P R O V I N G YAHWEH KILLED HIS WIFE (ZECHARIAH 5:5-11) DIANA EDELMAN

University of Sheffield

Had J o b found a j u d g e to hear his case against Yahweh, he would have learned the hard way that the deity cannot be held accountable for his actions in a h u m a n court of law. But could God be brought to justice in a divine court for some of his more egregious crimes? Let us take, for example, the murder of his wife, Asherah. Here there is the potential of a class-action suit being filed in the heavenly court on behalf of her former earthly worshippers against Yahweh, the prime suspect in the case. While conflict of interest would prevent such a case in a h u m a n court of law, those bringing the suit will waive objection to the j u d g e also being the defendant and serving as his own counsel. They have n o choice but to do so. It is a precondition of heavenly justice. "Court is now in session. T h e honourable Yahweh, King of Heaven, presides as Judge. All bow." "In the case of the People vs. Yahweh, the People call Zechariah ben Iddo as their first witness. Well, that is, his written prophecies. Let the record show that Yahweh revealed his intentions to kill Asherah in a vision that was written down and preserved for posterity in Zech. 5:5-11. The exact date of the vision is unknown, but is not at issue since there is no statute of limitations in the case of divine justice and an eternal defendant." "In the vision, Yahweh, through his duly authorised agent, an u n n a m e d heavenly messenger, a.k.a. angel, drew Zechariah's attention to a certain sealed 'epa being carried away by two heavenly minions, females, with stork-like wings, to the land of Shinar. Zechariah was shown the contents inside the sealed 'epa : a woman, identified by the angel as hans'a, 'Wickedness'." "Did you, Yahweh, send this vision to Zechariah ben Iddo?" "Yes. What of it?" "We allege, your Highness, that you were so overburdened by your guilt at killing your wife Asherah and by the ensuing loneliness that you have experienced as Elohim, the sole deity, that you

Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2003 Also available online - www.brill.nl

Biblical Interpretation 11, 3/4

336

DIANA EDELMAN

felt compelled to share your gnawing secret with others. At the same time, we allege that you did so in a way that maintained your superior status by using obscure and deliberately multivalent imagery on the assumption that mortal minds would not really understand." 1 "Prove it to me." "Fine. First, we must establish the identity of the woman seated in the pa. Did you not deliberately describe her as hans'a, using an anagram, to provide a clue to her real identity as Asherah?" 2 "Perhaps. But why are you not considering her equation with Eve, 3 with Jerusalem, 4 with the prophetic prostitute, 5 with Ezekiel's metaphor of the land as a menstruating unclean woman, 6 or with foreign Babylonian women? 7 Then there's her possible identification with Asherah's daughter Anat, 8 with her cousin Astarte, 9 with her Babylonian incarnation, Ishtar, 10 or simply, with ritual impu-

I am indebted to S. Lasine for encouraging me to make the second point an explicit motivation. In an earlier draft it was implicidy suggested as a second "hidden" motivation. 2 So e.g. C.L. Meyers a n d E.M. Meyers, Haggai, Zechanah 1-8 (AB, 25B; Gard e n City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), p p . 302-303. T h e interchange of the two gutterals 'aleph a n d 'ayin would n o t be an issue o n the oral level a n d so should n o t preclude the likely view that the two are anagrams. See also C. Uehlinger, "Die Frau im Efa (Sach 5,5-11): Eine Programmvision von der Ausschaffung d e r Gttin," Bibel und Kirche 49 (1994) 93-103 (101-102). 3 So e.g. D.R. Jones, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: Introduction and Commentary (Torch Bible Commentaries; London: SCM Press, 1962), p . 82; W. Rudolph, Haggai-Sacharja 1-8, Sacharja 9-14, Maleachi (, 13/4; Gtersloh: Mohn, 1976), p. 120; D.L. Petersen, Haggai fZechariah 1-8 (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1984), p p . 257-58. 4 So e.g. M. Barker, "The Evil in Zechariah," Hey] 19 (1978), p p . 12-27 (24). 5 H.G. Mitchell et al., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah (ICC; New York: Scribner's, 1912), p . 173, citing Hos. 2:2; Jer. 23:1 a n d Ezek. 16:1; T. Chary, Agge-Zacharie Malachie (Sources bibliques; Paris: J. Gabalda, 1969), 103. It is specifically linked with Hosea's wife Gomer by E.W. Conrad (Zechariah [Readings; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999], p . 119). 6 So e.g. R. Mason, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (CBC; Cambridge: Cam bridge University Press, 1977), p . 58. citing Ezek. 36:17. 7 So e.g. Meyers and Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, p p . 301-302, 313. 8 So e.g. M. Smith, Palestinian Parties and Politics that Shaped the Old Testament (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), p . 240 n. 2. 9 So e.g. S. Marenof, "Note C o n c e r n i n g the Meaning of the Word, 'Ephah,' Zechariah 5:5-11," AJSLL 48 (1931-1932), p p . 264-67 (266-67). 10 So e.g. K. Galling, "Die Exilswende in d e r Sicht des P r o p h e t e n Sacharja," in K. Galling (ed.), Studien zur Geschichte Israels im persischen Zeitalter (Tbingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1964), p p . 109-26 (120); M. D e k o r , "La vision de la femme dans l'pha de Zach., 5, 5-11 la lumire de la littrature hittite," Revue de l'histoire des religions 187 (1975), p p . 137-45 (144); C. Jeremas, Die Nachtgesichte de Sacharja:

PROVING Y A H W E H KILLED HIS WIFE

337

rity.11 Some among your ranks have made these suggestions over the years." "We respectfully request that your Worship, in his capacity as defendant, answer our question with a simple yes or no." "Hmm. Probablybut do not test my good grace." "Thank you. Now, your Highness, is it not the case that the 'epa was used as a coffin by members of the Neo-Babylonian elite in the sixth anf fifth centuries BCE?" 1 2 'Yes. Your point?" "The 'epa sealed with a leaden lid that contained Asherah and which was carried away from Jerusalem to Shinar was in fact a coffin containing her dead body. You were removing it from your holy ground, your temple, and sending it into exile, to the profane ground of Shinar, on the pretext of allowing h e r to leave h e r h o m e in Yehud and seek new worshippers on h e r own in Babylonia, perhaps regaining the loyalty of some of her former worshippers in exile there." "Interesting theory. But why do you assume I am uni-dimensional in my representations? Why do you limit the 9p to a coffin only, ignoring its possible associations with the volume of dry measure, with a bath-tub, or, in another play on words, with an allusion to Nin-Girsu's ziggurat at Lagash, the -pa, or by exten sion, a small shrine? 1 3 Are you charging me with limited vision? Is that my crime?" "Oh no, your Worship." "Why do you overlook the e n d of the vision? Why not assume that in this vision I had two of my wife's heavenly attendants carry 14 h e r from our temporary h o m e in the temple in Mizpah to h e r
Untersuchungen zu ihrer Stellung im Zusammenhang der Visionsberichte im Alten Testa ment und zu ihrem Bildmaterial (FRLANT, 117; Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1977), p . 197; M. A. Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets, Vol. II (Berit Olam; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier, 2000), p. 620. 11 So e.g. . Halpern. "The Ritual Background of Zechariah's Temple Song," CBQ40 (1978), p p . 167-90 (179-80, 188-89). 12 J. Zorn, "Mesopotamian-Style 'Bathtub' Coffins from Tell en-Nasbeh," TA 20 (1993), p p . 216-24. 13 So e.g. Mitchell, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah, p. 175, Marenof, "Meaning of 'Ephah'," p p . 264-67; Meyers a n d Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, p p . 296-97; B. Glazier-McDonald, "Zechariah," In C.A. Newsome a n d S.H. Ringe (eds.) The Women's Bible Commentary (London: SPCK, 1992), p p . 230-31 (213). 14 It is likely that a temple for Yahweh a n d Asherah was located in Mizpah, the provincial seat of Yehud u n d e r the Neo-Babylonians a n d early Achaemenids, until the Jerusalem was rebuilt as the replacement capital, with the new temple.

338

DIANA EDELMAN

new desired home in a temple of her own choice in Babylonia? She was transported in style in her miniature shrine that contained her preferred earthly manifestation, as is fitting of my wife, the Queen of Heaven." "Well, your Grace, there is the small matter of the lead stone that your messenger/angel cast into her mouth in v. 8 of Zechariah's prophecy. This could be construed as an attempt to silence h e r permanently 1 5 and prevent her m o u t h from being ritually opened once she arrived at her new sanctuary in Babylonia. 16 It effectively rendered her d u m b and unable to answer her new worshipper's petitions via her cult statue." "Why do you assume that this is different from the lead weight sealing the'p, mentioned at the beginning of v. 7? After all, 'her mouth' can refer to the 'p as well as the woman." "But your Worship, the first leaden weight is a kikkar 'operet17 and the latter is an 'eben ha'operet. And a portable shrine might have a door or 'mouth' in its side, which could be 'opened,' but not a lead weight on its top, or roof, that could be 'lifted up.' So logically, your Divineship, the 'p is not likely to be a portable shrine, and the messenger shoved a second lead weight, not the coffin's lid, into the mouth of the constrained woman, not into the mouth of the coffin." "So all visions must conform to your notions of reality a n d logic?" "Oh no, your Lordship. We readily acknowledge the symbolic nature of much of the imagery you used in this vision. So, for example, the woman represents both your wife in a h u m a n form and her cult statue, simultaneously, if we accept the probable linkage to her. But as you have pointed out, there is a range of other metaphorical and symbolic meanings that have been associated with her as well."

So M.C. Love, The Evasive Text: Zechariah 1-8 and the Frustrated Reader (JSOTSup, 296; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), p . 210. 16 For the ritual of "opening the m o u t h " used to induce a deity to take u p residence in a cult statue, see M.B. Dick (ed.), Born in Heaven, Made on Earth: The Making of the Cult Image in the Ancient Near East (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999). 17 While this circular piece of lead is thought to represent the lid of the ephah by almost all commentators, Love has suggested it be taken as an actual unit of weight or trade, which in the vision is used as the value or purchase price of the woman (Evasive Text, p. 211).

15

PROVING YAHWEH KILLED HIS WIFE

339

"The 'p is a container that can have multi-dimensions at the same time: a container capable of accommodating an 'p within its volume, a bathtub for cleansing impurity, a coffin for burying the dead. It can also stand as a metaphor for illegal gain, 18 for 'a full measure' of wickedness that needs retribution,' 1 9 or for a prison or place of confinement." 20 "The lead in the mouth can be a symbolic blockage and weighing down of this orifice, and even if our ancestors may not have been aware that it was poisonous when ingested, you certainly are and chose your murder weapon carefully. O n the other hand, the lead weight might recall the placing of money u n d e r the tongue of a deceased to pay the ferryman on the permanent voyage to the underworld, though this is a Greek idea and so perhaps not relevant in the context of your intended Jewish audience. But we acknowledge your ability to be multicultural and do not rule out your inclusion of imagery that would speak to subsequent audiences, perhaps even as later supplements to your original vision." "What would you argue if I told you that the leaden kikkar and the leaden stone are in fact the same item? How could I have poisoned my wife then and prevented her from ever speaking again?" "Well, your Excellency, in that case, we would need to amend our accusation against you and allege that you merely confined her permanently within a brass or copper 'p, which serves as a prison whose lead cover is unable to be penetrated by beings of any level in the divine hierarchy." "How have you arrived at such a conclusion? There is nothing in your sacred texts that would suggest such a form of punishment." "Ah yes, this is the case. However, we have learned that in Hittite law, a slave who revolted against his master could be put into a receptacle like a large storage j a r or pithos. In the same culture's mythic tradition, the rage, anger and sin of the god Telepinu were permanently confined inside brass cauldrons that were covered with lead. Then again, a Hittite incantation we have come across mentions how the evil demon Tarpin was confined forever along with bloodshed, evil, sorrow, tears, cursing, and disease inside a
So e.g. Petersen, Haggai & Zechariah 1-8, pp. 255-56; E. Conrad, Zechariah, pp. 118-19. 19 So e.g. A. van Hoonacker, "La vision de Yepha dans Zach. V. 5 ss.," Revue Bndictine 35 (1923), pp. 57-61 (59). 20 So e.g. Delcor, "Vision de la femme," pp. 140-43.
18

340

DIANA EDELMAN

lead-topped cauldron of brass or copper. 21 O n analogy, we have deduced that a metallic 'p with a lead cover would be able to confine a divine being indefinitely, thus creating a virtual coffin that, in the present vision, would contain your wife, Asherah, who has been buried alive forever. In effect, she would be dead, even if she is unable to be physically killed. But we have mixed reports about whether a god can actually be killed or not, so we would prefer to leave open the possibility that she is actually dead. Please feel free to clarify the latter point for us." "A creative use of material. But why do you presume that my people thought in the same way that the Hittites did? Have I not indicated that my people were different?" "Oh yes, your Incomparability, this point has been made a number of times in our sacred writings. But skeptics among us wonder if you have not protested too much, perhaps as a way of throwing us off our guard with flattery and missing how similar, in fact, our ancestors' world-view was to that of the surrounding nations in the ancient Near East." "I see. Continue with your response to my question about the need for logic in all interpretations." "Certainly. The 'ayin can be an eye, 22 a physical appearance or seen object, 23 a source or wellspring, or, if read 'awon,24 h u m a n sin or iniquity. Whose eye, appearance, source or iniquity remains to our inquisitive h u m a n minds an open question, since there are no specific male antecedents presented in the vision who can be the logical referents of the 3 m. pi. suffix on "ayin." "The land of Shinar can literally mean Babylonia or can be a
21

Delcor, "Vision de la femme," pp. 140-42. So e.g. Rudolph, Haggai-Sacharja, p . 117; Meyers a n d Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, p . 297; R.L. Smith, Micah-Malachi (WBC, 32; Waco, TX: Word, 1989), p. 209; M.H. Floyd, "The Evil in the E p h a h ' : Reading Zechariah 5:5-11 in Its Literary Context," CBQ58 (1996), p p . 51-68 (55, 58-59); Love, Evasive Text, p. 210; Sweeney, Twelve Prophets, pp.619-20. 23 C.F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, Volume X: Minor Prophets (trans. From German by J. Martin; Grand Rapids. MI: Eerdmans, 1980), p. 283; L. Rignell, Die Nachtgesichte des Sacharja: Eine exegetische Studie (Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1950), p. 190. 24 So e.g. S.R. Driver, The Minor Prophets (The Century Bible; Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C.Jack, 1906), p. 207; Chary, Agge-Zacharie, p p . 101-102;J.G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi'. An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries; London: Tyndale Press, 1972), p. 128; Petersen, Haggai f Zechariah 1-8. p. 256; P.L. Redditt, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (New Century Bible Commentary; London: Marshall Pickering, 1995), p. 73.
22

PROVING YAHWEH KILLED HIS WIFE

341

m e t a p h o r for exile, or for foreign or enemy land, 2 5 or for an impure destination outside the promised land. 26 The 'p can be set u p on a stand as a cult object or the image inside of it can be, without the 'p. The future worshippers can be Babylonians or diaspora Jews or both. The temple can be real 27 or symbolic. If symbolic, it can represent the continuation of your worship alongside your wife, where both of you were physically represented in cult statues, 28 or the setting u p of your wife in her own temple, where her worshippers can directly petition her concerning fertility and childbirth." 'You begin to appreciate the depth of my imagery and the limitation of h u m a n knowledge. But why do you narrow your gaze to this single vision when I sent seven others of equal importance to Zechariah, which he dutifully wrote down for posterity. Doesn't your interpretation change if you view the one vision you have pinned your entire case upon as part of the larger series?" 29 "Perhaps, your Wiseness. You are well aware of the burgeoning collection of commentaries and articles over the centuries that have interpreted the vision both in isolation and as part of the series. But your Incomparability, do you intend all these possible meanings to be taken equally? You know the frailty of the h u m a n mind (after all, you made it that way), which does not deal well with ambiguity and prefers to decide on a single meaning, even when gaps in knowledge prevent certainty. Surely in your Wisdom

25 So e.g. Keil, Minor Prophets, p. 285; Chary, Agge-Zacharie, p. 104, in the sense of opposition to God, Petersen, Haggai & Zechariah 1-8, p. 262; D.P. Wright, The Disposal of Impurity (SBLDS, 101; Atlanta: Scholars' Press, 1987), p . 273 n. 150; Conrad, Zechariah, p . 120. 26 Halpern, "Zechariah's Temple Song," p. 180. 27 So M. Smith, Palestinian Parties, p p . 90-91. 28 So Floyd, "Evil in the Ephah," p. 67. 29 For readings of 5:5-11 within the context of the series of visions, see e.g. J.W. Rothstein, Die Nachtgesichte des Sacharja. Studien zur Sacharjaprophetie und zur jdischen Geschichte im ersten nachexilischen Jahrhundert (BWAT, 8; Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1910); H.G. May, "A Key to the Interpretation of Zechariah's Visions," JBL 57 (1938), 173-84; Rignell, Nachtgesichte des Sacharja', M. Bic, Die Nachtgesichte des Sarharja (BibS[N], 42; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1964); K. Seybold, "Die Bildmotive in den Visionen des Propheten Sacharja," in Studies on Prophecy, A Collection of Twelve Papers (VTSup, 26; Leiden: Brill, 1974), pp. 92-110; L.A. Sinclair, "Redaction of Zechaariah 1-8," BR 20 (1975), pp. 36-47; Halpern, "Zechariah's Temple Song," pp. 167-90; Jeremas, Nachtgesichte des Sacharja', D.L. Petersen, "Zechariah's Visions: A Theological Perspective," VT 34 (1984), pp. 195206; Meyers & Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, p p . 309-16; Floyd, "Evil in the Ephah," p p . 51-68.

342

DIANA EDELMAN

you would have taken this into consideration when communicating your vision through Zechariah. And how are we to know if we should construe your words literally or ironically or sarcastically? You do want us to understand you, d o n ' t you?" 'You have understood me well. All your readings, and more, are possible." "So, you admit that the vision can be taken to indicate that you murdered Asherah or permanently confined her, placed her physical manifestation in a lead- sealed metal 'p that effectively became her coffin, and got rid of the evidence by sending it away to a foreign land." "This is a possible interpretation of my vision. But as you have pointed out in your cross-examination, it is not the only interpretation. So you have failed to make a compelling case against me with incontrovertible evidence." "Well your Justice, our case does not rest solely on this passage in Zechariah, actually. Could you explain what has happened to your wife over the past 1,500 odd years? We have on record that she used to be beside you in the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kgs 18:4; 23:6-7) and we know from graffiti30 and figurines31 that the people of J u d a h were quite attached to her prior to the exile and during the exileat least those who remained in Yehud. But we find no evidence of her presence in the Persian-era temple in Jerusalem and her traditional figurines cease to be made about the same time. And about 500 years elfter that, she seems to have been replaced by a h u m a n mother, who gave birth to your last acknowledged divine son. A certain segment of those particularly devoted to this son have elevated his h u m a n mother virtually to Asherah's position and have even reintroduced the use of figurines in her worship, but you have done nothing to correct this misimpression. We suspect that you are happy to encourage Mary's virtual deification as a way to draw attention away from the unexplained, longstanding absence of your older divine wife, Asherah." "What would have been my motive for killing or eliminating Asherah? You did make some sort of allegation against me in your
Esp. Khirbet el-Qpm for Yahweh of J u d a h , but also Quntillet 'Ajrud for the Yahweh of Samaria and Yahweh of Teman. For details a n d bibliography for both, see conveniently, Z. Zevit, The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches (London: Continuum, 2001), p p . 359-405. 31 See esp. R. Kletter, The Judean Pillar Figurines and the Archaeology of Asherah (BARIS, 636; Oxford: Tempus Reparatum, 1996).
30

PROVING YAHWEH KILLED HIS WIFE

343

opening statement but you have failed to address this crucial comp o n e n t explicitly in your prosecution." "Er, well, your Mercy, we felt it would not be wise to antagonise you in your capacity as Supreme Judge. We did not want to prejudice the outcome of the suit adversely." "I see. My, how you humans test my patience. I am curious to know why you think I would have committed this act." "Very well, we humbly suggest that jealousy was the root cause of your act of violence. You became jealous of your wife's popularity among us and the attention we lavished on her rather than on you. She was so much more approachable. So you killed her or permanently confined her and usurped her heavenly role as giver of h u m a n life." "Really?" "Then, you issued your decree forbidding us to have any other gods 'opposite' you. 32 You deliberately used ambiguous phrasing here as well to make yourself feel superior to your created underlings, revealing your true motives but concealing them at the same time with the multivalent prepositional phrase, 6al panay. So we have argued for centuries about whether you meant that we could have n o other gods 'before' or 'ahead' of you, or as most think, we are to have no other gods 'besides' or 'in addition to' you. But today we contend that what you actually meant was that we could have no gods 'opposite' or 'next to' youan oblique reference to your former queen, Asherah." "So you believe that my jealousy led me to impose a ban on the worship of Asherah?" "Not precisely. Your jealousy led you to eliminate Asherah. We are unable to determine if this was a crime of passion or whether it was premeditated. We believe it was in the wake of this initial violent deed, however, that you devised the First Commandment as a way to cover u p your actions. In the second instance, we think that you were motivated by guilt, as we alleged in our opening statement. The law allowed you to transfer responsibility for her disappearance onto us instead, making it seem as though our abandonment of her and our neglect of her cult drove her away."33
32 I am indebted to P. Davies for encouraging me to include a more extended discussion of Yahweh's motives for killing Asherah and suggesting that the first commandment was his "defence" mechanism. 33 The idea that God needs to stress human responsibility for human actions

344

DIANA EDELMAN

"No comment." "We would like to subpoena Asherah to appear in court to help clear up this matter, but cannot trace her whereabouts. Can you help?" "Not exactly. As you know, married life can be a trial. We needed a little break from one another. But she could return any time. A century is but a day in heaven. In the meantime, though, has h u m a n fertility flagged? Have I not taken over her responsibilities and improved the h u m a n birth rate over the millenia? Are you accusing me of inattention to the care and feeding of the universe? I am quite capable of handling these tasks on my own. In light of the absence of your prime witness, I hereby order a recess in this trial until she can be located. After all, she is a goddess, so she cannot disappear for all eternity, can she? And this will give all of you an opportunity to prove your allegation of murder against me by personally searching Sheol for her as your short h u m a n lives end. Feel free to try to get back to me with what you find out then." "Court is in recess indefinitely. All bow as the Honorable Yahweh, Heavenly Justice, retires."

ABSTRACT Using an alternative form of scholarship, issues concerning how m e a n i n g is determined when reading an ancient text, the development of monotheism with the resulting n e e d to reinterpret older Yahwistic texts, and how to understand divine motivations are explored. T h e piece is cast as a class action suit b r o u g h t by m o d e r n h u m a n s against Yahweh in the heavenly court for m u r d e r i n g his wife, Asherah, citing Zech. 5:5-11 as evidence to support the accusation. Yahweh is defendant, self-appointed counsel and j u d g e , whose cross-examination highlights all three issues. T h e case remains unresolved, as do answers to the issues.

so that he will not be held responsible himself was suggested to me by S. Lasine in private correspondence. H e sees God wanting to duck responsibility "while still being able to enjoy the glory of being the creator ofand software designer forhumans and the choreographer of history."

^ s
Copyright and Use: As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the copyright holder(s)' express written permission. Any use, decompiling, reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a violation of copyright law. This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission from the copyright holder(s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of a journal typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However, for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article. Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available, or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s). About ATLAS: The ATLA Serials (ATLAS) collection contains electronic versions of previously published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American Theological Library Association.