Prophecy, Piety, and the Problem of Historicity
Interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures in Cotton Mather's 'Biblia Americana'
1st Edition
Published on 11. March 2016
493 pages
978-3-16-154271-8 (ISBN)
Description
Das Buch bietet die erste übergreifende Untersuchung von Cotton Mathers bislang unveröffentlichter
Biblia Americana
(1693-1728), dem frühesten im britischen Nordamerika verfassten Bibelkommentar. Im Zentrum steht Mathers Ringen um das traditionelle christliche Verständnis der hebräischen Bibel als Altes Testament. Jan Stievermann geht Mathers Auseinandersetzung mit der Frage nach, in wieweit typologische und allegorische Lesarten angesichts eines wachsenden Bewusstseins von der Historizität der Schrift aufrecht zu erhalten bzw. zu revidieren sind. Andere zentrale Themenkomplexe sind Mathers Beiträge zu den zeitgenössischen Debatten um die Legitimität der christlichen Interpretation der Propheten, sowie um Autorschaft, Herkunft und Textgenre umstrittener Bücher wie Prediger Salomo und Hohelied. Der Autor bietet faszinierende Einblicke in eine immer noch zu wenig erforschte Phase der Bibelinterpretation, die gleichzeitig traditionalistisch und innovativ, apologetisch, fromm und offen für neue Arten der historisch-kritischen Methode war. Darüber hinaus eröffnet Mathers Exegese neue Einsichten in die Entwicklung der puritanischen Theologie und Identität.
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Jan Stievermann
Prophecy, Piety, and the Problem of Historicity
Interpreting the Hebrew Scriptures in Cotton Mather's 'Biblia Americana'
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03/2016
Mohr Siebeck
€129.00
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Content
- Cover
- Acknowledgments
- Table of Contents
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I
- 1. Cotton Mather and the Character and Composition of the "Biblia Americana"
- 1.1 Contemporary Models and Sources of the "Biblia Americana"
- 2. Situating Mather's Biblical Criticism: Main Tendencies and Questions
- 2.1 The Theological and Apologetical Orientation of the "Biblia Americana"
- 2.2 Mather's Understanding of the Authority, Inspiration, and Veracity of the Bible
- 3. Themes and Features of the "Biblia Americana"
- 3.1 Translation and Textual Problems
- 3.2 Evidentialism, Baconianism, and the Manifold Senses of Scripture
- 3.3 Canonical and Prefigurative Exegesis in the "Biblia"
- 3.4 The Millennialist Dimension of the "Biblia Americana"
- 4. The Significance of the "Biblia" for Understanding Mather and American Puritanism
- 4.1 Traditional Views of Mather and His Place in American History
- 4.2 Re-thinking Mather and the Puritans in Light of the "Biblia"
- 4.3 What is American about the "Biblia Americana"?
- 4.4 Toward a New Mather
- Part II
- 1. Issues of Authorship, Provenance, and Genre
- 2. Mather's Commentaries on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles
- 3. Mather's Commentaries on Isaiah and Jeremiah
- Part III
- 1. The Quest for a Historical Realism of the Bible
- 2. Biblical Realism and the Ambiguity of Cultural Explanations
- 3. Biblical Realism, Natural Philosophy, and the Wonders of the Invisible World
- Part IV
- 1. The Prefigurative Approach to the Hebrew Bible and the Problem of Historicity
- 2. Typological Readings
- 2.1 Revisiting the Americanization Thesis
- 3. Allegorical Readings
- 4. Mather's First Interpretation of Canticles
- Part V
- 1. The Debate over Old Testament Prophecy and Prophetic Evidence
- 2. The Prophecies Concerning the History of the Church
- 3. The Messianic Prophecies
- 3.1 Mather's Later Readings of Isa. 7:14
- 4. The Eschatological Prophecies
- 4.1 Mather's Changing Views on the Eschatological Conversion of the Jews
- 4.2 Mather's Vision of the Millennium
- 5. Mather's Prophetic Readings of Canticles and Proverbs
- Part VI
- 1. The Hermeneutics of Experimental Piety
- 2. Mather's Experimental Hermeneutics in Practice
- Summary and Conclusion
- Works Cited
- Primary Works
- Secondary Sources
- General Index
- Index of Names
- Biblical figures are listed in the General Index
