The Artistic Dimension: Literary Explorations of the Hebrew Bible

Description

This volume presents a collection of essays aimed at further integration of literary analysis in the study of the Hebrew Bible. In three sections, Bodner studies a range of texts in order to illustrate that literary analysis has value for exploring numerous issues in the discipline, including text-critical problems, the Deuteronomistic History, and Chronicles. Beginning with a discussion of how literary analysis is a vital, yet neglected, component of textual criticism, Bodner then offers a sustained engagement with one particular section of the Hebrew Bible, the so-called ‘ark narrative’ of 1 Samuel 4-6. Other areas of the Hebrew Bible are subsequently explored, including a sample of the historiographic material in the Deuteronomistic History and a lengthy text from the book of Proverbs. Part four turns to the often neglected books of 1 & 2 Chronicles, illustrating how the Chronicler's work is a congenial site for literary study. The assembled essays petition for a heightened awareness of the artistic achievement of the Hebrew Bible and illustrate that literary thinking is a necessary component for biblical interpretation. CONTENTS Acknowledgments Abbreviations INTRODUCTION Part I -- TEXTUAL PROBLEMS AND LITERARY ANALYSIS Chapter 1. CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: A TEXT-CRITICAL MYSTERY AND THE STRANGE DEATH OF ISHBOSHETH Chapter 2. THE LOCUTIONS OF 1 KINGS 22:28: A NEW PROPOSAL Chapter 3. THE “EMBARRASSING SYNTAX” OF PSALM 47:10: A (PRO)VOCATIVE OPTION Part II -- READERS OF THE LOST ARK Chapter 4. ARK-EOLOGY: SHIFTING EMPHASES IN “ARK NARRATIVE” SCHOLARSHIP Chapter 5. MOUSE TRAP: A TEXT-CRITICAL PROBLEM WITH RODENTS IN THE ARK NARRATIVE Part III -- FURTHER SOUNDINGS Chapter 6. JONATHAN SON OF ABIATHAR: THE FULFILLMENT OF A PROPHETIC WORD ABOUT THE DISSOLUTION OF A PRIESTLY LINE Chapter 7. HIGHWAY TO SHEOL: SEDUCTIVE SPEECH AND PROMISCUOUS PLACES IN PROVERBS 7 Part IV -- THE WORLD OF CHRONICLES Chapter 8. THE ROYAL SKULL IN A TEMPLE OF DOOM: AN INTERPRETATION OF 1 CHRONICLES 10:10 Chapter 9. ABIJAH’S ELEVATED RHETORIC AND THE CIVIL WAR OF 2 CHRONICLES 13 Chapter 10. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: THE CONFIGURATION OF AHAZIAH’S LAST HOURS IN 2 CHRONICLES CONCLUSION Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors