Biblical Hebrew Poetry and the Task of Interpretation

330 Pages·2017·5.276 MB·English

by  Couey, J Blake(Editor);James, Elaine T(Editor)

Biblical Poetry and the Art of Close Reading
Thisvolumeexplorestheaestheticdimensionsofbiblicalpoetry,offer-
ing close readings of poems across the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
Composed of essays by fifteen leading scholars of biblical poetry, it
offers creative and insightful close readings of poems from across the
canon of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (Psalms, wisdom poetry,
Song of Songs, prophecy, and poetry in biblical narrative). The essays
build on recent advances in our understanding of biblical poetry and
engage a variety of theoretical perspectives and current trends in the
studyofliterature.Theydemonstratetherewardsofcarefulattentionto
textualdetail,andtheyprovidemodelsofthepracticeofclosereading
forstudents,scholars,andgeneralreaders.Theyalsohighlighttherich
aesthetic value of the biblical poetic corpus and offer reflection on the
natureofpoetryitselfasameaningfulandenduringformofart.
J.BlakeCoueyisAssociateProfessorofReligionatGustavusAdolphus
College. He is the author of Reading the Poetry of First Isaiah: The
MostPerfectModelofthePropheticPoetry,andheiscurrentlywork-
ingonacommentaryonIsaiah1–39.
Elaine T. James is Assistant Professor of Theology at St. Catherine
University.SheistheauthorofLandscapesoftheSongofSongs:Poetry
andPlace,andiscurrentlyworkingonahandbookonbiblicalpoetry.

Biblical Poetry and the Art
of Close Reading
Edited by
J. BLAKE COUEY
GustavusAdolphusCollege
ELAINE T. JAMES
St.CatherineUniversity
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Contents
List of Contributors pagevii
List of Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
J.BlakeCoueyandElaineT.James
part i the psalms 13
1 WordsThat Devour:Discursive Praxes and Structural
Strategies in Psalm 50 15
CarolynJ.Sharp
2 “Silence IsPraise”: Art and Knowledge in Psalm 65 32
ElaineT.James
3 The Glory of Creation inPsalm 104 49
RobertAlter
part ii poetry in wisdom literature 61
4 Bildad Lectures Job: AClose Reading ofJob 8 63
EdwardL.Greenstein
5 Poetryas Pedagogy in Proverbs 5 80
AnneW.Stewart
6 The Utility and Futility of Poetry inQohelet 93
SimeonChavel
v
vi Table of Contents
part iii the song of songs 111
7 Structure, Sound,and Sense: ACloseReading of
ChapterOne of the Song of Songs 113
TodLinafelt
8 How Is aLove Poem (Song 4:1–7) Like theBeloved?
The Importance of Emotion in Reading BiblicalPoetry 131
SarahZhang
part iv poetry in the prophetic books 147
9 Isaiah’s Love Song:AReading ofIsaiah 5:1–7 149
F.W.Dobbs-Allsopp
10 Poetry, Language, and Statecraft in Isaiah 18 167
J.BlakeCouey
11 The Servant in Poetic Juxtaposition in Isaiah 49:1–13 184
KatieM.Heffelfinger
12 “ItIs a Lamentation –It Has Becomea Lamentation!”:
Subverting Genre in Ezekiel 19 199
SeanBurt
13 The Enduring Day of Wrath: Zephaniah1,the
Sibylline Oracles, and theDies Irae 216
JuliaM.O’Brien
part v poetry in biblical narrative 235
14 YHWH’sPoesie: The Gnadenformel (Exodus34:6b–7),
the Bookof Exodus, and Beyond 237
BrentA.Strawn
15 The Decipherment ofSorrow: David’s Lament in2 Samuel
1:17–27 257
StevenWeitzman
Bibliography 275
Index ofAuthors 293
Index ofScripture and Other Ancient Texts 297
Index ofSubjects 310
Contributors
Robert Alter is emeritus Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Com-
parative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His recent
books include Psalms: A Translation with Commentary (2007), Pen of
Iron: American Prose and the King James Bible (2010), and Ancient
Israel:TheFormerProphets:Joshua,Judges,Samuel,andKings:ATrans-
lation with Commentary (2013).
Sean Burt is Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in English and
Religious Studies at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North
Dakota. He is the author of The Courtier and the Governor: Transfor-
mationsof Genre in theNehemiah Memoir(2014).
SimeonChavelisAssociateProfessorofHebrewBibleattheUniversityof
ChicagoDivinitySchoolinChicago,Illinois.HeistheauthorofOracular
Law and PriestlyHistoriographyin the Torah (2014).
J. Blake Couey (editor) is Associate Professor of Religion at Gustavus
Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He is the author of Reading
the Poetry of First Isaiah: The Most Perfect Model of the Prophetic
Poetry (2015).
F. W.Dobbs-Allsopp isthe James Lenox Librarian and Professor of Old
Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.
Heistheauthorofseveralbooks,includingLamentations,Interpretation
Commentary Series(2002) and On Biblical Poetry (2015).
Edward L. Greenstein is Professor of Bible at Bar-Ilan University in
Ramat Gan, Israel, where he also directs the Institute for Jewish Biblical
vii
viii List of Contributors
Interpretation. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters
andiscurrentlycompletinganannotatedtranslationofJob(forthcoming)
anda commentary on Lamentations.
Katie M. Heffelfinger is Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics at
The Church of Ireland Theological Institute. She is the author of I Am
Large, I Contain Multitudes: Lyric Cohesion and Conflict in Second
Isaiah (2011).
Elaine T. James (editor) is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at
St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of
Landscapes of theSong ofSongs: Poetryand Place (2017).
Tod Linafelt isProfessor of BiblicalLiterature at Georgetown University
inWashington,DC.Heistheauthororeditorofseveralbooks,including
Surviving Lamentations: Catastrophe, Lament, and Protest in the After-
life of a Biblical Book (2000), An Introduction to the Old Testament
(coauthored with Walter Brueggemann; 2012), and A Very Short Intro-
duction to the Hebrew Bibleas Literature (2016).
Julia M. O’Brien is the Paul H. and Grace L. Stern Professor of Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania. Her publications include Challenging Prophetic Metaphor
(2008),TheOxfordEncyclopediaoftheBibleandGenderStudies(editor;
2014),andMicah,WisdomCommentarySeries(2015).
Carolyn J. Sharp is Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at Yale Divinity
School in New Haven, Connecticut. She is the author of several books,
including Prophecy and Ideology in Jeremiah: Struggles for Authority
in the Deutero-Jeremianic Prose (2003) and Irony and Meaning in the
HebrewBible(2009),andeditorofseveralvolumes,includingTheOxford
HandbookoftheProphets(2016).
Anne W. Stewart is Associate Vice President for Communication and
Deputy to the President at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton,
New Jersey. She is the author of Poetic Ethics in Proverbs: Wisdom
Literature and the Shaping of theMoral Self (2016).
Brent A. Strawn is Professor of Old Testament at the Candler School of
Theology,EmoryUniversity,Atlanta,Georgia.Heistheauthororeditor
of several books including What Is Stronger Than a Lion? Leonine
Imagery and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East