A Biblical Theology of Exile (Overtures to Biblical Theology)

The Christian Church Continues To Seek Ethical And Spiritual Models From The Period Of Israel's Monarchy And Has Avoided The Gravity Of The Babylonian Exile. Against This Tradition, The Author Argues That The Period Of Focus For The Canonical Construction Of Biblical Thought Is Precisely The Exile. Here The Voices Of Dissent Arose And Articulated Words Of Truth In The Context Of Failed Power. Biblical Theology : On Matters Of Methodology -- Violence And Exegesis : The History Of Exile -- Listening To Cries From Babylon : On The Exegesis Of Suffering In Ezekiel And Lamentations -- Shame And Transformation : On Prayer And History In The Diaspora -- Israelite Mission And Human Transformation -- Purity As Nonconformity : Communal Solidarity As Diaspora Ethics -- The Wisdom Warrior : Reading Wisdom And Daniel As Diaspora Ethics -- Toward A Diasporic Christian Theology : The Theology Of Tobit And Daniel Revisited. Daniel L. Smith-christopher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF EXILE......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Editor's Foreword......Page 8 Abbreviations......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 1. Biblical Theology: On Matters of Methodology......Page 16 The Emergence of Diasporic Theology......Page 21 Questioning Nationalism in Cultural and Postcolonialist Studies......Page 30 On a Theology of Exile......Page 36 The Shadows of Empire: The Exegesis of Violence as Theological Context......Page 42 The Problem of Assessing the Importance of the Exile in Biblical Studies......Page 45 Persian Authorization of the Pentateuch?......Page 49 Resistance in the Persian Period......Page 50 The Culture of Permission and the Royal Correspondence of Ezra 1-7......Page 53 The Myth of the Empty Land: Doubts about the Exile......Page 60 The Shadow of Empire: A Survey of Recent Literature......Page 64 A Theology of Victims of Exile......Page 69 The Status and Treatment of the Exiled Community......Page 80 The Murashu Archive and the Elephantine Community as Evidence for Exilic Conditions......Page 84 The Lexicography of Trauma......Page 86 3. Listening to Cries from Babylon: On the Exegesis of Suffering in Ezekiel and Lamentations......Page 90 Ezekiel, Lamentations, and Refugee Studies......Page 91 A Survey of Refugee and Disaster Studies in Preparation for Reading Ezekiel and Lamentations......Page 93 Ezekiel on the Couch?......Page 98 Halperin's Analysis of Ezekiel: Some Sample Arguments......Page 99 Trauma Studies and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Ezekiel the Refugee......Page 104 The Sign-Actions of Ezekiel: Reading Ezekiel with Lamentations......Page 110 The Language of Lament: Does Literary Stereotype Mean Historical Nonexistence?......Page 111 Preliminary Conclusions......Page 118 4. Shame and Transformation: On Prayer and History in the Diaspora......Page 120 A Sociology of Deuteronomistic History?......Page 123 Penitential Prayer in the Postexilic Period......Page 126 1 Kings 8—The Transitional Prayer?......Page 127 The Petitions......Page 130 The Exilic Theology of Penitential Prayers......Page 134 A Social Function of Shame?......Page 135 The Universalism of Late Isaiah Texts......Page 140 Universalism in Jonah......Page 145 6. "Purity" as Nonconformity: Communal Solidarity as Diaspora Ethics......Page 152 "Neighbor," "Friend," and "Brother"......Page 153 Vocabulary of Groups......Page 157 "Those Around You"—The Others in Exilic Terminology......Page 158 Issues of Community Formation after the Exile......Page 159 The Priestly Theology of Policing the Boundaries: Purity and Social Solidarity......Page 160 The Background to Daniel's Resolution to Be "Undefiled" by the Emperor's Food......Page 162 Social Separation: The "Mixed-Marriage Crisis" in Ezra-Nehemiah......Page 165 The Ezra and Nehemiah Accounts of Mixed Marriage: Different Issues?......Page 172 Purity and Nonconformity: Ezra as an Amish Elder......Page 175 7. The Wisdom Warrior: Reading Wisdom and Daniel as Diasporic Ethics......Page 178 On Tricksters and Wise Men......Page 179 Reading Wisdom in Diaspora and Occupied Palestine......Page 181 Wisdom as Diaspora Ethics......Page 182 Analogies to Wisdom and Quietism in Egyptian Wisdom Literature......Page 183 Ecclesiastes: Dark Humor in Occupied Palestine?......Page 186 Rereading Proverbs from Below......Page 188 The Wisdom Warrior: Diasporic Cleverness over Imperial Brute Strength......Page 190 The Wisdom Warrior: An Ideal Type in Wisdom Literature......Page 193 Wisdom against Weapons......Page 194 Wisdom of Solomon......Page 196 Daniel as the Wise Warrior......Page 197 "And Daniel Laughed...."—Diasporic Nonviolence: Laughing at the State......Page 202 8. Toward a Diasporic Christian Theology: The Theology of Tobit and Daniel Revisited......Page 204 The Postcolonialist Mandate of the Church in Exile......Page 210 Honoring Ezra: Purity and Nonconformity......Page 213 Jonah: Ecclesiology as Missiology......Page 215 Index of Biblical Passages......Page 220 This important book for use in Old Testament courses is also a valuable resource for those exploring the role of the Bible in culture today. The articles include: Theoretical Issues "Is a Critical Biblical Theology Possible?" "Biblical Theology and the History of Israelite Religion" "The Politics of Biblical Interpretation" The Pentateuch "Faith without Works: Biblical Ethics and the Sacrifice of Isaac" "The Development of the Exodus Tradition" "The Exodus and Biblical Theology" "The Biblical Vision of the Common Good" Wisdom and Biblical Theology "The Biblical Precedent for Natural Theology" "Proverbial Wisdom and the Yahwist Vision" "Natural Theology and Biblical Tradition: The Case of Hellenistic Judaism" Apocalyptic Literature "Temporality and Politics in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature" "The Book of Truth: Daniel as Reliable Witness to Past and Future in the United States of America" "The Legacy of Apocalypticism: Christian Adaptations of Jewish Tradition" "Jesus and the Messiahs of Israel" "Jewish Monotheism and Christian Theology" After taking on traditional interpretations of Romans in The Mystery of Romans , Nanos now turns his attention to the Letter to the Galatians. A primary voice in reclaiming Paul in his Jewish context, Nanos challenges the previously dominant views of Paul as rejecting his Jewish heritage and the Law. Where Paul's rhetoric has been interpreted to be its most anti-Jewish, Nanos instead demonstrates the implications of an intra-Jewish reading. He explores the issues of purity; insiders/outsiders; the character of "the gospel"; the relationship between groups of Christ-followers in Jerusalem, Antioch, and Galatia; and evil-eye accusations. About the Author: Mark D. Nanos (Ph.D., University of St. Andrews) is the author of The Mystery of Romans (Fortress Press, 1996), winner of the 1996 National Jewish Book Award for Jewish/Christian Relations. In this comprehensive, practical, and gripping assessment of various forms of violence against women, Pamela Cooper-White challenges the Christian churches to examine their own responses to the cry of Tamar in our time. She describes specific forms of such violence and outlines appropriate pastoral responses. The second edition of this groundbreaking work is thoroughly updated and examines not only where the church has made progress since 1995 but also where women remain at unchanged or even greater risk of violence.