Beyond the Grave - Institute for Biblical Research
Beyond the Grave - Institute for Biblical Research
Beyond the Grave - Institute for Biblical Research
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126 Bulletin <strong>for</strong> <strong>Biblical</strong> <strong>Research</strong> 2<br />
recognizes, <strong>the</strong>y too had terrorized <strong>the</strong> land of <strong>the</strong> living. But why<br />
should <strong>the</strong>y be granted special status in Sheol? Three explanations<br />
may be considered. First, Ezekiel's picture might be inspired by<br />
some independent Israelite tradition that actually perceived <strong>the</strong> an-<br />
tediluvians as noble figures, à la Gilgamesh of Mesopotamia, <strong>the</strong><br />
hero of <strong>the</strong> Great Deluge, of whom it was said that two-thirds of<br />
him was god and one-third was human. 78 But this view flounders<br />
<strong>for</strong> lack of evidence. Second, <strong>the</strong> present image might derive from<br />
extra-Israelite traditions in which departed kings were viewed as<br />
divinized heroes. However, according to <strong>the</strong> picture of <strong>the</strong> ne<strong>the</strong>r-<br />
world painted in vv. 22-26, <strong>the</strong> kings are surrounded by <strong>the</strong>ir court-<br />
iers in "<strong>the</strong> far<strong>the</strong>st recesses of <strong>the</strong> pit." Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, this<br />
interpretation overlooks <strong>the</strong> allusions to Gen 6:4 in vv. 21 and 27.<br />
Third, this description might represent ano<strong>the</strong>r example of Ezek-<br />
ielian revisionism, according to which au<strong>the</strong>ntic Israelite traditions<br />
are reinterpreted <strong>for</strong> rhetorical effect. 79 The present aim is to high-<br />
light <strong>the</strong> ignominy of Meshech-Tubal. No matter how negatively <strong>the</strong><br />
tradition might have considered <strong>the</strong> antediluvians, <strong>the</strong>y were noble<br />
compared to <strong>the</strong> Meshech-Tubalites, and by extension <strong>the</strong> Egyp-<br />
tians, who will join <strong>the</strong>m in <strong>the</strong> ne<strong>the</strong>r recesses of <strong>the</strong> underworld.<br />
Some have seen references to <strong>the</strong> occupants of <strong>the</strong> ne<strong>the</strong>rworld<br />
in two additional expressions that occur outside this passage. In<br />
26:20 <strong>the</strong> prophet announces that Tyre shall join <strong>the</strong> ‘am ‘ôlām. The<br />
literary context suggests some relationship between this phrase and<br />
mētê ‘ôlām, which in Ps 143:3 and Lam 3:6 denotes <strong>the</strong> departed dead<br />
from long ago who dwell in dark places. 80 On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, if we<br />
understand ‘ôlām substantively, viz., as a designation <strong>for</strong> "eternity,"<br />
or more specifically <strong>the</strong> ne<strong>the</strong>rworld, 81 <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> ‘am ‘ôlām may be<br />
<strong>the</strong> inhabitants of <strong>the</strong> bêt ôlām, "eternal house," referred to in Qoh<br />
12:5, 82 that is "<strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> ne<strong>the</strong>rworid."<br />
78. ANET, 73.<br />
79. Cf. 16:44-59, where Jerusalem is shamed not only <strong>for</strong> being more wicked<br />
than her sister but <strong>for</strong> abominations that exceeded those of Sodom, and 20:25, accord-<br />
ing to which Yahweh had given Israel statutes that were not good and ordinances by<br />
which <strong>the</strong>y could not live.<br />
80. Cf. Mitchell Dahood, Psalms III (AB 17a; Garden City: Doubleday, 1970) 323,<br />
who repoints mētê as mĕtê, and translates "men of <strong>the</strong> eternal home."<br />
81. Cf. A. Cooper ("MLK ‘lm: 'Eternal King' or 'King of Eternity,— in Love and<br />
Death in <strong>the</strong> Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of Marvin H. Pope [ed. J. H. Marks and<br />
R M. Good; Guild<strong>for</strong>d: Four Quarters, 1987] 1-8) and M. H. Pope (in a review of<br />
K. Spronk, Beatific Afterlife, UF 19 [1987] 458), who interpret <strong>the</strong> Ugaritic expression<br />
mlk ’lm, "king of eternity," as "king of <strong>the</strong> underworld." According to Cooper and E.<br />
Jenni (THAT 2.242), this spatial understanding of "eternity" derives from Egypt,<br />
where Osiris bore <strong>the</strong> title, "Lord of Eternity" (hk3 d.t or nb nhh), which alluded to his<br />
domain (<strong>the</strong> realm of <strong>the</strong> dead), as well as <strong>the</strong> duration of his reign.<br />
82. The expression byt ’lm, signifying "grave," has also surfaced in <strong>the</strong> Deir ’Allā<br />
texts (11:6, on which see J. A. Hackett, The Balaam Text from Deir āAllā [HSM 31; Chico,