Jeremiah 48 as Christian Scripture
Published on 28. July 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
370 pages
978-0-227-17378-7 (ISBN)
Description
An insightful contribution to Old Testament studies, showing how the seemingly bloodthirsty oracle of Jeremiah 48 nevertheless contains a positive Christian reading. In this sophisticated study Julie Woods identifies some salient features of Jeremiah's Moab oracle by means of a careful analysis and comparison of both the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text of Jeremiah 48. She also explores the implications of links between the Moab oracles in Jeremiah 48 and Isaiah 15-16.
The focus then moves to theological hermeneutics via an examination of some recent Christian interpretations of the oracle (from Walter Brueggemann, Ronald Clements, Terence Fretheim, Douglas Jones, and Patrick Miller). Building on the observations of these scholars and the conclusions reached from her own textual analyses, Woods provides an innovative Christian reading of the oracle (including two imaginative film scripts to bring the text to life). Perhaps one of the more surprising proposals is that Easter is the ultimate horizon of Jeremiah 48.
The focus then moves to theological hermeneutics via an examination of some recent Christian interpretations of the oracle (from Walter Brueggemann, Ronald Clements, Terence Fretheim, Douglas Jones, and Patrick Miller). Building on the observations of these scholars and the conclusions reached from her own textual analyses, Woods provides an innovative Christian reading of the oracle (including two imaginative film scripts to bring the text to life). Perhaps one of the more surprising proposals is that Easter is the ultimate horizon of Jeremiah 48.
Reviews / Votes
'This monograph, the author's doctoral thesis from the University of Durham, proposes, as its title suggests, a way of reading Jer 48 within a Christian context and relating to it from a Christian perspective. ... Woods provides several comparative charts where she lists the MT, NRSV English translation, Ziegler's critical edition of the LXX, and NETS English translation. She highlights the importance of the location within each version of the oracle against Moab for the overall interpretation of the material, as well as the significance of the verses 40-41, attested only in MT. ... Woods proposes seeing Moab's fate as a metaphor of an individual Christian's walk with God as well as of the life of the church. We as Christians can or even should identify with sinful Moab and recognize that our sole hope is in God's grace and in his redemption, brought about on the cross. Moreover, we should side with God in his weeping over sinful nations and show compassion when misfortune befalls another party. Woods should be commended for providing a way forward foe Christian readers of Jer 48.'Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer, School of Divinity, University of Aberdeen, in:Expository Times Vol. 123 (11), August 2012
'For centuries Christian communities have wrestled with the question of applicability of the Bible to the life of faith. Can all of the Bible be read as Christian Scripture? With stout hearted determination and exegetical finesse Woods sets out to demonstrate that even such hard texts as the oracle concerning Moab found in Jeremiah 48 can and should be taken with interpretive seriousness. She marshals all of the tools of critical scholarship to furnish the reader with a first-rate piece of scholarly work that is simultaneously academically rigorous and spiritually enriching. [...] Here is an example of an erudite scholar working out the implications of critical scholarship in a way that would enable Christian communities worldwide to read their sacred Scriptures with more precision and rigorous imagination.'
Bacho V. Bordjadze in Reviews in Religion and Theology, Vol. 19, Issue 4.
'An adroit aspect of this study is its comparing on one hand each commentator's approach to the passage, the insights he finds in it, and the emphases he draws from it, with on the other hand the characteristics that appear elsewhere in his work on the Old Testament.'
John Goldingay in Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 63 (2), October 2012
'Julie Woods explores Jeremiah 48 as Christian Scripture. She emphasises the undercurrent of lament, looks at the difference between the Masoretic and Septuagint texts (more than is often the case in the OT), compares this oracle against Moab with a similar one in Isaiah, analyses recent theological interpretations of this chapter, and suggests ways to engage with it.'
Church Times, 25 October 2013
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
ISBN-13
978-0-227-17378-7 (9780227173787)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Julie Woods
Jeremiah 48 as Christian Scripture
E-Book
12/2014
James Clarke & Co Ltd
€26.99
Available for download
Person
Julie Woods earned her PhD at Durham University in 2009, working with Walter Moberly. Since then she has been lecturing in Ols Testament studies at seminaries in Southeast Asia.
Content
List of Tables; Foreword by Walter Moberly; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; An Overview of the Field of Jeremiah's Oracles Against the Nations; A Comparison of Jeremiah's Oracle Concerning Moab in MT (ch. 48) and LXX (ch. 31); Jeremiah 48 in the Light of Isaiah 15-16; An Analysis of Fretheim's, Miller's, and Brueggemann's Readings of Jeremiah 48; An Analysis of Jones' and Clements's Readings of Jeremiah 48; The Curious Curse in Jeremiah 48:10; A Christian Reading of Jeremiah 48; Literary Storyboard of the Film of Jeremiah 48 (6th century context); Literary Storyboard of the Film of Jeremiah 48 (with a Christian Frame of Reference); Conclusion; Bibliography; Scripture Index; General Index.