Current Research on the Relationship of Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty to Deuteronomy: An Assyriologist's Perspective
Current Research on the Relationship of Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty to Deuteronomy: An Assyriologist's Perspective
Since shortly after the publication of the cuneiform tablets of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty(EST) in 1958, the text’s status as literary model for the biblical book of Deuteronomy has been the subject of much scholarly debate. For the most part, this debate has been concerned with the similarity and dissimilarity of the two texts. The archaeological discovery in 2009 of a new tablet of EST, found in situ at the provincial capital of Tell Tayinat, however, provides new material for the comparison of Deuteronomy with Assyrian treaties.
Jacob Lauinger, Assistant Professor of Assyriology at Johns Hopkins University, will lecture on the implications of this discovery and the insight it provides for understanding ancient Near Eastern literature.
For more information, email Debra Kirsch dakirsch@umd.edu