What is the rest that God promises to his people and how is it disclosed in the Hebrew Scriptures?
To explore these questions, Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature studies the rest motif in major Mesopotamian texts, such as Enuma Elish, Atrahasis, and The Poem of Erra, as well as various other texts, including royal inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. This analysis, in turn, provides a basis for comparison with the promise of rest in Deuteronomy 12:8-11 and its development in the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Through close examination of these Mesopotamian texts and selections from the Deuteronomistic History and Chronicles, Kim develops a theology of rest from each body of literature and employs a comparative approach to illuminate the rest motif in the Hebrew Bible in light of Mesopotamian literature.
Editorial Review
This book will engage and benefit a number of readers. On the one hand, it will be of use to students who are just at the beginning of their deep engagement with Scripture. On the other hand, it will also benefit seasoned biblical scholars who are looking for new insight into passages with which they are already familiar. . . . [B]efore encountering [Kim’s] research I had never thought twice about the concept of rest. Now, this is a notion that I detect again and again when reading a biblical text.
Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer – University of Aberdeen
