Kingdom in Israel

THE DESTRUCTION OF HUMAN BONES IN BETHEL (2 KINGS 23,16-19) IN THE LIGHT OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN PRACTICE ZAQIQU AND TACTICS OF WAR ASSYRIAN KINGS
Description of destroying graves and the burning of human bones in Bethel (2 Kings 23,16-19) is unique compared to other reforms undertaken by the kings of Judah and by King Josiah (2 Kings 22-23). From the point of view of syntactic and grammatical, this description is diametrically opposite from other parts of the activities of King Josiah. We do not see a direct connection be-tween the found the Book of the Law and the activities at Bethel. Also lacks explicit references to the idea of centralization of worship in Jerusalem. It seems that in connection with the activities at Bethel we are not dealing with religious reform, but more with a political action. For the living, “graves serve not only to hold the remains of the deceased, or to memorialize the existence of an individual but – significantly – a grave or collection of graves might also serve to mark the boundary of a given place or to signal possession or owner-ship of a territory” (Francesca Stavrakopoulou). The destruction of graves and their contents, is a sign of the extension of borders and military conquest. We can see parallels between the actions of Josiah and his contemporary rulers of Assyria. This is particularly evident in the activities of the king of Assyria Ashurbanipal, who reigned in the era of King Josiah. His military campaigns were characterized by particularly demonstrative destruction of graves and human bones, which resulted from the Assyrian anthropology. According to the Assyrian outlook of life, the dead could reach after the death of two states: the state etemmu, when they could influence the world of the living positively or negatively and state zaqiqu, when they were deprived of all power. Both states had their relationship with the fate of the bones of the dead. It seems that some elements of both anthropology Assyrian and Assyrian psychological warfare influenced the description of the activities of King Josiah at Bethel.