Jerome T. Walsh

David Jobling

This study of the book of 1 Samuel espouses a "critical narratology: informed by such cultural practices as feminism and psychoanalysis, following a tradition which finds meaning more in the text's mythic patterns than in the text itself.

1 Samuel

Style matters! The pages of the Hebrew Bible are filled with stories -- short or long, amusing or sad, histories, fables, and morality tales. The ancient narrators use a variety of stylistic devices to structure, to connect, and to separate their tales -- and thus to establish contexts within which meaning comes to light. What are these devices, and how do they guide our reading and our understanding of the text? This book explores some of the answers and shows that it's a matter of style. Fr. Jerome T. Walsh, Ph. D., is also author of 1 Kings in the literary commentary series Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry (The Liturgical Press, 1996) of which he is also an associate editor. He has contributed to such reference works as The New Jerome Biblical Commentary and The Anchor Bible Dictionary and frequently publishes articles and reviews in professional journals of biblical studies. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, with which he has collaborated on the second edition of the New American Bible translation of the Old Testament. He is head of the department of theology and religious studies at the University of Botswana.

Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative

The narratives of Solomon and Jeroboam, of Elijah and Ahab, have fascinated readers for millennia. Even apart from questions of historical authenticity, they are gripping stories of richly drawn characters caught up in the complex tale of God's dealings with Israel. This study explores the narrative world created by 1 Kings' ancient Israelite author: the people who inhabit it, the lives they live, the deeds they do, and the face of God who is revealed in their stories. An introduction explains the significance of 1 Kings as a historical narrative. Originally intended as a literal history, after centuries of writing and rewriting it is now as much a literary work as a historical one: The views of those who formed it can be discerned and studied. Walsh also explains how the rich traditions of Hebrew prose narrative and the Hebrew language itself affect our reading of 1 Kings.

Berit Olam: 1 Kings

David W. Cotter

Chris Franke

Dianne Bergant

This commentary views the Song of Songs as a collection of love poems that pays tribute to mutual love, and it carefully examines features of Hebrew poetry in order to uncover the delicacy of their expression. It is unique in the attention that it gives to the obvious feminine perspective of the poems and to their ecosensitive character. Whether it is the woman in awe of the strength and splendor of her lover or the man praising her physical charms, the descriptions all call on elements from the natural world to characterize the feature being described.

The Song of Songs

Robert L. Cohn

Opening with the prophet Elijah?s ascent into heaven and closing with the people of Judah?s descent to Babylonia, 2 Kings charts the story of the two Israelite kingdoms until their destruction. This commentary unfolds the literary dimensions of 2 Kings, analyzes the strategies through which its words create a world of meaning, and examines the book?s tales of prophets, political intrigue, royal apostasy, and religious reform as components of larger patterns. 2 Kings pays attention to the writers? methods of representing human character and of twisting chronological time for literary purposes. It also shows how the contests between kings and prophets are mirrored in the competing structures of regnal synchronization and prophecy-fulfillment. Much more than a common chronicle of royal achievements and disasters, 2 Kings emerges as a powerful history that creates memories and forges identities for its Jewish readers. 2 Kings is divided into four parts including Part One ?The Story of Elisha: 2 Kings 1:1-8:6?; Part Two ?Revolutions in Aram, Israel, and Judah: 2 Kings 8:7-13:25?; Part Three ?Turmoil and Tragedy for Israel: 2 Kings 14-17?; and Part Four ?Renewal and Catastrophe for Judah: 2 Kings 18-25.??It introduces its readers into the literary richness of a text that too often has been reduced to merely a historical source.? Journal of Hebrew Scriptures?Robert Cohn is one of the most perceptive literary interpreters of biblical narrative at work today. He combines an unrivaled sense of literary artistry with a profound empathy for the religious dimension of the text. Professor Cohn?s commentary on 2 Kings is a delight to read and a source of instruction and spiritual enrichment for anyone lucky enough to dip into it. I commend it with enthusiasm. There is nothing else like it.? Jon D. Levenson Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies Harvard University?Robert Cohn has written a refreshingly different commentary on 2 Kings.... Graced by a clear, accessible style, Cohn?s 2 Kings is an exemplary demonstration of what close interpretation of a text is all about.? Peter Machinist Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Harvard University?Cohn?s probing eyes surface narrative worlds, each focused yet open to unexpected horizons.? Wolfgang Roth Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary?In 2 Kings, Robert Cohn, the Philip and Muriel Berman professor of Jewish Studies at Lafayette College, offers an admirably clear, jargon-free commentary on what he calls ?the literary dimension of history writing.? . . . He well serves general readers and professionals engaged with the Bible who will be able to make their own contemporary applications.? Hebrew Studies

2 Kings

The pages of the Hebrew Bible are filled with stories - short and long, funny and sad, histories, fables, and morality tales. The ancient narrators used a variety of stylistic devices to structure, to connect, and to separate their tales - and thus to establish contexts within which meaning comes to light. What are these devices, and how do they guide our reading and our understanding of the text? Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative explores some of the answers and shows scriptural interpretation can be a matter of style." Part one of Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative examines a wide variety of symmetrical patterns biblical Hebrew narrative uses to organize its units and subunits, and the interpretive dynamics those patterns can imply. Part two addresses the question of boundaries between literary units. Part three examines devices that biblical Hebrew narrative uses to connect consecutive literary units and subunits. Chapters in Part One: Structures of Organization are "Reverse Symmetry," "Forward Symmetry," "Alternating Repetition," "Partial Symmetry," "Multiple Symmetry," "Asymmetry." Chapters in Part Two: Structures of Disjunction are "Narrative Components," "Repetition," and "Narrative Sequence." Chapters in Part Three: Structures of Conjunction are "Threads," "Links: Examples," "Linked Threads: Examples," "Hinges: Examples," and "Double-Duty Hinges: Examples." Jerome T. Walsh, PhD, is a professor of theology and religious studies at the University of Botswana. He is the author of 1 Kings in the Berit Olam (The Everlasting Covenant) Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry series for which he is also an associate editor. "

Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative

The Old Testament's stories are intriguing, mesmerizing, and provocative not only due to their ancient literary craft but also because of their ongoing relevance. In this volume, well suited to college and seminary use, Jerome Walsh explains how to interpret these narrative passages of Scripture based on standard literary elements such as plot, characterization, setting, pace, point of view, and patterns of repetition. What makes this book an exceptional resource is an appendix that offers practical examples of narrative interpretation- something no other book on Old Testament interpretation offers.

A Guide to Interpretation

Old Testament Narrative

Proceedings of the BOLESWA Conference Held at the University of Botswana, 24-25 February, 1997

Reading and Understanding the Bible from an African Perspective

Marvin Alan Sweeney

This two-volume set is a literary commentary of the book of the Twelve Prophets. Building upon the author's previous work on the structure and literary coherence of the book of Isaiah, it attempts to read the book of the Twelve as a distinctive literary work with its own structure, themes and theological or ideological perspective. In addition, it treats each of the twelve minor prophets as a literary entity unto itself as well as a component unity of the larger book of the Twelve.

Jerome T. Walsh

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