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Form-Critical Analysis of Ezra 3:1-4:5

Kim, Rae Yong 1

1협성대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the historical and social setting of Ezra 3: 1 - 4: 5 and the author's intentions in writing this text by utilizing new form-criticism, which applies both synchronic and diachronic analytical methods to texts and which analyzes structures, genres, settings, and purposes. Therefore, I will first analyze the structure of Ezra 3: 1 - 4: 5, investigating the words, syntax, and content that appear in it, and then I will assess its genres, settings, and purposes. In terms of these four areas of investigation, contemporary form-critical analysis reveals the following about Ezra 3: 1 - 4: 5; First, it is defined by the waw-consecutive syntactical structure; it begins with an introductory date formula that governs the entire unit; and the successive subjects of the actions are conveyed by the verbs. Second, the overarching genre of Ezra 3: 1 - 4: 5 is one of ‘account.’ This account is concerned with the actions of the returnees and their enemies. The following subordinate genres also appear in this pericope: ‘short name list,’ ‘song of praise,’ ‘disputation,’ and ‘summary report.’ Third, although this unit includes a great deal of material that suggests the second half of the 6th century BCE, during the reigns of the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius, a number of its features indicate that its final form is the product of 4th or 3rd century redaction. In other words, the historical and social setting of the unit is a very heightened feud between two communities - the Jerusalem Temple community and the Gerizim Temple community - which began after the marriage of Manasseh to Sanballat's daughter. Fourth, in this context, it is highly likely that the author wrote to exhort the Jews who hated the Samaritans to maintain their ancestors' zeal for building the altar, offering sacrifices, and completing the Temple, and he wanted to emphasize that the Jerusalem Temple is the only legitimate temple. In sum, my application of new form criticism to Ezra 3: 1 - 4: 5 is one example of interpretation that demonstrates “The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century,” which is the title of a book published in 2003. In other words, this paper shows how contemporary form critical analysis is different from traditional form criticism and that it provides the basis for both synchronic and diachronic interpretation of the Old Testament.

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