Special Issue IOSOT 2013 - Books and Journals

76 S. Japhet / Vetus Testamentum IOSOT (2013) 36-76
אמנה .H
The word אמנה appears only in Neh. and there twice: Neh. ix 38 (x 1); xi 23. The
two instances are found in sections attributed to the Chr. In Chr., however, the
word is missing.
Conclusions
Certain parts of the material discussed revealed conspicuous stylistic differences
between Ezr.-Neh. and Chr. Other parts exhibit actual opposition
between the two. From the linguistic point of view the book of Chr. deviates
in some important points from the tendencies and phenomena of its period,
which are extant in Ezr.-Neh. A further question is whether we should see here
a specific personal trait of a single author or a wider and more general phenomenon.
In the use of terms we saw that Ezr.-Neh. is rather confined to a limited
historical provenance. In Chr., a later stage in the use of terms is revealed, later
even than the latest stratum of Ezr.-Neh.
Our investigation of the differences between the two books, which was
restricted to one field, has proven that the books could not have been written
or compiled by the same author. It seems rather that a certain period of
time must separate the two. We are certain that a further study of the literary
characteristics, the attitude to the sources and their use and the theological
conceptions of the two books will greatly support our conclusions.