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Piety and Politics: the Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia - Book Review

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Winter, 2003 by Robert Gnuse

By Dale Launderville. Grand Rapids, MI/ Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003. Pp. xvii + 407. Cloth, $75.00.

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Launderville engages in a very thorough analysis of kingship in the ancient world by comparing texts from Amorite Babylon (the time of Hammurabi especially), the Homeric literature, and biblical narratives (especially those of David and Solomon). As he surveys the themes he points out both the similarities and the contrasts between these three cultures. His method is a comparative analysis which in no way seeks to discern historical connections between the three cultures. Though he does not say it, his work provides a balanced and objective portrayal of the ancient institution of kingship which biblical scholars may use as a starting point in their consideration of the more negative imagery found in the prophets and the Deuteronomistic History. This is not to imply that the clarion cry of the prophets for justice over against unjust kings was misplaced rhetoric, for Launderville points out that there were avenues for the critique of kings in all cultures. Launderville's portrayal of kingship helps us to appreciate more the prophetic critique of those kings who deviated from the ideal standards of kingship, both conscious and unconscious, found throughout the ancient world.

Launderville focuses upon the following themes: (1) Kings portrayed themselves as legitimated by the king of the gods and they ruled on their behalf. To this end, kings engaged in "authoritative speech acts" (commands, commissions, assertions, law codes, etc.) to convince people of their authority. (2) Kings gave gifts and redistributed wealth in order to affirm their control over important segments of society. (3) Kings symbolized the activities of the community, and they took the lead in coordinating the economy, maintaining order, and protecting the state or city from foreign enemies. (4) Kings were responsible for mediating the will of the divine realm to their people. (5) There were avenues by which to circumscribe royal power and protest the policies of the king, and literary genres existed to provide expression of lament when kings faltered, cities fell in battle, and royal decisions came to naught. Prophets and popular assemblies could challenge the king. Ultimately the king was the symbol that integrated the ancient community in all its functions. The ideal king inspired the community, helped in resource allocation, upheld traditions and the law, and brought justice to all.

Launderville's study organizes nicely the themes and concepts often discussed piecemeal by other biblical scholars. He gives us a deeper feeling for the institution against which biblical authors preached and enables us to appreciate how such a critique was an overwhelming indictment upon the matrix of an entire society. Also, he helps us to appreciate more the image of the ideal king envisioned by so many biblical texts and ultimately appropriated by the Second Testament. At times one might wish that he had drawn in sources from other periods of time, but that would expand the scope of the study to make the book unmanageable. Hammurabi's Babylon (early second millennium BCE) and Homer's literature (which is probably early first millennium BCE Greece and not late Bronze Age Mycenean Greece) are commendable points of comparison. Though one might challenge the use of Homeric literature to reconstruct social and political realities, he makes a good defense of his methodology by pointing out that ancient literature often legitimates and reflects social-political agenda. Launderville's book is recommended for biblical scholars and graduate students in First Testament studies. The volume is nicely written, well organized, thoroughly documented, and a masterpiece of cross-cultural studies.

Robert Gnuse

Loyola University,

New Orleans, LA 70118

Piety and Politics: the Dynamics of Royal Authority in Homeric Greece, Biblical Israel, and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia - Book Review

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Winter, 2003 by Robert Gnuse

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