Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions To Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses -- By: Gordon H. Johnston

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 158:632 (Oct 2001)
Article: Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions To Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses
Author: Gordon H. Johnston


Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions
To Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses*

Gordon H. Johnston

[Gordon H. Johnston is Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.

* This is part two in a three-part series, “The Rhetorical Use of Allusions in the Book of Nahum.”]

In May 672 B.C., Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.), the Neo-Assyrian king, demanded that his Syro-Palestinian vassals appear before him.1 Included in this assembly was Manasseh king of Judah (696-642 B.C.).2 Esarhaddon, recognizing that his years were drawing to an end, wanted to ensure a peaceful succession to the throne for his sons, Ashurbanipal, the crown-prince of Assyria, and Shamash-shum-ukin, the crown-prince of Babylonia. To dissuade his vassals from rebelling at his death, Esarhaddon forced this assembly to submit to a suzerain-vassal treaty demanding continued allegiance to Assyria.3 To convince potentially recalcitrant vassals not to rebel, he threatened his audience with some of the most brutal treaty curses imaginable.4 Manasseh surely would have been

intimidated by the threat of bringing these curses on Judah.

Neo-Assyrian suzerain-vassal treaties were an international legal form disseminated outside the boundaries of the Assyrian homeland, as were all types of Assyrian statecraft.5 According to ancient Near Eastern suzerain-vassal custom, both suzerain and vassal possessed a copy of the treaty documents.6 Vassals were given a copy of the text and required to read its contents to the general populace. They were public documents distributed among the Syro-Palestine vassals and intended for public display and reading. Treaty stipulations were often so detailed that compliance would have been virtually impossible without having a copy of the requirements to consult. The primary purpose of the document, however, was to intimidate entire nations to submit to Assyrian suzerainty out of fear of reprisal. Treaty curses functioned as an important element in this aspect of Assyrian propaganda. Unless the vassal had a copy of the text to review, the threatened treaty curses would be muted.

In the case of the treaty between Esarhaddon and his Syro-Palestinian vassals, it is likely that each vassal state was given a copy of the treaty. So Manasseh may have brought back a copy of this document to Judah. (Unfortun...

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