Herbert Chanan Brichto's Books

The Names of God

Poetic Readings in Biblical Beginnings

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

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The Names of God

Poetic Readings in Biblical Beginnings

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

This is the sequel to the author's iconoclastic Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics (Oxford, 1992), in which Brichto argues for the aesthetic wholeness of the Hebrew Bible, and the consistency of Scripture's preachment on God, nature, and the human condition--in direct opposition to current source criticism, which maintains that inconsistencies within the text support an atomistic reading of multiple authors. In The Names of God, Brichto brings us his "poetic" reading of Scripture to the Book of Genesis. Using contemporary methods and insights of literary criticism, he examines one of the great inconsistencies within Genesis that have led to the supposition of multiple authors--the assortment of terms or names for the Deity, among them Yahweh and Elohim--and attempts to show the appropriateness of certain of these names to the stories in which they appear. He also looks at a variety of other data within Genesis such as genealogies, eponyms, and chronologies, and shows that their poetical function--their variety, ingenuity, and imaginative whimsy--is vital to the structure of the text as a whole. In finding a unity in this diversity of materials, Brichto makes a strong case for the text as the artistic achievement of a single author.

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481

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Oxford University Press

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ISBN 10

019535513X

ISBN 13

9780195355130

The Names of God

Poetic Readings in Biblical Beginnings

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

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The Names of God

Poetic Readings in Biblical Beginnings

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

In this book, Brichto argues for the aesthetic and ideological wholeness of the Hebrew Bible. He uses the methods of contemporary literary criticism to examine one of the greatest inconsistencies within the Book of Genesis, the alternating use of Yahweh (the Lord) and Elohim (God) as names for the Deity. Often cited as the proof of multiple authorship, Brichto shows, instead, that this "inconsistency" serves as a device for a single author, using the specific name that is appropriate to each specific story. Brichto then proceeds to overturn other multiple-author proofs, including variations in genealogies, eponyms, and chronologies. He shows that their variety, ingenuity, and imaginative whimsy serve a vital poetic function in the structure of the text as a whole. Finding a unity in this diversity of genres, styles, and devices, Brichto solidifies his thesis of single authorship.

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481

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Oxford University Press, USA

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ISBN 10

0195109651

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9780195109658

Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics

Tales of the Prophets

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

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Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics

Tales of the Prophets

By: Herbert Chanan Brichto

Are the narratives in the Bible essentially history or fiction? How were they intended by the biblical writers? Fundamental religionists and modern scholarship agree in attributing a literal or historiographical intent to the authors. The incredible elements in the stories are accepted by the former on the basis of faith in the divinely-revealed text; by scholars, they are explained as the results of differing traditions from different times combined into a badly edited pastiche. This study applies the methods of contemporary literary criticism to make a case for these narratives as ideological fiction crafted with consummate artistry. Brichto explains the compositional techniques and concerns with which all authors grapple and applies these "poetic elements" to numerous stories featuring the prophets Moses, Jeremiah, Jonah, Elijah, and Elisha.

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298

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Oxford University Press, USA

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0195069110

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9780195069112

Book's by Herbert Chanan Brichto

The Names of God

The Names of God

The Names of God

The Names of God

Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics

Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics

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