Biblical Historiography and Literary History: A Programmatic Survey

Abstract

AbstractThe issue addressed concerns relative literary chronology, involving the quest for historicity of literary witnesses and their literary history. The question of historicity was elsewhere shown to be bound up with the basic historiographical concepts embodied in the literary compositions. The manifestation of these concepts facilitates observations concerning literary relativity. The study of the literary history based on historiographical data and considerations pertains to two important facets. One is the primary and dependent formulation of historiographical concepts and the other is the changing manner of application of these patterns. Historiographical and geographical features that reflect the early monarchy figure in a specific manner up to the end of the first commonwealth, and as of Ezekiel, in Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as in Chronicles, a change in the application of these motifs is to be noted. The exilic period is, therefore, an incisive stylistic boundary.