Juxtaposition and the Elisha Cycle

Juxtaposition and the Elisha Cycle PDF Author: Rachelle Gilmour
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567432513
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
This monograph examines the juxtaposition of narrative units in biblical narrative and the effect this has on interpretation. Early rabbinical and inner-biblical interpretations suggest that juxtaposition was an intentional device used by biblical editors and authors to shape the meaning of their material. Therefore, this monograph develops a framework for recognising the ways in which adjacent units interpret and re-interpret one another and presents this framework as an important hermeneutical tool. Stories and episodes that are linked chronologically affect one another through a relationship of causes and consequences. The categories of contradiction, corroboration and question and answer are also used to describe the types of interaction between narrative units and demonstrate how such dialogues create new meaning. Indicators in the text that guide the audience towards the intended interpretation are identified in order that a 'poetics' of juxtaposition is developed. The theoretical basis established in the first half of the monograph is then applied to the Elisha cycle. Each episode is interpreted independently and then read in juxtaposition with the surrounding episodes, producing a fresh literary reading of the cycle. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate how juxtaposition functioned as a diachronic process, attention is given to the literary history of the cycle. We conjecture earlier interpretations of the Elisha episodes and compare them to the final form of the cycle. Finally, the Elisha cycle is itself a story juxtaposed with other stories and so the same principles of interpretation are used to suggest the meaning of the cycle within the book of Kings.

Juxtaposition and the Elisha Cycle

Juxtaposition and the Elisha Cycle PDF Author: Rachelle Gilmour
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567432513
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book Here

Book Description
This monograph examines the juxtaposition of narrative units in biblical narrative and the effect this has on interpretation. Early rabbinical and inner-biblical interpretations suggest that juxtaposition was an intentional device used by biblical editors and authors to shape the meaning of their material. Therefore, this monograph develops a framework for recognising the ways in which adjacent units interpret and re-interpret one another and presents this framework as an important hermeneutical tool. Stories and episodes that are linked chronologically affect one another through a relationship of causes and consequences. The categories of contradiction, corroboration and question and answer are also used to describe the types of interaction between narrative units and demonstrate how such dialogues create new meaning. Indicators in the text that guide the audience towards the intended interpretation are identified in order that a 'poetics' of juxtaposition is developed. The theoretical basis established in the first half of the monograph is then applied to the Elisha cycle. Each episode is interpreted independently and then read in juxtaposition with the surrounding episodes, producing a fresh literary reading of the cycle. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate how juxtaposition functioned as a diachronic process, attention is given to the literary history of the cycle. We conjecture earlier interpretations of the Elisha episodes and compare them to the final form of the cycle. Finally, the Elisha cycle is itself a story juxtaposed with other stories and so the same principles of interpretation are used to suggest the meaning of the cycle within the book of Kings.

Narrative Analogy in the David Story

Narrative Analogy in the David Story PDF Author: Joanna G. Kline
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 3161582527
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description


Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel

Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel PDF Author: Rachelle Gilmour
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190938099
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Much of the drama, theological paradox, and interpretive interest in the Book of Samuel derives from instances of God's violence in the story. The beginnings of Israel's monarchy are interwoven with God's violent rejection of the houses of Eli and of Saul, deaths connected to the Ark of the Covenant, and the outworking of divine retribution after David's violent appropriation of Bathsheba as his wife. Whilst divine violence may act as a deterrent for violent transgression, it can also be used as a model or justification for human violence, whether in the early monarchic rule of Ancient Israel, or in crises of our contemporary age. In Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel, Rachelle Gilmour explores these narratives of divine violence from ethical, literary, and political perspectives, in dialogue with the thought of Immanuel Kant, Martha Nussbaum and Walter Benjamin. She addresses such questions as: Is the God of Samuel a capricious God with a troubling dark side? Is punishment for sin the only justifiable violence in these narratives? Why does God continue to punish those already declared forgiven? What is the role of God's emotions in acts of divine violence? In what political contexts might narratives of divine violence against God's own kings, and God's own people have arisen? The result is a fresh commentary on the dynamics of transgression, punishment, and their upheavals in the book of Samuel. Gilmour offers a sensitive portrayal of God's literary characterization, with a focus on divine emotion and its effects. By identifying possible political contexts in which the narratives arose, God's violence is further illumined through its relation to human violence, northern and southern monarchic ideology, and Judah's experience of the Babylonian exile.

An Ark on the Nile

An Ark on the Nile PDF Author: Keith Bodner
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191086819
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
The opening sector of the book of Exodus is a powerful narrative and a striking example of the artistic qualities of the Pentateuch, a facet of the text that occasionally is neglected in high-level scholarship. Exodus 1-2 is finely choreographed work that compresses a vast amount of material onto a limited textual canvas, creating a story that appeals to readers of every age. Resuming where the book of Genesis leaves off-the last image of Genesis 50 is a coffin in Egypt, primed for a sequel-the first two chapters of Exodus combine a fast-moving plot with some unique shades of characterization: Israel's growth in Egypt, the rise of a malevolent new king, the birth of a hero and early experiences of adversity for the main character in the story to come. The burden of slavery and miracle of salvation are introduced in this sector of text, and become paradigmatic examples of divine redemption that reverberate throughout the Hebrew Bible and beyond. An Ark on the Nile: The Beginning of the Book of Exodus is a close-reading of Exodus 1-2 that analyzes the story as a reasonably self-contained unit, but suggesting that major plot movements in the book of Exodus are foreshadowed and anticipated here. Applying a number of insights from literary theory, Keith Bodner offers an illustration of further integration of biblical studies with cross-disciplinary narrative interpretation.

Remember Their Sin No More?

Remember Their Sin No More? PDF Author: David J. Shepherd
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725281961
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
In a world in which genuine forgiveness seems as rare a commodity as ever, this collection of essays offers an opportunity to explore where and in what forms forgiveness may be found in the Hebrew Bible—a text which is foundational for Western religions and the cultures they have influenced over the last two millennia. In the wake of renewed interest in forgiveness in antiquity and recent suggestions that it bears little resemblance to modern conceptions, this book investigates the ways in which the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament itself conceptualizes forgiveness. How and in what ways does God forgive? Where, if at all, do we see reconciliation between people in the Old Testament, and what does it look like?

Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, Issue 2.2

Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, Issue 2.2 PDF Author: Daniel S. Diffey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725250543
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
The Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies (JBTS) is an academic journal focused on the fields of Bible and Theology from an inter-denominational point of view. The journal is comprised of an editorial board of scholars that represent several academic institutions throughout the world. JBTS is concerned with presenting high-level original scholarship in an approachable way. Academic journals are often written by scholars for other scholars. They are technical in nature, assuming a robust knowledge of the field. There are fewer journals that seek to introduce biblical and theological scholarship that is also accessible to students. JBTS seeks to provide high-level scholarship and research to both scholars and students, which results in original scholarship that is readable and accessible. As an inter-denominational journal JBTS is broadly evangelical. We accept contributions in all theological disciplines from any evangelical perspective. In particular, we encourage articles and book reviews within the fields of Old Testament, New Testament, Biblical Theology, Church History, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Philosophical Theology, Philosophy, and Ethics.

Characters and Characterization in the Book of Kings

Characters and Characterization in the Book of Kings PDF Author: Keith Bodner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567680916
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This book is an examination of characters in the books of Kings; showing how understanding and interpretation of key characters affects readings of the story. The volume begins with more general pieces addressing how the study of characters can shed light on the composition history of Kings and on how characters and characterization can be considered with respect to ethics, particularly with respect to the moral complexity of biblical characters. Contributors then consider key characters within the Kings narrative in depth, such as Nathan, Bathsheba, Solomon and Jezebel. The contributors use their own specific expertise to analyze these characters and more, drawing on insights from literary theory and considering such approaches as questioning our view of a particular character with based on the character within the text with whom we identify. Contributors also assess whether or not characters as portrayed in the biblical text necessarily match up to their possible counterparts in history.

The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity

The Book of Kings and Exilic Identity PDF Author: Nathan Lovell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567695336
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Nathan Lovell proposes that 1 and 2 Kings might be read as a work of written history, produced with the explicit purpose of shaping the communal identity of its first readers in the Babylonian exile. By drawing on sociological approaches to the role historiography plays in the construction of political identity, Lovell argues the book of Kings is intended to reconstruct a sense of Israelite identity in the context of these losses, and that the book of Kings moves beyond providing a reason for the exile in Israel's history, and beyond even connecting its exilic audience to that history. The book recalls the past in order to demonstrate what it means to be Israel in the (exilic) present, and to encourage hope for the Israelite nation in the future. After developing a reading strategy for 1–2 Kings that treats the book as a coherent narrative, Lovell examines the construction of Israelite identity within Kings under the headings of covenant, nationhood, land, and rule. In each case he suggests that the narrative of the book creates room for a genuine but temporary expression of Israelite identity in exile: genuine to show that it remains possible for Israel to be Yahweh's people during the exile, but temporary to encourage hope for a future restoration.

1 & 2 Kings

1 & 2 Kings PDF Author: Lynn Jost
Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.
ISBN: 151380264X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
Violence on the streets. Military expansion. Consumerism. Policies exploiting people and natural resources. Harassment and abuse: 1 & 2 Kings could hardly be more relevant. In the thirty-fourth volume of the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, Old Testament scholar Lynn Jost claims 1 & 2 Kings were written to form a community that would embrace the Ten Commandments and the Great Shema and would champion righteousness and compassion. Jost traces the characteristics of royal justice, with its systems of excess and indulgence, as well as the court intrigue, succession politics, interfamily rivalries, and prophetic judgment that mark the books. Through it all, Israel remains in a covenant relationship with a delivering God. Through it all, God calls the leaders and the people to practice justice, protect shalom, and live righteously. In vivid and accessible prose, Jost invites pastors, scholars, and lay readers to read 1 & 2 Kings as books of promise—ones that gesture toward a faithful God who rescues, judges, commands, and provides. About the Believers Church Bible Commentary series This readable commentary series is for all who seek more fully to understand the original message of Scripture and its meaning for today—Sunday school teachers, members of Bible study groups, students, pastors, and other seekers. –From the Series Foreword

Prophetic Conflicts in the Deuteronomistic History

Prophetic Conflicts in the Deuteronomistic History PDF Author: Daewook Kim
Publisher: Kohlhammer Verlag
ISBN: 3170399942
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
This study explores the four narratives regarding prophetic conflicts in the Deuteronomistic History via three steps: first, examining the narratives with a synchronic approach; second, discussing the date of the narratives as revised by the Deuteronomists in the Persian period; last, considering religious settings and rhetorical purposes of the narratives. The Deuteronomists were more interested in the theological questions of the "true Israel," "true YHWH," and the "true worship place" than the prophetic conflicts. The conflicts reflect the difficulty to distinguish between true and false prophecy, and the Deuteronomists sought to answer their questions by using the conflict narratives. Their answers aimed for the postexilic community to protect their ethnic identity and to worship YHWH alone, exclusively in Jerusalem.