All translations from Hebrew and Old Persian in this study are the author's own unless otherwise indicated.The spelling of the Iranian chief deity varies on the context of its use; this study uses Ahura Mazda in reference to Avestan sources, but Ahuramazda in reference to the OP inscriptions.x
AcknowledgementsThis study was planned, outlined, and initial research conducted at Leiden University within the context of the ERC project "By the Rivers of Babylon: Perspectives on Second Temple Judaism from Cuneiform Texts," Principal Investigator Caroline Waerzeggers. This environment was instrumental to the development of the perspective here, and the author is grateful for the opportunity to learn from (and drink with!) the Assyriologists there. Discussions with Caroline Waerzeggers, Jonathan Stökl, Tero Alstola, and Bastian Still were invaluable for understanding Babylonia in the first millennium. The book manuscript itself was researched and written within the context of the Academy of Finland's Centre of Excellence in Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions, Principal Investigator Martti Nissinen. The ultimate proof-reading and corrections took pl ace whi le a p ar t o f the Ce n tre o f Exce l le nce in An cie n t Ne ar Eastern Empires, Principal Investigator Saana Svärd. Helsinki is a wonderful place in which to engage in such comparative and historical questions, and the value of conducting research in a large community like a Centre of Excellence can hardly be overestimated. The author is grateful to all his colleagues there. In particular, this work has benefited from discussions with the archaeologists and Near Eastern historians in Helsinki-especially Tero Alstola, Helen Dixon, Izaak de Hulster, Raz Kletter, Martti Nissinen, Saana Svärd, and Kirsi Valkama. The final stages of the manuscript were greatly facilitated by the bibliographic reach of Helen Dixon, Sebastian Fink, and Gina Konstantopoulos. My thinking has also been greatly impacted by the "Judaeans in the Persian Empire" sessions held at the EABS in Cordoba, Leuven, and Berlin, and the conversations with Caroline Waerzeggers, Lindsay Allen, and Uzume Wijnsma, a m o n g o t h e r s , t h a t w e h a v e h a d t h e r e . I a m a l s o g r a t e f u l t o LHBOTS's reviewers and editors for their comments. For all errors of citation or judgment, however, the author remains fully culpable.Several sections of this study have received previous public airing, and several have appeared in slightly modified form in print. The section "The Historical Context of the Judaeans in the Early Persian Empire" contains material previously published in Finnish as "The Pax Persica and the Judaeans." 2 The Excursus "Prophecy as Medium for Negotiating Religious and Secular Authority" was originally presented at the Göttingen Graduiertenschule für Geisteswissenschaften summer school. 3 The material on creation in chapter 2 was presented in concise form in Istanbul as "Achaemenid Creation and Second Isaiah" and published under the same name in 2017. 4 The material on...
