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Unity and Disunity in Ezra–Nehemiah Redaction, Rhetoric, and Reader Edited by Mark J. Boda, Paul L. Redditt
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Until the late 1960s the scholarly consensus was that Chronicles–Ezra–Nehemiah was a single, unified literary work. Then arguments began to be mounted for treating Chronicles as a distinct composition, and the majority of scholars were swayed by these arguments, though others retained the older consensus view. In recent years, some scholars have begun to suggest that Ezra and Nehemiah are distinct literary entities.
This new debate is the occasion for the present volume. Here scholars from around the globe (Canada, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Korea, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States) showcase current scholarly explanations for the final shape of this literary complex known as Ezra–Nehemiah. Fourteen scholars present their approach to the unity or disunity of this literature employing research methodologies that range from the diachronic to the synchronic.
Critical responses to this emerging research are provided by three reviewers (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Tamara Eskenazi and Hugh Williamson) whose work laid the foundation in earlier decades for much of the discussion today. The result is a rich conversation which provides an enlightening resource for the study of these biblical books in particular as well as for reflection on the impact of one’s interpretive framework on the study of ancient literature in general.
Mark J. Boda is Professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilto, Ontario. Paul L. Redditt is Professor in the Department of Religion, Georgetown College, Georgetown, Kentucky. |
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Contents INTRODUCTION Mark J. Boda and Paul L. Redditt
THE FUNCTION OF COVENANT ACROSS EZRA–NEHEMIAH Richard J. Bautch
REDACTION IN THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH: A FRESH PROPOSAL Mark J. Boda
LEAVE NEHEMIAH ALONE: NEHEMIAH’S ‘TALES’ AND FIFTH-CENTURY BCE HISTORIOGRAPHY Margaret Cohen
WHO WROTE EZRA–NEHEMIAH—AND WHY DID THEY? Lisbeth S. Fried
HOLINESS AND PURITY IN EZRA–NEHEMIAH Hannah K. Harrington
THE CRIES OF JERUSALEM: ETHNIC, CULTIC, LEGAL, AND GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES IN EZRA–NEHEMIAH David Janzen
SCRUTINIZING THE CONCEPTUAL UNITY OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH Christiane Karrer-Grube
NEHEMIAH WITHOUT EZRA? Kyung-jin Min
THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL BY GOD’S WORD IN THREE EPISODES FROM EZRA–NEHEMIAH Douglas J.E. Nykolaishen
THE DISUNITY OF EZRA–NEHEMIAH Juha Pakkala
THE DEPENDENCE OF EZRA–NEHEMIAH ON 1 AND 2 CHRONICLES Paul L. Redditt
NEHEMIAH 8 AND THE AUTHORITY OF TORAH IN EZRA–NEHEMIAH Titus Reinmuth
CONTEXTUALIZATIONS OF EZRA–NEHEMIAH Armin Siedlecki
SEEKING, FINDING AND WRITING IN EZRA–NEHEMIAH Jacob L. Wright
RESPONSES
EZRA–NEHEMIAH: UNITY OR DISUNITY? Joseph Blenkinsopp
UNITY AND DISUNITY IN EZRA–NEHEMIAH: RESPONSES AND REFLECTIONS Tamara Cohn Eskenazi
MORE UNITY THAN DIVERSITY H.G.M. Williamson
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