2011, Vol.17, No.1

The Historical Introspection and Theology of Deuteronomy

Han, Dong-Gu | 2011, 17(1) | pp.12~32 | number of Cited : 4

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The present study aims to examine the origin of the historical introspection particularly found in the book of Deuteronomy and its development. It supposes that the origin is closely associated with “the historicized induction of commandments” (die historisierende Gebotseinleitung) often expressed in the book. Proving the supposition, the present study examines the theological characteristics of “the historicized induction of commandments”. Together with this, the origin of the historical introspection was also figured out. There are three main characteristics:First, a kind of complete introspection is manifest in Deuteronomy. Especially, in the historicized induction of commandments, was the entire life in the Promised Land subject to introspection and reflection. And it is a particular characteristic attested in the 8th century (BCE) prophecies. Deuteronomy takes the whole nation as a subject to introspection and also the entire history at the Promised Land with serious reflection. Second, Deuteronomy has a unique characteristic of introspection which is very fundamental and historical, and unfound in the 8th century prophets. Deuteronomy reviews the entire problem from the very beginning; that is, it takes the life at the (Promised) Land, the beginning of all problems, as subject to introspection. Third, what the historicized induction of commandments basically says is that YHWH God gave the land as gift. This confession presents that God is the owner of the land and what happened in the land are all willed by God. The historical introspection of Deuteronomy was elaborated much more in the exilic period. At this time Israel lost her nation and temple. With the collapse of the temple Israel lost their official space of worship, furthermore, the room for commutation with God. In fact it was a loss of focal point of the nation. Hence they needed something new that keeps the centrality of Jerusalem with official worship unavailable. They needed a new beginning as a focal point, and it was elaborated that Israel is derived from (mountain) Horeb(Deut 1: 2, 6, 19). With the national catastrophe they sought to inherit the tradition of centralization of worship and a new focal point. It became the “beginning” of history, which was followed by the expansion of the historical introspection of Deuteronomy. And this historical nature is what embedded in the early development of Pentateuch.

Is Hagar the Weak or the Victim?

Il Seung Chung | 2011, 17(1) | pp.33~58 | number of Cited : 2

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A Theological Reconsideration of Saul's Ignorance of David (1Sam 17: 55-58)

김재구 | 2011, 17(1) | pp.59~82 | number of Cited : 1

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At first glance, the incident of Saul's unrecognition of David in 1Sam. 17: 55-58 seems to break the flow of the storyline because Saul has already well known David. Many scholars have tried to solve this inconsistency, mainly in terms of the causes of the different sources and the changing relationship between Saul and David without presenting any other comparable examples. But they still leave several unsolved questions behind, expecially about the reason the author/redactor did not harmonize this inconsistency and the existence of other similar examples in the Bible. This paper is to venture to answer these questions, using the method of intertextuality. This method reveals there is the prototype of the Saul-David story, that is, the Exodus story. Thus the ‘Exodus Paradigm’ is utilized to compare ‘Saul-David story’ with ‘Pharaoh-Joseph/Moses/Israel story.’As Pharaoh is saved when he recognizes Joseph, so Saul is also relived from his trouble when he recognizes David. But when both Pharaoh(different one) and Saul fail to recognize Joseph and David respectively, they fall into despair and eventually into utter destruction. The unrecognition must be politically intentional severance of relationship to both troubled ones with the fear of the gradual greatness of Israel and David. Saul's unrecognition of David alludes to the future conflict between him and David. Thus, it is not a literary inconsistency but an intentional literary technique to adumbrate what is to come after. Further proofs can be presented by the more elements from the Exodus motif. After this unrecognition, Pharaoh and Saul with fear of the greatness of Israel and David respectively try to eliminate their counterparts by the same three steps. Firstly, as using his personal attempt, Pharaoh let the Israelites undergo hard labor building his store cities, so Saul with his spear attempts to kill David. When their attempts fail, both depend on the foreigners to kill their enemies(Pharaoh-Hebrew midwives and Saul-Philistines). When it fails too, they command their people to kill their enemies. But eventually Moses and David are saved and become the members of the royal family. Likewise, the Exodus Paradigm reveals that the Saul-David story is written in the pattern of the Exodus motif, demonstrating recognition brings life and unrecognition whether by accident or design brings disaster. Thus, Saul's unrecognition of David is intended to function the turning point of the future severance of the relationship between Saul and David.

Is Job a Suffering Just?

우상혁 | 2011, 17(1) | pp.83~107 | number of Cited : 10

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There have been many commentaries on the book of Job. The studies which have been done until now mostly have focused their attentions on the reception history of text or redactional history, etc. In this paper, exploiting the narrative analyse that is already used successfully in the field of biblical study, we try to uncover the message of the book of Job which might be delivered to the reader. F. de Saussure, the linguist, makes a difference between signifiant and signifié. The second one is concept and the first one is the sign that conveys the concept with sound; a concept cannot exist without sound. This theory may apply to narrative analyse. It is initially important to know how a story is made to find out a meaning of the story in the narrative analyse. The plan of a writer appears in the structure of a story is called plot, which determines how a story is to develop. According to our examination, the plot of the book of Job consists of five steps: background - development - conflict - climax - conclusion. Each step enter into a connection with one another tightly. Without difficulty, a reader can detect a stream of story which pass through all of steps; that can be called a logic of narrative which gives the story a coherence and a cohesion. In the background, a narrator introduces Job who is blameless, upright, fearing God, and turing away from evil. A development of story of Job begins in the council of God and Satan where the reason for suffering of Job is originated. In the conflict Job and his friends debate why Job is in distress. But they do not agree with one another. Soon afterward God speaks Job. The key to solve the complicated story of Job lies in the discours of God. Though God did not explain the content of the council of heaven, Job could realize something finally. A human cannot understand the plan of God. That might be what the readers can obtain.

A Study on the Particularities of Jerome's Translation and Exegesis of Eccl 1: 1-11

Cheol Woo Park | 2011, 17(1) | pp.108~132 | number of Cited : 3

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Jeromes exegesis and translation of Ecclesiastes, written 1600 years ago, shows methodological particularities now being rediscovered in modern biblical hermeneutics. This study on Jeromes exegesis and translation on Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 shows the following particularities:&#401&#41 Jerome tried to be faithful to the Hebraic understanding of the text on the basis of the study of Hebrew materials, such as Aquila, Theodocion, Symmachus, etc.&#40vv. 2, 5, 10b&#41. Showing Christological understanding of the text on the basis of the clear understanding of the Hebrew text, he succeeded to reduce the subjective element of Origins spiritual&#40allegorical&#41 interpretation of the biblical text. &#402&#41 Jerome tried to perceive the particularities of the development and the structure of the contents of the text on the basis of the observation of the textual context and the textual interrelationship&#40vv. 3, 9-10a, 11; cf. vv. 12, 16&#41. &#403&#41 Jerome tried to be faithful to Hebraic expression, structure and meaning in his translation and showed the practice of close reading with his careful observation and analysis of the text in his exegesis&#40vv. 1-2, 4, 9, 11; cf. v. 16&#41. He tried to single out Christological meanings on this basis. &#404&#41 He tried to find out the real meaning of the text wrapped in the metaphoric. &#405&#41 In his translation he tried to reflect the own characteristics of target language&#40Latin&#41 with his reader-oriented translation, while maintaining the contents of the Hebrew text&#40vv. 3, 5, 11; cf. v. 7&#41. Especially he tried to represent the elegancy and fluency of the Latin expression in his Vulgate&#40vv. 3, 5, 10b[=MT v. 10], cf. v. 16&#41. It cannot be denied there was some deficiency in his exegesis and translation from the modern point of view. But his close analysis of the biblical text provides lots of interpretative insights for us not only for the methodological principles of the translation and exegesis of the text but also for solving interpretative matters unsolved yet.

Causes of the Emphasis on ‘Return Migration’ in the Old Testament

정중호 | 2011, 17(1) | pp.134~154 | number of Cited : 5

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The phenomenon of increasing 'return migrants' worldwide points to the need to give attention to the issue of 'return migration' in discussions regarding the emergence of a multi-cultural society. Korean society has seen a total of 2.5million ‘return migrants’ after World War II, and today we experience not only the return of Korea minorities living in China, but also expect the unification of Korean peninsula to ignite further waves of return migration. We find that the issue of return migration is the essential theme of the Old Testament. The purpose of this paper is to find reasons for the strong emphasis on 'Return Migration' in the Old Testament. The people of Israel in the central mountains who were migrants accepted the Exodus tradition as their story and established their identity by claiming the land as their property. The post-exile community also established their identity as returnees and claimed the land as their property. David and Jeroboam, who established kingdoms, and Moses, who was hero of Israel, were also return migrants. We also know Ezra and Nehemiah were return migrants. Returnee leaders were welcomed for their experience with migration and their understanding of the various situations faced by migrants. Therefore, return migrant leaders were able to unify their society into one community. Return migrants also returned with symbols of God, specifically the Ark or temple vessels. The Ark entered the Jordan River in hand with the Exodus returnees, and the post exile returnees also returned with temple vessels. Another Ark also returned from Philistine. We know that many Israel captives were taken to Philistine following numerous battles. Moreover, famine forced Israelites to leave their home land and go down to Philistine. Thus, it is likely many return migrants from Philistine existed in Israel, among them King David. David, as a return migrant, carried the Ark which returned from Philistine to Jerusalem. Through this process God returned from Philistine and formed the basis of authority and security for a Davidic kingship.

Religious Historical Study on the Cohesion of the Feasts of Passover(ח꘎꘭ גꖏ) and Unleavened Bread(תוֹצꗫꖏ גꖏ)

이은우 | 2011, 17(1) | pp.150~178 | number of Cited : 4

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The purpose of this study is to pursue the origin of Passover festival and feast of Unleavened Bread, and reveal how these two festivals were combined through religious historical study. For this study, the author introduces recent research trend of Pentateuch and the so-called Deuteronomistic history, using these methodologies. Through this study, the author tries to reveal that in the beginning Passover which was ancient nomadic apotropaic spring ritual and the seven day feast of Unleavend bread, maṣṣōt which was agricultural spring festival of Canaanite people, existed separately, but later the fact that unleavend bread was to be eaten along with the Passover sacrifice facilitated the joining of the two festivals. According to the author, the feast of Unleavened Bread was seasonal sacrifice circulating local sanctuaries in Exod 23: 15 and 34: 18. However, Deut 16: 1-8 constitutes key section adapting the earlier heritage to the centralisation of the cult. By locating the Passover rite in the sanctuary that God will choose, Deut 16:1-8 changes the celebration from an exclusively domestic rite to part of a national gathering-though families might celebrate individually in that central location. In Exile, these two national festivals were celebrated as family ceremony, and the blood ceremony of Passover was reinterpreted as salvation day from calamity related with the death of firstborns and the seven day of Unleavened bread was re-confessed as the liberation day from slavery and captivity related with the exodus by priest group (P) in Exod 12: 1-20. In post-exilic Chronicles, the feasts of Passover and Unleavened bread were considered as national festivals which were celebrated by all Israel and Judah together in Jerusalem. Ezekiel and Ezra understand those two feasts as the retrospective events of captivity caused by their crime and God's grace of recovery and salvation, and connect them with cleansing ceremony and sin offering. Thus, through this study, we can see those apotropaic and mythical ceremonies in ancient district along the shore of the Mediterranean are developing religiously and historically as the day of faith remembering Yahweh's great activity of liberation and deliverance from captivity through the feasts of Passover and Unleavened bread.

An Analytical Study of Academic Trends in Doctoral Dissertations in the OT Studies by Korean Scholars (1931-2010)

Kim, Sang-Lae | 2011, 17(1) | pp.179~208 | number of Cited : 5

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Korean Journal of Old Testament Studies 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.67

2011, Vol.17, No.1