Treasures Lost by Francisco Martins

Author:Francisco Martins [Martins, Francisco]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783110776119
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2022-06-14T08:00:24+00:00

4.2

The Motif Beyond Kings: A Preliminary Study

4.2.1

‘Retelling the Losses’: The Despoliation Notices in Chronicles

The following paragraphs briefly survey the reception of the motif of the despoliation of the treasur(i)es in the book of Chronicles. 46 I assume, with the majority of scholars, that the author of Chronicles had at his disposal and made extensive use of a version of the books of Samuel and Kings as his main source. 47

The first and most immediate datum is the omission of two of the despoliation notices preserved in Kings; 48 or, more accurately, a “non-specification” in one case and an omission in the other. According to 2 Kgs 12:18–19, king Jehoash “pays” for the deliverance of Jerusalem, threatened by king Hazael of Damascus, with the קדשים and gold kept in the treasuries of the temple and royal palace. In 2 Chronicles 24, in contrast, the contingent of Aramean troops (Hazael is not named) engages in a fully-fledged invasion of Judah, entering the capital city, killing the princes of the people (24:23: וַיַּשְׁחִיתוּ אֶת־כָּל־שָׂרֵי הָעָם מֵעָם), and sending “all their spoil” to the king of Damascus (וְכָל־שְׁלָלָם שִׁלְּחוּ לְמֶלֶךְ דַּרְמָשֶׂק). As in other cases (see below), the Chronicler has set the episode of the Aramean invasion in a new context: in the second and bleaker part of the reign of Jehoash, after his mentor and guide, the priest Jehoiada, died. Moreover, he rewrites it as a successful attempt (instead of a threat), giving it a theological purpose: the invasion punishes the king and the princes of Judah for their sins (see 2 Chr 24:17–18). Surprisingly, however, he leaves the actual contents (and origins) of the spoils obtained by the Arameans in the course of the campaign unspecified. The generic formulation can be read as a manner of suggesting the plunder was rather universal in its reach: the Arameans took both “common” and “private” riches, i.e., those of the princes of the people. 49 In any case, the absence of reference to the treasures of the temple and the palace (cf. 2 Kings 12:19) is curious and difficult to explain. 50 Did the Chronicler resist the notion of a despoliation of the newly restored temple (2 Chr 24:4–14)? 51 Or, instead, did he assume that the treasuries of the temple (and, eventually, those of the royal palace) had been emptied in the process of restoration (see 2 Chr 24:14), so that there was nothing left to be taken away? 52 It is possible one or both these considerations played a role; but pinning down the Chronicler’s motives with certainty remains difficult in this case. 53

The omission in the account of king Hezekiah’s reign is much easier to understand. In contrast to its Vorlage (2 Kgs 18:13–16), Chronicles does not report a successful Assyrian invasion with the capture of Judah’s fortified cities, but only a military threat (2 Chr 32:1: בָּא סַנְחֵרִיב מֶלֶךְ־אַשּׁוּר וַיָּבֹא בִיהוּדָה וַיִּחַן עַל־הֶעָרִים הַבְּצֻרוֹת וַיֹּאמֶר לְבִקְעָם אֵלָיו) and Sennacherib’s intention to attack the city of Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:2). In this

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