Bibliography
| Title: "The unresponsive remnant. History, structure and theme in Haggai" Type: Generic Year: 1984 Abstract: "The need for a fresh approach to the Book of Haggai is made evident by the failure of the more traditional methodologies to provide a stylistic analysis of the extant text, which reveals its theme, including both content and tone. The present study has attempted this goal by means of a three-fold approach, which is in its nature (1) historical-theological regarding the book's backdrop, (2) literary-critical in relation to the text, and (3) modified canonical as concerns its theme. The historical-theological backdrop provides an important survey of the age of Zerubbabel (550-520 B.C.), as well as a narrowly focused reconstruction (incorporating the data in I Esdras and Josephus), of the two-year period during which the Judean governor led the second return to Jerusalem and was confronted by the prophet Haggai (521-20 B.C.). The conclusions from this study not only further illuminate the narrative pace of the Haggai material, but also aid in the solving of the chronological problems at Hag. 2:6 and 15-19. The primary focus of the literary-critical section is the production of an analysis of Haggai, in which the inherent structure of the book is demonstrated. In broad outline this contains the main body of the material (Hag.1:3--2:19) and its framework (1:1-2; 2:20-23). The former is composed of three sermon-units (1:3-15a; 1:15b--2:9; 2:10-19), each having the structure of introduction, rhetorical question, and two-fold response. In contrast, a longer historical-theological introduction (1:1-2) and prophetic addendum (2:20-23) comprise the framework, each with its own unique style. The final and most extensive chapter sets forth the theme of the Book of Haggai in terms of the unresponsive nature of the post-exilic remnant. As such, its content is focused on the people of God who rebuilt the temple, and its tone is negative as regards their attitude towards the project. This final section provides its reader with a fresh discussion of some of the key historical, literary and theological problems in the biblical material, as well as with a synthesis of the thematic development of the book based on the conclusions reached in the previous sections." Keywords: Jewish History: Old Testament Period |