Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Antiquity (Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies) PDF
Preview Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Antiquity (Society of Biblical Literature Semeia Studies)
ORALITY, LITERACY, AND COLONIALISM IN ANTIQUITY Semeia Studies Editorial Board: Roland Boer Elizabeth A. Castelli Musa Dube David M. Gunn Richard A. Horsley David Jobling Cheryl Kirk-Duggan Stephen D. Moore Tina Pippin Ilona N. Rashkow Fernando Segovia Yvonne M. Sherwood Abraham Smith Gerald O. West Gale A. Yee Number 47 ORALITY, LITERACY, AND COLONIALISM IN ANTIQUITY Board Editor:Gerald O. West ORALITY, LITERACY, AND COLONIALISM IN ANTIQUITY Edited by Jonathan A. Draper BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2004 ORALITY, LITERACY, AND COLONIALISM IN ANTIQUITY Copyright © 2004 by the Society of Biblical Literature This edition published under license from the Society of Biblical Literature by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved.No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, Society of Biblical Literature, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Orality, literacy, and colonialism in antiquity/ edited by Jonathan A. Draper. p. cm. — (Semeia studies ; no. 47) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 90-04-13043-8 (cloth bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Mediterranean Region—Religion—Congresses. 2. Oral communication—Religious aspects—History—To 1500—Congresses. 3. Written communication—Religious aspects— History—To 1500—Congresses. 4. Colonies—Religious aspects—History—To 1500— Congresses. 5. Oral communication—Mediterranean Region—History—To 1500— Congresses. 6. Written communication—Mediterranean Region—History—To 1500— Congresses. 7. Mediterranean Region—History—To 476—Congresses. I. Draper, Jonathan A. II. Semeia studies ; no. 47. BL687.O73 2004 302.2'24'093—dc22 2004004672 ISSN 1567-200X Printed in The Netherlands on acid-free paper. CONTENTS Abbreviations..................................................................................................vii Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Antiquity Jonathan A. Draper....................................................................................1 ESSAYS Indigenous Poems, Colonialist Texts John Miles Foley..........................................................................................9 Cognition, Orality-Literacy, and Approaches to First-Century Writings Pieter J. J. Botha ........................................................................................37 Moving Beyond Colonialist Discourse: Understanding Oral Theory and Cultural Difference in the Context of Media Analysis J. A. “Bobby” Loubser..............................................................................65 Why Did Plato Write? Jean-Luc Solère..........................................................................................83 Mithra’s Cult: An Example of Religious Colonialism in Roman Times? Baudouin Decharneux ............................................................................93 The Origins of the Hebrew Scriptures in Imperial Relations Richard A. Horsley ................................................................................107 Roman Imperialism and Early Christian Scribality Werner H. Kelber....................................................................................135 Practicing the Presence of God in John:Ritual Use of Scripture and the Eidos Theouin John 5:37 Jonathan A. Draper................................................................................155 vi contents RESPONSES Rabbinic Oral Tradition in Late Byzantine Galilee: Christian Empire and Rabbinic Ideological Resistance Martin S. Jaffee........................................................................................171 Oralities, Literacies, and Colonialisms in Antiquity and Contemporary Scholarship Claudia V. Camp....................................................................................193 Works Consulted ..........................................................................................219 Contributors....................................................................................................239 ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library AGSU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des Spätjudentums und Urchristentums BA Biblical Archaeologist CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CRINT Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum HDR Harvard Dissertations in Religion HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual HvTSt Hervormde teologiese studies Int Interpretation JA Journal asiatique JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series LCL Loeb Classical Library Neot Neotestamentica NGTT Nederduitse gereformeerde teologiese tydskrif NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum NTS New Testament Studies RevQ Revue de Qumran SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBLSymS Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series SemeiaSt Semeia Studies SJLA Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series Spec Speculum StPB Studia post-biblica TSAJ Texte und Studien zum antiken Judentum -vii- viii abbreviations VT Vetus Testamentum WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Alten und Neuen Testament ORALITY, LITERACY, AND COLONIALISM IN ANTIQUITY Jonathan A. Draper University of Natal 1. Introduction In a narrative cameo reflecting on a botched visit to an itinerant and illiterate Nambikwara group in the Amazon, Claude Lévi-Strauss notes that the primary function of writing in the evolution of humankind has not been intellectual in nature. Rather, it has functioned for social control: The only phenomenon with which writing has always been concomitant is the creation of cities and empires, that is the integration of large num- bers of individuals into a political system, and their grading into castes or classes.... It seems to have favoured the exploitation of human beings rather than their enlightenment.... My hypothesis, if correct, would oblige us to recognize the fact that the primary function of writ- ten communication is to facilitate slavery. The use of writing for disinterested pleasure, is a secondary result, and more often than not it may even be turned into a means of strengthening, justifying or conceal- ing the other. (1976:392–93) Lévi-Strauss notes that the dissemination of literacy in modern Europe has also been related to the need to militarize and control the new prole- tariat and to increase the authority of government over citizens. In the ancient world, where there was no separation between politics, economics, and religion, narrative and legal texts revealed by the gods served to cement and legitimate the power of the ruling elite (W. V. Harris: 39). The building of empires requires carefully compiled records, laws, genealogies, means of communication, and propaganda. Closely associated with this hegemony, writing was also central to various forms of control related to property and commerce. This can easily be over- looked when “religious” and “literary” texts are read in a modern context, as if they are somehow separate from, and superior to, the mun- dane exercise of material domination. The connection between the emergence of the great empires and the emergence of written texts in the ancient world is not accidental but integral. -1-
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