Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
1.3
0.7
Journals
Religions
Special Issues
Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives
share announcement

Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Humanities/Philosophies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 October 2024) | Viewed by 5882

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sung Jin Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas, MO 64118, USA
Interests: Biblical Hebrew poetry and narratives; the diachronic linguistic development of the Semitic languages; deuteronomic laws and their daily practices; religions of Israel and Ugarit; the Masoretic accentuation system

Special Issue Information

Dear Esteemed Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Religions dedicated to the scholarly inquiry into "Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives". This call for papers invites contributions that engage in a comprehensive examination of biblical narratives and poetry, employing a rigorous academic lens to unravel the intricacies of language, structure, and divine storytelling within the biblical tradition. Areas may include, but are not limited to, the followings:

Key Focus Areas:

Biblical Narratives

  1. Close-reading of Specific Passages in Biblical Narratives: Submissions should adopt a methodologically rigorous approach to conduct close readings of selected passages in biblical narratives. The aim is to unearth latent meanings and contribute nuanced interpretations to the broader discourse surrounding divine narratives.
  2. Narratives in Biblical Law & Law in Biblical Narratives: Scholars are encouraged to contribute research focusing on narratives within Mosaic Law. This includes an examination of the narrative elements embedded in legal contexts, providing insights into the intertwining of divine narrative and legal prescription.
  3. New Narratological Techniques in the Hebrew Bible: Submissions exploring innovative narratological techniques employed in the Hebrew Bible are invited. This entails an examination of narrative structures, techniques, and strategies that contribute to a deeper understanding of how the divine is articulated through storytelling.
  4. Narratives in Job and Wisdom Literature: This Special Issue seeks contributions that specifically address narratives within Job and Wisdom Literature. Scholars are invited to explore how these texts employ narrative forms to convey profound theological and philosophical insights, unraveling the divine within the fabric of wisdom literature.
  5. Narratives in Historical Literature: We invite submissions focused on narratives within Historical Literature, exploring the ways in which historical events are narrated in the Hebrew Bible. Contributions should engage with the narrative techniques employed in recounting historical episodes and their significance in conveying divine narratives.

Biblical Poetry

  1. Close-reading of Specific Passages in Biblical Poetry: Papers investigating the close-reading of biblical poetry are strongly encouraged. Scholars are invited to scrutinize the poetic elements within the Hebrew Bible, examining how these contribute to the nuanced articulation of divine narratives through poetic expressions.
  2. New Discussions on Poetic Meter and Parallelism in Biblical Poetry: Scholars are invited to offer original insights into the poetic meter and parallelism employed in biblical poetry. This necessitates a meticulous examination of rhythmic patterns, structural elements, and an exploration of how meter influences the interpretative landscape of poetry.
  3. Poetic Language and Structure of Biblical Poetry: This Special Issue welcomes papers that engage in a detailed analysis of the poetic language and overarching structure of biblical poetry.
  4. Poetry in the Three Books and Prophetic Literature: Submissions are encouraged to explore the role of poetry within the Three Books and Prophetic Literature. This includes nuanced investigations into how poetic expression contributes to the multifaceted dimensions of these canonical texts.
  5. Dating Issues of Archaic, Standard, and Late Biblical Hebrew Poetry: Scholars are invited to contribute research on the temporal categorization of archaic, standard, and late biblical Hebrew poetry. This entails a meticulous examination of linguistic and stylistic nuances, providing substantive insights into the evolutionary trajectory of poetic expression in biblical texts.

All submitted manuscripts will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the highest standards of scholarly merit and contribution to the field. Authors are encouraged to submit abstracts (maximum 200 words) and brief biographies to Dr. Sung Jin Park (sjpark@mbts.edu) by April 15, 2024. Selected contributors will be invited to submit full papers for double-blind peer review.

For any inquiries or additional information, please contact Dr. Sung Jin Park at sjpark@mbts.edu or Joyce Xi at Joyce.xi@mdpi.com.

We eagerly anticipate the submission of your scholarly work and subsequent engagement in this scholarly exploration of "Narrating the Divine." We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sung Jin Park
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.

Keywords

  • biblical narratives
  • biblical poetry
  • biblical law
  • wisdom literature
  • prophetic literature
  • the Book of Job
  • divine narratives

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 3815 KiB  
Article
Configuring Psalm 29 as a Poem: Cognitive Strategies and the Artful Reading Experience
by Emmylou J. Grosser
Religions 2024, 15(12), 1428; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121428 - 25 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1342
Abstract
The classic modern framework for biblical Hebrew poetry is based upon intertwined conceptions of parallelism and meter. This framework provides certain assumptions for how biblical lines work, as well as (often implicit) strategies for how biblical poems should be read as poems. These [...] Read more.
The classic modern framework for biblical Hebrew poetry is based upon intertwined conceptions of parallelism and meter. This framework provides certain assumptions for how biblical lines work, as well as (often implicit) strategies for how biblical poems should be read as poems. These assumptions and strategies are apparent in modern analyses of Psalm 29, especially in the kinds of proposals consistently made for altering the Masoretic Text to make it more “regular”, even in the absence of textual evidence. My recent book on biblical poetry (Unparalleled Poetry: A Cognitive Approach to the Free-Rhythm Verse of the Hebrew Bible, 2023) has challenged these assumptions and strategies, proposing a new framework for biblical poetry that is theoretically grounded in cognitive research and based upon the textual data of the biblical poems. Preferring the term “conformation” to parallelism, I propose that the versification system of biblical poetry is constrained by Gestalt perceptual processing and that the listening or reading strategies demanded by this versification system require part–whole processing of lines into line groupings, line groupings into figures, and figures into the whole poem, as the poem aurally unfolds. In this article, I demonstrate that these part–whole strategies of reading biblical poems make sense of the textual shapes of Psalm 29 and lead to an artful experience of the poem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2712 KiB  
Article
Three Type-Scene Murder Stories in 2 Samuel 1, 3, and 4: David’s Accession Apology
by Yitzhak Lee-Sak
Religions 2024, 15(12), 1423; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121423 - 23 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1502
Abstract
This article discusses how the affinitive elements in 2 Samuel 1, 3, and 4 can be well-understood using type-scene concepts based on the concept of family resemblance and prototype theory. Applying the “type-scene” concept flexibly enables various arrangements of similar motifs and scenes, [...] Read more.
This article discusses how the affinitive elements in 2 Samuel 1, 3, and 4 can be well-understood using type-scene concepts based on the concept of family resemblance and prototype theory. Applying the “type-scene” concept flexibly enables various arrangements of similar motifs and scenes, or even their absence, in the three murder stories, conveying associated messages. The repetitive motifs and scenes employed are the key characters “going out and coming back”; a background of death; killing a Saulide; mourning; judging or executing the killer; a “blood” curse; and elegy. The successive stylistic variations and modifications in conversation, narration, and elegy, in terms of motif alternations and changes in order, imply that, while David refrains from taking advantage and defends the Saulides’ honor, he treats Saul, Abner, and Ishbosheth differently according to their high and low political values. The increasingly fast pace of the narratives’ logical flow—variously determined by the length of conversation (in both dialogue and soliloquy), mourning, lamentation, and their changes in order and even their absence—indicates that, as the Saulide demise becomes gradually fatal, the narrator’s focus on their remaining members diminishes. Consequently, the establishment of David’s kingship based on his innocence is intensified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives)
16 pages, 329 KiB  
Article
“Where You Go I Will Go and Where You Stay I Will Stay”: How Exegetical Poetry Enriches Our Understanding of Ruth 1:16–17 and 1:20–21
by Erin Martine Hutton
Religions 2024, 15(11), 1403; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111403 - 18 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1200
Abstract
It is easy to underestimate Ruth. The story is short and sweet, in elementary Hebrew, about a loyal and obedient daughter-in-law, or so we have been led to believe. The book and its eponymous character are surprisingly complex. Although Ruth is an exemplar [...] Read more.
It is easy to underestimate Ruth. The story is short and sweet, in elementary Hebrew, about a loyal and obedient daughter-in-law, or so we have been led to believe. The book and its eponymous character are surprisingly complex. Although Ruth is an exemplar of Hebrew narrative, it contains two poetic insertions in the first chapter. Literal translations lose the poetry, and poetic translations are less faithful to the original language. Ruth has been chosen for road-testing a range of hermeneutical approaches, and here is one more. This paper approaches these poetic insertions and, indeed, the book of Ruth, as poetry and explores a new method for examining and interpreting Hebrew poetic texts, namely, exegetical poetry. I pay particular attention to poetic devices—parsing for parallelism, alliteration, and other poetic elements—and explore their significance. As I translate and exegete, I compose poetry reflecting the form, content, and theological themes of the Hebrew poetry through the use of similar English devices, imagery, and mood. The result is an amalgam of showing through exegetical poetry and telling through prose commentary, enriching our understanding of the characterization of Ruth and Naomi, and the relationship between these poetic insertions and the broader narrative. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives)
10 pages, 321 KiB  
Article
A Reading of 2 Kings 18:17–19:9a, 36–37 as a Trauma Narrative
by Woo Min Lee
Religions 2024, 15(11), 1332; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111332 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 759
Abstract
The narrative of 2 Kings 18:17–19:9a, 36–37 (“Source B1”) recounts pre-exilic religious collective trauma surrounding Sennacherib’s military advance against Judah in 710 BCE and its aftermath. In this narrative, the Rabshakeh uses the keywords “בטח” and “נצל” to assert that Yhwh [...] Read more.
The narrative of 2 Kings 18:17–19:9a, 36–37 (“Source B1”) recounts pre-exilic religious collective trauma surrounding Sennacherib’s military advance against Judah in 710 BCE and its aftermath. In this narrative, the Rabshakeh uses the keywords “בטח” and “נצל” to assert that Yhwh has turned against Judah. However, his claims were subverted by the withdrawal of the Assyrian army and the later death of Sennacherib, facilitated by the divine intervention of Yhwh following Hezekiah’s supplication. Despite its significance, only a few studies have examined this narrative as that of trauma. Drawing on Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of the social process of cultural or collective trauma, this study argues that the function of this narrative is that of religious trauma narrative. It reconstructs the collective trauma of Sennacherib’s campaign to theologically defend the Davidic kingship and Yhwh and ultimately suggests a revised identity for the Judaean community to foster solidarity, even under the ongoing influence of Assyria following the military campaign. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Narrating the Divine: Exploring Biblical Hebrew Poetry and Narratives)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop