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Abstract: Where do religious missions begin in salvation history ? Why did Israelfirst send out agents to communicate its beliefs? Although it is unclear when sending begins, Torah missions dispatched from Jerusalem to fringe regions were probably among the earliest according to the OT record Viewing missions from the perspective of sending agents from an administrative core to its periphery may help in establishing a biblical framework for Torah missions. This study proposes that kings andpńests developedpractices of religious expansion compatible with the revelation God gave them and conducive to the movement, sojourn, and settlement of people. In addition to the admixture of peoples subsisting at Israel's borders at any time, forced and voluntary migrations of incoming peoples appear throughout Scripture, creating unique administrative needs. Due to the international scope of migrations, this study will consider common ancient Near Eastern administrative policies andpractices pertaining to immigrants as conceptual backgroundfor understanding early Torah missions.
Key words: mission, agent, send, priest, immigrant, migration, border, periphery and core, administration
Understanding Israel's early Torah missions requires first asking what gave rise to the mission impulse. One significant source of answers was the practices that Israel shared with its ancient Near Eastern neighbors, many of which were imposed on them.1 But what were the circumstances that motivated administrators to dispatch priests as Torah instructors to remote locations? Some of the factors that occasioned religious missions were kingship, migrations, core and peripheral regions, borders, religious instruction, and administrative strategy. All were embedded in Israel's administrative power structure.2
I.ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN RELIGIOUS MISSIONS
1. Kingship. In Israel and among its neighbors, kingship depended upon systems of agents.3 As Morris notes, "the king used both force and able administration to maintain order in his realm."4 When dispatched, agents went on missions to conduct administrative projects within close proximity to the palace or in distant places such as borders or beyond.5 Around the time of King David, perhaps earlier, it was an attested practice in ANE cultures to send out priestly officials from political centers to teach a nation's predominant religion(s), particularly its law as administrative policy.6 Unindoctrinated indigenous or migrating peoples ignorant about the religion of their country commonly settled in fringe or remote regions. From an administrative perspective, their need for...