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Document Details : Title: Death Formulae and the Burial Place of the Kings of the House of David Author(s): NA’AMAN, Nadav Journal: Biblica Volume: 85 Issue: 2 Date: 2004 Pages: 245-254 DOI: 10.2143/BIB.85.2.3194419 Abstract : The article re-examines the death formulae of the kings of Judah, in particular those of the kings from Hezekiah onward. It is suggested the kings of Judah in the tenth-eighth centuries BCE were buried in the palace, and that Hezekiah transferred the burial place of the kings of Judah to a new site (the garden of Uzza) outside the walls of Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s decision to transfer the burial place might have been influenced by the admonitions and possible pressure of the temple priests, who felt that the burial in the palace defiled the adjacent temple (see Ezek 43,7-9). The change in the closing formulae of the late kings of Judah should be explained on the basis of the reality of the late monarchical period and the objectives of the authors of the Book of Kings, and in no way indicates an early edition of the Book of Kings as some scholars suggest. |
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