Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Hebrew Bible'
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Haase, Ingrid M. "Cult prostitution in the Hebrew Bible?" Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/5738.
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Hughes, J. "The chronology of the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.375896.
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Hamlin, Allen Charles. "Representations of YHWH in the Hebrew Bible." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2006. http://www.tren.com/search.cfm?p001-1104.
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Zylberberg, Sonia. "Woman to woman : relationships in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq25961.pdf.
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Rainbow, Jesse. "Textual Loss and Recovery in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10451.
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This dissertation is a study of four ancient stories about the creation and transmission of all or part of the Hebrew Bible: Moses and the stone tablets (Exodus 32-34), Josiah and the discovery of the law-book (2 Kings 22-23), the scroll of Jeremiah and Baruch (Jeremiah 36), and Ezra's legendary restoration of the entire Bible (4 Ezra 14). Each story is a variation on the common narrative pattern of textual loss and recovery, a fact that is noteworthy because this narrative theme stands in tension with one of the cardinal aspirations of scribal culture in antiquity, as it is known from colophons: the fixity, permanence, and inviolability of writing. When the scribal creators of biblical literature told stories about the texts they produced, they represented the text in its early history as vulnerable and threatened. The purpose of this dissertation is to account for that counter-intuitive choice. My central argument is that in each of the three biblical stories, the common narrative pattern of textual loss and recovery serves as the vehicle for a particular argument related to the textualization of divine revelation, and that the stories function in ways that a plotline of uninterrupted textual transmission would not. Stories of textual loss and recovery can be viewed as strategic transactions in which the ideal of the pristine text is sacrificed in order to express other arguments about divine written revelation. After discussing three texts from the Hebrew Bible, I discuss the legend of Ezra's miraculous restoration of the entire Bible after the exile, reconstructing the biblical-exegetical background of 4 Ezra 14 and tracing the meanings of the story in later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature.Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
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Kotze, Zacharias. "The conceptualisation of anger in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/15927.
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Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.Digitized at 600 dpi grayscale to pdf format (OCR), using a Bizhub 250 Konica Minolta Scanner.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is no scarcity of publications on the subject of anger in the Hebrew Bible. Most of these concern themselves with the theological significance of the wrath of God. In particular, its function as chastisement for sin is repeatedly accentuated while other conceptual elements as conveyed by Classical Hebrew words and expressions for anger are usually overlooked. In the majority of cases, lexicographical studies of anger terminology contend themselves with the accepted 'literal' meaning of words. The result is an impoverished appreciation of the concepts that governed the mind of the ancient Israelites and determined their use of language with respect to the conceptualisation of anger. This situation provided a good incentive for a study on anger concepts in the Hebrew Bible. The cognitive theory of language proved to be an ideal tool for analyzing Classical Hebrew lexemes and expressions relating to the concept of anger. Several figurative sayings were identified that relate directly to culturally defined concomitants of this emotion. They can be summarised in an idealised cognitive model that include the following conceptual metonymies for anger: body heat, quickened breathing, frowning, glaring, gnashing of teeth, internal pressure, redness in the face/neck, agitation, internal agitation, slaver at the mouth, lifting the hand, clapping the hands, stamping the feet and violent, frustrated behaviour. Over and above these metonymies, a number of conceptual metaphors have been identified that added a great deal of conceptual content to the idealised cognitive model of anger in the Hebrew Bible. The ANGER IS HEAT metaphor seems to have its basis in the experience of bodily heat. Environmental phenomena, such as the hot desert wind, earthquake, clouds, storms and floods also proved to be prolific source domains for metaphoric transfer. Other conceptual domains employed by the ancient Israelites to image anger are: burdens, winepresses, poison, opponents, dangerous animals, transgression, presence and bounded spaces. The data analysed in this study pointed to a clearly defined conceptual model for anger that can best be viewed as a prototype scenario with several stages. The phases follow on each other in temporal order. Anger typically follows on the occurrence of an intended offending event. Although the ideal is to control anger, this rarely happens. In the majority of cases, anger results in some violent act of retribution. In conclusion, several suggestions have been made with regard to the study of concepts, such as anger, in the Hebrew Bible. Firstly, the fact that most theological dictionaries and Hebrew lexicons to date have been dominated by the Autonomic View of language and its interest to identify the detachable 'meaning' of Classical Hebrew terms needs to be acknowledged. In order to fully appreciate the idealised cognitive model of the ancient Israelites with regard to a specific concept, a thorough diachronic study of related words and expressions needs to be undertaken in view of their humoral theories and beliefs regarding magic and spirits. Finally, some recommendations relating to the etymology of certain Classical Hebrew terms for anger were made.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oorgrote meerderheid ondersoeke oor die emosie van woede in die Hebreeuse Bybel het as sentrale idee die teologiese implikasies van die toorn van God. Die funksie daarvan as straf vir menslike sonde word dikwels beklemtoon, terwyl nagelaat word om ook aandag te gee aan konseptuele elemente soos dit neerslag vind in die taal wat gebruik word om die emosie te beskryf. Leksikografiese studies fokus meesal op die 'letterlike' betekenis van woorde en verwaarloos so die konseptuele inhoud van uitdrukkings wat aangewend word om woede te beskryf. Dit is die agtergrond vir die besluit om 'n deeglike ondersoek te doen na konseptualisasie van woede soos dit bestaan het in die gedagtewereld van die ou Israeliete. Die kognitiewe teorie van taal bied die mees gepaste metodologie vir 'n bestudering van sodanige konsepte in die Hebreeuse Bybel. Met behulp van hierdie metodologiese raamwerk is verskeie konseptuele metonimiee geidentifiseer wat neerslag vind in 'n ideale kognitiewe model van toorn soos dit beskryf word in die Hebreeuse Bybel. Die konseptuele metonimiee vir woede sluit direk aan by verskeie liggaamlike ervarings en wyses van uitdrukking wat geassosieer word met hierdie emosie. Die volgende elemente, wat gebruik is as basis vir die metaforiese taalgebruik in die verband, is geidentifiseer: liggaamlike hitte, vinnige asemhaling, 'n frons, glurende oe, tandekners, interne druk, rooiheid in die gesig/nek, agitasie, skuim by die mond, oplig van die hand, handeklap, voete stamp en gefrustreerde gedrag. Bo en behalwe hierdie metonimiee, is daar ook verskeie konseptuele metafore onderskei wat baie help om 'n meer volledige kognitiewe model van toorn daar te stel. Die TOORN IS HITTE metafoor het waarskynlik sy oorsprong in die ervaring van liggaamshitte deur die persoon wat die emosie ervaar. 'n Hele aantal metafore blyk gemotiveer te wees deur meteorologiese en omgewingsfaktore, soos die warm woestynwind, aardbewings, wolke, storms en winde. Ander bronne vir metaforiese oordrag met betrekking tot woede is: swaar laste, wynperse, gif, opponente, gevaarlike diere, oortreding, teenwoordigheid en begrensde ruimtes. Die data wat so versamel is, dui op 'n goed-gedefinieerde konseptuele voorstelling vir woede in die Hebreeuse Bybel. Hierdie model kan gesien word as 'n prototipiese gebeurtenis waarvan die elemente kronologies op mekaar volg. In 'n tipiese geval word die emosie ontlok deur 'n doelbewuste benadeling van die subjek wat die emosie beleef. Die ideaal is dat die persoon sy woede in toom hou. Meesal is dit egter nie die geval nie en loop dit uit op gewelddadige, vergeldende optrede. Ten slotte is sekere suggesties gemaak rakende die etimologie van sekere terme vir woede in die Hebreeuse Bybel. Daar is ook aanbeveel dat in toekomstige studies van sodanige konsepte in die Hebreeuse Bybel in ag moet neem dat die oorgrote meerderheid van beskikbare teologiese woordeboeke en Hebreeuse leksika ten onregte hulself ten doel stel om die 'letterlike' betekenisse van sodanige emosie-woorde na te gaan, met verwaarlosing van die konseptuele wereld wat die uitdrukkings onderle. Derhalwe is ook 'n deeglike diakroniese studie van die konseptuele aard van dergelike woorde en uitdrukkings, met inagneming van ou Israelitiese humorale opvattings betreffende die bonatuurlike, van wesenlike belang.
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Downey, Patricia. "Women and prayer in the Hebrew scriptures." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1991. http://www.tren.com.
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Kunin, Seth Daniel. "A structuralist analysis of Hebrew mythology." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/272384.
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Stott, Katherine Margaret. "Rereading the 'books' of the Hebrew Bible : a comparative study of references to written documents in the Hebrew Bible and classical literature /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2005. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe18669.pdf.
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Kalman, Jason. "The place of the Hebrew Bible in the Mishnah." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0027/MQ50529.pdf.
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Wagstaff, Bethany Joy. "Redressing clothing in the Hebrew Bible : material-cultural approaches." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/27594.
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Despite the dynamic portrayal of clothes in the Hebrew Bible scholars continue to interpret them as flat and inert objects. They are often overlooked or reduced to background details in the biblical texts. However, this thesis will demonstrate that the biblical writers’ depictions of clothes are not incidental and should not be reduced to such depictions. This thesis employs a multidisciplinary approach to develop and challenge existing approaches to the clothing imagery in the Hebrew Bible. It will fall into two main parts. In the first part, I draw insights from material-cultural theories to reconfigure ways of thinking about clothing as material objects, and reassessing the relationships between people and objects. Having challenged some of the broader conceptions of clothing, I will turn to interrogate the material and visual evidence for clothing and textiles from ancient Syro- Palestinian and ancient West Asian cultures to construct a perspective of the social and material impact of clothing in the culture in which the biblical texts were constructed and formed. In the second part, I will examine the biblical writers’ depiction of clothing through two case studies: Joseph’s ketonet passim (Genesis 37) and Elijah’s adderet (1 Kings 19 and 2 Kings 2). These analyses will draw from the insights made in the first part of this thesis to reassess and challenge the conventional scholarly interpretations of clothing in these texts. In this thesis, I argue that clothes are employed in powerful ways as material objects which construct and develop the social, religious and material dimensions of the text. They are also intimately entangled in relationships with the characters portrayed by the biblical writers and can even be considered as extensions of the people with whom they are engaged. Clothes manifest their own agency and power, which can transform other persons and objects through their performance and movement in a biblical text.
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Squires, Katherine L. "Ruth a life challenging Bible study and introduction to Biblical Hebrew /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1996. http://www.tren.com.
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Toenjes, Alan M. "Hebrew narrative theory for proclamation /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1994. http://www.tren.com.
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Cho, Paul Kang-Kul. "The Sea in the Hebrew Bible: Myth, Metaphor, and Muthos." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11462.
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The dissertation recounts the variegated journey of the sea in the Hebrew Bible through the lens of myth, metaphor, and muthos. The journey begins outside the Bible in ancient Near Eastern sea myths exemplified by the Ugaritic Baal Cycle and the Mesopotamian Enuma Elish, which tell the story of a sea deity whose defeat in cosmic battle against a protagonist god precedes three goodly consequences: creation, kingship, and temple. The story continues with the analysis of the biblical presentation of creation, kingship, and temple with emphasis on the constellation of themes and characters of the sea myth. The dissertation next analyzes the use of the sea myth as a metaphor for three events on the plane of history: the exodus (Exodus 14-15), the Babylonian exile (Isaiah 40-55), and the eschaton (Isaiah 24-27 and Daniel 7). Finally, the discussion moves from the analysis of the ways in which the sea muthos functions as a metaphor for the biblical presentation of individual events to the examination of the role of the sea muthos as a metaphor for a biblical view of historical reality in toto. In sum, the dissertation extends the study of sea imagery in the Hebrew Bible from mythology to metaphorology and narratology to argue for the deep, enduring, and transformative place of the sea myth within biblical tradition.Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
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ドロン, コヘン, and Doron B. Cohen. "Japanese translations of the Hebrew bible in a comparative view." Thesis, https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/opac/opac_link/bibid/BB12252361/?lang=0, 2011. https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/opac/opac_link/bibid/BB12252361/?lang=0.
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Cook, John A. "The structure and significance of hendiadys in the Hebrew Bible." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1992. http://www.tren.com.
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Pham, Thi Xuan Huong. "Mourning in the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Bible /." Sheffield : Sheffield academic press, 1999. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb371146726.
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Hinkle, Adrian. "Pedagogical theory of the Hebrew Bible : an application of educational theory to Biblical texts." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683088.
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Niggemann, Andrew John. "Martin Luther's Hebrew in mid-career : the Minor Prophets translation." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/277415.
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This dissertation provides a comprehensive account of Martin Luther’s Hebrew translation in his academic mid-career. Apart from the Psalms, no book of the Hebrew Bible has yet been examined in any comprehensive manner in terms of Luther’s Hebrew translation. Moreover, research to date has predominantly focused on either ascertaining Luther’s personal Hebrew skills, or on identifying his sources for Hebrew knowledge. This dissertation furthers the scholarly understanding of Luther’s Hebrew by examining his Minor Prophets translation, one of the final pieces of his first complete translation of the Hebrew Bible. As part of the analysis, it investigates the relationship between philology and theology in his Hebrew translation, focusing specifically on one of the themes that dominated his interpretation of the Prophets: his concept of Anfechtung. Chapter 1 establishes the context of Luther’s academic mid-career Hebrew, providing a brief sketch of the history of his Minor Prophets translation, followed by an overview of the Hebrew resources in and around Wittenberg which he had to draw upon. Chapter 2 examines the role of the obscurity of the Hebrew text in his translation, and how this obscurity led to various types of contradictions and vacillations in his interpretations. Chapter 3 investigates the role that Luther’s sense of the semantic intensity of the Hebrew language played in his translation. Chapter 4 examines Luther’s use of “inner-biblical interpretation” – i.e. biblical quotations and references – to support, and moreover, to build his translations of the Hebrew texts. Finally, Chapter 5 examines the influence of Hebrew on Luther’s exploitation of the mystical tradition in his translation of the Minor Prophets. This dissertation, in short, shows that by mid-career, the impact of Hebrew on Luther’s Bible translation was immense and very diverse, more so than has been appreciated. It expands the frame of reference with which scholars can understand Luther’s Hebrew. It provides detailed analyses of many examples of his Hebrew translation which have never before been discussed or examined in any depth, and it provides hundreds of examples of his methodological handling of Hebrew translation issues. And it includes one of the most exhaustive analyses to date of three key philological challenges that confronted him in translating the Bible: Hebrew figures of speech, the Hebrew trope of repetition, and Hebrew transliteration. This dissertation also includes as an Appendix a substantial body of refined data from Luther’s Hebrew translation, which further illuminates the examples in this study, and facilitates additional analysis for future research.
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Paul, Eddie. "Shibboleth into silence : a commentary on presence in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, McGill University, 1991. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=61113.
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In the Hebrew Bible, literary patterns of revelation and concealment are based on humanity's initial encounter with God in the Garden of Eden. God asks the question "Where are you?" Adam and Eve reveal themselves by articulating their concealment behind the fig leaf. This paradox effects their exile from Eden, and their progeny must henceforth mediate this paradox in their future verbal intercourse with God.It is the intention of this work to suggest how in certain textual passages, this paradox is defined and structured according to a literary dichotomy of language and silence. After the exile, biblical characters proclaim their presence before God by uttering a password ("Here I am") which is, in effect, an existential utterance of dialogic reconstruction. Through various literary devices, I hope to show how this "vertical" dialogue is re-established by Adam and Eve's progeny, and how the biblical narrator(s) uses language to show silence as a "phenomenon" of the word.
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Stiebert, Johanna. "The construction of shame in the Hebrew Bible : the prophetic contribution." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1998. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1314/.
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This thesis explores the phenomenon of shame in the context of the Hebrew Bible, focusing particularly on the three major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel), because it is here that shame vocabulary is most prevalent. Shame is prominently discussed in the literature of psychology and anthropology. In the first chapter psychological explanations for the origins of the apparently universal human emotion of shame are described. In the course of this, phenomenological similarities between shame and guilt, grounded in the shared centrality of negative self-evaluation are outlined. The role of shame in social contexts is described with regard to stigma and, more fully, in the second chapter, in the light of socio-anthropological field studies conducted primarily in the Levant. In the Mediterranean studies shame is usually paired with its binary opposite honour. The honour/shame model is characterised especially by defined gender roles and challenge-ripostes. Shame is associated particularly with women's sexuality; honour with competition among men of relatively equal status. Although the model has been criticised from within the discipline of anthropology, it has generally-speaking been received with enthusiasm by biblical interpreters. In the third chapter shame studies, most of which apply the honour/shame model, are summarised and commented upon. In the fourth chapter, on the Book of Isaiah, the shortcomings of the model are illustrated and the context of shame discourses discussed. The following chapter, on Jeremiah, describes the implications of ideological influences and the role of shame language in the context of sexual metaphors and anti-foreign polemic. The final chapter, on Ezekiel, compares shame with impurity and focuses on the female imagery of chapters 16 and 23. The complications of imposing modern socio-critical methods upon ancient literature, the possible infiltration of ideological influences and the fact that biblical texts represent neither psychological case nor anthropological field studies are stressed repeatedly.
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Macwilliam, Stuart John. "Queer theory and the prophetic marriage metaphor in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439874.
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Holloway, Simon. "The King is a Tree: Arboreal Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/13656.
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This dissertation constitutes a cognitive semantic analysis of arboreal metaphors in the Hebrew Bible, insofar as they operate within metaphorical complexes and with a view to understanding those instances in which they function with a king as their tenor. Its primary aim is exegetical and it should be considered an example of both a theoretical and an image-based analysis. By undertaking eight separate case studies, my aim is to demonstrate the interanimation of tropes within metaphorical complexes, and to develop a broader understanding as regards the function of this one trope in particular. In the first part of this thesis, I conduct four separate analyses that concern applications of the metaphor, A PERSON IS A TREE. The passages chosen were taken less for their paradigmatic nature than for their ability to convey both the versatility of the arboreal metaphor and the manner in which it interacts with other tropes within a metaphorical complex. In order to demonstrate this point most effectively, I have deliberately chosen passages that on superficial levels are considered to be very similar to one another. In the second part of the thesis, I turn my attention to the trope, THE KING IS A TREE. Once again, the passages chosen were picked on the basis of their ability to convey this trope's versatility, and on the basis of their constituting metaphorical complexes. By conducting an additional four case studies, my aim is to demonstrate the added range of meaning that arboreal tropes convey when their tenor is a king, and to demonstrate the sorts of situations in which THE KING IS A TREE is employed.
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Stavrakopoulou, Francesca. "Biblical distortions of historical realities : a study with particular reference to King Manasseh and child sacrifice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.270564.
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Miller, Cynthia L. "The representation of speech in biblical Hebrew narrative : a linguistic analysis /." Winona Lake (Ind.) : Eisenbrauns : Harvard Semitic Museum, 2003. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb392008334.
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Texte remanié de: Diss. Ph. D.--Department of Near Eastern languages and civilizations [and] Department of linguistics--Chicago (Ill.)--University of Chicago, 1992.Réimpr. augm. d'une postface de l'éd. d'Atlanta (Ga.) : Scholars press, cop. 1996. Bibliogr. p. [443]-468. Index.
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Sharon, Diana M. "Patterns of destiny : narrative structures of foundation and doom in the Hebrew Bible /." Winona Lake (Ind.) : Eisenbrauns, 2002. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb39064532t.
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Mathias, Steffan Idris Mano. "Paternity, progeny, and perpetuation : creating lives after death in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2016. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/paternity-progeny-and-perpetuation(f4d12f96-f9da-4a0e-b72b-7c72718a2881).html.
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This thesis explores texts that offer responses to men (as opposed to women) dying without sons (as opposed to daughters). It will investigate how identity, covenant, name, property and seed are passed down from father to son, and establish both the post-mortem continuity of the man and the social reproduction of the בית אב , the house of the father. Using the work of Foucault as well as anthropological insights, this thesis will look at eight texts which respond to the threat of men dying without sons - Gen 19, Gen 38, Deut 25:5-10, Ruth, 2 Sam 14:1-24, 2 Sam 18:18, Isa 56:3-5 and Num 27, 36 – and instead of reading them as reflections of different institutions (such as Levirate Marriage, inheritance law, or household religion) will demonstrate how they are reflective of a particular discourse. Ancient Israelite and Judahite beliefs about death, burial and memorial will be explored as a context to the fears of social annihilation apparent in these texts. The name, the seed, property, inheritance, reproduction and genealogy, all ideas present in these texts in different ways, will then be reassessed to demonstrate how they, rather than being disparate ideas, form part of the same symbolic ways of thinking, in which the integrity of the family is protected and passed down through generations of descendants. It will then be shown how these texts construct men as transmitters of identity and women as submissive counterparts. The failure to protect the transmission of the family line is both a failure in masculinity, the male, and the social order, and leads to the eradication of the name and memory of the man, and so these must be responded to through actions such as Levirate Marriage and the erection of monuments.
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Bay, Daryl I. "The characterization of Samson in the Hebrew Bible saint, savage, or Philistine? /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) Access this title online, 2005. http://www.tren.com.
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García-Alfonso, Cristina. "Resolviendo narratives of survival in the Hebrew Bible and in Cuba today /." Fort Worth, Tex. : Texas Christian University, 2008. http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-04212008-150823/unrestricted/Garcia.pdf.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, 2008.Title from dissertation title page (viewed May 8, 2008). Includes abstract. "Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Brite Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical interpretation." Includes bibliographical references.
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Blanco, Charles William. "Aspects of the calendar of the Hebrew Bible and its theological significance." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1990. http://www.tren.com.
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Layzer, Varese. "The theme of weakness in some Early Irish and Hebrew Bible texts." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.266897.
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What could the early Irish literature of the sixth to twelfth century and the Hebrew Bible of a millennium or more before have in common? Literacy came to Ireland with Christianity, and the Bible had a special relationship to Ireland's considerable corpus of both ecclesiastical and vernacular literature. Exactly how this relationship is manifest is a question that has been at the centre of debate in early Irish studies for fifty years. I have moved away from traditional approaches in an effort to address this question. Early Irish studies has long suggested a dichotomy between classifying early Irish literature as being solely the product of a monastic milieu and its imported literacy, and as a transcription of centuries of preChristian oral narrative (which would have more in common with proto-Indo European culture than early Christian Ireland). The way to address the snags of simplistic comparison is to examine the 'first' text - in this case, the Bible - as scrupulously as the early Irish texts. I have chosen three rather different kinds of protagonist from different sections of the Bible and different parts of early Irish literature. I compare the Book of Jonah with episodes from different Lives of Columba, the Book of Esther with the 'Historical Cycle' tale 'Tochmarc Becfhola', and Samson with Cú Chulainn in three different 'Ulster Cycle' tales. After discussing different patterns and themes within the narrative of each pair, I conclude that each episode includes a character whose weakness is the focus of that episode. I do not propose that this distilled theme of weakness has 'provoked' the creation of the early Irish analogue in the first place, but that in the final analysis, perhaps by different means, this theme emerges. My willingness to work with contemporary critical methods places this work firmly in the 20th century, while drawing attention to the complexity of thought already manifest in the literature of the 10th, and before.
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Bernthal-Hooker, Alan William. "'You shall know Yahweh' : divine sexuality in the Hebrew Bible and beyond." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/30176.
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The relationship between the chief Israelite deity Yahweh and his people is often figured in terms of the so-called ‘marriage metaphor’, by which Yahweh is husband and Israel wife. The sexual language used to describe Yahweh’s body and his attitude towards Israel is taken to be a convenient method to outline the thoughts, feelings and expectations Yahweh has of his people in terms of religious practice. However, this has led to various interpretations in which divine sexuality in itself has been labelled ‘pagan’, an activity which Yahweh supposedly ‘transcends’. The aim of this thesis is to question these interpretations. In the first part, an examination of other ancient West Asian literature from Sumer, Ugarit and Egypt, each depicting divine sexuality in stark terms, is completed in order to set a historical mark by which the biblical texts themselves can be judged. In the second, a selection of biblical passages is examined: some from the texts which are structured by the marriage metaphor (as from Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah) and others not (texts about bones, temples, urination, circumcision and loins). Ultimately, one discovers that Yahweh is in fact embroiled within sexuality, whether in the marriage metaphor or not, rather than transcendent above it and that Yahweh’s body, described in heavily masculine terminology throughout the Bible, while indeed sexualized, phallic and perhaps even penised, is nevertheless, ambiguous, liminal or ‘multigendered’ as to the features of his body. It is argued that this does not impede Yahweh’s masculinity but may even work to strengthen it.
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Yoffe, Laura. "Semantic and stylistic differences between Yahweh and Elohim in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/30958.
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This thesis attempts to understand the authorial and editorial choice between the two most common designations for God in the Hebrew Bible: Yahweh and Elohim. The main body of the thesis divides into four sections, the first two parts containing the background and methodological material against which the second two are to be read. Part one deals with the major methodological issues relevant to the thesis. It examines previous academic debate relating to the divine names (=DNs), especially the works of Cassuto and Segal, the documentary hypothesis, the Rabbinic tradition, and Dahse's preference for the Septuagint. It outlines the approach taken here (synchronic, based on the MT), and justifies this as being the most appropriate for this particular task. Part two is also preliminary in character, giving a brief but comprehensive account of the meanings and uses of three designations (Elohim, Adonai Yahweh, Yahweh Elohim) throughout the Hebrew Bible, so that their significance (or lack of significance) will be recognized when they appear in parts three and four. Part three gives a quantitative account of DN usage in two corpora - Psalms and Wisdom Literature. This reveals a number of facets of DN choice: suitability to genre, arrangement of sections, poetic sequence, and in the case of the Elohistic Psalter, editorial change. A possible reason for this editorial change is offered in an appendix. Part four consists of a series of qualitative analyses of texts which display a high degree of DN variability (including Exodus 1-6, Jonah). It is argued in each case that DN variation is a literary device intended to highlight certain aspects of the text. Examination of a prophetic text (Amos) reveals possible structural reasons for the placement of Yahweh and other designations. As the criteria for DN use are different in each text examined, it is suggested that the significance of each DN is dependent on, and limited to the text in which it is found.
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Isola, Christine. "Women of Different Desires: Disrupting the “Barren Motif” in the Hebrew Bible." Master's thesis, Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/339454.
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ReligionM.A.
It is often left unquestioned that women in the Hebrew Bible desired children. Though this is highly probable, many scholars make the assumption that all women necessarily wanted children. Universalizing the desire for children reduces complex characters to stand-ins for a supposed motif. This also essentializes the role of a female character to that of child-bearer, when actually these women have many different roles. Furthermore, many scholars make the claim that having children is the only way for a woman to improve her status in ancient Near Eastern societies. Yet women did not always receive a change in status because of childbirth. Therefore, the reasons why women desire children are quite varied.
Temple University--Theses
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Tolliver, David Mark. "The essence of wine the meaning of [tirosh] in the Hebrew Bible /." Electronic thesis, 2007. http://dspace.zsr.wfu.edu/jspui/handle/10339/188.
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Daily, Nathan. "The prophet as messenger of the divine council in the Hebrew Bible." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2004. http://www.tren.com.
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Beach, Maxine C. "Edom among the nations: the roles of Edom in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, Boston University, 1994. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/37118.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
This dissertation examines the roles Edom played in the Hebrew Bible. The oracles against the nations included in the prophetic books anticipate the complete destruction of the Edomites by Yahweh and connect that destruction to the divine plan for the restoration of Israel. The goal of the dissertation is to determine how Edom became cast in this role. The approach of this study is first to review the archaeological data that have been used to recreate Edom's history. Early research was biased by a desire to fit the results to the Hebrew Bible. Evaluation of the data shows the close development of these two nations. It also reveals an Edomite presence in the Negev late in the monarchy and during the restoration after exile. The place of Edom in the biblical "histories" is analyzed. I then show how the oracles against Edom transform motifs introduced in the histories, such as the theophany from Sier. Edom was held responsible for participating in the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 587 B. C. E. This event created a theological crisis since Edom was spared and Israel was destroyed. This crisis was dealt with in the oracles against Edom by anticipating that Edom will be eliminated. I conclude that Edom is remembered by Israel as unique amongst the nations. The postexilic period produces oracles against Edom to assist the community to deal with the difficulties of restoration. As the oracles move toward the apocalyptic, the divine plan includes the destruction of Edom.
2031-01-01
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Kozlova, Ekaterina E. "'Whoever lost children lost her heart' : valourised maternal grief in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:eb33c1be-0f1b-45e3-bb38-6ec147250b9b.
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Recent studies on ancient Israel's mortuary culture have shown that mourning rites were not restricted to the occasions of death, burial and subsequent grief but were, in fact, implemented in diverse contexts. In this thesis I am looking at biblical traditions in which these solemn practices contributed, or sought to contribute to various forms of social restoration. More specifically, I explore the stories of biblical grieving mothers who are placed at key junctures in Israel's history to renegotiate the destinies not only of their own children, dead or lost, but also those of larger communities, i.e. family lines, ethnic groups, or entire nations. Since 'the social and ritual dimensions of mourning are intertwined and inseparable ... [and] rites in general are a context for the creation and transformation of social order', these women use the circumstance of their 'interrupted' motherhood as a platform for a kind of grief-driven socio-political activism. Since maternal bereavement is generally understood as the most intense of all types of loss and was seen as archetypal of all mourning in ancient Near Eastern cultures, Israelite communities in crisis deemed sorrowing motherhood as a potent agent in bringing about their own survival and resurgence back to normalcy. I begin my discussion on mourning rites as tools of social preservation and restoration in biblical traditions with (1) a list of modern examples that attest to a phenomenon of social, political, and religious engagement among women that stems from the circumstance of child loss; (2) a survey of recent grief and death studies that identify maternal grief as the most intense and the most enduring among other types of bereavement; (3) an overview of ancient Near Eastern cultures (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Hatti, Syro-Palestine) that not only viewed maternal grief as paradigmatic of all mourning but also utilised ritual actions performed by mothers in contexts of large scale catastrophes as mechanisms for dealing with a collective trauma. Against this background my project then turns to discuss four biblical mothers: Hagar (Gen. 21:14-21), Rizpah (2 Sam. 21:1-14), the woman of Tekoa (2 Sam. 14:1-20) and Rachel (Jer. 31:15-22), all of whom perform rites for their dying or dead children and exhibit a form of advocacy for society at large.
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White, Shawn Patrick. ""Why were the former days better than these?" : an examination of temporal horizons in Ecclesiastes." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/10627.
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A number of studies explore temporal vocabulary in the Old Testament generally and Ecclesiastes particularly, yet few attempt a holistic approach of reading Ecclesiastes through its presentation of time. Scholars have long recognized the work’s tensions, but the link that holds the tensions together in a unified reading has received less attention. This unifying idea is the presentation of time. Time is not a singular concept, however, and this project undertakes a sustained engagement with the broad presentation of time both to examine Ecclesiastes’ inquiry after what is good for human beings and its often-identified tensions. As such, this study fills a considerable gap in current Ecclesiastes scholarship. Part One, consisting of chapters two and three, examines terms for time, including ʽEt, yom, dor, ʽolam, shanah, zekher/zikhron, through a close examination of these words in their contexts. It becomes clear that time in Ecclesiastes is a mixture of reflections on the main character’s present, the past, and the passing of time over the course of generations. The project argues in Part Two that approaching time with an awareness of how Ecclesiastes creates, compares, and contrasts time horizons aids the reader to comprehend the contradictions and tensions. Chapter four demonstrates the presence of identifiable and quantifiable horizons in what is widely regarded as the introduction of Ecclesiastes, 1:1-2:26. These horizons, identified as nature’s time, generation time, lifespan time and event time, are juxtaposed in order to point toward the benefit of short-duration thinking for life under the sun. Chapter five examines Ecclesiastes 3:1-12:14 according to the categories of nature’s time, generation time, and lifespan time to ascertain characteristics common to these horizons. Consistently, Ecclesiastes presents these horizons of time as impenetrable and inaccessible to human endeavour. Chapter six examines the same material but from the perspective of what occurs in defined situations, which are designated event time. Ecclesiastes presents event time as partially controllable thereby suggesting proper and improper uses within this horizon. The chapter concludes with a discussion of wisdom and event time, demonstrating that wisdom in Ecclesiastes is not focused on success over one’s whole life (lifespan time), but focuses upon capturing the potential of the present moment to provide rest, companionship, and enjoyment in the short-term. The exploration of time as temporal horizons suggests an opportunity to observe similar phenomena in other works associated with wisdom and in other non-narrative works within the Hebrew Bible.
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Jackson, Melissa A. "The Comic Phenomenon in Hebrew Bible Narrative and Its Implications for Feminist Hermeneutics." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.504029.
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Windham, Mary. "An Examination of the Relationship between Humans and Animals in the Hebrew Bible." Thesis, Harvard University, 2012. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:10090.
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The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship between humans and animals in the Hebrew Bible. Although the Hebrew Bible contains a multitude of different perspectives on animals, I argue that there are two basic categories into which these perspectives fall. One group of biblical texts, most notably Gen 1:28, affirms humans’ dominion over animals. Despite the ubiquity of this perspective in scholarly literature, an examination of the entire biblical corpus suggests that these texts represent the minority. A larger group of biblical texts, most notably Job 39:9, depict animals as beyond the dominion of human beings. Rather than attempting to account for every mention of animals in the Hebrew Bible, I will examine a select group of passages that represent each of the two positions. Regarding passages that depict animals as under humans’ dominion, I conclude that while these passages suggest that humans have some authority over animals, that dominion is neither complete nor absolute. Regarding passages that depict animals as beyond humans’ dominion, I will conclude that they in fact indicate that animals are under the direct dominion of God. The Hebrew Bible nowhere grants humans absolute dominion over animals but instead typically presents humans as having little, if any, dominion over animals. In general, the Hebrew Bible presents humans as possessing dominion over domestic animals and lacking dominion over wild animals. This presentation probably reflects the actual relationship that the Israelites had to the animals around them.Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
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Rickett, Daniel James. "The progression of separation : Genesis 13 in the Hebrew Bible and early reception." Thesis, Durham University, 2016. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11380/.
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This present study seeks to answer three interconnected questions as pertains to Genesis 13 and the role and function of Lot: (1) Does the text necessitate a reading of Lot as being the first potential heir and/or as the unrighteous counterpart to righteous Abram? (2) If not inherently from the text, then where do these readings of Lot as the potential heir and as the unrighteous counterpart to righteous Abram originate and how can a study of the early reception of Genesis 13 aid in answering that question? (3) If these common assumptions are not derived inherently from the text, then how are Genesis 13 in general, and Lot and his purpose and function, in particular, to be understood? First, I examine the biblical text of Genesis 13 providing a close narrative reading which demonstrates that these common interpretations among modern readers are not inherently rooted in the text itself. On the contrary, the text appears to point to a different understanding of Genesis 13 in general and Lot in particular. Second, after demonstrating that these are not necessary conclusions, I propose that these readings originally developed out of concerns of ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters to safeguard Abram. Last, I provide, based both on my exegesis and reception analysis, a new reading of the place and function of Genesis 13 in general and Lot in particular both in the wider Abraham narrative and Genesis as a whole. I will demonstrate that Lot's relationship with Abram is set up, not within the context of sonship but rather in the context of brotherhood. Abram and Lot's separation not only solves the problematic issue of Lot's accompaniment but also foreshadows the subsequent tension in the patriarchal narratives about brothers being co-dwellers in the land. This tension requires separation, even if the relationship is amicable, and the necessity of the brothers to dwell in different places with only one occupying the land.
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Deysel, Lesley Claire Frances. "Animal names and categorisation in the Hebrew Bible : a textual and cognitive approach." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62675.
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The subject matter of this study is animal names in the Hebrew Bible. Centring on a corpus-linguistic analysis of every word for an animal or type of animal used within the text, it sheds light on the methods and paradigms of categorisation used by the ancient Hebrews and thus on previously unknown aspects of their worldview. The discipline of cognitive linguistics, in particular the prototype theory of categories, is used to interpret the various types and levels of animal classification; a theory on spatiality as the main basis for classification is developed, and new light is shed on a wrongly undervalued theory of cleanness/uncleanness. This theoretical work is also applied to certain texts to prove its usefulness in helping with the translation and interpretation of problematic words and passages.Thesis (DLitt)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Ancient Languages
DLitt
Unrestricted
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Kärnerup, Glenn. "The Concept ”son of God” in the Hebrew Bible and Early Jewish Literature." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-411925.
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Goldfajn, Tal. "Word order and time in Biblical Hebrew narrative /." Oxford : Clarendon press, 1998. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37649978s.
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McLoed, Deborah. "Dreams and dream interpretations in ancient Egyptian and Hebrew cultures." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2003. http://www.tren.com.
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Runge, Steven Edward. "A discourse-functional description of participant reference in Biblical Hebrew narrative." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1212.
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Floor, Sebastiaan Jonathan. "From information structure, topic and focus, to theme in Biblical Hebrew." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/1270.
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Thesis (DLitt (Ancient Studies)) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2004.The purpose of this study is to investigate the information structure of Biblical Hebrew narrative, and develop accounts of topic and focus in Biblical Hebrew, respectively. Both topic and focus categories have been determined for Biblical Hebrew (cf. chapters 3 and 5), as well as the information structure strategies that these categories can fulfill in discourse. For topic categories, four different categories of information structure topics in Biblical Hebrew have been distinguished. These are 1. Primary topics 2. Secondary topics 3. Tail topics 4. Topic frames In addition, associated with topics are topic contrastiveness as well as deictic orientations or text-world frames. All these categories, when present, are part of the topical framework of a discourse. For focus structure categories, three different types of focus structure in Biblical Hebrew have been distinguished. These are: 1. Predicate focus 2. Sentence focus 3. Argument focus Again, like in the case of topics, contrastiveness is associated with focus structures. The strategies of information structure topics and focus structures in theme developments were distinguished. For topics, the following information structure strategies or functions stand out: 1. Topic continuity 2. Topic promotion 3. Topic shift 4. Topic deictic text-world framing 5. Topic contrasting For focus structures, the following information structure strategies or functions stand out: 1. Commenting on topics 2. Presenting unidentifiable or inactive participants 3. Reporting, that is, event-reporting and state-reporting of out-of-the-blue, unexpected, discourse new events or states. Some reporting re-directs the theme, other reporting, especially that of states, supports the theme. 4. Identifying referents, either as identifying contrastive, unexpected referents or deictic text-world frames, or by announcing theme macrowords. Contrastiveness is a pragmatic overlay in the case of many focus constituents, especially presupposed information that is focused on. In other words, the three focus structures are used in certain strategies: 1. Predicate focus structures are used for commenting in topic-comment articulations. 2. Sentence focus structures are used for presentational sentences, and for themeredirecting and theme-supporting, event-reporting and state-reporting sentences. The word-order is generally marked. 3. Argument focus is used for unexpected, contrastive identification, and for the announcement of theme macrowords. The word-order is marked, similar to sentence focus structures. All the topic and focus categories and their respective information structure strategies have a link with the theme of a discourse. Theme has been defined in this study as the developing and coherent core or thread of a discourse in the mind of the speaker-author and hearerreader, functioning as the prominent macrostructure of the discourse (chapter 7 (7.4.4)). The information structure with its topics and focus structures and its strategies, can be used as a tool to identify and analyse themes. These categories and strategies together are called theme traces when they occur in marked syntactic constructions or in other prominence configurations like relexicalisation, end-weight, and repetition of macrowords. Theme traces are defined with the following wording: A theme trace is a clue in the surface form of a discourse, viewed from the perspective of information structure, that points to the cognitive macrostructure or theme of a text. This clue is in the form of (1) a marked syntactical configuration, be it marked word-order or marked in the sense of explicit and seemingly “redundant”, all signaling some thematic sequencing strategy, or (2) some recurring concept(s) signaling some prominence and coherence (chapter 7 (7.5.4)). By investigating these theme traces, the analyst will have a tool to study themes in discourse. This theme traces tool will assist in the demarcation of the sections in the developing theme of a text by means of a variety of boundary features, and once these thematic units have been established, the study of the topic framework together with the focus content will yield a verifiable understanding of the macrostructure of a text in Biblical Hebrew. Global themes are contrasted with local themes. Global themes occur in the higher-level thematic groupings, like whole narratives and smaller episodes within the narratives. Within the episodes are sub-units like scenes and thematic paragraphs, the smallest thematic unit. In scenes and thematic paragraphs, local themes occur. Between the different thematic units, a variety of theme sequential strategies occur. Theme shifting is a wider information structure strategy that is in operation in discourse. For instance, topic promotion, topic shift, and topic text-world framing are all cases of theme shifting. To study the theme of a narrative discourse from the perspective of the information structure, four steps of a theme-tracing model have been suggested, and applied to Genesis 17.
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Miao, Albert Wei Tsin. "The concept of holiness in the book of Ezekiel." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1999. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/265431.
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The theme of holiness is prominent in the book of Ezekiel. This fact should not be surprising, given that Ezekiel is said to be a priest. However, a number of passages in the book express ideas about holiness chat relate specifically to Ezekiel's exilic setting. The present thesis examines how the concept of holiness is used in these oracles to provide an explanation ~of Israel's disaster and to prophesy the nation's restoration. Chapter 1 discusses the methodology of the thesis with reference to previous scholarly study of che book of Ezekiel. As in other areas of OT study, recent research has seen a polarization into diachronic and synchronic approaches. The present work generally adopts a synchronic approach, and particular emphasis is placed on rhetorical criticism as a means of discerning coherent blocks of text. This has the added benefit of highlighting those literary features that are particularly important for the interpretation of the passages being studied. The next four chapters present the main argument of the thesis. Chapter 2 examines Ezek. 20:5-26 for its literary structure and thence deduces the main themes of the passage. The point is that Yahweh's election of the people involves a promise of land, but that this promise could not yet be fulfilled because of the people's being defiled. However, Yahweh refrains from destroying his people completely in order to preserve the holiness of his own name. Chapter 3 turns to the theme of the "mythic mountain", whereby mountain imagery is employed to signify the land. Three concepts underlie Ezekiel's use of this metaphor: this mythic mountain represents the land of Israel; this land is seen as Yahweh's sanctuary; and the land is the place of Israel's inheritance. The mountain thus symbolizes the hope of the ideal future in which Yahweh, the people and the land are brought together. Chapter 4 examines the allegorical portrayal of the city of Jerusalem as a prostitute in Ezek. 16 and 23 . These chapters 'are similar in many ways, but differ in one important respect: while Ezek. 23 focuses on the sins of the people of the city, Ezek. 16 adopts the perspective of Jerusalem as placeYahweh's sanctuary. The sins of prostitution and adultery in these chapters represent idolatry and the illicit political alliances which Jerusalem forges with the peoples of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. These chapters thus show how such "prostitution" opposes Yahweh's plans for holiness just as literal prostitution jeopardizes a marriage. At the same time, the dual focus on people and land as being married to Yahweh demonsrrates again the ti:iparrire nature of the relationship in the prophet's thinking. The contrasting themes of scattering and gathering, which are presented in a number of passages in Ezekiel, are then discussed in Chapter 5. These themes occur in a set pattern which demonstrates a significant degree of authorial (or redactional) skill. Thus it is reasonable co regard the ideas found in these several passages as a single point of view. It emerges that scattering and gathering depict the exile and restoration as affecting all parties in the tripartite relationship. Moreover, these themes constitute two parts of Yahweh's plan to achieve the state of holiness. The final result of these developments represents not only a return of the people to the land, but also a fulfilment of the original intention behind Yahweh's election of the people: the sanctification of the people, the land and Yahweh's name. Chapter 6 draws some conclusions from the preceding discussion. To Ezekiel, holiness is used in a broad sense. All forms of sin lead to the loss of the people's holiness, just as holiness brings about blessing on every aspect of life. Holiness is not merely seen as a cultic concern, but is an outworking of the motives and desires of the people. It is Yahweh's pursuit of holiness which causes the people to be "scattered" into exile. In the same way, however, the holiness of Yahweh's name provides the assurance of a transformation of the people and their future 'gathering" to their land. The theme of holiness is prominent in the book of Ezekiel. This fact should not be surprising, given that Ezekiel is said to be a priest. However, a number of passages in the book express ideas about holiness chat relate specifically to Ezekiel's exilic setting. The present thesis examines how the concept of holiness is used in these oracles to provide an explanation J of Israel's disaster and to prophesy the nation's restoranon. Chapter 1 discusses the methodology of the thesis with reference to previous scholarly study of the book of Ezekiel. As in other areas of OT study, recent research has seen a polarization into diachronic and synchronic approaches. The present work generally adopts a synchronic approach, and particular emphasis is placed on rhetorical criticism as a means of discerning coherent blocks of text. This has the added benefit of highlighting those literary features that are particularly important for the interpretation of the passages being studied. The next four chapters present the main argument of the thesis. Chapter 2 examines Ezek. 20 :5-26 for its literary structure and thence deduces the main themes of the passage. The point is that Yahweh's election of the people involves a promise of land, but that this promise could not yet be fulfilled because of the people's being defiled. However, Yahweh refrains from destroying his people completely in order to preserve the holiness of his own name. Chapter 3 turns to the theme of the "mythic mountain", whereby mountain imagery is employed to signify the land. Three concepts underlie Ezekiel 's use of this metaphor: this mythic mountain represents the land of Israel; this land is seen as Yahweh's sanctuary; and the land is the place of Israel's inheritance. The mountain thus symbolizes the hope of the ideal future in which Yahweh, the people and the land are brought together. Chapter 4 examit:!.es the allegorical portrayal of the city of Jerusalem as a prostitute in Ezek. 16 and 23 . These chapters are similar in many ways, but differ in one important respect: while Ezek. 23 focuses on the sins of the people of the city, Ezek. 16 adopts the perspective of J erusalern as placeYahweh's sanctuary. The sins of prostitution and adultery in these chapters represent idolatry and the illicit politic::tl alliances which Jerusalem forges with the peoples of Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. These chapters thus show how such "prostitution" opposes Yahweh's plans for holiness just as literal prostitution jeopardizes a marriage. At the same time, the dual focus on people and land as being married to Y dhweh demonstrates ag::iin the tripartite nature of the relationship in the prophet's thinking. The contrasting themes of scattering and gathering, which are presented in a number of passages in Ezeki el, are then discussed in Chapter 5. These themes occur in a set pattern which demonstrates a significant degree of authorial (or redactional) skill. Thus it is reasonable to regard the ideas found in these several passages as a single point of view. It emerges that scattering and gathering depict the exile and restoration as affecting all parties in the tripartite relationship. Moreover, these themes constitute two parts of Yahweh's plan to achieve the state of holiness. The final result of these developments represents not only a return of the people to the land, but also a fulfilment of the original intention behind Yahweh's election of the people: the sanctification of the people, the land and Yahweh's name. Chapter 6 draws some conclusions from the preceding discussion. To Ezekiel, holiness is used in a broad sense. All forms of sin lead to the loss of the people 's holiness, just as holiness brings about blessing on every aspect of life. Holiness is not merely seen as a culcic concern, but is an outworking of the motives and desires of the people. It is Yahweh's pursuit of holiness which causes the people to be "scattered" into exile. In the same way, however, the holiness of Yahweh's name provides the assurance of a transformation of the people and their future ''gathering" to their land.
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Bryan, Mark Stewart. "The threat to the reputation of YHWH : the portrayal of the divine character in the Book of Ezekiel." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1993. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/3414/.
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The portrayal of the divine character in a literary context shows the God in the narrative as he is perceived by the narrator. The chapters which follow focus on the pericopes within the narrative which are concerned with the portrayal of God as a character in the story. The present study reveals a unique image of the God of Israel as portrayed in the narrative. I have devoted chapters 1,2, and 6 to the three pericopes, labelled within the text as "visions of God" (chs. 1: 4-3: 15; 8: 1- 11: 24; 40-48) because they create the ground work for the divine character's activity revealing the narrator's portrayal of the God in the narrative. These three "visions" are strategically arranged at the opening, middle and closing of the narrative. The first "vision" shows God's encounter with Ezekiel while he is in exile. The second "vision" shows the reason for God's activity in the opening "vision" and the basis for all the activity within the narrative. The third "vision" shows that God's actions have not been in vain but will culminate in a reordering of God's place within the cultus. Ezekiel 37 contributes to the narrator's portrayal of the divine character and for this reason I have included it within my analysis in chapter 5. Likewise, in chapter 3, I have included the "divine oracle" of Ezekiel 16 which reveals the depth of the bond of the covenant and its effect on the God of the narrative. Furthermore, in chapter 4,1 have focused on the "divine oracles" in Ezekiel 20 and 36 because of the narrator's emphasis on the profanation and vindication of the name of God. That the narrator has carefully crafted his portrayal of the divine character is evident, and attested to in the construction of the pericopes. My reading and analysis of the text are a critical attempt to show, at least in portions of the text, that the narrator's portrayal of the divine character is an anomaly.