Judeans in Babylonia

Tero Alstola, Ph.D. (2017), Leiden University, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Centre of Excellence in Ancient Near Eastern Empires. His research interests cover digital humanities and the social history of Mesopotamia.

• Acknowledgements List of Figures and Tables Conventions and Abbreviations xii1Introduction 1.1Aims and Relevance of This Study1.2Historical Background 1.2.1 Political History 1.2.2 Forced and Voluntary Migration in the Ancient Near East 1.2.3 Deportations from Judah to Babylonia1.2.4 Babylonian Society 1.3Babylonian Exile: Reception and Research History1.3.1 Reception History 1.3.2 Research History 1.4Sources1.4.1 The Hebrew Bible 1.4.2 Cuneiform Sources 1.4.2.1Archival Approach1.4.2.2Ethics and Unprovenanced Artefacts1.4.2.3Text Groups1.4.3 Archaeology 1.5Identifying Foreigners in Babylonian Sources1.5.1 Naming Practices in Babylonia 1.5.2 Yahwistic Names as the Criterion for Identifying Judeans 2Judean Royalty and Professionals in Babylon 2.1Introduction2.2German Excavations at Babylon2.3The Palace Archive of Nebuchadnezzar II2.4Foreign Royalty and Professionals in Babylon2.5Living Conditions in Babylon and Jehoiachin’s Amnesty2.6Conclusion3Judean Merchants in Babylonia 3.1Introduction3.2Trade and Traders in Babylonia3.3Judean Royal Merchants in Sippar3.3.1 Sources 3.3.2 Social Network 3.3.3 Identity, Integration, and Socio-Economic Status 3.4Other Judean Merchants in Babylonia3.5Conclusion: Long-Distance Trade and Judean Merchants4Texts from Yāhūdu, Našar, and Their Surroundings 4.1Introduction4.2Geographical and Economic Environment4.2.1 The Location of Yāhūdu and Našar 4.2.2 The Land-for-Service Sector – Economic Environment of the Texts 4.3Text Groups and Their Protagonists4.3.1 Three or More Groups? 4.3.2 Texts Pertaining to Rīmūt/Abī-ul-īde and Rīmūt/Samak-Yāma 4.3.3 Texts Pertaining to Ahīqar, Son of Rīmūt 4.3.4 Texts Pertaining to Bēl-ahhē-erība, Son of Nūr-Šamaš 4.3.5 Scribes and Royal Administration in Našar 4.3.6 Texts Relating to Yāhūdu 4.3.6.1General Remarks4.3.6.2Early Texts Relating to Yāhūdu4.3.6.3Texts Pertaining to Ahīqam/Rapā-Yāma and His Sons 4.3.6.4Royal Administration in the Environs of Yāhūdu4.3.7 Texts from Āl-šarri 4.3.8 Texts Pertaining to Zababa-šar-uṣur and Bīt-Abī-râm 4.3.9 Loosely Connected and Isolated Texts 4.3.10 Administrative Practices and the Origins of the Text Corpus 4.4Judeans in Yāhūdu and Its Surroundings5Judeans in the Murašû Archive 5.1Introduction5.1.1 The Murašû Archive 5.1.2 Judeans in the Murašû Archive 5.1.3 Seal Impressions 5.2Yadi-Yāma and Pili-Yāma – Entrepreneurs or Representatives?5.2.1 Business Partners of the Murašûs? 5.2.2 Yadi-Yāma and the Village of Bīt-Gērāya 5.2.3 Pili-Yāma’s Transactions 5.2.4 Yāhû-natan, Son of Yadi-Yāma 5.2.5 Representatives of a Community of Farmers 5.3Judean Landholders and the Land-for-Service Sector5.3.1 General Features 5.3.2 Haṭru of the Sēpirus 5.3.2.1Haṭrus in the Murašû Archive5.3.2.2Haṭru of the Sēpirus (of the Troops)5.3.2.3Haṭrus and High-Ranking Sēpirus5.3.2.4Conclusion5.3.3 Large-Scale Landholding: Rahīm-il and His Family 5.3.4 Other Judean Landholders 5.3.5 Patterns of Judean Landholding 5.4Judean Officials5.5Judean Witnesses5.6Socio-Economic Status5.6.1 The Framework of the Archive: The Land-for-Service Sector 5.6.2 Taxation and Service Obligations 5.6.3 Dependency and Freedom 5.7Culture5.7.1 Seal Use 5.7.2 Naming Practices 5.7.3 Conclusion 5.8Conclusion6Judeans Outside the Main Archives 6.1Officials6.2Temples6.3Royal Lands and the Land-for-Service Sector6.4Miscellaneous Texts6.5Seals of Exiles6.6Conclusion7The Neirabian Community in Babylonia 7.1Neirab of Syria and Neirab of Babylonia7.2The Archive and Its Socio-Economic Context7.2.1 The Protagonists of the Texts 7.2.2 Promissory Notes for Barley 7.2.3 Promissory Notes for Silver 7.2.4 Diverse Documents 7.3Conclusion8Conclusions 8.1Sources – The Perspective of Babylonian Scribes8.2Resettlement and Organisation of Deportees8.3Social and Economic Aspects of Life in Babylonia8.4Women8.5Religion8.6Identity and IntegrationResearch Data Bibliographical Abbreviations Bibliography