Journal of Biblical Literature - Society of Biblical Literature

352 Journal of Biblical Literature
erary independent source that was likely included in the wall-building narrative by
Nehemiah himself (p. 86) are without any historical proof and do more to weaken the
credibility of a study that is otherwise concerned with internal, literary evidence. Nevertheless,
the questions raised by Reinmuth are relevant and intriguing, and one can hope
that this study will stimulate other investigations into the sociology of the book and the
intertextual relationships between the book of Nehemiah and other parts of the Hebrew
Bible, especially the priestly legislation of the Pentateuch. Much work remains to be
done in this area. It is not implausible to expect that future studies will in fact confirm
many of Reinmuth’s conclusions.
Armin Siedlecki
Emory University, Decatur, GA 30033
The Most Magic Word: Essays on Babylonian and Biblical Literature, by William L.
Moran. Edited by Ronald S. Hendel. CBQMS 35. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical
Association of America, 2002. Pp. x + 212. $11.50 (paper). ISBN 0915170345.
In a distinguished academic career extending over half a century, the late William
L. Moran, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University,
authored nearly seventy articles, a hundred critical reviews, and a volume of translations
of the Amarna letters (produced in French and translated into English). He also edited
the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. 7
(I/J), a volume known for its particular excellence. The current collection containing fifteen
articles, two in print for the first time, samples but a small, tantalizing taste of the
author’s scholarly legacy. Missing are examples of Moran’s numerous contributions concerning
the Amarna letters (a career-long occupation and arguably his major field of
endeavor; see William L. Moran, Amarna Studies: Collected Writings [ed. John Huehnergard
and Shlomo Izre’el; HSS 54; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003]), Northwest
Semitic philology, Assyriology proper, and certain major Mesopotamian myths such as
Enuma Elish and Anzu. The works in this volume, selected apparently for their “biblical”
import, epitomize nonetheless the evaluation in the introduction to his Festschrift:
“But his work has also always had a special appeal. Regardless of the topic, there is in his
approach a humane quality, a concern for broader issues that expresses the intellectual
and vital excitement that he brings to the text” (Tzvi Abusch, John Huehnergard, and
Piotr Steinkeller, eds., Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature
in Honor of William L. Moran [HSS 37; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990], x).
The title of this volume is borrowed from Rainer Maria Rilke’s impression of the
Gilgamesh Epic (read in Ungnad’s German translation) as “das zaubernde Wort zu
irgendeiner Zeit.” Its use testifies to Moran’s conviction that ancient Mesopotamian literature
was not an arcane corpus of interest only to a handful of scholars conversant in
dead languages but of highest humanistic value of concern to people of culture even in
modern times. Moran’s commitment to human culture in general even while studying
the ancient Near East finds expression in his frequent citations in foreign languages,
abundant use of Latin expressions, and, most significantly, comparative use of classical
literature to explain Mesopotamian writings. In the same vein, of the essays selected for
publication, one discusses Gilgamesh’s coming to grips with his own humanity, another