The Hebrew Prophets: Poetic Imagination, Covenant Memory—in Honor of Walter Brueggemann

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a commemorative Special Issue of Religions to honor the memory of Walter Brueggemann. This Special Issue, entitled "The Hebrew Prophets: Poetic Imagination, Covenant Memory—in Honor of Walter Brueggemann", focuses on the Hebrew prophets and the prophetic books (including Daniel), with particular emphasis on how the Prophets crafted a poetic future that is rooted in covenant memory. This emphasis draws from Brueggemann’s observations of Israelite prophecy in his classic work, The Prophetic Imagination (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978). The aim of this Special Issue is to build on Brueggemann’s fundamental ideas with essays that explore the various ways the Prophets and prophetic books represent what Brueggemann calls “prophetic imagination.”

The title (The Hebrew Prophets) and subtitle (Poetic Imagination, Covenant Memory) of the Special Issue indicate its scope. “Prophet” may refer to an individual prophetic figure, and articles may seek to recover experience of that particular figure in his or her historical context. The term more likely refers, however, to prophetic books and collections of books (e.g., The Twelve) as texts, and may thus focus on elements of their composition and redaction.

“Poetic Imagination” refers to Brueggemann’s notion that the prophets presented an alternative to the dominant culture. Essays should aim to show how prophetic discourse or the composition and editing of it was in service of a theological vision that ran counter to, for example, royal ideology, extra-Yahwistic religious practices, or popular cultural assumptions. This Special Issue also intends to recognize that Israelite prophesy, as collected and presented in the prophetic books, drew from and often re-contextualized Israel’s covenant traditions (thus, “Covenant Memory”). As Brueggemann says, “the prophet is called to be a child of the tradition” (The Prophetic Imagination, 12).

This Special Issue aims to advance our understanding of the Prophets by using Brueggemann’s framing as a lens through which we understand a key dimension of most prophetic material. In advancing our understanding of the impact of the Prophets, we will, in turn, honor Professor Brueggemann in a way we believe would have resonated with his own interests and convictions.

Suggested Themes and Article Types for Submission

We welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Rhetorical strategies a particular prophet or prophets used to present an alternative vision.
• Prophetic rebuke of royal ideology or practices in favor and attendant counter-vision.
• Prophetic re-description of reality and poetic vision for the future.
• The way(s) a prophet or prophets drew from and reshaped ancient Near Eastern prophetic traditions to create a distinctly Yahwistic vision and call to covenant faithfulness.
• Prophetic use of genres such as lament and praise to stake a claim to covenant traditions.
• The distinctive theological vision of a particular prophet or section of prophecy.
• The ways a particular prophet presented a life-giving alternative to the beliefs and practices in the cultures in and surrounding ancient Israel.
• Rhetorical or redactional strategies that re-cast covenant traditions.
• Contemporary relevance of the biblical prophetic vision as discourse counter dominant cultural movements and trends.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Jerome Creach at jcreach@pts.edu or to the Assistant Editor of Religions (zena.zeng@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor to ensure that manuscripts fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Jerome F. D. Creach
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Brueggemann
• covenant
• imagination
• memory
• rhetoric
• royal ideology