Chaos and the Son of Man: The Hebrew Chaoskampf Tradition in the Period 515 B.C.E. TO 200 C.E (review)

Hebrew Studies 50 (2009) 414 Reviews prophet or via Yahweh’s statutes). In addition, the book of Ezekiel shows how gracious God is: obedience, when accompanied by the spirit, “transforms the people by affecting Yahweh’s word in their experience,” Robson writes (p. 266). Let us now consider some technical aspects. The bibliography is thorough and outstanding (pp. 277–292). Robson’s writing requires a close reading because it is a technical book. There is ample white space on the margins for note taking and interaction. As the prophet Jeremiah represented a model for what his community should be in a siege time, Ezekiel models as well the ability to question Yahweh about why Jerusalem fell and why Yahweh judged it (p. 273). Furthermore, Ezekiel, by his obedience and his ability to listen to the spirit of Yahweh, models for the exiles the answer to their question, how should we now live (p. 274)? Robson has written a rich book that summarizes earlier work on Ezekiel (Allen, Zimmerli, Blenkinsopp, Clements, Greenberg, and Block) and adds his own significant contribution. He presents a credible argument that Ezekiel is the model Yahweh provides for how to follow Yahweh in a new season in Israel’s life. In addition, Robson sees an emphasis on Yahweh as a creator. He mentions the connection between Isaiah and Ezekiel in terms of Yahweh as a creator, and perhaps that should be a topic for another book. Robin Gallaher Branch Crichton College Memphis, TN 38111 North-West University Potchefstroom, South Africa rgbranch@crichton.edu CHAOS AND THE SON OF MAN: THE HEBREW CHAOSKAMPF TRADITION IN THE PERIOD 515 B.C.E. TO 200 C.E. By Andrew R. Angel. LSTS 60. Pp. xiii + 261. New York: T & T Clark, 2006. Cloth, $168.00. Andrew R. Angel’s work, Chaos and the Son of Man: The Hebrew Chaoskampf Tradition in the Period 515 B.C.E. to 200 C.E., represents a revision of his 2004 doctoral thesis from the University of Nottingham. Angel conducts a sweeping review of Jewish and Christian literature from the Second Temple and Tannaitic periods in order to discern whether or not there is evidence for the continuation of the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition, Hebrew Studies 50 (2009) 415 Reviews the battle of the Divine Warrior, usually portrayed as the storm god, against the waters of chaos or the chaos dragon, in post-biblical times. Following a brief review of the history of scholarship, in which he notes that relatively little work has been done on the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition in the Second Temple period since Gunkel’s pioneering (but dated) work, Schöpfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endzeit (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1895), Angel proceeds to identify and analyze appearances of the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition in Qumran texts, wisdom literature, apocalyptic literature, and Jewish historiography from the period 515 B.C.E. to 200 C.E. His methodology in considering references to the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition consists of satisfying a number of criteria: secure dating within the time period under consideration, culturally Hebrew (Jewish or Christian) provenance, geographical provenance, similarity in imagery to other known examples of the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition, reference to acts of God which are familiar from other references to the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition , creativity in the employment of the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition which suggests that the author(s) had access to a living Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition, and the appearance of the Hebrew Chaoskampf tradition in a significant number of texts written by different authors across the span of the time period (pp. 30–34). Following the approach described above, Angel sifts through the literature of the period. He consistently adduces references to the waters of chaos, dragons, and the Divine Warrior, although not all of these elements are present in each reference. A representative example from Angel’s textual analyses is his handling of Dan 7:2–14. The sea from which the four beasts arise is identified with the chaos sea of ancient Near Eastern mythology and the beasts themselves with the chaos monster/dragon. The descriptions of the “one like a Son of Man” as one who comes on the clouds and the Ancient of Days are...