Creative imitation in the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

The source of creative composition for many forms of literature was well recognized by literary critics in antiquity to be in the imitation of older literary works and this has been a major concern of literary criticism in modern classical studies as well. It is remarkable, therefore, that so little attention has been given to this subject in biblical studies. Even in the current discussion of intertextuality, the possibility of literary imitation is rarely made the focus of attention. In this article I will lay out what, in antiquity, was regarded as the appropriate use of imitation of the classics for composition of new works, as well as the creation of rival versions of history, and how the notion of imitation to account for similarity can be useful in biblical studies. These issues will be illustrated by a number of examples of imitation in the Hebrew Bible that have often been explained in other less appropriate ways.