Biblical Studies and Rhetorical Criticism: Bridging the Divide Between the Hebrew Bible and Communication

Abstract

Throughout much of the 20th century, important albeit limited interactions have taken place between the disciplines of biblical studies and rhetorical criticism. Initially, such connections involved the study of genre in biblical form criticism. With James Muilenburg's Presidential Address to the Society of Biblical Literature in 1968, however, biblical studies became much more engaged in rhetorical criticism. Due to the narrowness of Muilenburg's vision, however, such engagement at first focused primarily on stylistics. It then expanded as Muilenburg's students and others arrived at more mature understandings of rhetoric. Biblical studies currently parallels rhetorical criticism in that it includes a fair amount of ideological criticism, which is usually focused on the biblical text, biblical scholarship, or broader society. Despite these areas of continuity, biblical scholars have often ignored some of the most prominent scholars in rhetorical criticism, including Edwin Black and Kenneth Burke.