This post flags an important open-access article on the Behistun inscription:
"Imitatio Dei, Imitatio Darii: Authority, Assimilation and Afterlife of the Epilogue of Bīsotūn (DB 4:36–92)" by Gad Barnea in Religions 2025, 16(5), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050597.This inscription is of great historical and philogical interest. It was important for the decipherment of Akkadian cuneiform.. It is also of some interest as a propaganda precursor to the Aramaic Fantasy Babylon tradition. The latter is important for understanding, in particular, the biblical Book of Daniel. For relevant PaleoJudaica posts see here and here (cf. here and here).Abstract
The Bīsotūn inscription of Darius I (DB) is a masterpiece of ancient literature containing descriptions of historical events, imperial propaganda, cultic statements, ethical instructions, wisdom insights, blessings and curses, and engagements with posterity. It was disseminated far and wide within the empire and left a lasting impression on the cultures with which it came into contact. However, a specific section of this royal inscription (DB 4:36–92), carefully crafted to address future audiences in the second person, stands out sharply from the rest of the text. This passage has made a striking, profound, and durable impression on future generations—which extended over the longue durée in both time and space. This article focuses on the decisive cultic theme undergirding DB in general and its fourth column in particular namely, the king’s profound sense of imitatio dei in the cosmic battle against “the Lie,” complemented by his appeal to an imitatio Darii by all future audiences of his words. The impact of this call can be traced in later literature: in a DB variant found at Elephantine and, most notably, a hitherto unknown exegetical legend found in Qumran, which seeks to explain this portion of DB through an Achaemenid court tale.
In the Behistun inscription Darius recounts, among many other events, his putting down the revolts of two Babylonian kings, Nidintu-Bel (Nebuchadnezzar III) in 522 B.C.E. (lines 16-19), and Arakha (Nebuchadnezzar IV) in 521 B.C.E. (lines 49-51).
As this article notes, a fragmentary Aramaic translation of the inscription was recovered among the Elephanitine papyri. This demonstrates that Persian anti-Babylonian propaganda was already being translated into Aramaic in the fifth century BCE. The article also deals with an Aramaic form of the inscription that inspired a recently deciphered Jewish work (4Q550) among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
For additional PaleoJudaica posts on the Behuistun (Bistun, Bīsotūn) inscription, see here and links.
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