Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature

What is the rest that God promises to his people and how is it disclosed in the Hebrew Scriptures?

To explore these questions, Rest in Mesopotamian and Israelite Literature studies the rest motif in major Mesopotamian texts, such as Enuma Elish, Atrahasis, and The Poem of Erra, as well as various other texts, including royal inscriptions of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. This analysis, in turn, provides a basis for comparison with the promise of rest in Deuteronomy 12:8-11 and its development in the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Through close examination of these Mesopotamian texts and selections from the Deuteronomistic History and Chronicles, Kim develops a theology of rest from each body of literature and employs a comparative approach to illuminate the rest motif in the Hebrew Bible in light of Mesopotamian literature.