
The Rhetoric of Remembrance
An Investigation of the "Fathers" in Deuteronomy
Jerry Hwang(Author)
Eisenbrauns (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 9. May 2012
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-57506-238-9 (ISBN)
Description
To whom is Moses speaking in Deuteronomy? This question is controversial in OT scholarship. Some passages in Deuteronomy indicate that Moses is addressing the first exodus generation that witnessed Horeb (Deut 5:3-4), while other passages point to the second exodus generation that survived the wilderness (Deut 1:35; 2:14-16). Redaction critics such as Thomas Roemer and John Van Seters view the chronological problems in Deuteronomy as evidence of multiple tradition layers. Although other scholars have suggested that Deuteronomy's conflation of chronology is a rhetorical move to unify Israel's generations, no analysis has thus far explored in detail how the blending of "you" and the "fathers" functions as a rhetorical device. However, a rhetorical approach to the "fathers" is especially appropriate in light of three features of Deuteronomy.
First, a rhetorical approach recognizes that the repetitiveness of the Deuteronomic style is a homiletical strategy designed to inculcate the audience with memory. The book is shot through with exhortations for Israel to remember the past. Second, a rhetorical approach recognizes that collective memory entails the transformation of the past through actualization for the present. Third, a rhetorical approach to Deuteronomy accords well with the book's self-presentation as "the words that Moses spoke" (1:1). The book of Deuteronomy assumes a canonical posture by embedding the means of its own oral and written propagation, thereby ensuring that the voice of Moses speaking in the book of Deuteronomy resounds in Israel's ears as a perpetually authoritative speech-act.
The Rhetoric of Remembrance demonstrates that Deuteronomy depicts the corporate solidarity of Israel in the land promised to the "fathers" (part 1), under the sovereignty of the same "God of the fathers" across the nation's history (part 2), as governed by a timeless covenant of the "fathers" between YHWH and his people (part 3). In the narrative world of Deuteronomy, the "fathers" begin as the patriarchs, while frequently scrolling forward in time to include every generation that has received YHWH's promises but nonetheless continues to await their fulfillment.
Hwang's study is an insightful, innovative approach that addresses crucial aspects of the Deuteronomic style with a view to the theological effect of that style.
Jerry Hwang (Ph.D., Wheaton College) serves as Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Singapore Bible College.
First, a rhetorical approach recognizes that the repetitiveness of the Deuteronomic style is a homiletical strategy designed to inculcate the audience with memory. The book is shot through with exhortations for Israel to remember the past. Second, a rhetorical approach recognizes that collective memory entails the transformation of the past through actualization for the present. Third, a rhetorical approach to Deuteronomy accords well with the book's self-presentation as "the words that Moses spoke" (1:1). The book of Deuteronomy assumes a canonical posture by embedding the means of its own oral and written propagation, thereby ensuring that the voice of Moses speaking in the book of Deuteronomy resounds in Israel's ears as a perpetually authoritative speech-act.
The Rhetoric of Remembrance demonstrates that Deuteronomy depicts the corporate solidarity of Israel in the land promised to the "fathers" (part 1), under the sovereignty of the same "God of the fathers" across the nation's history (part 2), as governed by a timeless covenant of the "fathers" between YHWH and his people (part 3). In the narrative world of Deuteronomy, the "fathers" begin as the patriarchs, while frequently scrolling forward in time to include every generation that has received YHWH's promises but nonetheless continues to await their fulfillment.
Hwang's study is an insightful, innovative approach that addresses crucial aspects of the Deuteronomic style with a view to the theological effect of that style.
Jerry Hwang (Ph.D., Wheaton College) serves as Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Singapore Bible College.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Pennsylvania State University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
650 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57506-238-9 (9781575062389)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Content
Preface
Glossary of Terms
Abbreviations
1. The "Fathers" in Deuteronomy: Introduction
Part 1 The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy
2. The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy: History of Research and Method
3. The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
Part 2 The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy
4. The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy: History of Research and Method
5. The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
Part 3 The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy
6. The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy
7. The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
8. The "Fathers" in Deuteronomy: Conclusions and Avenues for Future Research
Bibliography
Indexes
Index of Authors
Index of Scripture
Glossary of Terms
Abbreviations
1. The "Fathers" in Deuteronomy: Introduction
Part 1 The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy
2. The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy: History of Research and Method
3. The "Fathers" and the Land Promise in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
Part 2 The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy
4. The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy: History of Research and Method
5. The "God of the Fathers" and the Divine Promises in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
Part 3 The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy
6. The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy
7. The "Fathers" and the Divine-Human Covenant in Deuteronomy: Analysis of Texts
8. The "Fathers" in Deuteronomy: Conclusions and Avenues for Future Research
Bibliography
Indexes
Index of Authors
Index of Scripture