Love and Violence: Marriage as Metaphor for the Relationship between YHWH and Israel in the Prophetic Books (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Studies 46 (2005) 407 Reviews Shared by the Tetrateuch and the DtrH” (pp. 101–102), a Bibliography (pp. 103–114), and an Index of References (pp. 115–127). The strengths of this study could have been enhanced by more discussion of the nature of the intertextuality Harvey describes. For example, when he says that “Dtr based the Manoah story of Judg. 13 on Genesis 18” (pp. 38– 39), would he describe this relationship as typology, allegory, or something else? Or, would he avoid such compartmentalization? Some may find his psychologizing of Dtr’s “Torah Consciousness” (Chapter 3) to require more controllable defining. Overall, however, Harvey is to be commended for the remarkable clarity with which he writes and explains complex intertextual relationships. It makes this work both accessible to a wide readership while a challenge to the status quo of scholarly opinion on the issues it addresses. The impression with which a reader is left is that the intertextuality he presents is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Harvey’s work opens the door for even more comprehensive treatment of this topic to illuminate our understanding of the history and unity of the Tetrateuch, its use in subsequent texts, and what that reveals about various biblical authors’ views of historiography. Daniel M. Gurtner Tyndale House Cambridge, England dgurtner@yahoo.com LOVE AND VIOLENCE: MARRIAGE AS METAPHOR FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YHWH AND ISRAEL IN THE PROPHETIC BOOKS. By Gerlinde Baumann. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Pp. xii + 271. Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 2003. Paper, $39.95. This book sets out to explore and assess the marriage metaphor in the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible. It is the most comprehensive, though not necessarily most original treatment of this topic, as it discusses texts from Hosea to the Twelve Prophets, rather than select texts. The book differs from previous scholarship in its attempt to consider this metaphor in the context of ancient Near Eastern law codes, and in its attempt to balance critical observations with historical considerations. The book is divided into three uneven parts related to research background, textual studies, and a brief summary. The first part of the book begins with an overview of previous scholarship on the marriage metaphor, and an overview on metaphor in literary criticism. Baumann appropriately mentions the earlier feminist studies of T. Drorah Hebrew Studies 46 (2005) 408 Reviews Setel, Phyllis Bird, Fokkelien van Dijk-Hemmes, Athalya Brenner, Renita Weems, and Yvonne Sherwood, who have already raised the issue of male violence as a behavioral norm in heterosexual marriage, and as a conduct attributed to God. While she accepts the basic insights made so far on this topic, Baumann argues correctly that most previous studies have not sufficiently considered the historical context of the ancient Near East. Baumann mentions the work of Max Black and Paul Ricoeur, whose theories of metaphors have done the most to break the automatic correlation between the representing image and the object represented in reality. This overview does not take account of postmodern theories of the metaphoric uses of discourse as such. Nevertheless, Baumann emphasizes that metaphorical language has a precognitive value that shapes emotional and moral responses. In chapter 3, Baumann offers an inventory of prophetic terms used to describe a wife’s unacceptable behavior in marriage, such as harlotry (ZNH) and adultery (N√F). She suggests, rather vaguely, that some of these terms have equivalences in ancient Near Eastern codes. Finally, in chapter 4, Baumann discusses the concept of berit or covenant, which is a legal concept applied metaphorically to describe the marital relationship between YHWH, the husband, and Israel, his wife. In chapter 5, Baumann traces the concept of a city as wife to ancient Near Eastern sources. She also notes parallels between prophetic references to the punishment of a disloyal wife to Babylonian and Nuzi texts regarding the punishments of wives seeking divorce. She cites the comparative work of Raymond Westbrook who found parallels between the stripping and expulsion scenarios in the Prophets and a text from Nippur describing the punishment meted out to an adulterous wife. Baumann cites work by Delbert Hillers to substantiate similar correlations between prophetic language and ancient...