Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University / Statement of the Problem. The dissertation is an investigation of the mixture of legend and history in the Elisha cycle in II Kings, attempting to discover to what extent the interests and life of the historic Elisha can be authenticated. The Elisha cycle is used as the basis for exploring the functions of legend and history in Biblical traditions. A secondary problem is an evaluation of the relationship between Elijah and Elisha, especially at those points where it is frequently asserted that Elisha traditions are adaptations of Elijah traditions. Procedure. The materials of the Elisha cycle are examined with respect to their present nature and possible origins through the use of form- and literary-critical methods. These traditions are grouped according to the roles which the early preservers of the Elisha materials appear to have assigned to the prophet. Three such roles are considered: 1) wonder worker; 2) cultic prophet; 3) political prophet. Elijah and Elisha traditions are compared at those points at which the prophets are associated either historically or through doublets in the traditions. Talmudic and patristic writings are examined to compare the emphases of Elisha's ministry in Kings with the aspects of Elisha's ministry which appealed to later Jewish and Christian writers. Conclusions. 1. The three roles considered prove to be the most adequate bases for comprehending the varying traditions of the Elisha cycle. 2. The role of wonder worker is derived from Elisha's role as cultic prophet. The assumption that Elisha can work wonders is based on an acceptance of him as cultic prophet and as a leader of the "sons of the prophets." J. The roles of Elisha within the tradition are best explained if it is assumed that these materials were preserved by prophetic circles, especially the "sons of the prophets." 4. The preservation of the Elisha tradition by the "sons of the prophets" resulted in an emphasis upon prophetic roles for Elisha which would cease to be characteristic of classical prophecy after Amos. 5. Elisha's stature as a prophet was not enhanced by his historic and literary relationship to Elijah. The frequently asserted superiority of Elijah as a prophet is shown to result from judgments based both on the greater excellence of the literary traditions of Elijah and on his greater importance for Judaism. An examination of Elijah's importance in Judaism shows clearly that it rests on factors other than the quality of his historic ministry. 6. In four instances of parallelism between Elijah and Elisha traditions only one instance Kings 17:17-24 parallel to II Kings 4:8-37) demonstrates clearly a transfer from Elijah to Elisha traditions. 7• The legendary aspects of those traditions which picture Elisha as political prophet are not to be discounted since Elisha's participation in the political life of the nation is conceivable for the period in question. It is shown that the settings for the political traditions in the Elisha cycle are all authentic for the general period, even though specific dates cannot be attached to all such traditions. 8. The legendary aspects of the Elisha traditions are shown to serve an historical purpose in communicating the interests and needs of those among whom these traditions were preserved. The legends are important in expanding our understanding of group prophecy in Israel in the ninth century B.C. although they do not carry us to the historic Elisha.

This dissertation entitled, "The Date of the Call of the Prophet Jeremiah: Texts and Issues," attempts to demonstrate that the most plausible date for the beginning of the prophetic career of Jeremiah is that provided in the tradition itself, i.e. the thirteenth year of Josiah (627). In supporting this, two main topics are addressed. First, the alternative dates which have been forwarded in modern scholarship are examined, and shown to be based upon untenable ideas. Secondly, the various objections which have been proffered against the 627 date are analysed, and the case is made that these objections are invalid. Finally, an attempt is made to explain the message and activity of the prophet within the historical milieu of Judah in the years 627-622. The current study develops this thesis in seven chapters. The first chapter discusses the historical context of the years 640-609, and Josiah's reforms. In chapter two it is argued that the prose sermons should be attributed to Jeremiah, and represent a style of the seventh century. Chapter three demonstrates the implausibility of the alternative dating proposals, while in chapter four it is proposed that the threatened invader of the foe from the north oracles was not originally identified by Jeremiah. The issue of Isaiah and the reforms of Hezekiah as a comparable example is handled in chapter five. Chapter six addresses Jeremiah's attitude toward the cultic reforms of Josiah and the appearance of Deuteronomy in 622, and it is shown that the prophet did speak out in support of the newly published law book. Finally in chapter seven, Jeremiah's relative withdrawal from public activity during the period 622-609 is demonstrated, and the prophet's message is explained in light of the setting of the years 627-622.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The purpose of this dissertation is to determine what takes place on the human side when a man says he has an encounter with God, with special reference to the thought of Martin Buber and of the Hebrew prophet, Jeremiah. The method has been to characterize each man's thought; to pay particular attention to the data lending themselves to psychological description, to the end of analyzing encounter with God in its epistemic, psychological and existential modes. On the basis of these characterizations, each of these men has been compared to the other to determine likenesses and differences; to assay the effect of culture at points of difference; and to summarize the points of likeness which might have abiding value. Findings and conclusions are: 1. Buber and Jeremiah find man's essential nature incomplete apart from relation to God. Fulfilment is possible in what Buber terms an I-Thou relation--a subject-subject relation as opposed to the subject-object relation of knowledge. Subject-subject relation is made possible by a unique category of being, which Buber calls the inborn Thou. This is not to say that man has an original self. A self has to be won. 2. A sense of lack (anxiety), a reaching out, the dual gestalt of man's own being together with objective reference of the Thou, a sense of fulfillment by a Persons over against one, standing in the relation of love--these minimal elements of encounter constitute the fountainhead of religion and ethics, as well as the occasion for man's social being to emerge and to be kept intact. Revelation comes in the form of Presence--presence as power. No verbal message is given. There is a sense of reciprocal relation, of inexpressible confirmation, and of an urge to act out the power of it in the world. 3. Jeremiah conceived man to be created by God and endowed with a drive to fulfillment like the migratory instinct in birds. Man is free to direct this drive toward God and find fulfilment, or to direct it elsewhere with little promise in the face of his precarious existence. 4. For both men, one's religious knowledge and his cultural modes of thought were part of the whole person taken into encounter and could affect the subsequent interpretation of it. Neither believed that encounter was sufficient without the remainder of experience; nor did either conceive the experience of immediacy as resulting from any form of mystical absorption. Jeremiah's tribal consciousness lends itself aptly both to illustrate the limits which culture can impose on revelation and also to reveal how the Presence can transcend the limits. 5. Relation to God is necessary for maintaining the integrity of one's I; otherwise, the world of things assumes the mastery, and persons are cheapened (Buber); or man loses his moral fibre (Jeremiah). 6. Jeremiah negatively illustrates Buber's judgment that verbal messages are not given in revelation. Recently from the Presence, he put his own thoughts into the mouth of God and delivered them as a "Thus saith the Lord." The mistakes he made indicate that alleged verbal messages in revelation do not stand on their own authority. They need further testing. 7. Buber and Jeremiah fonnd that perceptual data of religion gained in concrete life-situations were a reliable foundation upon which to build coherent religious truth. They would agree that this method of gaining religious truth has been a distinctive contribution of the Hebrew-Jewish religion.

Playing Jonah's Hand: Poems is a collection of poems with a critical introduction. The introduction consists of two independent essays, both of which examine intersections between poetry and Christian theology. In the first essay I identify the imaginative faculty as the primary source of agency for the speaker in John Donne's "Holy Sonnets." Working upon Barbara Lewalski's assertion that these sonnets represent "the Protestant paradigm of salvation in its stark, dramatic, Pauline terms," I consider the role of the imagination in the spiritual transformation represented within the sequence. Donne foregrounds a Calvinistic theology that posits both humanity's total depravity and God's grace and mercy as the only avenue of transcendence. Whatever agency the speaker exhibits is generated by the exercise of his imagination, which leads him to a recognition of his sinfulness and the necessity of God's grace. In the second essay I investigate the presence of a negative theology within "Lachrimae, or Seven Tears Figured in Seven Passionate Pavans," a sonnet sequence by Geoffrey Hill. In this sequence, Hill demonstrates the possibilities that surface through an integration of negative theology with postmodern theories of language, both of which have been influenced by the philosophical writings of Martin Heidegger. The two inform and transform each other while producing a tension that is productive ground for poetry. The main body of the manuscript includes a collection of poems built upon thematic parallels with the Biblical account of Jonah, acknowledging the character's continued frustration with God in Chapter Four of Jonah, which is commonly forgotten in popular and religious representations of the story. The four sections in the manuscript include poems that struggle to negotiate the tensions between the will of a compelling God and the will of the individual.

The "self-disclosures" in Jeremiah, including not only the so-called "confessions" but also other first person material which seems to express the prophet's inner feelings, are examined in a detailed, exegetical fashion with careful attention to-both the ancient versions and the subsequent history of exegesis. Special attention is given to the works of Rashi and Kimchi. Three basic questions are asked: 1) What do the "self-disclosures" represent? 2) To what degree can the "self-disclosures" be said to portray the historical Jeremiah? 3) Why are the "self-disclosures" included in the corpus of Jeremianic literature? These questions are approached by examining the relevant passages against the backdrop of the prophetic orthodoxy of the late 7th century B. C., which is seen to consist of commonly held notions of the role, message, and perhaps even temperament of the prophet within the current socio-religious framework. This orthodoxy is viewed as having initially defined Jeremiah's understanding of the prophetic office. But in the "self-disclosures" Jeremiah wrestles with the other side of his experience as a prophet, the painful and mysterious side, and attempts to forge a new understanding of the prophetic vocation. In the end, the fundamental element of the prophetic vocation for Jeremiah is seen as the "Word of the Lord." The prophet's conviction that he had been entrusted with the powerful, efficacious "Word" became the touchstone of both his vocational self-understanding and his authentication against the false prophets who represented prophetic orthodoxy. And the "Word" was ultimately the source of his suffering. All of these elements may be seen in the call-narrative which is examined in detail as the introduction to the entire book. The closing chapter of the thesis takes a closer look at the theological kerygma of the "self-disclosures," particularly in relation to the problem of suffering.

Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Th. (Old testament)

The problem of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon is specifically a study in Historical Criticism. In nature it is a textual problem especially adapted to the methods of textual science. This includes, of course, both branches of that science, namely, lower criticism and higher criticism.

Jonah's Prayer is a choral work for solo tenor, a mixed choir of not fewer than 30 members, two pianos and a few percussion instruments to be played by choir members. The piece lasts about 13 minutes; it is a work intended for church choir use but could be performed in other venues as well.

Cette recherche étudie les lettres de Paul de Tarse, telles que conservées dans le Nouveau Testament, dans le contexte des pratiques épistolaires antiques, principalement judéennes. L’interrogation initiale est double : d’une part, elle porte sur le potentiel documentaire offert par les sources de type épistolaire et, d’autre part, sur le potentiel pragmatique spécifique du médium épistolaire pour induire des changements chez les destinataires. Les lettres de Paul ont été écrites non pour consigner des réalités ou des vérités d’autrefois en tant que telles, mais pour communiquer efficacement auprès de cercles divers et variés de destinataires. Cette double interrogation est déployée en amont, parmi les pratiques susceptibles d’avoir servi de modèle, comme celle liée à la lettre aux exilés insérée narrativement dans le Livre du prophète Jérémie (chapitre 29). Celle-ci a servi de modèle de communication à distance pendant plusieurs siècles parmi différents milieux de la Diaspora judéenne. Est ensuite interrogée la pratique épistolaire de Paul lui-même, en particulier celle déployée dans sa IIe Lettre aux Corinthiens (chapitres 10-13). Cette séquence, écrite au moment d’une très forte remise en question de son autorité d’apôtre, montre bien le potentiel pragmatique que Paul reconnaissait au médium épistolaire, ceci en convoquant notamment l’autorité de Jérémie. Enfin, en aval, on s’intéresse aux débuts l’histoire de la réception de l’autorité d’épistolier de Paul. Celle-ci montre comment on a reconnu très tôt à l’apôtre Paul une autorité d’épistolier, à l’instar des prophètes écrivains de l’ancien Israël. / This research examines the letters of Paul of Tarsus, as preserved in the New Testament within the context of letter writing of that time, principally Judean ones. The initial examination questions both the potential of sources such as letters to provide information about an era, and the specific pragmatic potential of the epistolary medium as a means of inducing change in its recipients. As such, the letters of Paul were written not to conserve the historical realities or truths of the past, but to communicate efficiently with diverse circles and various recipients. The two-part examination is used to gain a perspective on the practices of the time, which may have been used as models for epistolary writing. The letter addressing the Judean Diasporas exiles inserted into the narrative of the Book of Jeremy (chapter 29) is such a model, providing a means of communicating over distance and time among the different groups. The epistolary practice of Paul himself is then examined. In particular, his Second letter to Corinthians (chapters 10-13), written in a moment of intense self-examination as his apostolic authority was questioned, is a good example of the pragmatic potential that Paul recognised in the epistolary medium, particularly in light of the prophet Jeremy. Finally, the beginnings of the apostle Paul’s epistolary writing and it’s reception are explored, showing how his credibility as an apostolic authority was quickly and easily recognised as being of the same quality as those of the prophet writers of ancient Israel.

Theses (MPhil (Ancient Studies. Centre for Bible Interpretation and Translation in Africa))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The so-called Isaiah Denkschrift (Isa 6:1-9:6) is seen by many scholars as the personal memoirs of the prophet during the time of the Syro-Ephraimitic war. The aim of this study is to investigate the related issues in this periscope within the framework of the Denkschrift. The aim of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of prophecy in the Ancient Near East and to study how this phenomenon manifests in Isa 6:1-9:6. This study examines the biblical and non- biblical literature relating to this phenomenon with the objective to gain an understanding of the text and the world behind the text. The exegetical process of the study also studied the historical background as it is found in the Denkchrift (Isa 6:1-9:6). The literature investigation of the study focuses on prophecy as it is found in the Hebrew Bible as well as in cross-cultural settings such as the West Semitic, Old Babylonian, Neo- Assyrian and Egypt cultures. It is eminent that in the Ancient Near East prophecy in the different cultures shows parallels and differences in the manifestation thereof. Within the corpus of the phenomenon of prophecy in the Ancient Near East, the study analyses the calling of Isaiah to become a prophet to the people of Judah. Isaiah 6 reports the prophetâ s vision of the heavenly divine council, his purification and the commission to prevent the repentance of the people and the resolve of Yahweh to punish them. Another unit within the Denkschrift addresses the symbolic action behind the naming of Isaiahâ s children within the Syro-Ephraimitic crisis. Chapters 7:3 and 8:1-4 records the circumstances surrounding the symbolism as part of Isaiahâ s prophecy when he prophecy to king Ahaz. The interlinking relationship between Isaiah and king Ahaz is visible in the Denkschrift as an issue in the understanding of Isaiahâ s prophecy and speeches. Chapter 7, 8 and 9 records the tension in the relationship and the study explores the significance thereof in the pending crisis. The literature study shows that this relationship can be interpreted in different ways and the aim is to compare these literary findings. The investigation of Isaiah 6:1-9:6 construe a prophetic message of disaster, judgement and doom but similarly also presents a message of promises, hope and future expectations. This message is still a message needed in a modern world today.