The importance of the family in ancient Near Eastern society is so frequently recognized that it has become a truism. It is therefore surprising that in a work of identity-making such as the Bible, the influence of family on the texts' formation has been under studied. Such an omission may be because the discussion on family in the Bible has largely concentrated upon reconstructing day-to-day life as background to our reading. Scholars have not seen family loyalty as an essential component in the narratives' meaningfulness. In my dissertation, I examine family and identity in the Book of Judges. I argue that the family is the dominant locus of identity for people throughout the first millennium BCE and that Judges' social communication depends upon acknowledging this dynamic. The meaning of the local folklore gathered together in Judges relies upon an appreciation of the values held by the society from which it comes and distinguishes this core material from the editorial framework. This perspectival dichotomy also raises questions about the book's redactional methodology. Identity is revealed through socio-relational dynamics; hence, my thesis takes a social-scientific approach to the texts. Following an introduction, the first chapter discusses family and identity with particular reference to the localized structures of first-millennium BCE Palestine. The next four chapters present texts from Judges in which I employ four socio-anthropological theories. I begin with the tale of Jael and Sisera in Judg 4 and 5, to which I apply the concept of social space. I then compare the stories of Abimelech in Judg 9 and Jephthah in Judg 11 in light of ascribed social status. The wedding of Samson in Judg 14 forms the third study for which endogamy and the socio-economic autonomy of the household are relevant theories and I end by discussing hospitality and social distance in the eventful journey of the Levite in Judg 19. I conclude that the 'nationalizing' of these folktales by the editorial frame must nevertheless respect their familial perspective to maximize the success of Israel's identity-making.

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.

No description available.

Zugl.: @Diss. / Includes bibliographical references and index. Current philosophical issues in history writing -- Evaluating and using evidence -- Assumptions and practices of historians of ancient Israel -- In the mid-twentieth century -- Assumptions and practices of minimalist historians of ancient Israel -- Non-minimalist historians of ancient Israel.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia, Pa.), 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-139).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - - Andrews University, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Cover title. Bibliography: leaves 455-523.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Andrews University, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Bibliography: leaves 455-523.

Thesis (D. Litt(Semit. Tale)--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-257).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia, Pa.), 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-139).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-05-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:09:04Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_fc_me_assis.pdf: 456015 bytes, checksum: 7b1fd63e9435cab444831637eb181a6d (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta dissertação objetiva estudar os conflitos proféticos no Antigo Testamento, especialmente os caracterizados em Mq 2,6-11; 3,5-8 e Is 28,7-13. Ao fundamentar-se teoricamente nas noções de campo e habitus de Pierre Bourdieu, a análise coloca o problema de forma distinta da historiografia bíblica. Ao invés de tratar do “falso profetismo” e suas implicações teológicas, a pesquisa opta por buscar as bases sociais da polêmica profética: Isaías e Miquéias produzem seus discursos de um lugar específico no campo religioso na Judá do século VIII a.C. e é este ponto de vista diferente – entre profetas canônicos e nebî’îm – que produz a disputa pela palavra profética. Diferentemente da História Deuteronomista (Js-Re) e de Jeremias, nos textos proféticos do século VIII o leitmotiv dos conflitos não é a mentira (sheqer), mas a crítica às autoridades que exercem a liderança de forma irresponsável no nível sócio-político. Para Miquéias e Isaías, os nebî’îm estão sob a influência de bebida alcoólica e só pensam no seu próprio bem-estar. O lugar de descanso para os pobres (hammenûhah) não é a prioridade dos nebî’îm, afinal estes falam em favor dos poderosos de Judá. Eis a base da polêmica em Miquéias e Isaías: o habitus que origina suas visões de mundo é diverso daquele que sustenta as pregações dos nebî’îm. Isso resulta em grupos de suporte diferentes e, por fim, em projetos sociais divergentes. / This dissertation aims to study the prophetic conflicts in the Old Testament, especially as they are characterized in Mic 2,6-11; 3,5-8 and Isa 28,7-13. Theoretically, we are basing in Pierre Bourdieu notions of field and habitus, therefore, the analyses puts the problem in a distinct way of the biblical historiography. Instead of treating of the false prophetism and its theological implication, the research opts to look for the social bases of the prophetic controversy: Isaiah and Micah produce their speeches from a specific place in the religious field in Judah of the VIII century and it is this different point of view – between canonical prophets and nebî’îm – that produce the dispute for the prophetic word. Differently of Deuteronomistc History (Joshua-Kings) and Jeremiah, in the VIII century prophetic texts, the leitmotiv of the conflicts is not the lie (sheqer), but the critic of the authorities that exercise the leadership in an irresponsible way in the socio-political level. For Micah and Isaiah, the nebî’îm are under the influence of alcoholic drink and only think about their own well-being. The rest place for the poor (hammenûhah) is not the priority of the nebî’îm, after all, they speak in favor of powerful people of Judah. Here is the base of the controversy in Micah and Isaiah: the habitus that originates their world visions is quite different of that sustaining the nebî’îm preaching. This results in different support groups and, finally, in rival social projects.