Browsing by Subject "Hebrew Bible"

This study examines the use of the Tanakh (the Jewish canon of the Bible) in the gospels of Mark and Matthew. At its core is a comparison of Tanakh references in these gospels which focuses on two central questions: Does Matthew raise the prominence of the Tanakh in his gospel? Is there a correlation between Matthean adaptations of Markan references and a the strength of his Jewish identity?

First and foremost, this investigation focuses on Mark, Matthew and the books that comprise the Tanakh in Greek (LXX) and Hebrew (MT). The gospels are surveyed according to NA28, the LXX according to the Gottingen Septuagint series, and the MT according to BHS. Additionally, all major variants of these three texts are considered.

The first methodological step in this comparison is the categorization of the 104 Tanakh references in Mark into three groups - explicit, implicit, and subtle references - with one chapter devoted to each. In each chapter, I open by pointing out the main focus of the Markan references. On a verse-by-verse basis, I then determine whether each Markan reference relies on the LXX or the MT, and if its Matthean version makes the Tanakh presence more or less prominent. Each chapter concludes with a concise summary of these individual comparisons.

A fourth chapter provides a discussion of the four Matthean omissions of the first verse of the Shema (Deut 6:4), an overview of scholarly understandings of these omissions, and my explanation for their elimination.

The main findings of this study are: 1) Matthew tends to make explicit Tanakh references more prominent in his gospel. This trend is present, albeit less evident, in the implicit references, and it is reversed in the subtle references. 2) Both Mark and Matthew were probably able to independently translate from the Hebrew text of the Tanakh. 3) The phrase “God is One,” which appears four times in Mark, is entirely eliminated from Matthew. 4) The primary effect of Matthean modifications of Markan references is the elevation of Jesus’ image rather than Law observance.

Thus, the primary conclusions of this study are: 1) that the Tanakh presence is enhanced in Matthew. 2) However, the evidence does not support the notion that this pattern stems from a Matthean Judazation of Mark but, rather, from an attempt to underscore the divine identity of Jesus.

Several recent studies have sought to identify conditions under which deceptions are justified in the Old Testament. For criteria, these studies employ conceptual frameworks, including the deceiver’s gender, the deceiver’s intentions, and the relative power of the deceiver and the deceived. While these factors illuminate some trends in the Old Testament's portrayal of deception, they are not comprehensive. By attending to the genre of biblical narrative, this study shows how theological themes provide a more thorough framework for assessing the function of deception in a large unit of biblical narrative—the book of 1 Samuel.

This study uses 1 Samuel as a case study to demonstrate how theological themes elucidate the narrative function of deception. Through narrative analysis in character studies of Saul, Michal, Jonathan, Abigail, and David, this study shows that acts of deception instantiate the central theme of 1 Samuel: the Lord’s selection of David as Israel's next king and the Lord's rejection of King Saul.

Saul's deceptions give texture to his multifaceted portrait, and the complexity of his character reveals the space in which the Lord chooses a new king. The narrative uses Saul's deceptions to develop both his capabilities and his failures, illustrating the interplay between human and divine agency in his loss of the kingship. Saul couples deception with violence as he seeks to eliminate David, but his efforts fail to harm the rising king.

Saul’s children, Michal and Jonathan, utilize deception to transfer loyalty from their father to the newly anointed king, David, and this shift guides the reader from Saul’s reign to David’s. From Jonathan and Michal, David learns to use deception as an alternative to violence; this skill allows him to secure his kingship without murdering Saul, which manifests David’s election. Abigail's use of concealment to establish her allegiance to David echoes Michal's and Jonathan's earlier uses of deception to transfer their loyalty from Saul to David. As a result of her indirection, Abigail persuades David to refrain from violence, a key lesson for David as he moves toward the throne.

David's own deceptions continue to refine his skilled cunning and allow him to secure the kingship without harming Saul. David's deceptions also play a pivotal role in developing the contrast between Saul and David, particularly insofar as they display David's trust in the Lord to establish his reign and his ability to manipulate the Philistines.

By interpreting acts of deception in their literary context, this study synthesizes insights from previous studies focusing on the justification of deception in terms of conceptual frameworks such as the deceiver’s gender, the deceiver’s intentions, and the relative power of the deceiver and the deceived. This study thus provides a comprehensive account of deception in 1 Samuel that reveals the theological foundation of election therein. The Lord’s choice of David determines whether the narrative portrays acts of deception positively or negatively more reliably than the deceiver’s merits, gender, or motivations.

The first-person Hebrew narrative of the Persian courtier sent to be governor of Judah, the "Nehemiah Memorial" (or NM: Neh 1-2:20; 3:33-7:3; 13:4-31), is a crucial text for understanding how elements within ancient Judaism conceived of their relationship to the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over Judah from the 6th to the 4th centuries BCE. This dissertation investigates NM via the issue of genre. Scholarship on NM in recent years has reached an impasse on this topic, suggesting that NM resists identification with any one genre. Newer developments in genre theory, however, offer resources for understanding genre not simply as a classificatory matter but also as a malleable relationship between writers and readers that can be exploited for rhetorical effect. NM makes use of two main genres: a "foreign court narrative" (cf. Daniel, Esther, and the Joseph narrative) slowly transforms into a biographical inscription or "official memorial", a genre attested throughout the ancient Near East. The subtle combination of these different genres suggests that Nehemiah's pious advocacy for his people and his city carries over from his role as Judean courtier before the Persian king to his role as governor over the Persian province of Judah. It also, however, ultimately underscores the ideological incompatibility of these genres, just as the goals of the subversive courtier at the mercy of the Persian king are at odds with the goals of the governor representing that king. Early readers of NM responded to these contradictions. A literary investigation of Ezra-Nehemiah reveals that editors of that book incorporated Nehemiah's story, but subtly corrected it, whether by reframing his actions in terms of the work of community as a whole and the Torah (Neh 10, Neh 12:44-13:3) or by contrasting him to the superior reformer Ezra (Ezra 7-10). The book of Ezra-Nehemiah thus mutes the signals sent by NM's use of genre indicating that the authority for Nehemiah's reforms, which were essential to Jerusalem's restoration, derived not from Israelite tradition or from the will of the people, but from the power of Judah's imperial masters.

The dissertation The Life of the World: The Vitality and Personhood of Non-Animal Nature in the Hebrew Bible addresses personalistic portrayals of non-animal nature (rocks, plants, soil, etc.) in the Hebrew Bible. Examples of personalistic nature texts include the obligation of the land to rest in Leviticus 25 and 26, the ground swallowing Korah in Numbers 16, the mourning of the land in the Prophets, and creation’s speech in Psalm 19. The primary theoretical framework is anthropological research on animist traditions, which is used to interrogate Western categories of personhood, relationality, and nature. Of particular importance is the work of Graham Harvey, Philippe Descola, Eduardo Viviero de Castro, Nurit Bird-David, and Timonthy Ingold. Based on parallels between biblical texts and animist traditions, it is argued that biblical writers perceived non-animal nature as alive; these texts do more than simply anthropomorphize nature. The dissertation traces the activity of non-animal nature through the three parts of the Jewish canon – Torah, Prophets, and Writings – and supports the argument by means of close reading. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, interactions between humans and non-animal nature are social and require respect and attention. The Israelite writers inhabit a world full of persons, only some of whom are human, and these other-than-human persons must be taken into account in agriculture, warfare, worship, and ethics.