Book contents
- Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings
- Society for Old Testament Study
- Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Solving for Pattern
- 2 The Body and the Earth (1 Kings 17–19)
- 3 A Native Hill (1 Kings 20–22)
- 4 Life Is a Miracle (2 Kings 1–8)
- 5 The Long-Legged House
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Scriptures
- Index of Authors
- General Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 November 2020
- Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings
- Society for Old Testament Study
- Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Solving for Pattern
- 2 The Body and the Earth (1 Kings 17–19)
- 3 A Native Hill (1 Kings 20–22)
- 4 Life Is a Miracle (2 Kings 1–8)
- 5 The Long-Legged House
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Scriptures
- Index of Authors
- General Index
Summary
This volume begins by introducing the reader to a leading question at the heart of contemporary Kings research: does hope characterize the biblical book in question, or only despair? Within this frame of reference, the introduction serves as an entry point to the scholarly debates surrounding Kings’ compositional history and genre, as well as the canonical approach and agrarian hermeneutic by which the exegetical portions of the present study proceed. Such an approach provides readers with a fresh perspective on the kerygmatic contribution that the Elijah narratives (1 Kings 17–2 Kings 2) make to the overall text. Placed in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, these prophetic stories portray Yhwh’s life-restoring power under circumstances that pre-enact the removal of the Davidic monarchy and Solomonic temple – precisely the situation in which the book of Kings resolves (2 Kings 25). The Elijah narratives therefore declare that Yhwh maintains his interest in Israel’s life and land even under such conditions; in so doing, they contribute to a “life typology” in Kings that signals hope for David’s (and thus Israel’s) future in the open-ended aftermath of destruction.
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- Life, Land, and Elijah in the Book of Kings , pp. 1 - 9Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020