Gary L. Knoppers. <i>Prophets, Priests, and Promises: Essays on the Deuteronomistic History, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah</i>

Gerald (Gary) Knoppers held the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN) until his untimely death on December 22, 2018. Knoppers’s prolific career is evident from a selective overview of his works, which include his two-volume published dissertation Two Nations under God: The Deuteronomistic History of Solomon and the Dual Monarchies (1993–94), his two-volume Anchor Bible commentaries 1 Chronicles 1–9 (2004) and 1 Chronicles 10–29 (2004), his study on the Samari(t)ans in Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations (2013), as well as the forthcoming Hermeneia commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah he was coauthoring with Oded Lipschits (for a full bibliography, see the forthcoming Festschrift, The Formation of Biblical Texts: Chronicling the Legacy of Gary Knoppers). The book under review was submitted posthumously when Oded Lipschits discovered the files on Knoppers’s computer and sent them for publication. The book covers a range of topics including the Deuteronomistic History, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and biblical historiography.The volume contains fifteen chapters that are divided into four sections. While eight chapters are new, seven chapters are revisions—at times extensively—of previous publications. In this review, I summarize and interact with the eight previously unpublished chapters.In chapter 2, “From Israel to Judah in the Deuteronomistic Writing: A History of Calamities?,” Knoppers suggests that the writers of the Deuteronomistic work employ Proto-Deuteronomy to both endorse and criticize the accomplishments of the monarchy. For example, “The Deuteronomistic writing applies Deuteronomic legislation to position Jerusalem as the divinely chosen place repeatedly promised in Deuteronomy” (p. 50).According to Knoppers in chapter 5, “Theft or Mimesis? The Non-Citation of Older Writings in Chronicles,” mimesis is when “a writer would actively employ an older work to produce his own new and distinctive literary creation” (p. 120). In the first case study of the Levitical town lists (Josh 21; 1 Chr 6), Knoppers argues that the Chronicles employs mimesis in drawing upon an older Levitical list, but the list’s new context in Chronicles places the Levitical towns as the center of Israel’s heritage. In his second case study, Knopper explains the source citations in Chronicles as reflecting mimesis. Chronicles’ placement of source citations in the same position as Kings indicates that the Chronicler intended for the reader to recognize the reliance on his source. The Chronicler, nevertheless, uses source citations to (re)configure “the careers of the kings in the united and Judahite monarchies” (p. 132).Chapter 6, “‘As It Is Written’: What Were the Chronicler’s Prophetic Sources?,” and chapter 7 “‘YHWH will Raise Up for You a Prophet like Me’: Prophetic Succession in Chronicles,” both deal with prophecy in Chronicles. In chapter 6, Knoppers argues that Chronicles presents prophets as actively commenting on the “affairs of king, cult, people, and state for the sake of future generations” (p. 159). In chapter 7, Knoppers argues that the prophetic succession in Chronicles reflects the fulfillment of Yhwh’s pledge to raise divinely appointed prophets like Moses. The Chronicler adds references to prophetic figures who speak and write across every era of Judah’s history. Yhwh thus provides a prophet throughout Judah’s history.Chapter 11, “Defeat, Depopulation, and Displacement: The Judahite Exile of the Eighth Century BCE,” and chapter 12, “‘Wrath without Remediation’: The Babylonian Exile and the Question of Immediate Retribution in Chronicles,” both engage with the Chronicler’s presentation of the centuries leading up to the fall of Judah and subsequent Babylonian exile. Chapter 11 deals with the first exile that occurred during the reign of Ahaz due to a series of foreign incursions that weakened the Davidic state. Chapter 12 focuses on the Babylonian exile. Knoppers demonstrates that the late Judahite monarchy was one of decline that could not be reversed even by the great reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah. The intergenerational and widespread sin brought about the deportation. Hence the Chronicler calls for “long-term commitment, communal responsibility, and transgenerational loyalty” (p. 352).Chapters 13 and 14 concern Ezra-Nehemiah. In chapter 13, “Whodunit? The Unlikely Disappearance of Zerubbabel,” Knoppers suggests that Zerubbabel died a peaceful death. He explains the lack of reference to Zerubbabel during the temple dedication is due to Ezra-Nehemiah’s new theological paradigm of local-imperial relationship in which the Judeans cooperated with Achaemenid kings who carried out administrative roles traditionally held by the Davidic monarchs. In chapter 14, “Argumentum e silentio? Mizpah and Ramat Raḥel in Ezra-Nehemiah,” Knoppers explains that Ezra-Nehemiah acknowledges foreign domination, yet constructs a Jerusalem-centered Judean identity. As Jerusalem represents the center, Mizpah and Ramat Raḥel only serve as a peripheral site that aids in the reconstruction of Jerusalem.I found Knoppers’s model of mimesis particularly relevant for Chronicles scholarship. In 2023, at the “Chronicler’s History” session of the Institute for Biblical Research’s annual meeting, Paul Evans presented a paper titled “Something New under the Sun: A Chronicles Commentary Without Constant Comparison to Samuel-Kings.” In his paper, Evans asked if a commentary on Chronicles should primarily engage with the text of Chronicles itself, rather than constantly pointing to the differences between Chronicles and Samuel-Kings. A lively methodological and epistemic discussion on how to study the Book of Chronicles followed. While I agree that the unique literary shape and theology of Chronicles must be taken seriously, the use of mimesis in Chronicles suggests that the author intended for the readers to harken back to the borrowed material. I concur with Knoppers who states, “Chronicles can be read without recourse to a variety of older, established compositions as a work of literature in its own right. . . . Nevertheless, one may gain an added appreciation of the literary craft practiced by the authors of Deuteronomy and Chronicles through an acute awareness of their biblical sources” (p. 135).The book is primarily intended for academics and especially for scholars researching the Deuteronomistic History, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and the history of the postexilic period. Those who read the volume will surely find each chapter insightful and thought-provoking.