Literary Forms/Techniques and Methods of Study

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Literary Forms/Techniques and Methods of Study Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, Richard A. Taylor, John M. Halligan, Fred W. Guyette, and Thomas Hieke 116. [Social Memory and "Bourdieusian" Approaches/Concepts] Ehud Ben Zvi, "Potential Intersections between Research Frames Informed by Social-Memory and 'Bourdieusian' Approaches/Concepts: The Study of Socio-Historical Features of the Literati of the Early Second Temple Period," Social Memory, 631-54 [see #769]. The goal of this chapter is to explore potential intersections and dialogues between social memory and Bourdieusian frames/approaches, both in terms of what they may contribute [End Page 34] to the study of socio-historical characteristics of the literati of the late Persian/Early Hellenistic Period as well as in terms of the potential significance of some, even if partial, convergences between the two approaches. Thus, in what follows I will address issues such as "cultural capital," "memory capital," habitus, social mindscape, taste, grammars of preference, litertidicy (as a form of sosiodicy), power, Temple controls, and the possibility of effecting social change, along with the related matter of social reproduction, in so far as they facilitate our understanding of the above-mentioned literati. Toward the end of this contribution, I will address some methodological implications of convergences and intersections between social memory and Bourdieusian approaches for furthering studies of socio-historical characteristics of the literati of the early Second Temple period as a group. [Adapted from author's introduction, p. 631—C.T.B.] 117. [Formula for (Dis)Honorable Installation; Deut 26:19; 28:37] Isaac D. Blois, "Formulas for (Dis)Honorable Installation in Deuteronomy 26:19 and 28:37: The Honorific Implications of Israel's Covenant (Un)Faithfulness," CBQ 82 (2020) 381-406. This study analyzes the grammatically parallel "(dis)honorific formulas" found in Deut 26:19 and Deut 28:37 to show how they present the implications of covenant (dis)obedience for Israel in the public (i.e. honor/shame) sphere. The five main sections of the article are: (1) Metonymy and the Blessings and Curses of the Deuteronomic Covenant; (2) Deuteronomic Formulas for Degradation and for Exaltation; (3) The Importance of International Perception in Deuteronomy; (4) The Formula for Honorific Installation in Deuteronomy 26:19; and (5) The Formula for Dishonorable Installation in Deuteronomy 28:37. Two comprehensive tables list and analyze instances of the Formulas for Honorific Installation and similar passages (about a dozen examples) and Formulas for Dishonorable Installation and similar passages (about eighty examples) throughout the Hebrew Bible.—W.J.U. 118. [Biblical Narrative] Daniel Crouch, "Discovering the Heart of the Biblical Narrative: A Survey of Solutions to a Postliberalism Criticism," ResQ 62 (2020) 99-106. Methodological and epistemological concerns raised by postmodernism regarding the possibility of identifying a metanarrative for the Christian story have contributed to a plethora of approaches to biblical narrative. C. discusses these approaches under three rubrics: intratextual methods, metatextual methods, and extratextual methods. Intratextual methods use tools of literary criticism to analyze biblical narrative, focusing on discourse elements that disclose how the narrative is structured and story elements that show how settings and characters are presented. Literary criticism stresses the importance of distinguishing between "kernels" (i.e. the most important events of a story) and "satellites" (i.e. the incidental elements of a story). Repetition and type scenes also play an important role in literary criticism. Metatextual methods involve attempts to describe the cohesion of biblical narrative in various books and authors. Examples include efforts to find a central theme of Scripture and appeals to the concept of canon. Finally, extratextual methods look outside biblical narrative for a standard. Examples of such standards include the Rule of Faith, the ecumenical creeds of the church, and a communal hermeneutic. C. compares these various methods, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and suggests ways to move forward.—R.A.T. [End Page 35] 119. [Psalms; Speaker Ambiguity] Samuel Hildebrandt, "Whose Voice Is Heard? Speaker Ambiguity in the Psalms," CBQ 82 (2020) 197-213. Several poems in the Hebrew Psalter include voices that may be assigned to more than one speaker. Rather than arguing in favor of one particular speaker and silencing the others...