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Extreme climate events and famines are among the most continuous problems that humans have had to deal with throughout the ages. At the same time, they are closely intertwined with temporal, spatial and social conditions. Using methods of historical hunger research and the established concept of vulnerability, this study examines the texts of the Hebrew Bible to determine how people perceived, interpreted and coped with extreme climate events. In doing so, it becomes apparent that the texts never provide simple, monocausal explanations, but rely on a number of different, sometimes contradictory statements. God, humans and nature appear in this conception as actors who interact with each other and share equal responsibility for the catastrophe.
Extreme climate events and famines are among the most continuous problems that humans have had to deal with throughout the ages. At the same time, they are closely intertwined with temporal, spatial and social conditions. Using methods of historical hunger research and the established concept of vulnerability, this study examines the texts of the Hebrew Bible to determine how people perceived, interpreted and coped with extreme climate events. In doing so, it becomes apparent that the texts never provide simple, monocausal explanations, but rely on a number of different, sometimes contradictory statements. God, humans and nature appear in this conception as actors who interact with each other and share equal responsibility for the catastrophe.
The resulting picture is one of a dialectic between textual plurality and fixity: the eventual dominance of the consonantal Masoretic Text over the textual plurality of the Second Temple period, and the secondary diversification of that standardized text through scribal activity.
The resulting picture is one of a dialectic between textual plurality and fixity: the eventual dominance of the consonantal Masoretic Text over the textual plurality of the Second Temple period, and the secondary diversification of that standardized text through scribal activity.
The following volume: (1) reevaluates scholarly definitions of irony and the use of the term in biblical research; (2) builds on existing methods of interpretation of ironic texts; (3) offers judicious analyses of methodological approaches to irony in the Bible; and (4) develops fresh insights into biblical passages.
The following volume: (1) reevaluates scholarly definitions of irony and the use of the term in biblical research; (2) builds on existing methods of interpretation of ironic texts; (3) offers judicious analyses of methodological approaches to irony in the Bible; and (4) develops fresh insights into biblical passages.