Shalom E. Holtz, Yeshiva University
Recovering Biblical Courtroom Vocabulary: Arguing the Case for Adversarial "Yahad"

Abstract:

In the quest for a better understanding of courtroom procedure and terminology in ancient Israel, narrative and poetic passages are an important supplement to the few relevant legislative passages. Because poetic books like Job and Isaiah make extensive use of legal metaphors, and specifically the metaphor of argument in court, these books are a treasure trove of biblical forensic terminology. The proposed paper identifies yahad and yahdaw as forensic terms that have been previously overlooked. It examines the use of these words in four verses (Isaiah 41:1; 43:26; 51:8 and Job 9:32) which reflect metaphoric lawsuits between humans and God. The paper argues that these words denote the opposition between the two litigants in these metaphoric lawsuits. In addition to the evidence available from close reading of the four main passages, the proposed paper will draw on data from Biblical Hebrew as well as from Aramaic and Akkadian. It will examine the use of the words yah?ad and yahdaw in descriptions of physical fights between two opponents, and will study the use of other terms for "togetherness," such as 'im and et, that, in relevant contexts, also denote opposition. The paper will also show that in Aramaic and Akkadian descriptions of lawsuits, terms that usually denote "togetherness" ('im and itti) have a specifically adversarial connotation.