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180 SHOFAR Spring 1996 Vol. 14, No.3 concern two economic irregularities involving nadl1u~priestessesin Sippar: the extent to which their cloistered environments could support them without the financial contribution of their dowries, and the limits of their financial debt responsibilities vis-a-vis their natal families.4 Eckart Otto's essay examines some legal provisions involving marriage and assault and battery in the cuneiform collections (the Laws of Eshnunna , the Laws of Hammurabi, the Middle Assyrian Laws, the Hittite laws) and in the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21) to argue for legal-historical development and reform. Other discussions in the volume by Martin Buss, Victor Matthews, William Morrow, and Dale Patrick all present arguments against Westbrook's thesis and for legal-historical and legal-literary development in the Mesopotamian and Biblical laws. All the respondents are influenced by twentieth-century anthropological trends which assume law to be an integral part of society rather than autonomous or outside of social and cultural change. In contrast, Westbrook is influenced more by a Roman jurisprudential approach which views law as an isolated phenomenon apart from social life; his working assumptions are thus fundamentally different from those of the other contributors to this volume. The volume would have benefited from the addition of one more respondent to assess these underlying assumptions from the Roman perspective. To be fair, the volume also should have included a response by Westbrook to his critics. Martha T. Roth . Oriental Institute University of Chicago Uncovering Ancient Stones: Essays in Memory ofH. Neil Richardson, edited by lewis M. Hopfe. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1994. 270 pp. $32.50. This memorial volume includes a photograph, biographical sketch, and curriculum vitae of H. Neil Richardson, late Professor of Old Testament at the Boston University School of Theology. The nineteen essays reflect Richardson's many interests in biblical literature, archaeology, sectarian literature, and theology. 'The cases are published in a study by C. Janssen, "Samsu-i1una and the Hungry nadilums," Northern Akkad Project Reports 5 (1991): 3-39. Book Reviews 181 The first major section, "The Hebrew Bible in Its Time," contains seven essays on various aspects of biblical literature. In "The Slaying of the Fleeing, Twisting Serpent: Isaiah 27:1 in Context," Bernhard W. Anderson discusses the reference to the serpent Leviathan in relation to its role as a major motifin the CbaoskampjofUgaritic and biblical literature. Overall, the reference to Leviathan functions as part of an apocalyptic relecture of Isaiah which took place as the book developed from prophecy to apocalypse. In "Two Unifying Female Images in the Book of Isaiah," Katheryn Pfisterer Darr examines the role that feminine imagery plays in tying together the book of Isaiah. Her discussion focuses especially on the simile of the travailing woman and the image of the woman unable to bring to birth as a means to depict Jerusalem's experience throughout the book. In "A Prophetic Vision of an Alternative Community: A Reading of Isaiah 40-55," Ann Johnston employs a rhetorical study of Deutero-Isaiah to rehash a well-worn thesis concerning the opposition of the" apocalyptic minority" represented by Deutero-Isaiah's concept of a "servant community " and the priestly majority represented by Ezekiel's concept of a priestly community based on cultic and legal fulfillment. In "The 'Fortresses of Rehoboam': Another Look," T. R. Hobbs examines the reference to Rehoboam's fortresses in 2 Chronicles 11:5-12. His consideration of geographical factors, textual problems, the distribution oflmlk jar handles, and other factors leads him to conclude that the system of fortresses mentioned in this passage does not represent a system of self-defense against Shishak's anticipated attack; it was constructed as a means to maintain internal security in]udah following the secession ofthe nonhern tribes. In "The Lachish Letters and Official Reactions to Prophecies," Simon B. Parker examines Lachish Ostracon III in relation to the Mari archives in an effort to determine how ancient government officials reacted to prophetic pronouncements. The location of the letter in the city gate indicates that Lachish was the recipient of the letter, and its contents point to a chain of communication in which the words of prophets are taken seriously and...

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