A world turned on its head in ancient Near Eastern prophetic literature: A powerful strategy to depict chaotic scenarios
Date
2012
Authors
Kruger P.A.
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Abstract
This contribution argues that the notion of inversion often functions as a key literary principle in the repertoire of some ancient Near Eastern (Mesopotamian and Syro-Palestinian) "prophetic" scenarios of chaos: the world of chaos is portrayed as the direct reverse of the ideal world. Selected examples from Mesopotamia (e.g. the Marduk Prophecy) and Syro-Palestine (the Balaam inscription and various passages from the Hebrew Bible) are offered to illustrate this idea. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands 2012.
Description
Keywords
"Chaosbeschreibungen", divine absence, human wickedness, inversion
Citation
Vetus Testamentum
62
1
58
76
62
1
58
76