Jeremiah, Zedekiah, and the Fall of Jerusalem: A Study of Prophetic Narrative*Uses both a narratological and historical-critical method to read these specific passages of Jeremiah *Demonstrates that the story of Jeremiah and Zedekiah is not the typical god prophet/bad king story found in much of prophetic literature and the Deuteronomic History *Provides an intertextual reading of the passages which connects Jeremiah to other figures in the Old Testament The book offers a narratological and intertextual reading of Jeremiah 37:1-40:6, a text that features the dynamic interaction between the prophet Jeremiah and King Zedekiah in the context of events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem. While there have been many literary studies of biblical texts, there has been little such work on the narratives in the book of Jeremiah. This fact is surprising since the Jeremianic stories are narrated in a lively and sophisticated manner and contain complex characters and vivid dialogue and action, reminiscent of texts in the Primary History which have received much more literary attention. Roncace's book begins to uncover the richness of the prophetic narratives in Jeremiah. The study focuses on issues of characterization and point of view as well as the text's connections with other passages in the book of Jeremiah and those beyond it, particularly the Deuteronomistic History. Roncace argues that the text develops complex images of both Zedekiah and Jeremiah. It is not a story of the good prophet and the bad king; times as chaotic and confusing as the final days of Jerusalem do not call for a black-and-white story. Rather the text invites both sympathy and criticism for Jeremiah and Zedekiah. Jeremiah is the embattled prophet of God; yet at times he appears deceptive and manipulative, more concerned about his own well-being than that of the people, and his message can be ambiguous and in the end is not fully correct. Zedekiah, for his part, appears receptive to Jeremiah's word and protects the prophet from others who would harm him; yet he is too irresolute to take any action to save the city. The ambiguity in the portrayals of both figures is further developed by intertextual connections. Jeremiah can be compared to Moses, the Rabshakeh, Daniel, Joseph, Samuel, Nathan, and Micaiah, while Zedekiah can be compared to the monarchs that correspond to these figures (Pharaoh, Hezekiah, Saul, David, and Ahab). |
Contents
1 | |
5 | |
PART 1 | 26 |
PART 2 | 67 |
PART 3 | 116 |
Chapter 5 JEREMIAH ZEDEKIAH AND PROPHETKING NARRATIVES | 146 |
Conclusion | 167 |
174 | |
183 | |
191 | |
Other editions - View all
Jeremiah, Zedekiah, and the Fall of Jerusalem: A Study of Prophetic Narrative Mark Roncace No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
accused actions Ahikam ambiguity Babylonians Benjamin gate Biblical Narrative book of Jeremiah Bovati Brueggemann Carroll characters cistern Commentary complex connections context contrast conversation court David David Gunn death deity deserted Deuteronomistic Ebed-melech episode evil exile fact fate Gedaliah guard Hananiah hand Hebrew Bible Hezekiah interpretation intertextual Irijah ironic Israel Jehoiachin Jehoiakim Jeremiah and Zedekiah Jeremiah's message Jeremiah's word Jeroboam Jonathan's prison Judah Judeans killed king and prophet king of Babylon king's land Lasine listen literary Malchiah Micaiah Moses narrator narrator's Nathan Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan observes officials oracle Pashhur perspective phrase point of view portrayal prophet prophet and king prophet of Yahweh prophet-king question Rabshakeh Re-Establishing Justice reader reading remained rescue response rhetorical Samuel Saul and Zedekiah Saul's says Yahweh scene Shaphan Shelemiah Similarly speaking specific stories of Jeremiah surrender tion verb voice word from Yahweh word of Yahweh Zedek