This series offers concise literary readings of individual biblical books. Each volume focuses on a deeper understanding of the text through modern literary approaches. The series is ideal for those seeking insightful perspectives on biblical narratives and their significance.
Focusing on a unique discourse analysis, this commentary delves into the small prophetic book of Haggai, highlighting its intricately woven narrative. It identifies six distinct oracles from the prophet, structuring the analysis around these key elements to provide a deeper understanding of the text's message and significance.
This reading of Hosea explores the book from a feminist, psychoanalytical and poetic perspective. What is God doing with a prostitute? How does the theme of prostitution relate to the abjection of the woman as the other, and the fantasy of sexual ecstasy, precisely because she escapes patriarchal order? Where is the prophet situated in the dialectic of rage and desire that both seduces and condemns Israel? His voice is both masculine and feminine, and poetically embodies the sensuality of wayward Israel. The ambiguity of voice is also that of the prophet's role, which is both to nurture Israel, as on its Exodus from Egypt, and to be the trap that destroys it. The problematic of voice and prophetic function is evident in the vivid dissection of Israel's social institutions, whose disintegration is inversely related to the centrality of the discussion in the structure of the book, and in the violent swings from despair to impossible hope. The focus on immediate and uncontrollable entropy, manifest in extended tangled metaphors, that occupies the centre of the book, is framed in the outer chapters by intertextual references to Israel's primordial vision, and the romantic distantiation of the Song of Songs, in which the erotic and poetic contradictions of the book find their perhaps ironic resolution.
Focusing on social accommodation within early Christian communities, this commentary interprets Revelation as John's response to challenges faced by churches in Asia Minor. The author, Knight, posits that the persecution under Emperor Domitian was largely exaggerated, viewing martyrdom references as symbolic. He emphasizes John's call for a stricter moral standard compared to Paul's leniency in his letters. The work offers a clear chapter-by-chapter analysis, culminating in a discussion of Revelation's key theological concepts.