This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previo... more This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previous studies examine symptoms of trauma in literary characters and fragmented memories in the literature of the Bible. Historical trauma, however, focuses upon the cross-generational genetic, epigenetic, and social effects of trauma. Sociologists suggest that narrative construction is essential for multigenerational resilience. Based on parallels of forced migration and colonized repatriation, this study utilizes findings regarding historical trauma in indigenous American communities to illuminate the experiences constructed in the Masoretic form of Ezra-Nehemiah. From a colonized perspective, Ezra-Nehemiah imagines a response of resilience to the exile and long-term colonization of repatriated Judeans. Historical trauma theory would frame the reestablishment of the temple, the city walls, and the law as a narrative source of agency, resilience, and cultural clarity. Ezra-Nehemiah communicates to future generations that even though the trauma of exile has not finished, the ability to reassert agency and an adaptable differentiated identity is continual, pressing, and restorative.
This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late ... more This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Building upon a long scholarly tradition that compares the Hebrew Bible's sepher hatorah to âde texts, a comparison to landscape monuments and monumental art at Birkleyn, Carchemish, and Zincirli highlights the significance of the geographical location of the inscription, the ritual performance in the monumental setting, and the transmission of this pericope itself as literary monumental art. In the book of Joshua, the narrative of Joshua 8:30-35 serves to emphasize YHWH's rule over the conquered lands of Canaan through the creation and activation of a monumental torah of Moses. This narrative conveys the enduring and socially efficacious mechanisms of a monumental inscription in ancient Near Eastern contexts, here serving the larger socio-political purposes of the Deuteronomistic History.
This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previo... more This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previous studies examine symptoms of trauma in literary characters and fragmented memories in the literature of the Bible. Historical trauma, however, focuses upon the cross-generational genetic, epigenetic, and social effects of trauma. Sociologists suggest that narrative construction is essential for multigenerational resilience. Based on parallels of forced migration and colonized repatriation, this study utilizes findings regarding historical trauma in indigenous American communities to illuminate the experiences constructed in the Masoretic form of Ezra-Nehemiah. From a colonized perspective, Ezra-Nehemiah imagines a response of resilience to the exile and long-term colonization of repatriated Judeans. Historical trauma theory would frame the reestablishment of the temple, the city walls, and the law as a narrative source of agency, resilience, and cultural clarity. Ezra-Nehemiah communicates to future generations that even though the trauma of exile has not finished, the ability to reassert agency and an adaptable differentiated identity is continual, pressing, and restorative.
This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late ... more This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Building upon a long scholarly tradition that compares the Hebrew Bible's sepher hatorah to âde texts, a comparison to landscape monuments and monumental art at Birkleyn, Carchemish, and Zincirli highlights the significance of the geographical location of the inscription, the ritual performance in the monumental setting, and the transmission of this pericope itself as literary monumental art. In the book of Joshua, the narrative of Joshua 8:30-35 serves to emphasize YHWH's rule over the conquered lands of Canaan through the creation and activation of a monumental torah of Moses. This narrative conveys the enduring and socially efficacious mechanisms of a monumental inscription in ancient Near Eastern contexts, here serving the larger socio-political purposes of the Deuteronomistic History.
This study will consider the materiality of the Jedaniah collection from Elephantine through the ... more This study will consider the materiality of the Jedaniah collection from Elephantine through the lenses of process theory of identity and temporal-spatial discourse. The Jedaniah collection is composed of ten Aramaic documents, spanning at least twenty years in the mid-fifth century BCE. The documents include copies of letters sent and received by members inside of the "Jewish" community as well as Persian-backed authority figures. Since these texts were discovered in 1907, many scholars have discussed their content in relation to their "Jewish" themes, but few have questioned the theoretical frameworks employed for examining the material nature of the documents. A methodological framework will be presented that sets process theory of identity in conversation with Thomas Tweed's temporal-spatial theory. Process theory of identity has developed in the context of post-colonial discourse in order to explore how colonialized communities construct hybrid, dynamic identities in response to the internalized experience of colonialization. The works of Jon L. Berquist, Christiane Karrer-Grube, and Katherine E. Southwood, in particular, suggest that both the rule of the Persian Empire over the community at Elephantine and the broader inter-cultural interactions in this sub-province of the Persian Empire should be examined through a lens that accounts for the dynamics of imperial power and the hybridity of process identity common to colonized communities. Moreover, it is appropriate to consider temporal-spatial movement in the Persian Empire as it is reflected and developed through the material artifacts of the Aramaic missives in the Jedaniah collection, since a missive by nature is a temporally-delayed text sent between geographically separated communities. The result of this missive communication is an imperially-structured distal community discourse, which develops over time in a network of spatially removed community nodes and authorities. Tweed's analysis of space as differentiated, kinetic, interrelated, generated, and generative is used in this study as a productive means of analyzing these Aramaic letters as texts that actively construct the identity of this colonized group across space and time. In addition, analysis in light of process theory of identity and temporal-spatial theory will shed light on the challenges of this community's debated "Jewish" identity. As a conquered province within the Achaemenid empire, the population of Yev (,יב that is, Elephantine), and its subgroups are an ancient context ripe with characteristics in common with modern day displaced and colonized communities. Having been dispossessed of their lands and political autonomy, the inhabitants of Yev exhibit the hybridity of their colonial identities through their intertwined relationships with the Persian authorities and one another. The missives central to this study, the Jedaniah letters (5 th c. BCE), are a fruitful source of data for the process of identity formation, since they themselves both record and advance an inter-group conflict on the island of Yev. 1 The letters in this collection originated over the course of at least twenty years on Elephantine Island, from 419 to post-407 BCE. The majority of them are addressed to or mention an individual named Jedaniah bar Gemariah, a leader in the community. 2 The content of the letters 1 This collection is composed of 10 documents, including copies of letters sent to Yev and letters received at Yev from other locations, referenced in The Textbook of Aramaic Documents as A4.1-A4.10 (Porten, Bezalel, and Yardeni, Ada, eds, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt (Magnes, 1986)). 2 P. Grelot, 'Études sur le 'Papyrus Pascal' d'Elephantine', Vetus Testamentum, 4 (1954), 349-384.
Author(s): Cleath, Lisa Joann | Advisor(s): Schniedewind, William M. | Abstract: The covenant rea... more Author(s): Cleath, Lisa Joann | Advisor(s): Schniedewind, William M. | Abstract: The covenant reading ceremonies in Joshua 8:30-35, 2 Kings 22-23, and Nehemiah 7:72b-8:18 betray a developing interplay between the people of Israel and the book of the law. These narratives are unique in the Hebrew Bible in presenting the oralization of a covenant document to a specific audience. Previous scholarship on these narratives has focused on reconstructing the source-critical history of each account and the historicity of the reported events. For the following study, Joshua 8:30-35 and 2 Kings 22-23 represent earlier pre-exilic and exilic traditions, while 2 Chronicles 34-35 and Nehemiah 8 illustrate later post-exilic perspectives. However, supplementing source-critical scholarship, narrative criticism is used to contribute a fresh view of the relationship that the narratives construct between the community of Israel and their authoritative text. This study analyzes the characterization of th...
A blog post in the Wabash Center's series "Teaching and Learning During Crisis," in response to t... more A blog post in the Wabash Center's series "Teaching and Learning During Crisis," in response to the mid-term shift of courses from face-to-face to online in Spring 2020.
This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previo... more This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previous studies examine symptoms of trauma in literary characters and fragmented memories in the literature of the Bible. Historical trauma, however, focuses upon the cross-generational genetic, epigenetic, and social effects of trauma. Sociologists suggest that narrative construction is essential for multigenerational resilience. Based on parallels of forced migration and colonized repatriation, this study utilizes findings regarding historical trauma in indigenous American communities to illuminate the experiences constructed in the Masoretic form of Ezra-Nehemiah. From a colonized perspective, Ezra-Nehemiah imagines a response of resilience to the exile and long-term colonization of repatriated Judeans. Historical trauma theory would frame the reestablishment of the temple, the city walls, and the law as a narrative source of agency, resilience, and cultural clarity. Ezra-Nehemiah communicates to future generations that even though the trauma of exile has not finished, the ability to reassert agency and an adaptable differentiated identity is continual, pressing, and restorative.
This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late ... more This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Building upon a long scholarly tradition that compares the Hebrew Bible's sepher hatorah to âde texts, a comparison to landscape monuments and monumental art at Birkleyn, Carchemish, and Zincirli highlights the significance of the geographical location of the inscription, the ritual performance in the monumental setting, and the transmission of this pericope itself as literary monumental art. In the book of Joshua, the narrative of Joshua 8:30-35 serves to emphasize YHWH's rule over the conquered lands of Canaan through the creation and activation of a monumental torah of Moses. This narrative conveys the enduring and socially efficacious mechanisms of a monumental inscription in ancient Near Eastern contexts, here serving the larger socio-political purposes of the Deuteronomistic History.
This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previo... more This study analyzes the final form of Ezra-Nehemiah through the lens of historical trauma. Previous studies examine symptoms of trauma in literary characters and fragmented memories in the literature of the Bible. Historical trauma, however, focuses upon the cross-generational genetic, epigenetic, and social effects of trauma. Sociologists suggest that narrative construction is essential for multigenerational resilience. Based on parallels of forced migration and colonized repatriation, this study utilizes findings regarding historical trauma in indigenous American communities to illuminate the experiences constructed in the Masoretic form of Ezra-Nehemiah. From a colonized perspective, Ezra-Nehemiah imagines a response of resilience to the exile and long-term colonization of repatriated Judeans. Historical trauma theory would frame the reestablishment of the temple, the city walls, and the law as a narrative source of agency, resilience, and cultural clarity. Ezra-Nehemiah communicates to future generations that even though the trauma of exile has not finished, the ability to reassert agency and an adaptable differentiated identity is continual, pressing, and restorative.
This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late ... more This study reads Joshua 8:30-35 in light of ancient Near Eastern landscape monuments of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Building upon a long scholarly tradition that compares the Hebrew Bible's sepher hatorah to âde texts, a comparison to landscape monuments and monumental art at Birkleyn, Carchemish, and Zincirli highlights the significance of the geographical location of the inscription, the ritual performance in the monumental setting, and the transmission of this pericope itself as literary monumental art. In the book of Joshua, the narrative of Joshua 8:30-35 serves to emphasize YHWH's rule over the conquered lands of Canaan through the creation and activation of a monumental torah of Moses. This narrative conveys the enduring and socially efficacious mechanisms of a monumental inscription in ancient Near Eastern contexts, here serving the larger socio-political purposes of the Deuteronomistic History.
This study will consider the materiality of the Jedaniah collection from Elephantine through the ... more This study will consider the materiality of the Jedaniah collection from Elephantine through the lenses of process theory of identity and temporal-spatial discourse. The Jedaniah collection is composed of ten Aramaic documents, spanning at least twenty years in the mid-fifth century BCE. The documents include copies of letters sent and received by members inside of the "Jewish" community as well as Persian-backed authority figures. Since these texts were discovered in 1907, many scholars have discussed their content in relation to their "Jewish" themes, but few have questioned the theoretical frameworks employed for examining the material nature of the documents. A methodological framework will be presented that sets process theory of identity in conversation with Thomas Tweed's temporal-spatial theory. Process theory of identity has developed in the context of post-colonial discourse in order to explore how colonialized communities construct hybrid, dynamic identities in response to the internalized experience of colonialization. The works of Jon L. Berquist, Christiane Karrer-Grube, and Katherine E. Southwood, in particular, suggest that both the rule of the Persian Empire over the community at Elephantine and the broader inter-cultural interactions in this sub-province of the Persian Empire should be examined through a lens that accounts for the dynamics of imperial power and the hybridity of process identity common to colonized communities. Moreover, it is appropriate to consider temporal-spatial movement in the Persian Empire as it is reflected and developed through the material artifacts of the Aramaic missives in the Jedaniah collection, since a missive by nature is a temporally-delayed text sent between geographically separated communities. The result of this missive communication is an imperially-structured distal community discourse, which develops over time in a network of spatially removed community nodes and authorities. Tweed's analysis of space as differentiated, kinetic, interrelated, generated, and generative is used in this study as a productive means of analyzing these Aramaic letters as texts that actively construct the identity of this colonized group across space and time. In addition, analysis in light of process theory of identity and temporal-spatial theory will shed light on the challenges of this community's debated "Jewish" identity. As a conquered province within the Achaemenid empire, the population of Yev (,יב that is, Elephantine), and its subgroups are an ancient context ripe with characteristics in common with modern day displaced and colonized communities. Having been dispossessed of their lands and political autonomy, the inhabitants of Yev exhibit the hybridity of their colonial identities through their intertwined relationships with the Persian authorities and one another. The missives central to this study, the Jedaniah letters (5 th c. BCE), are a fruitful source of data for the process of identity formation, since they themselves both record and advance an inter-group conflict on the island of Yev. 1 The letters in this collection originated over the course of at least twenty years on Elephantine Island, from 419 to post-407 BCE. The majority of them are addressed to or mention an individual named Jedaniah bar Gemariah, a leader in the community. 2 The content of the letters 1 This collection is composed of 10 documents, including copies of letters sent to Yev and letters received at Yev from other locations, referenced in The Textbook of Aramaic Documents as A4.1-A4.10 (Porten, Bezalel, and Yardeni, Ada, eds, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt (Magnes, 1986)). 2 P. Grelot, 'Études sur le 'Papyrus Pascal' d'Elephantine', Vetus Testamentum, 4 (1954), 349-384.
Author(s): Cleath, Lisa Joann | Advisor(s): Schniedewind, William M. | Abstract: The covenant rea... more Author(s): Cleath, Lisa Joann | Advisor(s): Schniedewind, William M. | Abstract: The covenant reading ceremonies in Joshua 8:30-35, 2 Kings 22-23, and Nehemiah 7:72b-8:18 betray a developing interplay between the people of Israel and the book of the law. These narratives are unique in the Hebrew Bible in presenting the oralization of a covenant document to a specific audience. Previous scholarship on these narratives has focused on reconstructing the source-critical history of each account and the historicity of the reported events. For the following study, Joshua 8:30-35 and 2 Kings 22-23 represent earlier pre-exilic and exilic traditions, while 2 Chronicles 34-35 and Nehemiah 8 illustrate later post-exilic perspectives. However, supplementing source-critical scholarship, narrative criticism is used to contribute a fresh view of the relationship that the narratives construct between the community of Israel and their authoritative text. This study analyzes the characterization of th...
A blog post in the Wabash Center's series "Teaching and Learning During Crisis," in response to t... more A blog post in the Wabash Center's series "Teaching and Learning During Crisis," in response to the mid-term shift of courses from face-to-face to online in Spring 2020.
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