| Description |
1 online resource (xiii, 218 pages) |
| Contents |
Introduction. Ezra-Nehemiah as mutilated history and archival historiography -- 1. A tear in the fabric of time : the archive in the ancient Near East and why it matters -- 2. Archival representations : archive and collection in the narrative of Ezra-Nehemiah -- 3. 'These were their number' : citations of decrees, letters, and lists and their archival implications -- 4. Resisting oblivion : archival historiography in the Books of Esther -- 5. Reading scriptures as spaces : the reconstitution of communities through archival historiography -- Epilogue. Remaking archives and the 'death' of spaces |
| Summary |
"If history is narrative, than Ezra-Nehemiah is only partly history. Well over half of Ezra-Nehemiah is not a narrative but rather a patchwork of cited texts that are frequently intervening in the story. The capacity of citations in Ezra-Nehemiah to offend the historiographical, aesthetic, and theological sensibilities of scholars in the last century invites us to renew the question of what citation accomplishes in this context. In this book, I label the citation style in Ezra-Nehemiah, "archival historiography." I argue that the act of citation in Ezra-Nehemiah forms an alternative site of archiving in Ezra-Nehemiah and this hybrid literary form prioritizes the assembly and organization of documents over the production of a seamless narrative. I begin this argument by comparing this literary form with archival institutions and practices across the landscape of the ancient Near East, contending that Ezra-Nehemiah adapts the symbolic power of these ancient collections. I then identify the role of the imperial archive within the narrative of Ezra-Nehemiah, where it surfaces as an axial and ambivalent source of political power. By reviewing the cited documents in Ezra-Nehemiah, this book argues that the act of citation is not, as has been commonly argued, solely or even primarily in the business of authorizing this account or symbolizing the fulfillment of prophetic promises. Rather, citation in Ezra-Nehemiah is aimed at reestablishing a community by organizing memory into retrievable texts. Archival historiography thus constitutes an essential act of communal recovery. Creating an archive within the pages of Ezra-Nehemiah represents the cultural vitality of the Judean community after the losses of exile and while living in the long shadow of imperial rule." -- Provided by publisher |
| Notes |
Also issued in print: 2020 |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Audience |
Specialized |
| Notes |
Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on January 14, 2020) |
| SUBJECT |
Bible. Ezra -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
|
|
Bible. Nehemiah -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
|
|
Bible. Ezra fast |
|
Bible. Nehemiah fast |
| Subject |
Jews -- History -- 586 B.C.-70 A.D.
|
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Jews
|
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books
|
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Criticism, interpretation, etc.
|
|
History
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| ISBN |
9780190918750 |
|
0190918756 |
|
9780190918736 |
|
019091873X |
|
9780190918743 |
|
0190918748 |
|
