Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament (review)

Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 333 Reviews used to develop the historical narrative is drawn. Although the author is aware of legitimate disagreements among scholars that bear on these matters , they do not penetrate the body of his work. Where he has staked out positions on topics in his earlier scholarship (mainly in French), he cites his own work and does not reargue his positions; in other cases, he indicates clearly with whom he agrees and provides additional references in the endnotes for someone interesting in pursuing a topic, as in the case of assigning an important role to Moses in which he follows Roland de Vaux’s conclusions based on the latter’s 1971 book. The advantage of this type of presentation is that it results in a clear text that takes readers from A to B efficiently. The one big disadvantage with it, however, is that readers are never informed that the information about Hezekiah, for example, is taken from non-contemporary sources, the Deuterononomistic History that is clearly later. The problem, to my mind, is even more acute when the data are cited from the Torah and readers are not informed about the date of the sources or stream of tradition being used in reconstructing the earliest stages of Israelite Yahwism (chaps. 2–3). My concerns, however, were clearly not those of the author and the absence of such information does not really affect his argument. In addition to being useful for academic non-specialists or general readers who want to orient themselves in the topic, the book could be used profitably as a supplementary text in courses on Israelite history and/or civilization at both an undergraduate and graduate level. Lemaire’s notes provide ingress for advanced students to learn more about any topic covered, though the bibliography favors European and more sources in French than American students are used to. For all its deceptive simplicity, it is a book that could only have been written by a skilled professional. Ziony Zevit American Jewish University Los Angeles, CA 90077 zzevit@ajula.edu FLAME OF YAHWEH: SEXUALITY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. By Richard M. Davidson. Pp. xxix + 844. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2007. Paper, $29.95. Richard M. Davidson’s work Flame of Yahweh presents a comprehensive , “wholistic” survey of human sexuality in the Hebrew Bible. Davidson examines not only sexual activity but also gender differentiation in the final Hebrew Studies 49 (2008) 334 Reviews form of the canonical biblical text. Although there are a few references to the collection of books commonly known as the Apocrypha (canonical for Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians), Davidson’s canon is primarily the Jewish and Protestant canon. He does occasionally use the term “Hebrew Bible,” but he more frequently uses the term “Old Testament” because of his Christian evangelical confessional approach (p. 5). Davidson does not presume “to have the final or exclusive word on sexual theology” in the Scriptures, but he does claim that a coherent and consistent theology emerges from the Scriptures (pp. 5–6). The heart of this unified theology is apparent in “the Edenic pattern for sexuality” (p. 3) found in Genesis 1–3. The first section of the book, then, examines Genesis 1–3 in depth and derives ten theological-ethical principles about human sexuality, including heterosexuality, monogamy, exclusivity, equality, permanence , and intimacy. The second section of the book traces these principles throughout the rest of the Scripture, focusing on but not limited to the remainder of the Pentateuch. The third section is devoted to the Song of Songs. Davidson sees the Song as the preeminent expression of human sexuality in the canon; in fact, his title “flame of Yahweh” is taken from his translation of Song 8:6. Whereas Eden is the foundation, the Song is the fruition of God’s divine plan for human relations. Davidson ends with an afterward about sexuality in the New Testament that draws connections between the Old Testament ethic and the New. Davidson has certainly provided his reader with a comprehensive survey of sexuality in the Hebrew Bible, along with Ancient Near Eastern parallels. His footnotes and bibliography are equally rich resources for other works of scholarship on gender and...