The Danite Campaign Northward (Judges xvii-xviii) and the Migration of the Phocaeans to Massalia (strabo iv 1,4)

Author: Na'Aman, Nadav

Source: Vetus Testamentum, Volume 55, Number 1, 2005 , pp. 47-60(14)

Publisher: BRILL

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Abstract:

The article first examines in detail the story of Judges xvii-xviii, suggesting that it is a post-Dtr composition, written for an educated audience in the post-exilic period. It ridicules and criticizes not only the cult, priests and cult centres of the Northern Kingdom, but also their founder, Jeroboam I. Indeed, some of the characteristics of the story's main protagonist, Micah, were borrowed from the history of Jeroboam as related in the Book of Kings.

Second, the article analyzes the similarity between the description of the Danite migration northward and a Greek story that describes the foundation of Massalia by the Phocaeans (Strabo, Geography IV 1,4). It is suggested that certain outlines of the story of Judges xviii might have been borrowed from a Greek legend that the author had heard and adapted to his purpose.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1163/1568533053713640

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