On “Exegetical Function” in Rewritten Scripture: Inner-Biblical Exegesis and the Abram/Ravens Narrative inJubilees

2013 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Andrew Teeter
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Degree Of Freedom ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Narrative Voice ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Substantial Degree ◽  
Rewritten Bible

While no consensus obtains among specialists as to what the term “rewritten Bible” (or “rewritten Scripture”) properly denotes—or whether, indeed, it is proper to use at all—most agree that the texts thought to represent this category are basically exegetical in character. That is, they are supposed to have as their aim or goal the interpretation of texts that are now part of the Hebrew Bible. At the same time, it is universally recognized that the authors of so-called rewritten Bible compositions exercised a substantial degree of freedom in their retelling. They clearly had their own interests, motives, and aims, distinct from those of the biblical narrative. These interests (sometimes characterized as “ideological” in nature), in turn, determine the structure or literary shape of their work, including such basic elements as character, plot, scope, and narrative voice. Thus, while it is constitutive for the genre or category that such works mainly follow the sequence and wording of the biblical text, they are not—and cannot be—identical to the latter in compositional form. Every rewritten Bible composition is defined by its own retelling strategy or program.

scholarly journals Maternal Bodies in the Biblical Books of Samuel and Kings: Notes on the Representation of Maternity in Crisis Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Claudia Andreina D’Amico Monascal
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Maternal Body ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Books Of Samuel ◽  
The One

Although motherhood is the female destiny par excellence in the biblical narrative, it is an experience only accessible through a male point of view. In order to reflect on the problems of representation of the maternal body in the Hebrew Bible, I propose an analysis of different maternal characters present in the books of Samuel and Kings. My reading aims, on the one hand, to identify the features that define the maternal in the biblical text and, on the other hand, to offer an approach that allows to point to the implications that the crisis context the texts reflect have on the picture of the actions and the destinies of these female characters.

REREADING TEXTS OF MUSIC AND DANCE IN THE HEBREW BIBLE: THE SPIRITUALITY OF MUSIC AND DANCE IN ZIMBABWE

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-98
Author(s):  
Temba T. Rugwiji
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
World Music ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
The Church

The Hebrew Bible depicts that music and dance formed part of worship and reverence of Yahweh in which various musical instruments were played during ancient biblical times. In the modern post-biblical world, music and dance characterise every context of human existence either in moments of love, joy, celebration, victory, sorrow or reverence. In Zimbabwe, music — which is usually accompanied by dance — serves various purposes such as solidarity towards or remonstration against the land reform, despondency against corruption, celebration, giving hope to the sick, worship as in the church or appeasing the dead by those who are culturally-entrenched. Two fundamental questions need to be answered in this article: 1) What was the significance of music and dance in ancient Israel? 2) What is the significance of music and dance in Zimbabwe? In response to the above questions, this essay engages into dialogue the following three contestations. First, texts of music, musical instruments and dance in the Hebrew Bible are discussed in view of their spiritual significance in ancient Israel. Second, this study analyses music and dance from a faith perspective because it appears for the majority of Gospel musicians the biblical text plays a critical role in composing their songs. Third, this article examines music and dance in view of the spirituality which derives from various genres by Zimbabwean musicians in general. In its entirety, this article attempts to show that the Zimbabwean society draws some spirituality from music and dance when devastated by political, cultural or socio-economic crises.

Samson in Reception History

2020 ◽  
pp. 465-482
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Reception History ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
King David ◽  
The Many

As one of the most famous figures from the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible, rivaled perhaps only by King David, the reception histories of Samson and the women of Judges 13–16 are extensive. The major events in the narrative found in Judges 13–16 involve not only Samson but also the women of the story: an unnamed mother, an unnamed Philistine wife, an unnamed prostitute, and, perhaps most illustrious of all, the named Delilah. This essay briefly outlines some of the major questions and concerns voiced by the many later readers and interpreters of Samson, revealing how the story of Samson, both in and outside the biblical text, is also a story about the women who appear in this account.

Poetics or Homiletics? Hearing and Feeling the New Testament in Erasmus’ Paraphrases

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-126
Author(s):  
Reinier Leushuis
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
The Senses ◽  
Over Time

Abstract One of the unique homiletic challenges of the Erasmian paraphrase is the transmission of faith in divine matters from the page to the reader’s mind. By which form of imitation is the acquisition of faith by the disciples and their communities not only cognitively understood by, but also imitated in the reader’s mind? Constituting what can be called a poetics of Erasmus’ paraphrastic writing, questions of literary imitation and transmission are exemplified in his enrichment of the sensorial and emotional aspects of the biblical narrative. This essay examines instances where the biblical text highlights the disciples’ witnessing of Jesus both in earthly life and as a risen but living presence. Such instances lead to paraphrastic developments that exemplify reader-oriented imitation by instrumentalizing the senses, in particular hearing and touch, to steer the reader’s inner affective response, and thus to facilitate the acquisition of faith. Although sight is not neglected, I argue that in this process hearing and feeling (both as touch and emotion) are poetically and homiletically privileged to lodge the holy Word in the innermost affective sanctuary of a community of readers and listeners over time who, unlike the witnessing disciples, can no longer see, hear, and touch Christ.

Karaism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Frank
Keyword(s):  
Eighth Century ◽  
Early History ◽  
Rabbinic Literature ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Rabbinic Judaism ◽  
Hebrew Word ◽  
Dietary Laws

The Karaites (qara’im, or benei miqra) take their name from the Hebrew word for Scripture. The sect’s scripturalism originated in its rejection of the ‘Oral Law’ embodied in rabbinic literature. Like earlier scripturalist groups – notably the Sadducees – Karaites sought to derive their practices directly from the biblical text. While Karaism is usually traced to mid-eighth-century Iraq, the early history remains murky. The sect crystallized in the Islamic East during the late ninth and early tenth centuries, calling forth stern reactions from the leaders of mainstream rabbinic Judaism. Although harsh at times, the ensuing polemics stimulated both Karaite and Rabbanite scholarship in the fields of biblical exegesis, Hebrew grammar and lexicography, jurisprudence and religious philosophy. The two groups differed sharply over points of law and practice – the calendar, dietary laws, Sabbath regulations – but typically concurred on questions of theology.

scholarly journals New Digital Tools for a New Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible

Open Theology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Yardney ◽  
Sandra R. Schloen ◽  
Miller Prosser
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Critical Edition ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Digital Analysis ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
University Of Chicago ◽  
Critical Editions ◽  
Digital Edition ◽  
The University

Abstract This article describes the digital edition of the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE), which is being produced as part of a project called Critical Editions for Digital Analysis and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Chicago. We first discuss the goals of the HBCE and its requirements for a digital edition. We then turn to the CEDAR project and the advances it offers, both theoretical and technological. Finally, we present an illustration of how a reader might use the digital HBCE to interact with the biblical text in innovative ways.

scholarly journals Canon, intertextuality and history in Nehemiah 7:72b–10:40

2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter M. Venter
Keyword(s):  
Hebrew Bible ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Sitz Im Leben

The forming of the Hebrew Bible can be depicted as an ongoing movement from traditum to traditio. Several parallel and interactive phenomena contributed to this process. One of these was intertextuality, which played a major role in the process. This article indicates that intertextuality was not restricted to mere quotations or the recycling of existing traditum, but also included dialogue with older genres and existing ideological patterns. Aesthetic and polylogic intertextuality are shown to have been part of this process of inner-biblical exegesis. These two aspects of intertextuality are demonstrated in a discussion of the narrative in Nehemiah 7:72b. Aggadic exegesis linked to aesthetic intertextuality is found in several places in this passage. Polylogic intertextuality can be seen in the use of the Gattungen of Historical Review and Penitential Prayer in Nehemiah 9:1–37. These are linked to a Sitz im Leben during the fifth century BCE when an endeavour was made to find a new identity for the Judaeans.

A Contemporary Exegesis At the Edges of Chaos

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
L. Gregory Bloomquist
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
The Real ◽  
Edge Of Chaos ◽  
False Modesty

AbstractBiblical exegesis continues to work under the aegis of assumptions that have been associated with it since the late critical period. I identify primary ones: a posture of objectivity toward the biblical text that purports simply to find in the text what is already there and an approach to the text that abstracts it from the real life experience of human persons. Using socio-rhetorical analysis, I show how ideological analysis undercuts the first assumption, that of passivity toward the text and false modesty toward the exegetical process. Using the same analysis, I show how it is possible to re-enflesh the text to overcome the second problem. This re-enfleshment leads me to reflect on ways that socio-rhetorical analysis accords with contemporary scientific explorations of 'complexity, which emerges on the edge of chaos. I conclude with a call to adopt exegetical practices that can exist on and grow with such a complexity and to see the shortcomings of those practices that adopt an artificial truncation of the process, a truncation that can only be understood as 'death'in contrast with 'life'.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document