ABSTRACT
There is little consensus about the ancient Israelite understanding of “time.” Some scholars have contrasted cyclical time in Greek historical texts to Israelite time, which is purported to be linear and teleological, pointing toward an eschatological age.1 Both aspects of this contrast have been questioned. James Barr and Arnaldo Momigliano have noted that the notion of cyclical time is hardly representative of Greek historical writing.2
Others have pointed out that sometimes cycles appear in Israelite historiographical works, and that Israelite eschatology is not represented in major historical works such as the Deuteronomistic History; thus linear time pointing to the telos of the eschaton cannot be seen as central to Israelite historiography.3 A consensus is beginning to emerge that no single idea dominates either the Hebrew or the Greek historical corpus; many major classical and ancient Israelite historians mix linear and cyclical depictions of historical events.4
