Divination, politics, and ancient Near Eastern empires

the long version

The essays in this volume consider how the ancient imperial setting of the Hebrew Bible influenced prophetic and divinatory communication between the divine and human realms and how this was put to use as and influenced by propaganda from those in power. Drawing upon diplomatic correspondence in second millennium B.C.E. Mari to the eschatological hopes expressed in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the contributions indicate that all forms of prophetic and divinatory communication were used to both uphold and undermine their respective empires. The analyses of the Hebrew Bible show that, while Israelite/Judahite texts attempt to undermine the Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian Empires, they never openly attack the Persian Empire. Further, the Israelite/Judahite thinkers never criticize empire as such; to the contrary, they paint a picture in which a Jerusalem empire will replace foreign ones. (back cover).