More Than Meets the Ear: Discovering the Hidden Contexts of Old Testament Conversations

by Victor H. Matthews

Overview

More than a simple exchange of words, conversations in the biblical narratives offer an array of clues that define the characters and their relationships, the setting, and the language they employ. Using current critical communication theories from a number of fields — anthropology, sociology, psychology, and literary studies — Victor Matthews analyzes such biblical conversations as the interchanges between Judah and Tamar, Moses and Jethro's back-and-forth, Ezra's public address, and the dialogues recorded in Daniel.

By crossing disciplinary divides as he does, Matthews creates a working synthesis that brings these embedded biblical dialogues off the page and breathes life into the social world that created them. His groundbreaking study will appeal to serious Old Testament students who want to stretch beyond traditional exegetical methods.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802803849
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/07/2008
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

Table of Contents

Preface vi

Abbreviations xi

1 Analyzing Biblical Dialogue with Sociolinguistics and Discourse Analysis 1

2 Discourse and Cognition in the Story of Judah and Tamar 27

3 Conversation Analysis and Embedded Dialogue 67

4 Dialogue as a Social Kaleidoscope: Using Positioning Theory 101

5 Spatiality and Context 131

Glossary of Technical Terms 165

Bibliography 169

Subject Index 188

Scripture Index 193

Editorial Reviews

Stanley E. Porter,
— McMaster Divinity College
"I commend Victor Matthews for bringing to bear the insights of recent linguistic research on biblical exegesis. His utilization of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, frame theory, conversation analysis, and positioning theory — each applied in different ways depending upon the context — marks a significant step forward in interdisciplinary exegetical analysis. The bibliography is current and thorough, offering guidance to scholars who wish to pursue Matthews's line of thought. Biblical scholars will not be able to look at these Old Testament passages in the same way from now on."

From the Publisher