Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

I. Theorizing Myth in Ancient West Asian Studies
Myth Theory
Biblical Scholarship and the Category of Myth
Terminology
The Ancient West Asian Milieu and the Comparative Enterprise

II. The Conflict Topos in Extant Narratives
Anzu
Enuma Elish
Assur version of Enuma Elish
Ba'lu Cycle
Comparisons and Narrative Taxonomy
Conclusion

III. The Conflict Motif
Victorious Warrior Deities: 'Anatu, Ba'lu, and Yahweh
Yahweh's Combat against the Sea/Dragon and Its Relevance for Humans
Divine Combat within Historiography: Combined Conflict and Exodus Motifs
Yahweh vs. Human Enemies: Combat with Contemporary "Dragons"
The Temple
The Conflict Motif and Royal Figures
Conclusion

IV. Continued Adaptation, The Conflict Motif and the Eschaton
Hebrew Bible Eschatological Battles
Revelation
Jesus/Christos as the Divine Warrior
Leviathan and Behemoth in the Eschaton and More Eschatological Battles
The "Holy One" vs. the Prince of the Sea
Conclusion

V. The Motif of Yahweh's Authority over the Sea and the Legitimacy of Individuals: Claiming vs. Having Power over the Sea
Jesus
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Gamaliel
Conclusion

VI. Conclusion
Leave "Chaos" Out of It
The Conflict Topos, Distinctions and Comparisons

Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Debra Scoggins Ballentine is an assistant professor in the Department of Religion at Rutgers, where she teaches courses on the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern religions.

Reviews

"The discussion is explorative, suggestive, but careful in its final claims. The gains of each chapter build a compelling case for the ideological use of the conflict topos both within and outside of myths. But the primary value of the work seems to be in assessing the myths themselves; demonstrating the recasting that takes place within the myths and their later forms; and, in some cases, illustrating how the conflict topos was used for ideological purposes
echoed in historical circumstances."--Journal of Religion
"[An] intelligent and clearly written book It will make its deservedly many readers curious about topics and perspectives that the book introduces and explores. It is a fine introduction for advanced students to the wide array of relevant texts and other works that feature the conflict myth and its motifs and an important conversation partner for scholars in the field."--Journal of Religion and Violence
"This is the most comprehensive discussion to date of the Conflict/Combat Myth in the Bible in the ancient Near East. It is also the first such study that is informed by the modern discussion of myth. A very useful book." --John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University
"Debra Scoggins Ballantine has written a work of great insight, a sophisticated study that challenges us to rethink our existing understandings of the conflict myth in its various iterations. She navigates a wide spectrum of sources and builds a case with an equal measure of scholarly rigor and imagination. This is a major contribution and will find a central place in the ongoing discussion in the field." --Mark Leuchter, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and
Ancient Judaism, Temple University
"Ballentine's keen study is groundbreaking with its comprehensive analysis of the combat myth as ideological production. Building on the work of Bruce Lincoln and Jonathan Z. Smith on how myths encode hierarchical taxonomies, Ballentine deftly articulates the legitimizing and delegitimizing ideology of the conflict topos. Ballentine's nuanced and wide-ranging research (covering the combat myth from the Middle Bronze Age to the rabbinic period) will prove
enlightening for all historians of religion." --Theodore J. Lewis, Blum-Iwry Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University
"[The] work is excellent in its presentation of the conflict myth and biblical innovations of it. Wide coverage of literature, from Ugaritic works to Rabbinic works, and thorough analysis of each occur of the conflict motif mark her work as on to be remembered for future discussion. The Conflict Myth & the Biblical Tradition provides a unique approach to conflict myth, and especially the Hebrew Bible, that may be utilized by scholars to develop
a deeper and fuller understanding of biblical myth and the conflict myth." --Biblical Review