Was There an Israelite Amphictyony?

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In 923, the sociologist Max Weber characterized Israel during the period of the Judges as a warring confederation over which Yahweh guaranteed the social order and insured prosperity. “Israel”, he said, was the name of a religious league which perhaps had “amphictyonic” rites.1 Later Martin Noth expanded this comparison and gave the thesis its definitive form.2 A study of the different tribal lists in the Bible reveals that, despite changes, the number 12 is invariable. Within this larger configuration, the six Leah tribes, the first to come to Canaan, form a constant group. The Greek amphictyonies and the Italian […]

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Footnotes

Translated by Janice M. Stromsem.

Endnotes

M. Weber, Ancient Judaism, translated and edited by Hans H. Gerth and Don Martindale. (Glencoe, Ill., Free Press, 1952), 81ff and 90.

M. Noth, Das System der zwolf Stamme Israels (Stuttgart, 1930); The History of Israel (London, 1960) 2nd ed., 85–109. It should be noted that Noth himself states that his thesis cannot be mathematically demonstrated, but it can be accepted if it clarifies the history of Israel and of its institutions, Das Systems … 59–60. He expresses himself more prudently in The History …, 46.

Some examples are given by S. Hermann, ThLZ 87 (1962), col. 565, G. Fohrer, BZAW 115 (1969), 87–88. In general, J. Bright, A History of Israel (Philadelphia, 1959), 142–51; J. A. Soggin, When the Judges Ruled (London, 1965), spec. 20–22, 33–34, 70–73.

H. M. Orlinsky, “The Tribal System of Israel and Related Groups in the Period Of the Judges”, in OrAnt I (1962). 11–20 = Studies and Essays in Honor of Abraham A. Neuman (Leiden, 1962), 375–87 C. J. H. de Geus, “De Richteren van Israel” in NTT 20 (1965–66), 81–100; B. D. Rahtjen “Philistine and Hebrew Amphictyonies”, in JNES 24 (1965), 100–04; G. Fohrer, Altes Testament—“Amphiktyonie” und “Bund”? in Studien zur Alttestamentlichen Theologie und Geschichte (BZAW 115 (1969)), 84–119, appeared first in TLZ 91 (1966), col. 801–16, 883–904; Id., History of Israelite Religion, translated by David E. Green (Nashville, New York 1972), 89–94; G. W. Anderson, “Israel: Amphictyony: ’AM; KAHL; EDAH”, in Translating and Understanding the Old Testament. Essays in Honor of Herbert G. May (Nashville—New York, 1970), 135–51.

Eschine, Amb. 115.

Annie Jaubert, “Le Symbolique des Douze”, in Hommages a André Dupont-Sommer, 454–460.

Cf. L. Ginzberg, The Legend of the Jews, VII, Index (Philadelphia, 1938), s.v. Twelve.

M. Noth, Das System …, 94–97, 116; The History …, 92–96.

M. Noth, The History …, 94.

10.

M. Noth, The History …, 94–95, inspired by A. Alt, “Die Wallfahrt von Sichem nach Bethel”, in In piam memoriam Alexander von Bulmerincq (Riga, 1938), 218–30 = Kleine Schriften, I, 79–88.

11.

J. A. Soggin, “Zwei umstrittene Stellen aus dem Uberlieferungskreis Shechem”, in ZAW 73 (1961), 78–87.

12.

M. Noth, The History …, 95.

13.

The name itself appears only twice, in the introductions (Judges 2:1 and 3:19) and only as a geographical landmark.

14.

W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel (Baltimore, 1946), 103–05; Id., Archaeology, Historical Analogy and Early Biblical Tradition (Baton Rouge, 1966), 55–56; E. Nielsen, Shechem. A Traditio-Historical Investigation (Copenhagen, 1955) 36, n.i.: M. H. Woudstra. The Ark of the Covenant from Conquest to Kingship (Philadelphia, 1965), 126–28 and 133.

15.

This is denied by M. Haran in “Shiloh and Jerusalem”, JBL 81 (1962), 14–24, for whom the Shiloh sanctuary was a “tabernacle” which served as a model for the priestly description in Exodus. He has too much confidence in the later texts which will be discussed and he is obliged to reject the texts which we have just cited and Jeremiah 7:12–14. The affirmation of the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 7:6–7) which he uses as an argument, is explained otherwise: The prophet is opposed to the construction of a Canaanite type of temple, but he was not unaware that there was a “house” of “Yahweh” in Shiloh, or that the ark had been in the house of Abinadab in Kiryat Jearim (1 Samuel 7:1) then in the house of Obed-edom (2 Samuel 6:10–12) cf A. Weiser, “Die Tempelbaukrise unter David”, in ZAW 77 (1965), 153–68, spec. 158–159; R. de Vaux, “Jerusalem et ses prophetes”, in RB 73 (1965), 481–509, spec. 486–487.

16.

The mention of Shiloh in Judges 21:12 is a gloss from the same period.

17.

M. Noth, Das System …, 151–62; The History …, 98; J. Bright, A History of Israel, 144.

18.

J. van der Ploeg, “Les chefs du peuple d’Israel et leurs titres”, RB 57 (1950), 40–61, spec. 47–54; E. A. Speiser “Background and Function of the Biblical Nasi”, CBQ 25 (1963), 111–17, reproduced in his Oriental and Biblical Studies (Philadelphia, 1967), 113–22.

19.

This designation comes from A. Jepsen, “Untersuchungen zum Bundesbuch” (BWANT, III 5, (Stuttgart, 1927)), 87–90.

20.

M. Noth, Das System …, 97–100; Die Gesetze im Pentateuch (Halle, 1940), spec. 22–29 = The Laws in the Pentateuch and other Studies, translated by D. R. Ap-Thomas; introduction by N. W. Porteous (Philadelphia, 1967), 28–36; “Des Amt des Richters Israels”, in Festschrift A. Bertholet (Tubingen, 1950), 404–17 = Gesamelte Studien …, II, 71–85; A. Alt, Die Ursprunge des israelitischen Rechts (Leipzig, 1934), 30–33 = Essays on Old Testament History and Religion, translated by R. A., Wilson (Garden City, 1967), 130–132.

21.

Noth himself is conscious of this, The History …, 103.

22.

M. Noth. Das System …, 100–06, 168–170; the quotation from p. 170, The History …, 105.

23.

G. von Rad, Der Heilige Krieg im Alten Israel (Zurich, 1951), 25–26, n. 43.

24.

G. von Rad, 1. c. 26, n. 43.