Prophecy is a poorly understood genre, commonly understood as literature primarily focused on mantic visions of future events. A more nuanced understanding of literary prophecy recognizes the limits of this view, as well as the diversity of genres within many prophetic texts. These two views present one problem: forced readings of prophecy as a kind of reverse history on the one end and the problem of generic diversity on the other, resist an easy scheme of classification for prophetic literature. This study elucidates some of the problematic assumptions of primarily Biblical prophecy, and suggests that contemporary genre theory"“which views genre it terms of function more than a mere scheme of literary kinds"“can offer a unified conception of prophecy. From this, I suggest that prophecy can be defined as goal-oriented literary rhetoric intended to re-orient the reader or hearer into face-to-face aesthetic proximity with the Divine. The definition is defended utilizing a reading of the Denkschrift section of Isaiah, focusing primarily on chapter 5. The implications of this definition and the reading that follows are then explored through the lens of contemporary hermeneutics, where the theophanic encounter implicit in a reading of prophetic text is explored, and the proximity of second-person orientation is re-introduced to suggest that Biblical prophecy is intended to create a lived experience of the Covenant, where fidelity to the Covenant amounts to a face-to-face encounter with God.

This thesis "investigates" prophecy according to the Old Testament. While the main focus is on matters leading to cessation, an analysis of the rise and nature of prophecy introduces the theme. Expressions of prophecy evident among ancient Near Eastern cultures are compared to determine prophetic origins. Prophecy is a dynamic force in Israel, and together with the priesthood, develops the theological and religious views of the nation. Prophets are active during major transition periods of Israel's history. Prophecy is an integral means of communication between Yahweh and his people. Through the prophets Yahweh elects, leads, directs, and helps the people of God. Furthermore, prophets were involved in the formulation of the Scriptures that were received by Israel. The reception of the Scriptures registers the acceptance of inspired writings and exposes other documents as apocryphal and pseudepigraphal. When the `Spirit of prophecy' was believed to add nothing new to Scripture, the canon was considered closed. Surprisingly, some texts indicate that prophecy ends in Israel. A few passages indicate potential problems in the mediation process that may include aberrations in the delivery, content, and motivation for presenting prophecy. Prophecy deteriorates from the kind of prophetic leadership that Moses exemplified. Some claim that prophecy arose with the monarchy and ended after the Babylonian exile. Other theories regarding its demise include matters related to false prophecy, theological and religious differences, the compilation of the Hebrew canon, inspiration and the quenching of the Spirit of God. At times, people long for a message from God, but find silence. Problems associated with prophecy that lead to its demise as well as the future anticipation of transformations to prophecy or its continuation are presented and analyzed. Prophetic utterances diminish and ultimately cease, but texts also imply that prophecy is a permanent feature for God's people. Prophecy will be transformed, renewed, or changed. Many texts foresee a period of restoration, salvation, and prophecy for all God's people. A period of dormancy and prophetic silence will be followed by the recurrence of prophecy when the Spirit of God will inspire prophetic utterance. God will pour out his Spirit and prophecy will continue indefinitely. / Biblical and Ancient studies / D.TH. (Old Testament)

The present study is a history of interpretation. In that sense it does not fit neatly into the category of Wirkungsgeschichte. Moving through successive periods of the Christian church’s history, we will select representative interpretations of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and theological works dealing explicitly with the question of true and false prophecy in an effort to present a sampling of material from the span of the church’s existence. This study seeks to function as a hermeneutical guide for the present interpretive problem of interpreting true and false prophecy in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible by displaying ways various interpreters have broached the subject in the past. In this way it may prove useful to the current impasse concerning the notion of false prophecy in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Seeing continuity, or a family resemblance, in the Christian church’s interpretation of true and false prophecy in relation to the law’s role amongst exilic and post-exilic prophets, we will observe those ways in which a historically informed reading might offer an interpretive guide for subsequent interpretations of true and false prophecy.

This thesis "investigates" prophecy according to the Old Testament. While the main focus is on matters leading to cessation, an analysis of the rise and nature of prophecy introduces the theme. Expressions of prophecy evident among ancient Near Eastern cultures are compared to determine prophetic origins. Prophecy is a dynamic force in Israel, and together with the priesthood, develops the theological and religious views of the nation. Prophets are active during major transition periods of Israel's history. Prophecy is an integral means of communication between Yahweh and his people. Through the prophets Yahweh elects, leads, directs, and helps the people of God. Furthermore, prophets were involved in the formulation of the Scriptures that were received by Israel. The reception of the Scriptures registers the acceptance of inspired writings and exposes other documents as apocryphal and pseudepigraphal. When the `Spirit of prophecy' was believed to add nothing new to Scripture, the canon was considered closed. Surprisingly, some texts indicate that prophecy ends in Israel. A few passages indicate potential problems in the mediation process that may include aberrations in the delivery, content, and motivation for presenting prophecy. Prophecy deteriorates from the kind of prophetic leadership that Moses exemplified. Some claim that prophecy arose with the monarchy and ended after the Babylonian exile. Other theories regarding its demise include matters related to false prophecy, theological and religious differences, the compilation of the Hebrew canon, inspiration and the quenching of the Spirit of God. At times, people long for a message from God, but find silence. Problems associated with prophecy that lead to its demise as well as the future anticipation of transformations to prophecy or its continuation are presented and analyzed. Prophetic utterances diminish and ultimately cease, but texts also imply that prophecy is a permanent feature for God's people. Prophecy will be transformed, renewed, or changed. Many texts foresee a period of restoration, salvation, and prophecy for all God's people. A period of dormancy and prophetic silence will be followed by the recurrence of prophecy when the Spirit of God will inspire prophetic utterance. God will pour out his Spirit and prophecy will continue indefinitely. / Biblical and Ancient studies / D.TH. (Old Testament)

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From fourteenth century medieval literature to contemporary American and African American literature, researchers have singled out and analyzed writing from every genre that is prophetic in nature, predicting or warning about events, both revolutionary and dire, to come. One twentieth-century American whose work embodies the essence of warning and foretelling through history-laden literature is Toni Morrison. This modern-day literary prophet reinterprets eras gone by through what she calls “re-memory” in order to guide her readers, and her society, to a greater understanding of the consequences of slavery and racism in America and to prompt both races to escape the pernicious effects of this heritage. Several critics have recognized and written about Morrison’s unique style of prophetic prose. These critics, however, have either taken a general cursory analysis of her complete body of works or they are only focused on one of her texts as a site of evidence. Despite the many critical essays and journal articles that have been written about Morrison as literary prophet, no critic has extensively investigated Morrison’s major works by way of textual analysis under this subject, to discuss Morrison prophetic prose, her motivation for engaging in a form of prophetic writing, and the context of this writing in a wider general, as well as an African-American, tradition. This dissertation takes on a more comprehensive, cross-sectional analysis of her works that has been previously employed, concentrating on five of Morrison’s major novels: The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Beloved, Jazz and Paradise, in an order to assess how Morrison develops and infuses warnings and admonitions of biblical proportions. This investigation seeks to reveal Morrison’s motivation to prophecy to Americans, black and white, the context in which she engages with her historical and contemporary subjects, and the nature of the admonitions to present and future action she offers to what she sees as a contemporary generation of socially and historically oblivious African Americans, using literary prophecy as the tool by which to accomplish her objectives. This dissertation also demonstrates—by way of textual analysis and literary theory—the evolution through five novels of Morrison’s development as a literary prophet.

Cette thèse traite le paradoxe apparent entre le statut de femme prétendument illettrée de Catherine de Sienne (1347-1380) et sa production de lettres, dictées en langue vulgaire italienne, à la fois nombreuses et fort importantes. Catherine y aborde en effet en prophétesse les grandes questions qui touchent la chrétienté à l’époque avignonnaise: la réforme de l’Église, la croisade, le retour des papes à Rome et la paix dans les états pontificaux. S’appuyant sur une présentation de la tradition textuelle des lettres, puis sur une étude des sources littéraires, la première partie fait le point sur la culture de Catherine et sur ses lectures. La deuxième partie montre comment Catherine s’inscrit dans la tradition du prophétisme vétéro-testamentaire et médiéval, puis comment ce prophétisme s’amplifie au fil de ses lettres. À travers , l’approche diachronique du corpus on voit ainsi comment les images s’organisent jusqu’à former une vaste allégorie où s’exprime le projet de société de Catherine. / This thesis investigates the paradox seemingly posed by the alleged illiteracy of Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) in contradiction to her prolific and highly significant output of letters dictated in the Italian vernacular. These reveal Catherine as a genuine prophetess of the key issues that confronted Christianity at the time of the Great Schism: Church reform, the Crusade, the popes' return to Rome and peace in the papal states.The first part describes the letters as traditionally interpreted and probes their literary sources as a basis for assessing Catherine's culture and reading. The second illustrates her contribution to the tradition of vetero-testamentary and mediaeval prophecy and then how this trend gathers pace in her subsequent letters. A diachronic approach to her writings as a whole reveals how her imagery coalesces into a vast allegory reflecting her social aspirations.

Isa 10:5–34 has long been understood as an oracle, like many others in the Book of First Isaiah, that expresses anti-Assyrian theology. The text inverts several policies and ideologies of Neo-Assyrian imperialism and projects them back on Assyria, portraying the Assyrian king, in particular, as the primary object of Yahweh’s derision. However, Isa 10:5–34 appears to be doing more than simply offering a polemic of Neo-Assyrian ideology; the text provides a detailed, systematic attack of key policies and ideology that define the Neo-Assyrian colonial mission, all of which is done to comfort a Judean population suffering and afraid under Assyrian rule. Thus, anti-Assyrian theology, on its own, might not be a useful term for defining the function of the text. When read in light of modern scholarship discussing the phenomenon of terrorism, however, Isa 10:5–34 takes on a different character. This Isaianic oracle might not be merely an expression of anti-Assyrian theology but, instead, an ancient rhetoric of counter-terrorism. / 2021-07-23T00:00:00Z

Post-apartheid South African fiction has been the subject of much heated debate. One specific aspect of this debate has revolved around the role of history in this fiction. This is linked to general concerns in the country around ways of understanding history, especially in relation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s research into the past. Tracing the lines of debate which emerged out of the discussions around the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this research report focuses on the way history is presented in two novels from the post-apartheid period. These novels are This Day and Age by Mike Nicol and The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda. Each of the two novels concerns a specific incident from the past of South Africa, the Bulhoek massacre and the Xhosa cattle-killing respectively. Through tracing their intertextual relations with mainstream accounts of the historical events, the research shows how they interrogate these accounts. Detailed examination of the portrayal of history in each of the novels leads to conclusions being drawn about the way in which the novels conceive of such historical ideas as causality, linearity and responsibility. Finally, the research examines the role of prophecy in the novels, showing how in both of the texts prophecy can be read as an alternative explanation for events. The research endeavours ultimately to contribute to the body of critical thought concerning the analysis of post-apartheid South African fiction.

Thesis advisor: Richard R. Gaillardetz / This dissertation argues that Sandra Schneiders’ work lays the groundwork for a robust theology of the church’s prophetic nature and builds upon her work by proposing the beginnings of a critical prophetic ecclesiology. This ecclesiological method seeks to articulate how the church might live more fully into its prophetic nature both through its mission in the world and in its ordered life of communion. This dissertation proceeds in an introduction, five chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction argues that the tensions in the Second Vatican Council’s treatment of the church’s share in Christ’s prophetic work call for the development of a theology of the church’s prophetic nature. Moreover, it proposes that Schneiders’ work is poised to help theologians respond to that call. The first chapter highlights Schneiders’ fundamental theology and hermeneutical theory, in order to draw out her claim that Christians respond to God’s salvific invitation to share in God’s life by appropriating the paschal imagination—the ideal meaning of scripture and tradition’s witness to God’s self-revelation—into the world in which they live. The second chapter draws out Schneiders’ understanding of the paschal imagination, which is rooted in her theology of the paschal mystery. It demonstrates that in the paschal mystery Jesus is revealed to have incarnated God’s unceasing invitation for creation to share in the life of God and the fullness of the response humanity is called to offer through its cooperation with the Spirit’s salvific initiative in his prophet life, ministry, and death. The church manifests the presence of the risen body of Jesus in history through its ongoing cooperation with the indwelling Spirit, through whom the risen Jesus returns to his disciples. The third chapter illustrates that Christian spirituality, which Schneiders suggests must be feminist in nature, is the life project of responding to God’s salvific initiative by participating in the life of the risen body of Jesus. Such participation necessarily entails sharing in the prophetic life through which he was glorified in the life of God in the paschal mystery. Sharing in this life involves attending to the laments of the oppressed, announcing God’s vision of salvific communion revealed in Jesus and the Spirit, working to deconstruct structures of domination, and seeking to build up structures that make the shalom of God’s life manifest. The fourth chapter reviews developments in the theology of the church’s share in the prophetic identity of Christ since Vatican II. It argues that Schneiders’ work, drawn out in the first three chapters, provides a framework for a robust theology of the church’s prophetic nature by rooting the prophetic character of the church in the paschal mystery and implicitly calling the church to adopt a prophetic ecclesial spirituality. The fifth chapter develops the beginnings of a critical prophetic ecclesiology, an ecclesiological method that seeks to articulate how the church might live into its prophetic nature more fully, particularly in light of the ways it has failed to do so. It puts this method into practice by examining how the U.S. Catholic Church has failed to embody the prophetic life of Jesus in its ordered life through its participation in clericalism, patriarchy, and White racist supremacy. In response to the church’s participation in these structures of domination, it develops theologies of ordered evangelical relationality, charismatic discipleship, and a recovered sense of the church’s Gentile identity that calls the church to transform the wounds it has inflicted upon its body into sites of Christ’s glorification. The dissertation’s conclusion argues that ordering the church around base ecclesial communities would allow it to live into its prophetic identity by providing a practical means for these theologies to take root and empowering the church to continue the mission of Jesus in the world through practices of radical solidarity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.