Full Description
Brennan W. Breed claims that biblical interpretation should focus on the shifting capacities of the text, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a static product. Rather than seeking to determine the original text and its meaning, Breed proposes that scholars approach the production, transmission, and interpretation of the biblical text as interwoven elements of its overarching reception history. Grounded in the insights of contemporary literary theory, this approach alters the framing questions of interpretation from "What does this text mean?" to "What can this text do?"
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: The Constitutive Divide of Reception History
1. The Miltonesque Concept of the Original Text
2. Living in Pottersville: An Alternate Approach to Textual Criticism
3. Anchor or Spandrel: The Concept of the Original Context
4. On Tigers and Cages: Re-Thinking Context
5. Mapping the Garden of Forking Paths: A Nomadic Reception History
6. Justice, Survival, Presence: Job 19:25-27
7. Trajectories of Job 19:25-27: The Example of Survival
Conclusion: Nomadology and the Future of Biblical Studies
Notes
Bibliography
Index
