>Biblica is an excellent journal that offers the best in academic biblical scholarship. The journal is available on line through Biblical Studies on the Web.
Biblica, Volume 87 (2006), pages 1-21, contains an article by Francesca Stavrakopoulou, AExploring the Garden of Uzza: Death, Burial and Ideologies of Kingship.@ This is the abstract of her article:
The Garden of Uzza (2 Kgs 21,18.26) is commonly regarded as a pleasure garden in or near Jerusalem which came to be used as a royal burial ground once the tombs in the City of David had become full. However, in this article it is argued that the religious and cultic significance of royal garden burials has been widely overlooked. In drawing upon comparative evidence from the ancient Near East, it is proposed that mortuary gardens played an ideological role within perceptions of Judahite kingship. Biblical texts such as Isa 65,3-4; 66,17 and perhaps 1,29-30 refer not to goddess worship, but to practices and sacred sites devoted to the royal dead.
If you are interested in reading this academic article, visit Biblical Studies on the Web by clicking here.
Claude F. Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Garden of Uzza, 2 Kings 21:18
>Dr. Mariottini! As always, your comments are dizzying – I just pay attention to the first and last lines. Greetings from New Mexico! This is Sean Lee – I was a Korean-American student of yours @ SBU in 1987-8 taking OT History (with John Bright – ugh!) and Elementary Hebrew (*very* elementary … I still think a Daghes Forte is an Italian Race Bicycle! As you might remember, I was not the brightest bulb in the pack – my room-mate Spencer Ray was much more enthused!) Anyway – I’m glad your doing well and have discovered the web? I pray your family is well! Any grandkids bouncing on your knees?
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>Sean,Thank you for your comment. Send me your email and I will send you some information about my work here in Chicago.Claude Mariottini
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