Representing the pas t a literary analysis of narrative historiography in the book of Samuel /
:
Eschewing both so-called minimalist and maximalist readings, this volume advocates an understanding of the book of Samuel as ancient narrative historiography that must be understood according to its own conception and ideology of history before being judged as a historical source. This study shows how narrative strategies and literary embellishment, unaccustomed in modern historiography, are used to express familiar historical concepts such as causation, meaning and evaluation of the past. The requirements for historical 'accuracy' within the book's cultural milieu are investigated through analysis of the differences tolerated between the LXX and MT versions. Fresh interpretive insights for specific passages emerge as the conventions of historiography in Samuel are compared and contrasted to the ideals of modern historical theory.
:
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--University of Sydney, 2010. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-320) and index. :
9789004203419 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
L'apocalypse des animaux (1 Hen 85-90) : une propagande militaire? : approches narrative, historico-critique, perspectives théologiques /
:
For the majority of scholars, the Animal Apocalypse is a militant text, a piece of pro-Maccabean propaganda. This text, however, develops theological reflections that are distinctly different from a justification of an armed struggle. Its themes are even incompatible with the Maccabean movement. It is impossible to condemn the Second Temple and, at the same time, mobilise people for a fight in order to purify that very Temple. After dealing with text-critical issues, this work challenges the thesis that the text is military propaganda through the use of narrative and historical approaches. The analyses, besides proposing a new way of a studying an apocalypse, spell out the peculiarity and the significance of the theology of the Animal Apocalypse in connection with the biblical history of Israel and the theology of the Qumran community.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [335]-348) and indexes. :
9789047421900 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Narrative analogy in the Hebrew Bible : battle stories and their equivalent non-battle narratives /
:
This volume sheds fresh light upon the phenomenon of narrative doubling in the Hebrew Bible. Through an innovative interdisciplinary model the author defines the notion of narrative analogy in relation to other literatures where it has been studied such as English Renaissance drama and makes extensive critical use of contemporary literary theory, particularly that of the Russian formalist Vladimir Propp. His exploitation of narrative doubling, with a focus upon the metaphorical, reorients our reading by uncovering a major dynamic in biblical literature. The author examines several battle reports and demonstrates how each could be interpreted as an oblique commentary and metaphor for the non-battle account that immediately precedes it. Battle scenes are revealed to stand in metaphoric analogy with, among others, accounts of a trial, a rape, a drinking feast, and a court-deliberation. Joshua Berman offers new insights to the ever-growing concern with the relationship between historiography and literary strategies, and succeeds in articulating a new aspect of biblical ideology concerning human and divine relationship.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [223]-232) and indexes. :
9789047413684 :
0083-5889 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The death of Jacob : narrative conventions in Genesis 47.28-50.26 /
:
In The Death of Jacob: Narrative Conventions in Genesis 47.28-50.26 Kerry Lee investigates the deathbed story of the patriarch Jacob and uncovers the presence of a variety of conventional structures underlying its composition, especially a conventional deathbed story or type scene also found in numerous other texts in the Hebrew Bible and non-canonical Jewish literature. Finding fault both with traditional diachronic approaches as well as more recent synchronic studies, Lee uses an eclectic but coherent blend of contemporary methods (drawn from narratology, linguistics, ritual theory, legal theory, assyriology, and other disciplines) to show that despite its probably composite pre-history the last three chapters of Genesis have been intentionally and artfully structured by the hand predominately responsible for their final form.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004303034 :
0928-0731 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Closure in Biblical narrative /
:
There has been much discussion of narrative aspects of the Bible in recent years, but the ends of biblical narratives - how the ends contribute to closure for their stories and how the ending strategies affect the whole narrative - have not been studied comprehensively. This study shows how the writers and editors of short narratives in Genesis gave their stories a sense of closure (or in a few cases, the sense of non-closure). Multiple and sometimes unexpected, forms of closure are identified; together these form a set of closural conventions. This contribution to narrative poetics of the Hebrew Bible in the light of source criticism will also be valuable to those who are interested in narrative and in concepts of closure.
:
1 online resource (xii, 232 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004221307 :
0928-0731 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The temporal mechanics of the Fourth Gospel : a theory of hermeneutical relativity in the Gospel of John /
:
Spiritual but broken, theological but flawed-these are the words critics use to describe the Gospel of John. Compared to the Synoptics, John's version of the life of Jesus seems scrambled, especially in the area of time and chronology. But what if John's textual and temporal flaws have more to do with our implicit assumptions about time than a text that is truly flawed? This book responds to that question by reinventing narrative temporality in light of modern physics and applying this alternative temporal lens to the Fourth Gospel. From the singularity in the epic prologue to the narrative warping of event-like objects, this work explodes the elemental temporalities simmering below the surface of a spiritual yet superior Gospel text.
:
Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nottingham, 2006. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [255]-297) and indexes. :
9789047433231 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Erzählte Welten im Richterbuch : narratologische Aspekte eines polyfonen Diskurses /
:
Das Richterbuch präsentiert einen Rückblick in die Geschichte des Volkes Israel, der eine große Vergangenheit (re)konstruiert und zugleich einen äußerst kritischen Blick auf diese Zeit wirft. Die vorliegende Studie zeigt, wie die Erzählzyklen des Richterbuchs das zentrale Thema, die Suche nach einer verbindlichen und lebensförderlichen Ordnung, aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln darstellen und reflektieren. Die unterschiedlichen Perspektiven treten dabei miteinander in einen kontroversen Dialog, der keine eindeutige oder einseitige Einordnung dieser Epoche erlaubt. Eine detaillierte narratologische Analyse der erzählten Welten der Texte und ihrer Figuren zeigt, dass die Komposition und Zusammenstellung der einzelnen Erzählungen zwar Systematisierungen der Epoche andeuten, diese jedoch stets wieder dekonstruieren. So bleibt das Richterbuch ein Rückblick zwischen Bewunderung und Befremden. The Book of Judges presents a (re)construction of Israel's history that recalls a splendid past but simultaneously offers a very critical view. This study focuses on the narrated worlds of the stories and the way they contribute to the central theme: the search for obligatory and beneficial guidelines for the people. A detailed narratological analysis of the narrated worlds shows how the different perspectives presented in the texts engage in a controversial dialogue. Although the composition of the stories indicates a systematisation, these attempts are repeatedly deconstructed. Thus the Book of Judges eludes any one-sided interpretation and remains a retrospection between admiration and disconcertment.
:
1 online resource (vii, 313 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004244184 :
0928-0731 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Experiencing the Apocalypse at the limits of alterity /
:
Applying current narrative criticism to the study of the Apocalypse, Hongisto underscores the oral nature of the narrative vis-à-vis the roles of the readers/listeners. EXPERIENCING THE APOCALYPSE AT THE LIMITS OF ALTERITY probes the interplay of meaning creation as readers/listeners encounter the narrative. The author shows how readers/listeners alike partake in the narrative design and become constructors of the narrative, given their own life experiences. Thus, the overarching reading context assists in the creation of a narrativity for the text. The form of the Apocalypse along with its imagistic quality convey a message that is not primarily cognitive, but is delivered and grasped by a sense of alterity encompassing the imaginary world of the text and the real world of the readers/listeners.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [250]-282) and index. :
9789004186804 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Seeking a homelan d sojourn and ethnic identity in the ancestral narratives of Genesis /
:
Sojourn is a Leitwort in the ancestral narratives of Genesis, repeatedly accentuated as an important descriptor of the patriarchs' identity and experience. This study shows that despite its connotations of alienation, sojourn language in Genesis contributes to a strong communal identity for biblical Israel. An innovative application of Anthony D. Smith's theory of ethnic myth utilizes the categories of ethnoscape, election, and communal ethics as analytical tools in the investigation of the Genesis sojourn texts. Close exegetical treatment reveals sojourn to strengthen Israel's ethnic identity in ways that are varied and at times paradoxical. Its very complexity, however, makes it particularly useful as a resource for group identity at times when straightforward categories of territorial and social affiliation may fail.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [243]-255) and index. :
9789004214705 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Incubation as a type-scene in the Aqhatu, Kirta, and Hannah storie s a form-critical and narratological study of KTU 1.14 I-1.15 III, 1.17 I-II, and 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11 /
:
Prior studies of incubation have approached it from a history of religions perspective, with a view to historically reconstruct the actual practice of incubation in ancient Near East. However, this approach has proven unfruitful, not due to the dearth of relevant data, but because of the confusion with regard to the definition of the term incubation. Suggesting a way out of this impasse in previous scholarship, this book proposes to read the so-called "incubation" texts from the perspective of incubation as a literary device, namely, as a type-scene. It applies Nagler's definition of a type-scene to a literary analysis of two Ugaritic mythical texts, the Aqhatu and Kirta stories, and one biblical story, the Hannah story.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [347]-365) and indexes. :
9789004207516 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Religious stories we live by : narrative approaches in theology and religious studies /
:
Stories have always been important in religion, but systematic explorations of the narrative dimensions of religion are more recent and interdisciplinary explorations of narrative approaches in theology and religious studies are scarce. Religious Stories We Live By paves the ground for these much needed interdisciplinary conversations. It first offers philosophical, psychological, and epistemological reflections on the importance of narrative approaches in the study of religion. The subsequent sections contain case studies and disciplinary overviews of narrative perspectives in biblical, empirical, systematic, and historical approaches in theology and religious studies. Combined, the contributions showcase the potential of narrative perspectives in bridging theology and religious studies, as well as descriptive and normative approaches. Narrative perspectives offer a fruitful common ground for the study of religion. Contributors include Angela Berlis, Marjo Buitelaar, James Day, Maaike de Haardt, Marieke den Braber, Luco van den Brom, Marjet Derks, Toke Elshof, Dorothea Erbele Küster, John Exalto, Ruard Ganzevoort, Joep van Gennip, Annelies van Heijst, Chris Hermans, Liesbeth Hoeven, Anne-Marie Korte, Edwin Koster, Marit Monteiro, Michael Scherer-Rath, Klaas Spronk, Piet Verschuren, Wim Weren, and Willien van Wieringen.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004264069 :
1566-208X ;
Abraham, the nations, and the Hagarite s Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives on kinship with Abraham /
:
Jews, Christians and Muslims describe their origins with close reference to the narrative of Abraham, including the complex story of Abraham's relation to Hagar. This volume sketches the history of interpretation of some of the key passages in this narrative, not least the verses which state that in Abraham all the nations of the earth will be blessed. This passage, which features prominently in Christian historiography, is largely disregarded in ancient Judaism, prompting the question how the relation between Abraham and the nations was perceived in Jewish sources. This focus is supplemented with the question how Islamic historiography relates to the Abraham narrative, and in particular to the descent of the Arabs from Abraham through Ishmael and Hagar. In studying the traditional readings of these narratives, the volume offers a detailed yet wide-ranging analysis of important aspects of the accounts of their origins which emerged within the three Abrahamic religions.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004216495 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Retelling Scripture : "the Jews" and the scriptural citations in John 1:19-12:15 /
:
The last century of scholarship on the Old Testament citations in the Gospel of John has concentrated almost exclusively upon source-critical or redaction-critical issues with the aim of determining the Christological import of the citations. The current book brings a narrative-rhetorical methodology to bear upon the seven explicit Scriptural citations in the Gospel's 'Book of Signs' (1:19-12:50) that are prefaced by a distinct introductory formula (1:19-12:15). These citations are each addressed to, or imply, a particular textual audience, namely, 'the Jews'. This book argues that as such the citations do not merely have Christological significance but function at the narrative level to encourage an ideal reader to construct a particularly negative characterization of 'the Jews'.
:
Revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--Australian Catholic University, 2010. :
1 online resource (xvi, 294 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-271) and indexes. :
9789004226296 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.