BURNING BONES AT BETHEL: A CLOSER LOOK AT 2 KINGS 23,16a

2 Kgs 23,16a reports that Josiah defiled an altar at Bethel by burning human bones upon it, an act unparalleled in biblical legislation or literature. Since the remains of the deceased persons defile through physical contact alone (Lev 21,1-4.10-12; etc.), the burning of the bones seems gratuitous. The osteological and technological realities of cremation invalidate M. Haran's surmise that the burning made the defilement irreversible because ''the ashes penetrates into the ruins.'' The bones used by Josiah were obtained from nearby tombs, and tomb-robbing and the desecration of human corpses is well documented throughout the biblical world (cf Jer 8,1-2). In this context, the burning of these deceased persons, perhaps the ultimate such desecration, constituted an attack on them as ''despisers of Yahweh'' (cf Num 16) and on the living descendants who opposed the regime.