Given the present state of affairs in the area of intertextuality, along with the multitude of competing interpretations of Scripture, Validity in the Identification and Interpretation of a Literary Allusion in the Bible seeks to bring a measure of reason and methodological control back into the discussion. With that in mind, this work is heavily philosophical yet also deeply practical. By defining what literary allusions are and how they work, David Klingler seeks to provide some interpretive criteria for assessing the various claims about literary allusions in the Bible.

"Elihu is among the most diversely evaluated characters in the Hebrew Bible. Attending to the inner-Joban allusions in the Elihu speeches (Job 32-37) provides both an explanation and appreciation for this diversity. After carefully defining allusion, this work identifies and interprets twenty-three allusions in Job 32-37 that refer to Job 1-31 in order to understand both their individual significance in the Elihu speeches and their collective significance as a compositional feature of the unit. This allusiveness is shown to both invite and explain the varied assessments of Elihu's merits in the history of interpretation"--

Given the present state of affairs in the area of intertextuality, along with the multitude of competing interpretations of Scripture, Validity in the Identification and Interpretation of a Literary Allusion in the Bible seeks to bring a measure of reason and methodological control back into the discussion. With that in mind, this work is heavily philosophical yet also deeply practical. By defining what literary allusions are and how they work, David Klingler seeks to provide some interpretive criteria for assessing the various claims about literary allusions in the Bible.

This collection gathers together Professor Shemaryahu Talmon’s contributions to the literary study of the Bible, and complements his acclaimed Literary Studies in the Hebrew Bible: Form and Content: Collected Studies (Jerusalem: Magnes / Leiden: Brill, 1993). The articles included herein span a broad range of topics, closely and comprehensively assessing fundamental themes and stylistic conceits present in biblical literature. Each study picks up one of these motifs or patterns, and traces its meaning and usage throughout the entire Bible. In Talmon’s estimation, these literary markers transcend all strata of the Bible, and despite diachronic developments, they retain their basic meanings and connotations throughout, even when employed by different authors over a span of hundreds of years. He demonstrates this convincingly by marshaling dozens of examples, each of which is valuable in its own right, and when taken all together, these building-blocks form a solid edifice that validate his approach. He judiciously employs this synchronic method throughout, frequently invoking an exegetical principle according to which one biblical verse can be employed to interpret the other, if they are found in similar contexts and with overlapping formulation. To use an expression that he coined elsewhere, his hermeneutical method can be described first and foremost as “The World of the Bible from Within.” Throughout the articles that appear in this volume, one is repeatedly struck by his sensitivity to the language and style of the biblical authors. He was blessed with a rich literary intuition, and shares with his readers his ability to see, hear, and understand the rhythms and poetics of biblical literature. In this volume, many of Talmon’s contributions are made accessible in fresh form to the benefit of both those who already know his work and to a newer generation of scholars for whom his work continues to prove important.

When biblical studies adopted the language of intertextuality, it began using it in conjunction with other vocabulary--inner-biblical exegesis and interpretation, echoes, allusion--all of which it uses to signify when a biblical text refers to another text that appears elsewhere in Bible. This study examines the way such academic language is shaped by and shapes the assumptions of biblical scholarship. It examines the nature of linguistic signs and applies the insights of this examination to evaluating the language of reference in the study of the Hebrew Bible. The study concludes that the lanquage and theory of literary allusion is the best suited for enriching the academic discourse on the relationship of referential texts in the Hebrew Bible. It discusses methodological criteria for detecting allusion informed by a theoretically developed understanding of literary allusion.

As the field of biblical studies expands to accommodate new modes of inquiry, scholars are increasingly aware of the need for methodological clarity. David L. Petersens teaching, research, and service to the guild are marked by a commitment to such clarity. Thus, in honor of Petersens work, a cohort of distinguished colleagues presents this volume as an authoritative and up-to-date handbook of methods in Hebrew Bible scholarship. Readers will find focused discussions of traditional and newly emerging methods, including historical criticism, ideological criticism, and literary criticism, as well as numerous case studies that indicate how these approaches work and what insights they yield. Additionally, several essays provide a broad overview of the field by reflecting on the larger intellectual currents that have generated and guided contemporary biblical scholarship.The contributors are Yairah Amit, Pablo R. Andiach, Alan J. Avery-Peck, John Barton, Bruce C. Birch, Susan Brayford, William P. Brown, Walter Brueggemann, Mark K. George, William K. Gilders, John H. Hayes, Christopher B. Hays, Ralph W. Klein, Douglas A. Knight, Beatrice Lawrence, Joel M. LeMon, Christoph Levin, James Luther Mays, Dean McBride, Carol A. Newsom, Kirsten Nielsen, Martti Nissinen, Gail R. ODay, Thomas Rmer, C. L. Seow, Naomi Steinberg, Brent A. Strawn, Marvin A. Sweeney, Gene M. Tucker, and Robert R. Wilson.