This thesis contends that the Chronicler includes many episodes of war in his retelling of Israel’s monarchic history to demonstrate the benefits and consequences of temple faithfulness. Several scholars have long pointed out the Chronicler’s reworking of texts in Samuel-Kings to show that Yahweh rewards the good and punishes the wicked (i.e. retribution theology). Some recent scholars, however, have put forward several exceptions to this rule. The analysis of passages in this thesis demonstrates that the Chronicler maintains this cause-effect relationship with the dual themes of war and temple. To do this, it divides the various kings into different categories. First, David belongs in a category all by himself since he (according to the Chronicler) pioneered the two most foundational elements of the temple cult (i.e. gathering all Israel and providing the building materials). For this reason, he also won many battles to secure Israel’s place in the land. The next two groups of kings either show complete faithfulness to (re)establishing the temple cult and its practices (e.g. Solomon, Hezekiah), or neglect it (e.g. Ahaz, Jehoram). Based on their attitude toward the temple, the Chronicler illustrates how they either prosper in the land through military victory, or suffer attack. The Chronicler presents mixed cases with the last two categories. On the one hand, he reports how many faithful kings (in varying degrees) support orthodox temple practices and so prosper on the battlefield. However, none of these kings persevere in their faithfulness so that either their success immediately stops or they suffer attack. On the other hand, the Chronicler also tells how two thoroughly wicked kings committed some of the worse sins in Israel’s history, yet repented after suffering swift punishment. Through all these cases, the Chronicler demonstrates that temple faithfulness always brought Israel peace and security.

This work consists of a portfolio of creative writing in the form of a collection of short stories, The Jerusalem Syndrome, followed by a thesis, “Biblical Perspectives on the Holiness of Place, Body, and Mortality in The Jerusalem Syndrome Collection”. Attempting to engage the question, ‘what does it mean to be Jewish?, the latter seeks to provide the academic lens to unearth the former. In its stories of ancestry, land, rituals, body practices, theological beliefs and the nature of God’s relationship with his people, the Hebrew Bible lies at the heart of ancient and modern Jewish constructions of identity. The stories of The Jerusalem Syndrome Collection draw on a number of these biblical themes, and similarly seek to explore diverse constructions of Jewish identity in worlds seemingly far removed in time and context from the ancient social contexts from which the biblical texts emerged. Critical biblical scholarship offers modern readers various ‘lenses’ with which to engage the biblical texts — not as ‘scripture’, or even ‘history’ — but ancient literature rich in ancient cultural and ideological debates about the construction of identity, many of which continue to impact modern notions of Jewish identity today. Illustrations of this impact suffuse the stories of The Jerusalem Syndrome Collection. As such, this discussion explores the socio-religious, mythological and theological themes pervading The Jerusalem Syndrome Collection by bringing them into dialogue with critical, scholarly reflections on Judaism’s biblical traditions. A number of these themes cluster around the notion of Israel and the city of Jerusalem as the place at which Jewish identities are negotiated. The characters of The Jerusalem Syndrome Collection encounter various Jewish identities in bodily and material ways, as well as by topographical indices. With particular emphasis on the themes of how place, body, and death are sanctified, this piece will explore the ways in which Jewish identity continues to be contextualized in terms of the cultic, mythological and ritual language derived from the Hebrew Bible. This portfolio — the stories and their dialogue with the Hebrew Bible — is an exploration of some of the key aspects of how Jewish identity unfolds, and how the stories are re-mythologized through biblical history.

This dissertation examines the function of subject-before-finite-verb clauses in the book of Genesis based on traditional, understanding. Chapter 1 presents an introduction, thesis, and methodology of the project. The research of this dissertation, following the understanding of traditional grammarians concerning subject-before-finite-verb clauses, furnishes the following thesis: all subject-before-finite-verb clauses render the subject prominent by both emphasis and description. Chapter 2 presents traditional grammarians' view concerning verbal and nominal clauses, including subject-before-finite-verb clauses in particular. They analyze the initial subject as the subject of the entire sentence and the following verb (the predicate) as a verbal clause. Chapter 3 explains that in narrative statements, the subject is usually more described than emphasized (rarely, more emphasized than described), though both description and emphasis are always present. Subject-before-finite-verb clauses may begin, transition/resume, or end a narrative, or they may give general descriptive statements. Emphasis appears stronger than description in some contrastive constructions, emphasis and description are more or less equal in other contrastive constructions, emphasis appears stronger than description with addition of certain particles and/or independent pronouns, after certain introductory formulas, with multiple subjects with modification, and when they continue a narrative. Chapter 4 offers the examination of subject-before-finite-verb clauses in non-narrative statements. The discussion in this chapter follows the same structure as Chapter Three. In non-narrative statements, the subject is usually emphasized (very rarely, more described than emphasized), though again both description and emphasis are always present. Description is stronger when the speaker narrates. Chapter 5 discusses modern attempts to redefine subject-before-finite-verb clauses, as Kautzsch, have confused the distinction between verbal and nominal clauses, which in turn, have perplexed many concerning the proper meaning of verbal and nominal clauses. Moreover, the traditional approach of subject-before-finite-verb clauses assumed a verb-subject for normal word order in Biblical Hebrew. Although Holmstedt has attempted to prove subject-verb as the "basic" word order in Biblical Hebrew, his argument has failed. Hebrew (and Arabic) is a verb-subject language. The traditional approach, therefore, represents the simplest, clearest, most accurate method for analyzing subject-before-finite-verb clauses. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

A relação do homem com a terra é vital em toda cultura e também o é na Bíblia Hebraica. O eixo temático Deus-terra-homem é descortinado em Gênesis 1-9 e as bases para as dinâmicas desse víncolo são estabelecidas. O presente trabalho é uma proposta de leitura microscópica da narrativa, contemplando a terra como um personagem. / The relationship between man and earth, is vital in every culture and in the Hebrew Bible. The main theme God-earth-man is presented in Genesis 1-9 and the foundation for its dynamics are established. The present dissertation is a proposal to read the biblical texts from a narative critcism view, taking the earth as character.

O conceito de sabedoria bíblica como corpus, tema ou estilo costuma ser aplicado livremente à leitura da Bíblia Hebraica. Ao mesmo tempo, estudiosos admitem a falta de precisão para a eleição daquilo que deveria ou não compor um tema ou estilo sapiencial, tanto para a análise do texto bíblico quanto para os estudos comparados. Este trabalho apresenta uma breve introdução às abordagens acadêmicas que pretenderam reconhecer a sabedoria bíblica como um gênero literário, enfatizando suas peculiaridades em termos de forma e conteúdo a fim de distingui-la de outros discursos encontrados na Bíblia Hebraica. Além disso, a pesquisa também expõe como os estudos comparados aplicaram os conceitos elaborados por biblistas para a compreensão da sabedoria no Antigo Oriente Médio. / Biblical Wisdom as a corpus, theme or style is frequently applied freely to the reading of the Hebrew Bible. At the same time, the academicians admits the lack of precision on the preference for what should be considered or not as a sapiential theme or style, both for the analysis of biblical texts and for comparative studies. The following research presents a short introduction to the academic approaches which intented to recognize biblical wisdom as a literary genre, enphasizing its peculiarities in terms of form and content in order to make a distinction betweem them from the other discourses found in the Hebrew Bible. Likewise, the research also presents how the comparative studies applied the concepts formulated by biblicists for a comprehension of wisdom in the Ancient Middle East.

Uma das características da língua hebraica, bem como das demais línguas semíticas, é sua construção a partir de uma raiz formada, em geral, por três consoantes principais. Para formar seus textos, serão aglutinadas a estas raízes consoantes afixas (prefixos/infixos/ sufixos), com funções de pronomes, preposições, e outras. Na tentativa de alcançar satisfatoriamente nosso objetivo, o ensino do hebraico língua estrangeira, propomos a utilização de uma metodologia de ensino que facilite a memorização, a busca do sentido contextualizado e o ensino de estruturas gramaticais com o mínimo de conteúdo léxico, preparando o aprendiz para conquistá-lo em tempo oportuno. Uma das possibilidades de facilitação do ensino do léxico hebraico pode ser observada nas características desta língua, quando baseada na estrutura formal dos pronomes pessoais e alguns elementos inseridos em diversas categorias gramaticais, que nela aparecem como afixos. Esses afixos hebraicos são elementos que dão conta do direcionamento textual bem como de quase todas as ações e temporalidades verbais. A função artigo exercida por estas consoantes será o fio condutor do nosso objetivo em demonstrar a permeabilidade da língua e estimular professores e pesquisadores na busca de elementos que facilitem o aprendizado ao utilizarem os afixos como ponto de partida para o entendimento do texto hebraico, especificamente o bíblico, como língua instrumental. / One of the characteristic of Hebraic language, just like other semitic languages, is its construction from a structure composed, in general, for three main consonants. To obtain their texts there will be agglutinated affix consonants (suffix/prefix) in these radicals with functions of pronouns, prepositions, among others. Trying to get satisfactionally our objective, which is teaching of Hebraic language, we propose a method of teaching that makes easier the process of memorizing, looking for a context that make sense and the teach of grammatical structures that have the minimum of lexicon content, preparing the learner to make the most of the Hebraic language. One of the possibilities of making easier the lexicon Hebraic teaching can be observed in the characteristic of this language, based in formal structure of personal pronouns and some elements introduced in other grammatical categories, which are affixes. These Hebraic affixes are elements that give textual direction of almost all actions and verbal temporality. The article function used by these consonants will be the guide of our objective in order to show the permeability of this language and stimulate teachers and scientists to search elements that become easier the learning using affixes as beginning to understand the Hebraic text, mainly the biblical one, as instrumental language.

There is a longstanding scholarly debate on the nature of prophecy in ancient Israel. Until now, no study has based itself on the semantics of the Hebrew lexeme nābîʾ (‘prophet’). In this investigation, I discuss the nature and function of prophecy in the corpus of the Hebrew book of Jeremiah. I analyse all occurrences of nābîʾ in Jeremiah and perform a close reading of three primary texts, Jeremiah 1.4–19, 23.9–40 and 27.1–28.17. The result is a detailed explanation of how prophecy works, and what it meant to call someone a nābîʾ in ancient Israel. Chapter one introduces the work and surveys the main trends in the research literature on prophecy. First I describe scholarly constructs and definitions of the phenomenon of prophecy. I then survey contemporary debates over the meaning of nābîʾ and the problem of ‘false’ prophecy. I also describe the methods, structure, corpus and aims of the investigation. In part one, I take all the occurrences of the lexeme nābîʾ in Jeremiah and analyse its relations to other words (syntagmatics and paradigmatics). For nābîʾ, the conceptual fields of communication and worship are significant. There is also a close semantic relation between nābîʾ and kōhēn (‘priest’). Part two analyses prophecy in the literary context of three key texts. Chapter three is a close reading of Jeremiah 1.4–19. Chapter four is a close reading of Jeremiah 23.9–40. Chapter five is a close reading of Jeremiah 27.1–28.17. In my analysis I situate these passages in the wider context of an ancient cultural worldview on divine communication. This brings to light the importance of legitimacy and authority as themes in prophecy. Chapter six concludes the work. I combine the results of the semantic analysis and close readings with conclusions for six main areas of study: (1) the function and nature of prophecy; (2) dreams and visions; (3) being sent; (4) prophets, priests and cult; (5) salvation and doom; and (6) legitimacy and authority. These conclusions explain the conceptual categories related to nābîʾ in the corpus. I then situate these findings in two current debates, one on the definition of nābîʾ and one on cultic prophecy. This thesis contributes to critical scholarship on prophecy in the ancient world, on the book of Jeremiah, and on prophets in ancient Israel. It is the first major study to analyse nābîʾ based on its semantic associations. It adds to a growing consensus which understands prophecy as a form of divination. Contrary to some trends in Jeremiah scholarship, this work demonstrates the importance of a close reading of the Masoretic (Hebrew) text. This study uses a method of a general nature which can be applied to other texts. Thus there are significant implications for further research on prophecy and prophetic literature.

A relação do homem com a terra é vital em toda cultura e também o é na Bíblia Hebraica. O eixo temático Deus-terra-homem é descortinado em Gênesis 1-9 e as bases para as dinâmicas desse víncolo são estabelecidas. O presente trabalho é uma proposta de leitura microscópica da narrativa, contemplando a terra como um personagem. / The relationship between man and earth, is vital in every culture and in the Hebrew Bible. The main theme God-earth-man is presented in Genesis 1-9 and the foundation for its dynamics are established. The present dissertation is a proposal to read the biblical texts from a narative critcism view, taking the earth as character.

It is widely acknowledged that the phenomenon of prophecy was not restricted only to ancient Israel, but is well attested throughout the ancient Near East, not least but in the textual material retrieved from the Mesopotamian capitals of Mari and Nineveh. A number of recent studies have utilized these sources to discuss the literary history and rhetorical content of Hebrew prophecy. The following thesis differs from these by undertaking to examine and compare the institution of prophecy as it occurs in the Mari, Neo-Assyrian, and Hebrew sources. -Prophecy‖ is considered to be a mode of non-inductive divination, separate from dreams, that, ideally, is denoted by the active intermediation of allegedly divine messages to a human audience. Thus, texts that record the direct speech of a deity and are communicated to an audience by a human intermediary-without recourse to dreams or technical divination-may potentially reflect prophecy in the Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources. Along with a selection of preexilic Hebrew oracular sources, the image of prophecy in all three corpora is independently examined along seven lines: Prompting Prophecy, Prophets, Prophetic Deities, Venues, Means of Delivery, Content of Oracles, and the Responses to Prophecy. Observations gleaned from this analysis are then compared and contrasted with one another to derive a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon of prophecy in each source. Among other conclusions, it is observed that it is insufficient to simply silhouette Hebrew prophecy against its Mesopotamian counterparts, as if the images of prophecy in Mari and Neo-Assyrian sources themselves represent indistinguishable phenomena. Indeed, despite considerable overlap, they are not completely consistent. This result, it is argued, places in context some of the more glaring discrepancies between these sources and the image of prophecy in the Hebrew sources.

The shepherd metaphor is used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to kings or leaders of the Israelite community. It belongs to the larger group of pastoral metaphors which are used to convey ideas about governance and politics. This is especially apparent in how the Hebrew prophets have utilized pastoral imagery in their rhetoric about politics. Specifically, the imagery occurs in Micah 2:12-13; 5:1- 5; 7:14-20; Isaiah 40:9-11; 44:24-45:7; 56:9-12; 63:7-14; Jeremiah 3:15-20; 10:19- 21; 22:18-23; 23:1-8; 25:30-38; 31:10-14; Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah chs. 10, 11, 13. This study is an analysis of these passages. It investigates the political processes depicted in the text and describes the political ideas that they express. In order to show that pastoral metaphors are powerful rhetorical devices for revealing political ideas, Chapter 1 provides a survey of metaphorical theories that are relevant to the exegesis of the shepherd texts. Particularly useful is Janet Soskice’ notion of ‘metaphorical modeling’ which leads to the overarching metaphorical assumption in the use of pastoral metaphors, that ‘Political governance is shepherding.’ New meanings are created by mapping out the structures of shepherding onto the domain of governance. Secondly, the chapter also examines the sociological background of pastoral metaphors in their wider Mesopotamian context to show that the shepherd metaphor is a political metaphor. Lastly, it explores ideas in political theology that might enhance the exegesis of the text from the perspective of politics. Particularly, the study draws upon the conceptions in political theology proposed by Oliver O’Donovan, Walter Brueggeman and Dale Launderville, who all base their theories on the notion of the ‘authority’ of God. O’Donovan suggests four organizing concepts for doing political theology, namely, salvation, judgment, possession, and praise. On the other hand, Brueggeman intimates a reading that uses the ‘politics of Yahweh vs. politics of Pharaoh’ as a paradigm. As for Launderville, he explores the idea of authority through the notion of legitimation by the gods and by the people. Each of the subsequent chapters (2-6) will offer a detailed exegetical analysis of the prophetic books containing shepherd texts. These close readings result in variety of political implications based on the interactions of three main players, Yahweh who is the owner of the flock and sometimes also portrayed as the Great Shepherd, the human shepherd, and the flock. The web of relationship and interaction of these three players affirms the centrality of the ‘authority of God’ in the politics of the shepherd texts. Moreover, five aspects of politics arise and consistently thread their way across the five chapters. Primary among these is [1] the different manifestations of the dynamics of relations of power between different entities such as: Yahweh, the Great Shepherd and the supreme king of the flock, the human shepherd-rulers who are considered as vicegerents and are under the jurisdiction of the Great Shepherd, and the flock who are subordinate to both the Great Shepherd and the human shepherd-rulers. Consequent to this notion are the following ideas: [2] the need for the human-shepherd to be attentive to divine sanction; [3] the human-shepherd as the chief redistributor of material and symbolic goods in the community; [4] the shepherd-leader, whether referring to Yahweh or to the human shepherds, as the centralizing symbol in the community; and [5] justice as a central aspect of governance within the shepherding-governance framework.