Jonah in the Shadows of Eden

Yitzhak Berger

Description

Yitzhak Berger advances a distinctive and markedly original interpretation of the biblical book of Jonah that resolves many of the ambiguities in the text. Berger contends that the Jonah text pulls from many inner-biblical connections, especially ones relating to the Garden of Eden. These connections provide a foundation for Berger's reading of the story, which attributes multiple layers of meaning to this carefully crafted biblical book. Focusing on Jonah's futile quest and his profoundly troubled response to God's view of the sins of humanity, Berger shows how the book paints Jonah as a pacifist no less than as a moralist.

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
A Note to the Reader
1. Escape to Eden
2. Wrathful Moralist
3. Peaceful Dove
4. A Song of Thanks in Waters of Eden
5. Nautical and Hermeneutical Dilemmas
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• Biblical Commentary
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religión
• General officer
• Old Testament
• Religion
• General

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 04 juillet 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253021410
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

JONAH IN THE SHADOWS OF EDEN
INDIANA STUDIES IN BIBLICAL LITERATURE Herbert Marks, editor
JONAH
in the

SHADOWS OF EDEN

YITZHAK BERGER
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
2016 by Yitzhak Berger
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences - Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Berger, Yitzhak, author.
Title: Jonah in the shadows of Eden / Yitzhak Berger.
Description: Bloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press, [2016] | ?2016 | Series: Indiana studies in biblical literature | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015047498 | ISBN 9780253021298 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Jonah-Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Bible. Jonah-Theology. | Paradise-Judaism.
Classification: LCC BS1605.52 .B47 2016 | DDC 224/.9206-dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015047498
1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
To our children Racheli, Sara, Tehilla, Baruch Meir, Breindy, Tova, and Batsheva
You cast me into the deep waters in the heart of the seas, A river surrounding me.
Jonah 2:4
This refers to the famous river that goes forth from Eden from beneath the Tree of Life. It surrounded me and gave me life.
Rabbi Moses Alshekh, sixteenth century
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
A Note to the Reader
1. Escape to Eden
2. Wrathful Moralist
3. Peaceful Dove
4. A Song of Thanks in Waters of Eden
5. Nautical and Hermeneutical Dilemmas
Notes
Bibliography
Index of Names and Subjects
Index of Biblical Citations
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I AM DEEPLY grateful to Professor Benjamin Sommer, whose comments helped me improve the book s presentation significantly. I also thank the many individuals at Indiana University Press and elsewhere who helped guide the book through the publication process, enhancing it along the way.
As I completed my last substantial revision, I learned of the passing of my mentor and teacher Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, head of Yeshivat Har Etzion, where my interest in biblical studies grew in a pivotal way. An advocate of the literary study of the Bible already in the early 1960s (see his essay cited in the bibliography), Rabbi Lichtenstein devoted his life to studying and teaching the rabbinic tradition, his legendary brilliance matched only by the wholesomeness of his character. His legacy and inspiration will endure.
When other topics beckoned, my study partner Menachem Leff tolerated my seemingly endless musings on Jonah. I thank him for his patience and encouragement.
Above all, I am indebted to my family. My parents, Pearl and Professor David Berger, and my parents-in-law, Pearl and Carmi Schwartz, continue to assist me in ways that cannot be measured. My father also offered many helpful comments at various stages of the work. My children, to whom I dedicate the book, showed remarkable patience while I worked on the project, and are a source of boundless joy. I pray that the final product will enhance their appreciation of the Bible and its richness.
As for my wife Ditza, her devotion to me and to the family transcends description. If that were not enough, she also made a crucial observation on the text of Jonah that sparked this entire project. If the book contains other worthy insights, I regard them to be, much like Ditza herself, a gift from heaven.
ABBREVIATIONS
AB
Anchor Bible
AJBI
Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute
AOTC
Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries
ASOR
American Schools of Oriental Research
ATD
Alte Testament Deutsch
ATSAT
Arbeiten zu Text und Sprache im Alten Testament
BBET
Beitr ge zur biblischen Exegese und Theologie
BDB
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament
BEATAJ
Beitr ge zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des antiken Judentum
Bib
Biblica
BibInt
Biblical Interpretation
BINS
Biblical Interpretation Series
BJS
Brown Judaic Studies
BN
Biblische Notizen
BT
Bible Translator
BTCB
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible
BTB
Biblical Theology Bulletin
BZAW
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift f r die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
CAT
Commentaire de l Ancien Testament
CBQ
Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMS
Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series
CBR
Currents in Biblical Research
CC
Continental Commentary
CHANE
Culture and History of the Ancient Near East
CTJ
Calvin Theological Journal
CurBS
Currents in Research: Biblical Studies
EOS
Editions Sankt Ottilien
FAT
Forschungen zum Alten Testament
FRLANT
Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten Testament
GBS
Guides to Biblical Scholarship
HALOT
Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
HAR
Hebrew Annual Review
HSM
Harvard Semitic Monographs
ICC
International Critical Commentary
IDB
Interpreter s Dictionary of the Bible
Int
Interpretation
ISBE
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ISBL
Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature
JAJSup
Journal of Ancient Judaism Supplement Series
JANER
Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions
JBL
Journal of Biblical Literature
JETS
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JHS
Journal of Hebrew Scriptures
JPS
Jewish Publication Society
JQR
Jewish Quarterly Review
JNSL
Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages
JSOT
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
KAT
Kommentar zum Alten Testament
LHBOTS
Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies
NAC
New American Commentary
NICOT
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NJPS
New Jewish Publication Society Translation
OTE
Old Testament Essays
OTG
Old Testament Guides
OTL
Old Testament Library
OTS
Oudtestamentische Studi n
RB
Revue Biblique
SBL
Society of Biblical Literature
SBLSymS
Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series
SBS
Stuttgarter Bibelstudien
SHBC
Smyth Helwys Bible Commentary
SJOT
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
SPOT
Studies on Personalities of the Old Testament
SSU
Studia Semitica Upsaliensia
StudBib
Studia Biblica
TOTC
Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
TynBul
Tyndale Bulletin
VT
Vetus Testamentum
VTSup
Vetus Testamentum Supplement Series
WBC
Word Biblical Commentary
ZAW
Zeitschrift f r die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
A NOTE TO THE READER
THIS STUDY OFFERS a new reading of the book of Jonah that draws on cumulative, often interlocking evidence. To keep the presentation clear and simple, I allow the argument to unfold gradually. As a result, many observations do not show their full force immediately. A similar point obtains regarding method: my appeals to certain subtle literary devices - such as allusion by way of phonetic analogy - gain increasing cogency as suggestive examples accumulate. It will be helpful, therefore, for the reader to bear this in mind when encountering such literary devices early on.
To make the study more accessible, I have chosen not to provide an expansive introduction on methodology. Because I invoke a wide variety of literary techniques - including inner-biblical allusion, multiplicity of meaning, and several types of wordplay - a detailed discussion of method, especially at the beginning, would have presented an obstacle for many readers. It would also have begged the real question: does the author of Jonah, when all is said and done, employ these techniques in the ambitious way that I claim? The true test of this lies in my analysis itself, which yields mutually confirming conclusions that best substantiate the validity of the method. I anticipate, accordingly, that the reader s assent will depend not on detached methodological argument, but on the suggestive convergence of the study s results.
In the first chapter, therefore, I provide just a brief account of my broader methodological premises, with a measure of elaboration in some lengthy endnotes. This decision, I hope, has facilitated a more succinct, concrete, and lucid presentation, one that will contribute meaningfully to the interpretation of this widely cherished book of the Bible.
JONAH IN THE SHADOWS OF EDEN
1

Escape to Eden