SEEING DOUBLE: TOBIAH THE AMMONITE AS AN ENCRYPTED CHARACTER

I propose that the minor biblical character in the Book of Nehemiah known variously as Tobiah, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant reflects two different historical figures named Tobiah who lived some 200 years apart. One was a wealthy member of the gōlâ-community who returned to Ye...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Edelman, Diana (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Peeters 2006
In: Revue biblique
Year: 2006, Volume: 113, Issue: 4, Pages: 570-584
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
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Summary:I propose that the minor biblical character in the Book of Nehemiah known variously as Tobiah, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite servant reflects two different historical figures named Tobiah who lived some 200 years apart. One was a wealthy member of the gōlâ-community who returned to Yehud ca 460 BCE and was involved in the rebuilding and resettling of Jerusalem, while the other was the head of a division of cavalrymen stationed at a fort in Ammon ca 250 BCE, whose son served as a tax collector in Yehud on behalf of the Ptolemaic rulers. I look at the implications this technique of "history by exegesis" has for the compositional history of the book of Nehemiah and for historians using biblical texts as potential sources in their recreations of the past. Nous proposons que le personnage secondaire du livre de Néhémie, appelé diversement Tobiyya, Tobiyya l'Ammonite et Tobiyya le fonctionnaire ammonite, ait été l'écho de deux individus, appelés Tobiyya, et qui vécurent à deux cents ans d'écart. L'un était un riche membre de la communauté en exil, qui retourna en Yehud autour de 460 av. J.-C. et a été impliqué dans la reconstruction et le repeuplement de Jérusalem. L'autre était le chef d'une section de cavalerie en poste dans un fort en Ammonitide, vers 250 av. J.-C, et dont le fils a été collecteur d'impôts en Yehud pour le compte des Ptolémées. Nous évaluons les implications que cette technique d'« histoire par exégèse » a pour l'histoire de la composition de Néhémie, et pour les historiens utilisant les textes bibliques comme sources pour leur reconstitution du passé.
ISSN:2466-8583
Contains:Enthalten in: Revue biblique