“inky” periods. There is, indeed, an almost “sing-song” pattern of historical repetition. In the canonical book of Daniel, the rise and fall of kingdoms conveys the same thought with regard to repetitiveness in history, especially so in view of the undergirding statement that God “removes kings and sets up kings” (Dan 2:21). The concept is expressive of the “blessings-and-cursings” formulary of Deuteronomy (27–28) and finds graphic illustration in Israel’s own history. This is well illustrated, for