The Deuteronomistic History and the Name Theology: leshakken shemo sham in the Bible and the Ancient Near East

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This monograph is a comparative, socio-linguistic reassessment of the Deuteronomic idiom, Iesakken semo sam, and its synonymous biblical reflexes in the Deuteronomistic History, Iasum semo sam, and Iihyotsemo sam. These particular formulae have long been understood as evidence of the Name Theology - the evolution in Israelite religion toward a more abstracted mode of divine presence in the temple. Utilizing epigraphic material gathered from Mesopotamian and Levantine contexts, this study demonstrates that Iesakken semo sam and Iasum semo sam are loan-adaptations of Akkadian suma sakanu, an idiom common to the royal monumental tradition of Mesopotamia. The resulting retranslation and reinterpretation of the biblical idiom profoundly impacts the classic formulation of the Name Theology.