- Jena, Thuringia, Germany
Hannes Bezzel
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Theology, Faculty Member
Faunal remains from H orvat Tevet, a site located in the rural hinterlands of the Jezreel Valley, reveal patterns of a complex redistributive apparatus during the Late Iron IIA. This paper assesses a large assemblage of animal bones... more
Faunal remains from H orvat Tevet, a site located in the rural hinterlands of the Jezreel Valley, reveal patterns of a complex redistributive apparatus during the Late Iron IIA. This paper assesses a large assemblage of animal bones within inter-and intra-site comparative analyses. Inter-site comparisons to contemporary sites in the northern valleys of Israel demonstrate that the agricultural production of grain and animal by-products at H orvat Tevet is unprecedented and went far beyond the site's local needs. Further, an intra-site comparison reveals a hierarchical distinction in the consumption patterns between elites and the labour force. These results further reinforce the conclusion that the late Iron IIA H orvat Tevet was an administrative centre of a royal Israelite estate in the Jezreel Valley.
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The recent excavations at Ḥorvat Tevet and the finding of ca. 260 Late Iron IIA cylindrical holemouth jars provided an unparalleled opportunity to study these relatively unknown vessels. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of... more
The recent excavations at Ḥorvat Tevet and the finding of ca. 260 Late Iron IIA cylindrical holemouth jars provided an unparalleled opportunity to study these relatively unknown vessels. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of cylindrical holemouth jars and includes a study of typology and morphology, alongside the analysis of provenance and distribution patterns. By shedding new light on these vessels, this paper provides the opportunity to understand and illustrate the economy of early monarchic Israel in a new and innovative way.
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The biblical texts present Saul ben Kish from Benjamin as the first king over Israel. With this description, his identity is defined triply: by means of his father's name, by means of his kinship affiliation, and by means of the entity... more
The biblical texts present Saul ben Kish from Benjamin as the first king over Israel. With this description, his identity is defined triply: by means of his father's name, by means of his kinship affiliation, and by means of the entity over which he ruled. The article follows the literary stratification of the Saul tradition and investigates in which way both the character of Saul and the identity of Israel underwent changes from the earliest reconstructable layers until the Chronistic writings. Most attention is given to the early stages of a) an independent Saul story, b) a Samuel-Saul-cycle, and c) its connection with the David tradition.
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Against the backdrop of the last century of research history on the oracles concerning foreign nations, especially of the Book of Jeremiah, the relationship of theses texts with prophecy of judgment is called into question. The texts... more
Against the backdrop of the last century of research history on the oracles concerning foreign nations, especially of the Book of Jeremiah, the relationship of theses texts with prophecy of judgment is called into question. The texts concerning Damascus serve as a test case.
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presents the stratigraphic sequence at this site, shedding light on our understanding of the Iron Age in the Jezreel Valley and the neighboring regions. The evidence from the large-scale salvage excavations at this key site enabled the... more
presents the stratigraphic sequence at this site, shedding light on our
understanding of the Iron Age in the Jezreel Valley and the neighboring regions. The evidence from the large-scale salvage excavations at this key site enabled the authors to identify Ḥorvat Ṭevet as a royal administrative center during Iron IIA and to illuminate its role within the royal Israelite redistributive system.
understanding of the Iron Age in the Jezreel Valley and the neighboring regions. The evidence from the large-scale salvage excavations at this key site enabled the authors to identify Ḥorvat Ṭevet as a royal administrative center during Iron IIA and to illuminate its role within the royal Israelite redistributive system.
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The article presents and discusses the results of Residue Analysis performed on 27 pottery vessels, placed as offerings in burials dating to the Iron I period (ca. 1050–900 BCE) at the site Ḥorvat Tevet (Israel). The results show that... more
The article presents and discusses the results of Residue Analysis performed on 27 pottery vessels, placed as offerings in burials dating to the Iron I period (ca. 1050–900 BCE) at the site Ḥorvat Tevet (Israel). The results show that heated beeswax was used during the burial ceremonies and placed in variety of vessels. These results shed new light on burial practices of South Levantine rural communities. They also contribute to the growing body of evidence regarding bee-product economy in the Southern Levant during the beginning of the Iron IIA.
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In some specimen of the Rewritten Bible genre Samuel plays a prominent part as an ideal leader for Israel: According to Ben Sira, one of Samuel’s merits was to judge the people by the law of the Lord (Sir 46,14), while to Josephus the... more
In some specimen of the Rewritten Bible genre Samuel plays a prominent part as an ideal leader for Israel: According to Ben Sira, one of Samuel’s merits was to judge the people by the law of the Lord (Sir 46,14), while to Josephus the prophet is a protagonist of the vintage and best constitution (πολιτεία), i.e. the aristocracy (cf. Ant. 6.36).
Both images, of course, go back to the depiction of Samuel in I Sam 7 and 12. While I Sam 7 used to be interpreted as containing the oldest traditions about Samuel (cf. Mommer 1991), more recent studies doubt that the function of a judge an political leader marks the beginning of Samuel’s literary career. Thus, the paper will try to reconstruct his advancement redaction-critically from a nameless man of God in I Sam 9 to an ideal leader at the borderline between a period of judges and the monarchy
Both images, of course, go back to the depiction of Samuel in I Sam 7 and 12. While I Sam 7 used to be interpreted as containing the oldest traditions about Samuel (cf. Mommer 1991), more recent studies doubt that the function of a judge an political leader marks the beginning of Samuel’s literary career. Thus, the paper will try to reconstruct his advancement redaction-critically from a nameless man of God in I Sam 9 to an ideal leader at the borderline between a period of judges and the monarchy
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The article discusses several options for the first beginning of a "Deuteronmistic History" brought forth in the discussion of the last few years. It questions the theory of a pre-dtr "wayěhî ʼîš collection" and opts for 1 Sam 1 as the... more
The article discusses several options for the first beginning of a "Deuteronmistic History" brought forth in the discussion of the last few years. It questions the theory of a pre-dtr "wayěhî ʼîš collection" and opts for 1 Sam 1 as the best of several possibilities.
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Ingo Baldermann's didactics of the psalms and critical objections against it are reflected hermeneutically against the backdrop of the Psalms of Solomon, and especially of an redaction-critical analysis of PsSal 5
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Around the turn of the eras, the dominating view of what a prophet should be is a penitential preacher. This image can scarcely be derived from the „critical potential“ (Nissinen) of Ancient Near East prophecy but rather stems from... more
Around the turn of the eras, the dominating view of what a prophet should be is a penitential preacher. This image can scarcely be derived from the „critical potential“ (Nissinen) of Ancient Near East prophecy but rather stems from prophetic-theological reflexion in the context of the Old Testament writings. From the point of view of a prophecy of doom, penitential preaching retrospectively serves to substantiate the people’s guilt. From the perspective of a prophecy of salvation it is prospectively parenetic. Finally, in the Book of Jonah even the absolute announcement of destruction in fact appears to be an appeal to repentance.
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The article asks the question whether there are any features of the image of Saul in the Books of Samuel which can be identified as being influenced by the Books of Chronicles. The focus is laid on some text-critical variants as well as... more
The article asks the question whether there are any features of the image of Saul in the Books of Samuel which can be identified as being influenced by the Books of Chronicles. The focus is laid on some text-critical variants as well as on 1Sam 31 and 2Sam 21:1-14.
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Biblica (Bib.) 95 2014
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in: Johannes Thon, Giuseppe Veltri, Ernst-Joachim Waschke (Hg.), Sprachbewusstsein und Sprachkonzepte im Alten Orient, Alten Testament und rabbinischen Judentum, Orientwissenschaftliche Hefte 30 (2012), Halle, 121-142
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in: Pete Diamond / Louis Stulman (Hg.9, Jeremiah (Dis)placed. New Directions in Writing / Reading Jeremiah, LHBOTS 529, New York / London: T & T Clark 2011, 253-265
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chapters 1, 7, and 8 of the monograph + appendices;
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Herzliche Einladung zur Teilnahme am gemeinsamen Studientag der katholisch-theologischen Fakultät Erfurt und der evangelisch-theologischen Fakultät Jena! Anmeldemöglichkeit - auch zur digitalen - Teilnahme unter... more
Herzliche Einladung
zur Teilnahme am gemeinsamen Studientag der katholisch-theologischen Fakultät Erfurt und der evangelisch-theologischen Fakultät Jena!
Anmeldemöglichkeit - auch zur digitalen - Teilnahme unter www.theologie.uni-jena.de/studientag_2022
Die Veranstaltung ist Teil der Themenjahre "1700 Jahre Jüdisches Leben in Deutschland" und "900 Jahre Jüdisches Leben in Thüringen"
Für Nachfragen bitte mich zu kontaktieren!
zur Teilnahme am gemeinsamen Studientag der katholisch-theologischen Fakultät Erfurt und der evangelisch-theologischen Fakultät Jena!
Anmeldemöglichkeit - auch zur digitalen - Teilnahme unter www.theologie.uni-jena.de/studientag_2022
Die Veranstaltung ist Teil der Themenjahre "1700 Jahre Jüdisches Leben in Deutschland" und "900 Jahre Jüdisches Leben in Thüringen"
Für Nachfragen bitte mich zu kontaktieren!
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Programme of a symposium held at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, 18-19 June 2018
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This volume contains papers read at the EABS / SBL International meetings 2016 (Leuven), 2017 (Berlin), and 2018 (Helsinki). Contrary and complementary to a trend in contemporary research on prophetic literature to focus on questions... more
This volume contains papers read at the EABS / SBL International meetings 2016 (Leuven), 2017 (Berlin), and 2018 (Helsinki). Contrary and complementary to a trend in contemporary research on prophetic literature to focus on questions concerning the origins of a prophetic theology of judgment, the research group addressed the seemingly stereotypic corpora of oracles concerning foreign nations. In diachronic as well as synchronic approaches to the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the contributors ask for the tension between standardisation in the corpus propheticum on the one side and maintaining or even creating a specific prophetic profile on the other. In so doing, the prophetic books may appear in a new light, both with respect to their literary-historical genesis and to a theological reading of their “final forms”