This dissertation presents the basic philosophical concepts of speech act theory in order to accurately implement them alongside other interpretive tools.
This monograph seeks to determine the geographical provenance of Isaiah 40-55. It reassesses past research pertaining to Babylonian influence and reexamines the claims that all or parts of Isaiah 40-55 reflect the concerns of the exilic community in Babylon. It further challenges the prevalent view that the return of the exiles is of central concern in Isaiah 40-55, and instead proposes that Jerusalem and her imminent restoration is its focal point. It interprets Isaiah 40-55 as a polyvalent text that allows multiple and often contradictory views regarding Jerusalem’s current suffering. The monograph investigates these views, understood to represent the opinons of different segments of the target audience of Isaiah 40-55, with the aim of determining their geographical and theological locations.
This volume is born out of two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007). The topics of these papers are gathered around the theme of "voice." The two parts to this volume: 1) provide fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and 2) deepen our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee. In the second section the focus on topics such as Israel's "unbelieving faith" (i.e., strong accusations against the God on whom they have complete reliance and trust), the unrighteous lamenter, and God's acceptance and rejection of the people's lament(s), deepens our understanding of Israel's culture and practice of lamentation. The final essay notes how the expression of despair is in tension with the poetic devices that contain it.
A number of biblical scholars and theologians have had interest in speech act theory ever since J.L. Austin (1911–1960) outlined how a speaker can perform actions with words. John R. Searle has made a significant contribution to speech act theory after Austin by rooting his philosophy of language in the philosophy of mind; however, Searle’s categories remain largely under or misrepresented in theological circles. In this book, the author works exclusively with Searle’s categories to examine five NT texts on the ‘blood-of-Christ’ motif (Rom 3:25; Heb 9:12; John 6:52–59; Rev 1:5b–6; Rev 7:13–14). The main result is a broader understanding of Christ’s blood in a literal sense rather than simply as a metaphor for his death.
This volume showcases recent exploration of the portrait of Daughter Zion as “she” appears in biblical Hebrew poetry. Using Carleen Mandolfo’s Daughter Zion Talks Back to the Prophets (Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) as a point of departure, the contributors to this volume explore the image of Daughter Zion in its many dimensions in various texts in the Hebrew Bible. Approaches used range from poetic, rhetorical, and linguistic to sociological and ideological. To bring the conversation full circle, Carleen Mandolfo engages in a dialogic response with her interlocutors. The contributors are Mark J. Boda, Mary L. Conway, Stephen L. Cook, Carol J. Dempsey, LeAnn Snow Flesher, Michael H. Floyd, Barbara Green, John F. Hobbins, Mignon R. Jacobs, Brittany Kim, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Christl M. Maier, Carleen Mandolfo, Jill Middlemas, Kim Lan Nguyen, and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer.
Isa. 52:13-53:12 has occupied a special position within Jewish and Christian traditions, as well as within biblical scholarship. This book focuses particularly on different ways of reading this text. Historical-critical readings in the tradition after Bernhard Duhm are challenged. In Duhmian readings of Isa. 52:13-53:12, Gottesknecht has become a technical term, Ebed-Jahwe-Lied a genre, Stellvertretung an established theological concept and “servant song research” a separate discipline within biblical scholarship. After a critical presentation of the Duhmian readings, three other ways of reading Isa. 52:13-53:12 based on variations of linguistic theory are presented: one linguistic, one narratological and one intertextual. These show in different manners how the text is unstable, heterogeneous and composite. In these readings, the trope of personification is central.
The biblical prophets and Biblical Performance Criticism are brought together in three case studies (Elijah, Ezekiel, Jonah) presented as performances. This book proposes a new method of reading the biblical prophets with a threefold focus on creativity, commentary, and connections. With this method the many and varied performances of the prophets can be better appreciated. Critical analysis of the quintessentially performative nature of the prophets as embodied spokespersons for YHWH aids us in understanding and clarifying YHWH’s message to audiences, situations, and communities of the past as well as engaging contemporary audiences.
One “apocalyptic” reading of Paul’s letter to the Galatians has been attempted before and is now widely accepted, but that reading is not based on a thorough engagement with Jewish apocalyptic traditions of the Second Temple period. In this book, James M. Scott argues that there is an essential continuity between Galatians and Paul’s Jewish past, and that Paul uses the apocalyptic Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 92–105) as a literary model for his own letter. Scott first contextualizes the Epistle of Enoch using the entire Enochic corpus and explores the extensive similarities (and some significant differences) between the Enochic tradition and early Stoicism. Then he turns to deal specifically with Paul’s letter to the Galatians, showing that, despite their obvious differences, the two apocalyptic letters have some remarkable features in common as well. This approach to the interpretation of Galatians fundamentally stands to change the way biblical scholars understand Paul’s letter and the gospel that he preached. Paul is “within Judaism,” if the net for what is included in “Judaism” is wide enough to encompass the Enochic tradition.
The Old Testament is transformed from problem to ally when preachers attend to power at work in ancient and modern contexts by mirroring Second Isaiah's proclamation, listening to contemporary servant Israel, and learning from African American preaching in context of domination. This book analyses the impact of domination on Old Testament proclamation and thus leads to several unique contributions. Firstly, it reads Second Isaiah as a homiletic model for proclaiming older (pre-exilic) texts in response to exilic domination. Secondly, it treats the Old Testament as a rich resource for confronting racism and anti-Semitism though teaching and it introduces contemporary Christian-Jewish dialogue in Germany as a model for the Church. Lastly, it highlights preaching traditions within the African American Church as instructive for formulating an effective Old Testament preaching strategy.
The New American Commentary series is an exceptionally acclaimed resource for ministers and Bible students who want to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features in each volume include: • Commentary based on the New International Version (NIV). • NIV text printed in the body of the commentary. • Sound scholarly methodology reflecting capable research in the original languages. • Interpretation emphasizing the theological unity of each book and Scripture as a whole. • Readable and applicable exposition. Gary V. Smith’s second volume on Isaiah looks deeply and in wonder at the God who is both intimate and compassionate (Isaiah 40:28: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”) and larger than our comprehension of time and space (Isaiah 66:1: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool”).