Special Issue IOSOT 2013 - Books and Journals

68 S. Japhet / Vetus Testamentum IOSOT (2013) 36-76
Besides the parallel texts,165 it is found six times in his own narrative, in
several variations.166
All these modes of expression are not found in Ezr.-Neh. The stylistic difference
is strongly felt where the subject and purpose of the descriptions are the
same. Two examples will suffice to demonstrate this:
1) The two books tell us about the free-will donations for the execution of
the temple. In Ezr. ii 68-69, the description is “Some of the heads of families,
when they came to the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, made free-will
offerings for the house of the Lord to erect it on its site; according to their ability
they gave to the treasury of the work sixty-one thousand darics of gold, five
thousands mine of silver and one hundred priests’ garments”. In Chr. xxix 6ff.,
it is as follows: “Then the heads of father’ houses made their freewill offerings as
did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders . . . and the officers . . . They
gave . . . five thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze
and a hundred thousand talents of iron167 and whoever had precious stones
gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord. . . . Then the people rejoiced
because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely
to the Lord. David the King also rejoiced grately”.
2) The other occasion is the making of a covenant, which again is described
in both books: In Neh. x 28-29 (29-30): “The rest of the people . . . all who have
knowledge and understanding join with their brethren, their nobles and enter
into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law which was given by Moses . . . and
to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord, our Lord, and his ordinances
and his statutes”. And in 2 Chr. xv 12-15: “And they entered into a covenant
to seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart and with all
their soul and that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel should
be put to death. They took oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting
and with trumpets and with horns, and all Judah rejoiced over the oath for they
had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with all their desire and he
was found by them and the Lord gave them rest round about”.
The difference is immediately apparent. The descriptions of Ezr.-Neh. are
short, dry and matter of fact. They describe only external facts and minimize
the description of the ceremony. Those of Chr. are elaborate and pompous,
describing in detail the inner feeling of the participants and giving a tinge
165) 2 Chr. vi 14, 38 // 1 Ki. viii 23, 48; 2 Chr. xxxiv 31 // 2 Ki. xxiii 3.
166) 1 Chr. xxii 19; 2 Chr. xv 12, 15; xxii 9, xxx 19; xxxi 21.
167) On the difference in the numbers, cf. M. H. Segal, Tarbiz XIV (Hebrew), p. 85.