Prophets and Prophecy in Stories: Papers Read at the Fifth Meeting of the Edinburgh Prophecy Network, Utrecht, October 2013 ed. by Bob Becking and Hans M. Barstad
2017; Catholic Biblical Association; Volume: 79; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/cbq.2017.0112
ISSN2163-2529
Autores Tópico(s)Archaeology and Historical Studies
ResumoReviewed by: Prophets and Prophecy in Stories: Papers Read at the Fifth Meeting of the Edinburgh Prophecy Network, Utrecht, October 2013 ed. by Bob Becking and Hans M. Barstad Julie B. Deluty bob becking and hans m. barstad (eds.), Prophets and Prophecy in Stories: Papers Read at the Fifth Meeting of the Edinburgh Prophecy Network, Utrecht, October 2013 (OTS 65; Leiden: Brill, 2015). Pp. vi + 286. $145. This volume investigates the role of prophets and prophecy in biblical narrative and the ancient Near East, as well as later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. The articles represent revised versions of papers delivered at the fifth meeting of the Edinburgh Prophecy Network in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Each piece underlines the social location of the particular narrators who determine the representation of the prophets and shape the identity of these pivotal characters in the texts’ reception. The sole essay in part 1 is devoted to prophecy in the ancient Near East. In “Prophets, Men of God, Wise Women: Dreams and Prophecies in Hittite Stories,” Meindert Dijkstra examines divination in the Hittite corpus of the Late Bronze Age and the use of religious texts associated with known seers of the past. He documents the “spectrum of divine consultation” (p. 12), including dreams as the mode of revelation in Hittite royal stories. Dijkstra argues that it is often not helpful to take a strictly etymological approach to the study of prophetic practitioners since the labels may change meaning across contexts. Part 2 of the book comprises nine articles on narratives in the Hebrew Bible. In “The Prophet and the King: Is there Such a Thing as Free Prophetic Speech?,” Anne-Mareike Wetter explores how a biblical prophet’s “license to speak” is created by the texts’ authors and editors, specifically in the Deuteronomistic school. Wetter draws from cognitive linguistics to investigate the dynamics of free speech in biblical prophecy. With an emphasis on “the interplay between person, message, style, and context” (p. 32), she questions whether the image of prophecy is comparable to the modern notion of freedom of expression. Graeme Auld’s chapter, in turn, “Isaiah and the Oldest ‘Biblical’ Prophetic Narrative,” addresses the few narratives shared by both Samuel–Kings and Chronicles that feature prophets and kings. Auld evaluates these “synoptic” passages about prophecy and forms of intermediation, particularly the stories of Hezekiah and Isaiah. He examines the linguistic elements of the synoptic texts that serve as indicators of the grouping of the narratives as a unit. William L. Kelly’s essay, “Prophets, Kings, and Honour in the Narrative of 1 Kgs 22,” offers a sociohistorical study of 1 Kings 22 with an emphasis on social standing and honor. Kelly divides the chapter into three parts: the consultation of prophets by kings before battle (vv. 2–9); the public delivery of oracles (vv. 10–12, 15–18); and the prophet’s attempt to discredit rivals (vv. 19–23, 24–25). Kelly’s analysis employs analogous examples from the Old Babylonian Mari corpus to expose the social components involved in prophetic consultation. The next two essays shed light on the biblical representation of the prophet Isaiah. In “Text and History of Isaiah 20: Its Development within the Isaianic Tradition,” Reinoud Oosting notes the distinct narrative style of Isaiah 20. He gives attention to the literary and linguistic features of this chapter, the only one that mentions Sargon II. Oosting questions the literary unity of the chapter and argues that the narrative is not the product of one author. In “From Salvation to Doom: Isaiah’s Message in the Hezekiah Story,” Thomas Wagner uses the book’s redactional levels to trace the transformation of Isaiah as a prophet of salvation to a prophet of doom. Isaiah’s final announcement of doom is given to the monarch Hezekiah but actually concerns the future Judean community. [End Page 730] The next two chapters treat the reception of the prophets Huldah and Jeremiah. In “Huldah: A Cunning Career Woman?,” Blaženka Scheuer analyzes the portrayal of Huldah in the Deuteronomistic History and the transmission of her character in rabbinic literature. Scheuer highlights the extent to which the meaning of Huldah’s name and “her prophetic role [were] subdued...
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