This collection of eight essays deals with a wide range of historical, literary, and methodological issues. First, what were the links between the cultic and the prophetic personnel? Did prophets have ritual/cultic functions in temples? Did prophetic actions and/or utterances play a role in the performance of the cult? What were the ritual aspects of divinations? Second, how do literary texts describe the interaction between prophecy and cult? Third, how can various theories (e.g. religious theory, performance theory) enable us to reach a better understanding of the interplay between divination and cultic ritual in ancient Israel and the wider ancient Near East? Marian Broida explores the ritual elements as described in the biblical accounts of intercession. Lester Grabbe revisits the important question of whether cultic prophecy existed in the Jerusalem temple in ancient Israel. Anja Klein maintains that while Psalms 81 and 95 may indirectly testify to a form of cultic prophecy, they do not themselves constitute cultic prophecy. Jonathan Stökl discusses the notion of "triggering" prophecy and suggests that enquiring of Yhwh may in itself be understood as a kind of ritualised behaviour. John Hilber considers the performance of the rituals that accompanied prophetic affirmation of victory in the Egyptian cult. Martti Nissinen looks more broadly at the question whether prophets in the ancient world functioned as ritual performers. Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer investigates the priests' mediating and predictive functions as depicted in the Deuteronomistic History. Alex Jassen argues that Jews in the Second Temple Period perceived the priests and the temple to be a new locus of prophetic activity.
Doubts about the contribution of cult-prophetic speech to psalmody remain in debate. Psalms containing first-person divine speech exhibit numerous features and suggest life settings that conform to actual prophetic speech. Alternative explanations lack comparable examples external to psalms. On the other hand, Assyrian cultic prophecies parallel the characteristics of prophetic speech found in psalms. The Assyrian sources support possible composition and performance scenarios that overcome objections raised against the compatibility of genuine prophecy with psalmody. A model of cultic prophecy remains the best explanation for the origin of psalms containing first-person divine speech.
This important work on Prophecy and the Prophets in Ancient Israel is the product of an impressive international team of twenty-three outstanding scholars, most of whom are well-known, established names, while a few are able, younger scholars beginning to make their mark on the field. The volume approaches its subject from a remarkable number of different angles, with essays ranging from Israel's ancient Near Eastern background right through to the New Testament, but the majority of essays concentrate on Prophecy and the Prophets in the Old Testament. Particular attention is paid to the following subjects: Prophecy amongst Israel's Ancient Near Eastern Neighbours; Female Prophets in both Israel and the Ancient Near East; Israelite Prophecy in the Light of modern Sociological, Anthropological and Psychological Insights; Deuteronomy 18.9-22, the Prophets and Scripture; Elijah, Elisha and Prophetic Succession; the Theology of Amos; Hosea and the Baal cu All the contributions, previously unpublished, arise from papers delivered at the Oxford Old Testament seminar.
The study reported in this volume grew out of some theoretical work, one phase of which bore specifically on the behavior of individuals in social movements that made specific (and unfulfilled) prophecies. We had been forced to depend chiefly on historical records to judge the adequacy of our theoretical ideas until we by chance discovered the social movement that we report in this book. At the time we learned of it, the movement was in mid-career but the prophecy about which it was centered had not yet been disconfirmed. We were understandably eager to undertake a study that could test our theoretical ideas under natural conditions. That we were able to do this study was in great measure due to the support obtained through the Laboratory for Research in Social Relations of the University of Minnesota. This study is a project of the Laboratory and was carried out while we were all members of its staff. We should also like to acknowledge the help we received through a grant-in-aid from the Ford Foundation to one of the authors, a grant that made preliminary exploration of the field situation possible.
A valuable resource with productive avenues for inquiry In this collection of essays dealing with the prophetic material in the Hebrew Bible, scholars explore the motifs, effects, and role of forced migration on prophetic literature. Contributors focus on the study of geographical displacement, social identity ethics, trauma studies, theological diversification, hermeneutical strategies in relation to the memory, and the effects of various exilic conditions in order to open new avenues of study into the history of Israelite religion and early Judaism. Features: An introductory essay that presents a history of scholarship and an overview of the collection Ten essays examining the rhetoric of exile in the prophets Current, thorough approaches to the issues and problems related to historical and cultural features of exile in biblical literature
The Latter Prophets--Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve--comprise a fascinating collection of prophetic oracles, narratives, and vision reports from ancient Israel and Judah. Spanning centuries and showing evidence of compositional growth and editorial elaboration over time, these prophetic books offer an unparalleled view into the cultural norms, theological convictions, and political disputes of Israelite communities caught in the maelstrom of militarized conflicts with the empires of ancient Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia. Instructive for scholar and student alike, The Oxford Handbook of the Prophets features wide-ranging discussion of ancient Near Eastern social and cultic contexts; exploration of focused topics such as the persona of the prophet and the problem of violence in prophetic rhetoric; sophisticated historical and literary analysis of key prophetic texts; issues in reception history, from these texts' earliest reinterpretations at Qumran to Christian appropriations in contemporary homiletics; feminist, materialist, and postcolonial readings engaging the insights of influential contemporary theorists; and more. The diversity of interpretive approaches, clarity of presentation, and breadth of expertise represented here will make this Handbook indispensable for research and teaching on the Latter Prophets.
This volume presents the main lectures of the 23rd Congress of the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (IOSOT) held in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, in August 2019.
Modern study of biblical prophecy frequently defines prophecy as a message from God and has focused almost exclusively on prophets' words. But prophecy was always also embodied. Anathea E. Portier-Young insists on the synergy of word and body in biblical prophecy. Prophets did more than reveal knowledge: the prophetic body connected God and people, making them present to one another, channeling divine power, traveling between realms. Drawing insights from disciplines ranging from neurobiology to cultural studies, the author examines stories of prophetic commissioning, bodily transformation, asceticism and ecstasy, mobility and immobility, affect and emotion, revealing the body's centrality to prophetic mediation.
What is Old Testament Theology? For the past two hundred years Old Testament scholars have developed a distinctive presentation of the theological significance of this literature on the basis of a penetrating historical criticism. Increasingly, however, the form and structure of this discipline have moved away from other areas of theological investigation. The result is that today Old Testament theology bears little relationship to the historic ways in which Christians and Jews have actually found theological meaning in the Bible.
'Intended primarily as a textbook for undergraduates, this volume has the following major divisions, each divided into chapters: I. An introduction to the People (including the essential stance of the biblical material, methods of analysis, and the geographical setting); II. The Origins of the People (including a brief history of Old Testament criticism, the patriarchal traditions, the exodus event, and the covenant at Sinai); III. The Growth of the People (from the wilderness period to the time of Elijah); IV. The Demise of the People (from the emergence of the literary prophets to the time of the exile); V. The Renewal of the People (from the Second Isaiah through the end of the Old Testament period). There is an extensive bibliography (arranged topically and by chapters), indexes of authors and subjects, and photos and maps scattered appropriately throughout the volume.' 'Concerning many basic issues a range of scholary opinions is cited, followed by a judicious evaluation and a list of the author's conclusions. Only occasionally may the average informed reader want to take serious issue with the author. . . . Each chapter dealing with the biblical text is accompanied by a list of passages which the student is to read in conjunction with it, a helpful procedure. . . . Treatment of a particular segment of biblical material often includes discussion of its theological stance. . . . The author has included coverage of many more topics than introductions of comparable size.' --From The Journal of Biblical Literature, review by Lloyd R.Bailey, Duke University: 'Professor Kuntz has written a very helpful introductory text. The traditions and texts of the Hebrew Bible are set within a historical framework, but the text is more than a history of ancient Israel. Kuntz presents, in a succinct fashion, major historiographical and interpretative positions. . .He has included an excellent bibliography which includes commentaries, atlases, journals, as well as bibliographies structured along the lines of the table of contents. . .Kuntz has written a very readable and thorough introduction to the Hebrew Bible.' --From The Journal of the American Academy of Religion, by Richard D. Hecht, University of California, Santa Barbara 'Although the subtitle includes the three areas of literature, history, and thought, this volume is primarily concerned with the literature of the Old Testament. A vast amount of information is made available in a breezy, well-articulated and engaging style. . .Kuntz keeps his readers informed on presently controversial issues, but he does not allow the intricacies of such current debates to obscure the flow of the work as a whole. Each chapter is amply footnoted, and an extensive annotated bibliography concludes the volume. . .Some seventy photographs enhance an already clear and concise presentation. . .The vigorous and open stance of the work, evident in its lack of defensive or apologetic intent, finds confirmation in the author's statement: to engage in the Old Testament hermeneutical task is to engage in a dialogue with ancient Israel. As that dialogue unfolds, the interpreter will be required to place his own view of the world on trial. . . .Kuntz has ably demonstrated that the major task of introducing the Old Testament to the interested layperson can be accomplished successfully without jargon and sophisticated detail. This volume deserves a wide readership and will serve as a very fine foundation in introductory courses to the entire Old Testament.' --From The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, by David P. Reid, SS.CC., Washington Theological Coalition, Silver Spring, Maryland:
