Ezra And Nehemiah
$44.95
Ezra-Nehemiah has been neglected in biblical studies, but it is important as one of the few windows into the Persian period of Israel’s history, the setting for so much of the final shape of the Hebrew Bible. To know this period is to know what influenced these redactors. In Ezra and Nehemiah Gordon Davies provides that knowledge using rhetorical criticism, a methodology that reveals the full range and progress of the book’s ideas without hiding its rough seams and untidy edges.
The purpose of rhetorical criticism is to explain not the source but the power of the text as a unitary message. This approach does not look at plot development, characterization, or other elements whose roughness makes Ezra-Nehemiah frustrating to read. Instead, it examines the three parts of the relationship-the strategies, the situations, and the effects-between the speaker and the audience. Rhetorical criticism’s scrutiny of the audience in context favors the search for the ideas and structures that are indigenous to the culture of the text.
Rhetorical criticism is interested in figures of speech as means of persuasion. Therefore, to apply it to Ezra-Nehemiah, Davies concentrates on the public discourse-the orations, letters, and prayers-throughout its text. In each chapter he follows a procedure that: (1) where it is unclear, identifies the rhetorical unit in which the discourse is set; (2) identifies the audiences of the discourse and the rhetorical situation; (3) studies the arrangement of the material; (4) studies the effect on the various audiences; (5) reviews the passage as a whole and judges its success. In the conclusion, Davies explains that Ezra-Nehemiah makes theological sense on its own terms, by forming a single work in which a range of ideas is argued.
Biblical scholars as well as those interested in literary criticism, communication studies, rhetorical studies, ecclesiology, and homiletics will find Ezra and Nehemiah enlightening.
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9780814650493
ISBN10: 081465049X
Gordon Davies | Editor: David Cotter
Binding: Cloth Text
Published: April 1999
Berit Olam
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Print On Demand Product
Related products
-
Mothers Lovers Priests Prophets And Kings
$14.99Add to cartMothers, Lovers, Priests, Prophets, and King provides a doorway to enter into the world of the Old Testament for both the casual and the more experienced reader. The newcomer to scripture will find an easily accessible group of stories about people who look and act just like the characters we know today and whose encounters with God leave us wondering what God has in store for us. The more experienced reader will come to know the God of the Old Testament more closely and see there the One who came to dwell with us as Jesus Christ. Both readers will take away from the book a deeper appreciation of the nature of scripture as a Living Word, a greater understanding of the connection between God in the Old Testament and God in the New, and a better awareness of the multifaceted nature of God’s interaction with us. This book helps readers begin to answer the questions: Who is the God we meet in scripture? Who is God for me now? How is God revealed in the patterns and experiences of my life?
Individuals and groups will find this book helpful in bible studies, small church groups, and as a way of sparking conversation about our images of God and what our relationship with God looks like. Readers will be able to place themselves in these stories and discover what God has to say to them. Those using the book for individual reading will be able to move from the scripture to the meditation to guiding questions and prayer designed to enhance their experience.
If you have been looking for a book that concisely, prayerfully and joyfully points to the beauty and truth of God through the stories of God’s people and then lets you discover for yourself the movement of God in your life, this book is for you.
-
Problem Of Pain
$16.99Add to cartFor centuries Christians have been tormented by one question above all — If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain? C. S. Lewis sets out to disentangle this knotty issue but wisely adds that in the end no intellectual solution can dispense with the necessity for patience and courage.
-
Finding Happiness Through Faith
$5.00Add to cartThe world is facing a phase of religious change. The paradox: while many long for spirituality, churches are becoming more and more empty as many individualize their faith experience. Yet we all long for community, and Christianity has a long history of joy-filled and vibrant communities of faith. Learning to fully comprehend and love the Christian faith is necessary if we want to know true joy and happiness.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.