the language of disciplinary power itself, normal, as the norm.85

In the case of early monotheism, the strict form of which was found LQ3HUVLDQSHULRG@± %XWFRPSDUHWR5HGGLWW³%RRNRI0DODFKL´Q ௒7KLV SRVLWLRQ LV FRQVLVWHQW ZLWK WKH DFDGHPLF SRVLWLRQ UHJDUGLQJ WKH FRQWH[W of Yehud represented by Berquist, “The dynamic was the struggle by several distinct groups to maintain and further their own traditions and identity [sic@ZKLOHDGMXVWLQJ to new situations of life in the Jerusalem vicinity. These various groups struggled WR GH¿QH WKHPVHOYHV ERWK DJDLQVW WKH DPELHQW FXOWXUH DQG DJDLQVW HDFK RWKHU7KLV complex dynamic is a more accurate representation of the religious and social setting

170

Biblical Terror

(OLMDK YY ±  ZKR DUH V\PEROV RI WKH FRPLQJ UHYROXWLRQDU\ EORRG\ Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the day in which physical force would be given to utopian aspiration. It is a day in which the construction of the new political body would follow the destruction of the extant one. It is a day in which the covenant would be renewed and in which the people ZRXOGEHSXUL¿HGRIDOO³QHJDWLYHHOHPHQWV´ “Such hope for the future may be called eschatological in the sense that it entails the end of evil, or conditions of history so radically improved that only God could have brought about the new order.”,WLVDVäLåHNZRXOGKDYHGH¿QHGWKHLGHD a “true revolution.” “We Bow Down at Your Temple…and Give Thanks”: 7HPSOHDVD6KDUHG2EMHFWLQ+DJJDL±=HFKDULDK The temple is a central symbol in Haggai and to a less obvious extent LQ=HFKDULDKQRWHDOVRWKDW(]UD±VXJJHVWVERWK+DJJDLDQG =HFKDULDK ZHUH LQYROYHG LQ UHEXLOGLQJ WKH -HUXVDOHP WHPSOH  Within WKHODWWHULWVLQÀXHQFHLVSUHVHQWWKURXJKGLUHFWUHIHUHQFHWREHVXUHEXW HTXDOO\VRWKURXJKLQIHUHQFHFI=HFK±±±±  Moreover, the prevailing utopian ideology regarding restoration within the biblical texts assumes a clear connection between cultic and political RI¿FH:LWKLQ+DJJDL±=HFKDULDKZHDUJXHKHUHWKHRI¿FHRIFHQWUDOL]HG power exists by causal linkage to the temple institution. This network of meaning and inference while easily discernible from the texts nevertheless requires elaboration. Foucault’s Theory on Power Helps Us Discern Some Important Things About the Temple %XW¿UVWDFFRUGLQJWR)RXFDXOWFRQVWUXFWLYLVPLQWHUPVRISRZHURFFXUV at the level in which individuals create meaning through their productive DFWLYLWLHVLQWKHLUUHODWLRQVWRHDFKRWKHUDQGWRREMHFWVVXFKDVV\PEROV DQGLQVWLWXWLRQVRIDXWKRULW\ZLWKLQDJLYHQFXOWXUDOFRQWH[W,I+DJJDL± =HFKDULDK UHÀHFWV DQ DWWHPSW E\ DXWKRU RU FRPPXQLW\ WR FKDQJH WKH contours of networks or distributional patterns of power, we need to of Malachi, and perhaps of the entire early post-exilic period” (“The Social Setting of Malachi,” 125). ௒&I$VVLV³$1HZ5HDGLQJRI0DODFKL±´ ௒5HGGLWW³%RRNRI0DODFKL´ ௒6HHDOVRWKHGLVFXVVLRQRIWKHWHPSOHLQUHODWLRQWR+DJJDLDQG=HFKDULDKLQ $VVLV³$1HZ5HDGLQJRI0DODFKL±´±

5. Constructivism as a Consequence of Exile

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identify, as Foucault and Deleuze independently do, the patterns of transformation (what Bignall designates as “micro-level” for Foucault) and of stabilization (“macro-level,” in contrast), or the lack thereof. The text of Haggai opens with complaint after the “word of the LORD” LVOLQNHGWROHYHOVRISROLWLFDODQGUHOLJLRXVDXWKRULW\± 7KHRUGHULQ ZKLFKWKHLQGLYLGXDOVDUHQDPHGLVOLNHO\LPSRUWDQW¿UVWWR=HUXEEDEHO governor of Judah, then to Joshua, the high priest. While it certainly is possible that Haggai spoke to both individuals simultaneously, it is uncertain. It would, however, have been proper procedure to list names according to importance or social-political standing. Haggai complained that the people were not supportive of rebuilding WKH WHPSOH ZKLFK SXW WHPSOH DV D FHQWUDO V\PERO LQ MHRSDUG\ +DJJDL certainly interprets the construction of the temple in a particular, intenWLRQDOIDVKLRQDVFRQ¿UPDWLRQRIFROOHFWLYHLGHQWLW\7KHUHLVVXJJHVWLRQ WKDW WKH UHEXLOGLQJ SURMHFW KDG LPSHULDO VXSSRUW EXW WKLV UHEXLOGLQJ emphasis fell within the larger imperial policy of the Persian government WR VWUHQJWKHQ WKH WHUULWRULHV XQGHU LWV MXULVGLFWLRQ This policy was one reason, and most likely a main one, why previously captured peoples were DOORZHG WR ³JR KRPH´ :KLOH WKHUH LV VWLOO VLJQL¿FDQW GHEDWH UHJDUGLQJ the dating of the temple itself, its actual date of completion is of less importance to our discussion than is the weight of the symbolic value given it. In Haggai, the temple symbolizes the ideal pattern of the socialpolitical body that has been “restored,” and that view is taken despite, or SHUKDSVLQOLJKWRILPSHULDOSROLF\,WLVWKHV\PEROLFREMHFWXSRQZKLFK WKHIDYRUDEOHH[SHULHQFHVRIWKHFRPPXQLW\DUHSURMHFWHGLQDSRVLWLYLVWLF statement of identity. “You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? said the LORD of hosts. Because my house lies in ruins, while all you hurry off to your own houses” (Hag 1:6 NRSV). How often the symbolic value of the Jerusalem temple in Haggai is inadequately understood! The general scholarly pattern, for instance, ௒)RUIXUWKHUGLVFXVVLRQVHH*HUVWHQEHUJHUIsrael in the Persian Period± ௒)RUVRPHRIWKHGHEDWHVUHJDUGLQJWKHFRQQHFWLRQRI+DJJDL±=HFK±WRWKH WHPSOHVHH&DQG(0H\HUVZKRDUJXHWKDW+DJJDL±=HFK±ZDVFRPSRVHGIRUWKH dedication of the Jerusalem temple. M. Boda, however, believes the text was written for the foundation laying rather than the completion of the temple (“Messengers of +RSH´± '(GHOPDQJRHVVRIDUDVWRFRQQHFW=HUXEEDEHODVDFRQWHPSRUDU\ of Nehemiah, or separated by a single generation rather than the 65 years generally proposed (The Origins of the “Second” Temple: Persian Imperial Policy and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem>'XUKDP$FXPHQ@± 2QWKHFRQQHFWLRQRI WKHWHPSOHWRLGHQWLW\LQ+DJJDLVHH&DWDOGR³