One hundred years ago, Max Weber postulated in his seminal work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that after a tremendous development, capitalism would either reach a dead end, or would enter a new era of development through the guidance of new prophets (Weber, [1904] 2003:182). The tremendous development foreseen has occurred but have Weber’s new prophets appeared? Through a close analysis of the context in which the word prophet is found in the Bible and through the description that Weber gave to the concept of prophet in The Sociology of Religion (Weber, 1963) a prophet’s ideal type was constructed with fourteen specific characteristics. This ideal type was then used as a grid of analysis to put to the test the nineteen most renowned leadership gurus, potential candidate to the title of prophet.

This study analyzes five speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. to determine the ways in which King used the elements of prophetic rhetoric. It examines the major Old Testament prophets, Amos and Ezekiel specifically, for parallels in the following areas: (1) the life, personality, and spiritual calling of the prophet, (2) the language, prophecies, and central themes of the prophet's message, and (3) the historical period in which the prophet lived and the events that created a need for the rhetoric of prophecy.

李應新. / "2004年4月". / 論文(神(道)學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2004. / 參考文獻 (leaves 45-49) / "2004 nian 4 yue". / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Li Yingxin. / Lun wen (shen (dao) xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2004. / Can kao wen xian (leaves 45-49) / Chapter 第一章： --- 先知的角色 --- p.4 / 先知分類及發展 --- p.5 / 信息的內容及現象的發展 --- p.6 / Chapter 第二章： --- 近代天主教就社會訓導上的立場 --- p.9 / 近代天主教就社會訓導上的立場 --- p.9 / 邁向光輝的十年 --- p.14 / Chapter 第三章： --- 歷史背景的因素 --- p.17 / 中國政府與天主教會 --- p.17 / 港人在內地子女居留權事件 --- p.19 / 基本法23條 --- p.23 / 有關不民主的選舉委員會 --- p.26 / 前神父戀童案件 --- p.27 / 有關「校本管理」的執行 --- p.29 / Chapter 第四章： --- 給天主教香港教區在實踐先知角色的補充建議 --- p.31 / 何西阿先知的範例 --- p.31 / 復和與後九七處境 --- p.32 / 教會建構新意- --- p.34 / 建議天主教香港教區論政的終極目標 --- p.36 / 充權的補充 --- p.37 / 愛與公義的原則之實踐 --- p.40 / Chapter 第五章： --- 總結 --- p.43

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.

Tong Sin-lung. / Thesis (M.Div.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.1 / Abbreviations --- p.3 / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.4 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Priesthood in the Cultic Life of Israel --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- The Functions of Priests --- p.6 / Chapter 2.2 --- Priests and Seer-Priests --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Priests and Levites --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Seer-Priests and Cultic Prophets --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- Conclusion --- p.12 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Exegesis on Psalms 50 and 81 --- p.13 / Chapter 3.1 --- The Characteristics of Prophetic Psalms --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2 --- Asaph and its Traditions --- p.16 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Who is Asaph and the sons of Asaph? --- p.16 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Asaph Traditions --- p.17 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- The Psalms of Asaph --- p.18 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- The Dating of the Psalms of Asaph --- p.20 / Chapter 3.3 --- Analysis on Psalm 50 --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Author's Translation --- p.22 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Sitz im Leben of Psalm 50 --- p.23 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Structure of Psalm 50 --- p.26 / Chapter 3.3.4 --- The Motifs of Psalm 50 --- p.29 / Chapter 3.4 --- Analysis on Psalm 81 --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Author's Translation --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Sitz im Leben of Psalm 81 --- p.35 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- The Structure of Psalm 81 --- p.37 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- The Motifs in Psalm 81 --- p.40 / Chapter 3.5 --- Conclusion --- p.44 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- The Significance of Prophetic Oracles in the Cultic Life of Israel --- p.45 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Conclusion --- p.49 / Bibliography --- p.51

In this dissertation, I consider the role of prophets and prophecy in German drama and dramatic discourse of the Romantic period. Against the backdrop of the upheaval wrought by the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, such discourse exhibits a conspicuous fascination with political and social crisis in general as well as a preoccupation with imagining how the crises of the present could provide an opportunity for national or civilizational renewal. One prominent manifestation of this focus is a pronounced interest in charismatic leaders of the legendary or historical past—among them prophets like Moses, Muhammad and Joan of Arc—who succeeded in uniting their respective societies around a novel vision of collective destiny. In order to better understand the appeal of such figures during this period, I examine works of drama and prose fiction that feature prophets as their protagonists and that center on scenarios of political or religious founding. Reading texts by major authors like Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Achim von Arnim alongside those by the lesser-known writers such as Karoline von Günderrode, August Klingemann and Joseph von Hammer, I analyze the various ways these scenarios are staged and situate them within their specific political, intellectual and literary contexts. In so doing, I show that the figure of the prophet—a figure whose authority is based not on their own wisdom, talent, or cunning, but rather on their claim to speak for a higher, superhuman power—offers authors a paradigm of political and cultural innovation that radically displaces the agency of the rational subject in favor of non-rational factors like language, performance, history, myth and the emotions. Moreover, I argue that this figure reveals an important connection between the history of drama in this period and an emergent, post-Enlightenment political discourse concerned with the origin and nature of sovereignty.

Revision of Thesis (doctoral) -- Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn, 2009. / Includes bibliographic references and index.

This thesis examines the advisory function of the tales of three prophets (Joseph, David and Solomon) in al-Ṭabarī’s (d. 923/310 AH) History and al-Thaʿlabī’s (d. 1025/416) Tales of the Prophets within their religio-political contexts in Baghdād and Nīshāpūr respectively. The hypothesis is that by reading the tales through the prism of Islamic advice literature, in particular the works of Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (d. 757 / 139) and Kay Kāʾūs (d. 1084 /476), one sees how these stories convey important ideas about just leadership, friendship and enmity. The thesis, which is based on both a close textual and contextual reading of the tales, contrasts the perspective of the centre (Baghdād), where al-Ṭabarī lived and where caliphal power was situated in the late ninth century, with the view from the edge of the empire (Nīshāpūr), where al-Thaʿlabī lived in a religiously vibrant society. This dissertation, which comprises five chapters, begins by describing the genre of the Tales of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) as adab (cultivated literature), because such works recapture pre-Islamic values and adapt them to Muslim contexts. Al-Ṭabarī’s view from the centre with respect to leadership is characterized by its deliberate distance from non-Islamic monarchical images and its suspicion of Ṣūfīsm. Al-Thaʿlabī’s position on the edge, on the other hand, weds royal images with Ṣūfī ideas, while cautioning against the excessive asceticism of the mystical tradition in Nīshāpūr. For leaders at the centre friendship relies on receiving good counsel which has the positive effect of creating stability in the Empire, whereas for leaders on the edge friendship promotes social harmony. Lastly, the centre and the edge both view enmity as emerging from the leaders’ family circle, but they advise leaders to practise diplomacy as jihād in order to win genuine converts. The centre promotes ṣabr (patient endurance) when confronting enmity, while the edge recommends prayer in coping with grief over calamities. Overall, the tales of the prophets are more than stories; they are lessons in leadership.

A definitive identification of the Servant figure of Second Isaiah is notoriously difficult, as attested by centuries of conjecture and debate. The interpretive obstacles are profuse: the Servant is addressed as Israel-Jacob, but then spoken of in terms that are not consistent with the nation’s experience; in some texts he seems to represent a community, while in others he speaks as an individual; he seems to suffer extreme hardship and persecution, but then is said to experience new life; some of his experiences appear to be historical, while others are best described as idealistic. Further hampering objective interpretations are the pervasive traditional approaches among Christian and Jewish readers, which associate the Servant, equally emphatically, with Jesus or Israel. But a primary reason the Servant is so difficult to pin down is rarely considered, and that is that there exists no objective image of the Servant anywhere in Second Isaiah. As a literary character he is constituted entirely by dialogue; that is, by discourse addressed to him, spoken by him, and spoken about him by others in the form of a confession. His actions are never described, and his person is never defined. Scholars have referred to this as his “fluid” nature, but have lacked the methodological tools for a fuller study of this literary curiosity. The ideas of literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin speak to this type of characterisation. His “polyphonic hero” is a fictional character who is constituted by what is spoken to him or her, by what they overhear said concerning them, and by how they make that discourse, and the discourse of the wider world, an aspect of their own self-knowledge. They become known only by the discourse that converges on them, much as the Servant of Second Isaiah is constituted. This thesis develops a reading strategy based on Bakhtin’s theory of the polyphonic hero, as well as his broader theories of dialogism. It reimagines the inner discourse of the Servant in order to comprehend him according to the dialogue by which he knows himself, and not according to conventional reading strategies that seek for a fixed, opaque image. In the process it discovers that there are not multiple Servants, which is often posited as a solution to the problem of his fluid nature, but one Servant, Israel-Jacob, whose self-knowledge as the faithful Servant of Yahweh calls empirical Israel to faith in a time of national distress. It concludes that the Servant is present in the collection of Second Isaiah as a “voice-idea”, the embodiment of a theologically critical position that calls many of Israel’s theological and ideological presuppositions into question, in order to liberate her for a renewed history as a faithful “witness” to Yahweh her redeemer.

Habilitationsschrift--Heidelberg. / Bibliography: p. [201]-208.