Innovation in Persian Period Judah

The essays in this volume, which has emerged from the Persian Period Seminar of the Society of Biblical Literature, explore biblical and comparative evidence to show how the Iron Age institutions of monarchy and temple shifted in both form and function in the Persian period. The weight given to the Davidic monarchy and Jerusalem temple in the historiography of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament invites a new examination of attitudes towards the same in Achaemenid Yehud in comparative perspective. The essays uncover new attitudes relating to the monarchy and cultic site as well as the influence, but also rejection of, Persian ideas and contribute to scholarly interest in the extent of Persian influence on the literature of ancient/biblical Israel. As such, the volume participates in, lays the groundwork for, and also shapes discussions of Persian period Yehud and its literature.Jill Middlemas: Introduction: The Restoration of the King and Temple in Persian Period Yehud

I. Conceptions of the King and Kingship
Louis Jonker: Is the book of Chronicles Yehud's equivalent of Bisitun? Or Is the book of Chronicles Yehud's equivalent of Bisitun? Interaction between biblical writings and royal Persian inscriptions from the late Achaemenid period - Bernard Gosse: David and Moses in Postexilic Times - W. Dennis Tucker: Creation, Kingship, and the Reframing of the Monarchy in the Psalter: A Comparative Analysis - Deirdre N. Fulton: »Seeking the God of his Father«: Examining King Josiah's Early Reforms in 2 Chronicles 34 in Light of Persian Period Kingship

II. Conceptions of the Temple
Jason M. Silverman: Imperial Chapels or Oratories of Resistance? Differential Integration of Temples in the Persian Empire - Daniel Bodi: The Temple in Persian Times as a Viable Economic Entity: A Comparison of Jerusalem's Temple and Uruk's Eanna - Samasoni Moleli: Cultic worship with a נכרי according to 1 Kings 8:41-43 - Gard Granerød: What were the Elephantine Judaeans' Conceptions of YHW? Aspects of Elephantine Judaean Temple Theology